The Eclipsed Bloom
Chapter 104: Seductress

Chapter 104: Chapter 104: Seductress

Zara stared at Leon’s face for a long moment. When he offered no response, she scoffed quietly and turned around, walking out of the room.

Leon’s cold gaze lingered on her retreating figure until the door clicked shut behind her.

The curtain behind him rustled softly.

A woman stepped out, fully naked, her body pressing against his back. Her arms wrapped around his chest from behind as she nuzzled into him with a sly purr.

If Zara had still been in the room, she would have recognized this woman immediately.

Her skin was pale, but one of her arms was marked by strange, pulsing red veins and coal-black discoloration—unnatural, corrupted. She pressed herself closer, voice seductive but unnervingly distorted, glitching between tones.

"Husband... she’s the one I told you about," the woman purred, her voice warping mid-sentence. "I’d recognize that voice anywhere."

"Issjirjeojojs," the distortion echoed like static.

Leon turned to face her, gripping her waist tightly and pulling her into his arms.

"That bitch?" he muttered, his voice a mix of disbelief and anger. "She’s the one you meant? The girl who came to this realm through the summoning circle?"

The woman nodded slowly, letting out a shuddering moan as Leon’s hands traced along her body.

"Yes... husband," she whispered, her voice flickering again into an unholy screech. "That girl... is the one."

Leon lifted the woman’s chin with a cold, possessive touch.

"Are you sure?" he asked, narrowing his eyes. "If you bit her... shouldn’t she be a vampire? Not a high-class one at that."

The woman smiled, her lips brushing against his ear as she whispered something soft—seductive and twisted. The moment her words sank in, a strange fog seemed to dull Leon’s suspicion. His scowl softened, his earlier question vanishing as if it had never been asked.

"So... she’s human?" he muttered, his voice laced with contempt. "A mere human dares to give me orders? That bitch..."

The woman clung tighter to him, a satisfied smirk curling across her lips. Her corrupted arm pulsed faintly, hidden behind his back.

Meanwhile, outside...

Zara stepped out of the commander’s quarters, her expression blank but her eyes were sharp.

A knight approached quickly and bowed. "Marquis, shall I escort you to your room?"

Zara shook her head, her silver hair shimmering in the dim torchlight.

"No. Is there still fighting anywhere?"

The knight looked up at her with newfound respect in his gaze. "Yes, Marquis. The central border is still under heavy attack."

Zara nodded once, her jaw set with determination.

"Good. Take me there."

Half a month later.

Zara exhaled shakily, her breath ragged.

Her hands were torn and bleeding, countless cuts lining her arms—wounds that refused to heal. No trace of regeneration.

She stood among mountains of corpses, the earth beneath her soaked in dark, drying blood.

Another wave of dhampirs rushed forward like mindless beasts, their eyes glowing with frenzy.

Zara’s eyes narrowed.

She stabbed her sword into the ground, leaning on it for support as her legs trembled beneath her weight. Her armor was dented, stained, and cracked. Her entire body ached with exhaustion.

At her feet lay a field of bodies—dhampirs she had personally slain.

"Why aren’t they stopping? Why does this place never run out of them...?"

She gritted her teeth and tore the blade from the ground.

With a burst of motion, she vanished—reappearing mid-swing—cleaving through necks, torsos, limbs. Blood sprayed like ink across the battlefield.

"They’re all coming from one direction... Are they spawning from a nest? A base?"

She paused, panting, eyes locked on the far-off ridge where the waves originated.

"Should I risk it? Should I go there alone...?"

Her grip tightened on her sword as the next wave approached.

Zara turned her head toward a nearby knight—one of the sub-commanders.

"Theodore. Take command. Coordinate the knights."

The bulky man looked up at her, concern etched on his blood-streaked face.

"Where are you going, Marquis?"

Zara didn’t stop moving. She started running toward the direction the dhampirs had been flooding from, her blade already cutting through stragglers in her path.

"To end this, probably."

Within minutes, the battlefield noise behind her faded, replaced by the eerie silence of the cliffs and broken ravines. She paused, surveying the jagged terrain.

No more dhampirs came from this direction.

Her eyes narrowed. "Did I miscalculate? Is this a dead end?"

Just as she turned to head back, movement caught her eye.

A lone dhampir emerged from the shadows of a high cliff, sprinting toward the battlefield.

Zara’s eyes followed him like a hawk. Her suspicions flared.

"So that’s the direction..."

She crouched low behind a ridge and waited.

Another came.

Then another.

A steady trickle of dhampirs—barely noticeable from afar, but obvious up close—rushed out from the cliffside.

Zara took a deep breath and shot forward again.

Her gaze fell on a cave mouth nestled between two jagged ridges, its darkness unnatural, almost pulsing with foul energy.

’is this the place.’

She stood before it, heart pounding—not from fear, but exhaustion.

She looked down at her arms—blood oozed slowly from open wounds that wouldn’t close. Her once-silver hair was matted with red, half of it drenched in blood.

"Non-stop fighting for over a week... Thank the heavens Mother gave me this armor."

The red armor, cracked but still glowing faintly.

Zara tightened her grip on her sword and start walking inside.

Zara Pow:

The sound of my footsteps echoed softly through the damp cave, each step crunching faintly against grit and moss-covered stone.

The air was heavy—cool and wet. Strange, glowing plants clung to the jagged walls, casting faint hues of violet and green that danced like ghostly fireflies.

As I ventured deeper, the passage narrowed. The ceiling dropped, forcing me to duck slightly. Then, the tunnel split—one path ahead, another veering left.

I chose the left.

The moment I turned, my brows furrowed.

Dead end.

I stepped forward cautiously, scanning the mossy wall. No hidden entrance. No movement. Nothing.

Just still, wet stone.

I stared for a moment longer, heart thudding louder than my steps now.

’Strange... why lead all the way here only for—’

As I cautiously placed my hand on the wall, my fingers passed straight through.

My eyes widened.

An illusion spell... So I was right. This place has something to do with the dhampirs.

I bit my lower lip and stepped forward through the illusion. The moment I crossed the threshold, a jolt of unease ran through my body. I flinched instinctively, the scent of blood hitting me stronger than before.

What I saw made my breath catch in my throat.

Iron cages.

Dozens of them lined the cavern walls—each one holding unconscious men and women. Their bodies were bruised, some covered in lash marks, others with bloodied bandages that hadn’t been changed in days.

I stood frozen for a moment.

And then I saw more—deeper in, rows of prison cells. Humans. All humans. Stripped of dignity. Some barely breathing.

My throat tightened as I swallowed hard, forcing myself to move forward one step at a time.

W-What is this...? Why are there so many humans caged like this...?

My heart pounded, anger mixing with horror.

In one of the darker cells, my gaze locked onto a man slumped lifelessly against the bars—blood pooling beneath him.

My breath hitched.

What the hell—Duke Leon?

He was brutally mangled, almost unrecognizable... but it was him.

Didn’t I just see him in his room?

"Pat... pat..."

The sound of footsteps echoed softly behind me.

My muscles tensed. A chill shot down my spine.

I tried to move—but I couldn’t. My limbs felt paralyzed.

Two soft, feminine hands wrapped around me from behind, cold fingers grazing my armor and tracing along my waist.

"H-Huh? What are you doing? Who are you!?" I demanded, panic tightening in my throat.

No answer.

Then... a voice. Smooth and Silken.

"Do you want to know why I killed Leon?"

Her breath brushed my ear as her hands slid higher, making me flinch internally.

I clenched my fists, furious and terrified all at once.

"I killed him because he was no longer useful," she whispered. "Now... I want a new toy."

She slowly pulled away, stepping in front of me.

And when I saw her face—my blood ran cold.

Familiar.

Terrifyingly familiar.

Flashbacks. Memories of the Elarion attack. The near death experience.

"You..." I breathed. "W-Who are you? What do you want from me? And why... why did you attack me in Elarion?"

She giggled, placing a single finger beneath my chin.

I tried to pull away—tried to move—but my body still wouldn’t respond.

"My name... is Anahi," she said softly. "Though some prefer to call me the Seductress."

My eyes narrowed. Confusion mixed with fear.

Anahi? Seductress?

’Her skin... before, it was like a dhampir’s—dark, veined... But now? She looks almost human. Almost vampire. What the hell is she?’

She grinned, leaning in close—so close I could feel her breath ghosting over my skin.

She whispered something into my ear—words I couldn’t understand, words that seemed to slide past my comprehension like smoke.

Suddenly, my head began spinning, light and dizzy, as if her voice had seeped directly into my bones.

When she pulled away, my eyes were locked on her.

I couldn’t tear them away.

It was as if my entire being was drawn to her—trapped by her.

She tilted her head, her alluring voice curling like silk.

"Are you married, dear?"

Her question barely registered at first, my mind still caught in the haze of whatever spell she had just cast.

I blinked slowly, trying to process it.

"No, beautiful... I don’t have a wife." I replied, my voice strangely soft, distant—like it wasn’t entirely mine.

A wicked grin stretched across her lips.

She slid her delicate hand beneath my chin, gently lifting it as if I belonged to her already.

A/,{ Comment to let me know which pow is best, third person like previous Chapter or first person like this chap.}

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