HP - Shadow Monarch!

[Chapter Size: 2100 Words.]

Third Person POV

Romania.

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...

A gargoyle's body fell, shattered on the ground, while Snape stood still in front of the castle's garden, observing the area filled with statues and creatures that surrounded the fortress. As soon as Snape set foot in the garden, the statues began to rise, their eyes glowing as the defense system of the place was activated.

In that moment, countless gargoyles and stone soldiers began descending from the rooftops, where they had stood as sentinels and ornaments of the castle, while others emerged from the castle doors. The stone soldiers aligned themselves in an organized manner, while the gargoyles, acting as the beasts they were, charged ahead to face Snape.

Snape calmly observed the scene as his sword reappeared, retrieved from his inventory. He positioned himself for the fight. The first gargoyle that lunged at him was sliced in half. More followed, but Snape used his wand in his left hand for strategic teleportation and long-range attacks, while wielding his sword in his right hand for close combat.

With a single movement, Snape teleported above two gargoyles, decapitating them. Their bodies fell to the ground, shattering into pieces. However, at least fifty more gargoyles were still advancing towards him, while hundreds of soldiers marched in his direction.

The battle between Snape and Dracula's castle defense system had begun. Despite the overwhelming number of enemies, Snape adeptly teleported around the battlefield, eliminating them at strategic points. It didn't take long before the last enemy fell. The garden of Dracula was now filled with the debris of defeated creatures.

Finally, he entered the castle, curiously observing the reception hall. Not sensing any other presence there, he focused on finding the painting, which he knew was somewhere within. Closing his eyes momentarily, he felt its presence on the top floor.

'I see, but I don't sense anyone powerful here...' Snape wondered.

At that moment, a pair of eyes appeared, watching him from afar—surprised and enraged. The next moment, they moved toward the castle, coming from the direction where he had battled Rosaria.

The window above the entrance door shattered as someone crashed down in front of Snape. He remained in place, waiting for the individual to present themselves.

With an explosion of shadows, the atmosphere shifted. A shadowy figure appeared before Snape, its red eyes much darker and more menacing than Rosaria's, exuding an aura far more dangerous than hers.

"You dare enter my house, human?" a distorted voice came from the figure, its gaze fixed on Snape, noting the lack of fear in him—a somewhat surprising reaction for Dracula.

"So, you are the vampire at the top of your kind, Dracula…" Snape commented, observing him with a hint of interest.

"You are a different kind of human, just as my daughter said… but it seems you know who I am and still came to this place. For centuries, I have not been challenged by humans or wizards. This surprises me, though only slightly. However, I do not care about my daughter's request not to harm you. You have invaded my property, and I must deal with you accordingly," his voice continued.

As he finished speaking, Dracula's aura grew darker still. His eyes glowed bright red, and the dim light in the room diminished further, leaving the candles flickering weakly. His mere presence dominated the environment.

To Dracula, his anger was justified: he no longer troubled the human world, yet this human dared to invade his castle and attempt to steal something that was a gift from his daughter, Rosaria, bought during her visit to England.

Dracula was irritated for two reasons: first, Snape's audacity in trying to rob him. Second, the fact that this human had somehow caught his daughter's attention. As a father, he intended to deal with him.

Snape, however, remained calm and unwavering. He had no idea about the second reason, nor did he seem to care. The first, however, he admitted to. After all, he needed the painting to grow stronger—his only way to combat the other guardians with monarch powers was to harness the power of the Shadow Monarch.

In response to Dracula's aura, Snape's eyes began to glow with an intense bluish light, and a dark aura emanated from him, rivaling Dracula's darkness.

"This... A human possesses such power?" Dracula's voice became distorted and demonic, carrying a hint of surprise at the strength radiating from Snape's aura. The two auras clashed, colliding as if vying for dominance.

At that moment, Rosaria entered the room, worried, to see if her father had killed Snape. However, upon witnessing the scene, she was shocked. She saw her father in his most dangerous form, beginning to transform and unleash his true essence as the most powerful vampire in the world, dark energy coursing through him. Snape, on the other hand, remained in his human form but was enveloped by an aura of darkness she had seen before—now much stronger—with his intensely glowing blue eyes at its center.

Rosaria stood still for a moment, swallowing hard as she watched the two facing off. She decided to try and stop it.

"Father! Snape! Stop this!" she exclaimed, but neither of them heard her. Both remained locked on each other, oblivious to what was happening around them.

The next moment, Rosaria could only see the two move at incredible speed, colliding with each other. Snape brought his sword up, directly blocking Dracula's claws. Dracula did not relent, using his strength in this form. His elongated claws gleamed as he gazed at Snape with a face now more beastly, with longer teeth.

Even in this form, Dracula was rational and couldn't help but be surprised by the human's strength, though he said nothing about it. His focus remained solely on attacking the man before him.

He saw Snape raise his wand and fire a spell point-blank, which narrowly missed as Dracula dodged swiftly and lunged to strike. Snape vanished before the attack landed, reappearing at Dracula's side, hurling his sword directly at him. Dracula deflected the blow with his claws.

"This sword... it is dangerous. You truly came prepared, human," Dracula said in his distorted, deep voice.

Snape didn't respond. He felt himself shoved backward by the vampire, landing several meters away but remaining steady.

"He's strong. Too strong," thought Snape, surprised at losing the strength contest. "However, he's not as fast as I am," he concluded, preparing to continue the fight.

Rosaria could only watch as the two moved again, the hall erupting around them. She had to shield herself, as the battle was far beyond her capabilities.

"Damn, how is this happening?" she murmured, lost in thought, knowing she couldn't interfere in the fight. Rosaria knew Snape had exceeded her expectations, but she was also fully aware that he would never be as strong as her father.

Around the hall, the bodies of lamias, zombies, and stone gargoyles lay scattered. Explosions continued to erupt from within the castle walls. Windows shattered, and massive bricks fell as Snape and Dracula kept up their intense battle. Snape combined quick spells, like lightning, with physical strikes that no ordinary human or vampire could perform. Even so, Dracula was agile, defending and counterattacking with sharp instincts, allowing him to gain the upper hand at times, despite Snape's troublesome teleportation.

Snape bore several cuts on his body, blood flowing more than from Dracula, who was also injured by the human's sword. The battle escalated to the second floor of the castle, more explosions erupting as they moved, eventually reaching the third floor. During the confrontation, Snape blocked an attack from Dracula's claws, stepping back and throwing his sword forward. It grazed Dracula's face, leaving a superficial cut. Dracula reacted swiftly, wiping the wound with his hand before counterattacking with his claws, striking Snape's armor and catching him off guard.

The impact sent Snape crashing into the ceiling, which exploded around him, propelling him upwards several floors with the force of Dracula's blow. The basilisk-hide armor protected Snape from fatal injuries, but even so, he was thrown violently.

Preparing himself again several floors above, Snape saw Dracula advancing at incredible speed. Snape attempted to teleport, but Dracula, with his heightened instincts, seemed capable of predicting where he would reappear.

They continued ascending through the castle, with Rosaria following behind. Finally, they stopped on the top floor, where her father's quarters were located. Rosaria observed the explosions around them, peering through the dust to see Snape and Dracula standing opposite each other.

"You..." Dracula murmured, his voice inhuman, befitting his current form. "You brought me here on purpose?"

"Yes..." Snape did not deny it, his gaze fixed on the painting he had been seeking, now directly ahead. However, the vampire stood in his way, glaring at him as if he would not allow him to pass.

[You have unlocked the entrance to the dungeon! Simply enter it to begin the quest: Dungeon of the Trial of the God of Death.]

He no longer needed keys or anything similar. Suddenly, the painting, which had depicted a dungeon door, began emitting energy. This made Dracula pause, surprised, and even Rosaria was startled. Her eyes turned to Snape, who appeared to be affecting the painting in some way.

"That's why... that's why you wanted it so badly!" Rosaria thought, questioning what that item truly was.

Snape was bleeding heavily from the cuts inflicted by Dracula. This creature was beyond anything he had ever faced. He knew he couldn't continue much longer, but he also had no idea what awaited him behind that door.

Taking advantage of Dracula's momentary distraction, Snape quickly accessed his system. He increased his physical attributes, spending the recent points he had accumulated, and opened another tab where he found an item he had not yet used. He activated the instant healing reward from a previous daily quest. In the next moment, all his wounds began to close, and a soft glow emanated from his body.

Dracula turned his gaze, surprised to see Snape recovering so quickly.

Snape, now rejuvenated, pointed his wand forward. A thick smoke emerged from the tip, advancing toward Dracula. Rosaria, upon seeing it, was stunned.

"That's... not smoke—it's a storm cloud!" Rosaria exclaimed, realizing that Snape was unleashing a cloud charged with lightning.

It was one of the storm spells Snape had developed. Dracula felt the lightning surrounding him and tried to retreat, but it was already too late. The entire floor became enveloped by the storm. The next moment, the lightning within it began to surge, and the whole area lit up brilliantly.

Rosaria fell back as the electricity filled the floor. Windows shattered, and the devastating magic seemed to consume everything around it.

Dracula emerged from the destruction, unable to fully escape. His body was covered in burns, and lightning still crackled around him.

"This human...!" he growled, furious.

The next moment, Snape darted past him, heading straight for the painting, which remained intact despite the surrounding destruction.

"I won't let you do this!" Dracula exclaimed, charging quickly. He managed to grab Snape, but Snape turned and broke free from his grip with surprising ease. Before Dracula could react, Snape landed a punch on his chest. The impact was so powerful that the floor beneath them shattered, collapsing the lower levels. Dracula fell with tremendous force, his bones breaking as he crashed through the floors below, stunned by the blow.

"He's become... even stronger...!" Dracula thought, struggling to comprehend what was happening and how a human could surpass him.

With Dracula incapacitated, Snape advanced toward the painting. As he reached it, he felt his body being pulled in. He disappeared into the painting, leaving the chaos behind.

[Dungeon entry initiated. Welcome to the quest: Dungeon of the Trial of the God of Death.] the system announced.

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