Chapter 5
With a low, guttural chant, his right hand shot forward, and from his palm erupted a spiraling lance of deep crimson lightning. It roared through the battlefield like a spear of pure destruction, striking the closest bat dead center. The moment it hit, the creature's body contorted unnaturally—its flesh and bones twisting and exploding outward as the lightning coursed through it. The blast didn't stop there. The energy arced outward, leaping from one creature to the next, chaining through the swarm in a web of crackling death. By the time the spell faded, five bats had been reduced to smoldering husks, their charred remains plummeting to the ground.
Trevor had already moved, ducking beneath a lunging, bipedal beast covered in jagged bone spikes. He rolled to the side, bringing his whip up in a blinding arc. The consecrated leather wrapped around the monster's throat, glowing with holy energy. With a savage pull, Trevor yanked the creature down before planting his boot against its head and ripping his whip free. The moment the weapon left its flesh, the entire body convulsed violently, smoke rising from its gaping wounds as divine magic seared through it. The beast howled—then collapsed, its body dissolving into ash.
Levi wasted no time. He spread his fingers apart, and the air around him shifted. The temperature plummeted instantly, mist swirling at his feet. With a single word, the ground beneath the approaching hounds exploded into jagged spikes of black ice. The creatures had no time to react. The moment their paws touched the frozen death trap, their legs were skewered, impaled by razor-sharp obsidian icicles that sprouted like fangs from the earth. They shrieked, thrashing wildly, but Levi wasn't done. He clenched his fist, and in an instant, the black ice shattered—sending shards of frozen death tearing through flesh and bone like shrapnel. Blood sprayed into the air, freezing before it even hit the ground.
From above, another bat swooped, its wings stirring the air as it prepared to unleash another torrent of fire. But before it could release the inferno, Sypha moved. She extended her index and pinky fingers while folding the others against her palm, her lips forming a swift incantation. In an instant, a massive pillar of ice shot upward, impaling the beast mid-flight. The creature let out a choked screech, its body instantly freezing over before shattering into pieces as the ice erupted further.
That is when sypha landed gracefully beside Levi, dodging another fireball with a sharp twist of her body. Without hesitation, she flicked her wrist, and a gust of razor-sharp wind blades tore through the battlefield. The deadly currents ripped the wings from two bats, sending them crashing to the ground, where Trevor was waiting. He wasted no movement. The moment they landed, his whip lashed out, striking both creatures at once. The consecrated weapon burned through their flesh, and within seconds, their bodies turned to cinders.
Levi turned his attention to the largest creature yet—a hulking, four-legged monstrosity covered in jagged black armor, its back lined with spines dripping with corrosive venom. It snarled, its deep-set red eyes glowing with a malevolent intelligence. With a powerful leap, it charged, the ground trembling beneath its weight. Levi sighed. Then he simply raised a single hand.
Dark shadows coiled around his fingertips before spiraling outward, forming a massive black sigil beneath the beast. The moment its foot touched the symbol, the air twisted. Gravity itself doubled—then tripled. The monster barely had time to react before its own weight became its executioner. Its limbs snapped under the pressure, bones shattering like brittle glass as the unseen force crushed it. With a sickening crunch, its entire body imploded, reduced to nothing more than a mangled, pulped mess. Trevor exhaled sharply, slashing his whip in a wide arc to finish off another bat. He looked over at Levi, who had barely broken a sweat. "Alright. That was excessive."
Levi simply smiled, raising his hand again. The sky darkened. Thunder rumbled. Then, without warning, jagged bolts of violet lightning rained down in a catastrophic storm. Every remaining night creature within a twenty-meter radius was struck simultaneously. The ground split open, trees were scorched to cinders, and bodies were obliterated instantly. Sypha shielded her eyes from the blinding destruction. When the smoke cleared, nothing remained of the enemy. Only scorched earth and the lingering scent of burnt flesh. Trevor let out a slow breath. "Yeah. Definitely excessive." Levi turned to him, his eyes glowing faintly. "Magic." Sypha smirked, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "I'm starting to think we're just here for decoration."
Trevor scoffed, shaking his head as he cleaned his blade. "Tch. Show-off." Levi merely chuckled. The battle was over. But he was far from exhausted. However, the moment their fight ended, the ground beneath them gave way as they fell. "Oh magic, make us float down gently," he chanted, slowing down the descent of the three of them as they fell into an underground area. With them falling down safely, they breathed a sigh of relief as Trevor said, "Nice reflexes," making Levi realize something. "Oh right, I still had it enhanced," but he didn't deactivate it as they looked around. "Thanks," Sypha said as Levi smiled before she looked around. "The... catacombs again. I think we're deeper than I went before," as Levi looked around.
"Interesting," he thought, but Trevor didn't think so as he cursed, "Ohh. Oh, for God's sake." As everything started to crumble, they began to fall deeper and deeper. Of course, this time it was Sypha's turn to soften their fall until they reached what seemed like the deepest part of the catacomb where the sleeping soldier was. As they walked towards the coffin.
Trevor accidentally stepped on a trigger which caused the coffin to hiss as both Sypha and Levi looked at him. "I didn't do that," he denied as Sypha rolled her eyes at him as Levi sighed. "You are not going to survive an Indiana Jones adventure," he said, making Trevor confused as whoever was lying in the coffin awoke. It was more like levitating out of the coffin and didn't touch the ground, and as it turns out, it was a blond shirtless vampire with a red scar on his chest.
"Coffin, floating, and sleeping, definitely a vampire," thought Levi as the vampire clutched his chest before he looked down and asked, "Why are you here?" It was, of course, Sypha who answered, "The story… the Messiah sleeps under Gresit! The man who will save us from Dracula," she explained as he looked at her before he looked at Levi. "And you?" Levi just shrugged as he said, "Just some random bard trying to see the world and its wonders as much as he can before chaos itself manifests as a hunter comes and kills him," he explained honestly.