Chapter 1 The Complex World of the Supernatural

The world of the supernatural is just as complex as human society, with its own intrigues and factional rivalries, perhaps even more so. Even in these turbulent times, many supernatural families have failed to cooperate openly and honestly, perhaps due to their excessively long histories. The history of most supernatural families extends from the age of mythology to the present day, and many conflicts and feuds have accumulated over thousands of years. Even if two families have no grudges, they are bound by thousands of years of ancient traditions, making full cooperation impossible. This is why the powerful supernatural beings are being defeated one by one by demon hunters and human churches – there are too many races and too many factions, making them utterly disunited.

In this ancient and mysterious European city, several powerful supernatural families and a dozen weaker ones live together. In general, they are mutually supportive partners, but this is only when facing a common threat such as demon hunters. Outside of this, the supernatural families in Athens are constantly engaged in various forms of overt and covert struggles. Of course, they are not foolish enough to let these struggles escalate too far, so the heads of each family control them within certain limits. They usually compete for territory or leadership in the city, and when a special and important discovery is made—such as the ruins discovered this time—they compete for the largest share of the benefits.

"Who are the most powerful forces here now?" Vivian frowned as she looked at Heissiana. She hadn't been to this city for a long time, and even when she passed through a few hundred years ago, it was only a brief visit. This eccentric, solitary vampire had never paid attention to the power struggles of the supernatural beings, and she was completely clueless about the situation here.

Heissiana counted on her fingers as she introduced, "The most powerful is definitely the Lucas family, after all, they are an old blood clan. Then there's the shadow demon Bessemos and his gang, and then there's my family. But my power isn't much different from Bessemos', it's just that they have a bit more seniority. After that, there are some guys who aren't really anything to worry about. Even if they have any ideas about the ruins discovered this time, they can only wait until we've divided things up."

"Bessemos, that old ghost, isn't dead yet..." Vivian grimaced. "The ruins are under your and the Lucas family's control now? Won't Bessemos cause trouble?"

"I discovered the ruins, but the Lucas family helped when opening the door, so the entrance is split equally between our two families. Of course, Bessemos wants to get a piece of the pie, but the nature of shadow demons... hehe, you know, if they want to get involved, it definitely won't be just a 'small' piece of the pie. So the old fogeys of the Lucas family and I are temporarily suppressing those guys, but we definitely won't be able to suppress them for too long. They'll force their way into the ruins even if they have to use force."

"What's your relationship with the Lucas family like?" Vivian asked curiously. "Aren't you already cooperating? Why did you say just now that they're being uncooperative..."

Heissiana was filled with anger at the mention of this, "That's what I'm talking about! They're bullying people because of their seniority! Now they're controlling the entrance to the ruins with me, but their attitude clearly shows that they already regard themselves as the masters of the ruins! And with the Lucas family's belief in 'blood clan supremacy', they will definitely not allow any non-blood clan members to enter the ruins. They're temporarily willing to share with me because we're both blood clans, and because I was the one who discovered the entrance first—they can't shamelessly claim credit for that."

At the end of her speech, Heissiana glanced at Hao Ren and the others, her meaning very clear: these people are not blood clan members, and the Lucas family will not allow them to get their hands on the ruins.

"They did invite me," Hesperides smiled subtly. "I'm not a blood clan member, but the current head of the Lucas family has to respectfully greet me as a junior when he sees me. Moreover, the entrance to the ruins is near the Temple of Athena, which is technically my family's territory... Although the Olympus family has disappeared, as long as I, the heir, am still on the Greek peninsula, they have to consult me about the ruins. The people of the Lucas family are like this: stubborn, conceited, arrogant, but also, in this day and age, anachronistically adhering to the gentlemanly demeanor and etiquette of many years ago. If you really want to go to the ruins, you should be able to start from this aspect: Vivian's seniority carries great weight in front of the head of the Lucas family, and if you speak up, they should consider it."

Vivian nodded thoughtfully. Hao Ren gained a general understanding of the situation of the major forces in the city and what kind of people the Lucas family were. He thought that the Lucas family should be the so-called "true and pure" vampires, arrogant enough, indifferent enough, and annoying enough, but at the same time maintaining enough gentlemanly demeanor and strict etiquette in very subtle ways – making them unlikable, but always feeling good about themselves. Although such a group of "people" were troublesome for Hao Ren, he had to admit that they conformed to Hao Ren's original impression of vampires. Vivian and Heissiana, these two live treasures, really made him unable to believe that they belonged to the normal members of the vampire race...

"If you want to find the Lucas family's old fogeys, I'll arrange it for you right away," Heissiana said.

Vivian exchanged glances with Hao Ren and nodded. Heissiana immediately snapped her fingers, and layers of black phantoms appeared in the air. After the phantoms dissipated, a tall, thin man in a black trench coat appeared in front of everyone. This pale-faced vampire should be Heissiana's servant. He silently scanned everyone quickly, then placed his right hand on his left chest and bowed deeply to his mistress, "What are your orders, Mistress?"

"Go and inform the Lucas family's old fogeys that the 'Countess Who Summons the Red Moon' wants to see him. Remember, be forceful and aloof. You are conveying a message for the most senior ancient one in this world. We must suppress those guys who are used to looking down on people from the start. Hmm, don't say 'request an audience', say 'receive'. It's Vivian-sama who wants to 'receive' him, understand?"

The male vampire bowed again, his voice gentle and calm, "Mistress, what if they get annoyed and want to kill me?"

Heissiana thought for a while, "Then you run quickly. Usually, they'll be too lazy to chase you in that situation."

The male vampire nodded seriously, and with a flutter, he transformed into a large group of bats and flew out of the open glass window not far away. Hao Ren was stunned, "This can also be done?"

Heissiana proudly puffed out her chest, "My Heissiana family is the most famous flexible faction in the blood clan!"

Lily poked Vivian's arm, "...No wonder you two are so alike."

"I'll really bite you if you say that again!"

"Bite me then, are you comparing teeth with me? I make a living with my teeth, so I'm not afraid of you!"

Hao Ren was getting a headache, "Can't you two be quiet at times like this? We're talking about serious matters, okay!"

Just then, a strange bell sound came from nowhere. It was not very loud, but it seemed to ring directly in everyone's minds, giving the feeling of the bell of the soul reaper ringing on the other side of the River Styx. Hao Ren couldn't help but feel that layers of mist were dissipating in the sound of the bell. Hesperides stood up, "You guys continue chatting, a guest has arrived, I'll go and entertain them."

As she spoke, her figure gradually faded, eventually becoming a blurry phantom that was almost indistinguishable if not looked at carefully. At the same time, the door of the antique shop was pushed open, but the person who walked in was also such a blurry and transparent phantom. Hao Ren curiously took a few more glances and found that the person who walked in seemed to be dressed in modern clothes – a suit and leather shoes, which was out of tune with the strange atmosphere of the antique shop and the scenery of the shadow dimension outside.

The figure didn't seem to realize that there was a group of people in the shop. He walked straight to the counter and began talking to Hesperides' image.

"That's the scene in the real world," Heissiana noticed the curious look on Hao Ren's face and took the initiative to explain, "This is actually a crossover point between the shadow dimension and the real world. Senior Hesperides' shop exists simultaneously in the shadow dimension and the real world. When the bell rings, she can directly travel between the real world and the shadow dimension without being affected by the shadow dimension. In addition, this is also one of the entrances to the deeper layers of the shadow world. If you want to go deeper, you must pass through here with her permission, so she is also known as the 'Gatekeeper of the Fortress' by us – but she doesn't seem to like this title very much."

"Um... Anyway, it's pretty magical," Hao Ren said sincerely.

The world of magic and mysteries... is truly wonderful.

(Let me think... hmm, the double monthly ticket event is still ongoing, grab the chance to clear your inventory if you have monthly tickets!)