"Los, you don't need to call me King anymore. I'm no longer King; just call me John," John Ausley said as he walked in.

"Yes," Los replied with a faint smile.

"Los, I actually came today because I wanted to have a heart-to-heart with you," John Ausley sat down on the sofa, his expression serene, and continued, "Honestly, I really want to know why you helped me. Given your friendship with Austin Mark, you could have come here entirely on your own."

"Ah!" Los was momentarily stunned, then seemed to understand something, glancing at John Ausley as he said, "John, we've known each other for over ten years now. Our bond isn't any less strong than mine with Mark. I won't be hypocritical anymore; frankly, I value your strength, because you still possess the ability to make that group of British Royal Knights submit to you. But that's not the main reason."

"Heh," John Ausley had long known that his relationship with Los was certainly not worth the great risk Los had taken.

Los continued, "Since you and I fled the Vatican, and after the Vampires released the Nameless One, it meant you and I are in the same boat. Furthermore, my hatred for the Vampires is no less than yours, John. Do you perhaps still remember the Gray Family incident thirty years ago?"

"The Gray Family?" Upon hearing this, John Ausley visibly shivered, as if the name of this family shocked him profoundly.

"Precisely, and I am a descendant of the Gray Family. Everything the Vampires did to my Gray Family thirty years ago is still vividly imprinted in my mind," Los said, his eyes turning red, his clenched fists tightening. He continued, "Thirty years ago, a young master of the Vampires came to my Gray estate to propose marriage. However, because that young master was known for his promiscuity, my father vehemently opposed the match. But the Vampire, enraged by the rejection, caused my most cherished relatives to be taken from me one by one. Although that incident also became the pretext for your father to hunt the Vampires!"

"Could it be that my father hunted the Vampires using that pretext?" John Ausley still didn't understand why his father hunted Vampires back then, so he was greatly surprised to hear Gray Los explain it so clearly.

"That's right. Back then, I had no power, let alone the means for revenge. But your father gave me an opportunity. I devised a scheme for your father, allowing him to annihilate the Vampires entirely overnight, leaving only the Eight Great Vampire Dukes," Los spoke, his face extremely grim.

"I know a little about that. My father couldn't become King because of interference from the Vampires, so he harbored resentment against them his whole life. It wasn't until Merian Nannalie was near her final dissolution that he conceived the idea of murder, pushing the death of Queen Merian entirely onto the Vampires. Could you be the mastermind behind this?" John Ausley grew more astonished the more he spoke. If Los existed thirty years ago, he appeared to be only around forty now—how could a ten-year-old possess such profound strategy?

"Heh, there's actually one more thing. This is what I hate myself for the most. Haven't you often asked me why my appearance has never changed?" Los wore a look of deep pain.

"Could it be, could it be... you are..."

"That's right. After that Vampire young master slaughtered my clan, all my relatives were turned into Vampires, devoid of consciousness, mere monsters surviving only by consuming blood. I couldn't bear to see them like that, so the massacre of the entire Gray clan occurred," Los said, his dark expression tinged with a sneer, making him seem utterly terrifying.

It was clear how desolate his mood was; furthermore, he himself was a Vampire, akin to the Blood Clan, yet possessing certain differences. John Ausley asked in shock after hearing his account, "After your relatives became Vampires, you killed them all?"

"Yes!"

"Then how are you still...!" John Ausley became increasingly astonished.

"You mean to ask why I am still alive, right?" Seeing John nod, Los gave a wry smile, "Perhaps because God took pity on me. My relatives were turned into mindless Vampires by the Vampires, but I was turned into a true Dhampir."

"Dhampir?"

"Yes, meaning one without offensive capability, but possessing longevity and not requiring blood to survive," Los continued, "After I killed my own kin, I was utterly adrift until I met your father. So I stayed by his side, and devised the plan to hunt down all the Vampires."

"But wasn't it just one Vampire young master who held a grudge against your clan? Why would you have my father hunt down all the Vampires...?" John Ausley felt Los's thirst for vengeance was perhaps too vast.

Indeed, the Vampire young master who had toyed with the Gray Clan was merely one of the young dandies of the Vampires, not the entirety of the Blood Clan. As the saying goes: retribution finds its source. Planning the death of that single Vampire young master, perhaps even his entire household, would have sufficed. To eliminate the entire Vampire race now explained why the Vampires held such deep animosity towards the John family.

However, John Ausley finally realized that his own family had been used—utilized by this very Gray Los as a sharp sword for his revenge. John Ausley stared intently at him, remaining silent for a long moment.

"It is true, John, your entire family was used by me. Now, other than hating me, there is nothing else you can do. Because I cannot die. Among the Dhampirs, without reaching a certain age threshold, one cannot perish. If my life can redeem the mistake of using your family, I am willing to offer it," Los stated.

Of course, this fellow was willing. Since becoming a Dhampir, he had lived for about sixty years. While this age was not yet his natural end, he felt he had lived long enough. Moreover, this man still had twenty years left to live; meaning, Los was originally fated to live only sixty years, but becoming a Dhampir had forcefully extended his life by twenty years, especially since his appearance hadn't changed at all, still looking like he was in his early forties.

"Do you think I can still hate you now?" John Ausley sighed faintly. He hadn't been on good terms with his father anyway, and years ago, his father's attempt to create a puppet by installing Merian Nannalie's only son as the heir to the throne was something John Ausley had strongly opposed.

Although the throne was eventually occupied by an heir with Merian's legitimate royal bloodline, within a few years, after John Ausley's father, John Charles, died, John Ausley himself maneuvered to seize the throne, becoming the first person in Britain to successfully usurp the throne and reign as King for over a decade.

"You can hate me; at least it might make you feel better. In fact, it is precisely for that reason that I exerted myself to help you," Los said mildly.

"Heh, you truly are a good person. If it weren't for that incident, I believe you would have been an exceptional individual," John Ausley replied with a bitter smile.

"I don't know if that's true, but let's not dwell on the past. Our main priority now is figuring out how to establish ourselves here. Although my relationship with Mark is deep, there's no guarantee he won't go back on his word," Los said, narrowing his eyes at John Ausley.

"................"

Before John Ausley could utter a word, Los abruptly stood up, his eyes flashing with a bloody light. "Vampires... the Vampires are here."

"What?" Seeing Los's expression of terror, John Ausley immediately tried to stand, but suddenly felt his neck being grasped.

"John, John, gaga, gaga, John's family, I've finally found you. Charles, do you think I can kill him now?"

"Oh, Leo, perhaps not yet. Take them both back first," said the man called Leo, his expression one of bloodlust.

"Right."

"You guys..." Los was also being choked by someone, and the person grasping his neck happened to be Link. Link stared at him and declared, "The ones who turned your family into Vampires were just members of our own close lineage. Yet, for those pieces of trash, you wanted to drag my entire Vampire race into the grave with you. Today, I finally caught you, and I will let you taste what hell feels like."

"Link, let's go quickly. If we are discovered, the Young Master's chance!" Allen urged.

"!" Link acknowledged, saying, "Let's go."

The Eight Great Vampire Dukes suddenly appeared in Los Angeles, right at the headquarters of the Dark Council, directly abducting John Ausley and Gray Los. Although this act was performed openly, strangely, no one noticed.

"Haha, haha, we finally caught our prey, haha, haha." The laughter was extremely sinister and terrifying. Both John Ausley and Gray Los, whose necks were being constricted, felt their faces slightly redden, but at that moment, they knew their doom was approaching.