Before they could learn whether or not their change in strategy would, Lycoris's group encountered their first real problem.  There was light ahead of them, but it was a dark red that gently strobed, revealing dangling cables and pieces of out-of-place metal seemingly pasted against the wall, like a growth infesting the underground tunnel.  Lycoris froze in place, prompting Athena to stop right behind her as Gier continued onward for a moment before realizing the other two had stopped. He turned his head around and looked at them with twitching ears and raised brows of confusion. But his answer came quickly as the near-silent slithering of something whispered across the floor, the displacement of a loose stone causing Gier to twist around and jump back toward the other two, his hand on the gun beneath his coat.  Low to the ground, the metallic hide of the monster reflected a sinister crimson glint as it wove back and forth toward them. Unlike an actual snake, it made no hiss nor rattle to warn them they were intruding on its territory.  This was a creature intentionally approaching its prey.

Swifter than any natural viper, fangs bit down as the Whisper darted forward, realizing that it had been exposed. Except, it was said serpentine abomination that had been impaled straight through its head by Athena's sword. The creature never even got a chance to strike.  Athena cleanly removed her sword with a loose-wristed flick of the blade, and observed the hall before turning back to Lycoris and Gier.

"We should turn back and find an alternate route. The hound's nose has led us astray."  "Athena," Lycoris warned, "it is inevitable that we would come across Whispers. Though…"

Lycoris walked over to stand beside her, despite the maid's gesticulations and protestations that it was dangerous, and reached out to brush her fingers against the metal that looked like it was devouring the stone wall. It was startlingly warm to the touch in comparison to the chilly air and cold, almost moist stone right beside it. Something about it was unpleasant, like the feverish warmth of sickness; its texture was almost spongy, like she had accidentally stepped on a fungal growth. Only this didn't spew out a cloud of toxic spores that had to be purged from her body while causing her to suffer wild hallucinations.

"…I sure hope these things can't spew out weird clouds of dust too. But, more to the point, Gier."  "Mm? What's up… Your Highness," he tacked on the bit of formality after seeing Athena turn to glare at him.  "Is that fresh air scent coming from this way? I can't imagine anything about Whispers seeming… fresh. Is there a chance it was a trap they laid for us?"  Athena shook her head, glancing from the hallway to Lycoris. "Your Highness, these machines are not intelligent enough for such a thing, it's—"  "They are most certainly capable of laying a trap. You haven't seen it yourself, Athena, but on multiple occasions I've experienced their cunning firsthand. Even Gier has, in fact."  "While you were unconscious in a bag, even." Gier sniped back. "Anyways, it's not like I'm smelling artificial air freshener. Smells like rain, actually. Meaning there's gotta be an opening to the surface past here."  "Rain? But I didn't pack an umbrella for Her Highness."

Lycoris sighed at her maid's priorities while she scanned the hallway beyond. There weren't any obvious signs of Whispers, nor were there any obvious holes in the metallic corridor. Just the occasional strobing red lights, which made it harder to see if anything, given her vision was adjusting to the limited light being projected, only for it to suddenly fade again.  However, backtracking wouldn't lead them any closer to a solution if the only lead they had was still forward, and if the Whispers really had gained control of the cloud generator, perhaps this was what they were doing with it. Lycoris recalled one of the generals at the meeting had mentioned they would turn this city into another "hive," so perhaps…

Reaching a decision, Lycoris closed her eyes and followed the relatively familiar process of fishing out her scythe, bracing herself for pain as she fixated on the blood in her veins, the throbbing in her palms, and the sensation of inserting one hand into the other.  With a slight flourish, she pulled her scythe from herself in her usual magic-trick style, careful not to accidentally smack it into the wall.

"Marvelous as always, Your Highness," Athena clapped unnecessarily.  "Doesn't that… hurt?" asked a sheepish Gier.  "You would think so," chuckled Lycoris, "but surprisingly no. I barely feel a thing when I do it correctly."

She gave it a tentative swing, testing the amount of reach she'd have available. The hall was large enough that the three of them could easily stand shoulder to shoulder—if Lycoris were tall enough to reach her shoulders to theirs, at least—but she couldn't hold her scythe at its full length without scraping it against the wall. Meaning her total reach was about half-length, measuring by where she gripped the snath of her weapon.  As much as she had come to appreciate the tool, Lycoris sorely wished she still had a sword, or even that little dagger. It might've saved her life in the moment, but in retrospect it was quite a reckless use of a gift from her mother.

Another "snake" slowly slithered toward them, dropping out of a hole in the wall and hugging the corner as it approached, its head appearing more like a leech's mouth than any terrestrial creature. Her axe-blade fell upon it, effortlessly cleaving the monster apart. Its mechanical viscera slid off the back edge of her blade as she slowly lifted it up and snapped it back into scythe mode.

"Let's press forward. Gier's nose probably isn't leading us astray, as I expect these creatures have a means of accessing the surface. What sort of creature burrows a tunnel with no exit, after all."  Gier scratched his head behind one of his triangular ears. "Wasn't the whole point of sneaking down here to avoid the Whispers though? …Not that I don't appreciate the confidence, Princess."  "Well… My objective is the cloud generator. If they're taking over the tunnels like this, it might mean we're getting close to it."

Lycoris didn't want to admit it, but in truth she had begun to crave the continuation of this spelunking adventure. All the years of travel had endeared her to the explorer's way of life, and the months of rote training and etiquette lessons only made the thrill and tension that much more palpable. Plus, she wasn't lying.  The three of them resumed moving, pressed together with weapons drawn. At the very least, they didn't encounter any large packs of Whispers as they ventured deeper into what was clearly their turf. The moss-like ropes of cable grew thicker in quantity and stretched further to the ground, which bulged upward with rectangular bits of metal or machinery like perplexing stalagmites, making the atmosphere feel thick and oppressive. The few errant creatures they did manage to stumble across instinctively tried to lash out, but were all handily dispatched.

Still, the longer they spent going through this section of the underground, the more likely it was that they'd attract unwanted attention… Especially with Lycoris and Athena being the alluring mana-rich targets they were.  It didn't take long for Lycoris's concern to end up grounded in reality.

"This almost seems too easy…" muttered Gier.  "Don't say that! Do you have any idea how terrible of a jinx that is!?"  "I don't actually know any magic, Your Highness."

Lycoris pinched the bridge of her nose while Athena remained silently busy, slicing apart cables like she were weed-whacking through a jungle with her sword.

"It's just… It's superstition, alright? But every time any of us said that during our… er, rather, any time I… listen, you'll attract trouble, okay!?"

As though the word "trouble" itself were the name of some malevolent incantation, the ground began to shake.  The three of them braced themselves against a section of wall, with Athena holding her arm over Lycoris, Gier aiming his sawed-off into the gloom in front of them. However, it was the vampires who saw what was approaching first.

From the direction they had already traversed, a massive grinding maw—much like those little leech-snakes—filled the entire tunnel space as it charged toward them.

＊　＊　＊

The sound of rain against windows muffled by bulletproof blackout screens, a rarity that would have been novel if it wasn't for the fact that Count Verndil Eltash had been trapped in his home for the past several days. The self-assessment that he was beginning to go stir-crazy seemed like a gross understatement of the situation plaguing him.  The only company he had present were a pair of sinister assassins that shadowed him everywhere he went, making it quite awkward to actually get any work done, and an obnoxiously loud man who was either an anxious wreck himself, or busy draining Verndil's reserves of fine bloodwine. At first he was grateful for the added security the Vanas had brought with him, but the longer this went on, the more he wondered if they weren't there to keep him in check.

The first time it happened was when he tried to head down to the ground floor, and one of them suddenly materialized in his path and stopped him, despite the fact they were both supposed to obey every order he gave. The excuse given at that time was that "it was for his own safety."  But they refused to step aside even when he tried to order them. They simply repeated themself, saying they were acting for his own good.

After that, he became more paranoid, wondering when the next act of rebellion would happen, or if he was going to wake up one day with a stake impaling his chest. Not that he could wake up in that situation, but…

Never in his life did Verndil think that he would grow weary of only drinking bloodwine, but the narrowing of his world had brought everything into clearer focus. He wanted to sample some of the junk-food that always managed to invade his home with its savory and fatty aromas every turn of the year on Moonsend. He wanted to go among the crowd—with an escort of appropriately highbrow individuals, obviously. He would never let himself be caught dead associating with commoners, especially the animal-esque ilk that filled the streets and homes of Kranes. But, he wouldn't mind holding at least a passing conversation with one of them, such was the desperation he faced in this solitudinous manor.  Of course, there was technically one other person in the manor, and yet the thought of conversing with Bartholomew Vanas was somehow even less pleasant than that of exchanging pleasantries with the peasants. Not to mention how much his suspicions of the Vanas had grown over the past few days. He had agreed to house him, and played dumb for his hare-brained scheme, but he wasn't actually sure what the man was up to. It went without saying, but the Vanas had already long overstayed his welcome, and the dwindling supply of stocked blood was only a piece to the puzzle. It sounded occasionally like he was speaking with someone, and was growing increasingly agitated with each passing day.  Verndil couldn't blame him for that, at least.

But he needed to slip out from under their thumb somehow. Instinct told him that the longer he stayed here, the more likely he was to get caught up in something and "made an example of" if he managed to even survive long enough to weather this disaster.  All it'd take is for Bartholomew to decide that he was getting in the way, or for him to stumble across whatever it was they were trying to keep hidden. He didn't want to be involved in this plan from the beginning, but after feeling the walls close around him metaphorically, he didn't have to be nearsighted to see the writing on them.

To that end, the sudden rainstorm was a blessing, as no Vampire would be stupid enough to dare brave the daytime even during heavy rain. Not without the safety of their cloud generators or solar-protection suits. If the rain decided to stop and clouds cleared up, then that would be an instant and painful end to a multi-millenial life. It was an absurd and foolish risk, but… He only had to make it as far as his own garden, and then he'd be safe.  Surely the shadows following him would obey if he asked them to remain inside while he went out to "enjoy the rain." They might think him an eccentric, but Verndil didn't care what random wetworkers thought. They probably would never say anything about it to anyone regardless, and if he had his way, he would be free of them and any potential judgment the lobotomized servants were even capable of contemplating anyway.

At present, he was in his private bedroom, looking through his wardrobe for anything he might need. He couldn't exactly bring a change of clothes with him, and there wasn't much in the way of weapons he could sneak off with. He wasn't much of a fighter, but he knew enough magic to probably get himself out of town. Maybe.  He had already pocketed his retractable wand, he had his wallet safely tucked away, all that there really was to do was figure out what coat would be best for an extended trip from home. Probably something heavier, a full-body coat seemed appropriate enough. Plus, if the sun did suddenly assault him, hiding beneath a heavy coat was… a potential unpleasant last resort.

Adjusting his burgundy coat and reflexively reaching for his hat, he stopped halfway to taking it off the rack. It'd probably look suspicious if he was putting on his hat just to step into the garden. Better to forego that for the time being.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Count Eltash made his way to the stairwell, breathing a small sigh of relief when his shadowguard didn't stop him from descending the stairs. He grabbed an umbrella from the entryway first, and headed into a hall beneath the mezzanine toward one of the grand living rooms that were seldom used. Facing the sealed metal doors as the loud sound of rain clattered on the other side, he cleared his throat,

"The two of you, show yourselves. …I know you've been following me all day, regardless."

At his command, two figures materialized in front of him, both genuflecting respectfully. Neither of them spoke up, simply awaiting his orders with quiet obedience.

"…Right then. I'm going out into the garden to get some fresh air. The two of you stay here and wait for my return."

Both seized up, but neither said anything. Instead they simply nodded their heads and stood up, stepping to the other side of the living room where they silently observed Verndil.  Biting back the incredibly unpleasant feeling crawling up his spine as he imagined the two of them standing there staring at his back, he paced up to the control panel beside the fireplace and punched in a code, whereupon a subdued alarm briefly blared in the room before going silent, the shutters trembling as they gradually lifted themselves.  Fortunately the cloud-cover was heavy and it was stormy enough out that it wasn't repulsively bright. Verndil offered a silent prayer of thankfulness to the Ancestors for this sudden winter storm. Normally, such inclement weather was planned out in advance. The ruler of a city was the one who created the forecast, under the guidance of and with the feedback of experts and agricultural departments respectively, when relevant. Too much rainfall was just as bad as not enough, and the forecast was usually determined a whole month in advance.  Dealing with natural weather was quite the irritating affair, as he was reminded upon opening the door and being immediately assaulted by the sting of raindrops carried by wind slapping him in the face. Neither of the assassins assigned to him made any motion or said anything as he walked out and closed the door behind him. Fruitlessly opening his umbrella, as it immediately flipped inside out in the gale, he discarded it and morosely trudged through the garden to the courtyard in the center of his manor.

In the center of the garden near a gazebo, off to one side near some hedges that he could conveniently duck around, was a maintenance entrance to the underground of his manor. Technically, it was for managing the electrical cables and water pipes, but as he had heard centuries ago, any sensible nobleman also included an avenue for an emergency escape.  He scoffed several hundred years ago when his friend Daryl Oxalis had made that joke and waxed poetic about the romanticism of a well-placed escape tunnel, but… it turned out following that absurd piece of advice might have just very well saved his life.

Technically speaking, it would have been completely useless on its own if he hadn't memorized the map of tunnels that also ran beneath the city, though he had no intention of going anywhere but out. Heading straight to the city's aethermic engine plant—where the cloud generator was located—would be borderline suicide, considering those dreadful monsters seemed to be crowding around the site.  It was actually rather fortuitous they seemed disinterested in lurking around inside his courtyard. There was no shortage of types that could have flown over the walls and halls of his manor to get there, but who was he to look a gifted myrh in its beak?

As quietly as he could, Count Eltash performed the debasing task of pulling open the hatch to the underground and slipped inside, dripping water like a depressingly wet animal. He already wanted to take the coat off, but it'd just be worse if he had to carry it around with him instead.

The lighting in the tunnels was as gloomy as the clouds overhead, the dull amber glow bringing with it a sense of drowsiness despite the fact he was quite well-rested, having had nothing to do for the past few days other than laze about and get drunk on bloodwine.  Consulting his mental map, he began making his way toward the exit to his estate.

＊　＊　＊

The three "adventurers" dashed down the underground halls as quick as they could. Gier was easily the slowest of the three, though at least he could still outpace the nightmarish death-grinder chasing them relentlessly.  Lycoris stood at the front of the group, swinging her scythe to sweep the path clean so they could run unobstructed. Gunshots rang out in the din of chaos, as he also took the time to shoot at the Whispers that slithered or crawled into their path, the beastly machines quickly reduced to shredded scrap as they blitzed past without ever looking behind them.

"How long do we hafta run for to get away from that thing!?" he shouted breathlessly.  "If my assessment of their behavior is correct, we only need to get as far as the edge of its understood 'territory' and it might give up the chase?" Lycoris, decidedly not out of breath, exposited as she nimbly ran afore him.

Once again, she was quite thankful that she could so easily split her energy between running away and speaking without having to make any sacrifices for either.

A grotesque arm reached out of a gap to her side, only to be reaped by her scythe as she dragged it along the wall in a casual slash. Compared to Athena and Gier, both of whom were panicking for their own reasons, Lycoris felt rather terrifyingly at home in this sort of environment. Running frantically away from danger while trying to concoct a plan on the fly was… nostalgic. She even had to stifle a giggle as they rounded a sharp corner and Athena cut down a pair of bipedal Whispers, the massive worm behind them not even missing a beat as it pivoted to pursue them.

"Your Highness? What's so amusing? Have you concocted some form of plan most magniferous!?"  "No, this just brought to mind something I… read, once."

It was the most blatant lie in the world, but Lycoris just hoped that Gier was busy enough to not think much of it. He seemed fairly distracted by trying to outpace the giant worm behind them anyways.

"Actually, I did just think of something. Why aren't you carrying Gier? We'd be able to move quicker if so, right?"  Athena grimaced, "Actually, Your Highness… I'm running up against my limit as well."

That was bad.  Athena had put on such a good show until now, Lycoris forgot that she was technically still recovering from her state of torpor. If it wasn't for the spectacles on her face, Lycoris wouldn't have suspected anything was amiss at all. The maid's feats were already far beyond anything she saw from any Human short of Mizar, after all.  And as much as she had considered whether she could simply bring her axe through the worm's giant maw, she didn't really want to risk putting herself through the shredder. But it was looking more and more like she wouldn't have any other option. They had already left the metallic hive-hall and were back running through concrete, though the ground here looked better maintained and less cluttered with debris.

"Wait! Your Highness!" Panting for air, Gier suddenly shouted. "The branch to the right, it… it smells like rain!"

That was probably the best news Lycoris heard since they entered the tunnels.  All three of them immediately swerved down the right path, hoping to find an exit, and that the beast would give up if they made it out.

＊

Verndil pressed himself against the side of the wall, the sudden vibration of the floor causing him to momentarily lose his balance after he input the code to open the hydraulic gate disguised as a vine-covered wall.

"I didn't expect it to be quite so… thunderous. Wait, what in the—"

He had never obviously used the secret escape hatch before, and wasn't sure what to expect. But he could safely say that the increasing trembling of the earth, accompanied by the sight of three people rounding a corner and running directly at him at a speed that would put stampeding animals to shame, was not part of the expectations he had formed.  Of course, he quickly realized what the actual source of the rumbling was as right behind them, a horrifying nightmarish maw of spinning teeth and steel gave chase.

Before he even registered the silver hair of the girl in the lead, Verndil did what any sensible Vampire would.

He slammed the panel as hard as he could, frantically trying to close the gate once more.

"Your Highness, there's someone up ahead, through those vines!" The blade-wielding woman shouted.  "Hey! Get away from here! Or better yet, show us how you even got down here!" The little girl squeaked at him.  "Or throw yourself into this thing as bait. Maybe that'll stop it," the lone wolf-eared member of the group shouted breathlessly. "Wait a sec, the gate's closing! The hell are you doing!?"  "That is a capital offense!! Her Highness has every right to have you decapitated!"

As the jaws of steel gradually closed, the three of them drew closer, while the swirling maw of nightmares closed in. He wasn't even sure if the gate would actually stop the creature, and so decided to turn on his heel, ignore the pleading cries of the three doomed souls, and sprint in the opposite direction… only to slip on a puddle of water left from his sopping coat, landing in a twisted bundle on the ground.

Just before the gate closed completely, the three sprinting individuals managed to squeeze through, with the silver-haired twin-tailed girl gripping the Fangchaser and throwing him across the threshold behind the maid and diving through herself as the last.  However, the gates tragically didn't close all the way, as the beast's maw lodged itself between the doors, the sound of it thrashing to try and get through reverberating through everyone's bodies like a ship horn.

"Did we… stop it?" The Fangchaser lifted his head.  "What did I say about jinxing things!?" The twin-tailed girl responded.

It finally clicked in Verndil's head who exactly she was, as he heard her voice from up close.  This was Her Majesty's daughter, Lycoris Aster Aphtangloa.  In his bewildered state, the Count muttered the very first thing that came to mind, despite it being terribly discourteous to Her Highness.

"What the hell are you doing here!?"

He scrambled under his coat to try and stand back up, as the gate doors creaked and groaned under the weight of the horrifying worm.

"Wait, ignore that idiot for a moment. Now's your chance Princess!"  "Idiot!? How dare you, you lowly beast! Do you have any idea who…"

He reached into his coat pocket for his wand, only to find it'd slipped out at some point.  Worse still, it had ended up in the hands of the Fangchaser who'd just berated him.  The beast of a man tossed the wand to the Princess, who looked at it like it was a piece of fruitcake past its expiration date.

"The heck am I supposed to do with this?"  "It's a wand, you're the Vampire here, shouldn't you know!? Shoot some magic at it!" the Fangchaser shouted.

She shrugged, held it up, and despite the fact it was supposed to be keyed to Verndil's mana signature, her brute strength overwhelmed the security measures and forced it to activate, unfurling the golden rings along it and causing them to begin spinning like a miniature astrolabe.  Pointing it at the monstrosity, Lycoris squinted her eyes shut and tensed her shoulders up—which was surprisingly terrible form considering she was Crown Princess. A moment later, the sigils reacted to her dumping mana into the poor device, glowing brightly as it was overwhelmed by her output, and a tornado of slicing winds burst forth and tore through the hanging vines, the door to the sides, and struck the colossal worm itself directly in its maw.

The metallic rings softened and melted together, as the runes on Count Eltash's wand lost their shape and the engravings' power faded, rendering the device irreparably broken.  The owner of it stared in disbelief as he watched literal thousands of argenta melt away with a single casting of magic.

"M…My wand…" he muttered.  "Amazing work, Your Highness! And… you too, Gier."  "Don't praise him too much, Athena," Lycoris sarcastically responded.  "By the way, who is this individual?"

The blue-haired woman named Athena turned to stare at Verndil, gesturing for Lycoris and Gier. Both of them stared as well, as the Princess paced forward and held the useless lump of metal and lacquered elbinaut out to him.

"This belongs to you, correct? Thank you, we might have been done for without it." She glanced down at it, her lips curling bitterly, "…If necessary, I can reimburse you for this later."  "That's… the Count. Verndil Eltash," explained the Fangchaser Gier. "He's the one in charge of this whole County! The hell's he doing down here?"

Both the Princess and the blue woman's eyes widened as they did a double-take.  The man in question stood up straight and dusted himself off, though with his soggy coat and clothes, he still looked somewhat like a drowned animal.

"If you must know, and I say this only because Her Highness is present, I am currently absconding from my estate, as I fear for my life."  "…So you thought braving the giant worm filled tunnels was safer?" Gier muttered sarcastically.  "You should be on your knee, while addressing Her Highness!" quipped Athena in tandem.  "*ahem* I was not expecting such… danger to immediately greet me in this manner. I was hoping to sneak through these tunnels and leave for the cit—"  "You know how to get out of town!?"

Abandoning her remarkably good posture and decorum, the woman took a step forward and glared madly at Verndil. Even though she wore glasses, her gaze was intense enough to cause him to wince. Whoever this Athena was, she radiated an aura a league above normal Vampires… perhaps she was a close acquaintance to Her Highness?  But then what did that make the Fangchaser? Surely there was no way such regal company would entertain something like that.

"Hmm, if he knows the way through the underground," Lycoris began, turning from Athena to smile at Verndil with deceptive sincerity, "does that mean you know how to get to the cloud generator as well?"  "Huh? Well… naturally, of course."

Something in Her Highness's smile shifted ever so slightly, and Verndil realized that his ruined wand and clothes were about to be the least of his troubles that day.

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