Taira looked down from his view above the clouds.
The ruins of the vampire castle were sprawled out underneath an overcast sky.
A light rain had started to fall from the heavens. Creating a scene that, in more ways than one, vowed that a storm was imminent.
"Are you sure you'll be able to do it?"
Taira looked to his side where Velreth was floating ominously.
He'd previously been spending time with Inadu and teaching her a musical art he'd learned sometime over the course of his 80,000 years of life. But now, he was back with his first disciple out of a desire to witness his teaching firsthand.
And because he was slightly interested to see if Taira had been neglecting his own training.
It takes children in the upper realm an average of twenty years to ascend to what lower realm mortals think is the 'peak' of cultivation.
In that sense, even though Taira's rate of growth had been explosive, to Velreth he was actually far behind.
And Velreth couldn't have a disciple who was lacking.
"It's not about whether I think it can be done." Taira answered. "It's about whether they believe they can overcome adversity and rise to meet my expectations."
Velreth smirked as he stroked his beard. "Strong words from a confident teacher. I'll remember them for the next time I have laid out an impossible task in front of you."
Taira didn't even look back as he tied his gi closed and stood on top of the railing.
"So long as you properly acknowledge me when I defy your expectations. Nothing else matters."
Taira leaped off of the boat while keeping all of his extremities tucked in.
He cut through the air cleanly and sharply like a blade- nearly reaching the ground in only a few seconds.
At the last moment, he sprouted his wings from his back and spread them fully to slow his descent.
As his feet touched the roof of his mother's garden, he noticed something slightly amiss.
When he first arrived in this place two months ago, he noticed three presences inside of the castle round.
He paid it no mind, because it really wasn't anything too far-fetched. The vampires were so rich that people still came here hoping to stumble upon a room full of treasure they left behind.
However, what he didn't expect was that the same three presences would still be here even two months later.
"…Curious."
Deciding to take a small detour, Taira hopped off the roof and headed for a collapsed castle wall.
He phased through it like a ghost and started making his way deeper into the heart of his former home.
Velreth followed closely behind him, curious about the change in direction but not asking questions.
Taira had the sort of focused look on his face that he usually only wore when he was about to show him something interesting.
True to his suspicions, his disciple soon erased his presence completely and Velreth was immediately impressed. S~eaʀᴄh the NovelZone.fun website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
He had known and slain many assassins in the upper realm. Some of whom had spilled enough blood to dye an ocean.
Taira was as gifted as any of them. And as the days went on, Velreth found himself more and more curious as to which was greater. His potential as an assassin, or his talent as a warrior?
"Dude, dude, dude… check this out."
Taira and Velreth arrived in a room with three other individuals inside.
All three were males- human ones at that. Wearing unique orange robes and dougi that Taira immediately recalled seeing before.
One of them ripped down a set of old, ratty drapes and wrapped them around himself like a cape.
"Behold, the first prince of darkness..! Offer me your blood and perhaps I might spare your miserable existence..!"
His friends collapsed on the floor laughing. By the time they were swinging their feet in the air, he had also collapsed and was trying not to choke from the dust in the room.
"Wow… they've really captured you." Velreth muttered under his breath.
"Why are you such an unlikable old ghost..?" Taira accidentally said aloud.
His words startled the three humans in the room.
To their credit, they had warriors' hearts. They were prepared to turn their swords on him at a moment's notice.
That is until they realized who they had accidentally stumbled into meeting.
They would never forget those tails. Those eyes. That lean unnoticeable body hiding a fearsome power underneath.
As soon as the memories came rushing back, their tones and demeanor changed almost instantly.
"…..Please don't kill us, Mr. Fox-Man…"
Taira's lips were in a hard line. Velreth was laughing his ass off.
The disciple who seemed to be the oldest among the bunch shakily cupped his fist in greeting.
"I-I am Brody Tanner, an Inner Disciple o-of the Roaring Sound Sect… These are my junior brothers, Antonio and Bacon Fat.."
Taira could only guess Bacon Fat was the portly one.
"And what kind of name is that..?" Taira finally asked after a long silence.
"A-Antonio? It's-"
"Not you…"
Bacon Fat swallowed deeply. "M-My real name is Buford Francis, sir…"
""It is!?"" His fellow disciples asked in confusion.
"E-Everyone just used to call me B.F before I came to the Sect, so…I guess they kind of came up with their own ideas about what it was." he shrugged.
Taira couldn't help but get flashbacks to the way that Big Country behaved when they first met. The transformation between the two now was like night and day.
"The three of you have been here for more than two months. Why?" Taira finally asked.
The faces of the trio lost even more color.
It was clear that they were struggling to stay on their feet in front of Taira. Let alone look him in the eye.
Ignoring a question he'd asked was borderline unthinkable.
"W-Well… we.." Buford began.
"W-WE CAN'T TELL YOU THAT, SIR!" Antoine blurted.
"Oh?" Taira tilted his head.
Suddenly, Antonio's voice was significantly smaller and far more respectful.
"W-Well, you see that… t-the thing is, it's just… s-sect secrets, you know..?"
The trio of young men nodded along in solidarity.
However, their blood ran cold when they laid eyes on a far more unnerving sight.
Taira actually smiled at them.
Buford felt like he was going to be sick.
"Well, I can't blame you for wanting to keep your Sect's secrets. In fact, I know my people would do the same. But can you all do something for me?"
The trio nodded slowly, terrified that Taira was still coming closer and his eyes were getting progressively brighter.
"Open your eyes.