Chapter 500: He hardly knew what was going on behind his back.

The desert night was not silent.

Not anymore.

What had once been a veil of pristine stars, crowning the pyramids in their ancient glory, was now stained with screams, howls, and wails. Vampires and werewolves tore each other apart in a relentless clash, each trying to prove supremacy. Claws against fangs. Shadows against flesh. Fury against steel.

The wind-driven sand was no longer golden: it turned red with each gust, transforming the desert into a field of makeshift graves. Where pharaohs and forgotten empires once rested, now lay twisted limbs, mutilated bodies, and empty eyes. The smell permeated everything—iron, sulfur, and smoke—as if even the gods had closed their eyes to the carnage.

Atop the largest of the pyramids, a figure stood motionless.

Alexa.

The moon reflected in her orange hair, burning like flames under the night sky. Her green eyes, cold and piercing, watched the slaughter with disturbing calm. Every scream of pain, every explosion of blood, drew from her nothing but indifferent silence. Sitting cross-legged, she seemed merely a bored spectator, as if the spectacle had been played out before her countless times.

The cold night wind brushed her face, bringing the metallic taste of slaughter to her mouth. She sighed. To her, it was just another night in the desert.

It was then that another presence revealed itself. Silent, like the shadow of a crow cutting through the moonlight, Kaguya appeared beside her.

The vampire was the opposite in every way. If Alexa exuded the restrained savagery of the beast, Kaguya was the very embodiment of dark sophistication. Her black cloak billowed as if woven from living darkness, and her crimson eyes gleamed like rubies bathed in fresh blood. She didn’t need to say anything to assert herself: her mere existence was an affront.

For a few moments, neither of them spoke. They simply stood there, observing the battlefield, while the music of death echoed in the distance. Screams, howls, the clash of fangs, the cracking of bones. This was their first dialogue.

Until Kaguya broke the silence:

“How did things get to this point?” Her voice was calm, but filled with judgment.

Alexa looked away from the battlefield and, as she stared at the vampire, her lips curved into a wry smile.

“Isn’t it obvious?” she replied, sarcasm in her voice. “Vampires and werewolves are born to hate each other. It’s natural that this happens.” Kaguya arched an eyebrow, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Naturally?” she repeated, savoring the word like someone tasting bitter wine. “That’s what weaklings say to justify their existence.”

A low sound escaped Alexa’s throat, half laugh, half suppressed growl.

“Maybe.” Her eyes gleamed with an animalistic glint. “But… it’s not quite like that between us, is it?”

Her green gaze met the vampire’s crimson gaze. There, amidst the chaos, was a spark of something unusual. Not friendship. Not trust. But something… close enough to defy the natural order of their races.

Kaguya smiled, a cold, elegant smile. “That’s because we have something in common.”

Alexa didn’t hesitate. “Vergil.”

That single word was enough. A name that carried the weight of battles, memories, and destiny. Vergil wasn’t just a man to them—he was an axis. A vortex around which their existences orbited.

Kaguya nodded slowly, needing nothing more.

The war raged beneath them. Howls, explosions, limbs being torn off. But neither of them seemed interested in this massacre. They were there for another reason. And that reason, finally, was beginning to reveal itself.

Alexa’s eyes narrowed as a new presence emerged. A figure loomed over the horizon of mutilated bodies, walking like a ghost beneath the moon.

“It seems he’s arrived,” Alexa said, her deep voice cutting through the wind.

Her eyes focused on that silhouette. And there he was.

Alucard.

The legendary king of the vampires.

Or rather… what was left of him.

His body was malnourished, his pale skin clinging to his bones as if centuries of starvation and isolation had drained every drop of vigor. His hair, once black and imposing, now fell disheveled over his thin shoulders. His clothing, once majestic, was nothing but rags.

And yet, there was something.

A remnant.

Perhaps a flicker of power. Perhaps just the memory of who he had been. But the air around him seemed to vibrate with an ancient aura, dense, uneasy. The nearest vampires backed away, like animals instinctively recognizing a predator above them.

Alexa tilted her head, coldly assessing him.

“So that’s it…” she murmured. “The great Alucard. The king my father always feared.”

Kaguya remained silent, her eyes fixed on the cadaverous figure.

Alexa continued:

“My father must think he can’t return to command.” There was contempt in her voice. “That’s why he launched this idiotic war here, in the middle of the desert. To distract, to wear down, to erase any vestige of the old order before it truly awakens.”

A dry burst of laughter escaped her lips. “He thinks Alucard is just a walking corpse.”

Kaguya didn’t laugh. Her red eyes narrowed, fixing on the ruined king. “And you? What do you think?”

Alexa took a moment to answer. For a moment, she simply watched the man cross the fields of the dead, each step stirring the sand.

Then, a golden glow appeared in his wolf-like eyes.

“I think… corpses don’t walk.”

Alexa’s greenish gaze met the vampire’s crimson.

There, amidst the chaos, was a rare spark. Not friendship. Not trust. But something… close enough to defy the natural order of their races.

Kaguya smiled—cold, elegant, as if every gesture were calculated to wound.

“That’s because we have something in common.”

Alexa didn’t hesitate. “Vergil.”

That single word was enough. A name that wasn’t just a name. It was a weight. A scar. A vortex around which their destinies orbited. Vergil wasn’t just a man to them—he was the invisible blade that cut their lives into before and after.

Kaguya simply nodded. There was nothing to add.

The war continued below: howls, explosions, claws tearing flesh, fangs tearing bone. But none of it mattered. Not to Alexa. Not to Kaguya. The massacre was just a curtain call. The main play was about to begin.

Then Alexa narrowed her eyes.

Something was moving.

A presence appeared on the horizon of mutilated bodies. A figure walked slowly under the moon, like a ghost that should never have left the grave.

“It seems he has arrived,” he murmured, his deep voice cutting through the wind.

And there he was.

Alucard.

The king of the vampires.

Or rather… what was left of him.

His body seemed made of bones covered by translucent skin, stretched to its limit. His hair, once black as night, now hung in disheveled, dirty strands. His clothes, which had once boasted the glory of royalty, were nothing but rags. He was the very shadow of decay.

But still, there was something.

It wasn’t visible strength, nor outward majesty. It was a remnant. An ancient murmur, buried in time. The air around him felt heavy, vibrating with an aura so ancient that the desert itself seemed to remember it. The nearest vampires instinctively backed away—like prey before a predator their instincts recognized even when their minds tried to deny it.

Alexa tilted her head, assessing him with wild, cold eyes. “So this is it… the great Alucard. The king my father always feared.”

Kaguya said nothing. She just fixed her red gaze on him, as if every exposed bone were part of a puzzle she needed to decipher.

Alexa continued, her voice thick with contempt: “My father must believe he can no longer return to command. That’s why he provoked this idiotic war, here, in the middle of the desert. Distraction. Attrition. To erase any vestige of the old order before it truly awakens.”

A dry, humorless laugh escaped her lips. “He thinks Alucard is nothing more than a walking corpse.”

Kaguya didn’t join in the laughter. Her crimson eyes, narrow and silent, were fixed solely on that skeletal figure crossing the carnage.

“And you?” she finally asked, her voice low, almost a sharp whisper. “What do you think?”

Alexa took a while to answer. For a moment, she let the silence be swallowed by the war cries and the dull sound of sand shifting with each step of the ancient vampire.

Then, her golden wolf eyes glinted under the moon.

“I think…” her mouth curved into a fierce smile, “it’s good to know we’re going to decimate two great forces at once.”

Kaguya smiled and snapped her fingers. Several vampires began to appear in the pyramid.

“I thought it would never start,” Viper said, appearing next to Kaguya.

“Don’t even tell me… I was dying to kill that damned Vampire King,” Raven said, smiling.

Vergil didn’t even know what was happening… but behind his back, he had acquired a small army of Vampires, intent on killing a Vampire King.

Of course, fate didn’t even warn him that… in a few years… he would have the most powerful Vampire Queen and Werewolf Queen ever at his side.

But of course, that’s a story for a few years from now.