The air inside the temple cooled instantly as the crimson pillar of light began to fade, the intense heat replaced by a bone-deep chill.
What remained was a figure that seemed to drink in the shadows.
He was massive, standing nearly seven feet tall, clad in jagged plate armor the color of glossy blood. Each edge looked forged for slaughter, not ceremony.
He didn't just look like a warrior.
He looked like a relic dragged out of a forgotten war.
'Fuck… how can someone look this terrifying while kneeling?' Leo thought, his breath hitching in his throat as the sheer pressure of the aura washed over him. The weight of it was oppressive, a physical force that made his skin prickle and his heart hammer against his ribs. 'So this is an epic-grade summon… no wonder people lose their minds over them. This guy looks like he could level a city block just by standing up.'
The knight knelt on one knee, claymore grounded, head bowed.
"I am Malphas," he rumbled, his voice like two stones grinding together. "The Crimson Aegis of the Lost Bloodline. I have slumbered within the Void for ten thousand years, awaiting the call of the First Blood."
He raised his head slightly.
"My life, my blade, and my soul belong to you, Lord Mordrak."
A system panel flickered into existence.
[GUARDIAN PROFILE]
Name: Malphas
Title: The Crimson Aegis
Grade: 4 Star (Epic-Class Sovereign)
Class: Guardian / Commander
Manifested Rank: E-Rank
Loyalty: Absolute
[Core Attributes]
Strength: High |Endurance: Very High| Agility: Moderate| Mental Will: High | Aether capacity: High
[Abilities]
Blood Fortress (Active): Creates a 10-meter blood barrier. All damage directed at the Lord is transferred to Malphas. Duration scales with rank.
Commander's Will (Passive): Minor Units gain increased morale and coordination while Malphas is present.
Executioner's Swing (Combat): A heavy vertical strike that amplifies physical damage and partially ignores armor.
Sanguine Link (Passive): Allows shared vision and telepathic communication within a 100 km radius
Authority: Sealed
[Memory State]
Integrity: 37 percent
Note: Epic grade summons are sovereign-class entities. Their power derives from authority and legacy, not raw rank.
**
Leo remembered a single line he had read in the folder Laura gave him back on Earth. An Epic-class summon can overturn a battlefield in an instant. The higher their rank, the more terrifying they become. Most Lords were lucky to start with a Common or Uncommon guard, someone who could barely hold a spear.
'Oof… my gamble really paid off,' Leo thought, feeling a tight knot of exhilaration in his chest.
"Rise, Malphas," Leo commanded.
His voice felt different when he spoke. Heavier. Sharper.
As the knight stood, towering over him, Leo felt a strange resonance in his chest. It was a pull of the blood, an instinctual recognition that vibrated through his bones. It felt like two pieces of a broken mirror being brought back together.
''Are you... a vampire?'' Leo asked, his voice softening as he studied the knight.
"Yes, my Lord," Malphas replied.
He removed his helmet.
Long white hair fell to his shoulders, identical in shade to Leo's own. Crimson eyes burned calmly beneath sharp features.
Leo froze for a moment, his breath catching. He had never seen someone who looked like this. Someone who mirrored his own unique, often mocked features so closely. All his life, Leo had been the odd one out, the boy with the 'ghostly' hair and the 'unsettling' eyes. Some envied his looks, while others used them as a reason to isolate him.
This was the first time he saw himself reflected… without judgment.
"How much do you remember?" Leo asked quietly.
"Only the fundamentals, my Lord," Malphas replied. "My instincts. My skills. My oath."
'Better than a mindless construct,' Leo thought, nodding.
"Scout the area," Leo said. "Do not cross the outer barrier."
"As you command."
The moment the knight was out of sight, Leo's stoic mask shattered. He punched the air, a manic grin splitting his face.
"Hell yeah! A god-tier bodyguard on day one!" He took a moment to steady his racing heart. "Control yourself, Leo. You're a Lord now. Can't have the others seeing you geek out."
His gaze drifted to the statue at the heart of the temple.
At his will, another interface opened.
[Territory | Guardian | Chat | Trade | Map]
"So this is it," Leo muttered. "Chat for information. Trade for resources."
He tapped Guardian.
[Guardian Status]
Name: Seraphine Noctyra
Grade: Sealed
Status: Dormant
Guardian Blessing: Within controlled territory grounds, the Lord and blood race will not experience hunger, thirst, or blood starvation.
Note: Upgrade your guardian to unlock further blessings and awaken them.
Upgrade Requirement: Establish territory as a Settlement(Lv 1 )
"I knew guardians start dormant," Leo murmured. "But sealed grade… that's new."
He leaned back, stretching.
"Alright. Let's see how everyone else is handling this."
A grin tugged at his lips.
"It's been a few hours already."
Leo opened the chat.
[Regional Channel]
Region Size: 2,000 × 2,000 km
Population: Lords originating from your home planet only
Description: This channel allows Lords from the same home planet within the same region to communicate and trade freely.
Notes: Other races operate in separate planetary channels
Regions are isolated during the early stages
Cross-region interaction unlocks later
The chat screen detonated into motion.
Text flooded his vision in a frantic cascade, lines stacking over one another faster than he could read. A hundred thousand lives, colliding at once, each realization louder than the last.
It wasn't a conversation.
It was panic.
[Channel 86]
[User: BigDog69]: HELP! My Guardian is a giant rock with a face, and it won't stop SCREAMING! There are wolves outside! Does anyone have a gun?!
[User: Princess Luna]: Does anyone know how to use a 'Talent'?
[User: Mercenary Kim]: Listen up. Stop crying. If you want to live, leave the barrier and hunt. I just skinned a rat. Meat is meat.
[User: Steven L]: Silence, peasants. I am Steven Lockwood. I've already awakened a high-grade talent. Survival will not be an issue for me.
[User: Anonymous]: Is it true? Someone pulled an S-rank talent in our region?
[User: GodChild_7]: How do you even check our region? Where are we??
A new name appeared. Calm. Unhurried.
[User: Elias Crowe]: Open the map. Each region has its own mission.
Every new lords placed in the same region to avoid old lords taking advantage of the new generation of lords.
"Wow, 2,000 × 2,000 km is a region, not a continent."
Leo snickered, leaning back against the cold marble of the statue. The chaos felt… strangely satisfying. Watching panic unfold from a safe distance had its perks.
Elias Crowe,' Leo thought, scrolling through chat. 'Only one actually using his head.'
He flicked open the map interface.
[Map]
Region: Umbral Expanse
Feature: Displays the current territory radius and the real-time location of your subjects.
Region Mission: An S-rank artifact has manifested at the center of the Umbral Expanse. Be the first Lord to reach and claim it.
Leo whistled softly.
"So that's how Origin filters us," he muttered. "Dangle a bone and watch who bleeds for it."
It made sense. Stagnation wasn't allowed here. You either moved forward… or you were culled.
He closed the interface and stepped toward the temple entrance.
"Well," Leo said with a crooked grin, flexing his fingers, "I don't mind chasing bones."
Beyond the guardian temple, the land stretched wide and hostile. No walls. No safety. Just open ground and distant movement.
Leo took his first step into the Umbral Expanse.
"Let's start."