After Alucard heard Nephis yammer on about freedom for the fifth time, he genuinely considered jumping out of the nearby window right then and there. Unfortunately, he couldn't, as he was obligated to remain a part of this grueling meeting.
Well, until he noticed a treacherous little shadow out of the corner of his eye.
"Sunny... You are officially like a brother to me," Alucard muttered, as a single, deeply metaphorical tear welled in his eye.
Smiling, Alucard stood up and patted himself down, to the utter confusion of everyone in the room—especially Nephis.
"Where are you going?" she demanded.
Alucard gave Nephis a condescending look as he passed by her, leaning in to whisper directly into her ear.
"Ah, your boyfriend is asking me out. So, you know... can't leave a shadow hanging, can I?"
As he walked away, he patted Nephis on the shoulder, turning his head slightly just to look down on her.
Thankfully, no one noticed that he had subtly made himself taller by filling the soles of his boots with blood. Behind him, he could feel the temperature in the room instantly spike to a level that could melt tungsten (**3,422°C**).
He made sure to blow both Seishan and Nephis a playful kiss on his way out, causing both women to glare absolute daggers at his back.
Walking around a few corners, Alucard looked up and noticed Sunny sitting on a bed on the second story of a nearby building. Doing the most logical thing possible, Alucard climbed the wall and used a sudden wave of blood to shatter the window to Sunny's room before casually stepping inside.
"Yo, Sunny! I saw your shadow and guessed you wanted to talk to me."
Sunny was mid-step, practicing his swordsmanship, when he was startled completely on edge by Alucard suddenly bursting through his window.
"My window."
The sheer confusion in his voice almost sounded painful.
Alucard turned, glanced at the shattered glass, and casually waved it off.
"Oh come on. No need to cry over one random window. The Dark City has plenty of windows."
He looked around.
Then corrected himself.
"Had plenty of windows."
Sunny let out a heavy sigh, putting down his sword before grabbing his head in sheer annoyance and covering his eyes. "Remind me, Alucard... why exactly did you come here?"
Alucard tilted his head in mock confusion.
"Because I saw your shadow, obviously."
Sunny let out another exhausted sigh.
"Alucard, what do you mean you saw my shadow? It's been right here the whole time."
As if on cue, Sunny's actual shadow waved at Alucard enthusiastically. Alucard responded with equal enthusiasm, until a harsh glare from Sunny stopped both of them dead in their tracks.
"...Now that I think about it, that shadow wasn't moving," Alucard mused. "Nor did it look like you. Actually... it was Nephis's shadow. Oh well, at least I'm free now!"
Alucard slung an arm tightly around Sunny's neck, flashing a wide smile that clearly signaled Sunny was either going to have the time of his life, or lose his life in the very near future.
"Soooooooo, Sunny, want to come with me to explore the creepy old castle? We can talk about the stuff I learned about that Weaver guy."
Sunny raised an eyebrow, immediately intrigued by Alucard's admission to learning about the mysterious daemon.
"Wait, what? Why can't you just tell me here?"
Alucard patted Sunny on the shoulder, shaking his head with a look of dramatic, patronizing pity.
"Because, Sunny... would you rather talk about an ancient daemon, firstborn of the Unknown, in a shitty fucking building or a massive, mysterious castle?" Alucard moved closer whispering in his ear. "Also, if you refuse, I will tell Nephis you spied on her and Cassie bathing a while back."
Sunny looked appalled and utterly embarrassed.
"I did not! And what difference does it make where we have this conversation?!"
Alucard merely shook his head dramatically. He made a sudden, swift gesture with his hand, then a few moments later he threw Sunny clean out of an unbroken window—leaving Sunny with only one out of his three windows intact.
Speaking of unbroken windows, Alucard promptly jumped out of the last remaining one. As he patted the dust and shattered shards off his clothes, he noticed a massive piece of glass sticking completely through his arm. Sighing, Alucard ripped it out with his teeth and waited for Gluttony to heal it.
"I'm not doing it," Gluttony's voice echoed in Alucard's mind.
Alucard was immediately confused. "What do you mean you aren't doing it?"
Gluttony answered simply, "I told you I won't heal you if you keep hurting yourself for no reason, and I'm keeping that promise."
Alucard rolled his eyes. "What do you want?"
In front of Alucard, Gluttony manifested a pair of glasses made out of hardened blood, along with a neat scroll of paper, also crafted entirely from blood.
"How..." Alucard responded completely baffled. "Gluttony, I swear I give you way too much free time."
Gluttony cleared his non-existent throat inside Alucard's ear before speaking. "I request to hold Saint for an hour, one ton of raw meat, and also that you either break up with Seishan or stop that woman from draining my blood."
Alucard sighed, using his blood manipulation to swiftly alter the terms written on the floating contract.
"I'll give you fifteen minutes with Saint, assuming Sunny allows it, and I'll give you half a ton of raw meat. As for the Seishan thing, no can do. I told her I'd supply her with blood and I keep my promises. But I guess I can compromise and tell her to take less."
Gluttony reluctantly agreed to the deal and immediately mended Alucard's arm. Once it was fully healed, Alucard clenched his hand into a tight fist.
"Ah, feels nice."
He walked forward toward Sunny, who was currently pinned flat to the ground by Beast. The creature was aggressively licking his face—or at least, you'd assume it was a brutal attack if you didn't see how overjoyed Beast was to see him.
Meanwhile, Sunny legitimately couldn't move under the weight.
"Al, take Beast off me, please!" Sunny choked out.
Alucard just chuckled, covering his mouth with his hand for dramatic effect. "Oh, but why? I thought you said it didn't matter where we had our conversation, so let's just do it right here."
Sunny sighed, utterly defeated, and finally he nodded in agreement.
"Fine. I'll come to your stupid castle."
Alucard nodded happily and reached out a hand to help Sunny up.
"Good boy!"
Sunny blinked, turning his head in sharp confusion.
"What did you say?"
Alucard simply turned and began walking away towards the castle.
"Good choice, obviously. Now let's get going, time is ticking! And toes and licking!"