After devouring enough food and alcohol during breakfast to make even the most seasoned glutton uneasy, Alucard leaned back in his chair before getting up and stretching his arms high into the air. A deep, satisfied sigh escaped his lips.
"Hey, Sei, when I come back, can you serve some raw meat for me as dessert? We're craving it."
Seishan raised an eyebrow, tilting her head in confusion.
"Excuse me, what? Who's 'we,' and why do you want raw meat?"
Alucard didn't bother answering properly. Instead, he jumped straight out of the window, calling back over his shoulder,
"No time to explain—just do it!"
---
Alucard walked through the city cloaked in the Starlight Cloak. Unfortunately, he couldn't wear the Mantle of the Underworld since it was still damaged and in the process of healing.
Theoretically, he could repair it using blood thanks to its enchantment—but that would've been incredibly wasteful. He was already running dangerously low on blood. Gluttony had consumed a large portion of it to repair his body, and the rest had been used to sustain both of them. That process alone required far more blood than usual since Alucard hadn't been able to eat properly.
It was exhausting.
Which meant he couldn't afford to waste even a drop.
And that made this whole situation significantly more complicated.
Especially since Alucard didn't actually want to kill anyone.
Not because he was morally superior, and definitely not because he was afraid of killing but simply because none of them had done anything to him personally. From his perspective, there was no real reason to kill them.
So instead, he came up with a better plan.
Kidnap them.
Force them to join him.
Simple.
Once he thought it through, the execution was almost laughably easy. Moving unseen beneath the Starlight Cloak, he approached the faction leaders one by one, using the Sin of Sloth to dull their senses just enough. From there, it was a simple matter of knocking them unconscious with precise blows to the head.
Technically, he could've waited for Sloth to render them unconscious on its own—but that would've taken far too long and wasted too much blood.
The only real downside?
He had to carry them.
The girl and the hunter were manageable, but the giant man was an entirely different problem. He weighed an absurd amount, forcing Alucard to summon his Beast to haul the burden.
And that was the exact moment one of Nephis's scouts happened to witness the scene.
More specifically—Sunny's shadow.
Alucard sighed as he glanced down at the shadow stretching along the ground, then casually started talking to it like a complete lunatic.
"Hey, Gloomy, long time no see. So, how's your master? Still short?"
He paused, as if listening.
"Oh? You're wondering about me? Yeah, I'm doing great—how could you tell?"
Another pause.
"Oh, wait... so you're saying the cohort's mad at me for ditching them and almost dying again? Especially Nephis and Cassie? Wow, I'm touched."
He shifted slightly, adjusting the unconscious bodies over his shoulder.
"Well, as much as I'd love to keep chatting, my guests might wake up soon. Oh—and tell everyone in the cohort I said hi and that I love all of them except Nephis. And tell your master he's short for me, will you?"
Somewhere else in the Dark City, Sunny's laughter abruptly stopped at that last comment.
What made it worse—far worse—was the fact that his own shadow gave that knockoff vampire two enthusiastic thumbs up.
---
Gemma, Kido, and Tessai slowly regained consciousness in a dimly lit room. Each of them was bound tightly to a chair, seated in a line, facing a single figure sitting across from them.
The man's posture was anything but relaxed. He leaned forward slightly, elbows resting on his thighs, his silhouette sharp and jagged against the faint light. He wore a dark red robe—almost crimson—as if it had been woven from blood itself.
Through the slight opening at his chest, faint glimpses of intricate red tattoos could be seen trailing across his torso and up his neck. His body was littered with scars, proof of countless battles fought and survived.
His skin was ghostly pale, shimmering faintly like moonlight. His hair, long and silver, framed his face—and over his left eye rested an eyepatch made from the same crimson material as his robe.
But none of those features compared to his eye.
That piercing crimson eye.
It seemed to look through them—into them—dragging something primal and incomprehensible to the surface. The moment their gazes met his, an overwhelming, indescribable fear flooded their bodies, as if their minds were on the verge of breaking apart.
Then, he spoke.
His voice carried absolute authority, as if everything in the room belonged to him—and their existence within it was a mere inconvenience.
"Ah... so you've all woken up. Good. Very good. You must be wondering why I brought you here, so I'll keep it simple."
He straightened slightly, resting his weight on one arm, his presence pressing down on them even harder.
"You have two options. Follow me as my servants... or die as animals by my hand."
A pause.
"If you disagree, you are free to fight me. Though I would recommend gathering your entire armies first. That way... it might take me an evening to wipe you all out."
Kido froze completely, her body trembling.
Gemma and Tessai, however, reacted differently. Both of them struggled against their restraints, clearly believing this man was bluffing.
Tessai broke free first. The moment he did, his body became encased in an icy blue crystal as he prepared to summon a Memory and charge forward.
But he never got the chance.
"Bang."
The word left the man's lips casually—almost lazily.
And in that instant, Tessai died.
A bullet of condensed blood pierced straight through his eye before detonating inside his skull. Flesh and bone erupted outward, fragments splattering across the room—some landing on Gemma and Kido, who now sat frozen, covered in his remains.
Kido screamed in pure panic, desperately trying to escape.
Gemma attempted to stay composed, forcing himself to think—but his thoughts shattered the moment the man spoke again.
"So... you two."
His voice was calm. Cold. Final.
"I'll give you the same choice. Serve me... or die like an animal."
A brief pause.
"You've already seen how your friend's decision ended. So choose carefully—and quickly. My patience is wearing thin."
Kido nodded frantically, tears streaming down her face.
"We'll serve you! Okay?! Right, Gemma?! Please—just don't kill us!"
The man studied them for a moment before finally nodding.
"You made the right choice."
He stood up slowly and turned toward the door behind them.
"I'll send someone to release you shortly. Stay here... and wait patiently."
With that, he stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him, leaving behind a deep silence and the lingering scent of blood