Chapter 572 - 572. Plan B
Jack went over and peeked as well. As his mana sense had informed him, there were four beings down there. The Deathless Draugr went around the hall randomly, looking for intruders.
Arlcard was beside Count Dante slash Aubelard. The other one with black mana was the Count's butler. He was helping the Count with his preparation. All three men wore long white robes.
'That butler is linked to Aubelard?' Jack thought. Considering his mana, the butler was a similar creation to the draugr that was currently patrolling the hall.
They watched without making any sound as the people down there made their preparation. There was a stone altar in the middle of the hall down there. The butler disappeared into one of the caves around the hall while Arlcard and Aubelard set the altar up.
Not long after, the butler returned, carrying a small girl in his arm. The girl appeared to be sleeping.
Jack deduced that the little girl must be Charlene, the missing girl. Under normal circumstances, Jack would have been worried because the girl could either be unconscious or already dead. But at this time, when he concentrated, he could sense the slight movement of the girl. She was still breathing. But he also sensed strange mana enveloping the girl, he didn't think the girl's unconsciousness was due to any normal means.
The butler brought the girl onto the altar. The altar was wide enough for the little girl to lay on. During their preparation, Aubelard and Arlcard had placed on the altar a large cup, a ceremonial dagger, a small bottle, a red-colored crystal, and two thick tomes, one with white cover and the other was of a sinister black cover.
From their mana, Jack could tell that all the things they put on the altar were not normal, but the mana from those two tomes was exceptionally dense. Especially the white cover one. Whatever they were, they were very special.
'Those books…' Jack heard Peniel utter in his mind.
'You recognize them?' Jack asked.
'Yes, no wonder Aubelard has a way to heal himself. You should try to grab them if you have the chance.'
'I'm not here to steal things. We will deal with those books after we deal with Aubelard and save the girl.'
The butler stood away from the altar after he placed Charlene. Arlcard took the small bottle and sprinkled some sort of liquid all around the altar while Aubelard chanted something he read from the black book. The liquid that Arlcard sprayed caused a reaction when it touched the ground. Numerous rune diagrams lighted up around the altar.
Aubelard finished chanting and placed the black tome onto the altar. He then picked up the ceremonial dagger and lifted it above the sleeping Charlene.
Jack tensed. Why was Arlcard not yet making any move? Jack couldn't afford to wait any longer. When Jack was about to jump out, Arlcard who had just put the small bottle back to the altar pulled out a short knife from inside his concealed sleeve.
Arlcard was very close to Aubelard at the time, so Aubelard had no time to react. Jack recognized the knife in Arlcard's hand to be the Vampire-slaying Knife that he showed earlier today. The knife plunged into the side of Aubelard's midsection.
Aubelard wheeled around in surprise, clutching the hilt of the knife which blade was now deep inside him. Arlcard had jumped away after his successful ambush.
"Now!" Sidney exclaimed.
Everyone jumped out of the opening, Sidney, Jack, Jonathan, Harker, and Ephiltes. Ephiltes was the last, he waited to make sure everyone had jumped out before he himself made the jump.
The platform they were at was not too high, so they could still land safely with their high-level physique. Everyone had their weapons already brandished. Ready to dish out as much damage as possible once they landed. Jack cast Magic Weapon while falling, his magic staff transformed into a falchion shape.
However, a strange thing occurred. Even before their feet touched the ground, they saw Aubelard's HP bar rapidly drained to zero. When they landed, the vampire had already fallen to the ground. His body was… melting?
"I thought that Vampire-slaying Knife can only incapacitate an archaic-rank vampire?" Harker asked.
"It should be," Peniel answered while she flew above the deforming corpse to study it. The knife had crumbled to dust, meaning it had indeed been used on a vampire.
Jack looked at Arlcard and found that the young vampire was also wearing a confused expression.
"Heh, hehehe…" They heard a chuckle and turned to the source. It was the butler.
"I have a feeling that something was off with you, but I still can't believe you are truly betraying me," the butler said. His voice however was different from the one Jack had heard when he first visited the Count's mansion. It was deeper, similar to the Count's voice.
"You…!" Arlcard had a realization.
"That count was someone I prepare as a cover after I ran from Sangrod. Other than the time I appeared before you in my real look, I have him act as if he is me. Turn out having everyone, including you, believe that the Count is me in disguise does prove to be useful," the butler said. His skinny and hunchbacked aspects transformed right before everyone's eyes into the same appearance as the Aubelard in the pictures carried by the three princes' representatives.
'Damn it! It's the butler again. Maybe next time when there is a case with a butler, I should just go for the butler right from the start,' Jack cursed within while using Inspect.
Aubelard Maxius (Special Elite Vampire, Archaic), level 60
HP: 310,000
Status: Weakened
'He was truly weakened to level 60 Special Elite,' Jack thought after seeing the data.
"You naughty child, you even bring Maxius' agents into our house. Your punishment will be severe," the real Aubelard uttered.
Arlcard removed his robe. Under the robe, he had been wearing silvery light armor.? His hand now held a rapier. "Plan B!" He exclaimed.
"What's plan B?" Jack asked, confused. There was never a talk of plan B.
"Everyone, attack!" Arlcard exclaimed.
'F*ck! So it's down to good old-fashioned brawl after all,' Jack cursed.
He sensed something from the back at the same time as he saw a red dot closing in with speed from their back. He quickly swiveled to the back and erected Magic Shield, just as the Deathless Draugr made a jump attack.
The monster slammed onto Jack's shield, sending him reeling back, but his shield held.
"I will handle this draugr! You all deal with Aubelard!" Jack yelled.
Ephiltes gave Jack a disdainful glance as if saying, 'there is nothing you can do against Aubelard anyway.'
The draugr itself was still too strong for Jack to win against. But if it was only to keep it from interfering, Jack believe he could still manage. He fed ten mana cores into his Amulet and summoned a Rock Golem.
All Jack and the golem needed to do was to keep the draugr busy. He didn't even bother landing any attack on it. The monster would simply return to life again if killed, so he just defended and dodged.
On the other side, Aubelard removed his white robe as well. He didn't wear any combat armor, only an aristocratic coat. Yet, his calm demeanor made it seem as if the five combatants in front of him were just simple ants.
Sidney couldn't accept such an arrogant display. She was at the same level and grade as this weakened vampire, she did not believe that she was inferior. She aimed her long staff and cast a spell. Spell formation of five runes formed rapidly.
Uncountable colorful butterflies swarmed out of nowhere. They flew towards Aubelard and covered him. Sparks of energy erupted every time a butterfly touched the Count's body. Damage numbers appeared but were very small.
"Hahaha, your spell is cute. How about I show you a true swarm?" Aubelard uttered.
His body suddenly turned into a shadow. The shadow burst into countless black bats. The bats devoured all the butterflies then headed to the five.
"Spread out!" Arlcard exclaimed as spell formation appeared at the tip of his rapier. The younger vampire could cast a spell using his sword.
A net appeared as if black colored spiderweb spread out and caught all the black bats. It shrunk and forced all the bats into a bundle.
"Attack!" Arlcard yelled. He can't move, he needed to control the net to keep the bats inside.
Jonathan was the next to make a move. His halberd thrust and produced three earth spears that stabbed into the mass of bats held by Arlcard's net. Damage numbers appeared albeit small. Harker had followed Jonathan's lead and stabbed his pike into the net.
Ephiltes didn't slack off anymore after seeing everyone take action. He was wielding a longsword. His body turned into a light and zoomed past the trapped bats, scoring higher damage compared to Jonathan and Harker combined.
"Hahaha. It has been a long time since I have had a good fight!" They heard Aubelard's voice which echoed throughout the hall.
Sharp energies shot out from the mass of bats. Their sharpness shredded Arlcard's black net. The bats didn't come swarming out though. They had coalesced back into Aubelard, the skill had duration and it had ended.
Aubelard didn't appear to wield any weapon. He cast a spell barehanded. His two hands enlarged and deformed into dark scaly claws. Jack who was fighting against the draugr still had some of his attention on the main fight. He recognized Aubelard's spell. It was Demon Hand spell, the same one that was cast by Luther, the vampire he had killed in Travinste.. However, Aubelard's Demon Hands appeared bigger and darker than Luther's.