The Dark Forest was already dark, but somehow everything seemed to grow darker as the sunlight vanished and all that was left was the night sky ahead of them.
It was something that Lukas should have looked forward to, the wind and the wonderful comforting way it lingered across his face and cooled his body.
However, that was not the case.
Lukas had done his best to carry as much Vampires as he could, even tried to use his own telekinesis to carry a body.
"You could have done this all by yourself, Cerisedel." Lukas said, as if wanting to complain, but it was mostly just him trying to talk with himself.
Cerisedel was actually off elsewhere, doing her business with setting up the wards and spells that would prevent people from coming around the area.
But if she had been there and present to answer his question? Well, Cerisedel wouldn't admit that it was merely done, so he could take his mind off from the things that happened.
Luckily for her, Lukas didn't need to.
Out of everyone in the Vampire who became corrupted, one of them remained awake and survived mostly everything.
Iolathane Durand walked a little farther away from Lukas. One of her hand was on the communicator pearl around her neck.
Lukas glanced at her once and determined her actual blood percentage of being a Vampire.
"One hundred percent." Lukas said.
"What's… what's one hundred percent?" Iolathane's blue hair was a tangled mess. Her golden eyes now had dark eye bags underneath them as if something had been taken away from her during the control of the Unknown, but she still had that serious and no nonsense look.
It was the same look that had Lukas realizing maybe it was better off to work someplace that didn't have people like her.
"Lukas from Lux, I am asking you to explain yourself." Iolathane said. There could have been a thunder and dark cloud behind her, but the effect was still all the same.
"You… you're the one who should be explaining yourself." Lukas grumbled, realized that maybe someone like Iolathane didn't know the truth of her past, or the identity of the other 'Vampires' that they were
"Explain myself?" Iolathane wanted to scoff at him and maybe shake a finger directly at his face, but the exhaustion and shock of everything seeped into her bones and all she wanted to do was collapse into the very ground if not for the fact that she couldn't relax in a foreign environment.
Iolathane could hardly sleep in her own house and headquarters, much less in an open area with cool air… and no doubt unexpected creatures that were probably hiding like it was nobody's business.
"Forget about it—or well, hah. You're someone from an Overlord House, right?" Lukas said. He was prepared to drop everything and just concentrate on getting out of the forest, but now he decided to ask her a little more.
"Yes. There are four Overlord Houses in the city of Nyx, each one controlling a specific quadrant of the area to ensure peace and equality among each of us."
"Is there really equality when one of them has better stuff than others?" Lukas asked.
Iolathane would have bitten and chewed through a sock if she was able to right now—which was an odd and specific thing, but that was how she truly felt. All she wanted from Lukas was to admit what happened and acknowledge it now, maybe even speak about it like two people who had survived what was surely no doubt an apocalypse—but instead their conversation turned to this.
"What exactly has been your real question? We cannot waste more time than we already have. I was supposed to have dinner with my father." At those words, Iolathane's eyes widened, and she slapped a hand over her face. "Ah, this is going to be a story and a half."
"Just a story and a half?" Lukas wanted to laugh at that. Out of everything that happened, somehow, Iolathane was able to latch quickly into a sense of normalcy.
It was something that Lukas was almost jealous of.
"You… this is something that needs to be reported. You have to be reported and your friend as well." Iolathane glared at him, a semblance of energy rushing back to her body.
She was a little lost, and she had actually already tried to activate her communicator a while ago when they'd been first attacked, but somehow, whatever preyed on them in the forest had not allowed for any signals to be relayed until now.
"If you're grateful for me saving your life and that of the others, it would make a lot more sense if you didn't ask or interrogate." Lukas pointed out.
"Excuses." Iolathane said. "This is…"
"This is something that happened and yet another thing happened. One after another. Then the end." Lukas sarcastically said.
"I do not take it kindly—" Iolathane wanted to complain, but all of a sudden, she saw and looked up and saw the multitude of vans approaching.
All of them were from the Argenti Overlord House. freewebno vel.co m
Iolathane's jaw dropped a little because even with her contact, there was no way that he would be able to pull something like this off.
"Is this of your doing?" Iolathane turned to Lukas suspiciously.
It made Lukas feel as if he ought to grow horns or started sparkling because of how special she made him feel. For the first time, Lukas shook his head.
Well, he had shaken his head already, far more many to count, but this time, he was confident enough to say that this was not his responsibility.
Lukas was happy that they arrived. Philip and the others had been right that they would come looking for them, but suddenly, a young man rushed out of the van.
It was the same young teenager that Lukas encountered in the building that Chaerin's family had preoccupied.
"Where is… where is Matthew?" the young man asked with a serious expression. Lukas didn't think it made any sense, but then, this was none other than Matthew's friend.
Jasper Argenti.
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