[Location: Dungeon—Vampire King's Castle]
"Not us, though~"
A feminine voice chimed—light, lilting, deceptively sweet.
"Mana, does this particular subject seem to see himself as His Majesty? I wonder where he came from."
This time, a heavy masculine voice followed—deep, resonant, dragging through the hall like a chain dipped in tar.
"—And why," it rumbled, "I didn't come to know of such… exceptional vampire before? One who can kill a fellow Elder, like how we used to slaughter mortals before being sealed?"
The hall froze once more.
Not in fear this time.
But in recognition.
Those voices did not belong to any common nobles.
Even Vaelion straightened, posture shifting with razor-fast alertness.
"…You two," he murmured, eyes narrowing. "You dare descend?"
Before I could even turn—
Two presences materialized at the far end of the hall.
Not arrivals—manifestations.
As if the castle itself bled them out from the stone beneath.
