CHAPTER 19: CARVED IN BLOOD AND ASH

Dante watched as the Goblin Shamans’ dark tendrils burrowed into the enemy’s flesh, searing through muscle and bone like it was nothing. Skin melted in bubbling strips, exposing raw sinew as their skeletons crumbled to ash. Screams were swallowed by the Goblin’s cackling laughter as the Lord and Warrior joined the fray.

Seconds later, Death Bats swooped down, their razor-sharp talons unerring. One seized a fleeing young man by the shoulders. Its claws punched through his collarbone, causing the human to let out a pain-filled scream. With a sickening rip, it tore him in two, his legs dangling before dropping to the ground.

Another bat snatched a woman, its beak snapping the stranger’s spine as it shook her like a ragdoll, limbs flailing, scattering across the village square. Dante watched as he felt the Death Points and Experience pouring into his body. The sight of so much carnage and death didn’t bother him, thanks to what humans had done after he fought for years so they would be safe.

’’No mercy for those who burned and betrayed me,’’ he muttered.

Nearby, Death Wolves prowled, their eyes tracking every movement. A man, crawling with a shattered leg, was pinned by a massive paw. Its jaws crushed his windpipe, tearing it free in a spray of blood that painted the cobblestones. A child, frozen in terror, was overrun by the pack, their teeth shredding her to ribbons, its wail ended in a wet snap.

The Black Knight’s gaze swept the battlefield, his presence a promise of annihilation. Witnessing this, he said hatefully. ’’They took pleasure in watching their older siblings assault Mary and Mariana. These humans deserve no mercy, just as they show us none.’’

Dante didn’t flinch away from it like the first days of his summoning to this world. Now that he was the Death Monarch and the goddesses’ chosen, he embraced it. He now saw something beautiful in it. ’The Humans will become soldiers for my growing army in the Domain,’ he mused while dodging a man’s sudden attack.

Just then, the Black Knight intervened, and his massive sword pierced through the soldier’s chest, his blade erupting in flames that reduced the man to cinders as his new Death Knight continued killing. Moments later, the White Lady wove her magic, summoning a blizzard of death shards and flaying a group of archers, their screams drowned by the storm.

The Death Wraith drifted above, letting out a horrifying laugh. Her touch killed desiccated soldiers, their weapons clattering uselessly to the ground. Dante quickly noticed the two Goblin Shamans increased their assault, their chants reaching a wild crescendo. A wave of necrotic energy surged outward, a black tide that corroded all it touched.

A squad of soldiers, their armor dented and swords raised, stood defiant. The wave struck, and their flesh was peeled off in molten sheets, their screams muffled as their lungs dissolved. Metal clattered to the ground, empty and smoking, as their bodies became blackened smears.

The shamans danced through the carnage, kicking aside severed limbs and skulls, their totems glowing with a sickly green light, gorged on the life force of the fallen. When Dante saw this, he shouted to his horde. ’’Collect the corpses for me and pile them in the village square! Bring three living humans to me alongside the other six.’’

Following that, no corner of Ashvale escaped his wrath as the undead washed over the village. A family barricaded in a burning barn was flushed out as Death Bats crashed through the roof, their talons raking through wood and flesh. The father’s arm was torn off as he shielded his daughter, only for a Death Wolf to drag her screaming into the shadows, her cries ending in a wet crunch.

The mother, cornered by the Ghoul Warrior, was impaled through the chest. Dante watched as her body lifted like a trophy before the cleaver split her in half, the blood drenching the beast’s rotting hide. Mariana watched, her smile widening as she snapped her fingers, summoning a spectral blade to finish the stragglers.

The shamans sealed Ashvale’s fate, their final ritual summoning a dome of necrotic mist that choked the last survivors. Their bodies withered into husks as they clawed at their throats, gasping for air that burned like acid. Henry the Black Knight stood motionless, his sword dripping.

Mary’s creepy laugh echoed across the burning village. Mariana surveyed the devastation, her laughter mingling with the crackle of dying fires as she joined her daughter. When the last heartbeat stilled, Ashvale was a charnel pit, its streets buried under mangled corpses, shattered bones, and rivers of blood.

Dante looked at his creature like they were weirdos. ’They sure do have personalities,’ he mused while looking at his growing horde. ’This should be fun.’

Just then, he noticed the air reeked of iron and decay, the silence broken only by the low growls of the surrounding monsters. The Ghoul Warrior stood over a mound of dismembered bodies, its cleaver embedded in the ground, dripping with viscera. The Banshee’s wail faded into an eerie hum, her ghostly form drifting through the haze.

The Death Bats perched on collapsed rooftops, their beaks glistening with gore, while the Death Wolves gnawed on their prey’s remains. Ashvale Village was Dante’s beginning, his hatred for humanity burned eternal, and anyone who dared defy him would meet this fate. He nodded in amusement as he shouted out. ’’Now collect everybody you can find!’’

Following his words, the horde of monsters took off and rushed around Ashvale, dragging bodies back to him. Men, women, and children were all going to be used to create monsters for his growing army. Just then, notifications popped up thanks to leveling up due to all the deaths, exciting him as he loved seeing them.

[System Quest Complete: 2000 Death Points - A New Weapon - SSS: Death Bolt]

[Death Points Gained: 1000]

[Level: 7581]

[Experience: 12,150/15,000]

[MP: 261270]

[HP: 228242]

[STR: 282290]

[DEX: 303315]

[INT: 233240]

[CHA: 131]

[DP: 14004400]

At that moment, a second Deathshadow materialized in his grip, sparking a wide grin. ’’Perfect,’’ he murmured, eagerness lacing his tone. ’’I’m gonna master using these.’’

Dante turned to his monsters, tirelessly stacking corpses into mounds. Approaching the nearest pile, he raised a hand, sending all the bodies into his Domain as the population of Ashvale would be used to help him take down the Darkmoore Kingdom. Moments later, they reappeared in the Death Camp.

Curiosity piqued, he teleported inside, materializing beside the place. As he stepped forward, a cascade of bodies tumbled into the crater below, triggering a flurry of notifications that set his pulse racing with excitement.

[Total Human Bodies: 341]

[Men: 153]

[Women

: 129]

[Children: 59]

[Convert Humans into Zombies? 200 Death Points]

[Convert Humans into Ghouls? 400 Death Points]

[Convert Children into a Rotling Swarm? 500 Points]

’What the fuck is a Rotling Swarm?’ he thought.

Dante glanced around the burning village. His monsters were busy completing his orders. He turned back to the notification and selected the Rotling Swarm option to see if any information would pop up.

[Rotling Swarm: Tiny, relentless creatures that surge toward enemies in a frenzied mass. Their small size makes them difficult to target]

’Oh, they would be useful in confined spaces,’ he mused, shaking his head.

He decided against buying it for now and wanted to build up the Death Camp and the Death Army. Following that, he watched as the monsters finished stacking a mountain of human bodies. Dante surveyed the battlefield, his eyes widening at the sight of over a thousand corpses strewn across the ground.

Realizing the Death Camp’s capacity was poor, he used five hundred points to expand it to two thousand. The Domain violently as the upgrade took effect, putting a smile on his face as Henry and Raoul approached. They stopped in front of him as the Goblin Death Warrior questioned. ’’My Lord, what’s the plan now? Should we loot all the gold in this place?’’

’’Yes. Have the Goblins and Sulla gather everything of value,’’ he answered. ’’And we will be heading toward the town of Thornebrooke. I’ll send the survivors there to warn the humans.’’

As the words left Dante’s lips, he turned to see Mariana prowling in a slow, deliberate circle around nine men and women. Without waiting, he approached them, causing the humans to tremble in fear. His gaze flicked to the leader who had ambushed him on the road, a smug grin curling his lips. ’’I told you, human’’

Dante gestured toward the trembling woman beside him. The man’s face drained of color, but he nodded, unable to speak. His smile twisted into something wicked as he crouched before the woman. He spoke in a deceptively soft voice. ’’Confess your sins, and I’ll spare you the fate I promised to your husband. After all, how many innocent girls has he killed when there’s a bad harvest?’’

The woman’s eyes widened, and she nodded frantically. ’’Ashvale has killed dozens,’’ she stammered. ’’I’ve helped the village leader myself. The Darkmoore Kingdom... lets us sacrifice outsiders to ensure our crops thrive.’’