16.8

The group encountered no Vampires on the long winding staircase of the eastern tower. Upon reaching the first door set into the wall, Ralph stayed with the group while Eve entered alone. When the castle was first constructed, a space mage was involved. Instead of a small room between the walls, a massive luxury corridor appeared.

Much like the Rasmuchein, doors were set into the sides of the corridor. The only difference here was the wood grew more expensive the further from the stairwell a door was. There was a rather distinct level of importance implied. Eve placed runes on the door behind her concealing it.

Once the path to escape was removed, Eve called her sword into her right hand. Kicking in the first door on the right, she walked inside to find two Vampires in the middle of a feeding session. Both men had slightly shocked expressions that morphed into feral rage. Eve’s form blurred to match their speed, and a moment later, two heads rolled on the ground. Ignoring the fresh corpses, she checked the young women they had been feeding on.

It was the work of a moment to heal the woman, but Eve didn’t release her. Rather than have a possibly hysterical abductee following her, she chose an easier path. Exiting the room, silver runes flashed concealing it.

Eve opened and repeated her method of entering the door to the right. She knew now that the doors acted as isolation points for the spatially expanded corridor. No sound passed between them, preventing the Vampires from being aware of her. What was likely a method to ensure privacy turned into a death trap!

Granted, it would provide the same benefit to the Vampires. Eve thought as she entered the room. Any forces from the duke would have no clue of the number of defenders inside.

Six Vampires were in this room, which resembled a guard’s breakroom. Eve extended her senses as the Vampire’s leaped toward her. Her eyes clearly detected that among the six, one of the men had a far higher concentration of mana. In a flash of understanding, Eve linked the increase in blood mana with the purity of the Vampire’s bloodline.

She moved forward and chopped four times, cutting the weaker ones down in a blur of motion.  As she appeared behind the final two, Eve turned and extended her hand as if grabbing a pipe. Both remaining Vampires rose into the air, choking before Eve threw them against the closest wall.

“I need test subjects for Kudzu, but you don’t need all your limbs for that,” Eve said as she approached the dazed pair. Within a second, eight limbs fell to the carpet, four arms and four legs. She cauterized the Vampire's wounds leaving the rest to their self-healing capabilities.

Clearing out a space, Eve let Witch’s Dust etch a reverse summoning circle onto the ground. Tossing both Vampires onto the circle, they vanished in a flash of silver light. Checking with her main body, she knew they had arrived on the Prison Plane.

Under the tender care of Kudzu, it might be possible to extract the secret of their longevity. However, two samples wouldn’t be enough to provide the knowledge. Eve swiftly exited the room before sealing it behind herself.

I had best take this more seriously. Eve thought as she compressed Witch’s Dust into a cube that floated between the two cleared rooms. It wouldn’t be good to let something that could extend the lives of those I care about slip through my fingers.

She covered the rune cube in a set of contingencies in case any of the Vampires managed to bypass her. With only eleven rooms remaining, Eve was confident. Each wing likely contained a bloodline. Either that or the blood purity probably increased the higher up the stairwell they went. Something along those lines was most likely an accurate portrait.

The next ten rooms proved that the higher quality a door’s wood was, the purer the Vampire’s bloodline. Eve didn’t bother releasing any of the women she found being fed upon. It was clear there was collusion between the duke and the Vampires. None of those being fed upon looked close to death, so she decided to leave the issue for Charlotte.

The whole point of having someone in charge was to hand them messes like this and let them resolve such things. Eve nodded to herself as she moved to the final room. Kicking down the door had become a satisfying method of entry. This time was no different, and the expensive wooden door shattered in with a satisfying crunch just as before.

The difference this time was instead of a surprised number of Vampires, an aware enemy occupied the room. An older male Vampire of apparent middling age was bedecked in a functional set of plate mail. A shield was on his back, and a sword was on his hip. Those were secondary to the repeating crossbow that he had in his hands. Eve winced as two arrows cracked against her Witch’s Dust shielding. Raising her left hand, she sent vacuum blades at the Vampire’s legs.

The Vampire ignored the attack, allowing it to strike his plated legs. Eve sighed as she witnessed the mana in her strikes disintegrate upon contact with the armor. It was clear the armor functioned in a manner to disrupt enemy spells. Whether it was a function of the metal or an inherent ability of a high-class Vampire was unknown. Either option wasn’t a complete wash, but it did mean this might take longer than Eve first thought.

Annoying. Eve thought as she moved forward with her sword. If this is the level of the bottom of the stairwell it doesn’t bode well for the rest.

The likelihood that the duke realized the Vampires within his walls were possibly Tier Four, or Five was low. From how they had concealed themselves and allied with the duchy, it was clear the Zienfer were being used as cover. From that point of reasoning, there wouldn’t be any reason for the bloodsuckers to reveal they're true strength.

On the other hand, it won’t matter what Tier they are. Eve thought as she forced the older Vampire into close combat. The world itself can barely hold my presence at Tier Six. It would be impossible for Tier Seven to function in this environment.

Eve danced, her blade moving without stopping as she considered the possibilities. Tier Four was certain, as the current opponent was easily at the breakpoint for a Tier Three. Going up higher in the tower, it wouldn’t make sense if there wasn’t at least one Tier Four Vampire. Tier Five was a bit harder to believe but still within possibility.

Tier Six, though, no. The ambient mana wouldn’t support that strain. Eve thought as she exchanged rapid blows with the older man. No matter, I can adapt to whatever awaits me.

Eve could handle things if there weren’t a Tier Seven. She had high hopes there was Tier Five for Kudzu’s research. Underlings tended to follow their superiors, so she was willing to bet the stronger Vampires were physically aligned fighters. It would make sense to play to their strengths.

The Vampire’s armor was annoying, preventing Eve from ending the fight using magic. Instead, she was forced to combat the older male vampire through a variety of annoying tricks. Everything from the equivalent of flash bangs to what appeared to be a prototype gun appeared. Finally, after exhausting all other options, the Vampire began to use their sword and shield.

Eve’s eyes had grown colder as the two of them fought. All attempts to extract a Status from the Vampire had failed. Apparently, one of the items on his body was used to conceal the information. It wasn’t outside the realm of possibility that a dungeon item was the source of disruption.

The other more irritating possibility was that this Vampire was a reincarnated individual. As they traded blows, Eve kept up a high-paced attack. Her body had long passed human limits. The Vampire showed no expression for several minutes. Eventually, though, Eve started to adapt to the combat style.

One of the most terrifying things in combat is watching the opponent learn to counter in the middle of a fight. Eve’s ability to learn was horrifying when combined with Eternal Memory. As the battle progressed, she began to isolate gaps in the enemy's defense with her sword.

It took the Vampire barely a minute to realize what was happening, and he immediately made a solid logical decision to escape. Eve didn’t bother pursuing the enemy as he exited the room. Her failsafe activated, and multiple flashes of light accompanied by thunderous booms occurred. Once the noise died, Eve exited the room to see the Vampire face down on the carpet.

“Your armor is an interesting trick,” Eve said as she approached the Vampire. It was the work of a moment to store the severed limbs away in Storage. Even though the Vampire was struggling to regenerate, it wouldn’t be close to fast enough to matter.

“Monster!” The older Vampire spat. “Who the hell uses a railgun in an enclosed space!”

“Oh? Do you know what a railgun is? Fascinating.” Eve said, kicking the Vampire onto his back. Witch’s Dust started to carve the reverse summoning circle. “Let me guess, a reincarnate?” The Vampire stared at her aghast as she continued, “It won’t matter. Kudzu will rip all the secrets from your flesh.” She ignored the Vampire’s confused expression as the summoning circle flashed silver sending the test subject away.

Eve glanced at the gaping wall the faux railgun strikes from her failsafe had created. It would be hard to explain this damage to Ralph and Charlotte, so she decided to blame the Vampires. With the way space had been manipulated to create the corridor, she wasn't worried the rest of the castle knew anything was up.

Eve headed back to the stairwell while firmly reciting her alibi in her head.