CHAPTER 40: YOU GIRLS TO HELP ME

Dante was now relaxing in Hollowend’s square as the village leader’s screams echoed for some time alongside her daughters. Once it went silent, the Death Orcs returned, throwing the catatonic humans into the center for the Death Knight to deal with, but he stopped the undead.

’’What is your name?’’ he asked, curious to find out more about his newest undead.

’’Arthur, my lord,’’ the knight replied respectfully.

’’Okay, Arthur, do you want me to kill them or do you?’’ Dante offered, his wicked smile grew wider.

The Death Knight went to move toward them, but something stopped him as he finally replied, looking into his eyes. ’’Can you do it for me? They’ve had enough, even though my wife suffered. I don’t wish for it to continue.’’

His eyebrow rose, muttered. ’’So this is the famous human empathy? Fascinating.’’

Without waiting, Dante cast several Death Bolts through the women’s skulls, leaving the leader alive as she watched her daughters drop dead. The pain in her eyes was addicting, but he approached the hopeless woman and crouched in front of her. ’’This was all your fault. You should’ve left the other races alone; now karma has come for you, human.’’

He slashed one of his daggers across the woman’s throat, decapitating her in one slash. Blood flew everywhere as Bella spoke up, disgust all over her face. ’’Damn vile creature, all those people suffering, and now she’s dead.’’

’’And Orcs had fun,’’ Dante said, pointing at the creatures who were drinking ale from skulls, an odd sight, but it didn’t bother him.

When the blonde glanced at them, she paled. ’’A bit grim, don’t you think?’’

’’Let them have fun,’’ he waved her away. ’’We’d better get going; this smoke will alert every adventurer and soldier in the area.’’

Bella nodded in agreement as he sent all the dead bodies and undead back into the Domain, leaving the Elf, Arthur, and Raoul in the real world. The Goblin Death Knight looked at him and spoke. ’’Are we going to fight the Dark Wolf?’’

’’Yes, we’ll look for the beast while heading toward Blackharbor to meet that Dark Elf,’’ he revealed.

Following that, Bella entered the Domain along with Arthur to show the Death Knight around as he traveled further south. He killed hundreds of monsters on his journey until reaching another village a week later. This time, there were Demi-Humans, Elves, and other races mingling around the fields outside.

The villagers had cleared parts of the Dark Forest to cultivate crops. Dante glanced at Raoul and sent him back, wary of frightening the locals. Just then, Mary emerged in her Demoness form, but with a knowing smile, she dismissed her horns, tail, and wings. ’’Bel said you’d need someone to help you pass as an innocent traveler,’’ she remarked.

’’Alright,’’ he responded.

Moments later, the duo approached the village, where he checked the upgrades to his status, only to be shocked by the results.

[Level Up: 102109]

[Experience: 10,200/20,000]

[MANA: 288316]

[HP: 252280]

[STR: 306334]

[DEX: 315343]

[INT: 248276]

[CHA: 137151]

[DP: 740010600]

[Death Eyes: 12]

’Oh nice, all the fighting had helped a bit,’ he mused as they passed the fields.

An older Elf man waved at them, surprising him, and it showed through his expression. Mary giggled as she teased. ’’Don’t be so gloomy, handsome, it seems like these people are a better lot than the Hollowend humans.’’

Dante bristled at her words but calmed down, nodding in agreement. ’’Alright, I have to blend in thanks to the Hunters being on Nemorath.’’

Just then, they passed by some bushes where Bella jumped out of the Domain, greeting the duo. ’’Arthur is resting and said to summon him if there’s any trouble.’’

’’Okay, what is this village called?’’ he questioned.

’’Dawnhaven, then there’s Riverside Town that leads toward Blackharbor,’’ the blonde revealed.

Dante grew curious as he asked something else. ’’Have you heard of the Dark Wolf everyone fears?’’

Bella went pale and slowly nodded. ’’Yes, it’s a bloody Demon! Attacks any small caravans, then flees back into the darkness. The Darkmoore King sent his personal Hunter to kill the creature, but they found his mangled body high in a tree a week later.’’

Mary shivered at this and agreed. ’’Yes, my mama and I have seen the beast. It attacked the bandits who captured us. It destroyed the front carriage and dragged off one of the men as he screamed.’’

’’Interesting,’’ Dante mumbled before revealing. ’’I’m going to hunt this creature; it looks like Marzanna wants me to kill it.’’

The two young women turned to him with wide eyes as Bella protested. ’’You cannot! It’s an S-ranked monster; only a handful of people can stand up against it.’’

’’Don’t worry about it, I have the Death Knights, monsters, and you girls to help me,’’ he responded, a confident expression crossing his face.

This didn’t convince them in the slightest, causing Dante to shrug as they got close to the village. That’s when a friendly-looking Bear man stepped out, greeting them. ’’Welcome to Dawnhaven, what brings you to our peaceful part of Nemaroth?’’

’’Travelling to Blackharbor to meet my father,’’ Mary suddenly answered.

The other two glanced at her as she continued, cheeks going red with embarrassment. ’’He’s there with Uncle Robert; he wants to take us to the mainland to get a wedding dress.’’

Dante nodded along and added. ’’We’ve been on the road for weeks, Dreadport didn’t have any carriages we could hire.’’

’’That’s a shame, we heard the northern settlements have been attacked by a vicious Necromancer and his undead minions,’’ the Bear man revealed. ’’The kingdom has sent a group of A Rank Hunters along with 100 high-ranked adventurers. Some are here, so don’t worry because a S Rank Mage is leading them, so Dawnhaven is safe for now.’’

The girls glanced at him before Bella spoke. ’’That’s good, there was smoke on the horizon when we woke up this morning.’’

Just then, Dante stiffened when a powerful aura washed over the village and the forest. Moments later, a mana alarm blared, forcing the Bear man to drag them through the gates as three people rushed past them, prompting Bella to whisper. ’’Those are the Hunters, lucky you look and feel like a normal human when not doing anything.’’

’’You’re right, but this place doesn’t smell of death like Hollowend,’’ he replied in a low voice. ’’And there are other races here.’’

Bella and Mary agreed just as the S Rank Mage appeared. Dante got a good look at the man who looked to be in his late forties. A weathered face spoke of years of fighting the wicked. He was wearing your typical mage robes, prompting him to use Death Eyes on the old man to see his status, thanks to it leveling up.

[Theodore Silverfist]

[Class: Supreme Mage]

[Race: Human]

[S Rank]

[MANA: 30]

[HP: 20]

[STR: 11]

[DEX: 13]

[INT: 13]

[CHA: 4]

’Fuck, he’s strong and has so much mana,’ he thought, shocked.

A chill gripped Dante as the S-Ranked Mage’s piercing gaze met his, radiating an aura of death itself. The old man halted, then strode toward the group, his hand poised to draw his daggers. Sensing the threat, the Death Knights tensed within the Domain, ready to leap into battle against this monster.

’’Welcome to Dawnhaven, young ones! I’m Theodore Silverfist, it’s a pleasure to meet you three,’’ the old man greeted them.

The girls were shocked, but Dante was confused as he replied. ’’Thank you for the kind words, Theodore. I’m Atlas. These are my fiancée’s, Sierra and Ella. We’re traveling to Blackharbour to meet their fathers.’’

’’Ahh, young love!’’ He exclaimed. ’’It’s good to see it flourish despite the horrors that lie beyond these walls. Now, Atlas, have you seen anything strange on your journey from Dreadport?’’

Dante stiffened, but Theodore chuckled. ’’These old ears heard your conversation with Ronald here. You mentioned black smoke?’’

’’This morning, as we broke camp, we noticed black smoke rising on the horizon,’’ Dante lied smoothly. ’’I’ve seen it before, when Dreadport fell to the vile Necromancer and his zombies.’’

The S-Ranked Mage nodded gravely. ’’A tragedy. But now that I’m here, I’ll handle the former hero. He should’ve stayed dead. Fortunately, the Light Goddess sent me a vision, guiding me here to vanquish this threat.’’

Dante flashed a knowing smile. ’’I’m sure you will, Theodore. Now, we must be on our way,’’ he said, his tone laced with fake sincerity.

Moments later, the old man said his goodbyes and vanished beyond the village walls, leaving them alone. ’’That was a strange meeting, he hasn’t spoken to many people since coming here,’’ the Bear man revealed. ’’But I won’t keep you for long, enjoy your stay at Dawnhaven, young ones.’’

They said their goodbyes to the Demi-Human as Bella led the way deeper into the village, a charming settlement of stone and wood. Dante couldn’t help but admire the quaint atmosphere, with shops neatly lining the bustling Main Street that ran through the heart of the community.