Assimilate All Talents

While a certain duo was blazing through the dungeon, on the far southeastern side of the Crestelia Kingdom, there was a hidden underground passage. It led miles beneath the surface, with many branching paths that either led to dead ends or traps—except for one. Following that single path led to a massive underground expanse where a large castle stood.

A swarm of bats flew through the castle's interior, weaving through the maze like hallways until they arrived at a throne room. The bats merged and transformed into Carmilla, who kneeled as soon as she was in her humanoid form.

“Mistress, I have returned!”

She knelt before the throne, where a charming young woman sat, her appearance suggesting she was in her late teens. Her long, pitch black twintails flowed over the throne’s armrest as she sat with her legs crossed. This was Nisha, Mistress of the Night and the current ruler of the vampires.

Nisha smiled at Carmilla and asked, “How did the nobles respond to our new terms?”

“They accepted, but I still don’t understand why we asked for Kerman instead. You didn’t care about the city to begin with.”

Carmilla had done as she was told but couldn’t help having some lingering doubts as to why they risked the negotiations falling apart for something that didn’t seem to impact their plan.

Nisha twirled one of her twintails as she pondered how to respond.

“Do you trust those nobles?”

“No, Mistress. I doubt they even trust each other.”

She recalled how, during their negotiation, Gladys was clearly the leader, but a few nobles were in clear disagreement. She could easily tell from their minute facial expressions, which they tried to conceal but ultimately failed.

“If they don’t trust us and we don’t trust them, we need to mislead them away from our main goal. Now they’re convinced we want Kerman, which will make them lower their guard—they won’t expect us to betray them before we receive ownership of the city.”

Carmilla’s eyes widened as she understood her mistress’s reasoning. Though it seemed pointless to them, it would definitely throw the rebellious nobles off guard.

Carmilla was about to praise her, but suddenly the curtains behind the throne began to shake.

Nisha noticed as well and hurriedly spoke, “Leave and continue the preparations!”

Carmilla hesitated. “Are you sure? Maybe it’s time to let the Primogen know…” Even if Nisha was the active ruler of the vampires, he was the true ruler.

She shook her head. “You know he isn’t in the mood to do anything. Don’t needlessly worry him.”

“...As you wish.” Carmilla transformed into a swarm of bats once more and flew out of the throne room.

Temporarily alone in the throne room, Nisha stood up and walked to the shaking curtains. She pulled them open, revealing a large upright coffin that was softly rumbling.

Seeing it was still closed, she mentally prepared herself, lightly clapping her face and making the biggest, warmest smile she could.

The coffin stopped shaking, and the lid opened, revealing a sickly thin man with dull red hair. He stumbled out and almost collapsed, but just before he did, she caught him.

Though it pained her to see him in this condition, she maintained her smile and said, “Morning, Dad!”

Nisha’s “dad” coughed roughly before speaking. “Nisha… Have you been well?”

“Mhm!” she said happily. “Nothing much has happened lately… Oh! Actually, one of our thralls became an A-Ranker! She’s the first thrall to do so as far as I’m aware. Oh, and also…”

As she continued to recap the most recent events, the sickly man tapped a black bracelet, which opened a small hole in the air. He reached inside and pulled out a bottle of dark red blood. Opening the cap of the bottle, the room was suddenly flooded with an intense aura of life.

Feeling the powerful aura, Nisha muttered in awe, “The blood of an outer god…” No matter how many times she saw it, she was always amazed by it. Even the scent it emitted was incredibly enticing, but she held herself back, doubting her ability to ingest even a drop without being overwhelmed and exploding.

The man took a small sip from the bottle, only ingesting three drops of blood. In the next moment, the man’s aura skyrocketed, and his body quickly recovered to its peak condition. His face became fuller, and though still pale, it was the healthy kind for a vampire. His hair also became lush and vibrant, changing from its previous dull red, and his skinny body swelled into an incredibly fit and toned shape. His appearance now resembled the one once said to be a vampire who came before all others vampires, Absalom, God of Vampires. He wasn’t that very same Absalom, as that god was long dead. Instead, he was the direct descendant of that god, carrying his name and the title of Primogen of Vampires.

He let out a refreshing exhale as he felt himself return to his peak. “Ahh… That’s better. How long have I been asleep this time?”

Nisha made a pensive look but answered right away, as she already knew the answer. “Eighty seven years. Do you want to walk around and see the other vampires?”

Absalom shook his head and patted her head affectionately. “No, I will be returning to my slumber. But you can always wake me if you ever need me. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“Oh… Okay…” she said, doing her best to hide the sadness in her eyes. She knew being sad wouldn’t change his decision, so the best she could do was put on a smile for him.

She hoped he would spend time with her and the rest of the vampires, who were, in one way or another, his blood descendants. It had been a long time since anyone had seen him, and many of the vampires would celebrate if he made his return. She would do anything to see that happen, even if it was just for a day.

Absalom entered his coffin once more and assumed a sleeping position as the coffin lid slowly closed by itself. Nisha watched him go back to sleep and slowly waved her hand.

“Goodnight, Dad…”

The lid closed and sealed itself, protecting Absalom from any harm that might come his way. Not even an A-Ranker could break through the coffin without rousing him from his sleep first.

Nisha clenched her fist in anger.

“This is all because of humans…”

Though she didn’t know for sure that humans were to blame, as every time she asked him, he wouldn’t give her a straight answer, she believed it to be the case after her own investigations. Why did they live in hiding? Even the oldest vampires who lived here couldn’t answer that question, but they did mention something odd. Around 500 years ago, when the first vampires were brought here by Absalom, they saw that there were traces of blood and battle.

That was around the same time as the founding of Crestelia Kingdom, so it was clear to her what had happened. The humans had claimed the land above them and led a crusade against their kind. Everyone must have perished while Absalom was in his slumber. When he woke up, it was already over, and to keep the vampire race alive, he created more.

Nisha sat on the throne and clasped her hands tightly while looking ahead to her vision of the future.

“We’ll have our revenge.”