With the Cloaking Devices Kenji made, the girls all separated to 5 different locations.
The entire city, built around the fortress, had a circle pattern. Not exactly a perfect circle, but it was the closest that it could get. Kenji and the others, noticing that, pinpointed 5 locations.
Those 5 locations, were exactly points, that could be connected together. Those points, were like intersections. And when made into a proper magical circle, the image formed from it, was a pentagram. The moment Kenji noticed that, he could only frown. Why exactly? Because everything up till now, were basically things considered myths back on Earth.
Alas, the 5 girls were sent to those locations. While Ayla was basically going into the most vulnerable one, it didn’t meant it was exactly the most easy.
In fact, she could see the giant gate from distance already. She was moving in Mist Form, avoiding some of the many people that were already following her.
In fact, one of them made her body shiver. The reason? It was basically dated before Victor even killed her mother.
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Before all the tragedy happening, Ayla was promised in marriage to this man’s family. Donovan la Volonté. His family was the second strongest family from the Pure Vampires, below only the le Gant clan. The same clan, that Ayla and Victor made part.
The reason for why she was promised in marriage to the Volonté clan, was to balance the power between families. Of course, that was also before Victor acquired the Greed sin. Which, was on the 6th year of Ayla’s life. Which meant, that Ayla was stuck at the ruins of the Dunes from a very early age.
While the Volonté’s weren’t the best families, since they had a very strange attitude towards foreigners on their family, they did treated Ayla right. That is, until Donovan had some, ‘fun’ with the last women.
Donovan was older than Ayla, with more than 5 centuries on his back. The only one older than him, was and is, Victor. The moment he set his eyes on her, a sadistic grin appeared on his face, and Ayla, a 6 year old little girl, was traumatized since that point.
Whenever Donovan would be on the castle, she would run to her mother. Her mother, was the only one that Donovan wouldn’t lift a finger. For 2 reasons. The first, she could rip him to shreds. And the second, because he wouldn’t have another toy, when he killed Victor.
Albeit Donovan served Victor, he never was really loyal to him. Donovan always wanted the position that Victor had, as the one and only Vampire Lord. Why he wanted? Because, he found the position good for him.
Yes, Donovan never was really a good leader, nor a good strategist, not even a good talker. He wanted the position as the Vampire Lord, just cause it was a pretty position. Nothing more, and nothing less.
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Reaching the Nether Gate, Ayla instantly activated the Device. She passed through the gate of the place(because the Nether Gate is located at the center of an area), and reached the place behind some boxes.
“They’re sacrificing people?”
The device made a sound on her ear, just like Kenji warned, and she was visible again. Since she could be detected very soon, she instantly activated her Mist Form, and got behind other places.
“The reason Kenji asked for me to come here… What was it again?”
“You 5 will scout the 5 places we talked about, searching for any kind of suspicious activity. If you can enter those places, go ahead.”
After Ayla noticing the gate as a whole, she took mental notes of the things around her. There are some monster below. All undead. But… of Higher rank? What are these… Cyclops, Trolls, and… Chimeras.
After noting all that in her mind, she glanced at the gate as a whole. The gate had, what appeared to be a crack in the middle of it. The crack, was like a cloth, ripped right at its middle, and pulled to both sides, making an opening on it.
Not only that, but what made Ayla more confused, was that the portal, which was basically that crack, with 2 pillars on both sides, had what looked to be Holy Symbols. Why a portal to the Nether-realm would have holy symbols?
She kept looking around, but found nothing. Her eyes drifted towards the gate, where Donovan came through. Desperate, she simply became completely visible, and activated the Cloaking again.
In that split second, Donovan appeared right where she was hiding, and smashed the place. Of course, Ayla was fast enough, avoiding the punch, and getting out of there.
“I need to report this to him. Immediately.”
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“So she escaped.”
“Donovan-Sama! Please, refrain from destroying things! There’s already too much trouble since the demons, and rebels keep attacking this place!”
“Yes, yes, whatever you say.”
“Donovan~”
After the man spoke to Donovan with a reproachful voice, a seducing voice sounded into his head. He knew who this person was. The bitch that Victor likes right now.
“What do you want, Gorgon?”
“Aw, you still hate me?”
“Get to the point, you lousy bitch.”
“Urk. Women don’t like hasteful men, you know.”
“Will you talk already, or will I be needing to rip another arm off of your body?”
“Tch!” She cursed in her mind, and started talking. “Orders from Master. Do not interfere until I give the order. He wants that these bastards waste their times trying to defeat him.”
“I don’t care about them. I’m only here to get what rightfully belong to me.”
“Aww… You’re still attached to the Princess? I heard she had a taste of the blood of the Pure Mana Source.”
“What… Did you said?”
“Are you deaf? I said, that Princess Ayla, already drank the blood of the Pure Mana Source, Kenji. Now, they only need to connect themselves, and your plans will be ruined. Haha! You’re so pitiful.”
“Tch!” Donovan cursed. “Fine. I will abide by the orders from the Lord.”
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“Good boy.”
He felt the presence of Radreiale disappear, and just then he talked.
“The time for you and Victor to vanish, is approaching. I, will kill the Pure Mana Source.”
Patting his clothes off of the dust, Donovan walked off, and back to his mansion.
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As Ayla rushed through the streets in her Mist Form, she passed through close to one of the other possible gates location. This one, was being searched by Kasumi. Should I help her? Or just ignore it? She thought.
“Tch! I’ll check it out.”
She looked throughout the place, for possible entrances, finding a very specific place. Actually, if people thought a bit about it, they could notice that the place was heavily guarded, with Oni and Vampires all around. All the buildings around this little business, a small building, named, ‘Adventurer’s Guild’, had guards looking for it. But…
“Why the guards look like they’re spacing out?”
Ayla hid herself in the shadow of a building, looking to the guards around. But, for her surprise, they didn’t bulged. They were simply looking to the building, and their eyes look as they were blank.
Curious with that, Ayla approached the guards on the sides of the door, and they didn’t moved their eyes. They were simply looking ahead. Their eyes are glazed? She asked herself. And it was true, they were looking to nowhere. It was as tough they were…
“Illusion. Did that little fox had Illusion Magic?”
Her deduction was close. Illusion Magic, was a simple skill, that, as its name implies, could create fake situations, as tough they were real. Nothing much, nothing less. But! Kasumi never had that kind of skill. Or did she? It has been quite sometime her STATUS wasn’t mentioned.
Ayla simply sighed, and opened the door. Feeling the stench coming from inside, she hastily entered and closed the door. She glanced inside once again(Vampire eyes = Night Vision). What happened here? She asked herself.
The first room of the former Adventurer’s Guild, was with bodies all around. No, not bodies. But people. They were still alive, albeit barely. The reaction of Ayla? She felt disgusted.
The bodies were hanging up from crosses, with their wrists punctured by nails. From hooks that were holding the bodies from their wrists. And some even had bloody swords piercing their chests. Even then, even with all of those injuries, they were still alive.
The blood flowing from their bodies, would move like a flowing river to the ground, and would move like a current, towards a ball of blood right at the center of the room. And, the ball of blood, would let its blood fall, right at the floor where it was hanging. And the blood that fell, would sink into the wood.
“There’s something down there.”
Ayla would blow the floor to bits, but thought against it. She looked around, for any kind of clue to an underground entrance. After looking thoroughly around, she found a trapdoor. Through it, she descended the stairs, reaching the underground. It was what she expected to see, but instead, she arrived at the catacombs.
“What? The catacombs?”
(What are YOU, doing here?)
Turning around, she found a black fox, the size of a wolf, glaring at her. She is this big?
(You’re thinking something rude, aren’t you?)
Kasumi had, right now, 6 Tails. Her size, which before the fifth one appeared, was like that of a normal fox. Now though, she had the size of a full grown wolf… From Earth, since the wolves from Oros were simply too big.
“When did you grew like that?”
(When my fifth tail appeared. And you? What are you doing here?)
“Help?”
(Not necessary.)
“You’re lost, right?”
(Gh!)
“Let’s search for whatever this portal is already.”
The 2 proceeded through the catacombs, reaching dead ends, and facing some undead creatures. Whenever Ayla would start fighting, Kasumi would simply interfere, taking care of the undead with a single lightning.
“Can you at least left some for me?”
(No.)
And that was something that happened throughout the journey through the place. More monsters, more dead ends, but they were making progress. Unfortunately for Ayla, she was without her swords, and Kenji didn’t even bother giving her anything to fight.
“He could at least give me a shortsword!”
With Kasumi making her way easily through the chambers, while Ayla was fighting her way with her own claws.
They soon reached a certain chamber, wider and taller than the others they passed through. As they reached the center the room, and as in any kind of situation on suspense or horror movies, both the entrance they came from, and the exit on the opposite side, closed.
“Is this somekind of trap?”
(What else could it be?)
Kasumi criticized sarcastically. More enemies appeared, this time, however, they were more organized. For the looks of them, they were knights. Except that their weapons were varied.
“Flail, mace, sword and shield, scythe, bow. 5 knights?”
(No, there’s 1 more hidden, and… one that still didn’t appeared.)
“Who, are thee?”
Then, a knight, cladded in a spiky armor, with golden, silver and black metal parts, holding onto a longsword, appeared. He positioned himself in the front of the other knights, with the tip of its sword on the ground, and its hands resting onto the sword’s handle.
“I can’t believe he’s still alive.”
(What? Who is he? Or them.)
“The Dark Brigade.”
(That’s a pretty strange name.)
“Everyone says that.” Ayla chuckled. “They were the ones responsible to protect my mother. But… They failed, and now, they’re here.”
“Your mother? No… The princess is… De-De-Dead. She died… Can’t… be…”
Both Kasumi and Ayla thought of the Knight attitude as strange. He grabbed its helmet, and shook its head. And then, he pointed his sword towards the 2.
“We cannot allow anyone to pass through here. I swore on the young lady's grave. I will at least bring her daughter back, even if I need to risk my life for that.”
All of the knights eyes shone with a dark red light, and they prepared for battle.
(Good for you. But unfortunately, you are no match for me.)
Kasumi didn’t wanted to waste time. Kenji said to scout the place, and find anything about the gates. He didn’t said anything about fighting, but Scouting is precisely to find information, not to make a mess. Albeit they already made when fighting their way to this place.
Kasumi activated her shadows, and immobilized all the knights. Including the last one that didn’t appeared before. In total, there were 7 knights. Like Ayla said, a Flail, Mace, Sword and Shield, Scythe, Bow, Longsword, and lastly, a Dagger.
“What kind of sorcery is this?!”
(I don’t care who you are, but I need to look on the other side. So, if you excuse me.)
She vanished from their sight, and the Knights glanced at Ayla.
“You shall pay for this!”
“It’s that Sly-fox’s fault, and I will pay? Other than that, how can you not recognize me?”
“I do not know who you are, but you are in the way of my mission!”
“And what mission is that?”
“I will bring the Young Lady’s Daughter back! If I help that disgusting vampire, he shall free the princess.”
This guy is talking about me, but he still can’t see that I’m that princess. Is what Ayla thought. Ayla knew very well who these knights were. They were humans, trained by her mother. That’s what she heard from her own mother.
They were defeated in a fight, and asked for Ayla’s mother for her training. They were basically wandering knights, with no master nor lord to serve. And they made a vow to protect Ayla’s mother. Alas, that was for nothing, since she died. And right now, they were being manipulated by Victor, in the belief they could free Ayla on the ruins, but couldn’t notice that she was right in front of them.
“I’m right here, captain Yvonus.”
“Who? I do not know who you are.”
“I am- What?”
As Ayla start her speech, the place started rumbling. A few seconds later, Kasumi appeared running, and stopped right beside Ayla.
“What happened?”
(The gate is unstable right now. I just entered the room, and it almost fell apart.) She glanced at the Knights. By the looks of it, Ayla know them. And by their talk of Young lady, I think it’s Ayla’s mother. (Who are them?)
“Knights that were trained by my mother.”
Just then the Captain glanced at Ayla. It was like his vision was clouded. He shook his head, and kept his gaze on her.
(They said something, right?)
“Probably that bastard Victor used them. They were probably ordered to guard this place, in exchange for my freedom.”
(But, the portal is unstable, and if the portal keep going like that…)
“They will be buried together with the problems Victor has against them.”
(What will you do?)
“You are not the Princess! Do not speak as if you knew the Young Lady! I will save the princess!”
“I think their minds are being manipulated. Let’s leave them as is. I can’t bring myself to free them off of their misery.”
(They’ll be on Kenji-Sama’s way.)
“Do you really think that will be a problem for him? Let’s go.”
(I hate when you are right.)
The 2 girls left the knights there, and after a few seconds, they were able to move again.
“Aaah… The… princess…”
The 2 girls later returned to the building that they were lodged for now. Finding a Kenji, sprawled on the bed.