A Drac stood by a map in the temporary hideout of the Watch. Its members sit, waiting. Maki entered the room with her assistant. She wore leather armour against Drac's recommendation. But she said she needed to be light, for there is much travelling to do tonight.

“You call me?"

“The viscount graciously gave us the location of the entrances.” Drac pushed pins in the map for several restaurants, inns, and manors.

“These places.” Maki’s assistant spoke up, her hands full of scrolls. “They are older establishments, affiliated very closely with the Danor family.”

Maki's eyebrows were scratched together. “How long has the Duke been involved?”

If the vampire wasn’t lying, then

“Probably years, decades."

“So it starts and ends with him tonight!” Maki unsheathes her sword from her proclamation. “FOR OUR CHILDREN, FOR OUR CITY."

The Watch members cheer and bang on tables.

“Squad leaders, you know your objectives. Move!” Maki let it go swiftly.

Drac takes out the pocket watch Gove gave him. “Bob.” Bob wakes up from a nap. armoured arms folded around his greatsword. A large shield is leaning on the table.

“It's time,” Drac said.

The atmosphere around Bob changes. His deep but soft voice rumbles. “Finally.”

A different Drac crouched by the panic-stricken Visocunt, Ulgar’s wandering eyes looking for a way out of his demise. Tied with real ropes, he wiggles on the floor. Multiple cuts on his leg leak blood.

“I found the captives. I am currently slaying their prison guards.”

Marina watches Drac. “It's still extraordinary when you do that mind-reading twin thing. How does it work?”

Drac stood up. “They are me. I know what ‘Me’ does."

“Huh… Still perplexing.”

He sighed and smiled. “You know how you can feel yourself in your own body. all the senses you experience and are aware of. But imagine that your ‘you’ can experience many bodies simultaneously. Essentially, I am many, and the many are me.”

“So you multitask, like a violinist singing and dancing?"

Drac, surprised, said, “Yes! That’s a great example! And like a musician, with practice, I will get better and stronger.”

Drac's attention turned to something that was not in view.

“They have started.”

“Still very strange. But astonishing!”

Drac bent down, stabbed the neck of the Viscount, and walked towards the door out of the love dungeon.

Following Drac, she glanced at the viscount copse. “You always go for the throat,” Marina said as she rubbed her own.

Blood splurted out of a guard's jugular. The blood was sprayed on the cages. Captives shiver at the sight of the black devil. The slave cages fill a large hall, shaped like a bowl. High and wide, stairs wind up with jail cells on the right, filled with the malnourished and dirty. Drac picked up a set of keys from the dead. He looks at the cages that spiral high in the chamber.

Start from top to bottom.

Drac crouched. His aura gathered in his legs. Levitation made him as light as an eagle. He jumps with power, cracking the earth and soaring like an eagle towards the top. He touches the ceiling, which is more than fifty metres high. A push from his hand redirects him to the stairs. He gets the key out to complete his objective.

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Under the bridge on the west side of the river, guards laze on chairs and wooden crates. Their laughter is bouncing off the stone. Their arms are tied with black fabric.

“Listen here, boy.” An older man tells a young guard. “You’re in the big leagues now. You are in for life. Just stay quiet, do your job, and ignore everything.” The young guard nods their head.

“Where we guard is of utmost importance to the Duke. What passed through these doors doesn't exist. The people that entered aren't real. And you never work here. You understand?” The young man nods his head.

“I said… Do you understand?"

“Yes, Captain!” the young guard salutes.

"Good, now pick up your shield."

The old captain's head flips twice before falling to the ground. A man in black stood behind his head, a strange sword bloodied. The young guard looks around. His fellow guards are gone, and the floor is soaked in their mess.

The man in black brandished his sword. "She should have picked a different career.” The boy's life is cut short.

A Drac unlocked a cage. He puts a hand up and gestures to the prisoners to stay put. They understood; they all did. A fire in their eyes smoulders, waiting to explode. He unlocks another cage. Drac looks at his pocket watch.

The boy is back at the bridge. He was close to our age.

Mm. It is how it is.

It shouldn’t be. I could have been him in another life.

Yes. Matters not. We all have our paths in life. And each path comes with its own consequences.

Drac unlocks another.

He was guarding this place. That boy. He saw these men, women, and children trafficked.

Drac saw a young black-haired woman, more well-fed than the rest in the cage.

“Was it you? The one who killed Toren.”

Drac nodded in his hood.

She nervously grabbed his hand, and water dropped on his gloved hand. “Please. Kill them all.”

That guard stood by and let evil be. Evil doesn't need hesitation.

Drac grasped the crying lady's hand.

“I’m about to.”

Another Drac entered the slave chamber from the bridge. He held a blood-soaked Heilong with a large man in armour beside him. The Watch were divided into two squads: the rescuers and the killers. The rescue squad gave help to the captives. Bob stayed with them, healing as much and as fast as he could. Drac walked among the killers. Displaying leather armour, swords, and round shields, most are former soldiers and veterans skilled in using aura. A drac passed another, both looking at their pocket watches.

Its time.

Drac raises his sword. It shines with the lamps of the dark dungeon. "Flood this hell in Aristocrat blood!" Men and women roar. The ground shakes.

Drac points his sword at the door of the main hall. “Kill.”

The killers charge at full speed. Drac charged his sprint and outpaced them all.

“It's time; see you later.”

“Huh?! You’re just going to leave me here!"

Drac grins. “Yeah, you are a big girl. You will do well. And by the way, wear my clothes. While quite beautiful, fighting in that dress isn’t ideal. See ya.” The Drac disappears, leaving his servant garments.

Marina picked up his shirt. “I hope he brought a belt. I'm not in the mood for pickpocketing dead men."

“Ladies and gentlemen, We start with a big prize.” The announcer spoke from a rune-enhanced megaphone. “This large gentleman is the winner of twenty duels. a warrior of many battles. a beast of war. His name is...Magon!" The barbarian slave comes up to the podium built on the sand for the auction. Brown hair, matted and dirty; his tanned face is reminiscent of a southern beast of the jungle. eyes wild and looking for a fight.

“You saw his prowess earlier. His technique is raw. His strength is beyond belief. His personality could use some work, but like a good pet, he is happy to serve his master. So the starting price is ten gold.” The crowd erupts in a bidding war between the nobles. They wag their fists in the air at the chance to buy such a powerful slave.

“What a sight! With worse eyes, I would have thought this place a fish market.”

Danor spits out words like venom. "Leave, priest, or I will get my guards! You and the imperial core have no say in what we northerners do! We fought your war for you; we struggled for you! What we do for our coin is none of your concern!!

The saint looked into the distance silently.

“Hello? Are you hearing me, old man?”

The saint grinned, “It's happening.”

Isaac pulled a chair to sit, enjoying the great view of the underground arena ahead. “You're right. I can't do anything, and I won’t.”

The priest relaxed with his feet out on the box railing. “Good luck. Young Duke.”

Many screams and shouts echo in the arena. No fight is going on. The announcer ran away, leaving the chained barbarian on the podium. Danor looked around.

Men who wore leather armour sliced through his clientele. Hordes streamed through every entrance. They block the way with shields. not letting a single noble leave alive. A black-haired woman foreign in face led the vermin They massacred guards in their way. Noblemen running away from their spouses are cut down. Their wives share their fates. A blur floated amongst the mess of blood and guts. A short sword dices multiple enemies at a time. With each kill, he gets closer to William.

The Hood.

The Duke flared his aura as his kingdom fell. But only one thing was on his mind.

killing his cousin's murderer.