CHAPTER 24: ANOTHER HEALER? PASS

Dante’s cold gaze fixed on the woman as her body crumpled to the ground. After this, his expression twisted into something wicked, and he shouted to the Death Knights. ’’Slaughter every Human. None of them is innocent.’’

[C Rank Human - 400 Experience]

Seconds later, Raoul charged forward as an enemy lunged in his direction, thanks to the death of their leader, outraging the stupid Human. The attack was halted by the Goblin Death Knight. The monster swung its blade, which blocked the attack. It shattered the man’s sword and cut through his armor, blood spraying in an arc, causing the other Death Knights to get ready to fight the swarm of enemies.

[E Rank Human - 100 Experience]

Amid the chaos, Dante’s piercing gaze locked onto the giant Black Knight standing nearby. ’’Henry, bring five souls to me, unharmed!’’ he commanded.

As his words echoed, chaos erupted. Sulla the Death Lich unleashed a devastating Necrotic Blast that shattered the gates into splinters, and the explosion echoed out like a death knell as the Humans prepared to fight. Laughing darkly at the carnage, he raised his hands, summoning his Death Army in a surge of mana.

Seconds later, the small horde of Rotlings clawed their way from the shadows to join the fray and rushed into the town. ’’Let Thornebrooke’s streets run red for what the Humans did to me!’’ he bellowed, his voice shook the very earth.

Following that, driven by savage battlelust, Dante charged, his daggers gleaming like lightning as he carved through the enemy, shattering their efforts to regroup. With a feral snarl, he broke their formation, unleashing a Death Blast that ripped through their ranks. The humans jumped to the side, but three were instantly killed in an explosion of necrotic energy, causing the remaining parts of their bodies to drop to the ground.

[3 x D Rank Humans - 600 Experience]

Moments later, Dante noticed the air reeked of iron and ash as he carved a path through the remaining E-Ranked Adventurers, his daggers a blur of silver death. Each slash was a masterpiece of carnage. Blood sprayed like a crimson fountain as he danced through their ranks, his eyes alight as a notification popped up.

[3 x E Rank Humans - 300 Experience]

The cacophony of war swallowed the humans’ screams, their bodies falling like wheat to a scythe. Around him, death had come to Thornebrooke and the Darkmoore Kingdom that would come to know him. He watched as his Death Wolves, their fur black as the void and red glowing eyes, tore through the streets, their jaws snapping through armor and bone.

Death Bats swooped from the smoke-choked sky, their razor-sharp wings slicing through fleeing townsfolk. Death Bears roared as they crushed entire squads of defenders, their massive paws leaving trails of shattered stone and gore. At the town’s crumbling walls, the Death Goblins and the hulking Warriors clashed against the desperate town guards.

The Goblins darted around, their jagged blades gutting foes while letting out horrifying, happy noises. The Warriors, clad in spiked armor forged from the bones of fallen enemies, wielded massive cleavers, hacking through the guards’ formations. The guards fought valiantly, their swords flashing in the flickering torchlight, but they were no match for the tide of undead fury.

Sulla, perched atop a mound of rubble, cackled as he surveyed the chaos, his hands weaving dark runes in the air. ’’More! Let the rivers of blood flow!’’ he roared, his voice a tempest that spurred the Death Army to greater frenzy.

Another Necrotic Blast erupted from his fingertips, obliterating a cluster of archers on the ramparts, their bodies disintegrating into ash and screams as blood flew everywhere, only to cover the survivors. Dante, undeterred by the pandemonium, locked eyes with a trembling adventurer captain who dared to raise a shield against him.

A predatory grin spread across his face as he lunged, his daggers singing when they found their mark, painting the cobblestones red.

’’None shall stand!’’ he yelled to his army.

***

Carly, a naive elvish merchant, ventured to the fringes of the Darkmoore Kingdom to barter with Humans, unaware she was stepping into a nightmare. In the town square, chaos erupted as death descended around her. Frenzied Goblins, their red eyes blazing and clad in jagged armor, mercilessly cut down the Humans, sparing only the Demi-Humans and Elves.

The Elf woman’s blood ran cold when she glimpsed their leader. A dark, shrouded figure loomed, his form obscured in darkness save for glowing red eyes and razor-sharp teeth glinting in the chaos. Her mind reeled. ’He’s no Human, no Elf, something else, something evil.’

Moments later, a massive Goblin appeared and grabbed her by the throat before dragging her toward the square where the stranger was waiting as he stood in front of five dead bodies. There were about one hundred survivors, but she noticed there was a single human. ’’Bring the elf! I haven’t met one in two hundred years!’’ the stranger exclaimed in a menacing tone.

***

Dante continued his ruthless slaughter of the Humans, sparing the other races as screams echoed through the night. The chaos dragged on for hours, and the incessant chime of experience notifications began to grate on him. With a fleeting thought, he silenced the town square.

He gestured for Sulla to bring a chair, which was placed in front of him moments later. As he sat, the Death Lich loomed nearby, shadowed by the White Lady and the Death Wraith at its sides. The trio, his grim bodyguards, shadowed his every step, an entourage that amused him endlessly.

Just then, he felt his Death Goblins and Wolves being killed, causing him to resummon all his monsters. Enraged by the loss of all but one Goblin, Dante summoned the Death Bats. The dark creatures emerged from the portal as he commanded. ’’Find whoever’s killing my creatures and report back to me.’’

While waiting, he sat down and pulled up the total monsters he had now.

[Death Army: 27/150]

’Maybe I need to turn some of the bodies into monsters just like the Rotlings,’

he mused. ’I’ll get some interesting combinations.’

Dante was reveling in his thoughts for some time until the Death Bats crashed down in the town square. A loud chitter echoed out, making him jump up as he exclaimed. ’’Humans! They came from Dreadport.’’

At this, Sulla materialized beside him and cautioned. ’’My Lord, perhaps a Hero or the kingdom’s finest seeks your life. You did raze Ashvale and slaughter its people.’’

’’Meh,’’ he scoffed. ’’I’ll cut down any Hero or human foolish enough to challenge me.’’

Following that, Dante strode toward the source, drawing his blades and bracing for a warrior, not mere bandits or monsters. Once he reached the northern entrance, he came face to face with four people. Leading the group was an older Bear Demi-Human knight clad in armor, wielding a massive sword that seemed too large for any ordinary person.

What caught Dante’s eye was the glowing band on the knight’s arm, a Mana Shield. Beside him stood a young man in his early twenties, dressed in leather armor, dual short swords gleaming at his sides, poised to attack. The third figure was a redheaded Elf woman in flowing mage robes, her deadly staff crackling.

Finally, a Dwaven rogue, cloaked entirely in black, moved like a predator, her piercing gaze locking onto him as if he were a monstrous prey. Dante’s smile grew wide as he spoke. ’’An interesting bunch of Heroes. What brings you to Thornebrooke?’’

The Bear man lumbered forward, his face twisted thanks to the hatred he felt. ’’Don’t play innocent, fiend! We saw you butcher the people here, and now you’ve got your vile creatures guarding the survivors!’’

Dante gave a lazy smirk, shrugging. ’’What, you’re mad about that? Humans are a bore. I spared a few of your kind, but keep running your mouth, and I’ll kill after I’m done with you lot.’’

Just then, the Elf woman stepped forward and looked at him with pity, speaking. ’’What has brought you down this dark path? You’re some form of human, there’s no need to do this.’’

’’Huh?’’ he blurted out.

Dante shook his head and scanned the four people using his Death Eyes to find out what rank they are.

[B Rank Bear Demi-Human - Warrior]

[C Rank Elf - Healer]

[B Rank Human - Warrior Mage]

[C Rank Dwarf - Rouge]

’’Another healer? Pass. But the rest of you might be fun,’’ Dante drawled with an evil smirk that shook the group.

Before anyone could react, he flicked a Death Bolt at the Elf woman. She yelped, but the Bear man lunged forward, his Mana Shield flaring to life, deflecting the attack. At the same moment, the Black Knight surged toward the warrior, blade flashing. The enemy fighter raised his sword to block, but Henry’s strike sent him crashing backward as Death Bats swarmed, shrieking.

The rogue darted to his aid, but Dante vanished, reappearing in front of the Dwarf woman in the blink of an eye.