"Please, have something to eat," the barbarian leader offered.
The barbarians brought Xylon and his companions to their stronghold and welcomed them as guests.
"Thank you very much," Xylon said politely.
"By the way, my name is Gold Makeyue, the leader of the barbarians," she introduced herself.
"As for me, I am—"
Xylon stopped himself before saying his real name.
He could not reveal his true identity to them.
"My name is Arkin, and these two are Lewis and Xeros," Xylon said, introducing their false identities.
"Those are wonderful names. How did you end up in our territory?" Gold asked.
"We were traveling toward the First District of Aznar when a group of demons attacked us. After that, we lost our way," Heberlin explained.
Meanwhile, Zake continued eating without paying any attention to their conversation.
"We had no idea that we had already entered Erasmus. We apologize for disturbing your land," Xylon added.
Gold smiled.
"It is fine. Since you are only ordinary vampires, we have no problem with you."
"Why? Would it be a problem if we were nobles?" Heberlin asked curiously.
At that moment, Zake stopped eating and turned his attention toward them.
"We despise the nobles," Gold answered, her expression becoming cold.
"All they care about is power. They want to rule over every land in Aznar. They are greedy and selfish—especially the Council and the King."
The moment Xylon heard those words, he suddenly choked on his food.
Zake immediately stood up.
"The King is not a bad person!" he argued.
Before the situation could escalate, Heberlin quickly pulled Zake back down into his seat.
"Hahaha, please forgive him. This guy dreams of becoming a king someday, so he tends to overreact whenever someone talks badly about kings," Heberlin said with an awkward laugh.
Gold laughed at his explanation.
"Very well. Finish your meal. We will guide you to the correct path shortly," she said before standing up.
However, before anyone could respond, the ground suddenly shook violently.
Everyone rushed outside to see what was happening.
"THE DEMONS ARE ATTACKING AGAIN!" one of the barbarians shouted.
.
.
.....
The Gate Keeper finally opened the portal leading to the World of Emptiness.
"Be careful," the old man warned. "You have no idea what kind of horrors exist within that world."
"How will we return?" Xenon asked.
The Gate Keeper handed him a small bottle containing what looked like ordinary sand.
"Use this. When you wish to return, simply scatter the contents into the air. A portal will appear before you, and it will lead you back to your world."
Cedrick carefully stored the bottle.
"Thank you very much," he said sincerely.
After bidding farewell to the Gate Keeper, the three of them stepped toward the portal.
Without hesitation, they entered the gateway to the World of Emptiness—
.
.
.
Sagi slowly regained consciousness.
As he opened his eyes, he found himself lying inside an unfamiliar room.
He looked around cautiously.
"Where am I?" he whispered.
He sat up and examined the various items displayed around the room.
"These things look antique… The person who owns this room must be rich," he muttered.
Suddenly, the door opened.
Sagi quickly turned his head and saw several people entering the room.
"You're awake. How are you feeling?" Lilith asked gently.
"I-I'm fine… But how did I end up here?" Sagi asked.
"The royal guards found you unconscious and brought you here," Maddison explained.
"Royal guards?" Sagi repeated in confusion.
"Before anything else, let us introduce ourselves. My name is Maddison, and this is Lilith," Maddison said.
"I'm Yvess. These are Blake, Zander, and Arden," Yvess added.
"What is your name? And how did you arrive in our kingdom?" Lilith asked.
"My name is Sagittarius, but you can just call me Sagi," he replied.
"How did you get here, Sagi?" Maddison asked.
"I was being chased by a monster. They were terrifying… they looked like demons that had crawled straight out of Hell," Sagi explained.
"Then, while I was running away, I saw a glowing wall."
"A glowing wall?" Zander repeated with a laugh.
"Yep. Then I accidentally tripped and fell into it. The next thing I knew, I ended up here." Sagi looked around the room nervously. "By the way, what kind of place is this? The people here are really scary."
"You are in Aznar," Arden answered calmly.
"The realm of vampires."
Sagi's eyes immediately widened in horror.
Without hesitation, he grabbed the blanket and covered his entire body.
"WAAAHHH! Please don't eat me!" he cried.
Yvess immediately pulled the blanket away from him.
"Idiot. We don't eat humans," he said with annoyance.
Sagi slowly peeked at them, his expression full of suspicion.
"So… you're the good kind of vampires?" he asked cautiously.
All of them nodded.
Seeing their sincere expressions, Sagi finally let out a huge sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness… I almost thought my handsome face was going to become a vampire's dinner."
The room fell silent.
Everyone stared at him.
"..."
Blake crossed his arms. "Actually, now I'm considering it."
"WAHHH! I knew you were lying!"
The room was immediately filled with laughter, and for the first time since arriving in the strange world of Aznar, Sagi felt that perhaps he had found people he could trust.
.
.
.
"Look! The sky suddenly lit up over there," Aria pointed.
Titus turned his gaze to where she was looking. The strange light illuminated the dark surroundings, creating an eerie yet mesmerizing sight.
"Something unusual must be happening in that place," Titus said, his expression turning serious.
"Then why don't we go and investigate?" Aria suggested.
Titus looked at her for a moment before giving a small nod.
"Alright."
He gently offered his hand to help her as they continued their journey.