Chapter 1124 - A ticking bomb
It came as quite a surprise to Paul that the one who had requested a return to the tenth castle, was none other than Leo. He was sure that the other Vampire Knight would be helping Quinn out to the best of his abilities, especially since they were going up against the Dalki.
Who better to have by your side than someone who had the experience of fighting them in the past? However, as soon as he saw the other person next to Leo, he was beginning to get a rough idea what led them here.
Erin’s usual blonde hair had turned black, but that wasn’t the most prominent thing that stood out about her. That would be the pair of chains that were now covering both arms, clearly tied up in a restrictive way. On top of that, he could see that Erin’s arms were still twitching.
’What’s happening to her? Is it some type of disease?’ Paul wondered. ’Leo has always had a soft spot for his students, but Erin seems to go even above that. I just hope nobody will ever use that against him.’
Paul knew this well, it was the whole reason he had given up his humanity in order to protect his platoon that he had originally arrived with him.
"There are some matters that I need to deal with. You haven’t told anybody about our arrival here, have you?" Leo asked.
"No." Paul shook his head. "You wouldn’t have asked me to bring you cloaks if you wanted your presence to be known, now would you? Ever since that event, our faces are quite well known all over, so take these and cover up." Paul handed over the cloaks, but as he was about to present it to Erin, Leo snapped it from Paul instead.
It was just the confirmation he needed to know that something was definitely up. Perhaps even Quinn didn’t know what was going on judging by the strange way Leo was acting.
"Thank you." Leo said hastily. "I’m sorry to have left you here with all this burden on your shoulders. If there is anything I can help you with, I will be happy to do so once I’m done with my own task."
"Perhaps this is payback for me not looking after the second base so well." Paul shrugged, smiling back at him. Although Paul was the one who had originally hired Leo, they hadn’t really gotten around to talk much like this, and who would have thought they would be in this situation at the moment.
"The leaders are seemingly preparing for something and there has been less infighting than usual, so there actually hasn’t been much to do. Just concentrate on whatever you came here to do and perhaps after that it would be for the best if you go and assist Quinn."
"The fact that things are that calm is a little unsettling in itself." Leo commented, before he and Erin quickly wrapped themselves in the cloaks to set off.
’Why was I so on guard when I looked into that girl’s eyes?’ Paul wondered. All the cells in his body had been screaming to either kill or be killed.
——
Since they wanted to exit the castle in secret, the duo had to scale out from one of the windows, and down from the castle. Then once they were in the tenth area they could relax a little.
Finally away from their family members, the two of them decided to go down an alleyway that was between two large houses. The good thing was that the inner castle area was a little quiet around the tenth area. It looked as if Paul had kept the requirements for entering the inner area quite strict.
"How did you feel when you met Paul? Was it similar to when you are around me? Or is being around more than one of us worsening your condition?" Leo asked.
"Worse." Erin kept her answer short as if talking alone was taking a toll on her while she was holding down her urges. "Ever since we entered I can feel everyone. Imagine the entire place being filled with blood."
Although it was impossible for her to make that comparison because she didn’t know what it was like to be addicted to the blood, and Leo didn’t know what it was like to be like Erin either.
"For now, try to get used to the feeling. This might be the quickest way for you to learn to resist it. Here in a world where it’s plentifully easy to get, then when we are back on track you should be...fine." Leo tailored off, because he could tell the energy inside her was growing by the second.
This was the only choice he had, and if this didn’t work he needed a backup plan. Leo didn’t know much about the Vampire World, and he didn’t know many people he could trust either that might be able to help him in the situation he was in, but there was one person.
——
In the thirteenth castle, Silver was performing her normal duties and was walking down a grand hallway. Suddenly, someone appeared directly in front of her, someone who she hadn’t seen for a while now.
"Leo?" Silver asked, a little stunned. She hadn’t gotten any news about him returning and in the next moment she saw the cloaks. Since they had come unannounced then they didn’t want anyone to know that two Vampire Knights were meeting informally like this.
"Since when were you on a first name basis?" Erin grunted.
Ignoring Erin’s sass, Silver pulled the two of them into the closest unoccupied rooms, which happened to be one of the bedrooms. The female Vampire Knight quickly locked the door behind her, not that it would stop a vampire from coming in, but would give them time to escape, or Silver could just answer saying it was her inside taking a rest.
"What are the two of you doing here?" Silver asked in a hushed voice staring at Leo, but she couldn’t help but notice the wincing, and twitching that was coming from Erin either.
"I’m sorry, but there are not many I can trust in this place. The King and the others do not know of our arrival and I would like to keep it that way. We have a problem and I hope you can help with that." Leo explained. "You are trustworthy, skilled, and I’m guessing a beautiful person who wouldn’t mind helping an old man, correct?"
"Old?" Silver chuckled. "Perhaps you look old before, but with your evolution you look like a fine man, also agewise I am probably four times your actual age." Silver stated with an amused smirk.
"The bloodsuckers are seen as enemies of the vampire settlement, and I believe that King Bryce had said that he has destroyed all the ones that were being made by Cindy, but I was wondering if they were still more out there, and if they would still count as being a vampire?" Leo asked.
It was a strange question to ask, but maybe Leo wanted to catch the Bloodsuckers to find out more about the second family. Silver too, didn’t like the feeling she was getting from the Original second leader Tempus.
"There might be some out there, and there are always vampires that seem to give in to the blood. Although far less than in the past since we have taken measures against them now. However, it might be a struggle to find them. As for your other question, of course they are vampires. Some even believe that they are the vampire’s true form, and choose to turn into one out of choice and leave the settlement."
This was a bit of a problem, they could go hunting in the vampire world to try to find the Bloodsuckers, but there was no guarantee that they would be successful, and Erin might explode by then.
Bringing her here was a risk as well, as the vampires could possibly find out about her.
"What about vampires that commit severe crimes, or are to face execution? Does the thirteenth family have any?" Leo questioned.
Now, Silver was at a loss, but since it was Leo she decided to answer.
"There are vampires that break the code, commit sins, and fight against each other. There are even vampires that talk back to their Vampire Knights and leaders and that in itself is punishable by death."
"As long as the vampire being punished belongs to that family, the leaders are usually left to deal a punishment they believe is fit. Unless it is quite a serious matter. This is why even though we are limited to a number of vampires per family, new vampires are born to keep up the numbers."
"Although, I believe some leaders also use this as an excuse to off vampires, in hopes that a stronger one may come from a new line. As for vampires that commit crimes, they are mostly dealt with by Muka, it might be best if you talk to him if you are trying to find someone."
During the whole time the two of them were talking, Leo had kept turning back his head looking towards Erin. They needed to move fast.
"Thank you for your help, it’s time we leave. I shall repay your kindness in the future." Leo promised, as they quickly opened the window to the room, and the two of them were ready to jump off from the ledge.
Erin was to climb on to it first, but she soon turned her head to look at Silver, and her glowing yellow eyes were seen. Leo quickly gave Erin a little nudge before jumping off as well.
’Yellow eyes, a search for vampires or Bloodsuckers... no this can’t be!’ Silver thought, as she had figured out why they had asked those questions.
*****
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