Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

With the troop of vampires in tow, Seth quickly reached the edge of the vampire land. The difference wasn't big. Looking down from the cliff that separated the vampires' land from the rest of the beyond like an island in the sea, he saw a dark desert of gray dust.

If it wasn't for the black pieces of shrubbery that bore witness to some previous existence of life, the vampires' land was no different from this desert anymore. This desert was what their land would also turn into at some point, the land of the beyond, where the twisted remnants of previous victims would wander aimlessly.

"Genevieve, you lead the way." Seth instructed.

While the blacksmith rode off the back of Puffles, the vampires ran along, keeping up with the Ivicer's speed. Even with the huge crowd of over 500 people, they were not slowed down.

Although the situation was dire, Seth had to admit that this would have been almost cool, if they didn't look like a clown troop with all these mostly mismatched and colorful armor pieces.

"We are soon entering the territory of the shaggy people." the vampiress called out from the front.

The blacksmith had no idea how she knew this, as he couldn't see any kind of landmarks. But he also didn't bother to think much about it. He periodically kept checking their direction with his cloak to make sure she wasn't leading them in the wrong direction.

On the way, they had not met any kind of creature, but after crossing the invisible border more scattered creatures appeared in the vicinity. The strength varied a lot, but none could compete with the freshly fed vampires. Since they easily dispatched them, the blacksmith left it to vampires to clean their path at first.

However, as they kept going in the direction of Sigma the beasts became denser and denser. After some time, it was hard to tell how many hours exactly they had been traveling, but Seth could finally see some light in the darkness.

With his pendant's <Clairvoyance> he could see a dim light in the distance, this had to be the dome-like barrier of sigma. By this time their speed had slowed. There were simply too many enemies, it was like a wall of meat that stood in their way.

They were still kilometers away from Sigma, but the whole region was filled with an army of hairy beasts and others that were scrambling over each other to get there.

It was hard cutting a way through these things, and the crowd only became denser. Even the golem knights didn't help a lot in quickening their pace. Of course, Seth could have started letting Puffles and Tatzel help. Or the other strong golems like Ceres and Wolfram.

But the blacksmith had a better solution.

Although these things could help strengthen the golems a little by absorbing the attributes with their weapons, they didn't hold any experience. There was no need to preserve their souls, so there was no reason to hold back on them.

~Are you sure about that? The great me is a lot better than her.~ the Ivicer argued.

~But you can't carry all of them. They might still be of use later on.~

~Yay!~ Tatzel contributed in anticipation.

"Everyone to me." the exclaimed.

Suddenly, the twilight of the Beyond was broken apart by pale blue light. The group of vampires surrounding Seth and the row of beasts they were currently fighting was encircled by a wall of fire that kept out the rest of the army surrounding them.

Those creatures that stood in the middle of the initial wall of flames still had the best fate as they directly turned to ashes.

"What is this!" the vampires called out in terror, seeing the hairy beasts catch fire like tinder.

The mindless beasts of the Beyond started screeching in terror, fear, and pain when touched by the eerie flames. As the fire greedily devoured their bodies they started running in panic, distributing the fire among their allies.

This was the great thing about fire. Seth only sustained the ring with mental power using his <Pyromancy>. The flames that started searing its way through the horde of beasts, fueled themselves.

"Is that your doing?" Vlad asked perplexed, unable to look away from the bright fire, licking up to the sky.

"It's a little early to be surprised," he told Vlad before turning to the crowd.

"We are changing the plan a little. I'm calling a friend now, don't start panicking," he warned the stumped vampires.

The next moment, a huge snake appeared from the ground beneath their feet. It was so huge, that even the confident vampires cowered in its overpowering presence.

Python, Seth's strongest golem and original mom of Tatzel lifted her giant head and observed the situation. Her presence had only strengthened since the time during the evaluation since Seth had left her to her own devices during the time they were home.

The reincarnation of a divine beast had spent her time hunting in the mountains, sometimes with Tatzel, often alone. Seth had no idea what level she was now, but she had definitely grown stronger.

~Again, you did not call me out for a fight, correct?~

The blacksmith heard her mental sigh. He couldn't help it. It was hard meeting enemies that would need him to call Python to fight them.

~Correct, please open your mouth and let them board.~ Seth asked her politely.

The giant snake rolled her crystal eyes and lowered the armored skill to the ground.

"Okay, everyone, please enter Python. She will carry us for the rest of the way." Seth said like it was absolutely natural to just board a giant skeleton golem like it was a carriage.

The vampires were insecure at first, but at the bards urging they slowly started getting into the golem. That Vlad played the example and walked in first also helped them get over their aversion.

All vampires, even Genevieve, entered the snake. Seth on the other hand took a seat on her head. While Puffles returned to the pet space for some rest, Tatzel took the chance to sit beside Seth and travel on his mom, with his mom.

As much as the snakelet was looking forward to the journey, Seth was up there because he had a task. When Python was their bullet train, that would transport the troops, Seth was the one building the rails for her.

The random spreading of fire among the beasts was a nice side effect but not the crux of the matter.

He switched the Wraithguard back to his second Glove of the Firespirit before concentrating for a moment. Oz appeared playing a solemn melody as Seth started humming.

The vampires inside Python did not resist, as the music lulled them into a sweet trance. As the demonic tune entered their ears, it pictured an image of their childhood. One that never happened.

Sitting there for hours, staring into open flame. Something in it had a power, they could barely tear their eyes away. A whisper then entered their little ears. A voice spoke to them.

"All you have now, is the fire and the place it needs to reach. Don't you ever tame your demons, but try keep 'em on a leash."

In their dream, they lived a life enraptured by the fire and their peace always depended on the ashes in their wake. This was the dream of a demon, a lullaby for an arsonist. And as the vampire sunk into the demon's dream, Seth was filled with power.

This lullaby was the Dream of Xaphan, a demon Seth had already connected to on a previous occasion. This time the bard did nothing crazy and the soothing music and dreaming vampires were reciprocated with a steady stream of power.

While his listeners were sourcing him the power, Seth lifted his arm and swung it down in a chop. A straight wall of fire rose from the ground, splitting the sea of bodies before them. Spreading his arms far apart, the wall split into two, opening a free road for Python to travel along.

<Ding! Your Title: "Arsonist lv.2" had evolved into "Pyromaniac". " You have inspired others to become Arsonists." All fire-related skills are strengthened. >

<Ding! Your skill <Pyromancy lv. 9> had become <Pyromancy lv. Max>! >

With the level of the skill and the improvement of his title, the flames suddenly exploded with power, as the efficiency increased even further. The walls cascaded away from the path he created, covering the beasts on both sides in tsunamis of fire.

Ravenously the flames started devouring and the blacksmith felt inadvertently reminded of the past. His very first time, when the flames spread like a wildfire through Alpha.

Just that it wasn't streets filled with grass this time, but an army of monsters vanishing in a blaze.