The Vampire King's Toxic Consort (bxb)

Chapter 75 Our Lady's Blessing

Eighteen minutes before the impact in Aeros, Dorian received Roman's urgent message, and he immediately commanded Hanaan el-Salem to open the portal for him to come through to help Lucius.

Daniella blocked his way to the Portal Room, "You can't just leave Eternia like this! We don't know how many Nova Bomb has Anthor built. What if they drop two at the same time?! What if they use this one as bait so they know no one will be in Eternia to launch Elysium in the next hour?"

"No one will know."

"Of course they will know! The whole world knows the history between you and Lucius Rosenfield, and they know you can't resist helping him!"

"Exactly," Dorian said in a calm yet grimly menacing tone, "Even our enemy knows that I cannot sit this one out, Dany. I suggest you move out of my way if you don't want to get hurt."

The Commander straightened her back, squared her shoulder, and refused to falter even though she knew she couldn't stop the King if he insisted.

"No. You told me to always be truthful to you, and I can't watch you make a mistake! You are not just Lucius Rosenfield's spouse! You have responsibilities!"

And the next moment, her throat was in the King's iron grip. Though the force was not harsh, she knew Dorian could crush her neckbone readily and debilitate her long enough for him to go through.

"Do not talk to me about responsibilities! Haven't I done enough for Eternia and this Coalition!"Dorian growled with cold anger, "My family needs me, and they are my ONLY priority now!"

He threw Daniella to the side and marched toward the portal room in the crypt. Hanaan had summoned the portal they had been using repeatedly for the past month, and Dorian entered without hesitation.

Except it wasn't Aeros on the other side of the portal.

The first thing that hit him was the smell. It wasn't the brisk yet bleak scent of ice and rock but an obnoxious mixture of acid, sulfur, gasoline, rotten meat, and a general odor of something burned to the crisp.

The ground beneath his feet was covered in a black, oily substance, and on its surface floated an eerie, iridescent color that moved and changed as if it was something alive. The city around him was burning, and the sky and the sunlight were entirely smothered by thick, poisonous smoke. And behind that thick, almost solid-looking smoke cloud, something colossal and snake-like moved and squirmed.

And then the pandemonium of indiscernible cacophony rushed over him. There was the grumbling ambient base, the leading tone of the excruciating screams, the chords of animalistic growling and roaring, and the occasional timpani of explosion or building collapsing.

It took Dorian a while to recognize the towering ruin standing before him like a charred skeleton of some ancient creature was, in fact, Vermilion Citadel. And the burning city around him was Emberton.

What was going on?

Was this an illusion? But he was the master of Illusory magic, and no one could have bested him on it. He would have been able to tell if it was magic.

He turned around immediately trying to return through the portal, but the portal was gone.

A sharp and quickly approaching scream shook him out of bewilderment. He turned and saw a woman covered in blood, and the black substance sprinted toward him and pleaded in a fanatic voice.

"Help! Help! Please! Help me!!!"

However, before he could react, a giant, vertical mouth opened behind her and smashed close around her head. Her scream came to an abrupt stop as blood and brain matter splashed through the gap between rows after rows of sharp but crooked teeth.