ã€ŠThe Accidental Vampireã€‹


 Chapter 1 Return From Dead... Into The Dead.

    There he was¡­ staring at his own lifeless unmoving body, smeared with blood, lying in front of his eyes. It was bone-chilling watching his own dead body, but for some reason, As wasn''t scared; instead, he was confused.

    A weird serenity clouded the heart of As zar despite all the confusion he was going through at the moment. He found himself calm even after witnessing his own tortured dead silhouette.

    Even though his body was lying only ten feet away from him, that mere distance felt no less than a heavy thousand feet. Momentarily, he even wondered if he was in a dream imagining his death.

    His bodyid in the middle of all the blood that had formed a puddle under him. The body had bled too much, draining every ounce from his lifeless silhouette, making it a gruesome sight for him.

    There remained a few questions in his mind unanswered. How was he able to look at his own body from a distance? Was he already dead? Was it his spirit, or was it truly a dream?

    Reflexively to confirm his spections, he tried touching his face. As soon as his fingers touched his cheeks, As felt the cold touch over his skin. It became clear to him that he wasn''t a spirit. He was in the flesh but not on his own.

    He lowered his gaze slowly and quizzically observed his unfamiliar cold hands.

    "My hands! They are different. They are longer and slightly bigger."

    He shifted his focus down even more to notice his feet. The sense of being a stranger in that flesh made him panic inwardly.

    "My legs are also longer. Just what is happening?"

    He realized that he was sitting inside a beautiful silver coffin kept in a room that was mostly dark. There were strange markings all over the walls, which seemed to appear to be some ancient letters. They formed a certain pattern, but he couldn''tprehend even a single word.

    The silver coffin was so shiny that As could even look at his reflection on the surface. He gazed upon his face only to infer that even his face was different now. The realization slowly began to dawn upon him, which was unbelievable.

    In the past, he used to have deep blue eyes as clear as the sea, but now his eyes were a beautiful shade of green like the purest form of nature.

    His hair was silver and shorter than he used to have before, onlying down to his neck now. His skin seemed pale, simr to how his real malnourished body used to look, but there was an innate difference.

    His real body was pale because of theck of blood and the torturous conditions he had lived in. On the contrary, this body looked perfectly healthy, as if this person didn''t need to struggle for food even a single day of his life. That''s why nothing made sense to As regarding what had just happened.

    He could see that his real body was still in the clothes that he was wearing before. The clothes were already covered in blood; it was hard to guess what their real color used to be before all the blood painted them red. The new body, on the other hand, had a different set of aristocratic clothes.

    The new clothes looked more luxurious. Unlike the clothes on his real body, there wasn''t even a speck of dust on these clothes. In fact, these clothes looked even more luxurious than anything he had ever seen before. He had seen a lot of Noble Vampires before, but none of them had clothes as elegant.

    "My face, my body, my clothes, everything is different. Could it really be that¡­ I woke up in a different body. Meanwhile, my real body is left behind, dead. But how is this possible? Body jumping? How can it happen?"

    "Could it be really possible!? Did my soul jump bodies?"

    That was the biggest question in As'' head. He believed it had the highest probability of being true unless he was dreaming. However, even in dreams, he was sure that he wouldn''t have thought of something so bizarre.

    "How is all this possible?"

    He slowly stood up and took his first step out of thevish silver coffin toy his feet on the dust-covered ground on which he had taken hisst breath.

    While the coffin was spotlessly clean, seemingly made from the purest of silver, the ground underneath it told apletely different story.

    Looking at the dust-ridden surroundings, As was sure that nobody hade there in thest few years at least. However, for some reason, the silver coffin was immacte and clean. The room didn''t have much light, but oddly he was still able to see everything, even in the dark.

    He slowly headed towards his original dead body, which was lying in the puddle of blood. He expected to be scared of the bizarre sight, but his emotions seemed to have gone numb.

    Unbeknownst to him, another shadow came out from his Shadow, splitting up from the main shadow. The second shadow followed him, slowly getting bigger. The shadow kept getting bigger and bigger and only stopped as it reached the exact height of As'' shadow.

    "Greetings, Master. Finally, after centuries of slumber, you woke up."

    The feminine voice reverberated in the quiet room, startling As.

    "Hmm? What is that voice?"

    Stunned, As turned around, trying to find the invisible source of the voice as soon as he heard it.

    It sounded like the voice of a woman who was warm and cordial towards him. However, even though he looked everywhere to find her, he failed even to see a glimpse of that woman. There was nobody present in the room except him.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Master, why are you looking like that? It''s me, Lilith. Don''t you recognize me?"

    The voice again came from nowhere, making As alert. There was definitely someone here!

    "Who is it? Come out!"

    He didn''t know any Lilith and couldn''t understand why someone would address him as master. He had lived his life like a mere invaluable ve; why would someone call him with the utmost respect?

    "Are my ears ringing? I''m hearing voices when no one is here." As shook his head, rubbing his eyes to dismiss the thoughts. "Am I going crazy?"

    "Wait a minute! You¡­.you aren''t my Master!" The warm and friendly voice soon became stern and angry. "I can''t feel his aura from your soul! Who are you?! How did you enter my master''s body?!"

    The shrill scream of the voice was enough to send an agonizing sensation in As''s ears. Still, he was more concerned about the origin of the voice. Where was iting from?

    "Are you a spirit who knew the owner of this body?" he inquired, hoping to get some answers about his new identity.

    "I don''t know how I ended up in this body either. I''m As zar, and that is my body right there!" He pointed toward his original body, which was covered in blood.

    One thing was certain to him that whoever this voice belonged to, she knew he wasn''t the owner of the body he was currently inside. Since she knew the truth, he didn''t even attempt to lie to her. In any case, he wasn''t responsible for what happened.

    "That body?" The shadow which was behind As moved towards the dead body of a sixteen-year-old boy.

    "Wait. Are you this shadow?!" As the shadow moved, As finally got a glimpse and eximed.

    "Shut up! Don''t say anything!" The shadow yelled before she hovered over the dead body to inspect the possibilities of the unnatural mishap.

    "This body! It''s the body of an ordinary human! You aren''t even a Witch! And even if you were a Witch, it should have been impossible for you to enter the Master''s body! Who are you?!"

    The shadow freed the dead body and turned to As, bing aggressively inquiring. However, As was genuinely clueless regarding the whole incident.

    "I told you. I have no idea what happened. Thest thing I remember was that I was trying to drag my half-dead body down the stairs to avoid those Vampires! I just wanted to survive and nothing else! Because of blood loss, I probably lost consciousness. The next thing I remember is that I woke up here, inside this body."

    As pointed out toward his new body while trying to sound convincing. He required answers, and only that mysterious shadow could provide him some exnation.

    "You! Your story¡­.this¡­.this doesn''t make sense! This doesn''t make sense at all! How can it be? How can someone enter my master''s body and control it? How?! Where is the Master then! How are you inside?! Arghh!" The shadow started yelling in rage as if it was going crazy.

    "Oh god, why are you screaming? Don''t you know where we are? You are going to get both of us killed. Keep your voice low. If Vampires heard us, they would kill us on the spot. I barely escaped them at the cost of my life! I don''t want to die again before rescuing her!"

    The shadow suddenly became silent, wondering upon As''s words.

    "Vampires? Those pesky things? They darey a hand on my Master''s body!? Do they not want to live anymore?" Lilith snapped, leaving As stunned with the insult she just daringly spouted for those deities.

    "They won''t hurt your master?"

    The mere sentence raised numerous questions, and an influx of questions bombarded his mind.

    "Hahaha! Them hurting my Master?" A condescendingughter of Lilith filled the room. "You are such an idiot. You don''t even know the person whose body you are upying? What nonsense! This makes me even more surprised that someone like you who knows nothing managed to end up in this body!"

    As seized the opportunity to throw another question at her. He straightforwardly asked about his new identity. "I don''t understand. Who is your Master? Whose body am I inside?"

    Lilith was talking so proudly about the person whose body As was inside; he couldn''t help but wonder who this guy was.

    It was certain that he was not a Vampire because he didn''t have those bloodthirsty crimson eyes, the peculiar trait of Vampires. And even if the body he was inside belonged to a Vampire, why would the other Vampires be scared of him?

    "You naive human, I pity your ignorance!" Lilith snorted. "You don''t even know that you are inside him! You are inside the person that shook the entire world once upon a time!"

    Lilith emphasized every single achievement of the body''s owner as if it was her own. "You are inside the person who was the true definition of terror! You are inside, my master! You are inside the person that even gods and demons would have been afraid of! You are inside the body of¡­."

 Chapter 2 Castiel

    "You are inside the body of Progenitor Castiel: one of the four Ancestral Vampires to grace this earth!" Lilith''s thundering words fell in the ears of As, shaking him to his core.

    "V-vampire Progenitor Castiel?" eximed As in shock.

    Even though he didn''t know who Castiel was, just the word Progenitor was enough to provide him some clue. He knew the meaning of Progenitor.

    "Are you sure I''m inside a Progenitor? Doesn''t that mean I am inside the body of one of the four oldest and strongest Vampires ever to exist? H-how¡­just how is it possible? How did I even end up in his body?" he asked in disbelief.

    "I was a human and a weak human at that. I was always at the mercy of the Vampires who treated us like ves? Howe I am in the body of their Progenitor now? Is this your attempt at some kind of pathetic joke?"

    As raised his voice in frustration; the whole situation was now beyond his understanding.

    "Joke? Do you think I would joke with the likes of a human? That too about the body of my Master? If you weren''t in the body of my Master, I would have already killed you for this disrespect!" Lilith snapped at As, making As realize that she was being serious.

    As didn''t take Lilith''s sharp words to heart. Instead of growing angry, he was lost in his own thoughts, trying to figure out answers to the questions that even Lilith didn''t seem to know.

    Was he at the right ce at the right time when dying? Or was it a lucky ident? It didn''t matter. What mattered was that he was here and stuck in this body! Even if he had be a Vampire for some reason, he was happy. This was an opportunity!

    "With this strength, I should be able to take back what was taken from me!" He clenched his pale fist, looking at his dead body. Even if this was an ident, it was no less than a blessing in disguise for him. It was his chance at redemption for the broken promises.

    *****

    [One day ago]

    "Stop making noises. So what if we are taking a little more than usual? It''s a special asion. Guests areing! We need a little more today. Stop crying!"

    A sixteen-year-old boy was lying on a beautiful white bed, obediently listening to the doctor. He could hear the muffled cries from his surroundings as more children like him went through the same procedure.

    There was a cann connected to their arms from which their blood was being collected into a blood bag.

    Young As looked at his surroundings, trying to avoid the sight of a blood bag. He could see a lot of boys crying in pain. Unlike them, heid silently, letting the process take ce.

    It was already his fourth year here, and he had understood that crying wasn''t going to help in this ce. Their tears were as worthless as sand in a ce where they were nothing more than disposable items that could be discarded at whim.

    Even though he had spent only four years here, these four years were no less than a hundred years for him as his blood was drained every day so that they could feed the Vampires.

    Even though he was giving a bit more blood than usual, he didn''t feel much pain. For some reason, he felt like he had grown numb to the pain. It wasn''t as painful anymore, but he still understood that today, he wasn''t going to be able to move his hand for quite some time.

    He wondered if he could even walk properly after standing up or not? They were taking twice the amount they usually took without showing any concern for those children.

    ''I wonder who the guests are. These people seem to be really stressed as well. The guests must be some important nobility.''

    He tried to distract himself by thinking about all sorts of things, from the guests that wereing to the journey he had experienced so far. Everything was no less than a bad dream that was just refusing to be over.

    ''I am already so weak. It''s miraculous how I survived four years here. The human body can surprisingly produce quite a decent amount of blood for the Vampires to drain and yet still keep going on.''

    "You''re done. You can leave!" As As was lost in thoughts, he heard a hoarse voice. The doctor took out the syringe from his wrist.

    As slowly nodded and got off the bed. As soon as he was on his feet, he realized that he was right. His left hand wasn''t moving anymore, and his legs were trembling as well. As expected, too much blood was taken without bothering about their health.

    ''Whatever, at least I am done for the day. Now I can eat and rest to prepare for tomorrow until it''s time for me to end up here again.''

    Letting out a sigh, he turned to leave. It was the moment when he noticed the person who was next in the line.

    A young girl stood behind him in the line. The girl has deep blue hair and innocent blue eyes simr to that of As. Despite living in such darkness, those eyes still had a sparkling hope for the world. There were so many emotions in those eyes, including fear and concern.

    The girl was none other than the sister of As. She was only fourteen years old now, two years younger than him. Initially, he didn''t realize that she was next in the queue. Now that he noticed her, As deliberately stopped in his tracks.

    ''I can''t let her go through this. She is even weaker than me. It was fine if this was the usual amount, but it is twice the amount today. No! I definitely can''t let her do it!''

    He turned back to the doctor, naively hoping he would pay heed to his request.

    "Ah, Sir?" He approached the white-robed man respectfully.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "What do you need? You''re done already. Leave and don''t disturb me anymore. There are more people I need to take care of. I''m already runningte!"

    Despite getting rebuked by the merciless doctor, As didn''t step back.

    "Sir, the next person in line is my little sister. She is too frail for this. Can you forgive us this one time and only take the usual amount from her?"

    The doctor yelled in rage. "Nonsense!"

    "Rules are for everyone! If she wants to break the rules, she can end up dead! You know that, right?" he stated.

    Upon hearing those words, As panicked.

    "I-i didn''t mean that. I was saying that I''m ready to give her share of extra blood today. Take only the usual amount from her and take any extra you need from me?" As suggested, having no other option.

    "Hmm?"

    Hearing As'' suggestion, even the doctor was surprised. Generally, people were scared of the pain, and here this kid was suggesting him to take more from him, all for his sister?

    He started looking at As from top to bottom. From the man''s gaze, As was able to decipher that the doctor was trying to see if he was even capable of giving more. His curious gaze seemed to slowly turn into a disappointing one.

    ''It doesn''t matter. Even if I''m not capable, I''m ready to give my blood for her today!''

    As was determined to fill the ce of his sister, no matter what.

    "You can''t give more. If we take more from you, you''ll die. Your body doesn''t have enough. You can leave. I refuse. Let the girle."

    The doctor waved his hand to shoo him away.

    "But sir..."

    "No buts! Are you leaving, or should I register your and your sister''s names for ignoringmands? Leave right now if you don''t want to be made an example of!"

    He curtly rebuked As, forcing him to decide immediately and wisely.

    "Y-yes."

    Even after an attempt, As found himself helpless. He couldn''t afford to rebel, only to lose their lives. If he insisted, he was probably going to risk his sister''s life too. Nheless, they were going to take his sister''s blood anyway. It wasn''t worth dying for no change.

    Who was going to take care of her after he died? With that thought, he turned around, lowering his gaze.

    As As walked past his sister, he ced his hand on her shoulder to reassure her. "It''s nothing. Don''t worry, Mise. My strong sister can do it. You''ll be done before you know it. I''ll wait for you here."

    What else could he do except to encourage andfort her? This was him, helpless and at the mercy of others. He couldn''t even sessfully sacrifice for his own sister. Their actions and their destiny were all decided by others for them.

    Even though he acted strong before his sister, he knew he could fall at any second from weakness. His legs were trembling even more. He needed to sit.

    As soon as Mise went to the bed to have her blood withdrawn, As walked towards the corner and sat to give much needed rest to his weak legs.

    "It feels so good to sit. Who knew my life would take such a turn that even sitting on the ground would feel like a luxury." As raised his head, looking at the roof with a mocking look on his face.

    "Thank you, father, thank you for everything! It''s all because of you that we are here. One day, I''ll get back at you. I promise," As sarcastically mumbled with nearly a hysterical expression in his eyes.

    There was a strange tingling all over his body, especially in his arms and his legs. Fortunately, he could at least move the fingers of his left hand now. Sitting numbly in a corner, he soon startedughing weakly. He couldn''t help butugh at his pitiful situation.

    His world was cruel, but As still hoped that they would eventually get out of here. But when he saw the syringe being inserted into his sister''s hand, the nature of the situation became even more clear.

    No one cared for them; it didn''t matter if they lived or died. The vampires could simply rece them all by luring and trapping children into very. One death here meant that two lives were destroyed: one of their own and the other of the person who was going to take their ce in this godforsaken ce.

    Upon witnessing the sight of his sister''s suffering, a certain thought often crossed As''s mind. It drove him enraged, but everything was futile because he was not a match for those powerful vampire deities.

    ''I wish I had the strength¡­the strength to escape with my sister to give her the life she deserved. She is so unlucky to have a pathetic father like that man and a weak brother like me¡­.''

 Chapter 3 The Guests

    Every time As nced at his sister''s face; he could only see pain and loneliness. She behaved happily around him, but it wasn''t hard toprehend that Mise was lonely and depressed. She was no different than other helpless children serving there.

    "Hey, As. So you survived today as well." A soft voice came from the distance, followed by a light chuckle.

    "Hmm?"

    As looked up to find a young boy standing there. He was of the same age as him but looked a bit more healthy. The boy was another oddity in their group, known as Jason.

    Jason had been here even longer than him, so he suffered a lot more, but for some odd reason, he wasn''t as skinny as the rest of them. The boy had some good mass on his body and looked slightly chubby as well.

    His height was even shorter than As, but Jason was bulkier. While As was five feet eight inches tall, Jason was three inches shorter. Unlike his long ck hair, Jason possessed short dark hair. Sometimes even As was jealous of Jason due to his healthy appearance. He didn''t look malnourished.

    Jason had probably given more blood than anyone else here due to the time span he spent there. However, he still seemed healthy and could go on providing a lot more. It made As envious. Only if he had a simr health he could have given the blood in his sister''s ce.

    "Man, why do you always lose yourself in your thoughts whenever I approach you?" said Jason as he sat beside As. "Anyway, why aren''t you leaving? If you finished donating blood, you should go. Aren''t you feeling weak now? Let''s go and eat something?"

    Jason casually spouted those words because he had gotten used to this whole practice. However, As seemed to have gotten irked with the worry regarding his sister ruining the mood.

    "Donating? You call what we were doing a donation?!"

    In response to Jason''s words, As could only show a weak smile. He didn''t know how he looked when smiling, but he believed that he didn''t look particrly handsome. His face was pale; his eyes had dark spots under them as if he hadn''t slept for weeks, and his lips were dry.

    In fact, if he were to say, the only great thing about his looks would have been his deep blue eyes which were rare around here.

    ''We are going with the flow, letting them take whatever they want. In fact, it wouldn''t be wrong to say that we are just trying to survive until we turn eighteen so we can hopefully be free,'' he thought.

    As didn''t share his thoughts often because he knew that sometimes sharing thoughts like these could put them in danger. Thus he kept his thoughts to himself, putting on a standoffish expression, looking like he didn''t want to talk to others.

    Jason looked around the room to find the cause of his bad mood and soon noticed Mise on the bed. "Ah, so you''re cranky because your sister is there. That''s why you''re waiting."

    As turned his head to shoo him off; he didn''t have any intention of diverting his attention from Mise to Jason.

    "It''s right. You can leave now," Aszily stated.

    "That''s alright. I can afford to wait with you as well." Jason shed a smile.

    As nced at Jason, shaking his head over his stubbornness.

    ''I don''t get it. Why is this guy so strange? Here, everyone thinks for themselves. They only act good with others and work together at times, but no one is kind enough to wait for me. Why is this guy waiting?''

    As sat slightly confused at the behaviour of Jason.

    "Two more years, huh," Jason abruptly muttered, snagging As'' attention.

    "What?" As asked.

    "I said just two more years, and we will be eighteen. We''ll be out of this ce," Jason repeated with a smile.

    As helplessly looked at Jason.

    ''It looks like he is no different than us after all. He also looks forward to being free. Then again, who wouldn''t think about being free from this hell?''

    "That reminds me. What will happen to your sister after you are free?" Jason asked, seemingly curious. "She will be sixteen and will be staying here back while you have to leave? What''s your n after that? You have to leave her behind after all."

    As was taken aback by the sudden realization, which made him worried once again regarding Mise''s safety.

    "Huh?"

    A certain thought dawned upon him and forced him to ponder upon the situation.

    ''That''s right. Why didn''t I think of this before? We have different ages. I am going to be free two years before her. What am I going to do? I¡­.I can''t leave her behind!''<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Worried for her?" Jason asked. "I think you should start forming good rtionships with others, the ones who could keep her safe here in your absence."

    Jason''s suggestion was valid, and it made As wonder if he should give it a go or not. Could he trust others with his sister?

    "What do you mean?" He required a detailed n to proceed with.

    "I mean, you should make some friends, especially fourteen years olds. You still have two years to do that. Once you''re friends with one, you can be sure that your friend will keep your sister safe for two more years."

    As knew that Jason wasn''t particrly wrong, but he couldn''t trust others when it came to the safety of his sisters. And he couldn''t simply leave alone, but he had to sooner orter. Thew of the mansion dictated that only people under the age of 18 were used for blood for some reason, so he only had two years while his sister had four left.

    "I''ll ask them to let me stay here as a servant at least. If that''s not possible, I''ll think of something else. In any case, I''m not leaving this ce without her!"

    That was the only answer he could give. It didn''t matter if Jason asked once or a thousand times; his response wasn''t going to change. He didn''t care about himself and was ready to die today if it granted freedom to his sister.

    If he could get Mise out of this hell, he wouldn''t have thought twice. How could he leave this ce without her?

    As didn''t care what he was supposed to do to make it work, but he promised himself that he was going to find a way to stay here even after he was eighteen. He gazed at the innocent little girl who was lying on the bed.

    As he raised his soft yet worryced gaze towards Mise, he could see her looking back at him. There was a smile on her pale face, which had already started sweating.

    ''This idiot, does she not know? Does she think I wouldn''t notice she was in pain just because she was faking a smile?''

    As could only take a deep breath and smile back at Mise. For now, they were stuck in an unbreakable loophole. He was trying to act strong for her, and there she was, doing the same thing for him.

    [Thud]

    The door of the hall opened with a loud noise, and a man stepped inside, pushing a trolley. It wasn''t hard to guess for anyone that the man was here to take all the blood bags for the guests.

    The man filled the trolley with the blood bags that were already collected and started waiting for more. He was already very impatient because the guests were about to arrive.

    "Come on, doc. Be fast. The guests can be here anytime. We need to be prepared in advance. We also need to put the blood in the freezer, so it''s chilled enough to serve them. You know how serious this is, don''t you?" The man''s constant nagging disyed worry to the Doctor who was collecting the blood.

    "What do you want me to do? Slit their wrists and take the blood? This isn''t an ordinary quantity. If I am too hasty, many of them will die!" The doctor snapped back.

    "So what? They''re all dispensable. Their lives aren''t worth a second of our time today! Each second is precious! We can''t make masters angry!"

    The mere words proved they all were receable, and their lives didn''t matter.

    "I know they are dispensable, but still, it''s better to keep them alive. If all of them die, who will give blood tomorrow? It will take at least one day to get this many kids! That dy would upset the Lord even more, wouldn''t it? Should I do it and then tell them it was your idea?"

    The doctor knew how to respond and silence the man to avoid his nagging.

    "Ah, why are you getting so serious? I-i didn''t mean to kill them all." The young man started sweating at the thought of the punishment he would receive if all kids died and there would be no blood tomorrow.

    "It''s fine if a few of them died, but if they all died because you were telling me to hurry, not only will I be punished, but you as well," the doctor further added nonchntly.

    "Sigh, just be fast! I''m not telling you to kill them all, but I''m certainly tossing all the me to you if we arete in serving the guests." The man rolled his eyes as he folded his arms to wait patiently.

    Hearing their conversation, As grew even more curious about these mysterious guests. Who were they? Were they also Vampires? That was whatmon sense suggested. Vampires would only respect other Vampires to treat them as guests. Humans were nothing to them after all.

    "They keep talking about guests. I wonder who the guests are?" Jason muttered to himself. "They must be Vampires too."

    As couldn''t help but to smile. It seemed like Jason thought the same thing.

    "Sigh, whatever. It''s not as if our lives would change for the better with their arrival," As answered him with what he actually thought. "They wille and go after one day. It''s only us who will get back to our old lives."

    As believed their arrival and departure wouldn''t affect them more than it already did. At least that''s what he thought at that time.

    Unbeknownst to him, destiny seemed to have an entirely different n for him. He didn''t realize how wrong he was going to be proven. If only he knew, then maybe he could have changed the inevitable oue¡­

 Chapter 4 Sins Of The Father, Paid By The Son

    After what seemed like an eternity, Mise finished giving her blood and stood up.

    She was feeling weak and dizzy. Her legs were also shaking. Her condition was even worse than As''s condition, as she couldn''t even stand without the support of the bed.

    Noticing Mise like this, As forced his frail body up and ran to Mise in haste. As he ran, he tried to make sure that he didn''t fall due to his weakness himself. He couldn''t show weakness before her.

    Even the doctor was slightly surprised, watching As run even in this condition. He couldn''t understand why this kid was pushing his body so much.

    "Are you fine?" As reached Mise and wrapped his arms around her weak shoulders to support her.

    "Y-yeah. I''m just a little weak." Mise pretended to be strong, shing a fake smile even now.

    ''You idiot!'' As couldn''t help but scold Mise in his thoughts. He didn''t dare to speak his thoughts out loud. He could feel the trembling of Mise. She was so weak that she could fall without the support.

    It was clear from seeing her hand as well. She hadn''t moved her left hand even a little since the start. She was receiving support from her hand, which was resting on the bed.

    As didn''t let Mise know that he noticed how hurt she was. This was their life... This was their good life, where he had to pretend to be happy to keep things optimistic.

    "That''s good. You are so strong." He shed a smile and patted Mise''s head.

    Mise liked it whenever As did that. When As did, it was the only time he could see a genuine smile on her face.

    ''That''s right! That''s the smile I want to protect! That''s the smile I want to protect forever, no matter what!''

    Supporting his weak sister, he took her out of the hall filled with blood and painful memories.

    As left the hall with Mise and Jason and ended up in a hallway. The hallway looked like it really needed some painting and renovations. The walls were in really bad condition. There was dampness in the walls, and the paint had almost entirely faded.

    Then again, they were underground. No Vampire ever came here, nor did any guest. So who was going to bother about the walls? There were, however, two guards in the hallways that kept an eye on everyone.

    The path on the left led to the stairs, while the right path led to the cafeteria where they could get something to eat after their Blood ''Donation'' that they were forced to go through.

    Not far from the cafeteria was their cell, where they were kept imprisoned until it was time for their work.

    "Hey, did you really leave me behind? I''ming with you too." Just as As was leaving with Mise, he heard Jason''s voice from behind.

    As turned around.

    ''This guy... He is not going to leave me alone, is he? What does he even want?''

    It wasn''t as if Jason hadn''t talked to As before, but he never acted this close which was why As was slightly suspicious of him.

    As he couldn''t just use Jason for no reason, he let hime with them. In any case, he knew he had nothing anyone could steal. None of them had anything precious with them here! All he had was his bond with his sister, and he knew that Jason couldn''t take it from him.

    The three of them entered the cafeteria, which was right beside.

    The cafeteria was inside a vast hall which was even bigger than the blood collection room. There were over fifty tables spread throughout the room. Each table had around four chairs. There was another section in the hall where the food was served.

    The tables in the cafeteria were made purely of wood. Some of the tables had already started cracking as they had been in use for a really long time, but no one bothered to change them.

    As was happy even with that. At least they didn''t ask them to sit on the ground here, which wouldn''t have been shocking for him after looking at the way they were treated.

    He didn''t know why they treated them like humans in the cafeteria only. Maybe because they wanted them to eat well so they could have enough blood to be taken daily? He didn''t care much about it. Thinking about it wasn''t going to change anything for him.

    Most of the seats were already filled since almost all of the kids had finished giving blood and were here to eat. As, Jason, and Mise were in thest batch.

    They went to thedy on the counter and collected some steel tes before moving to the ce where they were served food.

    Unsurprisingly, they were given more food today. It was also something he had expected at the start. He was slightly surprised how many of his guesses wereing true. The food they received was directly proportional to the blood they gave. Since they gave more today, they received more food as well.

    Along with the food, each of them also received one full ss of beetroot juice. Even though As hated this ce, if there was one thing he hated more than staying in this ce was the beetroot juice that they were forced to drink daily. On the contrary, Mise liked the juice the most, so As also pretended to like it.

    The three of them found an empty table and sat around it, cing their tes on the table.

    Chrr~

    As soon as As sat on the wooden chair, it made a strange notice which prompted Jason to stare at his chair.

    "Your chair looks weak. You should switch it with another chair. It might break."

    "It''s alright. I don''t think it''ll break today at least," As responded nonchntly.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "As you say." Jason shrugged.

    The three of them started eating. Mise saved the juice for the end since she wanted to savor it.

    On the other hand, As drank it at the start in first gulp since he wanted to drown the awful taste it left on his tongue with the food he was going to eatter. He didn''t want to drink it in the end and have that taste stay in his mouth all day.

    "Man, why do they give us this thing? I don''t like the taste at all. If only they could give me something else, I would''ve been so happy." Even Jason startedining about the juice, which was surprising for As. He didn''t know there were others who felt the same way about it. He thought he was the only one.

    "They said that it''s great for blood. That''s why it''spulsory for us to drink every day," Mise answered Jason before turning to As. "Moreover, it''s not that bad. I like it, and so does my brother. Right?"

    As could only sh a weak smile in response. She really thought he liked it. He could only lie through his teeth. "That''s right. The taste is pretty good."

    They already knew about the uses and why they were given this juice. It wasn''t as if Jason didn''t know. They didn''t hate the benefits of this juice; they just hated the taste these benefits came with.

    "We are here for the Vampires, and that is all, so the blood they are served is good. It''s not entirely for our health. Our survival is just a convenient side effect," Asmented, letting out azy sigh.

    "You brother and sister really like it? Man, you guys have some weird taste buds. I hate it to my core." Shaking his head, Jason started eating to bury the taste of the juice as well.

    Everyone was in the middle of dinner when Jason further opened his mouth. "I remember that we didn''t talk much before today. We have been here for so long, yet we barely know each other except for the basic things. Let''s change that. How did you two end up here?"

    ''This question... Did he really need to ask that question?'' As frowned. He noticed the hands of Mise had started trembling at the question.

    Her face was already pale because of weakness, but he could feel that it was even paler now because of this question. All because of the memories that were brought forth by this question

    He held Mise''s trembling hands to remind her that he was still here and that he was always going to be here for his sister, no matter what happened.

    "D-did I say something wrong? You don''t have to answer in that case. I apologize." Jason could sense the awkward atmosphere following his questions. He instantly apologized, realizing that he might''ve asked the wrong question.

    As had alreadye to terms with what had happened in the past, but it was different for Mise. She was young, and she was the most affected by what had happened in the past.

    "I-i am fine." Mise nodded, taking a deep breath.

    She didn''t want to talk about it, and As wasn''t going to talk about it either. It wasn''t something that was worth sharing either because it was rted to the person they both wanted to forget if possible. Moreover, that person was none other than their own father.

    ''That bastard, for what he tried to do, I would kill him a thousand times if I get an opportunity. I hope he never stands before me,'' As thought, gazing at his clenched fist.

    "Don''t mind it, but yeah. We aren''tfortable talking about it. How about you tell us how you ended up here?" As asked to change the topic. Since Jason wanted to know about them, he decided to fire back the same question.

    "I? My story is pretty awful. But if you want to hear, I''ll tell you. It''s not like it''s a huge secret," Jason responded with a smile.

    "I grew up without a mother. She died while giving birth to me. Despite all that, my father never hated me. We lived together in a small town in the south."

    "Unfortunately, due to circumstances, my father had to take a loan. Until then, things were still fine, but the day he lost his job, he was unable to pay back the loan on time. As he wasn''t able to pay the loan back..."

    "He sold you to get the money for the loan?" As asked, finishing the sentence. That seemed the most usible action for him.

    "Hahaha, not at all. My father loved me too much to do that. Why would he sell me? Instead, he made a different n. And the n was just to run. It was to leave the town and leave the debt behind so we could go so far where no one could find us!" Jason replied.

    "So you decided to run? Were you caught?" As was really curious about the story, and he could see it being the same case for Mise.

    "Yeah, we decided to run away in the middle of the night from the town. We left the town sessfully. We even reached the neighboring town, but my father felt it still wasn''t safe since people from our town could find us there, so he decided to go even farther."

    "That was the one mistake we made. If only we had stayed in that town, everything might''ve been fine." Jason sighed.

    "What happened after you left?"

    "As we left the second town, we ended up running into the bandits on the way to the third town. The bandits surrounded us and asked my father for money. My father had none, so he said so. That was the end."

    "The bandits decided to collect money by taking me as a ve to sell. As for my father, he was killed right before my eyes. Since only young ves have value nowadays, they decided to get rid of my father as if he was a burden."

    " I didn''t know why young people were so in demand in the ve market, but now I can see why. Young people can feed the Vampires, so obviously value increases."

    "You can guess the rest. The bandits sold me in the bigger market, and I was bought by someone. I ended up in this ce with you all." Jason finished his story. "Anyway, that''s all there is to it. Fortunately, I will soon be a free man. Only a few years more now!"

    Still thinking about the story of Jason, As finished the food. It was as if everyone who was here had a story of their own.

    All of them were sent back to the cells after they finished, prepared to sleep. Not everyone was going to get to sleep though. That night is where it all started... the end of their time together and the start of what was to be a defining moment in As''s life...

 Chapter 5 Beginning... Or The End?

    It was nine at night. All the kids had prepared to sleep already. There was nothing more for them to do today. As and his sister slept in the corner of the room with their bedsheets right beside each other.

    Mise had already closed her eyes. Meanwhile, Asid still, looking at the roof. He seemed to be lost in some deep thought.

    Tuck~

    With a metallic sound, the door opened. As sat up and looked towards the door with the rest of the kids.

    It appeared to be an old man who had stepped inside the room, carrying a small piece of paper in his hand.

    "Wake up!" The man yelled suddenly.

    Hearing his roar, the ones who had fallen asleep also opened their eyes and sat up in haste.

    Mise also did the same. All the kids stood up and greeted the old man, who was a very important person in the Pce.

    Gazing at the old man, As started having a bad feeling for some reason. He just didn''t know why.

    ''What is this old man doing here at this time? Something doesn''t feel right.''

    "Alright. As you know, we have guestsing tonight," the old man stated. "So the Lord has given me a task. Today, some of you will be working during the night as well. The kids I name shall stand up immediately!"

    "Roy!" The man shouted, his gaze roaming over all the kids.

    A dark-haired boy stood up as soon as his name was shouted.

    "Jon!"

    Another kid stood up.

    Hearing the names, As wondered if my name was going to be on the list as well. He had already worked that day, cleaning the ce and all. He didn''t want to work in the night as well, just because guests wereing. It wasn''t as if they were paid for working day and night!

    Still, he found it rare. They weren''t often called to work at night. The night was the time when the Vampires of this Castle were awake. It was only during the day when kids were supposed to work.

    Throughout the day, the children worked cleaning all the rooms of the pce and taking care of other stuff like washing clothes. That was also why none of the kids had seen a Vampire even though they had been working here for years.

    Even though the kids didn''t see a Vampire, they did see the coffins inside the rooms when they went to clean the rooms.

    They were strictly warned not to touch the coffins when cleaning as that''s where Vampires used to sleep during the day. No one here knew why. It wasn''t as if Noble Vampires couldn''t walk in daylight.

    "Mise!"

    As As was lost in thoughts, he heard a name that immediately alerted him. The old man had called on his sister to serve?

    ''Huh? What? Did that guy say Mise?''

    He was so lost in thought that he didn''t properly hear. Unfortunately, he got his answer when Mise took a step forward. She already looked so tired, yet she got more work.

    "As!"

    The old man said the next name, calling As. Hearing his name, instead of being disappointed, As was happy since his sister didn''t need to work alone.

    Before hearing his name, he was already nning to step forward to suggest his name instead of Mise if his name wasn''t called.

    Fortunately, that wasn''t needed now as his name was spoken right after her. He couldn''t take her ce when he was supposed to work as well.

    ''This day is really bad. First, we worked like usual, then we lost double the blood we usually lose, and now we have to work at night?''

    "The four of you shalle with me."

    The old man turned around and left the cell. As walked closer to Mise. He could see the look on the faces of other kids whose names weren''t spoken. They looked relieved that they weren''t selected. Then again, if he were in their ce, he would''ve felt the same.

    "Best of luck!" Jason raised his thumb and wished everyone luck.

    ''This guy... I can''t understand if he is teasing me or being serious.'' As shook his head.

    As and Mise followed the old man. They walked past the blood collection hall and reached the stairs on the other end of the hallway. Following the old man, they went upstairs to the ground floor.

    "Brother, Do you think we will get to see them tonight?" Mise asked As out of nowhere.

    "Probably," replied As, realizing that she was talking about the Vampires.

    Since it was night, it made sense that they''d see them as long as they weren''t working in some random isted corners.

    ''That reminds me. What will we even be doing? I need to ask that,'' he thought.

    "Ah, Sir." A fourteen-year-old boy moved closer to the old man before As could. "May I ask what we''ll be doing?"

    He asked the question that As and everyone else wanted to ask as well.

    "You''ll be serving the guests. It''s simple. In short, you''ll be the waiters today," the old man answered. "Apparently, the guests don''t like being served by us old men. That''s why we selected you all. You''ll be taking our ce for the day."

    "And to take our ce, first you need to look good. So right now, I''m taking you to get a nice shower, and if we still have some time left, possibly some haircut," he further added.<novelnext></novelnext>

    ''Haircut? It looks like these guys are really serious,'' As thought. ''So we''ll be interacting directly with the Vampires? This is even more overwhelming than I thought.''

    He hadn''t seen a Vampire before. He has only heard about them.  And now that he was going to see them, it was going to be from so close?  This was slightly scary.

    Just as the old man had said, he took everyone to the shower room on the ground floor. Surprisingly, there were many such rooms in a row, and all of them were spotlessly clean.

    "Take one room each and get out fast. The new set of clothes are hanging inside. Wear them beforeing out. But don''t let them get wet. We don''t have any more clothes of your size!"

    As selected the first shower room. Mise picked the one next to him. The other two boys selected the fifth and the seventh room.

    Soon, the sound of water falling on the floor filled the entire ce as everyone started showering. The water was slightly warm for some reason. It was warm yet gentle.  On the contrary, the water they usually got for showers was so cold that it often made them shiver. Moreover, there were also shampoo bottles on the side.

    Looking at the bottles, As couldn''t help but smile. "It has been so long since I have used one."

    He took some shampoo and started massaging his wet hair. He kept the shower short so as to not upset the old man. A white towel was also hanging on the wall for them, right beside their clothes.

    After drying himself, As wore his clothes and stepped out of the room. Only his hair was slightly wet as water trickled down from his hair to his cheeks. He wiped the water droplets on his face with his hands.

    As for the clothes they were given, they looked so fancy, at least to As,pared to what he was used to wearing. The clothes were made from a much softer fabric.

    As was wearing a ck pant, and a white shirt. Over the white shirt, he wore a ck jacket. The other boys were dressed the same. Only Mise was dressed differently as she was wearing a ck dress that came down to her knees.

    The old man stepped forward and ced a ck bowtie around the neck of all the youngsters except Mise.

    "Good. You don''t look half bad. We don''t have much time. Come with me. Let me give you a short training on what to do so you don''t mess up."

    *****

    After half an hour of session, the kids were ready... As ready as they could be in such a short time. The old man had taught them all the basics of what they had to do and what they must never do so they didn''t offend the Vampires. It wasn''t tooplicated either.

    ording to him, they just had to go to the hall with sses filled with blood. They needed to wait there until the Vampires finished before taking the empty sses and leaving the room. That was it. It didn''t look hard orplicated at all.

    The list of what they were told to never do was a lot bigger than the list of what they had to do. They were told that they couldn''t look directly in the eyes of the Vampires or that they could court death since Vampires didn''t like anyone looking in their eyes. It was considered disrespectful.

    They also couldn''t touch the Vampires or talk to them unless they were asked a question first. Only if they were asked to speak could they open their mouth, and that too only to answer.

    Moreover, after serving, they needed to maintain a gap of six feet from them as they waited inside the room for them to finish. If that was all, then As was fine as well since it wasn''t that scary. However, things were much moreplicated, which he was soon going to find out.

    The old man brought all of them to the kitchen, where four trays were waiting for them. One of the trays was filled with empty sses. As for the rest of the trays, they were holding jugs filled to the brim with blood.

    As found it quite strange. These people had taken so much of their blood with the excuse to serve guests. Then why was there such a small quantity of blood for the guests? Did these people lie and take more than they needed?

    As if reading As''s mind, the old man spoke,  "After you serve the blood, wait there. The guests would certainly demand more. After that, you wille back and take more. I''ll keep more ready and wait for you outside the hall. You understand?!''

    ''So that''s what it was. This guy doesn''t want to overwhelm the guests by filling the room with blood. They are probably going to drink all night long, and it is our job to make sure their sses are never empty. This job suddenly became moreplicated than I thought.''

    Since Mise was weak, everyone decided that she was going to be the one who would carry the tray with the empty sses as the jugs with blood were heavier. In reality, it was just As who decided that. However, the others just went along with his decision.

    The boys picked up the trays with the jugs while Mise picked up the tray with empty sses.

    Taking a deep breath, they advanced towards the main hall. The guests had already arrived. They had already cleaned the main hall many times, so they knew where to go without needing directions.

    As As walked with the tray, he could feel his heart beating really fast. His heart was thumping like it was going to jump out of his chest and run away.

    He was sure that the same was true for other boys and Mise as well. They all tried to look calm on the outside, but there was a tsunami of emotion inside their hearts. They were going to face the Vampires after all!

    They were going to face the gods of this world! They were going to serve the beings that could decide their life and death with a single wave of their hands! Of course, they were all scared, but they couldn''t show it.

    They had walked in these hallways hundreds of times before, yet today, those same hallways were looking much longer. Each step of theirs was heavier than it should have been, and it wasn''t because of the weight of the trays.

    The old man was also following behind the youngsters to make sure everything was going smoothly. Even though he wasn''t going to enter the hall with them, he was going to keep an eye on the outside.

    The other servants of the pce were looking at them along the way. As didn''t know why, but he found something wrong about their gaze. Just what was it? He couldn''t understand. It was as if they were looking at them with pity? Was it just his misconception? He didn''t know.

    After a few minutes, the youngsters finally reached the entrance of the hall. The massive doors of the main hall were closed, yet none of them dared to push them open. They took deep breaths to calm their rapid heartbeat.

    The door was something they had seen many times. It was twice the height of As and had a myriad of intriguing patterns carved on it. The pattern that attracted As the most was the Blood Moon in the center of the door. Every other design originated from the Blood Moon.

    After a few calm breaths, As gathered his courage and stepped forward to push the door open.

    "I''m going to open it. Is everyone ready?" he asked, cing his hand on the door. "Just remember, if we don''t want to die, we must work in a team. So tell me when you''re ready!"

    "I-i am ready," Mise stated.

    "I am ready as well."

    "Me too!"

    After everyone agreed, As finally opened the door, revealing a path to a new beginning... Or to the beginning of the end.

 Chapter 6 Trapped

    "That''s right. There has been an emergence of some futile resistance of humans against us. We''re crushing them as theye. I don''t even know why humans bother? It''s probably because of the influence of the Witches in the west. Those pesky annoying things can''t stop creating trouble for us!"

    "Exactly. It''s not as if we go especially after them to hurt them. But I''m more pissed at the humans. Those pitiful creatures think they can defeat us with such minute struggles? They''re just eager to die, it seems."

    Inside the main hall, a meeting took ce, and only one side was talking. It was the side that was dressed in a red cloak.

    There was also another side that was dressed in ck cloaks, which was mostly silent. That side belonged to the Vampires that ruled over this Pce.

    The red-cloaked Vampires appeared to have more people in their group. There were twenty Vampires, all sitting together in their group.

    The person that was leading the red side was known as Lord Carlisle. His cloak also seemed to be a bit different than others as it had the Symbol of the Carlisle family engraved in gold. The other members had the Carlisle family symbol engraved in red.

    Lord Carlisle looked to be in his mid-thirties, but his actual age was unknown. He was known as one of the oldest Vampires in the Carlisle family and a powerful one at that. The Carlisle family wasn''t weak at all.

    Lord Carlisle had beautiful white hair and frightening red eyes that seemed to be made entirely of blood.

    As for the owner of this Pce, he was known as Lord Severis. He also had dark red eyes, just like Lord Carlisle, but his hair was blonde. His face was slightly oval-shaped, unlike the round face of Lord Carlisle. He was the Master of the Severis family and was also known to be as strong as Lord Carlisle.

    "What I don''t understand is why humans are only acting up near your domain? They don''t even make a single noise in ours. Did you do something to agitate them?" Lord Severis asked, finally opening his mouth.

    "Hmph, not at all. As I said, it must be because of the Witches. They have been messing with us, riling all the humans! Moreover, the humans are also getting a bit arrogant because of the appearance of Antis. Not the humans in my domain but the ones right outside."

    "Antis? You mean that mysterious group...?"

    "Exactly! They are waging a war against the Vampires. Humans aren''t a problem. We can wipe them as we desire, but Antis is a headache. We don''t even know who is in that group. Is it a group containing Werewolves? Witches? No one knows."

    "I''ve been trying so hard to catch one of them so I can get the truth out; however, they are very sneaky. They kill my men and disappear, leaving no evidence. It''s so annoying that I just want to kill everyone I see. I''m sure you can understand."

    Lord Carlisle clenched his fist in annoyance, smacking it on the table near him.

    As soon as his fistnded on the table, the table shattered into pieces with a booming sound.

    Lord Severis nodded, letting out a sigh. "I can understand. Even though they haven''t established themselves in this ce, their name has been spreading far and wide ever since they managed to kill Bastion. We do need to find them. We can''t let them run around freely and motivate humans to fight against us. I don''t want to kill my food."

    "Exactly!" Lord Carlisle expressed. "Humans are too naive! Just because Antis killed one measly Vampire in a farawaynd, they think we can be defeated too? They don''t know how weak Bastion was! But then again, Antis doesn''t attack from the front. They''re an even bigger coward than a human!"

    Lord Severis sighed. "Old friend, why think so much about it? So what if it''s Antis. If you need help, just tell me. I''ll wipe Antis for you and provide you with any help you need."

    "It''s alright. I can take care of them myself. I just want Antis to stop being a coward and appear before me once. Let''s see then. By the way, there is a rumor that they''re moving towards my territory. Let theme. They''ll see what their arrogance gets them."

    Both the Vampire n leaders were immersed in a deep conversation when the hall door opened, attracting their attention.

    *****

    As stepped inside the hall, pushing the door open. As soon as he entered, the people inside the hall went silent. But before that happened, he was able to hear something about Antis. He couldn''t help but wonder what that was all about?

    As soon as he looked in the direction of the Vampires, he momentarily froze. He tried hard to avoid looking into their eyes so as not to upset them. Taking another deep breath, he stepped towards them, keeping his head down.

    "Hmm?"

    As As was walking, he heard the sound of rattling. Slowly turning back, he noticed that it wasing from Mise. Her hands were trembling. As for her eyes, it seemed like she was looking straight at a Vampire and couldn''t take her eyes off.

    ''Oh god! Don''t tell me she looked at a Vampire directly?!'' As thought as he took a step back to help his sister; however, it was toote by now.

    "Fascinating. Very fascinating. A human that dares to look me in the eyes?" Lord Carlisle smirked. Out of everyone, Mise had just looked in the eyes of the leader of the Carlisle family.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Youngdy, step forward," Lord Carlisle ordered. There was a smile on his lips, but his eyes looked yful.

    Mise started walking towards Carlisle. As also walked behind her to support her and serve them blood.

    "You, stay where you are!" Noticing As following Mise, Lord Carlislemanded firmly.

    As didn''t know why, but there appeared to be some magic in the man''s voice. It was as if his body refused to listen to him and followed themand of Lord Carlisle instead!

    He couldn''t take a step back either! What was it! Why wasn''t his body listening to him? Many questions floated in his hand. It was as if he was paralyzed entirely.

    As wondered if this was thepulsion that he had heard about? It was said that Vampires had noble souls! With that, they could control any human being to listen to theirmands. It didn''t matter if that human wanted to or not.

    He could see Mise trembling as she walked closer to Lord Carlisle. Even her legs were shaking. The tray in her hand became more and more unstable because of the shaking. Finally, just as she was a few steps away from the ground, one empty ss fell from the tray.

    Seeing the ss fall, As felt as if his heartbeat had stopped. This wasn''t going anything like he had imagined! It was supposed to be simple, where they had to serve and leave, but what was happening now....? As realized that Mise''s life was in danger.

    The ss went down and time seemed to have stopped until the sound of ss shattering came.

    As tried to help even now. "My Lord, she is young! Please don''t punish he-"

    "Silence, you wretched human! You dare order me?!" Lord Carlisle roared. "You won''t move your lips either! Stand there silently!"

    Since As couldn''t move my legs, he thought he could at least talk to Lord Carlisle to forgive his sister.

    In the tense moment, he forgot that he was breaking another rule which was that they couldn''t talk to the Vampires as long as they didn''t ask them to! His lips also closed and refused to open at all! He kept struggling to open his lips but to no avail.

    "Why did you stop?" Lord Carlisle asked, noticing Mise stop. "Come closer!"

    Mise again started walking as if her body wasn''t in her control.

    "Argh!" she let out a pained noise as her feetnded on the ss pieces which stabbed her feet. She couldn''t stop though. Her body wasn''t in her control either. With tears dripping down her cheeks, she kept walking, even through the broken ss as her feet bled.

    Unfortunately, her trembling only intensified. Her face had turned paler in fear, and her heart started skipping beats.

    Mise nced back towards As as tears trickled down her cheeks. Seeing tears in the eyes of Mise, As felt a thousand pins stab his heart. It was as if she knew what was going to happen to her.

    ''Idiot! Nothing is going to happen! Why are you crying! Nothing can happen to you!'' As tried to speak, yet his words only stayed in his mind and refused toe out of his lips. He was a prisoner in his own body.

    Mise''s body didn''t stop walking until she reached Lor Carlisle. By now, all the sses had fallen to the ground, leaving only the empty tray in her hands.

    There were broken pieces of ss all around the room in the path she followed, most of whom were covered in her blood.

    As tried to force his body to move, but it didn''t. He kept roaring in his mind, trying to force himself. ''What is this! Why isn''t it moving! Mise''s life is in danger! Come on! Move dammit! For god''s sake, move once!''

    Even his eyes had started to get wet! He didn''t know if it was because of his helplessness or because of seeing Mise in pain.

    ''No! Don''t give up! I need to free myself of thispulsion! I need to save Mise, even if it means giving up my life instead! Come on! Arghhh!''

    No matter what he did, the oue was the same. He couldn''t move!

    There was a dreadful feeling in his heart. Was it the end? Was it the end of the path for him? His heart was churning in pain as he saw Lord Carlisle stand.

 Chapter 7 Compulsion Versus Conviction

    Lord Carlisle observed Mise with a yful smile on his lips. "What is your name?"

    His voice sounded so alluring that it could make anyone who heard him want to obey him. Mise also couldn''t stay silent following his question.

    "M-mise."

    Lord Carlisle ced his finger under Mise''s chin and applied a little pressure to raise her head so he could look in her eyes directly.

    "So, Mise, please tell me what you''re doing here? Why did youe to disturb our important meeting?" Lord Carlisle asked.

    "I-i came to serve your drinks," answered Mise.

    "Serve our drinks in what? Do you have any sses to serve us drinks in?" Lord Carlisle smirked, ncing at the empty tray in Mise''s hands. All the sses on the tray had already fallen on the ground, leaving none in the tray.

    The entire hall was frighteningly silent. No one dared to make even the slightest of noise. Lord Severis didn''t interfere either. He let Lord Carlisle do what he pleased.

    "I-i..." Mise started stuttering but couldn''t answer. Her tear-covered face was filled with horror and pain.

    "Let''s leave that aside. Tell me one thing." Lord Carlisle sat on his chair again. "Are you scared of me?"

    Mise, being unable to lie, nodded her head.

    "And why is it that you''re scared? Do you think I''ll eat you?"

    Mise didn''t reply.

    "You know when you looked at me directly in the eyes. I thought I finally found another human that wasn''t scared of us... someone who wanted to challenge us like those rebels that keep annoying me. Apparently, there have been more and more humans popping up who are drunk in arrogance. I thought you were one of them. However, listening to your answer, it seems that I was wrong, wasn''t I?"

    Even though Lord Carlisle asked, he didn''t get an answer which prompted him to ask the question again. "Mise? Was I wrong?"

    Mise didn''t know how to react. This question was actually tooplicated for her. If she said he was wrong, he might be offended that someone was calling him wrong.

    On the other hand, if she said he wasn''t wrong, it would mean that he was right in saying that she wasn''t scared of him, then also he was going to be offended, thinking a human wasn''t scared of him.

    Standing in the back, As wasn''t sure how Mise was going to answer. He could only pray that she could somehow get out of this situation safely. It still wasn''t toote.

    Mise didn''t reply. She couldn''t reply as both answers were wrong. She was stuck between a rock and a hard ce.

    "Little girl, answer me. I''m asking for thest time. I don''t like repeating a question. Don''t make me use mypulsion on you again. Was I wrong or not?"

    "Y-you weren''t wrong." Mise finally opened her lips. "But it''s also true that I was scared. We are mere humans. We aren''t ones who can stand before the mighty Lords. It''s also our first time meeting you all, so I was scared. I ask for forgiveness." Mise bowed her head, offering an apology.

    "I didn''t ask for an essay from you. It was just a simple yes or no question. However, you did say I was wrong. So let''s just go with that." Lord Carlisle chuckled. "That boy in the back who was asking me to forgive you? Who is he? Your friend? Or your lover?"

    Mise looked in As''s direction. Her eyes were already red as tears kept trickling down her cheeks. "Brother..."

    As wanted to console her and tell her that everything was going to be fine, but he couldn''t even do that. He kept praying in his heart for the safety of Mise as he cried over his helplessness. She was the only family he had in this world, and she was so close to death! He couldn''t do anything.

    Even though he couldn''t express his feelings through words right now, he was sure that his eyes were expressing more than they should''ve. The tears in his eyes weren''t doing any good either. How could she be strong when her brother himself was weak?

    "Ah, so he is your brother. That must be why he cares so much about you. It makes sense now." Lord Carlisle gazed toward As. "So, Mr. Big Brother. What do you think I should do to your sister for calling me wrong and messing up with our celebration?"

    Hearing his question, As cursed in his head. ''This bastard! Why is he asking me? I can''t even open my lips because of hisstmand! He needs to specially tell me to speak if he wants answers or remove mypulsion."

    "Oh, how silly of me. I forgot that you couldn''t speak. Hahaha." Lord Carlisle burst intoughter. "It''s alright. I have a simpler way. Let''s y a game. If you want me to forgive your sister, take one step forward. And if you don''t want me to forgive your sister, then remain standing there. It''ll be a fun game. Let''s see how you do."

    Even though he gave As the option to decide, As couldn''t move! Just like he couldn''t move his lips, he couldn''t move his body either. Thepulsion was still there. Carlisle hadn''t removed it.

    "Also, let me remind you one thing. You can''t give me the excuse that you can''t move either. You must have heard the saying of humans. Where there''s a will, there''s a way. If your love for your sister is strong enough to break mypulsion, I will free her. So you must move. If you don''t, then I''ll take that as my answer."

    It was clear that Lord Carlisle was toying with him, and he was enjoying it as well! As could see it in his eyes that he relished the thought of being able to control their lives! If it was that easy to breakpulsion, why would he be standing still even now?<novelnext></novelnext>

    As decided to try even harder, albeit no amount of determination could help his frail body move. It was already very weak. His body wasn''t even listening to his heart and his mind! His entire body stood still as he watched everything like a spectator. He was like a statue there.

    "Looks like you don''t love your sister much after all. But then again, I''m not surprised. If there''s one thing that''s weaker than the humans, it''s the bond between them."

    Ultimately, Lord Carlisle turned to look at Lord Severis. "This girl... Is she someone you need in your pce?''

    Even though he was a Lord and wanted to y around, he realized that this was still the Domain of Lord Severis, and he needed permission before doing what he wanted to do.

    "I don''t think I saw her before," Lord Severis answered. "You really want her?"

    "Yeah. Since she came to serve us drinks, it''s only fair that she serves us drinks. However, I can''t use the broken sses. So I guess I''ll have to adjust to something else."

    There was a scary smile on Lord Carlisle''s face. As couldn''t shake off this bad feeling inside my heart. Something bad was going to happen! Was he truly going to kill Mise?

    Now all his hope rested on Lord Severis! He was the master of this Pce! If he said no, his sister was going to survive! It was all dependent) on him! As''s eyes moved to Lord Severis with a pleading gaze.

    "Go ahead." Lord Severis folded his arms, giving Mise''s life in the hands of an outsider like she was his property. His two words were enough to shatter all the hopes of As.

    He couldn''t believe that after serving this ce for so long, they were tossed away so easily. That was the value of their lives.

    "Good." Lord Carlisle''s grin became even broader. He again nced at Mise andmanded, "Sit on myp."

    This time, he used hispulsion since he didn''t want to wait. Unable to resist the man''spulsion, Mise sat on the man''sp.

    As she sat, her pale face faced As. As felt my heart shattering into a thousand pieces, watching the look on her face. He was unable to stop anything. He wanted to scream at the top of his lungs.

    ''Bastard! Let her go!'' His body kept failing him though. Even as all his nerves popped up, he couldn''t move. It was as if he was tied in space and time.

    He wanted to kill that bastard when he saw Lord Carlisle reveal his sharp fangs, which he brought closer to the pale neck of Mise. The thumping of his heart was going crazy. It was as if his heart tried to jump out of his chest as if it didn''t want to stay inside the body of a coward who couldn''t even protect his little sister.

    The sharp fangs of Lord Carlisle finally stabbed the neck of Mise, digging deep into her veins in search of blood.

    "Argh!" A pained scream escaped Mise''s lips, reaching As''s ears.

    Her thin body, which was already void of all the blood, started losing even more blood. Some of her blood even trickled down her neck as her agony-filled screams continued.

    Her melodious voice, which was usually the sole reason for As''s happiness even in this hellhole, was enough to make him cry today.

    The helplessness... He had never experienced it before! Even when they were captured by the Vampires, he was still hopeful, but today looked like the day when it was all going to end. He was in a literal hell!

    He was sure that his sister was going to die, and he couldn''t even talk to her onest time. He could''ve even console her. He could only look into her eyes as his tears escaped from his deep blue. He could only apologize to her again and again inside his heart for being such a weak brother that he couldn''t even defend her.

    Mise''s eyes slowly started closing as her screams got weaker. Her cries soon stopped entirely. Her eyes closed as her head lowered. The hall returned to the scary silence where people could even hear each other''s breathing.

    Lord Carlisle moved his head back, bringing his fangs out of Mise''s neck. He licked his bloody lips that were covered in Mise''s blood as if he wanted to savor everyst bit of the taste that he had experienced just now.

    Mise''s body fell off hisp and dropped to the ground.

    "She was really tasty, I must say." Lord Carlisle smirked, turning in As''s direction. His smile felt like a sword that was stabbing the gravely wounded heart of As. It was as if someone was rubbing salts on his wound.

    For As, Lord Carlisle didn''t matter now. What mattered was his sister. He wondered if she was unconscious or was she dead?! He hoped it was the former! He was willing to do anything as long as she was safe!

    "Hahaha, Kid. Why are you looking at me like that?" Lord Carlisle chuckled. He was really having fun at As''s expense. "You know you can''t me me for this. It was all your fault."

    "All you had to do was move to save your sister, but you couldn''t even do that much? That only goes on to show that you wanted your sister dead. I just helped you. You can''t me me. Shouldn''t you be happy instead?!"

    Lord Carlisle stood up again and grabbed Mise''s throat, raising her body in the air. His eyes remained focused on As.

 Chapter 8 Rage Of The Wounded

    Lord Carlisle raised Mise''s body before turning to As.

    As''s nerves were visible around his neck as he was so agitated. He just wanted to run to Carlisle and kill that bastard! Even in this condition, he wasn''t leaving Mise.

    Fortunately, Lord Carlisle didn''t do anything else. He simply tossed the body of Mise towards As. "Here, take the body and get lost from my sight! Also, you can move now!"

    Once again, hismands were something As wasn''t able to refuse. Even if he could, he didn''t want to! If Mise was still alive, he needed to save her and get her to the doctor!

    He ced his tray to the side and ran to Mise''s unmoving body. He picked up the motionless body of Mise before dashing towards the exit without thinking about anything else.

    Pushing the door open, he left the hall.

    Lord Carlisle sat back on his chair. "Well, that was entertaining."

    "Lord Carlisle, I didn''t expect you to leave that boy alive," A young man from the Carlisle n let out, seemingly curious. "I noticed that there wasn''t any respect in his eyes for you near the end. You should''ve killed him as well."

    Lord Carlisle smiled, shaking his head. "Killing him would''ve been boring. This was more entertaining. Now when he thinks of his dead sister, he''ll remember how important it is for those pesky humans to be scared of us."

    ****

    Outside the hall, the old man who had brought all the kids here was standing as if he was waiting for them. As soon as As stepped out of the hall, the old man blocked his path. "Where are you going?"

    "I need to get her to the doctor!" As eximed as he stepped aside to leave. "She will die otherwise!"

    The old man also moved in the same direction as As, blocking him once again. "So? After what she did, does she even deserve to live? You kids ruined everything! All you had to do was a simple task, and she couldn''t even do that properly! She deserved to die after all that!"

    "After the guests leave, I''ll be punished as well for selecting idiots like you. It''s all because of you!" he eximed.

    Hearing the old man mock and me them, As couldn''t control himself. He snapped. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"

    He didn''t even know if his sister was alive or dead, and this man was not only blocking them, but he was also ming them as if they wanted to die?! Did they ask the man to send them here? Did they ask to serve these damn Vampires? Did they ask to be used as Blood Bags?

    He tried to ignore the old man and leave, moving past the old man.

    "Urgh?"

    As he tried to leave, he felt like he was being choked as someone pulled his cor from behind. The old man was again stopping him by grabbing the cor of As from the back.

    "These small rats have grown really arrogant. You think you can scream at me? I think I should teach you a lesson!" The old man''s arrogance filled voice entered As''s ears.

    That was it! As has had enough! He worked like a ve here for years withoutining, but he wasn''t going to let it go today! It didn''t matter who stood in his path today; he had decided to leave! No matter who stood in his way, he was going to get his sister to a doctor!

    As As was in the hallways, there were many decoration items nearby, and one such thing was a flower vase that was within arm''s reach. The beautiful flower vase was the size of As''s head and had a dragon carved on it. The vase looked very expensive as well, but As didn''t care.

    If it were the old him, he would''ve thought twice before doing something like this with such an expensive item, but not today. He grabbed the vase with his right hand while still keeping Mise in his embrace and swung the vase with his full strength.

    Smash~<novelnext></novelnext>

    The flower vase hit the head of the old man, shaking him to his core. The old man dropped to the ground within seconds. His head started bleeding, and his eyes closed. The vase also shattered in the process, but its task was done.

    As didn''t know if the old man was dead or just unconscious, but he couldn''t have cared any less! He could only think about Mise right now! He needed to save her life!

    Instead of utilizing this opportunity when there were no guards here to attempt an escape alone, he ran back to the stairs.

    Using the stairs, he went down and reached the basement. He didn''t know how he was even able to walk while carrying Mise, but it was as if his strong emotions were giving his body the strength it needed!

    He only knew one doctor in the entire ce, and that was the one who collected their blood daily.

    He knew he was going to be killed eventually for what he did with the old Butler, but that was thest thing on his mind. As he ran, each second was like an eternity for him.

    "Mise, don''t worry. You''re going to be fine! We''ll soon reach the doctor!"

    He triedforting Mise, who hadn''t moved since the start. Trails of blood could still be seen on her neck. As already had a dreaded feeling that it was probably toote, but he didn''t want to believe it!

    "Doctor!" he yelled as he entered the blood collection hall where the tens of white beds were ced in a straight line.

    His scream immediately attracted the doctor''s attention, who looked at him in surprise.

    "Save her! Please!" As dropped to his knees, begging the doctor as tears kept falling.

    "What happened to her?" The doctor asked, frowning. He picked Mise from As''s arms and ced her on the white bed closest to him.

    The doctor raised Mise''s arm a bit and ced his fingers on her wrist. After a few seconds, he released her hand, which dropped to the bed.

    "What happened to her? Tell me she''s going to be fine?!" An agitated As asked. "A Vampire sucked her blood from her neck! She hasn''t woken up since. Please save her! I''ll do anything you say in return. I''ll be your ve for all my life!"

    As didn''t know how he looked right now, but he could see the pity in the white-robed man''s eyes.

    The doctor shook his head ultimately. "She won''t ever wake up. She is dead. We can''t do anything to save her now. It''s toote."

    "D-don''t say that! She can''t die! She can''t leave me behind! There must be a way! Please save her! You must do it!" As roared.

    "I wish I could do something, but she''s really dead. There''s nothing we can do. Even gods can''t bring her back to life, let alone us. Forget her. Go back to your bed."

    As''s heartbeat stopped momentarily as he heard the doctor.

    "This can''t be. It can''t be!"

    Drip...

    He could feel something wet trickle down his cheeks. He was too weak to stop his tears. She was really gone. The dream they had of leaving this ce together was broken as Mise left him alone in this godforsaken ce.

 Chapter 9 Fly Far Away

    Still on his knees, As moved closer to Mise. He held her hand.

    "As I said, there is nothing you or I could do. We are just humans. We aren''t gods," the doctor consoled him.

    "Gods? What gods?" As raised his tear-covered face. "There are no gods to do justice! There are no heroes to protect us! There is no one for us..."

    He gently touched the pale cheeks of Mise as he stared at her. "At least you are free from the shackles of this godless world. Fly free my dear sister... Fly far away from this sinful world and go where you belong... In the embrace of our dear mother in heaven..."

    Drip~

    A tear fell on the cheeks of Mise, falling from his eyes.

    He was trying very hard not to cry, but he was failing badly. She was gone as well. He had no reason to stay here anymore...

    "What will happen to her body here now?" He looked back at the doctor, who was still looking at him with pity.

    "Her body will stop making blood now, so she would be useless to the Vampires. She will probably be tossed to the wild beasts outside so they can feast on her."

    "Wild beasts? After all that?" As muttered nkly. "I... I can''t let that happen. I can''t let her body be desecrated... That''s right! I''ll leave this ce! I''ll bury her body properly in a ce far away from here!"

    Hearing the words of the doctor, As realized he couldn''t let Mise stay here even if she was dead. He reached out his hand to pick up Mise, only to be stopped by the doctor who grabbed his hand.

    "I am sorry, but I can''t let you do that. No one is allowed to attempt an escape, especially with a body from thisb. Since the body is here, it''s my responsibility that it stays here! Kid, step back from the body!"

    "She doesn''t belong to anyone! She is my sister. I shall decide how her body isid to rest!" As roared like a wild beast.

    "Kid, don''t test your luck. I already gave you plenty of consideration. That''s all you''ll get. Now scram back to your cell!" The doctor pushed As aside as his gaze turned sharp.

    He was certainly powerful before As''s weak body. With a single push from the man, As fell to the ground.

    Still, As knew he couldn''t sit back and watch. He watched his sister being killed, unable to do anything. But he wasn''t going to watch her body being fed to the beasts like it was some trash!

    He stood up and looked around, trying to see what he could use. If his body wasn''t strong, he was going to use his surroundings like before!

    Soon, his gaze fell on something. The entire hall was empty, having only one doctor here, but there were certainly some items here that he could use.

    He saw one of them nearby. An injection was lying near one of the beds, unused.

    The doctor started observing the wounds on Mise''s body. He didn''t realize that As was slowly moving towards another bed. As carefully picked up the injection and started walking back to the doctor. Unfortunately, his footsteps alerted the white-robed man.

    "You won''t learn, it seems. Let me toss you in the cell first before starting with your sister." The Doctor red at As. He still didn''t notice the injection in his hand that As was hiding behind his back.

    Instead, he just saw one agitated kid getting close to him, which wasn''t intimidating in the least for him.

    As soon reached the doctor, who had his guard down. The doctor swung his hand to p As.

    p~<novelnext></novelnext>

    As didn''t avoid the p, letting it hit his pale cheeks, which started tingling with pain from the powerful p. However, that much was enough for him. He had already closed the distance.

    He was close enough to the doctor. He thrust the injection towards the man''s neck, stabbing him before forcing the entire liquid which was inside the injection into his body.

    As the injection stabbed the neck of the doctor, the doctor yelled in pain, holding his neck. He could feel his neck burning. His neck turned red as some kind of infection started spreading around his torso. Pain overwhelmed him.

    "You bastard!" The doctor grabbed As by the throat and started choking him.

    The oxygen was getting scarce as As was choked. He started having trouble breathing. He knew that if he didn''t do something fast, he was going to die as well.

    He couldn''t let that happen! He needed to escape with Mise! He couldn''t let her suffer here even in death! He pulled the injection out of the man''s neck and stabbed the same in the right eye of the doctor this time.

    "Arghhhh!" An even louder scream came from the doctor.

    The doctor yelled out loud as his grip became weak, freeing As. He pulled the injection out of his eyes and applied some pressure on his eyes which were bleeding by now.

    The Doctor kept screaming in pain as he dropped to the ground. He also started having trouble breathing and soon felt like he was being suffocated. His face turned pale as he felt his heartbeat getting irregr. Before long, everything stopped. His eyes closed, and his heartbeat stopped.

    Watching the man fall down, As picked up the body of Mise.

    "Come on sister, time to leave this ce. I promised you that we were going to leave this ce together someday! I''m going to keep that promise now, even if it''s toote!"

    Carrying his sister, As ran to the door. He pushed the door open.

    Thum~

    As soon as As left through the door, he was forced to stop at the sight of tens of guards that were blocking the path.

    "There he is! He must''ve been the one who attacked Elder Won! Capture him!" The guard in the lead yelled in As''s direction.

    All the guards ran towards him. Seeing no choice, As ran in the other direction towards the canteen. Pushing the canteen door open, he barged inside, trying to give him some time to think of a n.

    The canteen waspletely empty as all the kids had eaten, and they were in the cells now. Fortunately, the door was left open. After entering, As tried to close the door behind him.

    Boom~

    He was just about to lock the door when the door was forced open with brute strength. The impact was enough to send As flying back. He dropped to the ground. Mise''s limp body also fell far away from him.

    "You think you can hide after killing a person here?" One of the guards red at As, stepping closer. "People like you can''t escape the consequences of your actions! It''s time you get your punishment."

    Clenching his fist, As forced his body up.

    As was already very weak today because of all the blood loss, and on top of that, he had to carry his sister. Only he knew how he was still able to stand even after all this.

    "Consequences of my action?! From where I''m standing, your consequences only apply to weak people who just want to survive. For the strong, there are no consequences! Aren''t I right?"

 Chapter 10 The New Era

    ****

    "Where am I?"

    There were green fields all around As as his vision returned. The sky was also very beautiful, covered in clouds.

    As far as the eyes could see, only beautiful nature was visible. There was a river in the distance, filled with clean and fresh water. Some fishes were also swimming in the water, asionally jumping out. The distant mountains stood tall and proud, only making the scene even more majestic.

    Gentle winds kept brushing against his skin as he stood still, seemingly confused.

    "How did I end up here?" As let out, seemingly confused. He remembered being constantly hit by the guards before his vision had turned dark. And now he was here.

    "Hmm?"

    As he was lost in thoughts, he felt someone''s soft hand holding his hands. Curious, he looked down, noticing a fair hand. There was a beautiful blue bracelet on the hand. As could recognize that bracelet anywhere! It was the bracelet of Mise.

    He raised his gaze and looked to his left, noticing Mise standing right beside him.

    "Y-you are alive?" Shocked, he swiftly stepped forward to hug Mise. He had never been as excited as he was now.

    "Argh!"

    It was fine when he was standing still, but as soon as he moved his body, a terrifying pain spread all around his body as if all his bones were shattered. The world started turning vague. Mise freed herself from As'' grasp and started walking away as her figure turned blurry.

    She stopped in the distance and turned back. As couldn''t even see her face clearly at this point, but he heard what she said clearly.

    Mise only said one word before she disappeared. "Live..."

    The worldpletely turned ck as everything disappeared. The pain still remained in his body. Even more sensation returned to his body as As felt his hand and his legs tingling. His breathing was slow. He was also having difficulty in breathing. He was in so much pain¡­

    Despite the physical pain, what was worse for him was the emotional pain as he realized what had happened.

    ''That was... A dream?''

    As slowly opened his eyes, seeing his actual surroundings.

    He found it sad that even in such a perilous situation, he was able to see a dream. Probably because he wanted to see her safe onest time? Or maybe because he had no control over his mind since he had lost consciousness after being beaten badly back in the canteen.

    He did try to fight back, but he couldn''t take even one guard out. Apparently, real guards were more skillful than the old man and the doctor for him to defeat.

    He was not only defeated swiftly, but he was also thrashed badly. He could still feel the pain whenever he moved his body. He didn''t even know how many of his bones were actually broken, but if he were to guess, he would''ve said all his bones were damaged.

    He found himself in a dark room. The walls were rotten and looked really dirty. The room wasn''t very big either. The square room was only three meters wide. Moreover, the metallic door had no opening to let even the air pass. It was apletely sealed cell.

    "I, argh."

    He tried speaking, but that was too painful for him. His lips were also swollen and bleeding even now. He also felt that some of his teeth were missing. It was like he had gone through torture.

    He wondered how long he had been unconscious for. He did remember the guards talking about arresting him instead of killing him. Since he killed an important person in the pce, they wanted him to be punished by the Vampires.

    The Vampires were engaging with the guests, so he was probably tossed here to wait for them to be free.

    There was no surprise for As. He knew what was going to happen next. As soon as those people came, they were going to kill him. Then again, he felt that it might not be too bad. Death might be better at this point for him as he could reunite with her¡­

    "Live..."

    Just as he was thinking that death might be better, he remembered thest words Mise said in his dreams. The words kept echoing in his ears.

    He knew that it was something she would have said if she was alive as well. She would have always wanted him to live. Unfortunately, As didn''t think he was strong enough for that.

    ''Can a weakling like me have any ce in this world? Can I even make any change?'' he thought.

    ''No! I can''t give up! I already spent my life in darkness, waiting to see a glimpse of light. I can''t give up now. I must live, so she could see the light with my eyes. I must live so I can bring peace to her soul and get revenge one day!''

    ''It doesn''t matter how long it takes! I have an entire lifetime to n revenge, as long as I can get out of here. I also need to take her body back!''<novelnext></novelnext>

    cing his left hand on the ground, he tried to push his body up.

    "My legs... They are broken too? Argh!" he eximed, frowning. He couldn''t even move his legs. Fortunately, his hands were still working to some extent.

    ''As expected, the pain wasn''t ordinary. The guards kicked my legs so brutally that they are probably broken already. I can''t even stand up. There is no way to escape like this when I can''t even stand.''

    He could only push his body back and sit with the support of the wall. Sitting at the end of the room, he stared at the gate. "Can I only wait for death? What a life it had been¡­."

    The new clothes that were given to him by the old man were already covered in blood from top to bottom.

    He found this entire situation kind of amusing as well. He already thought hecked the blood, but now that he looked down, he realized that so much of his blood had been spilled today, and he was still alive. He really underestimated himself.

    Other than the blood on the ground, there wasn''t anything except some dirt. It was a ce that was impossible to get out of. And he wasn''t stupid enough to think that he could break the door without any help. He knew his weakness all too well.

    He weakly rested his head on the wall, reminiscing his past and how things could''ve been different if he had attempted an escape with his sister before today. Even though the chance of getting caught and killed was high, it was still better than the inevitable death that just urred.

    Grrr~

    As soon as he ced his head on the wall, something happened. Something which changed everything, including his present and his future.

    The part of the wall where he rested his head moved back slightly with a grilling sound.

    Following the grilling sound, the old yet strong wall started moving. It kept going down and down until the wall had entered the groundpletely, revealing what appeared to be a secret path behind. Right behind the wall, there were stairs that were going down.

    As the wall moved down, As dropped to the ground. He rolled his body and looked back.

    "Secret passage? Why would something like that be in an underground cell?"

    " It doesn''t matter! I can''t waste a single second! If it''s the way out, I must take it!"

    As he couldn''t walk due to his broken legs, he started using his hands to drag his body down the rough stairs.

    A trail of blood was left on the stairs behind him as he kept dragging his weak body without stopping. The chest pain was only increasing, but it wasn''t time to think about it. He needed to get out. In his head, he kept repeating that he needed to live!

    His head was also spinning, and everything seemed like a dream as he started feeling dizzy, but he didn''t stop.

    Unlike the walls outside, the stairs looked particrly clean. There were, however, some spider webs in ces as if the stairs weren''t cleaned or used in a long long time.

    As heard the sound of stones rubbing against stones again as the wall behind him moved up again, blocking the path. Everything returned to the way it was before. The only difference was that he was on the other side of the wall now.

    He was happy that it happened. That way, even if the Vampires came, they couldn''t know where he went if they didn''t know about the secret passage. He really hoped that was the case.

    The only way for them to know was if they knew about the secret path. And even then, it was better for the wall to stay as it was before.

    ''As long as the Vampires can''t put the pieces together, they are going to think that some guard messed up and helped me escape. I can only hope that they aren''t going to find me downstairs.''

    He could rest here and hope to heal before attempting an escape. However, he also knew that it was unlikely that he could stay here for long. He still needed food. Without food, he couldn''t survive. There were too many factors at y here. Moreover, he had too much blood loss already.

    As he kept moving, he lost more and more blood. His vision had once again started getting blurry, but he kept dragging his body. After dragging his body for close to ten minutes, he finally reached the end of the stairs.

    However, he also couldn''t take it anymore. His vision waspletely ck at this point, as if he was blind. His body had also grown weaker, and the pain had reached an unbearable level. Even his hands gave up.

    Before long, he lost consciousness. His blood covered handnded on the ground along with the rest of his body. At that time, he didn''t even know if he was ever going to open his eyes again... For a moment, he even thought that it was his end. This was finally the day he was going to die.

    ****

    As didn''t know how long it had been, but he finally regained his senses. He could once again feel his body. However, for some strange reason, there was no pain anymore. The heart-wrenching pain was gone as if it was never there.

    As didn''t realize what had happened at that time. He didn''t know that it was that moment where it all started... The true beginning of the end...

    The new era... An era of his ascension... The era of an idental Vampire that was never meant to be¡­

 Chapter 11 Not Meant To Be...

    As opened his eyes, only to find himself standing in a dark space. No matter where he looked, he couldn''t see anything. He couldn''t even feel the ground under his feet. It was as if he was floating in midair with nothing to support him.

    He could sense gentle winds brushing against his skin, giving him a cold sensation.

    "Did I die already? Is this what the afterlife is supposed to be? Just endless darkness?"

    Assuming he had died, As felt slightly bad. He hadn''t expected to die so soon without being able to get his sister back, but he also knew that he was too weak to live. Death was a bigger possibility than he would have liked.

    "Death?" A mysterious voice came from an unknown direction. It was as if the voice wasing from all directions simultaneously. "Death¡­ What a fascinating thing. Some people are scared of it, yet they can''t avoid it. On the other hand, there are those who crave for it yet they can''t get ...."

    "Who is it? Is there anyone else here?" As asked, hearing the mysterious voice.

    No response came to his questions.

    Something started changing in his surroundings though. As felt as if he was falling at rapid speed. It was as if he had jumped from a high rise building.

    Even though he felt like he was falling, As didn''t scream. He knew that he was either dreaming or dead already. There was no way he could die in this ce again. Moreover, it wasn''t as if screaming could help him. He did feel a little fear though.

    After falling for five straight minutes, his body started slowing down before he ultimately stopped. As felt soft grass under his feet which was slightly cold and wet as if there was some dew on it. He was finally standing on something solid instead of floating in the air.

    The dark surroundings started to brighten up slowly. A beautiful sky appeared above the head of As. However, the sky was different from the sky he had seen in the past.

    He had known the sky to be blue; however, the sky here looked to be Crimson. There was a blood moon shining up in the sky. A few dark clouds could also be seen spread out.

    As looked at the sky in slight amazement. It had been years since hest saw the sky; however, he still remembered that it used to be blue. He didn''t know how it turned red. Was it what was known as hell in stories?

    Despite being red, the sky seemed beautiful and charming. There was just something very alluring about the sky and the moon.

    After having enough of the sky, As lowered his gaze and checked his surroundings. As he looked down, a weird look covered his face. His lips slightly opened.

    He found himself standing in the middle of thousands of tombstones. It was as if he was standing in a graveyard.

    Amidst the thousands of graves, he also noticed another person. It appeared to be a silver-haired man whose back was facing him. He couldn''t see his face. The man stood before the tallest tombstone in the entire graveyard.

    As didn''t know why, but there was a feeling in his heart that was telling him to stay away from the man. That feeling was telling him to run as far as he could.

    It was an even worse feeling than what he had when he stood before the Vampires of Carlisle n. He didn''t know what this feeling was. Why was he so scared even if he was dead?

    He felt a bit of trembling in his arms. However, instead of running away, he chose to do something else entirely. He didn''t even know where he was. He wanted answers, and if someone could answer him, it was the man whose back was facing him.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Gathering all his courage, As started walking toward the silver-haired man. The man was wearing a ck overcoat that covered most of his body. Other than the hands of the man, As couldn''t see anything. The hands of the man appeared to be pale as if theycked blood.

    "Was it you who talked to me before?" As asked the man

    The silver-haired man nodded his head, but he still didn''t turn back. "You aren''t supposed to be here."

    "You mean I''m not supposed to be dead? Well, you should tell that to those bastard Vampires who killed me," As responded, letting out a sigh.

    "Bastard Vampires?" The man muttered as a smile formed on his lips. Unfortunately, As couldn''t see that smile that looked so beautiful on the charming face of the man.

    The man responded. "I mean, you aren''t supposed to be here. It wasn''t supposed to be you¡­ It wasn''t meant to be you..."

    As didn''t understand what the man was trying to say. He wasn''t meant to be here?

    "What do you mean?" he inquired.

    Throughout the conversation, he didn''t stop walking. From a distance, he walked past the man before turning around to look straight at the man.

    While the silver-haired man stood on one end of the tombstone, As stood on the other side of it, with the tombstone acting as the boundary between the two.

    As As saw the man, he grew slightly curious. The man had pale skin like that of the Vampires, but his eyes weren''t red, meaning he wasn''t a Vampire. He couldn''t help but wonder why this man had pale skin then? Was he also a prisoner like him who had died because of loss of blood?

    Despite the pale skin, the man still looked charming. His beautiful green eyes had the potential to drown anyone in their depths. Despite the charm, the eyes seemed to have many secrets hidden in them that were buried deep in all the grief that those beautiful eyes portrayed.

    There was an aura around the man, which gave the feeling that the man could destroy the entire world if the man wished.

    "Are we in hell?" As asked, looking at his surroundings.

    "Hell?" The man nced at As in slight amusement. "I guess you can call this ce hell. I don''t mind."

    "Who are you?" As asked again.

    "It matters not who I am. What matters is who you are? How did you get here? Tell me more about yourself instead. How did you manage toe here?"

    "Even though you''re not supposed to be here, If I find you worthy, I''ll let it go. However, if I find you unworthy of standing here, I''ll destroy your soul this instant...."

    Hearing the threat of the man, As was stunned. This man was threatening to destroy his soul. However, for some reason, he didn''t feel like the man was lying or exaggerating.

 Chapter 12 Do You Seek Strength?

    The man kept gazing at the tombstone even as he talked. He didn''t even look at As for longer than a few seconds at a time.

    As had a thousand questions of his own, but he felt that it was better not to antagonize the man. He decided to tell his story, lowering his head.

    "My story¡­" As let out a sigh. "I wonder if I can even call it my story since I was never in charge of my own life. I was always in the backdrop, just trying to survive. However, being a weak human, what could I do? I was amodity."

    "When we were little, our mother died, giving birth to my little sister. I was two years old when that happened. As she died, we were only left with our father, who wasn''t a bad man at that time."

    "However, the death of our mother changed our father. He started drinking more and more. There wasn''t a single day when he didn''te home drunk. Not only that, he always med my sister for my mother''s death even though it wasn''t her fault." As let out, remembering many instances where his father hit his sister. Not only her but even he was beaten regrly for minor things.

    Hearing the story, the silver-haired man raised his eyes to notice the expressions of As.

    Meanwhile, As continued with his story. "Despite all the taunts from our drunkard father, we were living our lives the best we could. However, it came to an end..."

    "I was twelve years old, and my sister was ten at that time when our father came back drunk like every day. However, it was different that day. He came with an old man with him..."

    "Why?" The silver-haired man asked.

    "I always wondered where our father was getting the money to drink. It turns out he was taking loan after loan from the old man that he brought home. And it was the day when the old man stopped giving my father loans until he paid back his old loans."

    "By that time, our father was already addicted to alcohol. He couldn''t bear the thought of not being able to drink, so he made a decision... Since he couldn''t give the old man money, he decided to give him something else..."

    "Your sister," the silver-haired man muttered as if he could already guess.

    As responded with a nod. "My father decided to sell my sister to the old man. I kept begging him not to do this, but he didn''t listen. He pushed me aside and handed over my crying sister to the old man..."

    "What did you do?" The man inquired.

    "What could I do? I was weak and couldn''t face two adults." As sighed.

    "So you let the man take her?" The silver-haired man frowned as a look of disgust shed before his eyes.

    "No." As shook his head. " I couldn''t let them take my sister either despite being weak. I ran to the kitchen and picked up a knife. Since I didn''t have strength, I could only take external help."

    "You killed the old man and your father?" asked the man.

    As nodded in response. "I killed the old man. When my father saw me kill the old man, he stepped back in fear and slipped. His head hit the table in the back. Even though he didn''t move after that, I''m not sure if he died after that or was just unconscious when I ran with my sister."

    "Sigh, I might''ve done the same if I was in your ce." The man nodded. "In our world, people often forget the importance of family. Only people who don''t have a family know the importance of a family..."<novelnext></novelnext>

    As could feel the sadness in the voice of the man as he spoke.

    "You didn''t have a family?" he asked.

    The man simply shook his head. "I didn''t have a family. But I made a family of my own in this world. Even though I didn''t have a family by birth, I had people who could support me. They were no less than family¡­."

    As he spoke, he shifted his attention back to the tombstone. The sadness once again shed in his eyes.

    "Anyway, continue with your story. What happened?" he let out.

    "Right. I ran away from home with my sister, closing the door from the outside."

    "We left the vige and continued running. We didn''t know how far we could run as we had no food or water. We were almost on the verge of death from hunger and thirst."

    "That''s when we noticed a carriage in the distance. We stood in the path of the carriage, hoping they could spare some food for us. Worst decision of my life¡­ it would''ve been better to die of hunger that day."

    "The carriage stopped, and the man inside gave us food and water. If only I knew how dearly that food was going to cost us. Those people lured us with their kindness and took us with them. I didn''t know how vile they were from the inside until it was toote."

    "What did they do?" the man asked.

    "They took my sister and me with them and sold us in the market of ves as if we were their property. We kept begging to be free, but no one listened."

    "That''s where we were bought by another old man who brought us to a Pce in the mountains. I didn''t know it at that time, but it was a Pce owned by the Vampires. We were kept in a cell and used for our blood for four years."

    As continued his story, talking about how they spent theirst few years. He spoke calmly about everything that took ce in his life. However, it was only when he spoke of the incident in the main hall that tears appeared in his eyes.

    "My sister... She died right before my eyes. I couldn''t do anything to save us. I was too weak. I couldn''t even face human guards who stopped me from giving a proper burial to my sister after her death."

    "If only I had the strength... I could''ve saved her!" As clenched his fist. "Why is it such a big crime to be weak in this world? Do we have no rights just because we are weak? Can the strong do whatever they want?!"

    The silver-haired man didn''t respond and went silent as he nced at the Blood Moon in the sky.

    "Do you seek strength?" After a long time, he opened his lips.

    "If strength helps me get my sister''s body back, then yes! Even if I''m told to be someone''s ve in exchange for them helping my sister, I would agree in a heartbeat. I want nothing for me, but I want her body to rest in peace," As replied. "But it''s impossible."

    "The world has changed a lot, it seems. But some things remain the same. They never stop toying with humans. Sigh, when will they learn..." The silver-haired man let out a sigh, shaking his head. "It seems the world needs a change. Maybe that''s why you managed to get here¡­."

 Chapter 13 Strength Isnt Free... The Cost Of Blood.

    "What do you mean? Will you help me?"

    "I won''t help you." The man shook his head. He looked deep into the eyes of As. "It''ll be you who needs to help yourself."

    "I can''t!" As eximed. "I am too weak!"

    "That''s what you think. Humans aren''t as weak as you think. During my time, I had many human allies who fought side by side. You think those ordinary Vampires are strong? The humans I knew could easily defeat one. Have you heard about those humans?"

    "Humans who could fight Vampires? I heard about them, but only in stories. I thought they were made-up stories? It was said that there were some humans a thousand years ago who were known as heroes. They were strong enough to kill millions of soldiers and even give a tough fight to a Vampire."

    "Millions of years ago? Time passes really fast, it seems. They must all be dead by now in that case." A disappointed sigh left the lips of the man.

    "Fine. I''ll give you what you want. I''ll give you strength... But it wille at a cost."

    "I''m willing to pay any cost! I don''t even need strength for an eternity! I just want the strength to get my sister out of that ce and give her a proper burial. I don''t even care if I die after that. Even if you want me to sell my soul to you, I''ll agree!" As eximed.

    He had heard the stories about Hell and Devils who ruled over hell and dealt in souls. At this time, he was thinking that the man was a Devil.

    "That''s not how it works. I can''t set a time limit. I can give you strength, but it won''te free. You''ll have to learn how to do things yourself. You''ll have to learn how to call forth that strength and how to use it properly."

    "You mean I can go back to the ce with strength? What about my death?"

    "Death? Death is only temporary. The soul is eternal. I can send you back, but as I said, it''lle with a cost." The man dered.

    "What cost?" As asked.

    "The cost is simple. For as long as you are in my body, your soul will keep losing a small fragment of it every day until the day it''spletely destroyed. The fragment of your soul will be whatys a path for me to wake up and break these restrictions. Do you ept the cost?"

    "My soul will be destroyed?"

    "Yes. You can get the strength of mine, but you''ll lose your soul in return. And it''s not because I want to destroy your soul. As much as you like to think it, I''m not a Devil, and this is not hell," the man let out as if he could read the thoughts of As.

    " It''s just because a human soul isn''t strong enough tost in my body for a long time. I can extend your time by a bit, but it won''tst long," he further stated. "Ultimately, one day, your soul will be destroyed. It will depend on your soul though. It can be destroyed in a week, a month, or a year. But I don''t think it''llst longer than a year in any case."

    "What will happen if my soul is destroyed?" As inquired. "How is it different from death?"

    "As I said before, death is temporary. The soul is eternal. But when your soul is destroyed, you''ll be gone forever. You''ll never be reborn. It''ll be the end of you for an eternity..."

    "Is there really a rebirth cycle? That''s not a fragment of human imagination?!" As eximed in surprise.<novelnext></novelnext>

    The man only smiled in response. "Take your time. Think about it. It''s a high cost to pay.

    As didn''t even take a single second beforeing to a decision. "I ept! Give me strength! I am ready to give up my life, my soul, and my future for Mise! I am ready for everything! I want your strength!"

    He was already feeling guilty for not being able to save her.  Thest thing he could do for her was give her a proper burial. It didn''t matter if he needed to have his soul destroyed in exchange. He was even willing to sell his soul to the devil for strength.

    "Are you sure?" The man asked, taking thest confirmation. "You might regret it. The pain of the soul being destroyed slowly is worse than any pain you ever experienced in your life."

    "I am! Give me strength! Give me the strength to save my sister... Whatever''s left of her!" As dropped to his knees.

    "Fine. I shall give you the strength you need. But it''s for you to learn and grow that strength so you can use it. I won''t help with that. I''ll just show you the path. It''s for you to walk on that treacherous path." The silver-haired man started stepping towards the As.

    As the man walked closer, As felt like he was being suffocated under intense pressure. Just how strong was this person? Even standing before him was so hard.

    As sat on his knees before the man as if he was in the audience of a King.

    The man stopped a few feet away from As and ced his hand on the head of the young boy. A light started shining around As''s body as soon as the man touched him, whichsted for a few minutes.

    After the man took off his hand, the light stopped, and a crescent moon symbol appeared on the forehead of As.

    "This soul mark will try to slow down your soul deterioration, but it''ll start disappearing as your soul deteriorates. There wille a day when this markpletely disappears. That shall be that day your soul is lost forever. Use the time wisely, young man..."

    As the man finished his words, he turned around. The surroundings started turning blurry, including the man''s figure who walked back to his spot before the tombstone.

    "What is your name?" As asked, feeling like he was never going to see this person again as his surroundings turned illusory.

    "There''s no need to tell you my name since you''ll be forgetting all about this meeting as soon as you wake up." The man''s voice echoed in the surroundings. "Best of luck, young human. Use my body wisely. Also, I hope Lilith won''t trouble you too much."

    As soon disappeared. Only the man was left. He sat before the tombstone, letting out a sad smile.

    "The kid reminded me of you so much. Was I right in doing it?" he asked as if he was talking to the Tomb.

    "I wonder if I should''ve told him about the other costs that he needs to pay in the future? Maybe not... Even if I had told him, he wouldn''t have said no. I could see it in his eyes. It wouldn''t have mattered."

    "I''m curious what the future holds for this boy. The boy who wasn''t supposed to be here. It looks like a fated ident that he ended up here. I wonder what changes this ident brings to the world. It''ll certainly be interesting."

    "The world does need some change but then again, they are in the same world as well. When my body makes an appearance in the world again, things would start getting bad¡­"

 Chapter 14 You Think I Came Willingly?

    ~~~~

    When As had closed his eyes and lost his consciousness aftering down the stairs, he was really expecting him to die and never wake up.

    To open my eyes once again, it was a really different and surprising feeling, especially when all the pain was gone. Moreover, the pain wasn''t gone because his body had grown numb. He could still feel his senses and his movement.

    As he woke up, he forgot entirely about meeting someone in what appeared to be a dream just a few moments ago. He only remembered the time before losing consciousness and nothing more.

    "Where am I?" he eximed, finding himself in a dark ce.

    After getting over his initial daze and the happiness for his survival, he realized that everything wasn''t normal. There was something odd.

    Previously when he lost his consciousness, he was lying at the end of the stairs, but he wasn''t there anymore. He found himself trapped in a closed space now. It appeared like a small box from the inside that was made to fit his body.

    In fact, only now did he realize that it felt awfully a lot like the coffins in which Vampires slept; it was just a bit different.

    "How did I end up from an open space to this ce? Did someone carry me? Did those people catch me? Don''t tell me the Vampires found me and sealed me here? But why would they heal me? Did they also heal me so I could die a slow death inside the coffin?"

    There were many questions in his head, and all of them were valid. He couldn''t have walked inside the coffin on his own after all.

    "I need to get out of here!"

    Feeling like he was suffocating in the close space, he tried to get out. He ced his hands on the top of the coffin, trying to push it open, but it didn''t even move an inch. "Is this locked?"

    The coffin had a wooden texture from the inside, as if its interior was made of wood; however, it was firmly sealed. As was sure that its outer exterior was made from a different material which made it strong.

    There was also something soft under his body, making him feel like he was lying on a mattress made from the softest of materials. After sleeping on the ground all this while, he was sure thisfort was something he would have appreciated more if he wasn''t inside a freaking coffin!

    "After surviving an inevitable death, is this how I''ll die? Buried alive inside a coffin for an eternity?"

    "No! This can''t be how it ends! I didn''t survive all this while just to die like this!"

    Clenching my fist and getting impatient, he started punching the coffin with his full strength, not caring about hurting himself. Even as he punched, he hadn''t expected the coffin to open, but something miraculous happened on the first punch itself.

    "Boom!"

    The top of the coffin flew off high in the sky, just after a single punch. After staying in the sky for a few seconds, the top fell in the distance.

    "W-what just... What happened? How did I do that? Just one punch to send it flying?"

    He hadn''t been so shocked ever in his life as he was now. A single punch of his had broken the coffin.

    "My wrist? It doesn''t look hurt either, even after all this. Am I still dreaming or something? How is my strength so high suddenly? Huh, wait. Why is my wrist looking even paler than it usually did? Is it because I lost even more blood?"

    "But that''s not it. My wrist is thicker as well. It''s not as skinny as before. My fingers are also longer. And what is it that I''m wearing? I was wearing blood-covered clothes? Howe my clothes are different and perfectly clean now?"

    "No, the clothes are entirely different. They look... Even more expensive. What''s going on here?" He was so overwhelmed that he didn''t realize how different he was entirely.

    His legs were longer; his height also seemed more. He looked even paler. It was allpletely different. And more importantly, his legs were perfectly fine now, whereas they werepletely broken before. He could move them now.

    In the back of his head, he believed that he was still dreaming. He even thought that maybe he was already in aa or something of simr nature. Still, he decided to explore.

    He sat up. No matter how dream-like this whole thing was, he started observing his surroundings.

    The room had nothing out of the ordinary. It was a room that was mostly empty. The ce seemed mostly dark. In front of him, the top of the coffin was lying. There was a dent on it.

    "Is it made of silver?" The coffin head was made of pure silver, which surprised As even more. How was he able to punch it so easily? That convinced his suspicions even more. It was certainly a dream, but he went along with it.<novelnext></novelnext>

    The coffin also had some strange markings on top that appeared to be made from blood. For some reason, he was unable to read them even though he felt that he was familiar with them.

    Shaking his head, he stopped thinking about these words.

    "Maybe my head can''te up with the words for my dream, so it made up some random stuff." Making up a reason, he turned to his left.

    Even in his dreams, he wouldn''t have expected to see what he saw next.

    "W-what?!" A shocked voice left his throat.

    A horrifying sight was waiting for him on the left.

    There it was, a body lying at the foot of the stairs. The body belonged to a young boy. It was covered in Blood that had finally stopped seeping out of the body, but not before turning the entire floor under the body red.

    ~~~

    Current time~

    As stood before the body which had belonged to none other than him. He hadn''t evene out of the initial shock of being in someone else''s body when he was told that he was in the body of one of the first Vampires to walk on this earth?

    "Are you sure you aren''t joking with me?" That''s the only thing he could ask Lilith.

    "You think I will jest with a human? You aren''t even worthy of talking to me, let alone upy my Master''s body!" Lilith snorted. "In fact, it would be much better if you leave his body instead! Let him sleep right here, so everything is ready for when he is to return!"

    "Leave his body? You think I came here willingly so that I could leave willingly? It''s not a house with a door where I coulde and leave. And even if I could leave, I won''t leave! I have more important things to do! And this body is going to help me!" As eximed with a determined look on his face.

    He needed strength, and this body had the strength! There was no way he was going to miss this opportunity!

    "You want to use my Master''s body for your selfish gains? Insolence!" Lilith snapped.

    "I don''t care what you say. God has given me this opportunity, and I''m taking it! I will take my sister''s body back from those Vampires! I''m not returning this body until I get her body!" As responded firmly.

    Without taking a break, he continued. "Now I am in the body of a Progenitor! Those Vampires must listen to mymands and return her body! I couldn''t protect her when she was alive, but I won''t let her body be used by them!"

    "Your sister...?" Lilith asked oddly.

    As didn''t know why, but the reply of Lilith was slightly odd. She didn''t have thatmanding tone anymore. Instead, she seemed a bit serious, as if she was somewhat... concerned.

    "Yeah. My sister. She was killed by the Vampires right before I came to this ce..." As let out as he stepped closer to his body. He picked his old body up from the puddle of blood while telling his life story to Lilith, forgetting that it hadn''t been long since he told this story to another person.

    He carried his body away from the blood and ced it inside the coffin. For some reason, he had assumed that Lilith was going to scold him for dirtying the coffin of her master, but she remained engrossed in his story.

    He picked up the dented top of his coffin that he had sent flying. He carried it to the casket, observing his real face onest time. He was sure he was never going toe back here in the future after he left with his new body. This was thest time he was going to see his old face.

    As he gazed at his real face, he noticed that it was slightly simr to the face of his mother. His body was so thin, reminding him of how weak and malnourished he truly was. But not anymore! Now he had the body of the Vampire Progenitor. He was going to leave this ce at any cost!

    "And that''s how I got here... I lost my consciousness. I don''t know what happened after that. When I opened my eyes, I was in the body of your Master."

    While finishing his story, he covered the coffin, sealing his real body here forever, not knowing what was going to happen with it and if he could ever return to it.

    "This world never changes, does it?" Lilith asked, letting out a sigh.

    "What?" As didn''t know why but for some reason, he felt as if he had heard the exact words before. Someone else had uttered those same words, but he couldn''t remember who.

 Chapter 15 Lilith

    "Nothing. I am sorry for your sister."

    ''She is saying sorry? Why? It wasn''t her fault. It was mine! I was the pathetic brother who couldn''t even save Mise while she was killed. All I could do was watch her being tormented right before my eyes before she was tossed away like a toy.'' As thought,ughing inwardly at his weakness.

    "It wasn''t your fault. I will certainly kill the person who hurt my sister... I''ll make it just as painful as well. I''ll make him experience the same helplessness that I felt. Now I have the means to do it as well."

    "No, you don''t. You can go outside and fight them. You''ll die!" Lilith eximed.

    "What? But you just said I''m in the body of the Progenitor! You even called the other Vampires pesky before your master? How can I die?" As asked, confused. Her words didn''t make sense.

    "That was the case for Master. But you... You aren''t him. You just have his body. You don''t even know how to do what he could do," Lilith exined. "It''s like you have a weapon, but you don''t know how to use it."

    "I... I will figure something out," As responded. "I still have the strength! I was able to use it!"

    "Figure something out? Strength and speed is the most basic thing which most Vampires have. It''s nothing special! You can''t even draw out the full potential of that strength!" Lilith eximed as she circled around the body of As.

    "You''ll just get my Master''s body hurt. And you won''t be able to help your sister that way either. You aren''t allowed to fight them. Listen to me. I''ll help you get out of this ce. I can teach you to be better, and then you cane back. Don''t take the risk now!" she added, trying to persuade As.

    Seeing her discourage him, As looked at her in confusion.

    "I don''t understand. Why would I even need to fight?" As asked. "You know I''m not the Progenitor on the inside. You know I don''t know how to use the abilities that your master possessed, but they don''t know that! For them, I''ll be the real Progenitor. I just need to pretend to be the real thing!"

    "To them, just the name should be enough! All I need is to intimidate them to return my sister for now!"

    Lilith couldn''t help but burst into condescendingughter as she heard As.

    "You naive human!" She eximed. "That won''t work either. My Master went to slumber a really long time ago. The vampires that knew him must all be long gone by now. And no one would remember how he looked. The new Vampires won''t believe you either."

    "Moreover, your aura is very weak as well since you don''t have my Master''s soul. You can''t use the aura to stimte their bloodline to fear you either. In essence, they''ll never believe your words. They''ll just think of you as an intruder and attack you without asking any questions."

    "I don''t think you can face the attack of so many Vampires," she further added, trying to persuade As. "In essence, you might have my Master''s body, but you aren''t him! There''s still a long way for you to tread to be even a fraction of what he was!"

    "You can''t be telling me just to run away and leave my sister behind?" As asked in disbelief.

    Lilith didn''t answer his question and went silent. Her silence contained her answer though. She didn''t want As to go for his sister as he was now!

    As was unable to wait for her answer. He started walking to the stairs. "I don''t care what you say. I''m getting my sister back! I won''t fail her again!"

    Even though Lilith seemed to be someone special, for him, she was nothing! He didn''t need to listen to her. His priorities were straight.

    "Let me ask you a question," Watching As attempt to leave, Lilith finally spoke.

    "Ask." As stopped just one step away from the stairs. He waited patiently for her question.

    "Why do you want to sacrifice yourself one more time for a person who is already dead?" Lilith inquired, seemingly confused. "You received a second chance at life. Why waste it? Do you think this risk is worth it? Your life against the dead body of a person? Aren''t you scared of death? Why put your life on the line for a dead body?"

    "Scared of death?" As nced back at the coffin. "I was scared of death my entire life. I was scared of death a lot. I did everything I could do to live since I didn''t want to die. But it was not because I cared for my life."

    ? His voice was filled with loneliness as he lowered his gaze.

    "Then why was it?" Lilith asked. "Why were you scared of death?"

    "I wanted to live. I wanted to live so that I could protect someone that looked up to me. Someone who believed in me. Someone who cherished me... Someone who was my family."

    "But I failed that someone," As said in a defeated tone. "I failed the person I lived for. I failed her in life; I won''t fail her in death. Moreover, I''ve already died. Without her, I''m all alone. What''s even the purpose of my life? At the moment, I''m a dead man walking. Why should I be scared of death?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    Lilith once again went silent, but this time As was the one asking her a question instead. "Lilith, what would you have done if you were in my ce?"

    "I..."

    As expected, Lilith had no answer.

    "Alright, let me ask you a different question," As took a step back and turned around, looking at the shadow before him. "What would your master have done if he was in my ce? If he needed to save someone, but the other three Progenitors were his enemies, and he was weak, would he have run away? Or would he give it his all?"

    "What would Progenitor Castiel have done?" As asked.

    "What would he have done..." Lilith muttered, losing herself in memories as she went silent.

    ~~~

    "Castiel, are you really opposing us just to save the life of that girl?"

    "Have you started growing senile? Her mother tried to kill us so many times! We can''t let her bloodline live! If she lives, she can be a threat to us in the future!"

    "Castiel, stop standing in our path! Kill the girl or step out of our path and let us kill her!"

    Three young men stood before another young man in a town which was burning. All four men were wearing long robes and had an intimidating aura around them that was enough to make everyone around them tremble in fear.

    There were mes everywhere. Dead bodies were lying everywhere. Not a single ce existed in the town where a dead body couldn''t be seen. Almost everyone in the town was killed in the destruction except one person.

    It was a young girl with long red hair. The girl appeared to be twelve or thirteen years old. Her beautiful Violet eyes were filled with fear. She was standing behind another proud looking man who was facing the three men who wanted the girl dead.

    "We killed the witch who wanted us dead. We are done! I don''t believe we need to kill the girl. She has nothing to do with it. And I won''t let you take an innocent life."

    "Hahaha, are you joking with us? Look around us! The entire town is burning! Everyone here is dead! We already took the lives we wanted! Now we just need one more so we could finish the entire witch bloodline!" A man eximed as his dark red eyes red at Castiel.

    Another man chimed in. "Castiel, give the girl to us, or we would be forced to try other methods! All four of us should work together! The entire Vampire species depends on us! We don''t want to kill one of our own! Step aside, Castiel!"

    The red-haired girl was holding the back of the robe of the silver-haired man, who could feel her shivering.

    Castiel turned around, feeling the trembling of the girl. He went down on his knees.

    Watching Castiel turn, the three men smiled. They were sure Castiel was going to finish her off.

    "Heh, good decision, Castiel! Now kill her!"

    Castiel nced into the eyes of the small girl. His beautiful green eyes met the deep blue eyes of the little girl. The girl didn''t know why, but as soon as she looked into the beautiful eyes of Castiel, she started getting calmer. It was as if she wasn''t scared anymore.

    She was sure it wasn''t because of his Compulsion since that didn''t work on Witches. It was something else. It was as if she could see in his eyes that he was genuine and that he couldn''t hurt her.

    Castiel raised his right hand towards the girl, who didn''t take her eyes off from his eyes, even as his hand reached closer to her neck.

    Castiel''s hand didn''t stop on her throat though. It kept going up and ended up on her cheeks.

    "What is your name?" Castiel asked, gently touching the girl''s cheeks.

    By now, the girl''s tears had started flowing as if a dam was broken. "Li-Lilith."

 Chapter 16 You Already Did More

    "Why are you crying, Lilith?" Castiel asked gently. "Don''t worry. I won''t let anyone hurt you today. I was a littleteing here, but I won''t fail in protecting you. You are my responsibility from now on. Just smile and let me handle the rest."

    Castiel wiped the tears of the little girl before he stood up.

    He turned around to face the three men.

    "So you have chosen... How unfortunate." The red-haired man known as An sighed. "Castiel, you always walked a separate path from the rest of us, but we don''t care to stop you. However, today I can''t let it go anymore. "I told you before that this path will lead you to a tragic end. It looks like this is the end."

    "Are you sure you want to stick with your decision?" Another young man asked who seemed like a teenager who was eighteen or neen years old.

    "Yes, Lucius. I have chosen." Castiel respondedzily. He raised his right towards the sky. "And I will stick by my choice!"

    A blood-red pattern appeared on his hand, which started shining brightly. Winds intensified, and the temperature started falling.

    "Then so be it!" The others also raised their hands, doing the same thing.

    A small circr pattern shone brightly in the palm of Castiel''s hand. A bigger circr formation appeared above his hand, which seemed to be an exact copy of the pattern in his hand. The only difference was that the formation was much wider. It was two meters wide.

    A blood-red sword shot out from the formation, flying high up. Soon, the sword started falling down. It stabbed the ground before Castiel.

    Castiel grabbed the hilt of the mighty Sword that had thousands of blood-red patterns carved on it. He pulled the sword out of the ground. "She is my responsibility now, and I won''t let you hurt her more than you already did!"

    ~~~

    "Lilith? What happened? Tell me what your master would have done if he was in a simr ce? Would he have run away?"

    Getting no response from Lilith, As kept calling her out, but she didn''t respond. It was as if she had suddenly gone silent.

    Letting out a deep sigh, As turned his back on her. "You aren''t answering because you know the answer as well! I don''t believe Castiel would''ve run in the face of adversity! I don''t know what kind of a person he was, but I have a feeling that there was no way he could''ve been such a coward."

    "And simrly, I won''t run either! I don''t care if they''re stronger! I don''t care if they''re faster! I don''t care if they''re scary! I won''t run! My sister is my responsibility, and I won''t let them hurt her more than they already did!"

    As soon as Lilith heard thest sentence of As, it was as if she felt a jolt of lightning course through her body. These were the exact words that Castiel had said while saving her.

    "These words..." Lilith kept staring at As nkly.

    "These words what?" As felt as if Lilith was suddenly acting weird. Did he do something?

    "Nothing..." Lilith responded. "I won''t stop you. I respect your conviction. And you''re right. He wouldn''t have run."

    "Even though I won''t stop you, I won''t let you put my master in danger either. I''ll help you to ensure you don''t do something stupid. But you must listen to me at all times."

    "I will. Whatever helps me get my sister back, I''ll do it!" As dered with conviction. "So, can we leave now?"

    "Good. Before leaving, let me tell you some important things that you must know for your safety. Firstly, you must stay hidden as much as you can. You can''t let the Vampires see you. If one sees you, try to use your speed to take them out fast. At any cost, don''t give them the chance to alert others!" Lilith reminded As.

    "You aren''t prepared to face them right now, so you must make sure you don''t end up surrounded! Second, you must get out of here as fast as you could after getting your sister before others realize what happened!" she further exined.

    "I''ll keep that in mind." As nodded.

    As knew that she didn''t need to warn him about that, but it was good that she did. It showed him that he had an experienced person on his side. In any case, he wasn''t going to war yet, or so he thought...

    As couldn''t see the stairs properly when he wasing here before, but now that he was leaving, he could see them clearly. Each of the stairs had some strange marks carved on them, which seemed to be made from a thin line of blood. The walls on both sides of the stairs also had the same carvings.

    "These were made by Lord Castiel before he went to his slumber," Lilith said as if she was able to read his mind and knew what he was thinking.

    "Can you read my mind?" As inquired, frowning. This was slightly scary.

    "Meh, do I even need to read your mind to know what you''re thinking. You''re such a simpleton that your expressions alone are enough to give away what you are thinking." Lilithzily responded.

    "Any special reason to make these markings?" As inquired. "I noticed the coffin also had something simr."<novelnext></novelnext>

    " Of course, there is a reason. You might not know this, but my master was also someone who could use spells that only witches were able to use. Then again, each Progenitor had a unique specialty of their own in addition to themon abilities that all four Progenitors shared."

    "Being able to use spells was my master''s unique specialty. What you see on the wall are the formation spells which he made with his own blood before he went for his slumber."

    "What''s the use of them?" As asked, seemingly amused.

    "These spells are strong enough to destroy any vampire or witch if they stepped on the stairs. My master didn''t want his sleep to be disturbed, after all. So he made these formations so no one could enter this ce.*

    "Who would''ve thought that the one who came here would be nothing but a normal human."

    "I suppose I should thank him for not making these spells to kill humans," As let out, scratching the back of his head. "Then again, I already died after getting down. So I doubt this would''ve been any different even if he had died before getting down."

    He soon reached the top of the stairs.

    As he reached the end of the stairs, all he saw was the wall before him. There was no path ahead. "It''s close again. I don''t know how I opened it the first time, but I think it''s because some spot on the wall was pushed. Let me try pushing blocks. It was something like that."

    "Don''t worry. This castle was a secret castle of my master. He made this ce, especially for himself. I know all the secrets of this ce, including how to open it," Lilith said, sounding proud. "Just press this ce."

    Her shadow pointed at a certain spot on the wall.

    As raised his hand to touch the spot, but he stopped mid-way. He could hear some soundsing from the other side of the wall. It was as if someone was there. It wasn''t the right time to open this wall.

    "The prisoner ran away! But how!"

    "We would be killed if someone finds out that the prisoner ran away while we were on duty! We must alert everyone!"

    Somehow, he was able to hear each word clearly even though the people were talking on the other end of this thick wall.

    "Well, so much for staying hidden." As sighed. "I need to stop them if I don''t want everyone to know. It''s better to take out the guards right now instead of waiting for the Vampires to be alerted!"

    He ced his finger on the wall. The wall started slowly falling. As the wall continued going down, an opening was made for As to leave.

    There were three human guards on the other side, each being surprised at the wall, which suddenly went down to reveal a stranger on the other end. However, before they could even ask any questions or make any noise, As''s figure moved.

    Boom~

    A single punch. A single punch was enough to send one of the men flying. He crashed into the wall in the distance. Coughing out blood, he dropped to the ground.

    Even though he knew what he was now, As was still amazed at his strength. Was this the strength that the Vampires enjoyed? No wonder they were called the new gods!

    "You idiot, don''t y around!" Watching As getcent, Lilith yelled. "Finish them fast, and don''t use too much energy!"

    "I know, I know!" As yelled back as his figure flickered. He appeared before the other two guards and grabbed their throats with one hand each.

    Crack~

    The throat of the two men was crushed. As tossed their bodies behind him. The bodies flew towards the stairs and kept rolling down.

    He walked over to the third man, who was already dead as well. The man''s skull was cracked from the impact with the wall. Holding his cor, As dragged his body back and tossed him down the stairs as well.

    The wall closed, hiding the bodies of the men and the secret chamber from sight forever.

    "I told you, don''t waste your energy on humans. Next time, finish them immediately in the most efficient way. My master''s body was in slumber for so long. It shouldn''t have much strength. And I don''t want his blood urge to overwhelm you!"

    "Blood Urge?" As asked, surprised. He had heard about it for the first time, but the name sounded intimidating. What did she mean? He wondered.

    "What is Blood Urge?"

 Chapter 17 Blood Urge

    "That''s right. I forgot that you don''t know about it as you weren''t a Vampire. Alright, answer me one thing. Why do you think the Vampires drink blood?" Lilith asked.

    "Because they like it?" As responded. "They enjoy the blood? It''s their delicacy."

    "That''s not entirely true," Lilith refuted. "Even though they do like the blood, that''s not why they drink it. They drink blood to survive. Their life depends on it."

    "You mean it''s their food," Asmented.

    "That would be somewhat correct, but it''s different from what humans mean when they talk about food. Humans eat to keep their bodies in working condition. But for Vampires, it''s slightly different."

    "How?"

    "They won''t just die if they don''t drink blood for a few days. When humans don''t eat for a few days, their bodies can start shutting down, and they might die. But what happens with Vampires is something much different. Because the first thing that shuts down if they don''t drink blood isn''t their body, but it''s their mind which gets affected first."

    "They lose their senses, and I guess you can say they just be bloodthirsty monsters. Then they can''t differentiate between friends and foes. That''s called the Blood Urge Phase for Vampires, which I don''t want you to face since you might not even recover from it."

    " If you enter that phase, it won''t be good for anyone. Instead of getting your sister''s body, you might just destroy her body. Let alone that, but you won''t be able to think of anything. You will just be a brute who will think about killing anyone he sees."

    "If that happens, we can just forget about staying hidden. If you enter Blood Urge Phase, it''ll be game over and we''d be caught. So it would be best if you avoided it at any cost. The best way to do it? Reserve your energy as much as you can."

    "There is also another option you have. But I doubt you''ll like it at this moment, seeing that you were a human previously. Moreover, I don''t think that option will be suitable for you at this point in time."

    The shadow kept circling around As as she talked.

    "You mean drinking blood?!" As eximed.  "Since you enter the Blood Urge Phase after not drinking blood, the second option must be drinking blood?"

    He could understand what she was implying, but just the thought of drinking human blood was too much for him after what he saw with his sister. He didn''t want to be the same as the monster he despised the most. How could he do the same thing to others that was done to him?

    "You''re right. However, as I said, I don''t think you can do it. That''s why I didn''t suggest it. You''ve just entered my Master''s body. You don''t have the strong control on the urges as he had."

    " If you drink human blood at this time, you might lose yourself in the pleasure and start craving for more. You''ll be something that even you won''t be able to recognize."

    "The first time is always the hardest after all. So I was hoping we could wait for that until we were out of here, away from the den of other Vampires. That way, I can train your mindset, so you''re able to control yourself even after you drink blood." Lilith finished.

    As nced back at her, still confused about something. "You said if Vampires don''t drink blood for a few days, they enter the Blood Urge Phase. Isn''t your master sleeping for much longer? Howe his body still hasn''t entered the phase? How am I still sane?"

    "Progenitors are different from normal Vampires. They are the true Origins, after all. They can enter centuries of sleep without having to worry about blood," Lilith exined. "It''s just like hibernation. Normal vampires can''t do it, but my master and the other Progenitors could."

    "Since master was in his hibernation, it was as if time had paused for him but-"

    "But now that I appeared, the time started ticking again," As finished her sentence, seemingly frustrated at more problemsing his way. "Great. Just what I needed!"

    "That''s why I said that you should try to save some energy. The more you use your strength, the faster you''ll burn the blood in the body. Even I don''t know how long you canst without entering Blood Urge. Maybe a year? Maybe a month? or maybe a day¡­ anything is possible."

    "I know, I know. I''ll try to be more careful. Don''t worry. I''m not going down without taking my sister."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Walking through the long hallway, As noticed that there were more cells like the ones he was kept in. All the cells looked the same as the cell he was kept in. As for the stairs, they were on the other end of the hallway, farthest from where his cell was.

    "Do all these cells have a secret path that leads to the secret room?" asked As, wondering if it was that easy to get down.

    "Why would that be the case? There was only one path, and it was through thest cell. The other cells don''t have anything special as far as I can remember."

    " It looks like it was great luck that I was kept in thest cell then. If I was in any other cell, I might not be able to get to this body. I would''ve been dead a long time ago."

    As felt slightly worried at the thought of what could''ve happened if he wasn''t lucky. Not only would he not be able to get his sister back, he would''ve been dead as well, only to be fed to beasts like his sister.

    "Lucky ident... I guess you can say that," Lilith replied. "I can say you''re fortunate. You have no idea what others would be willing to give up to spend one second in my master''s body."

    "I still don''t understand how you could get in though. But I''m sure it''s possible because my master''s soul is asleep. When it wakes up, it''ll regain control of this body. Then it''ll be your turn to sleep."

    "That means I can be kicked out of this body anytime? I need to be fast in that case. I still have a question, though. May I ask why your master chose to go to sleep in this ce? He was so strong, he could''ve ruled over the world. Why would he go into slumber?"

    "It''s because..." Lilith started speaking but stopped abruptly as if she had realized that it wasn''t something she could speak. "Nothing. Forget it. You don''t need to worry about it. It''s all in the past. I don''t think it will affect us here."

    "Are you trying to hide something?" As asked, gazing at the shadow which was following him.

    Since Lilith was just a shadow, he couldn''t see her face, but from her voice, he had made a mental image in his mind already of how she must look.

    Lilith''s tone seemed off. For some reason, she refused to answer As.

    "Does master need a reason to choose his ce of Slumber? I told you it was nothing. Just focus on the path ahead!" Lilith snapped. "Do you even know where your sister is kept?"

    As expected, she was getting angry. As was sure that she was certainly hiding something. Was it because her master was scared of something and had to hide here? If that was the case, it could certainly justify why she was getting angrier the more he asked since it would''ve been embarrassing for her to say. But then again, who could have scared a Progenitor? As wondered.

    ''Maybe it is something else, and I was overthinking. If there were something dangerous out there for this body, Lilith would have informed me since it put her master''s body at risk.''

    The best thing he could do at the moment was stop thinking about such things and focus on things that mattered.

    "Last I saw her, she was in theb," As answered. "She should still be there. I just need to get to theb without being seen."

    "Can we get to theb without being seen?"  Lilith asked. She didn''t know where these people had made ab or what the security was like. She could only depend on As''s analysis.

    "I think we should be able to. Theb is right upstairs. There weren''t many guards thest time I was there, but I don''t know if they increased security after the incident that happened with me," As responded, reaching the end of the hallway.

    He stood at the foot of the stairs. "I don''t know what time it is and how long I''ve been downstairs. If it''s the time of blood donation, that ce might be crowded. Theb would be guarded as well. However, if it''s night time, the hallway would have the least amount of guards."

    "Unfortunately, that would also mean that the Vampires are up. So I don''t know which situation I would truly prefer."

 Chapter 18 My Generals!

    "I think I''ll prefer night. If it''s the night, then theb won''t have much security. We should be able to get in easily so I can get her body back," Asmented.

    "What after that?" Lilith asked. "Do you have a way out after getting her body back?"

    "Of course I do. I haven''t been sitting idle all this while. I''ve memorized this entire ce. I know all the exits. It won''t be easy, but it''s still possible," As responded.

    "If you had this information, why didn''t you leave with your sister before?" Lilith asked, seemingly confused.

    As didn''t know what to say. He could only look at the shadow in silence.

    How could he tell her that he did it for the safety of his sister? He was naive enough to think that it was safer for his sister to stay here than to attempt an escape? If only he had a little more courage, he might have been able to save her, taking her far from here before this day arrived.

    "I have a way to escape, but there are people keeping an eye there. The way I was before, there was a great chance that I would''ve been caught. But now... Things will be different. I think I can be sessful this time."

    He nced back at all the cells onest time. It was certainly surprising to see how many cells this ce actually had. It was as if it was created to hold entire armies. There was also another question in his head. Why were two underground floors created? The first underground floor where the kids were kept and theb existed.

    The second underground floor with the prisons which was just under. And Castiel slept in the room which was connected to thest cell on the lowest floor. There must''ve been a reason for it.

    He really wanted to ask Lilith more about it, but it was the time for silence since he started climbing stairs. He didn''t want to alert the guards upstairs with his words.

    He climbed the stairs, cing his foot on the ground gently to not make any noise.

    As he had expected, there were guards upstairs. As soon as he reached the end of the stairs, he was able to hear the bickering of two guards.

    "Man, those three have been gone for quite some time. Why is it taking them so long to bring a kid back? Could something have gone wrong?" A heavy voice fell on the ears of As.

    "What could have gone wrong? It''s not like they went there to fight a great beast. They just went there to bring a kid who''s already half dead," responded the second guard. "Don''t think too much. Nothing can go wrong."

    "Hehehe, that''s true as well. I''m sure they must be wasting time there. I would''ve done the same. But talking about the boy, he was truly crazy. He actually killed people here. It''s the first time where one of the staff members here were killed, and not only one but two! I wonder where he got the courage from."

    "Who knows. People do crazy things when they lose their minds. It just goes on to show that you can''t underestimate these kids. That''s why always be alert in front of those menaces."

    "Hahaha, I know, I know. I''m not nning to make a mistake like underestimating them. I don''t want to be the third staff member to die in the future. It''ll be embarrassing to die at the hands of a kid."

    As peeped through the corners of the wall behind which he was hiding. He could see the two guys immersed in conversation. None of them were looking toward the stairs. Unfortunately, those two weren''t there alone.

    For some reason, the entire hallway was filled with guards this time. As could see more guards standing there. It was the first time he had seen so many guards on this floor at once.

    Even when it was the time for blood donation, he only saw four guards at max. But currently, there were around twenty guards in the hallway alone.

    ''There goes my n to take the two guards out quickly and have free reign on this floor.''

    "You can''t do it. There is no way to fight so many people without alerting everyone. The Vampires would be here in five minutes if you did that." Lilith warned. "Don''t go ahead with the old n. You need to change it."

    "I know." As scratched the back of his head, trying toe up with a new n.

    ''What can I do here? I can''t just stand on the stairs all day? I need to find a solution fast!''

    "Wait a minute! Why are we being so stupid here?! Vampires can realize that I''m not one of the Vampires staying here. They would attack me, but what about human guards? To them, I''m a Vampire too! I can fool them! I can pretend to be a Vampire with my speed and strength. I just need to y the part!"

    "You can''t," Lilith said right away, shattering his n. "You can''t fool them."

    "Why?"

    "Did you even look at yourself? Fine. Describe to me the defining characteristics of a Vampire that are moremonly known?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Pale skin, strength, and speed with incredible healing?"

    "Did you forget about the eyes?" Lilith asked. "What color eyes do you think you have?"

    "Green¡­ Ah, that''s right. How can I forget! All Vampires have red eyes. I haven''t heard about one with green. That will give me away! They won''t believe I''m a Vampire! How is it possible though? Why do Progenitors have different eyes than the Vampires? Aren''t they Vampires as well?"

    "You think all Vampires have red eyes? That''s not true for the most part," Lilith respondedzily.

    "I''ve only seen or heard about ones with red eyes though." As let out.

    "Let me tell you in simpler terms so you can understand better. You know I told you about the Four Vampire Progenitors?" Lilith asked.

    "Yeah." As nodded in response. He knew there were Four Progenitors in the past.

    "All four of them had different eye colors. Vampire Progenitor Castiel, my master, had beautiful green eyes. The second was Vampire Progenitor An, who had deep ck eyes. The third was Vampire Progenitor Lucius, who had golden eyes. Andstly, Vampire Progenitor Ramiel had blood-red eyes."

    "All the vampires that you saw so far are from Ramiel''s lineage. The Vampires with golden eyes will be from Progenitor Lucius'' lineage and so on."

    "Lineage? You mean their bloodline? Why didn''t I see vampires with Golden, green, or ck eyes then? Why?"

    "Because Vampire Progenitor Ramiel was more into turning people into Vampires. Think of him as someone who liked to collect more toys. If I''m not wrong, this entire Pce is upied by Vampires from his lineage. They won''t consider you one of them," Lilith exined.

    "That''s why I said they won''t believe you''re with Lord Severis either, even if you prove that you''re a Vampire. At best, they''ll think you''re an intruder from outside. They''ll kill you for sneaking here."

    "Ramiel''s lineage¡­ So all the Vampires in this world are from his lineage since other Lineages aren''t seen as far as I can remember," As muttered, frowning.

    "Ramiel was different from most. The others didn''t turn humans as much as he did. Whenever he saw someone who intrigued him, he turned them into Vampires who worked for him."

    "If I''m not wrong, with time, the people he turned made more vampires. That''s why red-eyed Vampires must be moremon in your world. A lot of time has passed, after all."

    "On the other hand, the rest of the Progenitors were more reserved with who they turned. Progenitor Lucius and An only turned four and five people respectively; thest I remember meanwhile, Ramiel turned over a thousand by then."

    "I don''t know what happened in thest few centuries, but it''s either Vampires from other lineages went into seclusion, or they''re so low in number that they''re so rare to find that no one has any information about them."

    "Turning humans into Vampires? Is that really possible? I didn''t hear about that either. Is it also an ability exclusive to Progenitors?" As asked.

    Lilith didn''t know how to respond. She couldn''t believe As was so stupid. "Where do you think Vampirese from? Theye from mothers and grow up? You idiot. Vampires are made when humans are turned!"

    "Also, any Vampire can turn a human into one of them. However, there is an intrinsic difference. The humans turned directly by the Progenitors are the strongest after them. They are called Alpha Vampires, but we used to call them Generals during our time."

    " A Progenitor can turn any number of humans into a Vampire. However, an Alpha Vampire can only turn ten Vampires in his lifetime. The humans that are turned by Alpha Vampires were known as Beta Vampires or Commanders in our time. They are weaker than Alpha Vampires."

    " A Beta Vampire is different, though. They could turn around a hundred humans in their lifetime if they wished. However, only the first human they turn is special. That person also bes a Beta Vampire, but he''s known in our world as a Second Generation Beta Vampire who is weaker than the first Generation Beta vampire who turned him."

    "That aside, as I said, the first Generation Beta can turn a hundred humans. After the first human, the ny-nine that he turns are known as Servant Vampires. They are even weaker than the second generation beta. That''s why each Vampire is careful when selecting who to turn first."

    "That sounds soplicated," As frowned. He was having a hard time understanding the exnation.

    "I know it''s a littleplicated, but that''s the hierarchy that you must know now that you''re here. It wille in handy. Anyway, in basic terms, just know that the older a Vampire is, the stronger he is since it means he''s a higher-grade Vampire who came before others. That''s why newborns are the easiest to kill. Do you understand?"

    Even though As didn''t understand what she said entirely, he nodded his head. In any case, he didn''t need to care about how strong the Vampires were or their hierarchy. It wasn''t as if he was going to climb their hierarchy? He just needed his sister, and then he was going to disappear forever.

    Despite having rity about what he wanted, he still couldn''t ovee his curiosity. "What about the person whose body I''m upying? How many did Castiel turn? Where are my Generals?"

 Chapter 19 Schemes Of Lilith

    "Heh, you want Generals too? Can you even control them? You aren''t my Lord Castiel after all," Lilith let out.

    "I''m just curious. Did he turn anyone?" As inquired.

    "He¡­" Lilith went silent in the middle of her sentence as if she had changed her mind. "You have no Generals. My master didn''t like turning people. I think he felt that giving people eternal life while turning them into a Vampire was more of a curse than a blessing."

    "Many people begged him to turn them, but he never selected even one person. Maybe he didn''t find anyone worthy? In any case, he was a gem of a person. I can''t wait for his return."

    "He does sound like a good person. If only these bastards were good like him too, I wouldn''t be in this mess." As nced at the guards in the hallway again.

    "He was indeed the nicest person I met. He always told me how happy he would''ve been if he was born a human and died a human instead of being immortal. Spending time with him was a blessing for me." Lilith''s tone sounded like she was missing Castiel a lot. Her voice also grew a bit emotional.

    "May I know what you are? Are you a magical beast created by him to apany him?" As asked.

    "That''s none of your business." Lilith snapped.  "Focus on the task ahead unless you don''t want your sister''s body back?"

    "I know, I know. I''m just trying to think of a way to get to theb. I think it''s impossible to convince these humans that I''m one of them. It''ll be a headache. It''s impossible to get through to the other side without fighting them."

    "I think there is only one way at this point," after thinking for a few seconds, Lilithmented.

    "I''m all ears."

    Lilith whispered the n in As''s ears, keeping her voice low. As found her actions a bit odd. Did she forget that only he could hear her? Until a few moments ago, she was yelling, and now she was whispering?

    "You understand?" Lilith asked after telling the entire n.

    "I got it. That might just work. I just hope they won''t recognize the difference in voice."

    Slightly suspicious at the n, As went down a few steps before he yelled, slightly modifying his voice. "I need help in getting the kid up. Can two of youe down?!"

    He made sure to control his voice, so only the closest guards heard him.

    Four guards heard the call for help. They looked at each other momentarily.

    "You two are closest to the stairs. Go help them."

    The two guards that were assigned the job rolled their eyes in frustration as they walked toward the stairs. "These idiots can''t even do one thing right. Even to bring one kid out, they need help! So embarrassing!"

    The guards reached the stairs, which werepletely empty. There was not a single person on the stairs. They went down the stairs and ended up in the long hallway in the basement.

    Swiss~

    As soon as theynded in the basement, a figure leaped before them like a ghost.

    As grabbed the neck of both the guards. Before they could even let out a call for help, he crushed their necks.

    With a crunching sound, the necks of the two guards broke. Their bodies plopped on the ground with a thud as soon as As released their neck.

    As sat before the guard who was closest to him in height and started taking off the uniform of the guard. He also took off his own clothes. It was after a long time that he had experienced what it felt like to wear expensive clothes, and now he had to take them off to get into a guard''s uniform.

    After wearing the uniform, he stood up and patted his clothes. The clothes were a bit loose for his physique since the guard, who was close to his height, was a bit chubby. On the other hand, Castiel had a perfectly fit body.

    As wore the loose clothes and tucked the loose shirt inside his loose pants that he had wrapped tightly with the belt to ensure it didn''t slide down. Still, it looked like an awkward arrangement of clothes.

    "You look silly. You know that?" Lilith mocked As sarcastically. "You think they won''t recognize they aren''t your clothes?"

    "I know. I''m not done yet," As responded. "Let me finish up."

    To fit the clothes more urately, he used another trick. He picked up the clothes of Castiel and tucked them inside his guard clothes, making himself look chubby. As he used the extra clothes, the guard uniform was much more fit now.

    "That looks much better." Lilith nodded in satisfaction. "This might just work."

    As'' face was still a bit different, but he couldn''t do anything about that. He couldn''t pretend to be the guards that came downstairs. He knew the guards upstairs weren''t going to be that stupid, so he decided to pretend to be a different guard.<novelnext></novelnext>

    He went up the stairs again, but instead of entering the hallway before the guards, he shed past it to get to the stairs that were going upstairs to the ground floor.

    No one noticed As as he was only in the hallway for a fraction of a second and that too in a corner.

    After reaching the upper stairs, As starteding down. This time, he didn''t step silently. He made sure that everyone heard his footsteps this time.

    The guards looked towards the stairs, hearing someoneing down.

    As stepped into the corridor on the same floor where theb was. All the guards watched hime from upstairs, not finding anything suspicious.

    Even though most of them didn''t recognize As'' face now, they didn''t feel suspicious. There were many guards in the Pce they didn''t realize after all. It wasn''t rare to see a new face once in a while.

    As faced all the guards. "I have orders from above."

    He started walking towards theb.

    "What orders?" One of the guards stepped before As.

    "It''s confidential. I can''t tell you, but if you want to block my path for that, I would be more than happy to go back and inform them that you want to block me?"

    Hearing the threat, the guard started sweating. They didn''t want As to go back andin if they indeed sent him. The guard stepped aside. "If it''s confidential, I won''t force you to tell me. You can pass."

    As nodded expressionlessly as he walked past the guards. He didn''t seem to be in any hurry. He walked confidently and stopped before the blood collectionb. He pushed the door open and stepped inside.

    The entireb was the same as before. Everything was in the same ce. The blood was also cleaned on the floor. The door closed in the back on its own as As stepped inside.

    He observed the bed where he had left the body of his sister. Her body wasn''t there anymore though.

    Inside theb, he could see a white-robed man that he hadn''t seen before. As thest doctor was killed by As, a different doctor was sitting in his ce, taking care of theb. The blood donation had just finished, and the doctor was still sorting out some documents on how much blood was collected today.

    Hearing the sound of the door opening, the doctor nced towards the door.

    "May I help you?"

    "I was sent here to bring the body of the girl that was killed recently upstairs. Where is her body?"

    "Her body?" The doctor frowned. After taking a long pause, he responded. "I wasn''t told that someone would being for it?"

    "Now you know. It''s themand of His Lordship." As took a step forth, using the exact words that he had seen the old man use before for Lord Severis.

    "It''s in the freezer there. But I''m curious why are the Lords asking for her?"

    "I don''t know. It''s none of our business. Maybe they want to see her again." As started walking to the freezing chamber in the back.

    The doctor also followed him as he stood up. "You''ll need the keys to open it.

    Using the keys, he unlocked the door before stepping back. "Take her."

    As soon as the door was open, freezing air escaped the chamber, falling on As''s face. The sub zero winds didn''t have even the slightest bit of effect on him, though. Pulling the door, he stepped inside the freezing storage.

    Inside the chamber, he could see many bottles of blood, which were kept there as reserves for the future in case there was ever a disturbance in supply.

    Aside from the bottles, there was one table there as well. On the table, a freezing body was lying. Seeing the body, As''s expressions changed.

    His eyes looked left and right as if trying to find something, but other than the body and the blood bottles, he couldn''t find anything.

    "Is this a joke?!" he eximed, only to hear the smacking of the metallic in return.

    The doctor smacked the door shut behind As, locking him inside. Only the sound of hisughter could be heard by As.

 Chapter 20 Gift To Remember

    Closing the door, the doctor locked it from outside as he burst intoughter.

    After a burst of heartyughter, he stopped and looked back at the door. "If you wanted to fool me, you should''ve selected a better lie that wasn''t so easy to catch."

    "You really thought you could fool me by using the name of the Lordships? You didn''t even know the basic thing that the girl''s body was already taken! There is no way the Lordship would send you to bring something that wasn''t even here!"

    The man turned his back on the metallic door that was impossible to open without the key.

    "I don''t know what your purpose was foring here or why you lied, but I''ll leave that for others to find out. Until then, enjoy your freezing vacation!"

    The doctor started leaving to inform the guards without even looking back.

    Boom~

    Just as the doctor was halfway through the room, about to leave to call the guards in, he heard a banging noiseing from the back. He abruptly turned around.

    As soon as the man turned around, his face turned pale. What greeted him was a sight of a metallic door flying towards him.

    Fearful for his life, the man suddenly dropped to the ground and rolled to the side to avoid the door which was flying toward him.

    The heavy door missed him just by a few inches and moved past him to fall a few meters behind him.

    The man''s eyes were wide open in shock. He hadn''t been this scared in his entire life as he had been just now when he saw death from up close.

    "H-how?" he asked, watching a tall figuree out of the room. The man''s figure was surrounded by a white mist that escaped from the room. He couldn''t believe what he was seeing. Just what was this strength? How did the man do it! Just who was he?

    "That strength... You aren''t a human!" The Doctor wanted to scream and call for help, but he was more sensible about it.

    By now, he was sure that As wasn''t a human. Even if he called for help, this guy could easily take out the guards and kill him before the Vampire Lords could be alerted.

    For him, his life was more important. He didn''t want to alert the guards only to die in the process, as that wasn''t worth it.

    He didn''t even try to run. He just pushed his body up and sat on his knees, watching As get close to him.

    Even As was surprised at his reaction. "If you were this sensible before, I wouldn''t have to waste my energy, would I?"

    Reaching the man, As also sat before him. "Now tell me. Where is the body of the girl? Where is Mise?! If I don''t get an answer, you''ll be soon givingpany to the dead body in the freezer."

    "The dead body... Who is that girl to you? Why do you want it? Who are you?" The Doctor asked, not understanding why this person was after the dead body of a human who was special in no way.

    As ced his fingers around the neck of the doctor. "That''s none of your concern. Give me my answers! What did you do with the body?!"

    The doctor felt like he was mere inches away from death as he felt As''s cold fingers brush against his throat. If As wanted, he could crush his neck in an instant.

    Not wanting to die, the man started speaking everything like a parrot. "I-i don''t have it. The Lords asked me to bring her body upst night. It was a few hours after a crazy kid had killed the incharge of thisb. I personally took the body up."

    "Why would they ask for her body? Did they already destroy it?" As couldn''t help but think of the worst. His fist tightened on its own in response.

    "I-i truly don''t know what happened to the body. My task was to pack it properly for the guests. What they do with the body, I have no idea!" the doctor eximed.

    "The guests?" As frowned. What did guests have to do with this?

    "Yeah. There were guests who came herest night. Apparently, they were also the ones who killed the girl. However, after a few hours, it looks like they demanded the body of the girl. They also asked for the brother of the girl."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Lord Severis agreed to their first demand and presented the girl''s body to them as a gift for them to take. However, he refused their second demand and kept the boy since the boy had murdered our staff and he wanted to deal with the boy personallyter on," the man exined.

    He continued, taking a long breath. "The guests took the body of the girl and left. As for what they want with the body, I don''t know. Maybe they''ll use it as a showpiece or something. I can''t guess. The only thing I know is that the girl is with them. She isn''t here."

    "That''s why I immediately realized that you were lying when you asked for her body. Since her body isn''t here, I can''t lead you to her, but I can lead you to her brother if you want?" he added, wiping the sweat off his forehead.

    Since As was asking for Mise, the doctor thought that he was close to her. And if he was close to her, it was evident that he must be close to her brother as well. He still didn''t know both were the same.

    To keep As happy, the man knew he couldn''t send him back empty-handed, or As might kill them in anger. That''s why he offered to take As to the brother of Mise, unaware of the reality of the situation.

    As stood up, frowning. What would he do with himself? He needed his sister only!

    "What do you think? Is he telling the truth?" As asked, looking to his left.

    The doctor looked to his right, wondering who As was talking to. He couldn''t see anyone there. Was this guy crazy?

    "I think he is telling the truth. This guy looks like a coward. He won''t lie to us," Lilith responded. "Now that we know your sister isn''t here let''s leave! We''re done here!"

    As shook his head. "We can''t leave yet! I won''t leave this easily."

    "What do you want to do then? There''s nothing to do here!"

    "Who says there''s nothing to do here? These guys think they can treat us like toys? Do they think they own us to give us away to others at will? They didn''t even let my sister''s body rest in peace? I don''t want to leave empty-handed from here. It''s time I give them a little surprise for all they did!"

    "You idiot, I told you it''s not the time to fight them! You will end up digging your own grave! You can''t fight! Get that inside that thick skull of yours this instant!" Lilith yelled, in shock that this guy was actually nning revenge in this condition. "We must leave! Don''t forget you promised me that you''ll listen to me!"

    "Of course, I''ll listen to you. But there''s a difference between listening and doing," As respondedzily. "Don''t worry though. I won''t fight them. I won''t overestimate myself. I still have to get her back after all. However, who says I need to fight them to teach them a lesson?"

    "Then? What do you want to do?" Lilith asked, confused. What could he do for his revenge without fighting these Vampires?

    "You''ll destroy their blood supply?" She guessed. "You know that won''t matter to them. They can get more."

    As shook his head. "I won''t do that. Since they had all been so nice to me. It''s only fair that I treat them special. You''ll know soon though. We just need to wait for a little while."

    "By the way, can I use thepulsion as well?" he asked, suddenly thinking of something. "That would make things easier."

    "I don''t think you''ll be able to control it yet." Lilith shook her head. "You need to strengthen your mindset for that. You''ve just lived for a few years. It''ll put too much stress on your mind just to control one person. Don''t even think about it!"

    "Alright. I guess I''ll do it the hard way then." As cracked his knuckles. "I''ll give them something that they''ll never forget."

    Seeing the confident look on As'' face, even Lilith couldn''t understand what he was going to do. Just what was this kid thinking?

    After a long conversation with Lilith, As finally shifted his attention to the doctor. "What is your name?"

    "John," the doctor answered.

    "Well, John." As went down to his knees and ced his hand on John''s shoulder. "I have no enmity with you, and I don''t want to kill anyone. So it would be good if you do as I say. If you do it, I''ll allow you to live. We''ll both get what we want then"

    "W-what do you want?" John asked, not getting a good feeling. He didn''t know why, but he was feeling very uneasy.

 Chapter 21 Its Time We Meet Face To Face

    Ten minutester~

    "What? It''s impossible! You can''t expect me to do this! If anyone finds out, I''ll be killed!" John eximed in disbelief as he heard what As wanted from him.

    Hearing a refusal, As'' eyes squinted in frustration.

    "Look, John. I am sure you know by now that I''m not a human. You still have no idea what I can do. Even if you go to your Vampires and tell them about me, they can''t stop me from escaping. But if you did that, trust me when I say this that one day I''ll return and that will be the day I kill you with my own hands!"

    Even though As issued such a serious threat, his face was perfectly calm. His eyes seemedpletely serious, as if they were gazing deep into the soul of John.

    "Going by your logic, if they find out that you helped me, they''ll kill you," he further continued. "But that''s dependent on if they find out. How will they know?"

    "Leaving that aside, there''s a good chance you''ll survive if you help me. But if you didn''t help me, there is a two hundred percent chance that you''ll die. So don''t y with your life. What do you say? Please don''t force me to usepulsion on you?"

    "Compulsion? You are a Vampire?!" John eximed in shock.

    "Who else can have such speed and such strength?" As askedzily.

    "B-but your eyes?" John stuttered. It was his first time seeing a Vampire who had green eyes.

    "There are more Vampires than red-eyed ones," As replied. "I''m from a different family of Vampires. Stop wasting my time now. Will you help me or not?"

    Even now, John seemed scared. For some reason, As felt like this wasn''t going to work. This guy was too scared of the Severis family. He was probably going to tell them everything.

    "Sigh, I didn''t want to do this, but let me try."

    He had seen Lord Carlisle use thepulsion on him. He decided to do the same even though Lilith advised him against it.

    He stared deep into the eye of John. A light shed in the eyes of As. As soon as John looked into the eyes of As, he found himself dazed. He couldn''t take his eyes off.

    "What are you doing?! Stop it, you idiot!" Lilith yelled, understanding what As was trying.

    Ignoring Lilith, As kept his focus on John. "Stand up and call all the guards inside for discussion with you. They must not know that I''m here."

    Within a second of using Compulsion, As started feeling a thumping pain in his head. It was as if his head was about to explode.

    John stood up with a nk look on his face and turned to the door.  However, within a second, thepulsion broke.

    Breathing heavily, As sat with the support of his hand. This was truly harder than it looked. It really put a lot of pressure on his head. He couldn''t even keep hispulsion for a few seconds without feeling like he was going to die.

    "You can''t do this. You aren''t strong enough! You don''t understand, do you! Idiot!" Lilith scolded As.

    As felt someone hit the back of his head.

    "Wait, you can touch me too?" As asked, stunned.

    "I can do much more than you think. Next time, listen to me! You''re lucky you weren''t injured after this reckless stunt!" Lilith snorted.

    "It was worth a try," As responded, sighing.

    Aspulsion was broken, John stood in his tracks, stunned! This was trulypulsion! He had only heard about it. It was the first time he saw it personally. This proved that As was truly a Vampire.

    "You are really a Vampire!" he eximed, turning back.

    "Was there any doubt?" As askedzily. "Will you do it or not?"

    "Sigh, I really don''t want to do it, but do I have a choice? My life is in your hands now. And if I do one thing, it doesn''t matter even if I told the Lords upstairs after that about you; they''ll kill me. I can only help you, but for your safety and for mine, I have a suggestion." John walked back to an almirah in the corner.

    He opened the Almirah and brought a small box out. He ced the box on a nearby table. "Since we''re going to do it anyway, we might as well do it in such a way that we don''t leave any evidence behind."

    "How many guards are outside?" he asked.

    "Eighteen," As answered.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I see. That should be just enough." John opened the small box.

    As walked to John and looked inside the box, noticing twenty vials inside that were filled with some kind of liquid.

    "What is this?" As asked, picking one of the vials.

    "It''s a drug that I recently bought for some research. It can make any human sleep for twenty-four hours. Moreover, after the person wakes up, they won''t remember events up to one hour before being drugged," John exined. "So if we drug them with this, they''ll just sleep, and even when they wake up, they won''t know that I drugged them or about you."

    Hearing the specialty of the items in the box, As was impressed. This thing could be really helpful in this situation. Moreover, it looked like John was prepared to give it his all now. He was totally in.

    "As there are eighteen outside, I would still have two left for an emergency," John said before opening a drawer. He pulled out eighteen injections and filled them all with the liquid one after another before cing them in a line on the table.

    "Let me handle the rest. Since you said you don''t want to kill personally, we''ll take a different route." As John talked, he noticed a Metallic door in the middle of the room. "By the way, shouldn''t you keep the door back? They''ll know something is wrong if the first thing they see is a door in the middle of the room."

    As ran to the metallic door and picked it up before walking back to the freezing room. He ced the door standing at the opening to make it look like before. However, if someone was to look at it carefully, it wasn''t hard to see that the door was standing by support.

    "Even though it''s not perfect, that should be enough for now, I guess," Johnmented.  "So, shall I call them now?"

    "Yeah, call them one by one. You distract them; I''ll inject them." As picked an injection.

    As the n was finalized, John went to the door and opened it. As hid behind the door.

    "Excuse me; I need some help! Can youe inside?" John called a guard.

    Without thinking much, the guard followed him and entered theb.

    "What can I help you with?" the first guard asked as soon as he stepped inside the room. He didn''t realize that As was standing right behind him.

    Before the guard could see something, As appeared behind him. With one hand, he closed the mouth of the guard, while with the other, he stabbed the injection inside the body of the man.

    The man''s body turned weak as he dropped into the body of As. Dragging his body to the side, As kept the man in the corner. He ced an empty injection back and picked a new one.

    "Call next."

    ...

    Each time, the doctor called only one guard inside. Moreover, using his cleverness, he managed to find a new excuse each time to make sure that they weren''t suspicious.

    Within thirty minutes, all eighteen guards were lying inside the room, unconscious. All of them were ced on a bed and covered with a nket.

    John sat on the ground, seemingly tired. "Now, even if our n goes wrong and we cancel in the middle, no one will know anything, especially these guards."

    "Good work," Asplimented John. "Now for the main part of the n. We need to go upstairs."

    He started taking his guard clothes off. As soon as he opened his shirt, his new clothes fell down that he had tucked inside. He got dressed in the new clothes, returning to his previousvish self.

    "Are you sure you want to go upstairs in those clothes?" John asked, noticing As changing his attire. "You know the Lords must be up? If you wear the attire of a guard, you could still avoid their attention for a second, but in these clothes, it''ll be impossible!"

    "Who says I want to avoid their attention?" As responded innocently. "I think it''s time we meet face to face."

    "What?" John and Lilith both eximed at the same time in shock.

    None of them were told about this when As described his n before. He was going to meet the lords of this mansion?

    "Have you gone crazy?!" Lilith yelled. "What are you even thinking? Have you lost all sanity? You want to walk before those people on your own?"

    "I''m not joking," As answered. " It''s really the time for me to meet the Severis n face to face. Moreover, that will give you the time and freedom to do your part. Otherwise, it''ll be much harder for you to do your part without being caught."

    "So my decision is final! I''ll meet Lord Severis! I''ll meet the person who thought Mise was his property to give her to Carlisle! His single refusal to Carlisle could''ve saved my sister''s life! But he didn''t do it."

    As knew this meeting had been long pending...

 Chapter 22 Tone Of The Weak

    "Do you have a n in mind when you say you want to meet the Vampires, or are you just emotional?" Lilith asked grimly. "Don''t make a stupid decision. You are a long way from being ready for a battle."

    Lilith kept trying to persuade As, but he didn''t listen. "I told you I''m not going to fight. I received a second opportunity in this life. I won''t lose it this easily. I won''t fight them yet."

    "Then why do you need to meet them? If you want distraction, there are better ways to do it."

    "I see no better way." As shook his head. "Anyway, we are already done here. I think it''s time we get to work."

    With one hand in his pocket, As walked to the exit. Lilith couldn''t do anything to stop him but watch.

    "Fine! Don''te crying to me when something goes wrong!"

    "I won''t need to." As smiled as he pulled the door open.

    Before taking a step out, he nced back at the doctor, who was still looking at As like he was crazy. He noticed As had been talking to himself since the start. For a moment, he even wondered if there was a spirit in the surrounding that only As could see?

    "After five minutes, get to work. I''ll try to give you as much time as I can, but still, you should be fast. If we pull it sessfully, even you''ll be free of this hellhole."

    After giving instructions, As left the room, closing the door behind him.

    He had a clever mind from the start. If he wanted, he could''ve attempted an escape a long time ago. It was only hisck of strength, determination, and his sister which was holding him back from attempting an escape.

    Now that his weakness was gone, he had no fear of death. He coulde up with ns and put them in motion.

    The entire hallway was empty. There was no one there anymore to watch avishly dressed Vampire walk to the stairs. All the guards were sleeping in theb with John.

    Standing in theb, John was still having second thoughts if he was doing the right thing. He was cing his life on the line.

    He kept walking back and forth. "Sigh, I already helped him a bit. Now that I''m already in, I should go all the way in. Maybe he might actually seed? If I truly can be free of this ce, it won''t be half bad."

    Even though he was working here as a staff, it wasn''t of his own will either. Instead, he was kidnapped from his town toe work here. He couldn''t even say no since it was the Severis n who was asking.

    He couldn''t leave this ce. But if the n went through sessfully, he was sure that he might actually be able to leave this ce.

    He covered all the bodies of the guards with a white bed sheet before he walked to a trolley.

    Pushing the trolley, he left theb as well.

    .....

    "Lilith, you said this Pce was made by your master?" Climbing the stairs, As asked.

    Even though he was acting confident about meeting the Severis n, he was still a bit uneasy about it after what happened in the first meeting. He didn''t know how strong he was, but he was sure that Lord Severis was stronger at the moment.

    There was also a bit of fear in his heart about the Vampires. Fortunately, his anger was overwhelming his anxiety at the moment, but that was when the Vampires weren''t before him. He didn''t know what was going to happen when he actually stood before the Vampires. He was taking a big risk.

    "That''s right. It was made by my Master. I don''t know why the lineage of Progenitor Ramiel lives here. Maybe they thought it was an empty castle. If only they knew who this Pce belonged to. Let alone them; even Progenitor Ramiel would''ve thought twice beforeing here!<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Lilith, I know about your Master. But what about the other three Progenitors? Are they also in deep slumber? Or could it be that they''re still up? Are they friends of Lord Castiel? Can I ask them for help in that case?"

    "Friends?" Lilith burst intoughter. "Those bastards are friends of no one! They wouldn''t think twice before backstabbing you if it benefits them! Moreover, my master and they weren''t close either. My master was different from them."

    "I guess you can say that at the start, all four of them were close, but slowly their personalities changed as their conflicts started rising. They started drifting apart. So don''t even think about going to them. They must not know about you!"

    "Otherwise, they''ll think that my Master is up. That will open Pandora''s box of troubles for you! On the other hand, if they find out that you''re a human who is in my Master''s body, things would be much worse!" she further added.

    From her tone, it was evident how serious she was. As Lilith was only a shadow, As didn''t know what her expressions were, but he could guess some things.

    "Should I take that as confirmation that they''re awake?" As asked, frowning. "They are roaming around in this world somewhere?"

    "I''m not actually sure," Lilith admitted weakly. "I don''t know what happened after my Master went to sleep. It has been thousands of years since then, so maybe they went to Slumber by now? Thest I knew of them, they were up."

    "Alright, we''re up. Time to go silent." As reminded Lilith as he took his first step on the ground floor. For some reason, there wasn''t any guard near the stairs on the ground floor, which made things easier for him.

    However, instead of moving secretly, he walked openly, trying to find guards.

    He walked to the Main Hall where he hadst seen the Vampires. His footsteps echoed in the entire hallway.

    "Strange. Where are all the guards? Did they ce all the guards of this ce downstairs?" As wondered. However, he soon heard footstepsing from the right hallway.

    He looked to his left. He still didn''t find a guard, but this time, he managed to find something even better!

    A red-eyed Vampire was walking casually with a ss of blood in his hand. He seemed to be enjoying the blood, sipping it slowly.

    The red-haired Vampire raised his head after taking another sip, finally noticing As.

    "Hmm?"

    A slight frown appeared on Jovan''s face as he noticed As. Initially, he had thought that As was just a guard, but why was a guard wearing such luxurious clothes? Moreover, he didn''t know why, but he felt that there was something wrong with As.

    He stopped in his tracks as he raised his fingers towards As, gesturing him toe closer. "I haven''t seen you before. Who are you?"

    As ignored themands of Jovan. Not only that, he even refused to answer. He knew this was the time for him to be brave; otherwise, he could be in trouble.

    "Call Severis. I don''t talk to minions," As arrogantly replied.

    If As could see Lilith''s face, he would''ve seen her jaws drop. She couldn''t believe what As was doing. He said he only wanted to distract and not fight them but was this the way to distract? It was as if he was looking for a fight!

    Even As knew how big of a risk he was taking by using this tone, especially since he couldn''t afford a proper battle because of the risk of Blood Urge.

    If there was one person who was more shocked by what As just did, it was Jovan. He couldn''te to believe his ears. A random man had called Lord Severis by his name. "You!"

    There was only one punishment for something like this! Death! He didn''t ask more questions and directly ran towards As to attack. The ss of blood dropped from his hand, falling to the ground. The ss shattered as blood sshes flew everywhere.

 Chapter 23 Meeting With The Dead!

    Jovan''s speed was so fast that an ordinary human would have only seen an afterimage at best; however it was different for As. Even though he didn''t have theplete strength that Castiel could wield, he could still have some passive abilities of Castiel.

    No matter how fast Jovan moved, As could clearly see his movement. It was as if time was moving slowly for him.

    As waited for Jovan to get close to him. Only after Jovan was within one meter range of him As moved. He took one step to the left before he swung his left leg towards Jovan.

    His kicknded straight on the waist of Jovan, sending him flying towards the wall. Jovan felt as if quite a lot of his bones were broken. With a hand on the right side of his stomach, Jovan stood up. There was a look of disbelief in his eyes. Just what was this?

    Not only was he surprised at the strength of As but also by his speed. That speed wasn''t ordinary. It was even faster than his speed for some reason. Just¡­ who was this guy? Where did his strengthe from?

    "W-who are you? You can''t be a Witch! I''m sure you aren''t a werewolf either! What are you?!" he eximed hysterically.

    As didn''t answer the question directly. His lips curved as he smiled. His smile was enough to give Jovan his answers. Through that smile of As, Jovan was able to see the sharp fangs of As.

    Those fangs, coupled with that speed and strength, he received his answer, but he still didn''t want to believe it! It went all against his knowledge! How was this possible?

    "How could it be? How could there be a Vampire with green eyes?! How?!" He yelled like crazy.

    "If you don''t know about other Lineage of Vampires except yours, then you''re too naive, Young Man. Call Severis. Maybe he would know. Tell him Lord zar from the zar n is here to meet him."

    "Lord zar? zar n? I never heard of this n? Are there truly Vampire Lineages that don''t have red eyes?" Jovan asked, stunned.

    "As I said, call your master. I''m here to meet him, not to teach you about this world. If he''s not too stupid, he might know," Aszily stated.

    "I-i... Alright. Please follow me."

    Even though Jovan didn''t know much about who As was or about other Lineages, he didn''t want to make a mistake in this situation. If As was reallyparable to Lord Severis, then fighting him was like courting death. He didn''t want to be the one to do it. He decided to leave it to Lord Severis.

    He escorted As back to the main hall through the hallway that As had walked thest time he was with his sister when she was alive. It was as if everything hade to a full circle.

    He was back at this ce, but he wasn''t the same now. Now he wasn''t that weak kid who was at the mercy of others! He was a strong Vampire who could hold his own against the Vampires!

    As As reached the hall, Jovan opened the beautiful door with a full moon carved in the middle. As the doors opened, the hall was revealed to As. This was an important hall for many, but for As, this was no less than his personal hell!

    All the chairs from the previous meeting were still there; however, no one was there at this time.

    Jovan gestured for As to go inside. "Please wait inside. I''ll call Lord Severis and others."

    "Be fast. I don''t like to wait," As confidently stated as he took his first step inside the hall. "I want to talk to your master in the presence of the entire Severis n. Tell your master that."

    As entered the hall. The door closed behind him as Jovan ran to inform Lord Severis.

    As stood right beside the door, unable to take a step forward as all the memories ofst night flooded his head now that he was alone. It was as if his mind was reying what happenedst night. He could still see the droplets of blood on the floor, some of which belonged to his sister. They weren''t cleaned yet.

    "This is where it all happened," he told Lilith, taking a deep breath. After taking a few steps, he ended up in the same ce where he stoodst night, unable to move.<novelnext></novelnext>

    He stood in the same position in which he had begged Carlisle to forgive his sister. His fist was clenched so tightly that his nails prated his palm, making him bleed.

    He couldn''t help but remember the feeling of not being able to move. The helplessness, the weakness, the fear, and the pain, he could feel everything that he feltst night. His hands started shaking slowly as a tear droplet left his eyes.

    "If I had this strengthst night... Things could''ve been different. I could''ve saved her! I could''ve moved, at least! I''m sorry! I''m sorry! I''m sorry!"

    As kept saying sorry as he dropped to his knees, gazing at the empty spot where his sister had died. He still couldn''t let the helplessness ofpulsion out of his memories.

    "Calm down. It wasn''t your fault. It''s not easy to be in your situation. There was nothing you could do. Breaking apulsion isn''t as easy as Carlisle told you," Seeing As broken, Lilith also remembered something which made her lose her calm as well.

    She ced her hand on the head of As and patted him gently. "Don''t me yourself. It doesn''t only take a strong will. It also takes you to be mentally strong, which wasn''t easy in a situation where your sister''s life was on the line. If I were a human in your ce, I would''ve failed too. Carlisle just yed with you."

    "Try to get over it. You can''t change the past," she continued. "Think about the future. Now that you are already here, you need to be strong to face the challenges ahead... For yourself... And for your sister. Do you think she would be happy to watch you cry? Get up. You aren''t allowed to be this weak, at least not when you''re in the body of my Master!"

    As wiped his tears using his hands and stood up. He took a deep breath. "I know. I can''t be weak! If I''m weak, how can I achieve my goals! I will make this life a living hell for Carlisle and Severis¡­ Only then I''ll rest in peace."

    With calm yet somewhat shaky steps, he walked to the chairs in the distance. He sat on the same chair on which Carlisle was seated when he murdered his sister. "I promise everyone will pay¡­ everyone who had a hand in my sister''s death! Even if it takes me an eternity, I''ll do it!"

    Lilith silently observed As. She couldn''t help but feel like As could really do it. In some ways, he was simr to Lord Castiel.

    Creak~

    With a creaking noise, the door opened. As turned to the door, watching a tall figure enter the room. He wasn''t alone though. After him, there were tens of Vampires. All the Vampires wore a ck cloak over their bodies which covered the top half of their faces.

    Only Lord Severis had his face visible. His cloak was also slightly different from the other Cloaks as it had an insignia of the Severis family, which was bigger than the insignias on the cloaks of others.

    In total, there were fifty Vampires inside the room, which was almost all of them, as far as As knew. Since he had been cleaning the rooms for four years, he knew how many Vampires lived in this Pce.

    It was the first time someone from a different Lineage of Vampires hade here. None of the Severis n members wanted to miss him. Lord Severis also allowed them toe.

    "Green eyes..." Severis muttered, noticing As'' beautiful green eyes. "So it was true."

    For a moment, he even wondered if As was indeed a Vampire, but he decided to trust Jovan''s words instead of testing on his own. In any case, he was half sure that As was telling the truth.

    "I''ve heard a lot about the existence of other Lineages, but it''s the first time I''ve seen one," Lord Severis calmly stated. "I''m Lord Severis, and this is my pce. How may I address you?"

    "Your Pce, my foot!" Lilith snorted. "I''ve never seen a shameless person. He''s calling my master''s pce his own."

    She was so furious at the shamelessness of Severis that she would have attacked him if she could. However, no one could even hear her.

    As was the only person sitting in the entire room, surrounded by the Vampires of Severis n from all sides, with everyone looking at him. He was in the den of the Vampires, sitting in the middle. If there was any dangerous ce in the entire castle for him, it was where As currently was.

 Chapter 24 Return Of Ramiel?

    All the Vampires gazed at As, waiting for his answer. Meanwhile, As was looking elsewhere. He was momentarily distracted by something.

    Initially, he was fine. He had prepared himself for this moment but seeing Severis, he started remembering his emotionless face when he gave Mise to Carlisle.

    Getting no response, Severis developed a frown. He wondered if As was showing attitude.

    "It looks like you don''t want to introduce yourself. So you think it''s beneath your dignity to introduce yourself to me?" Lord Severis asked as he started walking towards As. His tone seemed perfectly calm, but there was a bit of anger hidden behind that calm tone.

    He sat in the seat before As and looked into his eyes. "Tell me what you want from me? Why are you here?"

    "I came here for something important. I came here for Progenitor Ramiel."

    "Progenitor Ramiel?!" Severis eximed. Even though he wasn''t old enough to exist during the time of the Progenitors, he had heard some stories. He knew where their bloodline originated from.

    He did not know much about other Progenitors or how they were, but he knew there were four of them. And amongst the four, only Lord Ramiel was known for making a proper lineage. He was their ancestor.

    The other Progenitors weren''t known for making Vampires; that''s why the vampires from other lineages were so hard to find.

    Severis knew that the Ancestor of their bloodline was none other than Lord Ramiel. Even though they had no picture of their ancestor of anything of that kind, he still knew the name and some basic description about how he used to look.

    "What about Progenitor Ramiel? What about him?" Severis asked grimly. Finally, his calm facade was gone, to be reced by eagerness.

    "I''m here to ask where he is? I need to meet him. I need to discuss something important." As calmly stated.

    "Meet Lord Ramiel? Have you gone crazy? He hasn''t been seen in thousands of years. We aren''t even sure if he''s alive. Why do you suddenly want to find him?" Severis inquired, moving closer to As.

    "It seems you don''t know about it. Pity." As sighed.

    "Don''t know what?" Severis asked, confused. Why did he seem like he knew some secret?

    "Well, there is a rumor going around outside that Progenitor Ramiel has returned again," As spoke after a brief pause. "There have been some sightings of him. So as someone from a different lineage, I thought it was only fair I met him and asked if he knew anything about the Ancestor of my lineage. "

    As As spoke, he kept making up story after story to keep the Severis n immersed in the conversation. And what better way to keep them engaged than to talk about something that interested them. Moreover, he knew he could stretch this topic as much as he wanted without being caught, all thanks to Lilith.

    "That''s why I came here, looking for information about Lord Ramiel. Only he can help me."

    The manner in which As talked, it didn''t look like he was lying. He was just so serious. In any case, it wasn''t hard for As to talk to Severis while being serious. He was looking at the person who had a hand in his sister''s death. It was easy for him to talk like this.

    His seriousness even fooled Lord Severis. "Progenitor Ramiel has returned? Really?"

    "ording to the stories, yes. In thest few months, he has been sighted three times," As responded, sighing. "However, it looks like you don''t know about it. You can''t help me either, then. I''ll take my leave. It looks like I wasted my timeing here."

    As stood up, seemingly disappointed. He turned to the exit and started leaving as if he was done here. "I guess I''ll need to check with other ns of his lineage. Maybe they''ll know something."

    "Wait!" Lord Severis stood up. His figure moved like lightning as he appeared before As, blocking his path.

    Seeing the speed of Lord Severis, even As was surprised. His speed was much faster than Jovan''s. In fact, it wasn''t evenparable. No wonder Severis was the Lord of this n. He truly was strong. However, As knew he couldn''t let his weakness show.<novelnext></novelnext>

    He remained calm. "May I ask what you''re doing?"

    "I''m stopping you. I might not know about the reappearance of Lord Ramiel, but I want to know about it. Tell me about him! Where was he seen? I might be able to help you locate him. We can find him together! I also know other ns. I''ll personally go to those ns with you if you want," Severis offered.

    This was precisely what As was looking for. He wanted to distract these people so he could keep them busy, and now that these people had jumped into the trap, he just needed to tell tall tales about the appearance of Ramiel to keep them busy.

    "Why should I waste my time when you don''t know anything? My time is precious." Even though this was precisely what he wanted, he couldn''t just say yes directly. He needed to maintain the otherworldly aloof nature if he was to pretend to be someone special.

    "We both have the same goals now. We both want to find Lord Ramiel. If he has truly returned, you''ll need my help!" Lord Severis tried to persuade As, unaware that he had already fallen for a big lie. "As you know, the ns created by Lord Ramiel are all over the world, unlike the lineage of other Progenitors who were more reserved. You''ll need our help if you want to find them!"

    As thought for a few seconds, closing his eyes.

    "Fine. I''ll waste a few minutes, it seems." As turned back and walked back to the chair. Even though he said only a few minutes, he had already made up his mind to drag the story for an hour at least.

    Moreover, with the story about the Progenitor of the Red-eyed n, he was sure that none of the Vampires were going to leave this ce.

    Everyone was going to be curious about their ancestor, so this way, As ensured that there was no Vampire roaming around in the Pce.

    Lord Severis took a seat before As. The other Vampires also sat down, looking eager! If their Progenitor had indeed returned, it was great news! So many of their problems could''ve been solved with his return.

    "The first I heard of the appearance of Progenitor Ramiel was in the Baltic Empire," As started telling the story.

    "Baltic Empire? Is there a thing like that?" Severis asked, frowning. "First time I''m hearing of such a ce."

    "First time you''re hearing of many things today, including the existence of my zar n!" As eximed. "Anyway, Baltic Empire is very far from here. It''s not surprising you haven''t heard of it,"

    He didn''t know much about this world and the names of ces. All he knew was that there were Empires and Kingdoms. Other than that, he was nk. The only thing he could do to ovee that weakness was to make up fake names so they couldn''t catch him. Moreover, it kept things even more mysterious for the Severis n.

    "Anyway, one of my n members was in that Empire at that time. He saw everything with his own eyes..."

    *****

    In one part of the Pce, As was keeping the Vampires busy. It was hard for him to keep the visage before the Vampires, but he was maintaining it really well so the n could be put into motion sessfully.

    In another part of the Pce, John had also started working.

    Taking the boxed trolley, he went upstairs, going straight to the storage, which was on the ground floor. Even he was surprised at theck of guards. He pushed the trolleys as he moved through the long corridor.

    Fortunately, the stairs weren''t far from the storage room. Within a few minutes, he reached the storage room. He pushed the door open and entered the room with the trolley before closing the room from inside.

    Finally, he sighed a breath of relief. No one had seen hime here. He sat before the door, patting his heart. Even though he had agreed to do this work, it was still scary what he was going to do. One wrong step, and he could end up dead.

    After resting for a few seconds, he stood up. "Time to get to work. God, help me with what I''m about to do. Don''t let me die!"

 Chapter 25 Deadly Thirst

    Multiple Guards walked past the storage room where John was hiding, not knowing that someone was already inside, doing something that was going to shake the entire castle.

    After spending twenty minutes inside, John finally stepped out of the room with the trolley. However, this time his trolley wasn''t empty. Not only was it heavier, but it was also filled with something.

    His entire body was covered in sweat as if he had done a lot of hard work in thest twenty minutes. John took long and deep breaths to keep his heart calm. He was like walking on a thin wall, with death on both sides. One ident and he was going to fall to his death.

    He wiped the forehead from his sweat. "This wasn''t how I imagined my day would go."

    He started pushing the trolley and left the ce. John moved from one ce to another, stopping only for a few minutes at each stop after making sure that no one was there to see him.

    Throughout the way, there were times when he came across some guards. The guards stopped him to ask him what he was doing here since he was supposed to be in theb.

    Fortunately, John already had an excuse ready for this situation.

    "I''m taking the blood packets to the storage," he told all the Guards as he opened the trolley to show packs of blood inside.

    Unfortunately, no guard checked the Tolley thoroughly before letting it pass. If any of them would''ve checked the trolley thoroughly, they would''ve noticed that the blood packets were only on the top, being used as a camouge. Under the blood packets, there was something else entirely¡­ something much worse.

    After finishing up everything, John went back to hisb with an empty trolley. He sat on the bed, tired. In his entire lifetime, he had never worked as hard as he did today. However, he was happy that at least he wasn''t caught. Now all he needed to do was put the next part of the n in motion.

    ....

    Back in the main hall, As just finished the second story about the appearance of Progenitor Ramiel. He was so good at making up the stories that he managed to stretch each story for half an hour.

    Even as he told the story, in his mind, a countdown was going on. He had given John ny minutes to finish everything. ording to that deadline, he just needed to distract them for around twenty more minutes.

    Everything needed to be on time ording to the n. Nothing could be too fast or too slow; otherwise, the entire n was going toe crashing down.

    "That Empire was wiped off the face of this Earth, and ording to the description of the one who did it, there is no doubt that it was Lord Ramiel."

    One thing that helped As make up these believable stories about someone he had never met before was the support of Lilith. Lilith knew the personality of Ramiel, but she also knew the skills that he would''ve used. Her knowledge, mixed with As''s Stories, made the whole thing even more convincing.

    Lilith was helping him by telling him everything about Ramiel, which As was using in each of his stories to make them believable. Moreover, his uracy was so amazing that even Lord Severis was forced to believe the story.

    "And the third and thest appearance was barely thousand kilometers away, in the..."

    This was thest story and thest twenty minutes that As needed to survive. If he could sessfully do what he did for thest hour, everything was going to be fine; however, something changed.

    Things became moreplicated as the doors of the main hall opened. It was as if the destiny was toying with him.

    Three servants entered the hall, two of them carrying jugs filled with blood while one was carrying sses. None of the servants raised their gaze as they walked toward the Vampires.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Fortunately, all the servants were adults, unlikest night. They didn''t use children this time after the mess that happenedst night. The duty to serve was back to the main servants now.

    Even though these people were adults and not children, seeing the same scene y out again, As was forcefully tossed back tost night, where he was on the other end of the stick. Last night, he was serving, but tonight, he was being served.

    Seeing the way these people served, As couldn''t help but wonder how things would''ve been if they had served like this as well. His sister would''ve been alive, and his life wouldn''t have changed massively.

    "Calm down. Don''t get anxious. You are before Severis. If you make one mistake, everything will go haywire. Keep the persona; you''ve been doing great so far."

    As stopped looking at the men and shifted his attention back to Severis as he continued with the story.

    The servants gave a ss to each of the Vampires in the room after filling it with blood. One such ss was given to As as well.

    Seeing a ss of blood in his hand, As felt something. The dark red blood... Even the thought of drinking blood would''ve been disgusting to him in the past, but now that he had it in his hand, there was an urge inside him to drink the blood.

    The urge was slowly increasing, trying to overwhelm him. The smell of blood was so delicious. Seeing how he was feeling about the blood, As felt disgusted at himself!

    This was the same blood that was taken from the helpless children! It was quite possible that the ss in his hand was filled with his own blood! How could he even have the thought of drinking it?

    He wanted to crush the ss and toss it away, but he couldn''t even do that. He needed to y the part. No vampire was going to throw blood or feel disgusted by it! He couldn''t let them know what he was feeling.

    He held the ss in his right hand as his left hand clenched tightly.

    "Is something wrong?" Lord Severis asked, noticing some kind of hesitation on the face of As.

    As was so immersed in his own thoughts that he didn''t even hear anything. He wanted to drink, but at the same time, he didn''t want to drink. There was a struggle going on in his head which As felt like he was going to lose. It was as if the urges which came with the body were overpowering him.

    At the moment, he couldn''te to think of anything else. It was as if he was trapped in a cage, surrounded from all sides and the only way out was to drink.

    Everyone from Severis n looked at As, frowning. He was behaving oddly.

    As couldn''t care any less for them at the moment though. He was fighting himself at the moment.

    "As, bring yourself out of it! You are stronger than this! Don''t let a bit of blood make you lose yourself! Collect yourself and get out of it!" Even Lilith kept calling out to As, but it was as if her words were falling on deaf ears.

    The more As looked at the ss of blood, the more he lost himself and went farther and farther from others. His eyes lost their focus. It was as if he stopped resisting. His hand moved up, bringing the ss of blood closer to his lips.

    Slowly, the ss of blood touched his lips. The smell of blood was oh so sweet and savory. It was as if it was the most delicious dish that he had ever held, even though he hadn''t tasted it yet.

    As opened his lips slowly and started tilting the ss of blood...

 Chapter 26 Fifteen Minutes

    As lost the war against his urges, letting himself be controlled by his hunger as the ss with the delicious smell touched his lips.

    "Will you do it¡­?"

    Just as he was about to drink, he heard someone call him. His nk eyes looked up, still nk.

    A bit of emotion shed in his eyes as he saw a blue-haired girl standing before him, with her neck bleeding. Her lifeless eyes stared at As.

    "This isn''t you..." The girl opened her lips and spoke a few words. "This isn''t the brother I know. Don''t give up. Don''t lose yourself."

    Hearing the voice of the girl, As finally regained his senses. His eyes regained their focus. The figure of the girl disappeared as if it was nothing but a fragment of his imagination which he had conjured to stop himself as thest ditch effort.

    "Lord zar?" Lord Severis called again, wondering what was happening.

    Fortunately, this time he received a response. "Yes? Lord Severis."

    "It looks like you lost yourself in some thoughts. Are you fine?" Severis inquired.

    "I''m fine. It''s just that I remembered something. Don''t worry about it," As replied. "Anyway, let''s continue with what I was saying."

    As didn''t look towards the ss of blood anymore. He didn''t know if he could control himself the next time he looked at it. He ced the ss of blood on the ground.

    Lilith let out a breath of relief, relieved that As had controlled himself. If he drank that blood, she didn''t know what could''ve happened, but it wasn''t going to be nice.

    As was new. It was almost impossible for him to control his urges, but if he had drunk the blood, it would''ve been even more problematic for him in the future. That''s why she wanted to train him before allowing him to drink blood for the first time. Seeing the control that As showcased, Lilith was proud. In his mind, she even praised him.

    "Aren''t you going to drink?" Lord Severis asked.

    "I''m not hungry at the moment." As smiled in response. "I just want to be done here so I can begin my search."

    ¡­.

    Fifteen minutes were left to the deadline that was set by As for the n, and everything was already in motion. John had set everything up, and he was ready now.

    He took the keys from the guard who was sleeping in theb like a horse. Taking the key, John left hisb again and walked right to the cell of the kids.

    He inserted the key in the lock and opened the door.

    The sound of the metallic door opening was enough to wake up quite a lot of children who were sleeping. This reminded the children ofst night, when some of them were called to serve blood. The children wondered if it was going to be the same tonight?

    The thought was scary for them since they had already heard about what happenedst night from the survivors. ording to what they heard, Mise and As were dead. They didn''t want to be chosen tonight for the same thing only to end up dying.

    None of them knew that the night was going to be much different thanst night. It was going to be like something they would never have imagined.<novelnext></novelnext>

    ~~~

    As finished telling thest story. There were still five minutes left to the deadline, but he knew he was running close to the deadline. Now was the time to put the final part of the n into motion which was the mostplicated part.

    "Hearing what you said, it looks like Lord Ramiel has truly returned. It shall be the start of a new era for us with his return!" Lord Severis nodded. "We need to find him."

    "Exactly. His return means that it''s quite possible that other Progenitors might have returned as well," As added. "It shall indeed be a new era for us all. We need to find him. Only he can give us more insight."

    "So, are you willing to work with me on this search?" he asked.

    Even though As asked Severis to work together, he was prepared for both answers. Despite being ready for both the answers, he was hoping for a yes. If it was a yes, he could take Severis with him to the Carlisle n right now. That could make his entry into the Carlisle n to search for his sister easier.

    Lord Severis took another sip of blood as his lips curled into a smile. "I''m sorry, but I''m afraid I can''t work with you. I want to work alone on this. I can''t work with people from other lineages."

    He didn''t even think before saying no.

    "Didn''t you say before that you wanted to work with me when you stopped me?" As asked, frowning.

    "Well, now I changed my mind," Lord Severis said. " I wish you the best on your search."

    He had stopped As at the start to get to know as much as As knew about the return of their Progenitor, but now that he knew everything, he didn''t need As anymore. He already knew what As knew.

    Now he could start the search on his own. He didn''t need anyone''s help. Moreover, there was another reason he didn''t want to help As. It wasn''t a secret that the four Progenitors weren''t friends.

    If the two of them worked together and Ramiel found out that he worked together with someone from another lineage, it could easily make Ramiel upset. He didn''t want to make their ancestors angry.

    As gazed at Severis, frowning. "I see. Well, if you don''t want to work with me, I won''t force you. I''ll take my leave."

    As stood up, seemingly angry. He turned to leave, his robe waving behind him.

    He went to the door. Unlike before, Severis didn''t try to stop him this time. He didn''t even bother standing up. He had already handled a lot of the arrogance of As, all to get his answers. Now that he got his answers, he didn''t need to y along.

    He could be back to his arrogant self, who didn''t think of himself as any less than others. So what if As was from a lineage that was rare and didn''t have many members. That didn''t mean he was stronger.

    Stopping at the door, As nced back onest time as if savoring the memories of this room. The memories were something that were never going to leave him alone for as long as he lived.

    This was the ce where he spent thest moments with his sister¡ªthe ce where he saw her cry for thest time. After a calm nce, he pushed the door open and started leaving. He didn''t forget to close the doors from the outside.

    "I hope you enjoy the sight," he calmly muttered, walking away.

    ''Because within a few minutes¡­.''

 Chapter 27 Colors Of The World...

    Only the sound of As''s footsteps could be heard in the deadly silence as he walked away from the main hall, departing.

    He had seen the exit thousands of times before when he worked to clean ces, but it was always surrounded by guards. It was impossible for his weak self to even attempt an exit, but now that everyone knew he was a guest here, no one was going to stop him.

    It wasn''t as if anyone could stop him even if they wanted. He wasn''t his old, weak self anymore! He wasn''t at anyone''s mercy! If anyone even tried to block his path, he could crush their bones to make a path for him.

    Fortunately, there was no need for that. The guards that were in the Pce were already long asleep. A strange smell was present in all the hallways and corridors. The only area which didn''t have that smell yet was the corridor near the main hall because John didn''t want to alert the Vampires.

    Seeing the content look on the face of As, Lilith couldn''t help herself but chime in. "That went better than I expected. Not bad. But next time, don''t attempt something so risky. One mistake, and you could''ve been trapped there."

    "I''ll listen to you next time," As responded calmly.

    "You always say that, but you never listen, do you? We both know your words are hollow. Anyway, shouldn''t you be running fast? Only two minutes are left!" Lilith reminded As.

    "We have plenty of time," As proimed. He soon reached the main exit that led them out of the Pce. There were two guards at the exit, but both of them were lying on the ground, deep asleep.

    Pushing the door open, As stepped out of the massive castle.

    He observed the beautiful castle from the outside, which looked really majestic.

    "You know, it''s only the second time I''m seeing this castle from the outside in myst four years. The first time was when I had first arrived here. I wasn''t alone at that time. But leaving this ce, I''m all alone," As mumbled.

    Gazing at the dull and sad face of As, Lilith remembered a moment from her own life.

    Turning his back on the castle, As started leaving.

    "You know, a long time ago, there was a girl," Lilith divulged as she followed As. "Her family was killed as well. She was also like you, drowning in loneliness. Her entire town was burned. When she was leaving that deste town, she said something simr."

    "She thought she had nothing since her family was gone. She was all alone," she added. "But it was at that moment when a person held her hand and told her something."

    "Told her what?" As asked.

    As felt like someone was holding his hand. However, there was only a shadow beside him.

    "You aren''t alone in this world. You have me. So what if you lost one family? You have a lifetime before you to make another family, a family that you will never lose. So never lose hope. The world might look dull right now, but it''s filled with colors. You just need to find your colors," Lilith said, reminiscing her past where she was all alone, feeling like she couldn''t survive the loneliness.

    That was the moment when Castiel extended his hand toward her, broadening her horizons, showing her that she wasn''t alone. Since then, she had been with Castiel, who was no less than her family.

    That''s why seeing someone else in his body was so upsetting to her; however, somewhere inside her heart, she believed that it was something that Castiel desired.

    There was no way someone could control Castiel''s body without his permission. That''s why she had decided to support As on this journey as well until Castiel chose to return.

    "Are you quoting the words that were told to the girl?" As asked, frowning.

    "Hmm."

    "Who was that girl?" As inquired, wondering if Lilith was making it up.

    "That girl was me," Lilith exined. "And the person who held my hand was Lord Castiel. So believe me when I say this, but I know how you feel. I''ve been in a simr ce, but as Lord Castiel once said, the world is colorful. You just need to find your own colors in this world."

    As didn''t respond. He stopped in his tracks, noticing John standing in the distance. John wasn''t alone, though. A group of children was standing behind him.<novelnext></novelnext>

    The children were the same children that As spent thest four years of his life with. They were the ves that worked in the castle.

    "Is everything done?" he asked John, stepping closer.

    "Yes. It should be any second now." John smiled. "I honestly didn''t think I could pull this off, but fortunately, nothing went wrong."

    As nodded as he slowly turned around to face the castle.

    The children wondered why these people had brought them out of the castle. Some even worried for their lives, while others were happy that they could at least breathe the sweet air of the outside that didn''t feel suffocating to them.

    A beautiful moon shone brightly in the sky, basking everyone in the moonlight. As''s pale body looked even more prideful in the moonlight.

    "John?" As asked.

    "Yes?"

    "You shouldn''t wait here. Leave. Take the kids and leave. Take them far away from here," Asmanded.

    "What? Are you noting?" John asked, frowning. "I thought we''ll be going together."

    "I''m noting at the moment. I want to see it end with my own eyes¡­ I will leave after everything is done. You leave ahead. Take the lead. Make sure you go where even I can''t find you. The kids are your responsibility now. You all are free."

    The way As talked, it looked less like he was a superior vampire and more like a friend who wanted them to have a safe life ahead. John didn''t know what As''s goal was, but he couldn''t say no.

    The children also heard the words of As, which stunned them. Were they truly being freed? Even in dreams, they couldn''t have thought of something like this. They weren''t enved anymore? No one was going to hurt them anymore? It was as if their wildest dreams hade true.

    John bowed respectfully toward As. Since As''s back was facing them, he couldn''t see it, but he didn''t need to look back to know that they were grateful.

    "Thank you for everything. Also, I am sorry I couldn''t help you find that girl."

    "Thank you!" All the kids also bowed and thanked As. They didn''t know what it was about, but they were sure that As was behind their freedom.

    As nced at John, who still had his head down. "Don''t be sorry. It''s not your fault. I should be thanking you instead for helping me. You''re better than thest guy."

    He shifted his attention to the kids, especially Jason. Just yesterday, the two of them were talking about leaving in the future, and now, it wasing true. Just that it wasn''t the way, they imagined it to be.

    "Have a great future ahead. Best of luck." As wished the kids luck before he turned his back on them to face the castle.

    He didn''t notice it at that moment, but Jason had a mysterious smile on his face as he gazed at the back of As for some reason.

    "Let''s go!" John told the kids after taking onest nce at As.

    He had already stolen a carriage which he was to use for escape. The carriage had the symbol of the Severis n, which could protect him from bandits. No bandits were going to dare attack the Severis n unless they wanted to court death.

    The kids and John started walking away from As. The kids entered the carriage. John sat in the driver''s seat. The carriage started moving and left...

    Only As was left behind, facing the castle as if he was waiting for something¡­

 Chapter 28 Oath Of Moon

    "You are a good person. You could''ve left alone, but you didn''t. Instead, you helped the kids leave as well. Not bad. But next time, focus on yourself first before thinking about others." Watching the Carriage leave in the back, Lilithmented.

    " I couldn''t leave them behind," As exined. "My sister and I couldn''t get the freedom we craved. I couldn''t help her, but I couldn''t let the other kids suffer the same fate. It''s not their fault."

    "Mise might not be alive, but her hopes and dreams are still alive in the eyes of these kids, craving freedom. Leaving them behind would''ve been like leaving her behind. You can call it me being selfish, trying to atone for my failure," he further added, shing a weak smile.

    Lilith could see the sadness behind that fake smile, but she didn''tment. Even though As was inside the body of her master, he was still a sixteen-year-old kid on the inside who wasn''t that strong mentally.

    She swiftly changed the topic to something more amusing. "This is certainly going to be fun, won''t it?"

    "It will be." As gazed at the castle with a calm smile. "Should be anytime now."

    ....

    Back inside the castle, a small meeting between the Severis n had started after As left. In the meeting, Lord Severis talked about the importance of the return of their ancestor and how important it was for them to locate him.

    He had decided that all the n members were going to leave the castle to go look for Ramiel. They were going to go to other ns as well to get more information. The meeting onlysted a few minutes since there was nothing much to cover.

    As for who was going to go where it was already decided, Lord Severis told his men where they were supposed to go. Meanwhile, he himself was going to move south since that was thest ce Ramiel was seen, ording to As. If only they knew that it was all a lie, the look on their faces would''ve been worth seeing.

    As the meeting was over, everyone stood to leave. Jovan was the first to reach the door, but the door didn''t open even as he pulled.

    "That''s odd?!" he eximed in surprise.

    "What?" Lord Severis asked, hearing his surprise-filled word.

    "The door is locked from the outside.  I don''t know why anyone would do it," Jovan responded, stunned.

    Severis appeared before the door, pushing Jovan to the side. Without thinking twice, he kicked the door open. He wasn''t the one to worry about the damaged property. If he was worried about something, it was about the door being locked. He was sure none of their servants locked the door. That left only one person who could do it¡ª As!

    Generally, he would''ve sent someone to escort As out, but he was so immersed in the shocking news about the return of Ramiel that he forgot to do that. If As indeed did that, it meant he nned something!

    Bang~

    As the kick of Severisnded on the door, the door broke apart.

    Severis stepped into the hallway. The others followed him.

    "Do you all smell something?" One of the Vampires asked, smelling something strange. The sleeping gas had no effect on them, but they could still smell it, unlike humans now that they were out.

    However, they were toote by now. Moreover, it wasn''t just the smell of sleeping gas. Another scent was mixed within.

    Boom~

    Multiple explosions rocked the pce asrge explosions took ce in different parts of the Pce, shattering the pirs that kept the pce standing.

    Standing outside the pce, As watched the fireworks.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Beautiful fireworks," As muttered as more and more rooms exploded in the Pce. Before long, the entire Pce came crashing down, falling on itself.

    The Vampires had just left the room when they watched the roofe crashing down on them. They all raised their hands to protect their heads as they got buried under the rubble.

    The explosions still continued. However, the pce was already destroyed.

    The ce which had given them so much suffering for thest four years was destroyed. The room where his sister had died was buried under all the rubble, never to recover. It was as if As had wiped all the remnants of the sad history, never to look back.

    Finally, his n wasplete. He knew he couldn''t fight the Vampires, but he didn''t want to leave empty-handed. Just as the Vampires took everything he held precious to him, he took their beloved castle from them, along with all their self-respect and arrogance, which was more dear to them than their lives.

    Now the news was going to spread far and wide about someone destroying their castle, which was worse than death for the Severis n, which held their reputation above their life.

    As turned his back on the castle... Or what remained of it as he started walking away. mes could be seen behind him as the explosions continued, only worsening with time.

    Another advantage of destroying the castle was that all the blood that the Vampires had stored was gone, and no one was going to know that the kids were missing since everyone could only think that the kids had died in the destruction.

    This not only gave the children their freedom but also provided them with some safety cover as the Severis n wasn''t going to search for them.

    Leaving the Pce, As gazed at the beautiful moon in the sky, which looked like a reflection of his heart: deste yet still bringing light to the lives of others.

    ....

    "Arghh!" A mighty roar came from the distance as a figure climbed out of the rubble.

    Severis'' clothes were covered in dirt. Not only were his clothes dirty, but they were also torn in ces. He had never felt this insted in his entire life as he did now!

    "zar, the day I find you, I will kill you!" Severis roared at the top of his lungs. His heart was filled with mes of revenge. He didn''t need to think twice to know that it was all the work of As!

    He was the only one who could do it. Even though he didn''t understand how As achieved this feat in a few minutes, he swore in his heart that he was going to rip As to shreds without thinking about his lineage.

    Initially, he thought that As did it because he said no, but he knew that it couldn''t be the case. It had only been a few minutes. As couldn''t have done all this in a few minutes. This meant he had prepared for this in advance. Everything that happened in the hall was probably a distraction.

    Now he was also starting to doubt the story of As about the reappearance of Ramiel. If that was true, there was no way As would''ve dared to antagonize someone from the lineage of Progenitor Ramiel.

    More and more Vampires kept crawling out of the rubble, in worse condition than Severis. Some of them were even bleeding. Their clothes were covered in blood.  Fortunately, their wounds were slowly healing.

    Severis was sure that As was gone by now. He couldn''t find him even if he tried, so he didn''t bother. However, he had promised himself that he was going to find As!

    Just as As nced at the moon while walking away, Severis also looked at the same moon. "zar, run! Run as far as you can. By doing this, you''ve just shortened your lifespan. Now you''ll see what happens when someone crosses me. You saw the nice me. Now you''ll see the devil me!"

    "This is just the start, Severis. I''ll show you true hell on this earth for as long as you live for what you did. So please don''t die too soon. There''s a lot toe...." As muttered, gazing at the moon as if he was talking to Severis.

    This was just the start... The start of a brutal war that no one could have seening... A war that was going to change the world... A war that wasn''t like a conventional war.

    The moon acted as the witness of the two oaths that each of the men took about destroying each other. However, even it didn''t know what the end was going to be like. Only time was to tell.

 Chapter 29 Meeting Of The Fated

    It was a new morning. The sun shone brightly out in the sky, providing the earth with a much needed warmth after the cold nights.

    The sounds of birds chirping could be heard everywhere as As sat inside a forest under a beautiful green tree that provided him with shade. There were nts in the surrounding area that still had some dew on them.

    As sat unmoving with his back resting against the tree, looking at a beautiful flower in the distance. He still wore hisvish clothes, but they were covered in the overhead cloak that he was wearing.

    The cloak looked worn out and old, but it covered his clothes properly, hiding them from sight. He had taken the cloak along the way since hisvish clothes were attracting too much attention during his travels.

    In the cloak, he didn''t look like thevish Prince like before. Instead, he looked more like a poor man who couldn''t even afford proper clothes, despite his good looks.

    The flower he gazed at had seven petals on it, and each petal had a different color, covering all the colors in the rainbow.

    Lilith noticed As looking at the flower. "Beautiful, isn''t it?"

    As nodded. "It''s beautiful, but at the same time, it looks sad and alone."

    "Sad and alone? What do you mean?" Lilith asked. "What do you see that I don''t?"

    As let out a deep breath. "It''s the only flower in the entire field, all alone. You see the diverse colors of it as its beauty, but from a different perspective, I see its loneliness as its true beauty. It didn''t die even though it was alone. Instead, it stood tall, surviving where no other flowers could. That''s the true beauty of this flower."

    "Sigh, do you always have to be such a sunshine?" Lilith responded sarcastically. "It''s been two weeks since everything happened. We''ve traveled so far. When will you get over what happened? I know it''s hard but at least try!"

    "You know, to learn what I''m trying to teach you, your mind can''t be chaotic. That''s why you''ve been failing every day for thest two weeks. You should know we''re running out of time," she continued, sounding upset.

    Lilith was only a shadow around As, he couldn''t see her expressions, but he could guess what her expressions would have been just now.

    "We''re lucky even after two weeks, you haven''t entered the Blood Urge Phase, but the day you enter it, you''ll be in really big trouble. That''s why I want you to drink blood soon and remove that risk, but I can''t let you do that until your mind is calm."

    " If it isn''t, you''ll lose yourself in the lust of blood! So can you please try at least instead of wasting both our time? You haven''t even covered the first step of your training. It''s like we literally wasted two weeks in which we could''ve covered so much!"

    Even under the constant scolding by Lilith, As didn''t get angry. He just stood up, stretching his arms. "I told you, I''m not drinking human blood. It doesn''t matter in any case. As for the Blood Urge, I just need to avoid it until I give my sister a proper burial. Only then can I regain my calm."

    "At that time, we can talk about the blood and everything else," he continued as he started walking away.

    "We already talked about it so many times! Why don''t you understand?!" Lilith snapped. "We can''t take more time! By tomorrow, we should enter thend of the Carlisle n! You need to be ready before that!"

    "You think you can avoid human blood? Even if you don''t drink, the day you enter Blood Urge, you''ll be drinking much more blood than you can imagine. And that day, you won''t be able to control yourself on how many innocent people you hurt. So why not do it once for your future?"

    As didn''t respond to Lilith. He just kept walking away from her in silence. Even though he had a headache about it, but he wanted to resist it for as long as he could.

    " Sooner orter, it''s for sure that you''ll be drinking blood. So your constant refusal doesn''t make sense! I''ve spent enough time with you to know that you''re not that big an idiot! So tell me the truth! Why don''t you really want to do it? Why do you risk your mental safety? Why do it?!" Lilith asked, chasing after As.

    "Does it matter what the reason is?" As asked, stopping right before the beautiful flower. He went down on his knees, gently touching the petals of the flower.

    "It matters for me," Lilith answered. "Since we''ll be working together, I need to know why you don''t want to do it! It affects both of us!"

    "Fine. It''s because I don''t want a blood-drinking Vampire to hold my sister, even if it''s me. It''s just something personal. So I won''t drink blood before I bury her properly. I want a brother to bury his sister, not a blood drinking beast," As exined as his fingers gently brushed against all the petals.

    "Even though I lost my body, my soul is still of the same As. If I drank blood, it''d be like even my soul would be tainted and unworthy of holding her. I don''t want to be disgusted with myself, at least until I finish what I need to do. After I''m don-"

    "Hmm?" As As was exining his reason, he stopped suddenly. He looked back, hearing some noise from the bushes.<novelnext></novelnext>

    He stood up and started walking to the bushes. Just as he was halfway, something jumped out of the bushes.

    "A rabbit?" As smiled unintentionally, seeing the cute creature.

    Seeing As'' smile, even Lilith was dazed for a moment. She hadn''t seen As smile since the beginning, but now that he smiled, it was as if the world suddenly became brighter. It was as if her Master was smiling.

    Even though As was in the body of her master, it didn''t mean his smile should''ve been the same as her master, but it was exactly identical. For some reason, she could actually see the glimpses of Castiel in As. Her anger disappeared at the sight of the smile.

    "You like rabbits?" Lilith inquired.

    "I used to have a pet rabbit when I was little," As divulged, slowly walking towards the small rabbit.

    For some reason, the rabbit seemed scared of him, yet as soon as the rabbit looked into the eyes of As, it was as if his legs froze. He couldn''t step back. It was as if he was hypnotized even though As didn''t intend to.

    As stopped before the rabbit. "Hey there, little guy. What are you doing here alone?"

    As picked up a rabbit into his arms and started patting the little guy.

    Swiss~

    "Watch out!" Lilith yelled abruptly.

    As also sensed something as he jumped to the side.

    An arrow flew right past As, avoiding him by mere inches.

    "Put Fluffy down if you care for your life! Keep your dirty hands away from him!" A loud voice fell in the ears of As, which sounded sweet and melodious. Even though the voice was trying to be threatening, it failed the purpose gloriously.

    Frowning, As looked towards the bushes from where the voice came. He saw a figure walk out.

    The tall figure belonged to a dark-haired woman who held a beautiful golden bow in her hand that was aiming right at As.

    The woman was dressed in beautiful ck attire that was decorated with golden designs at ces. Her long hair came down to her waist behind her, waving with the gentle winds.

    "I suppose Fluffy is the name of the little guy?" As asked, standing up. He still didn''t release the bunny.

    "This is yourst warning. Release Fluffy!" The woman warned. "This time, I won''t miss intentionally!"

    "You mean you missed intentionallyst time?" As asked, seemingly not believing her. If he hadn''t moved at the right time, he would''ve been dead. From which angle did it look like she intentionally missed? It was he who dodged at the right moment.

    More footsteps came from the distance as ten more figures came behind the woman. All the figures belonged to men who were carrying long swords with them that seemed sharp enough to slice even steel.

    What surprised As was that all these men looked at the woman with respect even though they all had red eyes. That meant all these men were Vampires. On the other hand, the woman didn''t have red eyes. She had deep ck eyes.

    It was confusing. Why were Vampires so respectful to a human?

    As opened his lips to ask something, but before he could speak, he saw one of the Vampires move toward him with hostility.

 Chapter 30 One Last Time

    As wasn''t looking for a battle, especially since he could see that these Vampires weren''t from the Severis n. He had seen all their faces at the meeting a few weeks ago when he pretended to be a guest there. None of these faces were familiar.

    Since they weren''t from Severis n, it was evident they weren''t chasing after him. Moreover, there was a good chance that these Vampires didn''t even know he was a Vampire, let alone a Progenitor.

    Since they didn''t know, he wanted to keep it that way and not get into a fight. The more energy he wasted, the more he was at the risk of falling into a blood urge phase. That''s why he hadn''t even used his super-speed to travel after leaving the castle.

    He only walked or used carriages to travel. That''s how he had managed to get so far in two weeks. However, aftering so far, he didn''t want to end up in an unnecessary battle that didn''t even concern him.

    Watching a dark-haired Vampire walking toward him with hostility, As acted as an ordinary human would. He stepped back.

    The Vampire stopped before As, reaching out his hand towards the shoulder of his.

    As soon as the man ced his hand on his shoulder, As could feel the man was applying some strength to bring him to his knees.

    If As wanted, he could''ve remained standing, shocking everyone, but he didn''t want to. He acted as if his shoulder was hurt as he dropped to his knees.

    "That''s where you belong, human. On the ground!" the man said, ring at As.

    The rabbit dropped from As'' hands and ran towards the woman in the distance as if it was running for his life.

    The woman lowered her bow, wearing it on her shoulder. She ced the arrow in the quiver before going down to her knees. She picked up the small rabbit, taking it in her embrace. "Did that man scare you, Fluffy?"

    Fortunately, the Vampire only applied enough strength to push As to his knees and not more. After As was down on his knees, he retracted his hand. It was more fortunate for the Vampire though, since As didn''t know how much he could act after that point. If he was truly being hurt, he couldn''t just sit idly.

    "Sigh, I never thought I would see my Master''s body sitting on knees before a pitiful Vampire. What disgrace. If only you had drank some blood before, we wouldn''t have faced this disgrace," Lilithmented in As'' ears. "However, for the current situation, it''s the right decision. I''ll let it go."

    The dark-haired Vampire turned to the woman in the back. "Lady Yovana, do you want to kill this human yourself for this insolence?"

    "Tristan! Before that, may I ask who told you to interfere? I was handling the situation, wasn''t I?" the woman asked, talking about a different topic.

    "But Lady Yovana, I heard you issuing a warning to him. And despite that, he wasn''t freeing the small creature. I couldn''t stand by and bear such disgrace. I took action, but I didn''t kill him. I left the best part for you!" Tristan responded as if he had done nothing wrong.

    Hearing the conversation between the two, As was trying to understand as much as he could about the status quo between the human and the Vampires. Even as he sat on his knees, he kept his eyes down.

    ''I was right. The Vampires do respect that woman. In fact, she can even scold the Vampires. Her identity isn''t simple. However, who can she be? Even if she was a human princess, there was no way she would be getting such respect...''

    As raised his head a bit, taking another nce at the beautiful woman who stood before the Vampires with a small snow-white rabbit in her arms.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I would''ve killed him if he had refused to return Fluffy. But Fluffy is back now. Let that man go. Since the little guy is unharmed, I don''t feel like killing that man," Yovanamanded as she took another nce at As before turning around.

    She left with the rabbit. "Don''t run like that again. You know how scared I was, thinking I lost you forever?"

    Even as the woman left, As could still hear her words, getting weaker as she went farther from him. She left where she came from, disappearing into the forest. All the Vampires followed after her, leaving.

    However, there was one Vampire who was still left behind.

    Tristan still stood before As. "You think it''s your lucky day because she forgave you, but you can''t be more wrong. She might not want to kill you for your insolence of not going down on your knees as soon as you saw us, but I won''t let that go," the Vampire said, taking two steps back.

    There was a devilish grin on his lips. "You humans are really forgetting how you should behave before us, aren''t you? Stand up as you did before. Let me see that same old bravery onest time. I promise I''ll be quick."

    "This idiot..." Lilith couldn''t help but pity Tristan. It looked like he couldn''t digest the kindness of As. He was really looking to be taught a lesson.

    As ced his hand on the ground. "I am not looking for a conflict. I''m but a mere human. Please, let me be. I was just shocked to see you before me that I waste to go down on my knees."

    Even in this situation, As looked to avoid the battle. He didn''t stand up.

    "Really? You gained somemon sense, it seems." Tristan smirked. His figure flickered. In the next second, he appeared before As, covering the distance in the blink of an eye. "However, it''s toote."

    A kick came flying,nding on As''s chest. The kick was strong enough to break a few bones of a human, but Tristan didn''t use his full strength in that kick. He wanted to torture As before ultimately killing him.

    Boom~

    As''s body shot back, crashing into a tree in the back. Since the kick didn''t have enough strength, the tree stood standing even against the impact. On the other hand, it was As who felt a bit hurt. However, it wasn''t too much to handle. It was just a little pain in his chest.

    "That hurt..." Holding his chest, As slowly stood up. "I wanted to avoid this all. But it looks like there''s no way out today. What a waste."

    "Huh? You''re still able to stand?" Tristan stared at As in surprise, watching him stand. "You''re pretty durable for a human."

    Even though he hadn''t ced all his strength behind that kick, it was still not something that a human could shrug off like it was nothing. Something was wrong about this human, he thought.

    "Have you really decided you won''t let me go?" As inquired, seemingly tired. "I''m asking for onest time."

    However, he received his answer not in the form of words but in the form of actions as Tristan once again attacked. This time he didn''t hold anything back.

 Chapter 31 Losing Self

    Tristan opened his mouth, revealing his two sharp fangs as he ran toward As.

    Instead of being shocked or scared, As smiled in response. The timing of the smile was just right as it happened right when Tristan was about to attack him.

    "What?" Tristan grew confused. Was this guy crazy? He was happy when he was about to be killed?

    Despite his confusion, he didn''t stop closing in on As.

    Unfortunately, this was just the start of the shock train he was about to ride on. His shock only increased as he noticed the two sharp fangs of As that looked like the fangs of a Vampire. That was when he truly grew stunned.

    In his daze, he even forgot to attack As as he stopped just a meter away from him. Unfortunately for him, that was exactly what As wanted.

    Unlike Tristan, who stopped suddenly, it was As who actually moved finally. Within a blink of an eye, he closed in on whatever distance they had, stabbing his hands into the chest of Tristan.

    With a nk look on his face, Tristan lowered his head, looking at his chest. Right before his eyes, As pulled out his blood-covered hand, leaving a big hole in the chest of Tristan. His hand wasn''t empty though. There was a heart in his hand which was still beating.

    "I didn''t want to do this, but you forced my hand," Asmented, crushing the heart right before Tristan''s eyes. "But if it weren''t you, it would''ve been me."

    ck nerves spread all across the body of Tristan as his body became rigid. It dropped to the ground, lifeless. Even until hisst moment, Tristan couldn''t believe what had happened. The person who was supposed to be a human turned out to be a Vampire? How?

    If he knew that As was a Vampire before, he could''ve been more alert and not as defenseless. However, it was the surprise element that helped As kill him so easily, without much of a fight. If people hadn''t thought of him as a Human, things could''ve been much different.

    As tossed the crushed heart on the ground near Tristan, only to notice the blood in his hand. He couldn''t help but gulp at the sight of the blood as he started feeling really thirsty. His eyes became a darker shade of green as he felt the urge to drink blood.

    His head became dizzy as everything around him became blurry, except the blood-covered hand.

    He tried to turn his head away from the blood as he hastily went down on his knees to wipe all the blood on the clothes of Tristan. No matter how much he tried, he couldn''t wipe his handpletely.

    The thirst in his eyes kept increasing with time as As tried his hardest to resist.

    Lilith watched As from a distance. She understood what As was going through. She had seen that look many times before. It was the look of resistance.

    Ordinary Vampires couldn''t drink the blood of other Vampires to replenish themselves, but Progenitors were different. They could do this. They could even drink the blood of other Vampires, which made it so hard for As.

    The Bloodlust inside As was so bad that he didn''t know how to control himself. No matter what he tried, he couldn''t distract himself from the blood. His fangs became bigger as his hand subconsciously moved closer to his lips.

    Generally, Lilith would''ve tried to convince As to try tasting the blood, luring him, but it was different this time. Even though Vampire Blood could strengthen the Progenitors, it couldn''t help against Blood Urge. Only human blood could dy the Blood Urge phase, so she saw no benefit in As drinking this blood.

    Instead, she had reasons to stop As from drinking this blood. Her first reason was that she was impressed by As'' resolve and his reasoning. She didn''t want to see him fail aftering so far. She didn''t want him to feel disgusted with himself while burying his sister.

    Her other reason was more important though. Vampire Blood was stronger than Human Blood. For his first time, drinking Vampire Blood could take more toll on the mind of As, especially since his mind was already so chaotic.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "As, stop looking at that blood. Wipe your hand right now!" Lilithmanded As, who was in a daze as if he was looking at the most delicious dish in the world.

    "I-i can''t! My body is moving on its own!" As roared, trying his best to resist.

    He couldn''t even stop looking at the blood. It was as if there was a beast inside him that was trying to control his body, and the beast was mostly seeding so far.

    As couldn''t even cry at his weakness. The more time passed, the stronger his urge became. It was much harder to resist the blood now than it was back at the castle.

    "Control yourself! You are better than this! Just a few more days, and you can drink all the blood you want! You can resist it!" Lilith shouted to attract the attention of As; however, she only failed.

    The blood-covered hand was just a few inches away from As''s lips. He was just about to touch his tongue.

    His nerves were clearly visible through his neck as if they were under immense strength because of this resistance.

    As felt like he was drowning in a dark abyss that he couldn''t resist. He couldn''t climb out of it to control his own body.

    His consciousness started floating away, weakening the control of his body.

    ''Maybe this wasn''t meant to be? Maybe I wasn''t supposed to wield this power. It''s too much for me. Maybe it''s better to just... Go and disappear into the abyss. I am too weak to do anything, even with all this strength. I better disappear from this world...''

    Hundreds of negative thoughts filled his head as As kept losing himself in the darkness.

    Put~

    As As lost himself more and more, he felt a pnding on his cheeks. The p didn''t have too much strength behind it, but it was enough to wake up the consciousness of As.

    He came to his senses, finding him attacking Lilith. As he was lost, his subconscious was controlling his body, mainly his dark urges.

    He was about to drink blood when Lilith pped him to bring him to his senses. The subconscious dark self of As attacked Lilith in response to the p.

    Fortunately, Lilith was a shadow, so she wasn''t hurt. She was able tost until As regained control of his body, facing the dark urges.

    He looked towards the sky as he roared. "Yaaaa!"

    He scratched his own neck with his hands, leaving a deep gash behind. The pain not only distracted him to wake him up even more, but it also gave him another advantage. The hand which was covered in blood of Tristan now had his own blood as well.

    As grabbed the body of Tristan with the cor. Without exining anything, he started running as fast as he could with Tristan still grabbed.

 Chapter 32 32: The Only Way

    Lilith watched As running wildly through the forest, stunned. She didn''t know what he was trying to do and if it was actually him in the first ce or was he too far gone.

    "As! Stop!"

    She kept calling As, but As didn''t respond as if he couldn''t hear her. The wounds on his neck started healing slowly, and soon not even a single mark was left on his neck.

    After running for five minutes straight, As reached a small pond that he had seen along the way previously. He had also stopped here to take a bath previously. However, he now had another purpose for this pond.

    He ced the body of Tristan on the ground before pulling down a vine from the tree.

    He picked a small stone from nearby, cing it on the chest of Tristan. He tied the stone to the body of Tristan, using the vine, keeping the crushed heart in the middle. After tying the body properly, he dragged Tristan and tossed him into the pond.

    The body started drowning in the water slowly before entirely disappearing from sight. The blood could still be seen in the river, dirtying the water.

    As submerged his hand in the water, wiping them clean.

    After cleaning his hands properly, he dropped to the ground, breathing heavily. He couldn''t believe he survived that and managed to resist. Fortunately, he didn''t need to see more blood anymore.

    "So it''s still you. I thought I lost you," Lilith''s voice fell in the ears of As, who nodded in response.

    "Even I thought the same. But somehow, I managed tost. I should thank you for this," As replied. "Without you, I might not be able to..."

    "But I don''t understand one thing... Why did you stop me? Didn''t you want me to drink blood?" he asked. "If you hadn''t stopped me,  you would have achieved your goal. So why? Why did you stop me?"

    "Don''t think too much. It''s simply because you aren''t ready to drink blood yet. That''s why I couldn''t let you drink. There''s no other reason," Lilith exined, keeping some of her reasons secret. She preferred to not tell that she was feeling sympathetic to the reason of As.

    She wanted to y the role of a stern teacher and couldn''t act weak. As didn''t need a friend at this time. He needed a teacher.

    "Lilith, today it was even harder to resist than the day in the castle. Will the urge keep getting worse every time?" As asked as his fingers yed with the grass under him.

    "It will keep getting worse," Lilith forewarned, sighing. " I think seeing blood is your trigger at this point. So you might be able tost long if you don''t see blood. So we need to get your sister fast and be done with it. Then you can drink blood, but I feel really concerned about that time."

    "Concerned about what?"

    "About you, who else, idiot! You were a human, so your mind is already very weak. Can you evenst under the onught of your first feeding? That''s what concerns me," Lilith exined.

    "That''s why I''ve been trying to train you, but other than learning some fighting skills, you haven''t strengthened your mindset at all," she added. "We don''t have much time. We really need to get you in control of your mind. Hopefully, your mind will be calm after we help your sister."

    "I can''t experience the urge I did before. The next time I might notst," As muttered. "I wish there was a way to stop this."

    "There is... By drinking blood and making you ustomed to it." Lilith corrected. "However, we can''t use that way for now. The only other way is to make sure you don''t feel that intense urge by making sure that you don''t see blood."

    " We need to stay away from bloodshed at any cost, especially don''t get any blood on your body," she continued. "So no battles before getting your sister. Avoid all kinds of battles."

    "You think I don''t do that already? I tried to avoid so much, but things didn''t turn out the way I wanted. I went as far as going down on my knees and apologized. I tried my best. He just didn''t want to let me live. It was either him or me this time," As exined on his side, sitting up. The blood in the river had diluted, for the most part, almost disappearing.

    "I know. I''m not talking about this time. This can be one of those unlucky days but next time, be even more careful. And don''t pick up any random animals just to be safe," Lilith reminded.

    Hearing herst words, As couldn''t help but remember the woman with the bow. He still didn''t know who she was, but she was certainly a special person who wasn''t a Vampire.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Enough rest. We should get going." He pushed his body up. "These people will know about the disappearance of Tristan. I don''t want more bloodshed so soon."

    He selected a direction and started walking. Fortunately, it wasn''t hard to find the whereabouts of the Carlisle n. The doctor at the castle had given him all the directions into the Severis Castle already. Now all he needed was to get to the city.

    ~~~

    A few hours after As left the forest, the woman returned with the other Vampires, looking for Tristan, who still hadn''t caught up to them. She had a feeling that he had intentionally stayed behind to hurt As, and she wanted to check.

    As she reached the same spot, she saw some blood on the grass. Mistakenly, she thought that the blood belonged to As.

    There was no way she was going to think that the blood belonged to Tristan, who was a thousand times stronger than any ordinary human. There was no way he was going to be hurt here.

    "Tristan... What did you do? I told you to let that human go, but you didn''t listen. You killed him, it seems. You ignored mymands and then disappeared with the body so I wouldn''t know?" The womanmented, sighing.

    "Fine. You can go wherever you want. You''ll have to return one day. Then I''ll see how you exin yourself." She turned and walked back, not even bothering to look for Tristan.

    It was all just a happy coincidence for As as no one knew he had killed Tristan, and no one was on his trail. He was free to move.

    ~~~

    Two dayster~

    Unlike the Severis n, which was established on a mountain, far away from civilization, the Carlisle n was established in the middle of a human city, which worked as their domain and their fiefdom.

    The humans and Vampires lived together in the city, but Humans were certainly second grade citizens. Only a few of them were given special rights to the town, working to serve the Vampires in various ways.

    At first nce, the city looked no different than any ordinary City. People could be seen working. Shops could be seen selling various items. No Vampire was at sight as As reached the city of Sagos.

    Two human guards were blocking the entrance of the city, interrogating everyone before allowing them to enter.

    The city was the hub of the Carlisle n, and everyone needed a good reason to enter. The security was even tighter now.

    There was a separate entrance for the carriages on the left, while humans entered from the right. Fortunately, the line wasn''t big. There was only one person before As.

    There was also another entrance. The third entrance was in the middle, which was the biggest; however, it was closed now. It was unclear who the entrance was for.

    The person ahead of As was allowed to enter, making it his turn.

    He moved ahead, stopping before the guard.

    "Identify yourself? What''s the purpose of your visit?" The guard asked; however, before As could even answer, he went down on his knees, looking straight ahead.

    As looked back, noticing a carriage advancing towards him from the back.

    "What are you doing?! Do you want to die!" The guard roared. "Down on your knees! That''s the carriage of Lord Carlisle!"

    As clenched his fist, hearing the name! That bastard was inside that carriage! His bloodlust started increasing slowly as his fangs started getting bigger. The Carriage kept getting closer and closer with each passing second.

 Chapter 33 33: Second Meet

    As just wanted to run to Carlisle and rip him to pieces! That bastard was the reason behind everything!

    Noticing As still standing, the guards were horrified. If something went wrong, they were going to be punished as well. The guards thought that As was so shocked at the news that he was in a daze. They didn''t know it was an entirely different matter.

    The guard grabbed the hand of As and pulled him down. As As was distracted, he didn''t notice someone pulling him down. He was also too strong for someone to pull him down without him wanting to.

    The guard looked at As, stunned. Just how strong was he? He was like a tree that couldn''t be brought down.

    The guard raised his baton, preparing to hit the knees of As to bring him down.

    Grasping the baton firmly, the guard swung it towards As. Fortunately for him, he didn''t need to hit As.

    As himself came down on his knees of his own volition. The guard stopped his baton before it could hit the waist of As, sighing a breath of relief. Finally, this guy was down.

    He wiped the sweat off his forehead. Everyone else inside the city was already on their knees at the sight of the carriage.

    The beautiful ck carriage stopped before the entrance in the middle, which was already open.

    Still sitting on his knees, As tried to look inside the carriage through the windows, but the curtains were blocking his sight. He couldn''t see inside.

    The carriage moved inside the city, disappearing from sight. The middle door once again closed. All the guards stood up sighing.

    "Man, you scared us so much. Was it your first time seeing a Royal Carriage? I can understand why you would be so scared that you couldn''t even move. Sigh, but next time be more careful," the guard said, patting the shoulder of As. He was still sweating at how close they were from troubles.

    " If you''re caught standing before a Lord Castiel, you might be killed. It''s not easy for us humans to live, so don''t lose your life for such a small thing," he further added. "Be more careful next time."

    The guard moved aside, allowing As to enter. In everything that happened, they even forgot that they didn''t check As or ask any questions about his purpose.

    As didn''t bother reminding the guards about their duty either as he entered the city, taking his first step in thend, which was going to witness the beginning of a new era that was going to change everything forever.

    He calmly stepped inside the city, entering his destination. As knew that it would''ve been much harder to get close to the Carlisle n if they were situated in an isted mountain, surrounded by guards.

    The risk of being caught would''ve been much higher, but they were established in the middle of a popted city, which made things easier for him.

    "The tall castle must be their home. We can see it even from such a distance. It''s a very big castle indeed," Lilith pointed towards the Castle in the distance.

    "It should be taller than Severis n castle at least," As muttered, keeping his voice low. There were a lot of people walking on the crowded streets of the city.

    Most of them were humans, but he didn''t want to take the risk. If anyone knew he was here for the Carlisle Castle, they could alert others.

    As kept observing the shops along the way. There were many vendors who were selling vegetables and other edible items sitting on the streets. Then there were bigger shops that looked morevish and sold more expensive items like artifacts and jewelry.

    As he was born in a small town, it was his first time stepping foot in a big city like this, and it was overwhelming to some extent.

    "So, As.  Now that we are in the city of Carlisle n?" Lilith asked, attracting the attention of As away from the shops. "What''s the n? How will you get inside the n without alerting them? I think they would have really high security. It would be hard to get inside without alerting them."

    "You''re right. It''ll be hard to enter that ce without being seen." As agreed.

    "So, how will you go in?" Lilith inquired.

    "I don''t know," As responded, letting out a deep sigh. "I will find a way. First, I need to know what their security is like. It''s time to understand this ce first."

    "Don''t take too long in reconnaissance. As you know, we are in a race against time. It''s been a week since you didn''t drink or eat anything. If it were anyone else, they would''ve gone crazy already. I''m not even sure how long you canst, but looking in your eyes, I don''t feel like you have long." Lilith alerted As before going silent.

    Bang~

    "Urgh!"

    As was walking on the streets when he noticed a man falling before his feet as if he was tossed out of the shop on the side.<novelnext></novelnext>

    As looked to his left. As expected, a few bulky men were standing there, ring at the man lying on As''s feet.

    "Don''t show your face here again!" The ck-clothed men warned the person on As''s feet who had grazed his knee. Fortunately, he wasn''t bleeding.

    After warning, the men stepped inside the restaurant again, leaving the man lying on the ground.

    As went down to his knees, extending his hand towards the man. "Are you alright?"

    "All that just because I spilled some water. Man, these people are brutal," the young man replied, letting out a deep sigh.

    The man had beautiful blue eyes as clear as water, simr to what Mise used to have. His eyes made As feel some sort of familiarity with the man.

    The young man looked to be in his early twenties. His long silver hair was tied into a ponytail. His hair was so long that they came down to his knees. He had the longest hair of anyone that As had ever seen.

    The young man was dressed in ck pants and a full sleeve white shirt.

    "Thank you for being concerned, but I''m fine," he replied, taking As''s hand.

    As stood up and pulled the man up as well; however, as soon as the man stood up, he groaned in pain. "Argh!"

    He held his knees as his legs weakened. If As weren''t holding him, he would''ve fallen on the floor again.

    "I guess I overestimated myself," the manughed at himself, showing an innocent smile. "I hit my knee badly, and now I can''t even walk. It''s alright. I''ll get better with time. You can just leave me to the side."

    "It''s alright. I can take you to your home at least. I can at least do that much," As ced his hand around the shoulder of the young man, helping him up, so he didn''t ce too much pressure on his injured knee.

    "Are you sure? You know, it''s rare to see such kindness in the society nowadays," the young man let out, smiling wryly. "Thank you so much."

    "You don''t need to thank me," As responded. Even though he was kind on the inside and actually wanted to help the man, there was another reason for helping the man.

    He needed someone to tell him more about this ce and help him understand, and this man could do that as they walked to his home.

    "I''m Lancaster," the young man introduced himself.

    "As," As responded. "So, where is your home?"

    "That way," Lancaster pointed straight ahead.

    As started helping him walk.

    ....

    As As helped Lancaster walk, they traveled a long way. After walking straight for over twenty minutes, Lancaster decided to stop to allow As time to rest even though As was against it.

    "I am fine; I don''t need rest," As exined.

    "Are you sure? You''ve been helping me walk for over twenty minutes. I know it''s not easy. Do you really not want to rest?" Lancaster inquired.

    As nodded as he prepared to continue walking, but his eyes widened a bit, noticing someoneing from the distance.

    He noticed a dark-haired woman walking in his direction, engaged in a conversation with the Vampires who were walking beside her.

    The woman was none other than Yovana that As had seen in the forest.

    "We''re in trouble," Lilithmented grimly. "The moment she sees us, a war will begin."

 Chapter 34 A Way In

    As also knew that Lilith wasn''t wrong! If he was seen, things were going to get bad.

    "I think you''re right. We should rest." He swiftly took Lancaster to the side and helped him sit down with the support of the wall. On the other hand, he himself sat, facing Lancaster. His back faced the streets, hiding him even more.

    For some reason, Lancaster found this behavior to As odd. He didn''t know why but he didn''t think too much about it.

    Yovana walked past As, not even noticing him. If she had seen him, she would''ve been stunned to see him alive since she was still thinking that he was dead and the blood in the forest belonged to her.

    A few minutes after thedy left, As subtly nced back. She could see the back of Yovana from a distance. He breathed a sigh of relief. She didn''t see him. However, he was still curious about thedy. Who was she? Why was she so important?

    "Who is thatdy?" he asked Lancaster atst. "Why are the Vampires following her?"

    "It''s not surprising that you don''t know her, but almost everyone who lives here knows her. She is Lady Yovana. She is one of the most important people in the city, even more important than some Vampires," Lancaster exined.

    "Why? What''s so special in her?"

    "It''s because she is the favorite of Lord Carlisle. He cares for her more than he cares for the Vampires under him."

    Hearing that, As couldn''t help but clench his fist. ''So she is his favorite. I might have been able to get close to him through her. But now it''s toote. I can''te before her...''

    "Why would he do that?" he asked. " Is she his lover?"

    "I don''t know what their rtionship is, and it''s not our ce to guess. The farther we stay from them, the better," Lancaster responded. "She is too important. If anyone heard us talking about her, we might be in trouble. So we definitely can''t talk about that in public."

    As nodded. "I understand. Anyway, I think I had enough rest. We should get moving."

    He stood up. Since he wasn''t tired, he wanted to leave as soon as he could since he wasn''t sure when that woman was going to return. He only saw her enter one of the nearby shops.

    He helped Lancaster up and started escorting him.

    "I haven''t seen you before in the city. How long have you been living here?" Along the way, Lancaster inquired.

    "I just arrived today," As answered. "So it''s not surprising you haven''t seen me here."

    "Oh, you''re new here. That makes sense. So what brought you to the city?"

    "I''m here for work. I mean I''m looking for work to make a good life in the city. I heard a lot about this ce in my vige and decided toe," As eximed, making up a story. He couldn''t just say he was here to infiltrate the Carlisle n.

    "Ah, you''re one of those dreamers. I''m surprised you were allowed to enter the city," Lancaster let out. "You seem quite lucky."

    "What do you mean? What lucky?"

    "Generally, the city only allows wealthy people to enter the city or those who have some important business. The people whoe here to make a better life or for a job are turned away from the door. That''s why it''s surprising you were allowed in," Lancaster exined. "Especially since poor people aren''t allowed inside the city."

    "And I don''t want to judge you from your attire, but that doesn''t give the feeling that you have money," he added, ncing at the worn-out cloak of As. "Do you have money to afford a ce to stay?"

    As shook his head. "I''ll just sleep outside until I find a job."

    As the conversation reached this point, As was subtly trying to get a point across. Through his tone, he was giving a feeling that he was a person in need of help. He wanted Lancaster to offer him a ce to stay since he really didn''t have money.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "You don''t know the rules, do you?" Lancaster sighed. "If you''re caught sleeping outside, the guards will throw you out of the city. Only the ones who can afford to live in the city are allowed to stay here."

    "That''s why it''s hard for poor people to stay here. I don''t count myself as rich, but my family had been here for a long time before the Carlisle n came here. So I do own a small house even though I don''t have any wealth. At least no one can kick me out until I need to sell my house to afford food and start sleeping on the streets," he further eximed.

    "That''s why losing a job is such a headache. Just like you, I also need to look for a job," he added.

    "Anyway, as I was saying, you really can''t stay outside unless you want to get in trouble."

    "Where else can I stay then? I don''t have a ce to go..." As responded, looking down.

    Lancaster went silent and lost himself in deep thoughts. It was dangerous to allow a stranger into your house, but he had a feeling that As was a good person. He had even helped him. He couldn''t let As be kicked out after all this.

    As kept walking, not saying anything. He already had a feeling what wasing next, and that''s exactly what he wanted.

    Just as he expected, Lancaster opened his lips and spoke the words that As had been waiting for.

    "How about you stay with me for a little while? At least until you get a job? My house isn''t big, but I think the two of us can stay there. That way, you won''t have to leave the city."

    "Really? Are you sure?" As acted stunned; however, he didn''t say no.

    "Yeah. You helped me. Without you, I might not be able to get home either. It''s the least I can do for you. Moreover, you don''t seem like a bad person."

    "Good work. Now we have an informant and a ce to stay. Not a bad start." Seeing the oue, even Lilith couldn''t help but praise As.

    Initially, she was surprised why As was wasting his time on a human when he had more important things to do, yet now she understood. It seemed like As was thinking about the future.

    "That''s my house. We''re here." Lancaster pointed straight ahead towards a small white house.

    Just as Lancaster had said, he had a house but looking at the condition of the house; it was evident that it needed urgent maintenance.

    The house was only forty square yards in size and had no first floor. It wasn''t good since, looking at the condition, As was sure that the house would''vee crashing down if there was more weight on top. The walls had cracks everywhere.

    Lancaster noticed the expressions of As. He couldn''t help but smile wryly. "It looks bad, doesn''t it?"

    "Not at all."

    "No-no. You don''t have to be modest. I know what it is. That''s why I told you I''m poor. I don''t have a family anymore, and I''ve been working daily to survive. Hopefully, one day I might be able to make a better house. One can always hope." Lancaster chuckled as he brought a key out. As Lancaster tried to open the door.

    The door finally opened. As helped Lancaster inside and ced him on the bed before walking back to close the door.

    "As, look!" As just closed the door when he heard Lilith call him with eagerness as if it was important.

    He turned around, frowning. He walked to the shadow which was near the table. There were a lot of papers on the table, but the one on the top made him smile.

    "It seems to be your lucky day today," Lilith let out.

    As picked up the piece of paper. "Looks like we found a way to enter the castle. It won''t be easy though."

 Chapter 35 The Selection

    "Did you say something?" Lancaster felt as if he heard As say something.

    As turned around. "Nothing. I was just reading the paper here."

    He walked to the bed with the paper, showing it to Lancaster.

    Lancaster took the paper, smiling. "Oh, that one. That''s right. It was distributed yesterday to almost everyone. Apparently there''s going to be a selection for a servant for the mansion. Apparently, the pce wants to find the best candidate, and they''re promoting it a lot."

    "Are you going to take part in it?" As asked, frowning. There was only one spot avable. If Lancaster was going to take part, he needed topete against this guy.

    "Well, I do need a job, but I don''t think I''ll be working there. The pay is the best, of course, that''s a good point. But there are too many risks, working this close to the Nobles. Normal employers toss you out when you make a mistake, but if I had made the same mistake there, I would''ve been dead by now," Lancaster exined, rubbing his knee gently.

    "The risks far outweigh the pros. I can''t risk my life. I would rather look for ordinary work. I do have some savings so I canst a week to search for a job," he added. "What about you? Do you want to go there?"

    "I need work. And I think working in the Pce can be good for me. I want this job. Can you help me?"

    "How can I help you?" Lancaster rubbed his forehead. " I don''t have any influence in the Pce. You''ll have to take part like everyone. And if you''re selected, only then you''ll be allowed inside the Pce."

    "Not help with your influence, but I know your knowledge," As responded. "I know nothing about this city. That can be a disadvantage if someone asks. So can you teach me about this city and the Pce? I should be able to handle the rest."

    "That much I can do. Since my family is one of the original families from here, I know quite a lot through family stories. I might not have money, but the knowledge I''ve plenty," Lancaster patted the shoulder of As as heid on the bed, looking at the cracked roof that seemed like it could call anytime.

    "So, where should I start from? I guess I''ll start from the beginning. Around a hundred years ago, this city wasn''t big. It was no bigger than a small town where everyone lived happily. Then they arrived... The Carlisle n."

    "They established their n in the center of the town. Slowly, with their presence, the city started growing. I don''t know how the Vampires did it, but a lot of humans came to the city with them."

    "The city kept getting bigger and bigger. Before long, it became what you see today. The Carlisle n are the rulers of this city, and we''re their subjects, just trying to survive."

    "Fortunately, as long as we don''t make big mistakes, we don''t have to worry about our lives. We just need to show them proper respects, and they let us live," Lancaster exined.

    "Anyway, that''s the basic structure. As we go in-depth, we know more. For example, there are two human families that are closest to the Carlisle n. Those two families own most of the businesses that you see outside. Ordinary humans can''t even open a shop. They can only sell their items on the roads."

    "The two human families also do the dirty work of the Vampires that the Carlisle n thinks is beneath them. If there''s corruption anywhere in the city, it''s within the ranks of those two families."

    "From gambling, smuggling to selling and buying of human beings, everything is handled by the two human families. That''s all I know about them after working for them as a low-tier worker. However, there is more, I''m sure. If there is anyone you can''t afford to offend in the city after the Vampires are the two families."

    "Those two families will be the ones handling the selection tomorrow as well. Mostly, Vampires don''t engage in human matters. I think they don''t want to engage with humans as they feel they''re above it. I guess they don''t want to get dirty. They are like gods for the people of the city."

    "Well, that was about the status quo of the city. Now let''s talk about the Carlisle n... The gods of the city."

    "The Carlisle n is one which everyone here is scared of, even though they don''t show themselves much."

    ''That''s odd. The way Carlisle behaved in Severis n mansion, I thought he would being out more often since he loved hurting humans?'' As thought.

    "But I saw the Vampires with thedy on the streets. What do you mean they don''te out?" he asked.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Those guards? They aren''t Carlisle n members," Lancaster responded. "They are just ordinary Vampires that work for the Carlisle n. They haven''t been promoted to direct n members. If they were, they would''ve had the Carlisle n symbol along with ck robes."

    "Those people you saw are only for security. They don''t go around hurting anyone. You don''t even need to bow before them. When I meant the Carlisle n didn''te out, I meant the direct members."

    "For example, it has been over a year since Ist saw Lord Carlisle himselfe out. I only see his carriage going out of the city from time to time. Then again, his disappearance does work in his favor; I feel like," he exined, sitting up.

    "It''s the Direct Members you need to worry about. The ordinary guards might forgive you for a moment, taking it easy by only hurting you. Not the Direct n members? A small mistake, and they would kill you to make you an example. That''s why I''m d they don''te out often. That''s also why I don''t want to work amidst them in the mansion."

    "So look out for the Carlisle n symbol. Whenever you see a Direct n member, go down on your knees and give respect. Don''t look in their eyes and wait for them to leave. You understand?" he asked, looking in the eyes of As to see if he was seriously listening.

    "Well, he should''ve told that before you killed one of them." Lilith chimed in, seemingly amused to some extent. "Because now that I think about it, amidst all the guards that were with the woman, only the one who attacked you had a Carlisle n symbol. No wonder he was so unreasonable."

    As rubbed his temple, having a headache. He had killed a Direct n member, and now he needed to go inside the same n to work.

    ''As long as I stay out of the sight of the people who were in the forest, I might be able to get through it.''

    Lancaster looked all around to make sure the door was closed. "Now, let me tell you about the things I know that I''m not supposed to talk about. Don''t ever let anyone know I told you this."

    "What?" As asked, frowning.

    "The Carlisle n don''t hurt the humans of this city since they want the city to be prosperous for their needs, but that doesn''t mean they don''t have skeletons in their closet."

    "What do you mean?"

    "A lot of people have gone missing throughout the years. And I have reason to believe that they were taken to the Mansion where they''re used for blood. Quite a lot of people know about this, but no one talks. Not only that, but a lot of humans kidnapped or bought outside the city are brought to the Nobles."

    "I''ve seen one such carriage myself. The two families have their hands covered in blood in crimes. So think again. Do you really want to work for them? A mistake and you might end up dead, or worse... As their blood bag. Since you''re a good guy, I want you to be careful." Lancaster warned As once again, trying to persuade him to not go through.

    "That''s not surprising. All the Vampire ns are like this. They all do you. I don''t even know why I thought otherwise," As let out a deep sigh. "It doesn''t matter though. I still want to work for them. And that''s what I shall do. At any cost, I must get selected."

    "Man, I tried to convince you, but you just don''t listen." Lancaster scratched the back of his head, getting off the bed. "I won''t force you. I''ll just wish you luck, man. I will be there to support you and hope everything goes well."

    "I''ll take a shower. Make yourself at home," he told As as he walked away, limping.

    Along the way, he took off his shirt and started roaming through his clothes in the bag to select something to wear.

    As Lancaster took off his clothes, As kept his focus on the poster of selection. Like before, it was Lilith who was keeping her eyes on the surroundings.

    She noticed the bare chest of Lancaster. Her focus straight went to the tattoo on the right shoulder of Lancaster.

    The tattoo seems like abination of a sun, a bow, and multiple swords that were used as arrows.

    Seeing the tattoo, a surprised gasp left Lilith''s lips. "That''s impossible... How can he be...?"

 Chapter 36 Royal Bloodline

    ~~~~

    [Thousands of years ago]

    A green-eyed man walked inside the forest. The man wore a beautiful ck robe which created a sharp contrast with his pale skin.

    The man was followed by a young woman who now looked to be in her early twenties. The woman wasn''t tall and only came up to the shoulders of Castiel. Her beautiful violet eyes made her look different, while her ming Red hair wereplimenting her beautiful red dress.

    "Master, Can we rest? My legs are starting to hurt! We''ve been walking for days!"

    "Lilith? How many times have I told you not to call me Master?" the beautiful green eyes of the man red back at Lilith as his long hair waved with the wind.

    Lilith just shed a bright smile, not responding.

    "Sigh, you never listen." Seeing her reaction, Castiel was sure that she was going to continue doing it like she had been doing for years.

    "Why do you like calling me Master?" Castiel asked. "You know it makes people think that I''m carrying a ve with me?"

    "It can get really awkward." Castiel smiled wryly. "At least don''t do it in public."

    "Haii!" Lilith nodded. "I will try."

    Swiss~

    "Hmm?" Castiel stopped, hearing the strange whistling of the wind. He could sense that someone was here.

    Frowning, he stopped.

    Soon, he started hearing the growlinging from every direction. It was as if many beasts had their eyes on them like they were prey.

    Smiling, he kept walking. Lilith also sensed something strange. "Master, it seems we are surrounded. Should I kill them all?"

    "No need to get hyper. We aren''t here to make enemies. Don''t attack anyone," Castiel respondedzily. "If they attack us, it''ll be their doom. I don''t want to start a battle first. I already had enough bloodshed in my life."

    "A Vampire talking about having enough bloodshed? You don''t often hear that," A sarcastic voice came from the distance. "You don''t have red eyes like the ones I saw before. However, that stink of yours is enough for me to know what you are."

    "There''s a first time for everything," Castiel replied. "Why don''t you show yourself and stop hiding?"

    Footsteps kept getting closer, and finally, a figure came out of the shadows.

    Five giant wolves followed the man, who appeared to be in his early twenties. The young man in the lead wasn''t bulky. Instead, he had an athletic body like a teenager. His beautiful silver hair was short. His bright golden eyes matched the eyes of all the wolves behind him.

    More wolves started stepping out as sounds of branches cracking under the footsteps of the wolves filled the entire space.

    Within seconds, Castiel and Lilith were surrounded by wolves from all sides.

    Lilith clenched her fist, preparing for a battle. A formation circle appeared under her as she started chanting a spell.

    Castiel noticed the formation circle under them. Smiling, he turned back. "Lilith, calm down. As I said, we aren''t at war."

    He ruffled the hair of Lilith, letting out a chuckle. "Also, do you think I can''t handle them if I needed to? You don''t need to do anything. Just sit back and rx."

    Even though Lilith was worried about the safety of Castiel, she couldn''t go against hismands. He was her everything! He was the only family she had in this vast yet deste world.

    She stopped chanting her spell. The formation circle under her disappeared slowly.

    "Good girl." Castielmended her before he faced the young man again before him.

    "That''s a beautiful mark you have there on your shoulder," hemented on the young man''s shoulder mark, which seemed to control the sun, moon, arrow, and swords.

    That was the first time Lilith saw the mark, but for Castiel, it wasn''t a first.

    "I saw that mark once. The mark of Royal Werewolves'' bloodline. Not bad. You seem like an important person. But what are you doing so far away from the Royal Family of yours? Why are you living in this forest? Here on training?" Castiel asked.

    It was only now that Lilith found out what that mark signified. She had heard that the Royal Werewolves Bloodline Members had a special mark on their shoulders which was like a mark of proof for them. If the man before her was really the Royal Bloodline Member, he certainly wasn''t an ordinary werewolf.

    However, his presence in this part of the world was really surprising. The Royal Werewolves n was established far away from this ce. Why would one of them be here? She also thought that her Master was right. Maybe they were here for training?<novelnext></novelnext>

    "That''s none of your concern!" The young man roared in rage.

    Castiel didn''t get angry, hearing the man. Instead, he was perfectly calm and analyzed the words and the expressions of the man. It was enough to give him some answers."

    "Seeing your anger, I guess I was wrong. You''re not here in training. That could only mean you''ve been banished. What did you do to upset your family so much? Normally, it''s rare for someone from Royal Bloodline to be banished. You must''ve done something bad."

    Seeing a slight distortion in the expressions of the young man, Castiel was sure that he was right.

    "It doesn''t matter. You''re still pretty good. Awakening your bloodline at such a young age. Not many people can do that. Your talent ismendable. Your n is missing a lot in your absence. Their bad luck," hezily said. "Anyway, step aside. I''m in a hurry to go somewhere."

    "What if I don''t step aside?" the silver-haired man asked, frowning. He was already enraged that Castiel brought his past up again.

    "Then we''ll have to clear the path ourselves!" It was Lilith who answered before Castiel could even say anything.

    Castiel smiled. "What she said."

    "As I said, I had enough bloodshed. I don''t want more," he further continued, stretching his armszily. "But that doesn''t mean I''ll allow myself to be hostage. Let alone a young Royal Werewolf, even your ancestor won''t be able to stop me if I wanted to leave."

    "So be a good boy and step aside."

    "You''re pretty arrogant for a Vampire, aren''t you? Then again, that''s nothing new for you people. But if you think you can leave after entering our territory, then you''re wrong. We can''t let anyone know where we are, or we''ll have to change ces again. So I can''t allow anyone to leave alive, especially a Vampire."

    "Is that so?" Castiel rubbed his chin with a thumb, thinking of something. After a few minutes, he nodded. "If that''s the case, then so be it. Let me see how you stop me."

    He kept both his hands in his pocket as he started stepping toward the young man before him.

    Growling of all the wolves could be heard far and wide. It only got intensely as Castiel moved closer to the leader of this pack.

    Three wolves jumped towards Castiel, willing to tear him piece to piece. It was unclear if they had overestimated themselves or underestimated Castiel, but they soon found out.

    The speed... Despite their special vision, the Werewolves couldn''t even see the movement of Castiel. Within a second, Castiel appeared in apletely different ce. He had moved a few meters in an instant, getting even closer to the man before him.

    The wolvesnded on the ground and ran towards Castiel. More wolves stepped before the young man, blocking the path of Castiel. Castiel still lookedpletely calm.

    Seeing her master be attacked by so many people, Lilith wanted to chime in and fight, but she remembered themands of her master. She could only begrudgingly stop herself.

    She pped her hand twice. A barrier appeared all around her, covering her in a blue light. Even though she couldn''t fight, she could at least protect herself.

    "A witch with a Vampire?" the young man muttered, seeing the barrier of Lilith. "Intriguing. I thought those two species were enemies."

    "You thought right, but there are always exceptions," A calm voice fell in the ears of the young man.

    Stunned, he finally came to his senses. He was only distracted by Lilith for a few seconds, and in those seconds, he had missed all the action.

    All the Werewolves were lying on the ground, injured, and Castiel was standing before him. His hands were still in his pocket as a calm smirk graced his lips.

    "Don''t worry; they''re all alive. As I said, I''m not in a mood to kill anyone today. So step aside..." The deep green eyes of Castiel looked straight into the golden eyes of the young man.

    The battle was over before it could even begin. Within a few seconds, Castiel had destroyed his entire pack. Now it is evident he wasn''t an ordinary Vampire.

    The golden-eyed man jumped back,nding in the distance. His body started transforming. Hair started growing all over his body which became bigger.

    In a few seconds, the man had turned into a Werewolf. The Werewolf was the biggest in the entire pack and looked the fiercest. There was a moon symbol on the forehead of the ten feet tall wolf who growled at Castiel.

    The only simrities that could be found between the wolf and the Golden eyes boy were that they both had Golden eyes. Except that no one couldn''t guessed that these two were the same.

    Castiel shook his head. "I thought someone from the Royal Bloodline would be smart like the Werewolf King. I guess I was too optimistic.

    He nced back at Lilith. "Should I get serious?"

    "Master, watch out!" Instead of answering, Lilith yelled towards Castiel. The Werewolf had jumped toward Castiel, opening its mouth wide as if it was going to tear the neck of Castiel.

    Moreover, it seemed to be toote already. By the time Lilith warned Castiel, the Werewolf''s teeth were only a few inches away from Castiel''s neck.

 Chapter 37 Castiel Vs Vor

    Castiel was close to having his head torn off, but he didn''t even look towards the Werewolf. His eyes stayed on Lilith, noticing her worried expressions. He found it cute how she was so worried for his safety. After living for thousands of years alone, it was good to finally have someone who loved you.

    The teeth that were close to the neck of Castiel stopped right there, unable to get even an inch closer to his neck.

    All the other Werewolves that were still alive looked at the battle in shock. Castiel wasn''t looking back; still, he managed to save himself.

    His right hand was already out of his pocket, which was grabbing onto the neck of the Werewolf, stopping him midway.

    Gentle winds brushed the grass under Castiel''s feet as he finally turned his face to the young Werewolf.

    "You are yet to learn a lot. If the Warewolf King were here, he would''ve never done something so stupid before me. If I want, I can kill you this instant but think of it as me being in a merciful mood today. You already suffered enough by being banished. I''m not here to finish that suffering of yours by killing you."

    Castiel tossed the Werewolf away. The giant wolf crashed into the tree. The impact was so fierce that even the tree came crashing down.

    "Let''s go, Lilith. I don''t think anyone will stop me now." Castiel gestured for Lilith to follow him.

    Lilith dispersed her barrier before she ran to Castiel. She gave all the wolves a mocking look as if she was saying they deserved it for going against her master.

    The two of them started leaving.

    "Wait!" As Castiel was leaving, he heard someone call him from the back.

    He nced back, realizing it was the Silver-haired boy again. He was back to his human form. He was standing, holding his chest. His lips were bleeding.

    "Who are you?" the man asked Castiel.

    "I''m Castiel," Castiel replied. "I think you might''ve heard my name before."

    "Vampire Progenitor Castiel?" The young man eximed in shock. "No wonder I lost. I stood no chance. You''re on the same level as my Grandfather, Werewolf King Vled, after all."

    Castiel chuckled. "You aren''t half bad, young man. But you still have a long way to go before you can even stand before your grandfather, let alone me. Don''t do anything stupid in the future, and maybe the future will reward you with something good."

    "What is your name?" he asked.

    "Vor," replied the young man.

    "Vor, I won''t ask why you''re banished, but I''ll just say one thing before I leave. Don''t think of this banishment as a punishment. Think of it as an opportunity."

    " The outside world will make you much stronger than you would''ve been inside your n, sheltered. So don''t waste this opportunity."

    "Onest thing. Don''t be so eager to fight when you meet people. You''re alive because it was me. If Ramiel, An, or Lucius were here, they wouldn''t have thought twice before killing you. So be careful and survive. Then maybe we can meet again."

    Waving his hand, Castiel disappeared into the forest, bidding farewell to a Royal Wolf who was yet to reach his peak.

    ~~~~<novelnext></novelnext>

    "That''s impossible!" In the present time, Lilith was shocked to see the same mark once again.

    The mark of the Royal Werewolf? How was this man even alive, living in the midst of the Vampires? If anything saw his mark, he was going to be killed! She wondered if he even knew about this!

    "What''s impossible?" As asked, hearing the shocked gasp of Lilith. He wondered what couldn''t surprise Lilith. It wasn''t as if she saw a ghost. She was more like one herself.

    After taking his clothes, Lancaster had already walked inside the bathroom, disappearing from everyone''s sights.

    Lilith turned to As. "The marks on his shoulders. Did you see them?"

    "What marks? Wounds or something?"

    "No. It was like a tattoo, but it''s not the first time I saw the tattoo! That person... He isn''t a human. You need to be careful." Lilith warned As.

    "What do you mean he isn''t a human? What is he then?" As asked, frowning. "None of the four Vampire Lineages have blue eyes. What else can be but a human?"

    "Thest I saw that mark was when I was with Master. That''s when I saw that exact mark and came to know that the mark represents the Royal Werewolf Bloodline," Lilith exined. "If I''m not wrong, he''s one of them. I don''t know why he''s living here because the Werewolves and the Vampires aren''t generally on good terms."

    Hearing about werewolves, As genuinely grew surprised as he straightened up.

    "Werewolves? The beast of the night? I thought they were just fictional stories that humans made? Humans who could turn into a beast to gain supreme strength and speed topete with the Vampires? They really exist?"

    "Of course, they exist. Just know, there''s never a fire without a spark. More often than not, all myths have some truth behind them. And the Werewolves are the truth. I''m surprised you didn''t know about them!" Lilith eximed.

    Without stopping, she continued. "Then again, you lived in Vampire territory, if I''m not wrong. The Werewolves don''t roam out of their own territory. With time, knowledge about them was sure to be diluted. Especially since Vampires are a lot more in number than the Werewolves."

    "So Lancaster is really a Werewolf?" As asked. "If the Vampires are really on bad terms with the Werewolves, howe Lancaster is still roaming free in the city full of Vampires?"

    "He''s not an ordinary Werewolf. He is from the Royal Werewolf Bloodline. That''s why it''s so shocking to see him here. There was only one time before when I knew of a Royal Werewolf living outside their territory¡ª Vor!"

    "He was banished by his n for some reason. Maybe Lancaster is a descendant of Vor? That might exin why Lancaster is away from his territory. Only Lancaster can answer."

    "As for your second question, the only reason he''s alive is because he hasn''t awakened yet. His bloodline is sleeping. That''s why his eyes hadn''t turned golden. Once he is awakened, things might start getting moreplicated for him. One day or the other, he might be caught by the Vampires, and he''ll be killed.''

    "Then again, it''s already a great feat to have survived this long with the Royal Mark present on his shoulder. If I were to guess, I''d say he has done good to keep that mark hidden outside. Maybe he does know about his identity?" Lilith suggested.

    "Should I ask him?" As inquired.

    "I think you shouldn''t. If he knows that you know his secret and that you''re not a human, he might try to kill you," Lilith rejected the suggestion.

    "Just because I know his secret doesn''t mean I''m a Vampire. There are more ways to know someone''s secrets. I think I can handle the situation and ask him without giving anything away. He won''t know about me." As responded; however, just as he raised his nce, he found Lancaster standing in the distance, looking straight at him.

 Chapter 38 38: The Letter

    As noticed Lancaster standing near the wardrobe, ncing at him. He noticed what tattoo Lilith was talking about; however, he was also worried if he heard.

    There was a foreboding feeling inside him. Even though Lancaster couldn''t do anything even if he heard since he wasn''t awakened to have his strength, he could still hurt him in other ways. Fortunately, Lancaster couldn''t go to the Vampires to alert them either since his identity was also needed to stay a secret.

    "You sure love talking to yourself," Lancaster said, cing his shirt back in the wardrobe. He brought another shirt out and ced it on his shoulder.

    "How much did you hear?" As asked straight.

    "Nothing. I just saw you mutter something. Were you talking to me?" Lancaster asked ignorantly.

    As didn''t know if he was serious or he was lying because he was worried that As was going to kill him if he found out that he heard.

    He couldn''t interrogate him too much though. If he truly didn''t hear, it was wise not to do anything.  "It was nothing. I was just talking to myself."

    "Alright. I''ll be in a shower. If you need anything, just wait for me toe out." Carrying his clothes, Lancaster walked back again, but this time, As noticed something strange.

    Lancaster wasn''t limping anymore.

    "This guy...." he muttered, frowning. "Did he know who I was when he saw me? Did he pretend to be hurt? He can walk just fine."

    "Even if he isn''t unawakened, he can still have better healing than most humans. That''s a trait of Werewolves," Lilith eximed. "I think you were right. You need to talk to him about himself. I''ll sure he must know about his faster healing."

    As got off the bed, holding the paper in his hand.

    "I didn''t say talk now. He''s having a shower," Lilith reminded.

    "You dummy, I''m not going to talk to him. I''m checking around," As rolled his eyes. In his seriousness, he even forgot that Lilith was much older than him as he addressed her like a kid.

    "Did you just call me a dummy?" Lilith asked, catching the minor detail. "You''re really looking to die, aren''t you?"

    As didn''t respond. He walked to the wardrobe that was just opened by Lancaster. He forgot to lock it again.

    As opened the wardrobe and started looking inside. Most of the wardrobe was empty though. The first shelf only had a couple of clothes. Even those clothes looked old and worn out.

    "He wasn''t lying aboutcking money." He checked the second shelf, patting it to make sure there wasn''t anything hidden.

    Finding nothing, he closed the wardrobe, moving to the table on the side where he had picked up the application letter for the selection.

    The table had two drawers, none having a lock. Since Lancaster had just gone for shower, he knew he had plenty of time to look around.

    He checked the first drawer. The first drawer had a small notepad and a pen. He also found a few coins in the drawer. In the back of the drawer, he felt a small folded piece of paper.

    He picked up the piece of paper and closed the drawer.

    Lilith moved closer. "You found something?"

    "Not sure," As said, unfolding the piece of paper.

    As he opened the piece of paper, he was surprised by what he saw. It waspletely unexpected.

    It was a letter... A letter that was addressed to Lancaster. The paper looked really old, and so did the ink, as if it was written many years ago.

    As went through the letter. The more he read, the more serious he became as a heavy feeling welled up in his heart. Soon, he even forgot to blink as he went through each word, walking back and forth.

    After he finished reading, he turned the paper around. On the back of the paper, there was a small drawing. It appeared to be made by someone who didn''t know how to draw properly. There were shaky lines all over.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I see you found my father''s letter," a shaky voice came from the back. "It''s been so long since I read that. I even forgot about it."

    As nkly looked back, noticing Lancaster standing in the back. His hair was wet, and a towel was wrapped around his waist.

    "It''s alright. You did nothing wrong. It''s easy to let your curiosity overwhelm you," he walked to As and took the paper from his hand. "This is thest memory I have from my father... My real father. I''m sure you already know everything by now since you went through it."

    He gently caressed the drawing in the back. "Apparently this drawing was made by my father.  This is supposed to be him. The boy in the middle is me. And the woman on the right is my mother."

    "Even I only found out about this letter just a few years ago. I never even knew that the man I''d been calling my father wasn''t my father. It was on his deathbed that he told me the truth. They found me when I was a newborn."

    He started folding the paper again, cing it back in the drawer before closing it.  "There were only two things with me, that letter and a small ring which was too big for my finger at that time."

    "I wonder if you can guess my shock when I was told that I had my father wasn''t my father and the person who was my father abandoned me right after I was born," hemented as he started wearing his shirt as if he wasn''t even going to talk about how As was sneaking around without his permission.

    He was more immersed in his past memories that he had buried long ago. With the letter, all those buried memories returned with all the pain.   If there was a person I hated the most in the world was the father I never saw before. It''s only after reading that letter I realized that he had a reason. I was able to forgive him."

    "So you know you are a Werewolf," Asmented, keeping his eyes on Lancaster.

    "Of course, I know. Why else would I hide this mark whenever I''m outside and have a chance of being seen by a vampire? I always wondered why my adoptive Father never allowed me to take off my shirt, even in the heat. It was because he also knew."

    "We knew that through the letter; he knew much earlier than me. I always doubted it though.  Werewolves are fairy tales, after all. However, I know my fast healing. This isn''t ordinary, so only one thing can justify it. I''m a Werewolf," Lancaster exined. "By the way, I lied to you that I didn''t hear what you said. I heard that you''re a Vampire."

    "What do you want to do about that?" As inquired. "I''m not looking for a fight."

    "Hah, you think I would? I haven''t even awakened. I wouldn''t fight a Vampire in a city filled with Vampires. However, I must say it''s the first time I''m seeing a Vampire who doesn''t have red eyes. It sounds impossible; then again, so does being a Werewolf in this city," Lancaster chuckled as he kept getting dressed.

    "I don''t know what enmity the Vampires and werewolves have, but it has nothing to do with me. I am just a human with a bloodline that even I don''t understand. I don''t want to jump into any rivalry," he further added.

    "I don''t want to do that either. I''m not here for you. I''m here for something else," As responded, walking to the window.

    He gazed at the streets outside, noticing hordes of people walking.

    "What are you here for? Let me guess. You said you want to work as a servant in the Carlisle n. A green-eyed Vampire is so rare; you don''t need to work as a servant, yet you want to. That can only mean you want to sneak inside without them knowing. Do you have any enmity with them?" Lancaster asked.

    "Carlisle killed my sister..." As eximed.

    The jaws of Lancaster dropped.

    "She was a human. Her only mistake was looking into his eyes... That''s all there was to it, and that bastard took her life!" As clenched his fist v

    ? "She couldn''t even resist when he sucked her blood, killing her. Then he took her body with him. I''m here to take the body of my sister back so I can bury her properly, and then I''ll destroy the Carlisle n!" he eximed, his voice filled with determination.

    "Destroy the Carlisle n? That''s a really big statement. If anyone heard it, they would startughing at how preposterous that sounds, even ifing from a Vampire. However, for some reason, I feel otherwise," Lancaster ced his hand on the shoulder of As.

    "I don''t know why but I feel like it''s possible for you. Maybe it''s a gut feeling, but I hope you seed. Moreover, the Carlisle n deserves it. Not only your sister, they killed thousands of innocents, but because they''re strong, no one can evenin."

    "I was right about you. You aren''t a bad guy. You''re here for a good cause, and you even helped me. I feel like I can trust you, and I''m never wrong about my feelings. That''s why I allowed you in my house."

    "Also, I am sure I can''t help you much because I''m also weak, but I won''t back off. I''ll help you in any way I can. You''re not alone in this! I think it''s time the Carlisle n goes away!"

    As nced back at Lancaster, smiling. "You''re not a bad guy yourself. Thank you. With your help, things should be easier."

    "Of course." Still talking to As, Lancaster noticed two Vampiresing towards his house through the window. "Huh? What are the Vampires doing in this area? They usually don''te. Something is wrong. Do they know about you?"

 Chapter 39 39: The Risk

    Through the small windows, Lancaster noticed two red-eyed Vampiresing toward his house. It wasn''t normal to see the Vampires in this neighborhood. Even when the invitation letters were distributed in the neighborhood for the selection, it was done by the men of the two great Families.

    Before long, the Vampires disappeared from his view.

    Knock~

    A knock was hearding from the door.

    Hearing the knock, a grim expression shrouded the face of Lancaster as he looked at As. The Vampires were actually outside this house.

    "Do they know about you?" Lancaster asked As, keeping his voice low.

    "I don''t think so. I''ve entered this ce as a human. And my eyes don''t give away my identity generally," As responded. "I don''t think they are here for me."

    "One of them even had the Carlisle n symbol. He is an important member. He shouldn''t be here if it weren''t important. I think you should hide in the back. Let me see what it''s about."

    Lancaster walked towards the door. Instead of hiding, As followed him.

    "Why aren''t you hiding?" Lancaster asked, stopping in his tracks.

    Meanwhile, the knockout continued, only intensifying. It was as if the door was about to be broken if no one opened the door.

    "If they''re here for me, they already know I''m here. Hiding won''t help. And if they''re not here for me, it won''t matter even if they see me. So I''ll apany you," As responded.

    Lancaster wanted to respond, but the knocking didn''t give him much time. The door was about to be broken. He left As on his own and ran to the door.

    He swiftly opened the door, noticing two Vampires before him.

    The Two Vampires looked emotionless as they observed the man from top to bottom.

    Lancaster swiftly went down on his knees. This was a direct Carlisle Family Vampire before him. He needed to show courtesy.

    Not wanting to go down on his knees, As stood behind the door, hearing the conversation but not being seen.

    "Are you Lancaster?" The Dark haired Vampire asked grimly.

    Lancaster nodded. "Yes. Sorry I was taking a shower and couldn''t open in time. Can I help, my Lord in any way?"

    "You are used of poisoning Lady Yovana. You are toe with us." The Vampire grabbed Lancaster by his cor. Without even giving Lancaster a chance to talk about his innocence, he was dragged by the Vampires.

    ? As took a step but found Lilith blocking his path.

    "As, I told you! You can''t afford to fight. The Vampires have him! If you go there now, you''ll only get in trouble! Remember your goal!" Lilith warned As, closing the door.

    As clenched his fist in rage. "Yovana was walking perfectly fine thest I saw her. Since then, Lancaster has been with me! There is no way he could''ve poisoned her! He''s being framed!"

    "I know he is, but we can''t do anything about him. It''s his bad luck. Let him go. Stay away from his mess!" Lilith retorted.

    "Stay away from his mess? He was willing to help me! I can''t let him be killed over a lie! I need to help him!"

    "As, I know you''re getting emotional after hearing his story and reading that letter. But don''t think with emotions. Think with a clear head! You can''t help him! You yourself need help. You''re in no situation to help others!"

    "Lilith, aren''t you forgetting something?" As let out, frowning. "He knows our truth. If we abandon him, don''t you think he''ll also abandon us and tell the Carlisle n about me? We need to help him! It''s not just my emotions saying but also my brain."

    "Now step aside. Let me help him. Moreover, I am a witness. I can prove his innocence." As pulled the door open and stepped out.

    The two Vampires who hade here weren''t there in the forest, so he didn''t need to hide his face. Still, he kept his cloak as he left the house.

    The Vampires and Lancaster had already disappeared by then. He asked the people nearby where they went and started running.

    Along the way, he understood that Lancaster wasn''t being taken to Carlisle Castle, which was a good thing. Instead, he was being taken to the restaurant, where he was fired from.<novelnext></novelnext>

    By now, he had understood everything. Apparently, after Lancaster was fired, Yovana went into that restaurant where she was poisoned, and the me was tossed at Lancaster by the restaurant.

    As As couldn''t show his real speed, he ran slowly, only as fast as a human could, but it was evident that he wasn''t going to catch up to them at this speed.

    "There are too many people here. I can''t increase my speed here." Realizing his limitations, he changed his ns. Instead of running on the main streets, he turned to an empty alley along the way.

    "As, I''ll tell you again. You''re making a mistake. Please don''t do it."

    Lilith''s words fell in As''s ears only to have no effect as As stretched his arms. "I know what I''m doing."

    He climbed the dead end wall on the end of the alley, which was only eight feet tall. Standing on the wall, he jumped to the roof of the nearby building.

    After climbing the roof, he looked at his surroundings to make sure no person was on the roof to see him.

    By now, Lilith had given up on trying to convince him. She understood he was never going to listen, and she couldn''t stop him as she was now. She could onlyin.

    As began running on the roof, slowly increasing his speed. As he reached the end of the roof, he tapped his right foot on the ground, shifting his momentum as he jumped ahead.

    From one roof, hended on the other, but instead of stopping, he continued running. There was no one here who could see him running, so he didn''t need to control his speed which kept increasing. It was as if As was racing against the wind.

    "You''re wasting your energy for no reason. I am sure you''ll regret it when the Blood Urge hits you. Don''te crying then," Lilithmented, following As. As she was his Shadow, she was wherever he was, unable to go too far from him.

    "I''m doing it for myself, not for anyone else. I need his help to do what I want to do. You can''t understand yet," As replied, jumping once again,nding on another roof.

    "Why don''t you exin then? Let''s see what you have in mind?" Lilith inquired, believing he was just bluffing.

    "Lancaster is a Werewolf. From what I read in the stories, the Werewolves are supposed to be as strong as the Vampires. They are the natural enemies of the Vampires. Moreover, Lancaster is a Royal Blood. Even though he hadn''t awakened his bloodline yet, the moment he awakened, he would be really strong," As exined as he finally stopped at the edge of the roof. He looked down, noticing an empty alley.

    He jumped down instead of jumping on a different roof. "With him as a friend, I would have a backup!"

    "If I fail in the mission and lose myself, he can take over the mission after he awakens. He will be my backup n. Even though he''s not strong enough now, there will be a day when he will be. And that day is what I care about!" hemented as hended on the ground in the alley.

    He adjusted his cloak properly before he left the alley.

    Leaving the alley, As ended up right before the restaurant where he had met Lancaster.

    There were many Human guards standing before the restaurant, surrounding it entirely. All the guards carried a sword on their backs.

    Instead of focusing on the guards, As kept his focus on the other end of the streets from where the Vampires were supposed toe with Lancaster.

    Standing with the support of the wall, he waited for the Vampires to arrive. Fortunately, he didn''t have to wait long.

    The Vampires arrived with Lancaster. The Leader was walking in the front, holding one end of the rope. The other end was tied in the hands of Lancaster. The second Vampire followed behind Lancaster.

    Lancaster had his head down, feeling a bit embarrassed as he was being paraded in the city like a criminal even though he was innocent.

    "I am innocent. I didn''t do anything," he said weakly, repeating the same thing for the tenth time. It was as if his words fell on deaf ears as he kept being dragged.

    "Okay, there he is. Now how will you stop them? How will you save him? You can''t just go to them and say that he didn''t do it. They''ll ask you how you know why they captured him. Instead of him, they''ll also start suspecting you. Any n to ovee that?" Lilith asked As.

    As scratched the back of his head. That''s exactly what he was thinking about. He was a witness that Lancaster was with him, but he couldn''t just go there and tell them that without being asked.

    Also, he couldn''t let him be taken inside the restaurant as well since the guards of Yovana had seen him in the forest. Things could get messy. He needed to solve this problem outside.

    "You don''t have a single clue, do you?" Lilith asked in a mocking tone. "It''s still not toote. Turn around and return."

    "I didn''te this far to return," As muttered as he took a step ahead, not away from the Vampires but towards them. "I hope the risk is worth it."

 Chapter 40 40: Too Late?

    Inside the restaurant, a young woman was lying on a bed. Her dark hair was so long that they came down to her bosoms. Unfortunately, she wasn''t up. Her eyes were closed as she remained unmoving. Only heavy breathing could be heard from her.

    Her lips had turned red, and her face turned pale, making her seem like the people who were surrounding her.

    An old man, seemingly in his sixties, was sitting near the woman with a table before him. A bowl was on the table in which he was crushing some herbs to make something.

    Many different kinds of herbs were spread all around the table.

    "Some water," the old manmented, reaching out his hand towards the back. A dark-haired Vampire picked up a jug of water and handed it over to the man, who dropped a few droplets of water in the bowl before keeping the jug down.

    Everyone in the hall was worried about the woman on the bed who had just been poisoned, but not everyone was worried for the same reason.

    The old man was worried because he knew the importance of time. If he dyed a lot, the woman could die, and she could be executed for not being able to save her.

    On the other hand, the Vampires were worried that they were going to be killed by Lord Carlisle for failing to protect Yovana. She was poisoned in their presence, and they didn''t even know.

    There was another person who was worried. A middle-aged man was standing in the back, biting his nails. It was his restaurant, and it was their food that had brought Yovana to this condition. Even if she was healed, he was going to get in trouble, but if she wasn''t healed, he could only imagine the kind of trouble he was going to be in.

    He still didn''t know who could''ve poisoned the food and why.

    A red-haired Vampire red back at the middle-aged man. "If anything happened to her, I would personally crush your skull."

    "I am not behind it," the short bald man responded, struggling to get his voice out. He gulped again. " I''m sure that bastard is behind it! Since I fired him today, he did something to the food to mess with me!"

    "Don''t worry. I sent someone to bring him here as well. Even if he''s behind it, you''ll die together with him if something happens tody Yovana," the Red-haired Vampire stated again as his deep red eyes looked at the restaurant owner.

    "How long before your medicine is ready, doctor?" He shifted his attention to the white-haired doctor. "Her condition is critical!"

    "Patience, Lord Lorenz. This isn''t easy. I need to make sure that everything is in perfect quality, or I''ll have to make the concoction again, and we can''t afford that," the doctor responded as he kept hitting the bowl.

    After a few seconds, he wiped his forehead, which was covered in sweat. "We are done. Open her lips."

    Lorenz stepped forward and opened the mouth of Yovana.

    The old man also stood up with the bowl and ced it near the lips of the beautiful woman. He started pouring down the medicine inside her mouth, emptying the bowl, which didn''t have much anyway.

    He kept the bowl on the side and checked the nerves of Yovana. "You can close her mouth and make sure it doesn''t spill out. She should be fine by morning if nothing goes wrong."

    Boom~

    The door of the room opened, and two middle-aged men barged inside, seemingly worried. The two men were followed by their human guards, who stood outside.

    "We came as soon as we heard. How is Lady Yovana?" Both the men asked at the same time.

    The restaurant owner looked at the two men, slightly surprised. The two great family heads were here as well. This thing was escting so much. Now the one person who wasn''t here was Lord Carlisle, and if he came here, then it was game over for him.

    Weiss and Igor family heads were here, both seemingly worried. However, the Weiss family head seemed more worried as thisnd was under his authority, and he had given the permission for the restaurant to run here.

    He red at the restaurant owner as if he was going to eat him alive.

    "ording to the doctor, she should be fine. However, that doesn''t mean we will drop this matter! Someone attempted to poisondy Yovana! This was an indirect attack on the Carlisle Family and Lord Carlisle. Whoever did it won''t be forgiven!" Lorenz eximed.

    It was evident that he was controlling his anger a lot. He wanted to crush the neck of the restaurant owner already. However, he was controlling himself since he wanted to find the real culprit who could''ve dared to do it.

    He knew that the restaurant owner wasn''t behind it! That man could never dare to do it since it was his restaurant, and he was going to die first if anything happened tody Yovana here.

    "Of course! Whoever did it need to be punished! This isn''t a small thing! That person needs to be made an example of!" Weiss'' family head eximed.

    "Oh, that we''ll make. Don''t worry," Lorenz smiled as he nced back at the restaurant owner. However, his smile wasn''t a happy smile. It was a terrifying smile as if a devil was smiling. His two sharp fangs came to sight through that smile.<novelnext></novelnext>

    The restaurant owner nced at the door, eagerly waiting for Lancaster to be brought here so he could be free.

    Outside the restaurant, the two Vampires were getting closer with Lorenz.

    From another end, As was also moving closer to them, patting his chest. He knew he had a tall mountain to climb. Not only did he need to stop the two Vampires without letting even a blood drop fall, but he also needed to make them free Lancaster. At the same time, he needed to keep his identity as a Progenitor secret.

    Lancaster raised his nce, stunned to find Asing toward him.

    "Huh?" Confused, he looked back, slightly surprised. Didn''t they leave As behind in the house? How did he reach the restaurant before them?

    ''Even if he''s a Vampire, how did he get here so fast without being seen? Also, why is he even here? Is he here to free me? Don''t tell me he''s going to fight the Vampires? He can''t do it! Everyone will know about him! His n will be spoiled! He needs to stay a secret for his sister! I can''t let him do it!'' he thought.

    Looking straight into As''s eyes, he started gesturing him through his eyes, telling As to leave and let him go! He also moved his lips, repeatedly saying, ''Go.''

    He made sure to not even whisper so Vampires couldn''t hear him.

    Seeing his gestures, As was pleasantly surprised. Even at a time like this, he was worried about him.

    "See, Lilith?" As muttered. "That''s why he''s worth saving."

    "I still don''t understand how you''ll do it. Just remember, one wrong step, and you won''t get a redo!" Lilith responded, sighing.

    As didn''t say anything as he adjusted his cloak properly to make sure his face was properly hidden.

    There was only a five-meter gap between the two sides, and each step was decreasing that distance.

    Finally, As reached the Vampires.

    "Lancaster? What are you doing back here again? Didn''t I leave you home an hour ago after you were kicked out of the restaurant for dropping water on ady identally?" he eximed as if he was really surprised to see As here again.

    Innocently, he didn''t forget to mention the exact time when he had taken Lancaster back, also mentioning that it was right after Lancaster was fired for dropping water, so he didn''t have time to poison. In one line, he let out all the crucial information out and hoped that the Vampires caught it.

    Lancaster understood what As was trying to do. He wasn''t here to fight, but he was here as a witness.

    The two Vampires also stopped, seemingly lost in some thought. They looked back at Lancaster.

    "I''m being used of poisoning Lady Yovana after I was fired. They don''t believe me! I''m so d that you happened to be here! Maybe you can prove my innocence!" Lancaster eximed. "I wasn''t even here when that happened since I was with you on my way back home."

    "Of course." As agreed.

    The leading Vampire frowned. "Are you sure it was right after he spilled the water that you took him?"

    "Of course. I remember walking right here when I saw him being tossed out by the shop owner. I asked him what happened, and he told me about the water incident. I took him home. My Lords, I''m being honest. This man couldn''t have done it. He was with me. Someone is trying to fool you!"

    The frown on the Vampire''s faces became deeper as they looked at each other. If it was true, then it certainly proved that Lancaster was innocent, but they couldn''t let him go after bringing him so far. They needed to bring him to Lorenz for him to decide.

    Both of them nodded at each other before they turned to As. "So you''re a witness."

    As nodded.

    "Good. Repeat the same statement before Lorenz. He will decide what to do with Lancaster. However, if you''re caught lying, you''ll be punished in the same way." The Vampire stated.

    Hearing that he would need toe as well, As was gobsmacked. There were too many people there who had seen him in the first. If they got to know he was here, the situation was going to get from bad to worse.

    He wanted to find a way out, but it was toote. His hand was grabbed by the leading Vampire as he was taken back to the restaurant! The only way to free himself was to show his strength which was to put him in even more trouble.

 Chapter 41 41: Under Compulsion

    As was dragged by the Vampires towards the restaurant, and he couldn''t resist. He was here to free Lancaster, but he didn''t think he would be caught instead.

    Lancaster was slightly happy though. As was here as a witness, which was going to help him. Moreover, he didn''t know that As couldn''t show himself inside the restaurant, so in his eyes, there was no problem with Asing with them. They just needed to tell the truth, and they were going to be free.

    If only he knew the troubles that As was going to face just by being seen, he wouldn''t have been sox.

    "My Lords, you don''t need to take me. I told you the truth. He is innocent. Please let us be free." As kept talking to the Vampires, trying to wriggle his way out, but the grip of the Vampire was so strong. Without showing his true strength, As had no way to free himself.

    "Say what you want to say before Lorenz," the Vampire eximed as he reached the restaurant. The guards stepped aside while one of them opened the doors for them to enter.

    As was finally taken inside the restaurant along with Lancaster. He was still wearing the same old cloak that he was wearing in the forest, so he was sure that he was going to be caught, even if he hid his face. And if his robe was taken off, his clothes were going to be visible.

    He kept his head down as he sneakily nced at his surroundings to see if there was anyone from the first. As he expected, the entire outer hall was surrounded by the Vampires that were with Yovana in the forest.

    All the guards nced toward Lancaster and As. Some of them even frowned a bit as they felt as if the man in the cloak seemed familiar.

    "Nah, he can''t be the person from the forest. Tristan killed that guy. Moreover, his cloak is much dirtier. But still... What a coincidence..."

    Most of the guards of Yovana tried to convince themselves that the man wasn''t the one they saw in the forest. Especially since they couldn''t see his face. However, there was one who felt that it was too big of a coincidence. The man not only had the same attire as the one in the forest, but he also had a simr physique.

    Jon stepped towards the ground of four and blocked the path.

    "Step aside. I need to meet Lorenz." The man leading As red at the person blocking their path.

    "I would step aside. I just want to see the face of this man," Jonmented as he reached out his hand to take off the cloak of As.

    As clenched his fist, keeping his head down. Was he going to be caught? If he was caught, not only was he going to be exposed, but these people were also going to think that As worked with Lancaster to poison Yovana. They were going to be considered guilty!

    As took a subtle nce at his surroundings to count how many Vampires were here and how he could get out of this ce if he was caught.

    "There are fifteen Vampires here. You can''t escape. See what happens when you don''t listen to me? Now you''re in trouble, all because you were stubborn!" Lilith also started scolding As, seeing him in trouble. She had no way to help him either. In her shadow down, she couldn''t do anything, simr to how she couldn''t stop As before.

    As also felt bad that he was in this situation, but he really thought he could save Lancaster. The situation just escted out of his control. He let out a deep breath as he prepared for his face to be revealed.

    The hands of Jon inched closer to As with each passing second.

    As prepared himself to punch Jon and free himself if his face was revealed since that was the only way he could get out without much bloodshed, but even that wasn''t easy. The problems were stacking up for him only as more and more Vampires in the room surrounded him, blocking all paths of sudden edit.

    Jon''s fingers zed the cloak of As. As nted his feet firmly on the ground, gathering momentum for his uing attack.

    "What are you all doing here?" Came a voice from the back just as Lancaster was about to remove the cloak of As.

    Jon and everyone who was facing As turned around. Jon freed the cloak of As.

    "Captain Lorenz!" Everyone eximed in respect, seeing a red-haired man standing at the door with a grim look on his face.

    "Jian, what are you doing standing there? I told you to bring that Lancaster here! Why aren''t you still in the room?" Lorenz asked, ring at the man who was holding onto As.

    "Sir, I brought him here. I was justing to you." Jian moved Jon aside and stepped towards the door. This time, Jon didn''t block him and let him pass.

    Lorenz walked back inside the room. Jian entered with Lancaster and As behind him. The door was closed. As breathed a sigh of relief, being saved at thest minute.

    ~~~~

    Three minutes ago~

    Inside the room with Yovana, each second was like a thousand years, passing extremely slowly. The restaurant owner kept looking out the window through the curtains, hoping for Lancaster to be brought urgently so he could be free. The silence was killing him.

    His eyes lit in excitement as he saw Jian enter the restaurant with Lancaster. Finally, that guy was here.

    "He''s here!" He eximed.

    "Who is here?" Lorenz asked, frowning.

    "Lancaster! That bastard is here!" the man responded, pointing out the window. "For some reason, they stopped outside."

    His words prompted Lorenz to check himself why things were being dyed. He opened the door and saw all the vampires standing in a group.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "What are you all doing here?" he called out, not knowing how fortunate his timing was for As. He came as a savior for the guy.

    ~~~~

    As and Lancaster were brought inside the room. The door was closed behind them. As once again observed his surroundings to see if there was anyone here who had seen him before. However, there was only one person who had seen him, and that person was unconscious on the bed.

    Except her, there were four humans and a Vampire who had donned simr attire to Tristan, who he had killed. It was clear that he was important person here, the way he was treated by everyone here.

    As could rx. He had no risk of his identity being exposed, at least not here.

    "Who are these two?" Lorenz asked Jian, frowning. "Which of them is Lancaster?"

    "He is Lancaster," Jian pointed towards Lancaster, pushing him forward.

    "That''s right! He is the bastard who I fired today! I''m sure that he''s the one who poisoned the food to bring the restaurant down in revenge!" The restaurant owner eximed as if he was sure about it.

    "Who is the other man?" Lorenz asked, ncing at the hooded person.

    "He is a witness who says that there is no way Lancaster could''ve poisoned the food here since he was with him after Lancaster was fired," Jian exined. "I brought him here for you to decide if it''s the truth."

    "Nonsense! There is no one who could''ve poisoned the food but him! I don''t know who this hooded person is, but he''s lying!" The restaurant owner yelled fiercely. If Lancaster was proven innocent, that meant he was going to be killed. He couldn''t let that happen!

    "Silence," Lorenz frowned, ncing at the restaurant owner. As if frozen in fear, the man found himself unable to speak. It was as if his mouth was frozen. The deep red eyes of Lorenz were too scary.

    Lorenz shifted his attention to As after the man went silent.

    "Take off the hood," hemanded.

    As took off the hood, revealing his face as he went down on his knees. "My Lord."

    Lorenz grimaced seeing As. He didn''t know what, but he had a strange feelinging from As. Firstly, the man was too pale. However, that wasn''t the odd part. There were some humans who were pale to that extent. He didn''t have red eyes, so he couldn''t be a Vampire. Then what was it? What was the feeling he was getting? He just couldn''t put his finger on it.

    Lorenz went down on his knees and looked deep into the beautiful green eyes of Lancaster. His long silver hair looked really charming on that pale face.

    "Who are you?" Lorenz asked, looking deep into the eyes of As.

    "My name is As, my Lord," As replied.

    "So, As. What did you see?" Lorenz enquired. "Tell me everything!"

    Without taking long, As took a deep breath as he started speaking. He also lowered his gaze since he couldn''t look into the eyes of a Vampire. "It was about an hour ago when I was passing from here..."

    As kept telling the story about how he met with Lancaster and how he took him home after he was fired. He only changed a small part in the story, saying that he left around thirty minutes ago from the house of Lancaster instead of staying here since he needed to justify how he got here.

    In any case, thirty minutes weren''t enough for Lancaster toe here from his home and then to go back.

    "Alright," Lorenz muttered, but he didn''t stand up. Instead, he ced a finger under the chin of As and raised his head to make sure their eyes met.

    Lorenz''s eyes started shining very minutely. Most wouldn''t have noticed it either. However, as As was looking straight into his eyes, he saw it very clearly and noticed the change. Lilith also noticed the change.

    "He''s trying to use Compulsion!" she eximed.

    As clenched his fist, preparing. He made sure his expressions went nk.

    "Have you told the truth only?" Lorenz asked. "Was there no lie in your story?"

    As needed to make sure that he looked as if he was under Compulsion. He nkly responded, "Yes."

    "Fascinating..." Lorenz stood up as an amused smile graced his lips.

    He started walking back and forth before bursting intoughter. "Very fascinating!"

    He abruptly turned back to As as his expressions suddenly became grim. "Mypulsion didn''t work on you, did it?"

 Chapter 42 42: Trial Of Life And Death

    As went slightly stunned. How did this person know? Despite being shocked, he sat nkly.

    "You know I can see when a person is truly under my Compulsion and when he''s acting," Lorenz stated as he stepped closer to As, grabbing him by his neck.

    He raised As in the air, holding him by his neck.

    "Tell me the truth! Who are you?!" he roared fiercely, enraged.

    As was grabbed by his neck, in the grasp of Lorenz, who was ring in his eyes.

    His bloodthirsty eyes seemed as if he was going to eat As alive.

    As was shocked, so close to death. He knew he couldn''t let Lorenz do whatever he pleased, but he also knew that there was no way Lorenz could be so sure that hispulsion didn''t work. He probably only had a feeling, and he was taking a guess.

    "I am As," As nkly responded, still holding onto his nk expressions as if he was really underpulsion.

    "I don''t think it''s possible," Jian chimed in. "How can a human resist yourpulsion? I think it''s a mistake."

    Lorenz turned to Jian.  "I know what I saw. He isn''t under my Compulsion, I''m sure."

    "How about you test if you''re so sure?" Jian inquired. "Tell him to do something impossible. The truth will be out. I don''t think we should work on guesses. That way, we''ll never know the truth."

    "I agree, My Lord." The Igor Family head agreed. "Only a high-ranking Vampire can ovee yourpulsion, and looking at his eyes; it''s clear that he isn''t a Vampire. It could actually be a mistake?"

    Even though he sided with As, he had a reason to do it. He nced towards the Weiss family head as he spoke.

    This restaurant came under the Weiss Family. It was their responsibility. If it came out that Lancaster was innocent, the revenge excuse was going to be thrashed. That was going to mean that the restaurant was behind it, which was going to destroy the Weiss Family reputation for the incident that happened here.

    As it was beneficial for the Igor family for all the me toe to the Restaurant, he wanted Lancaster to be proven innocent, and that could only be done with the help of As''s Alibi. If it was proven that he couldn''t resist thepulsion, it was going to prove that what he said was true.

    "Nonsense! You think Lord Lorenz won''t know this thing? It''s hispulsion, and he knows what he saw. I''m sure that human lied, and he can somehow resist the Compulsion!" The Weiss Family head retorted. "I don''t know how it''s possible, but that must be the case! Lord Lorenz is right!"

    "I''m sure he is most probably right, but I''m just saying that we should make sure. If we''re wrong about this, we might never find the real culprit. It''s an attempt on the life of Lady Yovana! We need to be sure!" Igor Family head responded, acting as if he wasn''t calling Lorenz wrong.

    The words of those two made even Lorenz have second thoughts. Was his intuition genuinely wrong? Was As really under hispulsion?

    He looked at As, observing him carefully. Despite being grabbed by the neck, As was still looking calm, as if he really was underpulsion.

    "Fine. Let''s test." He tossed As to the ground and turned to the door. With long strides, the man left the room.

    "Are you alright?" Lancaster ran to As now that Lorenz was gone. His hands were still tied, so he couldn''t help As up.

    As didn''t reply. He just sat with his head down, wondering where Lorenz had gone. Things weren''t going well. He knew he needed to have a backup n.

    "I am really sorry. You are caught in this because of me. I''m really sorry." Lancaster held the hands of As and helped him up.

    Lancaster was suddenly pulled back by the cor. He turned around to see Jian behind him. "Don''t interfere. Lorenz ising back."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Just as he said, the door opened behind him, and Lorenz returned. Everyone noticed he wasn''t empty-handed this time. There was a ck dagger in his hand, which seemed to be made from iron.

    "You all want me to test if my Compulsion worked on him or not? Sure. We will do that even though I''m already sure he is pretending," he dered.

    "How will you test?" Igor family head inquired.

    "The Trial of Life and Death." Lorenz smirked. "The life of Lady Yovana was ced in harm''s way. It''s only fair that I use the Trial of Life and Death here."

    ''Trial of Life and Death?'' As thought with a questioning gaze. He nced at Lilith, thinking she knew something about it.

    "Don''t look at me. I have no idea what he''s talking about," Lilith responded. "But it doesn''t sound good."

    Just like As, there were more people who were confused. Only Jian seemed to have some kind of idea here. He nced at As, shaking his head as he subtly muttered. "He''s gone."

    Lorenz held the right hand of As and raised it towards him. He ced the handle of the dagger in the hand of As as he red in the beautiful green eyes, using an even strongerpulsion this time.

    "If everything you told me was the truth, use this knife and stab yourself in the heart on my count of three!" hemanded As before taking five steps back as he folded his arms.

    A smirk graced the lips of Weiss Family head, hearing about this trial. He could see how this was a foolproof n to find the truth. If As was honestly under thepulsion and telling the truth, he needed to kill himself. His death was going to be the proof of his friend''s innocence.

    However, if he didn''t do it, it would be two things: either he was lying before, or he truly wasn''t affected bypulsion. In any case, it was good for the Weiss Family since it proved the guilt of As.

    As held the dagger firmly in his hand. His mind was racing in different directions. It was as if he was on a chessboard, and no matter what move he made, he was going to be destroyed. There was no advantageous situation for him.

    He couldn''t just kill himself, but if he didn''t, he had to fight a horde of Vampires, which he knew he wasn''t prepared for. Lancaster hadn''t awakened either to be able to help him.

    "One..." Lorenz started the count, not giving As long to think.

    As kept looking at the knife nkly. Lilith kept scolding him fornding up in this situation. She kept reminding him that if he had listened, he would''ve been safe, away from here, but because he didn''t listen, he was in trouble.

    If As didn''t have to stay silent for the act, he would''ve furiously yelled at Lilith for talking about that at this time instead of giving him an idea on how to get out of this situation. However, he was also sure that even Lilith couldn''t help him here. He needed to think of something himself.

    ''Progenitors are the most Ancient Vampires who are Immortals in true essence, unlike the other Vampires. I don''t think being stabbed in the chest with a knife would kill a Progenitor, but then again, I can''t be sure of anything. I''m not the real owner of this body. If I stab myself, what if I don''t wake up? I can''t take that risk... I can''t stab myself.''

    "Two!"

    As As was talking to himself in his mind, he heard the count progress. It was getting closer to the final count.

    He pointed the knife toward his chest, but he didn''t stop thinking.

    ''If I don''t stab myself, he would know I''m not in hispulsion. I can''t let him know because then he won''t let me live. And if I fight and the people outside find out that a fight is taking ce, I''ll be surrounded from all sides. If I do something, I would need to make sure the people outside don''t know. Now that''s a tall tree to climb on itself.''

    "Three!" Lorenz finished the count. It was also when As reacted.

    As thrust the dagger towards his chest with full strength. The dagger struck¡­

 Chapter 43 43: Arrival Of Carlisle

    As was given a dagger to stab himself. He wasmanded to kill himself to test if thepulsion worked.

    Unfortunately, As was caught on the web, not knowing how to get out of it without any violence. Ultimately, it was Lilith who came forth with a suggestion.

    "Stab yourself! Listen to him!"

    As subtly nced towards his shadows under him, unable to believe what nonsense he was hearing. Was she trying to get revenge on him for not listening?

    Lilith further rified. "I don''t mean actually stab yourself. Even though my Master won''t die of a minor stabbing in the heart by a knife, it''s still not good in the condition you''re in. If you do it, I''m ny percent sure you''ll end up in Blood Lust after healing, so you really can''t do it now!"

    "However, you can still pretend to be doing it! Pretend that you''re following themand and take the dagger to your chest. If it''s just a test, there''s a small chance that this would be enough to prove that you''re underpulsion and the Vampire will stop you at thest moment," she exined.

    "Even though the chance of that happening is really low, it''s still worth a try. If it doesn''t work, fighting is thest option. Just make sure that you avoid seeing blood and don''t get any on yourself!"

    Even though As was sure that this suggestion wasn''t going to work, As still decided to give it a try. They were Vampires! They didn''t care for human lives. Why would they stop him from killing himself even if they get their proof that he''s under Compulsion? He was sure that fighting was the only option, but it was still worth a try.

    As the count of three was over, he thrust the dagger towards himself. Slicing even the winds, the dagger closed in on his chest. He waited until thest second to hear themand to stop as the knife closed in.

    Lorenz observed the dagger, not looking like he was going to say anything. Even as the knife touched the chest, nomand came. Ultimately, As stopped on his own; the knife remained on his chest.

    A smirk graced the lips of Lorenz. "Amusing. I was right."

    He was the only one who was amused though. Jian, along with the two Family heads, were both shocked. They knew how big a deal it was for a human to be immune to a Vampire''s Compulsion, especially a Vampire who was as strong as Lorenz.

    As looked down, letting out a deep sigh. "No matter how much I try to avoid troubles, they always seem to find me."

    He nced at Lancaster. "I''m sorry for what''s going to happen."

    Lancaster grew confused about what As was talking about. What was As sorry for? He should be sorry he got As in this mess.

    "What are you?" Lorenz again grabbed the neck of As, raising him in the air as he kept tightening his grip, choking As. This time, he wasn''t in the mood to free As. "You aren''t a Werewolf. You don''t have that stench! Are you from the Witch n? Those pesky insects?"

    As dropped the knife to the ground as soon as he was raised in the air.

    Unfortunately for him, he did exactly what As wanted. Even after knowing that As could avoid the Compulsion, he closed in.

    "You''re right. I''m not a Werewolf. I''m not from the Witch n wither," As responded, weakly as if he was having a hard time breathing. His expressions were filled with fear of death. However, all those expressions changed into something else as he spoke his next sentence.

    "I''m much worse!" As dered as he got into action. He ced his left hand on the chin of Lorenz while cing the didn''t hand on the back of the head of Lorenz.

    Suddenly, his speed became so fast that even Lorenz was stunned. He was sure that As wasn''t a Vampire, nor was he a werewolf.

    That only left one thing! People from the Witch n! They didn''t have the strength or the speed. They only had their abilities to cast spells, but even that took time. That''s why he hadn''t expected that speed which should only belong to Vampires and Werewolves?

    Within a blink of an eye, his head was grabbed by As, who twisted his head with full strength,pleting a 180-degree turn of Lorenz''s head.

    Lorenz''s body weakened. His eyes closed. As was freed from his grasp. As knew that Lorenz wasn''t dead yet. He was only unconscious. However, that much was enough for him to get some time.

    The two Family heads were still in shock, standing there in a daze at what they saw; however, before they coulde out of their daze, As moved again. He appeared behind Jian, following the same trick, utilizing the opportunity where everyone was too stunned to understand the situation. This shock factor always worked to his advantage.

    He did the same thing with Jian, who tried to move at thest second, finally understanding what was going to happen, but his head was also grabbed by As, who twisted it. Jian also dropped to the ground, unable to do anything.

    The Wiess and Igor family head saw the second Vampire die within a second. They were so horrified they couldn''t ever let out a welp for help to call all the Vampires from outside.

    As appeared in the middle of the two, grabbing their necks. He pulled them towards each other, hitting one''s head with the head of the other.

    That only left one person... The doctor who was lying on the ground, lifelessly.

    As nced in surprise, wondering who had killed the man. He soon noticed Lancaster, who was free of the bounds. He got his hands out of the rope to help As.<novelnext></novelnext>

    It was his first time killing someone. A knife was stabbed in the chest of the old man. The blood kept trickling down, covering the entire floor. Not intending to look at the blood, As turned his back on the scene. The only reason he hadn''t stabbed someone was because he didn''t want to see blood. Still, he knew that killing them was important. They had seen their faces here.

    Lancaster ran towards As and held his hands. "We need to run. We should be able to get out now!"

    "Lancaster?" As responded. "We can''t run, leaving them alive. They had seen my face. They know I''ve killed them, and they know what I am now. If we let them live, it''ll be troublesome in the future."

    "You mean....?"

    "Yeah. Take the knife and kill everyone who saw me here. I don''t want to see blood, or I would''ve done it myself," As exined.

    "But the people outside had also seen my face. What about that? They''ll know we did it. There''s no way out of it. We need to leave the city! Don''t waste time!" Lancaster retorted.

    "You know they''ll wake up in a few minutes. This much isn''t enough to kill the Vampires. You''re the one wasting time. Do it fast. As far as the people outside are concerned, they have seen your face, not mine. You need to leave the city; I don''t. I won''t go without taking my sister!" As responded sharply. "Will you help me this time or not? Or should I do it myself?"

    "If I kill them, the blood might make me lose control. So I''m seriously asking you for help," he further added as he looked through the ss window at the Vampires outside the room. Fortunately, they couldn''t see through the windows.

    Lancaster was already troubled at having to kill one person, but now he needed to kill four, including the Vampires and heads of great families? He thought about the sister of Lancaster and realized how important it was for him to stay in the city. On the contrary, he was already a fugitive for now, no matter what he did.

    "Fine. I''ll do it!" he dered after thinking for a long time.

    He pulled out the knife from the chest of the old man and moved to others.

    As only heard the sounds of knife slicing something, but he didn''t look back. He even ced his hood back again. There was not even a single droplet of blood on his clothes.

    "Hmm?" A frown graced his lips as he noticed the movement outside. All the Vampires were running out of the restaurant.

    "Did they find out what happened here? Why would they run though? It must be something else. They aren''t running away from me! They are running towards something or someone..." he muttered. "There can only be one person who could warrant this much attention."

    "Lancaster, hurry up! Carlisle ising!" he warned Lancaster.

    "I am going as fast as I can! I''m not a professional killer!" Lancaster retorted as he continued with his trembling hands.

    After finishing everyone in the room properly, he ran back to As. "I''m done."

    "Good. Let''s leave!" As pushed the door open and stepped into an empty hallway which was good to escape. He closed the door behind him after Lancaster also stepped out.

    Instead of running towards the exit of the restaurant where all the Vampires were waiting, he pointed towards the stairs that were leading upstairs.

    He ran to the stairs. Lancaster followed behind, trying to keep pace.

    As Lancaster and As reached the roof, a carriage stopped outside the restaurant. The Carriage with the Royal Symbol was so recognizable that everyone knew who had arrived! Everyone on the street went down on their knees at the sight of the carriage.

    "We are here! Where to now? I''m sure they''ll check the roof as well after finding what happened inside the room. How do we get out of here?" Lancaster asked, pacing back and forth. He couldn''t see any exit.

    On the other hand, As stood calmly at the edge of the roof, looking down at the carriage which carried the target of his retribution!

    The door of the carriage opened, and a man stepped out, dressed in beautiful ck attire. A golden Carlisle Family insignia was carved on the back of his robe. His curly silver hair came down to his shoulder while his standing cors reached up to his ears. His lifeless eyes observed all the Vampires before him.

    Seeing the man once again, from this close, As felt a raging volcano inside his heart which was rebelling toe out and destroy everything that stood between him and that man. He clenched his fist as he took a step ahead.

    "How is she?" Carlisle asked his men calmly.

    "We heard Lady Yovana is stable now.  Lord Lorenz is with her," came a response.

    The man nodded, taking a step towards the door, only to stop mid-step. He felt as if someone was observing him. He raised his head up abruptly.

 Chapter 44 44: No Way Out

    All the Vampires looked up, along with him, trying to see what he was looking at. They didn''t see anything above them though.

    Carlisle tilted his head a bit, frowning.

    "Was it my misconception?" he muttered. Shaking his head, he stepped inside the restaurant.

    He didn''t realize that two people were still on the roof. At thest moment, As had taken a few steps back, hiding his figure from being seen on the ground.

    After a few seconds, he once again took a few steps ahead and looked down. All the Vampires had stepped inside the restaurant already by now.

    "They woulde upstairs within a few minutes. This would be the first ce they check. We need to leave before then," As let out, observing the surroundings.

    "Was I talking in a differentnguage until now?" Lancaster rolled his eyes. "If I had my bloodline awakened, I could''ve easily jumped to the other roof, but as I am now, it''s impossible. So what''s the n?"

    "You just told the n," As weakly responded. He held the hands of Lancaster and kept him on his shoulder like he was a sack of rice before running.

    As ran straight to the edge of the roof and jumped up, using the forward momentum.

    The next building was a few feet taller than the restaurant and happened to be fifteen meters away, making it the longest jump that As had attempted so far.

    "No no no no!" Lancaster closed his eyes in fear as he saw them in the air. As his face was towards the ground, he could see how high they were. He had already seen the distance.

    In his purview, there was no way they could cover that much distance. If he were asked, he would''ve suggested jumping towards the other side. However, his suggestion wasn''t asked. Before he could say anything, he was picked up.

    Scared for his life, Lancaster closed his eyes, expecting a steep fall.

    Fortunately, he only felt them going up and not down. The calction seemed to be just perfect. By the time their descent started, they had already covered more than half the distance.

    As kept his eyes on the building ahead of him as he reached out his right foot. Against all expectations of Lancaster, As managed to reach the building, even if barely. Even his right foot had barely touched the roof by a few inches. Those few inches were enough for him to seed.

    Without stopping, As kept running.

    "What?" Lancaster opened his eyes in surprise. They had sessfullynded?

    "You can''t be an ordinary Vampire! Just what are you?" he asked nkly. "What is your identity?"

    "I''m the person who wasn''t meant to be," As responded. "I''m not even a proper Vampire. I''m someone who shouldn''t have existed after my death. Calling me a Vampire would be an overstatement."

    "What?" Lancaster didn''t understand a single thing. What was As even saying? He wasn''t meant to be? He was a human in his eyes?

    "You''re right." Lilith agreed with As. "You weren''t meant to be. I don''t know what lucky ident made it happen for you."

    "ident?" As smiled as he kept running and jumping whenever he needed to. "That''s right. I can be ssified an idental Vampire... Something that never happened before and something that probably won''t happen in the future ever."

    "idental Vampire? I heard about Alpha Vampire and Betas but never heard about idental Vampire. Can you tell me more?" Lancaster inquired, thinking as if As was talking to him.

    "Remember I told you about my sister?"

    "Yeah. What about her?"

    "When it happened, I wasn''t a Vampire. I was just a human," As exined.

    "I guessed that much. Someone probably turned you, and you escaped. How is that different from any other Beta?"

    "No one turned me," As responded. "That''s why it''s not ordinary. No Vampire turned me. I became a Vampire due to some fortunate ident. I''ll not like other Vampires. I am stronger... I am faster... But at the same time, I''m also more vulnerable since I didn''t drink blood."

    "You really didn''t drink blood? How is that possible?" Lancaster eximed in shock. "Even I know a few things about Vampires. Toplete their transition, they need to drink human blood too. Without that, their transition is iplete, and they die within a day! How are you still alive without blood?"

    " Did you not hear when I said I''m not like any other Vampire? I''m different because I wasn''t turned. It is just that-"

    "As, stop!"

    As As was about to exin everything about his transmigration, he was stopped by Lilith. "Are you an idiot? Don''t tell him everything! You need to keep that a secret. Don''t tell him any more than you already did."

    "I... Right. I forgot." As smiled wryly. Since he was on good terms with Lancaster, he had momentarily forgotten that in the end, Lancaster was still a Werewolf. Many people were after the bodies of the progenitors, including the werewolf n! If Lancaster knew it and told them somehow, the entire world was going to turn against him.

    Moreover, Lancaster hadn''t awakened his wolf bloodline, so he was still susceptible topulsion. If a Vampire from the Carlisle n caught him and usedpulsion, he was going to blurt everything.

    "That''s all I can tell you. I''m a new species of Vampire that never appeared before," he told Lancaster, keeping his Progenitor origin a secret.

    "A new species. Very fascinating. Faster, stronger, and one who can survive without blood. It''s like you don''t have any ws of the Vampires." Lancaster muttered in amazement.

    "I also need blood," As responded. "I might be a different Vampire, but I''m still a Vampire. I need blood as well. I''ve just been fighting the urge, but I don''t know for how long I can keep doing it."

    "Ah, so that''s why you didn''t want to see the blood! Why don''t you drink blood? Why do you fight the urge?" Lancaster inquired.

    "I would''ve loved to chat with you, but we''re already here." As let out,nding on a wall. He ced Lancaster on the wall as well to make him stand right beside him.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "The border wall?" Lancaster asked, looking at the barrennd ahead. The entire city was behind him as he stood on the twenty-foot-tall border wall.

    "Yeah. The Vampires have seen you. They know who you are and your identity. You can''t stay in the city. It''s not safe for you. Leave the city and go far away from here where the Vampires can''t reach you. My suggestion would be to go towards thend of the werewolves! They can protect you," As exined, holding his hands behind his back.

    "What about you?" Lancaster asked. "Aren''t you in danger as well? They''ll search the entire city for us. You are new here, so they''ll definitely be suspicious of you after they find you."

    "Don''t worry about me. I have my ways to get around that. I can''t leave this city yet, and you know why."

    "You took this risk to save me. How can I leave you alone? I need to stay and help you!"

    "You haven''t awakened your bloodline. You''re no more than a mortal human at the moment. You can''t help me more than you already did. Leave and live your life. After I get my sister, I''ll also leave this city. And destiny wills, we''ll meet again." As patted the shoulder of Lancaster before he turned around, facing the opposite side of Lancaster.

    While As faced the city, which was filled with dangers for him at the moment, Lancaster had his back on the city, which had been his home for most of his life. He needed to leave his home now.

    "The letter is in my home. If they found the letter, they''ll know everything," Lancaster reminded As. "If they know what I am, it can be a problem."

    "I already know about that. They''ll take time to go to your home again. That much time is enough for me to go there and take the letter. Don''t worry about it. I''ll keep your letter safe. But you mustn''t return for it." As responded before he jumped, leaving the wall.

    Lancaster turned back onest time, ncing at the city which he was never going to see again. The home and all the memories he needed to leave being.

    Letting out a deep sigh, he jumped ahead on the sand outside the border wall and started running. He didn''t have any water or any food. He didn''t even know how far the closest pond was where he could get some water.

    He was dropped in this ce because no person could think to run from the barrennd. The Vampires were most probably not going to check here. At best, they could check the direction, which had a Forest close to them.

    ~~~~

    "Tired?" Lilith asked As, who had been running for a long time, first to catch up to Lancaster, then running with Lancaster, and now this. He had been spending too much energy, and it was certainly taking a toll on him.

    His body was sweating, and his eyes were losing their shine as a scary nkness was knocking on the door.

    "A bit," As let out. "Just need to take that letter and everything else of importance before disappearing. I don''t have much time. I can''t waste even a second."

    ~~~~

    Fierce yelling from Carlisle came from the restaurant, making everyone in the surroundings tremble.

    He couldn''t believe that someone had killed two of his men, including Lorenz! Not only that, but they also managed to run without being caught.

    "Who did it?" he asked, roaring.

    All the Vampires were on their knees, trembling.

    One of them said, "I-it must be those two!"

    "Which two?" Carlisle asked, frowning.

    "The person who was used of poisoning Lady Yovana. He was brought here around ten minutes ago, and we didn''t see him leave. He was with another human. If I''m not wrong, those two killed."

    "You mean to say two humans killed Lorenz?!" Carlisle was even more furious at the preposterous thought. He was sure there was more to the story.

    "If I''m not wrong, those two weren''t humans! Humans are weak pathetic beings. They can''t do it! They were something more than humans! Find them!" Carlislemanded.

    "Yes, sir. I''ll go check at his house." Two Vampires ran outside.

    "The rest go check the roof," Carlisle let out, not forgetting that strange feeling from before as if he was being watched by a hunter.

    "Yes, sir."

    The rest of the Vampires also ran outside, leaving only Carlisle in the room.

    After everyone left, Carlisle personally started observing the surroundings. There was only one person in the room who was left alive, Yovana.

    "They poisoned Yovana, but they didn''t want to kill her. So their purpose must be to gather everyone else here so they could kill them," he muttered, ncing at the two Family heads and Lorenz. "Someone is trying to challenge my authority."

    " They are killed with a knife. It certainly doesn''t look like the work of one of us or a wolf. The site is too clean for that. But it''s impossible for a human to do either. The other person in the cloak... Probably a witch. They are trying to challenge my authority here? They''ll regret it!" Carlisle dered, clenching his fist.

    ~~~~

    As ran non stop, finally reaching the house of Lancaster. He barged inside the house and took a paper which he kept in his pocket. He didn''t stop though.

    He noticed a notepad and a paper. He picked up both and wrote something on a notepad before leaving it on the table.

    After finishing, he turned to leave, reaching the door.

    Two Vampires reached the house. As held the door to pull it open. At the same time, the dark-robed man outside held the door to push it open...

 Chapter 45 45: Liliths Need

    The two Vampires pushed the door open. A deep frown graced their faces as they looked straight ahead.

    "It looks empty. I mean, honestly, only an idiot woulde back here after doing what he did," One of the Vampiresmented, noticing the empty room.

    As stood behind the doorpletely still, not making even the slightest of noise. It was as if he had stopped breathing as well.

    The Two Vampires stepped inside the house and walked to the washroom without looking back to see if someone was there or not. For them, the room was empty.

    Letting out a sigh of relief, As snuck out of the house and disappeared into the crowd.

    "Not here either," the Vampires stepped out of the washroom. "We just wasted our time bying here, didn''t we?"

    "While we''re already here, let''s see if we can find something about them here," the second Vampiremented, walking to the wardrobe.

    Other than a bunch of clothes, he couldn''t find anything worthy of his attention there.

    The other Vampire walked to the table to check the papers that were spread there. The entire table was covered in letters, from bills to job posters. He went through all the papers, not finding anything useful.

    "I don''t think we''re going to find anything here." He tossed all the useless papers on the ground, clearing the table entirely before pulling the drawer open.

    "Huh?" As soon as he opened the drawer, his face changed. He noticed a notepad in the drawer with something written on it.

    He picked up the notepad and went through what was written. "That bastard!"

    "Did you find something?" His loud curse attracted the attention of his mate, who ran to him.

    He took a curious nce at the notepad in the man''s hand. "So he knew we were going toe here. It''s a challenge to Lord Carlisle. Should we show him?"

    "We can''t keep it hidden. Come, let''s go."

    Both the men left the house, not even bothering to close the doors behind them as they left.

    From an unknown corner in the neighborhood, As watched the two leave. He noticed the notepad in their hands which brought a smile to his face.

    "He made my existence a living nightmare? It''s time I return the favor."

    ~~~~

    Yovana was given the cure of the poison, and her body started healing. His face regained the color, and her breathing stabilized. She didn''t seem to be in pain anymore.

    Carlisle sat beside her, waiting for his men to return. He kept observing the beautifuldy lying on the bed before him, but there seemed no lust in his eyes. For the first time in his life, he had a pure expression of worry on his face.

    He gently caressed the cheeks of Yovana. "Even after all the security I gave you, you still had to suffer like this. I am sorry. I promise I''ll make up for it. Whoever did it... They will regret ever being born! Get well soon, little Yovana."

    He stood up, hearing the sound of footsteps outside.

    The door opened, and multiple dark-robed men stepped inside the room. "We checked the roof and all the surroundings. We didn''t find anything. Whoever did it escaped already."

    Carlisle nodded. "Let''s see how far he can run. Seal the entire city and check every house if need to! I want those two people at any cost!"

    "Yes." All the Vampires bowed before they left. Only one man stayed behind.

    "My Lord, if I may sit something..."

    "What do you want to say?"

    "My Lord, the people who can disappear do easily from the ce that was surrounded by us; I think they won''t be stupid enough to stay in the city. If I''m not wrong, they probably left the city already."

    "Leave the thinking to me! Do as I say!" Carlisle snapped, seeing one of his men talking as if he was saying something that Carlisle didn''t know. He had guessed that much as well. He just didn''t want to take a risk. He wanted to make sure that it was the work of outsiders and that they weren''t here.

    "Y-yes." Thest Vampire also swiftly ran, sweating under the immense aura of Carlisle.

    Just as he left the room, two more Vampires stepped into the room. "We checked the house."

    "Let me guess; you didn''t find anything?" Carlisle asked, rolling his eyes.

    "We didn''t find him, but we did find something else..." the men muttered as they hesitantly took a step forward and gave the notepad to Carlisle. "It seems to be a message from him."

    Carlisle started reading the message.

    "Dear Carlisle, I hope you enjoyed my gift to you. I wanted to give you more gifts, but I didn''t have enough time. Maybe next time. For now, I need to go back home and tell my tales to the young ones. But don''t worry. I should be back soon, and we can continue this game. You''re my final prize after all."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Oh, you might be wondering who I am? I''ll let you keep guessing. You''ve hurt so many people. Just think of me as someone affected by your actions. I won''t threaten you, but I''ll certainly give you some advice. Complete any iplete work you have because you might not get the time to do it in the future once I return."

    "This time, it was just an excerpt. I''ll write an entire book the next time Ie, which will end with your extinction. Wait for me."

    At the end of the note, there was a strange character which seemed to be a bunch of random lines into one.

    "Hah, so that''s who you are. A witch thinks she can kill me?" Carlisle stood up, seemingly grim. The entire letter didn''t give away the identity of the writer, but thest letter did, which was the name of the writer.

    "My Lord, a Witch is behind it? Didn''t they go into hiding a long time ago after thest war?" One of the two men, Lai, asked.

    "They went into hiding, but they didn''t give up their revenge. Those damn witches really think they can defeat us with such tactics?" Carlisle roared. "Those idiots couldn''t even hide their identity properly. Thest letter it''s the Ancient Witch Language in which they write their names. She thought I wouldn''t know thisnguage?''

    "The witches are waging a war on us?" Lai inquired. "How did they get that much courage?"

    "They are too cowardly to wage a direct war on us. They know we will annihte them. That''s why they''re trying to weaken me by killing my men slowly. Since they know I''ll be more alert now, they left the city, nning to return again. Those idiots really underestimated me. Next time, I won''t give them an opportunity to return!" Carlisle dered.

    "Go to Master Wu in the southern city and invite him respectfully to meet me! It''s time we make things a bit serious!" Hemanded the two men.

    "Spell Master Wu? I heard he is very arrogant. Will he agree toe for us?" Lai asked.

    "He will. He owes me a favor. Just remind him that. He won''t say no. Tell him toe fast! Now leave!"

    "Yes, My Lord." The two Vampires bowed respectfully before they ran again.

    Carlisle stood alone, holding the piece of paper in his hand. He nced at the name onest time before crushing the paper. He didn''t toss it away. He just kept it in his pocket.

    He picked up the body of Yovana in his arms and left the room. He entered the carriage andmanded the driver to take him back to the Castle.

    Amidst the glorifying gazes of citizens, the carriage left.

    As watched the carriage leave, from amidst the crowd, on his knees. He kept his head down. "That letter should make him think that it''s a Witch who did this. That should give me some room to move."

    "All thanks to me, teaching you how to write a name in the Ancient Witch Language. Without that, he wouldn''t be convinced," Lilith responded, sounding proud.

    "Yeah, yeah. Thank you as well," As let out as he stood up after the Carriage left. Instead of wearing his old cloak or thevish clothes of Castiel, he was donning an entirely different set of clothes that he had borrowed from the wardrobe of Lancaster.

    He wore a beautiful white shirt which seemed to be years old. Lancaster hadn''t bought new clothes in over two years, after all. He also wore brown pants, which had six pockets. Two of the pockets had holes in them, but the rest were good.

    "Lilith?" As asked, walking aimlessly on the road. He couldn''t go back to Lancaster''s home. He didn''t have a home of his own either. He could only spend the night in the streets, making sure he wasn''t caught.

    "What?" Lilith let out.

    "How do you know the Ancientnguage of witches? Did Castiel teach you?"

    "Master teaching me? Hah, why would he need to. I knew thisnguage from my childhood. My mother taught me thisnguage along with many more things."

    "Your mother? You mean you were a Witch?"

    "I still am," Lilithzily responded.

    The more As thought about her response, the more confused he became. "But... Aren''t you a shadow? You were a human before? How did you turn into a shadow? Did you die?"

    "Of course, I wasn''t born as a shadow of my Master. I was born a witch with my body. I just did a spell to make myself into a shadow when my Master decided to go to sleep for centuries. I didn''t want to live in his absence and die of old age before he could return. So I bound myself to him and turned myself into a shadow, so I don''t age," Lilith exined.

    "So you sacrificed your body?"

    "Not really a sacrifice. It was only temporary. I can regain my body when I''m able to use my spells again."

    "And when can you use your spells?" As asked.

    "When you drink blood." Lilith chuckled. "That''s when I will regain my body. That''s why I don''t want you to drink blood when you aren''t ready because you might literally kill me then."

    "Howe my drinking is rted to you?" As inquired, stopping in his tracks.

    The people who were walking beside him looked at him with weird gazes, seeing him talk to himself. Some even wondered if As was crazy to talk to himself.

    There weren''t only citizens who noticed it. Amongst them, there happened to be a Vampire who found As''s behavior a bit odd.

    The Vampire walked closer to As from behind.

 Chapter 46 46: Unexpected Hideout

    "Ah, As. Don''t forget we are in public. You''re attracting too much attention. A Vampire ising towards you from the back. He looks suspicious. Handle it." Lilith noticed the Vampire behind As and many others looking in their direction.

    Immersed in the conversation, even she had forgotten that they needed to be careful. Fortunately, she realized it before it was toote.

    As stopped speaking as soon as he heard a Vampireing toward him.

    "How far is he?" he inquired softly.

    "Around ten steps," Lilith replied.

    As nodded in acknowledgment. He didn''t look back. He couldn''t let anyone know that he knew. Instead of stopping talking, he started talking even louder.

    "Lord Carlisle was so glorious. I can''t believe I got to see him today! He is amazing. My Lord is like a god, walking amongst us mortals. I can''t contain my excitement after seeing him! I am so lucky!"

    The Vampire reached closer to As, only to hear his words praising Carlisle.

    He chuckled as he turned around. "Talking to himself about seeing Lord Carlisle. These humans get excited at the smallest of things."

    "He''s leaving. Good dodge." Lilith informed As, letting out a sigh of relief. "But now you have to be careful. It might not work every time. When you talk, don''t look toward me. Alright?"

    "I get it," As started walking away from the Vampire. From the start to the end, he hadn''t seen him, and he wasn''t interested in it either.

    The sun had already set, and darkness was taking over the city, with only moonlight remaining as the source of light. More and more people started going back to their houses, calling it an end of their day. The shops started closing. Vendors gathered their stuff and left as well.

    "Everyone is going back," As observed the streets, sitting on one of the roofs.

    "Soon, all the streets will be covered by Vampires as more and more of theme out. The night is their favorite time, after all. I don''t think you should stay out. Even the roof isn''t safe at this time. Someone will sooner orter find you." Lilith reminded As about the risk of staying out, especially since there was going to be no cover soon.

    "I can''t go back to Lancaster''s home. More Vampires are patrolling that ce already. I wonder if I should just sneak inside someone else''s house to stay the night?" As let out, thinking out loud.

    "That''s not good. If you do that, you might have to kill them, and I don''t think this is something you should do in your condition. Stay away from bloodshed and violence. And even if you don''t kill the owner of the house, when you leave, they''ll certainly alert the Vampires outside. Not safe at all." Lilith refused to go with the n.

    "Still, that seems to be the only option. Where else can I go?" As muttered, trying to think if there was any other ce that allowed a stranger like him. There were hotels, but certainly, they weren''t going to give him a room thiste since it seemed suspicious.

    "A ce which allowed a stranger in at night without much interrogation..." Lilithmented, but something seemed odd about her tone, as if she knew a ce but didn''t want to tell.

    Ultimately, Lilith decided to speak her thoughts. "Oh heck, it''s much safer indeed. Let''s go to a brothel."

    "Cough! Cough!'' Hearing her answer, As started coughing uncontrobly. He had never expected that her answer would be this! Going to a brothel?

    Lilith was right that this ce did match the criteria. It allowed strangers in at night and let them stay there all night without much interrogation. Anyone could go there as long as they had the money. And unlike hotels, they weren''t going to be suspicious when someone checked in sote since brothels worked at night, but still... Of all ces, a brothel?!

    "But that ce is supposed to..." As hesitated. He had only heard about those ces, but mentally, he was only sixteen. Even though he was slightly curious about such things, he didn''t want to go to a brothel.

    "Come on. It''s not like you need to have sex. Even if you wanted to, I wouldn''t allow you to sully my Master''s body in a brothel with ady. Just go there and spend the night without doing anything. When it''s morning, you can leave for the servant selection. This is the best option! And it''s the safest! I don''t think Vampires wille there to check!"

    Lilith kept trying to convince As, who seemed a bit hesitant even more. "Come on. If you don''t leave now, it might be toote. There are still some humans outside. You''ll have some cover. If it''ste, it''ll be hard to even walk on the streets without attracting unnecessary attention. Stop being a kid!"

    "Arghh! Fine! Fine I''ll do it!" Under the immense convincing pressure of Lilith, As buckled and agreed. He had already gone against her so many times today, and this time she was really making sense to him. It was safer for him if he went to a brothel and spent a night there, no matter how ufortable he was.

    He jumped down from the roof in another empty alley and snuck out. "Now, where would we find a brothel in the city? Do you know?"

    "How should I know? It''s my first time here as well." Lilith snorted. "Ask someone."

    As scratched the back of his head. Now he even needed to ask someone for directions to a brothel?

    "How do you know there will be a brothel in this city then?" As inquired. "What if there is none?"

    "I havemon sense, that''s why. I''m sure you''ll find one in the city. Just ask someone," Lilith responded.

    As was very brave overall, but in this situation, his courage was almost non-existent. Yet, he walked towards a man, having no other choice.

    "Ah, excuse me?"

    The middle-aged man stopped, ncing toward As. "Yeah? Do you need something?"

    " I was wondering if you can tell me where I can find a brothel in this city?" As asked, trying to hide his embarrassment. "I''m new here."<novelnext></novelnext>

    The man couldn''t help but smile as he gave As a cheeky look as if he was pleased to meet a fellow man of culture. Seeing the expressions of the man, As felt even more embarrassed. He was being judged even though he had no impure intentions.

    "There''s one in that direction. Go straight and take the third left. You''ll find one right there. It''s called the Pleasure Club. I went there justst week. I must say, that ce is heaven, man. When you get there, ask for rissa. She is the best girl they have. You''re lucky; she might be free." The man winked at As.

    "That ce is very expensive though. Just the entrance fee alone is one Silver Coin, let alone the other costs," he further added before he left.

    As followed the directions that were given by the man and started advancing. He could already see many Vampires in the surroundings, but it still wasn''t the time of Curfew. Supposedly, after ten, no human was allowed to be on the streets.

    Within a few minutes, As found himself before the brothel. It was a massive mansion. At the entrance, the board was ced with the Pleasure Club name.

    At the entrance, there was also a guard who stood.

    "This is a really big ce. It must be owned by one of the two great families as well, if I''m not wrong," As muttered, observing the building.

    "Hahahah!" Lilith burst into suddenughter, surprising As.

    "Did I say something funny?" As asked.

    "I just find it amusing. You killed the two Family heads today, and now you''re hiding in their own mansion, and to gain an entry, you''ll be using their own money," Lilith exined. " If they knew it, they would''ve exploded in anger."

    ~~~~

    A few hours ago~

    As and Lancaster stood on top of the border wall. As had just told Lancaster that he needed to leave and go far away before turning around to get back into the city.

    "Wait!" Lancaster called out.

    As stopped and nced back. "What?"

    "Take it," Lancaster brought his hand out of his pocket in which he had a few gold coins. He ced the coins in the hands of As. "Since you''ll be staying here, you''re going to need money to do what you want. I stole these coins from the men you killed. Take it and use them wisely."

    As nced at the golden coins. He kept them in his pocket, nodding before he departed.

    ~~~~

    Current time~

    "I had no option but to kill them. They had seen that I was behind it. Also, I didn''t steal the money. It was given to me," As respondedzily. "Now, don''t make me speak. I''ll look suspicious."

    As stepped closer to the entrance, only to be stopped by the guard.

    "Entrance fee is one Silver Coin," the guard informed As.

    As brought a silver coin out of his pocket and gave it to the men. There were only two silver coins in the batch that was given to him by Lancaster, and the rest were gold.

    Getting the coin, the guard stepped aside and opened the door. "You can go in."

    As entered the building, which seemed very fascinating from inside. The entrance led straight to a massive hall.

    It was As''s first timeing to such a ce. Even though he looked like a young man, mentally, he was still a teenager who was only sixteen. He didn''t know where to look. No matter where he tried looking, he only sawdies dressed in extremely short clothes. Some of them were even performing poll dances while others were just sitting on the couch, talking.

    "Where did you make mee?" As muttered, ncing at the shadow of Lilith.

    "Hey, it''s not like I enjoying here," Lilith snapped back. "Just select one of the Ladies and go to the room. That''s much better than staying in this ce. I don''t want to see all this!"

    As didn''t know who to approach here. There were manydies and a few men. The men were talking with multiple Ladies as if they were trying to decide who to select. And almost everydy here was trying to make the men select them.

    As'' gaze roamed over the entire hall as he tried to see who he could select. ording to Lilith, only after selecting and paying could he be sent to his room where he could spend the night.

    "There..." His search soon stopped as he noticed a woman standing all alone in the distance with a ss of wine in her hand. She wasn''t trying to talk to any men and just stood alone, looking lonely.

    As didn''t know why but only her eyes looked pure in this ce. He could see some kind of greed in the eyes of everyone here, but only that one woman had no desire in her eyes. Her eyes looked so pure and deste. There was just something different about her.

 Chapter 47 47: Toxic

    If As needed to select anyone in this ce who he could feel safe with, he knew it was this woman.

    He started to step toward the woman. Unfortunately, before he could take a few steps, the other woman noticed him and approached him.

    "Wee, Young Sir. I haven''t seen you here before. It must be your first time. Come, let me serve you." One of the women held As''s hands with her soft hands.

    The other women also started trying to engage in a conversation with him. Unfortunately, As wasn''t interested. He freed his hands. "I''m sorry, but I''ve already selected someone."

    The women noticed him looking in the direction of the dark-haired woman in the distance. Her hazel eyes didn''t seem interested in anything in this ce. She didn''t even look at any men. She was more interested in her wine. Her deep dark hair was the darkest that As had ever seen. They came down to her waist, perfectly straight.

    She was donning a beautiful red dress that came up to her thighs.

    "Lia? Don''t tell me you selected Lia?" One of the women eximed in surprise.

    "So that''s her name." As nodded. "That''s right. I''ve selected her."

    "Ah, Great Sir. You''re new here, so you might not know, but don''t you wonder why no man here has approached her?"

    "Why? Is there a reason?" As asked.

    "Of course. She just came here a few days ago. She is new here, but as soon as she came, all the men flocked around her. Ultimately one man was selected to take her to the room, the highest payer."

    "And?" As frowned. "What of it?"

    It wasn''t as if he was nning to do anything. He was just here to get some shelter. He didn''t care if she slept with another man? It''s not like anyone here hadn''t? He wasn''t here looking for a girlfriend after all.

    "That''s not all. It was in the morning when the man left the Club; he died in an ident before he could even reach home," the woman exined. "The next day, another man selected her, but he also died before he could get home, this time suffering a heart attack on his way back home."

    "Since then, no man has selected her! She is bad luck for men. Don''t even try to go into a room with her. Select any other woman amongst us, but not her," she added, but as she noticed the stern gaze of an old woman in the back, she stopped. "I''m not allowed to talk about this since it affects the reputation of this club, so that''s all I''ll say. Just make a wise decision. If you change your mind, we''ll be right there."

    The woman left along with the rest, going back to the sofa.

    As didn''t approach the dark-haired woman after hearing the warnings. He was also slightly scared. He rubbed his lips, hiding his mouth as he spoke, "Lilith, do you trust the story? There are many supernatural beings in this world, so I can''t deny things like bad luck either. You are more experienced. Is there any logic behind it?"

    Lilith didn''t respond for quite some time as if she was lost in some thoughts, which prompted As to ask again.

    "Select her. Don''t listen to others." After a long time, Lilith eximed.

    As agreed. If anyone knew more about these supernatural things, it was Lilith, and if she said it was safe, he was going to trust her.

    Against the advice of all the girls, he went to the dark-haireddy in the back.

    "Hi." As stopped before the woman. The waiter served a ss of wine to As, which was included in the entrance fee. The first ss wasplimentary. However, As didn''t know it. He brought out the second silver coin and gave it to the waiter.

    The waiter was shocked. He thought it was a tip. A silver coin wasn''t cheap. This guy was giving it as a tip so easily? Just who was this rich man?

    The olddy who had her focus on As had her eyes lit up as well. With this single gesture of As, she was sure that As was a wealthy individual who probably was new to the city.

    As kept his hand on the wine ss, looking at Lia.

    Liazily nced back at him as she took another sip. "Did they not tell you what happens to the ones whoe with me?"

    "They did," As responded. "But I don''t trust in superstitions. I don''t care about that."

    "So you''ve decided you''ll select me?" Lia let out as a tiny bit of disgust shed in her eyes momentarily, which she hid herself.

    "You''re right. If I have to select one person here, I want it to be you." As ced a gold coin on the table.

    He kept the wine in his hands, but he still hadn''t taken a sip.

    Lia nced at the golden coin before looking back at As. "You certainly love throwing money around, don''t you?"

    As didn''t react and just waited for her answer.

    "Fine. If you want toe with me, then so be it." Lia held As''s hands as she picked up the gold coin. She started escorting him towards a room in the back. "Don''t me me for what happens."

    All thedies looked at As with pity in their eyes. He was a handsome man, and he was also rich. However, he was just too stupid, ording to them. Despite their warnings, he still selected her."

    Lia took As to the stairs before she finally freed her hands and started climbing. As climbed the stairs behind her with a weird look on his face as he looked at his wrist, which was held by Lia.

    He didn''t know what it was, but when she held his hands, he felt a strange sensation. He didn''t know what that sensation was. All he knew was that it wasn''t a romantic feeling. It was a feeling of danger that he received from that sensation.

    He wanted to tell Lilith about this, but he was sure she already knew about it. She was connected to him, after all.

    Reaching the end of the stairs, As ended up in a long corridor. There were around fifty rooms on this floor and only half of them were upied at the moment.<novelnext></novelnext>

    The corridor had a light pinkish shade and many suggestive paintings hanging on the walls of lewd nature.

    As tried to keep his eyes off the paintings and focused on Lia, who walked ahead.

    Lia kept walking and only stopped after she reached the end of the hallway. She turned to her left, facing a door.

    She twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open.

    The door opened with a strange squeaky noise as if it was a really old door, even though it looked new.

    As took a step ahead to enter the room, but as soon as he attempted, he felt an electric current course through his body. There was something akin to an invisible wall where the door used to be, which electrocuted him.

    He stepped back in haste, looking at the room in shock.

    "What are you doing there? Come on inside," the woman inside the room let out. The room started regaining some lights as the candles were lit by Lia.

    As still hesitated in entering. That current... Just what was it?

    "Don''t worry. It won''t happen again," Lilith informed As, breaking her silence after a long time. "She has invited you in. You can enter."

    "Invited me in? What do you mean?" As muttered under his breath.

    "I still need more evidence to be sure if what I''m thinking is correct. Just enter the room. I''ll tell youter when I''m sure that I''m right," Lilith answered.

    As rubbed the back of his neck, letting out a tired sigh. He attempted once again on her words. It went exactly as Lilith had said. He was able to enter without any trouble this time. He didn''t feel the current this time."

    Even as he entered the room, he looked back, wondering what the currentst time was. It seemed like Lilith knew something about it, but she wasn''t saying. He was really frustrated with Lilith. So what if she wasn''t sure? She could''ve just said.

    For some reason, he felt like he was being used as a guinea pig by Lilith to confirm her theory. However, on second thought, he realized that she loved her master. No matter who he was now, she still wasn''t going to put her Master''s body in harm''s way.

    Taking his mind off Lilith, he observed the surroundings, getting even more surprised. There were candles all around the room, filling this ce with light.

    ''How did she light so many candles in such a short time?''

    Other than the candles, the room also had a king-sized bed with a really fluff mattress. As''s eyes went straight to the mattress. It looked sofortable. No wonder this ce was expensive. He hadn''t slept in something so soft in a long time.

    Ever since he left the Severis Mansion, he only camped in the forest or slept in moving carriages. After a long time, he finally had a chance to sleep on a proper bed.

    His eyes had just as much curiosity as they had excitement as As stepped towards the bed. He sat on the bed. "This is good."

    "You like it? I thought someone rich like you would hate something like this. You must have better beds at your mansion after all," came the response of Lia, who was standing before a table, pouring wine into two sses.

    Lilith took the wine sses, holding one in each hand as she walked back to As. She gave one ss to him and gulped down another ss.

    "Sorry, I don''t drink alcohol," As exined and returned the ss to Lia.

    Lia bit her lips as she was given the ss back. She seemed a bit nervous suddenly, but she quickly hid it.

    "I''ve never seen a man who doesn''t drink wine," she let out, but she didn''t drink from the second ss. "Don''t worry; it''s not wine. It just looks like wine. It''s apple juice. You can drink it."

    She once again extended the ss towards As.

    "Apple Juice?" As muttered, frowning. He was sure that this was wine. He was a Vampire. He could smell more things than normal humans. He was getting the smell of wine from the ss, which was the same as what he was served downstairs.

    ''Why is she lying about this wine? Something doesn''t seem right.'' He just observed the ss but didn''t take it.

    The atmosphere had be really tense somehow, and he could feel it.

    "As, whatever you do, don''t drink from that ss." Finally, Lilith spoke, confining the suspicions of As. Something was seriously wrong with the wine, and it wasn''t poisonous.

    If it were just poison, Lilith wouldn''t have warned him. Most human poisons didn''t work on the Vampires after all. If she warned him, there was just something else about this wine that he couldn''t put a finger on.

    Lia stayed standing before As, just looking at him. She ced her empty ss on the ground.

    "Go ahead, drink it. It''s just apple juice. It''ll give you strength for the long night ahead," she let out, cing her left hand on the shoulders of As.

    As once again received that strange feeling which he felt when Lia had touched him previously, but this time, the feeling was even more intense. He didn''t know why but he felt his head getting a bit jumbled as well.

    He swiftly took her hand off his shoulder as he stood up.

    He ced his hand around Lilith''s hand on the ss and raised the ss, bringing it up. The ss rested between his lips.

    He slowly opened his lips.

 Chapter 48 48: Awakening

    As opened his lips with the wine ss right before him. Unfortunately, he didn''t move the ss towards his lips.

    "I am sorry, but I''m not thirsty. I told you I''m not in the mood to drink. Please drink it in my stead." With an innocent smile, As pushed the ss of wine toward the lips of Lia.

    The ss touched her lips, prompting her to step back hastily. As she suddenly moved back, the ss dropped from the hands of As and Lia.

    The ss filled with wine crashed on the ground, filling the silent room with the noise of ss shattering.

    "Hmm?" As was even more sure that something was wrong with this ss. Why else was she so scared to drink it?

    "What happened?" As inquired as he went to the table on the side. He picked a piece of paper and returned.

    "Was something wrong?" he asked, going down on his knees to collect the ss pieces, so they didn''t stab anyone.

    "N-not at all. I was just surprised by this sudden closeness. I apologize." The woman responded; however, finally, her calmness was gone, and some worries were visible on her face.

    "She''s so cute." Lilith burst intoughter, observing the reaction of Lia. "As, ask her which n she is from."

    ''n?'' As took a subtle nce at the shadow. What was it about a n? Unfortunately, he couldn''t ask Lilith here. However, he also didn''t want to go on blind and ask this question? What if there was some secret associated with this word that could create trouble if she knew about it?

    He had enough of running blind. Now it was time for him to get an answer before he did anything.

    He ced the paper filled with broken pieces of ss to the side. He didn''t ask the question that Lilith wanted him to ask though. Instead, he asked a question of his own.

    "Can I use the bathroom here?" he asked.

    Lia nodded and pointed towards the door on the left.

    As swiftly ran to the bathroom and closed the door from the inside.

    "What are you doing? Why aren''t you asking her the question?" Lilith grew angry at As. Instead of asking, he came here and was walking back and forth instead of doing anything? It was as if he was just wasting time.

    "I''m not going to ask her anything," As let out, rolling his eyes. "Not until you tell me everything? What is going on? What was that invisible wall at the entrance? What''s this odd feeling I''m getting from thedy? And what was with the Wine? I''m not running in blind this time. If you don''t answer, I''ll straight away leave this ce and select anotherdy."

    "You! I told you that I will tell you when I''m sure of it. All you needed to do was ask that question, and I would''ve known for sure!"

    "I told you, I''m not asking anything. You expect a man to enter a battlefield without knowing who he''s fighting? Not happening. I already did enough." As folded his arms and refused to listen.

    He wasn''t going to listen to her this time until he got his way. He wasn''t someone''s puppet.

    ~~~~

    Out in the room, Lia was sitting on the bed with a deep frown on her face as she observed the spilled liquid on the ground. "

    "This bastard, did he know something was wrong in this? His actions weren''t right! This has never happened before. What am I going to do? If he didn''t drink, then he isn''t going to be under... Do I really need to take more drastic steps now? If I do, my identity would be out. But if I don''t, I''ll actually have to sleep with this man. I can''t let that happen."

    "I need guidance!" She was determined. This was an important decision, and she couldn''t decide alone.

    She stood up and nced towards the bathroom before she left the room. She went to the room right beside where she believed she was going to have some privacy. As couldn''t barge in on her there.

    Even after entering the room, she didn''t forget to lock the door from the inside.

    She sat on the ground on her knees and brought out her pendant, which was hiding under her clothes.

    She opened the dark pendant, which seemed to be filled with a red liquid.

    She dipped her finger in the red liquid and made a circle with it around the pendant, which was ced on the ground. After making a red circle around the pendant, she ced one finger from both her hands inside the red circle and closed her eyes.

    Gentle winds started circling around thedy. The red liquid inside the pendant started shining in a mysterious white light. The circle she had made also started shining, but it shone in green light.

    ~~~~<novelnext></novelnext>

    Lancaster kept running far away from the city without stopping. He had already started getting tired. Fortunately, he had a lot of stamina even though he wasn''t awakened as a Werewolf. This helped him run for hours straight with only minimal wait.

    He was already extremely hungry and could even hear the growling of his tummy, which he kept ignoring, waiting to reach any forest or town where he could find something to eat.

    Even though he didn''t reach any town, he had a glimpse of a Forest in the distance, which was where he started advancing, hoping that he was going to find water and some food there.

    After a long run, Lancaster finally entered the forest. It was already dark by now. He couldn''t see many things clearly either. Fortunately, the moon was providing at least some light.

    He kept entering deep and deep into the forest, trying to find any fruit tree. Unfortunately, he didn''t find any fruit despite a long search. He did, however, find a pond.

    He hastily ran to the pond and drank some much-needed water to satiate his thirst. After having plenty of water, Lancasterid on the ground, letting out a sigh. "Water... Never knew water should taste so good. I feel like I''m full with just water."

    He kept ncing at the moon in the sky. "I still need to find food though. Why is it so hard? I''m supposedly a Werewolf. Shouldn''t I be able to find food in a Forest? This is our habitat. So what if I''m not awakened yet? I should still have some instincts."

    "Sigh, enough talking with myself. Time to get back to search again. This forest is so big; there is no way it won''t have something to eat. It''s only a matter of time to find it." He rolled his body on his stomach and pushed himself up to stand.

    He prepared to search again. He took one step away from the pond, only to freeze in his ce right there.

    Sweat appeared on his forehead as he frowned.

    Grrrr~

    He could hear the growling of something as if a beast was here. He had no experience of facing a beast. Other than the extra stamina, he had no additional advantage of being a Werewolf at this point. He was just an ordinary human, and he was scared as he heard the footsteps of the beasting closer to him.

    He knew that if he tried running, the beast was going to chase him down and kill him for sure.

    "Pretend to be dead?" he muttered, hearing that in some cases, pretending to be dead was better than running before a vicious beast. He didn''t know which beast it was or how urate this theory was, but that''s the only thing he coulde up with.

    He dropped to the ground swiftly, still keeping his eyes open. He could see a beast that had a muscr body with powerful forelimbs, arge head, and a tail that was about half the length of its body. The beast kept stepping closer to him in proud steps.

    The beast had orange skin with white ventral areas and distinctive vertical ck stripes that were unique to him.

    ''A tiger?'' Lancaster was so scared at the moment as he realized the beast. It was once of the fiercest beasts that could be found in the forests and a powerful hunter.

    He was sure if he had tried running, he would''ve been dead by now, but even now, he didn''t feel safe. He was told that this trick mostly worked with bears. He didn''t know if a tiger was going to be fooled.

    His heart kept thumping fast as he watched the tiger moving closer to him. His heart hade to his throat in fear, facing a tiger from this close. The growling of the tiger was even more worrying.

    The tiger''s eyes rested on Lancaster as it stopped a few meters away from him.

    The Tiger took a few steps back in anticipation, making Lancaster even more worried. It was as if he was preparing to jump. Just as he had thought, the Tiger jumped in his direction with his ws out.

    "Argh! This didn''t work!" Lancaster yelled as he rolled his body to the side, barely avoiding the ws.

    He started running towards the pond, hoping to fool the Tiger by going in the water.

    The tiger chased after Lancaster, being much faster. Within seconds, the Tiger caught up to Lancaster with another jump. His ws stabbed the back of Lancaster, bringing him to the ground.

    Lancaster''s facended on the ground as he screamed in pain at being stabbed. The Tiger was sitting on him. The Tiger roared as he opened his mouth out loud, bringing his sharp teeth towards the neck of Lancaster.

    Lancaster''s vision turned blurry as he kept screaming in pain. The pain was just too much. He tried freeing himself, but it was impossible. He was sure this was hisst day in this world. A tear trickled down his cheeks as he realized that he was never going to meet his parents. He was scared, he was in pain, and he was anguished at the thoughts of not having a future.

    It was unclear what it was, but one of his feelings changed something inside him. The tattoo on his shoulder started shining in a bright white light. Lancaster''s eyes started shining in a beautiful Golden light as he felt a beastly urge of his own.

    His painful cry for help changed into a mighty roar.

    Awooooo~

    A mighty roar echoed in the forest, making each and every animal in the forest tremble before that mighty roar. Even the tiger who was just about to bite the neck of Lancaster jumped back in fear for some reason,nding in the back.

 Chapter 49 49: Unexpected Outcome

    Lancaster roared. His hand suddenly twisted on its own, making Lancaster feel as if his bones were broken.

    The other hand and legs soon followed suit. His roars intensified as tears appeared in his eyes.

    Light Brown hair had started growing all over his hand and his legs. As his body started getting bigger, his clothes began tearing up. Even his chest was getting covered in hair for some reason.

    Lancaster immediately understood that this was the transition into a Werewolf! This attack had made his bloodline wake up, and he was going through his first transition, which was said to be the most painful. He had heard about this in the letter, but even he hadn''t known it was going to be this painful.

    He already felt like he wanted to die!

    "Arghh!"

    He started yelling, partly because of the pain his body was suffering because of the transformation but mostly because he was enraged about the things that were happening to him.

    He wanted this pain to stop at any cost, but instead of stopping, it only kept increasing. Only a few seconds had passed since it all started, and Lancaster was already feeling like months had passed. Each second was heavy for him in this pain.

    His pupils started getting bigger, and so did his face and his entire body.

    Arghhhh~

    The scream spread far and wide, albeit not reaching any person. As far as the eyes could see, not even a single soul was visible. Only a single Tiger could be seen, and even that Tiger seemed slightly hesitant in approaching Lancaster. That roar was filling him up in fear.

    Without thinking twice, the Tiger started stepping back. He didn''t want to face whatever this man was!

    Lancaster roared even louder as he looked towards the moon as if cursing the moon. He was experiencing a soul-crumbling pain all over his body. It was as if all his bones were disintegrating at a molecr level.

    He started growing even bigger as pain gripped his entire body, making him drop to the ground. He started twisting and turning in pain.

    He wriggled on the ground in pain, twisting and turning. His tears didn''t stop for even a second.

    His bones started bing bigger and longer. ws erupted from his fingers, and his skin started stretching as he started bing less and less human-like.

    His pupils had changed shapes entirely. After a process that seemed like itsted for an eternity, the Transformation finally ended.

    Unfortunately, Lancaster waspletely unrecognizable by now. His eyes were blood red, and he looked just like a big and fierce wolf. He didn''t look human at all.

    His height was still the same though, as the wolf was six feet tall when he stood on its four feet. The wolf raised his head towards the sky, ring at the beautiful moon with his deep red eyes.

    Awooo~

    The wolf howled, looking at the sky before turning in the direction that Tiger had run in. After his first Transformation, Lancaster had lost his mind in rage. His beastly urges took over, and he didn''t know how to control them!

    The wolf ran behind the Tiger. The prey had be the Hunter, and the Hunter became a prey.

    Before long, the wolf disappeared into the forest.

    ~~~~

    While Lancaster was going through his first awakening, As was still hiding in the bathroom, refusing to get out until Xun answered him about the identity of Lia. Just who was she, and just what was she nning?

    "You are really stubborn; you know that?" Lilith asked As, slightly upset. "Fine. I will tell you who she is... Or rather, what she is..."

    "I doubted her identity as soon as I heard about the two men who spent the night with her dying the next day, but I wasn''t sure since it could be a coincidence as well. So I wanted to be more sure. That''s why I told you to select that girl," she exined.

    "The strange feeling that you received when she touched you. It could be because of what she was, but that alone wasn''t enough for me to be sure either. You are a man, after all, so it''s not odd for you to get some feeling when ady touches you. It was the ss which she refused to drink from that made me ny percent sure that she was right! If I''m not wrong, the ss didn''t have wine or Juice."

    "What did it have then?" As inquired.

    "Bad luck charm!"  Lia eximed. "She refused to drink the bad luck charm, grandma! I don''t know what to do now."

    Lia sat in a different room as if talking to someone, sitting before a strange formation. Unfortunately, there was no one in the room.

    "I don''t know why. He was so against drinking it. It was as if he knew something was wrong in it. I don''t know how he could know that. I wonder if he also knows my identity. Something doesn''t seem right about that man. My identity might be exposed if he dies in this ce, but if I don''t kill him, he might insist on sleeping with me!" Lia further stated as if responding to some questions.

    "Last two men drank it without any problem. They even fell asleep right after drinking it and in the morning thought that they slept with me before leaving. The bad luck charm worked perfectly as they died outside. Everything was going so smoothly. My identity was safe, and no one wanted to select me. I could hide in this ce for as long as I wanted without being discovered by them! But this man changed everything!"

    "Please advise me what I should do?! I only have two options. Either I sleep with him to keep this cover, or I kill him right now! The former would be uneptable, and this would make more men select me next time! I don''t want to be a ything! I want to protect my purity, grandma! But thetter option will blow my cover."

    "If he is found dead before leaving, everyone will know something is wrong with me! The Vampires might alsoe for investigation since he seems like a wealthy and important person! I am stuck between a rock and a hard ce!"

    "Things are even worse, especially after what happened in the afternoon!"<novelnext></novelnext>

    ...

    "Oh right, I didn''t tell you what happened in the afternoon yet. Someone killed a General of Carlisle n, poisoned the woman that Carlisle held dear, and also killed the heads of two great families before escaping!"

    ...

    "You''re right. It seems like there''s someone else who wants to destroy the Carlisle n as much as us. It would''ve been fun to work with them, but I think they already left the city. I don''t know who did it, but I''m sure the entire me of that will fall on me as well if I''m caught!" Lia let out a sigh.

    She didn''t realize that the man all the Vampires were looking for was right in the next room. It was the same man she was talking about Killing!

    "Anyway, we can talk about thatter. Please tell me what to do with the man!"

    ...

    "Huh? Are you sure? But what about my cover....?" Lia seemed shocked hearing the response. It was as if she had expected it at the same time she didn''t expect it.

    ...

    "I-i understand. Thank you Grandma!''

    ~~~

    "Bad Luck Charm? One that messes with your luck until you die from it? So this was the reason behind it?!" As eximed, hearing the exnation from Lilith.

    "Yeah. If I''m not wrong, it was mixed with the sleeping medicine, so you sleep the entire night while the spell takes effect. If you had drunk it, I am sure you wouldn''t have died, but your luck would have been really bad tomorrow," Lilith answered.

    "What about the invisible wall at the entrance?" As inquired.

    "Vampire Warding Spell. It shields the entire room so that no Vampire can step inside the room without the permission of the caster or the permission of the person that the room was assigned to. That''s why you were able to step on as soon as Lia called you in. I guess she didn''t know that you were a Vampire because of your eyes. She allowed you in."

    "Vampire Warding Spell? Bad Luck Charm that causes death? Just what is this woman?! How made me a guinea pig, sending me to the den of this dangerous woman?" As looked weirdly at the shadow before him.

    "I told you that you don''t have to worry about anything. As long as I''m with you, no witch can harm you. The tricks that they use now were written by none other than me, after all. They are just kids before me," Lilith proudly stated.

    "What?"

    "Why do you look so shocked? I am from a really old-time after all. I made the Vampire Warding Spell after years of hard work to help my people protect themselves from the Vampires so that the day which I faced is never faced by then," Lilith responded. She further continued in a cheeky tone. "As for the Bad Luck Charm, that''s something I made just for fun."

    "You made a charm that can kill people?" As scratched the back of his head, looking at Lilith weirdly. Just how badass was she before?

    "If I''m not wrong, Lia is from one of the Witch ns. I don''t know why she came to this city which is the Den of Vampires and why she is killing people. That''s why I wanted to be sure of her identity before telling you," Lilith continued. "Now that you know, would you please help me get some answers? I promise I won''t let you be hurt as long as I''m with you."

    "But if you don''t want to help me, you can leave as well and select another woman. I won''t stop you with that either, but that can be a really big missed opportunity, you know?"

    "Missed opportunity. How?" As inquired.

    "You helped Lancaster to have a future Ally, didn''t you? Even though he hadn''t even awakened yet. On the other hand, Lia is a proper witch. I don''t know how strong she is, but I''m sure she can cast some spells. If you can make her your ally, I promise you she can be more useful than Lancaster in your mission," Lilith answered. "However, you must not let her know that you''re a Vampire!"

    "And why not? You were a Witch, and she is a Witch. Her enemies and my enemies are the same. Why shouldn''t I tell her that I''m also a Vampire if she truly bes an ally?" As asked.

    "Because she is a Witch? Witches hate Vampires. They can never trust them or work with one. As soon as she finds out that you are one as well, she will always be suspicious of you. She might even try to kill you, thinking you can be dangerous to her," Lilith exined.

    "How about you take the lead and tell her that I''m on her side? I mean, you''re her Ancestor! She should listen to you, right?"

    "Only you can see me. There is no way for her to see me or hear me, so it''s impossible. And even if you speak what I want you to speak, she will still think you''re fooling her. Why take a longer route and make things moreplicated when you can make her your ally by simply telling a lie?" Lilith let out.

    "Just tell her your real story about what the Vampires did to you. Hide the parts about you bing a Vampire yourself and killing them. It shouldn''t be hard for you to portray yourself as a human since you really were one. You understand?"

    "I... I get what you''re trying to say, but... Fine. I''ll do it." Ultimately, As agreed. If Lia could be helpful to him, he was willing to lie to her about his identity.

    He pushed the bathroom door open and stepped out, only to have his expression change as he noticed a shining formation that was covering the entire room.

    "Oh god, this stupid girl! She is blowing up this entire ce!" Lilith roared in rage. "As, get out of this ce now!"

    The formation was shining really bright as a strange energy filled the room. As ran towards the door.

    Boom~

    Within seconds of the scream of Lilith, the entire room exploded along with the entire building! Terrifying mes spread everywhere, seemingly so fierce that it was impossible for anyone to survive inside them!

 Chapter 50 50: After

    A building burned in mes, killing many that were inside. The mes were so fierce that people could see the terrifying mes from far away and feel the heat as well.

    All the Vampires that were around the city ran to the building in haste, trying to understand what had happened. The screams that came from the building stopped soon, but the mes continued.

    Standing in a distant corner, Lia was watching the building burn. There was a look of sadness in her eyes. She didn''t want to have to kill so many people, but she couldn''t ignore themand of her Grandma.

    She had thought that her grandma would ask her just to kill As, but ording to her, killing As was going to bring Vampires on her trail along with her. Especially since As was seen going with her.

    The only way to make sure that it didn''t happen was by making sure that As wasn''t the only one who died. If everyone in the building died, it could be considered an idental explosion due to some explosives catching fire. Even though it was still going to get some investigation, there was going to be no witness since everyone died inside, including her for the world.

    She noticed Vampires surrounding the ce, but none of them dared to go inside the mes. They just watched from outside, wondering how it could''ve happened.

    In the back, Lia started sneaking away, not intending to be noticed by the Vampires. ording to her Grandma, the mission was canceled, and she wasmanded toe back.

    After hours, the mes had stopped. The Vampires finally entered the building to get a stock on things. As soon as they entered, they noticed many scorched Bodies. It was impossible to recognize the bodies as they were so badly burnt.

    "Just what is happening in this city? First the death of Captain Lorenz and the heads of Weiss and Igor family, and now this explosion? Why does it feel like someone is targeting this city?" One of the Vampiresmented as his brows furrowed. "Who could be behind it?"

    "I don''t know who is behind it," Another Vampire chimed in. "All I know is that whoever is behind it has chosen a wrong enemy, and they will soon start regretting it."

    ~~~~

    Lia kept running away. It was unclear how she was doing it, but whichever path she took was a path that avoided the Vampires. Even though she took many unnecessary turns, she had managed to get to the border of the city withouting across any Vampires. Unfortunately, she didn''t realize that there was a pair of eyes that were on her and were following him throughout without her seeing.

    As sat on one of the distant roofs, observing the Lia. His shirt was already burnt in most ces, along with his pants. Fortunately, he didn''t seem to have suffered too much damage.

    "So much for working with the Little Witch," Asmented. "If I hadn''t jumped out the window at thest second, I would''ve been hurt so badly. We were lucky there wasn''t any Vampire on that side of the building who saw me jump! And that''s why you don''t approach suspiciousdies after hearing stories about them.$

    Even though As seemed like he was talking to himself, it was evident that he was taunting Lilith, who had forced him to go with Lia, convincing him that nothing bad was going to happen to him.

    "Okay, so my calctions were a little off. So what? Even the brightest make mistakes," Lilith snorted.

    As just rolled his eyes and didn''t respond to her. He was more curious about Lia. Just what was her motive? Why was she here?  Was it just to kill humans? Because that''s all she did. She hadn''t killed a single Vampire yet, and now she was running away?

    Even though he had barely escaped the spell of Lia, he was also able to see how powerful it was. She was certainly a very strong Witch if she could use such spells.

    He did see the merits of Lilith''s n now. If he could make her side with him, he could have great help! A witch who could cast spells was indeed more useful than an unawakened werewolf, even if the Werewolf in question was a Royal Blood.

    "I need to stop her if I want to get her help. If she left, she would be forever gone. But if I go to her, she would know I''m not a human. No human could survive the explosion and chase after her so fast. She would take me as her enemy. Is there no other way?" As muttered, looking down.

    On the other side, Lia started making a formation on the ground right at the edge of the border wall with her fingers, asionally looking back to make sure no one was here.

    "That''s it! I can use that!" As eximed suddenly,ing up with an idea. He turned to Lilith. "What''s the rtionship between Witches and Werewolves like?"

    "Huh? What?"

    "I mean, you said Witches are enemies of Vampires, and the two sides don''t have a good rtionship. What about the werewolves? What''s their rtionship like with the witches?"

    "Their rtionship? I guess the two sides are on neutral terms.  The Werewolves don''t engage with the Witched much, but there''s not any bad blood either, at least as far as I remember. Werewolves are very aloof creatures, after all. They don''t even care about us or interact with us, let alone hurting us," Lilith exined.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "As much as I hate to say this, to the Werewolves, we don''t even exist. They only care about the Vampires. I''m not sure if that equation changed in thest millennia. Maybe the two sides have be enemies too? I can''t say for sure. Why did you ask? Wait a minute! Don''t tell me you want to..."

    Lilith seemed to have guessed what As wanted. She looked at him in shock.

    "Of course. Since I''m already going to lie to her, how about I lie to her that I''m a Werewolf instead of saying that I''m a human?" As smiled. "That should exin how I know about witches and how I managed to get out of that building and chase after her."

    "But we don''t know if the witches are on good terms with the werewolves at the current time! You can''t take the risk! She would attack you! Don''t be stupid!" Lilith scolded.

    "Lilith, as someone who always avoided risks in my childhood only to end up having my sister killed, I now know better. One must take the opportunity when they present themselves instead of worrying about the risks," As responded. "There are times when the risk is worth it, and this is one of those times! If I don''t talk to her, she will leave, and I might lose a good ally. I''m going in!"

    "Wait! As don''t!" Lilith called out, but As ignored her as he jumped down.

    Lilith heard the sound of someone''s footsteps behind her. She stopped her spell as she looked back, stunned.

    "Y-you? How are you alive? How are you here? You can''t be a Human!" Lia roared, taking a step back. She held her pendant firmly. Even though she talked to As, she kept continuing making the lines on the ground with her foot as ifpleting the formation.

    "I am not here to hurt you, little witch. I''m on your-" As tried to exin, but before he could finish, the formation under Lia''s feet started shining. The formation waspleted.

    "Wait! Don''t!" As eximed, but he was toote. The formation made Lia''s body shine as her body started floating up.

    It was as if she could fly now. Without even looking back, Lia flew out of the city, passing from above the wall.

    "This woman!" As frowned as he jumped ahead. Hended on the wall and looked around, trying to find Lia. He soon noticed Lia flying away. He started running after her, jumping down the wall. He was also out of the city as he chased Lia, who was flying.

    "That girl is very clever. She used the flight spell. Learning that at such a young age. She isn''t half bad." Lilith''s voice fell in As''s ears as he chased after Lia.

    "Lilith, enough with her praise! Stop being a spectator! You are supposed to be on my side! Come up with an idea! I need to stop her! She is faster! I can''t catch up with her at this rate!" Asmanded Lilith.

    "You don''t need a n. Just keep chasing her. The flight spell she used onlysted a few minutes. After that, she wille to the ground. As long as you don''t lose her until then, you should be fine. But be careful. She is still a witch, and you are chasing her! She cane up with another spell to hurt you even as shends. So grab her as soon as shends without giving her a chance to cast the spell?"

    "Got it!" As eximed as he kept chasing after Lia.

    Just as Lilith hadmented, the figure of Lia starteding down as her flight spell weakened. Her body soonnded on the ground. She red back, noticing As still chasing after her. "He is fast! That bastard must be a Vampire! But his eyes?! It doesn''t matter! I can''t let him catch me!"

    She opened her pendant and dipped her fingers in the red liquid before closing the pendant.

    She raised that finger towards the sky and started making a formation. A red light appeared in the air, following the movement of her fingers. The red light stayed in the air as Lia tried toplete the spell. "You forced me to do this!"

    As had a bad feeling, watching the formation that was being cast by Lia. Lilith also confirmed his notion as she warned him that he needed to stop her before shepleted the spell.

    "Hurry up! You can''t allow her toplete, or you''ll be in big trouble!" Lilith warned As.

    "Argh! This woman! Why doesn''t she just wait for a second and listen to me?!" As roared in frustration. If she had just listened to his story, so much of the problem would''ve been solved already. But she was more immersed in running even though he had said he wasn''t here to hurt her!

    Having no other choice, As straight jumped towards Lia, using all his strength. His speed was already so fast. The momentum gave him an additional advantage in the jump as his body flew ahead.

    Lia was already very close topleting the formation. Her fingers were mere inches away frompleting the formation. "I didn''t want to have to do this. You made me waste the sacred drops! You deserve what''sing to you!"

 Chapter 51 51: Close

    Lia''s fingers kept moving closer to finishing thest stretch of the spell she was casting.

    She was sure she could finish it before As reached her. Unfortunately, she had underestimated the speed of As. With the risk of the spell beingpleted, As gave it his all as he jumped ahead with his full might.

    His sudden boost in speed even stunned Lia. She also increased her speed. Unfortunately, it was toote. Thest few inches proved to be more than miles as As covered the gap between the two.

    As grabbed both his wrists as he shed with thedy. Lia dropped to the ground with As falling on top of her. He was saved by just one moment. If he were even a single secondte, the spell would''ve beenpleted.

    "Enough!" As roared in rage. "Listen to me this Instant!"

    He was already very frustrated at being attacked when he had done nothing wrong to thedy. She literally blew up the entire building to take him out for some reason, and she wasn''t even listening to him. Just how crazy could a person be?!

    "I told you I''m not here to hurt you! I was in the city to take revenge on the Vampires! That''s all! I didn''t even know a witch was here! It was just a coincidence that we met!" As eximed.

    "You are here for revenge on Vampires? You mean you were the one who... In the restaurant...?"

    "That''s right! I was the one who killed the Vampire Captain in the restaurant and the others, all so I could hurt the Vampires! Since I needed a ce to hide, I went to the Brothel to take shelter. I wasn''t nning to sleep with anyone. It was there I saw you. As soon as I heard stories about you, I realized you were a witch!"

    "I also know witches aren''t on good terms with the Vampires, so your presence made me think that you were here with the same goal to hurt the Vampires! That''s why I selected you! I wanted to talk to you about cooperation between us since we have the same enemy! But before I could even find an opportunity to exin to you, you blew up the entire ce!" he continued, clearly angered by everything that had happened.

    "If I hadn''t jumped out at the right time, I would''ve been hurt so bad!" he further added. "Even then, I thought maybe you misunderstood my intentions, so I followed after you to exin, and yet you attacked me again without giving me a chance to exin? Are all Witches as stupid as you?!"

    "Hey!" Lilith chimed in. "You know not all witches are like her. There are smart ones like me too."

    As simply rolled her eyes at Lilith''s response.

    As he was lying on top of Lia, having her hand grounded so she couldn''t cast any other spell to hurt him before he finished. The two bodies were so close to each other that As could even feel the heartbeat of Lia, which was rapid as she saw As so close to her. It was the first time A man was so close to him.

    She was even worried if As was going to kiss her suddenly since their lips were only a few inches away from each other.

    As didn''t know what she was thinking, nor did he care. He only wanted to finish what he wanted to say. "We might not be friends, but we aren''t enemies either. And I don''t want to hurt you. If you don''t want to work together, you can leave! I won''t care anymore. I did my part. I am going back. If you want toe with me,e. If not, go in the opposite direction."

    He brought his lips closer to Lia''s face, making her close her eyes in fear. She didn''t know that he wasn''ting for her lips. As brought his lips closer to Lia''s ears as he softly warned her. "But let me promise you one thing. If you still attack me, next time you won''t be alive to listen to my words."

    After finishing, he rolled to the side and stood up. He patted his clothes that had gotten dirty. "I need to find new clothes as well. These burnt clothes will attract so much attention, all because of you."

    He started walking back towards the city with calm steps. After taking a few steps, he stopped. Hezily nced back. "Are youing or not?''

    Lia didn''t know why but she felt she could trust As. He had her hands in control, and he couldn''t do anything he wanted. Still, he freed her. Maybe he really didn''t want to hurt her? Also, her Grandma wanted her to find the one who killed the Vampires in the restaurant. Now that she found him, how could she let him go? It was certainly a good idea to work with As.

    "Enemy of my enemy is my friend, I guess." Lia stood up, patting her clothes as well. She ran to As. "I am sorry for attacking you without listening to you. But it''s really hard to do that since, in that much time, anyone can kill you. So I am always wary."

    "I can understand being wary, but at least be sane? Don''t kill allies just because you''re wary. If I were like you, you would''ve been dead before we stepped into your room," Aszily replied. "Anyway, what was your aim ining to the city? You also came to destroy them? Did you have any ns?"

    "I didn''te to destroy them," Lia replied, sighing. "I came here for something more important..."

    "What could be more important than killing them for a Witch?" As inquired, frowning.

    "You wouldn''t understand even if I tell you. Just think of it as the Carlisle n having something really important for us. I''m here to steal it and, in the process, ruin them."

    "I won''t understand if you tell me?" As smiled, amused. He had Lilith with him. Was there something he couldn''t understand?

    "Why don''t you try telling me? Who knows, I might understand."

    "Book of Lilith..." Lia eximed after taking a long pause. "We got information that the Carlisle n has found the Book of Lilith. My n sent me here to bring that book back."

    "Book of Lilith?" As inquired, curious. "What''s in it?"

    "All the spells I ever created," Lilith answered before Lia could ever answer.

    On the contrary, Lia shook her head. "I can''t tell you what it is. It''s the secret of Witches. Just know that Werewolves and Vampires can''t use the book of Lilith."

    As didn''t know what he found funnier. These people looking for the book of Lilith when Lilith herself was here, or the fact that they thought he would know if they didn''t exin?

    "She''s not entirely wrong. Werewolves and Vampires can''t use the spells in my book. However, there are still some exceptions," Lilith chimed in. "For Example, Master Castiel could use all the spells wherever he wanted."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "As, I think you should look for that book as well. It could be handy in your training," she added.

    "Why?" As inquired.

    "What why? It''s just a fact that Werewolves and Vampires can''t use it. They don''t have the constitution of a Witch," Lia replied, thinking As was asking him.

    Lilith knew who he was talking to. She also replied, "That book contains all the spells that I created in my entire life. That was more like a Journal of Spells since I can''t remember most of the spells. My memory is weak in that department. That''s why I carried that book and wrote any spell I came up with in it. If we can get that book, I can teach you some nice spells."

    "And before you ask why can''t I teach you now, It''s because I only remember High Grade spells. You aren''t strong enough to use them. That''s why that book can be good for you," she further added.

    ''So I need to steal that book before Lia can get there. And that too while working with Lia. Moreover, that book is with the Carlisle n, possibly in a very secure ce. Not hard at all,'' As thought, seemingly in a sarcastic mood.

    Honestly, he didn''t care for any Grimore. All gee cared about was getting his sister''s body back. And if he had time left after that, he could think about the book.

    Still, he knew there was a problem. Lia was after the book. She wasn''t going to let him take the book that easily if she found out.

    "I came here for only one reason. To take back the Lost Book of Lilith! With the help of that book, my n can rise to prominence again. We can get enough strength to face the Vampires without being scared! That book can change the entire hierarchy of this world!" Lia exined. "What brought you here?"

    "Don''t tell me you just came to destroy the Carlisle n alone?"

    "I came here to bring my sister back," As replied.

    "Your sister? Was she kidnapped?"

    "No. She was murdered." As nced at the moon in the sky. "Her body was taken by the Carlisle n. I didn''t even get a chance to bury the body. I''m here to take the body back and bring the Carlisle n to rubble!"

    "So you lost someone as well." Lia could feel the genuine sadness from As. She knew he was serious. "Your sister isn''t the only one they killed. So many Witches have died at their hands. If you can help me get the book of Lilith, I must be able to help you get your sister back and destroy the Carlisle n."

    "That''s exactly why I approached you. We can help each other. I''ll get the book, and you can help me with what I want to do. It can make things easier." As smiled. He chose his words very carefully as he spoke about getting the book.

    He didn''t say he would get the book for her. He was very Vague, so he wouldn''t need to break a promise.

    "That would be perfect! Grandma would be so happy when I tell her about this." Lia smiled beautifully as he thought about being praised by her Grandma for finding someone who could help her. Her chances of sess had suddenly increased.

    "Ah, Lia?" As called.

    "Yeah?"

    "You know, at the speed we are going, it would take a long time to get back to the town. I would miss the selection of Servants, which can help me get inside the Carlisle n without raising suspicions. How about you use that spell again and help the both of us get back in the city faster?" As suggested.

    He didn''t want to use more strength in running if he didn''t need to since that increased the chance of Blood Lust. If he could, he wanted to use Lia''s spell to fly back.

    "I''m sorry, but I can only use that spell once in a day," Lia smiled wryly. "I can''t fly again, and neither can I help you fly."

    "Do you have any other spell that can help us travel faster?" As inquired.

    Lia simply shook her head again. "None."

    "Sigh, such bad luck," As scratched the back of his head. "Looks like I''ll have to do something myself."

    He stopped and looked back at Lia, from top to bottom. "What''s your weight?"

    "Ah, fifty-five. Why?" Lia asked, frowning. Just what was As nning.

    Unfortunately, she was soon going to find out.

    As took a deep breath as he walked closer to Lia. "I will have to carry you with me. We need to get there before sunrise, or it''ll be hard to enter the city. Moreover, I need you there so you can help me in the selection."

    As ced one hand behind the shoulders of Lia and the other behind her knees as he picked her up in his arms like a princess.

    "Eek?!" Lia let out a squeaky voice in shock. She was once again so close to As. She was literally in his arms like a wife who was being carried to the bed by her husband on the night of marriage.

 Chapter 52 52: Silence Before The Storm

    "W-what are you doing?" Lia yelled, feeling her face go red, being so close to another man. She could feel her body rubbing against his.

    "I''m carrying you," As answered. "Since you can''t carry me back faster, I''ll have to be the one to do it."

    "Hold tight!" he instructed thedy as he started running back towards the city he came from.

    His speed was so fast that Lia couldn''t help but be scared for her life in case he dropped her. She wrapped her arms around As''s shoulders, holding her tightly as she closed her eyes, forgetting all about the closeness now. Her hair waved with the wind as As ran with her.

    "You know, it''s somewhat funny," As let out, smiling wryly. "You flew even faster than I''m running now, and you weren''t scared. But now that I''m running, even though I''m holding you, you seem scared like a child."

    "Shut up! Don''t call me a child!" Lia yelled, still she couldn''t dare to open her eyes.

    After running without stopping, As reached the city walls. He ced Lia on the ground, who immediately dropped to her knees, feeling ground under her.

    "Are you alright?" As asked, seeing Lia sitting on the ground.

    "I''m fine. Just feeling a bit dizzy," Lia responded as she rubbed her forehead.

    "Shall we take another trip?" As asked, teasing Lia.

    "You! Never again!" Lia rolled her eyes.

    "I''m just joking. Let me check if the way is clear. Then we should be able to enter." As jumped up and looked on the other side of the wall. "Yeah, we are clear."

    He picked up Lia once again, not even bothering to ask her permission this time. Hended on the other side of the wall, entering the city once again. He was somewhere surprised as well though. This was the city of the Carlisle n, yet someone like him could easily enter the city without much trouble.

    There wasn''t much security. No wonder a Witch had managed to sneak in. Were these people even serious about security or not? Although there was a lot ofnd to cover for the defense teams, still, there was a lotcking.

    "The main defense and security must be real the Castle of the Carlisle n. The security there must be very strong," Asmented, talking to himself. Hepletely forgot that Lia was still in his arms.

    She freed herself tond on her own two feet.

    "You idiot, don''t just stand there like an idiot. If anyonees here to check, you''ll be caught. The teams keep circling the border, after all. Let''s get going fast." She held the hand of As and started dragging him with her. "There are still a few hours until the morning. We need to stay hidden until then. If we are caught, it''s game over."

    "Anyway, you are right. The security around the castle is really strong. I''ve been trying to sneak inside for the past few days, but it''s just impossible to get inside. It''s like a fortress. I can''t get in without getting caught. That''s why I haven''t been able to recover the Book of Lilith yet," she further stated. "I''ve been spending my time analyzing their security to find a loophole, but it hasn''t been easy. I haven''t seeded yet."

    "How about my n? You think that will work?" As asked. Since Lia had a great amount of knowledge about what kind of Defenses the Carlisle n had, it was good to run the n through her one. She could point out the ws. Together, he believed the two of them could devise a wless n!

    "What''s your n of getting in?" Lia inquired as she walked with As. She still hadn''t released his hands.

    "I told you before. Today is the Servant selection of the Carlisle Castle. I n to take part in it. As soon as I am selected, I will get an entry into the castle. From that point on, the n is a bit...well basic. It is to find my Sister, following any method possible and sneaking out," As eximed. "What do you think?"

    "The n... It isn''t too bad, but there is one problem." Lia shook her head. "You''ll be caught as soon as you take part in the selection."

    "How?"

    "You are a fully awakened werewolf. When you stand close to a Vampire, they would be able to sense your smell and find out your true identity. And I''m sure Vampires would be attending the selection as guests, maybe even administering some tests. If they sense you, it''s game over. Your n isn''t feasible, at least the way you are now," Lia exined genuinely.

    She had believed As''s story by now that he was a Werewolf.

    "Wait a minute... This doesn''t make sense." She abruptly stopped and suspiciously red back at As.

    "What doesn''t make sense?" As asked, wondering if she had sensed his real identity. Could it really be possible?

    "You! You are a Werewolf. Howe the Vampires didn''t sense your identity when you entered the restaurant. How did you manage to get so close to the Lorenz without being caught at the entrance?!" Lia red at As.

    "I had heard the stories. There were Vampires everywhere, and they allowed the killer to enter the room where Lorenz was with others, without much security," she added. "How did you get in? What are you hiding?!''

    It was only now that she had realized the loophole in the story of As.

    "This girl isn''t as stupid as I thought." Lilith chuckled. "Even though she took a long time, she didn''t find out."

    Hearing Lilith, As felt really angered. It was as if Lilith knew about this loophole in his story. Why didn''t she warn him before? It was as if she was waiting for her to find out.

    Lia freed the hands of As and took a step back. "You... Are you really a Werewolf?''

    "You want to know why they didn''t sense me?" As asked, frowning. He maintained his calm facade as if there was nothing wrong.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Why?" Lia inquired. She kept one hand behind her as she started casting a spell. If As couldn''t clear her doubt, she was going to attack him right away and run.

    Even As didn''t know how to answer her question. He needed toe up with a story that made sense and needed toe up with it fast.

    "Stardust," Lilith chimed in, only being heard by As.

    As looked at the Shadow, confused. What was Lilith trying to say?

    "Tell her you used Stardust," Lilith repeated. "She will understand everything. The reason I didn''t tell you about this loophole before is because it''s easily exinable. I would never intentionally put you in harm''s way, even if I get angry at times."

    "Answer me!" Lia eximed, almostpleting her spell.

    The silence of As was already exining too much. She took a deep breath as she prepared to attack him. She took one step back again. Her fingers moved slowly.

    "Stardust," said As, calmly. Even though he didn''t know what Stardust meant, he didn''t let it show.

    "Stardust?!" Lia eximed in shock. "You really managed to find Stardust?!"

    "My n had some. They gave it to me. You think I woulde here in the city of Vampires without it?" As asked, maintaining his false confidence. On the inside, he was still wondering what Stardust actually was. From his initial understanding, it seemed like something that could hide the scent of the werewolves, but he wasn''t entirely sure.

    Lia canceled her spell and let out a sigh of relief. She couldn''t believe she had almost attacked As once again. She was relieved that all the misunderstandings were over.

    "Hmm?" As suddenly frowned, sending some footstepsing toward them. He jumped towards Lia, stunning her.

    With one hand, he closed her mouth. He didn''t have time to exin, and he didn''t want her to scream. He wrapped his other arm around her slim waist as she hugged her tightly before he jumped.

    Lia''s eyes opened wide, being hugged by As so suddenly. Asnded on the roof with Lia.

    "Someone wasing," he whispered in her ears before he freed her. He freed her mouth in the end after alerting her.

    A few seconds after As jumped, a Vampire entered the alley where he and Lia were talking previously.

    "Strange. I thought I heard someone here." The dark-haired Vampire looked above, frowning. Just to be sure, he jumped as well andnded on the roof.

    He looked straight ahead, frowning. "I guess it was my misconception."

    He jumped down again and left. Fortunately, at thest second, As had jumped down from the building from the other end, avoiding being caught by a fraction of a second.

    "Why is it so hard to avoid the Vampires?!" As let out, frustrated. "We need to y this hide and seek for the next few hours. No wonder people say it''s impossible to live in this city without owning a house."

    For the next few hours, As and Lia ran from ce to ce, avoiding the Vampires on the way, just waiting for the sunrise when they could mix in the Commoners. Along the way, As also managed to steal some clothes to change into them. His old clothes were already half burnt.

    If someone had it harder than As, it was Lia though. She couldn''t use her Flight spell. Whenever they needed to go up to escape, As wrapped his arms around her sensitive waist and jumped. So much closeness with As was making her feel something. He didn''t know why but there was something in his touch which made her feel something she never felt before.

    His strange smell, those cold hands, those beautiful eyes, his words... There was a different kind of charm in everything. The more time she spent with him, the more she felt this feeling where she was attracted to him. There were times when she even hoped toe across Vampires so As would have to touch her.

    She knew what she was thinking was wrong. As was a Werewolf. They couldn''t be together, but then again, it wasn''t as if he was a Vampire. She felt that it wasn''t impossible either for them to be together. There had been witches who married Werewolves in the past, after all.

    Something, she even scolded her for having such nonsensical thoughts. Unfortunately, her heart wasn''t in her control anymore. The way As protected her from the Vampires, the way he talked to her, his innocence, she had started liking everything.

    She didn''t know if she had developed a crush on As, but that''s what she felt like. She didn''t realize that some of the contributions of this attraction went to the charm of a Progenitor. There was just something special in them which attracted people to them the more time they spent together.

    It wasn''t as if As was doing it intentionally. If someone had told Lia that she was going to fall for a guy within a few hours, she would''ve called it absurd, but now it didn''t seem impossible. This feeling was further strengthened by the fact that Lia was just so innocent. She had never been touched by a man in all her life. This was her first time with As.

    Fortunately, or unfortunately, the hide and seek stopped as the sun started rising. The night was finally over as people starteding out of their houses.

    ~~~~

    It was morning. Lancaster opened his eyes, observing the bright sun above his head. His body waspletely bare, without a shred of clothing. However, for some reason, he was feeling full, as if he had eaten plentyst night.

    He remembered some of the things he had done at night that he wasn''t proud of. He looked at his hands which were covered in blood now. As he sat straight, he noticed the body of a tiger lying right beside him, not in any good condition. The tiger was long dead.

    "So I''ve finally awakened," he muttered, sighing. "What timing. Then again, maybe it''s not all that bad? Now that I''ve awakened, I might be able to help him?"

    He stood up, looking back in the direction of the city of Carlisle n.

 Chapter 53 53: Unexpected Complications

    It was early morning. Finally, the sun started rising, and the Vampires began going back into the castle.

    The humans started crowding the streets, going to work. Shops started opening, unaware of what had happened at the night.

    The investigation was still continuing around the Brothel. Even though it had taken a long time to remove the rubble, the Vampires didn''t give up. They wanted to know if this was truly an idental explosion or if someone was behind it. There was a good chance of this being the work of the enemy since just this morning, something simr had happened.

    If this was truly the work of an enemy, this was going to prove that the enemy was still inside the city, at least until the explosion.

    After a long search, they had finally managed to find something conclusive. The explosion had destroyed most of the building, burning all evidence, but there were still some things left. One such part of the building was the floor of the room, which was right next to the room where As was staying.

    The Vampires managed to notice a strange red marking on the floor that seemed like it was made from blood.

    "This doesn''t look like a normal carving. It looks more like something a Witch would draw," a man eximed.

    He stood up. "Pick up that stone piece and bring it back to the Castle. Lord Carlisle has invited that person to the city. If this is truly the work of a Witch, he might be able to know."

    The group of Vampires left the burnt building, carrying a piece of flooring where Lia had carved a spell to contact her grandma. She had thought that the explosion was going to destroy it as well; unfortunately, she was wrong.

    It survived, and now this evidence was with the Vampires, who were already suspicious that this was the work of Witches, along with what happened in the morning.

    Unaware of the closing reach of the Vampires, As and Lia were still ignorantly roaming the streets of the city, somewhat happy that they didn''t need to hide anymore. There were more than enough humans in the surrounding area to give them cover.

    "Are you feeling sleepy?" As asked Lia, noticing her yawning every now and then. He could understand why she would be sleepy. She had been up the entire night and the day before. She didn''t have time to sleep.

    "You aren''t?" Lia asked in return. "I haven''t slept in a long time. Of course, I would be sleepy, but I can''t sleep now. I need to force myself to stay up."

    As nced at the sleepy face of Lia, notmenting anything. He seemed to be lost in some thoughts though.

    He subtly changed his direction, taking a different turn. Lia didn''t realize that As was taking her elsewhere. It was only after As stopped before a building that she realized what was happening.

    "Why are we here? Aren''t we going for the selection?" She asked.

    As shook his head. "There is still some time before that starts."

    Pushing the door open, he stepped inside. He brought out a gold coin from his pocket and gave the man at the reception to get the keys to a room. Now that it was morning, he felt a bit safe.

    He was escorted to a room respectfully by a staff member. Using the keys, As opened the door and stepped inside.

    "We still have around three hours left. Take the nap you need. I don''t need you dozing off there," he pointed towards the fluffy bed in the distance.

    "But there is only one bed? Where will you sleep?" Lia asked, slightly suspicious. Did he bring her here to sleep with her? Was he truly a person like that?

    "I won''t be sleeping. I''ll take a shower and then get going. I still need to do some recii of the site."

    "What if I can''t wake up on time?" Lia inquired.

    "Lucky us, you''re not the one taking part. You can sleep all day if you want. I just thought it would be better to have you there. You can use some subtle spells to help me without being caught. But I''ll be fine even without them."

    As ced some more gold coins on the table. "This should be enough to help you stay here for a week while I''m away. That much time is enough for me to take the book and my sister. But remember, you can''t let the hotel staff get suspicious. Don''t stay in all day."

    After giving some brief instructions, As took off his shirt and ced it on the side, revealing his perfect physique. Lia was about to say something in response to him, but seeing him like this, she forgot what she was going to say.

    She just started looking elsewhere. As stepped into the shower.

    ~~~~

    As As stepped out, trying to dry his beautiful wet hair, he noticed that Lia was still awake.

    "Aren''t you going to sleep?" he asked her.

    "I suddenly don''t feel sleepy," Lia responded. "I don''t think I can sleep today."

    "Are you sure? The selection mightst all day. You don''t get the time again?"

    "I am fine with it. It''s just staying up for a little. I''m not a kid who can''t do that," Lia rolled her eyes. "I''ming with you."

    "Well, that girl is certainly stubborn," Lilith chuckled. "She''s talented as well. Keep her with you. It''s better if she''s there with you from the beginning. I''m sure she knows some good spells. However, there is one problem I''ve noticed."

    "She can''t cast spells without using the spell formations with her fingers. She is still very young, it seems.," She further added. "Get her a long robe that can hide her hands if you want to take her with you. That would make sure no one sees her fingers as she casts a spell to help you if needed."

    "Alright," As nodded. He got dressed properly before picking up the key. "Come."

    "Are we going to the selection site now?" Lia asked, standing up hastily.

    "No. We are going for shipping. You need some clothes that can hide your fingers while you cast your spells. I don''t want you to get caught," As exined as he opened the door.

    "This... Why didn''t I think of this before?" It was as if Lia had just realized the merit of what As had said. Generally, Witches rarely went on such missions. Usually, they openly casted spells. That''s why she hadn''t thought of this before.

    As held the hands of Lia as if she was his wife to maintain a facade as he left the hotel.

    He went straight to a clothing store that wasn''t far and helped Lia select the attire that could be most helpful to her.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "How does this look?" Lia asked,ing out of the dressing room. She was dressed in a cloak that had such long sleeves that they covered her entire hand and more. As couldn''t even see her face.

    "This looks good." He nodded in satisfaction. "This might just work."

    "How much is this?" he asked the Storekeeper.

    "One Gold Coin."

    "Here." As ced the gold coin on the table before he turned around.

    "Ah, Sir? Don''t you need anything for yourself? We have a nice selection for guys as well!" Watching As leave, the Storekeeper called out.

    "No need." As smiled in response as he left. He didn''t need new clothes. He was going to pretend to be amoner who couldn''t afford new clothes to get this work. He didn''t need anything. In fact, he was going to wear even worse clothing which he was carrying in his bag. He had stolen that attire from the house of Lancaster.

    It was only after finding a Vacant alley that As stopped. "Stay here and warn me if someonees. And don''t look back," he instructed Lia before he entered the Alley.

    He started taking his clothes off and changed them with the ones he was carrying in his bag.

    "Tap." He tapped on the shoulders of Lia after getting ready. "I''m done. Now, let me tell you the n."

    "From this point on, we don''t know each other. We won''t go there together either. Alright? You''ll go as a spectator while I''ll go as a participant." As nced at the poster in his hand.

    "For the most part, I don''t think I will need your help. But if there are things in which I need your help, I''ll give a subtle signal. Make sure you help me without making it too obvious. Don''t get me caught. You understand? If we can get in, both of us can achieve our goals," he added.

    "What will be the signal?" Lia asked. "I might not be able to help in every situation, but I''ll try my best."

    "I''ll scratch the back of my head. Just keep your eyes on me. If that happens, know I''m asking for help because I''m not confident I can win. Got it?"

    Lia nodded in response.

    "Good." Saying hisst words, As started departing, all alone, leaving a lonely figure of Lia behind.

    She had been with As the entire night. She didn''t know why, as she watched him leave, she felt a bit sad. Even though she knew he wasn''t going forever, she still felt something.

    "What is happening to me?" She said, frowning. "I''m I starting to like this guy?"

    She hastily shook her head as soon as this thought crossed her head. "No, no, no! I need to focus on my mission! I don''t have time for likes! I''ve just met him after all!"

    She nced at her long sleeves, belonging to the clothes that As had bought her. Even though it was just a basic dress, it was the first thing someone who wasn''t from her family had bought her.

    "He isn''t that bad a guy though. He also hates those bloody Vampires. He is also very honest, from what I can sense. His life has been really hard, yet he hasn''t lost his senses. He is a very strong man, mentally and physically. If my family had died before my eyes, I might''ve gone insane, yet he still thinks critically..."

    Lia watched the lonely figure of As, going farther from her before it ultimately disappeared in the crowd.

    She also mixed with the crowd.

    ~~~~

    The preparation of the servant selection was ongoing in full force. It was going to take ce in an Arena. Initially, even As was surprised why the Vampires were making such a big deal for this selection. However, it was only when Lancaster told him that this was usually the case since this was a source of entertainment for the Vampires, As understood.

    This wasn''t just about the selection of the best servant. This was about making a spectacle of the event. To show the entire city how hard it was to just be a servant of the n. It was a prestigious thing!

    This selection was also about the entertainment of the Vampires, making them see humans fight andplete to be their ves!

    Whoever was selected as a servant could be in direct contact with the gods of this ce. As was sure that thousands of people were going to take part in it despite it being so dangerous.

    After showing the poster to the guard at the entrance, As told him that he was here to participate. He said his name to get him registered.

    He was given a small name tag with a sign of the guard which proved that he was going in as a participant.

    "You can take the right gate. It will lead you to the arena."

    Nodding, As took the gate he was told and entered the massive stadium-like establishment to appear in the arena.

    His eyes roamed the surroundings. Only a few Vampires were here for now, and the seats weren''t filled either. There was still about an hour before the event started.

    As As stood in the Arena, wearing his cloak, he was really praying that Yovana and the Vampires who saw her in the forest weren''t going to be there. He based his hopes on the fact that Yovana was hurt just yesterday, and the Vampires who were with her were going to stay with her as she recovered in the castle.

    So the chance of theming here was negligible unless they wanted to be punished for ignoring her.

    As had calcted all possibilities, including one where he was going to see Carlisle in the stands. He wasn''t worried about that though. He had already prepared his heart to not react at the sight of Carlisle.

    Unfortunately, he had forgotten one thing while calcting. Yovana was really special for Carlisle. That''s why he had gone far and beyond for her, even using his precious treasure to help her heal faster.

    Even though she still wasn''tpletely fine, she was a lot better. And she had already left the Castle with her team to attend the selection. This event didn''t happen every day after all...

    As stood in the stadium where Yovana was going to be. Lia had also started walking towards the stadium. Carlisle was also on his way to that ce, and so was one other person... Lancaster was arriving in the city...

    A Vampire Lord, a human he held dear, a Witch, a Royal Werewolf, and a Progenitor... They were all going to be in the same city. The things had just started, and they were about to get a lot moreplicated for everyone.

 Chapter 54 54: Nightmares Coming True

    As stood in the arena with hundreds of others that had arrived to take part in the selection. There were just so many people that it was hard to locate someone amidst the crowd.

    Time kept passing, and people kept increasing. The seats in the stadium also started getting filled. The stadium, which looked mostly empty until recently, was now mostly filled. Many citizens of the city of Sagos had arrived to witness the trials.

    The trials were the responsibility of the Two Great Families. Both worked together to make this event a sess; however, it was also a beneficial endeavor for them since they were allowed to charge money from the spectators for allowing them entry. Only participants weren''t charged anything.

    The beautiful arena was so big that even after amodating over a thousand participants, it was still only half full. All the participants looked at each other, waiting for the moment when it was going to start.

    Some were even worried if they were going tost until the end. Meanwhile, most were just concerned about the tests that were going to be ced before them.

    As stood in the line, observing the spectators to find Lia amongst them. Unfortunately, she was still not here. He was just about to lower his gaze in disappointment, thinking she had missed.

    He could hear some men who were part of the management say that it was time for the doors to be closed and no one else was going to be allowed in.

    The doors which were used by participants were closed first. The time for participation was up, and no one was going to take part anymore. The guards next closed the spectator''s gate, sealing the entire stadium.

    "She missed," As muttered, frowning. "So much for keeping my hopes on her."

    "Look to your left," Lilith chimed in, seeing the disappointment of As. "She is here."

    "Huh?" As looked to his left, frowning. His gaze roamed over the people sitting on the seats before ultimatelynding on one petite figure of a young woman who sat with a beautiful smile on her face.

    "At thest moment," As sighed. "Could''ve been worse."

    "Ah, As. I think you should hide your face." As just breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the grim tone of Lilith.

    "What happened?" he asked, frowning.

    "Yovana... She is here." Lilith grimly stated.

    As hastily nced towards the special seats, which were surely reserved for the Vampires, only to realize that Lilith was right.

    He noticed a tall woman, wrapped in a beautiful ck gown, walking to the highest seat. Her eyes seemed a bit dull, yet her beauty was impable. Her dark hair waved with the wind as she climbed the steps to reach the highest seat.

    Amongst the special seats, there was only one seat that As was interested in, one which seemed like a throne. He was sure that Carlisle was going to sit there. Why was Lia going there? He couldn''t understand.

    As Lia reached the throne, she stopped. She moved to the seat, which was right beside the throne, and sat down, resting one leg above the other as she observed the arena.

    As hastily lowered his head. "This is bad. I thought she wouldn''t be able to get up, let alonee here. Only one night has passed since she was poisoned by someone. This isn''t good. I''m in the middle of the Vampire City. All the well known Vampires are going to be here from the Carlisle n."

    "If Yovana recognizes me and tells Carlisle, I''ll be trapped. Should I leave? No. I won''t get a chance like this again! I can''t leave! But if I stay, I might get caught. It might be tooteter."

    As didn''t know what to do. It was as if his head was overloaded at the moment. He just covered his head with his hood, trying to hide as much as he could. Fortunately, he hadn''t forgotten to wear a cloak. But still, he didn''t feel entirely safe.

    More and more Vampires started arriving, taking their seats. Ultimately, only two seats were left, one which was the throne and a seat on the right of the throne, which also seemed special.

    The participants were getting slightly nervous by now. Almost everyone was here, and the event was going to start. Their heartbeat had already begun to fasten.

    The spectators had also started chattering amongst themselves, trying to guess who was going to be selected amongst all the participants based on initial nce.

    In fact, the two great families also ran a betting center. It allowed the spectators to bet on the participants. One could only bet once and on one person. However, since there were thousands of people and no one knew who could win, the odds were also very high. One coin was turned into thousand coins if one won.

    Most wealthy families made random guesses since there was no way to know who was going to win as they started cing bets.

    Thud~

    Suddenly, a loud thud was heard. Multiple men stepped into the stadium and announced the arrival of Lord Carlisle. Everyone swiftly went silent and stood up in respect, taking a knee. Over thirty thousand spectators were on their knees, awaiting the arrival of Lord Carlisle.

    Even the participants in the Arena went down on their knees, including As.

    As sneakily gazed up, keeping his eyes on the entrance.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "What?!"

    As felt as if his heart suddenly skipped a beat as he saw Lord Carlisle enter the stadium. His mouth slightly opened in shock as his eyes widened. He hadn''t expected what he was seeing.

    Lord Carlisle... He hadn''t arrived alone.

    "Why... Why?!" As repeated nkly.

    There was another figure walking right beside Lord Carlisle. It was the figure of a man just as majestic as Lord Carlisle, who didn''t seemcking in the slightest. A powerful aura surrounded the man as well as he walked with authority, not feeling the lead inferior.

    "Ah, As. I think you should sneak out. This ce isn''t safe anymore!" Lilith warned As. "Even I didn''t expect him to be here. Your luck is really bad. Yovana only saw you in a forest and didn''t know for sure if you killed anyone. But this man... He knows much more. If he sees you here, it''ll be a nightmaree true."

    "You''re right! I... I know I might not get a chance like this to enter the Carlisle Castle again, but I can''t risk everything. Severis is here. If he knew I was here too, he would be so enraged. He already knows what I am. I thought he would stay busy after I destroyed his castle and everything he held there, but it looks like I was wrong," As muttered, deeply frowning.

    "Well, you''ve been wrong about many things today," Lilith responded. "We better not talk about this. We must find a way out before Severis recognizes you. If a battle takes ce between you and him, the way you are now, you won''t win. Even Lia won''t be able to help you. Moreover, I can guarantee as you start getting hurt, you''ll enter Blood Lust, and you''ll lose yourself forever. You must leave!"

    As lowered his head. He knew he needed to leave, but how. The doors were already closed. If he attempted to leave, he was going to attract even more attention than he could while staying.

    Lord Carlisle and Lord Severis took thest two seats.

    "Come on, stop brooding. You are in my city now, and it''s an asion of entertainment. For the rest of the day, forget what happened and enjoy,"  Lord Carlislemented, ncing at Lord Severis.

    "How can I forget? That bastard... Someone from a different lineage came and destroyed my home. He didn''t destroy my home; he destroyed my self-respect and dignity. What I experienced was worse than death. I can never forgive that person. I want to meet him again! I want to kill him with my own two hands! The next time hees before me, I won''t return alive!'' Lord Severis dered grimly.

    He still couldn''t forget the insult he had suffered. The man came to his castle, had drinks with him, sat right before him, and left, destroying his castle. For a Vampire Lord, his dignity was everything. Even he felt as if he had lost his dignity.

    The work of recreation of the castle had begun. The castle could be made again, but the self-respect that he lost wasn''t as easy to recover. He couldn''t forget it.

    "I know. I have memorized the description you gave me. Don''t worry, we will find him. Then we will show him what it means to mess with us. Until then, just try to calm down. You''vee to my castle to stay while your Castle is being made again. So just rx for now. I promise we will get our revenge," Lord Carlisle stated.

    "Attack on you is an attack on Lord Ramiel''s lineage by that traitor Castiel''s lineage. We can''t let it go. We will find him!" he further added. "Just wait for a few days. I''ve called a special guest to locate an enemy of mine... A witch who killed some of my men. When that special guest arrives, we can take their help to locate that bastard Azarel as well."

    He didn''t realize that the name that As had given wasn''t his real name. He has given hisst name to Severis only. Meanwhile, he used his real name to participate in this event.

    "I hope so." Severis nodded. He couldn''t wait to meet As again.

    He didn''t realize that the man he was looking for far and wide was right before his eyes, sitting on his knees. He could never have expected that someone like As woulde to the city of Carlisle to take part in this measly servantpetition.

    Severis wasn''t even much interested in this tournament. He had just arrived in this city, and he was dragged here by Carlisle.

    "You can begin," Carlislemanded the new heads of the Two Families to begin thepetition.

    The two heads signaled their men to begin. The men in the arena walked before all the participants andmanded them to stand up. They were all instructed to form lines with one meter of gap between each other.

    As stood up, frowning. He didn''t know what to do. How could he leave this ce without attracting too much attention? How could he get out of here? The doors were closed. He couldn''t fly, and even if he lost, he wasn''t going to be allowed to leave until the entire tournament was over.

    He wondered if he should pretend to be sick but immediately dropped the idea. If he did that, all the Vampires were going to look at him, wondering what was happening. He might even be asked to remove his cloak to get some fresh air. He couldn''t let that happen.

    "Lilith, any ideas?" he asked. His mind was mostly nk at this point, not only because he was in Trouble but because both of Mise''s killers were sitting before him.

    Fortunately, so far, the two lords weren''t focused on the event. Lord Carlisle was talking to Yovana, asking her if she was fine. On the other hand, Lord Severis had his eyes closed as he sat.

    However, As was sure this wasn''t going tost long. He could be caught at any moment.

    Lord Severis slowly opened his eyes, frowning. He felt as if someone was looking at him. He nced at the participants in the arena.

    The hunter, and the prey, both were in the same ce. However, it was unclear who the prey was going to be and who the hunter was if things got bad. There were just so many uncertain factors at y and each of those factors were enough to destroy the city itself.

 Chapter 55 55: The Deadly Plan

    Lord Severis nced at the crowd that had started forming lines. Everyone had started changing their position. Amongst the thousands of participants, Lord Severis couldn''t find who might be the one looking at him.

    Generally, not many people dared to look at such high-ranking Vampires to attract their attention since a Vampire Lord was pretty sensitive to such gazes.

    Fortunately, such feelings were not always urate. There were times when they thought someone was looking at them even though they were all alone. That''s why Lord Carlisle didn''t take it seriously when he had thought that someone was looking at him from the roof of the restaurant. If he had, there was a chance he would''ve caught As.

    "I have a n, but it is very dangerous. It might even be more dangerous than actually going through everything here. There''s an actual risk of death." After a long thought, Lilithmented. "However, I think we should avoid it."

    "Let me hear. Maybe the risk will be worth it." As arranged his position in the line, literally standing at the end of the seventh line, farthest from the two Vampire Lords.

    "If you follow through with the n, you might not be able to gain an entry into the Carlisle Castle through this route. Are you prepared for it?" Lilith asked grimly

    "If I can''te out of this ce safely, how can I even enter that Castle? I need a way to get out of here without attracting much attention and without being seen," As stated firmly.

    "Then you need to be ready to fight back," Lilith calmly stated. "There is no safe way out of here. You''ll need to get a message to Lia. Only if she can help we might seed."

    "She is standing on the stage. I can''t send a message to her other than the pre-nned gestures asking for help in trials. She won''t understand that I''m not trying to ask her help in trial victories but something else." As shook his head. It wasn''t going to work that easy.

    If she had a path to get a message to Lia, wouldn''t he already have a path to escape?

    "Do you see a way to make it happen? Only you are the one who can get there without being seen, but then again, she can neither see you nor hear you. So even you can''t help with the message. Tell me a n that is possible!"

    "If you can''t get a message to her, then that only leaves one path... You need to use the Spell I''m about to teach yourself. But as I said before, it''s really dangerous. You have never tried it before, and you don''t have the strength either."

    "Even the Simplest of Spells use your core strength. It doesn''t matter if you seed or fail. You will suffer... Especially since your head is even more chaotic now."

    "You mean I will fall into Bloodlust," Asmented, understanding what she was implying.

    Lilith nodded. "There is a really good chance for that."

    As took another nce at Carlisle and Sevris on the stage, considering all the possibilities.

    He could see that he wasn''t going to escape safely if he stayed here. He was going to be caught. He couldn''t win and get an entry into the Castle with the presence of Severis, who had seen him before, so there was only one path left... Taking the risk and attempting it.

    It didn''t matter if he lost himself to Bloodlust since the alternative was even worse. At least he had a chance to escape.

    "The Bloodlust... Is it inevitable?"

    "It had been inevitable since the beginning. But are you really prepared to go through it? Your conviction about not drinking blood...?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    "That was because I thought I could get into the castle without having to drink blood, but if it''s not meant to be, it''s not meant to be. At any cost, I can''t die here!"

    As clenched his fist, preparing to go through the n.

    "What do I need to do?" he asked Lilith.

    In the meantime, there was amand issued in the arena that talked about the first trial¡ªthe Trial of Patience and Stamina.

    All the thousand participants were told to stand on one foot. Whoever was to fall first failed.

    Moreover, there was also a formation around the arena which increased the gravity in this ce to make it even more difficult for people to stand on one foot for long. The gravity was supposed to keep increasing with each passing second.

    As followed the instructions momentarily to not stand out as he observed the other participants, waiting for one to fall so he could see if the Vampires were to look at the person.

    On the other hand, Lilith also continued telling him about the spell and how he could use it. Since it was one of the most basic spells, she believed he was able to do it, but it wasn''t easy even for him.

    Only a few seconds had passed since the trial began, and a couple of humans had already fallen to the ground.

    As expected, Carlisle and Severis did gaze at the people who had fallen. It was certainly attracting too much attention, especially thedy in the stands.

    With confirmation that he couldn''t leave, As took a deep breath, determined to go through it.

    He closed his eyes, standing on one foot. The gravity seemed to have no effect on him. He could stand here for hours straight, but he didn''t want to go to the trials ahead.

    Lia was observing As carefully to see if he was going to ask for her help. She didn''t believe he would since she thought he was a Werewolf. This trial should''ve been a child''s y for a Werewolves who had the strength needed.

    Lia was sitting calmly, thinking As didn''t need her help and was going to win easily. She could finally rx, but soon her eyes widened. "What?"

    She noticed the finger movements of As, which seemed too much like her own movements when she cast a spell.

    "Impossible! There is no way he can cast a spell! No werewolves can use spells! Only Witches can!" She refused to believe her eyes.

    Even though she noticed his strange movements, she didn''t believe he could sessfully cast a spell. Anyone could make these movements, but they didn''t mean anyone could use spells! You needed to be a Witch to use a spell.

    Unfortunately, she was in for a huge surprise as she noticed Asplete the spell. She also realized what spell it was! It was evident that the spell had worked! She could see it with her own eyes! Someone who wasn''t a witch had sessfully cast a spell.

 Chapter 56 56: Taste Of Blood

    As could feel the burden of the spell on his soul. The farther he reached in the spell, the worse he felt. He felt like his head had started getting dizzy even though he was only halfway in, but he didn''t stop.

    He persevered and actuallypleted his spell, which he was able to use on the first try itself for some reason, surprising even Lilith.

    Even though As was in her master''s body, he shouldn''t have been able to use spells that easily since most of the spell''s strength came from the soul! His soul was that of a human, so it should''ve needed more attempts to seed for the first time. Moreover, his mind was chaotic, yet he managed to seed?

    Even though it was the lowest tier spell, this was still a big achievement. She gazed at As with a head tilted slightly to the right. This man... He was special.

    The spell wasplete. Only five minutes had passed since the trial began, and two hundred people were already out of the Trial.

    Thepletion of the spell happened, and a white fog started covering the entire arena and stadium. The mist spread everywhere, slowly taking over the entire ce.

    Everyone''s view was obstructed as visibility was reduced to less than a meter. Even the Vampires couldn''t see through the fog.

    The only one who could see through the spell was As, who had cast the spell.

    Lia also cast a spell to boost her vision so she could see through the mist.

    She noticed that As was missing from the Arena now! It was unclear where he went, but he wasn''t here anymore.

    She stood up in surprise. "What is he trying to do? This wasn''t the n."

    She noticed the Vampires also getting into action as they surrounded the two Vampire heads and the young woman sitting with them to make sure they weren''t attacked.

    As had cast his spell, yet he was feeling like his head was going to explode.

    Utilizing the low visibility due to the mist, he ran straight to the door.

    Unfortunately, a middle-aged man was standing right at the door.

    As appeared before the man like a spirit, grabbed him by the neck, and tossed him away before he pushed the heavy door open and ran outside.

    As the doors opened, the fog followed him outside as well. The guards who were stationed outside to keep the ce safe saw a figureing or of the arena as the fog followed him.

    The visibility here was much better though. The guards could clearly see As. Through his clothes, they could see that As wasn''t a noble Vampire, yet he appeared like a threat.

    A guard followed him from inside the Arena. "Stop him!"

    As gazes back at the guard, noticing that it was the same person she had just pushed aside. He didn''t kill the middle-aged man, and now he had be a problem.

    Unfortunately, his head was also pretty hazy right now. He was only working on his emotions which were a mess due to the stress of escape and being caught. Moreover, his urge for blood had actually started taking over his mind once again, even though he tried to make sure he didn''t make any guard bleed.

    The effect of the spell was certainly taking a toll on his head. He had avoided this for weeks. He even managed to resist his Bloodlust twice, but the third time was even worse.

    Just as Lilith had spoken, the urge a third time was going to be way worse than he could imagine, and it had just started taking over.<novelnext></novelnext>

    As'' angry eyes red at the guards who had surrounded him while pointing a weapon at them.

    Not only the human guards but a couple of Vampires had also arrived on the site.

    "Aren''t you that weakling from the forest? You''re still alive? You seem to have grown some balls; it seems," A young vampire said in a mocking tone.

    As just red at the young man like a wounded beast. He was clenching his fist so hard to resist the urge to lose his mind that his palms had started bleeding, and he wasn''t seeding as well.

    Lilith''s voice fell in his ears. "It''s toote. You can''t resist the urge this time... Feast. Feast on them all and satiate your hunger. But once you do, remember, you might never be able toe back. You might be lost forever along with your entire city... It all depends on you now."

    As tried to resist even now as he looked for a gap to leave.

    He could see a gap between two human guards. He ran straight through the gap, but before he could even get past the guards, the Vampires appeared before him.

    The Vampires grabbed As by his throat and pushed, raising him in the air before thrashing him to the ground.

    They used so much force that a crater appeared under As as he was tossed to the ground.

    This was it... The final nail in the coffin. As stopped resisting his urge and let his mind be taken over by his urges.

    A frighteningly powerful aura came out of As, which covered the entire city. The aura was so powerful that all the humans were immediately forced to their knees. Only the Vampires could stay standing, but even they felt a chill run down their spine.

    "This aura! I can recognize it anywhere! It''s that bastard! He is here!" Severis stood up in excitement. He had finally found the person he was looking for.

    Carlisle also stood up, frowning. "He darese into my city? He had selected a death wish!"

    Outside the arena, As had finally lost his sanity, leaving everything to his vampire Urges. He grabbed the Vampire''s wrist, who had just attacked him, and pulled him closer.

    The young Vampire couldn''t resist the pull. As was just too strong. Before he knew it, As''s teeth were stabbed in his neck as he feasted on the blood for the first time.

    "First time drinking, and it''s Vampire Blood... The chances of youing back are looking even slimmer. It might be the final blow to your sanity, and you might never return. I wanted to avoid it so much... But maybe it''s what''s destined? After you''re gone, my master will make a return... As for me..."

    Lilith had already told As that she drew strength from her master''s body. Now that he had drank blood, his body had the energy needed for her to cast a returning spell. Finally, she didn''t need to be a shadow anymore.

    Lilith chanted a long spell to regain her real body.

    At the same time, As tossed the body of the young Vampire aside and stood up.

    He red at the bright sun with his emotionless gaze as he roared like a wild beast.

    Lia also stepped out of the Arena along with more Vampires. Carlisle and Severis also came out, only to hear the roar.

 Chapter 57 57: Deception And Trust

    Lord Carlisle and Lord Severis stepped out of the Arena, only to watch a young man roaring in rage. The body of a Vampire was lying on his feet.

    "That''s him! zar! The bastard that destroyed my Castle! What luck! He''s right before me!" Lord Severis licked his lips in excitement as he took a step toward As.

    Lord Carlisle stepped before Lord Severis, stopping him. "I think you should wait for a little while."

    "Why?" Lord Severis gazed at his friend in confusion. After a long time, he had his enemy before him, and he was being told to wait?

    "He doesn''t look to be in his right mind." Lord Carlisle smiled. "It is clear that he is under the influence of Bloodlust. We should observe his fighting skills under Blood Lust. It''s better to see just how strong he is now before we make our move."

    "And how will we see his true strength? He is fighting against your ordinary Vampires? Can they even make him bring his true strength out?" Lord Severis inquired. "I can do that, and I can destroy him in the process. It doesn''t matter if he''s under Bloodlust! I will tear his head off!"

    "I know you can, but what''s the hurry? Just wait for a few minutes. As far as my Vampire are concerned, they might be weaker than me, but they certainly are very strong. They can definitely make this person use his entire strength! Especially since this guy is under the Bloodlust and won''t hold back. He isn''t sane emotionally." Lord Carlisle grinned.

    "You said he was on the same level as us? Apparently not in intelligence. What kind of n Leader will make a Rookie mistake like letting them fall in Bloodlust?" He had already started underestimating As for his stupidity.

    With that kind of intelligence, he didn''t believe As could be a threat to him ever.

    The Youngdy who had been sitting with Carlisle also came out, surrounded by the Vampire Guards.

    She stared at As in the distance, only to have her eyes widen in surprise. She recognized the man. Wasn''t he the one who she met in the forest? She had thought he was killed by her guard, and it was his blood there, but he was still alive?

    "So he killed him...? He was a Vampire all along, but he hid it in the forest.But if he really had the strength to kill the Commander of my Guards, he must''ve had the strength to take others out, yet he went on his knees to avoid a conflict?"

    "A Vampire that took a step back from the conflict despite having the strength to fight back? Why would he be fighting now, right before everyone?"

    There were thousands of questions floating in her head. On the one hand, she was kinda grateful to him that he didn''t forget back or hurt anyone in the forest. On the other end, he was doing something even worse and killing people here?

    She didn''t know what to think of him. She had seen two sides of As, and both of them were so different.

    Lia also stopped in the distance, far away from the battle, observing everything. She couldn''t believe her own eyes. As had not only killed a Vampire, but he also drank blood... He wasn''t a Werewolf, as he told her. Instead, he was a Vampire and hid it from her.

    She clenched her fist as she realized that she had been lied to. She couldn''t believe she was fooled by a blood-sucking Vampire. All his actions, all his protection, all his care were a lie to deceive her, she thought.

    Instead of trying to help As, she started stepping back and leaving this ce. She didn''t want to be here a second longer than she had to. Instead, she decided to use this distraction to enter the Carlisle Castle.

    Because of thismotion, almost all the Vampires in the city are going to be here. The security of the Carlisle Castle was going to be almost negligible.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Even though she was lied to and hated As now, she didn''t hesitate even a single second in using this opportunity as she ran toward the Carlisle Castle to steal the Book of Lilith, unaware that Lilith herself was siding with As at the moment.

    While Lia ran away from the zone of conflict, quite a lot of Carlisle n Vampires were running toward that ce, but they weren''t alone.

    There was another person who had just arrived to help As.

    Lancaster had just reached the City. He stood outside the border wall. Having just awakened his Royal Bloodline, he was buzzing with strength. Now that he was strong, he knew he couldn''t be a burden on As.

    Instead of running away like a coward despite having strength, he was back to help As save his sister. That guy had saved him when he was about to be killed in the restaurant, used falsely. As had proven his friendship, and now it was his turn to do the same.

    Lancaster strengthened his arms firmly as he nted his feet firmly on the ground before jumping with all his might.

    He ced his hand on the top of the wall and pulled his body tond on the same spot where he hadst seen As before leaving.

    "My dear friend, I''m fact, and I''m not weak anymore. You helped me before and now let me do the same for you."

    He jumped off the wall,nding inside the city of Sagos.

    There was still a question in his head. In such a huge city, where was he going to find As? He could be anywhere.

    Fortunately, he didn''t need to struggle for too long to locate As. As soon as he stepped onto the main street, he could see people running, closing their shops. There wasplete chaos here.

    Lancaster wondered what was happening. Why was there so muchmotion?

    He stopped one of the men who was running away. "Excuse me, why is everyone running away?"

    "Don''t you know? A stray Vampire has attacked the city! Everyone is running so they can hide inside the house just to be safe since the entire city will be under lockdown soon so that Vampire can''t escape. You should run too!" The man roared firmly.

    "A Stray Vampire?" Lancaster eximed in surprise. He realized just who could that person be, but he didn''t understand why As had attacked the Vampires? Was he discovered and had no option but to fight back?

    "Where did this happen?" he asked the young man.

    "Right at the entrance of the Arena. All the Vampires of the Carlisle n are going there. His Majesty himself is there. That Stray Vampire has no chance to escape alive, but just to be safe, we need to hide! You should hide too!" The man eximed before he ran without stopping.

 Chapter 58 58: Fated To Fail?

    Lancaster had just returned to help As sneak inside the Carlisle Castle to recover his sister''s remains, only to hear the news that things were worse. Within a day of him leaving, As was not only caught, but he was also having to fight for his life.

    Lancaster had stayed in the city for most of his life. He knew what Arena these people were talking about. Without wasting a single second, he dashed to the arena.

    When he was in need, caught by Vampires, As came to his help. And now, it was his turn to ce his life on the line to save him if there was an opportunity.

    ****

    Most of the Vampires had received the information about the battle that was going on. Even the Vampires that were in the castle went to the battlefield, leaving most of the defense at the hands of very few.

    Fortunately, no one important was inside the castle so that they could leave.

    Only five Vampires were left, guarding the entrance of the Castle.

    Lia reached the vicinity of the Carlisle Castle and observed the entrance, noticing five Vampires that were guarding the entrance.

    "Five of them. It won''t be easy."

    She soon thought of a n that coulde in handy. There were only five Vampires, and inside the castle, there weren''t any for the most part. She could guess that much. So as long as she could get past these five, she could get inside the Castle.

    This was an opportunity she wasn''t going to get again.

    She spread her arms as she started chanting a spell.

    As for the spell, she didn''t even have to think twice before deciding on what spells to use. She had just seen that spell in action. She used the Shroud of Mist as well.

    Within seconds, she finished chanting the spell. A strange mysterious mist appeared in the surrounding area and kept increasing, covering more and more area.

    Unlike As, Lia was an experienced Witch, so her spell was also stronger since she wasn''t using it the first time. The mist this time was even denser and more in quantity.

    Most of the surrounding area was covered in mist which rose to over twenty feet in height, covering all of those five Vampires, taking away all the visibility.

    At the same time, she cast the Flight Spell. Her body started rising in the air.

    She came flying to the Castle right before the Five Vampires, yet none of them could see her.

    The Vampires wondered where this must havee from as they became alert.

    Unfortunately for them, Lia wasn''t affected by their alertness. Since she was flying, she didn''t make any noise of footsteps. Moreover, she didn''t need to enter through the main entrance, which was blocked by the Vampire.

    She insteadnded on the balcony of the castle on the First Floor. She ced her finger on the lock.

    Click~

    The door unlocked, allowing her to enter the ce. She shut the balcony door behind her.

    "Finally, I''m inside the Castle. Now I just need to find the Book of Lady Lilith. I need to be fast because Carlisle will kill him soon. The Vampires will be back. Before that happens, I need to be done and get out of here. But where could they be keeping the book in this massive Castle?"

    She started running down the hallway, not knowing where exactly the Book of Lilith was being kept. She realized that if her luck was bad, she was probably going to need to search every room for the Book.

    ****

    At the same time, a portal opened inside the city. An old woman stepped out of the portal, followed by a Vampire from the Carlisle n.

    "Finally, your master has agreed to give me the Book of Lady Lilith in exchange for my help."

    The old woman appeared to be really pleased. She was the leader of one of the Witch n that worked with the Vampires in exchange for some benefits.

    Throughout the years, she knew the Carlisle n held the Book of Lilith, and she had been asking for it. Unfortunately, Carlisle always refused her.

    She also couldn''t go to war for the book since she didn''t believe she could take on the Vampires without losing most of her n in the process. She tried to get the book through diplomacy, and finally, she was close to sess as Carlisle herself called for her help in exchange for the Book of Lilith.

    She gazed toward the Carlisle Castle in the distance. She could see a strange mist in that direction that was surrounding the ce. At the same time, she could also feel some strange energy presence in a different direction.

    She wanted to check the strange energy presence that was really intriguing to her. However, what intrigued the olddy more was the mist around the Carlisle Castle.

    She realized this wasn''t any ordinary Mist. This was the mist conjured using some spell as far as she could see. That only meant one thing... Another Witch was here, and he wasn''t here with any good intentions.

    "Carlisle called for me, so there''s no way he would invite someone from another Witch n. That means this is an intruder who came here without permission and used the Shroud spell to get inside undetected."

    "For a witch to sneak inside the Castle, there could only be one goal! The theft of the Book of Lilith! I can''t let the book fall in the hands of other ns!" the olddy eximed.<novelnext></novelnext>

    She pped her hands once, making the entire mist disappear.

    "Tell your master that there is an intruder inside his castle, and I''m going on to catch that intruder before she gets her hands on things she shouldn''t." Thedy informed the envoy behind her before she advanced to the Castle.

    "Intruder in the Castle?" The envoy eximed in shock.

    He told the five guards to apany the old Witch in looking for the intruder as he went to inform their Master!

    The olddy stepped inside the Castle, being escorted by the Vampires. Two witches were on the path of the collision inside the Castle, while outside, multiple Vampires were already colliding.

    As had killed one Vampire brutally, but instead of running away, more and more Vampires attacked him in hordes.

    Over twenty Vampires attacked As at the same time. Their movement was so fast that it would''ve been impossible for any ordinary human to see them, but if there was someone faster than them, it was none other than As, who wasn''t thinking straight.

    He had just tasted the Blood of a Vampire, and he craved for more. It was just as Lilith had said what it was going to be like. He was no more than a beast who only looked for blood as the real As fell into a deep slumber inside the body, drowning in the sea of nothingness.

    As also moved. His figure moved so fast that even Carlisle was surprised at that speed. For some reason, that speed appeared to be even faster than theirs.

    "Fascinating," Carlisle muttered in surprise.

    As stabbed his hands in the chest of one of the Vampires, grabbing his heart before crushing it.

    As pulled out his blood-covered hand and tasted the blood.

    The Vampire dropped to the ground as his face turned dark.

    From the back, another Vampire attacked As, holding the sharpest of Swords that could even cut a stone.

    The Vampire swung his sword to slice the head of As, whose back was facing him. However, as soon as the Sword was about to touch As, he disappeared.

    "Where did he go?!" The Vampire eximed in surprise. As had disappeared like he was a ghost.

    Unknown to him, As had appeared right behind the young Vampire as he held the forehead of the man before stabbing his teeth into the pale neck of the Vampire.

    Holding the Vampire, As jumped back, avoiding the other attacks as he kept feasting. No Vampire could even touch him!

    It was only after draining the Vampirepletely that As tossed the body of the young Vampire aside before focusing on the others.

    As'' eyes were emotionless. His face had no smile, only remaining expressionless. Only bloodlust could be seen in his eyes.

    Only ten seconds had passed since the battle began, and he had already killed three Vampires, and he didn''t appear to be stopping.

    Standing slightly away from As, Lilith only gazed at him with an unexinable emotion shing in her eyes. She didn''t want this for the young man.

    She still recalled that even though this guy wasn''t Castiel, he was still so simr to him in many ways. He didn''t want to lose himself in the process of bing a Vampire. He wanted to protect himself without giving up his identity. Despite all his efforts, things only progressed as was destined.

    It was a Vampire''s destiny to drink blood. No matter how they tried to oppose it, they couldn''t. The destiny couldn''t be changed. Her master couldn''t do it, let alone this young man.

    It was as if Destiny was trying to show him that no matter how he escaped from its clutchesst time because of inexplicable circumstances, he was still bound by it! The ident that brought him into this World against the destiny didn''t mean he couldn''t be wiped altogether.

    The presence of Severis in the arena, the presence of the mysteriousdy with Carlisle who had seen him in the forest, the appearance of that rabbit before As that led to his fated meeting with the youngdy, which made him hide his face and attempt to escape, it wasn''t a coincidence. It was all a part of the correction of things that had gone wrong.

    As was caught in the clutches, on the verge of forever losing himself. ording to his destiny, he was meant to die in the cells. He might have avoided that fate due to the ident, but that didn''t mean he was allowed to exist.

    The real As was on the verge of death, forever losing his consciousness. His consciousness had already started disappearing. The only thing which was still keeping him safe to some extent was the strange mark on his forehead that was given to him by the mysterious person.

    That mark was the only thing that protected some semnce of As even in this condition, but even that couldn''t protect him forever.

    The mark had started eroding as well as more and more pressure was being applied on the Spirit of As due to the bloodlust. The more that pressure came, the more As was going to lose the protection, and that''s what was happening.

    The real As felt like he was drowning in the deepest sea, unable to breathe. He couldn''t even see any source of light. All he could feel was the terrifying coldness of the water that was soul-wrenching.

    His eyes had started closing. He reached out his hand toward nothingness, attempting to escape this ce. Unfortunately, there was no one to save him. There was nothing... He had lost.

    He couldn''t see any path of return from this ce. He had many regrets on his face, but at this moment, he didn''t even have the time to think about them.

    His hand turned weak as his eyes closed finally¡­

 Chapter 59 59: Deaths Door

    On the one hand, As felt as if his consciousness was drowning, unable to get back again; on the other hand, his body was following the urge for blood.

    The entire street was covered in blood as As ruthlessly killed more and more Vampires. The more he killed, the stronger he became as he was able to use the Vampire Blood as well.

    The Carlisle n heads didn''t realize that. They thought that As was only drinking the Blood of Vampires because he had lost his senses as they knew that the Vampire Blood was generally useless for them. They thought it was the same for As, not realizing that As was different.

    As a Progenitor, As had the advantages that they didn''t have, and one of those advantages was the ability to drink vampire blood without getting sick.

    "He has truly lost his senses. He drank so much Vampire Blood his body would soon shut down. This idiot," Lord Carlisle let out, shaking his head. "That''s when it''ll be even easier for us to take him down."

    Severis gazed back at Carlisle. "Is that why you stopped me? A vampire''s blood is the poison for another Vampire. Are you sacrificing your n Members to get him weakened?"

    "Maybe," Carlisle answered vaguely. "You might not notice it, but most of my men are here. And as I can see, this guy is very strong. It''s better to weaken him before taking him out in one attempt. I don''t want to have to waste my minutes fighting him. My time is more precious."

    "For some reason, your n doesn''t seem to be working," Severis chimed in, pointing otherwise. "Instead of slowing down, he seems to be getting even faster."

    "Probably the initial rush of Bloodlust. Just wait a few more minutes, and he''ll be down." Carlisle stood proud with his hands behind his back as if he was above this battle.

    As kept killing the Vampires and feeding on them. In the process, he also got a few scratches, but with the help of his speed, he managed to avoid any serious injury. Moreover, all his minor injuries also kept healing right away.

    Over twenty Vampiresy dead on the ground. A trail of blood could be seen trickling down As''s lips.

    It was as if he was giving a beautiful performance where he was the wind that couldn''t be touched.

    Watching the battle, even Yovana couldn''t take her eyes off As. Even though there was not a shred of emotion on his face, there was just something very charming about his performance. It was as if As was dancing with the wind, giving the most beautiful performance she had ever seen.

    No matter how many Vampires As killed, more kepting. He had killed over Twenty Vampires, but over a Hundred were surrounding him now.

    The battle became harder as time passed, even though As became stronger. The enemy was just too many, and As didn''t have his fighting senses. He was only fighting based on his urges which focused on killing as many as he could while giving the least amount of importance to his safety.

    The more he got injured, the angrier he got as he stopped protecting himself entirely.

    He appeared between two Vampires, stabbing his hand into the chest of both at the same time, crushing their hearts before tossing the bodies to the other Vampires.

    He appeared before another Vampire and grabbed the neck of the man while stabbing his other hand in the chest of the man before tearing the head off the man.

    Lilith continued with her spell while observing As. She could see what he was going through, but she couldn''t do anything about it. This was his battle at this point. All she could do was regain her body using the connection to As so she could help him to some extent.

    Within the next minute, As killed over fifty Vampires, but his injuries also got worse.

    There was a scar right across his face, which was bleeding. A deep two-inch deep gash was left on his chest.

    Throughout the hundreds of enemies, As'' gaze fell on the two men in the distance that were watching him. Despite being in his Bloodlust, seeing those two people, some strange emotions shed through his eyes.

    A sword stabbed in his chest from the back as he was distracted. As ran ahead, removing the sword from his back.

    He straight ran to the two Heads, killing the Vampires along the way as if they were nothing but stray.

    His entire clothes were drenched in blood by now.

    Severis watched Asing to them. "I''ll take care of it¡ªenough toying with this guy. We let him run wild for long enough. Time to bring him down a notch."

    Severis took a step forward, watching As running to them. This time, Carlisle didn''t stop him either.

    He was more concerned about something else. So much time had passed, yet As wasn''t falling to his knees despite drinking so much Vampire Blood. He couldn''t understand the logic behind it. Just what was different about this guy, which was preventing the poison effect from working on him?

    He still wanted to see more as to what this guy really was. Now that his Vampires had failed, he let Severis take action.

    A Sword came slicing from the back, leaving another wound on his back which was even worse than the one on his chest, but As didn''t stop. Instead, his figure appeared behind the Vampire who had attacked. He crushed the neck of the Vampire before tossing the body away.

    Severis, who was even faster than the other Vampires, used the slightest distraction that he had received. He grabbed As by his neck, raising him in the air.

    As couldn''t even react before Severis thrashed his body on the ground. A deep crater was left under As, who coughed out a mouthful of Blood.<novelnext></novelnext>

    All the wounds were taking a toll on him, and on top of that, the Blood Lust was overwhelming his soul. At the same time, Severis used his distraction to take advantage.

    Not giving As a chance to react, Severis stabbed his palm inside the chest of As, touching his heart.

    "This is for destroying my Castle!" Severis dered as he prepared to crush the heart of As.

    "Argh!" Before he could crush the heart, he roared in pain as he noticed his hand being sliced from the wrist.

    "Who dares!" Severis roared as he subconsciously took a step back.

    "I don''t know who you are, but I can''t sit and watch you hurt my friend." A calm yet prideful voice fell in the ears of Severis.

    He looked to his side, noticing a young man standing with a Sword in his hand, which he had used to slice the hand of Severis before he could hurt Atas.

    "A Werewolf?!" Severis eximed in surprise, realizing who the neer was. Just the smell of Lancaster was enough to give away his identity to a Vampire now that he had awakened.

    "Yours truly," Lancaster smiled in response.

    On the inside, even he was slightly worried since he would have to face two Vampire n leaders despite being awakened just yesterday. He didn''t know if he could evene out alive, but he couldn''t just sit by and watch as As was about to be killed.

    ? He interfered right away.

    "You wild dogs have selected the wrong battle! Let me kill you first!" Enraged, Severis shot to Lancaster.

    Lancaster tossed his sword away. His hand turned into sharp ws as he nted his feet firmly on the ground, prepared to intercept Severis.

    It was his first battle with a Vampire, and he wanted to make his Royal Bloodline proud by now failing, no matter how hard this battle was going to be.

    "A Werewolf who is siding with a Vampire?" Carlisle muttered in surprise. Even he hadn''t expected this to be possible.

    Vampires and Werewolves were like night and day that could never work together, so how was it possible? Just what was happening here?

    As Carlisle tried to make sense of the situation, a Vampire came running from the back.

    "Y-your Majesty, I brought news!"

    Carlisle turned around. "You brought the person I told you to bring?''

    "I did."

    "Where is she?"

    "She sent me to give you a message. A Witch has entered the Castle. She went inside to stop the witch." The young Vampire breathed heavily as he exined.

    "A Witch infiltrated the castle? And at a time like this? Why does it feel like everything was pre-nned? A vampire and werewolf to distract us while a Witch snuck inside the castle? For what? Ah, the Book! But this is even more absurd! A Vampire, a werewolf, and a Witch working together? Something really big is going on."

    "But if that woman is inside the Castle, I believe she will catch that infiltrator. I don''t have to worry about that. I only need to stop these two! Only they can answer me what they nned!"

    Lancaster was about to be attached, and he waspletely prepared to counter as well, but the attack never came.

    Severis got close to Lancaster, but before he couldy his hand on Lancaster, a fistnded in his face, sending him flying into the distant building.

    As was up. He followed Severis inside the damaged building.

    On the other hand, Carlisle decided that it was finally time for him to get a handle on things. If it was just As, he believed Severis was enough for him, but it wasn''t just him. There were more culprits here.

    He cracked his knuckles. His aura surrounded the entire ce. "I thought this day was going to be a day of entertainment. I wasn''t wrong, ultimately. Just the entertainment will be different than what I assumed before."

    He stepped closer to Lancaster.

    "We had a treaty with the Werewolves that they won''t enter our territory, and we won''t enter theirs. You''ve broken that treaty, so I have theplete right to kill you right here and right now. After I kill you, I''ll personally go to the Werewolves to throw your body at their doors!"

 Chapter 60 60: Disrespect

    Inside the Carlisle Castle, Lia searched for the book, unaware of what chaos was happening outside with the appearance of a Werewolf.

    The fight had just shifted directions, and both the n Heads were involved in the battles. Severis fought with As while Carlisle faced off against Lancaster.

    Lancaster had a Royal Bloodline of Werewolves which gave him speed, strength, and ferocity. Unfortunately, he had just awakened, so he wasn''t on the same level as Carlisle or Severis. In fact, he was weaker than them.

    He soon realized the difference between the strength of those two after a head-on sh. Lancaster''s fist shed with Carlisle''s fist.

    Carlisle stood on his spot, but it was Lancaster who was who took the brunt of the attack. His body shot back uncontrobly, falling in the distance.

    "You''re strong but not strong enough," Carlisle sighed. "I don''t think the Werewolves would''ve sent someone so weak to mess with us. You must be a stray. That makes it even better."

    Lancaster rubbed his wrist as he stood up. He had realized that he had overestimated himself. He might have awakened with the Royal Bloodline, but he was still weak.

    He could''ve taken care of ordinary Vampires that worked for Carlisle but defeating the man himself was troublesome.

    Still, he was too deep in everything now. He couldn''t step back. He had to fight!

    In another ce, As had entered the building where Severis had fallen.

    By the time he entered the building, he had realized that Severis wasn''t there. He appeared to be missing.

    Severis appeared behind As, stabbing his hand inside the back of As, making him roar in pain.

    As'' figure flickered as he dashed ahead to get the hand out before turning around to face Severis.

    "You might be very strong, but you have lost your mind right now. You''re nothing more than a wild beast, and that''s your biggest weakness. I wanted you to be sane so you could see the consequences of messing with me, but this will have to do, no matter how disappointing."

    ****

    The consciousness of As kept drowning. His eyes remained closed as he felt that he was disappearing when he heard a man''s voice.

    The calm yet arrogant voice was something he could never forget. It was the same voice that had given away Mise to her death like she was nothing more than amodity... It was the voice of Severis.

    The voice contained so many triggering memories for As that it revitalized his consciousness.

    As slowly opened his eyes, still in the depths of the sea. He could see what appeared like a screen before him, which showed Severis with an arrogant smirk on his face. Seeing that face, As couldn''t control himself.

    His hands were weak, and he didn''t even think he could move them anymore. Despite all that, just his sheer motivation was overwhelming as she reached out his hand toward the screen before him.

    With each passing second, the screen appeared to be getting distant from him, but he didn''t stop the effort.

    In the real world, As was heavily wounded. There was a hole in his back that was bleeding, but he didn''t seem to care. He still flew back without thinking and attacked Severis, who simply dodged the attack.

    Instead, Severis grabbed the wrist of As and shattered them before kicking the knees of the young man, making As fall to the ground.

    "And that''s why I don''t enjoy fighting people in Blood Lust. It''s just too easy to kill them since they don''t know what they''re doing. You see, the brain is a really important thing which youck now." Severis dered before smashing the other foot of As as well before he could move.

    As'' both legs were broken, and so was his right wrist. As for his healing, even it wasn''t fast enough to keep up.

    "This is for my Castle." Severis raised his foot and thrust it toward the face of the young man, only to realize that he just couldn''t.

    A semi-transparent screen appeared before young As, which was strong enough to stop the foot of a Vampire.

    At the same time, As'' consciousness also finally touched the screen before him.

    His emotionless eyes disappeared and returned to normal.

    As he returned, he felt a terrifying pain on his feet and his right wrist, but that pain was nothing before the man who stood before him.

    He had managed to defeat the Bloodlust somehow... His consciousness was safe. Unfortunately, in the process, he had lost most of the protection on his soul that he had received.

    He gazed at the barrier before him in surprise. He was sure he didn''t cast it. Then who could it be?

    "You really have a death wish if you think you can ce your foot on the face of my master''s body." A voice that sounded even more arrogant filled the hall.

    Both As and Severis looked in the direction of that voice. As remembered the voice. He had heard that annoying voice many times before.<novelnext></novelnext>

    On the other hand, Severis had no idea who it was. All he saw was a youngdy standing in the distance.

    The youngdy was dressed in a beautiful red dress that matched her ming red hair. Her hazel eyes appeared to be filled with anger for the disrespect she was seeing.

    The youngdy stood bare-handed, yet there was something about her which said that no one should dare get close to her if they didn''t wish to die.

    "A witch?!" Severis eximed.

    He believed only a witch could cast a spell like this, and his suspicions were correct.

    ****

    Boom~

    A figure shot out of the building.

    Carlisle was about to attack Lancaster when he noticed the figure whichnded right at his feet.

    He couldn''t help but be surprised. The person on his feet was none other than Severis.

    Severis stood up, angered at being disrespected by a Witch.

    "What is happening here? A Vampire from another lineage, a werewolf, and now a Witch taking part in the battle?" he asked Carlisle.

    "Another Witch?" Carlisle was really confused now. There was a Witch who could st Severis away?

    Fortunately, Severis wasn''t hurt. All his wounds healed.

    While Carlisle was distracted, Lancaster ran to the building where he had seen Asst time. The two Vampires had reunited, and he needed to meet up as well to find a way out of this situation. He knew fighting wasn''t an option. They couldn''te out of the battle safely. They needed to look for an escape instead.

    A Vampire Guard appeared before Lancaster to stop him, only to be hurt instead as Lancaster shed with his ws as he continued running.

    He also entered the building through the hole. Carlisle didn''t try to stop him. He just stood back, lost in some thought.

    ****

    Inside the hall that was filled with rubble, As sat up, gazing at Lilith.

    ? "Lilith, is that you?" he asked in surprise. "You have a real form now?"

    "Hmm? You''re out of Bloodlust so soon? How?" Even Lilith was surprised to see that As was back.

    She ran to him. "Are you alright?"

    "Yeah, this healing is pretty good. Also, it feels good to be back. I didn''t believe I could survive this... It was a scary experience, but I managed to get out. I don''t know how myself," As answered.

    As he walked, he felt something sticky on his lips.

    He rubbed his lips, only to have his hand covered in blood. "So I did it... I became what I hated..."

    "It''s not that big a deal," Lilith reminded As as she helped him up. "It was inevitable. Moreover, you only drank the blood of Vampires, not of humans. Also, with this act, you''ve safeguarded yourself from future Bloodlust incidents, but it''s not the time to talk about that. We are still in the midst of battle."

    "So, what do you want to do? Do you want to avoid battle and run? I can help us escape?" Lilith asked.

    As shook his head. "The only reason I avoided battles was because I was scared of this Bloodlust. But that''s not a concern anymore. I also don''t care about blood. Since I''ve always fallen by drinking it, I don''t care about anything else at this point."

    "You can die if you choose to fight," Lilith reminded As.

    As smiled in response. "I''m already dead, Lilith. I died the day Mise died. Since then, I''ve only been living on borrowed time. This body doesn''t belong to me. This world doesn''t belong to me. If death is what it takes, I''m willing to embrace it."

    "Moreover, won''t my death just mean your Master''s return? If hees, he can do what I couldn''t. He can give Mise the burial she reserved."

    "I''ve had enough of being scared. The two people who killed her are before me. If I run at this point, I''ll never be able to face myself! I will fight... I will fight till death: either mine or theirs!"

 Chapter 61 61: The Last Wish

    Just as As was about to step out of the broken building, he stopped and jumped back, sending someoneing.

    Fortunately, the figure thatnded inside the hall wasn''t a threat. Seeing that person, As''s eyes slightly widened. "Lancaster? What are you doing here? Didn''t I tell you to run?!"

    "I came here to help you," Lancaster responded. "By the way, it''s good to see you too."

    "You''re here to help me? Have you gone insane? We''re surrounded by two n Leaders and hundreds of Vampires! Let alone helping me, you''ll end up dying yourself instead. I can''t focus on fighting while trying to keep you safe!" As couldn''t help but scold the young man who came here to die.

    He was lucky he was still alive. As didn''t realize that Lancaster had awakened. He still thought that Lancaster was the same old who couldn''t fight. He didn''t want Lancaster to end up dying because of him.

    He stepped closer to Lancaster and ced his hand on the young man''s shoulder. "Here''s what we''re going to do. I''ll go out and fight them. You will get out of this ce and run as fast as you can. If something happens to me, I need you out there to finish what I started. But it''s not the time for you! I can fight my own battles for now!"

    "As, can you please stop talking for a minute and listen to me?!" Lancaster smiled wryly. He was also somewhat amazed As still hadn''t realized that he had awakened his Bloodline.

    He further continued, "I''m not stupid toe back! I had left, but on the way, I woke up my Bloodline! Last time I finished my First Transformation, and that''s why I came back! I told you I''m not here to die! I''m here to help you, and now I''m capable of that!"

    "You awakened your Bloodline? Really?" As asked in slight surprise. In his initial shock, he hadn''t noticed it, but Lancaster''s physique did seem somewhat better.

    "He isn''t lying. I can sense it too. He awakened the Bloodline, but he''s still not strong," Lilith chimed in. "He isn''t on the same level as Vor. He isn''t even close. I don''t think he cane out alive from a battle with Carlisle or Severis."

    "He''s like you in some aspects, he has something special, but he doesn''t know how to utilize it," she added.

    "Who is thisdy?" Lancaster inquired. "Whatever she''s saying does seem to be correct. I''ve tested my strength against Carlisle. He is in a different league altogether. I can''t fight him, but I can certainly didn''t his minions. But still, winning this battle against them would be hard. It would be better to retreat and strategize."

    As refused the suggestion. "We can''t retreat. If we leave now, we might never have this opportunity again. Carlisle will strengthen the defenses of this city even more. He might even take the help of Vampire Warding Formations to stop me from entering the next time. If he does that, I won''t be able to enter without the permission of Carlisle."

    "Now that he knows we are his enemy, he can easily counter us. That''s why I sent him in a different directionst time with a letter pretending to be a witch, so he didn''t know which enemies he was facing. Things didn''t work out as nned, but still, we can''t... Not we; I mean, I can''t retreat. You can still go back."

    As knew he had no way back. He couldn''t retreat. This ce was his battlefield, possibly hisst battlefield. He might not evene out of this alive. He had prepared to embrace the consequences of this battle, no matter what these consequences were.

    "Wait! Why didn''t I think of this before!" He was just about to step out to battle when his eyes lit up suddenly. "Did you say you can''t fight Carlisle, but you can fight the Vampires under him? Can you defeat them?"

    "Yeah, I don''t think that should be a problem for me. What about it?" Lancaster gazed at the young man in confusion.

    "Then you must do me a favor! It''s of great importance!" The dim eyes of As appeared to be filled with slight hope as he talked.

    Seeing that hope in the eyes of As, Lancaster was so happy. He didn''t care what As was going to ask. As long as he could do it, he was going to do it!

    "Just say what you want, and I''ll do it if it helps you."

    "I want you to leave this ce," As stated. Hearing the demand, Lancaster was taken aback. Were they back to square one?

    "I can''t do that. I won''t leave without you," Lancaster firmly dered. "I am here to help you, and that''s what I shall do."

    "Of course, I want you to help. I''m not asking you to leave the city. I want you to leave this ce and go to Carlisle Castle! There might be some Vampires there, but you said you can take care of them! That means you can infiltrate that ce while I distract the rest here," As exined.

    "I want you to enter the castle and locate my sister''s body! It must be inside the castle. Interrogate the guards if that''s what it takes, but at any cost, you must bring her out of there and leave the city! If I survive, I will meet you outside. If I can''t, take my sister''s body and give her a proper burial that she deserves, in a ce beautiful as her pure eyes."

    "This is my only request and possibly myst request from you. Will you do it?" Lancaster asked.

    Seeing the expressive eyes of As, Lancaster couldn''t say no. Only one word came out of his mouth. "Yes."

    "I will do it, but only if you promise you''lle back alive!"

    "A promise like that? I can''t even make that to myself. This life of mine is a borrowed life, the result of an ident that wasn''t supposed to be. I might be alive now, but even I don''t know when I''ll be gone forever, so I can''t promise you that."

    As moved Lancaster aside as he stepped out of the building. "Please save my sister. And I hope you have a sessful life ahead. Thank you foring back..."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Without looking back, As stepped out of the building, leaving Lancaster behind.

    Lilith also followed after As, only to stop right beside Lancaster for a moment. "If you can, please seed. Because he didn''t lie. His soul is only temporary. It might be gone the next second. He is trusting you with the reason for his living... Don''t fail him."

    Reminding Lancaster, even Lilith followed As outside.

    Lancaster stood alone in the silence of the hall. He didn''t know how to feel. For some reason, he felt really sad.

    Even though he hadn''t known As for a long time, he had already started considering As as his real brother the moment As showed up to save him before the Vampires at the risk of outing his cover. The thought of losing that brother... The thought of never being able to see him again... It was all very unsettling.

    Unfortunately, he couldn''t do anything more. He couldn''t say no to As''s demand. He couldn''t deny his request. It was such an important request to him that Lancaster needed to fulfill it at any cost.

    He nced back at the proud figure of As, who was ready to fight two n Leaders with an army of hundreds of Vampires alone.

    Lancaster clenched his fist as he decided to make a run for it! He needed to finish this mission while the n Leaders were distracted! He needed to recover Mise.

    He ran through the back window, jumping out on an empty street that couldn''t be seen by the Vampires.

    Gazing in the distance, he started running as fast as he could toward the beautiful Castle.

    ****

    As stepped out of the damaged building to be greeted by two Vampire Leaders and hundreds of Vampires who stood behind the two.

    He calmly observed them and didn''t attack right away.

    Severis red at Lilith. "A witch who is siding with a Vampire? You have chosen the wrong side, Young Witch. That man behind you will die, and along with him, you will die too!"

    "Try touching even a hair on Lilith''s, and I''ll break that hand of yours," As dered.

    Now that he was back and didn''t have to worry about bloodshed, he could be his arrogant self against these bastards he hated the most in this world. He had already lost his sanity once. He went to hell and came back. He didn''t need to worry anymore about it.

    "Hmm? You came back from Bloodlust so fast? And you don''t seem to be affected by the Side Effects of drinking Vampire Blood either? It seems like the specialty of your Lineage. Certainly very fascinating." Carlisle was amused.

    Everything that he saw here went against everything he knew. This guy returned from Bloodlust so fast, and he wasn''t poisoned by the Vampire Blood either. He believed it was because he was of a different Vampire Lineage.

    "Let me guess. Because you''re from a different lineage, you can drink blood from our Lineage without being affected. This rule must apply to the same lineage only. That''s why you didn''t suffer. That means I can drink your Blood, and I can be fine as well."

    Carlisle couldn''t help but lick his lips at the thought of being able to drink a Vampire''s blood from another lineage. He wondered if it was going to taste good. In any case, since it wasn''t poisonous, it could only be good.

    "Carlisle, you already drank the blood you shouldn''t... I doubt you can take more," As clenched his fist, remembering the moment that Carlisle had killed his sister.

    He still couldn''t forget the sinister gaze on the man''s face when it happened. The amusement he got out of it... The feeling of superiority... It was tormenting.

    "We shall see about that." Carlisle snickered. "Severis, would you do me the honor of taking care of that Witch? I want the man for myself."

    "But I want to kill the man!"

    "I know what you want. Don''t worry; I won''t kill him entirely. I''ll leave that for you."

    "Fine!"

    Carlisle selected As as a target, while Severis selected Lilith.

 Chapter 62 62: Deterioration

    The day wasn''t even halfway through, yet the entire city hade to a halt. It was supposed to be a day of celebration and entertainment where humanspeted to get into the ranks of the Servants of Carlisle n. It was a day when a person''s life was going to change.

    At least, that''s what everyone thought at the start of the day. No one could have imagined that within a few hours, the entire equation was going to change. The Carlisle n that stood at the top of the world, ording to the citizens of this city, was being challenged by another Vampire.

    Thepetition was over, and everyone was forced to run away to save their lives, leaving only the Vampires who were on the streets now.

    For the moment, there was a scary silence in the surrounding.More than thirty dead bodies of Vampires were littered on the ground, but ten times more Vampires were standing, waiting for onemand from their master to attack.

    While one side had an entire army on their side, the other side had none. The other side only had two people. Still, those two people were no less than an entire army.

    One of the two was a young man. He had beautiful silver hair like the moon in the brightest of light which provided strength to the Vampires. His eyes were a lighter shade of green, epassing the beauty of the nature itself. Despite being so beautiful, his eyes appeared to be filled with sadness and a scary calm.

    The man was As, who controlled the body of Castiel, one of the Four Progenitors. Right beside As stood a youngdy with ming red hair.

    Not a single person recognized her since there were no Portraits of her in existence, but almost everyone had heard of her name once upon a time.

    The youngdy wasn''t the First Witch in this world. In fact, she came a lotter. Still, she made her name in a different way. She was not the first Witch, but when it came to strength, she was said to be the Strongest Witch to ever walk the earth.

    She was considered an idol by many modern-day witches since it was said that Lilith could fight entire armies of Vampires all alone. No one had seen that happen though. Most witches even assumed those stories to be lies.

    There were also some stories that said that Lilith never fought the Vampires. Instead, those stories called her a Traitor to the Witches who worked with a Vampire all her life and didn''t do anything for her brethren despite having all the strength she could need.

    There were many people in the Witchmunity who loved Lilith and refused to believe the stories about her being a Traitor, but there were even more people who believed that she was a Traitor.

    Traitor or not, no one can deny the fact that Lilith was a really powerful witch at the time she existed. The ones who liked her, and the ones who hated her, they all tried to look for her Grimore to get a glimpse at the Spells of Lilith since they believed those long-lost spells could tilt the scales of strength on their side.

    Everyone wanted the Book of Lilith. Even now, two Witches were inside the city for the book itself, one siding with the Carlisle n to get the book from them while the other going in alone to steal the book.

    The Castle of Carlisle n was massive from the outside, but when one got inside the Castle, they could see that it only had three floors in total.

    Lia checked the entire top floor, but she didn''t find the Book of Lilith. The top floor only appeared to have the sleeping quarters of the Carlisle n direct members. There were many things of significance on the top floor but nothing that Lia was looking for.

    She came down to the second floor in her search. Unfortunately, as she came down, she heard an amusedughter of a woman.

    "So you''re the one who snuck inside. The little kitten from the Ezren n!"

    Lia heard the voice only to go still in fear. The voice... She recognized that voice! She had heard that voice many times before. It was the voice of the Matriarch of the Witch n of Tricen. This woman hade to their n many times to threaten them. She was on the same level as her grandmother when it came to spells!

    Lia cursed her luck, unable to believe this witch was here too. If she was here, that could only mean she was here for the Book of Lilith as well. The Ezren n and the Tricen n didn''t have goodwill for each other. In fact, it wasn''t wrong to say the two ns hated each other over their ideology.

    ''I can''t let the book fall in her hands. But I can''t fight her either. I don''t have any chance of Victory. Only Grandma could take care of this one witch. What do I do?!''

    Lia started retreating slowly. She didn''t dare to step on the second floor.

    Unfortunately, the old witch didn''t leave her alone. Lia could hear the footsteps of the Witch getting closer, and she didn''t seem to be alone. There were more footsteps that were audible.

    Lia assumed that they were either her n members or the Vampires. In any case, it wasn''t good news. She needed to retreat.

    Lia cast another Mist Spell as she started running back. At the moment, her own safety was more important than the book itself.

    Lia got back to the Third Floor and ran to the balcony. She cast a Flight Spell before she flew out as fast as she could.

    Swiss~

    As Lia was flying away, she felt something akin to a rope being wrapped around her door.

    She turned around to find the old woman standing on the balcony. The old woman had caught Lia. There was an invisible rope that held onto Lia and pulled her back.

    Lia opened her pendant and ced a droplet of blood on her finger. She used the blood droplet to make a symbol on the wind itself as she chanted another spell.

    "Hmm? She has the Blood of Fairies?" The olddy frowned. "Her grandmother really went crazy, it seems, giving their treasure to a kid? Then again, the allure of Grimoire of Lilith can certainly make people do crazy things.

    "Unfortunately, that kid is still too young. She takes too much time to finish a spell." She waved her hand as she chanted another spell.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Another invisible rope appeared around Lia, this time tying both her wrists together so she couldn''t finish the spell. The olddy cast a flight spell on herself as well before flying up.

    "Your Grandmother should''vee herself if she wanted to steal something that''s going to be mine. You''re still too young, kid."

    Lia struggled to free herself, but the ropes were just too much for her. Her spell also dispersed since she couldn''t finish it.

    The olddy ced her finger on the forehead of Lia. "Sleep."

    Her magic worked right away, and Lia''s eyes closed. The battle was over for Lia before it could even begin.

    It was because of the same w that even Lilith had noticed in the past. Lia was talented for her age, but that was it. If her age was taken out of consideration, she wasn''t much special. She couldn''t even cast spells without chanting them, and each of her powerful spells took a long time to cast since they were tooplicated for her.

    On the other hand, the old Witch had decades of experience in these spells. Before Lia could cast one spell, the olddy could finish casting ten.

    Lia was taken hostage, and it was too easy. The old woman turned to the castle.

    "Now, I can also try to steal the Book. No one seems to be inside," she pondered but ultimately dropped the idea. "Then again, Carlisle won''t be stupid enough to leave the Book of Lilith in the castle itself. He is already willing to give me the book, so I better not spoil things in my haste."

    "Time to meet Carlisle and get the book personally." The olddy didn''t go back inside the Castle. Instead, she flew to the arena where she had felt that chaotic energy previously.

    As she arrived at the spot, she saw Severis being sted back by a young woman who didn''t have a single weapon in her hand.

    "Another Witch? She must be with the Ezren n as well, sent here to distract Carlisle while the little one went inside to steal the Book."

    The battle had already begun, and Carlisle had instructed his Vampires to stay back and not interfere.

    Severis had also started fighting Lilith, but No matter what he tried, he couldn''t get back to Lilith. At the same time, Lilith also wasn''t able to harm him.

    Carlisle flew to As. "I will destroy you for damaging my beautiful city!"

    Sharp ws came out of his hands which he swung to As'' neck. His speed was so fast that even his afterimage couldn''t be seen. Carlisle was like the wind itself.

    "You already took everything from me. I won''t let you take more. This life isn''t yours to take like that life wasn''t yours to take!" As roared as he moved one step to the left.

    No matter how fast Carlisle was, he was slightly faster, especially now that he wasn''t hungry.

    He grabbed the wrist of Carlisle. "I couldn''t stop youst time. I didn''t have the strength, but this time, I''ll fight back."

    As grabbed the wrist of Carlisle and twisted it until he heard a cracking noise. Carlisle swung around, intending to stab his other w in the chest of As.

    As jumped up, releasing the broken wrist of Carlisle tond behind him. He grabbed Carlisle by his cor and tossed him away, using the momentum.

    "Last time, you were the superior one! You made me beg you, but you didn''t listen! This time, I''ll make you beg me!" As flew after Carlisle.

    Carlisle had managed to heal his broken wrist by now. He controlled his body mid-air to stand.

    "I made you beg? Who exactly are you?" Carlisle asked as his figure appeared behind As. He grabbed As'' shoulders, impaling his sharp nails on the shoulders of the young man.

    Ignoring the pain of the nails, As grabbed Carlisle by his hair and pulled his body ahead.

    As made Carlisle fall to the ground as he raised his foot to stomp on the skull of Carlisle.

    Even though it appeared as if a long time had passed since the battle of the two began, only three seconds had passed.

    The other Vampires in the back could only see shes of the two fighting before they disappeared, moving from one ce to another. It was as if two ghosts were fighting.

    As was just about to stomp the skull of Carlisle, who brought both his arms together to protect his head. That stomp never came though.

    Before As couldnd his foot, he felt an invisible rope wrap around his throat. He was pulled back, falling to the ground.

    "Carlisle, you''re being defeated by a kid? You sure have gotten old." The old witchnded before Carlisle. "I saved your life. You owe me the Book of Lilith now."

 Chapter 63 63: Impossible Compulsion

    "Well, I was already nning to give you the book. That''s why I had you called to this ce." Carlisle dusted his clothes and stood up. "That being said, it''s wrong that you saved my life. I would''ve survived that attack. So you didn''t save my life."

    " Still, now that you''re here, you can help us a bit," he added as he nced at As in the distance, who also stood up. He could still feel an invisible rope around his neck.

    After a few seconds, the rope was gone, and As felt that he was free.

    He also noticed the old woman standing with Carlisle. He didn''t know who that old woman was, but with the strange phenomenon he went through, he had a feeling that this woman was also a Witch. Only a spell could act so strange.

    He could also see Lia lying in the back, unconscious.

    His intuition was further proven as he noticed the old woman casting a spell.

    "That man is as strong as you from what I''ve seen. Taking him out would be a hassle. You better not say no to the Grimoire after I help you." The old woman reminded Carlisle as she cast a spell.

    Unfortunately, the moment she was distracted, As moved like a shadow. His figure appeared right before the olddy as he attacked.

    Boom~

    Before As could evennd a finger on the olddy, a wind st sent him back flying.

    "And that''s why it''s so annoying to fight a Witch. You all can''t kill us that easily, but you certainly make us struggle," Carlislezily stated as he saw As falling in the distance.

    "Shouldn''t I say the same thing to you? You all just refuse to die. And with your strength, even most of our spells are mostly useless as they can''t seriously harm you faster than you can heal," the olddy sarcastically stated.

    She had decades of experience, so she knew everything. Even though she had some special spells that were powerful, there was a reason the Vampires stood at the peak. It was really hard to kill one, especially someone as strong as Carlisle and the ones on his level.

    Moreover, those weren''t even the strongest Vampires. There were ones even more powerful than Carlisle. The Vampires had earned their reputation for a reason.

    If that wasn''t the case and it wasn''t almost impossible to kill Carlisle for her, she would''ve much rather attacked the city herself to take back the Grimoire, but she couldn''t because she knew the limitations of witches.

    Just as she expected, even her Wind st didn''t manage to harm As, who stood up again, unscathed. He was like someone who couldn''t die.

    "Is he also a n Leader level Vampire? His eyes look different than the Vampires I know," the old womanmented before she cast another spell.

    As felt the gravity around him change by a thousand times, trying to bring him down to his knees.

    Despite all the Gravity change, he didn''t let himself be forced to his knees. The gravity acting on his body was so powerful that a crater had started developing under his feet. The Gravity also made it really hard for him to move, slowing down his speed.

    "I''ll help you in killing him, but it would be impossible without your help. I''ve already slowed him down. I can provide you with even more support from the side. He''ll be affected by my spells, so you should be able to kill him faster," the old Witch suggested.

    This was the faster option as well as more efficient.

    "That sounds fine. I wanted to do it myself as well after all," Carlisle cracked his knuckles.

    Unlike As, who was affected by a thousand times stronger gravity, Carlisle waspletely free. As was slowed down while he could move as fast as he wanted.

    It was just too unfair, but Carlisle didn''t care.

    Carlisle calmly stepped to As. This time, he didn''t even seem to be in a hurry as if he wanted to savor this moment."You must''ve thought you''ll go back alive, didn''t you? Let me break that misconception of yours."

    As if the gravity wasn''t worse in itself, the Witch cast another spell. Invisible ropes appeared once again that wrapped around his arms and his legs, making him unable to move.

    The ropes tried to pull him down, applying even more pressure.

    Under the immense gravity and the ropes, As was sealed in ce. He tried to take a step ahead, but he couldn''t even raise his feet.

    Carlisle kept getting closer and closer to him. There was a grin on his face that refused to leave.

    As saw the grin of Carlisle, which brought back a scene he had tried to bury in his mind. He had seen that same grin on Carlisle''s face when Carlisle had challenged him to move if he wanted to save Mise.

    That day, As wasn''t able to move just like today. Finding himself in the same position, As remembered the torment of that moment once again.

    "Not again! I won''t let you restrict me again! Never again!" As roared as he red into the eyes of the old Witch in the distance.

    "Attack Carlisle!" Hemanded the Witch, who was looking at him.

    The Witch didn''t realize as As tried to use his Compulsion. It wasn''t thepulsion of an ordinary Vampire either! It was thepulsion of a Progenitor which was only weakened by the mental strength of As.<novelnext></novelnext>

    The Witch''s eyes turned nk momentarily as she fell for thepulsion. She didn''t even realize it as it happened, which shouldn''t have been impossible.

    Even Carlisle didn''t take it seriously. Even he couldn''t usepulsion on a Witch of that caliber, let alone this man. Unfortunately, he only realized how wrong he was when the same gravity started acting on his body as well.

    "What are you doing?!" He roared as he red back only to find the Witchpletely nk.

    "Blood Spear!" The Witch cast another spell.

    A blood-red spear came out of the formation that she cast. The spear shot straight to Carlisle.

    Even under the immense pressure, Carlisle still managed to dodge the spear. Unfortunately for him, the spear didn''t leave him alone.

    The blood spear that had shot past Carlisle was grabbed by As, who was able to move at his old speed now that the Witch wasn''t targeting him.

    He grabbed the Spear mid-air, changed its direction, and thrust it in the back of Carlisle

    The blood-red spear impaled Carlisle, entering from his back anding out from his abdomen, barely missing the heart.

    "Huh? What?!" By now, the old Witch had alsoe to her senses, only to be shocked at what she had done. Thepulsion was broken since As wasn''t strong enough mentally to keep her underpulsion.

    The old witch from the Tricen n was horrified! Was a vampire able to usepulsion on her? This had never happened before! Whatever being the case, she couldn''t let him live!

    As''s fangs came out as he moved to bite the neck of Carlisle, who had dropped to his knees after coughing out a mouthful of blood.

    As'' fangs were only a few inches away from the neck of Carlisle, but those few inches felt like thousands of miles since an invisible rope grabbed As by his throat and pulled him back.

    "Enough!" This time, As was thoroughly enraged. The Witch had created enough troubles for him! He had decided that he was going to kill her first.

    He grabbed the invisible rope and didn''t wait for it to disappear. Using all his strength, As broke the rope before disappearing into thin air.

    "Where did he go?!" The Witch looked all around, but she couldn''t find As anywhere.

    She didn''t realize that As had taken the long route toe behind her through an empty alley. Since he couldn''t attack her from ahead, he was going to attack her from the top.

    He climbed on the roof of one of the buildings. He took about ten steps back before he started running ahead with his full might. Only after reaching the end of the roof did he jump, using all the momentum he could.

    The Witch looked all around her but couldn''t find As. She didn''t realize that As wasing to her from the top.

    She sensed some danger and finally looked up, but it was toote by now. She tried casting a spell at thest moment, but even she knew that she couldn''t finish the spell in time.

    She subconsciously took a few steps back, but it was of no use.

    As'' sharp nails stabbed in her face, making it a gruesome sight. Thedy roared in pain, but she couldn''t do more.

    "Urgh!" As stabbed his teeth into the neck of the olddy, feeding on her.

    After going through the Bloodlust, even As didn''t realize how feeding on blood had bemon for him. He didn''t feel the same disgust for it anymore. Instead, he felt like it was poetic justice to kill the Vampires and their supporters the same way they killed innocent humans who couldn''t protect themselves.

    After sucking her dry, As tossed the lifeless body of the old Witch in the distance. Now there were no distractions, and he could focus on Carlisle.

    Carlisle had managed to pull out the Blood Spear by now. He tossed the spear in the distance. The spear disappeared on its own before it could even fall to the ground, now that the caster was dead.

    Holding the wound tightly, Carlisle forced his weak body up.

    ****

    Back in the Carlisle Castle, Lancaster had already killed all the Vampires that were guarding the castle. Now he had a free reign over the entire ce. He could take as much time as he wanted to begin his search, but he still moved as fast as he could. He didn''t want to waste a single second.

    In thest ten minutes, he has managed to check most of the time, only leaving one room.

    "This is thest room. If Mise is kept anywhere, it must be this room!"

    Lancaster broke the lock that was ced on thest door and pushed it open.

 Chapter 64 64: Same Words

    Lancaster broke the door of thest room that he was yet to check and stepped inside.

    The room appeared to be like a storage room that stank of blood. There were many wooden boxes in the room.

    Lancaster went to the closest body and opened it to gaze inside.

    As he opened the box, he noticed the box to be filled with bags of blood. He closed the box and moved to the next, which was no different either. The second box appeared to be filled with boxes of Blood as well.

    Seeing the second box with blood, Lancaster had a feeling that this was the room where they kept their stock of blood. No wonder this room was so cold.

    "So much blood..." Lancastermented, observing thousands of such boxes. "But if all these boxes have blood, then where is Mise?"

    "I checked all the other rooms thoroughly. She was nowhere. That must mean she can only be inside this room."

    He kept moving from box to box, opening them all and checking inside. He really hoped he was going to find her here as he kept going through the boxes. If he didn''t find her here, he didn''t know how he was going to answer As, who had his hopes set on him.

    He moved like his life depended on it, tossing boxes that he had checked away to clear his path.

    Ten minutes passed, and Lancaster was still to find anything other than the blood in the boxes.

    ****

    As had killed the old Witch who was creating a disturbance for him all this while. There was nothing to distract him or slow him down anymore. All that was left to deal with was Carlisle, who was standing in the distance.

    Carlisle''s luxurious clothes were covered in blood. It had been a long time since he had been hurt this bad.

    "I can see you''re strong. But what I can''t understand is why us? Why did you target us? Why did you go to Severis to destroy his castle beforeing to us? What is your enmity with us?" Carlisle asked, partially because he wanted to distract As to have some time to heal himself, but mostly because he really was curious.

    For As to be this strong, he needed to be a really old Vampire, probably even older than them. And if he existed for so long, there must be a reason he was after them now. Carlisle didn''t believe it was simply because As hated the other lineage. If that were the case, he would''ve done this decades ago.

    He hurt the Severis n just a few weeks ago, and now he was here. There was more going on than met the eyes, especially because a werewolf and a Witch were involved in this mess as well. Why were those three targeting him?

    Initially, he would''ve assumed that the Witches had hired them to hurt him and steal the Book of Lilith, but if that were the case, they wouldn''t have destroyed the castle of Severis first. It was more than just the book of Lilith.

    "Why do you hate us?" Carlisle asked.

    "You want to know why I''m here? You are the reason! After taking everything I held dear from me, you ask me why I hate you?" As asked in disbelief.

    This man... He was the reason why As was all alone in this world! He did have Lancaster and Lilith, but those were just helping him. They didn''t know the real him. They didn''t go through what he went through! They weren''t with him all their lives! There was only one person like that, and that person was lost because of Carlisle and Severis!

    Just because those two wanted to y gods with the lives of the mortals, they took everything from him that he held dear.

    "I don''t even remember meeting you before, let alone taking anything from you! Did I do something that indirectly affected you?" Carlisle asked, still not understanding.

    "Tell me, Carlisle, are you scared of me?" As asked calmly.

    Before Carlisle could say ''no'', As continued, "And why is it that you''re scared? Do you think I''ll eat you?"

    Carlisle was confused about what this guy was talking about. Why was he talking nonsense?

    As didn''t stop right there as he further continued, "You know, when you looked at me directly in the eyes. I thought I finally saw another person that wasn''t scared of us... someone who wanted to challenge us. Apparently, there have been more and more people like you popping up who are drunk in arrogance. I thought you were one of them. However, listening to you, it seems that I was wrong, wasn''t I?"

    Finally, Carlisle felt something. These words... He remembered speaking almost exact words before...

    "These are almost the same words I had spoken to that human girl. How do you know them?" Carlisle eximed. Even now, he hadn''t put the pieces together. "Did someone from the Severis n tell you? Still, how is that relevant here? I asked you why you''re after us."

    "Don''t tell me you are here taking revenge for that thing? That can''t be possible. Those pests couldn''t have known someone like you. So why?" he asked.

    As clenched his fist, still being called a pest right before his face, but he knew this wasn''t wrong. In the past, they were weak. They couldn''t even be considered anything.

    "Let''s y a game," he said. "If you want me to answer you, take one step forward. And if you don''t want me to answer you, then remain standing there. It''ll be a fun game."<novelnext></novelnext>

    As used a simr game to what Carlisle had used with him, but this time in reverse. He couldn''t usepulsion on Carlisle, but he could do something simr.

    Carlisle calmly raised his foot to take one step ahead.

    His foot was just about tond on the ground, but before he could, a fistnded on his chest, which sent him flying back.

    As stood where he was previously standing calmly. Carlislended on the ground in the distance, holding his chest.

    "What are you doing?!" Carlisle roared in rage. He thought As had asked him to take a step forward for an answer, but he himself stopped him from taking a step forward.

    "Ah, so that''s it." As he thought about it, he realized the truth.

    He remembered the boy he had usedpulsion on. He asked him to step forward if he wanted to save his sister''s life but usedpulsion to stop him froming forward. He couldn''t help but feel that the man really knew about that incident. Moreover, it also appeared as if he had taken that incident too seriously.

    That could also exin why he hurt Severis and him both since those two were involved in that incident. He couldn''t remember anything else in which the two of them were involved.

    "Are you here for revenge because of what I did with those two? How do you know them? What are they to you?!" Carlisle asked.

    "Let me remind you one thing. You can''t give me the excuse that you can''t move. You must have heard the saying of humans. Where there''s a will, there''s a way. If you want an answer, then you must move. If you don''t, then I''ll take that as my answer," As stated as he kept his hands behind his back.

    There was a time when Carlisle had the strength. He toyed with them at that time. Now that he had strength, he didn''t want to leave Carlisle that easy.

    Standing in the distance, a pair of eyes observed As carefully. The youngdy who stayed in Carlisle Castle and was treated like a very special individual stood calmly and didn''t try to do anything.

    "You think you can toy with me?!" Carlisle raged at being mocked. He couldn''t help but feel like As wanted to show that he was no less than a weak human before him!

    Now he really wanted to prove As wrong by taking a step ahead. It was a question of his dignity! He wanted to prove that he wasn''t as weak as that human!

    This time, he didn''t take his time. His figure disappeared as he used his fastest speed. He appeared a few steps ahead.

    "There! I did it! I proved that I''m not trash like that person! Just because I''m talking to you nicely doesn''t mean you''re stronger than me. We don''t have the same power dynamics as I had with that mortal!" Carlisle dered arrogantly. "Now answer!"

    As wasn''t phased. He hadn''t even tried to stop Carlisle this time.

    "Where were you standing when I issued this challenge?" As calmly inquired.

    Carlisle frowned as he realized that he was standing in ce of As previously when he was told to step ahead. Even though he took a few steps now, he still hadn''t taken a step ahead from that point on. Instead, he was standing in the back despite stepping ahead. Technically, he hadn''t fulfilled the challenge.

    To fulfill the challenge, he needed to get past As. That''s why As had sent him back in the first ce. Now Carlisle needed toe to him, which left more chances of mistakes for him.

    The figure of Carlisle flickered as he moved. It was as if he had disappeared entirely. As also vanished at the same time.

    By the time the two figures appeared again, the dynamics were quite different. The ankles of Carlisle were grabbed by As.

    It was as if Carlisle had attempted to send As flying only to be caught instead.

    As brought his elbow down before Carlisle could even react. The elbownded on the knee of Carlisle.

    Tuck~

    The right leg of Carlisle was bent in such a way that shouldn''t have been possible. His leg was broken thoroughly.

    Carlisle roared in pain as As swung his body, still holding onto his leg.

    After a short spin, As released the leg of Carlisle, sending him flying.

    In another part of the battlefield, Severis was bleeding all over, but he was still standing.

 Chapter 65 65: Taste Of Blood

    He kept trying to get close to Lilith since that was the only way he could take Lilith out, but that was also proving to be the hardest. He didn''t know why, but Lilith was unlike any Witch he had ever faced before. Most of the spells were something he had never seen before.

    He had lived for a longer time than many. He had seen many new Witches takingmand of their n while the old Witch Matriarchs died of old age in his lifetime.

    With each passing generation, the Witches only got weaker. He had seen so many Witch Matriarchs and even had conflicts with many. He even killed one in his own hands, yet he never saw spells quite like these. These spells were just so unique.

    "Which n are you from?!" He asked as he wiped the blood off his forehead.

    "I doubt you''ll understand anything even if I told you. You''re too young, junior." Lilith calmly responded.

    Despite fighting for so long, she wasn''t even out of breath, let alone being hurt. It was as if she was having a walk in the park.

    "Youngdy, just because I look young, it doesn''t mean I''m going. I don''t think even your great-grandmother was born when I became a Vampire. You''re the Junior here. Now I don''t know how you got those interesting spells, but even with them, you can''t hurt me. You will soon run out of your spells, but I can keep fighting for days. You have no chance here."

    Lilith looked weirdly at the middle-aged man as she sighed. "Even my grandmother wasn''t born when you became a Vampire?" She found this statement to be so amusing since her real age was something that the man had no idea.

    She was probably older than any Vampire in existence now, let alone Severis.

    "Even the Vampires in the Council won''t be able to im what you do. You''re like a frog at the bottom of the well."

    "Vampires in the Council? Are you talking about the Blood Council? The sheer arrogance!"

    "Oh? So they do still exist." Lilith frowned. "That''s interesting."

    "Hmm?" She noticed something. "You should step back if you know what''s good for you."

    "No, you should step back if you know what''s good for you!" The man sharply responded.

    Bang~

    In his frustration, the man kept his entire focus on Lilith, not even checking his surroundings. A body came flying, crashing on his body.

    Carlisle hit Severis, and both men fell to the ground.

    "Carlisle?" Severis helped Carlisle up, noticing he was also covered in blood. His leg was broken. "You in this condition?"

    "That bastard is stronger than I thought. Somehow the longer this battle went on, the stronger he became. His speed is more than mine. I don''t know why. I have a feeling that he''s older than us... The Higher Generation," Carlisle stated as he straightened his legs, letting them heal.

    No matter how he tried to fight, As was faster than him. No matter what he tried, As always had the upper edge. At the start of the battle, at least he could still stand on an equal footing. In fact, he was slightly stronger, but now the gap was too much.

    He didn''t know the skills of a Progenitor. The fact that As drank so much blood from the Vampires was ying out in his favor. As the blood was refined by his body, his strength kept increasing.

    Despite that, the strength of As was still not at its peak. Since he wasn''t Castiel, he still couldn''t call out the full strength, but the Vampire Blood did increase what strength he could pull from the body.

    "What are you implying? He is...?" Severis stared at Carlisle grimly.

    "He might be an Alpha of the Higher Generation than us," Carlisle answered. "Even I didn''t want to believe it at the start, but fighting him had made me sure of it."

    "You mean he''s a Fourth Generation Vampire... But... That would mean..."

    "That would mean we have no chance against him. Us fighting him would be the same as my n members fighting me. Only a Fourth Generation Vampire can face him."

    "So we have no choice then? But why would someone like him want to bully Fifth Generation Vampires? Why did he blow up my castle instead of killing me right there? What was he trying to achieve?"

    "Even I''m not sure about that, but I think it''s rted to the girl I killed when I went to your castle. He repeated those words when fighting me. In any case, I doubt we can get answers. We should get out of this ce."

    "You mean run away?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    "You want to forget a fourth-generation Vampire?" Carlisle asked sarcastically. "We need to get out of here and get some help for n-"

    Carlisle was in the middle of exnation, but before he could finish, someone grabbed the back of his neck.

    As came chasing after him to find him talking with. Severis, but he only had one target for now.

    Holding Carlisle by his neck, As smacked his head on the ground.

    Severis tried to take advantage of this closeness to As.

    "I''m your enemy." Before he could even do anything, a formation appeared under his feet.

    Three spikes came from the ground, forcing Severis to jump back.

    "I''m your enemy, not him. You shouldn''t forget it." Lilith appeared before Severis, distancing him from As.

    Severis clenched his fist. He wanted to fight. He wanted to show this young witch her ce, but he also couldn''t forget the words of Carlisle. If As was really a Fourth Generation Vampire, then winning was going to be really difficult in this situation.

    A Fourth-Generation Vampire shouldn''t have appeared in this ce, but if he had, then there was no other option. Instead of fighting, he took the bitter decision of escaping, but for that, he needed to distract Lilith first.

    He noticed the Carlisle n Vampires standing in the back. Carlisle had instructed them to stay back and now interfere, and that''s what they did. Moreover, it wasn''t as if any of them were eager to join the battle after seeing how it was going.

    "What are you all doing there?! Kill this Witch so I can save Carlisle!" He roared as if he was really angry at them.

    The Vampires couldn''t say no this time. They all rushed to Lilith from all directions.

    With Lilith distracted, Severis could escape. He didn''t think twice before running away. One could only show strength before their equals or weaker people. When someone was out there who was stronger than him and trying to kill him, he knew arrogance was thest thing that needed to be in his mind.

    As smashed the body of Carlisle on the ground. Carlisle kicked As to free himself, but even as As was locked, he didn''t release the neck of Carlisle.

    As raised Carlisle in the air before smacking his head. He continued repeating the process as the crater under them kept getting bigger and bigger. The road was painted in the blood of Carlisle.

    Carlisle had bled so much that even his vision had started getting blurry by now. His head was bleeding. Every time his head healed, his head hit the hard floor once again, this time with even more strength.

    As if having enough, As freed the throat of Carlisle. Instead, he grabbed both the arms of Carlisle. "These are the hands that touched my sister, right?!"

    "Arghh!" Carlisle yelled in pain as As pulled his arms from his shoulders.

    "Roar! Roar more! Let me hear more!" As tossed both the arms of Carlisle away. "I want even louder screams! They need to be louder than my sister''s!"

    "What sister?! Who are you?!" Carlisle roared as tears of blood came from his eyes!

    "You wanted to know my identity, right? Let me tell you then! You should know why you''re dying!"

    "Remember a boy you forced to watch as you killed his sister. The same boy who was under your Compulsion? The same boy who was med by you for not being able to break yourpulsion...?"

    Carlisle already knew that this was rted to the brother and sister duo, now how! That''s the question in his head.

    "That boy was me," As shed a devilish grin. His fangs starteding out. "You took my everything. Even though your life can''tpare to what you took, I''ll make do!"

    "Since you came to serve us drinks, it''s only fair that you serve us drinks. However, I can''t use the broken sses. So I guess I''ll have to adjust for something else." Onest time, As used the same line that Carlisle had used before he stabbed his teeth into the neck of Carlisle.

    Carlisle felt the pain he had never felt before as his painful screams reached far and wide. Unfortunately, just like no one could save Mise when she yelled, no one could save him either. His screams were like a beautiful melody for As. The more this person was hurt, the more he felt pleased!

 Chapter 66 66: Youve Just Waged A War

    As feasted on the blood of Carlisle.

    Carlisle tried to resist, but he couldn''t. He couldn''t do anything but scream. His body had stopped listening to him. It was as if he was paralyzed from top to bottom as As feasted on his blood.

    Before long, he couldn''t even speak. His face started turning pale. His deep red eyes started losing their shine as all his nerves started turning pitch ck.

    He didn''t even have enough strength to ask As to stop.

    After a long time, As finally moved back only to watch the lifeless eyes of Carlisle. His eyes stayed open even as he died.

    Blood trickled down As''s lips which he wiped using his hands. "For what you did, this isn''t enough. I wanted to torture you daily for all of eternity for what you did, but I couldn''t let you live for a single day more."

    He stabbed his hand into the chest of Carlisle and pulled out the heart of the old Vampire.

    "Even you had a heart... If only you could use it that day..."

    Crush~

    As crushed the heart before tossing what was left of it away to find Lilith fighting a group of Vampires. Severis was nowhere to be found.

    As appeared behind Lilith, crushing the neck of a Vampire who was about to attack her.

    "Where is Severis?"

    "That coward is trying to run away. But he can''t go anywhere," Lilith smirked. "Let me finish these kids, and I''ll exin more."

    "We don''t have time to y around," As reminded Lilith before pulling out the hearts of two more Vampires.

    "On the contrary, we have lots of time to y around now that you''ve crossed the first Bloodlust. One thing we don''tck for now is time," Lilith smirked as her figure disappeared.

    Thrust~

    She stabbed a knife in the chest of a Vampire. The Vampire dropped to the ground.

    As grabbed two Vampires by their hair and smacked their heads with such force that their skills shattered. "I thought knives couldn''t kill the Vampires. How did you do it?"

    Lilith smirked in response. "There are many things you don''t know. You haven''t even lived for twenty years, after all. It would be surprising if you knew everything."

    The two kept talking as they killed the Vampires in their surroundings, using teamwork. It was as if the two of them were having an unofficialpetition about who could kill more Vampires, the Ancient Witch or a kid in the body of a Progenitor.

    Unfortunately, despite his fast speed, As seemed to be losing thispletion.

    Lilith had already killed more than him, and there weren''t many left.

    As killed thest one, still losing by two.

    "You''re getting pretty good at using your strength," Lilithmented.

    "I''m getting somewhat better, but you... You''re on a different level altogether."

    "Meh, not even a fraction of the level I used to be at. But for now, it''s enough." Lilith shrugged.

    "So, where is Severis? You said he ran, but he can''t run away. What did this imply?" As asked. No matter where he looked, he couldn''t see Severis. It appeared as if he had run away a long time ago.

    Lilith smiled in response. "I wanted to have some fun with him since he called me a kid, so I did let him run, but he can''t leave this city. I''ve left a Soul Mark on him. He can''t go more than a thousand feet away from me, and even then, I can locate him."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Come, let''s go meet the one who thinks he can call me a kid." She stretched her arms as she yawned while flying south.

    She hadn''t used her body in a really long time. To be inside her body once again, she felt really great.

    ****

    In another ce, Carlisle was pacing back and forth in frustration. No matter how much he tried, he couldn''t get out of the city. It was as if there was an invisible barrier that was preventing him. Whenever he tried taking a step ahead, he was pushed back.

    After a long time, he finally gave up. He didn''t know what it was, but he was sure that it was the doing of the Witch.

    "So there is no way out of the city. Does that mean the only way out is my liking that Witch? If I had known before, I wouldn''t have attempted this escape. Instead, I would''ve helped him..."

    "By now, he must already be dead. I''m left all alone. Do I really have no other choice?"

    "You do. You can just die." A calm voice fell in his ears as a st sent him flying back, straight in the hands of As, who was waiting for him.

    As grabbed the cor of Severis and brought him thrashing down to the ground.

    "All that''s left is you now. The person who fed us... The person whose house we grew up in... The person who didn''t think twice before abandoning you." As grabbed the throat of Severis as he kept his body grounded.

    Lilith also came from help. Vines came out of the ground and wrapped around the arms and legs of Severis so he couldn''t move.

    "I abandoned you? What are you speaking? I didn''t even know you before you came to my castle to destroy it! If anything, you hurt me for no reason at all!" Severis stated.

    "Just because you''re a Fourth General Vampire, don''t think you can do what you want. What you did here today, the Blood Council will get to know of it. You have just written your death sentence today. Let me leave, and I might plead to them to have mercy on you!"

    "You will plead to have mercy on me? Well, aren''t you kind?" As couldn''t believe what he was hearing. This man was talking about mercy on others. "Why this sudden change of heart? I thought you didn''t like having mercy? Or is your mercy only reserved for people who are stronger than you?"

    "Anyway, I am not sure about what this Blood Council is, so I don''t think that threat will work on me," As respondedzily.

    "You idiot, you don''t know what Blood Council is? Heh, don''t worry. You''ll soon find out. You can kill me today, but when theye looking for you, you''ll have no path to survival. The Blood Council is ruled by the Second Generation Vampires of Lord Ramiel, the first generation Vampires that were converted by Lord Ramiel himself!"

    "They are the pure blood! The true lords of this world, and you''ve just waged war with them by attacking their Lineage. I''m but a measly Fifth Generation Lord. You should be a Fourth Generation, if I''m not wrong. If the difference between Fourth and Fifth is such that you can kill two of us, just imagine the difference between Second and Fourth."

    "Since the Progenitors disappeared, the Blood Council Vampires have been the strongest. You have no idea who you''ve just bought yourself in conflict with.''

    "You''re right. I have no idea, but I don''t want to have an idea either. I don''t care about the Blood Council. I don''t care about the Vampires. It''s not my fight. After you die, my revenge will beplete. Mise''s soul could finally rest in peace."

    "Mise...? That name..."

    "Oh? You remember? That''s good. Remember that name even as your soul rots in hell. That name is what destroyed this small Empire you had created. If only you had said something that day, this day wouldn''t havee."

    "Now, let me feast!"

    As'' teeth stabbed the necks of Severis'' neck.

    ****

    "I must stop As! Mise isn''t here! Only the Vampire Lords must know where she is! They can''t be killed before we get an answer!"

    In another part of the Kingdom, Lancaster was running at his top speed to stop As.

 Chapter 67 67: The Last Link

    Lancaster had checked every once ce in the Castle of Carlisle, but he couldn''t find the body of Mise. He was sure that she wasn''t in the castle. As for where she was, only As knew.

    He didn''t know how the battle was going, but he wanted to inform As about this as soon as he could before As actually killed Carlisle.

    He didn''t know if As could actually kill Carlisle or not. But he had a feeling that As could. Since he had given Mise''s responsibility to him, As didn''t have anything to lose now. And he also didn''t seem like he was going to care for his life.

    A person who didn''t have anything to hold him back, not even his life, that person was the scariest and could achieve even the impossible.

    That''s why Lancaster was worried. If As killed Carlisle and also died in the process, where was he going to find the whereabouts of As'' sister? It was his responsibility to find As'' sister, and he didn''t want to fail that responsibility.

    He ran as if his life depended on it. After a few minutes, he finally reached before the arena, which was like a warzone. There were bodies littered everywhere.

    Amongst the bodies, he found a body of Carlisle, which made his lips part slightly.

    "I am toote. But where is As? He isn''t here? If he hade towards the castle, I would''ve seen him. But if he were alive, he wouldn''t leave the city without checking up on me. He must''ve been chasing after someone. Ah, that other Lord that I fought! He was with Carlisle! He might know another Mise as well! I might not be toote after all!"

    "But which direction did he go in? How will I find it? I can''t randomly run either."

    Lancaster thought about which direction to select since he probably only had one attempt. He couldn''t waste it.

    "He went there." A calm voice came from the back.

    The young man turned around, confused about who had spoken. As he looked back, he noticed it was a young woman who had spoken. As for the woman, she was none other than the one Carlisle treated like a princess. Why was she helping him though?

    "I heard what you were mumbling to yourself. If you want to stop him, you should hurry." The youngdy smiled as she patted the rabbit in her hand.

    For some reason, everything that happened here was so odd. But he didn''t have time to think about it. Every second mattered, so he took the advice and ran in the direction shown to him by thedy.

    As leaving, he did nce back onest time. Unfortunately, the woman wasn''t there anymore. It was as if she had just disappeared into thin air. If he weren''t in such a hurry, Lancaster would''ve tried to find her and get some answers, but he couldn''t.

    ****

    Lancaster finally reached the border of the city. As he gazed into the distance, he couldn''t help but drop to his knees, defeated.

    Severis was already dead, and As was sitting near his body, wiping the blood off his lips.

    As also noticed Lancaster in the distance. He stood up and walked to Lancaster. "Why are you back here? And where is Mise?"

    "That''s what I wasing to tell you so I could stop you from killing them. Mise isn''t in the castle. I looked everywhere. She is nowhere. It seems Carlisle didn''t keep her in the castle, so we needed them to get some answers. But I was toote to stop you. Both Carlisle and Severis are dead. All the Vampires in the city are also dead. So where Carlisle kept the body, it''ll be impossible to find," Lancaster exined.

    "This is impossible. If Carlisle brought her with him, of course, he would''ve brought her to his castle. Are you sure you checked the castle properly?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I checked every room from top to bottom. I didn''t find her anywhere. If I had, I would''ve taken her with me." Lancaster let out a sigh.

    There was no point talking about this. They had already failed. They had killed the one who could know where she was, and now they could do nothing.

    He gazed up, wondering how As was taking this news. He was sure it wasn''t good news for him since this meant the chances of him being back to his sister were close to none. The only ones who knew were dead.

    "No, not everyone who would know is dead." Instead of going hysterical, As was still calm as he thought of something.

    "Wasn''t there a girl with Carlisle who was really special to him? I''m sure she must know something about him. If she doesn''t, even then I don''t care. I will dig this entire city until I find Mise."

    "Not just this city; I''ll dig every city until I find Mise. Even if Carlisle is dead, he can''t stop me. I''ll get her back," he dered. "But first, let me find thatdy."

    "Thatdy..." Lancaster scratched the back of his head. Why didn''t he think of it? Why didn''t he ask her in the first ce when he met her?

    "Ist saw her near the arena," he informed As.

    ****

    As and Lancaster both reached the arena and searched the entire ce, looking for thatdy, but she was nowhere to be found.

    Both of them selected a direction each, and Lilith chose a third direction to look for her.

    The group of three searched the entire city, but they couldn''t find that girl. It was as if she wasn''t here anymore. The only ce they were yet to check was the Castle itself.

    "You think she would go back to the castle?" Lilith asked.

    "That''s the only thing we haven''t checked. Either she left the city itself, or she''s in the castle. In any case, we need to check."

    ****

    The group of three entered the Castle. It was the first time for As to enter this castle. He had even participated in the trial to get ess to enter the castle. Even though things didn''t turn out as nned, he believed it was for good. At least he found out what he was capable of this way.

    As entered the castle.

    "Let me make it easier and check if someone is inside. Wait a moment."

    Lilith bit her thumb a bit, letting it bleed before she started writing something on the wall with her blood. As soon as she finished, what she had written disappeared.

    "Yep. There is someone here... A girl."

 Chapter 68 68: The Mystery Of The Woman

    Lilith led the two young men straight ahead, only stopping before massive golden doors.

    "Yeah, I checked this ce before as well. This should be the Royal Court where Carlisle''s throne is. Mise wasn''t here." Lancaster recognized the ce since he had been here for quite some time. "I''m not sure why that girl woulde here. Other than a few seats, there is nothing here."

    "Well, why don''t you all ask her instead?" Lilith pushed the door open and took her first step inside.

    It was just as Lancaster had stated. There were seats on both sides of the room, with a throne being ced in the center of the room at the end.

    All the seats were empty except the main throne. A youngdy was sitting on the throne as she went through a book.

    "That book..." Lilith recognized the book in the hands of Yovana. She had spent many years with that book itself since it was none other than her own diary.

    A beautiful white rabbit rested on thep of the youngdy.

    The book she held was the book in which Lilith recorded the spells she came up with, most of which even she didn''t remember at the moment.

    "Lady Yovana, I suppose." As stepped closer to her.

    "Urgh."

    Before As could even step within ten meters range of Lilith, he was pushed back by an invisible force.

    "A Vampire Warding Formation," Lilith reminded As. "You can''t get close to her without her permission without seriously harming yourself."

    "As expected, you seem to know a lot about this formation." Yovana closed the book and kept it aside.

    She nced at Lancaster, who stood on the left side of Lilith. "Since all three of you are here, I suppose you failed to stop him from killing Severis? I suppose that was to be expected."

    "Good thing I didn''t leave, right?" she asked, letting out a calm smile. "If I had, you would''ve had to look for me."

    "Why are you so calm even in this situation?" As inquired. Something didn''t seem right here. He had just killed two Vampire Lords she was apparently close to. Not only that, he had killed the other Vampires as well. So why was she so calm? There wasn''t even a shred of fear in her eyes.

    "What''s the benefit of worrying? Did worrying protect Carlisle?" Yovana asked in return.

    "It doesn''t matter. I don''t care who you are or why you aren''t worried. I don''t have anything to do with you. I just want one answer. Where is Mise?"

    As described the characteristics of his sister to give the youngdy an idea of who she might be.

    "She was brought here a few weeks back. So, tell me? Where is she?"

    "You don''t have to describe her in such great detail. I already know who you''re talking about."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "So you also know where she is?" From the way Yovana talked, it was as if she really knew his sister, which made him feel that his sister was indeed brought here. There was no way Yovana could know who he was talking about.

    And if Mise''s body was brought here, that meant this girl was going to know where she was?

    "Tell me, where is Mise?" he asked straight.

    Yovana simply smiled in response. "What will I get in return if I help you?"

    "Your life," As dered. "Because if you don''t tell me where she is, your life wouldn''t exist for long."

    "My life? I don''t think you can kill me. You can''t even get close to me, can you?" Yovana asked in an amused tone.

    Even though she talked as such, it didn''t seem as if she was mocking As.

    "He can''te to you, but I can," Lilith chimed in. "And believe me, he''s much nicer than me. If I have toe to you, you might not like it."

    "Please,dy. Just tell us where his sister is? He is only asking for his sister. Be a nice person and help him?" Lancaster also suggested.

    Yovana closed her eyes. "I know, as a nice person, I should help you right now, but an opportunity like this doesn''te every day when a Progenitor and the Strongest Witch ever to walk this earth need something from you. If they were ordinary people, I might''ve helped while asking for nothing, but they''re too special to let go this easily."

    "Moreover, it''s not like you aren''t special yourself. I saw the mark on your back. A young wolf who possesses the Royal Werewolf Bloodline. It''s so funny how you three managed to find yourself. Lady Lilith, a Royal Werewolf and a Progenitor."

    Following her words, for a moment, there wasplete silence in the entire hall. Both As and Lilith were stunned as to how she knew who they were. At the same time, Lancaster was surprised to hear about As being a Progenitor.

    He had heard the stories about there being Progenitors. They were the oldest and the strongest Vampires, also known as the original gods of this world. A single Progenitor wasparable to the King of the Royal Werewolves, if not stronger.

    "This can''t be. You''re mistaken about them." Lancaster didn''t believe a single word she said since it sounded impossible.

    "Progenitors are the oldest Vampires who are true immortals, unlike the current Vampires. How can a Progenitor have a sister who was a human? Unlike Vampires, Progenitors weren''t born a human. Even if they were, it was millions of years ago. So there''s no chance of a human existing at this time who could be their sister."

    "Are you sure Mise is her real sister?" Yovana asked. "Two people don''t have to be rted by blood to be brothers and sisters, can they? They can form such bonds without a bond of blood. If I''m not wrong, that girl isn''t his real sister but someone he considers like a sister."

    "At first, even I wouldn''t have believed my own assumption, but too many things happened that made me realize that it''s the truth."

    "Lady Lilith addressed the young man as Master before Severis when she arrived. And he addressed her as Lilith. A witch who could use spells the lost spells that haven''t been seen in centuries? Who else can be butdy Lilith from the legends herself."

    "Just to be sure, I came here and checked the Grimoire of Lilith. The spells she used... They are all here. A woman who can use these spells... Someone who doesn''t look even the slightest bit of Greed for this book which is like the holy grail for Witches... Who else can she be but Lilith?" The youngdy exined.

    "And the person Lady Lilith addressed as Master... There was only one person like that ording to the stories... Progenitor Castiel. Am I right?"

 Chapter 69 69: Demand

    "Progenitor Castiel, right?" The youngdy asked. "It''s certainly good to be in the presence of someone like you."

    "Who are you?" As inquired. The youngdy had recognized them all, which even Carlisle couldn''t do. Meanwhile, they didn''t know who she was.

    She appeared to be an ordinary human who was really special to Carlisle for some reason. Previously, he had assumed that she was probably Carlisle''s feeding bag since there were Vampires who did prefer to keep a human they preferred the taste of.

    The way he gave her importance, it certainly seemed that Carlisle loved her blood so much and didn''t want to lose her. There appeared to be no other reason why someone like him would take care of a human so well, but that didn''t seem to be the case anymore.

    If that were the case, then thedy would''ve been happy that she was saved from the clutches of Carlisle. She would also be scared of the one who was strong enough to kill Carlisle. Instead of being scared, she was sitting in their presence and talking to them like they were nothing. That''s not how someone who was scared acted.

    There was certainly more to what met the eyes, and he wanted to know what it was. All those answers were hidden in the identity of the youngdy.

    "Who am I? That''s a good question." Yovana folded her arms. "Why don''t you take a guess? I guessed all your identities. I''m sure someone like you who lived through a millennium would know more."

    "Lilith, it doesn''t seem like she is going to answer. Bring her out of the ward so I can talk to her... Nicely."

    "Lord Castiel, are you sure you want to send her to me? I''m sure Lady Lilith is capable enough to catch me, but if I were you, I wouldn''t do it. Especially since I''m the only one who knows where your so-called sister really is."

    "Don''t worry; she won''t kill you. She will just bring you out without harming you."

    "Well, for that she would have to get to me, won''t she?" Yovana brought a small piece of paper out of her pocket. "As I told you, I wouldn''t send anyone to the throne if I was in your ce."

    Lilith saw the piece of paper and instantly understood what that was.

    "Lilith, you know what that is?" As asked the all-knowing witch. Unlike her, he hadn''t seen the entire world before. He didn''t know what many things were, but if she was shing that paper with such confidence, it surely wasn''t going to be something useless.

    Even Lancaster was curious about what that paper was.

    "That''s a Spell Formation..." Lilith answered. "One thought of hers, and she will teleport to some other ce. No wonder this girl is so arrogant and calm. She has that formation spell."

    "But if I''m not wrong, that paper isn''t the actual formation. It is most probably a key that is in sync with the throne. The real formation must be under the throne," she further theorized.

    "Ah, as expected of Lady Lilith. You certainly know a lot." Yovana nodded in agreement, confirming all the theories of Lilith. "The paper is just a medium to make it easier for me. Out of all three that are there, only one person is fast enough to get to me before I could use the teleportation."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "And that''s you, Lord Castiel. That''s why I had to use the Warding Spell to stop you. You can get through the ward, but by the time you do, I can disappear. Even I''m not stupid enough to think it can stop you, but at least it can slow you and give me the time I need."

    "Lady Lilith and that other friend of yours can''t get to me in time. And yeah, that applies for your spells, Lady Lilith. I know you can cast spells without chanting, but even you can''t cast them without making a movement."

    "As soon as I notice even a single spell movement, I''ll be gone from here before you can even cast a spell. So think wisely."

    It appeared as if Yovana had covered all the loopholes already to secure herself. Even though she stood before three of the strongest beings from their respective sides, she was still confident enough to escape safely if they didn''t listen to her.

    Moreover, they needed something from her in the first ce. She was sure that they weren''t going to take the risk of letting her leave. They must agree...

    "It seems you''ve nned everything, little girl." Lilith frowned. "To have this much knowledge about spells, let me take a guess. You''re a Witch too?"

    "Not quite." Yovana casually responded. "It was a good guess, but you''re still not entirely correct."

    "It doesn''t matter. Just tell us where his sister is. That spell might help you escape, but do you really want to make a Progenitor into your enemy? You know he will find his sister sooner orter, but he will never forget what you did here today. You can either help him and get on his good side or offend him and keep running all your life..."

    Lancaster was sure by now that As was a Progenitor since Lilith had basically confirmed it. That would also exin why he was strong enough to kill two Vampire Lords, but he still didn''t understand why would As lie to him? If he was a Progenitor, why didn''t he tell him before?

    It wasn''t as if this was something that couldn''t be told. He knew As was a Vampire. If he had told he was a Progenitor, everything would still be the same since Progenitors were also Vampires, just slightly older.

    He clenched his fist, deciding to ask Aster why he lied.

    "If you put it that way, it certainly sounds scary, but I think I''ll take the risk. If you want information from me, you must do something from me in return. Because let me tell you, only I know where she is? You might be able to dig all the cities, but you''ll never find her without my help. If you don''t help me in return."

    "What do you want in return?" As asked after a long time.

    He didn''t want to haggle over something like this. His goal was more important since he didn''t have much time.  He couldn''t waste his time chasing after this girl if she escaped. If what she asked for was possible, he was willing to help her in return.

    "It''s simple. I want you to do something that only you and Lady Lilith can do," Yovana responded. "I want you to help me free Progenitor An!"

 Chapter 70 70: Imprisoned?

    "An?"

    Both As and Lilith were taken aback as they heard the demand of the youngdy. Just what did she mean she wanted them to free An? As was a Progenitor and was no weaker than Castiel. Why would he need someone to free him?

    Moreover, it wasn''t as if Castiel and An were close. All those who knew about Progenitors knew that Castiel wasn''t close to An or even any other Progenitor for that matter. He always stayed alone since his perception of things was different. In fact, there were even times when Castiel fought the other three Progenitors.

    If this girl was clever enough to know their identity, it was evident that she must''ve known about this enmity as well. So why did she ask Castiel? And what could be the help that An needed? He was so strong that no enemy could hold him back or capture him. No one could even dare, so why?

    "Do you know where An is?" Lilith asked. "How do you know that?"

    "Of course, I know where he is. Why else would I ask you to help me? If you promise to help me, I''ll give you all the answers you need." Yovana yed with the piece of talisman in her hand. "So, do you promise? You can bring the little wolf for help too."

    "You realize Lord Castiel and An were never close? Why don''t you go with other Progenitors for help instead ofing to him?"

    "I would''ve if I had known where they were," the youngdy answered. "Finding a Progenitor is harder than finding a needle in a haystack the size of the earth. No one had seen any in centuries, and no one knows where they went."

    "Maybe Lord Castiel can help me understand? Where did he disappear? The other Progenitors might''ve done the same. So, Lord Castiel? Where were you all these years? Did you go into a deep slumber?"

    As didn''t answer the question. Instead, he was still stuck on the thoughts about An. He was being asked to free a Progenitor when Lilith had asked him to stay away from all Progenitors since they could realize what he truly was. An was no different.

    But what stunned him even more was the fact that An needed his help?

    "What kind of trouble is he in?" As asked, changing the topic. "What exact help do you need?"

    "Well, it''s simple. After all the other Lords disappeared, Lord An roamed the world alone, feeling somewhat lonely. Ultimately, even he decided that it was probably time for him to take his eternal sleep," Yovana answered calmly.

    "Unfortunately, before he could, he was captured by someone..."

    "He was captured? Who could capture An?" Lilith asked. "I don''t think he was that weak. Moreover, why would someone capture him?"

    "Possibly because of me," The youngdy scratched the back of her head as if reminiscing about the incident."I did something... Something stupid."

    As she talked, she nced at Lancaster for a brief second.

    The subtle nce didn''t escape the observation of Lilith. "Let me guess. The Werewolves did it?"

    "Well, yeah. But they weren''t alone. The Werewolf King is certainly as strong as a Progenitor, but even one as strong as him can''t capture a Progenitor. They had the help."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Help from the Witches?"

    Only Witches could be powerful enough to help the Werewolves in capturing a Progenitor. Without that help, even the Werewolves were to have a hard time, so it didn''t take Lilith long to understand the implications.

    "Exactly. The hate of Witches for the Vampires isn''t hidden. There are some Witches who work with the Vampires due to their own greed, but there are more who simply hate them. On the other hand, they have more favorable feelings for the werewolves," Yovana exined.

    "Both Witches and Werewolves have a limited lifespan, so of course." Lilith nodded. "On the contrary, Vampires defy thews of nature with their lifespan, most importantly Progenitors who are true Immortals."

    "Exactly. With the help of Witches, the Werewolf King managed to capture Progenitor An. A prison is prepared in the Royal Werewolf Kingdom to keep Progenitor An so he couldn''t get out. The Witches created the prison and even fortified it."

    "It''s impossible for any ordinary person to even enter the Royal Werewolf Empire, let alone help Progenitor An out. Only someone who has the strength to hold the Werewolf King back can achieve it, and who better for this job than another Progenitor?"

    "You said An is in prison because of you? Why would that be? What did you do?"

    "I don''t think I need to answer that. I already gave you all the information you needed so you can understand what you need to do. Will you help me? Just make a promise that you will, and I''ll take you to your sister."

    "Fine. I promise I''ll help you get An out. Now take me to my sister. I ept the deal."

    As didn''t even take a second to take the deal. As for taking it right away, he had multiple reasons for it. He didn''t know how long he could exist in this body, so he needed to get to his sister fast. He didn''t have time to waste.

    And secondly, thedy was just asking for a promise. He wasn''t really Castiel in the first ce. He didn''t care about promises. He didn''t have the moral high ground and dignity that Castiel had. A promise was just that... A promise.

    After getting what he wanted, he could decide what to do with the promise. It was only after getting his sister back that he was going to determine if he needed to take thedy seriously.

    Still, he had already made up most of his mind that he wasn''t going to help her. He didn''t know An; he didn''t know this girl or who she was. All he was told was that he needed to do this to get his sister. It was basically a ckmail. So he didn''t feel bad about breaking his promise either if needed.

    "I, Castiel, promise you that if you take me to your sister, I''ll help you free An," he promised.

    It was as if Lilith understood what he was thinking. She didn''t try to stop As from promising.

    Only Lancaster was the one who didn''t understand. The mission was to infiltrate his Empire? He felt like he was betraying his Bloodline by betraying his Empire like this, but he had also promised As that he was going to get his sister back.

    If the only way to get her back was through this route, he couldn''t just say no, as that would be breaking his promise to As.

    He was really conflicted.

 Chapter 71 71: Brace For...

    In another ce, a youngdy was still lying unconscious near the bodies of hundreds of Vampires.

    She had just started regaining her consciousness, only to realize that her hands were free now.

    "Hmm?" She opened her eyes, observing the surroundings, only to be stunned at the number of bodies in her surroundings.

    Most of these bodies belonged to the Vampires. What stunned her even more was the fact that even Carlisle was dead! There was only one person she could think of who might have done this. It was the person who was fighting Carlisle, but she still couldn''t understand. How was he so strong? Just how was he so powerful to defeat Carlisle?

    She also noticed the body of the olddy who had captured her. The woman was also dead.

    "It''s like a massacre took ce here. A single person did all this?" Even though she was watching everything with her own eyes, she still found it hard to believe.

    She stood up and checked her neck. She let out a sigh of relief as she realized that her pendant was still there. She hadn''t lost it.

    She hastily ran and found a safe ce before creating amunication formation.

    She contacted her grandma and told her everything about how she was fooled by As, how she was caught by the old Witch, and how she woke up to find that everyone here was already dead.

    "All the Vampires are dead?" Her Grandma asked, just to be sure.

    "It seems to be that way. Grandma, what should I do? Should I go to the castle and search for the Book of Lilith? I''m not sure if As is going to be there or not."

    "You said that person wanted to get the body of his sister? He might have lied about that too."

    "Could he have arrived here for the book as well?" Lia asked.

    "I don''t think that would be the case. If he is truly as strong as you described, then I don''t think he would''vee there to steal the Book of Lilith. He certainly needed something from the Castle, but I''m sure it wasn''t the book. Do one thing! Stay right where you are."

    "Wait for a few hours. After he gets what he wants from the castle, he will leave. Then it would be safe for you. It''s not safe at the moment. Moreover, since all the Vampires there are dead, I''lle there with the entire n to help you look for the book. Just don''t do anything stupid, alright?"

    Lia took the instructions of her grandma seriously and promised her that she wasn''t going to do anything stupid. She was going to wait for her.

    Since all the Vampires here were killed, the Witches in Lia''s n didn''t need to worry about losing too many people. The threat was almost gone. Moreover, they were sure that by the time they got here, As would''ve gone. The city was going to be as safe for them as it could be. With more people, they could detect the book faster and get out safely.

    ****

    The book that Lia was after, was lying right beside Yovana. So far, no one knew her real identity. All everyone knew was that she knew many things that normal people shouldn''t have.<novelnext></novelnext>

    As promised her that he was going to help her, and Yovana grew pleased.

    She had heard many stories about Progenitor Castiel, who wasn''t like any other Progenitor. He was said to be someone who never broke his promise and didn''t step back even in the face of death once he decided something. With his promise, Yovana was sure that An was going to be free.

    She was still under the misconception that Castiel stood before her, not realizing that it was As.

    "See? That was simple, wasn''t it? For Lord Castiel, freeing Lord An would be child''s y, especially since you have a friend with the Royal Bloodline. Since you''ve agreed to help me, let me help you as well."

    Yovana got off the throne, holding onto the little bunny. She kept the talisman in her pocket. "I must remind you though; things might not be too pleasing. So you should be prepared. There are some really messed up things that Carlisle did. Just a disimer, I had no hand in anything he did."

    "The only reason he treated me so well was because I lied to him that I was a human envoy sent by the Blood Council. That idiot fell for it right away. So yeah, I didn''t have a hand in what he did. I didn''t interfere in his matters, and he didn''t interfere in mine. Now that we''re done with the disimer, I invite you in."

    "Come and move this throne back. You''ll see the secret entrance to a ce that shouldn''t exist."

    As was finally invited in. Even the ward couldn''t stop him now. He walked straight to the throne and pushed it back.

    To push the throne, he needed to apply quite a lot of strength. It would''ve been impossible for even an ordinary Vampire to push the throne back.

    As soon as As pushed the throne back, a small entrance was revealed under the throne. There were stairs that were leading down.

    As nced back at Lilith. He didn''t have a good feeling about this. From what Yovana said, he was going to find Mise underground, but the way Yovana talked about bracing himself, he didn''t know if he was prepared for it or not.

    Lancaster ced his hand on the young Vampire''s shoulder. He didn''t say a single word.

    Lilith also stepped closer to the throne. Even she didn''t know what to say. She was really hoping that at least the body was going to be intact. She didn''t want to see As more broken than he already was.

    As braced himself. With his fist clenched, he took his first step on the stairs as he went down.

    Lancaster went behind him. He had never seen Mise before, but even he was worried about what he was going to see. He had lived most of his life as a human, after all.

    Yovana reached out her hand to take the book, but Lilith took it. "I think it belongs to me."

    Yovana didn''t stop her and simply smiled. "I was picking it up to give it to you. I don''t need it anymore. I''ve already memorized everything that''s written in it, after all. I must say, your insight into spells was really strong, Lady Lilith."

    Lilith rolled her eyes. She didn''t react and just went down, disappearing into the darkness. Yovana was thest to go inside.

 Chapter 72 72: Misella

    As walked down the stairs. His heart, which had been calm for the most part ever since he arrived in this new body, was thumping.

    He wanted to get down, but at the same time, he felt some hesitation as he walked down the unending stairs.

    Was he finally going to see Mise? He knew she was dead, but even then, he was worried as to what condition she was going to be in.

    After a long time, As finally reached the end of the stairs, only to end up in a secret chamber that was nothing but dark.

    The small chamber lit up as Lilith arrived and used a spell. Lancaster and Yovana both arrived as well.

    "This ce..." Lancaster''s lips parted as he noticed where he was. This ce... This was so... He couldn''t find words to speak at the moment as he saw the chamber.

    There were many coffin-like cases in this ce, and all of them were made purely of transparent ss to allow someone to gaze inside.

    There were over a hundred such cases, and each case contained a lifeless body inside. Some bodies belonged to me who were in their early twenties, others belonged to kids, and some belonged to girls.

    All the bodies here had a bite mark around their necks.

    Just as everyone was distracted by the sheer number of bodies, As started walking on his own.

    With a nk look on his face, he walked to a coffin in the middle. A young girl who was only fourteen years of age was lying inside the coffin. Even though she appeared as if she was peacefully sleeping, it was evident that he was dead. Her clothes were covered in blood from thest time.

    As ced his fingers on the ss of the coffin as he gazed at his sister''s lifeless body. His eyes became somewhat wet, and a single tear trickled down his eyes.

    "Lancaster," As called out to the young man behind him.

    Lancaster ran to As.

    "She is Mise... My sister... The one I failed..." As exined, gazing at the youngdy in the coffin. "Even when she was alive, she never had a moment of happiness. I wanted her to show the entire world when we were going to be free. But I..."

    Lancaster rubbed the shoulder of As. "It wasn''t your fault. I''m sure you would''ve saved her if you could. Don''t me yourself."

    "Moreover, so what if she''s dead on earth? Her soul will now be in heaven. She will have all the happiness in the world there. So don''t feel bad."

    "Not yet. There''s still one thing I''m yet to do," As took a deep breath.

    He opened the ss coffin and reached out his hand to the youngdy inside the coffin, but before his hand could even touch her, he stopped as he noticed the blood on his hands.

    The blood on his hand had dried, and he didn''t have time to clean them. However, the blood wasn''t the problem. Mise''s clothes were already covered in blood after all.

    What really troubled him was what the blood implied. It implied that he wasn''t the same old person. He was also one of them... He was also a Vampire who drank the blood of others. He was also one of the people who killed her in the first ce. He wasn''t the weak innocent brother of Mise anymore. That person had died the first moment he drank blood.

    In his blood-covered hands, he saw a glimpse of Carlisle... He retracted his blood-covered hands and took a few steps back.

    "What happened? Are you alright?" Lancaster supported As and stopped him before he could hit the coffin that was behind him to trip over.<novelnext></novelnext>

    As clenched his fist. "I am alright."

    "Lancaster, could you do me another favor? I promise I''ll forever be grateful to you."

    "What favor? You just have to say it."

    "Pick up Mise and carry her with me. I don''t want her to be touched by a Vampire like me. She deserves better than that."

    "But..." Lancaster had many questions in his mind, but as he saw the seriousness of As, he didn''t ask any of them. He just nodded. "If that''s what you want."

    He stepped forward and picked up the blood-covered body of Mise.

    As Lancaster picked the body, As told him toe with him. Everyone left the secret chamber and went back to the Throne Room.

    Standing in the Throne Room, As nced at Yovana. "You have some authority in this Kingdom. Arrange one for us."

    "We are going to the Kingdom of Wolves?" Yovana asked.

    "Not yet. There is one more ce we need to go first," As answered. "Lancaster, please take care of my sister for a little while. I''ll be right back."

    As left the Pce, leaving even Lilith behind. First, he went to the old house of Lancaster and used some water to wash the blood off his body before tossing his bloody clothes away.

    He brought the clothes that were worn by Castiel at the start. The Royal Clothes of Carlisle didn''t have even a speck of dust on them.

    He wore the new clothes and left the house. If he looked like a vagabond in old clothes, now he looked like a wealthy young prince.

    As ran back to the Castle after getting ready. By then, Yovana had already arranged a carriage.

    As As ran back to the castle, he had to go past the same Arena where he was forced tomit a massacre. While running past that ce, he noticed something which made him stop in his tracks.

    He could see a youngdy sitting with her back resting against a wall as if she was waiting for someone. It was like that woman was yet to notice As.

    As appeared behind the youngdy like a Ghost. "Lia?"

    Lia was stunned to hear that voice again. She stood up and stepped back. "It''s you! You came to kill me as well?"

    As seemed slightly confused hearing her nonsense, "Why would I kill you?"

    "The same reason you killed them all? Because you''re a bloodthirsty Vampire!" Lia responded. "You lied to me! You used me! You... You..."

    "It''s true that I lied to you, but I don''t think I''ve ever used you. Remind me of one instance where I actually made you do anything for me?" As asked, seemingly confused.

    "You tried to blow me up instead. I don''t even once try to harm you. If I wanted, I could''ve killed you a thousand times before. And I can even kill you this instant."

 Chapter 73 73: Father

    "You think you can? There is a Vampire Warding Formation around me. You can''t get inside," Lia calmly stated. "You can''t kill me. You better leave me alone. You already got what you wanted."

    "Yeah, I got my sister," As affirmed. "I was leaving the city. I am d to see you safe."

    "You don''t have to lie about your sister. I know there isn''t a sister. You''re a Vampire! You just used the story to win my sympathy to get my help. Since things didn''t turn out the way you wanted you changed your n. Didn''t you?"

    Since Lia had a formation around her which she believed kept her safe, she let out all her true thoughts. She had never felt so betrayed as she did because of As! She couldn''t believe she had even started to fall for this liar!

    "I told you a few lies; I ept that. But it''s not a lie that I came here to get my sister back. I alone couldn''t do it, so I did look for your help, but I also realized that Witches hate Vampires and would never help us. So I had no choice but to lie about my identity. Other than that, I didn''t tell you a single lie."

    "If you don''t believe me, follow me back to the Castle. I''ll show you."

    "I trusted you once, and you broke it. I won''t trust you again. You will kill me as soon as I step out of the formation since I''m the only witness as to who did all this here. You Vampires are so..."

    As let out a tired sigh. "You know, I don''t have time for all this. You can believe what you want."

    He turned his back on Lia. "If I wanted to kill you, I didn''t need to call you out. Even though it''ll hurt me a bit, I can break your formation. Or I can just toss a human body at you, which will push you out of this small formation. As I said before, I have a thousand ways to kill you if I really wanted."

    "Today, I''m leaving with my sister, and we might never see each other again. So I just wanted to say one thing before I left... Thank you... Thank you for agreeing to help me. Thank you for trusting in me. Even though the need for your help didn''t arrive, I''m still grateful for what you did. Thank you..."

    As departed after saying what he wanted to say, disappearing from her view before long.

    Even as As left, his voice echoed in Lia''s head. He truly sounded as if he was serious. And he was right. Her formation was small, and she could be pushed out. Holding her head, she dropped to her knees, wondering if As was actually telling the truth?

    Did he never lie to her about anything other than his true identity? That meant all the insurances where he kept her safe... Everything he told her about his sister... His personality... It was all real? Was the one reason he lied because he didn''t want to be hated by her for his species?

    Her head started aching the more she thought about it. She clenched her fist as she decided to check. She didn''t want to have to worry about it all her life if he truly left.

    She stood up and stepped out of the safe formation before running to the Castle.

    *****

    As returned to the castle to find a Carriage already waiting at the entrance. The carriage had the insignia of Carlisle Castle. It was the Royal Carriage.

    Yovana was certainly very fast. In such a short time, she had arranged everything.

    Lilith, Yovana, and Lancaster were all waiting at the entrance of the Castle for As. Lancaster still had Mise in his arms. He hadn''t ced her down for even a second.

    Holding Mise in her hands, even he felt that she was too young to have died like this.

    Lilith had already changed Mise''s clothes withpletely new clothes, leaving not a single droplet of blood on her. She even cast a spell on Mise to make sure her body wasn''t affected by the environmental factors.

    In the new clothes, Mise truly looked like she was sleeping. No one could guess from first nce that she was dead.

    "You''re back. As you asked, the carriage is ready, and so is the driver. We can go wherever you want, so shall we get going?" Yovana opened the door of the Carriage as soon as As arrived.

    "Lancaster, can you ce my sister inside the carriage? Sit with her as well. It''ll be a long ride."

    Lancaster nodded. He was really curious as to where they were going, but he didn''t care.<novelnext></novelnext>

    He sat inside the carriage with Mise. Lilith and Yovana also stepped inside.

    As walked to the carriage driver and gave him directions as to where to take them before he also got inside the carriage.

    Standing in the distance, Lia watched everything. She understood that As was telling the truth. He really had a sister who was kept here... So it wasn''t that he had lied. It was that she just refused to believe him.

    ****

    A Carriage with Carlisle insignia left the city. The carriage traveled for two weeks straight before it finally stopped in a farawaynd.

    The carriage stopped in a small town, which even Yovana was unaware of.

    As she stepped out of the carriage to observe it, she found this town quite ordinary. There seemed nothing special here. Even an ordinary town back where that came from was better than this town.

    "What''s this ce? Any reason we came here?" she asked As.

    "This is the ce where it all started. The ce where I was born... This is my hometown," As answered calmly.

    As he talked about him being born here, Yovana thought Castiel was born here, but only Lilith knew that he was talking about himself.

    "This is also where Mise was born. She loved right in this town until... Until she had to leave," As calmly stated, ncing at the town.

    He instructed Lancaster to follow him. Carrying the body of Mise, Lancaster followed Castiel to the nearby forest.

    The small forest near the town appeared to be so beautiful. It had a crystal clear pond andnd which was covered in beautiful flowers. The view from here was also great as they could see mountains in the distance.

    The sun had just started rising in the distance, making it seem like the sun wasing out of the mountains itself.

    "Wait here; I''ll be right back." Telling Lancaster to wait near the pond, As ran back into the town.

    He went straight to a coffin shop in the town and bought a coffin. For the coffin, which only cost one bronze coin, he paid a pure gold coin, surprising the seller!

    As took the coffin and a shovel. Despite the coffin being so heavy, he picked it up with one arm only.

    As dashed to the mountain, only stopping as he noticed a figure in the distance, buying a bottle of beer from a shop early in the morning.

    Seeing that person, As couldn''t help but clench his fist. That person was the entire reason all this happened to him! The whole reason they ended up in that hell! He was their father!

    If that man hadn''t done what he did, they wouldn''t have been forced to run from the house. They wouldn''t be captured by a ve merchant! They wouldn''t have ended up in the pce of Vampires!

    If this man weren''t an alcoholic and hadn''t tried to sell his daughter for money, she would''ve been alive!

    He was equally responsible for Mise''s details as Carlisle was!

    The old man got the beer bottle and started walking back, using a stick. Because As had stabbed him in the leg when he ran away from the home, the man hadn''t been able to walk without support.

 Chapter 74 74: Next Life

    The man was supposed to be in histe forties, but he looked like an old man already. His hair was ruffled and was mostly white. His eyes had dark circles around them, and his face had started developing some wrinkles already.

    The white-haired man held the bottle of beer close to his heart as if it was the most precious thing in the world for him.

    Carrying the bottle of the beer, he left.

    As stood still, gazing at the middle-aged man. There were so many emotions in his heart, mostly anger. He wanted to just go to the man and kill him, but he controlled himself.

    "Death is an easy escape for him. He needs to suffer like this his entire life... All alone with no one to take care of him."

    With a calm expression on his face, he turned his back on the old man as well before disappearing.

    He returned back to the pond in the forest with the coffin and the shovel.

    He ced the coffin before Lancaster and opened it. "You can keep her inside."

    Lancaster carefully kept Mise down in the coffin while As took the shovel and started digging the ground.

    "Shall I help? I can use a spell for it?" Lilith asked As as she saw him digging alone.

    "No need. I can do at least this much alone. This is myst duty..."

    He dug all alone and only stopped when he finished.

    He came out of the hole in the ground and kept the shovel aside.

    "Lancaster, ce the coffin inside."

    "You don''t want to do it alone? She is your Sister."

    "I don''t think I should."

    As refused right away. He did everything he could except touch Mise. She was his sister, but he had failed her. He was also a Vampire now, and he didn''t want thest rites of Mise to be done by a Vampire.

    He kept his hands behind his back, hiding his clenched fists. He had closed his fists so tightly that his hand had started bleeding already, but he ignored the bleeding.

    Lancaster did as he was asked. He picked up the coffin and jumped inside the hole in the ground. He kept the coffin on the ground. "We never met before, but I would have loved to. Your brother cares for you so much. Someone who can make him care so much about them; he must be a really amazing person after all. Rest in peace, Little Mise. Finally, you can be free from the shackles of this cruel world."

    Lancaster jumped out after saying hisst words to Mise.

    He returned back to As, standing beside him. "You want to say something to her as well?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    As jumped down as well, standing a foot away from the coffin itself. He didn''t touch the coffin, simply gazing at Mise.

    He just stood before the coffin, not speaking anything for quite some time.

    After a long time, he finally opened his lips. "You always wanted to be back in this forest. I''m sorry that I could only bring you back like this. Mise, I can''t tell you how much I wish things could''ve been different. If I had this strength before, if I could go back in time... If I could take your ce at that moment, I would''ve done it in a heartbeat."

    "I''m sure you''re the kind of person who would never me me for what happened. But I know I was wrong. I made so many mistakes in my life... I''m also a culprit of yours. And now I''ve also be what we hated the most. I''ve embraced the beast inside me as well. Still, if bing a beast is what allowed me to get you back, I''ll make that same decision every time."

    "Rest in peace, my little sister. I will miss that smile of yours forever. Don''t worry though; I''ll soon join you as well... If not in this life, then in the next. You are going ahead, but I''ll join you as well. In the next life, you be the elder sister, and I''ll be the little one. Deal?"

    "I''m not sure if there is a next life after this one or not, but I have a feeling there is. We will definitely meet again. In a world that has no pain and grief... A worldpletely unlike this one. Until then, you rest... Rest in peace Little one."

    As spoke about a myriad of things, most of which sounded like pure nonsense to Yovana whening from a Progenitor. She didn''t understand why a Progenitor was talking like an emotional fool for a human. Just how close were these two?

    As took onest nce at Mise before he jumped back out.

    He picked up a small bit of soul with his hands and let it fall over the coffin. Lambard and the others also did the same before As picked up the shovel and buried the coffin properly in the ground.

    Mise was given a proper burial. As didn''t ce a tombstone on the ground since he didn''t want anyone to know whatid here. He also asked Lilith to cast a spell on the soul that was dug.

    Following the spell of Lilith, the ground was covered in pure green grass. In the middle of the grass, a small flower also came out.

    The seven-colored flower stood idly in the middle of the grass right above the coffin.

    As recognized the beautiful flower. He had seen it back with Lilith as well. It was a flower in which he had seen his own glimpse as the flower stood all alone.

    It was the flower that survived all alone without any other flowers, keeping itselfpany by giving each of its petals a different color.

    "Now that flower won''t be lonely..." Lilith smiled.

    As didn''t respond. He just gazed at the beautiful flower.

    "Now that we are done with this, can we get back to my mission? The carriage is waiting for us." Yovana had fulfilled her side of the deal by telling As the whereabouts of Mise. She even apanied them so far, but now she was eager for her own mission.

    As also knew that this topic was going to be raised, if not sooner thanter. He had certainly promised Yovana that he was going to help her, but now that he got what he wanted, he could certainly reject the deal.

    Not only could he reject her, but he could also kill her before she could bring out the talisman. He had all the pieces in his hand at the moment. He didn''t need to listen to anyone.

 Chapter 75 75: Infuriating Threat

    As didn''t have to fulfill the promise. He could just do whatever he wished now that he got what he wanted.

    Despite having that freedom, he didn''t kill Yovana. He didn''t have anypulsion to fulfill his promise, but he did feel like he should.

    A promise to someone like Yovana didn''t hold much value to him, but he still felt like he should at least try. He was in the body of Castiel, and he had promised in the name of Castiel.

    The only reason he received the opportunity to get his sister back was because of Castiel. Could he really spoil the name of Castiel by killing Yovana after promising her?

    He also wanted to meet An himself, and the safest way to do that was when As was imprisoned. That way, he didn''t need to worry about An attacking him.

    He knew An and Castiel didn''t get along, but still, he believed he should give it a try. He hadn''t decided to actually free An but only to meet him. After that, he could give any number of excuses to Yovana for not freeing him like it was impossible or something like that. Not like Yovana could know he was lying. If she could, she would''ve already known that he wasn''t Castiel.

    "That''s right. I''ll be going to the Kingdom of Wolves. I promise is a promise," As agreed as he started walking away from the eternal resting ce of his sister.

    "That''s perfect. With you, I don''t think I need to worry about anything. Lord Castiel can definitely free him." Yovana excitedly stated.

    "Maybe I can, maybe I can''t. It won''t be that easy," An answered, already giving him some room for an excuseter in case he changed his mind. "That aside, I also have a condition."

    "What condition?" Yovana asked.

    "You must tell me everything that happened with An. How did you meet him? Who are you? Why do you care for him? Why do you want him free?"

    "Wait, why do I have to tell you all that? That wasn''t part of the deal. I already told you that you don''t need to know this much to help me.Are you changing the terms of the deal?"

    "Maybe I am. You need my help at this point; I don''t."

    "You know I can dig your sister''s body back again and toss it in a gutter or something, don''t you? Just because I gave her to you doesn''t mean I can''t take her back. If you go back on your promise, I can too. Lord Castiel, don''t make things worse."

    Seeing As try to change the terms of the promise, Yovana was really upset. Just because he got what he wanted, he thought he could do anything he wanted?

    In her anger, she didn''t even realize what she had spoken.

    Before she could realize just how far her words had gone, she found her neck in the hands of As. "What did you say you would do to her body?"

    The young rabbit dropped from her hand and started running, only to be grabbed by Lancaster.

    Yovana couldn''t even breathe properly as her throat was grabbed while she was raised in the air. She tried to bring another piece of paper out of her pocket, but she found her hands had frozen in ce as well.<novelnext></novelnext>

    She couldn''t move her hands. In the back, Lilith cast a spell to help As and froze the hands of the youngdy so she couldn''t escape.

    "You will toss her where?" As asked in a demon-like tone.

    "I-i did not... mean..."

    Yovana tried to give an exnation even as she gasped for breath. She realized she might''ve gone too far with her words. As cared for that girl a bit too much. She shouldn''t have spoken it, and she understood that. She tried to clear things. "... Didn''t¡­ Mean... Only... Anger... Free... Can''t brea...the..."

    "If I want, I can kill you this instant, and I won''t have to ever hear that nonsense," As stated as he tightened his grip, but he didn''t actually kill her.

    He tossed the youngdy aside, freeing her before she could die of suffocation. "Next time you say something like this, I''ll kill you!"

    "And as far as my sister is concerned, you can''t even touch her! Let alone you; no one can touch her in this world! Not anymore! Not even you!"

    "You think you can get to her just because you know where she is buried? You think I didn''t know what you might use the knowledge of that location for?! Lilith didn''t just cast a spell to bring a flower to that ce! She cast a protection formal as well! Even if you dig at that exact ce, you will never get to Mise even if you dig for an eternity!"

    "No one is allowed to disturb her sleep! Not anymore!"

    Lancaster heard the sharp time of As. The tone didn''t sound like someone who had lived for a millennia. It was the tone of an enraged teen like him. It was the tone that was filled with emotion and grief. The tone of a real brother...

    He didn''t know why, but he didn''t feel that Mise was a sister only in name. The way he reacted to her, it was as if she was his real blood sister. Even though he was told that As was Castiel, he still doubted that.

    It was just a feeling in his heart that the man before him wasn''t a Progenitor who lived for a millennia. Instead, Lancaster believes that As hadn''t lied to him. Everything he spoke about his past, his actions showed that it was true. Then why was he confused with Lancaster?

    As he lost himself in thoughts, he remembered a word that As had spoken to him when he was helping him escape. As had told him that he wasn''t a Vampire who was turned, but he also wasn''t born a Vampire. Instead, he was something else... Lancaster still remembered the word that As had used to describe himself.

    ''An idental Vampire...'' he thought.

    He didn''t know what the truth was or how As became a Vampire, but he believed that the secret of that question was hidden in those words.

    Yovana was free. She could use her hands once again to escape, but she didn''t. She stayed on the ground, lowering her head. "I''m really sorry. I didn''t mean those words honestly. I... I was just giving a stupid example, but I would never disrespect the dead like that. I shouldn''t have spoken such words. Lord Castiel, I ask for forgiveness.x really want to know about my rtionship with Lord An to help me, I will tell you. I would do anything to help get him out, even if it takes my life¡­."

    "And thank you for not killing me. I''ll reflect on my actions and won''t say such stupid things again. Also, if you really want to know about my rtionship with Lord An to help me, I will tell you. I would do anything to help get him out, even if it takes my life¡­."

 Chapter 76 76: Blood Council

    As came out of the forest with Lancaster apanying him. Lilith and Yovana walked in the back, talking about something that As didn''t care for.

    The only thing he cared about was Yovana''s real identity which she said she was going to tell on the way to the Kingdom of Wolves.

    ? For now, he was immersed in trying to exin his reasoning for not telling Lancaster that he was a Progenitor. For what he needed to do next to keep his promise, he needed the help of Lancaster, and it could only happen if Lancaster trusted him.

    As didn''t tell Lancaster that his spirit had transmigrated inside the body of Castiel. Instead, he made up another story to justify why he hid his real identity.

    "So you lost your memories?" Lancaster asked incredulously.

    "That''s right. I don''t remember what happened in the past. When I woke up, my mind waspletely nk. Even now, I can''t recall many things from my past. That''s why this body might be of Castiel, but mentally I''m a different person for now, at least until I recover my memory." As agreed.

    "And the day my memories return, I will be forever changed. The person you know as As would be dead that day, and the one who will take his ce will be Castiel."

    He couldn''t tell the story of his soul jumping bodies, but he did find a way to tell the essence of his situation by using a different example. He talked about how he was going to die when Castiel returned, but he made that in the form of memories instead of telling the truth that his entire soul was going to be destroyed before the real Castiel could return.

    "So you told me the truth... Even though it wasn''t the exact truth, it wasn''t a lie either," Lancaster chose to believe As since he could really see it in his eyes.

    "Now that I''ve done what I wanted, I don''t believe I have any desires left. Every day I get from this point on is a bonus day for my existence."

    "Do you really think it''s a good idea to go to the Kingdom of Wolves? Why don''t you enjoy your life instead of risking it again to free An? We don''t even know what kind of person he is, but if every side worked so hard to capture him, he must not be a good person. Moreover, his security should be impossible to break as well."

    Lancaster had a really bad feeling about their next n of action. He believed it was too risky for As. For him, it was slightly safer, but not for As.

    "Have you ever been to the Kingdom of Wolves?" As asked.

    The young man shook his head. "You know I haven''t. Do you even need to ask? Even if I''d been there, I don''t remember since I must''ve been really small. From as far as I can remember, I''ve lived with the humans far away from the Vampires of Wolves."

    "That''s also a reason why I believe it''s so risky. Even though I''m a Werewolf, I have no idea what kind of security there will be or what kind of threats you''ll have to face. There''s only one thing that I''m sure of...."

    "And that is?"

    "It''s that they will know that you''re a Vampire from the moment you step closer to the Kingdom. The Werewolves can sense a Vampire, the awakened Werewolves at least. I''m sure there will be many such ones."

    "As soon as you get there, all the attention will be on you. They might even attack you right away. If things be bad, the Werewolf King himself woulde to kill you. You might be a Progenitor, but as you said, you aren''t what you used to be. You''ll be weaker in that case. Instead of being able to save An, you might be imprisoned right beside him."

    "There is certainly a possibility of that." As agreed.

    "Then why do you still want to take the risk? As you said before, you''ve protected the grave of Mise. No one can harm her now. So even if you break your promise, no one can do anything. So why? Why risk your life again?"

    "If you thought the Lords were hard to defeat, then just imagine a Werewolf King who had always beenparable to a Progenitor since ancient times."

    "You''re not wrong." As nodded. "If I were in your ce, even I would''ve called myself an idiot for going through with this promise, but I feel like I need to do this. It''s not just about the promise at this point. It''s about more than that."

    "More than that? Like what?"

    "It''s about something that will change the world forever... And for that, I will need to meet An," As exined.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Change the world forever? Can you be more clear?"

    "I-"

    As tried to exin, but he stopped mid-way. His attention was attracted by fierce barking.

    He had stepped out of the forest and was already on the outskirts of the town when he heard the barking. In the distance, he also noticed the one who was barking.

    It was a small dog who was barking at a person. Since As could only see the back of that person, he didn''t know who that was, but that person was really well dressed. These weren''t the clothes that any poor viger of this vige could afford.

    This really surprised him. Why would someone from a wealthy familye to this town?

    There was another surprising element for As since he also recognized that dog who was barking. The dog had a beautiful cor made from a cloth strip that was tied around his neck.

    "The little guy has gotten so big." As smiled as he recognized the dog with that cor. "Ist saw you when you were just a puppy, and Mise brought you home and ced that cor around your neck."

    The dog was also a favorite of Mise. She used to y with him almost daily. He was just a puppy at that time. So many years had passed since hest saw that dog.

    As As lost himself in the memories of the past where he helped Mise make that cor, the well-dressed man turned around.

    Hezily nced at the dog, who didn''t stop barking at him for a single moment.

    "Another Vampire in the vige?" Lancastermented grimly.

    As the man turned around, Lancaster was able to see the pale face of the young man, who appeared as if he was only in his early twenties. The man had blood-red eyes.

    Yovana also noticed the man. Her lips parted as she noticed a ck mark on the back of the young man''s hands.

    "Blood Council?!" she eximed softly.

    The young man had a blood moon carved on the back of his hand, which waspletely lifelike. Not many recognized that mark, but the ones who did knew what it meant.

    Both Yovana and Lilith knew the meaning of that mark. It was the mark of the Blood Council that was only given to the Direct Members of the Blood Council.

    The young man appeared to be frustrated at the constant barking of the dog. No matter how many times he tried to ignore the dog, the dog just kept following him, irritating him to no extent.

    The man was so frustrated that his patience gave up.

    He raised his right foot, preparing to stomp the dog to his death.

    The man brought his feet down. Even though he appeared as if he had applied no strength behind this stomp, for a man like him, even this casual stomp was strong enough to crush a rock.

    Thud~

 Chapter 77 77: Old?

    The Young Vampire from the Blood Council brought his foot down, intending to crush the skull of the barking dog to have some peace, but before he could, another foot hit his leg, sending the man a few steps back before he managed to bnce himself.

    The man who had beenpletely calm until now finally had his expression changed.

    Even though he wasn''t hurt, he felt the strength behind the kick. That strength was something that a human couldn''t possess.

    The young man nced at the person who had attacked him only to find a young man standing before him who looked only slightly older than him.

    The young man also had pale skin, but his paleness looked good on him. The man had beautiful green eyes and long hair that were tied.

    "A Vampire from Castiel''s lineage?" The Young Man curiously stated. "I thought that lineage was extinct. Apparently we were wrong about this."

    As ignored the young man as if he was insignificant. Instead, he tapped the head of the dog, who was still barking. "Little guy, you still haven''t changed, have you?"

    Even though the dog was barking like crazy, unafraid of people from the Blood Council, he wentpletely silent as soon as As touched him, which even surprised As.

    This guy... Did he really recognize him, or was this because of something else? The former seemed really unlikely.

    "Finally, this bloody dog shuts up." The dark-haired blood Council Member let out a tired sigh of relief. It was as if he was less upset about As pushing him back and more relieved because the dog was silent now.

    He gazed at the people who stood behind As. "A Witch, a Werewolf, and a human? That''s certainly an odd team-up. May I ask what you all are doing in this ce?"

    "That''s none of your concern. We don''t answer to you," As responded.

    "Hmm, that''s certainly true. You''re not from our lineage, so you certainly don''t answer us, but I would still advise you to answer. Didn''t you hear? One should never be too stubborn before their elders."

    "Elder?" As gazed at the man, who seemed way younger than him.

    "Are you really judging my age by my looks?" The young man couldn''t help but smile. "Kid, I am seven thousand years old. So I would really advise you to be somewhat respectful. I''ve loved longer than you can imagine."

    "Even though I should''ve killed you for kicking my leg, I''ll forgive that as your first mistake. Don''t make a second mistake now because I don''t like the ones who repeatedly make mistakes."

    "Fine. I came here for sightseeing," As answered. He didn''t prefer a fight at this moment, especially someone who was way older than the Vampire Lords. In Vampires, age often signifies strength. The longer one lived, the stronger they were.

    "Now that I''ve finished sightseeing, I''ll take my leave." Holding the small dog in his hands, As started walking away. Lancaster also followed As, only to be stopped by the man as well.

    "And you? What were you doing here? Don''t tell me you also came for sightseeing with a Vampire?" The young Vampire asked. "Also, I don''t know what it is about you, but you stink a bit more than the werewolves I''ve met. It''s quite simr to..."

    As the dark-haired man''s thoughts reached here, a frown covered his forehead. "Quite simr to those Royal Dogs."

    Krrr~<novelnext></novelnext>

    He ced his hand on the shoulders of Lancaster, ripping his clothes.

    "As expected, a Royal Mutt. Disgusting," The young Vampire stepped back in disgust.

    Through the mark on the shoulders of Lancaster, it was evident that this guy was a Werewolf with a Royal Bloodline.

    "You four must think I''m an idiot that I won''t know? A Vampire, a witch, and a Royal Werewolf appeared in the same town where the entrance was discovered, and you think I''ll believe the sightseeing excuse?" With an amused look on his face, the young Vampire gazed back at As.

    "You''re here for the same thing that we''re here for, aren''t you? Witches have often sided with the Werewolves, but now even Castiel''s lineage also does the same? I''m really disappointed. Then again, like Ancestor like descendant. That Castiel also betrayed the other Progenitors."

    "You really should learn to respect that name, kid. That''s not a name you can disrespect like that!"Lilith had been silent until now, but seeing her Master being disrespected by a junior like that, even she couldn''t control herself.

    "Ohh? The Witch also has some arrogance, it seems. Just because you''re siding with a Royal Werewolf, you think you can talk to me like that?"

    "This is thest chance for you four. Leave this town and don''t return until we are done here. If I saw you again, you''ll be the first one I kill."

    The man stood with his hands behind his back, waiting for the four to leave right before his eyes.

    "Lord, let''s go. This isn''t something we should interfere in." Yovana took the lead. She knew that both sides in this situation were arrogant, and this was never good for discussion. She needed to interfere to solve this, and the only solution was to take away As, Lancaster, and Lilith with her.

    Moreover, she also didn''t want them to offend the blood council. Freeing An was more important to her, and for that, they couldn''t waste a single second here. The more time they spent here, the more dy there was going to be in freeing An.

    Yovana held the hand of Lancaster and Lilith, taking them with her. Lancaster didn''t care about it. He didn''t have any arrogance, and he also didn''t feel like there was a need to fight. He just followed along.

    Only Lilith showed some resistance since this man had insulted Castiel, but ultimately she also agreed to leave.

    As took onest nce at the dark-haired man before he also turned his back and started leaving.

    He went back to the Carriage with Yovana and the others. All of them entered the carriage which left.

    The young Vampire nodded in satisfaction, not realizing that As had only left in name. Not far from the town, he made the Carriage stop as he got down.

    "What are you doing, Lord Castiel? We shouldn''t involve ourselves in it." Yovana also jumped out after him.

    "No, this is exactly what I need to interfere in. There is something in this town which that man is after. As for what that is, I want to find out. He talked about some entrance... I need to know what that was."

    "Exactly." Lilith also agreed. "Something that can bring someone from the Blood Council here is worth investigating."

 Chapter 78 78: The Shroud

    It was after a long time when Lilith agreed with As, and it was that they needed to see what the Blood Council was here for.

    If it was anything special, the Blood Council could''ve sent any Vampire who worked under them, but they sent a direct member here, which highlighted how important this ce was for them.

    Leaving this ce without even knowing what was here was wrong in so many ways.

    "But... The Kingdom of Wolves... We shouldn''t really go against the Blood Council at this time. Maybe we can first free Lord An ande here with him. With two Progenitors, we would have a much easier time, wouldn''t we? We should get going."

    Yovana didn''t want As to waste time here when he could be doing more important things like helping her.

    "You think those people will wait for us to return? They would be long gone by then." Lilith rolled her eyes. "That aside, An has already spent a long time imprisoned. I''m sure he won''t mind waiting a few months more."

    Yovana clenched her fist in displeasure, but she didn''t show it. Previously, she had a trump card that she could use to convince As to help him. It was his sister, but now she didn''t have that advantage.

    She needed their help, and she couldn''t force them with threats. She had tried before and saw the consequences. She had no other option but to wait.

    It also wasn''t as if she could threaten As with the threat of killing him. A Progenitor was a true Immortal who couldn''t be killed. Even their Souls were said to be Immortal that never died, and only went to a slumber when they wanted.

    Even though she agreed to go along with As, she did so unwillingly. On the inside, she was really infuriated. She kept her part of the promise and believed that As was going to do the same since he was known as a very upright person in the past. Unfortunately, she just now realized that he was quite different than what was known about him.

    He didn''t take his promise seriously.

    "Lancaster, you stay here. If youe with us, we might get discovered. Just like awakened Werewolves can sense Vampires,Vampires can also sense awakened Werewolves," Lilith instructed Lancaster. " So stay here and keep an eye on Yovana.".

    Even though Lancaster was a powerful Royal Werewolf and massive support in battles, but he was also a nightmare if one was looking for stealth since he could be sensed by a powerful Vampire. The Blood Council members were the strongest there were, so it wasn''t impossible for them to sense Lancaster.

    That was also why As and Lilith came out of the city through the carriage so they could bring Lancaster out of the range of the Blood Council member.

    "Wait, I understand why Lambard can''te, but why can''t Ie? I can''t be sensed. I also want to see what they''re up to since we''ve decided to waste our time here in any case. I want toe as well."

    "You can''t. There are just too many uncertain factors in taking you with us." Lilith refused right away. "We worked as a team for a long time. We know how to work together, but with you in the mix, things might getplicated. The two of us will go alone. You two stay here. If we need you there, we''ll send a signal."

    Lilith cast a flight spell on her and As. The two of them rose in the air and started flying back to the city, leaving the other two behind.

    Lilith and Asnded at the entrance of the city.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Just wait a second. Let me see where he is."

    Lilith bit her thumb once again, letting it bleed.

    "If you keep letting yourself bleed out like that, things might get bad, you know?" As asked. It was the second time he had seen Lilith bite her thumb to let herself bleed to cast a spell. "You aren''t a Vampire after all."

    "Don''t worry. This much blood loss is nothing. I''ll be fine," Lilith answered as she created a circle on the ground with her thumb. "It''s needed to cast arge-scale spell. It''s like a conduit between my aura and natural energy."

    Lilith finished her spell before standing up.

    As held the hand of Lilith, raising it up. He could see that her bleeding had stopped, but the bite wound was still there.

    "So every time you use a spell like that, you hurt yourself? You know I used to be a human. I know how much something like that would hurt. You should treat yourself better,"

    Lilith didn''t know why, but with her hand in the hands of As, she felt something, especially when she gazed into his eyes. It wasn''t just false worries.

    "Why do you get worried over such a small wound? Do you really care that much for me? Why?" Lilith inquired, despite knowing how odd this statement sounds.

    "Why wouldn''t I care for you?" As asked. "You''re the only one I have in this world who truly knows me. You''re the only one who helped me when I needed help the most. Even though you were somewhat stubborn, you always helped me. You hold a really special ce in my life, so of course, I would care for you."

    Lilith snatched her hand back from As as she heard her statement. She didn''t know why, but she felt her heart skip a beat as As spoke those words. She turned her back on him. "I have to use my Blood for some spells. There is no other choice."

    "Of course, there is a choice," As responded. "If you really need your blood for spells, there are people who can take out a small amount of blood from your veins and store it somewhat that you can carry. That way, you won''t have to make yourself bleed again and again. Just like..."

    "Like Lia used to do," Lilithpleted As'' statement.

    Even though Lia didn''t carry her own blood in her locket, the blood in her locket was also a source of energy. The principles behind that were simr to what Lilith did. The only difference was that Lilith didn''t need someone else''s blood, and she only needed it forrge-scale spells, unlike Lia.

    "I will think about it. First, let''s focus on what''s happening in this city."

    Lilith changed the topic swiftly and focused on the spell formation, which had started shining.

    She closed her eyes and searched the entire city, seeing every ce at once.

 Chapter 79 79: Blood Stone

    "Got him." Lilith opened her eyes.

    "Where is he?"

    "In that direction. Right at the edge of the town." Lilith pointed toward the north. "We can''t fly there, or we will have the risk of being caught. We''ll have to walk."

    "Isn''t running better than walking? Just tell me when to stop, alright?"

    "What are you saying?" Lilith asked in confusion, but instead of answering, As picked Lilith up in his arms.

    "As I said before, we can''t fly, so we should run. Just tell me when to stop when we''re near him, so we aren''t caught." As started running North.

    As As ran through the streets of the small town, he was like a ghost to the humans here who could barely see a blurry shadow fly past them. Most assumed that it was just their misconception and didn''t take it seriously."

    "I don''t need to tell you to stop. Just keep running and stop when you see him," Lilith responded.

    "Won''t he see us then?"

    "He won''t. I would cast a shroud on us. It should make us temporarily invisible."

    "Hmm? If you could make us invisible, was there really a reason for not flying?" As inquired in confusion. If they really could be invisible, flying was a better option, wasn''t it?

    "Invisibility spells can''t work if we''re under the effect of different spells. So if we were flying, the Invisibility Spell would''ve been useless for us. Now that we aren''t using any other spell on us, the invisibility spell should be able to work here. But as I said before, it is a temporary spell which won''tst long."

    "How long can that spellst? I''ll prepare ordingly."

    "Five minutes at once without breaking the spell," Lilith answered.

    "Five minutes, huh. That''s really not much, but then again, it''s better than nothing. Cast that spell as soon as we get close to him," As instructed.

    Just as he finished speaking, Lilith cast the Shroud Spell. The spell covered both of them in a thinyer of barrier, which made it such that no one could see them.

    As also stopped as he saw the dark-haired Vampire standing at the edge of the town.

    He had his hands behind his back as he calmly gazed at the forest before him. Seeing the man observe the forest, As was surprised. Why was he looking at the forest?

    "Hmm?" The dark-haired Vampire gazed back, feeling as if someone was standing behind him.

    He gazed straight at As, who stood still. Seeing the man look straight at him, As wondered if the spell was really useless. It appeared as if the man could see him. How else was he looking straight at him?

    "Strength. I felt as if someone was there."The dark-haired vampire shook his head before focusing back ahead.

    As finally felt relieved. The spell was working. Even the man couldn''t see him. Now he just needed to be absolutely silent if he didn''t want to be discovered.<novelnext></novelnext>

    The Vampire from the Blood Council held an old-looking scroll in his hands. He opened the scroll in the direction of the distant mountains.

    "That''s the mountain, and this is the forest and the in. Since I''m standing at the intersection, then I must be here."

    "This is the exact spot that means. I''m finally here." The man closed the scroll before observing the ground under his feet. He started clearing the dust on the ground with his feet as if looking for something.

    He kept clearing the dust before ultimately stopping as a small mark became visible.

    There was a strange mark on the ground, which was like an unreadable character. It was also the same Mark that was highlighted on the map he had just been seeing.

    "I was right. This is the spot... The ce where it all started. The Bloodstone shouldn''t be too far now. It''ll soon be within my grasp. Five hundred years of searching finally bearing some fruit."

    Lilith closed her mouth with her hands as she heard the dark-haired man mention the Bloodstone since she didn''t want the man to hear her shocked gasp.

    Her eyes turned serious. This entire thing... It was more severe than she thought.

    As, on the other hand, was perfectly calm since he literally had no idea what the man was talking about. All he knew was that the man was looking for the Bloodstone thing here.

    The young man brought a small red crystal out of his pocket and ced it on top of the strange mark on the ground.

    The crystal and the mark both started shining momentarily before both stopped. The dark-haired man stood stunned. "Why did it fail? I''ve used the Key Fragment of Progenitor Ramiel. This should''ve worked! This ce should''ve been opened."

    The Blood Council Vampire picked up the stone and ced it on the ground again, but it resulted in the same thing once again. The stone shone for a little before stopping entirely.

    "This still doesn''t work. I''m sure I read that the Key Fragment is needed to open this ce, so why doesn''t it work? Could it be that one isn''t enough? But if one isn''t enough, wouldn''t it mean I can never get to that ce? And if I can''t get to that ce, how can I be the next Progenitor?! How can I be a true Immortal like them!"

    "I have the key fragment of Lord Ramiel. I thought it would open the ce! Why else would I steal this?! But if I need two or more, how can I do that? I don''t even know where other Progenitors went to their eternal rest! How can I get the Key Fragment of theirs?"

    "Wait... I might not know about the whereabouts of the other Progenitors, but isn''t there one that we know about? Lord An? If one isn''t enough, then maybe two key fragments are? That... That might just work!"

    "Looks like the trip to this ce is aplete waste at this time. I was too optimistic."

    The young Vampire stomped the ground in frustration. As soon as he stomped the ground, an energy st came from the ground that sent the Dark Haired Vampire flying as if punishing him for his disrespect.

    The Vampire bnced himself in the air tond safely on the ground, yet he wasn''tpletely unhurt. He wiped his bleeding lips as he frowned. Keeping the red stone in his pocket, he turned around and started leaving while promising himself that he was going to return once again and get what belonged to him.

    As watched the young man leave, slightly amused. He wondered just what this ce was? It was certainly not a normal ce. He lived in his town most of his early life, yet he didn''t know about this ce.

    After the Dark Haired Vampire left, Lilith stopped her cloaking spell to save some of her strength.

    "So that''s what he was after." She got down from As'' arms, walking to the same spot where the Blood Council Vampire was standing before.

 Chapter 80 80: The Blood Of Progenitors

    "You seem to know what the man was after." As stopped right beside Lilith, gazing at the strange mark on the ground.

    "I did hear about it, but I didn''t know this was at this ce..."

    "And what would that be? What is the Blood Stone that the Blood Council is after."

    Lilith went silent for a brief moment, not responding.

    "What do you know about Progenitors? Only basic things like they were born Immortal and they were the First Vampires to walk on this earth, right?"

    "Yeah. They started the entire Vampire Lineage. What about that?"

    "That''s not the entire truth actually," Lilith answered. "The Progenitors weren''t born immortal. They were also human in the past like everyone else, in the era when there were no Vampires. The story about them being Born a Vampire is because no one knows the truth except a few people."

    "The Progenitors were also humans, and they were all Orphans, living in the same ce. Lord Castiel didn''t tell me much about how he came to be, but he did tell me that it was because of the Blood Stone. He never told me where this Blood Stone was or how it made him a Progenitor. That''s why I didn''t know it was in this ce."

    "However, he did tell me that the Blood Stone was kept in a secure ce where no one could reach without their permission. The only way to get to that ce is through the Key Fragments. All Four Progenitors kept one of the four Key Fragments with them."

    "I don''t know how but it seems that person has managed to get the Key Fragment that was with Lord Ramiel and somehow managed to locate this ce as well. He probably came to know of it from Lord Ramiel."

    "He must believe that if he can get the Blood Stone, he would be a Progenitor as well."

    "Can he?" As asked. "Can the Blood Stone really make someone immortal?"

    "Who knows. It''s possible that it can. It''s also possible that it can''t anymore. All I know is that it''s not safe to let that thing fall in the hands of someone else." Lilith sighed.

    "How many key Fragments does one need to get to the Blood Stone? If it''s all four, I doubt the Blood Stone will fall in anyone''s hands that easily."

    "That''s the thing. I don''t know how many key Fragments will work. I never had this conversation with Lord Castiel. It''s possible that it''ll need all four fragments, but it''s also possible that just two can be enough. If only Lord Castiel were here, I could''ve asked. I just know that we can''t take the risk. We must not let that person get to the second Key Fragment, which I''m sure he''ll try to do."

    "The Key Fragment that''s with An since the whereabouts of Lucius seems to be unknown even for him. He would definitely target An in that case." As realized what Lilith was trying to say. If there were more Progenitors, the world could be a much worse ce, especially if those Progenitors were from Ramiel''s lineage like Carlisle and Severis were.

    If those people were also true Immortals, it would''ve been hell!

    "Quite possibly, but I don''t think it''ll be easy for even the Blood Council to free An to get Key Fragment from him," Lilith responded. "The Kingdom of Wolves isn''t a ce that''s this easy to conquer. It stood proud even in the Era of Progenitors, let alone the era of Blood Council. So I really don''t think this is worth our immediate concern, but still, we need to be careful and keep our eye on the Blood Council."

    "But yeah, if we free An, then things would be different. So if you really want to free him, you better do this while taking his fragment from him."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Will he give me the Fragment?"

    "Why won''t he? For a Vampire, being imprisoned by the werewolves is the most embarrassing thing they can get through. I''m sure An would do anything to be freed, let alone giving up the Fragment, which is of no use to him. But remember, if we take that Fragment, it''ll paint a double target on your back."

    "The Blood Council won''t target An anymore. Instead, they will target you since you''ll hold two of the Fragments."

    "Two Fragments? Ah, right! The Fragment of Castiel?"

    As checked Castiel''s pocket when he went to eternal slumber. He couldn''t find anything in his pockets though.

    "Where is the key Fragment of Castiel? It''s not with me."

    "Don''t worry about it. The Key Fragment of Master is in a safe ce. No one can get to it. It''s better if even you don''t know about that ce. The less people know about it, the better. For now, we just need to focus on Lord An."

    "I guess I need to meet An even more now. If I don''t, someone else might. He''s really in high demand."

    Lilith rolled her eyes. "You''ll be in even higher demand if someone finds out that you''ve returned. You have no idea. That''s why I told you to keep your identity hidden. Fortunately, only Yovana and Lancaster know about you, and they won''t blurt out this secret."

    "Yeah. Wait... That person is about to leave this town? If he does, he might see our carriage in the distance! He will know we didn''t leave. Lancaster and Yovana are alone there. We can''t waste our time here! That man must be really frustrated at his failure. He would definitely kill them if he got to them first!"

    As picked up Lilith in his arms again before dashing in the direction of his carriage.

    "Lilith, cast a Shroud!" Hemanded.

    Lilith cast an invisibility shroud on the two of them, making them invisible once again.

    As ran so fast that he did manage to catch up to the Blood Council member who was just about to enter his carriage to leave.

    The young vampire felt a gust of wind fly past him as As ran past him. Even though As maintained some distance, the wind was still enough to affect the dark-haired Vampire, who frowned.

    He didn''t feel that it was a natural wind. It was as if someone had run past him, but he couldn''t see anyone. First the feeling of someone watching him, and now this?

    He was sure that something was definitely wrong here. One time could be his misconception but not the second time. He gazed in the direction of the town''s exit remembering the four guests he had seen before.

 Chapter 81 81: Weapon Of Destruction

    "That''s certainly interesting. Could it really be that one Witch had been spying on me?"

    The young man''s figure disappeared as he also ran in the same direction like a shadow.

    He ran on the road, keeping an eye on his surroundings. He was sure that if the Witch had indeed stopped to spy on him, then he was certainly going to find the Carriage of those people not too far from here.

    The dark-haired Vampire kept running at his fastest, but despite traveling for over ten kilometers, he couldn''t find any carriage.

    Ultimately, he stopped in the middle of the road, gazing in the distance with a deep frown on his face.

    From behind him, the sound of a carriage getting closer fell in his ears. The young Vampire gazed back, noticing the dark Carriage getting closer to him.

    The Carriage stopped before him. "Master, you left without telling me where you were going. I came after you. Should I take you back to the town?"

    "No need. There''s nothing left in that town for me at the moment." The dark-haired vampire shook his head in frustration.

    "Take me back to my castle. I need to call an urgent meeting of the Council."

    The man stepped inside the carriage and departed from the ce, not knowing that Lilith wasn''t too far from him.

    Around twenty meters behind him, there stood another carriage on the side of the road which he or his carriage driver hadn''t seen.

    As stood right around the carriage. One of his arms was wrapped around the slim waist of Yovana while the other was closing her mouth.

    Everything happened so far that he didn''t even get a chance to exin it to Yovana. He didn''t want her to ask questions and get them caught, so he just closed her mouth. Meanwhile, Lilith cast a cloak around them and around the carriage, barely hiding just a few seconds before the Blood Council member arrived.

    Lancaster was more understanding and didn''t speak. He just stood against the carriage with his arms folded, keeping an eye on the road.

    It was only after the Blood Council member left that Lilith stopped her spell. "We weren''t toote. He didn''t see them."

    The carriage became visible once again.

    "Yeah. But we don''t have time to waste now. He will straight go to the Blood Council and you to convince them to help him." As gazed in the distance.

    "He would certainly try, but I don''t think it''s going to be easy for him," Lilith answered. "The Blood Council isn''t just made of one person. To convince them to attack the Kingdom of Wolves isn''t an easy task."

    "It''s like attacking the stronghold of the Werewolves. The battle would be awfully advantageous to the Werewolves. More than half of the Blood Council would be wiped in any condition."

    "Mmm! Mmm!" The muffled voice of Yovana came as she started struggling in the arms of As.

    "Calm down. I''m not going to eat you up," As answered as he freed the youngdy. "I just forgot that you were in my arms."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Having her mouth freed, Yovana let out a sigh. "Did you two say that the Blood Council will attack the Kingdom of Wolves?"

    "We don''t know about the entire blood council, but that man certainly has a reason to," Lilith responded. "The meeting he talked about... I''m sure he''ll raise this topic in the meeting."

    "Why would he want to attack the Kingdom of Wolves when they refusedst time?!" Yovana eximed in confusion.

    "They refused?" Lilith red at Yovana. "Don''t tell me you went to them to ask for health first?"

    "I had no choice. Only the Blood Council had the numbers. I asked them to free Lord An, but they refused, citing it was too dangerous for them. That''s when I started trying to find someone who would be even stronger than them... A Progenitor. I went from kingdom to kingdom, staying with the Vampire to find any clue about the whereabouts of their Progenitors."

    "That''s how I ended up with Carlisle and met you."

    "You! You idiot!" Lilith grabbed her head in frustration. "So you''re the reason they know the whereabouts of An! I was wondering how they would know since the Werewolves won''t dere that openly. So you''re indirectly the reason we are in a race against time with the Blood Council!"

    "I-i don''t understand what you''re trying to say, Lady Lilith. You''re saying that it''s because they know the whereabouts of Lord An that they want to attack that ce? Do they really want to free Lord An? If it''s true, can''t we work together? With their numbers and Lord Castiel''s strength, it would be even easier to free Lord An!"

    "Urgh." An kicked a stone on the ground.

    This girl was asking them to work with the Blood Council? She didn''t realize that the Blood Council didn''t want to free An. Instead, they wanted a Key Fragment from him. If they found out that Castiel was here as well, instead of working together, they were all going to target him instead.

    "Wait. If you went to the Blood Council, how is it that this person didn''t recognize you before?" He turned around, thinking of something.

    "You think I would go myself? I am not a Vampire. It''s impossible to have a direct meeting with the Blood Council for me. I dealt with someone else who took my message to them and brought their message back. The Blood Council members never saw me," Yovana exined. "Still, as I said before, if they really want to help Lord An, we should work with them."

    "We can''t." As straight refused. "Why do you think they changed their mind to help An suddenly now? It''s not because they started caring for him out of nowhere!"

    "Then why?"

    Fearing that As would tell the truth, Lilith stepped in. "It''s because they don''t want to free An. They want to destroy him."

    "It''s impossible to destroy a Progenitor. They are the true Immortals."

    "Not anymore. We found out why that man was here," Lilith replied, thinking of a clever idea to spin the story for herself.

    "Why?"

    "They were here to find the Ancestral Weapon. The Vampires are true Immortals and can''t be killed even if you destroy their heart. At best, they can be imprisoned but not with the Ancestral Weapon. If there is anything in the world that can kill a Progenitor, it''s the Ancestral Weapon!"

    "The reason they want to get to An isn''t that they want to help him escape! It''s because they want to kill him!"

 Chapter 82 82: Father

    "The Blood Council wants to kill Lord An!" Lilith dered, realizing that it was the only way to keep Yovana in the dark, so she stayed away from them.

    "You told them the whereabouts of Lord An. And they now also have the Ancestral Weapon. Why would the Blood Council let the Progenitor of another lineage live who can be a threat to them in the future?"

    "So they want to remove a future obstruction..." Yovana frowned. "That means they will kill Lord Castiel as well if they found out about him."

    As finally understood where Lilith was going with this story. All they needed to do was ensure that Yovana didn''t tell anyone that he was a Progenitor, especially the Blood Council.

    If she thought that the Blood Council was trying to kill An, she was never going to tell them about him. She wasn''t even going to think of meeting them since Castiel was her only option at saving An.

    "That''s right. Why else do you think Castiel ran to here? That person isn''t something we can fight, especially when he holds the Ancestral Weapon. We can never let anyone know that Castiel has returned. You understand?"

    Yovana repeatedly nodded her head. "I understand what you''re saying. The Blood Council wants to kill Lord An since he''s from a different lineage. They only want one Progenitor to exist... their own. So after killing Lord An, they will try to look for others as well to remove all threats. We need to stop them."

    Lilith smiled. As she stood behind Yovana, Yovana couldn''t see the clever smile on the lips of Lilith.

    Lilith winked at As, signaling that she had solved one problem. It was as if she was telling As that this was how a problem was supposed to be solved with brain.

    As simply rolled his eyes at smug Lilith. She really was a child at times despite existing for such a long time. While at other times, she was really mature.

    "Not get inside the carriage. We need to get to An before the Blood Council can." Lilith opened the door of the carriage and pushed Yovana inside. She also entered with Lancaster and An after instructing the Carriage Driver where to take them.

    She also reminded Driver to drive slowly at the beginning since she didn''t want them to catch up to the Blood Council Carriage.

    ****

    As the carriage moved, Yovana sat silently, waiting to be interrogated. She was sure that As was going to ask who she was and why she wanted to help An. She had already promised that she would tell everything. She couldn''t reject them after that as she needed As, yet she tried to avoid the topic, thinking that maybe As had forgotten because of the whole episode with the Blood Council.

    At the same time, the small rabbit and the dog satfortably on the nearby seats. The dog had already fallen asleep by now.

    "So Yovana, the trip to the Kingdom of Wolves is going to be a long one. Why don''t you try telling us who you actually are? How are you really rted to An?"

    Unfortunately for Yovana, As didn''t forget a single thing. After he woke up inside the body of Lord An, his memories were even stronger now.

    Yovana gazed out the window, hiding her discontent expressions. This man, he didn''t forget it even now. Even when his own life was in danger because of the Ancestral Weapon, he still didn''t forget it.

    "Yovana, I asked you a question. Who are you?" As repeated the question after getting no response on the first try itself.

    Seeing no alternative, Yovana straightened up. "Fine. I''ll tell you everything. Lord An and I met around seven hundred years ago."

    "Huh?*

    "What?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Seven Hundred?"

    As, Lancaster, and Lilith all stared at the girl in disbelief. Was she saying that she was over seven hundred years old? That was impossible. She was a human. She had not even a speck of Vampire''s aura, so she couldn''t have their Immortality. Even Witches didn''t have a spell that could turn them. Immortal.

    Let alone any random witch, even Lilith didn''t have an immortality spell. The only reason she lived for so long was because of As.

    "You are seven hundred years old?" As asked, looking at the girl who didn''t even look older than thirty from any angle.

    "I''m not seven hundred years old." Yovana shook her head. "I''m seven hundred and twelve years old."

    "How is that possible? You are a human! No human can live so long," Lancaster responded in disbelief. "Even us Werewolves can''t live so long. Only Vampires can, but I can bet you aren''t a Vampire."

    "Are you sure I''m not?" Yovana asked calmly.

    "I''m sure. Ever since I''ve awakened, I can sense who is a Vampire. You aren''t one of them."

    "That''s because you haven''t met someone like me before," Yovana dered.

    She gazed out the window, looking at the trees moving past them.

    "You all wanted to know what I am... You all wanted to know about my rtionship with Lord An... You all wanted to know why I was trying to help him. The answer to all three questions is the same..."

    "It''s because I am the daughter of Lord An... I''m the child of a Progenitor and a human, a Half Vampire."

    "Nonsense!" Lilith raged. "That''s not a good joke. It''s impossible for a Vampire to have a child, let alone a Progenitor!"

    "Well, it''s not as impossible as you think it is since the evidence is sitting right before you," Yovana snorted.

    She brought a small pendant out of her pocket. "This pendant... This was thest thing my mother gave me before she died. You know what this is?"

    Seeing that pendant, Lilith frowned. "The Pendant of Suppression. Why do you have it?"

    "As I said before, my mother gave me this pendant. I didn''t even know what this was. I just always wore it as an heirloom."

    "This isn''t an heirloom. This is used by the Werewolves to suppress their Bloodline. If you im you''re a Vampire, why would it be given to you?"

    "Lord An said that he had it modified by a Witch to suppress a Vampire''s Bloodline. It won''t work on a full Vampire, but it is supposed to suppress the Vampire half of my bloodline. That''s why I always keep it with me. This is also why you can''t sense that I''m a Vampire."

    "I''ve kept this secret for a long time, but I''m telling you because I trust you. Help me save Lord An... Help me save my father."

 Chapter 83 83: Half

    As looked back and forth between Lilith and Yovana, trying to understand their conversation. Unlike the others here, his knowledge about such things was the least. Even Lancaster knew more about the supernatural part of the world than him.

    All he had known was what Lilith told him. He didn''t know about the Pendant of Suppression, but from what the two talked about, it appeared to have a pretty specific use.

    Lilith took the pendant of Suppression from the hands of Yovana and nced at the back of it.

    There was a small mark on the back of the pendant with a ''V'' letter.

    "I was right. There was only one of this ever made." Lilith muttered. "I still wonder how it ended up with you. You said An had it modified and gave it to your mother, but this shouldn''t have been with him either."

    "You seem like you know this pendant?" An noticed the familiarity of Lilith with this bracelet. The way she talked about it, it was as if she had first-hand knowledge of who it was for. "Did you make it?"

    "I didn''t. My Mas-" Lilith stopped herself from speaking, realizing she wasn''t alone with As. There was also Yovana here. She couldn''t just say that her master made it as it could make her suspicious about As'' identity.

    She quicklyposed herself before continuing. "I mean, you made it."

    "You made it for Vor."

    "Vor?" Yovana frowned. "You mean the banished Werewolf Prince?"

    "Hmm?" Lilith''s eyebrows raised, seeing Yovana knew Vor as well. "You know your history quite well."

    "I''ve had seven hundred years to learn. Lord An told me a few things. He is also the reason I know about you two so well."

    "Whatever. You''re right. This pendant was made for Lord Castiel for Vor."

    "Was Vor your friend?" Yovana turned to As.

    Knowing As didn''t know about this, Lilith chimed in. "He met Vor a few times and fought him as well. Vor came to us to have something made that could suppress the bloodline of a Werewolf."

    "Why would a Werewolf want that?" Lancaster didn''t know much about his n and the Werewolves, but he knew that the Werewolf Bloodline came with many advantages. He couldn''t understand why someone would want to have their Bloodline suppressed.

    "Are you doubting my words?" Lilith squinted her eyes. "If there''s anyone here who has a story that sounds impossible, it''s thisdy, not me. As for why Vor wanted it, I do know that as well. Unfortunately, I can''t tell you. He made us promise we would never tell anyone as this concerns the entire Werewolf n."

    "That''s why I''m surprised he dares to give this to someone else!"

    "Why do you think he gave it then?" As asked. "If this pendant were important for him, then the only way to get it from him would''ve been to kill him, and one of the people who should be able to do that is An. It''s not surprising that An would have it."

    "Killing Vor?" Lilith smiled. "Maybe when he was young and met us for the first time, it was possible, but in hister life... Anyway, I don''t want to stray from the topic. I just don''t believe Vor gave it to An. It''s possible that An got his hands on it after Vor died of old age. Unlike Vor, An was Immortal after all."

    "Still, to get this pendant from the Werewolves and to have it modified... This must''ve taken quite some effort. If a person like An really put in so much effort, that can imply he cared for you."

    She put the pendant on the seat beside her. "Give me your hand."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Yovana reached out her hand, which was held by Lilith.

    Holding Yovana''s hands, Lilith closed her eyes.

    At the same time, As picked up the pendant instead. Something so magical... Something that could suppress the Bloodline of the Werewolves was created by Castiel. Just how strong was Castiel actually? He went against three Progenitors, fought Vor, and even created something that could weaken the Werewolves by suppressing their Bloodline.

    As nced at his hands. ''I am inside someone so powerful. But for how long? This body doesn''t belong to me. This life doesn''t belong to me. Where is the person who it belongs to? Where is Castiel? His soul is said to be Immortal. So why isn''t he back?''

    ''No matter how lucky I could be, I couldn''t snatch Castiel''s body since his soul contains most of his magic essence. As Lilith said before, this possession was because Castiel allowed me. He allowed me to enter this body, which also meant this isn''t an infinite life.''

    ''But why? Why did he allow me to use his body? Why did he help someone like me? Why did someone so strong take mercy on a weak person like me? Why?''

    "So you were right."

    Lilith''s voice brought As out of his daze. "What?"

    "She does have the Bloodline of a Vampire. The Bloodline is sleeping at the moment, but I did feel the traces of it. She wasn''t lying. She is half-vampire, half-human. Even though I checked myself, I still find it hard to believe. A Vampire can''t be a father. That isn''t possible!"

    "Maybe it was possible for the Progenitors?" Lancaster chimed in.

    Lilith shook her head. "You think no one tried before?"

    Lancaster smiled wryly as he nced at As. "You?"

    "Huh?" As didn''t understand what he was implying.

    "Don''t talk nonsense." Lilith snapped. "I was talking about Ramiel! He tried to be a father, only to fail. For thousands of years, no Progenitor became a father, so it was theorized that they couldn''t be fathers. Apparently, someone did."

    "Each Progenitor has something unique and special about them than the others," As repeated the words of Lilith she said a long time ago. "Maybe it''s just for An? Ramiel and the others failed, but maybe he was different? I don''t think it''s worth focusing on."

    "The question isn''t how he became a father but what happened after that. Why was he attacked by two sides? Yovana, you said you were responsible for your father''s situation? How is that the case?"

    "It''s all because of that bracelet as well," Yovana grimly stated.

    "I''m the only half Vampire in this world. My Bloodline gives me Immortality while my humanity makes it such that I''m not dependent on blood to survive."

    "As for this pendant, it kept my Bloodline suppressed." She took the pendant from As. "Other than immortality, I got no advantage of this Bloodline because of this pendant."

    "Unfortunately, I wasn''t happy with that. I wanted to be more... I wanted to do everything that Vampires could... I wanted to be stronger... I wanted many things, and this pendant was an obstruction in my path."

 Chapter 84 84: Return Of Unseen

    "I tossed this pendant away without informing Lord An since I wanted to experience the life of a Vampire. It was a really bad decision. My Bloodline didn''t awaken instantly, but when it did, it took all my senses away from me."

    As Yovana talked about her past, she remembered the feeling of losing her senses. She didn''t even realize as her hands started trembling weakly. "That was the scariest experience in my life... It was like I was drowning, and I couldn''t do anything about it.*

    "Bloodlust," Asmented, realizing that her description sounded too familiar. It was what he experienced when he went through the Bloodlust. He felt as if he was going to die as well.

    He could understand why this girl called that the scariest experience of her life. For someone who had always been protected to experience something, this close to death was always differentpared to someone like him who had some simr experiences before his Bloodlust.

    He ced his hand on top of the trembling hand of Yovana. "You aren''t drowning anymore. You are safe. Try to calm down."

    Yovana took a deep breath. "I don''t know how long before I came back to my senses, but when I did, the pendant was with me. Lord An brought the pendant back for me."

    "That''s also when I found out that I had killed the entire town when I was in my Bloodlust. An entire town was wiped because of me... Everyone, including kids. To protect me, Lord An took the me on himself and said he did it. He didn''t think anyone was going to do anything to him. He also didn''t want anyone to know about me."

    "The town''s destruction didn''t go unnoticed. The Vampires didn''t care for it, but the Werewolves and the Witches were really serious about it. They thought that Lord An was starting to kill innocents now in his boredom, and he wasn''t safe to be left free."

    "The two sides came together and captured Lord An, and I could just watch from a distance, bound by Lord An''s promise to not interfere."

    "I don''t understand a thing. If An is your father, why do you keep calling him Lord An?" Lancaster raised a query.

    It wasn''t just him who noticed it. Everyone else did the same. She really called An Lord more than she called him Father.

    "It''s a habit of mine. You know old habits die hard. When he was with me, I always had to address him as Lord An for reasons you can guess. And now that he''s not with me, it''s still the same."

    "I''ve roamed around for years, trying to find a way to help my father. After so long, I finally had hopes of him being freed."

    She turned to As. "The moment I realized who you were, you have no idea how excited I was. But I was also worried. I knew you and my father didn''t have a good rtionship. That''s why I knew you wouldn''t help her. That''s why I had to use your sister in exchange for your help. If I don''t need your help, even I''m not such a bad person who would use someone''s sister to ckmail him into helping."

    "And that''s it. That''s my truth. That''s the truth you wanted to listen to. After my father, you three are the only ones who know my truth. By telling you, I''ve risked more than just my life, but if it''s for my father, I ept anything. Even if you had asked for my life in exchange for your help, I wouldn''t have hesitated. I don''t want Lord An to suffer for my mistakes."

    Yovana, who always looked to have a surreal and confident aura around her, now looked really weak as she pleaded for someone''s life.

    She didn''t realize that even though she believed As was going to save An, he had no such intentions. For now, he wasn''t sure if he could even do it if he wanted to. The Werewolf King was as strong as the strongest Progenitor; meanwhile, he wasn''t Castiel. He couldn''t even call out a fraction of Castiel''s strength.

    Yovana believed that As was so strong he could keep the Werewolf King busy while Lilith helped An out, but only As and Lilith knew that it wasn''t a feasible option.

    Lilith wasn''t crazy enough to let As go to war with the Werewolf King. It was unclear why she was still gone to the Werewolf Kingdom despite not having any intention of facing the Werewolf King.<novelnext></novelnext>

    *****

    "Did he say anything?" A calm voice echoed in a beautiful chamber.

    Despite being spoken in a calm tone, those words appeared to be filled with immense strength.

    "No, my King. He still refuses to speak, no matter what we try. We''ve tortured him so much, yet he doesn''t speak. We''ve even ripped his skin, sliced his fingers, and more. Despite all that, he didn''t even make a single noise. I wonder if he even feels pain. After centuries of torture, he still doesn''t react. It''s like he''s alive yet dead."

    A young man on his knees was addressing a man who sat on the beautiful golden throne, describing her plight.

    Other than the person on the throne and the soldier on his knees, there were even more people who sat in the beautiful Royal Hall.

    "Hmm. Of course, he feels pain. He just doesn''t want us to see that he feels pain. He just thinks we aren''t equal to him, so screaming before us would be beneath his dignity. Just because these people lived for so many lifetimes, they think they are gods." The man on the throne sighed.

    "My Lord, what should I do about him?" The soldier asked, waiting formands.

    The King closed his eyes as if he was lost in deep thoughts. The entire ce went silent.

    Creek~

    The silence in the hall was broken by the noise of the door opening. The King opened his eyes, noticing another soldier stepping inside the hall.

    "My King, someone is here to meet you."

    "Who?"

    "That person ims to be Ramiel." The Soldier bowed his head in respect. "He ims that it is important for him to meet you."

    "Ramiel? Who Ramiel?" the King asked in confusion. He didn''t remember knowing any Ramiel, let alone inviting one to meet him.

    "Heh, I disappeared for a couple of centuries, and it seems everyone forgot me..." A burst of amusedughter came, apanied by the sounds of footsteps.

    A terrifying aura also filled the entire ce.

 Chapter 85 85: Demand

    "Ramiel... disappeared for a few centuries...? It can''t be! Progenitor Ramiel?! You dare step foot in my Castle!"

    The old King raged as he stood up. An aura just as powerful as the previous aura filled the ce, countering the old aura.

    Every Royal Court member also stood up, alert as soon as they heard their King mention the White Tiger King.

    "Hahaha, you really think you can face me? I bet you won''t even fare to attack me after seeing me."

    "Why don''t you test that theory? I already have one of you in my prison! I won''t mind another!" The Werewolf King''s hands started transforming, turning into sharp ws. The mark on his forehead shone brightly.

    "Fine. Here Ie!"

    A figure stepped inside the Royal Hall, stopping right before the open doors. Everyone was finally able to see the person clearly.

    The Werewolf King''s expressions twisted. "Warlord Zhang?"

    "Hah, King Razil. Didn''t I tell you that you won''t be able to attack me when I step before you?"

    "Of course, I wouldn''t. You aren''t Ramiel." King Razil frowned. His hands returned to normal as he recognized the person before him. The other Wolves also sighed in relief.

    "Why did you lie?" Zamil sat back on his throne again, gesturing for the others to sit down as well.

    "I just wanted to see your reaction." Zhang chuckled. "It was certainly very amusing."

    "Warlord Zhang, your jokes are bing dangerous. What if I had attacked you without taking time to see who you were? You shouldn''t do this anymore."

    "Don''t worry. I don''t repeat a joke twice, no matter how fun it may be."

    Razil rolled his eyes. ''This guy... Just what does he think of himself?''

    "Did you onlye here for that joke, or did you have another purpose ining here?" he asked.

    "That''s right. No matter how fun messing with you, I wouldn''t waste your and my time over it." Zhang became somewhat serious.

    "Then tell me. What is your purpose ining here?"

    "I am here to ask you to give me something."

    "Hmm? What might you need from me? You already have everything. Still, tell us. If there''s anything, I''ll give you."

    "Great. Then give me An," Zhang casually stated as if he wasn''t asking for anything important.

    "Hmm?" Razil squinted his eyes. "Zhang, enough of your jokes. Tell me what you want for real. I was in a meeting. I don''t have time for such jokes."

    "It''s not a joke." Zhang took a few steps closer to the Werewolf King''s throne until there were only a few meters of distance between the two. "I am here to take An with me."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "And why do you think I will give him to you?" Razil red. "He is my prisoner."

    "He might be your prisoner, but he doesn''t belong to you. King Razil, don''t forget that my n helped your father catch An. He couldn''t have done it alone. And it was also my n which made the entrapment formation in your cell to make sure that An couldn''t escape."

    "The only reason you have An as your prisoner is because of us. If not for us, you wouldn''t be able to catch him. And even if you could catch him, you couldn''t keep him in your prison for long. So please don''t be so stubborn."

    "Your father and mine worked together to catch An. You''ve had An for close to a hundred years now. Tomorrow, the hundred years will beplete. I believe you''ve had him for long enough. Now we should have a right to him because we also have many questions of our own that we want to ask him."

    "If you want to ask him questions, you can ask right here. You don''t have to take him with you."

    "I apologize, but I must insist. I need to take him to my n. It''s time you give him to me. After a hundred years, you can bring him back."

    ? "As I said before, I can''t give him to you. I believe he might break out of your n. I don''t want a mistake of yours to free this nightmare on innocent people again. He has been here for a hundred years, and he hasn''t been able to leave. We shouldn''t change his surroundings."

    No matter how much Zhang tried to convince Razil, he didn''t give in. It was the wild nature of Zhuang which was stopping him from even taking Zhang seriously when it came to this issue.

    "King Razil, are you really doubting our ability to keep An secure? Don''t forget that it was my n that made everything that you use to keep An here. We made the entrapment formation. We made the spell chains to tie him up with. We are the reason you can keep him here, and you''re doubting our ability to do the same after all this time?"

    Zhang smiled. "I don''t think it''s because you doubt our abilities to keep him secure. It''s just because you don''t want to give him to us, is that right? Though I really think you should''ve chosen a better excuse."

    Razil scoffed. "Zhang, you shouldn''t forget where you are and what tone you should use. As I said before, I won''t give him. My father and yours had decided that we would keep him here. You can''t change that decision now that your father isn''t anymore. He will stay here, no matter how long. If you need to interrogate him, you can do it here."

    "You are an ally. Don''t destroy that."

    Zhang let out a tired sigh. "I guess I can''t be surprised that you refused me. It was still worth a try."

    "So you do understand. If you need anything other than An, you can ask me. If I can give, I will. And if you don''t need anything else, then please forget I said anything. Be the guest of our Kingdom for a few days before leaving." Razil dered.

    Instead of being angry, Zhang appeared to be smiling for some reason which confused everyone.

    "Don''t worry. I''m not going that easily. I''m not here to fight, so of course, I won''t do anything like that. You are a friend, after all. Still, you can reject me, which I don''t mind. But there''s someone even you can''t reject."

    "Who?"

    Zhang brought a folded piece of paper out of his pocket and moved even closer to Razil.

    He handed over the letter personally.

    Werewolf King Razil unfolded the piece of paper and went through what was written on it.

    His frown deepened as he read what was on the paper.

 Chapter 86 86: Death

    "As I said before, you can refuse me, but there is someone you can''t refuse, and that someone is your father himself."

    "Even though he''s no more in this world, his words still exist. It seems my father knew that we were going to have a hard time asking for An back after your father was gone, so he made this deal before he helped your father."

    "That paper consists of your father''s deration that the two sides are going to share custody of An for a hundred years each in exchange for our help. So, do you still believe you shouldn''t hand An over?"

    "If you reject me even now, that would imply that the value of a Werewolf King''s promise is nothing. I certainly won''t mind your refusal, but it won''t look good on you, old friend." Zhang stated. "I''m not in a hurry to get your answer. There''s still one more day before hundred years are up, so give me your answer tomorrow."

    "I''ll leave you to your important meeting and take my leave temporarily." He turned around, walking to the exit. "Oh, also about your offer of hospitality, I would certainly ept it. You can tell your men to keep a guest room ready for my stay here. Until then, I''ll go and roam the city.  See youter, old friend."

    Waving his hand, Zhang departed, disappearing from the view of the White Tiger King.

    "My King, are we really going to hand over An?" A voice fell in Razil''s ears, bringing him out of his daze.

    Razil gazed at the young man in the distance. "Do you have any other ideas? My father promised his father. We would have to give him back. We can''t go back on our words."

    He got off the throne and started leaving as well. "Your Majesty, where are you going?"

    "If we only have one more day with An, I believe I should meet him onest time as well. You''re all dismissed."

    ****

    "Key!" Razil stopped before the metallic door that was guarded by two of his strongest werewolves.

    One of the two handed over the key, which they were only allowed to bring out on the King''smands.

    Razil used the key and opened the Metallic door to gain an entry into a small hallway that only had enough width for one person to walk through.

    The entire hallway was covered with strange markings that were carved on the walls, the floor, and even on the roof.

    Razil observed the markings as he passed through the hallway.

    "I always wondered why that n decided to help us capture An and even let her have him without asking for anything in return. They even made these Formations for protection, but now Ipletely understand."

    The letter of promise still remained in his hands as he walked.

    The entire hallway felt somewhat warmpared to the outside.

    At the end of the hallway, there was another door. The King didn''t use the key given to him by the guard to open this door. Instead, he brought another key which was hanging around his neck like a pendant.

    As An was such a special prisoner, there was not only a risk of him running but also a risk of someone helping him escape. These safety mechanisms were made keeping that in mind, especially targeting the Vampires so they couldn''t even get to An.

    Razil used his own key to open the second door, which was made from the strongest material known at the time, further reinforced by spells.

    Click ~

    The door unlocked.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Razil pushed the door open, which was even heavier than thest door. In fact, the door was so heavy that despite being unlocked, Razil needed to apply most of his strength to even push the door open.

    Even after he passed through the second door, it still wasn''t the end. He still hadn''t reached An.

    Razil found himself in a chamber that was as big as a football field.

    There was no door in this Chamber other than the one he came from.

    The chamber appeared to be made using thousands of tiles, and each of those tiles had a unique symbol carved on it.

    Razil walked to a certain spot in the chamber and stood over a certain mark.

    As soon as his weightnded on the time, a small door-shaped opening appeared behind Razil.

    He got off the mark and entered through that small opening, finally reaching the cell of An.

    Without stepping on that specific mark, it was impossible to open that door even for gods. No one could even see that opening, let alone break it.

    Through the new door, Razil entered the cell of An, where he was being imprisoned.

    Chains were wrapping him all around. Both his feet and hands were tied in chains. Another chain wrapped around his neck and waist, keeping him on his knees.

    "How do you feel?" Razil''s gruff voice echoed in the entire cell.

    A red-haired man sat before him, forced to be on his knees. His red hair was so long that they were covering most of his face.

    "Kid, Take off these chains from me, and I''ll show you how I feel."  The young man raised his head, looking at Razil through the openings between his hair. His dark eyes observed Razil.

    Despite being tortured so badly that all his clothes were covered in blood, An still looked as if he was perfectly fine.

    "You Progenitors are certainly something else. There are stories about you being true Immortals. Many people think that those stories are an exaggeration. If only they could see what happened here. No matter what we try, you just refuse to die."

    "Killed by a Werewolf? Even in dreams, that won''t be my fate, Razil. Your father already tried his best. You think you can do what he couldn''t? Go ahead. Try more. Try for as long as you live. Don''t worry; I''ll be here even long after you''re dead." An scoffed.

    "I''m not here to torture you this time. I''m here to tell you that your days are limited. We''ve found something that can kill you. I''m sure you know what it is, right?"

    For a moment, An''s expressions changed, but he soon controlled them. "Of course, I know what can kill me. You can. You''re so boring; you can kill me with your boredom easily. Is that the thing you''re talking about?"

    "You can think that. Just know that tomorrow is the day you get out of this ce. You''ll be killed in the middle of the city, so finally, the invincible legend of yours is gone. I shall let the world see that even Progenitors can''t escape death. That''s all I came to tell. Since it''s yourst day. Enjoy."

    Razil went back after saying what he had to.

    He went back to the massive chamber. The secret door closed.

 Chapter 87 87: Sleepless

    "You gave me so many sleepless nights. Now that you''re here only for one more night, it''s only fair that I return some favor. Enjoy the fear."

    The silence in the chamber was broken by the calm words of Razil, which didn''t reach An.

    The chamber once again returned to the scary silence.

    ****

    "That''s the Kingdom of Wolves. We did manage to get here, but this is where the troublesome part starts. How will we get inside?"

    As sat on top of the carriage, gazing at the distant city. Lilith sat beside him.

    Lancaster and Yovana stood on the ground in the beautiful nes.

    "You''re Lord Castiel. I don''t think you even need to worry about this," Yovana answered. "You can openly get inside. It is just that you''ll attract some attention, but that shouldn''t be much of a problem since you''ll never be in danger."

    "You have no idea how much of a problem it can be." Lilith sighed. She knew that As wasn''t that strong yet. He wasn''t going to wage war to enter the city, and if he did, getting to An was going to be close to impossible.

    "How about this? I get inside and try to find the whereabouts of An first?" Lancaster suggested. "Since I''m not a Vampire, they won''t be able to sense me that easily. I''m also a werewolf, so I should be able to find out about An. After that information, you can n better."

    "Lancaster, I can''t let you do it. They are your family." As refused. "I know how bad it can be once someone loses their family. You don''t have to go against your n. I''ll find a way."

    He definitely needed some information and a way to get inside, but even with Lancaster''s help, it was impossible to get inside without being seen. Moreover, it put Lancaster in harm''s way. If someone found out that he was involved, it was going to get him dered a traitor to his own n.

    "It''s not betrayal. I''m not helping you wage war or kill them. It''s just getting someone out if possible. From what I''ve heard, An might''ve done many wrong things in his life, but the thing he was imprisoned for wasn''t done by him. So he''s really not supposed to be imprisoned."

    "We were wrong, and it''s time we right that wrong. That''s why I''ll help you."

    "That''s true as well. He didn''t destroy the vige he was arrested for." Yovana agreed. "He is innocent."

    "Just that specific vige." Lilith gazed at the distant city. "He did destroy many towns, cities, and viges, including mine. He isn''t innocent from any angle."

    "Get this thing straight. We aren''t helping you because we think he is innocent. Because innocent is thest thing he would be if we are to really be clear. You might be blinded by your love for him, but we aren''t," she further added. ''''So don''t give me that innocent logic. If it were up to me, I would have him rot in that cell for an eternity, but Castiel has made a promise to you, so I''ll help."

    "Lilith, it''s not the time to argue. We can''t sit here idly. We need a n that doesn''t put Lancaster at risk while also allowing us a path to get to An. I can''t think of anything. It''s impossible to sneak inside. From what I''ve been told about the defenses of this ce, it''s impable."

    "Moreover, An would be kept in the most secure ce in the castle. Even if we managed to sneak inside the city, the castle would be an even more difficult pill to swallow."

    "You''re right. It''s not easy to sneak inside. At least not the way you are now. A Vampire will be sensed as soon as you try to sneak in. And then there will be Vampire Warding formations as well. In essence, it''s an upward climb which is almost impossible to achieve," Lilith exined.

    "I know it looks harder, but in reality, it''s even harder than anything you can imagine. We haven''t even considered all the traps that the Witches would''ve made to keep An secure. All those traps would''ve been made keeping Vampires in mind."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Can you break the spells?" As inquired, gazing at the grim face of Lilith.

    She was the only Witch they had and the only person who had any idea on how to deal with spells.

    "I might be able to break some spells, but there are many spells that are unbreakable, and I''m sure many such spells would be used there. No one would take a risk when it came to An."

    "So there''s no way to get inside without a conflict. I guess it''s time to pull the same card I used with Severis then."

    "You mean bluffing?"

    "Yeah. What else can we do? That should bring us before the King. As for what happens after that, it''ll depend on how that meeting goes."

    "You realize that it''s much harder to fool him than it was to fool Severis. Both of them are in a different league, mentally and physically. The Castle here will be even more secure than it was there."

    "I know it''ll be harder, but it''s not like I''m nning to blow up his castle. I don''t need him to believe me entirely. I just need an opportunity to get inside without starting a war. This will lead us straight to the heart of the castle. I might even be able to negotiate."

    "You''re too optimistic." Lilith shook her head in disappointment. "There''s no way he''s going to listen to you and release An. Instead, he might even try to capture you as well. It''ll be inevitable. So I don''t approve of this n."

    "Do you have a better n then? There''s no other way to get inside the city even."

    Lilith paused for a brief moment before opening her lips. "Well, there is one way to get inside the city. But it''s just that... It''ll help you get inside the city but not more than that."

    "What way?"

    Lilith nced at Yovana, who was looking right at them.

    "We should talk in private about that. Come with me."

    Lilith got down from the carriage with As. The two of them created some distance from Yovana and Lancaster.

    Even then, Lilith wasn''t satisfied. She cast another spell to make sure no one could hear what they said.

    After around ten minutes of discussion, she removed the spell.  "So, what do you think?"

    "Hmm... That n... It must work, but..."

    "It''s certainly better than your n. It''ll get us an entry into the city without raising any suspicions." Lilith cut As off in the middle of his sentence.

 Chapter 88 88: Chaos

    After a small yet serious discussion, As and Lilith finally agreed on the n. They walked off the grass and back to the carriage.

    "I won''t ask what you discussed since you wouldn''t have gone so far if you wanted to tell us. But can you at least tell us what we''re supposed to do? Or will you two be the only ones going inside the city?"

    Yovana was slightly upset that Lilith and As didn''t trust them enough to discuss the n with them, yet she couldn''t do anything about that except go with the n.

    "We won''t be going in alone. You two will being with us as well."

    As started exining the entire n. Lancaster heard the entire n with a weird look on his face as he asionally kept ncing at Yovana.

    "With her?" he asked after As finished the entire n.

    As nodded. "That''s the n. It should give us what we need."

    "What about your aura? Won''t they realize who you are with that?" Yovana pointed out the w in the n that she was told. "The problem isn''t how we will enter. You two should practice. I''ll go train with Lilith. We will enter the city tomorrow.

    "If you believe it''ll work, then I have no problem."

    Even though Lancaster didn''t know how this n was going to work, he decided to ce his entire trust in As. If he was willing to go with the n, that meant the n had some merits that he couldn''t see at the moment.

    The biggest problem in this n was As'' aura which was a make-or-break problem, but As left that to Lancaster.

    The Carriage Driver was instructed to get the carriage off the roads and to hide it inside the forest. As went deep inside the forest with Lilith, leaving Yovana behind with Lancaster.

    ****

    The forest was filled with thousands of trees. It was so dense that it was easy for a person to hide inside the forest without being noticed.

    As stood in the center of the forest with Lilith.

    "Before we start, you need to calm your head." Lilith sat on the ground.

    "I''m already calm," As answered. "Just teach me the spell."

    "That spell isn''t as easy as thest spell you used. It''ll take some time. Sit down."

    As followed the instructions and sat before Lilith, facing her.

    "Now, close your eyes and stay like that for thirty minutes. Calm your breathing and just try to feel your body and the elements around you. You must not open your eyes before thirty minutes are over. Alright?"

    As closed his eyes and did the same, wondering why Lilith was asking him to do it. It seemed so easy to do, after all. All she was asking him was to meditate. If that''s all it took, then it wasn''t hard at all.

    Unfortunately, only when he did, did he realize that it was moreplex than it looked. Just within ten minutes of meditation, his mind started swaying. He couldn''t focus on anything. There were just so many thoughts in his head which didn''t allow him to think of anything else.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Was this what Lilith meant when she said that he needed to be calmer? Even though he felt as if he was calm before, only now realized that there was so much chaos hidden behind that calm.

    He wanted to stop, getting irritated. He wanted to open his eyes and take a walk, feeling as if he was being suffocated by this.

    Unlike As, Lilith had her eyes open now. She could see the distressed expressions of As.

    "Now you realize what I meant? Your mind is chaotic, and with that, you can''t effectively cast the spell I''m about to teach you. And even if you did cast it somehow, it might break at any moment when you''re inside the city, which would be even worse." Lilith''s melodious voice fell in As'' ears, giving him the must needed distraction that he needed from his own thoughts b

    "It''s better to take more time here and perfect all ws than taking a wed spell and putting yourself at risk. You understand?"

    "I gave you only thirty minutes to meditate because I knew you couldn''t even do it. Now that you know, I''ll tell you the truth. You won''t seed in calming your head in thirty minutes. In fact, it must even take an entire day, or a week, or more. We won''t proceed to the next part of the n until you seed."

    "You''re right. I have too much chaos inside me, but how to solve it? The scary silence of meditation and the chaotic thoughts make me feel like I''ll go crazy within minutes, let alone hours."

    "You won''t go crazy. You''re much stronger than that. If you want to calm your head, you need to face them one by one. Focus on each thought individually and work with it. Try to understand why you have that thought. You need toe to terms with everything and realize that you aren''t alone in all this. You don''t have to take all the burden yourself."

    "If only it were that easy." As let out a tired sigh.

    ****

    No matter how hard it was to stay focused, As didn''t give in. He remained seated, having his eyes closed.

    He even tried to use Lilith''s approach, which appeared to make things even moreplicated. As he delved deep into one thought, hundreds more came.

    The chaos was just too much.

    First three or four hours were the hardest for him as he tried to navigate through his chaos, but with the passage of time, things became somewhat easier. He even forgot where he was sitting or what he was doing. Instead, he waspletely lost in his own thoughts, entering his own world.

    Lilith watched As immersed. She nodded her head in satisfaction. He had finally started the process.

    She silently stood up so as to not disturb As. For his safety, she even cast a formation around him so no one could disturb her without alerting her since she needed to leave him temporarily to take care of something.

    Lilith stepped back, not making any noise before ultimately disappearing, leaving As all alone in the forest.

    Surrounded by a beautiful formation, As remained alone, lost in his thoughts as gentle winds brushed against his face, making the atmosphere even more serene.

    Half an hour after Lilith disappeared from the forest, someone approached As.

    A group of four appeared to being back from a distant ce, traveling through the forest.

 Chapter 89 89: Hunters

    A group of four women walked in the forest, each carrying a massive beast on their shoulders.

    All the women dressed in warrior attire, yet they had no weapons with them. The bodies of the beasts which were on their bodies had wounds that had stopped bleeding now. The w marks were still clearly visible.

    "Our luck was really good this time. Finding a group of such beasts without even having to look too hard. Today was really good. It was good. We can get back home early today."

    "Yeah. I''ll prepare a big feast for my family as soon as I get home. Why don''t you three join me as well?"

    "Sure. We would love to. It''s been so long since our families spent time together."

    "Hahaha, you''re right. Thest time was probably around five months ago."

    "Yeah, then it''s decided. We are meetingter."

    All four friends came to an agreement to share time together and with their families as they traveled.

    "Hmm? This strange smell... Are you getting it as well?" One of the four women stopped in her tracks, getting a strange scent.

    The others also stopped and ced the bodies of the beasts on the ground, focusing on that strange scent as well.

    "It smells like a..."

    "Like a Vampire."

    "You''re right. It''s definitely the scent of a Vampire! Not why would a Vampire be here, this close to the Kingdom? Something doesn''t feel right."

    "He is either a stray who got lost or a spy sent here to infiltrate the Kingdom. In any case, we can''t let a Vampire roam freely near our territory!"

    "Are you thinking what I''m thinking?" One of the four had a sly smile on their face.

    "If you''re thinking about hunting once more, then it''s exactly what I''m thinking."

    "Spread out. We''ll surround him from all sides and attack."

    Leaving the bodies behind, the fourdies dispersed, disappearing in the first. As for their speed, it was so fast that it was hard to keep up with them.

    Around ten minutes passed. As still sat in his meditation, letting all his senses lose. He didn''t even realize what had been happening in his surroundings as he couldn''t hear anything except his own thoughts.

    Four wolves came out of the forest, talking one side each. One of the Wolves approached As from behind while the other three kept an eye on him from three directions.

    Seeing As unaware of his surroundings, the werewolves became even more confident, believing they had no chance of losing the prey this time.

    As was like their prey while they were the hunters, about to hunt the ignorant prey.

    The werewolves shed her sharp teeth, stopping just a few meters behind As. It adjusted its position, taking a step back.

    As the world didn''t want to lose As or miss, it wanted to finish him off in a single attack without giving him a chance to sense it.

    After a short period of silence, the Wolf jumped at the back of As, opening its mouth wide to tear off his neck.

    The sharp fangs of the beast came closer to As'' neck with each passing second. The sharp ws aimed at the back of As.<novelnext></novelnext>

    As the wolf finally attacked with the intent to kill As, a killing aura spread out, being sensed by As.

    His eyes abruptly opened as he came out of his daze.

    He dropped to the ground, rolling to the side.

    The wolf that was about to crunch on As'' neck missed,nding right before him, allowing him a chance to get up.

    "Did you really have to disturb my meditation like that? I was so close to calming the chaos in my heart." As stood up, frowning.

    He needed to learn a spell after calming his heart, but he was obstructed in the middle, bringing him back.

    "And where''s Lilith?" He couldn''t find Lilith anywhere. Wasn''t she supposed to protect him while he was in his meditation? Where could she go while leaving him alone?

    All four wolves roared at As. The one closest to him dashed in his direction.

    As took a few steps to the left, using a speed even faster than what the Wolves possessed.

    He grabbed the world by its neck, tossing it away. "You really don''t want to leave me, do you?"

    The Wolves red at As. If stares could kill, As would''ve been dead a thousand times over by now. Unfortunately, it wasn''t that easy for these Vampires to kill him. They couldn''t evennd a blow on him.

    Instead of stepping back off the battlefield, the four Werewolves attacked As at the same time.

    "If that''s what you want." As also prepared to fight. He ran to the closest wolf, clenching his fist.

    The wolf jumped at As. As once again moved with the wind, but instead of letting the wolfnd on the ground safely, he grabbed the wolf''s tail, tossing it straight at the second Wolf, which was close to him.

    The second Wolf dodged. The first wolf also bnced its body mid-air tond on its own four feet.

    As noticed the third wolf attacking him, but what surprised him was the fourth wolf which had gone missing suddenly.

    He ran to the third wolf. The wolf shed at him, roaring madly.

    Seeing the wolf jump, As wanted to use the same trick as before, but he noticed the first two Wolves also attacking him, covering all the ces. No matter where he looked

    This time it was his turn to jump, and jump is what he did. His jump was even higher than the wolf that attacked him. As''s feet touched the back of the wolf, who tried to change his direction mid-way.

    Unfortunately, it was impossible as everything happened so fast.

    Unexpectedly, at the same time, the fourth wolf appeared like a ghost behind As. The sharp ws of the wolfnded on the back of As''s neck, leaving a few inches deep gnash.

    As used the back of the first wolf like a tform to jump even higher to get out of the attacking range.

    Hended in the distance. The three wolves gathered together. As for the fourth, he once again went missing. As observed his surroundings, but he couldn''t find the fourth one. He didn''t even know how the fourth wolf achieved it. He appeared like a ghost, attacked, and then disappeared like one as well. It was as if something was really wrong about it.

    It was his first time fighting with the werewolves, and it was much different than when he faced the Vampires. The Vampires attacked from the front, relying on their speed and their strength. On the other hand, the werewolves were like hunters who knew how to hunt in a pack, and he was at the receiving end of it.

 Chapter 90 90: Prey Becoming Hunter

    The Vampires were arrogant and preferred to attack only with themselves, not focusing on teamwork. On the other hand, the Werewolves were a pack. They didn''t have the arrogance. They were like a massive family who knew how to fight together, and that''s what made them so hard to deal with.

    Even worse was the effect of their attacks. Vampires used their teeth to suck the blood of their targets, while the Werewolves used their fangs to inject poison into their targets. The poison was ineffective on an ordinary human, but it worked the best on the Vampires, making them weaker and even paralyzing after a sufficient amount of venom was injected. That''s what made the Werewolves so dangerous to face. They were like the natural enemies of the Vampires.

    That''s also why despite there being more Vampires in the world than the wolves, the Werewolf Kingdom was stillpletely intact.

    Throughout the millions of years, many dynasties came and went; only the Werewolf Kingdom and the Blood Council were in this ever-changing world.

    Seeing their teamwork, As couldn''t help but remember Lilith. It would''ve been so helpful if she were here as well. He wondered where she went when he needed her as he rubbed the wound on the back of his head, which was still bleeding.

    "It was certainly true, it seems. The wounds given by Werewolves heal much slower than other wounds." As muttered, still feeling the pain.

    He had even worse wounds when he faced Carlisle, but those wounds healed when fasterpared to this wound. Even though he was a Progenitor, even he couldn''t avoid this slow healing.

    While As pondered about his slow healing, the Werewolves were amazed at his fast healing. The healing, which was slow for As, was much quicker than the werewolves had seen any Vampire heal before.

    Even though As couldn''t remain unaffected by his slow healing, he still had it much better than others. He was getting the benefits of being a Progenitor, which helped him more, making this process slightly faster. Even though it wasn''t as fast as it was when he faced the other Vampires, it was still much better than it should''ve been.

    The Werewolves once again attacked As, using the same formation of three. This time, As didn''t take the bait. He was sure that the fourth werewolf that was missing was the team leader of this team. He couldn''t ignore the fourth because he didn''t want to get wounded again. He needed to be more alert.

    The three wolves attacked again at the same time, one targeting his neck, one targeting his chest, while the third providing backup in case As tried to dodge.

    "If you want to y the hunter, then let me show you who is a better hunter."

    Instead of attacking, As disappeared. Not even his shadow was left behind. The werewolves were fast but not as fast as him. Even they couldn''t hold him back if he didn''t face them bravely.

    The Werewolves watched him disappear, but even after leaving, As couldn''t hide his scentfrom the werewolves, who could sense that he wasn''t too far. In fact, he was hiding nearby.

    The three wolves ran in the direction that scent wasing from, only to end up in the middle of a powerful fog. The entire area was covered in a snow-white fog which made it impossible to see anything. Even the Werewolves with such sharp senses couldn''t see much in this fog.

    Moreover, they also found something odd. The Scent of As wasing from every direction around them. It was as if he was everywhere, all at once.

    As As was the spellcaster, he could see through the fog, unlike the others. He stood on the branch of a tree on top, watching the three wolves trying hard to find him.

    His thumb was still bleeding, but it wasn''t because of any wounds received from the wolves. Instead, it was because he also did the same as Lilith. He bit his own thumb but not to cast a spell.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Instead, he was using his blood as a distraction. He let his blood fall all around this area to confuse the sense of smell of those Werewolves since that was their biggest asset in trying to find him.

    He made sure that the Wolves couldn''t sense him. Now the prey had be the hunter, and the hunter had be prey, trapped in the fog as their every movement was being noticed by As.

    Aooo~

    One of the Wolves roared, but this wasn''t an enraged roar this time. It was a roar of pain.

    With a thud, the body of the wolf fell to the ground as its neck was crushed.

    The other Wolves heard the roar and ran to where it came from, finding their friend dead.

    As appeared behind one of them like a ghost. He still didn''t know where the fourth wolf was, but at the moment, he didn''t care. If the Wolves couldn''t sense him or see him in this fog, even they couldn''t hurt him.

    As grabbed the second Wolf by the throat before disappearing into the fog again. Another painted roar filled the ce, alerting the third wolf, who realized that As was nearby. He was using this fog to target them.

    Awoo~

    The third wolf roared, realizing that the second Wolf was also dead as the yell went silent. Instead of waiting here for its turn, a third wolf also ran. It was sure that this was a trap.

    The third wolf was even sure that As meditating alone near the Kingdom was also a part of the trap to kill them. He lured them and then brought them here, which was probably nned in advance. The third wolf was even wondering about the possibility of there existing more than one vampire here if it was really a trap.

    To fight back, she needed to first see the enemy or at least be able to use her senses which weren''t easy in the midst of all this fog.

    After a short run, the third Werewolf finally jumped out of the fog but not alone. Another figure came out of the fog, targeting thest wolf.

    As'' figure came out of the fog, appearing as if he was flying.

    This time he didn''t have to worry about a team as he had already killed two.

    Unfortunately, at the same time, another wolf appeared out of nowhere as if it was waiting here for As toe out. Mid-air, even As found it hard to change his movement as the wolf appeared behind him, bringing out its sharp ws.

 Chapter 91 91: Blood

    As only noticed the attack when he was mid-air,unable to control himself to avoid the attack.

    Unexpectedly, at the same time, he noticed another shadow appear behind him. Something hit the fourth wolf, sending it flying in the distance.

    Taking advantage of the moment, As focused on the third wolf, who managed tond on the ground.

    His feetnded on the head of the third wolf, using the entire momentum. The impact of hisnding was so powerful that the third wolf crashed on the ground. Before it could even stand up, As wrapped his arm around the wolf, making it impossible for him to be bitten.

    "I know there is a person inside that beastly form, and I really didn''t want to kill you. But I have no choice. You attacked me first, and even if I let you live, it''ll only create more trouble for me. So forgive me."

    Crack~

    As applied slight pressure, cracking the neck of the third wolf, leaving only the fourth one who was being kept at bay by another wolf.

    As also realized that the shadow which has helped him was none other than a wolf. The new wolf appeared to be slightly bigger and more powerful. It was even faster than the other wolves. Instead of facing As, the wolf faced the one who had attacked As.

    A beautiful mark shone on the forehead of the wolf, depicting the Royal Werewolf Bloodline.

    Seeing that mark, even the fourth wolf was stunned. A Royal had arrived here to stop them?

    The fourth wolf went on its knees, bowing its head in respect, believing a Royal from the city had arrived. The wolf didn''t know that the one who had arrived wasn''t a Royal from the city but a friend of As, Lancaster himself.

    The fourth wolf returned to her normal form, bing a young woman once again. Unfortunately, there was not a single shred of clothing on her body. She didn''t appear embarrassing despite beingpletely naked.

    "My Lord, did we make a mistake? Why did you attack us instead of that Vampire?" The dark-haired woman asked in confusion. "He killed three of ours."

    Lancaster didn''t return to his human form. He simply nced at As, making the woman feel like he knew As.

    "The Vampire who was meditating this close to the Empire... Is he a friend of the Royal Family or an informant who was here to give us the news about the Vampires?"

    The silence of the Werewolf before her only made the woman feel as if the Royal Wolf was angry. There was no way a Royal Werewolf would choose to attack them instead of the Vampires unless he knew the Vampire and he was there for them. That made her wonder if she had made a mistake?<novelnext></novelnext>

    The only way a Royal Werewolf would care for a Vampire was if the Vampire was working for them or was an informant. She wondered if she had attacked someone who was working for them. That would exin why the Royal attacked her.

    Lancaster didn''t reply. He knew he couldn''t. If he returned to his real form, the woman was going to realize that he wasn''t a part of the Royal Family. Fortunately, she had already found a way to justify his actions.

    "But he didn''t tell us. If he told us he was a spy for us, there wouldn''t be this misunderstanding. I... I wouldn''t attack a friend of the Werewolves. Not only did he not tell us who he was, but he also killed three of my friends. It''s not our fault."

    "Not there, four." A voice fell in the woman''s ears as As''s hands appeared behind her. He hated killing innocents as he believed every time he killed one, he lost a part of his old self. Unfortunately, he had no other choice.

    He had already killed three of them before the intervention of Lancaster. Even if he made up a story about being a spy, there was no way she was going to be silent after entering the Kingdom. She might even go to the King to ask for justice.

    He was fine if it was just him, but there were more people with him. His one act of kindness could put Lilith and Lancaster in danger in the city, which he didn''t want.

    Killing the Werewolves was one of the hardest decisions he had to take, which hurt him more. Still, if the choice was between his friends and the others, he had to choose his friends. He didn''t want to be all alone in this world again.

    The act of killing someone innocent was something he never thought he would do, but something inside him had changed. Something inside him had broken ever since he drank Blood, and he didn''t know what it was.

    All he knew was that he had be something he hated the most. Not only did he be a Vampire, but he became someone who killed innocents for his goals. The only difference was that he didn''t kill anyone for his entertainment. He only killed when he had no choice.

    Lancaster watched the woman being killed before him, which surprised him.

    He returned to his human form. Even as he returned to his human form, there was a look of grief on his face. "You didn''t have to kill her. You couldn''t lie to her or make up a story. She had already done the story-making part for us."

    "If only we could do that." As gazed at the body lying near his feet. "If there were a way to let her live, I would''ve been the first person to advocate for it. Unfortunately, there was none. It was toote. Three of her friends had already been killed. She wasn''t going to let this go, and even if she did, there are people in the city who would certainly ask her where her three friends went."

    "Before long, the information about us would''ve reached the King. She had already seen me. If she had described me in the city, everyone would know what I was. Moreover, the Werewolf King would know that I''ve already killed his citizens, which would increase his hostility toward me even more. All of us would''ve been targeted."

    As solemnly exined. "If I need to carry the burden of these innocent lives, I''m willing to bear it if it keeps you all safe. You had no hand in it. I killed them. I''m the devil here, not you. You can hate me for it if you want."

    As turned his back on the body and started walking away in silence.

 Chapter 92 92: Isolation

    Lancaster stood still, thinking about what As just said. Even though he didn''t agree with everything that was done, he realized that what As said was true.

    "What are we going to do about the bodies? We need to bury them and hide the evidence of what happened here." Lancaster ran after As.

    "That''s where I''m going," As answered. "I''ll bring a shovel from the carriage. You stay here and keep an eye on the body."

    "Ah, while you''re at it, can you also bring some clothes from the carriage? I came as soon as I heard a Werewolf roaring from the forest, thinking you''ll be in danger."

    "I was about to bring that as well." As smiled.

    After taking a few more steps, he stopped and turned back. "Also Lancaster..."

    "Yeah?"

    "I''m sorry."

    "Sorry for what?" Lancaster didn''t understand why As was apologizing to him so solemnly.

    "For killing those Werewolves. I didn''t want to have to do it. Not only did I do it, but I also made you help me. I''m sorry." As exined. Lancaster didn''t work for him. He was a friend.

    As understood how hard it was for someone to watch people from their own families die. As a Werewolf, these people were Lancaster''s family, and he had to attack his own to help him. The least he could do for forcing Lancaster to make this tough choice was an apology.

    "You don''t have to apologize for that. I''m sure you weren''t the one who attacked them first. You did what you had to do to protect yourself. It''s just an unfortunate incident that shouldn''t have happened, but now that it did, we can''t do anything about it. If I was in your ce and was attacked by four Vampires, I might''ve done the same. So don''t me yourself."

    Even though Lancaster was initially upset at As for killing the past woman, after knowing As'' point of view, he understood why As had to make that choice.

    What he didn''t know was that it took a really massive toll on As'' soul. For using his strength, spells, and killing, he had lost even more of his soul protection

    Only a few weeks had passed since he had awakened as a Progenitor, and he had already lost half of his soul protection. Only half of it left, and at the speed he was going, it was also going to burn out in a couple of weeks. He knew he didn''t have long to live, but even he didn''t know that he had such a short time.

    Despite that, he wanted to do something to help those around him for as long as he existed. He didn''t want to disappear once again, leaving nothing behind. He wanted to have people who would remember that he existed. He didn''t want to have lived a life where no one knew that he ever existed. He wanted to make a change.

    Moreover, he wanted to repay every favor that was done to help him. Lilith helped him in his journey the most. She wanted him to make sure that the Key fragment didn''t fall into the hands of the Blood Council. He was prepared to do that. Yovana helped him in finding where his sister was. He also decided to help her meet her father, no matter what Castiel''s personal equation was with An.

    Andstly, Lancaster helped him every step of the way. He still didn''t know how to repay Lancaster''s favor, but he had promised himself that whenever he received an opportunity, he was going to repay this favor, even if it took his everything.

    Lancaster watched As disappear into the forest, not having an inkling of the thoughts he had regarding his threepanions.

    Lancaster sat before the body on his knees after As disappeared, closing the eyes of the young woman, which were still open. "I''m sorry for what we had to do."

    ****

    As returned to the Carriage, where Yovana was still waiting for them.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "You''re back. Did Lancaster meet you?" Yovana asked. "He went to see if you needed help."

    "You didn''t feel the need to see if I needed help?" As asked as he brought a shovel and some clothes from the carriage.

    "I''d have to be an idiot to think a Progenitor would need my help in battles." Yovana smiled. "A Progenitor is an entire army, not something a bunch of Werewolves can take down alone, especially Lord Castiel."

    "It would''ve been insulting to you if I had thought that you''ll be needing my help, Lord Castiel."

    As gazed at the young woman. She was right. Castiel wouldn''t need help to take down a bunch of Wolves, but he wasn''t Castiel technically. Unfortunately, he couldn''t tell her."

    Carrying the clothes and the shovel, he went back inside the forest.

    ****

    "Here, wear something." As handed over the clothes to Lancaster.

    While Lancaster started wearing the clothes, As started digging the ground. He dug a huge hole in the ground, which was big enough to hold four bodies easily.

    He ced the first body in the hole before disappearing to bring the other three bodies back. One by one, he brought all the bodies back alone.

    He and Lancaster also found the shred of their clothes and tossed them in the hole as well, along with the beast bodies that were hunted by thedies, to make sure there was no evidence which was left behind about the four women ever being here.

    Just to be sure, the two searched the entire parameter, up to five hundred meters range, to ensure they didn''t leave anything behind. As also removed all the blood marks from the ground, leaving no evidence that a battle took ce anywhere.

    After making sure that nothing was left, the two friends started covering the hole with the soil.

    Along the way, As apologized to the four wolves once again for what he had to do.

    "Can I ask you a question if it''s not a secret?" Lancaster walked beside As.

    "What?"

    "Where did you send Lilith? Why isn''t she here? Is she on a secret mission or something?"

    As smiled in response. "What you asked is certainly a secret but not because I don''t want to tell you. It''s because even I don''t know where she went. She told me to meditate to calm my head. I was in meditation when I was attacked. Lilith wasn''t there when I opened my eyes. She probably left when I was lost in meditation."

    "So she left you all alone in the forest? She could''ve at least told us to keep an eye on you."

    As had no response to it since he had the same question. If she had to leave, could she not tell others? Moreover, where did she go in the first ce?

 Chapter 93 93: Lost

    As had already checked the ce where Lilith left him sitting to know if she left anything to let him know where she was going, but there was nothing other than a few marks of a formation being made there.

    "Shall we go back to the carriage and wait for Lilith''s return?"

    Lancaster stood with the support of a tree while As sat on the soft grass.

    "It''s alright. She wille back here when she''s done. If she left me here, she must''ve thought something. She wille here when she''s back."

    "So we just wait here?"

    "Yeah. I''ll be entering meditation again to calm my heart. You can keep an eye on the surroundings." As closed his eyes. "I need to calm my chaotic heart to learn the spell we need."

    "What spell is that?" Lancaster inquired.

    "The spell that is used to create the locket of Yovana," As answered.

    "You will be suppressing your bloodline? Won''t that weaken you?"

    Lancaster understood that suppressing his Bloodline could make him appear like an ordinary human, which could get him entry into the Kingdom of Wolves but there were also many ws to it. Suppressing the Bloodline was never a good option, ording to him, since it weakened the person, taking away their ability to protect themselves.

    "Don''t worry. I can''t suppress my Bloodline even if I wanted to. This Bloodline is too powerful for any King of suppression ording to Lilith," As responded. "That''s why Lilith will teach me a modified form of that spell after I''m ready.*

    ? "Modified suppression spell? How will it work?"

    "Instead of suppressing the Bloodline, that spell will suppress my aura and my scent. On the inside, I''ll still be the old me, but on the outside, I''ll appear like an ordinary human. Even Werewolves won''t be able to sense me if I seed."

    "Is that really possible?" Lancaster was amazed that there were such spells.

    A spell like this was too dangerous since it took away the biggest advantage of the Werewolves against the Vampires: their ability to sense the Vampires.

    If all the Vampires had something like this, they could all infiltrate the Kingdom without even being caught, destroying the Kingdom from the inside.

    Here it was just As, so it wasn''t that bad since he wasn''t the enemy of the Wolves but this spell... In the wrong hands, this could be a disaster.

    "Do other Witches know this spell too? Or only Lilith?"

    As could notice the worries of Lancaster. It didn''t take him long to guess what this guy was talking about.

    "There''s no such spell yet, so there''s no way for anyone to know it. Lilith is really talented in making spells. She will make this spell for me from scratch, so don''t worry about it. This won''t fall on the wrong hands."

    "That is good."

    "It is. With that, we should get an entry into the Kingdom. As for what to do after that, we will have to decide after seeing the conditions there. Now I''ll stop talking. Please don''t make any noise."

    As started focusing on his mind once again, which was even more chaotic after his current action. This frustrated him subconsciously, making things even moreplicated and time-consuming for him to solve. He was sure it was going to take even longer now.

    ****

    Yovana waited for As and Lancaster near the carriage, getting bored. There was no one here for her to talk to other than the carriage driver and the two pets in the carriage.<novelnext></novelnext>

    She waited near the Carriage for a few hours before ultimately deciding that she needed to check herself where everyone was. At least she had Lancaster with her before to keep herpany. Now that she was all alone, she felt as if the other three had intentionally left her behind.

    She instructed the carriage driver to protect the carriage while she also advanced deeper into the forest in search of the three.

    ****

    Lancaster stood near As, keeping an eye on him.

    He could hear the chirping of birds in the forest. Even the temperature was just perfect with a gentle breeze as the sky was covered in clouds.

    "Hmm?" The serene atmosphere was broken for him as he heard the sound of footsteps. He became slightly alert as he moved closer to the footsteps.

    "There you ar-"

    Seeing Lancaster, Yovana eximed. She was so close to the ce where As was meditating that Lancaster couldn''t let her speak so loudly. This had the potential of breaking his focus.

    Lancaster closed the mouth of Yovana with his hands. "Don''t speak so loud. He is meditating. We can''t disturb him."

    Yovana nodded her head repeatedly as if she understood what Lambard was implying.

    Lambard freed the youngdy''s mouth. He didn''t exin the whole thing about the spell since he didn''t want Yovana to know about such a spell, but he did tell her that this meditation was important for them to have a sessful entry into the kingdom.

    He reminded Yovana once again to keep her mouth shut.

    He brought Yovana to As and told her to just sit there silently without making a single noise.

    Yovana was someone who found being left alone boring but sitting here, unable to speak, was even more boring for her. Unfortunately, she herself chose toe here so she couldn''tin.

    Twenty-four hours passed, and As was still in his meditation. Both Yovana and Lancaster took turns guarding As while the other person took a short nap.

    Even now, Lilith hadn''t returned, which made Lancaster worry about her. Usually, he never saw Lilith separate from As. Not only did she leave him here, but it''s been more than a day, yet she wasn''t back.

    He was starting to get worried about her, wondering if something had happened to her.

    He didn''t even know where she went. All he knew was that she went all alone, and no one had any idea where she went.

    Lancaster understood how important Lilith was to As. He didn''t want anything to happen to her. He really hoped that she was safe and was going to be back, yet there was a bad feeling in his heart. Something didn''t seem right about this disappearance.

    Two more days passed, and As finally finished his meditation. He slowly opened his eyes. He had managed to win over most of his demons, calming his heart.

    His eyes appeared even more serene now. His aura also felt more refined.

    As noticed Yovana sleeping on the ground and Lancaster standing with his back resting against a tree.

    "Is Lilith still not back?" he asked.

 Chapter 94 94: Caught

    "She isn''t," Lancaster answered. "We''ve been here all this time, but she didn''t arrive."

    "It''s really strange. Where could she have gone?" As stood up. "She shouldn''t have left without any significant reason."

    "I''ve been wondering about the same time. I worry if she is in some kind of danger. We are this close to the Kingdom of Wolves, so I worry if someone from the Kingdom caught her."

    "I don''t think there is anyone who can capture Lilith. She is really skillful." As didn''t even consider the possibility of Lilith being caught.

    "That''s right." Yovana woke up from her sleep, hearing the conversation. She understood everything. "She is very skillful. She can be defeated, but no one can stop her from escaping if she wants to. You should''ve even said such a thing if you had heard the stories about her."

    "What stories?" As and Lancaster asked in unison.

    "Lord Castiel. You''ve been with her since the beginning. Surely you''ll remember the story about Lady Lilith and the Dranc n."

    "Hmm?" As scratched the back of his head. This thing was so troublesome. Since Yovana believed he was Castiel, she expected him to know everything even though As had no idea at all.

    Fortunately, he had made up a story with Lancaster, making him believe that he had lost his memories. Lancaster understood that As didn''t want Yovana to know about his lost memories, so he took the lead.

    To help As, Lancaster brought the topic back to Yovana. "He would know, but I don''t. Why don''t you tell the story again."

    "The Dranc n is the strongest Witch n, and it has been the strongest for over a millennia. It''s also the only n which also has Spellcasters who are male, called Warlords. It''s also the n which helped the Werewolves in capturing Lord An around a hundred years ago," Yovana exined.

    "How is that rted to Lilith?"

    "ording to the stories, the Dranc n had always considered Lady Lilith an enemy since she sided with the Vampire all her life, helping one." As Yovana spoke, she nced at Castiel, implying that he was the Vampire in question.

    "There was a time when the Drancs came up with an borate scheme to weaken Lady Lilith. I''m sure you would remember that. They believed that if they separated Lady Lilith from Lord Castiel, they could kill or capture Lady Lilith."

    "They did manage to separate Lady Lilith from Lord Castiel, but what they didn''t anticipate was the true strength and the unexpected spells that Lady Lilith had created throughout the years. She couldn''t defeat the entire Dranc n, but she did manage to hurt them before retreating. As for the rest, it was handled by Lord Castiel."

    "What did he do?" Lancaster frowned.

    "Lord Castiel, why don''t you tell him yourself?" Yovana tossed the ball at As, once again tossing before the cliff.

    "It''s alright. You can tell," As answered. Since he didn''t know anything, all he could do was pretend that he was toozy to tell himself.

    "Lord Castiel met up with Lady Lilith. ording to the stories, instead of leaving that ce with Lady Lilith, Lord Castiel went back to the Dranc n alone. Evendy Lilith couldn''t kill the Warlord of Dranc n. Lord Castiel was in a different league though. Lord Castiel killed the leader of the Dranc n and destroyed the entire force that had arrived to capturedy Lilith, except one person."

    "It''s said that he left that one person to go back and give his message to the others in the n, telling them if they ever troubled the two of them, next time it was going to be the entire n."

    Hearing the story of Yovana, even As found it hard to believe. Lilith was so powerful even without all her spells. Just how powerful could she be when she had all her spells? And even then, she couldn''t kill the enemies, yet Castiel did it alone?<novelnext></novelnext>

    He remembered how hard it was to fight a Witch. And that witch wasn''t even the strongest either, yet he had to struggle before her. Just one Witch alone was enough to trouble him so much. Just how could Castiel face so many without much effort?" That man, was he really a Vampire or a Monster?

    For a moment, he even wondered if there was any truth to this story. There were many stories in this world that were started as a rumor and, along the way, became something impossible to distinguish between truth and exaggeration.

    The only person who could know about the story''s authenticity was Lilith, who had been missing.

    "And that''s why I say it''s impossible for werewolves to trapdy Lilith. If even the Warlords and Witches couldn''t trap her, how would it be possible for the werewolves to do it." Yovana dered. "I don''t believe she is trapped."

    "Then where is she?" Lancaster eximed in frustration. "How can we find her if we don''t even know where she could be."

    ****

    While As and Lancaster wondered about the whereabouts of Lilith, Lilith was already inside the Kingdom of the Werewolves.

    Even though she wanted toe with As and the others, she sensed something which made her want to check things for herself to make sure nothing needed to be changed about the n. She snuck inside the Kingdom, wearing a cloak.

    "This aura. I was right." She stood near an alley, gazing at a middle-aged man in the distance.

    The man had a barely visible mark on the back of his hand.

    "A Warlord from the Dranc. What is he doing here?"

    The middle-aged man had a ss in his hand, which was filled with a green liquid.

    He took a sip from the ss. "This is tasty. The wolves do know how to make tasty drinks."

    The man gave a silver coin to the seller as he continued drinking.

    His expressions momentarily shifted as he felt like someone was keeping an eye on him. He wondered if Razil had sent someone to spy on him. He didn''t react instantly.

    Instead, he casually nced in the direction as if he was just observing the city and its people.

    Lilith swiftly took a step back, hiding in the alley before the man could see her.

    After a few seconds, she again nced in the direction of the man, only to be stunned as the man was now standing right before her now.

    "Youngdy, may I ask why you''re spying on me like that?" The man asked, seemingly amused. "You''re certainly not a wolf, so you aren''t sent by Razil."

 Chapter 95 95: Dranc

    Zhang still hadn''t realized who Lilith was as Lilith casted a spell to hide any aura she might exude beforeing here. Despite that, she knew that she couldn''t fool the young man for longer.

    "I asked why you were spying on me?" The man asked again after not getting an answer the first time.

    Lilith knew she needed toe up with an answer fast. She couldn''t let her man realize who she was, or this could start another battle which wasn''t good for As or her, especially since it was the Kingdom of Wolves.

    "I''ve never seen you before in this city. You seemed really suspicious, so I was keeping an eye on you."

    Since Lilith couldn''t tell the truth, she told a story, making it seem like she lived in this city and was curious about this man''s identity, who she never saw before.

    "Hmm? Do I really look that suspicious?" Zhang couldn''t help but smile.

    He had met many people throughout his life, yet none called him suspicious or anything even close to that.

    It was the first time he met someone who did.

    "What''s your name?" he asked the youngdy.

    "Zoya." Lilith made up a name.

    "Well, Zoya. I''m not suspicious. I''m new to this city, and I''m a guest of King Razil. So you can stop looking at me like that. If you''re still suspicious, I can take you to the King and have him confirm who I am." Zhang chuckled. "You want to try."

    "Hmph, no need." Acting like a young kid, Lilith rolled her eyes. "I''ll believe you this time."

    She started walking away from the man, trying to get away from him since she knew it wasn''t good to stay with the man for longer than needed.

    "By the way, it''s good to see you too, Lilith."

    Lilith froze in her ce, hearing the man call her by her real name. He knew who she was!

    ****

    "We can''t sit here waiting for her. We need to go search for Lilith." As dered, standing up.

    "Yovana, do you know any spell we can use to locate Lilith?"

    "I''ve read the entire Grimoire, so I know some spells like that, but I can''t cast them. I''m not a Witch."

    "It''s alright. I''ll cast them." Since they had no choice, As decided to do it himself.

    Other than Lilith, there was only one person in this group who could perform a spell, and it was him, thanks to Castiel.

    "Tell me which spell it is and how to use it."

    Yovana found this demand of As somewhat suspicious. Why was he asking her for this spell? He was an expert in spells himself. Why would he need her help? Moreover, when she was telling the story about Castiel, even then he acted strange. As these things stacked together, she was finding these things increasingly weird, yet she didn''t point it out.

    "I will." She agreed. "I''ll bring Lady Lilith''s book here. It''s in the carriage."

    "No need to bring it here. We''re done here. We can go back to the carriage."

    ****

    Yovana brought out the carriage from the carriage and tried to find the page with the locator spell.

    "Here it is. You''ll need an item from the person you want to locate to perform this spell." Yovana pointed out.

    "That book is Lilith''s.That should do." As responded. "Anything else?"

    "No, that should be enough."

    Yovana handed over the book to As and taught him how to use the spell as if she was teaching a baby. She went into detail about everything and how he needed to bepletely focused to not mess up the spell.<novelnext></novelnext>

    After understanding the spell, As told the two to stay silent as he cast the spell.

    For a few minutes, there wasplete silence. No one disturbed As, who closed his eyes.

    He soon opened his eyes. "I know where she is..."

    "Where?" Lancaster and Yovana asked in unison.

    As pointed in the direction of the Kingdom.

    "She is in that direction?"

    As nodded. "Not just in that direction. She is inside the Kingdom of Wolves already."

    "Wait, what?"

    "Why would she go there alone when we all needed to go together? What was she trying to aplish?"

    "Could it be that she''s really caught by the Werewolves, and they took her there?" Lancaster highlighted

    No matter how much they hyped her, in the end, there was still this one possibility which made most sense at this point. Why else would Lilith be inside that Empire without their knowledge?

    "I''m not sure why she is inside. All I know is that she is inside, and she might need help."

    "But how can we get inside that ce without her teaching you the spell?" Lancaster highlighted. "Our entire n depended on her teaching you the spell."

    "What spell?* Yovana asked. "Maybe we can find it inside the book as well?"

    As shook his head. "You won''t find that spell inside the book."

    He turned to Lancaster. "Since it''s about Lilith''s safety, I can''t afford to wait for a spell. She might be in danger. I''ll go inside without the spell."

    "How? They''ll find you right away!"

    "I know. I would''ve preferred to enter with that spell but if I can''t, then so be it. It''s time Castiel made an appearance to the world."

    "But what about the risks? If you appeared so openly, the Werewolves might attack you before you even have a chance to speak. And even worse, news of your appearance will inevitably reach the Blood Council! Didn''t you say that no one can know of your return?"

    Yovana didn''t understand As''s actions. Why was he going so far as to put himself in danger?

    "We will cross that bridge when we get there. You two stay back. I''ll go there alone. You two can''t afford to be associated with me for now."

    "I can''t let you go alone. I''ming with you." Lancaster insisted oning alone, not willing to let As go alone.

    "I also want toe. I can protect myself." Yovana also chimed in, none willing to stay behind.

    "I told you none of you areing. It''s final. You two can''t afford to be associated with me. You two cane separately if you want toe but not with me. No one must know you''re with me, alright?"

    "If that''s the case, then we will go before you. Because as soon as you make an appearance, the entire Kingdom would be sealed, and no one would be allowed to enter. Only way for us to get in is before you get there."

    "Fine. You two go ahead. I''ll wait here for an hour. Hurry up."

    "How about you wait for twelve hours?" Lancaster suggested. "Since we''re going in, we might find Lilith absolutely safe. If that''s the case, we''ll bring her back. If not, you cane?"

    "Yeah, that does make sense. It''s better than outright exposing yourself over a misunderstanding." Yovana also agreed with the new one.

    "Six hours. I can''t wait twelve hours if Lilith might be in danger. You two will have six hours..."

 Chapter 96 96: Hesitation

    As understood that there was a chance that Lilith was safe and didn''t need his help, but he didn''t want to take a chance. He had beente once before. He didn''t want to lose another person in a simr manner.

    If there was even the slightest chance of Lilith being in danger, he wanted to be there for her.

    At a time like this, when Lilith was missing, every hour was too much. Still, he gave Lancaster a chance. He gave them six hours to enter the city and to find Lilith.

    "If you can''t find her roaming on the streets safely in six hours, that will confirm that she is in danger," As stated. "I will have to greet them personally to ask for Lilith''s return."

    "I understand. I promise that if I can''t find Lilith in six hours, I won''t stop you. Instead, I''ll help you. Even I won''t let anything happen to Lilith."

    The Werewolves were his own people. Generally, he should''ve cared for the Werewolves, yet he sided with As more since he had more interaction with As than with the Wolves.

    Along this journey, he had also bonded to an extent with Lilith. He himself cared for her and wanted her to be safe since she wasn''t a bad person.

    All Lilith cared for was protecting As, and Lancaster understood that As needed her in his life, especially after losing his sister.

    He clenched his fist. "I will bring her back."

    Holding Yovana''s hands, he left the forest, leaving As behind alone.

    Watching the two leave, As prayed that they were going to find Lilith. More than this mission, Lilith''s safety mattered to him.

    As gazed at the rising sun in the distance.

    "There were no battle marks in that ce when I woke up. No one took Lilith when she was there, and there weren''t any battles either. Moreover, if someone had actually arrived, I would''ve been attacked as well if it were the Wolves who took Lilith, so she herself left that ce, but still¡­ I hope she is safe."

    As walked back and forth around the carriage, lost in thoughts and waiting for the six hours to pass.

    Outside the forest, Lancaster reached the entrance of the Royal City of the Wolves, being stopped by the guards.

    The guards realized he was also a wolf, but the person with him wasn''t. It was also their first time seeing this person.

    "Who are you?"

    "I''m Lancaster, and this is my wife. Is there something wrong for which we are stopped?"

    "We''ve never seen you before. Your aura is also slightly strange. Where are you from? And what purpose do you hold foring here?"

    " I don''t live in the Kingdom of Wolves. It''s my first timeing here so of course, you didn''t see me before. My family had left the kingdom a long time ago and settled elsewhere. Since I''ve recently married, my family told me to visit our homnd to show my wife the ce. You can consider that our purpose."

    As he talked, he wrapped his arms around the waist of Yovana, acting as if she was his wife to get her a faster entry.<novelnext></novelnext>

    The two guards didn''t have too many questions since they were before another Vampire. ording to the rules of the Kingdom, this was a kingdom made for Werewolves, and any of them could leave ore back at any time without any extra needs.

    Moreover, this man seemed to be here only for a vacation. They didn''t interrogate him too much as it was a couple of Werewolf and a Human, so there was no threat.

    "Alright. You two get inside."

    Just as Lancaster had expected, they gained an instant entry. This was also the n of Lilith. The only difference was that in the initial n, she would''ve pretended to be a human here with her husband As, who would be hiding his Vampire aura to look human.

    Lilith wanted to make it seem like Lancaster was a Werewolf who wasing here for his honeymoon, and he brought his friends as well to show him his homnd. Unfortunately, that wasn''t the case anymore, so the part about Lilith and As needed to be removed.

    After getting permission to enter the city, Lancaster stepped past the Guards, taking his first step inside the kingdom.

    It was the first time Lancaster had stepped foot inside the well-known City of the Wolves, which was also the homnd.

    This was the ce that Lancaster always wanted to return to after finding out his real ancestors, yet he never imagined that his entry was going to be like this.

    Even as he arrived here, he didn''t have time to marvel at the city.

    "Yovana, we don''t have much time; we only have six hours. You start from the east. I''ll take the west. After five hours, we would meet in the middle of the city. Alright?"

    "Should we really separate? That doesn''t sound too good."

    "That way, we can cover morend. And don''t worry. No one knows what you really are. I don''t think anyone would hurt you here. You just need to find Lilith. Alright? Just don''t enter any conflict you shouldn''t enter, and you''ll be fine."

    Yovana was hesitant about separating from Lancaster, partially because she didn''t trust him entirely. She didn''t want to leave him alone so he could betray them. She knew that there was a really high chance that he wasn''t going to, yet she didn''t want to take a risk.

    Unfortunately, she couldn''t give any reason for her hesitation. She couldn''t tell that she didn''t trust him. Ultimately, Yovana could only agree, nodding her head.

    The two youngsters separated, going in different directions in search of Lilith.

    The two went through the entire city, trying to find even a single glimpse of Lilith. The two asionally even asked people if they had seen her, giving descriptions of Lilith.

    The Royal City was so beautiful and culturally rich, yet Lancaster didn''t have time to appreciate the city. He kept searching for Lilith in the massive city, only having six hours to do it.

    Time kept trickling away as Lancaster moved from one ce to another. Minutes turned to hours.

    A bright sun shone in the sky, providing the city with the warmth. It was close to twelve in the afternoon. Only a couple of hours were left before the deadline was going to be over.

    As more time passed, even Lancaster started to have a bad feeling. If even he couldn''t find Lilith in the city despite spending so much time, the chances of her being safe went down with each passing second.

 Chapter 97 97: No Time

    Despite searching for five hours, Lancaster couldn''t find Lilith. He went back to the center of the city to wait for Yovana, hoping that she had better luck.

    Yovana also arrived at the spot thirty minutes before the deadline was going to be over.

    "Did you find her?!"

    Both of them asked at the same time. They didn''t even need to wait for the answer as their questions were already enough to summarise that they hadn''t found her.

    "There are only thirty minutes left, and we failed to find Lilith.There is only one ce to check which we haven''t. But if she''s there, that means she truly is in danger..." Lancaster gazed at the tallest castle in the distance.

    "The Royal Castle where the King resides. If I''m not wrong, Lord An is kept there as well. Lady Lilith certainly seems to be caught. Still, I don''t understand how it''s possible. How could she be caught? Unless she was attacked from the back..."

    Yovana let out a concerned sigh. "So what should we do now? Within thirty minutes, the city was going to be in chaos. Is there nothing we can do to stop it?"

    "There is something, but thirty minutes might not be enough for that."

    "And what is that?"

    "Checking the castle. We need more time for that though. You should go back to As and tell him to give me two more hours if possible. I''ll be going inside the castle! I won''t return without taking Lilith."

    "Huh? Have you gone crazy? You''ll go to that ce alone? And what? You''ll ask them for Lilith, and you think they''ll return if she''s truly kept hostage? You idiot, they would ssify you as a traitor as well. You''ll be dead before you know it. They won''t have mercy on you just because you have the Royal Bloodline."

    Yovana couldn''t believe Lancaster was suggesting such a stupid n. There was no way this was going to seed.

    "I know they won''t go easy on me. I might have the Royal Bloodline, but I''m not part of the Royal Family. My father wasn''t either. We are from the banished lineage, so they truly won''t go easy on us." Lancaster stated.

    There was a strange calm on his face, which was trying to hide the fear he felt. Unfortunately, that uncertainty could be seen through his eyes. Even he wasn''t sure if this n was going to work, but he knew that there wasn''t any other option.

    Despite all the risks he faced, he was prepared to embrace them since the alternative was even worse. If As came here, there was going to be bloodshed. Many Werewolves were going to die, and in the end, As was going to be captured by the King just like An.

    Even if he wasn''t captured and managed to escape, he was going to paint a big target on his back which Lancaster didn''t want. This battle was harmful to both sides, and he wanted to avoid it if possible. The only way he could see how was through entering the castle.

    "Yovana, there''s not much time left. It''ll take time to go back as well. Go now! Stop As froming here! Just dy for two hours! I promise I''ll return with Lilith!" Lancaster dered.

    Yovana didn''t know why but she felt something through those words of Lancaster. It was as if Lancaster was really determined. No matter what she said, he wasn''t going to listen. These actions reminded her of her own father, who had the same personality.

    "Go!" Lancaster insisted, grabbing Lilith''s shoulder. "Stop As at any cost. Remember, your father''s safety and the entire n depends on As''s safety so keep him safe! As for me, I''ll find a way to return with Lilith if she is there. Just two hours!"<novelnext></novelnext>

    Yovana froze in ce momentarily before nodding. "I-i will."

    She turned around and started running to the exit. Only twenty minutes were left before the time limit was going to be up. Even as she ran, she nced back asionally, watching the lonely yet brave Lancaster going to the Royal Castle all alone.

    She ran as fast as she could to get to As on time. She had only twenty minutes but the way back from just as much time. Even as she ran, she wasn''t sure if she could make it back on time.

    *****

    As gazed at the bright sun in the sky.

    "They aren''t back... I must go in."

    As entered the carriage and changed into the attire of Castiel from the ordinary attire he was wearing. It was time for Castiel to make an appearance in the Kingdom of Wolves.

    He stepped out of the carriage, leaving the two pets back in the carriage under the care of the carriage before he started walking to the Kingdom entrance.

    "If she is truly captured or hurt, I won''t ever forgive the Kingdom of Wolves. For every wound on Lilith, for every blood droplet spilled unnecessarily, rivers of blood shall flow in the Kingdom even if it''s myst day."

    As really cared for Lilith. It was natural, but there was something more to it. Not only As, even Castiel cared for Lilith. Lilith wasn''t like a family only to As. She was also like family to Castiel, staying with him always.

    It wasn''t just As'' feelings that were swaying him in the direction of action, but Castiel''s true feelings were mixed in them as well, making this feeling even stronger. It was a feeling that made As decide to save Lilith at any cost.

    After some time, As got back on the road, having a clear view of the Kingdom in the distance.

    He started advancing toward the entrance. The only reason he didn''t move faster was because there were still ten minutes left in the deadline. He had promised Lancaster that he was going to give him exactly six hours.

    The speed at which he moved was to ensure that he was only within the sensible range of the Vampires after ten minutes had passed.

    Winds intensified with each step As took toward the castle, making his beautiful robe wave gently along with his long hair.

    As knew that he was about to enter the midst of the enemies as someone who could be attacked instantly. He didn''t know how he was going to be received, but that was thest thing he would care for at the moment.

    As As walked toward the Kingdom, Lancaster ran in the same direction. The only difference was that he was running to the Royal Castle, cing his own safety at risk. Only one person was running in the opposite direction to the two men, and it was Yovana, giving it her all to leave the castle on time before it was toote¡­

 Chapter 98 98: Final Decision

    "Wait!" Yovana yelled at the top of her lungs, seeing As in the distance.

    She had managed toe out on time even though she was out of breath by now. Her body was already at its limits.

    "You found Lilith?" As stopped in his tracks just a few meters before he could''ve reached the range of the Guards.

    Yovana didn''t tell As right away. She raised her hand, gesturing for As to stop. "Stay right where you are. Let me gather my breath."

    After a while, Yovana stepped closer to As. She grabbed his hand and started taking him away with her, away from the Kingdom.

    "Where are you taking me? Did you find Lilith or not? And where is Lancaster?"

    As nted his feet firmly on the ground, resisting the pull. Against his strength, even Yovana failed to pull him back.

    She wanted to take him away before telling him the trust to give Lancaster as much time as she could. They were really close to the Danger zone, after all. Unfortunately, As didn''t go with her.

    Seeing the subtle hesitation on the face of Yovana, it became evident what her answer to the first question was going to be.

    "You didn''t find Lilith, did you?" As grimaced. "Tell me where Lancaster is! And why are you the one here? Why isn''t he here?"

    "You''re right. We didn''t find Lilith. But before you get angry and go there yourself, please listen to me."

    Since Yovana couldn''t pull As back, she released his hand. Instead, she moved before him, standing between As and the Kingdom of Wolves.

    As frowned yet didn''t resist her. "Say."

    "Six hours were about to be up, and we didn''t find Lilith anywhere in the city. That left only one ce to be checked. To check that ce, Lancaster needs more time. So he sent me here to ask for more time. He just needs two more hours. He''s sure he''ll find Lilith in thest ce."

    "Which ce?"

    Yovana went silent in response, slightly hesitating in answering.

    "It''s just a ce inside the Kingdom that we didn''t check," Yovana vaguely answered before she started her distraction. ''Lancaster would check that ce ande back with Lilith. Some worry about him. He gave his assurance to you. So you don''t need to enter."

    "I asked you a question," As repeated. "What ce?!"

    He didn''t understand why Yovana was hesitating. Unless that ce was truly dangerous.

    There was only one ce like that that he could''ve imagined. "Please tell me Lancaster wasn''t stupid enough to go search the Royal Pce?"

    "He... He was confident. He just needs two hours. I''m sure you can give him two hours."

    Even though Yovana didn''t say yes or no, her vague answer was enough to confirm this theory.

    "That idiot!" As couldn''t help but curse out loud. "If the Werewolves have truly captured Lilith, that means they would know I''m nearby since Lilith is supposed to apany me always. If Lancaster goes to ask for her return, they would know he''s working with me! They might even kill me for siding with me! That idiot!"

    As was so frustrated. It was as if one person being in trouble wasn''t bad enough that another person had to jump in the mes as well!

    Seeing the reaction of As, Yovana couldn''t help but feel that As wasn''t going to give them the two hours they needed.

    As grabbed Yovana''s shoulder and moved her aside, clearing his path. "Yovana, stay near the carriage. I''m going in. No matter what happens, stay away from the Kingdom."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Yovana didn''t know why but she couldn''t gather the courage to say no, noticing the determination and the worries in As'' eyes.

    She just stood there frozen, watching As leave.

    "Lord Castiel..."

    As stopped momentarily yet didn''t look back.

    "May I ask why you care so much to put your own life at risk? I can understand your care about Lady Lilith since you spent centuries with her, but why Lancaster? Why do you care for him? Why don''t you give him two hours to save Lady Lilith, even if it ces his own life at risk? Why do you care?"

    Yovana genuinely couldn''t understand just what kind of person As was. If it were anyone else, they would''ve stayed behind for at least two hours. If Lancaster could save Lilith, even if he died, it wasn''t a loss to As, so she didn''t understand why As risked himself?

    "Why did your father risk himself?" As answered the question with a question. "Why did he get captured instead of telling everyone the truth that you were behind the vige destruction? Why did he face everyone alone? The answer to every Single of those questions is the same."

    "It wasn''t because he was arrogant and ashamed to step back. From what I''ve known about An, he never cared for anyone but himself. But you changed his life by giving him the family he never understood the value of."

    As gazed back at the youngdy in the back.

    "He did everything because he wanted to protect you, even going as far as risking himself in the process. It was because you were his family."

    A myriad of emotions could be felt in the voice of As. "If someone like him can give up everything for his family, why not me?''

    Yovana opened her lips but struggled to let the words out. After a long time, she managed to speak. "I was his family. Lancaster isn''t your family."

    "Family isn''t made only from blood. Lancaster and Lilith might not be rted to me with the blood, but they are my family. And the only family I have left after Mise was taken from me. It doesn''t matter who tries to hurt them. I''ll be there to protect my family this time! I won''t let even gods hurt my family as long as I''m capable of protecting them."

    "Not now... Not ever again..."

    As'' lone figure started getting distant as he left.

    Yovana subconsciously gazed at the Suppression Locket which was in her hand.

    "Family..." she softly muttered.

    Within a few seconds, As was finally within the range of the Werewolves.

    "This scent..."

    "A Vampire..."

    "No, this scent is more powerful than an Ordinary Vampire. Someone from the blood council?"

    "Everyone, prepare to intercept! Someone go inform the King!"

    As soon as the Werewolves sensed that scent, they prepared for interception. Instead of abandoning their post to chase after the scent, they stood their ground, waiting for As toe up to them since that seemed to be his aim.

    At the same time, the guards sent one of them to inform everyone about this instance, including the King himself.

 Chapter 99 99: Kill

    "Who is that girl?"

    Razil was standing on the balcony of his castle when he noticed Zhang carrying a woman inside the castle.

    He jumped down the balcony,nding on the ground before following Zhang through the main entrance.

    "You know it''s your own castle. You don''t have to stalk like that, old friend." Zhang stopped.

    Still holding the youngdy like she was a princess, he turned around.

    "No one is stalking you." Razil frowned. "Tell me, who is that girl? Why did you bring her here?"

    "Heh, don''t worry about her. She is just a stray that I found interesting. She will be staying in my room though."

    Seeing Zhang''s smile, Razil rolled his eyes in disgust. He thought Zhang had kidnapped a random girl to spend a night with her.

    "I''ll see you in the morning. I hope the preparation of handing over the custody of An to us ispleted by then."

    Zhang left, carrying the youngdy in his arms. He straight went to the guest room that was assigned to him for as long as he was here.

    After entering the room, he ced Lilith on the bed. After cing Lilith on the bed, Zhang moved back. He picked up a chair and sat in the distance, gazing at Lilith.

    "It was great luck finding you here. You have no idea how long we have been looking for you. I even started thinking that you were probably long dead since you hadn''t made an appearance in centuries. I was so surprised to find you here."

    "Just my luck. Tomorrow I''ll get the custody of a Progenitor, and today I got the great Lilith. Though I must say, I heard many great things about you. The reality was pretty underwhelming. You couldn''t even sense the sleep spell I cast on you while we were talking. Maybe because you were shocked that I knew your identity, that spell went under the radar."

    "In any case, you''re now my prisoner. You''re now at my mercy. The Great Lilith, who was said to be impossible to capture, is now captured. The one who had half my n destroyed and my ancestor killed by her protector is now in my control. Talking about your protector, if you''re inside the city, that means Castiel wouldn''t be far either."

    The young man rubbed his chin, seemingly amused. "It seems that the Progenitors who went to sleep have started walking up, starting from Castiel. With their return, you also returned."

    "But that also begs the question. What does Castiel want from this city? Why did he send you here? I don''t think he wants a treaty with the Werewolves. That''s impossible. And since he''s just awakened most probably, he wouldn''t want to fight Razil either since he''ll be at his weakest after waking up. That leaves only one possibility reason that could bring him here."

    "He is here for An. Does Castiel want to free An? What does he want? Only one person can answer that question. And it''s you, Lilith. That''s the only reason you''re still alive... So wake up fast and answer me."

    "But before that, let me take some safety precautions. No matter how weak, you''re still Lilith at the end of the day. I won''t want to take the risk.

    Zhang joined his hands together and started casting a spell.

    With each word of his spell that he chanted, a golden letter appeared before him,ing to reality.

    Each of those letters flew to Lilith,nding on her body as if it was an imprint being made. A letter alsonded on Lilith''s forehead, cheeks, and hands.

    After finishing the spell, Zhang stopped. The golden letters also appeared to turn ck as soon as he stopped. "That''s much better.".

    "The spell will stop you from using any spells. At least until the effects of this spell. As soon as the characters notice you using spiritual strength or spell, they''ll activate and stop you every time until my spell''s effectsts."

    "Looking at your spirit power, I don''t think my spell wouldst more than a couple of days. But that''s enough time for me to get my answers and to kill you. So wake up and answer." Zhang waited for Lilith to wake up, sitting idle on the chair.<novelnext></novelnext>

    ****

    Lancaster reached near the Royal Castle, where most of the Royal Bloodline wolves lived, including the King himself. There were many Werewolves surrounding the castle, protecting it. No stranger was allowed to enter the castle without explicit permission from inside.

    The security of the castle was so intense that there didn''t appear to be any weak spot in the security that could be used to sneak inside the castle.

    "This ce... Why does it appear like a fortress? It seems impossible to get inside the castle without being seen."

    From a distance, Lancaster observed the entire castle surroundings, asionally moving to get a better view.

    "This ce is even harder to infiltrate than Carlisle''s castle. That castle only had a couple of people guarding the main entrance, but this one... There are over fifty Werewolves guarding each spot.

    "If there''s no other way, I''ll just have to-"

    Lancaster stopped in the middle of his thoughts as he heard rushing footsteps behind him.

    "Am I already discovered?"

    He turned around, noticing two Werewolves running in his direction. Fortunately, they didn''t stop before him.

    Instead, theypletely ignored Lancaster as they continued dashing to the castle.

    "Why would they be in such a hurry if not for me? Unless... Yovana failed? Oh God no!"

    Just as he expected, the two Werewolves stopped before the other Guards and told them about the appearance of a Vampire with a powerful aura near the city boundary.

    One of the Guards went inside the castle instantly.

    He went straight to the Throne room to locate the King, but the ce appeared to be empty. The guard next dashed to the Room of the King.

    Generally, he wouldn''t have disturbed the King when he was resting, but it was too important just now.

    The guard reached the King''s room and knocked on it repeatedly after confirming that the King was indeed inside.

    Before long, the door opened.

    "What?" Razil asked, standing before the door.

    "My Lord, we have some information. A Vampire has been sensed near the city boundary, getting closer. And from the aura, it appears to be a Second Generation Vampire or stronger."

    "Second Generation? Blood Council?" The King frowned. "Why would they be here suddenly?"

    "Your Majesty, what are our orders? Should we capture the Vampire?"

    "No need to capture him. Just ask him his purpose. If he doesn''t answer right away, kill him. No need to capture."

 Chapter 100 100: Visit

    Unlike with a Progenitor, Razil didn''t feel the need to go intercept a Blood Council Member personally since his men were more than enough as long as it was just one Blood Council Member, which he was told.

    Still, just to be sure, he asked once again. "Are you really sure it''s just one person?"

    "Based on the information, it''s just one person."

    "Then do as I said. Even though you shouldn''t need any help, if you doneed any, I''ll be there."

    "Yes, my liege."

    The Werewolves had received the permission from the King. That was all they needed. He retreated, leaving the King behind.

    The King walked back into his room, not caring even a little for a single Blood Council member. He was so unphased that he didn''t even find it a threat. He went inside his room, entering a shower.

    ****

    Back at the entrance of the Castle, Lancaster stood in worry. He was toote. The Werewolves knew about As. He wondered if there was even anything he could do now. There were only two options he could see. One of them was to go help As, which he believed he didn''t have the ability to since he was slightly weak.

    The other option he could see was to sneak inside the castle and get Lilith back so she couldn''t be used against As now that he was here.

    He continued circling the castle, trying not to attract too much attention, waiting for the guards to be distracted or leave their posts.

    Just as he expected, there was finally an opportunity after a long time. More than half the Guards left to intercept As, leaving only the other half behind.

    Still, even though half the guards left, that still left many guards to deal with. There were still over twenty werewolves guarding the pce, and that in itself was a problem.

    ****

    As finally came into the view of the werewolves that were standing at the entrance of the castle.

    Even As was more clearly able to see the small army, which consisted of over twenty wolves. More than half of them were already in their Wolf form, waiting to pounce on him at a moment''s notice.

    With each passing second, the small army only kept increasing as more and more werewolves joined.

    "He doesn''t have red eyes." One of the Werewolves pointed out with a grim expression on his face.

    "Yeah. Aren''t Blood Council Members supposed to have red eyes?"

    "So he''s not from the Blood Council?"

    "What does it matter? There are more lineages. If I''m not wrong, those eyes are from the lineage of Castiel. He must be a Vampire at the same level as the Blood Council but from another lineage. Our orders stay the same. Ask him for his purpose, and if we don''t get a satisfying answer, kill him."

    "Exactly. But still, I think we should inform his majesty about this."

    "Ah, do we really need to disturb him over such a small difference?"

    "It''s something he should know."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Fine. You go and inform him. We''ll handle things here, following oldmands. If you''re back my newmands before we kill him, we''ll stop. But if not, we''ll deal with him using old instructions."

    After a short surprise over the eyes of As, the group decided to inform the King once again, sending one of them back. Everyone else stayed.

    As stopped barely fifteen meters away from the army of Wolves, gazing at every single one of them. Finding four Werewolves in itself was hard, and there were over fifty here now, each being trained professionally, unlike the ones he had faced before.

    ****

    Even though there were around twenty guards near the castle, because of the dilution in numbers, there were some weak spots in the security that Lancaster needed.

    Finally, he made a move, approaching the castle at his peak speed through the blind spot.

    Before any guard could even notice him, Lancaster jumped the wall,nding inside the premise of the castle, carefully hiding behind a tree to observe the surroundings.

    Even though he had crossed the outside boundary, he was still too far from the castle entrance and needed to know what the security situation was in this ce.

    ****

    Lilith slowly started walking up from her slumber as her head thumped.

    She slowly opened her eyes, finding herself on a soft bed in a room he never saw before.

    "Huh?!" She swiftly sat up.

    "Oh, you''re up. Good morning, Lilith."

    "You!" Lilith frowned. "So the Franc n didn''t leave that habit of attacking from behind."

    "Hahaha, whatever gets the job done." Zhang let out a heartyugh. "I apologize if I wasn''t fair enough when fighting you, but then again, it also wasn''t fair enough when you brought a Progenitor in the battle of Witchesst time, destroying most of my n, was it?"

    "I''m not stupid enough to make the same mistake, Lady Lilith," he further added. "By the way, I know you''re trying to cast a spell. Don''t even try; it won''t work. I''ve cast a spell of my own to make sure you can''t."

    Lilith noticed the strange characters on her entire body, grimacing. The characters seemed to be blocking her spiritual power.

    "Nice spell, isn''t it? I made it myself. Apparently, you''re not the only one who can make new spells. I''m fairly talented myself."

    "Ever since I heard stories about how you insulted, ruined, and almost destroyed my n in the past, I''ve been training to make sure something like this never happens again. I kept working toward the goal, trying to be stronger and make spells that could counter someone like you."

    "Even though everyone said you were dead, I didn''t stop my training since I didn''t want the past to repeat itself.And the spell you see now is one of those spells." Zhang smiled. "The sleeping spell that didn''t alert you... That''s also one of those spells. Good, aren''t they?"

    "What do you want from me?" Lilith frowned. "If it''s about your n, they attacked me first. I never attacked them first. And even after your n was at its weakest, I didn''t wipe them from the face of this earth even though I could."

    "Of course, you wouldn''t. You were the goddess of this world... The supposedly strongest spellcaster. You probably thought my n wasn''t even worthy of your time. So it''s not surprising you let us live, but that doesn''t change the fact that you took so many things from us."

    "So I was supposed to let your n kill me for no reason?" Lilith scoffed.

 Chapter 101 101: Blood River

    She couldn''t believe she was being med for fighting back. It was as if they expected her to lie still when they tried to kill her. Just what kind of idiots were they?

    "Enough of nonsense. I only need one answer from you. No matter what happened in the past, I don''t hold much enmity for that. If you can answer me honestly, I promise I''ll let you be free."

    Lilith didn''t respond right away. Instead, she observed the characters on her body.

    ''Even though his spell is good, there are obvious ws in it that he didn''t take into ount. I should be able to get out of it, even if it takes some time. But I need to keep him distracted until then.''

    "I suppose I can already guess what your question is going to be," Lilith responded after a brief thought.

    "Is that so? Let me know what you think then?"

    "You want to know about Castiel. That''s the only reason you hadn''t killed me yet, because you''re worried about Castiel''s revenge, isn''t that right? So you want to know where he is or things about him."

    "Well, you''re partially right. I don''t want to know where he is. I already know that he is near this city, possibly on the outskirts." Zhang chuckled. "But you are right. I do want to know about him."

    Lilith grimaced, realizing that he knew where As was. She didn''t understand how he could do. Did he guess? However, if he knew that meant there was a good chance that he already informed the Werewolf King. As was in danger. She needed to free herself fast.

    "My question is simple. Why is Castiel here? Why did he send you ahead? Is his goal rted to An? What did you two n?" Zhang asked straight away, tossing multiple questions at once.

    "Do we really have to n something? Can''t wee here on a vacation? We were bored and thought of checking out this city. I came here before Castiel to talk to the King about this, so he doesn''t misunderstand Castiel''s arrival as an attack. Before I could approach him, I saw you, and here we are."

    "Lilith, I think you misunderstood what I said. I don''t ask you to tell me a story. I asked you for the truth. Either you tell me straight, or I''ll have to use some other methods to make you speak."

    "Just know. Those methods won''t be nice. So you better not push me."

    Zhang didn''t even take a second before rejecting the story of Lilith as nonsense. Moreover, his patience was also running out since each second he had Lilith as a hostage, there was a risk of Castieling to look for her, so each second was important to know as much as he could about Castiel.

    ****

    In another part of the Castle, Razil finished his shower. Getting dressed in his Royal Attire, he went to the balcony, gazing over his city.

    The city still seemed so peaceful for now, yet Razil knew that it wasn''t as peaceful as it seemed. Right outside the city, a possible battle was taking ce.

    If he wanted, he could''ve gone there alone to finish the battle swiftly, yet he didn''t. He let his people handle it, believing they were capable enough. If they couldn''t even handle one Blood Council Member, how were they going to handle the entire Blood Council if there was ever a war.

    He treated this instance as a battle practice for them. Moreover, it wasn''t even confirmed if there was even going to be a battle. There was a good chance that the Blood Council Member was here as an envoy to meet him. If he personally went there to meet the Blood Council Member, this was going to be beneath his dignity.

    That''s why he left it to his men while giving them Instructions to only kill that Vampire if he had no valid reason to be here. Being an Envoy who was looking for a meeting with the King was certainly a valid reason.

    Standing on the balcony, Razil gazed down to notice a strange sneaking inside.<novelnext></novelnext>

    ****

    Lancaster had snuck inside the premise of the castle, yet gaining an entry inside the actual castle was the real part as he had to be careful.

    After observing his surroundings, he made a mental map of the whole ce, deciding on a path for his movement before finally advancing toward the main door of the castle, not realizing that a pair of eyes were watching him from the balcony.

    Razil had noticed Lancaster sneaking around. Moreover, unlike the ordinary Werewolves, he had noticed much more.

    His eyes briefly shone in golden shine before returning to normal. He was able to see a powerful golden aura surrounding Lancaster.

    The aura was like zing golden mes that were surrounding the young man.

    A frown enveloped Razil''s forehead as he noticed that aura. That aura wasn''t something that an ordinary Werewolf could possess. It wasn''t even an aura that every Royal Werewolf could possess. It was an aura which only the Royal Werewolves with the purest of bloodlines could possess.

    "Interesting... Very interesting..."

    ****

    "Stop right there!" A Werewolfmanded in a mighty voice, instructing As to stop.

    As stopped. Only a few meters of distance remained between him and the man who had instructed. The werewolves started surrounding him.

    As calmly observed every movement of the werewolves that were ready to rip him to shreds. They had surrounded him from all sides, most of them already being in their Wolf Form.

    Moreover, each of these werewolves appeared to be stronger and fiercer than the one he faced before. They were all bigger as well, almost twice the size of the Wolves from before.

    "State your purpose for arrival." The Commanding Werewolf let out loud. "And Identify yourself!"

    "I am here to meet your King. Take me to him."

    As didn''t waste a single second in stating his purpose. If there was anyone here who could return Lilith, it was the King since he was the ruler of the werewolves who he believed had captured Lilith.

    "We can''t allow any random person to meet His Majesty. Identify yourself and give us your message that you want to be delivered to him. If he agrees, we''ll let you in. If not, you''ll have to go back."

    "Good. Make sure my message reaches your King." As raised his serious eyes, looking straight in the eyes of the General.

    "Tell him to return Lilith to me. If he doesn''t, and shees to harm, this entire city will burn in mes of hell that can only be stopped by rivers of blood!"

 Chapter 102 102: Already Here

    Now was not a time for politics. Now wasn''t a time for discussions or being nice. Each second he was dyed could potentially be life-threatening for Lilith, so right from the start, Castiel went all out.

    If he was going to be Castiel, then he needed to feel like Castiel. He needed to feel the strength, and he needed the arrogance that came with the strength. Sometimes words were more important than actions.

    As As talked, his aura intensified, reaching far and wide. If his aura was like a small pond before, now it was like a massive tsunami.

    He didn''t know how the Werewolves were going to react, but that was thest thing he was going to worry about.

    For a moment, there wasplete silence as the Werewolves sensed the overwhelming aura. The aura didn''t just fill the surroundings but also covered most of the city.

    ****

    "This Aura?"

    Razil was about to jump down the balcony for Lancaster when he sensed a strange aura rushing toward him from a distance.

    "My lord, I brought news." At the same time, another Guard arrived, further distracting Razil.

    "What?"

    "It''s about the Vampire. He doesn''t have red eyes. He doesn''t seem to be from the Blood Council."

    "I know that much. This aura... It''s not something that a Blood Council member can possess. This aura is too pure. It can only be..."

    "What did you say his eye color was?"

    "Green."

    "So it is Castiel. The most troublesome out of the four. Even he has returned, it seems." Razil grimaced. "Go and inform Zhang. Tell him to join me in a battle. It seems we''ll be hunting a Progenitor, just like our parents did."

    "Yes, My Lord."

    Razil jumped down the balcony. Even as he jumped, it was as if his body had turned extremely light for a moment. Without any trouble, hended on the ground safely.

    The other werewolves dashed inside to inform Zhang.

    However, he didn''t need to inform Zhang at all.

    The aura was enough of a calling signature. Even Zhang sensed that aura.

    "And here I thought I had more time." Zhang frowned, ncing at the window. "It seems Castiel is already here to save you. I would''ve appreciated more time to interrogate you, but..."

    A weakened Lilithy on the bed in the distance. The entire blood was covered in the blood. There were multiple scars all over Lilith''s body. There was even a hole in her right hand, as if someone had stabbed a stake in her hand.

    "Just when it was getting fun." Zhang sighed. "It doesn''t matter though. Now that he''s here, I suppose I''ll directly ask him why he''s here. And you''ll help me."

    Zhang grabbed Lilith by her neck, raising her in the air. He dragged Lilith with him. "Let''s see how much Castiel truly cares for you."

    Knock! knock!

    Just as Zhang was about to open the door, there was a knock.

    "What?" Zhang opened a door.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Lord Zhang, His Majesty sent a message. He wants you to join him in the battle."

    "Huh, I know he would ask for help. Castiel is the most troublesome guy since he can also use spells. Razil would need me to keep Castiel at bay and to capture him. In any case, I was also going there."

    Lilith felt so weak she couldn''t even raise her hands to struggle to free herself. Her entire body was in immense pain. She was having a hard time even staying conscious. If she hadn''t sensed the aura of As, she would''ve already lost her consciousness, yet she was resisting now. She couldn''t go to sleep at this time.

    ''That idiot! What is he doing?! Is he looking to be caught? He can''t use spells. He also can''t draw out the true strength of Castiel. He will get caught if he fights so openly. When did someone like him be so impulsive and stupid?''

    Lilith had already started scolding As in her mind. As was someone who wasn''t impatient at all. In fact, he even bowed before some Vampires, all because he wanted to wait for the right time to strike back, which was safest for him. For someone like that to abandon all logic and attack openly? Just what was he doing?

    ''He also doesn''t know that Razil isn''t his only enemy here. There''s this guy too. He is making a mistake he shouldn''t! Run idiot! It''s not the time! Just give me some time to free myself!''

    Lilith doesn''t know that As was only sensible and patient when it came to him. When it was about those close to him, he never took such risks.

    That was also why he jumped in harm''s way for Lancaster in the past or faced the Blood Council member for a mere dog!

    *****

    Even Razil didn''t go straight to the Battlefield. Instead, hended before Lancaster, who was stunned to find a man appear before him.

    "I would''ve loved to have a chat with you, but I''m busy for now. I''ll have to ask you to go to sleep for now."

    Before Lancaster could react, Razil grabbed the throat of Lancaster.

    Razil''s body moved like lightning as he appeared outside the castle, smacking Lancaster on a distant wall, but he still didn''t free the young guy.

    Lancaster coughed out a mouthful of blood, feeling as if some of his bones were broken. The impact behind this attack was simply too much.

    Razil raised Lancaster again before smacking him on the ground, leaving a deep crater under them.

    After significantly hurting Lancaster to make sure he couldn''t do anything stupid, Razil tossed weak Lancaster to his Guards. "Arrest this guy, keep him secure. I''ll talk to him when I return."

    "Other than two here who will keep an eye on this young man, I want everyone else to follow me to the battlefield."

    *****

    "Did you just threaten the King? That aura... You are a Progenitor! You dare target our Kingdom? That arrogance!"

    "Arrogance?" As frowned. "The only ones here who have arrogance are you! Return what belongs to me!"

    "And what is it that belongs to you?" The young General asked, grimacing. "I don''t believe we hold anything of yours."

    "Lilith! Tell your King to return Lilith to me! If that''s even a scratch on her..."

    "Lilith? You are Castiel? Are you talking about the Witch Queen Lilith? I don''t recall capturing her ever. She isn''t in the Kingdom."

    "She is in this Kingdom. And she is inside your Castle! Call your King here and tell him to return Lilith to me!"

    "No need to call anyone! I''m already here!" A figure came, jumping over the army of other Wolves tond before Castiel.

    If there was an aura that could counter the aura of Castiel, it was none other than the Werewolf King.

 Chapter 103 103: Bloody

    Razil arrived,nding between As and the others. There was not a single shred of concern visible on his face, despite supposedly standing before a Progenitor. He wasn''t in his wolf form, yet a powerful aura surrounded him.

    The aura... It was so majestic that it was like a mountain pushing down on the surroundings. Even As felt the impact of some of that aura.

    "Progenitor Castiel, also known as the Lone Wolf who didn''t hesitate even when going against the other Progenitors... You have finally returned." The King red deep into the eyes of As.

    There was nothing for him to worry about since he knew that a Progenitor couldn''tpel him because of his Royal Werewolf Bloodline. Moreover, when it came to speed, even then, he wasn''t too far behind.

    Despite there only being a few meters of gap between the two powerhouses, Razil believed he waspletely safe, even if As attacked.

    That was also why he wasn''t even in his werewolf form, which was supposedly his stronger form.

    "Castiel, you''ve lived for over millennia, yet you never dared to target the Werewolf Kingdom? Have you finally gotten bored of your freedom that you want us to imprison you like An? If not, whye here?" Razil inquired. "Or are you here because you think you can free him? Because if that''s the case, you should think twice."

    Razil knew that Castiel didn''t get along with An, so the chances of himing here to save An were close to none, yet there was always that slim possibility. Why else would he be here?

    "I am only here to take Lilith back. Return her to me." As frowned.

    He was standing before the Werewolf King, who was the strongest person in this world at the moment since most of the Progenitors were missing. Even An was imprisoned, so only the Werewolf King was left, who was at the top of the hierarchy.

    This was the most dangerous ce for him to be. All their werewolves had fangs that could poison and weaken him enough for him to be captured. If he made a single mistake, he was going to end up in the cell right beside An.

    That''s why he knew that he needed to be careful. He couldn''t be too aggressive, yet he couldn''t show his weak side either. He just needed to find the spot in between where he could get what he wanted without risking everything.

    Moreover, by keeping the Werewolf King and everyone else there, he also believed that he was giving Lancaster an opportunity to retreat safely.

    "You know what I''m here for. Don''t y naive. You''re too young to y naive before me." As said, sounding like an old man. "Even your ancestors didn''t stand in my way. That''s why I never bothered the Kingdom of Wolves. Even they didn''t dare to kidnap Lilith. Razil, I promise you one thing here."

    "If you don''t return Lilith to me, you can''t even imagine the oue. Don''t put your people''s lives on the line for your arrogance! Give Lilith back, and I''ll leave!"

    "Lilith?" Razil tilted his head to the right, staring at As in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

    He couldn''t understand a single thing. It was the first time he had even heard about Lilith in thest few decades. How could he have her?

    "Why are you asking me to return her? Why would I have her?"

    "As I said before, don''t act naive. Lilith wasst sensed in your city this morning before she disappeared. She is in your castle now, and you say that you don''t know anything about her?"

    "She is in my castle?" Razil grew even more confused. Did this guy have some misunderstanding?<novelnext></novelnext>

    Even though Razil didn''t like Vampires, he didn''t hate them enough to put his men''s lives in danger. The only reason his family even captured An was because he was a risk to the people and kept killing people. Unlike him, the other three Progenitors had long disappeared.

    Moreover, he had never heard about Castielmitting any such crimes. In fact, there was a time when he was even friends with the Kingdom of Wolves, so if this was really a misunderstanding, he didn''t want to fight Castiel.

    "Wait a minute..." He remembered seeing something strange before. Just this morning, he had seen Zhang bringing back an unconscious girl. Could she be...?

    "Can you describe what Lilith looked like?" he asked just to be sure. "And what was she wearing? Even though I had no hand in her disappearance, I might have some idea where she is."

    If this was really a misunderstanding, the solution was simple. Returning Lilith was enough. Moreover, if Lilith was kidnapped from their Empire by their guest, then it was certainly their fault as well.

    As described Lilith, and what she was wearing thest he saw her.

    Hearing the description, Razil understood what had happened. "So that''s what happened. I understand now.."

    "As I told you before, this seems to be a misunderstanding. You aren''t here to free An, so I misunderstood you. Moreover, I didn''t kidnap or hurt Lilith, so you misunderstood me. There is only one person behind this misunderstanding¡ªZhang."

    "Zhang?"

    "He is from the Franc n and a guest at the Pce for a day. If someone took Lilith, it must be him. I did see her bringing a girl that you described before. I just thought it was a random girl, but it was Lilith, it seems. I''ll bring her back."

    "Hmm? Why hasn''t the fighting started yet?" A cold voice came from the distance. "I expected the battle to be raging on. I was about to arrive as a knight in shining Armor. Why is everything so silent here? Did you already capture him?"

    The crowd of Wolves moved aside, clearing a path. Razil noticed Zhang in the distance,ing toward him. There was a youngdy''s neck in his hands who was bleeding.

    "This..." Seeing Lilith like this, Razil couldn''t believe it. Just as he had promised to bring Lilith back safely, this happened?

    Just what did Zhang do to her in thest few hours? It was like torture. Fortunately, she is still breathing.

    Lilith gazed at As in the distance with her blood-red eyes, feeling relieved that he was safe. However, As was broken to see Lilith like this.

    This feeling... This hate... This rage engulfed himpletely.

    Zhang appeared like Carlisle, who was grabbing onto the bleeding Mise. It was a repeat of what happened before.

    The rage was so much that As lost his senses momentarily as he ran to Zhang.

 Chapter 104 104: Complications

    "Stop, both of you!" Razil called out, yet he waspletely ignored.

    At the same time, Zhang shed a smirk as he noticed As running to him. "As expected, he still cares for you, doesn''t he?"

    Zhang raised Lilith, bringing her before him like a shield while tightening his grip. "One more step, and I''ll crush her neck."

    "So, what will the Great Castiel choose? The life of Lilith or his own anger?" Seemingly amused, Zhang wondered out loud. "I suppose I already know the answer."

    Atas stopped in his tracks. He was so angry that he clenched his fist so tight that his hand had started bleeding already.

    He couldn''t understand. How was Lilith caught so easily? This didn''t make sense. She was so strong. Shouldn''t Lilith be able to escape? She was even stronger than him, from what he knew.

    "Now that''s like a good boy. The only weakness of Castiel that was known, Lilith, is now in my control. Thus I effectively control you. You can''t do anything but surrender."

    "Free her!"

    "I''m sorry, but I make the rules here, Castiel. You''re going to listen to me instead. Also, of course, I would free her. I have no intention of killing her. She will be freed as long as you do one thing for me."

    "What?"

    "Surrender this instant. Go down to your knees and let yourself be captured like An. I promise as long as you do that, I will release Lilith." Zhang grinned, slightly loosening his grip on Lilith''s throat.

    "The choice is yours. I give you five minutes. If you don''t decide, I''ll kill Lilith. And if you don''t agree, I''ll kill Lilith for sure. So basically, you only have one choice! What do you select? Your freedom or Lilith''s life? What is more dear to you?"

    Lilith tried to speak, yet she couldn''t. There was another spell cast on her that prevented her from speaking since Zhang didn''t want her to persuade As to do something stupid like letting her die.

    "Zhang, release Lilith." Finally, Razil couldn''t take it anymore.

    From what he could see, As wasn''t in the wrong here. It was them. They were the bad guys here who had captured someone for no reason to force Castiel. She couldn''t let it pass. It would''ve been a different matter if Castiel had done something wrong first, but that wasn''t the case.

    If he captured As like this, it was beneath his dignity.

    "I''m sorry, old friend. But I can''t listen to you on this. You can either help me or stand aside. I''m not going to get an opportunity like this. Moreover, Castiel hasn''t done anything today, but there was a time when he did. Hemitted crimes against my family and took so many lives. I''ll not leave Lilith until I capture him and take him back to my n for him to atone for his sins."

    Zhang refused to even listen to Razil, despite being surrounded by Werewolves himself. It was as if he had forgotten where he stood.

    "Zhang, don''t forget where you stand. I''ve promised him that I''ll return Lilith to him safely. I must keep my word."

    "Well then, old friend. Just stand there, and you can keep your word. After Castiel surrenders, I''ll release Lilith, and you can give her to Castiel momentarily. Either you take that option, or you also side with Castiel and attack me. But in that case, you must remember. My hand''s speed is faster than your movement. She''ll be dead by the time you get to me."

    "As I told you before, I''m not letting Castiel be free in any condition, even if it''s you who is asking. This matter is between Castiel and my Family."

    "So, Castiel, what do you select?" The Young Wizard asked Castiel once again, ignoring Razil.

    ****<novelnext></novelnext>

    Lancaster''s wrists were tied as he was pulled by Two Werewolves to be taken to his cell.

    The young man still appeared to be conscious and just tried to gather his breath, only pretending to be weak.

    Even though he was brutally thrashed outside, somehow his body had still healed for the most part. Not only did he heal, but his body also appeared to be stronger than before for some reason

    He believed he could break free from the ropes easily whenever he wished. The only troublesome thing was the two trained werewolves who were apanying him.

    Still, he knew that fighting these two was better than just being locked in a cell.

    ? Despite that, he didn''t fight back right away.  He wanted the guards to take him inside the castle themselves, giving him an easier ess to the castle, and that''s what they did.

    He was finally inside the castle, and he could look for Lilith now as soon as he freed himself.

    "Alright, I think that''s enough," Lancaster let out, finally getting into action.

    He applied force, breaking the ropes that were typing his arms.

    As soon as his hands were freed, he grabbed the wrist of both the guards, doing a backflip, giving the guards no chance to react.

    Even as he did the backflip, he didn''t release the hands. Instead, he applied even more force, twisting the arms of both the guards.

    After a brief moment, the guards finally redacted, jumping back while holding their broken arms.

    "You!"

    "I what? Did I break your arms? That''s nothing. Try being thrashed by your King. The pain is just on a different level." Lancaster still remembered his battle with Razil.

    That was less of a battle and more of a one-sided beating. No matter how strong his Bloodline was, Razil had the same, and he had years of experience as well. His strength was just on a different level altogether.

    Both the Guards had their arms broken, but Lancaster knew that their arms could heal after some time. He couldn''t give them the time to heal. He needed to kill them for his own safety, and he needed to do so while they could only use one arm.

    The guards were also very trained and possibly strong too, so he didn''t want them to be at their full strength when he fought.

    Lancaster jumped at the Guards, attacking.

    "Huh?" Shocked, he aborted his attack, noticing green vinesing out of the wall, shooting straight at the two guards.

    The mysterious vines wrapped around the two Guards, being so strong that even the two Werewolves had a hard time breaking the vines right away. The more they broke the vines, the more vines kept increasing.

    Slowly, the entire body of the two Werewolves was wrapped in Vines, leaving only their heads.

    "You!" Lancaster eximed, noticing a figure in the distance.

 Chapter 105 105: Return

    "You!" Lancaster noticed a figure in the distance, covered in a ck cloak.

    Despite that figure hiding themselves in the cloak, Lancaster was able to see a glimpse on the face of that person.

    "You are here. How are you roaming free? I thought you were..."

    "You thought I was in danger?" A feminine voice came from the distance. "You idiot. First As came, spoiling everything, and now you. Why are you two making things so difficult for me!"

    The person lowered the cloak, revealing a young-looking face. Inside the cloak, there appeared to be none other than Lilith.

    "I don''t understand. You disappeared. We searched everywhere, ultimatelying to the conclusion that you were captured. I came here to save you!" Lancaster eximed. "Hurry, we need to leave."

    "I can''t yet. I didn''te here to leave," Lilith responded.

    The sound of her footsteps echoed in the hallway as she moved closer to the Werewolves that kept moving.

    "I wanted to do it all alone to keep you all out of it and safe, but it seems my entire n to keep you safe went down the drain."

    Lilith appeared somewhat frustrated. She pulled out a knife, stopping before the two Wolves, who couldn''t even roar as a vine wrapped around their mouth.

    Thrust~

    Lilith didn''t even hesitate a little as she killed both the werewolves, taking them out. "I wanted to do it without hurting anyone, but they''ve seen us now. It''ll be troublesome if they are alive."

    "I don''t understand what is happening here. Why does it look like you have everything under control? And why are you here alone?"

    Lancaster''s brows furrowed. They were so worried about her, and she was roaming freely here.

    "I told you I came here of my own volition. You think the Werewolves can catch me if I want to escape?" Lilith rolled her eyes.

    "You... So you made us worry for no reason?! Do you have any idea what you''ve done?! As is out there, facing the entire nation just because you didn''t tell us or worked with us! You! You might be the strongest Witch, but you''re not a good person! You should''ve told us if you wereing here!"

    Lancaster had never yelled at Lilith in his life since she was his senior, and he didn''t know her all that well, but even he couldn''t ignore her stupidity this time! If they had known, so much of this could''ve been avoided! Moreover, if this was her n, she could''ve told them instead of keeping them in the dark!

    "I didn''t tell you because I knew As would never let me do it if he knew. He is... Not willing to put anything at risk after what he lost. I didn''t want to worry him, so I made up a lie."

    "So I left him in meditation, which should''ve taken him days beforeing here. Who knew he would be up so soon. You all should''ve stayed out of it. I didn''t want anything like this to happen."

    Even she herself was so shocked when she felt the aura of As covering the entire city. She wanted to rush out to stop him, but she controlled herself. The mission was more important for now.

    Moreover, she had faith in As. She believed he could protect himself from being captured, at least. Especially with the spell, she had taught him.

    "You just... You are beyond my understanding." Lancaster sighed. "How did you even manage to get inside this ce without being caught? How did you pass through the guards?"

    "I had some help."

    *****<novelnext></novelnext>

    Eight hours ago~

    "Entering the castle would be a headache indeed. I can cast a spell to hide my aura, but if I pass through the entrance, the Werewolves will sense my scent. Even if I change my scent, it''ll still make them know that something is wrong. Moreover, Razil would also be there."

    "Even if I use my invisibility, the scent is something which will be sensed by them. They aren''t like vampires, who are weak when ites to that. I need to do something about my scent."

    Lilith was walking through the streets of the Royal City, advancing toward the Royal castle as she tried toe up with a better n. No matter what n she came up with, every n had a tiny element of risk of being caught.

    "Hmm? That aura?" She stopped in her tracks, noticing a young man in the distance. "He''s from..."

    "What is he doing here?" She wondered.

    Zhang picked up an item from the shop. "How much is it?"

    The shopkeeper told the price, which was expensive yet not too expensive.

    "That''s somewhat expensive. I don''t have that much currency of this Kingdom on me yet. I guess I''ll have to go back to the Pce to borrow some from Razil."

    Zhang ced the item back before moving into something else.

    Lilith did manage to hear the small conversation. "Yovana did mention that his n and the Werewolf n are close. If he''s in the city and talks about going back to the castle, then he must be staying in the Royal Pce as a guest. That would mean..."

    A small idea popped into her mind. Unlike the Werewolves, Zhang didn''t have that acute sense of smell. She could use him.

    She went back, creating some distance from Zhang. Hiding in an alley, she bit her thumb once again.

    She cast a spell on the ground. It was the biggest spell she had ever caught, which took a lot of her blood, even making her dizzy for a little bit.

    "If I can''t hide my scent from the werewolves, I''ll let them sense it openly." She smiled as the spell was sessful.

    Another figure appeared before her. It was as if there was a mirror image of her right before her eyes which waspletely identical to her from physique to aura to scent.

    "You know what to do." Lilith grimly stated before casting an invisibility spell on herself.

    The clone of Lilith nodded and walked to the ce Lilith had seen Zhangst time.

    Through an alley, the clone peeked at Zhang, making sure that Zhang saw her. She even released a bit of her aura intentionally to make Zhang realize her real identity after pretending to be a citizen of the Kingdom.

    Zhang fell for the trap, casting a sleeping spell on Lilith''s clone. Meanwhile, Lilith was watching everything from a distance.

    Zhang picked up the sleeping Lilith in her arms like a princess and walked back to the Royal Castle, grinning as if he had received the world''s best prize.

    Despite being such a powerful wizard, even he couldn''t sense that he was carrying a clone. The spell of Lilith was just so strong. The only w was that the clone couldn''tst for too long.

 Chapter 106 106: Last Resort

    Zhang carried Lilith''s clone''s body with him, straight to the Royal Castle of the Wolves. Since he was already allowed entry, he wasn''t questioned by the Guards. He was just too close to the King, after all.

    The real Lilith also walked right beside Zhang, using her invisibility spell. As far as her scent was concerned, even though it was sensed, the Werewolves didn''t focus much on it since they believed it wasing from the unconscious girl.

    There were two scents, but since they both were identical, no one knew about the second person who managed to infiltrate.

    As soon as the real Lilith entered the castle, she separated from Zhang, leaving the responsibility of keeping Zhang distracted on her clone as she went searching for An to find out where he was.

    ****

    Current time~

    "I had some help."

    Lilith vaguely told Lancaster in response to his question about how she gained an entry here.

    "Anyway, as you said, As is outside the city, facing the wolves, but from what I can see, things aren''t that bad. The Wolves don''t seem to be against him."

    "And how do you know that?"

    "That''s not worth worrying yourself over. Just know that As is safe for now. Razil seemed to be on his side now. Still, we can''t waste too much time. As soon as my clone disappears, the equation might change."

    "The castle is at its Weakest for now. If there was ever a time to find An, it is now. You go out there and tell As the truth. Make him keep the two sides distracted while I take care of things here. As soon as I''m done, I''ll leave. Don''t let him surrender or get caught at any cost, and I''ll handle the rest!"

    "Ah, are you sure you''ll be fine alone?" Lancaster hesitated a bit. After finding Lilith, he needed to leave her here alone. He couldn''te to terms with that."

    "I would''ve been better if you two weren''t here, but yeah, I''ll be fine. Just let me do my work and focus on As! Go!"

    Lancaster nodded, finally agreeing. "Alright, but doe back safely. If you don''t, I won''t know how I''ll answer As."

    Lancaster started running to the exit, leaving Lilith behind.

    Lilith let out a tired sigh. "These two idiots. Do they really need to worry about me so much? They put their lives at risk for me... I''m not a kid."

    Her voice went down as she continued, "But still... I don''t dislike their concern."

    She turned around. The vines disappeared, leaving two dead bodies on the floor as Lilith walked deeper into the castle.

    ****

    Back inside the cell in the depths of the castle where no one could reach, a young man was sitting with his back resting against the wall.

    The person was over six feet tall. Even though he was sitting, his height could be guessed. His straight long hair came to his shoulders, seemingly blood-red in color.

    Even though it was hard for any person to reach here, it wasn''t impossible as long as certain conditions were met.

    As sat in his stall, appearing as if he was sleeping, yet his fingers kept tapping the floor, showing that he was away.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Castiel is here... He woke up, it seems. If that''s the case, things are going to get much worse from now on for this world..."

    An''s voice was barely audible as he spoke. It was as if he was talking to himself only.

    "That idiot..."

    ****

    "Your time is running out, Castiel! Speak! Will you choose the life of Lilith, or will you choose freedom? Will you choose her life, or will you choose my death?"

    "Surrender and be my prisoner. I promise I will treat you fairly! My n is very fair when ites to serving justice!"

    As wanted to rip Zhang to shreds for what he did, yet he couldn''t. Lilith''s life was in his hands. He couldn''t take the risk. If she died, there was no way he could answer Castiel. Let alone answering Castiel, he couldn''t even answer himself! He couldn''t lose Lilith. However, he also couldn''t surrender since there was no way this guy was going to let Lilith go.

    He had already heard the story of enmity with them. They hated Lilith, and they hated Castiel. There was no way they would let one live for the other.

    From what he could guess, Zhang was just using Lilith to capture him since he couldn''t be killed. Once he was captured, Zhang was probably going to kill Lilith.

    That''s why he couldn''t surrender either. As knew he was stuck between a rock and a hard ce. Both the choices were wrong.

    ''One opportunity... All I need is one opportunity. As soon as Lilith is free, I can solve this. It doesn''t look like the Werewolves will attack me. I''ll just have to face this Wizard. But then again, if I do that, the Werewolves will see the battle. They will know that I''m not as strong as Castiel.''

    ''Not only do I need to take Zhang out, but I need to do it in such a way that the Werewolves don''t know I''m weaker than Castiel. But for all that, I need to free Lilith first.''

    ''But what isn''t Lilith using any spell to free herself? Come on, Lilith! Move! Use a spell! Give me one opening! Just one!"

    Unfortunately, no matter how much Lancaster wanted, Lilith didn''t use any spell. She just gazed at As, not even being able to speak anything.

    Her eyes appeared to be trying to tell him something, yet As couldn''t understand. It was really hard to read eyes.

    ''What should I do?'' As thought, grimacing. ''If Lilith won''t help me, where can I find an opening from? Think! Think Castiel, think!''

    ''Wait, how could I forget it?! I have that! It might not work on Werewolves, but Witches aren''t immune to it! I''m sure of that! I do havepulsion! I will only have one chance. I need to make him look straight in my eyes, and I can''t fail!''

    Grimacing, As stood tall before Zhang. "You do know who I am, right?"

    "Of course. Who doesn''t know Progenitor Castiel."

    "Then you should also know how easy it is for me to kill you? If you kill Lilith, your death is inevitable. Not only that, as you know, I don''t forgive easily. Not just you, I''ll kill every single person in your n, wiping it from the face of this earth!"

    Not only did As try to distract Zhang, but he also tried to make him angry, so he looked straight in his eyes.

    "Of course, you can kill. But it won''t be that easy. My n has only gotten stronger since thest time you faced us! Moreover, killing us won''t bring Lilith back to life. Your threats are empty!"

 Chapter 107 107: No Time

    "Time is trickling away, old man."

    Seeing As not react, Zhang once again reminded him about the time limitations.

    "You only have sixty seconds left now. Don''t tell me I didn''t remind you. I won''t give even a single extra second. As soon as the time is up, I''ll crush her neck."

    "Fifty seconds left."

    With each passing second, As realized how little time he had, which sent his mind into more chaos. Was there really no other option which wasn''t risky?

    "Thirty seconds."

    "Fine! I will surrender. Release Lilith and let her go. It''s my promise that I''ll surrender!" As let out, having no other resort.

    He really hoped that Zhang was just as naive as Yovana was to believe a promise since he was supposed to be Castiel for now.

    Zhang only smiled in response. "I''m not an idiot to believe an empty promise. Surrender first, and she will be free. That''s my promise. Twenty seconds left..."

    As clenched his fist even tighter. This man didn''t listen. With only a few seconds left, As realized that there was not much time left. If Lilith was going to die even if he surrendered, it was better to fight back and take the risk.

    "Fifteen Seconds." The man dered.

    That was it. There wasn''t time to waste. As shot straight to Zhang.

    Zhang appeared as if he had expected something like this as well.

    "Bad choice." Zhang started tightening his grip around Lilith''s neck.

    He raised his right hand toward As. An energy st appeared between As and Zhang, which shot straight to As, who was mid-air.

    ****

    Seven Hours ago~

    "Is there a spell to use the wind to my advantage?" As asked Yovana, who had read the entire book of Lilith.

    "Use the wind? What do you mean?"

    "When I was fighting with the Werewolves before, I realized that it was quite difficult to change directions mid-air. If Lancaster hadn''t arrived in time, I might''ve been hurt as well. So I''m asking if there is a spell that can make me use the wind to change direction midair or help me maneuver."

    As exined what he was looking for, only to make Yovana even more suspicious. Shouldn''t Castiel know about such basic spells? She wondered if there was something wrong with his memories.

    Still, she didn''t question him and answered. "There are some spells like that. For example, this. It''s easy to cast and the fastest in a situation like that."

    *****

    Present time~

    Zhang shot an energy st in the direction of As, intending to send him flying back.

    Since he was in the middle of the air, it should''ve been impossible for him to avoid the attack.

    The attack was powerful, but in no way was it powerful enough to hurt As. At best, it could send him flying back to give Zhang more time. Even Zhang knew that and used the spell in such a manner only.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Moreover, even if he went against Razil before, he knew that when it came to choosing between a Progenitor or his n, Razil was ultimately going to choose him if there was really ever a battleter on.

    Also, it wasn''t as if he truly denied Razil. He was prepared to return Lilith with some terms and conditions applied. It was As who made the situation worse.

    As noticed the attack, which should''ve been impossible for him to avoid, yet he wasn''t phased. It was as if he had prepared for something like that already.

    The direction of the wind abruptly changed, mostly affecting only him as soon as he snapped the fingers of his right hand.

    The winds sent him flying to the left, making him about the energy st. Unfortunately, the ring he wasted in dodging was enough for Zhang to kill Lilith.

    Zhang shed a smirk, making As understand what wasing.

    Swiss~

    "Argh!" Zhang roared in pain. His hands were open, making Lilith fall to the ground, but it wasn''t intentional.

    An arrow had impaled his arm, which was holding onto Lilith. Since Zhang was so focused on As, he hadn''t expected that there was an archer nearby. If he had known, he could''ve taken steps to protect himself.

    That arrow... As recognized the arrow. He remembered a youngdy who always carried a bow and some arrows with her. It was the same girl he had asked to stay behind.

    In the distance, Yovana was sitting on top of a tree, holding an arrow in her arms. "Since you care for her so much, how can I let someone hurt her?"

    Yovana shot another arrow. Unfortunately, this time Zhang was more careful. He waved his hand, casting a small wind barrier that sent the arrow off its part. The arrow missed him.

    However, this gave As enough time to get close to Zhang.

    As used his entire force as he sent a punch. The power behind that punch was enough to shatter the bones and the heart of a person. Moreover, unlike Werewolves and Vampires, the Witches and Wizards didn''t have much physical strength. That was no more than ordinary humans when it came to physical strength and defense.

    This one fist was enough to kill Zhang right away. Unfortunately, Zhang wasn''t any ordinary Wizard either. He stood on equal grounds to the Werewolf King. Some even said he was the strongest Wizard in the World.

    Zhang had a lot of battle experience. Despite being at such a disadvantage, being attacked from both sides, he quickly protected himself, not getting overwhelmed.

    "Blessing of the Goddess!" He cast the fastest spell of protection he knew. A ck Armour, made purely of natural energy, appeared before his chest, giving him some form of protection against the attack.

    As the fistnded on Zhang, his body was sent flying back. Even the barrier was broken. Fortunately, it did the thing it was called to do, decreasing the impact of the attack on his chest.

    Zhang bnced himself with the help of Winds in the distance before holding his aching chest.

    Despite the decreased impact, he still felt the pain. Fortunately, all his bones were intact.

    As didn''t chase after Zhang. Instead, he picked up Lilith in his arms. "Are you alright?"

    "You are an idiot; you know that. Why did you risk yourself bying here! I-i could''ve..."

    "I''ll alwayse to save you, no matter where you are. I''m not letting you leave me, Lilith. At least as long as I live, which might not be long."

    "You duffer!" Lilith wanted to scold As so bad for spoiling her n and risking himself, yet she couldn''t. Her heart was filled with some strange feelings.

    She just wrapped her arms around As, going silent.

    "You''re the biggest idiot I''ve seen but... thank you foring."

 Chapter 108 108: Demand

    "Now listen to me carefully. I have something to tell you." Lilith brought her lips closer to As. "Don''t fight anymore. Just keep them distracted."

    She made sure to speak in a voice that couldn''t be heard by anyone other than As. She didn''t forget to take into consideration the hearing skills of werewolves as she spoke.

    As frowned. What did she mean that he needed to keep them distracted and not fight? What was the purpose of distraction?

    He wondered if she wanted distraction because Lancaster was still inside. She wanted them to distract the others so Lancaster could have a safe route out?

    It didn''t matter what she wanted. What mattered was that she was really serious when she said it, as if it was something important to her.

    "Fine." As agreed.

    In any case, now that he had Lilith, he was nning to leave. But now that she said what she wanted, he agreed to stay behind for a little since Lancaster was also important to him.

    He noticed Zhang looking in a specific direction. He also nced in that direction. As expected, he could see Yovana sitting on the top of a branch. Even though her face was covered in a mask to hide her identity, it was evident to him who she was.

    "That girl really doesn''t listen to instructions, does she?" As muttered.

    "I know a certain someone like that too." Lilith smiled wryly.

    "Are you talking about yourself?" As rolled his eyes. "Look at your condition. He hurt you so much. I can''t let him go like that, can I?"

    "You can. It''s not the time. Just trust me. I''ll tell you everything after I''m back."

    "When you''re back? Aren''t you already back now?"

    "Don''t ask too many questions for now."

    "Fine. But I want aplete exnationter.''

    Since Lilith told him not to fight, that''s what As did. He didn''t chase after Zhang, who appeared to be ready for a battle.

    ? Instead, he focused on the distraction, and what better way to distract than through Razil.

    He turned to Razil. "Is this what the Proud Kingdom of Wolves has be? Kidnapping innocents, torturing them, and ckmailing through them? Supporting a crime is no better thanmitting the crime itself."

    Razil remained silent. He was a Proud Wolf who was rarely silent like that, but even he felt bad today. Something like this had happened in his Empire, and he let it happen just because Zhang was close to him.

    Not only that, he couldn''t even return Lilith to As despite promising him. He had to take matters into his own hands.

    He had never apologized to anyone before, but today he felt like he needed to. He had failed. It wasn''t a matter of strength or weakness. It was a matter of dignity and morals.

    "You are right. Something like this shouldn''t have happened in our Kingdom. I am ashamed of what happened. I issue an apology to you. You can take Lilith and leave. I won''t pursue the matter of your challenge. We won''t fight you."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "You won''t fight me? Are you doing me a favor by stating that? After hurting Lilith, you all think a simple you won''t fight me is enough to make up for it?"

    "What do you want us to do?" Razil frowned. "Zhang made a mistake, but I won''t hurt him either. He is a friend of the Empire. Simrly, you aren''t an enemy either. So I''m letting you leave. As for Zhang, I''ll take some firm actions to make sure something like this never happens in our Kingdom again."

    "What actions? A scolding?" As scoffed.

    ****

    Inside the Castle, Lilith had already begun her search on the castle that was defenseless now. Only a few werewolves were inside the castle, which wasn''t hard to about.

    The longer As could keep the others distracted, the more time she was going to have, yet she did her best, not taking any liberty.

    She went floor by floor, looking for An''s aura. She even left a blood formation on each floor to check through the entire floor for the aura, yet she couldn''t find anything.

    "I''m sure An is kept in this Pce, but his aura is non-existent. I''m sure it must be the work of the Witches who entrapped him. It won''t be easy to find him like that. I''ll need to capture a guard to get an answer."

    Lilith was already on the lowest floor, casting another blood formation, yet she didn''t have high hopes.

    "Hmm? What''s that?" As shepleted the Blood Formation, she noticed something. There was something really strange going on on this floor.

    At the end of the floor, she could see two Werewolves who appeared to be guarding a door. As for beyond that door, even the blood formation couldn''t see. It was as if there was something around that door that was blocking her.

    A smirk formed across her lips. "A secret ce, huh. What are you hiding there, Razil? I suppose I might have some idea."

    Smiling, Lilith advanced toward the door, feeling really confident that she finally had a clue about the whereabouts of An.

    And all that stood between her and An were two Werewolves which she believed she could take out easily.

    She was also slightly surprised that there were only two Werewolves kept there to protect An. It wasn''t as if this cecked good warriors, so it was odd that there were only two. Then again, it had been a century since An was trapped. It wasn''t odd that after all this while, the Kingdom became confident enough to not waste too many resources over An.

    Through the end of the Hallway, Lilith noticed the two Werewolves standing before a majestic door. As she had cast an invisibility cloak, the Werewolves could''ve seen her. Despite that, the Werewolves managed to sense something strange. There was a strange scent in the surroundings.

    "Something is wrong. Someone is here." One of the two men brought out his ws, ring at the end of the hallway menacingly.

    "As expected, you are very perceptive," Lilith muttered as she canceled her invisibility cloak since she couldn''t use any other spell as long as she was invisible. Moreover, she was already sensed, so it was stupid to focus on hiding more than focusing on defeating these people.

    "A witch! You dare?!"

    "There is nothing I don''t dare, young man. Also, thank you for standing in this narrow hallway. If it were a wider ce, I would''ve had a much harder time with you two, but here..."

    "Come, let the celebrations begin!"

 Chapter 109 109: Flaws

    To distract was As''s mission, yet there wasn''t too much he could go without seriously offending the others.

    If he dragged it for too long, he believed those people were going to find out his intention and be wary. On the other hand, he also couldn''t do it in such a way that would incite a battle.

    "Razil, why are you even apologizing to him! Did you forget he''s a Vampire? He''s no different than the others. He also has the blood of millions of people in his hands. His hands are also stained with the blood of innocent, including the blood of my family."

    Zhang still didn''t understand why Razil wasn''t siding with him. Let alone not siding with him, Razil was instead issuing an apology for what happened here? Just what kind of nonsense was this?

    Throughout the years, Zhang had seen a lot of nonsense, yet this was something he never expected to see. The Werewolf King was being friendly with a Vampire?

    "You! It''s because of you!" Razil furiously red at Zhang. "In all my life, I''ve never had to apologize to anyone. You know why? It isn''t because I was the strongest, but it''s because I''ve always been true to myself! I was never in the wrong. That''s why I could stand tall even in the face of death."

    "If you hadn''t kidnapped Lilith, making me guilty by association, none of this would''ve happened."

    Razil growled in frustration before controlling himself as he turned to As.

    "Castiel, as I told you before, mistakes have been made which shouldn''t have happened. But I will handle them. I''m not in a good mood, so don''t make things worse. As far as Lilith''s injuries are concerned, you cane inside my Kingdom. We have some good doctors who should be able to help her recover fast."

    "What? You''re inviting him to the kingdom? Old man, did you really lose your sanity?"

    Zhang couldn''t believe it. Not only was this guy apologizing but also inviting him in? How could a King be as stupid as him?

    Generally, As would''ve epted this offer since it meant he could get an easy entry into the Kingdom, which was his initial goal but not this instant. For now, his goal had changed to a simple goal of keeping the Wolves out of their own Kingdom. He couldn''t let them get inside.

    In his mind, he was also slightly upset at how long Lancaster was talking ining out. Just what was he doing inside? This much time should''ve been enough for him toe out, yet he wasn''t here.

    He needed more time.

    ''There he is...''

    Fortunately, he finally saw Lancastering out of the Kingdom.

    "Hmm? This guy?" Razil frowned. "How did this guy get out?"

    He remembered thrashing this guy badly before giving him to his guards to imprison. How did he escape?

    "Ah, wait a minute. He was sneaking inside the Castle. Castiel also came for the same thing. Could it be that..."

    "Is he with you?" Razil asked As.

    As didn''t even need to answer before everything became clear as Lancaster stood beside As, trying to understand the situation. Lilith had told him to inform As about her n, so As didn''t start a battle, but it didn''t appear as if there was a battle taking ce here. Things were awfully calm for now.<novelnext></novelnext>

    He was also surprised to see Lilith in As'' arms, covered in blood as if she was hurt.

    ''So that''s what she meant by clone. It''s so realistic. But why isn''t there a battle here? There is not even any conflict from what it appears.''

    Instead of surrounding As, the wolves appeared to be leaving.

    He gazed at the clone of Lilith, who gestured to him not to speak.

    " He already knows," she stated.

    Lancaster followed the advice and didn''t speak, assuming that the clone already told As the reality.

    "So he did work for you. That means you sent him to infiltrate the Kingdom?"

    As nodded. "I sent him to save Lilith."

    "And here I thought he sent his kid to kill me," Razil muttered. "It''s fascinating how he went against the Family because he didn''t want to serve under anyone, and now his heir is serving under a Vampire. Oh, how far his lineage has fallen."

    "It''s none of your concern," Lancaster retorted, understanding what this guy was implying.

    "Seriously?" Zhang pped his forehead. "Razil, are you really that stupid? Do you think Lilith came inside the Kingdom for no reason, and As just happened to be in the area with a Royal Blood? It''s true that I caught Lilith, but it''s also true that I did it when she was already inside the Kingdom."

    "Did you even take a minute to ask yourself what she was doing, sneaking inside the Kingdom? As for this Royal Blood, you said he was also inside the Castle when he was caught. And now Castiel''s creating distraction after both of them was caught! It''s not a coincidence."

    "They came here for An! That''s why they sent Lilith and this Royal Blood. When both were caught, Castiel pretended to be innocent, and here we are! Don''t tell me you''re seriously falling for their trap!"

    The longer this went on, the more disbelieving Zhang was. How could everyone here be so dense? Or was he intentionally ignoring all the evidence just because he was upset at Lilith''s kidnapping by him.

    "Hmm?"

    No matter what, Zhang''s points did appear to have some merit that even Razil couldn''t ignore. He was so distracted by their own mistake that he had even forgotten to consider the other factors before inviting Castiel to the Kingdom! Just what was this guy doing here in the first ce?

    It was the first time they had heard about Castiel being back, and he was straight here. That was too much of a coincidence. Moreover, why did Lilith have to sneak inside? If it was true that she was caught lurking inside the Kingdom, that meant she didn''t have as pure motives as they imed.

    It was the same for Lancaster. Was he truly there to save Lilith, or was he there to save someone else?

    "Castiel, do you have anything to say to that? Why was Lilith sneaking around the Kingdom?" Finally, Razil asked the question that mattered.

    Just as things were going well, they returned back to square one. As was slightly pleased before that he had Lilith back and also received the ess to the Kingdom but was that going to go down the drain? Even if he imed it was a coincidence that he was here, Lilith sneaking in was already something hard to justify.

 Chapter 110 110: Creation

    If they really didn''t have any ulterior notices inside the Kingdom, Lilith could''ve sent a message openly instead of sneaking inside, so there was a w in every story he coulde up with.

    "His silence is an answer in itself. So you still don''t get it? He sent Lilith because he wanted her to free An! For a Vampire, it''s impossible to free An after all the precautions we took! That''s the thing. You don''t even need to ask them. That''s why he came with a small army of his own," Zhang squinted his eyes, gazing at the masked archer in the distance.

    There was no other exnation that made sense for him, and he was also mostly urate, just not entirely.

    "It seems I apologized to you for no reason at all..." Razil let out a sigh. "You truly were here to save An."

    "An would be thest person I would ever care about. The longer you keep him, the more peaceful this world will be. I didn''te here for him," As responded. "I woke up just recently and was wondering what kind of world this ce had be when I was asleep."

    "The ce I went to my eternal slumber wasn''t too far from here, so it''s not that I''vee in the vicinity of your Empire just now. I''ve always been here, sleeping."

    "Near my Kingdom?"

    As smiled. Even though he lied, he lied with such confidence that it was impossible to see his lies.

    "What better ce to sleep in peace. No one was going to search for me in this ce. No one was going to disturb me. This was the perfect ce."

    "That would exin why you were in this area when you were first seen, but that still doesn''t exin why you sent Lilith secretly inside the Empire? Also, how did you know that Royal Blood in that case? If you im you just woke up, how did you get so close to him?"

    As As started lying, he didn''t stop to even think about his lies. His mind had always been very imaginative, and it became even more at the moment since he started making stories.

    "He is the reason I''m up. It was him who disturbed my sleep, finding my sleeping ce. As for why I''m close to him, do you even need to ask? I was close even to Vor. Why won''t I be close to his descendant?"

    Whenever Lilith told him a story, he pretended not to take that story seriously, but he gave those stories too much Importance to understand Castiel. One of those stories is about Castiel meeting with Vor.

    From what Lilith had theorized, Lancaster was a descendant of Vor, who was banished from the Kingdom of Wolves when Castiel still roamed the world.

    The knowledge of those two things made hime up with a more realistic story. The story could''ve even fooled Lancaster if he hadn''t known that As was lying.

    "Alright. You knew Vor and didn''t hurt his descendant. I can also believe you got close to him, making him trust you. But that also doesn''t exin Lilith. Why did Lilith sneak inside?"

    "She went there to see the condition of the Kingdom and how it had changed throughout the years. I didn''t want anyone to know about my return, so I couldn''t openly ask for an entrance. And I also couldn''t get inside without permission."

    "If Lilith asked for a meeting with you, that was no different than exposing my return, so I sent Lilith secretly inside so she could see the Empire and tell me how it has changed throughout the years. That''s what she was doing when she was caught."

    "It''s already known that she wasn''t caught in the Pce. She was caught roaming the streets."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Even As was surprised at how he had managed toe up with a story that made sense in such a short amount of time, despite being under immense pressure. Fortunately, his story left no ws in it.

    It answered why he wasn''t alone. It also answered why he was close to the Kingdom of Werewolves and why Lilith had to sneak inside.

    Fortunately, he was a Vampire. If he were a human, he would''ve been sweating somewhat.

    Just as As had expected, Razil couldn''t find a w in his story. This story did make sense for the most part.

    He believed in innocence until proven guilty. There was a chance that Castiel was lying, but there was also a chance that he wasn''t lying.

    He couldn''t make a decision based on a chance, especially since the chances of it being the heir were higher. There were a lot of stories about Castiel, even amongst his Kingdom itself and one of those was that Castiel never lied.

    Even if a lie could make his path easier, he didn''t lie. On the other hand, even if the truth offended someone, he spoke it.

    It was said that Castiel was very aloof and rarely put a filter on his mouth. Some of those stories were written by their own people, which made Razil believe them even more. There was always a chance that people changed, but he couldn''t be sure of that.

    He finally came to a decision after long deliberation.

    "I am going to let you get inside the Kingdom so Lilith could be treated. But I''ll be apanying you all the time. As long as you''re inside the Kingdom, you''ll always be under my observation, so you can''t do anything stupid. Do you ept it?"

    As didn''t refuse the offer, but he also didn''t instantly agree either. He took his sweet time in deciding.

    ****

    Inside the Castle, Lilith took the key from the two guards whoid on the blood-covered floor. Even she was bleeding. There were w marks around her body, making her bleed. This hadn''t been an easy battle. Fortunately, it was over now.

    Amongst the two guards on the floor, only one was dead. The other was kept alive, yet he was neutralized. He couldn''t fight back as some vines wrapped around his body, sucking his blood.

    "You know you can answer me and survive. You won''t have to go through this painful death. If I were in your ce, I would''ve taken this offer." Lilith stood with the support of the wall, both arms folded as she gazed at the struggling Werewolf.

    "That''s because you don''t have any dignity! Unlike you, I''m willing to die for my Kingdom! I''ll never tell you anything! And if you think you can save An, you couldn''t be more wrong. Even if you kill me, you can never get to An!"

    "We will see about that! Wait, you won''t be there to see it. Too bad."

 Chapter 111 111: Compulsion Alternative

    Amongst the two Wolves, only one was alive as Lilith didn''t actually kill him. She just kept him entrapped since he coulde in handyter.

    Lilith walked to the door, which had a powerful lock.  She gently flicked her fingers. A key came flying out of the pockets of one of the struggling Werewolf, only tond in her hand.

    "Thanks for the key."

    She inserted the key inside the lock, twisting it sideways. Following a swift clicking noise, the door was unlocked.

    Lilith pushed the door open, only to be slightly surprised as the doors didn''t even move. They were just so heavy that it appeared to be impossible for someone like her to open the door.

    "You do have some good doors, but in the grand scheme of things, this doesn''t matter. At least not to me."

    Lilith bit her thumb, making it bleed again. Using her blood, she made a circle on the door. Inside the Blood circle, she wrote some strange characters that were impossible to read.

    As she wrote, she kept feeling a stinging pain in her bleeding thumb which she ignored for the most part.

    As soon as her spell waspleted, a mysterious force started acting against the door, pushing it to the other side.

    The force that the spell applied wasparable to the strength of a Werewolf. The door started opening slowly.

    Despite the strength of the spell behind it, the door still took a minute topletely open.

    Despite the door opening, Lilith didn''t walk inside right away. She was sure that it couldn''t be this easy to get to An. There was no way there were no traps.

    She stood at the threshold of the door, observing the other side.

    "Hmm, so that''s what it is."

    Even though the hallway seemedpletely safe, Lilith''s attention went straight to the marks on the wall and on the roof. The ones who were ignorant could have easily confused those carvings with ordinary design, but someone as knowledgeable as Lilith wasn''t going to fall for something as easy as this.

    She could see that many spells were cleverly hidden inside the designs to make it difficult to spot them. Fortunately, she wasn''t hasty.

    "Franc n certainly put some effort on these stealthy spells. Not bad. Those spells can detect anyone who enters the hallway, even if they hide behind a shroud. On the other hand, that one specifically targets Vampires if one steps here. It must''ve taken them over a month to make that one spell alone."

    "Breaking these spells isn''t impossible, but it will take a lot of time to achieve it. Unless... Unless I can fool these spells."

    She turned around, gazing at the young Werewolf in the distance who was weakly looking at her as his body bled.

    "See? You came in handy so soon."

    She stepped toward the man, sitting on her knees right before him. "You''ve lost enough blood and are very weak. What could be a better time to attempt it."<novelnext></novelnext>

    The man frowned. What was she going to attempt? Unfortunately, he couldn''t even ask as the blood-sucking vine kept his mouth closed.

    Lilith ced her palm on the puddle of blood on the floor which belonged to the man.

    "This would take a really heavy toll, but I have no choice."

    She used the man''s flood to cast a formation circle around his struggling body, covering him in the formation from all sides.

    After finishing, she used her own blood to cast a simr formation around her before sitting.

    She closed her eyes and started muttering something in a barely audible voice. The man didn''t know what Lilith was doing, but he had a really bad feeling about this.

    Before long, the formation around Lilith started shining slowly. The red luminescence of the blood spread everywhere. At the same time, the blood formation around the man also started shining.

    The two formations were linked by a single thread of blood which established a link of Lilith with the man, sending her consciousness straight into the head of the man. It was something simr topulsion, which allowed Lilith to control an enemy through the blood link.

    The only difference was that afterpulsion, the Vampire could still move as it didn''t take his entire consciousness to control the body. On the other hand, in this spell, it took Lilith''s entire consciousness, which left her own body defenseless. That was the biggest w of this spell which made it essentially unusable for the most part.

    Fortunately, the risk to her body here was negligible as there were no werewolves here who could threaten her. Most of them were outside the Empire, being kept busy by As.

    The man''s eyes went ck as his blood was attacked along with his consciousness. Lilith''s consciousness was targeting his own consciousness, which he tried to resist fiercely.

    Unfortunately, he wasn''t at his peak. He had lost too much blood, which had already weakened his consciousness, almost bringing him to the edge of being unconscious. Moreover, Lilith had lived for a really long time, almost as long as a Vampire. Her consciousness was as strong as it could possibly be, even being able to overwhelm a Werewolf.

    The eyes of the man turned pitch ck as he finally lost control to Lilith. Unfortunately, Lilith wasn''t doing much better either. It had taken a lot of effort.

    The vines retreated, finally freeing the man who was under the control of Lilith.

    He walked closer to the body of Lilith and picked up the key before entering the hallway. So what if Lilith couldn''t personally get to An because of all these defenses? There were many who could, and she was using one of them.

    Just as she had expected, the formations didn''t attack the man''s blood-covered body even as he entered the hallway. He walked to the other end of the hallway easily.

    Unaffected by defensive spells, the man was able to get to the other end of the hallway without much struggle.

    He finally reached the other door, behind which Lilith believed An was being kept. She could feel that this door was thest obstruction that stood between her and the other end of the hallway.

    The man stopped before the door and used the key. He tried to insert the key in the keyhole, yet the key just refused to enter. The key just didn''t fit.

    It was evident that this was the wrong key, but if this was the wrong key, then what was the right one? There were no other keys here. She had already checked. This was the only key here.

 Chapter 112 112: Acceptance

    Only one question remained. If the key that could open the door wasn''t here, then where was it?

    "I can''t wait for the key."

    Lilith used the body of the man and her own blood to cast a spell on the massive door to blow it off. If there wasn''t a key, then she wasn''t going to use one.

    The spell formation waspleted. The man moved back, creating some space between him and the door.

    Boom~

    A massive explosion took ce, shaking the entire ce. mes spread everywhere.

    As the mes disappeared, the door came back into sight once again. Unfortunately, despite the explosion, the door was still intact. There was not even a single scratch on the door.

    ****

    Sitting in his cell, even An felt the trembling of the explosion. He was sure it wasn''t the work of any werewolf, and it came from not too far. There was someone who was nearby, and that person was trying to break something.

    "First Castiel''s arrival and now this... Someone is trying to break in? Is Castiel really here to free me? That shouldn''t be the case. Knowing him, he would nevere to save me unless he needed me for something."

    "Could it be that it''s finally the time that we all worried about...? I thought there was more time..."

    Boom~

    Lilith cast another explosive spell, this time even more powerful, which should''ve shattered a simr door to pieces but once again, the door waspletely intact.

    Seeing the intact door, Lilith realized that it wasn''t going to work like this.The door wasn''t ordinary. It couldn''t be broken with spells. In fact, the door was even more firm than before, as if the explosion only worked to strengthen it instead of weakening it.

    It was evident that the only way to get past the door was by using the key. Unfortunately, the question still remained... Where was the key?

    ****

    A small key hung around the neck of Razil, hidden behind his clothes which kept it hidden from the eyes of everyone. Moreover, since he hadn''t transformed, the key hadn''t been seen by anyone.

    Razil had just offered As an entry into the Kingdom where Lilith was to be treated. That was his best offer. ording to him, As could either take the offer and get an entry inside the Kingdom, or he could leave. There was no other option.

    He wasn''t going to allow him to hurt Zhang either since Zhang was a guest and he was under his protection. There was nothing else he could offer As, and he made it clear.

    He stood with his arms folded before As, waiting for an answer, ignoring all theints from Zhang.

    When Zhang arrived here, he had expected to hunt a Progenitor. He had everything that he could''ve needed. He had a precious hostage in the form of Lilith; he had the Werewolf King and his army in the form of an ally. There was no way Castiel could avoid being caught, ording to him.

    Unfortunately, his entire n came crashing because Razil avoided a battle with As, believing him more.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Not only that, but Zhang also lost his hostage, which further weakened his position. He had the confidence of catching As if he fought with the help of Razil but alone, it was too risky. Moreover, it didn''t feel like Razil was going to listen to him either.

    His anger was evident on his face. Unfortunately, that anger was only being ignored. Today could''ve been such an amazing day for him if things had gone his way, yet they didn''t. Not only could he not fight Castiel, but he also had to be in hispany?

    If he didn''t need to wait to take An with him, Zhang would''ve left this ce in anger, going back to his ownnd, but he could only swallow his anger.

    Even if he couldn''t capture Castiel, he still had to take An with him.

    For a moment, Zhang even wondered if this was intentionally done by Razil? Was he doing it all to anger him? To him, it felt as if Razil wanted him to be so angry that he left without waiting for An.

    It was clear that Razil didn''t want to hand over the custody of An. If this was his scheme, then it was too obvious. Even Razil couldn''t be stupid enough to invite Castiel inside his Kingdom after all.

    Zhang red at Razil. ''Fine. If that''s how you want to y it, then it shall be. I''m not going to lose my reasoning to give you an excuse to keep An. If you want that, you''ll have to let the world see how shameless you truly are! I won''t let you have any excuses!''

    Since it was a game, Zhang decided to y the game as well.

    "If what you''re saying is true, I misunderstood your intentions. I thought you were here to hurt the innocents. Please ept my apology, Castiel."

    Even if he hated it, Zhang apologized to Castiel. It was evident he wasn''t going to have Castiel for now, but just for that, he wasn''t going to let Razil have his way. Since Razil spoiled his n, he also decided to spoil Razil''s n.

    Since Razil wanted to invite a Progenitor inside his castle, he was going to let it happen.

    A smirk spread across his lips, which he swiftly hid.

    "It seems I let the past cloud my head, which made me doubt your intentions without first giving you a benefit of the doubt. I shouldn''t have done that. You''re right. It''s time I left the past behind and focused on the future." He let out a sigh. "Please allow me to apologize by epting Razil''s invitation to enter the city. Please enter so Lilith can get the proper care she needs."

    "Hmm?"

    Razil was stunned at the swift change in Zhang. He had expected Zhang to storm off in anger since the biggest enemy of his n was being invited in, but instead, he epted that?

    Zhang was partially right as well since Razil really wanted him to leave. One of the reasons he invited As inside was to make Zhang leave. Even he hadn''t expected Zhang to switch like that.

    If there was anyone who was more stunned than Razil, it was Castiel! This guy was willing to fight to the death until a few moments ago, and now he was apologizing? What was this? Did he have a split personality or something like that?

    "We ept the invitation!" Another shock came in the form of Lilith''s eptance.

    She epted the offer to enter the Kingdom for some reason.

    Since she epted, even As did the same. He also said that he was epting the offer to enter the Kingdom.

 Chapter 113 113: Rules

    A half-hearted invitation was given to As from the side of Werewolves following some ulterior motives.

    Razil never expected Zhang to be fine with it. Unfortunately, not only was he fine with everything that happened, but he also supported the decision instead. As if that wasn''t bad enough, Lilith and As epted her invitation, despite him intentionally saying that he wasn''t going to punish Zhang just so he could anger them as well so that they never ept this offer.

    Unfortunately, nothing happened the way he expected it to, which brought him to a situation where he had no option but to stick to his words. Moreover, since Zhang wasn''t angry or leaving, he still had to return An to Zhang.

    Overall, he received no benefits today.

    " You should call your other friend down as well. You''re alling together, and you''ll all be under our strict watch." Razil nced at Yovanna, who was still sitting on the branch in the distance with her aim at them as if waiting to attack in case they tried something.

    She was their Archer to provide some support.

    As didn''t want Yovana toe with her inside since she wasn''t as strong as them. She couldn''t protect herself as well as they could if things went south. However, now that they had seen her, he couldn''t leave her behind either since that was just as risky.

    As gestured for Yovana toe down and join them.

    Yovana jumped down,nding on the ground before joining the group, still staying alert.

    One thing she couldn''t understand was how they were going to free her father now that all of them were going to be under strict scrutiny. Was the n already a failure? She decided to trust As and went with the n.

    Under the watchful eyes of the Werewolf, As and the others were escorted inside the Kingdom, surrounded from all sides.

    The General walked in the lead while Razil walked right beside As, keeping a close eye on him.

    ****

    The Kingdom of Wolves was known as the most secure kingdom in the entire world, being guarded by the best of the best.

    It was also the only ce where no Vampire ever attacked since it was a foolish thing even to attempt. Let alone any ordinary Vampire, even the Progenitors never managed to get inside the Kingdom.

    There were certainly battles and conflicts between the Vampires and the Werewolves, but despite that, the Kingdom had remained safe.

    Before this, As had only heard about the Kingdom of Wolves in legends. It was his first time entering the Kingdom. Everything was so new to him.

    The ce... It had an entirely different aura to it than the cities ruled by the Vampires.

    It was as if no one here needed to worry about offending anyone. The Kingdom had human citizens as well as Werewolves, but both sides lived as almost equal under the rule of Razil. There was so much harmony. On the contrary, the Kingdoms ruled by Vampires had humans as second-ss citizens, possibly because they were used as food by them.

    "I''m sure this isn''t your first time entering the Kingdom, so you must be aware of all the safety mechanisms we have in ce, so please don''t try to do something you shouldn''t," Razil reminded As as the group walked on the streets of the city.<novelnext></novelnext>

    The citizens of the Kingdom cleared a path of them, standing on the sides of the roads. They were also very confused. It was as if the entire Royal Army was out today to escort a small group of people. They couldn''t help but wonder who these special guests were, one of whom appeared to be covered in blood.

    "They aren''t bowing to you." Lancaster noticed the citizens standing still when with their King in presence which was strange. Shouldn''t they give respect by bowing to the King?

    He had be habitual of seeing citizens bowing to the King where he used to live, so it was all new.

    "Why would they bow to me?" Razil asked in response. "They are my citizens, not my ves."

    "Then again, it''s your first time in our Kingdom... Well, ignoring your infiltration attempt. So I''m sure you''ve never seen how our Kingdom works. If your Ancestor hadn''t done something so stupid, you could''ve grown up here."

    "That reminds me, who else from Vor''s lineage is alive other than you?"

    Lancaster''s eyes lowered. "I''m not sure. I don''t even know if my parents are alive or not. I''ve grown up an orphan, so I have no idea."

    "Hmm? One of us will never abandon their child. So if you grew up as an orphan, I suppose they are already dead. So you''re thest living descendant of Vor then. With your death, that lineage will forever end..." Razil stated.

    Even though he talked as if he was mentioning a fact with no ulterior motives, there was a strange shine in his eyes as he talked about the end of Lineage.

    "May I ask what you were doing near our Kingdom? Castiel woke up here, so that''s understandable, but what about you?"

    "He wasing back to the Kingdom," As chimed in. "At least that''s what he told me. He just awakened and found out about his real lineage. He wanted to go back to his roots and return to the Kingdom, which was his home. Along the way, he found me."

    As had made up most of the stories here. Just to protect Lancaster from having toe up with a lie, he did it himself.

    This way, he not only gave Lancaster a cover but also opened up future doors for him to live here amongst his people.

    "So you want to join the Kingdom again?" Razil asked. "Unfortunately, it''s impossible. Those who are banished once can never stay in the Kingdom. Even the ones from their lineages are banished forever. The only reason you''re allowed in for now is because it''s temporary. After Lilith is treated, you''ll have to leave with Castiel as well."

    "Also, next time you''re seen inside the Kingdom, you won''t be arrested like before. So don''t try that same trick again. You were luckyst time I didn''t kill you."

    Razil wasn''t even the least bit amodating to Lancaster. It was unclear if it was because of the banishing rule or just because he didn''t like Lancaster?

    "Aren''t you the King? You can change the rules easily." As believed it was not because of the rules. Razil was bluffing.

    "The Words of the previous kings arews that can''t be changed by the future kings. You have no idea how much I would''ve loved to ignore some words of theirs." Razil gazed at Zhang as if he was talking about him.

 Chapter 114 114: The Key

    The Kingdom of Wolves, one of the most prosperous Kingdoms, had many great doctors, especially the ones who worked for the Royals.

    The Royal Family''s doctor lived right in the Pce itself, but Razil decided against taking As to him. He wanted to keep As as far away from the Royal Pce during his short stay as he could since An was there.

    Instead of taking As to the pce, he took As to another physician who lived farthest from the Royal Pce.

    Moreover, his house was also much closer to their current location than the Royal Pce itself, which was another advantage.

    "This is the house." The Middle Aged General stopped before a house and knocked on it.

    As observed all the Wolves in his surroundings as everyone waited for the doors to open. The security was just too much. This ce was crowded, and everyone was keeping an eye on them. There didn''t appear to be any possibility of being able to get out of this ce without being seen, which made him wonder if he had wasted his time by epting this invitation.

    If they were so far from the Royal Pce, could they really even get close to An? It wasn''t just Razil who was keeping an eye on them after all.

    The door was opened by a middle-aged woman who grew stunned to see so many people before her house. It was as if every Royal was there. She couldn''t understand why. The Royals were never treated here since they had a physician of their own.

    "Is your husband inside?" The General inquired.

    Razil stood in the distance with his hands behind his back, shifting his gaze between Zhang and Castiel. He kept trying to think of ways to make sure An wasn''t taken from the Kingdom by Zhang.

    Zhang slid closer to Razil, bringing his lips closer to the man''s ears. "I''m not going to leave An behind, no matter what you do. You must keep your father''s words. I want An tomorrow."

    Razil red in response but couldn''t counter.

    "He is inside," the Woman answered regarding the avability of her husband.

    "Good. We have someone who needs treatment. She has bled a bit and needs some treatment." The General pointed at Lilith in the distance, who was still in As'' arms, seemingly distracted by something.

    ****

    Back at the Pce, the real Lilith had failed in opening the second door, no matter what she tried.

    Despite the failure, she didn''t return the body to the man right away. Now that she had an opportunity, she decided to take some precautions for the future. She used the opportunity to destroy all the Spells that were carved on the wall, using the sharp ws of the man, creating ws in the spell to make them ineffective in the future.

    Even if she couldn''t get in this time, she didn''t want to have the same trouble again when she was back in her body.

    The biggest problem was still the roof though as there were also formations there. Fortunately, that''s where the flight spell of Lilith came into effect, helping the man destroy the spells on the roof as well.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Only after she destroyed all the spells did Lilith make the man return. She made the man sit back in the middle of his formation before returning to her body while giving the man his own.

    The vines once again trapped the man, who was even weaker now. Since his consciousness was taken over by Lilith before being returned, his consciousness was already very fragmented, which affected him really badly, almost bringing him to a ck state as if he was heavily intoxicated.

    Fortunately, that also gave Lilith an opportunity. In this state, she was sure that the man had no idea where he was or what was happening. He wasn''t going to lie or hide anything if she asked.

    "Tell me how the second door can be opened? Where is the key that opens that door?"

    The nk man answered without realizing it."The key is with Lord Razil. Only that key can open the door."

    "Razil¡­ when I couldn''t find the key here, I had a feeling this was going to be the case. This certainly makes things moreplicated." Lilith rested her chin on her fingers as she lowered her head, losing herself in thoughts. "This means I''ll need to steal the key first if I want to get to An."

    "Where does he keep the key to the second door?" she asked. If the key was kept in the castle, it was possible for her to find it.

    "He wears the key around his neck." The man nkly stated, giving Lilith another bad news that she didn''t want to hear.

    If Razil had had the ring around his neck, that meant getting the ring back was near impossible. It was like inserting the hand in a wild tiger''s mouth and expecting toe out without even a scratch.

    *****

    Lilith''s clone gazed at the chest of Razil, getting the information about the key. She couldn''t see the key, but she also understood that it was probably because the ring was hidden inside the clothes.

    The question still remained. How could she get the ring back without creating too much conflict? If it was just Razil here, then her real self could''ve worked together with As to restrict him momentarily to get the ring back, but he wasn''t alone. Zhang was here as well and was no less than them.

    If her side had two people while the other had one, it was possible, but when both sides had two, it was much harder, especially since As wasn''t as strong as Castiel. In essence, he was also weaker than Razil, so it created even more problems.

    She wondered how she could get the ring from the man without being found out as she was taken inside the house by As. Every wolf stayed outside, surrounding the house and securing the perimeter. For as long as As was here, it was their responsibility to make sure that nothing happened here or that As didn''t leave without their knowledge.

    Lancaster and Yovana entered with Lilith and As, followed by Razil, his trusted general, and Zhang. They were like the three Guardians that didn''t leave them alone at all, even inside the house.

    The doctor greeted them with great respect. It was the first time Razil hade to him for someone''s treatment. He knew he couldn''t make a mistake since this was an opportunity for him to make an impression. If he yed his cards right, he could be a Royal Physician.

    He didn''t realize that he was in the middle of a really intense game where An was the prize.

 Chapter 115 115: Capable

    ****

    Lilithy on a in white bed. There was not a speck of blood on her body. Even her attire was different now. Since Lilith was a girl, the physician took his wife''s help in helping Lilith change and cleaned her wounds.

    The physician made Lilith drink some medicine to help her heal faster while also reducing the pain.

    As stayed right beside Lilith throughout the time. He also kept Lancaster and Yovana here with him, especially Yovana, since she had managed to hurt Zhang. As was sure Zhang wasn''t going to forget her. It was better for her to stay with him.

    Razil had made sure that the physician used a room that was in the middle of the house, nowhere close to a window, so no one could leave without creating significant damage to the house.

    If As wanted to leave the room without using the door, he could only do that by breaking the walls and leaving. But that was also going to create enough noise to alert everyone.

    The Second Strongest Werewolf in the entire Kingdom of Wolves was also inside the room with As, while Razil discussed something outside the room with Zhang.

    Zhang had also received some minor treatment for his arm, which was wounded because of Lilith''s arrow.

    "I didn''t expect you to be fine with theming inside." Razil let out, standing near a window, gazing at the city outside.

    "Why won''t I be fine? Without your help, it''s impossible to catch As. So there was no way to catch him after I lost Lilith. In any case, it doesn''t matter. In any case, I''m taking a Progenitor from this city that belongs to us for a hundred years, so it''s fine."

    "On the other hand, if you had sided with me, things could''ve been different. We could''ve caught Castiel, and I could''ve even agreed to let him stay with you for a hundred years. That we, we both could have a Progenitor as a prisoner for hundred years each at all times. s, you didn''t agree. As I said, it doesn''t matter anymore."

    "Also, why should I care if you invite them to your kingdom or your castle? This ce belongs to you. It''s not my home." Zhang smirked, hinting at subtle things. "If something goes wrong, it''ll be the life of your citizens on the line, not mine."

    "I''m only a guest here for one day. Tomorrow I''ll take An and leave. You enjoy your guests without me. But remember, after I leave, I won''t be able to help you. You know how strong Castiel is, right? Or all Progenitors, for that matter. You might be considered as strong as them, but only in a face-to-face battle."

    "But with Vampires, is this only a face-to-face battle? A Progenitor can kill millions of people while fighting you, and you won''t be able to stop them. Why else do you think your father asked for my father''s help to catch An? Then again, it''s none of my concern. Even if Castiel destroys your entire Kingdom after I leave, that won''t be on me. That''ll be on you and only you."

    Zhang stretched his arms before walking to the exit. "Enjoy the stay here. I''ll be going back to take a nice nap in the castle. I need to leave on a long journey tomorrow with An after all."

    Waving his hand, Zhang disappeared from sight, leaving a concerned Razil behind.

    He knew that Zhang wasn''t wrong entirely. Just because Castiel hadn''t done anything wrong didn''t mean he wasn''t capable of doing anything. That was also one of the reasons he decided to stay with Castiel all this time.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "You think I don''t know what he''s capable of? There''s a reason I''ve kept a massive force surrounding this house. It''s all a precaution against the worst," Razil muttered in a barely audible voice.

    Still, he was also having some second thoughts regarding this. Was his dignity really standing in his path to bing a great King? Just because Castiel didn''t do anything bad here, he stopped Zhang from fighting.

    "Maybe the world without progenitors would really be a better ce. But does that mean I can start a war for no reason at all?"

    He walked back to the room of Lilith and opened the door to nce at As, who was sitting calmly. It didn''t appear as if he had any ulterior motives. He didn''t look like he was trying to find ways to get out of here to harm the citizens.

    "Why would he even hurt the citizens? That''s also true. I didn''t hurt Lilith, and the misunderstanding is also gone. Maybe I''m really overthinking just because of our bias."

    ****

    "That stupid mutt."

    Even though Zhang seemed aloof in the presence of Razil, on the inside, he had never been as frustrated. Such a good opportunity was lost, all because Razil didn''t support him because of his ulterior motives.

    Not only did he not get any advantage, but instead, he only got hurt himself because of the Yovana''s arrows. If it were any other time, he would''ve destroyed Yovana for hurting him. Unfortunately, the time was different. Not only was he already hurt, but As''s presence and Razil''s refusal to side with him brought him to a corner where he didn''t have many options left.

    "Don''t worry, Razil. You might think you have everything in control, but you have no idea. The seed of doubt that I''ve nted in your head won''t take long to be a fully grown tree. Before I leave, you''lle to me yourself to ask me for help."

    "Castiel and Lilith... You two won''t get out of this ce alive. I promise you that."

    *****

    The real Lilith was still inside the Castle. She had just finished interrogating the man, who was still in a nk state of mind. With his help, she now had a better idea about the current situation of this Kingdom.

    ? After getting all the information she could, she killed the man, not leaving any trace behind. She also cleared all the blood marks, removing any sign of a battle even taking ce here.

    After making sure that she left no evidence about her arrival here, she closed the first door and locked it before keeping the key with her.

    Even though there was no evidence of a battle, it was evident that people were going to find out that something was wrong here if they arrived here since the two Guards weren''t going to be here as Lilith destroyed the bodies, leaving nothing behind of them.

 Chapter 116 116: Threat In Blood Council

    Lilith had also killed two more Werewolves above. Even without any evidence being present, just the sheer absence of them was going to be enough to arouse suspicions.

    Fortunately, Razil and most of the Wolves were keeping an eye on As. With so many people missing from the castle, missing two people wasn''t going to alert anyone, but that was only until they could keep Razil distracted.

    Unfortunately, their goal wasn''t to leave this ce unscathed. Instead, it was to get to An. And the only path to An was through the hallway, which could only bepletely unlocked with the help of the second key.

    Lilith left the underground basement, finally deciding to leave the castle since she had nothing to do here.

    Fortunately, leaving this ce was easier than getting inside, as the security was almost non-existent.

    Lilith wore a ck cloak to hide herself as she stepped out of the castle.

    "This aura? That idiot again? Well, it''s just my luck that he''sing straight to me when I..."

    Lilith had just left the castle when she sensed another familiar aura. She could feel Zhang getting closer. Generally, she would''ve been happy to be in this situation since Zhang was alone, and she could take him out to lower the number of enemies in the future.

    Unfortunately, she wasn''t in any condition to fight anymore. It wasn''t long ago when she sent her consciousness in someone''s head who had a powerful consciousness of their own. It took a lot of her own effort to control the body and use her spells in that body.

    Even though her control affected the man in a really bad way, almost destroying his consciousness, it wasn''t much better for her either.

    She was already very overwhelmed. She had also lost too much of her blood. In this condition, even she didn''t feel confident enough to face Zhang, especially since this wasn''t a battle she could afford to lose.

    In case she lost here, it was going to be evident that they had ulterior motives ining here. Moreover, Zhang could once again have a hostage to force As, this time the real one.

    Despite hating to give up this opportunity, she decided to ignore Zhang for now. She took a different path.

    Her clone was still with As, and she needed to switch ces with the clone before it disappeared. But entering the ce under the watchful eyes of everyone who guarded it was easier said than done.

    It took her barely twenty minutes before she reached the house of the doctor, which was like a warzone. Only Werewolves could be seen in this area, making sure there was no oversight. In fact, it could even be said that the house was even more secure than the Royal Castle itself.

    ****

    Far away from the Kingdom of Wolves, another meeting had started just now.

    A dark castle existed on top of a mountain so high that it appeared to be prating the clouds. The steep mountain was impossible to climb by any ordinary person. If one was to get to the top, they couldn''t use any carriage or any normal means.

    The massive castle which once used to be the residence of Ramiel was now used by his lineage as the Blood Council Base. Whenever there was a meeting between the strongest Vampires in the world, that meeting took ce in the castle itself.

    Even now, a meeting was taking ce between the core members of the Blood Council.

    "So your suggestion is that we go to war with the Werewolves." A hooded figure said in a grim tone.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "It seems you wasted our time by calling a meeting here. It was already decidedst time that we aren''t going to war over An. He isn''t our Lord. His life or death doesn''t affect us in the least, and you want us to risk the lives of our people for him?"

    "I think we are all in agreement when we say that it was a stupid suggestion. We see no benefit in it. The proposal is rejected."

    Despite the firm insistence of one of their members, most of the Blood Council was in agreement that this wasn''t a wise decision. Within five minutes of hearing the proposal, everyone rejected it.

    "And next time you waste our time by calling us here for no reason, I promise I will kill you with my own hands."

    All the Blood Council members stood up and turned to leave.

    Everyone left without even looking back once.

    Only one person was left behind, and it was none other than the one who called this meeting here.

    "These idiots. They don''t know how important this is. If only they knew, they would have agreed to attack in a heartbeat." The young man grimaced.

    Unfortunately, he couldn''t tell anyone his real motives. He couldn''t tell them that he wanted the key fragment to be a Progenitor himself. That was a secret he didn''t want anyone else to know. However, without knowing, the Blood Council members didn''t see any advantage of this proposal.

    No excuse worked in convincing them. After so many years of living in this world, most of the Blood Council members had stopped caring about most of the things in this world. There was no way they were going to care enough to save another Progenitor by risking their own.

    "Those bastards. Even though I expected their refusal, it was still disappointing. It looks like I have no other choice. I''ll have to take things in known hands if I want it."

    "Want what?" A creepy whisper came from behind.

    "You were listening?" The young man grimaced, recognizing who it was. Fortunately, he hadn''t spoken anything about the Key Fragment or his real goals.

    "Heh, others might not have noticed, but you think I won''t? You aren''t someone who cares about social justice or waging war to save a Vampire. For you to try so hard to convince us, it''s certainly not out of the good of your heart. So what''s your ulterior motive?"

    "It''s none of your concern."

    "Who knows, maybe it might be something of my concern. You know I might be able to convince the others, but only if you tell me the truth. Think about it. Either you get me in on whatever you''re nning, or you lose the help of everyone here. And who knows, Razil might also receive an anonymous letter talking about how you want to attack his Kingdom."

    "Are you threatening me?"

    "Trust me; you haven''t seen my threats yet." A cackle echoed in the dark hall. "Don''t worry. I''m not in any hurry. You can take your time beforeing to a decision."

    The mysterious figure disappeared into the darkness¡­

 Chapter 117 117: Anger Of The King

    Ramiun sat alone in the Blood Council Castle. Everyone left, even the mysterious person who had just issued him a subtle threat to let him know that she knew what he was nning.

    "Elisi is getting suspicious." The man stood up and walked back to the window of the castle, gazing outside. Through the window, he was able to see the Blood Council members leaving one after another. All of them seemed slightly upset that they had wasted their time bying here.

    The figure of the mysterious woman was also a part of the leaving group. As if sensing someone at the window, the woman gazed back at the window.

    Her lips curled into a smile.

    Ramiun turned his back on the woman. "No way in hell am I letting you know what I''m after."

    "I''ll handle things on my own. Do the worst you can."

    ****

    Not only did Lilith tell As everything about her being a clone and the reason behind it, but she also talked about how she infiltrated the Castle and how she needed a key to be able to reach An. Unfortunately, that key was in the grasp of Razil, which she also told As.

    Fortunately, the effect of Zhang''s spell on her was over by now, which allowed her to cast some spells of her own. She casted a small spell for some privacy, which was hard to detect. That spell made sure no one heard what they were discussing amongst themselves, at long as they didn''t talk out loud.

    It was as if the area around them was sealed to some extent to give them the privacy they needed. This was exactly what Lilith was waiting for. That''s why she hadn''t informed As before on the battlefield. She wanted to have some form of protection from being overhead, and it came at the right time.

    "And that''s why we would need to get the key from Razil without him finding out, and we need to do it today if possible. Because we don''t have much time. If he goes to that basement and finds the guards missing, it won''t take him long to understand what happened here."

    "Taking the key from around his neck without him finding out." As didn''t believe that was even possible.

    Firstly, Razil was already wary of them. He wasn''t going to allow them to get close enough to him. And even if he did, he was going to keep a firm eye on them. And even if they somehow got close enough to him without attracting enough attention, the real act of theft was the toughest part. It was like a pendant, after all.

    "Is there a spell you can use to take the key without alerting him?" he asked. "Physically, it isn''t possible, but with the help of a little magic, it shouldn''t be hard."

    Lilith shook her head. "The key is under protection. It seems when the key was made, they already took enough precautions to make sure that it couldn''t be stolen with the help of spells. I''ve already tried to do it, but it doesn''t work. There''s some kind of obstruction. We need to steal the key physically."

    "It''s easier said than done. Do you have any ns?"

    Lilith shook her head. "Not at the moment, but there''s one more problem that I didn''t tell you about yet."

    "What problem?"

    "This clone body of mine... It is going to disappear soon. The spell isn''t going tost long now. You need to create an opening for the real me to switch with this clone before this one disappears."

    "Great. Not only do I need to steal a ring from Razil''s neck, but I also need to distract the entire army around me, all because you decided to go alone without informing me."

    "It''s not the time to throw me at each other." Lilith rolled her eyes. "If we start doing that, you''ll be getting most of the me."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "What did I do?"

    "If you hadn''t arrived so openly and instead waited for me where I left you, we wouldn''t be surrounded by the Wolves here, would we? I would''ve been able to get out as easily as I got in. At the same time, I could''ve also killed Zhang before leaving. No one would have known we were even here."

    "Wouldn''t that be possible if you had told me what you were going to do instead of taking off on your own? How was I supposed to know you weren''t kidnapped or hurt?" As grimaced. "What I did is also on you, not on me."

    "If I had told you, would you let me go alone?" Lilith asked, silencing As.

    As knew she was right in this. There was no way he was going to let her go alone, and he also had a good reason for it. He still believed Lilith''s n was stupid. Going alone was the worst thing she could do. It was short-sighted. She relied a lot on herself in taking this risk and none on others.

    "Lilith, I told you before. This is something that was my decision. I needed to do this. It was my promise. And I am fully capable of fulfilling this promise without you risking yourself."

    "This isn''t just about you anymore, As. This is about all of us now, including me. Because of the involvement of the Blood Council and their goal, this isn''t just a matter of small things like helping keep up a promise. It''s about way more than you can imagine, including the future."

    "That''s why it became a matter of my concern as well."

    "And you thought I wasn''t worth taking along? Or I was going to slow you down?"

    "That''s not what I meant. I was-"

    "No, that''s exactly what you meant. How dare you talk to me like that after all I did for you?!"

    As stopped keeping his voice down as if he was really upset now.

    "I didn''t-"

    "Enough of your exnation! You know what, screw you? I''ve had enough of you!" Frustrated, As stood up. "I need some alone time. I don''t want to be in your presence!"

    He rushed to the door, seemingly heartbroken.

    "Where do you think you''re going?" The Middle Aged General stopped before As, stopping him while also wondering what this lover''s quarrel was. Weren''t these two close? Why were they fighting now?

    "Step aside. I''m not in the mood right now!" As grimly stated. "I don''t want to even see her face right now."

    While speaking, he pushed his way out.

    "He..." Lilith couldn''t believe it. How could As get so angry just from this? She truly felt bad. He really misunderstood him.

    However, she noticed something as As was leaving. As brought his hand behind him, showing her a thumbs up to her.

 Chapter 118 118: You Decide

    ''This guy... Don''t tell me this is his attempt at a distraction?''

    Seeing the thumbs up, Lilith finally felt somewhat calm. This guy... He really wasn''t angry at her. Well, maybe he was angry but wasn''t as angry as he pretended to be now.

    For now, he was only acting to distract the others. Lilith wanted distraction so her real self could get inside, and that''s what he was going to give her.

    As barged out of the room. He made sure to keep his voice high so everyone in this ce could hear how angry he was.

    "That idiot! After all, I did for her; she thinks she can talk to me like that? She thinks she can decide what I can and what I can''t do? She has forgotten her ce!"

    His loudness really did the work, attracting everyone''s attention.

    Since everyone was truly distracted by him, no one was inside the room with Lilith. No one except Yovana and Lancaster.

    They were also about to rush out after As, taking his act seriously, but Lilith informed them what it was about at the right time.

    "Lancaster, keep an eye on the entrance and make sure to alert me if anyonees. Also, try to dy them as much as possible!"

    Lilith got down from the bed, biting her thumb. Using her blood, she started making a formation circle right on the floor.

    In another alley, not too far from this ce, the real Lilith was also doing the same thing. She created an exact replica of the formation circle.

    The formation circle was simr to what she had created before when bringing forth her clone. There were only some minor differences in this one which were hard to even notice at first nce.

    Lancaster stood outside the room, keeping an eye on the hallway. He asionally kept ncing inside the room to see what Lilith was doing.

    Only Yovana knew what this spell was about. "That spell, I recognize it. It was in your Grimoire. So that''s what it''s about."

    "Don''t distract me. My head is already very fragile right now," Lilith responded sharply. Controlling this clone was already a hassle, especially after her mind was weak from controlling a wolf. It was already a struggle what she was doing now. She didn''t want more distraction as that could make her mess up the spell.

    *****

    "What is happening here?" Razil approached As, hearing themotion.

    "I don''t know. He suddenly got angry at Lilith over something, and since then, he''s been like that," the middle-aged general exined to the best of his abilities.

    Even he himself found this whole thing confusing.

    Razil noticed As, seemingly trying to leave this ce in anger. The others tried to calm him and stop him.

    Even though Razil hadn''t known As personally, he understood what kind of person As was. Someone who had lived for so long couldn''t be someone who would get angry out of nowhere. It wasn''t normal.

    He also noticed that Lilith wasn''t here with As, trying to calm him down. The equation of the two wasn''t something that could break so easily. Not only Lilith, but no one from As'' team was here.

    "Who is with Lilith?" Razil inquired.

    "That..." The General gazed back. "No one is there with her. But she is still in her room. To leave, she''ll have to go through this ce."

    Razil pped his forehead. "You idiot, did you forget who she is? Go back and see if she''s still there. I''ll handle things here!"<novelnext></novelnext>

    After being chided, the man realized what a mistake he hadmitted. Was this really a part of the n used to fool them? Was this a distraction he fell for?"

    *****

    "The man who was here ising back. You should hurry up. I''ll try to dy him!" Lancaster closed the door behind him before leaving.

    "How is he now?"

    Lancaster intentionally stood in the middle of the man''s path, blocking him. "Has he calmed down?"

    "Clear my path!" The man pushed Lancaster asked before continuing ahead.

    Lancaster didn''t give in, standing before him again. "Why are you talking to me like that? I just asked you a question. Will you die if you answer me?"

    The man frowned. The more Lancaster tried to dy him, the more he realized that something was wrong.

    He grabbed Lancaster by his throat. "Do you really want to die? I won''t ask again. If you want to see how your friend is doing, you better go check yourself."

    He tossed Lancaster behind. Lancaster once again tried to do something, but there was no time left. The man was already at the door.

    He pushed the door. Unfortunately, the door didn''t open. It was as if the door was closed from inside.

    Thud~

    The man used his entire brute force to kick the door open.

    ****

    "Castiel, may I ask why you''re creating amotion here? If it''s about a distraction, I must tell you that it''s not working. My men are already back to Lilith. So you can stop the act now."

    Razil tapped the shoulder of As.

    "Distraction? I would distract anyone for that idiot? Do you even have any idea what she said to me?"

    "I don''t. Why don''t you tell me? What did she say?" Razil smiled. "Did she say that she needed time to cast a spell to escape? Or did she say that you needed to keep us busy? What exactly did she say?"

    As squinted his eyes, ncing back at the man. "If you''re implying that I need to use distraction for us to get out of here, you clearly don''t know me. If I want, even gods can''t stop me from leaving."

    Razil simply smiled. "Maybe, or maybe now. Times are different now. You''re not as strong as you used to be, and even I can see that. It was evident the moment you shed with Zhang. It''s quite possibly because you slept for so long and just woke up, but that doesn''t change anything."

    "Am I right? Is that what Lilith said to make you angry? Did she rightfully call you weak for not killing Zhang right away? If that''s what she said, I don''t think you should be angry. It''s the truth after all."

    "Are you sure about that theory of yours?" As also didn''t show weakness as he straightened up. "You can test it if you want. I''m sure you can afford to test. But your friends here... They might not be able to afford this."

    "Is that a threat?"

    "Since you''re so perceptive, why don''t you decide what it actually was?"

 Chapter 119 119: Scheme

    The door was kicked open, and the General barged inside the room.

    "She isn''t here!" he eximed, finding the bed empty. Lilith wasn''t where she was supposed to be.

    "Where did she go!" The man red at Yovana, who was still sitting on the chair, resting one leg above the other. The man was sure that Lilith had escaped! This was certainly a scheme!

    "Hmm? Who is where?" A calm voice came from under the bed as Lilith rolled out from under it.

    "You are here? What were you doing under the bed?" The man frowned, stepping closer.

    "I had dropped something. I was getting it back. Is it a problem?" Lilith answered as she stood up, patting her clothes.

    Lancaster was also there by now. He noticed Lilith was present there. And no formation circle was in sight. However, he also noticed that the bed wasn''t where it was supposed to be. It was a little to the left, covering the ce where Lilith had carved the formation Circle.

    ''She covered the circle with the bed. Good. It seems he hasn''t noticed the movement of the bed.''

    Even though the General hadn''t noticed the movement of the bed, he was still suspicious of Lilith. He didn''t buy her story about looking for something under the bed.

    He stepped closer to the bed, grabbing the bed by the handle. Instead of bending to look under the bed, he raised the entire bed. For him, the bed was very light. It didn''t take much effort for him to pick up the bed.

    The middle-aged man was taken aback as he picked up the bed. "There is... Nothing."

    He couldn''t see anything under the bed. There was not even a Single marking of a spell there.

    ''So she cleared the spell. That must be why she was under the bed.'' Lancaster was pleased that things turned out well. There was nothing to worry about here.

    He folded his arms, standing with the support of the wall. "Is there something you''re looking for? You seemed really eager toe here."

    "Shut up!" The man snapped in return. "Don''t talk to me unless I''m talking to you!"

    Lancaster shrugged casually. "I''ll go check on As to see if he''s fine."

    ****

    "Well, I''m sure you won''t like it if I take that as a threat. You''re a guest here for now, so you better stay like a guest." Razil''s hands remained behind his back throughout the conversation as if he was an aloof expert.

    For now, even As stopped acting hyper, seemingly starting to get somewhat calm. Since Razil had already sent people to Lilith, there was no need to pretend. He hoped he managed to get Lilith enough time with this distraction.

    "Maybe you were right after all. I shouldn''t get so angry with Lilith. She has been with me for so long, but even she is allowed to make some mistakes."

    Razil smirked but didn''t say anything. "You know Castiel. You''re different from what I read about you. You were portrayed as an invincible Warlock who never took the help of tricks for his advantage, even if it could make things easier for him. But the tales were certainly tall."

    "Come, let''s see how Lilith is doing." He started walking toward Lilith''s room. Since his General hadn''te running to him, that meant Lilith was still in her room for now.

    The two walked back to Lilith''s room, finding her resting on the bed. Along the way, Lancaster also met up with As, gesturing to him that everything was fine.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Is everything fine?" Razil nced at his men.

    "Everything is fine."

    ? Razil closed in on Lilith, observing her carefully. He ced his hand on Lilith''s forehead, only to have his hand pped away by her.

    "What do you think you''re doing?"

    "I''m doing nothing. Just fascinated about you. All your wounds are gone as if they were never there. Funny, isn''t it? It makes one wonder."

    Razil wasn''t a fool to not notice the difference between the clone who had wounds on her body and Lilith, who appeared to be perfectly fine. The only thing he didn''t know was that the old Lilith was a clone.

    "It seems you used your spell to heal yourself." That was the only theory he coulde up with.

    Lilith also didn''t correct him, leaving him with that misconception.

    "Anyhow, since you''re better, I guess we are done with your treatment here. You should be able to get going now."

    The only reason he allowed Lilith and As to enter his castle was for her treatment since she got hurt here, but now that she was healed, there was no reason for her to stay here.

    Moreover, Zhang had already apologized to them, even if it was with ulterior motives, and As had epted that apology. So there was really no reason for As to stay here anymore.

    "Is there any objection?" he turned around, asking As.

    "No objection." As genuinely had no excuse left. He couldn''t just ask them to let him stay here to roam the city since there was no way it was going to be allowed. Moreover, he could see an advantage to leaving this ce.

    Now that he had been invited to the city once, he could enter this ce once again without needing to be invited.

    Lilith also begrudgingly epted. Under this much security, they couldn''t do anything at all. If that left and returned alone, then they could at least have the element of surprise.

    She could see a glimpse of the key around the neck of Razil, but it was actually impossible to get it. Just his attire itself was something that made it impossible to get to the key.

    ording to her, there was only one time where she could get the key without letting him find out, and that was when he was sleeping. And he definitely wasn''t going to sleep as long as they were here.

    No one went against As'' decision in his team, including Lancaster and Yovana.Lancaster wanted toe to this city to see what his home used to be like, but Razil had made it clear that there was no ce for him inside this city. He also had a feeling that if he stayed here, he was going to be killed.

    Despite being the King of this Kingdom, Razil personally escorted As and his friends out of the city.

    Razil stood at the entrance of his kingdom, watching As leave.

    He yelled, making sure As heard it. "Castiel, Next time you want toe to the city, be sure not to sneak inside. Because next time, we won''t be as nice as we were this time."

    "Don''t worry. Next time we arrive, I''ll make sure you know." As waved his hand without ncing back.

 Chapter 120 120: New Destination

    Even though Razil sent As away, he didn''t rx. He told his men to intensify the security of the City to make sure no one could get inside without them knowing.

    Not only that, he even sent two of his Werewolves to sneakily keep an eye on As to make sure they actually go away and not turn back on the way.

    As and others found the carriage, which was waiting on the edge of the road with the carriage driver.

    "As, two wolves, are following us," Lilith warned As as she opened the carriage.

    "Don''t worry. I''ve known for a long time. It doesn''t matter. We are actually leaving this ce."

    "We are really leaving?"

    "Of course. We won''t being back to the Kingdom. We are done here."

    "What? What about An? How will we get to him if we don''te back?"

    "We won''t get to him. We will get to us." As smiled as he made Lilith and others enter the carriage before himself going inside after telling the driver where to take them.

    Just as he had said before, he actually told the Driver to leave.

    The carriage started moving and left the ce.

    Despite the carriage leaving, the Wolves didn''t leave. They were instructed to follow the carriage for over a hundred kilometers beforeing back.

    "What did you mean he wille to us?" Lilith still didn''t understand what As implied. What did he mean when he said An was going toe to him?

    "Look, we both know that it''s impossible to get the Key from Razil. Trying itself is foolish for now. So it''s better we don''t even try when we have a better option."

    "What better option?"

    As folded his arms as a smile spread across his lips. "Yovana, tell Lilith what you told me along the way."

    "What did you tell him?" Lilith shifted her focus to Yovana, wondering what made As so happy.

    As gazed out the window, already knowing what Yovana was going to say.

    "When I had left your room back in the physician''s house, I ended up hearing Razil''s conversation with the Wizard."

    "You mean with Zhang? What conversation?"

    "From what I managed to understand, Lord An is going to be transferred tomorrow. His custody is to be given to Zhang, who will take him, possibly to the Franc n."

    "An''s custody being given to Zhang?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    "That''s right." As''s fingers tapped the wooden carriage. "If we want to take An, instead of taking them from the Kingdom of Wolves, it''ll be much easier to take him from the Franc n. I''m sure you know the location of the Franc n. Don''t you?"

    "That''s why we don''t need to go back to the Kingdom of Wolves. Instead, we just need to know the direction that Zhang will take to set a trap for him. Instead of fighting an army, it''s much easier to take down a Warlord. Moreover, I also have some personal scores to settle with him."

    "It doesn''t work like that." Lilith shook her head. "If he is taking An with him, I don''t think he will use normal routes of Travel. He will use a Portal Spell to teleport back to his n. And that is if he is actually given the custody of An."

    "I''m sure Razil would notice that I tried to steal An from his castle. There''s no way he won''t notice it when he goes to get An. And if he finds out, he would also know that it''s not safe to hand over the custody to Zhang in fear of us taking An," she continued.

    "I don''t think that would be the case," Yovana chimed in. "Even if Razil knows about what he attempted to do, he still can''t keep Lord An. Zhang talked about some kind of agreement, and he looked really determined to take An with him. That''s why he didn''t storm off even if Razil went against him on the battlefield."

    "Zhang isn''t going to leave Lord An in the Kingdom of Wolves. As far as our attempt is concerned, I don''t think it will scare an arrogant person like Zhang. Instead, he would ask for the custody even more."

    "And why would he do that?" Lilith''s brows furrowed.

    "Because he would be worried. This time, you were able to get so close to Lord An. That would make him understand that we know where Lord An is kept and how to get to him. He would insist on taking Lord An with him, thinking we won''t know that he has him."

    "If I''m not wrong, Lord An will be taken by Zhang, and no matter what Razil says, nothing will matter," Yovana stated.

    Since she was the only one who heard the conversation between the two, she had a better idea of where those two stood on the issue.

    "Moreover, Zhang would be worried that we would attack the Kingdom of Wolves again to take An. He doesn''t believe that Razil can stop Lord Castiel alone, and he openly says it. That''s why he would want to change the location, so the new location was unknown to us."

    "I also agree with Yovana." As nodded. "I haven''t interacted with Zhang much, but from what I saw, he isn''t someone who is going to listen to Razil. That''s why we need to get to the next destination and keep things ready."

    "Moreover, that is better for us as well. Even if Blood Council attacks the Kingdom of Wolves, they won''t find An there. We can have an upper edge in this situation."

    "I think what they say sounds like a fair assessment." Lancaster was also satisfied with the assumptions, finding them highly likely.

    Even Lilith couldn''t deny that this was the case either. Every theory of Yovana was right on the mark, especially about the personality of Zhang. Moreover, it was only now that she understood why Zhang apologized to As so easily instead of storming off in anger after Razil''s refusal! So he was after An.

    "Fine. We would go to the Franc n. I also have some old scores to settle with them as well."

    ****

    The two Werewolves followed As'' carriage for a really long time, covering over a hundred kilometers. It didn''t appear as if the carriage was going to stop or return.

    After making sure, they returned back to the Kingdom. They went straight to Razil in the castle, informing them of what they saw.

    "That''s good. Though even if they go farther, they can still return anytime. It''s better to stay wary. You did good. Go and join the others in patrolling."

 Chapter 121 121: Mysterious Dream

    Under the dark sky, a dark carriage moved, basking under the moonlight. On the doors of the Carriage, the insignia of the Carlisle n was engraved.

    Unfortunately, no one recognized that insignia in this part of the world. The Carlisle n had no influence in this ce. In any case, the Carlisle n had been wiped from the face of this earth forever.

    Lancaster sat near the window, gazing at the distant moon.

    "It''s going to be a full moon soon. I hope the second transformation won''t be as painful."

    He nced at As, who was lying on the seat with his head resting on Lilith''sp. His eyes were closed as he peacefully slept.

    Lilith was also asleep even though she was sitting. It hadn''t been long since she fell asleep.

    Only Yovana and Lancaster were up on this long journey.

    "I don''t think you need to worry about your second transformation. It''s usually much milder. You should be able to control yourself to some extent. Moreover, Lord Castiel is here, so he could also keep you down."

    The ce was so silent that even if Lancaster had spoken in a low voice, talking to himself, Yovana was able to hear him.

    "Why aren''t you sleeping like them? Both of us don''t need to stay up to keep an eye. You can also rest. It''s a long journey."

    "I can''t seem to fall asleep." Yovana rested her head on the window.

    "Excited about being able to meet your father again?"

    "Yeah. It''s been a century since I saw him. I can''t believe that he will finally be free."

    "I can understand what you''re feeling. If I were going to meet my father as well, I would be just as excited, if not more."

    He had never seen his birth father and mother. The family he thought to be his family wasn''t his real family. And they weren''t alive either. But he didn''t know about his real family if they were alive or not. ording to Razil''s words, the chances of them being alive were close to none, yet he didn''t leave hope.

    He hoped to meet them again in the future. As for how or where, he didn''t know. He just wished that it was going to be a happy reunion.

    ****

    "You''re still alive, huh. Not bad."

    "Who? Who is speaking?"

    As went to sleep inside the carriage, only to wake up in the strange surroundings.

    He could only hear a strange voice yet couldn''t see anyone. There was a feeling inside him that he had listened to that voice help, but he couldn''t remember. It was a really strong feeling inside his heart, as if the voice was really important.

    "Who is speaking? Who are you?"

    "The mark is already half gone. What a waste. And it''s only been a few weeks..."

    "At this rate, you won''tst long. It seems I expected too much from you.''

    As turned all around, but he couldn''t see anyone. It was as if he was all alone here. "Instead of looking at me, you should look at yourself. Do you even know what you want to do? What is your goal? When you came to mest, you had a goal. But now, you''re aimless."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I''m not aimless! I have a goal! It is to stop the Blood Council."

    "From getting the Key Fragment?" A mocking tone could be sensed in the voice.

    "It''s not your goal. Is it? It''s someone else''s goal that you''ve confused with your own goal, isn''t it?"

    "What do you mean?"

    "Why does it matter to you if anyone gets the key Fragment? How does it personally affect you? It''s the goal of Lilith to stop it from happening, and you''ve made it your goal, but is it really your goal? It''s not. You have no goal. You''re just going with the flow, wasting the time you have. It''s disappointing."

    "To think I''ve had hopes from you..."

    "What goal should I have then? I achieved what I wanted, and now I''m using this body to help the person closest to me. The time I have is borrowed from Castiel, and I want to use it for him and his supporters."

    "If he wanted that, can''t hee back to his own body? Why would he let you have the body?"

    "You''re saying I shouldn''t help Lilith save An? I shouldn''t stop the Blood Council? I should let more Progenitors be made? I should let the world have more Vampires that can make it a hell?"

    The mysterious voice didn''t reply right away. Instead, there was a moment of pause.

    "Is that your takeaway from what I said?"

    "Isn''t that what you said? That I shouldn''t do it?"

    "Hmm. Maybe, or maybe not. I''ll let you decide what I said. You can either go with the flow, or you can create the flow with what you have. You still have time... Time to change the world. Don''t waste it because the time won''te back."

    "Look inside your heart... See what you want to do. See what you truly want... You don''t have to be a saint. You aren''t Castiel... I couldn''t save the ones I cared for, but you have a chance... Don''t waste it... I''m only telling this to you for your sake... Don''t waste this opportunity..."

    As soon as the voice finished speaking, the dream shattered. As''s eyes opened, finding himself still lying on thep of Lilith.

    From the start of the dream to the end, he hadn''t seen the person he was talking to, but the words... There was just something behind those words. It didn''t appear like a dream that was worthless.

    "Decide what I truly want...? I don''t have to be a saint...? What did that mean?"

    He wondered if it was his inner voice or was it something more?

    "My Goals..."

    After a long time, As let out a sigh as he sat up.

    Was this truly not his goal? Was he truly wasting his time with An? That didn''t seem to be the case. It didn''t appear as if the voice was asking him to stop what he was doing. Instead, it was asking him to find his own goals as well.

    He knew he didn''t have much time. He had made peace with that, but this small conversation with the voice made him realize that there was something he was missing.

    ''He said couldn''t save the ones he cared for, but I have an opportunity... An opportunity to save the ones I care for? Save who? Lilith is already safe. So are others. Then who else? The only other person I cared for was..."

    "Could it be...?"

 Chapter 122 122: Opportunity

    ''Is that even possible? My goal? My real goal was to save Mise, which I failed to do. I changed my goals to at least giving her a proper burial but was that enough? My promise to her was to protect her, not to bury her.''

    ''Is there really a way to save her now? A way to bring her back from death? My goal? Bringing Mise back? But is that even possible? Death is irreversible. And...''

    ''Wait... Key Fragment! Don''t tell me that''s what I was missing! If instead of stopping the Blood Council as Lilith wants, I get all four keys, I can enter that ce! A Vampire is an undead! That means a Progenitor is an undead as well! Life and Death doesn''t affect the undead, for the most part, especially the Progenitors!''

    ''It I take Mise to that ce, and if it''s sessful, she might return... Return as a Progenitor!''

    He didn''t know if it was truly possible to bring Mise back like that, but if there was a way, this was it! He needed to get the key Fragments for himself and do what the Blood Council wanted to do but to Mise.

    If he could turn her into a Progenitor, not only was she going to live, but she was going to have an eternal life as well.

    He didn''t have an eternity to live, but he could give her that eternity before dying. He could help her!

    There was only one person who could know if this was going to work or not, and that person was Lilith. Unfortunately, she appeared to be sleeping for now, and he decided against waking her up for now.

    Both Lancaster and Yovana were looking out the window from different sides, none realizing that As was up.

    "You two can sleep now. I''ll be up."

    "Hmm? You''re already up. Didn''t you just fall asleep?" Lancaster nced back.

    "I''ve had enough sleep. You two can sleep now."

    ****

    After two hours, Lancaster and Yovana finally fell asleep. As for As, he didn''t stay inside the Carriage; instead, he opened the door and climbed on top of the carriage.

    He sat on top of the carriage, facing the cold yet gentle winds which brushed against his skin.

    It had been a long time since he had been this happy. He finally had the hope of being able to bring Mise back. Even though he didn''t know if it could seed or not, it was better than having no hope. He was really optimistic.

    His hands tested under his head as heid on top of the moving carriage, staring straight at the moon.

    "My goal... My aim... I don''t know who you were, but you were right. I was lost. I was wasting an opportunity. Thank you."

    ****

    A new day arrived, and it was finally the time for An''s custody to be given to Zhang, who had been staying in the pce.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Razil and An walked together to the underground basement where the entrance of the secret chamber was. It was the first time Razil had arrived here since he had bluffed about killing An before him. He didn''t even know what happened here after he had left.

    As soon as he arrived here, he realized that many things were wrong here. The two Guards he always kept here were missing, and there was no sign of battle taking ce here.

    "I sense some spell aura here," Zhangmented. "I know you don''t have any Witches working under you. That leaves only one person who could''ve arrived here."

    "Lilith!" Razil eximed. "But how could she? Wasn''t she with you and then under my custody? I didn''t leave her alone for even a moment. How could she arrive here without being caught."

    "Who knows. That girl is quite talented. As I said, you should''ve let me kill them when I had the chance. Who knows what she did here. I''m telling you, if An is missing, you and I are going to have a problem."

    "There is no way they could''ve reached An. Even if Lilith was here, it was probably just an attempt. They can''t go farther without the key I hold. And it''s been with me all this time. It seems that they attempted but failed."

    "But I don''t believe they will give up. They will try to get him back again. I think it''s not the right time to shift An to your n. Unlike this ce, your n is less secure, and now that Castiel is after him, it''s better I keep him. Only I can keep Castiel at bay."

    It was just as Lilith had assumed. Razil tried to use this opportunity to keep An here, but then again, Zhang didn''t back off either.

    "They know where you keep An. And they probably also know what they need to enter next time. This ce is less safe now. If I''m gone, they cane here, kill you and take the key when you''re sleeping, and you won''t be able to stop Lilith."

    " It''s too risky to leave An here. That makes it even better than we are shifting him. Even if theye here next time to find An, they won''t find him. It''s much safer with me."

    The entire conversation went just like it was expected. Even though Razil tried to back off the deal by talking about the risks, Zhang didn''t fall for it. Instead, he became even more stubborn, leaving no chance for Razil to refuse.

    In the end, Razil could only agree.

    Since he didn''t have the key for the first door that was kept with the guards, he brought a spare key that was kept by him for a simr situation. For the first door, two keys were made, while the second door only had one key, which was kept by him, close to his heart.

    He brought Zhang with him, opening the first door.

    "So she passed the first door and even managed to destroy the spell formations. I must say I''m impressed. She destroyed the formations that were made to prevent this. I wonder how she achieved it. How did she even get inside without being killed?"

    " The formations should''ve killed her if she stepped foot here. Unless... Unless she didn''te here in the first ce but sent someone else to destroy these formations. Only a wolf can enter this ce without being hurt."

    "What are you implying? Are you saying my men worked for her in fear of their life? Nonsense. They will die, but they won''t work for her."

    "I''m not saying they worked for her in fear of their life. I''m just curious why they did it because there''s no question that they were definitely the ones who did it."

 Chapter 123 123: Close

    "I''m not ming your people. I''m just stating facts. Only Wolves can pass through this corridor. Even I couldn''t have passed through it. So it''s evident that one of your men destroyed the protection formations. That is why I''m saying that I need to take An with me even more."

    "If Lilith can make your men do her bidding, that means she can do much more in this ce in the future."

    The Werewolf King had no counter to that statement. It was true that only a wolf could''ve passed through this ce. Moreover, that wolf could only be from their Lineage, so even Lancaster couldn''t do it for him to me him.

    This attack in the Castle had only worked to weaken his position in this exchange, raising questions about the abilities of the Wolves on being able to resist Lilith and her control.

    If it wasn''t the case, Razil could''ve at least tried something more, but this left no room.

    He had to hand over An even more now.

    He walked inside the hallway. This time, Zhang also walked inside. Since the formations were gone, even he could apany Razil.

    Razil opened the second door, bringing out the second key from around his neck. After the door unlocked, Razil wore the key again before he pushed the massive doors open.

    ****

    "As?" Lilith called out after finding As to be missing from the carriage. Her voice woke up Yovana and Lancaster as well.

    "Yeah?" As responded from the top of the carriage, still lying rxed.

    "Are you on top?"

    "Yeah, the wind is quite good here. Did you need something?"

    Even though As wanted to ask Lilith about the possibility of his sister''s return, he dyed that question forter. He knew it was not a good idea to talk about this before Yovana and Lancaster since it talked about bringing the dead back to life.

    At the same time, he just didn''t ask because of himself as well. He didn''t want to ask, only to have his hopes crushed right away in case this wasn''t possible, ording to her. Even if Lilith said no, he was still going to attempt it, so her yes or no wasn''t going to change anything, but if he didn''t ask, at least he could still have some hopes.

    Lilith also flew out of the carriage,nding right beside As. Her long hair waved with the wind, even covering her face.

    "The wind is certainly good," Lilithmented.

    After getting a response from As and making sure he was still here, Lancaster went to sleep again, still being half sleepy. Since Lilith and As were up already, it was better for them to be resting.

    Moreover, with Lilith outside, he could have more space to sleep. He lied down on the seat, getting more room.

    "I told you it was good here."

    As was still lying on the roof of the carriage with one of his legs resting above the other. "The view is also great."

    On one side, there were the winds that were cold but not too cold; on the other side, there was the view of the beautiful moon in the sky.

    "You know, I can''t tell you how many times I''ve seen such a view when I was little. I used to sneak to the roof at night after everyone slept and just lie like this, staring at the moon. The only person who could find me there was Mise, who kept mepany."

    The simr view made As remember his childhood days.

    "I still remember she used to use my hand as a pillow when weid on the roof, watching the moon. By the time we went back, my hand used to go numb."

    "Wouldn''t it be ufortable to use a hand as a pillow?" Lilith inquired.

    "It''s better than keeping your head on the floor at least," As responded. "Then again, she didn''tin. There were times when I brought real pillows for her, but she always refused, saying she liked my hand more."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Lilith gazed at As in confusion, wondering if it was reallyfortable. She had never tried something like this.

    "Spread your hand like you used to do."

    "Hmm? Why?"

    "Just do it."

    As shrugged as he did what he was asked. He raised his hand.

    Lilith grabbed his arm and used it as a pillow, resting her head on his arms. Her body stuck close to her as Lilithid beside him with his arm pillow.

    "This really isn''t half bad," Lilith softly stated in a barely audible voice.

    "Did you say something?" As turned his head to Lilith, only to be surprised at how close she was.

    Her face was merely inches away from his face.

    "Nothing," Lilith answered, gazing back at him. Her face was so close to him that As felt her warm breath as she spoke.

    From this close, As could also see the finer details of Lilith''s face, including her beautiful eyes. They looked even better from close.

    "What are you looking at me like that?" Lilith asked softly.

    "Nothing." As turned his face back to the moon in the sky, not speaking anything.

    Lilith also did the same.

    "Your eyes are really beautiful." After a long time, Asplimented, surprising Lilith.

    "Are they really?" Lilith inquired. "Or are you just saying?"

    "They really are beautiful," As repeated. "Simr to the moon, bright and full of innocence."

    Lilith couldn''t help but smile at thepliment. "Thank you. You seem to be in a good mood today."

    "I am. Something good happened today," As answered. There was nothing better for him than the opportunity of having Mise back. He hadn''t been this happy in a really long time. Even when he killed Carlisle with his own hands, he wasn''t as happy as he was now.

    "May I ask what''s the reason?"

    "I can''t tell you yet. I don''t think I''m ready, but when I am, you''ll be the first one I tell."

    "Hmm? Are you really keeping a secret from me? Now it makes me even more curious. Just what is this secret?"

    "How long will it take before we reach our destination?"Instead of answering, As asked a question himself to change the topic.

    His distraction also worked for now as Lilith answered, "It should take us two weeks. The Franc n isn''t too far from the Kingdom of Wolves."

    "By the time we get there, An would already be there. But that ce will also have Vampire Warding Formations and other safety measures. It should be easier to take over that npared to taking over the Kingdom of Wolves, but even it won''t be without its problems."

 Chapter 124 124: Only Option

    Razil handed over the custody of An to Zhang, bringing him out of his cell.

    An was still in his weakened condition. Both his hands were tied behind his back with special chains that kept him in a weakened state.

    "He is your responsibility now. You''re taking him, but remember, you must make sure he doesn''t escape. Because if he does escape from your ce, you and I are going to have a problem."

    "Don''t worry. He''s going to be safer with me than he will be with you," Zhang smiled.

    "Come, An. Let me take you to your new home... A home where you''ll stay for the next hundred years." He patted the shoulders of An.

    An''s lifeless eyes red at Zhang, making himugh out loud.

    Zhang brought his lips closer to An''s ears before whispering. "If you thought this ce was hell, you saw nothing yet."

    An was escorted by Zhang and Razil to a special chamber where a massive Portal Formation was created by the previous generation.

    When the two sides hade together, they had established an agreement.Not only did the agreement talk about the custody of the prisoner, but it also talked about the consequences. Since they had captured a Progenitor, it was highly likely that they could be attacked by the Vampires. That''s why an agreement was made to bring the two ns together.

    ording to that agreement, a massive formation Portal was established in the Castle of the kingdom of wolves. Another simr portal was established in the Franc n. It was a portal that could be used by any side to get to the other in case they needed help.

    It was done so that if one n was under attack, the other could immediatelye to the rescue and fight together. Unfortunately, there was never a situation like that where any of the two ns could''ve needed the help of the other. That''s why the Portal was rarely used.

    Zhang stepped on the portal with An, waving his hands at Razil. Both of them disappeared.

    ****

    Zhang appeared in his n with An as a prisoner.

    Over ten Wizards appeared to be waiting for him in the room as if expecting he was going toe.

    Zhang grabbed the neck of An, tossing him aside.

    An growled at being tossed, revealing his fangs. Unfortunately, he was too weak now.

    "What? Want to kill me?" Zhangughed. "Little Vampire, you might be a Progenitor for others, but for me, you''re just a little puppy who is in chains that are specially made for you. In those chains, even you''re no threat."

    "Take the puppy and toss him in the cell. Make sure to take all the precautionary measures."

    Zhang left An with his men, arrogantly leaving the hall.

    "Razil, if it wasn''t for you, I could''ve had two Progenitors right now. Don''t worry; I won''t force you either. As soon as I get what I want from An, even you will be on my feet. That day isn''t far where I..."

    ****

    "What safety mechanisms do they have? Other than Vampire Warding Formations? I should be able to break that formation to pass through, so it''s not a problem. What else should I consider?"

    Lilith had just talked about the safety mechanisms which made the Franc n dangerous. It made As intrigued about what those were.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Lilith adjusted As'' arm even more, in turn moving closer to As. Her head was almost near As'' shoulders now. This position was also morefortable for her.

    "The Vampire Warding Formations of theirs aren''t ordinary. They are the peak tier spells. It''s not that easy to break them, even for you."

    "But it''s still possible?"

    "Yeah, it''s possible but not the ideal option. If you break it, it''ll alert the entire Franc n."

    "So? We''re attacking them. Let them know."

    "No, we can''t let them know. Because if we let them know and give them time, they can bring the Werewolves there, which would make it a disaster for us."

    "They can bring the Werewolves? How?"

    "They have a connecting formation. I got this information from Yovana, so I don''t know how urate it is, but we need to consider it real just to be safe," Lilith responded. "So if we attack, we can''t give them a chance."

    "Is that even possible to attack without giving them a chance to use that formation?" As frowned.

    No matter how fast they were after their initial attacks, it was still going to give the opponents enough time to use the Formation. Didn''t it just make things worse for them? In the Kingdom of Wolves, they just had to fight the Wolves, but here they needed to fight an entire Witch n and the Werewolves on top of that?

    "And here I thought, it was going to be easier with Zhang."

    "Don''t worry. That''s a simple solution for that problem."

    "And what is that?"

    "Destroying that formation. Before attacking, we need to destroy that formation so they can''t call for help when they need it. After that, they won''t have any option left but to fight on their own."

    "Let me guess. You''re suggesting going alone once again to destroy that Formation?" As rolled his eyes.

    "Do we have any other option? You can''t get inside unless you''re invited in because of the Vampire Warding Formation. Yovana is too weak to pass through their defenses. As for Lancaster, he is a Wolf. He would be caught right away as well. He can''t use the invisibility spell, unlike me. That leaves only me."

    "I need to be the one to do it since only I can. But as I said, I won''t fight alone. I''ll only destroy the formation before joining back with you."

    "And what if you''re caught? What if things go wrong? Can''t you send your clone for it?"

    Lilith smiled wryly. "I wish I could. But it''s not possible. Now don''t talk more. I don''t want a headache.I''ll go in, so just drop this matter and let me sleep. I still have a headache from bing.

    Her consciousness was still hurting since she ced so much burden on itst time. Lilith turned to her left side, closing her eyes.

    She fit snugly with As, cing her arms on his chest, seemingly falling asleep right away.

    As could only shake his head at the stubbornness of this girl. However, he also knew that she had a valid point. If there was really a formation like that inside the Franc n, they really had no other option but to send Lilith alone.

    He gazed at the peacefully sleeping face of Lilith before lightly tapping her cute nose."Thank you, little one... For everything. Sleep well."

 Chapter 125 125: Cell

    Lilith fell asleep in As'' arms. After a really long time, she had felt this peaceful and safe as she slept. The beautiful atmosphere made things even better for her.

    The carriage kept moving throughout the night. It was unclear when it happened, but even As fell asleep sometime during the night.

    Even the first ray of sunlight fell on his face; he slowly opened his eyes, using his right hand to give some shade to his eyes.

    He also felt some weight on his chest. Lilith was still sleeping; however, her head was now resting on his chest somehow.

    He couldn''t get up, or he would''ve disturbed her sleep. He smiled wryly but didn''t move, letting her get enough sleep. Just like him, she hadn''t slept in a really long time either. It was probably her first time getting sufficient sleep.

    He moved his hand before Lilith''s face, giving her the same shade, so her sleep wasn''t broken by the sunlight.

    For two hours, he remained like that on the roof of the carriage before Lilith finally started making some movement.

    She rubbed her eyes lightly as she yawned.

    "Hmm?" It took her some time before realizing where her head was resting.

    She sat up swiftly, slightly embarrassed. Fortunately, As had already lowered his hand before she woke up. He even closed his eyes since he felt that she might be embarrassed to think that he knew she was sleeping on top of him like she was a child.

    Lilith noticed that As was still asleep, slightly calming. She took off her cloak and ced it on top of As'' face, so the sunlight didn''t disturb his sleep.

    Being covered in Lilith''s cloak, As couldn''t help but smile. For a few minutes, he didn''t react. It was only after around five minutes when he started pretending to wake up.

    He uncovered his face from the cloak. "It''s already morning?"

    "Yeah, it can''t be night every time, can it?" Lilith responded.

    "When did you wake up?" As sat up, yawning.

    "I don''t sleep so long, unlike you. I woke up hours ago." Lilith proudly stated as if waking up early was some kind of achievement. She truly was like a child in some aspects.

    Even though As knew that she was bluffing, he let it pass.

    "Aren''t you getting hungry?"

    "A bit."

    As instructed the Carriage driver to stop the carriage inside the nearest forest.

    Following the instructions, the driver stopped the carriage as soon as they reached the next first.

    As jumped down the carriage. "You stay here. I''ll bring something to eat."

    Along the way, they had already exhausted their food stock which presented a need to gather more.

    As went inside the carriage and picked up the bag. Lancaster and Yovana were still sleeping as well, on different births.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Holding the bag, As disappeared inside the forest.  Since there was a forest, he was sure there were going to be some fruit trees as well, or something simr. If not, he could at least hunt something. With him, it was faster as they didn''t have to waste as much time as they would looking for food otherwise.

    Fortunately, he didn''t have to search too much since there was a tree not too far from here.

    It appeared to be an apple tree that had a beautiful fresh apple. He plucked the apples and filled the bag he was carrying before continuing his search for a pond.

    Finding a pond was harder than finding a food source, but thanks to the footprints of the animals in the forest, he was able to get to the closest water source. He filled the water bottle to the brim before.

    For as long as As remained near the pond, no beast dared to even get close to the pond as his aura kept them all away, intimidating them.

    Through the corner of his view, As was able to see some animals hiding in the bushes and behind the trees as if waiting for him to leave. He even noticed a leopard in the distance, which he found somewhat funny.

    If he wasn''t a Vampire, that leopard could''ve ripped him to shreds, but now he was scared of him.

    "The importance of strength," As muttered, shaking his head in dismay. "Without strength, even a human won''t give you importance in this world, but when you possess the strength, even predators will respect you."

    "And if I''m sessful, Mise will have this strength. Even without me, she would be able to live her life to the fullest."

    He walked back to the carriage, carrying the bag and the bottle of water, leaving the pond to the animals.

    ****

    As gave some to the carriage driver to eat before handing over the rest to Lancaster and the others, waking everyone from their sleep.

    It was as if this was a short pic where everyone ate in the forest together.

    In one ce, As and his team were having something akin to a pic, while in another ce, An was sealed in another cell, being given nothing to eat.

    It had been over a hundred years since he had been given the proper amount of blood. He was intentionally kept hungry, only being given one droplet of blood every month, so he didn''t enter Bloodlust.

    There were also times when An just refused to take that drop of blood which looked like they were taking pity on him. Unfortunately, just because he didn''t take it didn''t mean they were going to allow it. It was important for them that he got some blood in his system ever so often to keep him safe.

    They didn''t give him more blood since they didn''t want him to gain strength from blood, but at the same time, they forced the blood droplet into his mouth.

    Unfortunately, even that had some scheme of these people behind it. The blood droplet that An was fed in thest hundred years wasn''t human blood. It wasn''t even Vampire Blood. It was the Blood of the Werewolves. Just like the fangs of the Werewolves, even their blood was poisonous for the Vampires.

    Even An couldn''t escape this negative effect. Werewolf Blood kept away their Bloodlust phase, but it also weakened them further.

    An would''ve been stronger not having any blood than he was after having the blood of a Werewolf, but this was all intentional to weaken him.

    Even now, he was only fed Werewolf blood which the Franc n had received from the Werewolf n.

    An was just fed that blood droplet. The poison slowly spread in his body, weakening him further. Even his nerves turned pitch ck and were visible from the distance while An sat with his back against the wall.

 Chapter 126 126: Challenge

    An wanted to be free from this hell so bad, but everyone was so careful, he had no opportunity.

    He was kept in a weakened condition, and on top of that, there were the chains that were covered in spells cast by thousands of Mages. In his weakened state, it was impossible for him to break those chains. In fact, even if he weren''t weakened, it would''ve been harder for him to break those chains.

    He was kept in a cell that was reinforced with thick steel walls, and each of the walls had multiple formations on them.

    There was no source of light in this dark cell. Not even an opening for fresh air toe in. Only when the door was opened did some air rush in.

    The main door of the cell was ten inches thick, made of iron. The door slowly opened toward the outdoor. The sound of footsteps echoed in the surroundings.

    An raised his head at the sound of the footsteps, not opening his eyes.

    "Zhang, I suppose. Are you here to torture me? Go ahead. But just remember, I won''t forget these favors. The day I''m free, I''ll return each favor with interest."

    "How did you know it was me?" Zhang asked, slightly curious. An hadn''t even opened his eyes to see who it was, yet he knew exactly who it was.

    "It''s definitely not because of my scent.

    "You''re right. You have no scent, possibly because of some spell," An responded.

    His fists were still clenched tightly as he felt the pain of the poison taking hold on his body, yet he didn''t let it show on his face.

    "Your men just left after feeding me this poison. Who else coulde next but you?" An inquired, smiling. "Let me guess. You were scared of being alone with me, so had them poison and weakened me before meeting me?"

    "You certainly have a sharp tongue." Zhang stepped closer. "However, you got one thing wrong."

    Smack~

    A kicknded on An''s face, making him fall to the ground.

    "Do you really think I''ll need to weaken you to thrash you? You think too much of yourself. I''m not like my father or my Ancestors! I''m stronger than them. Way stronger than you can imagine. Even if you were at your peak, you couldn''t do anything."

    "Even in this poisoned state, why don''t you free my hands, and we can see? Certainly, you won''t be scared of a little weakened Vampire, will you?" An smirked, finally opening his deep yet fierce eyes.

    "You think you can?" Zhang sat on his knees. "Fine. I will give you an opportunity. Not only will I give you an opportunity to fight me, but I''ll also make sure you aren''t at your weakest when you fight me. It''s the promise of a Warlord. If you answer my questions honestly, I''ll free you of these chains and let you fight me in the open."

    "None of my men will interfere in that battle. If you win, you can even kill me, and they won''t interfere. You''ll also be free to leave. And if you lose, you''ll be back to this cell. So do you want this opportunity? If you''re really that confident that you can utilize this opportunity, then answer my questions honestly."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "What questions? Let me guess. You''ll ask the same question that Razil did, like how Progenitors came to be, our weaknesses, and the location of others?"

    An had over a hundred years of experience of going through such questions. He knew exactly what they could ask.

    Unfortunately, that didn''t seem to be the case here as Zhang shook his head.

    "Don''tpare me with Razil. That guy is an idiot. He even made me lose the opportunity of catching Castiel. It''s alright though. You should be enough for now."

    "Opportunity of catching Castiel?" An smiled. "You really think you can catch Castiel, don''t you? If only you knew him like we do. That man... Even we three couldn''t catch him, let alone you. In fact, I would say that you''re lucky if you met him and still came out alive. I''m surprised at your luck."

    "Just because you three Progenitors were not able to catch him doesn''t mean I can. You are weak; I''m not." Zhang chuckled. "You should''ve seen his face when I had Lilith''s throat in my arms. He was so close to surrendering. If that idiot hadn''t interfered, Castiel would''ve been begging me to capture him!"

    "It doesn''t cost to dream," An smiled. "I hate praising that bastard, but he does deserve it sometimes. You needed an entire force of witches and Werewolves to catch me. Just think how much force you''d have needed if you had gone to catch me, Ramiel, and Lucius? And thenes catching Castiel..."

    "Though I''m really curious. You hurt Lilith, and you''re still alive? I suppose I know why he let you live..."

    "Why? Isn''t it because he was scared?" Zhang rolled his eyes.

    "Don''t worry. You will find out soon why he let you live at the time."

    "He didn''t let me live. I let him live, and not for long. Before long, he''ll be here, in the cell didn''t next to yours. He doesn''t have long to roam freely."

    "Maybe you''re right." An smiled. He didn''t speak much.

    Amongst the four Progenitors, An was the one who was known as the strategist. He was really good at understanding ns anding up with strategies ordingly. It didn''t take him long to understand the reasoning behind As not fighting Zhang. He didn''t even consider the possibility of As being afraid of Zhang.

    That left only one possibility. He did it because he wanted something from Zhang. As for what that something was, he understood that it was him.

    When he was in the cell at the Werewolf n, he had noticed some movement near his cell. Someone was definitely attempting to get close to him, but something stopped them. If he were in ce of Castiel, he would''ve changed the n to make things a bit easier for him.

    He would''ve left Zhang alive so Zhang could take him from the n of Wolves to this ce which was much easier to infiltrate for Lilith.

    He was entirely sure that Castiel was after him. That''s why he came to that Kingdom, and that''s why he let Zhang live. If that was the case, then he was sure that it wasn''t going to be long before As woulde here for him... Soon, he was going to be face to face with Castiel¡­

 Chapter 127 127: Pawn

    "We are getting closer to the territory of the Franc n. There''s just one more town along the way to pass."

    As was sitting inside the carriage while Lilith gave him a briefing on how far they had reached and how much distance they still needed to cover.

    Throughout their journey, they had covered most of the distance already. All that was left was a little more.

    "Just one more day," As muttered. "And then we would be there."

    "Do we need to be careful in that town? If it''s so close to the territory of the Franc n, it''s highly likely that we cane across someone from the n. Should we avoid that town? Lancaster was more concerned about the safety of the group.

    So far, he didn''t care how many towns they passed as that wasn''t too concerning, but if they passed through this town, the next ce was Franc n. If a Witch was there, it was going to make it too obvious what their Target was. A witch could alert the n, which wasn''t good for their n.

    "If that happens, we could lose the element of surprise," he further stated.

    "That''s true." As also agreed with the assumption of Lancaster. This was something that even he had missed. "We can avoid that town then."

    "No, we can''t. If we avoid it, the distance will increase since there are no proper roads in that ce, except the ones that pass through the town. We can ignore the town, but it''ll double our distance to be covered. Moreover, the only other route is even worse. It''ll make us stand out like a sore thumb."

    Lilith was clear that they had no other alternative. If they didn''t want to make things more troublesome for them, they needed to pass through that town.

    "But what if we''re seen?"

    "Don''t worry; we won''t be seen."Lilith chimed in. "The chances of someone from the n being there is close to none. And even if there is one, they would be there during the day. We would be passing through the town at night."

    "Andstly, they are witches and not Wizards. They can''t smell a Vampire''s scent. There is no way for them to know who is traveling in the carriage. That''s also why we switched the Carriages with that merchant. This one is less noticeable after all."

    "So the chances of us being seen are close to none. And even if we are seen, so what? Who even recognizes us? Only Zhang recognizes us. Even if someone from his n is in the town, we won''t be raising any suspicions."

    Lilith removed all the doubts of Lancaster, trying to solve his worries, showing that there was nothing to worry about.

    At least until they reached the borders of the Franc n, there was no reason to be concerned.

    "Moreover, even if the town is thest town before we get to the Franc n, the distance between the town and the n is over thirty kilometers. So you can rest easy. We would pass through the town."

    "And if you''re still concerned, I will make sure there isn''t anyone from the Franc n in the town before we enter."

    The sun had already set outside as the carriage closed in on the town. It stopped not too far from the town.

    Lilith opened the door and flew closer to the town. After around twenty minutes, she returned. "I was right. There is no one in the town that we should be concerned about."<novelnext></novelnext>

    She entered the carriage after telling the carriage driver to continue.

    As Lilith returned to the Carriage, shedidn''t realize that she was partially right. There was no one they needed to be concerned about in the town... For now.

    While the carriage entered the town, on the other side of the town, three horses were dashing through the barrennd, carrying two women and a man.

    ****

    In a beautiful castle, a young man was sitting on a chair, seemingly lost in some deep thought. The man appeared to be in his early twenties. However, his real age was much more.

    He was the Blood Council Member Ramiun, who had met As before in his hometown.

    After being rejected by the Blood Council, he had just returned to his own castle. Throughout the journey, he hadn''t stopped thinking about ways to get ess to An.

    "I can''t wage a war on the Kingdom without the help of the Blood Council. It would be impossible to even hold back Razil. It would be suicidal. That means frontal assault is useless."

    " I also can''t sneak inside the castle. He would have wards all around his castle, and no way I''m getting invited in."

    "It''s also impossible to get the help of one of his men since they are too loyal. No amount of greed can sway them, so their help is impossible too."

    "To get An, I would need to take out Razil somehow. As long as he''s there, I can''t get An out. Lord Ramiel might be able to take him out, but if he is back, my n would go down the drain. He won''t let me be a Progenitor. No other Progenitor would let it happen if they find out what I n, so even if I knew where to find Lord Ramiel, it would be foolish to ask him to help."

    "Ignoring the Progenitors, there is only one person strong enough to take Razil out that I know about... But is it really right to wake him up? To make him listen to me is impossible. And if I wake him up, making him go back to sleep is just..."

    "Do I really have no other choice but to lose my prized possession to get to my goal?"

    "What do you think?" he asked, gazing back into the distance.

    A young woman stood behind him like a statue. The Woman hadn''t moved since the beginning.

    "If you''re talking about what I think you''re talking about, then I would advise against it. Letting him roam free is like bringing a cmity on this World, especially after what happenedst time," the woman said in an emotionless tone. "Moreover, if the Council finds out that you did it, they woulde for your throat."

    "They sure will." Ramiun rubbed his chin. "The Blood Council made too many sacrifices to catch himst time. If I made such a decision without informing them, they would reallye for my throat."

    "But only if they find out." The man smirked. "It doesn''t have to be me who does it. I have someone in mind."

 Chapter 128 128: Inviting Trouble

    "Elisi wanted to know what I''m nning, didn''t she? Don''t worry. I''ll make sure she knows. In fact, she''ll be the idiotic pawn who shall help me without realizing."

    "Lady Elisi? You will use her? I don''t think she will fall that easily. She is very perceptive in such things," The young woman answered.

    "Yeah, she is perceptive. A little too perceptive for her own good." The young man smiled. "Bring me a piece of paper and a pen."

    Thedy behind him left. Within a few seconds, she returned with a paper and a pen, cing both on the table before the man.

    After cing the items on the table, she stepped back once again. This time, she didn''t move back too far as she wanted to see what Ramiun was going to write.

    Ramiun picked up the pen and straightened up the paper before he started writing something.

    He took his sweet time writing, spending over twenty minutes before he filled the entire page. It was as if there was a deep thought behind each of his words that he wrote on the paper.

    "This... This can get really bad if she doesn''t fall for it. You know, right? If she goes to the Blood Council with this letter..." The young woman in the back didn''t entirely appreciate what was written on the paper since it was too risky.

    "She won''t go to the Blood Council with this letter. I know that bi*ch all too well." The man ced the pen down before picking up the letter.

    He once again went through the letter before folding it.

    He gave the folded letter to the woman in the back. "Go and deliver this letter to Elisi personally."

    "If that''s what you want."

    Thedy left in the silence of the night, leaving Ramiun behind.

    Ramiun stood up, walking to the windows. He gazed at the distant moon. It was still some time before the full moon.

    "Come on, Elisi. Fall for it and do my bidding. You know you want to..."

    ****

    As'' carriage entered the town, not stopping along the way. It was also about to leave the Town when Lilith sensed something.

    "Just our luck." Lilith frowned, sending the aura of witches. Through the windows, she looked outside, noticing three people about to enter the city on horses.

    "Stop the carriage." She instructed the carriage driver.

    "What happened?"

    "People from the Franc n are about to enter this town. If we continue, they will know that we''re going to their n.

    " We are already at the border of the town. Won''t they already know?" Yovana also nced out.

    "They won''t. We will leaveter. For now, we need to stop right here. There is a hotel just ahead. We can pretend toe this far for a deal. If anyone asks, we are merchants and here to establish a business rtionship with this town. Just wait for those mages to pass. You two stay inside. I''ll put up a show."

    Lilith stepped out of the carriage just as the horses were a few meters away from them. She entered the hotel right before their eyes.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Surprisingly, the horses also stopped right beside the carriage, seemingly curious.

    However, just as they were about to check, Lilith returned. Right before their eyes, she opened the door of the carriage. "We got a room here. For now, we can stay here. As soon as it''s morning, we can talk to the Town Head regarding our business proposal."

    "If we can get a trade deal with this town, we should be able to get some profit."

    "Hopefully, the Town Elder won''t reject us. We came all this way, only to meet him. If he rejects, it''ll all be over nothing." Yovana yed along, stepping out. "For now, I suppose we can rest. Tomorrow should be a good day."

    Lancaster also stepped out with As, who wore a cloak to hide his pale skin.

    Lilith escorted them all inside the hotel, right before the eyes of the three Franc n Members. Just as she had expected, those there couldn''t sense that she was a witch or that As was a Vampire. They couldn''t even detect the reality of Lancaster.

    "Merchants, huh." The three of them didn''t bother interrogation and believed the story.

    "I suppose it''s good if Merchant Companies areing to this town. It should be for the better," the man muttered, smiling. "Maybe the town will finally have more items to buy."

    "Aren''t we here to meet the Town Head as well. Why don''t we ask them to tag along? They won''t have to wait for tomorrow. And with us, the old man might agree more swiftly as well. It can be good," one of the women responded.

    "Yeah, that isn''t a bad idea actually. This way, the old man won''t have to be disturbed tomorrow. It''ll save everyone''s time." The second woman also agreed. "What do you say?"

    "I don''t mind. I''ll ask them toe with us." The young man got off his horse and walked inside the hotel where Lilith had taken everyone.

    Lilith paid for four rooms just for show. She got four rooms and was about to go up to wait for a few hours before leaving, but she stopped, noticing the young Wizard entering the hotel as well.

    "Why the hell is he following us? Does he know something?" Yovana frowned. "I think we might need to kill him."

    "Yovana, please stop talking. It doesn''t look like he''sing to us for fight. Let''s keep up the act." Lilith tapped Yovana''s shoulders as she walked to the stairs, pretending to not see the young Wizard.

    "Excuse me!" Unfortunately, before they could leave, the young man called them from behind.

    "Hmm?" Lilith stopped and turned around. "Are you talking from us?"

    "Yeah." The man stopped before Lilith.

    "Do you need something from us?"

    "It''s not that. I just heard your conversation outside about your reason for being here. Our group is already going to meet the Town Head for something important. I thought since you need to meet him as well, you can tag along with us. This should save everyone''s time."

    "This... I don''t think it''s right for us to meet the Town Head thiste. We can meet him tomorrow."

    "Tomorrow, he won''t be here. He should be in our n tomorrow. That''s why we came here. So if you want to meet him, tonight might be yourst chance. Don''t worry; it''s not odd to meet him at this time. He sleepste after all."

    "Come, don''t think. I think your purpose ining here is wise, so we decided to help you a bit."

    Lilith didn''t know how things turned out this way. All they needed was an excuse to make things less suspicious, but instead, things became worse.

 Chapter 129 129: Invitation

    "You cane with us. It won''t be a hassle. This town is so far from the main cities that there is rarely any trade in this town. I believe it would be a good chance if some trade starts because then we also wouldn''t have to go too far to get something," the young man said with a confident smile.

    "I don''t think you have any luggage. After we''re done, you cane back to your room."

    "Alright." Saying no at this point was suspicious, so Lilith just said yes. Even if it was troublesome to some extent, it was the need of the hour.

    The only problem was what they were going to discuss with the town head. She really wasn''t a merchant. In her life, she did meet with a few, but she didn''t interact with them enough to know how they worked. All she had was the outside knowledge.

    "You three go back to the rooms and freshen up. I''ll go with him and meet the Town Head. Hopefully, the talks will go great."

    "Didn''t you alle so far to meet him?" The young man found it somewhat odd that there were four people here who came to meet the Town Head, yet now that they had an opportunity, only one was going to meet him.

    "We all dide here to meet him, but still, at thiste, it''s not good to take so many people. I am enough to convey our message. As for them, they can meet him the next time wee."

    "I told you, it''s nothing to be concerned about. You''re just four people. It''s not as if you are hundreds. If you all came here to discuss with him, you should all meet him. Come. I''ll wait for you outside."

    It was as if the man didn''t even register their concerns because he didn''t find them valid. After telling all of them toe with him, he left the hotel.

    Lilith rubbed her lower lip, frowning. "It doesn''t look like he''ll let us go that easily. We''ll have to keep the show, at least for now."

    "As, you go back to our room. It''s better if you don''te with us. I can just say that you''re a bit sick from the long journey. The three of us will go and put on an act. We should be back in a few hours if everything goes well."

    "Yeah. Since it''s the ce of the Town Head who is close to witches, we can''t ignore the chance of him having a Vampire Warding Formation," Yovana agreed. "I am a half vampire, so I don''t need to worry about it, but you''ll have to be invited in if there''s something like that. It can get quite messy."

    "And it''s just three people from the n. Zhang isn''t with them, so there''s nothing to worry about. If anything goes wrong, I can just take them all out."

    Lilith knew that the biggest concern As had at times like this was their safety. If she could convince him that there was no risk to their safety, she didn''t need to worry about anything.

    "Fine. I''ll wait for you all in the room." As took the keys from Lilith, agreeing. It was safer for them to go without him in this situation.

    He wished them luck as they left the hotel as well, leaving As behind.

    As went upstairs to locate his room. The room he was assigned appeared to be on the second floor, giving a clear view of the entire town.<novelnext></novelnext>

    From the balcony of his room, As could even see the Town Head''s house in the distance, which was lit up brightly even at thiste hour.

    ****

    "Only three of you? What about that other person?" Seeing only three of the four people arrive, the young man couldn''t help but ask.

    The streets were mostly empty as it waste at night, leaving only these two groups on the streets, discussing.

    "He isn''ting. He is really tired from the long journey and a bit sick as well. He needs some rest. That''s why we wanted to meet the Town Head today," Lilith provided a viable exnation that didn''t leave too much room for questioning.

    "If that''s the case, I won''t force him. You three can follow us. We will lead you to the Town Head."

    The young man climbed on the horse as well but didn''t leave. He wanted for Lilith and others to get inside their carriage.

    ''This kid... Why is he being so humble to strangers? It doesn''t look like he knows who we are, yet his behavior isn''t befitting of a member of the Franc n. I thought their members would be arrogant. Or is it because he really wants trade to start with this town?''

    Lost in thoughts, Lilith entered the carriage with Lancaster and Yovana.

    It was only after she entered the carriage that she cast a spell to make sure no one could hear them.

    After casting her spell, she asked the question that was troubling her, about the behavior of the young man, seeing if Lancaster or Yovana had some insight on it.

    "It''s not that strange, I think," Yovana answered. "This Town is the closest town to the Franc n, so this is their first point of contact with the outside world. Unfortunately, this town is in the middle of nowhere, so there aren''t many shops here. No merchantes here to sell items since there isn''t that much profit in this town, ording to them."

    "Moreover, since those three were sent to invite the Town Head to the Franc n, that means they must not have a high standing in the n. I guess you can call them errand boys and girls."

    "That also makes me believe that this isn''t their first time running an errand. The Franc n would definitely need many items from the outside world to keep running, from food to spices to other essentials. And guess who will they send to get it if they need?"

    "These people." Lancaster nodded. "I guess I understand what you''re trying to say. These three are tired of having to travel so far on errands. If there were a merchant establishment in this town itself, it would make things easier for them in the future. That should be why they want to make sure our trip is a sess."

    Yovana smiled. "That''s right. They don''t know we are fake merchants. For them, we are real. In fact, they want this deal more than any merchant union would ask. No wonder they are so respectful and trying to help us."

 Chapter 130 130: Lucius

    "To fool someone who wants to be fooled is easier than to fool someone who doesn''t care about you," Yovana smirked. "This should be easier than we thought. If he wants to believe us, the Town Head shouldn''t be much different."

    "Since he would be so desperate to woo us, it should be easy to make him believe as well. After spending some time with him, we can be on our way back," she further added, being really confident about her assumption. There wasn''t any reason not to be.

    "I hope so."

    The carriage followed after the three Franc n members. Everything that Yovana had said about that appeared to be really urate since they were also discussing how easy it was going to be from now on if the deal went through.

    "We won''t have to run back and forth to distant cities. I can''t wait for that day." The young Witch smiled. "No matter what, this deal needs to go through. If the Town Head didn''t agree, I''d personally make him agree."

    "There''s no reason for him to not agree."

    The house of the Town Head appeared to be in the middle of the town, while the hotel where As stated was at the edge of the town.

    Standing on the balcony, As watched the carriage leave, carrying Lilith.

    After the carriage disappeared from his view, he walked back to the bed.

    He sat on the bed and picked up Lilith''s Grimoire. Throughout the journey, Lilith and Yovana tried to teach him how to read the Grimoire, and he was mostly sessful as well.

    He was able to read and understand the spells that were written in the spell book for the most part. At least he was confident about thenguage part. From the book, Lilith even taught him how to use some powerful spells that he could use.

    She didn''t ce too much burden on As'' head by trying to teach him too many spells. She only taught him a few spells at the start that she believed were crucial for him and coulde in handy.

    She also taught him one spell secretly that wasn''t written in the Grimoire. She taught him the spell to hide his aura and make sure that no one could find out what he really was. The spell was simr to the spell that was keeping the Vampire Bloodline of Yovana under the wraps, but it was more versatile as it didn''t really affect his bloodline.

    Even with the spell in action, As could still use the abilities he had received as a Vampire.

    "If everything goes well, we should be able to meet An. Getting him to give me his Key Fragment would be the hard part though. Since Castiel wasn''t his friend, that makes the equation even moreplicated. The only way would be through ckmail."

    " Fortunately, his freedom is on the line, along with his daughter. That should be enough of a reason to convince him, hopefully. Either that or he''ll gopletely bonkers. I hope it''s the former."

    "However, I''m yet to talk to Lilith about my n. Even with An''s key fragment, I would only have one. Only Lilith knows where Castiel''s key fragment is kept. Hopefully, she will understand my motives and give me the key.

    "With Castiel''s key, I would have two of the four puzzle pieces. I also know where the third one is. That Blood Council Member holds the Key Fragment of Ramiun. I didn''t want to have a conflict with him, but if it''s for Mise''s sake, I wille for him."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I have what he needs after all, so luring him should be easy as well. He wants my key, but he''ll end up giving me his own key. That''s the easier part. The harder part is getting the fourth key... The key of Progenitor Lucius..."

    Letting out a tired sigh, As fell onto the bed, letting his head rest on the pillow. "I don''t know where Lucius is. Let alone me; I don''t think even the Blood Council knows."

    "Without his key Fragment, I''ll only have three key fragments of the four, which shouldn''t be enough. If I''m not wrong, we need all four. That still leaves the fourth one..."

    "I don''t have an infinite amount of time in this body. Finding Lucius is something I must do at the earliest, but how. Wait... An! An was the only one of the four Progenitors who didn''t go to sleep! He had been roaming this earth for a long time. If there is anyone who knows where Lucius went to sleep or where he wasst seen, it would be him!"

    "Unlike Castiel, An didn''t have any enmity with Lucius, so it should be highly likely that he would know. Even if he doesn''t know where Lucius went to sleep, he should at least know where he wasst seen."

    " He would also know where the Vampires from Lucius'' lineage live. It won''t be easy to locate him but at least I would have a ce to start."

    Better than no hope was a distant hope, and that''s what As ced his mind at. He didn''t think about how low his chances were. All he cared about was the fact that there were chances. As long as there was even a one percent chance of sess, it was worth it for him.

    He picked up the spell book once again and started going through the spells once again. No matter how many times he was taught a spell, it was stillplicated enough. He wanted to memorize the spells so much that there was no room for making mistakes.

    In one ce, As was memorizing the spells from a book, and in another ce, the writer of that spell book stepped out of the carriage.

    Lilith, Lancaster, and Yovana stood before the house of the Head of Town. The house wasn''t luxurious from any angle, but it was still the best this town had to offer.

    Since Lilith was being escorted by people from the Franc n that came here often, they were allowed right inside the house without any questions being asked by the guards.

    In fact, even after they entered the house, they didn''t need to wait much. As soon as the group of six took a seat on the two couches, an old man entered the hall.

    Lilith, Lancaster, and Yovana stood up. They needed to give courtesy since they were pretending to be merchants. On the other hand, the three from the Franc n didn''t bother. They remained seated.

    The old man was slightly surprised to see three new faces.

    "Are they also from the n?" he asked the young mage.

    "They aren''t from the n. They are from a merchantpany."

    "Oh? A merchantpany and here? Which one? I know quite a few, so maybe I recognize theirpany already."

 Chapter 131 131: Celebration

    "We are from the Noble Merchant Company." Yovana took the lead, giving up a name.

    She had traveled far and wide in thest hundreds of years and knew a lot of things. The merchantpany she named was one of the biggest merchantpanies in the Northern Lands. However, they didn''t have much of a footprint in this part of the world.

    That was also one of the reasons she gave that name. Thepany was big enough to be heard, but there was no way the Town Head could''ve met any representative from there before.

    It was better to give him a name that he knew but not too closely than to make a fake name or talk about apany whose people he could''ve met in the past.

    Just as she expected, the man seemed to know about thepany. His lips slightly parted in amazement while his eyes widened.

    "I''ve heard about them before. They are one of the three biggest merchantpanies, but don''t they only operate on the northern side? What are you doing so far?"

    "As you already know, we already have our feet firmly nted in the northern parts. We believe it''s time we expand to other parts of the world as well. The range of thend we want to coveres up to your town. I guess you can say that your town is more strategically ced yet not covered by any other Merchants, so that gives us an opportunity."

    Yovana surprised even Lilith with her words. It was as if she was really a merchant. She covered everything, leaving no room for doubts. In essence, she made the work of Lilith easier.

    "Ah, I guess I understand. Instead of covering the main cities, where others already have a foothold, you want to expand in the outer cities. Then you can have an excuse of traveling so far, along the way establishing rtionships with other cities."

    The old man appeared to understand what Yovana was trying to say. His eyes lit up as a smile graced his lips. "That''s very clever honestly. Instead of going from main outer cities, you''re going from outer cities to main."

    "Exactly. This trade will benefit you all as much as it will benefit us. So, what do you think about it?" Yovana asked casually. "You can take your time to think. We won''t force you. There are also other cities that might be happy to take up this offer if you refuse."

    "I don''t think there''s anything to think about. As you said, this deal is good for you, but it''s also good for us and our people, so who am I to say no? I will ept the deal." The old man was excited at getting such a nice deal, yet he tried to keep a straight expression. If not, he would''ve burst outughing.

    Throughout the years, he had gone to the main cities, trying to get any Merchant Company to establish trade rtions with his town. Unfortunately, they all refused him, saying it wasn''t worth it. His town was considered a backwater town.

    For every essential thing, they needed to travel far and wide and buy items at expensive prices from distant cities. Even bringing those items back was their own responsibility which opened them to many attacks by the bandits.

    Because of this new deal, all their problems were going to be solved. The responsibility of transport was also going to be on the shoulders of these people.

    "That''s perfect. This went more smoothly than we expected. I''ll convey this oue to others back home. Within two weeks, we should be back with the papers of the deal."

    They had managed to convince the old man about their identity. Now all they needed was to leave while making a vague promise of returningter with papers.

    "The Higher ups would be really happy with this good news, won''t they?" Yovana asked Lilith, shing a bright grin.

    "They certainly would. Now we just need to convey this message back." Lilith stood up.

    She asked the old man to be excused as she started leaving with Yovana and Lancaster.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Wait."

    Lilith had almost reached the door when she heard a call to stop.

    She clenched her fist but immediately rxed them before turning around. "Yes?"

    The call came from the man who was leading the group of the Franc n.

    "I''m afraid I can''t allow you to leave that easily," the young man stated.

    "What do you mean?" The words sounded threatening, but the expressions of the man didn''t match those words.

    "I mean, how can I let you leave that easily? You all must stay for a few days. You''re from such a big merchantpany, and you brought such good news to us. Just letting you leave like that would be a waste."

    "It''s alright. We don''t have anything to do here. We got what we came here for. It''s only fair we leave so we cane back again. Thank you for the offer of letting us stay here though. I really appreciate it."

    Lilith rejected the offer swiftly. However, the young man didn''t appear to be offended.

    "That wasn''t my offer."

    "Then what was your offer?"

    "Actually, we came here for a special reason. We haven''t even told him yet. Why don''t you stay and listen as well? I won''t waste too much of your time." The man gestured for the three to take a seat again.

    Lilith nced at Yovana and Lancaster before agreeing. She walked back and took her seat.

    The old man also sat down.

    "As I was saying, I came here for a special purpose. Tomorrow, our n is throwing a celebration. I came here to invite the Town Head to attend the function. Now that you''re here, I guess I can take the liberty of inviting you as well. You are the representatives of one of the three biggest merchantpanies, after all."

    "It would be good if you coulde as well."

    "A celebration tomorrow?" Lilith was really curious as to what could be their reason for celebrating, but even more than that, she was surprised that she was invited.

    There were many advantages to this offer she could see. But there were also a few disadvantages there.

    Zhang had seen her before. She couldn''t go there. If she went, she was going to be recognized right away. Moreover, unlike these people, Zhang was more perceptive. There was no way he was going to forget their faces. Not only had Zhang seen her, but he also saw Yovana and Lancaster.

 Chapter 132 132: Offer

    With an invitation, they had easier ess to the n, but Zhang''s presence made this opportunity useless. If it weren''t for that problem, she would''ve epted that offer in a heartbeat, as it made things easier for her.

    "That''s right. There is a special day tomorrow, and our family head has thrown a party. You should reallye."

    Lilith really wanted to make it work, but there was no way she could think of where she could go there openly with an invitation. If only Zhang weren''t there...

    "I suppose your family head is going to be there as well?" Lilith asked, appearing curious.

    ? The man shook his head. "That''s right. "He is going to be there."

    "I really wish I coulde and meet him. But we would have to decline. As I said, everyone back home is waiting for information about how the deal went. We need to go back and get things done as fast as possible. Every day we dy is a day toote."

    Despite all her desires, Lilith refused the offer. Instead of going openly and being seen by Zhang, it was better to sneak inside, no matter how dangerous it was.

    "Well, are you really sure? Not only people from this town, but heads of other towns are going to be there as well. It can be a good opportunity for you to be seen and interact with them."

    "So people from other towns areing too? That certainly makes this offer more lucrative, but still... I think we need to go back. I am really sorry for the refusal."

    "And thank you for all the help."

    "Well, I won''t force you. If you want to go back that much, I''ll sure you''ll have reasons of your own." The young man didn''t take the refusal to his heart. For him, these people were also working for theirpany. Maybe they really didn''t have time to spare. They could also have a deadline.

    "Still, if you change your mind, you can use this invitation card toe. I''ll be happy if you doe."

    The man picked up an invitation letter and gave it to Lilith. Even though she had said no, there was still a chance that she could change her mindter on. Moreover, it didn''t matter too much, even if that invitation went to waste.

    Lilith saw the invitation before her. She couldn''t help but smile. "Sure. If I have a change of mind and can afford it, I would certainlye."

    She took the letter from the man and left.

    The only problem she had was being seen by Zhang. She knew if she went with this man and the Town Head, she was going to have to apany them. She couldn''t disappear or leave them.

    However, the invitation letter solved all these problems. With that, she didn''t need to apany them to enter. She could just use that invitation on its own to enter.

    Moreover, if all the town heads and leaders of cities were going to be there with their families, she didn''t believe anyone was going to worry if they couldn''t recognize her even if she entered after using a disguise.

    This invitation letter was going toe in really handy for her, making things somewhat easier for her.

    She was finally allowed to leave. The trip to this ce was short, but it was good. Lilith was really pleased with the oue of this meeting and happy that she came here.

    She entered her carriage with Lancaster and Yovana before telling the carriage driver to take her back.

    "Well, that went well, didn''t it?" Yovana rxed after covering the windows with the curtains.

    Finally, they were on their way back.

    "With that invitation, you should get an easy entry straight into the castle. What a day."''<novelnext></novelnext>

    "This would certainly make things easier, but not too easy. There''s still Zhang to take care of. That guy would be even stronger inside his n, surrounded by his people. Tomorrow is going to be a really long day...."

    "When does the celebration start?" Yovana inquired. ording to the timing, they needed to be at the ce, prepared.

    Lilith looked down at the letter in her hand. "Starts at around six in the evening, so quitete."

    "If it starts at six, then guests should start arriving at around five. But you can''t go too soon. You need to get there when it''s already crowded, so at around six or a little over, that should be ideal." Yovana summarized.

    She was being so engaged in this mission as it was thest step that stood between her being able to free An. It was as if she wanted this to be a sess more than Lilith herself.

    Lilith also didn''t interfere and let Yovana continue.

    "I''m sure once you''re inside, you should be able to destroy the formation within an hour. So by seven, the formation should be destroyed. That''s when we can barge inside. You''ll be attacking them from inside while we''ll be attacking from outside."

    "The Franc n would be forced to split their forces, but by that time, it would already be toote. No matter how I look at it, this mission appears to be an absolute sess as long as you don''t get caught before destroying that formation."

    "Because if you do, things wouldn''t be as good for us. The entire Werewolf n would be here. You would be caught, and so will Lord Castiel and us. You''re the key to the sess of this mission, and everything rests on your shoulders."

    Even though Lilith already knew all those times, she didn''tment. She just agreed with Yovana.

    "Don''t worry. I don''t intend to fail."

    ****

    Elisi received a letter in her mansion, being delivered by the most trusted person of Ramiun.

    As soon as that person delivered the message, they left.

    "Ramiun... Have you finally decided to tell me everything?"

    A smirk spread across the face of Elisi as she slowly wiped the blood off her lips. A bodyid near her feet, lifeless.

    She stepped over the body to walk past it, getting to the sofa. "Clear the floor."

    As soon as she issued amand, a dark figure appeared before the body and took it. Another person appeared and cleaned the blood spots on the floor.

    Elisi opened the letter, wondering what secrets of Ramiun this letter was going to hold.

    "Hmm?"

    She went through the letter. Her expressions kept changing the more she read, turning grimmer with each passing second.

    "He can''t be serious." She tore the paper, tossing the pieces away. "He has gone crazy if he really thinks that''s possible."

    Even though she was in disbelief, there was also a little side of her that wondered if it was true, what could happen.

 Chapter 133 133: Entrance

    "An invitation?"

    A brief meeting took ce inside As'' room, where Lilith showed him the invitation letter she had received from the young mage.

    She also exined how it all happened and every other detail she had managed to receive.

    "Do you know why he''s throwing that celebration? Does it have anything to do with An?"

    As went through the letter, which was written by hand. He was sure that Zhang didn''t write the letter himself though. In the letter, there weren''t too many details other than the location of the celebration and the time everyone needed to get there.

    "No idea why he''s throwing this party. I''ll only find out after I get there. But it''s a perfect opportunity to sneak inside." Lilith took the letter back, keeping it beside her. "So, what do you think?"

    "It''s certainly much safer than the old n, as long as you can make sure you aren''t recognized."

    Lilith smiled in response. "I might be weaker than I was at my peak, but I''m not that weak. I can handle something like this. I know how to do it."

    "Alright. We will do it your way."

    *****

    A new day arrived with the first rays of sun falling on thend.

    Throughout the night, As and the others had already left the town after making sure that the three mages weren''t there anymore. In the darkness of the night, they moved closer to the Franc n, only stopping when they reached the boundary of the n.

    "Another step further, and everyone in the n will be alerted." Lilith stood before a red line on the ground that was barely visible.

    "This is the Vampire Warding Formation?" As asked, observing the line on the ground that appeared to be made from blood.

    Lilith only shook her head in response. "It''s not the one. That formation should be ahead."

    "This is more like a warning spell. This line is covering most of thend around the n. If I go by the information of the past, then there is only one point of entry where this line doesn''t exist. That would be the main entrance."

    "However, that ce is guarded every second. So one could either enter through the main point after being checked, or they could try to infiltrate thend through the vast uncovered area. If anyone chose thetter, within minutes, they are going to be surrounded by the n forces since this line will alert them about your position."

    "That''s why the best time to infiltrate is when I start working on the distraction from inside," Lilith exined. "So you all stay here after I go in. At exact seven, I want you all to infiltrate this ce, all three of youing from a different direction to split their forces even more."

    "Follow the n as much as you can. As, you would go first from the north, attracting arger amount of forces since you can face more. Lancaster will enter second after five minutes of As entering from the East. And Yovana, you''ll gost, so youe across the least number of mages from the west."

    "By the time it''s your turn, I''m sure As and Lancaster would''ve finished their opponents and came to help you."

    "So everyone understands the n? Any doubts?"

    No one raised any questions. The n was as basic as it could be, which left no room for questioning.

    Seeing no questions being raised, Lilith nodded in satisfaction.

    They all started waiting for it to be time. In the meantime, the Carriage of theirs was left behind. Lilith had instructed the carriage driver to arrive when it was six, so she could get in and continue inside the n. As a guest, she couldn''t walk inside without a carriage.

    As the time inched closer, everyone was looking forward to the battle toe. Lancaster stretched his arms, eager for battle. As for Yovana, she arranged her bow properly, covering the lower face of hers with mask.

    "Thirty minutes to six. I think I should get in position. I''ll see you all inside."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Yovana was the first one to depart. Since her position was the farthest, she left first.

    Lancaster was the next to leave, twenty minutes before six. As for As, he didn''t have to go anywhere since he was right where he was supposed to enter from.

    Ten minutes before six, Lilith also prepared to leave.

    "The Carriage should be here soon. I''ll see youter..."

    Lilith started leaving.

    "Lilith?" Before she could disappear from his view, As called out.

    "Yeah? Is there something I''m forgetting?" Lilith turned out, wondering if there was something important.

    "Best of luck." As wished her luck, making Lilith p her forehead.

    "That was it? And here I thought it was something important. Don''t worry; I''ll definitely seed. And I don''t need luck. I create my own luck."

    She snapped her fingers, making a little sparkle rise up.

    As watched Lilith leave, sitting on a nearby rock. Even though everyone was already in their position, there was still over an hour before it was time to get active.

    It was enough time for him to go through his spells again.

    *****

    The guests had started arriving a long time ago, making the Franc n very busy. In fact, by six, most of the guests were already inside the Franc n. No one wanted to bete when they were invited by the Franc n.

    Five minutes before it was six, Lilith arrived at the ce where she was supposed to meet with her carriage driver at the right time.

    She could see the carriageing to her. However, not too far from that carriage, she also saw another carriage.

    Lilith snapped her fingers, casting an invisibility spell. She didn''t want the carriage in the back to see her climb from the middle of the road.

    The carriage stopped exactly where it was supposed to. Lilith opened the door, making it appear as if the person on the inside had opened the door.

    She entered the carriage and closed the door once again. "I am inside. You can continue."

    The carriage driver affirmed. The carriage started moving.

    The entire event slightly surprised the driver in the back, making her wonder why the carriage stopped in the middle of nowhere.

    The next point Lilith''s carriage stopped was at the checking point, where she was asked to show the invitation and identify herself.

    Lilith showed the invitation she had refused just yesterday and gave a fake name. She did use the same identity asst night though.

    The guards found the invitation to be real. They allowed the carriage to pass through.

 Chapter 134 134: Distraction

    The Franc n... It was known to be one of the most influential ns. Still, it was also the most intimidating and bizarre. Despite having such wealth, the n had established themselves in the middle of nowhere, making it impossible for the outside world to have a greater range of contact with them.

    It was unclear if it was done intentionally to have more security for themselves or it was something else. All the world knew was that the n didn''t want to have more contact with the world than they needed to.

    Moreover, it wasn''t as if the world wanted much contact with them either. Franc n was a n of Witches and Wizards, which in itself was intimidating enough, let alone the stories about them.

    Generally, many towns would''ve been established near such a n since it was good for their own security, but there was no new town established near the n because of fear of the unknown.

    Despite not having any town near them, the Franc n still had high influence and was known throughout thends. Just one invitation from them was enough to have all the noble families toe to them.

    The n mansion itself was spread over many acres, let alone thend they controlled, which was spread in an even wider area.

    Just from the main entrance to the castle, it took a journey of around ten minutes through the carriage.

    By the time Lilith''s carriage reached the castle, she could see thousands of carriages already present there.

    She cast a small spell of illusion on her face to make her look like a different person. At the same time, she also hid her aura so Zhang couldn''t find her likest time.

    In fact, this time, she had modified her spell a bit to make it even harder to be detected.

    After she left the carriage, a young man came to her, seemingly belonging to the Franc n.

    "Greetings, youngdy."

    Lilith smiled gracefully, not showing any signs that she didn''t belong there.

    "Greetings, Young Sir. I apologize for beingte."

    "Not at all. It seems you are just at the right time. So don''t worry. The party is in the main hall. Go straight and then to the third door on the right."

    Lilith entered the massive pce that was the home of the Franc n.

    As soon as she entered, she noticed a long corridor. It was her first time inside the Franc n in her long existence. She couldn''t help but find the entire castle arrangement weird.

    Generally, the entrance led to a massive hall. But the entrance here straight led to a corridor which made this ce appear really small from the inside.

    However, this was also more easy to defend. There were many people around the hallway, seemingly keeping an eye on all the guests. If the entrance was just a long corridor, it made it harder for people to sneak inside without being seen.

    Moreover, with this strange arrangement of the castle, locating the whereabouts of An was even harder. Just navigating in this ce was a nightmare in itself.

    "I should''ve asked for more time," Lilith muttered, wondering if one hour was too little for locating and destroying the portal formation.

    Being distracted in her thoughts, she missed the third door and continued walking.

    A guard appeared before her, blocking her path. "Young Lady, that way."

    "Oh, I''m sorry."

    Lilith apologized before turning around. She stopped before the door she was told about and pushed it open.<novelnext></novelnext>

    As she opened the door, she finally saw a majestic hall. There were over four hundred people in the massive hall, yet the hall appeared to be empty.

    Every guest appeared to have a ss of wine in their hands. In the crowd, Lilith also managed to see a lot of the n members. In fact, she also saw the three people she had metst night. They were talking with the Town Head who was already here as well.

    For a brief moment, the young man''s eyes fell on Lilith as well, but he didn''t ce too much focus on her since she looked different than she didst night. He thought that she was invited by someone else.

    Their group wasn''t the only one that was sent to deliver invites. There were around four groups, and each group was under the misunderstanding that Lilith was invited by another group.

    Because of the misunderstanding, none of them found the presence of a new face at the party odd.

    ''Zhang still isn''t here. This is good for now.''

    Lilith picked up a ss of wine from the hands of a waiter, mixing in with the crowd while taking asional sips.

    Ten minutes had already passed since she arrived here, leaving only fifty minutes before the attack was going to be executed by As and others; her Zhang hadn''t arrived.

    ''Only Fifty Minutes... I can''t wait for his arrival. I need to start."

    She looked around the massive hall that had hundreds of tables, covered with in white table cloths, seemingly prepared for dinner.

    Some guests were already sitting around the tables, waiting for the event to start.

    That appeared to be enough for Lilith, giving her an idea. She located the table, which was right beside the wall, and advanced to that table casually.

    She picked up a chair and sat around that table, with the back of her chair touching the wall.

    When no one was looking at her, she lightly bit her left thumb. She used her bleeding thinking to carve a spell formation on the wall behind her.

    What her left hand was doing was hidden from the view by her body as everyone was standing around her right side. She had very strategically selected that spot.

    From her right hand, she kept taking sips, enjoying the privacy. She was so experienced in her spells that she didn''t even need to look at her spell to know that she was carving right.

    Unfortunately, her privacy wasn''t longsting. A middle-aged man noticed Lilith sitting alone. Noticing a beautiful youngdy who had nopany, the man licked her lips.

    He picked up another ss of wine. Carrying two sses, she walked to Lilith.

    Lilith saw the middle-aged maning to her, which made her frown.

    ''This idiot, does he have nothing better to do?"

    She ced her ss of wine back on the table before muttering something under her breath.

    The middle-aged man didn''t know what happened, but he felt as if someone had pushed him from behind suddenly. He dropped to the ground, spilling the wine on her clothes.

    The man stood up, looking around. "Who pushed me?!"

 Chapter 135 135: Found

    The middle-aged man was about to approach Lilith, who he found really attractive. But before he could even get to her, he felt as if someone pushed him.

    He was one of the Nobles of the Empire, holding the title of the Duke. Being pushed and falling was the most insulting thing that happened to him, especially when he was a guest here.

    "Who pushed me?!" He stood up in rage.

    However, as he turned around, he noticed that there was no one near him.

    Even the closest person to him was standing around five meters away from him, having no chance of being able to push him.

    In fact, everyone near Duke Layim was looking at him weirdly. They thought that the Duke was too drunk already. He fell on his own, and now he was ming others.

    A middle-aged woman approached the Duke, belonging to the Franc n.

    "I don''t believe anyone pushed you. I''ve been here all this time. No one ever got close to you. Moreover, everyone invited today are reputed people from good families. No one would dare push a guest of ours." The woman held the hand of the man, taking him with her. "Come, let me get you another drink."

    She alsomanded one of the servants to clear the ss pieces. The whole debacle of falling and spilling his drinks made the man forget what he was even doing.

    He was distracted, forgetting about approaching Lilith. It gave Lilith the opportunity to finish her spell.

    Before long, she finished the spell on the wall, trying to connect to the n pce so she could see everything inside.

    "Urgh!"

    She swiftly retracted her hand, feeling a jolt of current run down her body.

    "They took precautions for this spell, it seems," she muttered in a barely audible voice. It wasn''t easy to see inside the castle. And without knowing where the spell was, she couldn''t destroy it.

    "Then again, maybe they forget who I am. If it''s just a blocking spell, I know how to break it."

    Lilith still didn''t give up because giving up meant she needed to search every room individually. That was going to take way longer than an hour, and there was also a high chance of her being caught if she had to check every room.

    She moved her chair a bit to give her more room before she started creating another formation, right beside her old spell.

    "This spell should boost the old spell, making it ovee the block. If it doesn''t work, I''ll create another booster spell. I''ll keep making them until I seed."

    Lilith created the second spell and connected it to her first locator spell. The second spell boosted the strength of the first spell, modifying it to some extent.

    The first spell was boosted. Unfortunately, even now, the spell couldn''t ovee the block. Lilith didn''t care how much blood she was going to lose today. Her goals were more important than the blood loss.<novelnext></novelnext>

    She created another spell, connecting the third spell to the first one as well, making the first spell as the core of the other two spells.

    She again closed her eyes after finishing the spell to see if the spell was going to work this time or not. Through her blood, her spell was connected to her.

    As soon as she closed her eyes, she felt a slight resistance even now, but this time that resistance was something she was able to ovee.

    She had finally passed through the defense mechanisms of the Franc n. She sat on her seat, having her eyes closed as she checked through every room.

    She couldn''t actually see who was inside the rooms, but she was able to see how many people were inside the room and what they appeared to be doing. It was as if she could feel those people''s aura. She had used the same spell to locate Yovanast time as well.

    There were many rooms on this floor that had people inside, but she couldn''t find anyone who could have the aura of An. Even in his weakened condition, the internal aura of An was supposed to be something akin to a zing me that could be distinguished easily from the aura of the Franc n members.

    As Lilith was lost in trying to locate An, the door to her hall opened. Everyone stood up, watching a handsome man enter the hall, being surrounded by multiple people.

    Hearing themotion, Lilith also opened her eyes. She stood up as well. Everyone was standing. She knew that if she was the only one sitting, she was going to be too eye-catching.

    Zhang was still the same as before. There was not even a single scratch on his body. Even the wound that was given to him by Yovana appeared to be healed by now.

    Zhang''s gaze roamed over everyone in the hall. A calm smile remained on his lips throughout as he nodded.

    Lilith stood near the wall, hiding the formations behind her back. She still hasn''t managed to locate An even now. She needed more time, and until then, she couldn''t leave this ce.

    While Zhang was surrounded by everyone, Lilith closed her eyes again. She started going through the rooms that she was yet to search as fast as she could, utilizing the opportunity when Zhang was distracted.

    Unfortunately, it wasn''t proving to be easy to find An. Let alone An, she hadn''t managed to locate the Summoning formation either, which was her main goal. The Franc n was just so huge with so many rooms, things becameplicated.

    "There it is!" She softly muttered, noticing a room where she could feel the most powerful spell energying from. She was sure that this room was where the formation she was looking for was established.

    Unfortunately, things weren''t easy. That room was nowhere close to this ce. This castle was massive, and she was right near the entrance. As for the room she needed to go to, it was right at the center of the n, being protected heavily.

    She could see multiple auras around that room. It was evident that there were many people who were there to protect that ce. She had expected this difficulty, yet when looking in the context of time she had left, it was too much.

    There were only forty minutes left in the deadline.

    Lilith didn''t stop after locating the room itself. Instead, she continued her search.

    However, the distraction of Zhang wasn''t longsting. Even amongst the people that were surrounding him, his eyes fell on Lilith in the distance, who was the only person standing with her eyes closed.

 Chapter 136 136: Caught?

    "I''m d you all came here on such short notice. Please have some drinks. We''ll wait five more minutes to see if anyone else ising. Then we can start."

    Zhang found a way to get himself excused, leaving his men to keep the guests busy. He snuck out and straight walked to Lilith.

    Lilith had managed to stop the Duke from before, but this time Zhang himself wasing. It didn''t appear as if he was going to be distracted. There were people who tried to approach him, but he asked for himself to be excused, not stopping with them for too long.

    Only a few meters of distance remained between Zhang and Lilith.

    Zhang saw an empty ss in Lilith''s hand. It was odd to see someone holding an empty ss and being zoned out. He couldn''t help but find something odd in this decade.

    Lilith''s back was barely a few millimeters away from the wall, hiding the formations behind her. The distance was enough to make sure her clothes didn''t get dirty by the blood while also making sure that no one could see what was behind her.

    Lilith clenched her fist in excitement, finally locating An! She finally knew where An was and where the location of teleportation formation was. She had finally managed to locate what she wanted.

    She could engage with the crowd for a bit now. She opened her eyes, straight, gazing where Zhang was standing previously. However, unlike before, she couldn''t find Zhang there.

    All she could see was Zhang''s men interacting with the guests. She realized something was wrong.

    "Looking for someone?" A calm yetposed voice came from down.

    Lilith lowered her head, noticing Zhang sitting on a chair, right around the table, looking at him.

    "Lord Zhang." Lilith didn''t show intimidation. Her expression remained perfectly calm as age trapped the wall behind her twice, using her left hand before sitting down.

    "You appeared to be lost there. May I ask if something was wrong?" Zhang inquired.

    "Oh, that...? Don''t mind me. It was just a little pain in the eye. When I feel the pain, I close my eyes for longer durations to give them some rest. It makes me feel better," Lilith answered. "I apologize if I worried you."

    "Not at all. I just saw that your ss was empty. A prettydy should never have an empty ss at a party. That''s a shame for the host." Zhang slid the ss that he had brought closer to Lilith.

    "You''re so kind. Just like I''ve heard." Lilith smiled,plimenting the host of the party.

    "I must say, I don''t recognize ever meeting you. Who exactly are you?"

    Finally, Zhang asked the question that Lilith was worried about. She thought she wasn''t going to be recognized here, mixing in the crowd. Unfortunately, Zhang himself came to her, asking about her identity. This was troublesome.

    She couldn''t tell a lie that was easy to get caught. The only thing she could use was the lie she had made before. She told Zhang that she was from the guild in the north.

    She also told him how she managed to receive the invitation to the party. However, she made one minor change in the story, being careful not to get caught in the future.

    "Is that so? That''s fine. Come, let me introduce you to others. Since you''re new to these parts of the world, it''s only my duty to help you around."

    Zhang stood up, gesturing to Lilith to follow him. Things kept getting worse for Lilith. Not only was Zhang with her, but he also appeared to be suspicious. Losing him like this was really hard.<novelnext></novelnext>

    With Zhang following her so closely, how could she sneak away?

    ******

    "Thirty minutes left... By now, Lilith should''ve been out of the party and on her way to the formation. Just a little more..." As gazed at the beautiful moon sitting on the stone.

    He stood up and stopped memorizing the spells. He started pacing back and forth, asionally ncing in the direction of the mansion. Even as he paced around, he made sure to stay as far away from the red line as much as he could.

    Meanwhile, back inside the mansion, Lilith was apanying Zhang, wondering how she was going to find an opportunity to sneak out. She needed to lose Zhang at any cost, but it didn''t appear as if it was going to be easy.

    There were only thirty minutes left. Not only did she need to lose the man, but she also needed to get to the formation and destroy it.

    Surprisingly, Zhang straight away took Lilith to the man who had given her an invitationst night. Since Lilith had spoken where she received the invitation, it didn''t take Zhang long to realize who could''ve answered.

    The young man was surprised to see Zhang approach him. He was not a high-ranking man in the n. In fact, it wasn''t even easy for him to get an audience with Zhang. To see Zhanging to him himself was surprising.

    He respectfully bowed to Zhang, wondering what could''ve brought Zhang to him.

    "Did you give an invitation to any merchant guild from the northst night?" Zhang straight asked.

    "Ah, yeah." The young man didn''t understand why he was being asked this question. He didn''t even know how Zhang found out since the ones he invited didn''t arrive.

    He swiftly issued an exnation. "They were the envoys from the biggest merchant guild in the north. I thought it was wise to invite them as well."

    "So you did." Zhang smiled.

    "Did something happen?" The young man asked. His heart raced. On the inside, he was even scared if hemitted a mistake that she shouldn''t havemitted.

    "Did the people you invite arrive?" Zhang asked another question, instead of answering the young man''s questions.

    "Ah, They didn''t. They said they were going to leave today. I tried to convince them, but they said they''ll think about it. So far, they haven''t arrived. It makes me think that they won''te. Most probably, they already left," the young man exined, looking past Lilith.

    Because of her illusion, he wasn''t able to recognize her. All he saw was a different face that he didn''t recognize. In fact, even now, he thought that the woman was invited by someone else.

    He even considered the woman to be some royalty as she was being apanied by Zhang himself. If only he knew that Lilith was the same person, his answer would''ve been different.

    Receiving the answer from the young man, Zhang nced at Lilith.

    Lilith didn''t show any expression on her face. She just held her ss firmly, ready for any oue.

 Chapter 137 137: Takeover

    "Is something wrong?" the young man asked again.

    He couldn''t understand why this topic was being raised so suddenly. Who informed him about this in the first ce?

    "Is something wrong? Of course, something is wrong." Zhang frowned. "You left an invitation behind and didn''t even confirm if they wereing or not? You know how it could''ve been misused by our enemies? Moreover, when someone from the Merchant Union came, you didn''t even wee them. Is that how a host should behave?"

    "Someone from the union came? Who?"

    "What do you mean who? She!" Zhang gestured to Lilith. "Since the union members couldn''te, they sent one of their own here instead. If you had confirmed with them once if they were sending anyone, how hard would it be?"

    "I expected better from you."

    Hearing Zhang''s response, Lilith sighed in relief. It appeared as if Zhang wasn''t suspicious. He believed her story.

    She kept most of the story abouting from the merchant union the same. The only thing she changed about the story was that she wasn''t part of the team that met the young man. Instead, she imed to arrive at the hotelte to meet up with the others.

    It was at that time she was informed about this party. Everyone told her to stay behind for one day since it wasn''t nice to reject the invitation altogether.

    Through a slight modification of the story, she removed the chances of being caught. Moreover, even if the young man didn''t recognize her, it wasn''t troublesome since she already took that into ount when making her story.

    "Why don''t you stay with our guest and keep herpany throughout the party? Make sure she has a great time."

    Zhang left Lilith with the young man before he left. Along the way, he subtly nced in the direction where Lilith was sitting before. The wall appeared to be as it was before. There were no blood marks or any formations.

    As Zhang had asked Lilith to sit down, she herself destroyed both the formations, leaving no trace behind. Fortunately, she was right on time. She had managed to fool Zhang.

    Despite not apanying Lilith himself, Zhang was still a bit suspicious of her. That''s why he left Lilith with his men, telling them to apany her the entire time. It was his way of making someone keep an eye on her since he couldn''t do anything just because he was suspicious.

    "You are from the merchant union as well? I apologize for not apanying you. I didn''t know you came here from my invitation. If I had, I would''ve been more careful."

    The young man was also relieved that Zhang didn''t scold him too much. It was genuinely his mistake since he didn''t confirm before. He thought that if those people hade, he would''ve been able to recognize them. But he had forgotten that they couldn''t send someone else as well.

    Now that he knew his mistake and was assigned the task of apanying Lilith, he wasn''t going to make the same mistake again.

    Lilith took another sip of her wine, ncing at the exit. It wasn''t easy to sneak out of this ce with the young man on her tail. Let alone him; even Zhang was asionally ncing at her.

    Five more minutes passed, leaving only twenty minutes to her deadline and the event finally looked like it was going to start.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Zhang stepped to the center of the hall. Everyone stood before him, at some distance from each other, waiting for him to speak.

    ''If I create a clone, I should be able to get out of here without raising suspicions, but unlike me, my clone won''t be able to hide the aura. She would be caught right away by Zhang. So that''s out of the question. Should I make everyone go to sleep?''

    ''No, with so many Mages here, it''s impossible. They can immediately take a precaution. The hall should also have some protection for such spells. It would be too dangerous in this ce.''

    Lilith went through her entire spell knowledge, trying to find something that she could use without starting an all-out war with Zhang and his n. Unfortunately, at the moment, there was nothing she could do.

    ''I guess I really can''t do anything here. Then again, sometimes the most basic skill is the most effective as well. And what better than...''

    She nced at the young mage near her.

    "You might be wondering why I''ve called you all here? You''re all the most influential people in the surroundingnd, so I thought you should hear it from me first. Today is a celebration! It''s a celebration of me getting what I wanted for a long time! It''s also a celebration of a decision! A decision that''s going to change this world forever!"

    Zhang started talking, and the more he talked, the more everyone listened to him. His words were odd, but they were also mysterious. What did he mean by a decision that was going to change the world?

    These words even put Lilith on alert. For a moment, she stopped trying to leave. She wanted to hear more about this decision. Just what was this guy talking about?

    "What decision, Lord Zhang?" The middle-aged Duke asked.

    "The decision to change everything. The decision to finally ask for what we deserve! Throughout the years, we''ve lived in seclusion because of the decisions of our ancestors, not going after any worldly materials."

    "However, I''ve decided that it''s time we change that!" Zhang dered confidently.

    ''Change the status quo? Did he mean the treaty of Abestice? Don''t tell me he''s talking about what I think he is...''

    Lilith was the most surprised about the words of the man. He was talking about upsetting the world order. That only reminded her of one thing. She wasn''t sure if he was actually talking about that or not, but she did hope he wasn''t.

    The entire hall was silent, waiting to hear more about the decision of Zhang.

    Zhang spread out his arms as a bright grin graced his lips. "We have lived in the distantnd for long enough, away from the influence and power. But it''s time we change that! That''s why I dere the establishment of a New Empire!"

    "And as you know, a person needsnd and people to establish an Empire?"

    Seeing Zhang lick his lips as he talked about establishing an Empire made the young Duke gulp down. Was Zhang talking about waging an uprising against the Royal crown? Let alone creating an Empire, his own n establishment came under an Empire. The only way to take over the control of the Empire was by killing the Royal Family!

 Chapter 138 138: Arrival Of The Unexpected

    "What are you saying?" The Duke asked. "Did you drink too much today? You''re talking about an uprising against the King!"

    The King was the middle-aged man''s brother. That''s also why he had received the position of the Duke. He couldn''t believe someone had invited him to their party to dere that they were going to take over the Empire which belonged to their family.

    "Oh? An uprising? You''re wrong. I''m not going to start an uprising. It''s just taking over what already belongs to me. And if you call that uprising, I won''t stop you. Just that you should correct your statement a bit."

    "If it''s an uprising, then it''s not going to start. It has already started long ago. Today, it''s going to end!"

    Zhang pped his hands.

    The doors opened, and multiple guards stepped inside, bringing some people who were chained. They couldn''t even move their hands.

    "Haa?"

    Shocking gasps filled the entire hall as there was not a single person here who didn''t recognize the people who were called inside. Well, there was not a single person from this timeline. Since Lilith had slept for over a century, she didn''t know most of the things about this world, let alone recognising faces. She was the only person here who didn''t recognize the prisoners.

    The only thing she was sure of was that none of these were An.

    "Brother!" The Duke called out, recognizing the man in the lead. It was her brother and the current Emperor!

    The Emperor wasn''t alone. His entire family was in shackles, including his small kids.

    "That''s right. This weak man is your current Emperor. Well, he used to be. He had abdicated the throne long ago, making me the new Emperor. From now on, this entire Empire belongs to me and the Franc n!"

    "The reason I called you here was to celebrate this new change with me, and so you could wee your new Emperor!"

    "At the same time, you''ll also get to witness something that you don''t usually get to see! You''ll see some executions! The entire Royal Family will be executed and remembered... This is also what the oue will be for anyone who dares to betray me!"

    "It''s time to show the world that it''s not just the Werewolves who can have an Empire that can keep the Vampires at bay! It''s time we mages start our rise too! This Empire is just the beginning! I will make this Empire a ce where all the Witch ns wille under the same umbre, for the same cause!"

    "It''s time for us to start our preparation for the future! So cheers to a new future!" Zhang raised his ss for a Toast before taking a sip.

    The Royal Family kept begging the man to let them go. They talked about how they had already handed over the reins of the Empire, and now they weren''t a threat. Unfortunately, their pleas for help only fell on deaf ears.

    Lilith clenched her fist, finally understanding what Zhang was nning.

    ''That idiot...'' she couldn''t help but shake her head. ''So I was right. He is going to break the treaty. That just means he is reducing the time for us all. What an idiot! Did no one tell him what led to that treaty in the first ce?''

    Through the corners of her eyes, she also noticed the young mage who had given her the invitation to this party. The young man also appeared to be shocked at what he heard. It was as if even he didn''t know about the n.<novelnext></novelnext>

    The Royal Family was kept prisoners in the n, yet he didn''t know about it. Then again, he was a low-ranking member. It wasn''t too shocking that he didn''t know. From the looks of it, only the High ranking members knew of this n.

    Right before everyone in the hall, the Royal Family was kept hostage, ready to be executed. The atmosphere of celebration was suddenly changed to something much darker. Most of the guests here had pale faces. Some were even trembling. When they arrived here, even in their wildest dreams, they couldn''t have expected what they were seeing right now.

    Many even thought that they were in a nightmare.

    Right before everyone''s eyes, the members of the Franc n killed the Royal Family. Painful roars echoed in the surroundings as they were killed. Even the kids weren''t spared. And not a single person tried to stop them. None of them had the strength to stop it either.

    If there was one person who could stop the Franc n, it was Lilith. Unfortunately, Lilith also couldn''t interfere. She was here for a mission, and that mission was more important for now than a family.

    She didn''t want to ce her neck on the line for someone else''s family, especially since that was going to put As in danger. For his sake and hers, she didn''t do anything.

    She just acted shocked like everyone else here.

    ? Fifteen Minutes... Only fifteen minutes were left, and things had be moreplicated than she thought. Sneaking out of a party was stillparatively easier, but sneaking out of a ughter house where no one even dared to move...?

    The entire hall was surrounded by the n members. Even the exit was blocked. There appeared to be no way out of here without attracting everyone''s attention. Even for her, it wasn''t easy at this point.

    "Hmm?" This?" Lilith frowned, sending something. She looked to her left.

    She wasn''t the only one who sensed something. Zhang appeared to be the same. He gazed to his right. His face turned grim.

    Even Lilith didn''t appear to be happy at this point.

    ****

    An sat in his dark cell, inside a formation circle that prevented him from getting out of the circle. There were many guards outside his cell, despite him being unable to fight back. Even his chains weren''t removed.

    Despite all that, there appeared to be a devilish smile on An''s face. It was unclear why he was smiling in this situation.

    "He is here¡­ That''s quite unexpected. I didn''t think he woulde here... I thought Castiel would be the one to arrive here first. But even I didn''t expect... him. Things are certainly going to get very interesting here. Then again, it''s about time. I was starting to get bored. It should be the time to make a return..."

    "I would''ve loved to see Zhang''s face at this point. I''m sure he would''ve sensed it as well. If only Castiel also arrives now, that guy would have a heart attack..."

    An''sughter echoed in the dark cell, getting louder with each passing second.

 Chapter 139 139: Hes Here

    A strange aura could be sensed, but only by the most powerful people in the castle. As for the weaklings, the aura was as good as non-existent.

    The people in the hall, including the Franc n Members, wondered why Zhang suddenly looked so serious. Just a minute ago, he was looking like he was having the best time of his life, but now it was as if he had seen the worst enemy of his.

    Not too far from the castle, even As felt that aura. Even though his soul wasn''t on the same level as the others here, his body was still that of Castiel. He didn''t understand what this aura was since he had never felt that before.

    He had faced Razil and Zhang, but none of them had an aura like this. He was sure that this wasn''t their aura.

    "This doesn''t belong to Lilith either. Then who? Could it be An? He has been freed?"

    If this aura didn''t belong to Razil or Zhang, it made As feel as if this aura probably belonged to An. And if that was the case, that meant Lilith was sessful.

    "Did she destroy the Formation and free An? There are still ten minutes to the deadline. That girl, she did it faster than we nned. Then again, as long as she seeded, it doesn''t matter if she was hasty. What matters is that it was a sess. An is free, and the formation must be destroyed as well."

    As was under a grave misunderstanding, but it wasn''t his fault. There were supposed to be only three people inside the castle who could have a powerful aura: Lilith, Zhang, and An. Since it wasn''t the first two, that left only An. If it wasn''t a Witch or a Werewolf, it could only be a Progenitor!

    He wasn''t entirely wrong either. He was right that this was the aura of a Progenitor... However, there was something he got wrong.

    A figure, hooded in a pure white cloak, had just entered the property of the Franc n, through the main entrance.

    He had passed through the check post of the carriages. No one stopped that person. Or rather, no one could stop that person.

    Multiple dead bodies were lying in the backdrop as the figure walked away from them.

    The figure belonged to a young man who had short silver hair that only came to his shoulders. The defining characteristics of the man were his beautiful golden pupils.

    He used his thumb, wiping the trail of blood that was trickling down his lips. The man had a young face and body build, making him appear like he was barely twenty.

    Even though the man had killed so many mages, there was not a single scratch on his body or piece of dirt on his beautiful white cloak.

    Even Zhang realized what this aura was. He had felt the aura of Castiel. He was sure it wasn''t Castiel. As for An, he had him in his cell. That left only two people who could have an aura like this... Ramiel or Lucious.

    Ramiel had an entire lineage of Vampires behind him. There was no way he was going toe alone. He would''ve had an army with him, even though he was strong enough to attack alone. Ramiel was more into showing off, after all.

    That left only one option.

    No matter which of the two it was, both the options were bad for him.

    "Lucius!" Lilith and Zhang both muttered at the same time. The only difference was that Lilith kept her blouse so low that no one could hear what she said, even though they stood around him.

    ''What is he doing here?'' Lilith grimaced. She still hadn''t destroyed the Portal. If Zhang went and activated the portal to call for backup, things were going to get messy.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Just as she expected, Zhang started leaving. It was unclear where he was going, but Lilith was sure that he wasn''t going to fight Lucius alone.

    Even though Castiel was considered to be the most versatile and the strongest, Lucius was considered more vicious. In fact, he was also the one who actually killed her grandma in the past.

    With each passing second, Lucius''s aura became stronger as he walked closer to the castle without a single care in the world.

    ''Could he be here to save An as well? But how did he find out? Even we only knew because Yovana overheard Zhang. Without that, we wouldn''t have known. There''s also no way that Razil would give away this location, no matter how many conflicts he had with Zhang.''

    ''He isn''t here for An! This must be the case!" Lilith finally came to a conclusion. She was sure that Lucious had another motive foring here.

    Still, no matter what his notice, she couldn''t let him spoil her n! She needed to destroy the Formation first and save An next!

    Zhang left the hall, followed by the men, without any exnation, leaving a confused crowd behind.

    Lilith knew he had no choice. She couldn''t be hidden anymore. She didn''t have time left. She needed to take action now.

    She cast her invisibility spell on her, disappearing from the crowd.

    The young mage who was apanying Lilith was so distracted by what was happening ahead that he didn''t even realize Lilith''s disappearance.

    However, there were many of the guests who saw thedy disappear before them. Their jaws dropped. However, they didn''t make any noise. They just rubbed their eyes, thinking they were seeing things.

    After disappearing, Lilith ran to the door.

    Two guards stood before the door, blocking it. Without them moving aside, there was no way for her to get past them.

    Lilith had no choice but to remove her invisibility temporarily since she couldn''t use any other spells as long as she was invisible.

    Her figure came into everyone''s view as soon as she canceled her invisibility spell. The two guards were shocked to see ady appearing before them out of thin air. Even the man who was supposed to apany Lilith was shocked. How did she get there?

    She looked to his left. Just as he expected, Lilith wasn''t there. It didn''t take him long to put the pieces of the puzzle together! Lilith... She wasn''t a human! She was a Witch!

    Unfortunately, it was toote. By the time he realized, Lilith was already at the door.

    "Wind of Clearance!" Lilith waved her hand.

    A powerful gust of wind sent the two guards flying in different directions, clearing the path for her. Everyone happened so fast that the guards didn''t even have time to respond.

 Chapter 140 140: Rightful Place

    Another gust of wind opened the door toward the outside. Lilith stepped out of the hall.

    For a moment, the people inside the hall were in a daze at what had just happened. It took the mages some time toe out of their daze before they all ran to catch Lilith.

    The one person who didn''t run after her was the young man who had given Lilith an invitation. He was in disbelief.

    Lilith stepped out of the hall, only to find that the entire hallway was empty. There were no guards there like before.

    "He sent them outside to hold Lucius back? He probably wants some time. That idiot... He doesn''t know that those things are just a feast for Lucius. The only one who can hold back Lucius is him. Then again, it''s good for me. Clear path."

    Lilith cast a flight spell and flew in the direction where the Portal Room was.

    It took her five minutes to reach the room, without much obstruction along the way; her journey was only easier.

    In the back, the people from the hall stood confused in the hallway, not knowing which direction Lilith went. They had wasted so much time being shocked that they had missed Lilith.

    As Lilith got to the portal room, she finally started seeing some guards. However, this was where she slowed down. Shended on the floor and cast the invisibility spell, easily getting past them without being seen.

    Since the guards were standing on the corner of the hallway, she didn''t even need to move them aside to get past them, getting closer to her destination.

    Not long after, she finally reached the entrance of the room where the portal formation was established.

    Before the room, she saw four people guarding the entrance.

    A smile spread across her lips. "What could be easier at this point than taking them out when they didn''t even know she was here?"

    After dealing with the four people, Lilith entered the room.

    "Hmm? He isn''t here?" As soon as she entered the hall, she realized that there was no one here. The formation hadn''t been activated. Not only was it not activated, but Zhang wasn''t here either. If he didn''te here, then where did he go?

    *****

    As Lilith was wondering about the whereabouts of Zhang, Zhang was already outside the Castle.

    Lilith was wrong in her assumption that as soon as Zhang noticed the arrival of a Progenitor, he was going to run to call for a backup. She had underestimated the arrogance of Zhang.

    This was his home! This was hisnd! And he didn''t consider himself to be weaker than anyone, especially a Progenitor! Just the thought of being weaker was insulting to him!

    He was prepared to face Lucius with all he got. Not only was he prepared for the battle, but he also expected to win. This was his ce! He had everything he could need? If he couldn''t even stop an enemy here, then he believed he didn''t deserve to live!

    ****

    In another ce, Castiel had also entered thends of Zhang, crossing the red line.

    Even though it wasn''t told ording to the n, he believed that Lilith had already done her part because of his misunderstanding.

    He passed the alerting line ten minutes before it was seven. However, even as he crossed the line, he didn''t see any mage arrive to apprehend him.<novelnext></novelnext>

    The n was for him to attract most of the mages with his arrival so he could make it easier for Lancaster and Yovana to infiltrate as well. However, it didn''t go as he expected.

    He had expected to be surrounded by multiple mages by now. Let alone multiple mages; there was not a single person here to capture him.

    "This is odd. Why isn''t anyone here?" He frowned. "Was that red line just for show?"

    "Still, if it was just for show, how could it fool Lilith? She should''ve found out. Then what was wrong? Why didn''t anyonee?

    It didn''t matter if anyone came or not. The n was still the n. He needed to attract the attention of everyone to him so Lilith could have some cover inside. If they weren''t going toe on his own, he was going to call them to him!

    He stopped holding back his Progenitor Aura, letting it free. His aura spread far and wide, covering the entire ce, even countering some of the old aura.

    ****

    Back in the portal room, Lilith also sensed that aura. She realized that As had started taking action. With two Progenitors here, Zhang was going to have no chance but to call for backup.

    Unfortunately, she wasn''t going to give them the opportunity. Zhang hadn''t activated the portal when he had a chance, and now Lilith wasn''t going to leave a chance for him.

    She bit her thumb, letting it bleed. Using her blood, she started creating an even bigger formation around the portal formation.

    She could''ve easily destroyed it without needing another formation, but she knew that would alert the werewolves about the formation being destroyed here. Just to be safe; first she created another formation to make sure the second node of this formation couldn''t sense it.

    She worked as fast as she could in creating the second formation.

    *****

    Back in the cell, An also sensed Castiel''s aura. He scratched his temple.

    "What a timing."

    Out of the Four Progenitors in existence, three were in the same ce now. The only one who was missing was Ramiel...

    ****

    [A few minutes ago]

    Zhang stood at the entrance of the Castle, waiting for Lucius. All the defense formations around the property were activated already, giving his people even more boost. Through the formations in thend, they could draw even more power for their spells through the reserves.

    Unlike the Kingdom of Wolves, the Franc n didn''t have a Kingdom. Moreover, they also had many enemies. Unlike the Werewolves, the Witches were fragmented. There was no union amongst them; many of them even hated the Franc n.

    Despite all those enmities, if the Franc n hadn''t been attacked so far was because of one and only one reason! The Spiritual Reserves under thend. This was also why the Franc n was established here.

    It was slightly easier to defeat the Franc n away from their residence just like Lilith, and Castiel had killed themst time, but when it came to their residence, it was just harder!

    The Franc n here could draw out the power from thend, through the spiritual reserves, which made them cast their spells without using their own energy. They also didn''t need to hold back in fear of running out.

 Chapter 141 141: Both

    Zhang waited for the invited guest that decided to grace his ce.

    "Now that he decided to show up here, I will make sure he doesn''t leave."

    Zhang was so confident about having an easy time here that there wasn''t a single frown on his face. The Franc n members stood behind him, each at five meters of distance from each other, creating an arc around him.

    The aura kept getting closer and closer. Soon Zhang was actually able to see the man.

    A young man was walking slowly, seemingly not in any hurry. His face remained expressionless as he nced at Zhang in the distance.

    Lucius had never seen Zhang before, but it wasn''t hard for him to locate him in the crowd. He was the strongest person here.

    Simrly, Zhang had never seen Lucius before, but he had heard the description of Lucius before. The young man arriving toward him appeared to have simr features.

    He appeared to be a teenager who had a height of five feet ten inches only. He had beautiful silver hair and golden pupils that were visible even from a distance.

    Lucius stopped barely five meters away from him, observing his surroundings. He could see that the mages had started surrounding him. He could also feel a strange energy rising in the surrounding,ing from the earth.

    "Progenitor Lucius, I suppose?" Zhang asked. "I wonder if it''s my lucky day to see you arrive here. First An, then you, and next Castiel. I''ll have all three."

    There was a bright grin on his lips as he talked. "It looks like you selected the right time to wake up from your slumber."

    Lucius''s lifeless eyes gazed at Zhang. He didn''t say anything. Instead, he nced at the castle behind him.

    "Oh right, how could I forget to introduce myself? I am Zhang, the Head of the Franc n! And soon, I''ll be your master!"

    "My master?" Lucius finally opened his lips, letting out a few words.

    His voice... It was so melodious that it could hypnotize an ordinary person without him having to do anything. However, everyone here was a mage, further boosted by the Ancestral Lands. Even the melodious voice didn''t affect them. It wasn''t as if Lucius was intending that either.

    "Even your Ancestors wouldn''t dare to talk to me like that." Lucius frowned. "It seems the Franc n has forgotten its ce after we went to slumber."

    "Forgot our ce? Hahahaha!" Zhang burst into an uncontroble burst ofughter. "Let alone forgetting our ce; it''s just now that we''ve realized our ce! And do you know where our ce is?"

    Even though Zhang asked a question, he didn''t even wait for Lucius to answer as he spoke again. "Our ce is on the peak of this world with all the Vampires under us!"

    "Our ce is as the ruler of thisnd! And your ce? It''s at our feet, and I''ll make sure youe to your rightful ce."

    Zhang talked with such great confidence that if any stranger were here, they really would''ve thought that he was taking to a ve or a weakling.

    His words had also managed to slightly irritate Lucius. Watching an insect talk like that to him was irritating. He felt like killing that insect and attaining the peace of mind.<novelnext></novelnext>

    He slowly started raising his hand. Lucius wasn''t the kind of person who wasted his time talking about how he was going to kill someone. He just did it.

    As soon as his hand raised to the sky, a beautiful golden formation circle started appearing above his head.

    However, at the same time, another powerful aura arrived. Feeling that aura, even Lucius was distracted. The formation circle that was taking shape above his head disappeared.

    "Castiel?" He frowned.

    It had been a really long time since he hadst seen Castiel. In fact, Castiel was the first person amongst them to go to sleep. No one knew where he went to sleep. He just abruptly disappeared. No matter how much they tried to find Castiel, it was all for naught.

    Moreover, it wasn''t as if theirst interaction with Castiel was pleasant. Lucius still remembered how bad things had be at that time.

    "Another?" The one who was affected the worst was Zhang. He was prepared to handle one Progenitor but two? And even if he could handle two Progenitors, he knew that wasn''t all his problems since Castiel was more than just a Progenitor. He was also a mage. Not only that, he was apanied by Lilith.

    So, in essence, he wasn''t just fighting two Progenitors now. He was fighting two Progenitors and a Witch who wasn''t much weaker than a Progenitor, even if she wasn''t at her peak like before. And there was also a small chance that the Royal Blood Wolf was part of his team.

    The enemies of his just multiplied suddenly.

    "Go and activate the Formation. Send a message to the Werewolves. Tell them that we are attacked by two Progenitors and Lilith. Tell them toe fast. Even if we hold back Castiel and Lucius, Lilith is the more sneaky one. If she frees An, we won''t have just two Progenitors to deal with. We would have three..."

    "Tell Razil toe as fast as he can. And tell everyone in the n to be more alert. Lilith is sneaky. Stay alert and increase the defense of the Castle, especially the Prison!"

    Zhang finally couldn''t take more risks. At the moment, making sure that An wasn''t free was their biggest responsibility. If they failed in that, even their Ancestralnd couldn''t make things easier for them.

    *****

    It was finally seven! It was time for Lancaster to enter.

    He also crossed the red line, running through the in grass, alert. He was expecting to be attacked. However, even as he ran for a long time, there was no one here to stop him. He was also as surprised as As was initially.

    Not long after, Yovana also crossed the red line, having her bow and arrows ready. As an archer, she was more alert and more careful as she entered.

    ****

    Even after spreading his aura, no one came to stop him. No one came to attack him, even though As was ready. He kept moving closer and closer to the Castle, dashing as fast as he could. However, no matter what, he didn''t see anyone.

    It was only when he reached near the castle that he saw a group of people. On one side, he saw Zhang and the other mages. While on the other side, he saw a white-cloaked man. Since the man''s back was facing him, he couldn''t see him.

    The man slowly nced back.

 Chapter 142 142: What Daughter?

    The cloaked man nced back. His emotionless eyes gazed at As. A slight frown spread across his forehead.

    He was sure that the person behind him was Castiel. There was no doubt in it. However, at the same time, he also felt as if the person was different for some reason. He was Castiel but not quite.

    As still hadn''t spoken or done anything, yet Lucius realized that something was wrong thanks to just one nce. Unfortunately, he just couldn''t put his finger at it. What was different, he didn''t understand. He just knew that it was the case.

    As also frowned. Gazing at the man, he realized that it wasn''t An. He had heard about An and how he looked. He was sure that it wasn''t An before him.

    The aura was that of a Progenitor. And the eyes and the hair of Lucius gave his identity away.

    "Lucius..." As muttered. Justst night, he was thinking about how to find Lucius, and today he stood before him. Unfortunately, this situation wasn''t good either.

    It was different if he had gone after Lucius since he would''ve been prepared on how to react or deal with any unfortunate incident. But this sudden appearance...

    Castiel and Lucius didn''t have a good rtionship. In fact, it was the same for Castiel and everyone else. A conflict of centuries couldn''t be removed within seconds. With An, it was different since An was weaker because of being trapped for so long.

    Lucius wasn''t weak. Lucius had been free... He wasn''t trapped... He wasn''t hungry. If anything, Lucius was the strongest person here.

    Three men all stood at some distance from each other. And all of them were lost in serious thought. For Zhang, there were two Progenitors he needed to face. For Lucius, he didn''t know if Castiel was going to side with him or fight him. And As was concerned about having to fight both Lucius and Zhang.

    "So that was why you were so confident?" Zhang asked, ring at Lucius. "You came with backup."

    He didn''t know that even Lucius had no idea about Castiel''s arrival here before he came. He hadn''t nned anything.

    "Backup? For you?" Lucius looked at Zhang as if he was looking at an idiot. "The younger generation is really too naive if they think, and I need backup. Even bigger idiots if they think Castiel wille to give me a backup of all people."

    For a moment, he didn''t even care about Zhang. The arrival of Castiel had made him momentarily forget his own goal as well.

    "Why are you here?" he asked Castiel. "After disappearing for so long, you just make an appearance here? Why? If you are here to stop me, then I''ll warn you. Don''t even try... Things are different now."

    As scratched his temple, trying to make sense of the situation.An wasn''t out, and Lucius was here instead. That meant Lilith hadn''t seeded yet. That also meant she was still inside.

    If Lilith was inside, then it was only a matter of time before she could get to An. All he needed to do was to make sure that Zhang or Lucius didn''t create a problem for her. He needed to keep the two here, distracted.

    "I didn''t know you were back as well," As spoke with great calm.

    Lilith had trained him on how Castiel used to talk, just for a situation like this, so he couldn''t be found out that easily. He couldn''t let anyone know that another soul was apanying his body.

    Even though he wasn''t perfect at impersonation, the fact that Castiel didn''t have an ent helped him a lot. He had the same voice as Castiel as well. So as long as he kept hisposure and didn''t speak about things he didn''t know, then it wasn''t hard to pretend to be Castiel.<novelnext></novelnext>

    That way, even if the other side could see that something was wrong, they weren''t going to know that it was a different soul in his body.

    And what better way to make someone believe he really was Castiel than to pretend to know Lucius? All he needed to do was talk about how Lucius was back after a long time since he was sure that Castiel would have spoken the same thing.

    *****

    Lilith finally destroyed the Portal Formation! She had seeded in her mission. Now there was no way for the Franc n to call for backup. Moreover, with Zhang and the strongest mages distracted outside, she had free reign inside the castle. She could even free An.

    She left the hall and went to the prison on the lowest floor. Without Zhang inside, Lilith was like a fierce cat in the nest of rats. No one could stop her, especially since she was already inside.

    By the time Zhang even sent his people to alert the Guards inside, Lilith had already killed many of them, utilizing the opportunity when they were not on alert.

    She ran down, trying to get to An to get the Key Fragment from her before freeing him.

    She killed anyone who stood in her path, being the real Warlord of this ce.

    She was worried at the start as to how she was going to get down without alerting anyone, especially Zhang. However, now she didn''t care about anything. She had destroyed the formation that she was most worried about. Moreover, she also knew the guard formation and where she was going to find them.

    A wave of me rushed through the hallway, burning many unsuspecting guards to cinders. Closely behind the mes, Lilith walked into the scorched hallway.

    "The feeling of power... It makes me remember old times." Lilith stretched her arms, enjoying all the chaos. It had been a really long time since she felt so liberated.

    She finally reached the cell. It was much easier for her to get to the cell of An than it was in the Kingdom of Werewolves, maybe because the Franc n hadn''t taken as many precautions.

    They couldn''t just create a formation to block everyone except werewolves here. If they did, they couldn''t enter themselves. They also couldn''t block mages from entering the cell since they were ones as well.

    The only precaution they took was creating spells to block Vampires and Werewolves from getting to this part of the cell, which was ineffective for Lilith.

    Lilith broke the lock on the cell, pushing the metallic door open.

    An was sitting in the darkness inside the room. As soon as he saw the door open, he raised his head.

    "Lilith... I just say, I thought you would be thest person toe here. Are you here to take me as a prisoner as well?" An inquired, smiling. He didn''t appear worried.

    "I came here because your daughter asked me to. She begged us to help you."

    "My daughter?" An tilted his head sideways. "When did that happen?Did you finally lose your sanity? I don''t have a daughter. You know we can''t have kids."

 Chapter 143 143: Who Is She?

    "I don''t have a daughter."

    That one statement of An came as apletely unexpected surprise for Lilith. For a moment, she even thought that he was lying. How could he not have a daughter? They had been traveling with her daughter all this while.

    Was he trying to keep his rtionship a secret since he didn''t want anyone to know about his daughter? There was a high possibility of that being the case since he wasn''t going to want a weakness like that to be known by his enemies.

    "You don''t have to hide that anymore. She told us everything. And it doesn''t matter how much I hate you; we''ve promised her I''ll get you out."

    An''s lips curved into a smile. "So it was true. You really lost it. You talk about having someone who doesn''t exist? And if the one you''re talking about really does exist, that means you''ve been fooled big time."

    "Someone used you, most probably to get to me. Let me guess, that girl is also here?" he asked. Even though it was a random guess, he was right. Yovana was actually here.

    "If she wasn''t your daughter, why did you get caught by the Werewolf n? Why did they attack you? Wasn''t it because that girl destroyed an entire vige?"

    "What vige?" Anzily rolled his eyes. "You think those idiots would get so offended over a single vige? If that was the case, the four of us would''ve been attacked countless times throughout the years."

    "They got offended because I killed the little brother of Ralin. That guy was being too irritated after all. And because I killed him, the wolves that were assigned to guard him attacked me. I killed them all as well before leaving. How was I to know that the Werewolves were going to work with the Witches to take Revenge for that?"

    "Not only that, they attacked me from behind, using a trap. If not, I wouldn''t be in this ce. None of this had anything to do with any vige."

    An straight rejected the notion that Lilith had. "Anyway, I would advise you to free me now that you''re here. I don''t know who that girl is that you brought here, but it''s not safe for anyone at the moment."

    "If I''m not wrong, Lucius might also start fighting with Castiel. You won''t need someone to intervene and stop them. You know how it is when big boys fight." Despite being so weak, An still had his wit.

    He was in pain and weak, yet he didn''t lose hisposure. He even smiled asionally.

    "So that girl lied? But if Yovana wasn''t your daughter, then who was she?"

    "Yovana?" Hearing the name, An''s expressions shifted. His smile disappeared. "Her name is Yovana?"

    "Yeah. You recognize her? So she really is your daughter?"

    "Daughter? She is too old to be my daughter. She is-"

    Swiss~

    An was in the middle of something when an Arrow came flying from behind Lilith, stabbing her in the back.

    Lilith''s entire body froze in ce as soon as the arrow hit her. It appeared as if the arrow was poisonous, which instantly ced Lilith to sleep.

    Lilith weakly dropped to the ground, following her vision getting blurry. She didn''t even have the strength to look back to know who attacked her. However, she didn''t need to look back to get an answer. The Franc n Members didn''t use arrows and bows.

    There was only one person who used an arrow and bow that she knew. And that person none other than the girl Lilith herself brought here.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Lilith''s eyes closed as she found herself unable to stay up. Fortunately, before slowly losing her consciousness, Lilith didn''t forget to cast a spell to remove the poison. Even when she was to be unconscious, the spell was going to dispel the poison in her body.

    Her consciousness kept slipping away slowly. Her vision hadpletely turned ck by now. She could still hear though. She heard footsteps getting closer to her.

    A young girl sat right beside Lilith on her knees. "Thank you for all the help, Lady Lilith. I''m sure it would''ve been much harder without your help."

    "And just for that, I''ll let you live. I know you''ve cast a spell, but I won''t obstruct it. So sleep well for now..." Yovana patted the head of Lilith. " Sleep well, little one."

    Lilith couldn''t even speak, let alone move, at this point. As she was distracted by the shocking revtion from An, she had been attacked from the back by Yovana.

    After Lilith lost her consciousness, Yovana stood up.

    She took a couple steps closer to An. "Finally found you, An."

    ****

    Blood Council member Elisi had torn the letter she received from Ramiun, finding it absurd. However, despite all that, she couldn''t remove the content of the letter from her head.

    Throughout the day, she had been thinking about that letter. She kept thinking, what if it was true? What if Ramiun was right? She could tell the Blood Council about this and have Ramiun killed, but if she did that, she could lose a great opportunity.

    If she supported Ramiun''s n, she could get much more advantages than she would if she tossed him under the bus. But there was another thought in her head that kept appearing again and again.

    Ramiun had already told her his entire n in the letter. Now she knew everything that Ramiun knew. What if she put the n in motion herself? That meant he had double the risk, but that also meant she was going to get most of the benefits.

    Her mind was conflicted between the risk and the benefits. However, her greed kept tilting her toward the risk since the benefits were just so great.

    As this was such a decision, it took her a really long time toe to the conclusion that it was worth the risk and that she needed to do it alone.

    She called all her Generals to the castle.

    *****

    While Elisi decided to make Ramiun''s n her own, she didn''t realize that she was ying right into the hands of the man.

    Back in his castle, Ramiun wasfortably sitting, waiting for the right opportunity to strike. He had already instructed all his men on what to do when it was the time.

    "She is taking a long time. I thought she would be really eager to jump on the opportunity to take the lead. Did I overestimate her greed?"

    A figure appeared behind Ramiun. "My Lord, I have news. Lady Elisi has called all her Generals to the Mansion."

    "Finally," Ramiun smiled. Finally, it was happening.

 Chapter 144 144: Greed

    Ramiun had been waiting for Elisi to take action for a really long time. Now that he heard about her making a move, he became even more rxed.

    "That woman¡­ She thought she could ckmail me. She doesn''t know; I''m a poisonous snake. Offend me, and you only get death."

    "Now, she will do my work for me, and I will harvest the benefits. As for the punishment, she would get it. Just perfect..."

    "Did you make sure she destroyed the letter?" he asked the person in the back.

    "Yeah. I also retrieved the torn pieces. She has no proof about getting any letter from you."

    "Good. Keep an eye on her and keep giving me updates. Make sure she doesn''t find out. I want to know the moment she infiltrates that ce."

    "Will do so." The figure disappeared as silently as it came.

    *****

    "If you didn''t know I am here, then why are you here?" Lucius inquired.

    He thought that Castiel was here to stop him. But if he didn''t even know that he was back, then what could be the reason for his arrival here?

    "I''m here to free An." Castiel dered. "When I woke up, I came to know of him being captured. His daughter told me everything and asked for my help. I promised her that I''m going to help her."

    As knew that Castiel never broke his promise. He was sure that everyone would know that. The only thing which could make Castiel help An was if he had promised anyone. If not, there was no way Castiel would''ve helped someone like An.

    "His daughter?" Lucius was just as shocked as Lilith had been when she heard about the news.

    Until now, even he thought that it was impossible for one of them to have a child. But if Castiel was speaking in, then there was the possibility of it being true. Even Castiel would''ve made up such an absurd lie.

    Moreover, since he had gone to slumber before An, he didn''t know what happened after he slept. It was possible that An actually found a way to have a daughter.

    The news of An being captured wasn''t even as shocking for him as the news about the daughter.

    "Whatever. This isn''t the time to talk about that. If you''re not here to stop me, then do as you please. I won''t stop you. I will do what I''m here for. You do what you''re here for."

    As needed Lucius'' key fragment as well, but for now, he focused on An''s fragment. If Lucius was going to handle the battle here, he didn''t need to worry about anything. In fact, he didn''t even feel that he would need to help Lucius. It was also perfect for him. It saved him some time.

    However, even though he was allowed to go ahead, he didn''t. He folded his arms. "Are you sure you don''t need my help to handle them?"

    He knew if he went ahead, he would be attacked first. Maybe Lucius thought that those attacks weren''t anything for him, but with Lucius behind him, As didn''t want to face those attacks.

    Even if he were toe out of those attacks unaffected, that would have the risk of exposing his identity. The only solution was to make Lucius attack first, and what better way than to taunt him a bit?

    Seeing Castiel offer his help, Lucius'' expressionless face twitched uncontrobly in irritation. Was this guy really looking down on him, thinking he couldn''t handle the Franc n mages alone?<novelnext></novelnext>

    He raised his hand high in the sky. Once again, a simr formation circle appeared above his hand, which waspletely identical to the strange mark on the back of his hand.

    ''A spell? No, it''s not a spell. It''s...''

    Noticing the mark on the back of Lucius'' hands, As noticed that he had the same Mark on the back of his hand. There were only a few minor differences. It was probably something that all the Progenitors had inmon.

    From the illusory formation, a Majestic Sword came flying, shooting high in the sky, beforending on the feet of Lucius. The tip of the sword prated the ground as the sword stood straight.

    Lucius grabbed the hilt of the Sword, pulling it out of the ground.

    Just the aura of the Sword in itself was more majestic than any aura As ever felt before. It was multiple times more powerful than their own auras. It also felt a bit demonic.

    As soon Lucius held the hilt of the sword, a beautiful golden me surrounded the de of the heavy sword, making it look even more magical.

    As also stated at the mark on the back of his hand. ''Does my mark also contain a Sword?''

    *****

    Inside the cell, Lilith was lying on the ground, unconscious.

    An red at Yovana. "So I was right. It was you... Couldn''t you make a better story than being my daughter? It''s such an absurd story; I don''t even know how you made anyone fall for it."

    "The more absurd the story, the easier it is to fool someone. You should know, little one. Since you were the first one who fell for my lies." Yovana smirked, lightly patting the cheeks of An.

    "A hundred years... I''ve waited for a hundred years to get to you, and finally, I''m here."

    "Hmm?" She sensed the aura of Lucius'' sword. "I must say, even I didn''t expect Lucius was going to be here. If I were just a minutete, all my ns would''ve been spoiled. Too bad he''ste."

    An smirked. "You still haven''t stopped thinking about your n, have you? You know it''s never going to seed. It''s a futile effort."

    "Hmm?" Yovana licked her lips. "You seem quite happy for someone who''s about to die."

    "If I had a coin for every time I heard those words, I would''ve been so rich." Anzily responded. "Why does everyone keep forgetting? We can''t die. What''s the worst thing you can do? Torture me? Well, join the queue."

    "Don''t worry. I didn''t forget about your immortality. I know that quite well, but I also know more than you think. You might be Immortal, but you aren''t invincible. After I seed, you will see what death really looks like. Until then, I''ll need you to be silent."

    Yovana took off her pendant, which she imed to be a bloodline suppression pendant. Under her control, the pendant started shining and expanding into a much sharper object.

    An couldn''t move. He could only watch as Yovana stepped closer to him. She stabbed the sharp object in the chest of An. The pendant kept entering deeper and deeper into the heart of An beforepletely disappearing from the view outside. Only the chain of the pendant was left, hanging outside.

 Chapter 145 145: Finding Lilith

    The battle between Lucius and Zhang began. While Lucius was boosted by his Sword and his own strength, Zhang received the support of his people and his reserves to boost his spells.

    A barrage of attacks kepting at Lucius. However, for some reason, the attacks that could''ve blown up an entire building didn''t hurt Lucius.

    "His Sword... It''s absorbing the attacks." As noticed as he watched Lucius block the attacks with his Sword as he kept walking closer to the enemies.

    It was as if he was dancing with the wind. Each of his movements was fast yet slow and graceful at the same time. It was the first time As was seeing a Progenitor fight, and he finally understood why everyone was worried about Progenitors. This strength... It was nothing tough at. Even the strength he was able to recall was nowhere close to that.

    "Who is he?" Lancaster also arrived by now, stopping beside As.

    He hadn''t seen Lucius before, nor did he know about him to that extent except his name.

    "Lucius. It seems he''s also here for something. Most probably to kill Zhang."

    "Isn''t that good for us? If he''s stopping Zhang, we can get to An faster. He''s just making our work easier."

    "That''s what I thought as well." As agreed with the notion before looking behind. "Anyway, where''s Yovana?"

    "No idea. I didn''t see her along the way. She should''ve been here by now since her assigned location was closest to the Castle." Lancaster was also as confused as An. "Still, I don''t think she would be in any trouble. I didn''t see any mages along the way. And it seems we have Lucius to thank for that. He probably destroyed the guards at the entrance before entering, giving us free rein."

    "Maybe Yovana is already inside the Castle?" He tossed out a theory. "We should also get inside. Let Lucius take care of everything here."

    As nced at the state of the battle, which was getting more chaotic with each passing second. Two mages had already died. To affect the view of Lucius, Zhang cast the same spell that As used to do. He created a Misty Shroud.

    A fog covered the entire area, making it impossible for Lucius to see anything. Only the Mages were able to see in this fog. Even As had trouble in this fog.

    "But before we go, let me equal the ying field." As also cast the same spell. If there was one spell he hadpletely mastered, it was the Shroud since he already used it so much.

    The fog of Zhang affected the vision of Lucius. As used his own Shroud to do the same. Even Zhang couldn''t see through his fog; only he could.

    Now everyone on the battlefield had their vision limited. As couldn''t see him, but he heard Zhang curse at him loudly, realizing who was behind that Shroud.

    "Lucius, I''m leaving a small gift for you. Make sure not to waste it!" As also yelled loud, making sure his words reached Lucius.

    "Keep your help to yourself! I don''t need you!" Luciuszily responded as he closed his eyes. He had a great battle sense. He didn''t need his eyes to fight. Even with closed eyes, he could sense the evening through their movements or their killing intent.

    ****

    Leaving the rest to Lucius, As ran to the entrance of the castle. Even he couldn''t see anything because of Zhang''s spell, but he had a rough idea of where the castle was and where the battle was taking ce.

    Avoiding everyone''s gazes, he entered the castle with Lancaster.

    Getting inside the castle was slightly easier, but they were yet to find the room where An was supposed to be kept. They didn''t have a spellcaster who could find them either. The only option they had was to check every room.<novelnext></novelnext>

    As kept going from room to room, even though he was sure that there was no way An would be kept this close to the main entrance. He didn''t want to take the risk.

    Before long, he opened the door to the main hall, where he saw many guests standing. Some dead bodies were also lying in the hall, along.

    The Franc n members who were still inside the hall were initially surprised to see a new face outside, especially when their n was under attack. They were told to make sure no one left the hall.

    The two Franc n members inside the hall prepared to attack, but As closed the door before they could do anything. He didn''t have time to deal with the kids here.

    He moved over to the next room. As he searched the room, he did meet a few guards along the way that attacked him without even wasting a single second.

    Unfortunately, they weren''t Zhang. They couldn''t stop As. Before they could even react, As appeared behind them. He grabbed their next, twisting it.

    The lifeless bodies of the guard dropped to the ground. As for the other guard, he was dealt with by Lancaster, who avoided the attack before stabbing his w in the chest of the man.

    The group of two kept advancing ahead like an unstoppable force. The strongest members were outside the castle, fighting Lucius, making everything else easier for them.

    As checked every room on the floor, but Lilith was in none. That left him with two options. He could either check up, or check down.

    He decided to go with the lower floor, having a feeling that Zhang would keep An beneath his feet in a ce that was also more secure.

    The two of them went to the lower floor. Finally, they were able to see some trail, which gave them an idea that Lilith came here. There were some dead bodies they came across along the way.

    "Looks like the work of Lilith; we are on the right track."

    After traveling for a bit longer, they ended up before a metallic door. Five bodies were lying before the door as if belonging to people who were guarding whateverid behind.

    As pushed the door open, expecting to find Lilith and An there.

    The door opened with a creaking sound, revealing the inside, which stunned As. He saw Lilith lying on the ground. An arrow was in her back.

    "Lilith!"

    As ran to Lilith, checking her nerves. After realizing that she was still breathing and her breathing was stable, he was relieved a bit.

    "She is breathing," As told Lancaster before pulling out the arrow from the back of Lilith

    As he pulled out the arrow, he observed it, confirming who it belonged to.

    "Yovana!"

 Chapter 146 146: Pendant

    "An was here. That formation seems like it was made to keep someone trapped here." He tossed the arrow at the formation, realizing what took ce here.

    "Yovana was the one who attacked Lilith." As he talked, he tore a piece of cloth and wrapped it around the wound of Lilith, which was already slowly healing.

    "Why would she do that? I thought we were on the same side. We were here to help her. Why would she betray us?"

    Lancaster still couldn''te to terms with it. He didn''t expect Yovana to be able to do something like this. The girl had been so friendly with them, especially Lilith. How could she stab her in the back?

    "It must be because of her father. If An asked her to kill Lilith, she wouldn''t have said no." He tried to make sense of the situation, no matter how hard it was.

    As only shook his head in response. "Lilith would have taken precautions if An had asked Yovana to do it. She wouldn''t have risked her safety, no matter how much she trusted. Lilith was attacked in surprise. Most probably, she didn''t even know that Yovana had arrived."

    After tightly tying the piece of cloth, he picked up the unconscious Lilith. "She didn''t get swayed to do it. She was already nning to do it from the start. As for why, maybe Lilith will be able to answer."

    Seeing Lilith like that, As had almost lost hope. He couldn''t help but remember the past where another girl was lying on the ground, unmoving. Fortunately, Lilith was breathing and seemed to have a handle on things.

    "What do we do now?" Lancaster nced at the pale-faced Lilith. "Yovana couldn''t have gotten far. Should I try to find her?"

    "I don''t think it would be easy to find her. And she has An with her as well. Even if you find her, you''ll be in trouble. And I can''t leave Lilith in this condition."

    "So we''re just going to let her escape after she did all this? We might never be able to find her like this."

    "Don''t worry. We will find her." As walked through the silent corridor, carrying Lilith in his arms. Only his footsteps could be heard in the silence.

    "How? How can you be so confident? Yovana has an entire world before her. She can go anywhere, and it''ll be impossible to find her." Lancaster still didn''t understand why As could be so calm, not going after Yovana.

    Even though it was risky, it was their only chance of catching Lilith, no matter how small. After today, that chance was going to be almost non-existent.

    "We will find her as soon as Lilith wakes up," As answered. "Her safety is more important at the moment, with all themotion outside."

    "As for finding Yovana, it''s easy. As long as Yovana carries that pendant, she can never get out of our grasp. She made the worst mistake of her life by backstabbing us."

    "Her pendant? What about it?"

    As soon as Lancaster asked a question, they heard more stepsing toward them.

    "Hold the answer. I''ll be right back."

    Lancaster ran ahead. As didn''t stop walking, but the sound of his footsteps was buried under the screams of guards from France n.

    Lancaster walked back. "So where were we? Yeah, the pendant. How will that help us find her?"

    "You know how Yovana forced us to promisest time that we would help her?"

    "You mean by using that Teleportation spell and her threat of escaping?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Yeah. Lilith took some precautions against that. The time she took the pendant from Lilith to observe it, she left a small trace on the pendant that couldn''t be wiped. Even Yovana doesn''t know about that. And even if she did, she can''t just toss the pendant since it''s her most precious item which keeps her in control."

    "That pendant will lead us to her. No matter how far she runs, we will find her... And An. Let her run... Let her run as far as she can. She will soon know the consequences of what she did."

    Without a single obstruction in their path, As came out of the Castle, only to realize that the battle was still going on. He could hear the noisesing from the mist.

    However, from the voices, he was able to decipher a few things. Almost all the Franc n Members were dead, leaving only the Zhang.

    "Hahaha, And here I thought you would be stronger! You are pathetic! Much weaker than I expected!

    Zhang wasughing like a mad man, mocking Lucius. However, his voice also contained a tinge of anger.

    It was evident he was trying to hide his anger and his embarrassment through hisughter. He had lost almost all his men in such a short time, leaving him all alone. And so far, they hadn''t harmed Lucius either. Whatever harm came to his body was healed immediately, thanks to his superior healing.

    "Lancaster took Lilith back to the carriage. Stay with her and leave this ce. I''ll meet you back at the hotel we stayed atst night."

    As handed over Lilith to Lancaster.

    "You aren''ting?" Lancaster inquired. "They were done here for now. What more could there be to do?"

    "I still have something to do. But I can handle that alone. You should go. Find a doctor in the town and get him to help Lilith. The faster she is healed, the better."

    After speaking, As walked inside the blinding mist, disappearing from the sight of Lancaster.

    Lancaster had no choice but to do as he was told. Lilith was hurt and needed medical help. Moreover, even if he wanted, he couldn''t get inside the mist as that could put Lilith at even more risk.

    Trusting that As could take care of his own safety, he turned around and left, disappearing from the sight.

    He dashed through the soft grass, going back to where the carriages were standing. However, the one that belonged to them was missing.

    "Yovana!" Lancaster couldn''t help but shake his head, realizing that Yovana even took their Carriage. Fortunately, more carriages had arrived here since it was supposed to be a celebration.

    Lancaster walked to the nearest Carriage. He opened the door and ced Lilith carefully on the seat inside.

    "Hey, what are you doing? This is the Carriage of the Duke! You can''t enter! Get out!"

    The carriage driver came to stop him, noticing strangers entering the carriage. However, his face turned pale as he saw Lancaster call out his ws.

    "Take us back to the nearest town! If you don''t, I''ll take another Carriage, but you won''t be alive to see it anymore!"

    The driver gulped down heavily.

 Chapter 147 147: You Should Forget

    The Driver had no option but to listen to Lancaster, even if it ced his job on the line. It was better than putting his life on the line.

    The carriage departed, carrying Lancaster and Lilith, leaving the warzone. As Lancaster left, he finally saw why there were no guards on the way to stop them even after they passed the red line. Near the exit of the Franc n premises, there were many dead bodies.

    Even the Carriage Driver was horrified after seeing so many dead bodies on the way. In his fear, he only increased the speed, trying to get as far away from this ce as possible.

    At the same time, he also had a feeling that the Duke wasn''t going to being out of this ce alive. It was better for him to leave.

    ****

    Back in the blinding mist, Zhang was getting frustrated. It was his first time fighting a Progenitor properly, and it was proving to be much harder than he could''ve expected, especially because of the mist that blinded his vision.

    If that mist wasn''t there, he was sure he would''ve had a much better time. What was worse was that Lucius had fought thoughts of battles in his life, mainly with Werewolves and Witches. He had an idea on how to stay safe. It was as if he had honed his skills to perfection.

    On the other hand, Zhang hadn''t fought a Progenitor before. He had only heard and read how the Progenitors fought, which often left out a lot of details. He had prepared for the battle with all the details he had managed to gather, gaining the confidence that he could take them out.

    Unfortunately, even he hadn''t known about the Sword of Lucius that could absorb the spells. Not only did the sword absorb the attacks, but it also became stronger because of that. The mes that were burning on the sword only kept intensifying the more attacks it absorbed.

    "Enough!" Zhang couldn''t take it anymore. He couldn''t fight without seeing.

    He cast a flight spell on his body and flew up. The first thing he needed to do was to get out of the mist. Everything else couldeter!

    Zhang kept flying high up, finally getting out of the range of the mist andnding on top of his castle.

    He looked down at the massive cloud of smoke on the ground, which made it impossible for things to be seen.

    "That Sword... I need to do something about it! Also, why isn''t the backup here yet? I sent them to activate the Portal a long time ago. The Wolves should''ve been here by now!"

    He couldn''t understand what was taking so long. He couldn''t shake the feeling that something had gone wrong.

    He didn''t just have Lucius to worry about. There were even more problems that he needed to face, including the presence of An inside.

    He decided to check the castle himself. If his men had failed to activate the Portal, that meant someone was already inside, creating trouble for them. And if someone was inside, then that person could only be Lilith! Moreover, As had also not joined the battle in a long time. Zhang didn''t even know if As was still outside or if he was also inside.

    At any cost, he needed to keep An secure first! There were so many problems that Zhang felt as if his head was about to explode. He alone couldn''t face two Progenitors and Lilith, and he had no one to help him.

    He flew to the window of the castle, intending to enter the ce, but before he could, he saw a figureing in his direction.

    While he was thinking, Lucius was also out of the mist, getting a clear view of Zhang, who was nning to enter the castle. Lucius jumped, making it appear as if he was flying.

    Watching Lucius fly in his direction, Zhang dropped his n of entering the castle. Instead, he flew even higher to avoid Lucius.

    At the same time, he bit his thumb, letting out a trail of Blood.

    "Blood Rain!" he roared as his blood droplets flew high in the sky, disappearing amidst the clouds.

    Since he could clearly see Lucius now, he could be more precise. With a clear view, he was sure he could finally take Lucius out! He just needed to capture Lucius, and the only way to do it was if he made that Sword useless.

    Since the blood droplets could be so small, he was sure that Lucius couldn''t use the sword to block them all. There was just no way!

    The clouds in the sky started turning blood red as if they were corrupted by the blood of Zhang.

    Luciusnded on top of the Castle where Zhang was standing previously, gazing up at Zhang, who was high in the sky, right beside the clouds.

    If there was one thing that Lucius couldn''t do, it was flying. However, even he knew that Zhang couldn''t stay in the air for an eternity.

    Not only did the clouds turn blood red, making the entry sky appear red, but it also started raining blood from the sky!

    Thousands of blood droplets started falling down. The first droplet of rain fell on the face of Lucius, who didn''t move from his ce.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Acid blood?" he muttered briefly, gazing at the droplets of blood, ignoring the pain he felt.

    The blood was like acid, which kept burning the skin of Lucius.

    Even the roof of the castle started decaying under the rain, let alone everything else. The Blood rain didn''t appear like it was going to stop anytime soon, but at the same time, Lucius didn''t seem as if he was going to back off. If he wanted, he could''ve taken shelter, but he didn''t show his weakness to the man.

    Moreover, whatever bit of skin that was burnt due to the Acid rain healed as fast as it was burned.

    The blood rain wasn''t having the effect that Zhang had expected. Other than giving some pain to the man.

    Strangely enough, strange winds started surrounding Lucius, changing the direction of the blood rain. It was as if someone was making sure that the blood didn''t fall on Lucius.

    A figure appeared behind Lucius, under the same protection of the wind, without making a single noise.

    "You know I didn''t need your help," Lucius stated without even ncing back. It was as if he already knew who was doing it.

    As stepped closer, standing right beside Lucius. "You know he can stay there for hours. The way you''re doing things, it''s too slow."

    "Don''t worry. He won''t live for an hour," Lucius shook his head.

    "And how can you be so sure?" As asked.

    Lucius looked to As as his hair waved with the intense wind that was surrounding them.

    "Because I am here to kill him. One hour is too much for him," he responded. "That aside, what are you doing here, trying to help me? You never helped us before."

    "Because I didn''t agree with your actions before," As answered, pretending to be aloof.

    "And now you do?"

    As nodded. "Because he deserves to die."

    Lucius scoffed. "So when it''s someone you want to kill, it is all good. But when it''s someone we want to kill, it bes wrong. Castiel, you''re the biggest hypocrite I''ve seen in my life."

    As didn''t answer. "If you''reparing killing this man who hurt us with the desire to kill a little girl who had no hand in hurting our people, then I don''t think I need to justify my actions."

    He didn''t know all the decisions on which Castiel opposed Lucius, but he did know one. It was when they wanted to kill Lilith, and Castiel stood in their path. He used that instance to ce his point of view before them

    "Don''t you have anything better to do other than troubling me here?" Lucius rolled his eyes. "I thought you were here to save An. Save him and leave."

    "I can''t save him."

    "And why is that?"

    "Because his daughter betrayed us, stabbed Lilith in the back, and left with An."

    Lucius couldn''t help but smile in response. "So that Witch is finally dead? About time. Still, weren''t you and An''s so-called daughter on the same side?"

    "I never said Lilith was dead," As answered, surprised that Lucius was so happy at the thought of Lilith dying; it appeared as if he still hadn''t forgotten what happened in the past.

    "As for how his daughter did that, I''m sure I''ll get that answer soon."

    "I doubt you will." Lucius smiled. "If that girl is really An''s daughter, As would already know that you''ll try to find her. You know what kind of person he is. If he wants to protect someone, even you won''t be able to find him."

    "I''d suggest you also drop the thought of finding that girl for revenge, just like we dropped the thought of hurting Lilith because of you."

 Chapter 148 148: No Way Out

    "You fought us for Lilith. You went against all of us and our collective benefits. You set us on the path of collision, and it''s because of you that all four of us got in such big trouble that we had to go to slumber. And you did all that to save a girl who wasn''t even rted to you."

    "If you can go so far for a girl you didn''t know before, just imagine how far An can go for his daughter. That is if that girl is still his daughter. Though I still don''t quite believe that he can have a daughter," Lucius exined.

    Hearing the suggestion, As was slightly surprised. Wasn''t Lucius supposed to have bad blood with Castiel? Why was he giving a piece of friendly advice in that case?

    "I know you do as you please. That''s what you''ve done all your life, so I doubt you''ll listen to my advice. I won''t insist on you listening to me either. It''s just an advice which you can ignore if you please."

    Just as Lucius stated, he didn''t insist on anything. He turned his attention back to Zhang in the sky. "Now you can go. It''s time I finish him."

    While As and Lucius were busy talking amongst themselves, Zhang remained in the sky, watching the Blood Rain being useless. However, he didn''t mind it. It was somewhat ording to his n as well.

    Even though he hoped to hurt Lucius heavily with the Blood Rain, his main goal appeared to distract him so he could get inside and check what was wrong with the portal. At the same time, he also wanted to stop Lilith.

    However, as soon as he saw both As and Lucius standing on top of the castle, a new idea came to his head! Since the two of them were together, and both of them were distracted, it was a perfect opportunity for him to take down both.

    He started chanting a mysterious spell while flying all around the Castle. Wherever he passed, his blood fell, creating a small circle of his blood around the entire castle.

    Not only was the castle inside that blood formation, but even the Spirit Reserves were inside that area, from where he could draw out the power.

    He used the Blood Circle and connected it with the Spirit Reserves beneath the ground while the Two Progenitors were distracted by the rain and their conversation. The wind storm around them also made it hard for them to clearly see what Zhang was doing.

    By the time Lucius finished giving his advice to As, Zhang had also finished his preparation. However, his chanting was still going on, gathering all the aura in the atmosphere.

    "Soul Destruction!" Zhang finally finished his spell, roaring out loud as he flew away, trying to get out of the ce.

    He had decided to blow up the entire ce, including the Spirit Reserves, to make the destruction even stronger. Most of his men were already dead. And whoever was left wasn''t worth the importance.

    He wasn''t sure if this destruction was going to kill the Progenitors or not, but one thing he was sure of! Even if the Explosion couldn''t kill the three Progenitors, most of their body was going to be blown up, making them useless for at least a shorter duration! Even if they survived, they were going to be as weak as they had never been.

    ? Even though destroying the Spirit Reserves was a big deal, he also believed that it was worth it. If he didn''t do it, this fight could stretch for even longer. He couldn''t face three Progenitors together.

    Moreover, he wasn''t a Werewolf. His attacks didn''t poison or weaken the Progenitors. If Razil was here, the oue could''ve been different, at least.

    Even though Razil didn''t have passive skills that a mage possessed, he had the natural advantage over the Vampires. He could sense them! He could find them even in the mist. Moreover, each wound he gave them worked to weaken the Progenitors with the poison, slowly building up.

    That was why the Werewolf n was considered to be strong enough to go against the Vampires. They could build up the damage in their evening, increasing the gap of strength between their evening and them.

    If he couldn''t call them for help, Zhang could only take matters into his own hands. Moreover, if he managed to catch three of the Progenitors, his goals could be achieved even without Spirit Reserves.

    Not like he could use those reserves away from the n in any case. If he wanted to increase his influence and power, he needed to increase his own strength, and he had nned to do that with the help of the Progenitors.

    Lucius watched Zhang trying to leave.He couldn''t let that happen. He left the wind protection of As and ran after Zhang.

    However, it appeared to be toote. An invisible barrier had surrounded the castle, creating something akin to a done, trapping everything behind. It was also so the intensity of the Explosion could destroy everything inside the dome.

    As also felt his surroundings bing unstable. He didn''t know why but it was as if he could feel a strange destructive energy in his surroundings that were building up.<novelnext></novelnext>

    He also jumped down and ran behind Lucius, who was pushed back by the invisible barrier.

    Zhangnded on the ground, around fifty meters away from Lucky, having a bright grin on his face.

    He was out of the dome. He didn''t need to worry about the Explosion hurting him.

    Instead, he could just stand back and watch as all his enemies lost their limbs and were destroyed right before his eyes.

    The intense energy kept building up inside the tomb, reaching close to dangerous levels that were needed before the spell came into effect.

    "You think a barrier can stop me?!" Lucius frowned. He raised his ming Sword, shing at the barrier to destroy it.

    Instead of being worried, Zhang onlyughed. He watched the sword pass through the barrier easily. The barrier was still intact, unaffected by the Sword. It was as if the barrier wasn''t even there for the Sword.

    As tried touching the barrier. He was also pushed back. There was indeed a barrier there. It''s just that the barrier was only for them and for the destructive energy that was building up around them. For the sword, there was no barrier.

    "It won''t work. The Sword of yours can''t even touch the barrier," As reminded Lucius, who attacked the barrier again.

    "If that''s the case, I''ll destroy the barrier myself." Lucius held the sword to his left and clenched his right fist. "I won''t let a Barrier stand between me and him! Even gods won''t be able to save him today!"

    With his full strength, he punched the barrier. If the Sword couldn''t destroy the barrier, he was going to destroy it with his bare strength.

    Unfortunately, even his strength couldn''t destroy the barrier that easily. Instead of being able to destroy the barrier, Lucius was forced a few steps back.

    "It''s useless. It''s just like a Vampire Warding Formation, but stronger. We can destroy it, but it''ll take time." As theorized after noticing how the barrier was acting.

    "Five minutes! That''s how long it''ll take!" Lucius answered.

    After his first sh with the barrier, he had realized the true strength and durability of the barrier, which gave him a rough idea as to how long it was actually going to take.

    As didn''t seem happy with the news either. "Five minutes is too long."

    He could feel the energy around him. It had already touched a dangerous level. The spell had started getting activated around them. A formation started taking shape under them on the ground.

    He knew a few things about spells, but even he didn''t know what kind of spell was under their feet. The spell formation was just so big that it was covering such a long area.

    "What do you mean we don''t have time?" Lucius frowned, focusing on As'' words.

    "He has trapped us inside this Barrier, but he isn''t running away. I''m sure even he knows how long it''ll take for us to break the Barrier. If he''s still not running away, that means we don''t have five minutes."

    The formation under our feet is the biggest formation I''ve seen, and the destructive energy in the atmosphere is just crazy. This formation... It''s dangerous, and it''ll probably activate before we can destroy the Barrier. The reason he isn''t running away is because he expects the formation to hurt us badly. We can''t let that happen."

    As didn''t take the risk of the formation lightly. They were immortal, but even they weren''tpletely immune. If An could be caught after being weakened, they were no different. And he was sure this formation was going to do that! It was made to hurt them so much that they couldn''t even fight back.

    "If I''m not wrong, a massive explosion ising... Something the likes of which we''ve never seen before¡­."

 Chapter 149 149: Extinct

    "Then take care of it. You''re the spellcaster amongst the two of us. Destroy this spell!"

    For Lucius, As was Castiel. And Castiel was the King of Spells. His knowledge was vast. If there was a person who knew more about spells than anyone else in the world, it was him.

    Too bad, even As had no idea what to do. He didn''t even know what this spell actually did, let alone having a way to break it. He could only guess what this spell was about. He had barely learned some offensive and passive spells from Lilith''s Grimoire, but none of them were of use in a situation like this.

    Even he was slightly worried as to what was going to happen. He had sent Lilith away, so she couldn''t answer him. In any case, she wasn''t conscious. Only the two of them had toe up with a solution!

    As subconsciously observed his surroundings as he tried to think what they could do. Attacking the barrier alone wasn''t a solution.

    ''Maybe if both of us attacked the barrier? No, that won''t be enough either. We don''t have the time. Urgh.''

    The more he failed to find a solution, the more frustrated he got. However, soon his gaze fell on Lucius''s sword. His eyes lit up

    "That''s it! Your Sword! It can absorb the natural energy of Spells. If your Sword can absorb the energy that''s powering this spell, that should be enough!"

    He had seen that sword be used to absorb all the attacks of Zhang, turning them into the mes. If the sword could do that with the energy that was powering the spell, it should stop the spell!

    "That''s it?" Lucius was surprised to know that this was all he needed to do to break the spell. In that case, there was no need to worry, was there?

    He raised his zing sword high in the sky. The mes on the sword intensified as they started absorbing the natural energy from the air.

    Realizing that it wasn''t enough, Lucius thrust his Sword down, stabbing it firmly on the ground. Through his Sword, he was able to sense where the flow of this energy wasing from, and he was sure that it wasing from the earth. He could make it more effective by taking directly from the source.

    His sword prated the ground, entering up to the hilt. The de of the swordpletely disappeared inside the earth as the Sword started absorbing the natural energy reserves.

    Slowly but steadily, the energy reserves started decreasing. However, the spell didn''t appear to be weakening. Instead, it kept getting stronger.

    "That''s not enough! You need to increase the absorption!" As called out, realizing that the Effects of the absorption weren''t enough. They needed to draw out more strength to stop the spell.

    "This is the most I can do. The reserves inside the earth are just too much, even for me. I alone can''t take it all. You''ll need to join!"

    Throughout the battle, Lucius had been perfectly calm andposed, but it was now that he had started sweating. It wasn''t even because he was worried about the explosion. He still believed that he was capable enough to survive the explosion. However, it was the spiritual energy that was putting a stress on his body, making him sweat.

    He had never experienced something like this! The energy reserves here were too pure and so vast that he alone couldn''t draw it all, despite his strong soul.

    ''Join? What can I do?''

    As didn''t understand it when he was called to join as well. It was as if the man was asking him to help, but there was no way he could help.

    "Why are you looking at my face like an idiot? Call out your Sword!" Lucius'' anger red, watching As stand still after putting him to work.

    "My sword?"

    "Yeah. I alone can''t absorb enough. You''ll have to call out your Soul Weapon and join as well!" Lucius exined. "So don''t y around. Be fast and do it. If not, I''m also pulling out my Sword."

    As scratched the back of his head, not understanding what to do. It appeared as if Lucius was implying that he had a simr Sword as him, and he could call it out. Moreover, that Sword also sounded like it was capable of absorbing the spells like Zhang''s sword could do.<novelnext></novelnext>

    If that was the case, it was amazing. That meant he also had an incredible weapon like Lucius! But that''s also a problem. He didn''t know how to call the Sword out. Lilith hadn''t taught him yet. The only thing he knew was the actions that Lucius did as he called out the swords.

    As nced at the mark on the back of his hand, letting out a tired sigh. He really had no choice but to somehow call out his sword if he didn''t want to be blown up.

    He decided to at least try it. He raised his right hand, high in the sky, simr to what Lucius had done before calling out his sword.

    Unfortunately, that was the extent to it. He didn''t know what to do next. The mark on the back of his hand didn''t shine. The illusory formation also didn''t appear above his hand, let alone a swording out of it.

    ''Come on¡­ Come out...'' he looked up, seeing the destructive energy almost reaching its peak. He tried to think of a sword simr to the sword of Lucius, checking if imagining the sword was going to send the weapon out.

    Unfortunately, that also didn''t work. He just stood near Lucius, like a statue waiting for something to happen. Even Lucius couldn''t understand why As was just standing there like an idiot.

    Not too far from them, Zhang was enjoying their struggles. He didn''t even worry about them being able to escape that ce or stopping her spell. There was no way anyone could stop a spell.

    Seeing As standing like a statue, he burst intoughter. "Near their end, they all go crazy."

    "It''s fine. It won''t be too long before you''ll all be my ve! And if Lilith is inside the Pce, she would be dead! With one stroke, I''ll take all my enemies out."

    "Thank you, ancestors! Thank you for creating the Energy Reserves and helping your descendent! Without it, I wouldn''t have been able to achieve what I''ll achieve today! I''ll be the first person in the world to take out two Progenitors, that too all alone!"

    Time was racing fast, and As was still trying to figure out what to do. The protection charm on his soul kept disintegrating slowly, almost reaching near the end.

    *****

    The mark of protection... It was a special mark given to him by Castiel himself. It was supposed to be the mark of protection that protected As''s soul from the extreme burden that this supernatural body ced on his soul.

    Without the Soul Protection from Castiel, his soul would''ve been destroyed within the first day of his soul entering Castiel''s body. Despite all the burden, it was that mark that protected him. However, that mark wasn''t eternal either.

    The more As used the supernatural strength of this body, the more the burden that was ced on his soul and the more that mark decayed. It had decayed so much by now that there was barely any left. It was as if it was going to disappear any moment now, hanging by a thread.

    Unfortunately, As couldn''t see the mark. He didn''t even know about the mark. All he knew was that he wasn''t going to stay in this body forever. There was going to be a time when he was going to be forever gone, but even he didn''t expect that time to be so soon.

    "What the hell are you doing? Stop ying around and call out your sword!" Lucius roared, seeing As do nothing in all this while except just stand still.

    As wanted to yell back that he didn''t know what to do, but he controlled himself. He couldn''t tell the man that he wasn''t Castiel, no matter what. That was supposed to be a secret between only him and Lilith.

    It could be too dangerous to tell anyone else since that was just going to show that they could capture him more easily than they could capture Castiel.

    At any cost, he needed to call out the Sword now, even if he didn''t know how to.

    He closed his eyes, trying to calm his head, remembering some words of Lilith. When she was trying to teach him spells, she told him that he needed to stay calm at any cost if he wanted to do anything. Chaos was the biggest obstruction in a person''s mind.

    He took a deep breath, calming his chaotic head, erasing all the outside noise as if it wasn''t there, entering a serene state.

    "In trouble?" A voice floated in the head of As, sounding the same as the mysterious voice that he had heard in his dream before¡­

 Chapter 150 150: Heart

    As kept trying to figure out a way to call forth his Sword, yet he couldn''t. Just as he was on the verge of giving up, a voice appeared in his head.

    "In trouble?"

    "Hmm?" The voice was the same that he had heard in his dreams, yet it was different as well. It appeared even more realistic this time as if someone actually was speaking to him directly.

    "It seems you''ve run out of time already... I guess I expected a bit too much from you with the amount of time you had. Then again, I can''t extend your time..."

    Even though As didn''t know who was speaking to him, he did have a guess. The voice appeared in his dream and now in his head... And the voice seemed to know about him all too well. Moreover, the talk about him running out of time... That only made him think of one person.

    ''Lord Castiel?'' he asked in his head, not speaking out loud.

    "Are you ready to leave this world forever and disappear into nothingness?" The voice asked instead of answering As'' question.

    The questioning confirmed all of As'' assumptions. It was indeed Castiel who seemed like he was about to take back the control of the body. As knew that if that happened, he was going to be gone forever. All his ns and all his goals were going to be left behind if that happened.

    "I..."

    As didn''t know how to respond to the question. In the first ce, he had already known that there was going to be a time when he would need to disappear. However, after he had realized his new goals, he wanted to stay in the body for longer, at least until he found all the key Fragments.

    "I am not ready. I don''t want to leave! I want more time... Just one more month... That''s all I need! Give me one more month only!"

    He didn''t know how long it was actually going to take to recover all the key Fragments, but he decided to get whatever small bit of time he could get. One month was a small time range to achieve all this since the traveling alone consumed a lot of time, but he couldn''t ask for a long time. He knew that Castiel would want to be back in his body as well! One month was better than nothing as well.

    "That''s not on me." Castiel''s response came. "Your Soul... It''s too weak. The protection you received is almost gone too. There is nothing I can do... I did all I could do for you already. Maybe it''s time you really left... You are too weak."

    "As soon as the protection charm runs out, your soul will be ripped to pieces by the overwhelming burden of this body. It''s not strong enough to stay inside the body."

    "Is there no way?" As dropped to his knees, having a nk look on his face. He wasn''t worried about the pain his soul was going to go through, but he wanted to stay here longer.

    Castiel went momentarily silent.

    ****

    Even though Castiel was talking to As, in reality, his Spirit was still standing where As hadst seen him. He was still standing inside the graveyard, before a tombstone.

    "A way... There is a way..."

    After a brief pause, Castiel spoke.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "What way! Tell me what it is! I''ll do anything!"

    Castiel rubbed the back of his neck, seemingly amazed at himself. "I don''t know why I''m going this far for the kid."

    "Because you were always an idiot." Another mysterious voice came as a figure appeared beside Castiel. "So, are you really going to do it?"

    "I know I shouldn''t, but I can''t say no to the kid for some reason... He reminds me so much of..." Castiel also seemed a bit down as a thought crossed his head. "I know As isn''t him... But..."

    "But you still want to help him," the mysterious figure stated. "I would really advise against it. If you do it, you''ll just make things worse..."

    "I know, but... Sigh." Castiel didn''t know how to respond. He was lost for words. Even he knew that the only option there was, was bad for them all.

    "Don''t do it. If you went there to help him, your aura will alert them... They would know you''re back. And after you return, As would have to take care of the mess you created for a month. It''ll put both of you in trouble."

    "It would''ve been a different matter if you went there permanently, but going there just to help him... It''s a stupid decision. Even more stupid than what led to all this. Stop being so impulsive."

    "I know I shouldn''t, but my heart doesn''t agree with me. What can I do of this heart? It loves to make me do stupid things. First that, and now this..."

    "Have you really made up your mind?" The mysterious person asked again, taking a subtle nce at the tombstone ahead.

    "Yeah. The kid doesn''t have much time. If I don''t go, his spirit will forever be gone... I want to fulfill hisst wish at least."

    "Sigh, you idiot. He is a different person! Just because he looks like him doesn''t make him the same person. He... He isn''t your family! He''s a stranger!"

    Castiel turned to that mysterious figure, shing a weak smile. "Who wasn''t a stranger in my life? I was but an orphan, born without anyone to care for me. Every person in the world was a stranger to me, even Lilith..."

    "Also, why are you talking like it''s certain that they''ll find out? I mean, the chances are high, but even if they do, they can''te so fast, can they? It''ll take them a couple of months to even arrive after sending me. By that time, I will be back in my body."

    "So you''re trying to justify your actions, by basing them on the assumption. Whatever, I know you won''t listen to me. You''ve always been so stubborn. But remember, I warned you. You will regret it if you do it. And this time, it''ll be worse than thest time. There''s still time... Think about it..."

    The mysterious figure disappeared, making the cemetery return to silence. Castiel gazed back at the Tombstone ahead.

    "I''ll regret it... But I''ll regret it even if I don''t do it. Right?" he asked, ncing at the tombstone, getting no response.

    Finally, he started hearing the voices of As again, who had still been asking what option he had.

    "You don''t need to do anything! Now everything that''s to be done will be done by me!" Castiel answered as his eyes shone briefly. "

 Chapter 151 151: Arrival

    "That''s it. If you''re not interested, that means this thing isn''t that dangerous. I wasted my time for no reason."

    Seeing As take no action, Lucius also pulled out his sword from the ground, freeing him from the burden.

    Not long after, As dropped to the ground, nkly staring ahead. He was waiting for the response from Castiel, but for Zhang, it was as if As had given up. It gave him even more confidence. If even As had given up, that meant he knew it was a futile effort.

    He startedughing even louder, excited to see the end result of his spell, which was the most powerful spell anyone ever used, just because of the sheer energy source behind it.

    It was fine until As was standing nkly but watching him drop to his knees even surprised Lucius; he couldn''t understand what happened to this guy. Why was he acting so strange suddenly?

    "Whatever!" He didn''t care about what As was doing. Instead, he braced for the impact of the spell that was supposed toe soon.

    He stared at Zhang outside, finding hisughter really irritating. "I will wipe the grin off your face soon."

    "For that, you''ll have toe to me. After I''m done with you, you won''t even have your legs to be able to walk, little pup." Zhangughed at the threats, which were like the ramblings of the crazy at the moment.

    As waited for an answer for quite some time. It was as if Castiel had gonepletely silent as soon as he asked what option he had.

    He repeated his question again and again. Fortunately, he did receive an answer ultimately.

    "You don''t need to do anything! Now everything that''s to be done will be done by me!" Castiel''s answer came.

    Following the answer, As started feeling somewhat strange. It was as if a mysterious force was filling up his body. His head started getting dizzy. He started feeling so sleepy that it was hard to even keep his eyes open. No matter how much he tried, the sleep was overwhelming. No matter what he did, he couldn''t stay awake.

    His eyes closed, and he finally fell asleep while sitting on his knees. His bodypletely embraced the sleep. Even though he slept peacefully in the middle of a warzone, his heartbeat was racing.

    A strange aura surrounded As. Winds started circling around him as if a whirlwind was taking shape around him.

    "Hmm?" The aura... It was so peculiar that it even attracted the attention of Lucius. Finally he felt the same old aura of Castiel.

    Even before, As had the aura of Castiel, but there was something inherently different about that aura before, for some reason. That aura appeared lifeless before. Lucius didn''t know why that was the case. However, finally, the same old aura was back, filled with power and might.

    Even Zhang felt that powerful aura that was so majestic that he never felt before.

    As'' eyes opened abruptly, but there was something different about them from before. The eyes were a darker shade of green now, unlike the lighter shade from before. The body was finally back in the control of Castiel after centuries.

    He was finally back on earth. Castiel looked at his hand, letting out an amused smile. "Never imagined my own body would feel like a stranger."<novelnext></novelnext>

    He stretched his arms before standing up. Even though his aura was running wild after he returned, that was still very tough since Castiel didn''t want to alert someone. Unfortunately, even he knew that it was unlikely. Now that he was back, he had just reduced the time for everyone.

    Standing up, he nced at Lucius, who was looking back at him.

    "Now, you look like your old self," Lucius pointed out. "What had happened to you before?"

    "Nothing for you to worry about." Castiel smiled. Even though he never had a good rtionship with Lucius, it was still good to see an old familiar face again. Moreover, Lucius seemed to have put the bad blood behind them when he helped As. That was also seen by him.

    He nced at all the unstable energy in the surrounding. "A descendant destroying what his ancestors worked so hard to build. How disappointing. If Filip were here today, his face would be worth seeing."

    "Then again, it''s quite good timing. This is exactly what I needed. "

    Castiel raised his right hand to the sky. The mark on the back of his hand started shining brightly. A simr formation appeared above his hand.

    "Finally, you calling it. It looks like you''re back to normal," Lucius muttered as he held the hilt of his sword as well.

    A beautiful yet majestic Sword shot up from Castiel''s formation, flying high in the sky before falling back down. Castiel didn''t let the sword touch the ground, holding it by the hilt before the tip of the sword could even touch the ground.

    Castiel held the sword with both hands. Under his breath, he muttered something which was barely audible before stabbing his sword inside the ground.

    Lucius also did the same. Now that there were two of them, he felt that they could do it. He didn''t need to take the burden all alone.

    The sword kept absorbing the energy from the energy reserved. The energy that Lucius absorbed went to strengthen his soul. Unfortunately, since his soul was already so strong, whatever bit he absorbed didn''t have much effect on his soul on the grand scale of things.

    Unlike Lucius, Castiel was using the energy absorbed from his Sword for something else. He didn''t let the energy from the Spirit Reserves go to his own spirit. Instead, he directed that energy to the spirit of As.

    The biggest problem with As was that his spirit wasn''t strong enough. The Spirit energy was mostly useless for the Progenitors but for the spirit of a human, it was miraculous. It increased the soul strength of As.

    He didn''t send all the spirit energy to As'' soul either. Some of it was sent to the Mark of Protection on As'' soul, which was almost gone. The spirit energy started healing the mark, albeit somewhat slowly.

    With two Progenitors absorbing the energy from the Spirit Reserves, the reserves started losing arge amount of their energy. The loss was so much that even the supply to the spell was affected. Fortunately, Castiel didn''t need to absorb the soul energy to stop the formation.

    With his knowledge, he could destroy the spell, making it unable to take effect even if it received all the energy that it needed.

    In the distance, Zhang''s face went pale, watching what was being done to his spell.

 Chapter 152 152: Wrath Of Heaven

    Castiel kept taking the energy from the Spirit Reserves, not feeling even a little bad for stealing the energy from the reserves of the Franc n Ancestors. The energy was going to be gone forever, even if he had done nothing after all.

    "You''ve be stronger."

    Even as he kept his focus on repairing the Mark of Protection on As'' soul, he could still give some attention to his surroundings. The surrounding, which had be somewhat unstable, had started calming down slowly. However, what truly attracted his attention was Lucius.

    Castiel could feel that Lucius was stronger than thest time he saw him. As for the boost in strength, it wasn''t minor if it was noticed by him.

    "You, on the other hand, seem to have stayed the same," Lucius responded. "Still the same old."

    "Hmm." Castiel smiled. "I wouldn''t deny that. I''m still an idiot like I used to be. But I''m happy with the way I am."

    "Hmm? It''s the first time I''ve heard you call yourself an idiot. Who are you? And what did you do to the real Castiel?"

    It was as if Lucius was taken aback when Castiel agreed with him on the part about him being an idiot.

    Castiel burst intoughter. "Time... Time killed the old Castiel."

    "Was it truly time that made you see? Or was it what happened before you went to your slumber? You know, now that you''re back, the same things will happen again.But this time, we can''t take the same old escape. This time, we have no other choice but to face it."

    "That''s why I''ve been working on bing even stronger."

    "It seems to be working as well. I can see it. Unfortunately, that much isn''t enough. It can''t be enough. There is only one way if you truly want to make a change this time..."

    "Working together?" Lucius asked, guessing what As was implying. Last time, they were all split up, drowning in their own arrogance, but now, after decades of sleep and time to think about it, Lucius realized that being split up wasn''t a solution.

    Castiel sighted. "No. That won''t be enough either. You can''t wait for the problem toe to you. I want you to help me achieve something that I don''t think I can achieve without you."

    As the conversation progressed, the energy reserves inside the earth kept depleting, soon reaching almost extinction.

    Not long after, the reserves werepletely deleted.

    Castiel pulled out his majestic Sword from the earth and sent it back.

    "What help?!" Lucius asked, watching Castiel walk to the barrier. He followed after Castiel.

    Castiel didn''t answer right away. Instead, he ced his hand on the barrier.

    "Good spell, but so many ws... It could''ve been so much better. The old man didn''t teach his descendants everything, it seems."

    A small formation circle appeared on his palm, which was imprinted on the barrier. The formation destroyed the entire barrier like it was nothing. Within seconds, the barrier that was blocking them was gone.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "And you said it was impossible to break the barrier," Lucius rolled his eyes, unable to believe that it was that easy for Castiel to break the barrier, and still, he forced him to use the Sword.

    Zhang was frozen in ce. He couldn''t believe that all the spirit reserves were absorbed by Castiel. Not only that but even the barrier was destroyed. Finally, he saw Castiel''s mastery of spells, which was way more than the legends stated. Even he couldn''t destroy the barrier that fast after all.

    "This guy..."

    He cast the flight spell again. Instead of trying to fight, he started retreating. He knew alone he couldn''t do anything at this point. Even his energy boost was gone now.

    He started flying away; however, before he could even go far, a figure appeared before him like a ghost. As for the person, it was none other than Castiel.

    Not only was Castiel flying, but he was in the air, right before Zhang.

    "Zhang Franc. I have no personal enmity with you. In fact, I was a friend of your n once upon a time before they decided to attack Lilith and me. Even then, I let your n live. It seems that it was my mistake."

    "Not this time. It''s time the Franc n disappears from this world forever." Castiel raised his hand.

    "You! You can''t do anything to me!" Zhang flew back. At the same time, he made a circle with his fingers, using hisst bit of energy.

    Seeing him fly back, Castiel couldn''t help but remember the past.

    "It''s not the first time someone tried to use the sleeping spell while trying to distract me with another spell. Unfortunately, that is a Rookie mistake. That''s what happens when you learn by yourself instead of working with others. You leave yourself open to ws."

    "Dispel." Castiel waved his fingers gently, sending a gust of wind, which sent the sleeping gas that was surrounding him straight back to Zhang.

    Seeing the direction of the winds change, Zhang realized what wasing. He straight went down to the ground, avoiding the sleeping gas from his own spell.

    However, even as he floated near the ground, a spell formation appeared under his feet. The spell circle, this time almost half the size of the spell at the Castle, which Castiel broke. However, still, the sheer size of the spell was massive, especially how fast Castiel made the spell.

    The gravity around the spell was a thousand times more than the gravity outside. Despite the flight spell, Zhang couldn''t fly. His body was pulled straight to the ground.

    From the same formation, thousands of Vines came out, flying straight to Zhang. The vines were like shackles in themselves. They wrapped around the feet of Zhang, and even his hands and his waist, making him unable to even move, let alone cast a spell. A vine also closed his mouth.

    Even though Castiel had retained the control of his body to help As, As''s consciousness wasn''t sleeping. It was also there, just taking a backseat.

    As felt his body moving on its own, doing all these things. However, there was also an advantage to this. Since his consciousness wasn''t sleeping, he could experience this power. He now knew how the Sword was called out by Castiel. He also knew how the spell that Castiel used just now was cast.

    It was as if Castiel wasn''t just helping the Soul of Castiel, but he was also teaching him the basics of how to fight like him.

    But stopping right there, Castiel raised his right hand again. "Wrath of the Heaven!"

 Chapter 153 153: Manipulation

    Lucius stood in the distance with his hands behind his back. He had already sent his Sword back, leaving the rest of Castiel.

    Even though he wanted to kill Zhang, now that Castiel had taken the lead, he let him do it. However, he was still somewhat surprised.

    "Why is he using so many spells? He has Zhang in control. He can kill him if he wants. Why is he going so overboard?"

    He didn''t understand why Castiel was using his most powerful spells when he didn''t need to. "Is he trying to show off?"

    For a moment, he even wondered if Castiel was trying to show off. However, that also didn''t seem to be the care. He knew Castiel didn''t waste time, just for small things like showing off. He believed something was wrong.

    "There is certainly a reason he is going all out. And it''s rted to his strange behavior today."

    He didn''t know that the one reason Castiel w was using his strongest spells, despite not needing them, was because he wanted to teach them to As. Now that he had control of the body, it was the easiest way to teach As some spells.

    "Learn well, kid. Learn well. You might need the spells in the future. You are too weak right now. Let this experience make you stronger!" Castiel dered, assured that As was hearing him.

    "He is teaching me?" As was also taken aback. At first, he thought it was a good coincidence that he could learn these spells, but now it was evident that Castiel was teaching him.

    A formation twice the size that was on the earth appeared in the sky.

    A blinding light shed through the sky, followed by a thundering sound. For a moment, it became so bright that it was impossible to see anything.

    After the light returned to normal, only a massive crater was left in the sight. There were scorching marks around that crater as if a massive lightning bolt had fallen there. It was also the exact spot where Zhang was trapped before. At the moment, but even a glimpse of Zhang could be seen as if he was disintegrated after the attack.

    Castielnded on the ground near the crater. Lucius also appeared beside him like a ghost.

    "That was a bit overboard."

    "A little bit, yeah." Castiel agreed with Lucius.

    "So, may I ask why you went overboard?" Lucius asked. "And while we''re on that topic, what help were you looking for?"

    "The answer to both your questions is the same," Castiel answered. "I want you to give me your Key Fragment."

    "Hmm?" Lucius frowned, hearing the sudden demand. What did he mean, he needed the Key Fragment?

    "Sure. Give me yours, and I''ll give you mine."

    "No. I need yours and also need mine. To stop what''s toe, I need all key Fragments. And I also need your help."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I want to open that ce again. Because that''s the only ce where we can find the solution."

    "And what solution would that be? We''ve all been there before. I don''t recall seeing anything there that can help us. What difference will there be this time? Also, if we can get answers while going there, why would I need to give you my key instead ofing with you?"

    "Isn''t that why we divided the keys? So none of us could open that ce alone?"

    "I know why we divided the keys. I was the one who suggested that. And now I''m suggesting that it''s time to bring the keys back together."

    "Sorry, not happening. It was nice catching up with you, but I''m not interested in giving you my key. If it''s about one person having all the keys, you can give me the key and help me get the others. But my key stays with me..."

    Against all expectations, Lucius didn''t agree with Castiel. For some reason, he decided to keep the key fragment for himself only.

    Unfortunately, Castiel couldn''t let that happen either. He needed the key, and he needed it without the interference of Lucius. Even if he somewhat trusted Lucius, he didn''t trust him enough to tell him about the transmigration of As.

    Since As was going to be alone for the next one month, he didn''t want to increase the risks for him by letting this news spread.

    "You don''t even have your key, do you?" Castiel asked, frowning. "That''s why you''re backing off. Did you lose the key?"

    "I''m not a child." Lucius brought the small key fragment from his pocket, showing Castiel. "If you change your mind about working together, you''ll know where to find me. Until then, I''ll get back to what I was here for."

    Initially, Lucius was interested in what solution Castiel had to solve theing problem, but he was disappointed to see that Castiel still couldn''t trust him. And until there was trust between them, he wasn''t willing to work together. He left the decision to Castiel.

    Lucius left, going back to the Franc Castle that was still intact because the spell was broken before. He honestly expected Castiel to stop him. Unfortunately, Castiel also let him walk away.

    Castiel watched Lucius leave, looking quite unhappy. However, it was only after Lucius disappeared from his view that his frown turned to a smile.

    "Sorry, old friend. But I had no choice," he lowered his gaze, looking at the key Fragment in his hand. It was the same key Fragment that was in Lucius'' hands until minutes ago, and now it was in his hands.

    As As saw everything that took ce, he was able to see the bigger picture. He was amazed that even Castiel could use schemes.

    Just as Castiel cast the Vine Spell, he cast a bigger spell on the surroundings, which were still active. As for what that spell was, As only found out now.

    Castiel subconsciously manipted Lucius to make him show his key fragment. That''s also when the Formation activated, transferring the real key fragment into Castiel''s hands while sending a fake key Fragment into Lucius''s hands which he kept in his pocket without even checking.

    "That makes it two. Little one, you got two key fragments now. You''ll have to find the other two yourself. This was as far as I could help you."

    "Remember, even I don''t know how long it''ll take before Lucius finds out that he got a fake, but when he does, he''lle after you. You''ll have even more enemies now that I''ve made an appearance myself, enemies that you can''t even imagine. If you thought your life was hard until now, remember, this wasn''t even a fraction of what is toe."

 Chapter 154 154: King Of Beasts

    Castiel nced up at the beautiful sky, seemingly lost in some thought.

    "There is still some time..."

    He snapped his fingers, instantaneously casting a spell. A formation circle appeared under his feet.

    "Little one, you need to learn how to use these spells. Without them, you can never catch up to your opponents."

    As the formation circle started gathering energy from the nature, Castiel didn''t forget to remind As once again of the importance of the spells.

    Every Progenitor had a special advantage, and being able to use spells was the advantage of Castiel, and it was supposed to be one of the best. These spells and his vast knowledge were what made him so strong throughout the years.

    When all four of them had started, he was the weakest of them all since the others had skills that instantly benefitted them. On the contrary, he needed to slowly gather all the knowledge to be stronger. With each passing day, he honed his knowledge and his spells to be strong enough to face the other Progenitors without much external help.

    In fact, he considered himself less of a Progenitor and more of a spellcaster when he fought, barely relying on any of his Vampire abilities.

    That''s also why he felt that As was wasting an opportunity. It was certainly hard for a young man to grasp the knowledge and the perfection that he spent centuries gathering, but not using them was still a waste.

    The formation under Castiel''s feet started shining brightly, creating a spatial disturbance in the surroundings.

    By the time the formation stopped, Castiel wasn''t there anymore. Only the crater was left behind.

    Castiel''s figure appeared in a different ce, far away from where he previously was.

    Castiel appeared right at the entrance of the Town, closest to the Franc n since that town was also the ce where Lancaster was taking Lilith.

    In the distance, a carriage could be seen advancing closer to the town.

    Not waiting for the carriage to even get to him, Castiel flew to the carriage instead.

    The carriage driver abruptly stopped the carriage, watching a man flying toward him. His face went pale in fear. He got off the carriage and started running, leaving the carriage behind in fear of his life.

    "You don''t need to run." Castiel used another spell. Mysterious shackles appeared around the waist of the carriage driver, pulling him back.

    "Why did the carriage stop?" Lancaster wondered if they had already reached their destination. However, as he pulled the window curtains aside, he noticed that there was still a forest around them.

    He was about to open the door when a figure appeared on the other end of the door. Initially shocked, Lancaster sighed in relief as he noticed that it was As.

    He opened the door. Castiel entered the carriage, sitting right before Lilith.

    Without talking to Lancaster at all, he ced his hand on Lilith''s forehead.

    "Hmm, it seems she already took precautions. As expected of the little one. Still, the healing of hers will be a really slow process. I''ll give her a little push."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Castiel closed his eyes. A pure stream of energy started moving through his hand inside the body of Lilith, removing the poison which was left in her body.

    Lilith''s body was already dispelling the position, but with Castiel''s pure stream of energy, the poison was removed much faster. Within a few minutes, all the poison was gone. Not only was the poison gone, but the arrow wound had also healed entirely.

    Castiel opened his deep eyes as a serene aura remained around him.

    Lancaster didn''t know why, but he found the man to be a bit different. Even though As was in Castiel''s body, Lancaster felt like an equal to As. There wasn''t the feeling inside him that he was beneath Castiel. It was more of a friendship and less of a working for a Progenitor.

    However, now he felt entirely different. Even though Castiel hadn''t done anything, just the sheer overpowering aura of Castiel was enough to make Lancaster feel weak, as if he wasn''t worthy to stand beside him.

    "Lancaster, I suppose?" After healing Lilith, Castiel shifted his focus to Lancaster. "You look so much like Vor."

    "You just don''t have his fighting Spirit. Then again, you''ve lived a sheltered life, and you''re young, so I can''t me you. But still, I''ll also leave some advice for you..."

    "You aren''t a human... You are the King of Beasts. As long as you can''t embrace the wild side of yours, you''ll always stay weak. Too weak. Let me show you an example..."

    Castiel ced his palm on the Lancaster''s forehead, showing him some memories. As for the memories, he kept them specific to the memories regarding Vor, the ancestor of Lancaster who was banished from the Kingdom of Wolves.

    Castiel showed him his first meeting with Vor, where despite knowing that he was a Progenitor, Vor didn''t hesitate and fought back. Even after being defeated, he didn''t lose his morale. Instead, he worked even harder.

    Vor was filled with arrogance and pride, but it was what made him stronger. The pride was what made a Werewolf such a fierce beast. Unfortunately, Lancastercked the pride.

    Castiel also showed Lancaster his subsequent meetings with Vor, where each time they met, they fought. And with each battle, Vor became stronger... So strong that even Lancaster couldn''t believe that this was the extent to a Royal Werewolf''s power.

    "I hope these memories will help you understand who you''re supposed to be. Don''t doubt yourself... Don''t lower your esteem. You are a King, and that''s what you''ll always be. Just embrace yourself and see how the world falls on their knees before you."

    "Who are you...?" Lancaster asked subconsciously. He was sure that this guy wasn''t As. "Did you regain your memories? Is As dead now?"

    Castiel smiled. "No. He isn''t dead. This is temporary. The memories will be sealed again, and I''ll go back to sleep. As will be back as soon as I leave."

    Castiel didn''t expose the lies that were told by As, letting them float freely. It was better than telling Lancaster the truth and making his mind even more confused about As'' future.

    "Mmmm..." Lilith started gaining her senses. It was as if she was waking up from a beautiful sleep. Her body felt so rxed after getting the purest stream of Castiel''s energy.

    She opened her eyes, ncing at Castiel. "Huh?!"

    She sat straight, realizing the difference in As''s aura. "You are back?!"

    Without thinking twice, she jumped into Castiel''s embrace as tears started dripping from her eyes as if she was a kid.

 Chapter 155 155: Youll Know When Its Time

    "Little kiddo, when will you grow up?" Castiel patted Lilith''s head gently. "Why do you cry?"

    "You are back..." Lilith''s muffled voice came as she buried her face in Castiel''s chest.

    "Should I not be back?" Castiel chuckled. "Anyway, I missed you too, little one. But no, I''m not back."

    "This is only temporary. I came back to take care of a few things. It''s almost time for me to leave."

    "Please don''t go..."

    "So you do not want As to be back?" Castiel inquired, seemingly amused. "I thought you would want him back."

    "I want him back. He is a good person who deserves to live. But I also don''t want you to leave."

    "Don''t worry. Only a month... After a month, I''ll be back. Until then, you must help As... Help him get all the Key Fragments and to open the ce..."

    "Help him open that ce...? Why?"

    "It''s better if he answers you directly." Castiel kept patting Lilith''s head as if she was a little child. Despite knowing everything, he didn''t tell Lilith, partially because he wanted As to say it directly and partially because Lancaster was here as well. It was better if As dealt with everything himself.

    "Just know, what he wants is also what I want... So help him. Also, I''ve taught him some spells. The rest, you can teach him. Teach him everything you know, as fast as you can. He would be needing it since even I''m not sure how long it''ll be before things start deteriorating. He needs to be ready."

    "Also, Zhang is dead. And An is missing. So find An, which I''m sure you can do. But more importantly, I already stole the key fragment of Lucius. So you should really focus on getting out of this ce as fast as you can before he finds out."

    "It should be time for me to leave. If I leftter, As will forever disappear. But before I leave..."

    Castiel held Lilith''s hands. He opened her hands and ced something on her palm.

    Lilith nced at what was kept in her hands. "This..."

    There was a small folded piece of paper resting in her palm. From a single nce, she couldn''t see what was inside the folded piece of paper, but seeing Castiel treat it with such importance, she believed that there was something really important in it.

    Moreover, she could also feel a spell around the piece of paper, where only Castiel or people he allowed could open the paper and see what was inside it. If anyone else tried to do it, all they were going to find was an empty piece of paper.

    "You''ll know what to do with it when it''s time...."

    Castiel''s words fell in Lilith''s ears before he closed his eyes. The unique aura that was surrounding him disappeared entirely as if it wasn''t there in the first ce.

    His body went weak, falling into Lilith''s arms. Losing control of the body didn''t ce as much burden on As'' body as regaining the control of the body did.

    When he was in the backseat, his consciousness absorbed all the information it could. However, now that he was back in the body, he truly felt the burden of everything he had grasped.

    He was so tired that as soon as he returned, As fell asleep.

    "Is he fine?"

    "Yeah. He is just sleeping," Lilith exined. "Just let him rest. He should be back to normal after getting enough sleep.

    Lilith carefully made As lie on the carriage seat, understanding that Castiel was gone again. However, now she was sure of one thing, that she always doubted. As''s presence in the body was because Castiel allowed him. As for why, she didn''t truly understand. It appeared more than just taking pity on a person in need.<novelnext></novelnext>

    There was still the folded piece of paper in her hand, but she didn''t open it right away.

    "Lancaster, tell the carriage driver to keep going. Lucius mighte after us if he finds out..."

    Castiel told her many things, but one of the bombshells amongst those was that he had stolen the Key Fragment from Lucius. Since it was stolen, Lucius was going to find out sooner orter. And she didn''t want to be here when he found out.

    "To where?" Lancaster asked before stepping out of the carriage.

    "West... We have an old friend to meet in the west. Tell him to keep going west, toward the Kingdom of Triad."

    Lancaster stepped out of the carriage, noticing the carriage driver sitting on his knees. What are you doing there? Get up."

    Lancaster informed him about the directions to take and where to go after calming the driver.

    Meanwhile, inside the carriage, Lilith unfolded the piece of power that Castiel gave her.

    ? "Hmm?"

    Lilith''s face became a bit confused as she noticed what was inside the paper. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

    She folded the paper again and kept it safe with her, still trying to figure out what was the meaning of this.

    "Can''t you just tell me directly what you want me to do? Why be so vague?" She asked, ncing at As.

    "He said I''ll understand what to do with it when it''s time. But what if I miss that time...?"

    She didn''t know what to do. All she knew was that she was supposed to help As get the keys and enter that ce.

    "If that''s what he wants, then there must be a reason to it."

    She decided to do what Castiel wanted without understanding why that was the case. She was sure that it was something important. And to achieve that goal, she needed to get to the next target. There were only two Key Fragments that were left. One was with An, and one was with the Blood Council.

    She decided to take An''s piece first since that meant meeting Yovana again as well, to return some favors.

    *****

    Lucius still had no idea that his Key Fragment was stolen.

    Completely unaware, he entered the Franc n''s castle. Because the explosion was stopped, most of the n was still intact.

    Lucius went to the lower floor, seemingly looking for something. Before long, he reached the floor where An was kept, but he didn''t stop before the cell that belonged to An.

    He stopped in the middle of the hallway, looking down at the floor. "It should be here."

    He brought a small piece of wood out of his pocket and ced that piece of wood on the floor. After keeping the wood down, he started waiting for something.

 Chapter 156 156: Going In

    Lucius ced a small wooden stake on the ground at a specific spot and started waiting.

    For some strange reason, the stake kept getting smaller with each passing second as itid on the floor.

    Watching the stake get smaller, Lucius smiled briefly. "It''s the right spot."

    The stake kept getting smaller and smaller until it was the size of the needle. It was as if whatever was inside the stake was absorbed by the Floor.

    Time kept trickling away as a wooden needleid on the ground before there was finally a movement.

    After around thirty minutes, the wooden stake started increasing in size once again, slowly returning to its old self. The stake was once again back to its old self. In fact, the Stake was only slightly bigger now.

    The wooden stake, which waspletely clear before, had changed at its core. The stake appeared much sharper and even stronger. There was also a small mark that has appeared at the end of the Wooden Stake, creating a character that only Lucius could read.

    Lucius went down on his knees, observing the wooden stake, which had changed inherently. He carefully picked up the small stake.

    "Urgh!"

    As soon as he picked up the stake, he felt a burning sensation on his body. It was as if the Stake was burning his skin as soon as he touched it.

    Lucius immediately released the stake, letting it drop to the floor once again.

    "Still as feisty, aren''t you?" Lucius nced at his burnt finger. Even his healing didn''t heal the mark as fast as it should''ve. The healing was too slow.

    Lucius tore a small piece of cloth from his cloak and wrapped the wooden stake in the cloth before picking it up once again. This time, there was no burning sensation on his hand.

    He kept the stake securely before standing up. "That''s one."

    His footsteps kept getting distant as the man left the hallway, just as calmly as he came, disappearing into the darkness.

    *****

    It was the darkest night. Even the moon was hidden behind the clouds that hid its light.

    Even in this Darkness, there were many powerful Vampires that were guarding the Blood Council Castle at the mountain top. The Castle was supposed to be empty, as no Blood Council Members were here. Despite that, the security here had always been at the peak.

    Everyone assumed that it was because the Blood Council didn''t want anyone to damage their castle, which could be bad for their dignity. It was only the Blood Council Members who knew the real reason.

    They knew why they kept the Castle so secure. It wasn''t because they were worried about the castle. Instead, it was because there was something inside the Castle that only they knew about.

    That''s also why this ce was so important. That''s also the reason why this ce was made at the top of a mountain, where it was impossible for even Werewolves to reach secretly.

    Unfortunately, it was still quite easy for the Blood Council Members to reach here, and one such member was standing at the bottom of the mountain, ncing at the top.

    Under the terms of Ramiun''s letter, he was to do it. However, in her bid to take the lead, Elisi arrived here first. She had basically hijacked the n of Ramiun, which he told her through the letter.

    Even though Elisi was here and prepared to do it, even she was a bit hesitant. Doing this meant going against the Code of the Council, especially since she was doing it without informing anyone. Her greed still made here here. If she seeded, she believed she was going to be stronger than the entire Blood Councilbined.

    She wasn''t alone either. She brought her strongest Generals with her, who were converted by her. They were the people she trusted the most, especially since her death meant their death as well. To survive, they needed to protect her at any cost.

    Not only were her men behind her at the bottom of the mountain, but there were also some who were at the top of the Mountain, working with the other guards.

    Since the Castle was such an important ce, all the Blood Council Members sent some of their stronger men to guard the ce. That''s why the protection team was made with people from every side.

    "Are they informed?" Elisi asked the man behind her.

    "We did inform them. Our men are guarding the south east section. We should be able to enter through that ce," came the response.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Good."

    Elisi finally started climbing the mountain. However, instead of couldn''t, it appeared more like she was flying up. She ran through the forest in the mountain, even though her feet barely touched the ground.

    She was like a shadow, running through the forest. Behind her, her two Generals also managed to keep up with her, not falling behind.

    Within five minutes itself, the three of them managed to reach the top of the mountain through the south east.

    A group of Vampires that were guarding the South East Portion of the Mountain noticed three shadowy figures flying toward them. None of them reacted at all.

    Instead of alerting other guards about the arrival of three figures, they went on one knee respectfully. It was as if they already knew who was going to being here.

    The guards who were assigned the protection of these parts belonged to Elisi''s group herself. They weren''t going to dare to stop her. Instead, they wee Elisi and inform her about the positions of the other guards.

    *****

    "So she entered the Castle. Good. Everything is going ording to the n for now."

    Ramiun was still inside the castle, being informed about every single action of Elisi. He was like the puppetmaster, having an eye on all his puppets.

    "An hour should be enough for Elisi to free him. I think it''s time. Send a letter informing the other Blood Council Members about what Elisi is doing. Make the letter anonymous."

    "It shall be done." A melodious voice came from the back as a figure disappeared.

    "My dear Elisi, thank you for freeing him and helping me. You did your part; it''s my turn to handle the rest. While you keep the Blood Council distracted with your life on the line, I shall be done with my goals. You really deserve a gratitude. If you''re still alive by the time I seed, I''ll probably return the favor."

    "I do hope you survive. I do want to see you as my servant, after all."

    With an amused grin on his face, Ramiun went back inside.

    ****

    Back at the Blood Mountain, Elisi managed to sneak inside the Castle through an open window that she herself left open before.

    She didn''t make even the slightest noise as she entered. However, there was a group that already knew about Elisi''s entrance.

    The group of guards that worked for Ramiun knew everything. Just like Elisi''s men knew her n, Ramiun''s men also knew what to do. They were just waiting for Elisi''s arrival. One of them was even keeping an eye on the South East. The man informed his fellow about the arrival of Elisi.

    The men knew that Elisi was already inside the castle. They still didn''t inform anyone else or went inside. They waited for a few minutes to make sure that Elisi was actually inside and at her destination.

    It was only after they werepletely assured that they took action. They didn''t just go inside themselves. Their goal wasn''t to catch Elisi or stop her. They just needed some witnesses to make sure that it was Elisi who did it.

    And what better way to achieve their goals than talking to others with them to see?

    The guards went to the group of other Lords, informing them that they heard a voiceing from inside and that they needed to check.

    Initially, the other groups didn''t believe that someone had entered the Castle since they didn''t hear anything, but just to be sure, they decided to check as well.

    The three groups that were guarding the main entrance decided to send two people each inside the castle to check if someone actually snuck inside. As for the groups in the south, they weren''t informed yet.

    Around six guards entered the castle to check if someone had entered without permission.

    Along the way, the six divided into a team of two, with each team containing at least one person from one of the three factions. Especially since one of the three Factions belonged to the oldest Blood Council Member.

    Both the teams searched the ces. Now that they were inside, even they couldn''t deny that there were indeed some noises. It was as if a door was opened and some chains were broken. Both the groups ran to the source of the sound to check who actually dared to enter this ce.

 Chapter 157 157: Strong Enough

    Elisi entered the Blood Council Castle, going straight to the lowest floor.

    She stopped before two majestic doors. The two metallic doors were closed and locked using two thick chains.

    Over the chains, there was a simrity sized lock, which was around twenty times bigger and stronger than the ordinary locks. There was only one key of the lock, and the key was kept by the oldest Blood Council Member.

    Even he wasn''t allowed to use the key without the permission of every other Blood Council Members, especially since whatever was behind the door was too important. Still, everyone knew that the lock was only for a formality. No matter how strong the lock was, if one of them wanted, they could easily break the chain and open the door.

    No amount of strength could stop the Blood Council member from going through if they wanted.

    Elisi grabbed the chains. There was no going back from it now. She knew that now that she was here, she needed to go through with it. She grabbed the chains firmly. Using her entire strength, she pulled the two chains. She ced all her strength behind the attack.

    The chains that were keeping the door locked broke apart, unable to resist a Vampire Lord''s strength.

    Elisi pushed the door open and entered inside. "Keep an eye outside. Make sure no one disturbs me."

    "Hmm?" She had just taken a step inside when she stopped. She nced back to see three Guards arriving there as well. "That was fast."

    "Kill them all," she casually stated before disappearing inside the hall.

    The guards that had just arrived there were shocked to find Elisi and her Generals there, breaking inside. Not only did they break inside, but she alsomanded to have them be killed. It was evident that she was doing something illegal and didn''t want anyone to find out.

    "I think we should retreat. We can''t fight a Lord. We must inform the others." The men who worked for Ramiun suggested an idea to others. Not only did it give them a subtle hint on what they needed to do, but it also created some fear in their heads that they couldn''t win.

    They weren''t supposed to die here. If they died, who was to prove that Ramiun wasn''t involved in this? Now that Ramiun''s team was with the others, acting just as shocked, it allowed them a free hand.

    No matter what Elisi said about this ideaing from Ramiun, no one was going to believe her. She didn''t have the letter to prove either, which was retrieved by Ramiun already.

    Elisi had fallen into a trap, and even she didn''t realize it.

    Elisi''s men ran after the Guards, trying to stop them from escaping. Unfortunately, there were over six guards and only two of them. Three Guards stayed behind, stopping the two Generals while the other guards ran out of the Castle.

    Each of them informed their own team members about what they saw inside. The news slowly kept spreading. Almost all the Guards decided to stay behind and surround the Castle, not allowing anyone to leave. Even if there was a battle, it was better for them to fight in the open than to fight inside.

    While most of the Guards stayed behind, each team did send one of their members back to inform their Lords. The others who remained behind attacked the members of Elisi''s team that were guarding the South East.

    A conflict was brewing, and the person who made it all happen was enjoying in his castle, taking a sip of blood.

    *****<novelnext></novelnext>

    Elisi stopped inside the sealed hall and closed the door behind her. She focused ahead.

    The air inside the hall was at a freezing temperature. It was unclear where the cold air wasing from, especially since the outside temperature was much warmer

    Elisi walked to the center of the hall, stopping right before a coffin that was ced in the middle of the freezing hall.

    She ced her hands on the coffin and slowly opened it. As soon as she opened the coffin, even colder winds rushed outside, brushing against her skin.

    Inside the coffin, there was a body,pletely frozen. The body appeared to belong to a silver-haired man, who appeared quite lifeless. It was impossible for any ordinary person to survive in this freezing cold either. However, a faint heartbeat could still be heard by Elisi.

    The chest of the man had some traces of blood, but even that blood seemed to be frozen.

    "I''m taking quite a risk for you. I hope you''re worth it."

    Elisi ced her hand inside the coffin and picked up the body that was resting inside the coffin.

    *****

    As slept throughout the night. In fact, his sleep had never been so peaceful in his lifetime. For some reason, his body truly felt ted and as rxed as it had ever seen.

    The night passed away while the Carriage didn''t stop moving for even a second. Along the journey, Lancaster thought about the advice that Castiel gave him, assimting all of it to understand how he could improve himself.

    From what Castiel had spoken, he wasn''t utilizing his full potential. It was as if there was a hesitation inside him. Lancaster understood what Castiel was implying. Ever since he had awakened, he had already been worried about losing himself if he turned.

    He always resisted giving in to his wild side. His fear always kept him resisting, even when he turnedpletely. Whenever there was a full moon, he had himself tied, so he didn''t run wild and hurt anyone innocent. Instead of controlling his wild self, he hid from it.

    "Lilith, can you answer me something?"

    "What?"

    "Castiel told me that I need to embrace my fear to be stronger. I want to know how I can do it. How can I remove that fear inside me? The fear of losing myself! You have lived for a long time. I''m sure you know more about Werewolves than I do. You''ve also met many of my Ancestors, including one that Castiel talked about. Tell me, how can I be like them?"

    "Is there a way?" Lancaster asked.

    "A way to embrace your true side? Aren''t you too young for that? You''ve recently awakened as well. First, give your body and mind some time to adjust. Then think about how to progress. Your mind is also very fragile yet."

    "But Castiel said I was ready and that it was holding me back. I don''t want to be weak. I also want to be strong... Strong enough to face my opponents!"

 Chapter 158 158: Blood Lords

    "I can''t use the excuse of being alone anymore. I won''t survive a battle just because I''m young. I''ll need strength!"

    Lancaster stood firm on his decision of trying to get stronger, even though Lilith yed his concerns down.

    Castiel''s words had made a deep impression on him, especially when he talked about Lancaster being far away from his true potential. From the way Castiel talked, it appeared as if something big was about toe... Something worse for them, for which they needed to be prepared.

    If Castiel had thought the same thing as Lilith, he wouldn''t have sown a seed of doubt in his mind.

    When it came to time, he trusted Castiel more than Lilith for some reason.

    "Can you tell me how I can achieve it?" He asked clearly, once again. "Forget about the time not being right and the dangers. Just help me achieve it. Help me be so strong that my father would''ve been proud of me."

    Lilith didn''t know what exactly Castiel told Lancaster, but from the bits, she could gather, he told him to be stronger. Lilith knew that it wasn''t entirely safe for Lancaster to progress so fast, especially since his mind was fragile. The wild urges of a beast were too overwhelming if hepletely embraced his wild side.

    "Are you really sure you want to do that? You remember, if things went bad, I might need to kill you?" Lilith asked. "Just know, you''re a Royal Blood. If you lose control, you''ll attack first. And I won''t let you hurt us. I''ll have to kill you right there."

    "Is there no other way? A way where I can be stronger and won''t risk you or myself?" Lancaster asked after Lilith made it sound like he could hurt everyone around him.

    "Nope. There is no other way. This risk is always there since what you want can only be achieved under the blood moon when you are forced to turn. Your wild urges would be at the peak then, but we can''t keep you trapped then. You''ll need to be free, and you''ll need to fight against your urges."

    "Not only fight, but you''ll also need to win against your urges. That''s why I said you aren''t ready. We will tryter sometime."

    Lilith warned about the risks, partially because she wanted to scare him. But it was also because she actually didn''t want to have to kill him, and everything she said was actually the truth.

    As Lilith exined to Lancaster, As'' head rested on herp. He was still peacefully sleeping.

    "Next full moon is tomorrow..." Lancaster nced out the window. "One day... I want to try it! I think I can do it! If I don''t do it now, I have a feeling that I might be toote."

    "Tell me how we would do it? What do I need to keep in mind? Teach me everything!"

    Even though he was slightly scary, there was no other option, as confirmed by Lilith. Castiel said his biggest weakness was his feat. If he was scared even now, then Castiel''s words were going toe true.

    Lilith couldn''t help but p her forehead. Despite everything she said, Lancaster was still adamant about doing it.

    "Fine. If you are so adamant about it, I''ll let you go forward with this. We shall try to remove that fear and hesitation you have for your other side."

    "After As wakes up, I will tell the two of you about what you''ll have to do."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "What we have to do?" Lancaster asked, surprised. He didn''t understand why As had to be involved in it. "Why does he need to do anything when it''s my challenge?"

    "Who will you fight if not him? A Werewolf''s wild urges are at his strongest whenever a Vampire is before them. And only As is a Vampire amidst us. Tomorrow, when there''s a full moon, you''ll bepletely free. When your body turns, your wild urges will take over your mind, and you need to let that happen!"

    "Don''t resist that feeling. Let yourself turn entirely... Don''t hold back," Lilith exined. "After your transformation isplete, you''ll attack As. You won''t even have any control over your body. It''ll be your other self attacking him, your natural urges."

    "That''s the main part... If you want to win over your wild self, you need to let it go truly wild, and for that, we need As! It''s when you''re at your most vulnerable that you need to win over your wild self."

    "And that will also be your biggest challenge. As I said before, it''s very dangerous. And even though As would be fighting you, as long as he fails to find you back, I''ll have to intervene. And that won''t be good for anyone."

    "So think clearly. Do you really want it?"

    "So I''ll have to fight As, and if I can''t control myself... I am ready for it! If that makes me stronger, I will do it! And you are free to kill me if I fail. Only with the fear of death looming over my head I''ll be able to do all I can."

    The fear of death made Lancaster even more motivated. If there was ever a time he could seed, he wanted that time to be now since multiple lives were on the line.

    "Now that you''ve agreed, we need to make As agree as well. And if he doesn''t, you''ll have to wait longer, which would probably be for the better." Lilith ruffled As'' hair, ncing down.

    She didn''t want to have to make the decision for him. It was for him to decide what he wanted to do. It was a risky endeavor, but it was also beneficial since it made their team stronger.

    Moreover, As could also experience fighting Lancaster with his full strength. He was the closest they were going to get to fighting working like Razil.

    ****

    The sun had just started rising when the Blood Council Members started arriving on the top of the Blood Mountain. Each of them was apanied by their Generals. It was as if they came prepared for a war.

    Ramiun had also arrived with his team, pretending to be surprised at the sight of so many dead guards.

    "What did you do, Elisi?" He eximed, making sure the people around him heard. "Killing our own people... I didn''t expect this from you."

    Almost all the guards that were assigned to this ce were dead. Only one guard from each faction was alive, and that''s because they had run away to inform their Lords. They were also the reason why everyone knew who was behind it.

    "Clear the bodies." One of the Blood Lordsmanded before he entered the Castle with the other Blood Lords.

 Chapter 159 159: Back To Life

    All the Vampire Lords entered the castle together.

    They didn''t check anything in the entire castle. They had only one destination to check, and they all went there.

    The Lords stopped before the door, noticing the broken chains lying near their feet.

    "Elisi... I hope she hasn''t done what I''m thinking she did..." The Oldest Vampire Lord muttered.

    He pushed the door open and entered the freezing hall.

    "It seems she did exactly that," Ramiun replied, noticing the open coffin in the distance. "That idiot... She has created problems for all of us."

    "But I still don''t understand. Why would she do it? What does she hope to achieve from it? She will be just as much trouble as we will be when he wakes up."

    "Who knows what she''s thinking? Only she can answer that. To understand what she was thinking, we''ll need to find her first. And hopefully, retrieve what she took before he wakes up."

    "Elisi has written her own death sentence by going behind our backs. We have no choice but to kill her."

    Every Blood Lord was infuriated by Elisi''s actions which were confusing for them as well.

    One of them appeared to be done with the observation as he turned around.

    "I''ve seen enough," he stated as he started walking away. "I am taking my men to attack her castle. If she wants to die, death is what I shall give her."

    "I doubt you''ll find her at the castle. She must know we would being for her. If she made a decision like that, she had probably nned everything. She has been with us since the beginning. She knows how we think and how we work. She knows where we''ll look for her first."

    "It doesn''t matter. Even if she''s not there, I''ll still go there. She decided to backstab us. Her castle shouldn''t exist anymore. It''s time we destroy her home. I''ll make it such that she has no ce to hide! Not even the depths of hell can protect her."

    The Blood Lord left on his own, leaving every time else behind.

    "He''s right. We can''t waste time here. We need to find her and make things right before he wakes up. I''m sure we all remember what happenedst time. I''ll go to the Witches and see if they can help us find Elisi."

    Another Blood Lord left. One after another, everyone left, having a n of their own to find Elisi. They had divided regions that were to be covered by them to find Elisi. They could get out of their region to find Elisi as well.

    The Blood Lords dispersed. Even Ramiun walked back to the foot of the mountain where a Carriage was waiting for him. Throughout the way, there was a grim expression on his face as if he couldn''t believe how it happened, but as he reached his carriage, a smile appeared on his face.

    "Everything going ording to the n." He entered his carriage.

    The carriage started moving, but instead of going towards Ramiun''s castle, the carriage appeared to be going in an entirely different direction for some reason.

    ****

    The sun was shining brightly in the sky that barely had any clouds. In the bright light, the Carriage kept moving through the rough terrain.

    As also woke up from his slumber, feelingpletely refreshed. All his tiredness was gone, along with his headache. Moreover, he even felt a bit morefortable in the body now. The mark of protection was back to normal, but the best part was that his soul was inherently stronger now.

    He also remembered the exact feeling from before, where Castiel was using his Strongest spells that weren''t written even in Lilith''s book. It was as if those spells were imprinted on his soul. He knew how to use them, and he knew it better than he would''ve even if he had practiced a thousand times.<novelnext></novelnext>

    As he came to his senses, he felt as if his head was resting on something soft. He opened his eyes slowly, seeing Lilith''s face before his eyes. He was still on herp.

    Even though he was up and knew he should''ve sat up, he just couldn''t. For some reason, his head felt morefortable than ever. He didn''t want to get his head up from Lilith''sp.

    "You are up, it seems." Lilith noticed As'' open eyes, but even she didn''t ask him to sit up.

    "It''s good to see that you''re fine as well," As answered, looking up at Lilith. "So, what actually happened with Yovana? Tell me everything. Why did she betray us?"

    Even though he had woken up from his sweet slumber, he still had the same question as before. Why was Lilith attacked by someone who was supposed to be on their side?

    "I don''t know her exact identity, but what I do know is that Yovana lied to us. An had no daughter... She wasn''t his daughter. That woman... She used the story about being An''s daughter to get sympathy and help from us. She used us to get to An."

    "Also, it appears that An knew her. Even though she wasn''t his daughter, she was still someone he knew," she further stated. "When he was about to tell me who she could be, that woman attacked me from behind."

    "She wasn''t his daughter? But she was still a half Vampire. You checked it yourself. If she isn''t An''s daughter, then whose daughter is she? And why did she want to get to An? What could she want from him?"

    "We''re going to get those answers," Lilith stated. "No matter how far she runs, I know where she will be. And this time, she won''t see my back to be able to attack me. She chose the wrong people to fool, and she''ll realize that soon."

    "How far are we from her?" As asked. "I have one month, it seems. And in that one month, we need to get two stones..."

    "That''s right. I forgot to ask! Did Castiel tell you why you need to open that ce?"

    "He doesn''t need to tell me. It''s not his n. I need to enter that ce for myself. And that''s why I need those stones. He''s just helping me," As answered. "I want to enter that ce and see if that ce can bring my sister back to life."

    "I wanted to tell you a long time ago, but I was waiting for the right time. And now that Castiel already told you about my destination, it''s only fair, you know," he further stated. "You too, Lancaster."

    As finally sat up. He had decided to tell Lancaster what he wanted to do. However, he still kept some things hidden, regarding where that ce was, or how could he bring his sister back, or what exactly he needed for that.

    He also didn''t tell him that if he seeded in bringing his sister back, she wasn''t going to be a human anymore. Instead, she was going to be a Progenitor. It wasn''t because he didn''t trust Lancaster, but he just wanted to keep some things to himself.

    "If I can seed in what I want to do, Mise could be back to life."

    "A dead personing back to life? Is that even possible?" Lancaster had never heard about a dead personing back to life. If there was one thing which was permanent in this life... It was death. If there was one thing that couldn''t be denied, it was that death was eternal, and no one coulde back from it.

    People could avoid death, but that was the extent to it. Once they entered the embrace of death, there was no way back. So the words of him being able to bring his sister back were quite shocking.

    "How is that possible?" Lancaster inquired. "I''ve never heard something like that before. Is that really possible?"

    "I am a Progenitor... I might not have my memories, but I''ve walked this earth for millions of years. I am impossible. If a person can be eternal, then anything is possible. Even death isn''t permanent, in some circumstances..." As answered. "There are many mysteries in the world that no one knows, not even us."

    "I would understand if you don''t want to help me. If you think helping someone defy death is against your principles, I won''t force you."

    "I don''t mean that. I didn''t say that I don''t want to help you or that it''s bad if it''s possible to bring someone back to life," Lancaster rified. "I was just curious if it''s really possible. Because if it is, there are so many things that could be possible... If death isn''t permanent, maybe my family..."

    Unlike the Werewolves, Lancaster hadn''t grown up in a Werewolf n. He had grown up in a mortal family. He wasn''t instilled with the principles that the Werewolves followed. Instead, he grew up as an ordinary human who had seen a lot of death in his life. He had seen the people who were like his parents die as well. The possibility of them being able toe back... It was impossible to resist¡­

 Chapter 160 160: The One Demand

    Instead of being worried about the possibility of the dead being able toe back, Lancaster''s mind went straight to the possibility of his parents being able toe back to life.

    Just like As had someone he cared about that he wanted back, Lancaster also had people. Instead of feeling weird about the desire to bring the dead back, he was able to understand where As wasing from.

    "So, is it really possible?" He asked again just to be sure that As wasn''t joking with him

    "Yes, it''s really possible. But not yet. I''ll tell you more about it when we have everything that we need..."

    Lancaster could see that As was keeping some things secret. It was as if he was intentionally being vague to some extent. Maybe because he was worried about being betrayed since his sister''s future was on the line. He understood that he might have done the same thing if he was in As'' ce. Trust was in its own ce, but the family had an importance of their own.

    There were more factors at y than just trust, including the matter that Lancaster was very weak. Even if he was trustworthy, the enemies were many who could catch Lancaster. They were essentially going against the gods of this world.

    If even An could be caught, then Lancaster was nothing. Just because An was able to go through the torture doesn''t mean everyone could go through the same, especially Lancaster, who was very young and wasn''t Immortal like them.

    This news about how one could bring the dead back isn''t something that could be allowed to leak.

    Lancaster also realized the intricacies behind the secret. He didn''t really ask too much. If he needed to wait to see how it worked, then that''s what he was willing to do. He had been without his family for a long time. A few weeks were not too muchpared to that.

    The thing worth importance was that there was a possibility of being able to bring the dead back to the life. That was all he needed to know.

    "I will be with you until the end. We will bring Mise back to life." Lancaster agreed. He didn''t mention anything about wanting to bring his family back as well. He left that for thetter. He wanted to ask at the right time when As was in a good mood. As for the right time, it was when Mise was back.

    "By the way, there was something I wanted to talk to you about as well," Lancaster stated, remembering that there was still something he needed As to do for him.

    It was already the next day, and soon, it was going to be the night of the full moon. Not only did he need to convince As to fight him, but also to do it when he was at his wild self.

    "What help? I doubt we have time to take a detour since we''re in a hurry, but if it''s possible to help you without changing paths, then I''ll try to do my best."

    As didn''t realize what Lancaster wanted to ask, but he still agreed, as long as it didn''t waste too much time. He only had a month to find the remaining two key Fragments and to get to the vige.

    One month was barely enough to achieve all this.

    "We won''t need to take a detour. We''ll just have to stop for a night," Lancaster answered. "And it has to be tonight."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Stop tonight? For what?" As frowned, confusion filled. He looked at Lilith, trying to gauge her reaction. She was so calm that it was as if she knew what Lancaster was going to ask.

    "I want you to fight me tonight after I turn... I want you to fight me when I''m at my worst. And I want you to give it your all in the battle," Lancaster responded.

    He started speaking about why he wanted that, including what Castiel told him and how this was the only way for him to be stronger faster and control his other self to fully utilize his royal Bloodline.

    As remembered the moment when Castiel told Lancaster to be stronger. His soul was up at that time, but even he didn''t realize that the only way to do that was to fight him.

    When Lancaster was in his Beastly Form, that was when he was at his strongest. However, tonight, he was going to be even stronger since tonight was the full moon.

    Before this, every full moon, they had been keeping Lancaster tied, so he could''ve run wild. But this time, they had to let him be free. Not only was he going to be free, but he was going to attack him.

    As had practiced fighting with Lancaster, but that was all when Lancaster was inplete control. During the battle, both of them could go easy, without worrying about seriously being hurt or hurting anyone, but without control, the battle could bepletely different.

    Moreover, now that As knew how the mark of protection deteriorated, he realized that it was based on how much strength he used. The one-month of estimate that was given to him by Castiel was depending on him using his strength only when it was absolutely necessary. If he used his strength here, the time was only going to decrease. Even he didn''t know how much it could go down."

    "So, will you fight me? I really need your help... I want strength, and only you can lead me to it. Also, it won''t be long! I''m sure I can gain control within an hour if I try my best! I am confident about it!"

    As looked down as if he was looking at the floor. However, he was immersed in his own thoughts, trying to see how he could do it without losing time.

    ''If I fight, I''ll have to use my strength. And it''ll be a fierce battle, so I won''t be able to hold back. But if Lancaster can be stronger, he can help me even more in battles against the Blood Council and the future.''

    ''Castiel also told him to be stronger, so there must be a reason.''

    After checking the risks, the benefits, and the words of Castiel, As finally came to a decision.

    "Fine. I''ll do it." He raised his head, nodding in agreement. "I''ll fight you."

    "If you two have decided, then so be it." Lilith had left the decision on As. Now that he agreed, she didn''t oppose either. Thus, it was finalized that As was going to didn''t Lancaster.

 Chapter 161 161: Royal Vs Immortal

    The world had started turning dark as the light started retreating. A carriage waited on the corner of the road as the people who were traveling by the carriage had entered a forest, leaving the carriage driver behind.

    The Carriage driver was cursing his luck for being caught in the midst of this group. He was the driver of the Royal Carriage. Even after being a driver, he had great influence amongst the others of his stature since he was so close to the Duke.

    Even he couldn''t have expected that he was going to be caught by a Vampire. Even when Lancaster took over his carriage, the man just thought that he could be free after dropping Lancaster and Xun to the nearest town since that''s what they wanted.

    However, instead of stopping at that town, the people changed their destination. From then on, the carriage driver had already lost hopes of being free. He believed he was going to be with these people forever.

    Sitting near the carriage, he looked at his surroundings. Everyone had entered the forest except him. He was sitting all alone. For a moment, there came a thought in his head to run away from here. However, he was far away from any city. It wasn''t easy to run. He could take the carriage, but he couldn''t gather the courage.

    The fear of being caught was instilled deep in his heart. Moreover, he knew what was going to happen to him once he was caught. Even though he wasn''t free, at least he was alive now.

    He decided to wait for the others to arrive here.

    Deep inside the forest, As stood at five meters of distance from Lancaster. Both the youngsters looked at the sky. There was still some time for the moon toe out.

    "Remember, this battle can be life-threatening. So try to keep yourself safe. Also, there''s still time to change your mind if you want to." Lilith reminded everyone onest time. "We can try thister after we are done with gaining the key Fragments."

    Lancaster took a deep breath. His mind was already made up. Even though there were second thoughts, he buried those thoughts with now or never.

    "I want to have this battle now. I am prepared!"

    "And you?" Lilith turned to As. "You are immortal, but the poison of a Werewolf is really poisonous. The more you''re injected with it, the more you''ll feel hurt. If you''re hurt badly enough, you might go into paralysis for some time. There are also more problems, especially about... You know... You can''t use too much strength."

    "I know. I''ll be careful," As answered. This was a battle even he wanted to go through now that he was here. He wanted to see how much stronger he had be after Castiel helped him learn spells and understand their true essence.

    Lilith didn''t ask anymore. She took a few steps back, clearing the field for them. There were only ten minutes left.

    "As..." Lancaster said, realizing that the time was getting closer.

    "Yes?"

    "Thank you for what you''re doing. And I am sorry if I hurt youter. I will try my best to regain control as fast as I can, but if I can''t, you don''t have to hold back. If possible, stay safe without worrying about me."

    As smiled. "You idiot, stop worrying about me at this point. Nothing will happen to me. If possible, try to keep your head clear and focus on your goals."

    " Only then can you seed. If your mind is focused on other things, you won''t be able to control yourself. Let alone control; you''ll be controlled instead."

    The time trickled away as the night inched closer. The full moon started rising¡­<novelnext></novelnext>

    As soon as the Full Moon started rising, Lancaster started feeling strange. His temperature started rising, and his heartbeat started fastening. His entire body was in pain. It was as if his bones were breaking one after another.

    He had experienced the transformation of the full moon before and was slightly experienced at this point. Unlike his first time, he didn''t scream in pain this time. He just clenched his teeth and let the transformation take ce.

    His vision turned blood red as his body became bigger. His hands turned into ws as hair began appearing all over his body.

    Before long, he actually lost control of his body as his wild urges took over.

    Awoooo~

    His mighty roar echoed in the entire forest as he finished his transformation. The roar was so loud that even the carriage driver who was outside the forest heard it. The roar sent a chill down his spine as he grimly looked in the direction where the roar came from. He was sure that it was the same direction where the three had gone.

    The animals that were in the forest started running away from the source of that roar, leaving the surrounding.

    Even the carriage driver saw the animals rushing out of the forest, crossing the road. Seeing so many animals rushing to him, the carriage driver entered the carrier and closed the door in fear. Fortunately, the animals didn''t approach the carriage and ran past it.

    As saw Lancaster''s transformation finish. With his fierce eyes, Lancaster red at As, showing his sharp fangs as he growled.

    "There begins your time. Lancaster, it''s your turn now," Lilith muttered. " Let''s see how long you can take to control yourself!"

    The Wild Beast jumped at As like he wanted to rip the Vampire in his sight to pieces. Instead of shing straight, As also jumped back, maintaining the distance.

    The wolfnded where As used to stand; however, just as the wolf was about to continue chasing, a formation circle became visible around him. The gravity inside the circle multiplied by thousands, making sure that the wolf couldn''t jump. At the same time, thousands of Vines came out of the ground, rushing to the wolf.

    As used the same spell that he saw Castiel use on Zhang. The only difference was that he kept the range of his spell small.

    Roarr~

    The wolf faced the terrifying gravity, but even under such an effect, he couldn''t be forced to his knees. The wolf ran out of the formation circle. All the gravity did was to slow him down to some extent.

    Just as the wolf left the formation circle, vines came out of the ground, wrapping around Lancaster''s feet, pulling him back.

    Lancaster kept trying to get to As, but because of the Vines, he kept being pulled back.

    Unfortunately, even then, the wolf didn''t give up. He kept forcing his way, using his ws to hold onto the ground. The Vines also started getting weak against the resistance.

 Chapter 162 162: Success Or Failure

    Even though the Vines were strong, they also started failing in being able to pull Lancaster back. It was as if the stronger the Vines became, the stronger Lancaster''s resistance became.

    More and more vines came out, holding Lancaster. Furious, Lancaster turned around and sliced all the vines with his ws, destroying everything that was holding him back. The vines healed after being sliced, but by that time, Lancaster had already gotten away.

    Lancaster leaped on An as soon as he was free. Since As didn''t want Lancaster to be hurt, he didn''t seriously attack even now. He didn''t use the spell of Lightning that was taught to him by Castiel. Instead, he kept his attacks slightly on the passive side, only to hold Lancaster back to give him more time for him to regain his senses.

    Unfortunately, up to this point, it didn''t look as if Lancaster was seeding. In fact, he couldn''t even sense any resistanceing from Lancaster before attacking him. It was as if the real Lancaster actually went to sleep as soon as the wild self took over.

    Moreover, as the night progressed, the wild urges of As only became stronger, especially when a Vampire stood before him. It was as if he was starting with the hardest difficulty level right at the start.

    As kept avoiding Lancaster instead of properly fighting him. Ever since the battle began, As had never been within two metres of Lancaster at any point. Not only did he do it to keep Lancaster safe, but more importantly, it was to reserve his soul energy.

    Unfortunately, with each passing moment, it was proving difficult for him to avoid Lancaster. Lancaster was slowly getting faster and faster. The difference in speed between the two had decreased by a lot. Instead, Lancaster appeared to be a tiny bit faster.

    "I don''t think he will seed tonight. It''s too much for him," Lilithmented, shaking her head in disappointment. Even though it was as she expected, it was still disappointing to see Lancaster fail. If Lancaster could actually fight back, he could''ve shown at least some resistance. But there was nothing. Instead, only the bloodthirst was increasing.

    Finally, As couldn''t avoid Lancaster anymore. He knew if he continued ying passive, he was only going to get hurt since he was going to lose all his advantages. If Lancaster couldn''t defeat his wild self at the peak of the urges, he was going to weaken him instead.

    As finally fought back. Instead of jumping back, he held his ground and attacked back.

    If it was really a battle, he was willing to give it his all, even if that meant tasting the poison of a werewolf.

    ****

    "Ah, my head hurts so bad..."

    A man came to his senses, lying on the soft grass under the shade of the tree which was keeping him protected from the sunlight.

    "Wait! The battle!" Lancaster abruptly stood up, remembering what happened before he lost his senses.

    He looked around, noticing As sitting nearby, topless. There were some scratch marks on his chest and some around his neck, but overall he looked to be fine.

    "I failed?"

    "I doubt that even ssifies as failing," Lilith rolled her eyes as she ced some medicine on As'' chest. A wound given by a wolf couldn''t be healed that easily. Even the natural healing of As couldn''t heal the wounds right away, so Lilith was using the medicine made by her to help him fight back the poison faster.

    "To fail, you needed to at least attempt. After you turned, it was as if you lost right then. You didn''t fight back, and if you did, we couldn''t see it. There was no resistance even when the battle raged on. That was a disaster," she further stated.

    "I was right. You aren''t ready yet. Your urge to be stronger doesn''t help you fight back against your wild self. Instead, it made your wild self stronger."<novelnext></novelnext>

    It wasn''t as if Lancaster wasn''t hurt either. His body was also wounded, and it was aching all over. But more than the pain, he was concerned about failing. He made As go through this battle, hurt him, and all for nothing. At least it would''ve been worth it if he had seeded after all that, but no.

    "Why didn''t you kill me?" he asked, remembering Lilith''s statement that she was going to kill him if he couldn''t control himself.

    "Why would she kill you?" As smiled wryly. Just what nonsense was this guy talking about? They weren''t going to kill him just because he failed.

    "Don''t worry about failing once. There are more full moons. You will seed sooner orter," he consoled Lancaster. He knew what failing felt like. Moreover, he also knew how hard it could be to regain control over oneself.

    He still hadn''t forgotten his Bloodlust Phase, where he had almost died. He believed the Full Moon Transformation was something akin to that, at least for a new wolf.

    "After bringing Mise back, if I still have time left in this world, we would continue our battle under the same Blood Moon..."

    "Thank you. And I am Sorry for hurting you."

    "Well, my wounds were nothing. You should''ve seen the other guy," Asughed. "It was a good battle. And I did get to see where I need to work and what my strengths are. So it wasn''t a loss in the long run. So don''t feel bad about this."

    "As for the wounds, they would heal in no time."

    Lilith finished cing the medicine on As'' wounds, and she brought a new pair of clothes for him.

    As stood up and started wearing the clothes. For some reason, he seemed a bit slow. All his movements were slower. At least not like before.

    "I must say, your poison is certainly something," As let out as he finished wearing the clothes.

    Lancaster also stood up and wore his clothes.

    "I see what you meant by another guy''s condition," Lancaster smiled, looking down. It was only when he stood up that he realized his legs were badly hurt.

    He was limping as he had to walk.

    "I wish I had remembered the battle." He could only see uprooted trees and craters on the ground all around him. There was some blood that could also be seen in the surroundings.

    He regretted not remembering the battle. If it was a night-long battle, it could''ve taught him a lot of things about his weakness and his strength.

    "Don''t worry about your wounds. Your natural healing will work much faster. You should be fine by evening," Lilith informed Lancaster, who was lost in thoughts about the battle.

 Chapter 163 163: Vor

    "That would be good." Lancaster nodded. "But that''s not what I was concerned about. I don''t worry about my wounds."

    "Are you still thinking about failing?" Lancaster asked. "You know, you can''t rush sess. If we could, I could''ve achieved so many things."

    "It''s not that either. I was just thinking about the battle and how it was. I wanted to see how I fought. Anyway, it''s fine. As you said, I would seed sooner orter. I just wish it could''ve been sooner."

    The carriage driver was still hiding inside the carrier in fear. It was only when he saw the three peoplee out of the forest, he stepped out of the carriage.

    He was slightly surprised to see the condition of the two men. One was limping while the other was walking like he was also hurt. Moreover, both of them were wearing different clothes.

    "Did the two fight each other?" he muttered. "That would exin the strange sounds fromst night... Crazy people."

    The three entered the carriage aftermanding the driver to start moving. The carriage driver walked back to his seat as well.

    ****

    While the entire Blood Council was looking for Elisi, she stood in a ce where even the Blood Council couldn''t have expected her to be.

    Elisi stood near the Kingdom of Wolves. Her men brought a coffin out of her Carriage and ced them on the ground.

    Elisi opened the Coffin. "I''ve taken a lot of risks for you. Let me see what you''re capable of... Vor."

    Inside the coffin, thereid a silver haired man. The man had a slender face which was slightly pale because of being kept in such cold. However, what really attracted someone''s attention to him was the strange mark on his forehead. The mark wasn''t something that was natural. Instead, it appeared to be a spell that was carved by someone on his forehead.

    Elisi scratched the spell mark from the forehead of the man, making the spell useless.

    After she destroyed the spell, Elisi went back inside the carriage with her people. The carriage started moving back and left the coffin and the man behind.

    The man remained inside the coffin for the next few hours as his forehead kept bleeding because of the wound on his forehead.

    The strange mark which was destroyed by Elisi was covered in the blood of the young man who remained inside the coffin.

    With the mark finally being destroyed, the man also started to show some movement in his hands. His eyelids also flickered as his heart started thumping faster.

    The man''s eyes abruptly opened, revealing his beautiful golden pupils. There was another mark on his body that could be clearly seen near his shoulders. However, that mark looked more natural than the spell which was on his forehead. As for the mark, it was simr to the mark that Razil had... In fact, it was slightly bigger than Razil''s mark.<novelnext></novelnext>

    It was a mark of a Royal Werewolf. A person like him, who had the Royal Bloodline and fought Castiel a few times, was kept by the Blood Council all these years. As for why or how this was possible, only a few people knew.

    Vor sat up, observing his surroundings. Finding himself sitting inside the coffin, quite a lot of memories returned. He remembered fighting back and failing... He remembered being backstabbed... he remembered the anger and rage that he felt... So many things have happened. All these memories rushed into his head at once.

    If it was someone else who found so many painful memories rushing in abruptly, they could''ve gotten crazy, but not for him. Not only had he lived long enough, but he also had a powerful soul.

    Vor stepped out of the coffin. In the distance, he could see the boundary of the Kingdom of Wolves. His fists clenched on their own as he remembered what was done.

    "Haiz!" He started walking toward the Kingdom but realized that he was too weak. He felt hungry like never before. He hadn''t eaten anything in a long time.

    Before advancing to the Kingdom, he hunted the beasts in the forest to fill himself before he actually went to the Kingdom of Wolves.

    The two guards at the entrance of the Kingdom saw a maning to them. They could see some blood on the forehead of the man and his golden eyes. Even though they didn''t recognize who it was, they could feel that he was a Royal from the mark on his forehead.

    One of the guards once again rushed to inform Razil. However, just as he started leaving, he heard screams from behind him.

    He looked back, only to be horrified. Vor''s hands were covered in blood, and all the guards were dead. Vor lept in him, killing him as well.

    Vor''s eyes were filled with Bloodlust. After all, he did for the Kingdom! After all he did for the Royal Family! He was still backstabbed! He was banished from the Kingdom, but he didn''tin. He left the Kingdom and started living in the forest, where he made his own n. However, despite that, he didn''t do anything against the Kingdom!

    Throughout the years, he never had the thoughts of returning to the Kingdom. He just wanted to be stronger since that was his passion, and he was also achieving his goal, thanks to his hard work and asional battles with Castiel, who didn''t mind fighting him.

    Despite all that, his own home... His own n attacked him! His own n tried to kill him and left him for dead! It was by luck that he survived, but even that luck turned into bad luck when his body was discovered by the Blood Council, who took the help of the Witches.

    Vor hated everyone at this point! He hated the Vampires who kept him trapped! He hated the Witches who helped them! And more importantly, he hated his own n, who destroyed everything he cared for! As soon as he woke up, he saw the same Kingdom before his eyes which rekindled his rage.

    ? He didn''t think about anything other than rage. When he was living a banished life, he never thought about attacking the Kingdom since he considered them his family no matter what they did. But now... All had changed. Now the Kingdom wasn''t his family! Instead, they were the ones who destroyed his family just because they felt threatened by his increased strength and influence.

    Now he wasn''t going to hold back! He wasn''t going to let them live!

    Standing in the distance, Elisi watched the blood fest begin, but she wasn''t alone. Even Elisi didn''t realize that Ramiun was also here, waiting for this exact moment.

 Chapter 164 164: Vors Return

    While Elisi stood on the northern side of the Kingdom of Wolves, maintaining a few kilometers of distance between her and the Kingdom, Ramiun was standing on the Southern Side, on top of a distant hill.

    "And thus begins the ughter."

    "This could very easily turn bad for us," the woman who always apanied Ramiun chimed in.

    "It certainly can. It''s not an easy decision to free Vor... The man who could even threaten the Kingdom of Wolves. We had to do so many things to get the Witches to cast a spell on him after we found him hurt."

    "And after all that, we had to release him. I''m sure he''ll hate us for that as well. After all, we did to him... After he is done with the Kingdom, he''ll either go for the Witches or the Blood Council." Ramiun sighed. "But I wouldn''t have had to take this extreme step if the Council had agreed to help me."

    "I went to them for help. They refused me. I couldn''t just sit idly, knowing that the true immortality was so close to me. In any case, after I get the Key Fragments, I won''t need to worry about him either. Even he won''t be able to harm me! I''ll be a Progenitor!"

    "I''ll be the ruler of this universe! And I''ll be the strongest! Even if I have to sacrifice the Entire Blood Council to get to my goals, so be it! I can make more Vampires at any time! And after I''m Progenitor, the ones I make will be as strong as the Blood Council! And they will be loyal to me as well!"

    "If anyone from the current Blood Council survives until then, I''ll let them serve me. But if not, they can''t me me for their fate!"

    "What if he doesn''t leave the Kingdom after destroying it? Or what if he takes An with him as well?" The Lady pointed out. "If that happens, can we take An from him?"

    "I doubt he can. The werewolves would''ve kept An in a ce where even his aura can''t be sensed, at the depths of the Castle. Even Vor shouldn''t be able to find him, especially when he doesn''t know about An being here."

    "But what if he does?"

    "If he does, then he''ll bring some dys to our n, but it won''t be a big obstruction. Even he can''t kill An. And he can''t always stay with An. Sooner orter, he''ll have to leave An to attack the Blood Council. That''ll be our opportunity to retrieve An," Ramiun exined. "In any case, we won''t fail."

    "So it''ll just be your initial n. First, you wanted to use the Blood Council to distract Werewolves to take An. Now, you''ll use the Blood Council to distract Vor to get to An," thedy summarized.

    Ramiun smirked. "That''s right. Even if the Blood Council doesn''t want to be a bait for me, I''ve brought them to a situation where they''ll have no choice but to be a bait. And even after all that, they don''t doubt me one bit. It''s all on Elisi."

    He didn''t worry about the future. Everything was going ording to his ns. All he had to do was watch the Carnage and, if possible, take action to bring An out after Vor left. At the moment, even he didn''t feel confident enough to go in alone when Vor was there.

    Unaware that he was being watched, Vor continued his carnage. No matter who tried to stop him, they all received death! Even if the guards didn''t try to stop him, they still received death. There was fear in the citizens, and everyone was running to take shelter.

    Even the humans in the town weren''t left. In his rage, Vor was blinded. He didn''t differentiate between humans and Werewolves.

    ****

    Inside the Castle at the center of the Royal City, Razil was sleeping when he sensed a powerful aura.<novelnext></novelnext>

    He abruptly opened his eyes and got off the bed. And rushed out, not even bothering to wear his shirt. He rushed out topless.

    However, just as he was about to open the door, there was heavy knocking.

    He opened the door, finding his men who had pale faces. They hadn''t been this scared even when As had arrived, despite him being a Progenitor.

    "A... A Royal! He is killing everyone in the city brutally!" The guards informed Razil, even though he already knew what it was. He had already realized that it was a Royal Aura. And it wasn''t weak either. It wasn''t the same as Lancaster''s aura, which was rtively weak.

    "First son came, and next father? I should''ve killed that kid when he was here!" Razil rushed to the balcony and jumped out, believing that it was Lancaster''s father this time.

    Other than Lancaster''s Father, no other from the banished Bloodline could be alive at this time, ording to him.

    However, it was only when he reached the source of the painful cries he saw a young man destroying whatever stood in his path. As for that young man, even if the others couldn''t recognize him, Razil did.

    He had seen a portrait of that person before!

    "Vor? How could he be alive after so many centuries? How?! He was killed by our ancestors! How is he back?!"

    "No, that can''t be. It can''t be Vor. It must be Vor''s descendant who looks like him. No matter who he is, he can''t be allowed to kill our people!"

    Razil roared as if dering his presence. Hearing the roar, Vor also stopped. There was still a Werewolf in his grasp who was struggling to free himself, attacking with his ws.

    Even though deep gnashes were left on Vor''s chest, Vor didn''t react. He was staring at Razil.

    Crack ~

    He tightened his fist, crushing the neck of the Werewolf who he was holding onto. He tossed the lifeless body aside.

    "Where is your father? Call the King!" Vor dered. Even though he could see that Razil was a Royal Werewolf, he didn''t expect him to be the Werewolf King as well.

    "I am the king! You are in my Domain! Despite being banished, you havemitted the Sin of stepping foot on thend of the Werewolves! Your punishment... Death!"

    "Banished? Death? Those words stopped having any meaning long ago! And if you''re the King, then so be it!"

    Throughout the whole time, Vor hadn''t transformed. He had years of experience in training with Castiel. Throughout those years, he had learned how to fight at his best without turning. However, he wanted to turn for this moment! He wanted to rip Razil to shreds!

 Chapter 165 165: Both Yet None

    Vor finally transformed as his eyes started shining in the mysterious golden shine. A symbol appeared on his forehead as soon as he finished his transformation!

    Razil wasn''t confident enough to take Vor lightly either. Even though he didn''t believe that this guy was Vor, he was still stronger than Lancaster and needed respect.

    However, as soon as Vor transformed, Razil was taken aback. He could see a scar on the left arm of Vor in his transformation. The scar! He heard about the scar. It was something that Vor had. The scar, and the exact Royal Mark, and all the other characteristics... Was it a coincidence? He didn''t know. But with time, he was feeling as if something wasn''t right.

    Despite all that, he couldn''t back off either. The Kingdom was on the line! The life of all his citizens was on the line.

    He also transformed, returning to his beast form.

    Razil wasn''t alone either. The Royal Wolves of his pack also arrived to support him in the battle, surrounding Vor from all sides. No matter how strong or weak the enemy, the wolves never took them lightly and hunted in packs!

    Over fifty werewolves surrounded Vor while the others helped the citizens go to the safe ce. As important as it was to kill Vor, it was also important to protect the citizens.

    Vor didn''t wait to be attacked. Instead, he attacked first, leaping ahead.

    *****

    "It looks like you are close to your goal, My Lady," A General respectfully stated.

    "I am. After everything is over, I should be able to retrieve the Eternal Crest from the castle."

    "I still can''t believe that Eternal Crest is real, and the Werewolves had that all this while. As soon as you get the Eternal Crest, you''ll be Supreme."

    "It''s definitely real. Even Lord Ramiel wrote about the lost Eternal Crest. Even I had a hard time believing that Ramiun had a clue about the Eternal Crest being in the Kingdom of Wolves. Then again, he isn''t an idiot to decide to wage a War against the Werewolves for small things. The moment he tried to lure the Blood Council, I knew the Werewolves had something that he wanted!"

    "That idiot, he thought I''ll share the Eternal Crest with him. The moment he divulged the information about what he was after and what he was nning to do to get to it, he had already lost all his usefulness."

    "Why would I work with him to free Vor so I could remove all the defenses of the Werewolves when I could do it alone? I can get to the Eternal Crest before him. Even he''ll have to bow to me along with everyone else!"

    "He''ll know what you''re after. The Blood Council must already know that Vor is missing, and we did it," the General stated.

    "Let them know. I know Ramiun. He won''t tell them what I''m after, or he''ll be in trouble as well. The Blood Council will not know where I am. At least not until I''m done."

    "But Lord Ramiun will know. He must be on the way here."

    "By the time he gets here, everything will be over. That''s why I took this step in the middle of the night. He''ll being here to bow before me. That''ll be all! I can''t wait to see the look on his face as he realizes what he lost."

    It had been a long time since Elisiughed so heartily. After centuries, something was finally happening in her life... Something big..."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Neither she nor Ramiun realized that they were doing all this for nothing. She believed there was something in the castle just because Ramiun lied to her, despite there being nothing.

    As for Ramiun, he believed that the Kingdom of Wolves had Progenitor An, who had the Key Fragment that he needed. He didn''t know that the Progenitor was already taken by someone in secrecy. He had been toote.

    Both sides believed they were going to be the ultimate victor without any bases. They were standing on the house of cards that could fall at any time.

    ****

    Away from all these conflicts, As was advancing toward a conflict of his own.

    Ramiun had released a nightmare on the world to get to An. But it was As who was actually going to An, all because of Lilith, who knew where he was.

    As still felt some pain in his body, but he could move freely. The pain didn''t affect his movement anymore. On the other hand, Lancaster''s foot had also healed thanks to his supernatural healing.

    The two of them were ready to fight once again. Fortunately, they left their next battle after they received all the Key Fragments.

    Sitting inside the carriage, As looked out the window, seemingly lost in some thought. He was happy that he foughtst night and learned so much, but there was also some regret in his heart.

    He expected the battle tost one a few hours at best. And even then, he wanted to use as little of his strength as he could, but the battlested an entire night, and he was almost pulled to his limits in the battle.

    Strengthened under the full moon, Lancaster was no less than Razil under normal conditions. As for Razil under the full moon... That was something else entirely.

    Looking at the trees that seemed to be going past them, he wondered just how much time he had lost because of the battlest night. It certainly wasn''t just one night.

    ''Castiel, are you listening to me?'' He asked in his thoughts, wondering if Castiel could still talk to him like before. Only Castiel could answer him as to how much time he lost.

    Unfortunately, there was no response to his question. It was unclear if it was because Castiel couldn''t hear him, or he just didn''t want to get involved until it was absolutely necessary.

    He had already stated that something like before wasn''t going to happen again. He wasn''t going toe until he absolutely had to, but the day he came, that was going to be thest day of As.

    That''s why As wanted to achieve his goals fast. He was also very close to his destination. All he needed were two key Fragments, and he knew where each of those was, which made things easier for him.

    It was as if he had all the puzzle pieces now, and all he needed to do was to put the pieces together.

    "We are there... Next city is where they are..." Lilith informed As, ncing at the map. "I think we should walk the rest of the way. I''ll also create a Shroud so Yovana can''t run."

 Chapter 166 166: Souls

    The carriage was stopped around a thousand feet away from the main entrance of the town where Yovana was supper to be.

    Lilith told the carriage driver to wait here for their return and that they might take a day or more. The carriage driver agreed to wait since he had no choice in any case.

    The rest of the journey was by foot. However, instead of going straight to the town, Lilith circled the entire town, casting a widespread spell around the town.

    It was the longest spell she had cast, but for her, it was also absolutely necessary since it worked to stop Yovana from attempting an escape like before. The spell made sure that she couldn''t use the Teleportation Portals that she could''ve already prepared.

    Unless she had a portal formation that was used by the Franc n, she couldn''t pass through Lilith''s domain. And even if Yovana had that Formation, she needed an immense power source to power it, which was avable in the Franc n, but not in this town.

    Afterpleting a circle around the town, Lilith and the others stopped right at the entrance of the Town.

    "This should be enough. But still, we mustn''t forget that they still have An. So they can attempt an escape even without a Portal. That''s why you two go for An. I''ll go for Yovana since I have a score to settle with her."

    "Any questions?"

    Neither Lancaster nor As had any questions left. The n waspletely bare bones. There was not much to question. Now all that was left was to get the two...

    ****

    As entered yeh town with Lilith, only to get a really strange feeling. The entire town appeared to be too silent. Even though it was day time, not one person could be seen on the streets.

    Even the atmosphere inside the town seemed quite strange. Just the air itself felt rotten.

    "Does no one live here?" Lancaster inquired. "Are you sure Yovana is here?"

    "Yeah, possibly at the center of the town. But you''re right. This town is a bit too silent. As for why I have a feeling we''ll get an answer soon..."

    After walking for a little more, everyone noticed a person lying on the ground. After observing from closer, it was evident that he was dead, but there was no wound on his body to answer how he could''ve been dead.

    Two trails of bloop could be seen connected to the body. One trail went left while the other went right. And both of those trails connected to another body in the distance v

    "It''s as if these bodies are being used as the nodes for spell points. But what spell?"

    It appeared to be a massive spell that covered half the spell, but since it was such a big spell formation, just from the initial nce, Lilith couldn''t recognize what that spell was. It was as if she was looking at a minuscule part of the bigger picture.

    She cast a flight spell on her, Lancaster and As, flying up. Even though it increased the chance of them being seen by Yovana, it was still better than jumping into a blood formation blindly.

    Through the sky, the three of them had a clearer image of the entire city. They could see that there weren''t just three dead bodies in the Blood Formation. There were thousands of bodies all around the city, each connected by a blood trail as if a massive web had been created.

    The center of the massive formation lies in the center of the city. At the core of the Blood Formation, all the Blood Lines were connected to An, who was lying unmoving. Just like others, he also appeared dead, but Lilith and the others knew better. He couldn''t be killed. That meant he was unconscious or sleeping.

    "Is An trying to steal strength from the dead?" Lancaster inquired, feeling as if it was all An''s doing. "Using the dead for your strength? That''s so vile!"

    Lilith noticed some part of Yovana''s chain visible on the chest of Lancaster. It made her understand a few things. The pendant... It wasn''t with Yovana! Instead, it was with An.

    Right beside An''s body, there was lying another person. Yovana remained beside An, holding his hand.

    "This formation... It''s not making An stronger... It''s another kind of formation! We need to stop it!"

    Lilith flew to the core of the Formation, but before she could get there, a barrier appeared before her. Lilith shed on the barrier, which not only hurt her but also sent her flying back.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Lilith controlled herself in mid-air, ncing at her burnt hands.

    "As expected, she took safety measures! But I won''t let it happen! I won''t let her seed!"

    "What is this formation about?" As asked, still having no idea what this formation actually did.  If it was enough to make even Lilith so serious, then he was sure there was something about it.

    "That Formation weakens the Soul of An, binding it to the souls of all these dead. At the same time, the formation makes it possible for his body to be possessed! In essence, it''s a Soul Snatching Formation! If An were up or were in his senses, it wouldn''t have worked, but in this condition?"

    "Even I can''t say if it''ll work or not! But we can''t take a risk. If it worked, Yovana would be possessing An''s body while his own soul would fall asleep. I can''t let that happen! In An''s body, Yovana would be impossible to kill! She''s essentially snatching immortality!"

    "What about her own soul? Even if she enters his body, her own soul will be the same. The burden of a Progenitor''s body will be too much for her soul to handle. Isn''t she looking for death by sending her soul into his body?" As asked, realizing the w in Yovana''s ns based on his own experiences.

    Even he was able to enter Castiel''s body, even if it was unintentional. If it wasn''t for Castiel''s help and his protection mark, he would''ve been dead on the first day itself. It wasn''t easy to control a Progenitor, even if one could take over the body.

    "I have a feeling she already took some steps for that if she nned up to this point. Moreover, we still don''t know her true identity and how strong her soul is. She''s partially a Vampire, after all. As I said before, we can''t afford to take this risk! We must stop her!"

    "Help me! You use Heaven''s Wrath! We''ll both attack the barrier at the same time!"

    "If this works..."

    It was a massive energy drain on him to use such a powerful spell, but if Lilith was asking for it, he couldn''t deny it. This did seem important.

    As raised his hand, remembering the feeling he did when Castiel had used the spell and the words he used. He used the exact same words and followed everything to the letter.

    The sky started getting covered with dark clouds slowly. The entire town was covered in the clouds. The sound of thunder was so loud that it even made Yovana open her eyes.

    Yovana opened her eyes, ncing ahead to notice As and Lilith in the sky.

    "These idiots... How did they find me?"

    She couldn''t understand how Lilith was able to find them so far. She had intentionally chosen this town and made sure that it was impossible to locate them. Despite all that, Lilith was still here. That didn''t make sense.

    No matter how she thought about this, she couldn''t understand. Whatever being the case, she knew she had to do something about it. She couldn''t just change the location. Everything was already set up here now, and she was so close to it! If she failed here, it was going to be a waste.

    "I need to keep them busy!"

    She couldn''t get up, or the entire formation was going to be affected.

    As she woke up, a lightning bolt fell on top of the barrier that was her first stage of her defense. Lilith also attacked at the same time. Two attacks crashed on the barrier. It was like an overkill, but it worked. The Barrier was shattered to pieces.

    Yovana didn''t sit up, but she did take some action. Yovana raised her left hand. "Rise and kill my enemies!"

    As if answering to hermand, some bodies that were lying on the Formation Nodes opened their eyes, as ifing back to life. Their eyes still looked lifeless, but they stood up.

    Amongst the thousands of bodies, only around a hundred or so woke up. The rest remained as nodes to make sure that the formation wasn''t affected too badly.

    All hundreds of bodies flew up to intercept As and Lilith while Yovana fastened the transfer. It was slightly risky toplete the process faster, but Yovana could see that she had no time. The bodies couldn''t stop Lilith and As for long.

 Chapter 167 167: Not Real

    The bodies that previously appeared to be dead seemed to be back to life now. They could move... Not only move, but they could also fly! However, despite being able to do so much, they still looked lifeless. It was as if they were still dead yet able to move.

    Seeing so many undead flying toward them, it could overwhelm anyone. Even though the barrier was broken, this new set of problems had arrived to dy them even more.

    "I''ll take care of them. You two go ahead and stop her."

    Lilith sent As and Lancaster to the ground, leaving the responsibility of approaching Yovana to them. If they all fought Yovana''s puppets, they could very well give her the time she needed, which they couldn''t afford. Since they didn''t know how much time Yovana needed, even one second was too much.

    Both As and Lancasternded on the ground, watching the horde of dead attack Lilith. Some even flew to them.

    "Split up. We''ll approach Yovana from different directions." Lancaster suggested as his ws became visible.

    "Sounds good." As also agreed. "Whoever gets to her can take her out."

    "Deal." Lancaster took the Eastern route while As took the Western Route. Both had the same destination and same goal, and both had the same obstructions as well.

    The dead that were attacking Lilith in the sky were over fifty. Almost the same number hade after As and Lancaster, despite Lilith trying to stop them.

    Moreover, now that she saw these bodies that came back to life from closer, it became even more astonishing. At the same time, it also started making sense.

    The dead that were fighting her... They were the ones she had already killed in the Franc n! Most of them were the same that had died at her hands! In other words, they were from the Franc n. It finally made sense why they could fly, but it was still astonishing to see them back to life... If it could be called life at all...

    It was different from the Vampires, who were called undead. Even though Vampires were also partially dead and had stopped aging, they still felt full of life. If one was to ignore their pale skin, they were like ordinary humans who felt happiness and sadness. Unlike them, these undead werepletely lifeless. They were like emotionless puppets.

    What made them a hard enemy to deal with was that they could use spells. Like a hivemind, all those people used the same spells at the same time, which increased the effectiveness of the spell, making those spells even stronger. Even worse was that all these spells were her own spells!

    She recognized those spells, most of which were made by her and not known by many people. She was sure that even Franc n didn''t know some of those spells that these people were using.

    These were the spells from her own Grimoire. And even if they could learn the spells, for them to master the spells to the same extent where they all cast them at perfect precision? This didn''t make sense.

    Lilith red at Yovana, remembering the time the two met. Yovana had said that she learned her entire Grimoire before returning it. However, she wasn''t a Witch, so she couldn''t use those spells. She could only indirectly use the spells with the help of Formations and Talismans.

    Unfortunately, now that she had an army of Spellcasters, she didn''t need to worry about not being able to use those spells.

    "She is controlling them! She is using those spells through them, but they! That woman! She is the core of this hivemind, using her consciousness to control them!"<novelnext></novelnext>

    Lilith found it somewhat familiar to how she used a Werewolf with her mind control. However, that was different. When she used him, he was still alive. Even she hadn''t been able to mind control dead people in such arge number!

    Yovana''s talents made Lilith feel even warier about her true identity. She was just too good at all these... It was as if she wasn''t...

    All the Spellcasters cast a barrier spell, trapping them and Lilith inside the barrier to prevent her from helping As and Lancaster. Moreover, with the strength of fifty people in the spell, the barrier wasn''t weak either.

    "You can''t stop me, Lilith. Even though you surprised me by finding me, you''re still toote!" One of the men stated,ughing.

    Even though the man''s voice was different, Lilith understood that it was Yovana who was speaking!

    "Who are you?!" Lilith asked. "Tell me who you really are?!"

    The man only smiled. "What do you mean? I already told you I''m Yovana. The sweet and helpless girl who needs your help. I don''t understand why you all bully this weak girl."

    "You think if you enter An''s body, you''ll be invincible?" Lilith inquired, scoffing. "An is just one! There are three more Progenitors! Even Castiel is here! Even if you can enter An''s body and seed, you won''t be able to run. You''ll be trapped, and your real body will be destroyed by us!"

    "You might live the life of an Immortal, but that life will be in a prison like An lived for thest hundred years! You''ll pray to be able to go back to your body! You''re not taking an eternal life for yourself! You''re taking eternal solitude and getting hurt!"

    "You still have time! Give up on your n! Stop right now, and we can talk about it! We could even let you be free if you do that! In any case, you won''t be killed! You still have a chance!"

    Lilith knew that they could fight Yovana and try to stop her, but if she could herself stop, it was much better. Just getting to Yovana with her army around in itself was a hard task. Even though they knew they would get to her, the time was their biggest enemy.

    Even for herself, getting out of this barrier after killing all these enemies wasn''t impossible. But it was very time consuming since they were all in a hive mind. It was like a strength of fifty Spellcasters were behind each spell... The Spellcasters who used her own high-ranking spells.

    She tried to sway Yovana into giving up.

    Yovana observed Lancaster and As getting close to her real self.

    "You''re right about some things, but not all," Yovana answered. "If you think I didn''t realize the secret of Castiel until now, then you really underestimate me."

    "That man down there... He''s not Castiel!" Yovana dered, bursting intoughter. However, soon she stoppedughing and turned extremely serious. "You can fool the world, but not me, Lilith!"

 Chapter 168 168: Change The World

    "If it was real Castiel, I might''ve been concerned about it for a moment, but he''s not. It''s been too evident when I spent time with you all. Just because I pretended to fall for your lies didn''t mean I actually did!" Yovana dered.

    "That man? He isn''t a threat to me! He doesn''t even hold a power close to what a Progenitor is supposed to possess, let alone someone like Castiel! If I''m not wrong, the real Castiel is already dead, and someone else''s soul is inside his body!"

    "In one way or another, I''m doing the same thing you did, Lilith! The only difference is that you let another person take over Castiel''s body while I''m taking over An''s body personally! If what I''m doing is wrong, then youmitted this wrong much before me! You have no right to question me!"

    "It shouldn''t be me who gives up! It should be you! Stop your virtue signaling after you did the same thing as me! And if you don''t, I''ll be forced to teach you a lesson! Because, unlike that weak Castiel''s copy, An would be much stronger under my control! I''ll bring out his true strength! I''ll bring out his peak strength and destroy everyone who stands in my path! Including you all!"

    "You gave me the time to think? No! It''s I who is giving you the time to think! Think and retreat! Last time I didn''t kill you, even though I could''ve! I let you live because you helped me! I''m not your enemy, but if you make me your enemy, the oue will be much different this time!"

    Instead of taking Lilith''s advice, Yovana issued a threat of her own. And she sounded extremely serious.

    "If you''ve already decided, then hear my answer as well!" Lilith''s eyes appeared as if they were shining. Winds started circling inside the barrier as lightning cracked around her.

    Lilith was prepared to fight.

    "Gravity maniption!" She raised her hand, casting her first spell. Even though all that Mages had her spells, and thebined strength of fifty people behind each spell, she was still the queen of spells who had hundreds of years of experience! Those people had just learned the spells, but she was the one who made them.

    "Vision Distortion!"

    "Sense stealth!"

    Lilith cast a spell one after another, without even a second of dy between each spell. In the time the enemies could cast even one spell, she had cast three already.

    Her first spell made the Mages lose their control momentarily. The sudden change in the gravity pulled all the Mages down, who barely controlled themselves at thest moment. However, before they could do anything, Lilith took over their senses and vision.

    The people were already dead, and their vision and senses were being used by Yovana to fight her. Lilith knew that if she took their senses away, Yovana couldn''t see anything or fight back.

    Unfortunately, it didn''t work. Other than the fifty who were fighting Lilith, there were more on the ground who could still see.

    Yovana made one of the Undead keep an eye on the sky. Through that vision, she fought back.

    Yovana wasn''t only fighting one person either. She was fighting on three fronts, dividing her attention into three battles which reduced her efficiency in the battles. However, her real goal was to keep them engaged until she seeded. She couldn''t afford to focus on just one battle.

    Lancaster was the one who was given the least amount of attention. Even though he was a Royal Wolf, in Yovana''s eyes, she was still a kid. She had spent time with the group before. She knew quite a lot about this group of people, especially how they fought and who was stronger or weaker.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Child, you don''t belong here. If you take even one step forward, you''ll be killed!" Just like Lilith, Yovana issued a warning to Lancaster as well.

    Around ten mages stood before Lancaster, blocking his path.

    Lancaster observed all the enemies before him and then how many of them were in the sky. Through that, he was able to guess how many were sent after As.

    He found it slightly insulting that only so few were sent to stop him. It felt even more irritating since it was after his fight with As.

    "You''re going to regret sending so few after me," Lancaster dered as he rushed ahead.

    He was angry at being underestimated, but he also understood that this was to his advantage. Since he was so underestimated, he only had a few people to pass through. It was easier for him to pass through and stop Yovana.

    ****

    At the third and thest front, almost as many Mages blocked As'' path as there were in the sky.

    "As... The person who possessed the body of Castiel. Why are you so greedy, As? Why don''t you want others to achieve what you did? Why don''t you support me instead? Together, we can find the right person to possess thest two Progenitors as well, starting a new era where old Progenitors would be extinct!"

    "You wanted to change the world, but when you have the opportunity, you are hesitating?Come with me! Support me! Together, we can make the world a better ce, as you wanted! Together, we can make it a world where no mortal''s family members will lose life at the hands of the Immortals!"

    "Instead of fighting me, support me!".

    With As, Yovana used a different approach. She knew that As used to be a mortal. She had realized it as soon as they went to As'' vige. She also understood that he hated Vampires and loved family! She used the love of family to lure him to her. She used his goal of changing the world to make him change his mind!

    Amongst all three, she only believed that As could be swayed. Lilith was too stubborn for that. As for Lancaster, he wasn''t going to budge. It was only if As agreed to switch sides that Lancaster was also going to agree. So she ced her main focus on As.

    Just as Lilith had stated before, there were still two more Progenitors that worried Yovana. Even if she took over An''s body, those two weren''t easy, especially Lucius, who seemed to have returned as well.

    She needed people to stand beside her! She needed people to fight with her, and As was the perfect choice! He was on the same boat as her, after all, upying someone else''s body! She believed that the two of them were the same to some extent.

    "So, what is your answer? Will you help me change the world for the better?"

 Chapter 169 169: Failure

    Multiple Franc n Members stood before As, all looking lifeless, but only one was being used by Yovana to talk to As.

    By engaging him in conversation, she actually wanted to sway him to her side, but at the same time, she also did it to dy him to some extent. As long as she seeded in taking over An, she could discuss more thoroughly.

    "Change the world?" As repeated. It was certainly his goal in the past, but that was before he found out that he could bring people back to life. Now his goal was different. He cared very little about the world at this point and more about gathering the remaining key Fragments.

    He only had less than a month left. He couldn''t waste that time by supporting Yovana and fighting the other Progenitors. He was already getting tired of running around back and forth. He had already taken Lucius'' Fragment. Going against Lucius once again was no less than wasting time for him.

    "Why should I trust you?" As asked. "Why should I believe you will help me after getting An''s body?"

    "I''m way more trustworthy than Lilith and the Progenitors. We are both in the same boat, so we definitely need to support each other."

    "If you want me to trust you, don''t you need to trust me as well? If you don''t, then you can betray me anytime."

    "Of course, I trust you''ll help me. Why else would I offer you to join my side?"

    "If you trust me, let me pass through. Let me guard the core of the formation. Can you do that?" As inquired, using a bait of his own. If she wanted his support, she needed to take the bait and trust him. But if she did, he could get to her much faster.

    Even Yovana knew that it was a risky step. She directly refused. "I''m afraid I can''t let that happen at such a crucial point. Especially since Lilith is still alive. If you kill her, I can let youe to the Core. Until then, I can''t let anyone enter."

    "Remember, on our goal to change the World, Lilith is the biggest obstruction. You need to take her out! Remember, she will never be truly loyal to you! She''s a stooge of the Progenitors. The moment one wants to make a return, she''ll backstab you in a heartbeat. If she saw you at the core, siding with me, she might get impatient and take extreme steps."

    "That''s why, until she is killed, I can''t let her know you''re siding with me. And thus, I can''t allow you near me. If you do want toe near me, Lilith needs to die first!"

    Yovana wasn''t a fool. She wasn''t naive either. She considered the possibility of As bluffing to destroy the formation core. However, she also considered that maybe he was genuinely testing if she could trust him.

    That''s why she didn''t just refuse him. She gave him an excuse as to why she was refusing, making it seem as if it wasn''t rted to the Progenitors.

    ''As expected, she won''t fall for it. She''s also intentionally dying me. It seems fighting is the only option.''

    As observed the Mages that were blocking his path and considered his options.

    "Then so be it... Since you reject, I also reject."

    He used the Mist Shroud, covering his surroundings in strange mist after memorizing the positions of all the enemies. He dashed straight into the crowd of the Mages.

    "Wind st!" All the Mages raised their hand in unison, using the Wind st at the same time.<novelnext></novelnext>

    A massive burst of wind explosion urred before them. The powerful explosion hit As the worst, sending him flying back.

    All the Mages came out of the mist, watching Asnd on his feet safely.

    "As, as I said, you can''t stop me. I didn''t invite you to my side because I was afraid of you. I invited you because I thought you were like me... Someone trying to mold the cruel world in a better shape so what happened to them didn''t happen to others. It seems I was wrong..."

    "You aren''t like me. Instead, it seems you''re just a coward who is happy with the status quo. So disappointing."

    The fifty mages still blocked As'' path, who was slightly taken aback at thebined strength of the wind st. The wind st was no weaker than what Lilith could use. He wondered if this was the power of multiple people using the same spell at the same time.

    It was like he was fighting Lilith... In any case, these people were only more dangerous than Lilith since they didn''t have human emotions. They didn''t feel pain or fear. It was the hardest to face people like them, especially if they all worked together.

    ****

    In another ce, Lancaster had imagined having a much easier time taking care of the enemies since there were only ten mages before him, but that didn''t seem to be the case.

    Just those ten were giving him a hard time since he couldn''t use spells like Lilith or As. He was a close-range fighter instead, but the Mages here didn''t let him get close.

    Invisible chains wrapped around Lancaster''s hands, keeping him in ce.

    "As I told you before... You are too weak."

    Lancaster tried to pull his hands together, but he failed as there was something akin to Fifty chains tying him, and not just one. Moreover, all those were made using Lilith''s spell.

    "I am not weak!" Lancaster roared at the top of his lungs. He was tired of hearing that he was weak! Castiel told him he was weak. Razil told him that he was too weak! And now Yovana was saying the same thing!

    The rage... The discontent... All the negative feelings were already inside him, about being called weak so many times, but hearing that one more time, he couldn''t take it anymore.

    His rage overwhelmed him. His eyes started shining, and his vision slightly turned blood red. His body started getting bigger. His roar that sounded like the roar of a human was now sounding like the roar of a wild beast.

    Lancaster transformed into beast form, but there was something different this time. He was slightly bigger in his world form than he wasst time. Even the Royal Mark on his forehead was slightly bigger!

    Rooarr~

    The Wolf shattered the chains with his raw strength before leaping ahead. As for his speed... If As were here, even he would''ve been stunned to see Lancaster''s speed!

 Chapter 170 170: Success Or Failure...

    Lancaster''s speed at the moment was even faster than his speed was when he fought Asst night! It was even impossible to see him as he moved. He was like a ghost who appeared from one ce to another in an instant with his sharp teeth around the neck of the Mages. He tore their necks off.

    The mages who used spells in unison couldn''t do anything if they couldn''t even see Lancaster. Even Yovana didn''t know how Lancaster suddenly became like that. She had some spells of Lilith that she could use to stop Lancaster, but that was only possible if she knew where he was.

    It was impossible when Lancaster was right in the group of her dead.

    One after another, the dead kept falling to the ground. They didn''t scream in pain or cry. They just lifelessly dropped to the ground as their heads were taken off.

    Everything happened so fast that before Yovana could control things, all the men she sent to stop Lancaster had been killed.

    The Werewolf finally made an appearance again, revealing its bloody fangs!

    Lancaster didn''t stop after taking out the ten mages. He ran straight to the center of the city as if he really wanted to show Yovana that she was wrong! He wasn''t weak! He was strong as well! He could take care of himself and take her out! He wanted to prove it to her by destroying her.

    Yovana was also taken aback.

    She tried to send some mages who were fighting As to stop Lancaster.

    Unfortunately for her, the battle here wasn''t easy either. Lancaster''s roar was so powerful that it echoed in the entire city. Even As heard that roar. Seeing some mages try to go toward the Roar, he understood that Lancaster was winning or already won. That''s why Yovana was sending backup to him.

    "What''s the hurry?" Asughed. He cast a flight spell on himself and started rising in the air, getting a clear view.

    He cast another spell. This time, it was to block the Mages that were trying to leave.

    A beautiful blue barrier appeared all around the mages, trapping them in a small box. It was the same trick that Lilith had used to stop the mages. However, unlike Lilith, he didn''t stay inside the barrier prison to stop the mages. Unlike Lilith, his goal wasn''t to dy them. Instead, it was to take out Yovana.

    He was sure that the barrier couldn''t even stop the mages for one minute if he wasn''t inside to keep them busy. All of them could put their entire efforts into breaking the Barrier and soon destroy it, freeing themselves. However, that small duration was enough to give him time to get some lead on them.

    From one side, Lancaster dashed like a shadow. On the other side, As also flew as fast as he could. Both of them were going in the same direction, and both had the same destination.

    The Mages that were trapped in As'' barrier destroyed the barrier and flew after As. However, just as he expected, the distance between the two sides was not little.

    The mages split up. Half went to stop Lancaster while the other half attacked As from behind, failing to hit him.<novelnext></novelnext>

    As was the first to reach the core, closely followed by Lancaster. They both seeded.

    However, just as they were about to destroy the core of the formation, An opened his eyes.

    An amused grin was on his lips as he abruptly stood up. He grabbed Lancaster by his fur, but before he could do anything, Lancaster stabbed his sharp teeth in An''s hands, making him groan.

    He tossed Lancaster away before shifting his attention to As. "You''re toote. But not your fault. You all just arrived here toote, when I was already almost done. Did my nervous acting make you think you still had time?"

    "You people always fall for my acts. And here I thought, you would''ve learned something fromst time." Yovana had taken over An. She was An now... At least her soul was.

    An looked at his arm where Lancaster had bitten. He could feel a small amount of venom in his veins. It wasn''t enough to affect him though.

    Lilith alsonded beside As. As soon as Yovana''s soul has changed bodied, her control over the dead was gone. All the dead bodies dropped to the ground, allowing Lilith toe here.

    It was unclear if it was because she couldn''t control the dead when she was in An''s body or if it was because she just didn''t feel the need to use them anymore now that she had seeded. In any case, it was an undeniable fact that she had seeded.

    "You three... You lost again. But as I said, you''re not my enemy. I don''t want to hurt you. If I wanted to, I could''ve killed Lilith in the castle itself. As for Lancaster, I could''ve killed him as well. And I can still kill you all... Well, all except As. But I don''t want to go that far."

    "I''ve seeded, and you''ve failed. You can fight me and lose, or you can leave and let me continue on my path. That''s also a third option. You all can side with me. My offer still stands. But remember, all choices have consequences, so think without bias. Don''t take a decision that can lead you all down the path of destruction."

    Yovana had already seeded, and she was also an immortal now. Even if they fought her, they couldn''t kill her. Was it really worth it? That was what she was implying at the moment.

    Even though there were still ways to send her soul out of An''s body, it was unclear if they could seed.

    An took a few steps back, waiting for their answer. He didn''t look like he was going to run away.

    Lancaster returned to his real form, standing beside As. They actually had failed, but it still wasn''t the end. He nced at As, wondering what his decision was going to be. Were they still going to fight? Or we''re they to let her go after all this?

    They only needed the Key Fragment from An. They had no friendship with him at all. So it wasn''t worth it to fight to free him. In his head, As considered the possibility that he could just ask for the key fragment from Yovana in exchange for letting her be free.

    He could use any excuse, and he could even seed. But if he did that, it came with manyplications as well. They were essentially giving freedom to Yovana in exchange for freedom. She could be an obstruction in his pathter on... There were so many possibilities.

 Chapter 171 171: The Answer

    Giving Yovana freedom and letting her use An''s body in exchange for the stone? Or stopping her and risking the lives of his friends? That was the question before him.

    He knew what Lilith''s answer was going to be. She was going to say no. As for Lancaster, he was going to support whatever he said since there were no stakes for him personally in this. It was for him to decide what to do.

    "Okay. I''ve decided." After taking a brief moment to think about it, As dered.

    He had arrived at a conclusion, and that conclusion was to stop Yovana. She wasn''t something he could trust. If they let her leave, who knew how strong she could be? And surely was going to find it suspicious if they asked for the Key Fragment, which could make her realize that they had ulterior motives.

    There were too many uncertain factors in letting her leave. Those factors made Ase to a decision.

    Without consulting anyone, he flew ahead, straight attacking An. He had arrived here with the expectations of having to fight An since he had assumed that An was siding with Yovana. Even though the case here was different, it was still An he had to fight.

    He had already considered the decay of the Mark of Protection from this battle.

    As grabbed An''s throat, dragging his body ahead. An also reacted swiftly, even being slightly faster than As. He grabbed As'' throat in return, nting his feet firmly on the ground. He couldn''t be pushed back any more.

    "It seems you''ve actually decided to oppose me. No matter how wrong this decision may be, I ept wholeheartedly."

    Boom~

    Yovana could use everything that An could. However, there are more. She could also use her old abilities that she could be. Her soul was still the same.

    The dead once again started rising. However, this time there weren''t only a hundred dead. There were over a thousand. Yovana didn''t need the nodes anymore. All the dead bodies weren''t needed. She could use them as she pleased, even for battle.

    Unfortunately, just as Yovana had nted her feet on the ground to show As how strong she was, a wolf came out of nowhere, attacking her.

    Yovana was forced to release As as she tried to move back, but As didn''t free her. Instead, he used his strength to get Yovana off her feet before sending her flying straight toward Lancaster''s jaws.

    Just as Lancaster''s teeth were about to munch on Yovana''s neck, she disappeared. Lancaster could only bite thin air,nding on the ground beside As.

    "Teleportation... An''s Bloodline ability. It was being blocked because of the spells of the Witches. It seems Yovana has removed those spells!" Lilith eximed, noticing Yovana standing in the distance with her hand behind her back like a surreal expert.

    "Chains of Restrictions!" Lilith cast her spell, stopping the dead.

    Multiple invisible chains tied the legs of the dead, stopping them from moving further. Her spell covered a wide area, but even she couldn''t stop the thousands of dead that were spread all around them. This spell didn''t cover this big of an area.

    However, it did give her some time.

    After receiving some time, Lilith ced her hand on the ground. "Blood Domain!"

    She cast another spell, this time specifically for Yovana. The spell she cast around the city was to stop any teleportation using spells, but the Domain she just cast effectively locked the space in the surrounding area here as well.

    That made it impossible for the space to be used as a conduit for travel. Lilith blocked Yovana''s Teleportation, even if it cost her a lot of energy.

    To cast a blood domain, she needed to burn her own blood inside her body which weakened her somewhat. However, if that took away Yovana''s biggest advantage of Teleportation, then it was worth it for Lilith.

    "Chains of Decay!" Without caring about her weaknesses, Lilith cast another spell, this time targeting Yovana as well. She used even more of her blood.

    A formation circle appeared around Yovana, which effectively trapped her inside. It was as if there was a wall around that formation circle that couldn''t be seen.

    "You''ll never learn, will you?" Yovana eximed, realizing what Lilith was doing.<novelnext></novelnext>

    However, Yovana didn''t hold back either. She brought a small piece of paper out of her pocket and tore it before tossing it on the ground.

    The burning piece of papernded on the ground and started releasing some smile, which floated only above the formation circle, covering the formation. The formation couldn''t be seen at all. The smoke blocked the formation.

    "You can''t fight me, Lilith! You are fighting yourself! I know all your tricks! You can''t defeat me!"

    "What about me?" As Yovana was distracted by Lilith, As eximed.

    A mighty bolt of lightning fell from the sky, right where Yovana was standing. As used the same spell that was used to destroy Zhang.

    The roar of the clouds buried all the noise beneath it, and the sh of its lightning made it impossible for anything to be seen. The blinding lights stopped.

    Everyone was finally able to see the spot where Yovana was standing. However, strangely enough, she waspletely fine. There was not even a scratch on her body.

    Even the ground around her waspletely intact as if the lightning didn''t even touch the ground. It was also evident why that was the case. It didn''t take long for anyone to figure it out.

    The Sword in Yovana''s hands made everything crystal clear. She was holding only a sword that was simr to what Lucius and As used. Just the color of the heavy sword was somewhat different.

    Yovana had that sword above her head, making it seem as if she had used the sword as a shield. A ck fire could be seen around the sharp des of the Sword.

    "Good toy, isn''t it?" Yovanaughed heartily. "I saw An use it when fighting the Mages and Werewolves. Ever since that moment, I had wanted it... Along with his body and all his strength! Now that I have everything, you think I''ll let you take it all from me?"

    "This body is mine now! This strength is mine! And soon, everything I ever wanted will be mine!" Yovana lowered the sword.

    The dead also managed to break the shackles of Lilith by now. Things didn''t look positive. The spells that he had learned couldn''t destroy the Bloodline sword of An. That was a huge problem. Especially since that sword was also supposed to absorb the strength of magical attacks to make it stronger.

    The sword was the best protection against spells. And it was also stronger enough to slice whatever it touched.

    "If you want to go that far, then I also promise you one thing! I''ll take everything that you have now! I''ll take that body! I''ll take that sword! I''ll take that strength! Since you''ve made me go so far already, then so be a little more..."

    As also raised his hand. He had decided that he needed to stop Yovana and take that key Fragment. He wasn''t going to step back aftering so far.

    "Lancaster, help Lilith take care of the dead!" Hemanded Lancaster. "I''ll handle things here..."

    Lancaster was slightly hesitant in leaving As alone, but he listened to As in the end, noticing Lilith being surrounded by the dead. She was fighting and destroying the dead that got closer to her, but there were just so many that it seemed impossible to take everyone out.

    Lancaster left, jumping into the crowd of the dead, revealing her speed once again. One after another, Lilith and Lancaster kept taking out the undead so they couldn''t create an obstruction in As'' path. The faster they killed the undead, the faster they could join As.

    They hoped to help As, but As wasn''t looking for hope. He had made up his mind that even if it was his first battle with a proper Progenitor, he was going to win it. Moreover, no matter how much Yovana knew about An, there was no way she could bring out his full strength either. She could use his tricks, but not to the same level of efficiency as An could.

    Fighting Yovana in An''s body was much better than fighting An himself.

    Still, he was confused about one time. He knew that a Progenitor''s soul was the strongest. Then why was Yovana able to control his soul without his wish? With him, if Castiel wanted, he could''ve taken the body back.

    Even if Yovana knew some Spells, it should''ve been easy to take over An''s body. If that were possible, the Franc n would''ve tried the same. They also had great knowledge, after all.

    He knew that in that question was the answer to defeating Yovana, but until then, he had to face her.

    He started his assault, attacking Yovana with his full strength behind it. At the same time, he also cast a shroud, making him invisible.

 Chapter 172 172: The Soul Suppression

    As cast a shroud on himself to make him invisible before attacking.

    It was one of the spells that Lilith told him he must learn. It didn''t matter if he learned anything else or not because she knew that this spell could save his life when he needed.

    This spell was restricting for Lilith since she couldn''t use the shroud while using another spell. While she was under the effect of shroud, she was no less than an ordinary human.

    Unlike her, As didn''t depend on spells as much as he did on his strength. Even if he used Shroud, he could still fight at his full capacity. He didn''t have to worry about canceling his Shroud to fight back like Lilith.

    For him, the shroud was a versatile skill that gave him an advantage that he wouldn''t have had otherwise. The only w was that he couldn''t use a shroud for longer durations and that it ced a burden on his soul.

    Even though it was a short duration Shroud, As still knew he could take advantage of the situation. Yovana couldn''t see him.

    Instead of fighting back, Yovana jumped back and kept moving back. She didn''t know where As was, and in such a situation, she couldn''t fight back. She didn''t have the senses of a Werewolf where she could sense movements even if she couldn''t see anyone.Her Vampire senses helped her, but she couldn''t understand anything with that.

    "That''s right!" An idea hatched in her head.

    She issued a mentalmand to one of her dead that was fighting Lilith and Lancaster. The dead ran to her, but it wasn''t to attack As. The undead simply jumped ahead, using an explosion spell on himself.

    As the body was between Yovana and As, the body of the undead exploded into smithereens. Blood flew everywhere, some even falling over As''s clothes and his face.

    Even An''s body wasn''t untouched by blood. The blood even covered Yovana.

    Yovana didn''t care about being covered in blood though. Even though As was invisible; because of the blood, she could see where he was or how he moved.

    Instead of running and trying to avoid him, Yovana stood her ground firmly, bringing out a piece of paper. She crushed the piece of paper, which turned into dust inside her hand.

    Yovana blew on the dust, opening her fist. She sent the dust flying straight for As, who had finally managed to get closer to Yovana.

    Seeing the dusting at her, As didn''t avoid it. Instead, he used the same tactics. Even more powerful winds came from behind him, sending the dust particles flying where they came from.

    The dust fell on Yovana''s face instead, turning straight into a dense fog. The fog covered her face, making it impossible for her to see anything.

    The brief moment where her vision was blocked was enough for As to take the lead. Even as Yovana once again tried to create some distance, this time, she failed.

    A zing Sword stabbed the body that Yovana was upying. The sword passed through An''s body. However, instead of crying in pain, Yovana onlyughed.

    "You idiot, have you forgotten that I can''t be killed now? I am immortal!" Yovana still didn''t see, but her face had a smug grin on it. Even though she fought As, she didn''t take him seriously. For her, she was immortal. And As wasn''t capable of capturing her. Even if he hurt her, that was nothing for her as she could just heal.

    Expecting As to be shocked by her response, Yovana also thrust her Sword, taking a guess as to where he was based on his sword.

    Unfortunately for her, the Sword didn''t hit As. Unexpected to her, As had already left his sword and stepped back after hitting Yovana. The Sword was inside Yovana''s chest, but no one was holding it. That''s why her sword also missed.

    After avoiding the sword, As pulled out his Sword as well, leaving a see-through wound on Yovana. Even if it didn''t kill her, it should''ve still weakened her, but Yovana didn''t look weak at all. She was still standing andughing.

    "That''s it?" She asked. "Did you really expect me to fall from this like you would''ve?"

    "Naive Child, look around you! What do you see? How many do you see falling just from getting wounded? My army doesn''t feel pain! My army doesn''t die! And that''s when they didn''t have an immortal body! You thought I''ll fall or cry?"

    "You will have time! Leave! I''m still not serious! Don''t make me get serious!"

    As didn''t really focus on Yovana''s words; instead, he was focusing on something else. Ever since the battle began, he had been thinking about something! He was wondering how Yovana had managed to control the soul of An. If she was controlling his body, she was controlling his soul, which should''ve been impossible.

    No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn''te to a conclusion which made him think that she probably used some spell. However, as he stabbed Yovana, that''s when he noticed the chain once again that was stabbing inside An''s chest. The pendant portion was still inside his chest.

    Seeing that pendant, he remembered that the pendant was a suppression pendant. It was supposed to suppress bloodline, but what if that wasn''t the real goal? A Pendant could never Suppress a Progenitor''s Bloodline and their strength. If it did, why would Yovana not take it off when fighting him?<novelnext></novelnext>

    He couldn''t help but wonder if she did something more to the pendant. ording to Lilith, the pendant had been modified from a Werewolf Bloodline Suppression tool to a Vampire Bloodline Suppression tool. On being asked about it, Yovana had imed that An had the pendant modified for her by a Witch.

    That story was already proven false. What if the pendant wasn''t modified by a Witch but by myself? What if she used the pendant to fool them? And who was to say that she didn''t modify the pendant once again into something that could suppress soul instead of Bloodline?

    She was something who knew about the intricacies of the pendant and the spell that was used. She had also studied up on Lilith''s spells. She understood too much, making her quite capable.

    There were so many ''What If'' in As'' assumptions, but all those questions were important for him as the possibility of them being true couldn''t be ignored.

    It was something he had to test! And what better opportunity than when Yovana was blind and still so confident?

    "Why don''t you fall?!" As asked, keeping some distance from Yovana to engage her in conversation while giving her a false sense of security

    "Because I am not weak like you! I told you at the start that you can''t defeat me! I..."

    Yovana continued talking big, not realizing that As wasn''t actually interested in her answer. He was interested in something else.

    He moved closer to Yovana, who was still talking, and reached out his hand. He held the part of the pendant that was hanging out.

    At the same time, the effect of the mist also came off. Yovana was able to see, but what she saw shocked her.

    As was barely a few inches away from her. She swung her sword, but As jumped back, barely avoiding the sword by a hair''s breadth.

    Instead of attacking him again, Yovana stood aghast as she looked at what was in As'' hands.

    In his left hand there was his sword. However, on his right, there was hanging a pendant. A pendant that belonged to her.

    She looked down, noticing the pendant was missing.

    "You idiot! What did you do?!" She screeched like crazy as she rushed ahead, but before she could even take a step forward, she held her forehead as she started crying in pain. The person who imed that they couldn''t feel pain was finally crying and yelling like they were about to die.

    "It seems I was right. So this pendant was what made a Progenitor''s soul go to sleep, which also lowered the burden of the body on Yovana''s soul. She directed all the burden on An''s sleeping soul while she stayed there like a queen."

    "Now that she doesn''t have the pendant''s support, An''s soul is waking up, and she''s feeling the pressure. Her soul should be destroyed soon."

    An''s body dropped to the ground lifelessly as hee screamings stopped.

    As waited with eager breath to see if they seeded in bringing An back.

    Phu~

    As grabbed his head as he pushed himself up. "Well, that was certainly an experience."

    "I suppose I should thank you for helping me, Castiel?" the man asked.

    "An, you''re back?"

    Since An addressed him as Castiel, this made As realize that Yovana was actually gone.Yovana always addressed him as As. She knew his reality. On the other hand, An didn''t know anything since his soul had been asleep.

    As his soul returned to his senses, he heard Yovana cursing As, which made him realize that it was As who helped him...

    "Is Yovana dead?" As asked.

 Chapter 173 173: Headache

    "That woman? She isn''t dead. She left my body before her soul could be destroyed," An answered. "If I''m not wrong, she should be back in her body now."

    "Her body... That means..." As turned to the center of the city, realizing that Yovana''s body was missing. Even if she was back in her body, she wasn''t here.

    As he was busy, Yovana already had one of her dead take her real body away while everyone was distracted in battle, just as a form of failsafe.

    By now, she was already out of the town.

    Yovana felt somewhat weak even as she returned to her body. Her soul was quite damaged from what had just happened.

    "That man!" She red at the city, unable to believe how close she was to sess. However, because of As, she had failed. Not only did she fail, but even An was back now. Two Progenitors were together, and she had lost the pendant. Things didn''t look good for her.

    She turned her back on the city and started leaving. All her preparation, all her hard work, everything went down the drain right before her eyes, and she could do nothing about it but run away. From an invincible position, she had fallen so low.

    The undead that was fighting Lilith and Lancaster also dropped to the ground, lifeless. It was as if they had returned to their natural state.

    As cast a flight spell on himself and flew high in the sky, getting a clear view of the entire city. There were bodies littered everywhere, but he couldn''t see Yovana anywhere. She had left the city...

    "Lilith''s spell stopped her teleportation inside the city. But if she is outside, it would be really hard to catch her."

    The city was surrounded by forest from two sides. And the forests only extended further. If Yovana left through one of those routes, finding her from the sky was impossible.

    He came down to the ground,nding before Lilith.

    "Can you locate her?"

    Lilith shook her head as her eyes lowered. "I don''t think it''s possible. My tracker is with you. Without it, I can''t track her. And if she''s out of the city, she could''ve teleported away by now."

    "So we''ll just let her escape like that?" Lancaster also returned to his real form.

    "You working with a Wolf again?" An also joined the group, especially talking to As. "Is that your recement for that Vor?"

    "Who was that woman?" Instead of answering, As asked An.

    ording to Lilith, An appeared to know that woman. He could give them more ideas about her real identity.

    "That woman? She is a headache," An answered. His frustration was clear on his face.

    "It seems you know her quite well in that case..."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Yeah. She has been troubling me for a long time. After you all went to sleep, I was the only one who hadn''t gone to slumber, disappearing forever. It seems that''s what attracted that woman in the first ce. She is a crazy person that I underestimated a lot."

    "Throughout the years, she tried to capture me or ce traps in my path. You can say that she did everything that she could, but whenever I got close to catching her, she escaped. I don''t know where she came from, but it seems she also has a Vampire''s eternal lifespan since she didn''t age even a single day since I first saw her."

    "Initially, even I didn''t know why she wanted to capture me. I took her too lightly, thinking she was one of those pesky Witches like Lilith," An smiled. "No offense to you, Lilith."

    Lilith rolled her eyes, scoffing.

    "Anyway, the back and forth continued for years. She couldn''t capture me, and I couldn''t get my hands on her to kill her."

    "Then, one day, she ced another trap for me in a vige. She controlled every viger, just like she controlled the dead here. She probably wanted to get me tired before trying her main attempt, but I killed the entire vige."

    "She didn''t make an appearance that day, and I left, feeling pity at that woman for not giving up."

    "Let me guess what happened next," An could feel he knew the story from that point on.

    "Your destruction of the vige angered the Werewolves and the witches. This time, it wasn''t Yovana who came for you, but those two groups, and you were captured," he added. "Am I right?"

    "That''s right," An affirmed. "Those annoying pests used all the tricks they could, even falling to the levels of scheming that I hadn''t expected from the Werewolves. I was captured, and that''s where I stayed until recently when Lilith came to free me."

    "So that''s why Yovana wanted to free you. She wanted you for herself, but if you were in the captivity of the Kingdom of Wolves, she couldn''t get to you. That''s why she wanted someone who could free you. And that''s where she found us and made a lie to get us to help her." Yovana frowned, slightly amazed at the lengths that woman went to catch An.

    "She did all this, only to fail in the end. I''m sure she must be cursing us," Lancaster scratched the back of his head, feeling slightly pleased that they had seeded in spoiling her n. She did call him weak. Now she knew what the weak could do!

    "As I said, it''s almost impossible to find her if she doesn''t want to be found." An further rified. "I failed for years. And even this time... That woman is only a cockroach who just refuses to die!"

    "Anyway, thank you for saving me. Honestly, you were thest person I expected to save me."

    An was a proud Progenitor, but even he didn''t forget favors. No matter how many conflicts were between him and Castiel, he came to save him, which made him feel somewhat grateful, even if he knew that it was for a reason.

    "Now that we got that aside, tell me why you saved me? What do you want from me?" he asked straightforwardly.

    "At first, I thought you wanted me out because it was that time..." He nced at the sky, feeling the wind on his skin. "However, it''s still not the time. I can feel it. Everything is still like it was. Then what reason do you have to save me? Why did you return now, and why save me?"

    ''That time...?'' As didn''t understand what time he was talking about, but he couldn''t ask and highlight his ignorance. Maybe the Progenitors had decided to meet in the future for something? It was none of his concern for now.

    He only had one thing in mind...

 Chapter 174 174: Favor

    "I want your Key Fragment for that ce. I believe I should keep it secure with me. With Yovana and the Werewolves on your trail, I don''t think it''s right to have the fragment stay with you. It''s not secure."

    As raised his hand, directly asking for her Key Fragments.

    If An wanted him to be direct, he was going to be direct about it.

    "You want the Key Fragment?" An asked, frowning. "You do realize that I''ve had it since the beginning, and despite everything I went through, I kept it secure. By doubting my ability to keep that time secure, you''re doubting me... You know that?"

    "Just for that, I never would''ve given you that stone. However..." Even though he seemed slightly upset at being questioned like that, he was still a bit calmer with Castiel since the guy had just saved him.

    "However, I don''t like to keep someone''s favor. You saved my life. You brought me back. In exchange for that favor, I would be willing to give back the Key Fragment. But after that, we would be equal. I won''t owe anything," he suggested. "Do you ept that?"

    Even though all of them had decided to keep a key Fragment, he didn''t feel any need to keep it. It was as secure with him as it was with Castiel or anyone else. They''ve all had it for centuries, after all. If As wanted it, he was willing to give it in exchange for this favor.

    If, despite having his differences, As came to save him, then he could also give a piece of stone that was mostly useless for him.

    "I ept that." As agreed. He had expected that he might need to fight An again for the stone, but if it came that easy, then he could only agree.

    With that, he was going to have his third Key Fragment! All he was going to need was the fourth and thest one... The Key Fragment that was with the Blood Council.

    Lancaster raised his hand. A formation appeared above his head.

    From the formation, a zing Sword came! It was An''s soul weapon.

    Seeing An call out his sword, As took a step back, wondering if he was going to attack.

    An didn''t attack. He just held the heavy sword firmly. On the hilt of the sword, a piece of cloth was wrapped around firmly, seemingly very old.

    An unwrapped the piece of clothing and kept it before sending the Sword back.

    He showed the other side of the piece of cloth, revealing a spell formation carved there.

    "The reason I was able to keep the Key Fragment safe... It''s because it was with my Soul Sword."

    An ced the piece of cloth on the ground before wiping his lips that had some good on them.

    He ced his blood on the piece of cloth right in the middle of the formation. The space became slightly unstable above the formation as it started shining. The formation disappeared from the piece of clothing, but what was left was a small piece of stone.

    An picked up the small piece of stone and tossed it off at As. "There. We are equal now."<novelnext></novelnext>

    After giving the Key Fragment to An, he turned around and started leaving.

    "Where will you be going next?" As asked, watching An leaving alone.

    "Wherever the Destiny takes me. We''ll meet again when it''s that time... Until then, I''ll enjoy what this world has to offer... See you then!"

    Waving his hands, An left. Along the way, he picked up a body and started feasting on the blood. It had been a really long time since he tasted human blood. He had been really weak without it. Finally, he could taste the blood and feel his old strength again.

    "Also, Lilith!" Just as he was about to disappear from the view, he stopped. He turned around and shouted at the top of his lungs.

    "I regret what I did in the past. You aren''t half bad. Thank you for forgetting our differences and stilling to save me! Castiel was right! You deserved to live, and I''m d he seeded!"

    His future disappeared as soon as he finished speaking what was in his heart.

    He knew that Lilith must''ve hated him since he was a part of her vige being destroyed. And he also supported the notion that Lilith needed to be killed because she was from their enemy n! Despite all that, Lilith survived thanks to Castiel and managed to grow to be a powerful mage.

    And even after all that, she didn''t look for revenge. She didn''te to kill him. Instead, she came to help him¡­ He believed he owed Lilith an apology. He was wrong in believing that she was going to be like her n that wanted to kill them. Instead, she was different from them. She was good.

    Lilith stood in her ce, wondering if she heard it right. Even she hadn''t expected that An would apologize to her after all these years.

    "I suppose we did the right thing by saving him, didn''t we?" As asked, observing the third Key Fragment. He kept the third Fragment with him. "But I don''t understand one thing. He kept talking about some ''time'' for some reason. What was he talking about?"

    Lilith shook her head.

    "I don''t think we need to think about it. We don''t have too much time. We need to get the Fourth Fragment. The Blood Council is very far, and it''s not going to be easy."

    She also started leaving. Even though Lilith acted as if she didn''t know, for some reason, As felt that she did know and that she was trying to avoid the topic.

    He also felt that whatever it was, it was rted to the reason that Castiel went to his Eternal sleep in the past. Even when he asked her why he did that at the start, Lilith hadn''t answered. And now he felt he knew why that was the case. There was really something she wanted to hide.

    Unfortunately for him, if she didn''t want to tell him, he couldn''t force her to tell. And he was right about another thing as well. They really didn''t have too much time to waste here. The journey was the most time-consuming part, and the faster they could receive the fourth key Fragment, the faster they could achieve their goals.

    It was better to be done before the deadline than to leave everything for the end, especially since there was no way to guess what unexpected factors coulde into yter.

    He was right as well. An expected factor had started taking shape... One that even he couldn''t have expected.

 Chapter 175 175: Run

    The Kingdom of Wolves... A once prosperous nation that was bathing in blood at the moment. There were dead bodies littered all around.

    Most of the Kingdom had already been destroyed, with the brunt of the onught being taken by the Royal Family.

    Almost all the Wolves were killed, except two. Vor and Razil were the only ones who were still fighting on the battlefield of blood.

    Right before Razil''s eyes, his home was destroyed, and his people were killed. Vor did all that while fighting him, and he couldn''t even stop the guy.

    All he could do was be tormented by his weakness. This person wasn''t an ordinary Werewolf. He was a fighter who was stronger than Razil.

    As they fought more, Razil realized his initial assumption was wrong. This person... He was actually Vor, which exined why he hated their Kingdom so much. In fact, his anger was so overwhelming that he didn''t even listen to any word that was being said.

    There was no mercy on Razil''s heart as he fought. Instead, there was only hate... A hate to destroy everything, even if it meant marking the Werewolves go extinct.

    Razil had never felt this weak in his life. Even as he stood before As, he didn''t feel this weak. It was only now that he realized just how strong the warriors of the past were.

    Razil was bleeding. There were wounds all over his body. In fact, his entire fur had turned red due to blood, yet he didn''t give up fighting

    He still had hopes that maybe he could stop Vor, who was out for revenge for his past.

    Vor was also injured, but it was thest thing he could care about.

    His eyes were filled with Bloodlust as he attacked again, sending Razil flying back while leaving a scar on his face.

    "You are destroying your own people! Why do you want to make Werewolves go extinct? Why do you destroy our home? To help the Werewolves!" Razil roared, bncing himself in the air whilending on the ground safely.

    "The Empire that is made on the blood of my Pack! It''s better if it ceases to exist altogether! Not just the Werewolves, it''s time you all died!You all became so drunk in power that you didn''t hesitate in destroying whatever you felt threatened by!" Vor roared. "This time, I''ll give you a reason to feel threatened!"

    "Not just you; I''ll destroy everyone else as well! The Vampires, the Witches... Everyone who had a hand in it, they shall all go extinct! I will remake the world without you!"

    Vor attacked again, but this time, Razil didn''t take the attack. Instead, he jumped back and attempted to leave.

    If Vor''s goal was to destroy them and everyone else, he couldn''t let him seed! Vor had the blood of his people in his hand. Razil believed that if he died here, then no one would be able to stop Vor and destroy him! He needed to stop Vor, and he couldn''t do it alone.

    He needed more help! He didn''t worry about his death, but he did hate the thought of dying before killing Vor.

    To stop him, he decided to look for another backup. Even in the past, their people had stopped Vor with the help of the Witches. That''s what he decided to do again. Now that he had realized that he couldn''t seed alone, he understood what he had to do.

    Instead of fighting Vor, he ran back to the Castle.

    Not only did he need to get away from Vor, but he also had to get inside his Castle, where he had something that could help him.

    "Coward!" Vor chased after Razil.

    The battle had changed into a chase where Razil dashed ahead, and Vor chased him.

    Vor finally entered the castle, but he didn''t stop. He kept running and only stopped when he reached a secret chamber. In his hurry, he just broke the door and entered the hall.<novelnext></novelnext>

    A beautiful yet majestic formation was lying in the middle of the hall. It was the same formation that was also in the Franc n. It was also what was used by Zhang to take An with him.

    Razil returned to his real form andnded on the formation, waiting for it to activate.

    Vor also arrived in the hall, returning to his real form.

    He looked at the formation on which Razil was standing.

    Razil looked down in shock. The formation wasn''t starting for some reason which was strange! Why wasn''t this formation working?

    As he was lost in thoughts, Vor appeared right before him, grabbing Razil''s throat, smacking him on the ground.

    The beautiful formation could be seen cracking as a crater developed under them just from the sheer impact.

    Razil also attacked, but Vor was faster. He grabbed both the arms of Razil before cing his foot on Razil''s chest. He pulled Razil''s both arms with his full strength behind it.

    "Arghh!" Razil roared in agony as both his arms were ripped off from his shoulders.

    Vor''s foot also pressed against his chest with such force that he felt his rib cage crack.

    "What I''m doing now... I should''ve done this a long time ago! Instead of living in peace, I should''ve destroyed the Kingdom! My family would still be alive if I had done it! I''m toote!"

    "But even then, I''ll destroy the lineage of the ones that destroyed my life and my lineage."

    "That was in the past! You can''t punish me for the mistake of my ancestors!" Razil roared. "It won''t bring your family back!"

    "I am not here to change the past! I''m here to send everyone who wronged me to hell! Don''t worry. More people will be joining you on your journey!"

    Vor thrust his hands inside Razil''s chest, grabbing his still beating heart.

    Rip~

    Vor ripped out Razil''s heart, crushing it right before Razil''s eyes before tossing it away.

    Razil''s life force weakened. His heart was taken away. His vision started getting darker. Soon, he wasn''t able to see anything.

    "You... Demon..." Hisst words reached Vor before his eyes closed. Razil had died.

    With Razil''s death, the prosperous Kingdom of Wolves also died. The once peaceful and powerful Empire that survived the era of Progenitors was destroyed at the hands of one of their own...

    All the Werewolves were killed... At least the ones that were in this ce. If there were some alive, then that was only because they had escaped, not caring about their dignity.

    Destroying the Kingdom of his own people, Vor looked at the roof, roaring at the top of his lungs.

 Chapter 176 176: The Missing Carriage

    The streets of the Kingdom of Wolves were covered in blood, and a figure stood on top of the Royal Castle, looking over the destroyed City.

    There was no happiness or sadness on Vor''s face. He stood like a lifeless puppet. Looking at the blood everywhere, he couldn''t help but remember the time when the blood belonged to his family, that was killed right before his eyes. The glove was on the other hand now.

    The sky above him was already covered in dark Clouds, giving the impression that it was going to rain, but even the rain didn''te down. It was as if even the rain didn''t dare to clean the blood from the streets.

    Vor closed his eyes, feeling the cold winds brush against his skin. The wind carried the stench of blood with it.

    There were two sides, still waiting for Vor to leave.

    "This was faster than even I expected,"Ramiun frowned, slightly amazed at the battle himself.

    He knew Vor was strong and could give a tightpetition to Razil. The Wolves of this era were not as strong as in the past, after all. However, even he didn''t expect that Vor would finish the battle so soon. It was as if this was a child''s y.

    Even he was surprised at Vor''s actual strength, slightly worried as well. Vor was supposed to be a tool to take out the Kingdom of Wolves, but that tool could just as easily attack them. Ramiun was unsure how long even he could survive before Vor.

    There was a small part of him that was second-guessing his decision of freeing Vor. Unfortunately, it was toote to worry about his decision at this point.

    He just waited for Vor to leave the Kingdom.

    ****

    The Kingdom of Wolves was destroyed, all because of some people''s scheme to get An back. Meanwhile, An was already free. He had also given his Key Fragment to As.

    Now As had ess to three of the Key Fragments. Only one key Fragment was left to still retrieve... The Key Fragment of the only Progenitor who was still not awake... The Key Fragment of Ramiel, which was with Ramiun.

    As, Lilith, and Lancaster returned to where the Carriage was supposed to be waiting for them. Surprisingly, the Carriage wasn''t there! There was not even a sign of the carriage.

    "The Carriage isn''t here," Lancaster pointed out.

    "I can see that too," Lilith responded in a snarky tone.

    "It seems our driver decided that it was better to run away." As smiled wryly. "I won''t me him. What happened in the city must''ve scared him. And what better time to run away."

    "Instead of finding it amusing, shouldn''t you be worried? The nearest town from this ce is fifty kilometers away." Lilith rolled her eyes, believing that As was taking it too lightly. "We would have to walk that distance ourselves without the carriage."

    "That''ll waste quite some time for sure." As agreed, "even if we fly."

    "Do we have any other choice?" Lancaster scratched the back of his head. "The worst part is that our extra clothes were also in the Carriage. Without that, I''ll have to walk in this..."

    His body was barely covered by any clothes since he had transformed. Even As'' current clothes were covered in blood.

    "I guess we''ll find some clothes in the city. Until then, you can use it." As took off his cloak and handed it over to Lancaster.

    Lancaster used the cloak like a towel and wrapped it around his waist, still feeling awkward. Unfortunately, they had no other option.

    Everyone was already tired from the battle, and now they had to travel even more.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I''m already out of my flight spells for now. I can''t use them for quite some time," Lilith exined before asking, "You?"

    "I can still use it, but I want to reserve my strength. With each usage, I lose some time of my existence. And the time we save through flight might not be enough to offset what I''ll lose from using flight on all of us."

    As also exined his side on why he couldn''t use the spell.

    "That means we''ll just have to walk." Lilith sighed as she started walking in the direction of the next city. She was already very tired after fighting.

    She had a normal human stamina, after all, unlike As and Lancaster. After fighting for so long, she also had to walk fifty kilometers. Still, she didn''tin.

    "Come here."

    As held Lilith''s hand, pulling him closer to him. Lilith was abruptly pulled back, only to end up sticking close to As.

    "W-what are you doing?" She asked with a flushed face.

    Before answering, As ced his other hand under Lilith''s legs and picked her up like a princess.

    "You already worked a lot today. Lancaster And I have supernatural stamina because of what we are now, but you don''t. I''ll carry you to the next city."

    "You know I can still walk?" Lilith said, avoiding As'' gaze.

    "You know it can still carry you?" As answered. "If we''re talking about things we could do, the list would be long. So stopining."

    Standing in the back, Lancaster scratched the ridge of his nose, not speaking and interrupting this moment of the two.

    As started walking while carrying Lilith with him. Lancaster walked right beside them.

    "I think next time we hijack a carriage, we should take proper precautions to make sure the driver doesn''t run, abandoning us," Lancaster suggested, mixing with a little non serious joke. "I suggest we tie the drivers hands and legs."

    "Or can we take a wheel of the Carriage with us so he can''t take the carriage? We can carry that wheel on our back," Asughed, answering in the same manner.

    "The sight would certainly be fun to watch." Lancaster also startedughing. "You carry a wheel; I''ll carry another. As for Lilith... She will be buried under a wheel''s weight, so she can carry the reins instead."

    "You! You know I can toss you to a volcano, right?" Lilith responded.

    "Without using a spell?" Lancaster smiled. "I would love to see you do that. Anyway, we''re just joking. We know you can carry a wheel. You can carry my share of wheels. I''ll carry the reins."

    "Your jokes aren''t funny," Lilith rolled her eyes."If anything, I''ll carry the carriage driver with me!"

    "It''s a deal then," Asughed. "Next time we leave our Carriage, we''ll be bringing two wheels and one driver with us."

    "Sounds like a n."

    Throughout the country, the three people kept talking and having fun, enjoying the journey and bonding even more in the process.

 Chapter 177 177: After

    As had been under quite a lot of stress since he believed he had to face An and Yovana. He was in a race against time before. But now that he managed to retrieve the stone from An, his stress went down quite a lot. Now the only opponent that he had was Ramiun, which wasparatively more rxing.

    He had dealt with all the Progenitors. Now all he needed to do was deal with someone who was strong but not on the level of a Progenitor, and he had quite some time for that. He still wanted to finish the task at hand as fast as he could, but he could also rx for now, take a few moments to breathe, and have some fun.

    Because of what he went through, he was forced to grow up and mature fast, never being able to live his childhood. But now that things had started falling to ce, he was starting to recover his old self that he barely managed to experience.

    Along the journey to the nearest town, he and Lancaster talked about lots of things. There was a lot ofughter as the two friends and Lilith actually bonded quite a lot.

    "After you get Mise back, what will you do next?" Lancaster asked, along the journey on foot.

    "After I get her back?" A beautiful smile spread across As'' face. "I will introduce her to you two. She would love to know you. And then, we will go somewhere nice on a vacation, where I can spend whatever time I''ll have left with you all... With my family..."

    As had already visioned what he wanted to do. He didn''t even have to think about the question before answering.

    He didn''t have much time. A month was the most he could have, and even that seemed unlikely at the moment. So even if he managed to bring back Mise as soon as he could, he could only have a week or so in this world before his Soul was going to be destroyed.

    He wanted to spend hisst few weeks with the people that were truly like his family. He wanted to send it with Mise, Lancaster, and Lilith.

    ? He wanted to introduce Mise to these two since these two were going to be her family when he disappears. These two were going to protect her, not that she was going to need any protection since she was going to be a Progenitor by then. Still, it was good that she was going to have somepany after he left.

    "What about you? What''s your n after we are done?" As asked in return, seeing the mood getting somewhere serious. "Will you go to the Kingdom of Wolves? Or will you start a new n of your own, like your Ancestor?"

    "Go back to the Kingdom of Wolves? Razil said I''m not allowed to be there. That ce isn''t my home, and I am sure I''ll be attacked again if I go there again. As for starting a new n... Who knows? It''s quite possible. A n of my own..."

    "What about you Lilith?" As shifted his attention to Lilith, who was still in his arms. "The old Castiel will be back after I''m gone. You would be quite relieved, right? You''ll be able to meet him again."

    Lilith didn''t say anything. She didn''t know why, but this question felt quite ufortable for her. She wanted Castiel back! Castiel was his family, and she had been with him for centuries. Those two had be a family. She truly wanted him back, but just the thought that As was going to be gone forever was quite upsetting.

    She didn''t understand why, but there was an ufortable feeling in her heart and a tinge of sadness.

    Even she didn''t understand what her heart wanted. All she knew was that Castiel needed toe back, but she also didn''t want to lose As. Castiel was like her family, but As¡­ She didn''t understand why she felt so attached to him, but she didn''t want to lose him.

    "Finally, we are there!" Lancaster suddenly eximed, noticing a town in the distance. They had been walking for a really long time, and finally, they had reached the next town. Even Lancaster was feeling tired at this point.

    Not only was he tired, but he was hungry as well.

    His words distracted As as well, who also looked at the town. "For some reason, this journey felt shorter than I had expected."<novelnext></novelnext>

    As entered the town. As soon as he and Lancaster entered, they attracted everyone''s attention right away.

    As'' clothes were covered in blood entirely. As for Lancaster, he barely had any clothes. He just had a robe that was wrapped around his waist. Scars were visible all over his body, along with the Blood that had dried up.

    The citizens of the town were frozen in ce. Some even started entering the nearest building they could find to hide. As for the others, they didn''t dare move even an inch, scared that they might get attacked if they ran. These people were too strange.

    As ignored the people. They had already passed through this town before. Just because they were in their carriage, no one saw them. However, from inside the carriage, As had already seen a hotel in the town.

    He didn''t need to ask anyone where the hotel was. Being stared at by all the citizens, he kept walking.

    "You know, you can put me down. I am fine now." Lilith felt somewhat embarrassed, being carried like this before everyone. She didn''t know why. She never felt like this before.

    "Are you sure?"

    "I am. I can walk now."

    "If you say so."

    Since they were already in the town, As ced Lilith on the ground.

    With As in the center, the group of three walked to the nearest hotel.

    As they entered the hotel, even the hotel staff was horrified.

    "We need three rooms for the night." As ced a gold coin on the table before the receptionist.

    The receptionist was already scared. There was no way he could say no to these people, especially as he noticed As'' fangs when he spoke. It was evident that this person was a Vampire! He had to be an idiot to offend a Vampire!

    He gave them three keys right away before instructing a staff member to escort the guests to their room.

    It was already veryte at night, and everyone was very tired. They were also covered in blood and sweat. That made As decide to take rooms for everyone so they could take a nice shower and rest before looking for a carriage.

    The staff member kept his eyes down as he escorted As and his friends to the rooms on the first floor. They were given rooms right beside each other.

 Chapter 178 178: Fools

    "Stay in your room and take a nap. Tomorrow will be a long day." Asmented, watching Lilith enter her room.

    The next room was assigned to Lancaster, who also wished As goodnight, telling him to rest as well if possible.

    The third room in the row belonged to As. The staff member opened the door, giving the key to As. "Here you go, sir. If you need anything, just press a bell."

    "As a matter of fact, I do need something." As smiled as if he was willing to take up the offer.

    "I want a carriage and a carriage driver that could take us to our destination. We will pay him handsomely. So I want you to find a carriage driver for us. I''ll be out after taking a shower, and I expect you to have a Carriage ready by then."

    " If I don''t get someone to escort me, I''m sure you won''t need to tell me what might happen, right?"

    Even though As talked nicely, the staff member still felt a chill run down his spine.

    "I-i will have it done!" The man respectfully bowed before retreating.

    As entered his room and closed the door. He took off his bloody clothes and ced them on the table before entering the shower room.

    ****

    The staff member informed his senior about what As wanted. His senior also got worried. If people knew that they had to serve a Vampire, none was going to agree. They were all going to run! No amount of money could be enough to get them to agree.

    "We must do it, at any cost. He''s a Vampire. If he doesn''t get what he wants, he will kill us all, and maybe the entire town. I''ve heard lots of stories about them. They are ruthless creatures!" The Hotel Owner grimaced.

    "Didn''t you see his clothes? Maybe the next town failed to get him a carriage driver, and he killed all the citizens there? That would exin the blood on his clothes," he further stated. "We can''t make the same mistake."

    "But how can we get the carriage drivers to agree to escort a Vampire?" the Receptionist asked, grimacing.

    "By not telling them!" The Hotel Owner suggested."Who says we need to tell them that we''re asking for their service for a Vampire? Just tell them that it''s for a rich guest."

    "By the time they find out that it''s for a Vampire, the Vampire would be before him. After that, he can''t dare to say no, or he''ll be killed right there by them. He would have no choice but to take them!"

    "You mean to keep him in the dark? Is it really right?" The receptionist asked.

    "When the matter is about life and death of everyone here, we can''t afford to think about right or wrong. Just do as I said, and get someone to agree.No matter how much money they ask, just ept!" The Hotel Owner firmly stated before leaving the rest to the people who worked for him.

    No one had any choice in this matter. They could only agree and continue what they had been doing.

    *****

    As came out of his shower. His body was perfectly healed, and not a single scratch was left on his body. After looking at him now, no one could have imagined that it was the same person who had been covered in blood until recently.

    He wore the clothes that he asked the hotel to provide. The clothes weren''t what he preferred, but he still wore them as this was the best that the town could afford.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Another set of clothes was also provided for Lilith and Lancaster.

    Lancaster stood before a mirror, looking at all the scars on his body. He had gone through a lot in thest battle, but he was pleased at the end of it. He had managed to ovee his limitations in thest battle, which made him stronger.

    It even made him realize that only through challenges he can be stronger and maybe one day even manage to control his wild side.

    After getting dressed, he moved over to the bed, where the food was already waiting for him.

    He and Lilith started eating in their own rooms. In the meantime, As left his room, dressed in his new clothes.

    "You look great, sir." The staff member was already waiting outside for him, as he wasmanded. He didn''t forget topliment As.

    "Is the carriage ready?"

    "We have arranged for everyone. It is already waiting outside, and you can leave at any time you please."

    "Good work." As gave a gold coin to the man as appreciation. "My friends are resting. We will leave in the morning. You can tell the driver that he can rest too. We won''t be going tonight."

    "As you wish, Sir." The man left after respectfully lowering his head.

    Throughout the town, there were talks about the ground of bloodied men entering the town. Those men were said to enter a hotel. Unfortunately, none of those saw As'' teeth. It was hard to verify if they were Vampires.

    Even the staff of the hotel lied to the people outside that those people faced some bandits who beat them up, and that''s why they were bloodied. The hotel imed that this was their own Blood and that the three people were just victims.

    It was also a lie that was told to make sure the Carriage Driver didn''t find out that something was wrong here.

    The citizens had no choice but to ept the exnation. They went back to their homes,ughing that they were so scared of people who couldn''t even protect themselves from bandits.

    ****

    From his balcony, As gazed at the people before the hotel who were going back to their homes. He had managed to hear their words.

    He still found it somewhat bizarre. The people came here as if they were going to achieve something. It was as if they could do something if they found out that he was a Vampire.

    He wasn''t going to kill innocent people, but if there were actually a Vampire here like Carlisle, all those people here would''ve been dead by now.

    "These people don''t even know what they wanted to achieve bying here."

    He knew that if was him as a human in their ce, he would''ve stayed far away from Vampires if he had an opportunity instead ofing straight to them. As a human, he wanted to go as far away from them as possible, but those people... They wereing closer to a Vampire instead, having no idea how risky it could be.

    "The hotel staff is very clever though. I must give them that," he furthermented, feeling pleased with the way this hotel managed everything.

 Chapter 179 179: Here To Help

    The hotel not only took care of the crowd but worked in ways that could significantly reduce the chances of having any casualties.

    They made sure that there was nothing that could''ve offended the Vampires. When one didn''t know what kind of Vampire their guest was, it was always good to be careful and assume the worst, and that''s what the hotel staff did.

    As stood on his balcony for the next one hour, just gazing at the moon in the sky. It waste at night, and with time, more and more people kept entering their houses and going to sleep. Soon, the streets werepletely empty. Only a couple of people could be seen asionally.

    "Hmm?" As he was looking outside, he felt as if someone was looking at him. It was a bizarre feeling, but he couldn''t find anyone.

    His gaze roamed over his surroundings, not finding anyone who was looking in his direction.

    At the same time as As looked to his left, a figure was hiding in one of the alleys, with their back resting against the wall.

    The person hid just at the right time as if being able to predict exactly when As was going to look in their direction.

    The hooded figure stood inplete silence in the dark alley for a few minutes beforeing out again, ncing at the hotel again.

    As wasn''t standing on the balcony at the moment. The roads were empty, and it appeared as if As had also entered his room.

    "Looking for someone?"

    As the hooded figure assumed that As had already entered his room, an amused voice came from the top.

    The hooded figure frowned in response. As was sitting on the roof of the building, his legs hanging in the air as if he was just enjoying the sight and the wind.

    As soon as the person realized that As was here, the person started running, not even looking up.

    Unfortunately, their speed happened to be quite minuscule before As who appeared before them again, blocking the person''s paths.

    He grabbed the person by the neck, raising their body in the air. At the same time, he took off their hood, revealing their faces.

    "May I ask why you were spying on me?"

    Seeing the person''s face, As realized that it was a woman. It was someone he had never seen because. She was neither a Vampire nor a Werewolf.

    "Are you a Witch?" he asked.

    The woman shook her head as she continued struggling to free herself.

    "You know you can''t free yourself. Your struggle would only make me tighten my grip. So tell me. Who are you?" As repeated the question again, hearing no response the first time.

    "Castiel... I am here to help..." The woman answered. Her beautiful blue eyes nced into Castiel''s deep green eyes.

    Even though the girl had been spying on him, her eyes appeared to be quite pure. Her long blue hairplimented her eyes quite well.

    "Help me?" As frowned. "Who are you?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    The woman, who looked to be in her early twenties, made a bizarre im that she was here to help, which surprised even As.

    What did she mean she was here to help him? He didn''t need any help. For the first time, everything was on track for him. Moreover, after being fooled by Yovana, he didn''t feel at ease to trust another stranger like that.

    "If you''re here to help, why didn''t youe to me directly? Why were you spying on me like an enemy?"

    "I was making sure that it was you. Your aura is somewhat different from what I remember. It''s the same, yet different and weaker. That''s why I was suspicious and was making sure before approaching you."

    "And you don''t recognize me. That makes me even more sure that I was right. In thest few centuries, something happened to you... Something that weakened you and made you forget about me!" The woman dered.

    "If you remembered, you would never treat me like this..."

    "Youngdy, you''re not the first one who tried to fool me. I''ve already fallen for a lie. I won''t fall for another!" As frowned. "Tell me who you are? What help you talked about?!"

    "I don''t need to fool someone who''s about to be dead. I''m just here to make sure that it doesn''t happen!" the woman dered. "They know about your return!"

    "I''m about to be dead?" As grimaced. He already knew he was about to be dead after real Castiel took over this body, but something gave him the impression that she wasn''t talking about his death specifically. She was talking about Castiel''s death.

    However, shouldn''t that be impossible? Castiel was immortal. There was no way for him to die. What did she mean by that?

    "You don''t remember them either, do you?" the woman frowned.

    "Is Lilith still with you? She must remember! She will remember me. Take me to her. I''m sure that in your current condition, you''ll have a hard time believing me, but if ites from Lilith, you''ll believe her right away. Unless you forgot about her as well?"

    "Fine. I''ll take you to Lilith. But if you try running, next time, I won''t hold back." As freed the woman, allowing her feet to touch the ground.

    "You take the lead. You know our hotel, I''m sure."

    The women nodded and started walking in the lead. As walked behind her to make sure she couldn''t escape. This time, he was more careful.

    Despite his firm suspicions, he still had a feeling that the girl was maybe telling the truth. There was no way she would ask him to take her to Lilith if she was lying since Lilith could''ve proven her lies instantly.

    Especially since her story was more precise. It wasn''t like Yovana''s story that couldn''t be verified.

    If she was right, that also raised some heavy questions. Who knew about Castiel? What death was this woman talking about? Was this rted to the reason because of which As went into his slumber so abruptly? Or was this rted to the time that An talked about?

    Something really big was going on, and he had a bad feeling about it. He had a task of his own and his own Challenges. If Castiel''s troubles also mounted over his head, he wasn''t sure how he was going to handle it.

    "What is your name?" He asked the woman just as they were about to enter the hotel.

    The woman nced back at him. There was a strange kind of sadness in her eyes as if she was quite hurt that Castiel couldn''t remember her.

 Chapter 180 180: Luna

    "I am Luna," the woman answered.

    As she instructed herself, she momentarily lost herself in the past, remembering a specific memory.

    "When we separated before, I jokingly said that you might forget me. You said it''s never possible. Who knew it would be a reality so soon..."

    She let out a sigh, getting a really distant feeling from As.

    Unfortunately, she couldn''t do anything. She knew that if even Lilith couldn''t bring back his memories, then something was really wrong about him.

    Inside the hotel, As grabbed Luna''s hands and took the lead. From here on, he guided her to the specific room.

    He brought Luna to the next floor, stopping right before Lilith''s room, who had just fallen asleep.

    Lilith was woken up from her slumber by the knocking on her door. She rubbed her eyes, slightly irritated at being disturbed just as she had fallen asleep.

    She walked to the door and opened it, prepared to scold if it was hotel staff, but as soon as she opened the door, she saw As standing before the door.

    "It''s you. Come inside." She didn''t even ask As why he was here before allowing him inside. She didn''t care what reason he was here for. His presence wasn''t a problem.

    Even though she didn''t ask why he was here, As answered himself.

    "Lilith, do you recognize this woman?" He asked, moving aside, revealing a woman who was standing right behind him.

    Lilith finally saw Luna. Her eyes widened at the sight of the woman. Her reaction was enough to confirm that she knew Luna.

    "I found her spying on me outside. She says she knows you and me. It seems she wasn''t lying," he stated. "So, is she a friend or a foe?"

    "She''s both." Lilith grimaced. "Both of you,e inside. We should talk in the room."

    Lilith stepped aside, clearing a path for others to enter.

    As and Luna entered the room. Lilith closed the door.

    "So, what are you doing here?" she asked after casting a privacy spell around them.

    "How did he lose his memories?" Luna also asked a question of her own. "You were supposed to protect him. Is that how you protected him?"

    "You! It''s none of your concern. Just tell me why you''re here?"

    "Unlike you, I still care about his safety. That''s why I''m here, to warn him. They know... You all don''t have too much time left. And this time, going to Slumber won''t be enough either. This time, things are more serious. Especially since things haven''t been going good there either."

    "As soon as I found out about that, I came here to warn you. You have no idea the risk in taking. If he finds out..."

    Luna seemed angry and concerned at the same time. However, Lilith was silent. As if she was thinking about something.

    "When did they find out?" she asked after a long time.

    "A few days ago," Luna answered. "You don''t have much time now."

    "So that''s why." Lilith scratched the back of her head, realizing what may have led to this. A few days ago, real Castiel had made a return. She believed that''s what made them find out.<novelnext></novelnext>

    She finally realized why Castiel wanted Lancaster to be stronger and why he taught As some of his strongest spells. That guy knew what wasing!

    That also made her confused. If Castiel knew what wasing, why did he give his body to As for a month again? If he knew the dangers ahead, any sane person would''ve taken precautions.  He should''ve been in his body to fight back, but he still had faith in As and gave his body away for a month.

    "Just what are you nning....?" She frowned, unable to understand Castiel''s n.

    She had been with Castiel for a long time. She knew that the guy wasn''t an idiot for not knowing the consequences of his actions. Instead, he was one of the smartest people she knew. So how could he make such a risky decision? Was he swayed by emotions?

    It didn''t matter why he did what he did. What mattered now was that it was done. For next, she needed to make sure that all of them stayed alive until As seeded in his goals.

    Their future was on the line, not least As'' dreams.

    "Will someone tell me what you''re all talking about? Who knows what?"

    The twodies talked amongst themselves about what wasing and how dangerous it was, but As was left confused. They talked as if he was supposed to know the crux of the problems.

    "Lilith, I think it''s time you tell me the truth. Why was there an Eternal Slumber? What led to it? Why was An talking about the dangers of the future and the time where we had toe together? Why are all the Progenitors waking up at almost the same time? What''s leading to all this?"

    For a long time, he had remained ignorant, but now it was reaching dangerous levels. He couldn''t live with his ignorance when there was supposedly something that was said to bring Castiel''s death.

    "Do we have some enemy that wants us dead?" he asked.

    It wasn''t a surprise that they had enemies. He had already fought many enemies. But what was truly surprising was that there was an enemy that could scare even Lilith and make Castiel enter eternal slumber. At least, that''s what he could guess from whatever basic information he had.

    *****

    In a faraway ce, a man stood on the top of a mountain. His entire body was covered in armor that seemed imprable. Only the man''s face was visible.

    "Did you still not find Luna?" The man asked.

    "We didn''t. It seems she isn''t here anymore. She left..." A response came.

    The armored man raised his left hand. "So she managed to leave, and you didn''t even realize she was missing until now?"

    "My Lord, She...Argh!"

    The person had just started to answer when his scream filled the atmosphere. The armored man started closing his fist. As if there was a mysterious link... Following his fist''s movement, the man who was answering started screaming even louder as if a mysterious force was crushing his neck.

    Some finger marks could be left around the man''s neck, but there was no one around him.

    His scream ultimately stopped as his neck was crushed. The armored man opened his fist.

    With a thudding noise, the man''s body fell behind him, lifeless.

    "You''re all useless."

    The armored man finally turned around, revealing his face. His blood-red eyes could be seen shining, even in the darkness. However, more than his eyes, the scar around his face attracted people''s attention around him¡­

 Chapter 181 181: Solace

    As sat on the bed, waiting for an exnation. There was only silence in the room.

    Luna sat on the bed near As, leaving the exnation task on Lilith. Even though she should also exin, she wanted As to hear from Lilith since he trusted her more.

    Lilith, on the other hand, stood near the window, gazing out at the moon.

    "It''s all happening so fast," she muttered in a barely audible voice as if she was talking to herself.

    "What is happening?" As asked, being able to hear her even though she spoke in such a low voice.

    "The Sce Empire..." Lilith frowned. "I didn''t think you would need to know about them since I didn''t expect their involvement before Castiel was actually back. There was no threat to you because of that. Who knew that even a moment of his presence here was going to be enough to attract their attention."

    "Sce Empire? Another Enemy?" As asked. "Is there really a need to be so scared of them?"

    Lilith nodded. "There will always be a need to be concerned about them since they were the ones that led to what happened in the past..."

    "The girl that is sitting beside you... If I were to me anyone for what led to all this, it would be here. She is the reason the Sce Empire came into our life," she stated. "Even though I don''t think it was intentional for her."

    As observed Luna. So she was actually that old? Even though she looked to be in her mid twenties, if she was there before Castiel went to sleep, then she was almost as old as Lilith, if not older.

    The woman looked like any normal human. It was surprising that it led to something that could threaten even the Progenitors.

    "Who is she?" he asked. If she led to all this, then her identity couldn''t be ordinary. No matter how she looked, she definitely couldn''t be human.

    "She is Luna Ashtrall, the Eldest Princess of Sce Empire," Lilith answered. "And she isn''t from earth."

    "It happened in a time where all Progenitors were roaming freely. A bnce was established in the world where the Progenitors and the Kingdom of Wolves were said to be much higher in the hierarchy than anyone else."

    "There was no one who could threaten us or our life. The world hade to a standstill. If I could say everything was almost perfect at that time. There were no wars between the Supernaturals. And even the Progenitors had stopped fighting. It was something akin to a time of peace, with only a few minor skirmishes here and there."

    "I still remember the time when Castiel was training Vor in the forest where the Banished Wolves resided. He suddenly stopped the battle, hearing some strange noises of battle in another ce. The Werewolves also stopped."

    "It was their forest where no one else was supposed to be in, without their permission. Vor, Castiel, and I went to check who was fighting there. And that''s where we first saw Luna..."

    "She was fighting a group of three, but the group of three didn''t look like they were trying to hurt her. They were seemingly trying to restrain her without hurting her."

    *****

    Somewhere in the past~

    Castiel stood with his arms folded as if he was slightly amazed at the battle that was taking ce before him, in which only one person was attacking with the intent of taking life... It was the blue haired girl who didn''t hold back on her attacks.

    "Her strength... It''s not normal for a human. Her strength and her reflexes appeared to be boosted, but I can''t feel any spell residue." Lilith frowned, focusing on the battle.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "That''s because no spell has been used," Castiel smiled. "She isn''t a Witch..."

    "Then how is she able to use such boosts? She isn''t a Vampire or a Werewolf either," Lilith wondered.

    "Who knows. It''s my first time seeing something like this as well. At this point, only she can answer."

    "Should we jump in to help her?" Vor asked. Generally, he would''ve jumped in to kill anyone who entered his forest, but at this point, he showed some restraint since he could see that Castiel and Lilith had some interest in these people. That''s why, instead of killing them all, he asked if he should help the woman.

    The other Wolves also started arriving, surrounding the battlefield from all sides, but none of them jumped in. They just kept an eye on the battle.

    "No need. I want to watch a little more." Castiel refused Vor''s suggestion which made Vor gesture his pack to stay back and ready.

    Luna and the people who were fighting her also noticed that there were people who were spying on her. Unfortunately, none of them could afford to take time out of their battle if they didn''t want to lose.

    The three warriors seemingly had an advantage, even when they held back on their attacks to not harm Luna.

    Luna kept being forced back as the attacks intensified. If it was just one, she could''ve fought back easily, but with three... It was hard since she hadn''t trained that much, unlike them.

    The battle thatsted for around half an hour ended up with Luna''s weapon flying off, falling near Castiel''s feet.

    One of the three Warriors ced a Sword on Luna''s neck. Another warrior tied her hand. As for the third warrior, he kept an eye on the surroundings, at all the Wolves.

    Now that the battle was finally over, Castiel finally decided to get involved. Even though it wasn''t his own conflict, he was really curious. He was also a fearless person who did as his heart pleased.

    "May I ask who you are all?" he asked.

    The three Warriors didn''t answer. It was as if talking to Castiel wasn''t worth their time.

    They just looked at Castiel and the Wolves as if they found them disgusting creatures.

    "Well, that didn''t go well." Castiel smiled wryly. "Let me try asking again."

    However, this time, he didn''t ask like before. He clenched his fist. A formation circle appeared under the feet of all the warriors. Thick vines came out of the formation, wrapping themselves around the three warriors, tying their arms and legs.

    "I''ll repeat. Who you are? And what you''re doing here?" he asked as a powerful gravity acted on the three warriors, forcing them to their knees.

    "Child, you don''t know what you''re doing! Don''t make us get serious!" The three Warriors eximed at the same time.

    "How can I know what your seriousness is capable of if you don''t tell me who you are?" Castiel asked, tilting his head to the right, as if slightly amused.

 Chapter 182 182: Beginning

    Unfortunately for Castiel, even he hadn''t expected what was going to happen next.

    As he restricted the movement of the three warriors, forcing them to their knees, Luna found a way to free her hands from the shackles used by the three warriors.

    Since Luna was already cuffed, Castiel didn''t use the vines on her, which was probably what escted things so much.

    As soon as Luna freed her hands, she closed her eyes, keeping her hands behind her back. Another sword appeared in her hands.

    Lilith noticed a new sword appearing in her hand, but by the time she could do anything, Luna swung the sword. Her Sword sliced the heads of the three Warriors who had just finished threatening Castiel.

    Seeing three heads roll to the ground, even Castiel was taken aback. The woman had some good determination to take out her enemies. Even under this situation, she kept her focus on them.

    "Feeling better?" Castiel asked Luna.

    Instead of attacking Castiel, Luna sat on the ground, seemingly tired. Her sword disappeared as well.

    "Feeling better? If having to run away from your home and being chased is the definition of feeling good, then I''m feeling extremely better," Luna sarcastically answered. Her face was slightly pale, and she seemed tired, but she was still capable of fighting.

    Despite that, she dropped her weapons, seeing the number of enemies there. The primary reason behind her decision was because she couldn''t feel any killing intent from these people. It was as if they didn''t mean her any harm. She could only sense curiosity.

    Moreover, they had indirectly helped her, so she didn''t feel like fighting them. Instead, she needed a shelter here, and these were the first few people she found.

    "I''m also curious about you all. The Vines... How did you make them appear?" she asked.

    Castiel stepped closer to Luna, but even now, she didn''t feel any ill in his heart. It was something she could sense in any being. This feeling was what made her trust Castiel.

    Castiel stopped right before Luna and extended a hand to help her get up. "How about this? You answer my questions, and I''ll answer yours?"

    Luna nodded and held Castiel''s hand, standing up.

    *****

    Present time~

    "That was our first meeting with Luna," Lilith continued her exnation. "Who knew that this one curiosity could lead to so much."

    Luna lowered her head. Even she felt sad that her actions led to all this.

    "Luna was the Princess of the Sce Empire who ran away from her home because she didn''t want to marry ording to her father''s wishes. It was a family conflict in which we never should''ve entangled ourselves."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "As the consequence of their people being killed on earth, the Sce Empire sent them... And thus began the downfall. Since Castielwas the one giving shelter to Luna, their main target became Castiel."

    "Castiel had already traveled all the continents on earth, and he had never seen someone who could give them a challenge. Unfortunately, the Sce Empire wasn''t on earth. Their people were different... Especially those people..."

    "They targeted everyone who had even an inkling of Castiel. Castiel also fought back, killing a few of them, but that just increased the conflict even more. Before long, the entire earth was being overrun by them. Since the other Progenitors shared some simrities to Castiel, they were also targeted by them."

    "In the end, there came a final threat... If Castiel didn''t return Luna, they were going to destroy everything on earth, not leaving any life on this world."

    "Castiel gave Luna away?" As frowned. This didn''t make sense. He had always imagined Castiel to be a valiant warrior. She gave up Luna because of a threat? Did he really get scared?

    "He didn''t give me to the Empire..." Luna answered instead. "I ran back to them myself, since you weren''t willing to ept defeat. I went back to the Sce Empire and apologized to them, asking them to leave everyone here alive."

    "My father agreed to listen to me, but not entirely. He had one demand... Only if the Progenitors that killed so many of our soldiers died, he was going to let earth live!" she further added.

    "There were only three Progenitors who killed the Sce Empire Generals... Castiel, Ramiun, and Lucius," Lilith took over the story again. "Looking at the bigger picture, all three Progenitors decided to go to Eternal Slumber. Since they couldn''t die, they chose this method to fool the Sce Empire. I still remember how hard it was to convince Castiel to agree with this!"

    "After Castiel went under Eternal Slumber, the other Progenitors also went after some time, agreeing."

    "In Eternal Slumber, they have no life aura. They can''t be sensed, and that''s what fooled the Sce Empire into letting earth live. Only An was left to roam freely."

    Lilith sighed, remembering the past. "When I was convincing Castiel, I imagined that after we wake up in a thousand years or so, the Sce Empire would''ve forgotten about us entirely, and we could go back to how things used to be before."

    "Who knew that the Sce Empire still hadn''t forgotten about us. Just the slightest aura of Castiel, and they sensed it."

    "How could they forget about the Progenitors?" Lunamented. " The Sce Empire fought many wars, but never have they suffered as much as they did when facing the Progenitors. I doubt they can ever forget this."

    "The Sce Empire still can''t forget that war, especially my brother, who thinks we did a mistake by not destroying the earth as a lesson for standing up against them. Unlike my father, my brother is much more ruthless. And he had grown hating everything about that war!"

    "That''s why I believe that it''s just the start of things that are about to get really bad. As soon as I found out about your return, I rushed here to warn you about it. My brother won''t take too long either." Luna warned everyone in the room about how the future was grim.

    "A war that even the Progenitors together couldn''t win is about to happen again, and told time I''m in the mix. Just amazing," As let out, feeling slightly upset.

    He had only a little time to get his own things done, and now, he even had the Sword of a war looming over his head. Just as he thought that he could have a slightly easier time in bringing his sister back, something even worse came.

    He stood up, asking, "How long before your Empirees again?"

 Chapter 183 183: Ill Kill You Myself

    "I''m not sure. Maybe a few days if my brotheres alone? Or maybe weeks if theye with a massive force this time."

    Even Luna didn''t know just how long it could actually take since she couldn''t read her brother''s mind. Even if she could, it was still hard since her brother was really unpredictable and changed his mind quite often about his strategies.

    "So we basically know nothing," As frowned. This meant that they didn''t know when they were going to be attacked or just how much their strength was going to be.

    "I don''t think we need to worry about it if her brotheres alone. As long as you''re you, he won''t be able to sense you. Just finding you alone should be impossible for him. He would most probably prepare an entire army, so it would be safe to assume that it''ll take a few weeks. Or maybe I''m wrong, and he''ll be here tomorrow."

    Lilith tossed a guess as well. Since Castiel''s arrival was sensed by them but not his return when As was in the body, that meant they couldn''t sense him as long as As was in control. But that also raised a question. How did Luna find them?

    She asked Luna directly. "How did you find us?"

    "It wasn''t easy to find him," Luna exined. " I went to the ce where I sensed his energy. But as I followed that trail, it abruptly disappeared. I just kept moving in that direction, hoping to find him, until I arrived in this town. That''s when I saw him standing on the balcony, but his aura was different, so I was confused."

    "Next thing I knew, he was standing before me. It was good. I actually managed to find you. I didn''t expect that."

    "So I was right. You were just lucky." Lilith understood the entire situation, realizing what had happened.

    "It''s good then. It means your brother won''t be able to find him either. That should give us some time to deal with the problem." She looked at As. "We should finish what we were trying to do before they arrive."

    "We should." As agreed with Lilith. "It means we are on an even stricter time schedule than I thought."

    "We should leave this city and probably travel through the routes where even luck can''t lead to us," he added as he tried retreating. "I''ll wake Lancaster."

    "Even though I doubt that it''ll keep us safe when the entire world is being overrun by them, it''s still better for the time being." Lilith agreed with the n, watching As leave.

    As As stepped out of the room, only Luna and Lilith stayed behind, looking at each other. There was only silence in the room as both of them seemed to be thinking about something.

    "Is your father still alive?" Lilith asked, breaking the silence.

    "He''s the reason my brother doesn''t have the throne yet, but I doubt that will be the case for long. My father has been sick recently, and I have a feeling that he won''t be there for long, which won''t be good for anyone."

    "You''re right about that. Your brother is an impatient idiot. If he takes the Throne, he could create a lot of problems for everyone."

    ****

    As knocked on Lancaster''s door, waking the man who had just fallen asleep. Lancaster woke up and opened the door, finding As there.

    "Get ready and meet me outside the hotel. We''ll be leaving."

    "At this time?" Lancaster incredulously looked at As. It hadn''t been long since he said that they would be resting here for the night, and now they had to leave. This didn''t make sense. He wondered just what happened in thest few hours that made As change his mind.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Did something happen?"

    "I''ll tell you on the way. Get ready."

    ****

    "Will your brother be able to sense you?" Lilith asked Luna as a precaution.

    " I''ve taken precautions. No one can find me this time. They don''t even know that I''ve left. That''s why you don''t see anyone after me," Luna exined. "This time, I came prepared."

    "I hope so. Because if they get to us because of you, I''ll be killing you with my own hands."

    Lilith also left the room, followed by Luna. She met As and Lancaster outside. Both of them seemed ready to leave as well.

    As went downstairs, surprising the receptionist who was expecting them to leave in the morning. Even though he was surprised to watch them leave now, he was also somewhat pleased as well. If they were actually leaving now, then it was really good for him. It meant they could get rid of them faster, which was precisely what he wanted.

    As ced the keys before the receptionist.

    "Are you leaving, Sir?" The receptionist asked, feeling glee on the inside. He really hoped that the answer was yes.

    "Yes. We are leaving." As answered. He also shed a smile, understanding why this man was asking the question. "You can rest easy now."

    "I''ll get your driver!" The receptionist rushed to wake up the driver, who was sleeping in one of their rooms. Just because they didn''t want the driver to find out that truth through others and leave, they gave him a room in their hotel itself.

    As and his group left the ce, waiting near the carriage for the driver toe.

    The streets looked so empty in such darkness, with not a single person other than them there. The entire town was sleeping.

    "Can anyone tell me now when we''re leaving so soon? Also, who is this woman?" Lancaster was the only one in the group who didn''t know about Luna or why she was here. He really hoped it wasn''t something simr to the Yovana incident.

    "She is Luna, and she is here to warn us of the troubles ahead."

    As told Lancaster the things he found out from Luna, telling him about the conflict in the past that led to the slumber of most of the Progenitors. He also talked about how that incident was probably going to happen again, but this time they couldn''t go to Slumber. This time, they had to fight back if it came to that point.

    "In essence, bad times are ahead, and we need to be one step ahead of them. That''s why I want to achieve my goals before they get here and create an obstruction. There''s just one more step to take... Just one more fragment to collect."

    In the meantime, the driver also arrived, seemingly still a bit sleepy.

    He respectfully greeted the guests. In the darkness, he didn''t know that one of the people he was greeting was a Vampire.

 Chapter 184 184: Desire

    "Greetings, Masters. Please tell me where you want to go. I''ll take you there. Also, I''m sure you are already informed about my fees." The Carriage Driver greedily rubbed his hands.

    It was after a long time that he had received people who were willing to pay such crazy fees for his travel. At least, that''s what he was told by the hotel staff.

    As patted the shoulders of the Carriage Driver. "Don''t worry. You''ll be paid handsomely. You don''t have to worry about that. As for where to take us, we will tell youter. First, just take us out of the city."

    As kept his destination a secret, for now, not wanting even the hotel staff to know about where he wanted to go.

    The carriage driver found it a bit suspicious, but he went with the flow. He opened the carriage doors for the guests, allowing them to enter the carriage. The four youngsters entered the carriage and closed the door.

    The carriage driver also took his ce. The carriage finally departed.

    The people back at the hotel watched the carriage leaving, sighing in relief. Finally, they got rid of the Demons, and not a single person in the city had to die in the process. The only person who was at the risk was the carriage driver, but they couldn''t care less about the carriage driver.

    In any case, they were sure that the carriage driver was going to be safe.

    The Hotel Owner wiped the sweat on his forehead using his handkerchief. It was only after the carriage disappeared from his sight that he entered the hotel once again.

    ****

    The new carriage was not asfortable as thest carriage that they had used because it didn''t belong to a royalty, but it was still better than having to walk. The space inside was also enough for all four of them to sitfortably.

    For some reason, both Lilith and Luna sat beside As, with him in the middle. On the other side, Lancaster sat alone, finding the situation amusing, seeing As'' wry expressions.

    "You mentioned you had only one more thing to do before they came. What thing was that?" Luna broke the momentary silence. "What could be more important than the threat that you want to do it first?"

    She had this question for a long time, especially since the moment As mentioned to Lancaster that he needed to do one thing before the others got here. It was as if that one thing was really crucial for him to finish so urgently.

    "I need to take back something from someone. Something that I must have. And I must do it as soon as I can."

    As vaguely answered, not rifying his goals.

    Receiving a vague answer, the youngdy smiled wryly. "That''s not an answer, is that? Is it something that you can''t even tell me?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I can tell you, but then I''ll have to kill you," As said jokingly. But just to make sure that Luna didn''t misunderstand, he rified.

    ? "I was joking. Honestly, I really can''t tell you. It''s just something that''s really close to my heart that I don''t want to tell anyone. It''s a personal desire that is more important for me than anything."

    Hearing As'' exnation, Luna didn''t force him. She just nodded. "I can understand. You don''t remember me. Even though Lilith confirmed my identity, you still see me as a stranger. It''s not surprising that you can''t tell me. But still, I hope whatever it is, you really seed in it. I''ll also help you with it whenever I''m needed."

    "Thank you." As thanked Luna. "I really hope I seed as well. Because I can''t afford to fail this goal, after I seed, I can finally be at peace with myself."

    "A goal that can make even you chase after it. It must not be a small thing, especially since you''re a person who never chases after material things. I can''t wait to find out what it was when you seed."

    As smiled. "Don''t worry. I''m sure you''ll find out what it was. And you''ll get what you want as well."

    He knew that Luna was after Castiel. After he was done with his goal, he knew that Castiel was going to return, which was going to give her what she wanted.

    After he seeded, everyone was going to get everything that they needed or wanted. Someone was going to get immortality; someone was going to get their family, someone was going to get their old friend.

    At this point, only Lancaster seemed to be the one who didn''t get any benefits from it. He didn''t know Castiel, so there was no benefit in him getting Castiel back. Instead, he was going to lose a friend since As believed he was going to disappear.

    Lancaster didn''t know anything about it even now. He just went with the flow, enjoying whatever little bit of time he had at the moment on this beautiful yet dangerous journey.

    When he lived at his home, he always wanted to have beautiful adventures and travel the whole world with his family. Even though his dream didn''te true, since his family was dead by the time he grew up, he still felt as if he was living his dream. The only difference was that he had a different family than he had imagined.

    Even this family wasn''t any less for him. He treated his new family like it was really precious to him. After going through so much together, he had established a beautiful rtionship with Lilith and As where he could trust them with his life, and they could do the same. It had surpassed a normal friendship.

    He really hoped that things were going to continue in this way forever, only that it would get a little less chaotic.

    There were so many problems in their life, from the Progenitors to Yovana to the Blood Council, but now something even bigger was looking over their heads. He hoped that after they got through this safely, there was going to be peace. And that their family was going to be bigger with Mise''s return.

    For him, it was the start of a new era... An era where the Werewolves, the Witches, and the Vampires could work together, and he believed that they were going to bring that era to the future.

    He had so many expectations, yet he wasn''t sure if they were going toe true or not. He could only hope. He gazed at the beautiful moon in the distance, praying to the moon about something.

 Chapter 185 185: Chaotic

    While Lancaster had high hopes for the future, he wasn''t the only one. Almost everyone inside the carriage wanted one thing or another from the future. At the same time, none of them knew what the future held in store for them.

    Even the Carriage Driver was hoping to get a lot of money in the future from As so that he could start a business of his own.

    In the middle of the night, theirs was the only carriage that could be seen on the empty roads that led to another city.

    After getting far enough, the carriage driver stopped.

    He walked to the carriage and knocked on the door. "We are quite far from the city. I''ll need the destination now if you don''t want us to get lost."

    Lilith opened the door and informed where to take them. Out of everyone here, only she knew where the Blood Council was, and she was also the one who selected a path that could lead there.

    She made sure to take a slightly different route than the straight one since she didn''t want anyone to trace them just by sheer luck.

    The carriage driver understood the instructions and went back to his seat, slightly confused about why these people were making the path moreplicated than it needed to be, but still, he went with the flow.

    He didn''t question them too much. It was his responsibility to take them where they wanted to go in exchange for their money. He couldn''t say no after going there all this while.

    He agreed with Lilith and got back to his seat.

    ****

    The Kingdom of Wolves was just a shadow of its glorious past. The Kingdom that was always filled with life was now filled with blood and bodies.

    The Royalty was killed, and the current Royal Bloodline was wiped clean. As for the person who caused all this... He was lying on top of the beautiful Castle, gazing at the moon.

    It was as if the castle was his bed, and the sky was the roof.

    He had no idea that many people were waiting for him to leave. As if to intentionally annoy them, he just stayed there, gazing at the night sky. He wasn''t in any hurry. He didn''t have a family to go back to. He didn''t have anyone. All he had were enemies at this point.

    Through thest decades, he had been in deep slumber, but despite that, he felt tired. It wasn''t a physical tiredness but a mental one.

    It was as if he didn''t have a moment of real peace in centuries. Even now, his mind waspletely chaotic, but at least he could rest where his real home was.

    He was banished from entering the Kingdom, and he respected that banishment. He never tried to enter the ce, but now... Now that he had arrived, there was no one to stop him. The people who had banished him... They weren''t even alive anymore.

    It was just the beginning as well. The beginning of him cleaning the world of all the filth that there was in this World.

    But before that, he wanted to rest... Get the rest that he hadn''t received in a long time. Basking in the moonlight, the man didn''t even realize when his eyes closed, and he fell asleep.<novelnext></novelnext>

    ****

    Ramiun and Elisi both watched Vor sleep. Both of them cursed their luck, seeing him waste time like this. Now that he was done here, he should''ve just left. Instead, he chose to spend the rest of the night in the Kingdom, right in the freaking castle where they needed to be.

    The two of them realized that maybe it was impossible for them to get inside the Kingdom at night without having to face Vor.

    With that in mind, they decided to wait for even longer. It was only a matter of time since he had to leave. They were sure that he couldn''t stay there all his life.

    Ramiun was slightly pleased as well at the disy of Vor, even though he also wanted Vor to leave. Through Vor''s actions, he was assured that Vor didn''t have any idea that An was inside the castle. That convinced Ramiun that he was going to have an easier time getting to Ramiun after Vor left since Vor couldn''t take what he didn''t even know existed there.

    "Keep an eye on Vor. I''ll be resting as well." Instead of keeping an eye on his surroundings himself, Ramiun gave the task to his people before he also entered his carriage to rest.

    The night slowly passed away as people eagerly waited for the morning.

    With the first ray of light falling on his face, Vor woke up from his slumber. His eyes opened.

    He sat up, gazing at his surroundings. For a moment, he even wondered if he had seen a dream. However, as he observed all the dead bodies in the surrounding area, he realized that it wasn''t a dream. The things he saw actually happened. He actually destroyed the Kingdom.

    He stood up and jumped down the castle roof,nding on the ground right at the entrance of the castle.

    Through the blood covered streets, he started leaving the Kingdom, going in a very specific direction. As for the direction he chose, it seemed he also had a reason for it since he was now going toward the Blood Council.

    Before long, Vor left the city. What Ramiun had been waiting for finally happened. Ramiun was finally informed by his men that Vor had left. Ramiun eagerly came out of his carriage.

    "Then it''s our time to enter. Also, prepare to face Elisi. She would being as well." He informed his men.

    Unlike Elisi, who only brought a few of her people, Ramiun brought an entire army since he already knew that Elisi was going to be here. Unlike Elisi, who thought that Ramiun and others were going to take quite some time to find her. That assumption made Elisi only bring her closest warriors.

    Both, Elisi''s group and Ramiun''s group rushed to the city, which once used to be a ce where the two of them had to think twice before even getting close to. The city didn''t have the firepower that it used to have before. Instead, it was like a barrennd now.

    ****

    Elisi was the first one to enter the city, but as soon as she entered, she also noticed more peopleing from the other end. She was one of those people realizing that the people were being led by Ramiun.

    The two sides stopped, leaving barely five meters of distance between them.

 Chapter 186 186: Who Says I Didnt?

    "Ramiun, what are you doing here?" Elisi asked, frowning.

    "What do you mean what I''m doing here? I''m here to get what belongs to me."

    "Nothing belongs to you here. You were useless who couldn''t even execute your n! I had to execute it! I took all the risks, so all the rewards also belong to me! I really advise you to leave if you don''t want to die at my hands!"

    "You executed my n?" Ramiun smirked. "Well, technically, you''re right Elisi. But not in the way you think."

    "Want to hear a secret?"

    Elisi frowned. She didn''t know why, but seeing the amused expressions on Ramiun''s face, she felt that something wasn''t right. Shouldn''t he be angry that she stole her n and used it? Why did it seem like everything was still ording to his n?

    "What secret?"

    "There is no Origin Weapon here." Ramiunughed. Are you really so stupid that you believed whatever I said without usingmon sense at all? If they had an origin weapon, you think they wouldn''te to kill us directly? You think they would keep that thing in a safe as an artifact?"

    "They don''t have any Origin Weapon?" Elisi frowned. "You''re lying. You would never take such a big risk if there were no Origin Stone!"

    "I took what risk, my dear Elisi? I don''t see any risks that I might''ve taken. What risk are you talking about?" Ramiun eximed in confusion. "From where I''m standing, you took the risks. You betrayed the Blood Council! You freed our enemy! You are a traitor. You took all the risks, not me! I didn''t take a single risk."

    "You! You used me!" Elisi understood everything at this point. From the tone of Ramiun, it was clear that it was what he wanted! He made her take all the risks! But still, it didn''t make sense! Why would he have her do all this for no reason?

    If there was no Origin Weapon, why would he want the Kingdom of Wolves to be destroyed? Why would he have her release someone who could kill them all?

    "Why?" She asked. "Why all this? Why did you make me do it if there is no Origin Weapon? I don''t believe you! You''re lying now!"

    "Do I really need to lie?" Ramiun shrugged. "And that too, for someone like you?"

    "Why then?" Even though Elisi was angry, she didn''t look scared. Instead, all she had was curiosity. She wasn''t scared of Ramiun. "You can''t say that it wasn''t risky for you. What if I had informed the Blood Council about your letter?"

    "I knew you wouldn''t. Because I know what kind of person you are. You aren''t someone who will let go of this opportunity. You have the most greed out of all of us. If there was one person in the Blood Council that I could''ve fooled with this lie, it was you. That Greed of yours helped me a lot, honestly."<novelnext></novelnext>

    In the Bloody City, two Vampire Lords of the Blood Council talked to each other. There was a hint of conflict in the air, which made it seem like a battle could begin at any time, but fortunately, it hadn''t until now. Elisi''s curiosity was stopping her from attacking Ramiun in anger. At the same time, Ramiun also didn''t keep Elisi in the dark.

    Elisi had troubled him a lot in the past. Now that he had a leading edge, he wanted her to know just how big of an idiot she was and how she wasn''t nearly as smart as she thought. She had jumped into the trap on her own, without any additional push.

    "It still doesn''t make sense. Just to bring me down, you used a self destruct option? I don''t think even you''ll be that big an idiot. You know Vor is free. And he won''t rest easy without killing us all. You can''t say there''s no risk for you in case hees after you to kill you, which is inevitable!"

    "I''m sure there is something in this town that made you do it! Something that you believe can help you stop Vor! And that can only be the Origin Weapon! You''re trying to fool me, but it won''t work."

    "Elisi, as I said before, do I really need to fool you at this point? As for why I did that, I don''t think you''ll ever know. Now that I''ve used you to the fullest, I don''t think I''ll be needing you anymore."

    "Just imagine the praise I''ll get from the Blood Council for taking you to them at this point. Of course, I can''t take you back alive. Even though no one will believe you when you say that I was behind it, I don''t want to take the risk. I''ll be taking a dead Elisi back since dead people are the best at keeping a secret. Isn''t that right?"

    "Hah, Ramiun. It seems you''ve forgotten who you''re talking to! Just because you have some extra men here, you think you can take me down? Did you forget thest time we fought?" It was Elisi''s turn to scoff as she remembered how theirst battle went.

    Elisi wasn''t the strongest in the Blood Council, but she was definitely in the top tier.

    Being reminded about the past, Ramiun''s face twitched unwillingly. He could never forget that embarrassing day when the two of them fought. He was thoroughly defeated in an instant, but that is also what led to him working even harder to be stronger.

    Theirst battle was over five hundred years ago, and he had progressed a lot in those five hundred years! Enough to think that the oue this time was going to be different.

    "The past was bad for me, but the present will be tragic for you." Ramiun dered.

    *When Ist fought you, I didn''t have a goal. I didn''t have a wish. But this time, it''s different! This time, you''re standing in my path, and I can only get to my destination by defeating you! And that''s exactly what I''ll do!"

    "You and what army? Even if you had Half the Blood Council behind you, I believe you still couldn''t defeat me. And if I want to leave, even your father can''t stop me. So how do you expect to kill me? Mister Mastermind? Don''t tell me you didn''t think about this?!" Elisi snorted. "Believe it. You can''t defeat me. But I''ll still give you an opportunity. Join me. We can retrieve the origin weapon and work together!"

    "Who said I didn''t think about how to stop you?" Instead of taking her offer seriously, Ramiun said in a mocking tone.

 Chapter 187 187: Other Way

    "Not only you, but I also have a way to stop Vor. It''s not a problem at all. Unfortunately, you won''t be here to see me achieve it all!"

    Ramiun had barely finished his sentence before he attacked Elisi. His men also attacked her warriors, overwhelming them by theirrge numbers.

    As Ramiun''s hand was about to touch Elisi, her figure disappeared. Like a ghost, she appeared behind Ramiun. However, as if expecting this, Ramiun jumped up, avoiding her attack, which was about tond on him.

    Ramiunnded in the distance, slightly amazed that Elisi was still as fast. In fact, she seemed even faster than she was when hest met her.

    "What happened? Why aren''t you attacking me anymore?" Elisi smirked, seeing the surprise on Ramiun''s face.

    In another part, the battle between the Generals of both sides had gotten more intense, in which Elisi''s side was having a slightly harder time.

    "This is myst warning to you!" Elisi dered. "Tell me what you are after here. We can still work together. You tell me just what exactly it is that you want from this ce, and I''ll not only let you live, but I''ll also partner up with you!"

    "Is that so?" Ramiun inquired. "The offer isn''t half bad, but I don''t think I would share what I''m after. Only I can have that, and only I will. So you''ll have to get out of my way."

    Ramiun attacked again as he rejected any possible negotiations.

    ****

    There was only silence inside the carriage. No one was speaking. It had been that way for seemingly hours since none of them appeared to have any topic. In the long journey, everyone had run out of all the topics.

    If there was one person who was breaking the silence, it was Luna, but even she couldn''t keep up with it since As didn''t remember anything she talked about. Her memories were rted to Castiel, and he was different. Not only did he not have Castiel''s memories, but he also couldn''t take a random guess.

    Most of Luna''s questions were answered by him in a single statement. "I don''t remember."

    "Grrr~"

    After a long time, the silence was broken again, but this time because Luna''s stomach was growling.

    "Are you hungry?" As asked.

    Luna nodded. "I haven''t eaten anything since I left home."

    "Do you eat the same thing as humans?" As inquired. Since Luna wasn''t from earth, she didn''t know what she actually ate or if they even had anything avable.

    "She can eat the same thing as humans," Lilith answered instead. "That''s what she ate when she was herest time."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "We can stop at the next city, and you all can eat something." As agreed. They had already run out of things to eat on the journey, and he didn''t want to go looking for something to eat in the forests as that could waste a lot of their time.

    It was decided that they were going to stop in the next city and get something to eat there. It also wasted less of their time.

    As opened the door and told the carriage driver to stop in the next city near a restaurant. It was also time to show the carriage driver to rest since he had been up for a long time.

    The carriage driver acknowledged. "We aren''t far from the next city. I can already see it. I''ll stop as soon as we get to a restaurant or a hotel."

    As closed the door and conveyed the message. "We should be there soon. Just a little more."

    "That reminds me. You said you didn''t eat anything since you left your home? How long was the journey from your world to ours?" he asked, really curious about it. "Also, how did you even travel from one world to another? Did you use a Portal? Also, can you use the same portal to go back if you wanted?"

    "So many questions," Luna smiled. "And all the same that you asked mest time as well. I''ll answer once again though."

    "Regarding your first question... It took me two days to get from my world to here, and no, it wasn''t a portal. It was something else. I don''t know how to describe it in a way that you can understand. But we do have something that can help us travel from one world to another. And yeah, we can use the same to go back as well."

    " If that''s the case, can''t we attack the Empire instead?" As asked, mainly targeting the question to Lilith. "I mean, wouldn''t it be better to take the fight to them instead of letting them bring a fight to you?"

    "Last time, you said that the people from the Sce Empire took our world hostage and used that to convince the resistance to give v up. Couldn''t you have done the same? I think Castiel would''ve been strong enough to fight back. If he and the other Progenitors had taken the same route to their world and taken them hostage, wouldn''t that be better?''

    Through his question, he ced forth the question that was in his mind. Did they miss an opportunity in the past?

    "You could''ve answered them in thenguage they understood," he further stated. "Since they loved to take worlds hostage, it certainly would''ve pushed them back if their own world was a hostage. You would''ve had a much better advantage in negotiations."

    "You think we didn''t think about that?"Lilith let out a defeated sigh. "The thing can only take one person back with it. There isn''t enough space inside it. And before you ask why we didn''t send Castiel, only then, we couldn''t. The thing that Luna used toe here can only be used by her."

    "In other words, only people from her species can use those times, so we couldn''t have used that. We tried to find a way to ovee this problem, but it''s just impossible. So we couldn''t take their world hostage. And even if we could get there, I doubt it would be that easy to take them hostage.

    "So it was a futile effort. We were backed off in a corner. The battlefield was our home, and we couldn''t change the battlefield, no matter how much we wanted. That was what gave those people such a big advantage."

    "Can we still not use it?" As asked Luna, wondering if the same problem still existed.

    Luna nodded her head. "You can''t take the path I took. It won''t work. But there is one way..."

 Chapter 188 188: Married?

    "There is one way that might work," Luna stated, intriguing even Lilith.

    "There is a way to get to your world now?" Lilith asked, frowning. "Are you being serious?"

    "Yeah." Luna nodded. "There is one other way. After I went back, I spent a lot of time thinking about the past and tried to see how we could''ve changed the oue. That''s when I came to know of the other way one can use to get to our world."

    "What way?" Lilith asked. "If we can use that, it might change the entire equation."

    "Even though there is another way that can be used to get there, it''s almost impossible. It''s too dangerous, even for someone like Castiel, let alone you. So the other way is better to be avoided as well. It isn''t a good way."

    "Why don''t you leave that for us to decide? What way is that? How can we get to your world?" Lilith asked. She didn''t care what that method was or how dangerous it was; if it was possible, she wanted to know.

    She wasn''t the only one who wanted to know. As also wanted to know. Even though he wasn''t nning to go there, he wanted to know.

    He already had a busy schedule ahead. He couldn''t afford to involve himself in matters of other people, but he was still very curious about it. Even though it couldn''t be of use to him, it could still be used by Castiel when he returned.

    "The other method is by hacking my ship. I managed to find out that the security mechanism of our Bloodline could be removed by hacking the system, but that also removes the auto navigation of our ships."

    "In other terms, anyone can use our ship, but in that case, they''ll have to manually pilot it. And without the auto navigation and a map, it''s almost impossible to safely get to our world. There is an extremely high chance that you''ll end up getting lost in space."

    " If I were to guess, there''s not even a one percent chance of someone locating our world without auto navigation. Even I wouldn''t be able to locate it."

    "That''s why I said it''s useless and extremely dangerous since you''ll be lost in vast space forever, never being able to find your way back to our world. Let alone our world; you won''t even be able toe back to this world. That''s why it''s better if we just forget that the method even exists. It''s too dangerous." Luna exined everything she managed to discover about their ships that she used to arrive here.

    It was only because of auto navigation that she managed toe here, but if that stopped working, it was a disaster.

    "I guess you weren''t exaggerating when you said that the other method is more dangerous and almost impossible to execute sessfully. So there is no way to get to your world."

    As looked out the window in disappointment.

    ''So Castiel would have no chance but to fight on earth. But if the entire earth is attached, won''t Mise alsoe in the fire? Things are getting quiteplicated at this point. There should definitely be a way to defeat them without losing too much in the process. But what way?''

    "Do you know any weakness of your brother?" he asked Luna.

    Luna shook her head. "He doesn''t have any weaknesses as far as I know. If there was one w in him, it was his anger, I suppose. He gets angry really fast, and when he''s angry, he doesn''t think about what he does. Also, he hates losing or failures. If someone fails, no matter how important or close to him that person is, he kills that person."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I don''t think we can use that w as a weakness, can we?" she asked. "I''m sorry I can''t be of more help."

    "Quick to anger, huh." As found the little piece of information quite interesting. Even though Luna didn''t believe that this w could be seen as a weakness, it was different for As. He had a feeling that there were ways for them to exploit this situation.

    When people were quick to anger, they often made wrong decisions that weren''t based on careful consideration. There was definitely something on it that they could use. As for how that was to be decided.

    It was a long journey, and he believed that he had quite some time to think about it. It gave him something to do when he was sitting on the carriage with nothing better to do.

    "Luna, you said you ranst time because your father wanted to get you married? Did they get you married in the end?" he asked Luna, trying to understand the family equation better to see if there was another important piece of information hidden there.

    "No. He gave in after I went back and let me do as I pleased, even though my brother hated that. The marriage was canceled, but at the same time, father also removed my Royal Title because I didn''t listen to him and caused that war."

    "So you aren''t married yet?" As inquired.

    Luna shook her head. "That''s right."

    "That''s good," As said, not realizing that his words were taken in the wrong context by Luna.

    Luna thought that he was happy she wasn''t married yet because he had feelings for her.

    She didn''t know that As had another thing on his mind. Luna''s brother was going to be themander of this war and the highest authority. He hated people on Earth. What better way to make him even more furious than by getting his sister married.

    Since the Prince hated Castiel the most, As believed that if information about Luna marrying Castiel reached him, he was going to lose his mind and make hasty decisions. That was what he wanted. They had found a way to make the young Prince as angry as they could. Now all that was left was to make a thorough n that Castiel could use in the war to defeat the enemies.

    The conversation had finally started getting interesting for them when the carriage stopped. The Driver knocked on the door. "We are here, Sir."

    "Got it." As opened the door, stepping out of the carriage. The others also stepped out of the carriage, gazing at the restaurant nearby.

    "You can take a nap in the carriage. We''ll be eating and resting as well in the meantime. We have a long journey ahead." As told the Carriage Driver before giving him two gold coins.

    Seeing the gold coins, the Carriage driver was ted. At this rate, he believed he was going to be extremely rich soon! Two gold coins for such a short journey, and they had even longer to go!

    "Thank you, Young Master!"

 Chapter 189 189: Council

    The Carriage Driver was free to do whatever he wanted with the money he received. He could spend it on anything he wanted. Moreover, since he was free for the entire night, he didn''t have to worry about anything. As told him that he could take the night off and meet them in the morning.

    As he was a human, he also needed some rest. He couldn''t stay up for days without resting.

    Leaving the man behind, As entered the restaurant with the others. He had no idea that rest was thest thing that the Carriage Driver wanted.

    He had received two gold coins. He was so ted already that he wanted to flex the money. Instead of resting inside the carriage, he left in search of a brother to spend the night as he was free.

    ****

    The restaurant was already very crowded with guests, leaving no seats vacant.

    "This is problematic. There are no seats," As smiled wryly.

    As soon as they entered the restaurant, they were informed that they needed to wait since other guests were eating.

    After telling them to wait, the waitress went back to work.

    "Should I convince them?" Lilith asked As. "Waiting is stupid."

    "I''ll do it." As took the lead. He walked to the person managing the restaurant.

    "We need a table for four." As didn''t ask the man to provide the table. Instead, he basicallymanded the man. It had been a long time since he used hispulsion.

    This time, he used it on the manager, trying to see just how much he had improved over the time.

    Thepulsion worked, and the manager made sure that As got a ce to eat. Since all the tables here were filled, he took them to a special room that was reserved for the special guests.

    The private room had only one table, and it hadplete privacy. The room couldn''t even be seen from the outside, whereas everything outside could be seen from the inside.

    "I''ll bring the menu." The manager left the room to arrange other things.

    As and the others took the seats, waiting for the man''s return.

    "So they did have a nice table avable. They lied." Lancaster summarized. "This ce..."

    ****

    The manager left the room and approached a waitress, telling her to serve As'' table. The waitress was slightly surprised as she heard which table he was talking about.

    "Sir, didn''t you say that the table was reserved for today... By... them?"

    The manager didn''t seem to care as he was still underpulsion. He forgot about everything else.

    "Do as I say!"he snapped. "Don''t make them wait!"

    "If you say so." The Waitress could only agree, even though she was still surprised. Until recently, the man was saying how the guestsing today to the special room were very special, and everything needed to be perfect for them, and now he gave the room to a bunch of strangers instead.

    Unfortunately, she had no authority to question him. She just went with the flow, wondering if the real guests had canceled their ns. That would exin why this might happen.<novelnext></novelnext>

    She picked up a menu and went to the private room to take the others.

    ****

    Outside the restaurant, another carriage stopped. But this carriage looked slightly more luxurious than the carriage that As traveled in. Surprisingly, the carriage also had a symbol on the doors... The symbol that most people didn''t know a single thing about, but the ones that knew... They understood just what the worth of that symbol was.

    It was the Symbol of the Blood Council!

    The doors of the carriage opened, and two people stepped out, one being a woman in her mid thirties and the other being a man in histe forties. Both of them had extremely pale skin as if there was not a shred of blood in their body.

    As also had a pale skin, but even his skin wasn''t as pale. His skin was somewhat in between a human and a Vampire skin, which made it slightly hard for people to make sure that he was actually a Vampire.

    Unlike As, these people had apletely ashen faces. No one had any doubt as to what they were.

    "Ri, did you inform them we would being?" The man asked the woman beside him.

    "Yeah. I informed the owner of this hotel that we would being here after resting for a little. I also received his acknowledgment that he would have some nice fresh treat ready for us." The woman licked her lips.

    ****

    As had just sat down when he heard some strange noises. It was barely audible for an ordinary person, but for him, it was very clear. It was as if someone was crying.

    He looked in the back, and noticed that there was a door there¡ªa door which was different from the one they took to get here.

    He stood up and walked to the door. At the same time, the waitress came with the menu. She ced the menu on the table.

    "What''s behind the door?" As asked the waitress, even though he already had an idea.

    "Behind that door? I believe that''s the storage room. I don''t know much more than that," The waitress answered. "But sir, I would still advise you not to open that door. Even I''m not authorized to open the door. Only our manager can."

    The waitress imed that she didn''t know what was behind the door. She imed that she didn''t check, but the way she talked, it seemed as if she had a General idea of what was behind that door.

    As tried to open the door, only to find that it was locked.

    This time, he applied his extraordinary strength to push the door open. The door easily opened now as the lock broke.

    The opened door revealed exactly what was on the other side. There appeared to be around five young children who weren''t even ten years old. All five of them had clothes that made them appear as if they had no family or home.

    In the storage room, he could also see some bags of blood kept in reservation.

    As red back at the waitress. "So you don''t know what was here?"

    The woman lowered her head. "Sir, I knew it. I saw the kids being brought here, but I have no control over it. And I believe you shouldn''t get involved in it either. If you do, you might end up dead. Don''t create problems for everyone."

    Lilith pped her forehead in response. Even Luna looked at the woman weirdly. He might end up dead. Over this? They couldn''t believe how naive the woman was.

 Chapter 190 190: Feast

    "So you serve Vampires as well?" As asked, ignoring her threats.

    "We do. Theye once in a while. In fact, today was supposed to be a day when they were going toe. This room was reserved for them. That''s why the homeless kids were lured here as well, so they could feast and leave happily. We don''t have the strength to go against the Vampires."

    "Fortunately, it seems that those people didn''te here today, and the room was assigned to you. So please don''t do anything stupid that might end up getting you in this mess. Just forget you saw anything."

    "I''m afraid I''m thest person who can forget this..." As gazed at the young children who were lured here, seeing himself in them. If only there were someone who hadn''t ignored them like this... Maybe things would''ve been different.

    *****

    Wang and Ri entered the restaurant. They walked to the manager. "Where is our room?"

    The manager looked at them in confusion.

    "He is underpulsion. That''s quite interesting." Wang smiled before ncing back. "Is it your work?"

    Ri shook her head. "It''s not mypulsion."

    "I''m sorry, but we have no rooms avable." The manager answered. "The rooms we prepared have been given to other guests. Please wait until the rooms are vacant again."

    "You gave our rooms away to someone else?" Ri frowned. "Even you can''t be this stupid."

    "It must be because of thepulsion," Want casually stated. "I am quite interested in seeing the person that dares to steal our rooms."

    "Hah, must be a stray Vampire who didn''t know what he was doing. As soon as he realizes who we are, I have a feeling that he''ll fall to our feet!" Riughed.

    "Come, let us see who it was."

    Wang told the man to lead them to the room that was assigned to them. Even though the man couldn''t give the room to them due to hispulsion, he didn''t hesitate in leading them to the room as that wasn''t rted to hispulsion.

    Wang and Ri were members of the Blood Council, but not like Ramiun or Elisi. They are lower ranking members who worked for the highest ranking members. The two of them were Generals of a Blood Lord at the Blood Council.

    They were on a quest to search the entire territory to find Elisi and her people, who disappeared after betraying the Blood Council. Albeit, during their journey, they decided to take some rest and have some enjoyment in the city, not knowing they were going to meet another Vampire.

    Subconsciously, the two even hoped that it would be a Vampire that worked for Elisi who could lead them to her.

    The Manager led them to the private room, where the door was already open. The waitress was standing inside the room, talking to As.

    The Waitress heard the footstepsing from behind her. She turned around, only to find the Manager there. But he wasn''t alone. She could see two Vampires behind her.

    "Don''t tell me I didn''t warn you." The waitress lowered her head.

    As also heard the footsteps.

    ****

    "That''s interesting. I also felt the stench of those dirty wolves." Wangmented, smiling wryly. "A Vampire on a date with a werewolf?"

    "If it''s a werewolf, you think it could be the one that Elisi took and ran? Wouldn''t that mean that Lady Elisi is inside the room? You know she is strong enough to kill us. Should we inform this to the Lord?" Ri asked, slightly concerned after realizing that it might actually be Elisi.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Wang also stopped in his tracks. He pulled out a portrait and showed it to the Manager.

    "Is this person one of the guests?"

    The manager shook his head. "She isn''t here."

    "So it''s not Elisi." Wang sighed. "Then again, Elisi might not be the only Vampire who had a wolf."

    Wang barged inside the room. His eyes straight went on Lancaster. He understood that this guy was a wolf, but the other two beside him looked somewhat like humans.

    As was thest person that he looked at.

    "You''re the Vampire that stole our room?" Wang asked.

    "You''re the person that was going to feast on those kids?" As asked in return.

    "Is that even a question?" Wang smirked. "I was the one who booked this room. I was the one whomanded for these tasty treats to be prepared. So, of course, we would be feasting on them. Unfortunately, here you are, trying to steal our night."

    "So, who do you work for?" he further asked.

    "Tasty treats?" As repeated, frowning. "You know, at the moment, I also see some tasty treats. I wonder if I should feast on them or not."

    "Of course! Humans are made for us to feast! What else? If you want something, just take it! No need to hesitate and think about it!" Wangughed. "Unfortunately, you tried to take something that belonged to us. It was a big mistake. But still, I might be willing to forgive you if you answer a few questions."

    "Who do you work for?" Wang repeated the question.

    Unfortunately for him, As once again ignored the question. "So if I want something, I just take it. I should thank you for your advice then. Because I was actually starting to feel hungry. And now I see what I want to feast on!"

    ****

    Boom~

    A figure came flying out of the restaurant, breaking the walls with his body. The figure belonged to none other than Wang, who had a look of shock on his face. Chasing after him was As, who was not in a good mood this time. Seeing what was being done in the restaurant, he couldn''t help but see Carlisle''s reflection in Wang.

    "Wang!" Ri also tried to run after them to help, but Lilith blocked her path. "Going somewhere?"

    "Human! Move aside if you don''t want to die!" Ri revealed her sharp teeth. "Step aside!"

    Lilith only smiled in response. "And what if I don''t?"

    This time, Lancaster didn''t join the battle. He didn''t even feel the need to join the battle since he could just sit back and enjoy it. The enemies weren''t a threat to them. He was sure that Lilith and As could handle them.

    He picked up the menu as if nothing had happened. "I''m ready to order now."

    The waitress was frozen in ce. Just what had happened? She couldn''t understand.As was also a Vampire? Just who were these people? And even now, they were acting as if nothing happened and ordering food.

 Chapter 191 191: Failed

    "Don''t mind them. The battles will be over soon. In the meantime, get some food here." Lancaster told the waitress, who was slightly taken aback.

    "Yeah. I am starving." Luna also agreed. If there was someone here who knew what As and Lilith were capable of, then it was Luna. She knew the two even better than Lancaster did.

    Even in her dreams, she couldn''t imagine Castiel being defeated by some Vampires. As for Lilith, she was also in a different league than these people.

    She didn''t need to worry about them, let alone even think about helping them.

    Even though the waitress was shocked out of her core at the sudden change here, she could only agree. She knew that she had underestimated these four a bit too much. Even in this condition, the two who were still sitting were calm. That meant they weren''t weaker either.

    Maybe these people really were strong enough to handle the situation? She took their orders as Lilith also dragged Ri out of the restaurant, damaging another wall.

    The people who were in the restaurant were scared yet they didn''t dare to leave the ce.

    The waitress left after taking the order. She instructed the chefs to prepare everything that was ordered to the best of their abilities.

    *****

    As soon as the food was prepared, the waitress brought the food to the special room. If what she saw before was surprising, what she saw now was horrifying.

    Lilith was back in her seat, waiting for the food. The headless body of Ri was lying near her feet with a hole in Ri''s chest.

    That wasn''t the only body either. Another body was lying nearby, which belonged to Wang! Teeth marks were clearly visible around his neck. These marks were simr to what was left behind when a Vampire feasted on a human.

    But how was it possible! Did it mean that someone feasted on these people instead? How could someone feast on a Vampire? And who? She realized that there was one more man... It was the same man who had attacked Wang first. Could it be that it was him who...?

    Her eyes roamed around the hall, trying to locate As, but he wasn''t here. As was missing. He wasn''t alone either. The young children that were locked inside the storage room were missing as well.

    She ced the food on the table, still wondering where As was. Did something happen to him as well? Was he also dead?

    While the waitress was wondering about the whereabouts of As, As was sitting outside the restaurant, near the street.

    All the young children were thanking him for saving them, but for some reason, As didn''t feel good. He knew it was only a temporary measure. Just because he saved these kids, it didn''t mean they weren''t going to get in the same trouble again.

    As soon as he left, one day, there was going to be another Vampire in the city, and these children were going to be food again. He couldn''t always protect them.

    Moreover, it was just one city and one restaurant. Just how many cities like this were there? Just how many such restaurants were there that sold kids? Just how many castles there were that kept young children sealed in a cer?

    There were so many thoughts in his head that he didn''t even realize when the children left after thanking him. He was left all alone, trying to understand if there was even a solution to this problem.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Unless all the Vampires were killed in this world, he didn''t see a solution to this. But even if he killed all the Vampires, was that really the solution? He couldn''t kill a Progenitor. He couldn''t kill Ramiel. Even if he wiped every Vampire from existence, more and more Vampires were going to be created. It was just an endless cycle.

    And even if he somehow found a way to make sure there were no Vampires ever again, what then? Was that going to make sure that kids like him didn''t suffer? Was that going to make sure that kids like him weren''t sold in the markets as ves like he and his sister was?

    The Vampires were the end result, but at the crux of this situation, it was always the human greed, and there was no solution to the human greed.

    "It''s like the world is too far gone. No matter what we do, we can''t change anything..." He muttered nkly. "Is that how it''s going to be forever? Is that how it''s going to be even after I''m gone?"

    He couldn''t help but feel bad at the thought that there were more As in this world that was dying daily¡­ There were more Mises who were suffering. He and his sister were just a very small aspect of it... An aspect that was very insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

    "It''s like no matter what I do, I can''t change anything. Is this the world I''ll be leaving for Mise?"

    As sat in silence, looking down.

    "Feeling troubled?" As As was distracted, a voice fell in his ears.

    The voice was quite familiar, yet it was something he hadn''t heard in a long time.

    He raised his head, frowning. "Jason?"

    It was the voice of the young boy that he stayed with in the Severis Castle. He was the boy that had talked to him when they were imprisoned, and he was also the one that he helped escape.

    "Yeah." Jason smiled. He still looked like he used to look before, just he was a bit more healthy now.

    "So you live in this city?" As asked. "What about the Doctor and the others? They are also here?"

    "Yeah. He opened an Orphanage here. That''s where we all live now." Jason smiled, sitting beside As. "Are you alright? You seem troubled by something

    For some reason, As felt slightly strange. Just why was Jason acting so familiar with him? He shouldn''t know that he was As. For him, he should be a strange and also a Vampire. Why was he being like he was when they were in a cell.

    "That means those children that I helped..."

    "Yep, they were from our orphanage. They went missing a few days ago. We tried to find them, only to fail. We thought they were sold outside. We had almost given up until they returned just now. They said you helped them, and I came to check. Who knew it was going to be you again..."

    "Want toe to the Orphanage and meet the Doctor?"

 Chapter 192 192: A Different Life

    "Maybeter...." As still had some time to spend in the city while their carriage Driver was supposed to rest.

    "Sure. I can wait. The doc will be really happy to see you!" The young boy smiled.

    "Are you not scared of me?" As asked, feeling odd. This closeness of Jason was making him uneasy. He didn''t know what it was about Jason, but something wasn''t right about him.

    "You are our savior. Why will I be scared of you?" Jason asked. "If it weren''t for you, we would still be in the cell, rotting. You changed our life... You changed it for the better. You gave us the freedom."

    "What''s the benefit of it when the main cause is still the same. What''s the benefit when the kids are still being used by Vampires as food? I didn''t change anything. I just dyed the inevitable for a very small section of people."

    Even when Jason talked about the good that As had done, As still felt that it was nothing. Seeing a bigger picture, he realised that he was too small even with the strength of a Progenitor. He was like an ant who thought he could move an entire mountain just because he managed to shake one speck of dirt.

    "Maybe you''re right. Maybe you dyed the inevitable, but so what?" Jason asked. "So what if you only helped a small section of people for a little? What of it? Does it change the fact that you gave everyone an opportunity to be free? No matter for how short, at least everyone is able to experience the freedom that they craved!"

    "One person can''t change the world. You are right about that, but so what? Who told you to change the world? Is it that if you help every single person in the world, only then your work matters? No. Every single life matters. Even if you saved just one person, that''s nothing to feel bad about. That''s nothing to regret."

    "Of course, it''ll be good if you helped more people, but helping fewer people doesn''t change anything. From what I can see, you''re doing your best already. You could''ve ignored the kids today, but you didn''t. That''s what matters."

    "You aren''t supposed to be a hero of the universe. You are also supposed to be only one person who can only do so many things. So if you''re feeling bad about not being able to help everyone, I don''t think you should feel bad."

    "If you want to see just how exactly you changed the World,e to the orphanage and see with your own eyes."

    Jason stood up. "I hope we''ll see you there."

    After exining how As'' actions mattered, he left.

    As stood up as well. Taking a deep breath, he turned around and walked inside a restaurant to see the customers were still hiding under the table. "You all can eat and leave. There''s no danger to you."

    As told the men, not realizing that there was a trail of blood on his lips which made these people even more scared.

    As entered the private room where everyone had already started eating by now.

    "Done with your walk?" Lilith asked As.

    As nodded as he sat.

    "There''s some blood on your lips." Lilith pointed out, handing over a handkerchief to As.

    As wiped the blood from his lips.

    Soon, everyone finished eating. As ced a gold coin on the table for the food before leaving.

    The waitress saw him leave the money. By how she had realized that these people were just too unorthodox. Even after they didn''t need to spend money, they still left it.

    For some reason, she also found herself attracted to As physically, especially because of how he maintained himself. However, even she knew that she couldn''t do anything about it.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Someone who was as strong and influential as As was never going to look at her, even with mild interest. Moreover, she was also scared of him since he was a Vampire in the end.

    "Shall we go to a hotel to spend a night?" Lancaster asked, but As shook his head.

    "We have another destination. It''s a different ce that I want to see," As answered as he led them down different paths.

    Jason had already told him what path to take if he wanted to get to the Orphanage, and that''s what As took.

    The Orphanage was only at twenty minutes of walking distance from the restaurant.

    As stood before an old building which wasn''t in a great condition. Then again, he knew that the doctor didn''t have much money when he left. For him to buy even a building like this was a lot.

    "An Orphanage?" Lilith asked, reading the name on the board. Just what were these people doing at an orphanage? Shouldn''t it be thest ce that they should visit?

    "Why are we here?" She asked.

    "I''m here to meet an old friend if we can call him that." As pushed the door open and stepped inside.

    The ce surprisingly looked much better from the inside than it did feel outside.

    What was even more surprising was that Jason was already waiting for them inside the ce, as if he knew they were going toe.

    "You''re finally here." Jason smiled. "It seems you even brought your friends."

    "This guy? Isn''t he one from-"

    "Severis Castle. You''re right. This ce was made for the youngsters we helped escape, and it''s being run by the doctor." As exined the entire situation. "Since we were already here, I thought we should see this ce."

    "Pleasee. I''ll lead you to the doc."

    Jason led everyone inside, leading them straight to themon hall. The entire ce was filled with light.

    As was slightly surprised, seeing some children ying hide in seek. He recognized a few amongst them. They were also in the Severis Castle while the others were new faces. The children were smiling andughing. They were enjoying their life! Even the ones he never once saw smile in the Severis Castle were having fun and enjoying themselves.

    The others were on the ground, seemingly having a drawingpetition.

    "Look there." Jason pointed to the wall, where a badly drawn portrait was hanging.

    The portrait was so bad that it seemed like a joke at an initial nce, but it also appeared to be drawn by a child. In the portrait, there was a stick figure standing in the lead with a Sword. Many smaller stick figures were in the back.

    "That leader is supposed to be you. It''s supposed to depict how you saved everyone here and led us to our freedom. Ignore the quality of the portrait since children here aren''t particrly good at drawing. We are trying to learn."

    "This ce seems nice." As nodded, finding this ce great. It was much better than they had. For a moment, he even imagined what it would be like if he were here as a human with Mise.

 Chapter 193 193: Idol

    The ce was filled with life. Even though this was an orphanage, people seemed happier here, as they should''ve been after all they went through.

    With time, the kids were starting to regain the smiles on their faces. The youngsters that As had saved in the Severis Castle recognized him. As soon as they saw As, their eyes lit up.

    They stood up. One after another, every child started thanking him for saving them. The children who didn''t know who As was also found out more about him. They had often heard about the conditions in which the others lived in the Severis Castle. They had heard a lot about their savior, who helped them achieve freedom.

    "See?" Jasonmented as if talking to As. "That''s the change you brought for everyone here. You might think that it was not enough, but for us, it was more than we could''ve asked for. It was because of you that we are here today."

    As didn''t react right away. He was still trying to absorb everything. Was this really the change that he brought?

    The children here looked at him like he was some great figure. There were many people who looked at him like that, even outside, whenever it was revealed that he was a Vampire, but their gazes were partially because of their fear of him. On the other hand, the children here didn''t fear him. Why would they even fear him? He was their savior.

    Even the kids that he just saved recently were there, with gratefulness in their eyes.

    As As was standing in amazement, a young girl came forward, carrying a small booklet in her hand.

    The girl seemed to be barely eleven or twelve years old. She stopped a few feet away from As.

    "Sir, I was told that one can take signs of special people." The girl raised her hand, extending the booklet toward him. " You are a special person to me. It''s because of you that I''m free today. Can you sigh this drawing I made of you?"

    As nced down at the drawing in the booklet, which wasn''t bad honestly. In fact, the drawing was only better than what was hanging on the wall, even though it wasn''t great either.

    Seeing the drawing, As couldn''t stop himself from smiling.

    He patted the young girl''s head. "I''m not a special person. You all are the special ones. I didn''t help you; you helped me... Thank you."

    He felt a lot better after seeing them. It made him realize that his actions weren''t futile in the end. Even if he didn''t change the entire world and couldn''t change it, he still changed at least some lives for the better.

    He signed on the drawing happily.

    The young girl thanked him before walking back.

    Seeing this orphanage wasn''t just a revtion for As. It was also something for Lancaster. Lancaster knew that As wasn''t like other Vampires. He knew that As was different. This just proved it even further. He was really d that if he ever had to side with a Vampire, it was As.

    As nced at Lilith, who was also seemingly lost.

    "Lilith, make the strongest Vampire Warding Formation around the orphanage. No Vampire should ever be able to harm these kids. Make some protection spells as well."

    This ce was like a sanctuary for As. He didn''t want to have it be destroyed in the future. He didn''t want the children to be forced back to the life that he escaped, so he had decided he was going to do what he could.<novelnext></novelnext>

    If there were people that were after the kids of the orphanage, he was going to do what he could to keep the ce safe. Since he couldn''t stay here all his life, the next best step was to use the Protection Spell.

    "I''ll do it when we leave. I''ll make this ce secure." Lilith agreed.

    "Come, let''s take you to the doctor." Jason once again started walking.

    As followed Jason, observing all the decorations that were on the wall.

    The small group of four was brought to another room which seemed more like an office.

    "I didn''t tell him about you yet. I wanted him to be surprised," Jason informed As before knocking on the door.

    As he knocked on the door, a voice came from inside. "It''s open. Come in."

    Jason gestured to As to take the lead.

    As pushed the door open and entered the room. There was only one table and a few chairs inside the room. The table was filled with papers that the doctor was going through. He seemed really busy in it.

    "Yeah, what is it?" He raised his head, finally taking a nce to see who had arrived.

    As soon as he raised his head, his eyes widened. As was standing before him!

    "It''s you!" He stood up, shocked.

    "You have made a nice ce here. Not bad," As stepped forward, taking a chair. "You don''t need to stand though. I''m a guest here; you''re the owner of this beautiful ce."

    "You know, you don''t have to be sarcastic by calling this ce beautiful. I know it''s shabby, but this was the best I could afford. As you might know, I am not wealthy," the doctor answered.

    "I spent most of my money trying to get those kids home, but even after that, there were many kids left that didn''t have a home anymore. So with whatever money I had left, I made this ce for them to stay."

    "I''m not being sarcastic." As shook his head. "I really like this ce. It''s a good ce to stay... So peaceful. Anyway, it''s good to see that you''re all doing good now."

    "We are surviving, yeah. Things could''ve been much worse," the doctor smiled wryly. "So, how did you find out that we were here? I don''t think you should''ve known. Also, who are the people with you?"

    The doctor was slightly pleased that As wasn''t mocking his efforts and instead appreciating them, but still, he was curious how As reached here.

 Chapter 194 194: Eager

    Jason finally took the lead. "He helped the ones that were kidnapped and helped them return."

    "Hmm? They are back?" The doctor seemed ted to hear the news. "Thank God! Where were they?"

    Jason hadn''t told the doctor about their return until now, just to surprise him. And that appeared to work. The man was double surprised. Firstly, the children that were missing were back, and so was As!

    "I was passing through the city when I stopped to eat something..."

    As informed the man about everything that took ce tonight, from him finding the kids to him meeting Jason and finding out about this ce.

    "You... Thank you. You once again helped us." The doctor was really grateful to As. "If only all Vampires were like you..."

    "By the way, are they your friends?"

    He still didn''t know who the people behind him were. However, he was sure that if they were apanying As, then they must be special in their own regards, maybe even as strong as him.

    "That''s right. They are my friends. Anyway, it was good to see this ce. I''m d I selected you to lead the children. We will be leaving now. We still need to find a hotel to stay in."

    As stood up, preparing to leave.He had seen the ce, and he was quite happy with what he saw. However, he still had more things to do.

    "By the way, we will be casting some spells around the orphanage, which should give this ce some protection. There will be a Vampire Warding Spell as well, which will stop any Vampire from entering the ce until specially invited inside. So be careful who you invite."

    "Why don''t you escort us out?" Lilith asked the doctor. "I will tell you what each spell that we''ll cast does. With that, you should know better what to do and what not to do."

    The doctor agreed. Even though he had important papers to go through, As was more important at the moment. He left the papers on the table and started following after them.

    The youngsters in the orphanage watched As leave.

    The girl who had taken As''s sign stood up. "Are you leaving?"

    "If I don''t leave, how will Ie back?" As asked in return.

    "So you''lle again?" the girl asked.

    As nodded. "I will."

    "Promise?" The girl asked again.

    "Little girl, you are really good at drawing. Keep it up. One day, you''ll be a great artist." As changed the topic since even he knew that the chances of himing back were almost non-existent. He just said he will, without meaning it.

    He himself didn''t know if he was going to live an entire month or not, let alone promise to return here. His own future was uncertain for him to promise anything at all.<novelnext></novelnext>

    He left the Orphanage and waited outside. In the meantime, Lilith started casting a spell and establishing a boundary around the entire orphanage.

    As could''ve helped her, but for him, it was more important to reserve his energy if he could, especially since spells consumed much more of it, as they were directly linked to a soul. He left the job of spells on Lilith, only reserving them when he had to fight or when it was absolutely urgent.

    Lilith was also more experienced when it came to spells, which made her faster as well. Even though Lilith was casting the spells alone, she was still so fast that within ten minutes, she cast five protection spells around the orphanage. She also gave him a paper where a spell was carved, telling him to tear the paper when he was in danger.

    She also informed him about how the spells were going to protect him and what precautions he needed to take for it.

    After they finished, As bid his farewell to the man and Jason. He was still having a strange feeling about Jason for some reason, but he decided to ignore it for now. Maybe he was just a strange person. Even when they were imprisoned, he was still strange, so it did make sense he would still act strange now. Maybe that was just his personality.

    "Wait."

    It was only when As started leaving that the Doctor asked him to stop.

    "Yeah?" As turned around.

    "If you are looking for a hotel, that means you''re going to stay the night in the city. In that case, why don''t you stay right here?" The doctor asked.

    "Do you have extra rooms?" As asked. The ce didn''t look that big, and the number of kids inside wasn''t low. It was going to be surprising if they still had some extra rooms that were free.

    "We can adjust for one night. I can get four rooms free."

    "You mean by making other kids adjust and leave their rooms. It''s fine, don''t worry about us. You don''t have to do it," As shook his head, rejecting the offer. He didn''t want to disturb others just to have a room to stay in.

    Moreover, it wasn''t as if there were no hotels in the city. For him, it was better if he didn''t stay here.

    After rejecting the offers, he and the others left, disappearing in the darkness of the night.

    The doctor was left behind, standing at the orphanage entrance. After a momentary sigh, he entered the orphanage again. Jason also walked in, after taking onest nce outside. The doors closed.

    ****

    As went to the nearest hotel and not four rooms once again.

    "Can''t we get three rooms? I can share with you?" Luna suggested, seeing As book four rooms.

    "If you''re so eager to share, I''ll share my room with you." Lilith rolled her eyes.

    "Cough, I''m fine with four rooms. It was just a suggestion." Luna hastily backtracked. It was better for her to stay alone than to share a room with Lilith. For some reason, she was scared of Lilith since she could be really sharp with her words. Moreover, Luna knew that Lilith didn''t like her. Sharing a room with her wasn''t a great idea from any angle.

 Chapter 195 195: Dream?

    In the end, it was decided that all of them were going to take a different room of their own as money was no problem. The only problem that could be was that they had just killed two Vampires, and quite a few people knew about them, but even that wasn''t a major problem since there were only two Vampires in the city.

    Before killing Wang, As had forced him to give some answers. By the end, Wang was so horrified that he bbered like a parrot, telling As everything about exactly how many of them there were. In the end, he even told As why they came to this city and what their goals were.

    It was through Wang that As came to know about the crack in the Blood Council. He just found out that even in the Blood Council, not everyone was on good terms and that one of the Blood Council Members had betrayed the rest.

    That was why so many vampires had gone to different cities, looking for the woman.

    Through Wang, As also came to know that only the two of them hade to this city and that no one else was going toe here. In that case, it didn''t matter even if he killed the two of them since no one was going to know about it, at least not in the near term. That allowed them to rest for the night.

    As stood on the balcony in his hotel room, still unable to sleep. He was lost in some thought.

    "Luna is like a human. She needs rest like the rest of us. She can also rest inside the carriage, but the problem is the Driver. We can''t have two drivers since that''s not enough space, and we can''t keep one of them in the cabin with us. But if we have only one, we would have to stop so he could rest more often than not."

    "We would need to find a solution to that problem to save some time."

    After spending around an hour with his own thoughts, As walked back inside the room, finally going to sleep.

    *****

    The darkness started retreating as a new day arrived, and the sun started rising on the distant horizon.

    The city that slept peacefully started walking up.

    As also woke up, slowly opening his eyes; however, as soon as his eyes opened, he was taken aback.

    He wondered if he was still dreaming. If it was a dream, it was surely a realistic dream.He could see Luna''s face right before his eyes. Luna appeared to be sleeping peacefully on his bed. However, if it was a dream, then why was it so realistic?He reached out his hand, touching Luna''s cheeks.

    The touch also felt real for some reason.

    When one wanted to check if they were dreaming, they pinched their own skin, but As was different. He pinched Luna''s cheeks for some reason, still half asleep.

    "Ouchhh." Luna cried in pain as she opened her eyes. "That hurts."

    "You''re real?" As was wide awake now. He was sure that Luna was real! But what was she doing here?

    "No, I''m a ghost here to eat you up," Luna said sarcastically. "Of course I am real!"<novelnext></novelnext>

    "What are you doing on my bed?" As sat up. Not only was Luna on his bed, but he could also feel her legs were resting on top of his legs.

    "I am sleeping here; what else?"

    "Didn''t you have a room of your own? You know full well what I''m asking." As frowned.

    Luna stretched her arms, letting out a yawn which made even As feel like yawning.

    "I had a room of my own, but I felt scared at night. I came to your room since I didn''t want to be alone at night." Luna exined. "You really had to wake me up, didn''t you? I wanted to sleep longer."

    "What were you feeling scared of? You''re literally from one of the strongest Empires that threaten even this world. And you were scared?" As had a feeling that Luna was using this as an excuse. He knew that she probably had feelings for Castiel, and that''s why she came to this room, but As didn''t want to misuse those feelings.

    Lilith knew that he was As, so her interactions were really interactions with him, but Luna? She believed he was Castiel and not As. All her actions were for Castiel, who she believed had lost his memories. He had a feeling that if he wanted to sleep with Luna, she wasn''t going to say no, but he didn''t even think about it.

    He got off the bed. "Anyway, you can sleep for a bit longer if you want. I don''t mind."

    As stood up and dressed up appropriately before leaving. "I am going for a walk. Meet me outside after thirty minutes. I''ll inform Lancaster and Lilith on the way as well."

    He opened the door to leave, only to find Lilith there, who was about to knock on the door.

    "Luna is missi-"

    Lilith came here to inform As that Luna was not in her room, but as soon as she saw past As, she saw Luna lying on As'' bed.

    "It seems I disturbed you two. I apologize."

    Lilith didn''t know why, but she felt somewhat upset seeing Luna with As. There was a really ufortable feeling in her heart. She turned around and started leaving without speaking a single word more.

    "Wait!" As closed the door and rushed after Lilith. "I think you have a wrong idea of what happened!"

    He caught up to Lilith, holding her by hand. "I had no idea she was going to be in my room. When I woke up..."

    He exined the entire situation. "I didn''t even touch her. In fact, when I was leaving the room, you came!"

    He didn''t want Lilith to think that he was a pervert who went around sleeping with a woman who thought him to be someone else. It was unclear if that was his only motivation behind telling Lilith the truth¡­

 Chapter 196 196: Loss

    Lilith red at As. Through his reaction, she had a feeling that he was telling the truth.

    "That girl! She always does this! She is so annoying!" Lilith rolled her eyes. "And excuse about being scared? My room was closer to her room than yours. She just wanted to enter your room and sleep there. She just... Argh!"

    Lilith felt quite irritated, but this time, the target of her irritation was Luna.

    "You! Stay away from that girl! She is trouble!"

    As scratched the back of his head; he could only smile wryly and nod. "Yes Boss. I got it."

    By now, Luna was also out of her room. She stood with the support of the wall behind her, gazing at Lilith in amusement.

    "That''s quite interesting. When in the past I tried something, she did try to create trouble for me, but that seemed more like she just wanted to keep me away from Castiel. But now... Why did I feel as if there was some sense of jealousy?"

    Luna could sense some things that As couldn''t. Her intuition was mostly spot on. She never received this feeling from Lilith, even though the group of three had spent time together for a long time in the past.

    In the past, she believed that Lilith loved and respected Castiel like a family member, but at the moment, that jealousy was something that shouldn''t have been there for a family member.

    "Did she also start liking Castiel now?" Luna tilted her head sideways. "So now I have to worry about her stealing Castiel from me as well?"

    Hearing themotion outside, Lancaster also stepped out of his room. He was already dressed as well and ready to leave. In fact, he was one of the first here to wake up.

    She watched Lilith and As quarrel in the distance, smiling. "These lovebirds start everywhere."

    "Lovebirds?" Luna asked Lancaster, stepping closer.

    "Yeah. You don''t know about that?" Lancaster asked, slightly surprised. "Even though the two don''t express it, from their actions to their quarrels to their caring for each other... It all gives me a feeling that the two of them have started to fall for each other, but none wants to acknowledge it. I don''t tell them either. I just let nature take its course."

    "Don''t you feel the same?" he asked Luna. "Anyway, I also get the same feeling from you. You like him as well, don''t you?"

    Luna didn''t answer. She just remained silent.

    "It''s alright. You don''t have to answer. I can already see it in your eyes. You know, I worked at a restaurant for a really long time. I''ve seen those eyes so many times, where one loved the other person, and the other had no idea... Your eyes remind me of them."

    "Then again, it''s your life, and I won''t interfere. As I said, I''ll just let Nature take its course. So best of luck to both of you, but it''s not going to be easy for you." He patted Luna''s shoulders.<novelnext></novelnext>

    He closed the door of his room and walked to the two people he addressed as lovebirds since their discussion seemed to be over by now.

    "Any interesting topic of conversation?" he asked, joining the small group.

    "You''re up. Not bad. That''s great. We should leave if everyone is ready now." Through the corner of his eyes, he saw Luna was dressed as well. It appeared as if everyone was ready.

    "You can eat something outside. We''ll also get some food stock for the route since we won''t be stopping for this long anymore. Come."

    The group of four went down and returned the keys at the reception. Ironically, they all went to the same restaurant once again, where they had a fightst night, since that ce was the closest to them.

    The Manager was horrified to see the guests again. Despite that, he was very cordial with them. He didn''t want to be underpulsion again.

    As was still upset at the man for allowing such things to happen, but he also knew that the man probably had no choice either. The ones who could resist a Vampire or stand against them were far too little.

    That''s also why As just left the man with a warning and didn''t do anything to him. He took the guests to the best table they had.

    The wall of the private room was destroyed, which couldn''t be fixed in one night, so only a curtain was ced like a wall to have some privacy.

    After a happening night and a short sleep, the driver was also back in the Carriage, which was still outside the hotel.

    He looked at the hotel, which had an intact wall untilst night. The wall was missing now. He wondered why the restaurant demolished their wall. Were their renovations going on?

    He had spent whatever money he was givenst night, all on getting vip services at a brothel. Now he was once again poor, but he didn''t mind. He was still driving the carriage for such wealthy people. He didn''t feel like he was going to becking money anytime soon.

    He just waited near the carriage for As to return with the others.

    ****

    Lilith, Luna, and Lancaster had breakfast while As just sat near them, watching them eat. Even since he woke up in this body, he had lost the ability to taste human food. The only taste he could sense was the taste of blood bow.

    He watched the dishes that looked delicious there on the table, but they were all worthless to him. For him, there was no difference between eating coal and these delightful dishes.

    When he was little, he lived in a distant vige, and even by that standard, his family was one of the poorest in the vige. His father spent his time drunk while they ate whatever they were given. Even in the Severis Castle, they didn''t eat anything delicious. By the time he finally had the ability and wealth to be able to afford the food, the food had lost its value to him.

 Chapter 197 197: Rage

    As waited as the others ate for them to finish while wondering how the food would''ve tasted if he was a human at this moment.

    After Lancaster and the others finished eating, the entire group left the restaurant together. Once again, As didn''t forget to leave some money behind. Before leaving, he reminded the hotel staff to be more careful next time.

    Leaving the restaurant, he found the waiter waiting for them at the entrance of the restaurant already.

    Seeing Ase out, the Carriage Driver went back to the carriage after greeting everyone.

    "That''s not what we''ll be using," As called out, stopping the carriage driver, and seeing him move toward their carriage.

    His words made the Carriage Driver stop and look back in confusion, wondering what he was talking about.

    As pointed in the distance. "That''s our Carriage now."

    The carriage driver looked in the direction that As was pointing at, noticing the Blood Council Carriage, which he had already seen before. The carriage was not only more luxurious but also bigger. Moreover, the carriage also had another cabin.

    As As had arrived here in the morning before, it was then when he came up with an idea. He observed the Carriage carefully, finding it to be just perfect. Since the carriage was bigger, it had two separate cabins. One cabin was for the guests, which was the bigger of the two cabins, seemingly for the main guests.

    The other Cabin was only big enough for one person, but it was also of good quality. With that in mind, As decided to switch Carriages since that gave him a path to solve his problem of their being significant dys.

    Since there was a separate cabin and a driver with the carriage, they could now travel with two carriage drivers. As one rested in their own cabin, the other could take care of their movement. Through that way, they didn''t need to wait any longer.

    He didn''t even need to convince his Carriage Driver much. The only one hard to deal with was the Blood Council driver, but after a slight ''convincing,'' As managed to get him to agree as well.

    "Did you buy that?" The man asked As, amazed. The new carriage looked much more expensive. He wondered if he had really underestimated As'' wealth in this situation.

    As didn''t answer and just told the man to get to his ce. He and the others entered the Blood Council carriage, telling the two drivers how they will have to schedule themselves to make sure that the carriage didn''t stop for more than it absolutely needed to.

    The staff from the restaurant also arrived, carrying bags filled with fruits and other edible items as per Asmands.

    Everything was ready, and they were prepared to move.

    "This carriage is certainly better. The Blood Council does know how to travel," Lancastermented, sitting in the spacious carriage, which really looked like a big difference from what they had before.

    "This isn''t half bad." Lilith also agreed. "But now quite up to the markpared to what the Blood Lords travel in."

    The Blood Council Carriage left the city, abandoning the other carriage behind for anyone to take.

    Just as As had nned, the carriage wasn''t supposed to stop at all in the journey unless it was to restock food.

    *****

    Ramiun had a battle with someone who was not at all weaker than him. In fact, he had a hard time taking thedy who was only older than him when it came to Blood Council members.

    The difference in age wasn''t much, but it gave her some advantagepared to Ramiun, but not much. It was as if Ramiun had already expected a fierce battle in this ce with her.

    That''s why he had also prepared something more than just himself. For a Vampire Lord, fighting honorably was still important, even if not too important. Ramiun didn''t take that seriously though.

    He had already prepared to trap her. While he kept her busy, his men managed to take out her men as their sheer number was much more. As soon as they finished her men, they came to help Ramiun.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Ramiun was at a slight disadvantage, but now? It appeared as if his disadvantage had changed to an advantage as he used his sneaky tricks, not only using his men to distract her, but he also used the Spell Talismans, which had to be specifically prepared by Witches that allowed the spell carved on them to be activated without anyone having to be a witch. As pocket.

    With the added distraction, the man finally emerged victorious after a long battle that stillsted for eighteen straight hours. Even with such an advantage, it hadn''t been easy for him, but ultimately, he did manage to tear off his enemy''s head from their shoulders.

    It took him almost an entire day to take her down, where even he had started feeling worried at a certain point.

    He stood in the middle of the battlefield, covered in Blood. His eyes gazed at the headless body on the ground.

    "I told you I''m going to kill you. The path to my destination leads through your death. Not only will I get the key I need, but the Blood Council will also treat me like a hero for killing a traitor and bringing your dead body back to them.

    He gestured for his men to take the bodies back to their carriage. "We would be taking them back. Don''t forget the head."

    After instructing his people, the man left the ce, going for his actual destination! The castle!

    ****

    Three Hourster~

    A loud raged roar could be hearding from the Werewolves Castle. The roar belonged to none other than Ramiun, who was so angered that he couldn''t control himself. It was only after he entered the ce and searched it thoroughly that he realized what was wrong!

    An wasn''t there in the castle! He did this entire thing to get to An so he could negotiate the key Fragment, but that wasn''t even possible since An wasn''t here!

    But that also raised a question! His news should''ve been urate that An was kept at the castle! So why wasn''t he here? Was the verified news a lie? No! He couldn''t believe it! He hadn''t given up so much simply to fail!

    The cell where An was supposed to be kept was empty! But if An wasn''t here, where could he be? He didn''t believe that the Werewolves would let An leave the ce! They can never free him! So where could he disappear?

    Unable to believe it, Ramiun started destroying the entire castle in his anger, taking onest attempt to find An.

    Even as he destroyed the entire castle, he couldn''t find An.

    He just stared at the rubble of the castle nkly. It was as if all his hopes...all his dreams, came crashing down. He had nned so far ahead that this one miscalction tossed his life off track.

    So he had basically killed a Blood Council Lord over nothing! He weakened and betrayed the Blood Council over nothing? And what was worse, he freed Vor for nothing?! If he could get the Key Fragment, he had a chance of bing a Progenitor and attaining absolute immortality.

    With that, he could''ve faced Vor, so he didn''t worry but now...? Without that absolute Immortality, he had basically ced his life in danger for what?

    "All for this rubble!" He roared, ring at the rubble before him. "Arghh! Yovanna!"

    He was now walking onndmines in a way. He had made this world more dangerous for him by having Vor released, but he couldn''t me anyone but himself. All because of his greed!

    "What can I do now? Vor is outside! He is free! Now that he Destroyed the werewolves, his next Target would be the Blood Council or the witches. That means his next Target would certainly be us! That bastard is so freaking strong that he will kill me! I can''t go back to the Blood Council, or he''ll kill me! I need to find An at all costs!"

    "Witches!" He needed to find An, and he decided that the best way to achieve that was by taking the help of the Witches. If someone could find An or know where he was kept, it was going to be the witches! Moreover, even their own lives were in danger, so he was sure he wouldn''t need to negotiate much with them to get their help!

    He also had a fleeting feeling that if An wasn''t here, then he was going to be with the Witches since the Werewolves had a great rtionship with one of the Witch ns! In fact, they took the help of the said Witch n to capture An in the first ce. If An could be anywhere, it was going to be with him. And if he weren''t there either, even then, they would''ve been able to help him locate that guy!

 Chapter 198 198: Same Place

    The Kingdom of Wolves was destroyed for nothing. Only the ruins of the Royal Capital were left behind when Ramiun left the ce.

    He traveled south, toward the Franc n, before attempting to go to the Blood Council.

    After a two day long journey, he even reached the Franc n, but stepping out of his carriage, he only saw what appeared like a ce that was a Battlefield recently. There were marks of a battle taking ce everywhere. Even the Castle wasn''tpletely intact. Quite a lot of it was destroyed.

    Still, at least the infrastructure was still standing. Ramiun entered the castle; however, he had a feeling that he wasn''t going to find anyone.

    Along the way, he had seen no security. All he saw was blood, which made him feel that Vor had been here. That also exined why there were so many dead here.

    Inside the castle, there was not a single person that he found. At least none that was alive. He was already quite disappointed. It appeared as if he had been quitete. However, he did find something intriguing.

    He reached the cell where An was kept once upon a time. The formation which was keeping An imprisoned was still there, albeit a bit damaged.

    There was no way for him to bepletely sure that An was kept here, but that''s what he felt like.

    He walked closer to the formation on the ground and observed it carefully. He didn''t know much about imprisoning formations, but he could recognize some symbols as they had been the same that was used on Vor to bring him downst time.

    "If An was actually here, that means Vor took him. And if Vor has An, I have no choice but to go against him if I want the key Fragment."

    He knew where Vor would be going next! It could only be the Blood Council. He had already finished the Kingdom of Wolves and the Franc n that supported the Wolves in their battle against him. That only left the Blood Council, which kept them hostage.

    "He should go to the Blood Council. He will kill the ones directly involved first before moving further to kill the Witches and Vampires that weren''t directly involved."

    "It seems I have no choice but to take the risk!" He clenched his fist. "But still, it''s surprising how fast he''s moving. I need to get back to the Blood Council fast as well. I need to inform them so they can y the part of my pawns to keep Vor busy!"

    He rushed out of the Castle, leaving the abandoned ce.

    "We are going back to the Blood Council!" He called out, telling the carriage driver to take him as fast as possible.

    ****

    Ramiun was going back to the Blood Council, thinking that Vor was going to be there; however, he was wrong about one thing. Vor wasn''t moving as fast as he expected. Instead, Vor was moving quite slowly on the contrary.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Vor had woken up after a really long time. It was taking him time to be ustomed to his surroundings once again. After killing Razil, he didn''t go to the Franc n to kill them. Instead, he went to the forest where he had spent most of his life... At least the one where he was awake.

    He went to the forest where he used to live with his pack after being banished. This was also where he trained and grew up. It''s where he met Castiel, learning the meaning of being a true warrior. It''s where he became the person he was! It was also the ce where he lost everything!

    It was where he watched his friends and family dying, being attacked by the Kingdom of Wolves, who were supported by the Witches. It was as if it was just yesterday when it all happened.

    He stood before one of the trees in the forest, gazing at the ground right before it. It was where his wife and he were sitting and talking when the forest was attacked. He still remembered the attacks that came from all directions. Therge scale spells and thousands of Wolves rushing inside, attacking them. It all happened so fast.

    He fought back against many, even killing them while telling his wife to escape. Unfortunately, in the end, even he couldn''t stay standing at the end of the day...

    He sat near the tree, with its support, closing his eyes. A single tear trickled down the corner of his eyes as he remembered how much he had lost.

    "I''ll make everyone pay..."

    He stayed in the forest for quite some time. In fact, he even fell asleep there. Since he had woken up from his long sleep, he realized that he had been feeling quite sleepy recently, but he didn''t care.

    He wasn''t in any hurry. He wanted to embrace his revenge and take his time. He had just killed one of the main culprits. There were two more Culprits left now. The Vampires and the Witches! He wanted to cleanse the world.

    He remained in the forest for an entire day. He had decided that after he finished his revenge, he was going to return to the first and finally embrace his own death, fulfilling his vow of making all supernaturals disappear from this world.

    He didn''t have anyone or anything to live for other than his revenge.

    The sun started rising. With the first ray of sunlight falling on his skin, Vor opened his eyes. He finally bid farewell to this forest, promising to return again as he left.

    As for his destination... That appeared to be the Blood Council. To be specific, he was going to the Mansion of the closest Blood Council member from the forest... The Mansion of Ramiun!

    ****

    Ramiun sent his men to inform all the Blood Council Members to meet him at his castle instead of at the Blood Council main castle, especially since he was worried that Vor might go to the Blood Council Castle straight. He didn''t want to be attacked by Vor in the middle of his meeting, so he called them all to his Mansion.

 Chapter 199 199: Not Like I Dont Want To Live

    From the Franc n, the closet was the Mansion of the Blood Lord that Ramiun had killed. He believed that either Vor would go to that Blood Lord''s mansion, which was empty, or the Blood Council Mansion.

    Under the illusion of his misunderstanding that Vor came to the Franc n, he didn''t even consider any other possibility. Vor hadn''t arrived at the Franc n. And the ce where he went next, the closest Blood Lord Domain to that forest, belonged to none other than Ramiun himself!

    Ramiun called for the Blood Lord meeting at his own Castle since it was the farthest from the Franc npared to the Domains of the other Blood Lords or even the main mansion. He didn''t realize that he had called the meeting in the exact ce where Vor was going, albeit very slowly.

    Vor wasn''t the only one who was going to Ramiun''s mansion either. There was another group that was going there... The group of As who needed thest Fragment from Ramiun!

    As didn''t want anything to do with the Blood Council. His business only concerned Ramiun, and that''s what he wanted to deal with.

    Facing Ramiun alone was also much easier than facing the entire Council. It was also much faster.

    "We should be there in a few days. Not bad, considering we''ll still have two weeks before my month is done," As was quite optimistic at the moment. Everything was moving smoothly.

    The only concern was Luna''s Empire, but if even they couldn''t locate him, then he believed he had time to finish his unfinished business. There was no way her brother was going to be in Ramiun''s Castle.

    And from that point, it was only easier. They just needed to pick up Mise''s body and take her to the ce where he was going to bring her back to life...

    He had finished the hardest part of his entire journey. He never felt as calm as he did now. There was no progenitor to fight for the next fragment.

    All he had was Ramiun, who wasn''t much of a threat before him and Lilith. After fighting a Progenitor and the Franc n head, As had gained quite a lot of experience, which made him quite strong. He was able to draw out more of Castiel''s strength. He believed he could even stand his own ground before a Progenitor now, at least for some time.

    "Two weeks only..." Lilith muttered. "After that you...."

    "After that, I what? After that, I disappear?" As smiled in response. "One day, everyone disappears. It''s not that surprising.I''m on borrowed time, after all. I''m not even supposed to exist, so I don''t think I''ll disappear. I''ll just go where I belong."

    "And where is it that you belong?" Lilith asked.

    "Possibly afterlife? If there exists one. Oh wait, I forgot. There''s no afterlife for me..." As pped his forehead, unable to believe he forgot something so important.

    From what he was told, his soul was going to be destroyed once his time was up. If the afterlife even existed, he had no way to get there. He was going to disappear forever, merging with nothingness.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "What are you two talking about?" Luna stated to the two in confusion, not understanding what was being talked about. "Where are you going to disappear? And why?"

    "Oh, I meant this iteration of me," As responded, sticking with the story. "After two months, my memories will return, resetting to what they were before I came into existence. So in other terms, after two weeks, I will disappear forever."

    Luna tilted her head sideways. "I honestly don''t understand what you''re talking about honestly. You''re saying you''ll disappear when you make an appearance?"

    "Think of it as another personality," Lancaster chimed in to help her understand what he thought of it as. "When his memories disappeared, he became apletely new person. It was apletely new personality, like a new person. In other words, he became a different person, despite being the same on the outside."

    "But if the old personality returns, this personality will be erased," he added. "That reminds me..."

    He focused back on As. "Can''t we find a way to make sure you also exist? Like a way that your current memories stay and merge with your old memories? That should ensure you exist!"

    So far, Lancaster was informed that there was no way to stop this from happening, but he wondered if this way, some semnce of As could be saved. He didn''t want to lose As, and if there was a way, it was worth an attempt.

    "I don''t think that would be possible either. But maybe..." Since As didn''t want to disappoint others, he did give them some hope that it might be possible. In any case, it wasn''t as if Castiel wasn''t going to have his memories.

    Castiel knew everything that he did. Castiel saw everything. So he definitely wasn''t going to consider Lancaster a stranger. It was the same for Mise.

    So far, from what he understood about Castiel, he was apassionate person. He was helping him in any way he could. As didn''t believe that Castiel was going to treat Lancaster or Mise badly. If anything, he was going to treat them like he did Lilith. He was going to keep them safe.

    Moreover, after Mise became a Progenitor, she was going to need a teacher who could teach her what she was capable of. To As, Mise was quite naive since she was young. What better teacher for her than Castiel himself!

    For a moment, there wasplete silence in the carriage. As looked out the window, immersed in his own thoughts.

    ''Not like I don''t want to live for longer. Not like I''m not scared to die and disappear forever... I also want to live. I also want to see more of this world... I also want to make friends... Have fun with them.''

    '' Who in this world wants to disappear forever? But there''s no way. I am already dead. I can''t ask Castiel to just give me his body for an eternity. That would be quite insincere to even ask after all he did for me.''

    ''I''ve already used his body long enough. It''s time for me to return his body to him and just disappear... If only there were a way for me to exist... But even the Fragments won''t be able to bring me back to life like Mise. Unfortunately, my soul isn''t free like hers¡­ My soul is tied and destined to be destroyed.''

 Chapter 200 200: Suspicions

    ''Mise''s soul isn''t tied to anything but her body. Her soul is free. She has a Higher chance ofing back to life than someone like me. My soul... It''s already tainted and tied to this body. After Castiel return, or even before he returns, my soul will be destroyed. My real body can''te back to life because of my soul being tied to this body.''

    ''Then again, I don''t regret a single thing... If that''s how it was supposed to be, I''m content."

    The carriage traveled in the silence of the night, not stopping for even a moment. Whenever one Carriage Driver was tired and needed rest, only then did the carriage stop but that too only for a moment before the carriage resumed moving after the drivers switched ces as one went to the cabin while the other took the driving seat.

    The driver that As brought from the first City was lying in the cabin, trying to get some sleep. He was wondering if this was how they were going to travel all this time, not stopping in any city. Just what was so urgent for these people that they couldn''t stop in cities and rest. Then again, as long as he was getting money, he didn''t think much about it.

    He just went with the flow. Moreover, it wasn''t as if As could spend all his life in a carriage. He was sure that the guy was going to slow down after reaching his destination, where he could finally rx. He just waited for that moment.

    ****

    Another day passed, and the Blood Lords started arriving in Ramiun''s castle, where he was waiting for them.

    All the Blood Lords came, apanied by their strongest men, wondering why the meeting was called at this ce. All they were informed in the message was that it was rted to the one they were looking for.

    The Domain of Ramiun became the hub of the Blood Council for now, as multiple Blood Council Royal Carriages could be seen standing in line before Ramiun''s castle.

    Almost all the Blood Lords were already here and inside the castle, leaving only one who was yet to arrive. However, everyone still waited as that Blood Lord was the most important in the Blood Council since he was the oldest there.

    Another Carriage from the Blood Council arrived, stopping before Ramiun''s castle. The carriage doors opened, and an old-looking man stepped out of the carriage, gazing at the dark castle. It was his first time in Ramiun''s domain in thousands of years of his existence. The old man stepped inside the Castle with his hands behind his back, and his head held high.

    The guards opened the door, allowing him an entry inside the castle without creating any obstruction for him. Ramiun''s General escorted the man inside personally.

    The old man was led to the main hall, where all the Blood Council members were already waiting. His gaze roamed at the surroundings as he observed the hall.

    His eyes instantly noticed the dead body of a woman lying in the distance.

    "It seems you caught and killed the traitor. Is that why we were called here?" The man took a seat as well, standing right before Ramiun.<novelnext></novelnext>

    The doors of the main hall were closed.

    ''If that were it, I would have no trouble bringing her body to the main castle. But no, that''s not why I called you all here. I called you here to inform you about some bad news."

    "Is it about Vor?" The man asked. "You didn''t find him?''

    The man couldn''t see Vor here. He could see everyone but Vor.

    Ramiun nodded. "That''s right. It''s about Vor. I managed to catch the traitor, but by that time, it was already toote. By that time, Vor had already woken up. Not only is he up, but he is looking for revenge. And if I''m not wrong, his next target would be the Blood Council. That''s why I called this meeting here, instead of the main castle, because he might go there at any time."

    Hearing the response, all the faces in the meeting went dark. If Vor was actuallying up to kill them, that was really bad news. That man was quite strong when he was at his peak. It required two armies to bring him down, and that too thanks to the Werewolf King of that time.

    "We shall inform the Kingdom of Wolves I about this as well. If Vor wants revenge, he will go to them as well. Maybe all of us can stop him again? That can only make things easier for us." One of the Lords suggested.

    "Agreed. Even though I believe that we can take him down ourselves, but we would have heavy losses if we fought him. Why don''t we toss this headache on Werewolves? Not like they won''t be the target of revenge."

    "We can get the witches involved as well. The more there are, the better it is for us."

    Most of the Blood Lords epted the suggestion, which wasn''t surprising for Ramiun. He had already expected something like this. If he were in their ce, he would''ve thought the same since these people didn''t have all the information yet that he did.

    "The suggestion is quite good, but it''s not possible anymore." Ramiun shook his head.

    "Why not?"

    "Because the Kingdom of Wolves is destroyed. I saw it with my own eyes. Vor destroyed the Kingdom and killed all the Wolves, even the Royal King of Wolves. Not only that, but he also destroyed the Franc n. He already took out the people who had stopped himst time, leaving none to support us," Ramiun exined.

    "We can''t ask the dead for help, can we? There are certainly some witch ns that are stillst, but they are fragmented. Getting them together to fight will be a very time consuming process, and time isn''t what we have at the moment. Moreover, even if we gather all the remaining witches, stopping Vor would still heavily fall on our shoulders."

 Chapter 201 201: Arrival

    "He really took out the Kingdom of Wolves in such a short time? How is that possible?"

    The revtion stunned most of the Blood Lords at the meeting. Some found it really hard to believe as well.

    It hadn''t been long since the break-in happened. How could the Kingdom of Wolvesand the Franc n be destroyed in such a short time? Both of them weren''t that weak.

    "Even I found it hard to believe, but I saw it with my own eyes." Ramiun sighed. "This is really a disaster. We really need to stop him."

    "I still can''t understand one thing. Why would she free Vor when he wants to kill us all? It''s not as if he would have let her live. Then why? Just what was she hoping to achieve from it? Did you get any answers before she died?"

    "I''m afraid I didn''t get any answers. I''m just as confused as you are. I did try asking her, but instead of answering, she attacked me. I had no choice but to fight back in response." Ramiun made up a basic story where not many questions could be directed to him.

    "I find one thing quite interesting though. I wonder if it''s just a coincidence." A blood lord gazed at Ramiun, with slight suspicion.

    "Just a few days ago, before she took Vor, you suggested that we wage war on the Kingdom of Wolves. After we denied, this happened, and the Kingdom of Wolves was destroyed in this attack. A coincidence?"

    "Are you saying that I had a hand in it?" Ramiun frowned. "Because that would be quite a big usation."

    "I didn''t say it. You are the only one who mentioned about this. I just talked about this coincidence," the Blood Lord smirked.

    "My dear friend, if you think I don''t get what you''re trying to imply, then you really underestimate my intelligence, don''t you?" Ramiun rolled his eyes. "If I really had a hand in it and was working with her, why would I kill her?"

    "To remove all pieces of evidence." The Blood Lord shrugged. "You wanted something at the Kingdom of Wolves, and I believe it was more than just freedom of An. With the Kingdom being destroyed, you probably received whatever you were looking for. Now to make sure no one was suspicious of you, you killed her so she couldn''t answer us."

    "Good story. Too bad the real world doesn''t run on conspiracy theories. Even I''m not stupid enough to free Vor since that just puts my own life in danger."

    "You think she was stupid enough not to know the risk it ced on her? If she can do it, why can''t you?"

    "If you''re really that suspicious, find evidence and prove it. And if you can''t, just shut up and let us find a solution. After that, you can cry all you want."

    Ramiun didn''t y along, even though he was slightly surprised as to how this guy managed to guess this much. Even though the guy was correct with his long shot guess, Ramiun didn''t give up.

    "Anyway, we were talking about our problem." He turned to the others. "Anyone have any ns on how to counter Vor? By the way, I have already sent a message to the leaders of other Witch ns since I knew the importance of time. They should be here soon as well, so we can count them in the n that we make."

    "Is An free now? If he is, we can ask him for help as well," Another Blood Lord suggested. "With him on our side, the victory should be inevitable."

    "An isn''t free. He is the captive of Vor from what I was able to guess," Ramiun answered. "If we want An''s help, we would have to free him during the battle."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "In that case, we can use what the Werewolves used when taking him downst time. Use the witches for passive support to slow him down as we fight him. Meanwhile, one of us can free An. When An recovers and joins the battle, that should solve the problem from the code. I''m sure An would be looking for revenge from Vor as well."

    Hearing the response from another Blood Lord, Ramiun was quite pleased. That''s exactly the n he wanted there to be, but he didn''t want to be the one to suggest it. Now that the n was out, he could agree with it.

    "In that case, we would need to select one of us who is good at stealth and quite fast as well." The old man nced at the woman''s dead body on the side. "She was the best at that. Albeit, she had to betray us."

    "After that, I think the choice would be between Ramiun and Rin. You can all tell a name that you want to be on a recovery task."

    It was decided that everyone was going to decide who would be on the recovery task of An.

    One after another, everyone started giving the name that they believed could be most suited for it.

    "She was the fastest at it. But if Ramiun was able to kill her, that can only mean he was even better than her. I think Ramiun should be on it."

    "I think it should be Rin. I still don''t trust Ramiun."

    "Rin."

    "Rin."

    "Ramiun."

    "Ramiun."

    One after another, all the Lords started giving names that they believed were most suited for this task. Before long, Ramiun had an absolute majority in the voting, even when the old man''s vote wasn''t given.

    "Since you all want Ramiun to be on the duty, that''s what we shall do."

    The old man didn''t give his vote since his one vote couldn''t change anything.

    "Now that we have decided who will free An as we keep Vor busy and try to take him down, we should talk about the specifics of how we''ll achieve that. Firstly, we need a ce where we can lure him..."

    ****

    The Blood Lords were talking about luring Vor; meanwhile, he had already entered the city where they were currently residing.

 Chapter 202 202: Suspicious

    The Blood Lords were discussing on how to tackle Vor, going into the specifics as to where would be the perfect ce for the battle and how they were going to lure Vor to that ce, and the role that the Witches were going to y in the entire thing.

    Fighting Vor wasn''t an easy task, but they also believed that it wasn''t impossible to defeat him since he had been defeated before already. They just had to repeat that.

    Amidst the discussions, the door was abruptly forced open, making all the Blood Lords turn simultaneously.

    They all looked at the person who had just barged inside.

    "What are you doing?!" Ramiun stood up, angry. The person who had just barged inside was one of his men. " Don''t you know you aren''t allowed to disturb us?"

    "My Lord, it''s urgent! The city is under attack!"

    "Under attack? Who is it?"

    "It''s Vor. He entered the city from the southern entrance and he is killing all our men. He is advancing toward this ce as well!" The man informed Ramiun.

    All the other Blood Lords also stood up, hearing the information.

    "How did he know we were all here?" The old man stood up.

    "Is it really not clear even now? I told you that Ramiun had a hand in it! He had Vor be free, and then he used Vor to take out his enemies! He wanted to attack the Kingdom of Wolves, and next thing we know, the Kingdom is destroyed. Next, he wants to kill us so he is the only Blood Lord left! This guy... He lured us all here?"

    The Blood Lord that had been suspicious about Ramiun raised his Sword, pointing at Ramiun. "Why did you betray us as well?!"

    It couldn''t be a coincidence that Vor arrived here right after they did. For them, it was as if Vor knew that they were going to be here. The only way for him to know was if it was all pre nned! It was highly likely that Ramiun called them here, just for this!

    "Stop your acting! This is too much to be a coincidence!"

    "I told you I had no hand in it! You think Vor would listen to me? If I wanted to work with him, that guy would kill me first! I don''t know how he knew we were going to be here. It''s also quite possible that he didn''t know, and it''s actually a coincidence that he is here."

    This time, Ramiun told the truth since he actually didn''t know. Unfortunately, no one was going to listen to his truth in such a tense situation.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Ramiun could believe it was a coincidence since he knew he hadn''t nned this, but it was different for the others. They couldn''t read Ramiun''s mind to know if it was nned or not. However, all things pointed toward it being a trap for them.

    No matter what he said, everyone still looked at Ramiun with suspicions. Before, not many believed that he had a hand in it, even when one of them insisted on it, but now even they were starting to doubt him.

    "Ramiun, I''m afraid I''ll have to remove you from the duty we just assigned you. Instead, if you want to prove that you''re innocent, you''ll have to fight Vor. You''ll be the first person to attack or even block him. You''ll need to prove that you''re not working with him..." The old man dered.

    He couldn''t know if Ramiun was telling the truth or lying, but it definitely was suspicious. He couldn''t take the risk at the moment. They couldn''t afford to be backstabbed when they were busy fighting Vor. That''s why they needed to ensure that Ramiun was innocent.

    "If Vor actually has An hostage, then Rin will be on the duty to save him. You''ll be fighting with us... Even leading the battle at the beginning. I''m sure you won''t have any problem with it, right? Since it''s your domain, so it''s your duty to protect it first."

    Ramiun''s face twitched as he red at the old man. He wanted to use these people to keep Vor distracted while he tried to free An and he was so close to it before Vor arrived here. Now instead of distracting Vor for him, these people were using him to fight Vor? He wanted to curse them out loud, but he couldn''t.

    He knew he couldn''t defeat Vor, especially after seeing how strong Vor was now. That guy single handedly destroyed the Werewolves. At best, he believed he could only hold back Vor for a little, but other than that, there was nothing more.

    "Does he have another person with him?" he asked his General. "Did you see him dragging Progenitor An?"

    "There were no signs of Progenitors An. Vor is all alone." The General shook his head.

    "As expected... He didn''t bring An with him. He probably hid him somewhere. It seems we''ll have to get some answers from him.''

    Ramiun clenched his fist. "Fine. I''ll fight Vor. I''ll prove that I''m not working with Vor."

    Ramiun decided to fight with Vor, but not to fight to death. It was just to prove that he didn''t work with him. After that, he could get the others to join in on the battle as he took a backseat, acting as if he was hurt. With that, he could sneak out and go look for An.

    He was sure that Vor wouldn''t leave An too far. That held the risk of someone freeing An. At best, he believed that Vor left An outside the city. That''s the ce he needed to check.

    "If you want me to prove my loyalty after all I did for the Blood Council, then so be it!"

    Ramiun left the hall, ready to fight. The others also followed behind. In case he was actually innocent, they decided to provide him with support that he needed, but if he was lying, they had decided to retreat for now to n further.

 Chapter 203 203: He Is Alive

    A carriage stopped near the Northern Entrance of a beautiful city at some distance. The doors opened and As stepped out of the carriage with Luna and Lilith.

    Lancaster also stepped out. They were informed by the driver that the entrance of the city seemed to be sealed for now.

    The city entrance which was always open was close for now as heavy metallic doors were closed.

    "Is it normal for the city to be closed?" As asked.

    "I don''t think it should be normal," Lilith responded.

    "It is never closed," the carriage driver answered. He had worked for the Blood Council for quite some time and knew exactly what was normal and what wasn''t. "If it''s closed then something must be happening inside."

    As the driver finished exining, a loud explosive sound came from inside the city. It was as if a battle had begun. Hearing the sound, As was even more suspicious. Was someone fighting inside the city? Two Vampires? No, he felt something more. He felt a different aura as well, albeit just a trace of it since he was quite far.

    "This scent... A Werewolf?" As eximed.

    "A werewolf who attacked the city on his own? Would someone really be that stupid?" Lilith frowned. Unlike As, she couldn''t sense this aura from such a distance but she believed in him. After all this time, As has be quite ustomed to Werewolves and knew how to differentiate.

    "I don''t know what it''s about that aura, but it''s quite familiar. Is it Razil who is fighting inside?"

    " If it''s Razil, that would exin why he would dare toe alone." Lilith nodded. "That guy can definitely take on a Blood Lord."

    "I think we need to get inside. If Razil kills Ramiun, then we would never find the key fragment. We need Ramiun alive!"

    As came this far to find the key fragment, not to lose it aftering this far. If anything, he needed to get the key Fragment from Ramiun before anything could happen to him. If not, this was going to be his biggest setback since they would need to waste more time in trying to find the key Fragment without Ramiun''s help.

    As cast a flight spell on him and everyone else, flying toward the city. He flew only high enough to pass through the walls and entered the city. The closer he got to the centre of the city, the more explosive these noises became.

    He could see citizens rushing inside their houses in fear. There was chaos everywhere. The city streets were crowded as people closed their shops and businesses to get back home as soon as they could, going far away from where the battle noises wereing from.

    Only the ones who had their houses close to the battlegroundpared to their shops stayed inside their shops, closing them from inside since it was safer for them.

    "I was wrong... This aura... It''s different from what Razil had," As shook his head. Now that he was able to sense this aura from closer, he realized that it was quite different from Razil.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Hended on top of a building after finally getting a glimpse of battle.

    He could see a man who had bright golden eyes. The man had sharp ws, but he wasn''t in his wolf form yet. Despite that, he was fighting and killing every Vampire that stood in his path.

    "Yeah. He isn''t Razil. But he is quite strong. Who is he?" As asked, tilting his head in confusion.

    "Vor." Luna and Lilith spoke at the same time. Both of them recognized Vor and were surprised to find out that Vor was alive even now.

    "Even you know him?" As asked Luna. It was possible for Lilith to know him, but Luna hadn''t been here for hundreds of years. How could she recognize a wolf? No Werewolf lived that long.

    "Wait...Vor!" He also remembered hearing that name before. In fact it was mentioned quite a few time to him. Vor was described as Castiel''s friend in a sense. If not friend, then at least not an enemy. Castiel had trained Vor quite a few times. Vor was the banished Royal Prince who started the Bloodline of his own.

    He gazed at Lancaster. Lancaster was also a Royal Werewolf who came from the Bloodline of the first banished Royal. Which meant that the person who was fighting on the ground... He was Lancaster''s ancestor!

    Even Lancaster was taken aback. He was informed by Castiel that Vor was a great fighter who he should be like. And now that he saw Vor fight, he realized that it had been quite true. Vor was really quite powerful. However, even he couldn''t understand how Vor was still alive? How was that possible?

    Moreover, Vor looked quite bloodthirsty at the moment, as if he wanted to kill anyone that stood in his path, no matter who. Just what kind of person was he?

    From another mansion, the Blood Lords also came out, seeing Vor in the distance.

    Vor also tossed a dead body toward all the Blood Lord which fell right under their feet.

    "You''re all here. Good!" Vor only expected to find one Blood Lord here, but seeing them all, it was as if it was his lucky day. He could finish the entire Blood Council together!

    "Arghh!" Another Vampire attacked Vor, but he couldn''t even be touched. Vor''s figure was so fast that it even left the Vampires behind. He appeared behind the vampire, grabbing his neck before thrashing his head on the hard road. The head of the Vampire exploding, letting blood spill everywhere.

    Ramiun took a deep breath. He knew that it was going to be quite hard. But he had no choice. He needed to prove that he had no hand in it.

    He took a few steps forward. "Why are you doing this? Why are you attacking us? What do you want from us!"

    "You really ask me that question after all that?" Vor roared. He was so angry that he didn''t even talk and simply attacked Ramiun. He wanted to kill everyone who was here!

 Chapter 204 204: Bloodline

    "How can he be alive at this time?" Lilith also had a doubt if they were back in time. This person shouldn''t have been alive after all. He wasn''t immortal.

    Not only was he alive, but he also looked to be full of life. He wasn''t like the undead that was used by Yovana to fight against them. His face wasn''t pale, and his eyes weren''t lifeless. His face also seemed to be filled with emotion... unfortunately that emotion was only anger.

    His hands were covered in Blood, and there was a trail of bodies behind him.

    Vor attacked Ramiun. Instead of fighting back, Ramiun tried to avoid being critically hit. All he needed to do was that he wasn''t working with Vor, which was now easy to prove. The way Vor attacked him, it meant that he didn''t have mercy even for him. Vor didn''t hesitate even for a second before attacking him.

    Ramiun avoided being hit. Just as Vor''s ws were close to his throat, he moved aside, barely avoiding the sharp ws. Vor didn''t let him leave that easily. Ramiun had avoided the first hit, but he was still near Vor.

    ****

    "We need to do something. We can''t let Ramiun die," Asmented, seeing Ramiun''s figure flying back with sharp w marks on his chest.

    Vor ran after Ramiun. The attack had proven to the other Blood Lords that Ramiun was innocent and wasn''t working with Vor.

    ? From the way Vor attacked, it was actually evident that Vor wasn''t going easy. In fact, he actually was attempting to kill Ramiun.

    The Blood Lords decided to join the battle as well. They couldn''t let Ramiun be killed, as that would only weaken their team. All the Blood Lords joined the battle, attacking Vor in a group.

    One of the Blood Lords grabbed Vor by his cor just when Vor was about to hit Ramiun. He pulled Vor back where the other Blood Lords attacked.

    Ramiun stood up, holding his bleeding chest.

    "These werewolves are actually annoying," Ramiun muttered, feeling the poison in his body that was giving him pain.

    Fortunately, it was worth it for him as he saw all the Blood Council Members fighting Vor. The n had gone down the drain, and now they decided to just fight with everything they got. It didn''t matter if they didn''t have the support of An. They were going to kill Vor on their own.

    Immersed in the battle, the Blood Lords didn''t notice that Ramiun wasn''t joining their fight. Instead, Ramiun was stepping back and moving away from the battle.

    His actions were noticed by As, who was keeping an eye on him. He saw Ramiun leave sneakily, which was perfect for him. If Ramiun wasn''t with the Blood Lords, that was going to make things easier for him.

    "Lilith, you should go and help Vor. If he is actually a friend, then he needs the help. I will go and stop Ramiun to retrieve the fragment for him."

    As could see Vor fighting all the Blood Lords. He didn''t seem to be at a disadvantage even now as he kept injuring all the Blood Lords, but it didn''t look as if he had any advantage either since he wasn''t fighting a group of Wolves. He was fighting the strongest of Vampires who were in suchrge numbers.

    Just the number alone made it quite hard for him to take everyone down since whenever he was close to killing one, someone else interfered, obstructing him.<novelnext></novelnext>

    As left the decision of helping Vor on Lilith since only she knew what kind of equation he actually had with them. He alone was enough for Ramiun.

    Casting the flight spell on himself, As flew after Ramiun, leaving Lilith and the others behind.

    "Well, he certainly is a friend. I don''t know how he''s still alive, but if he needs help, that''s what we''ll give him." Lilith clenched her fist, still remembering that when they were going against Luna''s Empire, Vor had always sided with them, helping them in battle, even if it got really dangerous for him.

    If he was always there for them, then she believed that he deserved some help from her, especially if he was fighting against so many people.

    "I''m going to help him. I won''t force you two, but if you want, you can join as well."

    Lilith jumped down the building.

    A strong gust of wind was created by the spell she casted, which sent one of the Blood Lords, who was about to attack Vor, flying into the distance.

    The sudden yet strong gust of wind surprised even Vor since it wasn''t normal. It could only be the result of a spell.

    He gazed into the distance, noticing a young woman standing there.

    "Lilith?" he let out, confused.

    Right then, Luna also jumped down. "Big guy, don''t forget about me as well."

    She held two sharp swords in each of her hands, shing a smug smile.

    "Luna?" As Vor was distracted by their appearance, the Vampires attacked again, trying to take advantage of his distraction, but that''s when another figure appeared before Vor.

    A young man appeared before him, grabbing the wrist of a Blood Lord, surprising even that Blood Lord.

    A kicknded on the chest of the Blood Lord, sending him flying as well.

    "I know I''m not as great a warrior as you, but you shouldn''t be distracted in the middle of a battle," Lancastermented as he continued fighting.

    Vor looked around, noticing the royal symbol on the shoulder of Lancaster. He could also feel a familiar aura... It was the aura of his own Bloodline, which was different from what the Royals of the Kingdoms had.

    Instead of fighting back, he was even more distracted, as if he didn''t care for the battle. This brave young man who was fighting beside him... He was a descendant of his? So he wasn''t all alone in this world? His Bloodline hadn''t been destroyed entirely...?

 Chapter 205 205: Offer

    "That meant my son..."

    A single tear appeared in his eyes as he realized what this implied. It meant that his son had managed to escape that ughter and continued the bloodline... He didn''t know what general of his descended Lancaster was, but it was evident that he was his own blood.

    Even though Lancaster joined the battle, he was still not as strong as the Blood Lords as he was getting quite injured in such a short time. His clothes were covered in blood, but he didn''t give the others an easy time either.

    In the meantime, Vor was also attacked, but Lilith protected him.

    "You idiot,e out of your daze. You can dream all you want when we win!" Lilith scolded Vor like he was a kid.

    Vor actually came out of his daze and happiness, realizing that his descendant was covered in Blood.

    His blood boiled, seeing Lancaster hurt. It reminded him of watching his n being ughtered before.

    "You dare harm him!"

    Seeing his descendant being attacked, a protective feeling rose in Vor''s heart. He became even more bloodthirsty and fierce, making things even worse for the Blood Lords, who were already stunned to see the reinforcements of Vor.

    It was as if it was actually a trap for them where they were surrounded from all sides. They also noticed that Ramiun wasn''t here anymore!

    ****

    Ramiun took a longer path to leave the city since he needed to check outside the city for An. He was sure he was going to find An there. After that, all he needed was to negotiate the return of the fragment from him in exchange for freeing An, and everything was going to be perfect for him.

    Unfortunately, just as he was about to leave the city, a personnded before him, blocking his path.

    Ramiun stopped as well, finding a familiar figure. He had seen that person even before once, and he remembered that perfectly.

    "You? Aren''t you that Vampire who was in that small town?" Ramiun frowned. "Get out of my path. I''m in a hurry. I don''t have time to y around."

    "That''s great. I''m not here to y around either." As stood with his hands behind his back.

    "Look kid, stop irritating me. Last time I let you leave even after you spied on me. Don''t make me kill you right now. Go y with kids your own age."

    Not even taking As seriously, Ramiun continued walking. However, just as he reached near As, a formation appeared around him on the ground.

    Thousands of Vines came out of the formation, grabbing Ramiun''s feet and his hand.<novelnext></novelnext>

    As stepped closer to Ramiun. "Return what I want, and I''ll go y with kids my own age."

    "A spell? So you are taking the help of a Witch as well?" Ramiun looked at the formation under him. "If you think a spell can stop someone like me, I''ve never seen a bigger idiot. I''m still giving you a chance. Get your helper to stop this spell, and let me get back to my work. If I get serious, then you will really regret it."

    "What will you do if you get serious?" As asked, tilting his head to the left. "You will kill me? I''m afraid no one can kill me but myself."

    "Give me the key Fragment that you possess!" He raised his hand toward Ramiun, finally telling what he was after.

    Ramiun frowned. "The Key Fragment? So I was right. You really were spying on me. You heard me talk to myself there. No wonder you came here. But it''s still useless. One key Fragment won''t do anything. And even if it could, do you seriously think I would give you one? Anyway, the time I gave you is up."

    Ramiun lowered his hand. Even the vines couldn''t stop him from moving his hand. He inserted his hand in his pocket, holding a small piece of paper. With only one hand, he tore the piece of paper, activating his Talisman.

    His figure disappeared, being free from the vines. He appeared behind As, attacking with his entire strength.

    "Slow." As also disappeared, appearing behind Ramiun. Ramiun needed a talisman to disappear, but he could do it without any talisman.

    The abrupt teleportation stunned Ramiun, but before he could react, he felt someone grabbing his neck from behind. His body was raised in the air as a hand entered through his back, reaching his heart. He could feel that cold hand holding onto his beating heart.

    "I won''t ask again. I''ll count to five. If you don''t give me that fragment, you''ll be a part of the history without any future."

    "I told you it''s useless!" Ramiun yelled. He knew that his life was in As''s hands, but he still tried to convince him. If As destroyed his heart, that meant it was going to be his death, so he needed to stop As.At the moment, his life was in As'' hands.

    "How about this? I will help you. The two of us can work together and gather more fragments that we''ll need. We can share the benefits together."

    "Remember, if you kill me, you''ll never be able to get to other Fragments.And just one fragment will be useless. If you kill me, you''ll waste a great opportunity. Don''t do it! Think about the bigger picture.

    "Sure. We can work together, but I''ll be the one holding onto your Fragment. If you can agree, we can work together."

    Just like Ramiun tossed a bait, not knowing that As had the other three Fragments already, As also tossed a bait to him. He believed that Ramiun was a scum kind of person. With his life in danger, he was going to agree with anything. He was even going to agree to work together and wait for an opportunity to backstab him. That''s what As wanted to use.

    Even if Ramiun gave him the fragment, Ramiun could only believe that he could retrieve the fragment anytime as long as he was alive. Moreover, if they worked together, Ramiun was sure he was going to be with As and was going to have plenty of opportunities.

    "Fine! If that''s what you want, I will let you hold it! We will work together!"

 Chapter 206 206: Last Fragment

    Just as As had expected, Ramiun agreed. His life was on the line, so for now, he needed to protect himself at any cost.

    He had already decided that he was going to take As out after being free, along with getting the key Fragment back. For now, he believed he had underestimated As, not realizing that the guy could also teleport somehow. Next time, he reminded himself that he wasn''t going to make that mistake.

    For now, he just needed to free himself from As'' grasp. Everything else couldeter.

    "That''s good. Take out the Fragment and ce it on the ground. After we have a deal, I will free you."

    "How can I trust you?"

    "How can you not?" As asked. "I only want to get some benefitster. And as you said, I can''t get more fragments without your help, so it''s better to work with you. I just need to see your sincerity for now. Let me hold onto the first fragment."

    Instead of forcing him and making him take some drastic steps, it was better to lure him to give up the fragment himself. That was the best and the safest option for now. Everything else couldeter.

    "I keep it inside my castle. Take me there. I''ll let you keep it." Ramiun agreed, asking As to let him go to the castle.

    As didn''t think much and agreed. In any case, this man''s heart and his life were within his grasp.

    As cast a flight spell on them and flew up, still having his hand inside Ramiun''s chest like Ramiun was a puppet.

    He went back to the caste, expecting a battle to be taking ce nearby, but there was no battle. It looked as if the battle had shifted to another ce. The entire street before the castle waspletely empty, which made it easier for As to get inside.

    Ramiun was so frustrated for being at the mercy of As, all because he underestimated the guy, but he couldn''t do anything for now. Until he freed himself, he had no choice, and he didn''t want to take any risk. He knew that if he tried anything As might crush his heart in fear which was very bad for him.

    He led As to a chamber that was very close to his bedroom. Bringing out a key from his pocket, he unlocked the door.

    "The fragment is inside." He pushed the door open and pointed at a small box in the distance. "You can take it."

    "You open it." As was quite careful not to fall into any trap. He entered the room but didn''t open the small box. He let Ramiun open the box.

    "Are you scared?" Ramiun asked as if provoking As.

    As didn''t fall for the provocation and stuck with his initialmand. "Open the box."

    "Fine!" Ramiun himself opened the box, revealing a beautiful key fragment inside the box.

    Finally, after making sure that it was indeed the key fragment, As picked up the small orb. It was the right one! It was thest fragment he was looking for, and now that he had it, hepleted his set. He now had all he needed.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Now release me. I did as you asked. I showed my trust to you; now it''s your turn to show your trust since we''ll be working together."

    "Oh, about that part." As smiled wryly. "How can I forget my promise? Let me free you right now."

    Unfortunately, As'' words were meant in a different context. The definition of freedom that he used now was much different than what Ramiun thought. Now that he had the key Fragment, he didn''t need Ramiun anymore.

    Instead of releasing Ramiun, As pulled out his heart, still holding Ramiun''s heart. He ripped out Ramiun''s heart before crushing it firmly.

    He tossed the crushed heart away. As soon as his heart was pulled out, Ramiun felt like his soul was crushed. He lost all control of his body, which became so weak that he couldn''t even move.

    He even struggled to speak, but no words came out.

    As still didn''t leave Ramiun as he didn''t want to risk anything. He stabbed his sharp fangs inside Ramiun''s neck and started feasting on him.

    Only when Ramiun finally lost his life As freed him. He tossed Ramiun''s body aside, which felt limp on the ground.

    As gazed at fragments. Thest one, and it was in his hands now. He hadpleted his search. Now he had everything that he needed to attempt what he wanted.

    He was just one step away from his goals, and now he didn''t need to fight anyone to get to that goal. He didn''t need to look for anyone. All he needed was to go to his vige, where he had buried his sister.

    After keeping that Fragment securely, As left the room and the Castle.

    He stepped back on the street, still able to hear some battle noises. He located the direction where the sound wasing from and flew in that direction.

    Hended near the battlefield, from where he had a clear view of the battle. Just as he expected, with Lilith''s help, Vor was having an even easier time. More than half the Blood Lords were dead already, leaving only a few who didn''t look to be in good condition.

    Some of them were even trying to escape, only to be stopped by Luna.

    Still, one Blood Lord did manage to escape. It was the oldest Blood Lord who thought that there was no chance of victory here. He ran away, sneakily leaving the ce.

    As noticed the old man leaving, who was the leader of the Blood Council. As didn''t want to leave a person who could create trouble for him in the future. Instead of observing the battle, he went after the old man.

    ****

    Within five minutes, the battle was over. Lilith observed all the dead Blood Lords, making sure none was alive. In another ce, Vor stood still, looking at Lancaster. He wanted to approach him, but he didn''t know how to. He wasn''t even sure if he still could talk to Lancaster.

 Chapter 207 207: One Final Strike

    "It looks like one of them managed to get away," Luna approached Lilith. Amongst the bodies, one person was missing other than Ramiun.

    "The oldest of them. I don''t think he will create much trouble, but it would''ve been good to kill him right here if we could." Lilith nodded. "What about As? He still isn''t back. Did he catch Ramiun? I''ll go check. You stay here with Vor."

    "I don''t think you need to go look for him. Here hees..." Lancaster chimed in, pointing in the distance. They could see a man walking toward them, dragging a lifeless body.

    "The old one... Looks like he couldn''t go much further either." Luna smirked, watching who the dead body belonged to.

    As tossed the body with the group of other dead Blood Lords.

    Vor also gazed in the direction everyone was looking at. As he looked to his right, he noticed another familiar figure. It belonged to a person he could never forget. The person who was like his friend and also a mentor at times.

    "You''re back as well!" Even Vor returned; he had lost all his emotions other than anger. There was nothing in this world for him, but it was as if in one stroke, he had regained his family... Or at least what was left of it. He had Castiel, Lilith, Luna, and now Lancaster as well.

    When Castiel had agreed to go to eternal slumber on the advice of Lilith, Vor had resisted the suggestion as much as he could, but it didn''t work. For the safety of everyone around him, Castiel decided to go to an eternal sleep. Vor doesn''t even know if Castiel could ever return.

    The moment Castiel left, he had been extremely sad, but now he was quite ted. It was as if he had momentarily forgotten about all the pain he went through, only to lose himself in this happy reunion.

    As stopped before Lilith and Luna; however, his eyes remained on Vor, who was also looking at him. Vor was also another close friend of Castiel. As didn''t know how to react. Personally, he didn''t feel any closeness to Vor since he was just a stranger, but he also couldn''t act like a stranger.

    "So you finally decided to return... " Vor stepped closer to As, but before he could continue, Luna informed him about Castiel losing memories.

    She told him that As doesn''t remember her or the past. She described it as the side effect of such a long slumber and that it was temporary, possibly onlysting for a month.

    Vor was taken aback after hearing of the memory loss.

    He looked at As and asked, "Do you really not remember me?"

    As shook his head. "I don''t remember you, but I''ve heard a lot about you from Lilith. She told me that we were somewhat close. But she said it was hundreds of years ago. Aren''t you a werewolf? How are you still alive? Also, why were you attacking the Blood Lords?"

    "How long have you been back?" Vor asked As, not answering directly.

    "A few weeks?" As responded.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I returned a few days ago," Vor answered. "Even I don''t know how I''m still alive, but it was probably rted to some spells that were used to take me down."

    Vor told As and the others about his past, telling them how the Kingdom of Wolves and the witches attacked their forest out of nowhere, killing them all.

    "Only a few possibly managed to escape," he added, ncing at Lancaster. "It seems they kept my bloodline alive."

    "In the sudden battle, I lost everything."

    He further exined how he woke up just recently and then destroyed the Kingdom of Wolves beforeing here on his quest for revenge.

    "The Vampires, Kingdom of Wolves and the Franc n... They all had a hand in my destruction, so I took an oath that I''m going to destroy them all. That''s why I came here. After killing the Vampires, I nned to go to the Franc n."

    "I don''t think you need to go anywhere now," Lilith smiled.

    "The Franc n is no more." As agreed. "We destroyed the Franc n. Not a single person from the Franc n is alive. If you also destroyed the Kingdom of Wolves, that only left the Vampires and all the Blood Lords are dead too. So your revenge should bepleted now."

    Even though Lilith believed Vor, it was still somewhat hard for her toe to terms with it.

    "I still find it hard to believe that you destroyed the Kingdom of Wolves all alone. How are you so strong now? I know you were strong even better, but not to the extent of destroying the Kingdom?"

    " Either you became way stronger, or the Kingdom of Wolves became way weaker in the recent years. I haven''t seen them fighting, so I don''t know which one it is," she further stated.

    "The new generation was definitely weaker than the older generation. You are right about that. Even when I was fighting, I could feel that."

    "That aside, why are you back?" He faced Luna. "Didn''t you leave earth to pacify your family? You''re back, and As is up, does that mean your family doesn''t want to kill him anymore? You managed to convince them?"

    Since the group was back together again, it made him feel that maybe that problem was solved. If that was the case, then Castiel could actually rx without worrying about his friends and family.

    "If only," Luna sighed as her face lowered. "I came here after Castiel woke up. My family knows that he is up, so they are nning to attack earth again this time with one final strike. So I ran away again and came here to inform him about it."

    "You just love to run away, since you? First, you ran away from your home. Then you ran away from here without even consulting, and now again, you ran away from home. Then again, it''s good that you warned us. This time their attack can''te as a surprise likest time!"

 Chapter 208 208: Opportunity

    "Hmph, I ran to save your asses," Luna rolled her eyes. "And I returned for the same as well. Also, I don''t think it would be just different this time if everyone here isn''t prepared for what''s toe, even if you know about it."

    "By the way, it''s good to see you as well. I thought you would be dead by now. It''s good that you''re not," she further stated.

    "Somehow, I think it would''ve been better if I was. I would not have to live with the reality that I''ve failed my people, letting them die." He gazed at Lancaster. "At least most of them."

    "Is anyone else alive other than you?" he asked Lancaster. He just wanted to go and hug Lancaster as that guy was his family, but he felt that it wasn''t right. He didn''t want to show his emotional weakness before a descendant.

    He just stood in his ce calmly, as if he was happy about what was happening but not emotional.

    Lancaster also found it somewhat odd now that he was in Vor''s presence. He had heard a lot about Vor as his ancestor, even from Castiel, and now he was before him. Vor wasn''t his father but their ancestor. Despite that, he was still family, but for Lancaster, he was like a stranger.

    If it was his father who was here then even if he was a stranger, Lancaster at least would''ve felt something. With Vor, he didn''t feel that.

    The atmosphere suddenly became quite awkward.

    "I don''t know if anyone else is alive from my family," Lancaster answered. "When I was little..."

    He described how he was basically given to a human family when he was little by his parents. He still didn''t know if his real parents were alive or not.

    "Most probably, they must be dead by now since I haven''t heard anything about them till now," he rified.

    "So we two are the only ones left..." Vor muttered. He was hoping that there were going to be more people. He was holding for an entire lineage that managed to survive in hiding, but if they had to abandon Lancaster, it was unlikely that they had a safe ce where they could survive.

    After getting his answer, Vor went silent, once again not knowing what to say. He was a man who was always bad at showing emotions. Even when he was sad, he didn''t show it before others. He maintained his hard shell on the outside, even though he wanted to express himself.

    For some reason, he felt like he would look bad if he showed his emotions and that others might look at him like he was a pathetic person who couldn''t control his emotions, especially before such people who were not only one of the strongest beings on this earth but also knew him for a long time.

    Lilith grabbed the man''s wrist and started pulling him aside. She dragged Vor away from the group.

    After taking him far enough, she spoke, " You know you can drop the act now. You want to go and hug him. Why are you being hesitant? He is your descendant, possibly the only one who is still alive. Why are you so scared?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    It didn''t matter if others understood or not; Lilith understood what Vor was going through. She understood human emotions better than most here.

    "What are you talking about?" Vor acted like he didn''t understand anything but only received a re from Lilith in return.

    "It would look stupid. I have a reputation to maintain. I have to set an example for Lancaster. I can''t show him weakness in our first meeting. That wouldn''t look good. There are also more reasons, but I don''t think I can do it."

    "What if he dies tomorrow? Won''t you regret not letting him know how much you cared?" Lilith asked, using an example.

    "Who dares! I won''t let a single harme to him!"

    "I know you won''t, but who knows what might happen tomorrow. You know that the earth is going to be under a war? And the war isn''t with weak enemies. That''s why we must take every day as possibly ourst. Don''t do something you''ll regretter on," Lilith further exined.

    "Remember, he had been all alone most of his life. He had been away from his real parents from the moment he was born, and he lost the people he was staying with quite early. He lived all alone, with no one to care for him. He was even told to leave the Kingdom of Wolves when we got there."

    "That guy... He learned most of the things about his bloodline himself without any external help. He had no guide when he went through his first transformation. Just like you don''t show care, he also hasn''t seen much care in his life. If you want, you can change that cycle, but I won''t force you. It''s just an advice. At the end of the day, you can only do what you''refortable with.

    Standing in the distance, both Lancaster and Luna stared at Lilith in the distance, wondering what they were talking about. Even with his great hearing, Lancaster couldn''t hear their conversation. It was the same for As, who couldn''t hear anything. Lilith had cast a spell around her and Vor to make sure no one heard their conversation.

    "What could they be talking about?" Luna asked, quite curious.

    Lilith and Vor looked quite serious as they talked as if they were talking about something really important.

    "Must be something important," Lancastermented, having no idea what it was actually about.

    As was the one who seemed even more curious. What was Lilith telling Vor? And why did it have to be in private? If they were nning for theing war, he could''ve been involved as well. At least he could''ve known the ns and contributed with his own ideas.

    And if it wasn''t ns, then what? Why did Lilith look so serious? Was she telling Vor the trust about him and Castiel? There were many questions in An''s head.

 Chapter 209 209: Pack

    It was unclear what Lilith talked about, but after a few minutes, she returned back to the group. Vor also came back with her. Vor seemed lost in some thought as he asionally nced at Lancaster. Unfortunately, despite Lilith''s exnation, he still couldn''t get himself to do it.

    There was just a notion in his mind that stopped him from doing anything that showed weakness, no matter how much he wanted. That was also why he never cried before others, only letting his tears out when he was all alone.

    Even when his people were being killed by the Kingdom of Wolves, he didn''t let out even a single tear. He didn''t show any weakness to his enemies and continued fighting.

    Lilith let out a sigh, seeing the same hesitation even now. It was like her words had fallen on deaf ears.

    She still decided to help him in other ways. If Vor wasn''t taking a step, he used other ways.

    "Lancaster, we will be preparing for our departure after gathering some items. Why don''t you go with Vor and take a walk? I remember you had some questions about how to get stronger as well. Who better than Vor to help him. Go."

    She also gestured for As and Luna to follow her. "Let''s go look for the stocks we need. We would need lots of food for the journey ahead with five people."

    She took the two away with her and left.

    Vor and Lancaster were left behind with this strange awkward atmosphere between them.

    "Ahem." Vor cleared his throat after a few seconds before asking, "You want to get stronger?"

    "I do." Lancaster nodded. " I want to be so strong that I''m not a burden on others anymore! I want to be able to help them. I want to be strong enough to be able to protect the ones I want to protect.

    "And who is it that you want to protect?" Vor asked.

    Lancaster nced at As and Lilith in the distance. "The people who helped me when I needed it the most... The people who were always there for me. I want to help the people who aren''t my family but aren''t any less than my family either."

    Vor smiled. That answer was simr to what he had in his mind when he was striving to be stronger. He was trying to be stronger for his pack so he could protect them. It was the same for Lancaster. The only difference was that his pack wasn''t of wolves from his lineage. Instead, his back was that of his friends.

    "They saved your lives?" Vor inquired. "It seems I owe them even more gratitude than I thought. If they hadn''t saved you, I..."

    "Anyway, what do you think is keeping you from bing stronger? What do you think is the problem?" he further asked, as if wanting to see if Lancaster knew what the problem was there.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Lancaster clenched his fist. "It''s that I can''t draw out my full strength. It''s like I''m holding back my other self in fear of not being able to control it. I want to be able to control it. I want to be strong enough!"

    "Not bad. So you do realize where the w lies. That''s quite good for a young man like you, without any training. I was much older than you when I noticed what you did now."

    Vor had seen Lancaster fight just moments ago. He had noticed the strengths and the weaknesses of Lancaster, analyzing every aspect of his fighting style. With that, he had managed to g a lot of issues that could''ve been improved. There was a lot of room for improvement, but Lancaster was also right about not using his full strength.

    Lancaster wanted to tell Vor that it wasn''t him who found this w but Castiel. Unfortunately, if he talked about that, he knew he would''ve needed to exin how Castiel came back for a few moments, which was quiteplicated to exin. Just to save some time, he didn''t tell Vor about it.

    "Anyhow, those problems are quite easy to solve. They just lookplicated. Come, I''ll tell you how." Vor patted the shoulders of Lancaster as the two started walking together.

    Vor talked, and Lancaster listened. At times Lancaster even asked questions that were answered by Vor with great consideration.

    Lilith went with As and Luna inside the castle. The three gathered food and brought them to the Royal Carriages of the Blood Lords. They selected the best Carriage out of all and kept all the food in the Carriage.

    During the process, As asked Lilith about what she had talked with Vor. Since it wasn''t that big a surprise, Lilith told Luna and As. She only took Vor away because she didn''t want Lancaster to listen. She had no problem with As and Luna.

    "Really?" As was taken aback to hear the exnation. He had thought of many possibilities, but one of them considered Lilith giving Vor a pep talk. So Vor was scared of his own descendant?

    "You did good by giving them some privacy in that case. Good work, Lilith. Vor had always been like that. He really needed help," Lunaplimented Lilith, which she rarely did.

    It was also a thing worth praise since Lilith had managed to notice what even she failed to.

    "I don''t know if he can do anything even now. I did give him some privacy and an opportunity. But how he utilizes that, it''ll depend on him entirely."

    Lilith was still somewhat worried that Vor might blow this opportunity. That''s why she gave him a topic that he and Lancaster were both interested in, hoping it''ll give them something to talk about. She hoped that once they started talking with each other, they could get somewhat closer to one another.

    "I don''t think he will blow up this opportunity. He might be dumb in such matters, but even he isn''t not that dumb." Luna smiled. "Let''s have faith in him. I''m sure he will seed.''

    "I hope so."

 Chapter 210 210: Strategy

    Vor and Lancaster took a long walk around the empty streets of the city, discussing about battles. Vor informed Lancaster about the ws in his fighting style that he had noticed in recent battles.

    Not only did he tell Lancaster the problems, but he also told him that solutions that could be used to minimize those flows until he perfected his fighting skills.

    "And that''s why you should protect yourself from all sides, and not just front because that''s where most of the dangerse from. When you fought, I noticed that you were trying to do that, but now how it should be. Instead of focusing on everything at once, you kept shifting your focus from one thing to another."

    "But despite that, you still did good, so if you just work on that, you could improve more.''

    "I see. I will try to see what I can do with that information."

    "Don''t worry; you aren''t alone. I''ll be training with you from now on. I''ll make sure you be the best warrior there is," Vor patted the shoulder of his descendant.

    He really liked being able to talk to his descendant like this since this removed his initial hesitation and made him understand Lancaster more.

    Lancaster also found it somewhat better. Until recently, Vor was like aplete stranger to him, but at the moment, he was able to see just what he was truly about. At the core, he seemed to be a real good person who had suffered a lot in his life. Despite that, Vor didn''t show it.

    "In our training, I''ll also tell you how to control your wild side. It might take some time, but I''m sure you should be able to control it. You''re quite talented... Just like him..."

    "Him?" Lancaster asked, wondering who this guy was talking about. Who was he like?

    "My son... It looks like he managed to escape the ughter and continued the Bloodline. He''s also the reason you are here," Vor answered. "He was just twenty when we were attacked, and he was quite simr to you. You share many features with him, including some physical features," Vor smiled.

    "You miss your family?" Lancaster asked, even though already knowing the answer to some extent.

    "You don''t?" Vor asked in return. His family was Lancaster''s family as well.

    He lowered his head before exining further. "I miss them a lot. It''s like it was just yesterday when they were right beside me, and now all of them are dead..."

    Lancaster nodded. He could understand what that felt like. Unfortunately, he didn''t know what his real parents were like. He should only guess that they must be simr to Vor to some extent, just as brave. For them to have to abandon their son, it must be quite hard to do it as well. Just what kind of circumstances had to be there to make them do it? If only he knew.

    Vor noticed Lancaster''s expressions. " I''m sorry."

    "For what?" Lancaster looked up in confusion.

    "For not being able to protect your family. For now, being able to make sure that you all got the life you deserve. It''s because of me that my son had to hide from the world. It is because I was weak that he had to run all his life from the enemies. In a way, it''s also because of me that your parents couldn''t be there to help you as you were growing up."<novelnext></novelnext>

    " If I was stronger at that time... If I had managed to protect my people, none of this would''ve happened..."

    "It''s not your fault." Lancaster refuted. "If so many people attacked at once, let alone you, no one in the world would''ve been able to stop them. Moreover, before I lost my family, you lost yours. I don''t even know what I lost since I never knew my parents in the first ce, but you... You know what you lost. And you''ll always have to carry that pain with you..."

    Vor went silent, not knowing what to say. He realized that he needed to stop speaking about the past since it was just scratching their wounds more. They needed to focus on the future instead.

    "I think we should go back. They must be ready by now. As for your training, you should eat up something first. We will start your training tomorrow."

    He stopped and turned around, realizing they had already reached the end of the city. However, as soon as Vor turned around, he noticed a ck Carriage in the distance. As, Lilith, and Luna were sitting on top of the carriage, looking at them.

    It looked like they had been ready for a long time, but because they didn''t want to disturb this moment for them, they were just waiting in the back.

    As started looking elsewhere as soon as they were caught, as if they weren''t observing the two.

    Vor and Lancaster walked back to the carriage. Vor simply nced at Lilith with a grateful gaze. He knew it was her doing, and it was good.

    As and the others also jumped down from the carriage,nding before Vor.

    "Are you two done?" Luna asked.

    "We are. We should get going now," Lancaster responded. "We need to get Mise as well. It''s better we don''t waste much time."

    "Mise? Who is she?" Vor asked, slightly hoping that it was another descendant of his.

    "She is my sister," As exined before others could.

    "Since when do you have a sister?" Vor looked weirdly. He had known Castiel for a long time. He knew that the guy had no sister. Where did the sister pop up from?

    "It''s not his blood sister, but someone who is like a sister," Lancaster exined the story that he had heard, and As didn''t correct him. The lies about this had gone so far that he couldn''t correct them even if he wanted, without looking like the bad guy.

    He just agreed. Everyone entered the carriage while Lancaster exined everything regarding where they were going, still keeping the thing about bringing someone back to life a secret. The carriage left for their final destination.

 Chapter 211 211: Eager

    Vor didn''t know much about anything at this point, so he had to be informed about everything rted to where they were all going.

    He also tried to know why they destroyed the Franc n and everything that happened since As woke up.

    He knew why he wanted to destroy the Franc n, but what about them? Why would they do it?

    Lilith only gave a brief exnation that they had some conflict with the Franc n where the Franc n possessed something which belonged to them. To get that back, they needed to infiltrate the Franc n, but when things went south, they had to fight and destroy the Franc n.

    The basic exnation seemed to be enough for now, but that made Vor even more curious.

    "What should that thing be?" he inquired, ncing at As. Just what could make As destroy an entire n since he rarely did something like that?

    He could just take whatever he wanted. He often tried to not wipe any ns from their roots unless they were a big threat to him.

    "An," As answered. "They didn''t have what I needed, but An did. Unfortunately, they had An as a hostage, so I had to take some drastic steps to get to him. I had to free An, and that was the n at the core. Everything else went from there."

    "However, that goal also had some foolishness mixed in it," he further stated before talking about Yovana and how they were fooled by her.

    Usually, people didn''t spoke of embarrassing things, like being fooled by such a stupid lie, but As didn''t find it embarrassing. It happened, so there was no need to hide it.

    It took around two hours to get Vor up to date with things that were happening around the world, but once they finished exining, he seemingly understood everything and didn''t ask anything else.There was nothing left to ask either since he was told the entire story from the beginning. Only some crucial parts were removed to keep the story consistent about As losing his memories.

    "I''m quite curious to see this Mise... The person who can make Castiel her brother," Vormented, slightly curious who this Mise was going to be.

    The carriage kept moving through day and night without stopping even for a moment. Moreover, as it was the Royal Carriage of a Blood Council Lord, it was also the fastest carriage that As had ever been in.

    The carriage moved at almost twice the speed of thest carriage that they had been in, covering distance even faster for them.

    The journey which would''ve taken a long time could bepleted in half the time, which made As quite pleased since that only saved some time for him.

    Vor had promised to reach Lancaster through battle from the next day, but the n had to be dropped since As didn''t want to stop for now.

    Now that As had all four Key Fragments, he didn''t want to waste a single second for now! He wanted to get to Mise as fast as he could, to bring her back to life. Only then could he rx.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Moreover, Vor was going to be with them for quite some time. There was no hurry in the training, which could wait a few days. Vor also didn''t mind waiting as he spent time inside the carriage.

    Instead of wasting time, he started teaching Lancaster about other things, mostly imparting physical skills and battle tactics that could be used by a Werewolf when fighting multiple enemies.

    Vor was also an excellent strategist and had led many wars, which he rarely lost. The only battle that he lost was the most important battle of his life¡­ The battle where he lost his entire family... The battle which was less of a battle and more of an ambush that came out of nowhere.

    Vor was teaching Lancaster since Castiel was already supposed to know all these things, but As still listened as well. This information was useful even for him. All these battle tactics were quite intriguing and deep.

    The teaching was for Lancaster, but since they were all inside the same carriage, As also managed to grasp that knowledge, not wanting to let it go to waste.

    "And that''s how you trick them into falling into your trap. You got it?"

    "I did." Lancaster nodded. "Give me a few minutes to go through it in my mind."

    Lancaster closed his eyes and tried to memorize everything that he was informed.

    As also understood everything. His memory was already pretty good, which helped him learn everything faster. Not only had he learned the strategy, but he also managed to imagine how it could be used in his previous fighting instances to make things a bit easier for him.

    With a practical example in his mind, he realized that this was a pretty good trick that could shorten the battle, as long as their enemy wasn''t smart enough to decipher what they were trying to do.

    "We are almost there."

    As was immersed in his learning that he even forgot how much time had passed. He looked out the window after hearing Lilith''s reminder. She was right! They were actually there! They were right at the entrance of his vige.

    The carriage finally entered the vige, stopping in the center of the vige. The carriage driver came down, but he didn''t even need to open the door. As was already in such a hurry that he already opened the door and stepped out.

    He looked all around the vige, which looked the same as before. He gazed at the forest in the distance. His figure flickered as he ran. He didn''t even wait for the others since he was in such a hurry.

    "He is quite excited," Vormented, smiling. He also ran after As. The others also followed suit, entering the forest behind As.

    As located where the grave was supposed to be, thanks to the beautiful flower that only he and Lilith could see. He stopped before Mise''s grave.

 Chapter 212 212: Stones

    As stopped before the grave. He could see that the flowers were around the grave had be bigger.

    Everything else other than the flowers looked quite the same as if it was all how he left it.

    Vor also arrived and stopped beside As. He just stood silent, waiting for As to do something. Just why did he stop here?

    Lilith and the others also arrived. Lilith pped her hands. She cast a spell to make it easier for As to bring out the coffin. He clenched his fist.

    Following her spell, all the soil that was ced on top of the coffin started rising in the air. After rising five meters in the air, the soil moved aside andnded in the distance, revealing the coffin that was still like new.

    "A coffin?" Vor asked Lilith, surprised at the sight of the coffin. He thought they were going to meet Mise. Why were they near this coffin? "Whose Coffin is it?"

    "That''s Mise, who was killed by some Vampires," Lancaster answered while As picked up the coffin. He brought the coffin out and ced it on the ground.

    "Mise is dead?Then why we..."

    He didn''t know how to ask his next question after realizing that Mise was dead. He wanted to ask why they were wasting their time on a deceased person, but he was somewhat sensible and stopped himself from uttering those words.

    As opened the coffin, taking a nce inside. Even now, Mise was looking like she was sleeping peacefully. Lilith''s spell had kept her body in perfect condition, without any deterioration. If her pale face was to be ignored, Mise really looked like someone who was just sleeping.

    After checking inside, he closed the Coffin before picking it up in his arms again.

    "Let''s go."

    Carrying the coffin, he started leaving the forest. Vor was quite confused at As'' actions. Just what was this guy trying to do? Why was he disturbing the eternal sleep of the girl by digging up her grave? Just what were they going to do with the coffin?

    Carrying the coffin, As entered the vige again. The citizens of the vige watched the strangers walking inside their vige, carrying a coffin which made them wonder just who these people were.

    The Vigers wanted to get close and ask these people who they were, but they didn''t know if they could. For some reason, they felt fear in approaching these people.

    As carried the coffin, walking right past the house that used to belong to him and Mise. He nced at the house, noticing a middle-aged man lying at the entrance, too drunk even to know where he was.

    As felt heavy hate in his heart for this man, but he just let him be. The man already looked like he was half dead. He wasn''t going to live for long either. Moreover, if Mise wanted, she could kill this man herself. He left it for Mise to decideter.<novelnext></novelnext>

    As reached the end of the vige before he told Lilith to cast a barrier to make sure no one could get close to them. Many vigers had seen them arriving here. He didn''t want one of them to be an obstruction or identally enter the ce where they were going.

    As stood exactly where Ramiun stood with the stones before he brought out the first stone that he had received from Lucius. He ced the stone on the ground, right above the mark. There was no change.

    He brought out the second stone which he had received from As and ced it on the ground, right beside the first stone.

    This time, there seemed to be some change as both the stones and the mark started shining, but there was no more than that. Moreover, the shining was only very minute which was even hard to notice if one wasn''t looking carefully.

    As brought the third stone and ced it on the ground as well. The three stones appeared to sync, and all three stones shone slightly brighter, providing more energy to the mark on the ground.

    All that was left was the fourth stone, which he personally didn''t have. But he knew who had it.

    He reached out his hand toward Lilith. "The Forth Stone.''

    From what Lilith told him before, she was keeping the fourth key fragment for Castiel. As didn''t feel the need to ask her for the stone before it was time since it wasn''t as if the stone was unsafe with Lilith. Now that he needed the stone, he asked for it directly.

    Lilith observed all the stones in the ground, seemingly thinking of something. For a moment, it looked as if she was distracted.

    "Lilith!" As called for her in a slightly louder tone. "Where is the fourth fragment?"

    His tell seemingly brought Lilith out of her daze. She finally brought out a green stone, giving it to As. "There, the fourth and thest key fragment."

    Thest key fragment belonged to Castiel, and he himself asked her to help As in every way she could, which implied giving him the stone as well.

    As took the stone from Lilith''s hands. This was thest stone and the only obstruction which seemed to be between him and his goals.

    He ced the fourth stone on the ground as well. Not a single one of them had ever seen what happens after all those stones were put together. Only Castiel and the other Progenitors saw it before, not even Lilith.

    In fact, Lancaster, Luna, and Vor didn''t even know what these four stones were, let alone knowing what they did. However, the way they were reacting to the formation on the ground, it made them think that these stones were probably some sort of keys. But keys to what? That was a bigger question.

    As soon as the four key fragments came together, something big happened. All the stones started shining as bright as they could. The ground began trembling, and not just under them. The entire vige and the nearby regions felt the trembling.

 Chapter 213 213: Fountain

    The ground started splitting apart as a frack developed not far from As. The crack became around two meters wide and five meters long before the trembling of the ground stopped.

    "That must be the entrance."

    As picked all four key fragments after making sure that nothing else was happening. He walked to the huge crack on the ground.

    Through the crack, he didn''t even see anything. Everything looked dark on the inside. There was no way for him to even know just how deep the fall was.

    He opened Mise''s coffin. It was easier to carry her inside than the entire coffin. He picked up Mise''s body in his arms before he moved closer to the crack and jumped down without thinking about what could be inside. Even if there was nothing there, he could still use his flight spell toe out.

    Vor and Lancaster also jumped down, curious as to what they were going to see inside. Lilith reinforced the protection of her barrier even more before she also jumped inside the crack with Luna.

    Because of the Darkness, which made it impossible to see anything, none of them knew exactly how long the fall was going to be. Fortunately, it didn''t seem to be a long fall either. It was quite tame. They only fell for around two minutes before reaching the ground.

    Asnded on the ground and moved aside, knowing others must being as well. He didn''t want them to fall on him.

    Moreover, as soon as hended on the ground, the darkness seemingly disappeared, and everything turned bright. It was as if the entire ce was filled with light now, despite there being no visible source of light.

    Lancaster and Vor alsonded here, right behind As. They also moved aside before observing their surroundings.

    Luna and Lilith also arrived. Not a single person amongst them had ever been here, so it was the first time for all of them.

    "What is this ce?" Vor asked As, noticing the bizarre ce. It was quite strange. The walls were in white, with not even a speck of dirt on them. In fact, they had never seen a cleaner ce than this.

    What was even stranger was that the walls had some carvings. There was a green mark carved on one of the four walls. The mark was quite simr to what was in As'' hands. The other walls also had simr yet different marks.

    The other marks were simr to what the other Progenitors had. It was as if each of the four walls here depicted one of the Four Progenitors.

    Vor was sure that this ce was rted to the Progenitors, but how?

    "This was the ce where the Progenitors were born," As answered before stepping toward the center of the hall.

    There was nothing in this ce other than this one hall. There were no doors or hallways that could connect this ce to any other secret ce. That meant they only had this ce. Whatever he had to do, he could only do here.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Lilith, do you know the process to bring someone back as a Progenitor?" As asked Lilith. It was his first time, so he had no idea. He could only guess. Castiel didn''t tell him anything about this either.

    "I don''t know. I''ve never been here before." Lilith shook her head. "I know nothing when ites to this."

    "Wait. Did you say bringing someone back as a Progenitor? What did that mean?" Vor and Luna both asked at the same time.

    They used to think that it was impossible for there to be more Progenitors. Did he mean there was a way to make more of them?

    Even Lancaster was a bit surprised. He knew that As wanted to bring Mise back to life, but even he didn''t think that it was going to be as a Progenitor. Then again, this made sense. Vampires were undead, so Miseing back to life as a Progenitor wasn''t the same as hering back as a human.

    "It means what you think it does," As responded. "I don''t know if it''s possible or not, but I''m going to try everything I can to bring Mise back."

    In the center of the hall, As could see a small fountaining out of a small pond. The water of the fountain and the pond appeared to be crystal clear. He could also feel that there was something special about that.

    If he didn''t know what exactly could turn a person into a Progenitor, then he was going to try everything here and see if his luck worked in anything.

    He knew that four orphans came here and became Progenitors. It could be possible that they bathed in this pond which changed them. If not, he was going to try other ways.

    He stepped closer to the pond and ced Mise''s body inside, only keeping her head outside.

    "If you''re trying to see if the pond changes her, you should free her. Let her body enter the waterpletely. If she turns, she won''t have a probleming out. And if she doesn''t, she is already but breathing. Just try." Lilith reminded As.

    As took her advice and ultimately freed Mise''s body. Her suggestions did make sense.

    Instead of floating in the water, Mise''s body submerged in the water,nding inside. Fortunately, the pond was only two meters deep, so her body didn''t go too deep.

    After leaving Mise''s body in the water, As stood up. While he gave the pond some time to work on Mise''s body, he observed the other ces. If this pond wasn''t it, then he needed to find something else to try.

    It was hard to find anything else though. Other than the pond, there weren''t many things inside the hall that could be of use. He expected there to be some stone of something that could make someone a Progenitor by just touching them, but apparently, it was too optimistic.

    Other than the pond, there were only the four walls, each with a unique mark on it. He walked to the wall, having a feeling that there was something in them.

 Chapter 214 214: Trigger

    The entire ce was more empty than what As expected when he wasing. In fact, it was just too empty, which made it even harder to find just what they were supposed to find here.

    Even Lilith couldn''t help him with that. They were all quite ignorant when it came to this ce. Here, Lilith''s guess was as good as his own.

    The only thing which could be suspected was the fountain pond, but even that didn''t convince him entirely. He felt as if he was missing something. As for what that could be, even he wasn''t sure.

    He walked to the nearby wall, which had the same symbol as the one on the back of his hand.

    He observed the wall, stopping right beside it. His fingers gently touched the mark on the wall, feeling the rough texture of the wall. The mark on the wall seemed to be carved using something rough.

    Vor also stepped near As. "You think there might be a secret chamber?"

    "A secret chamber?" As repeated.

    "Yeah. I''ve seen something like this many times. People make secret chambers to make it even harder for people to get to their treasures. I don''t know if there would be one here or not, but if you''re looking for something that isn''t here, then there might be one."

    "How do you get to those secret chambers usually?" As asked as he didn''t know much about it. If Vor was older and more knowledgeable, then it was possible for him to help in this situation.

    "There are different ways. Each person can have a different way of getting to that secret chamber in case they made it. Though one thing which ismon in all those is the trigger."

    "Trigger?"

    "Yeah. They asionally leave triggers behind to open the path to secret chambers, which would be hard to get to otherwise. It could be anything..."

    "A trigger huh. Just like that..." As remembered the triggerCastiel left behind in the castle cell. He identally pressed that trigger, opening the secret chamber.

    It was possible that Castiel received that idea from this ce? In that case, the triggers should be simr.

    "Check the walls. Check every point! There should be something."

    As immediately thought of the possibility and started checking the wall where he was standing. He started pressing every point, wondering if he was going to find a simr trigger.

    Vor took another wall and started looking as well.

    As mostly checked the centre of the wall where the mark was carved since that seemed like an important part. If there was a trigger, it was most likely hidden there.

    After hundreds of pushes at different points, he finally noticed something. He was right! There was a simr trigger. There was a small portion in the wall which sunk inside the wall with a light push.

    As stepped back, waiting for something to happen. Unfortunately, even after five minutes, nothing happened. The sunken part of the wall returned to its usual position.

    As As was about to try again, he heard Vor call to him. "I found something!''

    As looked back, noticing that Vor had also found something simr. There was a small portion of the wall that was sunk inside, only to return to its usual position.

    "That wall has it too? That means the other two walls might have as well," As frowned, taking a guess. It wasn''t just one wall.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Lilith! Luna, take one of the other two walls and look for a simr trigger. If I''m not wrong, a single trigger won''t work. These points are like the four key fragments. All need to be together for it to work."

    Since one wasn''t working it made As feel that it must work simultaneously as well. If the other two walls had triggers as well, it was going to confirm his suspicions.

    Lilith took the third wall, and Luna took the fourth wall, only leaving Lancaster empty handed.

    Lancaster remained near the pond.

    After searching for a short time, Lilith and Luna also managed to locate the same trigger in the middle of the marks on the wall.

    "Found it!" Lilith eximed shortly followed by Luna.

    "Perfect. At the count of three, we''ll all push that trigger!" He instructed them all, not wanting to make a mistake. At the same time, he also hoped that he was right and that it was going to work.

    "One!"

    Everyone ced their hands on the wall, waiting for the count to hit three.

    "Two!"

    "Three!"

    As soon as he finished the count, As pressed on the trigger. Lilith, Luna, and Vor did the same. All four of them pressed it together, and for a moment, it seemed to be working as well.

    They heard a crunching noise, which made them realize that something was happening for sure.

    "Everyone, I think you should look here," Lancaster called out everyone''s attention to him, looking down.

    He was able to see a small opening in the ground that was kept hidden before. The small opening in the ground was like a small safe that was made to keep something safe.

    Inside the small opening, Lancaster was also able to see something... Something that attracted his attention right away. He was able to see a beautiful ck jade lying there, emitting incredulous energies that made him feel really ufortable.

    It was the same for Vor. This strange energy was quite repulsive for him for some reason. He was really hating this energy.

    On the other hand, As found this energy to be quite refreshing. Being in the presence of this energy only made him feel stronger and nothing else.

    He took his hands off the wall and walked to Lancaster, keeping his eyes on the small opening in the ground.

    There was only a single piece of stone there, but that stone appeared to contain an otherworldly power.

    "This must be it," As reached out his hand, touching the beautiful stone that he believed could help him.

 Chapter 215 215: A Change

    As finally touched the piece of stone, but as soon as his fingers touched it, he felt a minor current course through his body.

    The strange current didn''t harm him, but it did feel a bit ufortable.

    As picked up the piece of stone, ignoring the strange feeling.

    He showed the stone to Lilith. "What do you think? Could this be it?"

    "If it was kept Hidden, it must be important for sure. But do you even know how to use it? Because I don''t."

    "I''m sure it''s not supposed to be eaten so that only leaves a few options. We can try them all."

    As clenched his fist and walked to the fountain in the distance. He entered the fountain where Mise was lying inside the crystal clear water.

    He ced his hand inside the water, still holding onto the beautiful stone. He ced the stone on the forehead of Mise.

    He was sure that the stone couldn''t turn anyone into a Progenitor just by being in its presence. And it couldn''t be eaten either. That only left one possibility... The stone needed to touch someone to turn them into a progenitor.

    He believed that was also the feeling he was getting when he touched the stone. The minor current he felt was possibly the stone trying to turn him into a Progenitor, only to stop after realizing that he was already a Progenitor.

    He really hoped that his notion was correct.

    The stone touched the forehead of Mise. As stood in the water, waiting for as long as it took.

    Thirty minutes passed, and As still hadn''t moved.

    Seeing nothing happen, Lilith wondered if they were wrong about it. Maybe that''s not how it worked. Or maybe it wasn''t supposed to work in any way since she was already dead?

    When the first four Progenitors came to be, they were all alive. They turned while being alive, but Mise was dead, so they were basically trying something that had never been done before.

    The chances of them seeding were looking more and more fleeting with each passing second.

    Lancaster also looked earnestly, praying for it to work. He knew how much As wanted this. If this didn''t seed, he was going to be heartbroken.

    As clenched his fist. As time passed, even he was starting to feel uneasy, but he didn''t give up. He was going to stay there as long as it took.

    ****<novelnext></novelnext>

    Three more hours passed, and nothing had happened. Neither the fountain was working nor the pond.

    By now, even Lancaster had started losing hope. It didn''t look like this was going to work, no matter how much he wanted. Maybe bringing the dead back to life was really impossible. Maybe they were really optimistic.

    As clenched his fist. Was he really destined for failure? Was it really not going to work? If this wasn''t going to work, then why did Castiel tell him to go for it? Why didn''t Castiel stop him? Was he ying with him? No, that couldn''t happen. As clenched his fist and held on.

    Five hours passed, and Lilith still hadn''t opened her eyes. At this point, even As was starting to lose hope. It had started looking like he actually was too optimistic, thinking he could bring a dead person back to life. It was probably impossible. The stone could maybe turn a person into a Progenitor, but not a deceased person.

    He gazed at the faces of others outside the pond. They were all looking at him with gazes that seemed like they were telling him to give up.

    Clenching his fist, As finally decided to let it be.If Mise wasn''t going to return, then maybe it was for the good. Maybe her soul was already in her next life, much happier? He knew he shouldn''t disturb her eternal rest.

    Clenching his fist, As started standing up. However, as soon as he was about topletely stand, he felt like someone was holding onto his hand.

    He looked down, noticing his hand was actually being grabbed by someone. And that someone was none other than Mise. She held his hand as if not wanting to let him go.

    "Mise?" As eximed, looking at the face of Mise, which was still peacefully sleeping.

    He could see Mise''s body growing up. It was as if she was bing older. She did start looking older with each passing second as if she was aging a year with each second.

    "It worked!" As eximed in excitement.

    This aging process was something that most of the Progenitors went through, where they be adults from teens. From what he was told, almost all Progenitors went through this.

    If Mise was going through this as well, that meant it had seeded! She had started turning into a Progenitor! Moreover, her hand movement convinced him that she was also back to life! He wasn''t wrong! Castiel wasn''t wrong! This stone could bring Mise back to life as a Progenitor.

    Lilith and the others were also shocked to see Mise aging at such a speed. She wasing back to life! So it worked!

    "A dead personing back to life...?" Even Vor was surprised. "The world really has so many secrets. I thought that death was the only thing in the world that was permanent, but that doesn''t seem to be the case anymore..."

    A dead person wasing back to life. None of them had seen something even close to this happening before. Luna wondered just what that stone was. The stone which was capable of bringing a dead person back to life? Just how was this possible? Where did that stonee from? Was this a natural stone or something made by someone?

    If it was natural, then how did a death defying stone form? And why were there only four Progenitors in that case? And if it was made by someone, then just what kind of strength could that person have possessed? Even in her world, they had never heard of something like this ever. It waspletely unheard of!

 Chapter 216 216: Return

    While a miracle was taking ce on earth right before the As and others, war preparation was being made in another ce, far away from earth.

    A man stood on the balcony of his majestic castle, looking out into the distance.

    "How long before we''re ready to leave?" he asked the person behind him.

    "We should be ready to leave in a few hours. All our men are already ready. We are going through final checking," The middle-aged man in the back answered. "But Your Highness. I was wondering if we should wait for his Majesty to return first. He isn''t here, and we are going for a war..."

    "Father is busy with something else, and it''s good that he isn''t here. It''s because of him that we have to go through this war. If he had been precisest time and if he had finished the enemies, we wouldn''t have to go through this, would I?" The young man retorted.

    "He took pity on those ants and let them live after listening to my sister''s pleas. That was the biggest mistake he made. This time, I won''t make the same mistake. I''ll be leading us this time, and I won''t have any pity on those ants," he further stated. "We might be back from this war before my fatheres back."

    "Finish the checks faster. I will also get ready. I want everything to be ready by the time I leave the castle!"

    "Yes, Your Highness."

    The young man entered the castle again. He went back to his room which only he was allowed to ess.

    Inside his room, there was a bed right in the center. On the bed, there were multiple times lying, but the most eye-catching of them was the Armor of the man.

    The young man walked to the bed and started wearing the Armour.

    Even one shoulder te of his Armor alone weighed twenty kilos, let alone the entire Armor. It was unclear just what this Armor was made from to make it so heavy, despite being so thin.

    After donning the Armor, which protected his entire body except his face, the man left his room.

    The young man left his room, where some of his men were already waiting for him. The men greeted him and apanied him outside the castle.

    The citizens of the city watched the young Prince leave. Seeing all the recent preparation, they were sure that they were going to war; as for what kind of war, no one knew. They didn''t even know who the enemy was.

    Only the Young Prince and his people knew who the enemy was. None of the citizens worried though. They hadplete faith in their warriors, who had dominated the entire gxy for centuries. There was no one who could threaten them, so it was nothing to worry about.

    The young prince left the city. Outside the city, there was a huge barrennd. However, thend didn''t look as barren anymore as most of thend was filled with massive space ships now. The huge metallic ships looked quite powerful.

    Around the hundred ships, there were thousands of Warriors who were waiting for their Prince''s arrival so they could be allowed to leave.

    Observing the men, the Prince nodded. He didn''t give any speeches or any briefs. He didn''t need to give. All these men were warriors, and their duty was to fight. There was no need for any speech to make them understand what they needed to do.

    The Young Prince entered the ship, which was in the lead, and entered it, followed by his Generals.

    The other men also entered their respective ships.

    *****

    Mise held As'' hands as if signaling that she was alive. She still hadn''t opened her eyes.

    After a few seconds, her aging also stopped as she started looking like she was in her early twenties. It wasn''t just her body that aged but also her soul. It was as if the stone wanted to make sure that her body and her soul werepatible with the immense strength she was going to receive.

    As noticed a strange mark appearing on the back of Mise''s hand as well, which was simr to his mark yet somewhat different in ces. It wasn''t just the color that was different, but there were a few more minor differences.

    No matter what, As was happy. He was really close to sess, and it looked like he was almost there. The stone was working! Now all he needed was for Mise to open her eyes.

    Seeing the happiness on As'' face, even Lancaster felt quite happy.

    Some more time passed, and finally, Mise opened her eyes. Her deep blue eyes were still their original color, just like her hair which was blue but longer.

    As soon as Mise opened her eyes, she found herself inside water. Scared and feeling like she could suffocate, she hastily sat up, bringing her head out of the water. The first face she saw before her was As, but his face was different. She couldn''t recognize him.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Where am I?" She asked, looking all around. Fortunately, she couldn''t find anyone here who looked like a Vampire. Even As didn''t look like a traditional Vampire from his eyes.

    She wondered if she was still in the Severis Castle.

    "Mise... Wee back to life, little sister." As hugged Mise without thinking anything.

    "Uhh?" Shocked at being abruptly hugged by a stranger, Mise hastily pushed As away.

    She had just awakened as a Vampire, not knowing just how powerful she was. The strength behind her firm push sent As flying back.

    As fell out of the pond. Fortunately, he was unharmed.

    He stood up again. "I should''ve thought about it..."

    Lancaster was told that Mise knew As. Seeing her act like a stranger and push him away was surprising. He wondered if Mise also lost her memories to not recognizing him. He didn''t know that the face she knew waspletely different.

    "Mise, look at your reflection in the water!" he called out. That was the only way to make her understand faster.

    Mise looked down, only to get stunned even more. She couldn''t recognize her own reflection. She looked much older. Her face was also longer now. She touched her face, making sure it was indeed her.

    "What is happening? What did you do to me?" she asked. Her head started aching heavily.

    " I am As! I brought you back to life!" As eximed. To prove his identity, he also told things that only Mise and he should know regarding their childhood and their time inside the castle.

    "Also, I didn''t tell you one thing before. You loved beetroot juice, but I didn''t. I hated it. It tasted really bad. That''s why I always drank it before eating, so it didn''t leave a bad taste in my mouth. Jason wasn''t the only one with this thought!"

    With his words, As had managed to somewhat convince Mise that there was a possibility of him being An, but she didn''t understand how. How did he look different now? And what about her? Why was she looking like this?

    "How did it..." She stood up, nk.

    As told her about her death. He told her how she made a mistake, and she was killed by Carlisle for it. Hearing his story, Mise''s memories started clearing up to some extent. She remembered being feasted on by Carlisle.

    Her fingers gently brushed around her neck. There were no marks left there anymore. As told her how she was already dead by the time she was returned to him. Since then, he found her and brought her back to life.

    "How is this possible? How can Ie back to life from death?" Mise asked.

    "You''re not alone with that question, little girl," Vor smiled wryly. "There are many of us who have the same question. Just know that it worked somehow."

    "That''s right. As had worked really hard to save you. He took so many risks that you can''t even imagine. All over the possibility of bringing you back..." Lancaster also chimed in.

    Mise looked at the others. "Are they also the ones who were with us in the cell?"

    Since even As now had a different face, she wondered if the others were the same.

    "They aren''t. The children inside the cell have been freed, and the Carlisle n is destroyed. These people aren''t the ones in the cell. They are way more than that..."

    "They are the ones who helped me in my journey. They are my friends and the ones who gave me support when I needed it the most."

    "She is Lilith. She had been with me since the start. She taught me everything I know. She is my friend, my teacher, and no less than my family.''

    "That''s Luna... Ah, she is also a friend." As didn''t know how to describe Luna since he hadn''t known her for long enough.

    "That''s Vor, the new King of Werewolves who helped me get what I needed to save you."

    "Andstly, that''s Lancaster... Whatever I say about him isn''t enough. He is like a brother... No, he is way more than a brother to me!"

 Chapter 217 217: Dream

    "After Lilith, he had been with me the longest. He fought beside me, supported me and helped me in bringing you back."

    As introduced all the people in his team as Mise didn''t know about anyone in the team.

    "Overwhelmed?" After introducing everyone, he asked Mise. He could see on her face that she was quite overwhelmed. Then again, it was normal. One moment, she was a child and the next moment she was an adult. Her brother had changed and so did her entire world.

    Mise didn''t know how to react. She just looked at everyone, somewhat nk.

    As stepped closer.

    "This time don''t attack me. You just became a Progenitor, so you need to learn to control your strength first. But before that..."

    He turned to Lilith. "Lilith, can you help dry her clothes?"

    Lilith nodded. It was a simple thing. Mise had been inside the water for a long time. Not only her clothes but her face and her hair was also still wet.

    Lilith cast a spell, raising his right hand gracefully.

    A warm wind surrounded Mise, drying her clothes. Within five seconds, Mise was in warm clothes. Her hair was also dry.

    She just looked in amazement. She had just experienced magic for the first time.

    "Lilith is a Witch. Vor and Lancaster are Werewolves. You and I are Progenitors now." As gave a brief. "This was the only way to bring you back from death, by making you an undying Vampire."

    "I am a... Vampire?"

    Mise looked at her hands, noticing they were very pale. "But my eyes... They aren''t red! Your eyes aren''t either."

    "There are Vampires who don''t have red eyes. It''s normal. It''s just that red eyes are moremon so we only knew about them," As exined. "Now that you are a Progenitor, you are the strongest Vampire and you''re impossible to kill. Still, you have a lot to learn which I''m sure you''ll do in time."

    "Until then, shall we leave this ce?"

    As kept that ck stone in his Spatial storage, using his spell. He didn''t give that special Progenitor Stone to Lilith. He also didn''t want to leave it here as there were many people who now knew about this stone, including Luna. He believed it was safer if he just kept it.

    Mise could only agree. She couldn''t recognise As, but she decided to believe him when he said that he was As. She was mostly sure of it. If she could look different now, why can''t he? Moreover his words and his actions... They all proved that he was As.

    Initially, she was too much in a shock to react, but after making sure that he was As anding to her senses, she just hugged As, losing control of his emotions. The moment of her death was still shing before her eyes. Even though she was perfectly fine now, she was still thinking about her death and how scared she was.

    As wrapped his hands around Mise as well, realizing what she was feeling. "Don''t worry. You are safe now. No one can harm you now... Not even those Vampires. In fact, they should be scared of you now."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "You can kill them with a single finger, you know?" he asked.

    Mise was still in disbelief but she nodded. "I was so scared. I am sorry for messing things up for you..."

    "You didn''t do anything. Don''t think about that. It''s all in the past. Carlisle is also dead now and he died a really bad death at that.''

    After a long hug, Mise finally freed As.

    She knew that the man before her was As, but she also knew that it was going to take her a long time to be ustomed to his new face.

    As held Mise''s hands and took her back to leave. Along the way, he told her more about the Progenitors, regarding how they were the first Vampires and how they started their own lineage.

    Hearing all these, Mise was taken aback. She looked in surprise. Were Progenitors really that special? Then how was it so easy to be one?

    She directly asked this question.

    "Even I''m not sure how this actually works," As answered. "But fortunately I managed to pull it off."

    So far, he didn''t tell Mise about the fact that he wasn''t really a Progenitor and that he was just in the body temporarily. She was just back. He didn''t want to make her sad by telling her more than she needed to know.

    He cast a flight spell, looking at the light in the sky. His body started rising in the air with Mise, stunning her even more. She couldn''t believe she was flying. It was all so incredulous that it made her wonder if she was dreaming.

    Everything that she came to know in thest few hours made her believe that it couldn''t be real.

    "This is a dream, isn''t it?" she asked, hesitant. She didn''t want this to be a dream, but it felt real as well.

    "If it''s a dream, then it''s surely one I don''t ever want to end," As answered, smiling wryly.

    He knew that it wasn''t a dream, but he could understand why it would feel like a dream. If he was in her ce, he would''ve thought the same thing. In fact, when he first woke up in Castiel''s body, even he wondered if it was a dream, which he still remembered. Thus he couldn''t fault her.

    Asnded on the ground outside. The others also came out,nding around them. As soon as they all came out, the crack in the ground started closing up.

    The opening in the ground returned to the way it used to look before. There was not even a glimpse left which could make it feel like there was ever a crack in the ground.

    Lilith also cancelled the protection spell in the surroundings as she didn''t need it any more.

    "This ce... Is it...?" Mise looked at the vige behind her, recognizing where they were.

 Chapter 218 218: I Have A Place

    "Our vige," As answered. He had already expected that Mise was going to recognise this ce as she lived here for a long time. If he could recognise this ce, it was only going to be easier for her.

    "It looks just like it looked on the day when we..."

    "When we ran away?" As asked,pleting the sentence. "It does. Not many things have changed here."

    "How long has it been since I died?" Mise inquired.

    "A few months... So not long."

    "Is he still alive?"

    "He is. I saw him not long ago," As answered. "He is still drunk. He doesn''t even know where he is. That man is still as pathetic as he was in the past. You want to meet him?"

    "I better not. I don''t even want to see his face now."

    "You know, if you hate him, you can get your revenge now that you''re capable of? He''s the reason we all ended up in this problem in the first ce. Who will pay if not him? If you want to kill him, you can go ahead."

    The reason As didn''t kill the man that he hated the most at this point, it was because he believed that Mise deserved that opportunity. Both of them suffered because of the man''s actions, but Mise suffered the most.

    Mise heard As suggestion, slightly taken aback. Was her brother actually suggesting that they kill someone? She knew As to be someone who could never kill anyone. She didn''t know that in thest few months As was forced to do many things. He didn''t just take one life... He took thousands of lives to get here.

    If As was a naive man at the start, now he was a changed man who didn''t hesitate to kill the ones he needed to. Previously, he was stuck in the mentality of a human but now... Now he had fully embraced the mentality of a Progenitor where killing wasn''t all that hard.

    In fact, now he didn''t even think twice if he needed to kill someone. His hand didn''t hesitate for even a moment.

    Mise shook her head. "I don''t want to kill him. I hate him, and never want to see his face, but even I can''t get myself to kill him."

    "If that''s what you want..." As nodded. If she didn''t want to kill him then he was fine with this decision as well. The man was going to die soon anyway, living in misery.

    "Let''s get to the Carriage and leave this ce. We also need to find a ce to stay. Our long journey has concluded for now."

    He walked in the direction of their Carriage, still holding onto the hands of Mise.

    "So, any suggestions where we should go?" he asked the people behind him.

    He had travelled many ces, from the Kingdom of Wolves, to the n of Witches... From the Castle of  Vampires to the hub of Blood Council. Despite that, he had no ce that he could call home.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Even as he finished his main goal, he didn''t know where to create a home for them where he could live hisst few days in peace.

    "We can go to the Kingdom of Wolves. It''spletely empty now, but it''ll be a nice ce to stay," Vor suggested. "It''ll be a homing for Lancaster as well, as that ce belongs to him now."

    "I think we should avoid high profile ces like that." Luna chimed in. "They were at the center of all the chaosst time as well. If my Brotheres, those ces would definitely be the ones that he''ll search first."

    "Brother, who is that girl?" Mise asked, keeping her voice low. She knew Lilith was a witch and the two men were Werewolves, but she didn''t know who Luna was. "Is she also a Witch? And who is his brother that we need to avoid? And why?"

    "Not a Witch. She is... Ah, it''s a little bitplicated. I guess you can say that she''s an Alien. She is from a different world. And her brother is the Prince of that world."

    "Why do we need to avoid him then?"

    "Because his brother hates the Supernaturals of this world. In other words, his brother doesn''t like me, Lilith, Vor and the others. So it''s better if we stay away from them at least until we are ready," As exined.

    "I agree. It''s better if we don''t make it easy for them to find us. We should find a low profile ce." Lilith agreed.

    "Do you have any ce in mind?" As asked. He hoped she wasn''t suggesting the Orphanage as that would just bring back the memories of Severis Castle for Mise. He wanted to keep Mise away from those memories as much as he could, at least until she didn''t learn how to control her powers.

    He wanted some peace, and nomotion.

    ? "I do have a ce in mind," Lilith responded. "A ce which should be nice to stay."

    Lilith brought a letter out of her pocket which had a small map.

    As soon as Lancaster saw that letter, he remembered that it was the same letter that was given to him by Castiel. Was that really a map of a safe ce?

    "What ce is that?" As asked.

    "It''s a small town in the north. It should be a nice ce to stay for now. At least for a little while. I suggest we go there." Lilith was very firm about this. She didn''t know what Castiel wanted when he gave her this map, but she believed it was for a reason.

    And now that they actually had time to go to other ces, what better ce than the one that Castiel wanted them to go to?

    She also wanted to see just what was at that ce. Why did Castiel want her to go there? And how was it possible that even she didn''t know about that ce before even though she stayed with Castiel for most of her life. The secret of that once was really intriguing for her and she wanted to find more about it!

 Chapter 219 219: Chance

    Since As had no ce of his own to go to, he agreed to Lilith''s suggestions. That seemed to be the only valid suggestion at the moment, and it was definitely better than going to the Kingdom of Wolves. If it was a small town, they could stay there at peace, without worrying about it much.

    Moreover, if it was a small town, even if Luna''s brother came, it wasn''t going to be easy for him to find them.

    As didn''t believe that he had a long time. Whatever time he had, he wanted to spend in peace, teaching Mise about her new powers. He wanted to spend hisst few days at a ce where he didn''t need to fight anyone, or kill anyone. He didn''t want to use his strength which only decreased his life.

    As far as the war with the otherworlders was concerned, he decided to leave it on Castiel. He could only help in the nning, but more than that, he didn''t think he needed to get involved. Castiel was a more capable warrior after all.

    Even though As agreed to Lilith''s suggestion, he still asked others if there was another suggestion. Since he had already agreed to Lilith''s suggestion the others also agreed at the same time. There was no need to go back and forth about this small thing.

    Walking through the town, As once again walked past the ce which used to be their house, as if giving Mise onest chance to decide.

    Mise nced in the direction of her home. It was the ce where they spent their childhood. It was also a ce that they had to abandon to protect themselves. The ce had both good and bad memories.

    At the entrance of the house, a man was lying on the floor as if he was unconscious. An empty beer bottle was lying near him, along with a walking stick.

    After a brief nce in the man''s direction, Mise clenched her fist and started looking elsewhere. She didn''t want to see that man.

    As noticed Mise not doing anything to the man even now. It seemed as if she really didn''t want to kill him now. He let it be and led her back to the carriage.

    After reaching the carriage, all of them entered inside. Lilith informed the carriage driver on where to take them, even showing him the map.

    The driver memorized the man, and knew the way to lead them. The carriage started moving and left the small vige, where As had no reason to stay anymore.

    The vigers didn''t know how special their vige was, or just what mysterious treasure was lying under their vige all these years. Even now, they were ignorant as to what was taken from their vige.

    The only thing that they were was that many outsiders were entering and leaving their vige in recent months for some reason.

    Even the old man who was drunk out of his senses didn''t know that his two kids were back inside the vige and how close he was to them. At this point, the man was just wasting his life, waiting for his death.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "If I am a Vampire, does that mean I need to drink blood now?" It had only been half an hour since the Carriage started moving and Mise asked a question that just started guing her.

    "That''s right," As nodded. "You will need to drink blood, at least once every month or so. Because you''re a Progenitor, you don''t need to drink daily, but yeah, you''ll have to drink."

    "Did you drink as well?" she asked As.

    As gazed back at her before nodding. "Many times."

    "So we are the same as the ones who kept us hostage, feasting on the weak?" Mise asked. As soon as she heard about As drinking blood, her first thought was that he drank the blood of a kid, just like the Vampires at the Castle used to drink.

    She wondered if they really became the same monsters as them.

    "We''re not the same as them," As responded. "We can never be the same as them. They kept innocent children hostage in their castle like ves, feasting on them. But we aren''t the same. I don''t feast on humans... Only the ones who attack me. I''ve never drank the blood of a child."

    He further exined. "As a Progenitor, we don''t just have to drink the blood of a human. We can also feast on a Vampire, but it''s still better if you drink the blood of a human first to get ustomed to it. We can find an adult who is willing to give some of their blood in exchange for some money if you want?"

    "What if I don''t drink?" Mise asked.

    "There is no option. If you don''t drink, you''ll enter a phase known as the Bloodlust where you''ll lose your sanity. In that case, you''ll start attacking and feasting on innocents, even childrens won''t be safe. That''s why, it''s much better if you do it on your own."

    As As tried to convince Mise about why she needed to drink blood, Lilith was smiling nearby, finding it amusing. It hadn''t been long since she was in As'' ce, trying to convince him.

    It was really hard to convince him since he was so naive at the start. She believed that it was only now when she was going to learn just how hard it was for her and what she went through.

    As noticed that smug smile of Lilith. Through her expressions, he was able to read her mind, understanding what she was finding amusing. He only rolled his eyes in response before he continued trying to teach Lilith.

    "Just think of it as a trade. You are buying something instead of forcing them to give it to you. And it''s out of their own will. It''s not in any way simr to what we went through. I''ll be there to help you through it!"

 Chapter 220 220: Back Where It Started

    As knew just how hard the first feasting could be. He drank a Vampire''s blood as his first feast, which was even harder as it overwhelmed him entirely for a moment, sending him to Bloodlust. However, he didn''t want Mise to go through the same.

    He wanted her to start at something weak, which was human blood. And even if she somehow entered Bloodlust after her first taste of blood, he and Vor were still going to be there to keep her down so she couldn''t hurt anyone as long as she was in that phase.

    This was the safest option they had, but first, he needed to prepare her mentally for what was toe like he was prepared. And who better to prepare her with all this knowledge than Lilith.

    Since Lilith was finding it so much fun, he decided to give this task to Lilith to get her engaged.

    "Lilith knows more about it, so she will train you on how to be mentally prepared. After you are ready, we can go through it."

    "Lilith, why don''t you tell her more?" he asked Lilith, dragging her in the discussion as well.

    Lilith red at him, as if ming him for tossing all the responsibility to her. However, she didn''t say no. She agreed to him even now.

    Mise was also a Progenitor now, and it was better if she knew the basics.

    Lilith started exining the things that As left out, regarding the Bloodlust and how she needed to get her mind ready. She told Mise that she needed to get ustomed to blood and not get scared at the sight of blood.

    Since Lilith took the lead in Mise''s training, As could take some time off from speaking. He asionally looked out the carriage, but he didn''t stop listening to what Lilith was saying. Whenever necessary, he chimed in to further exin what needed to be exined.

    The carriage kept moving through the rough terrain, advancing to their destination.

    After some time, Lilith finished her exnation and left the rest on Mise. She told Mise to start meditation, just like she had told As before.

    For a moment, there wasplete silence in the carriage as no one spoke for the rest of the journey since no one wanted to disturb Mise''s meditation.

    There was only silence. Vor and Lancaster went to sleep. As Vor sat near the window, his head rested on the window as he slept while sitting. In the silence, even Lancaster didn''t realize when he fell asleep.

    His head rested on Vor''s shoulder as he fell asleep. Feeling some weight on his shoulder, Vor opened his eyes. After realizing that it was sleeping Lancaster, he didn''t disturb the young man and let him rest as he went to sleep.

    Lilith sat on the other side, right between Mise and Luna, where Luna took the window this time. On the other side, As sat beside Mise, taking the other window.

    As kept looking out the window. For some reason, the world seemed different to him now.

    Now that he had removed the biggest burden from his shoulders, his mind waspletely rxed. There was no race anymore. He didn''t need to do anything. Now all he needed to do was enjoy the life he had left as much as he could.<novelnext></novelnext>

    One Vampire... Just one Vampire had changed their lives forever. If it wasn''t for Carlisle, none of them would''ve died in the Severis Castle. There were two deaths that day inside the Castle, one of Mise and other of his.

    He had managed to reverse one of the deaths, which he found to be worth it. It was better that only one of them died instead of the two. Now, not only Mise couldn''t die, but she was also one of the strongest beings in the world, which made As happy.

    "Hmm?" As the carriage moved through day and night, As noticed something.

    The path they were taking... The surroundings, it was all quite familiar. He had traveled through this same path once before. He also knew where this path led. It was the same path he had taken when he was leaving the Severis Castle for the first time.

    Why were they back here? Weren''t they going to the small vige that Lilith suggested.

    Since he hadn''t seen the map that Lilith used, he didn''t know if this was the path they needed to take to get to the small vige in the North, but it looked like quite a big coincidence.

    He tapped the shoulders of Lilith. "Why are we going to that ce?"

    Now that Mise was back, taking her to that same ce where she died didn''t look like a good thing.

    "We need to take something from that ce..." Lilith answered.

    She showed the map to As.

    As took the map and went through it. The map wasn''t too detailed, but it did mention some things. He could see that the Severis Castle was marked as X, under which there was one word written. "Key."

    After that, the map led to the small vige that Lilith was talking about.

    "What is this key for?" As asked Lilith, not understanding. Why did they need a key just to go to a small vige? Why couldn''t this key be picked upter? Why was it so urgent to do it just now? This didn''t add up.

    "I have no idea." Lilith raised her shoulders in ignorance. I don''t know why we need this key, but Castiel gave me this map. It is supposed to lead us to a safe ce which should be in that small vige. If I were to Guess, maybe this key opens that safe ce?"

    "You don''t know for sure? Weren''t you with Castiel for a long time? How do you not know about this supposed safe space?"

    "He had a life even before he met me," Lilith answered. "I don''t know everything about me. He just told me to go there after saving Mise. He said I''ll know what to do with this map when it''s time. When you told me that you needed a safe ce to stay, I thought of this map, and realized that maybe it was why he gave me this map. In any case, we don''t lose anything by taking that key."

 Chapter 221 221: Abandoned Castle

    "In any case, she doesn''t need toe with us to the castle here. She won''t have to go through it again. I''ll go alone and find the key."

    Lilith understood why As wasn''t happy with returning back to this ce, but for her it was important as this ce was specifically marked in the map.

    Moreover, she had already told the carriage driver to stop at the foot of the mountain, from where she was going to go alone as she also didn''t want Mise toe with her. That ce wasn''t right for her.

    As looked at the small map which appeared to be hand drawn for the most part. He let out a sigh. Since this was what Castiel wanted, he decided to go along with it as well. They could leave Mise with Vor and Lancaster for some time. As she was meditating, it was better to not wake her up as well.

    "I''lle with you as well. I also want to see..." As responded. Since Lilith was going back, he also wanted to go there to see just what was actually there. Thest time they left the castle, they had destroyed everything. At most, the underground basements were left safe however that was probably where the key was also hidden from what he understood.

    "Are you sure?'' Lilith asked, making sure. Just like Mise had bad memories attached to that ce, As had the same. "I think it''s better if I go alone."

    "There''s no need. Moreover with me helping you, it''ll be easier for you as well," As replied.

    The carriage reached closer to the mountain, on top of which the Severis Castle was established. Just as Lilith had instructed, the driver stopped the carriage at the foot of the mountain and informed them that they were there.

    As opened the door and stepped out first as he was sitting near the door. But before leaving he didn''t forget to wake up Vor and tell him to protect Mise and the others until he was back.

    Vor asked him where he was going, but As just vaguely answered that he was going to retrieve a key and that he could be back within half an hour at most.

    Luna also wanted toe with them, but after Lilith''s strict rejection, Luna had to stay behind as she allowed a path for Lilith to leave.

    Lilith stepped out of the Carriage and left the ce in the direction of the Severis Castle with As.

    Lilith cast a flight spell on As and on herself as both of them started flying up the mountain. Within a few minutes, both of them managed to reach the top of the small mountain.

    As As reached the top of the mountain, he was slightly surprised. The castle that they had destroyed looked intact. There were some differences though. It was clear that the top floors of the towers were made again.

    However, no one seemed to be inside the Tower, making this ce look like it was abandoned despite being nearpletion.

    The ce looked the same yet different. They had reused most of the materials from before.

    This was the ce where he had promised himself that he was going to kill Severis and Carlisle one day, and this was also the ce where the story of his life began. Fortunately he was able to keep his promise to himself. He was able to give a really gruesome death to the two Vampire Lords that yed with his life.<novelnext></novelnext>

    If only the two Vampire Lords knew that their actions were going to create someone who was not only going to kill them by destroying the entire Blood Council, they wouldn''t even think about doing something like this. Their actions created something that they really regretted even in theirst moment.

    At start, they were like the kings of their World, who couldn''t be defeated by anyone. But just one human boy brought their Kingdom crumbling down like a pack of cards.

    Lilith opened the door of the Castle and stepped inside. As entered right behind her.

    "So where should we start?" he asked. "Back in the basement?"

    "Yeah. I don''t think he would keep any key outside. We should check in the cell where he went to sleep."

    Lilith walked to the stairs. Even though the Castle was recreated, the basic n of the castle was still the same. Everything was made the way it used to be which made it quite easy for them to navigate through the castle.

    As and Lilith went down the stairs to end up on the underground floor where As and the others used to be kept. As expected, it seemed just like before as if this was the only ce which didn''t need to be remade.

    Lilith kept going down and reached the floor which was under the ground floor. After a moment of pause, As also followed behind her.

    The two of them reached the floor which only consisted of prison cells everywhere. Since As already knew where Lilith was going, he didn''t need to follow her. He walked right beside her. Along the way, they saw some bodies which belonged to the guards that As had killed when he was trying to escape.

    It seemed no one came here to pick up the bodies, which wasn''t surprising since the entire ce seemed to be abandoned.

    The two stopped before the cell near the end in which As was kept. As opened the door of the cell. He could still see the trails of blood which belonged to him. His blood had dried up by now.

    "My blood used to be so cheap before," As muttered, looking at his blood everywhere.

    He walked to the wall in the end and pressed the secret trigger which had opened the secret pathwayst time.

    The wall slid down, creating a new opening once again.

    Through the opening, As was able to see more bodies, belonging to the ones that he had tossed down. The lifeless bodies were still there.

 Chapter 222 222: Return Of The Prince

    As went down the stairs, along the way tossing the bodies back to the cell above so they didn''t block the stairs.

    ****

    While As was going down the castle, Vor was taking a walk outside the carriage, waiting for As to return. He didn''t seem to be alone in this as Lancaster was also outside now. Only Mise and Luna were still inside the carriage now.

    Vor asionally looked at the top of the mountain wondering how long they were going to take.

    "While we''re waiting, let me teach you something," he told Lancaster. He needed time outside to train Lancaster and what better time than this? They were already free. Moreover ording to As, they had close to half an hour here. That much time was enough to teach his descendant a few things.

    "I will move back. When I signal you, I want you to attack me. Use all the strength you can and you must hit me.Show me your top speed and then I''ll show you something."

    Vor moved back around ten metres before signalling Lancaster to attack.

    Lancaster called out his sharp ws as he prepared to attack. He wanted to show his peak strength in this attack and nothing less than that. He clenched his fist, taking a deep breath.

    However, just as he was about to attack, he saw his surroundings bing brighter. It was as if it was suddenly day.

    He looked up, facing the bright sky which used to be dark until recently. Moreover, it wasn''t as if the sun was out. Instead, there seemed to be hundreds of sources of light in the sky that were shining brightly.

    "They..." Vor grimaced at the scene. He recognized these shes of light as he saw them even before.

    Luna also sensed something. She saw it bing bright outside. She stepped out of the carriage and looked up

    As soon as she looked up, she felt as if her heart skipped a beat. "How can they be here so soon?"

    "Shouldn''t that be a question that I should be around?" Vor walked closer to Luna. "You said they will take a long time to prepare if they wanted toe with an army. If that''s not an army then I don''t know what is."

    "Even I''m not sure how he prepared an army this fast. It must be my brother being hasty. But this isn''t good..." Luna answered.

    A powerful voice could be heard in every corner of the world,ing from one of the ships.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Castiel! We know you are awake! You broke the conditions of our deal and as a result, we are forced to be here. I''m sure my dear sister is with you again? This time, even her begging won''t make me let you live! I won''t make the same mistake again!"

    "It''s time your world pays for your sins against our Empire! It''s time we bring this world to ruins! I won''t ask you to show yourself, since I know you''re a coward. I''ll allow you to hide! Hide as much as you can! Hide where you want! Make this fun for me! Make me create rivers of Blood in search of you! I will see how long you can hide from us!"

    "It''s the voice of my brother. I was right. My brother is leading this assault. I was also right. They can''t sense Castiel until his memories return and he regains his old aura!" Luna eximed.

    "So they can''t find us," Lancaster summerized. "But I don''t think that''s good news either. They are talking about destroying everyone in this world. That''s only so long we can avoid them. The longer we hide, the weaker it will be for us since the forces against the enemies will keep getting weaker with time."

    "I know. We need to do something about this and we need to do it fast. Let''s wait for Castiel and Lilith''s return first. We will discuss this with him. We all need to be on the same page after all."

    Lancaster saw all the lights in the sky turning off as all the ships flew tond in different parts of the world. Even though the enemies had hundreds of ships, the earth was also huge. To cover as muchnd as they needed, they had to spread out.

    "They are spreading out. That means they should be slightly weaker. If we can take out the men who are assigned to this part of the world, we should be able to get more time."

    "We won''t," Luna answered. "If we kill them, that will only alert the others about us. All the ships are connected. If one finds out about us they all find out about us. If we even manage to take out one team, all the others will be here since they will know we are in this general area."

    Vor agreed. " Instead of having one team searching arge area, we would have all the teams surrounding one small area. That''s why we need to make sure that we have a n before attacking. We don''t want things to be like they were in the past.''

    "Moreover, since Castiel doesn''t have his memories, his fighting skills are also slightly weaker, which is quite troublesome. Either we take his weakness into consideration, or we wait for his memories to return before mounting our assault. In any case, it can only be decided by him," he further rified. "That''s why, we need to wait for him first."

    ****

    The voice that came from the ships was heard by the entire world, including the people who knew As.

    In one such ce, Lucius was also looking at the sky, gazing at all the ships. "So they really are here. What timing..."

    An also looked up in another part of the world. "They are here. It is finally the time? The time for ourst stand?"

    Yovana also gazed at the sky. She hated Castiel... Or rather the person who was controlling the body of Castiel. If there were enemies that wanted to kill Castiel, she was quite happy.

 Chapter 223 223: The Choice

    All the Progenitors that were awake by now felt the threat in the voice that was heard all over the world. Even though the voice only mentioned Castiel by name, they knew that they were on target as well. They had been awake thest time this happened as well.

    At that time, they were able to dy things, but now they couldn''t just ignore it again. They had to kill the enemies and solve this problem once and for all.

    "This time, the oue will be different." Lucius clenched his fist, staring in the distance. He firmly clenched the stake in his hand.

    Both the Progenitors had decided to join the fight. There was only one Progenitor who was still missing at the moment.

    ****

    The Global Deration of War was heard by every single being in existence, but most of them didn''t know who this Castiel even was. The people who existed thest time it happened were long dead by now. Only a few people knew the name of Castiel.

    Hearing the deration of War, the humans were scared as they didn''t know what wasing. The threat talked about destruction of this world after all.

    Unlike the humans, the Witches were less scared. The Witches didn''t want to be threatened by anyone. In case someone wanted to destroy their world and them, they were going to fight.

    Almost all the Witches were out in the open, grimly looking at the sky as they watched one ship or the othering toward their area as all ships started spreading out.

    The deration of threat even reached inside the Severis Castle where As and Lilith were still on the stairs.

    As heard Castiel''s name being mentioned. It didn''t take him much time before realising who this threat could be from.

    "It''s them," he dered.

    Lilith also nodded. "Seems to be that way. They are already here... Much faster than expected..."

    "This is definitely troublesome. I was hoping that they woulde after my time was up. But..."

    "But they just had toe now," Lilithpleted As'' sentence. "I don''t think we can do anything about their decision though. We can only influence our decisions."

    "So what do you want?" As asked. "Should we still go to the safe space in the vige or something else?"

    "I think we still need to go to the Safe Space. If Castiel wanted us to do that, then there must be a reason. Moreover, it''s not like they can sense you. You can still spend your time in peace without worrying about others," Lilith said, although her tone was a bit down as she mentioned about As''st few moments, as if she still found that hard toe to terms with after spending so much time with him.<novelnext></novelnext>

    As reached the end of the stairs, ending up in the ball where a coffin was lying in the middle of the hall.

    He walked to the coffin, still thinking about what Lilith said. "I have more than a week in this world if I''m not wrong. But is it really good to hide in that one week?"

    He stopped before the coffin, gently caressing it.

    "In the one week I am hiding safely, the enemies will be destroying this world to find us. Who knows, after one week there might be nothing left in this world... Nothing including the children I saved, or the people who could help Castiel in this war."

    Even though he wanted to spend his time in peace as well, for some reason, he felt that it was a very selfish decision for him. He could hide and live in peace until it was time for his death, but what after that? While he would be enjoying his life, the World and the people who could support them in the war would be dying fighting the Empire.

    "Just what kind of world will I be leaving for her and you all if everything is destroyed?" he asked. "The world will be too sad... And life would be a rare sight to see. I wanted Mise and you all to live the rest of your life happily in a world which I loved, but living would be a chore if there is no one else in this world, especially living for an eternity..."

    "Will this one decision of mind create death and destruction everywhere?" he asked as he pushed the coffin open and gazed inside at his lifeless body lying inside.

    It had been quite some time since he died but his body was still in a good condition, thanks to the properties of the Coffin of Castiel.

    Lilith also stopped beside him, gazing inside the Coffin. "Why do you care about others'' lives? In your situation, people would''ve cared about their own lives first. You should''ve been selfish. Ever since you came back to life, you''ve barely had a moment of peace, and now it''s thest week of your life... Do you really want to sacrifice it for the same?"

    "Sacrifice, huh," As muttered. He didn''t answer. Instead, he changed the topic. "Look for the key. I want to have a moment with myself."

    No matter what his words showed, it was really a hard decision for himself as well. He didn''t know if the Empire was strong enough to destroy all life in one week, but if that was possible, then taking one week off just for himself was very selfish. He wanted peace, but not at that cost.

    Lilith stared at As, wondering what he was thinking. After some time, she clenched her fist and started looking around, searching for the key.

    She remembered that there was a secretpartment in the wall which Castiel had created. She also saw Castiel cing something in the Secret Compartment. When she asked him what he kept there, he didn''t answer at that time.

    Now that she believed there was a key here, she could only think of thatpartment.

    While Lilith went to look for thatpartment, As sat before the coffin on his knees, looking at what used to be his face.

 Chapter 224 224: The Secret?

    As sat on his knees before the Coffin, gazing at his body. He was slightly amazed at how weak his body looked. For him, it was like it was just yesterday when he was wearing these new clothes to serve the vampire and now those new clothes were covered in deep Blood.

    He still remembered the pain he felt when he was being beaten in the Cafeteria. He still remembered just how many of his bones appeared to be broken when he was dragging his body down the stairs. He could still feel that difficulty in breathing that he felt that day and more.

    "A week of peace in exchange for billions of lives... A week of the life that I want in exchange for a barren and colourless world... Is that an exchange I can afford? Shall I really be a little selfish?" he muttered, talking to himself.

    "What do you think, little guy? What would you do?" he asked, gazing at his body despite knowing that it couldn''t answer.

    "I think I know what you would do. You would be calling me stupid to even think about it. You would''ve just taken Mise and left far away from the conflict, not wanting to engage in anything. But then again, that''s only because you had no option. You had no strength to fight and no influence to convince anyone to fight."

    "You were only concerned with living your life and just trying to survive, but aren''t the circumstances different now?

    As clenched his fist, as he continued talking to himself. "Before, you had no strength but I do even if it''s borrowed. The owner of this strength helped me when I needed it the most. Can I really leave a destroyed world behind for him? Where can I even run where I would never be found?"

    "They are everywhere. Sooner orter they would get to us, and if we don''t take any steps now, it''ll be only us against them then."

    Clenching his fist, he closed his eyes. "What should I do...?"

    He ced his hand on his pocket and brought out the mysterious stone. "Shall I use this stone? Shall I make everyone a Progenitor? No! That would be stupid. It''ll make the world even worse than it is now as too much strength will corrupt everyone. With so many Progenitors, even Castiel wouldn''t be able to stop them."

    A stupid idea crossed his mind, which he immediately dumped. That idea could increase the strength of their army but it had more risks than it had advantages.

    ****

    While As was ying with the mysterious stone, Lilith located the mysteriouspartment hidden in the wall.

    A secretpartment came out of the wall after she pressed the trigger. Inside thepartment, she could see a ck cloth pouch. She couldn''t see what was inside the pouch though.

    She picked up the pouch and opened it, wondering just what kind of key it was.

    As she opened the pouch and looked inside, she noticed that there was no key inside! Instead, there was a letter!

    Frowning, she opened the letter and started going through it.

    As she went through the letter, her eyes widened.

    "What the...?" She hastily turned toward As who wasn''t looking at her.

    After taking a nce at him, she turned back to the letter and went through it again, just to be sure.

    "You!" she muttered in disbelief. "You kept this hidden from me? Argh, you could''ve at least told me!"<novelnext></novelnext>

    Reading the letter, she didn''t know what to think. She was slightly happy at the content of the letter, but she was also angry that Castiel kept this hidden from her.

    "So that''s where you went when you disappear for a few days...." She folded the letter and kept that letter in her pocket.

    She walked back to As, cing her hand on his shoulder.

    "You found the key?" As asked,ing out of his daze.

    "Yeah. I think we have what is needed now. Come, let''s go. Also, we can think about what to do when we are in the vige. Until then stop thinking about what to do. It''s way more important for this war that we get to the distant Vige!" Lilith informed As.

    As still hadn''t managed toe to a decision, but hearing Lilith''s words, he decided to listen for now as he stood up.

    He turned his back on his real body, and started leaving. However, just when he was near the stairs, he stopped and nced back.

    He walked back to the coffin and closed it, before picking up.

    "What are you doing?" Lilith asked, curious.

    "Taking myself with me," As responded. "It does sound awkward to speak now that I said it out loud, but you know what I mean."

    "Anyway, I am taking this coffin and my body with me. If I decide to go to the vige, it''s quite possible that it''ll be our new home and the ce where I''ll take myst breath. So I want to bury my body there. I don''t want it to lie in the open here."

    Carrying the Coffin, he started climbing the stairs. Lilith followed behind As. This guy really had some strange ideas, but she still liked him.

    As left the castle and flew down the mountain with Lilith.

    He got back to the carriage with the coffin.

    Vor looked at the coffin and asked him about it, only to get a vague answer from As which didn''t clear anything for him.

    As didn''t tell him that it was his body in the coffin. He just kept the coffin in the back of the Carriage.

    "Did you hear the words of threat as well?" Vor asked, ignoring the topic of the Carriage since As didn''t look like he was going to answer.

    "I heard."

    "So, what do you want to do? One of the ships has arrived in our area as well. Do you have a n?" Vor asked.

    As shook his head. "We still need time to decide on a n. Until then, we''ll go with Lilith''s n and go to the town where we can n our next steps¡­"

 Chapter 225 225: The War To Them

    As was also uncertain about what he had to do. What he wanted to do and what he needed to do were the two things he was confused between. In the end, he decided to listen to Lilith since she really wanted to go to that vige.

    Moreover, on the way, they could also decide on the n as well. In any case, before he did anything, he wanted to bring Mise to a safe ce. Even if he had to fight, he didn''t want Mise to be involved. She was still new and didn''t know much about fighting after all. Having her fight was very dangerous for her even if she was a Progenitor.

    Vor ultimately agreed as this was Lilith''s n. If it was As'' n, he would''ve questioned it since As didn''t have his old memories or an understanding about how dangerous these people actually were.

    On the contrary, he had seen everything first hand. Fortunately, Lilith was the one who came up with this n and Lilith still had all her memories, so there was no way she could make a n that could be worse for them.

    "So what will the n be after we get to the Vige?" As the carriage started moving, Vor asked Lilith.

    "We''ll be regrouping there with the others. I''ll send a signal to the other Progenitors to call them there as well. Instead of fighting while fragmented likest time, we will be fighting together this time. This will be the biggest change this timepared tost time when we fought separately."

    "Moreover, all the Werewolves from the Kingdom are dead, so that''s also good for us since they can''t side with the Empire this time. That only leaves the humans and the Witches," she further exined.

    "The humans are only useless in this battle. As for the Witches, convincing them would be quite hard... Still, I''ll send a message to all Witch ns. We''ll see how it goes."

    "I see. So instead of hiding, we''ll be preparing for an united assault on the enemies. That''s good, but still, can we trust the witches with our location? Those people can even sell their mothers for benefits. What''s stopping them from leaking our location in exchange for their safety?" Vor asked, raising a genuine question.

    It wasn''t just the Werewolves who had sided with the Empire against themst time but some Witch ns too.

    "I''ve considered that as well. You think I''ll forget something like that?" Lilith rolled her eyes in response. "Stop underestimating me so much, Vor. You should know better."

    "Unlike the Progenitors, I''ve called all the Witch ns for a meeting in a different ce. We''ll be meeting them in a distant ce, far away from our base. We will be fighting together, but we won''t be trusting them with this," she further added. "This is a war in which we can''t trust anyone."

    "I see. That''s much better indeed. With better nning, we might have a chance this time.*

    "The Prince," As chimed in out of nowhere. Ever since the beginning, he was only hearing their discussion, only to speak now.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "What?" Everyone looked at him.

    "We need the Prince," As further stated. "We won''t have to fight a war if we take the Prince hostage."

    "Last time, they took the world hostage and forced the Progenitors to go to sleep. But this time, what if we use their own trick?" he suggested. "The young prince is leading this army and it''s his first time here. If we can capture him, we can take down the entire army without having to lose even a single person."

    "I see... Like the saying goes, take down the head of the snake and the snake goes down..." Lancaster agreed. The n did look better. "After taking him hostage, we can make the Emperor promise that their Empire will never attack earth. That should solve this problem for quite some time since the Empire is said to take a promise seriously."

    "It''s much easier said than done," Luna intervened, slightly surprised at how optimistic they were. "If you think taking down my brother is easier than taking down an army, it''s not true."

    "My brother isn''t that easy to defeat. Let alone defeat, he isn''t even easy to get to. He is always surrounded by multipleyers of protection. The strongest of our Warriors are in his protection."

    "In other words, if you think taking down a fleet is hard, reaching my brother is much harder than that, especially since we don''t even know where he''ll be. It''s an optimistic n, but I doubt it can be pulled off."

    "As long as there''s a possibility, anything can be pulled off," As answered. "He might be surrounded by a fleet or by your guards, but so what? In any case, we''ll need to fight those guards sooner orter. So instead of waiting for the war toe to us, why not take the war to them?"

    "If we can''t take the war to their World, we can at least take it to their Royalty. Moreover, they have just arrived. They''ll be expecting us to hide and run. And what better time to attack them than when they can''t sense my aura?" he asked.

    Previously he was wondering if he could just sit back and watch everything, but as a n came to his mind, he decided that he couldn''t sit back. Even though he only had a week or so in this world, he wanted to use it for the better.

    He had an advantage that Castiel wasn''t going to have if he returned! His aura couldn''t be sensed because he wasn''t Castiel despite being him. With this advantage, he had a much easier time getting closer to the Young Prince without alerting everyone.

    Unfortunately, it also meant that he couldn''t spend time with the others in peace as he had hoped, but so what if he couldn''t get peace in hisst moments? What he couldn''t get, he was going to give others even in hisst breath. He was going to take the Prince hostage.

    "But-" Lilith spoke, only to have As cut her sentence.

 Chapter 226 226: The Only Way

    "No buts. I really thought about it a lot. It''s a good n to gather forces and fight a war of attrition, but that isn''t the ideal option. That should be a backup n even if it''s one! The primary n should always be the one which deals with them directly with as little loss as possible."

    Instead of listening to Lilith for now, As had made up his mind. He didn''t want to have his advantage go to waste. He was the only Progenitor who could use spells to hide his aura. Moreover, it was even easier since his aura wasn''t entirely as overwhelming as Castiel''s aura which could be sensed even when he used Shroud.

    This was an advantage which Castiel wasn''t going to get. If he wasted hisst week, this advantage was going to be gone forever and he would regret not helping others.

    Castiel had helped him a lot. He didn''t want to owe Castiel anything in his death. He wanted to be free of all the burden even in his death, especially the burden of favour. This way, he could return all the favours.

    By helping Castiel get rid of his biggest problem, he was going to return the favour. This wasn''t just returning the favour for Castiel, but for others as well. Lancaster had helped him a lot in this life. Lilith was the same. By doing this, he was helping everyone and not just Castiel.

    Since his death was inevitable, he didn''t want it to be for nothing. What better way to die than after winning a war? What better way to leave an impact on this world than to forever protect it?

    Moreover, if there was a next life, he wanted to have this world be the perfect ce so he could get some semnce of peace in his next life which he always craved for in this life.

    "This is the n that I''ve made, and I won''t be changing this," he dered, seeing the concern in others'' eyes."Am I clear? Are you all with me, or are you all against me?"

    He was basically suggesting going all alone to fight. Still, Vor could see that the n had some merit.Moreover, if anyone could pull this off, it was Castiel. He supported As, still believing that he was Castiel.

    As for Lancaster, no one even needed to ask him, since his faith in As was very high as well. He had seen As achieve the impossible many times in his life and this could be one of them. Moreover he was right as well. In any case, they needed to fight all the enemies.

    Instead of being surrounded by thousands why not take the war to the hundreds who were at the core of it to defeat them?

    Both Vor and Lancaster supported As. Lilith was silent for a moment, but ultimately even she could only agree. She could see the determination in As'' eyes that he wasn''t going to give up this n now that he hade up with one which he thought was perfect.

    Luna was the only one who was against this n, since she knew just what kind of enemy they were against. She had seen Castiel fight. She also saw her brother fight. That''s why she knew that it wasn''t as easy as As was assuming.

    Unfortunately her vote was useless as there were three votes which were in favour of As.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "That''s much better. So, the first thing is that we need to locate where the Prince is. Lilith, do you have any spell that can help us with that?"

    "I might have one," Lilith nodded. "Fortunately, we also have everything we need to cast that spell."

    As she spoke, she nced at Luna. "Generally, it would''ve been impossible to cover the entire world to locate someone, but if the person we are looking for is her brother, it''s slightly easier. We can use her blood which is simr to her brother''s blood."

    "Through the link, I should be able to locate the rough location of her brother."

    "That''s perfect then. That means we should have that location anytime we wish. In a day, we''ll be inside the vige. Cast the spell and find me the destination. From there, I''ll go alone. You all will stay behind, creating the army which we need for our backup n."

    "You''re forgetting something, aren''t you?" Lilith asked. "It will be good if her brother is nearby, but what if he is literally on the other end of the world? You only have a week or so. Can you get there before your time is up?"

    It was only now that As also realized this problem. He couldn''t reach the other end of the world in seven days. The Empire army was covering the entire world now and Luna''s brother could be anywhere.

    "That''s true. I didn''t think about that. But that doesn''t matter. If he''s on the other end of the world, we just need to get there. Didn''t you have some teleportation Spell?"

    "Through your spell, you should be able to reach the witches on the other end of the world, or at least near that ce. I''m sure Witches are spread out throughout. Create a portal formation between these two ces like one was created between the Franc n and the Kingdom of Wolves."

    As he had read the entire Grimoire of Lilith, he also knew about some of her spells. He remembered that one such spell was her spell which allowed her to link to any Witch and talk with them.

    That was also what she was going to use to contact other Witch ns. She could use the same spell to contact witches from other parts of the world and have them create the link portal formation that connects to their vige. With that, As was sure he could get there much faster.

    At most, he could be there in two days and then one more day to get to the Prince. In other words, he was still going to have three or more days to take that man hostage and end this war! It was aplicated n but it was one which he believed was going to work.

 Chapter 227 227: Were You Also?

    Lilith was somewhat surprised at As'' Knowledge. Even though she herself allowed him to use her Grimoire to study up, he hadn''t expected her to remember all the spells so well.

    However, she could also see that he was right. His words made sense as well. If she used the spell that he wanted, then it was indeed possible.

    She still had to convince the other side with her words to help her in creating a linking formation which wasn''t an easy task since she wasn''t that well liked by the other Witches, but it still was possible to some extent.

    "Can you pull it off?'' As asked, seeing Lilith lost in some thoughts. "I can, but... It will not be easy. And the possibility of sess is really low. For a moment, I might be able to convince all the Witches toe to meet me, but convincing them to make a link formation for me near their base is going to be pretty hard."

    "And if the distance is too much, then it''s also not certain if I''ll actually be able to get through to them," Lilith exined, letting out a sigh.

    "Can I help you increase the chances somehow?" As asked.

    "You can''t. I''ll have to do it alone. Even though they don''t like me, I''ll try to convince them to the best of my abilities. But if I can''t seed, you won''t me me. Deal?"

    "Don''t worry. I won''t me you." As agreed. "If you fail, give me a chance to talk to them. And if I fail as well, then I''ll drop this n. However, I''m sure we won''t fail. With the kind of situation we are in, even the Witches won''t be able to reject us. And if anything, just offer them something in return to convince them."

    "It should be possible one way or another," he added. It was still the worst case scenario. If they were actually lucky, they might not need to do this at all. Instead, the Prince might be in a nearby area, which was the best case scenario."

    The group was still inside the carriage. They weren''t even halfway to their destination, and they already had a n and the backup n. The n used only As, while the backup n was a proper war.

    "There''s still one more thing to be concerned about." Now that As looked like he was really convinced of this n, it was evident to Luna that he wasn''t going to listen to him. If he was really convinced to just go there alone, she wanted him to be safe, at least.

    "What problem?" As asked, wondering what problem she was talking about especially.

    Luna exined, "You are going there alone to fight, and if you take my brother hostage, we win. But what if you are taken hostage? What if the battle doesn''t go as you nned? We need a way to bring you back as well because if you''re taken hostage, it would be very bad for everyone."

    "Right Lilith?" she asked Lilith. "If Castiel is taken hostage, will you be able to continue fighting with such patience? What if they also ask you to stop fighting in exchange for Castiel? If they take him hostage, they can essentially ask us to do anything! Isn''t that a problem?"

    "That is right," Lilith agreed. "If they take him hostage, then it will be quite bad for us. They are specifically targeting him, and if he gets him, things won''t be good.''

    "Exactly!" Luna eximed. "That''s why we need something else as well. We need a way to bring Castiel back in case things go south."

    "I can use teleportation to get out of there if things don''t go as I nned," As responded, not finding it a big problem. With his teleportation, he didn''t need to worry about being caught. Moreover, it wasn''t a proper war but more of a sneak attack.

    "That won''t work inside the ships. So if you''re depending on your skills of being able to teleport away, that''s not it. The Ships seal and space inside them. You can''t create even Smallest disturbance in space inside, and without such disturbance, even your teleportation won''t work," Luna reminded As. "It''s not to be forgotten."

    "That''s why you need to be outside in case you want to be able to leave. If you enter the ship to capture my brother,ing out won''t be as easy."

    "So I need to draw them outside?" As asked. "If the ship is a dangerous ce, I can draw them outside in some way. Argh, I''ll deal with these problems when the timees. Don''t worry about me being able to return. I''ll find a way toe back on my own."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "The most important thing for now is finding his location. Everything else cer," he let out, not bothering with the rest for now.

    It was just the start, after all. "Instead, you should tell me more about your brother only. I want to know how he fights. What is his strength? I already know that his anger is his weakness, so I will deal with that ordingly. Tell me about his strengths for now."

    "When ites to fighting,his fighting style is somewhat simr to be, but many times more lethal," Luna exined, only to receive a re from As.

    "You do realize that I don''t know your fighting style either, don''t you?"

    For them, he was supposed to be someone who had lost his memories. How was he going to know just what she was capable of? He didn''t even see her fight before, let alone taking a guess as to how far ahead of her the Prince could be. He

    "Ah, right. I forgot about your memories. To show you how I fight, I''ll be needing arger area. When we are at our destination, I''ll show you my fighting style."

    "I''ll also tell you the difference between my style and my brothers. Unfortunately, I don''t think you can understand just how strong he ispared to me based on my words. I''ll try my best to help you understand though."

    Mise was still immersed in her meditation, for some reason, not hearing a single word that was being spoken outside. In fact, noticing her still being immersed, Lilith was quite impressed.

    If Mise could be so dedicated to her meditation, that meant she truly had a great focus. It also meant that her control of her strength could be really great. People with such great focus always learn faster.

    At the same time, she wondered just what specialty Mise had received. All of the four Progenitors had something that made them different from the others. For example, Castiel was able to use spells, which the other three Progenitors couldn''t do.

    Simrly, the other three Progenitors were each able to do something which As couldn''t do. Based on that logic, Lilith was sure that Mise was also going to have something simr. She wasn''t sure at this point what it was, but she quite hoped it was also the ability to use spells as that was her expertise.

    If Mise could also control spells like As, then Lilith could teach him much better. She could depart all her knowledge to help Mise. However, that was only a guess for now. She knew that she needed to wait to find out, at least until Mise had her first feeding.

    The carriage kept moving in the silence of the night as no one talked about the n anymore. The framework of their war was already prepared by them. All they needed were for the final pieces to fall in their ces.

    The war was on the horizon, and only they could stop it by seeding. If they couldn''t, the war had the potential to burn everything in its path. As knew just how much burden was on his shoulders. At any cost, he needed to kidnap the young Prince right from under the noses of his strongest warriors.

    "I''ll be taking some fresh air." He told the others before opening the door. He flew on top of the carriage and closed the door.

    He sat on the top of the carriage, getting fresh air on his face. To calm his head, he needed to be under the moonlight, feeling that cold air brush up against his skin.

    He lied down and kept gazing at the moon. For some reason, this was the ce that he enjoyed the most. The open surroundings, no obstruction for wind, and the beautiful moon in the sky. This ce to rest made him feel very free; such wasn''t the case inside the carriage, as looking at the grim faces of others only made him think about the future.

    Here, he could forget about everything and just go back to his childhood, where he used to sleep on the roof under the moon, free of all tensions.

    "Lord Castiel, when you were here, were you also used to feeling this stressed in wars?" he asked, talking to himself.

 Chapter 228 228: Yours

    Just like before, even though he asked a question, he wasn''t expecting a reply, and that was also the way it went. He didn''t get an answer to his question, only silence.

    "What am I even thinking? You''re the true heir of immortality. You had this strength from as long as you can remember. Why would you be nervous." As raised his hand a little and ced his hands under his head to make it morefortable as he rested on top of the carriage.

    "If only I could be as capable as you. But I can''t. I''m living on a borrowed body. Even my life isn''t my own at this point, let alone any strength. A fake will always be a fake, aren''t I right?"

    "Then again, even if I''m not a true Progenitor, I''m going to solve this problem for the entire world. No matter what it takes, I''m going to take out the Prince. That will be mysting legacy..."

    "Even if I am not as strong as you, I''ll leave an imprint on this world."

    Even though he didn''t care about materialistic things like reputation or creating a name for himself, but at the moment, he wanted to do that. With death right at his door, he wanted to do something that would be hissting legacy... Something that was going to be proof that he lived!

    After resting for a few hours, As once again returned back inside the carriage after the sun started rising outside.

    He sat on the seat beside Mise and closed the door.

    Mise was still in her meditation.

    The carriage kept moving closer to the city; that was their goal.

    At the same time, Lilith also contacted the other Progenitors, telling them to meet her if possible. She didn''t want them to be separated when fighting like thest time.

    When the entire world was on the line, it was time for them all to forget their own small conflicts and focus on the greater cause.

    "Stop at the next city. We need to get some blood for Mise."

    "We don''t need to." Lilith rejected As'' suggestion. "The ce where we''re going, we''ll be finding enough blood for her. So it''s better not to disturb her meditation for something like that."

    "We are going to be there soon in any case."

    In a little over a day, the carriage finally reached their destination. The carriage driver slowed down as soon as she got near the small town in the distance, sending some danger.

    "Vampires..." Vormented. Even inside the carriage, he was able to sense the Vampires outside.

    The carriage came to a stop as the carriage driver saw a hooded figure in the distance.

    "Not the other Progenitors." As didn''t get the aura of the other Progenitors, which meant that these weren''t the vampires that they had invited.

    As opened the door and stepped out,nding on the ground outside.

    Lilith also stepped out behind him, and so did Vor and Lancaster.<novelnext></novelnext>

    The four of them looked in the distance, noticing a man standing right at the entrance of the city. They couldn''t see the man''s face as it was covered by a mask that covered the lower half of his face and a hood that made it hard to see his eyes.

    For some reason, As felt strange in their presence.

    With time, more Vampires came out of the city. Soon, there were around fifty Vampires standing before the city in a row.

    "What is this?" As asked Lilith. "Wasn''t this supposed to be a safe space for us where no one was going to be? Why are we at a Vampire hub from the looks of it?"

    "They are strong." Vor frowned. "Possibly even stronger than the Blood Council Members."

    "I think we should prepare to fight. This ce ispromised..." Lancaster agreed, bringing out his ws.

    As also nodded, but before they could do anything, they saw a strange phenomenon. The Vampire who stood at the center of the group went on one knee. The other Vampires also followed the suit and went on their knees respectfully as well.

    "What is happening?"

    "There''s no need to fight," Lilith told As, tapping his shoulders. "The ones before you aren''t your enemies."

    There was quite an amused expression on her face, but she knew she would have also been as shocked if she hadn''t known.

    All the Vampires took off their robes, revealing their faces. Most of the Vampires looked to be between the ages of twenty and forty, but the most shocking part was their eyes.

    Their eyes weren''t like any Vampire he had seen! Instead, their eyes were like him! Their eyes were green like Castiel''s eyes. That could only mean one thing...

    "Castiel''s lineage?" he asked Lilith in shock. "Didn''t you say he had no Lineage?"

    "I told you what I knew before, but I just found out that I was wrong. Everyone you see before you are the First Generation Vampires created by Castiel."

    "He didn''t even inform me before creating them. I only found out when I was looking for a key for this ce. There was no key, but only a letter which mentioned all this," Lilith answered.

    She further exined, "ording to the letter, after it was decided that he was going to sleep, he decided to create his own lineage. He knew that sooner orter, he was going to wake up, and then a situation like today was going to return. So he created his lineage and gave them a few centuries to be stronger for this war."

    "In other words, he left you an entire army for you to fight with. Remember when you woke up, you asked if you had any Generals? I told you that you don''t, but I was wrong. You have... They are before you!

    "My Generals?" As eximed in surprise. So Castiel had left some people already to help in the future?

    Lilith didn''t tell him the entire story either though. It wasn''t the only thing she had managed to find in that letter! There was something more important...

 Chapter 229 229: Change

    The letter wasn''t supposed to be found at this time. Moreover, it wasn''t supposed to be found out by her.

    When Castiel created his Generals, he had also selected one person amongst his Generals for an even more important mission.

    He had selected his first General toe to the ce where he was going to be sleeping. Castiel had also told him about the location and everything.

    His General was supposed to get there, and he was supposed to be the person who took over the body for a brief period. Since it was the first Vampire that Castiel created, he wasn''t going to have much burden on his soul, and he could also return to his real body after his work was done.

    That''s also why Castiel selected a person who was in his early twenties to be his First General with this mission that was supposed to take ce after a few decades.

    That''s also why Castiel was surprised to see As there instead. He was expecting his first General. It was also because he knew that his General''s presence in his body wasn''t going to alert the enemies about his return either.

    He wanted his General, who was ustomed to his Bloodline and simr strength, to look for the other Progenitors and prepare for the war that was toe.

    However, before his General coulde, there came a bloodied As, who was at hisst breath. Instead of his first vampire, a human came to the special chamber. The loophole that Castiel had left for his General was identally utilized by As, right before his death, and As ended up in the body of Castiel.

    Castiel knew that As wasn''t as prepared as his General was going to be. As he hadn''t been a Vampire, his soul was also going to be weaker... Weak enough to be destroyed under the burden of his body. That''s why As wasn''t the ideal candidate for him.

    However, as he heard As'' story about how he wanted to save the person he cared for the most, Castiel couldn''t refuse As as he had also been in a situation where he lost someone he held dear. He understood the devotion of As and decided to help him.

    Castiel not only allowed As to control his body, but he also gave a soul mark to As to protect his soul from the burden of the body for as long as possible.

    Even though Castiel knew that he was interfering in his main goals, he still let it be. He didn''t use As for his own goals. He didn''t even ask As to gather the Progenitors or an army since he wanted him to bring his sister back first.

    That''s how one ident led As to the ce which belonged to the candidate selected by Castiel. And the candidate was on one knee before As.

    The person who was in the middle was the one who was selected by Castiel. He was known as Tyler. Even now, he looked the same age as he did centuries ago, being in early twenties; however, his strength was much higher now.

    After respectfully greeting Castiel, all the Vampires stood up.

    Tyler stepped forward to stop before Castiel. "Wee back, My Lord."

    "It''s good to see you back before the time you told me. Does that mean we don''t have to execute the n where I take over your body to gather an army?" Tyler asked directly.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Take over my..." As was initially confused as to what this guy was speaking, but he soon realized as he remembered Castiel''s words.

    He understood that the one who was supposed to take over the body, ording to Castiel, was Tyler.

    "That''s right. There is no need to execute that n anymore," As answered. It was toote for that now, in any case. The others already knew that Castiel was back. There was nothing stealthy about it anymore, so it was useless.

    "The enemies are already here, so we are toote for now. Lilith will tell you the rest." He ced all the responsibility to exin on Lilith.

    "Ah, you must be Lady Lilith. Weheard a lot about you. It''s great to finally be able to meet you again." Tyler gracefully bowed. There was a Vampiric grace in every one of his actions which he had no control over. It was natural.

    However, Lilith and Luna had been in the presence of Castiel. This much was nothing before them.

    "You recognize me?" Lilith asked. Even Castiel created them, she wasn''t with him, so it was surprising to see them recognize her.

    "Of course we do. Who didn''t hear of you? The legendary Witch who made the world tremble with her presence and the person most trusted by our Lord. It''s great to see you back as well."

    "I''m afraid I don''t recognize the others here. But if I were to take a guess, he must be Lord Vor?" Tyler asked, ncing at Vor.

    "How did you recognize me?" Vor asked. Even he didn''t remember seeing this guy before.

    "Your strength and your aura... It''s quite powerful as that of a Werewolf King. Moreover, your features are what we heard for Lord Vor, who was another trusted friend of our Lord. That''s why I took a guess. It seems I was right."

    "How can you know that I would still be alive?" Vor asked. Even though he looked like Vor, a long time had passed since that. So for one to guess who he was, and at the first try, that was certainly incredible.

    "That''s why this world is fascinating, Lord Vor. You three existed at the same time together, so it would make sense that you three returned at the same time."

    "If I''m not wrong, the one before you must be a descendant of you? He seems to share your features but is somewhat weaker than you..." Tyler further guessed.

    "What about me? Can you guess who I am?" Luna asked. Tyler guessed everyone correctly since they were rted to Castiel. She was also rted. Was she also as popr here?

    Tyler observed Luna before shaking his head. "I''m afraid I can''t recognize you. I have no guesses, but since you''re together with the others, you must be friends as well."

 Chapter 230 230: Blood

    Tyler could guess the identities of others, but not of Luna as he never really heard about her. Amongst the stories of Castiel, only the stories rted to Lilith and Vor were popr. Luna wasn''t mentioned.

    Luna smiled wryly. Even though she expected this, she still found it somewhat sad that she was the only person here who wasn''t relevant enough to be recognized.

    "I am Luna," she introduced herself since no one could recognise her on their own.

    "Ah, Lady Luna, I remember now. You were also a friend of Lord Castiel around the time of thest war. It''s said that it''s because of you giving up your freedom, and Lord Castiel''s sleep that the war was stopped. I remember you."

    "You do?!" Even though Luna had to tell her name before being recognized, she still felt pleased that she was at least recognized.

    "So you''ve been staying here ever since C- I mean l converted you?" As asked, getting back on track.

    "That''s right. You told us that we didn''t need to involve ourselves in the matters of the world, so we spent all our time here," the young man answered. "We didn''t leave the Town and only focused on getting stronger."

    "No wonder no one knew about this lineage," As muttered. Castiel was known to not convert anyone. The news about him converting so many people should''ve been big news, but that wasn''t the case. Even the Blood Council had no idea about it, which only went on to show just how good these people were at hiding.

    "My Lord, pleasee inside our small town and rest. We heard the message and the threat. The war is on the horizon. After you rest, you can tell us your n about how we will win this war."

    Tyler didn''t even suggest any n he might have, or asked for a discussion on any n. Instead, he expected As to already have a n as he had that much faith in him. And if his Lord had a n, who was he to discuss it before the n was finalized.

    Tyler had blind trust in Castiel. Moreover, as he had only met Castiel a few times before Castiel went to his eternal sleep, he didn''t know him well enough. He couldn''t find any differences between Castiel and Aa.

    As agreed to the n to enter the town with the others, but not to rest. There were more things to do first before they could rest.

    "Lilith, go inside with Luna and prepare the formation to locate her brother. I''ll wake up Mise."

    He sent the others inside the town first, since they had more important things to do. He stayed behind to get Mise.

    He also sent Lancaster and Vor inside. He walked back to the carriage and opened the door.

    "Mise?" He called out, getting no response. Mise was still immersed in her meditation which made him smile. She was really too focused, which was a good thing.

    He ced his hand on her shoulders and gently shook her. After intense shaking, Mise came out of her meditation, opening her eyes.

    She gazed at As. "What happened?"

    "We are at our destination. Come out.''

    As reached out his hand. Mise held his hand and stepped out of the carriage.

    Tyler was still there, watching As treat Mise with such affection and respect. He could also feel that Mise''s aura was quite powerful, even though she didn''t look powerful. Her aura was definitely more powerful than the Aura of an ordinary Vampire

    Her Aura was more on terms with a Progenitor. Even though Tyler hadn''t seen any Progenitors other than Castiel, he had a feeling that Mise was one of them. But how? How was she a Progenitor? He knew that there were only Four Progenitors and all were men.

    Was there really a fifth Progenitor that they didn''t know about?

    "Mise, meet Tyler. He is a friend as well. He will be helping us." As introduced Tyler to Mise before introducing Mise,"and Tyler, this is Mise. She is my sister and someone that needs to be protected at any cost."

    "Your Sister?" Tyler was quite surprised at this revtion. Castiel had a sister as well? And she was a Progenitor? Howe the world didn''t know about it? Did Castiel also keep it hidden for her safety like he asked them to remain in hiding until it was the right time.

    Tyler respectfully lowered his head. "Lady Mise, it''s great to be in your presence. Please enter our small town and rest there. You must be tired from the long journey."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Ah, right." Mise was so overwhelmed with all the new information that she could only nod.

    As and Mise entered the town, being led by Tyler. At the same time, Tyler gave As a briefing as to how much theyhad grown throughout the years and how much they had collected.

    Even though a long time had passed since Castiel had disappeared after creating them, these people didn''t waste even a single day of his life. They had been training all their lives, strengthening themselves as much as they could.

    Moreover, as they were created by Castiel, they also had the Talent of being able to use spells like Castiel could, which made them even more versatile. Throughout the years, they had been sharpening their spellcaster skills as well.

    "I see." As was quite impressed at all that these people had managed to achieve but he didn''t act too surprised since he was supposed to know all this.

    As entered the town which looked even more beautiful from the inside. Despite being in the middle of nowhere, the town looked quite modern, covering vast areas.

    "Do you have humans here now?" As asked Tyler. "Or only Vampires?"

    "We don''t have any humans here. It was just us, and now you''re here as well," Tyler answered.

    "I see. How do you feast them? If there are no humans, where do you get blood to keep going?" As asked, slightly confused.

    He could feast on the Vampire Blood because he was a Progenitor, but what about them?

    As As walked inside the town, the carriage also followed inside, carrying the Coffin of As.

    "We have employed a human. He makes all the dealings for us in the outside world. Every few months, the humanes with a great stock of blood that we store here. That''s how we survive," Tyler answered. "In exchange for his blood, we pay him. Some of the money is what he passes onto the people that gave him the blood."

    "I see, so you''ve established something akin to a supply chain. Not bad." As nodded. "In that case, it''s quite good."

    "Can you bring one of the blood bags for me?" he asked, but not for himself. He needed it for Mise. She needed to have a feast, even though she didn''t want it. It was important.

    "Of course." Tylermanded one of his men to bring a few bags of blood for their Lord.

    Mise understood why he was calling for the blood, but she could do nothing. If As said that it was important for her, she chose to believe it. She didn''t want to lose herself in the Bloodlust, hurting everyone around her. If drinking blood was something she couldn''t avoid, then so be it.

    Since it was something she just had to do, she decided to give it a try, no matter how hateful and disgusting it was.

    "My Lord, what are they doing?" As Tyler reached the middle of their town, he saw Lilith making a huge formation on the roads. From this distance, he couldn''t recognise this formation, but even if he could, he wondered what was the need for it.

    "That''s part of our n," As answered. "To defeat the enemy, we first need to know where the enemy is hiding. That''s what Lilith is trying to do."

    "Through that formation and with the help of Luna''s blood, she should be able to locate the rough location of the person who is leading this war against us," he continued.

    "I see. And after we find his location, we will attack them? That is good. We might be able to overwhelm them."

    "Not we, I will attack them. You all will stay behind."

    "What? Why? We also want to help our Lord in this war. This has been the purpose of our life! Ever since you saved our vige from destruction and gave us new life, we wanted to help you. Now that we have an opportunity, why do you want to keep us away? Did we do something wrong?"

    Tyler wondered if Castiel was disappointed at them because they weren''t strong enough. Was that why he didn''t want to use them? Because it was embarrassing for him to have such a weak lineage?

    "You didn''t do anything wrong. It''s just that my n only needs me to attack. Lilith and Vor won''t being with me either," As rified, stunning Tyler.

 Chapter 231 231: Blood

    "For what I want to do, I must go alone. I can''t take anyone else," As exined.

    "You''ll be staying behind with Lilith and the others, helping them. It''s only in the case of my failure that you''ll all be needed to fight the enemies to win," he further stated.

    "You want to go alone? Why?" Even though Tyler understood what As was trying to say, he still found it confusing. When As had so many people, why did he want to fight alone? Wasn''t it better to take as many people as he could if he was going for a war?

    "Don''t worry, you''ll understand with time..." As patted Tyler''s shoulders before continuing ahead.

    They decided to stop asking, understanding that if he had made this n, then there must be a good reason behind it.

    The man lef As and Lilith to a small mansion which looked quite off in this small town, but the mansion was prepared specially in anticipation of the day where Castiel was going to return.

    Tyler brought As inside the mansion and asked them to take any room which they preferred as all the rooms were empty.

    As selected a room for Lilith which wasn''t too far from the main entrance. He selected the nearby rooms as well since there was no need to take higher rooms.

    After taking the rooms, As told Mise to rest inside the room and freshen up.

    After Mise entered the room, As left the mansion with Tyler, returning back to Lilith and Luna.

    Vor and Lancaster were already there by now as well, observing the creation of the formation.

    A few minutester, a few men also arrived, bringing the bags of blood as per Asmands.

    "Keep these bags in my room," Asmanded the men.

    Tyler told the men the room that As had selected, sending them there.

    As observed the information, which was quite big. It was quite simr to what he remembered from Lilith''s book, but it was also somewhat different. It looked like Lilith had made a few changes to it.

    "Do you have a physician here?" As asked Tyler

    "We do have some people who have some knowledge. Why?"

    "I want to ask if they can take someone''s blood without making them feel pain. Is it possible for your people?" As asked.

    The young man in the back nodded. "That''s possible. It can be done without much pain."

    "That''s good. I want you to get these physicians ready," As told Tyler.

    He could see that Lilith was still using her own blood to increase the efficiency of her spells, but for that, she had to hurt herself more and more. She was making her finger bleed to cast the spell.

    He suggested even before that she should store some blood in advance as that was easier and less painful, but that discussion led to nothing as they all got busy with something else.

    Now that they finally had some time and trusted people, they could go through with this. He wasn''t sure if he was going to seed in taking out the Prince, but if he couldn''t, he knew that a lot of the burden was going to be on Lilith''s shoulders.<novelnext></novelnext>

    In theing battle she was going to lose blood a lot for these spells and it was better if they actually stored it in the least painful ways.

    He still had to talk to Lilith about it, but he still told Tyler to keep his men ready for that when the timees.

    "It shall be done." Tyler nodded.

    On the other end, Lilith also finished casting her Spell, letting out a sigh of relief. The huge spell that could cover the entire world was tiring to cast. Her fingers were also hurting a lot thanks to the self inflicted harm.

    "It is done," Lilith informed As, noticing him on the sideline. "We can start."

    "Good. You did great work," As smiled as he stepped inside the formation. "Thank you for all the hard work, Lilith."

    He patted Lilith''s head.

    Lilith rolled her eyes in response. "You know I''m not a kid, right?"

    "Is that so?" As asked, as if surprised at the revtion.

    He also held Lilith''s hands which were hurt. He started chanting a spell.

    Finding her hands in As'' hand, Lilith could feel a warm energy entering her body which was very refreshing. As had cast a small health spell which increased the self healing of Lilith to help her with her wounds.

    It was only after her wounds healed that As released Lilith''s hand.

    "Do you want to rest now or continue?" he asked. "You should be tired after casting such a Spell, so you can rest. I can take over the rest.*

    "No need. I started it and I''ll finish it," Lilith responded. "Don''t worry. I''m not tired. I wouldn''t be what I am today if I was that easily tired. Isn''t that right?"

    "Now get back. Let me do my work," Lilith ced her hands on As'' chest and gently pushed him back.

    As listened to Lilith and stepped back leaving the formation. He also told the others to step back and keep silence to not disturb Lilith.

    Only two people were still inside the formation, being Lilith and Luna.

    Lilith sat in the middle of the formation before gesturing for Luna to do the same.

    Luna also sat down near Lilith, knowing what wasing. Lilith had already informed Luna that she needed her blood and Luna was prepared for it.

    Luna extended her hand to Lilith. Lilith held Luna''s hands. Using her hand, she scratched the wrist of Luna only a little bit. She only needed a little droplet of blood from Luna and nothing more.

    After getting the blood drop that she needed, Lilith turned Luna''s hands around, letting the blood drop fall on the group on the formation.

    Lilith connected to the formation and closed her eyes, bing one with the formation to look at the entire world.

 Chapter 232 232: The Whereabouts

    As Lilith connected to the world, she began her search of people with the same Bloodline as Luna. From what she knew, there was supposed to be only one other person in the world with that Bloodline... Her brother.

    Since the world was big, it was a search which could even take hours ording to Lilith, so As wasn''t in a hurry. He had already prepared himself for ate answer.

    While Lilith was immersed in her search, he turned to Vor.

    "Vor, you wanted time to train Lancaster. I think this ce is the perfect, right?"

    "It is."

    "After I am gone, you can train Lancaster. Tyler can also help you. I''m sure Lancaster and Tyler can both learn something from it," As further stated.

    "Are you indirectly asking me to train Tyler and your other men as well?" Vor asked. Even though As was speaking indirectly like he was going to let Tyler train with them, it sounded more like he wanted him to train and make his Vampires stronger."

    "In a way, yes." As nodded. "I am going to end this war, but I don''t know if I''ll seed or not. If I don''t seed, the war might reach you all as well. You''ll be needing a stronger force when that timees, and that''s when they will be helping you."

    "Tyler and the others aren''t just my people. They are our people... The Vampires that should''ve been... I want them to survive and prosper."

    Even though As hated Vampires for the most part, he was quite impressed by Castiel''s Vampires who weren''t affected by the problems that other Vampires had.

    They didn''t go out, hunting humans, taking them hostage.Even though their solution wasn''t ideal either, it was less problematic than getting their blood from children. If there were going to be a world where Vampires coexisted with the humans, he wanted that World to have these vampires.

    Even if all the other Vampires died, it didn''t matter.

    "You don''t have to speak much. You know you don''t have to ask me. You couldn''t just tell me what I need to do," Vor smiled in response. "At least that''s how you used to do it when you had your memories. Don''t worry though. I''ll do it."

    "I''ll train them all, making them stronger. Moreover, this will also help in Lancaster''s training. So it''s not a bad idea at the core."

    "That''s right." As nodded. "With this, we shoul-"

    "Got it!" Lilith eximed, standing up.

    "You found him?" As shifted his focus. "So soon?"

    Since she was so excited about this, it really looked like she found the person she was looking for. Moreover, she was so fast. This could only mean that the person wasn''t too far either.

    In other words, they probably didn''t need to contact other Witches to create a portal formation and all the other mess. This was even better.

    Moreover with this, they coulde as a backup quite fast.

    "Where?" As asked, appearing before Lilith. "How far?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    "One day of travel from this town," Lilith answered.

    "That''s very close. I don''t know if it''s because we''re lucky or if it''s because they were lucky to end up so close to us..." Luna muttered.

    She was still somewhat worried for As. She didn''t want him to be hurt as she knew just what kind of dangers it had.

    As ignored Luna''s words and focused on Lilith. "Where is he?"

    "He''s in the force where we found Luna for the first time. He''s in Vor''s forest."

    "You''ll have to be more specific than that," As didn''t know where Vor''s forest was. He wasn''t actually Castiel after all.

    "Ah, right. It''s between the Kingdom of Wolves and the town where we fought and Blood Council just recently. So it''s not far. I can create a map for you," Lilith exined.

    "By the way, since they are so close, isn''t it better if we all attack them directly? Even if they call backup, we can already take them down by then?" She further suggested, finding her n safer than As n.

    As shook his head. "Your n will still alert them first and get them ready. I want to attack them when they aren''t ready. However, we can still use your n as well."

    "What do you mean? How can we use both the ns at the same time?"

    As didn''t answer and turned to Luna, who was also heavily invested in the discussion.

    "Luna, what''s the range of your people and ships? How far can they sense us?" he asked.

    "For you, it''s very far. They can sense you even across gxies if you''re with your real aura. But without it, they won''t know what to look for. However if it''s Vor and your other Vampires, I suppose a few kilometres should be the range just to be on the safe side."

    "I see... That''s not much, honestly." As nodded in full seriousness. He focused back on Lilith.

    "Ten kilometres... I want you all to stay ten kilometres away from the forest. If I fail, you are to attack only then. But until then, not a single person should know about your existence there."

    As decided topromise with both the ns. Since the enemy fleet was near, it was better to attack it with full force even if he failed in his first attempt.

    He knew that if he failed or was caught, the enemies would be celebrating his capture, not expecting an even bigger army near their shores, waiting to attack them. As her own n was also epted, Lilith was quite pleased as well.

    With the new n, As didn''t need to take all the risk. Ever Luna was quite happy. This really reduced the risk for As which she was worried about.

    However, this also meant that this was going to be the final war. Either they seeded, or they were all going to die. There was no escaping this time! This was the final battle from what she could understand¡­

 Chapter 233 233: First Blood

    Inside the mansion where As was provided a room, a meeting was taking ce.

    The locator spell had been sessful and they had covered the basic part of the n. Now all they needed was to execute the n, but first they had something more important to do.

    In the main hall, there weren''t many people. Lilith, Mise and Luna were sitting on the same couch. On the other side Vor and Lancaster were sitting.

    As was sitting on a seperate chair with a pack of blood in his hand, as if ying with it.

    Tyler was the only person who was still standing but it wasn''t because he wasn''t asked to sit. Instead, it was because he didn''t think it was right for him to sit.

    There was only silence in the hall as Mise gazed at the blood bag in As'' hands. They had already informed Mise that it was time for her to drink.

    As had to go out for something really important. He wanted to finish this before leaving since he wasn''t going to take Mise with him.

    He wasn''t even sure if he was going to return from his mission or just perish there. He wanted to finish all his unfinished business before leaving.

    Even though Mise knew that she had to do this, she was still hesitant about this. She had to drink blood after all. Even though she had the body of a Vampire, her mind was still of a human. She had grown up, finding blood to be disgusting and now she had to drink it?

    A golden cup was lying near As''s feet,pletely empty.

    As picked up the golden cup. He didn''t look like Mise was ever going to ask the blood herself. He knew he had to influence her a little.

    He opened the blood bag and poured the blood in the golden cup. He only filled the cup half way before handing over the blood bag to Tyler to hold.

    Mise saw As pouring the blood in the ss. She looked around, as if trying to think of a way in which she didn''t have to do this.

    "Don''t worry. Don''t be nervous. It''s perfectly natural and it''s also the safest way. Just take the sip and try to control yourself. If you can''t, we''ll be helping you. But still, you need to get your body ustomed to this new form of feeding. If you don''t, it''ll be quite troublesome for you in the future," Lilith reminded Mise, seeing her worried.

    She patted Mise''s back,forting her. "Don''t worry. Your body is now that of a Vampire. When you try to drink blood, you won''t find it disgusting. Instead, you''ll find it really tasty."

    As stood before Mise. He raised the golden ss, bringing it closer to her lips. He was going to feed her himself, leaving no way for her to say no.

    "Mise, open your lips. Drink it."

    Mise hesitatingly gazed at As, but couldn''t say no. He did all this for her. He went through so much for her. Could she really say no and spoil all his efforts?

    She opened her mouth as her trembling lips parted. Her lips touched the cold ss. As tilted the ss, letting the Blood enter Mise''s mouth.

    Mise kept gulping the blood. She genuinely expected herself to vomit in disgust, but that wasn''t the case. Just like Lilith had spoken before, she found this quite tasty. In fact, this didn''t even feel like blood to her. It felt like the most delicious drink in the world.<novelnext></novelnext>

    She ced her hand around As'' hands and tilted the ss more to get more blood. She had started drinking blood.

    The hard part wasn''t done yet. Making Mise drink wasn''t the hard part here. The hard part was for her to control herself after she drank Blood.

    Her eyes colour kept changing, turning darker blue as she drank more and more blood.

    Before long, the ss was empty again. "More!"

    "That''s enough for now." As refused, tossing the ss back. "This much is for you to go on without blood for a month."

    Even though he could let her feast to her heart''s content, he didn''t do that.

    He wanted Mise to learn that blood was a necessity to them and not a delicacy, even though it was tasty. With the blood she drank, she was already done and didn''t need more. And that''s why he didn''t give her more either.

    "Brother! I want more!" Mise eximed as if she was addicted and needed the blood more. She was really unsatisfied with a few drops of the tasty delicacy she had.

    As shook his head. "Tyler, take the test back. This would be all."

    Tyler agreed and started taking the blood that he was carrying back.

    "No!" Mise was hungry! Instead of feeling like she had eaten anything, she felt even more hungry after tasting the blood. Moreover, watching the blood being taken away, she couldn''t take it.

    She stood up and ran to Tyler to take the blood bag back. However before she could even cover half the distance, As appeared before her.

    She was a new Progenitor, but he had been one for a longer time. His speed was much faster than her.

    Appearing before Mise, As stopped her. "I told you, no!"

    Mise didn''t look like she was in any condition to listen as her mind was clouded like her judgement. She could only see the blood... The sweet tasty blood.

    She tried to move As aside, but she couldn''t. Instead, As saw that she wasn''t listening.

    He grabbed both her hands, moving them behind her back as he hugged her tightly to make sure that she couldn''t leave.

    "Calm down Mise! Snap out of it! You need to control your hunger! If you can''t, what''s the difference between you and the blood hungry Vampires who kill for Blood?"

    Even with the current condition of Mise, As didn''t free her. She struggled to free her, cing all her newly gained strength behind her struggles.

 Chapter 234 234: Hiding Forever

    Unfortunately, it looked like Mise''s struggles were futile at the moment. She couldn''t resist or free herself. Even though As wasn''t Castiel, he was still in Castiel''s body which he had gotten ustomed to.

    Mise''s struggle continued for over an hour before she seemingly started regaining her senses in the absence of the blood. Her body did get ustomed to the Blood she had already drank.

    "I... You are right. I can''t treat it like a delicacy. I don''t know what happened to me..."

    Mise came to her senses, realizing just how strange she had been behaving.

    "Nothing happened to you. It''s the initial Bloodlust. Since you tasted it for the first time, your body wanted more which wasn''t needed," As exined, freeing Mise''s hands.

    "It''s like when you had your favourite juice for the first time. You wanted it more. But with this, you get ustomed to it. That''s the same with blood in a way. However, now that you''ve had some Blood, next time your Bloodlust will be much weaker, until there is none."

    Mise nodded, as if understanding what As was trying to say. She also understood why the Vampires were after blood so much. For them, this thing was really tasty. In fact she could recall tasting something which was tastier in her life... The sensation that she received from the Blood... The pleasure... It was impossible to quantify it.

    She could still remember just how great it felt. In fact, she still wanted to drink more blood, but she controlled her urges now which were weaker.

    "Lilith, can you take Mise to her room and help her with the best phase of restlessness?" As asked Lilith.

    Lilith stood up, but not alone. She held Luna''s hands. "You areing with me..."

    Even though she was going to go with Mise, she didn''t want to go alone as that meant giving Luna an opportunity to stay with Castiel.

    Holding Luna''s hands, she dragged her away with Mise, leaving the hall.

    "You two can go around and start your training if you want. Or just rest. We''ll meet in three hours to discuss our departure," As told Vor and Lancaster before he also left with Tyler.

    Vor was quite surprised that As left alone without taking any of them. It was as if he wanted to be alone for some reason. Either that, or he was tired. Or did he really not like theirpany?

    "Come, we will start your initial training for theing battle." Vor took Lancaster with him, going to a different path.

    As left the hall with Tyler, soon leaving even the mansion.

    Tyler led As to the Cemetery where the Carriage was already waiting as per As initialmands.

    "As per yourmand, our men have already finished digging up the hole in the ground."

    "Good," As nodded.

    Reaching the carriage, he opened the storagepartment and brought out a beautiful coffin.

    "Who is inside the Coffin, My Lord?" Tyler asked.

    As carried the coffin with him, entering the cemetery as he answered, "Inside the coffin is a friend. A friend who hopefully will be responsible for something good in the time toe..."<novelnext></novelnext>

    As carried the coffin and walked to the hole that was dug in the centre of the cemetery.

    The other Vampires were already waiting for them.

    As ced the coffin on the ground before observing the surroundings.

    The cemetary was huge, and it had many graves, most of which belonged to the humans that died in this town.

    "You can leave," Asmanded Tyler. I want to be alone here for now. Go and check up on the security of the town. More guests will being here."

    "Yes, My Lord." Tyler nodded. He signalled for his men, gesturing them to leave as well.

    Within a few minutes, all the Vampires had left the cemetery, leaving only As there.

    As picked up the coffin again and jumped inside the hole that was dug for this coffin.

    He ced the Coffin inside the hole and only then opened it, gazing at his old face once again.

    "If I seed, I will be making myself truly immortal through my actions. However, even then I can''t escape death... A death that will finally catch up to me..."

    "However, before I die, there is one more thing I need to do..."

    As brought the small ck stone out of his pocket which he had used to make Mise an Immortal Progenitor.

    "If I am caught, this might fall into some wrong hands. And if I leave it in the town, it might end up the same... It''s a thing which shouldn''t exist, but it''s also impossible to destroy it. So I''ll depend on you to keep it secure..."

    "In my life, I''ll protect the world that I''m leaving for the others. And in my death, I''ll protect this stone..." He ced the stone on his dead body, right on the chest before closing the Coffin forever.

    Since he didn''t want the stone to be found ever again, what better ce than his own coffin which wasn''t going to be checked by anyone. He was going to take steps for that.

    He filled the hole in the group before biting his thing. He made a blood drop fall on the ground where his grave was, casting a spell that he read in Mise''s book.

    It was a spell that Lilith had suggested when they were discussing about Mise''s burial to keep her safe, but As was against it. He wanted Mise''s grave to be hard to find, but not so hard that even he couldn''t find it.

    However when it came to his own body, it didn''t matter. He didn''t want anyone to be able to find his body, even Castiel! That was the only way to keep the stone away from others'' reach.

    He cast a spell of dislocation which shifted his grave to a random part of the world. However, he didn''t forget to cast another spell. Just like Luna''s blood was used to locate her brother, he didn''t want anyone to use his sister''s blood to find his body and his stone.

    He cast a Shroud as protection for that, making it literally impossible even for Lilith or Castiel to locate his body and the stone... Just as a precaution to make sure there were no more Progenitors in the world who could threaten it

 Chapter 235 235: Him Too

    As ced the mysterious stone inside the coffin and cast the spell, with which even he wasn''t going to know where exactly his grave was going to be in the world.

    After finishing his spell, As turned around and left the graveyard. There was nothing more to do anymore.

    Outside the graveyard, he could see Tyler in the distance,manding his men to guard the ce, assigning them positions.

    "I am done." As walked upto Tyler. "You can rx now."

    Tyler walked behind As, back to the mansion.

    "My Lord, you said other Progenitors will being here as well?" he asked along the way.

    "That''s right. At least two of them should be here. We''ve already informed them. The only one who can''te is Ramiel since we don''t even know where he is. He is still asleep if I''m not wrong," As answered. "Lucius and An should be here."

    "I see... Can we really trust them?" Tyler inquired. "We''ve kept our lineage hidden from everyone. If theye here, they will know about us."

    "What about that?" As inquired. So what if they knew about them? He wasn''t the only one who created a lineage. He was sure that they shouldn''t have any problem. At best, they should only be surprised. He didn''t believe that they were going to do anything to them.

    As entered his mansion again. First, he went to Mise''s room to see how she was doing. After seeing that Lilith and Luna were still with her, he stepped back and let the girls spend time together.

    Instead, he went to the ce where Vor and Lancaster had been training.

    Inside the town, there was a big empty ground which was selected by the two to train.

    As arrived in the arena with Tyler. He could see that Vor was fighting with Lancaster, but not seriously. One moment he was serious and the next moment he was stopping to correct Lancaster. In the middle of the battle, Vor was teaching.

    "You''re being too hasty when you see an attacking to you. Instead, you should take your time if you don''t know what to do," Vor said.

    "Agreed," As'' voice came from the distance. "However, when you can''t take time off, it''s better to think fast."

    "Castiel... It seems you''re back. Want to join the battle?" Vor asked As, seeing him in the distance.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "It''s alright. I can''t fight yet," As cordially refused the invitation. He wasn''t like others. He couldn''t waste his strength here as each spell was a burden on his soul. He wanted to save his strength forter.

    "I just came here to see you. You two seem to be doing great."

    "We''re just starting." Vor smiled. "We still have a long way to go before we can actually finish our training. Unfortunately it doesn''t seem like we have much time so I am only teaching him the basics or maybe a little more than that since that mighte in handy to him in the future."

    "It sure might. I heard someone say that no knowledge ever goes to waste. Anyway I was wondering if you can also train Tyler at the moment. He also needs training for what''sing and who could be better than you to train him," As agreed.

    "Of course there is one person who is better than me when ites to training someone. It''s the person who taught me as well. When ites to training someone I am nothing before you and I don''t think I will ever be able to evene close to the knowledge that you possess." Vor responded. "So you should be the one training them, not me. I can only teach them what I know but you can teach them the true essence of War."

    "I can''t teach them anything. I don''t even know half the things myself. As we said before I don''t recall anything and I don''t know much about the Wars at the moment. I am only someone who is trying to do his best with what he knows and hoping to seed," As answered, smiling wryly.

    He knew he wasn''t strong enough as Castiel used to be. He also wasn''t knowledgeable enough as Castiel used to be. However he was still determined to do something before dying. He wanted to do something that could give some more meaning to his life.

    If that wasn''t inevitable, he could have probably hesitated in taking on this task since you would have preferred to live in peace. However, that death was actually invitable. Even if we didn''t fight in the war he was going to die so it was better to actually fight and leave some legacy behind to prove that there was once upon a time a person named As who lived, fought and saved this world.

    "If you say so. I won''t force you to teach them," Vor nced at Tyler, gesturing to him to join the training.

    Tyler looked back at As wondering if he should really join.

    "Go ahead. You''ll get to learn a lot of things from him that you couldn''t from me. He is called one of the greatest Warriors for a reason after all. With his training even if it''s only for a minute or an hour you will see definite growth in your potential and fighting skills," As told Tyler, seeing his hesitation.

    He knew the Tyler was strong and knowledgeable. However Tyler was still someone who trained in his life only in the town with the others. He didn''t experience the battles in the outside world with true great warriors like Vor or other Progenitors. That''s what limited his foresight.

    He was a strong Vampire, but he was still one without any true fighting experience against the true greats. He was definitely more skillful than him, but nowhere near his peak.

    As soon as Tyler received As'' permission, he didn''t hesitate much. He entered the grounds to train with Vor. He wasn''t sure how this training was going to go, but he also wanted to see how far he could improve further.

 Chapter 236 236: Same

    Vor entered the arena and stood near Lancaster.

    Vor began his training, teaching both of them at the same time. Even though both of them had different species, the essence of their fighting was the same... It was to overwhelm the enemy with their strength and speed.

    This was also what Vor decided to focus on.

    As stood in the distance, watching the training. Even though he didn''t join the battle, he was still learning a lot from seeing them fight. Vor really was a good teacher.

    For the next one hour, As just sat silently, watching three men fight, and imagining how he could incorporate all the knowledge in his fighting style as well to improve him further. Even though he only had a little time more in this world, he still hadn''t stopped trying to learn and improve himself.

    After two hours, the training was still ongoing. However, As could see that it was gettingte. He needed to start preparing to leave as well.

    He stood up to leave, but right then he felt a powerful aura. He wasn''t the only one who felt it as Vor and the others also felt it. It was a powerful aura that wasing from a distance.

    "They are here," he softly stated as his figure disappeared.

    As appeared right near the entrance of the town where all the Vampires were already present. Vor, Lancaster and Tyler also arrived there, stopping right beside As.

    In the distance, both of them could see two figures. There were two men, both shrouded by a mighty aura, and dressed like Royalty.

    One of them was Lucius... The man who looked the youngest out of all the Progenitors. The other person was An, who looked much better now.

    An had some rest and some blood after leaving, and by now, he was back to his normal old self. He looked even more powerful than he didst time.

    Both of them seemed quite intrigued to see more Vampires near As who looked like they were from his lineage.

    The two men came closer to As, stopping right before him.

    "And here I used to think that you didn''t like turning people," An smiled. "Isn''t it theplete opposite? You have so many in your primary lineage..."

    "Anyway, it''s good. We are going to need them for what''s toe," he added. "They''lle in handy."

    "So, where is Lilith? When she contacted us, she said that she had a n. What''s the n now?" Lucius asked.

    "She is inside the town, but you don''t need her to tell you the n. I''ll be telling you the n myself."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Even though As could take both of them to Lilith, he didn''t want to introduce them to Mise so soon as that could just change the main topic of conversation from the n of what''s to do next to Mise''s identity.

    There was no way they weren''t going to be curious about Mise''s identity or now she became a Progenitor.

    "It doesn''t matter who tells us. Moreover it''s even better if you tell her," Lucius responded. He still didn''t feelfortable around Lilith. If he didn''t need to, he didn''t want to be in her presence.

    Both the Progenitors entered the town, apanying As who started telling them the n.

    "Wait. So your n is that you''ll go alone?" An rolled his eyes. "Shouldn''t you be thest person who goes before them?"

    "I can''t be thest person. Amongst the Progenitors, I''m the only one they won''t be able to sense. I can also take help of my spells to hide further. That way, it can be an attack when they are least expecting it," As exined. "Moreover, even if it didn''t work, so what? You''ll all be there to take forward n B."

    "And what''s n B?" Lucius inquired. He found n A to be stupid even though there were some elements in it which made sense. He was more interested in the next n which had their roles.

    "After I go in, you''ll all be surrounding that ce from a safe distance where they can''t sense you. You two, Lilith, Tyler and my lineage and we''ve also contacted some witches for this mission. So even if I fail, you''ll all still have one chance for the final assault and if you can seed, that''s even better."

    As further imed, "With this, we have two chances of sess and we only need to grab one. Either I seed, or you. Under no circumstances can we both fail since their backup will be here after that. So this will be the best andst opportunity of ours."

    "I see... So you''re using yourself as a bait while also trying to use your advantage." An got the gist of it. "You want to do it alone as it''s safer, but if you fail, your presence and capture will give them a peace of mind since they''ll think you don''t have support anymore as you came alone."

    "That won''t make them call backup. Instead, their guards will be down which is the perfect opportunity to strike them for us," He stated.

    "Exactly," As agreed. That''s what he was also thinking.

    "This isn''t a bad n, but it''s quite risky for you," Anmented. "Then again, it won''t be the first time you''ll be taking such a risk, so I''m not too surprised. You''ve always been an idiot when ites to such things."

    "But still, I agree with the n. This is quite good. If we seed in taking down their leader, we can end this war. Moreover, we can also teach that arrogant guy a lesson. If we''re lucky, we can also get back at the old man who forced us all to go to sleep in the past...."

    An agreed with the n right away, but Lucius still hadn''t confirmed or denied. He appeared to be thinking of something as if still confused if he should go with the n.

    "What are you thinking?" An asked Lucius. "Do you have a better"

    Lucius didn''t answer and remained in his thoughts.

 Chapter 237 237: Immortal

    Even though Lucius hadn''t epted the n yet, An was convinced that it was a great n for their situation. This way, they could mount two assaults on the enemies, which gave them a great chance of sess. It was unclear to him why Lucius wasn''t on board with it right away.

    "So you know where the Prince is currently?" Lucius asked.

    "We have his rough location. He is a part of the fleet that came toward us. He shouldn''t be very far." As pointed in the distance in the direction where the Prince was going to be.

    "Fine. Your n does sound sane, more or less..."

    In the end, Lucius agreed, giving his approval even though it wasn''t needed. It was good if Lucius was a part of this n, but even if he wasn''t, As was still going to move forward with it.

    There were only a few things and some small problems to sort out to fine-tune the n, but in essence, it was final.

    As had decided that he was going to execute this n tomorrow. The Empire hadnded recently, and the soldiers were going to be out to search for them, which gave them a better chance if they went tomorrow.

    "What time did you decide for the execution?" Lucius asked, observing the strength of the army that they had so far. It was more or less the same asst time, if not weaker.

    Evenst time, when they had to surrender, they had Vor, Lilith, and an entire army of Vampires. Moreover, unlike the present, they had all four Progenitors avable in thest war. If one was to reallypare the two battles, their side was weaker at the moment, even with the help of the Witches since they didn''t have Ramiel.

    Despite that, Lucius also understood that they couldn''tpare both wars. In thest war, they were on the back foot, and the one before them was the King of the Empire. On the contrary, now they weren''t going for a proper war with the entire army of the Empire.

    Instead, they were going for a sneak attack, and that too against only one fleet.

    Last time, the main enemy was the King. However, unlike the eager Prince, the King was more cunning and patient. While the Prince hated them and considered them beneath him, the King considered them a threat.

    He didn''t take the Progenitors lightly, and that''s also why the ship he was present in didn''tnd on earth. It just remained in the sky throughout the war. Hemanded his army from space, which kept him away from such troubles.

    It was unclear if the young Princecked the foresight that his father had or if he really didn''t take them seriously. In any case, he was here, which increased their chances of sess.

    "Tomorrow morning, we will depart," As answered before further exining, "Tonight, we should be meeting up with the Witches at the decided destination. If they help, good. If they don''t, we''ll go without them. I''m sure you two should be enough to handle the negotiations with the Witches."

    "You got the wrong people for negotiations. We won''t be of any help. Don''t forget, the Witches hate us, just like Lilith does. If anyone can convince them, it''s Lilith. Moreover, keep us out of this equation," Lucius responded, finding the w in this.<novelnext></novelnext>

    If there was anyone that the Witches hated, it was the Progenitors that killed most of them once upon a time. In fact, other than a few Witch ns, the others rarely had any contact with the Vampires because of that.

    And even the ones that had any rtionship with the Vampires, that was because of Ramiel, who had managed to convince a few ns with the help of their greed.

    "The two sides will be working together again. So can''t keep you hidden, can I?" As didn''t take the concern seriously as he didn''t feel the need to. There was also a reason for that.

    "Don''t forget that it''s not that we are asking for their help. They need our help just as much, if not more. We have immortality... We can find a way to survive longer, but they don''t.If the war isn''t stopped, they''ll be dying sooner orter. Even they should know that much," He exined before he resumed walking back toward the mansion.

    "If they want to live, they''ll be helping us," An agreed. Ever since As hade to save him from Yovana, he had a really favorable impression of As. However, that wasn''t why he was agreeing with him. It was because he genuinely believed what he was saying.

    "And if they don''t want to live, then we can help them die faster," he further stated, surprising even As. As didn''tment on it. He pretended as if he didn''t hear thest sentence.

    Vor wasn''t as silent though. He straightly expressed his opinion on the statement, "Don''t touch them. We need them as well. We need spellcasters to provide us with the extra support we need. Don''t be stupid here."

    Lucius frowned, hearing the taunt in Vor''s words. "I was so immersed in the n and this new army that Ipletely forgot that the wild mutt was back."

    Grrr~

    Vor growled in anger but didn''t attack.

    "You haven''t seen the wild yet."

    "That''s true. We certainly didn''t have an opportunity to fight before. But then again, it''s good. If we had fought before, you wouldn''t be here to run your mouth," Luciuszily stated. "You would''ve been ten feet under the ground in your grave."

    "If you two stopped with your taunts, can I genuinely know how you''re still alive?" Before things could escte, An chimed in, asking Vor.

    Lucius didn''t seem like he was curious as to why Vor wasn''t dead of old age yet, but he was.

    "You should''ve been dead, shouldn''t you? Even the Royal Wolves can''t live so long. We would know after all since we saw your old Kings die and new Kings take their ce with the passage of time..."

 Chapter 238 238: Mockery

    "I became a true Immortal like you as well," Vor answered with a smirk on his lips.

    He could''ve easily told them the truth about his past, but he didn''t want to give them an opportunity to look down on him for being unable to save his people. Instead of telling the truth, he told them an absurd lie. It was also somewhat amusing for him to see their reaction to his lies.

    The reason Progenitors could feel safe even in the presence of the Werewolves was because they were truly immortal. Their immortality was what created a bnce between him and the venom of the Royal Wolves.

    Unlike them, the Werewolves had to die sooner orter, so it was often the turn of the younger generation to take over, which made sure that there were no Werewolves who lived long enough to be a threat to the Progenitors.

    Vor told the two Progenitors that the bnce was broken, and now he was also true immortal.

    Just as he expected, his statement managed to surprise the two Progenitors, who nced at each other.

    "That''s impossible," Lucius refuted the im. "Werewolves can never be true Immortals."

    At the moment, there was no way for anyone to gain immortality, let alone werewolves.

    "Is it true?" Instead of asking Vor, An decided to ask As. "Is he really immortal now?"

    "What do you think?" As asked in return. "Moreover, how does it matter? Even if he''s an Immortal, it won''t change anything. We need to focus on what''s toe instead."

    As didn''t directly answer either. Even though he knew that Vor was joking around, it was a very small thing.

    "Of course, it''s not a small thing. If he became Immortal, that means there is something that can give immortality even now. How is that a small thing? If we have that, we can create powerful immortal armies. Just imagine an immortal army of millions working for us, fighting for us!"

    An knew the implications of this. It wasn''t small by any means.

    An''s words did make As raise a brow. It was just like he had expected; the existence of the stone was a great allure and a massive threat to the world. Just the information about it alone was enough to make An think of the militaristic uses of the stone to create an army.

    That was when he didn''t even know that it wasn''t just something that could make people immortal; instead, it could make new Progenitors.

    "There''s no such thing that can make new immortals," he said, making An drop the idea. He couldn''t let anyone know that such a thing ever existed.

    Even though all of them were Progenitors who somehow came from that some, they still didn''t know about the existence of the stone. If they did, they would''ve taken it.<novelnext></novelnext>

    As for why they didn''t know, As also had an idea about it.

    Castiel knew about the existence of a stone that could make someone a Progenitor, bringing them back to life. But the others didn''t know it. It was clear from their surprise and questions. That could only mean that Castiel hade across the stone before others could find out about it.

    It was quite possible that it was around the same time when all of them awakened as Progenitors. Castiel hid the stone inside the hall before anyone else could see it, keeping its existence a secret. He probably did it just to be safe as well.

    As believed that it was probably also the reason why he had the entrance key be divided into four parts, giving one to each of them. It was done so even he couldn''te back here to take the stone if he ever felt greedy for it. Castiel took steps to ensure that even he couldn''t change his mind in the future when it came to the usage of the stone.

    Even though As wasn''t sure if that''s how things actually happened, he had a feeling that this was the case.

    "So how did he be Immortal then?" An asked. "If he really did tell the truth..."

    "Why are you so curious about why I''m alive?" Vor found it funny that his one statement managed to get these people restless. However, he didn''t keep them guessing.

    As didn''t tell them that Vor was lying, and Vor also didn''t ept that he was lying, which left the two Progenitors really intrigued as to how it was possible.

    "He is lying." It was Lucius who came to a conclusion first, noticing the amused expressions of Vor as if he found their reaction funny.

    "If there were a way for Werewolves to be immortal, he would''ve made his own family immortal first. His family wouldn''t have died in the attack by the Kingdom of Wolves," he expressed, showing that he knew about the attack on the forest, which wasn''t a secret entirely.

    "There is no way for him to be immortal. However, I know that he had disappeared since that attack on the first, only appearing now. If I''m not wrong, he also fell asleep like us after that attack."

    Lucius took his guesses which were surprisingly too urate.

    "He isn''t a Vampire like us, right? How can he go to sleep like us?" An asked, but he pped his forehead right after as if realizing the answer. "The Witches!"

    "That''s right. If I''m not wrong, he can''t be made Immortal, but there could be some spells that froze his body which also stopped his aging. That''s also why he looks the same age as before too," Lucius exined. "He just woke up from that sleep, continuing his time."

    "So he was pulling our legs," An couldn''t believe that he had been fooled, even if it was only for a minute.

    "Not bad; I was honestly having some fun. I did think you''ll take longer to guess." Vor didn''t show any anger even though he hated it when they mentioned his family. However, showing his emotions here was a sign of weakness for him, so he stayed with mocking them.

 Chapter 239 239: Advise

    As found it way better that the two sides were having a war of words instead of actually fighting each other physically. That way, none of them had the risk of getting hurt before the actual war.

    Even as he reached the Mansion, he didn''t stop there. Instead, he walked past the mansion to another house. Instead of giving An and Lucius rooms in the mansion, he gave them different ces to stay, with equal facilities.

    He preferred to have them stay as far away from Mise as possible. Moreover, it was also good to keep them away from Lilith since she wasn''t much fond of them either because of their past.

    "Tyler, show them their rooms and make sure they have everything they need," Reaching the house, he left Tyler to handle the two Progenitors.

    He had already informed the two Progenitors that they were going to meetter when going to the meeting ce with the Witches.

    After leaving the Progenitors with Tyler, As took Vor and Lancaster with him, sending them back to training that was interrupted thanks to the Two Progenitors.

    Tyler was also supposed to join them in training as well, but As changed his mind and told him to stay with the two Progenitors all the time instead, like their shadows.

    After separating from everyone, As once again walked back inside the mansion. He went straight to Lilith, informing her of the arrival of the two Progenitors.

    Lilith seemingly already knew that the two had arrived since they didn''t restrict their auras at all, but she didn''t step out of the mansion, believing As was enough to deal with them and discuss with them.

    As left Mise with Luna before taking Lilith outside to talk in private about the other things.

    "Do you still not know where Ramiel is?" As asked Lilith, standing on the roof of the mansion with Lilith, having a clear view of the entire city.

    "He still isn''t up, for some reason," Lilith informed him. "I can''t sense him at all until he wakes up, let alone be able to send him a message."

    "Still, I think that''s for the best now. If he woke up and found out that you destroyed his lineage, he would''ve been quite upset. I think we are better off without him," she stated, finding positives even in the negatives.

    Even though she didn''t like other Progenitors as well, they were still better than Ramiel was, so she thought of it as a blessing in disguise.

    "Lilith..." As walked to the edge of the roof. "You know the truth about me. Don''t you wish that Castiel should''ve been here? Even with my advantage of hidden aura, I should still be much less useful than him. So you regret that I''m here instead of him?"

    "I don''t regret it for even a moment," Lilith shook her head, not even taking one moment to think about it.

    "Why not?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Why should I?" Lilith asked in response. "Just because you''re weaker than Castiel? Strength isn''t everything. Even though you''re not as strong as him, you still didn''t run away. You still didn''t choose to live your life in silence away from the war."

    "Sometimes, it''s the conviction that is more important than the actual strength. Instead of being greedy and only thinking for your own happiness, you thought about the happiness of others and the safety of this world."

    "There isn''t a single moment where I regret having yourpany... If anything, I want you to live for longer... Way longer. You deserve to live in the world that you''re trying to save, just as much as I or anyone else do."

    "If only I could." As could onlyugh to hide the sadness in his eyes. "Still, I''m happy. Even if I go, Castiel would still be here. Even though I''m not him, with the time I''ve spent in his body, even if he lives, I''ll think that a fragment of my soul still keeps living through him."

    Lilith didn''t know why, but her fists clenched on their own as As talked about leaving this world forever. Instead of being excited that Castiel was going to return, she felt ufortable that As had to leave, which was a strange feeling.

    "Lilith, can I say one more thing?" he asked after taking a brief pause.

    Lilith broke her initial silence. "You don''t need my permission for that. Say anything you want to."

    "Can you make me a promise that in my absence, you''ll take care of Mise like one of your own?" As asked. "I know that Castiel should take care of her, but still... Just for the peace of mind... Can you make that promise?"

    Even though he knew that they were going to train and protect Mise, As still wanted to get that promise from them, as Lilith and Castiel rarely broke a promise. In his absence, he wanted hisst family member to stay safe.

    "I promise I''ll treat her the way you did. Even though she doesn''t need my protection anymore, she will get it whenever she needs it," Lilith promised As since she wasn''t sure if she was going to get this time again or not.

    "And one more thing..." After getting the promise, As turned around.

    "What is it about Mise this time?" Lilith asked, rolling her eyes. She already knew that As didn''t care about anything other than Mise. She was sure everything he was going to talk about other than the mission was going to be about Mise.

    "It''s not about Mise," As scratched the back of his head. "It''s about you this time."

    "About me? What about me?"

    "Lancaster has Vor to protect him in theing war. As for the Two Progenitors, they are immortal. So they can''t die. And I don''t care a single bit about the others, except you. You''ll be the only one there who will be alone."

    "That''s why I want you to not take part in this battle..." As dered, surprising even Lilith. He was asking her to stay out of the main battle at the main thing.

 Chapter 240 240: He Hasnt Started

    "You can''t be serious. You''re asking me to stay out of the battle that will decide the fate of this world?" Lilith couldn''t believe what As was saying.

    Instead of staying out himself, he was asking her to stay out.

    "Luna is already staying behind with a few of our men to keep an eye on Mise, who won''t be joining the battle. The two will be safe here, and if you also stay behind, you can also stay safer," Lucifer tried to exin, even though it wasn''t easy.

    "Who says I want to stay safe? Even everyone is putting their lives on the line, including you; how can I stay behind and just watch? I''m not a kid who can''t protect myself."

    Even though Lilith was somewhat d that As was considering her safety, she was upset as well that she was being told to stay back as if she was a kid who couldn''t protect herself. She had fought so many wars, even thest war with the Empire. She survived so much. She deserved to be there.

    Contrary to what Lilith was thinking, As was also thinking from a different side. On his side, he wasn''t wrong either. With two Progenitors and the army that they had, there was genuinely no need for Lilith. And if they couldn''t win with all they had, they weren''t going to win with Lilith either.

    If the army they had wasn''t enough, that was going to mean that the enemy was stronger than they imagined. And in that case, it was going to be a ughter of their side, which was going to include Lilith as well.

    From what As understood, if it was their victory, it was going to be their victory without Lilith as well. If it was their loss, even Lilith''s presence couldn''t change it. If she stayed behind, then they had a better chance.

    Even if their side lost this time and all Progenitors were captured, Lilith was still going to be safe in the back. She could n on how to help them escape with the help of Luna.

    It wasn''t just for their safety that they would be staying behind, but it was something akin to the third n, which was the backup n, in case everything went south.

    Even though he hoped there was no need for that, it was still safer to have a backup n than to not have it.

    Unfortunately for him, Lilith just refused to listen, even to him. For the next half an hour, he kept trying to convince her to stay behind, but Lilith didn''t listen. If he was stubborn, she was more stubborn than him.

    Ultimately, he could only give up and just agree to take her.

    She was going to stay with the rest of the group while he went alone, but she wasn''t going to stay behind in this town.

    *****

    After having lots of back and forth with Lilith, As epted his defeat and left the Mansion. However, he did remind Lilith to make sure that Mise didn''t leave the mansion. It was Lilith''s responsibility to also make an excuse as to why she and As had to leave the Town for a few days, only leaving Luna behind.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Leaving the mansion, he went back to the training arena to see how Vor''s training was going. This close to a war, he wanted to keep himself distracted, and that''s what watching Vor train Lancaster did to him. Watching others have friendly battles, it kept him engaged as well.

    However, as soon as he reached near the arena, he was surprised. The Vor and Lancaster weren''t fighting. Lancaster just stood in the distance with Tyler and Lucius.

    It was An and Vor who were fighting. Their fighting was quite intense, but it didn''t look like they were trying to kill each other.

    It was more like two men fighting just to see who was superior.

    "What is happening here?" As joined Tyler and An.

    "Just having some fun," Lucius answered instead. "There was no fun in watching Vor train a kid. This is more fun."

    "Also, we haven''t fought Vor before, but still, we heard some stories. An wanted to check just how much truth was to those stories," he further stated. "Don''t worry though. They won''t kill each other. That''s for sure. Both of them are sensible enough."

    ? "The two seem to be on an equal footing for now," Asmented, observing the ongoing battle. If it were a friendly battle, he wouldn''t stop it since he could get to learn more from it.

    Not only could he see the true fighting strength and skills of Vor, but he could also see how a Progenitor fought.

    So far, he had only seen one Progenitor fight, and it was Lucius when he was facing the Franc n members. However, that was a different type of battle. That battle was against Spellcasters who preferred to fight from a long distance without getting close. If one could avoid their spells, then those Witches were no stronger than ordinary humans.

    On the contrary, Vor was different. Vor didn''t rely on spells. He was a close range fighter who was quiteparable to the Progenitors in strength and speed with an additional advantage of the poison in his ws and fangs, which made him quite threatening to a Progenitor.

    The only thing in which the Progenitors were superior was their faster healing and their immortality. However, one of those advantages was neutralized by the poison, which even the healing couldn''t remove fast enough.

    The longer a battle went on with a Werewolf, the riskier it was for a Vampire, and that''s also why all the Vampires preferred to kill the Werewolves as soon as they could. Moreover, it was also the reason that Wolves hunted in packs when they faced a powerful enemy.

    It increased the strength of their position, and in a pack, they could drag the battle longer to get more and more position in the enemy''s body.

    "They aren''t on equal footing¡­ An hasn''t even started yet," Lucius responded to As'' observation.

 Chapter 241 241: Enough!

    "An hasn''t even started yet," Lucius calmlymented. "Though I''m sure that you should''ve known it..."

    "I noticed itst time as well. There are times when you''re like apletely different person who doesn''t know anything about us. And at other times, you''re the same old Castiel who destroys whatever stands in his path. Just what has happened to you ever since you went to sleep?"

    Lucius had seen Asst time. As had been struggling around that time. Lucius even thought that this guy wasn''t Castiel. However, that was also the time where Castiel made an appearance inside As and removed all the suspicions from Lucius that this guy was actually Castiel.

    Despite that, it was still quite strange as how he didn''t know that An hadn''t even started fighting seriously yet.

    "Of course, I know that An isn''t fighting seriously. But what makes you think that Vor is?" As asked in return, finding a way to respond without looking like he was ignorant.

    He didn''t know just what An was truly capable of, but he was sure that it was way more than what he was showing. However, it wasn''t much different for Vor either.

    Unlike with An, As had actually seen Vor fight. He knew just how capable Vor actually was when it came to such things. Vor wasn''t even using the strength that he used when destroying the Blood Council, let alone using his full strength.

    At the moment, it was only both of them who were trying to gauge each other''s strength, but even in that, they were on equal footing, which gave As an impression that they were equal in strength, more or less.

    "So you think An can be defeated by Vor?" Lucius asked, quite amused. "I must say, you really hold some nice bias for your friend."

    "It''s not biased. I just know him more at this point. He has grown up a lotpared to how he used to be before. Of course, you two have grown as well, but a Progenitor''s strength doesn''t grow as much. It''s quite stagnant for the most part," As answered, taking a seat in the back since he believed that the battle was going to stretch for long.

    "That''s quite true. Unlike Werewolves, who grow in phases, yet quite fast, we gain most of our strength instantly, and then it''s a really slow process. But still, to think that An will lose... That''s impossible."

    "If you knew as much as I do about this world, you would know that nothing in this world is impossible. Even I used to think that some things were impossible until they were possible," As stated, remembering the thing about bringing a human back from death in the form of a Progenitor.

    "Like what?" Lucius asked, wondering just what he saw that made him think that nothing was imposed.

    "Didn''t you see the same thing?" As asked, shifting the answer to something else. "A werewolf living for so long, that in itself was impossible, but here he is. When ites to Vor, I would really advise you not to underestimate him. He might surprise you a lot someday."

    "Want to bet them?" Lucius asked as the battle in the distance started intensifying, leaving some marks on the surroundings as well. As the attacks intensified, the destruction of the surrounding area also intensified. Both the men started using a lot more strength than they were using before.

    " If you''re so confident in your friends, you should be quitefortable with taking a bet on him. If he wins, you win. If An wins, I win."

    "What''s on line for the bet?" As asked. If they were betting, he was sure that Lucius had something in mind for this bet. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could give. As had nothing worth giving. And he knew money and treasures wouldn''t hold any value for Lucius.

    "If you win, I''ll listen to yourmands in theing war. The leader of our side will be Lilith, as you decided," Lucius responded. "However, if I win, we will do things my way. I''ll be leading our army, and everyone will do as I say, including Lilith. So how about it?"

    "I''m afraid I can''t take the bet in that case. Theing war is too important for me to take that risk. Lilith ising to this war, as she confirmed. Moreover, she is also the perfect person to lead us as she can keep an eye on all the surroundings, leaving nothing out of her control."

    Even though the offer was good and he believed Vor could win, As didn''t take the risk. Why was there even a need to do it? It was much better to stay out of this bet.

    "Was that all the faith you had in your friend?" Lucius smirked. "I''m not surprised though. Bias only goes so much before you are different to ept reality."

    "It''s not bias. I still think that Vor can win," As answered. "It''s just that I''m not willing to take that bet.*

    "If you believe in him, how about you show just how much faith you have in your friend at the moment? Why are you hesitating? Unless you don''t really believe your friend? Is that the case?" Lucius found As'' reaction quite amusing.

    "ept it, Castiel. Even if you know the truth. You just don''t want to ept it before others."

    "How about you just watch? The reality will be clear quite soon." As didn''t let Lucius influence him into epting this bet. He stayed firm on his stance.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Lucius onlyughed in response.

    The battle raged on, as finally, everyone was using their peak strength. To Lucius''s surprise, Vor was still able to hold on! Vor was looking quite tired after the long battle, but it was the same case for An, who was also quite hurt.

    Since a lot of Vor''s poison was already inside An''s body, As was also unable to use hisplete strength since he also had to fight back the poison.

    The battle had started as a practice battle, but it had started to evolve into something way more than that. As could finally feel the blood lust of both.

    Things had escted too much. He had to intervene.

    "That''s enough!"

    As stood up, interfering in the battle himself.

    "It has gone on for far enough. Since none of you won, it''s a draw!"

    "What? How can it be a draw? Just step aside! Let me finish him! You can''t stop us now! Things were just getting fun!" An eximed, discontent.

    "Castiel, step aside. Let me fight!" Even Vor wanted to fight more.

    "If you fight now, who will fight tomorrow?" As asked in return. "Are you forgetting that we need to go to war tomorrow?"

    He red at An. "So you want to be taken there, filled with Werewolf poison? We need you to be strong. Not weak!"

    "And you," he looked at Vor. "You should also understand that you''re hurt. If the battle kept going on, both of you were seriously going to be hurt! In your battle, it would''ve been earth which had lost!"

    "I''ve let this Battle go on for long enough, but any more than that is just too much now! Go back to your rooms and rest now! We also need to go meet the Witchester on. So behave like adults and don''t make things hard for us!"

    The way As was scolding the two, it looked as if he was a teacher who was scolding his students. If the old him saw the current him, he would''ve been quite surprised. As wasn''t even twenty years old yet, and he was scolding people who were over a hundred years old, at least.

    Fortunately, Lilith wasn''t here to see this. Both men had no choice but to ept this. It was true that they had more important things to do tomorrow, so they couldn''t go all out today.

    "We will continue our Battle after we win tomorrow''s war!" Vor warned An.

    "I look forward to it," An answered,ughing lightly. "Next time, there won''t be anyone to stop us!"

    ****

    It was two at night. Luna was staying behind with Mise, who was sleeping. Most of the Vampires were also staying back.

    As, Lilith, Lancaster, and Vor were sitting in one of the Carriages that departed the small town. Behind their carriage, there was another carriage in which the Two Progenitors and Tyler were sitting.

    Only the group of seven was going to meet and negotiate with the witches to help them and to see if they could even be trusted.

    They didn''t want to trust the witches, only for their real n to be leaked. That''s why As had also taken some precautions. He had discussed with everyone as to how much he was going to tell the witches even if they agreed. There was no way they could be told the entire n, no matter what. They needed to be kept in the dark.

 Chapter 242 242: Not My Presence

    "Is this the right ce?" As stood near a river with the others. Other than his own group, there was no one in sight, especially the people they were here to meet.

    "That''s correct. It was decided that we''ll be meeting here," Lilith affirmed.

    "Are we early or are theyte?" Lucius also asked.

    "They arete," Lilith answered. "Even though it''s said that Witches are supposed to be quite punctual, in reality, that''s not the case. Then again, I think it''s because they are also preparing."

    "I called all the Witch n leaders here. Most probably, before getting here, they are meeting somece else so they coulde in a group for protection."

    Even though Lilith wasn''t a hundred percent sure as to what was keeping the others dyed, she could take a few educated guesses.

    "I wouldn''t me them." As walked closer to the river. "They should be quite scared of this meeting as well, at least ining alone. However, that doesn''t change the fact. They''ll have to work with us if they want to seed and survive. If they don''t, then it''s their wish."

    Before getting here, Lilith had already made sure that there weren''t any traps here that could be ced by witches in advance.

    "What if they betray us ande here with the forces of the Empire?" Lancaster also thought of a reason that could be behind this dy. "That could also dy them. If the Witches made a deal with the Empire instead of us, we might havended in a trap."

    "They won''t do it," Lilith refuted the possibility. She didn''t believe the Witches would go to the Empire, at least not before listening to what their side had to say first. And even if they did, that could be handled when the time came. For now, they had to focus on the task at hand.

    "They areing." As was just about to sit near the river when he heard some movement. He was just a fraction of a second faster than Lucius and the others, who also sensed some movement.

    They all looked in the same direction, noticing leaders of nearly twenty Witch nsing together. All the leaders didn''te alone either. Each of them was apanied by one more person from their n behind them.

    Most of these people wereplete strangers for As, but there was one he recognized. In the group of twenty, there was an old white haired woman who looked like she was in her seventies. Behind that woman, there was a youngdy in her twenties.

    He remembered the young woman that he met in Carlisle''s City. He had even worked together with her for a brief period of time before everything went south and he lost himself to the Blood Urge.

    After thest time he saw her, he hadn''t expected to see her again. At least not in a ce like this.

    The young girl also recognised As in the distance. She was already informed that the person she had met before wasn''t an ordinary Vampire as she had initially assumed. Instead, As was a Progenitor.<novelnext></novelnext>

    All the Witches dropped five metres away from As'' group, slightly surprised to see three Progenitors before them. They had expected to see As and Lilith only, but there were two more Progenitors and two Royal Wolves?

    Almost none of them recognized who Vor really was. However, from his mark, it was clear to them that Vor was a Royal Werewolf and a powerful one at that.

    The old Woman named Alisi stepped forward. After the Franc n was destroyed, and the leader of another n killed, her n was the strongest. She was also the temporary leader of this group.

    "Castiel, Lucius and An. I''ve heard a lot about you three," The old woman greeted the three Progenitors first. "It''s good to see you."

    "You forgot to add Lord before our names." An frowned. "We are much older than you, little girl. Don''t you think it''s a bit disrespectful for you to address us with our names?"

    Even though he was on quite good terms with As and Lucius now, showing his good side, for others he was still a Proud Progenitor.

    He was also much older than the old woman who dared address them with their direct names.

    The old woman''s face twitched. Even though An was right that he was older, it didn''t mean she couldn''t address them with their names. Now she was supposed to be the leader of the Witches.

    "May I ask why you all called us here?" she asked, changing the topic. "We were told that you wanted to talk about something important. And seeing how many significant people are here, it does seem to be important."

    "That''s right. We called you here to discuss something with you," Lilith agreed. "I''m sure you already heard the announcement recently? There are people in our world who have waged a war on earth."

    "We need your help in taking them down, because if we can''t, the earth will be destroyed along with your ns and everyone you care about. So this war is as much ours as it is yours," she stated.

    "Aren''t they here to capture him though?" The old woman asked, ncing at As. "If they catch him, they will have no reason to attack anyone else, likest time."

    "That''s where you''re wrong," As chimed in. "This time, their intentions aren''t limited to me. This time the person who is leading them wants to set an example by destroying this world. The only reason they aren''t doing it directly is because they want to catch me first."

    "In other words, it''s not that my presence is keeping this world in harm''s way. Instead, my presence is what''s protecting this world by preventing them from destroying this world directly," he further rified. "As long as they don''t catch me, they will keep destroying and killing whatever and whoever they can find. But as soon as they catch me... They will be much more direct in destroying earth."

 Chapter 243 243: More Like A Progenitor

    "That''s why, if you were thinking about telling them my location to stop them..." As smirked. "That would be no less than taking an ax and hitting it on your own foot."

    "My presence or not, they will destroy the ce you call home, no matter what you do. So it''s actually not my war only. It''s your war as well."

    As knew just what these Witches would be thinking and how naive they would be. That''s why, he had already prepared an answer in advance to show them the mirror as to how it wasn''t just his problem.

    The Witches had no way to be sure if As was telling the truth or not, but they really couldn''t take a chance on it. If he was telling the truth, that meant they had too much risk in going to the Empire to help them catch him.

    "You think you can stop them?" The old woman asked. "I wasn''t alive when theyst came here, but ording to our books, it was a brutal defeat of your side. What makes you think that you can change anything this time?"

    "Last time, we surrendered to protect this World and you ungrateful people. It wasn''t our defeat. If anything, we could''ve fought for much longer." Vor was amazed at the ignorance of these Witches.

    They were still very much in war before Luna ran away, and negotiated a deal which was forced onto them by Lilith. Both him and Castiel were against this proposal, However they had no choice but to go along with it after being emotionally manipted into it.

    As and the other Progenitors promised that they would go to eternal sleep, especially As, in exchange for the Empire leaving this World. On the contrary, this time they had no reason to avoid this war. Instead, they had an even bigger advantage this time in this war.

    They knew exactly where themander in chief of this war was hiding. What could be better than that?

    "I promise you, we will win this war, no matter what I have to do," As dered. Even though he wasn''t Castiel, his words held importance as well. This was thest thing he had to do, and he had no intention of failing in this.

    The old woman frowned, ncing back at the others in her group.

    "What do you want us to do?" she asked As. "Do you even have any ns?"

    "We do, and we are going to be executing it in the morning. That''s why we need your help," Lilith exined. "And before you say that it''s such a short time for preparation, it''s not. We don''t need you to prepare your armies for it."

    "There is just one fleet of the Empire in our area out of so many. We just need to take that one out for now, and the war will end. Since it''s just one fleet, you twenty with us should be enough," she further continued.

    "Moreover, with a smaller group, we can also move much faster without being detected. This just reduces the burden from us and increases our advantage."

    Even though it was good if the Witches could bring their entire ns to fight for them, but it wasn''t absolutely necessary. What was more important was to attack the fleet without any dy, since they didn''t know if the Prince was going to leave for another area or not.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Even as Lilith told them the n, she only told them n B. She didn''t tell the Witches As'' specific n where he was going to go alone before their attack.

    After Lilith told them her n, she gave the old woman some time to think about it and discuss it with the others.

    Not too far from the old woman, her granddaughter was still observing As who looked slightly different. For some reason, she found As to look even more powerful and confident than before. He didn''t quite look like a Progenitor before, based on his actions and how he talked.

    However, now she could feel that confidence and pride that a Progenitor was supposed to have in them. The way As talked to her grandmother, she could actually believe that it was a person who was on equal footing to her grandmother if not higher.

    The old woman walked back to the other n Leaders since it was a decision she couldn''t take alone.

    All the Witches cast a barrier around them to prevent As and the others from hearing what they were speaking.

    As could only see their expressions. The Witches were discussing it quite intensely. He could also see some of them looking like they were yelling.

    There seemed to be some disagreements in the group, which wasn''t good news. However, the other witches looked like they were trying to get everyone on the same decision. As for what Decision that was, it was unclear.

    "What do you think? Will they agree?" he asked Lilith.

    "They have no choice but to agree. They might throw some tantrums but they''ll agree. They have no other choice," Lilith answered.

    "That''s right. Majority of them already want to agree. But there''s always that odd one out who does the opposite of the majority, no matter how good a decision it could be for them all. I think I can see who those odd ones out are in this case," Lucius alsomented.

    "It''s good that we aren''t giving them much time. If we attack in the morning, even if there are ones that want to tell the Empire, they will have no time," Vor smirked. "If not, there was a risk that while we were preparing, one of them could change their mind or go to the Empire to tell them."

    "That''s also one of the reasons I decided to attack on such short notice. It reduces the chances of betrayal to us," As agreed with Vor''s assumption. "I think we genuinely have a chance of sess."

    "Hah, it would definitely be worth it. Just seeing that old man''s face when we catch his son. We will see if he still dares to attack earth."

 Chapter 244 244: Hurry

    The Witches were in the discussion for a long time. It was even longer than As had initially expected them to take.

    He couldn''t help but wonder just what it was that was keeping them engaged for so long. They just had toe to a decision, and ten minutes should''ve been enough for that.

    "Lira, can you tell them to hurry up?" As asked Lilith, getting impatient. "We don''t have all day."

    Lilith also agreed with his assumption that it was taking a long time. She decided to intervene a little to make them hurry up.

    Getting tired from all the waiting, the other Progenitors were already sitting on top of the carriage, just watching the Witches bicker like children.

    As and Lancaster were standing together with Tyler and Vor. They had been standing since the beginning, but they were thest people who could ever feel tired just from standing. After going through so much, they had only managed to increase their stamina more.

    Lilith stopped near the barrier that was fast by the Witches to stop the ones outside from being able to listen to them.

    The people outside couldn''t hear what was being said inside, but the people inside could easily hear what was being said outside.

    "Can you all hurry up a little? You''ve been talking for close to an hour."

    Lilith didn''t force them to do anything. She just told them that they were gettingte and left the rest on them.

    "You have half an hour more to decide. Pleasee to a conclusion by then. And if there are some of you that want to do it, you are free to leave. I promise you that none of us are going to stop up, even if you decide to leave," she told the Witches. "Even without you, we could win. But if by chance we lost, it''s not like you all won''t be joining us in the afterlife soon after."

    Through her words, Lilith once again reminded them that they weren''t the only ones in trouble. The entire world was at risk, and their homes weren''t going to be safe either, no matter what they did. They could either fight when they had a chance, or they could just sit back and wait for their death which was inevitable if As and his side lost.

    The death and Carnage that they were trying to avoid due to greed of their own life was something that couldn''t be avoided, no matter what they did. So the best option at the moment for them was to fight together so they could have a better chance of victory, which could bring peace in the future for them.

    Moreover, if they fought right now, they could win and then proudly im in the future that they also participated in the war. However, if they didn''t fight this time, then if As won, they were going to be called cowards all their lives. And if As lost, their death was inevitable.<novelnext></novelnext>

    They had benefits in fighting together, but only losses if they didn''t fight this time, as the stamp of cowardice couldn''t be removed, no matter what they did.

    Lilith knew what could force the witches to agree. That''s why she kept her words precise and straight to the point before walking back.

    After a brief moment of pause, the negotiations once again began between the witches. Fortunately, this time they did keep it short by simply asking which n didn''t want to fight in this war.

    Even though there were ns that were against fighting as a whole, none of them raised their hands as they didn''t want to look like they were cowards. If everyone had decided to stay out after this discussion, it was better for them all, but as individual ns, they couldn''t just do as they pleased. They had to think about a lot of things.

    Ultimately, it was decided that they were all going to fight together. The witches canceled the barrier before walking back to As and Lilith. One after another, they all gave their confirmation that they were going to fight together with them.

    Lucius and An also jumped down from the roof,nding behind. "Finally, the turtles came to a conclusion. We thought you were going to take all night. You sure you don''t want to take seven or eight hours more?''

    The Witches could see the sarcastic tone in An''s words, but they chose to ignore it. They already knew just what kind of people these Progenitors were. This was nothing new. Instead, this kind of arrogance was to be expected as part of the package.

    "So only a few of us will be going there? Or are you bringing someone else as well? What about the Werewolf King and the Blood Council leaders?" One of the Witch n leaders asked.

    "If only they could join," Anughed. "The Kingdom of Wolves is no more. And so is the Blood Council."

    "They were killed by the Empire recently. That''s why we need to stop them while we have time. If not, you''ll be the next one to have the fate of the kingdom of wolves. Just like they were killed, there is a good chance that the next target could be one of you since the Franc n has been destroyed as well."

    Lilith didn''t want the witches to know just who destroyed the kingdom of wolves and the blood Council. If they found out that the Blood Council and all the others were destroyed by them, they could surely wonder just what the difference was between them and the empire, as both were keen on destroying others.

    If that happened, it was going to take even longer to tell them why they did it, and then it was going to be another long session of deliberation, which could waste even more time for them.

    Seeing Lilith make up a story, An was quite amused. It was certainly fun watching Little liar to cover up their past.

 Chapter 245 245: Lone

    Fortunately, the witches did not know who actually destroyed all those ces. Instead, they didn''t even know that all those ces had been destroyed recently. The news did spread fast but not that fast.

    Even the blood Council wouldn''t have known that the kingdom of wolves had been destroyed by Vor if it wasn''t for Ramiun, who had been there when It all happened.

    As the witches did not know how it happened, they did believe that Lilith was telling the truth since As and his group were certainly not enough to be able to destroy the Kingdom of Wolves and all those ces that easily. The only ones were truly capable of doing something like this for the empire and its forces.

    Now that everyone was on the same page, the n was in motion. Lilith and As walked back to their carriage, and so did the others. Even the Witches had arrived in Carriages, which they kept in the distance since they didn''t want them to be destroyed in case there was a battle here.

    All the witches walked back to their Carriage. All Carriages moved together, following the main carriage in which As was sitting.

    Surprisingly, or not surprisingly, As was sitting alone in his Carriage this time as Lilith, Vor, and the others had moved back to the next carriage with the Progenitors since they were supposed to separate from As.

    As was supposed to get to his destination first, followed by the others around thirty minutester. That''s also why As'' carriage separated from the others, taking a shortcut to the forest where the fleet was resting. The other carriages took the normal route.

    In fact, the Witches didn''t even know that As had separated from the group and went on his own. They still expected him to being with them. Then again, it was intentional that they weren''t told that As would be going alone.

    That part of the n was supposed to be something that only the core of them was supposed to know.

    As moved through the treacherous routes, traveling faster. Even though the route was a shortcut, there was a reason most people didn''t take this route, as it didn''t have proper roads. However, roads were thest thing that As was going toin about.

    The carriage, which was filled until recently, was all empty now as As sat alone with his own thoughts. If he seeded in capturing the Prince, he could still have some time left in his body, but if he had to use his strength, it was unclear just how long he should have as each time he used his strength, it reduced the time he had.

    As nced out the window, slightly nervous as well. This was going to be thest adventure of his life in any case. Whatever happened, this was going to define his legacy in this world. He wanted to feel Proud even in his death.

    He alwayscked strength, but only due to circumstances. But now that he had an opportunity, he wanted to achieve something.

    He believed that he started his life being weak, and that wasn''t his fault. However, if he died being weak, then that was going to be his own fault and no one else''s.

    "Castiel, I don''t know if you can listen to me or not. However, if I seed and help you this time, I hope that will be enough to repay the favor. You came to my rescue when my back was against the wall. This time, I''ll pay it back in full. So I really hope you will take care of my family and my friends like your own."<novelnext></novelnext>

    As he expected before, he didn''t receive any answer. He didn''t need answers either. He just expressed his thoughts, and he believed that they were getting to Castiel. As for what happened next, that was to be seen.

    The carriage moved through the darkness of the night, only to stop as it reached closer to the forest.

    As per his instructions, the driver was supposed to stop a few kilometers away from the first since that was the safest option. As didn''t know how many people could be guarding the vicinity, but it was safest for him to travel alone on his foot from this point.

    That way, even if there were people patrolling the vicinity, he could still protect himself by avoiding them.

    After getting out of the carriage, he told the carriage driver to turn the carriage around and leave the ce.

    The carriage driver did as he was told and left with the carriage, leaving As all alone in the forest.

    After the carriage disappeared from his sight, As started running toward the forest, keeping his eyes on the surroundings, so he wasn''t identally caught by any guards.

    Along the way, he had expected to see a lot of guards since he was getting closer to the main fleet. However, for some strange reason, there were no guards that he could find, which actually managed to surprise him. Were the enemy really so ignorant that they didn''t even have any guards around the forest?

    As'' aura was way weaker than the aura of Castiel, which was easier to hide as well. That''s also how he managed to hide even the smallest trace of his aura before he finally entered the forest.

    He was finally at the ce where the enemy was supposed to be staying, but he still hadn''t seen anyone. He could still make sense of not seeing any guard outside the forest, not seeing anyone even inside. That didn''t make sense at all.

    He wondered if they were even here anymore! Did they leave the forest before he came here?

    There were many questions in his head. Fortunately, most of the questions were put to rest as he actually managed to see a ship in the distance.

    Right around the center of the forests, there was a massive ship. All the trees around it had been destroyed to make room for the ship tond. Around the ship, he could also see some guards. Finally, he received his first glimpse of the enemies of the Empire.

 Chapter 246 246: Expecting

    It was As'' first time seeing what the ship actually looked like. The ship seemed to be much bigger than his initial expectancy.

    There were guards spread around the ship, all beingpletely alert. Fortunately, it didn''t look like they were able to sense him.

    Despite their being guards, the forces were still much smaller than As initially expected. When he didn''t see any guards outside the forest, he thought they would be guarding the ships instead, but at the moment, even that didn''t seem to be the case.

    ording to Luna, there were supposed to be at least a hundred powerful warriors that came through each ship. Moreover, since it was the main fleet of the Prince, the guards should only be more than the usual fleets had. However, for some reason, he couldn''t even see more than twenty people guarding the ship.

    "Are the rest inside the ship? But why would so many of them be inside even now?" As wondered as it seemed quite unlikely.

    It seemed more like the case where the other guards had just left the ce to search nearby cities. That could exin why there were only twenty here. However, if that was the case, it also meant that there was a possibility that the Young Prince also went with them and he wasn''t inside the fleet.

    As clenched his fist, keeping his entire focus on the ship. If he was here, it was only going to work if Luna''s brother was inside. If he wasn''t, then it was going to be a waste of their time and a failure.

    He cast an invisibility spell that could onlyst for a short time. He had been saving it for when he was actually at his final destination.

    After casting invisibility, he came out of his hiding and walked in the open, closer to the shop.

    The ck ship was so big that it was a hard task even to find where to enter from. Fortunately, Luna had told him about such things after knowing just what this ship was like. Since she was from the Royal Family of the Empire as well, she knew quite a lot about these ships.

    The entrance of the ship was from the backdoor, which was usually closed. The door could be opened from the inside, but there was also a way to open it from the outside.

    As stood before the door after walking past all the other guards. So far, the n was moving very smoothly as no guard was able to sense him. The only problem was the time limitation of this spell. He needed to enter the ship and get to his Target before the time ran out.

    He brought out a small vial from his pocket, which contained a droplet of Luna''s blood. The ship doors could only be opened from inside in most of the cases when the ship was in a foreignnd, but there was also an emergency method for the Royals in case they urgently needed to ess the ships.

    All it needed was the royal blood to override the lock for a brief moment and to open the door. Thanks to Luna''s information, he knew about such things in advance and brought Royal Blood with him. Even though Luna didn''t have the authority to pilot the ship with her blood, the ability to open the door was still the same.

    As soon as As made the blood droplet touch the door, the blood was absorbed by the door. The door started sliding up, opening.

    Even though the door wasn''t loud when opening, some guards outside still noticed the door opened. They straightened up as if expecting someone wasing out from inside. However, no one came out, and the doors closed on their own after a few seconds, confusing the Guards. If no one wasing out, then how did the doors open in the first ce?<novelnext></novelnext>

    On the other hand, As had already managed to sessfully enter the ship before the door closed. So far, things had been easier than even he expected.

    ''So far, so good. But I can''t getcent until I find Luna''s brother. If he isn''t here, then it''ll all be for naught.''

    Getting inside the ship was swift, but the next part was supposed to be just as hard. He needed to locate the young prince if he was even in here.

    Locating one person inside such a massive ship and that too before his Shroud ran out was certainlyplicated. He knew he couldn''t waste any time.

    He instantly got to search, taking his first step. Unfortunately, as soon as he took his first step, he felt a terrifying current course all through his body, which momentarily paralyzed even his body.

    The current made him lose control of his body as he fell to his knees. Walls made from Lightning appeared all around him as if entrapping him in a prison.

    p! p! Chap!

    pping resounded in the surrounding area. However, it was clearly only one person who was pping from the sound of it.

    As raised his head as his body started regaining some control again after the initial shock of the current.

    He raised his head, gazing at a young man with long blonde hair who was pping.

    There were more people following the man with their hands behind their backs; however, they were much more quiet.

    The men in the back were covered in armor, with only their heads being visible.

    "You are finally here... I must say, you kept me waiting for a long time. I was expecting you here much sooner," the young manmented.

    "Oh, how silly of me. I forgot to introduce myself. Still, I don''t think I need to introduce myself for you to recognize me, right? I''m sure my dear sister already told you everything there is to know about me, including my so-called weakness of impatience?"

    As was surprised. Why did it seem like it was a trap? The man was expecting him here? Why?

 Chapter 247 247: The Traitor

    As felt as if he had been caught in a trap. The people here knew that he wasing, and that''s why they were ready!

    "I am the Prince who is leading this war and the person you are here to kill. Though I''m afraid you might have to change your n," the Prince stated.

    "So you knew I wasing!" As clenched his fist. This was indeed a trap!

    The man removed all his forces from outside the forest and even lowered his forces around the ship as if intentionally making it easier for As to get inside the ship. It could only be positive if he knew about the n! Someone had informed him about their entire n, but who? Who could do it?

    The witches were out of the question. They couldn''t have told the Empire about his n as even they didn''t know that he was going to go in alone before the main army.

    That only left a few possibilities! It was someone from his core group!

    "Of course, I knew it. What kind of idiot won''t know?" The young prince asked in response, shing a bright grin. "Although I must say that your n was good, but not good enough."

    "Did Luna tell you? Was she the one who betrayed us?" As asked, forcing himself to, even though he was inside the lightning prison.

    "That stupid sister of mine who sullied the reputation of our Empire? Do you think she is even capable of finding something like this?" The Princeughed. He was quite amused to see that the first person As doubted was the one that ran to him.

    "Then again, If I were in your ce, I would''ve doubted her as well," he further mentioned."The person who can betray her own family, who else can''t she betray? Unfortunately, she wasn''t the one who told me."

    "An and Lucius! It was one of them!" If it wasn''t Luna, then it could only be one amongst the two, ording to As.

    He was sure that Lilith couldn''t do it. Lilith was thest person in the entire world who could betray him, and the secondst person would be Lancaster. Even Vor wouldn''t do it. As for Tyler, he had no way to do it as he was from his lineage. If As died, that meant Tyler was going to die as well.

    That only left the two Progenitors who could''ve done it.

    "Wrong again," the Prince shook his head, once more rejecting the guess of As. It wasn''t them either.

    "Vor? Or Tyler?" As asked.

    Even now, the young Prince shook his head. Wasn''t one of those two either."

    At this point, As'' head had started aching. There was no way it could be Lancaster or Lilith. That only meant the Prince was lying about it not being one of the people he named.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Even though As was trapped, he still wanted to know who it was that did it. Who betrayed him? If the man wasn''t going to answer, he was going to force the answer out.

    While As pretended to be lost in thought, his hands remained behind his back as he started casting a spell.

    He was casting a Teleportation spell. Even though he remembered Luna''s words that Teleportation inside the ship was impossible, he had to test it himself. If Luna was indeed a traitor, then there was also a possibility that she lied about this Teleportation ban.

    As was really hoping to seed in this spell because if he could, everything was going to turn out perfect. His Target was standing right before his eyes. All he needed to do was take control by teleportation right behind him.

    As long as he could do that, it was his victory. Unfortunately, he soon realized that Lilith hadn''t lied about this thing. His Teleportation spell wasn''t seeding, no matter what he tried. The spatial forces inside the ship were indeed chaotic, which affected his Teleportation.

    "You seem really eager to know who betrayed you?" The young man asked, observing As'' confusion.

    "Let me give you a hint. Without that person''s information, we wouldn''t have known that you would being here. And without that person''s information, we also wouldn''t be able to capture my sister. Luckily, we also managed to capture a bonus with her."

    As the Prince mentioned about capturing Luna, As had a really bad feeling about this. If they did manage to capture Luna, that meant their people reached the town where they were staying. And in that same town, wasn''t there also Mise?

    As he expected, a screen appeared before everyone, showing scenes from an unknown room where both, Luna and Mise, were kept imprisoned. Their bodies were tied in shackles and kept inside a lightning cell as well.

    Mise was sitting on her knees, scared. She was asking to be let out. On the other hand, Luna was seemingly unconscious. There were also some burn marks all over her hand as if she had been punching the lightning Barrier to break it so she could free herself.

    "Now I not only have my sister back, but I also have your sister with us. Do you now feel my pain when someone from a different world takes your sister and tries to use her against you?" The Prince asked. "Just like you used my sister in the negotiationsst time to save your life, it''s time for a switch."

    "It''s time for me to use your sister in the negotiations instead. If you agree, I would free her and only deal our revenge on you. But if you don''t take part in the negotiations, you and her... You''ll both be suffering. I won''t force you though. I''m a nice guy, after all.".

    "However, as your sister already told you, I''m quite impatient as well. So who knows, I''ll leave that for you to decide."

    "Keep my sister out of it. It''s my fight with you!"

    "Oh, no it''s not. It stopped being your and mine battle the moment you decided to involve my sister in it!"

 Chapter 248 248: Kept

    "If my family was involved because of you, it''s only fair that your family is also involved, isn''t it?" The Prince asked As, who was getting quite impatient.

    It was one thing to be trapped himself, but if Mise was also caught, then this was even worse as, unlike him, who had a limited life left, she was supposed to have a longer life. If she was caught like that, then she was in danger.

    If his Teleportation wasn''t going to work, Altas decided to use other spells. He wasn''t bound by the Spatial Spells to be able to break this lightning prison.

    Unfortunately, as if he was able to read As'' mind, the Prince smirked. "You can try breaking my Lightning prison, but you won''t be able to save your sister like that."

    "Your sister isn''t inside this ship. I''ve sent her and my sister to a different ship which is in an unknown corner of the world. I mean, don''t tell me you honestly thought I''d keep them here even after knowing that you''re all going to attack this ce? I couldn''t take the chance."

    "I will kill you!"

    As was definitely thinking that the twodies were going to be on this ship, but if they weren''t, then it was indeed hard. However, that didn''t mean the n had changed.

    No matter where Mise was, if he could capture the Prince, everything was still going to be in his control since he just had to add one more condition to the negotiations: that they had to release his sister.

    His finger behind him had already finished creating a small formation Circle. A small sphere of dark matter energy appeared above his hand, containing huge amounts of condensed energies.

    If he needed to break this prison, he knew that he neededrge amounts of condensed energies, and what better for this than a simple attack that could shatter this lightning prison?

    He wanted to destroy the prison and swiftly capture the young prince. He did the same as well. He attacked with the energy sphere after he was in reach, tossing it straight to the core of the prison where the lightning wasing from.

    As soon as the energy sphere hit its target, the lightning prison stopped working for a brief moment before returning to working like it was supposed to. However, in a brief moment, As managed to get out of the lightning prison, flying straight to the Prince.

    The Prince''s face went pale as he saw Asing toward him.

    "Capture him!" hemanded his guards as he started stepping back, which was quite surprising with how strong Luna made him out to be. If he was really that strong, then why was he stepping back like that instead of running ahead to fight him like a brave warrior?

    Even though As wanted to have an answer, he got distracted by fighting all the enemies. He still had some of his Shroud Time life. He cast his shroud, turning invisible before calling out his Blood Sword.

    With As turning invisible, no one was supposed to see him; however, they could all feel the immense power of his sword. Moreover, the invisibility also wasn''t having much of an effect as a mysterious power of the ship was acting up on him.

    As soon as As turned invisible, the entire hallway lit up in a beautiful red light. Under the red light, even As'' invisibility was ineffective.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Seeing the men attacking exactly where he was standing, As realized that his invisibility wasn''t working.

    sh~

    He focused more on his attack as he swung his sword while avoiding an attack that came straight for his head.

    The guards were fast, but so was As, especially now that he had managed to draw out more strength of Castiel. His attack didnd on the chest of the closest guard, slicing through the Armor and leaving a deep wound on the young Guard''s chest.

    In the back, the Prince stood far away from all the battle, seemingly befuddled to see how swiftly As was able to take his men out. Despite his reaction, he wasn''t running away.

    The Guards of his kept dying one after another, not able to hold on before As.

    This was even more strange for As than everything before. Out of all the Stories he heard about all the powerful warriors of the Empire, was this all? Was this the extent of their strength? Their Prince was scared, and the generals didn''t hold up to their reputation. Something didn''t feel right. However, he didn''t have the time to focus on that at the moment.

    He managed to kill all the generals that were apanying the young Prince at not much cost to himself. There were only a few wounds on his own body, but that wasn''t much before his healing.

    Now there was only one person left... The young Prince. As dashed ahead as the Prince also started running away.

    He appeared before the Prince, cing his sword right on the throat of the young Prince. Just a little push and the Prince was going to die.

    Even though As had his sword on the neck of the Prince, he still felt that something was wrong there. He just didn''t know what it was, but it all seemed a bit too easy... A bit too much. He wondered if he was just overthinking.

    "One more step, and you''ll die," As warned the Prince. "Tell me where Mise and Luna are. Tell your men to bring them here!"

    "Huh, you think I''ll give you the only hostages I have? I know they are your weaknesses. You''ll never kill me until I have them. Moreover, if you kill me, you''re never getting them back."

    "I''ve alreadymanded my men that if something happens to me, they are to take your sister to our world and bury her a thousand feet under the ground where she''ll spend the rest of her life trapped."

    Even though the Prince seemed to be caught, he still managed to issue a threat to As. "Release me this instant!"

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