Arcane Academy: The Divine Extraction Legacy
chapter-857

In the heart of the Pallham Empire, nestled amidst the snow-capped peaks of the northern continent, Ivan, the Time Manipulator, stood before the imposing walls of the castle that bore the mark of the Shadow Consortium.

After being here for a while, he knew that the Shadow Consortium was a large organization that was able to partner with the Shadow Immortal's organization.

They were capable of making not only high-grade Talisman Papers and but Divine Talismans as well thanks to their partnership with the Shadow Immortal.

According to his research, this castle was supposedly owned by the Shadow Consortium but was then given to the Shadow Immortal's merchant organization as some sort of payment or reward.

Initially, he simply wanted to visit this place to see if they were producing Divine Talisman in this place.

After all, this was the closest property of Shadow Consortium... He thought that he could get lucky and find that this was actually a secret production ground for Divine Talismans. However, as Ivan surveyed the castle's defenses with several Temporal Spells, he sensed the lingering presence of a Vampiric Aura that clung to the very stones of the fortress.

"Vampire..." His eyes lit up in excitement after realizing this.

It appears that this place was truly an important property for the Shadow Immortal, as he decided to send a powerful Vampire to protect this place.

'I wonder why it's here... And I didn't think that he could command a Vampire. Did he summon it?' Ivan thought as he wasn't sure how a True Vampire would work for the Shadow Immortal. They would normally hate following anyone, unless they were higher-ranking Vampires.

Anyway, Ivan felt happy about this discovery.

For now, he decided not to inform Wasa and the others about this as he planned to surprise them later on with the Vampiric Fangs, Blood, and Core.

He planned to take everything from this Vampire! After all, those three were incredible Alchemical Materials. Rituals that involved Time would also be strengthened if Vampire Blood was used!

There was no way he would pass this up!

Furthermore, he already killed several Vampires before! He had an experience fighting them so this should be an easy win, especially now that he could prepare for some time while the Vampire would be surprised by his appearance.

With a silent resolve, Ivan called upon his Temporal Spells... This time bending spell was controlled by his will as he unraveled the enchantments that guarded the castle's entrance.

In a flash of light and shadow, he crossed the threshold and entered the darkened halls that awaited within.

'This is easy... I guess they've never thought that a Time Manipulator would ever come here... This is perfect.' Ivan thought as he couldn't help but feel excited.

He knew that as long as he caught sight of the Vampire, it would be over for them!

As he moved deeper into the labyrinthine corridors of the castle, Ivan's senses sharpened with each step, his instincts guiding him towards the heart of the Vampiric Aura that pulsed like a heartbeat in the shadows.

He wasn't in a hurry since he was worried that it might escape by using bat swarm, or blood teleportation...

He couldn't set up a huge barrier to trap the castle since he was working alone. This was why he had to find the Vampire first and trap it with his Temporal Spell...

With a steady movement, he pressed on, his mind focused on the task that lay ahead. He didn't dare to destroy any traps or formation arts or even investigate the other places or rooms of the castle.

He was simply focused on reaching the Vampire!

Finally, his hard work paid off as he reached the grand hall where the Vampire should be resting.

He was expecting a vampire either feasting on an Arcanist's blood or resting on their enchanted coffin.

However, what he found was a warrior-like female Vampire!

From his senses, he recognized that it was True Vampire!

Her eyes weren't surprised but showed a predator's gaze fixed upon its prey.

"Welcome, Time Manipulator," Lisa's voice was a velvet whisper that sent a chill down his spine.

'This is bad!' Ivan's eyes widened as he heard the woman's voice.

The fact that she knew about his existence and didn't escape showed that she was confident enough to face him, a person who was capable of controlling Time itself!

'No... I can't be scared now... I'm a Time Manipulator! Even if you prepared an ambush, you're going to get killed!

Without a moment's hesitation, he called upon his Temporal Chains, weaving threads of time and space to ensnare the Vampire and prevent any chance of escape.

Clink... Clink... Clink...

As long as the target was in his sight, the Temporal Chains wouldn't miss!

The only problem was the fact that these Chains could be destroyed if it was still in the process of materialization to bind their target.

This was the reason why Ivan followed up with another Time Spell called Slow Spell, a web of temporal energy that slowed the Vampire's movements to a crawl, ensuring that

the Temporal Chains securely bound her before she could resist!

These two spells were his swiftest weapons, deployed with the speed of thought to contain the creature before him!

Though Ivan possessed a formidable arsenal of attack spells - the lethal Void Slash and the devastating Time Rend - he knew that their casting would require precious moments he could not afford at this critical juncture.

He could tell that this Vampire was too dangerous, and he had to take this battle seriously! He believed that their battle should just last a few moments, and he should take advantage of

this small timeframe.

"Mhmm?"

However, to his surprise, Lisa smiled!

'This...'

In the face of his spells, she actually didn't panic and went into defensive!

This smile sent a shiver of unease down Ivan's spine, a premonition of impending danger that he could not ignore. In a heartbeat, Ivan felt the very essence of his being tremble as a surge of malevolent energy coursed through his veins.

As his Spells bound Lisa, a trickle of blood escaped from his nose, and it didn't stop in a few drops as he realized that all of his orifices started leaking blood!