A few moments later, inside the moving carriage, Axel sat back casually near the exit, arms folded across his chest and eyes closed. Meanwhile, Marie, sitting next to Axel, occasionally glanced at him. He had a very handsome face and a proportional build, which occasionally made Marie blush. Inside Axel's head,
"Hisssss,"
The five Elder Vampires hissed because they saw Marie sitting next to Axel glancing at him repeatedly.
"What's wrong with you all?" Axel asked in his head.
"She keeps looking at you," Sharon complained, annoyed.
"Yeah, what does she want? She's not as hot as I am," Valerie added.
"I totally get that look of admiration and respect when a girl looks at you. It's disgusting. I want to swallow her," Bella added angrily.
"What does she want with Axel? I will always protect Axel," Hailey declared.
"It's so nice to be outside and sit next to Axel. If I could get out, I'd stop her from looking at Axel all the time," Avery muttered.
The five Elder Vampires in Axel's head kept talking to each other, attacking Marie, who couldn't hear their chatter. Axel started to get annoyed because he heard the voices of the five consorts in his head, talking non-stop and getting louder. "Creak," a vein began to throb in Axel's temple and finally popped out on his forehead. Axel's hands began to tremble as he held back his emotions. Finally, he couldn't stand hearing their chattering anymore.
"Shut up," Axel yelled in his head.
Immediately, the five Elder Vampires went silent and didn't speak a word. Axel sighed with relief as the silence returned to his head.
"Don't talk nonsense, you all. My head is aching from your shrill voices. Don't forget, you are only my consorts, and don't try anything with me. I can throw you out and replace you with other relics, or I can keep you silent in the inventory. Do you understand?" Axel said in his head, exasperated.
"We're sorry, Axel… please don't hate us and don't discard us… we're sorry," the five said weakly, their voices trembling and sounding terrified.
"Good. From now on, be quiet. I decide everything. Don't try anything like this again," Axel replied firmly in his head.
"Understood. Thank you, Axel, for not being mad at us anymore," the five said in Axel's head.
The five immediately fell silent, and the atmosphere became calm again. All that could be heard was the sound of the carriage wheels moving on the rocky road. Axel smiled slightly.
"It feels good to be able to yell at the people who used to hurt me and have them not dare to fight back," Axel thought to himself.
"Glutuk," the carriage suddenly jolted as it rolled over a stone. "Aaah," Marie lost her balance and accidentally fell toward Axel, who instantly caught her. Marie raised her head to see Axel's face right in front of hers, and he was smiling. She immediately released her hold on Axel, backed away, and turned around.
"Are you alright?" Axel asked.
"I-I'm fine. Sorry," Marie replied in a quiet voice.
"Alright," Axel replied, leaning back again.
The two fell silent again. Axel could see the woman with the two little girls at the far end of the carriage smiling at him and bowing her head. Axel returned the gesture with a smile and a nod. Then he waved to the two little girls, who waved back. Marie, seeing the exchange, smiled. The atmosphere fell silent again for a moment before Marie broke the quiet.
"Are you going to Duncan town to enroll in the academy?" Marie asked.
"Yes, that's right. What about you?" Axel replied briefly, returning the question.
Marie looked straight ahead. Then she swung her feet and rubbed the sword in her lap.
"Me too. I have to get revenge," Marie said slowly, her face turning sad.
"Get revenge?" Axel asked, turning to look at Marie.
"Yes, my village was attacked by angels. My father and mother were killed by one of the seven angel commanders. I want to become a mystic hunter to hunt them down," Marie answered.
"Hmm… I see," Axel replied. "The story changed because I met Balval first before he could destroy Marie's village and kill her parents. But isn't this just a change of target with the same plot?" Axel wondered to himself.
"What about you? What is your goal for entering the hunter academy?" Marie asked, turning to look at Axel.
"Hmm… there's something I want to prevent, and for that, I have to become a hunter," Axel answered without telling her his real purpose.
"Oh, I see. I'm glad we can enroll together," Marie said, smiling.
"That's true," Axel replied, smiling.
"So, you're… a dhampir? Your eyes are red, and your skin is pale like a vampire, but you don't mind the sunlight. Only a dhampir can be like that," Marie asked.
"You're exactly right. You're also half-human, aren't you?" Axel asked. "She should be a lycanthrope because the village Balval destroyed in the game was a werewolf village," Axel mused in his head.
"Oh, I see," the five Elder Vampires murmured in Axel's head.
"Yep, that's right. She's actually a lycanthrope hiding her identity, and when she accidentally saw the moon, it was Desmond who turned her back into a human. That's the storyline in the game," Axel replied in his head.
"Hmm… okay, got it," the five Elder Vampires replied in Axel's head.
Then Axel glanced at Marie, who seemed to struggle to answer Axel's question. Her expression changed slightly, as if she was afraid her secret would be revealed, even though Axel already knew Marie's origins from the game. Finally, Axel placed his hand on her shoulder, making Marie flinch slightly before turning to look at him.
"You don't have to answer my question. It's okay," Axel said, smiling.
"Y-yes, alright. I'm sorry I can't talk about it," Marie replied.
"It's no problem," Axel replied.
"Thank you," Marie replied, giving Axel a faint smile.
The two fell silent again. They felt the gentle jolting of the carriage as it continued on its way. Axel leaned back again and closed his eyes, folding his arms across his chest.
"Hmm… one of the seven angel commanders, huh? The story has really changed. In the game, the enemies were the seven demon generals before meeting Balval as the final boss. This is truly interesting and different from the game, like an alternate route that has now become reality," Axel thought to himself.
Not long after, the driver opened the curtain, looked back, and announced that they had to stop and set up camp for the night, continuing the journey the next morning. Everyone agreed, and the carriage began to slow down until it finally stopped at the side of the road. Axel and Marie got out of the carriage to build a campfire to spend the night. Axel excused himself to go into the forest to find firewood. Once inside and finding a lake, Axel pulled the relics from his inventory. "Swooosh," all the relics turned back into the Elder Vampires.
"Finally… we can come out," Bella said, stretching her body.
"Yes, what a relief," Valerie added.
"Huaaah… this forest is beautiful. Can I bathe in the lake?" Sharon asked.
"Go ahead, if you want to bathe, feel free," Axel replied.
"Alright. Want to bathe with us, Axel?" Hailey asked, seductively.
"Yes, it would be better if we bathed together," Avery added, also tempting Axel.
"Alright, but before that,"
"Clack," Axel snapped his fingers. A transparent, blood-red dome immediately enclosed the entire lake. After that, the five Elder Vampires immediately stripped off their clothes until they were completely naked, then began stripping Axel's clothes off as he smiled.
Meanwhile, a short while later at the palace, a palace administrative officer approached Balval.
"Report, Master Balval, ten more vampire eggs have appeared in the production chamber," the officer said.
"Ah... very well. Our King is quite productive, it seems," Balval replied, smiling.