Zeno was still in a fierce battle with the leader of the Storm Hornets in the dining hall. The sound of clashing swords and the explosion of magic attacks could be heard through the large opening in the wall.
The vampire jumped into the air. His muscles bulged as he delivered a heavy downward slash. However, Kilo braced himself to block the attack. His special armor started to glow as more power fueled his body. As Zeno swung his sword down, a huge shockwave erupted when their swords clashed. The power was so strong that Kilo went down on one knee and cracks like a spider web appeared under his feet.
"Is that all you have, Zeno?" Kilo had a slight grin. He then pushed Zeno back and used the few seconds to recover. "I expected more from you, Zeno. I will defeat you soon. The longer this fight goes on, the stronger I grow. Don't forget that."
Zeno clicked his teeth. "It seems that you do not understand the difference between our power levels, but you will learn today, human."
Just as Zeno wanted to attack Kilo, they both heard a loud booming noise. The leader of the mercenary group turned his head toward the noise that was coming closer. Zeno also looked toward the wall behind Kilo.
"What is happening?"
Suddenly, the wall behind them exploded as two men came through the stone. It was Markus carrying a tall man over his shoulder. Zeno stared at Markus in disbelief as he ran past him. Markus carried the tall man with the special armor on his shoulder, not feeling the weight of his opponent at all.
As Markus ran at full speed, he turned his head and saw his brother standing opposite the leader of the Storm Hornets. He gave a light grin. "Greetings, brother."
Zeno could not believe what his brother was doing. "What are you doing? You are breaking the castle. Have some restraint."
Markus laughed loudly with the tall man still on his shoulder. "Where is the fun in that, brother?" Markus then slammed the tall man through the next wall and continued running.
Zeno looked at the huge wall that was destroyed. "Why is he such a jerk?"
"Do not forget about me, Zeno."
Kilo came with a surprise attack and planned on removing the head of Zeno from his shoulders. However, the vampire managed to block the sword attack with his own blade. The impact from the attack however sent the vampire flying into the corner of the room and into a cabinet full of glasses and plates.
"Apologies, Kilo, for ignoring you. I worry about my younger brother a lot, but I see he has everything under control."
"Your brother is going to die, Zeno. He is underestimating my subordinate, Raven. That will be his undoing."
"Hehehe. We will see about that."
====
As the war raged on, the explosive brawl that began in the massive dining hall had spilled out and scattered the combatants. Time passed in a gruelling blur of clashing steel and shattering stone. Markus, Caden, Zeno, and their opponents had dragged their deadly duels deep into other rooms, the sounds of their endless battles echoing throughout the sprawling castle. However, amidst the widespread destruction, Anna and Decker remained behind in the ruined dining room, locked in a fierce and continuous fight. She held out both her hands and two bolts of lightning appeared in her palms.
"Take this," she said. She threw both lightning bolts toward Decker.
The lightning streaked through the air at full speed, but Decker decided to run directly toward the attack. Two inky silhouettes, perfect copies of him, spilled from his form to take the blow. Thunderous blasts rocked the room as lightning tore through the shadow clones, shredding them into nothing.
Smoke and debris filled the air. Anna stood in place and waited for the dead corpse of Carlos Decker to fall. She was instantly disappointed as the vampire ran right through the smoke toward her. He readied himself for a heavy attack, but Anna was too fast. She spun and her leg sliced through the air in a powerful roundhouse kick. With a swift motion, her foot made contact with his midsection. The impact echoed like a thunderclap.
The attack hurled Decker backward. Before he could slam into the wall, Anna materialized in front of him and unleashed a brutal punch. Her arm blurred as it shot out, electricity dancing along her knuckles.
"Bolt Flash!"
Her fist drove into Decker's abdomen, and the force flung him against the plaster as if he were a portrait nailed in place. Painful shockwaves wracked the vengeful vampire's body; he collapsed and writhed on the floor like a broken toy.
While Decker fell to the ground and laid on the rubble, he coughed up a mouthful of blood. His body was in extreme pain. Fuck. This woman is a monster, Decker thought as he clenched his teeth.
He could feel a sharp and stinging pain deep in his stomach. He looked up and saw Anna walking toward him. She looked like a tiger approaching an injured gazelle, ready to devour her prey.
However, Carlos was not ready to give up. His daughter's face burst into his mind, their dances together, the way she would light up the room with her smile, the sound of her laugh, the soft warmth of her hand in his. That tenderness lingered only for a heartbeat before it shattered. A darker memory surged up to replace it, the day he watched Leonidas plunge a blade into his little girl when they were still ordinary people with a peaceful life. He saw the hand buried in her chest, the last image seared into his vision before everything went black. The bitter frustration of being powerless on that day returned like a hot iron through his veins, fueling a rage that tightened his jaw and filled his limbs with cold resolve.
"I will have my vengeance," he whispered.
The dark shadow entity inside him sensed his pure anger. It absorbed more of the soul of Decker in exchange for more power. Dark and thick energy poured out of his body, and Anna could sense that something was very wrong.
"I must applaud you for surviving my attack just now. You should have died," Anna said. "But this is where our little fight will come to an end. I will now send you to the afterlife to keep my husband company."
Lady Crimson then balled her fist, and lightning started to dance around it. She was ready to deliver the finishing blow. Tears started to run down her cheeks. The man that laid before her was not even worthy of killing her husband. She felt a deep pain thinking about how a low-class vampire would be celebrated in certain places for defeating the fire lord Leonidas.
Deep inside the mind of Decker, he stood before the dark entity who was slowly devouring his soul in exchange for strength and power. He bowed before this dark being with both knees on the ground. "My lord, please grant me more power to defeat my enemy."
The dark demon was like a thick black shadow that floated in the air. It was very hard to see the eyes or mouth of the demon.
"The person you want to kill now will be impossible for you to defeat. If I lend you too much of my power, then your body might explode."
"I do not care. I want her to die," he said with heavy anger in his voice.
"If you die now, then you will not be able to avenge your dead daughter. Are you sure?" the dark demon asked with a light smirk.
"Then what should I do? Do not tell me that this is where I meet my end. I want his whole family to die. No one must survive."
The dark demon then appeared behind Decker and came close enough to whisper in the ear of the vampire. "Hehehe, you are an interesting vampire. You are willing to sacrifice everything for revenge. Here is an idea. Why not toss her away like the garbage she is? You can then take your time killing her people. By the time she comes back, she will be so angry that when you two fight again, she will have many openings that you can easily take advantage of."
The eyes of Decker glowed red and an evil stare revealed itself. He lifted his head up and looked at the dark demon. "Then give me the power."
"As you command"
The thick dark energy that leaked out of the body of Decker earlier now burst out of him like steam coming out of a kettle. A massive dark figure started to manifest from his flesh.
Anna was startled to see the hulking dark figure growing larger before her eyes, expanding until it towered at eighteen feet tall. She searched frantically for Decker, only to realize the vampire was the epicenter of the transformation, completely enveloped within the massive shadowy form.
The dark giant turned its gaze toward Anna. She gritted her teeth, her muscles tensing to escape, but the behemoth was a step ahead. It reached out with blinding speed, its massive hand closing around the female vampire before she could dart away.
"Unhand me, you piece of shit!" she screamed.
The dark figure tried to crush Anna within its huge grip. It squeezed tighter and tighter, but the female vampire would not break. To the giant, trying to crush her was like a normal human trying to squeeze a ball of solid metal. The giant figure stepped toward the jagged breach where the windows used to be. With a single, devastating swing of his left fist, he blew out the rest of the stonework. The attack obliterated the remainder of the wall and a massive portion of the ceiling, tearing the room wide open to the outside world. The heavy rain poured down into the ruins of the castle.
Anna struggled to get free. She could feel the giant applying pressure to crush her in his hands. The lady of the castle then thought of a plan.
"Fine, then I will blow you to pieces," she said.
She unleashed more of her lightning energy. Her eyes glowed and electricity crackled everywhere. She stored a massive amount of power and was ready to unleash a heavy attack. The huge figure looked out into the distance and lifted her high into the air. Then, in a single and violent motion, the dark figure hurled Anna through the sky.
The dark figure formed a visor with its huge fingers and looked into the distance to see how far it threw the female vampire. Some of the vampire knights on the ground witnessed everything. They could not believe how this massive monster exploded out of the castle. Right after that, the same monster threw the madam of the house for miles.
Reina and her group were running toward the huge dark figure. They also gathered a few vampire knights on the way. As they came closer, Reina commanded them to stop. She looked up and saw Anna being launched through the sky. Her eyes widened in horror.
"No," Reina whispered.
She was not the only one shocked by this sight. Helen also witnessed the event and felt like she was trapped in a living nightmare.
"No, this is not possible," Helen said.