Chapter 87: Chapter 87 Vampire Code of Conduct
After a while of cheerfully guiding his cheap daughter on the flexible use of magic, and amidst Serina's angry glances, Dracula walked toward the werewolf Fenrir Greyback, who was hanging from a lamp post.
"Mr. Greyback, could you tell me who sent these undead to you?" Dracula asked with a light laugh.
Whether it was due to being upside down or still in transformation, Fenrir's eyes were bloodshot, staring blankly at the flames burning below the city walls.
"It's impossible... how could there be a vampire like you..." he mumbled, "even the Dark Lord couldn't be stronger than this..."
"Dark Lord?" Dracula furrowed his brows, catching the key point in his words. "So these undead were created by Voldemort?"
Dracula then shook his head. "No, I just obliterated his soul source a few months ago, so he should be wandering like a restless spirit by now..."
"What did you say? You defeated the Dark Lord?!" Fenrir's eyes widened suddenly.
"What's so strange about that?" Dracula looked at him with confusion. "Just that tasteless little fellow without a body, did you all find him difficult to deal with?"
Fenrir opened his mouth and suddenly made a very unattractive smile with his ugly wolf face.
"Lord Vampire, as long as you lead us dark forces to dominate the magical world, I am willing to pledge allegiance to you!" he said flatteringly. "We werewolves and vampires are both from the dark camp and naturally not on opposing sides. There's no need for us to fight each other, don't you think?"
"You've changed your attitude quite quickly." Looking at the unprincipled werewolf, Dracula shrugged and casually took out a blood-flavored lollipop from his pocket. "But why should I dominate the magical world? Even ruling a castle seems troublesome to me, wouldn't ruling the magical world be exhausting?"
Just as he was about to put the lollipop in his mouth, Serina snatched it away and popped it into her own mouth.
"You find ruling a castle troublesome, you've been exposed!" she said indignantly while licking the lollipop. "You just want to be a hands-off manager!"
Dracula shrugged helplessly and took out another lollipop to put in his mouth.
"Forget it, talking to you is a bit troublesome. I'll take a look myself." He opened his eyes, and light flowed through his pupils.
Fenrir's chaotic memories floated before Dracula's eyes.
Dracula saw that in a cave crowded with many werewolves, a wizard with twisted features and red eyes led a group of undead inside... It was Voldemort, who didn't seem to be any weaker and even had a complete body.
"Something's not right." Dracula frowned slightly.
He examined Voldemort's body in Fenrir's memory more closely.
Dracula noticed that although his flesh looked very realistic, it had a certain detachment from the surrounding air, as if it was... conjured by magic.
Using a skeleton as a frame to build an entire body?
"Interesting." Dracula's mouth curled into a smile.
He casually cast a stun spell on Fenrir, knocking him out, and then turned to Serina.
"Lock this dog up. As Voldemort's subordinate, he might be useful later."
"Did you have a conflict with the Dark Lord over in Britain?" Serina crushed the lollipop and tossed the stick over the city wall. "He tried to recruit our dark forces more than a decade ago, and our werewolf neighbors agreed readily. That's one of the reasons they had a falling out with us earlier."
Seeing Serina's action of throwing the lollipop stick, Dracula felt it was somewhat familiar and instinctively reached out.
"Accio."
After taking the leftover lollipop stick from Serina, Dracula conjured a flame and burned it to ashes.
"Are you turning into an environmentalist?" Serina looked at him, puzzled. "And wasn't this something the Muggle world started advocating twenty years ago? You were supposedly still asleep back then..."
"Cough... It's not to that extent." Dracula coughed awkwardly. "I just suddenly worried— I was thinking, wouldn't there be a lively old lady popping up here, rushing to the city wall to lecture you on employee quality?"
Serina looked at him with a "you're an idiot" expression.
"Forget it, I guess I have some reflexes. I'll just change the subject." Dracula, feeling a bit embarrassed, changed the topic. "Is there a high-ranking vampire named Tesla here?"
"There is indeed a Tesla." Serina nodded slightly. "But he became a vampire about fifty years ago, and arrived at Dracula's castle in the latter half of the 20th century. You were still asleep at that time, so he probably isn't the Tesla you're referring to."
"It should be him." Dracula said. "Where is he now?"
"Over there, among those high-ranking vampires who are teaming up to hunt dogs, the one in formal attire." Serina pointed her chin toward the distance on the city wall. "I don't understand, how do you know him?"
"It's not that I know him, but a wizard does, or rather... used to." Dracula smiled meaningfully. "Let them come back. If we force those werewolves into a frenzy, we might end up with casualties on our side too."
Serina nodded in agreement.
She transformed a bat in her palm, ignited it with her innate flame, and controlled it to fly into the sky.
Moments later, a brilliant white firework burst in the night sky, forming the shape of a pair of devil's wings.
"Wow, you learn quickly!" Dracula praised in surprise as he watched Serina's actions.
After the brief teaching just now, Serina seemed to have understood the flexible use of magic and applied it in practice.
"Of course." Serina proudly lifted her chin, her eyes sparkling with stars. "I must learn the spell you use to ignite the undead. It's so beautiful!"
Dracula smiled gently and leaned comfortably against the serrated city wall.
He looked at the stars in the night sky and the flickering flames on the battlefield, waiting for the vampire named Tesla to arrive.
Several pairs of wings swept through the night sky as nine high-ranking vampires appeared on the battlements, all kneeling on one knee in front of Dracula and Serina.
"Greetings, Lord Dracula!"
"Greetings, Lord Alucard!"
Their voices trembled with excitement. They hadn't seen Dracula for over a hundred years.
"You all did well tonight. Go and rest well." Dracula offered some perfunctory comfort while directing his gaze to the only unfamiliar face among them. "Are you new here?"
The vampire in formal attire froze for a moment, then looked up at Dracula.
His features lacked the vampire's usual malevolence and instead had a refined appearance. His hair was neatly styled into a quiff, seemingly with hair gel, and he had a neatly trimmed goatee above his mouth.
"Yes, Count." He took a quick glance at Dracula before lowering his head again, nervously saying, "I became a proud vampire forty-eight years ago and learned of Dracula's castle forty-five years ago. I came to pledge allegiance to Lord Alucard."
Dracula waved his hand to dismiss the other vampires.
"Leave first, I want to have a word with the new member." He said.
The other high-ranking vampires all left the outer city walls after a solemn bow, spreading their wings and disappearing into the night.
Now only Dracula, Serina, and Tesla remained on the city wall.
Dracula lowered his head and carefully examined the nervous Tesla.
His mind currently only had Lockhart's memories. As for the vampire friend of Robert, he relied on Lockhart's memories of his conversations with Robert, so he couldn't be sure if this image-conscious newcomer was the person he was looking for.
"Get up, we're just chatting." Dracula smiled softly and said, "Since becoming a vampire, have you made any friends?"
Tesla stood up, his hands nervously gripping the edge of his formal attire, eyes downcast, still too scared to meet the legendary Dracula's gaze.
"Every vampire lord in the castle is my friend!" He said cautiously.
"I didn't mean those useless words." Dracula turned casually, leaning on the crenellation with his elbow, and asked nonchalantly, "I mean, have you made friends from other races besides vampires?"
Tesla looked visibly stunned.
After a moment, he spoke, "Lord Dracula, since coming to the castle, I've rarely gone out. How would I have had the chance to make other friends?"
Dracula furrowed his brow slightly.
Could it be that he is indeed not Robert's friend? If there really is another vampire named Tesla, it would be quite a coincidence.
So he looked at Tesla in front of him and asked again, "So, you don't know someone named Robert, a former Auro?"
Tesla's pupils suddenly constricted, and then he knelt on the ground abruptly.
"Lord Dracula, I have not violated the rules of vampire and human interaction set by Dracula's castle, nor have I disclosed any secrets of the castle to Robert." He knelt on one knee, head bowed, and said loudly, "If there's any punishment, let it be on me, don't involve innocent people!"
"..."
Dracula fell into contemplation.
It is now clear that Tesla is indeed the vampire friend of Robert he was looking for, but Tesla's extreme reaction puzzled him.
When did Dracula's castle have such vampire regulations?
He looked at Serina with a questioning expression.
Seeing Dracula's puzzled look, Serina proudly lifted her chin.
"Not coming back to see the changes in Dracula's castle for a hundred years, now you're confused,