The end began

On the night, of the day Temrosth got back from the realm of shadows.

"Ugh... I can't meditate... Something... Something is not alright." He was sitting on his bed in a lotus position, but instead of falling into meditation to recover some strength, he was constantly woken up by a feeling.

*Gah*

*Agh*

He fell back into his bed, changing his position once... twice, many times but nothing worked.

"What is this discomfort... Did something happen to my parents?" Ponderingly he sat up again, putting his hand to his chin and stroking his nonexistent beard he spoke to himself in wonder.

"They said they have some important work or something so neither of them will be home for a few days... No, this has happened many times before... It's not them... But then who or what?"

"..."

*Sigh* He thought of asking the only person who was with him all the time, but sadly from the moment he returned, Temrosth had gotten the silent treatment from her.

"Sorry..." Knowing his mistake, Temrosth didn't want to bother her and tried to wait until her anger eased a little.

But unfortunately, this discomfort did not disappear throughout the whole night making Temrosth have not one minute of rest.

And on the morning of the unfortunate day.

*cock-a-doodly-doo...*

"That Cockatrice! I will ask the maids to cook him someday!" Temorsth got out of bed in a rather annoyed and tired manner.

"Sigh, I'm going out to train!" Storming through the living room he called to Antanasia and the golem maids.

*Bang* As he went out to do the only thing that could distract him from this irritating discomfort, with a loud bang he shut the front door.

"Hm?" Surprising even Antanasia who was already sipping some morning 'tea' at the table.

And it was around this time, that everything that will lead to the end began too.

...

Behind a veil of darkness at the top of a canyon-like mountain. Inside the grand hall of the dark caste that sat a top.

"I...I just wanted to ask..." Stuttering, the young adult man mustered the courage to say what he wanted.

"Do you know about Xalier's child?" Kneeling before the one who sat on the high throne, Mihail lowered his head even more.

Hearing Mihail's words, the old man sitting on the throne raised his eyebrows.

"What are you talking about?"

"About two months ago, my daughter, after she came back from the Grim Rock Woods...."

"The kid's playground?"

"Yes, she had asked me if Xalier had a son "

"Hmh?"

"I noticed a strange print of energy on her, but I didn't think much of it at the time."

"But now... After some time I remembered... The energy on her... It was very similar to Xalier's."

"She later asked me several times to let her go, and I did so..."

"But she threw a tantrum, saying she wanted a real risk, so I couldn't send anyone with her."

"I don't care about your worries. But, are you implying that she met someone who looked and radiated the same energy as the young Lear?"

"I haven't confirmed with her yet, but I think..."

"Bring her here!" As the old man commanded, a shadow flashed at his side.

A minute later Lily was kneeling next to her father in the shadowy red and black great hall.

"I... pay my respects to Grandfather the Patriarch." Lily was somewhat scared, she had only seen her grandfather a few times and only spoken to him once.

The old man asked him with a slight squint. "Tell me about the child you meet in the forest."

"Huh?" His voice was deep and hoarse, which scared her a lot, but she lost her voice because of what he was asking.

"I... I don't know what the Patriarch is talking about."

*Hmh* "Don't lie little girl."

"Daughter, please tell your father, it's very important for us to know."

"..." Turning around to see the desperate look in her father's eyes, Lily became confused for a moment, she wanted to help but she had promised Temorsth not to tell anyone.

"I do not know..."

"Daughter..."

"Ugh, I-I really don't know..."

"This..."

"Hmph... You useless son, a true disgrace who can't even control his own blood!" Hearing his father's words, Mihail was shaken.

"So be it, come here, child." To the inviting hand motion, Lily stood up, she was trembling, but she still walked away from the blue light and went up to the old man in the dark.

She walked up the few stairs and stood a few steps away from her grandfather.

The old man had long white hair, with only slight signs of aging on his rather immaculate and clear face.

But his voice was another thing completely, sounding more like a much older man, which didn't quite give off the perfect vibe.

"Tell me, child, did you meet a kid in the forest of grim?" His voice wasn't as harsh as before, but it still wasn't that kind either.

"I... I did not." But even in the face of such a man, Lily stood her ground and didn't break her promise.

"So be it..." Sadly the old man was not kind enough to tolerate this.

With light words he grabbed Lily's head, it was so fast she couldn't react.

"Father!?" As Mihail's voice was heard, blue energy lit up the shadowy great hall.

Without further words, the old man began searching Lily's soul and mind for her memories.

*Kyaaa*

"Stop!" His daughter's scream of pain woke Mihail up, making him stand up and rush at the old man.

Mihail summoned his sword followed by lightning that began crackling around both him and his longsword.

He got rather close, but with only a gentle wave of his arm, the old man sent Mihail flying away.

He flew across the great hall and crashed into the opposite wall, causing the entire room to shake as a whole.

His body was edged into the wall and blood was pouring from his mouth and nose.

But hearing the continuation of Lily's screams, he pushed himself to the limits and jumped off it.

Blood was dripping from his mouth but he still lunged at the old Patriarch.

This time the old man turned to his son, feeling the energy rise around him.

"Energy from emotions? Hmph..."

"At least you have courage, but you dared raise a hand against me twice." Blue lightning flashed through the room as a result of the words.

In a desperate attempt, Mihail tried to parry but a wave of constantly changing electricity was rather unpredictable.

*Ghk* As electricity crossed his body he got pushed back but even as it was painful, his eyes didn't tremble as he pressed against the lightning of his father.

With a slow pace he began to push the lightning back, he took two steps and deflected it to the right.

'A Breakthrough? Crossing one's limits... Such a ridiculous act.' The old man noticed his son's surprising achievement but rather than praising such activity, he released a bolt of much more powerful lightning.

Seeing this, Mihail brought back his sword and took a defensive stance preparing himself against the attack.

*Ghk...* As the lightning hit his sword, a huge shock went through his body, but he stood still despite experiencing excruciating pain.

But only after a second, not only his sword, but his entire right arm disintegrated.

He didn't give up, he lost because their strength couldn't even be compared.

As he fell to the ground, blood flowed from his missing arm and mouth.

And even now, with all these damages Mihail tried to stand up.

"Truly, a disgrace!" Summoning a gust of wind, the old man sent him back against the same wall.

As the wall and floor drank Mihail's spilled blood, it began to recover.

And throughout all this, Lily was still screaming but now she was close to passing out.

All the while her Grandfather was looking through her mind, she felt all her memories and thoughts as they were being reviewed.

It was as if a bolt of lightning ran through her mind every second.

"Hmh? Oho?" And around a minute into this search, the old Patriarch called out in surprise.

The old man looked at the memory of Lily being chased by the giant wolf followed by an image that was burned in her mind about a pretty boy pushing his hair back after killing the beast.

"Found it..." A sinister smile formed on the strangely young face.

*Hmhmh...* Seeing the boy's face, and his sky-blue eyes, the old man already knew everything.

"Oh, young Lear, you have made a very big mistake... One so big, even I couldn't have imagined you'd make it."

"Honestly, it's hilarious." The old man's voice turned to laughter at the words.

As he stopped looking at Lily's memories, he let go of her head which made her fall since she was already unconscious for some time now.

"Leyla!" Calling for his subordinate, a shadow in the wide hall turned into a kneeling woman.

"Yes, Patriacth?"

"Call all three Elders, and send word to that old bone as well."

"Tell the Elders that two of them should go to the forest that is east of the main battlefield."

"Destroy every array and whatever, get that kid alive or dead, I don't care, just don't destroy his head completely."

"The other one should come to Xalier since he's here now, I'll go over there and hold him back."

"Same goes for the old bone he should hold back that Olendriant girl."

"With this child, the power control has shifted and now we have the perfect justification and weakness that they cannot hide."

As the woman named Leyla was about to disappear, the old man called out.

"Wait!" Returning to his son and granddaughter, a thought crossed his mind.

"..." Seeing Lily move her finger, the old man knew that her soul and mind were not completely broken.

"Order someone to seal this little girl away for a few hundred years of closed-door cultivation."

"...!" *Ughk* Hearing this, Mihail tried to stand up, but it was hard to force himself to. He even had to hold his body together as the killing intent of his father was within his injuries and was constantly damaging him.

The old man turned to look at his struggling son. "At least the daughter has a bit more talent than the father."

Saying this, the old man disappeared.

As the woman named Leyla stood there, she looked at Mihail, who was vomiting blood from standing up.

"Don't struggle... Brother... be glad you didn't die and you didn't kill your daughter."

"..." Hearing her sister's words, Mihali's eyes dimmed.

"You only survived because you brought something useful that Father wanted."

"...!?" But this next sentence changed his gaze.

"Hmph, don't be angry at me..." Seeing the hatred in Mihail's eyes, Leyla lost interest, turned, and disappeared as well.

...

"Hm? I feel uncomfortable... This it got worse? Did something bad happen...?"

At the time Temorsth was outside the house training with Antanasia.

[Notice: An unfortunate incident occurred with the Host.]

[The Host's luck has decreased slightly.]

"...!?"

[Notice: The plot of the story "Vampire Queen's Ascension" has been delayed for an unknown amount of time.]

"Umu?" As the notifications came in, he knew something had happened to Lily.

'Aidana... Did they learn about me?'

[They did...] And now, with the situation like this, she let go of her anger and answered his call.

'What can I do?'

[I...I do not know...] But sadly even she couldn't help now, when something happens it is rather hard to make it not happen.

...

In a giant office-looking room.

Xalier was sitting behind a large, bent wooden desk, looking at some papers that appeared to be some kind of documents.

Since he was the leader and ruler of the whole Vampire race, he had to decide on almost every activity if it was allowed or not.

*Hmh?*

Noticing the strange energy fluctuation from someone coming closer, he put the papers down.

And in a few seconds. "Young master, the Patriarch of the Dalca family is heading towards the castle!"

A rather young man in his twenties opened the giant door and barged in.

"He crossed the border without any warning, what should we do?"

"Don't worry, I already noticed him. Just let him in, he didn't bring anyone else, this time around I don't think he wants to cause trouble."

As such words were told, in a few minutes. "The Patriarch of the Dlaca family, Lord Dalca Vasilica Iosif, entering!"

'Why did he wait for the announcement, it's not like him to do this...'

As the door opened, there stood a man who looked to be around 40 or 50 with long white hair.

"What do you want, why would the Patriarch of the Dalca family come personally to my humble office?"

"What, young Lear, I don't feel you're seeing me with hospitality?"

As the old man entered, he sat down on one of the couches that surrounded a wooden coffee table.

"..." Seeing this comfortable behavior, Xalier spoke nothing, it was a thing this old coot did rather annoyingly usually.

"Now tell me the truth, why did you come!?"

"Ah, don't be so aggressive, young Lear, it's just some state matter I wanted to talk about. Don't be angry, I didn't come with bad intentions."

"Hmh..." Even as it was somewhat hard to believe the words, Xalier got up from behind his desk, walked over to the table, and sat down across from the old man.

"..."

"..."

"And according to...!" After about half an hour of conversation, Xalier stopped mid-sentence.

"...?"

'Someone activated an array...' Feeling his magic activate Xalier responded.

"What is it?"

"I thought of something that I need to attend to urgently. I'm sorry for being rude, but you have to go now, we'll finish it another time." As Xalier gave the slightest bit of courtesy with a slight bow, he wanted to see the old man out but...

"..." Xalier stood up and walked towards the door opening it for the coot to walk out.

"Hmhmh..."

"What is it?"

"I almost forgot the main thing I came for." Saying that the old man also stood up.

"You see, young Lear, not like with your father's, I've never found any real fault with your work..." As the old man walked over to Xalier's desk and touched it, he looked down at some documents.

"Thank you for the complime..."

"But now... I have found it!"

"What?"

The man turned back and looked at Xalier. "Your fault… young one."

"What are you...?!"

"I found your son..." The words made the man show a sinister grin, one so wide it could send shivers down someone's spine.

And at that moment, without a moment of hesitation or a need for a second thought, blue flames erupted from Xalier's body while he dashed toward the old man.