Chapter 398: Chaos in the Royal Domain

The collision between Alexander and Big Black made the subterranean cells rumble, cracking the central plaza. The giant’s fist slammed directly into the vampire’s crossed arms, detonating a compressed air shockwave that pulverized the nearby stone pillars. The pressure drove Alexander back several meters, but his claws left grooves of fire and sparks along the stone floor before he stabilized.

"Don’t you run from me, vermin!" Big Black roared.

Using [Explosive Muscles] in rapid succession, he struck the air behind him to propel himself in a zigzag across the rubble. He turned into a grayish blur bouncing off the walls, unleashing a barrage of maximum-power compressed air cannons. The invisible projectiles whistled across the entire courtyard.

Alexander snapped his majestic dark wings and took flight. He unleashed [Storm Steel Claws Lvl1] in a frenzied arc, sending dozens of metallic crescents that collided in midair against Big Black’s air cannons. The detonations of energy and steel tore through the palace’s structures, raining stone and dust over the battlefield.

However, the duel devolved into absolute chaos as the other sovereigns joined the slaughter.

The Serpent Queen, scales soaked in blood and eyes wild with hatred, seized the chance while Alexander was airborne to spit a whip of corrosive toxin. The Spider Queen simultaneously wove a massive web of poisonous silk threads between the fallen pillars, aiming to snare the vampire emperor and cut off his escape routes.

"Keep him cornered!" the Serpent Queen shrieked. "Attack him all at once!"

The Vampire Empress intervened instantly. She dove like a red streak and activated [Life-Stealing Fangs Lvl 8], driving two spectral claws that severed the venomous silk threads before they could touch Alexander. Right after, she summoned her swarm of [Shadow Bats Lvl 9], sending thousands of screeching shadows to tear into the Serpent Queen’s flesh.

Meanwhile, the Fox Queen—completely enslaved by Alexander’s [Charm]—unleashed her nine golden energy tails. With a blank stare but lethal accuracy, she lunged at the Spider Queen, battering her with bursts of spiritual fire that set the main pavilion ablaze.

"You damned traitor!" the Spider Queen screeched as she dodged the golden flames, sustaining severe burns across her abdomen.

Taking advantage of his allies’ cover, Alexander closed the gap with Big Black. The giant tried to crush him with a downward strike buffed by [Titanic Strength], but Alexander didn’t dodge. He allowed the strike to shred his torso into a explosion of flesh and bone.

Instantly, the vampire’s mangled body dissolved into thousands of armed shadows through [Shadow Vampire Summon Lvl 1]. The shadows emerged from Big Black’s own striking hand, scrambling up his arms and thrusting their dark blades into the joints of his [Steel Body].

"Agh! Disgusting pests!" Big Black roared, trying to shake them off as blood spurted from the fissures in his iron skin.

In a fraction of a second, Alexander’s main form coalesced right above the giant’s head. The crimson light of [Divine Regeneration Lvl 1] sealed his torso instantly, knitting muscle and skin before he even touched the ground. With his claws dripping in metallic energy and his transformation power pushed to the limit, Alexander drove his fingers straight into Big Black’s exposed back.

The ground collapsed beneath the colossal impact, and the war cries of the three queens echoed through the burning palace.

Big Black spat a mouthful of thick blood onto the cracked stone and slowly pushed himself up. The damaged metal on his skin groaned as blood seeped continuously from the gashes on his back and limbs, but the fury in his eyes only burned hotter.

"Seems I underestimated you, bastard..." Big Black said, wiping his chin with the back of his arm. "You’d better say your last words."

Alexander landed gracefully a few meters away, unfurling his dark wings as his torso finished reconstructing without leaving a single scar. He let out a low, icy chuckle, looking the giant up and down.

"You speak as if I’m the one about to die," Alexander replied mockingly. "Don’t make me laugh, big guy."

Big Black grit his teeth and puffed out his chest as a dark, suffocating energy began oozing from his pores.

"I didn’t want to use this..." Big Black growled.

In that instant, he activated his fourth skill: [Demon Body]. His musculature expanded grotesquely as his grayish skin dyed a deep, blood-red crimson. Two twisted horns burst from his forehead, tearing through flesh, while a thick demon tail whipped the ground with the force of an iron flail. His form mutated completely, taking on the imposing, terrifying silhouette of a demonic minotaur.

The air around him warped under the intense heat and spiritual pressure, sending tremors through the palace foundations once more.

Alexander’s smirk vanished, his gaze turned icy as he realized the spiritual pressure emanating from the demonic minotaur was no longer a game.

Before he could even adjust his stance, Big Black vanished from sight.

The impact was devastating. The demonic fist drove straight into Alexander’s face with catastrophic violence, sending him flying through the air at a terrifying speed. The vampire emperor’s body shattered the plaza’s main wall, plowed through the hall of honor, and obliterated three solid stone barriers before burying itself under a massive heap of rubble.

Silence blanketed the ruined palace for a brief second.

As the dust cloud began to clear, Alexander slowly emerged from beneath the heavy stones. He wiped a trickle of blood from his chin with the back of his hand, his dark wings partially shredded.

In the distance, the Serpent Queen and Spider Queen halted their fight abruptly, their eyes wide with sheer disbelief. Both had assumed Big Black was merely another pawn, a muscle-for-hire they kept under control for their own ends. Yet, sensing that raw, overwhelming demonic aura shaking the ground beneath them, the chilling reality hit them like a bucket of ice water: that monster was never beneath them.

"That bastard..." the Spider Queen muttered, taking a pale step back. "He was using all of us..."