Shhk. Shhhk.

The hem of someone’s garb was dragging along the ancient, tan bricks. A black-haired woman was going down the dark passage. She did not hesitate, even though even a brave knight would be nervous in her shoes. Moreover, she wasn’t even holding a torch.

The passage wasn’t straightforward either. It was quite complicated with multiple branches along its path, and the occasional wail of the wind only added to the gloomy, bizarre atmosphere of the passage. Nevertheless, the woman continued walking through the deep, dark passage without hesitation. After walking for a while, she finally arrived in front of a thick stone gate. Etched into the stone gate was a dragon with its jaws spread wide. The engraving of the dragon looked as if it were alive, and the crimson jewels that took the place of its eyes only amplified the imposing nature of the creature.

However, what filled the woman’s eyes were loneliness and longing as she stared at the engraving. She slowly walked forward and stroked the stone dragon as if she were reuniting with a long-lost lover. Suddenly, a drop of blood rolled down the tip of one of her long, pale fingers. The drop had surfaced without any visible wounds by penetrating out of her skin.

Shhhhh…

The droplet slowly permeated the engraving of the dragon as if it were a piece of cloth absorbing water.

Woooong!

Once the drop of blood completely seeped into the stone, the two jeweled eyes of the dragon started to glow.

Gwwwwooooong…

Then, the ancient stone door slowly creaked open. A large circular hall could be seen through the opening. The space was well-lit by hundreds of luminescent objects embedded in the surrounding walls. In the middle of the space was a man lying on a large stone bed. He was wearing nothing else but an old, gray tunic, and there was no vitality on his face.

The woman slowly approached him, and the middle-aged man slowly raised his head. His eyes were devoid of any life as he looked up at the woman. He slowly parted his blue, lifeless lips.

“Mana stone… Mana stone….”

His face was sunken like a living skeleton, and blue, branching veins were crawling over the entirety of his face and neck. The middle-aged man looked like a typical addict. He was addicted not to refined mana stones but to a compound created from the powder of mana stones.

“Poor thing,” the woman muttered while patting the man’s head like a nurturing bird. It was rather ironic since she looked young enough to be his daughter.

The man grasped her hands with a gasp. “Please… Mana stone…”

“Descendant of the dragon’s blood,” she called out.

“…!” The man’s eyes quivered. She proceeded to raise her index finger before gently placing it against the man’s lips. Just like before, a drop of blood appeared from the finger and wet the man’s lips.

“Heugh…! Ugh!”

Pop!

The threading veins on the man’s neck and face protruded as if they were about to burst. Simultaneously, a red flush came to his face, and vitality started to fill the man’s eyes once more. After a while, the woman confirmed that the man had regained some life before untying his hair with his head resting in her arms. The man no longer looked like an addict, and he had regained the appearance of an ordinary person. He turned her gaze toward her and asked, “…Are you the Red Elegant Queen?”

“That’s right, child of the golden blood. You managed to recognize me,” she responded.

The man gazed at the woman with quivering eyes before sighing.

“I had been thinking that something was weird even before all of this. The Queen of Darkness was supposed to have been the greatest of the Marecasio, but what I saw was a relationship between colleagues or friends. And she… she seemed rather lacking compared to the other two,” he said.

“As expected of the golden blood, to think you managed to sense the difference,“ the woman responded with a seductive smile.

The man’s eyes trembled when he saw her smile. He came down from the stone bed and gave a polite bow. “Let me give you my official greeting. I am—”

“The legitimate successor of the golden blood. The descendant of the covenantor. The current emperor,” she said.

The man, the emperor of the Roman Empire, raised his head and responded dismally, “Well, since you have come here, you must know everything. Then the other Marecasio—”

“The children are still there,” she responded.

“…!”

“Why? Did you really think I would eliminate those children?” she asked.

“…” The eyes of the emperor began to glow with great anger.

The Queen of Darkness, Lefersha Toidora Ventroa, said with a smile, “Even if I call them my children, they are not my real children. What they do has nothing to do with me. They also have the right to think and make decisions for themselves, so it’s none of my business.”

“Then why… Why did you save me? Did you not return to save me, so you could keep the covenant?” the emperor asked. Although he was in a terrible state due to the long addiction, the power of the golden blood was still within him. The power of the dragon contained in the emperor’s eyes and voice including the mystery and dignity he naturally exuded weren’t things ordinary people could resist. However, the one facing the emperor was none other than the Queen of Darkness. She was an existence from many, many generations ago. She was present since the beginning of the great empire.

Psssss…

The majesty emanating from the emperor’s figure was crushed by an invisible force.

“Even the Beholder shows respect to me, and you hold nothing but a mere fraction of that power. Yet you dare? How arrogant,” she said.

The emperor was shocked. Two Marecasio had worked together to put him in his current state. Even though his power wasn’t whole, and even if she stood above the two Marecasio, how could he have been overpowered so easily?

“Here are the reasons why I returned: first, I came back to see my father.”

“…?!” The emperor was struck silent with bewilderment. It was a natural response, as he knew well that the Queen of Darkness and the two Marecasio were monarchs reigning above all vampires. Among the three, the Queen of Darkness was an absolute, untouchable being. Even Marecasio Helmond and Caravan had to show her respect and consideration. So what was this talk about her father? There was no existence who could control the mysterious woman except the dragon. It was unimaginable for her to have a parent.

“I kept the covenant that I made with the founding emperor by saving you. The others are issues you have to handle yourself,” she added.

The man then answered, “But, the door… The first passage has already opened, so—”

“And that is the second reason,” she replied.

“…Are you saying you will take care of the first passage?”

The emperor rejoiced. It could be said that he was in his current state due to the conspiracy surrounding the first passage, the first evil land to have surfaced in this world.

“I know that you were opposed to opening the first passage. That is praiseworthy. However, your incompetence was what caused the passage to open once more. You were responsible for your current state.” She pointed out.

“…”

She then continued. “So, I will settle the matter according to the covenant.”

“Then that means… the story was true after all. That you—the Queen of Darkness—crossed over using the passage…”

It was one of the most closely guarded secrets of the imperial family. It was said that the Queen of Darkness was one of the first beings to have crossed over from another world using the first passage and that she was responsible for the birth of the race of vampires.

The Queen laughed in response, “That’s partly true.”

“Partly true?” the emperor asked.

“It was my father who crossed over. So only my father can take care of the problem,” she said.

“…!!!”

“However, I was the one who made a covenant with your family. All in all, my father has no obligation to take care of the passage. So then, how should we proceed?” she asked.

The emperor felt as if his brain had stopped working after hearing the unbelievable story. The Queen clicked her tongue and shrugged.

“Well, there’s nothing else to do but to beg like beggars. Well, I don’t know if he will have mercy, especially since the children played those strange tricks on him,” she said with a sigh.

“W-wait a minute. I have no idea what you are talking about. It wasn’t you who came across the passage, but your father? And what tricks are you talking about?” the emperor asked.

“Well, about that—”

She started with a smile, but then she suddenly paused. She turned her glimmering eyes away from the emperor. Staring at the stone gate, the Queen muttered, “It seems that Father is here.”

***

Dong! Dong! Dong!

One of the eight gates surrounding the capital of the Roman Empire was locked shut with a roar while the loud echoes of a bell continued to resound. Soldiers equipped with bows gathered on the wall, and crossbows were placed on the crenels of the wall.

“Huh? What’s going on?”

“Open the door! What are you doing?!”

The crowd gathered in front of the gate banged on the door with bewilderment, but they were only greeted with the angry shouts of the guards.

“Get away from the gate, all of you! If you continue to make a fuss, we will kill you!”

“Back! Get back!”

Papapat!

“Huaaack!”

“T-this is madness!”

The crowd was scared away from the gate when a few warning arrows were fired around them. However, not everyone had jumped away from the gate.

“L-look over there.”

“What’s wrong with him? Has he gone crazy?”

The crowds buzzed while staring at the two unmoving, mounted figures in front of the gate. Strangely enough, none of the guards were attacking the two. Although all the bows were aimed at the two, no one was firing.

“This is a declaration! This is the city of His Majesty the Emperor, the master of the glorious golden blood! By the authority vested in me by His Majesty the Emperor, I declare that I have never invited you in! You are forbidden from entering this city! Get away!” the guard captain shouted in a husky voice, and Eugene silently raised his head.

The guard captain appeared confident and somewhat relaxed.

‘It’s a natural reaction.’

It was praiseworthy how the guard captain quickly reacted after being made aware of Eugene’s identity. In addition, the arrowheads were made of pure silver. It was proof that they were custom-made to target vampires. The guard captain could afford to act so confidently because he was prepared and because he knew that vampires could not enter cities without permission from their masters.

“Those fools. What are you going to do? You said you were blessed by the holy mother or the high priest or something, right? Couldn’t you just climb the wall and pummel them?” Georg asked with a smirk. Even the Demon King of Blood wasn’t free from the restrictions imposed on the entire race of vampires. However, Eugene was not subject to his only restraint anymore because of what the dumb saintess had done. Although the idiots were enjoying their false sense of security, Eugene could easily climb the wall and wipe them out if he so desired. Naturally, Georg assumed that Eugene would climb the wall and exterminate them.

However…

“Huh? What are you doing?” Georg asked. He was slightly taken back to see that Eugene remained unmoving from his horse. The same was true for Mirian.

“Kieeeh? Sir? What’s wrong? Why aren’t you doing anything?” asked Mirian.

“I said it before, didn’t I? I’m giving them a chance,” Eugene answered.

“Kieeeh? Ki… Kuagh! Kuweegh!” Mirian suddenly grabbed a hold of her neck. She had been prepared to unleash a barrage of her spit, and now, she was unfortunately choking on her own spit.

There was no need to gift the pathetic spirit any attention because she had always acted as if she were foolish regardless of time and place. Georg approached Eugene and asked, “A chance? Wasn’t that for the prince?”

“Opportunity is given to everyone, and I need to confirm something as well,” Eugene responded. He then continued after turning his gaze toward the tightly shut gate. “If your words are true, I was the one who opened the first passage, the evil land. The imperial family of the Roman Empire knew this and still built a castle on top of it. It means that either the Marecasio or I made the order to do it… Anyway, since I have arrived, I’m sure that at least one of them has figured out what is going on, right? That’s why we should give them a chance—a chance so they won’t have anything to say later.”

“Ah…”

Georg nodded, but he felt as if his back were drenched with cold sweat. He could not fathom the viciousness of the Demon King. He was making sure that they would have no excuses even if he decided to completely crush them later. Georg was certain that ‘giving them a chance’ was just an excuse. The Demon King wanted them to continue confronting him behind locked doors.

“Tsk.”

Eugene clicked his tongue.

“I think they’re already on their way,” Eugene said, seemingly disappointed. The devil was then convinced upon hearing Eugene’s response. It seemed that Georg was right—Eugene wanted to legally destroy the imperial capital after obtaining sufficient justification.