Chapter 76 76: Blood Council

Atlas came out of the forest with Lancaster accompanying him. Lilith and Yovana walked in the back, talking about something that Atlas didn't care for.

The only thing he cared about was Yovana's real identity which she said she was going to tell on the way to the Kingdom of Wolves.

​ For now, he was immersed in trying to explain his reasoning for not telling Lancaster that he was a Progenitor. For what he needed to do next to keep his promise, he needed the help of Lancaster, and it could only happen if Lancaster trusted him.

Atlas didn't tell Lancaster that his spirit had transmigrated inside the body of Castiel. Instead, he made up another story to justify why he hid his real identity.

"So you lost your memories?" Lancaster asked incredulously.

"That's right. I don't remember what happened in the past. When I woke up, my mind was completely blank. Even now, I can't recall many things from my past. That's why this body might be of Castiel, but mentally I'm a different person for now, at least until I recover my memory." Atlas agreed.

"And the day my memories return, I will be forever changed. The person you know as Atlas would be dead that day, and the one who will take his place will be Castiel."

He couldn't tell the story of his soul jumping bodies, but he did find a way to tell the essence of his situation by using a different example. He talked about how he was going to die when Castiel returned, but he made that in the form of memories instead of telling the truth that his entire soul was going to be destroyed before the real Castiel could return.

"So you told me the truth... Even though it wasn't the exact truth, it wasn't a lie either," Lancaster chose to believe Atlas since he could really see it in his eyes.

"Now that I've done what I wanted, I don't believe I have any desires left. Every day I get from this point on is a bonus day for my existence."

"Do you really think it's a good idea to go to the Kingdom of Wolves? Why don't you enjoy your life instead of risking it again to free Atlan? We don't even know what kind of person he is, but if every side worked so hard to capture him, he must not be a good person. Moreover, his security should be impossible to break as well."

Lancaster had a really bad feeling about their next plan of action. He believed it was too risky for Atlas. For him, it was slightly safer, but not for Atlas.

"Have you ever been to the Kingdom of Wolves?" Atlas asked.

The young man shook his head. "You know I haven't. Do you even need to ask? Even if I'd been there, I don't remember since I must've been really small. From as far as I can remember, I've lived with the humans far away from the Vampires of Wolves."

"That's also a reason why I believe it's so risky. Even though I'm a Werewolf, I have no idea what kind of security there will be or what kind of threats you'll have to face. There's only one thing that I'm sure of...."

"And that is?"

"It's that they will know that you're a Vampire from the moment you step closer to the Kingdom. The Werewolves can sense a Vampire, the awakened Werewolves at least. I'm sure there will be many such ones."

"As soon as you get there, all the attention will be on you. They might even attack you right away. If things become bad, the Werewolf King himself would come to kill you. You might be a Progenitor, but as you said, you aren't what you used to be. You'll be weaker in that case. Instead of being able to save Atlan, you might be imprisoned right beside him."

"There is certainly a possibility of that." Atlas agreed.

"Then why do you still want to take the risk? As you said before, you've protected the grave of Misella. No one can harm her now. So even if you break your promise, no one can do anything. So why? Why risk your life again?"

"If you thought the Lords were hard to defeat, then just imagine a Werewolf King who had always been comparable to a Progenitor since ancient times."

"You're not wrong." Atlas nodded. "If I were in your place, even I would've called myself an idiot for going through with this promise, but I feel like I need to do this. It's not just about the promise at this point. It's about more than that."

"More than that? Like what?"

"It's about something that will change the world forever... And for that, I will need to meet Atlan," Atlas explained.

"Change the world forever? Can you be more clear?"

"I-"

Atlas tried to explain, but he stopped mid-way. His attention was attracted by fierce barking.

He had stepped out of the forest and was already on the outskirts of the town when he heard the barking. In the distance, he also noticed the one who was barking.

It was a small dog who was barking at a person. Since Atlas could only see the back of that person, he didn't know who that was, but that person was really well dressed. These weren't the clothes that any poor villager of this village could afford.

This really surprised him. Why would someone from a wealthy family come to this town?

There was another surprising element for Atlas since he also recognized that dog who was barking. The dog had a beautiful collar made from a cloth strip that was tied around his neck.

"The little guy has gotten so big." Atlas smiled as he recognized the dog with that collar. "I last saw you when you were just a puppy, and Misella brought you home and placed that collar around your neck."

The dog was also a favorite of Misella. She used to play with him almost daily. He was just a puppy at that time. So many years had passed since he last saw that dog.

As Atlas lost himself in the memories of the past where he helped Misella make that collar, the well-dressed man turned around.

He lazily glanced at the dog, who didn't stop barking at him for a single moment.

"Another Vampire in the village?" Lancaster commented grimly.

As the man turned around, Lancaster was able to see the pale face of the young man, who appeared as if he was only in his early twenties. The man had blood-red eyes.

Yovana also noticed the man. Her lips parted as she noticed a black mark on the back of the young man's hands.

"Blood Council?!" she exclaimed softly.

The young man had a blood moon carved on the back of his hand, which was completely lifelike. Not many recognized that mark, but the ones who did knew what it meant.

Both Yovana and Lilith knew the meaning of that mark. It was the mark of the Blood Council that was only given to the Direct Members of the Blood Council.

The young man appeared to be frustrated at the constant barking of the dog. No matter how many times he tried to ignore the dog, the dog just kept following him, irritating him to no extent.

The man was so frustrated that his patience gave up.

He raised his right foot, preparing to stomp the dog to his death.

The man brought his feet down. Even though he appeared as if he had applied no strength behind this stomp, for a man like him, even this casual stomp was strong enough to crush a rock.

Thud~