After they entered, the door closed behind them. With a relaxed pace, Edmund and Augustus walked downstairs. Once they reached the bottom, they were greeted by countless lightbulbs hanging from the ceiling of a vast hall, illuminating rows of cages.
Inside them were creatures they immediately recognized.
"Vampires…" Edmund muttered.
Augustus slowed, his gaze drifting from one cage to another.
"…Okay," he said quietly. "That's… a lot."
He tilted his head.
"And also kind of disturbing."
Edmund walked forward, his eyes moving across the room, studying the cages, the guards, the spacing between them, and even the people who seemed to be potential buyers.
"They're weakened," he said calmly. "Look at their condition."
"…Yeah, I don't love that," Augustus said, frowning slightly. "They chained them… and covered their eyes too… that's just cruel."
"Stay focused," Edmund warned.
Without further delay, the two began to execute a plan that they had prepared in advance.
First, they split up to find a suitable vampire as a target. After careful observation, Edmund finally found one particular vampire with very long hair. Once he made sure no one was looking, he began to talk to her. He proposed a deal to her, which was very difficult to refuse, considering her current condition.
However, it was not easy to convince her.
Edmund stepped closer, keeping his voice low.
"You're starving," he said. "Weak. Chained. Blind."
"And waiting to be sold."
He crouched slightly, just enough to be heard.
"If that happens, you lose what little control you have left."
"I can get you out. But not for free."
"You follow my instructions. No hesitation. No deviation."
"In return… you live."
"…And I give you the chance to take back what they've done to you."
With a weakened voice, she asked, "Is it really possible to destroy the chain?"
"Yes," Edmund assured her.
She didn't answer immediately.
After a long pause, slowly, the vampire whispered something.
After she finished, Edmund smiled faintly. He then gave her a very small vial before he left to look for another target.
Not long after, he found another vampire with very long hair.
This one was quite unique. A black wooden stake pierced through his heart, yet he was still alive.
Just like before, he proposed a deal. And unlike the previous one, this vampire accepted without hesitation.
After hearing the vampire's whisper, Edmund also gave him a small vial before he walked away to look for Augustus.
Once they met, Augustus immediately shared the information he had gathered.
Augustus glanced around, then leaned slightly closer.
"Okay… so I counted," he said with a low voice.
"Ten Indigo mages… and two Azure."
He nodded to himself. "…which feels like a lot, by the way."
He tilted his head.
"One's near us, the bald one."
"The other one's in the corner… just sitting there… eating. Like this is normal."
Edmund nodded. For a brief moment, he hesitated. 'So many…' he realized.
But that hesitation quickly disappeared as he urged Augustus to continue with the plan.
The two then walked closer to one of the dealers—a bald man, the one Augustus had confirmed to be an Azure mage.
Once the bald dealer finished his talk with some other buyers, he shifted his attention to Edmund and Augustus.
"Ah, gentlemen! How may I be of service to you this fine evening? Pray tell, is our most exquisite product proving satisfactory to your discerning tastes?"
Augustus gestured lightly toward the cages.
"We're looking to buy. Around ten."
"…But not at full price."
"Because ten feels like a lot, and usually when you buy a lot, there's some kind of… discount situation."
Beside him, Edmund nodded in agreement.
The bald dealer arched one perfectly groomed eyebrow.
"Well, pray tell, gentlemen, which one, exactly, is the particular blood-sucking little specimen you intend to purchase? Hmm?"
Without hesitation, Augustus pointed to ten different cages at random.
The bald dealer nodded. He then pulled a fine pen and a crisp note from his coat. After a moment of careful scribbling, he looked up again.
"That, gentlemen, would cost you exactly two thousand nine hundred and fifty gold coins."
"Quite the bargain, I must say, for such delicate and exquisite vampire specimens. Shall we proceed?"
"No," Edmund said immediately. "Two thousand four hundred. Accept, or we look elsewhere."
Augustus nodded. "…Yeah," he added. "What he said."
The faint smile on the bald dealer's face faded slowly. But a moment later, he smiled again.
"Why don't we talk to the one who manages this place?"
He then pointed to the far corner of the room. "Him," he said.
Suddenly, Augustus glanced around the room, frowning slightly.
"So it's him."
"…I don't know," he said.
"This place feels… poorly managed."
He tilted his head.
"Like whoever's in charge is probably not very good at their job. An idiot, for sure."
At that moment, Edmund carefully observed the bald dealer's face, and for a brief moment, he noticed a change.
Instantly, Edmund whispered to Augustus, "He lied… he's the one who manages this place."
Of course, Edmund hadn't reached that conclusion from Augustus' provocation alone.
He had been observing the man long before they approached.
Compared to the other dealers, the guards treated him with subtle respect, small gestures, brief glances, a slight hesitation before moving.
Edmund had also gathered information from some vampires. And all the clues led to this bald dealer.
After hearing the confirmation from Edmund, Augustus moved immediately. With blinding speed, he unsheathed his sword. The moment the blade left its scabbard, it was immediately engulfed in blazing flame.
He whispered, "Inferno Blast."
Augustus then swung diagonally at the dealer's chest.
BOOM!
The explosion upon impact was so loud that the two long-haired vampires heard it from afar.
It was unknown exactly when it appeared, but a silver-blue ring had already attached itself to their index fingers.
A unique aspect of the Ring of Storms, similar to the Armor of Asgard, is that it possesses its own Soul Essence, specifically, an Indigo Soul Essence.
Despite being restrained by a specific metal and a special wooden stake that prevented them from using their own Soul Essence and left them unable to cast spells, the ring changed everything.
With the Ring of Storms on their fingers, after years of being unable to cast spells, they could finally cast again.
At that moment, due to their specific tribe, the two vampires instinctively cast the same spell—
A summoning spell.
The space above them distorted.
And then, two portals tore open in the ceiling.
From both portals emerged two gigantic black winged serpents.
They dove from above, leaving destruction in their wake as guards, dealers, and buyers were attacked without mercy.
There was a reason why Edmund had chosen only vampires with very long hair: those particular vampires were known for their unique summoning spells, which could be a crucial advantage in the upcoming battle.