Rise Of The Death Monarch

Dante woke up hours later as something crashed into the thorn wall surrounding their hideaway. He stood up and stepped outside only to hear an ongoing battle as the Death Swamp Men, Drakes, and Giants were clashing with something. That's when he sensed dozens of A Rank monsters.

'What's going on now?'

He approached the noise only for a Swamp Man to appear in front of him. ''My Lord. Stay here, a horde of Blood Piranha is swarming us.''

Dante's attention was caught, and he walked toward the spot the Death Forest Giant was guarding, only to see a horde of fish trying to attack his monsters. His eyebrow rose before he started casting Death Blast into the monsters, killing many of them in the process, allowing the Death Drakes to go wild.

The undead creatures were being killed all over the place, but he brought them back instantly. This gave his side the upper hand, and they slaughtered the Blood Piranha so fast that he was baffled. While standing there, Luna joined him and let out a yawn. ''Morning, master. What's going on here?''

''We were attacked by fish, but their all dead now,'' he replied, chuckling.

Following that, the fighting continued until the swap went quiet and a blood Giant appeared, slumping down at the entrance. It was eating one of the fish that was massive compared to him and the wolf woman, causing his eyebrow to raise as he questioned. ''What is this thing? Why are they so big?''

Without waiting, Dante used Death Eyes on the beast to get whatever information he could gain.

[Blood Piranha - B Rank - Scavengers but swarm occasionally, creating death and chaos wherever they swim]

'Not interested in fish,' he mused, heading back to camp.

He slumped down and restarted the campfire that had gone out hours ago. Luna joined him but let out another yawn and leaned her head on his shoulder as her tail rubbed up against him in a caring gesture. When Dante felt this, a smile appeared on his face, wrapping an arm around her thick waist.

Luna trembled with delight, her breath catching. He gently tilted her chin, drawing her gaze to his. Their lips met in a fervent kiss, sending a jolt through the older woman. She responded eagerly, hands cradling his face, while waves of sensation coursed through him, ignited by her touch.

By the time they broke apart, Dante was smiling as he spoke. ''Thank you for keeping me sane, I'm grateful for it.''

The older woman couldn't help but beam at his words as she hugged him, causing a pain to shoot through his body. Luna let go, apologizing. ''Sorry about that, master. I got carried away thanks to being happy.''

Dante chuckled and waved her worry away. ''Don't worry about it, I'll be healed soon once we reach the witches' mountain.''

''Should take about another week, the jungle turns into woods before reaching the slopes,'' she responded.

Following that, he turned to the pile of dead monsters the Swamp Men were bringing in. There were several Swamp Drakes among the corpses, prompting him to bring them back as his undead. The other beasts were fed to the roaming undead in the Domain, reminding himself he needed to deal with the smell.

He turned to Luna, directing a wave of foul odor toward her. The wolf woman's body tensed, her tail shooting upright as she gagged violently, then retched. Startled by her reaction, he closed the portal as she exclaimed. ''What was that four! That was evil, it's stuck in my nose now.''

Dante chuckled and apologized. ''Sorry about that, I wanted to know if it was as bad as I thought.''

Her blue eyes narrowed in suspicion. ''You idiot, you could've asked me and I would have told you,'' she giggled.

Following that, the duo went back to sleep as the surrounding swamp went silent. The next morning, Dante stepped out and stretched while the morning sun prickled through the canopy above. No monster howls or roars could be heard, prompting him to put away the tent so they could get to the mountain.

Luna appeared seconds later, letting out a yawn. ''Are we heading toward the woods?'' she questioned.

''Yes, get on the giant so we can get moving,'' he replied.

Ten minutes later, he was scanning the surrounding swamp as the Death Forest Giant trudged through the dark water. In the meantime, the Death Drakes and Swamp Men trailed behind. After hours of traveling, they spotted solid ground not far away, prompting them to jump off when arriving there.

Dante landed with a thump, causing pain to shoot through his left leg. He buckled, but Luna held him up, a bright smile crossing her face. ''There we go, I got you, master.''

The couple continued until reaching the base of the mountain. Dante was glancing at it when his senses flared to life. He cast a Death Blast to the right, blocking a stream of fire that was aimed at them. Just then, a horrible roar echoed out, forcing him to tremble in fear as an S-Ranked monster crashed down. Luna moved in front of him as the other powerful undead appeared.

Without waiting, he used Death Eyes on the thing.

[Mountain Wyvern - S-Rank - Powerful flying monster]

Dante was shocked as the Death Lion appeared from the Domain, biting onto the monster's neck, bringing it to the ground. The Death Giants poured out and began pummeling the confused Wyvern. He was about to get involved, but the Death Panther lunged out of nowhere, clinging to its body.

Lastly, the Death Drake Leader lunged out of the portal, clamping its massive jaws on its hind leg. The couple was shocked. Luna turned to him, wide eyes full of curiosity and awe. ''They seem to love you, master. Every single one wants to protect you.''

He agreed with a nod before asking ''Could you finish it off, please? I want to get to this Death Witch as fast as possible, and flying there would be the fastest way.''

The older woman beamed and vanished from the spot she was standing at; she reappeared in front of the Mountain Wyvern. She threw a deadly punch, laced with death mana, just as it connected against the monster's snout. Its head exploded into blood and gore, covering everything around it.

Dante brushed the sweat from his brow and approached the headless corpse of the dragon-like beast. Raising his hand, he cast Arise, his magic pouring into the lifeless being. The creature's body convulsed as it transformed, its wings growing broader and more resilient, scales gleaming with a hardened sheen, and its massive bulk swelling to twice its original size, forging a monstrous entity unlike anything seen on Dawnfen.

Moments later, the transformation was complete, and a massive Wyvern stood in front of him. It bowed its long neck before rubbing its massive head against his body. He was surprised and stroked the powerful creatures as a notification popped up.

[Death Wyvern - S Rank]

Just then, Dante turned to Luna and questioned. ''How did you kill it so fast? Are you stronger than an S-Rank?''

The older woman nodded. ''Yes, I should be a Primordial, but that will take another hundred or so years,'' she explained.

''Interesting,'' he muttered.

Dante decided to check the upgrades he earned through all the deaths his monsters brought to the swamp.

[Level Up: 121>125]

[Experience: 9600/20,000]

[MANA: 350>360]

[HP: 310>320]

[STR: 371>381]

[DEX: 390>400]

[INT: 310>320]

[CHA: 175>185]

[Death Points: 23,000>33,000]

[Death Blast: 2>3]

[Death Bolt: 2>3]

''Nice,'' he muttered at the sight.

Dante tensed his hand, feeling the new power washing over him just as Luna questioned. ''We need to be careful flying to the Death Witch; the Primordials will feel threatened with me beside you.''

''Don't worry about it,'' he reassured. ''The Death Wyvern is faster than before; we'll outrun anything that comes.''

After that, he climbed onto the beast's back, and it lowered itself to the ground, allowing them to ride it. When the creatures sensed the wolf woman, the monster trembled in fear, remembering it was she who killed them, but he reassured. ''You both are on the same side now, no need to be scared.''

They resumed their journey as the Wyvern flapped its wings, shooting into the sky. It began flying toward a mountain in the distance, prompting Dante to glance at Luna. ''Are you an idiot? You wanted us to walk that far?''

She giggled at his question before reminding him in an amused tone. ''Yes, master. We would've used my other form, it's much faster than two legs.''

Following that, several boulders flew in their direction. The Wyvern roared and dived down, dodging the projectile. Dante spotted the culprit, which was a giant; it was trying to pick up more to use as weapons, but he cast several Death Bolts at the thing. Red bolts sliced through the air, burrowing through the monster's body.