The vampire lord stood motionless, his crimson eyes glowing with an unholy intensity. A sinister smirk curled on his lips as he raised his hand, summoning his swarm.
"Feast, my children."
With a deafening screech, hundreds of blood bats materialized from the shadows, each the size of a small car. Their leathery wings flapped menacingly, and their glowing red eyes locked onto me and Umbra.
"Shit!" I cursed. "Umbra, cast all your defensive abilities, now!"
The little dragon didn't need to be told twice. A shimmering black barrier formed around him, a swirling vortex of darkness that devoured incoming energy.
I didn't hesitate either. While a single bat was manageable, an entire horde was a different beast altogether. These blood bats were infamous for their deadly combination of overwhelming numbers and their ability to bypass physical defenses with venomous blood missiles.
I had no intention of letting them get close.
"Triple Point Defense Barrier!"
I layered my defenses: first, a thick wind barrier to deflect their swift projectiles; then, a reinforced mana shield to absorb magical energy; and finally, a thin but immensely durable ice barrier forged from water magic, designed to freeze anything that breached the outer layers.
Umbra's Dark Devourer Barrier completed our fortress of protection.
The bats attacked without delay.
Tkk! Tkk! Ting!
The sound of blood missiles smashing against my barriers echoed like bullets ricocheting off titanium. The vibrations reverberated through my bones, but the barriers held.
For now.
But the vampire lord wasn't done.
"Blood Implosion!"
The raspy incantation sent a chill down my spine. Before I could react, the area around me erupted in a violent crimson explosion.
BOOOM!
The shockwave was deafening, the crimson energy tearing through the air. Umbra and I barely managed to avoid the brunt of it, darting away just in time. My barriers absorbed most of the blast, but cracks spiderwebbed across them, and my mana reserves dwindled.
"Damn it, he's not holding back," I muttered, wiping blood from the corner of my mouth. This was a first for me, it seems I'm not as impervious go damage as thought i was. Then again a boy merely 8 years of age fighting Against beings thousands of years old was a record breaker by it self.
The vampire lord sneered. "You think you can survive my domain? Let's see how long you last."
He raised both hands, and dozens of enormous blood javelins materialized in the air above him. Each one was five meters long, radiating an ominous crimson glow.
"Bloody Impalers!"
The javelins launched like meteors, each one capable of annihilating entire squads of high-tier Rank 2 beings.
Fwoosh! Fwoosh!
I dodged, rolling and weaving through the onslaught. The ones I couldn't avoid, I braced myself for, letting my barriers and my own body take the hits.
Pain exploded across my body. It felt like being pelted with airsoft pellets at point-blank range—but magnified a thousandfold. My muscles screamed in protest, and I could feel the strain of maintaining my defenses.
"Umbra!" I shouted.
The little dragon roared, unleashing his Dragon Breath. A torrent of dark flames surged toward the incoming javelins, consuming several of them mid-air. The resulting explosions rocked the castle, but it gave me the opening I needed.
"Seismic Shock!" I chanted, slamming my hand into the ground.
The ancient stones beneath us groaned as the earth obeyed my command. The ground ruptured, jagged cracks racing outward in all directions. Pillars of rock erupted violently, destabilizing the vampire lord's footing and shattering the castle's foundations.
The entire structure shook as if it would collapse at any moment. Dust and debris rained from the ceiling, and I could hear distant roars and snarls from vampires elsewhere in the castle.
I knew I'd just invited more trouble, but I had no choice. I had to take this vampire lord down before reinforcements arrived.
The vampire lord staggered but quickly regained his balance. "You're persistent," he growled. "But let's see how you handle this!"
He thrust his arms forward, summoning a massive wave of blood energy. It surged toward me like a crimson tsunami, consuming everything in its path.
I gritted my teeth. "No way am I letting that hit me!"
"Tempest Slash!"
I channeled wind magic into my blade, unleashing a powerful arc of air that split the blood wave in two. The remnants crashed harmlessly against the walls, but I could feel my mana reserves depleting rapidly.
Umbra, sensing my struggle, roared again. His small form glowed as he prepared his next attack.
"Dark Nova!"
A sphere of condensed darkness formed around him, pulsing with unstable energy. With a deafening explosion, the sphere expanded outward, obliterating dozens of the blood bats and forcing the vampire lord to shield himself.
The backlash from the attack sent Umbra tumbling through the air, but he quickly regained his composure, growling defiantly.
"Not bad, little dragon," the vampire lord said, brushing dust off his armor. "But playtime's over."
He raised one hand, and the air around him grew heavy. Dark runes appeared beneath his feet, and a menacing aura enveloped him.
"Blood Domain: Crimson Abyss!"
The atmosphere shifted as the vampire lord activated his domain ability. The walls of the castle vanished, replaced by a swirling red void. Blood-red mist seeped into the air, sapping my strength and dulling my senses. Shit Domain user, i should've expected this. Domains are all unqiue to each person as most people like mages and warriors have elemental domains i too wanted to have my domain but it seems i would require some foresight before i could do it thus i dropped the matter, now that's coming back to bite me.
I felt a sharp pain in my chest and realized the mist was trying to invade my body, attacking me from the inside.
"Umbra!" I called out.
The little dragon roared defiantly, his dark aura flaring as he created a protective shield around both of us. But even that was starting to crack under the pressure of the domain.
The vampire lord laughed. "In my domain, your blood is mine to command."
I gritted my teeth, refusing to let fear take hold. "If that's the case, then I'll just have to destroy your domain!" I only knew one attack strong enough to destroy a domain hopefully it works as intended.
Summoning every ounce of strength I had left, I poured my mana into my blade. The weapon glowed with a brilliant light as I prepared my strongest spell.
"Eclipse Cleave!"
The blade cut through the air, unleashing a massive wave of energy that tore through the domain. The red mist dissipated, and the vampire lord's smug expression turned to one of shock.
"No!" he shouted, but it was too late.
The energy wave struck him head-on, engulfing him in a blinding explosion. The force of the blast shook the castle once more, and for a moment, everything was silent, i looked outside everything could be scene a third of the forest was gone alongside the destruction of the entire castle. All the incoming vampires also died not even dust remain of them.
As the dust settled, I stood amidst the ruins, panting heavily. The vampire lord's form lay crumpled on the ground, his armor shattered and his body fading to ash.
Umbra floated over to me, his expression equal parts pride and exhaustion.
"We did it," I muttered, collapsing to one knee.
Damn this was a bit over the edge for me.
"Hah.. Let's leave buddy" i called to Umbra while
Opening the anchor.