CHAPTER 27: THANKS TO YOUR ELVES, WOMAN

Dante looked at the Death Wraith Mary, his anger flooding to the surface as he answered. ’’I’m not scared, love is a trap and will always end. To betrayal or two personalities colliding until they aren’t compatible anymore.’’

’’That’s a stupid way of thinking, my lord.’’

His aura exploded in frustration. ’’Who are you to judge me? I was brought back to create a Death World for my goddess. Love is for the weak; it got me killed. Got you and your family killed, only death freed you, only I gave you the power you have now!’’

Dante pointed at the remaining Demi-Humans. ’’These people know love and look at them! They are weak and pathetic, just like I was! Nomore Mary! I am the Death Monarch and brought back to reap my revenge on a world that betrayed me!’’

Following that, he turned toward the survivors that numbered in the hundreds and shrugged. ’’Kill them all but the elf merchant, throw their corpses into the Domain so we can move toward Dreadport.’’

Moments later, the woman’s screams pierced the air as his newly risen undead tore through the Demi-Humans, their lifeless hands dripping with gore. Mary, his twisted Death Herald, reveled in the carnage, her laughter mingling with the dying gasps of the fallen. Amid the chaos, a trembling elf stumbled forward, clutching his sleeve.

’’Please, spare them!’’ she begged, her voice breaking. ’’I’ll do anything if you let the elves live!’’

His gaze slithered over her, his lips curling into a cruel smirk. ’’ Stop killing the elves,’’ he commanded his horde. ’’But for the others... make their deaths slow. Make them scream until their throats bleed.’’

The elf’s eyes widened, her voice a horrified whisper. ’’Why? Why are you doing this?’’

Dante inhaled deeply, savoring the stench of blood and terror that hung thick in the air. His smile widened, revealing a glint of malice that seemed to drink in the suffering around him. ’’Because the smell of fear is what I love,’’ he purred. ’’And death is now my calling since returning.’’

’’Why, though? It’s evil?’’ the elf mumbled.

’’Good and evil are both sides of the same coin,’’ he replied, watching a group of Wolf Demi-Humans get torn into pieces by the Zombie Brute while the Death Guardian cut several men and women in two.

The scene was glorious to Dante, but he shook his head and continued talking. ’’I once fought for this world only to wipe out the wrong side. The Demons were never the enemy; instead, it was the humans who burned me alive, and now their world will crumble.’’

’’What about after?’’

He looked at the elf woman and got a good look at her. She had platinum blonde hair, big blue eyes, and was pretty, but that didn’t bother him in the slightest. Dante sighed before shrugging. ’’I don’t know? Maybe settle down like my previous plan? That was when I had a lover.’’

Dante shook his head. ’’You will come with me and be my herald to Dreadport. I want them to pay for sending out these adventures,’’ he said, pointing at his new undead who were finishing off the last family.

The Shadowstalker and Ghoul Blade killed the rest, except for twenty elves who fell to their knees, thanking him while surrounded by ghastly-looking undead. Dante chuckled at this scene before sending all but the Black Knight, Raoul, and Sulla back to the Domain, causing the elf woman to jump back.

’’What’s your name, woman?’’ he questioned.

’’Bella Greenleaf.’’

’’Stop acting like this, I spared your kin and yourself,’’ Dante growled when seeing her tremble. ’’You shall stay alive until I decide you need to die, so prove your worth to me, woman.’’

Following that, the Death Knights threw the bodies into the Death Camp because there weren’t any more high ranks. He sighed before looking at Bella. ’’Blondie, where are all the deadly monsters?’’

’’There’s an adventurers’ guild here, we can look there?’’ she suggested.

Dante motioned for her to lead him there, which she did as the other elves fled Thornebrooke to warn the humans hunting in the Dark Forest. This made him laugh as he summoned the Death Bear and ordered. ’’Follow those pointy ears bastards, and when you see humans attack them instantly, kill as many as you can before retreating.’’

The giant monster growled and bounded off after Bella’s kin, but the blonde elf kept leading him toward the guild. While walking down the town’s streets, blood covered everything, prompting him to check the Death Camp total.

[Capacity: 4000/4000]

[Upgrade Capacity by 1000: 500 Death Points]

’Damn already full,’ he internally grumbled before checking how many Death Points he had.

[Death Points: 4100]

’’I’ll boost it twice and then save them for upgrading,’’ Dante muttered, spending the point.

[Capacity: 4000/6000]

[Death Points: 3100]

Following that, he felt something change with the Death Camp, but then looked at Sulla and Raoul. ’’Go collect the remaining bodies, there’s enough room in the camp now. Unfortunately, most of Dreadport’s humans will go to waste.’’

’’How do you plan to attack the city?’’ Bella asked from the side.

The Black Knight’s crimson eyes landed on the elf woman, who yelped in fright as Dante answered. ’’I’ll sneak inside using you, once there we can explore the place before unleashing chaos on its people, but they’ll know someone’s coming thanks to your elves, woman.’’

Just then, a string of notifications popped up, surprising him.

[E Rank Human - Archer killed]

[D Rank Demi-Human - Warrior killed]

[D Rank Human - Warrior killed]

[C Rank Human - Mage killed]

’’Eek!’’ she squeaked. ’’Sneak into Dreadport? How? It’s a fortress?’’

’’Pretend we’re lovers exploring the continent before returning to our homeland in the Darkmoore Kingdom,’’ Dante revealed, smirking.

’’That’s unfair! Why can’t I be your lover!’’ Mary snapped from behind him.

Marianne and Henry tried to stop her, but he waved them away. ’’Alright, turn into your Demoness form, then you can take my other side.’’

When the young woman heard this, she was honestly shocked, annoying him. ’’Come on, woman, change so we can get used to this.’’

The Death Wraith’s grin widened as she morphed into her demonic form, a beautiful Demoness with long silver hair and blue eyes that gleamed like the ocean water, which sent Bella stumbling back, her face drained of color, eyes wide. The other two laughed at her fear, a venomous echo over the blood-soaked town.

Dante’s voice dripped with sadistic glee as he revealed. ’’My Death army wields powers to break the strongest souls, but this young woman and her cursed kin are my finest creations. Mary and her mother, my Death Heralds, weave despair with every breath, while her father, the Black Knight, is one of my bodyguards.’’

Following that, Bella continued leading them to the adventurers’ guild that looked gutted, thanks to the undead ripping through it to find all the humans. When they entered, blood covered most surfaces, but the elf cast her race’s magic, and the quest board was cleaned along with all the paper.

His eyes widened as Mary looked amused, but he approached the board, scanning the notices, only to see dozens of monster-hunting questions. This put a smile on his face as he snatched them up, mumbling. ’’High Orcs, Wyverns, and many others, those will be good to attack Dreadport before heading south.’’

Dante got excited just as Mary and Henry joined him. The Black Knight was causing the floorboards to creak thanks to his weight. He put all the papers in his pocket, speaking to the others. ’’Looks like there’s a Wendigo ingestion a few miles from Thornebrooke, they will be a good start.’’

Mary and Henry nodded in agreement, but Bella went pale white as she sputtered. ’’Why go after those foul creatures! They are a nightmare in the flesh.’’

’’That’s why I’m going to bring them into my Death Army,’’ he revealed, an excited expression forming. ’’Then we’ll target every monster in between here and Dreadport. Once we get there, I’ll have a full army.’’

Following that, Dante led them out of the destroyed town that was bathed in blood and headed toward the Wendigo nest. As they traveled, he checked out the Death Army total to see if he can increase it.

[Death Army Total: 11/150]

’I should increase it by one hundred.’

[Can increase the number using Death Points - 100 for 10 Capacity]

Dante spent one thousand points to increase it to two hundred and fifty. He felt the subtle change, putting a smile on his face.

[Death Army Total: 11/250]

[Death Points: 31002100]

As they ventured into the depths of the Dark Forest, guttural howls, snarling growls, and venomous hisses filled the air, sending a chill down the elf’s spine. Dante activated his Death Eyes, his gaze piercing the gloom to see lurking monsters. But as hundreds of notifications flooded his vision, a searing headache gripped him.

’’Fuck!’’ he growled.

Just then, Medea appeared and began casting her necrotic healing magic that numbed the pain, putting a smile on his face. ’’Thanks,’’ he muttered.