The last of the heroes' remains were buried by the scarlet rose. The demon slapped the dirt off of his gloves and stared at the flowers.

They were beautiful.

"Well done, Gabriel!" Said a deep voice, followed by slow clapping.

When the demon turned around, he saw a well-built man, roughly two meters in size, come out from the cover of a pillar. His skin was pale as snow, his eyes red with a thirst for blood. Grey, curly hair ran down the sides of his stubbly face, stopping just below his wide shoulders.

This man was Lord Lazar, the strongest vampire lord and the one who summoned Gabriel.

"My lord!" Gabriel bowed.

Lord Lazar welcomed this gesture with a smile that showed his two large fangs. He waved for his minion to stop and approached the flowerbed.

"Do you know who were those three adventurers?"

"No, my lord."

"Girgamesh, the Gun of West. Ranked fourth. Anita, the Brilliant Mage. Ranked third. Savojski, Paladin of the Fountain Goddess. Ranked second." Lazar smelled the rose before continuing. "They were three of the Empire's strongest warriors. Yet, you were able to kill them without suffering any long-lasting injuries. This display of the difference in strength was by far the greatest humiliation the Empire could have suffered."

Gabriel placed a hand on his chest.

"I did what was necessary to defend you, my lord."

Lazar laughed, surprising Gabriel.

"Splendid! You were able to best them while being on the defensive! Just imagine the chaos you'll wreck once we attack the Empire's realm!"

His prideful laugh echoed throughout the garden, the walls trembling from his mighty voice. Gabriel remained silent to let his lord enjoy his victory.

Something bothered his heart.

– – –

The vampire castle was full of life. Lord Lazar gathered his lieutenants for an all-night feast to celebrate his butler's achievement.

Of course, all of them were already drunk before the first course of meal could have been served.

"I tell you what!" Lazar threw aside his wine. "This boy has some true potential! If anything, I might make him one of my lieutenants!"

One of the female lieutenants, a blue mummy with a long tongue leaned closer to the lord.

"Oh, Lord Lazar! You bring only the best meat into our realm!" She lowered her voice. "But if I may, have you tasted it?"

"What? You mean a taste of his flesh?"

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"Yes, my lord. You know what I'm talking about…" She winked.

"Oh, sure. I haven't thought about that before." He glanced over to the boy. "But now that you say it out like that…"

Gabriel was in the corner of the room, cleaning up the wine his lord threw aside. He could hear everything they were talking about, but that made him feel no real emotions.

After all, it was his duty to follow his master's orders.

"Excuse me!" He said as he walked away with the wine's remains.

His path was through the kitchen, where a dozen of imps and frog-like humanoids worked together to prepare the best meal. Their materials were things such as bovine blood, living eyes, and vanilla ice cream.

There was a door that lead to an unused part of the court. The chefs left here to take a breather from the damp air inside. Gabriel nodded as he walked by them, but the monsters just ignored him.

A small dirt path led to a place overgrown with fauna. It was there that they stored all the unused trash, far and invisible to those inside the castle.

Next to the mound of waste was a dilapidated shack. That was Gabriel's home.

He threw the glass into the sea of waste and walked into the shack. It was cold and dark in there. His only source of light was a small oil lamp.

He sat down on his bed. It was an old frame filled with hay, covered by a piece of animal fur. Next to it was a desk and chair, though the latter he never used as it would have broken under the smallest of weight.

Besides the clothes he hung from the ceiling, there were just two items in the room, a pen, and a small notebook. Those were his only source of entertainment.

He grabbed the pen and searched for an empty page in his book. Most of the pages were full of written and drawn descriptions of different flowers. These weren't just amateur attempts at art, Gabriel went into detail with the specifics of every plant found in the court, detailing things such as their anatomy and exact measurements.

When there was finally a blank page in his book, he wasted no time and began drawing a scarlet rose.

It was like that for a while. He, alone, with a pen in hand and nothing to worry about.

That bubble of silence was burst by a group of zombie maids approaching his shack. They were screaming like a group of banshees.

Gabriel quickly reached for his rapier and rushed out the door.

"What happened? Are we under attack?"

To his surprise, the maids bore fangirly smiles. The only pain they experienced was caused by their hearts nearly bursting from joy.

"Lord Lazar talked to us!"

"He hasn't done that in years!"

"He asked us to bring you to the ballroom!"

Gabriel lowered his weapon with a frown.

"If his plans involve my body, tell him I'm not available."

The zombies' excited smiles grew more.

"No! That's not it!"

"Who's going to tell him? I call dibs!"

"Nope, it will be me! The lord has a special reward for you!"

"Oh, I'm going to beat you for that!"

Gabriel was surprised. He knew that Lord Lazar was proud of his achievement, but to award his minion was something uncharacteristic of him.

He followed the zombie girls back to the feast, where Lazar was sitting proudly on his throne. The maids gave way for Gabriel, who bowed before his master.

"Lord Lazar!"

"Keep that bow for yourself!" Lazar said before he took another sip of his wine. "By the end of tonight's feast, your rank will raise from a simple slave to one of my most trustworthy lieutenants!"

Gabriel's eyes widened in surprise. To become a lieutenant of Lord Lazar was to gain the second most powerful rank in the entire vampire realm. He would get his own army, his own special floor, and minions ready to serve his every need.

Of course, these were all pointless to Gabriel. The only benefit he cared about was the personal army, which could enhance his guarding capabilities by serving as another line of defense before Lord Lazar.

All he could think of was serving his master even while being offered such a respectable title.

"Thank you, my lord! I promise this title will be of good use."

"Hah, that's what I like to hear!" Lazar raised his wine. "There is just one thing you have to do before joining us. Come on, boys! Bring in the sacrifice!"

Gabriel was slightly confused. He has never seen someone rank up since he was summoned by Lazar, thus the whole ceremony was new to him, much more the idea of a sacrifice.

He grabbed the handle of his rapier and faced the slowly opening ballroom door. It creaked open with a slow speed that only made his wait the more torturous.

"What will it be? What kind of monster is worthy enough to be a lieutenant's sacrifice?"

Gabriel has seen a decent number of enemies throughout his short existence. He fought against giant spiders, venomous boars, and even a hydra at one point.

However, nothing could prepare him for what came through that door…