While Arya was absorbing the beast's blood and cultivating, his two Seed Stones, connected to his body just below his neck, began to react. These stones were linked to two small, whirlpool-like energy pools—one above the other. Their only purpose was to help Arya absorb elemental energy, acting as a bridge between his body and the Seed Rings on his fingers.
They gathered energy and stored it in the Seed Rings, supplying power to Arya's body whenever needed. Right now, Arya was focused entirely on these two energy pools, feeding them the energy extracted from the beast's blood.
However, something unexpected happened. While he was deeply immersed in the absorption process, the two energy pools suddenly started rotating at nearly double their usual speed. Before Arya could even comprehend what was happening, the pools—originally positioned one above the other, just as his father had taught him—began pulling away from each other.
A strange, empty space formed between them, as if some invisible force was pushing them apart.
As this process continued, an unbearable drilling pain erupted in Arya's chest. The more the energy pools separated, the larger the empty space became, making his breathing unstable. His body trembled, his consciousness fading with every passing moment.
Just before he completely blacked out, he caught a glimpse of his two energy pools settling in their new positions—one hovering just above his heart, the other directly opposite it, as if he now had two hearts.
And in the empty space between them... two glowing red eyes began to form.
That was the last thing Arya saw before he lost all strength and fainted.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Meanwhile...
Outside the Commerce of Merchants Branch in Fisco City's main shop, a masked man stood in broad daylight. He was dressed entirely in black, his clothes concealing everything except his piercing eyes. Holding a paper with some written information, he murmured to himself.
"So, you're hiding inside Dreadfall Forest? But why there?"
After a brief pause, he smirked beneath his mask.
"Whatever the reason, it doesn't matter. Since I already have your location, let's see how long you can survive after killing my junior. And once I'm done with you, I have another target... that man hiding inside Finlet Academy."
With those words, he turned and left.
As the masked man exited the Commerce of Merchants, two young cultivators crossed paths with him. Both exuded confidence, their strength evident in their posture and expressions.
For a brief moment, they locked eyes with the masked man, silently acknowledging each other, before continuing on their separate paths.
"An Alucard? Here, in a low-level city?" the masked man muttered in surprise, not bothering to turn back.
A few steps away, one of the young cultivators, Ryze Veylan, spoke up.
"Brother Selis, did you see that just now?"
Selis nodded, his expression turning serious.
"Yes... an assassin from the Assassin's Creed Guild."
Ryze frowned. "They're getting bolder. Once, they only hunted from the shadows, but now they're openly operating in broad daylight without any fear of retaliation. Why isn't the King doing anything about them? Why is he letting them run rampant in our Azure Kingdom?"
Selis sighed, his tone heavy.
"The royal family is in chaos. They don't have the luxury to focus on small threats like this guild. And besides, the Assassin's Creed Guild has powerful supporters from outside the Azure Kingdom. That's why they act so fearlessly."
Ryze clenched his fists. "But if the King wanted, he could wipe out this guild anytime. He could put an end to their arrogance."
Selis shook his head.
"You don't understand. The King's attention is currently on something far more important—something unknown to us. Right now, he has bigger concerns. But don't worry... once he turns his focus to this guild, their destruction will be inevitable."
With that, the two cultivators stepped into the shop. The guards at the entrance didn't even bother checking their passes—after all, the moment they saw the robes these two were wearing, they knew better than to interfere.
Once they entered the shop again, the crowd inside was immediately drawn to the new arrivals. The attendant at the counter looked toward the entrance and couldn't help but mutter to himself, "What's going on here? In the past few days, I've seen an Assassin's Creed Guild member, and now an **Alucard**! Has the atmosphere in our Fisco City suddenly changed, attracting such powerful figures to this small town? Or is something big about to happen here?"