Explosions echoed as projectiles flew back and forth in a relentless barrage. It was important to note that Rausha wasn't the only one adept at magic. My magical skills were among the highest in the empire, and now, as a Vampire Queen, I had gained new abilities to complement my already potent dark magic.

  My blood magic synergized seamlessly with my dark magic, focusing on physical combat. Daggers formed from blood flew at Rausha, one after another, only to meet concentrated fire arrows conjured by his spellwork. I dodged frantically as the ground trembled beneath us, erupting into jagged rock spears. Ice arrows streaked toward me, slicing the air with deadly precision. My mana sense allowed me to detect and evade Rausha's wind magic, which he wielded like invisible blades to cut me down.

  Despite my arrogance, I was losing. The amount of blood I could manipulate was far too little to match his unrelenting assault.

  "It seems I am the better mage," Rausha said, his tone almost regretful. "You should not feel ashamed. Your skills surpass even some noble Leymen. You should be proud to have stood against Rausha, Little One."

  "You haven't won yet!" I yelled, defiant. "And stop calling me little!"

  At that moment, I sensed it—my link was drawing nearer. The vampire horde had finally arrived. It had been worth turning those noble demons into vampires and letting them rampage through the tower. Fewer than I'd hoped made it—just over three hundred—but it would have to do.

  With a surge of blood magic, I extracted every drop of blood from the vampires, killing them instantly. A river of crimson gathered around me, swirling ominously. Rausha stood silently, his expression unshaken despite losing one of his hands and retainers. He exuded an aura of calm general, as if this was all part of his plan.

  The battle resumed, fiercer than before.

  "I shall show you all of my power! Come forth, Ancestral Spirits!" Rausha bellowed, holding out his remaining hand. Red and blue lights separated from his body, each moving as if alive. The lights joined the fray, casting flames and frost in devastating tandem.

  A torrent of fire and ice surged toward me, roaring like an unstoppable force. Ralph, proving his knack for survival, darted through the shattered window and escaped. I braced myself, using the gathered blood to form a sphere around me. The torrent struck the blood sphere with a deafening roar, engulfing me inside in elemental chaos.

  [Evolution Possible. Evolution Path:

  Vampire Progenitor

  Lich King

  Soul Reaper]

  I flapped my wings and got out from the top when I realized my blood sphere cracked under the onslaught. Leaping to the ceiling, I caught Rausha's gaze. He was stunned, his expression betraying a rare moment of surprise. I had changed. When the sphere began to crumble, I chose my evolution path—the Progenitor of Vampires.

  My wings had transformed. What had once been two pairs of bat-like wings had merged into a single pair. They were no longer white, but black. To my dismay, however, they had become feathery. I didn't look like a vampire—I looked like a fallen angel.

  "Little one, what has happened to you?" Rausha's words grated on my nerves. No matter how much power I gained, it seemed my height and youthful face remained unchanged. It was such a downer.

  "You see, monsters evolve," I said, sulking.

  "They should only be able to evolve after significant killing," Rausha said, his tone skeptical. "Moreover, at your level of power, it should take an unrealistic amount of slaughter." He narrowed his eyes, realization dawning.

  "It seems my underlings below have killed enough of your people to fulfill the requirement," I said with a grin. "And so, I evolved. Let us begin the match anew."

  Rausha's eyes burned with anger.

  "Kneel now," I demanded, my voice sharp. "Your head must be lower than my knee."

  It was a bold and deliberate provocation. I knew it was practically impossible. As the king, the only way for me to lower his head below my knee would be to kill him. Even then, if his severed head faced forward, it might still remain above my knee. The only sure way would be for him to tilt his head sideways after decapitation.

  "Damn you!" Rausha bellowed, fury etched across his face. Several glowing lights separated from his body, coalescing into a towering figure that bore his likeness.

  "Ancestor, I summon thee! Crush Leymen's foe!" Rausha roared.

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  I gathered all the blood in the room. Rausha, though immensely powerful, was still alive—and living beings could feel their blood move. He suddenly knelt as I formed a spear larger than his harpoon. Unable to hold it myself, I let the spear float beside me. With my new evolution, I could disrupt the blood within his body, but it seemed I couldn't extract it or kill him outright.

  "Die," I muttered, hurling the spear. It pierced his chest. Rausha looked at me and smiled—not with hatred or bitterness, but at peace. His ancestral spirit dissolved like a puff of smoke, fading into nothingness. His body soon dropped to the ground. The room suddenly fell silent.

  There was no fanfare, no triumphant roar of victory, only silence and emptiness. The room felt hollow. I walked to the massive throne and sat down. The chair was so large that even if I lay across it as if it were a bed, there would still be space between my head and the armrest.

  I had done it. Rausha was dead.

  I leaned back, closing my eyes, letting my head rest against the throne. My legs sprawled across the seat, my body sinking into its vastness. I could feel my vampires spreading across the continent, engulfing it. Thousands died every minute, and with each death, my link to the horde grew stronger. The sensation of the growing connection washed over me as more and more demons fell. Until eventually, it stopped.

  Stretching my wings, I focused on recovering from my wounds. Within minutes, the injuries healed completely.

  Ralph returned moments later. Like a dragon returning to his lair, he strode into the throne room and lay down before me, curling up to rest. For all his cowardice, he had the arrogance to show up only when everything was resolved.

  I sighed and drifted into slumber, slipping into the dreamscape of endless red.

  There I stood on an island surrounded by a lake of blood. Corpses piled high, reaching into the sky, their blood flowing into the crimson waters below. The scene was different, yet it wasn't. The only change was the lake, its vast expanse a grim reflection of the destruction I had wrought. Perhaps nothing had changed after all. Only the blood was new.

  I climbed the never-ending mountain of corpses. Here, I was Elidranthia. No, that wasn't correct. Here, I was Sana. Not a vampire, not a queen—just a normal girl beneath the ominous reaper comet. The red moon loomed closer with every step I took up the mountain. It drew nearer and nearer until, finally, at the peak of the mountain where Rausha's corpse lay, the moon was within my reach.

  I looked out over the world, and there was nothing—only an endless expanse of darkness stretching to the horizon.

  Stepping onto Rausha's lifeless form, I stretched out my hand. I could feel the coarse texture of the moon's surface, but as soon as I touched it, the moon pulsed with a vivid, eerie glow.

  [You have reached the realm of the gods.

  Evolution available: Kin of the Reaper Comet, Goddess of Death.]

  Atop Rausha's corpse stood a monument—the same monument that had once asked for a contract. I wondered if this system notice was connected to it.

  [Yes, we are of the same being. You have proven your worth. You have killed countless souls, and your might has been proven unmatched. You are worthy to be my kin. Accept, and I will grant you authority over death. None shall die without your permission. None shall live unless you decree it. With a single word, you shall command all.]

  I hesitated, stepping back from the red moon, ready to return to the real world. But then, a memory stirred—my other half.

  I was about to ask, but I stopped myself. I didn't need to speak, for the answer was already clear to me. Elidranthia was gone. She wouldn't return.

  I turned to look at the god before me.

  [Good. Revere me, and I promise to grant your deepest desire.]

  I smiled softly, thinking of my beloved other half—Elidranthia. At first, I didn't understand what she was thinking or why she acted as she did. Why was she always staring into the moon? But now, perhaps, I had grown a little closer to understanding her. The moon was enchanting. Such beauty was supposed to be viewed from afar. And yet, here I am, reaching towards it.

  I smiled. No... it was more of a smirk. In a swift motion, I unsheathed my dagger and plunged it into the moon. I expected it to be a futile act, that the blade would simply sink harmlessly into the moon's soil. But the reaction was immediate. Blood poured forth from the moon, staining its pale surface, and it recoiled as though it had a will of its own. Screams and wails of the dead echoed across the dreamscape, and the world around me began to crack and shatter. Before I could react, I was yanked back to the throne room with a violent jolt.

  [How dare you harm us!]

  A black box appeared before me, dripping with blood. I turned to look outside and saw that the sky had been painted crimson. The reaper comet had arrived—far earlier than it should have. It wasn't supposed to appear for another three years, yet here it was.

  The ground trembled violently as the sky ruptured, cracks forming in the tower's walls. I tried to move, but an invisible force held me firmly in place. Above me, the roof of the tower was wrenched open, and a massive, singular eye stared down from the heavens. Its gaze was filled with arrogance and madness, its presence suffocating.

  Ralph whimpered. Despite being a dragon, he shrank back like a frightened lizard, trying to hide in a corner. The force pressing down on me grew stronger, and I could feel my body straining, on the verge of rupture. Yet, even as my apparent demise loomed, I could only smile at the god before me.

  "Why would I want to be your kin when you've taken my friend from me?" I murmured weakly, my voice trembling but resolute.

  Thunder roared, shaking the tower to its foundations. My eyes couldn't see it, but my mana sense screamed at the gathering of immense energy above me. It was a massive spell, one designed to obliterate me completely, leaving nothing behind.

  Then, the world trembled once more. Chains of light appeared around the eye, binding it as threads of pure mana wove themselves across the cracks in the sky. The eye stopped looking at me, its attention diverted. But the hatred emanating from it was palpable, its curse ringing loud and clear.

  [There will be no place for you! Betrayer! You are a plague upon this world! Every god will be your enemy!]

  Besides the black box, a golden box materialized, its presence radiating an overwhelming aura of authority.

  [Divine law has been violated. Divine punishment executed.]

  Suddenly, as if a star had burst into existence, a blinding white light poured out from the cracks in the sky, radiating in every direction. There was no place to hide, no sanctuary to escape to. The light enveloped everything, bathing Ralph and me in its searing brilliance.

  Reincarnated as the Villainess’s Maid: I Won’t Let Her Become a Murderer!