"What are you saying?"
Caster raised an eyebrow.
"What's with the sudden change of heart? You were against helping me before."
Alucard smiled lightly. His expression was calm, almost gentle.
Yet something about it felt… wrong.
"Simple," he said quietly. "She decided to sacrifice me for the good of her friends."
He placed a hand on Caster's shoulder, his face remaining perfectly still.
"So I'll sacrifice her for the good of my friend."
The smile widened slightly.
"We are friends after all… aren't we?"
Caster narrowed his eyes.
"Ah. You dodged that question perfectly," he muttered. "But let's ignore that for now. How exactly do you plan on helping me?"
Alucard waved his hand dismissively, as if the answer were obvious.
"Easy. I'll give you every Memory I think could be useful. I'll also give you all the information I have about Nephis. And who knows… I might even get you an Echo or two."
Caster scoffed.
"I'm noticing you didn't say you'd actually help me in a fight."
Alucard chuckled.
"Gods, no. Why would I do something so foolish?"
He tilted his head slightly.
"If I helped you kill her directly, I'd be putting myself at risk. No… you will be the one to do that."
Caster rolled his eyes.
"And how exactly would you be putting yourself at risk? Aren't you stronger than her?"
"That I am," Alucard admitted easily. "But killing her wouldn't benefit me in the slightest."
His smile turned thin.
"And I'd rather not have her blood on my hands. There are people with very… sensitive noses when it comes to blood. Once they realize I killed her, my chances at a peaceful life disappear."
Caster raised an eyebrow.
"A peaceful life?"
"Of course," Alucard said pleasantly. "Do you expect me to remain a butcher after we return to the real world? That would be far too dangerous."
He clasped his hands behind his back.
"I'll simply lay low. Live as a normal Awakened. Enjoy life."
Caster frowned.
"We both know what kind of person you are. There's no way you can just return to a normal life. So why even pretend?"
Alucard laughed softly.
"Ah, but Caster… you forgot something."
Suddenly, Alucard grabbed the collar of Caster's armor and yanked him closer.
His voice dropped to a whisper against Caster's ear.
"You know nothing about me."
Caster felt cold breath brush his skin.
"So either accept my deal… or pretend this conversation never happened."
Alucard's grip tightened slightly.
"Because you don't really have any other choice's."
A pause.
"Remember our little agreement?"
Caster scowled.
"Yeah. I remember. You agreed to give me Soul Shards and Memories. Which means you should already be giving me everything you promised—with no extra conditions."
Alucard chuckled quietly.
"Oh, but I did fulfill my end."
Alucards hand moved down Caster's arm—until he reached the familiar charm already attached there.
"I gave you the Soul Shards needed to fill your core."
He tapped the charm.
"And I gave you this."
Then he leaned in again.
"So tell me, Caster… did I hold up my end of the bargain?"
Caster said nothing.
Alucard repeated the question softly.
"Did I… or did I not?"
After a long moment, Caster nodded.
"Good."
Alucard released his collar.
"So what you're saying is that I fulfilled my agreement, then continued helping you afterward out of pure generosity."
His smile sharpened.
"And now I'm offering you a deal that's practically a gift… and you're acting ungrateful?"
Caster remained silent.
"So," Alucard said lightly, "what's your decision?"
After a moment, Caster spoke.
"I want you to help me kill Nephis."
Alucard burst out laughing and finally let go of him.
"Excellent choice."
His expression softened again.
"But remember—nothing is ever free."
He tapped Caster's chest.
"You'll owe me."
A moment later, Alucard transferred a large bundle of Memories.
Caster's eyes widened slightly.
Fifty Memories.
Every single one at least Awakened rank.
"Here," Alucard said casually. "Everything I don't need. That's all you get for now."
Caster hesitated before asking another question.
"What happens if the others intervene? If Effie, Kai, or Sunny help Nephis?"
Alucard shrugged.
"That's your problem."
Then he added casually:
"But if you want advice… run."
Caster frowned. "Run?"
"If Sunny fights beside Nephis," Alucard said simply, "you should run."
Caster swallowed.
Then asked quietly:
"You won't be upset if I kill them?"
Alucard tilted his head.
"Oh, I'd be absolutely furious."
He paused.
"But I'll get over it eventually."
---
Afterward, Alucard walked away toward the edge of the giant's shoulder.
He stared out across the endless crimson coral.
'Good.'
'If Caster kills Nephis, I win.'
'If Nephis kills Caster, I lose nothing of real value.'
'Though Sunny might try to save her…'
His gaze hardened.
To gain something, something else must be sacrificed.
'If I must sacrifice Caster… so be it.'
'If I must sacrifice Sunny… so be it.'
'But I will have my revenge on Nephis.'
After a long moment, he reached into a storage Memory and retrieved something small.
The charred remains of the crimson flower that had grown on him earlier.
"Well now…" he murmured.
"Even after death, your sorcery still works, mystery man?"
The flower's remains were wrapped in faint crimson chains.
The same kind he had seen in Slippery Slope.
The same kind in the blood arrow.
And the same kind inside his own body.
But there was a difference.
This time… the chains were not like those in Memories.
They resembled the ones within him.
Because this thing had been alive.
Well.
Before it died.
That meant it was far more valuable.
If he could understand the relationship between the chains, the flowers, the eel, and himself…
He might uncover something extraordinary.
But that would take time.
Time—and greater control over blood.
Something that would come once he became a full Awakened.
For now, he returned the flower to the storage Memory.
Then he walked back toward the cohort.
His anger toward Nephis had… cooled.
Well.
Not really.
He had simply calmed down enough that the venom in his voice wasn't immediately obvious.
---
Nothing particularly interesting happened until nightfall.
And then—
The stone giant encountered another guest.
At first, Alucard couldn't clearly make out the creature.
But he could see seven glowing tentacles.
And suddenly he remembered.
Those tentacles…
They resembled the creature that had attacked him when he first arrived on the Forgotten Shore.
And just like many other horrors here—
It seemed to be chasing him.
Except this time, the creature was far more terrifying.
Because when Alucard's gaze met the third eye embedded in the creature's skull—
Something happened.
His entire body went limp.
He collapsed instantly.
He couldn't move.
Not a single muscle obeyed him.
He couldn't blink.
He couldn't breathe.
It felt as if time itself had frozen around him.
He nearly fell off the giant before Sunny caught him.
"Damn it," Alucard thought desperately.
He felt his blood slowing.
His organs starving for oxygen.
So he did the only thing he could.
He pumped his blood manually.
Without breathing, carbon dioxide built rapidly inside his veins. He forced the circulation himself, cycling the oxygenated blood inside gluttony through his organs again and again.
It was brutally exhausting—both mentally and physically.
But it kept him alive.
Which was all that mattered.
Someone—Beast—was now holding him upright as well, preventing him from sliding off.
He remained frozen like that until the Dark Tide finally receded.
The creature vanished with it.
Only then did control slowly return to his body.
Though the lingering numbness remained in his muscles, he ignored it.
Instead, his attention focused on something far more important.
Far in the distance—
A vast mountain range rose against the horizon.