My Blood Legacy: Reincarnated as a Vampire

Chapter 223: A disgusting ritual.

"Sometimes I get myself into some situations... Damn, it would be simpler if I were one of the bad guys. Why did I have to be born a nice guy?" Dante muttered as he dodged various creatures attacking him relentlessly, a horde of different animals... "Hey, can't I just kill them all at once?

I get that you're a Dryad and all, but I'm a Demon King!" Dante shouted, holding onto the branches and kicking various species away.

"Stop complaining! Be a man and help me solve these annoying problems!" Linnea shouted as she restrained different beasts Dante could barely identify. "What kind of diversity is this? I've never seen that guy before!" Dante shouted, pointing at an anteater.

"How old are you? Fifteen? Come on, stop fooling around! Don't you have anything to stop them? Think, you idiot!" Linnea shouted, clearly frustrated because everything she tried was useless. If they didn't stop those creatures soon, they could start killing each other, completely disrupting the natural ecosystem.

"Ah~ I hate being the protector of defenseless animals; I prefer protecting women." Dante said sarcastically, making a hand signal to create a fireball, but it wasn't exactly a fireball. He threw it while guiding it with his fingers. "Come to me, my dear animals," Dante said, directing the ball in a circle, starting to enclose the beasts in a radius they couldn't simply escape.

"Hell King's Wall," he said, and a wall of flames began to surround all the creatures. Seeing this, they immediately backed away, knowing those flames could kill them with a single touch. Dante counted on their instincts to stop them, and it worked.

"You could have done that earlier!" Linnea yelled at Dante, and he looked at her without any reaction, "Seriously?" he questioned. "Since you're so mad, why didn't you do something before? Oh, right, you can't, so shut up and accept it." Dante replied, and she fell silent... "Sorry, it's just that you think things are too easy." Dante said, pointing, "If they touch the flames, they die.

Finish your job, and let's move on to the next one. I need to get back to my wives." He jumped into the air, spreading his demonic wings as he searched for the source of these mutations.

"Tsk, arrogant kid," Linnea said as she began sealing all the corrupted beasts in plant cocoons. "Mother, why can't you identify the source of this problem? Aren't you supposed to sense the whole world?" Linnea murmured as vines rose to hold the beasts, separating them to avoid conflicts. She waited for an answer, but it never came.

Linnea and Dante continued sealing beasts as they climbed towards a mountain. Everything was getting worse; each step felt like various negative energies were targeting them. Dante was resistant to this, after all, he could walk in Hell itself... But Linnea...

"Ugh," she murmured, placing a hand on her head. She was feeling intense pain and slightly trembled, almost losing her balance. "Calm down, what's wrong?" Dante asked, holding her to help her regain her balance. He felt her body was cold, like a plant on a rainy day. "Are you okay?" Dante asked. Linnea, however, couldn't answer with certainty.

It wasn't a simple headache or something; it felt like something was trying to manifest in her body. "The higher we go, the worse I feel... My connection to the World Tree has been cut off," she said. Dante nodded and sat the woman down against a rock.

"What are you going to do?" she asked, seeing Dante pointing his hand at her, and a red magic circle appeared from his hand. "Barrier Magic. After I evolved into Demon King, my mana sea increased by 1900% compared to my 13-year-old self that you knew," Dante said, beginning to formulate some magic formulas Morgana had taught him.

"Combining a Reflector Shield with a Purifier Shield should work." He said, and a reddish sphere enveloped Linnea, then adjusted to her size like a second skin and became completely transparent. Linnea almost instantly felt her body return to normal, even better than before.

"T-Thank you," she said, and Dante just smiled, "I can't let my beautiful teacher go through hardships." He said, clearly playing with her words. And well... Linnea blushed at being called beautiful... "Not even an avatar of the World Tree can resist a compliment, huh..." Dante thought as he turned around.

"Let's move forward; I'm sensing something." He commented, and she nodded, getting up and preparing to continue.

Dante took the lead and quickly launched ahead, "Try to get used to it again and take back the lead. I'll keep observing the surroundings; I feel something bad, not aggressive, but..." Dante said, and Linnea nodded.

Dante led the way through the dark forest, his eyes alert for any signs of danger. Linnea followed closely behind, still recovering from the malaise that had overcome her. Dante's protective magic enveloped her like a second skin, allowing her to move with more confidence.

As they climbed the forest towards the mountains, the sense of oppression increased. The trees became more twisted, and the air seemed denser, filled with a dark energy that Dante could clearly sense. Every step brought them closer to the source of the corruption.

"We're getting close," said Dante, his voice firm. "I sense something powerful. Get ready."

Linnea nodded, focusing her energy on maintaining her connection with the nature around her. She knew she would need all the strength available to face whatever was corrupting the forest.

Finally, they arrived at a point where the terrain opened into a dark cave. A dark energy emanated from the entrance, and Dante could feel the malevolence residing there.

"Let's see what that is," Dante said, starting to lead the way. Unlike before, he drew his demonic sword. "Excalibur," he murmured, and the sword quickly appeared in his hand.

"A sacro-demonic weapon…" Linnea murmured, sensing the divine energy from the sword, though its appearance seemed too grotesque.

They entered the cave quietly, their steps echoing off the stone walls despite trying to stay silent. The darkness was almost complete, but Dante's night vision allowed him to see clearly. Linnea, using her own magic, conjured a soft light to illuminate their path.

"I don't feel anything…" Dante murmured, sensing the energy but detecting no living presence ahead. "Damn." Dante said, noticing a huge blood trail on the floor.

At the back of the cave, they found a vast and dark chamber. In the center lay a grotesque creature, dismembered on the ground. It was the source of the corruption, a being of pure evil pulsating with dark energy.

"What the hell is that…" Dante muttered, recognizing it as something clearly evil, though not demonic in nature that he was familiar with; it was something close. "A ritual…" Dante said when he looked at Linnea... She was crying…

"Hey, what's wrong?" Dante quickly asked, but Linnea didn't respond. Her voice changed again. "Damn them…" she murmured. "Those bastards…" she repeated, approaching the creature while trying to piece its parts together.

The creature had a head similar to a dragon, horse hooves, a body like a deer, and a tail resembling a bull...

"Why did they do this to you?" the pseudo-Linnea said, as she tried to piece the remains of the animal together. "What is this?" Dante approached, wanting to understand what had happened and what it was.

"A benevolent animal," the pseudo-Linnea said and continued, "I named these beings Qilin. It is a charitable, generous animal, and above all, respects life." she said with sorrow. "I'm sorry, little child of nature, your mother failed you."

Dante looked around, seeing various demonic runes. "It was cursed," Dante said.

"Yes…" the pseudo-Linnea said, standing up. "The human race has become increasingly disgusting," she said, but...

"It's not quite like that," Dante commented, approaching an altar with a small message.

[From the purest generosity, the greatest profanity would arise. Devastate the life you love, Chimera Dragon.]

"Someone significant came here, someone who wanted to cause an uproar," Dante said as he burned the blood lines, breaking the spell that spread the evil. "This rune…" Dante said, "Aphakrse," he read. "What does it mean?" she asked.

"Apocalypse." Dante said, "I really want to understand why someone came so far to perform a ritual to possess animals…" Dante said and turned to the woman, "You can't interfere with the world, can you? You are only responsible for maintaining and managing the planet, right?" His questions led to a point he considered.

"You are correct, I cannot kill any living being unless it threatens the planet's destruction. That's why I have an Avatar," she explained.

"I see, so there's no way around it…" Dante murmured as his flames began to destroy the entire place, eradicating the rituals linked to the little creature's body. Gradually, the bad feeling dissipated, and the place became pure again, though it still smelled terrible.

"Take it outside, return it to this sacred ground, I'll check a few things." he said, and the World Tree agreed, giving control back to Linnea. She simply nodded and used her vines to carry the sacred animal's body in a cocoon of plants.

"Now... tell me, what is all this?" Dante questioned, though he was speaking to someone else...