Since Enrico had left a necklace exactly where the entrance was, right at the beginning of the tunnel, the human scent could not be traced back to the hiding place. He had carefully thought through every detail before beginning the escape, precisely to prevent the vampires from discovering that secret passage.
"How did you know about that hole, bloodsucker?"
Upon hearing that nickname coming from Ysabella's mouth, Enrico gave her an unpleasant look. Besides insulting him, it seemed that the girl was trying to get more information about her "master."
"We can say that my master has already passed through it. It's a hidden entrance that was once used by the first vampires to escape. They kept this passage a secret, so the only people who should know about its existence are those connected to that era, such as my master."
"Wait... Does that mean your master was part of the first generation?"
"Yes..."
Enrico continued walking ahead while the others followed him through the tunnel.
In the distance, it was still possible to hear the sounds of the battle taking place above them. The release of the out-of-control vampires had worked perfectly, as it was keeping the guards occupied and diverting their attention. Since the released vampires did not possess absurdly high levels, the destruction caused in the city should also not be great enough to attract too much attention.
The tunnel began descending farther and farther, and as they advanced, the sound of the battle slowly disappeared.
Ysabella watched the humans walking ahead, still nervous. They probably did not know whether they were really being freed or were simply being taken somewhere else where they would be used as food by other vampires.
When they finally crossed the passage, they found a huge cave hidden far from the city. There were several other tunnels and holes scattered across the walls, forming a true underground network.
"Was all of this beneath the city? How did they never notice?"
"For two reasons. The first is that the first vampires never revealed the existence of this place before they died. The second is their confidence that no one would be able to invade the vampires' dimension and discover them."
Enrico approached the group and realized that everyone was still tense. Without wasting time, he took out an object and placed it on the ground. That item had been one of his attempts to create something that could be useful in the future. It had taken a long time, extremely expensive materials, and countless tests to reach that version, and the cost had been so high that Enrico had practically run out of money for the rest of the month.
Even Serenya had been surprised when she discovered how much he had spent and asked why he had put so much money into that invention.
'One day I'll pay back everything I owe you, Serenya.'
That would be the object's first real test. Enrico had finished building it only the day before and, despite trying not to show it, he was a little nervous. There were many people there, and any failure could turn a simple escape into a tragedy.
He activated the object, which had the appearance of a small tower surrounded by several metal rings. The rings began slowly rotating and, shortly afterward, a huge magic circle appeared beneath the group's feet.
"Anyone who has magic, put half of it into the item... If you want to live, of course."
Enrico noticed the hesitation among the prisoners. Most of them still did not completely trust him, so he decided to make the situation clearer.
The first to approach was an elf. He placed part of his mana into the object and, after realizing that nothing had happened to him, the others began doing the same.
"Good. Now nobody leave the circle."
An intense light surrounded all of them. The entire group disappeared together with the object, leaving the cave empty for a few moments.
Somewhere else, farther from the city and inside a second cave, a piece of paper with a magic circle drawn exactly like the one on the object began to glow. A moment later, everyone appeared in that place, still surprised at having been transported so quickly.
"With this, we can advance faster through the exit of one of the other holes. Even if they discover that passage, it will be difficult for them to catch us, especially because there are several branches. So stay calm."
"You prepared everything perfectly."
"It wasn't me. It was my master."
Ysabella looked at the object that had appeared on the paper with the magic circle. The tower no longer had enough energy to function again. If she could understand how it had been created, it could be extremely useful in her revenge against those who had tortured her.
"Who created this? It has much more potential than other similar things. At the same time that it created a mana shield, it also managed to raise a barrier capable of protecting whoever was inside."
"You noticed? Well, the person who created this is the same one who possesses that blood. So you should ask him directly."
"I need to meet him soon. I'm already feeling withdrawal from his blood... Do you have more?"
She placed her hand over her stomach with a hungry look, while Enrico walked ahead without answering. He picked up the tower, which was completely out of energy, and stored it away.
No way was he going to give her more blood at that moment. Only five small reserves remained, and those would be necessary for other things.
Besides, he did not intend to reveal to anyone how that magic worked. For now, he wanted to use it as a way to get closer to that young alchemist with whom he had been exchanging letters since he sent her the item capable of improving equipment.
'The alchemists are going to love this. They'll definitely rack their brains trying to figure out how to improve it... I won't be the only one suffering.'
Creating that object had been a real headache, mainly because of the money spent and the constant failures during the tests. He had named the object the Displacement Tower, using several experiments with magic circles drawn through his own mana.
This also meant that anyone who deeply investigated its origin could eventually discover that Enrico had been responsible for its creation.
'I still had to connect one point to another using magic in an almost nonexistent way. It can even fail if the location is too far away.'
The system still had limitations, and Enrico intended to work on correcting them together with the alchemists. However, before anything else, he needed to be absolutely certain that transporting living beings was safe.
'I didn't want someone to appear divided.'
Just imagining the possibility of causing someone's death because of a transportation failure made Enrico almost shudder. It would be a disaster he could not accept.
After storing the object, he began planning his next move. He asked Ysabella to lead the prisoners to the place where her father was hiding, informing her of the direction she should follow and indicating the paths considered safe. He would accompany the group afterward.
"If you want to try to escape, you can. Your lives are in your own hands. But, if you want some advice, don't run too far, because you could end up being found by other vampires."
He turned toward Ysabella.
"Take them somewhere safe. I have to go back."
She merely nodded slightly, still with a hungry look and upset at having been ignored earlier.
After saying that, Enrico left the group with Ysabella while he returned with Corvina. The two went back along the path they had used previously and returned to the place where they had spent the night. From there, they found a passage that led back inside the city.
This time, they exited on the right side, in a practically empty region where few vampires lived. Since most were inside their homes, the two managed to cross the streets without attracting much attention.
Along the way, however, it was still possible to hear explosions coming from the prison area. Some vampires were running in that direction, while others watched the battle from a distance, trying to understand what was happening.
"It seems the plan worked well, master."
"Yes. Now it's time for the second part of the plan. Let's run over there and offer our help."
The two immediately ran toward the prison, prepared to help contain the out-of-control vampires.
Neither of them felt guilty about the chaos they had created.
In fact, as they advanced through the streets, it was difficult not to notice that both of them were even satisfied with the result.