Lilith watched Atlas running wildly through the forest, stunned. She didn’t know what he was trying to do and if it was actually him in the first place or was he too far gone.

“Atlas! Stop!”

She kept calling Atlas, but Atlas didn’t respond as if he couldn’t hear her. The wounds on his neck started healing slowly, and soon not even a single mark was left on his neck.

After running for five minutes straight, Atlas reached a small pond that he had seen along the way previously. He had also stopped here to take a bath previously. However, he now had another purpose for this pond.

He placed the body of Tristan on the ground before pulling down a vine from the tree.

He picked a small stone from nearby, placing it on the chest of Tristan. He tied the stone to the body of Tristan, using the vine, keeping the crushed heart in the middle. After tying the body properly, he dragged Tristan and tossed him into the pond.

The body started drowning in the water slowly before entirely disappearing from sight. The blood could still be seen in the river, dirtying the water.

Atlas submerged his hand in the water, wiping them clean.

After cleaning his hands properly, he dropped to the ground, breathing heavily. He couldn’t believe he survived that and managed to resist. Fortunately, he didn’t need to see more blood anymore.

“So it’s still you. I thought I lost you,” Lilith’s voice fell in the ears of Atlas, who nodded in response.

“Even I thought the same. But somehow, I managed to last. I should thank you for this,” Atlas replied. “Without you, I might not be able to…”

“But I don’t understand one thing… Why did you stop me? Didn’t you want me to drink blood?” he asked. “If you hadn’t stopped me, you would have achieved your goal. So why? Why did you stop me?”

“Don’t think too much. It’s simply because you aren’t ready to drink blood yet. That’s why I couldn’t let you drink. There’s no other reason,” Lilith explained, keeping some of her reasons secret. She preferred to not tell that she was feeling sympathetic to the reason of Atlas.

She wanted to play the role of a stern teacher and couldn’t act weak. Atlas didn’t need a friend at this time. He needed a teacher.

“Lilith, today it was even harder to resist than the day in the castle. Will the urge keep getting worse every time?” Atlas asked as his fingers played with the grass under him.

“It will keep getting worse,” Lilith forewarned, sighing. ” I think seeing blood is your trigger at this point. So you might be able to last long if you don’t see blood. So we need to get your sister fast and be done with it. Then you can drink blood, but I feel really concerned about that time.”

“Concerned about what?”

“About you, who else, idiot! You were a human, so your mind is already very weak. Can you even last under the onslaught of your first feeding? That’s what concerns me,” Lilith explained.

“That’s why I’ve been trying to train you, but other than learning some fighting skills, you haven’t strengthened your mindset at all,” she added. “We don’t have much time. We really need to get you in control of your mind. Hopefully, your mind will be calm after we help your sister.”

“I can’t experience the urge I did before. The next time I might not last,” Atlas muttered. “I wish there was a way to stop this.”

“There is… By drinking blood and making you accustomed to it.” Lilith corrected. “However, we can’t use that way for now. The only other way is to make sure you don’t feel that intense urge by making sure that you don’t see blood.”

” We need to stay away from bloodshed at any cost, especially don’t get any blood on your body,” she continued. “So no battles before getting your sister. Avoid all kinds of battles.”

“You think I don’t do that already? I tried to avoid so much, but things didn’t turn out the way I wanted. I went as far as going down on my knees and apologized. I tried my best. He just didn’t want to let me live. It was either him or me this time,” Atlas explained on his side, sitting up. The blood in the river had diluted, for the most part, almost disappearing.

“I know. I’m not talking about this time. This can be one of those unlucky days but next time, be even more careful. And don’t pick up any random animals just to be safe,” Lilith reminded.

Hearing her last words, Atlas couldn’t help but remember the woman with the bow. He still didn’t know who she was, but she was certainly a special person who wasn’t a Vampire.

“Enough rest. We should get going.” He pushed his body up. “These people will know about the disappearance of Tristan. I don’t want more bloodshed so soon.”

He selected a direction and started walking. Fortunately, it wasn’t hard to find the whereabouts of the Carlisle Clan. The doctor at the castle had given him all the directions into the Severis Castle already. Now all he needed was to get to the city.

~~~

A few hours after Atlas left the forest, the woman returned with the other Vampires, looking for Tristan, who still hadn’t caught up to them. She had a feeling that he had intentionally stayed behind to hurt Atlas, and she wanted to check.

As she reached the same spot, she saw some blood on the grass. Mistakenly, she thought that the blood belonged to Atlas.

There was no way she was going to think that the blood belonged to Tristan, who was a thousand times stronger than any ordinary human. There was no way he was going to be hurt here.

“Tristan… What did you do? I told you to let that human go, but you didn’t listen. You killed him, it seems. You ignored my commands and then disappeared with the body so I wouldn’t know?” The woman commented, sighing.

“Fine. You can go wherever you want. You’ll have to return one day. Then I’ll see how you explain yourself.” She turned and walked back, not even bothering to look for Tristan.

It was all just a happy coincidence for Atlas as no one knew he had killed Tristan, and no one was on his trail. He was free to move.

~~~

Two days later~

Unlike the Severis Clan, which was established on a mountain, far away from civilization, the Carlisle Clan was established in the middle of a human city, which worked as their domain and their fiefdom.

The humans and Vampires lived together in the city, but Humans were certainly second grade citizens. Only a few of them were given special rights to the town, working to serve the Vampires in various ways.

At first glance, the city looked no different than any ordinary City. People could be seen working. Shops could be seen selling various items. No Vampire was at sight as Atlas reached the city of Sagos.

Two human guards were blocking the entrance of the city, interrogating everyone before allowing them to enter.

The city was the hub of the Carlisle Clan, and everyone needed a good reason to enter. The security was even tighter now.

There was a separate entrance for the carriages on the left, while humans entered from the right. Fortunately, the line wasn’t big. There was only one person before Atlas.

There was also another entrance. The third entrance was in the middle, which was the biggest; however, it was closed now. It was unclear who the entrance was for.

The person ahead of Atlas was allowed to enter, making it his turn.

He moved ahead, stopping before the guard.

“Identify yourself? What’s the purpose of your visit?” The guard asked; however, before Atlas could even answer, he went down on his knees, looking straight ahead.

Atlas looked back, noticing a carriage advancing towards him from the back.

“What are you doing?! Do you want to die!” The guard roared. “Down on your knees! That’s the carriage of Lord Carlisle!”

Atlas clenched his fist, hearing the name! That bastard was inside that carriage! His bloodlust started increasing slowly as his fangs started getting bigger. The Carriage kept getting closer and closer with each passing second.