The Roar Of A Dragon

*ROOOOAAAAR* 

A Draconic Roar erupted from Vlad's mouth, sending shockwaves throughout the castle and in the process, destroying Evangeline's Memory Body.

*Crack Crack*

Like the shattering of a mirror, the world shattered into pieces.

Soon, Evangeline found herself back in reality, yet she was not in the right state to care about Vlad's memory being destroyed.

"ARGH!" Evangeline screamed in pain, her hands immediately covering her ears to soothe the pain. Although she felt a stabbing pain akin to a dagger repeatedly stabbing her ears, she did not panic and quickly concentrated. With a thought, she mobilized the Holy Element from her Soul Core to spread throughout her body.

'Celestial Mend!'

Suddenly, her entire body glowed resplendently white as a result of the Skill, yet the Dragons Roar continued inflicting her with pain. The roar of a Dragon was too powerful. Her ears were not that sensitive; however, the roar of a Dragon could even cause a deaf person to feel excruciating pain.

Once a Dragon Roars, it would inflict waves of pain on anyone unlucky enough to hear it. Depending on the Rank of the Dragon and the one inflicted by its Roar, the effects could even last forever.

… No, the Dragon's Roar would either kill them or they might even end their own lives to save themselves from becoming mindless idiots. That was one of the many reasons why the Dragon Race was so feared. The Dragon's Roar Vlad had unleashed was not even a Bloodline Ability nor was it a Skill. Yet. that simple roar had reduced her to a weakling. However, if Vlad were to unleash a roar now that she was no longer in her Memory Body, it would be almost useless. She had been careless.

The advisors and Royal Guards were none the wiser about why Evangeline was screaming in pain. They panicked thinking they were being attacked.

"There are assassins! Quickly protect His Majesty and the advisors." A tall, blue-haired middle-aged man ordered.

"Yes, captain." The Royal Guards yelled in unison, quickly following orders.

The Royal Guards rushed out from where they hid and used their bodies to form a circle around the King and the advisors.

A deadly silence ensued in the Throne Room except for the agony-filled screams of Evangeline as the Royal Guards vigilantly looked around for any intruders. 

The advisors shivered in fear, thankful that they were being protected by the Royal Guards. If assassins managed to infiltrate the Royal Castle then they were Beings who could easily take their lives.

Vlad raised an eyebrow, and his other hand, which was not supporting his chin, started massaging his forehead.

"Captain, what about Lady Evangeline? If she gets hurt in the Royal Castle, it would be disastrous for our Kingdom." A 15-year-old black-haired man asked worriedly. Just thinking about the consequences caused him and the others who heard what the new recruit said to be filled with fear. The Seraphims were too important to the inhabitants of the world of Arcadia. Their heads would fly if something happened to one of the seven Seraphims. 

Without waiting a second longer, the blue-haired middle-aged man with his sword drawn rushed over to the Seraphim, ready to protect her like a knight in shining armor.

Unfortunately, he was no knight in shining armor. To Vlad, he was an idiot who somehow obtained the position of Captain.

*Sigh*

Vlad sighed tiredly. He wondered how these men and women became his Royal Guards. Who was so incompetent as to recruit them?

As chaos ensued in the Throne Room, Evangeline continued to feel the waves of pain from the Draconic Roar crash down on her. The sound seemed to reverberate through her entire being, threatening to overwhelm her. Her ears bled, and her hands remained cupped against her ears as her voice filled with agony echoed off the walls of the Throne Room.

The agony-filled screams caused the advisors and even the battle-hardened Royal Guards to be scared for their lives. Not just anyone could cause a Seraphim to scream in pain as if she was being skinned alive.

While the Royal Guards and advisors remained vigilant of their surroundings, Evangeline continued to scream in pain. Vlad watched them in silence from upon his throne.

A minute later, Evangeline's screams died down and only silence remained until it was broken by Vlad.

"Count yourself lucky that I am more benevolent than others." Vlad's face and voice turned icy-cold as he looked at Evangeline, "Had it been anyone else they would not have shown leniency."

Evangeline gulped, understanding what King Vlad meant. Despite using her Holy Magic, she could not eliminate the Dragon's Roar. Vlad was just too strong. 

Most Beings, if not all, who were similar in Rank to King Vlad would not tolerate their memories being seen. A person's memory hid their deepest secrets. Secrets that they would not want others to know. Yet, just now, she intruded upon one of, if not the greatest secret of King Vlad.

The more Evangeline sank into thought, the more her worries increased. Worried that she might be silenced to keep the secret that King Vlad was a Vampiric Dragon. 

While bowing slightly, she chose her words carefully, "Your Majesty, please forgive me for what happened. My intentions to… were different." She spoke cryptically because, from the scared expressions plastered on the Royal Guards and advisors' faces, she understood they were unaware of what just transpired. Although she spent over five minutes viewing King Vlad's memories, only a few seconds had passed in reality. Which was too short for anyone besides King Vlad to notice something was wrong with her.

Vlad understood the Seraphim's worries, yet did not care for her apology. With the same cold voice, he continued, "Let that be a warning. Although I prefer to maintain a friendly relationship with the Angels, that does not mean I fear your Race."

Evangeline nodded like a chick pecking at rice.

The Royal Guards and the advisors were confused by what was happening. However, after connecting the dots, they realized the Seraphim might have tried to do something against their King.

Their eyes narrowed as fury began to bubble within them.

"Enough! You lot, get out of my castle!" Before they could take a step toward Evangeline, the floor beneath their feet turned viscous red, twisting and turning before engulfing them and pulling them down.

"Ahhhh!" The Royal Guards and advisors screamed as they fell.

Suddenly, the floor that had turned viscous red underneath where they once stood returned back to its former form as if it never changed.

Soon, silence dominated the castle as Vlad stared into the panicking eyes of Evangeline.

*Gulp*

Due to the silence, an audible gulp reverberated in the Throne Room,

Evangeline began panicking. 

'Why did he send his Royal Guards and advisors away…?' Evagenline's eyes widened as she thought of a possibility, 'Is he going to kill me? But… news will still leak… unless he killed them too.' She mused. Worry and dread began to consume her once-rational mind. She looked around and realized there was nowhere to run.

Vlad shook his head and coldly remarked, "Despite being so powerful and millennia-old with vast amounts of experience, your mentality is still like that of a child. "

Vlad looked at her appearance, which was that of a teenager, and continued, "Maybe your appearance affects your mentality?" He was unsure but felt it to be accurate. Evangeline's predecessor had also remained quite childlike until…

'Haah… if only I wasn't so foolish back then.' He stopped thinking, shaking his head to remove those thoughts.

"Humph!" Evangeline pouted with her hands on her hips. "My mentality is not child-like! I'm perfectly normal." Even though she said that her voice gradually softened until it became a whisper. She did not even believe herself, causing her face to turn a shade redder due to embarrassment. 

"Sure, sure, do not worry, Lady Evangeline, I believe you." Vlad nodded a few times and spoke in a way as if he were pacifying a child. And truthfully speaking, with his age, Evangeline was a child to him, despite her age, being over 1,000 years.

Evangeline gritted her teeth. She obviously understood she was being teased, but decided to remain tight-lipped.

"Now then, shall we get back to what really matters?" Vlad inquired in a voice even colder than before. 

Evangeline gulped and nodded. Vlad's eyes held so much hatred and killing intent.

Slowly, her eyes shifted to beside the throne where a limbless, bloodied figure lay. A person who should have died days ago, yet still lived because of his Race's characteristic of Immortality.

Swift Sword, Albert Alucard. The man who was hailed as a war hero by many around the world.

*Flap, Flap, Flap*

The sound of wings flapping was heard in the silent throne room as Evangeline flew over to where the limbless, bloodied figure lay.

With each flap of her wing, her hatred and killing intent soared.

She wanted nothing more than to end the abomination, yet understood that Vlad most likely wished to torture him for eternity. 

'To think that Immortality that is envied by all, would one day be cause of pain and suffering.' She was delighted that Albert… no, this thing would suffer for all eternity.

In less than a second she arrived hovering above the grotesque form Albert was now in and reached her hand out toward his unrecognizable caved-in forehead.

Normally, she would have been disgusted having to touch him; however, she had her responsibilities she needed to deal with first.

Instead of stopping Evangeline, Vlad continued to watch silently. He wanted to know Albert's secret. To know why he betrayed him. Most importantly, he wanted his grandson's innocence to be restored. That was why he asked for the Heavenly Virtue of Purity to be here. Because the Heavenly Punishment began above his Kingdom, his words would be ignored.