Building My SSS-Rank Universal Empire: From Trash to Cosmic Overlord

Chapter 350: Hellfire Moon

The bats are finger-sized, with sharp claws and fangs that burn with dark fire. They fly with perfect coordination, covering the airspace and everything in front of Vale, sending the air buzzing with their wings.

At the same time, Kaelvaris made his move, his figure blurred as he ran forward, instantly appearing behind Vale, his hands spread to grab him in a hug.

It was a usual strategy for them. Dravenyx would distract, and Kaelvaris would move in for the capture. It’s something they use when they don’t want to kill a target.

But it seems they miscalculated this time, because just as they moved in with that strategy, they both froze.

The aura coming from Vale had reached a staggering amount, surpassing that of a single Master Knight! The power flowing from him is that of two Master Knights!

Without completing their actions, they both jumped away and faced Vale, Dravenyx turning back to normal, his surprise unhidden in his voice. "What a strange thing! I’ve never felt this much power from a single Master Knight before. Who are you? What are you?"

Vale shrugged. The air around him bent slightly as if he were a flame. The area around him heated, and his eyes glowed with even more red, the moon appearing so real. "As I said, I’m just getting a handle on my powers and techniques. I can’t even use most of my old techniques."

Kaelvaris and Dravenyx shared a look, then they changed as well. If before they looked human but strange with their vampirism, now they looked inhuman. Their body fat seemed to drain from them, and they became thin, their eyes sunken and their skin pressed tightly on their remaining flesh.

They are now in full power mode.

With their long claws, they raked their hands, cutting gashes in their flesh and letting their blood run down, pooling on the ground.

Then the blood shuddered and rose up, covering them like armor.

Vale watched all of this with interest. "I thought you wanted to take me back alive?"

Kaelvaris growled. "We will. Near death is still alive!"

He was also the one to make the first move. He crossed the distance between them in a flash, his blood-covered hands and claws coming straight at his throat.

Vale raised a brow and lifted his hand in a leisurely manner, and yet he was still fast enough to block his throat, slapping the hands away and then delivering a punch of his own at Kaelvaris’s throat.

It was a devastating blow.

Kaelvaris made a sound between a grunt and a groan as his throat collapsed, his head sinking without weight to support it, and he was sent hurling back like a toy.

That made Dravenyx freeze in shock. "What?"

Vale shook his head. "You fools. You said yourself that my power is like two Master Knights combined. Do you think it will only be for my magical power? My strength is also above the average Master Knights!"

His eyes flashed with anger. "So how dare you come at me with half of your physical strength!"

Although Vale’s magical power has risen, his physical strength isn’t rising to meet it. He’s at the Errant Knight level, and even having the raw strength of a Master Knight is impressive already.

The two of them, Kaelvaris and Dravenyx, had guessed as much, but they didn’t expect his physical power to be that much! They thought it was only his magical power! And the reason they misunderstood was because there are similar techniques that could boost and amplify magical powers, although they’ve never seen one this extreme.

They thought they only needed to be wary of his techniques.

"You fucking bastard! You crushed my throat! My throat! I’ll fucking kill you!" Kaelvaris was furious, his chest heaving from his near-death experience.

He opened his mouth, the mouth stretching abnormally wide, and then he exhaled. A soundless shockwave blasted out, an echo without sound that soon disappeared, not even causing a single wind to blow.

Dravenyx frowned. "We are going that high already, huh? Alright."

Then he opened his own mouth just as wide, doing the same soundless shockwave as Kaelvaris.

☆☆▪︎☆☆

Vale watched them with slight confusion. His eyes narrowed, trying to keep his thoughts calm. But it seemed a difficult thing, as he felt a roaring in his head as if a fire had been lit, burning with a crazy inferno.

The Infernal Dominion powers come with a drawback after all, maybe two. The first was insanity and rage; his vision was already tainted with red, and as soon as he began to activate the power, his intelligence seemed to slow as fire consumed everything. He struggled to keep himself sane.

His surroundings were copper red, his power flexing the air with heat.

’...this is not good. What’s the use of the power if I can’t keep a calm head while using it? This will be problematic when fighting together with allies...’

The second drawback is his body. The power in him was simply too strong, and his body—the vessel—wasn’t strong enough to handle it just like that. His blood was heated to boiling, and his internal organs were cooking, as if waiting to combust.

The only thing saving him was sheer will, and the fact that he had previously trained in his mind to refine the Crimson Lantern.

Vale smiled. "What did you do? That attack just now, what is it?"

The attack felt like a harmless shockwave ripple, even though it must be anything but harmless. They are Master Knights, after all.

But the attack truly didn’t harm him, at least not in a way he could see.

But the two did not answer his question.

Seems the time for talking has passed.

Kaelvaris clapped, the blood in his hand condensing between his palms, and then without hesitation, it turned into a red beam that cut forward at Vale.

Vale laughed, his voice free and delirious. There is one way to manage the insanity that Infernal Dominion power brings, and that’s to ride the power.

Why contain it when he could just ride and try to direct it?

He shot forward, red flame flickering behind him like an afterimage. The red beam was fast, but Vale was faster as he dodged it, whirling to the side and then continuing.

Time to go on the offensive.

But suddenly, he froze and then dodged. The red beam that he avoided had turned back at the last second and then aimed at him again—even faster than before!

He dodged just in time, his instincts screaming at him. When the beam hit the ground, it drilled a burning hole into it as easily as if the ground were made of paper. The blood also had a corrosive effect, as the ground around the hole began to melt away like sludge.

The attack Kaelvaris and Dravenyx used earlier was to lock on.

They smiled when they saw he had realized their attack method. The two of them made gestures with their hands. Their bodies flickered, becoming unstable as if they were liquid. They turned into tiny bats of red blood.

The air hummed and buzzed, the overpowering smell of blood spreading. The tiny bats, like stormy red clouds, did not immediately rush to attack him. Instead, each and every one of them opened their mouth.

And from their mouths, hundreds of tiny red dots cut through the air like rain.

Most of the beams are not even bigger than a needle, but they carry incredible strength. Vale had already seen what they could do, and they’re not something he wanted near his body.

But Infernal Dominion power is an offense-focused power.

Offense is the best defense.

A formation bloomed in his mind, and he spat. "Hellfire Moon!"

Time slowed. At least it seemed like that.

Power flowed from Vale, a pool of it condensing in the air, and then something began to form. At first, it was a small dot that expanded into something larger.

Fire. Black and red formed in the air. And unlike ordinary fire, the Hellfire Moon was so lifelike, as if a star was plucked from the sky, even though it wasn’t bigger than two heads. It hung there like a mockery of the real thing, radiating incredible heat and danger.

Then it tilted and fell forward.

The two attacks combined—the one from the vampires and his own.

Boom!

The moon exploded into a hailstorm of red and black that swelled and swallowed the red beams. The hallway shook, and shockwaves tore through with screaming force. Kinetic force of heated air scorched the ground and ripped stones away.

The red and black fire continued to rage, burning forward and backward, melting stones and spitting heat.

Kaelvaris and Dravenyx flew back, but not fast enough, and some of their bats got burned, their faces showing their horror and pain.

"What is that fire?" Kaelvaris shivered, even though the surroundings were filled with heat.