Chapter 403: Emergency Exit

Seeing Alexander advance without hesitation, Big Black’s resolve collapsed. Spinning on his heels, he bolted in a burst of speed, tearing through the air toward the rear of the palace.

The Serpent Queen, raising her head from the rubble, screamed at the top of her lungs:

"Stop him! He’s trying to return to his world!"

"Shut up, bitch!" roared Big Black through grit teeth, not slowing his pace.

The minotaur plowed through stone walls like cardboard, wrecking everything in his path toward an underground chamber. Alexander surged forward behind him, but the distance between them was too great.

At the end of the shattered hallway glowed a stone platform etched with spatial runes. Big Black leaped onto the structure, slamming his palm against the center of the circle as a purple light ignited.

Realizing he wouldn’t reach him before the jump, Alexander unleashed [Shadow Vampire Summon Lvl 1].

Dark shadows erupted from the floor around the platform, lunging like claws toward the structure to shatter the runes. Big Black swung a backhand, dispersing the shadows in a blow as he bellowed:

"Come on! Activate!"

Alexander reached the chamber entrance and ignited [Storm Steel Claws Lvl 1]. His lightning-shrouded talons cleaved through the air toward the base of the altar to pulverize the teleporter.

Yet the moment his claws were about to strike, Alexander crossed the range of the magic circle. A flash of light engulfed the chamber, and spatial energy detonated—snapping both fighters out of existence amidst a shockwave that reduced the room to ruins.

In the ruins of the palace, silence fell. Liora, the Vampire Empress, and the two surviving queens stood petrified, staring at the smoking altar where the two monsters had been fighting moments before. Severely wounded, covered in blood, and at the end of their strength, they looked at one another; given the gravity of their injuries, not a single one dared to move.

On the other side, the light of the teleportation faded.

Alexander glanced around. He stood inside a sealed chamber surrounded by metallic panels and indicator lights. A few meters away, Big Black let out a laugh, clenching his fists.

"Now you’re fucked!" mocked Big Black, trying to hold his ground. "Do you think you can escape from here?! Coming here was your grave, you idiot. Surrender before my army comes for you!"

Alexander shook his head, his gaze icy.

"It seems you don’t understand your situation," said Alexander calmly. "You’re just as dead as before."

Without giving him time to react, Alexander surged forward and drove a punch into the giant’s face. The impact launched the minotaur backward, slamming him through the metallic wall. However, they didn’t break out into an open facility; Big Black’s body plowed into a wall of hard earth. They were deep underground.

The minotaur roared in fury and burst from the rubble to charge once more. But the decay of his transformation was obvious: his speed had dropped. Alexander dodged the lunge with ease, ducked beneath him, and delivered an uppercut to the giant’s jaw.

The force launched Big Black upward, shattering the chamber’s ceiling. The collapse triggered a cave-in, sending tons of earth and rock cascading down to bury the structure.

Despite being a vampire emperor, the sensation of being buried alive was annoying. Without losing momentum, Alexander leaped after the minotaur embedded in the ceiling, unleashing a barrage of upward strikes. He used every impact against the giant’s body to propel himself upward and carve a path through the collapsing earth.

Alexander broke through to the surface after beating the minotaur upward.

Looking at his surroundings, he realized he was in his own city: this was Earth...

"So we are here," said Alexander, taking in the horizon of concrete and steel.

A long time ago, he had tried to purchase an apartment from Big Black’s people; however, they had set a trap for him in these abandoned warehouses.

The roar of hundreds of engines, helicopters, and F-17 fighter jets echoed through the sky, while tens of thousands of people watched him from afar in panic and shock.

"You better get out of here," said Alexander coldly.

"Fire!" roared Big Black from the rubble.

The aircraft rained down bullets and missiles onto his position. Alexander activated [Storm Steel Claws Lvl 1] by instinct. The missiles detonated, and the shockwave hit him head-on, but he barely felt it; .50 caliber rounds were nothing more than tickles against his adapted body.

"[Shadow Vampire Summon Lvl 1]," muttered Alexander.

Dozens of shadow vampires surged from the darkness and pounced on the army; some soared into the sky hunting down the helicopters while others pursued the fighter jets.

"What the hell is that?!" screamed a helicopter pilot over the comms.

"Shit, it’s closing in...!" panicked another gunner.

A thrust from a shadow spear cleaved the helicopter in two, sending it exploding in mid-air into a fireball.

"Shit! Bravo 1 is down, I repeat, Bravo 1 is down! Get away from those shadow things!" echoed through the military channels.

The remaining helicopters tried to pull back to create distance, but they were outmatched in speed compared to the vampires, who detonated them in the air one after another. Meanwhile, the F-17 jets maneuvered at top speed trying to lock targets, yet the outcome was identical: a chain of explosions wiped out every aerial vehicle.

Watching the carnage raining from the sky, Big Black’s men turned pale, realizing too late that they were standing against an unstoppable supernatural monster.

Big Black backpedaled as the flaming wreckages of his helicopters and fighter jets slammed into the asphalt. Panic contorted his face as he realized his conventional military power was nothing but burnt paper against Alexander’s shadows.

"Call the army!" Big Black bellowed, spitting blood as he pointed a trembling claw into the air. "Invoke Code Invasion!"

A few meters away, taking cover behind the armored chassis of a wrecked truck, Vanessa reacted instantly. She was the very same secretary who had set up the warehouse trap months ago; if Alexander spotted her through the smoke, he would tear her head off without a second thought.

Without missing a beat, the woman pulled an industrial black phone from her jacket. It had no screen or keypad, just a single red button in the center.

Pressing it down, a sharp beep echoed from the speaker, and the automated voice of an operator answered immediately.

"Emergency line active. Identify credentials."

"Vanessa here, code BBGXL31!" Vanessa shouted, clutching the device until her knuckles turned white as another explosion lit up the sky above. "Requesting Code Invasion at my position! We’re being exterminated!"

Through the earpiece, heavy switches clanked open in sequence, followed by a muffled siren wailing on the other end of the line.

"Code verified, Vanessa," the operator replied in a chilling tone. "Level Four biological and military response authorization granted. Heavy containment squad and adaptive units deployed. Estimated arrival time: forty seconds. Clear the impact perimeter."

Big Black let out a wild, desperate laugh, wiping his chin as he locked his eyes on Alexander’s motionless figure.

"You’re fucking dead, asshole!" Big Black roared with a deranged smirk. "You think you’re the only monster who knows how to cross portals?! When the invasion squad hits this ground, there won’t even be dust left of your shadows!"

Alexander didn’t even flinch. He kept his pitch-black eyes fixed on the secretary and the minotaur, as the electrical arcs of his [Storm Steel Claws Lvl 1] hummed along his arms once more.

"Forty seconds..." Alexander muttered in an icy tone, taking a calm step toward them. "More than enough time to kill the rats."

Big Black took a step back, terror contorting his features as he stared at the shadows encircling the perimeter.

"Everyone scatter! Run!" screamed Big Black, his voice breaking.

The remaining troops broke into panic, scrambling in every direction. Alexander barely flinched. He raised his hand and gave a command:

"Leave not one alive."

The shadows lunged forward, destroying everything in their path. Armored vehicles exploded into flames as they were struck by the force of the shadow vampires. Midst the chaos, a group of awakened tried to rally, but they were slaughtered in seconds.

Realizing escape was impossible, Vanessa hurled her phone onto the fuel-slicked asphalt. Her body erupted in flames as she charged at one of the shadows. Driving a fire-imbued fist through its head, she decapitated the specter in a strike. Yet in that instant, the shadow reformed without a scratch and countered, driving a shadow spear toward her chest.

Vanessa reacted by detonating her aura in a fire burst, using the force to blow herself backward. Spitting blood onto the concrete, she grit her teeth.

"Let’s see if that’s enough for you, you son of a bitch..." wheezed Vanessa.

The shadow materialized before her from the ground’s darkness, locking its hollow gaze on her. Her efforts were useless against the gap in power.

"Holy God..." Vanessa whispered, her eyes wide with fear as the shadow raised its spear once more. "What the fuck just entered this world?!"