Rygilya Semtek knelt before Memphis. His master sat on a throne made of black ice and bones. His slave standing next to him in rags.

A disembodied head lay at Memphis' feet.

His master ordered Rygilya to bring him the head of one of his many enemies, and the young Darkness Tamer did just that. He'd slain this gem trader who'd put a target on Memphis' back after selling him fake gems.

"Good, boy," Memphis said, pleased. He tossed out golden jewels from the pouch he kept on his person. "Your earnings for a job well done. Put him with the others."

"Yes, master," Rygilya said.

He pocketed the gold jewels before he picked up the severed head and hurried out of Memphis' throne room. The man gave him chills.

The young Darkness Tamer walked the halls of the black castle made of ice. Built by Memphis, the castle hid deep within a piece of land named J'covia. The black interior was definitely on the creepy side but Rygilya had gotten used to it.

Finally pushing open double doors, Rygilya found himself in a room with pedestals adorned with the goriest of decorations: heads of Memphis' enemies. Some rival mercenaries. There were also the heads of barons, baronesses, other nobles, Knights and even other lowlives. There were at least forty heads here, though Rygilya knew Memphis had slain way more.

Rygilya didn't know why Memphis would have a room solely for slain enemies and he didn't care. He just hoped he didn't end up like them.

Rygilya placed the head on an empty pedestal. He then pressed a switch and a glass dome encased it.

Turning to leave, he saw Memphis' slave watching him. He walked over to the double doors.

"What is it?" he said, annoyed that the girl was watching him. "Spit it out."

"L-lord Memphis says not to disturb him for the rest of the day." she said softly, suddenly taking an interest in the rags that covered her feet.

Rygilya moved past her. "Understood." He told her as he walked off in the opposite direction.

His trained ear could hear her feet against the icy floor. "Don't follow me." He told her not stopping or slowing down.

"B-but Lord Memphis has not given me any duty's for the day. I..." Her voice trailed off.

Memphis trained his slave girl well. He brainwashed her to believe that a slave is what she was meant to be. All she would ever be.

Rygilya snorted. The young Darkness Tamer felt it served her right for being a weakling.

"I'm heading out into the wild," he said. "Do as I say and don't get in my way. I don't need another beating by Memphis."

"Understood," she said. Rygilya could hear the small hint of joy in her voice.

Rygilya snorted again. She was a pest and often followed behind him when Memphis wasn't working her near death. The girl was several years younger than him and even though Rygilya often gave her a cold shoulder, she still followed behind him like a shadow.

The two came upon two large double doors. Rygilya pushed one open with a bit of mana. The slave girl known as Kezell followed him out then tried to close the heavy bone door behind her. She was weak and had very little control over mana. However, using the mana she could muster she could heal and regenerate the life force of others. For someone with as much life force as Memphis, she was priceless. Special skills such as a two-star transcendence would leave him severely hurting for days even with the best of medicines.

An extremely rare trait even among Knights. This was the reason why Memphis kept her close.

Rygilya tsk then moved to close the door behind her. "Why am I bothering to bring you along?" He asked in annoyance. "You'll just get in my way."

He knew why. The girl had saved his life a year back. He'd never admit it but underneath his cruel exterior, he held something of a soft spot for her. Though that didn't stop him from talking down to her.

Kezell said nothing. She just stared nervously at Rygilya.

The Semtek clicked his tongue again. He walked down the black steps of the castle into the forest in front of him, Kezell following at a distance behind him.

The two trekked through the forest for about an hour. Rygilya's face was expressionless as he kept his eyes open, searching for something to challenge him.

Kezell marveled at the scenery around her. The leaves on the tall trees that reached high into the sky were an odd mix between black and red. J'covia was known as the Crimson Black Forest because of its red leaves that hung from pitch black branches. The landscape was beautiful. Not only were there trees, but cliffs were scattered about as well. Some small. Some high of various shapes and sizes.

Rygilya would've been annoyed with her childlike wonder but Memphis rarely let her leave the castle. She'd probably seen the forest once or twice since being forced from her home.

Suddenly, Rygilya heard a thunderous roar. Kezell ran to him, moving close but careful as to not touch him. She'd learned her lesson about physical contact without permission from the last time.

The ground began to rumble. A smirk played on the young Darkness Tamer's lips.

"Go." he said. "Find a place to hide far from here if you don't want to die."

Another mighty roar just from over a rocky cliff and Kezell took off in the opposite direction.

Rygilya waited as the sound of rumbling grew closer. A gigantic monster leaped on top of the cliff and let out a roar that rumbled the landscape.

The beastly creature had to be at least one hundred yards tall. Its tail long and thick. Its arms were muscular and claws sat on its fingertips as well as its digitigrade legs. Its grey scales were thick and armor-like. The monster swung down from the cliff, hanging on to the side. Gist kicked upon landing.

It started at Rygilya with eyes filled with rage.

A leviathan. This was its territory and Rygilya was trespassing.

Another earth-rumbling roar escaped its muzzle. Rygilya could see mana start to form in its mouth. He jumped from a tree high into the sky, pouring black mana into his physical attributes.

The sinister black aura around him gave him a rush of energy.

It always felt amazing.

The beast launched a blue ball of mana at him. The projectile moved fast through the sky but Rygilya was prepared.

His body began to tingle before he turned into lightning and quickly shot upwards, avoiding the impact. The large ball of concentrated mana sailed into the side of a smaller cliff and completely destroyed it and the surrounding area. Rygilya hoped Kezell wasn't near the area. Memphis would kill him if she died.

Turning into a lightning bolt again, Rygilya shot towards the giant beast. Then turning human, he spun before kicking the beast hard in the jaw and knocking it off the cliff. The leviathan hit the floor, toppling trees and rumbling the earth.

Normally it would take at least two top-tier Master Knights to defeat a leviathan. Rygilya was far beyond Master Knight. He'd spend his spare time fighting these creatures as a way to train when Memphis wasn't training him. He had plenty of experience fighting the lumbering beasts.

Rygilya landed on the cliff the monster was on moments ago while the leviathan got up. The beast roared probably outraged that a being smaller than itself was able to hurt it even with its armor-like skin.

It swung its massive tail and the Darkness Tamer jumped. The upper half of the structure crumbled under the attack.

The beast moved faster than Rygilya thought it could. Its large fist slammed into Rygilya's guard, sending the young man plummeting into the earth.

Rygilya shook off the impact and noticed the monster had blue mana surrounding its arm.

Rygilya grinned madly. "Hey, hey, hey!" he shouted, both excited and surprised. "So you have more than one skill with mana! What a prize!"

From the looks of it, the beast was able to create a mana skeleton but only around its arms. That was the reason why Rygilya took more damage than he should have and why he barely had time to block.

"Okay big guy." The young man said, using as much black mana he could to conjure two short spears of black lightning in each hand. "Let's see what you've got."

He felt his life force dwindle when he gathered more black mana. He shaped them into spears made of black lightning.

With Memphis' training, he could use black mana efficiently.

Rygilya made quick work of the beast.

The battle was over in a few minutes. The creature would've been more fearsome without black mana as its hide was enough to withstand lightning attacks. He marveled at his armor made of black mana.

He was still feeding his ego when he hopped off the carcass. "Nice fight," He told it not expecting a response. "Thanks for the workout."

Rygilya began his search for Kezell. He'd started in the direction she ran off in. Moving from tree to tree as he kept his eyes peeled for the slave girl.

He found her surrounded by a flock of large fowls. They were angrily pecking and scratching her. From the look of things, she had unknowingly hidden in their nest. A big no-no for these hostile birds.

Rygilya summoned spears made of lightning then one after another, he'd struck them down. In nearly an instant, he was beside Kezell. He looked down at her. Noticing she wasn't being attacked anymore, she uncurled herself from her fetal position to see Rygilya.

She looked up at him. She seemed pathetic to him. Scars covered her arms and legs. Her ragged dress in tatters. She was such a weakling in Rygilya's eyes. Yet with her dirty gold hair and golden eyes that wouldn't shed a tear, this weak girl reminded him of his sister. Even though the two were exact opposites, Rygilya often saw his beloved sister in Kezell.

Even with the negative side effects of dark mana eating away at his cherished memories, Rygilya never forgot his precious elder sister. The resemblance was why he never forgot Kezell's.

The young man clenched his fist and ground his teeth. He looked away. Anger and regret were clear on his face before annoyance took over.

"Let's go, weakling." He told Kezell while walking towards the castle. "We're heading back."

The girl said nothing. Only obeyed. She hurried behind Rygilya.

Some time had passed when Rygilya saw the landmark that indicated they were getting close to the castle. Kezell had been admiring the scenery as before. This time, she had made a friend, a small feline-like creature. It scurried about on the trees as well as around her body, licking her closed wounds.

Rygilya suddenly raised a hand. A signal for the slave girl to halt. Rygilya could sense something was off. The feline creature also seemed to be on alert, confirming the Darkness Tamer's suspicion.

It was then that Vympiri leaped down from the trees above. Three of them in total. All were mature.

"So you're the one giving off such a tantalizing aroma." One hissed as he stared at Kezell.

"Lord Dracula is sure to reward us handsomely for bringing him one such as you." said another. "Take her alive."

"As if I'd let you, leech scum," Rygilya told them, summoning a spear of black lightning.

"You don't have a choice human!" said the lead Vympiri.

He charged Rygilya along with one of his buddies. Rygilya activated his mana skeleton and dashed at them.

They meet for close-quarters combat. Rygilya didn't have time to regain the life force lost from his fight with the leviathan. Also, these Vympiri were strong. Their hardened skin combined with a black mana skeleton was durable enough to clash with his Lightning Spear.

Still, Rygilya was able to hold his own against the three. He dodged and attacked, occasionally turning into a lightning bolt to evade when they slipped his guard.

Kezell screamed, which broke Rygilya's concentration as he tried to give her his attention. He saw one of the Vympiri had the blonde in his arm.

He hurried to finish off the vympiri before him but they were taking advantage of his weakened state. Fortunately, Rygilya was able to find an opening and do away with them both.

The young Darkness Tamer bolted, searching for Kezell. His heart was pounding hard and fast. If he lost Kezell, Memphis definitely kill him.

Rygilya made the decision to hunt for Dracula's castle.