Chapter 2073 From the Heavens
A few minutes ago.
Inside the small chamber where Adam and Aneesa had faced off, the old gypsy lay miserably on the floor. Her body was cleaved in two. And yet, she somehow still lived.
She was an undead, after all. Or else, it would have been impossible for her to survive for thousands of years inside this secret plane. She was only a Mana Seed Magus.
If it wasn't for Adam unearthing the deep past trauma in her, perhaps she might have lasted a bit longer. But the outcome would have been the same. She would have lost nevertheless. Adam outclassed her in every way possible. Perhaps the only thing that she excelled at more than him was scheming.
Knowing that fighting an undead creature would waste precious time, Adam had quickly dealt with Aneesa and rushed to stop the sacrificial ritual. His decision had been correct. Had he been a second late, he might have lost Genevieve.
But his decision had also been wrong. Allowing Aneesa to still live was a mistake.
Dipping her withered fingers in her own cold blood, the old gypsy began drawing complex and mysterious symbols on the ground. Trembling fingers, pale face, but a victorious smile.
"Boy… you should have… killed me."
Aneesa had achieved all that she had set out to.
Her family had been avenged. Her tribe had been avenged. All of her people had been avenged. Revenge taken. Beautiful, beautiful justice served.
The colonists who had slaughtered her people were dealt with. The colonists' descendants had also been dealt with. She could now die peacefully.
Only one last task remained.
She had done everything to repay her benefactor. With this runic formation, she would summon her from the moon.
It was time for her master to descend.
Jacob had been nothing more than a foolish puppet, dancing to her tune all along.
The ritual involving 108 women and the alignment of the celestial bodies had never been meant to bring his lover back.
No. It wasn't.
Genevieve was never meant to become Charlotte's vessel.
She had always been the vessel for her great master!
And now, at long last, everything was ready. Her master would reawaken after a long slumber. She would finally descend.
She finished drawing the final stroke of the runic formation. Then she slammed her hand on the ground.
"With the final vestiges of my life… I summon you… Mistress of Blood… Sanguina!"
As the final spark of life faded away from her eyes, she saw the runic formations on the floor glowing with a crimson light.
Her lips curled into a smile, and she muttered her final words:
"Thank you… for everything…"
***
A crack appeared on the moon. Then another.
Dark fissures spread across its surface, slowly at first, like something was pressing against the moon from within.
The entire secret plane fell beneath an ominous silence.
And then…
Two enormous reptilian red eyes opened within the darkness. They stared down from the heavens, through the giant fissure on the moon.
Ancient eyes, cold and unblinking, surveyed the secret plane, taking note of the aftermath of the battle between adventurers and the vampires.
Then, the gaze shifted. Toward the gothic castle.
Through the open ceiling, she saw the sacrificial ritual of the maidens. She watched in silence. But… something was wrong. Something was missing.
Her vessel. It was gone.
Her eyes turned cold, and then they vanished.
For a few seconds, the entire secret plane seemed to hold its breath in horror.
And then…
BOOM!!!
The moon exploded.
Fragments of the moon rained down from the sky like divine judgment.
At the same time, a crimson blur shot from the center of the shattered moon toward the castle. It crossed the heavens in the blink of an eye. And just like that, the eclipse vanished and the muted sun returned.
On the battlefield, the survivors did not see the crimson comet shoot toward the castle.
How could they?
Their minds tried to make sense of what they were witnessing. The moon exploded and rained down from the skies. Hundreds of meteors, big and small, encompassed the entire secret plane.
Luca watched with wide eyes. The first thing he thought of wasn't his own safety. He was certain that he would survive.
What about the humans in the three settlements? He thought with concern.
Will they even survive this?
Beside him, Michael collapsed to his knees as he saw the beginning of the apocalypse. Tears involuntarily trickled down his face as he murmured in defeat, "It's over."
Everyone on the battlefield was too shocked and terrified to comprehend what was going on. Most had already given up, seeing no way out. Only a select few tried to find that slim thread of hope, of survival.
Luca stood tall and unyielding in the face of the meteor shower.
"And when the sky falls, be brave. Be brave," he whispered to himself as he donned his armor and wolf-shaped helm.
He retrieved a circular shield from his storage artifact and held it high with both hands. He activated the shield, and a translucent circular dome formed around him, enclosing himself, Michael, Leah, and Sandra.
The fragments of the moon fell toward the land, catching fire as they tore through the atmosphere.
Divine judgment rained from the heavens.
Hundreds of blazing meteors descended upon the land, each one carrying enough force to destroy everything in its path. Forests were reduced to ash, the earth shattered beneath the impact. Mountains trembled as fragments of the moon crashed into the world below.
Countless meteors fell upon the barrier surrounding the battlefield.
The barrier shattered instantly. And then the blazing meteors descended upon the battlefield, blanketing the land in fire and destruction.
The land was constantly bombarded for an entire minute. For sixty seconds, the earth shook beneath the relentless barrage. Explosions echoed across the secret plane, one after another, drowning out every other sound.
Then, at last, the explosions began to die down. Silence slowly returned.
But the secret plane was no longer recognizable. The landscape had been completely altered.
The battlefield had become a wasteland of craters. Great pits stretched across the plains, some still glowing with heat. Entire sections of the land had been reduced to dust.
Raging fires burned everywhere. Thick smoke filled the air, rising toward the crimson sky.
The mountains in the distance had been scarred. The forests that had once occupied the secret plane were either burning or had been completely flattened.
Nothing remained untouched.