“Grrraaaaaaaaa!”
Appraise them!
Lv. 72
Lv. 54
Lv. 89
Buffs!
[Various Spell Buffs] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]
‘Fuck them up, Original Mind!’ my parallel minds encouraged me, also feeling the rage boiling up inside me. Vampires were like elves, right? Well, right about now, they were no better than the grimgarians I killed!
“Stand down, mage, or this wi—UFF!” Before Mr. Lv. 72 vampire could speak, I [Gale Step]ped in front of him and grabbed him by his hideous bat monster’s face, and slammed it right into the ground.
Jeez, so weak! I cringed. I didn’t even have to use any solar power even if vampires were weak to sunlight or not!
“Don’t kill them, my lady!” Tasianna shouted, making me annoyed I had to actually hold back against these filth.
“Y-you?!” Seeing their companion bashed into the ground, the two vampires froze in place, looking at me as if I had done something impossible. However, this shock immediately turned into rage as both growled at me. “Shraaaaa! Predator! Hunter! We were tricked, friend, we need to—Ook?”
“Not a fan of fighting people this weak, but you’re nothing but brigands, right? Might as well do some ex-paladin work on some ‘Predators.’” Yorshka too [Gale Step]ped into the front, slashing off the legs of the weakest vampire, causing the surprised elf to fall onto the ground like a sack of potatoes.
Vampires were technically still elves, dark elves to be specific, but unlike the ones I’ve met up until now, these filth were nothing to me. I didn’t care if you were human, beastman, or grimgarian. You try to pull this bandit crap on me, you deserve a beating. These vampires really got lucky. My moral compass—Tasianna—was telling me to not kill.
“Guawaararararak!”
However, that didn’t mean I couldn’t cripple some of them. I had [Miraculous Grace], after all. The vampire I was holding down could scream and struggle as much as he wanted, but I might return the right arm and wing I cut off later on. Might.
“You two—!” The last vampire, the strongest, took a step back. We didn’t know if he wanted to flee, but I wasn’t the only one who was furious with what they did.
“Cometh Wind!” Renee called the wind with her flamberge, pulling the vampire closer only for Tasianna to buffet the vampire with ice blades.
Not surprisingly, the level 89 vampire managed to deftly avoid everything, only taking glancing hits. This, however, seemed to only make the vampire smirk.
“Knock him out before he can use blood magic!” Yorshka commanded after she kicked the two vampires we already took out in their heads, sending them to sleep.
Just as Yorshka said, the blood flowing from the monster bat’s tiny wounds grew as blood started to pour out of them like a faucet. He even managed to gather enough for a whole ball, before it formed itself into a blood sword. The vampire took aim and then—
Draconic Aura!
I stomped the ground, exuding my [Draconic Aura] to create a pressure around me similar to a Territory. The vampire jerked back, snapping his head to me, allowing just enough seconds to pass for Tasianna to [Humanize] for her wings to blow frost powder at him.
The [Fae Frost] immediately took effect as they froze the blood sword solid, before closing up the wounds on the vampire’s body to seal off his ability to get blood from his body. Seeing this, his eyes immediately darted over to the pool of blood from his comrades, but it was a bit too late for that.
White Flames!
“What?!” The vampire tried to dodge, but, sadly for him, Yorshka and Renee knew how my [White Flames] worked. They grabbed him, holding him tightly as the flames engulfed them all. “Whaaaaaarrrrr!”
[Dread Burn] inflicted on bloodsucker.
***
“Thank you very much. Thank you so very much!” After we had dealt with those Twilight morons, I healed up the two civilians they had been preying on. The woman was still wobbly on her feet, having lost a lot of blood, so the man did most of the thanking. “Thank the Goddess for sending you to our land! For everything! Thank the Goddess. Thank Yeostar for making you a blessed, my lady! Thank—Urgh!”
“That’s enough gratitude, good sir.” Renee grabbed his arm, supporting him as he was about to fall. I had only healed him up with my white flames, since he hadn’t lost that much blood for [Miraculous Grace], but he still probably had anemia.
Magic was nice and all, but sometimes healing was best done naturally, especially if it wasn’t a life threatening wound or a loss of a limb. [Miraculous Grace] could solve most physical injuries, but using it too often would lose the importance of the spell. Anything non-severe could be handled, and should be, handled by my white flames and my sacred spells.
After Renee handed the two yeomen over to the knights for help, we then turned over to the vampires. They had transformed back into their elven forms and had their hands sealed by those mana suppression shackles. They couldn’t use their mana while they had those cuffs on.
Eoriant Fairnite Mana Suppression Shackles: Shackles made with the metals eoriant and fairnite, both possessing mana absorption attributes. Mana is absorbed by the shackles whenever a high concentration is being formed, and then diffused into the air
Speaking of shackles, I had also heard that the prison inside the castle was destroyed after the siege. Quite a few criminals and brigands had escaped or died during the fight, the former of which included that stupid poison brother I fought in the tournament. He also stole away his twin catalysts in the process, so that bastard was now roaming the world again. Really should have cut off his legs.
But, well, what was one more problem on top of all of Elyonda’s other issues, right? It was already pretty bad, but I guess none of us thought that vampires would start attacking us. Sure, their castle was floating above the clouds right now, but I had thought they were here to help us.
“Ha!” The vampires glared at me with intense disgust, almost to the point they were showing off a sense of superiority. As if it was incredulous that they got themselves in this situation. “I hope you are ready to face Goddess Death, you simpletons! Our lord will dine on your life fluids and your minced fles—Agrak!”
“Don’t try to use your mana.” Yorshka kicked the level 89 vamp in the face, knocking him over. “The shackles detect when you use it. If you’re thinking of trying to overload the thing, then think again. Do you think we would stand by and do nothing while you try? For an elf, you are pretty dumb.”
“Elf?! Blasphemous lizard! You dare call us such a degrading thing?!” The one Yorshka cut the legs off cried out, insulted by such a factual statement. “We are no elves! We are superior to those tree huggers! We are vampires! Children of the Night Mother! Scions of the Blood Queen! Descendants of a God!”
The one I had attacked felt no fear at all, either. He, too, found it fitting to spit venomous words at us despite the fact he was at our mercy. “And you have taken a step too far, serf! We would have only taken some of your blood. It should have been an honor! We deigned your filthy red suitable for our palettes, but you dared ambush us? Blindside us? What honor do you have, knight? Our blood knights will make short work of you!”
Ambush? Was this man seriously that delusional? If you asked me, the one who ambushed us were these three idiots, but they called us the dishonorable ones? What did this guy smoke to put himself on a pedestal this lofty? His superiority complex oozed out so much, it felt nauseating to be near him.
“Tasianna, psh.” I lowered my voice as those vampires continued their tantrum. “Arrogant? Is this what you meant when you said they thought of themselves as the ‘finest beings’ and that their castle was the ‘seat of the elite?’”
Tasianna nodded. “There are three factions inside the castle. The Predators—such as these three—who seek to only feast on the most prestigious ‘playthings.’ Gourmets, you could say. Then you have the Skyborne, those who believe the vampires should remain in the sky and not mingle with us ‘dirt people.’ Please be careful, they are known to adore the flesh of any flying monsters. Lastly, we have the Royal faction, those closest to the current overlord of Purchigchia and their elders, who wish to keep their culture close to the elves.”
“Soooo.” I turned to the vampires, causing them to instantly flinch at my glare. “Will we get in trouble for hurting them?”
“No,” Tasianna answered resolutely.
“Ha! Whad nonsensess are youd speaking, eld? Our lo—Ahahk!” the strongest vampire tried to speak back, but Yorshka kicked him in the face again. He fell on his back again, clutching his bleeding nose once again and his already broken jaw. “Damnb you! Damnb you!”
He already had enough trouble speaking from the first kick. How many teeth had he lost already after getting kicked twice by a person over level 130? Yorshka had informed me vampires could regrow limbs and missing organs if they could drink blood, but with [Dread Burn] on him, healing was practically impossible. Well, too bad, immortal guy, you met the wrong person to piss off.
“Yes, we will not get into any trouble,” Yorshka reiterated what Tasianna said so the vampires could understand. “Do you really think your friends would care about you after the three of you snuck out of the castle and tried to steal a drink from the people living here? Excluding possibly angering your princess, you attacked two of her former guests, as well as somebody she wants to meet.”
Yorshka pointed at Tasianna and herself, before ending at me. “Third Imperial Princess of Kargryx, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor. Get it now?”
“Ueiik!” All three vampires shuddered when they heard my title.
They’re nothing like Elrick.
Elrick was one of the knights assigned to the students, who left us after we learned of his vampire heritage. He had been hiding as a knight of Aurena, acting like a human for his faith. I had thought we would meet here again, but Yorshka learned he went back to his family in the Empire. Apparently, acting like a human wasn’t a one-time thing, as vampires would hide amongst the population.
Regardless if I had met him here or not, that wasn’t the point. What I was now worried about were the boys stuck in the castle. I pulled out the bookmark Uzerra gave me. We couldn’t delay my meeting with the vampire ruler any longer. We had better send them off.
Uzerra’s Bookmark: A bookmark enchanted by the archerudite of Aleistunum. Used as a bookmark to read.
Owner: [High Elf, Uzerra Leister Dawncall]
This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
Enchantment: [Bookmark Caller]
Bookmark Caller: Calls upon the owner of the enchanted item by pouring mana into it
Simple, huh?
I did as instructed and poured my mana into the object, causing the simple beige bookmark to shine blue before it dimmed. I looked up in the sky, where Uzerra’s island was, and noticed something flying towards us. Squinting my eyes, I saw the pajama-wearing elf in a bed! The bed was flying over to us!
“O-ok, this guy likes to sleep!” I exclaimed before the bed suddenly stopped over us. It then slowly descended to the ground, gently placing itself there, softly enough to not wake its master.
With Yorshka guarding the vampires, the rest of us looked at the snoring mage, noticing how he seemingly fell asleep while reading a book. His glasses had fallen off his face, nearly off his bed, while his blanket and hugging pillow were spread all across his mattress in an disorderly fashion. I didn’t think the archerudite would be such a messy sleeper.
“Uhm, sir?” I waved the bookmark over his face, only to find out that a barrier was protecting him. Banging on it like glass, I decided it would be a bit too rude to break it in an attempt to wake him.
“… I guess it was too late. You don’t think he has been sleeping all this time? He hadn’t exactly shown himself since he met you, Hestia,” Renee commented, bringing up a good point. The man had been quite sleepy when we met.
“How do we wake him?” I asked, and Tasianna took a step forward.
“Well, he is a knowledge seeker like Rita, right? Well, the easiest way to wake her up was to tempt her with knowledge, so, why don’t we try it with him?” Since we couldn’t do it in a politer fashion, it was all we had. “Ahem, Lord Archerudite. My lady, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor wishes to tell you something about her home~”
“Bah, plah, ahuk! Dragon, dragon what? Hestia? Otherworld? What?”
I don’t belive it! It actually worked!
The elven man looked exhausted, like waking up somebody from a deep sleep. None too pleased, he scowled at us, before yawning and rubbing the sleep grains from his eyes. “Uuuh, what? Urgh, mwaaaaaaaaaah! Urgh … chamk, chamk. Urgh, how long have I been asleep?”
Tasianna bowed. “We do apologize for waking you up this late, but, to answer your question, we hadn’t seen you in four days, Lord Uzerra. After you met with my Lady.”
“… Then I probably fell asleep not long after that.” He pulled the blanket from him, revealing he was still wearing the same pajama he wore when we first met, before snapping his hand. Wind then formed around his bare feet, forming into wind sandals as he stood up. “I was recording our conversation in a book. ‘The Children of the Second Dragon Emperor.’ Good name. Fitting. Especially since I’ve officially met the two newest imperial princesses at last.”
… So he already knew about [Battle Frenzy], probably. Considering he met all of my other siblings, somewhere. Either on their Adulthood Pilgrimage, or maybe he had visited Miononbolax.
Uzerra seemed to have noticed my inquisitive thoughts, as he turned around and nodded. “That look … To answer your question, I met your other siblings here and there. Either as a guest, or as a host. Nothing special. I also know your father. [Battle Frenzy] had been recorded since God Istari first met Kargryxmor. It’s not public knowledge, of course, as per Kargryxmor’s wish, but most of the elders like me know about it. Don’t worry, I will keep my promise and not sell or spread your information without your consent.”
“No, no, not that … I mean, if you already knew about [Battle Frenzy], then why did you record what happened when Neill used it? You were even drawing that picture.”
“You and your sister are unique. Individuals. Just because I have met your siblings, does not mean I have met you. Stereotyping and biased expectations poison the minds of a scholar. We are to record everything as objectively as possible,” Uzerra stated, making me believe Saori would like him. “Mwaaaaah! … Besides, you don’t need words alone to record knowledge. Pictures, artifacts, prints. Oh! When Chihiro and I spoke, it was like the heaven had blessed me. Computers, videos, photographs, and, ooooooh, such much more! What ignorance I lived in!”
The tired elf’s eyes flared up with interest, stroking his soft, perfect jaw like an old sage. Fantasy elves were beautiful and handsome, and the Peolyncian ones had never failed me at this aspect. Every elf, even these vampires, were objectively attractive.
After Uzerra grumbled to himself a few times, he then looked around, noticing the vampires and the blood on the ground. He didn’t need us to understand what had happened.
“Well, let’s make that old woman’s wish to see you come true. Come. We shall move to Karharlantheel island, or at least what remains of it. Drascul is right above it.”
No objection here. I cast [Unheilige Engel] and had it wrap itself around the three vampires, dragging them along with obsidian ropes. Uzerra sat back on his bed and had it fly him up like a magical carpet, while the rest of us followed with our own preferred method of flying.
Up in the sky, above the clouds where it became harder to breathe, a giant, city-sized island could be seen. The floating fortress of the vampires had a giant rock skull adorning it like a belt, from which flowed scarlet blood down its eye sockets and mouth like a waterfall, forming a crimson lake as its bedrock. Kept together by magic, I presumed. This alone made it seem like an evil god’s lair. End boss material.
However, we got a second look, when we flew up higher, and that was when the city aspect of the place came into play. The architecture of this place resembled those high gothic cathedrals with their overly stylized symbols and figurines. Almost like a cliché, stone statues in the form of those giant bat monsters—felgheists—decorated many of the upper city mansions, looking like gargoyles.
On the other hand, the lower city seemed almost like late Victorian. Probably not actual Victorian era style, but more of the fantasized version. Dusky and murky, with manatech street lights illuminating only the bare minimum of the place, it seemed super unfriendly. Every street corner was dark, warning you from listening to your foolhardy bravery to enter them.
However, despite all those descriptions, the city was … lively. Under the shine of the moon, elven men and women with dark grey skin were wandering the eerily-lit cobblestone streets, laughing and speaking. Whether they were in the lower or upper city, all the vampires wore fancy dresses and suits.
However, they stood in stark contrast to the many non-vampires living in this floating nation. Wearing only rags, collared like pets, and all of them were branded with the slave and two fang marks. While the vampires had their fill of the night fun, drinking red wine and dining on aromatic meat, these slaves were toiling away as the main labor force. All while the knights in their blood red, shimmering armor, patrolled the streets and kept them on a tight leash while their masters were away.
“Slave labor. Not really endorsed by Artorias, I heard. Nor, your world,” Uzerra commented, causing Renee to give us a weird look.
“‘Your world?’ I guess Kargryx wouldn’t endorse this either, huh?” she stated, mistaking Uzerra’s real meaning. I think it might be time to reveal the truth to her. Although, could I trust her?
“I’ll tell you later, alright? I kept quite a big secret from you,” I revealed, teasing her. “Just, be mindful you don’t spread it this time, alright?”
“My word or my life.”
Jeez, don’t go that far. Even I wouldn’t go that far for a promise … maybe.
“Well, whether you say anything or not, Hestia, be ready to say something when we arrive.” Yorshka pointed at the red knights on the streets, who had noticed us and were now spreading their wings. “Also, don’t get angry. Duke Greenveil got angry, too, but he mildly calmed down after learning all the thralls here were former criminals. Sold, though. Even the ‘blood cattle’ to sustain the hungrier vampires.”
“That doesn’t make it better,” I shook my head. Whether innocent or guilty, I was pretty sure nobody actually deserved to be enthralled by these vampires or turned into “cattle.”
Yorshka smirked before sending me some info I had to be mindful of through [Telepathy].
For starters, vampires weren’t like the vampires from Earth, but that was already clear. They were dark elves with the power to transform into bat monsters and use blood magic. They were immortal, yes, but they weren’t exactly weakened or threatened by the rising sun. They wouldn’t turn into ash, in other words.
Instead, just as I was stronger while the sun was out, vampires received increased abilities under the light of the moon or in the depth of the darkness. Their blood magic would be powered up and they could regenerate better. And, unless it was dark, they couldn’t transform nor could they use their [Vampiric Aura] to cajole or allure people like pop culture ones from Earth could. It was like me using [Benevolent Aura] or [Royal Presence] to “manipulate” people.
Vampires technically didn’t need to drink humanoid blood. They could consume any kind of blood, even insect blood if they had to. That was why Elrick could survive in the human world without causing trouble.
Blood wasn’t necessary for a vampire to exist, since they were just dark elves with special powers. However, without the blood, their vampiric powers would weaken, eventually reaching the point they wouldn’t be able to use blood magic. Another reason why vampires lusted for blood was due to addiction. It was like a drug to them, especially since many of them were fed it during their youth. A habit most weren’t able, or even wanted, to resist.
As such, showing blood was bad, as it would just entice the vampires to be aggressive, especially the Skyborne and Predator factions. They could already smell us, so they probably would be looking at me as if I was prey. However, even if that were to happen, being confrontational or aggressive back would probably harm the only people who didn’t want any problems, the Royal faction. Be tranquill. Zen.
In fact, it was best to use that snobbish nature of the vampires to my advantage. They thought of them so highly, Yorshka called them Pride demonkins as a joke. As such, some would debase themselves by attacking people like animals. The majority, at least, didn’t want their peers to think of them as mindless bloodsuckers. “The elites of the elites.” A man should be a gentleman, and a woman a lady. I had to treat them as such, even if they looked down on us.
As such, it was more common for vampires to woo people if they wanted blood or hunt monsters. Thralls and blood cattle were stale snacks, like canned food. They would do it if they had no other options. As such, people like the vampires we captured, those unwilling to act noble for a snack, were looked down upon.
And that was how we should handle the situation to get by easily.
“My name is Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmo. Princess of Kargryx.” I pulled out my ID, revealing it to the blood knights in front of us. Showing a small curtsy in the air, I kept my back straight and my eyes as if this was just normal for me.
The blood knights bowed before flapping over to me to confirm my identity. Once they did, they handed it back to me and saluted Uzerra and me, before asking us to follow them.
“Who are they?” the leader of the group asked, pointing at the vampires I had chained.
“Assaulters. They had attacked two humans from the city below, drinking them, before all three decided to attack us.”
“Lies!” But our captive vampires were of a different opinion. “We did not attack them! Falsity! We were strolling in the dark, admiring the power of two SS ranks, when these insects came and attacked us for no reason! Boorish fiends! Do not believe their words, good sir!”
… I should have just punted his head off.
The knights listened to the wailing of the vampires, before they turned to Yorshka and Tasianna.
“Dame Yorshka. Miss Tasianna. Your statements?” the leader prompted.
“My aunt speaks the truth, Sir Grigori. Three Predators, and they attacked us. The one without any legs is mine, while the other two were taken down by our princess.”
It seemed Yorshka knew this person. It made sense, since they had traveled on this floating island for an entire day to reach Elyonda from Port Annencia. From the look of it, the knight didn’t sound as pompous compared to the bloodsuckers we captured, probably since a knight could respect another knight.
From the look of it, Tasianna knew him also. “Lady Hestia has the truth in this matter. They attacked us without provocation, probably to silence us since we witnessed their ‘meal.’”
The knight nodded to Yorshka’s and Tasianna’s statement of what happened, before turning to his entourage and asked two of their knights to grab our prisoners. “I understand. It shall be noted down when judgement is dealt. Please, follow us.”
“What?! No, stop!”
“Let us go! Release us! This is unfair!”
“Unjust punishment! We have done nothing!”
The vampires really couldn’t stop speaking. They really were third-rate villains.
Would you please shut up!
… Okay, disregarding the prisoners now that they were handled, the knights then led us to the castle through the sky, avoiding the vampires below who were only watching us with keen interest. As Yorshka mentioned, they could smell us pretty well.
Once we arrived at the castle, we were greeted by a red-eyed butler. He smiled as he bowed, revealing long fangs behind his lips. The butler took over for the knights, leading us through the castle’s luxurious halls, almost as if he was showing off the many well-designed statues and gem-embedded furniture. Human nobles liked to show-off, so it shouldn’t have been surprising that vampire nobles did too.
“Princess Hestia, please, enter. We have already called the young men to the room,” the butler spoke.
“‘Young men?’ Wait, are you talking about Tatsuya and Kyouya?”
“Affirmative. The young men have informed us about you, not to mention, Lord Uzerra had already spoken to our great lady at length as well. Considering you are now here, it seems he has managed to deliver our lady’s wishes.” The butler then turned to Uzerra, keeping his poker face despite how absurd the archerudite looked.
After all, goodness gracious, the man brought his bed into the hall.
“I presume you already know, my lord?”
“Of course, Igol. She always hated how I would walk everywhere with my pajamas … I will leave my bed and books behind. However, I could fall asleep at any time.” Uzerra was adamant about his attire, wanting to actually come in and talk with the lady of this place in his … sleepwear. What a crazy man; respect.
“… I understand. If that were to happen, I will have your room readied like always. Would you like us to wake you up?”
‘Like always?’ Wait, how often does this man come here to sleep? Was he and the princess friends?
However, I wouldn’t ask these questions. Not only ‘cause I shouldn’t since it didn’t concern me, but ‘cause Uzerra urged us inside with a yawn. “Urwaaaah, wake me up. I believe I will be very ready tomorrow.”
The butler bowed with a smile before he opened the door, revealing a clean white room, contrasting the eerie black, velvet, and golden color scheme of the rest of the castle. Funnily enough, the color change alone made my mind calm down for a moment. Really, the colors you see really affect your mood.
“Hestia-san!”
“Hey, you’re finally here!”
But before I could look through the place, my attention was drawn to the two men sitting at a red couch in the middle of the room. Both were waving at me, but both looked far different from the boys I had traveled with, only recognizing them through their voices.
I was sure the first was Kyouya and the second Tatsuya, but what I saw was one person in thick, shadowy armor, looking like black lightning was surging from its gaps, and the other was a young wolfkin man jittering around while continuously sipping on some dark green tea. A tea I quickly recognized from the aroma was like coffee—it was fulinoe tea.
“Ahah, I look different right?” The armored man spoke, sounding like Kyouya but with an echo. “Long story, so it would be better—”
“Yo, Hestia-san! Good to see you again! Wrooooh!” The wolfkin, thought, howled like a wolf before taking another sip of his tea. I was doubly sure it was Tatsuya since his face and voice matched, but he seemed so much more … elevated. “You’re never going guess what happened! I learned a unique skill today! Ahaha! I finally got a unique skill! My own! Not something those demonkins gave me!”
… Yup, Tatsuya, alright. So, then … I Looked over to the third person I found with [Detection Sensor]. … Who is that?
A woman with scarlet hair and eyes and skin so grey, she looked like a ghost. Despite her ill-looking face, her wide smile and firm eyes betrayed her general appearance, looking as if she had all the energy of the world. Her clothes, just like every vampire in this place, were impeccable, designed to compliment her appearance, turning her from just mesmerizing into elven art.
… She really does look like her.
“Please, my guests, have a seat. I have prepared snacks for all of you. No blood or anything which would spoil our gossip, of course. Great-great-great grandmother would lecture me to death before my soul reaches great-great-great-great aunt after my eternal slumber.”
So that was why. She really is a descendant of the Vampire Goddess.
“Apologies for my manners. My name is Vadisma, the current blood princess of the Floating Kingdom of Vivachel, Purchigchia.”