Chapter 162: Lance Discovers a Hidden Little Vampire

Half an hour later, the clock struck one in the morning. There was a bedroom within Lichten's Castle that felt exceptionally warm and cozy. The solid brown wood flooring, vintage rug, and luxurious textiles exuded a comforting, homey atmosphere under the lamplight. Atop a cold mountain peak in late autumn, their mere presence seemed to radiate an intangible warmth to those in the room.

The tension that had previously marked the interaction between Lance, Hyperion, and the priestess Sticella had vanished. They now appeared like classmates on a trip, sharing a relaxed, late-night chat.

Once someone truly accepted Lance as an ally, his reassuring aura became palpable. After conversing with Lance, Sticella felt as though her future had suddenly become bright and promising. It was as if she had been granted a new lease on life.

Perhaps this was the miraculous response to the vow she had made, somewhat by accident, to the Goddess of Fate earlier that afternoon. And Lance was the angel the Goddess had sent to redeem her.

"It's getting late. Let's wrap things up here for today." Lance closed his notebook, clipped his pen to the cover, and gathered his things. He looked every bit like a teacher preparing to leave after class.

There would be plenty of time over the coming days to ask Sticella for specific details regarding the Church of Resurrection. Hyperion, fully embracing her role as a teaching assistant, was ready to leave alongside Lance at a moment's notice.

She noticed a hint of reluctance on Sticella’s face when Lance announced the end of their conversation. When the brainwashing was carried out with sincerity and goodwill, it resembled winning people over through one’s own virtue. Yet, winning people over through virtue, when driven by a specific agenda, was, in reality, just brainwashing.

To say he was doing good deeds felt like describing a crime, yet to call it a crime also wasn’t right, as he hadn't actually broken any laws. Oh well, there was nothing she could do. He was never going to change. Hyperion had always been on the quieter side, unwilling to make a fuss.

Lance stood up and pushed his chair back under the table as he asked, "By the way, Sticella, as a Traitor under the vampires in this Shadow Realm, what are your powers and your mission objective?"

This was the final question on his mind.

"Please, look at me." Instead of answering the question directly, Sticella began to undergo a physical transformation. She grew slightly taller, gradually shifting until she took on the exact appearance of Imperial Princess Alexia.

Hyperion stared at Sticella in astonishment, scrutinizing her closely, only to find that she looked absolutely identical to the princess.

"The authority given to me by my vampire lord, Count Seberna, is Blood Disguise. It allows me to perfectly mimic a target I have touched. The transformation persists until I choose to dispel it." Sticella explained this to the two of them, and they noticed that her voice now sounded exactly like Alexia’s.

Moreover, since she was already familiar with the princess, she mimicked her tone and manner of speaking with uncanny accuracy. Had he not witnessed Sticella using her vampiric authority to transform with his own eyes, even Lance would have been unable to distinguish this imposter from the real Alexia.

Lance fell silent for a moment. This authority, which sounded like it offered absolutely no combat buffs, was actually the most formidable vampire ability he had encountered so far. Its potential was limitless in any scenario other than direct combat.

The vampires were currently re-emerging in the real world, so they could devour the Krati Empire at an unimaginable speed. In the process, Count Seberna could likely keep swapping places with high-ranking imperial officials. He might even end up replacing the emperor himself one day.

Standing nearby, Hyperion felt a chill run down her spine as she grasped the nature of Sticella's Vampire Authority.

Upon reflection, the historical context of this Shadow Realm dungeon needed to be considered. Under normal circumstances or the intended course of events, if the holder of Blood Frenzy had begun their killing spree on the first night, then the Traitor with Blood Disguise could use their power to assume the identities of the victims.

From the second day onward, the difficulty of deduction for the surviving challengers would have skyrocketed. The ensuing four days would have been a blur of truth and lies, rife with suspicion and escalating cruelty. This would transform the game into an ultimate battle of wits and psychological warfare!

Hyperion couldn't help but feel relieved that the dynamic duo of Lance and Frey had effectively ended the match in just half a day. They had fundamentally altered the nature of this Shadow Realm dungeon.

Sticella began to spill every detail, "The Traitor's first objective is to uncover the identities of the Werewolf and the Witch. The second is to obtain fresh blood from them, within a three-hour window, and then proceed to the secret chamber beneath the castle cellar."

She paused slightly and then continued, "There, they must unseal Viscount Augustine, who is a vampire who had been missing for years. Then, they need to subdue and enslave him as a test subject and use him to cleanse the vampire thrall mark from their own body. This would break them free from their vampire lord's control. However, completing this task also meant forfeiting the right to use the authority."

Meanwhile, the mission information panels visible to Lance, Hyperion, and the other challengers began to update in real time.

However, the Shadow Realm dungeon seemed to glitch for a moment. After all, Mission Objective 2 was intended to be deciphered and deduced as the challenge progressed, rather than being fully revealed all at once by a Traitor through pure persuasion alone.

Gradually, a crucial change appeared on the mission panel.

[Mission Objective 2: Investigate the secrets and dangers hidden within the castle. Completion intel unlocked.]

[Phase I: Challengers must protect the Werewolf and the Witch and prevent the Traitors from breaking Viscount Augustine's seal.]

[Phase II: If Viscount Augustine's seal is broken, resealing him will revert the mission to Phase I.]

[Phase III: If Viscount Augustine remains under the Traitor's control when the Shadow Realm challenge’s time limit expires, the mission objective will be considered a failure.]

At this point, the challengers could finally piece together the true backstory of this Shadow Realm dungeon.

Years before the events today began, Viscount Augustine had been sealed away in this very location by the combined efforts of a witch and a werewolf. Years later, in the late autumn, the castle's master, High Priest Caligula, summoned twelve members of a secret anti-vampire society to gather at this clifftop fortress.

However, two of the twelve were vampire thralls harboring their own ambitions. They had learned from sources outside the group about the secret buried beneath the castle and the presence of a witch and a werewolf within the secret society.

Unwilling to remain subservient to the vampires, yet also unwilling to make enemies of them, the pair plotted to break Viscount Augustine’s seal and bring him under their control. They hoped to use him to erase the marks binding them and even to study the mysteries of vampire physiology.

The nascent resistance movement against the vampires was thus dealt a devastating blow.

"Oh dear... it seems the prototype for this Shadow Realm challenge was actually a tragedy."

Lance sighed as he closed the semi-transparent information interface. In that era, devoid of enchanted cards and before human magical runes had even fully matured, the Banquet of the Sanctuary Villains would have been a harrowing, forgotten chapter of history. There was no way to know how many survived or who ultimately triumphed among the church members or the traitors. However, the outcome certainly wouldn't have been as easy as what they had experienced.

"Who would have thought that the greatest obstacle to resisting the vampires in this era would turn out to be humanity itself?" Hyperion’s expression was equally complex.

Absurd laws, a life of captivity in utter darkness, and an enemy so powerful that even the demons dared not oppose them. It was hard to imagine the price humans had to pay to resist these immortal vampires at the height of their power. Unfortunately, on a path that was already surrounded by deadly thorns, there was also the absurdity of internal infighting.

"I wonder how humanity eventually won? That part of the story will have to wait for the remaining two Shadow Realm dungeons in the Blood Moon Apocalypse series. As long as we achieve an SSS rating here, we can continue into the next installments of the era."

Lance, however, didn't dwell too long on the sentimentality of it all. As an ecologist rather than a historian, his role was to conduct field investigations and mitigate the problems potentially caused by the vampires. Ultimately, he was a man of action.

He carefully reviewed the details of Mission Objective 2 once more. Then, looking thoughtful, he asked Hyperion, "So, as long as we prevent the Traitors from gaining control over Viscount Augustine, we win this Shadow Realm challenge, right?"

Hyperion checked the details herself and confirmed. "...That's correct."

She didn't quite grasp the significance of Lance's question, but a nagging sense of foreboding began to creep up on her. She had a feeling that Lance's "mental episode" for the night wasn't over. No, it was only just beginning!

Just as Hyperion's heart began to race, she heard Lance say, "In other words, it would be fine if we, the challengers, were the ones to control Viscount Augustine, right?"

Lance straightened his suit, looking as cheerful as ever and brimming with confidence in his airtight logic.