A tall, elderly man walked down a dimly lit corridor, the rhythmic tapping of his cane echoing through the chambers. His brilliantly red hair, neatly combed to the side, gleamed under the sparse lighting, and his gold-rimmed glasses glinted with each step. Sweat beaded on his furrowed brow as he hurried along, anxiety evident in his every movement. He was nervous and cautious, and his destination was a room at the end of the corridor.
The palace was vast and opulent, with masked guards in crimson armor stationed everywhere. The walls of the corridors were painted in rich hues of red and yellow, exuding a sense of grandeur and authority.
Despite the magnificence of his surroundings, the old man felt out of place. He had little choice but to heed the urgent summons.
Finally, he arrived at a door flanked by two guards in red armor. They acknowledged his presence with a curt nod and knocked.
"Just a moment," came a hoarse voice from within.
Muffled sounds of female laughter and moaning followed by a bed creaking could be heard from inside. It was clear there were several women in the room.
The old man’s face twisted in disgust as he waited.
After what felt like an eternity, the noises ceased, and a tense silence fell over the room.
"Send him in," the voice commanded.
The guards opened the door, and the old man stepped inside.
A wave of intense heat hit the old man as the door opened, but he paid it no mind and stepped inside.
He entered a massive bedroom dominated by a grand, circular bed encircled by a moat of molten lava. Statues with open mouths lined the walls, continuously spewing magma that illuminated the room with a fiery glow.
The old man scowled at the sight.
A tall, muscular man with short-cropped hair and a rugged beard sat on the bed, his body glistening with sweat. Surrounding him were five naked women, nearly exhausted and unconscious, their bodies barely covered by the disheveled sheets.
The muscular man grinned at the old man, "Ah, you’re here, Viscount Eric—or should I say, father-in-law?"
Viscount Eric stared back sternly. "That word from your mouth makes me want to retch, Lord Travis. Viscount will suffice."
The tall man was Travis Hellfire, grandmaster and principal of Bloodfire Academy.
"We’re family; we shouldn’t be so formal. Let’s see…" Travis picked up a nearby woman’s bra and casually wiped the sweat from his body. "You are the father of my fifth wife, so how about I call you Father Five?"
Travis's eyes gleamed with excitement as if he had come up with a brilliant idea.
Viscount Eric’s face turned pale at the title. "I would rather you call me Viscount Eric."
"So, Father Five, do you know why I summoned you on such short notice?" Travis asked, a grin playing on his lips.
The old man let out a weary sigh. “Perhaps you received an order from Our Highness? Something important we must discuss in private?”
Travis looked at him with boredom, tossing the sweat-soaked bra into the moat of lava, where it ignited instantly and burned to ashes. “Father Five, you jest! Do you think I would summon you to my bedroom in the middle of the night for such a mundane matter?”
“Then I have no idea whatsoever.”
Travis's eyes turned cold as he stared at the Viscount. The Viscount held his gaze, refusing to back down. Travis reached under his pillow and retrieved something, tossing it at the Viscount's feet. It was a pair of purple bracelets and a letter.
"Well, I think this might jog your memory," Travis said, smiling.
Viscount Eric's face paled for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure. "It's just entry bracelets for common folk and a flimsy letter. What of it?"
Travis rose from the bed, his brow furrowed. "One of my men intercepted a band of assassins. After killing them, they found these two purple bracelets along with that letter. If you go through the letter, you'll see the insignia of the Viper Fangs."
The Viscount's face turned ashen.
Travis grinned. "Come on now, it's no secret that a little illegal guild operates under your orders."
The old man could do nothing but bite his lip and stay quiet.
"The purple bracelets, I sent to the organizers to get checked. According to them, the last registered users of those bracelets were a woman named Bethenny Almond and her husband, Arthur Almond. The bracelet still has their blood drop inside, which they were using to track them down."
Viscount Eric's face contorted in an ugly expression.
Travis's smile broadened. "What's the matter, Father Five? Oh, I just remembered—didn't one of your deceased daughters also go by the name Bethenny? I heard she had passed away while adventuring and even her corpse wasn't recovered. So sad!"
Viscount Eric dropped his pretense. "Master Travis, that was decades ago! But I still managed to keep my end of the bargain and betrothed my next-in-line daughter in her place. Not only is my daughter Valentina beautiful, but she has a sharp mind and has been useful to you on countless occasions. Out of your twenty-seven wives, she's one of the most talented. Despite that, are you still not satisfied?"
Travis didn't answer and decided to stay quiet.
The Viscount's breathing was ragged and his brows throbbed,
"My daughter has never once uttered a single complaint about your lecherous tendencies. Despite having a harem of twenty-seven wives and countless sex slaves for the practice of your vile techniques, she has faithfully served beside you with her mind and body. Now suddenly you are trying to open old wounds?"
Travis's face turned serious. "Old man, watch your tone. You might be my fifth father-in-law, but that doesn't give you the right to yap however you feel like. Out of respect for your daughter being a useful tool, I shall overlook your behavior this one time. That said, that woman named Bethenny, she is your eloped blood daughter, isn't she?"
"She really died the day she left the household name behind. Her mere existence is a stain on the name of House Boldigrio," replied Viscount Eric.
Travis smiled. "So you really do intend to get rid of her. Good! Then how about this, let me have her instead."
Eric's face twitched. "What do you mean?"
Travis picked up his robe and began to dress himself. "You should already be familiar with my techniques by now. I need a good stock of healthy women who are efficient in fire attributes. Most of them die once all their essence has been harnessed, while some just collapse because of my high libido."
Viscount Eric's face twisted in disgust. "I am quite familiar with your technique and your libido by now. You don’t need to go into the details. I also know that your mansion gets a steady supply of females who then come out as piles of corpses. I just hope you don’t involve your wives in this deplorable technique of yours.”
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
"Well, of course not! I trained your daughter to please me, and she’s quite good at it. Killing her would be such a waste!”
“I’ve heard enough!” said Viscount Eric, his brows furrowed.
“Oh, come on! No need to be embarrassed. You should be a proud father. Hahaha!”
“If that’s all you have to say, I’m leaving,” said Eric, turning around.
“Viscount Eric, I want that woman alive. It would be in your best interest that my goods aren’t damaged. I can’t let the essence of a noble flame mage go to waste. You don’t mind that right?”
"If you wish to let her join as your slave, then so be it. Just promise me that she won’t see the light of the day. I have to clear the stains on my household one way or another. Her son should already be eliminated as we speak.”
Travis looked at Viscount Eric incredulously,
“Her son? You don’t mean the apostle, do you?”
Viscount Eric stood firmly,
“Well it would be a great loss for the kingdom but I can’t let the Church of Virtues find out our relationship. It could put not only me but even the kingdom in hot waters.”
Eric burst into laughter as he placed hands on his hips,
“You are one shrewd heartless grandpa! I like it. If the apostle is killed under Pierre’s protection it would also be a huge blow to their faction.”
“Now I’ll take my leave. I have many things to prepare,” said Viscount Eric, turning around and leaving.
—--
But to everyone’s surprise, the Mankerret Citadel was now overrun by mindless trolls. The Citadel was painted red with blood as the trolls killed everyone in their sight. Defeated trolls exploded, taking everyone nearby with them. It didn’t take long for the trolls to occupy the interior of the Citadel once they emerged from the basement.
The only guards and mages capable of putting up a fight were stationed outside. They had now completely barricaded the Citadel’s entrance to prevent the trolls from escaping. Thankfully, the mages discovered that the humans were being converted to trolls by dread zombie larvae. They applied a protective layer over the guards and mages, preventing the dread worms from penetrating their flesh.
One of the senior commanding mages stepped forward. “It would be best to assume that everyone in the castle is dead by now. Focus on not letting any of them out of the Citadel. If even one makes it past us and infects the villagers nearby, more trolls would spawn. Reinforcements are on their way; until then, hold this position.”
The entrance was walled by a stone barrier, reinforced with frozen ice walls. But the trolls easily punched through them, trying to get out. As soon as the walls were breached, the trolls were met with deadly spells. When the dead trolls exploded, the mages erected barriers to contain the blasts.
The battle outside the Citadel was intense, with the mages and guards working tirelessly to keep the trolls contained. Each time a troll breached the walls, they were met with a barrage of spells, and the explosion from their deaths was contained by the protective barriers.
Inside the Citadel, the chaos continued unabated. Blood and bodies littered the floors, and the air was thick with the stench of death and the residual mana from countless spells. The trolls roared and rampaged, searching for any remaining humans to infect or kill.
Meanwhile, Damien and Benjamin made their way to the top floor, standing inside the blood-stained elevator. The howls of trolls and the screams of dying humans echoed through the Citadel. Despite the chaos, the elevator was still functional, and the two waited in silence as it ascended.
Benjamin glanced at Damien. "Don't be offended, but are you human?"
Damien smiled. "A keen perception. Indeed, I am not human. Our kind is known as vampires, one of the sentient races related to the undead species. We have been shunned because of our diet and hunted almost to extinction. But a few still remain to this day."
Benjamin couldn't help but be a little surprised. "A vampire, that explains a lot. I just hope you don’t plan to eat me for lunch later. I swear I wouldn’t taste good."
Damien let out a sigh. "Don’t worry, I stopped feasting on humans long ago. I occasionally drink blood, but that's it. You don’t have to worry, young lad."
"The name’s Benjamin, but you can call me Ben," he responded.
"Young Ben, it seems you are not bothered by me killing your kind. You didn’t even bat an eye when my trolls slaughtered all the humans here. It’s as if you are almost used to seeing death," Damien observed.
"Well, you can’t blame me. Since I started going through this transformation, I feel like I am losing my humanity. I hope that won’t be a problem."
Damien just smiled. "That might be why you are so calm and collected. Anyway, don’t worry, I have prepared a way to revert your transformation. But for now, we should focus on getting out of here."
The elevator finally came to a halt on the top floor. As the doors opened, the courtyard came into view, a stark contrast to its former beauty. The once lush greenery was now trampled and stained with blood, and the air was thick with the stench of death and decay.
The two of them stepped outside the elevator and surveyed their surroundings.
Damien looked pleased. “It seems my partner wrecked quite the havoc.”
“Is he still alive?” asked Ben.
Damien shrugged. “Well, we’ll see.”
They walked through the cobblestone path, observing the aftermath of the battle. Dead bodies of guards and mages were scattered around. Some were sliced and cleaved apart, while others were charred, leaving only ashes. Some guards had their heads bashed in, and others were riddled with holes. The once-trimmed grassy lawn was now soaked in blood and guts. Large craters and the remains of stone creations indicated a fierce battle had taken place.
The air was thick with residual mana, proof that a magical combat had occurred here.
As the two approached the center of the courtyard, a shadowy figure loomed around the room, moving swiftly and silently through the shadows. Suddenly, it leaped out, swinging its arc blades at Ben.
Damien quickly extended his hand, shielding Ben. The arc blades cut through Damien’s flesh and lodged into his bones. Ben fell back, surprised by the sudden attack.
He saw a young man staring fiercely at him. The young man had dark skin and silver hair, with a bandana over his head. His arc blades were fused with his arms, almost as if his arms had transformed into blades.
“Vex, calm down. We are your allies,” said Damien.
The young man, Vex, quickly withdrew his arc blades from Damien’s overgrown hand and stepped back. His arc blades transformed back into regular arms.
“We are supposed to save a dryad?” Vex asked as he observed Ben.
“He’s human, but if we don’t do anything, he’ll become a tree and die. Weren’t you paying attention during the mission briefing?” Damien replied.
Vex scratched his ear nonchalantly. “I paid attention. What do you take me for?”
Damien sighed. “Never mind. Did you take care of the warden?”
Vex grinned. “That warden was no big deal. He had an unusual technique, creating multiple eyes and attacking with beams from them. But I managed to slice all those eyes and killed all his bodyguards along with him.”
Vex suddenly appeared holding a staff. “This is the warden’s staff, and I’m taking it as a trophy. It has a magical gem, and there are runes inscribed as well.”
Damien glanced at the staff, then back at Vex. “Well, keep it then. Anyway, we have to get moving before their reinforcements appear.”
“Just a second, let me savor this staff first!” said Vex. He grabbed the staff and started inserting it right into his belly. The staff began to submerge within his body, disappearing as if it were being absorbed by Vex’s flesh.
Vex seemed pleased, licking his lips as he savored the weapon. Within seconds, the staff had fully disappeared into his body.
Ben looked on, dumbfounded. “What the hell is going on?”
Vex smiled. “You see, I can absorb any weapon. As you saw before, my body parts can turn into any weapon that I have devoured. Let me show you—”
Saying this, his arm transformed into a weapon. “This is the Blades of Wotol, crafted to slice flames of the Nether Fire realm.”
His arm then transformed into a circular saw blade. “This is a mechanical saw that runs on mana. The blades rotate so fast that I can dice and slice through a rock.”
His arm then turned into a large barrel gun. “This is the Double Hollow Shotgun. One shot, and I can shred anyone in front of it.”
“And this—”
Damien suddenly stopped him. “Time’s up! We need to go now. I can sense a powerful entity approaching the Citadel.”
Vex started grinning. “A powerful enemy! Finally, someone can actually entertain me now.”
“No, we are getting out of here. You promised you would obey my orders. My order is to leave.”
Saying this, Damien reached into his pocket and took out a scroll.
“Hey! You guys go ahead. I’ll have a quick spar with the incoming enemy to buy you time to escape,” said Vex, smiling cunningly.
Damien opened the scroll and tossed it in the air. It quickly unfurled and levitated before them. A magic circle appeared from within the scroll, and a dark rift opened in the space, revealing an eerie portal to the abyss.
“Is this a teleportation portal?” asked Ben.
“Yes!”
Damien's arm suddenly grew to the size of a beast's, and he grabbed Vex, who was stretching his legs to warm up. In an instant, Vex was held in Damien’s hand like a little rat.
“What’s the meaning of this, Damien?” screamed an annoyed Vex.
“We are leaving!” Damien tossed Vex into the portal like a little ball. Vex's annoyed voice disappeared as he vanished into the portal.
Damien then gently placed his hand on Ben’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, we’ll be safe.”
Finally, Ben and Damien entered the portal, disappearing from the Citadel. The portal then closed, and the scroll caught fire, destroying any evidence of their existence.