SSS Awakening: Rebirth of the Strongest Vampire God Chapter 714 Are you an idiot?

A deathly silence descended upon the hall. The emperor gazed at the crown prince as if observing a stranger masquerading in his son's image. Deep-seated disappointment weighed heavy in his eyes, feeling far more profound than mere anger or even betrayal.

"...So that is how it is," the emperor remarked with a soft, hollow voice. "That is the extent of your conviction."

Spreading his palms in a slight gesture, the crown prince retorted, "It is the simple truth. Those clandestine orders represented genuine power. Substantial power, not the fragile illusion of balance you clung to so desperately. If only you had chosen cooperation, utilizing them instead of succumbing to irrational fear, the Great Western Desert would have already ascended above all rival empires. We could have seized the entirety of the light faction, positioning ourselves as the absolute masters of this continent rather than dwelling within this meager, desolate territory."

"And what foundation would such a throne possess?" the emperor inquired coldy. "A foundation of bleached bones?"

A thin, mocking smirk graced the prince's features. "Every empire in history is cemented with bones. You have simply lacked the courage to acknowledge it."

"I see no purpose in prolonging this dialogue," Damon declared, finally interjecting.

The crown prince’s gaze snapped toward him, irritation flickering across his face. "This is strictly a matter of family. Stay out of it."

Tilting his head, Damon countered, "You attempted to poison your own sister. That makes this my business without question."

"Silence, bloodsucker. You will drop to your knees before me. You shall only speak when given permission. And..." A glacial glint ignited in the prince’s eyes. "Never permit your filthy, uncouth tongue to utter my sister’s name again."

Damon stared at the prince for a moment, blinked, and then erupted into laughter. "Are you genuinely a fool? You clearly have no concept of the chamber you have just stepped into."

The crown prince sneered back. "Surrounded by hundreds of peak C-rank experts? I understand my surroundings perfectly well."

Damon took a single, deliberate step forward, and a massive pressure detonated throughout the room. He glanced toward Alzara and the Emperor; though both appeared visibly pained, they offered him a slight nod. The situation had progressed beyond negotiation. No other conclusion remained viable.

"I never requested permission to speak," Damon said with an icy calm. "And I certainly did not ask for clearance to move." He raised his hand slightly.

Alzara gasped, her breath hitching in her throat. She had witnessed Damon in combat before, and her pulse quickened now that he was forced to strike against her own brother.

Standing beside her, the Emperor offered a bitter, hollow laugh. "My son... you are not entirely wrong. I did indeed make a deal with the devil. Yet, the devil I chose is vastly distinct from those you have courted." The crown prince stumbled back, unable to withstand the overwhelming force crushing down upon him. The resistance lasted only a flicker of time before he was forced onto his knees on the stone floor.

The Emperor released a heavy sigh. "What was the point of gathering all these people? Are you ignorant of the fate that befell the other orders, my child? You ought to have fled the moment you laid eyes on him. You might have salvaged your life. This is not entirely your error. It is mine. As an old man, I have neglected you repeatedly. I failed to guide you properly."

Before the Emperor could conclude, a torrent of blood-red aura burst forth, painting the room in crimson. The very air droned with the weight of blood-based power. Alzara reached for her father as a viscous blood barrier cocooned them, shielding the pair from the ensuing onslaught.

Beyond that barrier, absolute chaos reigned. Tendrils of blood surged from the floor while lethal weapons manifested from the ether. A nightmarish blood storm devastated that entire wing of the royal palace.

Pillars fractured and collapsed under the crushing gravity of the energy, while marble shattered into fine dust as shockwaves of crimson power tore through every obstacle. Vicious blood tendrils writhed like predatory beasts, snapping around the bodies of the guards, pulverizing armor, and wrenching weapons from their grips before impaling them with surgical precision.

The remaining C-rank experts attempted to shield themselves with their own domains, yet they were swept away by the tidal wave of blood. Protective barriers shattered, gravity fields buckled, and elemental domains dissolved as if they had never been forged.

Members of other hidden orders were certainly present within the group, as evidenced by various golems materializing amid the storm. They proved entirely useless. Damon simply rendered his blood corrosive, and the golems disintegrated upon contact.

While he had not yet advanced enough to fortify his soul through toxins, he had made significant strides in other arts. Transforming his blood into a corrosive acid rather than a localized poison was trivial for him now—an act performed with a mere thought.

The blood storm raged on, indiscriminate and relentless, carving through the remaining C-ranks as if they were mere debris. One after another, their defenses failed. Their peak C-rank prowess, a point of great vanity for them, was suddenly reduced to nothing in the presence of this lethal blood energy. They were eclipsed in every metric; their skills, stats, and raw offensive power were entirely outmatched by the Blood God standing before them.

Damon did not hold back. Time was a luxury he lacked, and he desired to conclude the skirmish before external observers could investigate. He focused solely on utilizing his blood essence, knowing that even if someone scanned the area with their senses, they would perceive little more than an average vampire engaging in combat.

Still, he intended to leave nothing to chance. He pushed the full capacity of his newly unblocked Meridians to their limit; his primordial core and mana surged in harmony, creating a symphony of absolute destruction.

The Crown Prince turned ghostly pale. The C-ranks around him were either dead or dying. He had received reports of Damon assaulting other orders, but the true nature of those events had been shrouded in rumors. Some speculated the Venom Sigil had truly wiped out the Umbra’s Hand and the beast masters. Others claimed hidden elves had emerged to slaughter those who defiled the desert. There were even whispers of a monster born within the legacy world of the Umbra’s Hand.

The crown prince had personally verified two of these claims. He had observed both the elves and the monstrosity now dwelling in the Umbra’s Hand base. This led him to foolishly underestimate the vampire standing before him.

He had dismissed the vampire’s presence during the fall of those three orders as a mere coincidence. He had assumed the bloodsucker had simply stumbled upon some fairy-land relic that had bewitched his sister. He never imagined the truth contained more depth. That was... until this very moment.

Reality manifested with the weight of a collapsing firmament. "No..." he wheezed, his fingers clawing into the ruined marble as he gasped for air under the suffocating pressure. "This cannot be possible... you are merely a vampire... a stray from the dark faction..."

Damon halted a few steps away. The storm receded; droplets of blood hovered in the air, suspended like a frozen ocean. He looked down at the kneeling prince with eyes devoid of empathy.

The crown prince offered a faint, hysterical laugh. "So this is the end? You slay me, and you believe the empire is secured? Do you truly think my demise solves anything?"

Damon tilted his head slightly. "No."

The blood surrounding the prince constricted, coiling tight like metal chains around his limbs, hoisting him just high enough that his knees barely scraped the floor.

"Your death changes nothing at all," Damon stated flatly.

Behind the barrier, Alzara gripped her fists, tears carving paths through the dust on her face. She longed to look away, but remained transfixed. This was her brother, yet the man she had once known had vanished long ago.

The Emperor stood motionless, his shoulders slumped, his eyes hollow. He did not speak, nor did he attempt to stop what was coming. He had already chosen his path.

The crown prince’s gaze darted toward his father, desperation shattering his remaining arrogance. "Father... I..."

The Emperor closed his eyes. "I failed you," he murmured. "But I shall not fail this desert again."

A scythe forged from blood manifested and swung downward toward the broken crown prince. The man’s face contorted with helplessness and resentment. All his machinations had reached their zenith, and victory was within his grasp, but at the final moment...