On the Lonely Island, the twenty-seventh night...
These days, Zhi had grown completely accustomed to talking to himself...
"Time really flies. Before I knew it, it was almost a month..."
"After all these days of surveillance, I've completely figured out the savages' movements.
"I've confirmed that everyone who was captured is still alive and well. They have food and water. I've wanted to rescue Ellis and Freya a few times, but judging by the situation, they're not in any danger yet."
"The savages are indeed ruled by a vampire, and an unusually powerful one at that. The savages haven't just built defenses in the village; they also conduct organized patrols every night. The reason is obvious: the vampire is still guarding against something. Objectively speaking, it can't be guarding against me. To a vampire, I'm just a weak, helpless human."
"Then what is it guarding against? Does it think the Witch is still alive and fear her? That's possible. Or are there other demons on this island—demons opposed to this vampire?"
"The expedition team!!! Those people weren't killed or captured by the savages. Just look at the numbers. At first, I thought the whole expedition team had been wiped out. But what if they weren't? What if they were controlled by some demon? Then the patrols and defenses would make perfect sense. It isn't guarding against one individual, but against an organized group like its own..."
"Ha ha, how ridiculous. We humans are all just tools for these demons. A vampire controls the savages, another demon controls the expedition team, and I'm controlled by the Witch. Ha ha, this is interesting. Who will win in the end? The demons, or me? Let's find out!!"
In a cave somewhere on the Lonely Island.
A man dressed in work clothes laughed and shouted, "Ha ha! You puny vampire, I don't care which family you belong to. This Night of Demons is mine!!!" Below him, seventy or eighty people knelt in worship, holding all kinds of bone weapons. The light in their eyes had completely vanished. Perhaps they were nothing more than empty shells...
Not far from the Lonely Island, a man looked around. He was about to enter when two women suddenly appeared and blocked his way.
"No matter who you are, this island is the private property of the Holy War Council. Anyone with no business here is forbidden to enter!" One of the women spoke harshly.
The man stood where he was and asked, "Is the Holy War Council one of the three most powerful organizations? The most vicious and terrifying one? Ha ha. I think you'd better step aside. Otherwise, I can't guarantee what will happen next!" As he spoke, he released his energy. In an instant, it enveloped the entire island.
One of the women stepped forward and said in alarm, "You have such immense power! I've never seen you before. Are you an assassin from the Holy Temple?"
The man casually shook his head. "You're in no position to ask me any questions. Don't you understand? If I wanted to, I could kill you in the next second. Now, answer me. Is some kind of ritual being performed on this island? Is the missing passenger plane here?" His attitude turned hostile, and the two women, who had been so arrogant moments before, immediately fell silent. That was how demons were: survival came first.
The woman who had spoken earlier replied politely, "The answer to both your questions is yes. Could you tell us why you've come?" She was extremely nervous. The man before her was far more powerful than she was, and she only wanted to get away as quickly as possible.
Pleased by her answer, the man smiled. "In that case, I won't bother you any longer! And you'd better keep what you've seen me secret. I have ways of finding you!" With that, he vanished from where he stood.
The two women, still shaken, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Deacon, should we go back and report this to the Council?"
"No. Our mission is to wait for the Night of Demons to end. We'll inform the Council afterward."
"Understood, Deacon. I'd like to investigate the passenger list. We might find a lead on that man!"
"Fine. Don't tell anyone else about this—not until you and I have discussed it. Remember!"
"Yes, Deacon!"
In the jungle on the Lonely Island.
Zhi was still setting traps. The savages followed a very limited routine and never came near his current position, so he could set all kinds of traps without worry. For the final battle, all two hundred savages had to die in this forest of traps. Only then could Zhi face the vampire without any concerns...
Looking toward the distant village, Zhi muttered to himself, "Lure them into this blind spot, then trigger every trap..."
There was a simple way to draw all the enemies in at once: attack the village directly. The huts' greatest weakness was how easily they caught fire. In mere seconds, several large huts in the village were ablaze. The savages rushed out like madmen, searching everywhere for their enemy. Luckily, they spotted him at once and hurled their spears...
The savages frantically pursued their enemy, searching through the forest for any sign of him. Before long, they would be giving up their lives in the dense woods.
The trap-maker chose when to trigger the traps. Once all the prey had entered the target area, he set them off. It wasn't difficult to get the timing right. With a little patience, the prey would always wander right into the snare.
The traps were triggered, throwing the prey into chaos. That was exactly what Zhi wanted. Now he could return to the village and deal with his real target.
In the dark night, a bat hanging from a tree stared intently at Zhi as he hurried toward the village. Somewhere in the darkness, a man with snow-white skin smiled faintly...
Since he had no idea where the vampire was, he could only rescue the captives first. The fire in the village was raging, and the prisoners were desperately trying to force their way out, making a strange sound as they cried, "Ugh... ugh..."
The prisoners broke out of their cage by force. It should have been impossible. Zhi stood in front of them, gripping his silver sword tightly.
"I'm sorry. You're not human anymore..." Before he could finish, Zhi charged into the crowd...
These so-called "people" were only similar in appearance to humans. Their faces, movements, and voices had all changed into those of another kind of creature, one no one knew the name of. They had strange mouths, enormous teeth, lifeless eyes, and hair that had fallen out completely...
Zhi fought with all his strength. He killed every one of the creatures himself. When not a sound remained, he finally leaned against a tree some distance from the village...
"I'm sorry, Ellis. I'm sorry, Freya. I couldn't save you..." His voice was barely audible. He only wanted to say the words aloud.
As Zhi sat dazed, a man appeared. With his pale skin and golden hair, he would have been recognized as a vampire even if he hadn't admitted it. Looking sinisterly at the exhausted human, he laughed. "You're strong, but you're still only human. Give me your life, human..." Before the vampire could finish, two pure-silver daggers plunged into his body. To a vampire, even the smallest wound was fatal if it had been inflicted by silver.
"Ahhh... ahhh... you... you human... how dare you... hurt me..." Just like last time, he couldn't finish speaking. The vampire, completely unable to fight back, was cut in half by the human's sword.
The human watched the vampire burn to ash and said, "The Sword of Hadoreka will gladly welcome you, vampire!"
The last of the two demons on the Lonely Island had vanished. That meant the Night of Demons was about to begin. At the heart of the Demon Altar, one had to offer their blood and evolve into a being completely different from what they were now.
A blood-red beam shot from the center of the Lonely Island and pierced the sky. That was where the Demon Altar stood...
The demon in a certain cave sensed that the moment had come. Overcome with excitement, he released all the corpses under his control and raced toward the island's center. But he couldn't have imagined that only one fate awaited him there...
Before you continue