Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)

Chapter 124 Reversal (8)

When Lucius heard Alexio had failed a subject, he was completely stunned.

Why on earth?!

He had no choice but to pick up the Holy Temple textbook and study the knowledge related to himself. Only then did he manage to give Alexio a nearly perfect test paper.

“Even if it rains tomorrow, I might not make it,” Alexio said, shaking his quill, his expression a bit somber. “I told you before, there will be a funeral for the hunter who targeted Theo. I have to attend.”

Lucius' expression darkened as well. He didn't like Alexio hearing news like that.

“Do you want me to go with you?” he asked.

Alexio shook his head immediately. No way. He'd much rather drag the prince in his bat form to the exam than attend a funeral.

Lucius then switched to a lighter topic.

“My play is finished, and I've already assembled a theater troupe for the performance. I believe it will be a good play.” He propped his face with one hand. Of course, the money to form the troupe came from selling Theo's castle. With what was left, he bought quality ingredients specifically for Alexio's snacks.

“Will it be performed at the Carnival?”

“Yes, and I invited some friends. You're definitely going to love it.” Lucius smiled. “You know the lich, right? Her partner is the last dragon. I had him promise to take you for a flight. I also invited the werewolves from the snowfield. That couple is very affectionate. And finally, there's us. I reserved the best seats.”

When everyone was busy handing out dog food, none of them suffered.

The only ones suffering that night were the lonely singles in the audience!

A certain imperial son, who was planning to observe the Carnival: ……

After agreeing to watch the play together at the Carnival, Alexio attended the funeral and was then assigned to multiple field missions. Finally, on the night he returned, he was startled awake by a series of urgent knocks at his door. Opening the door, he found the priest standing outside, clothes disheveled, trembling with excitement.

“Alexio! He's dead!”

Alexio's red eyes widened slightly for a moment.

Who?

“Third-generation vampire Prince Lucius, confirmed dead! Our spy planted in Blood Moon Castle sent the report. He witnessed it himself. The second-generation vampire…”

The entire world echoed with a buzzing sound. Amid that buzz, the priest's figure gradually blurred in Alexio's vision. He heard the priest calling to him, perhaps noticing his odd reaction, but Alexio could no longer focus on much else.

He dug his nails into his palm and slowly raised his head.

“I want to know the full story, everything leading up to this.”

Finally, the archbishop himself spoke, and Alexio learned all the information currently available. His face remained expressionless. Only after hearing everything did he slowly speak.

“So that means Theo should be weakened right now.”

Whether he actually was, Alexio didn't know. But Alexio stated it with such conviction that it made others believe him. The archbishop studied every inch of his expression before finally nodding.

“Yes, theoretically, that should be the case.”

“Then why don't we kill him?” Alexio asked quietly, his red eyes calm and unblinking. “We can kill him. This is an opportunity given to us by God.”

Seeing the archbishop hesitate slightly, Alexio earnestly knelt on one knee.

“This moment cannot be wasted. The hunter sent after Theo has already fallen, proving that approach won't work. We must find another way, and right now is the best opportunity.”

He met the archbishop's gaze steadily. At the emergency assembly, Alexio hadn't rushed to make demands. Too much haste might arouse the Holy Temple's suspicion. Attacking the vampire castle carried great risk. He would need to use every possible strategy to achieve his goal.

Whether Lucius was truly dead or not, he would go and find Theo, then—

Take revenge!

Afterwards, he wanted at least to recover Lucius' body. As a daywalker, it wouldn't have been destroyed by sunlight. It should still exist.

He waited patiently as the discussions finally settled. The Holy Temple summoned all available hunters and priests to form an expeditionary force against the vampire race recently thrown into turmoil. Alexio wasn't the official leader, but his special status gave him control over half the troops.

That was enough.

Alexio mounted his griffin, a fire flickering in his red eyes.

The vampires truly were leaderless. After months of skirmishes, their front lines steadily retreated. The Holy Temple grew more determined, pouring manpower and resources into the campaign, determined to completely crush the main vampire forces in the shortest possible time.

They had already taken several castles, but Theo, who should have been hidden away in a coffin to recover, was nowhere to be found.

Alexio leaned against the window. Days of forced marches had left everyone exhausted, but he still couldn't fall asleep. The blind prophet Noah, someone he got along well with in the Holy Temple, dropped by his room for a while. Before leaving, he reminded Alexio again to rest.

“We're marching again tomorrow. You need the sleep.”

Alexio shook his head. Then, suddenly, he made a request.

“Noah, could you divine something for me? Can you try to see where Theo is hiding?”

Noah scratched his head. He was well aware of his own abilities. His predictions were mostly just for fun and to entertain the group. But Alexio's tone was serious, and Noah couldn't bring himself to refuse.

Goddess of Fate, if you're truly listening, let me give the right answer. Just this once. Even if all the divinations before and after are ridiculous jokes, just this one time, please let it be right.

The Goddess of Fate smiled upon him.

“…Blood Moon Castle,” Noah murmured. “The ruined place. Blood Moon Castle.”

When the vision ended, Noah immediately wanted to stop Alexio, worried he'd run off in the middle of the night. But Alexio remained perfectly still. In fact, he even tidied his bed, preparing to sleep.

“…Alexio?” Noah asked cautiously. “I thought you'd rush out immediately.”

“I'm not stupid.” Alexio narrowed his red eyes. “Tomorrow is the best time to act. Hopefully, it'll be a bright sunny day.”

Under the scorching sun, with waves of heat rising from the ground, the team Alexio led finally discovered a coffin deep beneath the earth. From a distance, Alexio examined the engravings and confirmed that Lucius wouldn't have such poor taste.

Which meant it had to be Theo's coffin.

He raised his hand to stop the hunter who had been about to open it. His gaze lingered briefly on the shadow creeping beside the coffin. If anyone approached recklessly, Theo, desperate to recover, might treat them as food.

But Alexio had come prepared.

“Bring in the modified excavator I had prepped before we set out,” he ordered flatly. With a roar, a giant, magic-powered excavator slowly approached.

Coffin: ???

Coffin: ……

Was this allowed?

The excavator smoothly scooped up the coffin and deposited it in the middle of an open square. The surrounding rubble had already been cleared away. The coffin lay exposed under the blazing sun, steeped in silence and growing despair.

Alexio personally operated the excavator and opened the lid of the coffin.

Theo, already severely wounded, let out a mournful shriek. Never in his wildest nightmares had he imagined he would be left to die by the Holy Temple under open sunlight, especially not at the hands of the one said to be his child's destined archenemy. The blazing sun drew thick trails of bloody tears from his eyes, and through a haze of red, he howled at Alexio in defiance.

“He's dead! I already killed him!”

Alexio was stunned for a moment, then his eyes suddenly lit up.

After completely reducing Theo to ash, Alexio left the group and acted on his own. No one dared question him. He was, without a doubt, the hero who eliminated the second-generation vampire. He would forever have a place in the Holy Temple's upper echelons, and ballads of his name would spread far and wide through the voices of wandering bards.

But Alexio had no time for such thoughts as he moved through the ruins of the Blood Moon Castle. In a hidden basement, he discovered another cluster of coffins. Clearly, Lucius had far more intelligence than Theo. He'd prepared false leads to confuse any pursuers. But to Alexio, it was useless.

He picked one coffin and gently knocked on the lid, as if knocking on a door.

Little bunny, be good, open the door~

He thought of this nursery rhyme with a touch of dark humor. Suddenly, his knuckles hit air. A hand grabbed his wrist. The vampire, desperately needing blood after being severely wounded, even remembered to tenderly lick it twice before embedding his fangs into his wrist.

Alexio leaned against the side of the coffin, half his weight resting on it. Once again, he briefly considered whether Lucius' fangs could be knocked out and sold. They would probably fetch a good price.

In the distance, someone called out for him. It was a subordinate from the Holy Temple. Alexio turned his head slightly, not out of any real intent to answer, but to gauge the distance between them. He didn't want anyone stumbling upon the scene of him feeding a vampire. However, this movement seemed to alarm the vampire inside the coffin, who was already displeased with the insufficient blood flow from the wrist.

Alexio felt a sudden tug at his collar. His eyes widened instinctively, but it was already too late to struggle. The intoxicating euphoria brought by the vampire's fangs had drained nearly half his resistance. Darkness crept into his vision. He heard the vampire's slightly hurried breathing, then a slightly damp sensation on the side of his neck. His hand reached up, trying to prop open the coffin lid, but it was seized by another hand, fingers gently intertwined.

“I'm just… a little hungry… It might hurt.”

“Shh, they might hear us outside. You can bite through my clothes.”

The hunter, searching for the saint, arrived at this basement. He was initially startled by the sight of so many coffins, thinking it was a nest of vampires. However, after knocking on a few and finding them empty, he finally lowered his guard.

Still, where had Sir Alexio gone? He seemed to be heading this way a moment ago…

The hunter slowly moved away. Behind him, a faint sound suddenly came from one of the coffins, but it was quickly suppressed, becoming silent once more.

Under the brilliant sunlight, some deep red roses swayed by the crumbling walls.

It was an epic no one would ever know.

【End】

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