The Truth

Memories of an unknown Being flooded Evangeline's mind; however, she did not panic.

'Vlad Alucard, let me see what truly caused the Heavenly Punishment.'

Unlike what most of the inhabitants thought, the so-called 'World Phenomenon' was actually called the Heavenly Punishment. Not many knew about it, yet those who did know about the significance of the Heavenly Punishment were even more worried.

'For your sake and your family's, hopefully, the unborn child was not the cause of the darkness above us.'

'… Even if it pains me, I will have no choice but to end his life if he is a Forbidden Existence.' She felt saddened by the thought of possibly having to kill an innocent unborn child. Babies were born innocent. The unborn child in Princess Elizabeth's stomach was also innocent. However, that was what she believed, not what the masses believed. For them, the unborn child was the herald of the end. She understood their worries. If she were in their shoes, she too would have believed the child that had yet to be born was an existence that could bring death and destruction to their world.

Suddenly, the world around Evangeline changed. 

The Throne Room disappeared, and she found herself in a study room, standing near a bookshelf. Her gaze turned to behind the desk where a man with blood-red hair and blood-red eyes sat while reading through documents. 

He was Vlad Alucard. The King of the Alucard Kingdom.

Compared to the hate-filled eyes she had seen in him back in the Throne Room, his eyes were indifferent. His demeanor was that of an ordinary business, not that of a bloodthirsty Vampire.

She continued to watch the man, and even after a few minutes, he showed no abnormalities. 

Evangeline wanted to go to the Princess's chambers to check on the child, yet her Ability did not allow her to affect the world. Since she was watching Vlad's memory unless he went to the Princess's chambers, then she would be stuck here.

She was merely a bystander.

'Come on Vlad, do something… how can you be so boring?' She complained. She was getting bored standing around with nothing to do. She hated being a bystander. She wanted to move around and find out the cause of the Heavenly Punishment.

*BOOOOOM*

Suddenly, an explosion rocked the castle.

Evangeline almost fell over because of the suddenness of the explosion. Thankfully, she quickly steadied herself with a flap of her wings.

Just as she balanced herself, the door burst open, and a man in black armor rushed in.

"Your Majesty hurry, the Princess-" However, before the man could finish speaking, Vlad rushed out, followed by Evangeline. who hastily flew behind him.

As she followed, her mind raced with thoughts.

'An explosion occurred in the Royal Castle. How is this possible? How did the news not leak?' Before she came to the Alucard Kingdom, she had been given a report. According to the report, an explosion of such magnitude had not been listed.

'Was Vlad telling the truth all along? That Albert Alucard, his best friend and right-hand man, had betrayed him? But why? It doesn't make sense.' Albert betraying Vlad made no sense. From what she knew about Swift Sword Albert, he was a hero who participated in the last three Major Wars against the Demons saving hundreds of thousands of people. All the news that circulated about him was positive. The report she received had also matched his public image.

Now though… it seemed maybe they were wrong about Swift Sword Albert.

Maybe, just maybe, underneath that perpetual kind face hid a treacherous cunning person.

Regrettably, neither she nor her predecessor, who once held the Authority over the Heavenly Virtue of Purity, had come in contact with Albert to understand his true nature.

…Though it wasn't too late to find out.

*Boom*

*Boom*

Continuous sounds of explosions occurred, breaking her away from her thoughts.

"ALBERT! YOU DARE!?"

Evangeline looked ahead and realized at some point, she arrived at what looked to be complete carnage.

She felt like throwing up from the scene, but with her millennia of experience, she had seen worse, so she quickly composed herself.

In a bedroom, if it could even be called that anymore, a man with long black hair, black sclera, red pupils, and black tattoos across his entire body stood around scattered piles of dead bodies.

From the tattoos, black Miasma with hints of dark purple leaked forming currents around him as if protecting him. 

She examined the dead bodies and those who were still alive and quickly understood who they were.

'Royal Guards… and could they be The Watchers?' She knew the men and women in black armor with the iconic Vampire Fang insignia on their plate were Royal Guards. However, what intrigued her the most were the mysterious Watchers of the Alucard Kingdom. Even the Angels only had surface-level knowledge regarding them. From the records in their library, the Watchers, whenever seen, were clad in black faceless masks and black robes from their necks to the soles of their feet. 

She tried to extend her Soul Sense to see their appearance underneath the mask, yet her Soul Sense couldn't bypass it.

'An Artifact and a very high-level one at that. No wonder they have remained elusive all this time.' Evangeline pouted and then turned her gaze back to the creature.

Evangeline saw the creature jolt as if surprised by the sudden shout from Vlad before he turned around in the door's direction.

"Oh? Vlad, you came quicker than I expected. HAHAHA~ but it matters not. Now that I've consumed that potion, not even you can stop me HAHAHA!" Whenever a Royal Guard or Watcher got too close to the man, the Miasma would form a spherical barrier around him. At other times, the miasma engulfed its targets, draining them of their Soul Essence and leaving them as husks of their former selves.

'This… black tattoos… black Miasma with hints of purple… Potion.' Slowly, Evangeline connected the dots.

Evangeline's eyes narrowed dangerously, her body shook, and killing intent that was so powerful shot out from her entire body. Had she been in the real world, just the killing intent alone would have killed thousands if not more Beings in the Royal Capital.

She had her answer. She now knew who was responsible for the Heavenly Punishment.

Even though she could barely connect the abomination in front of her to the picture of Albert. She could see hints of his former self in his appearance.

Evangeline gritted her teeth. Her entire body desired nothing more than to purify the abomination that went against the Heavens. But she knew she couldn't. What she was viewing had already happened in the past.

Thankfully, she found solace in knowing that despite Albert's use of Forbidden Potions, he was taken care of by King Vlad.

With that, Evangeline continued to watch. To her surprise, Vlad seemed calm…too calm after learning that he was betrayed by his most trusted friend.

The atmosphere around his entire person was odd.

Evangeline blinked, then looked into his eyes that were partially hidden by his red hair, and immediately, she gulped.

She felt a chill down her spine. A sensation that only certain Beings in the world could provoke within her.

'Th-those eyes.' Vlad's eyes were even scarier than Albert's.

Vlad's pupils which were blood-red and round were now black and vertically elongated… like that of a reptilian… no, the more she looked at his eyes the more she realized that those eyes were the same as…

*ROOOOAAAAR*