The half-shattered dragon skull. Judging by the eye socket and cranial structure, it was indeed a relic of Aviditas. At this point, Ivan inwardly lamented.
'I ordered everything to be discarded.'
It was likely a relic discovered during the excavation of Aviditas's Sky Path. Last summer, when they first established diplomatic relations with the dwarves, excavating the Sky Path was their first undertaking.
Since they were the ones who had defeated Aviditas, it was only right that they should claim the Sky Path, which contained countless treasures. And if parts of Aviditas's body were discovered in the process, they would certainly be priceless relics.
It was the remains of a god, after all. Even if the malice within had been purified, and even if the divine essence remaining in the long-dead body was negligible, it was still a holy relic.
Was it sleeping in the treasure hall? Did they come specifically for this? Or was it just one of their objectives?
"Lord Yeremov! The corpses!"
"I know."
The entire city was screaming. Under the power of Aviditas and Olega, every corpse sleeping in this city was rising, gaining an unholy life.
In every alley, on every avenue, corpses were emerging.
How many dead could be sleeping beneath this land? Throughout Krasilov Kingdom's long history, Pritzenkaya had always been the capital. Layers upon layers of corpses must have accumulated in the soil beneath the city, as many as the population that had ever dwelled here.
Those ancient corpses were rising. None were intact. Most were broken and damaged. Yet under Aviditas's magical power, they were restoring their bodies and walking toward the souls of the living.
Mindless dead inevitably hate the living. Their only driving principle is boundless jealousy and hatred toward those who still possess vitality.
Amidst them, another group of the dead was rampaging.
"You!! Again you do this to me!!"
The vampire screamed from the sky above. His reason seemed to be eroding, as he was beginning to believe he was Aviditas.
If so, his anger was justified. Among the ranks of the dead he had raised, the corpses running with swords were the spirits of heroes who had once beheaded Aviditas.
The Annihilation Squad was running to protect their city.
They were agents trained to make the most rational choice at any moment. Yet now, these same agents were beginning to scatter throughout the city.
'Thank you.'
Ivan silently glanced at their retreating figures. The most rational choice, huh? That meant they weren't concerned with defeating the vampire.
They had judged that those present here were sufficient to handle him. Now they just had to prove it.
Naturally, the Hero was the first to open hostilities.
"Isabelle."
"Yes, uncle!"
"Use 'that.'"
"What? Oh! Hehehe... You mean 'that thing'..."
Isabelle stepped forward with an eerie laugh. She gripped her sword hilt tightly, bent one knee, and took her stance.
Her hair stood on end. Fierce magical power swirled around her grip.
My target, my enemy, my sword.
With her mouth half-open, she exhaled deeply, controlling her mental focus. When Isabelle opened her eyes again, her arm extended toward the sky in an optimal trajectory.
-!!!!
No sound followed the strike. The vampire floating in the dark night sky turned his gaze to look down at Isabelle.
What had she done? Clearly, powerful magical energy had swept past his body. Was it a threat? But—.
"Isabelle's—."
The sword extended high into the sky. Her gaze straight ahead, back straight, she adjusted her grip on the sword hilt from the high stance to a downward position.
Isabelle's eyes glared at the vampire.
"Morning Star Descent."
The blade came down like a dance. Deep from high stance to horizontal low stance. Magical power flowed along the blade's edge, and her mental focus shaped the phenomenon, directing it back toward the sky.
Even after she completed her stance, the vampire failed to grasp what had happened. He twisted his head, looking around, and discovered other humans staring blankly upward.
At him? No, not quite. They might be looking in his direction, but they clearly weren't looking at him.
Their gazes held awe and surprise rather than fear, hatred, or hostility. Only then did the vampire turn around.
"What... what is this?!"
The sky was split open.
Olega's blood magic that had created the "eternal night" was broken. A massive crack had appeared in the sky that had been nothing but darkness, completely erasing the celestial bodies.
As someone who had once participated in the Great War, he already knew this phenomenon. A small gasp escaped his lips.
"Hero—!!"
Immediately, a long line appeared across his body. With a splash, crimson blood momentarily lost control and surged upward. The strike that grazed him had bisected his entire body.
He couldn't be destroyed with a single move. His control over blood was already superior to Enrique's. The spilled blood immediately returned to his body, and the wound vanished without a trace.
However, he couldn't prevent losing his balance. In that instant, he was falling.
"Well done."
"Ha! Huff... Whew—!! I, I need a moment to rest!"
Isabelle jumped back, pressing down her trembling hands. Watching the falling vampire, Ivan continued giving instructions.
"Oskar, front. Hold him."
"Yes!"
"Asidis. Left flank, disregard defense and attack. Just draw his attention, then withdraw when he focuses on you."
"Easy enough!"
"Yu-jin, take the right flank, and Elfihera. Rear support. Use fire-based spells."
Ivan quickly delivered instructions as he ran. The fallen vampire was already regaining his composure.
"Enrique, Lucia, don't join the battle. Protect the city."
"I figured as much. Leave it to me!"
If the opponent had inherited almost all of Olega's power, Enrique could potentially fall into enemy hands.
If she were turned against them during the battle, the damage would be incalculable. It was right to exclude her from this operation.
As Ivan finished giving instructions, Yuri, who was running alongside him, carefully asked.
"What about me...?"
"With me."
As the group took their positions and began engaging the vampire, Ivan sat on the edge of a building's rooftop and pulled out a new axe.
"Attack."
"B-but how? Any more specific instructions?"
"However you want. Whenever you can."
Yuri's special ability was "Invincibility." If explained more precisely, it was closer to "knowing the method that will certainly lead to victory." The important point here is the part about "method of victory."
If there's even a 1% possibility, she can succeed with 100% probability, which also means that if there isn't even a fraction of possibility, she can't activate her ability at all.
He couldn't send Yuri alone against a Dragon Lord. There would be zero chance of victory.
However, with the current group, and especially with Ivan included in the battlefield...
She was the most powerful assassin who could "definitively" land a "meaningful strike" against a Dragon Lord.
"You vermin—!! You cowardly worms—!!"
When the vampire began howling and rampaging, Ivan was already leaping down with his axe firmly gripped.
Yes, this was the most ideal formation.
Originally, Hero Parties were specialists in decapitation operations designed for many-against-one scenarios. He had forgotten this because he'd been fighting many opponents alone for too long.
Perhaps because of that, Ivan found himself saying:
"What, did you think you were facing a Saintess?"
Ignoring the sound of Yuri stifling her laughter.
The vampire, who had been a great demigod attempting to absorb the essence of two Dragon Lords and countless lives to become a new god, suddenly found himself in the position of a bullying victim, howling in rage.
There was no time to weave blood magic one by one. He resorted to simple strikes, pouring all his magical power into wild swings.
-KWAAANG—!!
Oskar took a blow and deflected it, while Asidis rushed in during the opening, swinging her mace wildly. The vampire's crushed arm regenerated immediately, but he couldn't block Yu-jin charging from the opposite side.
"My Lord!! Another one coming!!"
Yu-jin roared as he swung his longsword straight. The gleam in his eyes beneath his helmet was chilling. The vampire's arm flew off, only to regrow instantly.
Though she frowned at the sight, Elfihera didn't stop her casting. Her hair floated upward as bluish-green magical energy crackled and gathered at her fingertips.
"Thunder Call!!"
She understood the order to use fire-based spells to hinder regeneration. But she was a mage of the Celestial School, and the spells she was most confident in were celestial-type spells.
Anyway, whether burning with fire or electricity, wasn't the result the same? Only liberal arts and physical education majors think that only fire can burn people.
-KWAJIJIIJK!!
As lightning poured down, Yu-jin, who was caught in the sparks, backed away in alarm.
"Elfihera!!"
"You should have watched and dodged!"
"How do you watch and dodge lightning?!"
"Did you receive sufficient training?!"
Of course, a sufficiently trained agent can attempt to evade lightning by observing its signs. Lightning tends to strike the highest conductor in an area, so one can duck or roll on the ground just before impact.
So she wasn't wrong. Ivan quietly admired her logic.
Yu-jin, watching this, had to be grateful for the first time that his status window was broken. He would have felt sick if he'd seen a notification that Elfihera's affection had increased.
"I'll kill you all! You will never die peacefully...!! I'll chew your living flesh and tear apart your loved ones one by one with your own bodies!"
The creature began raging again. Ivan had already finished analyzing and patterning his movements. Perhaps due to his lost sanity, the creature's attacks were incredibly simple.
A single blow would certainly be enough to shred a human body dozens of times over. Even with his reason gone, he was still casting necromancy throughout the entire city.
Though he hadn't attained godhood, he was essentially a demigod. Yes, mortals become his minions simply by dying near him.
He was governing all "death" in the entire city. Clearly, if such a being appeared on a battlefield, it would create a scene from hell.
An immortal vampire who revives no matter how many times he's killed, a high-level necromancer who can resurrect surrounding corpses as minions at any moment, with endless magical power, and who can deliver attacks that even exceptional superhumans can't handle in close combat.
In a battlefield environment where numerous casualties are inevitable, he could become a god. Only superhumans could face him, but he could force a prolonged battle with his near-infinite life, making the potential damage immeasurable.
Hero Parties exist to hunt such beings.
Beings who have become gods. Those who cannot be overcome by numbers. Mighty gods who cannot be surpassed by the strongest weapons, techniques, and skills humans possess.
Evil gods striding across the earth. Manifestations of despair upon the world.
Hero Parties exist to face such despair. Only for that purpose.
Here and now.
"You should have waited for Elizabeta to bring her army."
-KWAJIK!
An axe embedded itself in the creature's head. The moment it was pulled out, the head instantly reformed and opened its mouth toward him. Sharp fangs were visible.
"You should have tried before the expedition ended."
-EUJIJIK!
The creature's fangs broke under the axe blade. He glared at Ivan while chewing the blade with his broken fangs. Ivan could feel the regrown fangs crushing the axe blade with a crunch.
Ivan dropped the axe and clenched his fist.
"You should have never tried at all."
-KWAANG—!!
His fist smashed down on the creature's head. The powerful blow crushed his nose bridge and burst the back of his head. Blood flowed backward, as if reversing time, beginning to restore his body.
It's fine. It doesn't matter.
A vampire's immortality equals the total amount of souls he has consumed. He is as infinite as the number of humans he has devoured.
Still, it's fine.
Just kill him infinitely. Killing the undead who won't die no matter how many times they're killed, until they finally cannot resurrect—it's something he's done before.
So far, no undead has remained immortal until the very end.
-KWANG—!!
The head burst. The bladeless axe dropped from the creature's mouth. Ivan caught it and thrust it into the creature's body.
"You should have continued living as if dead."
At those whispered words, the creature's eyes filled with rage and shame.
It's fine.
It wouldn't take long before fear appeared.
Every undead he had faced begged for mercy in their final moments.
Only those who fear death choose the path of the undead.
God of Death? Manifestation of Death? Ridiculous. Only losers who flee from death, remnants who couldn't live fully and cling to lingering attachments, choose the path of the undead.
"You should have never messed with us."
Ivan raised his clenched fist above the creature's face and growled.
As if saying he would exact payment, one by one, for waking all these comrades who had been sleeping peacefully.
-KWANG—!!