Chapter 1343 - Trespassers
The entire library shelf slowly slid to the side, but to a certain degree both Erin and Leo had already been able to see what was on the other side. There were no signs of life, but their ability had allowed them to see the outline of everything and it struck deeply in both of them.
Silver, who was the most hopeful of the lot that they might finally find what they had been looking for, was ready to go in as soon as possible, until a sudden horrid smell hit her nose. It was so putrid, so vile that she nearly threw up in an instant.
"This smell." Silver said, her eyes widening as she had figured it out, it was the smell of death. It wasn't as if Vampire knight had never experienced or seen death before, but this was something completely different.
Rushing in, Silver went to confirm her suspicions and that was when she could see it. The room was dark, being lit up by light crystals on the side, but it was also quite vast inside. In front of her, was what could only be described as an entire pit of deceased vampires.
It looked like an empty giant swimming pool, but what was worse was the fact it wasn't filled with water, instead it was filled with bodies.
"These must be the missing people! Are any of them…" Silver didn't even want to ask the question because she couldn't hear a single heartbeat from any of them.
"No, none of them are alive. I could see their bodies through the door. '' Leo replied. "The sheer number... there must be hundreds of vampire corpses here."
"But why…why did Bryce store them? Why kill them? What was he doing with their bodies, or what is he planning to do with their bodies?" Erin asked.
Strangely, Silver's next action surprised them both, as she suddenly jumped right onto the pile of bodies. The Vampire knight began searching through and pulled some of them out to the side.
"Shouldn't we leave the bodies as they are? If they return then.." Erin was trying to help, but Leo just grabbed her and shook his head.
"Let her do what needs to be done. All of this will need to come to light anyway." The Blind Swordsman explained.
Silver was pulling out the members that belonged to her own family. They had died with their clothing intact showing their family emblem, and tears couldn't stop form her face as she wondered what or why their lives had ended this way.
Despite being a Vampire knight, nearly all of them were vampires she didn't know and those taken from the pooling area, but there were even some inner castle vampires among those dead. Each one with a few simple wounds.
"Based on the wounds on their body and the expression on their faces, they couldn't have seen that their death was coming. It must have been done by someone who was able to overpower them in one strike since there are no signs of other wounds." Leo noted.
"How do we report this? What should we even do, now we've discovered this? There is a chance that Bryce was just storing them here for now. What happens if he gets rid of them or burns their bodies?" Erin asked.
This certainly was the tricky part. Even if they filmed the scene before them, with today's technology nearly everything could be faked. It also wasn't the right time to show this to the vampires while they were focusing on another problem.
"I swear, I will make Bryce pay for everything he has done!" Silver stated with determination, getting up from the ground and jumping out of the pit of bodies. "He is not fit to be a King! How could someone who cares so little about the lives of his fellow vampires have been elected king in the first place?!"
'Sometimes people get blinded or get upset by the words of others and those around them. It was just nature for beings to act that way', but Leo could tell it was not the time for one of his lectures.
"This place might have been untouched. Bryce has been busy with the attack, so I assume until he accomplishes whatever his goal is, there might be no need for him to return to this room. As for the other vampires, if you remember those from your inner castle, see if they know anything. You might be able to talk to their friends and find out how exactly these people had gone missing in the first place."
"If we can follow the trail we should be able to find people that can help us. The only thing we still have yet to find out is why they need to do this. What was he after? Was it their blood crystal?"
Inspecting the bodies more thoroughly they found out that although the blood crystal had been removed from all of them, it seemed more like an afterthought than the real reason for their death. Some of the killing attacks had been so close to where the blood crystal would be present according to Silver.
"We've done what we can, so it's time for us to leave this place." Leo determined.
There was still the top floor of the castle to check out, the throne room and the King's bedroom to see. Although they didn't think they would find any more bodies there, they at least believed that they might be able to find out information on what Bryce was trying to do.
However, after entering both areas they found nothing and were unable to access the special vault that could only be opened by gathering the blood of each of the leaders.
"It looks like we only have one choice then." Erin said. "We need to talk to Kazz. She clearly knows what her father was doing. That's probably why she told Paul not to look into the missing people."
"I find it hard to believe that Kazz would turn in her father if he was committing such crimes." Silver replied. "I have known her for the longest time and her father…is everything to her."
"Maybe…but maybe you underestimate the girl." Leo put his two cents forward. "In the end, she did agree to help us out. If we tell her what we know then perhaps, this will be the push for her to realise that her father has crossed the line. That this is completely wrong."
It was then that Leo could sense an energy coming towards them incredibly fast, and Erin could as well. She immediately pulled her smaller blood weapon out since it was quicker to use then the one on her back.
Silver was the slowest to act, but when the doors opened they could see who it was.
"Well, what a surprise! Now who do we have here and what exactly were you planning to do?" Tempus asked, clapping his hands as he discovered the trio. Neither one of them responded as all were trying to decide what to do. In the throne room there was only one entrance and exit. If they wanted to get out they would have to fight the second leader.
"Well, at least he isn't as scary as Arthur." Silver whispered.
"I can't argue with that. That Punisher is beyond scary. He wasn't this powerful during my time, but he truly is a force to be reckoned with, don't you agree my dear strangers?" Tempus spoke in a weird tone.
"I have tried to tell the King time and time again, and it looks like he has just lost another one of his precious leaders. This probably has to be the worst reign in vampire history. Well, maybe the second worst."
"You stranger must have entered the King's castle because you believe, like me, that Bryce is failing in a spectacular way. Now, I don't know who you are and frankly I don't care, but if our goals align, why not help each other?"
"I won't mention that you were trespassing, nor will I try to stop you from leaving this place… as long as you help me look for something in particular. You see this entire castle was built to hide something. A single tomb, but I have no idea where that tomb could be located. I was looking for some type of map or blueprints. So what do you think about my deal?" Tempus asked.
It was a strange situation to say the least, yet the offer was strangely enticing.
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