Chapter 253: The Stolen Sample (Part II)

Victor stared at his mother in the present.

Serafall shrugged.

"I stole it."

Rowena blinked.

Chysis closed her eyes.

Carmilla started smiling.

Scarlet seemed to be trying to decide whether that was really the explanation.

Victor leaned forward.

"You stole a biological sample that was being researched."

"Yes."

"Without knowing what it was."

"Yes."

"Without knowing who it belonged to."

"Yes."

"Without knowing exactly where it came from."

"Yes."

Serafall began looking mildly annoyed by the repetition.

"Victor, I already understand."

"I still don’t."

She sighed.

"After that war, I realized I had reached a wall."

Victor stopped interrupting.

Serafall continued:

"I had been getting stronger for a long time. There was always another technique, another enemy, another way to improve."

She raised one hand.

"Until there simply wasn’t."

At the time, Serafall had reached a point where gaining more strength no longer depended on a few months of training or one more battle.

It would take years.

Maybe decades.

At first, that irritated her.

Then it bored her.

And for the first time in a very long while, Serafall began looking for something that was not directly connected to combat.

"I wanted to have a child."

Victor went quiet.

Serafall looked at him.

"It wasn’t a particularly complicated decision."

Carmilla raised an eyebrow.

"You decided to have a child because you got bored with training."

Serafall thought about it.

"When you say it like that, it sounds worse."

"Because it is worse."

"I also wanted a family."

"That improved it a little."

Serafall continued before Carmilla could tease her further.

"But if I was going to have a child, I wanted that child to be strong."

Victor pointed at himself.

"Of course."

"I was obsessed with strength."

"That part has been made very clear."

"So I started looking for genetic material."

Scarlet frowned.

"You didn’t want a partner?"

"No."

Serafall answered quickly.

"I wanted a child."

Scarlet slowly nodded.

"I understand."

"I started analyzing candidates, bloodlines, compatibility, and every kind of possibility."

Victor looked at her.

"And then you remembered the stolen thing."

"Yes."

Carmilla started laughing.

"No."

Serafall looked at her.

"What?"

"You didn’t do that."

"I did."

Carmilla covered part of her face with one hand.

Serafall genuinely did not seem to understand the problem.

"The researchers were treating it like something important."

Rowena was already staring at her.

Serafall continued:

"So I thought it had to be good."

Victor remained silent for several seconds.

"That was your entire criterion?"

"No."

He waited.

Serafall thought.

"It was biologically compatible."

Victor closed his eyes.

"Excellent."

"It worked."

"By a miracle."

"You’re here."

"That is not a scientific argument."

"It is an extremely efficient argument."

Chysis began massaging her forehead.

"You never told me this part."

Serafall looked at her.

"You would have complained."

"OBVIOUSLY."

Serafall shrugged.

"That’s why I didn’t tell you."

Rowena finally raised one hand.

Everyone looked at her.

She looked genuinely lost.

"Let me see if I understand."

Serafall nodded.

Rowena pointed slowly.

"You found a sample stolen from enemy territory."

"Yes."

"That was being studied because no one really knew what it was."

"Probably."

"You didn’t know where it came from."

"No."

"You didn’t know where it had been."

"No."

"You didn’t even know whether it had originally belonged to the werewolves."

Serafall thought.

"No."

Rowena’s eyes widened further.

"And you just put that inside your body to have a child?"

Serafall shrugged.

"I used to be very stupid."

No one answered.

She continued with almost offensive calm.

"I only cared about becoming stronger and finding happiness through that strength. I stopped thinking that way after I lost for the first time."

Serafall pointed toward her own back.

"Fenrir helped a lot."

Rowena was still speechless.

Serafall rested an arm on the back of the sofa.

"I’m a crazy woman."

Victor looked at her.

"You say that with far too much pride."

"I’ve said it several times already."

Serafall looked back at Rowena.

"Don’t act surprised."

Rowena opened her mouth.

Nothing came out.

Closed it.

Opened it again.

Still nothing.

She looked at Victor.

Then at Chysis.

Then at Carmilla.

"She..."

Carmilla nodded.

"Yes."

"But..."

"I know."

Rowena returned her stare to Serafall.

"That is so irresponsible I don’t even know where to begin."

Serafall shrugged again.

"Beginning won’t change the result."

Victor laughed.

"Unfortunately, she has a point."

Rowena turned toward him.

"Don’t support her."

"I’m not supporting her."

Victor raised both hands.

"I’m trying to survive the discovery that my entire existence started because my mother saw an unknown sample on a table and thought, ’looks important.’"

Scarlet started laughing.

Serafall looked offended.

"It wasn’t exactly like that."

Victor looked at her.

"It was almost word for word."

"I ran tests."

"After stealing it."

"Yes."

Carmilla was openly laughing now.

Chysis looked as though she was reconsidering several maternal decisions made over the last few centuries.

Victor let the situation continue for a few seconds before looking at Rowena.

"Well."

He shrugged.

"At least now we know it came from the werewolves."

Rowena immediately corrected him:

"It came from spoils taken from the werewolves."

"Almost the same thing."

"It is not the same thing."

"For my theory, it’s enough."

Victor stood.

Serafall followed his movement with her eyes.

"What are you going to do?"

"Show you the interesting part."

Victor took a deep breath.

This time, he did not need to search for Natural Energy the way he had the first time.

He already knew where it was.

It was a subtle presence mixed into his own circulation, different from his blood energy but perfectly comfortable inside his body.

He let it rise.

Carmilla noticed first.

An almost imperceptible change passed through the vessels near Victor’s neck and reached his face.

Then his eyes changed.

The red began to recede.

Green appeared around his pupils.

Within seconds, both eyes were completely green.

There was no exaggerated glow.

No discharge of power.

Only a clean, unmistakable color.

Natural Energy circulated inside a vampire.

Chysis slowly stood.

Serafall stopped smiling.

Carmilla watched in silence.

Scarlet leaned forward.

Victor raised one hand.

A small amount of green energy appeared above his palm.

It moved between his fingers without any resistance.

Rowena looked at Serafall.

"It’s Natural Energy."

Chysis approached.

"Really?"

"Yes."

Victor moved his fingers.

The energy followed.

"I can manipulate it."

Serafall stared at it for several seconds.

Victor closed his hand.

The green slowly disappeared from his eyes, returning them to their usual vampiric red.

"So..."

He pointed at himself.

"That explains this."

Serafall remained quiet.

Victor smiled.

"At least partially."

Rowena crossed her arms.

"Partially is an important word."

Victor looked at her.

"Can’t you let me have five seconds of satisfaction?"

"No, because you still don’t know what was in that sample."

Carmilla nodded.

"She’s right."

Victor lost his smile.

Chysis looked at Serafall.

"The records."

Serafall frowned.

"What records?"

"The researchers who analyzed the material."

Serafall went still.

Chysis narrowed her eyes.

"You stole a sample that was being catalogued. Someone recorded it."

Serafall thought for a few seconds.

Then her expression changed.

"Probably."

Victor pointed at her.

"That answer does not inspire confidence."

"It was nine hundred years ago."

"You remember a fight with Fenrir blow for blow."

"It was fun."

"And you don’t remember where you stole half my DNA."

Serafall raised both hands.

"Different priorities."

Victor looked at the ceiling.

"It’s amazing I was born."

Scarlet started laughing again.

Carmilla walked over to Serafall and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I have to admit one thing."

Serafall looked at her.

"You produced an impressive result considering your method was basically stealing something random and hoping it worked."

"Thank you."

"That was not a compliment."

"I’ll take it as one."

Victor ran a hand over his face.

Rowena was still staring at Serafall as though she had just discovered a completely new form of stupidity, while Chysis already seemed far more concerned with nine-hundred-year-old archives.

And Victor, despite everything, was satisfied.

They had not found the answer.

But they had finally found a direction.

The material used in his birth was connected to an ancient war against the werewolves. It had been considered important enough for Valentine researchers to isolate and study. And nine hundred years later, Victor could manipulate an energy that, according to every known rule, a vampire should never possess.

He looked at Serafall again.

"We’re going to find those records."

She nodded.

"We are."

Victor smiled faintly.

"And this time you’re not stealing anything before someone finishes analyzing it."

Serafall crossed her arms.

"I make no promises."

Rowena covered her face with both hands.

"That woman is unbelievable."