“She’s gone again.”
“Daisy.”
Just as I’d guessed, the Radiant Monastery knights were tracking my [Eternal Night Dash]’s landing points by sensing my aura.
The moment my figure vanished, one of the female knights, Daisy, stopped immediately, focusing to pinpoint my exact location.
Even in the darkness of [Eternal Night Sanctuary], using the techniques taught by the Knight Captain, she sensed the powerful aura almost instantly. “…She went that way.”
But she felt a twinge of doubt—something about the aura seemed off, much weaker than before.
“Daisy, hurry up!”
Urged by her companions, she didn’t dwell on it and quickly followed their lead.
“The aura’s just ahead.”
“Prepare to attack.”
“I’ll flank from the side; you take the front.”
Soon, Daisy’s doubts were answered.
A heavy hammer imbued with holy power descended, and with the glow of golden light, the three knights finally saw their target: three Dark Bat Elites moving in unison.
Daisy instantly understood why the aura had felt weaker, and the other two caught on just as fast.
“We’ve been tricked.”
“Biri and Him are in danger.”
But as they turned to rush back to support the clerics, the three Dark Bat Elites, acting on my orders, weren’t about to let them go easily.
Despite being only level 10, the [Eternal Night Frenzy] effect made them fearless—or rather, as creatures eternally loyal to the Demon King, fear didn’t exist in their vocabulary. They launched a frenzied assault on the knights.
Combined with the countless Dark Bats swarming around, they caused no small amount of trouble.
“Bemira, Daisy, I’ll handle this. Go support the others.”
The knight named Kai slammed her shield forward, knocking a charging Dark Bat Elite back, and called to her companions.
“Stay safe, Captain.”
Without hesitation, the other two turned and rushed toward the clerics. They weren’t fools—they knew how dangerous a Commander-tier BOSS would be for the clerics in this situation.
Seeing the Dark Bats and Elites move to pursue, Kai raised her shield high. A golden light burst from her, spreading rapidly in all directions.
Monsters touched by the light had their aggro pulled, turning to attack Kai—except for the three Dark Bat Elites, which continued chasing the other two knights.
“Your opponent is me.”
As Kai turned to intercept the Dark Bat Elites, a sweet, loli voice suddenly rang in her ear, accompanied by warm breath.
“No, your opponent is me, big sister.”
“!?”
A golden glow struck from the side, forcing me to marvel at the Elite’s reaction speed while deftly retreating to what I considered a safe distance.
“What, surprised to see me?”
Kai’s eyes clearly showed her shock, but as the captain of the Radiant Monastery’s trainee knights, she quickly pieced it together. “This was all your plan?”
“Yup. The moment you realized you’d been tricked, you were already caught in my trap. Everything was within my calculations.”
With a flick of my finger, [Eternal Night]’s scythe-like shadow swept back the surrounding players. I licked my fingertip, flashing my cute fangs. “So, aren’t vampires just so cunning?”
“No, very cute…”
I didn’t expect that response, leaving me to reply with the simplest sound.
“Huh?”
“No matter how you look at it, you’re adorable.” Her serious tone left no doubt about her sincerity.
“W-Wait, even if you say that…” I froze, feeling the blood rushing to my face.
But before my cheeks could fully flush, a [Hammer of Judgment] came flying, turning my shy embarrassment into a burning desire to retort.
“You’re the cunning ones! What happened to the holy light teaching you to match words with actions?!”
“Purifying the unclean is the Radiant Monastery’s duty.”
Kai raised her giant shield to block my incoming shadows, the force pushing her back several steps. “That has nothing to do with me finding Miss Lilina adorable. So please, don’t doubt—a knight never lies.”
“Who cares about that?! Don’t say weird stuff during a fight!”
My cheeks still red, I instinctively commanded [Eternal Night] to morph into several sharp shadows, hurling them at her.
“I’m only stating facts.”
“Shut up!”
A Commander-tier BOSS’s stat advantage is absolute. Even as a level 30 Elite NPC, without her teammates’ coordination, Kai couldn’t withstand my relentless attacks, forced into a defensive stance.
Despite her best efforts, her health bar dropped visibly.
The fight naturally drew the attention of nearby players. Though their vision was limited, it didn’t dampen their enthusiasm for battling the event’s star.
What’s more, my chosen position happened to be right between Starry Myth and Ares’ elite squads.
Even without their leaders’ orders, these players knew what to do, quickly organizing to aid Kai in the fight.
But under [Eternal Night Sanctuary]’s field effect, their numbers paled compared to when I was surrounded earlier. Plus, with reduced visibility, many of the Archers’, Mages’, and Warlocks’ attacks missed me entirely.
Just like most people hate buzzing mosquitoes, the Dark Bats—amped up by my [Eternal Night Domain] and [Eternal Night Sanctuary]—took on the cleanup duty for me.
“Damn, these Dark Bats are so annoying.”
“Where’d the other two knights go?”
“That NPC’s almost out of HP—what do we do?”
“Priests and Paladins, try healing her.”
Following the suggestion, several Priests and Paladins cast healing skills on Kai, but the effects were negligible—combined, they didn’t restore as much as Kai’s own [Holy Healing].
Realizing the situation was grim, or perhaps seeing the players could provide necessary support, Kai fell back several dozen yards, placing her hand on the ground as brilliant golden light began gathering in her palm.
“Adventurers, please hold them off for a moment.”
Seeing the NPC preparing a trump card, Starry Myth and Ares’ elite squad members, under their leaders’ orders, formed a protective ring around Kai. Other players, noticing the commotion, flocked over.
“Underestimating me? I won’t let you pull it off.”
Kai’s sudden retreat caught me off guard, but seeing her actions, I’d be an idiot not to know what to do.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh.
[Eternal Night] transformed into dozens of black roses, surging toward Kai along their veined paths.
But I hadn’t anticipated that dozens of Warriors and Paladins would break through the Dark Bats’ line, using their bodies to block my sure-hit attack.
“Damn it.”
I grimaced, about to deal with these nuisances when a glaring damage number appeared above my head.
Accompanied by a stun marker.