"Lisidorwei! What are you doing! What have you done to me, a noble!"
When Lisidorwei's vassals hurried to the town, they witnessed a scene reminiscent of Purgatory. The slightly knowledgeable nobles immediately understood what this woman was doing—she was extracting the blood of others without restraint, in order to keep herself alive.
A strange smile hung on Lisidorwei's face, and her entire body was covered in cracks, from which black blood flowed. But vaguely, one could see a golden light blooming inside her, as if it were about to explode the next second. Anyone who saw this scene would not think it was anything good.
"What are you all talking about? My vassals, having chosen eternal life, naturally you must pay the price. Since you have become my vassals, you are naturally under my control. What doubts do you have about this?" At this moment, she had no heart to converse with these vassals, ultimately all a bunch of weaklings. She was, after all, the Vampire Queen! She knew better than anyone how these supposedly noble folks viewed her. In the past, she maintained politeness and respect for them for the sake of position, just for times like these...
"It's time for you to show your loyalty to the Queen!"
Blood began to be drawn from these vassals.
"Lisidorwei! Are you going to become enemies with humans?!"
There were still nobles questioning this matter.
Lisidorwei showed a trace of confusion on her face: "Do you think, when I'm about to die, I care about human matters?"
"No! Lisidorwei! Let us go! We can bring more people for you! If you kill us now, you will still die in the end!"
"There's no time, my dear lords. If I had time, I would have devoured the people of Butuo City myself. Why would I summon you? Right now, it's a matter of surviving one more second."
"Damn it! Take a look at my sacred..."
Someone tried to pull something out of their pocket, but it was meaningless because these vassals' activities were entirely under Lisidorwei's control. They couldn't even activate the Sacred Artifact they got from the church.
"How interesting, having become my vassals and still carrying Sacred Artifacts, undercover agents sent by the church? But it doesn't matter."
Lisidorwei's eyes were filled with lifelessness.
She knew she was going to die here.
To live one more second was to count one more second—she had probably lived many more years beyond the moment she betrayed the Demon King, her fate was already sealed.
No, that's not right.
Perhaps even earlier...
Memories began to flow continuously, Lisidorwei remembered at her birth, the sight of the first two generations of vampires kneeling before the Demon King.
"Demon King! Our lives are coming to an end! Please help us!"
However, the then Demon King simply sat on his throne: "I know your lifespans are at an end, so I created a third generation. You've lived long enough." He seemed completely indifferent, gazing coldly at the two vampires, "Both of you are failed creations, and it seems this third generation hasn't succeeded either... The awareness of a failed experiment is to understand being discarded, I have already let you live long enough based on your merits."
The third generation hadn't succeeded either?
What does this mean? Am I not a successful creation?
From the moment of her birth, Lisidorwei had already realized that her future fared no differently than the two creatures currently kneeling before the Demon King. Sooner or later, she would also kneel before the Demon King, begging for a longer life.
This seemed not bad, after all, everything was granted by the Demon King. Life itself was created by the Demon King; when he wanted them to live, they naturally would live.
If the Demon King wanted them to die, they should obediently go to their deaths... Why pray for survival?
The newly born Lisidorwei didn't understand.
"Demon King!"
The two generations of Vampire Queens, devoid of dignity, merely knelt on the ground, calling "Demon King" incessantly. They dared not make any rebuttals or persuasion, simply showcasing their sadness and pitifulness.
"Lisidorwei."
The Demon King suddenly called out her name.
"What do you think? Should they be allowed to live?"
What do I think?
The Demon King took an interest in my opinion?
How should I answer?
At that moment, Lisidorwei wasn't that wise, and she answered as a matter of course according to the "settings" in her mind: "For those who are no longer useful to the Demon King, naturally they should be eliminated."
She saw the playful smile on the Demon King's face when she gave this answer; she also saw the bodies of the previous two generations of vampires, trembling on the ground. They did not look at the Demon King but looked at her.
What kind of gaze was that?
Lisidorwei could not find any anger in them; logically, after her words, they should loathe and hate her... Yet she saw an emotion called "pity" in their eyes.
She almost thought there was an error in her soul's perception, but the Demon King wouldn't make such a mistake, so indeed, these two were looking at her with pity... Why?
Why is it that they are the ones about to die, yet they pity me?
The blood of the kin was gradually depleted, yet the scene they witnessed at birth became ever clearer. She seemed to understand what the pity in the eyes of the previous two generations of vampires truly was. They had already foreseen such a future, a destiny any vampire must face... a life bestowed by the Demon King, only to be taken away by the Demon King.
...Even if you resist, even if you kill the Demon King—such fate will not change.
Haven't you lived long enough?
Lisidorwei had pondered such a question before. The longer she lived, the more she wanted to continue living, yet that scene forever lingered in her mind. She knew she was powerless against the Demon King, so when the "Hero" appeared, she did not hesitate. Some thought that the Vampire Queen had fallen in love with the Hero—no, it was not so. She merely hoped someone could stand against the Demon King.
The Hero A·Gedora succeeded.
If only I had truly fallen in love with him at that time.
If that were the case, being by his side during his struggles, perhaps now would not be such a miserable result. Over the past decade, she knew what the Hero faced, but... she did nothing.
Ah... no.
Even at this point, she was still scheming, still wanting to live... in the end, she did not understand human love at all.
"Lisidorwei!"
She heard a familiar voice.
Perhaps it's not quite right to call it familiar; the voice was more weathered, rougher than before—but she knew whose voice it was. As her vision began to fracture, she saw that unkempt figure.
And then...
She felt it.
A hand pierced directly into her heart, gripping forcefully to crush her heart, yet holding that drop of golden blood from within. The blood of the Demon King would not be taken so humiliated, however, this hand was as steady as a mountain, firmly extracting the drop.
The Demon King's blood could not escape the Hero's grasp.
The essence of a vampire allowed Lisidorwei's body to begin to heal, but even she needed some time for such a wound.
She first restored her eyes.
She saw the Hero cut his own wrist, merging the golden blood into his body, and soon the wound healed swiftly—she could even see the golden speck flowing within the Hero's form...
If this was not done, that drop of blood would still return to her body.
A·Gedora stood there, holding Lisidorwei, for over half an hour, until the speck in his body ceased to move and calmed down.
He released Lisidorwei: "Your body should have just about recovered. But the depletion is quite severe..."
"Yes, I may have at most a few more years to live."
Even though the Hero arrived at the last moment, the "essence" had suffered overwhelming devastation. Even vampirism could not continue to sustain the life of this Vampire Queen. Her life was approaching its end.
"Why are you here, A·Gedora?"
"Call me Doro."
Lisidorwei was startled for a moment, then nodded: "Alright."
"We were both calculated by the Demon King."
Indeed, they were certainly manipulated by the Demon King, otherwise...
"She should have already obtained her left hand." Lisidorwei's expression was not pleasant, "And you've revealed your identity. The Demon King's resurgence and the Hero's reappearance—at such proximity, perhaps someone would place the blame on you, thinking you revived the Demon King."
Lisidorwei foresaw the possibilities of what could happen next.
"That's why I said, we were both calculated by the Demon King. You would become a fake defector, actually preparing the Demon King's resurrection all along, and I would become 'the Dragon Slayer becoming the evil dragon'. The two of us colluded to resurrect the Demon King and plunge the world back into darkness."
"In that case, why did you..."
"It's too late. My body chose before my mind. This too was likely anticipated by the Demon King, she knew what I would do."
Lisidorwei bit her lip: "So, are you saying now, we can only, surrender to our Lord Demon King..."
"If you have no will to live anymore, it doesn't matter. But, in this world, the only one who can continue to grant you life is the Demon King, right?"
To bestow life...
The once familiar sight emerged again before Lisidorwei, her face pale, body shaking: "She won't grant me life. To her, vampires are just a failed creation... so it was for the first and second generations..."
Doro did not refute her; he merely asked, "So, do you wish to live?"