"Um?"
Father?
What father?
Ed uttered a questioning sound.
I clearly meant to address the boss, so why did Muller demote me from my seniority?
I originally wanted to interact with you as both boss and employee, how did it suddenly turn into a family business?
And is it really okay for me to call him father?
Judging from his appearance, Muller is probably in his thirties. Is it appropriate for him to call himself "Dad"?
Moreover, as a Blood Corpse, he was the first person to call him that, so in a sense, he was "the first to return to his rightful place," wasn't he?
This isn't a good buff. Don't end up yelling things like "This is never what I wanted" and then coming back to beat yourself up...
Fortunately, it is currently the 909th year of the World of Disorder King's Calendar, which is still quite a while before certain time points.
Just as he didn't want Duma to call him casually, Ed silently made a mental note of two important points: not to give Muller a gold ring and not to let Muller shave his head. Then, he looked at the Marquis who was prostrating himself before him with a complicated expression.
The jumble of thoughts was but a fleeting moment in reality. Just as Ed was about to say something, he noticed that Muller in front of him began to tremble uncontrollably.
His questioning "Hmm?" was clearly interpreted by Muller as an affirmative "Hmm."
Realizing his father had approved of him, Muller bowed deeply once more.
"Father, from this day forward I am ' Müller-chan Adrian,' thank you for the name!"
Ed felt a slight ache and numbness in his facial muscles. He forced a straight expression, gave a slow and deliberate "hmm," and then extended his Blood Corpse Transformation right hand:
"We of the Adrian Lineage have always persuaded people with reason. We should no longer use such outdated methods as Blood Poison."
As he spoke, he placed his hand on Muller's head, and a surge of violent Psionic Energy entered the Marquis's body.
Ed closed his eyes, using Muller's body to explore where his current limits were.
The power of a single drop of the Grand Duke's True Blood was indeed limited; it could not fully grant him the power of a vampire duke.
The current Ed is more like a younger version of a duke, or a top-tier marquis.
After a brief moment of reflection, Ed had a general idea of what he could do at the moment:
His rank and power granted him the first ability: to manipulate hordes of up to ten thousand Blood Corpse, but only within the Rosalind Lineage.
This ability is currently completely useless.
Rosalind's entire lineage is in the Demon Realm, a distance he simply cannot remotely control.
Furthermore, because he is a younger version of the Duke, this ability is suppressed and rendered ineffective when facing other Dukes or Rosalind herself.
The second ability is to control and absorb Blood Poison to a certain extent, which is somewhat useful.
Vampires are incredibly powerful, even without their Blood Poison.
Ed disliked the ability to force infection and therefore intended to abolish Muller's power in this area.
The method is quite simple: absorb the Blood Poison from Muller's body into your own, then deactivate your vampire state to achieve a seal without any loss.
It's just that because he only has one drop of True Blood, there's a limit to the amount of Blood Poison he can absorb, making it impossible to immediately render all the Blood Corpse harmless.
but...
Thinking about this, Ed suddenly realized something:
Although vampire grand dukes are male and female, they do not have the ability to reproduce in the traditional sense.
There were only seven progenitors who split off from the True Ancestor vampires, and their so-called "reproduction" was nothing more than infecting one other creature after another.
In other words, a vampire's reproductive ability is essentially its ability to infect.
So, by eradicating Muller's Blood Poison, he actually...
Holy crap...
This is hardly a father and son relationship...
Ed suddenly realized that in this post- Demonic Tide era, he had once again invented eunuchs.
Although it can't be viewed from a real-world perspective, Ed always felt that he had an extraordinary talent for turning back the clock.
However, until a solution to the Blood Corpse problem is found once and for all, Ed has no choice but to do this for now.
So be it, he can be a eunuch. We can't expect Muller to be walking around the world grinning every day; that would damage his reputation.
Having absorbed all the Blood Poison into his body, Ed raised his hand, gesturing for Muller to stand up.
Muller, no, now it should be called Müller-chan.
Müller-chan responded, then simply raised her upper body while remaining kneeling comfortably.
Seeing this, Ed sighed helplessly and glanced at Muller with his one eye, saying:
"I ask, you answer; don't lie."
"Father, your son wouldn't..."
Please, I'm begging you, stop yelling, okay...?
Ed's lips twitched, and after calming his embarrassed state, he asked:
"You are Blood Corpse from the Rosalind Lineage, why are you in Klaf City?"
Muller shook his head:
"I am Blood Corpse of the Adrian Lineage."
No, you, you're actually quite meticulous...
Ed resisted the urge to punch him, took two deep breaths, and asked again:
"You—originally (emphasis)—were Blood Corpse of the Rosalind Lineage, why are you in Klaf City?"
" Rosalind sent me."
"Wow! "Ed exclaimed.
Just minutes after recognizing a thief as his father, Muller had already abandoned the path he had come from.
They don't use any of those terms like "ancestor," "adult," or "Source of Hunger," they just call her Rosalind right off the bat.
Yes, vampires really are a haven for traitors and double agents. Now I've come to a complete understanding.
Ed reached out and rubbed his temples, then asked:
What is your mission?
"Attending the alliance as Rosalind's envoy."
Alliance?
This should be referring to Luoli Adelaide, no, it's referring to the incident mentioned in Luoli Soaring Clouds's original statement—
Several vampire grand dukes met once in Klaf City, perhaps to discuss how to divide the kingdom, or perhaps for some other purpose.
However, they failed to achieve their goal, because two Short-Eared Elf came and overturned the table.
"Yes, tell me everything you know about what happened back then, starting from when you were ordered to go to Klaf City, no, starting from when the Demonic Tide broke out."
"OK."
Muller offered no resistance, his tone revealing only respect for his father:
"Okay, then we'll start from... almost three hundred years ago..."
Three hundred years?
"Wait a minute, hasn't the Demonic Tide only been going on for a hundred years?"
Faced with Ed's questioning, Muller nodded sincerely:
"Yes, Father, that was the time when I became Blood Corpse. I just wanted you to know me better."
"Snap."
Ed slapped his forehead and slumped backward, his body giving way.
"Alright, let's start from when you were born."
"Yes, Father, that story begins more than three hundred and twenty years ago..."