The Five Founders (Part 1)

"I'm thinking of granting you five a title that suits you," Averill said. "What do you guys think?" 

"How about we talk in person later and not via this communication device you gave us, Lord Averill?" Ryan replied. 

"Alright, alright. I'll wait. Just return soon." 

And the call ended. This 'telephone,' as the creator calls it, is a new device that allows direct communication with anyone. It is a rather recent technology, only released a year prior, but it has swiftly become one of the fastest-growing and most popular communication devices in history.

The name, Mana Telephone, was coined by a rising star in the engineering and scientific community. Atsushi Kawasaki, though an unfamiliar name to many, quickly became a household one, especially among noble and wealthy families, thanks to his profound and ambitious ideas.

The mana telephone was Kawasaki's latest creation, and Averill recognized its massive potential. Disguised as a human, he purchased a significant quantity of them at the Royal Capital of the Xvan Republic. Priced at five thousand WD per unit, they weren't cheap, but Averill easily secured thirty, thanks to the economic power of the Ezhil Clan.

One hundred and fifty thousand WD was spare change to the Ezhil Clan, and so Chlas authorized two hundred thousand WD to be given to his son, Averill when he had requested funds for something. 

As for the remaining fifty thousand—

"—Do you desire something, Noir?" Averill said to her out of the blue.

"W-what do you mean, Lord Averill?" she replied. 

"Like, I know you are my subordinate and all, so I figured I should treat you all to something... like a meal or similar as an act of appreciation." 

"That's... not something I should decide on, we should wait until the others return." 

"Again? Alright, alright," Averill sighed. "You wait here. I'll be back sooner or later." 

Averill went into his Transformed State and headed towards the Ezhil Clan's mansion. Along the down, he greeted Caca, who was still in a bad mood due to the incident and he also said hello to Naven on his floor. 

Then, as he passed through the main doors of the mansion, he encountered someone he didn't recognise walking around. Though her hair colour was roughly the same as members of the Ezhil Clan, it also had a soft overlay of green, and in the form of a ponytail. She also had round glasses, which is unusual for all vampires, strong or weak. 

"Someone from the Eien Clan?" Averill whispered, in a baffled state. "No wait, I faintly remember her devouring the blood of the Tier 14 monster, Black Ox. Then, she must be Lucy, Lucy Eien Azwith." he concluded. 

Approaching her in his human form, it didn't take long until Averill caught up to Lucy as she was walking at a much slower rate than he was. However, once he had gotten close to her, she performed a 360 roundhouse kick (tornado kick). 

The swift arc of Lucy's roundhouse kick cut through the air, aiming directly for Averill. In a deft move, Averill shifted into his Transformed State, effortlessly avoiding Lucy's precise attack. "Reveal yourself." Lucy coldly stated. 

Averill chuckled and reverted back to his human form, "Here I am. My apologies back there, Miss Lucy."

"Oh, forgive my insolent actions, Sir Averill. I had mistaken you for an enemy." she replied, giving him a small curtsy. 

"No, no, it's alright. It's my fault. You do not have to apologise at all. I was just on my way to treat my subordinates to something special. Care to join us? I'll treat you to something as well. And no need to repay me. Consider it a gesture of goodwill towards our future friendship." Averill suggested to Lucy. 

Lucy hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement. 

"Very well. It's just so I have no plans for today so I'll accept your suggestion." 

"Thank you. It gladdens me for you to join us." 

Following the encounter, Lucy was now following Averill. Since her family has sent her off to be under the protection of the Ezhil Clan for three years as an apology, Lucy was practically free for three years. And so, instead of walking around in a desolate mansion for those three years, she figured why not take up the offer of the clan's third youngest child, Averill. 

She sees him in a positive light, someone who is intelligent while also quite caring. Among other major vampire clans, there have been rumours that Averill was born with a substantially large magic capacity, one rivalling that of Tier 15, but Lucy saw those rumours as false. 

As she walked alongside Averill deeper into the mansion, she marvelled at the grandeur of the Ezhil Clan's mansion. The intricate details of the architecture, the opulent furnishings, and the air of nobility surrounding every corner hinted at the clan's wealth and influence. The view was nothing more than day and night compared to the bland view of what she had seen previously. 

"Your clan's mansion is impressive, to say the least." she commented. 

"Is it?" Averill replied, chuckling. "My father decided to make our mansion like this. All of the decorations and impressive architecture are contained much deeper in the mansion." 

"I see. And if I may, why is that the case?" 

"Dungeon Raiders. Some beings in the world are just that stupid enough to raid our dungeon. Some in the past have accidentally stumbled across teleportation circles that transported them inside our mansion." Averill answered. 

"Is that so? That's interesting." 

"It's rather not." 

The conversation between them continued until they reached a large gate. It looked to be made out of an alloy, with refined carvings into the alloy itself, making it blend into the walls that are next to it. 

As they approached the gate, Lucy noticed that it was heavily guarded by two armed sentries who stood at attention. The sentries eyed her warily but allowed them to pass without incident. Beyond the gate, they saw a vast courtyard with a magnificent palace at the far end. It was a sight to behold, with its towering spires and shimmering dome. Leading to the palace was a path of well-polished stone bricks that reflected some light from the light-producing ores above their heads. Luminescent flowers of varying sizes, from as small as nuts to as large as a ripe apple were in plentiful and were scattered all around the area.

"Woah..." Lucy gasped. Even with the fact that she was from 'vampire royalty', the scene was still beautiful enough to stun her. 

Averill took the opportunity of Lucy being stunned by the scene to introduce the place to her, walking just no more than a few steps further, spreading his arms out, and with a cheerful small smile, "Lucy, welcome to the Palace of Dreams!" he announced. 

"The Palace of Dreams?" Lucy reiterated. 

Averill nodded in response, answering her question. 

"That's the name of that palace right there," he pointed his finger towards the palace, "It was built by my old ma- excuse me, my grandfather, around thirty thousand years ago." 

"T-thirty?!" Lucy shouted in shock. She looked back at the palace and her eyes widened. "And it's in that condition? Colour me surprised." 

"Ha, ha. My reaction when I found out was the same as yours. It truly is a mystery-" 

"That the palace is still in fine condition?" Lucy finished off Averill's sentence. 

"Yeah. Anyhow, let's continue. The Palace of Dreams features a powerful teleportation circle so do you have a city you want to visit? I'm looking forward to buying some souvenirs for my subordinates." 

Lucy smiled back and asked, "What are your subordinates like? Can I meet them?"

Averill replied, "Of course, I can arrange a meeting. But before that, do you want to hear the titles I came up with for them?"

"Titles? That's rather unusual," Lucy remarked.

Averill nodded and said, "I know, but I think it's cool."

"Well, so be it then. Let's hear them." Lucy answered with a shrug. 

"Well, currently I got 'The First Seeker of Power' for Astra, 'The Second Conveyor of Justice' for Ryan, 'The Third Realist of Reality' for Cyneburg, 'The Fourth Wonderer of a Dream for Noir, and 'The Fifth Keeper of Memories' for Inei." Averill said with satisfaction. 

"Wow... those titles are all... very cool..." 

"I know right? I named them because of their goals and their personalities. Right, if you haven't caught on yet, my subordinate's names are Astra, Ryan, Cyneburg, Noir and Inei." 

"Uhm." 

Together while still chatting, the two young vampires entered the palace. The interior was just as grand and beautiful as the view featured outside, with gold outlines, polished marble flooring and more. With the current state of the palace, no one would have guessed it was over thirty thousand years old. 

There were also large, hanging chandeliers with a small light source, so the interior wasn't pitch black. What caught Lucy's attention, however, wasn't the decorations nor the architecture, but instead the faint blue glow that was in the distance. 

"That's the teleportation circle. Now, if you would allow me..." Averill grabbed Lucy's hand and placed it on his forearm, and he carefully escorted her to the teleportation circle. 

...