Two days later, I departed from Britain together with Altrouge to the mainland, both of us flying over the channel. I watched for any traces of French mobilization or some other signs of third-party planning to get involved in the British civil war, but I didn't see anything concerning for now. Altrouge led the way, as we continued to fly over the plains and forests, hidden with my Night Sorcery.
The journey was uneventful. The thing I noticed the most was how poor the villages we were passing by were, while the mansions of the lords overflowed with luxury, showing how great the imbalance in power and standing was. A similar situation still existed in Britain, but not to this extent, making me wonder what happened here to make the disparity so great.
I also noticed a large number of churches and monasteries existing along the path, showcasing the influence the Holy Church held over these lands. I knew that no matter what, we would be enemies with them in the future, so seeing the extent of their development made me seriously consider some more 'drastic' plans to buy us more time. But as I was spiraling into my thought, Altrouge spoke up.
-"Eno."-Her eyes were locked on a mountain visible on the horizon.
-"What's the matter?"
-"I have a bad feeling."
Hearing the seriousness in her voice, I also focused on that mountain, my eyes turning gold as I tried to observe things hidden in different dimensions. Instantly, the castle hidden from the real world appeared before my eyes, and the mess that was happening inside.
As I was looking inside, Fou woke up from their sleep and jumped onto my head, stomping their paw to show agitation. If even Fou felt danger from inside, whatever was happening there had to be far from what we expected. I looked at Altrouge as she also turned to me.
-"Do you have a way to enter without needing to break through the barrier?"-She asked.
I nodded, and my standard appeared in my hand.
~"Dominus custodit te ab omni malo; custodiat animam tuam Dominus. - Mikael."~My voice echoed through the quiet forest as one of my hidden wings appeared and turned into the form of an angel.
It looked almost the same as Itaiel, holding a sword in one hand and a scroll in the other. When it appeared, its power penetrated the space before me, but rather than break it forcefully, a passage appeared allowing us to enter the hidden space. This was Mikael's power, the ability to create a passage everywhere my eyes reach, regardless of restrictions or barriers standing in the way.
Altrouge and I quickly entered inside, no longer hidden, as using my angel's power was far beyond what Night Sorcery could hide away. But we weren't greeted by any attack or even interception, only silence. Continuing forward, we soon entered a great hall of the castle, where multiple bodies were lying on the ground, most is tragic state, not far from being minced meat. Altrouge looked at them, her eyebrow rising in both surprise and annoyance.
-"Those clothes… Priests? And not low-ranking ones. The rest are True Ancestors."
-"They are beyond saving."-I commented, looking around and finding no traces of life.
But then I noticed a slight abnormality, a soul that hadn't started to dissipate like others. I approached it, noticing that whoever was the owner of this soul, his body was in the worst state, as there was nothing but blood on the floor and columns remaining from them. I reached out to it, sealing it in a crystal in case I needed to find more information later, as now, there was a more pressing matter before me.
For example, a sharp, claw-like hand centimeters from my face. I barely managed to retreat, even with my future-sight giving me an early notice. I continued to dodge, retreating further and further back while trying to see who the attacker was. And I couldn't help but take an extra breath when I saw them.
The attacker was one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen, easily comparable to Merlin, but rather than charming like her, I could only describe the attacker as perfect. She had a face that could topple cities, with piercing eyes now filled with crazed rage, but I could see the ruby irises beneath, like a deep sea of blood. She wore a white-gold ceremonial dress, making her look like a goddess even in the middle of her berserk attacks.
The only blemish was her gold-blond hair that was roughly cut at the shoulders, causing her to look young, but it was still wrong. I managed to dodge yet another attack when I turned to Altrouge, who stood there in stupor, my brow twitching slightly.
-"Altrouge!"-I called out to her while continuing my perilous dance.
-"That's… Impossible… How… How can that… Who..! Who dared!"
I could see how her red eyes started to glow with the same crazed light as the attacker. Knowing that she was of no use now, I focused on finding a way to resolve the situation without much bloodshed. When her next attack was about to strike me, I raised my standard to block it. The moment the attack connected, I could feel my arms shake and strain, as if I was hit by an asteroid and not a delicate hand.
But I managed to hold out, stopping her. I controlled the light of Rhongomyniad, trying to bind her, and while I was able to immobilize her, I knew this was only a temporary solution. I looked at the trashing woman and raised my left hand, touching her forehead with my fingers.
One by one, I tried spells that could restore clarity, be it magic, druidism, or even divine power. But it quickly became obvious that nothing would work. I even tried a spell that allowed Carians to push back the Madness that appeared in the Lands Between, the Lucidity, but even that failed. So I could only take back my hand and sigh while looking for some other approach.
After a moment, I walked away from the still-struggling attacker and stepped in front of Altrouge. She was at the edge of sanity, a mix of anger and pain, together with something present in the environment, brought her to the brink. I touched her head, trying to wake her up, as I tried with the attacker, but this time I had more luck, managing to restore some sanity to her.
-"Eno..?"-She looked at me, her eyes still glowing, speaking with a voice as if she was parched.
I was about to speak up, but she grabbed my neck and kissed me deeply, biting my tongue to draw blood. I was about to push her back when I heard the restraints breaking behind me. I quickly tried to dodge, but was too slow, her hand grasping my shoulder. I could only watch as she spun me around and bit into my neck, causing Altrouge to be squashed between us.
From the outside perspective, my situation must look truly blessed, two girls whose beauty couldn't be adequately described with only words, hugging and kissing me passionately. And I might have enjoyed it if not for the feeling of being drained by the duo of sisters. I wasn't afraid of losing blood; it wouldn't kill me, but along with the blood, they also drained my energy, and that was somewhat troubling.
I slowly started to feel faint, and my legs got weak, but I noticed that the crazed feeling coming from the two girls in my arms disappeared, replaced by another complicated mix of emotions. Altrouge felt shy and thankful, keeping her eyes closed while enjoying the kiss and the embrace of both her sister and me, while said sister was drowning in remorse, her shoulders slightly shaking with a silent cry. She no longer drank my blood, just put her forehead to my neck, tightening the embrace as if seeking some warmth.
While I'd like to say that I stayed still, not taking advantage of their vulnerability, I didn't do so; instead, I carefully hugged both of them back, holding Altrouge in a more comfortable position while lightly patting the back of her sister. I couldn't quite sort out my emotions at the moment; the overwhelming exhaustion kept me from thinking much, so I could only enjoy the unexpected blessing while slowly drifting into unconsciousness.
In my comatose state, I saw a few images, each with a red moon visible. I couldn't remember much else from the images, only that red moon. When I finally woke up, I could hear two voices arguing with each other in whispers, trying not to rouse me.
-"How could you do this?!"-Altrouge screamed in a hushed voice.
-"What? Can't I find someone to like?"-Her sister answered, sounding defensive.
-"I was first!"
-"And? We already shared blood, so he is my family."
-"Heh, but he also has my blood, so he is also my family. And again, I was here first."
-"I don't care."-I could imagine her pouting for some reason.-"I'll stay with him."
-"You… what about your blood thirst?"
-"Can't I just drink his blood like you?"
-"Ugh."-This time, I could imagine Altrouge deflating.-"I can't believe I have a sister like you."
-"Tell me more about that. I at least didn't steal your power."
-"I'm sorry, ok! It's not my fault that those old bastards couldn't be reasoned with."
-"But it's your fault that everything happened."
This made Altrouge silent as she knew that she was indeed one of the people responsible for everything that took place here. Had her sister possessed her full power, she would never have allowed humans to conspire against her. But logic alone won't convince Altrouge to admit a wrong.
-"It's not my fault that you can believe some random priest after just a few sweet words. But seeing how you behave, I bet any man that appeared before you would be able to wrap you around his finger, you man-starved witch. I bet even a literal child would be able to conquer you if given a few days."
-"You speak as if seeking affection is wrong, but aren't you the same? My strong and proud sister, treating someone not as a subordinate but as an equal? Please, I might not care about most things, but I'm not stupid."
As they returned to arguing, I decided to try to piece together what was going on. From their conversation, I could understand that when thy drunk my blood, they also, either by accident or on purpose, bestowed their blood on me. Normally, this would turn me into a Dead Apostle, their dependent, but as I'm already a Divine Spirit and my existence isn't so easy to modify due to Originium Glintstone, the ritual failed, or at least didn't succeed, as thinking of those images of Red Moon, there had been some effect. But after checking myself over, I couldn't find any change, so I assumed that nothing had indeed happened.
So now, I tried to understand their behavior. To be honest, I wasn't that familiar with Vampire sociology of this world, so I could only refer to what I know about Vampires from Terra. I was aware there were many differences between the two, but there had to be some similarities as well.
Drinking of someone's blood, for a Vampire, changes meaning depending on their attitude and the 'victim' . The act can be an attack against an enemy, or a meal with 'food' , and lastly, an intercourse; not purely sexual, but rather an emotional exchange, something many 'young' Vampires consider sacred. And by their attitude, I could see that neither of them treated me as food, nor as an enemy.
I tried to look back on my interactions with Altrouge to see when a shift in our relationship occurred, and found that from the very beginning, she was strangely open to me, getting close in just a few days, starting to drink my blood not long after. It happened before my ascension, so she must have been attracted to something else, and I quickly got an idea what it could be.
My soul. I know that True Ancestors don't have a physical need to drink blood, only a mental one, but they can gain magic power and knowledge through it. Due to that, Vampires can perceive who has 'delicious' blood, at least that's what Altrouge told me before. Deliciousness of the blood can depend on many elements, but experiences and strength of the host are major components, and not to boost, but few can compare with what I experienced and what power I possess.
Now that I had collected my thoughts, I knew that I needed to talk with two of them, so I opened my eyes only to find that beautiful face centimeters from me. She looked me in the eyes, my head lying on her thighs as she played with my hair.
-"Up already?"
-"Let him go!"-Altrouge tried to pull me up, but she couldn't overpower her sister.
I tried to get up, but was held back.
-"Why don't you stay like that? I believe it's quite comfortable."
-"It's nice, but I think we should talk properly, so let me sit up."
She let me go, or rather, she let me sit, but caught my hand, holding it instead. I looked at Altrouge in front of me, and could see her dodging my gaze. I sighed lightly and told her directly.
-"Explain."
-"Well… "-She looked around, as if seeking an answer in the room.
-"Then let's me be more precise. Why did you approach me at first?"
This question made her stop, and she finally looked at me.
-"Because you had the same feeling as me, like someone who is both dead and alive, like me, a bastard mix of True Ancestor and Dead Apostle."-She admitted it without mincing her words.-"I started to observe you, learning who you were. And the rest is history."
I nodded, understanding now why she acted like that. Even from my not-so-long acquaintance with Altrouge, I knew that she sought validation, always feeling like she didn't belong, be it among humans, Dead Apostles, or True Ancestors. So her ambition was that she found me to be like her, her close kin, dispelling any doubt I had.
I then looked at her sister, my eyes telling her the same thing: explain.
-"First, I'm sorry."-She bowed to me.-"I didn't mean to attack you, nor to bite you."
-"I know, I believe that something made you go berserk."
-"Yes. But what happened happened. There is nothing for me to stay here for, so I plan to follow you from now on."
-"Are you sure?"
-"No, but I'll still do it."
-"Sigh, I'll treat you as my guest like Altrouge then."
She nodded before smiling.
-"Then I'll be in your care, Eno."
-"Sure…"-I looked at her.
-"Just call me Arcueid."
I just nodded, unable to reject her.