1010

Chapter 1010 Safe And Secure.

There is a large wall that reaches the ceiling built in front of the castle to block entry from the devil's pit. The wall extends from the ceiling to the ground and from left to right. There is a gap at the center with a movable heavily reinforced gate. The gate is open right now. So he noticed living beings going around the castle through the gate.

"Are they your familiars?" He asked.

The Vampire answered, "Yes, they are. You know vampire ethics. You do not harm or hurt the familiars. The mad bloodthirsty vampires of the devouring lineage didn't respect the ethics. It is one of the reasons why they were killed. I am sure that you will behave better than them."

"I'll manage." He said.

Familiars are the living extensions of vampires. They are subordinates who were not necessarily recruited willingly. Mental manipulation is needed to persuade someone to become loyal to a vampire so much that they are willing to sacrifice their lives for the Vampires. 

Vampires need familiars. They protect them when they are asleep. Familiars also run errands for them during the day and provide them with food when blood is scarce. Some of them died to protect him during the day while he was running for his life on the surface.

The high importance of familiars to the Vampires has made them neutral entities in conflicts between Vampires. Familiars are not to be harmed or hurt, just like the Nameless of the Warrogs. They are also not to be used as a fighting force between Vampires. They are to fight only the living. 

Many of them are dark elves. He also noticed several Sovereigns among them. He can't harm them even if he wants to. They are strong enough to kill him. In fact, he should be the one wary of them.

"This place is a fortress both inside and outside." He thought to himself.

A primogenitor is a force to be reckoned with, especially one as old as the Emperiti Primogenitor. She has had several years to accumulate her power and resources. Most of the Familiars were raised for this purpose. They were brainwashed from a young age to serve and it takes an average of 20 Origin cycles for the level of Sovereign of law to be achieved. 20 Origin cycles are small to someone who has lived for more than 100 Origin cycles. That's how she has so many Sovereigns as familiars.

Sovereigns are almost impossible to enslave. They are too old and too smart to swear their loyalty to someone. They are also too strong to mind control by any Vampire that is not a Monarch with Origin god-level prowess. Capturing them won't work either since they can always commit suicide. It will be very difficult to convince a Sovereign who doesn't want to be enslaved to a vampire to become a familiar. 

So raising Sovereigns is a good way to get powerful familiars, just as gods raise compatible vessels for themselves. Children are raised and brainwashed right from a young age so that they are not opposed to the idea of bonding with a Vampire when they become transcendents. Some of those transcendents then go on to become Sovereigns. 

The method is called catching them young. The young and the ignorant are very easy to convince. The Vampires they grew up with their entire lives are their lords and kings. So it makes sense to swear to serve royalty just like any knight will swear loyalty to royalty. 

The Emperiti Primogenitor is so strong that she has a large number of both living and undead creatures as part of her forces. She is secured both during the day and at night. Her sovereigns will at least be able to delay during the day for her dukes to awaken in the night. The defenses of the devil's pit, her immense forces, and her immortal nature have helped her to remain in control of it for millions of years.

Ragnarok observed, "This place seems secure."

"It is secure and also beautiful." The Vampire corrected.

They walked past the large movable gates into the castle grounds. The place isn't dark despite being underground without access to the light of the sun or moon. He noticed several light sources. Most of them are bioluminescent. There are some light-producing shrubs and mushrooms. There are also non-biological sources of light, glowing stones that produce a mild light that isn't harmful to Vampires.

All the light helps to bring out the beauty of the Castle and its surroundings. The various colors of light themselves create a beautiful atmosphere. Then there are the flowers planted around the castle's plantation. The plantation contains different types of plants. Some are used as food for the familiars. 

Then there are grazing animals like deer and antelopes. It is a scenic view for those who appreciate a beautiful environment. But Ragnarok can't appreciate it. All he can think of is the rows upon rows of motionless and identical vampires standing just outside the walls. He can't help but think of how easy it will be for them to subdue him. 

He thought to himself, "This place could make for a very good prison." 

The beauty of this place does not mask the underlying danger present here. It is very secure that much is certain. But if his enemies can't get in, then he probably can't get out either. He would have turned away when he saw them. It is only the blood writ and his helplessness that are making him confident enough to stay here.

Ragnarok stayed in the devil's pit under the protection of the Emperiti Primogenitor. He didn't bother to go to the underground proper, so the fountain of life still knows where he is. But the demon god told him not to worry too much about it.

Apparently, he is being used as bait to lure the wood elves to attack the devil's pit. The wood elves didn't take the bait. They fear the Abominable Plague too much to fight her without Origin gods on their side.