Vampires were a very rare race in the Demon World, and most Devils would find it difficult to meet one in their entire lifetime.
In the Demon World, a bloodline's rarity was directly proportional to its strength, and the Vampire bloodline happened to be among the strongest.
However, this was not the only reason behind their rarity.
The other—and perhaps more important—reason was that Vampires were not native to the Demon World.
According to legend, Vampires were creatures from another world, a world that was invaded by the Demon World in the past.
Their Ancestor—their strongest member at the time—sensed the danger and, without hesitation, betrayed their native world, surrendering and falling to the Demon World's embrace.
Since then, Vampires had become a race of Devils, fully integrated into the Demon World's ecosystem.
Although rare, due to their unique traits, information regarding this race was still preserved within the Devils' inherited memories.
Just as in the legends, Vampires could manipulate blood, control the undead, and summon strange familiars.
Fitting for his race, the moment Lord Embers revealed his true appearance, he cast an ability infamous in the Demon World—Blood Curse.
Drops of blood shot out from his palm toward their respective owners and drilled into the bodies of the stunned Devils.
Nothing seemed to have happened at first, but panic and horror flashed across their faces.
"You actually tampered with the Devil Contract?", one of them asked, sensing impending doom.
The Devils all realized that Lord Embers had used the blood they had offered during the contract's signing process as a medium—a medium to curse them.
Faced with their horror, the smile on Lord Ember's face only grew wider.
"Only idiots like you who have never seen the world would dare to leave your blood behind. The Devils in the real Demon World would never do such a foolish thing.", he said mockingly.
"I should thank you all. Without your contributions, clearing out the whole city would have been impossible."
The moment he finished speaking, dark mist burst out from each Devil's body and transformed into all kinds of disgusting bugs.
As if these bugs had not eaten for years, they pounced on their "creators".
Chewing and biting followed as the Devils found it impossible to defend themselves.
The attacking power of Blood Curse was not overwhelming, but having used their blood as a medium, its true effect proved to be terrifying.
In the blink of an eye, whether it was the strong, simple-minded Armored Devil or the cunning, seemingly unfathomable elderly Devil, all of them were gone.
Their flesh and blood were devoured by the mosquitoes, ants, and flies, leaving only their empty skeletons behind.
"Aagh!", a loud shriek broke the silence, and a swarm of bats flew out from Lord Ember's body.
The bats merged together only a few meters away from him, taking a human appearance and transforming into the Inn Keeper.
However, at this time, the Inn Keeper's condition wasn't good at all.
His ever-grinning face now twisted with pain and horror as he faced Lord Embers pleadingly.
"Lord, save me! I'm your most trusted subordinate! Save me—", he begged loudly, but the next moment, his body exploded.
This scene was quite familiar, and it was exactly what had happened to the Serpent Devil.
Clearly, although the Inn Keeper hadn't personally attacked any of the Devils, his silent contribution was noticed by the Demon World, which decided to punish him accordingly.
The punishment was very simple: death.
Watching the subordinate who had followed him for many years die, Lord Embers remained indifferent.
Collecting the floating souls around him, he casually stored them away before turning to the Two-Headed Devil.
From the moment Lord Embers landed on the ground to the Inn Keeper's death, barely a few seconds had passed.
The Two-Headed Devil had yet to react.
"I need to thank you, too. Without your threat, gathering all these Devils and setting up this scheme would have been nearly impossible."
Lord Embers addressed the Two-Headed Devil, but while mid-speech, he noticed something strange.
"Huh? Did a lucky bug escape?", he questioned, turning toward the city's walls, where a single figure now stood.
He was somewhat familiar with this figure—it was Liora.
"Did you take your blood back when signing the Devil Contract? Or do you have some way to counter the Blood Curse?", he whispered, then shook his head.
"It doesn't matter. One Devil more, one Devil less... it makes no difference now.", Lord Embers said and leaned down.
An eerie gray light flashed in his right palm as he pressed his hand on the ground and whispered:
"Arise!"
Although his voice was low, it echoed everywhere, resounding throughout the city and the surrounding area.
His words carried a seemingly strange power, as the moment he finished speaking, the entire city trembled violently.
As if struck by an earthquake, the uneven buildings shook and the ground split open, forming deep cracks along its way.
The crimson sky darkened as if night had arrived, and dark mist spread, making the area seem ominous and horrifying.
Clicking and cracking noises sounded, and bones colliding were heard.
The next moment, something awakened.
Hands made of bones reached out from the ground and pushed against it, climbing out and revealing their skeletal forms.
At the same time, the fresh corpses of the Devils who had just died also changed.
Their flesh and blood fell off, turning them into complete skeletons, and with a flicker of gray light in their eyes, they rose.
Even the powerful Devils slain by the Blood Curse rose again as undead, an unintelligent gray flame flickering in their empty eye sockets.
"Hahahaha!", a thunderous, eerie laughter spread throughout the city, and the always composed Lord Embers suddenly lost his cool.
Staring at the result of his hard work, he beamed with joy, unable to contain his excitement.
"Finally! Finally... It's done!", he couldn't help but mutter with a wild, crazy smile on his face.
But when his eyes landed on the last survivor in the city—Liora—a cruel look appeared on his face.
"Kill her!", he commanded coldly, and in response, the countless undead rushed over, like a well-coordinated army. Their target? Liora.
Lord Embers didn't join them. Instead, he turned to the Two-Headed Devil.
As he did, the nails on his hand turned longer, gleaming with a sharp light, as he launched himself forward.
"It's time for round two.", he growled, soaring into the sky.