| Elvin |

​

Elvin scribbled in his notebook, glancing over at the boat in the distance every so often while he waited for the vampire to return. But as each moment passed, he grew more and more impatient.

He slammed his notebook shut and tucked it into his pocket along with his quill. What could be taking Alucard so long? Why did he have to fly over to some ship? Who was he talking to? The bard rolled his eyes and pouted, resting his chin on his knees as he wrapped his arms around his legs. How much longer was he going to have to wait? It was cold, damp, and miserable. He wanted to go home; he wanted to hear about what Alucard had been up to tonight.

The bard pondered. Alucard told him to come up with a new name for him; many people knew the vampire as Vuuren—pretty much everyone called him that. There had been times Elvin heard people call him Alucard, but he rarely let anyone use that name. Vladimirescu was the name Damien called him by, so Elvin wouldn't use that. A totally new name: he'd think of something eventually.

Alucard suddenly emerged on the beach with an aggravated look on his pale face. 

Elvin pounced to his feet. "So?" he asked excitedly. "How did it go?"

The vampire glanced at him and rolled his eyes. "Fantastic," he grumbled.

He frowned at Alucard's answer and followed him along the beach. "Are you going to tell me about your night? What happened?" he asked eagerly.

"Stuff," he muttered, following the stone path that led away from the beach.

The bard pouted and stared ahead, following Alucard in silence as they approached a tall, black-brick manor in the distance. It consisted of a four-story building standing within its centre, two smaller sections made up of two. The black-tiled roofs were tall, sharp and pointed, sinister shadows creeping across the flat-grass lawn, shrouding the majority of it in darkness. Every light within the rectangular-shaped windows was off, the only light coming from the six moons above.

A large city sat a few miles in the distance, its glow emanating through the grassy hills. The collection of trees the pair had earlier walked through was a small cut of a much larger forest that surrounded the huge, vast area of open grassland, separating it from the rest of the world. Black, nightmarish mountains towered in the distance, bestowing a dark shadow over the manor up ahead, cobblestone walls surrounding its grounds.

They reached the black steel gates which sat between the walls, and as they opened, Alucard led the way through the grounds towards the manor's doors.

"Okay, what stuff?" Elvin then asked, hoping that his few minutes of silence would help get the vampire to answer his questions.

Alucard rolled his eyes and snarled irritably. "I met some demon."

"A demon? But...demons and vampires are enemies; that's like getting you to meet a werewolf."

"Well, I'm supposed to be helping him move some vampires from his world to this one."

"You're bringing vampires from some other world...to this one?"

He nodded, reaching the manor's black front door.

"Is...it really a good idea to bring more vampires here? It's only been six months since you outran the Diabolus—what if they find you again? What will you do with all these vampires?"

Alucard sighed. "The Diabolus won't find me here; the last place they would expect to find me is living among humans."

Elvin reached into his pocket and pulled out his notebook. "True...." He nodded but then shuffled around excitedly. "A whole new world?!" he squealed, scribbling onto the paper as he followed the vampire into his house. "What was it like? Was it like Alvenguard? Was it magical?"

"One moon," Alucard said with a shrug, taking off his cloak, hanging it on the coat rack. "Some...eroded castle, not much to see."

Nodding, Elvin followed him through the dark entrance hall and into a lounge. "And these vampires; why do you have to bring them here?"

Alucard clicked his fingers, the candles lined around the room atop each shelf instantly lighting with small flickering flames. He then slumped down onto the black-leather, red-cushioned couch. He rested his right leg over the arm and looked over at Elvin as he slowly sat in the same-styled armchair opposite him. He took a moment to rest, looking around the black-adorned room. All the furniture was dark in colour and looked to be antique. The walls were black with oak-brown panelling lined around them; the front wall possessed three tall, arched windows, lantern-like lights hanging from the wall space between each of them.

The vampire looked over at Elvin. "Damien wants to undermine his brother, Letholdus."

"The...god?" Elvin frowned, looking over at him.

He nodded and looked over at the silent fireplace. "The first step in doing so would be to fill this world with ethos that is not of his origin, therefore not of his control. So, we are starting vith these vampires. He has me helping some demon that apparently wants to help the vampires of his world because they were loyal to him throughout a war. Now, I have this night and half of tomorrow to find somevhere to put them and to try and hurry up this treaty I have been working on with the humans of the city."

Nodding, Elvin scribbled in his notebook as Alucard spoke. "The human-vampire cohabitation treaty?"

The vampire nodded. "Da."

"I don't know if they'll hurry that up...so, you're helping a demon transport vampires from another world to this world because Damien wants to overthrow his brother, aka, the god of this world. Well, they're not really brothers, are they? These god people just call each other brother and sister—kinda weird. Anyway, why does Damien wanna overthrow Letholdus?" he asked, looking over at the vampire.

Alucard shrugged and flicked his hand, the fireplace lighting with fire as crimson as his hair. "Damien hates his siblings, he wants to be on top; nothing more to it, really."

"He wants to be in charge...so he's gonna...what? What's he doing once he has ethos that isn't Letholdus' in this world?"

Looking over at him, Alucard shrugged again. "Outside ethos will corrupt the ethos here. The more there is, the more damage is done. I gather that Damien wants to weaken Letholdus and then kill 'im."

Elvin wrote it down. "Kinda barbaric."

"Eh, not my problem. Gods will do what gods want to do," he grumbled, staring into the fire.

The bard then looked over at him. "So, are you gonna do it? Help the demon?"

Alucard sighed. "What choice do I have? Damien asked me to do it; I can't exactly say no."

Scribbling in his book once more, Elvin nodded and looked back over at him. "What about this demon?" he asked with a smirk. "He? She? What was it like?"

The vampire scowled. "Must you know?"

"Well, yeah. I need all the details. How else am I supposed to write this book? Could this book...possibly become a story of romance?" he teased. "A love triangle!"

Rolling his eyes, he glared back into the fire. "Insufferable, stuck up businessman type; suit, blazer thing...I think he had a tie. I actually met him first outside a tavern; seems like Damien sent him to meet me on his own—I don't know why he thought that would work."

"What happened?"

"I told him to fuck off."

Elvin sighed, but there was amusement in his voice when he said, "Oh, Vuuren. Perfect description, though. Love that." He wrote it down.

"Seems like Damien loves him," the vampire grumbled.

Elvin then stopped writing and looked over at Alucard. "From what I've heard, I really don't think that creature of a man could ever love anyone; he probably loves the fact that this demon guy does what he's told," he assumed.

"Da," Alucard mumbled.

"Okay, do you have a plan?"

The vampire looked over at him. "For what?"

"The whole...moving vampires from there to here thing."

"What is there to plan? Go there, bring them here. Simple."

"Okay, but where will they live? You haven't got the treaty sorted yet with the humans in the city, so they can't exactly live there, can they?"

"My castle, I guess."

Writing it down, Elvin nodded. "And the treaty?"

"I'll try and sort that tomorrow; humans sleep the night away like babies," he grumbled.

"So, you'll use tonight to prepare the castle, I assume?"

"Da," he confirmed.

Elvin smiled. "See, why can't you be like this all the time? You only seem to answer me when I'm asking for the book—you really do believe in me, don't you?" He grinned from ear to ear.

Alucard rolled his eyes.

The Bard sighed and closed his notebook. "Well, are you okay?" he then asked, concern in his voice.

Alucard frowned, glancing over at him. "Why would I not be?"

The bard shrugged. "I worry about you; you never really talk about how you feel, and you always look miserable when you get back from seeing Damien."

"Don't you have a home to get to?" Alucard dismissed.

Elvin frowned. "Well...yeah, but...don't you want me to help you tonight? I don't really have anything else to do."

"No," Alucard denied. "Go home."

The bard stood up and sighed. "Will you let me get chased by wolves? Attacked by pirates? Walk me home...please?" he pleaded.

The vampire looked over at him. "No, no, and no," he grumbled, scowling. "Sergiu is outside with the carriage; tell him I told him to take you home."

"Mean," Elvin mumbled as he turned around, heading for the door. "Where should I find you tomorrow?" he asked, looking back over his shoulder at the vampire.

"The city, outside the house of commons," he instructed, looking over at him.

Sighing, Elvin turned around and made his way over to the door. As he left, he glanced back at Alucard, watching him as he made himself comfortable on the couch. He was worried about him—he knew how much Alucard despised Damien. But as much as he wanted to try and be there for him, he knew Alucard didn't want his company right now. Elvin knew him well enough to know that he wanted to be left alone for the rest of the night.

With a pout on his face, Elvin pulled the door shut behind him and started searching the courtyard for Sergiu.

⤝❖⤞

| Alucard |

​

As the bard left, Alucard looked back into the fire. Tonight hadn't been what he expected. This was the first time Damien sent an associate to find him on their own, and the first time he'd forced Alucard to work side-by-side with someone, too. At least all their working together involved was meeting to drop off and pick up the vampires, though.

Alucard was glad, however, that he didn't have to see Damien alone. The last thing he wanted was to be in that creature's presence by himself. But the meeting had been somewhat humiliating; this new demon—Zalith—clearly thought that Alucard was incompetent and that he couldn't do what Damien asked of him. But Alucard was undoubtedly going to prove them both wrong. There had never been a time he failed at a task—not since...then. But he didn't want to think about that.

Then, he scowled. Zalith had mentioned 'the cause'—what was the cause? He hadn't been made aware of any cause, something that the demon seemed to be familiar with alongside Damien. Clearly, Alucard had been left out of something once again. Did he care, though? Yes, he did. Damien made sure to always involve the vampire in some way or another. So, why hadn't he been told what this cause was?

Not only did he have that to worry about now, but it looked like the werewolves were testing the waters. They hadn't set foot in any of Dor-Sanguis' towns or villages ever since he'd scared them off, so why had one been brave enough to hunt in Wrodiff tonight? He hoped it was just a stray desperate for food, but part of him knew things could never be that simple. The wolves were up to something...and he needed to find out before someone was killed—that would ruin everything he'd been working so hard for.

"Don't you have a job to do?" came Damien's harrowing voice.

Startled by his appearance, Alucard sat up straight and looked back over his shoulder.

"Vampires need moving," Damien said, standing behind him. He made his way over and slumped down in the chair Elvin had been sitting in. "And yet, you sit around here like some useless fool. Not a surprise, though." He sighed, tapping his claws on the arm of the chair.

Staring over at him, Alucard frowned cautiously. "I will be starting tomorrow; I need time to prepare a place for them to stay."

Nodding slowly, Damien glared at him. "You still keep that human around—why?"

"He's...my familiar," Alucard answered.

"Hmm...." He nodded. "You tell him an awful lot, don't you?"

"He's writing a novel."

Damien scoffed. "Pointless frivolity. To sit somewhere for hours looking at written words when you can simply speak from memory. Human minds don't have such a capacity, though. Do you, Vladimirescu?" he asked as a smirk crept across his face.

Keeping his eyes on the Daegelus, Alucard frowned slightly, unsure whether he was meant to answer or not.

But Damien then sighed. "You heard Zalith and I mention the cause; I suppose I should tell you since I'll be needing you for it."

"What is it?" he asked—he wasn't surprised Damien knew he was thinking about it. The Daegelus never requested permission to peer into one's mind.

The Daegelus grinned and grabbed his shirt—Alucard did his best not to panic...and stared into his eyes.

"If you speak a word of this to anyone...." His eyes wandered down to Alucard's chest. "It's a fascinating organ—the proselytes. It gives you mortal creatures the ability to harness the energy you were graced to have been born with. I've heard it's such a painful existence to have had one...and then to have lost it."

Alucard understood his threat. "I won't tell anyvone."

Damien scowled and let go of him. Then, he looked over at the fireplace. "I want everything my siblings have. I want access to their bloodlines; I want dominion over what they have come to make, to build, to own. I want all of it, and to do so, I need to possess their blood, their ethos, and I've found a way to do so."

The vampire frowned. "You said that one day you would initiate the creation of another Daegelus—a child."

He nodded. "Yes, I will need to create another creature quite like myself—another Daegelus. But when I do so, I will carefully craft into it everything I will need. I will make sure it possesses the blood of each of my siblings, the ethos of everything and everyone that I require. And then, when it has grown, I will simply absorb it, thus gaining everything it possesses, granting myself what I need."

"Why do you need me?"

"I need four fathers."

"What?"

"Four males of each bloodline—Lucifer's, Lilith's, Ephriel's, and Erich's. You so happen to be Lucifer's son, so what better choice for Lucifer's bloodline? Yes, you are incompetent, insufferable, but I simply have no other better choice. Zalith is of Lilith's bloodline. I am in search of an angel from Ephriel's, and I have one in mind. Then one of Erich's. Once I have found them, we will all meet to discuss preparations."

"And...I gather you need a mother, too? For this child."

"Yes," Damien answered, looking over at him. "Whilst you assist Zalith, I will be searching for a suitable mother—do you have any more stupid questions?"

"No," he said, looking away from Damien's evil stare.

Damien then smirked. "I have heard of an angel sent by my sister to keep an eye on Letholdus. I have thought about asking him—I will steal him from Ephriel, as I have stolen you from my brother."

Alucard glanced over at him.

"Now, get to work. I want those vampires in this world by this time next year, as I said. If you falter, you'll suffer."

As Damien stood up, a look of angst appeared on Alucard's face. "I won't fail."

"Good." The Daegelus smiled, placing his hand on Alucard's shoulder, digging his claws into it.

The vampire scowled, keeping his eyes focused on the fire.

"Remember what I have taught you, Vladimirescu, and don't let me down—again," he warned, letting go of his shoulder.

Then, as Damien left as silently as he had arrived, Alucard stared sullenly, watching the flames within the fireplace. At least now he knew what this cause was—the cause that Zalith had mentioned. Damien was planning to create another Daegelus; he wanted to give it the blood of all the other Eternal Gods so that he may absorb it, thus absorbing the power he would give it. What was he going to do once he had access to the other Eternals' bloodlines? He knew that Damien wanted to kill Letholdus; that had to be why he didn't want someone possessing that Eternal's blood—if there were even any people out there descended from Letholdus. But what were his plans for his other siblings? Did he want to kill them, too? Or did he really just want access to their lineage? It wasn't really Alucard's problem—or his business. He had to do what he was told, and that was all he knew.

He stood up and waved his hand, all of the flames within the fireplace withering. He made his way over to the door, irritably snatched his cape and left, setting out to begin preparations for the new task he had been given.