As the saying goes, what you think about by day, you dream of by night.
Dark had spent the entire day engrossed in the records of the transmutation circle, so naturally, he had a dream related to it.
In his dream, he successfully transmuted the twelve Gold Saint armors. Each week, starting from Monday morning, he would randomly get one Gold Saint armor, with no repeats for two consecutive weeks!
Huh?
There are fourteen days in two weeks, but only twelve armors?
Isn't it common knowledge that there are fourteen pieces to the twelve Gold Saint armors?
Once he'd collected all the Gold Saint armors, he'd go for a set of Sin Armaments. Wouldn't that be magnificent?
Then, with the twelve Gold Saint armors, the Valkyrie armors...
No, I should make a little dress for my dear Eevee first!
Other people's familiars have little dresses, so our Magic Beast has to have one too!
"Thwack!"
The Eevee he had forcibly stuffed into a little dress kicked him right in the face!
...
Amidst a tremendous roar, Dark suddenly snapped awake.
The moment he turned his head toward the sound, an incredible scene appeared before him.
The side of the dragon's lair mirror room had been breached, leaving a massive opening!
"Holy crap!"
...
A few minutes earlier.
Vlad had spent a full three minutes brewing his emotions outside the secret room before finally striking the wall with his palm.
Although his memories were fragmented and he didn't even know where he was, he could still spot a hidden door like this—one that could be triggered simply by pouring magic into it—at a glance.
Just as he had discerned the magical talent and current level of Virt and the others in the short time since regaining consciousness!
Among those four human children.
The sturdiest-looking one was only at the level of a magic apprentice. His magical talent was also relatively ordinary, though his constitution was decent. He barely qualified as a magic swordsman prospect.
Unfortunately, seeing as he also wore a uniform similar to a magic robe, he had probably already gone down the wrong path.
The other one, the tall and skinny boy with a pockmarked face, had slightly stronger magical talent than the first, but it was still quite limited. Moreover, his physique was weak, leaving no room for a change in class.
Among the demon race, he would be the lowest of the low!
The only girl, however, had something of a sage's air about her, and her magical talent was also passable. A pity she was born human, for her magic would have its limits. At best, she could only become an elite magician among humans in the future.
What surprised Vlad the most was the black-haired boy, who actually possessed talent on par with a high-ranking demon!
This immediately gave him the idea of making the boy his blood thrall.
After thoroughly enjoying himself, of course!
...
As his magic-infused palm struck the wall, the entrance to the secret passage swung open.
Vlad let out a savage laugh and prepared to duck his head to enter.
However, the moment he ducked, a thunderous roar erupted!
An electric eel, shimmering with lightning, shot out in an instant, nearly swallowing Vlad's head in one bite!
Vlad snapped his head back, his hands flying up almost instantly to grab the eel's jaws before it could swallow him whole!
"Virt!"
Betty's cry rang out.
"Here!"
Virt responded sharply as a giant, snow-white python burst forth from his card!
The small secret room couldn't possibly accommodate the massive Radiant Great Serpent. Everyone except Virt pressed themselves against the walls.
Virt held his magic card, watching as the upper half of the Radiant Great Serpent materialized in a flash of light. It then charged out of the secret room, sending Vlad, who was blocking the entrance, flying. Both Vlad and the electric eel, which was only slightly smaller than the serpent, were slammed against the opposite wall!
"BOOM!"
A tremendous crash.
Virt suddenly roared, "Holy Light!"
A sacred white light immediately burst from the Radiant Great Serpent's mouth, searing the vampire's skin like a blazing fire!
The clash between light and dark made Vlad feel pain for the first time since his revival!
But this was only the beginning!
Seeing Vlad's constitution weakened, Betty immediately activated a magic card she had prepared—[Thunder Plasma Bomb]!
Magic cards could be divided into two modes: one was activated by the magister themselves, and the other was attached to a Magic Guide Spirit, released in the form of a special move!
Betty's magic card belonged to the latter category.
That tier-seven Water/Thunder dual-attribute white card—[Canaan Great Eel]—finally had a way to unleash its lightning energy under the enhancement of [Thunder Plasma Bomb].
Its upper and lower jaws were still held firmly apart by Vlad, but a stream of lightning plasma flowed from its throat, pouring over Vlad's head.
Following that, more lightning plasma gathered into a ball in its mouth, the crackling of electricity incessant.
After gathering energy for a very short time, the Canaan Great Eel slammed the volatile ball of lightning plasma right onto Vlad's head!
"BOOM!"
The point-blank explosion blew the Canaan Great Eel's head clean off!
The Magic Guide Spirit card in Betty's hand dimmed instantly.
Virt's Radiant Great Serpent didn't escape unscathed either.
But if they could kill Vlad at such a small price, it would be a blessing from the heavens!
...
The four of them stared wide-eyed at the vampire engulfed in lightning plasma, wishing they could tear him to shreds with their gazes alone!
"Cough!"
The vampire's body suddenly twitched.
The lightning plasma clinging to his head was shaken off, spattering onto the floor.
Virt and the others tensed up immediately.
Betty reacted the fastest, dashing out of the secret room almost instantly.
Vlad had taken the full force of the [Thunder Plasma Bomb] and was still alive. The discovered secret room was no longer useful for hiding; on the contrary, its narrowness would hinder their escape.
"Run!"
She wasted no words, turning to flee the moment she was out of the room.
Scott and Robert's minds didn't work as fast as hers, but you didn't need a brain to follow someone running away...
Only Virt froze for a moment before scrambling to follow.
But just as he reached the entrance, an extremely ominous premonition washed over him.
It wasn't the first time he'd had that feeling.
And every time it appeared, it heralded imminent danger.
His past experiences allowed him to react with maximum speed.
In that instant, he stopped short, sidestepped, and pressed himself flat against the wall.
Less than half a second later.
The vampire, still dripping with lightning plasma, suddenly opened his mouth. Using his four fangs as focal points, blood-red magic converged in the center. In a split second, a massive magic circle materialized from nothing and then, amplified by the circle, a crimson beam of light shot out!
Pressed tightly against the wall, Virt saw the blood-red beam, thicker than the Radiant Great Serpent's body, stream past right in front of his eyes.
It then shot straight toward the mirror directly opposite!
Virt broke out in a cold sweat. It was his first time brushing so close to death, and his heart felt like it would leap out of his chest.
The mirror, hit head-on by the beam, melted without a moment's hesitation.
The scattered light reflected off the remaining mirrors, quickly dyeing the entire secret room red.
Virt's face was bathed in crimson light, and he couldn't stop trembling.
It was so overwhelming that it took him a long time to realize that it wasn't just the mirrors that had melted, but also the wall behind them—or rather, some kind of spatial structure!
A huge hole had appeared in the secret room, connecting it to another mirror room!
...
The roar of the explosion quickly subsided.
The sound of ragged breathing came from all around.
An icy wind darted back and forth through the opening as the air currents from both sides mixed.
Betty and the other two, who had luckily escaped the secret room, couldn't help but stop in their tracks.
Robert let out a terrified shriek and ran back for his life.
"Virt! Virt!"
His voice was filled with terror, so much so that he paid no mind to the vampire standing right there.
...
All the lightning plasma had dripped from Vlad's face, revealing his true appearance. His once-flowing long hair was completely destroyed, and most of the skin on his face had been melted away by the [Thunder Plasma Bomb], exposing the pale bone underneath.
His lipless mouth was half-open.
A steaming blood mist swirled around where his lips should be.
Utterly vicious!
Utterly vicious!
Utterly vicious!
Flames of fury burned in Vlad's eyes, and the melted skin began to repair itself at a visible rate!
But hair was harder to regenerate than skin. A few remaining strands hung from the top of his head, looking utterly forlorn.
The tattered edges of his clothes, blasted to shreds by the [Thunder Plasma Bomb], transformed into viscous threads of blood that rewove themselves into a complete outfit.
Vlad ignored the nearby Robert, his gaze suddenly shifting to the fleeing Betty!
He couldn't understand how this human girl, whose magic level was merely "passable," had managed to summon that Canaan eel.
There was no related information in his fragmented memories.
Could it be that this human girl possessed a rare and exceptional talent for summoning magic?
Vlad's face grew even more hideous. Betty had become the second target he wanted for his first embrace!
Only by turning her into a blood thrall could he wash away his earlier humiliation!
...
Robert rushed into the secret room.
The room was in shambles; he almost thought Virt had been vaporized!
"Over here."
It wasn't until Virt reminded him in a weak voice that Robert spun around and saw him by the wall near the entrance.
"Thank goodness, you're alive!"
Robert threw his arms around Virt, unrestrained joy flooding his face.
Virt's body was limp, so he could only let Robert hold him. "The vampire?"
"The vampire..."
Robert finally remembered, and his face paled slightly.
"He's still alive..."
One sentence.
After that one sentence, Virt struggled, wanting to leave the secret room.
It was also then that he finally noticed the giant hole in one of the room's walls!
But because the other side of the hole was also a mirror room, it created a momentary optical illusion.
Robert, on the other hand, had noticed it as soon as he came in.
He just hadn't been in the mood to think about it at the time.
Looking at it now, he couldn't help but wonder, "So there's an even bigger hidden room inside this one?"
This thought came to an abrupt halt when the rustling sound of flapping wings came from the other side of the huge hole.
...
DemiDevimon flew leisurely to the front of the hole, pretending to stare blankly at Virt and Robert in the small secret room while inwardly going crazy with sarcastic comments.
And such an iconic familiar was one of a kind in all of St. Marian.
Virt and Robert almost instantly realized who was on the other side!
"We can escape through the hole!"
"If Dark is here..."
Different thoughts surfaced and crossed paths.
Dark Demon appeared in their line of sight, right behind DemiDevimon.
"Hi?"
...
Who would have thought that the Hero's small secret room and the Valkyrie's large one were only separated by a single "wall"?
Judging by the scale, Hero Bright had probably just scraped together a little something from the Valkyrie's leftovers...
Maybe he just hastily followed the trend so that when he chatted with people, he could say, "Oh, you hid a treasure too? So did I."
Dark peered cautiously in their direction. "You guys don't look so great?"
Virt and Robert had conflicted expressions.
But before they could say anything more, Vlad, who had been heading for Betty, suddenly appeared at the entrance of the small secret room.
His body was covered in scars, and the difference in color between the old and new skin made his face look like it was stitched together from rags.
Vlad's gaze was sharp. The newly appeared human child on the other side gave him a very hard-to-describe feeling.
It was a scent that only high-ranking demons could detect, an irresistible feeling.
So much so that after catching Dark's scent, he even suppressed the humiliation in his heart, pushing Betty's punishment to second priority!
But he couldn't distinguish what that feeling was.
In short, it was very faint, and very strange.
It left him unsettled.
...
Terrified by Vlad's sudden appearance nearby, Virt and Robert couldn't help but inch toward Dark.
Surprisingly, Vlad didn't react to their movement!
It was Dark who hesitated, asking, "A vampire?"
Because it really didn't look like cosplay, Dark couldn't help but tense up.
...
Perhaps thinking Vlad was about to harm Virt and Robert, Betty launched a sneak attack to give them a chance to escape!
"Skunk Bomb!"
A brown pellet rolled to Vlad's feet and suddenly burst open!
Smoke billowed out from the pellet, instantly spreading a deadly stench.
This skill, released by a mere two-star Magic Guide Spirit, had an unexpectedly powerful effect.
Vlad let out a bloodcurdling scream from within the smoke.
At the crucial moment, Virt mustered his last bit of strength, dragging his weak legs and running for the huge hole.
Robert was a step behind but quickly overtook him, grabbing his arm and breaking into a full sprint!
They crossed the distance of the small secret room in an instant.
Dark, on the other side, immediately stepped aside, allowing the two to cross through the huge hole and escape.
"A vampire?"
Dark asked again.
"A vampire!"
Robert responded hastily.
The last trace of sleepiness in Dark's eyes vanished instantly.
At this point, there was no sense in pondering why a vampire would appear in the secret passage.
If a Minotaur could appear out of nowhere, one more vampire wasn't a big deal.
Prepare for battle!
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