In the Eternal Domain, in the Twilight Capital, somewhere on the outskirts.
The gray-white bricks and stones were piled up dozens of meters high, blocking all direct sunlight from entering the wall.
Within the high walls lies a small, rustic courtyard, so simple it could be described as rudimentary. Dark green moss creeps across the junction of the soil and stone walls, ascending along the cracks between the bricks and stones.
Accompanied by the sounds of armor scraping and impacts against the ground, the group approached the courtyard enclosed by high walls with steady, slow steps.
A knight in full armor led the way, followed by a squad of seven or eight men.
Arriving at the foot of the stone wall, after verifying his identity with the guards in front of him, he removed his gauntlets, revealing a brass key hidden in the gap between his skin and armor.
He unlocked the large door on the stone wall in front of him, then stood by the door and gestured for the team behind him to quickly enter.
Once the entire group had entered, the knight locked the gate, joined the guards, and became one of them.
The small team of seven or eight people continued deeper and soon encountered a second door, a silver-white metal door.
A knight stepped out of the ranks, verified his identity as before, took out a silver key, opened the gate, and finally led his companions inside, then stood guard at the entrance.
The tedious steps were repeated three times until the final golden door opened.
A simple courtyard appeared before them. The remaining knights remained silent, then pushed the middle-aged man, who was sandwiched between them and wore only a thin garment, inside. They quickly locked the courtyard gate and turned to leave.
The dark courtyard was empty except for a wooden hut that looked like it could be kicked down with one foot, and some old tools.
"Squeak~"
The sound of wood rubbing and pressing filled the air. In a corner of the yard, a person sitting on a stool with a broken leg seemed to have been awakened by the noise, slowly raising their sleepy eyes.
The man who had just been locked up also looked in that direction. The two, one standing and one sitting, remained silent for a long time.
" Antos, you're still alive?"
The middle-aged man who was standing spoke in a hoarse voice.
The old man sitting down also had a distorted expression:
"... You didn't die either, did you?"
Another silence fell, followed by a simultaneous sigh from both of them:
"Well."
Adelaide limped to the corner of the walled courtyard, pulled out another broken-legged chair, and sat down.
This chair was even worse than the one Antos was sitting on; two of its four legs were crippled.
Adelaide, who looked no different from any other elderly person, sat down and almost tripped.
He steadied himself on the wooden chair and looked at his blood relative in front of him, but for a moment he didn't know how to communicate with him.
As blood relatives spanning thousands of years, the two grand dukes have cooperated frequently, but they have also betrayed each other in the past.
This was the first time that they had both fallen to such a wretched state, with their True Blood drained and clinging to life, in less than six months.
From the moment their True Blood was completely stripped away, they realized that unless time in this world could be reversed, otherwise...
That's how their lives will be.
Adelaide, who was sitting in the chair, steadied herself and finally spoke first as the elder brother:
"... How long have you been here?"
Antos, his back still hunched, said expressionlessly:
Less than a month.
How did you lose your True Blood?
"Is that even a question? I resisted Vanessa's consciousness for a full four months with most of my power sealed away."
But you still failed.
Adelaide delivered the finishing blow at the opportune moment, Antos abruptly raised his head, giving her a "you're deliberately picking a fight" look:
"What else can I do? You can't expect me to win against her head-on in that state, can you? Especially with that ' Ancient Shadow ' by my side..."
Adelaide remained silent, Antos pressed his advantage:
" Vanessa just finished drinking my blood a month ago, and you're here so soon? Looks like you're not even as good as me."
Antos, of course, had no idea what was happening in the Klaf City, hundreds of miles away.
But his words naturally stirred up Adelaide's nightmares, which she had only recently escaped.
Thinking of the curse of his failure, the unfathomable young man of the Tree Worship Church, and the pain of having his True Blood stripped from him, the expression on his face became increasingly distorted.
Seeing the slight change in his expression, Antos's tone became distinctly sarcastic, and he seemed to have become much younger.
"Why aren't you saying anything? You were taken down in just one month. Tell me the details, and I'll help you analyze your chances of turning the tables."
"I'll flip your mother's ass!"
Enraged, Adelaide leaped up, kicked the small square table in front of her away, and launched herself into a flying attack on Antos.
The rotten wooden stool beneath Antos couldn't withstand the impact; two of its remaining three legs snapped instantly, and the two lost their footing, falling backward to the ground together.
A crisp snapping sound rang out; it wasn't a stool or a table, but... Adelaide's arm bone.
"Damn it, you're still the same as before, always pretending and easily vulnerable."
Antos covered his head with his hands to resist Adelaide's punches, but he still kept arguing.
"I'll fuck your ass, you bastard!"
Within the high walls where the setting sun couldn't penetrate, two people who, not long ago, were powerful enough to rival the vast majority of individuals in the world, were now fighting like children arguing.
Although they are still at the level of marquises in terms of rank, stripped of their power, they are essentially only at the level of marquises in terms of recovery ability. In other aspects, they are just punching bags, and their special abilities derived from their lineage are nowhere to be seen.
Thinking they wouldn't be easily killed, the two tried everything – banging their heads, pounding their chests, and grabbing their hair – until they finally lay panting in the yard after what seemed like an eternity.
Adelaide's chest heaved as she looked at the square patch of sky enclosed by high walls, and after a long pause, she asked in a low voice:
Is there anything here to do to pass the time?
Ed and Vanessa took a lot from them, but since they left them with bodies, there was one thing they didn't take away: their lifespans.
As honorary marquises demoted from grand dukes, Antos and Adelaide could live for at least another thousand years within the high walls.
Without family and power, it's not surprising that they want to find something to do.
Having vented his anger, Antos pondered for a moment and said:
"How about we try playing chess..."
Where did the chess pieces come from?
Adelaide countered with a question, Antos groped a small, milky-white object from the ground and handed it to Adelaide:
"Take your time carving it; it will come eventually."
"What's this?"
"Your bones must have been broken in a fight."
"..."