CHAPTER 17: YOU’LL HAVE YOUR VENGEANCE

The night dragged on, heavy with grief. Henry sobbed over the brutal murder of his wife and daughter. But Dante felt no sympathy. His eyes swept the crowd until they locked on a man whose smug expression all but confessed his guilt. He used his Death Eyes, expecting to find weakness, yet what he saw made him stop cold.

Surprise flickered in his gaze... and then, a thrill that even surprised him.

[D Rank - Demon - Mage]

’What is a Demon doing here?’ he mused, staring at the man.

When the creature felt his gaze, it gulped as Dante spoke, sending a chill down the fiend’s spine. ’’I know who you are, I look forward to killing you.’’

As the words left his lips, Henry surged across the cage, seizing him by the collar, slamming his body against the wall, his voice raw with fury. ’’They died because I was weak! And now they taunt me?’’

Dante’s head tilted, his Death Eyes activating as he studied the man.

[A Rank - Human - Knight]

In a low, steady tone, he replied. ’’I understand your pain, there’s a way for you to get your revenge. But it will come at a high cost.’’

A strange light flickered in Henry’s dark eyes, desperation flaring to life. ’’Will I get to kill those six men? Will you deliver those curs to me, boy?’’

’’Yes, I’ll grant you the power to slaughter anyone as my fourth Death Knight and return your family to you. But be warned, they won’t be the same, neither will you. The three of you will become my warrior until the end of time,’’ he revealed.

The giant man dropped to one knee, his voice resolute. ’’I’ll serve you. But first, who in the nine hells are you?’’

Dante leaned closer, his face twisting into something otherworldly, scaring Henry until he was a trembling mess, and whispered a single word. ’’Death,’’ his gaze remained firm. ’’But I’ll give you more than revenge. I’ll forge you into a force capable of tearing them apart, limb from limb.’’

The man’s massive frame scarred from years of battle, seemed to loom larger as he absorbed the words. His grief twisted into something harder, more resolute, but he nodded in agreement. ’’That’s okay with me, I want to see them again, and if it means serving you, then so be it.’’

Dante’s smile grew wider when a notification caught his attention.

[Turn Henry Arnhold, the failed Knight Commander, into your fourth Death Knight?]

’Yes!’ he internally exclaimed.

Moments later, a pulse of dark energy surged through the cage. Henry’s body convulsed, his breath catching as an otherworldly force gripped him. His skin prickled, then darkened, as if shadows were seeping into his very being. He watched him turn black while his flesh rotted away, replaced by something stronger and tougher.

The man’s muscles bulged, bones creaking as they reshaped, growing denser, stronger. Armor, black like a moonless night, began to materialize around him, encasing his towering form in jagged, obsidian plates that seemed to drink in the dim light. Each piece locked into place, letting out a groan, runes pulsed faintly.

On his back sprouted a massive greatsword, its blade as long as a man, its surface rippling because of the unnatural sheen, as if forged from the void itself. The hilt was wrapped in dark leather, and the weapon seemed to hum. Henry rose, no longer a man but a Death Knight, a giant black-armored monster whose deathly aura filled the cage.

His eyes, now glowing red beneath the helm, locked onto him, who stood unmoved, a faint smirk playing on his lips as more messages popped up.

[Henry Arnhold has become the Black Knight]

[Death Knights: 4/4]

Dante sprang to his feet. "Step aside. The time has come to restore your wife and daughter,’’ he announced.

Henry obeyed, and the cage seemed to shrink under the weight of Dante’s presence, the air thick with the residue of dark power. He stepped forward and extended a hand over the lifeless bodies. ’’Arise.’’

Tendrils of inky black power poured out, swirling like a living storm around the two bodies. The air vibrated because of an unnatural chill, and the dim light in the cage flickered as the energy seeped into their flesh. The mother’s body twitched first, her fingers curling as a faint, ethereal glow enveloped her.

Dante watched as her skin paled further, taking on a translucent sheen, and her eyes snapped open, radiating a soft red just like the others. She rose, no longer human but a White Lady, her form draped in flowing, spectral robes that shimmered like moonlight on water.

An aura of sorrow and grace clung to her, marking her as a Herald of the Death Monarch. The daughter followed, her body convulsing, his energy reshaping the young woman. Her body dissolved into a writhing mass of shadow, reforming into a Death Wraith, a wraith cloaked in darkness.

Her eyes burned with a faint, malevolent red, and her movements were unnervingly fluid, as if she were a specter unbound by mortal constraints. She, too, bore the title of Herald of the Death Monarch.

[D Rank - White Lady - Herald of the Death Monarch]

[E Rank - Death Wraith - Herald of the Death Monarch]

Dante’s lips curled into a wide, triumphant smile, a mix of pride and something darker, satisfaction in the power he wielded. The cage, once a prison of despair, now thrummed thanks to the eerie vitality of the undead. Henry’s gaze shifted between his transformed wife and daughter, his armored hands clenching.

He watched as the undead women’s gazes turned in his direction, their expressions unreadable yet bound to him by an unspoken tether. Dante stepped back, smirking. ’’Your family, as promised. They serve me now, as do you. Together, you’ll have your vengeance.’’

Just then, the White Lady turned to him, speaking in an eerie voice, sounding otherworldly. ’’Thank you for bringing me back, My Lord. Now my family can be together, even in death.’’

Dante smiled as the younger one transformed into a human, but she looked different from her previous form, more seductive. She sauntered toward him, a knowing grin spread across her face as she spoke. ’’My Lord. I noticed the way you look at me, maybe we can get to know each other?’’

His eyes glinted like twin daggers, a deathly aura erupting around him. The trio flinched, stumbling back as he snarled. ’’Humans? No, thank you. They’re sneaky and will stab you in the back faster than you can say trust issues.’’

The Death Wraith let out a mischievous giggle. ’’Oh, so you’re into guys then? Should I ask Mom if Dad’s up for a timeshare? But remember, I’m no longer Human and have a new body.’’

’’Zip it, Mary!’’ the Black Knight thundered. ’’Show some respect for our Lord, you little gremlin!’’

Dante, barely containing a snort, waved off the knight’s outrage. ’’Relax, it’s all good. Just make sure she understands, Humans are about as appealing to me as a Cave Goblin. Evil bastards, the lot of them.’’

’’They’re My Lord,’’ the older woman said, stepping forward. ’’I’m Mariana, and this imp is our daughter, Mary. We’re thrilled to become your Death Heralds!’’

The family soon started hugging each other, happy at ridding themselves of their old selves. He noticed Mary started bickering with Henry, causing his eyes to narrow in frustration. Upon hearing this, he felt a pang of regret for resurrecting this chaotic family, unaware of the sheer entertainment their antics would soon bring to his existence.

Dante shook his head in exasperation, a wry smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he opened a portal to the Domain. Turning to the Black Knight, ’’Step through this portal,’’ he instructed, gesturing toward it. ’’The humans will believe you’ve slipped through their grasp, and their panic will be... delightfully chaotic.’’

His words hung in the air, laced with a hint of anticipation, as he imagined the turmoil that would unfold among the unsuspecting mortals. Hearing that, Henry stepped through and closed behind him. He fixed his gaze on the two women.

’’Shift back to your human forms and play the part. It will draw them in, make them believe the Black Knight has fled. He’ll return when the moment is right.’’

’’Yes, My Lord,’’ Mariana replied, her form shimmering, transforming back into her human guise.

Mary, already in her human shape, slumped to the ground and began an exaggerated, theatrical sob. Her wails echoed, drawing a sharp glare from Dante. He booped her on the head, his voice a low hiss. ’’Enough with the theatrics. Act convincing, not like a stage diva.’’