In the arena, Marius roared in fury, cursing his allies for not showing up after a prolonged battle, showering them with vitriol.
Watching as Acheron was devoured by death, and realizing that blood magic had no effect on the skeletal structure of the Death Knight, he stopped holding back. His body swelled, regenerating his severed limb, and transformed into a three-meter-tall humanoid beast.
The beast’s body was covered with green scales that shimmered a bloody red under the dim moonlight, its fangs and claws reminiscent of a half-dragon, with a row of sharp spikes extending down its back, swinging a thick crocodile tail.
The appearance of the Familiars reflected their master, or their own faith, indicating a close relation between the Blood Tyrant and the Giant Dragon, at least as a subspecies.
Wayne was rather disrespectful, as he only knew of two with Dragon Blood, both within the Lando Family, with the rest being either lizards or crocodiles.
To him, geckos were also acceptable; he was broad-minded and open to others’ opinions.
Marius let out a roar as four beams of red light burst from his back, and Blood Crystals soared into the sky, spreading high above before plummeting swiftly to the ground.
To the east, south, west, and north, four blood-colored crystal pillars stood tall.
Wayne touched his chest, feeling the power of death suppressed somewhat. The last time he had witnessed a scene was in the Forbidden Magic Domain of the Capital Grand Hotel.
But the barrier before him was clearly different, likely a unique form of magic associated with the faith in blood.
As he thought about it, the four pillars emitted red light, and a hexahedron took shape, encasing both him and Marius inside.
Marius’s body swelled dramatically, his surging blood essence spilling over. Standing over five meters tall, his thick arms and tail were more than enough for Wayne to ride Yuliya and gallop away on.
The escaping blood essence carried a high-temperature heatwave, with the ability to contaminate surrounding blood. However, since his opponent was a Death Knight, with not a shred of flesh on him, his ability failed to manifest.
Marius gathered his blood essence, converting it into crimson crystal armor that covered his body, his fangs and claws wreathed in red light, sharp as knives.
His eyes turned a fierce red, and his aura reached its peak, as the red ripples he emitted wildly struck out in all directions, pressuring the Four Elements to tremble and even making Wayne feel a hint of stress.
The Book of Greed sniffed out a new delicacy.
Wayne’s eyes sparkled, impressed by the Familiar of the Blood Tyrant, which possessed other abilities. Determined now, he would give this delivery a five-star review.
As the boss was still in the midst of transforming, Wayne didn’t play by turn-based rules. Only villains waited for the transformation to end. A hero, with no knightly spirit, he hopped onto the Undead Warhorse and leapt into the portal.
Shadowmare swooped down, shredding the red crystal armor, and as Death Essence seeped through the cracks, it touched Marius’s scales and quickly covered them with a layer of gray.
Bone-Attaching Ulcer, once touched, couldn’t be shaken off. Thinking one could be separated by a layer of armor was nothing short of a fool’s dream.
Marius’s eyes flared red, energy repelling the deathly force, wiping it from his body. With a violent swipe of his massive claw, he aimed a roaring strike towards Wayne and Yuliya.
The portal opened just in time, and the Undead Warhorse carried Wayne onto Marius’s shoulder. As all four hooves landed, Shadowmare plunged down decisively.
The eyeball burst, with Death Essence pouring in.
One of Marius’s eyes was corroded by death, the Death Essence spread like poison to his surroundings, quickly stripping away scales and flesh to reveal the stark white bones around the socket.
With a pang of pain, the skull, crocodile-like, opened wide, roaring with blood-energy, aiming to hit the Death Knight who was within arm’s reach.
Looking at the gaping maw before him, Wayne was tempted to pull a move like that one character, to jump inside and dance around.
But on second thought, should he get stuck in the throat, the joke would be on him.
Shadowmare scattered white light, cleaving through waves, parting the bloody energy.
His tattered cloak, with eight gray tentacles, drilled into Marius’s eyes, ears, and nose, infiltrating his brain and turning it empty of any thoughts.
The hexahedron barrier didn’t dissipate.
Seeing this, Wayne once again swung his tentacles of Death Essence.
At that moment, the space within the hexahedron barrier suddenly solidified, the bloody hue turned solid, encapsulating everything within.
Six red chains spread from the hexahedron, winding and sealing layer by layer.
The barrier, now an enclosed space, shrank to the size of a fist, falling to the ground like a crystal heart, pulsing red light.
Marius leapt out of the barrier, picking up the hexahedron and holding it in his hand.
Now two meters tall, he still resembled a Crocodile Man, but his previously bulky and muscular body proportionally shrank, and his now streamlined figure exuded a powerful aesthetic.
Having taken down the Death Knight single-handedly, Marius was not surprised. The Knight’s power was already dispersed, and the newly initiated Knight had not been accustomed to Shadowmare for long. Without the need for cowardly and incompetent pig allies, he could claim victory on his own.
"With the seal bestowed by the Monarch, even the Demon Kings of his level cannot escape. Using it to seal you feels somewhat wasteful," Marius tightly gripped the hexahedron.
The Devil Alliance paid a heavy price to send the three Familiars to the human world to delay the opening of the Hell Gate above the Underworld Great Tomb. Because of the massive cost, the number and strength of the Familiars sent were limited.
The master of Marius, the Blood Tyrant, took the opportunity to pull some strings, not sending all of Marius’s power to the human world; instead, the remaining part was used to reinforce the hexahedron seal.
No other reason but that the Blood Tyrant had another plan. He was not content with sharing the Death Knight with the alliance and wanted to master it alone.
He entrusted the hexahedron to Marius, leading him to seal the new Death Knight, thereby establishing a new base of operations in Lundan, forging an Underworld Great Tomb and a Hell Gate of their own.