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nI doubt it, but it was worth a shot… but also, I needed to try and figure out just where I could find my grandfather again. He can’t just drop such an important piece of information on me like that just as I’m about to leave.

n“When I see Ares again, I’ll ask…” I slowly sighed before activating the new equipment: The Unholy Lance: Longinus.

nIts swirling black body formed from the center in the palm of my hand, and it looked like it was going to be just a simple javelin until the very end split into that of a cross. In fact, it was an upside-down cross from the way I held it.

nFlipping it around to inspect it better, I noticed the cross shape always reformed in a downward position, as if never wanting to point up. It was a bit creepy since the lance wriggled every time it did that, but besides that, it seemed pretty sturdy.

n“I need to test it out somewhere.”

nWalking out of my designated room, I found the stench of blood heavily lingering in the air. It was wafted down the hallway by a pulsating gust of wind continuously and mercilessly attempting to rip its way into my own nostrils. It hurt just to breathe, just to inhale, just to live.

n“Ugh… **… why is it-” I was suddenly cut off by a black figure darting from the ceiling above, revealing its bat-like wings and pale appearance. Blood-red eyes connected with my pupils, and their two dripping fangs almost looked ready to devour me whole. “What’s wrong with the both of you? You’re both starving for some reason… have you not eaten anything?”

n“No,” The man grunted, lightly slapping himself in the face with his own hand as if to fully wake himself up. “There is something in the air, and it’s making the entire **ing city starve. We think it’s a tactic meant to mess up the structure of the city and especially get vampires to lash out at people… but we’re more controlled than that. We’re not beasts, but we can be one if unable to control our bloodthirst… it’s really a double-edged sword.”

n“Okay… so, should I be worried because it seems your mother is about to suck the entire city **ing dry,” I shivered at the thought of just stepping down the hallway. The bloodlust and scent of thirst reeked physically in the air, making me nearly hurl everything out of my stomach just from the overwhelming scent. It was like that of rotting flesh, but if you burned it and then melded the smell with that of old, stinking, and congealed blood.

n“No need. We have it under control,” The man replied, but clearly, from the look on his face, he was hiding his true expression. But I had nothing else to say to him, so I left him to tend to his mother as she suppressed herself from eating the entire **ing city. Scary.

n“Actually, wait. Do you have a yard where I can practice? I don’t want any of my skills to go rusty while I wait for good news about my companion.” 𝗈𝐯𝗅xt.𝗇𝓔t

n“*sigh*… It’s down the hallway and then to the right. It’s in the very center of our estate so it shouldn’t be too hard to find. If you need any more help, talk to a servant and not me. I may need to tweak a few things as of now to make sure my mother really doesn’t devour and ruin our entire household.”

nI nodded, allowing the man to disappear into the shadows of a dimly illuminated hallway. He was frighteningly silent as he left, not even making a single creak on the floorboards below as he swept into the ceiling, seemingly melding with the mansion itself.

nQuickly, I made my way down to the training yard, which was very bare bones, to say the least. It had a few weapons to practice with and a few straw dummies to shoot arrows at, but besides that, nothing else was here but dirt and silence. Well, I guess the only semi-impressive thing was a railing that replaced one of the walls of the mansion, allowing me to overlook at least half of the city from where I stood.

n“It’s perfect,” I smiled before looking up at the blood-red sky of hell. It was nothing compared to what I had seen in that perfect simulation. “I almost feel bad for Wu… as she must have disappeared by now, right? Surely, she is gone from this world.”

nSuddenly, a chill shot down my spine as I caught a whiff of the outside air. Before, I could vaguely sense its stench behind the thick blood aroma, but now, it was apparent. The rotting flesh tint that I smelled before was like that outside, but I didn’t feel hungry in the slightest… maybe a bit peckish, but that was it. Nothing more, nothing less when I breathed in a thick pocket of gray smog of that disgusting air.

n“Wait… this is… this smells familiar. Where have I smelled this before?” I murmured before dashing over to the railing. I pressed over and saw the thick gray smog continue to reek its death and destruction over the city, which was slowly falling apart.

nA few fires had burst open, burning down a few houses. Clouds of blood were already amidst the streets of this savage fortress. The sound of clashing metal shields and weapons galore resounded and echoed through the winding streets. Shattered glass sprayed the ground. Tumbled rubble and loose debris tripped over a few of the savages, fighting to seemingly eat each other. Yet, the demon lord was nowhere to be seen… as if he was prioritized with something else.

n“I wonder what their relationship is. Beezlebub and Leviathan. Two demon lords who control the power of disease but specialize in many other things that separate them into two separate demon lords. One was the King of Gluttony, and the other was the King of Destruction… that’s an interesting matchup,” I lightly chuckled. “Okay, I should really focus on taming these skills now.”

n…

n(Aisa POV)

n“No wind as always….” The annoying bitch who I was partnered with groaned, and as the mass of stinking flesh crawled all the way up my arm and latched itself onto my shoulder, she covered her nose and mouth. The mass of flesh then created a lens for me to look into, scouting the region of where my target was, all while the barrel of this organic sniper of mine extended further and further towards him, hungry for a lick of blood.

n“Yeah, yeah… just shut up and let me do my job,” I muttered, taking into account every single bit of information that could ruin this flawless shot of mine. “Thirty-five hundred meters… that’s a piece of cake with this baby,” I licked my lips before pulling the trigger.

nBOOOOOOOOOM

nInstead of the usually suppressed sniper I initially wielded, this sniper was like that of Hecate II, no even more than that. It was like an entire **ing cannon was strapped to my arm, and then the ball was condensed into a tight bullet that had the power of a **ing sun. Well, that’s an exaggeration, but you get my point.

n“This is great…” I nearly drooled, seeing the demonic noble get blasted to pieces from his peaceful balcony. His servants were unable to react as my bullet traveled almost as fast as the speed of sound, and currently, all of his incredible warriors were out.

n“Alright, let’s get going and report it to the Duchess.”

n…

nArriving back at the estate, where I was warmly welcomed but also rudely placed into that of a mercenary contract, I let out a long groan as I stood with my partner in front of twin double wood doors. They were practically glaring at me as I took a step forward, pulling down the handle and pushing them in.

nInside the room, I was greeted by a woman with flawless velvet robes and a long black hair so dark they almost sparkled with stars. She was lying back in her reclining chair, reading a book peacefully whilst I did all her work.

n“Done,” I muttered, not showing any proof of my work as I assumed she already was aware of his death the second it happened. She was terrifying like that, as with a telekinetic prowess so wide and strong, she could essentially see every nook and cranny of this city if needed.

n“That’s great!” She exclaimed before gesturing her hand downward. Confused, I waited until a shadowy figure dropped from the ceiling above, his pale face and bearing fangs just narrowly poking out of his mouth, slightly covered by a black hood. He was a vampire. The spitting image of a bloodsucker. “This guy apparently said that your friend that you came here with has made a deal with the other Duchess… who is also allied with me. Pretty cool, right? So, how would you like to meet your little boyfriend again?”

n“He’s not my boyfriend… but, yes, that would be amazing if I could meet Orion again.”

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