Sunny prepared to ask his own question, though he still felt slightly unsettled by the strange, almost manic expression that had appeared on Alucard's face earlier.
"…What exactly happened while we were knocked out?" he asked cautiously.
Alucard inhaled deeply, as if mentally preparing himself, then answered in a single breath:
(Read the next part like it's at 2x speed)
"Well, you see, a demigod who lives in the Underworld decided to attack us—but not really attack us, since he just knocked everyone out for some reason. I don't know why. Then he killed everything else in the area and waited until you killed that Spire Messenger before knocking us out again and carrying us back to the camp we were in earlier. After that, he woke me up, we had a short conversation, he gave me his lineage, and then he tried to drag me back to the Underworld with him. I refused, so he tried to kill me and everyone else—but then my eye exploded, and for some reason that made him back off from killing me… though not you all, which meant I had to carry everyone back up by myself. And yeah, that's pretty much it."
…
Sunny stared at him.
Completely still.
His mouth slowly opened.
Then closed.
Then opened again.
For a solid few seconds, he looked like he had just witnessed Alucard grow a second head.
Finally, Sunny grabbed his own head and leaned back against the rock with a long, exhausted sigh.
"…Okay," he muttered. "I need you to explain that again. Slowly. Because I did not follow any of that."
He rubbed his temples.
"Start with the demigod. Who is he—and why does he know about my lineage?"
Alucard sighed, clearly already regretting this.
"Well… to explain that, I'd have to explain a lot of other things first," he said. "Are you sure you want to sit through all of it?"
Sunny nodded without hesitation.
"Just explain everything."
Alucard hesitated for a moment, then added:
"Alright. But after this, I get to ask you a few questions too."
Sunny gestured lazily.
"Fine. Go on."
Alucard leaned back slightly, gathering his thoughts.
"Okay. First things first—you need to understand what a Sinner is," he began. "They're… a secret group filled with extremely powerful individuals. Near godlike, honestly."
He paused, counting on his fingers.
"There are seven of them—Wrath, Greed, Pride, Sloth, Gluttony, Lust… and, uh…"
He frowned.
"…Envy. Yeah. Don't know why I blanked on that for a second."
Sunny tilted his head slightly, thinking out loud.
"I've never heard of anything like that before," he said. "But if they're secret, I guess that makes sense. So… the one who knocked us out—he was one of these Sinners?"
Alucard nodded.
"Yeah. He's Sloth. Called himself the new King of the Underworld too."
A small pause.
"Oh—and his name is Lysander."
Sunny absorbed that, then immediately followed up:
"Why would someone like that be interested in you?" he asked. "You said they're basically godlike, right? And why did he just leave after your eye… exploded? Why didn't he kill us from the start? None of this makes sense."
Alucard let out a quiet chuckle.
"Yeah," he said. "I've been asking myself the exact same questions."
He shrugged.
"If I had answers, I'd tell you. But I don't."
Sunny sighed, clearly unsatisfied.
"…Fine. Then how do you even know about these Sinners?" he continued. "How many have you met? Aren't they supposed to stay hidden?"
Alucard scratched the back of his neck, hesitating slightly.
"…I've met a few," he admitted. "Sloth, Greed, Wrath…"
A small pause.
"…And honestly, it feels like wherever I go, those bastards just show up."
Sunny raised an eyebrow.
"Metaphorically," he asked, "or are they actually following you?"
Alucard gave him a tired look.
"How the hell should I know?" he muttered. "At this point, I wouldn't even be surprised if one of them is watching me right now."
Sunny visibly stiffened.
"…Damnation," he whispered under his breath.
Still, he pushed forward.
"Alright," he said. "You mentioned you got Sloth's lineage. What does it do? How did you get it? And can you give it to someone else?"
Alucard groaned, clutching his head.
"You're asking way too many questions," he complained. "But fine…"
He exhaled slowly.
"I can't give my lineages to others, as far as I know," he began. "And getting it was… simple."
A brief pause.
"I ingested Lysander's blood."
He grimaced.
"…Well. 'Ingested' is a nice way of saying he force-fed it to me."
Sunny blinked.
"…Of course he did."
"As for what it does," Alucard continued, "it's… strange. My blood produces a weak mist when it leaves my body. But it only affects the blood inside my body—anything I store isn't influenced."
Sunny nodded slowly—then suddenly frowned.
"…Wait," he said. "Lineages? Plural?"
He leaned forward.
"You have more than one?"
Alucard rolled his eye.
"Yes," he said flatly. "I have Gluttony, Wrath, Envy… and now Sloth."
Sunny opened his mouth—
But Alucard immediately cut him off.
"I got Gluttony after killing the nightmare creature that trapped me the first time I died," he said quickly. "It dropped a Memory. The Memory broke—and then I had Gluttony."
He continued without pause.
"I got Envy from my Aspect Legacy. And Wrath and Sloth… from the Sinners themselves."
Sunny tried to interrupt again—
And failed.
"Yes, I have an Aspect Legacy," Alucard added preemptively. "No, it's not related to the Sinners. Yes, I know it's weird."
He took a breath.
"As for the descriptions of my lineages…"
He paused.
"[Gluttony, the sin of hunger]
Description:
"The sinners blessed by the Beast Goddess were gifted her sins.
The Sin of Gluttony guides them toward satiation, no matter what stands in their way. They must sate their hunger, for satiation brings pleasure, and pleasure brings healing.
But for pleasure, one must starve. One must bleed. One must feed.
Others shall succumb to gluttony, and you shall satiate them—even if it means giving your own blood. Feed upon their flesh, and let them feed upon yours.
Such is the demand of the Sin of Gluttony."
[Envy, the Sin of Desire]
Description:
"The sinners blessed by the Beast Goddess were gifted her sins.
The Sin of Envy was her first and most beloved. Yet he envied the others, desiring what they had, taking what was never his to take.
But what is desire without sight? If you cannot see what you crave — do you truly envy? Do you truly love?
You will see the desires in others. You will see the hatred in yourself. Because envy is to see — to see the sacrifice, and to see the forbidden.
Such is the demand of the Sin of Envy."
[Wrath, The Sin of Power]
Description:
"The sinners blessed by the Beast Goddess were gifted her sins.
The Sin of Wrath guides one toward countless horrors and atrocities—all of which will be committed by you. No longer will you suffer under other monsters, because Wrath turns you into the monster.
A monster must not care about consequences. A monster must not feel pity. A monster must not be weak. To become a monster is to reject humanity entirely.
You are no longer a watcher of the apocalypse—you are now a bringer of flames and demise. You must no longer feel pity for those who die under your sacrificial flames—only anger. You must be wrathful and never, under any circumstances, be human again.
Such is the demand of the Sin of Wrath."
[The Sin of Sloth]
Description:
"Sloth was the last of the sinners, both to accept [Redacted] and to achieve power equal to true abominations.
Sloth is a sin that represents taking the easy way out, no matter the cost.
Sloth is a sin that slows both mind and body.
Sloth makes a man weak.
Sloth died a slow and painful death, alone in a cruel world.
So will your enemies.
Now you are Sloth's successor.
So make your enemies weak for you."
Sunny just stared at him.
At this point, his brain had clearly stopped trying to keep up.
"…I need time," Sunny muttered finally. "I'll ask about this Sinner stuff later. Right now, I need to process what the hell you just told me."
Alucard nodded.
"Fair enough."
A brief silence followed.
Then—
Alucard suddenly leaned forward, a mischievous glint returning to his eye.
"Sooo… Sunny," he said casually, "what's your type?"
Sunny blinked.
"…My what?"
"Your type," Alucard repeated, barely holding back a grin. "In women."
A pause.
"…Or men. I won't judge. Honestly, it would explain a lot—you and Kai have been awfully close—"
"Women," Sunny cut in immediately. "I'm into women. Please shut up."
Alucard's grin widened.
"Alright, alright," he said. "But what kind? Petite, like Cassie? Or… bigger, like Effie, with a strong 'personality'?"
Sunny's face started turning red.
"Why are you asking me this?" he snapped. "Do you seriously think this is the right time for this kind of conversation? I'd expect this from Effie—not you!"
He kept ranting.
And ranting.
And ranting.
For a very long time.
(Fortunately we here in bad_gamer_Inc we believe in keeping our chapters filler free so you won't have to listen to it)
…
Eventually—
"Okay, Sunny," Alucard interrupted, bored. "Stop dodging the question."
He leaned in slightly.
"Or wait… I bet you like girls with a nice chest, right? And if I had to guess, in the cohort your type would be—"
"SHUT UP," Sunny snapped. "Why don't you answer your own damn question first?"
Alucard didn't even hesitate.
He looked him dead in the eye.
Completely serious.
"I like a girl with a fat ass."