Master Of None

Finding that the only one coming with him to the area that the demon lord had just come from was Midnight, Walker understood why. The entire party had just been embarrassed. There were enslaved vampires finding themselves weak and free everywhere nearby. They had just fought and been injured. 

All of this was a lot to handle. This had been one of the most unpredictable fights just yet. Having affinity to blood related skills was not something that they had considered, yet, nwo they had to accept that there were magics and manas that allowed more unique things like that. 

Beyond this, the twisted elder vampire had been powerful because he literally kept his subordinates alive to sue them as vessels for himself. He had been injured so badly that he had lost the ability to move. Just controlled his enslaved armies for his own gain while he could. 

All of this had been evil, but what if he had his own body that was in perfect health? What if this monster had not been weak and forced to use the last body he had available? If that was the case, then that blood armor might have been ten times stronger. If that were the case, then would they have even been able to see the attacks coming at them? 

So much is happening lately that the party had lost their grasp of where they stood in the world in terms of strength. They felt that they could fight a regular dragon now. The elders that were underneath the royal dragons. But was that true? 

It would certainly be a hard challenge. Especially for those that were not Walker. Midnight would only be able to keep up because of her elemental adaptability. But when it came to the dominator dragons, the royal dragons, then they were going to lose for sure. 

The only reasons that the dominator dragons had not taken the lead when it came to these fights was simple. They would destroy everything. 

Their strength had immense power when it came out their elemental attacks. They would easily cause a massive area of effect damage when they attacked. They needed a lot of time to learn fine control of purer elemental manas that what they had ever had before now. Therefore, they were forced to deal mostly in sharing manas and physical might. 

The fact that they had been here to handle the titan vampire bats had been perfect. They had been the only ones large enough to completely isolate those threats at once. If they had not done so, then the mages needed would have been many and used much of their mana. Greatly weakening the Genesis forces that he been battling the vampiric monster horde. 

"Midnight, I think we are in a big gap. We all just gained different racial traits, titles, and other unique skills. But we are behind the world. We need to figure out how the echidna are so powerful." 

This was the key that Walker came to conclusion with. The echidna had been able to use skills that were innately more powerful. Not just in the sense that they could disappear without a trace from the island after Walker helped them. Not that they could easily call out natural mana to help everyone create a literal forest. 

They had a bond with the world that they had kept secret. That they had gotten ahead of the general people and races by comparison. Midnight let out a long sigh. She felt a little bruised from their fight. Mostly her pride as a dragon had been insulted by the demon lord. 

Walker could sense that she was feeling the same way and had no idea how to reach the proper strength that they needed to even combat the demon lord. Even the dominator dragons would struggle against strength that was too great to even properly see someone walk past them. 

While walking down the hallway that the demon lord had come from, the pair found a winding staircase. The steps were somewhat damaged and the walls were crumbling. Yet, Walker felt that this was only because multiple runes had been broken. 

There was a red glow in certain places. Carvings of runes with more brutal and sharp edges. Clearly made after altering more elegantly carved runes. They all were appraised as broken vampiric altered runes. A clear example of changes made after the vampire had become a monster in this castle. 

That meant that this was the way to the vault. But if it was, then the demon lord had broken through these runes easily. That was why he might not have arrived whatsoever while the party was fighting. It was the chance he needed to not be bothered while dealing with these runes left by powerful vampires of the past and then enhanced by the monster that had lived now. 

In a way, the party had just made whatever the demon lord's task easier for him. Ir made this all the worse for Walker when he reached the bottom of the spiral staircase with Midnight. 

The shattered door was only done so by force. An example of how powerful the demon lord was. When Walker looked at all the broken runes, he could tell that this was where the demon lord had realized that he easily could break through this since it was so weakened by time. Not every rune could outlast hundreds of years. 

The room that had actually been used as a vault appeared to have quite a few things. Sets of armors clearly worn by many of the elder vampires. They were placed on pedestals beside weapons on plaques. This was a preservation of vampire history. Things that should be available for the entire vampire race to see. They should be able to visit and respect their heritage. Even if there were bad things in the past. 

Regardless, the potions that had once been here were dried up or completely inert. Useless things that couldn't be saved. Especially the many empty vials of what might have once held blood. The dried rust colored insides proved that Walker was correct in thinking this. But when he noticed that they were labeled bys pieces, it made him wonder just how the vampires lived. 

Had they collected bloods for the usage as delicacies? For food, that was normal when it came to other races. But vampires could feed on blood and life force. Therefore, this made a lot of sense. But if they fed on these things, then it might mean that Vampires have knowledge about life mana that Walker did not. 

In this pursuit, he was attracted to some book shelves. All holding detailed descriptions of history, vampiric magic theories, and various other things. Some were even written in other languages that Walker could easily read with the world translating everything. He was also surprised that the runes on these shelves were holding up. 

The mana crystal shelves were empty. The demon lord had stolen ancient mana crystals. Why? Walker could only imagine that these crystals might have been stored well enough and aged to create something a little more unique. 

A soft huff brought Walker's attention to a large open circular space. The various tapestries detailing the value of what had been in this one small pillar in the center. "Impotant." Midnight had relaxed a little and changed to the dragonkin form. She pointed out the rough plaque with details of some sort on it. But she didn't understand it. 

"Fragment of elemental purity. Wouldn't that just be a purer mana crystal?" Walker wondered out loud, but he had also started to learn things. More things about the world and the fact that it was incomplete due to being cut off from the elemental planes and even the spaces between and beyond them. 

Therefore, this might be like Remey's new race as a dragon soul. It could mean that whatever the item that was here was unique to the elemental planes. A place that the demon lord might be trying to do. A connection to that place might cause him some sort of boost in power. 

"Young man, my name In Arnold, and in my last few hours before I can not maintain my life… could you allow me to help you?" The sudden voice came from behind Walker and Midnight. They found a frail looking vampire. One who had managed to struggle to them under some miraculous power of will. 

"I used to curate the family vault of the noble line. After so many years, I finally found that this place opened, and I saw that vile thing. Even the young lord fell, now more are fallen. I survived for a reason. Please allow me this chance." 

From what Walker and Midnight could understand, this vampire had trapped himself in the vault. Surviving on the blood in here for years and years until now. But he had not been able to survive well enough. The weak flow of mana an example of his fading life. 

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