Beyond the Bloodline

The 5th of January, Year 2018, was a normal day for the people of Clurg, known for its intricate architecture and vibrant markets.

Stalls bustled, businessmen and women moved home after a day’s work, while the children played under the warm setting sun.

Suddenly, there was a sinister shift in the ambient energy concentrations, with the levels surging to a suffocating density, leaving normal civilians who were merely Bronze or Silver Realm existences gasping for breath.

Clurg’s authorities, alarmed by this sudden anomaly, scrambled to trace the source and discover the reason.

However, they were still in the middle of this process, when torrents of magic power, aura and ether erupted from a singular point, spreading out uncontrollably.

The energies of universal laws pulsed alongside these waves, detectable only by the Legendary Realm existences of the city.

Despite how swift they were, the city’s guardians were ultimately unable to avert the catastrophe that occurred next.

One of the city's three dungeons, suddenly shook with convulsions, exploding merely seconds after.

The walls shattered and a maelstrom of power engulfed the surroundings in a devastating surge. Shockwaves shattered structures, trees uprooted and ground quaked under the onslaught, birthing a scene of chaos that devoured the previously ‘serene’ landscape.

The surging energy levels intertwined with billowing smoke, merging into ominous clouds that veiled the sinking sun's golden embrace.

A torrent of monsters, each one more fearsome than the last was unleashed into the city, driven by primal instinct.

They poured forth, ravenously attacking anything within their reach.

Those who were within and closest to the dungeons were consumed by the explosion, while those who barely managed to survive were run over by the monster hordes.

Tragically, some civilians also met their demises, a few from the surging ambient energy levels that made it seem as if invisible hands sought to choke their very existences, whilst some others were unfortunately around the dungeon’s vicinity.

In the wake of this disaster, Clurg’s authorities rallied, mobilizing the defence forces to evacuate imperilled citizens and combat the onslaught.

Adventurers, Hunters, Knights, and Soldiers, from both home and abroad, along with some powerful foreign tourists, all took up arms to unite against the surging horde.

Nearby cities were also far from complacent, as they were aware that this disaster could spread to their territories and that spurred them into action.

The monsters released when dungeon breaks occurred did not only try to kill all sentient humanoids in sight, but they also try to free other monsters by destroying other dungeons nearby, and in Clurg’s case, there were two targets.

Of course, other cities first checked the possibility of Dungeon Breaks occurring in their own cities, and they only sent reinforcements to Clurg after making their elite forces on standby next to the highest-level dungeon in their cities.

Although they could be seen as selfish, there was no helping it. What good would it be if their own city was doomed while helping Clurg?

Thousands of adventurers, A rank (Level 300-400) and above, began heading towards Clurg. But of course, the number of combatants one could count reduced the higher up the ranks you went.

As the waning sun was engulfed in dark shrouds, the city of Clurg now stood as a battleground, with powerful monsters rampaging around and people running to evacuate.

And amongst the combatants quickly arriving on the scene, were the Hybrid Jamie, and the five Vampire teenagers with him.

Freed from the Spatial Cube, the vampire quintet had to take a while to reorient themselves as their grandmaster bodies certainly weren’t built for the 1500m/s journey they had just undergone.

**SKREEEE!!

“Shit, it’s a flying-type monster!”

“The CDF! Where’re the special forces of the CDF?! If we don’t stop them here, the next district would be in danger!”

“Go to the rooftop and shoot those monsters down! Block them in area A-1!”

Loud voices rang out all over as the combatants tried to prevent the proliferation to other city districts, trying to finish the crisis within this one, but that was easier said than done.

‘It would not work. Especially with what’s coming.’

Jamie thought as he used his spatial perception to gain a mental 3-D map of the district, quickly pointing out where the plans the combatants had could fail.

Many adventurer parties and guilds teamed up against the monsters, but the sheer difference in numbers was overwhelming.

‘Right now, only the City’s defensive forces that seemed to have been fully deployed beforehand are putting up a good fight, the adventurers and hunters need time to gear up fully.’

{Humans everywhere!!}

{Elves too. It’s been years since we’ve seen any elves on our floor in the dungeon! I want Elves!!}

{Stop talking about that prison and kill them before the more powerful ones arrive!}

Three giant fat-armed pig-faced monsters conversed with themselves as they walked down the street, smashing the abandoned cars in their path to pieces of scrap metal.

{Hmm? Look! A group of Humans.}

The moment the one in the middle—a High Orc—said that; it kicked off the ground and blitzed forwards at a speed uncharacteristic of its large body.

Naturally, its target was the vampire group who were just arriving and were trying to get a grip on the situation.

Davina’s red pupils turned in the direction of the charging creature, her lips parting to speak two words.

“Sundering Grasp.”

The ground beneath the charging orc suddenly quaked and tendrils of earth surged upwards in a spectral grip.

The high orc’s charging cry quickly turned into a bloodcurdling scream as it was ensnared by the conjured fissure, which swallowed it whole.

It also didn’t help that jagged earthen spikes embraced it from both sides within the chasm it fell into.

Seeing this, the other two orcs roared in rage and rushed forward to avenge their fallen comrade, blind to the impending peril.

Davine only sighed softly and flicked her fingers, rousing the lingering magic power and activating a different earth magic spell.

“Rising Ground.”

**BOOM! BOOM!!

A series of large spears protruded from the earth underneath, piercing into the creatures from below faster than they could jump to avoid it.

The spears then gained barbs that extended outwards like the deadly petals of a malevolent flower, piercing out of the orc’s bodies and perforating holes in them all over.

Each one had at least three barbs piercing through either their brains or hearts, killing the unfortunate creatures instantly.

Looking at this, Jamie stroked his chin silently with a strange look in his eyes, before nodding to himself and turning in another direction.

Clurg was a city with a lot of facilities and people, and this only served to make the current situation worse.

“E, escape, escape to the shelters!”

“Shit, my house!……. N, no!”

Blood and flesh scattered around, buildings collapsed and cars exploded, with people of all races and cultures, fairly meeting the same death.

‘I can leave them to deal with monsters in this district. But first, I have to take out that monster that feels like it's smart, hiding over there.’

“Supports, buffs!”

“On it!”

{Kiiiik, stop the magic!}

“Block the monster behind us! Protect the civilians!”

“Chain Lightning!”

{Kwaaaaak!}

{B-brave trolls, Kahak!}

Four lumps of lightning sparked above the head of a mage, shooting towards one of the monsters and slamming into its body, blasting its head to bits before jumping onto another one with 1.5X the power.

It then jumped over to a third with 2X power, moving on to the next while exponentially increasing in size and power.

By the time it got to the group of trolls engaged in close combat with some other adventurers, it had already reached the limit of its damage multiplication, having more than 10 times its original power.

The lightning crashed onto the trolls’ open backs, sizzling through their armour and flesh with ease and eliciting agonizing roars from them as they were consumed by the lightning’s searing embrace.

Those monsters had good regenerative prowess, but the supports layered anti-regeneration debuffs on the creatures, preventing them from being able to utilize said regeneration.

Just as she was about to begin chanting another spell, she suddenly felt a chin go down her spine, along with an instinctive fear of death.

Not only she, but every other person who was in the area had that same feeling.

A large shadow was suddenly cast on the ground in front of her, eclipsing hers and that of everyone else in its dark embrace.

Along with the shadow, was an aura that engulfed her and forcefully scattered the magic power she had gathered to use for spell casting.

She slowly turned her gaze around and locked eyes with a large set of black and gold slit eyes.