Wide windows were scattered generously around the walls in seemingly perfect symmetry, along with symmetric crenelations for archers and artillery.
A giant gate with tall stone doors, a regular bridge, and strong defenses
guarded the entrance to the castle ground. It was the only easy way in, any other side would be futile.
Giant bones of various beasts littered the fields outside the castle, half overgrown, but still a painful reminder of the past. Unknown to the world, this castle had stood the test of time, it stood it well, but cracks began to show here and there.
The castle was located on the edge of the southern continent. This land was uncharted, to speak frankly, no one survived trying to chart this part of the land by one group; The Deathless.
The next day after the events of the Rachdale village massacre, inside a dark gloomy hall, several figures dressed in gothic style sat around a round table. Each of them looked like they were going trick or treat for Halloween.
The three men at the table wore long black suits with antique buttons and red vests while the two ladies were in fancy black skirts, red tops with bell sleeves, and a black hat.
Underneath their dress and makeup, they all had chalk-white skin, blood-red lips, and two long fangs.
”We should have killed him,” Hacan said. Hacan was a conniving vampire who looked like a man in his mid-thirties but he recently turned six hundred years old. He had dark brown eyes, a fair complexion due to the makeup he wore, and dark brown hair neatly braided. He was the shortest and plumpy among the vampires sitting at the table.
”Relax Hacan, let’s hear what he has to say first. Then we can pass judgment” a youthful voice responded to Hacan. This young outgoing vampire was named Saber. Despite his youthful look, his real age was 485 years ago. He had blue eyes, a medium brown complexion, and light brown hair in an updo. He was neither too handsome nor too unattractive.
He had a face and body that let him perfectly blend in with the crowd unnoticed.
The oldest of them listened to the two uttering no words. He recently turned 1050 years but looked like he was still in his mid-thirties. He had silvery-blue eyes, a pale complexion, and red hair in a long braid. He was tall and fairly muscular beneath his dark suit and red vest. The other vampires knew him by the name ‘Ingram’
Among the two female vampires who wore identical clothes, one looked a bit plump while the other had a perfect hourglass structure. The plump one had red hair while the other had striking black hair. The red-haired vampire went by the name Lenora and the brunette was called Trista.
In the hierarchy of vampires, these five belonged to the category of Elder Vampires. Of course, there were other Elder Vampires but these five were the ones present in the room. Each of these Elder Vampires served an Alpha and these Alphas served the most powerful vampire of them all, the Maker.
The Maker was said to be the first vampire. According to the ancient texts possessed by the Deathless Clan, the Maker disappeared six thousand years ago. They believed that the Maker had entered into an eternal slumber and it was their task to locate him and wake him from his slumber.
The Deathless Clan was working in the shadows for thousands of years with a single purpose; find the Maker.
”He has waited long enough. Let’s call him” Lenora, the red-haired vampire said in a carefree playful tone.
”Yeah let’s get this over with” Trista waved her hand.
Moments later the two Elder Vampires spoke, the round table opened in the middle as a tall figure emerged from the ground. A red spotlight on the figure revealed his face and if Logan was there, he would recognize the man. He was the greater vampire who massacred his village single-handedly.
”Elders” the greater vampire bowed at each Elder vampire.
”Do you admit the consequences of your bloodlust Vlad?” Saber asked,
”You have endangered our secrecy Vlad. You didn’t only let the bodies behind but also left witnesses alive” Lenora said seriously,
The others remained in silence, letting Vlad speak for himself,
”I am willing to pay any price for my mistakes, Elders. I only wish to share the knowledge I acquired during my last venture” Vlad paused for a moment to look at everyone before continuing,
”There is another one in Southern Continent who can use Arch energy and I don’t think he’s one of us”
”You jest,” Hacan growled at Vlad. He couldn’t remain silent after hearing Vlad’s outlandish claims.
He was about to slam the stone table when Saber raised his hand,
”Where did you learn this information?”
All the vampires possessed the ability to detect lies and they saw no signs of Vlad. Nonetheless only Saber seemed to trust Vlad for some reason,
”From a human in Rachdale village on the outskirts of Gisel. He told me that the man offered to join him. The human lied that he joined. The magic-user has left the human alive and when I was about to kill him, I was ambushed by an airship fitted with a light beam spotlight. I believe the magic-user sent the airship to aid the human”
”So it’s true” Saber’s words shocked everyone more than Vlad did.
”Saber, what the hell are you talking about? He was deceived. No one other than us can use arch energy inside the void line” Haan couldn’t believe what Vlad just said,
”You can’t deny the possibility that he might be a rogue vampire exiled by us” Lenora said as Saber shook his head,
”I’ve been hearing things from my men. Recently, the pirates started to talk about a captain who casts spells and uses magic. We can all agree that pirates are not a very reliable source of information”
”No shit” Hacan sneered,
”Two bottles of rum and they sing songs about Kraken. Forget about us, if there is someone who could use arch energy inside void line, all the great clans would have hunted him down”
Saber smiled hearing Hacan,
”You answered your own question, Hacan. No one believes the pirates. Pirates lie but he didn’t” Saber pointed at Vlad,
”I also happen to have on good authority the Guardians suspect the one Vlad told us about and the one who calls himself Lucifer might be the same person” Saber’s lips curved upwards, revealing a slight grin that seemed like the devil of a grin. He may have looked normal, calm and harmless among the six but in truth, he was the cruelest and most dangerous of them all.
”Hehehehe” Lenora giggled,
”Does this authority happen to be a certain guardian?”
”Why do I have a feeling you tasted my food?” Saber asked with a smile at Lenora,
”Because I did” Lenora licked her lips,
”I have to say Saber. When you turned a cultivator into us, I had my doubts. But after tasting her, it’s worth all the trouble. I’m thinking about getting cultivator minion myself”
Seeing the conversation straying away from the right track, Trista clapped her hands,
”What should we do with him?” Trista asked pointing at Vlad,
”What else?” the smile on Saber’s face faded away,
”Kill him,” Saber said, snapping his finger as Vlad exploded into a bloody mist.
”What the fuck Saber?” Hacan growled,
”You ruined my clothes”
”How about I treat you to a special meal?”
Leaving the bloody mess of Vlad behind, Saber took Hacan to his special lair underground where he kept a special blood meal.
*********************************
Meanwhile, in the Akilan realm, Michael was standing in the middle of the black forest with Gaya and Elidyr. They had a boar in a steel cage in front of them on the ground.
”Can you at least give us a clue?” Gaya leaned on Michael, trying to seduce him to spill the beans.
With a proud smile on his face, Michael took out a muddy brown potion in his hand. The potion was glistening brightly inside the vial.
The boar was in a paralyzed state so it didn’t even budge when Michael bent down to pour the potion into its mouth. Little by little, the poutine went into its mouth. Gaya stared at the boar, expecting something although she had no idea what to expect.
Even Elidyr was curious about the potion because Lucifer was working on the potion for almost six months nonstop. After finishing pouring the potion into its mouth, Michael kicked the steel several meters away from him.
When the steel cage hit the ground, the steel cage opened. At that same time, the paralyzing poison Michael injected into the boar wore off. Thus, the boar leaped out of the cage. As though it remembers who caged it, the boar locked its gaze with Gaya. The boar then went to dig the ground a bit with its legs as a sign of aggression.
Gaya even saw puffs of smoke rushing out of its nostrils.
”So your motherfucking potion makes the boar angrier?” Gaya rolled her eyes. She then took out the heavy sword hanging on her back. But Michael
”Wait for it” Michael lowered her hands,
The boar began to run towards them. It was royally pissed because of what Gaya did. The boar was having the time of his life with a female boar when she plucked him up and put him into a cage.
”Wait for it” the boar was getting closer and closer yet Michael did not allow her to attack it.
Just when the boar was a couple of meters away from them, Michael snapped his finger. As soon as he did that, the boar exploded from within into a bloody mist.
”What the?” Gaya was stunned. She saw no spellcasting or use of Arch energy from him. Yet, the boar exploded.
Michael took out another muddy brown potion from his system storage,
”Imagine mixing this in the food of our enemies. I can kill them anytime, any moment, with just a snap of my fingers”
Michael felt the urge to let out a burst of evil laughter but he controlled himself. This potion was one of the greatest achievements of his life. He created an entirely new potion that even the system had no knowledge of.
No matter how many 6-star alchemists tried to replicate this potion, they wouldn’t succeed, because the potion contained something this world didn’t have; Nanites.
”Only one thing left, naming this potion”
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Why don’t you guys suggest me a cool name for this potion?