Chapter 1

# 1

Chapter 1

A magnificent ballroom adorned with dazzling chandeliers that filled the ceiling.

Ding-dong-ding-dong

Lively waltz music filled the grand hall. In the center of the hall, many elegantly dressed people held glasses of red wine and enjoyed themselves.

"Hahaha!"

"Hehehe!"

The peculiar thing was that the eyes of everyone at the party were without exception the same color. Despite their different skin tones, hair colors, and facial features, their eyes were all as bright and red as rubies. While there were slight differences in the intensity of the color, their eyes were all remarkably red.

At the highest point of the ballroom,

A middle-aged man sitting on the throne raised his hand slightly. The music stopped, and the people gathered in the ballroom looked at him with reverence.

"My children, I am grateful for your celebration of my holy day (birthday)."

The middle-aged man who referred to himself as "I" was the emperor of the vampire empire that ruled the darkness, known as the Blood Moon.

"Father of all vampires and great emperor! We congratulate you on your holy day."

At someone's lead,

"Father of all vampires and great emperor! We congratulate you on your holy day."

"Father of all vampires and great emperor! We congratulate you on your holy day."

Everyone joined in, praising him.

"Enjoy the day."

At the Blood Moon Emperor's words, the music resumed, and the lively party began again.

In a corner of the ballroom,

A man with black hair sat with his feet on a long table laden with banquet food, looking bored.

Creak!

The man pushed his chair back and stood up.

Ding-dong!

It was a simple movement, but the music abruptly stopped.

Those who were dancing froze.

The noisy conversations and laughter disappeared.

Everyone held their breath and looked at the man with black hair. Their eyes were filled with anxiety and fear.

Thud, thud, thud.

The man walked to the window covered with thick curtains and, without hesitation, pulled them open.

Swish!

The bright sunlight that had been blocked by the dark curtain flooded the ballroom.

"Good."

The problem was what came next.

"Ah!"

"Ugh!"

While the man with black hair basked in the sunlight leisurely, the vampires whose skin was directly exposed to the sun screamed in pain and fled to the dark corners. Their once smooth, lustrous skin began to peel horribly, and pus oozed from the peeling areas.

The ballroom instantly turned into a scene of chaos. The Blood Moon Emperor revealed his anger towards the man with black hair.

"Janus, Duke! What is this?"

At the emperor's rebuke, the man called Janus Duke's eyebrows twitched. He slowly turned his body in the sunlight and looked up at the emperor.

"..."

The man was silent. After a moment of silence, he suddenly smiled softly and moved towards the emperor.

Thump, thump.

The eyes of all the vampires followed the man's steps. With each step he took, the vampires around him stepped back and bowed. They trembled, afraid of hindering his path in any way.

The man with black hair approached through the crowd of vampires, which parted like the tide.

Thud, thud, thud.

As he got closer, the Blood Moon Emperor's eyes filled with fear and trembled. Clenching his teeth, the emperor held onto the throne, barely managing to hold on.

Finally, the man ascended the dais and looked down at the emperor with a gentle voice.

"Your Majesty."

The sharp fangs that protruded from his red, bloodshot eyes and smile shone more sharply than ever. The emperor, unknowingly swallowing hard, replied.

"Y-Yes. S-Speak."

"I remember telling you several times that my name is not Janus but Ahyeon. Is that not correct?"

The emperor felt a moment of regret but also a sense of injustice. It wasn't just him who called the man Janus; everyone preferred the strange and hard-to-pronounce name "Ahyeon" and called him Janus Duke.

"I-I'm sorry."

Ahyon bowed and brought his face close to the emperor's. His hand gripped the emperor's shoulder firmly, very firmly.

"Ugh!"

The emperor's eyes contorted in pain.

"Please remember."

It was not a request but a command. The emperor knew the anger hidden behind the gentle tone and nodded hastily, forgetting his dignity.

Janus Duke, the man with black hair and the name Ahyeon, a vampire, was a unique existence in the thousands of years of vampire history.

Vampires continue their lineage through blood.

A vampire born from a creator (Master) cannot defy the vertical blood chain. No vampire could ever break this chain.

However, the Janus Duke, Ahyeon, standing before him, had shattered this principle.

He was a despicable bastard, whose existence as a creator was unknown. Not only did he break the blood chain, but he also killed vampires indiscriminately, absorbed their blood, and became a True Blood, the highest noble in the vampire world.

That wasn't all. He made all the True Bloods kneel and took the position of Duke.

He was also the only one who could kill the emperor.

"I won't forget, I promise."

Ahyeon patted the emperor's shoulder as if to say, "We'll see," and straightened his back. As his eyes turned back to the ballroom, the vampires, startled, averted their gazes.

'Hmm.'

Ahyeon smiled and looked at the orchestra.

"What's the matter? Why aren't you continuing the performance?"

The musicians, startled by his soft yet gentle tone, hurriedly picked up their instruments and started a new performance.

Ding-dong-ding-dong

The lively waltz melody echoed through the hall once again.

But no one was as joyful as before.

"Hmm, hmm, hmm."

Ahyeon alone closed his eyes and hummed the melody happily.

"No one is dancing."

Ahyeon's low voice made everyone quickly find a partner and start dancing. It was a party dominated by fear, something unseen before.

* * *

The bloodline race, vampires, who must live in the darkness.

Ahyeon stood up from his seat as the sunlight came through the window. Though not particularly pleasant, he wanted to take a walk in the sunlight.

Unlike ordinary vampires, True Bloods had the privilege and power to live under the sun. However, while they wouldn't die from the sun, they couldn't completely escape the primal fear it brought.

Before absorbing the blood of a True Blood, Ahyeon, a lower vampire, longed for the sun. When he finally became a True Blood, he ran out into the sunlight like a madman. But he had to hide in the shade after just a few minutes, trembling and hugging himself.

In Ahyeon's memory, the sunlight was warm, but the warmth had long since disappeared, replaced by a suffocating, heavy fear.

Vampires are a race that is born and grows in the darkness.

Thus, even True Blood vampires were not much stronger than ordinary humans under the sun.

But Ahyeon was different.

He possessed something that other vampires did not: pure inner strength.

With this inner strength, Ahyeon could break the vertical blood chain that bound vampires and had the martial prowess to easily kill a knight under the sun, even if he was not as powerful as in the darkness.

A midday walk.

This was Ahyeon's arrogant hobby and a privilege only he could enjoy.

Creak.

Ahyeon opened the door and stepped out of his bedroom.

"Lord."

"Verecan."

A silver-haired man approached Ahyeon. He was one of Ahyeon's loyal subordinates, a true-blooded werewolf.

"Are you going for a walk?"

"Yes."

"I will accompany you."

Verecan would always accompany Ahyeon wherever he went, especially during the day, never leaving his side.

"Let's go."

Ahyeon and Verecan walked down a dark corridor where not a single ray of light entered.

"Is this where His Majesty, the Emperor of Blood Moon, resides?"

"Yes."

As Ahyeon and Verecan walked halfway down the corridor, a young man and a woman appeared at the end of the opposite side.

The young man, who looked in his twenties, was a newly born vampire, and the woman, who looked in her thirties, was clearly his creator.

"Remember, you are a True Blood. Y-..."

"Ah, I know, I know. I know I'm a True Blood. Hahaha."

The young man cut off the woman's words and laughed arrogantly.

In the vampire world, True Bloods are royalty.

So what if the royalty is a bit arrogant?

They are, after all, the ruling bloodline.

Thus, the woman had not bothered to stop the young man's arrogant words and actions until now. But this place was different.

"This is where His Majesty resides. Therefore, you must absolutely not act rashly..."

"Ah, I know, I know... Hmm? What's this smell?"

The young man, who had been answering dismissively, suddenly sniffed.

"Where is this uncivilized stench coming from?"

The young man frowned and grumbled, recognizing the unique scent of a werewolf. The corridor was so quiet that his voice was clearly heard by Ahyeon and Verecan.

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