Meanwhile, on the Castle of the Dark Lord, Soma can be seen sitting on Dracula’s throne. Death was hovering in front of him, reporting what had transpired after the failed ambush. Vearn was sitting on the side, drinking some wine-like liquid and savouring the its flavor. If one would look closely, the wine-like liquid appears to be reddish in color. What could it be besides the blood of a young maiden that has been drained of all her blood. At the side, one could see a young maiden devoid of any signs of life, with blood drained, turning her entire skin into a purplish or bluish color.

“Simply delicious!” muttered Vearn.

“I can’t believe that only you Vampires enjoyed such a treat!”

Soma and Death looked at Vearn with serious faces. Suddenly, Soma cracked a smile as he held his own cup of wine.

“There’s a far more delicious delicacy of blood that we haven’t tried before, Demon Lord.”

“Are you not intrigued of what Sapphire’s blood would taste like?”

“I reckon that as the new reincarnation of Athena, her blood would be the best tasting one that we could ever taste!”

“Ahahahahaha!”

Laughter echoed throughout the Throne Room while the Demon Lord and the Dark Lord were enjoying their cups of blood. After the time it takes to finish tea, Soma stood up from his throne and uttered.

“To all the Forces of the Dark Lord!”

“I, Soma Cruz, the reincarnation of Dracula!”

“Heed My Call!”

“Assemble!”

“All of my Leaders, come up to the Throne Room at once!”

Soma then unsheathed his Hakuba Blade and raised it towards the sky. He addressed all of Hades’ forces with a shout.

“To all the Forces of the Underworld!”

“I am Soma Cruz, the reincarnation of Hades!”

“Heed my call!”

“Assemble!”

“To the Three Judges of the Underworld!”

“Come up to the Throne room at once!”

Vearn would not be outdone. He also made his summons.

“Forces of the Demon Lord!”

“Heed my summons!”

“Assemble!”

“My 6 Demon Leaders!”

“Come up to the Throne room at once!”

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“Come up to the Throne Room!”

Waves and waves of monsters, skeletons, axe armors, headless horsemen, minotaurs, werewolves, weretigers, Specters, lavamen, snowmen, sorcerers and the like assembled themselves neatly on the fields of Dracula’s Castle. Huge flying bats, peeping eyes, wyverns, draco-eagles and other flying monsters were floating in the air.

“My minions! Athena’s barrier is not enough to stop us!”

“I have my own ways of bypassing it, but I can only do so with a small portion.”

“If I create a huge hole in it to let our army thru, Athena will be alerted.”

“With this, I have sent out elites from time to time, but they have been defeated.”

“The Saints, Heroes and Vampire Hunters are more powerful than we thought.”

With a solemn expression, Soma declared “As such, this cannot go on! I will open up a portion of the barrier to let a part of the combined Demon Lord Army and Dark Lord Army out.”

“The combined army will attack the Imperial Kingdom, and stop the teleportation spell that will bring the Combined Army of the Saints, Heroes, Forces of the Church and Vampire Hunters to Europe!”

“I estimate that they will make it after a week of preparations.”

“Since we are nearer, we only need 3 days at the most.”

“We have another four days to take down the Imperial Castle!”

Soma exuded the combined aura of Dracula and Hades. The powers of Chaos, the Cosmos of Hades, the Vampiric Powers of Dracula and the Power of Dominance can be felt by everyone present. Vearn’s eyes constricted, as he saw how powerful Soma is.

“He is so much powerful. How did he grow in power in so little time?” thought Vearn in his heart.

All of the Specters and Forces of the Dark Lord shouted in unison “Yes, your majesty!”

“With this, the Initial Phase is complete” muttered Soma in his mind.

“Kuro, I hope you do not disappoint me.”

Death looked at the portion of the combined army that will be dispatched and shouted “In three days, we feast on the souls and flesh of the mortals!”

“March forward, the combined army of Vearn the Demon Lord and Count Soma, Prince of Darkness and Lord of the Underworld!”

Hundreds of thousands of different monsters and undead began marching forward towards the edge of the barrier, as the remaining millions were still in position.

Vearn uttered “After 3 days, begin marching towards the barrier too. Follow our path.”

“We cannot march all of the army at once since it may alert Athena, Avan and Genya.”

“Understood?”

The remaining combined army shouted in unison “We understand, your majesty Demon Lord!”

Soma looked at the departing army, then he subsequently looked at Vearn.

“Demon Lord, let’s meet at the edge of the barrier in three days.”

“I will mediate in the Chaos room to strengthen my Chaos Powers.”

“We will kill all of them, together!”

“Bwahahahaha!”

Soma’s eerie laugh echoed in Vearn’s ears as he disappeared into a mist. Out of nowhere, Myst-Vearn appeared beside Vearn and spoke out.

“Master, are we really going’ to trust Count Soma?”

“It seems that he has his own plans.”

Vearn replied “Whatever his plans are, he cannot get rid of me that easily.”

“For now, we still need him, as he commands a powerful army.”

“As much as I hate to say it, 2/3 of the combined army belong to him.”

“My undead legion pales in comparison to his.”

“But no matter! With the secret assistance of the Evil Dragon Lord Velther, he can at most match up to me.”

“I am still more powerful than him if we both go all out.”

Unknown to the two, Soma was able to listen to their conversation via the Chaos Room, as Chaos power engulfed the whole Dracula’s Castle, especially the throne room.

“So what if you have Velther’s assistance.”

“You are but a sheep in wolf’s clothing.”

“I will make you my stepping stone in my rise to power.”

“Bwahahahaha!”

Soma unsheathed his Hakuba Blade, and made a cut to his wrist. As blood flowed from the cut, he let his blood drip on the handle of the corrupted Holy Sword. As if thirsty, the corrupted Holy Sword absorbed his blood with gusto.

“It’s time to gather my familiars.”

“Death!”

Out of nowhere, Death appeared beside Soma.

“Yes, milord!”

“Continue to monitor Vearn and his cohorts.”

“I entrust everything to you.”

“Radamanthys, Minos and Aiacos will be under your direct command.”

“Yes, milord!” replied Death without hesitation.

“I’ll need to unseal all of my Chaos powers and Vampiric Powers before I face Genya and Athena.”

“Let Vearn take care of Avan.”

“Kuro, I hope you don’t die easily. I’ll toy with you first until you die!”

“Bwahahahaha!”