Cryptomining Supervillain

Chapter 212 212: 212 BLOOD HYDROMANCY

212 BLOOD HYDROMANCY

"I—I'm sorry, sir," she stammered, eyes wide with fear. "I was just cleaning. She went that way." She pointed frantically toward the window.

The window stood open, curtains snapping in the night wind.

Macan's gaze snapped to it.

Outside, a shadow in a bloodstained dress sprinted through the garden.

"That's her!"

Without another word, he leapt through the window.

When the sound of his boots faded, the maid slowly lowered her broom. Her posture straightened. Her panic vanished.

She slipped quietly out of the servants' quarters.

Minutes later, she exited the mansion, walking calmly into the night.

A black van idled at the edge of the grounds.

The door opened as she stepped inside.

Her form rippled, flesh shifted and her bones were reconfigured.

And where the maid had been, Eryn Veyran now sat—bloodstained, breathing hard, but alive.

-----

[A while ago, in the maid servant's room]

"Damen, what should I do?" Eryn whispered urgently. "I can't escape the guards."

Damen merely smiled."Give me your clothes."

"What?" Eryn froze, shock and embarrassment flashing across her face.

Damen opened a nearby cabinet and pulled out a neatly folded maid's uniform. "Wear this. Give me your bloodstained dress."

Realization struck her instantly.

"C-Can you turn around?" she asked softly.

Damen chuckled and turned his back. "Relax. I promise—no peeking."

Moments later, Eryn handed him the blood-soaked dress. She was now dressed as one of the mansion's maids.

"Good," Damen murmured. "I hear footsteps. They'll be here any second."

Without another word, he leapt out the window.

Eryn snatched up a broom just as the door burst open.

Macan Nuralith stormed in, fury radiating from him.

"Where did she go, bitch?" he snarled.

Eryn shrank back and pointed shakily toward the window.

Macan rushed over and looked out—just in time to spot a figure in Eryn's dress fleeing across the grounds.

"That's her!"

He vaulted out the window without hesitation.

Eryn exhaled in relief.

Moments later, more people flooded into the room. Keeping her head down, she slipped out with the other servants, disappearing into the chaos.

-----

"Big Sis," Kail said with a grin, giving her a thumbs-up. "Didn't think you'd actually kill Rey Nuralith."

Eryn's gaze remained cold, unreadable.

"Their family wouldn't hesitate to kill me," she said flatly. "Why should I show them mercy?"

Damen studied her. "That blood spear you used… I've never seen anything like it. What was it?"

Eryn shook her head, still unsettled. "I don't know. When the water hand was strangling me… something deep inside me stirred. I felt it answer me. Then the blood of the dead guards rose—just like Rey could pull water from the ground."

"That spear was at least ten times stronger than his water construct," Kail said, eyes bright with excitement.

Eryn's voice lowered. "What if I'm possessed again? What if my blood is changing me?"

Damen considered it carefully. "The blue blood does have side effects—but nothing like this. What you did wasn't corruption." He paused. "You created something new."

"A new power?" Eryn asked softly. "How is that even possible?"

Damen remembered the moment he gained Halo's Judgment. A smile tugged at his lips.

"Power evolves under extreme pressure. I awakened Halo's Judgment… and you awakened the blood spear."

"Is that really how it works?" Eryn murmured.

"Wow," Kail said, practically vibrating. "That's insanely overpowered."

Eryn raised her hand, trying to feel the power again. Nothing answered.

Then realization struck.

"It's blood," she said quietly. "This power only responds to blood."

Before either of them could react, she sliced her fingertip.

"What are you doing?!" Damen snapped.

Eryn lifted her hand. Her blood lifted with it, unraveling into a crimson mist. The mist condensed into a compact sphere, which she fired toward the window—

Crash.

The glass shattered, cracks spiderwebbing across the pane.

"Careful!" Damen barked. "Not inside the van!"

"Sorry," Eryn muttered.

"So your power works," Kail said, frowning. "But it's inconvenient. You'd have to wound yourself every time."

Eryn's expression dimmed.

Damen's eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

"Not necessarily. If you can control blood… you might be able to control bloodstones. Use them as an external source."

Eryn's mind raced, possibilities unfolding rapidly.

"Well," Kail said, glancing out the window, "we're still near the mansion. Let's move before someone notices."

"Right," Eryn said. "Let's go home."

As the van rolled away from the Veyran estate, Eryn sat quietly, exploring the shape of her new power within her thoughts.

Damen watched her in silence.

She had changed—hardened by betrayal, loss, and altered blood. But in their world, softness was a death sentence.

He smiled faintly.

She was finally stepping into his world.

The van disappeared into the night, its red lights fading into darkness.

----

The fallout was swift.

After that night, the Nuraliths struck back hard—raiding Veyran properties, burning warehouses, and taking casualties.

Officially, the Nuralith and Veyran houses were at war.

At the same time, five of Nuralith's secret facilities were hit in a single night. Every trace pointed to the Veyrans.

"Big Brother, you're a genius…this haul is over five billion aur this time," Kail said, breathless with excitement.

Damen only laughed. "We prepared the groundwork. It's wasteful not to harvest it…especially now that they're at each other's throats. Every blame will stick to the Veyrans and not back to us."

Damen and his team have raided the five secret Nuralith facility that they planned to rob earlier. They only postponed their plan to now because there was a perfect scapegoat for the heist… the Veyrans.

Eryn stepped forward and hugged him, her voice trembling. "Thank you. If not for you, I would never have gotten justice."

Damen smiled and nudged a heavy satchel toward her. "There are three more Cores of Blood in that bag. Assimilate them quickly."

His own rewards glittered on his live view:

Heart of Ra Level 4: 8/10

Heart of Shu Level 3: 4/7

Core of Electricity L6 (activated): 32/61

Core of Kinetic L6 (activated): 32/43

Core of Echo L4 (activated): 8/11

Core of Light L5 (activated): 16/18

Core of Mind L3 (activated): 8/15

Core of Genesis L4 (activated): 16/16

Core of Blood L7 (activated): 64/74

With the Veyran's and the Nuraliths' secret vaults gutted, there was no easy way to end the conflict…neither family could stomach the loss.

For now, Damen could keep his head down; with both sides bleeding politically and financially, neither would have much appetite to hunt him immediately.

Suddenly, a flurry of breaking alerts filled the room.

Kail flicked his wrist, summoning several hovering holoscreens that glowed with live headlines.

"Clan war between the Veyran and Nuralith escalates—new weapons of mass destruction unleashed!"

"Project Hermes: Veyran's secret weapon revealed."

"Massive war-mecha sighted—Silver City on high alert."

Each feed showed shaky footage of something colossal striding through smoke and fire…a gleaming warship-sized mech tearing through armored convoys like paper.

"Project Hermes…" Damen murmured, his eyes narrowing. "I've heard that name before… back in Melrose City."

Kail and Liorea exchanged knowing glances, grins spreading across their faces.

Damen noticed immediately. "What are you two scheming this time?" he asked, suspicion edging his tone.

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