CHAPTER 129: CHAPTER 129 - BEAUTY DOESN’T HAVE A SINGLE SOURCE.

"Ytrisia, you used to ask what type of woman I’m attracted to?"

Cruxius stated while moving behind the silver-haired woman, who seemed rather uncaring about her dress as she appeared to exit the mansion.

Unlike the superhuman speed with which she had arrived, she kept a steady pace, letting the others follow behind her, making Ytrisia, Lira, and him tag along.

"I don’t think this is the right time.

And why are you bringing up something already forgotten?"

Ytrisia said, as she clearly seemed to recall the early days of dating this man—only to be betrayed every time—

and now, him bringing up that topic again in a situation where they were following an unknown woman capable of beheading a man even she had a hard time dealing with.

"Of course it is," Cruxius stated, giving a glance toward the woman walking ahead while recalling how, in the past, she was the same woman who had killed Nano—the one for whom he had prepared that blast, leading to her death at that time.

But fortunately, during his conquest, the reason for this woman falling for him and becoming a psychopathic yandere who went on a rampage for him was due to him freeing her alter ego from that pendant she wore.

There wasn’t much to this story.

Simply put, to deal with the royal family, he had joined their side using his status as one of the blood carriers—or Crimson Bearers—holding the blood of the Blood Moon family.

This allowed him to enter a world—or a dimension—on this planet exclusively retained for those people, different from the humans.

His aim, to begin with, was to somehow get a hold of a woman who might profit him in a way that could help him dig deeper into the truth or use them—offering his blood to thirsty vampire women to form connections—until he finally reached this woman, who nearly killed him at their first meeting and then abandoned him.

It was confusing, as he could not find any weakness in her, nor did she seem the slightest bit interested in romance or addicted to his blood—making him finally snap and pull that pendant from her neck.

She literally tried to kill him because she felt that his presence was making her think of him.

That was the moment he discovered the pendant was holding her alter ego, which carried all the weaknesses a woman could have—including her romantic side and loyalty.

It was a surge of feelings returning to her, combined with the fact that she had already been drinking his blood so often that it was like a dam burst.

The alter ego, which even had sealed memories, instantly fell for him, taking him as her consort in the early days.

There was indeed an opportunity that he thought he had seized.

But the issue started when he began to notice how her behavior toward him—rather than becoming more loyal or devoted—turned into something mentally exhausting.

The obsession, the possessiveness—traits that should be considered the negative side of a relationship—were becoming too vivid to ignore.

And finally, the day he tried to leave was the day he saw her real face and stance toward his departure—something he had neither expected nor prepared for.

Everything shattered in an instant, including his belief that he could control her—as she not only possessed immense strength, but also a relentless desire to possess him.

In one way or another, he had jumped into hell himself.

His response was to distance himself from her in such a way that she wouldn’t feel like he was trying to run.

So he needed to keep up the act for a few months, indulging with her in ecstasy at night and becoming her food during the day.

A life where he noticed how his body wasn’t aging, exhausted, fatigued, or even falling ill or stressed despite having his blood sucked constantly.

Something that left him confused.

Eventually, it came to his knowledge that this woman—unlike before, when she treated him as food—was now channeling her own blood into his bloodstream, slowly turning him into a vampire.

Or at least, that was the usual process.

But given his already strong lineage, she wasn’t able to completely transform him.

The most she could do was give him a boost through her own blood.

"Nothing, I was just trying to say, I think I’ve finally got clarity about what type of woman I want,"

Cruxius stated, his intentions clear—trying to pique the interest of that woman.

Not in a way that showed her importance to him, but rather to make her fall for him again and transfer—or at least attempt to transfer—her blood into his stream.

Though this time it would be much harder, considering he could not free that alter ego which might possess the memories of their past life.

"...."

Ytrisia, hearing his words, just looked at him, blinking, then followed his line of sight and saw the woman walking ahead.

It clearly made her realize he was still the same perverted man—not even understanding what others around him might feel, especially those to whom he had already given his word.

As she looked toward the pink-haired woman in the maid outfit, clearly nonchalant, it was something Ytrisia couldn’t accept.

Maybe once she had thought he was interested in the curry shop owner, but now she seemed numb to whichever woman he looked at.

This simple fact told Ytrisia that either Lira wasn’t paying attention, or she simply didn’t bother to observe the man in a way where she should be cautious about which women he looks at.

Something Ytrisia definitely couldn’t do.

"Whatever... but didn’t you find her suspicious?"

Ytrisia just nodded, understanding that she couldn’t explain it to him—especially now that he had once again taken an interest in another woman whom he would most likely claim to have fallen deeply in love with.

It was something she had started to grow accustomed to, but definitely not to the extent where she would accept him going around loving other women—especially in her presence.

There was clear suspicion in her eyes.

Given the woman’s strength, she seemed to possess abilities beyond a typical S-rank.

Not because Ytrisia was sealed or could directly sense her strength, but simply because the woman displayed more than one extraordinary ability—such as how she moved faster than the eye could track, and the way she absorbed the vitality from the severed head of that man.

These signs alone hinted at her mastery over powers far beyond normal.

Either she had multiple awakened abilities merged under a single core, or she was like those rare individuals who possessed a bloodline-based power.

"Yeah, I do," Cruxius replied, giving the most he could—a vague acknowledgment that he understood where Ytrisia was coming from, especially with what he knew about Evangeline.

Her abilities were clearly beyond logic, which made sense considering she had consumed the blood cores of more than twelve powerful vampires—her own brothers, to be exact.

Yes, she belonged to one of the thirty major families.

Each of these families had their own traditions and methods for choosing the heir of the next generation.

The family Evangeline came from had a brutal ritual: their potential successors were thrown into a battlefield against one another, and only the last survivor would be deemed worthy to become the family head.

The others died meaningless deaths.

Naturally, such competitions weren’t fair—especially if some heirs decided to form alliances or teams.

But in truth, they couldn’t sustain that unity.

Unlike humans, who might hesitate or think strategically, vampires viewed strength and betrayal differently.

With their pride in prevailing over stronger foes, betrayal was almost instinctual.

They would seize opportunities to backstab allies mid-battle, catching them off guard and killing them.

In such a world, comradeship was a futile illusion.

This brutal truth was what made Cruxius more confident in his chances of survival—and even in becoming someone who could pull strings from within.

Of course, he couldn’t afford to leave the Hero Association just yet, even if events had started to accelerate.

He could delay matters here and there, take breaks in between, and juggle his triple life—superhero, supervillain, and food.

"I see..."

Ytrisia didn’t approve of his attitude—especially seeing how the woman in question was barely three or four arm-lengths away from them.

With her displayed power and capabilities so far, Ytrisia was quite sure the woman might be able to hear them clearly even at such a distance.

That made her consider telling Cruxius to stop.

His reckless way of handling things—bringing up provocative matters in front of someone so strong and unknown—seemed dangerously foolish, prompting her to glance toward him with concern.

"But by the way, where are we going right now?" Ytrisia looked towards Cruxius before inquiring, as she felt that she should at least meet the head of the Blac family again to greet him or something.

But he entered the office room alone, which was something unexpected for her.