There are moments in life when your brain is supposed to go all out. When in the instant of looking at something you suddenly realise a plan of action.

Nothing like that happen here. The only thing that I could speak was.

"Why haven't you killed him yet.", I ask.

For a second the three of us look at each other. None of us expected my statement.

"I will kill him, unless you return my saber to me.", the lady speaks after a few moments.

"How did you detect it though. It is not like you have any sensory formation on it.", I ask. This is pure delaying so that I can have a moment to plan.

"Do you think anything else in the fort emits that kind of mana. It is quite unique. Now enough delaying.", she replies. As she speaks her claws grip Trevor tighter. I can see a trace of blood on his skin.

Well, it would have been wiser to not bring that sword with me, but at the moment the risk seemed manageable. How was I supposed to know that this lady would have memorized the mana signature of the saber. That is such a big waste of time, especially when you have formations to detect it.

Screw it. I aim the petrifying saber right at her head. She still could have cut through trevors throat, but instincts prevailed as the lady jumps back. Trevor who has already scampered away from the lady is already making his way towards me.

Meanwhile, I activate the bloody fang. As the lady picks up her saber, I can feel my body transform. The degree of transformation this time is even more than usual. I can say for certain my senses have never been sharper.

I enter into a defensive position, there is no possibility of a proper offensive in this congested place. That doesn't really stop the lady though, who has already charged at me.

I can feel the impact of sword as it bounces away from my sword. It is the ideal moment to strike her as my sword bites into her stomach. This fight is going to be much easier than expected.

Sadly my goal is not to win this fight but to get those damn books out. If I keep fighting then I will not be able to break that protection and that means no books.

I block another of her strike. She comes in for a second, but overcommits on her swing. Her sword is now stuck on one of the bookshelves. I don't attack her though.

Instead I retreat a bit back and risk a glance behind me at Trevor. Looking behind me I spot a window and an idea pops in my head.

"Trevor, chuck the bookshelf down the window now.", I scream.

"It is too heavy captain, I can barely move it.", he replies.

"Just get it near the window.", I scream back to him.

I don't get to see what he is doing as the lady behind swings her saber at me. It almost does get me too. I barely block using my sword and thus we begin our spar again. She has also taken on a more defensive posture. After all, Trevor's illusion has broken.

Any moment now the distracted guards will be returning. Meanwhile, I can hear the scrapping noise as Trevor drags our target to window. The lady has noticed him, bit can't do anything at the moment. I have held her down quite effectively.

And thus our stalemate continues for a while. It could have been a few moments or a few years after which Trevor screams from the behind.

"It's in position captain."

This is gonna hurt as I turn and run towards the bookshelf at my full speed. I begin to concentrate my mana into my legs, as quickly as I can.

All of that momentum and strength I use to kick the bookshelf right through the window. The moment that my leg hit the bookshelf, it flew like it had wings. It had crushed right through the window and I think it took a bit of the wall with it.

I don't get to appreciate it though. All I can feel is a wave of pain that seems to have travelled from the tip of toes to my brain in a matter of a moment. Passing mana into my leg does little to the symphony of pain in my leg.

I wince as I put my leg on the ground. the lady detected this and went on the offensive. I do the same, as I block her strike trying to counter attack. She blocks it following which I jump to the side. I stab her, getting me decently sized gash on her knee.

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All of this I do with a distracted focus. The pain in my foot felt like somebody hammering a nail into it. (It happen to me once when I was a kid. It is very fucking painful.). It is almost a wonder that I have managed to block the lady in that period.

Her injuries help with mine, thankfully as her vital mana flows into me. My leg still hurts but it is not mind numbingly so. I can see the traces of our battle all throughout the room in its full glory.

Books have been torn apart. Many of the shelves have gashes on it. The lady has injuries on her chest and one of her arms too. I am not free of injuries sadly. I just did not notice it in the pain.

A small Nick on my arm, which had already begun to take a greyish hue. I quickly fortify that area with my vital mana.

Right now the two of us are still holding our sword against the other. The reason we have stopped is due to the sound of people running that can be heard outside. The worst possibility had occurred. The enemy would now be reinforced.

"You are dead now, you thief.", the lady speaks. "The master has appeared."

"Well, I don't see how that makes a difference. I have fought against you people pretty well haven't I.", I reply, without turning back. "Trevor, if you would be kind enough. Jump into the moat will you."

As I say this, the presence of the third captain distracts me from Trevors action. This man is a danger, i can say simply from his dangerous presence.

"Lady Erica, if you would be kind enough to introduce the two of us.", he speaks. "We shall speak of your disobedience later."

I can see Erica (nice to have a name finally.) Visibly contract in fear. She still speaks.

"You damn mutt, meet the master of the blood heart gang, Matthew. Master, this damn mutt is the half converted grunt that had damaged lady Esmeralda possession ceremony."

"Well, it is nice that I have met you. What would your name now be, young mutt. I can't keep calling you a mutt now, can I?", he speaks. Listening to him is enough to make my spine chill.

"My name is Alfredo, great vampire.", I reply.

"Well lied, young Alfredo.", the man spoke. "I shall ignore that insult for now. All I really need is your master name. I personally don't like to enforce my will but seeing you lie so freely what can I do."

As he speaks, the world around me grew stifling. It felt like somebody was crushing me to death. The pain in my foot returned like a tidal wave, taking me with it into oblivion.

"My brethren use the blood hierarchy to enforce their commands. That is like using a hammer to break an egg, don't you think? What I do is more elegant. Right now I have increased your flow of blood to double it's speed. Your head must be pounding.", the man speaks, his voice like a ghost in haze.

Hearing him speak, I understand. I can feel the sword lying right next to me, pumping vital mana and blood mana into me like a heart.

I shut it down. The difference is almost immediate. The world felt as if it had become grey, lifeless and heavier.

The pounding also stopped as the world came back into focus. Matthew also seemed to be quite surprised.

"Now how did you do that, Alfredo. Ah, I see a bloodline formation.", he speaks as he understands my swords ability in an instant. This is no ordinary man. "From how familiarly you hold that sword of yours, that must be the container. What did you use."

"The bone of a grunt.", I reply.

"Oh, that makes sense. No need to worry about the output then. If I were to excite your bloodline with even a soldiers bone. Let's just say you have given me an interesting question to ponder on." He speaks.

"Maybe you can let me go. I can give you the secret of my sword.", i reply.

"Well, if I wanted to i would figure it out in a month or two. You have pissed of Esmeralda and that lady will always hold a grudge. She especially hates being forced to possess a man.", he replies. "I help you and she will make life very annoying for me. Anyways, helping you will be like helping a snake. Only the hexmountain has the ability to craft a bloodline runes. I would assume you are the remanent of the ship that disappeared recently."

"Well, a man has got to try. You never know", I reply.

"I would trust what you were saying if could not feel the mana gathering in your hand.", he replies. "What spell can you cast that you think can harm me."

"Well, a man has got to try, doesn't he?", I reply again. As he speaks, a fireball appears in my arm. I throw it immediately into the air.

The fireball splits into four separate parts and lands on many spots in the room. The wooden bookshelves and the paper books catch on fire in an instant. The room goes up in a blaze as I turn and run towards the window which is now nothing more than a hole in the wall.

As I fall I wonder who the man in front of me was. It looks like I will need to grill Trevor on this later.

Crashing into the moat, feels like colliding into the ground. I can hear a distinct snap as a sharp pain appears in my arm. (It is almost funny to think that I can barely feel any pain from my arms snapping, but it felt like the world had disappeared from what was essentially stunning my toe.)

I do not allow myself to delve on the pain. Trevor has already left the moat, trying to keep the heavy bookshelf from floating away.

Quietly I take up one side of the cupboard with the arm that is fine. After that we both hobble with the bookshelf in our arms. We are going at our maximum speed as Trevor takes us through this complicated tangle of roads. Any minute now they will appear behind us.

Thankfully they seem to have all gone up the accounting room to act as a reinforcement. That is pretty stupid if I have to say so. Thankfully that ended up helping us. Soon enough, we were in the sewers again.

It was a small grate hidden in a shop about four or five streets away from the guardhouse. It was a blacksmith incidentally. That meant trudging in the sewers with the bookshelf above our head (we couldn't risk any of the books getting damaged. We had already taken quite a risk with the moat. The formation guarding it might not have blocked out water). Already there is a double throb growing in my arm. Meanwhile, the pain in my foot still is going strong, though the pain is more manageable now.