Boom!
The mass of dark bats gathered into a spherical cage, tightening around the carriage.
Amid sharp, hurried chanting, several streaks of red-black sword light burst forth. Bright yellow flames, whipped into a vortex, formed a blazing pillar that blasted apart the enclosing swarm. In an instant, thousands of bats were burned to ash and scattered on the wind.
He actually stopped them!
Sheltering behind the carriage, Gorgo and Helen watched the dark cloud overhead rupture beneath the rising column of fire, shock and delight filling their eyes.
"These are the things that have been hunting you?"
Samael asked with a frown, his eyes flickering as he stood with his back to them. As he spoke, his wrist shook in rapid bursts, his greatsword carving sweeping arcs that wove a flawless net of steel, grinding into pulp the bats that had split up and begun striking from every direction.
In the blink of an eye, the ground was carpeted in thick layers of red-black gore. The heavy stench of blood and rotting flesh spread through the air, nauseating and foul.
And yet, for some reason, Gorgo and Helen felt a sudden sense of safety.
"That's right. Ever since we left Sparta, these monsters have been shadowing the convoy, waiting for a chance to attack us."
Queen Gorgo, sword and shield still in hand, guarded against stragglers and finished off anything that slipped through while answering through clenched teeth. As she glanced back, grief flickered deep in her eyes.
Beside her, Helen lowered her head and bit lightly on her lip, her gaze dim as she softly added,
"When we left the city, we had a guard of two hundred with us, including more than forty priestesses and priests. But every time night approached, or whenever we passed through dense forests, valleys, or streambeds, our people would start disappearing. When we found them again, they were usually nothing but dried corpses, drained of every drop of blood.
It was only after we had lost about a third of our people that the priests and priestesses realized something was wrong. They set an ambush and cast a large-scale ritual spell, and only then were they able to force these monsters out into the open.
But they were too terrifying. To hold back things like these, evils no ordinary person could fight, so that we could escape… they all…"
The fate of the Spartan soldiers and clergy who had stayed behind in waves to cover their retreat needed no explanation.
And despite how easily Samael was cutting them down, the strange recoil and drag transmitted through the blade told the Ancient Serpent all he needed to know. Ordinary swords and arrows would struggle to do meaningful damage to creatures like these bats, so fast, so small, and so unnaturally durable.
If a swarm like this ever appeared over a human settlement, it would be a disaster.
Buzz!
Samael ran a hand lightly along the spine of his sword. Rune after Rune flickered along the blade, resonating with the Ether in the air and stirring up a visible tide of magical power. Terrifying flames burst forth like countless drops of rain.
The moment those flames, laced with a trace of divinity, touched the bats around them, their flesh split open with sizzling sounds, as if drenched in concentrated acid, and they melted away almost instantly.
Screee!
Intercepted like this, the mass of shrieking creatures in the air suddenly scattered under the rising flames, then converged ahead into the form of a handsome black-haired young man with slit pupils, dressed in formal wear and standing in the road to block their way.
Rooaaar!
At the same time, the dozens of blood-drained corpses shambling behind them let out hoarse snarls and charged forward, clawing and lunging at the carriage.
Samael cast a glance back at the carriage, then casually flicked two wooden chips carved with Rune symbols toward it, murmuring under his breath.
Gorgo and Helen instinctively caught the little objects that flew into their arms. The moment they touched them, the suffocating oppression under the dark clouds vanished completely. The Ether around them began to flow, forming a sealed membrane of light that wrapped around them and shut out the encroaching corruption.
"Take this and head up the mountain. Leave this to me!"
The Ancient Serpent narrowed his eyes, his low voice leaving no room for argument. Gorgo instinctively grabbed Helen, abandoned the carriage, and dashed up the slope from the side, steering clear of the battlefield on the mountain path.
"Heh, planning to play the hero and cover their retreat? Buying time for those two little lambs to escape?"
The young man finally revealed himself in full. His slightly tanned, well-built body was etched with blood-red divine patterns, and a pitch-black inverted cross had formed on his forehead.
"Tch. This cat-and-mouse game never gets old. Struggle all you like. Hopefully this time, you'll entertain me a bit more."
His eerie crimson eyes lingered on his prey with mocking amusement. He let out a raspy chuckle as his fingers extended, nails lengthening into pale, bone-like claws. Breathing in the thick scent of blood, he advanced slowly, savoring the hunt.
It was obvious that while chasing Gorgo and Helen, he had never once gone all out. To him, this was nothing more than a game, slowly breaking down his prey's body and mind bit by bit.
"Cat and mouse? Covering a retreat?"
Samael lifted his gaze slightly. The greatsword in his hand rose upright as his lips moved, Rune after Rune gathering and circling along the blade.
"You've got it wrong. I'm just worried I won't be able to hold back… and end up killing them along with you."
Buzz!
In an instant, the surrounding Ether surged wildly, and a column of crimson-black flames dozens of meters wide shot into the sky.
Danger!
The black-haired man's pupils shrank violently. Every drop of blood in his body trembled and boiled under an instinctive warning. This was hellfire, something that could burn both divinity and life itself.
Run!
Countless thoughts collapsed into a single instinct. Just as he tried to retreat, his gaze met Samael's.
Those cross-shaped starry eyes blazed like a falling firmament, crashing down upon him. His body froze, as if trapped in a mire, unable to move.
The next instant, a crimson-black arc of sword light descended like a collapsing mountain.
The dense black clouds overhead were torn apart and incinerated like scraps of cotton. Gale-force winds howled, shredding the surrounding vegetation. Jagged rocks crumbled into powder. The wandering corpses nearby ignited and split apart on the spot.
Boom!
The earth split open. Wherever the blade passed, a chasm stretching over a hundred meters was carved into the ground, leaving behind scorched, charred devastation.
At its center, the black-haired man's body shattered, bursting into a rain of blood that scattered in all directions.
"Trying to run? Stay… right here."
Samael's eyes turned cold as he sneered. Runes poured down like a meteor shower, locking onto the fleeing droplets of blood. Each one detonated on contact, evaporating the life force within.
"The sacrifice God desires is a broken spirit. O God, a broken and contrite heart, You will not despise. Those who harm me shall be repaid sevenfold… Eternal Divine Punishment!"
Driven into a corner, the pursuer used the scattered blood as a medium. The droplets trembled and resonated midair. With a frantic roar, thousands of crimson-black Runes manifested around Samael and came crashing down.
As the dust slowly settled, a figure leaped out from a crater over a hundred meters deep. His cross-shaped starry eyes opened and closed, quietly surveying the silent surroundings.
Samael's gaze dimmed. He coughed lightly, raising a hand to wipe away a trace of blood. Pulling open his clothing, he revealed the flame-like crimson-black patterns spreading once more from his chest.
His brow tightened slightly.