Eternal Undying Chronicles

The bloodshed was swift, each movement Alicarde made flowing with lethal grace, the result of countless battles.

Even before unlocking the power of his truename, Strigoi fell easily before him. Now, armed with his newfound strength, he moved at a speed that seemed to blur the lines between reality and illusion.

His sword glinted in the dim light, cutting through the air with the deadly grace of a whisper, before it silenced the Strigoi forever.

His violet eyes gleamed with a dangerous light, the madness flickering like a wild fire threatening to consume him.

The name Zagarath burned at the edge of his lips, a scream of rage and fury he longed to unleash.

But Alicarde gritted his teeth, suppressing the tidal wave of impulses that surged within him. There was no room for losing control, not now. Not with so many lives hanging in the balance.

Drawing a deep breath, he pushed the bloodlust back, forcing it into the dark corners of his soul. His hand tightened on the hilt of his sword, the cold metal grounding him as he surveyed the battlefield, his every sense sharp.

His swift and brutal actions had not gone unnoticed. The remaining Strigoi turned toward him as one, their glowing red eyes ominous in the darkened chamber.

To the caged humans, these monsters must have seemed like the stuff of nightmares, but to Alicarde, they were nothing more than prey—creatures who had crossed the line and now had to be exterminated.

A chorus of feral roars echoed through the chamber as the Strigoi charged. Alicarde didn't give them a chance to close the distance. With a single command, Wrath materialized beside him, dark energy swirling in its wake.

"Protect the humans. Don't let a single one past you," Alicarde ordered, his voice icy and resolute.

Wrath snorted in response, its fiery gaze locked onto the oncoming Strigoi. The air around it shimmered with heat, the ground beneath its hooves scorching as it prepared to unleash its fury.

Alicarde darted into the fray, his blade cutting through the air in one fluid arc. His sword cleaved cleanly through the neck of the first Strigoi, its head flying off in a spray of blood, the body collapsing to the ground in a lifeless heap.

Without hesitation, Alicarde leaped high into the air. Activating [Flux Field], the gravity around him intensified, amplifying his descent.

The ground beneath him shattered on impact, sending a shockwave through the chamber.

His sword plunged deep into another Strigoi's chest with a sickening crunch, the force of the blow sending cracks snaking through the floor.

With a brutal kick, he sent the creature's broken body hurtling toward a nearby pillar. The sound of bones snapping echoed in the chamber as the Strigoi crashed into the stone, leaving a cloud of dust and tremors in its wake.

Alicarde wasted no time, quickly gaining distance from the remaining Strigoi. His eyes narrowed as he extended a hand, reciting the incantation for the inferno spell in a low, dangerous tone.

"Tinder to spark, ember to glow,

In this place, let fire grow.

With a breath, let flames flow,

Consume all—Inferno."

Pouring his vast mana into the spell, Alicarde unleashed a torrent of flame. Pillars of fire erupted from the ground, roaring to life and consuming everything in their path. The chamber blazed with an otherworldly light as the heat surged, transforming the battlefield into a sea of fire.

The humans, once cowering in darkness, could now see the horrific scene unfold in full view. The flames illuminated the Strigoi, their grotesque forms writhing in agony as the inferno devoured them. The sickening smell of burning flesh filled the air, and their anguished screams reverberated off the stone walls.

Flesh bubbled and charred, their bodies twisting in futile attempts to escape the consuming blaze.

Their terrifying howls became weaker, until all that remained were blackened, smoking husks.

But Alicarde wasn't finished. He moved through the flames like a dark specter, a silhouette against the blazing inferno. The surviving Strigoi, sensing their doom, tried to flee, but Alicarde intercepted them with ruthless precision.

His gauntlets, heated by the surrounding fire, crushed the skull of one half-burned Strigoi with ease, the sound of cracking bone echoing through the chamber.

With a sharp motion, Alicarde manipulated the gravity around the flames, pulling the fire away from the humans, separating them from the remaining monsters.

He advanced steadily, his figure exuding a menacing aura. The fear in the Strigoi's eyes became more pronounced with every step he took.

"Time to die. No one leaves," Alicarde hissed, his voice dripping with venomous finality.

The Strigoi, in a desperate attempt, lunged at him, weaving between the pillars in a chaotic frenzy. One of them hurled a large fragment of a broken pillar toward him, but Alicarde merely extended a hand, stopping the debris mid-air with a thought, manipulating the gravity surrounding it.

"That won't work on me," he said, his voice cold and menacing.

With a flick of his wrist, he sent the fragment hurtling back, smashing it into the Strigoi with such force that it fell to the ground, bones shattered.

Alicarde was already ahead of the next creature. With [Flux Field], he yanked another Strigoi off its feet, slamming it down with doubled gravity.

The impact drove the creature directly onto Alicarde's gauntlet-covered fist, its skull shattering in an explosion of blood and bone.

A twisted smile crept across Alicarde's face, hidden beneath his hood. Madness and exhilaration surged in his chest, an uncontrollable laugh bubbling within.

With a single wave of his hand, he lifted a cluster of Strigoi into the air, suspended by the force of his gravity manipulation.

Leaping toward them, his sword became a blur, slicing through flesh and bone with deadly precision, reducing the Strigoi to nothing more than ribbons of blood and gore that rained down upon the battlefield.

But it wasn't over more of them swarmed to replace the fallen. The battle would not end so quickly.