"Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm actually someone who is trying to help your father."
"Is this another one of your new games?"
The vampire looked behind Sylas, trying to find someone hiding, but could only see Corvina standing behind him. Without showing any trust toward this stranger, she remained still, waiting to find out what he intended to do.
"Whatever. Do whatever you want, bloodsucker. I'm not afraid. I've endured enough and I can't..."
She interrupted her own sentence when she saw Sylas take out a small vial. She immediately backed away.
The last time she had received something inside a vial, the experience had been horrible, and she did not want to go through that again. Her fingers even dug into her own skin, while her toenails scratched the floor and small traces of blood appeared on her body. She bit her lips to prevent any sound from escaping, but when she realized that Sylas continued approaching, she closed her eyes.
"It seems you've suffered quite a lot... It must have been horrible for you."
She opened one eye and saw Sylas kneeling in front of her, still holding the vial. It seemed to contain blood, and she felt an intense hunger, but there was something different about that liquid. Perhaps it was mixed with something.
When she looked directly into his eyes, Ysabella felt a strange sensation of emptiness, as if that boy perfectly understood what she was feeling and, at the same time, understood absolutely nothing.
"This is bad. If they gave you some kind of drug, it will be difficult to drink. Maybe the smell will be enough, so I'll move the necklace away for a moment."
Sylas moved the necklace behind his back and opened the vial. Ysabella tried to move away, but before she could do anything, she smelled the scent coming from that liquid.
She had never smelled anything like it.
It was the best scent she had ever experienced in her entire life.
Her eyes became completely red and, suddenly, Ysabella lunged forward. The chains restrained her body, causing her skin to be injured, but she did not stop. She continued trying to reach that blood as if her own life depended on it. To her, there was no longer any doubt: that was something divine, blood capable of allowing her to reach new heights in her power.
"Master, be careful. She has assumed an uncontrolled form."
"It's alright, Corvina... Ysabella Valessia, I will give you this blood if you decide to follow my orders."
"I ACCEPT! I ACCEPT!"
Ysabella's eyes were filled with madness. She could only think about getting closer to that blood.
'This is happening faster than I thought...'
Enrico was impressed by the effect that a single drop could have on a vampire. He could not allow the enemy vampires to discover that. Otherwise, a true horde could come after him.
And even worse, that blood could accelerate their evolution.
"Then open your mouth."
Ysabella immediately obeyed. Sylas tilted the vial and poured the blood directly into her mouth. At that very moment, her expression changed. It was as if she were looking at heaven itself, even though she was a vampire who, according to her beliefs, was supposed to be destined for hell.
When the last drop fell, Ysabella collapsed onto her knees. She remained staring into the void while her eyes glowed an intense red that began acquiring an almost golden hue around the irises.
Enrico thought about approaching, but a sudden glow caused him to step back. Corvina immediately stood in front of him and pulled out her new weapon, a katana that Enrico had asked Rina to teach her how to use.
"Whose blood is this? Where is it? I want... I want..."
Ysabella remained on the floor, staring at nothing. Enrico had to admit that the situation was beginning to make him uncomfortable. It even seemed as though he had placed the vampire under some kind of hypnosis.
"It isn't here, but it's beside my master. If you want more, you'll have to follow us."
The chains began disappearing before Ysabella's eyes. Perhaps they had been destroyed by the glow that had emerged from her own body. She slowly opened her hands and stood up, then looked at Sylas and Corvina.
"Alright. I will follow your master for now."
When she finished standing up, her eyes had returned somewhat to normal, but they still had that faint golden glow.
"Very well. Now answer me: you just evolved your Circle, didn't you? You only didn't cause greater destruction because you were chained, and the chains couldn't withstand your evolution."
Ysabella looked at her own hands. The marks left by the chains began disappearing rapidly, as if they had never existed. The other scars scattered across her body also began to disappear.
Vampires possessed an extremely high regeneration ability when they were not restrained by those shackles, so it was not strange that she could recover her body. What was truly surprising was the speed at which it was happening.
"I was in the Fourth Circle. If I remember correctly, I was at fifty percent. Now I'm in the Fifth Circle... I really need to meet the owner of this blood."
"You're acting like a bloodsucker."
"Never compare me to those pests again, or you will be dead."
Ysabella turned around and began following Sylas. As they advanced through the cells, Enrico took the opportunity to order that some humans and elves be freed. Corvina helped wake the prisoners, while Ysabella simply destroyed some of the bars with her bare hands.
While watching that, Enrico was still trying to understand what had just happened.
How could someone evolve so much after receiving only that?
If the vampires consumed that blood every day, how long would it take them to reach the Tenth Circle?
It was simply absurd.
'It's a shame she'll have to wait at least a year to evolve again with the same blood.'
Vampires could evolve by consuming the blood of different people, but they needed time for the same blood to produce a significant effect again. Normally, this interval took almost a month, even when they consumed a huge amount. Enrico's blood, however, was completely different. Its quality was at a level far above the others.
'Well, they can still use this blood to evolve their bloodlines, strengthen their bodies, and as food without these limitations. After all, these restrictions are only for the evolution of magic.'
The freed humans and elves seemed frightened but, at the same time, relieved. Some still could not believe that they were actually free.
Enrico continued advancing with the group until they reached the place where Samuel was imprisoned.
"Well, all that's left is the boy from that prison."
When they arrived, they found Samuel sitting inside the cell. As soon as he saw Sylas, he immediately stood up. Then he looked behind him and saw the humans and elves who were being freed.
"You..."
"They'll simply be useful to me. Don't get the wrong idea."
Ysabella opened the bars of the cell holding Samuel and his sister. As soon as Lin appeared, still hiding under the bed, Samuel ran toward her and hugged her, his eyes filled with tears.
"I owe you my life. Thank you very much."
"Alright, alright. Just get inside. A commotion is going to start soon, so we'd better escape as quickly as possible."
"Thank you very much. I'll do everything I can to repay you... Come on, Lin."
Samuel nodded and began searching for someone together with his sister. Lin gave a small bow before following him, casting one last glance at Sylas and the others before disappearing down the corridor.
'Somehow, I feel like I recognize that girl from somewhere... Could it be her?'
Enrico shook his head. It was not the time to think about that. He could confirm it later. Besides, he had noticed that the girl's magic was different from the one used by the character he knew from the original story. However, if she really was who he was imagining, perhaps that would make sense.
"Ysabella, did you get the vampires who could be useful?"
"You're already giving me too many orders... Yes, I got them and did what you told me."
"Alright. Let's go. Activate this a few minutes from now, when the first guard enters."
The two entered the hole that Corvina had opened. Enrico had chosen some of the prisoners who seemed to possess good magical abilities to remain at the front during the escape. After entering, he closed the hole again and ran to the last point of the prison, where he would stand guard together with Ysabella.
Meanwhile, one of the guards approached to perform the routine inspection. He entered the dungeon and began checking the cells, but soon noticed that some prisoners were missing.
"Guards! The prisoners are gone!"
The guard heard footsteps running in the distance and prepared to follow in that direction. However, before he could do anything, several explosions occurred behind him.
The bars of several cells were destroyed at the same time.
The guard immediately recognized that blood magic. The color was too red, too intense. It could only belong to someone they had been keeping hostage.
"Impossible... How did she?"
Several shadows began emerging from the cells. The vampires who had previously been imprisoned and unable to control their own instincts were now free.
The guard took a step back and immediately called the other guards to help him.
"That damn woman..."