Vladimir and Malakar were in one of the side areas of the castle, located to the right of the building. The two walked toward the room where the most important items were kept. Since the most powerful vampires had left for the mission in search of Zerathis's body, only one Eighth Circle Rank S vampire had been left in each territory to protect the cities. This made security much weaker and made it easier for the two brothers to infiltrate.
"Are you furious because our grandfather is following that boy's orders?"
"He isn't obeying the boy. The one he is obeying is Lord Belthar."
"Even so, the order came from him, didn't it? Although it doesn't matter. Thanks to this, we can enter here without any problems."
'With this, I'll leave this place and enjoy my life as a vampire out there.'
Vladimir thought for a few moments about how he had changed. In his previous life, he had not been like this. He did not like blood or watching bodies rot; at most, he had been interested in horror stories.
'This natural instinct of vampires seems to have made me worse, especially when I think about Saul.'
"There's no one here. Let's go."
Vladimir followed his brother into the room. Inside, there were several items of high value and exceptional quality, but none of them was what they were looking for. The two advanced toward a large safe. Malakar placed a few drops of his blood into an opening located at the top, activating the mechanism that could only be opened by the blood of his family.
When the door finally opened, the two were surprised.
There was nothing.
"Wait... don't tell me they took the item with them. Wouldn't it be dangerous to do that and end up destroying it?"
"Maybe this mission isn't as difficult as we thought. That's why they must have taken it."
"Or maybe our grandfather left it hidden somewhere... You know how he is."
Malakar agreed. It was perfectly possible that his grandfather had hidden the item precisely to use it and become even stronger. If that were the case, they needed to find it quickly, because if Draven discovered what they were trying to do, he would become furious. After all, even without the theft, he would already be furious if he discovered that they had taken his item.
"We have to find it quickly and escape before they return."
The two began searching everywhere. They went through the rooms, corridors, and different areas of the mansion, checking every possible hiding place. Time passed and, when they were already about to give up, a familiar voice appeared behind them.
"Master, I found a hidden place inside a hiding place in your father's room."
Malakar immediately turned around.
"You found it, Ozymir? Take me there now."
Ozymir was Malakar's most loyal guardian, classified as Rank C. He had watched the young man grow since birth and had always protected him. When Malakar asked for his help to escape that dimension, he accepted without hesitation, as he had promised Malakar's father that he would take care of his son.
'My lord, look at your son. He is very much like you... ambitious.'
That was exactly how Malakar's father had been before dying. His death had happened at the hands of his own father after he tried to take his place on the council.
'You failed, my lord. But I will make sure that your son obtains the power we desired so much.'
Upon arriving at the indicated location, the three found an apparently ordinary wall. Malakar placed his blood on it and, shortly afterward, a secret passage opened. The three entered the hiding place.
"As I thought... he really did hide it."
Malakar found the diamond-shaped item and removed it from the hiding place. However, before he could put it inside his coat, the object simply disappeared from his hand.
Then, they heard a clap.
"Ambitious, just like your father. That was exactly why he ended up dead."
The three looked back with some nervousness.
"You are Morvus."
Morvus was the councilor who had been left in Reverse Sanos to protect the city. He placed the item on the table beside him and stared at the three. Ozymir immediately took a position in front of his master, prepared to sacrifice himself so that Malakar could escape.
Vladimir nervously tried to think of something that could help them at that moment.
"How about this, Sir Morvus? We can form an alliance. You keep the item, and we only want to leave this dimension. We thought using it could help us survive out there."
"You make good decisions, Sir Vladimir. But I'm sorry to say that there is no possibility of an alliance between us. I have a blood contract with your grandfather."
The three were surprised to discover this secret. If Morvus was a transformed vampire, it meant that Sanguis was his master.
The blood contract he had made bound not only his own bloodline, but also his descendants to the obligation of following that family forever. In exchange, Morvus had received the opportunity to become a councilor after proving his worth to Draven. His true connection to Sanguis had been kept secret throughout all that time.
"Can I at least let us escape for ten seconds?"
"No."
Morvus's smile made his answer even clearer. Even though he was the youngest councilor, he showed no mercy toward his enemies. He raised his hand, ready to finish the three of them at once.
An explosion shook the city before he could attack.
"What is that?"
Morvus ran to the window. As soon as he looked outside, he saw several houses on fire and numerous dead vampires scattered across the streets. There were too many victims for it to have started at that very moment. The battle had already been happening for several minutes while they were inside the castle.
"We were attacked while we were resting? Who made this plan? They chose exactly the moment when we were at our weakest."
Morvus watched some vampires fighting among themselves. Even some that he had seen outside the city were now fighting the inhabitants themselves, attacking with unusual determination. It was possible that someone had realized what was happening and started the fight, alerting other vampires in their homes.
"This is a rebellion."
When he turned around again, he realized that Malakar, Vladimir, and Ozymir had disappeared, and the item had also vanished.
Morvus clenched his teeth. The city was important, but there were still many vampires capable of defending it. The item, on the other hand, was the absolute priority. Without wasting any more time, he left the castle and began following the trail of the three, using his senses to locate them amid the chaos.
"I found you."
Morvus quickly appeared in front of the three, blocking their path in the middle of a street. Behind him, the battle continued, with vampires fighting in various parts of the city. To Morvus, that attempt at escape was almost ridiculous. They knew they were facing an Eighth Circle and still believed they could escape.
He took a step forward.
"I'll make sure you are completely eliminated."
Before he could continue, a body crashed through a nearby wall and fell into the middle of the street. The young man was still alive, but completely injured.
Morvus's eyes widened. That was his fifteen-year-old son.
"Father, they are traitors!"
Morvus looked to the side and saw Sylas coming out of the hole in the wall while casually stretching his shoulders. Behind him were Corvina and the three vampires who had been sent to follow him.
Sylas seemed surprised upon realizing that a dispute was taking place among the vampires themselves. Then, when he looked at Malakar, he let out a loud whistle.
Shortly afterward, someone appeared.
A figure crossed the rubble of a house with a single jump and landed in the street. It was Ysabella. Upon recognizing Malakar, she opened a cruel smile filled with vengeance.
Morvus noticed all of that and turned his furious gaze toward Sylas. Without hesitation, he raised his hand and fired powerful explosive blood magic directly at him.
"I'll kill all you traitorous trash after this!"
The magic advanced rapidly. The vampires behind Sylas became tense, believing they would be hit by the attack.
Sylas, however, simply raised his hand and his bracelet glowed purple.
"Looks like someone wants to kill my young master."
The magic stopped completely in the air.
Behind Sylas, Angela appeared smiling, keeping Morvus's attack suspended before her. Her eyes were fixed on the opponent she would face in that battle. Rina and Aoi were right beside her, observing the situation.
Then Sylas clapped his hands, breaking the silence and drawing everyone's attention to the unexpected presence of the two humans.
"Very well. Now let's separate each person's opponents."