Seeker 375

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Chapter 375. Stronghold

They pass through the worn-out, crumbling gate and enter the ancient castle.

According to the villagers, no one knows how this old castle came to be, or how long it's been here.

It's just eerie, and with monsters frequently appearing nearby, none of the villagers dare approach it anymore.

Beyond the castle entrance, there's a foyer.

Parts are collapsing all around, and from the ceiling hangs the remnants of a decayed chandelier.

Vines spread across the floor and walls, giving the place a clear air of abandonment.

In the foyer, there’s a staircase leading up to the second floor and another descending downward.

On the wall directly in front, there's a door.

“Ohhh… Even inside the castle, it’s creepy…”

Yuzuki, still clinging to me as usual, murmurs in a trembling voice.

Though she acts like this, she does her job well in battle, so I let it slide.

“Looks like there's nothing in particular in this foyer. We have three options: the second floor, the basement, or the door in front. So, where should we start?”

“We can assume there’s a vampire somewhere in this run-down castle, right? Also, there’s likely a coffin and Aira, who’s become a ‘servant’ here too.”

“All of that seems likely.”

We were attacked by a pack of vampire wolves along the way, so this castle is likely not a “dead end”.

I think it’s safe to consider this the vampire’s stronghold.

If so, the target is probably somewhere inside this castle.

There's also probably a coffin here that anchors its immortality, and Aira, now a ‘servant,’ may be lurking somewhere as well.

From the exterior, this castle seems to be three stories tall.

The area isn’t that extensive either.

Even if we search every floor, it shouldn’t take much time.

“We can’t kill Aira, right… since she’s a ‘servant’?”

“Yeah. As long as there’s even a small chance of reversing it, we’ll do everything necessary. We made a promise to Loa, after all.”

──“We’ll definitely save your sister. So please wait in the town.”

The weight of my own words starts pressing down on me with a sense of responsibility.

I realize I made a nearly impossible promise.

All we can do is try our best.

The rest is up to fate.

“Ideally, we find and destroy the coffin first, then take out the vampire. It’d be best not to touch Aira.”

“Let’s see how it goes. It might not matter if we take out the vampire or the coffin first. If a black mist escapes, I’ll chase it with everything I’ve got. They don’t revive until the next day anyway, right? If we can break the coffin by then, we win.”

“Yeah, I’m counting on you, Kazane. Our mission is to defeat the vampire boss without harming Aira, who’s now a ‘servant.’ Let’s go.”

After reviewing our objective, we start exploring the castle.

The options are the stairs to the second floor, the stairs to the basement, or the door at the back of the foyer.

Since it’s all just guesswork, we decide to check each area systematically.

We begin with the door at the back of the foyer.

Although it’s a bit warped, there’s no lock, so it opens easily.

With a loud creak, the door opens to reveal a long hallway.

On each side of the hall, there are two doors, and it ends at a dead end.

We check each door one by one, but they all lead to empty rooms.

There’s a kitchen, a bathroom, and what seems to be a pantry, but none of them appear to have been used recently, nor do they contain any monsters.

Some rooms smell foul, so we quickly retreat.

Judging by the building’s footprint, that should be everything on the first floor.

The next options are the upper floor or the basement.

We decide to check the basement next.

With the lamp lighting our way, we descend the dim, stone staircase.

After descending one level, we come to a door.

I cautiously place my hand on it and push it open.

“Oh no, so that’s how it is…”

Seeing what lies beyond the door, Kazane mutters.

A dimly lit basement room illuminated by the lamp.

It’s a stone chamber, roughly five meters wide and ten meters deep, with minimal decorations.

The ceiling is only about two meters high, making the room feel cramped.

At the far end of the room, there’s a single coffin with an unmistakable aura of significance.

The black coffin is adorned with silver crosses and borders that appear crafted from silver.

If that was all in the basement, it would’ve been perfect.

This is likely the vampire’s coffin we’ve heard about.

Destroying it should prevent the vampire from resurrecting.

The problem is, there’s a figure standing guard over that coffin—whether monster or former adventurer.

She’s a wolf-fang woman, about twenty years old, with silver wolf ears and a tail.

Her mouth bears sharp fangs, her eyes are a glowing red.

In her hands, she wields a massive battle axe.

“Grrr… RAAAAAH!”

The wolf-fang adventurer, now reduced to a vampire’s servant, lets out a guttural roar and charges toward us.