Chapter 24: Six Months (2)
Elmenhilde Karnstein Pov:
"How long has it been since this place was cleaned?"
The enormous room stored tens of thousands of files, and honestly, it was probably the dirtiest place within the Karnstein Household. I felt nauseous just standing outside.
The room was the lowest level of the dungeon that the Karnstein Household used to store the criminals inside, and this room served as a record of all those who were banished or imprisoned by the Carmilla Faction.
These records contained information about the inmates, from their lineage to their strengths and crimes, along with threat level.
"Let's use that…"
"[Clean]"
In an instant, the dust around the room disappeared, along with the spider webs.
Indeed, this was the spell that Master used.
The Devil's Magic System was much different from the Vampire's Magic System. However, after learning about the basics of our Magic System, Master effortlessly adjusted the [Clean] spell to suit our Magic System.
His other 'traits' and 'hobbies' aside, Master was a genius when it came to magic, and no one could deny that, no matter what.
Although, for some reason, he seemed to be more focused on creating conventional spells rather than offensive ones.
"It would've been so much easier if I didn't kill the dungeon's caretaker on a whim… But even if I hadn't, Master ordered me to do this alone, so it'd be meaningless…"
Soon, my left arm transformed into a small flock of bats before leaving the room.
Vampires could control and turn into a flock of bats at will, and strong ones could also only turn a part of their bodies into bats to scout ahead, avoiding the risk of getting captured.
While my main body searched through the documents about the best test subjects for Master, my flock of bats would go around, checking up on the prisoners to search for the ones selected, and I would separate them from the others in another place.
"Other than creating a detailed list of the criminals, Master said to collect 100 Low-Class Vampires, 30 High-Class, along with 3 with Ultimate Class powers, according to Devil Standards..."
And so, my work started.
---
"It's been fifteen days, but Master has yet to contact me..."
Maybe he forgot?
No, someone negligent couldn't build those kinds of laboratories without others noticing, even if they had a lot of help. Not to mention, he did it alone.
Then, was he giving me extra time because he knew that it was impossible to do the given task in a mere twelve days?
"Uggh!"
"You damn Karnstein bitch!"
"I'll kill you someday."
My eyes moved towards the three Vampires, one male and two females, who were lying at my feet, cursing me with all their might, but they were so weak that they couldn't even move a finger.
They all looked extremely fragile, their bones visible through their pale skin, as if they had been starving for a long time.
These three criminals had once rivalled Ultimate Class Devils in their prime, but after committing several crimes, they got imprisoned here.
These were the three Vampires Master asked for, while the other hundred Low-Class subjects were lying all around me, forming small mountains of bodies.
The thirty High-Class Vampires had a separate mountain in the corner of the room.
My eyes stayed glued to the three Vampires at my feet for a good few seconds, wondering if this was how Master looked down at me when I kowtowed in front of him twice. Was this how he saw me, completely helpless and at his mercy?
There was no need for me to feel ashamed when thinking about this matter, knowing that I'd even strip naked at a single command from him. It was only natural for me to obey him.
There was no doubt that he'd make me fall much lower, so shame might lead me to more torture, something I didn't want… Absolutely not.
During these fifteen days, I had completely accepted my new life by constantly reminding myself of who I was now.
It was similar to brainwashing myself in Master's stead, knowing that it'd be a lot more painful if he were to do it.
"To think you still have the strength to talk after being imprisoned for so long, it's impressive..."
Other than the three lying at my feet, no other Vampire here had the strength to even move their eyelids, much less talk.
Well, despite not being that impressive, these three had the strength to rival Ultimate Class Devils, so it was understandable.
"You damn bit—Ugh!"
"Silence."
Before the Female Vampire could speak further, the base of my foot pressed her face down, shutting her up.
Suddenly, my eyes widened as I stopped stepping on the Vampire's face. Instinctively, my body respectfully stood up before a Magic Circle appeared next to my face.
{I take it that you're done, Elmen?}
Master's voice came from the Magic Circle.
The Vampires at my feet were about to bark again, but before they could, their mouths got wrapped in hands extending from my shadow.
Wouldn't I be the one to suffer if these pests were to anger Master?
That thought made me shiver, and the grip of the hands around their mouths tightened.
{Yes, Master. Everything you asked for has been prepared.}
{Is that so? Teleport to the Darkness Magic Research Lab with the three Ultimate Class ones first.}
It'd be foolish to expect praise from Master, so his reaction didn't surprise me.
"Very well, Master."
My Magic Power channelled into the Magic Circle Master had placed inside my chest, and soon, a [Transportation Magic Circle] appeared under me, covering the three Vampires.
With that, the four of us teleported away.
---
"Hmm… These three have the power to rival an Ultimate Class Devil, huh?"
In front of the three Vampires, Master crouched down, examining them.
"Yes, Master."
"Where would they rank within the Ultimate Class?"
"Around Middle and Lower ends of the Ultimate Class, Master. They were strong, but it wasn't anything impressive..."
"And how much human blood would it take for them to reach their prime?"
"Around six gallons for each of them, Master."
"So four to five adult humans for each of them, huh? That's not much..."
Master then turned towards me.
"If you have something to say, then say it. If you want to ask something, then ask... Your worth is directly halved without that intelligence of yours."
Our eyes met, and my body trembled slightly, but I didn't dare to make him wait and explain what was on my mind.
"Master, these three, if restored to their full strength, will not cooperate with the experiments, and fighting them might destroy the entire lab."
Master looked at me for a few seconds, and his expression didn't change.
Ah…
He had already prepared measures for that.
"Great Sage."
At Master's callout, a mechanical voice rang throughout the lab.
{Answer. Understood.}
A [Transportation Magic Circle] appeared next to Master, followed by three small bottles of semi-transparent blue liquid.
According to what Master previously told me, Great Sage was an Artificial Intelligence that looked after his laboratories, and when he wasn't around, I'd be taking orders from Great Sage, acting as the AI's physical hands.
Since Great Sage's voice sounded somewhat feminine, I decided to call her she.
From what Great Sage said, she could initiate spells using the Master's Demonic Power and the Magic Power that was used to run all these laboratories. However, both required her to use entirely different Magic Systems because of the diversity of species in this facility.
Master got up as several arms emerged from his shadow, picking up the three bottles and forcing the Vampires to drink one each.
His control over his Demonic Power was exponential, even by the standards of a Pure-Blooded Devil from the Astaroth Clan.
"Master, this is..."
Moments after drinking semi-transparent blue liquid, the three Vampires started looking intoxicated, and soon, they passed out.
To check if it worked, Master stepped on a Vampire's hand, crushing it, but there was no reaction from her, not even a flinch.
"If they were at their prime, this wouldn't have worked, but since their resistance is at its lowest right now, I'll weaken their minds until they won't be able to use their Magic Power consciously, and then, it'll be a piece of cake to use [Life Force Conversion] on them... And once they're under the spell, there's no escaping it."
At Master's explanation, I nodded, and my body visibly trembled after hearing his methods.
If I hadn't submitted to him back then, what would've happened to me?
I could feel my legs going soft at that thought, but I held myself together.
I had accepted my position, yes, but I was, by no means, accustomed to the fear I felt towards Master.
"Well, let's leave them here for now... Follow me."
Master moved towards the hidden elevator, and I obediently followed behind him.
After a minute or so, we arrived at a spacious room with exactly one hundred and thirty beds with limb restrainers attached to them, and Master ordered me to teleport the remaining subjects to this place.
For the next few hours, we restrained all the best subjects on the beds according to their strength and potential while also noting the amount of blood they'd require to return to full strength.
"It'll take around 450 gallons of human blood to recover all these Vampires to their full strength..."
Master pondered for a few minutes.
"Elmen, intoxicate all the High-Class Vampires according to Great Sage's orders, along with Ultimate Class ones, and in the meantime, I'll go and collect some blood..." Master let out a loud, lazy yawn. "If we had more glass containers, there wouldn't have been any need for intoxicating them."
From Master's words, I understood that the fluid inside a glass container was enough to keep an individual asleep.
"What about the Low-Class Vampires, Master?"
"There's no need... Low-class beings can be placed under [Life Force Conversion] without needing to have them intoxicated first. That's why I use a lot of them to power my labs."
Oh.
Even though they were weak, their life force was still strong enough to let them live for thousands of years.
"Then this room is like a Backup Engine Room?"
Master shook his head.
"It's the early stages of a large-scale experiment that Great Sage will conduct in three or four months, and all we're doing is preparing for that. These are here to set the basis of that experiment. But since I might require extra hands during that experiment, I'll be training you until the time comes."
Training sounded very pet-like, but I was sure Master meant something like teaching me about his knowledge and experiments.
Maybe he planned on making me his assistant?
"I'll make sure not to disappoint you, Master…"
Soon, a Magic Circle appeared on the other side of the room before a square glass container teleported inside, and it was big enough to hold around five hundred gallons of blood.
It wasn't hard to calculate that after seeing the dimensions of the container.
I was, even by vampire standards, a natural-born genius, and it was one of the qualities Master desired the most, so slacking off on that wasn't an option.
---
[10 Days Later.]
"With this, all the Vampires, including the three Ultimate Class Vampires, have been restored to their full strength and are under the control of [Life Force Conversion]… Apart from the mentioned three, the rest are safely stored inside the room prepared for the large-scale experiment."
After listening to my explanation, Master nodded with a satisfied smile.
He was sitting on his chair, and I stood in front of him while holding a few documents in my hands.
It was my first time working so much in my entire life, and if it weren't for my vampire physique and his blood, I would've passed out by now.
"Hmm." Master looked at me for a few seconds. "When was the last time you drank my blood?"
"The day I returned to the Carmilla Faction after the investigation ended, Master."
"Just ask me for more when you're finished, okay?"
"Yes."
"For now, directly drink it before we go to the Devil Clan Traits Research Laboratory."
"Pardon?"
"What part of drinking it directly can't you understand?"
Master removed the top button of his shirt, revealing his collarbone and shoulder.
"Please excuse me, Master."
Since that was the case, I stood behind his chair and leaned forward before inserting my fangs inside his body, just a bit above his collarbone.
Unlike the stored blood I previously drank, this was fresh, and honestly, it tasted much better than the stored one.
"It feels good… Is it because of a Vampire's innate skills?"
"Mmh."
That was why humans enjoyed it when we drank their blood.
Other than that, I was surprised by Master's Mental Fortitude.
If it was any other devil, they would've started feeling intoxicated after willingly letting me suck their blood, or some might've even lost consciousness. However, Master looked like he was enjoying a nice massage.
After I had sucked enough to last for two or three weeks, I stopped, removing my fangs from his neck.
Since I deliberately made sure not to leave a scar, the marks on Master's shoulder would naturally heal in a few hours because of his devil lineage.
"By the way, Elmen, if you were to drink a Phenex's Blood, will you be able to regenerate?"
The Phenex Clan?
I thought about it for a few seconds.
"I don't think so, Master. Maybe their abilities with Fire and Wind, along with their Fire Wings, but that's all. Copying their [Immortality] shouldn't be possible, as it only relies on Demonic Power, unlike the Astaroth Clan's Trait, which is useful for both the Demonic Power that Devils use and the Magic Power that Vampires use. It is similar to how Vampires can't create Light or Holy Power even if they were to drink an Angel's Blood."
"Then… What if the person is biologically immortal and can naturally regenerate, like the Nine-Headed Hydra?"
"If I don't die from the poison in its blood, then it should be possible."
"Since Vampires have immortal bodies, I doubt you'd die from drinking a creature's blood…"
A [Transportation Magic Circle] appeared under our feet, and we teleported to the [Devil Clan Traits Research Laboratory].
'He didn't even leave the devils out of it…'
It was hard to understand how someone could do such gruesome acts towards their race. Master's past wasn't a mystery to me, and honestly speaking, his life was nothing short of perfect.
So why does he not feel any sort of belonging to the Devil Race?
After thinking about it for a while, I had naturally assumed that he had no sort of belonging to even his family.
They were probably the same as everyone in his eyes—something that could be disposed of for his benefit.
.
.
.
[Devil Clan Research Laboratory.]
'Except for the captives here, each of his laboratories looks the same…'
It was my first time being hers, and it wasn't that different from the Darkness Magic Research Lab. The main difference was how my surroundings felt, which was most likely thanks to this place being situated in the Underworld.
"Is it your first time in the Underworld, Elmen?"
"Yes, Master. Noble Vampires rarely leave Romania, so travelling to the Underworld is out of the question."
"That makes sense."
Master looked around the lab, and suddenly, my eyes fell on the several holograms above his desk.
They looked like videos of a human household.
One of the holograms showed an office-like room.
"Master's office…?"
It was the place where I first met Master.
"It's the live broadcast of my home."
I almost cried out in fear when Master's voice suddenly came from behind me.
"But Master, why put your own house under surveillance?"
"Just in case guests arrive."
Master pointed at another hologram, and I watched as two people teleported outside his house.
The first was a beautiful girl in her late teens with black hair tied into two twin tails and blue eyes.
She wasn't tall, only appearing to be around ten or so centimetres taller than Master, but her breasts were a bit large compared to her body. However, they didn't feel out of place and even gave her a very attractive appearance.
Surprisingly enough, the girl who kept shamelessly spamming the doorbell was none other than Serafall Leviathan, one of the Four Great Satans and the strongest female devil in this generation.
If that was the case, then the little girl who kept lecturing Serafall while holding her back should be her little sister, Sona Sitri.
The door was soon opened by a maid before Serafall and Sona were guided inside.
"I'm surprised Serafall thought about ringing the bell first… Maybe because she's with Sona?"
Next to Master's face, the Astaroth Clan's Magic Circle appeared.
"What's up, Amy?"
{Lord Azrail, Lady Leviathan and Lady Sona have come to visit you.}
That voice belonged to Amy, Master's [Pawn].
"I'll be there soon, so in the meantime, accompany them."
{Yes, Lord Azrail.}
After the Magic Circle disappeared, Master turned towards me.
"Do you need to go back to the Carmilla Faction?"
I shook my head in response.
Except for Millacra and Queen Carmilla, I didn't even meet other vampires or nobles unless it was a special occasion, and if they needed me for something, they'd first contact me rather than arrive at my house.
"In that case, stay here until I come back… Great Sage will tell you what to do."
"Yes, Master."
After Master teleported away, I turned towards the hologram, and moments later, Master appeared in front of Serafall, Sona, and Amy.
{What brings—}
{Azu-chan! It's been soooooo long!}
Master couldn't finish his words because Serafall suddenly jumped from her seat, hugging him as the two fell to the ground.
The strongest female devil rested on Master's stomach, continuously rubbing her cheek against his.
{Lady Leviathan, please behave yourself.}
Serafall didn't even listen to Master's words, and she placed her arms on his shoulders, bringing her face a few centimetres above his.
{It's Levi-tan! L.E.V.I-T.A.N!}
{Lady Leviathan, please behave yourself.}
{Sister, mind your manners!}
Although reluctant, Serafall got away from Master, allowing him to get up, and I could finally get a good look at his face, which allowed me to see something I never thought was possible.
Master didn't look at Serafall and Sona with the same eyes he looked at me and all of his test subjects.
When looking at me, his eyes were neutral and emotionless, looking at me as if I was an object of interest, something that belonged to him rather than a living being, and I always believed that was how he looked at everyone.
I had heard that eyes are the window of our soul, and it seemed like Master's eyes represent how anyone's life doesn't matter to him, but the current look in his eyes...
It was similar to how Millacra looked at me.
It would've been easier to imagine the discrimination between the Vampires disappearing one day or the world being at peace with no conflict, but I couldn't have imagined this scene… Never.
Master could look at someone with those eyes, almost as if they were important to him. Wasn't he the same monster that massacred a village in front of my eyes to collect a few hundred gallons of blood without even batting an eye?
After processing the scene in front of me, only one word escaped my lips.
"Impossible."
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Words: 3,297
A/N:
Been a month since this fic was uploaded and has around 5,000 collections and 500 top fans. I'd say it's doing fairly well.