Chapter 345 - Unfazed

The dragons landed on the ruins, and everyone jumped off from their respective dragons to the ground. Aside from the thick and dark magic that they could feel lingering heavily in the air and crawling over the ground like a thick black mist, they could not feel any other movement at all. It was strangely quiet, very similar to the stillness which occurs right after a deadly earthquake.

Evie had her dragons all on standby and waiting outside the ruins before the group of them entered. She knew that Gav was still here. She could sense his presence here, just that she could not pinpoint his exact location. And of course, the enemy is still here as well. Therefore, it is imperative that they find Gav as soon as possible and aid him.

"We need to follow the source of this dark magic. I am certain it will lead us to Gav." Evie said and everyone nodded in agreement.

As they walked further in, they start to encounter dead bodies.. One of the dead bodies that they saw was of Lorcan and his general named Alcan. Both their bodies, upon closer inspection, showed that their skin were covered in darkened patches. It was as if they had been beaten up until they turned black and blue. A dark miasma was still oozing from their bodies. They also found Caius' body next, not far away from where Lorcan and Alcan had fallen. Along with Caius, there were a pile of dead half vampires' bodies around him.

Looking at the bodies and the damage done to the surrounding area, it was quite apparent to them that all of these people were killed by the prince.

Now the only body left that they have yet to find – as in the one left who was of any significance to them – was Thundrann's. As they moved on, following the traces of the battle, they ended up moving towards the dungeons.

The group stopped at the entrance of the dungeon. The dark magic they were following had thickened so much that the darkness beyond the entrance now looked like a portal to hell.

"My queen, how about we stay right here rather than entering the dungeons? We could set up and prepare to launch an ambush right here when those who are inside finally comes out." Zanya suggested. It was honestly a wise and logical suggestion. Because anyone who ends up ever standing in front of the entrance to this place would definitely think twice before going in. Anyone half-hearted would already be running away for their lives at the sight of something as creepy and terrifying like this. Much less attempt to actually enter into it. 

Even for them, who were regarded as the most valiant among the vampires could actually feel intense fear as their instincts screamed at them to flee and avoid this darkness, this kind of danger was something far beyond their abilities to defend, much less fight against.

"Zanya's idea isn't bad at all, princess." Zolan agreed. He is already having a bad feeling about this. He had been inside this dungeon once before a long time back, and it was a massive underground structure, almost like an endless abyss that there was no way to know which way was where if you were an outsider. And now that he had remembered it, he had always thought that there was something being hidden in the deepest parts of this dungeon.

He had always been curious about what was hidden in the depths of this underground place, and he had actually already put the uncovering of this dungeon in his to do list once the prince has taken over the throne as the vampire emperor. However, when he heard lately that Thundrann's body was being hidden inside this dungeon, he thought that this was probably it – that secret that was so closely guarded for so long. But now, he had that uncanny feeling that there was an even bigger mystery hidden deeper within and it might not have anything to do with Thundrann at all. And this was what that has been giving him the weird feeling which has been prodding at him.

Zolan thought that what if, whatever was inside this dungeon was actually the reason the prince had tried to keep the princess locked up and safe behind his barriers in Crescia? If that was truly the case, then having the princess here would not go well. He really hoped that his hunches were wrong for once.

"No." Evie's reply was unexpected unfazed. "I will go. My husband is fighting all by himself in there. I'm certain that he needs me, even if he would not admit it." There was not even a single hint of doubt in her voice. Causing Zanya and Zolan to quietly sigh in surrender. It was obvious they could not stop her. The princess is determined on going into that dangerous place for her husband. They were not surprised though. As the princess could even find a way to break the barriers that had been placed to keep her within Crescia, what would stop her from entering once she was already at the gates of the dungeons?

Somehow, this reminded them about that time when their princess had also insisted on entering the dungeon when their prince had gone berserk. It was impossible to stop her. Therefore, they did not raise anymore objections to her entering this place. They could see the same determination in her face now, if not more than previously.

"Let's go in then." She then faced the entrance bravely.

Samuel, Leon and Zanya entered first, and Evie and the rest followed a few steps behind them.

…

In the deepest parts of the imperial palace's dungeon, Gavrael was standing there. His body was littered with wounds, both big and small, his clothes had already been completely drenched with blood, mostly from his enemy's blood. However, with such intense fights, there was no way around him getting injured as well. His dark magic was oozing like a cloud of miasma around him, undulating in waves as though it were a living thing. Anyone who laid eyes on it would be terrified at the sight. His eyes were now a combination of burning scarlet red and a bright sapphire blue.