16.9

“Everything has been handled,” Eve said, her tone calm and polite. “I even repaired most of the damage.” She shifted position to block most of the tower wall’s destruction from view. The end of the corridor through the door had chunks of the wall missing, so she acted quickly. In a flash, Eve closed the door and looked peacefully at Charlotte’s group. Silver runes flared around the door, and it vanished from sight.

“I don’t fancy climbing all these stairs and stopping at each nest,” Charlotte said, giving a narrow-eyed look at the velvet-covered spiral staircase that climbed up the eastern tower’s inner wall. She chose not to mention anything about the issue.

“I would be more than happy to handle this minor problem for you,” Eve said with a bright smile.

“Oh?” Charlotte said, turning a suspicious glance towards Eve.

“Certainly, I will just need all the corpses. For research, you understand.” Eve said demurely.

“Researching the secret of immortality? You wouldn’t be the first.” Charlotte said while Ralph gave a disapproving sniff.

“Ah, this is common?” Eve asked curiously.

“Indeed, every few decades, some unsavory researcher promises eternal life. Most Dukes and Duchesses resist the temptation, but there have been several that could not.” Charlotte said with a sneer.

“It doesn’t end well?” Eve said, looking up the staircase winding red waterfall of color that looked like bright, fresh blood.

“Oh, no, it works all too well sometimes,” Charlotte said.

“Ah, will there be a problem if some of your Ancestors find a final rest?” Eve said, enlightened.

“No. Those old bags of blood deserve peace.” Charlotte said with a devious smirk. “If you can handle things here, I would appreciate it.”

“Most certainly. Let me make some living quarters up to your standards, my Lady.” Eve said, her eyes bright. The chance to decorate to her preferred tastes was rare. She removed the concealing runes on the door, entered, and closed it hastily.

Repairing the damage took a bit of effort, but a few minutes later, everything was done. The missing wall chunks of the external wall had been replaced by fresh stone. Eve then proceeded to clean the entire space. She stripped all items, leaving only bare stones, before merging the rooms to create six larger ones. The corridor was transformed as well, turning into a connecting area. From that point, she decorated, allowing her inner interior designer full play.

In less than ten minutes, the entire corridor, redone into a large community room along with the newly remodeled private rooms, was complete. Eve smiled at the impressive rooms reminiscent of the Royal Penthouse Suite at Geneva’s President Wilson Hotel. She had left everything in the neutral color of silver, though. It wasn’t the best option, in Eve’s opinion.

Exiting the room, she checked with the group outside to find the favorite colors for everyone. Justin and Bloodwood, to no surprise, favorite the bright, eye-popping red of fresh blood. Eve snapped her fingers, giving two rooms the color with appropriate tornado accents. Ralph expressed he enjoyed the sedate color of blue with swirled accents. Charlotte wanted something that screamed royalty, so her room was redone in purple with cloud accents. Swift didn’t have a preference, so Eve just left the room as is for him. Three finger snaps later, and everything was set up. The energy expenditure was minor, and Eve exited after shooing everyone into the community room.

It was time to hunt.

Eve shifted her form into a smaller and more compact one. Her clothing shifted into something reminiscent of a ninja training school. A form-fitting hood and ninja mask left only her eyes showing. Silver eyes shifted into blood-red rubies a copy of the oldest vampire she had sent to Kudzu. The wooden sword reworked itself into a small Kizlyar blade set. She shifted the enchantments on her clothing from general battle. Everything was geared towards her old specialty of quiet problem-solving. The full re-gearing even covered her rings with gloves to prevent any sparkles.

The dim light shifted and played over her form before twisting around it until her figure vanished from view. Unlike a regular light manipulator that would be blinded in darkness, Eve opened her senses connecting to her dust shield. She gained a three-sixty view of the surroundings eliminating blind spots.

She kept her scent from dispersing by ordering her dust shield to do double duty. Witch’s Dust ate all the molecules being released by her body, which formed the basis for scents and smells. As for air pressure giving away her position, the air ring solved that quickly. Her boots shifted to remove sounds preventing footsteps from echoing. At the same time, the boots would also remove the sound of a knife sliding into soft flesh. Once the entire set of functions was completed, Eve became a hole in the world.

Perfect. Eve thought as she practiced a short set of movements. Infiltration skills can’t be allowed to get rusty!

With everything in order, Eve crept up the staircase with practiced movements. A patrol of four vampire guards met her before the next door. However, it only took a few distracting noises from dust particles to sink the Kizlyar. Eve severed the spinal cords leaving them alive but unable to act. Even as the last fell, he showed only a surprised expression at the previous guards already being victims.

She sent the now truly living dead to Kudzu via summoning circle and proceeded to the second door of the spiral staircase. The only reason the vampires had been left alive was the lesson she had learned earlier. Clearly, vampires of a higher cast could sense the death of subordinates. To that end, she left them alive until throwing them at Kudzu. That way, they were disconnected from their higher-tier brethren. Since they didn’t die, it only seemed like they slipped the leash and would be far less suspicious.

Slipping a leash highly implied the vampire did it and not an external source like Eve. Convinced of their superiority, the higher caste Vampires wouldn’t care about small fry escaping. They could always be recaptured by following the trail of feeding.

After all, their feelings of superiority are immense. Eve thought as she approached the next luxury wooden door. It was slightly larger than the previous one. Rank equals more oversized doors, eh?

Slipping into the new corridor behind the door revealed another empty hallway lined with new doors. A door opened right after she closed her entry point. Eve watched patiently to her left as a vampire exited the closest room and headed towards the end of the hallway. She was behind him when the room’s door closed, isolating him in the corridor. It was the work of a moment before she quietly cut his spine.

Eve lifted the body with telekinesis making it walk jerkily back to the room it exited from. With a slight twist, she opened the door and walked in behind the corpse. As the three other vampires in the room were distracted by the walking undead, they had no chance. A few seconds later, Kudzu received a new batch of supplies.

Cleaning each room was just a variation of the first one. Sometimes she used dust bombs. Others, she just slipped inside wholly unseen. It all depended on how many individuals were inside. For those with more than one, dust bombs worked perfectly. When there was only a single occupant, it was almost too easy to remove them.

The entire process of cleaning proved the vampire community depended far too much on the ability to detect blood. However, Eve had already shifted her internals to stop Justin earlier. Now it served to also remove her from being detected by the bloodsuckers. She moved like a ghost, efficiently eliminating everyone. Even the higher caste member in the final room had only a confused expression on his face when she finished him off.

A bit too much dependence on singular detection ability. Eve thought as she sent the older vampire off to Kudzu. Thankfully my senses don’t have such a blind spot.

Eve moved silently through the following six sets of halls, removing the bloodline in the same quiet manner. She didn’t encounter any problems, and it was clear there was no communication between the lineages. However, upon reaching the seventh hall at the top of the stairs, there was only a single door opposite the stairwell entry point.

She took one look before immediately exiting the stairs. Clearly, this was the final boss, and there was no point in being quiet on this one. Her outfit shifted from infiltration to her standard sword and padawan look. The rings on her fingers were no longer concealed, and her hair was bound in a ponytail.

Once battle preparations were complete, she summoned her wooden sword into her right hand. Turning to face the massive door, her foot snapped forward, slamming into the right panel and launching it off the hinges. As the door slammed down with a dull thud, a man appeared as if teleported opposite the stairwell’s entry. He was dressed for battle in a typical sorcerer’s robes with a long staff capped by a blood-red crystal.

The enemy stared at Eve for a long moment giving her the chance to estimate his strength. Focusing her senses, she could tell he had already broken the Fourth Tier. As a bloody wave flooded down the hallway, she immediately released the locks on two of her Tiers.

Power unfolded from within her Library, cloaking her body as the blood wave struck her full force. The shield from Witch’s Dust held for only a moment before being broken. It was an admirable feat from a Tier Three defense. Eve buckled slightly under the wave's pressure as it stripped her items, ripping the enchantments off. Even the wood sword in her hand was destroyed, yet her physical body made it through the destructive strike of the higher caste Vampire’s first blow.

Rather than re-weaving everything, Eve let the remains of her clothing, jewelry, and weapons collapse and convert to fresh Witch’s Dust. The first strike had been debilitating, but now it was her turn.

Both of them looked across the blood-drenched corridor, staring. Eve summoned her Jian across the body with her right hand, gripping the handle tightly just below the non-existent guard. She read the mana of the older Vampire pulling his information now that she wasn’t a lower Tier.

Taylor M. Zienfer

Age: 914

Level: 2, 511

Race: Vampiric Progenitor

Class: Blood Sorcerer

Specialization: Blood

Profession: Blood Researcher

Affinities (1): Blood

Bloodline: Pure

“Charlotte, we will have a nice chat after this.” Eve spat, looking at the information.

“I rarely have visitors stupid enough to murder the Blood Flock I’ve raised,” Taylor said as he raised his staff, thrusting it forward.

Eve bent her knees, dropping into a low squat facing forward while keeping her torso straight. She extended her right arm forward as if her sword was a lance.

“A Tier Five disguised as a Tier Three, but it doesn’t matter,” Talyor said.

The blood sorcerer turned out to have a lot of mana. It was compressed into his blood, causing red lines to light up on his body, fully displaying a sanguine glow. Eve guessed his opening move had been something sealed into the staff. Against a lower Tier, it would have been enough to wipe the floor with them.

Damn rules! Eve thought as the crystal started to glow a bright red color. We’ll just have to do this the old-fashioned way.

She charged directly at the sorcerer even as her own Witch’s Dust started flowing into existence around her. Crossing the distance to the sorcerer took only an eyeblink as she kept balanced on the balls of her feet.

Acidic blood flashed against her liquid silver half-orb shield even as her sword pierced into the sorcerer. Eve’s eyes narrowed as the vampire’s form disintegrated into the blood. The upright figure melted like a wax candle splashing down to the blood-covered carpet below.

The first move set up easy teleportation for him. Eve thought as her Witch’s Dust moved automatically to block a strike from behind. No matter, I will teach this overgrown bat the difference in place on the food chain.

The vampire’s blow railed uselessly against the growing flow of liquid silver. Eve flexed her will as the opponent threw several more blood bolt variations against her. Even the acidic blood didn’t touch her body. In the brief pause, as the vampiric sorcerer considered his next move, silver runes flashed into existence, emitting a bright glow.

“What the hell?” Taylor said, glancing around. While blood still coated the entire corridor, it was now a sealed area severed from standard space.

Eve would never let such a potentially valuable specimen for experimentation escape. Kudzu was practically salivating in her mind at the thought of something two Tiers higher than his current test subjects.

Realizing he was trapped in the corridor without escape, the vampire’s eyes glinted sharply in the silver glow. Blood flowed incessantly from the staff, cutting off the sight of his form. Eve didn’t bother charging this time, letting her Jian dissipate into even more Witch’s Dust.

“This isn’t going to be solved by physical means,” Eve muttered as she watched the blood sorcerer’s supply of ammo increase.

Tier Five was a qualitative increase in power, but it was a power that the world rejected harshly. Eve committed a deliberate move by sealing them away from standard space. While it increased the sorcerer’s power, it did the same to her own.

“Consume,” Eve spoke the word commanding her Witch’s Dust.

The silver liquid formed a translucent yet visible orb around her body as she floated off the floor. The shield spun for a moment casting small finger-sized patches of liquid silver off. Like water droplets from fluffy dogs, the silver blobs went in all directions. Where they landed, every splatter mark grew.

The blood on the opposite end of the corridor was drawn inwards as Eve watched. It was a power-up move boosting the vampiric sorcerer. Even as the vampire drew in the immense vitality his staff had summoned, his eyes narrowed at the silver patches dotting the area.

“Attempting to clean up the Red World?” Taylor said with a smirk. “Futile!”

Fresh blood washed out like an ocean’s wave, coating all six directions before moving forward. Eve ignored the strike. Witch’s Dust was already ramping up. The blood turned acidic, but it wasn’t enough to counter her dust. Patches of silver grew prominently on the wall and grew in the bloody waters covering every surface.

Eve smirked, looking at her opponent, and said, “The reason no one is a one-trick pony is that such creatures get sent straight to the glue factory.”

Her mind flickered through what blood contained, searching for a viable option to transmute. Eve’s grin widened as she settled upon something that matched entirely with her silver to a high degree.

Eve felt her Witch’s Dust grow excited at the image as she raised her hand into the air. This was the first time attempting an action with such widespread effects, but she had faith. Faith was built on her power and her tool's ability to Learn.

Ş̵͙̲̝̩͌̔̈́̔̏̒̎͂̌̋͝͠a̸̛̠̞̰͓͇̯͈͔̗̭̟̹̲̳͈͛̓͗͂͒̓͐ļ̴̦̟̟̩̙̺͍̗̮̼͕̓̈́ţ̷̡̛͖͂̑̾̈́̊̈͛̀̑̇  Eve said letting the strange word that came to mind roll off her tongue.

Across the way, the Vampire’s countenance grew shocked and horrified.

Light flashed on her palm, increasing in brightness until everything was lit and all shadows were banished. The silver patches grew with impossible speed covering the entire corridor. All the liquid blood was drained as if a massive hole had opened in the floor. The swirling red currents vanished like water draining out of a bathtub.

“N-No! Such sorcery isn’t possible!” Taylor screamed, his words booming in a desperate attempt to deny the light that grew painfully bright. “Nothing should have the mana for something like this!”

Silver flowed up the vampire’s form shifting from the liquid into runic symbols that covered his body. The air outside of Eve’s shield grew hot before the light flickered once, and all that remained was salt coating every surface. Even as the salt flashed into existence, the vampire began to scream.

Eve watched dispassionately as her Witch’s Dust carved a reverse summoning circle. She hadn’t commanded it, but it had learned well from the previous vampires. There was a brilliant flash as the silver rune-covered vampire gave her one last despairing gaze before they vanished.

Eve floated down in her birthday suit, letting her feet crunch the salt crystals as she landed on the floor. It might have looked like an easy fight, but the expense had pushed her construct to the limit.

How irritating. Eve thought, moving forward to look at the vampire’s staff.

Witch’s Dust moved across the wooden staff, devouring it until only the blood-red crystal the size of two fists remained. Her eyes read the mana stripping the crucial information and feeding it to her in a visual format.

Blood Crystal

Focusing agent for Blood.

Ah! A gift for Justin, then. Eve thought, placing the crystal into Storage as she turned to enter Taylor M. Zienfer’s private residence. As expected, it was a palatial version of luxury that dripped opulence and screamed lousy taste.

What caused Eve’s brow to furrow wasn’t the blatant display of wealth but the female touches in the room. Her empowered eyes clearly showed Taylor hadn’t been a single dog.

Eve moved around the room, reading the mana signature in the place before she relaxed. It was evident to her senses that the woman associated with Taylor wasn’t Tier Four or Five. Her signature was within the limits of a Tier Three. Unfortunately, it was pretty clear the female vampire didn’t reside with Taylor. There wasn’t a single dress available in the expansive wardrobe.

Eve sighed before clothing herself in a shirt and pants before letting Witch’s Dust reshape them. She would need to secure a supply of silver to rebuild her personal effects. Replacing everything would take time, but at least it could be done.

With a sigh at work ahead, Eve folded the power of Tier Five and Four away back into the Library.

It wouldn’t do for reality to melt under strain like butter on a hot griddle. Once everything in the room had been placed in Storage, Eve smiled.

A fun little bit of adventure and profit. I might look into doing more monster hunting some other time. Eve thought as she turned to leave.