Becoming the Dark Lord

Jonathan was hurled into the ruins of a collapsed house.

“Why didn’t you let me go after her, Tobias?” he shouted at the lich, furious.

“Because you’re a fool who nearly died in that fight and still wanted to chase after some woman while half-dead.”

“She wasn’t just some woman. It was her. The woman who was taken from me, killed by that damned eyepatch bastard,” Jonathan shot back.

He had found Angelica. His Angelica.

I saw her dead. So how? How is she alive again?

Tobias raised a hand, and Jonathan slammed into the wall.

“Listen to me, you little sack of filth. I have spent years preparing for the Chosen of Laziurus to appear in our universe. So you are going to stop acting like a sniveling child and do what needs to be done. You are going to grow stronger and carry the bloodline forward. Too much effort has been invested in you, Jonathan. There are two ways this can continue. And you are not going to like the other one.”

The moment Tobias lowered his hand, Jonathan dropped to the floor. A red ring floated toward him.

“Put that on your finger and do not take it off.”

It was what Tobias had received from Lucien Rhiannon.

“It’s a very special vampiric artifact, and the only one of its kind in our universe. It was found in a dimensional rift, one of those echoes created by the System. A dungeon from somewhere else, another universe. And that dungeon was special, because it held this.”

[Knight of Vespertilio Ring (Ancient)]

A special ring bestowed upon the Vampiric Knights of the Vespertilio bloodline. Its red gem was forged from the core of a Vampiric Beast, creating a unique bond with the vampire who wears it and increasing the Blood Energy capacity of their Blood Core by using the ring’s core as an additional reservoir. A common vampire can store 10 Blood Energy in the ring, while a Vespertilio vampire can store 20 Blood Energy.

Enchantments:

[Call of the Vespertilio (Ancient)]: The ring contains a message recorded by the first Vampire Goddess-Queen of Vespertilio, and it can only be accessed by a Vespertilio Vampiric Knight, a way for their goddess to always remain near her faithful knights.

[Vampiric Beast Mindset (Ancient)]: A Vampiric Knight who follows the Path of the Vampiric Beast and wears this ring retains greater control over their mental state while transformed into a Vampiric Beast, suppressing part of the beast’s attempt to steal their sanity.

Requirement: Vampire Level 80.

***

Luke had just finished looking through Angie’s status screen, and he was impressed by how powerful she already was from her raw attributes alone, even before considering her skills.

Name: Angie

Level: 92

Race: Angel

Rank: E

Class: [Lightning Valkyrie (Lvl 96)]

2nd Class: [Light Cleric (Lvl 73)]

Title: Servant of the Dark Lord

Health Points (HP): 12100/12100

Mana Points (MP): 8475/21030

Stamina: 6450/11740

Stats:

Strength: 1430

Lethality: 1220

Agility: 529

Dexterity: 502

Endurance: 1174

Vitality: 1210

Toughness: 967

Perception: 682

Wisdom: 2103

Intelligence: 482

Willpower: 748

Free Points: 0

Class Skills: [Advanced Polearm Handling (Common)], [Spear Throw (Common)], [Battle Roar (Uncommon)], [Battle Instinct (Uncommon)], [Critical Pierce (Uncommon)], [Weak Wrath (Uncommon)], [Valkyrie Charge (Rare)], [Force Infusion (Rare)], [Spear Return (Rare)], [Advanced Lightning Resistance (Rare)], [Bloodthirsty Spear (Rare)], [Lightning Spear (Ultra-Rare)], [Berserker Valkyrie I (Epic)], [Lightning (Common)], [Lightning Spear Throw (Rare)], [Lightning Dash (Rare)], [Electric Overcharge (Epic)], [Axe Spin (Rare)], [Lightning Aura (Ultra-Rare)], [Lightning Valkyrie (Mythic)]

Second Class Skills: [Advanced Magic Conjuration (Common)], [Advanced Healing (Uncommon)], [Lesser Restoration (Common)], [Energy Blessing (Common)], [Soundproof Barrier (Common)], [Lesser Ranged Heal (Uncommon)], [Restorative Light (Rare)], [Healer’s Analysis (Rare)], [Light (Common)], [Mana Shield (Rare)], [Lesser Healing Circle (Rare)], [Mana Drill (Rare)], [Light Ball (Common)], [Guardian Dome (Ultra-Rare)], [Radiant Judgment (Epic)], [Dome of Light (Epic)], [Arcane Light Ball (Rare)], [Greater Healing Circle (Ultra-Rare)]

Race Skills: [Demonic Servant Perception (Uncommon)], [Conceal Wings (Ancient)], [Celestial Wings I (Ancient)], [Winged Defense (Ancient)], [Eyes of Uriel (Unique)], [Celestial Wings II (Ancient)], [Angel’s Will (Ancient)]

At level fifty, Angie had also evolved her second class, which had originally been Cleric.

[Light Cleric]: Your faith has found form in Light. What was once simple devotion has begun to manifest as a radiant force, pure and relentless against all that rises from darkness. As a Light Cleric, your sacred mana becomes faster, clearer, and more intense, making room for more effective healing, stronger blessings, and protections capable of sustaining those who fight beside you. Light is not only comfort. It is judgment as well. Against undead, corrupted spirits, and creatures touched by darkness, your power holds the potential to become especially devastating, burning whatever rejects life and purifying whatever death has twisted. Where others merely wound, you will learn to purge.

This class maintains a balance between defense, healing, and offense. As your power advances, you will be able to wrap allies in protective light, accelerate the recovery of wounds, dispel malignant influences, and unleash radiant spells capable of blinding, burning, or destroying your enemies. Every prayer will carry warmth. Every blessing will carry purpose. Every attack may become a sentence passed on those who defy the clarity of your faith. You do not yet command the full splendor of Light, but you have already begun to summon it, shape it, and bear it as proof of your conviction. So long as your faith remains firm, darkness will never advance without paying the price.

(Attribute Bonuses per Level: +22 Wisdom, +14 Willpower, +8 Vitality, +7 Toughness, +5 Endurance, +4 Intelligence, +2 Perception, +15 Free Points)

The amount Angie had grown was absurd.

[Radiant Judgment (Epic)]: The Cleric creates a circle of sacred light in a chosen area, condensing holy energy for a few moments before releasing it as a gigantic upward beam of yellow light that pierces everything within the marked zone. The spell requires setup and precision to reach its fullest potential, but its destructive power more than compensates for the vulnerability created during the cast. It is especially effective against enemies who are surrounded, restrained, or unable to escape the area before activation. The flash of judgment does not merely destroy. It announces the presence of faith on the battlefield.

That’s the level sixty epic skill of Cleric of Light. I saw it roast vampires alive.

Angie’s second class was packed with skills that, broadly speaking, were highly effective against someone like Charlie.

So this is what the skill set of a powerful vampire hunter looks like.

Now he was studying the skill Angie had awakened at level ninety-five in her first class, the last one granted before she could unlock an evolution at level one hundred.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

[Lightning Valkyrie (Mythic)]: A Valkyrie was never meant to fight alone. They are warriors of an army, forces that advance as one. Lightning answers those who carry that calling, and you may answer it in return. This skill creates a mana avatar made of lightning, a living reflection of the Valkyrie herself. The avatar inherits all current attributes at the moment of summoning, copying your form and your equipment, though those copied items grant no additional bonuses. The Lightning Valkyrie possesses the same combat intelligence as her creator, fighting with instinct, precision, and coordination, though limited to the skills of its original class. It is a power that reflects the devastating nature of a Valkyrie, creating a doubled presence on the battlefield, like two bolts of lightning striking the enemy at the same time.

Information:

Rarity: Mythic

Rank: E

Luke had used the [Identify] power from his eye to get the extra information.

“That really is powerful,” he said. “How do you control the clone?”

“It already knows what to do, but I can give it orders,” Angie said. “It has limits, though, my lord. I can only summon one, and once I do, it takes a long time before I can summon another.”

The skill’s cooldown was long.

Angie went down the full list of limitations she had discovered. The clone could only use skills she had gained from levels 60 to 95, specifically the ones granted by the Lightning Valkyrie class. And obviously, the clone could not use the skill that created the other clone. She also could not heal any damage the clone took, and the armor it wore, a perfect copy of Angie’s own, was purely cosmetic. It offered no real protection at all. Which meant the clone was more vulnerable than it looked.

When they finished talking, Luke left the two of them there and went to walk among the ruins. He climbed one of the larger ones, its broken peak rising above the tree line, and from there he looked out over the snow island Lucien Rhiannon had claimed as his territory.

Our fight got interrupted. But I can tell I would’ve lost if it had dragged on much longer.

Lucien had survived the explosion Luke caused.

Either he escaped the blast, or he stayed there and his equipment and spells protected him.

Still, it had not been a total loss for Luke. He had learned more about how to fight a Rhiannon, and he had tested a few things in practice.

He’s definitely Rank D. He barely cared about some of the hits I landed. And he’s blessed with a dragon bloodline, which gives him a huge advantage over any other Rank D at the same level.

Luke had not breathed during the fight, refusing to let the freezing air into his lungs. He had also avoided standing still for too long, so the cold would not have time to work deeper into his muscles.

They also have some kind of enhanced awareness through the snow. Next time, I won’t waste the opportunity. I’ll find a way to kill him.

Lucien had sent the other one after Charlie. That alone meant there would be no forgiveness. After Lucien, Luke would go after Curtis Rhiannon too.

They stay together. Fighting one of them is already going to be hard enough. But I don’t have a choice. I need to figure out how I’d deal with both.

The strip between the two islands formed a river, though in truth it was seawater flowing between them.

If I’d had my Spectral Beast when we fell into that area, I would’ve had an advantage. All I’d have needed was one mistake from him, and I wouldn’t have let it go.

Sitting at the top of the ruined structure, he closed his eyes and slipped into meditation, letting it restore his mana and stamina faster. At the same time, he awakened in the world inside his soul and started walking there toward the lake.

“I need to subjugate you, kraken.”

The monster waited in the depths. Luke would find a way to defeat it. At dawn, he met with his own group and Erza’s. They were discussing the descent for the next Beacon.

“I missed Beacon Two, so there’s no way I can do this one with you,” Erza said. “And I have no intention of going to Stage Three anyway. But I can help you reach the place down there at the bottom of the ocean. So, have you decided on the pairs yet?”

Erza Grimhart and Angie had come back with new information. Every Beacon in this phase could only be completed by a maximum of two people. Which meant the group had to split up.

“We already decided,” Eleanor replied.

The pairs were: Luke and Charlie, Evangeline and Angie, Anne and Eleanor.

It was better to keep the two healers on separate teams.

“So only the challenge itself is random, right?” Luke asked.

“Yes.”

And with that, they set out through the forest.

“Should I go tell Serena that I’m leaving?” Eleanor asked.

“Didn’t you already tell her you would after you got back to Erza’s camp?” Evangeline said.

“She came to help us there. Better to let her know we’re heading out.”

“Better not,” Luke said.

Erza was already moving ahead of them.

“Why?”

“Because...”

A sound came from the brush in front of them. It was not one of Erza’s soldiers. Luke knew where all of them were. He drew a kukri. The others pulled their weapons too.

“Eleanor!”

“Serena?”

The heroine was there, breathing hard from the run. Beside her stood Maxwell, the Flame Hero.

“Is that him?” the Flame Hero asked, staring at Luke.

“Get away from him,” Serena said.

The Flame Hero had already drawn a sword and was pointing it directly at Luke.

“What is going on here?” Eleanor asked.

“Get away from Luke Moon.”

One of the flame hero’s hands ignited, flames wrapping around it.

“This looks like... some kind of misunderstanding,” Luke said.

Erza’s soldiers appeared with weapons in hand, surrounding everyone.

“What’s happening?” Erza asked as she stepped out of the brush.

“Serena, what are you doing?” Eleanor demanded.

Hero Serena drew another sword from its sheath and leveled it at Luke. “Step away from him, and do not make any sudden moves. You’re dangerous.”

She meant it. Charlie moved as if to step in front of him, but Luke stopped her with one hand.

“Luke hasn’t done anything wrong. You’re making a mistake, Serena,” Eleanor said.

“Stay away from him. Trust me, Eleanor.”

With her other hand, Serena drew a sword whose blade shone gold.

“My Hero class has a kind of sensor for great evil. And this man... he’s the only person who’s ever made my sword glow this strongly.”

She knows. She knows about my Dark Lord title.

The Hero of Fire intensified the flames around his hand until they climbed all the way up his arm.

“If the Sword of the Hero of Light shines that brightly, it means the person in front of us is a threat to humanity. And heroes are meant to kill threats like that.”

“No. This is wrong,” Eleanor said.

“I’ve gotten used to the intensity I feel from him. That’s why I didn’t say anything before,” Serena said. “But right now, my warning sense is screaming in my head. There is something wrong with this man, and he is going to become very dangerous, very soon.”

“I think you’re making a mistake, heroine.”

“Are you, or are you not, a threat, Luke Moon?”

“That depends on who decides to provoke me.”

She kept the sword pointed at him.

“Be careful,” Luke said. “Because if you’re really prepared to be hostile toward me, I’ll come back at you ten times worse.”

Behind him, Angie stood with her spear raised. Charlie remained at his side.

“Once you make a move, there’s no going back,” Luke said.

“Serena... Luke...” Eleanor looked torn between the two.

“Are you or are you not a threat to humanity, Luke Moon?”

“No.”

“Then why is my sword telling me you are?”

“Serena, you have a legendary class. You have to trust what it tells you,” said the Flame Hero.

“I think,” said a new voice, “that sword is actually reacting to me.”

A figure sat above them on a tree branch, watching it all. Then he dropped down into the middle of the group. The moment he landed, Serena’s sword blazed even brighter.

“Looks like you picked the wrong man,” Luke said to Serena.

The stranger stood there with glowing red eyes.

“Who are you?” Eleanor asked.

“I am one of the three Vampire Lords in this universe,” he said. “I am also known as Prince Damian.”

Then he crouched in front of Charlie. “And I came to ask this woman for her hand in marriage.”