Chapter 102: Where is she?

••• An army of maybe fifty Mage-Knights all dressed in military outfits fitted with pieces of Armor, armed with martial weapons ranging from swords to spears to Axes spread out searching an empty space. One Mage-Knight didn’t join the search. He held a hand forward holding a device that projected what looked like a crude depiction of a Map. Or at least that was what it was usually meant to be. At the moment it was flickering so much that the tiny dot that should have indicated the location of this Army’s rescue target was fluctuating. Sometimes looking like it was right ahead, and other times looking like it was a hundred meters away in the opposite direction. They had been moving in circles so much so far unable to make heads or tails about their target’s location. They could all feel that there was something not quite right about this place but none of them could quite place their finger on what that was. The Mage-Knight holding the tracking device suddenly felt the slightest bit of a presence behind him and turned to find himself looking at the tall, muscular figure of a man, who had on glasses that hung down his nose and let his black eyes show, looking deep with rage mixed with distress. He was dressed in the least Armor-heavy outfit of them all. That said, the material of his outfit so clearly outclassed theirs. Even though what the Mage Knights had on offered them protection on a level that technically surpassed their station—As was the protocol for all Hellsingers who served the Von Helsing Estate—what the man had on was only meant to be worn by a Noble Lord. "My Lord," The Mage-Knight said with a deep bow. Lucian Von Helsing looked at him with his lips pressed in a hard line as he stretched his hand out to request the device the Hellsinger had been using. The Hellsinger handed it over with reverence and Lucian gave it a single look before looking straight ahead. He dropped his hand then and clenched the device so hard that it broke and then walked forward, coating his free hand with Mana that was so sophisticated, it filled the Hellsinger with Awe that he almost missed what was happening. Lucian waved his hand over the empty space and then his lips turned upside down in a frown. "Illusionary Array," he mumbled, "Of course." Like all things in this world, there are Levels to Arrays. This Array was at a Level none of the Hellsingers could have possibly seen through. They would have simply wandered about in search as the very magic of the Array manipulated their minds so they kept moving around in circles always away from whatever it was shielding. In the presence of an Array such as this, a great sense of direction is meaningless. You need the permission of its Array Master to get in. Or you’d need to have a very powerful sense of Perception to see past the illusion. Lucian stretched his hand out and a Spear appeared in his grip with the Arcane symbols etched onto it glowing subtly at his touch. He spun the weapon, unleashing a Magical Aura so powerful that more than half the army of Hellsingers behind him clutched their chest at its weight, and then he swung in a wide arc. In an attack so powerful, the blowback had multiple Mage-Knights sliding back and away from the spot they had been standing while shielding their faces while others tried to squint wondering why their Lord was attacking an empty space. And then they saw a line break out from the spot Lucian had struck. The line spread towards what looked like a high dome before the sounds of glass shattering sounded out all over the space as the Illusionary Array was destroyed. Behind it was a sprawling Black Castle that looked like it was falling into ruin after standing for Centuries. But as the Mage-Knights rallied to finally charge in to complete their rescue, Lucian’s eye went wide. Something else was waiting for them past the Illusionary Array; A Sealing Formation—that was now starting to flake away—was erected around the perimeter of the Castle with Blood. Or more precisely, Blood Magic. "I know this magic," Lucian said through gritted teeth, "Athenodora... She’s here." And off he went charging in while the Hellsingers followed behind much slower. Lucian had decided to spearhead the rescue of his son himself from the moment he learnt of it. He never planned to simply stand back and command his forces to do the work. There were tasks to be designated but this was not one of such tasks. The fact that that Vampire bitch was here and had something to do with all this only added just a bit more boost to Lucian’s footsteps. His grip on his spear tightened. When he entered the Castle, Lucian’s feet splashed in the blood and he found himself running past piles and piles of Vampire bodies. The sight confused him and his brows were furrowed even if he didn’t reduce the speed of his run. His senses, ever spread out, only detected one living being in the Castle, large as it was, and honestly, with what looked like hundreds of dismembered bodies that he had passed so far, that made sense. But no, the Von Helsing Count insisted to himself, that bitch must still be here. ’What the hall have you done to my son again, Athenodora?!’ Lucian asked loudly in his head as his Mana burst from him to strike against the black double doors right in front of him, slamming them open. Right there, basically at the very center of what looked like a throne room, was Caius. He looked like he had been lying down and pulled up the moment the doors burst open, looking over with hardly any surprise, and looking quite calm as he greeted, "Hello, Father." ... Athenodora’s announcement had come mere minutes before Lucian came bursting through the door. Caius had had the time to pull up his pants and fasten the waistband because it made for a very weird image to have his dick hanging out when he was supposed to be getting rescued. Athenodora, however, stood up without bothering to pull up the top half of her dress over her breasts so they swayed so enticingly with her movement. "Well, that’s my cue to leave," she said and a strange smile played on her lips. Caius didn’t object. It made sense for her to get going. He just felt... unsatisfied. Athenodora might have noticed that because she stretched a hand toward his face and patted his cheek. "We’ll see each other again soon," she said. "Will I be bait again?" Caius asked with a light smile. "Maybe," Athenodora told him easily with a grin that flashed her fangs, "You don’t get to life as long as I have and not wrack up a good bit of grievances. Some of them might even be as stupid as Anton so the ploy might work again." Looking at her face as she said that, Caius wasn’t sure whether she was kidding or serious. He decided she had to be kidding. Surely, she wouldn’t put him through this again. He might have gotten a Noble Title out of it this time but being bait was a dangerous game and he might not be so lucky next time. "I’ll be in touch," Athenodora said and turned around showing off the artistic and symbolic tattoos that adorned her back before she dispersed into Blood mist. Whether she had simply moved faster than his eyes could follow or she had run, Caius wasn’t sure. He lay back down on the ground then and a minute or so later, the double doors were getting blasted open and a very serious Lucian Von Helsing was at the doorway. His father being here explained why Athenodora had had that strange smile. She must have sensed him coming. Caius greeted and he saw his father’s eyes move over him with the usual scanning intensity and even though Caius looked unharmed physically, his rage remained as he asked, "Caius, are you alright?" "I’m fine," Caius answered immediately but he could already tell his father wasn’t convinced. Probably because his uniform jacket and shirt lay in shreds on the ground. "Where is she?" Lucian asked and was searching again for something his senses had been unable to detect so far, "Where’s that Cunt, Athenodora, and what has she done to you?!"