With a wave of her hand, Bela opened the door, revealing a hall even more imposing than the rest of the mansion, with black velvet furniture and antique chandeliers casting shadowy lights.
"Why so dark... seriously, light bulbs exist, you know? Why use candles?" Strax questioned, hiding his hands in his pockets.
"Brightness isn't really our thing... besides, we can see in the dark, so it doesn't matter much..." Bela replied, leading the way.
"..." Strax fell silent. No matter how much he tried to argue, this annoying girl always had a response ready to contradict him.
So, he just decided to ignore her and started searching for Scarlet using his Dragon Eyes, analyzing all the mana around as he traced strand after strand of energy.
"Let's see..." he murmured.
He began mapping the entire mansion with his sensitivity to mana. He saw a long hallway, then his vision picked up more energy and finally, he found someone... A woman, but it wasn't who he was looking for. Her aura was different; she was in the bathroom taking a shower. Ignoring this, he continued searching until he finally found two vampires. Both were in a room not far from where he was.
"I found her," Strax smiled, ignoring the girl in front of him as he started walking off without waiting for her. "H-Hey! Where are you going?"
"To confront my kidnapper," Strax said, grinning as he walked in a straight line, destroying every wall in his way and setting them ablaze with [Infernal Flame Manipulation].
"Oh... what a mess..." Bela muttered, her eyes gleaming. "My mother's going to kill him if she sees this... well, whatever, it's his life." She said, strolling after him.
~~
~~
As Vergil approached, two women with long red hair and crimson eyes were sipping red "tea" as they looked up at the moon.
"So, why did you kill your husband? He wasn't *that* bad, was he? I mean, you chose the best available," Scarlet said to the woman beside her in a neutral tone.
The woman next to her, dressed elegantly in long black stockings, a short sky-blue dress, and black high heels, sat with her legs crossed, sipping her "tea" with calm grace.
"He wanted your approval; he was only here for you, so why should I care? I killed him, his clan, his parents, and his friends. Inferior people need to know their place." She explained, completely neutral.
"The usual, huh? Tsk, is it so hard to see my daughters married and happy?" Scarlet remarked, her eyes seeming a bit... sad? Well, who could really say what was on her mind.
"Indeed... well, the world isn't a fairytale where we can just live happily ever after, is it? I wanted romance, but men are just so... Ah..." She began, but ended with a sigh, slightly disappointed.
"Cassandra, my dear eldest daughter, why don't you just *make* a 'husband'? Kidnap him, castrate him, and mold his mind... shouldn't be too hard with your charm. How long ago did I suggest this?" Scarlet asked, as if searching her memory.
"763 years ago," Cassandra replied in a flat tone.
"Ah yes... before the war; back then it was easy to find idiots and turn them into vampires without much fuss..." She paused briefly. "My memory's a bit faulty with my advanced age." She laughed seductively.
"Oh... that... well, it's not a lie anyway, is it? Blame me for spreading lies, not for stating facts," Bella shrugged...
"Ah yes, screw you both, I want you two to just disappear together. Now, I have business with her over there, can you leave?" Strax said as if he had any authority, which made... Cassandra quite angry... Bella, on the other hand, just smiled, knowing what would happen...
"Bow. Insect." Cassandra said, throwing all her pressure on him... And nothing happened...
"Look, I know you're strong, but how about stopping your weak intentions on me?" Strax said before turning to Cassandra. "Kneel, bitch."
And Bella's same reaction happened...
A chill ran through her body, and her eyes widened as she felt the overwhelming presence of a massive Red Dragon, looking at her with golden eyes as if she were just an insect...
"W-What?" Cassandra stammered... "You're..." "Your aura is just like hers..."
"He's her son," she said with a smile as she looked at Strax from head to toe...
"... Older sister..." Cassandra murmured, her eyes watering slightly, and she fell silent.
"Hm? Older sister?" Bella said, only to be interrupted by Strax again.
"Why did you kidnap me?" he questioned the older woman.
Her smile began to infect him somehow, and she stood up from the couch and walked toward him quite 'sensually.' For a moment, Strax froze, seeing the woman's body, dressed in clothes clinging to her curvaceous figure... His gaze fixed on her ample chest. Those beautiful mountains were full, round, smooth, and perfectly shaped...
She approached Strax and softly touched his face, speaking in the same seductive tone, as if trying to tempt him...
"Don't you want to save your dear sister? Besides... didn't you want to fight me? You're not strong enough, you'd probably die just from my aura alone; don't you want to know what comes after my aura? Come on... I saw that look... you were dying to attack me..." she began, provoking him with her voice...
"Well, in a way... Yes." Strax responded. 'Am I blushing?!! I never blush!!!' he roared internally.
"Should we do this, then?" Her smile shifted to that of a predator, showing all her refined teeth.
"Well... saying it like that..." Strax said as a smile appeared on his face, but it wasn't for wanting to become stronger; it was for something else...
'I WANT HER FOR MYSELF! I WANT THIS WOMAN, YES! A LIFE GOAL! I WANT HER!!!' he roared internally like a mad dog, although he didn't show any of it...
Cassandra, who had been silent since hearing he was the disciple's son, couldn't hold it anymore and let out a long, heavy sigh...
"Ah, crap... She found another lunatic." Cassandra said, but Strax just ignored her and glared at Scarlet.
Her smile changed to a very satisfied one, and then she took her hand off Strax's face and looked somewhere...
"COME HERE!" She screamed loud enough for the entire room to shake.