324. Interlude - Saffron's Struggle Part Four

Saffron Merryster sighed, glad that it was all over. Garlen Crimsonfang agreed to cooperate. He wasn’t the head of his family, but he was quite influential. Alongside Anya Veridian, Gannon Norwood, and Saffron’s own father, Crocus Merryster, that meant all Four Greater Vampire Families were now united.

This was unprecedented. The last time four of the Greater Vampire Families worked together was when there were Five Greater Vampire Families. Now, the last time all of the Greater Vampire Families worked together— at a time— was nearly a thousand years ago.

And it was all thanks to Saffron. Or… maybe not.

Was it her threats? Or did they finally understand the gravity of the situation? Maybe it was Mardyth’s own actions that drove them to her side?

She didn’t know. She was just glad. Relieved. Happy that it was all over. Regnorex was at the gates, and it was the duty of all the Vampire families in the Human lands to stop his return. They finally agreed on this simple fact. And the young noble couldn’t help but smile.

“Get your hands off me. I can walk on my own—”

Mardyth shrugged off the Norwood guards as they escorted him away from the garden. Garlen glared at the old man when he walked by them.

“If you were in the Eastern Kingdoms, I’d have you executed.”

“Well, too bad for you. I hope your little boy dies.”

Mardyth spat. Garlen’s brows snapped together. He drew his blade, and Mardyth stumbled back. Saffron almost thought she was going to see a decapitation before anyone could intervene. But a voice interrupted them.

“He’s alive! Roman’s alive!”

Bonny Crimsonfang, Garlen’s wife, ran up to the man. She had tears in her eyes, and a boy in her arms. Garlen’s eyes widened.

“Roman—”

He dropped his weapon, running straight for his son. Saffron shook her head as the Crimsonfangs were happily reunited. She faced Mardyth with a raised a brow.

“Do you really wish to die that badly, lord Mardyth?”

The old man eyed her with disdain as she continued.

“You do realize your actions have consequences, yes? And yet, you have done everything from attempting to assassinate the Crimsonfangs with poison, to attempting to take your own sister’s life.”

He opened his mouth— and paused.

“What did you say?”

“Don’t play dumb now.”

Saffron shook her head, turning to Zin. The former Matriarch of the Norwood Family nodded.

“I thought better of you, Mardyth. But to send [Changelings] after me? To send an [Arachne] after Saffron? To kill your own wife? I cannot defend any of your actions.”

“I…”

He stared at them as the guards dragged him further back.

“But I didn’t…”

He started, and Saffron waved a hand off.

“Spare your excuses.”

And he snapped. He shoved the guards off him, storming up to Saffron.

“I didn’t send [Changelings] after Zin—”

Feirdun and Crocus were quick to react. They grabbed him, holding their blades threateningly close to his neck.

“Don’t come any closer.”

“I didn’t do that! What are you talking about? Why would I take my own sister’s life?”

The guards pulled him back as Zin narrowed her eyes. Saffron froze.

“What?”

She slowly spun around to face Zin. The two women stared at each other, visibly confused. Mons Merryster, Saffron’s sister, stepped forward and spoke.

“Wait, if Mardyth isn’t the one responsible for summoning those Demons…”

The rest was left unsaid. Saffron’s mind raced. She felt her heart hammering in her chest. Her hand trembled as she looked around the garden, remembering the two suspicious servants. Her lips quivered as she opened her mouth.

“That means—”

And there was a flicker. A gust of wind blew over the garden. A bell tolled as voices shouted. Zin’s gaze snapped up.

“The barrier— someone destroyed the barrier!”

A glinting figure descended from the clouds as everyone drew their weapons. Saffron backed up while Crocus drew forward. His eyes narrowed.

“That’s…”

Saffron stared as the figure. A fiery aura wisped off it like golden mist. And it waved her way.

“Salvos? Wait, don’t attack! That’s Salvos!”

The Salvos clone beamed as she slowly drifted down. She pointed at Saffron indignantly, shaking a fist at all those who pointed their weapons up her way. They slowly lowered their blades, blinking. Garlen raised a brow.

“Salvos? As in the Liberator of the Plaguelands?”

Gannon furrowed his brows.

“Why is she… golden?”

“That’s her clone. There’s nothing to worry about. Really.”

Saffron answered, smiling. She stepped forward, relieved to see her friend was fine. The Salvos clone nodded eagerly as she landed.

“I’m glad that you’re here, Salvos. That you’re alright. With you here, there won’t be—”

The Salvos clone cocked her head as Saffron paused. The young noble tried to work her jaw, but dropped to her knees. A trickle of blood ran down her nose as the guards around her fell to the ground.

Crocus and Zin staggered forward, but neither of them collapsed. The Salvos just blinked, completely confused. Saffron breathed heavily as she stared at the blood dripping onto the palm of her hand.

“T-this… w-what is going on—”

And the skin on her arm tore, like she’d been cut by many thin threads. The Salvos clone rushed to her side in a panic. Crocus gritted his teeth as even Garlen fell.

“A kind of [Drain Field]? That means… blood magic.”

He spun around as the Salvos clone protectively hovered over Saffron. Saffron herself struggled for a healing potion, but his voice stopped her.

“Don’t! Healing potions won’t help. It’ll only make things worse.”

“W-what…?”

Saffron blinked slowly, seeing only the Salvos clone’s golden glow. Crocus shook his head as he stood back-to-back with Zin.

“It won’t kill you, but you’ll have to bear through it. This is a high-leveled blood magic ritual. We have to find the source and destroy it.”

“T-that’s—”

Her eyes fluttered as the world spun. She bit her lower lip, drawing her own blood with her fangs. No— her own blood wouldn’t help her. She forced herself to face a fallen man. One of the few collapsed Humans present. Matthew. Her butler.

Saffron didn’t want to do this, but she had no choice. Her [Bloodlust] was the only thing keeping her awake. Otherwise, she’d be unconscious like her sister and her brother. But as she crawler her way towards Matthew, a casual voice drew her attention.

“Oh, wow, he really figured it out that quickly, huh? You were right about him, Mentior.”

“A dangerous fellow. However, I would say that is not who we should worry about, Fictus.”

The pair of suspicious servants Saffron bumped into emerged from deeper within the garden, strolling over the unconscious bodies, completely unaffected by the blood magic ritual. They shook their heads in synchronicity as they cast their gaze towards the wary Salvos clone.

“Right.”

Fictus, the woman with red hair, smiled as she spoke. Her body morphed as she shed her Human skin, her hair falling off her head. A pair of horns curled out of her head as her fingers grew claw-like protrusions. A tail swayed out of her back, and she came to a halt.

Mentior changed too. His blue hair vanished, and a similar set of horns grew on his face, spiraling in the opposite direction of Fictus’ horns. Otherwise, he had a tail and claws almost identical to his companion.

It was like they were twins, except… Demons. The only difference was the color of their skin. Fictus had red skin, while Mentior had blue skin. Saffron used [Identification] on them with the little bit of strength she had left.

[Succubus - Lvl. 125]

[Incubus - Lvl. 125]

Saffron clicked her tongue. That was why they’d barely registered to her until she ran into Fictus. They must’ve had some kind of charming Skill to keep attention off of them.

The Salvos clone created a golden scythe as Crocus and Zin started forward. Saffron’s father raised his blade.

“It’s three of us against the two of you. You cannot win.”

“Oh, look, Mentior. The Vampires are confident.”

“Do not make assumptions, Fictus. That apparition could be a Human.”

The pair of Archdemons smiled. They edged closer to each other, raising their hands in unison.

“Nevertheless, they are—”

“—mistaken.”

Saffron watched as their shoulders touched. They grabbed each other with their claws, digging into their skin. Black blood dripped out and coalesced at the tip of their finger before simmering.

Instantly, a blast of black of energy shot out. The Salvos clone leapt back as golden flaming armor covered her, Crocus, and Zin. They moved out of the way as the beam hit the earth. It burrowed through the ground, like a giant blade slicing through flesh.

“Impossible. How are they so powerful?””

Crocus stared at the destruction left behind by their attack. Zin pursed her lips, hovering in the air with a pair of dove-like wings.

“That is… combination casting. No— that isn’t right…”

The [Druid] trailed off. The pair of Demons raised their hands, redirecting the black beam up towards her. Zin was grazed by the attack as it shredded Norwood Keep before eventually dissipating. She clutched at her shoulder— the attack had damaged the golden armor given by the Salvos clone. The fact that it wasn’t even a direct hit and it cracked the armor… Saffron grew worried.

The young noble had to do something. She continued crawling her way towards Matthew as more of her skin tore open.

The pair of Demons sighed at the same time.

“They dodged it.”

“What a shame.”

The Salvos clone threw her scythe, chains forming at its hilt, becoming a kind of pseudo-kusarigama. They leapt out of the way, one after the other. Crocus intercepted Fictus, slashing at her head. She parried the attack, only for Mentior to land a hard kick to his chest.

“Father!”

Saffron called out as Crocus crashed into the ground. Zin and the Salvos clone flanked hte pair of Demons, taking them one-on-one. Fictus chuckled as she clashed with the [Druid].

“This is quite troublesome, Mentior.”

“I agree, Fictus. This apparition is quite troublesome. Especially since the [Blood Prison] doesn’t affect it.”

Mentior backed away from the Salvos clone as Fictus knocked Zin back. The pair of Demons double-teamed the Salvos clone. Saffron cursed internally, unable to help.

Salvos needs help, but Zin and Father aren’t able to fight at full strength… The young noble shook her head, finally reaching Matthew.

“I-I’m sorry, I need to… destroy the source of this blood ritual…”

That was the only way to help. If Zin and Crocus could fight at full strength, they’d be able to stand alongside the Salvos clone. Saffron bit into Matthew’s neck and felt power surge through her. She forced herself to her feet, looking down at her butler’s pale face.

“N-now where is…”

She stumbled off into the garden as the Salvos clone was sent flying into Norwood Keep. Fictus and Mentior clapped their hands together, creating a tiny dark sphere. They tossed it into the castle, and it rapidly expanded.

The Salvos clone flew out of the explosion as her flame armor was left in bad shape. Roots and vines rose from the earth, targeting the pair of Demons as Zin pointed their way. They tore through the attack before swapping places and circling around the flying Salvos clone.

Their blood circled towards each other, forming a ring around the Salvos clone before briefly igniting into black fire. It destroyed her armor as she let out a silent scream. Saffron watched from the corner of her eye, wishing she was able to help.

She knew she couldn’t do anything. That was… some kind of combination casting she never heard of before. Regular [Mages] had to make proper preparations to sync their magic, and they wouldn’t be able to repeat the feat for a while. That was why combination casting was often used by a group of [Mages] at the start of a battle.

But the pair of Demons were consecutively, repeatedly doing it. They were somehow perfectly in sync, and that made them dangerous. That made their magic far stronger than their ostensible levels.

Crocus was kept back as threads woven from his own blood tangled around him, keeping him tied to the ground as Fictus and Mentior continued hovering in the air, wingless. Zin didn’t dare engage up close, using the natural terrain to her advantage as a [Druid]. So the only one left able to do any real harm was the Salvos clone.

“Annoying. I’m starting to get tired, Mentior.”

“So am I, Fictus. That apparition is a pest. But I spot a more troublesome problem.”

The Salvos clone charged at them, tossing a golden sickle their way. They dipped down as the sickle exploded, their gazes focusing on Saffron at the same time as she stumbled over a bush.

“I suggest we deal with it.”

“Very well.”

They brought their hands together once again, aiming directly at Saffron. The Salvos clone’s golden eyes flickered as Saffron herself stared at the black blood coalescing at their fingertips.

“No—”

The dark beam shot out once again, and Saffron closed her eyes. She expected the worst. But a warm figure grabbed her. Her eyes opened as she watched the Salvos clone swoop her up, using her own body to shield the young noble.

The Salvos clone took the brunt of the attack. She carried Saffron away from the danger as half her body was entirely blown off.

Saffron staggered to her feet. She glanced back at the Salvos clone as she lay injured on the ground.

“Salvos—“

The Salvos clone gave Saffron a thumbs-up, even with half her body gone. Only for Fictus and Mentior to crushed her head.

The world seemed to pause. There was a moment where Saffron could only watch as the Salvos clone dissipated into mere wisps. Her only hope was gone. Now there was just Zin and Crocus left, but both were far off.

And Saffron stood alone with the pair of Demons. Mentior shook his head— his voice breaking her out of her stupor.

“Now, to take care of the annoyance.”

“It’s a shame. I liked her. She saw through our disguises.”

Fictus sighed. They raised their hands, once again pooling their magic together as they aimed at Saffron.

Mentior snorted.

“That’s only because your charming Skills backfired. I told you that would happen.”

“Hey! It’s not like you had a better plan. A [Blood Prison] is the perfect counter to Vampires.”

There was a glint as Saffron braced herself, expecting the worst. Fictus smirked.

“Oh well, goodbye, little Vampire girl—“

And there was a flash. Saffron’s eyes widened as a fissure briefly opened up between the pair of Demons. A familiar woman came into existence, grabbing both Fictus and Mentior by the arms.

She interrupted their combination casting as Saffron stared. The pair of Demons tried to leap away, but she held on tight.

“Who are—“

“—you?!”

The silver-haired woman smiled. She finally let go of them, and they leapt back. A rainbow-colored scythe appeared in her hands as she greeted them.

“I’m Salvos.”

They blinked, exchanging a glance. They spoke at the same time.

“Wha—“

But a crimson explosion engulfed them before they could continue. Salvos finished as Saffron gaped.

“And you shouldn’t have killed my clone.”