The Primal Hunter

”Iskar, I pass on the responsibility to you,” the leader of Yalsten said as the vampire handed him the necklace in his cupped hands. “Know that even if Yalsten is to fall, the Legacy cannot enter the hands of the Church or the undead. No matter what.”

Iskar nodded as he accepted it. He stared at the beautiful item with the Legacy Blood of the True Ancestor within. An item more valuable than his entire world and the lives of all of them combined. Iskar closed his eyes in reverence, storing the Legacy as he prepared to send it somewhere safe. Even back then, he felt its influence on him, but he accepted it. No, he welcomed it.

The leader never returned after that, slain by the Holy Church in battle. All of the other Kings fell one by one, too, leaving only Iskar left as he desperately tried to save his world. They starved. The Bloodless Night left them all starving as they were now forced to feed to survive. He tried to fix it… but the ritual failed. In the end, he was forced to seal off his own world and kill his own kin to keep them hidden.

All to protect the necklace.

He was brought back to the present, the memories flashing through his mind. Reminding him of why he was there.

Iskar, the Monarch of Blood, stood in what had once been Yalsten, a massive world filled with billions of proud and powerful vampires, now crumbling to nothingness all around him. He stared up at the bloody moon. He felt his own weak body breaking like the world around him. Iskar wasn’t sure if there was much sense in struggling… but he had a task. A final mission entrusted to him by the True Ancestor. Or was it simply the system that made him think so?

He didn’t know, and it didn’t matter. The Monarch smiled as pain ravaged his body, and he spoke. Not a single trace of regret in his mind.

“Color of Night.”

Jake had felt it before. For a brief moment, an aura dominated the entire Treasure Hunt, one so powerful none of them could resist. Below, the Earthlings fell to their knees against their will, the pressure not allowing them to fight back in any way.

He saw Jacob fall down, all of the members of the Noboru clan, the surviving fighters. Only two humans stood standing from the pressure – the Thayne brothers. Jake felt the aura was similar because he had felt it many times before.

It was the aura of a god.

Yet as soon as it appeared, it was gone again. But the echoes of what had been remained. Also, while the aura had disappeared… the true effect of the skill had not. A dark red color hung over everything as they bathed in the sanguine light of the moon.

Then, Jake felt something was off. His scales absorbed mana, despite him not feeling like anything attacked him. He wondered what was happening until he heard screams from below. Looking down, he saw several of the weaker people in the larger camps fall to the ground as blood seeped out of their skin.

Within a few seconds, it multiplied as the humans began bleeding from every orifice and even out of their skin, sending tens of thousands of tiny droplets flow upwards. Even the undead began letting out black blood.

It wasn’t only the humans and Risen who were affected. The remaining Vampiric Blood Elementals also began dissolving as they floated upwards, all of them heading partly towards the moon and another part towards the Monarch of Blood.

As if hundreds of rivers of blood formed, it all funneled into him and the moon. Humans below began making barriers, and the Holy Church activated some magic to try and defend themselves, but it was far from enough.

than a minute, hundreds of D-grade humans died or fled the Treasure Hunt – more than 80% of those who remained. Jake looked down and saw Neil and his party together with Sultan, and he hurried

completely useless right now, so he chose to help those from Haven instead. Jake touched down as he spread out his hands and infused a bit of mana into his presence as he erected an arcane barrier in the area. It was a bubble more than ten meters across, and in not that long, it was entirely filled with people who took refuge under it – courtesy of Neil teleporting them in to

Reika also activated a powerful barrier as she defended herself and others. People everywhere around the Mistless

fine. The Abomination had apparently gone into some berserker rage as the red light hit it, and the Sword Saint, she and Eron, were handling it. Honestly, it was expected as all of them were powerful enough to fight the magic currently deployed by the

survive. On the other hand, the Monarch was having the blood channeled into him as his broken body began regenerating at a rapid pace. If Jake’s guess was correct, then the moon absorbed the blood to keep the spell going, and with the supply cut off, it

or teleported out. A few humans here and there still failed to keep up their defenses

he was fine keeping others safe. Could he have perhaps interrupted the regeneration or something like that? Potentially… but he didn’t want to. He wanted

entire thing had been going on for over five minutes, the Blood Moon began dimming slightly, and the constant funnel of blood from the elemental finished as there was nothing more to feast on. The forces of Earth were in shambles, and just when Jake thought it was over, the eye on the Blood Moon opened as wide as it

pressure appeared, pressing down on everyone within Yalsten. A

to move, many even falling to their knees once again. He exchanged a glance with Caleb, who stood beside him, his brother breathing heavily as his boosting skill

he said

his scales would have kept it out. He felt the blood magic inherent in the pressure and how it was almost physical. It was almost as if people’s own blood made everyone heavier, making only a handful of humans able to move. Even Jacob was completely

the air not far from the Monarch. The vampire stared up at the Blood Moon and didn’t even look his way as he

his voice was not infused with willpower. Instead, he just spoke normally,

come. Everything I have done, I did to fulfill the mission I had been given. It took

time, Jake got the message that the Sword Saint was coming back towards the Mistless Plains together with Sylphie. The Abomination had collapsed along with Eron the moment the pressure

up unbothered with a sweat-covered Sven right beside her, unable to do anything. Reika also managed to stay upright, but everyone around her couldn’t. It wasn’t a scale of suppression…

is this pressure?” Jake asked the Monarch, genuinely

“Judgement. Only those deemed worthy can stand and are allowed to

of

The two of them stood there a bit longer, just staring up the

so many. You being worthy is obviously no surprise, but for three more to be too? Truly a surprise. Ah,

felt them. The Sword Saint and Sylphie reached his side not long after, the Monarch not making any moves. He looked wholly healed, with not a single wound left from their fight… but Jake

said to

in her, but he would rather not risk it. Sylphie, a bit reluctantly, jumped off his shoulder as she flew down to where Carmen was. Caleb had

glance down to Reika. Jake agreed.

summoned his blade and took

forward, his sword brandished and ready, with the other drawing a bow as he teleported backward and nocked an arrow. Jake took aim and fired, the Monarch ready as