The crimson barrier erected around the village of the Lizardmen alliance shook wildly.
CLAASH! CLAASH! CLAASH!
Hundreds of gigantic Demonic Beasts were battering the barrier with their strongest attacks, racks were already spreading across it.
Ruby, who was standing over the tallest building of the village, the watchtower, held the whole barrier stable as her powers were being constantly drained from her Soul and Body.
Similarly, her mother and the other Vampires were unified together to strengthen the Barrier Divine Formation. They were all gritting their teeth, constantly imbuing their power into this formation.
"ROOOAARRR!"
"Open the way, you mortals!"
"Break this barrier at all costs!"
"We must secure our lord's body part!"
The demons kept trying to breakthrough. Their toughness and physical and magical might were of a completely different level than even the divine beasts of this world.
The sole reason they were able to defeat these monstrosities from another world was thanks to Drake and his family, especially Benladra, capable of unleashing Heaven Magic that was able to easily overwhelm them.
However, right now, they had no such fancy magic, and had to defend this place however they could.
"This is getting ridiculous, how many of these bastards are going to come out?"
Ruby gritted her teeth, showing her sharp vampiric fangs. Her power was overwhelming, and she had already grown strong enough to be comparable to a Rank 10 Goddess.
However, she had yet to fully master her powers and evolve them to become even better than before, having directly inherited all of the Vampire Venerable's leftover powers.
She, someone that was destined to become his vessel, took his powers and killed her ancestor with the help of Drake, not even his soul was left behind.
Ruby was reminded of such a thing every time she used these powers, inherited from her Ancestor's Unique Skill.
"Where did these Demons come from?!" Ruby muttered. "I thought we were able to destroy the Hell Gate! And Pandemonium went somewhere else… Has he been following us around, maybe?"
"They did say something about a body part they want." Her mother said. "Could it be? Is the treasure inside of that dungeon a body part of Pandemonium?"
"That's…" Ruby didn't know what to think anymore. "Well, no matter! We have to defend this place and protect the people while we can… The village, if we let it be destroyed, once Drake comes out, he'll most likely scold us…!"
"I don't think that is the worst thing you should be worried about, dear…" Her mother sighed. "After all, if those demons want what's down there, they'll get to Drake and his family! It would be dangerous to be attacked while in the depths of a dungeon, they would all be completely surrounded."
"We can't let that happen!" Ruby's crimson eyes shone brightly. "Mom, and everyone else, keep the barrier on hold, I'll control it with my powers! [Primordial Vampiric Blood Magic]: [Crimson Spears of Purgatory]!"
The barrier shook as it absorbed Ruby's powers in her Divinity and Aura, crimson spears emerged out of the barrier, piercing the Demonic Beasts one after another.
CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CRAASH!
Several of them were heavily wounded, especially those nearby. The spears kept moving in and out, making sure to pierce anything that approached them!
"The barrier's shape changed!"
"This power… I don't remember seeing such a powerful element before."
"What is this?!"
The Demons, who have not been summoned into Yggdrasil since Pandemonium's defeat, were surprised of how Mortals have changed through these last millennia.
There were many new elements such as Blood, born from a reincarnated soul, the Vampire Venerable's Unique Skill.
And despite how one could imagine Blood not being that strong compared to other mightier elements, it could grow stronger.
Indeed, through Ruby's [Bloodline Devour] she absorbed and devoured the bloodlines of anything that had blood and she could drink their blood from.
This, as a result, also enhanced the power of her Blood Magic every time she stacked more Bloodlines, to the point it had reached the level of an SSS Rank Divine Ability in just a couple of months!
The demons, however, were still incredibly tough. And their blood, which consumed everything like an acid, splattered over the barrier and started to weaken it…
Ruby had tried to absorb this blood, but the moment the Demonic Energy entered her body…!
"Urgh…! AARGH!"
It felt like her whole body was being set ablaze. Her bones were about to shatter apart, her muscles we remelting, it was agonizing, her own blood was being burned!
The blood of demons was perhaps the first blood she could not consume easily, one that caused her endless agony.
She quickly stopped trying to absorb it, gasping for air.
"Ruby!"
Her mother called her, concerned about what she just saw.
"I'm fine! I just… I foolishly thought I could absorb that Demon Blood…"
"You tried to do so?!"
"But it was futile… that thing is simply not suited for consumption. Whoever were to ever try drinking that and trying to assimilate demonic energy of such purity would simply die from the inside out."
Ruby realized how complicated and overwhelmingly strong was the Blood of Demons and their mighty energy, Demonic Energy.
"Only someone with an Immortal Body and an unwavering resolve would ever be able to absorb it…"
The young Vampire Queen smiled after thinking of that, she knew full well that if there was someone suited for this power… It was Drake.
"You better hurry up, uncle… We can't hold for too long!"
As she kept attacking the Demons through her Crimson Barrier, the other fighters were already in the frontlines, outside of the barrier.
They couldn't fight through the barrier, or they would be risking destroying it, so they had no other alternative than to greet the Demons themselves.
A huge battle was undergoing as of now, as Yuki, Pekora, Tisha, Hector, Larzak, Kraxka, Rakasha, Fuyu, and Drake's Tamed Divine Beasts fought relentlessly against the Demons!
Armies of Divine Beasts that they had raised in their Divine Realms kept emerging, buying them time as they sacrificed themselves.
Currently, only about a dozen Demons had died, out of hundreds…
Based in how strong these otherworldly beings were, this was already a great feat.
"Mortals… Seem stronger than before."
The one leading the Demons thought, his four eyes squinting as he noticed that these mortals weren't so bad.
