In an instant, the entire battlefield fell silent beneath Nephis's gaze.
Just moments ago, the ruined streets had been consumed by chaos. Steel clashed against steel, wounded sleepers screamed in pain, and blood soaked the cracked stones beneath countless feet. The scent of iron lingered heavily in the cold night air while broken weapons and unconscious bodies littered the battlefield like discarded dolls. Many fighters still bled from fresh wounds, breaths ragged and uneven from the brutality of the conflict.
And yet... the very moment Nephis spoke, everything stopped.
It was as if some divine moderator had descended from the heavens and declared the battle over through sheer authority alone.
No one dared continue fighting.
No one dared ignore her voice.
Yet Nephis herself paid little attention to the injured soldiers, the bloodied corpses, or even her own exhausted allies.
Instead, her cold white eyes settled upon a single figure standing in the center of the battlefield.
Alucard.
He stood amidst the chaos with quiet defiance, his crimson robe swaying softly in the wind. The robe itself looked almost alive, especially since it had been woven from the blood stolen from both Nightmare Creatures and humans alike. The eyepatch covering his left eye carried the same dark crimson sheen, blending seamlessly into his terrifying appearance.
His silver hair reflected the pale moonlight overhead, giving him an almost ghostly presence.
But none of that compared to his eye.
That unnatural crimson eye shimmered like fresh blood beneath moonlight, locked directly onto Nephis with an intensity that bordered on violent obsession. To anyone watching, it looked as though he were silently begging her for a battle to the death.
And Nephis answered that gaze with one of her own.
Cold.
Emotionless.
Indifferent.
Her pale eyes stared at him as if he were merely another obstacle standing in her path.
That indifference only made the frustration burning inside Alucard grow worse.
Very few people could notice the subtle fury hidden behind his expression. Alucard had long mastered the art of appearing calm, cold, and intimidating no matter what storm raged beneath the surface. Only those he considered truly close to him could recognize the signs.
Ironically enough, that also included some of his greatest enemies.
Nephis foremost among them.
The silent clash between their gazes lasted only a few moments before Nephis finally began speaking to the gathered crowd.
Alucard barely listened.
To him, every grand speech Nephis gave held the same value as the dirt beneath his boots.
No—he valued the dirt more.
She always spoke of unity. Peace. Sacrifice. Hope.
And yet beneath those beautiful words hid the cold truth that only a few people truly understood.
One day, she fully intended to massacre nearly every Sleeper standing here.
Every single person who trusted her.
Every person following her so faithfully.
Not that Alucard considered himself any better.
His own hands were already stained with the blood of hundreds. Men. Women. Monsters. Humans. Nightmare Creatures. He had long since stopped counting.
Yet even then...
When the inevitable day arrived, the scale of what Nephis planned would make even his own killings seem insignificant by comparison.
The thought alone deepened the scowl forming on his face.
Without another glance toward the battlefield, Alucard simply turned and began walking toward the building Nephis had been using as her headquarters. He already knew he was no longer needed outside.
If Nephis excelled at anything, it was manipulating desperate people with beautiful lies until they willingly followed her toward destruction.
Inside his mind, Gluttony chuckled darkly.
"Doesn't that make you pathetic too, Al?"
Alucard's lips curled slightly.
"Who said I was following her?" he replied calmly. "Our interests merely align for now."
His crimson eye darkened faintly.
"But when the day finally comes... I'll show her no mercy."
A cold smile slowly crept onto his face.
"I'll look at her with the same indifferent anger she always looks at me with."
The smile widened further.
"But not before giving her false hope through lies of my own."
That smile carried no joy whatsoever.
It was a smile filled with only cruelty and malicious intent.
By the time Alucard finally reached the building, most of the tension from the battlefield had faded from his expression. Pushing open the door, he stepped into the familiar meeting room where the people he had come to see were waiting.
The first person he noticed was Sunny leaning lazily against one of the walls. Judging by the knowing smirk on his face, he had clearly expected Alucard to show up eventually.
Nearby, Caster sat comfortably in a chair while calmly pouring himself a cup of tea. He gave Alucard a brief nod of acknowledgment before immediately returning his attention to the drink as if nothing unusual had happened today.
Then Kai approached him with his usual warm smile and placed a hand on Alucard's shoulder.
"I'm glad you're okay," Kai said sincerely. "Though honestly... knowing you, I wouldn't have expected anything less."
Shortly afterward, Effie walked over laughing before she had even finished thinking of her joke.
"Yeah, seriously. I'm just glad you didn't lose any limbs this time."
Her eyes mischievously drifted downward toward his crotch as she pointed dramatically.
"Unless..."
Alucard immediately looked annoyed.
"Wow. I can't say I missed conversations like these."
A small smile still appeared despite himself.
"But yeah... I guess I missed you idiots too."
Truthfully, if he didn't have significantly more important things to worry about right now, he would've gladly shown Effie exactly how wrong her implication was.
Unfortunately, his attention suddenly shifted toward the entrance the moment he sensed someone approaching.
His expression instantly flattened.
"Ah," he said dryly. "Hello, Nephis. Long time no see."
Nephis entered the room without acknowledging the greeting whatsoever. Her white eyes immediately locked onto him with the same cold intensity as before.
"Why did you pull something like that?" she asked bluntly. "Kidnapping the other faction leaders? Are you insane?"
Her gaze sharpened slightly.
"And why didn't you tell me you were so close to Seishan of Song?"
A brief pause followed before she asked the final question.
"What exactly is your relationship with her?"
The atmosphere in the room immediately became heavier.
Alucard stared back at her for several seconds before responding in an equally cold tone.
"I didn't owe you an explanation."