Tower of Avarice: A LitRPG story

Chapter 163 – Floor 15: Part 9

The chain in Mathew’s hands glowed brightly with a golden light as he descended into the catacombs beneath Rome. They felt warm in his hands like he was holding a part of the sun itself. The light drove back the darkness, obscuring the eyes that watched him.

Mathew was grateful for its light; if he had to be in a dark tunnel with just the spirits of the Celestials and himself, he thought he might go mad.

The catacombs were one of the more interesting places Mathew had been, with the carved stone containing frescos and paintings that bore the test of time well. He had expected them to be damp and cold, but the catacombs had a steady flow of dry air that only carried a slight hint of death and decay.

That was until Mathew descended even further, and the catacombs became something out of a nightmare.

The floor was covered in human bones with fleshless skulls piled in corners as if discarded after a great feast. The further he went, the fresher the kills became. Gleaming white bones were replaced with whole bodies, their flesh sunken and dry as all the blood within them had been drained.

The walls were covered with scratch marks from fingernails, and the smell of death grew so strong that even Mathew had to cover his face with a scarf pulled from his inventory and breathe through his mouth in order to endure.

The magical chain, his only link to the surface as it continued to stretch back behind him, grew hotter in his hands.

Finally, after walking through the catacombs for an unknown amount of time, Mathew found the Vampiric Ancestral Beast.

It was an old man with long white hair. He was wearing black robes and sat on a throne of white bones near the back of a large chamber. Mathew could see two fangs protruding from beneath his bloodless lips. He was so pale that the veins beneath his skin stood out.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t alone.

The Vampiric Ancestral Beast had dozens of humans surrounding him, kneeling on the ground silently as they waited for their master to awaken. Each wore armour or various styles, and none of them were in good condition. Their weapons consisted of spears, swords, and axes, which were placed carefully on the ground beside them.

Mathew peeked around the corner of the tunnel toward the chamber and assessed the situation. He needed to subdue the Ancestral Beast quickly before it could awaken and make trouble. Even though it was weak during the day, Mathew didn’t want to risk fighting it in the catacombs where the ceiling could collapse.

“Quick and easy.” Mathew whispered to himself as he gathered the glowing, golden chain around his hands. Quickly enhancing his physical abilities with ‘Alter Self,’ he charged into the chamber, his boots hitting the ground the only sound.

The human slaves reacted instantly, rising to their feet and gripping their weapons. Not slowing for a moment, Mathew used his Blessing on them.

“Earthbind!” He commanded, and yellow energy erupted from the ground, moving up the legs of the closest dozen and binding them into place. Weaving around the statue-like figure, Mathew leapt at the Ancestral Beast on its throne and hurled the length of the chain at its body.

Like a lasso, the chain wrapped around the sleeping Vampiric Ancestral Beast and bound it tightly. Constricting in an instant, it enveloped the old man from his waist to his neck, trapping his arms to his body.

The Vampire opened its eyes the moment the magical chain touched its body. Letting out a horrid scream that shook the chamber walls and made Mathew wince in pain, the old man struggled to get free.

But the Francian Mages had done an adequate job constructing the binding chains, and no matter how much strength it put into its efforts, the Ancestral Vampiric Beast couldn’t free itself. The golden chains turned a dark bronze, and flames coated the metal.

“Pull, gods damn you!” Mathew muttered as he thought about those waiting on the surface for the signal. As soon as they saw the colour change, they should begin hauling the old vampire into the daylight with all of their might.

But that didn’t help Mathew at the moment. There were dozens of human bodyguards remaining, and they were all closing in on him rapidly. Pulling out the Wrathful Blade from his inventory, Mathew ignored the struggles of the trapped vampire and focused on fighting his way out.

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Prince Louis, the Dauphin of Francia, watched the chain carefully as his friend descended into the depths of the catacombs far below Rome.

He was as surprised as anyone to have formed a friendship with Prince Aiden; the youth from Anglia was so similar to himself in many ways that it was inevitable, he supposed. They both felt a strong sense of duty; even though Aiden tried his best to hide it, Louis knew that his friend would do anything to protect the people under his command.

It was frustrating to be left on the surface while Aiden went into the darkness, but it made sense. He needed someone he could trust on the other end of the chain, ready to pull the Ancestral Beast into the light as soon as possible.

Still, he would rather be down there, braving the danger with Aiden, instead of sitting safely here.

“Milord! Look!” One of the Knights shouted as he pointed at the darkness. There was an orange glow approaching rapidly from the depths, and Louis knew what it signalled immediately. By the time the chain in his hands changed from gold to bronze, he had gathered everyone together in a line, with the chain gripped tightly.

“Pull! Merde! Pull!” Louis ordered, punctuating his order with a curse, a rare occurrence from the normally calm Prince.

Hand over Hand, they pulled the chain. As it lay in a pile at their rear, Louis suddenly felt intense resistance from their burden. The Ancestral Beast was fighting back, and, despite their best efforts, the chain began to retract back down into the catacombs.

“Pull!” Louis shouted, but it was no use. He could see the vampire at the edge of the darkness, its feet were dug deeply into the ground and refused to budge no matter how much they pulled.

It was so close! They only needed a few more feet, and the Vampiric Ancestral Beast would be in the sunlight.

“More!” Louis ordered.

“Milord!” Someone shouted, and Louis turned to find that several of their group had collapsed onto the ground.

There were locals fighting amongst them, wielding rocks and clubs. Normally, they would be too weak to hurt a trained and bloodened Knight or Mage, but Louis and his people were too busy trying to pull out the vampire to protect themselves.

“Thunderous Uprising!” Alfred shouted and slapped his hands together while channelling his mana into his spell. A shockwave of force and sound erupted outwards, blasting back the locals without hurting them.

“I’ll keep them back! Pull!” Alfred shouted before rushing toward another group of locals. Too weak to be of much use pulling the chain, he was much better suited to casting spells to drive the maddened locals back and protect their group.

The Ancestral Vampiric Beast was using its influence on the populace, commanding them to come to its defence. Although it was weaker during the day, it still had considerable power.

Louis couldn’t imagine how difficult this would become once the sun went down. He snuck a quick glance at the sky and estimated that they had an hour or two before it sank below the horizon.

If they didn’t drag the Vampiric Ancestral Beast out of the catacombs soon, they would have to give up the attempt and flee or risk their deaths from its retribution once night arrived.

“Aiden, If you have an ace up your sleeve, now is the time to use it.” Louis whispered as he strained to pull the chain even an inch further.

“Alter Body - Investiture of Flame.”

A pillar of flames shot toward the sky, and the Vampiric Ancestral Beast screamed in agony and fear as the fire burned its flesh. A force struck it in the back, and its entrenched feet and legs left gouges on the sides of the catacombs as they dislodged.

Louis fell backwards at the sudden slack in the chain. He watched in amazement as the Vampiric Ancestral Beast tumbled across the ground and into the sunlight. It immediately caught fire, and even as it rolled and struggled to free itself, the chains kept it tightly bound.

Its screams eventually faded into whines and gurgles before they were silenced forever.

From the opening to the catacombs, Prince Aiden emerged. In his hands was a burning sword; the orange and red flames flickered across the blade and up his arms and down his torso. He seemed to be coated in a layer of fire, but it didn’t seem to hurt him at all.

Louis could feel the power radiating from his friend, a smothering layer of mana that coated everything around him and threatened to incinerate anything that got too close.

The Vampiric Ancestral Beast turned to powder under the sun's harsh rays, and lying in a pile of grey ashes was a shining crystal heart. The flames covering Aiden faded, and the Prince reached down and carefully plucked the Aether heart from the ashes.

“That’s three.”