Atlas lost the war against his urges, letting himself be controlled by his hunger as the glass with the delicious smell touched his lips.

“Will you do it…?”

Just as he was about to drink, he heard someone call him. His blank eyes looked up, still blank.

A bit of emotion flashed in his eyes as he saw a blue-haired girl standing before him, with her neck bleeding. Her lifeless eyes stared at Atlas.

“This isn’t you…” The girl opened her lips and spoke a few words. “This isn’t the brother I know. Don’t give up. Don’t lose yourself.”

Hearing the voice of the girl, Atlas finally regained his senses. His eyes regained their focus. The figure of the girl disappeared as if it was nothing but a fragment of his imagination which he had conjured to stop himself as the last ditch effort.

“Lord Alazar?” Lord Severis called again, wondering what was happening.

Fortunately, this time he received a response. “Yes? Lord Severis.”

“It looks like you lost yourself in some thoughts. Are you fine?” Severis inquired.

“I’m fine. It’s just that I remembered something. Don’t worry about it,” Atlas replied. “Anyway, let’s continue with what I was saying.”

Atlas didn’t look towards the glass of blood anymore. He didn’t know if he could control himself the next time he looked at it. He placed the glass of blood on the ground.

Lilith let out a breath of relief, relieved that Atlas had controlled himself. If he drank that blood, she didn’t know what could’ve happened, but it wasn’t going to be nice.

Atlas was new. It was almost impossible for him to control his urges, but if he had drunk the blood, it would’ve been even more problematic for him in the future. That’s why she wanted to train him before allowing him to drink blood for the first time. Seeing the control that Atlas showcased, Lilith was proud. In his mind, she even praised him.

“Aren’t you going to drink?” Lord Severis asked.

“I’m not hungry at the moment.” Atlas smiled in response. “I just want to be done here so I can begin my search.”

….

Fifteen minutes were left to the deadline that was set by Atlas for the plan, and everything was already in motion. John had set everything up, and he was ready now.

He took the keys from the guard who was sleeping in the lab like a horse. Taking the key, John left his lab again and walked right to the cell of the kids.

He inserted the key in the lock and opened the door.

The sound of the metallic door opening was enough to wake up quite a lot of children who were sleeping. This reminded the children of last night, when some of them were called to serve blood. The children wondered if it was going to be the same tonight?

The thought was scary for them since they had already heard about what happened last night from the survivors. According to what they heard, Misella and Atlas were dead. They didn’t want to be chosen tonight for the same thing only to end up dying.

None of them knew that the night was going to be much different than last night. It was going to be like something they would never have imagined.

~~~

Atlas finished telling the last story. There were still five minutes left to the deadline, but he knew he was running close to the deadline. Now was the time to put the final part of the plan into motion which was the most complicated part.

“Hearing what you said, it looks like Lord Ramiel has truly returned. It shall be the start of a new era for us with his return!” Lord Severis nodded. “We need to find him.”

“Exactly. His return means that it’s quite possible that other Progenitors might have returned as well,” Atlas added. “It shall indeed be a new era for us all. We need to find him. Only he can give us more insight.”

“So, are you willing to work with me on this search?” he asked.

Even though Atlas asked Severis to work together, he was prepared for both answers. Despite being ready for both the answers, he was hoping for a yes. If it was a yes, he could take Severis with him to the Carlisle Clan right now. That could make his entry into the Carlisle Clan to search for his sister easier.

Lord Severis took another sip of blood as his lips curled into a smile. “I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I can’t work with you. I want to work alone on this. I can’t work with people from other lineages.”

He didn’t even think before saying no.

“Didn’t you say before that you wanted to work with me when you stopped me?” Atlas asked, frowning.

“Well, now I changed my mind,” Lord Severis said. ” I wish you the best on your search.”

He had stopped Atlas at the start to get to know as much as Atlas knew about the return of their Progenitor, but now that he knew everything, he didn’t need Atlas anymore. He already knew what Atlas knew.

Now he could start the search on his own. He didn’t need anyone’s help. Moreover, there was another reason he didn’t want to help Atlas. It wasn’t a secret that the four Progenitors weren’t friends.

If the two of them worked together and Ramiel found out that he worked together with someone from another lineage, it could easily make Ramiel upset. He didn’t want to make their ancestors angry.

Atlas gazed at Severis, frowning. “I see. Well, if you don’t want to work with me, I won’t force you. I’ll take my leave.”

Atlas stood up, seemingly angry. He turned to leave, his robe waving behind him.

He went to the door. Unlike before, Severis didn’t try to stop him this time. He didn’t even bother standing up. He had already handled a lot of the arrogance of Atlas, all to get his answers. Now that he got his answers, he didn’t need to play along.

He could be back to his arrogant self, who didn’t think of himself as any less than others. So what if Atlas was from a lineage that was rare and didn’t have many members. That didn’t mean he was stronger.

Stopping at the door, Atlas glanced back one last time as if savoring the memories of this room. The memories were something that were never going to leave him alone for as long as he lived.

This was the place where he spent the last moments with his sister—the place where he saw her cry for the last time. After a calm glance, he pushed the door open and started leaving. He didn’t forget to close the doors from the outside.

“I hope you enjoy the sight,” he calmly muttered, walking away.

‘Because within a few minutes….’