‘This girl is a true pain in the ass!’

Bernard Capilla, Warden of the Shadow Keep Penitentiary, had to act humble and polite in front of the spoiled 18-year-old Selene Donkrig.

She was the only child of the Duke of Donkrig, a high-ranking military official and aristocrat that ruled over Donkrig Port City and its neighbouring regions.

While it was true that she, as well as her father, had helped Bernard rise to his current position and solidify it despite the strong opposition, dealing with someone as obnoxious as Selene started to get to him.

“Did you do as I asked? He likes Black-horned Boar Meat and a lot of spices!”

“Yes, my lady. Meals are being delivered regularly, so much so that he wont want for food anytime soon.”

“Good good! My darling is a bit gluttonous! Heh! It’s one of his charms!”

Selene playfully chuckled as she excitedly exited the elevator and headed towards one of the 4 cells on the circular-shaped 6th floor.

It was, by far, the biggest cell; It looked more like an exquisite room found in the fancy estates of the nobles rather than a prison cell.

There was a leather carpet, the walls were painted dark brown, there was an artificial window from which poured a magical light, a big and comfortable bed with lots of blankets, and even some training equipment.

“Darling! I’m back!”

Bernard stood at the back and refrained from getting close to the cell. In fact, Selene too, stood a couple of meters away and kept broadly smiling while displaying her affection.

Inside the cell, there stood a man over 2 meters in height, had bronze skin covered in sweat, and a well-fit body with grown and defined muscles.

It wasn’t hard to guess that he hailed from the South, as most of the people there tended to have tanned, bronze, or black skin, and well-trained physiques. In contrast, those who lived on the Northern part of the continent had frail bodies and focused more on Magic, hence the abundance of capable mages and the existence of the Magic Towers.

“I missed you too! I promise that soon… soon, we’ll be reunited and you’ll get to leave this awful place!”

By now, it became clear that Selene was totally obsessed with the man. Her father’s objection and warning notwithstanding, she kept coming here and was trying her best to get the man out.

“My lady… he’s extremely dangerous. We can’t let him leav-”

“Did I talk to you?! Whether he leaves or not doesn’t concern you!”

Selene angrily lashed out, snorting and gesturing for Bernard to leave.

In response, the old man just sighed and glanced at the knight right behind her.

‘Zenzo Jill. The Duke really cares for his daughter to always send his strongest knight all the way here. Still, there’s no way that I’ll let her take ‘him’ outside.’

Bernard shifted his attention to the prisoner, who kept training while ignoring Selene.

He was one of the 4 inmates put on the 6th floor, and that alone showcased how insanely strong and dangerous he was.

‘Those Southerners will skin me alive if he ever leaves. I can risk offending the Duke of Donkrig, but certainly not them.’

2 weeks later

“C-captain, this is not normal.”

A soldier, after inspecting the corpse, stood up and instinctively drifted away from the pale corpse, which was sucked dry of blood.

Melina Tos Yarzen, had a deep frown as she inspected the crime scene but found no clue whatsoever. It was the 4th murder yet there were no suspects whatsoever.

More strange was the fact that all the victims were soldiers. Furthermore, the killer was purposely targeting the soldiers who had clandestine deals and were generally more corrupt than the rest.

Another soldiers, thinking he had realized something important, suddenly sported out,

“It’s gotta be a vampire, right?!”

Melina ignored her subordinate and personally examined the corpse for the second time. There were bite marks on the side of the neck, and the body itself was unusually skinny and withered.

“Clean this up and keep things under a tight wrap. I need to report.”

After one final glance at the secluded dirt road, she hastily stormed away.

…

Inside the gargantuan Skywall Fortress, Melina headed directly to her superior’s office. The man in charge of the entire place and a very high-ranking military officer: Julian Wuzan, Castellan of the Skywall Fortress and the man in charge of the Global Line.

Although he was only in his late twenties, Julian had a very high societal status compared to his peers. He had a nasty scar on the right side of his face, and a distinctively unique orange pupil.

Unlike the shrewd and cunning Bernard, Julian was quite the care-free soul. He was a capable and dependable Commander, a famed strategist, and renowned Sword Master.

“Melina?”

Julian was relaxing in his office, staring at a big painting while musing with himself. Alas, Melina’s abrupt arrival startled him, so he let out a couple of fake coughs and straightened his back.

“Sir, we have a problem.”

Julian, who was used to the woman’s overly-serious attitude and her dedication to her duties, let out a sigh and motioned for her to continue.

“Four soldiers were killed in the past 10 days. The culprit is most likely a vampire.”

“Oh..”

Even then, Julian seemed to be quite disinterested in the whole affair. While fiddling with a pen, he responded,

“A vampire, huh…”

“Sir, this is a serious matter. Please…”

“What do you want me to do, Melina? It’s not like I can catch him myself. As the Captain of the 2nd Sky Battalion, you already have full authority, so I don’t know why you’re coming to me.”

“...”

With an expression of irritation and exasperation, Melina clenched her fists and argued back,

“Sir, my soldiers are getting killed right under my nose. This could be a big ploy…”

“By whom? You’re thinking too much into this… as is your wont. It could just be a rogue vampire. Dispatch more patrols and don’t leave them wandering alone. Also, warn the villagers. If this serial-killing persists, then…”

He paused and scratched his head, his eyes glancing at the painting again.

“Then?”

“Ah!” He snapped out of it and yawned, “I forgot. It’s regrettable that we lost people, but it isn’t a big enough matter to warrant my intervention, I think.”

He gestured for her to leave as he spun the chair, crossed his legs and leaned back.

…

“I wonder what lies at the bottom of this.”

Two soldiers were patrolling the area right outside of the Skywall Fortress. One of them stopped next to a well-constructed dark hole named the Shadow Pit.

“Everyone does! You can go check… if you want.” Jokingly replied the second Soldier as he acted as if he was going to push his friend.

The first soldier backed away in fear and spat vulgarities.

“Maybe it lead to the deepest floor of the prison?”

“Nah! From what I heard, it goes even deeper. This pit predates the Skywall Fortress and the Shadow Keep Penitentiary. No one is foolish enough to dive down… not even the Castellan, it seems.”

“Is that so?”

“We got a lot of ground to cover before our shift is over. Let’s not dilly-dally here.”

The first soldier reluctantly followed, but his eyes were glued to the massive Shadow Pit. It was definitely out of place and the fact that there was very little public information about it was odd and slightly eerie.

Arthur, who was possessing the first soldier, acted the part and did his ‘job’ as a soldier. The patrolling part was easy, but listening to the rambling of the host’s colleague was quite tiresome and boring.

Although two weeks had passed by, the parasite had not been slacking. In fact, he had been working meticulously, either in preparing himself or investigating every nook and cranny of the place.

Admittedly, it was difficult to navigate the Shadow Keep Penitentiary with a human host, and even with a small body, he still had to be careful. However, the outside was much less-guarded, therefore, with the right host, it was relatively easy to blend in.

Right after his unsuccessful attempt at infiltrating the 5th floor, Arthur used the black mouse to head outside and retrieve his storage artifact.

As he had to use Kezar’s body, he couldn’t stay outside for too long lest the guards figure out the truth, nevertheless, Arthur was able to achieve quite a bit of things.

First and foremost, he spent two days deepening his understanding of the region’s layout and memorizing the paths taken by the patrols.

Albeit stationed outside, the majority of the 2nd Sky Battalion was South of the fortress, on the other side of the looming black mountains.

The hundred or so remaining soldiers were either in the village, providing security, or regularly patrolling the vicinities.

There were two reasons Arthur had killed four soldiers so far: First, he needed Melina to react according to his expectations. Basically, he wanted her to dispatch more soldiers to farther regions, which, in turn, would allow him to possess a soldier and freely go around without fearing any repercussions. Second, he wanted to give rise to some unrest and chaos to disturb the stability of this place and direct the attention of the Battalion Captains and the Castellan to the outside rather than the inside.

The Shadow Keep Penitentiary might be separate from the Skywall Fortress, but the former was right beneath the latter and, from the looks of it, Bernard and Julian were friends, so the Commander wouldn’t stay still if something were to happen in the prison.

Lastly, Arthur wanted to get hold of a good host, one who preferably had some sort of connection to the guards of the prison.

It took quite a bit of effort and some minor research about the guards, but he finally got the right person, more or less.

‘The Shadow Pit, the trapdoor on the 2nd floor. There are a lot of mysteries in this place. Still, I could use an aerial-type host to dive into the hole and see what’s at the bottom. Rather than breaking out of the prison using the conventional way, I could go down and then emerge from the pit. Whatever the plan is, I first have to make use of that girl: Selene Donkrig.’

He had seen her by pure coincidence, but she was going to be the central piece. Someone influential like her, if manipulated correctly, could prove extremely useful.

After finishing the patrol and retiring the soldiers’ quarters, Arthur swiftly returned to the 2nd floor using a safe route. It wasn’t particularly difficult as the black mouse was able to wander around totally unnoticed.

“You’re awake! C-can I have that?”

As per usual, Gastin pointed at the cold plate of food, salivating at the sight of the meat slices.

Arthur, masquerading as Kezar, stood up and looked at the dimly-lit corridor before he proceeded to gobble up the food.

“Come on, man… just one piece.”

“...”

“Look, I’ve got a young boy waiting for me at home. I used to be a good blacksm-”

“I don’t want to hear your sob story.” Interrupted the parasite as he put down the plate and sat on the bed.

“I-I know you can use magic. I’ve seen it.” Added Gastin with a much quieter tone, but unlike his futile threat, he looked frightened.

“And? What are you going to do about it?”

“N-nothing… I don’t know what you’re up to, but I want in!”

“Be quiet and go to sleep.”

“Please, man! I don’t want to rot in this shitty place! I’m begging you. I’ll do anything you want.”

Having had enough of the man’s pleading, Arthur laid on his bed and proceeded to ignore him. He stared at his Status Window, contemplating something.

‘The skill got a hefty cost, but it’s worth it. However, before I use it, I need to confirm Chris’ identity. Selene comes twice a week. Her second visit should be tomorrow, so I need to be ready to cross paths with her and start trying my luck.’