Rise Of The Death Monarch

Dante was staring into the growing fire, thinking about what his going to do to the Darkmoore Kingdom and all the humans within when he reached Dawnfen. He threw some sticks into the flames, checking his status.

[Level Up: 110>113]

[Experience: 500/20,000]

[MANA: 316>318]

[HP: 280>282]

[STR: 334>336]

[DEX: 343>345]

[INT: 276>278]

[CHA: 151>153]

[Death Points: 12,000>14600]

[Death Bolt: 1>2]

''Good, finally an upgrade to one of my skills,'' he murmured.

While reveling in his new power, the wolf woman suddenly spoke. ''Do you need to sleep, master?''

''I do, my body is aching and the pain is getting worse,'' he revealed.

''This way then!'' Luna called out, her face lighting up with a wide grin. ''I've got a huge bed we can share. Snagged it from a Duke's mansion after I killed him and his family due to them sending those damn Hunters to slay me.''

Dante let out a laugh, but as he pushed himself to his feet, a sharp wave of pain rushed through his body. Gritting his teeth, he shoved the discomfort aside and followed. She led him deeper into the cave, where a surprisingly tidy, room-like space awaited. In the center stood a massive bed, adorned with dozens of pillows, looking like a throne.

''Oh wow,'' he muttered upon seeing the wealth in one corner. ''This place is amazing, look at the chests full of gold you've collected.''

The older woman giggled. ''Yes, I knew we'd need wealth to begin our adventure. So I gathered it over the last one hundred years,'' she admitted, cheeks going darker.

''Thank you, Luna,'' he replied, shocked at the amount of gold she had amassed. ''This will help out a lot once we get to the mainland. Maybe we can hire one of the cannibal mercenary bands?''

''Are we going to destroy the human kingdom?'' She inquired, a curious glint in her blue eyes.

''Yes, but we need to find this Death Witch first. I want to be healed before attacking anything,'' Dante answered as he slumped onto the bed and got sucked into the mattress.

A wave of relief washed over him as the pain faded, his body boosted by newfound strength. His eyes fluttered shut, but Luna's voice snapped him back to the present. ''When the storm clears, I'll hunt down every fearsome beast. I'll slay them, and you'll raise them. Together, we'll forge an army to rival the Necromancers we once battled.''

Dante nodded, his voice catching in his throat as a wave of exhaustion crashed over him. His eyelids were heavy with fatigue, just as the older woman reached out, gently brushing a stray lock of white hair from his face. ''Rest, my master,'' she murmured, her voice soft and soothing.

Moments later, he succumbed, his body desperately trying to mend itself. But the lingering light magic inside fought against it, sending pulses of pain through him. Luna settled beside him on the grand bed, her fingers played with his hair in an attempt to ease his suffering, her eyes filled with concern.

The next morning, Dante woke up to the crash of wind until it suddenly stopped, catching his attention. He climbed out of bed, hobbling toward the entrance where the Death Cave Bear was guarding. When the creature saw him, it let out a low growl in greeting as he stroked the monster.

He looked out at the calm landscape, muttering. ''Looks like we can go look for the monsters now.''

Just then, Luna appeared beside him, a big smile on her face. ''They will come out to hunt. We can find some good ones for the attack.''

Following that, the older woman vanished back into the cave, calling out to him. ''Come put the gold in your ring, master!''

Dante remembered her horde and made his way to collect it all. Once everything of value was safely in his ring, he appeared at the entrance where Luna had transformed into her big wolf form, she was the size of an elephant, surprising him. ''Oh wow, you're massive, Luna,'' he remarked.

'Thank you,' her voice echoed in his mind, making him jump.

This made Luna laugh as she continued. 'Climb on my back, we'll go visit those Mountain Trolls. They will be a good addition to your army.''

Dante did as she said, getting comfortable on her back just as the Dark Wolf took off, followed by the Death Bear, who crashed down behind them. The older woman rushed through small valleys, forests, and monster trails until reaching a dark gorge, where she skidded to a stop to wait for the other monster.

He turned back only to notice the bear slowly catching up, prompting him to send it to the Domain, reminding himself to visit, as it was overrun with undead Sulla put there before he perished to Theodore. Moments later, they stopped moving. Dante grumbled to himself as he asked. ''Why did you stop?''

Luna transformed into her human form, explaining. ''This is the Dark Gorge, home to several powerful monsters. If I remember correctly, there are Mountain Trolls, the Blood Lion, and Stone Wardens. I'm certain they will help bring down the remaining human settlements on Nemaroth.''

Following that, the duo entered the darkness, and thanks to Luna being a wolf, she could see. They walked for a while, only for her to stop him. ''Looks like the Trolls have eaten some humans; their bones litter the entrance. Maybe a trade caravan got lost in the storm?''

''Does this path lead to Blackharbor?''

Luna nodded, pointing east. ''People get lost occasionally and wander into the mountains only to be attacked by A-ranked monsters.''

Just then, his instincts flared, causing him to cast a Death Blast to the right. The projectile slammed into a massive Mountain Troll that appeared from behind a boulder. When the older woman saw this, she lunged forward, punching one of the beast's knees. A loud crack echoed out, bringing the monster to the ground.

When Dante saw this, he cast a Death Bolt through its skull, blowing gore everywhere. Moments later, he felt the experience flowing into his body before pointing at the corpse, whispering with a smirk. ''Arise.''

Afterward, the duo watched as the Mountain Troll was brought back to life; it now had blazing red eyes and looked even fiercer than it previously did. Once the process was done, the creature knelt in respect when a deep voice echoed out. ''Death Monarch!''

Dante's eyes widened when taking in the monster, standing over ten feet tall. Built of pure muscles and covered in thick, dark grey skin. This pleased him, his smirk grew wide while turning to Luna, who was clearly excited thanks to her tail swaying side to side. ''Looks like we have the first monster, now time to find the others.''

They continued and killed ten more Mountain Trolls that tried to ambush them along the path, but the Dark Wolf woman brought the beasts down, and he finished them off using Death Bolts inthat burrowed into their skull, gore covered the ground. After half an hour, the duo reached the monsters den where four more were waiting.

One of them was bordering on S Rank, thanks to the aura radiating from its body, causing Dante to become wary, but Luna commented, a confident grin appearing on her face. ''You take the other three using the bear, I'll deal with the leader, he's strong now.''

He watched Luna's excitement skyrocket as the propect of fighting it, her blue eyes blazing as she charged, shifting back to her wolf form. As this happened, a portal opened and the massive Death Bear barreled through it, letting out a bone-rattling roar before clashing with the hulking Mountain Trolls in a chaotic frenzy.

'Looks like we can win this if I take out the other three,' he mused.

As the battle erupted, Dante unleashed a barrage of Death Bolts, each one ripping through the weaker Trolls's flesh, shredding muscle and bone, slowing them down as the Death Bear crashed into them, taking one down as the other two jumped it. The onslaught gave Luna the opening she needed, as she tore into leader, her teeth ripping through the creatures armor.

Explosions echoed out as he continued spamming spells at the leader, allowing the wolf to bring it to its knees allowing him to finish it off with an overcharged Death Bolt that sliced through the air before it ripped through it's skull, sending bone fragments flying everywhere catching the remaining Trolls attention.

That's when the Death Bear surged forward, it's massive paw decapitating one and leaving a single Mountain Troll reaming. The monste realized it was outmatched only to be killed by Luna wrapping her jaw around it's neck before snapping it, a sickening crunch echoed out as the den fell silent.

'Looks like I was right,' he thought, chuckling but stopped when the pain flared.