Rise Of The Death Monarch

Dante was relaxing under sheets that Luna sorted out for them; the cold air was kept out of the tent thanks to the small fire the older woman started. He watched her work like a busy housewife, putting a smile on his face. ''You look beautiful doing that, Luna. Being a wife suits you,'' he suddenly said.

When the wolf woman heard this, her big blue eyes widened in surprise, only for a bright smile to cross her face. ''Thanks, master. I only want you to be comfortable. I have a feeling we'll be here for a few days.''

''How comes?''

''The weather, soldiers, and too many scared humans,'' she revealed, sitting beside him and wrapping a blanket around her. ''The Darkmoore troops will keep us here until they ship out enough people.''

''Ship out? You think their evacuating people?''

''Yes, master.''

Following that, they fell silent as Dante thought about the slaughter that was coming to Blackharbor. He felt the Death Army and Zombie hordes ready to attack, prompting him to turn to Luna. ''Should we get things moving?''

The older woman looked curious, prompting him to explain. ''I'll release the Zombies and Ghouls inside the camp, let them run wild with the humans out here. This will force the survivors to rush toward Blackharbor, forcing the soldiers to open the gates and letting the main force inside.

When Luna heard his words, a mischievous, almost wicked smile curled across her lips, eyes glinting. Without hesitation, she surged forward, wrapping her arms around him in a warm hug. She pulled him close, his face gently pressed against her deep cleavage, a surprising but comforting haven.

The faint, intoxicating scent of her, notes of jasmine and vanilla mingling with something uniquely her, washed over him, soothing his senses. The warmth of her body and the rhythmic rise and fall of her breathing seemed to melt away his tension, leaving him exhausted.

Dante became tired and felt his eyes closing as Luna started playing with his hair, whispering. ''Start the slaughter tomorrow night, master. Let more refugees reach the camp so we can kill even more.''

He chuckled but agreed with an exhausted nod as he fell asleep. The older woman beamed at this and soon followed him into a deep slumber. The night passed by as more humans poured in, forcing the Darkmoore soldiers to panic thanks to the thousands of people appearing from the other cities.

When Dante woke up the next morning, the camp outside his tent buzzed with panicked energy, far livelier than the day before. The air was full of the clamor of voices, sharp exchanges, and heated arguments over tents and resources that echoed through the canvas walls.

Yet, to his relief, most of the commotion seemed to steer clear of his tent. A quiet satisfaction settled over him as he realized they were tucked away from the main thoroughfare, sparing him the hassle of dealing with the camp's chaos or its inhabitants' squabbles.

As he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, his senses sharpened, attuning to a deeper, more ominous undercurrent. A prickle of instinct coursed through him, a silent alert that the Death Army was poised to strike, but he held them in the Domain, waiting for the sun to set so they wouldn't know where the undead were coming from.

While sitting there, Dante decided to go find some monsters when Luna woke up, thanks to him being weaker than usual due to the light magic still lingering in his body. He growled at the thought of that old man and swore to be more careful when coming across other S Rank humans.

'Sneaky fuckers,' he thought, enraged.

Soon, he calmed down when the wolf woman's voice reached his ears. ''Calm down, master. We'll have fun tonight.''

Dante glanced at Luna. ''I will, just this pain reminds me of the human you ate. He took everything from me.''

''And I took it all from him.''

The two of them started laughing as he made breakfast. Once they were eating, Dante turned to her and asked. ''Do you want to help me find more powerful monsters? With this number of people, they should be close to getting easy food.''

Luna thought for a second before nodding. ''Yes, I already smell them in the air, but the A-ranked warriors are keeping the beasts away.''

''Good, they won't bother us,'' he reassured. ''I'll say we're A Rank adventurers if they ask.''

Following that. Dante put on some thick clothes thanks to the freezing winds, so cold that it froze people solid. Once they were done, the duo left the tent and headed toward the forest in the distance. Luna informed him that several strong A-ranked monsters were lingering in the darkness, eating some of the refugees.

After half an hour of trekking, they stepped into the Dark Forest once again, and the humid air made him feel at home. A smile appeared on Dante's face as he sensed the monsters circling them. The older woman went to let out a growl, but he held up his hand. ''Hold on, let them get closer.''

He used Death Eyes to scan some of the monsters.

[Shadow Panther - A Rank]

[Hide Behind - B Rank]

Dante's eyebrow rose at the second monster. He turned to Luna and asked. ''What's a Hide Behind?''

''Evil humans who got screwed over by a Dark God many moons ago,'' she revealed. ''Now they haunt the Dark Forest, hunting merchants and kidnapping children from settlements.''

''Oh, interesting,'' he mumbled in responde.

[Forest Giant - A Rank]

This one creature caught Dante's attention as he began casting Death Bolts at them all. A red glow lit up the surrounding forest. Projectiles flew all over the place, slaying monsters left and right until they were all dead. Once that was over with, he brought out some Trolls and ordered. ''Collect the bodies! And no eating them!''

Following that, the Death Trolls dragged over ten Bigfoot-looking beasts, making his smile grow wide as he cast Arise on them all. His Death magic seeps into their bodies, changing them into something stronger. Soon after that, the monsters rose and now had glowing red eyes.

[Death Giant - A Rank]

They knelt in respect before he sent them into the Domain, happy to replace the apes he previously had. Once that was done, he turned toward the Shadow Panther, which was twice the size of a lion back on Earth; its paws were bigger than his head, causing him to gulp, but soon the excitement bubbled up at the thought of what this thing could do.

Luna giggled at his reaction. ''This thing causes so many problems for Blackharbour, it hunts the people's livestock, and no adventurer could capture it,'' she said, amused

''But here I am, killing it with two Death Bolts,'' he chuckled. ''Not it will do my bidding.''

Dante pointed his hand at the giant panther and cast. ''Arise.''

The magic poured into the creature, forcing it to grow even bigger, shocking Luna and himself, but soon enough, the transformation was done. The Shadow Panther stood up, letting out a deep growl that bounced off the trees.

[Death Panther - S Rank]

''Oh, another S Rank monster,'' he muttered, red eyes glowing. ''This time things are going good for me.''

Following that, the Death Panther grabbed the Hide Behind creatures, dragging their bodies over to him. Dropping the corpses at his feet, allowing him to see the creepy-looking humanoids that reminded him of small versions of Wendigos, their claws were as long and their teeth not as vicious-looking.

He sent his magic into the four beasts, bringing them back as his monsters, only for a notification to pop up.

[Hide Behind Hunters - A Rank]

Dante grew curious but shrugged as Luna shivered when seeing the little humanoid creatures that skittered around them, hiding behind trees while calling for the wolf, who growled at them. He laughed before ordering them to stop. ''Stop hunting her! She's my woman, so you'll respect her!''

When Luna heard this, her smile turned bright as she suddenly hugged him once again. He sighed at this but let her do it. Following that, she sniffed the air and revealed. ''There's two more monsters wirth grabbing and one of them can fly, which will be useful in the future.''

''It would, saves us walking everywhere,'' he replied.

Afterward, the duo continued walking through the Dark Forest, and the Death Panther stalked behind them. Dante glanced at the creature just as Luna commented. ''I think she may be a Shifter. Like me, but I'm not sure.''

He stopped walking and turned to the wolf woman. ''She can change into a human?''

Luna nodded. ''I believe so, your magic made her even stronger, breaking through to S Rank, and most of us get a human body, with different features.''

When Dante heard this, he turned to the panther, who was perched above them, lying on a branch. He shook his head and questioned. ''Are you a Shifter?''

The creature's red eyes never left his. She nodded, causing him to smile as he asked. ''Will you change for me?''