Chapter 3764: Little Game (Part 1) *** Vastor Household, at the same time. "Is it me, or are the defenses of the so-called ancient noble household a huge disappointment?" Vyca the Harpy-Upyr said while cutting down the hapless guards of the mansion like ripe wheat. "The arrays are crumbling like a house of cards, but you can’t fault their makers for that. It’s we who are too strong!" Rol’aq the Oberon-Upyr replied. "What can even the strongest array do once we crack the barriers open and spread our Frost Soul?" Once damaged, the magical formations failed both to repair themselves and to affect the intruders. Rol’aq’s sheer might would have been enough to break past even the strongest barrier, and with the help of Vyca’s Life Maelstrom, he punched through the multiple layers of Vastor’s defenses without even slowing down. The manor’s guards were armed to the teeth and rained spells upon the invaders as the still-functioning arrays unleashed the power of the elements upon the Upyrs. Yet Rol’aq shielded his companions with his body, which healed instantly thanks to his Fae’s regenerative abilities. All Upyrs constantly released the power of Frost Soul, their collective bloodline ability conjuring a blue cloud that kept the arrays from working and disrupted the guards’ equipment with fatal consequences. After being tainted by Frost Soul, all kinds of enchantments and spells fueled by world energy froze. If it happened inside an armor or a blade, it would become frail and colder than the harshest winter. If it happened to a wand, however, it would short-circuit the alchemical device and make it explode along with its wielder. If it happened to a living creature, they would die. Their very mana and blood froze inside their veins, stopping their organs. Only the timely intervention of a Healer could save Frost Soul’s victims, but in the havoc of battle, there was none. "We’ve become Divine Beasts and, after we’re done with this job, we owe Narchat nothing." Vyca said. "What do you say if we try and combine our bloodlines, Rol’aq? The Upyr blood we share should make our life forces very compatible. "With the Life Maelstrom I’ve inherited from my foremother and your strength and regenerative abilities, our offspring would possess enough strength to bring our king Vurdalak to his knees." "I would love to see that happening." Rol’aq smiled at the idea. "But it’s not the right time to abandon the ship. Our priority is to succeed in our mission and rise through the ranks of the Upyrs. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎 "I have no interest in Narchat’s plans, but Akhton’s Origin Flames and Erion’s Elemental Flow can Forgemaster us equipment the like we won’t get anywhere else. I’ve gone through too much to please that madman and get his Vurdalak blood to quit the game while I’m ahead and can still squeeze something out of him." "I couldn’t agree more." The Harpy cackled at the thought of Adamant purified by Origin Flames, enchanted to perfection by Elemental Flow, and boosted by her own Life Maelstrom. "I was right. You’ll make an excellent partner." The Upyrs never stopped advancing as they slaughtered their way through the Vastor Household. They killed everyone on their path without mercy, no matter if they were a maid, a butler, a guard, or a simple delivery boy. The Dead King had ordered his soldiers to instill fear in the citizens of the Kingdom, and his Upyrs were happy to oblige. Even though humans were weak, they made excellent sandbags for the now deep-violet cored Awakened. The Upyrs had never enjoyed the strength and mass of a Divine Beast before. They needed practice to master their newfound bodies and abilities. Someday, they would meet a worthy foe, and whoever it was would find the Upyrs ready. Reaching the private quarters of the Master of the house was easy. The Vastor Household existed for centuries, and the layout of its rooms hadn’t changed much since its founding. The Upyrs smashed through a solid hardwood double door and stumbled into something that froze them in surprise. While the rest of the mansion was soaked in blood and resounding with screams, the people in the dining hall showed no reaction at the sight of the invaders. They kept eating their meal, not even raising their eyes from their plates. Only one handsome youth turned his head in response to the intrusion. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" The man wore fine, noble clothes. He had eyes as green as emeralds and the light bronze skin of the people of the Blood Desert. "We have come for Zogar Vastor, but we can spend some time with you, cutie." Vyca said. The man exuded such an aura of confidence and authority that it made her rethink Rol’aq as her partner of choice. The man was incredibly handsome, even more than the Fae. Truth be told, all those present possessed such a striking beauty that it stopped the Upyrs in their tracks. "Tell us where Vastor is, and I promise I’ll have some fun with you before killing you." "You? Kill us?" The man chuckled while a stunning redhead with silver eyes tittered. A giant of a man with a chest broader than most closets didn’t hold back and bellowed a sonorous laughter. "Gods, you don’t know?" The redhead laughed harder and harder as her self-control faltered. "What do you expect, sister?" The giant man slapped his knees in hilarity. "Unlike these idiots, we know how to keep a secret. Don’t we?" At a snap of his fingers, all the doors in the Upyrs’ path closed. The defensive arrays shut down, and space-compressing arrays replaced them. "Do you really think this will hold us back long enough for your reinforcements to save you?" Rol’aq clicked his tongue, yet he wasn’t conceited enough to ignore his gut feeling that there was something terribly wrong there. "Hold you back?" The redhead held her aching belly as she kept laughing. "Those arrays are not there to stop you, but to keep you from running away. We love hunting, but we can’t have someone witness our little game." At a clap of her hands, shadows rose from the floor. At first, the Upyrs mistook them for Lith’ Demons, but the shadows only had two white eyes and all too familiar features. They were the maids the Upyrs had slain as they ran toward Vastor’s quarters, the butlers they had butchered, and the guards they had slaughtered without giving a second look at their mauled corpses. The members of the house staff were all around the Upyrs, alive and smiling. Smiling with white teeth as pristine as their eyes. The tattered clothes became whole again, and the wounds the house staff had suffered disappeared like they had never been there in the first place. "Any last words?" The handsome man asked, snapping his fingers again. The maids and butlers turned into Abominations, the guards turned into Eldritches the Upyrs had seen only in their nightmares, and the noble youths sitting around the tables turned into horrors that sent the nightmares crying for their mother. "Welcome to my home." Said Kigan the Phoenix-Balor to the Upyrs. "It’s so full of wonders and surprises that I’m certain you’ll never leave." The laughers never stopped, not even when the screams started.