"That's...that's gross!"
Curtis muttered and thanked his situation wasn't that, if he had been a human the man would definitely have puked.
Zaiden felt a warm gush of shiver down his spine and came back to his senses.
"That's not gross, that is our food. What a lifeless being like you would understand!?"
Valos rebuked him and cautiously walked towards Zaiden, the young boy threw the body on the floor.
Disgust and trauma was evident on his face, injecting a serum in his veins was a different thing comparatively practicing somewhat cannibalism.
"Are you feeling good, kid?"
The old man tried to inspect while Zaiden faced him with a horrendous expression. The boy did not seem to understand the situation and blankly stared at Valos.
"Wha-?"
No matter how mature Zaiden already was, the boy had never expected any such thing from himself. He could not trust himself with numerous things but the current incident had shocked him too.
He began to question his ethics ironically, although Zaiden didn't kill anybody who could not serve him any purpose. The ingenious criminal had targeted the particular clans of vampires, only those who ought to possess the family heirlooms.
"Don't worry, it will taste like dirt at first. But once you get used to drinking blood, it will taste bacon."
Valos assured him in his boasting yet happy tone. After all, the emergence of a noble blood was equivalent to finding a flame flickering in the midst of a tornado!
"Who are you? And where am I?"
Zaiden reflexively grabbed the spear of the dead guard and positioned himself to attack. In his mind he called out to Curtis for help, but his eyes remained keenly fixated on Valos.
"Pardon me for my rudeness, I'm Valos. The royal chemist of castlevania is at your service."
He touched his white conical shaped beard and bowed a little to greet Zaiden with his proper introduction.
"Master, are you alright? How are you feeling?"
Curtis floated closer to him to ensure Zaiden's sanity. The boy took his time to inspect the whole situation.
'Royal chemist of castlevania? It means we are inside the palace now. But how did the things escalate?'
The series of questions bombarded in his head.
But surprisingly Zaiden didn't feel any headache, although he could not remember anything after fainting.
"Yes, I'm fine. Better than ever actually,"
The boy tightened his grip around the spear, and replied to Curtis. After having the desired blood group his strength had returned and Zaiden became recharged.
"But what did actually happen?"
Curtis briefly explained the situation, while Valos picked up the blood bags to clear the table. The old man was all ears to their conversation since he could hear Curtis, despite being a ghost clearly.
Valos once was mighty and had surpassed the limits, it was not a big deal for him to spot Curtis. Before they could interact with Valos for further insights, the ground rumbled with the loud thump.
"What...is happening?"
Zaiden could sense some dark energy drawing close by, his body experienced intimidation. Valos dashed towards the window to confirm his hunch, and spotted king Lyre Theon with the survivors entering castlevania.
"You have to get out of here."
Valos grabbed Zaiden's hand and panicked. His suspicions had been growing with every passing second.
"Go to east kingdom, tell them the prophecy has come into action."
Valos managed to draw another rune on the air which shone bright, and a portal appeared to a few miles away from Xandaya.
"Wait, what is happening? I'm unable to grasp anything."
Zaiden complained as he wanted the answers immediately. But the time was slipping and Valos needed to keep the flame of hope lit.
"There's no time, you will understand everything when you will reach east kingdom. Tell Solarians that Valos sent you."
Valos pushed Zaiden towards the portal, and signaled Curtis.
"Keep him safe, he is our only hope!"
In just single blink of an eye they both were outside the west kingdom, Xandaya.
"What the heck is happening here? It's annoying me now."
Zaiden stomped his feet on the ground in irritation, when the notification popped up in the corner of his eye.
[Tame the blood thirst. Unlock one privilege.]
"Not again! How would I know how to control this fucking thirst, when I don't even know what's happening to me?"
Curtis closely evaluated Zaiden in case he was affected by anything just like before. The boy had no clue which direction was the Solarian kingdom, and why the heck they needed to visit them desperately.
On the other hand King Lyre barged inside Valos' chamber with his guards. The man wore a sinister smile, and held Valos stranded in the air.
"Where is that noble blood?"
Valos nearly choked due to the grasp of black smoke around his neck.
"I don't know what are you talking about. And I know that you aren't the king but as imposter."
The old man already sensed that the current King was not Lyre Theon, the masked person who saved his life had killed Theon to replace him.
"Oh, you are sharp yet disobedient. I have no place for a disloyal person in my kingdom."
The imposter king raised his other hand and black smoke emerged from his palm, converting into thin sharp needles. He let out a soft chuckle and bid his farewell to Valos, the needles pierced his flesh making numerous small holes.