Summoned a Hero But Got a Villain Instead-Chapter 108: The Prophecy Unfolds

The vampire's eyes opened.

Milky whiteness swirled like fog.

At the center, a tiny red pinprick appeared and grew, spreading outward until twin crimson orbs blazed with otherworldly fire.

Ancient eyes. Patient eyes.

The gaze of something that had waited centuries for this moment.

A dry, cracking sound echoed through the cavern.

His lips pulled back into a smile. Pale. Thin. Stretched over yellowed teeth.

As he smiled, his body changed.

The mummified husk filled out. Grey skin gained color—pale, but alive. Bones became covered with thin flesh. He was still broken, still pathetic, but no longer a corpse.

He was alive.

His gaze swept the cavern. Over Dante's summons. Over the terrified princess. Then those burning eyes settled on Dante.

Pure joy flooded those crimson depths.

"Finally," he breathed, voice rough and dry like dead leaves scraping stone. "Finally. We found you."

The happiness in his eyes was unsettling.

"It was true," he whispered, staring up at the dark ceiling as if seeing distant skies. "The prophecy was true."

His voice rose with religious fervor. "Lord! It's beginning! I found him!"

Dante stepped forward, voice dropping to a growl. "Who are you? What is this nonsense?"

The vampire's gaze snapped back. "Tell me—were you summoned by the gods?"

Dante nodded slowly.

"And your parents? Do you know them?"

"I don't remember them."

The vampire laughed. Short. Sharp. Delighted.

"The power you possess," he said, studying Dante, "can rival the gods themselves."

"I wouldn't say that," Dante answered.

Another triumphant laugh. "You are the one," the vampire declared with absolute certainty. "The one who will bring justice. The one who will end their stupid game."

Dante's mind recognized the pattern. He'd seen this in games, in stories. A prophecy. A chosen one. A shadowy organization.

He was standing in the middle of it.

"Please," the vampire said softly. "Join us. Your destiny lies with us."

"What do you want from me?"

"To end the world."

"Are you stupid? Why would I do that?"

The vampire ignored him. "To end the suffering. To end heroes being ripped from their homes. To end the gods' cruel games, their petty squabbles using mortal lives as pawns. To break the chains of divine tyranny and return the worlds to mortals. True freedom."

Then he stopped, breath for a second and said "And most importantly the revenge."

"And if I don't want to?"

The vampire laughed softly. Pityingly. "Destiny will bring you to our path eventually."

Then he closed his eyes.

His body went still, hanging in those black icy chains. A faint crimson light began glowing from his forehead. He was communicating. Sending a message.

The vampire's voice suddenly filled everyone's minds. Not spoken aloud, but projected directly into their thoughts.

"Lord. I have found him. We have found him. The child from the prophecy. The weapon to bring down the gods."

Dante moved instantly.

He couldn't allow this. Couldn't let more people discover him, especially whatever "lord" this creature served. He lunged forward in a blur of motion, Soul Drinker raised high. A sliver of pure devouring darkness.

He wasn't aiming for the vampire.

He was aiming for the connection.

SHNK!

His blade sliced through air, cutting the faint crimson light linking vampire to master. The connection severed cleanly.

The vampire's eyes snapped open.

But he wasn't angry. He was still smiling.

"Too late, child of prophecy," he whispered. "He knows you're here. He knows you're real. The wheel of fate has begun turning."

"Then I'll break it," Dante snarled.

He brought his sword down in a deadly arc.

The vampire didn't dodge. He raised his chained arms. The black ice shattered, and he caught Dante's blade with bare skeletal hands.

CLANG!

Steel meeting something harder than steel. The vampire flew backward, crashed into the wall. But when he stood, there were no wounds.

"You cannot win this fight," he said calmly. "But neither can I. My body is ruined. I'm just a messenger. A signpost on your road."

"Then why fight?"

"Because it's my purpose. My honor. To test the strength of the one who will save us all."

He charged. Fast for something so broken. No magic. No claws. Just a desperate, suicidal assault.

Dante met him with cold efficiency. This was no contest.

He parried a clumsy punch. Sidestepped a lunge, foot tripping the vampire. The creature sprawled.

It wasn't a fight. It was a demonstration.

But the vampire was laughing.

"Yes," he cackled, spitting black blood. "This is it. The power to defy the gods who made you."

He charged again.

"You're a fool," Dante said, easily disarming him. "You speak of destiny. But you're just a slave to someone else's story. I write my own."

"Do you?" Ancient pity filled those crimson eyes. "Or are you just a character who hasn't realized he's in a cage?"

Dante had had enough.

He moved in a blur. Appeared behind the vampire in an instant. Soul Drinker's tip pressed against the creature's back.

"It's over," Dante said.

"No, child," the vampire whispered. A final triumphant smile crossed his face. "It has just begun."

Dante plunged the sword through his back.

He expected a scream. A dying curse. Resistance.

There was nothing.

The vampire simply let out a long, slow, completely contented sigh.

Then his body began to dissolve.

Not crumbling to dust. Not fading to shadow. Something stranger. His flesh, bones, and very soul broke apart into countless points of crimson and black light.

Dante tried to pull the soul, to claim this powerful being for his army. But there was nothing to grasp. The soul wasn't escaping—it was self-destructing. Erasing itself from existence.

The points of light swirled through the air. A beautiful, terrible galaxy of a dying being.

Then they rushed together. Not into a single point, but into a shape.

A symbol.

A perfect blood-red eye with a single black tear falling from its center.

The symbol hung in the air for one silent moment. A final cryptic message.

Then it too dissolved.

The cavern fell empty. Silent. Colder than before.

Althea stood frozen, her face pale. She'd witnessed something she didn't understand. Something ancient and terrible.

"What," she whispered, "was that?"

Dante stared at the empty space where the symbol had been. His mind was already working. Analyzing. Planning.

A prophecy. An organization. A "lord" who now knew he existed.

He'd wanted to stay hidden. To build his power quietly. To remain a mystery.

That option had just evaporated.

"Trouble," Dante said quietly. "That was trouble."

He turned to Althea. "We need to leave. Now."

"But the dungeon—"

"Is no longer the priority." His voice was sharp. Urgent. "Whatever that creature was feeding the dungeon core is gone. The monster spawning will stop. Your mission is complete."

He started walking toward the exit, his summons falling into formation around them.

Althea followed, still processing everything she'd witnessed. The vampire's words echoed in her mind. Prophecy. The one who would end the world. The weapon to bring down gods.

And Dante's response. Cold. Practical. Immediate.

"You're not going to explain any of that, are you?" she asked.

"No."

"Is there really a prophecy?"

"Apparently."

"And you're supposed to end the world?"

"According to him."

"Are you going to?"

Dante stopped. Turned to look at her. His silver eyes were unreadable.

"I don't do what I'm supposed to do, Princess. I do what I want. And I don't want to end any worlds."

He paused, then added quietly, "I just want to be free."

They walked in silence after that. The summons cleared their path. The dungeon seemed less threatening now. As if the vampire's death had drained some vital energy from it.

When they finally emerged into sunlight, Althea's commander was still alive. Barely. Rina had kept her stabilized with her healing touch.

Althea looked at him. This feared necromancer. This supposed chosen one of prophecy. This young man who'd just saved her life and asked for nothing in return.

"Thank you," she said quietly. "For everything."

Dante shrugged. "Just doing the job that my guild was paid for." 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"Will I see you again?"

"Probably not."

Althea pouted then looked at him.

He started walking away, his army following like shadows. "Tell your mother the dungeon is clear. Send salvage teams in a week. The monsters will be dead by then."

"Wait," Althea called. "The prophecy—"

"Isn't your problem, Princess." He didn't turn around. "Focus on your kingdom. Protect your people. Forget what you heard here."

"How can I forget something like that?"

Dante paused. Looked back over his shoulder.

"Because if you don't, you'll spend every day wondering which side you should be on. And that's a question I can't answer for you."

Then he was gone. Dissolving into shadows with his undead army.

Althea stood there, watching the space where he'd vanished.

A prophecy. A war against gods. A chosen one who didn't want to be chosen.

And somewhere out there, a "lord" who now knew Dante existed.

The wheel of fate had begun turning.