Evolution of the Ruined Heir

Malakai could barely comprehend the events when a pressure unlike anything he'd felt before descended on them.

He gritted his teeth and fought to remain standing, forcing his eyes open. The current scene made his heart drop.

Multiple figures had just clashed with the dome. The only ones able to move had been Nyx and the other blooms. The force of their collision had caused the explosion.

Malakai glanced to the side at the vita veil, his expression paling. It had almost encased them!

"Nyx! Take us underground!"

The order tore from Malakai's mouth instantly. Nyx didn't waste time.

Her eyes flashed cold, and the vita dome flared before erupting in a burst of spiraling force. The blast slammed into the attacking blooms, sending them hurtling back.

Before anyone could react, the large green dome plummeted into the earth like a spear of divine judgment.

Malakai could barely make out anything through the blurring speed of their descent.

'We're hitting the ground soon.' Still, his mind never stopped working.

A vita veil was meant to contain and prevent intense battle from spilling into other areas. It was always deployed using two pieces, one at each end point of the enclosure radius.

Which meant the veil was forming from two different points, closing in on them. The middle would be the last place to seal, exactly where they were.

Malakai's hyperactive gaze caught sight of multiple bright lights converging on them before the expected impact. It was a miracle he could still process what was happening.

'Blooms.'

But they weren't heading towards the sky, they were converging on the ground, where they intended to escape.

'No.'

The vita veil was close, seconds away from sealing both under and above them. They had no time for this!

Malakai could do nothing as the blooms reached them and struck the dome from all sides.

The impact shook them like pinballs. Malakai felt his brain rattle under the overwhelming force.

Through the chaos, he still managed to glance at Nyx. Her eyes had flashed red, crimson streaks igniting across her body.

Her teeth were gritted, trying her best to hold the dome together, but there were simply too many blooms.

As cracks began snaking across the dome, Malakai realized the truth.

'We can't make it.'

She was struggling because she was protecting the group. Even the other blooms could barely stand against this assault.

The veil was closing, and with this wave of attackers, they wouldn't make it in time.

Malakai gritted his teeth.

'Was I stupid for coming back?'

If he hadn't insisted on rescuing Renlo, they wouldn't be here. Had he been too brazen? Too confident? Was this… his fault?

He clenched his fist. He knew the true blame lay with the fourth pulse, but he couldn't shake the guilt. If the squad died here… if Nyx died…

Blood gushed from his clenched hand. He couldn't imagine losing her.

"Ninth vein!"

Malakai snapped out of his thoughts to see Nyx standing before him. Bloodlust rolled off her, but her eyes, as they gazed at him, were gentle.

She stared at him silently for a moment, and Malakai's heart thumped. Somehow, he knew something bad was coming.

"Survive."

Malakai's eyes widened, but before he could react, a thick dome enveloped him.

"Wait—no!" The cry tore from his throat, but Nyx had already made her choice.

"Nyx! I order you to stop!"

He kept screaming, but she had already turned away. The dome encasing them shattered, and the blooms descended upon the group.

Their crimson eyes gleamed through their masks as they unleashed a barrage of attacks that made the air shudder.

There was nothing but panic on Neigon and the others' faces. At least fifteen blooms surrounded them, there was no defending against this.

But just before the attacks landed, a thick metallic scent slammed into them.

'Blood!' They turned towards the only one who could radiate such force.

The Red Eclipse, Nyx Sanguine.

Her eyes blazed red as two words rolled from her mouth.

"Crimson Eclipse."

The moment the words left her lips, her veins blazed with power, and with a single step, her blood exploded outward like a roiling, pressurized storm.

A deafening boom erupted as a tide of crimson mist blasted in every direction, sweeping through the clearing like a shockwave of pressure.

The blooms were hurled back, masks cracking, bodies drenched in red as the storm howled. Every inch of ground was painted deep scarlet, the metallic tang saturating the air until it burned in their lungs.

Above, the sky seemed to bleed. Thick rivulets of crimson drifted upward as if gravity had reversed, painting the silver moon in an unbroken sheet of red. Its light dimmed into a nightmarish hue.

And in the silence that followed, a single small dome plummeted from the sky, piercing into the ground just as the vita veil encased the entire area.

Seeing that Malakai had escaped, Nyx turned her crimson gaze towards the other blooms hovering in the distance.

The killing intent rolling off her in that moment could have filled an ocean.

…

The sound of stomach grumbling echoed in the dark, quiet room. All eyes turned towards the source, unable to hide their hate and anger.

It had only been a few hours since their last meal, but the boy's stomach had refused to remain silent!

As whispers began spreading through the room, the boy in question couldn't help but grab his stomach and sigh.

'I'm going to die here.' Renlo gulped.

It had been more than a day since he'd been thrown here, and Renlo had already termed it the worst moment of his life.

'At least when I was living in my tree house, I had the power to feed myself!' he thought bitterly. His tree house was a mansion compared to this.

Aside from the first day he arrived, they'd only brought food once more. From the hours spent with him, the other Gor'Mekhai around had gotten used to his presence and hadn't even waited for him to pick.

He'd had to share the scraps he got with the little girl whose name he had discovered was Monten.

More hours had passed, and he had never been so hungry in his life.

'This is torture!'

If they didn't come and kill him, the hunger would!

His stomach grumbled once more, and he gulped as he received more hateful stares.

Suddenly, the sound of the door opening echoed.

'Food!'

Renlo's eyes lit up. He was already on his feet, but he froze as multiple unconscious Gor'Mekhai were thrown into the room.