Chapter 10: The Sabbat Covenant

"Thank you?" Malachi shot Alastor a side-long glance, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Thank you for bringing the Inquisitor here? Thank you for nearly ending my eternal existence? Lord Archon."

His voice was so tender it made one's skin crawl.

Lord Archon? I widened my eyes, looking left and right. Where was this Lord Archon?

"What are you looking at? Here, I’m right here." Alastor grumbled, cupping my face with his hands and raising his eyebrows high.

"You? The Lord Archon?" I stared at him, my face full of disbelief.

Alastor looked absolutely delighted, practically beaming with pride. "Mhm, that’s right, it’s me—the Lord Archon!"

I gazed blankly at the vampire before me who was smiling as bright as spring sunshine. His blue eyes were as clear as a cloudless afternoon sky.

A vampire who didn't even seem like a vampire... was actually an Archon?

I was still caught in a state of massive shock when my waist suddenly tightened; Malachi had pulled me into his embrace.

Finding his own arms suddenly empty, Alastor glared at Malachi with indignation.

"You, clean this place up." Malachi’s long, pale hand rested naturally on my shoulder. He narrowed his eyes at Alastor, his exquisite lips parting lazily.

Looking at the surrounding wreckage, Alastor was highly dissatisfied. "White made this mess, why do I have to clean it!"

"The Inquisitor... wasn't he brought here by you?" A hint of sorrow was added imperceptibly to Malachi's bewitching eyes as he spoke softly.

"It wasn't me." The smile vanished from Alastor’s blue eyes as he looked at Malachi. "Whether it is White or you, I would never betray either of you."

Malachi paused for a moment, then curled his lips into a smile, the sorrow disappearing instantly. "Then clean this place up." He laughed with effortless, seductive charm.

"Fine." Alastor nodded instinctively, then jumped up. "I already said it wasn't me! Why do I still have to clean!"

"Because I’m injured," Malachi replied lazily. He turned back toward the bar and sat down with total composure.

Alastor gritted his teeth and swept his hand through the air.

Like magic, everything that was torn, shattered, or messy returned to its original state, shining like new. However, the boisterous sounds of people had vanished.

Silence reigned all around.

Everything could be restored to its original state, but the people who had died could not be brought back to life.

I walked slowly to the seat opposite Malachi and watched him mix drinks.

His long fingers held the shaker, moving with a rhythmic beat. Malachi looked up at me, his captivating eyes appearing somewhat blurred, as if covered by a layer of mist. Reaching for two crystal goblets from a nearby shelf, he focused intently on pouring a fragrant, blood-colored liquid into the glasses. The color of blood, the mesmerizing aroma—Malachi slowly pushed one glass toward me and picked up the other, tilting his head back to drain it in one gulp.

Under the lights, his neck was as beautiful and flawless as a piece of fine porcelain.

I stared in a daze, forgetting to drink.

Alastor strode over and sat down beside me with a grin. He snatched the glass from in front of me and took a large gulp, only to immediately complain bitterly. "Argh! Why on earth do you like the twisted drinks this guy mixes!"

Turning my head slowly, I looked at Alastor as he sat there grumbling with a sour face. "Where were you last night?"

Alastor looked surprised, then leaned in close with a mischievous grin like a cat that had found the cream. "Did you miss me?"

"Can I ever change back to the way I was?" I looked up at Alastor.

"It's very difficult. You don't even know who bit you..."

I bit my lip slightly, subconsciously turning the silver ring on my finger.

"Don't worry, I will protect you," Alastor promised, patting his chest.

"I want to change back to the way I was."

"Is that so?" Alastor looked heartbroken. "Is being one of the Blood Kind not fun?" He slowly raised a hand to stroke my cheek. "If I didn't have you, my heart... would surely shatter."

"Do you have someone very important to you?" Looking up, I stared earnestly into Alastor’s blue eyes and spoke softly.

I have Gareth. I don't want Gareth to see me like this when he returns.

"In six hundred years... I have never met anyone so important," Alastor murmured, stroking my cheek with an entranced expression. "You, you’ve made me understand the meaning of love at first sight..."

Ignoring Alastor’s theatrical performance, I glared at him.

"You really don't like being a vampire?" Alastor looked wounded. "Why? I thought my luck in love would be a bit higher. Reiga fell for a human girl, Malachi fell for a traitor... White has been suffering in love for a thousand years... I thought I would be luckier, not falling for my own snack, nor having a tragic romance that turns my hair white... Oh... Rory... my Rory... you wouldn't be so heartless to me, would you..."

Tiring of Alastor’s exaggerated acting, I noticed a man standing behind him who looked like an ice sculpture. White shirt, long black suit, short choppy black hair—he had a perfect face, yet it was devoid of expression.

"Heh... heh-heh..." Alastor gave a dry laugh. "Do you know Reiga?"

"You long-tongued man," a detached voice said.

Alastor turned and pointed to the ice-sculpture man, grinning broadly without a hint of embarrassment. "Look, this is Reiga."

I wasn't too surprised. First Alastor, then Malachi, then Albus, and now Reiga. These vampires, whom I never would have dreamed of before, were appearing before me one by one.

I never knew there were so many hidden existences in this city. But then again, who could know? Even when Malachi stood right before me at the candy shop, I hadn't recognized him as a vampire.

"If you have time to wag your tongue here, it would be better to go do some actual work," Reiga spoke, his voice completely flat.

"Any news on the Sabbat Covenant?" Alastor looked at Reiga.

"Several blood-drinking murders in the city recently were all committed by vampires of the Sabbat Covenant," Reiga nodded.

"Sabbat Covenant?" Recalling the news report from last night, I was confused; it was a new term to me.

"There are three realms in this world: Heaven, the Demon Realm, and the Human Realm. The vampires of the Camarilla lineage live in the Demon Realm, ruled by Her Majesty the Queen. When the Queen founded the Camarilla, she established six Traditions as laws, requiring all descendants to strictly obey: the First Tradition of Masquerade, the Second of Domain, the Third of Progeny..." Alastor gave me a meaningful look at the word Progeny. "The Fourth of Responsibility, the Fifth of Hospitality, and the Sixth of Destruction. Any violation of these six laws results in severe punishment. Do you understand this explanation?"

I nodded.

"Too much talk. The matter isn't settled yet," Reiga said calmly, his voice quiet but brookng no refusal.

"Reiga, Rory is my creation, I have the responsibility to teach her," Alastor spoke with a sense of duty, taking the opportunity to pull me into his arms and steal a bit of a hug. "Four hundred years ago, a rebellion occurred in the Demon Realm. Sol betrayed the Queen in a bid for power and was banished. Sol led a group of rebel vampires out of the Demon Realm to hide in the Human Realm, forming the Sabbat Covenant. Because they ignore the Traditions, the 'Final Judgment' of the God Tribe is imminent. If we aren't careful, the Blood Kind will face total annihilation and return to nothingness," Alastor said with rare seriousness. "Therefore, our mission in leaving the Demon Realm is to subdue the Sabbat Covenant."

I continued to nod, thinking Alastor’s image had become much more impressive.

"However, the luckiest part of this trip... was meeting you..." Changing his tone, Alastor began gazing at me affectionately, his words turning sappy again.

The image he had just built up collapsed instantly.

"The Sabbat Covenant acts with great secrecy; we still have no leads," Reiga stated flatly, as if long used to Alastor going off-topic. Then he glanced at Malachi.

Malachi kept his eyes downcast, his thick lashes curling slightly. He sat to the side, quietly fiddling with his empty crystal glass as if he didn't exist.

In the still air, there wasn't even the sound of breathing. It was so quiet, save for Reiga’s monotonous, flat voice. "Recently, the Sabbat branch in this city has been very active. It seems they are planning something big."

"Sol won't come looking for me. You don't need to wait for the tiger here." Malachi’s lazy voice rang out unexpectedly, carrying an indescribable weariness.

"Malachi..." The ice-like face shifted slightly as Reiga frowned.

Alastor had just said Malachi fell for a traitor. Looking at their expressions now, I suddenly had a flash of realization—could the person Malachi was waiting for be Sol of the Sabbat Covenant?

And Alastor bringing me to this bar wasn't a coincidence or a simple visit to a friend; he was here to capture Sol? And Malachi had essentially become... the bait?

Using Malachi as bait to catch the one he loved?

I suddenly felt a surge of indignation. I turned to look at Malachi, but he was staring down at the glass in his hand, his wine-red hair falling over one side of his face and revealing only his smooth, jade-like neck. I couldn't see his expression.

"It's five o'clock." Alastor spoke abruptly, glancing at the clock on the wall.

Reiga cut his sentence short immediately and vanished into thin air.

I was startled. "What happened to him? Is it an emergency?"

"Him? He’s going to see his 'snack'," Alastor laughed.

"Snack?" I remembered Alastor’s earlier words. "That human girl?" As I said it, I felt a pang of bitterness. That... human girl. What about me? I wasn't human anymore.

"Mhm. Saying good morning before five o'clock, before the sun rises—that is the only thing Reiga can do, and must do." Alastor smiled with his eyes narrowed, his blue gaze flickering with a faint emotion.

The only thing he can do? Those words sounded... rather bitter.

Malachi could wait in a bar for four hundred years, and might have to wait forever throughout his eternal life, even though a meeting would still be tainted by the crime of betrayal. Reiga was in such a hurry to leave just to say good morning to a girl before he was forced back into the shadows. Love is certainly not a good thing.

When I turned back, Malachi had already disappeared into the side of the bar.