Maxx Shrine Descends

Austin stared at the vampire, her crimson eyes still locked on him like a predator claiming its prey.

He blinked, unsure if he heard her right.

"...I belong to you?" he echoed, half-sarcastic.

Then his brows furrowed.

"Are you broken in the head or something? Got a short circuit in that vampire brain?"

He didn't mean it seriously. Just a jab. But the silence that followed wasn't normal.

The wind stopped.

The mist around them didn't stir.

And the people, the elites and warriors stood frozen like statues.

No one laughed.

No one blinked.

Not even Lyra, Garry, or Kaizen moved.

Because something far more terrifying had dawned on them.

It wasn't Austin's words.

It was hers.

"You belong to me."

Spoken. Clearly. In perfect human language. By a beast.

The realization hit like thunder.

Humanoid or not—no beast had ever spoken before. Not in the history of Nexus Prime had humanity ever encountered an alien beast or evolved that could speak human language.

Even Olivia inside Austin's core—a spirit born from a Genesis Core could only communicate because she was awakened and bound to a conscious host.

But this vampire... She had no host. No contract. No bond.

She was an Abyssal-Class alien who spoke, who chose, and who claimed a human.

A single question began clawing through everyone's minds: "What... kind of monster is she?"

The silence shattered like glass.

The dazed elites men and women hardened by bloodshed, snapped out of their trance. Their eyes sparkled, not with fear... but greed.

If they could kill her… or capture her…

An Abyssal-Class humanoid beast soul—unheard of, priceless, unfathomably rare…

One glance was all it took. The same thought burned in their eyes:

"If we get her soul crystal, we'll become legends. On Earth, we'll be untouchable!"

Lyra's fingers tightened around her blade.

Kaizen's gaze flicked with sharp calculation.

Garry exhaled slowly, bloodlust rising.

Even Daisy bit her lip, torn between awe and ambition.

And Denny—the most seasoned among them gave the coldest order.

"Form the kill formation. Now."

Twelve Abyssal-Class beast souls surged forth in unison, howling like gods descending from above. Their power rippled across the jungle, shrouding the clearing with crushing, suffocating might.

Nineteen top-tier elites from Zenlife and Silver Wing Shelter moved in tandem, each one burning with intent. Hundreds of lesser evolvers surrounded them in layered formation, Genesis Cores thrumming with lethal energy.

It was not a siege.

It was war.

And yet...

She didn't move.

The vampire stood still—utterly calm, unfazed, almost distant. Her sword was gone. Her wings lowered.

Her eyes never wavered.

Still locked on Austin.

And for the first time... he looked back.

Austin's heartbeat echoed in his ears. Time slowed. A chill ran down his spinembut he didn't look away.

Not even when the formation encircled them.

Not even when every power in the region converged.

The crimson-haired vampire smiled again.

Something in that smile made his breath hitch.

Inside his mind, Olivia's voice whispered, cold and tense.

"She's not resisting. Not dodging. Either she's suicidal… or she knows something you don't."

"Austin don't trust her. Don't even look at her. Something about her is wrong."

But Austin… couldn't look away.

And at that moment no one dared blink.

The air grew heavier.

The final command was about to fall.

Austin and the vampire stood there, locked in each other's gaze like two lost souls drifting through lifetimes—utterly disconnected from the chaos around them.

They didn't seem to notice the army encircling them.

Didn't seem to care about the formation of powerhouses, the twelve Abyssal-Class beast souls snarling with restrained bloodlust.

Time froze… for just the two of them.

And then without warning Austin stepped forward.

Closer. And closer.

The space between them shrank with every step until only inches remained. He could feel her breath, cool and strangely calming. His mind felt light… unburdened.

He didn't know why he moved. His legs felt like they were on autopilot. Logic was screaming—but he ignored it.

Lyra's voice cracked like a whip through the fog. "Austin! What the hell are you trying to do?!"

Kaizen followed immediately. "Stop! You'll get yourself killed!"

Daisy shouted too, panic laced in her tone.

But Austin didn't flinch. Didn't turn around. Didn't even blink.

He didn't want to listen.

He refused to. Those voices behind him felt… distant. Irrelevant. Annoying background noise.

Right now, he only saw her.

And then without hesitation, he raised his hand… and gently patted the vampire's head.

Like she was a kitten.

Fragile. Small. Almost… adorable.

"Are you hypnotizing me?" Austin asked quietly. "Or something else?"

The vampire blinked.

She didn't answer.

Her lips parted slightly but no words came.

She stood still, unmoving, her crimson eyes wide with disbelief… dazed by the human who treated her not as a monster, not as a threat…

…but as something harmless.

Around them, the formation held its breath.

Not a soul moved.

Not a blade twitched.

Even the beast souls froze mid-snarl.

Dozens of top-tier elites—warriors who had seen horrors, spilled oceans of blood, and faced death more times than they could count, stood in stunned silence.

"He patted her…?"

"Did this bastard forget she just butchered Stellar-Class and Abyssal-Class beast like paper?!"

"Is he brainwashed? Suicidal? Or just… insane?"

And yet… Neither the vampire nor Austin looked away.

His hand rested on her hair gently, as if he were soothing a wild thing that had never known touch.

And she… let him.

Like a forgotten part of her had been waiting for that moment her entire life.

Suddenly a cold snap surged through Austin's chest.

The vampire's eyes flickered.

And then, the world shattered.

CRACK!

Like glass breaking underwater, the space around him distorted—colors bending, sounds twisting, and a sickening sense of vertigo washed over him.

His hand was no longer on her head.

The girl was gone. In her place… there was nothing.

Not even footprints.

Just a void.

Austin staggered back. "What the—"

The mist around him trembled, rippling like disturbed water, and the voice that came next wasn't from Olivia.

It wasn't from anyone.

It was like it came from inside his mind, echoing through bone and thought.

"Was that... real? Was she real?"

From side the voices of Lyra and Kaizen cut through again, frantic and loud now as if he'd been gone for a while.

"Austin!!"

"Snap out from daze!"

His eyes refocused.

The vampire still stood in the same spot, her blade dripping, surrounded from all sides—unmoved.

He was far away from her. Dozens of meters back.

He had never stepped forward.

He had never touched her.

And yet... It felt real.

"I smelled her hair… felt her skin… I heard her breath... That wasn't a dream. It was… something else."

Olivia's voice suddenly returned, snapping like a whip inside his skull.

"Austin… What the hell happened just now? Why were you in a daze?"

He didn't answer.

Because he didn't know the answer. All he knew was that somehow… The vampire had slipped into his mind…

"Take her down!"

The shout rang out in perfect unison.

A storm of power erupted as beasts, evolvers, and shelter elite leaders launched their full-force assault. Abyssal-Class beast souls roared in fury, shaking the very ground.

Meteor strikes, giant fireballs, wind blades, ice shackles, and vicious melee charges flew through the mist like a barrage from heaven.

The sky above turned red. The jungle trembled.

Yet amidst the chaos, Austin didn't move.

He stood still silently. As if the battle wasn't meant for him.

Opposite him, the vampire woman raised her head slowly.

Her wings spread wide, sleek and sharp like the blades of a fallen queen. Her curved sword materialized in her hand again, its glowing red edge pulsing like a heartbeat.

And then—she vanished.

"Shit! She's gone!" someone cried out.

"Too fast! DAMN IT—!!"

Screams rose. Beasts roared.

She reappeared directly in front of a massive Abyssal-Class creature: Crimson Bone-Shelled Scorpion, its armor gleaming like molten iron.

It launched a devastating fire-elemental blast from its mandibles, pincers slicing forward like twin guillotines.

CLANG—!!!

Her sword moved like a red flash—lightning wrapped in death.

Steel met bone.

The weapon pierced straight through the scorpion's pincer—its strongest point and sank deep into its carapace with a metallic crunch.

The scorpion screeched, black acidic blood erupting from the wound.

"That's impossible! She cracked Abyssal armor in one strike?!" Daisy's voice trembled.

It was her beast soul the one she had evolved for five long years.

Her eyes widened in horror as the beast staggered back, wounded and shaking, its once-indomitable aura collapsing in fear.

"No… no way. That scorpion can withstand missiles…!"

Even the other elites flinched.

Storm-Winged Lion shrieked across the sky like a thunder god reborn.

Its wings flared wide—stormclouds condensing behind them and on its back stood Lyra Ashveil, tall and commanding, her silver-white armor gleaming under the lightning-filled heavens.

"Everyone! Crush her!" she ordered coldly.

A storm answered.

Beneath her, Garry Voss slammed his palm into the ground. His Colossal Black Python, coiled around his body, glowed with dark runes. A blinding light engulfed them both.

With a hiss of merging power, Garry's form warped—his legs fused into a massive serpent tail, muscles thickening, eyes slitting into golden slivers.

He had entered Partial Beast-Soul Synchronization.

Half-man. Half-monster. All wrath.

A long Stellar-Class sword appeared in his hands, crackling with purple arcs. The blade pulsed with an icy pressure—each beat like a dying heart.

"This time, I'll personally cut her down," Garry growled.

On the opposite flank, Denny Drevas roared like a war god. His Star-Night Tiger, its body aglow with celestial specks, merged with him in a surge of stardust and aura.

His human body twisted into a 3-meter-tall hybrid beast, fur glowing faintly in the darkness—eyes filled with primal fury.

"Zenlife's strength is not to be mocked."

The ground itself trembled as dozens of other evolvers entered synchronization—forming attack formations, soul beast phantoms surrounding them like gods of old.

Meanwhile…

The vampire moved again without sound.

Her figure was nothing but a crimson afterimage gliding, slicing, vanishing—like a dance between life and death.

One moment she was between Lyra and Daisy.

The next, an Abyssal-Class Thunder Ape fell backward—its chest split open in a clean, vertical line. Its core shattered. Soul light gone.

One hit. Kill.

Screams followed.

Another scorpion-type beast, from the Silver Wing side, lunged with acidic spikes.

Her red blade flicked upward—once.

Its head flew clean off.

Austin watched it all unfold in silence, like he was standing in the eye of the storm.

His heart pounded—but not with fear.

With something deeper. Stranger.

"She's not fighting like a beast."

"She's fighting like… someone with experience. Training. Precision."

Even Olivia was shaken.

"This isn't instinct. This is swordsmanship. Pure… ancient... battle art. Austin, this isn't just a beast anymore.

Back in the battlefield.

"Don't retreat! She's only one!"

Lyra shouted, sending out dozens of thunder spears. Her Storm-Winged Lion roared again, casting down lightning on the vampire's path.

The vampire turned her head slowly, eyes glowing like dying stars.

She raised a single hand.

A wall of red mist surged up—stopping Lyra's lightning bolts mid-air.

Not deflecting.

Devouring!

Even Kaizen, who had stayed quiet, narrowed his eyes from the back.

"That's… not just a defensive technique."

"That's devour-type mist…? No beast has that ability. What the hell is she?"

The vampire vanished again.

And reappeared behind Denny—her blade already mid-swing.

"DENNY, BEHIND YOU!"

Too late.

Blood exploded into the air as the Star-Night Tiger shrieked, its soul core fractured under her blade.

Denny collapsed to his knees, coughing blood, his beast form fading.

"Shit… she—she almost shattered my core—!"

The battle had dragged on for over ten agonizing minutes.

Screams. Explosions. Blood. Soul lights dying out like candles in the wind.

Beast souls shattered.

Elites collapsed.

Dozens of warriors wounded.

And yet… At the center of it all she remained untouched.

Not a speck of blood marred her pale skin. Not a thread of her crimson robes torn.

She stood in the heart of carnage like a silent monarch, graceful and ethereal. As if the battlefield itself bowed in reverence to her presence.

But before anyone could react further, a low chuckle rippled through the sky with amusement and arrogance. Like someone watching ants dance before the fire.

Every head turned upward.

The sky tore apart.

From beyond the dense jungle canopy, ten colossal flying Abyssal-Class beasts descended, their wings blotting out the sun. Shadows stretched across the battlefield like a blanket of death.

Riding each of them were figures clad in obsidian armor, faces cold, postures proud, pressure suffocating.

Their arrival didn't feel like reinforcements, it felt like judgment. Like gods had descended to mock the mortals still bleeding on the ground.

At the head of the formation was a tall man with sky-blue hair and emerald-green eyesnsharp enough to cut steel.

His aura flared the moment his eyes locked on the vampire.

A slow smirk tugged at his lips. "Well, well… what do we have here?"

The man's voice deepened, low and sharp as a blade drawn in vengeance. "You crazy beast… I've been looking for you."

His eyes darkened with memory. Rage flickered beneath the surface of his calm.

"Two months ago, in our northern territory… you butchered over forty of our elites. Torn them apart. Drained them dry like cattle."

He leaned forward, his killing intent rolling down like a storm front.

"We thought you were just another rogue anomaly. But you vanished before we could retaliate."

His aura pulsed violently. The Abyssal-Class beast beneath him let out a distorted shriek, echoing his fury.

"Let's see how you run now, vampire."

"I'll have your Origin Soul by nightfall."

Below, the battlefield froze.

The injured, the elites, even the top-tier shelter leaders turned pale.

"Wait… that crest—!"

"That's… Maxx Shrine Shelter!"

"They're not supposed to be here!"

"That's… Hunter-General Varian." Someone exclaimed. "The Enforcer of Maxx Shrine!"

Panic spread like wildfire. Because everyone here knew exactly what that name meant.

Maxx Shrine Shelter—a Lord-tier Shelter, a faction so powerful that Silver Wing and Zenlife Shelter combined couldn't hope to match them.

If Silver Wing and Zenlife were considered Kings, then Maxx Shrine was a Conqueror.

Their territory lay far beyond these lands, leagues away.

Yet here they were. Uninvited. Unannounced.

Kaizen's brows furrowed instantly. His fists clenched. "They must've sensed her. Damn it…"

Lyra's blade trembled slightly, but her eyes remained cold. "This complicates everything."

Garry hissed under his breath. "Just how far do they plan to stretch their reach?"

The vampire didn't speak.

She simply looked up at the descending riders, her gaze calm. And then… she smiled.

It wasn't a smile of fear.

Nor arrogance. It was something else. A quiet, knowing curve of the lips.

One that whispered: "Come closer… and die."