CHAPTER 20: OH THE DRAGONS

Dante’s eyes narrowed, his tone sharp with barely restrained fury. ’’And what of the innocent women, girls, and children your men have violated?’’

The woman hesitated, then nervously answered. ’’The men... they enjoy them. Some of us wives joined in at times.’’

Her confession sent a wave of panic through the other humans, their faces paling when they heard this. He rose to his feet, a chilling laugh erupting from him, echoing through the tense air, and he called out. ’’Mariana, Mary. Come here.’’

Just then, the two women appeared on his right and left. Henry materialized behind him seconds later. Dante continued speaking, revealing their fate. ’’These are the two women your husband beat senseless, infected, and defiled them. But thanks to me, they are reborn anew and here to seek revenge.’’

Following his words, they transformed into their human forms, resembling the previous ones that the men would recognize. When the leader from the road saw this, his eyes bulged, prompting Danete to laugh. ’’I see you remember,’’ he commented, looking at the woman.

’’You know I was going to give you to my Goblins to violate, but I’ve decided against such a fate,’’ he said, grinning ear to ear.

Dante quickly grabbed the leader’s wife by the face, lifting her into the air while casting Death Blast into her face. He watched as the Death mana ate her skin, skull, and then brain, causing the man’s wife to spasm until she dropped dead, making him laugh as the mother and daughter swarmed him in their undead form.

The other humans behind froze, shock etched on their faces. Even his Death Heralds looked taken aback.

[F Rank Human - Villager]

Dante turned to them, his voice cold. ’’Do you two have a problem?’’

Mary, trembling when feeling his death aura boring down on her. She shook her head and stammered. ’’I... I thought it was just a threat, My Lord. I didn’t think you’d do it.’’

He turned to the Wraith, gently but firmly grasping the young woman’s chin, and locked eyes. ’’They deserve far worse for what they did to the people they captured. Since my murder, I’ve been a man of my word, no matter how cruel it makes me. My hatred for humans burns even brighter.’’

Mary’s lips curled into a faint smile at his words. He turned to Henry, the Black Knight, his tone cold and precise. ’’Take the six who harmed your family. Ensure the leader suffers extra torment; he struck me, and I demand my pound of flesh.’’

The undead family nodded, their eyes alight with reverence, as if Dante were their god. They swiftly grabbed the men and vanished into the dark just before he turned to the remaining humans.

***

Terran was one of the three surviving humans, cowering, their bodies quaking in abject terror like a nightmare incarnate, a young man whose very presence was a blasphemy against life itself, who reveled in killing. ’How could this monstrosity, this abomination, slaughter an entire village while grinning like a madman?’ he thought, as his heart seized at the certainty of their impending doom.

When the creature’s gaze swept over them, the strangers’ crimson eyes blazing, Terran’s bladder betrayed him, a warm flood of shame soaking his trousers and creating a puddle around him. All of them believed the young man was hiding using human skin; this thing was stripped of any shred of humanity that could ever define a man.

Just then, a squad of guards staggered back into the village, their faces blanching at the carnage, a picture of blood and ruin. The human warrior watched this with trembling lips parted to scream a warning, but the nightmare moved, a blur of death.

Wielding twin daggers that gleamed, the being carved through the guards like a reaper through wheat. Their screams choked off in sprays of crimson that splashed the streets and surrounding buildings. Not one survived the onslaught. Their bodies crumpled into the gore-soaked earth as the stranger’s twisted smile widened, savoring the slaughter.

Terran glanced at the so-called human who was staring at him. ’’You will be the proof.’’

He watched the young man move toward him, and the next thing he felt was peace as everything went dark.

***

Dante fixed his gaze on the last two humans as the man dropped unconscious. ’’Return to Thornebrooke and warn the Darkmoore Kingdom: death is coming for them.’’

He then summoned the Ghoul Warrior with a sharp gesture and commanded. ’’Escort them safely to the village’s edge. Do not harm them.’’

The creature looked disappointed, causing him to shake his head and wave it off. ’’Do as I said, I want to get out of this place, it stinks,’’ he said.

Just then, Raoul appeared beside him and questioned. ’’What’s the plan now, My Lord?’’

Dante’s eyes gleamed with a wild, unhinged grin as he fixed his gaze on the Death Goblin Warrior. ’’Chaos!’’ he exclaimed. ’’The vile humans of Darkmoore will be the first to taste my wrath, the opening Chapter of my glorious, bloody saga!’’

Mary’s voice slithered from the shadows, laced with wicked delight. ’’You’re a merciless fiend, Master,’’ she purred, her tone gleeful. ’’Your atrocities today will have scared the Southern Dragon Kingdoms.’’

’Oh the dragons,’ he thought. ’Maybe I can go there and get some undead? Maybe another Death Knight?’

Following that, Dante turned to his creatures and declared. ’’We’ll destroy Nemorath before moving to the southern continent!’’

The horde roared with savage glee at his words, their claws and fangs gleaming as they gathered the last of the slaughtered humans. They dragged the corpses through the portal, retreating to the Death Camp. But as Dante stepped in, a snarl curled his lips, corpses overflowed the camp, spilling into piles outside.

The stench drew ravenous monsters closer, their eyes glowing with hunger as they slunk toward the carnage. ’’Don’t touch them!’’ he shouted through the Domain as he increased the size by a thousand using five hundred Death Points.

Once that was done, he watched as the remaining corpses were sucked into the deep holes, causing a notification to pop up.

[Death Points: 44003900]

[Death Camp Capacity: 10002000]

[Total Human Bodies: 1084]

[Men: 300]

[Women: 388]

[Children: 396]

Dante returned to the empty village, leaving behind his horde. Raoul and Henry joined as the two undead stood behind him. He looked at the giant, sighing. ’’Not you as well? I don’t need you two to follow me around everywhere.’’

The Death Goblin Warrior let out a chuckle as Henry responded. ’’Denied,’’ he said. ’’You’re a low rank, My Lord. Most of Nemorath’s beasts could tear you apart without breaking a sweat.’’

’’Fair point,’’ he replied as the Black Knight wasn’t wrong.

Following that, he stole all of Ashvale’s wealth, food, and anything else useful to him. He threw it into the Domain as he left the village behind while humming a song from his old world. ’A shame I can’t return,’ he mused. ’I could use all the humans there for my army.’

Dante continued walking as the two Death Knights followed him like silent sentinels. After a few hours, he let out a yawn while speaking. ’’I’m going to set up camp here, do you two mind staying up tonight?’’

’’We do not need sleep, My Lord,’’ the giant knight answered.

Raoul nodded along with Henry’s words, causing him to chuckle, pulling out a tent and crawling inside to get comfortable as it was getting cold. The following morning, he woke up to the sound of fighting. Dante stepped out only to see a scene of chaos unfolding, amidst the swirling dust and clamor of battle, stood the Black Knight, holding back a colossal Orc.

A titan of sinew and fury roared. Its jagged tusks glinted in the dim light as Henry strained against its overwhelming might, muscles taut and veins pulsing with the effort of holding back the monstrous tide. Nearby, Raoul rushed amidst a swarm of lesser Orcs. Their hulking forms encircled him like wolves closing in on prey.

His blade cleaved through sinew and bone. Each strike caused guttural cries to echo out. Without a moment’s hesitation, he wanted to test his recently acquired skill, Death Bolt. His lips moved, and the air around him crackled with dark energy, as though the very fabric of reality trembled in anticipation.

From his outstretched palm erupted a black beam that streaked through the air like a comet born of nightmares. The bolt surged toward the Orc. With a thunderous impact, it slammed into the creature’s broad, scarred torso, burrowing through flesh and bone. The monster’s deafening roar of agony, a primal scream that seemed to shake the heavens themselves as the magic flowed through its chest, leaving a smoldering wound in its wake.

For a fleeting moment, the beast’s eyes locked onto him, burning with defiance and pain, as its massive form collapsed to the earth, lifeless, its reign of terror extinguished in an instant, allowing the rest to be killed.

[D Rank Jungle Orc - 200 Experience]

Following that, Dante continued using Death Bolt, which killed anything it touched, until the last Orc dropped dead. When seeing this, he ordered the two knights to collect the bodies before throwing them into the Domain.

[10 x D Rank Jungle Orc - 200 Experience]

After the fighting had stopped, he pressed forward, summoning the Death Bats and commanding them to seek out any humans from Thornebrooke. Moments later, the winged creatures returned, swooping down toward him with a chorus of sharp chirps.