The viscount and his escort finally reached the fortress that defended the pass towards the mountain regions where the humans mined.

As the region was divided between orcs, humans, and a kingdom of mixed demi-humans, each region had a fortress.

While it was possible to scale the mountain and go into the region, only small forces numbering a dozen or so could move without getting detected. There were scouts, patrols, and camps all over the mountain region that ensured no orc or demi-human spy could infiltrate and steal tons of ores harvested.

The squad of men, led by a Viscount noble, finally reached the entrance of the fortress.

"Presenting! Viscount Gradier Conquistar, Spear Master of Jericho Kingdom!" A soldier announced as the group entered.

"A powerful Viscount? What's he doing here?" One of the soldiers murmured.

"You know how chaotic it is now in the Lowland Human Kingdoms. Viscounts are clashing to be Earl's as a new kingdom is being established." Another man explained.

The knights and warriors guarding all saluted the man as he entered.

"Will you be resting here, my lord?" A soldier approached and gave a salute.

"No. I am in a hurry. Something awaits up the mountain." Gradier walked onward, and the group followed.

The group departed the fortress and journeyed in the darkness of the night.

"My lord." Gradier's Armor-bearer spoke.

"I know. Relax. They are not enemies."

"You've grown quite stronger, Gradier." A taunting voice called out.

A woman approached. Behind her were several hooded figures.

"Esmeralda of the Toro clan. What does a level thirty mage have to do in a place like this?"

"I was tasked by the same person who tasked you." She chuckled.

Gradier had a surprised expression.

"Oh? I knew I would meet allies, but I never expected it to be you. Isn't your family a mage group dedicated to the light? To think you would be the secret worshiper of Lord Lorjdenheign."

"When one studies the great mystery, one must seek all of its aspects and not just the dogmatic and constrained views of the Magic of Light." Esmeralda laughed.

"A Mage, a Spear Master, and a Ragion. What an interesting combination." Another voice echoed out.

"Ah. It's you. I expected the great Viscount family of the Stonefist to join this little gathering. Querk Stonefist." Gradier smiled.

"It seems our mission in that mountain is rather troublesome. If he all ordered us to go there, it means this is something that greatly advances 'their' plans." 

"The Eldrich will soon rise. Their movements echo throughout the Planes World." Esmeralda laughed.

"So let's go and kill this hindrance. The man called Cracky Batcheeks." Querk ordered, and three Viscount groups moved out to hunt the man.

Meanwhile, in the mountain region, several towns were attacked by powerful vampires.

As the deaths piled up, the Baron family marshaled his entire squad and prepared to attack the three vampires that went on killing.

The blood of the knights refueled the vampires that even the wounds they received from the clash were healed.

"So this is a vampire's body?" Hunter praised.

"Amazing. The more we kill and drink, the longer we can fight."

"This is amazing. I've fought a few vampire familiars and ghouls. How does Lord Kyros's blood allow us to heal wounds this fast?" Hems marveled.

"I don't know. He called our Coven the Coven of the Nephilim. It's very obvious that there is something peculiar with Lord Kyros's blood. To think a human could create a contract!"

"Can any of you move the darkness yet? I think I felt something." 

"It's thanks to the mana that was bestowed from those vampires. And something about Lord Kyros's blood is within us.

"Oh... here they come. Our main target." Hunter pointed.

A group of knights approached. Behind them was a flag bearing the insignia that Kyros ordered the three H to attack.

"Surrender, vampires!" The knight called out. He stood in the forefront of his team and brandished a large sword.

"That sword looks good. But it's nothing compared to this." Henry smiled as he brought out the Earth Sword.

"Hmph! A single sword is not enough to-"

Hunter and Hems also unsheathed their swords.

Three powerful swords were shown, and even at a glance, they could tell that the swords radiated with a strange power. Kyros had imbued Earth power with the Earth Core making the sword release a strange pulse of energy.

"Oh? That is interesting. Men! Whoever kills the first vampire gets one of those three words!" The knight laughed.

The surrounding knights all had greedy expressions and slowly approached the group.

"Need help?" A group of mercenaries also approached at the back as the swords drew their attention.

"Bastard mercenaries!" The knight howled.

"Hehe. Every man for himself. Men, let's get those swords!" The mercenary captain laughed.

The mercenary group didn't intend to fight and only held a perimeter. But now that a baron group challenged them, the allure of the swords made them yearn to fight.

"Hunter... What do you think?" Hems laughed as he watched the camp of men encircle them.

"They look at least... two times smaller than those darned lizards." Hunter laughed.

"Where is Lord Ky- Cracky's support?" Hems wondered.

"Worried?"

"Not at all. I was hoping it wouldn't come out yet. I want to see... just how strong I've become. Down in that hell where no light of hope appeared, compared to this very useless predicament..." Hems laughed.

"Let's fight!" Hunter laughed, and the three vampires ran off in different directions and fought the enemy that encircled them.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The three vampires fought and slashed their swords. Because of the Earth's power, the sword was heavy. If it was a normal human, they wouldn't have the strength to wield it. But the added strength allowed each of the vampires' slashes to have immense weight. 

Those who tried to block the slash were instantly wounded as the Earth Sword broke the swords they carried and hacked all the way down.

The vampires moved with great speed, and the strength and courage they displayed stunned the mercenaries and the knight that surrounded them.

The three feared no sword and stab. They fought onward and even would suffer wounds and grave injuries. But the three would bite and feast on the blood.

It was then that five shadow ghouls appeared at the back of the soldiers and ambushed the group.

STAB! STAB! STAB!

Their claws penetrated the skin of men easily and slew those at the back.

The Shadow ghouls leaped from one man to another and killed them by stabbing the heads.

"Shadows!" A knight shouted to warn the group.

The appearance of these dark creatures horrified some of the men, and the ranks that encircled the three vampires broke.

On another town, a similar battle was happening.

Three small vampires that looked like mere children fought the knights. The three had infiltrated the homes and began to kill the knights who were asleep. By the time another group noticed it, more than half had already died.

A battle broke out, but then two shadows aided the three who charged. The shouts drew the attention of the other knights. By the time they completed killing everyone save for a few groups, several mercenaries were already outside.

"I know that mercenary with the insignia of an alligator. They're good people." Scarlet recognized one of the mercenary groups.

"The Baron Family Proggad... They're good people too." Gregory added.

"Spare them then. Remember to tap the shadow ghoul if they try to attack them. Lord Kyros has already ordered them only to kill who we want to kill." Avary commanded.

The three young vampires dove in once more, and a fight began.

Right behind the clash was a tall green golem that walked closer and closer.

It wasn't until Mardock delivered the first punch that the knights noticed him.

"What is that... thing!?"

As the battle continued in these towns, Kyros finally reached one of the mountain stations near the bottom of the mountain. Several stations were erected on parts of the mountain that overlooked the region. This was so that they could guard the area against orcs that would have scaled the mountain.

When Kyros saw the numerous guards each station had, he decided to target one.

"If this station has that many guards, then the fortress at the bottom ought to have an army. So I guess creating my zombie horde here would be better." Kyros decided.

As Kyros approached, he noticed that there were archers and mages on the nearby towers.

Kyros stopped approaching and looked at the several towers.

"How am I to bring that down? Hey Calaminus, don't you have some sort of spell that I can use? Like the ones that Greater God Daradiel gave me?"

"Those magic spells were his way of allowing you to cast magic using Force Energy since you have those Magic seals. The Celestial Code also allowed you to wield magic and convert it into Force energy for you to cast. Right now, you don't have those terrifying seals and already have mana. You're smart. Figure out how to shoot dark bolts." Calaminus scoffed.

"Oh. I already know and am confident that I can shoot dark bolts. It's easy."

"You what?"

"The problem is, that tower has some force field around it. I don't know what Fate did, but this fortress is expecting me! Look at all those guards! Hrm... it's hindering me from making a secret base. And this was supposed to be the area where I planned to make my Coven bring all those dead men and turn them into zombies."

"You can cast dark bolts?!"

"Yeah. I've seen the lizards cast it many times. I'm unsealed in magic, so it's very easy."

"You're not a lizard!"

"Anyway, can you help me or not? Don't you have newer abilities now that you leveled up?"

"No! It's just splash! Time Haste was an ability you got that changed your soul!"

"Splash, huh... Wait a minute! That's it! We can kill him now!"

"What?"

"You have Splash!"

"How can that be helpful?"