Whoosh.

Liam pulled the sword from Margaret’s body and shook off all the clinging blood. Margaret was surprisingly strong; there was no way Liam would have expected the maid to have such power, but he won anyway.

<Well, any treasure house has its own Cerberus guarding it from thieves like me. It was to be expected>.

“Boss, you’re unbelievable. I thought we were all going to die.” One of Liam’s subordinates said excitedly. He was in awe of his commander’s skills.

Liam let out a light sigh and said quietly: “Come on, let’s get into the warehouse quickly, we don’t have much time.”

As the men in black robes headed for the warehouse door, Margaret was still standing in the same spot. Not even a vampire could survive after his heart was turned into a bloody mess.

Margaret was on the verge of death, and everything was blurring before her eyes, in that moment she thought, <I didn’t want to bring it to this. His blood is still too powerful for me, but it seems I have no choice.>

With the last of her strength, Margaret drew a small vial of thick, crimson blood from her pocket.

Her hands trembled and she barely had the strength to bring the ampoule to her mouth, and the blood slowly poured onto her tongue.

Gulp.

There wasn’t much blood, and just one gulp was enough to empty the ampoule.

…

“Boss, we’re entering.” Said one of Liam’s subordinates, but the moment he pulled the doorknob both his and the other men`s heads flew off their shoulders.

“What the?!” Liam was shocked by the scene he saw. In an instant, all his men were killed. They didn’t even have time to understand how it happened.

Liam looked at the oak tree next to where he had killed Margaret, but the girl was gone. That’s when Liam realized that Margaret had miraculously survived, and had also gained new powers. He braced himself for the fight, and the next moment the girl was right in front of him.

Clang.

Margaret attacked Liam with lightning speed, but he managed to block her deadly blow. Liam could hardly withstand the recoil of Margaret’s attack. His hands went numb and there were several scratches on the sword itself.

Seeing Margaret’s immense power, Liam decided to run, but it was too late.

Whoosh.

The girl kicked him in the stomach with a swing, sending Liam flying several meters away.

Bam.

The man slammed his back into the sturdy bark of an oak tree and collapsed with no strength. His whole body ached and he couldn’t move a finger. All he could do was watch his death was slowly walking toward him.

Margaret looked like a real monster. Her scarlet eyes had turned crimson, the capillaries in her eyes burst, and her veins swelled. Her fangs had tripled in size, and her fingernails had become a real murder weapon, designed to dismember all living things.

All of this was the effect of blood. All Margaret’s wounds healed in an instant, and her powers reached an entirely different level. But, if she had drunk the blood of an ordinary person, nothing of the sort would have happened.

It was because that vial contained Zak’s pure blood. He was much more powerful than Margaret, so to her, his blood was a real treasure, but also a curse.

Margaret was growing stronger, but she could not yet take the full power of Zak’s blood without a corresponding return.

Liam looked at the bright moon shining through the oak leaves and muttered quietly: “Well, this is the end…”

He turned his head toward Margaret and smiled weakly. There was no fear in his eyes. It was the look of a man, who had lived the life he had chosen.

Whoosh.

Margaret grabbed Liam by the neck and lifted him up, then pierced his body with her other hand, ripping out his heart from the other side.

Crack.

The next moment she squeezed his heart with force and it burst – that was the end of Liam’s life.

From the moment Margaret drank Zak’s blood until Liam was killed, 57 seconds had passed. In three seconds, it will be time to pay for the power she`d gained.

Before, Margaret couldn’t last ten seconds in this mode. Now the result reached a full minute.

Margaret’s payback was that she didn`t resist her instincts and become insane for a time. Only for one minute could she keep her sanity normal. It usually went on until she completely satiated her hunger or enough time passed for her to calm down.

Naturally, the second option was out of the question. As at that moment, there was a real delicacy in front of her.

She opened her mouth wide and began to eat Liam. In that state, it wasn’t enough for her to just drink blood. She needed real flesh.

It wasn’t until dawn, when there was virtually nothing left of Liam’s body, that Margaret finally came to her senses. The side effect of taking too much blood was completely gone, and her appearance returned to normal.

The girl looked around her and, with a slight wistfulness in her voice, muttered: “Well, it’s time to start cleaning up.”

…

After the sparring between the two talents, Zak and Evan stayed the night at Marcel’s home. As the owner of the manor, he gave his guests a great welcome. Even though Zak was his frequent guest, he treated him to his best food and alcohol every time.

Immediately after the fight, they made their way to the dining hall, which looked amazing.

The furniture, the decorations, and even the maids’ uniforms, all looked very exquisite. And above the table, there was a colossal-sized crystal chandelier.

Evan was thrilled with the award Marcel had given him, but such a lavish meal could count as a prize in itself.

“Evan don’t be shy and eat as much as you want.” Marcel said calmly and poured himself a glass of white wine.

A great variety of dishes appeared before Evan, most of which were seafood delicacies: all kinds of fish, shellfish, crustaceans, and other underwater creatures.

Evan didn’t know if this was due to Marcel’s love of seafood or just a coincidence. Evan gently took his plate and began to eat.

Marcel and Evan looked elegant, while Zak looked more like some kind of barbarian.

He had already drunk several liters of wine and emptied some plates. But Zak was not alone in his passion.

Fien’s appetite and manners were very different from those of the neat Marcel. You could say she was similar to Zak in this respect.

Marcel didn`t comment on Fien’s behavior in any way. It was unclear, either he was used to it or didn`t consider it necessary to pay attention to it. But, in general, the picture looked very unusual.

“Marcel, it’s a pleasure to be your guest, ahahaha.” Zak said loudly, shoving another piece of lobster into his mouth.

Marcel smiled slightly and said slowly: “You’re not a simple guest, but rather a regular visitor. Every time after your visit, we have to restock the entire estate.”

Zak and Fien had eaten a colossal amount of food. As for Evan, he`d tasted everything he thought was most interesting, and Marcel had gradually drained the bottle of wine.

“So, Evan, are you ready to go to the Academy of Magic yet? It’s less than a month away from selection.”

Evan didn’t answer anything, just nodded confidently.

“So, is Evan just like Fien going to enroll this year? It`s interesting.” Marcel said, calmly looking at Evan.

Fien wasn’t surprised, if she was going to enroll, why couldn’t Evan do that, too?

“Yes, that’s right. He’s definitely ready. Evan, if you want we can stay here for a while longer or we can go home now.”

Marcel didn’t react to that in any way. He did not mind Zak’s company, no matter how long he stayed with him.

Evan thought for a while and then said seriously: “I’d like to live alone until the departure.”