Surprisingly, the cell was kinda nice. There were no torture devices on first glance.
But, there were some, though not the horror movie kind, like in my room. Just some whips and a mattress made purely of glass shards.
My breath hastened, holding back a puke when I saw how much blood was covering those shards. Is this guy a vampire too?! How could he survive that? The blood looked fresh, but his back looked just fine.
His back? My eyes finally went to the man himself. He was standing by the door.
So fucking tall! Was my first thought.
He's gotta be like over seven feet to stand this taller than me.
His body was just as weird as his height, skinny enough to be swayed with the wind, but I could see the tight, lean muscles. He was pure muscle mass, like an ultra runner.
His long bare feet tapped against the cold ground, his plain, loose brown T-shirt swaying as he took a seat on a wooden chair at the center of the room, "Welcome." He said, motioning me to take the seat right in front of it.
I did, taking a good look at my surroundings—There was a proper bed with a hard mattress that could fix my back pain most definitely.
My eyes finally met something I had been thinking about from the moment I was in this world, my mouth watered—a proper modern toilet! I didn't have to do my business in the farms at least!
Vanitas coughed lightly, bringing me back to reality, "So, what can I do for you?" My gaze went to the thick cuffs that had a bright red temperature of their own.
He poured water into a dirty mug on the wooden table, pushing it towards me. My eyes widened, noticing tens of books placed neatly over each other at the side.
Just for reference, our cell's most esteemed items were piss, blood, and shit… Most of it ours.
"Your assistance. We are trying to release all slaves here. Help us with the task and answer some of my questions? I will open those cuffs in return." I said with a thoughtful, knowing look.
He nodded as if understanding the logic behind, "That's a good plan, I am up for it! But… Everyone?" He shifted uncomfortably.
"Everyone. Shouldn't we? If you think we won't have enough time for that, don't worry, we plan to ask everyone I release to try to release others as well. So, if the chain reaction began, we would be done with it very quickly."
"Um… That's not the problem. Mari Swan isn't just a slave house; their specialty is criminals turned slaves. And expectedly, very dangerous people, both strength-wise and mentally, are locked here."
"But… I am helping them? Without me, they are stuck here forever. I don't care if they kill every guard or other slaves as long as chaos is there…" I bit my lip. There was no guarantee that Vanitas himself wouldn't just be able to kill me the moment I released him.
But guards were coming. I need to take these risks or die.
"I felt naked in front of you and her. What were you two doing?" He suddenly changed the topic. "If you can't share it, no worries, but I believe the solution to this problem lies there." He added softly.
I didn't really mind. The only thing I wouldn't wanna share is my Signature skill.
"This is amazing! And it seems all talented vampires have it." His eyes brightened as I disclosed how [Eye of Sanguine] worked.
"What's up?"
"Listen carefully, Lucien, observe every cell you and she open carefully; focus on the person inside's nerves. Their colours will vary, either cold or hot. But, I want you to ignore all cells that have anything brighter or darker than bright red or navy blue."
I mentally noted, curious as to why, but Vanitas explained no further.
"Now, what do you want to know?" He asked hastily, raising his cuffed wrists as if saying, 'If you don't have anything now, just open them first.'
I leaned forward towards the grey cuffs, grabbing them. Ouch!!
I winced. My hand twitched aggressively as I pulled it back, the skin of my fingers gone, revealing bloody, red flesh. I saw how hot they were, but Vanitas' nonchalant face really lowered my guard.
"Go on," Vanitas urged, ignoring my about-to-tear-up face.
This was worse than touching melted steel.
"It doesn't hurt?" I asked a stupidly obvious question.
But, I couldn't help it! H-he wore this for seven years?! Even the isolation alone would make me go insane.
"My body got used to the pain, so not really." He replied with a brilliant smile, but his eyes were filled with hatred, directed at something I had no idea about.
Wincing again, I pushed my hand forward, grabbing the cuff properly with a melting hand.
His lips parted as he just stared at me for a few seconds before bursting into a light chuckle. I could guess he respected me more now.
"Uh… Where is Veilcroft? How can I get there?" I asked curiously. Vanitas' expression visibly changed for a second.
His eyes widened; clearly, the answer was something I should know. Glad Alya can't hear us (hopefully), or this would've been suspicious. "It's a small border town in… Nocthra Empire."
"Noc, what?" I asked instinctively.
"...Are you really a Vampire?" He asked in genuine disbelief.
"Ye–Yes. I just…" My eyes grew wetter, "I just have a hard time remembering things." It's not really a lie, is it? I don't remember shit for real!
His eyes shook. After a few seconds of silence, he sighed in understanding. From his face, he was probably imagining me in terrible mental experiments and torture.
"It is the strongest and the happiest empire to ever exist…"
His voice deepened, "…was."
"After the Velmoria Empire and the church's attack…" I could finish his sentence.
Taking a deep breath, he continued, "Basically… It's your home. Home of three Arcane Born races; Vampires, Undead, or more commonly known as Litches, and High Elves. The Vampire Queen Frieda ruled that place with thousands of years of wisdom."