Chapter 352: The Blood Of The Beloved
[Music recommendation: Eternal Eclipse - Hidden Machinations]
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Selene then used her blood to draw a symbol on the ground where she sat. After that, she began chanting a spell in an ancient language. The ground started shaking violently, and the rifts that had been glowing red until now began expanding at an alarming rate.
Ivan and Azrath, who were standing far away from the rest of the group, turned their heads toward the commotion.
Azrath’s mouth twisted into an unsettling grin. "You’ve surrounded yourself with an interesting bunch, Malakai. It is a pity they are all about to die."
But Ivan didn’t respond with words. Instead, he hurled blazing fire at both Azrath and Selene.
However, Azrath protected them both with an impermeable crimson barrier.
An evil laugh escaped his lips. "Ah, haven’t you learned already? You cannot harm me through this formidable barrier of mine."
He stopped laughing, but the grin did not subside. "I see you haven’t figured it out yet. It seems the death of your beloved has taken your ability to think."
At his comment, the dragon circling above let out a roar before launching a breath attack without warning. Once again, it did nothing to the man.
"Do not waste your energy, Malakai. Your fire cannot touch me anymore... do you know why?" Azrath asked in his sinister voice.
When Ivan did not respond, he continued, "Well, of course, it is because of your beloved’s blood that now flows through my veins. You see, Selene did not kill her all this time because she was waiting... waiting for your beloved to awaken all her powers, until she was completely ripe to be plucked."
"Her blood held the key to my revival on this very day, the same day you two ruthlessly buried me in the very heart of a volcano."
"The result was me absorbing that delicious, divine blood of hers, filled with so much power that I could feel it coursing through my veins. I drank it hungrily, savoured every last drop of her, and then discarded her like a pathetic doll."
Azrath looked around before commenting casually, "Hmm... and where is she? I do not see her beautiful body anywhere. I was rather looking forward to personally finishing my drink from her soft, beautiful form."
Ivan finally lost all control.
"You f*cking bastard!!" he sneered, his voice dripping with venom. Then he erupted with a violent inferno, launching himself toward Azrath like a burning meteor. He landed a powerful punch against the crimson barrier. The shield shuddered and hummed under the force of the impact, yet it remained intact.
Ivan did not relent. He poured every ounce of his power into the strike, trying to burn a hole through the humming barrier, then began landing more powerful punches against the barrier. The temperature in the surrounding area soared so high that the others felt as though they were about to melt, but Ivan refused to stop.
The volcanoes, already active, began to rumble from the rising heat before they finally erupted, one after the other.
At that exact moment, an ominous, animalistic screech echoed across the land. Slimy, black-clawed hands began tearing at the rifts, widening them enough for monsters to crawl out. They were lanky, grey-skinned demons with hollowed eyes and jagged teeth on full display.
Hundreds of them emerged as if a festering wound in the earth had been ripped wide.
Selene rose to her full height. Her dark brown hair billowed in the wind as she raised both hands. Purple light seeped from her palms, and her eyes turned pitch black. "My loyal pets, kill every single one of them in the name of Lord Azrath!"
The clouds groaned, thunder and lightning echoed across the sky before a heavy rain began to fall, as if the immense heat and smoke from the blasts had finally forced the heavens to give way. The downpour drenched everyone on the battlefield.
The creatures screeched, turning their full attention toward Ivan’s group. The companions knew they might not survive this assault. Even though the fire of vengeance still burned within them, their bodies were exhausted from the nonstop fighting.
"What in heaven’s name are those?" Caleb asked in disbelief.
"My guess is more creatures from hell, considering that old fossil is awake now," Alex replied with a grave expression.
Seira let out a dry chuckle. "Well, I think we are finally cornered."
"We might be... but then again, let’s go out with a bang." Dante didn’t deny Seira’s words this time as they were truly staring at a hopeless case.
Still, they took their stances to engage in this final battle. Even with the sheer number of monstrosities and the odds stacked against them, they mentally prepared for the end. With another collective screech, the creatures from hell launched themselves forward.
Just before the monsters could reach them, a familiar voice thundered across the field. "Charge!"
Just then, a barrage of enchanted arrows flew from behind them, piercing the bodies of the hellish creatures one after another. As the arrows struck, the ghouls’ sickly skin sizzled before they began to melt into nothingness.
Ivan’s group was in shock, but they had no time to process the turn of events. More hell ghouls continued to emerge from the cracks, and all hell broke loose.
Soldiers in their hundreds emerged from the other side of the crumbled, dilapidated castle. Whether they were humans, Lumens, or vampires, they all charged at the creatures. Meanwhile, archers positioned on the high rocks and broken structures continued to pour out precise, deadly attacks.
Damien, Cece, and Edward, who were closest to the incoming ghouls, were forced to fight when several creatures bypassed their defences. Just as the monsters lunged, a pale blue blast blew them back.
Two powerful figures emerged before the trio with incredible speed. With charged blades, they sliced through the monsters, leaving the three companions stunned.
"Not my children, you abominations!" one of the men thundered.
"Father?" all three of them exclaimed in unison.
Marquess Victor Weaver, Edward’s father, turned and gave his son a quick smile. "Go rest for a moment! You look exhausted, Edward." Without waiting for a reply, he turned back to the fray and continued to blast the enemies away.
Meanwhile, Regulus turned and looked at Cece before his gaze shifted to Damien. "You look like shit, son," he commented.
For the first time since he had woken up, a genuine smile broke across Damien’s face. Meeting his father’s eyes, he replied, "Well, I feel like shit, Father."
Regulus simply nodded before turning away. "I am glad you are alive." His voice was barely above a whisper, but Damien heard it clearly.
"You kids need to rest. Get behind the reinforcements while we sort this out," Regulus spoke aloud for the three of them to hear, never stopping his assault on the creatures.
Instead of retreating, Damien, Cece, and Edward swung their swords and stepped forward to join their fathers.
"Let’s show them, Father, why the Silver family is feared," Damien said, his voice steady.
Edward quipped from the other side, "Let’s show them the incredible sword skills of our family, Father."
"Fine, but none of you are going down under our watch," Regulus commented while Victor nodded in agreement.
With those words, they all charged back into the fierce battle on the front line.
While a fierce battle took place on the front line, with fathers and children fighting alongside the soldiers, Dante and Seira continued defending themselves. Each time creatures crawled toward them, they struck back.
Suddenly, a broad-shouldered man with light red hair and green eyes landed next to them, killing a cluster of ghouls with brute force.
"Well, well, looks like you guys have had your hands full," Professor Leo said.
A small grin broke across Dante’s face. "I’ll say. I am glad to see you guys finally made it here."
"What took you so long?" Seira asked. She cast a spell to ward off the enemies while using her sword in her other hand to cut through them.
Leo’s face scrunched up in displeasure. "We would have been here sooner if not for those godforsaken Darkrots blocking the only route to this side. Thanks to the castle’s collapse, most of them got buried under the rubble, allowing us to make it through!"
"I see," Seira replied.
Leo turned over his shoulder to look at his colleagues and friends. "So, what did I miss?"
Dante and Seira exchanged a grim look before looking back at Leo, prompting him to ask, "What?"
Alex and Caleb, who were not far from the professors, continued fighting until two powerful presences joined them. Alex whirled around, only to find Iskara, his king, and King Solan joining the fray.
"Your Majesties," Alex and Caleb greeted them with small nods after killing a couple of ghouls.
The elite squad of the Ignis Blades, the King’s Guard, and the vampire army surrounded them, warding off every threat that came their way.
With Alex and Caleb finally allowed a moment to breathe, they turned toward the two kings.
Solan asked impatiently, "Where is my daughter?"
Alex and Caleb were stumped by the sudden, dreadful question from the King of Luminear.
When they didn’t respond, Iskara met Alex’s eyes. "Alex, where are Ivan and Princess Evelyn? And why is there a fire dragon causing destruction across the entire city?"
