The Crimson Reaper-Chapter 82: Remember the Handshake?

Once he finally established control over everyone, Nosferatu finally stopped releasing his aura, allowing everyone to breathe again.

Once the air didn’t feel as heavy as before, Scarlet and Alex finally got up, exchanging confused looks, wondering what had happened just now.

The two were frozen like deer. The presence in front of them was so overwhelming that they couldn’t even think properly.

The two gulped after realizing that this was Nosferatu. A vampire who was so powerful that he could make you kneel with the words alone.

Once the impressions calmed down, Scarlet and Alex finally got some room to think.

’Did Luciel switch sides?’ Scarlet thought to herself, trying to recover from the overwhelming presence. In her eyes and because she couldn’t see Luciel’s face since his back was facing her, it looked like Luciel willingly bowed down.

"What just happened?" Alex whispered into Scarlet’s ear. Nothing made sense at the moment.

"Shhh, quiet." Scarlet punched Alex on the shoulder, this was no time or place to talk.

The last thing they needed was to bring unnecessary attention to themselves.

Nosferatu had a pleasant smile on his face after seeing Luciel bow before him. The integration into the clan didn’t go as he imagined it to be, he wanted it to be more flashy and grandiose, but it couldn’t be helped now. He still got what he wanted, although rushed.

Melisa flinched slightly once she felt a subtle change in the flow of Qi and glanced toward Luciel.

Once the connection had been established, Luciel could visualize a complex network of connected dots.

Each vampire imagined the collective in their way. For Luciel, it was like some kind of web and Melisa would describe it as a huge lake. Luciel being added felt like a drop had fallen into it.

"Marvelous, isn’t it?" Nosferatu commented with a smirk after seeing how scared and confused his new addition was.

"All this knowledge in the palm of our hands." He said with a smooth voice, like he did him a favor.

"Knowledge?" Luciel finally asked, putting his hand on his knee. He was the last one who got up.

"Actually, never mind." He wasn’t ready to find out about that, there were more important things he wanted to answer.

"Just what did you do to me?!" He asked, with anger slowly resurfacing again.

"We had a deal," Nosferatu answered, his smooth voice became harsh and cold as he spoke now.

"And you broke it. You traded your loyalty for power. But you killed one of ours and even had the nerve to go behind my back and reveal everything you knew to the humans."

He raised his crane and pointed it at Scarlet and Alex who exchanged confused looks. As he spoke, his voice sounded calm for the most part, but anyone could tell that there was a furry behind his words.

"Which you didn’t keep!" Luciel retaliated, glaring at his leader, feeling betrayed and manipulated.

"Yes. You get to choose who lives and who dies and I did not harm anyone you love." Nosferatu’s crane hit the ground, creating cracks around it, "But that applies to your side, not mine."

Luciel felt like falling to his knees. Nosferatu was right. Even if their ideals didn’t align, he didn’t betray him.

The newbie vampire felt angry at himself. There was always this saying among the hunters, ’Never trust a vampire.’

He even attacked Alex for believing him when they met in the old, cracked house, right after he was turned.

And here he was, trading his loyalty for power, allowing himself to be convinced by Nosferatu’s smooth voice and actions. He basically became his puppet.

"Then tell me at least one more thing... How or what did you do to me?" Luciel asked the vampire who was standing tall, full of confidence.

"Remember the handshake?"

Nosferatu had a sinister smile on his face. While his plan to get Luciel into his ranks wasn’t as smooth as he planned it out to be, everything still came together.

From him to meet Kai and Melisa to werewolves attacking them so he could gain some trust.

And of course, Kai and Melisa had no clue about their place in the puzzle, he just told them to go out and take some fresh air after finally locating Luciel. He wanted those three to form some kind of friendship since they all used to be humans.

Luciel held his breath. Images of his deal flashed across his eyes. Nosferatu lied...

"Let this be a warning to you, Luciel. The next time you cross me, I’ll turn your wife and the future child." Nosferatu threatened, turning his back as he struck Luciel’s biggest weakness.

Luciel’s pupils shrunk after hearing the threat, his protective instincts kicking in. He bared his fangs and moved forward, looking like he was about to attack, but before he could do anything, Melisa put her arm in front of him.

"Don’t." She warned him, not wanting Luciel to bring more trouble on himself.

"Thank you, Melisa... Now, shall we go to see your brother. Your... Human pets are also welcomed." Nosferatu glanced behind his shoulder, taking a good look at the humans, especially Scarlet.

"Hm..." He turned around and slowly approached them.

"Not worth to be called a food." Nosferatu commented after placing his hand on Alex’s shoulder as he passed by.

"Hey! How dare you! I have the most delicious blood there is!" Alex shouted, raising his fist, but he just got ignored, not worth for Nosferatu to pay attention to him.

If the situation wasn’t so dire, Luciel would already say how he didn’t taste so good, but it wasn’t a time for jokes.

"But you are pretty interesting..." Nosferatu started, walking around Scarlet.

He picked up her long, deep scarlet, red hair, causing her to flinch uncontrollably.

He placed the locks of her hair close to his nose, sniffing it before letting go.

"You are a peculiar one. Lots of Qi indeed. A strong perfume," Nosferatu leaned closer, his lips almost touching her ear, "But why do I smell a faint scent of a vampire. And no, it’s not from the ones I already know." He whispered so quietly that not even Melisa could hear what had been said.

Scarlet’s eyes widened after she heard those words. This was something she kept as a secret from everyone.

"You..." Scarlet started, but she was at the loss of her words. She was shook to the core as her mind raced. If Nosferatu recognized that there was something wrong with her, then did the other vampires noticed it too?

"No need to worry, my nose is more sensitive than from the rest." He added, reassuring her a little after noticing her eyes were panicking.

"Let’s head to the nest now." Nosferatu walked in front of them, leading the way. There was no need to travel on the trees while being around his presence.

Melisa was the first one who started following him. Despite his intimidation, she wasn’t afraid of him. He wouldn’t hurt her.

After taking a few steps, Nosferatu stopped and turned his head around, "You coming or what?"

Luciel looked behind himself, exchanging the looks with the other two. All three of them felt uneasy after everything. It felt like walking into the trap.

No words were spoken and with some hesitation, they started to follow Nosferatu. It’s not like they could refuse anyways.

Luciel was in the middle of the group, walking alone.

Alex and Scarlet were right behind him, constantly looking at each other and trying to put together what had they witnessed just now.