Frontier of the Great Maxwell Dungeon—.
A place of vital importance in the defence against vampires, where a long fight is being fought between humans and different types of monsters.
Werewolves, wraiths, lesser vampires, all facing off against mere humans on the front lines.
Enigma is said to be the "Mistress of the Night", as all the nocturnal beasts have been fighting under her command for many centuries.
That this "Eternal Night" situation arose was only an opportunity for these monsters to return to her service. And she of course does not waste these minions.
The humans are fighting back with everything they have, silver swords, holy water and even those who can use blessings are doing so to support their companions.
Everyone is united here for the same cause, including Reneé Cross, Olivia's cousin and Amelie Cross.
She is like Amelie, a non-combatant, but taken to the next point. As Reneé is directly in the area of combat support thanks to the fact that she can use "Blessings" on her allies.
Healings, status alterations, there is nothing Reneé can't heal. That's why she finds herself dancing in the midst of combat to be able to protect her allies from dying.
Physically she is above Amelie, which allows her to mobilise even in the most difficult places just to assist.
On the other hand, there is Reneé's twin brother, who goes by the name of Rominula.
-Reneé, throw me a shield! -. shouts Rominula, who finds herself taking down a werewolf.
Reneé responds immediately, and places a shield between Rominula and the battle axe that a wraith was about to put around the boy's neck.
This boy was born with the gift of adaptability in combat like his cousin Olivia, which along with good training allowed him to become a lifelong member of the [Vampire Hunter] corps.
Rominula fights the wraith by simply using her fists, which before the fight were blessed by Reneé so that she was able to strike these entities and eliminate them.
They are too different to be siblings, but the white hair on the heads of both show the kinship.
Reneé moves around her brother's back and simply taps him on the shoulder, saying:
-Don't get distracted, this is going to go on for a long time. Until Olivia gets here we're not going to be able to do much.
-I heard Amelie defeated the Fifth, you're no slouch either, sister!
Reneé doesn't stop walking, and slips between a ghoul and a warlock, casting an enchantment of protection from all harm.
That her cousin Amelie has defeated Nicholas Reiss is news that has impressed her, as Amelie is not so good in combat.
But for her to have been able to do so, it shows how good the sisters Olivia and Amelie are at fighting.
(Mm... Amelie has always been good with magic, I'm glad to hear she managed to do her part in this hunt).
That's all Reneé is thinking at the moment, she can't be distracted one bit as she has to raise a shield to block the huge club that a minotaur swung at some of her companions.
Reneé didn't take the impact so well and falls to one of her knees, and says to those behind her being defended from the attack.
-Reorganise yourselves! I won't be able to hold out that long if you don't even weaken this thing!
The warriors, even clad in their bulky armour were dejected to see that such a small girl is defending them with everything she has.
So, with a "Yes, Lady Reneé!", they all raised their weapons again, managing to distract the minotaur long enough for Reneé to move again.
Her hands and legs tremble from the tremendous impact, but she cannot falter at all.
She rises once more before the beast, and grabs the first weapon she could find, which was a spear. Reneé puts a strengthening charm on it, and without hesitation, throws this spear at the minotaur's head.
She hit the beast's right eye with an accurate shot, allowing everyone else to strike the final blow against it before it became really agitated.
And then, a sound set off all of Reneé's alarms.
So much so that she could only shout:
-SHIELDS IN THE AIR!
Reneé raises again the shield she used to protect herself from the minotaur, covering a few people under it.
However, those who did not have one at hand were riddled with a hail of arrows from nowhere.
And if that wasn't enough, incendiary arrows.
-Reneé, be careful!
Rominula shouts at her sister, until seconds later an oil bomb falls at her feet.
They want to burn her alive, but she can't stop the line of defence, many more will die?
"You are not capable of saving everyone, Reneé. If we could, this world would be so much more beautiful."
Her cousin's words echo in Reneé's head. She said this to her a long time ago, when Reneé was still a little girl.
Olivia has always been much more mature for her age, for her responsibilities to the Empire are unique and unwavering.
She even carried this behaviour with her family, but when Reneé and Rominula were children, they remember Olivia as a very friendly older sister who treated them wonderfully.
When Olivia was returning from one of her trips, where there seemed to be some conflict, Olivia was depressed. You could tell.
She grieved for the lives that were lost in combat to fight by her side, Olivia is overly sensitive to self-sacrifice and is not inclined to the idea that someone else must die for her to live.
She'd rather get hurt than let people die, that's Olivia Cross.
And those were the same words Olivia said to Reneé when she was still a child. She simply told her that it was best to stop sacrificing yourself for someone else...
-As if I would let these lives I protect sacrifice themselves for me! Guys, run!
With the stubbornness she has had since she was a child, Reneé stands firm holding the shield so that her allies don't get hurt.
The soldiers and mages, rushing to find other avenues of protection, abandon Reneé's shield.
Now everything is lighter, she can breathe more calmly.
And she relaxes, pronouncing:
-Guide de la Voie, accorde ton attention à ceux qui luttent pour le bien.
(Guide of the Way, give your care to those who fight for good.)
She channels magical energy throughout her body, casting an incantation of protection on all status effects in the vicinity, the wooden shield filled with arrows glowing golden, raising a light in all directions so that this blessing reaches them all.
Thus, the effects of the flames will do nothing to anyone, everyone will be protected.
-Wonderful circus trick, brat. This is why I've always been someone, methodical when it comes to killing.
A voice completely terrified Reneé, seconds before something slid over her left shoulder, sliding into her ear.
It wasn't long before Reneé felt a horrifying sensation of hundreds of hairs moving around inside her head, even passing over her eyeballs.
Reneé begins to bleed from every possible avenue, as she quickly agonises over the method used.
Her brain was completely destroyed, leaving only a grey mush that came out of Reneé's ears and nose.
Now just a sack of flesh and blood, Reneé finally falls to the ground, completely dead.
The woman dressed in a black feathered robe was completely unharmed even when interacting with the Blood of the Cross. It was certainly a ruthless method of killing someone.
-What did you do to my sister?!
Rominula advanced to the spot, only to find Reneé's corpse under her feet.
Not being able to accept this, Rominula hesitates...
-You're quite handsome, boy. How about I make you part of my collection?
-You killed... my sister... there's no way I'm gonna let you walk all over my family any way you want!
The woman just watches him. And in an upward motion, she rips a chunk of Rominula's flesh straight from his left cheek.
The young man took a step backwards, not understanding what was happening?
-It's been ages since I've tasted this damned blood, I like the fresh taste you bring to it, boy.
This woman's skin is pale, and a pair of fangs protrude from her mouth. There is no doubt in Rominula's mind that this woman is a vampire.
Then how come the blood has no effect on her? That's impossible. No vampire has ever been known to be immune to this effect, even Enigma is affected by it.
She finishes devouring the piece of meat, and smiles in a very mischievous way:
-Now you're afraid, aren't you? The Cross Blood that has coursed through your veins, all your life you were told it was a special gift, is now totally useless.
-You... you should have died...! How?!
Everything Rominula had been taught was falling apart, his own morals and pride as a member of the Cross Family were being contradicted at this very moment.
He couldn't believe there was such a thing as a vampire immune to the effects.
-You're asking me "How," uh. It's something... simple.
Beneath the feathered garment, an insect-like body emerges, growing larger and larger in size until it is over two meters tall.
The appearance resembles that of a centipede, those simple bugs that Rominula used to play with to annoy her sister.
But it doesn't stop there.
There are bird feathers, lion claws, centipede feet, and a whole host of other beastly features.
Rominula understood then that she had no way to escape. This "Vampire Lady" was not someone who wasted time during her long immortal life.
-I'm so sorry, boy. I'm only doing this for the glory of Lady Vivian.
The monster speaks to him in a twisted voice, before ripping Rominula's head off with a single bite.
This line of defence has failed, now they will have to muster greater efforts to eliminate all the monsters advancing towards the capital.
After completely devouring Rominula, the woman returns to her humanised form, and without any effort as she just throws all her feathers as if they were arrows, she annihilates the warriors around her with that alone.
This woman's name is Belphegor. She is the [Seventh Vampire Lord] under the command of Enigma, she is one of the most dangerous vampires in existence today simply because she is a mutation.
Belphegor spent her immortal life time studying a method to become immune to the Blood of the Cross, and her most feasible solution was to dilute her vampire trait using the technique of chimerism by fusing her body with the body parts of other monsters.
The ravenous hunger that has been unleashed on the Ahrsei Empire advances with its army of monsters, who, in their wildest instincts, know that she is the "Alpha Monster" right now.
It is not known who will spread the news of the defeat of this battlefront.