Chapter 115: New Pet?
***
"… I want to assist you in finding the rest of the Keys."
"Well, your offer … I will decline it." replied Vlad, direct without hiding behind any schemes, looking at the youngster who appeared from behind Eleine in his statue form.
Morphing back to a humanoid shape, taking on flesh, his face was surprised by the decline, not understanding why Vlad would reject his offer to help.
"Why?"
"You want to know? Then let's move out from this place before it collapses on us. Not having to deal with enraged Witch Hunters can bring some peace of mind once in a while."
Saying that he signalled Eleine and Bonney using some quick hand gestures, later on jumping in the air, akin to a large phantom that decided to appear over the dark sky, he was soon followed by Bonney and Eleine who jumped off the tower, displaying their pristine agility.
Agility built with hard work, dedication, and desire to improve themselves and reach closer to the one they admire, respected and adored.
"Did I do something to offend the new Master? I only challenged him to accurately gauge his potential and strength just like Master Amad instructed me."
Idril was gazing in the air, seeing how smoothly Vlad was flying toward the location where he could sense a human settlement. Morphing back into his stone form, he mixed along with the stone tower, disappearing from the scenery the Duskfall Fortress was giving over the mountainous region.
The cries of the Royal Guards who were devoured by the collapsing cave and the panicked shouts of their comrades engulfed the Fortress.
In a moment of uncertainty, the Commander of the Fortress, who felt his ground destabilizing, noticed large cracks being formed on the ground. In a moment of mental sharpness, he saw something sinister.
It was as if underneath his feet was the River Styx flowing with a crimson-red liquid, with various body parts of people whose attire differed from what the people of Briss Kingdom were wearing.
From the ones that looked old, mummies and ancient people to a transition in time, to later on noticing his own people, the Royal Guards being engulfed in this maddening scene.
"W-W-What the fuck … did I just saw?"
The screams of his men trapped inside the collapsing cave, akin to a Black Hole keen on devouring everything, and the cracks on the ground where the Fortress was positioned started splitting even harder.
*BOOM*
The sound of the Towers collapsing gave a dignified appearance to the Fortress was the final waking call for the Commander, who, with his entire strength, screamed for evacuation.
"EVERYONE! LEAVE THIS CURSED GROUND!! WE WITHDRAW FROM THE DUSKFALL FORTRESS!"
"Commander, we can't abandon the ones who got trapped in the Cave! We got to rescue them."
Remembering where the crimson-red river washed over the bodies and souls of the unfortunate, something he failed to see in his second time, a clear sign that he wasn't supposed to see that phenomenon.
"It's an ORDER! Withdraw, quickly. Can't you see that this ground will collapse and all of us will die?"
The evacuation was decently organized, some were greedy and decided to postpone their withdrawal, thinking about the money they could just steal from the Fortress, making others who choose to follow the orders of the Commander to the letter, doubt.
All until the ground shook so hard that they all fell on the ground, hearing the maddening screams of a beast that was taken out of the worst nightmares the human mind could imagine.
The Commander was shaking from fear, with all of his hair getting goosebumps, and as if magic was playing on his eyes, the once proud Duskfall Fortress vanished from the face of the earth, giving the impression the earth turned on its head.
"God… Did we just escape from the Devil's Grasp?? Or … we have unlocked a Devil that should have been imprisoned in this Fortress … A prison?"
★
Vlad didn't concern himself with the fates of the Royal Guards, instead focused on his next steps, and suddenly stopped using his ability to fly, dropping to the ground, frozen with shock at what he just heard.
From the maddening, nightmarish roar of an Abyssal Monster, he picked a message that probably was intended for him from how it sounded.
[I shall wait for your arrival, Ohh foolish mortal whose Fate was tainted by blood and death!]
[When we meet, you'll forever regret entangling your Fate with the one Cursed by this World!]
.
Titania, who was on Vlad's head, started holding her head as if a headache was about to split her small head, and not being able to hang on, she went unconscious, making Vlad pick her up from his head and look at her with slight fluctuation in his emotions.
"..."
'What got into her to get overwhelmed by some roar? Anyway, scrap metal … did you just hear that?'
{Loud and clear.}
'And, could it be that by chance you also know what that was?'
{Hahh, enough with your sarcasm … To think that fucking sociopath would succeed in his plan… No wonder … an alien who has lived for thousands of years among us humans would be a small thing.}
'... Alien? I see that you want to really confuse me with extra hints that I can't bind together.'
{Sigh … forget it. We are already about to get fucked, our plans toppling down in our heads with this awakening.}
'Of whose? That thing that roared and warned me about Fate entanglement and whatnot?'
{The Guardian of the Mausoleum has awakened. Fuck, to think that being would hatch now after 2500 years.}
{However, based on that sociopath's remarks, that Ancient Dragon embryo was dead … Did he manage to revive the embryo from the inside of the egg? Or was it something different? Did he get scheme upon someone else?}
'Wait … too much information all at once. Are you telling me dragons actually exist?' asked Vlad, who looked in the distance where the once proud Duskfall Fortress no longer existed.
{All the credible Mythical Creatures that might exist in the Devil Fruits of the Zoan type existed … in a far distant past when the world was far more Chaotic and Primal than today's World.}
'Huh?! Does this mean … I will have to slay a Dragon to get the treasure?'
{Who knows? Maybe you can submit that Dragon because it should be relatively "weak" only being a Hatchling…}
'Only a Hatchling. Then you are right, we should hurry and collect the keys. No longer getting distracted by side quests and curiosities of mine.'
Having his talk with Anathema, discussing the many mysteries that were all at once mentioned, a moment where also Idril appeared from behind, with the girls soon to make their presence known.
*Cough* "I think … we are in big trouble…" added Idril, who also felt the roar of the beast and heard the comment of the powerful, mythical creature.
Vlad looked coldly at this "Android" and shifting his attention to Eleine and Bonney, he walked to pass Titania, who went unconscious after the incident surrounding the Duskfall Fortress.
"Take care of her for me, will you, Eleine?"
"She got unconscious again …"
"Again? Did this happen with her in the past?"
"Since Yehimal Mountain … she started having moments where she would spin out, other times she would get unconscious…" replied Eleine, watching the pitiful Fairy giving off such a weak appearance, slightly worried about her well-being.
"Then why didn't you tell me??" asked Vlad looking at Eleine with a cold look, shifting a bit at Bonney, that was looking down, a sign that she knew about the incidents.
The aura around Vlad shifted a bit, getting colder since he didn't like his close ones keeping important secrets from him, which might affect their lives.
"She … We made a promise to her not to tell you this health problem of hers."
"Right, it seems you sure have many secrets… We like to keep secrets from one another … Sure, so be it. Scrap metal, Statue, have you ever seen this Fairy in your whole pitiful existence?"
Vlad's attitude was even colder as he morphed Anathema back into its default form, the one of the slender longsword with various runes imbued on the blade.
[I don't recollect the Fairy ever being in the picture when I was at that guy's side.]
[Honest with you, young man… I feel that a part of my memories has been removed, and for a while, it was as if I was kept in the dark. Only waking my consciousness when I was already in that Lake.]
[She was the first one to greet me when I was aware of what happened. But I don't remember even meeting her in my past.]
[Still, I made some theories regarding her existence … She is a Spiritual Being enslaved by that guy, bound to do his bedding, watching over my own prison, until someone capable of wielding my own will would challenge me.]
[Aware of the story from your hometown of Picodras … No one managed to retrieve me from that place in hundreds of years.]
[The Leshen Creature was also contracted to do his bidding and managed to repel most adventurers brave enough to face him. Condemning me to a long damnation in the depths of a lake.]
Closing his eyes and playing out the experiences he had in Picodras … blind as he was back then, the experiences his body felt were the equivalent of a large picture in full detail.
He could feel the honesty in Anathema's words concerning Titania and opening his cold abyssal eyes again, it was Idril's turn to speak about whether he knew anything about Titania.
"Sir … While I didn't have much time to interact with her, I can tell you this. For whatever reason, when I look at her, I feel somewhat familiar.
As if … I spend a lot of time watching her silently, but I have no memories, a blank sheet that even if I use my analytical power, my mind misses various points of my time with that person. Similar to what senior … Anathema has been talked about."
"Okay, fine. Let's move to the other important side. Why do you say you are in trouble? Or better said, "We are in trouble"?"
"... It's actually because of that … I can't tell you why … but we really need to work together on this. Finding the Keys and defeating that damned monster. It's almost instinctual, as if I got programmed to react like this against that being."
"Can you chase acting all mysterious with me?? Hiding key information as if you would get your head cleaved from the shadows if you start talking about something that makes sense."
[Fool. Let me ask you… Would you like to live without knowing who you are? Always missing out on important memories that would bind together a bigger picture? This is what I and this Idril guy are experiencing …]
"Indeed, I really can't tell you why. It's like they are instinctual urges that have been ingrained into my genome."
"So, to make it straight? You want to team-up with me, find the keys. Open the Mausoleum, defeat the Dragon or whatever is waiting there, blocking my way to the Treasure Trove, and then you go separate ways?"
"Depends."
"... On what?"
"If you would accept me working under you."
"Tch, I can feel it … There's a deeper meaning, and you are hiding something from me. Even you, scrap metal, keep hiding stuff from me, and only when shit starts to fan will you spew a torrent of information.
I am not a machine to perceive and comprehend everything… I am just a human."
[Fine, I will try to tell you my story … or better say, the bits I bound together. You decide if I am lying or not.]
"Start with a question. Were you a human or an alien entity like this Atlas guy?"
[... I was a human. One of the important figures of humankind.]
★
Moving the discussion back to the Briss Royal since the high-tier travelling speed of the group being out of the charts, it initially surprised Amadeus and Linda who had to deal with the waking servant Corl, all tied down with ropes on a chair.
Yet before their arrival, Amadeus was staying on watch over the Royal Servant who was bound on the chair, without a mouthful, a sign that he wasn't struggling to get free from his constraints.
Still, the idea of escaping from this circumstance and making so those traitors, criminals of the Kingdom, paid a heavy price, surfaced from time to time, only to get warned by a youngster just 14 years old, close in age to his son.
"Sir, stop struggling … I would feel bad if I had to do something bad to you. Especially considering you have met mom in the past."
"Boy, are you really the son of Duchess Lithén… Who am I talking with … you are a mirror resemblance to her."
"Ohh, thanks for the compliment. But it will not change anything with your treatment.
Now, if you would be quiet and stop asking me stupid questions. I got to finish the song before Boss returns. I'll play to his victory to please him enough to train me in combat."
"You mean … young Charles?"
Amadeus looked at Corl with an amused expression, reminded of his reaction in the morning when he woke up to walk inside the main room and meet Vlad in his child form, staying in the "High-Chair '' for command.
"Heh, that's just him fooling you guys. Well, I almost got fooled by him when I first met him in his smaller size. His acts are really compelling, just like my music."
Then without caring about Corl's struggles, he began playing the violin, showcasing to the Royal Butler a talent that he could only enjoy when he was a young adult.
All thanks to the petty acts of the new King, Alfons Briss, who banned all sorts of influences from their neighbours, and by extension, the music generously supported in Kaysang Kingdom and Samba Kingdom.
Minutes passed, and his thought went on Prince Gunos, who had been missing by now for about two hours.
"You shouldn't worry, mister Corl. Prince Gunos will not be harmed… since it wouldn't be in the interest of that man to kill a Royal member of Briss House."
"People like Vlad Dracul, are individuals who wouldn't lower themselves that low as to get in so much trouble for a "Pawn" on the Chess board."
It was the voice of a woman that sounded calm, making her way out from the kitchen holding a plate of freshly cooked food prepared for her son who instantly stopped his music playing, thanking Linda and beginning to wolf down.
"Your Grace … How come you are with this Charles … no, Vlad Dracul?"
"Unique circumstances that you have no reason to know about."
"... Please, I beg you … don't use him to take revenge on the Briss Kingdom. The destruction of Lithen House was a decision that His Majesty even now regrets. Being one a mistake made out of impulse."
Linda was looking at Corl with her green eyes calm, her body posture seeming dignified and elegant, and hearing what the butler said about the Briss King, her calmness turned into slight coldness.
Stepping toward the butler tied down, she inserted her slender, delicate hand in his throat and warned the man with a tone akin to a vengeful wraith.
"If you don't want to suffer my anger start by stopping begging, or pleading for forgiveness for your Master."
"Continue annoying me, I will not mind requesting Lord Dracul that he wipes off from this Earth, this family named Briss. I am sure the price I will pay will be enormous, but if I really keep holding to this grudge, I will pay it in full body."
Corl's throat was burning as it got captured, gargling with his saliva, unable to pass down.
"All I want for now is to live in peace, and start a new life where I can see my son grow into a fine man."
"Anything else, politics of the Kingdom, the petty squabbles between the Noble Houses … I don't care anymore. So keep quiet and don't infuriate me."
Amadeus, who was eating, couldn't help but smile widely at this cold side his mother showed to her enemies and even compliment the mature woman who got a bit embarrassed by snapping out from her calm personality.
"Mom, isn't it justified that we take revenge for what the King did to our family? Not that I care much about this Kingdom, since for most of my life I was in the Slum."
"..."
"That would be required, young human." commented a new voice, triggering Amadeus to watch around for the source of the voice, only to be surprised that the source of this voice was a youngster wearing old-fashioned clothes akin to an ancient person.
He had black hair, while his eyes were red with star-like irises in the center, and his skin was milky white akin to a marble statue.
"Who are you?"
"Amadeus, stay away from this person… He is an enemy."
Linda, who recalled what Vlad mentioned concerning his possible enemy in the Tomb of Kings, started to run toward a couch, picking up her family heirloom sword, Lorelei, a slender type longsword that had some ornaments on the hilt, with a sparrow trying to fly from its own cage.
"Could it be?? You have defeated everyone else and want revenge from every single person in his entourage?"
Linda gave the impression she knew how to wield the blade and walked slowly with extra vigilance toward her son, in the idea if this mysterious individual that appeared from nowhere was hostile, she would sacrifice herself for her son's life and future.
On the other hand, Idril who arrived faster than Vlad by cheating using his Logia Devil Powers, couldn't help but smile evilly at Linda.
Still, deep down, he was judging the personality of the people Vlad picked to assist him in his journey.
His frigid eyes moved from the mature beauty that by human standards was on the High-Level of a Pyramid, then to Amadeus, who didn't look so concerned, unlike her mother, continuing to eat leisurely.
"Why aren't you scared? Look at this human, he has already passed out, unconscious." asked Idril, pointing out at Corl, who got scared senseless by the apparition of the mysterious youngster.
"Do I have a reason to get scared? It's very, and I am doubtful that Lord Vlad would get defeated by a pipsqueak like you. More unlikely that he would allow you to escape without killing you, so …
You should be his new pet?"
Idril frowned when he heard this blonde youngster call him Vlad's "pet" and display a change in aura, Linda started having goosebumps while standing before Amadeus and even slapping him behind the head.
"What are you saying son? We have no idea what happened. Get ready to flee from this room, and run far. Lose your way in the sea of people. I will try to keep him busy for a while."
"Mom… Come on, don't get fooled by this pigsqueak and show some trust in Lord Vlad. He is really a great person, who I respect a lot even from staying around him for three days."
"Well soon, when you get to my age… You will look at people you don't know with extra vigilance and skepticism."
"Owww, Linda, your words hurt me. Even after carrying you like a Princess in the air, you look down on me?"
It was a calm voice heard from the entrance to the balcony, where Vlad made his presence felt, stepping inside the room as if he owned this entire building.
The blonde woman noticed that Vlad returned alive, and even the girls looked to be safe, with the addition of Prince Gunos who woke up after being slammed on the ground by gravity.
Her beautiful emerald eyes looked at Vlad then at Idril whose frowning expression returned to calm, turning to bow at her.
"Madame, from today I will be your assistant in the day to day activities of cleaning around the room. Idril is my name."
"Wait … aren't you a monster? Shouldn't you be more … threatening?"
Idril tilted his head before returning to a neutral stance, transforming into a monstrous stone beast that made Linda step back at the sight of the stone creature revealed.
"Stop fooling around, Idril. You still have a lot to talk with me, same as Anathema. I'll be on my private room, Eleina explain to Linda and Amadeus what happened in the Tomb of Kings if they are curious."
"Also, when Titania wakes up, tell her to come in my room since we have to talk."
The black-haired woman nodded, seeing Vlad walk toward his private room with Idril following along, not even looking at Linda.
It was visible that Vlad was serious and not in the mood for playing around with his companions, which made Amadeus comment after seeing Vlad off.
"Mom, I told you to show some trust in Lord Vlad… Now you are in big trouble."
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