Piper drew her bow back and prepared to fire at the Crimson Guard. She needed to get three arrows off as fast as possible to activate [Demonic Mark]. If she could just knock the vampires away, they might have time to retreat into the tunnel. Hopefully, the vampires wouldn’t be able to get the door open.

  But as she loosed, red tendrils shot out from Justina and knocked the missile aside. She keenly remembered Ransford using the same skill on the farm. Did all vampires have anti-missile skills?

  “Wait!” Justina cried out as she held up her hand. “I only wish to talk.”

  Alfred scowled at the woman. He gripped his axe in one hand, and was using the other to hold himself up against the wall. “Your master said he wanted to talk before he tried to murder my wife and child.”

  At those words, Piper’s gaze shot over to Ethel, who had a tight expression on her face. She’d never heard about what had happened that day. Had Ransford said he’d only wanted to talk before feeding on them?

  “His actions were deplorable,” Justina said softly. “That’s why I wish to talk to you.”

  “Speak fast, blood drinker.” While Alfred was injured, hatred burned brightly in his eyes.

  “I will pay to rebuild your farm,” Justina said. “I will also replace any animals that were killed in the… altercation.”

  “What’s the catch?” Alfred took a step forward, his axe held at the ready. “There’s always a catch with your kind.”

  “I ask only that you testify against Ransford.”

  Piper watched the exchange, ready to attack at any second. But she doubted that she’d have any chance against the Crimson Guard. When she’d fought Ransford, she hadn’t been able to harm him. It was only through tricking him into drinking her blood that she’d managed to drive him off. She’d have no chance against two high-level vampires.

  “So Ransford can find a way to kill us before the trial?” Alfred shook his head. “If you feel bad about what happened, allow us to go on our way. We’re headed to the Arissian Empire, and we’ll never darken your door again.”

  “How do you plan to get past the Black Pyramid?”

  “What’s that?” Alfred asked, confusion momentarily flitting across his face.

  “You don’t know?”

  “No, I don’t. Care to explain?”

  “Unless you’re particularly skilled at fighting against demons, the way is closed to the Arissian Empire.”

  Piper’s ears perked up at the mention of demons. Were there more of her kind living in the mountains? But that didn’t make any sense. If they were as dangerous as everyone said, why hadn’t people eradicated them already? And what was the Black Pyramid?

  “The way is blocked?” Alfred almost seemed to sag. After a moment, he continued, “Do you promise to keep my family safe?”

  Justina smiled, exposing sharp fangs. “I give you my word that no harm will come to your family. We’ll wait here until the storm has passed and then take you to Duke Albrecht’s Camp. It’s only a few kilometres from here.”

  Ophelia drew her looted short sword from its scabbard with a hiss. The silver weapon pulsed in the dim light as the golden filigree glowed. “I won’t let you stop us. I’m going to be an adventurer in the empire!”

  Once again, Piper raised her bow. If her friend attacked the vampires, she had to be ready to support her. No matter how futile it seemed.

  “Put that down this instant, young lady,” Ethel snapped. “Have you lost your mind? I will not have you trying to fight a Crimson Guard.” A spoon immediately appeared in her hand before she looked over at Justina and blushed. The spoon just as quickly disappeared back into wherever she hid it.

  Justina raised her eyebrow. “Do all your children possess pre-Thronefall weaponry? How interesting.”

  “I honestly couldn’t tell you,” Ethel said, a dark expression on her face. “This is the first time I’ve seen it.” She hurried over and grabbed Ophelia’s wrist. Ignoring the girls’ protests, she forced her to sheath the glowing blade. “I apologize. My daughter knows better than to raise a weapon against a member of the Crimson Guard.”

  Alfred sighed and leaned his axe against the wall. “Can I offer you the hospitality of my fire?”

  “Wait!” Piper cried out. “We’re not giving up, are we?”

  “We tried our best.” Alfred looked more tired than she’d ever seen him in the past. “Even the swiftest hare cannot outrun the fox’s hunger.”

  “Let’s take them out,” Gorebark whispered from her hand. “I’ll shoot the shifty-looking guy in the back, and you claw out the lady’s eyes. Ready? On three…”

  Justina’s ears twitched slightly, indicating she had probably heard Gorebark. But she didn’t react, and instead came over to warm her hands by the fire. Turning slightly, she looked at Piper. “Would you mind sharing your story about how you came by such a unique weapon?”

  “I found it,” she lied. “It was in a tunnel similar to this one near the farm.”

  “How interesting. I had always believed the tale of a great demon falling there to be a myth. Yet if legendary weapons exist in the ruins, there may be truth to the tale. I will have to notify the archaeologists in the capital.”

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “You have archaeologists?”

  “You know that word?”

  Piper nodded.

  “Not many peasants know of that profession. Your mother has done a wonderful job educating you.”

  “I know a lot of things,” she replied.

  “Like illusion magic?” Justina said, the firelight flickering in her eyes as she regarded Piper. “Last time we met, you looked… different.”

  Piper mentally winced as she recalled how she had made herself look like Justina. The only reason the vampire probably knew she was the same person was because she was holding Gorebark. Otherwise, she looked completely different from that night.

  “It was quite resourceful leading the redcaps to our camp,” Justina continued. “I assume you needed to clear out the pass to escape into the mountains?”

  Piper nodded her head. There was no point in denying it.

  “I believe we could use a human as resourceful as yourself. Now, if you would please show me your true class and level? No one here truly believes that you are a level 10 farmhand.”

  “I suppose so….”

  She cast [Truth Shroud] and changed her class to illusionist and level 21. As she did, a flurry of notifications appeared.

  Ding! Your spell, Truth Shroud has reached level 7.

  …..

  Ding! Your spell, Truth Shroud has reached level 15.

  She had to stop herself from gaping at the huge jump in levels. The Holy System usually only rewarded you when you were facing significant challenges or threats. And if it thought her casting was worth 8 levels, she was in serious danger.

  “As I thought,” Justina grinned. “Now, if I may see your bow?”

  The Crimson Guard stepped forward with a smile on her face, her hand outstretched, when suddenly her companion lunged forward. He grabbed her armor and yanked her back while shouting something in an unfamiliar language.

  The air around Piper warped as the man held up his hand. Her illusion shattered, exposing her true demon self. For a second, everyone stood frozen, and then the cave descended into chaos.

  Justina recoiled as she stared at the demon in disbelief. All this time, they truly had been hunting an infernal creature. A quick glance over at the family showed that they looked just as horrified. The cursed demon must have bewitched them.

  She suddenly realized the truth was far worse. Before setting out, she’d checked the imperial census. The family had two daughters—one named Ophelia, and the other named Olive. The foul demon must have murdered one of the family’s children and taken their place.

  What the demon had planned to do, she had no idea. But by sheer bad luck, Ransford must have accidentally revealed it when he attacked the farm. Now the demon had fled into the mountains to escape with the family.

  Justina suspected the creature wanted to use the peasants as hostages or human shields. Regardless of the reason, all she knew was that she had to save them at any cost.

  “Take the family,” she shouted to Virgil. “I will hold off the foul demon myself. I owe it for the redcaps.”

  Beside her, Virgil surged forward and snatched the young girl first. Almost too fast to follow, he dragged her out of the cave before sprinting back inside to grab the parents. They briefly tried to resist—likely under the demon’s spell—but they had no chance against someone 900 levels above them.

  “At last you are revealed,” Justina snarled, drawing her blade Shadowdrinker from her belt. “Now I shall send you howling back to your realm, demon.”

  “I don’t want to hurt you,” the demon said in a young girl’s voice. “Please just leave us alone.”

  “And allow you to suck the souls out of an innocent family? I think not.”

  “Please…”

  Strangely, the pale-skinned demon looked visibly distraught. While Justina had never encountered one before, she hadn’t thought demons possessed any emotions. Shaking her head, she dismissed the act as another trick.

  She activated [Greater Identify] to see what they were dealing with. The resulting notification staggered her.

  Shadeling Demon, Level 601

  Deceiver, Level 488

  Infernal Nun, 271

  This made the demon far more powerful than any that had stalked the land since Thronefall. The sheer number of attribute points it must have was almost mind-boggling. Though she didn’t understand why it only had two classes instead of the three it should have had. And why was no class rarity shown?

  Is this another trick?

  She dashed forward, swinging her blade at the demon, and cursed as it disappeared behind an illusion. What was taking Virgil so long? She needed his scouting skills to dispel the illusions. Until he returned, she was fighting blind.

  The sound of a boot scuffing on the floor made her spin around. Somehow, the demon had gotten behind her. She launched a series of precise strikes with her blade, hoping to get lucky. But her weapon found only empty air.

  “Show yourself, coward!”

  “I don’t want to fight you!”

  “Because you’re afraid of meeting your end.” However, she doubted whether even the duke’s entire force could defeat a demon of this level. They may need to call in every available soldier and adventurer to end this threat permanently.

  The demoness reappeared at the end of the corridor next to the great bronze doors. This time, she gave an evil laugh, though her expression looked forlorn.

  “Those foolish humans never knew I was a demon,” the creature called out. “It was so easy to trick them with my spells. All this time, I was totally evil, and they bought it. They didn’t have a clue that I was a demon.”

  “You monster! Tell me what you did to their daughter!” Justina cast [Frost Spike] and a pointed cone of ice formed in the air before launching at the demon. She grimaced as the horned creature side-stepped it easily. Her skills had become dull from not facing a proper opponent for decades.

  The demoness laughed again, her voice cracking slightly. “I… will return for them.”

  “You will never lay a clawed finger on them again. I will place them somewhere far from your foul reach.” Justina cast [Frost Spike], but this time, dozens of frozen missiles surged through the air and slammed into the demon. Her smile faded as the demon’s skin glowed like lava, causing the ice to melt, and the wounds to seal shut.

  This cursed creature can heal itself instantly?

  Justina raised her blade and charged forward. She needed to end this threat here and now. As she raced toward the creature, the demoness raised her hand. She prepared to dodge a spell when a dark entity slammed into her mind.

  Terrible whispers tormented her as horrifying images filled her vision. She dropped to her knees, her blade tumbling from her suddenly limp fingers. All around her, she could see monsters slithering out from cracks in the walls. And then Ransford appeared, leering at her as he tapped a thick club against his palm.

  The whispers grew louder, speaking of ancient terrors and twisting her mind until all she could do was scream. The surrounding world faded away until she stood in a blasted land under two burning suns. More creatures took notice, slithering, crawling, and oozing in her direction.

  Her screams reached a crescendo as one of the monsters grabbed her shoulders. She tried to shake it off, but it had an iron grip. Fumbling for her dagger, she froze as the visions shattered, and she found herself staring into the worried eyes of Virgil.

  Justina glanced around the corridor to find it empty. At the end of the tunnel, the bronze door was slowly shutting. The demoness had escaped, but at least she’d saved the family.

  “I must inform the duke,” Justina rasped, her throat raw from screaming. “The demon exists and is the greatest threat to face the Empire in centuries.”