[Slightly, she claims, and Alucard doesn't believe her for a second. He frowns at the claim.
Frowns and then starts to move to the library, debating the wisdom of just floating rather than walking. It is tempting, but not inclined to happen now.]
Those windows are as tall as six of me, Alucard. [This is a simple observation, not an invitation to make a short joke at her expense. That much fabric is heavy, and she'd been in a hurry!
Everything in Dracula's castle tends towards grandeur. If it wasn't so well designed and constructed, the place would be a nightmare to try and manipulate. But the massive library doors open as easily as the coffin lid had yesterday, and the endless rows of bookshelves are well in order. It occurs to her then, as it hadn't before, that Alucard must have returned it to order early on.]
Mmm...I can't recall. I was a little preoccupied. I thought--well, we thought--that you'd been abducted or...something.
[Her current theories are even wilder. Those red marks on his neck, chest, and wrists? What caused them? Had he been so badly injured that he'd needed to drag himself into a coffin, as he had once before? It kills her not to have all the answers at her fingertips! Sypha curls her hands into fists and plants them on her hips.] And there are just so many, I started to take a sampling from every third shelf to try and direct my search!
Alucard quietly trails into the library, looking over his little book kingdom. It looks fairly orderly, but--
--then Sypha explains herself, and there's a very heavy sigh. There are too many third shelves in the library to even begin to deal with that, and so Alucard decides not to even try. He instead takes a sharp right towards a small cabinet of drawers.]
This is the search mechanism. What is it you were looking for the other day? I'll show you how it works on that.
[He's only focused on the practical at the moment. Directing searches and information. Never asking after the other two, never inviting Sypha to question him.]
[Take the time to float up and fix the curtains when they thought their friend could be dead, or dying, in need of their help? Does he think so little of her, or of himself?
She steps up at his elbow to study the mechanism, which looks like nothing so much as an apothecary's cabinet.] Location spells. This one, specifically.
[Sypha cups her hands into a lattice of fingers and thinks of Trevor, summons the feelings he stirs in her chest into her palms, and lets them pool in a gleaming sphere. That flick-twist gesture splits it into a skein of thread, which zips back out the door.
From down the hall, a dish crashes, and a faint voice yelps "HEY!"]
Very handy. I'm sure it will come in useful in the future!
[Alucard watches the spell. He tries not to smile a little at the flick causes Trevor to make moments later.]
Location spells. Right.
[To the cabinet, he opens one small drawer. What happens next is an elaborate unfolding. All spinning polished gears and whirring, a miniature sort of castle engine. But what comes next is a representation of the library in miniature, each book accounted for.]
You say what you're looking for, and the books highlight themselves.
[To the mechanism, he speaks:]
Location spells.
[Five books glow softly. Alucard takes one out, and the title shows clearly.]
[Sypha loves magic. She loves it with the fierce rush of a child watching birds take flight, or a hiker reaching the perfect overlook. But sometimes, fuck, magic is ridiculous and over the top and she's forced to sympathize with Trevor's sour eye-rolls.]
How is anyone supposed to figure that? You just speak what you want and the dollhouse comes to life? It's like-
[Her eyes and mouth widen into perfect circles all at once.] Oh. OH! It's just a modification of the same theory behind the mirrors, isn't it? That's so clever! Fussy and over the top, of course, but extremely clever.
[She leans in for a closer look, her shoulder bumping Alucard's elbow in her thoughtless, curious rush.]
You aren't supposed to figure it out, you're supposed to already know.
[Dracula is paranoid. Or was, duh. Alucard knows better, but--
--well, now she's intrigued. There's the joy of Sypha starting to roll off, and when she brushes against Alucard's shoulder, he freezes just a little.]
[No surprise to hear that Dracula was a gatekeeping elitist. She wonders how he'd feel about her grubby Speaker fingers all over his magic library, and has to bite down a vindictive smile.
She must not manage to conceal it entirely, if Alucard's asking her if she wants to be left alone with the books. Normally that would sound like a tease, but the last few days have been anything but normal. As she straightens up, Sypha notices how closely she's drifted toward him, and how stiffly he's holding himself. She turns to face him, pivoting her side away from close contact.]
I'd hoped you might stay. I'll be quiet! There's so much work to do. I...admit that when we decided to come back to the Castle, I'd hoped you could help me with the research part, but, well, I think perhaps neither of us should be alone right now.
Alucard hates that response. Then he hates himself for hating that response, because he shouldn't. In any other place, at any other time, he'd be so happy for it. Find so much joy in exploring the literary depths with Sypha but no. He's on edge constantly.
Trevor has his own homework right now. [She folds her arms, realizes how angry and stiff that makes her look, and quickly unfolds them again. Why does she seem to have so many extraneous limbs all of a sudden?]
Just...pick something to read. For fun! I'll be in the stacks. You won't even know I'm here.
[The words ring hollow. He look around, and just grabs whatever book is closest from the shelf.
Sufi writing. Good. That'll do, because mysticism is at least distracting from the current world.
But what he does next says everything. He sits next to the door rather than on any of the sofas. Ass square on the floor, all cold stone. He settles there, opening the book on his lap.]
Let me know if you need help finding something then.
[Ice unfurls through Sypha's veins as Alucard makes his statement. She bites her lip and breathes deep against the urge to grab him by the shoulders and shake. He'd said he couldn't speak of it, so shouting in his face will get her nowhere.
Probably. She's not completely discounting the option. More like filing it as Plan K.]
All right. [So saying, she refocuses on the miniature library and announces:] Infinite Corridors. Please.
[Only three volumes light up, no surprise that it's a little more esoteric than locator spells. Sypha scribbles the locations down on her hand and hurries to retrieve them. Two of the books are alarmingly slim, but the third is downright chunky. She totes all three back to the main study.
Bypassing the desks and armchairs entirely, Sypha marches over to the doors and sits her own bony ass down beside Alucard. The stone is cold and unforgiving, but she's had worse. Legs crossed tailor-style, she cracks the first volume open (literally - it is not in good condition. Apparently the death of the castle's mechanism also disrupted whatever spells Dracula had placed against humidity and bugs. That wouldn't do) and begins leafing through the brittle pages.]
[Even from his spot by the door, Alucard can hear Sypha's request. It's....not what he expected. At all. Infinite Corridors?
It has his attention. So from the pages of his book, his eyes move up every so often, watching Sypha's research. Her retrieval of the books and--
--ah. The old place really does need some spells refreshed, doesn't it? That gets a mental note of to fix in Alucard's head. But nothing else. Surely she'll go find a sofa.
But she doesn't. Of course she doesn't, and Alucard frowns.]
I might say the same to you. [This is her 'I'm a Speaker and I Know More Than You' voice, Alucard, in case you forgot what it sounded like. Her eyebrows are perfect arches and, even though she's looking down at the book in her lap, she somehow gives the impression of tilting her nose up at all this nonsense.
Honestly, they could just discuss it. Whatever it is.
Touching only the edges of the pages, she locates the index and begins a cursory search. Sadly none of the chapters are titled 'Infinite Corridors and You: Gateways to Hell', but she can disregard certain other topics to narrow her search. There's a whole section on geologic formations and magical phenomena, which looks quite promising!]
[HE KNOWS THAT VOICE HE'S GREAT AT IMITATING IT he's also great at being ashamed when called out. Which he is right now, eyes moving downward back at his book.]
[Kicking a dog that snaps out of fear doesn't feel good. Sypha stifles a sigh and resists the urge to cuddle against Alucard's side. She knows from experience that he's doesn't give off much warmth, but he is surprisingly snuggly. They'd both feel a lot better for a cuddle, but she's pushing her luck already.]
Mhm. It seems some of the more powerful nightcreatures went sniffing them out just after Dracula's defeat. Someone's figured out how to focus the Corridor into a passage to and from Hell.
[She turns the pages, skimming passages as she speaks. Her voice is steady, trained to be so, but her hands tremble faintly over the vellum. She should have grasped the intention behind the alchemical symbols, should have seen what the positioning around the town could mean. After everything she'd seen during Dracula's war, surely she ought to have realized the power inherent in an unwilling sacrifice? A mass sacrifice?
The pieces were all there, she'd just been too overconfident to assemble them.]
A higher tier nightcreature was feeding instructions to human cultists, but that level of plotting seems beyond their usual capabilities. There's someone pulling the strings behind even that, but we don't know enough to get much further. So: stake out the Infinite Corridor where it intersects with our world. Keep the portals closed. Stop Lindenfeld from ever happening again.
[That last comes out a fierce whisper. She talks to herself, always has done, and Alucard might as well be a wall for all he's putting out into the world right now.]
[Alucard sits up a little straighter. There's an emotion in his voice that isn't depression in his voice - it's fear. Real fear, because the idea of focusing anything on Hell? That's concerning. Worse with the idea that the night creatures are involved. They're forged to be loyal to his father--
--he knows the reason why they're sniffing, but Alucard doesn't dare let the thought enter his head. Not yet.]
And how are you certain that it's someone higher up manipulating the situation? The night creatures are loyal to my father, as they were meant to be.
[The question shakes her, somewhat, as it echoes doubts swirling in her own mind. She's going off a gut instinct, here, and recent events have shaken her conviction in herself.]
I'm not certain, but nothing else makes sense. The night creatures are cunning, yes, but we've never seen that they understand magic or spellcraft. They don't use it! The ritual used to refocus the Infinite Corridor was...
[She trails off, swallows, rubs at the bridge of her nose (a frustrated gesture stolen from Trevor). When her hand comes away, her eyes are tired and lined.]
I didn't see it for what it was. It was that complex.
They may not use it, but might they know enough to explain things to humans who can then go the extra mile?
[It seems logical, but it's still a guess at the end of the day. The end of a very long, very tiring day.]
Let me read over your shoulder then. Perhaps the information will reveal itself in time. Otherwise, we'll have to see if the Hold's index has anything.
Maybe. The spell absolutely could have been hellish in origin. It--it harnessed human souls, I think perhaps to use their metaphysical movement between this world and the next to direct the Corridor? A kind of alchemical transmutation. But alchemy is a very human practice, so I just...I don't know.
[Forgetting herself for a moment, Sypha runs her fingers over the faded ink, searching for comfort in the words. Her shoulders bow, looking, for once, exactly as small and slim as they are.
Her chin jerks up when Alucard offers his help, when he says 'we'. A smile tries to overtake her face, but she wrestles it down to a hopeful quirk of her mouth in an effort not to frighten him away.] Thank you. I might miss something on my own. I'd appreciate your eyes on this.
Do you recall when I spoke of what was in my father's journals? His plans for the darkest days of humanity? [She must, Alucard trust Sypha's memory.] What you've described is exactly the sort of thing that I would expect to find in there. The transmutation of souls is the concept that one must be very old or very involved with dark magic to apply in any practical manner.
[....but oh. Oh that explains so much. Alucard will dwell on that part later.]
[It ought to help, to hear that she hadn't the background or the moral inclination to have known better. It ought to. But...
But.]
Yes, these were the symbols the night creature passed on to the cultists. [Down in whatever corner of Hell he's currently occupying, Sypha hopes Dracula twitches when she leans over and scratches the sigils onto his floor with her charcoal pencil] They were all monks, once. The creature targeted a church and swayed the brothers to Dracula's way of thinking. "Humanity's a plague upon the earth, it must be cleansed by the fires of Hell," blah blah blah.
I'm not sure if there was any extra power gained from subverting men of the cloth, or if it was just a coincidence that the Infinite Corridor happened to be under the priory. [Sypha taps at her chin, sneaking a thoughtful peek at Alucard. He's more focused, now, a little bit more like the man in the crypt under Gresit. But not yet the one she knew on the road, not by miles.] Your father's journals...do they still exist?
I would imagine the fact that it was under a priory is a matter of coincidence but cloaked in a horrible irony. I have a hard time believing that Infinity Corridors care much about where they land.
[But Alucard's attention returns to the symbol Sypha has sketched and it takes him a few moments to even start to understand it.]
I actually don't think that's from his work specifically. Something borrowed, but--
[Not the point.]
Yes. His journals are in his private library. His alchemy phase was early in his second life.
No, you're right. If anything, the priory may have originally been built to contain the Corridor. I've no idea how permanently affixed they are. [That's the whole point of her stack of books, which she gathers up and balances on her hip]
If you don't mind me checking these out, we could go and inspect the private library. [There's no denying the little thrill that runs through her at the thought of Dracula's private library. She hadn't known it existed, before, but it makes perfect sense. No matter how much Dracula loved his wife, if she had free reign of this space and he had all these horrible contingency plans, he wouldn't have wanted her to find them.]
[He's only heard a few things, and even those could be wrong. Alucard's not certain, and--
oh.
The look on Alucard's face is a gentle cringe, but a cringe all the same. It is less a concern of Sypha of all people looking through those notes and more for himself, far too vulnerable to be trusted to not act on some of those notes.]
Let's read through everything that's here first? It'll be easier to do all the work if we've absorbed what's here before hand.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Frowns and then starts to move to the library, debating the wisdom of just floating rather than walking. It is tempting, but not inclined to happen now.]
You could have opened them.
[More than that though--]
How many books did you go through?
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Everything in Dracula's castle tends towards grandeur. If it wasn't so well designed and constructed, the place would be a nightmare to try and manipulate. But the massive library doors open as easily as the coffin lid had yesterday, and the endless rows of bookshelves are well in order. It occurs to her then, as it hadn't before, that Alucard must have returned it to order early on.]
Mmm...I can't recall. I was a little preoccupied. I thought--well, we thought--that you'd been abducted or...something.
[Her current theories are even wilder. Those red marks on his neck, chest, and wrists? What caused them? Had he been so badly injured that he'd needed to drag himself into a coffin, as he had once before? It kills her not to have all the answers at her fingertips! Sypha curls her hands into fists and plants them on her hips.] And there are just so many, I started to take a sampling from every third shelf to try and direct my search!
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[The library was the library, after all.
Alucard quietly trails into the library, looking over his little book kingdom. It looks fairly orderly, but--
--then Sypha explains herself, and there's a very heavy sigh. There are too many third shelves in the library to even begin to deal with that, and so Alucard decides not to even try. He instead takes a sharp right towards a small cabinet of drawers.]
This is the search mechanism. What is it you were looking for the other day? I'll show you how it works on that.
[He's only focused on the practical at the moment. Directing searches and information. Never asking after the other two, never inviting Sypha to question him.]
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[Take the time to float up and fix the curtains when they thought their friend could be dead, or dying, in need of their help? Does he think so little of her, or of himself?
She steps up at his elbow to study the mechanism, which looks like nothing so much as an apothecary's cabinet.] Location spells. This one, specifically.
[Sypha cups her hands into a lattice of fingers and thinks of Trevor, summons the feelings he stirs in her chest into her palms, and lets them pool in a gleaming sphere. That flick-twist gesture splits it into a skein of thread, which zips back out the door.
From down the hall, a dish crashes, and a faint voice yelps "HEY!"]
Very handy. I'm sure it will come in useful in the future!
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Location spells. Right.
[To the cabinet, he opens one small drawer. What happens next is an elaborate unfolding. All spinning polished gears and whirring, a miniature sort of castle engine. But what comes next is a representation of the library in miniature, each book accounted for.]
You say what you're looking for, and the books highlight themselves.
[To the mechanism, he speaks:]
Location spells.
[Five books glow softly. Alucard takes one out, and the title shows clearly.]
Like that.
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How is anyone supposed to figure that? You just speak what you want and the dollhouse comes to life? It's like-
[Her eyes and mouth widen into perfect circles all at once.] Oh. OH! It's just a modification of the same theory behind the mirrors, isn't it? That's so clever! Fussy and over the top, of course, but extremely clever.
[She leans in for a closer look, her shoulder bumping Alucard's elbow in her thoughtless, curious rush.]
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[Dracula is paranoid. Or was, duh. Alucard knows better, but--
--well, now she's intrigued. There's the joy of Sypha starting to roll off, and when she brushes against Alucard's shoulder, he freezes just a little.]
Will you be happy to explore this alone then?
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She must not manage to conceal it entirely, if Alucard's asking her if she wants to be left alone with the books. Normally that would sound like a tease, but the last few days have been anything but normal. As she straightens up, Sypha notices how closely she's drifted toward him, and how stiffly he's holding himself. She turns to face him, pivoting her side away from close contact.]
I'd hoped you might stay. I'll be quiet! There's so much work to do. I...admit that when we decided to come back to the Castle, I'd hoped you could help me with the research part, but, well, I think perhaps neither of us should be alone right now.
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Alucard hates that response. Then he hates himself for hating that response, because he shouldn't. In any other place, at any other time, he'd be so happy for it. Find so much joy in exploring the literary depths with Sypha but no. He's on edge constantly.
Neither of us should be alone.
No. She shouldn't be. He should.]
I'll go get Trevor--
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Just...pick something to read. For fun! I'll be in the stacks. You won't even know I'm here.
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[The words ring hollow. He look around, and just grabs whatever book is closest from the shelf.
Sufi writing. Good. That'll do, because mysticism is at least distracting from the current world.
But what he does next says everything. He sits next to the door rather than on any of the sofas. Ass square on the floor, all cold stone. He settles there, opening the book on his lap.]
Let me know if you need help finding something then.
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Probably. She's not completely discounting the option. More like filing it as Plan K.]
All right. [So saying, she refocuses on the miniature library and announces:] Infinite Corridors. Please.
[Only three volumes light up, no surprise that it's a little more esoteric than locator spells. Sypha scribbles the locations down on her hand and hurries to retrieve them. Two of the books are alarmingly slim, but the third is downright chunky. She totes all three back to the main study.
Bypassing the desks and armchairs entirely, Sypha marches over to the doors and sits her own bony ass down beside Alucard. The stone is cold and unforgiving, but she's had worse. Legs crossed tailor-style, she cracks the first volume open (literally - it is not in good condition. Apparently the death of the castle's mechanism also disrupted whatever spells Dracula had placed against humidity and bugs. That wouldn't do) and begins leafing through the brittle pages.]
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It has his attention. So from the pages of his book, his eyes move up every so often, watching Sypha's research. Her retrieval of the books and--
--ah. The old place really does need some spells refreshed, doesn't it? That gets a mental note of to fix in Alucard's head. But nothing else. Surely she'll go find a sofa.
But she doesn't. Of course she doesn't, and Alucard frowns.]
There's more comfortable spots, Sypha.
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Honestly, they could just discuss it. Whatever it is.
Touching only the edges of the pages, she locates the index and begins a cursory search. Sadly none of the chapters are titled 'Infinite Corridors and You: Gateways to Hell', but she can disregard certain other topics to narrow her search. There's a whole section on geologic formations and magical phenomena, which looks quite promising!]
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Infinity corridors....?
[Easier to keep the focus on her for now.]
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Mhm. It seems some of the more powerful nightcreatures went sniffing them out just after Dracula's defeat. Someone's figured out how to focus the Corridor into a passage to and from Hell.
[She turns the pages, skimming passages as she speaks. Her voice is steady, trained to be so, but her hands tremble faintly over the vellum. She should have grasped the intention behind the alchemical symbols, should have seen what the positioning around the town could mean. After everything she'd seen during Dracula's war, surely she ought to have realized the power inherent in an unwilling sacrifice? A mass sacrifice?
The pieces were all there, she'd just been too overconfident to assemble them.]
A higher tier nightcreature was feeding instructions to human cultists, but that level of plotting seems beyond their usual capabilities. There's someone pulling the strings behind even that, but we don't know enough to get much further. So: stake out the Infinite Corridor where it intersects with our world. Keep the portals closed. Stop Lindenfeld from ever happening again.
[That last comes out a fierce whisper. She talks to herself, always has done, and Alucard might as well be a wall for all he's putting out into the world right now.]
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[Alucard sits up a little straighter. There's an emotion in his voice that isn't depression in his voice - it's fear. Real fear, because the idea of focusing anything on Hell? That's concerning. Worse with the idea that the night creatures are involved. They're forged to be loyal to his father--
--he knows the reason why they're sniffing, but Alucard doesn't dare let the thought enter his head. Not yet.]
And how are you certain that it's someone higher up manipulating the situation? The night creatures are loyal to my father, as they were meant to be.
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I'm not certain, but nothing else makes sense. The night creatures are cunning, yes, but we've never seen that they understand magic or spellcraft. They don't use it! The ritual used to refocus the Infinite Corridor was...
[She trails off, swallows, rubs at the bridge of her nose (a frustrated gesture stolen from Trevor). When her hand comes away, her eyes are tired and lined.]
I didn't see it for what it was. It was that complex.
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[It seems logical, but it's still a guess at the end of the day. The end of a very long, very tiring day.]
Let me read over your shoulder then. Perhaps the information will reveal itself in time. Otherwise, we'll have to see if the Hold's index has anything.
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[Forgetting herself for a moment, Sypha runs her fingers over the faded ink, searching for comfort in the words. Her shoulders bow, looking, for once, exactly as small and slim as they are.
Her chin jerks up when Alucard offers his help, when he says 'we'. A smile tries to overtake her face, but she wrestles it down to a hopeful quirk of her mouth in an effort not to frighten him away.] Thank you. I might miss something on my own. I'd appreciate your eyes on this.
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[....but oh. Oh that explains so much. Alucard will dwell on that part later.]
Are there any other details that are important?
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But.]
Yes, these were the symbols the night creature passed on to the cultists. [Down in whatever corner of Hell he's currently occupying, Sypha hopes Dracula twitches when she leans over and scratches the sigils onto his floor with her charcoal pencil] They were all monks, once. The creature targeted a church and swayed the brothers to Dracula's way of thinking. "Humanity's a plague upon the earth, it must be cleansed by the fires of Hell," blah blah blah.
I'm not sure if there was any extra power gained from subverting men of the cloth, or if it was just a coincidence that the Infinite Corridor happened to be under the priory. [Sypha taps at her chin, sneaking a thoughtful peek at Alucard. He's more focused, now, a little bit more like the man in the crypt under Gresit. But not yet the one she knew on the road, not by miles.] Your father's journals...do they still exist?
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[But Alucard's attention returns to the symbol Sypha has sketched and it takes him a few moments to even start to understand it.]
I actually don't think that's from his work specifically. Something borrowed, but--
[Not the point.]
Yes. His journals are in his private library. His alchemy phase was early in his second life.
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If you don't mind me checking these out, we could go and inspect the private library. [There's no denying the little thrill that runs through her at the thought of Dracula's private library. She hadn't known it existed, before, but it makes perfect sense. No matter how much Dracula loved his wife, if she had free reign of this space and he had all these horrible contingency plans, he wouldn't have wanted her to find them.]
Come with me?
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[He's only heard a few things, and even those could be wrong. Alucard's not certain, and--
oh.
The look on Alucard's face is a gentle cringe, but a cringe all the same. It is less a concern of Sypha of all people looking through those notes and more for himself, far too vulnerable to be trusted to not act on some of those notes.]
Let's read through everything that's here first? It'll be easier to do all the work if we've absorbed what's here before hand.
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