Chapter 71: So Dramatic

Jumping through the Crimson Tower floor by floor is tiresome, even for me. But I had to do it because the vampire bitch just decided to fly off on her own and I have no time to deal with the vampires and ghouls by taking the normal route. Though I did notice how the tower is filled with ghouls that are more ferocious than the ones I know and they're also accompanied by some living demonic statues. Since when did Crimson have these things?

I also saw some black cloaked women, whom I believe to be members of Shadow Garden, fighting the ghouls and living statues. I have no business with them for now so I ignored them and continued my climb.

I managed to catch up with Carmilla in time to see her interrogating and killing Crimson. And now I see her crying and laughing at the same time. I don't know whether I should pity her or be creeped out.

But… is it true? Did Lord Necromancer specifically erase the memory of her sister to spare her from the truth? From this betrayal? I doubted that's the case…

Then again, he has been behaving strangely lately… Such as ignoring Adra's blunder even though an all knowing monster like him should've noticed Arda neglecting his duties a long time ago.

Lord Necromancer… what is your true purpose? Why do you want so much power and influence? Why did you manipulate so many people?

"Oh, it's you. What are you doing here, vixen?" Carmilla finally noticed my presence. She seems to have regained her senses.

"I was assigned to keep watch on you. Lord Necromancer was worried that your mental state will get in the way of your mission." I answered.

"Ahhh… Lord Necromancer… So he cared." She grinned creepily. I don't like that smile. It creeps me out.

"Your assistance is unnecessary now. I'm fine."

"Really? Are you sure you are lucid enough to complete your mission now?"

"Yes I am. I will not disappoint Lord Necromancer again. Now, get out of my sight!"

"If you say so." I answered as I began leaving the rooftop.

"Come to think of it, where is Juggernaut? He was supposed to rendezvous with us here… Don't tell me. That fool…" I frown as I realize what Juggernaut is probably doing right now. And as if to confirm my suspicion, I saw an explosion in the Don Jon tower.

"That idiot. He must not value his life at all. Well… not my problem anyway."

I descended down the stairs and prepared myself to block any who wants to reach the rooftop, including Shadow Garden.

Hmm… Carmilla has disposed of Crimson. That's okay. He's useless anyway. And now she and Yukime has taken position to protect Elizabeth's coffin and the sacrifice. Though with the rate the vampire hunters and Shadow Garden are progressing, it's only a matter of time before they arrive at the rooftop of Crimson Tower.

I cannot wait until tomorrow noon. I must speed things up myself.

I stood up in the highest floor of the tallest building in the city, namely my Don Jon Tower, and raised my hand up in the air. The top floor is unfinished and thus it has no ceiling, allowing me to bask in the light of the Red Moon.

"This is a very delicate job. I must be careful not to open the portal too big. Otherwise things will become too chaotic even for me. Who knows what kind of creature would appear if the portal is too big. Or what kind of natural disaster would emerge from that other world." I murmured to myself as I worked my space magic in order to try and create a small opening to the First Realm (or whatever realm that the Red Moon's magic wave originated from) in order to allow its magic to flow in, just enough magic energy to allow Elizabeth to reawaken.

It will take time and I absolutely cannot have any interference.

*BOOM*

But of course I have some interference. I was wondering when he will betray me but of course he had to do it during the worst timing.

That meathead…

With my free hand, I created a clone in the form of Don Jon, filling it with enough energy to become a killing machine. Since his job this time is merely to kill, not manage an entire country like my Claude clone does, I can safely disperse him afterwards without worrying about loss of information through his memory. He also didn't need much complex thoughts to perform his function.

"Kill Juggernaut and anyone who tries to get up here." I ordered.

"Very well, main body." The clone replied and began walking down the stairs.

"Hiaaahh!" Epsilon the Precise launched a long range slash, one of her specialty due to her precise magic control. Her attack bisected a ghoul in half.

"Haahh…! This is a disaster! I shouldn't have ordered us to split up!" Epsilon said as even after defeating so many, she is still surrounded by a horde of ghouls.

She eventually found 610 and 611 after fighting through several groups of ghouls and gargoyles but no sign of 612.

"Where is 612?" She asked the pair of elves.

"I don't know! I think she is still in the underground dungeon!" 610 answered.

"We must go there. If there's this much ghouls up here, there's bound to be more in the place where they kept their slaves!" Epsilon said as she went down the stairs, with the pair of elves following her close behind.

On the way she reunited with Beta's team, who just finished killing a group of ghouls at the entrance to the Crimson tower's grand library.

"Epsilon? What are you doing here?" Beta asked, noticing Epsilon's panicked state.

"I blundered! I told my team to split up but the ghouls are too powerful and… we can't find 612!" Epsilon said with a voice full of worry. Beta's expression gets serious when she heard that.

"I'll help you. Where was she last headed?"

"She's downstairs. But you should focus on your mission. Let me handle this." Epsilon said.

"Very well." Beta said as she proceeded to enter the library, which is now devoid of ghouls thanks to her team's effort, in order to continue collecting information about the vampire's connections to the Cult. Her team followed her into the library whilst being vigilant, expecting more ghoul attacks to interrupt their information gathering mission again.

Epsilon's team continued rushing down the stairs, cutting through every ghoul they passed through on their way before they finally heard the sound of combat nearby.

"You heard that? That must be Mr. Van Helsing's team! Let's hurry!" Epsilon shouted and they ran faster until they reached the source of the sounds.

When they arrived they found that all of the ghouls has been dispatched by Van Helsing's team and even 612 is with them, although she was wounded and exhausted.

"612!"

"Thank goodness, you're okay!"

610 and 611 said with tears on their eyes as they went to hug 612 together.

"Ughh… geez, you guys. Don't hug me to tight! I'm still hurt, you know?" 612 said while blushing at how much affection she received from her teammates.

"Thank goodness…" Epsilon sighed in relief. Losing a member under her command is a nightmare she never wanted to repeat, especially with the recent death of 624 and 625 and Zeta's reaction to it still fresh on her mind. She then walked towards 612, who gets flustered when she noticed Epsilon approaching.

"L-Lady Epsilon! R-Reporting! All ghouls in the underground dungeon has been eliminated!" Said 612 while doing a salute. Epsilon responded by hugging her.

"Thank goodness you survived… Thank you for surviving." Epsilon said tearfully.

"L-Lady Epsilon…" 612 said while hugging her back, also in tears.

Van Helsing, Claire and Mary just watched the weeping girls whilst being dumbfounded, not understanding the context.

Uwaaah. They're being so dramatic. Epsilon and the others have overdone themselves. Even the regular members they hired became so good at acting. They deserve an Oscar award. Thought Van Helsing.

"What is… going on?" Mary said in confusion.

"I don't know. For a criminal organization, they're behaving really weird." Claire replied, also in confusion.

After a while Epsilon wiped her tears and composed herself. She then faced Van Helsing's team.

"I owe you three thanks for taking care of my subordinate." Epsilon said while bowing her head.

"I-It's fine. We just happen to meet her on our way." Mary replied.

"Anyway, if you're done weeping, we need to be on our way to rescue my brother! Let's go!" Claire said, not wanting to waste another second in the company of people that she thought of as criminals.

"Hm. Very well. Best of luck to you." Epsilon replied as she watched them leave towards the stairs.

"It is kind of sad that you looked at us that way. But perhaps it is for the best." Epsilon muttered while looking at Claire's back with a sad face.

When she looked at van Helsing's back though, she felt… an indescribable feeling of familiarity.

"Have I… met him before? Why do I feel like… I can rely on him when I saw his back like that?" Epsilon muttered.

"Lady Epsilon?" Asked 610.

"It's nothing. Let's continue on our mission. This time, let's not split up and fight as one!"

"""Yes, Lady Epsilon!""" The three Numbers replied in unison.

Author's Note:

Been a bit busy due to drawing but I managed to finish this chapter. This fanfic is also posted on Sufficent Velocity forum and the chapters I posted there have caught up with the ones I posted on . Now I shall post on both sites simultaneously.

For readers from , I recommend checking out the Sufficient Velocity thread of this fanfic because I posted some artwork there too.

Also, this is the last chapter I post in 2023! Happy New Year's Eve!

Hope we can get more The Eminence in Shadow content next year!

Zero: Let's alucard have his vampire waifu we don't see much of Elizabeth besides the game version.

Answer: You know what? I think that could work. I was unable to decide what happens to Elizabeth in this fanfic.