[Book II Chapter 32] ZENTRIAS: Thornbridge Manor

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Zentrias carried the unconscious Carol between his arms while Juda stumbled behind hands on his head. Their final teammate strutted confidently several paces ahead.

Filia’s current transformation was the most extreme he’d ever seen, with barely any human features remaining. A skull mask covered her upper face, and her clothes stretched awkwardly over the bony protrusions. Her gray mouth wore a haughty, smug grin. It was clear the body’s owner wasn’t in control.

The fog was thin here, as if held at bay by some force. With the danger passed, Zentrias took in his surrounding. They were crossing a beautiful inverted garden. Meticulously pruned purple hedges lined the path, with vibrant blue roses just beyond. Farther out, Large weeping trees divided fields of unfamiliar exotic flowers.

Movement caught Zentrias’s eye. A mannequin with dozens of arms scurried out from behind a bush and tended to the plants with the several watering cans in its hands. What a unique gardener.

Zentrias shook his head. A certain ominous safety radiate around them. This aura came off especially strong from the well-dressed stranger leading them. In other circumstances, the most terrifying of monsters. Although they’d never met, the gentleman’s true identity was obvious.

Arriving at a towering Gothic manor, they entered an entrance hall with a grand staircase in the center. Up above on the second floor, a maid was dusting the intricate wood work with swift unnatural movements. When she turned, Zentrias saw her vacant expression and realized she was an immaculately-made doll.

“Wonderful.” Filia declared in a deep voice, nodding contently at the somber decor.

“Welcome to Thornbridge Manor.” The well-dressed man smirked. “Might I invite you recuperate a few minutes before meeting your host?”

After leading them to a lavish living room, their guide withdrew with a bow, leaving them alone. Zentrias sighed and deposited Carol on a sofa. He then joined Juda, who had immediately approached the bar.

“How are you doing?” He asked.

Juda downed a stiff drink. “That banshee made me watch my family murder each. It started as a banquet but devolved into the bloodiest of death matches. I… killed my young niece in the fervor. No battle for succession was ever so abhorrent.”

There was a law in the demon world that no immortal could hold the throne. As such, there was a brisk turnover of kings and queens as the crown was passed down to the strongest of the Hellspawn bloodline. Foul play wasn’t uncommon. I suspect Juda aims for the wall to avoid this political intrigue.

Juda examined him closely. “I saw you fighting when we were down. How in hell did you face that thing?”

“It was a fortunate matchup.” Zentrias answered. “Since I wield destruction and chaos, wild attacks are easy to manipulate. That’s how I deflected the majority of the banshee’s fury. I’m just glad we escaped before I ran out of stamina.”

On the sofa, Carol was coming to. Zentrias walked over, “You alright?”

“Not really,” Carol muttered. “But I’m glad to be alive. That screech resonated with my rings and knocked me out cold. How did we escape?”

“We have a sukemon to thank for that.” Zentrias relayed what had occurred.

Carol looked to where a monstrous Filia was admiring the room’s paintings showing disturbing night landscapes. “Her psyche might have been damaged. Go check on her.” She said, lying back down.

Zentrias approached cautiously, having never interacted with this sukemon before. “Excuse me, you are…”

“Happy.” The bony Filia answered. It took him a second to understand this was its name.

“Tell me Happy, is Filia in there somewhere? Could I talk with her?”

“She’s rest——” Filia winced, her features returning slowly to normal. “I’m back. Just give me a minute.”

“Take your time.” Zentrias retreated, giving her space.

Half an hour later, the well-dressed stranger returned and surveyed the room. “Glad everyone is recovering. Allow me to properly introduce myself. I am Alucard Dalvris, faithful servant of Jonathan Bark. My master awaits your company.”

Alucard brought them to a dining hall where a veritable feast was spread out upon a long table. At the head sat an ordinary looking middle-aged man in formal attire. He smiled upon seeing them, “I am Jonathan Bark. Welcome to my manor. Please, have a seat.”

Before the delectable aromas, Zentrias realized how hungry he was. The others did too. They installed themselves and dung into the delicacies.

“We so rarely have visitors that Dorothee outdid herself with this meal.” Jonathan said watching them. “We could really use a drink to match… Dorothee!”

With a faint crackle of static, a woman appeared out of thin air besides Jonathan. Under her cute maid’s attire, faint scars divided her body like a patchwork quilt. Her hair was a mixture of gold, brown, and black depending on where it grew from her scalp. One eye was yellow, and the other green.

Dorothee Frankenstein. A reconstructed human from one of Jonathan’s tales. Her speed matches her lighting affinity.

“Please grab a bottle of Lossenger Tenebry and serve us.”

Without a word, the maid vanished. Not five seconds later, she was behind Jonathan, leaning forwards to fill his glass. Zentrias watched her round the table, trying to glimpse her movements. Even a paragon would struggle to rival her. High sorcery must be involved.

“Dorothee has prepared rooms for the four of you.” Jonathan sipped his drink happily. “She is the one who oversees the running of Thornbridge Manor. If you have questions during your stay, just call out for her. She has wonderful hearing and will be there in an instant.”

That doesn’t seem right. “If she’s in charge…” Zentrias glanced to Alucard. “Then…?”

“I am but a lowly servant.” The man said. “My role is to greet visitors and remove unwanted pests”

“I consider Alucard more of a friend, despite how much he insists otherwise.” Jonathan added. “Without his company, there’d be no one to converse with.”

Dorothee popped up next to Jonathan looking peeved and held out a pad of paper. On it was written, ‘I AM HERE TOO’. That’s right, the Frankenstein in the novel never uttered a word.

“Making you mute was the greatest blunder of my life.” Jonathan shook his head. “While I value you too, it’s nice hearing something besides the sound of my own voice.”

“Have you heard about the vampires in Glimvale?” Filia asked abruptly. She was holding her wine glass, examining it with a conflicted expression.

“I had not.” Jonathan answered. “I usually don’t keep up to date with such matters.”

“The hunter there claimed their leader was bitten by the source. Having helped dispatched him, we are inclined to agree.” Filia put down her drink and stared at the empty plate in front of Alucard.

While blood suckers had existed for ages in folktales, Jonathan Bark had written about an originator from which all others came from. Alucard was the primal of that supreme vampire, a monster among monsters.

Jonathan sighed, “Did you really…?”

Alucard put up his hands. “Guilty as charged. While I mostly control myself, on rare occasions the thirst becomes too much. When that happens, I travel Glimvale and find some wretched soul no one would miss. Normally I dispose of the bodies to prevent trouble, but…”

“Two weeks a ago a surprisingly strong urge overcame me. I found my prey in the Whispering woods, a band of the worst kind of miscreants. I had just about finished gorging myself when a second, larger group showed up. They must’ve been having a meet-up. Anyway, things got a little messy, and I may have missed a corpse. My apologies.”

“Try not to do it again.” Jonathan said seriously.

I suspected as much. Zentrias closed his eyes. There was nothing to be done. The careless mistake of an immortal had led to several dozens victims. This was a common story. Justice would never be served, especially not in a frontier region. What’s more, we owe Alucard our lives. We can’t really even object.

Filia started giggling. “Close to a hundred dead… A city locked down in fear… All those grieving families… And what do we get when confronting the ones responsible? A ‘my apologies’ and ‘try not to do it again.’”

Filia laughed uncontrollably. She’s losing it. Zentrias glanced nervously at Alucard and Jonathan who were watching impassively.

“How warped have your senses become?” Filia pressed Jonathan. “Are you completely oblivious to the harm your presence causes? All the tragedies? Did you feel this little when Nolfis was wiped ou——”

“Filia!” Zentrias cut in. “Enough.”

His voice had the desired effect, and Filia grew quiet. She excused herself and quickly ran off.

“I’ll go after her.” Zentrias declared, giving Carol a look. You take care of things here.

Zentrias found Filia in the living room, staring at the garden through the window. “Have you calmed down?” He asked.

She nodded. “The banshee made me relive what happened to my parents, reminded me of the senseless cruelty humans are capable. The deaths in Glimvale and Nolfis resonate with that. I… embarrassed myself. Sorry.”

Filia faced Zentrias. “How did you do it? How did you withstand the banshee’s screech and get back up?”

Zentrias smiled. “Lateli aided me.”

Filia frowned. “The god of love?”

“There was a time in my life where I was completely lost.” Zentrias continued. “I crawled out of that dark place by finding something to cling to. Since then, I sometimes feel a presence with me when I struggle.”

“When the banshee realized I’d overcome too much to be fazed by petty tricks, she tried attacking the image I hold most dear. I rejected this, and Lateli gave me the strength to do so.”

“Now, shall we head back?” Zentrias asked.

Jonathan waved away Filia’s attempt at an apology. “Carol has told me of your experiences with the banshee queen. Your outburst is more than understandable. Rather, there are matters that I wish to clear up.”

“I may have seemed callous in my response to the recent deaths in Glimvale, but I had my reasons. You must understand Alucard has resided here for centuries without issue. Given the timing of his lapse, I can’t fault him too hard.”

Filia’s eyes lit up, “You suspect the HEAVENLY DAO was involved?”

Jonathan shrugged. “Isn’t this what happens during dark ages? Coincidences favoring the disastrous?”

I see… Alucard’s sudden hunger and the complications during his feeding were likely contrivances by that god. This didn’t completely absolve the vampire lord, but Zentrias could sympathize with Jonathan’s perspective.

“About Nolfis…” Jonathan continued. “Many have forgotten, but it was the city itself who invited me here. You see, since I reached the wall, the area where I live has always been drawn towards the Moonlit Lands. Without fail, something nasty crosses over.”

“After a Babadook spirited away dozens of children in Aery, I was looking to relocate. That’s when those from Nolfis approached me. Since the Undermist was already linked to the Moonlit Lands, they were accustomed its threats and desired the prestige of a famous resident immortal.

Jonathan let out a long sigh. “In the end, my presence impacted the region more than anyone imagined. Once the rupture occurred, there was nothing to be done. I doubt my departure would restore things to the way they were, not after all those deaths. It’s safest for everyone that I remain in this isolated land.”

“Dorothee, please fetch the silver moon pendant.” Within moments, the maid presented Jonathan with a small metallic orb attached to a thin chain. He took it in his hands.

“Over the years, I made attempts to distance myself from the realm of nightmares. Now it no longer matters.” Jonathan handed the necklace to Carol sitting besides him. “This is one of the many artifacts I gathered, one of the more potent. It will cloak you from that realm’s sovereigns while you complete your business in the Undermist.”