CHAPTER 424: INTO THEIR DEN

Blood still lingered in the air like perfume, hanging over the trail of mangled corpses they left behind. But for Amber and Lilith, the hunt wasn’t over.

Not yet.

From the moment the last body had dropped, they were already moving. The scent of blood, aura trails, the faintest magical residue—all of it painted a path straight back to the source. These bandits were no mere rogues. They were part of something bigger: a criminal syndicate hidden deep within the mountain’s spine. Their hideout, buried beneath layers of rock and illusion, pulsed with a twisted magic—camouflaged from mortal eyes.

But not from theirs.

By dusk, Amber and Lilith stood before a cliffside wall covered in illusion runes. With a flick of her fingers, Lilith dispelled them like smoke.

"Ready?" she asked, her crimson eyes flashing in the twilight.

Amber gripped her dagger, her aura simmering just beneath the surface.

"Let’s end this."

The stone wall melted into an arched tunnel, dimly lit and reeking of sweat, oil, and dried blood. Torches burned along the carved halls, leading into the heart of the lair. The further they walked, the louder the sounds became—voices, laughter, steel clashing in mock battles. No one expected death to walk in through the front door.

Until it was too late.

The first wave came in the corridor—six men rushing out from a side passage. They didn’t hesitate.

Neither did Amber.

She dashed forward, vanishing in a blur. One blink later, the nearest attacker screamed as his arms were sliced cleanly off, his blood spraying across the walls like a mural. Amber pivoted gracefully, ducking low as a blade passed above her, then surged upward—her dagger sliding beneath the attacker’s chin and through his skull.

Behind her, Lilith strolled forward as though taking a casual walk. One of the men lunged.

Without looking, she caught his throat mid-swing, crushed it, and tossed him aside like trash. Another charged. She waved her hand. A spear of blood erupted from the ground and impaled him through the gut, pinning him to the ceiling.

The remaining two tried to retreat.

Lilith snapped her fingers. Their own blood tore free from their bodies in spiraling threads, strangling them mid-scream.

"No survivors," Lilith murmured. "Not tonight."

They emerged into a large chamber—a sunken fighting pit filled with men in armor, cheering over a match between two brawlers. Wooden scaffolding lined the walls. Women served drinks. Mercenaries gambled and howled. A crude banner hung overhead bearing a sigil: The Black Chain.

All eyes turned when Amber dropped into the center of the pit.

One heartbeat of silence.

Then chaos.

Weapons drawn. Orders screamed. Flames conjured. Arrows loosed.

Lilith descended like death from above, tearing through the scaffolding with a flick of her wrist. It collapsed in a wave of splinters, burying half the mercenaries beneath it. She landed beside Amber as if weightless.

"Let them panic," she said with a smile.

"Let them beg."

Amber blurred into motion, her dagger carving a bloody arc as she leapt, spun, and struck with impossible precision. Her Blood Arts surged—scarlet energy trailing her strikes, forming blades, spears, and tendrils mid-air. She became a living weapon, fluid and relentless.

A warrior clad in blacksteel lunged at her with twin axes. She didn’t dodge. She stepped in, parried both axes with her bare hand—her blood hardening like armor—then sliced across his neck in one clean stroke. His head rolled to the sand as she turned to the next.

Lilith walked through a wave of arrows, each one stopping inches from her, suspended by the magnetic pull of her aura. She turned her palm, and the arrows reversed course, launching back with double force. Screams erupted as archers were nailed to the walls by their own bolts.

"Please—stop—!" a man cried, backing into a pillar.

Amber threw her dagger—spinning it with a flick of her wrist. It curved mid-air, slicing through his neck and returning to her hand like a boomerang.

Another raised a talisman to cast.

Lilith appeared in front of him in an instant. She placed a single finger on his forehead and whispered,

"Shh."

His body exploded in a burst of red mist.

A gate opened. More warriors stormed in—elite enforcers. Their auras crackled, Origin Level 5 and higher, some wielding cursed artifacts, others roaring with beast-like enhancements.

One shouted, "Kill them! Tear them apart!"

The chamber shook from the clash.

Amber faced six at once, her movements now a blur of impossible steps and elegant counters. She fought like she was dancing—a symphony of motion and carnage. Her blood formed curved blades that lashed out like scorpion tails, impaling two attackers as she vaulted off a third’s back. Her dagger met a greatsword, clashing with a burst of crimson sparks, and with a twist of her wrist, she redirected the force and stabbed the wielder through the heart.

Lilith, meanwhile, floated mid-air—literally. Her eyes glowed crimson, and blood spiraled around her like a halo of death. She whispered an incantation, and the blood of the fallen erupted, forming spears that rained down like meteors, skewering the last remaining soldiers one by one.

The final enforcer, seeing the carnage, turned and tried to run.

Amber appeared in front of him before he made it five steps.

She didn’t speak.

She simply reached forward and placed a hand on his chest.

His blood boiled instantly, his body convulsing violently before collapsing in silence.

•••

Silence returned to the cavern. The pit was a lake of blood and broken bodies. Flames crackled from fallen torches. Crimson mist curled in the air, thick and metallic.

Lilith exhaled softly and turned to Amber.

"Well done. You didn’t just fight."

She nodded approvingly.

"You dominated. My hard work began to paid off."

Amber said nothing, but her dagger dissolved into mist in her hand. The thrill of battle still lingered in her bones, but she was calm—focused. She had hunted. She had killed. And she had conquered.

The Black Chain was no more.

Not a soul left to rebuild. Not a whisper left to carry.

As they walked away from the destruction, leaving the corpses behind, Amber glanced once over her shoulder.

"If this is what I’m becoming..." she said quietly, "then I’ll make sure they all fear the name Amber."

Lilith smiled.

"And they will. You’ve only begun to taste what it means to be one of us."

With that, they vanished into the shadows of the mountain.