Except for Leo, the two counts and the child's head on the table all turned their gaze toward the humans. Their eyes were filled with cruelty and mockery as if they had already foreseen what would happen next. However, their attitude didn't shake Drake in the slightest.
He looked at the monsters and spoke coldly, "The troublemakers in the mansion were actually the children you slaughtered! Your crimes have been exposed, and I will bring this matter before the Imperial Court. Let's see if you can keep your noble titles after that!"
His voice was firm and resolute, leaving Ron and Fiona momentarily stunned. They hadn't expected their captain to be this passionate about theatrics.
Then, they all turned their attention back to the monsters, their bodies ready for battle. Yet, contrary to expectations, the creatures didn't immediately attack after Drake finished speaking. Instead, they suddenly smiled—exaggerated grins splitting their faces in half.
They slowly stood up. One of them suddenly spoke: "Then surely, you must also know why we did this... don't you?"
As it spoke, their bodies began to shift and morph—aging rapidly, then regressing into youth again, each cycle bringing forth a different face.
They opened their mouths and spoke in unison: "We have lived through countless lifetimes. Time has claimed the lives of innumerable souls, yet we alone persist—we live, live, and live! Humans, as long as you worship Him, can be like us too! He has never been a demon. He is light, He is power, He is the one who will guide us to the very end of this universe!"
As the two creatures' warped voices echoed, a violent storm suddenly erupted, strong enough to tear the castle's roof. A massive black hole formed above, with a swirling vortex of dark purple at its core, crackling with lightning. The sky darkened further, thunder shaking the very fabric of reality as if the heavens themselves were about to collapse and crush them all beneath their weight.
The suffocating pressure was unbearable.
Stall, still injured from the previous battle, suddenly clutched his chest and collapsed to the ground.
"Stall! Are you okay?" Jessica hurried toward him.
But then—Stall clenched both of his hands tightly, his face twisted in agony as he screamed, "Get away! I... I can't control my hands anymore! AH!"
With a bloodcurdling scream, his withered hands suddenly mutated—stretching unnaturally, coiling around his own body. Countless mouths erupted across his arms, gnawing and sucking his own blood.
Jessica's brows furrowed. Flames ignited in her palms, forming a sword, and she slashed at the monstrous limbs constricting Stall.
However, the moment she severed them, Stall let out a howl of pain, as if what she had cut wasn't a mutated horror but his actual, living arms. Worse still, the wounds healed almost instantly, while the withering spread up his arms even faster. The sheer agony of decay and corrosion made his entire body convulse—he wanted to die on the spot to end it.
Ron raised his voice: "Trying to free him will only worsen it! If we can escape from here quickly, there might still be a chance to save him."
Meanwhile, on the upper floor, Mason watched in horror as John's corpse suddenly lurched upright.
His face turned pale with despair as he rushed toward the door, frantically trying to escape. But it was useless.
John—or rather, the monster that had taken his form—crawled on the ground with its unnaturally elongated limbs, its head twisting 180 degrees before lunging at the door with inhuman speed.
Mason screamed, retreating step by step until he was completely cornered. But strangely, the monster ignored him, leaping straight down to the first floor instead.
Mason sat frozen in place, staring blankly before muttering, "Could it be that John still recognizes me...?"
A faint smile of relief crept onto his face as he spoke.
But at that moment, the sound of flesh tearing suddenly echoed. Mason stared blankly down at his stomach.
His abdomen had been ripped open, and the wound rapidly spread, splitting the front of his body into two halves. The limbs of a monster suddenly emerged from within his torso, its head expanding, pushing Mason's now-split head backward. His body was forcibly integrated into the monster, his face still carrying a lingering smile—twisted grotesquely by the sudden despair that flashed in his eyes. Everything was disturbingly distorted.
[It's here! It's here! The moment of the demon's descent is upon us!]
[I've been waiting for this part! At this point, logic means nothing—only absolute power can save them now!]
[And yet some people still believe the Prophet will save humanity. The only thing he can do is watch as the future he foresaw unfolds before his very eyes!]
[Honestly, it'd be way more entertaining if humanity were the ones to lose, hahaha!]
Amidst the gloating comments, there were also those praying for humanity's victory.
[Where the hell did these lunatics come from? Isn't good triumphing over evil just common sense?]
[Some people are so obsessed with monsters that they've lost the ability to think. As long as Drake is here, humanity will never lose. Worst case, Drake dies along with the monsters.]
[Please, I'm not ready for Drake to die yet!]
The howling wind grew more assertive. With the emergence of the monsters, the tension reached an all-time high.
Two counts lifted pieces of raw flesh from a plate and held them to the humans before them. "Just eat this, and you will transcend humanity—embracing an eternal life!"
One of the monsters crept closer to Drake, its voice carrying an overwhelming, almost hypnotic allure. "Aren't you tired of fighting for humanity? Tired of being a hero shunned by those you protect? Give up on that broken world. Join us, and you will gain far more—power, recognition... everything you desire."
Upon hearing these words, Prophet, seated to the side, couldn't help but turn his head toward Drake.
A vein bulged on Drake's forehead, his face contorted with disgust and irritation. With a flick of his wrist, a massive blade materialized in his grasp, and he slashed toward the monster without hesitation. He roared, "The stench on you is suffocating, you filthy beast! You want me to become as grotesque as you? Die!"
The monster tried to dodge, but Drake was far faster. In an instant, the creature was cleaved in two, its body collapsing to the ground and melting into a foul-smelling pool of black liquid.
Drake furrowed his brow. He had expected the count to be stronger than the lesser creatures, but the thing had died just as easily in the end.
"Boom!" A thunderous clap shook the sky. The count's death seemed to be a signal of some kind.
The shrill cries of children suddenly echoed throughout the castle. Then, an endless horde of monsters bemergedamong them, two grotesque beings formed from the corpses of John and Mason.
Drake roared, cutting down countless monsters with a ssingle-blade swing Fiona and Ron fought in perfect coordination—Ron's winds formed an impenetrable shield, while Fiona's sword was a relentless guillotine, decapitating monsters with astonishing speed.
Jessica stood off the side, flames radiating outward from her as their center. Any creature touched by the fire shrieked in agony, turning the battlefield into a scene straight out of hell.
Drake cut down wave after wave of monsters, his gaze locked onto Leo—the grotesque figure desperately trying to squeeze his massive body beneath the dining table.
"Swish!" A gust of wind sliced through the air, splitting the table ind revealing Leo's enormous, flabby form.
Terror filled Leo's face as he stared at Drake, sobbing and pleading, "I don't know anything! I was following my brothers' orders! I don't know anything, I swear! Huhuhu!"