"Bzz~ Bzz~ The emergency exit compartments of the Scarlet Dawn are about to be sealed! All personnel inside, please evacuate in an orderly fashion by following the illuminated signs!"
Just as the Madblood crew and Venerable Paien's party were locked in a back-and-forth battle in a lower-deck compartment, a warning rang out over the compartment's communications system. Both sides froze in place as if struck by a binding spell.
Then, both sides erupted in joy.
The reason for the Venerable's party's delight was simple.
They were certain Murphy's side had already seized control of the starship. That meant the vampires had reclaimed their ancient legacy, and it meant this attempt to deal with the Madblood Clan had gotten off to a "flying start."
Now that they controlled the starship, its internal security systems could all become a "terrain advantage" for them.
The reason for the Madblood crew's delight was just as easy to understand.
They had guarded this starship for more than a thousand years. Only the vampires' long-lived nature, and their indifference to the passage of time, had allowed them to endure such extreme circumstances.
If ordinary mortals had been in their place, they would have gone mad long ago.
The crew members who had held out aboard the starship all knew that the seal the vampires outside had placed on it could not hold the mighty Scarlet Dawn. They had remained here only because they couldn't start the ship. But now, its controls were back online!
Whoever was sitting on the bridge, the tens of thousands of Madbloods stranded aboard the starship would surely find a way to make that person start it and take them all away from this hopeless Blood Sanctum Seal.
But after their initial joy, both sides moved in perfect unison, rushing for the