Chapter 30 One Last Time

Atlas wasn't looking for a battle, especially since he could see that these Vampires weren't from the Severis Clan. He had seen all their faces at the meeting a few weeks ago when he pretended to be a guest there. None of these faces were familiar.

Since they weren't from Severis Clan, it was evident they weren't chasing after him. Moreover, there was a good chance that these Vampires didn't even know he was a Vampire, let alone a Progenitor.

Since they didn't know, he wanted to keep it that way and not get into a fight. The more energy he wasted, the more he was at the risk of falling into a blood urge phase. That's why he hadn't even used his super-speed to travel after leaving the castle.

He only walked or used carriages to travel. That's how he had managed to get so far in two weeks. However, after coming so far, he didn't want to end up in an unnecessary battle that didn't even concern him.

Watching a dark-haired Vampire walking toward him with hostility, Atlas acted as an ordinary human would. He stepped back.

The Vampire stopped before Atlas, reaching out his hand towards the shoulder of his.

As soon as the man placed his hand on his shoulder, Atlas could feel the man was applying some strength to bring him to his knees.

If Atlas wanted, he could've remained standing, shocking everyone, but he didn't want to. He acted as if his shoulder was hurt as he dropped to his knees.

"That's where you belong, human. On the ground!" the man said, glaring at Atlas.

The rabbit dropped from Atlas' hands and ran towards the woman in the distance as if it was running for his life.

The woman lowered her bow, wearing it on her shoulder. She placed the arrow in the quiver before going down to her knees. She picked up the small rabbit, taking it in her embrace. "Did that man scare you, Fluffy?"

Fortunately, the Vampire only applied enough strength to push Atlas to his knees and not more. After Atlas was down on his knees, he retracted his hand. It was more fortunate for the Vampire though, since Atlas didn't know how much he could act after that point. If he was truly being hurt, he couldn't just sit idly.

"Sigh, I never thought I would see my Master's body sitting on knees before a pitiful Vampire. What disgrace. If only you had drank some blood before, we wouldn't have faced this disgrace," Lilith commented in Atlas' ears. "However, for the current situation, it's the right decision. I'll let it go."

The dark-haired Vampire turned to the woman in the back. "Lady Yovana, do you want to kill this human yourself for this insolence?"

"Tristan! Before that, may I ask who told you to interfere? I was handling the situation, wasn't I?" the woman asked, talking about a different topic.

"But Lady Yovana, I heard you issuing a warning to him. And despite that, he wasn't freeing the small creature. I couldn't stand by and bear such disgrace. I took action, but I didn't kill him. I left the best part for you!" Tristan responded as if he had done nothing wrong.

Hearing the conversation between the two, Atlas was trying to understand as much as he could about the status quo between the human and the Vampires. Even as he sat on his knees, he kept his eyes down.

'I was right. The Vampires do respect that woman. In fact, she can even scold the Vampires. Her identity isn't simple. However, who can she be? Even if she was a human princess, there was no way she would be getting such respect...'

Atlas raised his head a bit, taking another glance at the beautiful woman who stood before the Vampires with a small snow-white rabbit in her arms.

"I would've killed him if he had refused to return Fluffy. But Fluffy is back now. Let that man go. Since the little guy is unharmed, I don't feel like killing that man," Yovana commanded as she took another glance at Atlas before turning around.

She left with the rabbit. "Don't run like that again. You know how scared I was, thinking I lost you forever?"

Even as the woman left, Atlas could still hear her words, getting weaker as she went farther from him. She left where she came from, disappearing into the forest. All the Vampires followed after her, leaving.

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However, there was one Vampire who was still left behind.

Tristan still stood before Atlas. "You think it's your lucky day because she forgave you, but you can't be more wrong. She might not want to kill you for your insolence of not going down on your knees as soon as you saw us, but I won't let that go," the Vampire said, taking two steps back.

There was a devilish grin on his lips. "You humans are really forgetting how you should behave before us, aren't you? Stand up as you did before. Let me see that same old bravery one last time. I promise I'll be quick."

"This idiot..." Lilith couldn't help but pity Tristan. It looked like he couldn't digest the kindness of Atlas. He was really looking to be taught a lesson.

Atlas placed his hand on the ground. "I am not looking for a conflict. I'm but a mere human. Please, let me be. I was just shocked to see you before me that I was late to go down on my knees."

Even in this situation, Atlas looked to avoid the battle. He didn't stand up.

"Really? You gained some common sense, it seems." Tristan smirked. His figure flickered. In the next second, he appeared before Atlas, covering the distance in the blink of an eye.  "However, it's too late."

A kick came flying, landing on Atlas's chest. The kick was strong enough to break a few bones of a human, but Tristan didn't use his full strength in that kick. He wanted to torture Atlas before ultimately killing him.

Boom~

Atlas's body shot back, crashing into a tree in the back. Since the kick didn't have enough strength, the tree stood standing even against the impact. On the other hand, it was Atlas who felt a bit hurt. However, it wasn't too much to handle. It was just a little pain in his chest.

"That hurt..." Holding his chest, Atlas slowly stood up. "I wanted to avoid this all. But it looks like there's no way out today. What a waste."

"Huh? You're still able to stand?" Tristan stared at Atlas in surprise, watching him stand. "You're pretty durable for a human."

Even though he hadn't placed all his strength behind that kick, it was still not something that a human could shrug off like it was nothing. Something was wrong about this human, he thought.

"Have you really decided you won't let me go?" Atlas inquired, seemingly tired. "I'm asking for one last time."

However, he received his answer not in the form of words but in the form of actions as Tristan once again attacked. This time he didn't hold anything back.