Hundreds of lights illuminated the valley.
Valeria looked down from above at the fortress. Bells rang out, horns blared. The enemy had spotted the torches, spread wide around three sides of the stronghold.
"Good luck" She said with a faint smile, then turned her voice toward the hydra. She considered him valuable — fascinating even — though she still did not fully trust him. After all, he was a creature of a rare and brutally cruel species.
"I hope you trust me enough to help me one more time" She said. Her left eye flared briefly, and the dark aura of her vampire lineage withdrew from him. One of the hydra's heads began thrashing and snapping at everything around it, while the other stared at her with something like reproach, as if studying her carefully. It did not attack. It remained calm.
Valeria felt a quiet sense of satisfaction and wasted no time. She ran down the slope, her dress snagging on tall grass soaked with the rising rain.
She headed north, keeping her distance from a palisade twice the height of a man, smeared with clay and earth, reinforced with logs and thick stakes. Three shadowy monsters kept pace with her. One, shaped a bit like a massive wolf, surged ahead and the silver-haired vampire leapt, landing on its back.
The black mass shuddered under the sudden impact, then quickly stabilized. The other two monsters fell behind as a calm, wide, and deep river cut off her path. At last, she reached her destination. She drove her sword into the ground and lay flat, pulling a scroll from one of her pockets.
Unrolling it, she placed her hand upon the scroll and summoned — within her thoughts — the signature ability of House Nocturne. Dark mist rose around her, empowered by the mana sealed within the scroll, swelling rapidly. Black flames consumed the parchment, scattering its ashes into the wind.
The time had come.
Bathed in dense fog that strengthened her, she transformed into mist and teleported across the river. Her sword, steeped in darkness, hung at her side. The remaining monsters did not dissipate as they had before — instead, they dissolved into shadowy mass and were absorbed by her blade, like a starving dragon devouring its own weak offspring.
Thousands of auras raged nearby — less than half a kilometer away — like two hostile swarms of ants tearing into each other within a single nest. With her vampiric sight, Valeria saw panicked guards bracing for the assault of countless goblins.
The valley echoed with horns and war drums. Torches flickered like fireflies between the trees surrounding the stronghold. Several powerful auras, burning with bloodlust, surged toward the southern gate, followed by dozens of weaker ones.
"They took the bait"
She clenched her fists in triumph and took a deep breath.
The easiest part was already over. Now she had to slip inside and separate Hakku's filthy head from his body.
She circled north of the stronghold, where the palisade was lower and the guards fewer and weaker, searching for a point of entry that would let her pass unseen. Heavy mist, carrying fear and dread, swallowed the northern valley and the stronghold alike.
Cloaked in darkness and fog, the vampire became almost invisible from afar to goblin eyes.
At last, she spotted a section guarded by only a single sentry. She took a long run-up and teleported straight to the top. A terrified hobgoblin holding a torch and spear froze when the tall figure suddenly appeared before him. He tried to scream, beg, and flee all at once — but two swift cuts silenced him forever.
Inside, she saw battle. She smelled blood and felt indescribable hatred.
Cries of the wounded and dying echoed everywhere. Steel rang. Wolves howled. Valeria realized that slaves — and even some soldiers — had risen in rebellion. That was why the defenses were full of holes, why no one had noticed her entry.
She silently thanked the God of Darkness for mist teleportation. At her current level, she could use it three times during the day and four times at night, when vampiric power surged. Within the domain of House Nocturne's famed ability [ Blood Mist ] that number doubled.
Using the chaos, she dropped down among the tightly packed buildings. Even here, visibility was poor. Despite her extraordinary eyes, she could not see everything clearly and had to rely on aura detection and heightened senses.
The stench was overwhelming — alcohol, greasy food of every kind, mixed with sweat and foul-smelling concoctions that were probably meant to serve as perfume.
Fighting raged all around, but Valeria did not intend to waste her strength battling everyone without reason.
Armed bands of goblins wielding spears and curved blades pushed former slaves into desperate defense. Valeria stepped into one such group. She cut down two of the largest enemies instantly — no ceremony, no mercy — hacking them apart with brutal speed and force.
Blood splattered across the buildings. Limbs and heads hit the ground. Some enemies fled; some rebels stood stunned, still trapped in the shock of battle. Numerous shadow monsters rose from the corpses — some crushed chains and tore apart wooden cages, others lunged at Hakku's remaining followers.
Valeria carved a bloody path with her sword. The mist made her unstoppable.
Goblins and hobgoblins marked with a red handprint on their faces and shields did not attack her. Some even helped — stepping aside, killing those still loyal to the evil orc.
There were far more slaves than locals. Add the rebels and the terrifying vampire with her monsters of darkness slaughtering Hakku's men — and it was not long before the fighting spread to every corner of the stronghold.
Covered in enemy blood, calm and unwavering, Valeria stood before a massive structure of clay and stone towering over all others. Tents lay trampled, cages once filled with slaves stood open, and pens for boars and wolves overflowed with butchered beasts in pools of blood. Over forty well-armed goblins fought desperately against overwhelming rebels, and Valeria sensed even more powerful auras inside.
Hakku had to be among them.
Her monsters surged into the hobgoblin guard. Valeria beheaded the first who hurled a spear at her and drove her blade into the exposed throat of another. Then she used mist teleportation again, killing yet another green-skinned warrior as she appeared inside the great hall.
She saw the horned orc slaughtering goblin after goblin. His loyal followers — and four gray-skinned orcs — had fallen into a murderous frenzy, massacring anyone who approached. Rebels and slaves fought without formation, fueled by rage and the desire for revenge. The hall was drenched in red.
"Useless trash! If I catch any of you tomorrow with a clean blade, you'll be pig feed!"
The horned orc — taller than any other, massively broader and larger even than biggest hobgoblins — swung his monstrous axe and butchered a goblin marked with red handprints. He crushed its skull with his shield.
"Stupid goblins! Weaklings! Worthless!" He roared, stomping another into the floor until the crack of bones and the dying scream reached Valeria's ears.
Now she was certain.
If she wanted to repay her debt and preserve her honor, she had to kill him.
She remembered the single failure of her life. She clenched her teeth, groaned in fury at herself and her weakness — and attacked.
Mist formed behind Hakku. At the last instant, he blocked the thrust aimed at his heart and countered, slamming his shield into the vampire's head.
"Who the hell are you!?" He bellowed, stomping so hard the floorboards groaned. Fueled by rage, he attacked again and again, forcing Valeria onto the defensive. His strength was terrifying; his heavy armor and thick hide seemed impenetrable.
"I'm the one who's going to kill you, you filth!"
Valeria stepped back half a pace, slashed from the side and above, then gathered dark aura into her left hand until it ignited in shadowy flame — which she hurled at the hulking orc.
The monster howled, roaring so loudly nearby goblins lost their will to fight and fled. A powerful aura erupted from his body, smothering the flames. His skin hardened; his eyes — and those of his followers — glowed blood-red. They became unstoppable. Beasts born to kill.
Her monsters brought down one of the orcs. The others, impaled by spears and poisoned arrows like hedgehogs, fought on until their bodies finally gave out. Many hobgoblins dropped their weapons; some switched sides. The balance tipped toward the rebels — if only briefly.
Hakku focused his aura into his axe and swung. Massive spikes of earth erupted to the ceiling, impaling goblins and injuring others. Swords shattered against his hide; arrows bounced off his armor. Wolves would not even approach him.
"Weaklings! Weaklings! Not worth living!"
Rage flooded Valeria.
She released her sword.
It hung in the air as if gravity had forgotten its duty. From the mist, two more shapes shot forth — identical, black as night, woven from darkness and blood. Three blades floated side by side, trembling softly, as if something within them breathed.
The great ogre with ram-curved horns laughed, licking blood from his axe.
"Childish tricks! You think—"
He never finished.
All three blades launched at once.
The air tore apart as mist exploded like a shockwave. Hakku instinctively crossed shield and axe. One blade shattered into black dust. The second was knocked aside. But the third — the third slipped past his guard and cut into his side.
Blood sprayed as the vampiric blade pierced his flesh.
Hakku staggered back, roaring in pain and fury. The wound was not fatal — but it was deep, poisoned. Rage consumed him that a vampire had managed to wound him.
"Cowardly poisoner! Curse you!" he snarled, spitting blood and hacking wildly. "Damn vampire!"
Valeria reached behind her back.
The orc froze.
He knew that blade.
The long sword flared crimson and orange, like steel pulled straight from a forge. The metal pulsed with light, and a heavy, noble aura flooded the air — ancient, proud, lethal. The blade seemed alive, trembling in her grasp, hungry for blood.
"Nocturne… You're that traitor!? That thief!? Your own people cast you out!"
There was more than contempt in his voice.
"The Mist Isles… patricide! Exiled bitch!"
The swordswoman raised her blade, its glow reflected in her eyes.
"I am Valeria Nocturne. True Queen of the Mist Isles. Rightful head of the ancient vampire House Nocturne. A High Vampire. Heir to the greatest blade Nocturne — gifted to my ancestors by the God of Darkness. And I am the one who will kill you."
He charged with a roar. His axe fell again and again like a siege hammer. Boards shattered, sparks flew with every clash of steel. Hakku's strength was monstrous — one blow drove Valeria to her knee, another tore through the wall behind her.
But now…
It was her turn.
The aura of the Nocturne blade engulfed her body. Blood streamed from her eyes, ears, and lips. The mist thickened, and the monsters born from the corpses around them grew larger, stronger.
Hakku couldn't keep up.
The vampire attacked.
She moved with fluid, almost dance-like grace. Her golden eye flashed, granting visions of victory and Hakku's next move. The left eye assaulted his mind, slowing him. The Nocturne blade sang with each swing, slicing the air with a soft, ominous hum. Every clash left a mark — cracks in his shield, gashes in armor, blood.
Valeria vanished.
She reappeared at his side and drove her blade into his chest.
The massive orc dropped to one knee. In fury, he split one monster in half, used his aura to seal the bleeding wound with earth. Poison tore through his body, causing unbearable pain — but he refused to fall.
He clung to the illusion of victory until the very end. Blood-soaked, exhausted, surrounded by dead allies in a shattered hall filled with earth spikes and corpses, he hurled curses at everyone — especially her.
The doors burst open. More goblins flooded in, along with a massive, lizard-like beast — gravely wounded and enraged.
"Curse you and your kind. The Blood Axe Ogre Clan will never forget this!"
He lunged. Swung downward.
Valeria dodged — and countered.
One strike.
Hakku's arm — along with the axe — hit the ground with a wet thud.
Blood erupted like a fountain. The horned orc howled, stumbling back over the bodies of the dead.
"You're no ogre" she said coldly. "Just filth."
She raised her sword. She did not hesitate. She spat on him.
"The Bloody Mist vampires show no mercy for scum like you!"