Chapter 40 - Unsealing the Golden-Haired Vampire

Rio was approaching Liselotte and Aletia who were discussing something in a low voice. Although Liselotte tried to keep their voice low, Rio could listen to their discussion easily. He was so amused by the content of the discussion.

In short, Liselotte was flaunting her seniority in Rio's soon to be established harem and was trying to make Aletia into her 'little sister'. It was hilarious because of Aletia's age which was many times older than Liselotte, but the blue-haired blade dancer wasn't aware of it. Aletia was mostly passive in the discussion. That was because of her numbed emotions after being sealed in this God-forsaken place for around three hundred years.

"So, do you agree with this accommodation?" Rio heard Liselotte's business-like voice asking for Aletia's approval. The immortal vampire was silent for a few seconds, weighing her choice. She then nodded and replied with a soft, "En."

"Very well, then, you may call me Big Sis from now on." Liselotte nodded deeply. Her face formed a smug and victorious expression.

"En." Aletia nodded shortly before turning in Rio's direction as he climbed up the elevated ground on which Aletia was sealed in the cube. She had lost her interest in Liselotte. She was watching Rio's face intently, clearly trying to engrave his appearance in her mind.

Inwardly, Rio felt grateful for Liselotte for taking the initiative in speaking about his ambition to create a harem and was glad that Aletia accepted Liselotte's offer.

"Have you finished your discussion, girls?" Rio questioned both Liselotte and Aletia after stopping close to them. Liselotte turned at him and stared at him quizzically.

"Ah, Rio, what were you doing by going around like that?"

Liselotte asked Rio, seemingly miffed because he'd left her just like that without telling her first. In return, Rio smiled wryly at Liselotte. Rio then said to her, "I was bored and curious, so I try to find out something interesting in this room. Look what I found. I got this artifact that recorded a video. I think, this will help our vampire princess in clearing her misunderstanding about something."

Rio's statement piqued the girls' interest. They stared quizzically at an orb in Rio's hand.

"Vi-de-o? What's that?"

"My... Misunderstanding?"

Liselotte and Aletia looked up to see Rio's face. They had a similarly dumbfounded expression but with different reason. Liselotte's confusion was due to her lack of knowledge about the video Rio mentioned. She never saw or heard about it. Meanwhile, Aletia was curious about the meaning behind Rio's mysterious statement.

"Video is a moving picture which also produces sounds." Rio then took out a small transparent ore that looked like a diamond from his pocket dimension. He acquired it from strolling around the chamber as Liselotte and Aletia had their girl's talk.

Of course, Rio knew about this from his foreknowledge. He intentionally sought the video recorder artifact and would present it to Aletia soon, unlike how Hajime in the canon presented it after the fight against Ehit.

"I think... I understand," Liselotte stated and soon nodded shortly. "So, where did you get it?" She asked Rio.

"In that place," Rio replied while pointing his thumb at the spot where he stopped for a short while before. "But, let's put aside the meaningless thing and free our vampire princess from her seal. Wouldn't you mind?" Rio directed his question towards Aletia, who nodded shortly in return. Simultaneously, he returned the artifact into his pocket dimension for the time being.

"Very well, and Liselotte, move behind me. I don't want you to get hurt needlessly from this." Rio directed his words towards Liselotte who quickly followed his order, standing behind Rio who faced Aletia. He then had his free hand on the smooth surface of the block that sealed Aletia's body.

"Second Seal... Release!" Rio muttered faintly, though the two girls still heard his voice. They stared at him in bewilderment but changed into shock the next moment. It was because an enormous amount of platinum mana poured out of Rio's body. It kept pouring out as if there was no end of it.

Before he released his second seal, Rio had already unsealed his first seal, increasing his Magic value to 1,000 points. However, after releasing the second seal, his Magic value spiked up to 10,000. Yet, Rio hadn't finished yet.

"Third Seal... Release!"

Liselotte's and Aletia's black pupils shrunk into dots and were shaken badly when they sensed the amount of mana Rio expelled from his body unintentionally. After releasing his third seal, another zero was added into his Magic attribute, turning it into 100,000. Just what kind of concept of 100,000 Magic value? The proper words to describe the amount of Rio's mana was 'out of the world.' Even Aletia who was born with Sorcerer Job and had a ridiculous aptitude for magic was like a joke in comparison. Hell, the end game version of Hajime in the canon timeline didn't have that much Magic value despite being called as a monster.

"This is enough... Now, Skill Creation... Create Magic that will crush everything..." Rio mumbled faintly and willed his last gift from his divine murderer to create a Crush Magic of a certain mage from another world. After the skill was created, Rio used his newfound skill on the block that sealed Aletia.

"Crush!"

Platinum colored lines appeared on the cube. Nothing happened except for the oppressive mana Rio was intentionally pouring out. The next moment, the cube that sealed Aletia disassembled into smaller cubes and she was released from her prison after long 300 years.

As Aletia's emaciated child-like body fell, Rio restrained his mana in instant before catching Aletia in his arm. At this moment, their eyes met and the time seemed stretched out into infinity. They stared into each other eyes silently.

Rio was mesmerized by Aletia's beauty. Despite her child-like appearance, her beauty was undeniable. Rio couldn't help but wonder what would she look if she obtained her a.d.u.l.t form. Meanwhile, Aletia was dumbfounded by Rio's handsome face. She finally realized that he had a very pleasing face when she looked up close. Furthermore, his previous stunt was still clear in her mind. She never thought that someone out of the norm like him existed.

"Ahem... How long you two are going to flirt with your eyes and ignore me, eh?"

Liselotte's miffed voice woke up Rio and Aletia from their stupors. They turned at Liselotte who was pouting as if she was wronged... which she was!

"Ah, sorry about that, Liselotte."

"...Sorry."

Rio apologized sheepishly while Aletia spoke shortly and blankly. Liselotte heaved a sigh with a mixture of vexation and resignation. She opened her mouth and was about to give her comment but stopped abruptly. Her pupils turned into dots and were shaken. She looked up in a hurry and forcefully while preparing her rapiers, which were clad in purple lighting.

"Incoming of a strong monster!"

Liselotte warned Rio and Aletia, who followed her example and looked up. They saw a massive scorpion-like monster with two tails perching on the ceiling. Soon, it fell down at their position.

Rio clicked his tongue in annoyance. He had expected this monster appearance but still annoyed by its appearance that interrupted their moment. He raised his hand and created a barrier that halted the monster's fall. When Liselotte saw that, she calmed down and stared at Rio with a strange look.

"It seems like you're still hiding many things from me, aren't you, mister?" Liselotte questioned Rio with a hurtful tone and a wronged expression.

Rio felt a pang of guilt when he heard that and viewed Liselotte's expression. Fl.u.s.tered, he replied back in a hurry, "No! Well, I am still searching for the proper time to tell you about me. It's true that I hide many things, but it's not my intention to hide it forever."

"Very well. Though I feel disappointed, I will accept your reason. However, you must tell me about that later. Got it? Good. Now, what will we do about that fellow?" Liselotte changed the topic after she received Rio's assent and looked up at the humongous twin-tailed scorpion that tried to break Rio's barrier in vain.

Rio didn't immediately turn up. He met Aletia's blank stare. Though she had a deadpan look, Rio could feel her resignation. She was allowing Rio to do what he pleased. She wouldn't even mind it if he discarded her here because of the appearance of the powerful monster, which was clearly a trap prepared by her jailer a long time ago.

Rio suddenly pattered Aletia's head, surprising her. "Don't worry. You have accepted Liselotte's offer. Thus, you're now one of us. I won't throw you away just like that. Besides, that monster is nothing but a gnat before me." Rio said to Aletia kindly.

Rio finally looked up and eyed the monstrosity that tried to break his barrier. 'Now, how should I deal with you? There are countless ways for me to deal with you… Choice, choice… I never thought that I will find trouble in choosing a means to kill a monster.' Rio commented silently with a wry smile.