"What is that thing?" Rudy wondered after spotting something far away that was approaching them at an insane speed.

  "Is that some kind of bird? Doesn't seem like it's flying, though. It's surely an animal since it's so big, but…."

  Rudy flew even closer while squinting his eyes to see the maximum distance.

  "I haven't seen a single animal in the vampire world. So that might be one of them too. But…" Rudy placed his hand around his ears and muttered, "This sensation is getting louder."

  Rudy decided to go even closer, and he soon realized that the monster was even bigger than he had imagined. If it managed to enter the kingdom, it could crush hundreds of houses without even trying.

  When Rudy was close enough, he noticed it was not one but two animals. Their bodies were made from hard scales and thorns, one had six legs, and the other had ten legs. One had one eye and one horn in the middle, and the other one had 12 eyes and eight horns all over its head with its mouth on the body.

  They looked disgusting rather than terrifying, although a normal human would surely find them petrifying.

  "Uhh… I don't want to judge, but they look like monsters. And… yeah." Rudy cracked his fingers and uttered, "Time to whip them."

  Rudy flew even closer and higher— in case they had special attacks or exploded upon dying. He conjured a huge fireball and was about to shoot it, but he saw an individual walking on the grounds toward them.

  "What the—!"

  Rudy was so high that the person looked smaller than an ant. If he shot the ball, it would incinerate the person with the monsters.

  Rudy absorbed the fireball and rushed to the individual, only to realize that it was none other than Virgil.

  Out of nowhere, a whirlwind storm appeared in front of Virgil and headed toward the monsters.

  Rudy stopped on his way and watched as the whirlwind shredded the monsters into pieces.

  "……"

  Rudy landed beside Virgil and asked, "Nice move."

  Virgil jolted and turned around in surprise.

  "Rudy?! What are you doing here? And you popped out of nowhere," he said with a sigh. "I would have attacked you by mistake, you know?"

  "Eh? I was here this whole time. And no offense, but I don't think your attack can hurt me in any way," Rudy replied with a shrug.

  "Oh? I didn't sense your presence, but I sensed these monsters when I was on my way to the hall room to join the function." Virgil turned to Rudy and asked, "What about you? Why are you here, on the border of this kingdom?"

  "Same as you. I was dancing with Jane, and my ears suddenly twitched, and my senses were going nuts. I decided to check on them and spotted the monster from far away. But I had to confirm before attacking them in case they turned out to be domestic animals," he sighed with a short scoff.

  "It's ironic if you can sense the monsters from the palace but couldn't sense my presence when I caught you twice with my mother and granddaughter," Virgil remarked.

  "Maybe you are not a threat to me?" Rudy shrugged with an arrogant smirk on his face.

  "That's what you think…" Virgil looked at the shattered pieces of the monsters with a solemn look on his face. "But maybe your senses can only sense the dangerous monsters and not a person?"

  "Is this a normal occurrence for the monsters to… you know, attack the kingdom?" Rudy asked curiously.

  "No. As I have once said, vampires are on top of the food chain in this world. No monster is a threat to us, at least for the strong ones. And the monsters live in their own territory. They avoid civilizations and stay away from the sources of life."

  "Hmm." Rudy pondered for a while and muttered, "Unless they are provoked by someone or something, they won't come this way. What are your thoughts?"

  He asked Virgil.

  "My conclusion is that this monster was sent by the Alucard kingdom," Virgil stated with a straight face.

  "Why do you think so?" Rudy asked curiously. "I know they were here for Jane's hand in the marriage, and that king left in a fury. But surely, they wouldn't be that dumb, right?

  They know that the three strongest vampires of the entire vampire world reside in this kingdom. Why would they even send a monster that can be defeated in less than a second?"

  Virgil turned to Rudy with a knowing look on his face and said, "Why don't you guess it? I heard from my mother that you are pretty good at guessing."

  "I am in no mood to play a guessing game, but sure." Rudy let out a weary sigh and pondered for a few seconds. He thought of hundreds of possibilities but couldn't find a reasonable one.

  "Oh! I think I got it!"

  "That was fast. Go on, I am listening."

  "They didn't send the monster for you, but for the citizens who can't defend themselves, am I right?"

  Virgil's eyes widened in surprise after hearing Rudy's response. He clapped his hands and nodded while saying, "Wow. That was a correct guess. I am impressed, and no wonder my mother has taken a liking to you."

  "I just said a random guess…"

  Virgil turned to his kingdom and said, "Say, what's a king's duty?"

  "To protect and rule everyone?"

  "Indeed. If even one of my citizens gets hurt because of the monster, that would be my incapability as a king. I know I can't save everyone, no one can. But I just did.

  If they get hurt or I fail to protect them, they will lose their hope in me. For me, that would be the biggest humiliation of my life. Suppose one of them is unsatisfied with my ruling. In that case, they will incite the others, eventually leading to major internal conflicts and civil war.

  A small mistake or a failure can cause major casualties."

  "But surely, you don't think that even currently, everyone is satisfied with your—"

  Rudy's ears twitched again, and he had the same sensation. His first instinct was to turn to the dead monsters to check on them, but they were still dead.

  Rudy and Virgil glanced at each other as Virgil asked, "You feel it too, right?"

  "Yeah…"