Thaddeus walked cautiously, leading the way, the leaf on the sphere showing him exactly where he should go. Merlin, behind Thaddeus, cautiously observed his surroundings, the creatures of the night were not something he wanted to mess with, especially now that he was running out of magic.
Their path continued for what seemed like days, they would even swear it was weeks, until they finally reached the center of the cursed forest where a small tree stood with an opening in the trunk, the opening showed a spiral staircase which descended to where you can't see.
-The entrance to the night lands…- Merlin looked at the entrance in disbelief, the Elder tree wanted to guide Thaddeus towards the night lands -We must go down with great care, I don't know why Elder wants to guide you to this place, but we must not doubt his judgment-
The two entered slowly, totally ignorant of the shadows that were slowly approaching from the forest.
-Hey Merlin, there's something I've wanted to ask you since we met Stella-
-Is it about the dragons?- Merlin asked back, guessing what Thaddeus wanted to ask.
-Uh, yeah… why are they so important? They're not just for the dragons but also for the kings and you benign ones. When the war started the first thing the kings did was try to contact the dragons for whatever reason-
Merlin stroked his beard, thinking about what the perfect answer to that question would be.
-You see, the dragoons aren't... they weren't just a warrior race like most people think. The dragoons represent the ultimate opposition of a mortal to forces beyond the norm, a clear example would be in the Damnatus Wars, if it weren't for the dragoons it would have probably taken Damnatus a year to conquer the unique-earth and as you know, it took him 3,000 years to conquer 70% of the unique-earth-
-Wow, then they must have been a huge pain in the ass for Damnatus-
-And they were! They were so strong that Damnatus took the time to curse the dragons, his curse took a total of 300 years to be completed and it was not until this year that the requirements were finally met for the curse to rise even stronger.
-What was the curse that Damnatus imposed on them?-
-It is not known exactly, but since he cursed them, not a single dragon has been born in the last 500 years, they all die during the ritual in a very cruel way.
Thaddeus understood the gravity of the curse, it was incredible that a being had enough power to curse to death a race as powerful as the dragons. Thaddeus decided not to ask any more questions and focused on carefully descending the stairs.
The darkness of the depths did not let him see anything, even though he was using a light spell to illuminate the path, his only guide right now was the leaf that indicated where he should go. The temperatures changed constantly, always taking him to the limit, sometimes it was too hot to want to undress and other times it was so cold that not even the warming spells simply did not work.
Thaddeus and Merlin continued moving forward until they reached what seemed to be a huge castle, it was the only thing that could be distinguished in this darkness, which made Thaddeus think 'maybe there really is nothing down here'. The two entered the huge gothic style castle, with great care, Merlin did not want to wake the creatures that ruled this castle.
The two went through the castle under an illusion spell that made them invisible, but no matter how hard they searched they could not find any sign of life. It was not until they were about to leave through the back door that they heard some voices.
-I knew I was not wrong... is that not the girl's father and Merlin next to him?-
Merlin and Thaddeus turned quickly managing to see a group of 5 vampires behind them.
-Good job racket, I will inform Mr. Grog and Miss Jenna of your great contribution- Sonia said pleased with racket's effort
-Although we were looking for your daughter, you will serve us- Deck affirmed confidently -Tell us, where is the girl?-
-We will never tell you, vermin. The fact that you are here now shows the great importance that Rhonna has for the vampire king! - Merlin was increasingly sure that Rhonna was key in the fight against these vampires.
-Well, it seems that there is no other option than to get the information from you... -
Sonia, who was speaking, froze instantly just like the others there. A sensation that she had never felt, even in front of her king, flooded her. Fear was present on everyone's face, even Merlin, a fear that was increasing with the sounds of approaching footsteps.
"We made too much noise..." Merlin thought as he watched a creature come down the castle stairs.
The creature was more than 4 meters tall, its skin seemed to be made of lava that somehow held together forming the figure of a terrifying demon, the black horns of this creature were at least 2 meters long and looked extremely sharp.
-Merlin…- Thaddeus spoke showing the sphere with the blade to Merlin, the leave was pointing at the creature that had just appeared.
Taking a closer look, Thaddeus and Merlin noticed a strange wooden sword stuck in one of its horns.
-What the hell is that!- Collin couldn't hold back his fear and screamed in terror -I'm leaving, to hell with the girl…-
Collin tried to flee but before he could react the creature was already in front of him. In an instant the upper part of Colin had completely disappeared, only his legs fell to the ground before the surprised eyes of everyone.
-Everyone on guard!…- Sonia managed to crouch down, avoiding a devastating blow from the creature.
-Insignificant beings, you have to be very stupid to enter my castle-
The creature moved even faster, grabbing Sonia's hair and slamming her against the ground, then dragging her across the floor to finally throw her against a pillar made of black stones.
"What the hell is this guy!?" Sonia thought terrified, she couldn't oppose the slightest force against him, it was almost as if she had the strength of a newborn while the creature had the strength of an adult who has trained hard all his life.
-Me? I am Sunrath, one of the 5 kings of the night- Sunrath answered Sonia's thoughts
-Can you read my mind!?- Sonia asked surprised
-What is it that surprises you so much, insignificant rats like you are like an open book... isn't that right Merlin?- Sunrath looked directly at Merlin, standing next to Thaddeus, with a macabre smile.
-Sunrath… there are many stories that Vante has told me about you, each one more despicable than the last- Merlin looked Sunrath straight in the eyes.
-Ah Vante, a worthy rival- Sunrath touched his chest made of lava, revealing a part of it shining blue- The only one who has been able to face me, if only he were not in this filthy prison…-
A big smile formed on Sunrath's deformed face, alerting Merlin who quickly raised a shield over him and Thaddeus. From the depths of the floor came a large fountain of lava that hit Merlin's shield with ferocity.
-Thaddeus, listen to me carefully. Sunrath is not someone we can face, not even if my original body was here. I will open a gap for you to take the sword in his horn and then run away as fast as you can- Merlin ordered with clear resolution.
-What about you, do you think you'll die fighting him!?-
Thaddeus didn't like the plan at all, he didn't want to leave Merlin alone against this 'king of the night'. Merlin looked at him angrily, not being able to believe how Thaddeus forgot his condition as a clone.
-Thaddeus, focus! I'm just a clone, if I die here there won't be any problem since this isn't my real body, but if you die then there won't be a way to bring you back-
Thaddeus reacted at that moment, not being able to believe that he forgot that Merlin was a clone, so he quickly accepted the plan and waited for Merlin to open a breach in Sunrath.
Sunrath, seeing Thaddeus and Merlin covered in lava, thought that he had already finished them off and turned his attention to the 4 remaining vampires. Sonia, who could barely stand, looked at Sunrath's mocking laughter with contempt, but also with great fear.
-Tch, you think we're afraid of you, you dirty beast! - Deck exclaimed, black veins began to appear from his eyes and his pupils turned red.
Sonia wanted to warn him not to do anything stupid, but Deck ran at high speed towards Sunrath, hoping to take him by surprise and kill him with one blow. Sunrath, seeing Deck approaching, ran towards him with greater speed, so much so that he disappeared from the sight of the vampires, and with a precise movement he tore off his right eye and his arm in an instant.
Deck fell to the ground screaming in pain, holding his lost arm and tightly closing his eyelids so as not to lose blood. The vampires quickly searched for Sunrath throughout the room they were in.
-Where the hell did he go!?- Reynolds asked desperately, it was then that Sunrath emerged from the ground, holding Reynolds by the head.
Sunrath's huge hand completely surrounded Reynold's head, burning it little by little, the regeneration that Reynold had only made it more painful since every time he burned it his body tried to heal it, this made it a torture for Reynold until the lava from Sunrath's hand finally reached his brain and killed Reynold.
-What a curious regeneration... you are not human, right?- Sunrath asked.
-We are vampires, a superior race, above any other!- Deck shouted still lying on the ground
-superior… no, I'm sure those are the dragons, they were the ones who put me here after all- Sunrath walked towards deck, holding him by the neck, slowly he inserted two fingers into his forehead until he could reach his brain where he navigated through deck's memories, once he finished he dropped deck's lifeless body and began to examine the information he got.
-divided worlds, new races, the dead dragons, Ha Ha HAHAHAHA, they've been busy out there… well, what were we doing?-
Sunrath walked towards the two remaining vampires, but then two large white chains materialized around him preventing him from moving
-now thaddeus!- Merlin shouted giving the order
Thaddeus fell from the sky directly onto sunrath's curved horns, without delaying a second he grabbed the sword by the handle and pulled it hard.
-What the fuck do you think you're doing?- Sunrath asked angrily trying to break free, Merlin using all his remaining power reinforced the chains preventing Sunrath from breaking free
-Silence!-
Thaddeus hit the handle of the sword using sound magic, the sound magic traveled through the handle until it reached the edge and unleashed a powerful attack that broke Sunrath's horn.
Thaddeus landed on the ground and quickly headed for the exit, right where they first came from. Sonia saw this as an opportunity, not only to escape but also to capture Thaddeus when he was alone, and ordered Racket to follow him as well.
At that moment Sunrath broke his chains and with great fury raised his right hand conjuring a large wall of lava at the door.
-Do you think I'll let you go so easily!?-
Thaddeus didn't hesitate to keep running and when he reached the wall he swung his sword creating a momentary opening in the wall through which only he managed to get out. Thaddeus had deduced that the wooden sword had special qualities and had already been in Sunrath's horns without burning in the slightest.
Thaddeus stood in front of the castle door, seeing how the vampires and Merlin's clone had stayed inside the castle.
-Thank you very much Merlin- Thaddeus whispered and then ran towards the exit.
Inside the castle, Sunrath had taken Merlin by the neck and put his right hand on his chest, his eyes showing great anger towards Merlin
-Damn benign, maybe I can't kill you, but I'll make sure to leave you a mark that you'll remember for life!-
The clone faded in pain when Sunrath put his hand on his chest. Slowly Sunrath turned around to see Sonia and Racket still standing at the main door.
-
Meanwhile, in New Corinth, a Merlin who had just arrived from his long trip collapsed in pain in front of the benigns, Arlene and Zirone. Zirone didn't hesitate and opened his tunic revealing a huge hand imprinted on Merlin's burned chest. Sunrath had managed to hurt the real Merlin.