"Careful!" Adrian Night rushed forward, ignoring his own wounds. Scarlet Blood struck out with a palm at each of them—both men crashed to the ground, convulsing violently.
At that moment, Caleb Miles shook his head, trying to clear it. When he caught sight of Butterfly Rogue lying motionless, his hand trembled as he reached out to check for breath—but halfway there, he flinched and pulled back, too afraid to touch.
But after a moment of hesitation, he still stretched out his hand. Instantly, his pupils dilated and fat tears slid down his face, silent and huge.
"Heh..." Suddenly, Caleb Miles let out a bitter, dry laugh, swaying as he forced himself up. "Brother, don't be scared... We'll come... to keep you company! And of course, we'll drag that demoness down with us!" With that solemn vow, Caleb threw himself back into the fight with every last ounce of strength.
Lucian Vane saw this and instantly rushed forward again.
Even though blood gushed from his mouth with every movement, Lucian didn't care—he knew this woman couldn't be allowed to live, or Ivy would be in danger...
"Courting death!" Scarlet Blood spun, her foot slamming into Lucian Vane's stomach. He crashed into a tree with a loud bang—the trunk snapped in half.
"Ah..." Suddenly, Caleb Miles latched onto Scarlet Blood's leg and bit down, gnashing like he wanted to rip her muscles apart.
"Ah...!" Scarlet Blood shrieked in pain, swinging both arms to pound Caleb's back. Blood gushed from Caleb's mouth, but he refused to let go, clamping down on her leg with everything he had.
"Bastard, let go!" Scarlet Blood, wild with pain, smashed her arms down on Caleb Miles's head—once, twice, three times...
With a loud crash, Caleb Miles dropped straight to the ground. Adrian Night, blood streaming from every wound, crawled forward, desperately trying to catch Caleb—he knew if Caleb hit the ground hard, the consequences would be...
Bang! Caleb Miles smashed hard into Adrian Night's back, and Adrian's vision went fuzzy from the impact.
Caleb Miles lay there, completely motionless—no one could tell if he was alive or dead.
Ethan Chu snapped back to his senses. Seizing the moment, he charged forward and started hacking away at Scarlet Blood.
"I'm going to drain you dry! You will pay for this!" Scarlet Blood snarled through Ethan Chu's attacks, grabbed his arm, and started gulping down his blood. Instantly, Ethan's face turned ghostly pale, sweat pouring off him in huge drops.
Desperate, Ethan Chu snatched up a sword and aimed it at his own shoulder—if he could just chop it off, she wouldn't be able to suck his blood anymore.
But just as Ethan Chu's vision blurred and he raised the sword halfway, ready to swing down, Scarlet Blood suddenly let go. Ethan dropped straight to the ground.
Scarlet Blood, after being bitten hard by Caleb Miles and draining Ethan Chu's blood, quickly channeled her inner power and retreated into a massive curtain of blood. She was protecting herself, restoring her strength—just a few minutes of rest, and she'd be ready to slaughter them all!
Suddenly, a white figure plummeted from the sky like lightning, crashing straight into the blood curtain. Eli Crane's hand clamped down hard on Scarlet Blood's head—he poured every ounce of strength he had into the attack. Scarlet Blood's face twisted in shock, blood gushing from her mouth and eyes.
Right at the crown of her head—her death-blood node. It's the Blood Clan's deepest secret. No one should know about it, so how did he...?
Who is that? Who's the person up there in the sky?
But before she can figure it out, her head starts tilting uncontrollably, blood gushing from her mouth like a tidal wave. Because of his upside-down posture and previous wounds, Eli Crane's body is already at its limit. This last bit of inner power is his only hope of survival, but right now he's pouring it all out without holding anything back.
Every inch of him is screaming in pain, but he still won't let go. He doesn't care that the blood curtain keeps splattering all over his face and body—he just keeps telling himself to push down, push down...
Lucian Vane, lying in a pool of blood, and Adrian Night, barely hanging on, are both totally stunned. Gotta admit, this move is working—the Blood Shade is already starting to weaken. They never imagined her death-blood node would actually be on the top of her head. No wonder they couldn't break her defenses before.
"Eli Crane, stop! Stop, please!" Suddenly, Lucian senses something and starts crawling across the ground, desperate to reach him. He knows exactly what Eli's about to do. No, don't—absolutely not!
"Little Seven, don't—!" Adrian instantly gets it too, but with Caleb Miles pinning him down, he can't move at all. He can only keep shouting, tears streaming down his face, over and over...
"No—!" Ethan Chu, dazed, looks up just in time to see it all: blood is leaking from Eli's eyes, and there's not a single spot left on him that's still white. He's using every last ounce of strength, and Ethan knows exactly what that means...
"Don't—!" All three of them shout with everything they've got.
With a huge thud, the Blood Shade collapses, motionless on the ground. Eli Crane drops to the floor like a feather in the wind—silent, weightless...
*****