Fato was a man of riddles.
Perhaps scientists all had similar habits. Perhaps the more than a thousand years of torment from Chaos's corruption had given Fato the bad habit of never speaking plainly. Or perhaps some force bound him, preventing him from revealing the truth in simple words.
In any case, within a dozen seconds of Fato's appearance, the entire Sourceblood Cavern had turned into the wildest battlefield imaginable.
As the Lord and old Edward charged him from either side, the mad singers pounced on everyone else in the cave like a pack of wolves let loose. The players, however, had been ready for them and blasted them right back with a volley of firepower.
Clearly, these "fundamentalist" Bloodmad vampires hadn't expected their charge alongside their brothers a thousand years later to open with grenade launchers and Claymore mines.
"Triss, go support the Lord and Edward with Hathor. Everyone else, stay here and hold the line. There are too many enemies! Don't go charging off. Wait for the Defenders to reinforce us!"
Murphy took control of the battlefield. He quickly issued orders, splitting the chaotic area into two fronts, then used his captain's authority to summon the starship's intelligent Defenders to reinforce them.
The Bloodriver Reflection began to reverse.
Echoes of Blood Lords from the past appeared amid a downpour, and under Murphy's command, they charged forward in place of the players.
The Bloodmad vampires Fato had gathered in this cavern were all absolute elites. They had all undergone physical mutations to one degree or another, with pale, grotesque bone spikes sprouting from their shoulders, elbows, arms, and legs.
That meant their "corruption" was even worse than that of the Bloodmad vampires outside.
Murphy didn't join the fight. He merely summoned the Warlord Armor, leaving Eden to control it