Chapter 225 Bloodfire Fang

Boris stepped forward—and in an instant, he vanished.

Liam’s eyes snapped wide. Dragon Steps was still active. He felt his body respond before his mind caught up, tilting just to the side as a jagged blur of movement slashed past his face. The dagger missed by a hair’s width.

A whisper of wind passed his cheek.

He pivoted instantly, dragging in a lungful of cold air. Three minutes left, he reminded himself. Dragon Steps wasn’t infinite. He had to end this, and fast.

Boris didn’t pause. With terrifying precision, he swung again. Liam ducked low. The tip of the dagger whistled above his head, slicing a lock of his hair as it passed. Liam twisted on the ball of his foot, launching a sharp kick toward Boris’s knee.

Crack!

Boris grunted. The kick connected—just enough to knock him off balance.

Without delay, Liam lunged forward, throwing a brutal left punch into Boris’s ribs. His fist slammed into the armored coat with a dull thud. The armor cracked slightly but didn’t break.

Boris snarled and brought the dagger around in a wicked arc toward Liam’s face.

Liam backflipped—his boots scuffing the ground—and barely escaped the blade. The second his feet hit earth, he burst forward again, shoulder-slamming Boris in the chest. The vampire stumbled back two steps.

Liam didn’t let up.

He leapt, rotated mid-air, and delivered a spinning kick to Boris’s temple.

Boom!

Boris was hurled sideways, crashing into a tree. The thick trunk exploded from the impact. Splinters flew like shrapnel, but Boris landed on his feet—blood leaking from his mouth now. His eyes burned with fury.

"You’re not bad," Boris growled. "But you’re not invincible."

Liam didn’t respond. His breathing was steady, his expression sharp. Every muscle in his body was alive, buzzing with speed and awareness.

Boris launched again.

Their fists collided. Power rippled through the forest. Shockwaves boomed with each strike, kicking up dust, debris, and cracked earth. Trees bent from the force. The ground fractured beneath them. Boris slashed with the dagger, aiming low, fast, and dirty. Liam shifted his hips, evading just enough—and drove his elbow into Boris’s jaw.

Boris spat blood and retaliated with a monstrous punch to Liam’s gut.

Bang!

Liam was launched back several meters. His boots carved trenches in the dirt as he skidded, but he didn’t fall. Pain bloomed in his ribs, but he pushed through it.

Boris raised his dagger again, this time preparing a blood attack.

"No, you don’t," Liam muttered.

He shot forward, hands blurred. Before Boris could finish the motion, Liam slammed his heel into Boris’s wrist.

Clang!

The dagger flew.

It spun in the air, skipped off a boulder, and slid across the forest floor, glowing faintly with its dangerous red hue. Boris’s eyes widened for a second.

Liam capitalized on it.

He grabbed Boris by the collar and kneed him in the stomach—once, twice, three times. Each hit knocked the breath out of the vampire. Liam then hurled him overhead like a sack of bones.

Boris crashed through a large boulder behind them. The rock split in two, shards erupting into the sky.

Boom!

Liam didn’t stop. He darted in and hit Boris with a flying punch to the face as he tried to get up.

Smash!

Boris staggered. Blood poured from his nose.

Then Liam grabbed his leg and spun in a full circle, throwing Boris across the field. The vampire slammed into a burnt tree stump. The force was so great it left a crater.

The forest went quiet for half a second.

Boris groaned and pushed himself up—but Liam was already there. He grabbed Boris by the back of the neck and slammed his face into the ground. Dust and smoke exploded upward.

Again.

And again.

Wham! Wham! Wham!

The earth trembled beneath each strike.

Boris twitched but didn’t resist. He was stunned. Dazed.

Liam stepped back, panting heavily, his shirt soaked in sweat and torn. Scratches and bruises marked his body—but his eyes were cold. Focused.

Boris lifted his head, blood dripping from his mouth and nose. He tried to speak, but coughed instead.

Liam walked toward him slowly.

Each step felt heavier than thunder. Like a god of judgment.

He stopped directly in front of Boris. The vampire tried to rise—but his legs failed him.

He dropped to his knees.

Bloodied. Broken.

Liam towered over him, eyes shadowed, like a god of death.

Lana’s eyes were wide in utter disbelief.

Her chest rose and fell rapidly, hands trembling as she clutched at a tree for balance. She had seen everything—every strike, every dodge, every moment of raw, explosive power from Liam. The battlefield was a wasteland now. Trees torn from their roots, craters formed in the ground, air dense with smoke and blood.

He had done the impossible.

He didn’t just defeat the hundred lesser vampires earlier—he annihilated them. Then came the elite guards. Each one of them stronger, faster, deadlier. And yet, Liam took them all on. One by one. Bloodied but never broken.

And then Boris.

The strongest of them all. The leader. A monster in his own right.

Lana had watched, stunned, as Liam battered him to the ground. The vampire on his knees, armor cracked, body limp, face a ruined mask of blood. It didn’t seem real.

How strong was Liam?

Every time she thought she’d seen the limits of his power, he shattered those expectations and reached another terrifying level. He wasn’t human anymore. No... this was something beyond that. A monster of his own kind.

Her awe was quickly replaced by dread.

She furrowed her brows suddenly, a chill creeping down her spine. Something was wrong. Her senses sharpened. A realization dawned in her heart like a bolt of lightning.

Ann.

Where was Ann?

She had been right beside Lana not long ago, watching the fight in silence. But now she was gone. No trace, no sound. Just... missing.

Lana’s heart pounded. She took a step forward, eyes darting around the ruined battlefield.

Where the hell—

A strained laugh snapped her out of it.

Lana’s eyes shot to Boris, still on his knees. His body barely held together, blood running in rivers down his mouth and chin. But somehow, he was laughing. Even with a shattered body, pain etched into every movement, he laughed. A ragged, bloody sound that made the air colder.

Liam narrowed his eyes. His body was still tense, battle-ready. Every instinct screamed that something was off.

"What’s so funny?" Liam asked sharply, his voice low and dangerous.

Boris coughed, blood spurting from his lips as he gave another broken laugh. He lifted his head slowly, a glint of sick satisfaction in his crimson eyes.

"Behind you," he said hoarsely.

Liam’s heart skipped.

His body moved before he could think, instincts kicking in. He spun—

But he was too late.

A searing pain tore into his right side, just above his waist. It wasn’t just a stab—it felt like someone had set fire to his blood. His eyes widened as he gasped sharply, body momentarily frozen.

His gaze dropped to the blade buried in his side. Black stone pulsing with red heat.

No... it couldn’t be—

His eyes traveled up, trembling.

Ann.

She stood there, right behind him, her hand still gripping the dagger tight. The same dagger Boris had pulled out earlier.

The Bloodfire Fang.

Her expression was blank. Cold. Unfeeling.

She stared right into Liam’s eyes as if looking at a stranger. Blood covered her hand, and it wasn’t hers.

Liam’s mouth opened to speak, but blood poured out instead, thick and crimson. His body buckled, the pain multiplying by the second.

Lana screamed, her voice echoing through the shattered battlefield. She had been searching for Ann—but never expected this. Not in her worst nightmares.

She dashed forward in a blur, wind whipping past her ears. Her heart thudded with fury and disbelief.

Ann?

Why?

How?!

Boris grinned again, his body trembling from pain, but his eyes shining with cruel triumph.

"Did you really think," Boris rasped, coughing, "that she was out of my control?"

His laugh came again, weaker this time, but soaked in mockery.

Liam dropped to his knees slowly, right beside Boris. The dagger still in his side. His breathing was ragged. His vision began to darken at the edges.

Boris looked over at him, face cracked and bloodied.

"You were so confident. So sure of her. But you forgot one thing..."

His smile widened, exposing broken teeth.

"I never lost control. Not once."

Liam stared at the ground, the pain too intense to fight. His body felt like it was being cooked alive from the inside out.

[DING!]

[Alert! User has been stabbed with the ancient relic: Bloodfire Fang]

[CRITICAL HEALTH!]

[Poison Resistance: Activated...]

[Result: FAILED§§§*]

[Venom Resistance: Activated...]

[Result: FAILED§§§*]

[Analyzing blood toxin...]

[Defense protocols: FAILED§§§*]