[The Title "Descendant Of Count Dracula, The First Vampire Count" is looking at you.]
The three remained unmoving, frozen.
"Are you okay? Didn't think I hit you that hard."
Raven took a step closer.
Only then, did Mark snap out of it.
"No... It's fine." He said in a low voice.
"Really? Why didn't you say a thing then?" Raven asked as he took another step closer.
"I just... I..."
Mark really didn't want him getting any closer.
He had no clear idea why that was the case.
Getting too close to him would bring nothing but trouble.
That's what it felt like.
"I'm not used to talking out loud yet." Mark lied.
"Oh... Right. Last time I was with Draconia you couldn't do that yet." Raven smiled. "Congrats."
"Thank... you."
The Vampire Lord clapped his hands and all felt a shiver go down their spine.
"Let's go back to the Boss Room."
He turned around, and started walking away.
Elisa and Krista turned towards Mark.
They stared at one another for only a fraction of a second.
Mark started walking.
The others followed him.
A Descendant Of Count Dracula.
A Descendant Of the First Vampire Count.
A Count whose existence was known to many.
A Count whose tale was well known. And not just by those inhabiting the Higher World.
[The Title "Descendant Of Count Dracula, The First Vampire Count" is looking at you.]
A Title that held meaning even to those from other Worlds.
"How is it, being able to talk?" Raven asked.
"G... Good. It's good. D... Different. Definitely feels different..."
Mark couldn't help but stutter.
The Vampire Lord took his time walking towards the Boss Room.
And the Devourer walked even slower.
Ten steps behind.
That was the distance Mark had instinctively settled on.
Anything closer than that, and he would have felt even less comfortable than he already was.
Anything closer than that, and Raven would have, perhaps, proven Mark's instincts right.
In silence, they walked.
Raven arrived at the stairs in front of the Boss Room's doors.
Right after walking up, he suddenly stopped.
From the corner of his right eye, Raven stared at Mark.
The latter immediately felt the urge to jump back.
He didn't.
"Remember me?"
Mark remained immobile and silent.
After a short moment, Raven walked through the Boss Room's doors.
Remaining ten steps behind, Mark's feet walked up the stairs.
And he, just like Raven had, stopped.
He turned around.
With a hand, he gestured to them to stay behind.
Both wanted to refuse, but they couldn't.
Having already left him behind earlier against a strong enemy, they couldn't come up with a good reason to stubbornly follow him now.
Mark followed the one supposed to be his Guide into the Boss Room.
In shambles.
It was in a much worse state than Mark thought it.
His memory of the events and fight was, after all, hazy at best.
The walls, floor, and the large pillars that supported the ceiling.
Everything had been damaged to a severe degree.
After a quick glance around, his gaze turned to Raven.
For the first time since he had started following him, his eyes dared to move up.
Covering the mysterious man's body, a cape dark on the outside, and red on the inside.
Pale skin.
Long nails.
Before Mark realized it, Raven stood at the center of the Boss Room.
He turned around.
Mark's lips parted, but no words exited his mouth.
Raven's head moved.
An unnoticeable nod, as if giving the other party permission to speak first.
"You're the one... Who brought me back inside... That time?"
Raven smiled.
"Yep. That was me. Glad you remember."
'Glad? Why?' Mark asked himself.
Raven looked around the Boss Room.
"She really put you through a tough one, huh? Didn't expect there would be a Test after the Guardian, let alone that the Test would be someone of Zephyr's level."
Mark's body twitched.
"Zephyr?"
"That's his name. The man you fought."
"Zephyr..." Mark whispered. "What... Mm... What happened?"
"When?"
Mark remained silent.
Every instinct in his body screamed at him to run away from the one in front of him.
"So... What now? Do I follow you...?"
"Hahaha!" Raven laughed out loud. "Man, Draconia really didn't tell you anything. I'm supposed to be your Guide outside. You don't have to be so wary of me."
He took two steps to the left, and took a seat on a big piece of rubble.
After a couple of seconds, Raven crossed his legs.
For some reason, Mark found that an indication that the Vampire Lord wanted him to talk.
"She... Didn't tell me a lot. Um... Draconia. Is that her name? Or is it Nia? Because she-"
The temperature inside the Boss Room immediately dropped.
"It's Draconia." Raven answered coldly.
Mark took a step back without meaning to.
"O... Okay. Alright."
Raven wiped his face for a moment.
"Ummm. Let's try this. Do you have any questions for me? About anything? We don't have much time, so get a move on."
Mark felt his body temperature drop.
"Don't have much time? Why? Is there something-"
"Oh, god. Relax. Guardian, Zephyr. I get it. One after the other, you expect something. Just... Don't. That's over now."
"Over...?"
"It is."
"..."
Mark didn't say a word, but it was obvious to Raven that he doubted his words.
"You can trust me, alright? I even went through the trouble of healing that one."
Raven extended a finger and pointed at a peeping Elisa.
Both Krista and her were looking at them through a hole in the wall.
Mark turned around, following the direction in which Raven's finger pointed, and they hid.
"You healed her...?"
"I did."
"From... What?"
'Tsk. I knew it would've been better to do that after he saw her guts hanging out...'
"She didn't have much time left. I'm guessing Zephyr's Spear went through her stomach."
"Guessing...?"
"Yes. I had just arrived."
"Arrived here?"
"Yes. I healed her, then I... Anyways. Point is I healed her, then stopped the fight."
"Why...?"
"Because I felt Zephyr was going too far. There was no need for this Test to be life or death."
Mark remained silent for a bit.
"That's the way this Dungeon has been though..."
"Exactly. You've had enough of that. So. Any other questions? It's the reason why I'm here. Ask away."
"Why did..." Gulp- "Why did you heal her?"
Raven's eyelids wavered slightly.
"Because I thought that's what you would have wanted." He answered honestly.
"I see..."
eaglesnovɐ1,сoМ After his encounter with Zephyr, Mark found the answer more than strange.
After all his time conversing with Nia, he couldn't trust those words fully.
Since when did what he wanted really matter to them?
"Think I would have wanted you to Devour her?" Raven whispered. His hands around his smiling mouth.
A knowing smile.
"Why are you whispering?"
"Well... Wouldn't want her to hear, right?"
The two looked at one another for a bit.
And a timid chuckle escaped Mark's mouth.
"Thanks. For healing her... And saving me. Both this time and that time."
"Don't worry about it." Raven smiled. 'Bingo!' He thought to himself.
They remained silent for a bit.
"I can ask anything?"
"Anything. I'll do my best to answer.
"Why was I brought here?"
"To this Dungeon, or to this World?"
Mark took a moment to answer, even though he didn't need to.
"This World."
"Mm." Raven nodded. "You'll have to ask Draconia's Lord that question."
"So... You don't know either?" Mark asked.
His tone seemed timid, but he had no choice. Asking with a different tone felt equivalent to putting his life in danger.
"I don't. I can tell you how you were brought here though. At least, what I know about that. Does it interest you?"
Mark was surprised to be asked this way.
"S... Sure. Yes. I'd like to know. Thanks."
"Well, well. Let's see... It starts with Shamah. Or perhaps by Gaavah asking him to... Mm. Let's start at the beginning. Gaavah is the Demon Lord Of Pride. Draconia told you that much at least, right?"
Nod-
"Mm... How to tell this without unnecessary details...? Alright. One day, four other Demon Lords team up against the Demon Lord Of Pride. Well, actually, three Demon Lords. They roped the fourth one in with a lie. Or was it? A lie?"
'Huh? So he isn't sure?' Mark asked himself.
"Anyways. Pride fought against Wrath. The two were the strongest Demon Lords at the time. Pride won, as was expected. Wrath was actually the one roped in. Those that had roped him in were Greed, Gluttony, and Envy. Alright? Following?"
"Yeah... I think so."
"Pride obviously didn't like that little... Prank. Apparently, that's how Greed referred to it. Hilarious, isn't it?" Raven chuckled.
Mark did too.
Though he didn't find it funny.
"So then Pride goes to the three Demon Lords in question one by one. Bam, bam, bam. Each got humiliated pretty badly apparently, even though Pride was quite worn out from his earlier fight against Wrath. One eye from the Demon Lord Of Greed, Fangs from Gluttony, and... There was something from Envy too. Can't remember exactly what it was."
'Do the details not matter or...?'
"And then you were made."
"Can I... Um... Uh..." Mark struggled to find the right words.
"What is it?" Raven asked, genuinely curious.
"Can I get a bit more detail?"
