Chapter 120: The last gasp before the Great Event.
Silence fell again in the office after Lydia’s words. The initial tension of the meeting had practically vanished at that point, replaced by a much more weary and politically irritated atmosphere. The unconscious man from the Cross family remained lying near the wall while no one showed any real interest in waking him.
Victor remained silent for a few seconds, thinking about the situation before finally looking at Eleonora.
"You don’t need to keep meddling in this."
Eleonora raised an eyebrow slightly.
Victor kept his hands in his pockets as he spoke calmly:
"I think I already know who started these rumors."
The two Cross sisters immediately turned their gaze to him.
Eleonora also seemed genuinely surprised for the first time since he entered the room.
"...What do you mean?" Helena questioned first.
Lydia leaned forward slightly on the sofa.
"Did you find out something?"
Victor simply shrugged.
"Not exactly." His gaze grew slightly bored. "But there aren’t many people stupid enough to spread something so idiotic."
Eleonora watched him silently.
Victor continued naturally:
"Don’t worry about it. I’ll sort it out in a few days." Then he paused briefly before adding: "When the Ritual begins."
The room fell silent again.
The two Cross sisters exchanged a quick glance.
Because that sentence clearly didn’t sound healthy.
Eleonora partially closed her eyes before letting out a long, tired sigh.
"...Let me guess." She rested her head on her hand while looking directly at Victor. "Jake?"
Victor immediately smiled slightly.
It was a calm smile.
But unpleasant.
"I don’t know that worm," he replied naturally. "But he already went to the Rakshasa to ask about me." His gaze grew a little colder at that moment. "So the chances of it being him are about ninety percent."
Lydia blinked a few times.
"...Wait." She glanced quickly at Helena. "He went after the Rakshasa personally?"
Helena immediately looked more serious.
Even Eleonora frowned slightly.
Because that completely changed the weight of the situation.
Rakshasa wasn’t someone normal vampires simply approached casually.
Especially not to ask about someone else.
Victor just nodded.
"She mentioned it to me recently." His voice remained calm. "Apparently he wanted to find out her intentions towards me."
Eleonora slowly massaged her forehead.
"...Damn it."
Victor watched her reaction in silence.
She let out another tired sigh before finally agreeing:
"Yeah... you’re probably right."
Helena slowly crossed her arms as she thought about the situation.
"Jake Valentine..." she murmured softly. "That really sounds like something he would do."
Lydia made a small grimace right after.
"Especially if he wants to provoke you before the Ritual."
Victor shrugged again.
"Then he succeeded."
The comment made Lydia laugh softly.
"You don’t seem very provoked."
Victor looked directly at her.
"Because spreading rumors that I’m afraid of the Cross Family is so stupid it’s hard to take seriously."
Even Helena seemed to partially agree with that.
Eleonora then looked at Victor again with a more serious expression.
"Even so, be careful." Her tone became heavier now. "Jake isn’t normal. If he really started this, then he’s probably trying to gauge your reaction."
Victor remained silent for a brief moment.
Then he let out a small nasal laugh.
"Great."
His red gaze seemed slightly colder at that moment.
"Because I also want to gauge his."
...
Days passed relatively quickly after the meeting involving the Cross Family. Rumors continued to circulate throughout the training grounds, but Victor had honestly stopped paying attention to them after the second day. The Ascension Ritual was too close for him to waste mental energy on idiotic politics or frustrated nobles trying to destroy reputations through childish gossip.
That night, his quarters remained silent, illuminated only by the bluish lights scattered across the bedroom ceiling. Some of his clothes were casually thrown over a nearby chair while Victor sat on the bed wearing only loose dark trousers. His body still bore small superficial cuts from recent training, although most were already slowly healing due to the absurd regeneration his blood currently possessed.
Carmilla and Scarlett clung to him like two vampires in emotional withdrawal.
Scarlett remained partially seated on his lap while slowly biting the left side of Victor’s neck. Carmilla was behind him on the bed, her arms partially encircling his torso as she drank blood from the other side of his neck with far less delicacy than her daughter.
The room remained relatively quiet except for the low sound of the two drinking blood.
Victor had honestly gotten used to it by now.
Carmilla was the first to speak, still keeping her teeth partially sunk into his neck.
"It’s good that you come back much stronger."
Her voice was low and slightly muffled by the bite.
Scarlett partially lifted her face soon after, discreetly licking a small amount of blood that trickled down before speaking as well:
"And it’s good that you use my sword technique properly." She narrowed her red eyes slightly. "I didn’t spend weeks training you to die like an idiot."
Victor made a small, amused nasal sound.
Carmilla continued naturally:
"It’s also good that you come in first place."
Scarlett immediately raised her head.
"And you’d better love me more when you get back."
"Hey." Carmilla glared at her. "Don’t try to steal emotional leverage now."
"You literally said it before."
"Because I’m older."
"That doesn’t mean anything."
"It means hierarchy."
"It means old age."
Carmilla narrowed her eyes dangerously.
Victor watched the two arguing as he felt the bites on his neck slowly begin to close thanks to regeneration.
Then he finally sighed.
"You two are being quite demanding today."
The two stopped immediately.
Then they answered together without any hesitation:
"This might be the last time we see you."
Silence hung for a few seconds after that.
Scarlett lowered her gaze partially while still clinging to him. Carmilla also became quieter behind him, her arms still wrapped around his body in a much less aggressive way now.
Because despite the constant teasing...
They were both genuinely worried.
The Ascension Ritual wasn’t a normal competition.
It was literally a controlled massacre disguised as vampire tradition.
Victor listened silently for a few seconds before simply bursting into laughter.
It wasn’t a small laugh.
He really laughed loudly.
Scarlett immediately made an annoyed face.
"...What are you laughing at?"
Victor was still laughing as he partially raised his hand.
"Sorry..." He tried to catch his breath between laughs. "But it’s kind of cute."
Carmilla narrowed her eyes.
"...Cute?"
Victor finally looked at the two of them.
"Seeing two absurdly old vampires worried about a seventeen-year-old boy."
The silence lasted exactly two seconds.
Then Scarlett bit his shoulder hard.
Victor felt her teeth partially pierce his skin.
"Ouch."
"You deserve it."
Carmilla immediately squeezed his face as well.
"’Seventeen-year-old boy’?" She seemed genuinely offended now. "You’re too strong for someone who’s seventeen, don’t use age as an excuse."
Victor continued to chuckle softly.
"I’m still seventeen."
Scarlett crossed her arms while still sitting on his lap.
"Age means nothing to vampires."
"I agree," Carmilla replied immediately. "You already have enough mental problems to look like a traumatized old man."
Victor looked slowly at her.
"...That was offensive."
"Because it’s true."
Scarlett nodded soon after.
"You act like a fifty-year-old divorced person."
Victor was silent for a moment.
Then he sighed deeply.
"...Now you’re just attacking me for no reason."
"I’ll be back."
The answer came out simply.
Calmly.
Directly.
Scarlett observed his face in silence.
Carmilla too.
Victor then gave a small, tired smile.
"After all..." His gaze grew slightly colder at that moment. "I still have a lot of people to kill after this."
...
The grand aristocratic hall remained filled with controlled conversations and absurdly powerful presences that night. A huge round table occupied the center of the room, surrounded by important figures from the vampire world who had come specifically to witness the Blood Ascension Ritual of that generation.
The atmosphere was excessively refined, even by vampire standards. Crystal chandeliers partially illuminated the hall with soft golden light while servants circulated silently, serving blood wine and ancient drinks to guests who could easily destroy entire cities if they wished.
Representatives of great families were present.
Ancient lords.
Military commanders.
Some Blood Kings.
And even creatures whose mere presence made the air in the hall seem heavier.
Even so, Chysis seemed completely relaxed.
The vampire remained seated in one of the chairs near the center of the table, holding a crystal goblet partially filled with refined blood. Her gaze swept across the surroundings with utter disinterest, elegantly ignoring half the political conversations happening around her.
Serafall sat a few chairs away from her.
The two didn’t even seem to look directly at each other.
But the conversation between them continued naturally through mental communication.
’I’m worried about that bet between the Rakshasa and Edgar.’
Serafall’s mental voice emerged calmly within Chysis’s mind as she pretended to pay attention to a nobleman talking about territorial expansion.
Chysis took a small sip of her drink before mentally replying without altering her expression.
’You should.’
Her tone remained casual.
’This is going to end dangerously.’
Serafall partially rested her face on her hand while smiling politely at someone at the next table.
Inside, however, her thoughts were far less tranquil.
’The Rakshasa seems really angry this time.’
Chysis let out a small, amused sound through her nose.
’Jake went to her personally.’ Her gaze grew slightly colder at that moment. ’That would be stupid normally. But to do it after she explicitly said she didn’t want to be bothered...’
Serafall sighed inwardly.
’Edgar really lost control of his own nephew.’
’No.’ Chysis corrected immediately. ’He never had control.’
That made Serafall fall silent for a few seconds.
Because honestly...
She completely agreed.
Jake Valentine never seemed controllable.
Not even as a child.
The conversation around the table continued normally as the two exchanged thoughts silently without anyone noticing.
Then Serafall finally partially shifted her gaze towards Chysis.
’Is there any way we can help Victor?’
Chysis replied immediately:
’No.’
The answer was too curt.
Too direct.
Serafall had expected that, but still sighed inwardly.
Chysis continued immediately afterward:
’There are too many important people watching this Ritual.’ Her red gaze partially scanned the hall. ’If we try to interfere directly, other people will also want to interfere.’
Serafall made a small mental grimace.
And that would indeed be a problem.
The Ascension Ritual existed precisely because of the absurdly rigid rules involving external influence. If a powerful figure directly helped a participant, other clans would immediately begin demanding the same right.
And then it would cease to be a Ritual.
It would become open political warfare.
Even so, Chysis smiled slightly afterward.
’But I gave him a manual.’
Serafall’s mental mood instantly improved.
’You gave him the Blood Demon Concealment, right?’
Chysis finally let out a small, low laugh as she slowly twirled the goblet between her fingers.
"Of course."
Serafall also ended up smiling discreetly.
"You gave me that same manual thousands of years ago before my Ritual."
The memories surfaced naturally in her mind.
The frozen territory.
The massacre.
The participants hunting each other like animals.
And her completely hidden within enemy territory thanks to that absurd concealment technique.
Chysis shrugged casually.
"It’s good to teach good things to people who will use them properly."
Serafall laughed inwardly.
"So you already like him quite a bit."
"Of course I like him." The answer came too immediately. "He’s funny."
Serafall almost rolled her eyes.
"Your criteria for liking people is completely broken."
"And it’s worked perfectly for thousands of years."
Serafall discreetly observed some of the guests scattered around the table while maintaining a small smile on her face.
Then she asked herself mentally:
’Do you think he can survive?’
Chysis was silent for a few seconds this time.
A rare silence.
Her gaze slowly drifted to the enormous window of the hall, where the eternal night of the vampire territory remained still like a dark ocean.
Then she finally answered:
’Survive?’
A small smile slowly appeared on her face.
’I’m more worried about who’s going to try to kill him.’
