The Smiling Death

Scarlett slowly rose to her feet. Her amethyst eyes remained fixed on the figure standing several meters away.

Her voice was calm and cold. "What do you want?"

The cloaked man remained silent for a moment. His gaze lingered on Scarlett before shifting toward Seraphina. A faint smile appeared beneath his hood.

"Well...I came here because I wanted someone dead."

His eyes rested on Seraphina for another brief moment.

"But it appears today isn’t that day."

He took a single step forward. The atmosphere instantly became tense.

Marcus tightened his grip on his spear.

Aisha raised her greatsword despite her injured arm.

Eliana silently drew another mana arrow.

Scarlett never moved.

The undead of Alaric suddenly disappeared.

BOOM!

Dark violet lightning exploded beneath his feet as he shot toward them. His speed was terrifying. Yet before he had taken more than a few steps.

Shhk!

Thin crimson threads erupted from the ground beneath him. One, two and then hundreds. Hair-thin strands of blood wrapped around his ankles before rapidly climbing upward.

His calves. Then his thighs. Then is waist, his arms and in less than a few seconds. His entire body had been bound. The seemingly delicate threads tightened.

The pressure was astonishing. He tried taking another step.

He couldn’t. His pupils narrowed.

"...Interesting."

Scarlett calmly raised one hand. Blood gathered in her palm.

Within seconds it condensed into a magnificent crimson scythe. Its long curved blade resembled freshly spilled blood beneath the moonlight.

The weapon radiated an eerie yet elegant beauty. The cloaked man observed it carefully.

"Hmm... So it’s Blood Affinity. There are only two families known to possess such bloodline abilities. The royal family... And the Bloodhart Ducal Family of the Vampire Kingdom."

His smile widened.

"So...Which one are you?"

Scarlett’s expression never changed.

"None of your business."

She vanished and there was no sound. She didn’t give any warning.

Only a crimson blur appeared in night.

The next instant she appeared directly before him. Her scythe swept horizontally. Its crimson blade flashed beneath the moonlight like a streak of scarlet lightning.

The cloaked man immediately attempted to free himself. Purple lightning erupted violently from his body. The electrical discharge blasted against the blood threads.

But the more he struggled. The tighter they became. The razor-thin strands bit into his flesh, drawing blood from his arms and legs.

"Annoying."

He clicked his tongue. Several bolts of violet lightning shot toward Scarlett. She didn’t slow down. Her crimson scythe danced gracefully.

Slash!

Slash!

Slash!

Every bolt of lightning was split apart before reaching her. The battlefield briefly glowed crimson.

"Scarlett!!"

Scarlett heard his voice behind her.

"I want to finish him!"

She paused for only the briefest moment.

Without looking back she stomped lightly against the ground. More blood surged from beneath the shattered earth. Additional crimson threads erupted upward.

They wrapped around the cloaked man from every direction. His arms became completely restrained.

His torso. His neck. Even his fingers were immobilized.

He could no longer move at all. He looked down at himself before letting out a quiet laugh.

"...Oh my. You..."

He looked directly at Scarlett.

"...are actually stronger than Alaric."

Scarlett said nothing. Her eyes remained emotionless.

Several meters away Amon struggled to stand still without support. His body swayed dangerously. Blood continued flowing from the deep wound across his abdomen despite the healing potion.

His face had become frighteningly pale. Every breath was painful. Even standing required all of his remaining strength.

Marcus looked at him with concern.

"Amon! You shouldn’t be moving!"

Amon ignored him. He slowly raised his left hand.

Far away the shadow-covered hatchet lying among the ruins trembled.

Whoosh!

It shot back through the air. The weapon spun rapidly before landing perfectly in Amon’s waiting hand.

His fingers tightened around the handle. His black eyes fixed themselves upon Alaric’s charred corpse.

The dead body remained standing there, restrained by Scarlett. Its empty eyes glowed faintly with unnatural darkness.

Amon looked at the lifeless body and said,

"You’re using him as a puppet... an undead."

’I wonder if my class has any effect on undead since it’s related to death. I need to test it by crushing him. I still don’t know if simply destroying his body is enough to stop an undead. He might still control it.’

Amon wasn’t wrong. It was indeed an undead. Even severing its limbs might not break the connection between the corpse and whoever was controlling it.

The man smiled.

"It seems you wants to kill me... but sad you can’t. This body has served its purpose. I suppose we’ll meet again someday. I have no intention to stay here any further... since the girl from luminous family had already send a message to her family."

Amon didn’t answer. He simply threw the hatchet.

WHOOSH!

The weapon became a streak of black darkness.

Scarlett instantly stepped aside. The hatchet flew past her shoulder.

CRACK!!

It struck Alaric’s skull directly. The blade crushed straight through it. The corpse trembled once.

The darkness filling its eyes disappeared. It was as if the invisible strings of control instantly vanished.

Alaric’s body collapsed lifelessly onto the scorched earth.

The puppet or undead was finally gone.

Silence returned.

Aisha looked at Amon in confusion.

"Why? Why were you so determined to attack the dead body?"

Amon breathed heavily. Blood trickled from the corner of his lips.

He smiled weakly.

"...I..."

He looked at Alaric one last time.

"...just wanted to be the one who finished him. I don’t really know why but now..."

His smile became gentler.

"I feel relieved and satisfied."

Amon got know what he wanted to. The tension finally left his body. His legs gave out. He slowly sat down before collapsing onto his back.

His vision blurred.

"...Take me..."

He forced out the words between exhausted breaths.

"...back to the village..."

Before anyone could reply... His eyes closed.

He lost consciousness. "Amon!"

Scarlett’s expression changed to worry. She instantly appeared beside him and knelt down. Her hands quickly checked the wound in his abdomen.

Although the healing potion had saved his life...

The injury remained severe. The sword had pierced completely through his body. He had also lost far too much blood.

Scarlett bit her lower lip.

"...Idiot."

Seraphina hurried over despite her own injuries.

"Amon!"

Her voice trembled. Marcus, Aisha, and Eliana quickly gathered around them.

Relief from surviving the battle vanished, replaced by worry.

The battle was finally over.