174 Dekan and Morion’s Mutual Anticipation
“All we need to do now is let Morion put on a little show, and we’ll effortlessly deal with Countess Lislinna.”
Dekan exchanged a conspiratorial glance with Cornelia, the corners of his lips curling into an amused arc.
The two were leisurely making their way up the stairs back to their second-floor bedroom.
They planned to return to their room, rouse the lethargic Morion, and send him to deceive Countess Lislinna. With this final task in the Shadow World completed, they would secure an easy victory.
The vacation, in fact, had already begun!
And what Dekan eagerly anticipated today was undoubtedly the sight of Countess Lislinna’s confusion, fear, and eventual despair as she was deceived.
Dekan could already picture the moment when Countess Lislinna, closing her eyes, awaited Morion’s kiss, only for him to stab her with a poisoned blade, right into her heart.
Dekan couldn’t help but feel impatient.
“Behave like a human being, Dekan. Vampires seem more human than you… meow…”
A faint voice drifted from behind Dekan.
Teacher Cat couldn’t help but peek out from the shadows of Cornelia’s form to criticize Dekan.
“Huh?”
Dekan turned to look at Teacher Cat in Cornelia’s shadow, filled with confusion.
Dekan: “What are you doing here?”
Teacher Cat: “Of course, I must follow you to stay safe. It doesn’t matter where I sleep, meow.”
Dekan’s smile disappeared immediately.
He seemed to have thought of a lot.
Noticing Dekan’s change in expression, Teacher Cat quickly retreated back into Cornelia’s shadow.
Though unaware of the cause, it realized it might have done something unexpected to Dekan, possibly causing trouble.
It was actually Morion who secretly whispered to it last night.
He had asked Teacher Cat to follow Dekan and Cornelia during the day and record every moment so they could exchange updates later.
Dekan remained silent for a moment, then squatted next to Cornelia’s shadow, tapping on it.
“Teacher Cat, it’ll go easier on you if you confess. Didn’t Morion persuade you to follow us?”
“Hmm? Hmm um meow… Is there a problem?”
Teacher Cat didn’t dare to come out, stammering in an attempt to dodge the question.
“Damn it.”
Although Dekan didn’t quite understand how Morion had managed to sway Teacher Cat, he didn’t bother to delve further into it.
If Teacher Cat jumped into Cornelia’s arms, there was little Dekan could do.
“Morion has definitely run away! This will mean overtime for us!”
Dekan replied with clenched teeth.
Without Teacher Cat keeping an eye on Morion, Morion must have seized this unique opportunity to escape.
And considering if Teacher Cat were in the bedroom, Morion wouldn’t have left the small feline alone in the lord’s chambers while he ran away.
He was, after all, an unscrupulous merchant, but not entirely devoid of conscience when it came to his allies.
Soon, Dekan and Cornelia arrived at the second-floor bedroom they had previously occupied.
Upon opening the door, as Dekan had expected, Morion was already gone.
However, a newly written letter awaited them on the desk.
Dekan begrudgingly picked up the letter.
He pulled out the still ink-fresh paper from the envelop.
“To Dekan, Cornelia, and Teacher Cat,”
“When you are reading this letter, I am already far away.”
“With the hard work and legitimate gains from this mission, we earned approximately three thousand Holy Country gold coins.”
“I’ve taken a thousand for myself, and the remainder is on this merchant guild crystal card, serving as your extravagant vacation funds. I also placed the card inside the envelope.”
“I hope you have a wonderful time on your remaining journey in the Holy Country, enjoying a dreamlike trip full of beautiful memories.”
“However, you still need to handle Countess Lislinna.”
“Regretfully, I won’t be able to witness your hardworking figures, which makes me feel slightly desolate.”
“I wish for you to deal with Lislinna in a proper way, and not resort to underhanded tactics. I’ve always been an upstanding person.”
“Also, the two fugitive Challengers I will leave to my investigation. After you handle Countess Lislinna, you can enjoy yourselves.”
“Regarding the position of Marketing Director at ‘Happy Group’ you mentioned earlier, I’ll consider it. After all, I’ve never worked for anyone before.”
“Besides, I trust you’ll enjoy yourselves more without me.”
“I look forward to our next meeting.”
“Morion”
Dekan read the letter, sighing and shaking his head.
Morion, a master of disguise, once having fled, would be almost impossible to find within the bustling city.
And Morion was undoubtedly the person who understood Dekan best.
Tricks like fishing expeditions would never work on Morion.
In a sense, Morion had redeemed himself and successfully escaped.
“This is disappointing.”
Dekan had thought there was some mutual trust between him and Morion.
He never expected that Morion would bolt without a second thought.
“Teacher Cat, why did Morion run away? Meow!”
Teacher Cat asked, genuinely puzzled.
However, this question made Dekan and Cornelia exchange somewhat guilty glances.
On one hand, they had planned to make Morion play the role of a gigolo.
On the other hand, their immediate plan after finishing the mission in the Shadow World had been to tie Morion up.
Dekan had foreseen that Morion would not remain compliant.
Thus, they had decided to restrain him first.
But Morion had anticipated Dekan’s foresight.
And he had taken this final opportunity to escape.
“Did you plan to do something to him? Meow!”
“Of course not…”
Both Dekan and Cornelia responded evasively.
Teacher Cat, noting their attitudes, soon inferred their intentions.
These two had undoubtedly planned to kidnap Morion and give him a military-style training session!
Although Teacher Cat felt deceived by Morion as well,
upon further thought, it was clear Morion was merely following the same mindset they shared.
Morion simply didn’t want to be the third wheel.
He chose to leave without causing a fuss.
Teacher Cat quickly forgave Morion.
“Damn it, when we meet again, we’ll attack without giving him a chance to speak.”
“Alright!”
While Teacher Cat was reflecting, Dekan and Cornelia had already begun planning their next strategy against Morion.
This made Teacher Cat reflect,
“I now completely understand why Morion fled… You two are just too extreme, meow…”
“Heh heh heh, how dare he desert us at a critical moment…”
For some reason, Dekan smiled again,
“I had an inkling that Morion would pull something. So, I’ve prepared a little surprise for him.”
Dekan had already anticipated that Morion might foresee his predictions and prepared accordingly.
“Let’s deal with Countess Lislinna first. Later, we’ll ensure Morion has a blast.”
Although Dekan couldn’t catch Morion,
he promised there would be a psychological blow awaiting Morion.
…
At the same moment, outside a bedroom on the second floor of the mansion, two Vampire Familiars stood.
This was Countess Lislinna’s room.
Apart from Countess Lislinna, the only other occupant was her female Vampire Familiar.
The room was dim, faintly illuminated by the minimal lighting.
The curtains had been replaced with heavy black fabric, shutting out all sunlight.
Countess Lislinna had been asleep.
However, an unsettling noise akin to renovation work echoed from downstairs, jarring her awake.
She knew the Marquis Roderick’s two demons would interrogate the three prisoners, but the noise was too loud.
It was as if her familiars and the three captives were fighting.
But soon enough, the noise died down.
Apparently, the demons had concluded their interrogation.
They would now report to the Marquis, and then perhaps seek her out.
Countess Lislinna surmised.
Thus, she awoke, sitting on the edge of her bed.
Awaiting the updates.
She looked forward to seeing the Marquis again.
After waiting tens of minutes,
there were finally sounds from outside her door.
The knocking followed.
“Lislinna, Marquis Roderick requests your presence.”
Upon hearing the ‘demon’s voice from outside, Countess Lislinna stood, elated.
She hastened to open the door.
There stood two masked demons.
“Marquis seeks a private audience.”
Dekan bowed respectfully to Countess Lislinna.
“Alright!”
Countess Lislinna quickly instructed her familiar to stay behind and followed Dekan and Cornelia eagerly.
So Dekan and Cornelia escorted Countess Lislinna to their room.
“The Marquis awaits you within.”
Dekan grasped the doorknob, preparing to open the door for Countess Lislinna.
In that very moment, Cornelia was ready to strike.
She instantaneously summoned the murderous tome [Blood Detectives], smashing it with all her might toward Countess Lislinna’s head.
However, Countess Lislinna evaded with a strange movement.
Her reaction was remarkably swift, and Cornelia couldn’t hit her.
Countess Lislinna, her expression oscillating between shock and anger, stared at Cornelia.
“What do you intend to do?!”
“…”
But Cornelia remained silent.
She swung the tome again, aiming for the same target.
Dekan called forth the [Ruined Bard] to ensure that Cornelia’s strikes would incapacitate Countess Lislinna, causing her 20 times more pain should the book hit its mark.
Enemies that could be eliminated through force
would get no chatter from them.
But soon Dekan realized that Countess Lislinna’s agility wasn’t due to some exceptional physical prowess.
Instead, she seemed to possess the ability to briefly anticipate the movements of her enemies.
Much like an advanced “dodging” attribute.
From the very first encounter, when Countess Lislinna had evaded one of Cornelia’s surprise headshots, it was likely due to this ability.
High stats, a mountain of health points, proficiency in disguise, and bringing henchmen—those were one thing.
But how about being an evasive character?
If Countess Lislinna could recover to her full Seventh-Rank abilities, it would pose a real challenge.
At least the combined might of thirteen standard Sixth-Rank Challengers would barely be enough to defeat her and her five familiars.
Unfortunately, her luck and mental stability were cursed by the heavens. Her IQ took a hit because of love, just like a team leading by 10,000 gold getting their Baron stolen unintentionally, and she was now trapped under the Lord’s mansion, making her easy prey for Dekan’s group.
And now, she managed to evade Cornelia’s relentless pursuit.
If Cornelia’s buffs wore off, they might indeed be powerless against this Countess.
Additionally, her several familiars had been summoned under her command.
A classic replication of their first encounter.
No matter, though.
Dekan had faced this group before with no fear.
He had a trump card—a Three-Rank magical card that countered all vampires.
Last time, Dekan had been worried about her escaping.
After all, it was at night.
But now, it was daytime, and this mansion was both her sanctuary and her cage—she had nowhere to run.
Countess Lislinna’s value had been extracted fully; it was time to reap her.
So Dekan pulled out the Three-Rank spell card that was particularly effective against vampires.
Regardless of Countess Lislinna’s showy skills,
this card would allow Cornelia to instantly defeat Countess Lislinna.
And so Dekan used [Sun Fist]!
In an instant,
the dim hallway turned into a world of light.
And Dekan himself became the sun.
“Aaaaahh!”
Countess Lislinna was blinded by the sudden burst of light, feeling an immense sense of weakness overcome her!
It was as if she was bathing in extremely strong sunlight.
Her blindness revealed her vulnerabilities, rendering her incapable of retaliating!
But Cornelia wasn’t affected by the light since she wore a mask!
Thus, Countess Lislinna was swiftly caught, her skull smashed by Cornelia’s book spine.
She rolled her eyes back and convulsed from the pain before passing out.
“This is the power of pure sunlight. Can you feel it?”
The Sun Boy, Dekan, declared.
With their commander incapacitated, the three familiars stood at a loss.
They feared the violent book-wielding demoness.
They also feared the sun-wielding demon in the back.
In their eyes, both were like monstrous fiends approaching them.
Before long, wails of vampires echoed through the residence once more.
…
“Damn it! Why does that guy always release blinding effects without warning?”
The audience, who had been blinded again by Dekan, angrily cursed.
“Is this card really effective against vampires?”
“Since it’s Sun Fist and not Flash Technique, the cards Dekan crafts never seem to mislead based on their names…”
The audience even suspected that Dekan’s primary target when crafting the cards was to exploit vulnerabilities of vampires.
Unfortunately, during the last adventure at the old mansion, the final antagonist, Count Augustine, had been subdued before Dekan could use the [Sun Fist].
“Is this guy the nemesis of all races? Why does he always focus on making such specialized cards?”
“Come to think of it, he does seem to attack evil alignments specifically.”
“Don’t think too much. He’s just a black-hearted opportunist!”
