The world was in a chaotic state.
The Wright family was wiped out, leaving the North undefended. The Vampire Lord had awakened from his deep slumber a few hours ago. The heroes tried to stop his awakening, but they failed.
In the end, they had to retreat from the North.
The news of their failure had spread through the entire world. Masses were in disarray. How could they not?
With their true Monarch’s return, the ever-so-powerful creatures of the night were unstoppable now.
The only thing that kept the civilians from descending into a full-blown panic was another piece of fortunate news: The Kalis were neutralized.
So now Earthians didn’t have to at least worry about the threat from outer space.
It also meant that they could focus all of their military might on the North, at the vampires.
Thus, back at the military base right at the borders of the Northern Continent, all the important figures of the army were having a round table meeting.
Albeit, most of the seats around the round table were empty. Those belonged to the dead. There were none to replace them yet.
There was a hushed silence present in the room as they waited for the arrival of their Lord Commander.
Soon, their wait was over.
A tall man with short hair as black as the feathers of a raven and skin as pale as the untouched snow walked into the room.
His lean frame was draped in a black-furred military coat with a black tactical vest under it, barely hiding his toned muscles.
The man cast a gaze around the room, his eyes as cold and deep as two endless pools of boundless darkness, before walking up to the far end of the room and taking a seat there at the head of the table.
“Nero,” a half-dwarf half-human greeted him with a forced smile. Elijah could only imagine how much of a burden his friend must be carrying on his shoulders right now.
However, as his Lord Commander’s second-best strategist, he had to voice his opinions and concerns.
“The vampire forces will break through our defenses in a few hours. We will die if we try to hold them here. We will have to give them the North.”
Nero shot a glare at Elijah. “Do you know how many people have died so as not to make what you’re suggesting a reality?”
“But this is the reality now, Lord Commander!” Chase, who was sitting beside Elijah, pressed in a firm tone. “Our men are tired. We can’t fight like this. We have to retreat to the Central Continent and recuperate–”
Before Chase could continue to speak, a black-haired woman slammed her hands on the round table.
As everyone turned their gazes to her, the woman reclined in her chair and crossed her slender legs, tucking her hands in the pockets of her military coat.
She looked at everyone one by one through her emerald eyes and scoffed, “You guys have lost it, haven’t you?”
“What do you mean, Amelia?” Elijah asked.
Amelia shook her head in ridicule before replying, “It means that if we give them the North, they could attack us from three sides. East, West, and the Center. We would crumble.”
“But if they dilute their forces that much, their frontlines would grow thin. If that happens, our troops would easily be able to break through their forces,” Chase pointed out.
“It would’ve been true if this was before. But now, the Vampire Monarch has woken up. With his return, the bloodsuckers had grown more morbid. More powerful. In fact, they could even turn us into one of them more easily now. That is what’s more dangerous.”
“Yes but…”
The discussion, which was supposed to be held for a strategic counter, turned into an argument that led on for an hour.
In the end, the Special Force decided to hold the fort and stop the vampire forces’ advance right there until the rest of the military arrived to help them.
One by one, the members of the round table exited the strategy room. Only three people were left inside the four walls of the large chamber.
One was Nero, the other was Amelia.
There was also another black-haired woman sitting there. Her perfect doll-like face was adorned with a pair of jewel-like, intricate golden eyes that seemed to have a shine of their own.
A hideous long scar traced down from the left side of her cheek to her neck, but it did nothing to hinder her beauty. She sat there in silence, lost in thought until Amelia called her out.
“Anastasia,” she said. “You’ve been silent throughout the meeting. What’s up?”
Anastasia looked at Amelia and lingered for a while before asking, “Can we really do it? Can we really kill that… thing?”
Before Amelia could answer, Nero clenched his fists and answered. “The Vampire Monarch is strong, but he is not undefeatable. He is not a God. We have come close to killing him thousands of times. We will do it this time. We will not lose… again.”
Amelia silently nodded and turned to look at Nero. “If you can use all your Heavenly Swords at the same time, you should be able to wrap reality with all the elements at your disposal. An attack of that caliber will kill the Monarch.”
“I know,” Nero nodded. “I have tried doing it before. It’s difficult, but I know I can use all the swords. I know I can do it. If I can just get close to the Monarch.”
Anastasia sighed. “Fine then. Here is the plan. Amelia and I will clear your path and get you to the Monarch. You will unleash all your swords and kill him once and for all.”
Nero shook his head. “It wouldn’t work. There is Quinn. He would never let me get past him.”
Amelia clicked her tongue. “You let us worry about him. I have been itching to kill that bastard myself anyway.”
Nero stared at Amelia for a few seconds before erupting in a chuckle. “Fine. Let’s do this. Let’s kill that monstrosity this time and end all of this.”
Nero, Anastasia, and Amelia stood up and resolutely smiled at each other. They didn’t need to say anything else. It was as if they knew they would win this time.
Of course, they would. After all, they were fated to save the world. This was their last stand at the world’s…
“No… You won’t be able to do any of that.”
Suddenly, a solemn voice resounded from somewhere around the entrance. All three of them flinched and shifted their gazes to the source of the voice.
There was someone here? But how? They didn’t sense anyone coming! No one could sneak on them. However, someone clearly did.
Standing there at the door of the chamber was a slender silhouette.
It was a man. He had long silver hair tied into a bun and clear silken skin. He had a chiseled face that looked like it had been sculpted by the gods themselves. His sharp features were accentuated by a pair of deep crimson eyes which were clouded in the mist of a myriad of feelings – ranging from sorrow to fury.
With a mixture of wistful and angered look on his face, he sighed and walked toward the trio. “You won’t be able to save anyone.”