A cloud of darkness descended from the sky.
Vlad, Arlo, and Joe appeared in an estate.
'I can't see anything.' Arlo thought as he felt his heart clench.
The darkness here was several times thicker than in the region close to the dark veil.
Even after willing 25% ki in both eyes, Arlo could not see a thing.
*Whoosh.*
His eyes released a white glow. He had concentrated 50% Ki into his eyes.
However, even though he could now see around him, he couldn't see farther than two meters around him.
Not only that, two lines of blood streamed down his face. Concentrating 50% Ki in both eyes was simply too much for him to handle. He couldn't keep it up for long.
The white glow released from his eyes suddenly died down.
'I can't see anything.' He raised his hand in front of him, and he couldn't see it.
All around him was pitch-black darkness.
It was an eerie feeling.
Arlo didn't panic, though.
From how Scarlett interacted with him, he could tell she had no bad intentions toward him. Moreover, she looked like a big shot among the vampires, so he should be safe for now.
What Arlo didn't know was that Scarlett wasn't just a big shot among vampires, she was the progenitor of all vampires in existence.
Vlad gazed at the little performance Arlo just displayed.
A hint of surprise flashed briefly in his eyes.
He could tell that Arlo wasn't awakened, yet it seemed he could still use some form of energy.
He recalled what his liege had previously warned him…
'Don't interfere with him.'
"Tibu," he called out.
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A swarm of bats approached from the distance, and in just three breaths, they appeared before Vlad.
The swarm of dark bats joined to form a short, dark-haired middle-aged man.
The man immediately kneeled before Vlad.
"My Lord," he said respectfully.
"I will leave these two to you. Let them serve as your family's slaves."
"Yes, my lord." Tibu bowed respectfully.
Vlad gazed once more at Arlo before he turned into a cloud of darkness and streaked across the sky.
Arlo stood stunned on the spot.
'Slave?'
He just thought that Scarlett wouldn't treat him poorly.
Yet, what is this?
Slave?
Tibu stood on his feet.
He looked at the fainted Joe, before focusing his gaze on Arlo.
'So this is the brat my liege was talking about.'
He felt so displeased with Arlo.
He was almost eighty years old, yet he had never seen his liege before.
However, a human brat that seemed to have just entered their territory attracted the interest of his liege.
He felt like Arlo stole his spotlight and he already bore a deep hatred for Arlo in his heart.
However, he soon calmed down.
Even though he couldn't feed on Arlo and probably couldn't kill him, he could still make his life a living hell.
Thinking of this, he flashed a wicked smile.
"Kneel," he commanded with an authoritative voice.
"Excuse me?" Arlo was taken aback. He turned right and left, trying to ascertain Tibu's position.
"I said kneel!" Tibu commanded once more with an icy voice.
Arlo frowned, however, he didn't respond, and neither did he heed Tibu's command.
*Boom!*
A dark aura exploded from Tibu, the pressure boring down on Arlo.
Arlo's bones cracked from the pressure, and two lines of blood fell down the sides of his mouth, nose, and eyes.
However, he gritted his teeth and refused to kneel.
Seeing his resolve, Tibu harrumphed in displeasure and retracted his aura.
"I will take my time to break you." His eerie words resounded in Arlo's ears.
*Swish!*
Tibu's body exploded into a swarm of bats. The bats numbered in the tens.
They launched at the sprawled-down Joe and lifted him off the ground before they moved toward Arlo.
"AH!" Arlo screamed in fear as he was lifted off the ground by the swarm of bats.
When Vlad had brought them into the estate, all he felt was pitch darkness around him and nothing more.
Now?
He felt like he was rising from the ground and falling from the sky, these two contradicting feelings made him feel nauseous.
The swarm of bats hovered a few meters from the ground and took Arlo and Joe into the distance toward the huge black castle located deep in the estate.
After a while, Arlo and Joe were dropped in front of the castle.
The swarm of bats once more congregated into Tibu.
"Father!" the voice of a young boy and girl resounded.
"Husband!" an enticing voice also echoed out.
A dark-haired beautiful woman in revealing clothes, and two kids, a boy and a girl, quickly approached Tibu. Three other women dressed in servant's clothes were present. However, they stood on the spot with a humble attitude.
Tibu wrapped his hand around the woman's enticing waist and voiced out happily:
"I brought a few presents!"
"OH!" the three exclaimed in joy as they fixed their eyes on the fainted Joe.
A look of hunger flashed across their faces.
"Find the human a room."
"Yes, my lord!" the only elderly woman among the three servants approached Arlo, grabbed him by the scuff, and dragged him away.
Even though Arlo couldn't see a thing, he still heard all their exchange of words.
However, he was feeling quite nauseous, so he could only lie on the ground as he tried his best not to vomit, allowing the elderly servant to drag him away like some kind of baggage.