In one of the cities located at the far southern edge of the Northern Province of the Astraea Empire.
Evindel City—a simple, quiet, and peaceful place. But today was not like any other day.
Shortly after the afternoon, alarm sirens began to blare from the central tower of the city, warning of an impending catastrophe—a catastrophe they had only ever heard about in stories, never once imagining that their own city would become part of those tales.
They were attacked by humans… yet demons. On their faces were crazed, bloodthirsty smiles, gazing at people like starving wolves that had not seen meat for months.
There were hundreds who appeared middle-aged, and behind them stood thousands younger in age, seemingly between fifteen and seventeen. It did not take long before the city's soldiers clashed with the soldiers of the Evil Path.
But against their brutality and overwhelming numbers, the soldiers could not hold out for long. A crack tore through the city's defenses, and the younger ones from the Evil Path flooded into the city like locusts, spreading chaos and destruction.
Massacres began everywhere across the city—men, women, children, the elderly—none were spared from the butcher's blade of the Evil Path. With every breath, tens—no, hundreds—of people died. Citizens fled in all directions; a mother tried to hide her daughter, a father shielded his wife, yet none of it was of any use…
Even the pleas of women and the elderly were futile. Rather, they only made them more ravenous, more delighted—as if those pleas were sweet music to their ears.
Corpses spread across every street, and the stench of blood filled the air. Yet strangely… not a single drop of blood stained the ground.
All the blood from the bodies was drawn out, pulled from the dead and drifting toward a red crystal, the size of a clenched fist, hovering above each disciple of the Evil Path. Every one of them possessed such a crystal, though their shades of red differed.
Each time they killed someone, the victim's blood was drained to the very last drop into the red crystal, which emitted a faint crimson glow.
If someone with sharp eyes looked closely, they would faintly see the shape of a person inside those crystals… They were corpses, yet these corpses radiated an immense, powerful blood aura. The crystals absorbed the blood of the people and then pumped it into those corpses within, to the point that the veins of those bodies visibly bulged as blood surged violently through them.
People began fleeing toward the center of the city without even realizing it. The disciples of the Evil Path had already covered every inch of the outskirts and were now advancing inward. The only reason these people survived for as long as they did… was that the disciples took their time absorbing the blood of their victims.
More and more people gathered in the heart of the city, yet they all knew—this was nothing but false safety. It was only a matter of time before the disciples of the Evil Path would arrive and slaughter them. They could only hope that the knights of the Empire would arrive in time and save them from this nightmare.
Children cried in the arms of their parents, trembling in fear.
Suddenly, laughter rang out from one of the buildings.
"Keke… didn't I tell you? Just follow me and don't waste your time on appetizers at the edges—the real feast is here."
The sound of that laughter was like ten thousand needles stabbing into the hearts of the people.
Another laugh followed from the same place.
"Thank you, Senior Brother Jais, for sharing this meal with us, hehe."
A third voice rang out, no less wicked.
"In the end, this is Senior Brother Jais's second time attacking cities. Of course he has some tricks."
Several figures appeared atop the buildings. Only now did the citizens truly see the appearance of these savage demons. Before, they had only fled, lacking even the courage to glance at the edges of their garments.
What stood out most was their black robes, though their edges had turned red from blood, with stains scattered across them. Upon their chests was a symbol—a red skull, from whose eyes black blood flowed.
There were dozens gathered. They were human—no… they bore human auras. Among them were even vampires and werewolves, yet all of them emitted a powerful blood aura. Their bodies were thin and withered, like branches, barely seeming to have skin at all. Their smiles, as they looked upon the people, were filled with madness and hunger.
They began advancing toward the crowd when suddenly one of them spoke with hesitation:
"Senior Brother Jais… do we really have to give ninety percent of our share to Senior Brother Nick?"
Others paused as well, looking at Jais with the same hesitation.
Even Jais himself was filled with reluctance at the thought of giving up ninety percent of their share. If they kept it for themselves, the strength of the corpses they nurtured would increase many times over.
But to risk offending Nick…?
Nick was the strongest disciple of the new generation in the Corpse Demon Sect. He ruled with an iron hand—anyone who opposed him truly died.
He had come for this trial, yet remained outside the city, uninterested. He had merely ordered the disciples to bring him their share of the blood they collected, and if they failed… he would make them wish for death for such disobedience.
Jais shook his head and said in a low voice,
"Whoever wants to defy Senior Brother Nick, that's your business. Don't involve me."
Then he stepped forward, not allowing them to continue the discussion.
As soon as he approached the civilians, the children began crying louder. Even the men turned pale, unable to utter a single word.
When Jais saw their terror—when he smelled their fear—he could only grin widely.
He pulled out a chain lined with sharp barbs, preparing to swing it and slaughter them all.
And then, suddenly—
"DIE!!!"
A roar shook the heavens Accompanied by intent to kill، causing Jais to stagger.
He raised his head toward the source of the voice—and what he saw, the very last thing he saw—
was a bluish-white crescent, ten meters long, descending upon them from the sky.
It did not give them even a moment to understand what was happening or to react before it erased them from existence—along with their crystals and their weapons.
The one who launched the attack was—
Aeon Drakis.
Descending from the sky, his face was filled with fierce, burning anger.