Moon Child's Aperitif

—Such an ugly and barbaric banquet.

The philosopher observed all of this with detached indifference, even though she herself would now be a dish at the banquet.

If her blood demon were still attached to her, she would kill every vampire who stared at her with disgust. She was particularly adept at extracting the blood of the living—perhaps to make these weak, man-eating beasts gleefully realize that they, too, could shed the same fluid.

But for now, we must be patient.

Unlike ordinary extraordinary beings, she had participated in the New Moon Ritual many times. This was true from her time as a philosopher or Demon Scholar. With ample experience and strength, it was only natural for her to participate in the New Moon Ritual for the second path.

Unlike Full Moon Ritual, which require hiding identities and playing roles like children playing house, New Moon Ritual have the simplest solution—in over 95% of New Moon Ritual, simply killing everyone you can gain a huge advantage, and even outright victory is not impossible.

This is a relatively rare fully restricted ritual—meaning that physical attributes, mana pool, spellcasting resources, and space for movement are all limited. Whether it's melee-savvy superhumans, mages and summoners, or those who are rogues, ritualists, and Hunter, they will all find it difficult to unleash their full potential.

Therefore, the professions with the greatest advantage are those that rely purely on external resources. For example, alchemists and sorcerers, or writers and chanters.

Fortunately, there was an alchemist in their team.

She had also made spellcasting tools beforehand—considering that when entering the New Moon Ritual, one is often bound or has difficulty moving, and equipment that is not easy to carry is likely to be confiscated and may also cause trouble for oneself.

Therefore, the tools she used for casting spells were two artificial collarbones that a necromancer had implanted into her body.

If someone had clairvoyance, they would see that her collarbones were dark gold and covered with intricate runes. These were actually her two staffs—which allowed her to cast spells at a lower cost.

So what if the algorithm power pool is limited?

If she's restricted, then everyone else must be restricted too.

With everyone restricted, it becomes a competition of equipment.

—They are not afraid of equipment, of course; they have an alchemist in their team.

Alchemists are naturally suited for this kind of ritual.

Although the Second Level to Third Level stage might not be that strong in front of these hundred or so Child of the Moon... at least killing other ascendants shouldn't be a problem.

Not to mention, Mr. "ban" also has a huge home-field advantage...

So, just bear with it a little longer. Just bear with it a little longer.

At this moment, Miss Number 7, with her slightly wavy silver hair and wearing a gorgeous pink and white dress that looked like a Princess dress, sat stiffly on the lap of an old man who looked to be in his fifties or sixties.

"What's wrong, sweetheart? Are you in a bad mood today?"

Earl Alonso inquired with concern, greedily licking her slender, fair neck.

"Your Excellency..."

Number 7 responded in a slightly trembling voice, "I just didn't sleep well..."

Her murderous intent swelled infinitely—she was always the one drawing blood from others, but today it was her turn to be bitten by a mosquito! She'd kill him sooner or later, you old geezer!

If I can't kill you here, I'll dig up your grave after I get out! I'll scatter your ashes! But at that moment, the philosopher suddenly felt a sense of disorientation.

A strange feeling welled up from the bottom of my heart.

She suddenly sensed that Count Asoron had become more amiable.

She wanted to do something for him—anything, as long as it made him happy. She seemed to agree to anything he asked for with ease.

"I love you so much, sweetheart."

The count said in a low voice.

He reached out and poured the crimson wine from the glass bottle on the table into the white ceramic bowl.

That blood wasn't from the Blood Slave, but from the humans who were kept as livestock.

The slaves who can be bought or stolen by the Child of the Moon are all of the type with a special blood scent. However, some of them are not obedient enough—or simply not young and beautiful enough to become Blood Slave slaves.

They were imprisoned and their blood extracted, which was preserved using blood magic to keep it fresh for a period of time. Labels were then affixed to the blood, making them resemble bottles of fine wine. In an era when glass bottles were typically expensive alchemical tools, a beautiful bottle could sometimes cost more than a person.

This is the Child of the Moon's "pre-dinner drink".

He dipped his finger into the blood in the ceramic bowl, tasted it, and commented, "It's said that this was squeezed from a child—it seems that even children are no longer pure these days. The empire has truly become corrupt."

He dipped his finger in the blood again and placed it in Number 7's mouth. Watching her intently suck on his finger like a lollipop, blood trickling down her chin, Earl Alonso finally smiled with satisfaction.

Like holding a doll or a pet dog, he affectionately kissed the girl's cheek. Then, revealing his sharp teeth, he plunged them into her neck.

Iver witnessed all of this firsthand.

The place she was at that moment was only a dozen meters away from here.

She changed out of her simple white nightgown and into an expensive moon-white silk dress.

A young woman who looked to be in her twenties or thirties held her in her arms, her arms around her waist. Her long dress was pulled tighter by the external force, outlining the contours of her body.

"My dear lady... what are you looking at?"

Her husky yet magnetic voice inexplicably reminded Iver of Shadow Fiend: "You're involved too."

Miss Bayard was a woman with dark hair and blue eyes, her long, straight hair, which was rather stiff, cascaded down to her waist.

She possessed a dignified air, and her hairstyle, hair color, and skin tone were very similar to the little girl that Iver was playing at this moment—although she couldn't see her own face at this moment, she intuitively felt... that perhaps the two of them would also have similar appearances.

Iver suddenly felt a chilling coldness on his neck.

It was Miss Bayard's metal-framed glasses that were pressing against Iver's neck.

She instinctively tilted her head back, trying to avoid looking at her glasses. But this act of deliberately exposing her neck made Miss Bayard's breathing become slightly heavier.

She was about to take a bite—but she held back at the last moment.

She stuck out her tongue and licked Iver's neck. A special secretion quickly flowed into his blood vessels through his skin, and Iver's head began to spin.

—Iver knew it was the Kiss of Enchantment of the Child of the Moon. These vampires would anesthetize their prey before hunting by biting, licking, kissing, or exchanging bodily fluids.

The mind of a drugged prey becomes muddled and sluggish, unwilling to believe the other's lies—not because they can't see through the other's intentions, but because even if they can logically distinguish the truth, they prefer to believe the other emotionally. It can make even the most wary person lower their resistance and expose their neck. It can also make people willingly invite vampires into their homes, removing any protective barriers that could harm the other or protect themselves.

Similarly, if these Child of the Moon desire money or jewelry, they will receive generous requests during this period. Just as if their best friend were willing to make a request, they will feel happy to give the item to the other person—happy that they can finally help them.

This is because the Child of the Moon's fangs are actually quite fragile.

Their fangs, which serve as their blood-sucking organs, are hollow. Therefore, struggling while being sucked's blood can easily injure the victim... even a subconscious act of resistance can cause harm. That's why they will always use Kiss of Enchantment to break down the victim's resistance first.

Each time they are bitten, they enter this state. After the blood is drained, the "enchanted" state slowly transforms into a "satisfied" state. That's the euphoric feeling Iver experienced when he first awoke—but if the enchanted state is not satisfied for a long time, it turns into an empty state, and they will beg these vampires to make some requests of them and to drink their blood.

Bewitching is a curse, and therefore can be dispelled. But the cursed cannot dispel it themselves—because they have no desire to resist their master.

If you're in this state, it's impossible to complete the "killing your master" mission. That's why this mission awards so many points.

Similarly, even in this state, one cannot deceive their master. This also causes trouble for the tasks of other promoted individuals.

Iver realized this as soon as he saw the mission requirements.

However, Iver knew how to remove the Enchanting Curse without purification.

This is also the knowledge taught in seminary classrooms.

Family members, elective courses are really useful.

The cursed person will immediately awaken whenever these Child of the Moon attempt to subject themselves or someone very close to them to a life-threatening crisis or suffer unbearable loss of life or property—that is, when the command crosses the line.

In other words, if these advanced individuals want to move freely... they must first find a way to break free from their bewitching state.