Chapter 2310: Arad’s Hibernation XXII

As Slender Man slithered back into the darkness, the paladins formed a ring around everyone else, keeping Capsella and Ginger at the center, surrounding them with the nuns, and making sure they stayed safe.

But for a whole ten seconds, Slender Man didn’t attack. He just retreated into the darkness and waited, watching them and counting his chances. He didn’t need to fight them all; he didn’t need to make it long. All he needed to do was snatch Ginger and leave.

Attacking the nuns or paladins was a bad idea; if he did that, he’d open himself to retaliation from Ginger and Capsella, and if he attacked those two, he’d also open himself to attacks from everyone else. There was no easy way in, and that is expected.

There are two vampire lords here with forty paladins and ten nuns, and all of them except Ginger can use divine magic, which he is weak to. It didn’t matter how wide the gap in strength was between him and them; one solid divine smite from Capsella and he’d be a footnote in their report when going back home.

He waited, he stalked, and he crawled, keeping his eyes locked onto them, and then he found it. An opening. While everyone else kept their eyes peeled for his inevitable attack, some of the nuns were busy praying and trying to reach their goddess.

They were protected by the paladins and in Capsella’s range, but... they were the weakest link in the chain, and with that, they were the target he decided to aim for.

He moved like death, melting into the darkness as his long and black claws turned white, his eyes burned red, and his thin body shivered, anticipating the taste of warm blood he was going to bathe in.

He leaned forward, aimed, and jumped like a cat. His claws swung forward at blinding speed, and before anyone could react, he was already moving between the paladins, aiming to reach the nuns in a single move.

And that he did, stabbing one of the nuns right through the heart with his white claws. She felt soft, warm... and burning hot. His entire body was set ablaze by the nun’s blood, and he was forced to jump back, barely dodging the paladin’s flashing swords and smites.

The nun he stabbed puked a river of blood, glared at him, and smiled. "Serves you right... You dared touch the property of our Blood Lord." Her wounds slowly healed, and Slender Man disappeared back into the darkness.

This was the first part of Ginger’s plan. Having everyone constantly circulate divine magic through their blood so Slender Man would get burned if he damaged them, but that damage was only a bit stronger than what regular holy water would achieve.

But it was still effective for two reasons. First, this was Eris’s murder divine magic, which was extremely effective at making people easier to kill, and the second thing was the faint trace of Kali’s destruction divine magic, which was extremely effective in making the damage Slender Man took even more devastating.

So why did the vampire nuns have traces of Kali’s magic? The answer to that was quite simple. While they all worshiped Eris as their goddess, they still held reverence for the other divines in Arad’s royal court. Kali, Mira, Cerilla... and recently...

Capsella leaned forward, holding her sword at her hip, and the muscles in her legs all bulged out. The nuns were already praying to Eris to maintain the barrier, so she could move freely but only for a few seconds.

As Slender Man growled, the crimson flames on his body sparked, and their light flashed through the endless darkness unimpeded. Capsella saw them, and that was her signal. She took a deep breath and then burst forward, drawing her sword in a single motion, and when Slender Man saw her flying through the darkness engulfed in flames, he couldn’t help but growl and dodge to the side.

"You... why isn’t the darkness consuming you?!"

Capsella didn’t reply; she didn’t need to and wasn’t going to waste her breath. She was running on a timer, and this power wouldn’t last long, so she had to move. Her blade burst into flames, and she followed Slender Man with a second swing toward his neck.

[Burning Moon]

He dodged the attack, but barely, as she had nicked his throat. Those flames weren’t normal, but were divine in nature.

[Destruction] [Murder]

The small wound on Slender Man’s throat grew bigger, and blood gushed out, and his entire head would’ve been torn off if he hadn’t immediately healed the wound. Whatever power Capsella was using, it was something strange and alien to the point that Vlad’s darkness cannot mask.

He won’t be able to get Ginger if he doesn’t kill her right here and right now, so he got to moving immediately and swung his claws at Capsella’s head. She dodged the first swing and deflected the second, leaving a burning scar on his palm as she rushed in for a second large cleave.

But before she could swing at him, Slender Man took a single step back at a horrifying speed, almost twice what he had displayed so far, which was far above the level a regular Vampire Lord could ever dream of.

[Burning Passion]

Capsella’s body burned with warm crimson flames as she accelerated even further, matching Slender Man’s speed as the two of them flashed through the darkness like two stars. The paladins could barely follow the two inside the darkness, but they were always ready to protect Ginger if Slender Man decided to shift his target.

"I see... how many gods do you worship, divine whore." Slender Man growled, and Capsella smiled as she rushed toward him, swinging her blade down with a crackle of divine magic. He was both wrong. While she did worship only one goddess, Eris, she still got to borrow power from the other goddesses that were friendly with Eris.

So, the same way as the nuns and paladins, even if she didn’t worship Kali directly, she could pull power from her. But there was a huge catch here. This darkness seemed to muddle the calls, not fully block them, as such a feat would’ve required a god stronger than the god being blocked.

It didn’t make sense from the start for this Slender Man or Vlad to be able to outright block the calls. Most likely, Eris was still receiving Capsella’s calls, but in a muddled and unrecognizable format. That way, they’ll either be ignored by the archons, or outright rejected by Eris’s unconscious mind. It was like trying to call someone from afar; if they clearly hear their name, they’ll turn around to look at who was calling. But most won’t turn for rambles that sound exactly like the regular background noise of people talking.

That’s why Capsella tried calling Kossuth, the one she was certain would reply. Not because she trusted her, but because Kossuth was overwhelmingly powerful and could basically reach any flame in existence.

Kali also did reply, but... the response was weak. Capsella could only hope she would survive this fight so she could ask them what exactly they received from her.