Born in Blood

Alucard's gaze was piercing and simultaneously hard. 

His nails were sharp and black, but well taken care of. 

Curiously, though, his teeth were human-like. 

No fangs protruded from his mouth, as Liam was led to believe from various stories back on Earth.

The king of vampires momentarily glanced at Liam, lingered for a few seconds, then looked back to Usan.

Liam didn't know where the feeling of dread and unease came from.

Just being around Alucard made his stomach nauseous.

And yet, everything about the man was perfect. 

The appearance.

The decorum.

The manners.

The eloquence. 

Not a thing was out of place.

And yet it felt so very wrong.

The situation reminded Liam of Revel, the Blood Weaving pioneer and his dear-departed teacher.

The sickly old man had a way with words.

'May your blood perforate terror into Alucard's Nexus.'

…And now, the complete opposite was happening!

Liam suppressed the anxiousness as much as he could, maintaining a somewhat dignified look.

Usan beat him to the punch by heaving a slight breath and regaining his composure.

The bead of perspiration on his temple dissipated, too.

Alucard smiled lightly.

"Please," Alucard said gentlemanly. "Sit." 

WHOOM!

With a flash of red light, two wooden chairs suddenly appeared in front of the mahogany desk, placed opposite to the vampire king.

Obviously, they weren't as majestic and grand as Alucard's 'throne', but a smaller version. 

Seeing that, Liam barely managed to hide his surprise.

To his knowledge, vampires did not have any significant storage powers.

Space rings required mental energy to function. 

But then again, spells like the Inner World also provided storage. 

If Alucard was a Rank 6, it probably wasn't hard for him to make a storage device. 

'His blood-red aura is strange, too. It's controlled to an amazing degree, and it doesn't even waver.' 

'What's causing this damn sickness, then?' Liam inwardly cursed.

Usan was about to decline the offer, but the sinister atmosphere faded away.

And the emetic feeling disappeared. 

Liam was close to Usan's side, but getting closer to the Pashah made his stomach hurt to a painful degree.

Now that it was no longer there, he could sit down.

Not sitting down was also not good.

It would show cowardice and rude manners.

And since they were the ones asking for an alliance, they couldn't afford to offend.

"Thank you," Usan said as he took a seat.

Liam sat to his right.

The three were positioned in a triangular fashion.

"Forgive the attire. Usually, I don't go for formal wear, but something told me this meeting is quite important," Alucard said with his usual light smile. 

"It is," Usan said. "I've never seen that attire before," he added with a slight curiosity in his tone.

"A relic of the past," Alucard said, adjusting his tie. "Almost no one wears such clothing anymore. A shame, really. But all the better for me," he smiled again.

Liam remained quiet.

Right now, he wasn't being addressed in the least.

Alucard and Usan were the big boys here.

He was just a plus one.

"I'm Usan. From Ilali, Temple of Shadow," Usan introduced after the pleasantries were over. 

"I'm familiar," Alucard said with a short nod. "I heard there was quite a party at your awakening," he chuckled to himself.

There was no need for Alucard to introduce himself.

Usan and Liam already knew.

"Hardly a party," Usan scoffed lightly. "They brought no gifts."

A quaint laugh was shared between them.

'What's with this atmosphere?' Liam thought silently, hiding a frown. 'And why are they bantering?'

Was this how world leaders began talks of war?

Where'd the suffocating air go?

Suddenly, Alucard side-glanced at Liam, before turning towards him.

"I take it you're the one from the sword inheritance?" Alucard asked curiously. "Your eyes are sharper than mine," he laughed.

Silence.

Liam's appearance was altered, and his Black Blade sigil hidden from view.

But news traveled faster than sound.

Liam nodded firmly to the question.

Silence again.

"I wonder…" Alucard said in a quiet, slightly sinister voice. "How come I see my mark on you?" 

A pause.

"Mark?" Liam asked, holding back the urge to scowl.

Usan remained quiet. 

He couldn't interrupt.

Every little word, action and mannerism in a meeting decided its outcome.

Why would Usan bring Liam over only to fight his battles for him?

No, Liam had to hold his own weight.

Otherwise, the respect Alucard had would diminish for both of them.

A short pause passed.

"Your blood is not normal," Alucard explained with a monotone voice. "It's pure, somehow. Similar to a vampire's."

Liam was backed into a corner.

If he answered truthfully, Alucard would know about his abilities and involvement in the invasion years ago.

If he lied, there was a chance for him to get called out for it. 

And that was even worse than the former choice.

After all, Liam fully intended to reveal his involvement in invading their country anyway.

But cards were meant to be held until a crucial time.

Two seconds of silence passed.

"I ate a vampire's heart to purify my blood," Liam said. "and got blood manipulation abilities as a side effect." 

Liam tensed his hand, and his nails grew sharp like a vampire's, while blood seeped through his pores and coated his index finger.

For just a second, Alucard raised his brows. 

A chuckle briefly escaped his mouth.

"Interesting. It's not even one kind of blood, either," was all Alucard said. "It's several."

"Very interesting. Must have been difficult, too. A vampire's heart is bloody disgusting," he chuckled to himself again.

Silence.

'How easily he brushed past one of his own being killed. He doesn't care at all,' Liam thought. 'And he's definitely pretending he doesn't know I invaded his country.'

...

'What a monster.' 

If Alucard was testing him, Liam had passed. 

Probably.

Usan watched wordlessly from the side. 

With their interaction over, Usan brought it back to the topic at hand.

"I'll cut straight to the point," he said seriously. "We want an alliance."