Floor 99 was much more different from all the other floors...
Before them sprawled a massive chamber with hundreds of pillars that the eyes could barely keep count of.
On each of the pillars was a candle lamp, which flickered faintly, casting long shadows across the ancient stone.
Gabriel’s eyes scanned the area, yet he couldn’t see even a single monster, which made a small frown appear on his face.
Each floor they had been on was filled with monsters and quite easy to spot—so why was this different?
He knew that for every wasted moment the other teams could be getting ahead, so he didn’t stand around any longer and followed the path in front of him.
Everyone was silent. Not even the talkative Ragnarok99 made any remarks. They were all quietly observing their steps, cautious.
Gabriel spread his perception across the entire space to see if he could detect any traps. When he didn’t, he gestured for the others to follow his steps.
He had barely taken a step when something flashed past him... it moved with so much speed that even with his high perception—comparable to a Hero Rank—he could hardly follow it.
Instinctively, the others flinched back.
"Fuck, this is unlike me. Why is my heart beating so fast?" Bunny cursed under her breath, placing a hand on her chest.
Seeing the group panicking and wanting to break formation, Gabriel raised a hand and warned in a cold, firm voice, "Don’t move. Stay where you are."
When he was sure no one was moving, he listened carefully... he heard footsteps, but they were faint.
He tightened his grasp on his sword and, all of a sudden, slashed violently to his left.
FWOOOSH!
BANG!
The greatsword split the air and shattered the sound barrier, carving a straight line across the ground.
"What was that?" Cassie asked in a startled voice, not expecting him to attack out of nowhere.
The others looked just as startled. Meanwhile, he didn’t spare them a glance. He was staring straight at an empty patch of space, those electric green eyes glowing slightly in the dark.
’What is he looking at?’
Everyone thought the same thing. They looked toward the same area but saw nothing.
Whatever it was... it appeared Gabriel was the only one who could see it.
"Come out... I know you’re there," he said calmly.
Silence.
For a moment it seemed like he was talking to nothing but empty air—until there was movement.
Step. Step.
This time everyone heard it clearly. Their eyes fixed on the direction of the sound.
The only thing echoing across the chamber was the steady rhythm of approaching footsteps. They waited and waited for the monster to show itself, but it seemed to take forever... tension and anticipation clung to the air.
While the others shifted uncomfortably, Gabriel’s expression remained cool and serene. His back was straight like a blade, and merely looking at him gave the others a strange sense of security, like a stabilizing anchor.
After what felt like an eternity, a figure finally emerged, the candlelight from one pillar illuminating its face.
It was a male... a handsome male with raven hair, crimson eyes, and red lips dripping with fresh blood that trickled down his glass-like skin.
He smiled, revealing pearly white, pointed teeth as he spoke in a strangely pleasant voice.
"If I hadn’t dodged at the nick of time, I would have been sliced apart... tell me, how did you see me?"
"I’m not obliged to answer that." Gabriel raised his sword and pointed it at the creature’s chest.
"Let’s make this fast... I don’t have a lot of time on my hands."
[Vampire Duke — Level 110]
...
At the same time, on the Martial Palace side..
Their floor was just as identical as Broken Dawn’s. Their numbers had decreased significantly, and the people present weren’t even up to twenty.
The disciples were extremely cautious. Their heartbeats echoed faintly in the vast space.
Evelyn, walking right beside Liang, kept a sharp gaze while her paladins rotated around her. Among the two, despite Liang’s superior strength, her perception was higher.
He depended on her mostly for sensing monsters or traps.
And that was exactly what they were doing right now.
Suddenly Liang felt the ends of his hair stand on end. His eyes shrank to the size of peas. Even before he could form a word—
BOOOOM!!!
A blur crashed straight into him from his blind spot.
He didn’t even see it.
He didn’t even sense it.
Liang’s chest caved inward as the force slammed into him like a meteor, launching him off his feet. His body blasted backward violently—
CRASH!!!
He burst straight through the pillar behind him.
CRASH!!!
Then through another wall behind that.
BOOOOM!!!
The impact didn’t stop. He was blown through a third wall before finally skidding violently across the ancient stone floor, carving a long trench of rubble behind him.
"L-LIANG?!"
"Senior Brother!"
Martial Palace disciples screamed in shock.
Evelyn froze, her pupils trembling violently. Even she hadn’t sensed anything.
"W-What... what just hit him?" one disciple whispered, his voice cracking in fear.
Before anyone could react—
Step...
Step...
A dark silhouette walked out from the first wall Liang had crashed through.
The candles flickered.
A tall figure emerged, lazily dusting off his knuckles as if he had only tapped something lightly. His hair was raven-black, and his eyes glowed a deeper, sharper blood-red than any vampire they had seen so far.
His lips were stained with a faint line of crimson, and each step he took made the disciples shiver uncontrollably.
"Mm," the man stretched his neck casually. "That one was strong. I was curious."
He took another step, and the disciples immediately stepped back in fear.
[Vampire Duke — Level 110]
The exact same Duke Gabriel was facing.
But this one was even stranger... even more bloodlust-filled.
...
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