Alex sat beside Emily and tried to lighten the mood.
"Why were you so worried like that?" he asked with a small chuckle. "Didn't you hear?
I'm immortal now, so you don't need to worry. Look, I can even regenerate from this."
He took out a knife. He planned to give himself a small cut on the finger to prove it.
Before the blade touched his skin, Emily suddenly stood up and grabbed his hand.
"What do you think you're doing?" she asked. "I believe you.
There is no need to do that."
Alex scratched his head and looked away.
"Oh, that... can I just not tell you?" he said.
Seeing the silly grin on her brother's face, Emily felt the urge to smack him. Her lips curled into a sarcastic smile.
"Sure, brother," she said.
Her grip tightened around his hand. Pain shot through his fingers, and Alex winced.
Even after everything he had suffered, he still felt pain like anyone else.
"Let's stay like this until you answer, then," Emily said.
"Ouch, alright, I'll tell you," Alex said.
But Emily did not loosen her grip. She stared at him with a stern expression.
Alex knew she would not stop until she was satisfied, so he continued.
"As you heard, it is the vampire race," he said.
"But it is not like in the movies where we burn or feel pain in sunlight. We need to consume life force energy.
I have been neglecting it since I came here, so I went berserk from the hunger."
"You!" Emily snapped. "How could you be so careless?
What if that happened when you were alone with Mom!?"
"I know. I'm sorry, I screwed up..." Alex said.
"You're always like this," she said. "How can you be so clumsy despite your abilities?
Isn't it weird? Forget it.
What happened next? Did you consume my life force?
Was it enough?"
Her questions made Alex's chest tighten.
Even now, she was asking about him instead of worrying about the life he had taken from her.
"Aren't you afraid?" he asked quietly. "I absorbed so much of your life energy.
You could be dead, you know."
"I know," Emily said. "But it is just temporary.
It is not like you would let me die. I'm sure you will find a way.
Isn't that why I have this rune on my body now?"
Her unconditional trust made Alex feel warm.
"Yes," he said, his eyes firm. "I will make sure to recover all your life force."
He went on, "Try to control your energy usage. When you feel it starts dropping to half, do not go on any missions.
Meet up with me first so I can refill it."
Emily fell silent. Her grip on his hand loosened a little, and her tone turned serious.
"What did you pay for it?" she asked. "You told me Vesa is recovering.
If it could have been done without any cost, you would have told me you would use it on Mom and me even before your hunger.
I can feel it. This rune does not just extend my life.
It enhances my strength, and it can help me regenerate when I am wounded."
Alex asked in his mind, 'Is that true, Vesa? Can it help her regenerate?'
[Yes, King.]
[The rune will use life force energy in the same way you use it to regenerate your body. However, she is not a real vampire.]
[She will not be able to recover if her brain is destroyed or if her entire body is turned to ashes.]
[But as long as some part of her body remains, there should be no problem.]
Alex felt relieved when he read Vesa's explanation.
This would ease his worries when Emily went out on missions as a hunter.
Emily saw him staring into space and tightened her grip again.
"Answer me," she said.
Alex winced and looked at her. His lips curved into a small smile.
"Nothing much," he said. "It is something I need to do anyway."
"And that is...?" Emily asked.
Alex let out a slow breath.
"I need to kill a Category Five dungeon boss," he said.
"ARGH!" Emily shouted.
Her grip crushed down. Alex swore he could feel his bones cracking.
Then she released his hand. Her sapphire blue eyes shone with tears.
Alex knew why. The words "Category Five" always dragged them back to their father's death.
He reached out and wiped her tears, then gently patted her head.
"You're already a two-star hunter and still a crybaby like this," he said. "Do not worry.
I will build up an army before I go there. And you know I can regenerate from any wound now."
"Do you think I'm a child?" Emily shot back. "Your regeneration consumes life force energy.
If it runs out, you're dead.
That does not mean you can just walk around taking all the damage and regenerating over and over. That kind of pain..."
Her voice trailed off as she thought about it.
With her knowledge of life force, Alex's weak state before, and his lack of combat experience, there was only one explanation for how he had gathered so much life force.
He could not have killed innocent people. Emily knew that.
So there was only one choice he could have made.
"You..." she began.
The words stuck in her throat. She realized there was nothing she could say.
What should Alex have done? Let her die?
She still wanted to live, and she knew Alex would never allow her death.
Her eyes grew firm.
"I will go with you," she said.
"But..." Alex started. He wanted to argue that she was too weak for that place.
"No buts," Emily cut him off.
"To enter a Category Five dungeon, you need to be at least a three-star hunter, with one four-star hunter leading the expedition.
You need me either way, and I will bring the guild members with us.
Since we are going there anyway, you should already know which dungeon we should pick."
Alex looked into her eyes and saw no hesitation. She would not back down.
"I do not plan to tell the association about this, Emily," he said. "I will sneak inside."
"Sneak inside?" she repeated. "That is impossible, Alex.
You need a lot of people to enter the area, and the border is heavily guarded."
"There are many reasons to go outside the border," Alex said.
"As long as it is only a few people, getting permission to gather resources should not be hard.
They will never suspect that just a few people would dare to enter a Category Five dungeon."