Magnus stood on the stage, now engulfed in flames along with the rest of the church's first floor, watching the destruction unfold.
The explosion had scattered black flames everywhere. They didn't sound like typical flames; instead, they made a warped grinding noise. It wasn't really a fire at all. It was a spell designed to mimic the appearance and behavior of flames, but in essence, they were pure magic. Unbound by material, they latched onto anything they touched, breaking it down with overwhelming force. Chairs and tables turned to sawdust as the stone flooring and supports crumbled into grit. Every ember that jumped from the flames set something else ablaze.
"Agh... It... It won't stop. What is this?" A vampire, too slow to escape the explosion, writhed on the ground. He frantically slapped at the parts of his body that were burning, using Blackout in an attempt to cancel the magic. But each time the flames died down, they reignited almost instantly, intensifying and causing more damage.
The vampire could feel his body breaking down on a microscopic level. The pain was unbearable.
Magnus watched the vampire struggle, then muttered, "It's a self-replicating spell. Every moment, the flame creates more of itself, no matter how small the ember. The only way to stop it is to outpace its replication. Of course, I accounted for that when I set its speed. It's also not a real flame, so it doesn't burn fuel like a normal fire. It feeds on my mana."
In the midst of the vampire's pain and confusion, he couldn't grasp what Magnus was saying, too consumed with trying to stop the flames. It was similar to the Fractal Ice Flower Spell Magnus had used against the twins, and it had been the basis for this Abyssal Flame. Ironically, the flame spell was less destructive than the ice one, which is why Magnus had chosen it. Plus, it was the perfect counter against vampires of this level.
"Well, I should get those people out before the whole place collapses," Magnus muttered to himself, looking up at the humans trapped in mana constructs. They were either panicking in terror or too confused to comprehend what was happening. Magnus waved his hand forward, like he was ordering a march, and the mana bubbles began to react. The bubbles lifted and moved forward, flying through the air.
The people inside screamed as they realized they were headed straight for a wall.
They braced themselves, covering their heads, but to their surprise, they didn't feel anything except a slight vibration. The mana constructs Magnus created at his current level could withstand flying through buildings without issue.
Outside the building, beyond the layers of barriers Magnus had set up around the Nocturne, the trapped vampire got to witness the chaos firsthand. The front of the church cracked and crumbled as mana construct bubbles blasted through the stone. Fragments of stone and what was left of the stained glass windows flew through the air. But, no matter how hard or heavy the debris hit the barrier surrounding the Gothic church, it only rippled before holding steady.
On the other hand, the mana constructs carrying the humans passed through the barrier without issue.
It was like watching something covered in soap touch a soap bubble; at most, the surface would ripple as the constructs passed cleanly through, emerging outside the layered dome. Once outside, the bubbles slowed and hovered just above the ground, about half a meter, before popping.
Just like that, the eighty-three humans who had been inside the church were safely out of the danger zone. Some were confused, while others immediately stood and ran. The vampire's hypnosis targeted the mind rather than the brain, subtle yet powerful enough that it went unnoticed. The influence was so natural that when the opportunity to escape presented itself, the humans acted on instinct, just like how they would if they were unhypnotized.
Inside, Magnus, sensing that everyone had been safely evacuated, nodded to himself.
Alright, now the only ones left are those underground. Once I get them out, I can focus on the rest of the vampires. The Hierarchs are still a mystery, though... I don't know where they are or what they're up to. But I need to clear out all the potential collateral before dealing with them.
He turned and glanced in the direction the auctioneer had come from earlier. The auctioneer was gone, probably sneaking off after regenerating, but Magnus didn't worry about it for now. The door the auctioneer had gone through was still open. Leaving the Abyssal Flame to handle the vampires, he stepped off the stage and through the doorway.
His footsteps echoed off the stone floor as he passed a few more doors. The hallway curved, leading him to a set of stairs heading down.
This must lead to the underground area the waitress mentioned.
Magnus began his descent, the stairs spiraling as he went. As he neared the bottom, he heard footsteps coming up. Pausing, he frowned. The footsteps quickened until he saw three figures rounding the corner. From their pale skin, he could immediately tell they were vampires, and they seemed just as surprised to see him as he was to see them.
"Huh? Who are you? What's going on up there? We felt a tremor, like a bomb went off," one of the vampires said, assuming Magnus was one of their own.
Magnus stood still for a moment, then awkwardly cocked his head.
"Well, this is awkward... Looks like I missed a few of you."
One of the vampires narrowed his eyes, clearly confused.
"What do you mean?"
"Oh, nothing you need to worry about," Magnus said, already visualizing his next move.
=====================================•=====================================
On the second floor of the church, the Nocturne, there was a private room off-limits to the other vampires attending the event.
The room was dimly lit by tall candlesticks placed behind two couches facing each other, with a table in between. It created a soft, cozy atmosphere, broken only by the occasional clink of glasses.
Seated on one side was a ruggedly handsome older man. He was definitely a vampire; his eyes were pitch black, and his irises glowed like smoldering embers, tiny suns trapped in the darkness. One of his fingers lightly traced the side of his beard as he sat back, watching the person across from him, Austra. Her eyes, equally vibrant, stood out even in the low light, though it was clear they were in very different moods.
"Did you really invite me up here just to drink with you, Lycidas?" Austra asked. Her voice didn't carry the sting of a true complaint, more of a probing question, as though she were waiting to see if there was more to it.
"What, can't an old friend have a drink with me?" Lycidas replied with a slight smile, taking another sip of the nearly clear liquid in his ornate glass. On the table beside them sat a frosted glass bottle and a second glass, half-filled, meant for Austra.
"I don't see the point," Austra said, glancing down at the glass before her.
"We're not like humans; alcohol doesn't affect us."
"But my friend," Lycidas said, finishing his drink and setting the glass down with a heavy thud, "the point isn't the effect, it's the taste."
"If it's taste you want, blood is far more satisfying for us," Austra countered, leaning back on the couch, her legs crossed comfortably.
Lycidas sighed, a dry chuckle escaping him.
"You really need to learn how to enjoy the more... human pleasures of life. When was the last time you slept with a human, instead of just draining them dry?"
"As if I would ever allow a human to have that kind of access to my body," Austra replied flatly.
"Ah, you're such a purist." The moment the words left Lycidas's mouth, both of them felt it—a heavy tremor followed by the loud crash of an explosion echoing through the building. Austra's glass jumped, spilling its contents onto the table as it rolled and shattered on the floor. The bottle almost tipped over and did the same, but Lycidas caught it, holding it steady until the tremors subsided and the room finally stopped shaking.
"What the hell was that?" He muttered, setting the bottle back down before standing up from the couch.
Austra didn't answer. Instead, she immediately tried to reach out to the vampires guarding the area outside. But something stopped her. The wave she sent out rebounded, blocked as if by some unseen force. She frowned.
"I can't reach anyone outside the Nocturne. There's some kind of interference."
"Someone's attacking us?" Lycidas asked, his tone tight with suspicion.
"Maybe," Austra replied, her form beginning to fade into shadow. A moment later, Lycidas followed suit, their shadowy figures slipping under the door and darting toward the stairs, heading to the first floor.
When they reformed, Austra and Lycidas found themselves standing in the doorway that led to the entryway, where one could go into the main hall or head left toward the church's other sections. But the entryway was hardly recognizable now. The once-pristine paintings were buried under piles of rubble, the walls had collapsed, and only the support beams remained intact. Flickering black embers danced through the air, like snowflakes or ash falling after a volcanic eruption.
"Well, this is a mess," Lycidas muttered, taking a step into what used to be the entryway to the Nocturne. Looking where the double doors once stood, now just a massive hole, he could see outside.
The night was darker than it should have been. His gaze shifted upward, catching sight of a layered mana barrier, a glass-like dome surrounding the building, separating them from the outside world.
"I imagine that's what was blocking your attempt to communicate," Lycidas observed, causing Austra to also glance at the barrier and nod.
"Most likely," she said before turning her attention toward the nave, which had been repurposed as the main hall for the Nocturne. It was chaos. Black flames raged uncontrollably, burning everything in their path and growing by the second. Cinders, like floating spores, filled the air. Parts of the building seemed to have been eaten away. Fire pits marked the spots where seats once were, the entire place resembling the aftermath of a bombing.
Most of the vampires in the room were on the ground, screaming in pain as they rolled and tried to put out the flames consuming them.
Austra walked into the nave, unfazed by the burning vampires around her. She bent down near a burning pile of rubble, extending a finger toward the flames. As soon as it made contact, the fire took hold and began spreading across her hand, growing rapidly in intensity and destructiveness.
Her expression winced slightly as the fire ate at her body. She let it burn for a few more moments before flexing her arm, and just like that, the flames, which seemed impossible to extinguish, were suppressed and extinguished entirely.
"So, what is it?" Lycidas asked from the side, standing with both hands on his hips as he observed the scene before him.
"Magic," Austra replied, then elaborated, "An extremely potent form of self-replicating magic, not actual fire. The mana required to sustain it is massive—only a Master-level mage could afford to maintain it. The only way to put it out is to stop every instance of the spell at once. If you fail, it'll come back and burn you before you can blink."
"Hmph, sounds like it was made specifically to use against us. What do you think—has Takerth Academy finally noticed us?" Lycidas asked, though neither he nor Austra seemed particularly shaken.
Vampires were immortal, fearless even in the face of the unknown. It was only when something truly threatening appeared that fear would settle in—and that hadn't happened yet. Even now, without using any abilities, the black flames' embers that touched their bodies were instantly canceled out by their own power to nullify magic.
Austra shook her head at Lycidas' question.
"No. This isn't how Takerth Academy would operate. If they were making a move against us, they would have targeted us first. Instead, they attacked here."
"True. Not to mention, all the humans are gone." Lycidas pointed out, his voice laced with implication. If the humans were gone, it meant they were either killed or rescued before this little operation began. The latter didn't offer many clues, while the former suggested that the actions taken here might have been driven by some form of heroism.
Just then, the two of them saw a vampire who had attempted to avoid the flames by shifting into their shadow-like form. The vampire quickly reformed in front of Lycidas and Austra, dropping to their hands and knees, a panicked expression on their face.
"Forgive me, my Lady, my Lord, we-" The vampire didn't get to finish his sentence before a spark landed on his ankle, igniting a new flame. He screamed, cutting off his words.
"Enough," Austra said sharply, her voice cold and echoing. She used Blackout, casting a ten-meter radius around them. Instantly, the black fog of her true form enveloped the area, disrupting every black flame. Whether it was a raging inferno or a small ember, the flames were snuffed out, like fire entering an airless room.
The vampire let out a sigh of relief, the fire on his body finally extinguished.
"What exactly happened?" Lycidas asked, his tone tinged with curiosity as he stared down at the vampire.
The vampire quickly collected himself, bowing his head as he remained on the ground.
"We- we don't know for sure. But we believe a mage is responsible. He somehow sneaked into the Nocturne and went on stage. He said something, and then, suddenly, black flames exploded everywhere, burning us no matter what we did. The moment we caught fire, it was unstoppable. He even took the humans away and sent them outside."
"Really now?" Lycidas muttered, his voice dragging as he processed the information.
Austra, however, was focused, asking, "Who was he? What did he look like? Where did he go?"
The vampire hesitated, thinking hard for a moment before responding, "He... was mostly covered. Wore a hood or cloak. We couldn't make out any features. But he had a mask, no face, just holes for the eyes."
At that, Lycidas noticed Austra's body tense, her gaze sharpening. The vampire suddenly felt a pressure bearing down on him, as if something inside him, something deeper than his physical form, was being rewritten and controlled. He couldn't move an inch, frozen in place. It wasn't until Lycidas gently touched Austra's shoulder that she seemed to snap out of it.
"I don't think I've ever seen anything affect you like that," Lycidas remarked.
"Should I assume you know who our mage assailant is?"
Austra was silent for a moment, her expression hardening before she nodded.
Then, with a low voice, she muttered the name, "Magnus..."
Lycidas tilted his head slightly, sifting through his memory for the name until it suddenly clicked. He remembered when Austra had first returned and told their Lord about an operation being raided, forcing her to retreat. She had mentioned Magnus then, and it had led to her being tasked with dealing with him as punishment. After that, there wasn't much more news on the subject. Austra had kept all the intelligence about Magnus from the Ravens to herself. As for the other Hierarchs, most didn't consider it their problem, since it was Austra's mistake. The truth was a lot of them found it amusing that she had been injured by a child.
Still, Lycidas couldn't help but say, "Magnus? That human's still alive? I thought you would've dealt with him a long time ago."
Austra looked at him, taking a slow breath before answering, "He left Arlcliff City before I had a chance..."
It was a half-truth. Magnus had indeed left before her Nightborn could act, but since his return, Austra had been presented with nothing but opportunities—and failed attempts to capture him. By the time she realized she had to handle him herself, he had already hidden himself away in Takerth Academy, beyond her reach.
She had planned ot deal with him when he came out, but she never expected him to take the initiative and strike first. Not to mention, she didn't get any news about it at all.
"Well, this is turning into quite a mess," Lycidas commented, taking in the situation with a bit more understanding.
"I'll handle it," Austra replied firmly, her focus returning to the vampire they had been questioning.
"Where did he go? If this barrier's still up, he must be nearby."
The vampire scrambled to answer, pointing toward what used to be the stage at the far end of the church.
"The basement. Last time I checked, he went down there."
Lycidas nodded, almost in agreement.
"Well, he did save the humans. It makes sense that he'd want to get them all out."
"Then that'll make him easier to deal with," Austra said, her voice cold and emotionless, but there was something chilling beneath it.
Shifting into her shadow-like form, she turned to Lycidas.
"I'll leave the barrier, the flames, and these fools to you."
With that, she disappeared. Her shadow moved so fast it was nearly impossible to track with the naked eye.
"Right. I guess I'm playing extinguisher today," Lycidas muttered to himself, eyeing the flames around him.
=====================================•=====================================
Magnus reached the bottom of the stairs, dusting his hands off. There were no signs of the three vampires he had encountered earlier on the stairway.
At the bottom, he found himself in a short hallway, light spilling from a chamber ahead. The hallway itself seemed carved from the stone beneath the church, smooth and sanded down. As he walked, however, he noticed the stonework becoming less refined. The rocky walls grew jagged until, at last, they opened up into a large underground chapel. But in its current state, it was little more than a cave. Whatever construction had been planned here clearly hadn't come to fruition—likely abandoned, just like the church. And then the whole thing was overtaken by vampires.
Light poured down from a hole in the ceiling, casting moonlight across the room. Magnus couldn't figure out how it reached this deep underground, especially since he'd checked the area around the church on the surface and found no tunnels. He assumed it was some kind of daylighting system.
The moonlight illuminated five cages. Two sat against the right wall of the underground chapel, two more on the left, and the fifth cage stood dead center at the far end.
"Please... we stayed quiet like you asked, don't hurt us," one of the women trapped inside a cage pleaded. Her voice was weak, trembling from a lack of energy. Magnus quickly scanned the room, noting there were about ten people in total. They didn't look in terrible shape—better than the victims he had seen trafficked in the past—but still, their condition wasn't ideal.
This is only a bit better than how Celia, Howard, and the others were treated.
The captives were still wearing the clothes they had likely been kidnapped in. Some looked like average citizens of Arlcliff City, others appeared to be merchants or even nobles. It was clear they'd been taken for one of two reasons: their wealth or the taste of their blood.
They all looked terrified, huddled together in their cages, eyes wide with fear as they stared at Magnus. Aside from the woman who had spoken, who had gone silent, her head lowered, none of them made a sound.
Realizing they must think he was a vampire, Magnus raised his hands in reassurance.
"Don't worry, I'm not one of them. I'm human, and I'm here to get you all out of here."
The people in the cages froze, taken aback. It seemed they couldn't decide if Magnus was telling the truth or if this was some kind of trick to get them to act out. After a tense moment, a man finally spoke. He was dressed like a merchant, though the people behind him also suggested he was a father. He sat in the fifth cage, against the far wall of the room, directly in front of Magnus. With him was a woman around his age, holding a child no older than five. The fact that even a five-year-old child was staying quiet spoke volumes—Magnus could only guess how they were 'taught' not to speak up.
"Ar- Are you... really here to save us?" The father asked, sitting in front of the rest of his family, and staring at Magnus cautiously.
Magnus nodded as he reached up for his mask, the mere movement causing everyone to flinch. Noting that, Mangnus moved more slowly as he took off his mask, revealing his face.
"See, I'm human. No need to worry, now let's get you all out of those cells." Hearing Magnus say that, the father looked like he was about to ask how, but in that same moment, small blades of mana appeared next to all the locks on the cages. As if synchronized, all the blades moved together as they sliced down, cutting clean through the locks that were keeping everyone's cages shut.
It was at that moment that one of the captive eyes went wide.
He was a noble and immediately said, "A- A mage! He's a mage! We're saved!"
Everyone else reacted to this news as well, their cautious expression suddenly lighting up as they let out cheers and sighs of relief.
"Oh, we're actually saved!"
"Finally, we can leave..."
"Thank you, thank you!"
Magnus looked on and supposed it was only natural, given how revered mages were in the kingdom. Even his young age wasn't questioned by anyone once he was stated to be a mage.
He went around to each cage and started helping out those who were having trouble getting out, before warning them to stick together and not to run off just yet; there were still vampires up on the surface after all. That seemed to cause them to become fearful again, though it was balanced out by the layer of safety they felt having a mage around. If he could get down here, then surely he could get them out, right?
So they listened to him and didn't run off, and formed a group.
Eventually, Magnus worked on the fifth and final cage, pulling it open with the help of [Self Body Puppetry]. Some of the locks got stuck and required a bit of force, even after he cut through them. The father got out first, before turning around to help his wife, and coax his daughter.
She still looked terrified and was clinging to her mother's dress.
The mother bent down to pick up her daughter, kissing her forehead while saying, "Don't worry, dear, it's okay, we're safe now-"
The words were cut off when suddenly everyone heard a chilling voice echo through the underground chapel.
"Did you forget that you're not supposed to leave your cages?" The BGM Glitch played a familiar note at that moment, one that screamed at Magnus that an attack was incoming, as [Combat Assistant] kicked in, instantly creating a mana barrier around him and, coincidentally, the family of three behind him. It had all happened automatically, which was why Magnus's face became harrowing as he turned his head to look towards the entrance of the underground chapel, and saw an arced blade of darkness flying across the room.
"No!" He yelled out, but it was too late.
He heard them scream, before it was cut off by a blade that sliced straight through the group of seven that had been standing in the center of the underground chamber. It didn't cut them in half, but rather caused their bodies to immediately begin to shrivel, their skin losing its luster, as their eyes lost their light and sank into their skulls, like aging sped up a hundred times over. Their faces were frozen in expressions of horror as they stood there, with almost every bit of moisture, blood, and life stripped out of their bodies.
As the blade continued, it struck Magnus's barrier, scattering like ink against glass as the barrier rippled but didn't crack, the remnants of the blade disappearing a moment later.
Standing there, Magnus's eyes were wide as he watched the seven bodies fall to the ground, hollow and dead. Behind him, the father and mother looked on in utter terror, with their daughter letting out a soft whimper as she buried her head into her mother's shoulder.
The only thing that broke the silence that remained was the sound of heels tapping against the stone flooring. Magnus's eyes were still locked on the bodies, but at this moment they flicked up to the hallway that led into the underground chapel.
That's when he saw her, a face all too familiar that immediately caused his body to tense, but not in fear.
"Austra..." Magnus said through gritted teeth, the anger filtering into his voice as clear as day.
As for Austra, she stopped just a couple of meters from the shriveled corpses, glancing down at them, before looking up at Magnus and smirking.
"Hello, Magnus."