Chapter 13: Reunion in the Forest

Dante held his nose as he navigated the stench-ridden ghoul colony, skillfully avoiding the gaze of all the sluggish behemoths around.

“Hey, Blake, aren’t you supposed to be teaching in the magic city? What brings you to this remote spot?”

A man with red hair and red eyes, pale-faced and draped in a black robe, stopped fiddling with the remains of a discarded Ghoul Matron and lifted his head.

“Isn’t this my fellow kin, Dante? I heard you were sent to Posein; I didn’t think it was true! Are you really turning over a new leaf and saying goodbye to Happy Street?” The red-haired man grinned brightly, revealing sharp, tiger-like fangs.

“Who’s related to you, you perverted vampire? Put those fangs away, or I’ll believe it and pull them all out!” Dante replied, visibly displeased.

“You’re really making it hard for me.”

“So, what are you messing around with here?”

“Can’t you tell? It’s research on ghoul ecology. Ghouls, our only kin who have lost their rationality, the mad descendants of man-eaters, the victims at the end of decadence; they remain one of the most exciting mysteries in magic. Is there even a possibility of restoring their sanity? What’s the relationship between the Ghoul Matron and the extinct Mother of Demons? Aren’t these fascinating topics?”

“Drop your professor act; I’m getting sleepy just thinking about Lawrence’s hypnosis. If you mess up the breeding cycle for me, I swear I’ll chop you down. And stop pretending to be Blake, you evil dragon.”

“Ah, but I thought I was pulling it off perfectly! Where did I slip up?”

As the red-haired man spoke, he was enveloped by a heavy mist of blood summoned from the puddle beneath the Ghoul Matron, and the next moment, a silver-haired woman resembling Dante stepped out, wielding a longsword.

“Should I call you the Blood Witch, Lilith, or the Blood-sucking Dragon, Unas? Or perhaps refer to you as the librarian of the Time Pavilion, Astalo?” Dante confronted the silver-haired woman revealing her true form.

“Oh dear, don’t be so formal, little brother—just call me sister,” the woman replied, sounding disappointed.

“Stop with the family antics; my mother is Elena Lawrence, and I have only one sister, Baroness Elizabeth Lawrence. We’re just coincidentally sharing the same bloodline from some man.”

“Geez, always so shy about a sister. Is Blake’s look actually better?”

“It has nothing to do with looks, you fallen dragon! If you have nothing to do, just scram. I’m currently managing Posein, so don’t stir up trouble near here.”

Upon hearing Dante’s words, the silver-haired woman immediately displayed a look of embarrassment and said, “Ah, I’m really sorry! Lately, I’ve been doing hybrid experiments with the Ghoul Matron and ended up creating quite a few new breeds. Don’t worry, I’ll take responsibility and eliminate them.”

“Are you seriously at it again with your dangerous research?” Dante’s temper flared upon hearing that.

“Thanks for the compliment; so you’re interested? However, my experiments with creating a Vampire-Ghoul Hybrid have been consistently failing—could it be due to gender?”

“Gender? Are you trying to resurrect your mother?”

Hearing this dangerous statement, Dante could no longer hold back. He immediately tore off the gray key hanging from his chest. The key transformed into a large grayish-white sword in Dante’s hand.

Seeing the danger, the woman quickly assumed a defensive posture.

But Dante had already lunged forward, swinging the great sword down at the female vampire. The grayish-white blade sliced through half of her body, and blood sprayed out like a fountain, showering the air.

“Let me finish speaking! The hybrid experiments have failed as usual; nothing that didn’t cause harm counts as a crime!”

The Blood Witch spoke nonchalantly while pulling out a whip-like sword that blocked Dante’s consecutive strikes, defending herself as she continued to argue.

But Dante had no intention of engaging in conversation any further. He silently continued his assault.

Realizing that Dante wasn’t interested in talking, the Blood Witch began to wield her sword and manipulate the blood around her for defense, engaging Dante in a fierce standoff.

Meanwhile, the surrounding ghouls affected by their battle began falling, showering blood into the air, and for a moment, the two seemed to dance in a torrential downpour of crimson rain.

“Ah, I concede! It seems the elegant me is not suited for this bloodshed.”

After just a short while, the Blood Witch, surrendering, stopped her swordplay and raised her hand, halting the blood rain mid-air. Next, a massive black dragon struggled out from the blood downpour.

–Illustration 5–

Dante swung twice more at the dragon flapping its wings in the sky; his cross-shaped slashes aimed straight for its vitals. The dragon barely managed to catch the attack with its tail, which was severed into three sections and fell to the ground.

However, the silver-haired woman had already seized the dragon’s claw, smiling as she waved goodbye to Dante. With that, the dragon soared into the sky and flew away.

“Well then, farewell, brother! Take care of yourself.”

“This is such a headache—depraved phantoms and all, it seems only the power of a fellow phantom can deal with them.” Dante muttered as he watched the departing dragon.

At that moment, the surrounding ghouls, as if manipulated by someone, all simultaneously lunged at Dante.

“Hmph, is it really necessary to retaliate like this after catching just a couple of slashes?” With that, Dante swung heavily twice around him, causing the ghouls to collapse instantly, but blood splattered all over him.

Annoyed, Dante wiped the blood off his marble-like face, his body gradually returning to human form. The great sword transformed back into a gray keychain in his hand, and looking at the field of ghoul corpses, he sighed gently, carefully avoiding the bodies on his way back.