“Keugh!” Master Helmond clenched his teeth.

- Kneel.

Eugene’s voice was calm and monotone. Master Helmond could have expressed appreciation for the voice if he had heard it somewhere else and in a different situation. But now, the voice resonated inside his head and crushed his soul. Words were power—was it really a coincidence that the words he had heard from an unknown wizard he met by chance suddenly came to his mind? Master Helmond tried to resist with all his strength when he felt his knees buckle.

“Ugh!”

“Ugh…”

Samit and Todor slowly collapsed while groaning on the left and right sides of Master Helmond. Unlike Helmond, who was enduring with all his might, the two vampire masters had resigned themselves to the command contained in the Power of Word.

“Hooh?”

Eugene was slightly surprised. He had spoken while lacing his voice with the Fear of the Origin. It would have caused overwhelming pressure for other races, but act as an absolute order for any vampires. Even so, the vampire in the black armor was resisting. Eugene knew from Rivoles that the man in question was the monarch of the Helmond Clan. He stared at the man with interest.

Ten seconds passed and red droplets began to form on Helmond’s forehead. The sweat was made of blood.

The other vampire masters shouted with shock when they saw the blood of a clan master leaking from his skin. After all, the blood of a vampire clan master contained a powerful mystery.

Kwuuooooo…

The blood droplets forming on Master Helmond’s skin began to break away. The sight of hundreds or thousands of red drops rising was quite bizarre.

“Keugh…”

Master Helmond’s white face began to turn blue like a corpse. His eyes and pupils were completely crimson, and Master Helmond desperately directed the droplets with his will. This was one of Master Helmond’s secret techniques. Any creatures, including vampires below the level of clan masters, would instantly die upon coming into contact with any of the blood droplets.

Paaaa…!

Each droplet contained a powerful curse, and all of them drifted toward where Eugene was standing.

“Hmm.” Eugene took on a curious expression when he saw the stream of blood slowly approaching him. Suddenly, the drops of blood gathered and transformed into a large sphere before shooting at him like lightning.

Paat!

Eugene opened his palm and extended his arm. His hand came into contact with the sphere of blood, and like a lie, the blood sphere disappeared. To be exact, it had been absorbed into Eugene’s palm.

“Keuugh!” Master Helmond fell to his knee while screaming in pain. His firm skin was filled with cracks and wrinkles, and even his rich blond hair had become dry and white. One of the strongest creatures in the world—a vampire clan master—had been defeated and even deprived of his authority.

“…!!!”

The other clan masters were struck speechless. They could only stare with dumbfounded expressions.

“That’s a funny little trick,” Eugene spoke with a grin after absorbing the blood of the vampire clan master. He knew it could have been quite dangerous if Galfredik had faced Master Helmond instead of him. The power contained in Master Helmond’s blood was powerful. However, Eugene was more surprised about the fact that Master Helmond had ‘resisted’ him rather than the power and mystery contained in his blood. After all, vampires were the most hierarchical of all the races.

Human slaves and serfs would against knights and lords when they were greatly dissatisfied, and they would even start revolts when they were desperate or after being driven into a corner. However, vampires were different. Even if they belonged to different clans, those belonging to the lower class could never rebel against the upper class. Naturally, it was possible when one didn’t know who they were faced with, but it would be impossible to confront that particular opponent as soon as the difference between their class was revealed. It was because of the difference in pure power and force. Even if vampires were incorporated into the society of other races and embraced the culture and mindset, especially that of humans, this was still an immutable, absolute law.

However, Master Helmond had defied the law and rebelled against himself. The moment Eugene absorbed his blood, Eugene realized why it had been possible for Master Helmond to resist him.

“You,” Eugene called out.

“Keughh…” Master Helmond struggled to raise his head. He had transformed from a young man into a middle-aged man. He was stunned when he saw that Eugene was not only fine, but he was even standing there arrogantly after absorbing his blood. Master Helmond was then struck with an unfamiliar emotion called ‘fear’.

“You have consumed the blood of a demon before. Isn’t that right?” Eugene asked.

“…!!!”

“And no ordinary one either, but a fairly high-ranking one… Perhaps the blood of a devil,” Eugene continued. Master Helmond’s eyes quivered crazily after hearing Eugene’s words. Even if Eugene had overwhelming power, how did he know all that during their first encounter?

“Well, the Helmond Clan stuck together with the crown prince and forced open the corridor. Were you aiming for the blood of a devil from the beginning? Or it just happened somehow?” Eugene asked.

Master Helmond was still in great shock and could not answer. Eugene grinned before approaching Master Helmond. He stared straight into Master Helmond’s eyes before speaking in a low voice, “Confess to me, your master.”

The Power of Word was activated once again. It was only useful against the members of the Tribe of Darkness. The mystery was much more powerful than even Master Samit’s charm, which could transform even a high lord into her puppet.

Master Helmond’s eyes turned blank, and he murmured, “Originally… the purpose was to… evolve the monsters of the evil lands… and to release them… Consuming the blood… of the one that crossed over… was something recent…”

It was as expected. Even though he was a clan master, Master Helmond was completely ignorant of the corridors to the Demon World. He had been working together with the crown prince for some reason, and he ended up drinking the blood of a devil in the process of destroying them. Master Helmond had successfully resisted against Eugene for a while because of the devil’s blood.

“Hmm. You couldn’t have defeated a devil. Ah, that must be it…” Eugene muttered after thinking of Georg. The devil Georg had said that he was greatly weakened after crossing over to this world. Since even Georg was weakened to Galfredik’s level, even clan masters could take care of weaker devils.

“Was it your decision to send high lords after me?” Eugene asked.

Master Helmond answered, “That’s… right.”

“What about chasing after the third prince all the way to Brantia? Was that you as well?” Eugene asked.

“That… was in… agreement with the crown prince,” Master Helmond responded.

“What was the reason? No matter how you look at it, the third prince is no match for the crown prince. He could have been left alone,” Eugene said. This was one of the many burning questions Eugene had in his mind. From what he could tell, Prince Localope fell short of Crown Prince Voltaire in many ways. Moreover, Voltaire had already been designated as the next emperor while Localope was only the third prince.

There were no reasons for Voltaire to be particularly concerned about him, but even so, Crown Prince Voltaire had been persistent about keeping Localope in check. Localope had no answer either. The only thing he knew was that he had to escape the empire because his older brother had been trying to eliminate him.

“That’s because… the third prince’s blood… is pure… To be exact… the crown prince… wants to become a member… of the Dark Clan,” Master Helmond answered.

“Huh…?” Eugene was genuinely surprised. The other masters also became wide-eyed while listening to the conversation between Eugene and Master Helmond.

The Crown Prince of the Roman Empire wanted to become a member of the Dark Clan? Such words were too ridiculous for them to be considered a joke if it hadn’t come from Helmond’s mouth. However, the shocking words weren’t over just yet.

“The emperor… wanted to have the third prince… become the crown prince… However, the beings who opposed it… confined the emperor…” Master Helmond continued.

“…!!!”

“Crown Prince… Voltaire belatedly realized… and tried to eliminate the third prince…”

The clan masters trembled with shock, but Eugene’s gaze remained as calm as a placid sea. He asked another question, “The self-proclaimed Origins, those residing somewhere in the imperial castle. Are they the ones behind this?”

“That’s… right…” Master Helmond answered.

“Huh?!” The three masters even had to hold their breaths as the conversation continued.

“And you are a child of one of the three?” Eugene asked.

“It is… as you say…”

Eugene’s curiosity was finally resolved. He finally understood why the high lords of the Helmond Clan kept chasing after him and Prince Localope, and why they had been secretly working to initiate the monster uprising. It was all to ensure that Crown Prince Voltaire would become the perfect emperor, even though he wasn’t originally destined for it. It was to ensure that Voltaire would become the ruler of the world’s strongest nation not as a human, but as a vampire—as a master-class monarch of the Tribe.

And they had done all these to…

“To create a world ruled by vampires,” Eugene concluded.

The masters trembled at Eugene’s bold words. All of them were vampire monarchs. They had been dreaming of the world Eugene had just spoken. Although the covenant made between the vampires and the two empires had allowed them to be incorporated into human society, the members of the Dark Clan were still in the minority. With the exception of very few high-ranking nobles, vampires had to avoid the sun and fear silver.

Of course, masters were different. They were daywalkers, as well as rulers with strong power and authority. However, even they could not be freed from the absolute law of being prohibited from entering any cities, villages, and buildings without the owner’s permission. However, what if a member of the Dark Clan became the emperor?

‘Freedom…’

‘True liberation!’

At the very least, they could live without any restrictions in the Roman Empire. Moreover, the empire was a powerful nation with influence over many countries. If the emperor so desired, vampires could travel almost to all territories and countries without any restrictions. The great family of darkness would then rule the world.

The eyes of the three masters became filled with passion. With eyes full of anticipation and aspiration, they looked toward their king—the true monarch. If such a world ever arrived, the great king of darkness would surely stand at its center.

Eugene slowly spoke while receiving the fierce gaze of the masters, ”…Pathetic.”

“…?!”

“I had been wondering what it was all for. You made such a fuss for such a trivial reason?” Eugene said as if he were dumbfounded.

“Kieeeeeeeeeek! What do you mean?!” A frivolous voice unbefitting the heavy, somber atmosphere suddenly resonated.

“You could be the real demon king! And I could be your number two! I’m very much in favor! Kieeeeeeek! Huaaa! Huaaaa!” The spirit stormed out with eyes redder than vampires. Her fear of the vampire masters had disappeared long ago. The desire had completely blinded her.