Chapter 4

The day of the Grand Embrace Ceremony was also destined to be my day of transformation into a demon.

All I needed was to infuse my lifeblood into the ancient Blood Artifact, and I would shatter the shackles of my current power, becoming the first true demon in the entire history of the Nether Realm.

I sat on my throne in the center of the ceremony hall when a raven descended from the sky, landing on my shoulder.

It carried a message from the Divine Realm. It was Astraea.

That woman had been stuck to me like glue for centuries.

Knowing she was coming, a headache immediately bloomed behind my eyes. I was just about to announce that no companion would be chosen at this ceremony.

Suddenly, a violent tremor of dark energy erupted from deep within the castle.

Someone had breached the barrier I'd set for my seclusion.

The backlash hit me, my dark energy spiraling out of control, forcing the demonic transformation ritual to begin prematurely.

Beneath my skin, power surged like boiling lava.

"Quick, bring the Blood Artifact!" Seraphina, seeing my state, immediately commanded in a loud voice.

A blood servant rushed forward, presenting the ancient Blood Artifact to her.

I struggled desperately to control the raging power inside me, cold sweat beading on my forehead, reaching out to take the artifact.

Just as my fingertips were about to touch the Blood Artifact, Seraphina suddenly lunged into my arms.

Something cold, something radiating a divine aura, plunged violently into my heart.

Blinding pain erupted. I shoved Seraphina away with all my might.

Looking down, what was impaled in my chest was no Blood Artifact at all.

It was a gleaming silver cross—a holy relic of human priests!

She had conspired with humans, swapping out my artifact!

My dark energy, as if finding an outlet, was being violently siphoned away by the holy relic.

Strength drained from me. I crashed to my knees.

The hall erupted into chaos.

Meanwhile, my nine blood servants, as if on cue, swarmed me, pinning my limbs and body down.

Just then, a human priest in white robes appeared before me, seemingly out of nowhere.

He chanted arcane words, casting a spell that steadily transferred the dark energy siphoned from my body directly into Caleb.

"My King," one of the blood servants whispered, pressing down on my shoulder, "when you were poring over ancient texts in your private chamber, you must have overlooked that tattered scroll in the corner, didn't you?"

"It records that a vampire's bloodline and sufficiently powerful dark energy are the keys to becoming a demon."

"Ten years ago, you used your own blood to save Caleb, so your bloodline flows through him."

"Now, by transferring all your dark energy to him, he can take your place and become the Nether Realm's first demon!"

Caleb greedily absorbed my dark energy, while excitedly calling out to the priest, "Father!"

Father?

It clicked.

They had been deceiving me from the very beginning.

This wasn't some impulsive betrayal. This was a ten-year-long conspiracy.

"Did you really think we *wanted* to be your blood servants?"

Seraphina pressed down harder on my profusely bleeding chest, twisting the holy relic deeper.

"You are the most powerful vampire in the Nether Realm, the King of all our kind. To utterly destroy the vampire race, we had to start with you."

"That's why we orchestrated that pact a decade ago."

"Once Caleb becomes a demon, his power will transcend yours, and our soul pact with you will be null and void."

With my dark energy completely drained, I collapsed, my consciousness fading.

Seeing my power gone, the vampire forces below descended into chaos, scattering in a frantic flight.

The blood servants, along with the priest, slashed my flesh, broke my bat wings, and gutted my insides.

They dragged me to the human world, throwing me into a grand cathedral, where they strung me up high with chains.

The skylight above, completely unobstructed, was aimed directly at the scorching sun.

They intended for me to hang there, exposed to its relentless rays for ninety-nine days.

After hoisting me in the center of the cathedral, they busied themselves attending to Caleb, who was adjusting to his new demonic bloodline.

This, ironically, gave me a chance to breathe.

I don't know how long passed. The scorching sun finally receded, and a full moon slowly ascended.

Its cold, clear light filtered through the skylight, bathing my broken body.

A melodious female voice, laced with a hint of schadenfreude, echoed softly in my ear.

"Only a few months apart, and the Nether Realm has fallen so low?"

"Tsk, utterly pathetic."

Astraea, the crazy woman who had chased me for centuries.

She slowly walked up to me, raising a hand to brush against the chains binding me.