Chapter 34: Needed power.

The heavy wooden door clicked shut, sealing them away from the bustling noise of the noble district.

Later that very day, they had all retreated from the blood-stained mountain roads and gone back to the opulent apartment Lucious had rented somewhere deep within the inner rings of the city.

It was exactly as the local rumors went. Because the towering, stone-paved city was mostly owned and operated by wealthy nobles and high-ranking guild officials, most of the available apartments were barely cheap.

In fact, it cost quite a lot of heavy coin just to rent a secure, velvet-lined room for a single night.

Standing in the center of the lavish space, Lucious was a bit grumpy about the exorbitant prices, his highly calculated mind despising the waste of resources, but he chose to do it regardless to secure a safe haven.

Seated heavily on the edge of the large, feather-stuffed bed, Lucious stared blankly toward the other room not too far from where he was.

The wooden door was slightly ajar, and he could clearly hear the steady sound of running water hitting the tiled ground.

That was exactly where Guinevere was currently having her bath, attempting to wash away the grim residue of the road and the lingering trauma of her father’s brutal murder.

Dori, standing rigidly at the side of the bedroom with her slender arms folded tightly across her chest, took one long look at her master.

Given her absolute devotion and instincts, she instantly knew he was contemplating something heavy.

"Are you really going to turn her into a vampire, master?" Dori asked, her raspy voice cutting through the quiet room.

A rather judgmental, displeased look settled firmly on her pale face as she glared toward the bathroom door, her territorial nature flaring up at the thought of sharing her master’s divine blessing.

Lucious kept silent for a long while, letting the sound of the splashing water fill the space. His eyes remained perfectly still, devoid of any immediate emotion.

"I dont know," he finally replied, his deep voice barely above a whisper.

In truth, his mind was running through a dozen different tactical scenarios.

Despite the absolute fact that he wanted his new race of vampires to be known in this world, ruling over them from the shadows as time passed, he also understood a fundamental rule of his Supreme System: he could not just change anyone that walks up to him and asks.

The capacity for his Willing Blood Kin was strictly limited.

The only reason he had willingly turned Terrisa back in the mountain pass was because his unique skill had allowed him to see past memories of her. He knew exactly what drove the bandit leader, so he knew exactly how to make her work efficiently with him, a tactic which would further increase her own fanatical loyalty towards him.

Not to mention, her specific skill as a Shadow Commander was quite overpowered when utilized well on the battlefield.

But for anyone else, especially a grieving noblewoman like Guinevere, the variables were far too volatile. Even if a human claimed to have a deep, desperate urge to serve and worship him for eternity, it still doesnt guarantee their true, underlying loyalty once the dark blood takes hold.

He pinched the bridge of his nose, dragging a long breath into his lungs as he looked down at the polished wooden ground.

’Should i really do this?’ he pondered in his mind.

A few seasons after that heavy thought passed, the brass handle of the door to the bathroom clicked and opened.

Guinevere walked out into thelight of the bedroom, completely devoid of her ruined emerald dress. She was wearing only a single, white cotton towel that barely covered most of her chest and ended dangerously high up on her legs.

However, Lucious could still see much more than she likely intended.

His eyes widened just a fraction of an inch when he noticed a stray, crystalline drop of water. He watched the droplet trace a slow path down her pale skin, dripping right to the center of her boobs and continuing its descent until it was dripping down her inner thighs.

"Ah! What the hell?!!!" Dori shrieked, her protective instincts flaring into absolute overdrive.

Moving with the terrifying speed, Dori acted fast. She blurred across the room, moving directly towards her seated master and violently slapping her pale hands over his face, completely covering his eyes from the sight.

"Master told me ladies should learn some decency after showers," Dori scolded loudly.

Guinevere stopped dead in her tracks. She stood there for a while, completely unfazed by the girl’s aggressive outburst. The hollow, exhausted void in her bright eyes remained entirely unchanged.

"Cant handle seeing a woman in towels?" Guinevere spoke, her voice flat and devoid of any modesty.

Without waiting for a response from the blinded vampire lord, she turned away, walking to the side of the opulent room where her spare belongings rested, and simply began to put on her fresh clothes. The rustle of fabric echoed quietly against the velvet walls.

Once she was completely done dressing herself in a set of dark, practical traveling garments, she walked over with heavy, purposeful steps. She stood directly at the front of the bed and locked her intense, unwavering gaze towards Lucious.

Sensing the shift in the room, Dori slowly removed her hands from his eyes, stepping back but keeping her hands hovering near her blades. Lucious sighed deeply, his chest expanding as he faced the grieving girl as well.

"What makes you think i would turn you into a vampire, just because you asked?" Lucious questioned.

That was his absolute first question, demanding logical reasoning over emotional desperation.

Guinevere did not flinch under his heavy, glowing stare.

"I watched you give a criminal that very same power, what makes me any different?" she countered, referencing the violent transformation of the bandit leader she had witnessed on the blood-soaked dirt road.

"I decided to bless her of my own decision alone," Lucious corrected her smoothly, his voice leaving no room for argument. "You dont have a skill worth keeping for myself."

Guinevere frowned a bit, the harsh rejection stinging her pride despite the hollow grief consuming her heart. She lowered her gaze for a fleeting second before looking back up, realizing she had approached a being of supreme power with far too much human arrogance.

"I am sorry, that was way off," Guinevere admitted, her tone shifting into a respectful, almost reverent whisper. "If anything, you are somewhat of a god, speaking to you like this is rather..."

"A god?" Lucious interrupted, raising a single pale brow in genuine curiosity.

"Yes," she replied instantly.

Lucious glanced at Dori first, silently analyzing the feral girl’s reaction, then he looked right back at Guinevere.

In absolute truth, having only recently arrived in this harsh fantasy realm, he knew practically nothing of the established gods of these words. But his highly calculated mind still remembered well; their divine blessing was one of the core things that made the other high school heroes that were summoned alongside him so incredibly powerful in the eyes of the Eldian King.

"What are these gods?" Lucious asked, leaning forward slightly, eager to gather crucial intelligence.

"You do not know?" Guinevere asked, her eyes widening in mild surprise. "That is... surprising. Well, the gods are powerful beings that watch over we mortals. They choose people they wish to bless with their powers, and in turn, we get those unique powers based on our mana."

’I see,’ Lucious thought, looking down to the ground as the pieces of the puzzle rapidly clicked together in his mind. ’I do kind of work the same way, i can see why she called me a god.’

Before he even fully processed what was happening next, Guinevere suddenly fell down to her knees right in front of him, the fabric of her pants hitting the hardwood floor with a soft thud. She bowed her head entirely, pressing her chin close to her chest in a display of absolute, unfiltered submission.

"My magic allows me to see the greatest in others," she confessed, her voice trembling slightly with suppressed emotion. "Its a rather useless one in direct combat, but it works exceptionally well in determining those who are a threat and those who are a true power to watch out for. The very first time i saw you two back at the capital plaza, i knew you not to be a simple threat, but a supreme power to watch out for. As such i tried to know what you were."

Then, she slightly raised her head, her eyes burning with a dark, vengeful fire that mirrored the crimson glow of his own.

"And i am glad i never backed out of it," she stated firmly. "My father is dead, and i know the people who did it. Please, please, give me the power to do this. I promise, you can do whatever you want with me right after."

A heavy, suffocating silence settled over the opulent bedroom. The sheer desperation radiating from her soul was palpable.

Lucious sighed again, the sound carrying an ancient, heavy weight.

"I can see you’re quite serious about this," Lucious admitted, acknowledging the dark resolve hardening her heart. "Your reasons are valid as well, but should i give you this power as you have requested, you become mine entirely. Your revenge will be done, but only by my time."

There was a tense, lingering pause as she fully absorbed the monumental weight of his absolute condition.

"Yes i promise," Guinevere vowed without a single ounce of hesitation.

Even with her absolute verbal confirmation, there was still a bit of hesitation brewing deep within Lucious’s calculated mind. He knew that whatever violent, reckless thing she does in the name of her bloody vengeance will inevitably be painted back to him, the very moment he officially turns her into a vampire bearing his divine mark. He would be responsible for her carnage.

But he needed capable pieces on his board to conquer this world.

"Very well then, let us proceed," Lucious declared coldly.

He slowly stretched his pale, bare hand forward toward her kneeling form. He did not need to bite her physically to initiate the God Mark; he simply allowed his dark, necrotic mana to leak out from his fingertips.

The dense, shadowy energy slowly moved toward her body, wrapping around her shoulders like a suffocating blanket.

Guinevere gasped loudly, her back arching violently the exact moment she felt the strange, ancient energy begin to forcefully settle deep inside her veins.

The ethereal blue glow of the Supreme System flared to life in Lucious’s vision, acting immediately upon his intent.

[Would you like to turn her into a vampire?]

’Proceed,’ Lucious commanded in his mind.

[Target has been turned into a vampire.]

[All stats has been boosted.]

[Talent upgraded.]

The system notifications came pouring back and forth across his vision in rapid succession, a blinding cascade of blue text confirming the successful acquisition of a new, highly capable subordinate.

But even more captivating than the data was the physical transformation the girl had going on with her right on the hardwood floor.

Her purple hair seemed to darken, growing richer, and the exhaustion in her features melted away, replaced by a flawless, porcelain paleness.

Until the blue text suddenly glitched, flashing a violent, blaring red.

[The system has detected a sudden disobedience with a vampire.]

[Punishment will now be distributed.]

Lucious’s eyes widened in absolute shock as the unexpected warning shattered the silence of the room.