"Mr. Vampire, what do you want to know?" The voice of the hunter Aster broke the silence. Despite his injuries, he remained conscious.
"Oh, this is quite a surprise," Lucien blinked and raised an eyebrow, amused. "I expected a little more resistance from you."
"I'm not stupid like those fanatics who prefer to die like dogs," Aster snorted, annoyed. "I really like life and I don't want to die."
"Umu, umu... you're more useful alive than dead," he nodded, crossing his arms, clearly satisfied with his logic.
"As I was saying..." The hunter Aster looks at him, with a neutral expression, and continues: "Mr. Vampire, what do you need to know?"
"Hmm..." He puts a hand to his chin, deep in thought. "Why were they surrounding the hospital earlier?" he asks, staring intently into the hunter's eyes.
"We came to hunt a vampire named Loic. He's been wreaking havoc, killing men and women," Aster explained without hesitation. "A few hours earlier, we received information that a newborn vampire was hiding near the hospital."
'So Silas really is working with the Inquisition.' With that, he has no more doubts, and thinking that he had been working for a vampire for so long, he smiles ironically. "Who else is participating in this hunt?" he asks, curious. Aster has every intention of cooperating.
"Me, my two companions you left behind, and three other veterans. A woman named Sypha, a Dutch vampire hunter, and a Romanian man they call 'D,' who has no name, as far as I know." Aster said it all by himself, as if he were talking to his mother.
When he mentions the name "D," he senses Luna tense up a little, and Lucien looks at her. Feeling his gaze, she opens her mouth and begins to speak.
"D is a veteran hunter, one of the former generals of the Inquisition," he said in a neutral tone.
She continues: "He can easily fight a 1,000-year-old vampire. The latest report I heard about 'D' is that he eliminated several clans and a house of noble vampire viscounts in France. Although those noble vampires are not as strong as those in the Romanian community, it is still an impressive feat."
"How many generals are there?" he asked, curious. He is not surprised that there are powerful humans; a clear example would be Anderson. If he exists, he does not want to face him for the time being.
Four, each general has the strength to fight an ancient vampire. They are the strongest followers of God in this era.
Luna praised them and continued.
"Although they weren't so strong before, I don't know how they do it because they're getting stronger and stronger... It's very strange, it's as if they're getting stronger with the passage of time."
'Hmm... I see, those four are like the Yonko in One Piece.' He understands the scale of power more or less, and that humans become stronger? He's not surprised in the least.
History speaks for itself: humans are beings who constantly adapt and evolve. War, crisis, and more strengthen them, hence the famous saying: Difficult times create strong men.
Suddenly, Aster begins to speak.
"Of course, they are the strongest! They have been baptized, blessed, and chosen by God. They have divine abilities," he said with enthusiasm and respect, joining his hands in prayer.
'Chosen by God, eh?' Lucien thought with some skepticism. "So? What's the name of that last hunter?" he asks Aster.
Aster looks at him: "His name is Luke Van Hellsing, he's a Dutchman who belongs to one of the Catholic families, but so far no one knows where he is since he hasn't been reported."
'Hmm... Sypha, D, and Luke, the church's three powers. They're working hard just to cover up their alliance with Loic and Silas.' He began to reflect on the information he had obtained, and couldn't help but think. 'The situation is complicated... this is becoming very dangerous and interesting.'
"Well... now that I've told you everything, I can let go." Aster looks at him with an innocent smile, as if she wouldn't hurt a fly.
Lucien smiles, amused. What a unique hunter, as if this were an anime, where the protagonist spares his enemy's life just because he says, "I was only following orders."
How funny, isn't it? But unfortunately, this wasn't an anime. He looks at him with a neutral expression: "It hurts my soul, but I can't let you go," he said with a sad smile, but his eyes sparkle with amusement.
He wasn't the protagonist of a shōjo manga.
Aster opens his eyes and then sighs... "Well, at least he tried, right?" He smiles and accepts his fate.
With a swift movement, Lucien rips out his heart and watches it beat in his hand.
"I just hope my mother doesn't cry too much for me..." Aster slowly closed his eyes until the last breath of life escaped his body.
With a wave of his hand, all the blood drains from Aster's body, and her body quickly becomes desiccated. He looks at his hand, opens his mouth, and swallows the blood in one gulp, suppressing his disgust.
"Lord Lucien, the people who will take your mother away have arrived," Luna said after hanging up her phone.
"Okay, let's go," he nodded and left the abandoned building.
...
Selene's house.
The tension in the living room is thick enough to cut with a knife. And the reason was two women who hadn't said a single word.
"Darling, he's not coming..." Selene gritted her teeth, dramatizing as if the world were about to end. "What if he was attacked by those dogs from the church?"
Roxana, with an arched eyebrow, let out a sigh. "It's very likely that those worms attacked him." Her tone was so dry.
They had been waiting for hours for Lucien, who had suddenly left for the hospital upon learning of his mother's danger.
Roxana, trying to remain calm, crossed her legs. "Why don't you call Luna? She's in his shadow, isn't she?"
Selene blinked. Then, as if struck by divine inspiration, she jumped up and said with shining eyes, "Roxana, you're a genius! You're finally good for something, you business bitch!"
"Hey... don't call me a bitch," Roxana growled. Moleta fell silent for exactly three seconds. "Or I'll tell our husband that you've been bullying me."
"Hmph! Your husband?" Selene snorted and turned away dramatically, giving him a lifeless look. "He's my darling! Mine! Do you understand, or do I need to draw you a diagram with Play-Doh?"
Roxana closed her eyes, held her breath... and counted to ten in her head. 'Is this crazy woman on her period? Or did she swallow an entire soap opera, special effects included?' She finds it hard to believe that her friend has changed so much just because she found a partner.
Or had she always been an annoying bitch, and she just didn't notice? Well, she doesn't care; in the end, she's still her annoying friend.
Suddenly, with their heightened senses, they hear the door open, and a familiar smell reaches their noses.
"Darling!" Selene was the first to react and ran to the entrance, where she saw Lucien standing.
"What an energetic welcome," he said just before opening his arms to catch Selene, who launched herself like a guided missile straight at his chest.
"What took you so long? I was so worried!" She sniffed him shamelessly, like a bloodhound with a degree in drama detection, and then looked him up and down. When she saw the mark on his shirt, her face changed: the temperature dropped several degrees, literally.
"It was those damn church dogs, wasn't it?" His tone was so cold that even the ground began to freeze.
Lucien looked down. 'She's definitely furious,' he thought, seeing how a thin layer of frost covered her shoes. Without losing his composure, he lifted his chin with all the elegance in the world, as if he were about to give her a movie kiss.
Selene closed her eyes, waiting for the kiss... but all she felt was the wind as he passed by her.
"Let's go to the living room and I'll tell you everything," he said, smiling mischievously.
"..." She stood still for a moment, then a mischievous smile appeared on her lips. 'Ah, so you want to play like that, darling... perfect. I accept the challenge.'
And as she followed him with an elegant and malicious gait, she was already planning her romantic revenge.
In the living room, Lucien sees Roxana sitting with her arms crossed, approaches her, looks her in the eyes, and gives her a soft kiss on the lips. After that, he sits down on the sofa and watches Selene with amusement.
He wants to see her explode with jealousy, like the yandere she is; she wouldn't let that pass... but at that moment, he regrets what he does.
"Why the hell did I use Roxana to make Selene angry?" He cursed himself for the tremendous stupidity he had just committed.
He sighed, "Do you want me to summarize it for you or tell you everything?" He looked at them sitting next to him naturally.
"All" Of them speak at the same time.
Lucien began to tell everything, in great detail.
But as he spoke, Selene could only think of one thing:
'That bitch enjoyed that kiss too much.'