Chapter 155: ¹⁵⁵Astrea

?Veylor Castle barely resembled a castle anymore.

?Its walls had caved in. The marble floors were cracked, overgrown with slowly pulsating red moss. In the center of the half-roofless hall loomed a three-meter-tall stone throne. Upon it sat the Vampire Queen.

?On the lowest step sat a barefoot boy, legs crossed. He was casually spinning a human skull on the tip of his index finger.

?Anies was bored.

?Pitch-black hair fell over half his face. Through the gaps of those locks, a single pupilless red eye stared at the gaping hole in the ceiling. A black crescent moon rested on his forehead. His small fangs peeked out every time he yawned.

?He had already snapped the jaw of the skull in his hand. Tossed it away. Fetched it back. Nothing fun left to do.

?Every toy had been broken.

?The palace servants were broken. The guards were broken. Even Raniel, who belonged to the angel race, only lasted a little while. And Anies had high hopes for him, too.

?He had tried counting how many times he’d yawned since the sun last vanished. He lost track. Way too many.

?The most annoying part was that he wasn’t allowed outside. The Queen told him to wait. It was always wait.

?"Why can’t I go out?" he asked, his voice shrill and whiny like a kid begging for treats. "I bet there are still people hiding in the city. I can go find them."

?"If we’re just gonna sit here and wait, I might as well sleep."

?The Queen didn’t answer. Her blood-red hair cascaded all the way down to the floor. A crown of black blood crystals rested on her head. The wound Raniel had left on her chest had long since closed, leaving not even a scar.

?In a dark corner of the hall stood Carmilla, deathly still. The golden-black burns on her shoulder had yet to heal. She didn’t dare look at anyone.

?"Anies," the Queen finally spoke. "You’ve played enough."

?"But—"

?Anies paused. His nose twitched.

?He took a deep breath. His body tensed. Then his lips curled upward, baring his fangs.

?This scent.

?Hot. Sweet. Dangerous. And a little strange—like something he had never smelled before.

?His heart, which had been beating sluggishly for so long, suddenly began to pound.

?He was strong. Unbelievably strong.

?It had been so long since he last felt this way. Like a kid staring at a brand-new toy through a shop window.

?"Finally," he whispered.

?"He is here," said the Queen.

?"Can I play with him first?"

?"Do not kill him." The Queen’s red, black-veined eyes shifted toward the boy. "I am not done talking to him."

?Anies scoffed. He stood up and casually tossed the skull over his shoulder. It shattered against the wall.

?"Then I’ll play with the others." He turned to the dark corner, his gaze landing on Carmilla. His smile turned sickly sweet, which made it far more terrifying. "Or with you. If you fail again tonight, you’re my next toy. That’s fair, right?"

?Carmilla swallowed hard. Her hands clenched beneath her cloak. She knew it wasn’t an empty threat. She had already felt her blood boil under a single glare from that brat.

?"Understood," she replied softly.

?"Good." Anies beamed. "I like obedient ones."

?The Queen didn’t intervene.

?She just waited. Her wounds were fully healed. She wasn’t waiting because she was weak. She waited to see just how far a human dared to tread into the most feared lair in existence.

?In the skies of Astrea, the crimson moon still hung heavy. It hadn’t set since the Crimson Night.

?Ethan flew low over the capital of the Astrean Kingdom. The wings of Azhyrael were spread wide. Isolde clung to his back, her arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders. On his right, Lilith glided on her membranous wings. She carried Caelum in her arms to lighten Ethan’s load.

?Below them, a thick red mist blanketed the city.

?The gray marble city was once renowned as the most beautiful in the western continent. Now, not a single light flickered. There was no sound. The wide streets were empty, the towers stood in dead silence, and the main square was flooded with a mist that swelled slowly like a breathing lung.

?Nobody was running. Nobody was screaming. The city was far too quiet.

?Ethan felt his chest tighten. He was reminded of the burning Valen Village, and of Laras, who still woke up shivering every night. A city this massive... How many people used to live down there?

?He forced his focus back to the present. Regret was useless right now.

?In Lilith’s grasp, Caelum didn’t say a word. His expression remained stoic. But his right hand, clad in a black leather glove, gripped the fabric of Lilith’s dress so hard it wrinkled.

?No one brought it up.

?"Where are we landing?" Isolde asked, her voice muffled against Ethan’s back.

?"The palace."

?"Are you sure? That’s the heart of it."

?"Exactly why we’re going."

?Isolde didn’t argue anymore. She just tightened her grip.

?Ethan stared straight ahead. At the far edge of the city, perched atop a hill, stood a colossal castle with a broken main tower. The mist swirled far thicker around it. From within, an incredibly oppressive aura swept across the sky.

?She already knows I’m coming.

?Ethan dove.

?They landed in the main courtyard of Veylor Castle. The cobblestones were shattered, and a thick, crimson fluid oozed from the cracks.

?Ethan set Isolde down. Lilith released Caelum. The prince stood tall, his posture straight as a board, acting as if nothing was wrong.

?Ethan expanded his Sin Mana into their surroundings. The scan pulsed through the gates, down the corridors, and up the towers. And he found their numbers.

?A lot. Way too many. They were hiding in every shadow, underground, behind the walls. Waiting.

?And deep within, past the horde, lay one pressure far more suffocating than the rest. It wasn’t moving. It just sat there, like a host expecting a guest.

?"Stay close," he said quietly.

?Isolde nodded. Lilith tucked her wings in. Caelum wordlessly adjusted his gloves.

?No one replied. They didn’t need to.

?Then, from behind the ruins, from the rooftops, from the shattered windows—they poured out. Low-ranking vampires. Dozens. Then hundreds. Their eyes were glowing red, their skin deathly pale, and their jaws unhinged as they welcomed the night.

?They charged all at once.

?Ethan took a single step forward.

?Velcrasia.

?The dark red whip manifested in his grip. With a single flick, a blazing crimson trail swept across the courtyard. The Crimson Sin Fire lashed the vanguard, incinerating twenty vampires before they could even scream.

?"Isolde."

?"I’m on it."

?Isolde raised a hand. A towering wall of black ice erupted from the earth, blocking the second wave rushing from their left flank. The vampires’ claws slammed into the surface and snapped. The ice didn’t even crack.

?From behind, Lilith let out a long breath. A sweet aroma permeated the air. A wave of lust and illusion washed over the courtyard. The charging mob suddenly ground to a halt. Some turned on each other. Others embraced thin air, giggling madly.

?Ethan whipped them down, one by one. His strikes weren’t rushed. Every movement was completely optimized, every sidestep executed just a fraction of a second before a stray claw could graze his cloak.

?One vampire slipped past the flames and lunged at Isolde. The black ice wall shifted, morphing into a spike that impaled the creature mid-air.

?"You’re too slow," Isolde muttered coldly.

?Nearby, Lilith twitched her finger. A vampire dropped to his knees before her, sobbing like a toddler, before plunging his own claws into his neck. Lilith didn’t even spare him a glance.

?Caelum stood safely behind the wall of ice. He didn’t draw a weapon. He couldn’t fight like they did.

?But his eyes were working.

?Black ice. Isolde Rosenberg never wielded black ice; there were no records of it in the Academy. And Lilith’s illusions... that wasn’t human magic. It wasn’t any kind of magic he’d ever read about in the royal archives.

?He mentally noted everything. One by one, neatly filed away like pages in a book.

?Who exactly are they?

?He didn’t ask out loud. It wasn’t the right time.

?Three minutes passed. Four minutes.

?The courtyard was now carpeted in ash and charred corpses. Ethan stood in the epicenter, his shoulders rising and falling at a steady pace. His breathing was completely normal. His whip still dripped with liquid fire.

?He hadn’t even broken a sweat.

?"Are we done?" Lilith asked, dusting off her wings.

?"Not yet," Ethan replied. "That was just the appetizer."

?And just as the last wave collapsed, his Sin Mana picked up something else.

?A new presence.

?Older. Denser. And far more sinister than anything they’d faced so far.

?Ethan raised his head.

?Standing at the top of the stairs leading to the castle gates was a barefoot boy. His black cloak dragged on the floor. His hair covered half his face. A single red eye stared dead ahead at Ethan.

?Anies descended the steps. Every footfall left a bloody footprint on the stone.

?He stopped a few paces away from Ethan. He looked up, his height barely reaching Ethan’s chest.

?He tilted his head, sizing Ethan up from top to bottom before frowning.

?"Hmm," he hummed. "I thought you’d be bigger."

?Ethan didn’t answer.

?"More imposing. Scarier. They said you were the one who killed Alucard." Anies snorted. "Turns out, you’re pretty average."

?Behind Ethan, Isolde clenched her fists. Lilith took a half-step forward. A piercing mix of biting cold and sickly sweetness filled the air.

?Ethan raised a single finger without looking back.

?They stopped.

?"What do you want?" Ethan asked, his voice deadpan.

?"What I want?" Anies pointed at himself, acting as if it were the funniest question he’d ever heard. "I don’t want anything. I just want to play."

?"Play."

?"Yep. All my toys are broken." He shrugged. "The people in this city are weak. I just blew on them a little, and they stopped moving. Boring."

?Ethan clenched his jaw.

?"You came all the way out here," Anies continued. "I bet you can take a lot more punishment than they did."

?His smile widened. His tiny fangs glinted under the crimson moon.

?"Do you know what happened to this city?" Anies went on, twirling the hem of his cloak. "I just played for a bit. Then the Queen told me that was enough."

?His tone was light. As if he were casually recounting his birthday party.

?Ethan felt the Crimson Sin Fire churning in his chest. He reined it in.

?"I don’t have any business with you," Ethan stated. "I’m here to speak with your Queen."

?"Later." Anies licked his lips. "After we’re done playing."

?Ethan stared at the boy for a long moment. His Sin Mana swept over him one more time, and he felt a chill creep down the back of his neck.

?This is no ordinary kid.

?The aura radiating from that small body was almost as dense as the pressure he’d felt from Alucard and Carmilla. Maybe even stronger.

?Powerful. And he wasn’t suppressing it in the slightest.

?"And if I refuse?"

?"You can’t." Anies gave an innocent smile. "I’m already tired of waiting."

?The air around them began to vibrate.

?From the pools of crimson fluid seeping between the cobblestones, blood spears began to materialize. One. Ten. Fifty. Hundreds of jagged spears floated in the air, all locked onto Ethan.

?The crimson moon reflected off every single tip.

?Isolde reinforced her ice wall. Lilith flared her wings. Ethan gripped Velcrasia with both hands.

?Anies raised one small hand and whispered, almost gleefully.

?"Start."

?Hundreds of blood spears launched.