Chapter 686: No Choice

“Tell me first, who are they?” the figure said. The runes beneath the grass glowed again. “If they are really above me, then I should know them.”

“We came here to live, not to answer your questions,” Karr answered. “If you have a problem with that, come and fight.”

The figure’s head tilted again. “If I wanted you dead, you would already be dead.”

Alice’s fingers tightened on her knife. She hated that it was true.

“So,” the figure said, “could you tell me more about them?”

“You won’t know them,” Alice said.

The figure’s tone sharpened. “Weird. You’re not lying, but there’s no way I don’t know them. Those above me can only be the High Sovereigns, and they’re few in number.”

Alice’s eyes narrowed. “So you’re a Sovereign.”

The figure didn’t deny it.

“There’s still another rank above it,” Alice continued. “Do you know Alucard?”

“How dare you speak my Lord’s name like that!”

The field shook.

A pressure slammed down like a mountain.

Karr’s knees hit the grass first.

BAM!

Alice’s legs trembled, then she was forced down too. Her teeth clenched as she try to fought the pressure.

The pressure rose higher.

Karr groaned, veins standing out on his neck.

Alice snorted through the pain. “You talk about respect for your lord, yet you treat a message from someone on the same rank like this.”

The pressure spiked again, forcing both of them lower until their elbows hit the ground.

Alice didn’t say anything, she only glared at the figure.

Seconds passed. Then the weight eased, just enough for them to breathe.

The figure’s voice came out colder. “Elaborate.”

Alice pushed herself up a little, still pinned. “Your Lord fought the Ward and lost, but he had a plan.”

The figure’s posture changed. “Of course. My Lord always prepares a way out. I knew it. I waited for him all these times.”

Its voice trembled. “So what is it? Tell me.”

“The one that sent me is his heir,” Alice said. “They were chosen to be the new Progenitors.”

The figure froze.

The runes beneath the grass flickered once, then dimmed.

The pressure vanished like it was never there.

Karr sucked in a breath, then roared. He dashed forward and slashed at the figure.

SLASH!

His blade passed through the body like smoke.

The figure didn’t move. It stood there for minutes, as it couldn’t accept what it heard.

Then it let out a deep sigh.

“So it ended like that,” it said quietly. “Seems the rumor was wrong.”

Karr’s chest rose and fell. He kept his sword up, eyes burning. “Stop acting like you own us.”

The figure didn’t even look at him. Its attention stayed on Alice.

“I want to speak with your master,” it said. “Come here.”

Before Alice could answer, the figure dissolved into green dust.

The illusion cracked.

The grass field shattered like a mirror.

The sky above split into fragments of light.

In the next moment, Alice and Karr were back on the cold ground of the tunnel, the green glow fading from the cavern walls.

The air was stale again.

The bodies were still piled where they left them.

“Just what’s happening? Is he really a vampire?” Karr asked.

He had heard stories about them. About how strong hunters from his race fought them once and were completely outmatched.

After that, hunting vampires became a huge matter that needed agreements from every leader. They would have to pay with a lot of lives just to hunt one.

Based on what he heard, this one was even a higher rank. And Alice was send by someone even higher.

“It’s as you heard,” Alice replied as she walked toward Silen.

“So you really were sent by a being above him?” Karr asked. “And what’s a Progenitor?”

Progenitor wasn’t common knowledge.

Most beings in the universe only knew that a huge war had erupted between many species, and in the end, the vampire side lost.

Outside of that, there were plenty of stories portraying them as villains, but most people didn’t care anymore since it happened so long ago.

For normal civilians, vampires were like a myth. A story told to kids so they wouldn’t go near dangerous places.

“Hm…” Alice said. “How should I explain this…” She glanced at Karr.

“To put it simply, a Progenitor is the creator of a race, born from the universe itself.”

Karr gulped. He realized he was far out of his league.

“This is too much for me,” he muttered.

“Well, it’s your choice if you want to avoid it,” Alice said. “But are you sure you still have that choice?”

Alice grabbed Silen by the collar and started dragging him toward the stairs.

Karr froze for a few moments, then sighed and followed her into the tunnel.

The stairwell went down in a steady slope.

The walls were damp, and the air grew colder the deeper they went. The green glow was gone now, replaced by darkness.

Alice kept moving without slowing down, dragging Silen like he was a sack.

Karr stayed close behind her, sword still in hand, eyes looking the corridor ahead.

After a while, he spoke again. “What’s your goal?”

Alice didn’t hesitate. “To find information.”

“Information about what?”

“About vampires,” Alice said. “And about my race. The fairies.”

Karr frowned. “Why?”

Alice kept her pace. “Because my race is scattered. Our home are broken. If I don’t find them, I can’t fix anything.”

Karr’s eyes narrowed. “You want to gather them together.”

“Yes,” Alice said simply.

Karr’s grip tightened on his sword. “You want to create another war?”

Alice let out a short breath, almost a laugh, but there was no humor in it. “You can say it like that.”

Karr stared at her back. “That’s insane.”

“The universe is more complicated than you think, Karr,” Alice said. “There are strong beings out there. Beings that already designed a fate for every single one of us.”

She glanced back at him, eyes cold and clear.

“If we don’t do anything,” she said, “we end up dead.”

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