Assimilate All Talents

Chapter 300: Staying In

After his chat with Torben, Sol waited patiently for the results. After a few more minutes, Duncan and Rex approached him, having left Lapis to watch over the detained vampire.

Duncan sighed. "His name is Brekster. He’s loyal, but not loyal enough to take his own life. He’s refusing to say much, but we did manage to learn that his so-called Mistress has great plans for our city."

Rex added, "Yeah, but he said it in a way that made me think he wasn’t too sure what the end goal is. I’m not sure if I’m misreading him or if he’s playing dumb, but we can’t just kill him and be done with it."

Sol nodded and asked, "Okay, then what’s the plan?"

Basically, they were saying they hadn’t gotten much information, which wasn’t surprising since it was an interrogation. They couldn’t go too far because Brekster was already too injured, and healing him here, where there was even a slight chance of escape, wasn’t ideal.

"We bring him in. We have people who specialize in getting guys like him to talk, so we’ll leave it to them. As for the victims, as long as we keep them away from Brekster and muffle him so he can’t give commands, they’re harmless. I’ve already called for backup to help move them to a safe place where we can try to cure them."

Sol was about to say that nothing could be done for the victims but held himself back. He wasn’t 100% sure. Torben had said the victims were already mentally dead, and unbranding their souls wouldn’t repair their shattered minds. But what if Torben was wrong? It had been countless years since he had interacted with the world, and who knew if someone had figured out a way to save them?

’Though I have no idea how someone could cure this, as what I saw looked unfixable, I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if I didn’t give them the opportunity to be saved.’

"Alright, sounds like a plan. Let’s wait for the backup to arrive, but don’t let your guard down. We don’t know if any other vampires might show up."

He considered scanning the vampire’s mind, but there was a risk it could go wrong, like when he did it on the bandits in the fort. He got very little information, and it killed the unlucky bandit. While he felt it would go better this time, with the situation being more serious, it was best to be prudent and let the professionals handle it.

Duncan nodded, already considering that, and went to inform the others.

They didn’t have to wait long. No other vampires appeared, and eventually, five squads of ten knights arrived to transport the enthralled adventurers and civilians out of the sewers. As for the vampire, the squad escorted him back themselves to prevent any accidents. It was a slight hassle to cover the vampire from sunlight, as mere contact caused his skin to burn, but a decently thick cloak solved the problem.

...

Back at the Royal Knights Headquarters, the atmosphere was tense. Word had already spread about the vampire encounter, and missions were being handed out to squads to scour the city for suspicious activity.

When Sol and the squad arrived, they turned Brekster over and were immediately called into Commander Zaman’s office.

"So this Mistress is behind their actions, and they have plans to do more..." Zaman contemplated after being briefed on the situation.

Sol nodded. "Yes, though he wasn’t clear on the specifics. He seemed loyal but unsure of the endgame. Still, he’s dangerous enough to keep alive for now. We need to find out if he knows more."

Zaman folded his arms, his brows furrowed. "Agreed. Our interrogators should get results soon. For now, we don’t have much information on her, but if she’s leading more vampires, we need to bolster defenses around key areas of the city, especially at night. If she’s targeting civilians or key infrastructure, we need to be prepared."

Sol nodded. "Understood, Commander. We’ll also take a mission to patrol at night."

Even though there was no clear understanding of the enemy’s plans, Sol knew that for vampires—an ancient race not seen for ages—to suddenly appear, it meant something big was coming. Though he had his meeting with the Saintess tomorrow, he could at least search around the city using his abilities to see if he could find anything.

"No, on the contrary, you should stay in the palace for now."

"Huh? Why?" Sol didn’t understand why he should stay inside when he could be out there doing something.

Zaman’s face was serious. "You’re an A-Ranker now. You’re most useful staying here, ready to defend the palace if they target it. If anything happens outside, it won’t take long for you to get there from here, as we’re located in the center of the city. If you’re elsewhere and we can’t reach you, it will be difficult for you to help in a crisis."

This was why he and the other Grand Knights were almost always in the palace. If they left and someone took advantage of their absence, it would be difficult for them to return in time to help. The royal palace was the most important place to protect, so it made sense for them to stay as near as possible, which was why the Royal Knights Headquarters was built inside the palace.

Sol saw the logic in that and agreed. "Okay, I’ll stay then."

As the meeting wrapped up, Sol left with the squad to get some rest. For them, tomorrow would be an ordinary day, but for him, it was the day he had been waiting for months. He tried to sleep but found his heart beating fast in anticipation, to calm himself he used [Reinterpret] to enter the white room and used this time to practice his skills instead. His heartbeat steadied as he practiced new ways to apply psychic energy and before he knew it the night passed by in no time.