Chapter 128: Finding Seren

For a brief moment, Lucian’s gaze lingered on the polished floor through which Kanna had disappeared.

The corridor had already returned to silence, with only the dim lights lining the walls and illuminating the long hallway stretching endlessly ahead of him.

“She’s a vampire too, huh…” he muttered softly, his voice echoing faintly through the empty corridor.

Lifting his head, he looked back toward the doors leading to Valentina’s chambers.

He didn’t know where he was supposed to go anymore now that Kanna wasn’t there to guide him, but at the same time, he didn’t want to ask anything more from his master either.

So after silently standing for over a minute, lost in thought—

Lucian shook his head inwardly, then turned away from the chamber doors and chose a random direction through the corridor before slowly walking forward.

Lucian hadn’t really expected Kanna to be a vampire too.

She simply didn’t feel like one to him.

Compared to the three vampires he had seen—Valentina, Vivienne, and Lia—Kanna seemed too calm and quiet, almost detached from everything around her.

But after seeing her eyes turning crimson earlier, he was sure that she, too, was one of them.

‘Though it isn’t that surprising to find vampires in a vampire world…’

Then, after a brief moment of silence within his mind, Lucian brought up his status window once again.

The translucent blue screen flickered before his eyes.

[STATUS WINDOW]

Name – Lucian Foster/Scarlett

Race – Vampire(???)

Rank – D

Titles – Loved by ######, Killed by his sister

Main Bloodlines – Devourer’s Bloodline + Sanguis Noctus Bloodline

Sub Bloodline – Scarlett Bloodline

Affinity – Blood, Fire

Talent – SSS

[Attributes]

Strength – 87

Agility – 78

Constitution – 92

Intelligence – 89

Will – 100

Perception – 76

Charm – 99

Stamina – 86

Mana – 71

Attribute Points (AP) – 30

[Traits]

[Skills]

— — —

“I really have a SSS rank talent now…”

The words quietly slipped from his lips as a faint, almost disbelief-filled smile spread across his face.

He truly hadn’t imagined he would ever come this far.

Not after spending most of his precious life trapped helplessly inside a useless body. Not after dying so pathetically at the hands of those utterly trash midgets.

And most of all—

Not after failing to protect Lia.

As soon as he remembered that moment—

Lucian’s expression darkened. An overwhelming surge of anger rushed through his chest like flames erupting outward.

His fists clenched tightly, and simultaneously, the temperature around him gradually began increasing.

“Let’s take care of that afterward,” he promised to himself, but then, a deeper frown formed across his brows.

“Akasha… why do I feel so angry?” he muttered, feeling his breathing turn slightly uneven.

The rage was burning inside him intensely, almost abnormally.

He genuinely wanted to beat someone, crushing something beneath his hands, to make those bastards suffer for what they had done.

But the sheer amount of fury flooding through him felt excessive, reminding him of the time his emotions had spiralled out of control after absorbing the goblin’s memories.

[That is one of the powers… or side effects of the Scarlett Bloodline.]

Akasha’s voice echoed in his head. Lucian’s frown deepened further, but then—

Another translucent screen flickered before his vision.

[Scarlett Bloodline]

Description: A bloodline known for its rage and destruction, allowing its bearer to draw power from their emotions. The angrier the user becomes, the more strength, mana, and firepower they can exert beyond their normal limits.

Bearers of this bloodline are infamous for their emotional instability and violent tendencies. Unlike other vampires, they are the only ones capable of walking freely under sunlight without being harmed.

Effects:

– Greatly increases affinity with Fire.

– Anger temporarily amplifies strength, mana output, and combat power beyond normal limits.

– Enhances aggression, battle instincts, and destructive tendencies.

– Increases anger sensitivity, making emotions harder to suppress.

– Sunlight cannot harm you, unlike other vampires.

Lucian silently stared at the floating screen with a completely deadpan expression, not even knowing what to say—because the more he read it, the more ridiculous it sounded.

After a long moment, he moved his gaze away before letting out a long tired sigh.

“…I truly don’t know what to say about the bloodline.”

That was his honest opinion.

He really wanted to say that the bloodline only seemed to be creating mental patients, but on the other hand, it also granted very good benefits.

It increased their powers, increased the affinity with fire, and mainly—

It gave the vampires under its bloodline immunity to sunlight, a weakness mostly known and related to the race.

According to what he knew about vampires, they were afraid of only a few things.

Garlic, sunlight, and those religious cross thingies.

Other than that, he didn’t know much.

[I don’t think it’ll have a massive effect on you.]

Akasha suddenly interrupted his thoughts, adding casually with amusement.

“Why is that? Do I have some immunity?” he asked curiously.

Because if there was, then he wasn’t feeling it.

[What immunity.]𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Lucian would’ve been able to see her rolling her eyes if she were a person standing before him.

[A little bit of increase in madness won’t have any great effect on you. You are already crazy enough that those effects will almost look like an error margin.]

Lucian’s lips pressed together, feeling a bit baffled.

But after several seconds of trying to find a retort, he decided to ignore her “compliment” for the time being.

His gaze lowered toward himself, more specifically toward the black suit he was currently wearing.

Running his fingers lightly across the blazer, Lucian could immediately tell the fabric was of high quality—despite having no expertise with clothing materials.

After standing before Vivienne and enduring the burning atmosphere around her, he felt slightly sweaty.

Inwardly, he wondered if vampires could even experience things normal humans did—like sweating, eating, and other such things.

Well, he did, so it must be possible, right?

Not thinking too much over such questions, he removed the blazer entirely.

The black coat slid off his shoulders before he casually folded it over one arm, leaving only the white shirt tucked neatly beneath his black trousers.

Then slowly, Lucian lifted his gaze toward one of the massive windows lining the corridor walls.

Beyond the glass, the night stretched endlessly beneath the dark yet starry sky.

Moonlight faintly illuminated the world beneath it, and his surroundings felt eerily quiet yet beautiful at the same time.

Strangely, he could even listen to the curtains swaying and even the gust of air itself.

Then once again, Lucian continued walking forward through the endless corridors of Valentina’s castle while quietly chatting with his dear system inside his mind.

The sound of his footsteps echoed softly throughout the empty halls.

***

After Lucian left the room alongside Kanna, silence lingered within Valentina’s chambers for several seconds.

“Mother… why did you do that?” Vivienne’s voice finally broke the silence, her golden eyes burning intensely while staring directly toward Valentina, leisurely sitting upon her throne.

Valentina didn’t reply, silently staring at her daughter for several long moments.

The instant Vivienne saw that gaze over her, her expression tightened slightly, but despite that, she refused to look away.

Instead, seeing her mother being quiet, she spoke again.

“Why did you take that lesser vampire as your disciple?”

Her voice was laced with confusion and a far greater frustration.

“You already checked if he was a fledgling, didn’t you?” Valentina asked calmly.

“It doesn’t matter if he’s a fledgling or a Noble vampire!” Vivienne answered immediately.

Her voice rose sharply.

“He disrespected you, and you didn’t even react to his advances…!”

The more she spoke, the angrier her expression became.

Not toward her mother, but toward the bastard who casually leaned against her mother’s seat and called her by name as though he had any right to do so.

“Viv… mind your tone.”

Valentina’s voice abruptly dropped lower.

Vivienne flinched. Her body stiffened slightly before she lowered her gaze.

Valentina hadn’t exerted any pressure, but just her words were enough to silence her completely.

“…Sorry,” she muttered quietly, her voice barely a whisper—but of course, Valentina heard her clearly.

Seeing her daughter lower her head, Valentina’s expression softened slightly.

“My dear daughter… don’t easily get aggravated over small things,” she said in a gentle tone.

There was no real anger in her voice, though she couldn’t hide the disappointment in her voice anymore.

This had always been Vivienne’s biggest problem. She would get angry over things far too easily without even trying to understand them first.

‘She really reminds me of my sister…’ Valentina thought inwardly.

“But—”

“You can judge for yourself whether that boy is worthy or not,” Valentina interrupted before Vivienne could continue forward.

After a brief pause, and seeing Vivienne’s eyes lift toward her, Valentina calmly continued.

“If he isn’t, then tell me honestly, and I’ll let you kill him on the spot.”

For a brief second, Vivienne stood motionless, but then—

A bright smile spread across her face almost instantly.

“Yes, mother…!”

“But before that…” Valentina instantly spoke again, stopping the excited Vivienne who was just about to rush outside.

“Did you find anything about Seren?”

The atmosphere inside the chamber shifted immediately.

Vivienne’s face stilled before the excitement within it vanished, slowly replaced by a neutral expression.

“No. Those bastards are really giving it their all to hide her from us,” she said, her teeth clenching faintly in frustration.

“Mother… can’t we just burn the entire church? It’s clearly their work, and even you know that.”

Valentina silently nodded once.

Seeing this, Vivienne immediately continued.

“And that fucking barrier is gone now, so there aren’t any restrictions on us anymore.”

After a brief moment of silence, Valentina shook her head lightly.

“Just continue searching for her,” she answered calmly, yet the air trembled under the pressure exerted by her words.

“And kill or torture anyone involved until you drag the information out of their mouths.”

Even though she said that, she didn’t think for even a second that anyone would willingly speak.

The members of the church barely ever spoke against their own, and even using Charm wouldn’t work on them.

After discussing several more matters, Vivienne finally turned and exited the chamber.

The doors slowly closed behind her, leaving Valentina alone inside the dimly lit room once more.

Silence returned once again, and the Duchess leaned back against her throne.

A beautiful yet dangerous smile slowly spread across her lips.

“Let’s see what you do now, boy.”

For some reason, she found herself anticipating the change in Vivienne’s behaviour after meeting him.

200 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter.

Yeah, I know I increased the number of Power Stones but I’ll run out of ideas if I rushed myself too much, so bear with this lazy author.