"No! We're all going to die!" Oswald screamed, clutching his head in despair. The rest of us stared at him from our cells.

"Coward," Kelvin growled scornfully.

"He's not wrong, though," Arlen said quietly. "We're doomed."

"Actually, we aren't," I corrected. Everyone turned to stare at me and I nodded. "Honestly, the dungeon will be the safest place right now. As long as we wait in here, we'll be fine."

"Huh? How do you figure?" Arnold demanded. I rolled my eyes.

"Think about it. If you're a soldier and you're invading a castle, why would you go to the dungeon? Unless it's a rescue operation, but clearly there's no human prisoners here for them to break out. So they have no reason to go to the dungeon at all. It's not a strategic location, not unlike barracks or the armory."

"The vampire kid has a point," Kelvin conceded reluctantly. He sighed and leaned against the walls, but lashed out to slash the bars. Claws screeched against metal, causing a shower of sparks, but the bars didn't give way. He grimaced. "It irks me that I'm not out there fighting with my unit. I would prefer to die in combat than to slowly starve to death here."

His words caused Oswald to flinch.

"T…that's right!" the orc howled. "What's going to happen to us?! If the humans win and take the castle, wouldn't they kill us when they find us? Even if they don't find the dungeon, we would be left in here alone, to starve to death!"

He turned to stare at the warden, but the troll had already left his post, presumably to check the vibrations above. He wasn't going to come back ever again, but none of us knew about that particular fate at the time.

"We'll try breaking out once the battle is over," I assured them. Arlen gaped at me.

"How? Can you break the bars?"

"Maybe? We'll find out soon enough." My reply was noncommittal. "But for now, just sit tight and wait. Escaping now would only be suicide."

Honestly, I wanted nothing more than to break out and join the battle above, but I didn't know what I was going to do. Whose side would I fight on? As much as I hated Herman and my previous party, I bore no such grudge against the soldiers and warriors of Havan Kingdom. They were more of my comrades than those traitors.

I didn't want them to die. Yet I knew that if I were to appear before them now, they wouldn't recognize me and would instead attack me as an enemy. To their eye, I was now a vampire. Well, honestly, I hadn't changed much in appearance. I was only missing my glasses, but other than a couple of fangs and subtle changes to my physique, I was the same as before. My hair was still black, my eyes still brown and my features practically unchanged.

Huh, perhaps I could blend in as a human and…

…betray the demons? I held no loyalty to them either, but…for some reason, Silvia's face appeared in my mind. She was working so hard to free me, even though she failed after all these months, but at least she treated me well. She would visit me occasionally, give me books and helped me. She also ensured that the conditions in the dungeon weren't terrible, and that we got to eat proper food.

The Demonic Emperor too. For some reason, I felt compelled to respect him. Yeah, he was responsible for the catastrophic invasions of countless villages, towns and cities, having destroyed them during his conquests. But having met him in person, I could sense a magnetic charm.

Most of all, he spared my life when he could have just killed me. I was probably stupid for thinking like this, but I still felt as if I owed him somehow for that.

Yet I couldn't simply betray the humans because…I used to be one.

"Ugh…"

Frustration welled up inside me, and I closed my eyes. Since I could betray neither party, then I shouldn't do anything. Whatever the case, there was little I could do to make a difference in the war. The presence of a single person wouldn't have much impact on the outcome of the battle in the castle.

Furthermore, I would be revealing to Herman and the others that I was still alive. What was I supposed to do? I couldn't guarantee that I wouldn't attack and try to kill them when I saw them. When that happened, the human soldiers would surely sell their lives dearly to try and stop me. And not only would I stain my hands with the blood of my former comrades, there was a high chance that I would fail in my revenge.

No, I had to do this intelligently. I couldn't be reckless.

Suppressing my chaotic emotions, I focused instead on training.

A few days passed, the tremors continuing. At times, the fighting would grow louder and we could hear the roars and shrieks of inhuman monsters, and the shouts and cries of human soldiers. Mana intensified as more spells were flung throughout the interior. The battle had reached deep within the walls of the castle, though it didn't extend to its bowels.

The dungeons remained unmarked by the fighting. The troll warden never returned, and the stomachs of my fellow prisoners began to rumble with hunger. However, nobody complained. Not when there was so much violence taking place above our heads.

Another rumble that shook the dust off the mossy walls, and Oswald flinched.

"The fighting's getting fiercer," he remarked, his voice trembling.

"No shit," Kelvin replied gruffly. Unable to go out and fight, his mood had turned foul and the surly kobold wouldn't hesitate to lash out at the others.

I closed my eyes and sensed a distant explosion. Several explosions. The dungeon shook even more, more dust and even debris raining down on the cell. Arlen and Arnold yelped and jumped to the side to avoid a chunk of stone that fell onto the floor of their cell.

"That's a lot of mana," I muttered, sensing powerful spells being unleashed. Another explosion rocked the dungeon and Oswald cowered.

"Damn it…" Kelvin growled, striking the ground. He glanced at me. "I know I can't make a difference if I got out there now. Even so…I…"

"You want to fight?" I asked. Kelvin nodded.

"If you have a way to free us, I ask that you free me now. Please."

"I actually have a proposal," I told him. "How about we wait until after the battle?"

Kelvin gritted his sharp teeth, his fur bristling. "I can't wait until the battle is over…"

"Let me finish, please." I held up a placating hand. "Assuming the demons lose the war and the humans kill everybody here. We lay low, wait for them to retreat and then sneak out. Even if the humans win this battle and, Gods forbid, slay the Demonic Emperor. There will be survivors. The demonic legions will disperse and probably continue their war. Perhaps guerilla warfare. Hit and run tactics. Whatever the case, I believe you will have a better chance if you find them and join them, to continue prosecuting the war against humans later, rather than die a futile death right now."

Kelvin glared at me, and then he lowered his gaze. "Your suggestion has merit," he finally admitted.

The walls shuddered again, clouds of dust pouring off their moldy surfaces. I said nothing and waited.

It was the only thing I could do.

*

And soon, the war was over.

The vibrations stopped. I no longer sensed mana in the distance. We couldn't hear any fighting, any shouts or whatever. Silence and stillness reigned in the dungeon.

Then Oswald broke it.

"Is it…finally over?" he asked timidly.

"Perhaps." I glanced up. Detecting nothing, I finally rose to my feet. The other prisoners were at their limit. I didn't have to worry because my diet comprised primarily of blood, but the rest required something more solid. If we delayed our escape any longer, they wouldn't have the strength to move. "We'll check it out."

With a flick of my hand, I froze the bars in ice to make them brittle, then I conjured a gigantic scythe made out of blood. Swinging my hand, I then cleaved the bars apart. They shattered and crashed onto the ground, and I stepped out of the breach I had just made.

I then repeated the process and freed my fellow prisoners.

"My thanks," Kelvin said to me gruffly, inclining his canine head. I simply nodded.

"You are…amazing…" Oswald stared at me, perplexed.

The dwarf brothers were just as grateful, waving their stumps and remaining hands about. Despite the heavy-handed punishment they suffered, Silvia had ensured that their wounds were properly treated so that they didn't get infected and die from disease in the dungeon.

Even so, they were clearly weakened from the ordeal, having not fully recovered from the amputation and now on the verge of starving.

"Thank you!"

"You're our savior!"

"Well, first we'll get some food. And then we'll proceed to the armory." I shook their gratitude off and proceeded toward the storeroom. Once my friends were fed and watered, we then proceeded toward the stairs.

"Arlen, Arnold, you said you snuck into the armory, right?"

"The treasury," Arlen corrected.

"Yeah, that. And you saw weapons there?"

"Lots of them," Arnold confirmed. "Demonic weapons, mystical artifacts…"

"What are you planning?" Kelvin asked, even though he seemed like he already knew the answer. "Don't tell me you…"

"We need to arm ourselves." I turned to him. "If the humans left an occupation force, fighting our way out will be inevitable. I would rather do it armed. What about you?"

"I'm a kobold." Kelvin raised his claws. "I am a walking weapon."

"I could use a weapon," Oswald said timidly.

"The both of us too, especially given our…lack of hands." Arlen raised his remaining hand. His brother, Arnold also nodded.

"It'll give us a fighting chance."

"Fine. Let's go." Kelvin didn't seem pleased, but he recognized the necessity of it. I turned to the dwarf brothers.

"Lead the way."

The two of them didn't take long to lead us to the treasury, bringing us up several flights of stairs and along corridors. To my lack of surprise, we didn't run into anyone, human or demon. Apparently the castle had been vacated the moment the battle was over.

That was strange. Maybe the demon legions withdrew and abandoned the castle, and the humans pursued them. But if that was the case, wouldn't they at least leave a skeleton force here to occupy the castle that they had conquered?

It didn't matter to me. More importantly, we needed to grab whatever weapons we could. Arlen and Arnold led us to a massive chamber, whose door was left wide open.

"Looks like someone else has been here ahead of us," Kelvin remarked. "Might not be much left inside for us."

"Anything is better than nothing," I replied with a shrug. At least we didn't have to break in.

We stepped inside, and Kelvin's fears went unrealized. There were still many weapons left inside, demonic miasma pouring off from their cursed forms. I detected a familiar presence and turned toward it.

The Blood Spear of Longinus. An old friend.

Without any hesitation, I seized it, and then strapped it to my back. Since there were many other demonic weapons, I also took a couple of swords, one the color of night and another a deep crimson. The first one had shadows shrouding it while the second seemed to call out to my blood in the same manner as the Blood Spear of Longinus. A weapon forged for vampires, huh?

Speaking weapons for vampires, I also took a black whip that glowed ominously. There were no barbs on it, but for some reason it called out to me in a strange manner that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Shrugging, I tied it to my waist.

Oswald grabbed a jeweled mace while the two dwarves picked up glowing daggers. Tucking them into their belts, they then nodded at me.

"Anything else?"

"I think that's all." I shook my head. "Now let's get the hell out of here."

"We know how to get to the exit!" Arlen said excitedly, patting the dagger in his belt. When he and his brother were caught and thrown into the dungeon, he thought he would never be able to lay his hands on the treasures in the armory. He never imagined that I would give them the chance to help themselves to the stuff in here.

"All right. I'll be counting on you then."

Both Arlen and Arnold led the way, rushing forward and glancing around. They made a turn round the corner and sprinted down the next corridor.

Only for an arrow to plunge itself into Arnold's forehead, killing him instantly.

"Brother!"

Arlen froze for a moment, and that hesitation caused him his life. A hail of arrows embedded themselves deeply into his chest and he toppled next to the corpse of his brother, which was also punctured by several stray projectiles by now.

"E…enemy attack!" Oswald squealed, diving for cover while brandishing his jeweled mace uselessly. I had to drop down around the wall behind him, listening to the footsteps and shouts of human soldiers.

Looked like we finally ran into the skeleton force that had remained behind to occupy the castle…