Ascendant Path of a Lustful Vampire

***

It took a while for the mood in the Leopold Carriage to become relaxed.

It had become so hard to remember any time since they had been on this journey that they hadn’t been attacked during any period of laxity. Because of that, even after they looked back and saw the Carriages of their pursuers smash against the invisible barrier, they remained on edge that it was only a matter of time before they were being chased and/or attacked again.

Eventually, though, it dawned on them that they might have shaken their enemies and were ’home-free’. Only they most definitely weren’t ’home’.

"Where are we anyway?" Meline asked then.

"Nowhere in particular, it seems," Kyre said as he flexed a map, "The few maps that detail past the Acheron Empire label this region as Wildlands. Unclaimed."

"It acts as a buffer between the next region and the Acheron Empire," Caius supplied.

All eyes turned to him now.

"And where is the next region?" Roxanne asked.

"Venuzze," Caius answered promptly. He knew the information thanks to the memories Athenodora had put in his head.

In [To Kill A Demon Lord...], there had been adventures outside of the Acheron Empire. In fact, if Caius were right, heading in a different direction once past the Acheron Northern border, would lead to a particularly important region in the original canon.

However, Venuzze itself had never been important enough to be talked about in detail in the Original canon. It was just one of the many regions that was affected by the worldwide events down the line.

"And... is that our destination or are we going beyond it?" Kyre asked slowly.

"Why, are you tired?" Caius asked with a smirk.

Kyre flinched.

"Never, my Lord," he said with a bow and a voice thick with reverence.

Caius just laughed and waved his hand so that he’d sit straight again.

"You know I can’t confirm or deny," he said.

"Yes, of course, my Lord," Kyre answered.

They went past the wildlands and it was very clear once they were near Venuzze. There was a clear divide between the wilds of the Wildlands and proper civilization.

At the Venuzzian border, they were stopped by what appeared to be a border guard patrol.

"Do we fight through them?" Roxanne asked and she as well as the rest of the Leopolds looked ready.

Caius wondered if they had anything to worry about regarding their identities now that they were out of the Acheron Empire and far from anyone who could realistically identify them.

Eventually, he decided he didn’t want to choose fighting as his first course of action without even trying to be amicable. Not when they had come this far. Not when he was getting tired from driving without rest.

Caius gestured for the Leopolds to be calm and took off his mask. Right before he opened the window and his face could be seen, Caius reverted to his human form. He had been retaining his vampire form partly out of habit to keep his unique purple eyes secret and partly because that was the only way to access the full extent of his physical capabilities and ward off fatigue for much longer.

"Officer—" Caius started to say with the most amicable tone he could muster when he saw the Border Guard’s eyes widen with recognition.

"It’s you," said the Border Guard, interrupting whatever Caius was about to say.

"You know me?" Caius said and out of the corner of his eye, he could see the Leopolds share looks of confusion mixed with caution.

"Of course, most honored one," the Guard said reverently, and then he looked inside the Carriage and at the Leopolds who had kept their masks on, before adding in a musing tone,

"She said you would be coming alone but evidently, you are not."

"Will that be a problem?" Caius asked in a hard tone because he was starting to realize some class and a ’higher-than-thou’ inflection in his words was expected of him.

The Guard shook his head.

"Certainly not," he said, "Go right on. She awaits you."

"Right," Caius said with a curt nod.

The Guards stepped aside and Caius drove the Leopold Carriage properly into the country of Venuzze.

None of the Leopolds said anything but the implication of that exchange with the Border Guard wasn’t lost on them. Clearly the ’she’ the Guard had referred to was Caius’s creator. The one whose name had called the Noble Emissary to their location back at Revron County. The one whose name they still didn’t speak here for fear that the same would happen again. The one Caius hadn’t quite confirmed as the reason they were on this journey but they could easily surmise on their own.

Venuzze wasn’t the size of the Acheron Empire—not even close—but it was quite large in and of itself. Comparable in size to two of the Acheron Empire’s Duchies put together.

The journey to the Venuzze capital didn’t take the week and a half it had taken to go from the Acheron Capital to the Khione Duchy. But still, several days passed.

This was even more the case because Caius had reluctantly allowed himself to take a break at the constant behest of the Leopolds.

They were in a region where he was being referred to as ’honored one’ by any member of law enforcement they met and Venuzze had so far looked like the epitome of peace so the Leopolds insisted Caius could allow himself a break.

He ended up sleeping an entire day with the Leopolds keeping watch over him and once he woke up, he got back behind the wheel and kept going.

As he drove, Caius thought back to those he left behind at the Acheron Empire. Lochxen was likely on break by now as the two-week-long second half of the Semester passed a few days ago. So then Kaya, Aylin, Delia, and Eloise were likely on their way home for the Semester break, right?

He wondered if it was right that he cut himself off from them to the point where he had no idea what was happening with them. He couldn’t even remember why he did it. Or at least, he was not so convinced of his reasons for doing it.

Sure, he had wanted to not involve them in this for their safety but did that really have to involve a complete lack of communication?

Also, surely nothing so terrible could have happened in his absence, right?

The path laid out in the memories Athenodora had put in Caius’s head led to what appeared to be a massive palace in the Venuzzian capital. Grand and imposing, seemingly carved from marble and gilded with gold. Guards stood at attention, dressed in smart military attire.

At the Gates, Caius had a similar interaction to what he had had many times so far and when he drove down the cobbled stones to approach the Grand Palace, which was a considerable distance from the Gate, he watched a lady burst out of a door and head directly for the carriage.

She was dressed in noble apparel, a bodice around her midriff and her breasts propped up on her chest to the point where she presented a delightful view of her cleavage. She looked to be in her mid-twenties with a pretty face that edged between relief and worry.

Caius had a feeling the relief was a more recent emotion she felt and he was sure it had to do with his arrival.

As Caius stepped out of the Carriage, she assessed him before she dipped into a bow.

"Honored one," she said, "She awaits you."

"Yeah," Caius said slowly and then gestured at the Leopolds who were stepping out of the carriage as well and taking positions behind and by his side.

"We received word from the border that you weren’t alone and we have made provisions for your companions," the lady said and gestured with her hand, calling a few Palace workers over.

"They can get settled while I take you to her," the lady continued.

"Hold on, we’re going with him," Roxanne said, as if any suggestion otherwise would be ridiculous.

The lady blinked and then frowned.

"I’m afraid that isn’t possible. You are welcome as companions of the Honored One. But he’s the one she wants, not you."

"Hey—!" Roxanne started.

"Roxanne," Caius calmed her, "It’s alright."

Roxanne looked like she thought otherwise and the Leopolds didn’t seem to disagree with her even if they weren’t as vocal. Still, they agreed to be led away by the Palace workers while Caius was led by the lady down a separate path.

They went down steps that led into what looked like an underground section of the Palace. Throughout the walk, Caius didn’t speak.

Now that he was here, his imagination was going wild about what he would find. He was about to get answers on Athenodora’s condition and wasn’t sure he would like what he would learn.

They arrived at thick, tall, and grand doors that the lady pulled open with relative ease before gesturing for Caius to go in.

"She’s expecting you," she said.

With a nod, Caius walked in and the door closed shut.

The room was massive. The ground and the walls were marked with Arcane Formations that glowed red and gave the room a red tint.

"Athenodora?" Caius called looking around at the room. He seemed to be the only person here.

And then, he heard a sound— A hungry growl. He turned his head towards the sound, raising his face to the ceiling.

There was a blitz of shadow...

... and Caius was attacked.

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