544. The Beyond

---The Beyond, Sigma---

"So you are telling us we were transported to a place outside of the system and have to clear several dungeons to get back? All before these faltering defenses give out?" Mike summed up what Leana had just told them.

"Is that really the only way?" Mina asked unsure of what to think.

" I am afraid it is." Idyllin, who had revealed his identity to the party, answered her question solemnly.

"I'm sure that the people of Sigma will also join us," Leana added confidently.

…

"Unfortunately, we have no troops to spare," Hesing revealed to them with a dire expression.

The past few hours had been a hectic nightmare for Hesing and his peers. Only a few of their defenders managed to return and their leader had vanished. Vlad was nowhere to be found and the people that managed to drag themselves back into the Wards also had no idea where he had gone.

To make matters worse, the hordes of macabre monsters outside had swollen on and were pressing against the barrier with unprecedented force. They would need every able man to defend or their defenses may break long before they even started clearing the towers.

"If we abandon our people in the process of opening an escape route it would put the cart before the horse," he explained apologetically.

It became quite clear, that Leana and the others from Delta were Sigma's only hope to survive this situation. It was already a stretch to expect sigma's people to be able to continue defending while they were out to get rid of the space lock.

"This will be a race against time then," Mike said seriously.

Their party, Cade, Yvette, and Idyllin were the only free fighting force available currently.

"Well, I have some good news. First of all, after a more thorough analysis, I can inform you that we won't have to destroy all of them. Half will be enough to create a teleport formation connecting to Delta." the space mage gave them some good news for a change.

Under the current conditions, it was unlikely they could destroy all towers and return the whole city back. It was easier to just destroy enough to open the space lock and evacuate the people back to Urth.

"How many are half?" Fin asked.

"There are 24 towers in total, so 12 will suffice," Idyllin answered her question readily.

"That's still a lot. Didn't you say that Sigma failed, despite sending several parties to clear them?" Mike asked doubtfully.

Even if they only had to take on half, if they had a hard time clearing just one, how would they do twelve?

"That's the other piece of news I have. Those things are not dungeons. They are not protected by the god of dungeons."

"So we don't have to abide by dungeon rules?" Fin asked excitedly.

Dungeon rules were what they called the simple differences that made the structures ruled by the God of Dungeons different from ordinary ones. First of all, they were indestructible. Adventurers couldn't dig through their walls or floors unless explicitly allowed.

There were others, like dungeons having specific conditions to be cleared and more. But the most important one at this point was the skipping of floors. One couldn't just fly up on a dungeon tower and enter through a window on a higher floor. They might die on the spot or just be kicked out of the dungeons if they are lucky.

"Since these rules don't count for these "Towers of Trial", we can simply jump to the core room that powers these structure and destroy it, without fighting through the hordes of monsters on the other floors." the space mage revealed his finding.

Obviously, it wasn't that the people of Sigma had not tried entering from somewhere else on the tower, but they simply did not manage to get through the defenses. Since they had a space mage, things would be different.

"but didn't you say that the space here was locked?" Mina threw in.

"It is, but only to keep people from escaping. It is way too crude a magic to stop me from using my skills locally." the wizard answered with a friendly laugh.

After revealing this information, the group came up with a simple plan to conquer the towers. Idyllin would teleport them inside. Yulecat's Fur would fight whatever guardian would be protecting the structure's core, while Cade, Yvette, and Idyllin would destroy the facility.

…

---The Beyond, Vampire Land---

Although Seth felt driven and wanted to act like he didn't care, so he could go look for his friends, the blacksmith couldn't. The sight of misery before him had stopped him. As much as he would have liked to be, he wasn't heartless.

When it was just the two siblings bickering it was just a stupid story and drama to him. Facing the people actually suffering made it a completely different matter.

"if that is what this place is doing to you, why aren't you just running away?" Seth stated the most obvious question.

A mere few hours away from here was an entrance to another world. Although he felt conflicted about inviting a clan of Vampires to his home world, this should have been the easiest solution for them. Genevieve herself had been to Sigma without a problem.

Vlad's face fell the moment he stated the question and his sister scoffed at him.

"Don't worry, I tell him. We can't run, thanks to my good brother here. As the leader he made a binding oath in our name, " she said.

"The leader is to be exiled, in exchange the Vampires will not be actively eradicated, but can't leave the Beyond without permission," she said, his voice seething with sarcasm.

"No matter how much we fought, we are bound to this oath he made in our name. Condemned to suffer and slowly waste away in this place," she added solemnly with a bitter expression.

Although she had seemed to say it to hurt Vlad in the beginning, in the end, it had hurt her just as much.

Seth's ears pricked up and his gaze wandered over the miserable vampires with a new glint. Wouldn't it be a waste if he didn't help them?

In the meantime, Vlad had sunken to his knees. He was left in disbelief about the consequences of his past decisions. Suddenly, the blacksmith's rough hand suddenly grabbed the back of his collar and pulled him back to his feet.

A loud jubilant voice penetrated the ruins of the settlement, piercing everyone's ears with an annoying volume.

"Hear ye, hear ye, Vlad had returned with help to liberate you from the burden of your oppressors."

The bard's voice was loud and reached every nook and cranny of the settlement. At his side both, Vlad and Genevieve looked at him in shock and confusion.

"V-Vlad?" "Leader?" "Vlad?" "Master Vlad?" voices could be heard as desiccated bodies crawled out from the alleys and doors. Some were too weak to walk, others were barely shambling around, it was like a scene from a horror movie. However, Seth looked at it with satisfaction.

And a little worry. He had to admit that a horde of starved vampires looked a little more intimidating than he expected. Their voices were also not exactly the happiest when repeating the name of their "beloved" leader.

To be completely honest, their voices and groans became filled with anger when their crusty eyes fell on Vlad standing in the middle of the road.

"Kuk, did you really think anybody would be happy to see him?" Genevieve laughed at the side.

Maybe his idea would be a little harder than expected.