In a Dungeon Cell
Slap! Slap! Two slaps strike Anna's mermaid-bound face, drawing blood from her lips. Count Masoch clearly relishes face-slapping. Anna stands back-to-back with Countess Chanel, bound together.
"Belmont, you've forced me to move all this merchandise. No more gentlemanly manners—I'll punish you," Masoch snarls.
"Mmph!" Anna glares icily, ignoring the pain in her lips.
Two servants approach to carry them. Learning D'Artagnan entered the tunnel, Masoch sent all his men to intercept, hoping to relocate the bound women before discovery, framing D'Artagnan for trespassing to Paris's authorities.
Anna, sensing this, struggles fiercely. The experienced Chanel catches on, writhing to thwart the servants' efforts.
"Mmph… mmphhh! Mmph! Mmphh!" Chanel syncs with Anna, twisting her mermaid-bound body toward Anna's side as Anna shifts toward her.
Thud! The tall women—Chanel at 172 cm, Anna at 170 cm—prove too heavy. Four servants fumble, dropping them hard.
"Mmphhh!" Both moan in pain, but their goal is achieved.
Thwack! Thwack! Masoch kicks their ample chests, causing agony. "Behave!" He grabs a dungeon whip, lashing them wildly.
In haste, Masoch tears Anna's mermaid dress and Chanel's white qipao, exposing patches of their flawless skin.
"We need to move them, my lord," a servant interrupts.
"Right, I forgot. More men—carry these wenches!" Masoch regrets binding the two most defiant together.
Meanwhile, Isaac, unopposed as all warriors engage D'Artagnan and Stone, moves freely.
Unaware, the timid Isaac fears trouble.
Seeing a servant run toward him, mistaking him for a warrior, he swings Moonshine. The servant cowers, and Isaac retracts.
"Listen, I'm the great hero! No tricks!" Isaac intimidates the servant, then dashes forward.
Panic grips him. He shouldn't have split from Goulens' greatest swordsman and this mysterious gray knight.
But Anna's rescue is paramount.
Anna gave him her first time. He owes her responsibility, right?
In this conservative era, her parents, if alive, might demand marriage.
No matter. If he dies, he won't need to worry. Fear, rescue, Anna, Sophia—it's overwhelming. Since parting with Sophia, he's grown weary.
He doesn't want to be a coward, but he's never had a hero's chance. He's no King Arthur, lacks Merlin's guidance or holy sword, isn't D'Artagnan with a hunter's crossbow, magic, or dragon-slaying prowess.
A comfortable life trumps heroism. Who craves blood and strife? In ancient tribes, like Rosenlan's Vikings, all were warriors, shouting glory toward Valhalla.
But they fought from necessity—lacking farmland, food, trade, or land. In peaceful times, people shed barbarism, entering a coward's era.
In ancient Rosenlan, the Rollsen Empire ruled, named for "Rollsen's Land." The Rollsen Republic, founded by yeomen, merchants, and explorers, formed a senate and republic.
Early Rollsen citizens were armed, wielding swords, spears, or magic against invaders, rebels, or criminals. But as the republic grew, prosperity bred complacency. Citizens relied on generals, whose power swelled, transforming the republic into an empire.
Courage waned, ushering in a coward's era. The Rollsen Empire fell to Alamantine invaders from northern Goulens, who founded the Gulenian Empire in eastern Goulens, introducing paladins—holy warriors. The "Imperial Calendar" begins with the Gulenian Empire's first emperor's coronation. Millennia ago, Gulenia split into the Alamantine Holy Empire in the east, Nidesia in the center, and Chitalia in the south. In the west, Alamantines and Rollsen descendants birthed modern Goulens civilization.
Goulensians, Alamantines, Nidesians, and Chitalians were once martial but now embrace comfort—a coward's era.
This era sustains larger populations and wealth. Without it, Isaac might not exist.
He once asked Sophia, someone capable of heroism, if she wanted to be a hero. She replied bluntly, "Not fun."
"Little Zack, know what? Heroism isn't about ability. It's about fun," Sophia's image says, a hallucination in his panic.
"Didn't you notice? In most Rosenlan languages, 'hero' starts with 'Her-,' from our neighbor Hilanica, derived from Hera!"
Sophia, is that you? This talk happened days ago.
"Hera, queen of the skies, is everyone's mother, protector of children! That's where 'hero' comes from! Wanna be a hero, Little Zack?"
"Protecting others is boring! I'd rather skewer goblin heads, mix wyvern dung, and trick trolls into eating it!"
Sophia's image fades.
"Boring, huh? You said it! I'll prove it's not!" Isaac summons courage, charging forward.
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Outside Master Clement's Study in the Magic Academy's Secret Chamber
Jane, in a green gown robe with white stockings, returns to the dungeon. Knowing Clement is here, she wants to question his intentions.
"Here to see Clement?" the guard mage asks.
"Yes. I need to be bound, right? It's the dungeon," Jane replies.
"Correct." The mage retrieves a single glove, ankle shackles, and a magic-suppressing collar, restraining Jane in her gown and heels.
"This too," a soldier adds, holding a bit gag.
"What? I thought it was just no talking with the vampire?" Jane protests, confused.
"Master Clement ordered this morning that any female mage meeting him must be gagged to prevent words disrupting the vampire suppression magic," the soldier explains.
"What nonsense…" Jane is stunned. Gagged, how can she communicate?
"It's Master Clement's orders. Still want to see him?" the soldier asks.
"Fine, gag me," Jane says, opening her mouth. The soldier inserts the bit gag, and she bites down.
Her shackled legs allow only small steps, so Jane adopts a delicate, ladylike gait.
Bound with the same single glove, magic-suppressing collar, shackles, and bit gag as yesterday, Jane shuffles into Clement's study.
Located in the dungeon, Clement hasn't left for days. To meet him, Jane accepted these restraints, as yesterday.
But she's puzzled. Yesterday, the mage said the gag was only for vampire communication. Now, meeting Clement requires it too. How can she converse?
"Jane, here to see me?" Clement asks.
"Mmph," Jane nods.
"Mmphhh," she shakes her head, seeking why visitors must be gagged.
"Want to speak? Hold on, let me show you something." Clement smiles, clapping. The study door opens.
The diminutive Ding Yangchun enters. "This must be Lady Lancaster. Truly a count's daughter," he leers.
"Mmph?" Jane recoils at the sleazy man.
"You noble ladies always react the same at first. But by the last time, it's a different expression," Ding Yangchun smirks wickedly, tugging his left hand's chain.
As he advances, Jane's eyes widen. Crawling behind, leashed like a dog, is Sophia Dominatrix.
Sophia's face bears the bridle gag, now covered with a large leather mask. Oversized dog ears enhance her canine look and muffle her human-level hearing, allowing only her "master's" voice. Her waist corset remains, but silver chest clamps are replaced with piercing rings, leaking white fluid.
Below the corset, she's naked. Her calves are strapped to her thighs, forcing her to crawl on her knees. Her forearms are folded and bound to her upper arms. Her red, swollen knees and elbows suggest strain; humans would need protective gear to avoid fractures, but Sophia endures.
A massive artificial dog tail, attached to her holy anal plug, sways heavily, tugging the barbed plug in her intestines.
Her tear-streaked face shows utter despair, especially when seeing Ding Yangchun, revealing true fear—a depth Jane never imagined.
"This is my friend, Zhendan Rope Demon Ding Yangchun," Clement introduces.
"Mmph?" Jane feigns calm, unsure why she's shown Sophia.
"My new pet, Domi," Ding Yangchun says, eyeing Jane, yanking Sophia's chain.
"Domi, stand," he orders. Sophia hesitates, mortified before Jane.
"Do you want to be punished more?" Ding Yangchun brandishes a whip, lashing her bare rear.
"Mmphhh!" Sophia's fear persists, not fully broken.
"Training's slow. Domi only stopped glaring and follows me. Slower than expected," Ding Yangchun says, whipping again.
"Mmph… mmph!" Sophia's tears flow. Jane sees his lashes are a hundred times worse than Isaac's; they'd break human bones.
"Mmph?" Jane doesn't grasp Clement's purpose.
"Confused, Lady Jane? Ding Yangchun, restore your pet's hearing," Clement instructs.
"Got it." Ding Yangchun adjusts a mechanism on Sophia's dog ears, restoring her mercury-impaired hearing to normal.
"Lady Jane, here's a magical recording," Clement says, conjuring a blue orb.
"Mmphhh-mmph-mphmphmph—mmph-mmph-mphmphmph—"
Jane's Morse code from yesterday's visit.
"Mmph-mmphhh-mmph-mmphhh-mmphhh—"
Sophia's response.
Jane's eyes fill with terror.
"As a legendary mage, I must be cautious. You, Lady Jane, lack that. No wonder your talent surpasses my late apprentice Gale's, yet your mastery doesn't," Clement chides.
Despair grips Jane. Clement's cell was rigged with surveillance spells… I was careless.
"I checked the Morse code manual. Your exchange was fascinating. How did you memorize such a thick codebook and translate it flawlessly in your mind?" Clement probes.
"Mmph…" Jane's eyes betray fear. Clement's thoroughness leaves no gaps… he's invincible…
Sophia, hearing this, sinks deeper into despair. She considers submitting to save Jane, but her knowledge warns against it. Clement offers nothing; it's not a fair trade. Without leverage, he'd demand more—like her Morse code memory technique. She'd become his machine and this creature's eternal pet.
"I looked into your background, Lady Jane. You know Belmont and that hero?" Clement asks casually.
"Mmph!" At Belmont and Isaac's names, Sophia grows anxious.
Slap! A whip cracks on her rear. "Domi, you're a dog. Don't interrupt Master Clement," Ding Yangchun snaps.
"Mmph!" Sophia's tears flow, avoiding Ding Yangchun's gaze, lowering her dog-adorned head.
Will Belmont and Isaac suffer because of me? Should I submit? It's all I can do for them…
"Fascinating. Ding Yangchun's pet is versatile," Clement chuckles. "Take your pet back for training. I'll play with Lady Jane."
"No problem, Master. If you need Lancaster trained, just say so," Ding Yangchun offers.
"She's an Elilan noble, studying here. Not afraid of sparking another Hundred Years' War?" Clement teases.
"No fear. Women I train obey me unconditionally. How could I offend her noble father if she's mine?" Ding Yangchun grins. "Let's go, Domi." He tugs Sophia's collar, and she crawls helplessly behind, her elbows and knees scraping. He yanks the chain, tormenting her neck, relishing making taller beauties crawl lower than him.
"Mmph…" Jane watches Clement in panic.
Clement embraces her. "Lady Jane, you're a genius and a prime noble beauty. Know how many mages dream of bedding you?"
"Mmph! Mmphhh!" Jane writhes, thankful for her potent chastity spell, now vital.
Clement tackles the collared Jane, tearing her clothes.
"Mmphhh, mmphhh!" Jane screams in despair. If even Master Dominatrix became that, will I become a dog too?
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Count Masoch's Estate
Isaac reaches a downward staircase. From his vampire castle experience, he knows it leads to a dungeon.
Is this one too?
He charges down, but the door opens.
Six servants carry the bound Chanel and Anna up the steps.
"Stop!" Isaac swings Moonshine. The non-combatant servants scatter.
Moonshine shifts to soft whip mode, catching Anna and Chanel, pulling them back.
"I'll free you," Isaac says, slicing the ropes linking them, though both remain mermaid-bound.
As he removes Anna's gag, she shouts, "Watch out!"
Isaac turns. Count Masoch swings a saber downward.
Moonshine parries the blow.
"The great hero, huh? Impressive," Masoch sneers.
Isaac stands. "Why did you kidnap Anna?"
"I just enjoy binding women. I didn't ravish her," Masoch retorts.
"I won't let you succeed!" Isaac roars.
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In the Tunnel
"Charles, you lose!" Stone skewers a foe. "Thirteen to your eleven!"
Of twenty-five enemies, Stone felled thirteen. His glowing holy sword and scattered enemy torches light the scene. Charles D'Artagnan killed eleven and now faces Masoch's top man, Dole.
"He's tough. Counts as two?" D'Artagnan quips.
"Haha, the musketeer captain wants rule changes?" Stone laughs.
Distracted, D'Artagnan misses Dole's thrust at his heart. Dodging late, his left shoulder is slashed. "Can't you avoid cheap shots?"
Dole, realizing he can't win, flees, shouting, "As a swordsman, you shouldn't strike from behind!"
"No choice. As a knight, I can't either, right?" D'Artagnan glances at Stone.
"You forgot? I'm no knight anymore." Stone hurls his longsword, piercing Dole's back. He collapses.
"Gray Knight Stone, not only striking from behind but tossing your knightly symbol," D'Artagnan chides.
"I'm a gray knight," Stone shrugs.
"Hahahaha!" They laugh heartily.
"Don't forget, fourteen to eleven. Loser," Stone teases.
"Backstabbing and name-calling. Some gray knight," D'Artagnan retorts.
"Hahahaha!" They roar with laughter again.
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Back to Isaac
"Your swordplay's decent, but your footwork and form are abysmal," Masoch taunts, clashing evenly with Isaac.
"Seen this?" Isaac swiftly draws the Bloodheart Dagger, casting Sophia's Binding Spell.
Ropes materialize, ensnaring the evenly matched count. Isaac adds extra ropes around Masoch's groin.
"Mmph…" Masoch is silenced.
As Isaac moves to free Anna, a mature beauty in a green sleeveless pencil dress emerges from the dungeon.
"You're Hero Isaac?" she approaches.
"Yes—"
"Careful, Isaac! She's the Countess!" Anna shouts from the floor.
"Wha—" The Countess snatches the Bloodheart Dagger, stabbing at Isaac.
He leaps back, thankful she doesn't know magic.
She grabs Masoch's sword. "Come, Isaac."
"Wha—" Before Isaac reacts, the high-heeled Countess lunges at his neck.
Moonshine instinctively blocks. Her swordsmanship surpasses the Count's?
She presses forward, forcing Isaac back, nearing defeat…
"Ah!!!" The Countess halts, screaming. Anna, from the floor, bites her ankle.
Thud! The Countess kicks Anna's face, drawing blood. She turns—
Isaac, eyes blazing like a demon, tackles her. "Don't kick Anna!"
Anna recalls this look—when she threatened Sophia, Isaac charged with the same red-eyed fury.
Isaac pins the Countess, her sword falling. He twists her arms behind, binding them with leftover ropes from Anna and Chanel.
"Phew… close call…" Isaac wipes his sweat. The Countess is bound. "You bastard, I'll kill—Mmph!" Isaac gags her with Anna's former gag cloth.
"Wench!" Anna, bloodied, grins at the Countess's plight.
"Anna… your clothes…" Isaac notices her torn dress exposing her abdomen, left breast, and thigh.
"Don't look! Untie me!" Anna blushes.
Moonshine's blade whip severs Anna and Chanel's ropes.
Chanel removes her gag. "You're Isaac? I'm Gabrielle Chanel, Countess."
"Hello, Countess. I'm Isaac."
"Your…" Isaac glances at Chanel's qipao, its slit torn to her waist, exposing her rear.
"It's… fine," Chanel blushes. Anna approaches the Countess.
"Wench!" Anna stomps her crotch.
"Mmph… mmphhh!"
"That's for stepping on me!" Anna curses, slapping the Countess eight times.
"Mmph, slap! Slap! Slap! Mmphhh! Slap!"
"Wench! Take that!" Anna continues, "Isaac, fix my dress with that vampire clothes spell!"
Cursing "wench" and kicking the Countess, Anna demands.
"Uh? Sure." Isaac uses Bloodheart to mend Chanel and Anna's clothes.
"You know magic, Mister Isaac?" Chanel asks, astonished.
"A little," Isaac says shyly.
"No thanks, Anna?" Isaac smirks.
"You idiot! I was caught because of you! Without you as a hostage, I'd take ten!" Anna snaps.
"I meant… fixing your clothes!" Isaac clarifies.
"Oh, that's worth a thank you."
"How will you—Mmph!" Before he finishes, Anna, mouth bloody, kisses him.
Isaac leans in, but hears:
"Ahem, cough—" Stone and D'Artagnan arrive, witnessing the scene.
Isaac and Anna part. "Uh? Nothing!"
Their blood-smeared mouths make them look vampiric.
"Countess Chanel, are you alright?" D'Artagnan asks.
"Baron D'Artagnan! You're here?" Chanel exclaims. "And this is—?""Fine, I saw nothing," Chanel says tactfully.
Stone hoods up. "Just a passing nobody."
"Nobodies don't wield Durandal," Chanel notes, spotting his famed sword.
"Uh, nothing."
"Fine, I saw nothing," Chanel says tactfully. "Your lady's safe, I presume?"
"Y-Yes," Stone stammers.
"The dungeon holds more ladies, many transferred. We must find them," Chanel urges.
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Evening, Masoch's Estate Entrance
Isaac's group descends the steps. With Anna and Chanel, they rescued twelve noblewomen, aged 20 to 35.
The Count and Countess escaped, likely aided by servants.
To avoid exposure, D'Artagnan and Stone left the rescue to Isaac. Now, except for the composed Chanel and Anna, the women fawn over Isaac.
"Worthy of the vampire-capturing hero!"
"Our savior's the great hero!"
"I'll have my father knight him!"
"Be my knight, Mister Isaac!"
"No, mine!"
"Ahem, Mister Isaac, you performed admirably," Chanel, blushing slightly, smiles.
"Just a small-timer," Isaac deflects.
"Would you be my knight? As a countess, I can knight you," Chanel offers.
"No, I'm sworn to a lady."
"Such a Don Quixote!" Anna interjects. "You can serve two lords."
"No, thanks…"
"Then, Mister Isaac, will you accept my crest?" Chanel asks.
"What… does that mean?"
"You idiot! It's joining the Chanel family nominally. You won't inherit the title, but your surname marks you as noble!" Anna explains.
"Wha… what?"
"Would you be 'Isaac de Chanel'?" Chanel asks.
"It'd be 'Isaac Rickwell de Chanel,'" Anna corrects.
"Is that so? Are you willing, Mister Isaac?"
"Uh… sure, of course."
"Tomorrow, I'll deliver the formal documents," Chanel says. As her family's sole member, she acts swiftly, her kin lost to a plague seven years ago.
"So… soon?"
"You're my rescuing knight, so it must be quick," Chanel smiles.
A tall Rosian rushes toward Isaac.
"Ura! Ura! Isaac! Belmont! Ura!"
"Sergei? What's wrong, why're you panting?"
"Isaac, Isaac, Professor Lancaster, huff, Lancaster—"
"Slow down, slow down."
"Professor Lancaster, huff, said she was meeting, huff, Master Clement, huff—"
"And?"
"She hasn't returned, huff, five or six hours…"
Isaac and Anna exchange glances.
"You know Lady Lancaster, Mister Isaac?" Chanel, aware of the Elilan count's daughter studying here, asks.
"Y-Yes…"
"Seems you have private matters. With Mister D'Artagnan and this former—wandering knight here, we'll be escorted safely. Go handle your business," Chanel says understandingly.
"Alright." Isaac, Sergei, and Anna hurry off.
"So handsome, Mister Isaac!"
"His back's charming!"
"I want to marry him!"
The noblewomen chatter about Isaac.