The Vampire King's Toxic Consort (bxb)

Chapter 45 The Assassination

Six apostle assassins stepped out of the portals, and three lunged at Dorian immediately with the preternatural speeds of Zorvan's line, poisoned knives in hands. They bent the time to their advantage, slowing it down for themselves, making it extremely hard, if not impossible, to dodge their attacks.

Dorian reacted fast. He jumped to the side, using the walls and the ceiling as footholds and evaded all the lethal blows, though the ruthless blades still left several lacerations on his arms, legs and back. And as he landed, panting heavily, a gush of thick, gray miasma that was summoned by the other three Nergal-line apostles engulfed him. The effluvia was saturated with malicious viruses, fungi, and parasites and smelled like rotting corpses, and they slithered into Dorian's nose, eyes, throat, and all the new open wounds like a living entity.

Dorian coughed and choked and felt like his windpipe was on fire. It was a notoriously powerful and seldomly performed magic called "The Gray Death ''. A Nergal-line magic that had to be completed by three masters of the Art of Plague. One breath from the miasma could cause organ failures in any human or animal within seconds and significantly debilitate and paralyze werewolves and vampires. Not even the apostles could withstand its virulent effect.

Dorian held his breath and tried desperately to squeeze out some realm magic around himself to neutralize the effluvia. As he managed to form a protection realm over himself and staggered out of the Gray Death, another assassin's blade awaited him.

However, before the assassin could touch Dorian, a giant cougar crushed him to the ground with a ferocious roar, sinking his sharp fangs into the vampire's throat and tearing the flesh off. The assassin screamed in pain, but as a superior species, he was much stronger than even the strongest cougar, and he kicked the beast in the stomach. The strong force sent the cougar into the air and crashed into the wall. Spider-web-like cracks spread from the impact.

"Lucius!" Dorian shouted in trepidation as he saw Lucius fall to the floor like a ragdoll. He could die in the cougar's form!

Fear and rage impelled the vampire king to exert every strand of power he could find. His eyes glowed the ominous red, and his invisible mind tendrils shot out like blooming fireworks. The tendrils quickly found a weak mind spot on the assassin, who was about to deliver another fatal blow to the cougar, and slithered into the man's soul like hissing vipers. The assassin let out a horrified scream before he exploded into the crimson flower of squirming flesh, fractured bones and pulsating organs.

However, he already felt drained after using Blood Flower only once, and the protection realm around him began to flicker and quiver. The Gray Death once again caught him in its cold, putrid claws, and Dorian coughed violently, feeling like he was drowning in boiling acid. Meanwhile, the other two Zorvan line apostles closed in with enchanted shackles, and a portal began to form nearby.

They were trying to capture Dorian and portal him away.

Dorian didn't want to surrender, but his body no longer obeyed his order. He struggled to breathe and watched helplessly as the assassins stood before him.

And then the odd thing happened. The assassins screeched and exploded into the flesh flower one by one, including two of the Nergal-line apostles. The Gray Death dissipated instantly as two performers were down, and the portal evaporated.

Dorian sucked in the air greedily and took a few deep breaths before he had the strength to look up, and his eyes widened in shock.

Across the corridor and the blood flowers was a Persian man with dark sun-kissed skin, black silky hair, and deep-set dark brown eyes.

Dorian saw himself.

The other "Dorian" pounced on the last assassin, smashed his head against the wall, and growled in a resonant voice.