Chapter 19: Full Reign
"Level 20?" Leonard read out loud, the words hanging like a death sentence in the air.
They had barely managed to subdue a Level 12 Skeleton Knight, and now a monster that was double the threshold of entering the dungeon rose before them.
The vampire was male, his skin ghostly pale, with long red hair and crimson eyes. His spine cracked and adjusted as he fixed his posture, awakening from his long slumber.
Shifting his gaze, the vampire stared at the party of three.
"At long last..." A horrifying smile spread across his face. "Food."
In unison, the three dropped into battle formation.
Even experienced awakeners who had obtained a class would struggle to face such a monstrosity, yet this was the True Boss of a Grade 1 dungeon.
"Congratulations on making it this far..." The vampire praised in admiration, slowly stepping out of his coffin.
"I am sure it wasn’t easy to reach my chambers. However, now it’s time to rejoice! You shall be turned into nourishment to help me regain my former glory!" He declared before erupting into maniacal laughter.
"No wonder the Haunted Catacombs have remained sealed for so long, with not a single monster breaking out. The true master of this place has been biding his time all along, likely waiting to feed on enough victims to gather strength before venturing into the outside world by triggering a dungeon outbreak." Leonard murmured in grim realization.
All this time, anyone who had fallen into the Death Zone had already had their fate predetermined. They were not challengers... But cattle.
Arabella didn’t linger. She released an arrow infused with the element of light, surging forward.
In response, the vampire caught it with a nonchalant motion.
"That tickles." The monster chuckled before snapping it into two pieces.
"Even that wasn’t enough to hurt it?" She whispered in despair. This was her strongest attack, and vampires were supposed to be weak to light, yet the power disparity between them was so vast that she didn’t leave a scratch on the monster!
Still grinning, the vampire bent his legs, preparing to lunge.
"Behind me!" Winston shouted, raising his shield to the front.
An instant later, the vampire collided with him.
The shield buckled and fractured under the impact. The sheer force lifted Winston off his feet and sent him skidding across the floor.
Gritting his teeth, Leonard struck. Lightning coursed through his axe as it hit the vampire’s leg, aiming to disrupt his balance.
The blow simply bounced off his skin, the lightning dispersing harmlessly across the vampire’s body.
"Good blow, but it lacks weight." The vampire mused, his palm curling into a fist. "Let me show you how it’s done."
The strike came faster than Leonard could perceive. Instinctively bracing his core, he felt weightless as he was flung to the side like a ragdoll, the air driven from his lungs.
Before the monster could walk up to him and finish the job, a misty figure grabbed him.
Confused, the vampire glanced to the side. Joker, having assumed the appearance of a ghoul, clung to him, preventing him from moving.
"Strange... aren’t you one of the subjects I turned?" The vampire muttered, puzzled for a few seconds before realizing this was merely a summon.
Lifting his arm high, he sent Joker upward, crashing him into the ceiling, momentarily losing form.
"Don’t give up!" Arabella muttered to herself. She unleashed a rain of arrows charged with elemental energy.
Moving so fast he left afterimages, the vampire dodged the barrage effortlessly, taking unhurried strides forward.
Winston recovered, letting out a roar. He raised his hammer with both hands and brought it down.
The vampire halted the strike with a single hand. Cracks spread across the ground from the impact, yet he remained unwavering, standing unfazed.
"You are a big boy, aren’t you?" The vampire bared its fangs. "Surely you will keep me full for a while."
While the monster was distracted, Leonard tried to initiate an ambush, but his strike proved ineffective.
In a heartbeat, the vampire struck, sending the three of them flying in different directions.
"Let’s see... your blood smells the least appealing, so I’ll start with you." The vampire said, his crimson eyes gleaming with menace. "After all, the best dish should always be saved for last, right?"
Spreading his claws, he began to walk toward Winston, who was too hurt to get up.
"No!" Leonard shouted with raw rage. His teammate had jumped after him into the Death Zone. He couldn’t allow him to die!
Yet Leonard failed to spot a way out of their current predicament. The vampire was simply too strong to be handled at their current Level.
"Joker." With no other idea, he recalled the summon beside him.
"From what I have observed, you possess a certain degree of intelligence." He said, struggling to his feet.
Joker condensed his misty form into a round ball and stared at his master.
"I grant you full reign. I don’t care how you do it. Find a way for us to survive!" Leonard ordered.
Joker obeyed, his body morphed into a fog that drifted over the farthest corners of the room, searching for a way out.
"Do you really think a measly fog can slow me down?" The vampire chuckled, using his thermal vision to locate Winston.
The next moment, the fog shook, Joker’s body surged like a tidal wave, blurring the surroundings along his way.
His misty form seeped through the armor’s narrow gaps of the lone knight poised at the far end of the chamber. Joker vanished beneath the protective veil.
Suffocating silence settled, and the vampire’s grin was instantly wiped from his face. Halting on the spot, he slowly turned around.
At the chamber’s edge, his crimson eyes fixed onto the unmoving armor that returned his gaze with lifeless stillness.
"Impossible..." The vampire whispered.
A tremor rippled across the knight’s armor.
The head rose of its own accord.
Beneath the helmet, his eyes burned in silver.
[Devoted Summons takes effect.]
[You have gained a new follower!]
[Knight of the Shattered Order has been added to your rule!]
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