Ethereal Ascendance: A Journey of Transformation(Vol 5)

Vol 5/ Chapter 79: The Blood Clan

"Boss, stop wasting time talking to her! The Director himself said human magicians aren't anything special! This girl's just bluffing. Don't let her trick you!" the female guide said impatiently.

"Yeah! We were supposed to sneak out of the controlled area first. But since we found this threat by chance, we've got to follow the Chairman's orders and wipe them out completely!" the driver chimed in. He thought the boss was hesitating, so he quickly added, "I bet these two are leftover soldiers from the Empire who snuck in last time! We can't use the woman anyway, so we might as well keep the man. Plus, all of H-country is hunting them now. Even the Empire can't do much because they're rushing to make peace. It's the perfect situation for us—there won't be any problems after!"

It seemed the driver really was a soldier. He even knew about things happening in the other world. Too bad he and the guide had it all wrong.

"Shut up!" the man in the white shirt snapped. Already stressed, his underlings' chatter pushed him over the edge.

"You newbies don't know anything! You can't feel how terrifying light magic is! These two speaking H-country's language means they aren't just ordinary Empire soldiers! I've heard there's magic in the other world to learn languages quickly, but I doubt it's that simple. This is a direct order from the Chairman, so we've got to be extra careful. If something goes wrong, you know what'll happen to us!"

Clearly, these people were part of a large organization. But...

Manager, Director, Chairman? Those titles sounded odd, like something out of a corporate hierarchy.

"But she doesn't look that strong..." the female guide muttered, still doubtful.

Suddenly, a voice interrupted: "Lofin's right to be cautious. None of you are a match for them! Just bring them to me, and I'll handle it!"

The voice wasn't coming from anyone in the group. Adrian and I couldn't figure out where it was coming from.

"This..." The man in the white shirt paled. He quickly knelt down and addressed the air respectfully: "Sir Manager! I was the one who found them first. Please speak favorably of me to the Chairman. Have mercy..."

"This isn't your business anymore!" the voice boomed, disregarding his plea. "If you can't handle it yourself, don't show off! Bring them to me now. I won't repeat myself!"

Quite the attitude! But at least we learned something—the voice seemed to be coming from below us!

When the manager gave the order, dark magic seeped out from the ground. Everyone but Adrian and I looked bewildered.

"Yes, sir..." Lofin responded emotionlessly, like a robot. He then led us forward without looking back.

"We're really following them?" Adrian whispered, looking around cautiously.

The situation was definitely strange. Even seasoned guys like us had to tread carefully.

"Let's go. I think I've figured out what's going on with them," I said after some thought.

I wasn't being arrogant. Their reactions hinted at some sort of spirit control. Most spirit magic is based on light magic, though there are other exceptions. Some monsters can do it too. And that strict hierarchy—it was all pretty obvious!

Now I just needed to confirm my theory.

"The Manager is down here. Go in on your own!" Lofin said as we reached the back of a warehouse. In a corner littered with rocks and weeds was a staircase leading underground. Lofin pointed to the dark stairway and nudged us forward, clearly not eager to follow.

"They're not coming with us? Is this manager really...?" Adrian began to piece things together after I gave him a hint.

Even in broad daylight, the abandoned basement gave off an eerie vibe. After descending about 10 meters and rounding a corner, the light completely vanished.

But I wasn't the same as before. No light? No problem! I conjured some with magic, and we reached the bottom easily.

At the end of the stairs stood a rusty iron door, half open. A thick scent of dark magic filled the air. Adrian pushed the door wide, revealing everything inside!

This room used to be part of the factory's storage, but now it was something else entirely! Everything had been cleared out. A single dim light bulb flickered on the wall. The most striking feature was three coffins on the floor, arranged in a triangle!

"So this is magic! Never thought I'd see it for real. I don't know who you are, but you've certainly broadened my horizons." A figure rose from the coffin in the bottom right corner. He looked young, sharply dressed like an office worker. But when he smiled, two fangs appeared!

I knew I had guessed right—these guys were vampires!

This wasn't my first encounter with vampires. Back when I only had four wings, I nearly died fighting one!

But these vampires and Lofin's group were different from the monster vampires I'd seen before. They were once humans—Earth humans—transformed by some strange dark magic.

It's common knowledge that real vampires—the ones that can turn into bats—create more of their kind through blood-sucking or infecting wounds. The vampire ancestors' saliva carries potent dark magic that spreads through your bloodstream. They can't make new vampires but can control your body and mind by manipulating your organs. They even spread their influence through their saliva, like some kind of dark magic pyramid scheme!

As long as there's enough dark magic, high-ranking vampires can completely control their underlings. The bitten humans become vampires too, part of what's known as the Blood Clan!

Fortunately for us, the dark magic from the ancestors doesn't grow. So unless they're in their original world, spreading out on Earth weakens the dark magic in each vampire, creating a clear pyramid structure with varying power levels.

That's why they use corporate titles—it reflects their ranks. Unlike the noble titles of the other world, Earth vampires prefer a more business-like hierarchy.

"If I'm not mistaken, you're not the top boss, right?" I asked. Despite this manager's high rank, humans don't turn into vampires for no reason. Someone must've bitten him too.

The reason I agreed to come down here was to wipe out the whole vampire nest! But this guy didn't seem like the head honcho. The coffin to his left reeked of even stronger dark magic!

Maybe the original monster that escaped from the Empire was in there?

"If you're the manager, where's the chairman?" Adrian asked. He wasn't familiar with Earth's customs, but it's easy enough to look up the highest-ranking person in a company.