Modern Cultivation : The Strongest Couple Bonded by Vampire System-Chapter 587: Dark Zone

Alex and Aira flew through the sky at high speed.

It didn’t take long for them to reach their destination.

A strange region came into view. Many mountains floated in the air, drifting like islands trapped between invisible currents.

’A gravity anomaly region...’ Alex thought.

"Aira, you should wait here. Inside will be dangerous."

Alex believed his strength could protect her, but a place like this was different.

Power alone did not solve everything.

In this region, the rules of direction could change without warning. What was up could become down in a blink.

A single misstep could send someone falling into the sky, or crashing into the ground from a height that did not exist a second ago.

The gravity itself could surge or collapse in waves.

One moment the body felt light as a feather.

The next moment the same space could multiply its pull many times over.

A normal human would be flattened into meat paste before they could even scream.

Worse, the terrain was unstable. Floating mountains could drift closer, then separate again as if pulled by invisible hands.

Rocks the size of houses could collide with no sound, then explode into shrapnel when the gravity field twisted.

And the most dangerous part was not even the gravity.

It was the exotic materials scattered throughout the zone.

Some of them acted like broken anchors of space.

They could distort distance and fold paths in impossible ways.

A person could take one step forward and reappear hundreds of meters away.

Or vanish into a pocket bend and be thrown out in a random direction.

If Aira was caught by one of those teleport shifts, even Alex might not find her in time.

"Stay here. Don’t move unless I return."

"Can I go back first?" Aira asked.

She could feel great danger coming from the weird space. So she didn’t want to stay here any longer.

"If you can, then sure."

They were quite far away from their city, so Alex was still worried for her safety.

Aira looked at her sphere. "Activate airplane mode."

The light on the sphere started blinking, processing Aira’s words and verifying their authenticity.

"Command received. Activating airplane mode."

The sphere moved away from them and hovered in midair.

Its surface split into smooth panels, then folded outward like petals.

A low hum spread through the air as faint runes lit up along its edges.

In a few seconds, the small sphere expanded into a compact aircraft.

It looked like a sleek UFO with a flat belly, a rounded top, and a thin glowing ring that stabilized its flight.

Aira touched the side with familiarity. "This is my mother’s creation."

Alex raised an eyebrow.

’So she discovered anti-gravity technology. Or she got it from the Mechalyte.’

Alex walked around the craft, studying every line and joint.

He extended his mana and probed the device carefully.

The core was good, and the energy cycle was efficient.

He nodded.

’It’s strong enough to take her back safely.’

The vehicle was also equipped with several magic circles.

They were not meant for full combat.

They were designed for escape.

A defensive circle could form a shield around the craft.

A wind circle could shoot out wind blades if an enemy got too close, but its real purpose was acceleration.

It could push the craft to higher speed in short bursts.

There was also an ice circle.

Alex understood the intent immediately.

If the craft was forced to cross water or crash near a flooded zone, the ice circle could freeze the surface.

It could create a temporary dry path or a safe platform for takeoff.

"Your mother is careful," Alex said. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Aira gave a small smile.

"She always does."

She stepped into the craft.

The ring beneath it brightened.

Aira turned back and waved her hand.

"Be careful, Uncle Alex."

Alex gave a short nod.

The craft rose smoothly, then shot toward the horizon like a silent streak.

Alex watched until it became a dot.

Then he turned his gaze back to the dark zone.

This was a place he had planned to explore in the past.

Now he finally could do it.

In the past, he had confirmed that the human Progenitor was the one behind the dungeons appearing on his planet.

He moved dangerous zones through unknown means, to train humans to become strong soldiers to fight on the frontline.

Now that the planet was under Mechalyte control, backed by the dragon species, it could only mean two things.

Either there was an inner conflict between the human Progenitor and the dragon Progenitor, or there was a deal.

For example, swapping territory.

’I hope the second one is the reason. If that’s true, there should be more dragon species in this system.

And there should be something precious for them to swap territory like this.’

Even the first option was good news for Alex.

This meant his enemies would be busy fighting each other, while he could take his time gathering more Alucard blood.

Alex stepped into the dark zone.

At first glance, it looked like a normal forest.

The trees were tall, and the ground was covered in moss and fallen branches.

But the place is eerily silent.

Alex moved forward slowly.

The light changed with every step. One moment the sky turned dark like it was night.

The next moment the same place looked like midday.

’Does this place messing with time too?’

As he goes deeper the tree start to look different.

Their bark had faint geometric patterns, like natural wood trying to imitate electronic circuit.

Some roots were fused into the ground like welded metal.

Alex extended his mana in a thin wave.

The moment it touched the air, it bent.

The space around him rippled like a disturbed lake.

His perception split into layered distances, as if the forest existed in several overlapping positions at once.

He took two steps.

The ground shifted under his feet.

He was still on the same path, but the trees were now arranged differently.

A boulder that had been on his left was now behind him.

A broken stump that had been two meters away was now directly beside him.

"Spatial distortion," Alex muttered.

He clenched his fist.

His life force wrapped around his senses, anchoring his mind so he would not get confused.

He kept walking.

A weird fog crawled between the trunks.

It was pale violet, with a faint shimmer that caught the light like dust floating in water.

Alex frowned.

’Is the fog absorbing mana in the air?

Wait.. No it’s eating it.

The hairs on his neck rose.

A sound came from the right.

It was a wet dragging sound, like something heavy being pulled across damp stone.

Then the space beside him folded.

A shadow peeled out of the air itself.

The monster was tall, almost three meters, with a body shaped like a twisted stag.

Its skin was not flesh but layered plates of dark bark and black crystal, fused together like armor grown from a corrupted tree.

Its head was a crown of antlers made of sharp bone and shimmering glass.

Its eyes were hollow circles of pale blue light.

Its mouth opened sideways across its face, revealing rows of sharp teeth.

The jaw didn’t look natural.

It looked assembled, like someone has genetically modified the deer.