Chapter 219: The Devil’s History

Chapter 219: Chapter 219: The Devil’s History

Silence.

Nobody spoke. Amunet’s body lay crumpled on the stone floor. Blood pooled beneath her.

Lucian wiped his hand on Amunet’s robes. Swipe. He looked at the three remaining prisoners with cold expectation. "Nothing?"

Heket trembled as Renenet sobbed. Apophis glared at the floor with hatred.

Lucian sighed. "It seems this requires more motivation."

Clara stood from the throne. She grabbed Lucian’s hand. Her silver eyes met his crimson ones. "Isn’t this too much?"

Lucian looked at her. His expression didn’t soften. "This isn’t even nearly enough." He pulled his hand free and turned to face the prisoners. "Have you considered how many humans these vampires have killed? Centuries of feeding, blood farms, massacres and settlements wiped out." He paused. "Of course, I do have my own share of blood on my hands. Afterall, I am no hero. But they were all for the greater cause."

He leaned close to Clara’s ear. His lips barely moved. "You seem to forget the creatures responsible for your father’s death. The creatures responsible for why you spent more than ten years of your life in an orphanage."

Clara’s silver eyes widened. Her breath hitched. She stepped back. Her expression hardened.

Mickey leaned against the wall, arms crossed. His crimson eyes watched the prisoners without emotion. The academy had been his home. The vampires had destroyed it. Friends had died. He felt nothing for these creatures.

Lucian turned to Renenet — Seth’s second daughter. The youngest. She shook violently. Tears streamed down her face.

"Wait—"

"I’ll talk."

Heket’s voice was barely a whisper. The eldest daughter raised her head.

Lucian says coldly, "Could you speak louder. I couldn’t hear you well from here."

"I’ll talk," she repeated louder.

Apophis’s head snapped toward her. "Coward! Don’t you dare—"

FWISH.

A light sword materialized and stabbed through Apophis’s shoulder. SHHHK! He screamed. Aaaagh! The blade pinned him to the stone floor. Blood sprayed. Splatter.

Lucian dismissed the light sword. Fzzzt. Apophis slumped, gasping.

Heket started talking. Her voice cracked with every word. "Our father... he went to awaken one of the Dark King’s apostles."

Lucian crouched before Heket. He reached out and touched her crying face. His thumb traced the tear on her cheek.

"Now, love," Lucian said softly. "Tell me more about these dark apostles."

Heket stared at him. Her tear-streaked face twisted with a mixture of terror and revulsion. "You are the devil."

Lucian smiled. "I know."

Clara watched from beside the throne. Her silver eyes studied Lucian. This wasn’t the boy she had met at the orphanage. Something had changed.

How much have you changed, Lucian? And how much of this was always there?

Heket continued. Her voice was hollow. Broken. "There are six apostles of the Dark King. Each of them had powers above the peak of the Astral Realm back then. But due to the injuries sustained during the chase... during the chase by the Zetharian Empire... their powers degraded. Including the Dark King himself."

Lucian’s body went rigid.

His crimson eyes widened. The temperature in the throne room dropped. Thrum. His aura shifted as his aura washed over the room.

"Did you say," Lucian’s voice dropped to a whisper, "the Zetharian Empire?"

His hand closed around Heket’s throat. Grip. She gasped. Her eyes widened with absolute terror. Apophis and Renenet stared. They felt it — the aura radiating from Lucian. It wasn’t human.

Fear Aura pulsed outward. THRUUM. The Dark Wyvern behind the throne lowered its head submissively. Whimper.

Clara stepped forward. "Lucian." Her voice was calm. She placed her hand on his arm. "Lucian. Calm down. What’s wrong?"

Lucian’s grip tightened for a moment.

Then he released. Heket crumpled. Cough. Cough. She clutched her throat, gasping.

The Zetharian Empire.

The name echoed through Lucian’s mind like a death knell. The empire of Vespera galaxy. The absolute ruling power and the rival and enemy of the royal family of House Vyrnn — loyal to the late Vampire King, Malakor Vyrnn. The empire that Clovis Draven — his closest companion, his most trusted lieutenant — had betrayed him for.

The empire responsible for his death in his past life.

Lucian’s breathing steadied. Pant. Pant. He closed his eyes. The memories flickered — fragmented, incomplete, but vivid enough.

He opened his eyes. "Continue."

Heket swallowed. She glanced at Apophis — who stared at the floor, silent.

She continued. Her voice was barely audible. "More than five hundred years ago... the Dark King’s family — House Nox — alongside other minor clans. The Crimson Throne clan. The Eclipse Court. The Nightblood clan. And other minor vampire clans. They led a rebellion against the royal family of the Vespera galaxy. The—"

"House Kaelen," Lucian finished.

Heket’s mouth hung open. Her eyes went wide. Apophis looked up shocked. They stared at Lucian — this silver-haired boy who knew names that only existed in their ancestors’ histories. Names that even their father Seth — who wasn’t alive five hundred years ago — had only learned from inherited clan records.

"Who... who are you?" Apophis whispered.

Lucian ignored him. "Continue."

She swallowed again. Her voice trembled. "The Dark King’s father — Lord Varis Nox — led the rebellion. On the frozen planet of Vespera, House Nox was originally the Sixth Great House. They acted as the Empire’s executioners and internal affairs. They were the only ones capable of suppressing the Astral Vampire Bloodline of House Kaelen if the Emperor ever went rogue."

She paused. Lucian nodded for her to continue.

"However, Lord Varis Nox saw the truth of the Zetharian Empire. The Emperor of Vespera was planning to initiate a cosmic war of conquest that would cost millions of Zetharian lives. Lord Varis Nox refused to let his people be slaughtered for the Emperor’s greed. He launched a massive coup against House Kaelen. It was a bloody civil war that tore Vespera apart."

Heket’s voice cracked. She wiped her eyes. "But Varis was ultimately betrayed from within."

Heket then continued quickly. "Varis was killed by the Emperor’s forces. Before the Emperor could wipe out House Nox entirely, Varis’s son — the Dark King — led the surviving members of House Nox and their allied vampires in a desperate retreat. Many of them were severely injured in the chase. Eventually... they arrived on Earth."

She looked at Lucian. "All the current vampire families and clans on Earth right now. The Du Mauriers. The Khamsins. The Apeps. The Crimson Throne. The Eclipse Court. The Nightblood. We are all... descendants. Of House Nox’s followers. Or lesser vampires they created over the centuries."

Lucian sighed.