Chapter 1776: Celestial Black Sword. Not all of the Guardians had gone after Xander. There wasn't a direct order from any leaders for them to do this. The guardians acted on their own accord, but they knew of the situation due to a specific power that allowed them to communicate together. With each bit of new information received, they were able to tell the others what was happening, where they were and more. Some Guardians decided to go after the one who had stolen the crystal, while a few had gathered around the lab where it all began. They didn't need to go inside to understand what was happening, as they could feel the energy shockwaves halfway in the settlement. Due to this, some of the guardians unanimously decided to stay outside and control the commotion going on. But many Red Vampires wanted to enter the lab to know what was happening. After all, nearly all of the red vampires were combat oriented, they were different compared to the last vampire settlement. If they didn't want to take up arms, they could have chosen a more peaceful life in other areas. But instead, these vampires had joined this faction with a goal, mainly due to the leaders. "Let us in! We have a right to know what is happening!" A vampire shouted. "Is our leader okay? There is so much energy inside." "Most likely, both of our leaders are fighting. It's the only time I have felt so much energy in one place. Something must have seriously gone wrong." "It's that damned Laxmus! He is always a hot-headed one. We have to enter!" The Red Vampires were split into opinions and had all gathered in one place. Before, the only thing stopping the two sides from fighting was the two leaders working together. But now, if they weren't, it could easily cause the whole group to collapse. Still, the guardians could hold nearly all of them back with their shadow alone. Some vampires were already trying to rush in but were pushed back with great force. It had clearly shown them the gap in strength between them was huge, but it was unknown how long the guardians could push them back as more and more people started to gather. "What is going on inside? It's no doubt that Laxmus and Layla are fighting, and Xander is working with her as well?" Ashley thought. "I thought you were like me, that you hated the humans for what they had done, and you wanted to either get rid of them or turn them, but have you just been a double agent this whole time." Ashley had an internal struggle because he remembered his times with Paul before and after he turned into a vampire. They had gone through scuffles and battles before, and truthfully there were many times when he had seen humans do just as cruel things to each other over their beliefs. It made him think for a second that even if there weren't vampires, humans would have found something else to fight over each other. In fact, before they knew the existence of vampires, many higher ability users had treated the lower ones like scum. The current state of things felt similar. Ashley shook his head. "No… it doesn't change anything… Paul is dead, and so is my family…this is the right path." *** *** *** Inside the lab, Laxmus had finished his transformation, while Layla's body had stayed mostly the same, even though she was using the sword and her power. She had mastered the True Hanyma form, which combined all three of her forms into one, and now she was permanently in this stage. Over the years, there had been minor changes, such as her horns getting a little bigger, their colour changing depending on what emotion Layla was feeling, among other things, but she now had only one form and was ready to fight at any time. Immediately, Laxmus threw out his hand, and a large portal opened just above his shoulder. Out came a gigantic black shadow that imitated his hand movements. It was as if a giant had thrown a punch, only this was almost unavoidable and could block most ofthe attacks. "We have been planning to go against you for a long time, Laxmus!" Layla shouted as she held the black sword in her hand. Her hands had begun to turn red as if they were on fire, and soon a strange yellow glow covered the entire sword, making it look a lot bigger. As the shadow hand reached the tip of her sword, she slashed it forward, and it managed to stab right through the shadow, forcing it to disperse. However, Layla didn't stop there as she knew she couldn't afford to. So she began to slash repeatedly, as fast as possible, cutting the giant hand of shadows. Her single blade almost looked like it had turned to three as the yellow Aura had split and there was an after image of power in her attacks. Then, the shadow eventually disappeared, and Laxmus could only see an unharmed Layla. "I see. You have been practising against that Guardian of yours to understand how my shadow works. That's interesting, but let's see how you deal with this!" Laxmus's mouth opened wide, and a red energy ball formed right outside of it. It was the size of a basketball but soon started to condense, and red particles gathered around it. Seeing this, Layla started to desperately spin her sword in a clockwise direction. Her hands were changing colours by the second, covered in all sorts offlames. Then, opening her mouth, she breathed fire onto the sword. It wasn't a small fire by any means, as the windmill of fire was getting larger and larger, and within seconds, it was almost touching the ceiling of the large lab. "I'm going to need to draw more of your power… he's using that strange energy again that you talked about." Layla said. "It's celestial energy, and I can give you some, but you have to remember your body, although strong, isn't strong enough to handle it like others." "You don't have a marking or any celestial energy of your own either. You've only borrowed it from me from time to time." The sword explained. "I know, but if I don't borrow it now, I'm dead, so what choice do I have?!" Just then, Laxmus shot out the red beam of energy in his mouth, and it went straight for the large wheel of flame that Layla had created by spinning the sword with her hands. But something strange happened before the red beam could touch the flame. Layla's view began to turn almost black. And while she was unaware of what was happening, the colour of her veins also began to change. At the same time, the screams and cries of countless people began to get louder in her head, and it almost felt like she could directly hear them. "Power these feelings, convert these negative thoughts into your own power!" Layla gave her all. The beam was pushing Layla back. But she started to spin the sword faster, and more energy began forming, countering Laxmus's powerful blood aura. And in the end, the red aura began to dwindle, and after some time, the red beam attack finally ended. Layla was standing fine, having survived the powerful attack. "I knew you were special. Otherwise, Immortui would have never let you keep that sword." "That sword has passed through too many hands trying to find someone suitable for it, and it looks like you were the right person." Laxmus said. "However, I just see this as another test, another way to prove myself that I am deserving of a position by Immortui's side, and not just as a simple follower!" "The universe will have to answer to me. Otherwise, I will make it crumble!" Laxmus flapped his wings as he slowly began to fly in the air. The shadow gathered around his back, creating a larger copy of himself. His fingernails grew longer and sharper in length, and the white light in his body shined brighter. Meanwhile, Layla swung her sword keeping it by her side and stared at Laxus. The black veins had gone up to her forehead and were continuously growing. When she opened her eyes, one of them had already turned pitch black. "I have waited for him for so long… for so long… I CAN'T DIE NOW!"