Chapter 135: Chapter 135: Overprotective
"Do you like it, Jane?" Sam inquired, his voice carrying a gentle warmth as Jane sat on his lap, clutching a green pendant that matched the hue of her small eyes.
This pendant resembled the medallion he had gifted to others before they reclaimed memories of their past lives.
However, unlike the medallion, this pendant boasted more defensive capabilities.
Defense was a modest term for its capabilities; one function Sam engraved on it would summon a million shadow soldiers to combat any sensed danger.
And that was merely one of its many functions. Sam believed it was just basic precautionary measures.
In fact, he thought he hadn't done enough.
He had crafted dozens of such pendants, even fashioning three in baby sizes for Lily, Jane, and Kate, and had gifted each of them one.
Jane appeared quite content with the gift, yet she still favored sitting on his lap over the pendant.
"Mm," Jane nodded, her movements akin to a bobbing chicken as she indulged in the cookies Mia had baked before their departure for the White Tiger continent.
"Lily, dear, do you like it?"
"Mm, like it," Lily replied, nodding in agreement.
Sam shifted his gaze to Mira, who watched Jane and Lily with a complex expression.
Since Sam's arrival, they had unintentionally been sidelining her. While not entirely disregarding her, they seemed to be spending less time with her.
She wasn't envious of Sam; her jealousy was directed towards the twins. She yearned to be able to climb onto his lap like Lily and Jane did.
However, she was neither a child nor bold enough to take such an initiative.
Sam smiled, understanding her feelings. With his Divine Charm, he could see her emotions as clearly as water.
He knew he couldn't intervene; she needed to sort out her feelings herself.
Making Jane and Lily sit beside him, causing them both to pout, Sam took out something from his storage ring—a small totem with a wolf image engraved at its center.
This artifact was Lenora's mother's gift, used as a last resort to save her little sister from assassins and send her to a safe place.
"Shisu."
"I'm here, Master."
"Did you finish analyzing the talisman?"
"Yes, Master. I will send the reports to you."
Sam closed his eyes and read through the information Shisu inserted directly into his mind, then opened his eyes. "So, that's where the artifact sent her? No wonder I thought the artifact looked familiar."
This wasn't just any artifact; it was something Sam made in his past life, a way to teleport from one place to another as long as enough energy was put into it.
"Back then, I concluded that teleportation via artifacts like these was inefficient and had a high probability of misuse compared to teleportation points, which can be actively monitored, so I disregarded that idea."
Sam looked at the old teleportation totem in his hand. "I guess the ones I made have been passed down to my son's descendants."
"Lenora, your sister is in the Yin-Yang Continent."
"That's good. I don't have to worry about it any longer," Lenora said, sighing.
"If my memories serve me right, the totem should have teleported her to the Valley of Harmony. She should be with Tui and La," Sam said, rubbing his temple.
"She should be fine, darling," Lenora reassured him, patting his shoulder and giving him a kiss on his cheek.
...
The progenitor of vampires had his stash, items that should be hidden from every single person, even those with the slightest possibility of betraying him.
These were things forsaken and damned, meant only for his use and harnessing.
Part of the reason was that some of the items could only be controlled by the progenitor of vampires.
"Whoa, there's a place like this in Nightingale?" Countess Frostine muttered. Even a countess like herself didn't know such a place existed, and she was as old as the mountains.
Countess Kaminari looked at Countess Telluris, who didn't seem too surprised by the location where the mini Kate Dracula led them, an irritated expression on her childish face.
"How come you don't seem surprised, Elara?"
"I have the ability to sense changes in the earth, remember? Of course, I knew a place like this existed," Countess Telluris replied, looking at the entrance.
"Why haven't you mentioned anything about this before?" Countess Kaminari whispered in her ear, careful not to anger Kate.
Even though Kate had regressed to a child, she still possessed the strength she had before, and not to mention Sam, the progenitor, treated her like a daughter.
They had to be even more cautious and try not to offend her.
"Even though I was able to sense the place, I couldn't sense what's inside. There was a barrier protecting it, and moreover, it was in the Dracula clan's territory. I couldn't do anything about it," Countess Telluris explained.
Having heard their discussion, Kate sighed. "This place belonged to my great-grandfather, the vampire progenitor. Only those from his eldest son's sireline can enter this place. You're lucky; if you had tried to barge in here, your blood would have been sucked out, and you would have died instantly."
"My queen, why did you bring us down here?" Countess Frostine asked.
"My father... the progenitor, asked for something from here. He said you counts could take something for yourselves if anything caught your fancy," Kate said, not looking at them.
Soon they entered a place bathed in blood-red lanterns, making the place look even creepier.
When they arrived at the deepest end of the place, they saw a spear floating at the center, chained to the walls as if, let loose, it would go on a rampage.
Looking at the spear, the countesses felt innate fear and intense killing intent seeping into their bones.
The spear released a blood-red aura that filled the place with a red hue like mist, greatly affecting the mentality of the countesses. But strangely, it didn't seem to influence Kate.
"Don't look at it directly, or it will give you unimaginable nightmares. There's a reason why it's called the Spear of Torment," Kate said, moving towards the Spear of Torment.
Then she proceeded to bite her finger and let it bleed a few drops of blood.
The Spear of Torment, as if sensing a familiarity with her blood, retracted its dreadful aura.
Only then did the countesses feel like they could breathe again. "Q-Queen... Princess Kate, can you use that spear?" Countess Kaminari asked slowly.
"No... Only the progenitor can wield the Spear of Torment. It doesn't see me as a threat because I possess part of progenitor blood. Even I would be exposed to a new world of pain if I tried to command it."
"I guess only a being as special as the progenitor can wield a weapon like that," Countess Telluris sighed and muttered, wishing if she could ever get a weapon like that.
"Do you know what makes the progenitors so special aside from the fact that they could create civilization?"
"It's their blood. It's what makes them so special and unique. It also grants them their own unique abilities," Kate finally looked at them, who were listening to her keenly.
"The vampire progenitor has the unique ability that gives him the ability to take the power of his enemies to himself, and the Spear of Torment, which was purged with his blood and the blood of those he killed, has developed this predatory trait. That's why this spear is so... fearsome."
...
Some time ago, just after Sam left the Tomb of Embalming after acquiring his fifty million or so souls from Anubis, the god of the Egyptian underworld and Shepherd of Souls, the air was silent, and trees swayed gently in the breeze.
Then, in a sudden moment of pause, the entire place became as quiet as a pin drop before something unusual happened.
A distortion appeared, breaking apart the literal space. It was soundless and colorless.
Then, a crack formed, spreading further apart, leaving it wide open.
Figures began to walk out of the crack formed by the space distortion.
One by one, four figures emerged – girls who could be considered some of the most beautiful beings in the whole universe.
"Quickly, mask your presence. I don't want to compromise our existence," one of the girls instructed the others.
"Would that really help? I mean, you know how powerful he was in this 'time', right?" another girl with silver hair pondered, holding her chin.
"He was powerful in this time, but not powerful enough to sense us right now, so we should be fine," the third girl with scarlet hair added.
...
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