Chapter 140: The Final Anthem

"Lord Chairman!" Seeing the agonizing expression on Le Tianpai's face, the leading blood hunter pleaded once more. "This is already the only choice. To prevent the Blood Hunter Guild from utter destruction, you can no longer hesitate!"

Looking into the resolute eyes of the young blood hunter before him, Le Tianpai felt a wrenching agony in his heart. These young lives were the future of the Blood Hunter Guild; how could he possibly bring himself to destroy them with his own hands? Furthermore, the target of the sealing was his only remaining kin. His beloved daughter was already gone; must he now refuse to spare even the man she loved?

"Lord Chairman, there is no time left!" Seeing that Le Tianpai was still hesitating, the young blood hunter shouted in desperation, "Can you truly stand by and watch the Blood Hunter Guild perish in your hands?"

"Do not push me any further. I truly cannot do it." Le Tianpai's expression was one of extreme torment.

"Lord Chairman!" The young blood hunter did not yield his stance simply because of Le Tianpai's anguish. "This is something you must do as Chairman. You alone have no reason to flee, even if it requires you to personally slay the one you love most. Because this is your duty—the duty of the leader of the Blood Hunter Guild!"

"I understand!" After struggling within his heart for a long while, Le Tianpai finally spoke. This single sentence seemed to drain him of every ounce of his strength. As he finished speaking, his entire body slumped limply to the ground.

Meanwhile, deep within the basement of the Blood Hunter Guild, the battle between the blood hunters and Xingyu had finally reached its final chapter. The four massive sunlight lamps had already been shattered by Xingyu. Of the dozens of blood hunters who had fought to the very end, only three remained standing before him. The leader of the blood hunters was already a cold corpse, lying upon the blood-stained floor, his eyes filled with lingering resentment and defiance.

Xingyu's condition was far from optimistic either. The most severe damage to him had been caused by the harsh glare of the sunlight lamps, and the burn marks covering his entire body could not be healed in a short time. "Heh, it seems your strength is not quite as formidable as you imagined," Xingyu chuckled softly, gazing coldly at the three blood hunters before him who had lost all capacity to resist. "Originally, I had no intention of striking against the Blood Hunter Guild, but you have thoroughly stirred my wrath. Since you refuse to coexist with me, the Blood Hunter Guild has no reason to continue existing. Remember, the destruction of the Blood Hunter Guild can be said to be the direct result of your own arrogance and ignorance."

Hearing Xingyu's words, the three surviving blood hunters wore expressions of bitter regret and resentment. These were the final expressions they would ever leave in this world.

Xingyu quietly observed the cold corpses of the blood hunters, his eyes devoid of any pity. "This is the path you chose for yourselves. You should have been prepared to bear any consequence," Xingyu murmured. Then, his vacant eyes gazed toward the exit of the basement. "Now, it is time to make the rest of them pay the price."

"Xingyu." Just as Xingyu was speaking to himself, Le Tianpai's calm voice echoed through the basement.

"Is that not the esteemed Chairman of the Blood Hunter Guild?" Xingyu said with a faint smile upon hearing Le Tianpai's voice. "For what purpose has the Chairman appeared here? Could it be that you wish to judge me?"

"Xingyu, stop this. You have already killed enough people, it is enough. Do not kill any more. The remaining people pose no threat to you anymore. I beg you, spare the Blood Hunter Guild." Le Tianpai looked at the corpses scattered across the floor and pleaded with Xingyu.

"Spare them?" Xingyu wore a cold, disdainful sneer at the corner of his mouth. "Everyone must bear the responsibility for their own decisions! Since they dared to make a move against me and sought to take my life, they should have been prepared to forfeit their own." Xingyu said indifferently, "If I were to spare them now, where am I to vent my wrath?" At this, a monstrous killing intent erupted from Xingyu, releasing all the hostility accumulated through successive fierce battles in a single instant.

"Xingyu, is there truly no turning back?" Le Tianpai said in pain as he looked at Xingyu's state. "Xingyu, I do not wish to raise my hand against you."

"Turning back?" A spine-chilling sneer hung on Xingyu's lips. "Would you have ever given me the chance to turn back? Lord Chairman, those people standing behind you—do they have any intention of turning back?"

Looking at the furious and resolute eyes of the blood hunters behind him, Le Tianpai felt a heavy obstruction in his chest. "Indeed, there is no chance left to turn back."

"Hahaha, make your move then. Let me see the trump card that gives you the courage to face me once again!" Xingyu roared with wild laughter as he charged toward the blood hunters. "In the end, even the last human I acknowledged has chosen to abandon me? Hahaha, has it finally come to this day?"

"Xingyu, do not blame me. I carry my own burdens and responsibilities. Reaching this point, I feel just as much pain, but I have no choice. Xingyu, I am sorry. Yet you can rest assured, you will certainly not feel lonely, for I shall drag you down into hell with me." Le Tianpai clenched his fists and spoke in agony as he watched Xingyu charge toward him with a chilling smile. "Xingyu, I shall wait for you in hell." With those words, an expression of relief washed over Le Tianpai's face. "The Final Hymn!"

Following Le Tianpai's incantation, crimson magical arrays emerged from each of the blood hunters present, eventually merging into a massive magical array that blanketed the entire basement.

"What is this?" Trapped within the suddenly appearing magical array, Xingyu found his body becoming overwhelmingly sluggish—even more sluggish than when he had been exposed to the sunlight lamps.

"This is the Final Hymn," Le Tianpai walked slowly up to Xingyu and said softly, "The ultimate hidden trump card of the Blood Hunter Guild, one that can only be invoked when the guild faces total annihilation. A powerful seal forged at the cost of the lives and souls of all casters, a seal from which none can escape. Even if a Vampire Prince were to arrive in person, as long as a thousand blood hunters sacrifice their lives, he can be sealed for a century!" Le Tianpai looked at Xingyu and slowly continued, "Now, although our Blood Hunter Guild has only these few dozen members left, it is more than sufficient to seal you away."

"Since you possess such formidable power, why did you not use it sooner? Had you used this power from the very beginning, your Blood Hunter Guild would not have been driven to this state," Xingyu asked curiously, staring at Le Tianpai without a trace of panic on his face.

"Because I could not bring myself to do it," Le Tianpai said in torment. "Once the Final Hymn is activated, all who cast it will utterly vanish. Not even their souls will be spared; they will not even be granted the chance to enter the underworld. Therefore, the Final Hymn has always been classified as a forbidden art by the Blood Hunter Guild."

"I see." Hearing Le Tianpai's explanation, a smile touched the corner of Xingyu's mouth. "In other words, if I depart from here right now, you will all lose your lives regardless. That being the case, I shall not accompany you." As Xingyu spoke, his figure actually began to slowly fade away beneath the gaze of the blood hunters.

"What?" Seeing Xingyu's form vanish before their eyes, the blood hunters were instantly struck with shock.

"Do not panic!" Seeing the wavering among the blood hunters, Le Tianpai shouted in a deep voice, "This is the final place of judgment, the place where the Final Hymn resounds. No one can escape from here."

"Damn it!" Following Le Tianpai's voice, Xingyu's vanished figure reappeared before the blood hunters once more.

"It is useless, Xingyu. You cannot escape. This is a cage from which there is no escape," Le Tianpai said quietly to Xingyu. "Here shall be your place of eternal slumber."

"No!" Hearing Le Tianpai's words, Xingyu widened his eyes and roared furiously, "How can I be trapped in this place! There are still so many things I have yet to accomplish, I have yet to stand before Lilith—how can I be trapped here by a group of worthless trash like you? I want to get out, I must get out, you cannot hold me!" Xingyu roared, unleashing all of his magic power in that instant. The surging waves of magical energy caused the very space around them to tremble violently.

"Save your breath. The space here is impossible to shatter. Xingyu, slumber peacefully here for a century!" Le Tianpai said in a deep voice, watching Xingyu struggle relentlessly without yielding. "A century from now, if you still wish to destroy the Blood Hunter Guild, then do as you please. Everything I could possibly do has already been done. Burdened as I am now with heavy sins, I no longer possess the qualification to counsel you. Xingyu, I only hope that your eyes will not be blinded by hatred and obsession."

"Why?" Xingyu roared in bitter frustration, glaring angrily at Le Tianpai's gradually fading form. "What on earth have I done wrong? Tell me!"

"Xingyu, you have done nothing wrong. The one that is wrong is this world—a world where greed and slaughter run rampant, a world where humans and vampires cannot coexist," Le Tianpai looked at Xingyu and said softly, "Therefore, Xingyu, when you awaken from your slumber, go and find a world that truly belongs to you."

Le Tianpai's voice grew fainter, and his figure became increasingly translucent, until finally, he transformed into countless points of light and vanished before Xingyu's eyes. Vanishing along with him were all the blood hunters present in the basement. At the exact moment the blood hunters disappeared, the crimson radiance of the magical array blanketing the basement reached its absolute peak. In the next fraction of a second, the array compressed into a singularity, and Xingyu's figure vanished from the basement—or rather, vanished from this world entirely.

"Lord Chairman!" Seeing the blinding crimson radiance from the basement flare up and then vanish in a flash, the leader of the surviving blood hunters—whom Le Tianpai had forcibly ordered to remain outside—roared in despair. He knew all too well what fate awaited the blood hunters inside that basement.

"Let me go!" That blood hunter roared furiously at the guards holding him back. The entire Blood Hunter Guild now consisted only of himself and the four men guarding him. From this day forward, this colossal Blood Hunter Guild would have to be sustained by these five individuals alone. "Lord Chairman." Having broken free from his restraining ropes, the leading blood hunter cast a painful glance toward the direction of the basement, then strode resolutely outward. "I will surely carry on the Blood Hunter Guild; I will never let it perish here." The head blood hunter silently vowed in his heart. "Listen well, from this day forth, this basement is designated as a forbidden zone of the Blood Hunter Guild. Anyone who dares approach will be executed without mercy!" The cold and merciless words of the head blood hunter brought a definitive close to today's tragic chapter.