Chapter 211: Fire and ice
Chapter 211: Fire and ice
As Damien's wicked smile twisted his features, the woman's gasp of terror filled the air, her eyes widening in sheer horror at the malevolent aura emanating from him. It was as if the very essence of darkness had taken form before her, a chilling reminder of the power that now loomed over her.
But before she could even utter a word of protest, a faint freezing sound echoed through the air, sending a shiver down her spine.
And then, in an instant, agony engulfed her as a long spine of ice erupted from her chest with a sickening crunch, tearing through her black clothes as if they were mere paper.
The woman's screams were muffled by the icy grip that now encased her, her body convulsing with the unbearable pain of the ice spikes that began to break through her skin from within.
From her chest to her neck, and then through her jaw, the relentless onslaught of frozen agony left her writhing in agony, her very essence consumed by the icy tendrils that now ensnared her.
But even amidst the torment, Damien's voice cut through the chaos like a knife, his words dripping with venomous intent.
"None dare to meet the gaze of this smile and live to recount the tale. You do not venture into my abode and threaten me and my people!!" he declared, his smile disappearing as quickly as it had appeared.
With a cold determination, Damien seized the spine protruding from the woman's mouth, his grip unyielding as he forced her skull into fragments with a sickening crunch.
As the woman's head made contact with the ground, it shattered into fragments, the remnants of her icy body crumbling away like shards of glass.
With a heavy sigh, Damien turned his gaze to the side, his features slowly returning to their normal state as the effects of his new power began to wear off. It was a temporary boost, fleeting in its potency but devastating in its impact.
Surveying the area, Damien noted the absence of any immediate threats, though the distant sounds of battle still echoed in the distance.
"Their plight is theirs alone," he muttered under his breath, his voice tinged with a note of indifference. For the moment, his sole focus remained on safeguarding Rose's well-being. Rose stood in utter stillness, watching Damien casually do what he did to the vampires.
It was then she realized her little back and forth arguments with him had made her completely forget why he was feared in all of ancroft and even some of the leaders here that wouldn't admit it were scared of him.
His biggest and scariest trait was the simple fact that he couldn't give absolutely TWO FUCKS!
Taking her hand in his own, Damien felt a sense of relief wash over him as he sensed the decrease in his own strength. The aftereffects of his transformation were beginning to fade, but he was grateful that he could still stand on his own two feet. However on the outside, no one knew this. They all saw him as some Invincible being of some sort and in a way, he liked it that way.
Keeping everyone in check with the perception that he was untouchable was always his forte. In other words, ruling with fear!
Leading Rose towards his castle, Damien felt a pang of unease at the sight that greeted them at the gates. The ground was littered with the bodies of fallen Dhampirs and his own men, locked in a brutal struggle for supremacy.
"Hmph, just another obstacle meant to impede my progress!" Damien scoffed, dismissing the Dhampirs as more of a nuisance than a genuine threat, regarding them as mere distractions.
With a roar of defiance, the Dhampirs launched themselves at Damien, their claws slashing through the air with deadly precision.
"It appears they're eager to relocate to the great beyond. Very well, you filthy creatures!" Damien shouted, his voice brimming with exhilaration. "Let the dance commence!"
As Damien approached, a sense of icy determination washed over him, his hand instinctively curling into a tight fist. With a swift motion, a long, spiky sword made of ice materialized within his grasp, its jagged edges shimmering in the dim light.
As the Dhampirs closed in, their feral snarls filling the air with an aura of menace, Damien wasted no time in springing into action.
With a primal roar, he swung his blade with violent force, the spikes in the sword's edge launching forward like deadly projectiles.
The Dhampirs had barely a moment to react as the ice spikes found their mark, piercing through flesh and bone with lethal precision.
With each strike, the Dhampirs fell, their bodies writhing in agony as the icy shards crushed the life out of them.
There was no mercy in Damien's assault, no hesitation as he dispatched his foes with ruthless efficiency. With each swing of his blade, he carved a path of destruction through the ranks of the Dhampirs, his movements fluid and precise as he danced with death on the battlefield.
Rose refused to be a mere bystander in the fight for their survival.
With a roar and pure fury burning in her eyes, she joined the fray, summoning flames that danced at her fingertips.
With each motion of her hand, fireballs erupted forth, blazing trails of destruction as they collided with the Dhampirs, engulfing them in flames that licked hungrily at their flesh.
The screams of the Dhampirs filled the air like death bells but to Damien, they were a sweet symphony of agony that echoed through the dark vampire city sky as the Dhampirs writhed in the grip of the inferno.
Rose however showed no mercy, her resolve unyielding as she unleashed wave after wave of fiery devastation upon their foes. She wouldn't stand by and watch Damien alone protect her honor. That was not the shelly way and certainly, matter of factly, that was NOT the Rose way.
Meanwhile, at the gate, the other guards stood steadfast in their defense, their weapons raised in defiance against the onslaught of the Dhampirs. They were losing badly because when it came to pure strength, the Dhampirs outmatched the vampires. The only difference was the special case of a lord being present in the form of Damien. It took special vampires to even defeat a normal vampire.
To put this into better perspective, going by the normal rankings of a vampire and applying it to a Dhampir, one could argue that the lowest ranked vampire which would be a Dhampire squire would still be a handful for a vampire knight which is a step ahead of a vampire squire under normal circumstances.
However, with a unity born of desperation, they fought tooth and nail to hold the line, their determination unwavering even in the face of overwhelming odds.
Damien went through the horde coming at him, fhe last of the Dhampirs fell before him, their lifeless bodies littering the ground like discarded husks.
After clearing the path, Damien led Rose into his castle, his grip firm on her hand as he guided her to safety.
"Remain here," he instructed, his voice firm yet gentle. "Refrain from any movement, even when necessary. I will attend to fortifying the security at the gate."
"Okay," Rose answered. But Damien was not particularly buying it. Rose was not one to just obey him without struggle on his part.
Rose watched as Damien disappeared into the depths of the castle, his figure disappearing into the shadows like a wraith on the wind.
Outside, Damien found the guards stationed at the gate, their weapons at the ready as they stood vigilant against another wave of encroaching horde.
With a steely gaze, Damien approached them, his presence commanding respect as he issued a stern warning.
"Guard this gate with utmost vigilance," he declared, his voice carrying the weight of authority. "No trespassers shall pass through this threshold. Failure to uphold this directive will result in dire consequences for all."
The guards nodded solemnly, understanding the weight of his words.
"I have matters left unresolved," he muttered under his breath, his jaw clenched in determination as he strode towards the cave where his coronation ritual had been abruptly interrupted by the Dhampirs.