Pirate Kingship-Chapter 610 - 437: The Immortal Staircase: Star Vampire
Teris and the old King had both found the Immortal Stairway. They were just one last ritual away from successfully ascending to godhood, making them quasi-Fifth Order.
Yet, by a twist of fate, they both required the 'new King' of the Sun Empire as the medium for their own ascension.
Now, with only one medium available, it meant that only one of them could have their wish fulfilled.
This made them true, irreconcilable enemies! Foes of the Path!
"'Thief! So it was you who stealthily stole the Panacea! No, not a thief—you're a despicable vampire who doesn't even spare your own progeny!'"
Even with Teris's ruthlessness—though she planned to bear many offspring—she only wanted to provide them with a better life, allowing them to thrive and multiply in the Material World.
But this undying old monster actually regarded his descendants as fuel for his own resplendent glory?
Even as a genuine Night Demon, Teris couldn't bear to watch. The word 'vampire'—a derogatory term for Night Demons—slipped from her lips.
SMACK!
The old King raised his hand. A [Scavenger's Touch] collided with the incoming [Agony Whip], erupting in a bright flash of firelight.
Hearing the term 'vampire,' he glanced strangely at the genuine Night Demon before him, who was no longer disguised, and nodded at her, saying,
"'I'd almost forgotten about you, Succubus. How dare you intervene in my ascension ritual and brazenly devour so many of my sons!
I can sense that the Firewood hasn't been digested yet. Hand it all over!
I can spare your life and let you become one of the producers of 'Firewood' henceforth.
My title ability senses that your physical condition should be... excellent for childbearing.'"
In his youth, Huayna Capac was a genius who obtained the title [Civilisation Gatherer] early on.
His title ability allowed him to instinctively uncover many secrets and absorb external knowledge, energy, and materials as fuel, constantly strengthening himself.
He wondered: why do apples fall downwards from trees, not upwards? Why do two iron balls of different sizes, dropped from a height, land simultaneously? Why...
Had he been born in the Old Continent, he might have become a great Naturalist of the Tower Sequence.
Of course, if his birth hadn't been fortunate, lacking talent and unable to awaken Spirituality, he might well have simply died of old age in the Old Continent.
In any case, relying on his title ability, he discovered many unknown truths, so it wasn't difficult for him to see through some of Succubus Teris's background.
Fertility? That is indeed a very practical Authority.
His past research had long revealed that males could release hundreds of millions of reproductive cells at once, while females produced only a few.
If fertility worship were practiced, it should be males who are venerated.
Therefore, he firmly believed that monogamy was absolutely anti-human and violated the laws of nature.
Men *should* have numerous wives to fully realize their reproductive potential.
If he could obtain Teris, a Succubus who had mastered reproductive Secret Arcane Arts, and combine with her, supplementing it with a Y chromosome—'An enduring Y, an eternal line'—then in the future, he would never have to worry about a shortage of high-quality, homogenous 'Firewood'!
Considering this, their paths were indeed remarkably similar, a seemingly perfect match.
But the old King, whose desire for control was boundless, actually planned to sever Teris's limbs, keeping only the 'useful' parts.
If Teris dared to agree, her fate would be far more wretched than that of a mere breeding machine.
PAH!
The Succubus ignored him and pressed her attack.
The Plague Bringer and the Flower Fairy joined the battle from behind, attempting to expel the old King from the Second Prince's body.
However, though it was still the Second Prince's body, with a different controller, its combat prowess was on a completely different level.
Old King Huayna Capac had already destroyed the key to open the Secret Realm. He was in no hurry; he had all the time in the world to play cat and mouse.
Countless [Scavenger's Touches] fended off the frenzied assault of Teris and her two companions.
Meanwhile, other bands of light shot out, instantly devouring one stunned son after another. His own radiance grew increasingly brilliant.
He even began to transform into a massive fireball radiating endless light and heat. It was as if the foundational mythical form of the Son of the Sun was beginning to further sublimate.
And it wasn't an ordinary golden sun, but an even more incandescent blue sun.
Merely looking at it felt as if the intense heatwave would ignite one from their very core.
SIZZLE—!
Just then, the Plague Bringer, risking her wings being scorched by the sun, plunged her [Time Thief] dagger into the blue sun.
The sun's light abruptly dimmed, its lifespan slashed in half; it had clearly suffered a grievous blow.
"'Success!'"
But just as a hint of joy touched her face, she was immediately engulfed by the re-expanding sun, incinerated to ash in an instant.
It turned out that the [Scavenger's Touches] designated for hunting had targeted The Fourth Prince, Atahualpa, who had been hiding below and hadn't ascended.
Byron, August, and Violet combined their efforts but failed to defend against the dense tendrils, allowing him to smoothly claim the prince's head.
This replenished the energy and matter he had lost.
AH—!
With that last scream, the princes who had climbed the tree, and their guards—the Descendants of the Sun God—had now been all but wiped out by him.
The blue sun's luminosity reached its peak as it slowly floated up from the ground.
A deafening voice resounded in the ears of the few surviving Fourth Order outsiders present, and also reached the noble council beyond the Secret Realm:
"'Hahaha, foolish mortals! Do you know that the world beneath our feet is a sphere? Do you know that here, in the Southern Hemisphere of this world, we are actually standing upside down? Do you know why we don't fall off? Do you know that it's not the sun that orbits around us, but we who orbit around the sun? Do you know how the calendar is established, and what is the principle of sunrise and sunset?'"
With each question he posed, an aura of Authority manifested around him: [Astrology], [Gravitational Field], [Energy Transmission], [Rejuvenation], [Resurrection]...
This showcased the power and erudition of this [Civilisation Gatherer].
Even the Flower Fairy, who had been struggling alongside Succubus Teris, began to rise from the ground under the influence of gravity. The Earthquake Dragon Bloodline whose body she possessed followed, willingly flying into the embrace of that sun.
She became part of the Firewood.
The only ones left on the scene were Teris, holding the [Blood Cup] aloft with all her might, and Byron's group, desperately clinging to the trunk of the Sacred Tree.
Seeing their desperate struggle, the old King laughed heartily.
Intellectuals share an incorrigible flaw: they love to lecture. Still not having had his fill, he continued,
"'You know nothing, but I know! Pitiful insects, living and dying in a day, can only see the small patch of land before them. They cannot even reach the other side of the sea, much less the distant sky! You, a Succubus, dare to call me a vampire? I find that term... utterly apt! But I am not one of those filthy, blood-feeding creatures. Rather, I am a [Solar Vampire]—or perhaps, a [Stellar Vampire]!
"'You have no idea how vast the world above is; every star in the sky is actually a sun. I have named them: Red Dwarf, Yellow Dwarf, Red Giant, White Dwarf Star...
"'A star's life, much like a human's, inevitably includes birth, aging, illness, and death. However, each phase of a star's life, from youth to maturity and finally to old age, takes billions of years. As they reach old age, stars begin to collapse and dim, ultimately becoming either a White Dwarf Star or a terrifying black hole. What end they meet depends on their original mass. However, a small fraction of stars will experience a second spring, acquiring additional fuel that dramatically increases their brightness and lifespan. This phenomenon occurs only when specific stars absorb neighboring matter or collide—colloquially speaking, they "suck blood"...'"
Everyone else was utterly bewildered, as if listening to an arcane text, but Byron suddenly understood.
Why use such a scary term as vampire? Isn't this just what's known as a blue straggler star among stars?
In the astronomy of his previous life, stars capable of rejuvenation were called 'blue straggler stars,' primarily characterized by their large mass and high luminosity.
The reason they remain young is their 'vampiric' ability to draw sustenance from many companion stars born from the same origin.
Under the gravitational pull of a blue straggler star, the energy and matter of its companion stars are continuously absorbed. It's like drinking from the Fountain of Youth, allowing it to remain eternally young.
While stars born alongside the [Stellar Vampire] gradually approach death, it continues to shine as brightly as a star in its youth.
This is the secret of the eternal star—and it is the Immortal Stairway old King Huayna Capac had found!
At that moment, as the blue sun's gravitational pull intensified further, even Byron, Violet, and August found it hard to resist. They were lifted into the air, involuntarily pulled towards the gateway to the middle layer of the Heavens, flying towards that brilliant blue celestial body.
"'Ha, my luck is good! Here's another beautiful lady whose essence is that of some Demon Monster and who also possesses the bloodline of the Mother of Creation, Lilith.
I shall gain another efficient 'Firewood producer!'
Hmm? This one is male, but his bloodline of the Mother of Creation is even denser than that pureblood Succubus.
I've heard the [Night Demon] race can alter their gender at will, so he's not unusable.
Perfect. All three of you, come to me!'"
When Huayna Capac caught sight of Violet, his eyes lit up. Upon seeing Byron, his gaze became unprecedentedly fervent.
He casually decreed their fates.
Hearing the first part of the King's declaration, fierce killing intent surged in Byron. Hearing the second, his face instantly turned ashen with fury.
Without hesitation, he thundered,
"'Command: Skeleton No. 13 [Goddess of Suicide], ability disabled! You enjoyed eating your sons, didn't you? Sell! Liquidate all seventy percent of my shares in the Divine Son! Damn you, just die already!'"
