In the city streets below, everyone fighting for their lives paused, gazing in terror at the massive creature formed from shadows. Although shadow beings had been assisting them in the battle against the vampires, the appearance of such a colossal entity filled even their allies with dread. The shadow dragon let out a deafening roar, unleashing its shadow breath upon the city below.
Vampires and citizens alike screamed in horror as the streets were drowned in a sea of shadows.
"What are you doing?! I said to only attack the vampires!" Princess Valerie's voice rang out, filled with fury. She stood on the back of the shadow dragon, her golden hair catching the dim light of the shadow moon.
From the dragon's massive back, a smaller figure rose from the shadows, the Shadow Crawler, the boss of the 30th floor.
It chuckled at her reaction, its voice smooth and amused. "Yeah, yeah~ I know the deal, Princess. Take another look for yourself."
The Shadow Crawler's tail pointed toward the city streets below, offering no further explanation.
Still fuming, Valerie leaned cautiously over the side, scanning the chaos below. Her anger faltered as the shadows began to dissipate, revealing the untouched citizens beneath. Only the vampires who had come into contact with the shadowy breath were affected, their bodies dissolved into nothing, leaving only bones in their wake.
Seeing the evidence before her, the Shadow Crawler added, "Only those I consider my enemies are harmed by my shadows. So relax, Princess, and let me do my thing."
Valerie's expression softened, her anger replaced with sincere regret. "I truly apologize for misunderstanding your actions and overreacting. Please, continue to help us."
Though she had made a deal with the dungeon to secure its aid, the agreement hadn't yet come into effect. When she returned to the city and saw the chaos wrought by the vampires and the ominous blood moon hanging in the sky, she had no choice but to plead with the dungeon core for immediate assistance. The core, though not obligated to help yet, had shown goodwill by allowing the Shadow Crawler to leave the dungeon temporarily. After all, a deal was meaningless if the kingdom fell before it could be upheld.
"No worries." the Shadow Crawler replied with a slightly mischievous grin. It had intended the shadow breath as a small prank to see Valerie's reaction but now felt slightly guilty in the face of her sincerity.
Seeking to change the subject, the Shadow Crawler glanced at the shadow moon above. "You know, I expected this battle to be tough, but with this gift you've prepared for me, dealing with these vampires will be child's play. Didn't know you had a legendary item that could do this."
Valerie shook her head firmly. "We don't. I'm as surprised as you are. Like I said before, it was a blood red moon when I arrived."
The Shadow Crawler shrugged. "Well, doesn't matter how this happened. I'll make the most of it!"
It merged back into the shadow dragon, which let out another earth shaking roar, releasing another wave of shadow breath. Vampires caught within it melted away, leaving the city's citizens untouched, oblivious to the death spreading through the enemy ranks.
...
"We need to stop that thing before it kills everyone!" Victor's voice was tight with urgency, his expression dark.
Even the three vampires nearby seemed to share his concern, though the goblin in their group was indifferent to the chaos, focused solely on Sol.
"Victor! It's on our side, focus on the fight!" Sol called, using [Reflect] to counter another of the goblin's sneak attacks.
"Are you crazy?!" Nisha snapped. "It doesn't matter who wins if we're the only ones left!"
Sol ignored her, his eyes locking with Victor's. "Trust me. The only ones dying from that thing are the vampires."
Using his law technique, [World of Shadows], in conjunction with [True Sight (Variant)], Sol could see through the shadows engulfing the city. While the dragon's shadows weren't under his control, they were shadows nonetheless, and he quickly discerned the truth. The dungeon's Shadow Crawler and the Princess were causing it, leaving citizens unharmed. It appeared the information of the dungeon rules he passed onto Commander Zaman had paid off.
Victor hesitated but saw the conviction in Sol's expression. Trusting him, he refocused on the battle.
Surrounded by golden flames, Victor lunged at the goblin, his fist blazing. The goblin blurred to the side, dodging with supernatural speed, but Sol followed up with a precise strike from his shadow sword.
The pair worked in tandem, overwhelming the goblin with their relentless assault. Finally, Sol managed to land a decisive blow, his shadow sword cutting into the goblin's arm.
The goblin retreated, snarling in frustration, and turned to the three vampires who stood nearby, seemingly idle. "What are you waiting for?! Help me!"
The three women, Nisha, Carmilla, and Itaya, didn't respond, their focus seemed to be on defending.
"They're up to something." Sol muttered as he parried another strike from the goblin.
Victor, flames still flickering around him, glanced toward the trio. "We can't let them finish whatever it is!"
"No kidding." Sol shot back, summoning shadow beings to distract the goblin. With the pressure eased momentarily, he extended his hand, forming a spear of darkness and hurling it at the vampires.
Itaya deflected the spear midair with her own weapon. Carmilla wagged her finger with a smirk. "Sorry, boys, but this is where we part ways."
Nisha, holding the Blood Reign aloft, finished her incantation. "[Blood Recall]!" Her voice reverberated with magical power as a crimson wave surged outward, enveloping the city.
Each remaining vampire began to glow faintly, their forms flickering as if preparing to vanish.
Before the spell could complete, a gust of wind blasted the Blood Reign out of Nisha's hands. The interruption caused the spell to destabilize, its magic going haywire. Nisha had been channeling the spell through the legendary item so with it no longer in her hand it was similar to a tailor losing their sewing needle as they worked on a fabric. She had to take emergency measures to cancel the spell before it went fully out of control and transported them somewhere like the middle of the ocean or a volcano.
"Leaving so soon? But I just got here."
Diana descended from the sky, her figure wreathed in fierce winds. The older woman's serene smile couldn't conceal the fury simmering beneath her calm demeanor.
"To ally yourselves with a Harbinger… The only outcome is death."
Sharp winds howled, tearing into the goblin and the three vampires. Dark clouds gathered above, lightning crackling ominously before striking down at them.
Carmilla, cutting through the winds with her whip, tried to negotiate. "Wait! We didn't know he was a Harbinger! We wouldn't ally with such people!"
She was actually speaking the truth. If they had known the goblin was a harbinger, they would have immediately declined allying with it as nothing good ever comes from working with one.
Diana's gaze remained cold. "Ignorance doesn't absolve you. And attacking the Church of Caela is an even worse transgression against the goddess."
Her fury stemmed not just from them allying with the Harbinger, but mainly because of the two A-Rank vampires that were sent to attack the church. The winds intensified as lightning rained down on the trio.
As the deadly winds suppressed the three of them Victor joined in to add even more pressure. Sol was going to join as well until Diana reminded him.
"Sol, don't let the Harbinger escape."
Unbeknownst to him, the goblin had already vanished amidst the chaos.
'It ran away?!'
He only turned his attention to the women for a second but the goblin used that brief gap to quickly escape.
Thinking on his feet, he used [Wild Hunt], causing his eyes to glow green as he traced the goblin's faint blood trail, instinctively knowing it belonged to his target. A glowing green line appeared in his vision, leading away from the palace.
"You're not getting away that easily!"