The vampire’s eyes flashed like rubies in the dark as a cold wind swept through the entombment chamber, rattling the bones of the fallen. Ezra stood still with his eyes glued to the ancient bloodsucker, his warm finger on the cold trigger and his steady feet ready to engage in the dance of death.“I have lived for three hundred years, but never in all my life have I met a man foolish enough to face me all by himself,” the vampire chuckled, his fangs glistening in the pale light. “I am Elbanir Razavic, the last Elder Vampire to walk these lands, the one your people remember as the Red Death.”“I can’t say it rings any bells. All I know is that you have what I want; and I’ll need to kill you for it,” Ezra responded.Hearing Ezra’s bold claim, the vampire gawked at his audacity. “Do you really think a Gunner like you can match the powers of an Elder Vampire?” His voice boomed in the empty room as he stared fixedly at Ezra. “I am not just any Gunner,” Ezra retorted. “It’s nothing persona

The catacombs turned silent again as the vampire’s cold, lifeless body slumped to the floor. Ezra had struck the fatal blow by driving the stake through Elbanir’s heart. Though most Elder Vampires were invulnerable to ordinary weapons and could heal their wounds with just a thought, Elbanir had made the fatal mistake of biting the wrong prey. Ezra's dark blood was seething with corruption, so instead of quenching Elbanir’s thirst, it had poisoned him.This foolish mistake had weakened Elbanir and diminished his powers, rendering him weak and vulnerable. Ultimately, Ezra’s dark spells proved to be too much for the Elder Vampire to handle.Having killed the vampire, Ezra pulled out the dark stake from his chest and tossed it away. Using the power of dark magic, he shaped his fingers into claws and dug into the vampire’s corpse. Reaching deep into Elbanir’s chest, he grabbed his still-beating heart and ripped it out in one go.The crimson sack of muscles throbbed inside Ezra’s palm, its

Tanya quickly set to work, measuring the ingredients and preparing the cauldrons and beakers for the task ahead. Brewing a rare potion like the Crimson Purge involved several steps and required both precision and patience. One little mistake could spoil the brew and produce something completely different.To enhance the potion’s potency and maintain its purity, it was extremely important to follow the steps in a perfect sequence and ensure every measurement was as accurate as humanely possible.Ezra stood watch near the window while Zala guarded the door and Glenn arranged the equipment. Tanya had learned the art of brewing potions from her late grandmother, but she was yet to master the techniques. What made her task even more difficult was the complexity of the brewing process.She started with the condensed sap of the Elder Elm and slowly added it to a beaker of boiling water to distill its essence and dilute its toxins. Once the water turned milky white, she transferred the mixtu

Within seconds, Queen Guinevere’s lips turned pale blue, and the veins on her forehead started throbbing like bloodworms underneath her cold white skin. Even a blind man could tell she was dying.Ezra looked shell-shocked; the empty glass vial still stuck in his hand like a badge of guilt. He had risked everything to obtain the vampire’s heart, and Tanya had worked tirelessly all night to prepare the potion, yet instead of helping the queen recover, it had only worsened her condition.“What did you do to her, you murderer?” Aleena yelled at the top of her lungs, her voice echoing through the tower and alerting the Royal Guards stationed outside.Soon enough, there was a stomping of boots on the winding stairway outside and a clatter of rifles on the other side of the door. “Princess Aleena! Is that you?” a voice questioned from outside. “What is going on there?”“Your queen has been mur—”Before Aleena could expose Ezra, he rushed and grabbed her mouth, shutting her lips with his rig

The magic rain that had been pelting the capital for hours, drove the people to seek shelter, leaving the streets lightless and deserted. And just like before, the shower had ripped open dimensional portals all across the city, opening the gates for Stalkers and Wraiths to escape from their shadowy realms.As Ezra hurried across the empty streets, he kept his eyes open for anomalies, and his ears alert to the slightest noise. His only respite was that the mobs had dispersed, and most of the guards had sought shelter inside their watch towers and barracks, making it easier for him to move unnoticed.Avoiding the smoky pits swirling with gust, and side-stepping the flaming blue puddles on the cobbled road, Ezra made his way across the city accompanied by nothing but his shadow. The splash of his boots resonated with his pounding heart at every turn as he desperately tried to avoid the Shadow Lurkers who had just started emerging from the portals and were now pouring onto the streets lik