Sophia and Isaac were stunned.
The three women were from the Chitalia caravan, rescued by Isaac. One of them was Vivian?
"Did this woman travel with you?" Witch hunter Bernard, blind, turned to the three women.
"Yes," they replied coldly.
"What happened?"
"She was with Mister Isaac. Then bandits attacked," one said.
"So she lured the bandits?" Third-ranking Archbishop Mopp asked, smirking.
"Yes," Vivian said, glaring hatefully at Sophia, tears streaming. "She seduced the bandits! They killed my father and bound me. I was blindfolded, but I heard her laughing with them!"
Someone had fed Vivian a lie—that Sophia charmed the bandits and Isaac to ambush her father's caravan. To Vivian, Sophia was her father's killer.
"I didn't—" Sophia's protest was cut off as Olivier regagged her. "Lady, stay calm, or you'll be held in contempt. No second chances."
"Mmph!" Sophia, unable to turn her neck easily, glared at Olivier with her eyes, sparking Isaac's urge to punch him.
"Then what happened?" Bernard continued.
"Mister Isaac killed the bandits and saved us," Vivian said.
"Any proof Isaac and the bandits were charmed?" Archbishop Castet, still aiding Sophia, asked.
"Yes, Master Clement investigated," Vivian said, tears flowing, staring daggers at Sophia. Clearly, Clement had told her Sophia's seduction caused her father's death.
How Clement uncovered Vivian's story was anyone's guess.
Hearing Clement's name, Sophia fumed. "Mmph, mmphhh!" Her yoked body writhed.
"This claim is weak, lacking solid evidence. Does Countess Dominatrix have a rebuttal?" Castet gave her a chance.
Olivier removed her gag. Clement's lie was easy to debunk—a logical fallacy.
But as Sophia opened her mouth, a terrible realization hit her.
No longer the naive countess, she considered all angles.
Refuting Vivian was simple—use partial truths to dismantle the lie.
But doing so would reveal her relationship with Isaac.
Isaac would face charges of aiding a vampire, possibly treason for helping Sophia, an enemy of his army.
Even Anna could be implicated…
She couldn't refute it.
"I request a trial by combat!" Sophia shouted, her best option.
"What? A human can't fight you!" Mopp scoffed.
"Olivier can attest—under these holy cuffs, I'm weaker than a human woman!"
"Olivier, is this true?" Castet pressed.
"Yes. I swear on my honor," Olivier confirmed.
"Does the tribunal doubt God always aids the just, ensuring their victory?" Sophia challenged.
In this era of limited forensics, trial by combat deemed the victor innocent, trusting God's will.
The bishops conferred.
"Fine, at Castet's insistence, we grant trial by combat," Pierre said.
"And our champion is—" Mopp, scheming, announced, "Anna Belmont!"
"What? Me?" Anna stood from the spectator seats. As a witch hunter, she was obligated to fight if the Church demanded, and a hunter was more convenient than a knight.
"Why me?" Anna asked.
"You know vampires best," Mopp said.
Anna, shocked, walked forward, sensing Mopp's collusion with Clement.
Isaac and Sophia stood dumbfounded.
"Trial by combat! Two beauties fighting!" The crowd cheered, loving the free spectacle.
"Rip out the vampire's heart!"
"Let's see Belmont's guts spill!"
Vulgar, dark shouts rang out.
Olivier closed his eyes, muttering. The yoke connecting Sophia's cuffs and collar vanished, freeing her hands. Her ankle chains disappeared, leaving only limb rings.
Bernard handed Anna a bottle of water. "Anna, fight well! Defeat the vampire."
Anna, tense, sipped the water to ease her nerves, unsure how to proceed.
As a witch hunter, she had to fight for the Church, honor-bound to give her all as a Belmont.
She didn't know how to face Sophia. At Fidel's castle, Sophia fought blindfolded and bound, just molested.
Anna hadn't seen her swordsmanship.
Likewise, Sophia only knew Anna's crossbow and whip skills, not her swordsmanship.
Neither knew the other's prowess, but one thing was clear: Sophia's strength, limited by cuffs, was less than a human woman's, making it a fair fight.
Anna wondered how she'd face Isaac if she won.
The arena was cleared. Anna and Sophia, in her trench coat, stood at the center.
Bernard tossed Sophia a rusty short sword.
"Such nobility from a witch hunter?" Sophia sneered at him.
"I won't use Sarah's Vengeance. Give me the same sword," Anna said, tossing her sword to Isaac at the arena's edge.
"What… Vengeance?" Sophia's eyes flashed with confusion, nostalgia, joy, and sadness.
"What's wrong, vampire?" Anna, taking the rusty sword, ignored Bernard's muttered "stupid woman" and studied Sophia's odd expression.
"Nothing." Sophia's face settled into nostalgia and sadness, then refocused.
"Here I come, vampire." Anna raised her sword before her face, bowing to Sophia.
Sophia held her sword single-handedly, left hand behind her waist, blade parallel to her body, tip skyward, bowing back.
The two women charged.
Anna slashed at Sophia's left shoulder. Sophia dodged right, ghost-like. Anna swung right; Sophia deflected the strike.
Clang! Sophia thrust at Anna's open chest. Anna retreated, dodging.
"Phew, you're good," Anna panted.
"Not bad, taking one of my moves," Sophia replied.
"Next one?" Sophia's eyes gleamed with cold intent, thrusting straight.
Anna raised her sword horizontally, like a spear, controlling the centerline to block Sophia's thrust.
Anna pressed her sword down on Sophia's, aiming to suppress it.
Their blades met. Sophia spun her sword under Anna's, flipping it atop Anna's blade, pressing it down and seizing the centerline.
Anna pulled her sword back, using the hilt's leverage to deflect Sophia's tip, then thrust at her neck.
Sophia raised her sword high, wrist above her right shoulder, blade slanting left-down, blocking the thrust. Retreating, she flipped her sword right, slashing a diagonal cut from right to left.
Anna dodged, realizing Sophia's superior speed and skill.
Sophia pressed, clashing thrice. Anna's blocks and counters failed; she nearly got hit each time.
Only binding Sophia's sword, using her strength advantage, could win.
Anna rushed, blocking Sophia's attack, closing in. Their blades locked in an X before their faces, resembling "IXI" with them as the "I"s.
Anna's strength, greater than the restrained Sophia's, forced her back.
Isaac sweated for Sophia.
Suddenly, Sophia raised her sword hilt, aligning the blade horizontally.
Anna's vertical blade formed a cross with Sophia's.
Sophia turned her blade toward herself, the tip pointing back near her head, still binding Anna's sword, the hilt's counterweight ball aiming at Anna's face.
The ball, like a warhammer, struck Anna's jaw. Sophia held back, landing a light blow. Anna saw stars, her grip loosening, collapsing unconscious.
Sophia pointed her sword at Anna's neck. "Nine moves, and you're the second-best swordsman I've seen in three centuries. Better than your grandfather."
"Huff…" Anna, unharmed thanks to Sophia's mercy, would've lost her jaw otherwise.
"Surrender, Anna Belmont."
Anna conceded, awed. Against Fidel's invisible, super-strong vampire, she wounded him in ten moves. Yet Sophia, weakened below Anna's strength, defeated her in nine. If equal, Sophia might've won in four or five.
"God-level swordsmanship," D'Artagnan, Goulens' top swordsman, muttered from the stands, stunned. Even multiple of him could barely match her.
"I surr—" Anna began, then vomited blood. "Arghhh!"
"Vampire cheated with magic?!" Mopp shouted.
"No…!" Sophia realized, yelling, "The water Bernard gave Anna was laced with a potion!"
"Argh!" Anna kept vomiting blood. Olivier rushed over, eyes closed, channeling holy light into her abdomen, but she still bled.
"You despicable bastards!" Sophia glared at Mopp and Bernard.
Four soldiers surrounded her with spears.
Sophia looked to Castet, who closed his eyes, shaking his head. He believed her but couldn't act. Pierre, the fourth bishop, and Mopp, who orchestrated this, believed Sophia cursed Anna.
Olivier, healing Anna, lowered his head, eyes bloodshot with rage, hiding his fury.
D'Artagnan ran to the arena, heartbroken for Anna, locking eyes with Bernard's blind gaze, signaling intent to kill.
"Anna!" Isaac pushed Olivier aside, cradling her, watching Sophia's final stand.
Sophia, sword in hand, calculated distances to Bernard and Mopp, planning to kill them and escape with her swordsmanship.
But a voice froze her. "Domi, naughty."
Her pupils shrank, sword dropping, body trembling as two forces battled within.
Olivier, stopping Anna's bleeding, recognized Ding Yangchun from the dungeon, holding Sophia's cocoon.
"Domi, kneel."
One force won. Sophia knelt before Ding Yangchun.
Olivier's hand gripped his sword hilt, eyes murderous.
D'Artagnan and Isaac reached for their weapons, ready to unleash fury.
"Olivier, restrain the vampire," Bernard ordered, breaking the tense air.
Olivier held his sword hilt for twenty seconds.
Then, he kicked Ding Yangchun, sending him flying ten meters into Notre-Dame's wall, breaking two ribs, blood pouring from his mouth.
"Cough!" Ding Yangchun choked.
"Olivier, you—!" Mopp scolded.
"Forgive my sin. He's not Church; I won't let him defile it," Olivier said.
"Fine, you defend the Church," Castet said.
Olivier knelt, muttering. Sophia's handcuffs merged, binding her wrists together in front. A ten-centimeter chain linked her ankles.
"Sophia, it's okay!" Isaac, on the platform, saw Anna stabilized. Ignoring soldiers, he ran to the kneeling Sophia.
"Little… Little Zack, I'm fine," Sophia said, recovering. Soldiers pulled Isaac back.
"Don't touch him—mmph!" Olivier, eyes closed, regagged her.
"Mmph!" Sophia glared at the soldiers.
Bernard approached, chaining her collar, adding a rod between collar and cuffs, fixing her hands before her face, unable to move closer or farther.
"Mmph!" She glared at Bernard, the blind, creature-hating witch hunter, who couldn't see her fury. He roughly yanked her collar, dragging her like a slave to Notre-Dame's dungeon.
"Mmph!" Sophia resisted, nearly tripping on her ten-centimeter chains, stumbling in small steps.
Ding Yangchun, clutching his chest, approached. Olivier drew Hrothgar, placing it at his throat.
"Who are you, and why are you here?"
"I'm Ding Yangchun, hired by Bernard and Mopp to interrogate the vampire," he said, smirking evilly.
"Knight, if you're done, let me tame her." He brushed Hrothgar's blade with his dirty sleeve, wiping blood from his mouth, moving toward Sophia.
Two swords blocked him—Hrothgar and Moonshine.
"You're not Church. We'll handle her," Olivier declared.
Isaac, ignoring the setting, ran to Notre-Dame's steps, shouting, "Sophia, stay strong! I'll save you, Your Highness!"
Sophia, being dragged, turned with effort, smiling confidently at Isaac.
Struggling, she signaled: "Mmph-mmph-mmphhh—mmph-mmphhh—mmphhh!"
"Okay."
Then, still resisting, she was dragged away.
"Mmph!" She glared at Bernard.
"Stop glaring; I'm blind. Vampire, you'll pay for your evil."
"Mmph!" Sophia, in her noble trench coat, chained, exuded a fallen aristocrat's aura. Recalling Isaac's words, she regained dignity, wrestling Bernard's pull with her limited ten-centimeter steps. Though futile, she resisted to rebuild her countess identity before facing Ding Yangchun again.
Ding Yangchun tried following, but Olivier blocked him.
"I—" Ding Yangchun started, but Olivier, ignoring the bishops, grabbed his neck, slamming him against the wall. Blood spurted. "I forbid you from entering Notre-Dame."
"Fine, not today. But I'll get in, knight."
"Touch her, and I'll send you to hell."
"Knights, guards, khans, samurai, ninjas, rangers, boyars, pashas, and kshatriyas have all said that. You're not the first, nor the last," Ding Yangchun sneered.
In the shadows, a gray cloak watched. "Olivier, now you see the world I face."
--------------------------------------------------
Some Time Later, Countess Chanel's Estate
"I'll… kill them," Anna said, lying in bed, recovered.
The potion wasn't fatal or lingering. Bernard only wanted Sophia to lose.
If Anna won, Sophia would be convicted.
If Anna lost, the potion ensured defeat.
Known for interrogating dark creatures, Bernard would kill thousands rather than spare one but spared Anna, a colleague, using this potion—likely from the mage academy.
"Anna, you're okay?" Isaac sat beside her, holding her cold hand.
"I'll kill them with you," D'Artagnan said, eyes blazing with rage and concern.
"I'm going too!" Isaac insisted.
"Isaac, stay back. You'll only drag us down," Anna said, sitting up, the potion's effects minimal.
--------------------------------------------------------
Midnight, Magic Academy Dungeon
Anna and D'Artagnan, each with an anti-magic rune Anna crafted, entered the dungeon. The runes slightly disrupted surveillance spells—a placebo, but Anna's goal wasn't killing Clement but rescuing Jane and Chanel.
She carried anti-magic bombs and magic-disrupting gold dust bombs, sharing most with D'Artagnan. If Clement appeared, they'd scatter dust and flee.
Anna, experienced against mages, knew this wouldn't kill a powerful mage but would aid escape.
Magic-disrupting gold, as costly as silver, hindered magic. High-purity versions formed anti-magic alloys, creating small anti-magic fields, like in Sophia's collar.
Grinding it into dust disrupted magic spread. High-purity alloy dust made anti-magic bombs, blocking all magic in a radius.
Anna expected magical traps, so they sprinkled dust as they went, raising casting difficulty. In combat, anti-magic bombs would disable magic entirely—for escape, not fighting Clement.
They'd bought a dungeon map on the black market, supposedly the only one in Goulens, made by Gale, Clement's rival.
Convincing Isaac to stay took effort—for his safety and because he'd hinder them. Without him at Fidel's castle, Anna wouldn't have been reckless and captured.
After knocking out mages and soldiers, they reached a hall. Anna knew Clement tracked them.
Countess Chanel, bound to a pillar, her white qipao and body covered in white liquid, had her eyes and mouth taped with matching white tape.
Anna ripped off the tape and cut her ropes.
"Clement's coming. Careful!" Anna tossed a gold dust bomb, filling the room with black metallic powder.
Clement appeared nearby. "Belmont, D'Artagnan, bold move."
"Run!" Anna and D'Artagnan fled, tossing dust bombs, flooding the dungeon with powder.
The dust hindered Clement, a scenario he hadn't anticipated. Anna had poured hundreds of kilograms of dust into the sewers, reaching the dungeon, thanks to Chanel's wealth.
Clement wasn't stopped but slowed, furious at being outmaneuvered.
They reached a hidden exit from the map, rushing out to the surface.
But only D'Artagnan emerged.
Anna and Chanel were teleported elsewhere.
"I told Clement to use my toy if beauties tried that exit," a sleazy voice said.
"You're Belmont, right? We met at noon," Ding Yangchun said, approaching, leading a "dog" named Ranko.
Jane's appearance had changed. A dog nose and chin mask, open at the mouth, connected to a ring gag, letting her tongue loll out like a dog's, drooling.
"Ranko, you'll soon have company. Happy?"
"Woof! Woof!" Jane wagged her golden tail, shaking her hips like a joyful dog.
Anna recalled Sophia's words but knew killing Ding Yangchun was needed to save Jane.
She charged. Ding Yangchun summoned invisible ropes.
Unlike before, when caught off-guard, Anna cut ropes binding her feet and arm. Ding Yangchun, terrified, fled.
Chanel reached Ranko, but Jane, adapted to dog life, ran faster, resisting rescue, spitting at Chanel, already covered in Ding Yangchun's white liquid.
Ding Yangchun couldn't outrun Anna, even with Zhendan qi. Her whip hooked his foot.
He fell, inches from safety…
Anna raised her sword.
Ding Yangchun crawled past his mark.
A massive cage dropped, trapping Anna half a meter behind him.
"What? Why didn't it trigger when you ran ahead?"
"Not a simple trap. It's a magical artifact I found traveling, effective only on women. I've crossed many women; I needed this. That 'men-only' door you passed cost a fortune—Argh!" Anna's crossbow bolts pierced him, shattering his cheek's teeth. Not fatal, but his sleazy face grew uglier. He crawled, fleeing to a nearby room.
"Damn!" Anna drew Meteor's End, capable of piercing walls and likely the cage.
"No use," Clement's voice came from behind. Anna threw an anti-magic bomb.
It created a small anti-magic zone, but it hit a phantom. The real Clement teleported behind her.
"Argh!" Anna floated, controlled by invisible forces, unable to wield weapons.
"You poured a ton of gold dust into my dungeon. How much did that cost?"
"Never seen this tactic in centuries. My students can't cast in this dust. Impressive, Belmont."
"Good thing Ding's traps target women, or you'd have won."
"You won't succeed again."
Clement waved, and Anna blacked out.
---------------------------------------------
Next Morning
Anna woke in darkness, blindfolded.
"Mmph!" Her mouth, stuffed with a leather mask containing a massive phallic gag, reeked of Ding Yangchun. An aphrodisiac coursed through her, her chest and groin aching. Between her legs, a vertical iron rod with a phallic end penetrated her reproductive cavity.
Her legs were bound together, clamping the rod, allowing her to stand overnight without falling. Her arms were tied behind in a Japanese style, minimizing long-term harm.
Stripped, she was fitted with devices. A tight metal corset prevented waist bending. The rod's base extended forward and backward, locking her pelvis to the corset, forming a Ψ-shape, like a coat rack's hooks, securing her without external aid.
This "beauty rack" reduced Anna Belmont to a garment, a beauty displayed.
"Mmph!" The aphrodisiac and rod's stimulation, bearing her weight, drove her to climax, fluids pooling. A lactation drug made her chest burn; she'd thank anyone who touched it.
A sleazy hand pinched her nipples, milk spraying under the drug.
"Mmph… mmphhh!" Struggling stirred the rod, triggering another climax.
"Belmont, you're now Bebe the bitch," Ding Yangchun, bandaged and toothless, said sleazily, kissing her face, stroking her red hair.
"Mmph… mmphhh!"
She heard two other women. The submissive one was Ranko, the tamed dog, Jane's favorite role, briefly a bound "human" or human swine. Despite submission, Ding Yangchun forbade Jane from enjoying punishment or becoming lascivious, demanding dignity and chastity, with harsh penalties for failure.
Blindfolded Jane wept, as ordered, in despair and shame.
"Countess Gabrielle Chanel, now Little Jia," Ding Yangchun said, moving to Chanel, also on a beauty rack. "Little Jia lured our biggest trouble, Bebe. Master Clement says you're useless now. I can tame you. Love Zhendan qipaos? You'll love a Zhendan master."
"Mmph… mmphhh… mmphhh!"
Ding Yangchun toyed with Chanel, admiring the three beauties on the racks, pressing a button. "Clement gave me healing potions and tissue restoratives. As long as your bones and organs stay intact, we can play."
The button electrified the rods, sending currents through their lower bodies, causing agonized screams through gags:
"Mmphhh—ohhh! Ohhh!"
"Mmphhh—ohhhh!"
"Mmph—ohhh! Ohhh!"
They thrashed, but corsets, rods, and racks limited movement to frantic chest and neck twisting. Fluids flowed, collected by a device below.
Tear-streaked faces wept under blindfolds.
"Losing Domi for Little Jia, Bebe, and Ranko? A fair trade," Ding Yangchun leered at the writhing, climaxing, wailing beauties.