When Urd stepped out of the cell, he cast a glance around, his face devoid of expression.
Lest Karr was covered in dust, Crowley had some bloodstains on him and was staring fixedly at Luke, Guren was dazed, while Luke and Krul were chatting idly.
Lest Karr had originally wanted to beat up Luke as well, but Luke only knew how to run. Because Luke and Crowley were drawing the fire, he didn't think to move against his rival Krul for the time being.
Seeing Urd come out, no one mentioned what had just happened.
Urd wasn't interested either, so he didn't plan to ask further.
Guren narrowed his eyes and asked with a smile.
"Did Lord Urd manage to get anything out of them?"
Urd shook his head.
"No useful intelligence."
Luke chimed in with a question.
"And those humans?"
Urd's expression was flat as he replied casually.
"There were some stubborn ones, so I taught them a little lesson."
Luke didn't believe him; quite possibly, it wasn't just their bones that were stiff, but their whole bodies were about to turn stiff.
Lest Karr spoke up again in mockery.
"Heh, you care quite a lot about whether they live or die? Can't let go of your identity as a human?"
Luke didn't answer, merely pinching his nose with one hand and waving the other to fan the air, a look of disgust on his face.
"You..."
"Enough!"
Just as Lest Karr was about to lose his temper, Urd interrupted him and started walking out. Lest Karr had no choice but to drop it.
"Krul, take us to the headquarters of the Imperial Demon Army. There might be some clues there."
Krul nodded casually. Urd had more authority than she did, and unless there was a special circumstance, she wouldn't disobey his orders.
However, Luke's brow furrowed imperceptibly.
You're quite handy with those orders, kid.
Luke was a bit annoyed, but knowing that Urd indeed had the status, he didn't take it to heart... A few hours later, Shinoa Hiragi and Yuichiro followed behind Mika and entered Sanguinem.
Yuichiro was covered in Curse Talismans, making him very conspicuous.
However, the Vampires had been busy managing new territories lately, and combined with their naturally small numbers, the three of them didn't see a single Vampire on their way into Sanguinem.
Yuichiro looked at everything along the way, recalling the experience of the night he escaped four years ago.
Mika leaving the group, Luke saving the day, and then meeting Guren.
Scene after scene flashed through Yuichiro's mind. Thinking of Guren, Yuichiro couldn't help but feel melancholy.
onikiri sensed Yuichiro's low spirits, and a voice filled with frustration at his weakness echoed in Yuichiro's heart.
"A kidnapper gives you good food and drink just to sell you for a better price, and you still feel like you owe him a debt of gratitude?"
Yuichiro sighed. It wasn't that he didn't understand the logic. He adjusted his emotions and pulled his thoughts back.
"Lacus, René! And Crowley!"
Mika finally met some acquaintances and shouted toward the side.
Shinoa Hiragi and Yuichiro also looked over and saw three Upper-ranking Vampires, their hearts instantly leaping into their throats.
The three Vampires, including Lacus, who were chatting, heard the familiar voice and turned to look, looks of surprise appearing on their faces.
"Mika?!"
Lacus and the others walked over and looked Mika over.
When he saw Mika's eyes, Lacus was a bit surprised.
"Mika, you drank human blood?!"
Mika's originally sky-blue eyes had now turned a vivid red, like rhodochrosite.
That's right. After several weeks without Luke's blood, Mika had held out for ten days before finally being unable to resist drinking Yuichiro's blood.
And it had become uncontrollable. For some reason, after consuming human blood, his demand was even greater than that of other Vampires.
The first time, he had directly drained the restrained, Seraph-form Yuichiro back into his human form.
Mika nodded. It was nothing; since it was Yuu's blood he drank, he didn't consider himself a monster yet.
"Where have you been all this time?"
René asked with his signature gloomy face, glancing at Shinoa Hiragi and Yuichiro as he spoke.
They were all familiar faces.
Lacus nodded in agreement.
"We thought you died on the battlefield. Lord Demon King only said you were fine."
Crowley wasn't well-acquainted with Mika, as they weren't in the same department; they merely nodded to each other as a greeting.
Yuichiro, adhering to his habit of asking when he didn't understand, spoke up.
"Cute King... who's that? What a... strange title."
Yuichiro couldn't quite describe the feeling of the title, so he could only find the word'strange' to describe it.
Mika gave an awkward laugh and warned Yuichiro.
"It's just Luke. Don't call him that to his face later, or the consequences will be very serious!"
Ignoring the second half of Mika's sentence, Yuichiro couldn't help but laugh.
"Hahahaha! I didn't expect... haha... that guy to be such a closet pervert!"
Seeing a mere human like Yuichiro dare to laugh so happily in front of them, René frowned and barked.
"Livestock, it's not your place to laugh at the Cute King. Cease your noise!"
If he hadn't known there was some connection between Mika and Yuichiro, René would have already drained Yuichiro dry.
Hearing the word "livestock," Yuichiro frowned and wanted to talk back, but was interrupted by Mika.
Mika asked Lacus.
"Where are Luke and the Queen?"
Lacus and René looked at each other and shook their heads, indicating they didn't know their location.
Crowley thought for a moment and replied.
"A few hours ago, I saw the Cute King and the Queen leading the way out for several other Lords."
Mika was puzzled, tilting his head at Crowley to express his lack of understanding.
Who was so grand? To have Luke and Krul lead the way? Who else in Sanguinem had a higher status than those two?
Lacus saw the meaning in Mika's expression and explained patiently.
"It's the other High-ranking Ancestors: Lord Urd, the Second Progenitor; Lest Karr, who is a Third Progenitor like Queen Krul; and Lord Guren, the Fifth Progenitor."
Shinoa Hiragi listened from the side, her heart trembling with fear.
More Progenitors have arrived?!
Mika noticed a small detail in Lacus's phrasing.
"This one called Lest Karr—you don't like him?"
Speaking of this, Lacus got excited and was about to speak, but his line was snatched by the quiet Crowley.
"That guy was disrespectful to Lord Krul, and the Vampires he brought with him look down on everyone. If you ask me, he'd behave after a couple of slaps from the Cute King."
Lacus, who was full of grievances and about to vent to Mika, clenched his fists and glared at Crowley with an unhappy expression.
Crowley shrugged and said apologetically.
"I've been holding it in for a long time too."
Hearing this, Mika imagined a scene of a punk-like youth arriving in Sanguinem with a group of delinquent Vampires.
He shook his head to dispel the strange thoughts in his mind and continued asking.
"How long until they return?"
They all shook their heads. They didn't even know what the Progenitors went to do, so how could they know that?
Then Mika continued to chat idly with everyone.
Shinoa Hiragi listened to the gossip in their conversation while organizing potentially useful intelligence.
Yuichiro stared blankly at Mika, who was talking eloquently, quite different from the confrontational way he was with his other companions.
Perhaps it was actually right that Mika hadn't followed them out back then.
As they chatted, the topic turned to Luke and Krul, and Yuichiro suddenly chimed in.
"By the way, are you all very familiar with that couple?"
Everyone, including Shinoa Hiragi and Mika, looked at him as if he were an idiot.
Yuichiro gave a sheepish smile and continued to ease the awkwardness.
"I've fought with them, you know!"
Shinoa Hiragi helped Yuichiro out.
"I've talked with them."
Seeing that even Shinoa Hiragi responded to Yuichiro, Mika naturally didn't want to be left behind.
"I've drunk Luke's blood!"
Lacus was a bit interested and kept the formation.
"I've ridden in Luke's car! René, you're not allowed to say the same thing as me."
René thought for a moment and was concise.
"We've collaborated on missions."
When it was Crowley's turn, his expression was stiff, he looked troubled, and he waved his hand.
"Pass..."
You will get 30 chapter ahead for this fanfiction.
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