Chapter 28

Vali's side:

"HAVE YOU FOUND ANYTHING ON YOUR SIDE?!"

"NO ITS ANOTHER DEAD END!"

"AH COME ON! THIS IS LIKE THE FIFTH TIME WE-hold on….. OH, MOTHERFUCKER! JUST WHEN I THOUGHT I FOUND SOMETHING!"

Perhaps one needs a bit of context to this scene, and if so then look at the last section of the previous chapter where Vali and Krul had been lamenting the following puzzle-solving shit they would have had to do if they wanted to proceed. These feelings had been mirrored by the other Revenants too, especially when one considered the size of this massive city-like place. Also, nobody knew what kind of traps and foes they could encounter here either, so that was another minus. In order to make things at least a little easier, Louis had decided for the group to go in separate smaller groups, reasoning that this place would be large enough that they would probably get lost in it pretty easily. Vali had even tried to scout things out from the air, only for that to fail spectacularly as, even while flying, this place remained as a grand castle in which one couldn't find the place's source. Kind of like in a game, where some players tried to cheat by flying up into the air to try and find the exit of the maze so game developers had to make a new type of level where this couldn't be feasible.

As such, the groups had been split into the following: Vali with Mia, Yakumo with Louis, and Krul is alone as she flew up the air, trying to find the source where she might be able to find it, so far….. It's been 2 days since they have been exploring and not ONCE have they came close to finding anything useful here.

At this, as one might expect Vali had gotten close to exploding and had been wrestling with his desire to destroy this entire area. However, like previously mentioned he'd been fighting that urge since that would mean destroying the potential source and maybe the Mascot too. However, like everything in the world, he had his limits.

Limits which he slowly felt like he was reaching at the moment after finding yet another dead end, him and Mia being located within one of the MANY towers this place had.

"GRRRRRHHHHH I'M CLOSE TO BLOW THIS FUCKING CASTLE TO BITS!"

"YOUR NOT THE ONLY ONE VALI!"

The sound of the former Vampire Queen's voice rung out as Krul flew in from the entrance that the two had used, Mia keeping quiet for fear of having Vali's rage directed at her since he looked COMPLETELY red right now. Meanwhile, Vali whirled on her as she landed and retracted her wings into herself. "KRUL! WHY THE FUCK DID YOUR FAMILY HAVE TO MAKE THIS KIND OF MAZE!?"

"I DON'T KNOW! AT FIRST, IT WAS TO PROTECT OUR CIVILIZATION, BUT NOWADAYS IT'S LIKE THEY USE THESE TO PRANK OTHERS AND WATCH THEM STRUGGLE!"

"REALLY KRUL?! AND I THOUGHT OTHER RACES WEREN'T SO TROUBLESOME!"

This heated exchange between the two soon ended with Vali and Krul panting heavily, their frustrations vented leaving them feeling like they could sleep for a week if they got the chance. Seeing that the danger of being pierced or slashed at by the two had passed, Mia finally allowed herself the opportunity to sigh. "Hhhaaaaa you know, I'm starting to think this whole castle is one big prank Vali." she remarked, internally feeling similar sensations of anger to the two though she had a better lid on her emotions.

Glancing on over at her and seeing that she had been keeping a cool head too, Vali took a few deep breaths to quell the raging flames within his heart, a pang of guilt erupting inside him for acting this way in front of his companion who had been keeping a level head this whole time. Internally, he felt like a bit of an idiot for ranting like a brat, but he instead focused on what she had said… and found that he agreed with her. "I'm wondering the same thing too Mia, we've walked around this place back and forth, we unexpectedly grouped up four times in a row, and we've been ambushed by Lost more times than I care to mention. If this place doesn't have the source, I'm sending this whole thing down to the abyss." he stated, and with the tone that he used both girls could tell that he meant it.

"And I'll look forward to this, it's a good thing you have blood beads with you or else we would be low on blood, why do you keep them if your human Vali?"

"Because one, since this whole place is filled with starved revenants you might not know when you need it, and second of all I don't want other revenants like you no offense drinking my blood as well."

"None taken and good point Vali…. You know can I ask you something Vali?"

"Yeah what is it?"

"... is it true you're from outside of the mist?"

"You're not the first one to ask so yeah I am."

"Then can you te-"

"AHHHH A GREATER LOST! THIS JUST KEEP GETTING BETTER AND BETTER!"

"DON'T WORRY YAKUMO, THIS IS NOT THE FIRST ONE WE'VE FACED BEFORE!"

"... I'm this close to destroying this whole thing down to the ground."

"Me to… wait what is that?"

"This better not be…. Well, would you look at that?"

Mia pointed at a tower which had stairs on it, but also some kind of barrier which the group can see except for Yakumo and Louis as they fought another Greater Lost. "Well… looks like we've found the main entrance finally."

"Ahhh thank god, my legs are almost killing me."

"Krul."

"Already got it."

Krul used her wings as she flew to where Louis and Yakumo were. Upon her arrival, she saw how they had managed to defeat their opponent with their usual teamwork and strategy. Thus, she quickly scooped them up and flew back to her other companions (much to the dismay of her passengers).

Meanwhile, Vali grabbed Mia by her waist and pulled her close, causing her to squeak in surprise before he summoned his Divine Dividing and flew to where the barrier was located, landing in front of it before he let go of her. "Please don't do that again unless you tell me."

"Uh huh."

After Vali gave his usual comment to well, pretty much ANYONE's reaction to being suddenly plucked like that, Krul arrived as she got Yakumo and Louis before she dropped them and then landed beside the silver haired half Devil. Once they all got their bearings again, the group looked forth and saw the Barrier, one of the BIGGEST leads to the source that they had found in the last 2 days.

Yakumo pretty much swooned like an angel. "Oh thank all that is divine we finally found it!" he proclaimed with waterfall tears in his eyes.

Louis however, just had the kind of look that a war veteran would have after fighting thousands of battles back to back. "We are never coming here again, ever." He stated with a tone of finality.

Something which Vali nodded his head in agreement with. "Agreed Louis." he stated.

With this done, the group proceeded forth though the stairs before they reached an area close to the Castle's entrance. Though, they got halted by a sight which caused them to gape with surprise:

A silver haired girl with red eyes, similarly dressed to a certain someone who they knew back at their hideout. "What the…...Io?" Vali muttered in shock.

"No… someone else." Yakumo said as she started to walk to them as she held a vestige before she stopped by Krul.

Looking into her eyes however, something seemed to click within the girl as she then directed her full attention towards the former Vampire Queen, seemingly forgetting about the rest of the group. "Memory is what binds the very essence of one self's together. If you gather the fragments of blood code, you can stitch them together with threads of memory… Please….. I beg you, I beseech you…. Use your power…. To release them." She spoke in a pleading tone, the kind of tone which made it difficult for one to refuse even if they had no clue as to what had been going on nor the situation's context. She gave the Vestige to Krul who stared down at it before she took it and put it in her storage for later. Once this had happened, the Io look-alike then dropped to the ground in a prayer motion.

They walked to the gate as it was at the barrier. Yakumo tried to open it but it didn't budge. Vali walked to the barrier as he infused his demonic power on his fist before he punched it. At first, it didn't do anything, prompting Vali to rear his fist back again this time with a strong silver glow to it... but then, a crack came from the area which Vali punched at. In the following seconds, it spread across the door and the whole thing just collapsed, prompting Vali to smirk at this before the rest of them entered the building.

After they entered, the group walked through what looked like a massive hallway with a wide open space in the middle, and a bunch of pillars, the walls sporting all kinds of different drawings. Although the whole place looked rather nice, with a bit of an angelic feel to it, the group felt way too pissed off thanks to their previous wild goose chase to get here as well as too focused on their objective to notice.

Though, the same could NOT be said for what they saw in front of them.

'... what the fuck? I have ZERO idea what this thing is…' Vali thought as they beheld one of the most… bizarre things that he had ever seen, and he had been on a LOT of adventures which allowed him to witness all kinds of creatures. This one… it LOOKED to be part woman and part canine, since it had the lower body of a woman which lay on its back, judging by the positioning of the rear legs, but then close to the torso, the body of a canine could be seen protruding out from the torso's front in a really weird way, with 2 arms sprouting from either side making 4 in total that ended in long claws. The head looked like a canine too, with there being some kind of veil on top of its head that split in two whilst it flew down its mane.

Louis blinked at the sight of this beast, speaking in a confused and befuddled voice which also summarized everyone's thoughts aside from 'what the fuck?'. "Is this the Guardian of this place…?"

"Looks like some kind of Greater Lost…" Yakumo commented as the beast opened its eyes, since it had been sleeping previously, upon sniffing and picking up their scents. It then gave a loud and angry roar, glaring with bloodlust as the body started to float, various sparks of energy forming on all four of its hands in a battle-ready manner.

Mia however, noticed something behind it as the beast moved, her eyes widening when she saw that it looked like a white door. "There's a Gate." she stated, pointing at it with her Bayonet-equipped rifle (Internally, Vali recalled her naming it 'Brodiaea' one time when he'd overheard one of her conversations with the other revenants, with Louis referring to his Longsword as 'Enduring Crimson' and Yakumo referring to his Greatsword as 'Oni Bane'. To this day, Vali had no clue where they got those names from, though.).

"Then let's get us through this." Krul stated as she held her Dragonslayer at the ready whilst Vali deployed his Balance Breaker as well as two MSs. The former Vampire Queen scowled at her enemy as she summoned her own wings for use in taking to the skies at the slightest provocation. "This fucker's looking like it's ready to blast us to bits."

"Don't gotta tell us twice, girlie."

After Yakumo said this, the Beast burst into action, its hands being engulfed by this purple smoke which crackled with electricity. It put those hands together in front of it, the lower pair coming together whilst the upper pair did the same, resulting in two large laserbeams made from electricity being launched at them.

Instantly, the group acted with Vali and Krul taking flight into the airspace above the creature, whilst Yakumo and Louis jumped in opposite directions. Mia meanwhile, quickly summoned her Tail and smashed it into the ground, treating it like it was a prehensile limb in order to launch herself into the air towards one of the pillars. There, she wrapped it around the pillar and used it as a means to keep herself in place whilst peppering its face with bullets.

Of course, the beast used two arms to block this while Vali and Krul quickly acted, swooping down like aircraft surrounding a battleship and beginning to launch their own assault on both sides of its body. Though, it only took them a couple swings to realize one problem with this tactic, one which Vali vocalized to the rest of them. "Shit, looks like this fuckhead's got tough skin…" he yelled, noticing how little damage his MSs and Krul's Dragonslayer were doing to the beast's sides.

"Look out guys, its about to get fired up!"

Yakumo's callout quickly alerted them to the sight of its whole body beginning to glow alight with fiery energy, energy which heated up the atmosphere around it (as well as the two aerial fighters by extension), ringing multiple alarm bells in their minds.

Krul responded before Vali this time, letting out a rushed "Oh shit!" before quickly flying backwards which Vali mimicked by flying backwards in the opposite direction whilst letting a curse of his own out.

FWOOOOSH!

Good thing they did, for the second that they left its strike range, the Greater Lost howled as it reared its head back, throwing its arms to the sides while unleashing an explosive burst of flames all around it. Although this didn't serve as just an AOE attack as the Beast also vanished into thin air, reappearing on the opposite side of the Hallway in front of the entrance they had used.

Over in his hiding spot, Yakumo grimaced upon seeing this. "So, this thing can teleport too? Never liked dealing with those pests…" he muttered.

"Less talk, more fighting Yakumo!" Louis called out as he emerged from his hiding spot behind the pillar opposite to the one Yakumo had been hiding behind. The very same one which Mia currently resided on. "I'll take point, you follow me through!"

"ROGER!"

With that yell as a confirmation, Louis vanished into that red mist, reappearing in front of the Beast's face and swinging multiple times with his Enduring Rain across its snout. These slashes didn't go too deep however, an unfortunate result which also added to the Beast's annoyance which ended with it smacking him out of the air like it was swatting a fly. Fortunately for him though, Krul managed to scoop him up in one arm and then toss him into the air, allowing him to flip about and land safely on the ground, sliding across it to a halt… Only to start diverolling so he could keep his skin from being roasted by the mix of Fireballs and electrical discharges that the Greater Lost summoned from either the ground or its hands. "Bit of a scorching situation we got down here…" Louis muttered during all this.

Yakumo didn't let this be for long though, as after he noticed Vali and Krul take the Beast's attention away from Louis by slamming into its sides again, the former adding in some MZ-Enhanced MRs to the mix while the latter simply put more power into her swings to increase the damage she dealt, Yakumo simply jumped at the Beast's top right hand and smashed his Oni Bane on top of it, hoping to slice it clean in two. Instead however, all he got had been a simple yet deep gash along its palm since the Greater Lost had twisted its hand to aim its palm at him and block at the last second.

Didn't mean this didn't piss the Beast off though, as it instead swiped at Yakumo with its lower left claw to try and turn him into minced Revenant, only for him to angle Oni Bane in a way which blocked the strike from connecting with his flesh and instead send him backwards. Unlike Louis however, he didn't need rescuing as he instead let himself fall to the ground and stabbed Oni Bane into it, using it to halt his motions in time for the sounds of bullet fire to ring out through his ears.

Sounds which originated from Mia's Brodiaea as she got the idea that Yakumo had been going for, switching her targets from its face to its hands in an attempt to keep the Greater Lost busy while Vali and Krul peppered it with strikes from above. Each bullet slammed into different hands as the Greater Lost growled in anger at Mia's actions, not liking how she had been interrupting its attacks against the pests who invaded its territory…

So once again, it conjured that eruption of flames and Teleported back to its original position, launching an increased amount of fireballs at the group including Mia herself.

"Oh, shit!" The said girl cursed as she dropped to the ground right before the Fireballs launched at her could hit, causing the pillar where she had been before to explode in her wake. She landed on the ground and rolled across it, avoiding not only more fireballs but also bits of debris born from the pillar's explosion which had been the size of her entire torso. Really, what was with this fight and torsos? Part of her did wonder about that, but she focused on the battle shortly afterwards.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

Fireballs detonated around the group, mixed with sparks born from electrical discharges which sought to roast those that they touched into scorched soot. Not something any of the group wanted, though that didn't mean much in the following seconds.

BOOM-BOOM!

"Gyaaaaa!"

That cry belonged to Yakumo, who became the first to get hit by a couple Fireballs that had hit him when he'd dodged one particularly close electrical discharge, which caused him to cry out in pain as he got sent crashing into a wall.

"Yakumo!" Louis called out, only to curse when he got prevented from checking in on his longtime friend's condition thanks to a rain of fireballs.

Fortunately, Vali managed to distract it by activating his MZ and creating a bunch of MBs, tossing them at the enemy and, in a form of sweet karma, saw them slam into its body in multiple different spots. "Hah, take that bitch!" the silver haired half Devil exclaimed, laughing as he provided further damage by shooting through the air and flipping forwards, bringing his heel down on its snout and SMACKING it into the ground in front of it before using the momentum to follow up with another downward kick and, after that second kick hit, used the snout as a springboard to bounce back to Krul's side in the airspace.

The Greater Lost howled in agony in response to this attack, as well as fury as it egan charging up an electrical laser again, only for Mia to put an end to this by striking right at one of its eyes with a few rounds from her Brodiaea, causing it to howl at higher intervals thanks to that eye now being no longer useable. At least for the time being, the female Revenant felt since she, back when she had been with her brother (Mia ignored the pang of pain in her heart internally referring to her brother invoked in her) she had seen how powerful a Lost's healing ability could be.

Though, it turned out that Vali didn't want to wait around for that to happen as he quickly raised a hand up to the airspace above, a large magic circle forming above the Greater Lost… before he brought it down and enveloped the beast within a large single MR. An MR which caused it to scream out in a manner almost reminiscent to a woman being burned alive, before the attack ceased once the 4 minute mark had passed, leaving the Greater Lost to fall to the ground, looking to be defeated.

"Ha…..ha…...ha… damn….. This one is the most unusual Lost I have ever seen..."

"What makes you say that?"

"This lost isn't like th-what?" Louis stopped mid-speech when he saw some kind of orange mist floating around as if waiting for something.

"What the hell is this Louis?"

The researcher shook his head at Krul's question. "I don't know, but it's a fact that the body is still lingering around here. Or maybe….something in this place is keeping it here." Louis said as Vali and the others were surprised at it before they saw that on the spot where the greater lost was killed formed aura that was circling around before out came a giant vestige.

"A Vestige? But look at the size of it!"

Then the mist goes to the Vestige which Krul saw before she widened her eyes as she thinks something happened before she quickly went to the vestige and put her hand on it.

"GAAAAHHH!"

"Krul! Let go of it! It'll consume you!"

"Grrrrrr you think….. You can dominate me?!... the Queen of the vampires?! KNOW YOUR PLACE!"

Krul yelled as her eyes turned blue as she was controlling the Vestige before the area around them blinded them.

Later

Vali brought his eyes down before he saw that they were on top of something which, thanks to this vantage point, they can see the cathedral top down below them. "Ah… looks like we're in another one of those Memory fragments." he stated once he recognized the familiar surroundings.

"Seems to be the case. Guess that while that Vestige may have looked different, it still had the same properties as a normal one. Anyways, let's check it out guys." Yakumo said as they all went down the stairs before at the side shows a statue of a man as he crossed his arms.

Krul tilted her head in confusion. "Who is this guy?" She questioned, from what she could tell this person seemed to be someone important given how well-dressed his statue looked to be. Odds were, he likely was someone who had considerable power and influence.

Yakumo's eyes narrowed following Krul's question. "Silva….. But how?" he wondered, and judging by his cautious yet hostile tone one didn't need to be a big brained intelectual to see how Yakumo felt about the man.

Meanwhile, Vali looked at the statue of the man, running his gaze up and down his form. He hadn't really been holding any expectations since he'd been busy thinking of the overall situation and reminiscing his time with the girls (whom he missed dearly), but what he saw before him spoke volumes about this guy's character. "So this guy is Silva huh?"

"We will divide the body of the Queen into relics, which we will then seal into the successors. This will keep them separate and safe."

Now THAT caused the half Devil to frown, several terms in that sentence this strange voice had said catching his attention. "Huh? Body of the queen? What is he saying?"

"I don't know but more answers will show us Vali." Louis said as he had some kind of feeling about the queen before they continued to descend down the stairs. Not long afterwards, another sight got presented before them, one which showed a woman as her arms were spread.

"Are you insane? Just shove that devil into a blast furnace already!"

"Ok this is becoming serious, what are they talking about, the queen or her no offense?" Yakumo questioned, frowning as he glanced on over to Krul, whom he still wondered about what she had mentioned about being the 'Queen of the Vampires' earlier. He hadn't mentioned it though in preference of getting this stuff sorted first, and his instincts told him that the others (save for Vali who looked nonchalant about his question) felt the same way.

All the while, Krul shook her head. Internally, she could tell that Yakumo had heard her words which basically confirmed to her that the others had too. She didn't like that, but the time for answers felt like it was coming up soon, so she'll at least get some of her questions answered in exchange. "None taken Yakumo, but if they WERE behind my imprisonment, then they WILL count their days." she stated, growling darkly.

Something which sent chills down Yakumo's spine for more than one reason. "(SHUDDER) got it Krul."

They went down the stairs before another showed the woman and the man Silva.

"Aurora Valentino…. We already attempted that."

"But that doesn't mean…."

Hearing the word 'Aurora' sent waves of caution and shock throughout the group, especially the two male Revenants in their ranks as Yakumo glanced at their resident researcher. "Aurora….. Could that mean-"

Lous didn't answer him as he looked too lost in thought to do so, meanwhile Vali glanced over at his royal vampiric companion with an eyebrow arched. "Already attempted that? Uhhhh, Krul?"

The aforementioned former Vampire Queen shook her head at the look that her rescuer had given her. "No, it didn't happen to me Vali, if what they say confirms that they might be talking about the previous queen….. Or the one which the Revenants hunted back during this 'great collapse' incident."

Vali was silent before they continued to descend down the stairs, they were getting close to the bottom as they could see they were almost to the cathedral before another showed that she was talking to the hunter.

"Your compatibility means that you would have to stay in a crypt forever. Are you sure you're willingly to do that?"

"I have no interest in living a false life. Whatever the torment, I can bear it. If it means helping her, then I must."

This time the whole group was silent as they were trying to process the whale thing. Who is it that this person was trying to help? Why were they talking about the Queen? More importantly, which Queen were they referring to? Odds were it had to be the one which caused the Great Collapse beforehand, but the silent revelation of Krul being the Queen of the Vampires remained a forefront part of their thoughts.

As they once again resumed their descent, Aurora's voice began speaking out loud.

"I am prepared. And I shall remain ever at the ready. As long as there are still people who I would die to defend. So please…..rest easy Karen."

THAT name caused the group to collectively go slack-jawed, ESPECIALLY Louis who muttered that name under his breath. "Karen?... Could it be?" he wondered, his eyes the size of dots.

"We don't know about that for sure, Louis… unless the proof is in front of our eyes." Yakumo reminded him as there are many people whose name was Karen.

Louis just hoped it wasn't the one HE knew, considering the implications.

Finally the group arrived at the bottom of the stairs, and thus walked a short distance till they arrived at a large, cathedral-like area. When they began to walk to it, the doors opened automatically, revealing a person standing close to the doors with their back facing them. "I'll be honest… I never expected to see you again like this." She turned around, she was the person who they saw in the memory: Aurora Valentino. "It's been a long time, Louis."

"Aurora…...Aurora is that you? What are you doing here?" The Revenant researcher questioned in disbelief, various memories flowing through his mind as he took a few steps forwards, standing out as the leader of the group.

Something which the woman before them didn't pay much heed to as she instead prioritized answering the question aimed at her. "The answer was inside that memory." She replied, but that only confused them further.

This time, Krul decided to step forwards, sensing that this woman had the answers that they sought. Louis tried to stop her, but halted at the last second since he figured that she was finally given the chance to inquire as to her connection to all of this. Something he and the rest of them (including Vali this time) were ALSO interested in knowing. "What do you mean Valentino?" she questioned cautiously.

At this, Aurora glanced over at her, and her eyes INSTANTLY widened with recognition which had been something which stunned those who knew her. Those being Louis and Yakumo, whose shock grew further when the scientist spoke again but with a more reserved yet reverent tont to her voice. "And here, I never expected a real Vampire Queen to be here. Guess karma is really coming back." she mused, a bitter chuckle escaping her being.

THAT caused Vali to narrow his eyes, suspicions creeping into his mind while various ideas formed within the back of his consciousness. "Karma… you know about the vampires, don't you Valentino?" He questioned slowly, drawing the woman's gaze to him.

Her eyes pretty much answered that question for him, but nonetheless she confirmed it vocally while directing her gaze back to the stern-looking former Vampire Queen. "Yes, and you're wondering why they have a connection to you, aren't you your highness?"

Krul's answer had to be the bluntest one possible, as well as felt like an outright demand at this point. "Answer me, mortal."

"... In truth, after the incident when you were locked away, we had peace for about 50 years, before Ferid Bathory proved to be an unworthy leader. Not only did he have uncontrollable 'eccentricities', but he also slaughtered an entire village for the human blood, thinking that his kind was invincible, to the point where he believed that they could take a CPU. As I'm sure you're aware if you've reached this point, Lady White Heart provided swift retribution when she destroyed the whole Vampire Race and the reason why I know? Because I was the one who brought her there." she explained.

Louis and the Revenants became slack-jawed at that revelation, not having heard of this before while Krul and Vali narrowed their eyes into slits at the scientist woman. Said woman simply clenched her fists within the pockets of her white lab coat, she may not be showing it at the moment but out of the entire group, talking to that strange boy as WELL as the former Vampire Queen she had only heard about, it drove her mad with nervousness. That didn't take into account the stuff she had yet to reveal to them, and given the way Krul looked at her she believed that the outcome won't be very positive. "But there's some things which you probably won't know. One of them being that after that attack, there were some vampires that remained alive."

"Alive?!" Krul exclaimed, now joining the others in being slack jawed.

Aurora nodded her head in agreement. "Yes, they escaped from her wrath and hid on an island where she couldn't find them and thought all of them were extinct. There was a problem though."

At this point, Krul began to suspect what that problem was, her mind running through multiple theories about likely scenarios, an experience which came from her time as the ruler of her kind. "And that is?" she questioned further.

"They couldn't reproduce since there were no female vampires. Only males."

"I see." Yeah, that had been one of the things which Krul had thing about Vampire society was that, like Beastmen, they held great pride and reverence towards 'strength'. The stronger the Vampire was, the more varied their prospects were in their society. Females would be drawn to powerful males and then would mate with them to produce powerful offspring alongside an equally powerful family. Sometimes if the male had been strong enough a family multiple mates could come about, with the opposite being true also where a single powerful female could attract multiple males wanting to mate with her. It was a bit of an equal opportunity in that way, but the bottom line here was that female and male Vampires held themselves to a high standard.

As such, if the majority of them fought against White Heart yet some escaped, then she could guess that they would have been male ones since close to the end of Krul's reign, a curse which she called 'cowardice' started growing within her kind. A curse which came as a result of being so overconfident in their power that the possibility of actually being killed by an enemy who proved superior practically terrified them. This happened more in the males than the females, probably due to how their society had been ruled by a Vampire Queen for centuries at that point.

Whilst Krul thought about this, Aurora continued with her explanation. "Siring Vampires from humans was out of the question, as that would just draw unnecessary attention to themselves that they, scarred by the wrath of Lady White Heart, were unwilling to invoke once again. Therefore, they gathered some scientists to help them solve the problem with reproduction and the declining of the vampires, so that they won't be extinct completely. the result was the production of the Revenants, a process done through infusing what was called a 'BOR Parasite' into dead bodies."

"So that's why I could feel that their essence was partially vampiric…. But that doesn't answer my question."

The scientist nodded her head. "I know, but with the increase of the revenants the vampires realized they needed a leader who could control them but all of them were not in the necessary position to do so. Neither could they rescue you, which proved to have been their biggest regret. Therefore, they started on a new project, one called Queen. They thought they could make…. Another you." she finally stated, already predicting what would be the former Vampire Queen's response.

She wasn't disappointed.

"... another me?...ANOTHER ME?!" Krul, enraged, furiously yelled out as she grabbed her thought and slammed her at the wall.

Something which alarmed the rest of the group and filled them with horror over the woman's actions. "KRUL!" They exclaimed, especially Louis and Yakumo.

Krul ignored all of them though, her slitted eyes staring like two pits of flames in the inferno into the Scientist's own. "You people thought you could make another 'me'? The Original Queen of Vampires!? ONE WHO LED HER PEOPLE TO STRIVE?!"

"Yes."

"You and the vampires should have known of all people they cannot make another me: A Shinso vampire!" Krul downright ROARED, her volume so loud that if there were any glass around them then it would have shattered from the force. "You and those cowardly scumbags should have learned! Having multiple Shinsos around will prove to bring NOTHING but trouble! Trouble which can rival some of the greatest threats out there in the world!"

Now THIS caught Vali's attention while the Revenants struggled on what to do, especially if Krul attacked Aurora who seemed to be the only one who knew the truth about the Bloodsprings. However, since he had been privy to some norms and bits of history belonging to the Vampire culture, Vali could sense that there was much more to Krul's words just now than they appeared, though he sensed that he wasn't the only one judging by the look which Aurora gave the former Vampire Queen. "They knew, but still tried. At that point, they were desperate, your highness, to the point where they would break taboos and ignore lessons which they should have taken heed from. The result was, as you will have guessed by now, a complete disaster, instead we made something far worse. The queen."

At this, Vali arched his brow. "The Queen? Isn't she dead?" he questioned.

Glancing at him since her current position rendered her unable to do much else, Aurora barely managed to nod in his direction. "Maybe, but there's more to it. The Queen, she should've been no exception to the norms, her regeneration is on par with a Shinso's but more than that. An immortal among immortals. Even when reduced to ashes she can still regenerate."

"You created an abomination of me, something which shouldn't exist." Krul stated while looking at the scientist like she was looking at a sack of garbage.

"Indeed. Like I said, the queen's will to live is powerful, so powerful that we had to carve her body into pieces, pieces we call 'Relics', then seal them into Revenants who showed compatibility with them. We call those Revenants 'Successors' and I am one of them, the successor of the Ribcage. By doing so, the queen's menace faded and for a brief time there was peace. But we all knew the plan was desperate…. And flawed…. Even with the Relics locked away, the queens desire to live on couldn't be suppressed. The Relics soon began to corrode the bodies of the successor, causing them constant and terrible anguish. You have witnessed the end result: they're reduced to living as a Beast, devoid of all reason, seeking only to act on their basic instincts… and yet….. Your ability is what restored my sanity."

"Huh?"

"Your shinso blood's purity is great enough to quell the Relics at last. Please I beg you to relieve them of their suffering."

"Suffering….. Why would I even help all of you? You attempted to create a false queen to replace me. Why should I help you?"

"Please, I know it's our mistake to attempt to make another you, I will pay the price by offering you my life."

"Aurora!"

"... it's still not go-"

"We'll help."

"Vali?! What are you saying?"

"We already have one big problem. Besides, if this 'Queen' is still around, the Deity of Sin will find out, and I don't think I need to tell you what could happen on that front, do I?"

Krul was silent as she processed the information before she widened her eyes and gritted her teeth. "Gggggrrrrrr!... Fine but once we find the Mascot we are leaving!" She let go of Aurora and went to the side as she massaged her throat.

"Thank yo-"

"Don't thank me Valentino, I didn't do this for you. If the Deity of Sin were to know about the queen, then it will be harder to combat them."

"I see… the gate behind me leads to the crypt where the Successors rest. To reach the others, you will need to find these gates. I believe you can open it now. I will remain here, as I always have, to watch over and protect the path leading to the successor….. Alongside the Blood Bead flow."

"So, this really is the source."

"Yes, beyond the gate….. There rest the one who sheds tears of blood… take care of her Louis"

"Her? What do you mean?"

Before she could answer she started to turn into stone as she looked at it, before Aurora raised her head to look back at them. "If the resting Successors join the ranks of the lost, then the seal will break. The Relics will be released and the Queen will be reborn." She then looks at Krul as she still has her back turned to her. "And Krul… forgive us for attempting to make another you, I hope you would enjoy the new life given to you." Her final peace said, Aurora finally turned to stone completely.

As the noise settled down, Krul remained silent with her hair shadowing her eyes, before she proceeded to head on forth to the gate, being the first one to leave. Her heavy footsteps felt like they carried even MORE weight thanks to what had been revealed about her race so far.

Louis had been the first one to speak and break the awkwardness, although he didn't do so with much confidence as he watched the former Vampire Queen go. "It must've been hard for her to discover the truth about her race huh Vali?" he questioned, glancing towards the male.

Said half Devil shrugged his shoulders, although one look at his eyes and one could tell that he felt for Krul on some level. "I'm not surprised she's like this, I would be too if I were in her shoes. Imagine, you belong to a powerful species and, after they betrayed your trust, you discover that they tried to make another you, what would your reaction be?"

At this, Louis looked down towards the ground in front of his feet, trying to picture the scenario in his mind. He found it disturbingly easy, actually and that did MORE than unsettle him a little. "... I can see your point, honestly I would do the same thing." he admitted.

Unable to take being in this place any longer than necessary, the half Devil decided to bring this chat to a close. "Let's leave this place. I had enough of it." Vali said as he went to the gate as everyone followed them and the whole area became bright for anyone to see.

Many years into the future…

"So mom was angry at that time?"

Few kids were sitting around a small fire inside a nice-looking living room. Their faces were not shown but a few of them had silver hair, black or red hair. They each sat in front of a chair, where a man was sitting on a chair, looking over them. His face wasn't shown but his mouth was shown. "Of course, when she and I discovered the truth about her people of how they made the Revenants which I met and married some of them, son."

"Wow, it must've been hard on her, dad."

"Indeed son, let me tell you this: what happens if someone decides to make a clone of you and try to replace you, what would you do?"

The kid pondered a bit before saying in a confused tone to his father. "I….. I would get angry?"

"That's correct son but try imagining something which exploded a volcano."

"Holy shit mom was that angry?"

"Yup she was, weren't you?"

The man was facing the woman as her face didn't show but her mouth was seen as she crossed her arms and turned back at him. "Don't remind me."

"The point is there are some things that weren't supposed to be made or else there WILL be consequences."

"(SHUDDER)! Got it, dad!"

"Papa, what happened after that?"

"Oh! After we exit out of the memory point the relic revived Aurora which was a total surprise but she had her sanity, even though her monster form remained. Once again, she had said she was sorry for pushing the burden to Krul after learning all of this."

"What happened to mama?"

"Well I uhhhhh…. Crap, what happened next?."

"I'll take over."

"You sure about this?"

"Please I got over it, it's been many years you know."

"Alright, suit yourself."

"Where was I….. ah! It was at the time I ignored everything before I was….."

Back to the plot

Once she had left the memory, Krul wasted no time in finding a place of isolation to wait for the rest of her companions… as well as gather her thoughts and reeling emotions regarding what she had learned. The former Vampire Queen now stood behind at a pillar as she thought about everything she had been told.

She had a gut feeling that this had to be the case, as stupid and unpredictable as Ferid had been, she believed that there HAD to be some Vampires who would grow discontent with him enough to the point where they'd desert him at their race's final moments. Looked like her theory had been correct, Vampires really HAD been still alive after their supposed destruction by White Heart's hands. After evading her, they must have attempted to revive the Vampire race in a place untouched by Lady White Heart so she couldn't finish the job without going through Lady Black Heart first, but instead of their race's return those fools ended up making the Revenants, instead.

The Revenants Krul could deal with, because although they may not be true Vampires, with her past self likely looking down on them as scum or abominations that needed to be purged, her current self saw no reason to be like that towards them. Centuries inside that damn Dungeon had pretty much wiped out what arrogance she had back then, so she didn't see them as lowly as she would have in the past.

However, what she could NOT forgive those scumbags for, aside from them betraying and sealing her, was the fact that they had tried to make another 'her'.

Another Shinso Vampire.

Shinso Vampires, as previously mentioned, weren't the same as normal ones. One could call them the 'queens of the hive', the ultra rare cards, the elite among elites, all that stuff due to their bloodline being directly linked to that of their founder: Dracula. Or Alucard, as he once named himself but she'd rather not think of THAT time right now, lest she blow everything around her to smithereens. One could call them vampiric royalty even, and as such only those with the Shinso Bloodline had the right to rule over the race as a whole, since strength had been a large part of their culture.

However, ever since a certain 'incident' in their kind's history, there had been a great rule imposed on those with the Shinso Bloodline: that there shouldn't be more than one Shinso Vampire, due to the power that they had.

Unfortunately, back then, a lot of stuff had happened and, as a result, that rule had been broken, and after the chaos had followed, Krul had been the only one left to take over as the Vampire Queen.

Back to the current situation though, this situation just couldn't get any worse in her mind. Just as what Aurora had told them, it appeared that the false Queen (who she suspected may not have been another 'her' but instead another Shinso Vampire) was indeed immortal beyond that of the Revenants, perhaps closer to her OWN level of immortality. This 'queen' parasite likely had been made from remnants of her own blood or biological material since she did recall a few syringes taking some of her blood before her sealing, which meant that this false Queen may as well be her direct equal.

THAT was definitely something that could attract the Deity of Sin's attention if the ASIC heard about this. If they attempted to make another false Queen or the deity of sin were to do something to the current false Queen, then all hope will be lost, nothing would be able to stop them. The one feasible way she could think of that could be useful to them in this case, would be to have something that could negate a Shinso's regeneration, which as of current society's state, would be impossible.

Back during the Vampire's reign, there had been a few items that could negate the regeneration that even normal vampires provided, in case any of them went rogue, however after the death of the previous CPUs during their battle against the Deity of Sin, their kind lost those weapons, in addition to the designs of their negation weapons.

Because of this issue, when Krul had taken her rightful place as ruler, she had made sure that all of her kin would respect the rules and laws so that they could survive.

Closing her eyes, Krul began to remember the time when her grandfather spoke to her.

Flashback

A man who appeared as an elderly man in a wheelchair, with long, white hair and beard, and red eyes, overlooked a younger Krul. He wore a floor-length black, red and gold robe with a high collar, which was covered by a cloak. "Krul, when you become queen, you make sure that you will lead the vampires to survive and follow the rules so that we will strive and lead to success."

As for the younger Krul, she looked to have only reached the 9 to 10 age range, her pink hair flowing down her back with one of her bangs tied into a long single braid which she had decorated with flowers. Her attire consisted of a chiton-like dress, with a simple ribbon tied to her waist and sandals tied with long ribbons to her feet. "I will, grandfather, but what does it mean to be a leader grandfather?" she questioned.

"... sometimes a leader influences others to accomplish an objective and directs the organization in a way that makes it more coherent and cohesive. ... One who strives to be a good leader has to be honest, inspiring, intelligent, and stand firm for what he believes, not backing down. But a true leader acts with integrity, and in doing so they establish trust. True leaders genuinely value their people and in doing so they create loyalty."

"But how will I know if I could be a true leader, grandfather?"

"...I will not mince words, it will be hard at the beginning Krul. Some couldn't handle the stress of being a Leader of anything, sometimes making mistakes or ruining something. Making mistakes as a leader doesn't just affect one person, but many. For better or worse, a Leader's actions do more than just impact one person's life. However, I can tell you that you can learn from them instead of being a coward, like for instance ever since the Deity of Sin roamed around the world, many vampires were afraid of becoming our kind's Leader if she were to attack us. You want to know why I didn't back down as Leader of the Vampires, Krul?"

"Why?"

"It's because I have what it means to be a leader towards the vampires, I did not back down even when facing Arfoire and I did not run like a coward. I stood tall and prepared myself to even face death if I were to meet at the hands of death. Your mother, who shall someday be my successor should I die, has the same qualities as me. She has already proven to have them, and thus, I believe that you will be the same, my granddaughter."

"I see… will I become a great leader grandfather?"

The elderly man put his hand on Krul's head as he pet her as he smiles.

"Maybe, who knows? You might even be a better leader than me or your mother, Krul. Never forget, always follow the laws so that we won't fall into destruction, and become the Queen of the Vampires where you can stand tall and proud. Do what you think is right."

End flashback

"... it seems… I wasn't a good leader, grandfather." Krul muttered under her breath as she remembered the time when her grandfather, Vlad Tepes AKA Vlad the Impaler, had told her about what it means to be either a good leader or a true one.

Ever since that 'incident' in which she became the Queen of her kind, Krul had done her best to follow her grandfather's words. Once the position of ruler had been hers, she led the vampires and followed the law, never once showing any weakness as she was careful to not let her guard down so her people won't say that she was a weak Queen.

Back then, she even had dalliances and marriages like any Queen would to solidify their rule. Whilst she DID have a few children with those husbands, they had been few and far in-between, not to mention Krul had made sure none of them inherited her Shinso Bloodline. She did so through various means, but they were always a success and as such, no other Shinso Vampires other than herself emerged. In the event that one did inherit this Bloodline, of which more often than not it would be a female (her Grandfather was one of the few exceptions), then that child would be groomed to be her successor… one could imagine how many Nobles back then would have been frothing at the mouth for such a child to come from their lines. It'd bring them no small amount of prestige and bragging rights, not to mention a closer connection to the original bloodline which sired their kind in the first place.

Following her ascension into a Vampire Queen, many hundreds of years passed and, during those centuries, she had led her race as the role model Queen. There had of course been attempts on her life by all kinds of people, most of them being from outside her race's domains as the Vampires back then had been a prideful lot, thus earning them plenty of enemies and cultivated aggression from different races. Even so, it had reached a point that she didn't expect her own kind to betray her instead, and when that did happen they had caught her with her guard completely down. As a result, they had managed to swiftly knock her out, defeating her and then imprisoning her at the Orcus Dungeon where she had promised herself that she would have her revenge.

Afterwards, she lost count of how many years she had spent being imprisoned and finally she met Vali. The strongest man she has ever seen, stronger than the majority of her suitors/husbands with his Mana. It could be on par with her own, however she had been feeling it evolving, becoming stronger than it already was, and this had only been coupled with his constant training himself. She wondered if it could maybe match against one of the CPUs or maybe all of them at once. She finally had the chance to have her revenge but it all went away when Vali said all of them were extinct. She was devastated, and in disbelief but she had sensed no lies to Vali's word.

She failed her duty.

She failed as a queen to lead the Vampires.

She failed to see her grandfather's expectation.

Even so, when she heard about the deity of sin she knew everything would be destroyed, so she decide to do what her grandfather was trying to do. Stop Ariforie before it's too late.

"Forgive me grandfather…. I couldn't meet your expectations." She said as a tear was going down her face before it dripped to the ground beneath her. She wiped it off and decided the following with a resolute expression: Once she and Vali found the Mascot, they would leave here the moment they got the chance.

When she got out of the pillar she saw the group was arriving.

"Have you calmed down Krul?"

"... I am, did you find the source?"

"We have but instead we have bigger problems at hand now whether you like it or not we have to stop the successor before the ASIC knows about them."

"... fine le-?! WATCH OUT!" She suddenly yelled out as Vali quickly turned to where she had been pointing and saw someone attacking Mia. Instinctively taking action, he quickly got in front of her and deflected the attack through the use of his Divine Dividing, before he swung his wings in a reverse horizontal manner to launch the attacker back. After this happened and the group gathered together, they got the clear view of who was attacking them.

It was the hunter.

"The hunter!" Yakumo said as he went for an attack before he deflected it and jumped back.

Upon landing and getting his weapon, a simple Longsword like Louis's but with a blade similar to a stretched Scythe blade, he looked up at them before he set his eyes on Krul. Upon seeing her, he widened his eyes. "You! How are you here? You were imprisoned!"

Hearing this caused Krul to scoff, putting a hand on her hip after flicking some of her hair. "Hmph, you think the prison would hold me back?" She questioned mockingly, holding her Dragonslayer at the ready for combat.

The hunter became silent at that, before he activated something on his eye as it turned blue before he saw a blue and red aura on Kurl as she looked at the hunter. He made a stance as he looked at Aurora's monstrous form. "Just as I suspected…. The Shinso Vampires have the power to calm the Relics. It's just like Eva's… no, it's even stronger than hers." He then looks at Krul before he pointed the tip of his blade at her. "You know, you could join us your highness. That shinso power of yours… it would be a shame to waste such a resource."

"You think I would follow a lower being like you? Never."

"Heh. very well. In that case…." He let out red and dark aura as he was gathering aura and released it. "Let's see how strong you ar-"

"You talk too much."

"?! GAHH!"

Before the Hunter could finish his sentence, Vali sped towards the Hunter without donning his Balance Breaker or activating any of his Mana Series techniques, catching him off guard before he punched him on the gut which, thanks to the force applied to it, sent the Hunter flying backwards into a nearby wall, one which cracked upon impact.

After Vali landed on the ground with his Sacred Gear at the ready, his eyes narrowed when he saw the Hunter emerge from the hole he had made, looking a little worse for wear. "Ugh, you're as strong as you look, but don't get overconfident." He teleported from his spot, appearing before the half Devil as the Hunter prepared to slice Vali's head off.

Before the blade could be swung however, Vali pointed his hand up the air without looking at the said direction. He then brought it downwards, the Hunter's eyes widening upon sensing a surge of energy above him prompting him to look upwards… seeing a large ass MB rapidly descending down towards him.

BOOM!

"Is that all you could do? I'm honestly disappointed."

"Ugh…. damn….. How are you…." The Hunter stopped when he spotted a woman emerge from her hiding place, quickly approaching him. In response to her sudden presence, Vali and the others regrouped and got ready to fight while the Hunter, who knelt with his Longsword jabbed into the ground like a walking cane, questioned her in a hushed manner. "Why are you here Eva?"

"To keep you from going too far-ugh!"

"Eva!"

The hunter went to the woman known as Eva quickly, seeing her stumble a bit before he caught and stabilized her. Seeing the state the woman was in, he made a snarling noise before looking back to the group. "Fine… that's enough. I'll leave. For now. But remember your highness… I'll be back for you. Give my offer some thought, huh?" Red mist appeared before them as they teleported, leaving them alone.

Louis looked on over to Vali. "Looks like he knows about the vampires and Relics." he said.

The Half Devil nodded. "Indeed, its best we be cautious because if he knows, then who knows if they know the truth."

"Maybe."