6:40 A.M

Empire Of Valencia

Capital City: Kasen

In one of the wealthiest areas, at a height of 7 kilometers, a giant rock with a diameter of 15 kilometers floated above the city.

A half dozen 100-meter thick iron chains were coming down from the bottom of the floating rock and connecting to the earth underneath, anchoring it in its place.

The flat surface of the floating rock was in complete contrast to the bustling city underneath. It was blanketed with luscious greenery on all sides, with a single giant mansion in the middle.

In a mini garden within the mansion, a young man who seemed to be no older than 20 could be seen sitting there with closed eyes. He had long black hair and smooth white skin.

His features were rather feminine but the adam's apple and the sharp eyes that decorated his visage made him look extremely handsome, instead of just another pretty boy.

The garden was populated with some unique and strange trees that were swaying back forth without any wind, some creatures that looked like small herbs and shrubs with roots for feet and leaves for hands were running around chasing one another merrily.

The sun had just risen and the entire atmosphere was extremely relaxed and gave off a feeling of tranquility and peace. Dewdrops rolled around the leaves of these humanoid herbs as they passed them to one another like tennis balls.

The Spiritual energy here was extremely dense and the plant life was thriving because of it.

*Whoosh*

The sound of clothes fluttering came from behind the young man and three people floated down from the sky.

The one in the center was a middle-aged man in kimono. There were deep scars all over his body and he gave off an aura of lawlessness. His right eye had no pupil and instead, a strange symbol floated inside, continuously rotating clockwise.

To the left was a young woman of about 25 years of age. She had shoulder-length dark blue hair, an extremely beautiful face, and an even more attractive body. With her pantsuit and high heels, it looked like she had just come out of an office meeting.

To the right was a man covered in bandages. From head to toe, even his eyes, nose, and mouth, everything was completely covered other than his hair which were coming down to his chest. On his hip was a massive saber, at least 1.5 meters in length.

Each and every one of them was giving off stupendous amounts of spiritual energy and bloodlust. Just from them coming closer to the garden, the little herbs that were running around suddenly froze stiff before running to hide behind some of the bigger trees, but even they were shaking non-stop.

The trio landed a few dozen meters away and walked up behind the young man, bowing from the waist.

"Young master Alucard.

"

'Alucard' seemed unperturbed by their show of respect, as if it was the most natural and obvious thing. His eyes remained closed.

"Speak.

"

He didn't even open his mouth but his voice rang loudly in the surroundings. It wasn't in the trios head but in the actual world. The sound came from all around and its source could not be pointed out.

The scarred man in the middle faltered. He looked to his left and right at his companions for support or perhaps a helping hand, but they quickly averted their gaze, not even meeting his eyes.

With gritted teeth and a palpitating heart, he continued.

"The old master has sent word. Alex, your brother, something has happened to him.

"

Alucard slowly opened his eyes.

For just a split second, all the surroundings went dark. Every source of light vanished, and then returned as if nothing had ever happened.

A single drop of sweat trickled down the scarred man's face.

*Gulp*

Alucard stood up from the chair and turned around to face the trio. He looked down at the scarred man with cold, emotionless eyes.

"Explain. What happened exactly.

"

"H-His life talisman broke. We are trying to find out what happened but haven't been able to get in contact with anyone just yet.

"

The scarred man looked up and saw Alucard's eyes.

"I-It could very well be a problem with the talisman, nothing is for certain just yet,

" he continued.

A short bout of silence followed after. It seemed like Alucard was in deep thought for a few seconds. The trio waited patiently and made no sound or movements.

"In the last 10,000 years, how many times has there been a problem with a life talisman?

" he asked the scarred man, who was at a loss for words.

"How many?

" he repeated when there was no response.

The scarred man bit his lip,

"N-None, young master. Not a single time.

"

Alucard nodded,

"Then my brother is dead. Make preparations, I will go get his body myself. Where was he sent to for his last mission?

"

"A small kingdom on the outskirts young master. The Kingdom of Mei.

"

"Mhm.

"

Alucard nodded once again, his face completely devoid of any emotion whatsoever. Not a trace of fury or anger, or even sorrow for the loss of his own brother could be found on his visage.

He waved dismissively,

"Go.

"

"Yes,

" the trio replied in unison. They quickly floated back up and flew away.

Alucard sat back down and closed his eyes, and everything returned to normal. The little spiritual herbs came out and started playing again, running around noisily.

"P-Please...let the children go....at least....

" a weak, raspy voice came from some distance away.

About 20 meters behind Alucard, an old man's dismembered body was laying on the floor. The entire lower half of his body was gone and it was a miracle he was even alive. Next to him were 16 other bodies, two of which belonged to children of about 8-9 years of age.

But other than the old man himself, everyone else was dead including the children who seemed like they were just sleeping but had long since stopped breathing.

"You can....have everything I...own, this island....my businesses, everything...just let them...go, I beg...you,

" he asked again.

Apparently, this majestic floating island belonged to this man.

It seemed like he was using the very last bit of his energy to plead for his dead children's lives. Perhaps it was due to the blood loss or simply not being able to accept the reality, but he still believed they were still alive.

He cradled his oldest son's corpse, gently wiping away stains of tears from his face.

Alucard let out a deep sigh. He stood up, walked up to him, and bent down. The old man looked up at him with vacant eyes. If not for his high cultivation, he would have passed away a long time ago.

"Sure, I promise. They are free to go. I will make sure nothing happens to them. You have my word,

" Alucard patted the boy's corpse and took it from the man's embrace.

"Thank....you...

" the man smiled softly. His body went limp and the light from his eyes vanished, leaving empty shells behind.

Alucard put down the boy's corpse, turned around and slowly floated away like a lonely cloud, like none of what happened had anything to do with him.

A few seconds after he left, all the corpses turned to ash and 'melted' away with a gust of wind.