Adventure World Online (AWO)

The players who had come to undertake the quest within the mansion all turned to look at Chang Long and Kitsune. Both could fight Elizabeth Bathory's minions easily and prevent them from rising again. Despite their desperate desire to ask how the duo managed such a feat, they had no chance to do anything other than fend off relentless attacks and try to stay alive.

Chang Long led her group away from the main fray, intent on finding Cedric as per her hidden quest to release him. Other players followed, seeing her as their last hope of survival, since several players had already been thrown into the Iron Maiden and had their blood drained to fill the central bathtub.

"Ah... the sweet smell of blood!"

A voice, sounding like that of a young girl, echoed throughout the mansion. Both players and Bathory's minions froze. Shortly after, a beautiful girl in a pristine white dress, with flowing blonde curls, and looking about sixteen years old, stood smiling sweetly at the gathered players.

"Elizabeth Bathory Beast King, level 76, has appeared,"

the system announced, leaving the players in shock. They could not believe that such a lovely-looking girl could be a monstrous being of that rank.

"The bathtub isn't full yet, children..."

Elizabeth Bathory seemed indifferent to everything except her bathtub. Upon hearing their mistress, the minions resumed their attacks, trying not to make their victims bleed before putting them into the torture devices to extract fresh blood.

Trickle Drip... Drip... Drip...

Elizabeth mimicked the sound of blood dripping from the torture devices into her bathtub, as if it were pleasing music. Many combat players tried to attack her as she brought a glass to the pipe, collecting and drinking the blood as if it were her elixir.

"Help me!"

The female mage who had invited Chang Long to protect them cried out in despair, realizing that half her group had already vanished. Chang Long, who was about to ascend the stairs to the second floor, sighed and shook her head in frustration. She descended to clear a path for the mage and her companions to escape.

"What about you?"

The mage asked, panic-stricken, as Chang Long escorted them to the mansion's entrance but did not leave with them.

"I have a quest here,"

Chang Long replied curtly, then sprinted back into the mansion. Finally, she would be able to use her skills fully after nearly an hour of straining her arms by swinging the sword. Elizabeth Bathory's minions numbered over six hundred, according to the ancient tales, those were young men and women she killed to maintain her beauty and youth.

"Wait!"

The mage called, but it was too late. Chang Long had already disappeared into the throng of Bathory's minions.

"Let's go, Angie. He'll be fine; he's way higher level than us!"

The mage's friend reassured her, but it did not help her anxiety.

"Yes, let's leave before nightfall. We'll have to cancel the quest for now and come back for revenge when we're stronger,"

a male warrior agreed. The mage had no choice but to leave, though she remained worried about Chang Long.

Golden flames roared violently in the mansion's grand hallway, the result of Chang Long's Flaming Burst skill combined with Kitsune's fire. Elizabeth Bathory's face turned pale as she watched her minions' spirits purified and turned into white light that streamed into Kitsune. She screamed in agony as her beloved blood evaporated, sending her into a frenzy.

A berserk monster, while maintaining the same level, became nearly twice as strong. The form of the sixteen-year-old girl vanished, replaced by an elegant and icy woman in her late twenties. She glared intensely at Chang Long before extending her claws and charging in a fit of rage.

Clanggg!

Elizabeth Bathory's claws clashed violently against the Sovereign Sword, sending Chang Long staggering back several steps from the impact. Elizabeth smirked in satisfaction, but her expression quickly soured when she raised her claws to inspect them. Deep gashes made from Chang Long sword nearly severed her claws, a testament to the strength to its' toughness that kept them from breaking completely.

Seizing the opportunity while their master fought, Kitsune and Kimhant hurriedly searched the vast mansion for the man trapped in the mirror, as Chang Long had instructed.

"She's incredibly strong. Davy-chan, Spirit Possession!"

Chang Long muttered. Calling upon Davy-chan to possess her. and gained an edge over Elizabeth Bathory.

With Davy-chan's assistance, she quickly turned the tide, forcing Elizabeth on the defensive with relentless sword strikes, even without using any special abilities.

"Arrogant human!"

Elizabeth Bathory roared. She drew a weapon from the air in front of her, which appeared more like a large mirror than a conventional weapon.

Thuddd!

A human-sized mirror, chained securely, stood before her. Inside the reflective surface, a young man with long, flowing silver hair in black leather adorned with red jewels stood motionless with his eyes closed. Chang Long instinctively knew this was Cedric, whom she was tasked with freeing.

Elizabeth Bathory gently touched the chains binding the mirror but then violently shattered it with a sweeping motion. The sound echoed through the mansion, leaving Chang Long stunned. The broken mirror transformed into a gleaming, dual-edged smoke-colored sword. The blade, thin yet seemingly indestructible, had a blood-red gem the size of a tennis ball set into its guard, and chains still wrapped around its hilt.

"Let your blood flow for my beauty!"

Elizabeth Bathory lunged at Chang Long, her sword glowing menacingly as it aimed for her neck. Chang Long, holding the Sovereign Sword, prepared to counter the attack. However, Elizabeth's sword stopped abruptly in mid-air, just a millimeter from Chang Long's neck.

Chang Long, Davy-chan, Hisa-chan, and even Elizabeth Bathory herself stared at the sword in astonishment. Elizabeth attempted to push the blade forward to harm Chang Long, but it refused to move even an inch. However, when she pulled it back, it responded effortlessly. The frustrated vampire was exasperated.

"Why won't you lend me your power against such formidable foes as you did before, Cedric!"

She raged at the sword, which reverted back to a mirror.

"Cedric... it really is you,"

Chang Long murmured, as the man within the mirror opened his eyes.

Elizabeth Bathory stared in astonishment at the scene before her. She had called this name countless times, but the man in the mirror had never once opened his eyes to look at her. She had continued calling him as her body began to wither with age. To preserve her youth while waiting for Cedric to awaken, she had killed numerous young men and women, using their fresh blood as an elixir to maintain her youthful appearance, just like the man in the mirror.

"My lord…"

Cedric's voice was raspy, having not spoken to anyone for nearly a century. His eyes fixed on Chang Long with profound reverence.

"What did you call me?" Chang Long asked, astonished.

"My lord… please offer a small drop of your blood to free your lowly servant from this century-long imprisonment…"

…..

Meanwhile, Kitsune and Kimhant, who had split up to search for Cedric on the mansion's second floor, found nothing resembling a man trapped in a mirror. Instead, they encountered bronze statues depicting young men and women being tortured in various torturing devices, present in nearly every room they searched. Some rooms contained only torture devices and numerous chains, reeking of decay and blood, making them nearly gag.

"Ugh, I can't find anyone who looks like they're sealed in a mirror!"

Kimhant sat down on the floor and complained, feeling disheartened. He had run in and out of nearly twenty rooms. Kitsune walked over to him with a sullen expression.

"Did you find Cedric?"

"No, I didn't. This mansion is full of horrifying things!"

Kimhant replied, shivering.

"I didn't find anything resembling a human either,"

Kitsune grumbled wearily. What he found were various torture devices and a room with walls completely covered in paintings of different forms of torture.

"Should we go back to Master? Leaving her to fight that psycho alone, I'm starting to worry,"

Kimhant suggested.

"Good idea. Let's go!"

Kitsune agreed and started walking, but after a few steps, they paused and looked around, confusion setting in. They were not sure which way led to the stair to the lower floor.

"What's up, boss?"

Kimhant asked when he saw Kitsune stop abruptly.

"Uh… can you remember the way back?"

Kitsune's question made Kimhant feel faint. Was his boss lost!

"How could this happen, boss!"

Kimhant exclaimed in frustration. He also could not remember the way back, having relied on Kitsune to lead them back downstair and not bothering to memorize the path.

"I was too focused on finding the person master asked us to look for, so I didn't keep track of the way we came. Also, the strong stench of decay and blood is so overpowering that I can't smell anything else,"

Kitsune explained, feeling utterly dejected as his keen sense of smell was rendered useless in the mansion.

"I don't remember the way out either…"

Kimhant said dejectedly.

"...Then we have no choice,"

Kitsune declared loudly after a moment of thought.

"What do you mean, boss?"

Kimhant asked, wary of Kitsune's intentions.

Kitsune did not respond but instead listened intently. Despite the distance and numerous obstacles, he faintly heard Chang Long' voice. After glancing around, he picked up a large axe from one of the torture chambers, exhaled fire at the wall in front of him, and

Boommm!

The young fox raised the axe and smashed through the wall, weakened by the flames, creating a passage. Kimhant, though stunned by his boss's recklessness, quickly followed, not wanting to be left alone in this eerie place.

Chang Long stared at Elizabeth Bathory and Cedric for a long time. There seemed to be a hidden depth in the way the woman looked at the man in the mirror. Yet Cedric only showed reverence towards his master. For centuries, he had searched for the supreme ruler of the Land of the Dead, the one who gave life after death to souls who pledged their service, building an army greater than any other.

"My lord… please, I have been searching for you for so long but found no trace of you. Without your power to sustain us, my fellow guards who had been searching for you and I began to lose our strength. We sealed our remaining power in various forms, waiting for your return…"

Cedric's voice rasped.

"No! I won't let anyone take you from me. I saved you from that forsaken forest, protected you from greedy humans who tried to steal you away!"

Elizabeth Bathory yelled, not wanting to part with Cedric, the man she loved. She then glared at Chang Long with intense hatred. Gently setting down the mirror containing Cedric, she extended her claws and lunged at Chang Long again.

Screech!

Elizabeth Bathory's scream echoed through the mansion as Chang Long, possessed by Davy-chan, thrust her sword through Elizabeth's hand and into her chest. Crimson blood gushed from the wound like broken dam, and the vampire uncontrollably collapsed to the ground, her face pale, her eyes vacant, staring to some unknown place.

"My lord, please, spare her soul. She saved me and deserved mercy. I beg of you!"

Cedric pleaded upon seeing Chang Long drew her sword, ready to deliver the final blow.

"Alright, Spirit Net," Chang Long agreed, pressing the Sovereign Sword deeper into Elizabeth's wound and activating the Spirit Net ability to capture her soul before it could escape.

Elizabeth's white soul was drawn into the Spirit Net as if by a magnetic force. Initially, it appeared as a ball of energy no larger than a soccer ball, but it gradually formed into Elizabeth Bathory's shape, still showing pain from having Chang Long's sword pierced her heart.

"Spirit Summoning Davy-chan,"

Chang Long commanded, releasing Davy-chan from her body and sipping black rose tea. She then turned her attention to Cedric, who looked despondent.

"What do I need to do to free you?"

Chang Long asked.

"For any other human, it would require their entire blood supply to form a pact with me. But for you, just a few drops of your blood on the Blood Ruby on my chest will suffice,"

Cedric explained.

Chang Long nodded, slicing her palm with her sword and letting a few drops of blood fall onto the tennis ball-sized Blood Ruby on Cedric's chest. Her blood seemed to merge with the ruby that looked like a red pond, which emitted a red mist that enveloped Cedric's body, turning it blood red for a moment. The mirror and chains slowly corroded and vanished, as if dissolved by acid.

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