Pao's hand trembled as she brought the glass orb from her pouch. The distant glimmer of fangs caught her eye—the second vampire dashed toward her with a predator's grace.
She whispered under her breath, "God… please let it work."
Amukelo, still gripping his injured arm, saw the blur of the vampire closing in. He threw his sword with all the strength he had. The blade cut through the dark and landed with a harsh clang in the path of the charging vampire. The sudden obstacle was just enough to halt her mid-step, and her eyes narrowed in frustration.
Then, just as the vampire crouched to pounce again, a crack in the air split open.
A circular portal bloomed in front of Pao, two meters across, its surface rippling like water disturbed by wind.
A group of five armed people stepped out of the glow. And then came familiar voices.
"Oh! It really worked," Idin said as he stepped through.
Bral followed, looked around quickly, then winced as his eyes landed on Amukelo. "Oof… you look terrible."
Amukelo didn't answer. He was still staring across the field.
Now, because of the portal's light, he had a better look at the second vampire, whose strike had launched him earlier. Her skin was pale, her eyes were deep red, and she had long lavender hair. Her fangs were longer than Raidar's.
Amukelo's breath caught. "Can that be…?"
But before he could finish the thought, both vampires leapt backward, away from the portal. The girl vampire hissed through her teeth, "Raidar… It was a trap from the very beginning."
Jinrai's sword was already drawn. The moment he saw them, he surged forward. The vampires were still turning when he reached them, but before he could strike, a thick black mist burst into existence.
The explosion of smoke was sudden and unnatural. The scent was heavy, choking like burnt herbs and blood. Jinrai swung into it, his blade cleaving the fog—but there was nothing. .
He cut once. Twice. Nothing.
The mist lingered, then slowly faded away. The vampires were gone.
"Damn it!" Jinrai growled, staring at the empty clearing.
Amukelo didn't wait. He stumbled, half-limping, half-running toward Pao. But before he arrived, Bao wrapped her arms around Pao.
"You dumb little sister," Bao murmured into her hair. "I worried about you."
Pao blinked with surprise, then softened. "I'm sorry…"
Amukelo reached them and didn't waste a moment. "Are you alright? You got hit."
Pao looked at her grazed shoulder and waved it off with a small grin. "Yeah, it's nothing."
Amukelo furrowed his brow.
She tapped her staff against the wound, and a soft green light enveloped ger wound. The cut sealed, leaving only a smudge of blood.
"See?" she said, smiling faintly. "I'm not even a healer, and it still healed. But what about you? Your arm?"
Amukelo glanced down at it, and tried to lift it—he couldn't. He grunted. "It'll be fine. I've had worse. That's how warriors end up."
Pao frowned at him and stepped forward. She reached into her pouch, pulled out a small glass vial, and pressed it into his good hand.
"Next time," she said, "try being more careful. You attacked him like you were certain the was alone."
He uncorked the bottle and drank it. The healing potion worked fast, the wound closed in patches, but the bruising remained, and he still couldn't lift his arm all the way.
"It was our goal," he muttered, finishing the potion. "To lure out the enemy. It worked."
Pao crossed her arms, frowning even deeper. "Dumbass… Not this way. I don't want you to get hurt."
That made him blink. He didn't know how to respond.
Then Tharion's voice cut through the moment. "Okay, enough of this."
They turned to him.
"It's great that you both are fine. But the enemy's gone. They escaped. We've got no trace, no direction, nothing to follow. We failed."
A heavy silence followed his words.
But then Amukelo, still catching his breath, said, "Actually… this might not be a failure entirely."
Tharion raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"I'm not certain," he Amukelo began, "but I think I saw that vampire girl before."
Tharion tilted his head. "You saw her? Where?"
Amukelo paused, trying to remember correctly. "In Eland's mansion. The first time we met him. On our way out, I saw a girl in the hallway. I didn't think much of it at the time. She looked young—maybe ten or twelve. I figured she was his daughter, maybe a relative. But now that I think of it… everything matches. Lavender hair. Red eyes. Pale skin. I haven't seen fangs back then, but..."
He let the sentence hang.
Silence fell over the group.
Bral ran a hand through his hair and muttered, "So… are you think Eland is a vampire too?"
Amukelo shook his head slightly. "I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not. He could just be protecting her. Hiding her for some reason. But it's not impossible."
"No," Pao said, firmly. "I think he might be. When we first met him, he was under a spell. It was similar sensation to what Shio and Raidar did to hide their appearance."
Tharion nodded slowly. "Yeah… and this last time, his maid was casting light magic on him. Maybe she was covering her ilusion spell so we don't sense it."
Jinrai crossed his arms. "That makes sense. And it explains a lot."
Then the diplomat asked. "Are you saying Lord Eland is the traitor?"
Jinrai replied without emotion. "We don't know for certain. But with everything we've seen? Eland being involved is the most probable explanation."
He gestured toward the woods, where the vampire fled only minutes ago. "Whoever has been leaking our movements… they always knew exactly when to strike. It would also explain why they didn't go after us when we moved out with the real parchment."
The diplomat was frowning now. Deep lines forming between his brows. "So what now?"
"We return to Ashvale," Jinrai said. "We have to know for sure. If he's behind this, or even just helping them, we need to expose it. If not, then we move on—but we can't let this linger. Not with the road project just starting."
Ulhem raised his eyebrows and looked around. "So we're all going back?"
Jinrai didn't hesitate. "We'll return to Ashvale. We'll confirm the truth ourselves."
The diplomat took a step forward. "No way I'm going back. Absolutely not. If we return to Ashvale now, we're walking into a trap. They'll strike for sure. Why risk it? We've already succeeded. The letter is safe, the road's future is secure. We should just head straight to the capital and let the king handle it."
Jinrai gave a small shake of his head. "You're right. Once the letter reaches the king, the enemy can't stop the road. But if they remain hidden, if they get away… somewhere else, someone else might get hurt. They've already proven they're capable of complex manipulation, of murder, of sabotage. You really think they'll just vanish into the mist?"
The diplomat's face twisted in frustration. "You're risking our lives. I won't go back."
"I didn't say you'd be alone," Jinrai said calmly. "You'll have protection. If you don't want to go back you can travel to the capital on your own. We have to come back."
The diplomat's face twisted with anger. He knew that if they moved to the capital without protection they would surely die. "If something happens to us back in Ashvale, you'll be responsible. Just because you were rewarded for battlefield tactics during the war doesn't give you the right to gamble with our lives."
Jinrai didn't flinch. "I wasn't rewarded for luck."
The diplomat looked at him, then turned to the merchant, who was trying very hard not to look involved. Then to the surveyor, who simply gave a shrug.
After a long pause, the diplomat muttered, "Whatever. It's not like we have a better choice."
Jinrai allowed himself a slight smile. "Good. Then it's settled."