"What kind of trial will you give me?" Cedrick asked.
The Gate Keeper's expression suddenly turned serious.
"Kill your friends," he said coldly.
The three of them froze in shock.
"W-What? I can't do that!" Cedrick exclaimed, his eyes widening in disbelief.
"Your trial is absurd," Stephen said angrily.
"Then if you cannot do it, you may leave," the Gate Keeper replied without a hint of emotion.
Cedrick fell silent.
Even Stephen and Xenon had nothing to say.
"I-I can't..." Cedrick whispered, lowering his head.
Xenon placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Bro... do it," Xenon said.
"What? Have you lost your mind?" Cedrick asked, staring at him in shock.
"Come on, Ced. If it's for Aria... we're willing to sacrifice ourselves," Stephen said with a faint smile.
"Just promise us that you'll save her," Xenon added.
The Gate Keeper extended a dagger toward Cedrick.
Cedrick slowly took it into his trembling hands.
His grip tightened as he looked at his two friends.
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.
.
Vladimir carefully observed Jade's condition.
He placed his fingers on her wrist, checking her pulse.
"Step back for a moment," he ordered.
Maddison and the others moved away.
The child king began chanting an ancient incantation.
Suddenly, Jade's body started to glow.
A terrifying scream echoed from within her.
"Effuge, spiritus malignant, ex hoc corpore," Vladimir continued.
A thick black smoke emerged from Jade's body.
"AAAHHH! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MEEE?!" a woman's voice shrieked from within the darkness.
The black smoke violently expanded before exploding into nothingness.
The moment the curse disappeared, Vladimir dropped to his knees, breathing heavily from exhaustion.
"Your Majesty!" Arden called as he quickly rushed forward to support the ancient king.
"The bruises on Jade's body are gone," Lilith said in amazement.
"The curse has been broken..." Vladimir said weakly. "A-And it will never return again."
Suddenly, his body started to become transparent.
"Your Majesty, your body is fading," Arden said, his voice filled with worry.
Vladimir only smiled.
"My time is almost over. In just a few minutes, you will no longer be able to see me."
"Thank you very much, Your Majesty," Maddison said respectfully.
The young king gave a gentle nod.
Then he looked at Arden.
"Take care of the King for me," he said.
Before anyone could say another word—
Vladimir's body dissolved into countless particles of light and disappeared completely.
Leaving behind only his final wish and the legacy of the ancient king who had protected them until his very last moment.
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.
Xylon and his company were walking through the forest when a thick mist suddenly surrounded the entire area.
He immediately looked around and realized that Heberlin and Zake were no longer beside him.
"Heberlin! Zake! Where are you?" he shouted.
But no answer came.
The silence of the mist-covered forest was unsettling.
Suddenly, a young boy wearing a royal crown appeared before him.
Xylon's eyes narrowed.
"Who are you?" he asked cautiously.
The boy smiled gently.
"Return to the palace, Your Majesty. Your wife is waiting for you," Vladimir said.
Xylon's expression changed.
"What do you mean by that?" he asked.
"The curse upon her has been lifted. She has recovered, so you must return to her at once," Vladimir answered.
Xylon stared at him in disbelief.
"Is what you're saying truly the truth?"
The boy nodded.
"Yes."
And with that, Vladimir's figure slowly faded away until he completely disappeared.
At the same time, the thick mist surrounding the area also vanished.
"Hey, bro. Are you alright?" Heberlin asked as he and Zake suddenly reappeared.
"I'm fine. Let's return to the palace," Xylon said immediately.
"What? But weren't we supposed to continue searching for the cure for the Queen?" Zake asked, confused.
"The Queen has been healed," Xylon answered, unable to hide the relief in his voice. "We need to hurry back."
Without wasting any more time, they began making their way back.
However, after walking only a short distance, all three of them suddenly stopped.
They sensed something unusual.
A dangerous presence lingered around them.
Whoosh!
They quickly jumped away as a rain of arrows shot toward them.
A group of barbarians emerged from the surroundings, their weapons pointed directly at the three men.
"Who are you?! Do you not know that entering our territory is forbidden?" a woman demanded.
It was clear from her commanding aura that she was the leader of the barbarians.
"We apologize for entering your land. We lost our way and ended up here," Xylon explained calmly.
"I see," the woman replied.
She gestured toward her companions.
"Come with us. We will show you the correct path to the place you wish to go."
Xylon looked at Heberlin and Zake for a moment before nodding.
Although they remained cautious, they followed the barbarian leader.
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Cedrick pointed the dagger toward Xenon.
Xenon simply looked at him and nodded, silently accepting his fate.
Stephen closed his eyes, unable to bear the thought of watching his friend turn into ashes.
Tears streamed down Cedrick's face as his hand trembled. He slowly shut his eyes.
"Do it!" Xenon shouted.
Suddenly—
Cedrick threw the dagger as far away as he could.
"I can't do it!" he cried.
He turned to face the Gate Keeper, his eyes filled with determination.
"I can't kill my own friends! Yes, my girlfriend is important to me, but I can't take another person's life! They are both precious to me. They accepted me for who I am. They treated me as their true friend. Maybe there's another way to save Aria, but I will never kill Xenon and Stephen!"
Stephen and Xenon were left stunned by Cedrick's decision.
The old man smiled and slowly began to clap.
"Congratulations. You have passed my trial," he said.
The three of them blinked in confusion.
"Huh?"
"The fact that you chose to value your friends above your own desire is exactly what I wanted to see. You have proven your loyalty and the purity of your heart. Congratulations."
A wide smile appeared on Cedrick's face.
Without hesitation, he pulled Xenon and Stephen into a group hug.
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Jade slowly opened her eyes.
The first thing she saw was the faces of her friends, all smiling at her with relief and happiness.
Maddison immediately embraced her.
"We're so happy that you're awake," she said.
Jade looked around in confusion.
"What happened?" she asked.
"It's a long story," Lilith replied with a gentle smile.
"The King should be returning soon. I already sent a message through a bat," Arden informed them.
Jade's eyes widened when she noticed Arden and Yvess standing nearby.
"A-Arden? Yvess? You're alive?" she asked in disbelief.
Both of them nodded.
Before they could explain, a servant suddenly knocked on the door.
"Your Majesty, My Lord, My Lady, there is something you need to see," the servant said.
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.
"Who is he?" Blake asked.
They were standing inside a room, staring at a young man who was sleeping peacefully on a bed.
"We found him in the Second District. He was unconscious… and besides that, he is a human," a soldier explained.
"How did a human manage to enter this place?" Yvess asked, his expression turning serious.
"We do not know either," the soldier answered.
Everyone turned their eyes back to the young man.
The appearance of a human within the vampire kingdom was something no one could explain.