1499 A unique beast

The medium-sized vessel was on its way to its destination, it was a place that the vampires had only just left and were now returning again. On board the medium-sized ship, Quinn was trying to get a gauge of what their current forces were like.

There were the four that had greeted him, then a total of ten more vampires on board, it looked like. The vessel looked as if it could house around a 100 or so staff, and was far too big for the likes of them.

However, Quinn never expected a big expedition team in the first place, especially since only one family leader had been selected and most of them were out in the front lines fighting. At the moment, Quinn was in a meeting with the two viscounts and the Earl, although they had one more unexpected guest which was Jesk, who had refused to stop following Quinn.

Honestly, Quinn felt safe with him by his side, His loyalty seemed unwavering and was perhaps more trustworthy than the humans and vampires.

——

While the meeting was taking place, that left the rest of the crew to relax for the time being. They were currently in one of the break rooms, which had juice packs of blood for them and a kitchen in case they wanted to cook any meat. There was also a large rectangular table for them all to sit on and eat, which some of them were doing now.

"So what do you think about our new King, it was the first time we have seen him up close." The one speaking was named Moe and was sitting at the table. Most of those that were brought along from the trip other than those that were in the meeting currently were from the inner castle area of the fourth family.

"He seemed, I don't know, plain?" Joy, the small framed vampire that was currently drinking from a small blood pack, replied. "I mean, sometimes it's hard to believe that the guy out there was the guy that saved all the settlement, and our king no less."

"But he did save the settlement!" Rick suddenly spoke up from the side. A larger vampire that was sleeveless showing the side of his muscles. He had just finished grabbing a raw steak and placed it out on the table and sat opposite to the others. "Not just once, but he saved it twice."

Everyone was interested in this conversation. Being in different families meant they didn't have much chance to interact with the king. They had only seen him in action a few times and for them it was strange. Because news before he had been elected a lot of different families were telling them to be cautious of the tenth leader. Suddenly, the leaders were changing their tune which just left the rest confused.

"We know." Moe rolled his eyes. "We were all there, but you know the rumours being spread around, right? That it was borrowed power. That Arthur had given him his strength, and he had obtained something after that as well. Some vampires think that if it wasn't for the previous Kings' Absolute Blood Control that he would no longer be as strong as he was, and you know he can't use the blood control much either, right? Because of the strain it puts on one's body.

"So we're just questioning how strong he really is now."

"I heard the same thing." Joy said, nodding her head a long.

Although Rick didn't agree, it was the same for him, he had heard the same rumours.

"Whether what you say is true or not, that man is our king, He saved our lives twice, and he might be the one that saved our lives on this trip as well."

"Speaking about that!" Joy said, as she had just finished her juice pack and gave off a refreshing 'Ah' Sound. "What do you think he will do against them? I mean, we all struggled, we could see the crystal, but we couldn't even get close to it. I think maybe just with the King here it won't be enough."

"I agree." Another said who was listening in on the conversation so far. "The other leaders should have come for this. A variety of strength is what we need, not a single strength. I think…this might be even too much for our king as well."

There was silence between the others as they remembered what had happened on their quest. Some of them even felt ashamed.

"You know what I'm worried about." Moe broke the silence. "It's Norvic, I heard he dislikes the King. Although he is in the fourth family he supports the red side's ideal. So he isn't exactly too pleased with him. Maybe he will say something or do something that angers the king? I guess then it would show if he really is strong or not."

———

The meeting was taking place in the control room. In this room, one could see the front of the ship and the space outside in front of them. It looked like the vampires had crafted a special seat on the ship just for Quinn, and he could see it was something that had newly been implemented.

"Please, sit sir." Earl Ronsten gestured towards the seat.

"And all of you are going to stand?" Quinn replied, finding the whole thing awkward. "Don't worry, I appreciate the gesture and I have two working legs just fine. So about this Nest Crystal that you found. I'm guessing you had some difficulties, if you could please explain."

The second, Quinn asked this question, Viscount Norvic just scoffed. It was unclear if it was at the remark Quinn had made or an accident, but the other Viscount next to him, Nian, gave him a stare that would cause most people to back away.

"Discovering the crystal was not the problem, and honestly, most of the beasts that were on the planet were easy to defeat. However, as we got closer to the Nest Crystal, there was something strange that happened." Ronsten explained.

"The beasts near the area were getting stranger, and then we could finally see it, trouble that faced us all. Even with our abilities and strength, this task seemed like an impossible one without any of the leaders' help."

"Yes, and it still seems impossible." Norvic replied. "But there was one that was insistent in us finding the Nest Crystal and bringing them back to them straight away. So we went ahead anyway, despite knowing the dangers and came out far more hurt."

"Norvic, please, the king has his own reasons for wanting the Nest Crystal!" Ronsten shouted.

"And what is that?" Norvic replied. "Please tell us while everyone is off fighting including the leaders that this crystal is so important, and why we couldn't just continue searching rather than be sent on this death quest."

It looked like finally Nian was going to step in as she stood infant of Norvic and looked at him, but Quinn instead cleared his throat.

"I understand your worry, you just care for your family vampires and that is a good trait to have. I like that." Quinn replied. "But it would be best if you tell everything you know, so we are prepared, and more importantly, I can protect you all."

There was silence from the others in the room, until Ronson eventually started speaking again.

"The beasts we were fighting, the reason they felt a little off was because they were special beasts being produced by the Nest Crystal and protecting them. Beasts that we call, doppelganger. We don't know what tier they are at, but whoever the beast faced it was able to copy the opponent in front of them, and equal them in strength. It was something that seemed impossible, but none of us could defeat ourselves. Everyone was even in battle.

"Which is why, we are worried that even with your help, if they can truly copy anyone's strength including yours, we will still be unable to complete this task."

*****

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