From the surrounding shadows, an army imps, numbering in the thousands erupted like a surging, pitch-black tidal wave.
Calling them a mere swarm was an understatement—it was a carpet of screeching, winged malice.
With demonic, clattering laughter that grated against the nerves, the horde descended upon the duo.
Lao Shi reacted instantly.
With a swift flick of his wrist, he conjured a swirling bubble of pressurized wind to encase himself.
Leaping directly into the thick of the incoming wave, he spun his staff in a wide, sweeping circle.
A massive, crescent-shaped arc of condensed wind sliced through the air with a deafening whistle.
That single wind blade bisected half the swarm in an instant.
Decapitated torsos, severed limbs, and tattered wings rained down onto the stone floor, painting the crumbling ground in thick, dark blood.
Shrieks of agonizing pain echoed through the rotting air, but the old dragon master didn't spare them a glance. The wind bubble around him remained pristine—he had no intention of letting the filthy blood of low-rank demons stain his robes.
On the other side of the courtyard, Fu Dog moved with practiced efficiency.
Channeling his mystic arts, his paws blurred into a rapid sequence of hand signs.
A shimmering, translucent sphere expanded outward, trapping the remaining half of the swarm within its boundaries.
Once the imps were fully contained, Fu Dog snapped his fingers.
Brilliant, golden lightning erupted inside the sphere. The trapped imps shrieked in absolute terror as the holy energy vaporized them from the inside out.
As the lightning consumed its targets, the golden bubble shrank, imploding until every last speck of dark energy was swallowed and erased from existence.
Silence descended upon the courtyard.
Fu Dog brought his paws together, casually dusting them off as if he had done nothing more than sweep away a cobweb.
The ruthless efficiency of their attack laid bare a simple truth: both of them utterly despised imps.
Unlike pixies—who, despite their mischievous streaks, were ethereal beings with innocent hearts—imps were wild, corrupted shadows of their forest cousins. They were parasitic, cruel, and a perpetual pest in the magical realm.
"Man, talk about handy work," Fu Dog muttered, shaking his head. "It's been way too long since you and I had to clear out a swarm like that. The last time we did was when—"
Fu's voice cut off instantly as a distant memory struck him like a physical blow.
The last time they had fought a horde of imps of this scale, they weren't just fighting pests.
They were fighting her.
Fu's eyes widened in realization, his head snapping over to look at Lao Shi. The old dragon master's face was already set in a hard, grim line. His jaw was clenched tightly; he had reached the exact same conclusion long before Fu had spoken the words aloud.
"Fuck," Fu cursed under his breath.
No orders were needed. Fu reached rapidly into his skin purse, his claws fumbling for the arcane communicator to alert the Guardian Council.
Before his fingers could grasp the device, the entire realm shuddered.
A violent tremor rocked the foundation, far worse than the quake before.
The dark magic saturating the atmosphere spiked, accelerating the decay at a terrifying rate. The surrounding gardens withered into ash within seconds, the black flora crumbling into fine, dark sand that swept across the ground like dust storms.
Above them, the towering crystal castle—already cracked and decaying—suffered a sudden, violent structural failure.
BANG! BOOM! KA-BOOM!
A cascade of dark, explosive force detonated from the interior, shattering the towering spires into millions of black shards.
Plumes of thick, suffocating smoke erupted from the ruins, rapidly spreading across the sky and blotting out what little light remained.
From the peak of the exploding ruins, a dark shape shot into the sky, trailing wisps of pure shadow like a comet.
It hovered briefly before swooping down toward the duo at a terrifying, unnatural speed.
Just as it seemed destined to slam into the earth, the figure decelerated effortlessly, floating downward as gently as a falling leaf.
The dark smog curled around the landing site. Lao Shi and Fu Dog raised their arms, shielding their eyes from the blast of stale wind and dust.
As the air cleared, the figure came into sharp focus. Hovering a few feet above the cracked earth was a woman woven from darkness itself. Her arms were wrapped tightly around her chest in a self-hugging pose, her head dipped low. A low, haunting melody hummed from her throat—a melody that chilled the air around them.
Snap. Snap.
With sickening, bone-twisting sounds, her arms slowly unclasped from her chest. Her neck cracked as she lifted her head, her gaze locking onto the two guardians who had already dropped into rigid battle stances.
The most striking feature of her face was her mouth: a wide, terrifying grin carved into her flesh, filled with rows of needle-like teeth that spanned from ear to ear.
Her skin possessed an unnatural pale teal hue, contrasting sharply with a blackened, jagged texture of decaying flesh framing her lower jaw and neck.
Her eyes burned with large, glowing orange-red irises, the pupils pinned down to tiny black points that radiated a predatory instinct.
Long, chaotic strands of dark blue-black hair floated around her shoulders as if suspended in water.
She wore an elaborate, dark gothic gown complete with a high ruffled collar, flared sleeves, and a tight corseted waist laced with metallic buckles and straps.
This was Gnathia, the Tooth Seeker. A twisted, nightmarish perversion of the Tooth Fairy—and worst of all, Tathiana's twin sister.
(IMAGE)
Seeing this horror standing before them again was a harsh reminder of just how cruel the universe could be.
Gnathia hovered in the air, tilting her head at an awkward, unnatural angle as she surveyed the pair. A raspy, demonic purr laced her voice.
"Well, well, well," she mocked, her voice echoing as if two people were speaking at once. "If it isn't the overgrown lizard master and his ugly little pet."
"Swallow your sweet talk, witch," Lao Shi snapped, his voice ringing with absolute firmness as he tightened his grip on his staff. "Where is Tathiana? What have you done to her?"
Lao Shi already dreaded the answer. The level of decay in this realm spoke volumes about what must have transpired.
Beside him, Fu Dog's body tensed, golden mystic energy crackling faintly around his paws, ready to engage at a fraction of a second's notice.
At the mention of the name, the mock amusement vanished from Gnathia's face. A hideous, scowling contortion twisted her features into a mask of pure, unadulterated rage.
"Again..." she hissed, her voice rising to a shrill pitch. "Again, her name! Again with her! Again, again, again, AGAIN! AAAAAAAAHHH!"
Gnathia shrieked in fury, the sound tearing through the silent realm.
A violent shockwave of dark energy erupted from her body, surging outward like a bursting dam. The ambient shadows twisted and writhed in response to her anger, gathering around her floating form.
"YOU DARE TO KILL MY CHILDREN!" she screamed, her glowing red eyes flaring with murderous intent. "YOU DARE TO INSULT ME! AND YOU FUCKING DARE TO MENTION HER BEFORE ME?! ME?!"
The shadow energy surrounding her condensed, sharpening into hundreds of hovering, razor-sharp blades made of solid darkness.
"I WILL DEVOUR YOU AND THIS WRETCHED WORLD!"
************
AN: Hey everyone. Author here. I am extremely sorry for such a long delay to my stories. the truth is that I have been distracted these days since I was reading a couple of web novels that have garnered my attention.
There were addicting enough for me to stop updating and read 30+ chapters per day. And let's not forget some other good fanfics that I have been in my library that I have been reading from other authors too.
So, once again, please forgive me.
Oh, one more thing. I am also writing an original web novel of mine.
Anyway. hope you guys will accept my apology and if you want to know about the web novels I have been reading then leave your comments here.
I once again apologize for the delay and hope you guys have a safe life.