Sanguis Octavian was the second most powerful advisor of Sanos Reversa and a descendant of the third most important advisor of the ancient vampires.
All the ancient councilors raised their descendants in the same way they had been raised, teaching them to despise any race that was not that of vampires. Some descendants eventually developed different thoughts, but they were immediately killed as soon as they spoke the first word of disagreement.
Even though they had been taught to despise other races, they also despised their own kind, considering those who did not occupy the top of the hierarchy to not even be real vampires. Among all those who carried this kind of feeling, Sanguis and his grandson were among the worst.
"What happened here? And why is there all this trouble?"
"Sir, some prisoners escaped. Judging by the trail they left behind, it may have been that prisoner from the Valessia family."
"What? Incompetents! Go after them immediately!"
The guards began running in all directions. Some returned to the dungeon, while others crossed the city streets and headed toward the outskirts, searching for any sign of the fugitives.
Sanguis's chest seemed agitated, and Enrico knew exactly why. The old man was very close to making that Ninth Circle obey them, but now, if they did not find Ysabella, the entire plan could fall apart.
'Especially when he discovers what seems to have happened to his daughter.'
In the original story, they never allowed father and daughter to meet in person. Ysabella could only send letters, always with the excuse that, if she met her father personally, she might end up escaping with him. Since the letters really were written by his own daughter, he believed that she was fine. What was actually happening, however, was that the vampires forced her to write while watching her every move.
At first, he even tried to look for his daughter after she was captured, but he was stopped by the other Ninth Circle, who lied by saying that she was with him. The lie was enough to keep him away throughout that entire period.
'It is precisely because of all this that they were cursed by the God of the Sun, who considered them abominations.'
The God of the Sun, Apollo, placed two curses on the vampires. The first removed their immortality against aging, while the second forbade them from stepping under sunlight, causing them to be turned into ashes if they remained exposed for too long.
The first vampire humbly asked for that not to happen and, because Apollo liked him, promised that if the vampires changed their way of acting, he could remove the curses.
'But there is no way to change if the councilors keep doing so much shit.'
Every decision they made seemed to only increase the reasons for Apollo to put even more problems into the lives of the vampires. Instead of improving the situation of their own race, the councilors continued pushing everyone deeper and deeper into the pit. For Enrico, one of the few things that had made him happy before that ending was knowing that, seven chapters earlier, they had been sacrificed by the main evil God they had helped.
"Very well. Now, who are these two?"
"Grandpa, I don't like—"
"Shut up, Malakar."
Sanguis seemed to have calmed down a little, although he was still irritated. Upon hearing his grandfather's order in that tone, Malakar immediately became quiet, staring at the two in front of him as if they were nothing more than trash. Even so, inside, his irritation continued increasing.
This was the young vampire who had been fighting alongside the guards moments earlier with his younger brother. He had been in another room and arrived to see what was happening after noticing two vampires he had never seen before.
'How dare he insult me like that? When my grandfather calms down, I'll ask him to give me the two of them as prisoners. Let's see if—'
"Hello, Sir Sanguis. We can say that I am a servant of a survivor from the first generation."
"You! Who do you think you are to say that?"
Before anyone could do anything, Sylas raised his arm and showed the symbol that was part of the councilors' secrets.
Malakar, who until that moment had been pleased with the possibility of his grandfather doing something to the two of them, became confused when he realized that Sanguis was not reacting.
"Grandfather, why aren't you attacking him? He is disrespecting the ancient names—"
"MALAKAR, QUIET!"
Malakar took a step backward, frightened, and lowered his eyes to the ground. Sanguis, on the other hand, stared at Sylas in disbelief. Only those who became councilors could know that symbol.
On Sylas's arm was a blood circle with two swords piercing a heart, connected by three lines to three other circles around it.
"What is your name?"
"Sylas, a new servant. And this is my servant, Corvina, who was given to me by my master, Belthar Zareth."
The surprise in Sanguis's eyes increased even more. Not only did that young man possess a symbol that only the councilors knew, but he also knew the first name, kept secret since the time of the first vampires. To them, that practically confirmed that his words were true.
"How is Lord Zareth still alive?"
"It's simple. First of all, he did not die. He sealed himself so that he could awaken in this era."
A trace of restrained joy passed through the older vampire's eyes.
"This is incredible, Sanguis. If he is alive, we can finish off those damned Ninth Circle humans and that Tenth Circle. We won't even need the help of that idiot who disobeys us."
The councilors seemed quite impressed and satisfied with that possibility. Sylas knew exactly why. Belthar was the one who had originated the council and created all those rules, besides having been a Tenth Circle.
When he planned that lie, Enrico even imagined what their expressions would be upon discovering that their great predecessor was still alive, without knowing that, in reality, Belthar had been dead for a long time.
"It is not time to face other enemies, Sir Sanguis. Master Belthar may have sealed himself to stay alive, but he needs to recover all his power before anything else. He awakened in the human world two months ago."
Sylas continued explaining that Belthar had found some vampires in the human world and was recovering by drinking blood and creating new servants.
He could not have come earlier because he needed to observe possible enemies, but he had finally arrived in Reverse Sanos a short time ago together with his two newest servants. Before revealing himself, however, they decided to remain in Reverse Floravita to observe what was happening.
"This seems to be the way you used to do things in the book of the previous generation."
"Yes. Always extremely careful."
That was precisely why Enrico had chosen Belthar. His personality and his history fit perfectly with what he needed to deceive the councilors. Sanguis approached Sylas, now seeming much more satisfied and in a good mood.
"So... young Sylas, where is our lord?"
"Grandfather, why are you speaking about him with so much respect? And who is this Belthar?"
"Do I need to tell you a third time to be quiet?"
Malakar clenched his fists while looking angrily at Sylas. He could not understand how his grandfather could be so excited about a simple boy who had appeared that day. To get even a little of Sanguis's attention, he had needed to go through years of training.
'Who is this bastard?'
"The lord said that he first needed you to retrieve something for him. Since you were already searching for it, he decided to leave the task in your hands while he continues recovering."
"Something we are searching for?"
The councilors were stunned. If there was something they were searching for and Belthar was ordering them to find it, that meant that their supposed lord already knew exactly where it was.
Malakar, standing beside them, seemed to understand that part. It was one of the few things his grandfather had shared with him, and that search had already been going on for quite some time.
'No... it can't be that this bastard...'
"Young Sylas, you mean..."
"Yes. The body of our first predecessor, Master Zerathis Noctivern."