-----
Everyone wished they could carry their people's remains back to their own towns, but with everything destroyed, it was impossible.
So they held a burial nearby. People placed stones engraved with names and prayed to their fallen spirit beast gods.
Maria sighed softly, welcoming the survivors into her Soul Realm after a time, then pressed onward.
After repeating the process at two more fortresses, she arrived at the red spire.
It towered gigantic, stretching over four hundred meters into the sky.
A powerful aura of death and blood radiated from it.
Unlike the others, the Vampires had prepared this time.
An Archduke stood with three Dukes at his side, greeting Maria's group with fierce hostility.
"There you are! Do you truly believe you can stand against the Crimson Order?!" the Archduke snarled. His long blonde hair framed glowing red eyes. "We will crush you and devour your family!"
Maria stared at them in silence. Sorrow filled her face.
