MY SUGAR MUMMY IS A BEAUTIFUL VAMPIRE

Chapter 404: Divine showcase

Duncan stood motionless, his eyes scanning the rooftop. From the corner of his vision, he spotted movement—Reggie approaching stealthily from behind, Randal circling to the left, and Blake squaring up for a frontal assault.

'Even after this much punishment they choose to still come back again. Perhaps I underestimated them. Their grit is admirable. But then again, I have barely scratched the surface of my power. Perhaps, perhaps that's what gives them hope, perhaps -'

He paused, assessing the running patterns of the Knight's and Blake. 'It's time I show them why I am a god,'

At that moment, all three attackers had closed in on him.

'How predictable,' Duncan thought, a hint of disdain curling his lip.

Blake was the first to strike. "Die!!!" he roared, a red spear materializing in his hand. He hurled it with all his might, the air whistling as it cut through.

Simultaneously, Reggie's voice rang out. "Shadow Binding!" Tendrils of darkness snaked across the ground, aiming to ensnare Duncan's feet.

Randal, not to be outdone, raised both hands. A dome of swirling darkness began to form around Duncan, threatening to trap him.

For a moment, Duncan's muscles tensed, ready to evade. Then, his eyes narrowed. 'No,' he mused, 'Let them have this fleeting moment of hope,'

The attacks connected in a rumble of shattering sounds and dull thuds. Blake's lance pierced Duncan's shoulder, erupting out his back in a spray of dark blood. Reggie's shadows wrapped around his legs, biting into his flesh. Randal's cage crashed down, its razor-sharp edges slicing into Duncan's skin.

For a heartbeat, silence reigned. Then, Duncan spoke, his voice dripping with boredom and barely concealed annoyance.

"Is that truly the extent of your power?" he drawled, casually reaching up to grasp the blood lance protruding from his shoulder. With a sickening squelch, he pulled it free, dark blood oozing from the wound. "How... disappointing."

Blake's eyes widened in disbelief. "Impossible! That should have—"

"Shattered my collarbone? Punctured my lung?" Duncan interrupted, his tone mocking. "Perhaps for a lesser being."

With a casual flick of his wrist, he snapped the blood lance in two. The action sent a spray of Blake's own blood back at him, slicing shallow cuts across his face.

Reggie gritted his teeth, pouring more power into his shadow bindings. "You can't break free from this!"

Duncan's laughter was cold and devoid of mirth. "Can't I?"

With deliberate slowness, he flexed his legs. The shadows strained, then began to tear. Reggie's face contorted in pain as his own technique was turned against him, the backlash of broken shadows lashing across his body, leaving angry red welts.

Randal, sweat beading on his brow, struggled to maintain the shadow cage. "Even you can't withstand the pressure of concentrated darkness!"

"Oh?" Duncan raised an eyebrow, feigning interest. "Let's test that theory, shall we?"

He stretched his arms outward, pressing against the cage's walls. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, with a sound like shattering glass, the cage exploded outward. Shards of solidified shadow peppered Randal, slicing through his clothes and embedding in his flesh. He stumbled back, groaning out in pain.

Duncan brushed off his clothes, looking more irritated by the dust than the grievous wounds he'd sustained. The gash in his shoulder was already closing, flesh knitting together at an inhuman rate.

"I had hoped," he said, his voice laden with disappointment, "that you might provide some modicum of challenge. But this?" He gestured at the three panting, injured vampires before him. "This is barely a warm-up."

'Perhaps now they'll understand the futility of their resistance,' Duncan thought, observing the growing fear in their eyes.

Blake, blood trickling from the cuts on his face, managed to find his voice. "What... what are you?"

Duncan's lips curled into a cruel smile. "I am what you aspire to be, yet can never achieve. I am the apex predator, the ultimate evolution of our kind." His eyes began to glow with an otherworldly light. "I am your god, and it's time you learned to fear me."

The air around Duncan began to distort, shadows and blood swirling together in a terrifying vortex. The three vampires stumbled back, their faces masks of terror as they realized the true extent of the power they faced.

From their hidden vantage point, Damien and Elena watched in horror, their bodies frozen in fear at the display of Duncan's overwhelming power.

'Yes,' Duncan thought, satisfaction coursing through him. 'This is the fear I sought to instill. Now, let me show you true despair.'

"Observe," he intoned, his voice resonating with dark authority, "the true mastery of shadow and blood."

With a swift, precise motion, he drew his fingers together. The shadows around him coalesced into razor-sharp tendrils, moving with uncanny fluidity.

"Shadow Lancing," Duncan declared, his eyes narrowing with focus.

The tendrils shot forward with terrifying speed. Reggie's eyes widened in panic as he attempted to dodge, but the shadows anticipated his movement. He let out a pained groan as one tendril pierced his shoulder, while another wrapped around his ankle, slamming him to the ground with a sickening thud.

Randal's face contorted with shock and fear. "No... impossible!" he gasped, before steeling himself. "Shadow Wall!" he cried, raising a barrier of darkness.

Duncan's smirk deepened. "Allow me to improve upon that," he said coolly. With a flick of his wrist, his shadows engulfed Randal's wall. "Shadow Assimilation."

The darkness writhed and pulsed, growing denser. Randal's expression shifted from confidence to horror as his creation was overwhelmed. Suddenly, it exploded outward in a shower of shadow shrapnel. Randal screamed as countless cuts peppered his body, blood seeping through his torn clothes.

Blake, his jaw set with determination, launched into action. "Blood Lance!" he shouted, his eyes blazing as he sent a red spear hurtling towards Duncan.

The vampire god didn't even flinch. Instead, he extended his hand, palm out. "Blood Redirection," he murmured, a hint of amusement in his voice.

Blake's eyes widened in disbelief as the lance stopped mid-air, trembling. Then, with a casual gesture from Duncan, it careened back towards him at double the speed.

"Impossible!" Blake exclaimed, diving out of the way. The redirected lance cratered the rooftop where he'd stood, sending debris flying.

Duncan's eyes gleamed with cruel satisfaction. "Blood Mist," he intoned.

As the air around Blake filled with a fine, red mist, confusion etched across his face. Before he could react, Duncan clenched his fist. "Solidify."

Blake's confusion turned to agony as the mist instantly hardened into thousands of tiny, razor-sharp crystals, slicing into him from every angle. He fell to his knees, groaning out in pain.

Reggie struggled to his feet, his face contorting with rage despite the blood trickling from his wound. "We're not done yet!" he roared. "Shadow Golem!"

Duncan's eyebrows raised slightly, a look of intrigue crossing his features. "Interesting," he mused. "But watch closely." He mirrored Reggie's stance, but his movements were more refined, more precise. "Shadow Legion."

Reggie's face fell as the darkness around Duncan erupted, forming not one, but a dozen shadow figures. They swarmed Reggie's golem, tearing into it with shadowy claws and blades. In seconds, the golem was reduced to wisps of darkness. Reggie stumbled backward, his expression a mixture of awe and terror.

Randal, bleeding from numerous wounds, gritted his teeth. With a look of grim determination, he made a last, desperate attack. "Shadow Vortex!" he cried, summoning a swirling tornado of darkness.

Duncan stood his ground, unfazed. "A valiant effort," he acknowledged, a hint of respect in his voice. Then, with deliberate slowness, he raised both hands. "Umbral Singularity."

The air seemed to warp and bend as a sphere of absolute darkness formed between Duncan's palms. Randal's eyes widened in horror as his vortex was drawn in like a black hole consuming light.

"No... NO!" Randal shouted as his technique was absorbed entirely.

"Now," Duncan said, his voice resonating with power, "witness true mastery." He thrust his hands forward, and the singularity expanded explosively.

A wave of pure gravitational force slammed into the three, driving them to their knees. The very structure of the building groaned under the strain, concrete cracking and steel beams bending.