Chapter 593: Sun

Anthony hadn’t relied on Infinity to halt the attacks. No, he had simply wielded his command over blood. Though he rarely tapped into this particular affinity, Anthony could manipulate blood as effortlessly as any pure-blooded vampire.

To him, blood was merely another element within the vast fabric of the universe, nothing inherently special. It functioned like any other elemental force, governed by principles of control and will.

And just as one might override a fire spell with superior fire control and mana control, so too could blood spells be seized by one with higher mastery.

That was precisely what Anthony had done. His command over mana and blood was beyond anything these vampires could have possibly conceived. With a mere gesture, he seized control of their spell, effortlessly, gracefully.

The vampires’ eyes tore open, wide with shock and disbelief, as the control they once held over blood slipped from their grasp in real time. It was a sensation so foreign, so impossible, they struggled to comprehend it.

This was their birthright, the very essence of what it meant to be a vampire. Their racial ability, honed through centuries of instinct, ritual, and blood-soaked mastery. And yet… it was being unraveled before them.

Even among those who awakened the rare gift of blood manipulation without being vampire-born, none could ever hope to rival a true vampire, creatures who drank blood, bathed in it, and were steeped in its essence from the cradle to the grave.

And yet, here he was, making a mockery of it all.

Their mana flared violently as they scrambled to reclaim control, but it was futile.

Anthony merely pointed forward, and in that instant, the blood-forged humanoid constructs turned their heads toward their former masters. Without hesitation, the wind barrier behind them shattered into fragments as the constructs surged forth like missiles unleashed.

The blood-forged weapons, once aimed at Anthony, twisted mid-air in a perfect 180-degree arc and hurtled back toward their creators with lethal precision.

In response, blood barriers rose in desperation, elemental shields shimmered to life, and the vampires fought to repel the onslaught.

But it was chaos incarnate.

Within minutes, limbs were severed, injuries mounted in grotesque numbers, and entrails spilled from torn abdomens. Heads rolled from decapitated shoulders, painting the battlefield in visceral ruin.

Explosions thundered across the terrain with deafening force, a cacophony of destruction echoing through the night, as vampires who had once lived with arrogant carefreeness now found themselves locked in a brutal struggle for survival.

Anthony observed from above, unmoving, he hadn’t taken a single step since the carnage began.

Then, with a mere thought, his body dropped from the sky. He landed silently, his feet touching the earth with the grace of falling dust.

Dozens of crimson eyes snapped in his direction. In a blur, the vampires surged forward from every angle, weapons drawn, elements igniting around them in a blaze of desperation and fury.

Anthony didn’t flinch.

He didn’t reach for his katana. He didn’t summon a spell.

Instead, he lifted a single foot, and brought it down.

The ground shattered beneath him. Cracks spiderwebbed outward as a concussive force rippled through the earth. Pebbles and loose stones blasted upward, propelled to shoulder-height in an instant.

Then his hands moved, almost lazily, almost like a rhythm.

His fingers tapped each pebble, one after another. And with every tap, a stone became a bullet. The air cracked as they shot forward, faster than the eye could follow. Faster than any of the vampires had ever witnessed.

Each projectile found its mark. Stones punched clean through skulls, tearing through bone and brain with terrifying precision. Anthony’s hands blurred with movement, every flick launching death in a different direction.

One by one, the vampires fell, lifeless, skulls shattered, long before they ever reached him.

The sound of collapsing bodies and fractured bone echoed in haunting rhythm, a grim symphony of silence and slaughter.

Suddenly, a radiant light flared beneath Anthony’s feet. In an instant, a square-shaped barrier surged upward, encasing him in walls of compressed light. Without pause, the barrier began to shrink, its glowing edges collapsing inward, intent on crushing him within its radiant cage.

Anthony didn’t even blink.

The moment the barrier made contact with his body, it fractured, shattering into crystalline fragments as though it had dared to touch something forbidden.

Such a construct was laughable.

With Anthony’s physique, fortified by overwhelming vitality and refined essence, no mere barrier could so much as bruise him, let alone contain him.

Then came a voice, raw, furious, trembling with arrogance.

“DO YOU KNOW WHO WE ARE, YOU MAD HUMAN? WE ARE THE DESCEN—”

The words never finished.

With a faint flicker in Anthony’s eye, space itself within the vampire’s body twisted unnaturally, and then imploded.

In a violent instant, the vampire detonated from within, his form ruptured as if existence itself had rejected him. No fire, no blade, just a silent, absolute collapse as reality shattered within his core.

His remains didn’t fall. They scattered like dust.

Anthony’s hand drifted toward the hilt of his katana.

With a single, fluid motion, he unsheathed it, no tension, no flourish, just silence and steel.

Then he moved.

He shifted into a stance, low, balanced, deliberate. A breath passed. And then, in a smooth, unhurried arc, he rotated, completing a full 360-degree swing.

No mana. No aura. Not even a hint of Intent.

Only raw, unfiltered physical strength.

A deafening blast followed.

Wind pressure coiled around him like a storm given form, folding into a perfect ring before detonating outward in a violent wave. The sheer force carved a path of destruction in all directions.

Buildings collapsed as their foundations were cleaved. Stone walls split like parchment. Vampires were torn apart mid-charge, their bodies sliced cleanly in half before they even realized what had happened.

The world turned crimson once more as fountains of blood erupted, geysering into the sky, painting the ruins beneath in vivid, grotesque artistry.

“Disappointing,” Anthony murmured to himself.

The absence of worthy resistance drained the thrill from the battle. Not even a flicker of challenge. Among them, only the Second Supreme Monarch had ever stood at the threshold of that power.

Even those hailed as Warlords, mighty by any other standard, failed to ignite even a flicker of excitement within him.

Anthony sighed and shook his head, weariness lacing his expression.

Then, without warning, mana surged from his core in massive, rippling waves, each pulse distorting the very air around him.

He raised a hand, and calmly chanted

[Flame Magic: Miniature Sun Summon]

The heavens responded instantly.

The once-blue sky blazed into a golden-orange inferno. The temperature spiked violently, the atmosphere itself warping beneath the crushing intensity of summoned heat. The world trembled as a colossal sphere of flame ignited above Anthony, blinding, overwhelming, divine.

Yet he remained untouched.

He was immune to flame and heat, courtesy of the Divine Flame: Romulus. What would incinerate armies in moments felt like a soft breeze upon his skin.

The surviving vampires could only stare in mute horror, wide-eyed and paralyzed, as the white-haired grim reaper raised the sun itself to strike them down.

Could any of them withstand the blade of a sun?

No.

Not one.

With a mere thought, Anthony released it.

The sun fell.

And then — impact.

The earth convulsed as the summoned sun collided with the land, triggering a roaring, apocalyptic blast that defied reason. In an instant, the world was consumed in a blinding surge of golden-orange and searing white. The explosion obliterated everything in its path with divine fury.

Stone vaporized. Metal liquefied. Flesh, blood, bone, gone. Not even ash remained.

The ground beneath became a molten sea, then solidified into glass under the pressure of unimaginable heat. Waves of destruction radiated outward, engulfing the land in ever-expanding rings of fire and light.

There was no mercy. No escape.

Millions perished in an instant, stripped from existence before they could scream. Resurrection was meaningless, there were no bodies left to restore, no souls left to call back.

Some vampires tried to flee, transforming into bats, shadows, clouds of mist. It made no difference. The miniature sun’s blast enveloped the world with perfect precision. No corner was spared. No life was overlooked.

Towering mushroom-shaped clouds of smoke and fire erupted skyward, billowing for thousands of meters until they touched the very heavens.

Mountains crumbled and became rivers of lava. Oceans hissed violently into vapor, then vanished, erased entirely.

A god had moved.

And the world had burned.

Your gift is the motivation for my creation. Give me more motivation!