CHAPTER 476: BREAKING THE RED MIST PT. 1

As soon as they reached the area where the red mist spread, Roland saw that it resembled a concentration camp filled with people.

It was a disastrous scene he wished he had not witnessed, but at least he was here now.

He only hoped Stella and the others could endure the sight of such atrocities committed against humans.

With rage burning inside him, Roland advanced toward the camp. The tall building before them swarmed with vampires of every kind, from fledglings to full-grown fiends and likely a few high-ranking leaders.

"I don’t think I can keep my cover here, Lucien. Let’s end this quickly. I’ll draw their attention, which should make it safer for the other groups to invade more steadily," he said.

Behind him, Lucien stared at the broken bodies of humans and demons scattered across the floor.

Some were starved, others were being fed upon, and many lay motionless, waiting for death.

The prince of this nation felt a deep shame.

He had done nothing for these people.

When he had been captured, he had not even seen this side of the demon camps. Had he known, he would have urged Roland to act much sooner.

"Do as you wish," Lucien replied firmly. "I’ll prepare the teleportation array for when they all come after us. Cause as much chaos as you can, so we can move quickly to the next camp."

Roland gave a nod at the prince’s words and set his plan into motion.

He readied himself and pulled Lucien by the arm, spreading his new wings to soar up toward the second floor of the large stone building. That was where the red mist originated.

As they approached one of the windows, Roland conjured a barrier, wrapping both himself and Lucien within it.

With a single strike of his blade, he shattered the glass and forced their way inside.

Stealth was no longer an option.

Every vampire in the building would have heard it, their sharp senses were something everyone knew, so it wasn’t hard to know what their next action would be.

The room they entered appeared to be a storage depot.

Crates lined the walls, filled with countless mana crystals each one a deep, blood red. Neither Roland nor Lucien wanted to even think of using them.

"I can already hear them coming. They’re about to break through that door," Roland warned, his tone sharp. "Hide yourself, Lucien. I’ll fight better without having to worry about you."

Lucien, whose main role was teleportation, quickly set simple wards around his body for protection in case the vampires broke past Roland. Still, he was not entirely defenseless. Drawing one of his swords from the storage bracelet on his wrist, he prepared himself for the worst.

Roland, however, moved to the door and braced himself for the assault.

With a thunderous crack, the door burst inward, slamming into his shield. Though the barrier held firm, wooden splinters flew back into the faces of the vampires, forcing their way in.

"Come, you bastards!" Roland roared, fury burning in his eyes. "I’ll kill every last one of you!"

Not wanting to waste too much mana, Roland began with Eclipse Edge.

With his dual swords flashing, he cut through the vampires in front of him, while the lingering energy from each strike carved into those further back.

Just a handful of slashes was enough to devastate them.

Roland felt the blades cut deep, his light-infused attacks leaving no chance of survival.

Steam rose from their bodies after every strike, a sign of the corruption being burned away.

It was what they deserved and much more, but Roland did not want to waste more mana on such weaklings.

Their crimes against this land went beyond reason.

They had slaughtered not only countless humans but also poisoned the very life, animals, and simple creatures that depended on the sun.

Roland pressed forward through the doorway.

If he kept cutting them down here, the corpses would soon pile up and block the entrance.

He couldn’t allow that.

He had to reach the source of the red mist and destroy it.

Channeling his power, Roland raised his shield and called forth Eclipse Aegis.

A surge of force erupted outward, shoving the vampires aside. Their bodies scattered like debris struck by an enormous excavator, clearing his path as he pressed forward without pause.

Roland glanced back at Lucien and saw he was unharmed, so he kept moving.

"Brother, stay here. Close the door and wait until I call for you. I’ll deal with the trash on this floor before we handle the red mist."

Lucien exhaled sharply at being called brother. He hated the title, but he held his tongue.

Stepping out of the storage room, Roland found the chamber beyond teeming with enemies. Vampires crowded every corner of the vast space. It was almost like a massive gymnasium, and at its center stood a reactor-like construct. The machine drained both crystals and humans alike of their blood, forging more of the crimson crystals stored in the depot. Those same crystals were then fed into the mechanism to generate the mist.

He still didn’t understand the exact process. Whatever ritual or device created the haze wasn’t here, not on this floor.

But he could no longer wait. With no less than three hundred vampires before him, this was the moment to unleash one of his wide-range skills.

Roland’s grip tightened on his blades as he poured his power into them. One sword blazed with radiant light, while the other pulsed with darkness that clashed against the glow, as if seeking to corrupt it. The two forces spiraled together, building into a roaring maelstrom of destructive energy.

"This is your end, fiends!" he bellowed, fury surging through every word. "You’ll fall while feeling the pain you’ve inflicted!"

Roland did not know what to say. He was pissed, he was angry, seeing so much being done to humans caused him to feel this and so much more.

Roland’s skill erupted into a whirlwind of energy, striking every vampire in the room at once. The weaker fledglings were torn apart instantly, unable to withstand even a single strike. Those who survived a few moments longer were hurled against the walls, their bodies shredded as if pressed against a grinder.

At the same time, the humans whose energy had been drained began to recover, their wounds mending as Roland’s light swept through them.

Without hesitation, Roland charged straight for the machine at the center of the chamber. His blades cut through its core, and the reactor exploded with a deafening blast. The force threatened to consume the weakened humans, but Roland raised his shield and contained the shockwave. The explosion raged inside the barrier, tearing at his body instead.

He did not care.

The pain was a small sacrifice for saving more than a hundred lives.

When the smoke cleared, the remaining vampires were left vulnerable. A few swift strikes of Eclipse Edge carved through them, leaving nothing standing.

"Lucien, quick! Let’s get out of here!" Roland shouted. He had to reach the top of the building, destroy whatever was truly generating the blood mist, and escape before the strongest of the demons arrived.

He could already sense them closing in. And he needed to cause even more chaos before they all converged on him.

"Try to move them, Lucien. At least as many as you can... I’ll handle the red mist and then take on any enemies before we leave."

Seeing there was no immediate danger to the prince, Roland rushed to the second floor. What he found there was even worse.

Humans hung from the walls like lifeless husks, their blood feeding into a ritual circle carved into the floor. At its center, blood mana crystals pulsed with a sinister glow as they siphoned energy from both the crystals themselves and the victims chained around the chamber.

Roland grimaced. He couldn’t understand how the vampires sustained this for so long. The sheer amount of blood consumed for such rituals was staggering. By all logic, there shouldn’t be enough humans left in the world to fuel this magic. Which meant... There had to be a greater plan behind it.

But he didn’t have time to dwell on the thought. What mattered now was ending it.

Fortunately, he didn’t need to destroy another machine and risk further harm to himself. All he had to do was crush the stones at the ritual’s core and disrupt the circle radiating that dangerous energy. It was simple, and within seconds, he had reduced the altar to rubble.

The hard part, however, was yet to come.

When Roland returned, he found Lucien struggling, only able to teleport a handful of weakened bodies at a time.

"I guess that’s your limit," Roland muttered, his tone edged with frustration. "That’s the difference between you and a hero or someone with a special class. Come on, let’s head outside. The demons are on their way... and I intend to deal with a few of them before we leave."