"So that's what happened..."
Enrico was sitting down while Angela tended to his injuries. Even after healing most of his wounds, she continued examining his body and bandaging certain areas, just to make sure there would be no problems later.
The serious expression on her face made it clear that she had no intention of letting him get up before being absolutely certain that he was fine. Even so, Enrico seemed to be receiving excessive care, but he had neither the strength nor the inclination to argue.
Around them, the others were also resting after the confrontations. Some had minor injuries and remained seated, watching the vampires moving throughout the city.
Verlate was the only one who remained standing, since he had not participated in a battle as exhausting as the others. Nyxaria, on the other hand, was sitting farther away in a corner, hugging her knees. Her posture conveyed a sense of isolation, as though she were still trying to process everything that had happened.
At least in that dimension, the battle was over. In the distance, several vampires were transporting the captured enemies to the cells, while others helped organize the survivors and assess the damage caused by the confrontations.
Despite their victory, no one seemed willing to celebrate immediately. Everyone was waiting for their leader and Solin to return, since only then could they confirm the rebellion's complete outcome.
"It seems the rebellion worked,"
A vampire commented, watching the vampires carrying the prisoners.
Ysabella Valessia looked at him with absolute confidence.
"Of course. My father is on the rebellion's side,"
"But your father is somewhere else..."
The girl turned her eyes toward "Sylas," who had spoken rather casually. Ysabella was standing before them and seemed much better than she had been over the past few days, although there was something quite shocking about her appearance.
Her body was covered in blood, and Angela was certain that not all of it belonged to the vampire herself.
Ysabella's gaze, however, showed no regret. On the contrary, she seemed satisfied, like someone who had finally managed to accomplish something she had wanted for a long time.
Seeing that expression, Enrico continued speaking.
"It seems your revenge was successful."
"If it hadn't been, I would have preferred to die."
Her answer was accompanied by such a satisfied expression that Enrico felt somewhat uncomfortable. It was strange to have someone like Ysabella standing before him, displaying so much happiness. However, remembering that he was dealing with a vampire, he decided not to think too much about it.
'Besides, he deserved it, so I don't care.'
His biggest problem at that moment was Angela.
Even though his injuries had already been practically healed, she continued treating every little wound as if Enrico were on the verge of death. He needed to find a way to escape that excessive care, and the conversation about revenge seemed like a good opportunity to distract her.
"All that's left is for you to take revenge on Draven."
"That bloodsucker is going to be killed by my father anyway. Especially once he takes that blood..."
Ysabella paused briefly and looked directly at Sylas.
"By the way, are you sure you don't have any more?"
"Absolutely."
"Tsk. Useless."
The sound of a blow echoed immediately afterward.
Yumeha, who was standing beside Enrico with her Corvina mask firmly fitted to her face, had punched Ysabella in the head. The vampire put a hand over the spot that had been struck and immediately turned around, showing her indignation at that provocation.
"You want to fight someone a level above you? You should've just said so, bloodsucker!"
Before Ysabella could advance, Yumeha spoke calmly, as if she were simply clarifying a very simple rule.
"My master's master said that if you hit him or me, you won't receive any more blood from our dear donor."
The change in Ysabella's expression was instantaneous.
She stopped moving and sat back down as if nothing had happened. Even her posture changed, and suddenly, she seemed willing to become the two of them's best friend. Enrico watched the scene with a strange expression, realizing that the threat had worked far better than any attempt at physical intimidation.
"You could have told me that earlier,"
Ysabella grumbled. Yumeha merely shook her head seriously.
"You were busy insulting my master."
Enrico decided to end that discussion before it dragged on any further, so he turned to Angela.
"Angela, I'm fine. You don't need to worry so much about me."
"You will become Miss Virelle's disciple, so of course I need to do everything I can to make your body one hundred percent healthy."
"If we look at those..."
Yumeha interrupted herself when she realized she was about to reveal something Angela clearly did not want mentioned. The woman turned toward her, casting such a threatening look that the masked girl immediately fell silent.
Enrico noticed the exchange of glances but couldn't understand what was happening. Angela, meanwhile, continued tending to him as if nothing had happened.
'Just as I did with Rina and Aoi, I should have told them not to go in there... How embarrassing.'
Angela felt her face grow warm as she recalled the secret she had managed to keep hidden until that moment. She didn't want anyone to find out, especially Enrico. All this time, she had tried to act discreetly, observing the boy's adventures without drawing attention to herself.
'It's not my fault that my lady and the young master are so interesting.'
Ever since she was very young, Angela had enjoyed following people her lady took an interest in. She believed that by getting to know these people better, she could find ways to be useful and help them whenever necessary.
Therefore, when she discovered that Virelle wanted Enrico as her disciple, she began watching him closely, even without receiving direct orders to do so.
The problem was that the more time she spent following the boy, the more interested she became in his adventures. At first, her intention had simply been to discover what kind of person he was and how far he could go. Over time, however, she began to genuinely respect him, especially after realizing how much effort he was willing to put into becoming stronger.
'When he gives that amused smile, I have fun too.'
For a brief moment, a silly smile appeared on Angela's face. She soon returned to her usual expression, continuing to tend to Enrico's injuries as if nothing had happened.
Deep down, what she wanted most was to discover how far that boy could go. His adventures awakened an old curiosity in her, one connected to dreams she had as a child but had never managed to fulfill. Now, following him was a way to experience a little of the life she had always wanted to know.
While Angela was lost in her thoughts, Valen approached Enrico. The boy sat down beside him, visibly nervous, with trembling hands and an increasingly red face. His feminine appearance did not help at all when it came to imagining that he could be a man.
Yumeha, who was on the other side, immediately realized that something was about to happen.
"Sir Sylas, may I ask you a question?"
"Of course. Go ahead."
Valen hesitated for a few seconds, gathering his courage before finally saying what he wanted to know.
"When will we be able to meet the owner of the blood?"
Enrico stared at him for a moment before sighing.
"Good grief, you people ask a lot of questions. You'll see in the future. In the future."
The answer was enough to completely discourage Valen. He stood up without even saying goodbye and walked a few steps, kicking a stone along the way as if he needed to take out all his frustration on it.
Yumeha, on the other hand, let out a discreet sigh of relief. She had imagined that the boy might ask something much more troublesome and was pleased that the conversation had ended that way.
However, Valen returned shortly afterward.
"Sir Sylas, could you give this letter to him?"
Enrico looked at the paper the boy was holding out toward him.
"What is this?"
"A confession."
Valen lowered his head even further, completely red.
"I don't know if he's a man or a woman, but I'll accept either one. I don't have that kind of problem."
A breeze seemed to sweep through the group.
Valen ran off immediately after handing over the letter, unable to bear the embarrassment of remaining there for even another second. Enrico watched him flee and, finding the situation amusing, put the paper away to read later.
'One more person to tease.'
Yumeha's reaction was quite different. Although she was wearing a mask that concealed her face, her irritation was evident in the way she stood motionless, staring in the direction Valen had fled.
Ysabella also seemed bothered, but for a completely different reason.
"Is that bastard trying to steal my food? I won't forgive him!"
"What do you mean, food?"
Enrico immediately turned his head toward her.
Before anyone could explain what was happening, a sudden change swept through the vampires' dimension.
The magical pressure emerged so abruptly that everyone felt their bodies react.
The environment seemed to grow heavier, and several vampires scattered throughout the city began sweating in the face of an amount of energy they simply couldn't calculate.
Enrico raised his head, feeling the pressure spread through the space.
"What is this?"
Yumeha immediately placed herself in front of him.
"Young master, stay behind me!"
Enrico observed the others' reactions and realized that this energy was no ordinary thing. Even after everything he had witnessed, the amount of power being released was impressive. However, upon recognizing the source of that presence, his expression changed.
"...That's a lot of power. But we don't need to worry, right, Ysabella?"
The vampire remained motionless for a few seconds, her eyes shining in response to that manifestation. She recognized that magic perfectly.
"Yes. I recognize my father's magic. That means..."
Ysabella couldn't hide her excitement. The power they felt came from her father, and its intensity was so absurd that it could cross the barrier between dimensions. The two envoys had gone to the original world, which meant that this manifestation was not happening there, but somewhere else.
Even so, everyone could feel it.
Enrico remained silent for a few moments, trying to understand the scale of what was happening.
'So this is the level of a Tenth Circle...'
The amount of mana being released was frightening. If a manifestation of that level had occurred in that dimension, perhaps the environment itself would not have been able to withstand the pressure. The energy was so intense that it made the powers of Eighth Circle mages seem insignificant by comparison.
"The only problem is that it was the vampires who gained this power, young master,"
Angela interrupted the silence. She did not seem particularly pleased with that conclusion. The rebellion's victory could bring important changes to the vampire race, but that did not necessarily mean those changes would be good for all the other races.
Ysabella, for her part, seemed quite confident.
"You can relax. I don't know if the bloodsuckers in the rebellion will actually improve our race a little, but my father will certainly repay what they did."
Enrico merely nodded. He didn't have the energy to discuss the political future of the vampires at that moment, much less try to predict the consequences of such an absurd manifestation of power.
His body had already been healed, and the pain was beginning to fade. The exhaustion, however, continued weighing on his shoulders. After everything he had been through, he just wanted to find a room and sleep for a few hours.
He settled into a more comfortable position, preparing to rest.
'Now that my mission is complete, all I need to do is rest.'
[It's a shame, but the effect of the pact will begin in five minutes. So you'd better prepare yourself.]
Enrico's body went still. For a few seconds, he stared into empty space, as if expecting the system to correct that information. When he realized he would not receive any reassuring explanation, he suddenly stood up.
"...Everyone, I need to go to a room and sleep peacefully. When Sir Solin returns, let him know."
Without waiting for a response, Enrico began moving away as quickly as he could, although his body was still exhausted.
The others watched him leave with confused expressions. After exchanging a few glances, they turned their attention back to the place where they would wait for Solin's return.
Yumeha, Rina, Aoi, and Angela, however, were not satisfied with that sudden explanation. The four exchanged worried glances and soon prepared to follow Enrico.
After all, whenever that boy started acting that way, there was almost always some problem he preferred to hide from the others.