"Lisvern?" His pupils dilated and his grip loosened.

"Vernon, we came here to save these people, not to add to their suffering…"

"Yes but! They added onto OURS! So why—"

"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. And besides, I bet they were rather desperate… Can you really blame them? The situation looks pretty dire here, don't you think?" Lisvern turned his head and looked upon all the poor, frightened villagers, and the children with their eyes closed hiding behind their shivering parents, and Vernon did the same.

"Fine…" An odd softness overcame his eyes as he let go of the struggling village elder, making him tumble on the ground coughing profusely as he tried his utmost to draw air back into his system.

"But don't get the wrong idea… My promise still stands if you don't get Taylor healed…" He shrugged biting his lips, shaking off Lisverns hands before turning and walking away.

"Wait! *cough* *cough*" The elder called out. "Please! I understand *cough* we have wronged you… We only now understand the gravity of our mistake! Please, we beg of you to still save us… We won't last long with that monster still in that cave…" The elder prostrated himself with his forehead on the ground, and the stunned villagers all around followed his lead, bowing their heads immediately after, with tears running down their faces.

"Please… You're our only hope, we beg of you…"

Yet, despite their woeful please, Vernon did not even bat an eye in their direction. He simply continued his walk towards the dark forest ahead before speaking but a few words before he completely left with a scoff.

"You're still the same, only thinking of yourselves, if Taylor reawakens, let me know, if not then don't bother looking for me. Got that?"

"..."

"Lisvern, I should probably go after him." Adam nudged.

"No, leave him be," He replied, shaking his head. "He's been through a lot, he needs time to himself. If it ever comes down to it, I'll go after him myself…"

"If you say so," Adam sighed.

"You three… Are you by chance that man's friends?" The kneeling elder looked up to see the faces of three newcomers, one of whom wearing a mask.

"Yes, we are in the same adventurer group, the Hollow Slayers. And I assume you must be…"

"Oliver! The village elder! It's an honour to be in your presence valiant adventurer! You saved my life!"

"I saved you from one of my own men! I shouldn't be thanked for that! I should be the one apologizing instead." He laughed heartily shaking his head.

"Nonsense!" the elder's voice raised, catching them all off guard. "That friend of yours spoke the truth! We were being selfish and withheld information seeking a better price for hire."

"Eh, let's put all that behind us for now." Lisvern lowered his hands towards the elder's shoulders. "Now, let us discuss the details in private, shall we?"

*****

The open square of the village was far too public, so the group relocated indoors.

Although the village was small, it took a rather long time for them to reach their destination since it was located on the complete opposite side from the entrance.

However, that was not the main reason for their delay. There were several onlookers and children peering at them amongst the crowd, and the village elder would always ask for a pause in order to greet and explain the situation to his people.

Together, they passed by several houses along with the cemetery where many were seen grieving for their loved ones. The group of men stayed tightly packed as they moved, all but that masked man that kept his distance with one arm stretched up, especially when the elder would stop to greet his people, keeping a particularly close eye to the night sky.

It took a while, but in the end, they finally reached their decided meeting place, the elder's home.

It was by far the most glamorous house in the entire village, but compared to the standards of the average house in the capital, it paled far in comparison.

From the outside, it seemed as though the roof was tilting to its side ready to topple over, and the inside was somehow worse. The brick walls were wearing their welcome, the wooden floor creaked, and hissing sounds came from the broken walls.  There were only four rooms, a living room, a bedroom, a kitchen and a little walled-off corner that was assumed to be the restroom.

Out of all these rooms, the living room table was the most natural meeting spot, yet the privacy was questionable at best considering the various holes that would allow others from the outside to clearly listen in. Nevertheless, they began their talks there.

"We should be safe to talk here, I had already warned the villagers to not near this house so you shouldn't worry."

"I see. Thank you for inviting us. Hope we're not disturbing too much." Lisvern smiled as they all sat down.

"No, it's my pleasure! To have you, sir…"

"It's Lisvern, the man to my side is Adam, and the quiet one leaning on the wall behind is Alucard,"

"Sir Lisvern it is!" He smiled.

"Are you certain we're not disturbing? What about your wife and kids? Do they mind us being here?" Adam added, more as a formality than anything else.

"Worry not, my family is long dead. It's only me who remains," The elder shook his head, and the ambiance immediately shifted.

"Apologies for my inconsiderate words…"

"None sense! It bothers me not. That was many ages ago…"

"I see…" Adam slowly nodded.

"Anyways," Lisvern interjected. "Elder, before anything else, there's one thing I've got to ask first. How is our injured friend? Do you think you should be able to get them healed?"

"Hmmm… It's far too early to tell. But, what I CAN tell you is that the Edna sisters are the two best nurses in town. They will take good care of your friend. With our new medicine, fifty percent of those afflicted come out good as new. I wouldn't be too worried if I were you."

"And the other half?" Lisvern leaned in closer.

"D—dead I'm afraid…"

"I see…" Lisvern sighed, as though he had fully expected a similar answer.

"Don't lie to him, elder." Suddenly, a voice came from far back, out of the mouth of the masked man.

Ever since coming to the village, he had kept his mouth sealed tight, observing ever so carefully from the back. It was now that for the first time, Alucard opened his mouth.

"Wha— what do you—"

"I thought we were done with lying? Did you not say that… You and I both know that the figure of fifty percent is way too low. I could immediately tell when we passed over your village cemetery… You're just acting like this so we don't report you to the adventurers guild for purposely providing false information… Right elder?"

Alucard's words were brief, yet his voice sent waves of sweat that ran down the elder's face. The mere mention of the guild set his guts hurling. Providing false information to the Adventurer's Guild was a serious offence. Those found guilty would be forced to pay a substantial extra fee to not only the adventurers they hired but the guild themselves and would be banned forever from ever submitting a request for help.

However, it was not solely the elder's face that had suddenly tensed up… The two Hollow Slayers had arguably changed their expression even more drastically as they leaned closer into their seats.

"Now, why don't you say the real number…"

"R—real number? I spoke the real number already. You can't tell simply by looking at our graves! I never lie—"

"Village elder Oliver, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. I've all the information I need to prove my point. Now speak. What is the real percentage of survival?"

The elder did not know why, but looking at that man's empty mask brought a dreaded feeling into his heart. His body shook stiff, it was like a primal fear, his entire body recoiled just by his sheer presence. It was unlike anything he had felt in a long time.

Even unbeknownst to himself, Alucard had activated his "Undead Presence" passive, so not even he expected this kind of reaction.

"The— The real number is… Twenty-five percent survival rate…"

Instinctively, Adam burst out of his seat, and Lisvern's broadening face would have its jaws slowly open.

However, it was only after Alucard's next words did the room truly plunge into chaos…

"Lower."