Volume 2 Chapter 48: Stephen’s Ambition

“You…” Baron Albert widened his eyes in surprise.

“Hehe, everyone is here! Princess Elizabeth, Father, Bonnie, Laura, and my little Miller!” The figure slowly landed, and the bat wings behind him retracted, actually merging back into his body.

“You are Stephen… Stephen Albert?” Nova gasped softly, staring shocked at the young man before her. “The other undead creature of the Albert Family turned out to be like this!”

“Aunt Nova? Long time no see!” Stephen curled his lips into a faint smile as he spoke calmly.

“What happened over a year ago? You just said you would answer for the matter concerning little Miller?” A feeling of unease rose in Meyer’s heart as he asked cautiously.

“As the heir to the baron, I knew the family’s secrets long ago. Of course, that includes how every generation of Baron Albert had to sacrifice themselves, acting as summoners to form contracts with undead creatures. However, I am different from these fools in the Albert Family!” Stephen glanced at his family members and spoke indifferently.

“Becoming an immortal being is indeed a good thing. However, I don’t have a grand ideal of protecting the human world, nor am I willing to be bound by a servant contract. By chance, I met Mary Claire at the edge of the Maiar Forest. Interestingly, this Witch Maiar actually developed mortal desires and wished to return to an ordinary human life.”

A cold smile appeared on Stephen’s lips, and his eyes grew distant as he recalled, “Hehe, that little fool Nina thought that by hiding her ugly appearance, I wouldn’t know her identity. But I didn’t expose her. I realized this was my opportunity, a chance to become undead without being bound by the Albert Family…”

The demon hunters looked at this young man with his cold expression, and a chill crept into their hearts. Through Stephen’s account, the events from over a year ago were finally fully revealed.

“Actually, even Princess Elizabeth and my father don’t truly know the whole story of what happened.” Stephen said with a smile.

“They thought it was Nina who wanted to turn little Miller into an undead, and that little Miller fell ill because of the Albert bloodline. In reality, the person who wanted to turn little Miller into an undead wasn’t Nina, nor was it Princess Elizabeth, but someone else!”

Stephen turned his head and smiled towards a corner of the banquet hall. “Isn’t that right! Sister Laura… oh no, Aunt Laura!”

Miss Laura! Qin Lun raised his eyebrows and looked at Laura along with everyone else. This turn of events was truly… unexpected! It seemed that although he had grasped the general outline of the event, the details were still incomplete.

Laura ignored the gazes of Stephen and the others. She just crouched down and looked at little Miller, asking softly, “Little one, do you blame me?”

“No!” Miller shook his little head and threw himself into Laura’s embrace.

Laura showed a sweet smile, happily picked up little Miller, gave a slight bow to Elizabeth, and said quietly, “I’m sorry, Princess Elizabeth, I cannot be as strong as you. After becoming an undead, merely thirty years later, I could no longer bear the loss of loved ones. Little Miller… no matter what, I cannot watch little Miller grow old and die like Thomas…”

“Haha, Aunt Laura, have you decided? It’s the same question from over a year ago. Are you willing to leave the Albert Family with me?” A flicker of excitement appeared on Stephen’s face as he asked with burning eyes.

“Stephen, I am different from you. I only want to protect little Miller!” Laura said expressionlessly.

“Laura…” A trace of sadness appeared on Elizabeth’s small face. She already realized what was about to happen.

“Laura… my sister!” Baron Thomas Albert looked at Laura with a complicated gaze. “Stephen didn’t sign the servant contract. I cannot control him. However, I absolutely will not allow you to leave here. After this matter is over, little Miller must also sign a contract with me!”

“I know, brother!” Laura lowered her eyelids, a pained expression appearing on her face. “As the controller of the contract, you can control me, but you cannot control my descendants… Kill him!”

“Thomas, be careful!” Lady Nova suddenly widened her eyes, looking in horror behind the baron.

“Pfft!” Before Baron Albert could react, he felt a chill in his chest. A bloody blade tip pierced through his heart, emerging from his left chest.

“You… Jason!” Baron Albert spewed a mouthful of blood, turned his head in disbelief to look at the old butler behind him, and slowly slumped to the ground.

“I’m sorry, Thomas, I cannot disobey my master’s will!” The old butler Jason, limping on one leg, shook his head with a bitter smile. “Doctor Stan was right. Thomas, you cannot bear it, or rather, the Albert Family cannot bear this responsibility. Lorenzo Albert was wrong. The Longevity Seekers were correct. No matter the reason, that is not a power humans should privately possess!”

“Hahaha! Well done, Jason! The contract controller is dead. What about the rest of you? Come with me and break out, or stay here and wait for the purification by the demon hunters!” Stephen laughed heartily towards the sky, his blond hair flying, as he pointed at the castle servants in the banquet hall. “We will usher in a new era for humankind!”

Looking at Baron Albert lying in a pool of blood, expressions of confusion appeared on the faces of the castle servants. Slowly, looks of grief and indignation appeared on most faces, while a small number of others had flickering eyes and backed towards the floor-to-ceiling windows at the edge of the hall.

“Resisters will die. Everyone kneel down. The Demon Hunter Organization will reassign contract holders for you!” Qin Lun’s gloomy voice came from behind. Watching Stephen and the castle servants before them, all the demon hunters, including Bonnie, slowly tightened their grips on their weapons.

“Kill them!” Stephen flapped his wings and lunged at the demon hunters first.

“Awoo!” Inhuman roars echoed through the banquet hall. Watching Miss Laura transform into a giant silver wolf, Qin Lun sighed softly, resolutely turned, and ran out of the banquet hall, heading towards the stairwell without looking back.

Meanwhile, on the floors below the banquet hall, loud, boiling noises had already erupted. The townspeople were charging towards the upper levels of the castle…

“Apostle 70053, you witnessed a key historical node. Satellite-level plot elevates plot quality. Witnessed the historical node of the epidemic’s origin in the Odia Region. Plot quality upgraded to Planetary level. Witnessed the two Dark Progenitors who opened this world’s Dark Age: Werewolf Progenitor – Laura Albert, Vampire Progenitor – Stephen Albert. Plot quality upgraded to Stellar level.”

“Prompt: Due to Apostle 70053’s personal witness and alteration of history, the Demon Hunter Organization discovered the severity of the Dark Era early, eliminated large numbers of second and third-generation werewolves and Blood Clan members, significantly shortened the history of the Dark Era. Shattered Starry Sky plundered 51 points of World Origin.”

“Prompt: Shattered Starry Sky will calculate the World Exploration Degree reward upon the Apostle’s return based on the plundered World Origin, and appropriately elevate the mission evaluation!”

Looking at the numerous prompts that appeared in the Death Notice, Qin Lun shrugged his shoulders and quickened his running pace. There were too few demon hunters in the banquet hall. Although the ordinary townspeople could help the demon hunters win this battle, they absolutely could not intercept all the werewolves and vampires.

Especially Laura and Stephen, these two progenitors were likely to escape Albert Castle. As for the life or death of the others, it was unpredictable. Little Miller’s body was too weak; he was very likely to die in the chaotic fight.

As for Elizabeth… Qin Lun’s eyes flashed, and for the first time, a trace of regret appeared on his face. This undead princess probably would not escape. He had already seen in the banquet hall that Elizabeth had a death wish. Or rather, after she became an undead, she had already turned into a walking corpse.

The first Baron Albert had made this eight-year-old girl shoulder far, far too much. “A millennium of duty, a millennium of protection, a millennium of glory.” In Qin Lun’s view, it was more like a millennium of sorrow.

The Lion of Odia – Lorenzo Albert, did not know that his actions, in a sense, also buried his little daughter.

On one side, there was the demon hunter faith that opposed the undead. On the other side, they had to use an undead body to protect the demon hunters’ ideals. This was fundamentally an unsolvable paradox. Lorenzo’s ideal was great, and it was the foundation that supported Elizabeth in resisting the nightmare cycle of her family and relatives continuously dying.

However, today’s events proved that Lorenzo was wrong. This foundational belief had collapsed. Even if the Demon Hunter Organization, out of respect for Lorenzo, did not punish Elizabeth, she could no longer go on living.

Qin Lun could understand Elizabeth’s sorrow, but he could not comprehend it. He had no people or events worth remembering, nor did he feel sadness at the death of those around him. In fact, many times, the people around him were killed by his own hand. Even Frank’s death only made him experience, for the first time, a kind of anger from having his dignity violated, not sadness.

In the Serial Killer’s view, being an observer wasn’t so bad. Curiosity about mysterious events and new things was the driving force of his existence.

Qin Lun soon saw the townspeople who had broken into Albert Castle. He wisely hid in a guest room, took off his formal attire, and walked out wearing only his undershirt, disguising himself as an ordinary townsman.

The doctor moved against the flow of people, continuing downwards through the castle. However, as he got closer to the castle’s main gate exit, he encountered more and more obstacles.

This wasn’t because the townspeople suspected his identity, but because there were too many people in the lower parts of the castle. As time passed, aside from the hundreds of townspeople who initially stormed the castle, countless ordinary Odia civilians were still arriving on the mountain path, almost stuffing the entire castle to the point of being impassable. The whole situation was developing towards an uncontrollable state.

After squeezing out through the main hall door of the Main Keep, Qin Lun finally felt relieved. Gasping for breath, sweating profusely, he continued moving against the flow towards the stone bridge outside the castle.

In the crowded mass of people, Qin Lun suddenly raised his eyebrows and looked up in surprise. In the distance to his left front, a familiar figure, looking lost and confused, came into the doctor’s view.