Corrupted blood lord

The final corridor had become a graveyard.

The las few of Count Aweq’s remaining soldiers stood behind the barricade, shoulder to shoulder, while the Dawn warriors pressed toward them through the narrow passage.

The defenders knew they could not win anymore, but there was nowhere to run. Atleast they thought so.

From inside the empty throne room, Aweq listened to their screams while fastening a traveling cloak around his shoulders.

"Keep holding them!" he shouted through the doors. "Reinforcements are coming!"

No reinforcements were coming.

He had already abandoned the men outside.

Mirella stood beside the entrance to the hidden passage, one hand resting against the stone wall. Her face was pale, but her posture remained elegant. Despite the expensive dress beneath her cloak, she looked less like the count’s wife and more like the earth mage she had once trained to become.

Their daughter, Kaelene, stood beside her.

Fear filled the young woman’s eyes as another violent impact shook the throne room.

"How long will they hold?" she asked.

"hopefully long enough," Aweq replied.

Axel watched him from beside the open passage.

The old man’s expression remained calm, but his eyes shifted toward the throne-room doors as the barricade outside began to splinter.

"we should hurry my lord," Axel said.

A heavy crash echoed through the corridor.

Someone screamed for the line to close.

Aweq stepped into the passage.

"Move."

Mirella guided Kaelene inside first. Axel followed them, and Aweq pulled the hidden door closed behind him.

Darkness swallowed the four of them.

Only a weak crystal in Mirella’s hand illuminated the narrow tunnel ahead.

They hurried deeper beneath the castle while the battle continued behind them. The sounds became duller with every turn, reduced to distant impacts that trembled through the stone.

After they had crossed the first junction, Mirella stopped and pressed both palms against the wall.

Brown mana spread through the tunnel.

The earth groaned.

Stone tore free from the ceiling and walls, crashing behind them until the passage was completely sealed.

Dust rolled through the tunnel.

"That will not stop the Church forever," Mirella said. "But it will slow them down a bit."

They continued.

At every major intersection, Mirella repeated the process. Walls collapsed, rocks filled the passage, and stone pillars rose from the ground to block anyone attempting to follow.

By the time they reached the upward slope leading out of the tunnels, Mirella’s breathing had grown heavy.

Aweq barely noticed.

His attention remained fixed on the darkness ahead.

"We are close," he said. "The exit should be beyond the next chamber."

He reached inside his cloak and removed three necklaces.

Each carried a dull gray stone surrounded by thin silver runes.

He handed one to Mirella, another to Kaelene, and the last to himself.

"What are these?" Kaelene asked.

"Concealment relics," Aweq said. "Put them on before we leave the tunnel. They will suppress your presence and distort the senses of anyone searching for us."

Axel studied the necklace.

"And mine?"

"You dont need one, you’re an assasin arent you?" Aweq pointed toward the exit. "Scout ahead now."

Axel’s expression hardened.

"You want me to walk outside first."

"You are the most experienced among us, find us a clear path."

Axel said nothing more.

He moved through the final chamber, climbed the narrow steps, and pushed open the concealed stone door at the top.

Cold night air entered the passage.

Axel slipped outside.

Several minutes passed before he returned.

"There are Dawn patrols in the forest," he said. "At least two groups. One is searching near the eastern road, and another is moving toward the tunnel Luther used."

Aweq’s jaw tightened at the vampire’s name.

"Can we avoid them?"

"If the necklaces work well enough, it is possible."

"They will work."

Axel looked toward Mirella and Kaelene.

"Stay close. Do not speak, and do not use mana unless we are discovered."

They emerged one at a time.

The tunnel opened beneath a cluster of trees several miles from the castle. Through gaps in the branches, the glow of Lupos could still be seen in the distance.

Smoke rose above the city.

Aweq stared at it for only a moment before turning away.

They moved through the forest.

The necklaces gave off no visible light, yet a cold sensation spread across their skin. Their footsteps became quieter, and even the sound of their breathing seemed to fade.

Halfway toward the hills, Axel suddenly raised one hand.

Everyone stopped.

Golden light appeared between the trees ahead.

A squad of Dawn warriors approached along a narrow trail, their armor stained with dust and blood. A priest walked at the center of the formation, holding a glowing staff over his head.

"Search every path," the priest ordered. "The count must not escape."

Aweq pulled Kaelene behind a tree.

Mirella pressed herself against the trunk beside him while Axel crouched several steps away.

The patrol came closer.

One paladin stopped less than ten paces from them.

Aweq could hear the man’s armor shifting as he turned his head.

The priest’s staff brightened.

For one terrible moment, Aweq was certain they had been discovered.

Then someone called from farther down the trail.

"Tracks!"

The paladin turned away.

The patrol hurried toward the voice, passing so close that Kaelene could have reached out and touched one of them.

None noticed the four figures hidden among the trees.

Only after the golden light vanished did Aweq begin breathing again.

"The necklaces worked," Mirella whispered.

"Of course they did," he replied, though sweat covered his forehead.

They continued toward the hills.

By the time the first light of dawn touched the horizon, Lupos had disappeared behind them.

They reached a small clearing surrounded by steep rock and dense trees. No roads passed nearby, and no Church patrols could be seen in any direction.

Aweq finally stopped.

"We escaped."

Kaelene covered her mouth as a relieved laugh escaped her.

Mirella pulled her daughter close.

Even Axel allowed a faint smile to appear.

For several moments, they simply stood together, exhausted and alive.

Aweq looked back in the direction of Lupos.

The relief on his face slowly twisted into hatred.

"They took my city," he said.

Mirella lowered her gaze.

"They will pay for it."

Aweq’s hands curled into fists.

"The Church, the garrison, every officer who betrayed me. I will remember every name. I will gather new allies, raise another army, and return when they least expect it."

His voice grew louder with every word.

"They believe declaring me a heretic has ended my rule. They believe they can steal everything my family built and face no consequences."

He smiled bitterly.

"I will make every last one of them beg."

"well, hello there."

The greeting was so casual and friendly that, for a moment, none of them understood what they had heard.

Then all four turned.

Teclos stood five meters away.

His hands rested loosely at his sides, and a pleasant smile covered his face. It was as though he had stumbled upon old acquaintances during an afternoon walk.

No one had heard him approach.

No one had sensed him.

Kaelene stepped back.

Mirella immediately moved in front of her daughter.

Aweq stared at Teclos in disbelief.

"How did you find us?"

Teclos tilted his head.

Aweq’s surprise quickly turned to anger.

"And where is your master?"

Axel’s smile vanished.

Something inside him screamed that they were in danger.

"Count..." he said quietly.

Teclos looked toward him.

That piercing red gaze settled on Axel, and his skin began to crawl.

Then Teclos smiled.

Axel felt his stomach tighten.

"Tell me where your damned master is!" Aweq shouted. "And how dare he abandon me!"

Teclos stared at him for a second.

Then he began to laugh.

It started quietly, but soon his laughter echoed throughout the clearing.

Aweq’s anger faltered.

"What is so amusing?"

Teclos wiped at the corner of his eye.

"It looks like you do not understand the situation you are currently in."

"What?"

Teclos vanished.

Before Aweq could blink, he stood directly in front of him.

Dark tendrils erupted from the ground.

Axel tried to move, but the darkness wrapped around his arms, legs, and chest. He was dragged down violently, his back striking the earth as the tendrils pinned him in place.

More darkness sealed around his mouth.

Teclos ignored him.

He leaned toward Aweq until their faces were only inches apart.

The count froze.

Teclos looked at him the way a lion might look upon rabbit.

"If Luther abandoned you," Teclos said softly, "then it means I can kill you without him even becoming angry."

Aweq’s face drained of color.

"Although I am sure he gave you a chance to leave because you might have remained useful to him."

Teclos’s smile widened.

"But you threw that chance away. I am certain of it."

Aweq remembered the last time he had seen Luther.

The vampire had stood silently before him while he refused to abandon the castle.

As you wish.

Only now did Aweq understand what those words had meant.

"Not that it matters," Teclos continued. "I am no longer bound by the pact. I do not obey that piece of shit anymore."

Axel fought against the tendrils.

Vines burst from beneath him, tearing at the darkness. He managed to loosen the tendril around his mouth for a single moment.

"Run!" he screamed. "All of you!"

Mirella seized Kaelene’s hand.

The earth beneath Teclos exploded upward.

Jagged stone pillars surrounded him while mother and daughter ran toward the trees.

Teclos did not look away from Aweq.

A shadow moved across the clearing.

Kaelene made it only several steps.

Darkness wrapped around her ankle and tore her from her feet.

She struck the ground with a cry.

"Kaelene!" Mirella screamed.

The earth mage turned and hurled a wall of stone toward Teclos.

A black blade cut through it.

The wall split apart.

Teclos appeared beside Kaelene before Mirella could reach her.

Aweq watched in horror as Teclos raised one hand.

"No!" the count screamed.

Darkness closed around Kaelene.

Her cry ended abruptly.

When the shadows withdrew, she lay motionless on the grass.

Mirella stopped.

For a heartbeat, she simply stared at her daughter.

Then grief twisted her face.

"You monster!"

The ground shook beneath the clearing.

Stone spears erupted from every direction, converging upon Teclos with enough force to tear through armor.

He disappeared between them.

Mirella turned too late.

Teclos stood behind her.

His dark blade passed through her chest.

Her mana vanished.

The stone spears collapsed around them.

Teclos pulled the weapon free, and Mirella fell beside her daughter.

Aweq’s scream tore through the clearing.

He tried to reach them, but Teclos seized him by the throat and dragged him backward.

"You wanted prisoners taken beneath your castle," Teclos whispered. "You allowed families to disappear so Luther could continue his experiments."

Aweq clawed at his arm.

"Please..."

"My mother pleaded too."

Teclos threw him to the ground.

What followed was slow.

Every time Aweq tried to crawl toward his wife and daughter, Teclos dragged him back. Every time he begged for mercy, another blow silenced him.

His Bones were slowly being broken.

Darkness tore through flesh and closed the wounds before death could offer him an escape.

Teclos forced him to remain conscious.

He forced him to look at the bodies lying only a few steps away.

Aweq screamed until his voice became a broken rasp.

In the end, he could no longer move.

He lay in a widening pool of blood, his eyes still fixed on his family.

Teclos crouched beside him.

"This is what you gave me," he said.

Aweq’s lips moved, but no words came.

Teclos placed one hand against his chest.

Darkness surged.

The count’s body went still.

Silence returned to the clearing.

Teclos remained crouched beside him.

For a long time, he said nothing.

Then tears began to fall from his eyes.

He saw Saldia smiling across the kitchen table.

He remembered her hands adjusting his clothes when he was young. Her tired face after working all day. Her voice calling him home.

Then he remembered her dying.

The memory tore through him.

Teclos threw his head back and screamed.

Darkness erupted from his body, mixed with streaks of deep red. The aura tore through the clearing, bending trees and cracking the earth beneath him.

Years of buried grief poured out at once.

Rage.

Guilt.

Pain.

Everything he had forced himself to swallow finally broke free.

For nearly a minute, the world around him trembled.

Then the storm slowly died.

Teclos lowered his head.

His breathing steadied.

He wiped the tears from his face and turned toward Axel.

The old man remained pinned beneath the dark tendrils, staring at him in silence.

Teclos walked toward him.

"It’s your turn now."