Pestilence: Rise Of The Pure Undead

A whole year passed since the fight between gold and death began, and it was precisely at that time that the dark keep in the Emerald Realm saw new movement, ever since The Song and Eclipse showed themselves, nothing had changed, the two disaster beasts had remained doing the exact same thing for all of these months without stop, and without any deviation.

Many times, some were tempted to just launch an attack upon the undeads, but in the end, they knew well that they did not have the means to be the aggressors, the barrier was being erected, but without some of the great minds who had conceived the first one, it paled in comparison to the original, even after so much time spent nurturing it, the barrier still felt insufficient.

And yet, it was then that something occurred, several, dire presences suddenly manifested within the realm, causing the two disaster beasts to suddenly move out of view, simply disappearing from sight, until instead of them, The Affliction appeared, the putrescent dragon fly high upon into the sky, remaining above a congress of undeads that approached the barrier.

This all occurred moments after the emerald sun set and left place to the moon, this group of undead was odd however, in the sense that it was made up of knights and soldiers the emerald folks had never seen before, they sported dark red capes and cloaks, the symbol of what looked like a red sun was sported over several places.

The main weapon being carried around were pikes and spears, at the head of the group was a distinctive figure bearing a cloak that was both dark red, and black, the materials used for the cloak, which wrapped around the person's body completely seemed nobler as well.

This individual was wearing what appeared to be a visored sallet helm, decorated with hints of gold and silver, it was revealed that the same was true for the rest of their armour as they stopped before the barrier, and rose one hand out of their cloak, the group of undeads stopping instantly in their tracks.

Out of the tight ranks of knights, an undead garbed in black robes and wearing only a chest piece and a steel mask as armour stepped forward, speaking out with a refined tone.

"Greetings, livings of the Emerald Realm! I, Malro, am speaking in the stead of my lord" he motioned toward the figure that had led the undead here, but it was not like anyone had doubted that the guy standing at the front and that looked different from everyone else was important.

"As per previous agreements between my lord and Champion Loimos, now that a year has passed since the latter has been away and unable to fulfill his duties as general of the vanguard, my lord will now take over the invasion and blessing of your realm!" the undead called Malro exclaimed.

"Now, if you would please all step outside so that you may be freed from your curse, it would be lovely- If not, then we shall storm inside to accomplish our sacred duty, you have five minutes to make a decision" giving an ultimatum in the exact same tone as he said everything else, the undead acting as a mouthpiece of the lord casually waved his hands around.

But surprisingly, the lord in question rose one hand again, causing the speaker to shrink back into the ranks of the knights as his lord took a few steps forward.

"Do forgive Malro's hastiness, I have merely stepped forward today to let you know that your end is near, that barrier… It is feeble, it will not hold for long if under assault, if you insist on staying within, then it is inevitable that my troops will have to shatter it and take the fight into your cities and towers, the destruction will be great, and your demise surely painful and full of regrets… Let us play a game instead, a war game, if you will" the mysterious undead lord did not present himself, and simply began to speak, his voice was low and quiet, but it seemed like all that were meant to hear it, could do so clearly.

He did not await any answer and kept going.

"Soon, undeads of great caliber will arrive into this realm, tone might say that they are quite the admirers of Champion Loimos, they will seek to clash and kill without delay, if you can resist their individual assaults without crumbling, I shall make the Emerald Realm a temporary living territory, you will simply have to furnish living soldiers to the empire, and you shall be left alone with only this condition for the next century, do you agree to this little game?"

As the undead lord finished speaking, just on the other side of the barrier, two figures emerged, illuminated by moonlight.

"And how shall we trust in your word on this matter? Forgive the distrust, but your Loimos guy was not one to actually uphold agreements very closely" the beast ancestor spoke first, indeed, the putrid skeleton was capable of rendering any and all agreements or contracts null at any time he desired without the slightest of consequences, and without the other party even knowing about it, although he had kept his word on other occasions, he was basically impossible to trust, and that naturally extended to all other undeads for the emerald folks.

"Heresy! My lord would never lower himself to-" Malro's voice rose in the distance but was eventually muffled as the lord gave courteous bow to the two ancestors.

"My, I am afraid that I was not informed that the leaders of the livings here were such stunning beauties- Forgive my subordinate for the sudden outburst, he used to be my servant when we were both in life still, some habits have remained… But as for your interrogation, I understand, but Loimos is the only one capable of doing so with such ease and without limit, I fear that I can not prove such a thing to you two however, I will have to ask to trouble you and trust in my character"

The sun ancestor glanced at her fellow, taken aback as the guy before them was a completely different breed compared to Loimos.

"May I ask for your identity, good sir?" Solzmimi asked, they had learned about notable undeads from the people from outside the realm, so if he was truly an important figure, she would recognise the name.

"Ah, my manners must have decayed away, I forgot to present myself… I am Gravelord Dracula, vampire lord of the flaming blood, and general of the empire core armies- I would have loved to offer you two a chance to become vampires of my blood, but logic dictates that ones with great affinity for beasts and sunlight should share in the blood of vampires separate from I"

As he said this, Dracula removed his helm, revealing a most handsome, and charming, pale visage…