[Location: Dungeon—Vampire King's Castle]
Veyrath's head tilted, the silver-crimson glare meeting mine. He didn't speak—no need. The aura alone whispered centuries of aristocratic contempt and a thirst for eradication.
I lunged.
Laughter bubbled in my chest as the rush finally hit—the kind that made sane people run and monsters grin. Muramasa met Veyrath's descending claw.
CLAAAAANG!
The shockwave spider-webbed the marble floor beneath us, dust exploding upward in a smokey ring.
Veyrath's lips curled.
"A mortal-born mongrel dares meet my strike head-on?"
"A mortal-born mongrel just stopped it," I corrected, pushing his claw back with a grin I absolutely should not have had on my face.
CLAAAAANG—CRASH!
Veyrath slid back a half-step, boots grinding deep gouges into the marble as his eyes widened a fraction. Only a fraction—he was still too proud to show more.
But I felt it.
That tiny ripple in his aura.
Surprise.
Good.
I lived for that.
My grin stretched wider.
