[Location: Morningstar Manor, New York]

Dawn filtered through the window when I woke early. Today, I wanted to take a look into the dungeon [Vampire King's Castle], just for resonance, after reading Codex of Nocturnal Sovereigns in the library last night, about Alucard Dracul Tepes.

Even though I tried to boost my confidence by picturing him as a dried-up raisin of a corpse after a few millennia without blood, for what, several millennia?

I can't shake the feeling that I'm poking a dragon's nest with a toothpick.

Even if Alucard Tepes had been sealed for thousands of years, just reading those texts was enough.

• The Vampire King — "The True Immortal"

— Let me clear something up for the ignorant and incompetent. The Vampire Count Form is nothing more than the most talented Vampires recovering the Ancient Form that was used hundreds of thousands of years ago, when even the current Gods did not exist.

— The Form of Ancient Vampires. Our True Form. When a Vampire achieves full Vampire Count Form, he is only one step closer to returning to our Origins of the past.

Our original Power... It was a Power that even the strongest monsters of the past feared, and because of that fear, they joined with the other strongest monsters of the time and crippled our Race.

— Helel, also later known as Lucifer Morningstar, was the one to end the Vampire King's reign.

— The Vampire King, Alucard Dracul, was not slain by blade, spell, or holy rite. He was sealed. Bound beneath his own castle by the Archangel, Helel, for crimes that transcended death.

— He drank divinity. He feasted on godflesh. He dared to taste the ichor of the Archangels themselves.

— For that, even the Thrones trembled.

— But Helel could not kill what was beyond death. The seal was made using three fragments of the Crown—the same that bound the Morningstar's soul. When the Morningstar fell, so too did the prison weaken.

I glanced at Zeraphira, still asleep beside me, and smiled faintly. Though once again, we did cross that line. The experience was anything but... intense.

After changing and completing the daily quest, I was already inside the kitchen flipping pancakes as Zeraphira's sleepy voice drifted from the doorway, soft and lazy."Morning already, darling~? You're actually cooking again?"

I glanced back at her, spatula in hand. "Cooking keeps me sane. And you keep eating everything before I even get to taste it."

She giggled, stretching with the languid grace of a cat. "You make it sound like that's a bad thing. You like feeding me."

Her hair dishevelled, wearing one of my shirts that hung far too loosely on her frame. Her eyes blinked open and closed, adjusting to the light, a faint yawn escaping her lips.

She crossed the threshold and draped herself over my shoulder with practiced familiarity.

Her arms slipped around my waist, chin resting lightly on my shoulder as she murmured, "Mmm… smells great. You're getting too good at this, my love. If you keep this up, I might start believing you were born to be my househusband."

I flipped the pancake and deadpanned, "You're already treating me like one."

Zeraphira chuckled, warm breath brushing against my ear. "Well, someone has to make sure you're domesticated before the rest of the girls find you again."

That last line made me stiffen slightly. Her tone was playful, but beneath it… There was that familiar sharpness. Possessiveness wrapped in silk.

"Right," I said casually, sliding the golden pancake onto a plate. "Speaking of which, any plans on going back to hell?"

"Me? Leaving you? Never, I'm not anywhere you're not," she finished, her voice soft yet carrying that undertone of absolute certainty that could melt iron or freeze blood. Her chin pressed a little firmer against my shoulder, eyes half-lidded. "Hell can burn. I've got everything I need right here."

I sighed. "You sound like you're proposing."

She smiled faintly. "If I were, would you say yes?"

"…Let's not tempt fate before breakfast," I muttered, plating another pancake.

Zeraphira hummed a lazy tune, then slipped around to sit at the counter, watching me with a small, content smile. For all her teasing, her aura was calm today—less of that chaotic, possessive current that usually lingered around her. Maybe the calm before another storm.

Still, I couldn't ignore that deep chill running through my veins since last night. The name Alucard Tepes had been echoing in my head even after the System's notification faded.

[Quest — "Trial of Blood and Moonlight"]

[Objective: Conquer the Dungeon — Vampire King's Castle]

[Reward: ???]

[Penalty for Failure: Level Reduction -100]

Even the System, usually smugly cryptic, had gone eerily silent after issuing that quest. No sarcastic remarks. No smug comments. Just that single, ominous objective.

That alone told me everything I needed to know—this wasn't a test for power. It was a warning.

"Darling?" Zeraphira's voice cut through my thoughts, pulling me back. She was stirring her coffee lazily, one leg crossed over the other. "You're zoning out again. What's on your mind?"

I blinked, offering a practised smile. "Just… thinking about going on a... date?"

She blinked. I blinked back. She blinked back again. I blinked back return.

"... what is 'date'?"

I almost fell, barely caught the skillet before it clattered to the floor. "You—you don't know what a date is?"

Zeraphira tilted her head, her expression a perfect mix of confusion and mild curiosity. "Is it… a kind of ritual? Like those human blood-bond ceremonies you showed me on that 'Netflix' thing?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose, exhaling slowly. "No, it's not a ritual, it's—okay, technically it is a ritual, but not that kind. It's just when two people go out together to… spend time. Eat. Talk. Do something fun."

Her eyes brightened with dawning realisation. "Oh! So, it's foreplay?"

"WHAT—No!" I groaned. "It's not—Zera, stop saying things like that before I choke on my own soul."

She smirked, sipping her coffee innocently. "Hmm. So, this 'date'... You want to take me on one?"

I met her gaze and immediately regretted it. Her eyes—those ancient, shimmering crimson pools—were already softening with dangerous affection. The kind that said you'd better not be taking anyone else anywhere.

"…Yeah," I said carefully, forcing a smile. "You. Only you. A normal human date."

Zeraphira's smile turned radiant, but there was a flash of possessive glee behind it that made me internally brace for impact. "A human date," she repeated, testing the phrase like a curious scholar dissecting a foreign word. "Then I accept, darling. But…" Her gaze sharpened. "…if another woman looks at you too long, I'll turn her eyes into earrings."

"…That's not how dates work," I muttered.

She leaned over the counter, chin propped on her palm, lips curving in a grin that was far too amused for my peace of mind. "Then I'll learn. I'm a fast learner. You can teach me… everything."

I sighed, handing her a plate. "Eat your pancakes before you start threatening international incidents."

She giggled, forked a bite, and moaned softly. "Mmm… goooood. You sure you didn't put any of that 'juice' in here, my love? Because this is delicious."

I got mortified. I know what she meant by 'juice'. "Sigh~ Zera, you will be the death of me someday."

Zeraphira smiled slyly, eyes glittering like fresh blood on moonlight. "Death by love, darling. Isn't that the most romantic way to go?"

I rolled my eyes and sat across from her, sipping my own coffee. The warmth didn't reach me. My mind kept circling back to that cursed notification.

Trial of Blood and Moonlight.

Even the name sounded like a dare.

The last time the System gave me a quest without a clear reward, it nearly got me killed inside that collapsing abyssal gate in the lower catacombs. This one... this felt worse. Much worse.

Still—there was something else gnawing at me.

The seal fragments.

Helel—Lucifer—had used fragments of the Crown to bind the Vampire King.

And I have one in my inventory. Does that mean I take the key to free that monster directly to him?

That realisation sat heavy in my gut, colder than ice.I barely noticed when Zeraphira's hand brushed mine.

"You're frowning again," she murmured softly. "I don't like it when you do that. Makes me want to… remove whatever's causing it."

I looked up. She meant it.

Zeraphira didn't threaten—she promised.

"Zera," I said slowly. "I was just worried about Fia. When will she gain consciousness?"

Now that I think about it, Zera didn't even ask from did where I got [Phenex Tear(Diluted)].

"She will be fine. I checked her demonic heart; the recovery speed is slow but steady. Whatever you fed her is working, so don't worry, your 'maid' will be back on her feet in no time."

Zeraphira's tone when she said maid carried an edge sharper than a diamond. I didn't even need to look up to know that faint smile of hers had turned into something subtly venomous.

"Right," I muttered, trying to sound neutral as I cut into my pancake. "She's been with me a long time, Zera. I just… owe her that much."

Zeraphira twirled her fork idly, eyes hooded and dangerous. "Mmh. Of course. Loyalty deserves reward. Though, I'd prefer if your rewards were a little more… exclusive."

My eyebrow twitched. "Exclusive, as in—"

"Mine." Her voice lowered to a sultry whisper. "And only mine."

I gave a long-suffering sigh. "Zera…"

!!!

Just then—

"GRANDNEPHEW! IT ME—"

***

Stone me, I can take it!

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