Dante was searching for Sara, but the Empire's problems extended beyond just the capital. In Nightsphere, one of the cities in the Beast Kingdom, something macabre began to happen...
"Keep killing all these bastards!" a red-haired woman roared as she sliced a demon in half. This was Katarina, a feline demi-human we met earlier at Kryoris Academy. Her flaming red hair and blazing eyes showed just how furious she was about what was happening.
"What happened here?" asked Aren, a woman with goat horns, slicing a demon in half with her staff-sword. She looked around, seeing the bizarre and destroyed state of the bar. The entire bar was covered in blood and fallen demon bodies.
"Where did all these demons come from?" a werewolf appeared, emerging from the wreckage. It was Boris, covered in blood, his white fur completely stained with it; luckily, his wounds were closing quickly. "Boris... weren't you supposed to be at..." "Quiet for a moment, Aren." He replied, cleaning the bloodstains from his arm and hair with magic. His sword flew to him, and he sheathed it on his back.
"Katarina, where did this come from?" Boris questioned, trying to understand the origin of the chaos, clearly irritated by it.
"I can't figure out the exact source, but it was a summoning, that I guarantee," Katarina replied, her tone bitter and eyes burning with growing anger. Despite her usual indifference, the situation seemed to have struck a nerve. "Where's Joker? I thought he'd be here to help us?" Boris continued.
"The bastard opened a portal and left, that cowardly piece of shit," Katarina replied bitterly. The fury bubbling inside her was about to explode.
"What's wrong with you?" Boris asked, noticing Katarina's growing tension. She then pointed to the bar counter. There lay a demon split in half, holding a giant beer mug.
"You've got to be kidding me, right?" Boris asked, incredulous.
"A damned demon... drank my beer... of course, I'd be furious! No one touches my beer!" Katarina said, clenching her fists tightly. The idea of her beer being consumed by a demon seemed to be the last straw for her, and it was utterly ridiculous.
Before Boris could react to the absurd situation, an earthquake suddenly began. "What the hell is this!" Aren shouted, her usual self-control crumbling. She never swore, but now... she was bothered by all of this. All three ran outside, where a giant tree began to grow on the horizon. Its roots, as thick as trunks, emerged from the ground, destroying the city streets.
The trunks were pale with red veins that pulsed as if alive.
"What the hell is going on?" Boris exclaimed, noticing the sky had changed to a very dark red, almost wine-colored, unlike the usual light red, observing the apocalyptic scene. The roots destroyed buildings, lifting chunks of the ground and causing chaos.
The giant tree, a surreal and sinister sight, continued to grow, its branches extending like evil fingers. Various roots emerged from the ground, snaking around as if with a life of their own, destroying everything in their path. The city streets were being torn apart, and the inhabitants fled in panic.
"Damn... something's wrong... I feel... a lot of demonic energy coming from there." Katarina said and ran ahead, leaving the other two behind. "Let's follow her," Boris said and ran. "Damn...
I just came to see how this bastard was living..." Aren murmured as she saw a demon crawling. She calmly walked up to it and, with her high heel,
CRACK
Gungnir was aimed directly at the center of the tree trunk, "What? Did I throw it with too little force?" Valentina wondered, seeing that Gungnir had hit the tree, but...
"The resistance of this thing..." Valentina murmured, "This is dangerous," she said, feeling the demonic energy emanating from the tree... "Is it a World Tree?" She questioned herself, something that no weapon could harm... "Kaalindra, return immediately to the Human Kingdom and find Dante. He has the greatest affinity with this; he might understand something we can't see," Valentina ordered.
"But Mast~" Kaalindra stopped immediately... Valentina's expression was distorted, as if she had seen a ghost.
"Kaalindra, get out of here immediately!" Valentina shouted, pushing Kaalindra away. She didn't understand, but she saw Valentina drawing her other weapon, her ancient spear, and taking a battle stance.
KABOOMMMM
An explosion sent Kaalindra flying to the side. She quickly got up and looked at the scene. "Who are you?" Valentina murmured, holding back the attack from the figure in front of her... or rather... the Demon.
"Looks like I've found something new, a Vampire in the Desert?" the voice said with disdain. It was a strange demon, wearing armor made of pure Miasma, something Valentina had only seen Dante manipulate. "Who are you?!" Valentina shouted, extending her hand to call Gungnir back, but the Spear... didn't return. She kicked the demon away and looked at the Spear lodged in the Tree's flesh.
"There's no other way," Valentina murmured. "Kaalindra, give me the key," Valentina said seriously, and Kaalindra tossed what appeared to be a key, but... it wasn't quite a key. When Valentina caught it and broke it with her hands.
A black mist emerged and enveloped Valentina's body. "High-Class Demon, it's a pity I have to waste this on you, but I need to get my subordinates and return to my husband," Valentina said as she began to take on a strange form. A mass of flesh transformed, creating scales and grotesque structures around her. Various bones began to protrude from the mass of flesh.
It was a repulsive scene, but once it was complete, everything caught fire as if being consumed. It all vanished, and a woman rose.
"Really... How many years has it been since I last saw you do this, master?" Kaalindra murmured, seeing a New Valentina. It had been hundreds of years since Valentina had sealed this side of her, a side no one survived to witness... A side Valentina reserved only for the most vile enemies, her true essence.
Valentina's red hair transformed into cascades of flames, now mingled with dark streaks that extended to the ground. Each strand seemed to undulate with a life of its own, increasing in length and density. The fiery red of her hair stood out even more, reflecting an intense and uncontrollable power.
Her skin, once merely pale, took on an almost ethereal tone, emanating a supernatural glow that outlined her contours in an almost celestial manner.
Valentina's eyes underwent an even more radical transformation. The sclera turned as black as night, accentuating her glowing red pupils that pulsed with an inner light. Around her eyes, subtle veins stood out, tracing an almost artistic pattern on her skin.
The look she gave the Demon was that of a relentless predator, an abyss of fire and darkness that made him recoil for a moment. She turned to her subordinate, "Kaalindra, go warn them about this," she said, and with a sweep of her lance, the dunes erased Kaalindra from the area.
"It's been hundreds of years since I entered my 'Vampire Countess form,' well, it's a stupid name. I need to talk to Vlad about changing that... but should I have told Dante about this? Well, if I had, he'd want to see it." She murmured and turned to the demon, who was now quite wary of her casual demeanor.
"You should have run while you could," Valentina whispered. She appeared in front of him with her fist clenched. "Die."