"It's nice to see you in person," he said. "Lemme guess… Sunless?"
He tilted his head slightly.
"You can call me Alucard."
Sunny scowled, hoping his shadow would arrive in time—and that Nephis could return with backup.
Alucard saw the reaction and smirked. Of course he knew what Sunny was doing. It was obvious. Predictable. And, naturally, all part of his plan.
"So, Sunny—can I call you that?" Alucard asked casually. "Since this is our first time meeting, I want to know something about you. What's the best thing you've ever killed?"
Sunny blinked, caught off guard by the question. It made no sense… but he still had to answer truthfully. No matter what.
"An egg."
Alucard's smirk deepened.
"Oh? And what rank was this egg?"
Sunny almost scowled. Of course this bastard would ask about the rank. There was only one way out of this—make it sound like a lie.
"A Great Devil. Yes, it was a Great Devil."
For a brief moment, Alucard's expression froze. Then he burst out laughing.
"No, seriously. What rank was it?"
Sunny puffed out his chest, forcing himself to sound like a braggart.
"A Great Devil. I just said that, didn't I?"
Alucard stared at Sunny for several long seconds. Internally, he asked his friend to fulfill a request.
Gluttony. Try to monitor his heart rate from now on.
"Wow. That's really impressive," Alucard said at last. "You see, the best thing I've ever killed was only a Sacred Terror."
He smirked again.
Sunny just stared at him, expression blank.
A Sacred Terror?
Come on. There was no way in hell this guy had killed one. Sure, Sunny claiming he'd killed a Great Devil was absurd—but a Sacred Terror? That was beyond ridiculous. Sunny wasn't a kid anymore. He wasn't stupid enough to believe that. If Alucard had really killed one… then why was he stuck here in the Forgotten Shore?
"How about I ask you another question?" Alucard said lightly. "If you don't mind, Sunny."
Sunny scowled internally.
"I do mind, actually."
Alucard's grin only widened.
"So, Sunny… what's up with your blood? Why is it so unique?"
Sunny paused. He needed to be careful. After thinking for a long moment, he finally came up with an answer.
"It's because of one of my attributes, of course."
He tried to sound confident. Unfortunately for him, Alucard wasn't satisfied.
"Oh? Interesting. What's this attribute called?" Alucard asked. "Does it have anything to do with the Seven Deadly Sins?"
Sunny raised an eyebrow.
"The seven deadly what?"
Alucard sighed.
"Does the attribute say something like the Sin of Envy? Or Sloth? Lust?"
Sunny answered honestly. He had no choice.
"As far as I know… it doesn't."
Alucard studied him in silence.
"Hey," he said eventually, "if you don't mind giving me a drop of your blood, I'll give you fifty soul shards in exchange."
Sunny immediately sensed something was wrong. Way too suspicious.
"Really?" he scoffed. "You think my blood is only worth fifty measly soul shards? Do you even know how unique it is? It's worth at least a hundred."
Alucard smiled—slowly, widely. The smile stretched too far, almost horrific.(In case you haven't noticed Alucard has a really bad smile like he isn't trying to look scary that's just how his face is like)
"Alright then, Sunny. A hundred soul shards it is."
He pulled out a storage Memory. A cascade of soul shards spilled onto the ground.
"There's a little over a hundred in there. You can keep the change."
Sunny stared at them. For a moment, he almost agreed—but no. This was still far too suspicious. He didn't know what this man's abilities were, and that made everything dangerous.
"Well… there's one issue," Sunny said. "I can't bleed."
Alucard raised an eyebrow, genuinely confused.
"What do you mean you can't bleed? Everyone bleeds. Well—at least everyone who has blood."
Sunny shrugged.
"Bleeding is too pedestrian. So I just… can't bleed."
Alucard sighed. He clearly wasn't happy about not being able to study Sunny's blood—but he couldn't force the issue.
It wasn't that he physically couldn't hurt Sunny. He just needed him alive for his plan. And yet… strangely enough, he didn't want to harm him either.
Sunny reminded Alucard of Rain. Of his family back home. In an odd way, Sunny was proof that there was still something waiting for him beyond all this. Something human.
And then there was that other feeling.
A strange voice at the back of his mind. One that occasionally whispered guidance—orders, almost. He couldn't tell whether it was male or female, young or old.
He had heard it before.
Once, in the Garden of Resurrection.
Once, just before making the contract with Feltan—though he'd ignored it then.
And the last time… was when he sensed Sunny's blood for the first time.
A strange blood. One that didn't seem to belong to anyone—yet somehow, he knew who it belonged to.
Except he couldn't remember that person.
One thing was certain: Sunny was far more unique than he let on. That uniqueness fascinated Alucard. Part of him wanted to dissect him, to peel him apart and understand what made him tick.
Sometimes It felt as though two people were fighting inside his mind.
One was the Monarch of Crimson.
The other was Alucard—son of Elana and Adrian, brother of Dante, Luka, and Rain. Former lover of Yuki. (Their relationship is always so sad why did the author have to kill her off?)
A True Name was meant to represent one's true self.
Yet Alucard's True Name represented everything he didn't want to become.
From research in the library he found a while ago, he had discovered other translations of it. Each one worse than the last.
Monarch of the Dead.
Damned of Blood.
And finally—the strangest of all—
Crimson Parasite.
None of them fit him.
"In the distance, a group of people is approaching," a raspy voice reported. "They'll arrive in five minutes."
Ah. That was Gluttony. He had ordered him to monitor when Sunny's allies would arrive.
That meant he only had time for one last question.
"So, Sunny," Alucard said calmly, "I have one final question. After that, you're free to go."
Sunny frowned.
"Really? And what would that question be?"
Alucard studied him for a moment.
"Simple. Do you think your girlfriend would let me join that little faction you're forming?"
Sunny blinked in confusion.
Girlfriend?
Who was he talking about? Nephis? Cassie? Effie?
He needed to buy time for his shadow to come back.
"I don't know who you're talking about."
Alucard sighed.
"Oh, you know. Tall girl. Long white hair. Decent figure," he said casually. "I believe she also has a True Name?"
Sunny felt a sharp flash of irritation. He didn't know why it bothered him so much—but hearing Alucard casually compliment Nephis made his stomach twist.
And why was he calling her his girlfriend?
Before Sunny could answer, he felt it.
His shadow was back.
And with it—Nephis. Effie. Caster. The strongest fighters nearby.
Sunny smiled faintly for a few moments before he noticed Caster was there. This likely meant that if a battle did happen, it wouldn't end well.
"I don't know," he said. "How about you ask her yourself?"
Nephis struck from behind, her sword flashing toward Alucard's neck.
She should have killed him.
But Alucard wasn't that careless.
In a blur, he dodged—and in the same motion, grabbed Sunny, lifting him off the ground, and wrapping an arm around him.
"Whoa, careful there," Alucard said calmly. "I'm not going to hurt him. Don't worry."
Nephis narrowed her eyes as the others surrounded them.
"Then why did you bring him here?" she demanded. "And why did he send his shadow back in distress?"
Sharp, Alucard thought. Very sharp.
"Oh, that?" he said with a shrug. "I just wanted to talk with him a bit. About this little faction you're forming."
He smiled.
"And, well… I thought I might join."