CHAPTER 15: GET THESE SACRIFICES MOVING

Dante and his undead army spent a few more weeks traveling north, slaughtering any monsters they came across. This time around, he was the one engaging the threats as he attacked them using his dagger. Dozens of creatures dropped dead, but most of the time, Sulla and the others had to help as some outranked him.

Now he was standing within the Dark Jungle, looking at the village of Ashvale in the distance. Raoul appeared beside him with narrowed eyes. ’’I can smell humans master, we need to be careful around here.’’

When Dante heard this, an evil smirk crossed his face as he responded. ’’Hide in the Domain and only come out when I summon you, this is gonna be something special, and these rats will find out what they’ve unleashed upon the world.’’

Following that, all the undead stepped through the portal as he brushed the dust from his clothes and checked his status.

[Level: 5075]

[Experience: 9320/15,000]

[MP: 156211]

[HP: 148178]

[STR: 192232]

[DEX: 233253]

[INT: 143193]

[CHA: 5481]

[DP: 3300]

[SSS: Death’s Domain: 01]

[SSS: Death Eyes: 01]

’Nice, it’s time to test it out on the humans,’ he mused while stepping onto the pathway that led to the village.

Dante strolled down the road, whistling softly, his senses sharp as he detected warriors closing in. He shrugged and pressed on until a group of men in tattered armor blocked his path, their swords aimed at him. One stepped forward, his voice dripping with menace. ’’Come with us, kid. Fight if you want, but it’ll end badly for you. We’ve got a B-Rank Warrior watching your every move.’’

[System Quest: Let yourself be captured and don’t escape until the time is right - Reward: 20 Death Points]

’’Alright,’’ he said while raising his hands, noticing some of them were covered in fresh blood. ’Yes invite a fox into the chicken coop and watch me end all your lives.’

That’s when he remembered the Dead Camp option in the Domain and selected it while the humans tied his hands behind his back.

[System Complete: 20 Death Points]

[Death Camp: Can hold dead bodies to create an undead force that isn’t a part of the Death Monarch’s Army - Can be used to create cannon fodder]

[Capacity: 0000/1000]

[Upgrade Capacity by 1000: 500 Death Points]

Dante’s lips curled into a sinister grin, his crimson eyes flaring. One of the humans, trembling yet defiant, threw a punch into his stomach. The blow stirred a ripple of fury among the Death Army, but he quelled their unrest with a chilling, unhinged chuckle. His gaze locked onto the man.

’’Lay a hand on me again,’’ he hissed, voice low and venomous. ’’And your family’s blood will stain the earth.’’

The man stumbled back, swallowing hard, his bravado instantly crumbling. As the others prodded Dante toward the village, the shaken human warned his companions. ’’We should end this kid now. He’s trouble, I can feel it.’’

When the leader of the group, a grizzled man with a scarred face and a voice as rough as gravel, stepped forward, he raised a hand to silence the murmurs. His eyes narrowed, studying Dante, who stood unfazed, his gaze unwavering. ’’We ain’t killing you here, boy,’’ the older man growled, his tone laced with grim resolve. ’’The crops have failed, the gods demand a summer sacrifice. We won’t spill the blood of our own, not when we’ve got you.’’

A hush fell over the group, the weight of his words sinking in. The villagers’ faces were a mix of fear and desperation, their swords still pointed but trembling slightly. The man Dante had unnerved shifted, his earlier bravado now a faint whisper. ’’He’s no villager," he muttered. ’’He’s an outsider. Perfect for the ritual.’’

At this, Dante’s smile widened, curling into something darker. His expression gleamed with a twisted delight, as if the leader’s words had lit a spark within him. The thought of a coming slaughter, one he could now justify, sent a thrill through his veins. He tilted his head, his voice low and mocking. ’’A sacrifice, you say? How... fitting.’’

The army stirred within the Domain, like a coiled beast waiting to attack, but he held them at bay, savoring the moment. The villagers, blind to the storm brewing before them, pressed on toward their doomed fate. Moments later, the group pressed onward along the dusty road, their boots crunching against gravel, keeping Dante tightly hemmed in the center.

Another band of humans emerged from the treeline ahead, led by a hulking figure. Trailing him were a half-dead man being dragged along by a rope, a trembling middle-aged woman, her face etched with fear, and a teenage girl who stared blankly at the ground, her silence deafening.

Dante’s eyes narrowed as he noticed the blood trickling down the girl’s legs, her tattered dress barely concealing her wounds. The men around her erupted in coarse laughter, their jeers slicing through the air like knives. A dark fury coiled deep inside him, his thoughts crystallizing into a single, venomous conviction. ’The rumors were true. Humans are vile, unworthy of mercy.’

As the urge to kill surged, a smoldering ember ready to ignite, but held it in check. He decided to make them all pay, though he had to wait until reaching Ashvale to see what the village was like. One of the men shoved him forward, and he pressed on. The humans mocked the trembling teenage girl for the disgusting act they committed.

Ignoring their jeers, he instructed Medea to seize all six when the attack began. The Plague Maiden grew excited as she felt it through the Domain; her rage, rooted in the woman she once was, was ignited by the leering human males. As they trudged onward, the men’s taunts hounded the two women until Dante’s voice cut through.

’’You’re delaying our return to the village,’’ he warned. ’’Stop talking and continue walking, stupid humans.’’

The leader’s lips curled in amusement before he smashed his fist into Dante’s jaw. Compared to the torment of flames devouring his skin or acid dissolving his limbs, the strike was nothing. His bloodied grin widened as he leaned toward the towering man. ’’Wait until I get a hold of your wife, human,’’ he whispered, voice dripping with venom. ’’For what you’ve done to those women, I’ll kill her so brutally that it will scar you in your next life.’’

When hearing his words, the older man’s eyes burned, and he headbutted Dante, sending him sprawling into the dirt. But his unhinged laughter cut through the air, sharper than ever. ’’Go on, human, keep pushing your luck; her death will scar you into a walking cabbage.’’

’’Get these sacrifices moving,’’ the leader snarled, his voice cold and commanding. ’’The boys are waiting for their prize.’’

The jeering fell silent, and the battered man who was previously unconscious trudged on once he woke up, shielding the two women in his frail embrace. Dante’s eyes lingered on the sight before snapping to the leader of their captors. With a flicker of his Death Eyes, he probed their ranks.

[D Rank Human - Warrior]

Intrigued, he turned to another, scanning the rabble around him with growing interest.

[E Rank Human - Archer]

[F Rank Human - Warrior]

[D Rank Human - Mage]

[E Rank Human - Rogue]

[E Rank Human - Warrior]

As Dante saw this, a wicked smile appeared; they would be easier to kill when the time came. After that, he decided to buy the Death Camp to fill it with the villagers, as he assumed none of them were good.

[Death Camp Purchased - 300 Death Points]

[DP: 33203020]

After that, he felt something change within the Domain, prompting him to close his eyes and scan it, only to notice a wide crater had appeared not far from Monster Mountain. It was a pit that radiated death mana. ’Now time to fill it up, but first, to increase the Death Army capacity and my attributes,’ he wondered.

Dante trudged along as the humans guided him and the others toward a riverbank, the fading light of the setting sun casting long shadows across the landscape. They decided to make camp for the night, tying him to a sturdy tree nearby before leaving him in solitude. From his vantage point, he couldn’t miss the disturbing scene unfolding.

Two women, their faces etched with fear, were being dragged toward a weathered tent by the humans. A man tried desperately to intervene, to protect them, but the humans beat the man until he lay motionless on the ground. Dante’s heart pounded as he watched, a surge of anger rising within him as he turned inward to upgrade his attributes. He decided to put fifty points on each attribute as the last boost for a while.

[MP: 211261]

[HP: 178228]

[STR: 232282]

[DEX: 253303]

[INT: 143193]

[CHA: 81131]

[DP: 30202720]