Chapter 213: The One Who Is Forgiven
By the time Vladimir\'s words reached James\' ears, James was on his feet.
"First I learnt of Desmond\'s existence, then I learnt that Juliet died before the war even started when betrayals happened, and now I know where the person who caused Juliet\'s death was. You betrayed her and Desmond...And what should I say? Why does the past continue to have more and more tree branches every time I meet someone?" James said, and with these words, Vladimir\'s expression changed once again.
"I can see everything in your eyes, young man. You are kind but cruel and you care about your family just as I do. However, I hope that if such a situation arises, that is, if you are in my situation, you will not make the same mistake." Vladimir said.
With these words, Vladimir\'s hands turned into claws again, James thought that the test was over and so he dropped his guard, just as he was about to take a defensive position, something he never expected to happen.
"COUGHSHK!!!"
Vladimir suddenly opened a huge gash in his stomach with his claw and fell on his back.
James ran to Vladimir, not realising what had happened, and then shouted:
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU\'RE DOING, YOU IDIOT!!!"
This was the first time James had ever insulted one of the people his bloodline considered \'family\'. He was so shocked, so disbelieving, that these words managed to come out of his mouth.
"Kehkehkeh...So you can get mad," said Vladimir, speaking normally for his ripped-open stomach.
"Why? How could you do such a thing???" questioned James and then his attention was diverted to his surroundings.
"DAMN IT!!! WHY WOULD YOU EVEN DO THIS?!" he suddenly shouted, so distracted by the conversation, the things he had heard, that he completely forgot he was in a dungeon.
"Yes...You won\'t be able to get out of this dungeon unless I die, so I should kill myself while you can\'t hurt me, and even if you won\'t get experience points, at least the dungeon will give you an item." Vladimir said, that even if he was breathing deeply, there was no limit to the joy in his eyes. It was as if he was pinning his hopes on James.
James was just about to cry when he was suddenly distracted from his sadness by the glint of the family heirloom ring on his finger.
"What\'s going on?" Vladimir asked. When he uttered that question, his whole body began to crumble into dust. While both James and Vladimir were trying to figure out what was going on, the glow of the ring faded and something white came out of Vladimir\'s body and entered the ring.
"What the fuck?!" James said, and the spirits inside the ring and when he tried to feel it, he realised that there were now four spirits inside.
James knew that he was holding the lock open to let all the souls out, but Vladimir didn\'t seem to realise what was happening.
Both Vlad, Abby and Emily were stunned when he forced all the souls out of the ring.
Vladimir\'s soul was standing in front of everyone, and Vladimir himself seemed to be the most surprised.
"How can it be? An item that can hold the soul? Where did you get it?" Vladimir suddenly asked, and James, hearing this, smiled and said, "This is our family heirloom, an item that can hold the soul of everyone who is family...".
When James said these words, Vladimir\'s eyes filled with tears, and it took a very short time for tears to flow down his face.
"Pleased to meet you, sir, my name is Vlad, and I\'m Desmond\'s firstborn, it\'s an honour to meet the one I\'m named after." the older Vlad said suddenly, and it seemed to move the vampire lord even more.
"I\'m Abby, the last child. Next to me is Emily, James\' aunt," the beautiful Abby said.
After these words, Vladimir waited for a few seconds without saying anything.
"Oh, Desmond...my dear friend. Did you name your daughter after my daughter? I\'m so sorry, my friend, forgive me...." Vladimir said and with that everything became clear.
Despite all the deaths, it seemed that Desmond still loved Vladimir madly and cared for him just as much. Desmond loved him so much that Vladimir was chosen by the heirloom itself as someone who could enter the family heirloom.
"His war against you must be to bring you back to yourself, Vladimir. Indeed, fate works in strange ways. I know that Chaos does not control me, which means that every step I take, every breath I take, and every action I take is what brought me here..." James said.
As the four spirits looked at him, he gently reached out to Vladimir took one of the spirit\'s hands and then said the following words:
"Welcome back to your family my ancestor, please watch over me so I don\'t make the same mistakes you did."
As James spoke these words, Vladimir nodded as if he had come to his senses and then said, "I will do that, I will be there for you in the future when you face others as powerful as me, so that you can live, so that you can protect your loved ones and fulfil your dreams."
James was about to thank him with honour when suddenly a system notification popped up in front of his eyes:
["Blessed\'s second test has been cleared to a level above perfect!
This is the item that drops with the death of Sun Vampire Vladimir: \'Sun Vampire\'s Core"]