“I tell ya, it was all his fault! That bastard son of the Sevilles! I thought he was as incompetent as his late father… If it were not for him…I would…I would already be a high lord!”

Warlow von Clave shouted out loud to anyone who was unlucky enough to listen to his drunken sobbing.

Originally a lord who challenged other lords for their territories, he ended up being beaten in a duel by some brat, and even lost his dominant hand because of him.

Fearing Runfar Sevilles coming after him, Warlow kept the promise he made before the duel and surrendered all the riches and artifacts he had plundered from the territories he had conquered.

But after hearing that Runfar defeated the Onlegio Household and took over their territory, Warlow was scared out of his mind, which made him move away from Tracoa to Merok territory.

And now, he spent most of his time in a pub, drinking till a point he would start throwing a hysterical fit.

It was a rather sad sight to watch.

“If it were not for that brat, bastard of Sevilles, none would have contested my supreme authority! Even the king would have acknowledged me as a high lord! That evil, conniving, vile wretch of a puny….When I get my hands on him, I will…”

“My my, and I thought you were already over it, Clave. My mistake” That voice was awfully familiar.

Warlow von Clave turned around.

As he saw the red eyed blond man in half mask, he almost choked on his own words.

“Runfar Sevilles!”

“At your service” Runfar made a short bow as if to mock Warlow.

Runfar Sevilles was not alone; he was accompanied by a child and a strange woman.

“Guards, kill them, kill them all!”

There were at least twenty trained knights escorting him, Warlow had the numbers advantage.

But Runfar knew that all of them were simple hired goons.

None of them was anywhere as strong as a Holy Knight.

Warlow felt a very cold sensation pulsing through the air, for a moment, he thought he was on top of icy mountain, freezing to death.

He knew that sensation all too well; it was Runfar’s killing intent.

Experienced warriors that came close to and bested death on multiple occasions would develop a skill called killing intent.

Killing Intent allowed the experienced warriors to project a sensation of dread, terror, and extreme fear to the point of paralysis upon weaker enemies.

And Runfar Sevilles’s Killing Intent was extremely potent.

At least ten of his guards ended up passing out from it, convulsing on the ground.

Their instincts have realized it before their minds; they were no match for this man.

The remaining guards tried to fight, but Runfar and the little boy beat them senseless. The woman accompanying them could only watch in shocked silence.

Little boy looked rather feeble, but he was deceptively strong, in fact, during the fight that ensued, he beat up seven of guards while Runfar only defeated three of them.

“He is getting away!”

Seeing that his guards were not going to win, Warlow made a run for it.

But he did not manage to get far before he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Going somewhere?” Runfar used his Teleportation ring to a great effect.

“Aaaah!!!”

Warlow screamed before the man knocked him out cold with a chop to the neck.

“So loud. Well, considering what happened after I left the blood sucker alive, it is probably for the best for me to not leave any loose ends. But I still need to question him. Then I can dispose of him.”

* * *

As soon as he woke up and saw Runfar, the first thing Warlow uttered was.

“Please don’t kill me!”

Runfar struggled not to laugh out loud.

Now that was a priceless reaction.

Who would have thought that someone as arrogant and prideful as Warlow von Clave, the Conquering Bull, would be quivering in fear at his feet, begging for his life?

Dark Lord had to admit, being feared felt rather pleasant.

But Warlow’s fear was completely justified.

In their first meeting, Runfar disarmed him in a literal sense, leaving Warlow crippled and at Runfar’s mercy.

And now, Runfar shows up out of nowhere, almost like he came all the way to Merok just to hunt Warlow down.

Funnily enough, it was just a total coincidence that Runfar walked into a pub where Warlow was.

But since Warlow was in this city, presumably for a while, he should have some useful information, if he doesn’t, then it’s still fine.

Runfar was planning to have Warlow disposed of either way.

Of course, he was not going to tell Warlow that.

“I beg you, I will do anything…”

“Anything? In that case, answer a couple of my questions”

“Then you will let me go?”

“Depends on your answer”

“I understand.”

Runfar began.

“Do you know much about the prison located at the heart of Merok?”

“I have heard rumors about it”

“Have you heard of a man called the Deathless, the one who couldn’t be killed, only imprisoned?”

“Yes, I have heard of him. His name is Navek. He has been a prisoner there for a while, but he chose to be imprisoned there of his own free will. When they wouldn’t let him be imprisoned without a reason, he killed several Holy Knights, after that, he was locked up.”

“They put him on a death row, but no matter how many times they have proceeded with the execution, he would still be alive and well after each time.”

“Because of how many times they have failed to kill him, he was nicknamed ‘The Deathless’. That is all I know about him.”

“I see. Thank you for your cooperation.”

“So…Can I leave?”

“Yes, you can. To the afterlife, that is. Morphus!”

At his command, two large white wings sprouted from Morphus’s back, slashing Warlow’s throat.

Warlow’s body dropped to its knees, convulsing at his blood was draining away.

“Bon appetite” Dark Lord told Verine, who was still in shock after seeing little boy called Morphus sprout gigantic razor-sharp wings.

‘An undead fiend and an angel-folk person? What kind of a strange group have I ended up coming across?’

“You might want to feast on his blood now, before all the blood drains from him. So, drink up!”

Scared to disobey his suggestion, Verine did just that.

With her fangs sinking into what remained of Warlow’s neck, she drank his blood to her heart’s content.

It was a very rich blood, belonging to someone very strong.

The more blood she drank, the more deflated Warlow’s body became.

After about a minute, Warlow’s corpse looked like a mummified husk. Nearly all the liquid was drained from his corpse. It was a rather sad way to go.

But Dark Lord knew now that it was for the best to not leave any loose ends.

Since Warlow held grudge against Runfar, he could potentially become a threat to Dark Lord’s schemes.

Which was why Dark Lord decided to remove him from the game before the seeds of hatred within Warlow’s heart could blow into something dangerous.

“How long this meal will last you?”

“He was strong, his blood was rich with power. About a month at least” Verine found herself answering his question against her will.

“Perfect. By the way, Morphus, from now on, you are in charge of her.” Dark Lord muttered.

“Yes Master” Morphus replied.

“Blood sucker, this is Morphus, and he is your superior now”

After making the Lesser Vampire subordinate to his subordinate, Dark Lord thought about his other subordinates.

“I wonder how Meros and Camilla are doing on their mission.”

Their mission was to infiltrate a certain fortress inside Merok territory and find out just how much Holy Order knew about their organization.

It was a stealth mission, and those two were perfect for the job.