There are only two reasons why someone would resist attacking an enemy whose back is turned to them, either they're an idiot, or they're absolutely confident.
But in this world? There are far too many con artists and not nearly enough fools.
That's why, even with a magical shield still shimmering over his body, Allen cautiously turned around, slowly and deliberately. He didn't want to provoke them. After all, even a simple movement could be misunderstood as a sign of aggression.
He had two reasons for turning to face them:
First, to get a proper look at how many enemies there were and where they stood.
Second, to prevent anything unpleasant from happening, because frankly, there are far too many freaks in the world these days.
And sure enough, they came prepared, seven wizards in total, completely blocking the exit.
Allen didn't recognize any of their faces, but he could tell at a glance: these weren't amateurs.
Even the label "Slytherin heir's laboratory" was enough to attract serious talent. No one would dare bring deadweight into a place like this.
"Well, well… Very good," one of them, clearly the leader, sneered. "I like obedient little boys like you. Now, slowly draw your wand and place it on the ground, slowly, you hear? We wouldn't want any misunderstandings, would we? That wouldn't be good for either of us… Especially since we're planning to offer you your First Embrace."
That one line, the First Embrace, was enough to explain everything.
These weren't ordinary wizards. They were vampires.
And that sentence successfully prevented a fight from breaking out, at least for now.
Because if given the choice, Allen definitely did not want to battle these guys here. Forget the magical artifacts or inherited tomes, the mere presence of those snake statues alone gave him chills. Starting a duel in this place would be like lighting a match in a gas station.
When Allen obediently placed his wand on the ground, the vampires finally relaxed a little, lowering their own wands.
Honestly, if it weren't for the absurdly dangerous magical arsenal sitting behind him, Allen would've launched a surprise attack then and there.
"Alright, child, come here," the vampire coaxed, his tone somewhere between gentle and patronizing. "Since you've shown your sincerity, we noble bloodkind won't withhold our generosity. Now, come with us to meet Lord William. Perhaps he'll take a liking to you…"
He cast one last greedy glance at the vast underground inheritance surrounding them, but managed to pull his eyes away by sheer willpower.
"After all, with your help, we've achieved tremendous success."
That sentence piqued Allen's curiosity.
Who exactly was this Lord William?
What kind of authority and iron-fisted rule did it take to make even greedy vampires resist helping themselves to such treasure?
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Apparently satisfied with Allen's cooperation, the vampire became surprisingly talkative along the way, half-threatening, half-explaining just how well-prepared they'd been for this moment.
See, once a secret is known to three people, it rarely stays a secret.
And this place? Three different factions knew about it.
While those three powers bickered and delayed and postured, the vampires, who'd been hiding and watching, grinned in delight.
Long persecuted and marginalized, they had only survived this long thanks to their superior intelligence network.
While the three factions carefully selected elite members to explore the lab and claim its legacy, the vampires saw it differently.
To them, the lab's true value wasn't just in knowledge or materials.
It was in people.
That's right, people.
They weren't here to just steal treasure.
They were here to recruit.
Just like werewolves could expand their numbers with a bite under the moonlight, vampires could create new kin with a bite and a little blood-sharing.
Of course, "blood-sharing" here wasn't that kind of thing, even if the process sounded suspiciously intimate. It certainly didn't produce baby vampires, not that kind of baby, anyway.
Though we don't live in an age where forceful recruitment is considered okay anymore, vampires were clearly stuck in their old ways.
All it took was a gentle nibble and, congratulations! You're now part of the bloodline. They'd get your loyalty and your body.
And as for those other positions and roles you'd unlock after joining? Let's just say you'd find out when you got there.
The supposed high cost of giving someone their First Embrace? Irrelevant.
The wizards who entered this castle were some of the finest talents the magical world had to offer in recent years.
To the vampires, the more the merrier. A few drops of blood? A small price to pay.
This is why they hadn't launched an attack right away.
Why waste perfectly good recruits?
And it's also why Allen was even given the courtesy of an explanation.
From their perspective, Allen was an ideal target. Cooperative, calm, and competent, he practically screamed "future vampire."
And once turned, there was no going back.
If it weren't for Lord William's strict orders that no wizard could be Embraced without his personal approval, this hundred-year-old vampire might have already offered Allen a taste of immortality.
Kids like him are hard to come by these days!
In fact, part of him hoped Allen wouldn't perform too well.
What if Lord William took a liking to him and claimed him as a direct descendant of his bloodline?
The vampire quickly shook his head and drove out such blasphemous thoughts.
That was Lord William, after all. How dare he even think of defying him?
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But while the vampire was fantasizing about bloodlines and promotions, Allen was mentally cursing the Ministry.
Seriously, what the hell was the Ministry doing?
They'd spent all that time scheming in secret only to serve themselves up on a silver platter?
What kind of pathetic security was this?!
Their so-called "protection" was basically a sieve!
And those twenty sneaky access permits they issued? Yeah, great job, guys.
Now look what happened, ambushed!
As for how the vampires got in first?
That was the real kicker: they didn't need permits.
This wasn't some randomly-generated dungeon, it had a real owner.
And with the Ministry's "help," that owner had rediscovered the location of his treasure.
So who was this mysterious owner?
Another Slytherin.
His name was Isolt Sayre, founder of Ilvermorny. He had two daughters.
The younger never married.
The elder was a Squib who married a Muggle.
But just as Muggles can give birth to wizards, Squibs can have wizard descendants.
And one of those descendants… became a vampire.
While the Ministry and others scrambled to sneak in with stolen permits, the rightful heir didn't need one.
He simply waited, patiently, until the intruders triggered the trap themselves.
And when they did?
He came in, bringing a whole extended family of vampires with him.
Why?
To catch a bunch of thieves.
The game had begun.
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