"So you're just going to suck me dry? Directly?" Yulia's voice took on a sharp, mocking edge.

She cleared her throat, tilting her chin up as a sneer touched her lips. "No way... are there really vampires in this century who still drink raw blood? Are you actually that backwater and old-fashioned?".

Adela's red pupils narrowed into slits. "What are you talking about?".

"Highest-tier ingredients require the most basic preparation," Yulia said, pointing at the beasts lurking in the shadows.

"Kill a few of those. I'll show you why my blood is 'divine'".

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A shadow blotted out the stars.

Ollie's wings beat a frantic rhythm against the night air, his crimson feathers ruffling.

"Over there! I smell Lily's blood!" the phoenix shrieked. "There's vampire blood, too! And monsters! Lord Caerus, you're flying too fa—!"

A massive gust of wind knocked Ollie back as the Black Dragon's wings snapped shut. Caerus didn't answer; his golden slit eyes were fixed on the jagged castle on the cliff.

"Bold," the dragon rumbled, his voice a low, vibrating growl. He dove, transforming into a black-haired man mid-air and smashing through the arcane barrier like it was thin glass.

The heavy castle doors exploded into splinters. Caerus stepped over the wreckage, his boots clicking against the stone as Ollie scrambled to keep up.

They found them in the garden. Yulia stood over a bubbling copper pot, a spoon in her hand, while Adela gripped her wrist.

An hour ago, Yulia had started the fire. She had gathered the blood of a Blood-Lust Deer, letting it set with salt and water into firm, dark blocks.

Chili and peppercorns sizzled in the oil, sending a sharp, spicy aroma into the cool night air. She dropped the blood tofu into the spicy broth, the scent rising in a steaming cloud.

The vampire princes had watched with suspicion until the first taste.

"It's... actually good," one muttered, his fangs retracting as he reached for another bowl.

Caerus stood in the doorway, staring at the kidnappers and the hostage fighting over a spicy stew.

"Lord Caerus?" Yulia blinked, her knuckles white as she gripped her spoon.

Caerus didn't look at the pot. His eyes stayed on Adela's hand, still clamped around Yulia's wrist. Should I cut the hand off, or snap the fingers one by one?

Adela didn't pull away. He twined a lock of Yulia's golden-sand hair around his finger, revealing the two small puncture marks on her neck.

"Long time no see, Lord Dragon," Adela purred, leaning into Yulia's neck. He inhaled the scent of roses and fresh blood. "I might just give her the First Kiss... make her my favorite daughter".

Yulia shoved Adela's face away, her sapphire eyes flashing. "I'm fine, really. I don't need—".

She stopped.

The ground beneath their feet let out a deep, hollow groan. The earth began to shake.

The ancient castle groans. Vibrations rattle the stone floor, escalating into a violent tremor. Caerus stands at the center of the gale, the eye of a sudden, erupting hurricane.

Wind howls, stripping the tapestries from the walls. Adela and his princes fly backward, thrown dozens of meters by the shockwave. They slam into the trembling masonry.

A thunderous roar echoes through the forest. Stone shatters. Wood splinters.

Dust chokes the air, thick and gray. In a heartbeat, the fortress is gone, reduced to a jagged pile of rubble.

Yulia stands in the wreckage, clutching her spoon. Adela... your house just exploded.

The architect of the chaos remains still. He doesn't look at the ruin he created. He looks at Yulia.

"Come here."

Yulia trudges over, her boots crunching on broken glass. She stops in front of the black-haired man.

Caerus towers over her, his tall, lean frame cutting a sharp silhouette against the moonlight. His expression is a wall of frozen ice.

Yulia catches her reflection in his grey-blue eyes. The high god reaches out, his pale fingers brushing the dust from her golden hair.

"What were you going to say?" His voice is low, as steady as a heartbeat.

Yulia looks at her spoon, then at the spot where her copper pot vanished. "I... I was going to say... the Mao Xue Wang was actually pretty good?"

Caerus stares. The silence stretches between them. "That's it?"

"Oh. One more thing." Yulia points toward the pile of bricks where Adela is buried. She looks like a child reporting a bully. "He spilled your milk tea. And he called it 'disgusting'."

Caerus stands motionless. A cold weight settles over the ruins.

Rubble shifts. Bricks slide and crash as a figure claws its way out of the soot.

"Something's... wrong..." Adela stumbles, his crimson eyes flared with a frantic light. "You aren't the Dark God. Who are you?"

Caerus doesn't answer. He glances at Yulia's neck. "Heal yourself. Walking around with dog bites isn't a good look."

Adela snarls, his face contorting. "Don't ignore me. I know the Dark God's dragon flame. I fought for you a century ago."

Adela's gaze narrows, sharp and searching. "But you're using Light Magic. Divine arts. How can a Dark God use the power of Radiance?"

Yulia's mind races. Dark and Light... one entity?

Flame erupts. A wall of fire sweeps across the ruins toward Adela.

"You died the second you spilled that tea," Caerus says. His eyes are molten, pitiless voids. "Corpses don't get to ask questions."

Adela grits his teeth, the heat searing his pale skin. "You're hiding. You have the Dark God's body and the Light God's soul. What kind of monster are you?"

Caerus lets out a short, sharp laugh. "A monster? Your imagination is pathetic."

The air ripples. The heat intensifies, dissolving the debris into fine ash.

"I am the Master of all things. The Origin. I create. I destroy."

Caerus steps forward, his shadow swallowing the Progenitor. "By your human logic... you can call me Father."

Adela freezes. Yulia's jaw drops.

Father? Her mind short-circuits. Is this just a fancy way of saying... 'I'm your daddy'?

Adela's shock turns to desperation. "The Master... here for a woman? The God of all things destroys my home for a human?"

The divine pressure crushes the air from the clearing. Caerus readies the final strike.

Yulia's pulse quickens. Her blood begins to boil, a sudden, frantic heat rising in her chest.

Caerus expects a counter-attack from Adela. He doesn't expect the girl.

Yulia lunges. She tackles him, her body slamming into his chest. Her teeth sink into his cold collarbone.

The fire stalls.

Adela seizes the gap. He bolts into the forest, arrows of flame piercing his back. He disappears into the dark, stumbling and broken.

Caerus doesn't chase him. He looks down at Yulia, her head buried in the crook of his neck.

"Yulia." His voice is a low rumble. "When were you turned? Didn't you notice?"

The girl stops. She sits back on him, two small, sharp fangs glistening against her rose-colored lip. She looks at him, her sapphire eyes glazed and utterly lost.