Rain. It greeted me as I dragged the vampire lady outside the tavern and into the abandoned streets. A burning pile of corpses sat in a corner not too far away, unbothered by the downpour.
As I shoved her over the dirty cobblestone road, a flash of lightning illuminated the sky above, followed shortly by the roar of distant thunder.
I decided that it was better if I took things outside. Though I had cast a silencing spell around the dining room as soon as I began her punishment, I didn't want Zeal walking down on me grilling a helpless monster while surrounded by bloodied corpses of said monsters.
Though I doubted she even knew what a vampire was, or what they looked like. She still did not need to know, not now at least. If I could eradicate the scourge of vampirism before little Zeal started asking questions, then that would be for the best.
For now, however, I had questions for the vampire lady. Questions I expected she would politely and honestly answer. Unless she wanted me to continue. After all, what was there for her to lose?
Her mind was already broken from the extreme pain. The only reason she could still keep up was thanks to my continued application of the healing spell. It was able to keep her mind from completely going insane, all the while allowing her glimpses of an insanity she would rather not have.
An insane vampire was as good as a dead vampire. A creature no different from the mindless undead hordes that she was for sure familiar with.
She panted on the ground before me, trembling as she tried to bring herself up. I had healed her completely, physically at least. Her mind was racked by the memories of her torture, and the fear that I would do it again.
"M-mercy." She begged sheepishly as she crawled before my feet.
"As I said, answer my questions and I will show you what you deserve." I said. The rain had put out the torches that lit up the street, but my glowing eyes cast a pale blue hue over the cobblestone. A little bit of light for a little bit of comfort.
"I… a-… sor-" She was trying to apologize, but I was having none of her lies. I raised a glowing palm near her face and immediately she retreated, crawling away like frightened animal.
"First question," I began, "What is the name of your master?"
The vampire, despite experiencing the worst pain ever known, hesitated to answer. It seemed like a broken mind did not equal a broken spirit. Or maybe she was more afraid of her master than me.
There was also the possibility that she did not know, but I doubted that could be so.
A ray of holy magic flashed from my palm, burning away half her face as she once again screamed in pain and agony. I walked closer, placing my finger on her half-melted forehead.
"What is his name?" I asked again.
"D-res.." She struggled.
I healed her with another healing spell and expected a straight answer this time.
"D-Dresnape," She stuttered as she said the name, "Dresnape the… V-vampire king."
I closed my eyes in disappointment as I heard her master's title. A vampire king. It was a title second-only to the vampire lord. And just like the vampire lord, only the oldest and most powerful of all vampirekind could wield the title. If this Dresnape was proud enough to wear the title, then he had the centuries of experience, power, and influence to back him up.
However, there was something amiss. Vampires were no necromancers. They practiced blood magic, fueled by their thirst and need for innocent blood. Necromancers, on the other hand, practiced necromancy, which was completely different.
However, it was not unheard of for a vampire to learn necromancy, just that it was an extremely hard thing to learn and master since it conflicted with their inherent racial specialization with blood magic.
If the vampire king was also a necromancer, then that would mean he was far more capable of not just hindering me, but also presenting themselves as a considerable threat. A vampire king with an undead army could and would wage a war.
A war that would cost hundreds of thousands in lives, assuming I did not intervene. But even if I did, what then?
I shook my head. I was getting ahead of myself again with these worrying thoughts. There was no war yet, and if I was to move several steps ahead, then I could prevent such a catastrophe from happening.
But why would I? There was already another threat looming over the horizon, an apocalyptic reckoning that could very well end the world as I knew it.
"Ha... ha…" The vampire… faked a laugh?
I raised a brow at this odd behavior.
"I can… see it in your eyes," She said with bated breath, "You dread… his coming. His armies... will march soon… and you… you are… something… he wants."
Had the vampire actually gone insane? I was pretty sure she was still sane-ish. She was just trying to apologize just a minute ago, and now she was taunting me.
Maybe another ray of holy magic would do the trick.
After a few extra rounds of melting her face and healing it back, the vampire was once again begging for mercy.
"What does Dresnape want from me?" I asked, hoping the vampire would actually tell me.
"I… I don't know." She lied between her fangs.
I broke her arm and ripped it from her body before throwing it to join the burning pile of corpses. She wept after I did, breaking down once more as she kept pushing my patience.
"He… he thinks… you can work together." She finally said the truth.
However, the truth of her words gave me more questions than answers. How in the name of all that was good would the vampire king think that he and I could work together? Together for what? Conquest? An alliance of sorts? Or something more impossible than those?
Moving on to the next question, I made a mental note to investigate how the vampires were able to not only survive, but thrive over the centuries, to the point that another vampire king would rise.
At least this Dresnape was not a vampire lord, yet.
Things were becoming more complicated and stressful as I learned more about the world. A vampire king who was also a necromancer had already taken an interest in me despite my efforts to remain hidden.
He could use his knowledge of my existence to make this troublesome for me. But once he did, it would also be bad for his future plans. I could already deduce what he was planning if he was indeed a necromancer.
Depending on where he had set up his castle, he would march against a weak kingdom or polity, preferably somewhere isolated from other countries. A vast army of undead would quickly overwhelm a small nation.
In the grand scheme of civilization, a small nation was nothing important. But if a vampire king was able to conquer one, then it would greatly increase their strength and numbers.
A vampiric empire would be, to put it mildly, problematic. Not to mention the death and destruction such an entity would wreak upon the world.
I was beginning to care too much about these things. The world was yet to prove itself worthy. For now, my commitment to Zeal and her well-being and future would be enough.
But… there would come a time when Zeal would begin asking questions. Questions I was far from ready to answer. If the time eventually came, then… would I face it with courage? Or would I…
Thunder echoed in the distance as the rain poured harder. I withdrew from my thoughts and wrapped the vampire in magical chains with a spell.
"Y-you said you would grant me mercy!"
Good. She was speaking more clearly now. Her mind was recovering. A good sign. I was not done with my questions nor was I satisfied with the answers she gave. But the night was old, and the sun would rise in a few hours.
I had to tidy up the dining room and fix the mess these vampires made.
Several portals opened around me in the shape of tall doors. The vampire floated from the ground, bond in magical chains that began to sink into her skin. She hissed and cursed, offering me another serving of terrible insults.
But as soon as a group of sentinels walked out of the portals, her tongue withdrew into her mouth.
"Good to see you again, Frank," I said as the imposing sentinel knelt down before me with adamantine armor glowing against the darkness of the night, "Been a while. Sorry for not visiting yet."
The sentinel simply bowed its head and stood. Frank then turned and looked at the vampire floating. The other sentinels soon surrounded her, swords and spears ready to cleanse her blight from the face of the world.
The vampire lady couldn't help but look terrified.
"No. You're not here to kill her." I said. The sentinels lowered their weapons and nodded, awaiting further orders.
The vampire lady sighed in relief, but her respite would not last long. She still had her uses.
"Frank, ready the dungeons. Have the helpers dust off a cell. Chain her up and pull out her fangs. I will deal with her again soon."
The smile on the vampire lady's face faded away as horror took over. The sentinels were quick to restrain her, despite the fact that she was already in chains, but they gripped at her limbs nonetheless.
Frank held the end of the magical chain with his hand. But before he could drag her into the portal, there was something else I needed to do.
There was another flicker in her eyes. Dresnape was watching.
I cast another spell on her, causing her another bout of great pain as black smoke escaped from her mouth. I had just severed her connection to the vampire king, which meant that that her master would not be able to see through her eyes anymore nor know her location.
"I am not yet done with you," I told the vampire as she shouted and struggled against the chains and their grip. The sentinels dragged her into the portal, disappearing into the golden doors of light.
Just as the sentinels were gone, a group of helpers led by Barleyon soon walked out of the other portals, carrying with them furnishings and cleaning supplies.
I cast an invisible barrier over our heads, shielding the helpers from the pouring rain as they walked to the tavern.
It was time to clean up.