Nine Layers of Hell

Just as Evangeline's hand was centimeters away from touching Albert's forehead, she heard, "Remember to protect your Memory Body." Briefly, she turned her head in Vlad's direction and glared.

"You don't have to remind me." Evangeline cutely pouted, "I'm not a child."

Seeing Vlad's mouth opening, Evangeline quickly used her Ability. She would rather not get teased, if she could avoid it.

Suddenly, similar to before, the world shattered like pieces of glass, and Evangeline found herself in what looked to be a luxurious study room.

"Master, are you sure this is the right time we should act?" Evangeline heard a worried voice.

*Sniff*

Evangeline brows scrunched up, and she quickly covered her nose. In disgust, she turned her body in the direction where the two men sat.

One was a middle-aged man around 40 years old with red hair and red eyes. He exuded an aura of calmness and gentleness, just like what was written in the report. He was Swift Sword, Albert Alucard.

The second man was the person who caused her disgust. He was a young man in his early twenties with gray skin, purple tattoos across his body, and two straight black horns jutting from his forehead.

'A Demon!' Evangeline gnashed her teeth in hatred and disgust, 'To think Albert has relations with the Demons. More so, this Demon even called him 'Master'.'

Evangeline put her disgust and hatred for Demons aside for now and listened.

Upon hearing what his subordinate said, Albert's calm and gentle aura disappeared, replaced with fury as a bloody aura launched itself at the Demon.

Evangeline did not panic; she had learned her lesson after viewing King Vlad's memory. Ever since she used her Ability, she had protected her body and Soul with her Holy Magic.

Evangeline continued to watch, just as the pressure was about to collide with the Demon, it stopped. However, she knew it wasn't because the Demon had blocked it, instead, Albert stopped his aura at the last second before it engulfed the Demon, which would have reduced him into nothing but blood.

"Tch! Count yourself lucky that I am in a good mood!" Albert said in his usual calm, gentle voice as if his previous anger had been fake. 

The Demon lowered his head. Internally, he was thankful that he wasn't killed outright right for his disrespect.

'To be able to control his emotions that well. No wonder his evil nature has never been discovered until recently.' Evangeline was shocked. Not many could control their emotions like how Albert had just done. Evangeline knew that even with her millennia of experience, she could not replicate that level of emotional control.

It was beyond frightening.

"Do you know how long I have waited for this?" Albert inquired.

The Demon gulped nervously, with his head still lowered; he responded in the utmost respectful tone of voice that he could muster, "For far too long. Longer than your faithful subordinate has been alive for."

Albert nodded, pleased by his subordinate's submissive tone and actions.

Evangeline watched as Albert closed his eyes before silence reined in the room.

Even after a minute, Albert kept his eyes closed as if he had fallen asleep, but Evangeline knew that was not the case. From his breathing and Mana fluctuations traveling toward his brain, Evangeline knew he was thinking.

'Soon, my millennia-long plan will finally come to fruition.' His neutral face then changed into a mocking smirk, 'I can't wait to see your face when you see the family you hold so dear lifeless before your eyes.'

'Hahaha! Or should I tell him my true identity before I kill them one by one? Ahhh~ your nepotism would be your undoing. Who would have thought that the helpless little orphan that you rescued from the clutches of a Demon, then raised, and trained, was actually a spy in disguise.' 

He lifted his face toward the ceiling and cackled like a maniac at the thought of Vlad's expression when he learned of the truth, "HAHAHAHA"

Evangeline frowned.

'I've seen enough!'

Evangeline was beyond thankful she possessed the Unique Ability, Psychic Morality Insight; otherwise, she would have never known what Albert was thinking even if she discovered this place in the past.

Suddenly, the world around Evangeline shattered, and she found herself back in the throne room.

—--------------

Ten minutes later, Evangeline finished retelling what she saw and heard from Alberts's memory.

"I understand." Vlad responded calmly without a hint of anger, surprising Evangeline.

'What happened to his anger? His killing intent? Those hate-filled eyes.' Evangeline was confused. She initially expected Vlad to fly into a rage and outright kill Albert. Yet, Vlad's response and his calm expression perplexed her.

*Crack Crack*

In the silent throne room, the cracking of wood was heard, prompting Evangeline to turn her attention to it, and then she realized, though Vlad seemed calm, that was not entirely true.

She watched as the throne's armrest broke into pieces from sheer physical strength. 

With the same expressionless face, Vlad inquired, "Will you be staying? If not, I would like some time alone." 

Evangeline shook her head, "I will not be staying. Now that I have learned the truth regarding the person who caused the Heavenly Tribulation, I must return and spread the word."

"That is good to hear." Vlad nodded, a fleeting smile gracing his lips before swiftly fading into a serious expression."I do not want my grandson to be falsely accused."

"You can rest assured, Your Majesty. I will be sure to spread the word. No one will falsely accuse your grandson." Evangeline said in a serious tone. 

She was overjoyed the baby was not a Forbidden Existence. As for Albert? She couldn't care less. Albert becoming a Forbidden Existence was his choice. Had the baby been born an existence that defied the will of the Gods then she would be sad. As she previously said, babies were innocent. It was their parents, the environment, and many other factors that influenced them to go down a bad path.

Evangeline pointed at the grotesque form that used to be Albert and continued, "What about him?"

Vlad stared into Evangeline's emerald-green eyes for a few seconds.

"He will stay here." His face and voice were emotionless, but Evangeline could tell that Vlad would not let her take Albert away no matter what. In terms of strength, Vlad was leagues above her, so using force was impossible. If possible, she wanted to bring Albert back to the territory of the Angels and then hold an execution date. She was sure many inhabitants of the world would come in droves upon hearing the news. Now, it seemed that would be impossible.

*Sigh*

Evangeline tiredly sighed. Even so, she needed an adequate answer as to why Vlad wanted to keep Albert. If the reason was not good enough, she still had a trump card. Before leaving Celestia Empire, she was given an Artifact that could protect her and teleport her back to the Empire just in case Vlad tried something. Being one of the seven Heavenly Virtues meant her life was extremely important. 

That being said, she would rather not fight Vlad… no, she knew it would not even be called a fight. It would be a one-sided massacre. Offending Vlad, especially now that she knew he was not just a Royal Vampire, but a Vampiric Dragon, was foolish. 

Evangeline sighed once more, "I'm afraid I can not leave Albert here. I have to take him away."

Vlad narrowed his eyes, and his pressure slowly started to leak in the throne room, "Do you think you are capable of taking him away from me?"

*Crack Crack*

The second armrest of his throne shattered into fragments of wood.

"No." Evangeline shook her head. She already had a compromise in mind. "I am not foolish. I know perfectly well that I am incapable of taking Albert away. Even so, I need an explanation to give the world regarding Albert's whereabouts."

Vlad smirked after hearing what Evangeline said, "Let me ask you is death an adequate punishment for Alberts betrayal?"

"No." Evangeline said while shaking her head. Internally, she was confused.

Without caring for Evangeline's confusion, Vlad continued, "Is death an adequate punishment for intending to harm my family?"

*Crack Crack*

With each word that Vlad spoke, more of the throne cracked before exploding into pieces.

"No." Evangeline started to understand why Vlad wanted to keep Albert. What he said next confirmed her suspicion.

"He will spend his eternal life in the deepest layer of my prison, suffering untold torture for his transgressions."

Evangeline's eyes widened, and her body shook in fright

"Will that be enough of an explanation?" Vlad questioned while now standing up.

Evangeline slowly nodded. She was well aware of the Alucard Kingdom's Nine Layers of Hell. It was a place that perfectly represented Hell. She was sure once the inhabitants of the world learned what happened to Albert, they would be more than satisfied, overjoyed even. A celebration might even occur.