Nameless King

The bats were leaving runes as gradually the entire fortress was covered with intricate seals that connected to each other with lines of fire, creating a common system.

"Well... I didn't expect this, but was someone really expecting us to come? I don't believe it." Wain said with a calm look before heading for the wall.

A lightsaber appeared in his hand as he took a few swings. The compressed energy of the light could share even space, but the barrier remained perfectly intact, taking all the damage.

Bam.

Several spheres of green flame flew into the same place that had enough power to hurt the Dragon, but, once again, there was no result. This barrier seemed indestructible.

"Damn... It was harder than I expected, but what happens next...?" Wain muttered with a confused look while looking at the fiery bats.

They sat down on the stone ledges and just stared at Wain and Marlis as if expecting something.

"Marlis... How strong creatures can live in areas of Purgatory? I mean... In Fourth Chronicle zones, like this?" Wain asked with a slightly worried but at the same time curious look.

"Strong enough to give us a lot of trouble, Purgatory zones have their own rules, so there can be real monsters for whom entering the Top-10 of Colosseum is nothing to do." Marlis said with a serious look as she prepared for battle.

Wain just nodded as his aura intensified. They couldn't get out of the fortress, so the only option that remained was to defeat the owner of the fortress.

Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.

After a while a magic circle appeared beneath the massive sphere of fire, then it glowed brightly and a passage opened in the floor from which something appeared that made Wain's eyes wide open.

It was a massive crimson coffin from which lava slowly flowed. The coffin had many seals in the shape of bloody inverted five-pointed stars. A powerful aura was emitted from the coffin that made the air tremble as well as the space.

Crackling.

The seals glowed as the lid of the coffin opened.

Whoooooosh.

It flew outward with tremendous speed, straight toward Wain. He planned to block the attack, but suddenly Marlis appeared beside him and stepped aside with him.

Crackle.

The coffin lid easily broke through the wall of the fortress and flew outward, a hundred meters away, demolishing everything in its path.

"What the hell...? We couldn't even scratch it... but, it was enough to do that kind of damage?" Wain uttered in a slow voice while in disbelief.

"Brace yourself, this isn't going to be easy." Marlis said with a serious look as her hands were covered in green flames.

Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.

A silhouette slowly emerged from the coffin, covered in the darkness that slowly dissipated.

"I thought it would be many more years before someone came to my castle... What a pleasant surprise..." There came a calm but majestic voice that reached the very depths of the heart of everyone who heard it.

It was a very tall man with long amber hair that burned brightly as though strands of sun. He had scarlet eyes and long fangs protruding slightly from his wide mouth. His lean body was covered by a long aristocratic coat with black edges underneath it was a simple white shirt.

"A vampire...?" Wain muttered in disbelief while his gaze examined the man.

"No... It's definitely not one of the Pillars, it's a monster... Incredibly strong... It's almost impossible for vampires to survive in these conditions with lava everywhere, but not for this one!" Marlis uttered with a deadly ice-cold look as shivers ran down her body.

"This girl is pretty smart..." The man muttered as he stepped forward, "My name is Krakos, I own this castle and area as well, nice to meet you."

Whooooooooosh.

Suddenly Wain turned into a dark flash and attacked, exuding a deadly aura. His sword instantly reached Krakos' neck, but he leaned in slightly at the last moment and the sword left only a shallow cut on his neck. Then, Krakos swung his arm and at that moment the world seemed to freeze.

All of Wain's instincts screamed about how dangerous this simple movement was, so his pupils narrowed and he turned into clots of dark flame, walking dozens of meters away.

"Hey, I didn't want it to start so... so abruptly. We could have talked first, couldn't we?" Krakos said with a slight smile on his face as he glanced at Wain.

Crackle.

The wound on his neck instantly healed as if it had never happened.

"Damn... His regeneration is at a very high level. It's incredible." Marlis muttered with a dazed expression, then she looked at Wain, "Good thing you were able to dodge."

"Dodge? Huh, looks like your eyes aren't as sharp as your mind." Krakos smiled as he touched his pale lips.

Crackle.

At the same time, three streaks appeared on Wain's cheek, from which blood gushed out, slowly trickling down in several streams.

"What...? That's impossible, I definitely dodged... I was gone before he could do anything..." Wain muttered while in disbelief, then his gaze completely changed as well as his aura.

He canceled the first form, as the black-crimson coat returned to its place as well as Gladius, from which emanated a thick darkness. Wain's eyes became like the depths of an abyss that could swallow anything.

'So he wasn't even serious before...? Marlis inwardly muttered, remembering Wain's previous fight, 'Fuck, what is Sven up to...? This is sure to alarm the whole world again!'

"Oh... Your aura is impressive, it's so strange and powerful... how unusual..." Krakos uttered while looking directly into Wain's eyes, then his gaze shifted to the dark drops of blood dripping from Wain's cheek and Krakos' pupils narrowed as a shiver ran through his body. It was as though he saw the most important treasure in the world that thousands like him were searching for.

"Well, then I'll let you experience my aura on yourself." Wain said in an ice-cold voice as a torrent of darkness burst forth from him.