The Great Dane opened the door to Zach's office, looked at the two people sitting in front of and behind the desk looking at him with his round eyes, and realized something. He turned around and went to the stairwell and walked to the second floor. When he came down again, the Great Dane had disappeared. 'James Lance' was barefoot and put on an old coat casually and walked into the office.
Shapechanger Jin seems to like James' appearance, and no, that's not true. He seemed to only appear in these two appearances, and no one had seen him in any of his forms other than the Great Dane and 'James' during his more than two months living in Grande.
Zach raised the corner of his mouth, "Jin, what is your real name?"
Real name? Shapeshifters have countless forms and therefore countless names, and there is no way to name them at all!
"Shougong guarding the palace." (Gecko)
The shapeshifter thus answered this question that should have no answer.
Zach raised his eyebrows slightly and looked at the expressionless Jin, "That's a beautiful name."
The werewolf couldn't understand. He couldn't even pronounce Jinsuo's name, let alone understand the 'beauty' of its meaning. Benjamin frowned, "Focus, Zach, focus."
Zach smiled slightly, moved a chair to the workbench, let Jin sit down, and then said: "Jin, we want to ask you something."
Jin looked at the two people and didn't answer. This shapechanger almost had this temperament, and the two of them didn't care.
"We, Grande, have lived in Barton City for too long. As you can see, we have no contact with the outside world. We want to know what has happened outside in the past ten years."
"Do you want to know the true purpose of Papa Midnight?" Jin asked in a statement tone.
"Yes."
Jin's eyes were looking somewhere, motionless, this was his expression of thinking.
After a moment, he seemed to organize his words.
"I don't know much." Jin's eyes looked in two directions, Zach and Benjamin. This weird focus could only be achieved by a skinchanger.
"For the past few decades, I was living in the center of the Federation. Then, suddenly, cremation appeared, and people (foreign races) started to disperse to the east and west."
Jin looked into Zach's eyes, and his pupils shrank slightly: "The central part is controlled by the secret alliance of vampires. They tried to prevent the popularity of cremation, but failed."
Zach showed no expression and continued to listen to Jin's narration.
"The west is controlled by the Vampire Sabbat Alliance, so I chose to go east. However, many things have changed. Cremation has become popular throughout the federation, and some high-level people have begun to abandon their territories."
Zach and Benjamin both frowned. Their rejection of cremation was one thing, but it was a bit strange to abandon their territory for the way human corpses were disposed of. After all, there are not many aliens who like playing with corpses as much as Papa Midnight. There is no need for vampires to wait for a person's funeral to be completed before creating offspring. It is not a bad thing to let the dead rest in peace and not be called upon by the living. Being a ghoul isn't a good thing either...
The 'what if' sentiment the two had before seemed to have become a reality.
"Why?"
Jin paused for a moment and looked at Zach expressionlessly, which was what he was saying, 'You're asking me? I? '
King ignored the question and continued his narrative.
"The alien race was divided into two parts, those who wanted to stay and those who wanted to leave. Both sides began to recruit."
Zach and Benjamin looked at each other. Recruitment meant competition. Just like the Federation is hidden in the shadow of history, the original truth is the same. The thirteen vampire clans captured enough people from the original empire before they came to this new continent to develop colonies.
"So when the rumor that 'Barton is an ownerless paradise' emerged, I came over immediately." Jin ended his narrative.
Where the aliens who want to leave the Federation will go is not in Zach's consideration. He already knew what he wanted to know.
Papa Midnight is here to recruit, the bloodline of Sibera and the descendant of Toledo.
Heavy footsteps came from the nearby stairwell.
Anthony opened the side door of the office and seemed a little surprised when he saw 'James'. 'James' whole body squirmed and transformed into a Great Dane, leaving only his clothes and pants on the ground. He shook his body, glanced at Anthony, raised his limbs and left the office.
Anthony's face was sullen, his shoulders were awkwardly hunched, and his combed-back bangs were scattered on his forehead, revealing his awkward lines. There were bruises on half of his face, torn scratches on his coat, and blood stains on the skin underneath.
The mayor of Barton City stood in his office, breathing heavily, raising his finger and pointing at Zach, as if he was thinking of something. But he waved his arms in the air for a long time without saying a word.
"Ann! (Anthony's first name)" Ian also rushed into the office and was pushed away by Anthony just as he wanted to get closer.
"Don't come near me!" Anthony said to his brother who was exactly the same as when he was young, "Stay away from me!"
Zach looked at the two brothers, a little confused for a moment, who should he help
Benjamin stood up and left the office pretending that nothing happened. This is something outside of Grande, and it really has nothing to do with werewolves.
Ian, who was pushed away by Anthony, had red eyes, and in his clenched fists, his own nails had pierced his palms. In his extreme anger, he ignored the werewolf's passing.
The vampire's iconic fangs opened and closed, with a sharp roar: "You want me to stay away from you?! You want me to get out?! Again?! You!" Ian almost roared: " It's you who made me like this! You!"
"I'm saving you!" Anthony also roared! "You are my brother! What do you want me to do?! Let you rot?! Is that what you want?! I should let you rot on the battlefield! It's better than now! Look at yourself! What are you? ?! You are a monster!"
Zach stood up from behind the office. The scene in front of him was a repeat of the scene thirteen years ago, except that Anthony was no longer young and the ground was no longer a battlefield.
"Anthony!"
Zach's voice seemed unusually abrupt in the quiet office, because now there was only the sound of two people's suppressed breathing clashing in the air.
The power of time cannot be ignored. Time represents growth, and growth means that when history repeats itself, people will not let events follow the same trajectory.
Zach doesn't want to lose Ian again, does Anthony want to lose his brother again? Looking at his torn and wrinkled formal suit, with the label 'Kozier' appearing and disappearing between the rising and falling chest, Zach didn't think Anthony was thinking.
"Am I a monster?" Ian's voice was no longer a roar, but rather chillingly cold. He points to himself, "You created this monster."
Anthony's eyes have softened, and a middle-aged man's softened eyes will only make people sad. When he saw his brother who was still as young as before, he seemed to have forgotten his 'growth', and it seemed too late to remember it now.
"Now, it's your turn to destroy this monster." Ian looked at Anthony and raised his hand.
In the open palm, a golden medal lies in the palm. When the two of them were in the basement, the conversation not so heated yet, still in the polite 'what have you been up to lately' stage, the two brothers were laughing with Purple Hearts.
'this is yours. '
'No, this is for you. '
Now, Ian picked up the medal, held the edge with both hands, and held it in front of him.
"Ian!" Zach walked out from behind the desk, "What are you going to do!" But Zach was already too late.
The sharp nails directly penetrated the medal that represented the honor of the person it belonged to, and Ian separated his hands from the middle. With the sound of metal cracking, the medal fell apart!
One thing has been overlooked. Growth only happened to Zach and Anthony, and Ian slept for thirteen years. People who live in sleep will not grow.
Zach's fingers retracted the moment they touched Ian, and sparks burst out of Ian's skin without warning! With a crackling sound, the flames swept through Ian's body in an instant!
How to define a person's legal status in a certain region? Let me tell you: birth certificates, death certificates, funeral records.
Now, let's cross out the funeral records. Because when these records no longer belong to the public information of the city government and become the private records of the funeral home, its effectiveness is erased. When Hank Sr. and Grand Sr. wrote Ian Anthony in the memo, they couldn't have predicted what would happen thirteen years later.
Birth certificate, death certificate. Both of these things, which are not in Barton City, have no meaning to Ian Anthony. He no longer exists in these records, and he cannot be recognized by Anthony, the mayor, as a legal federal citizen in Barton City.
The only reason that allowed this vampire to walk safely on the soil of Barton City was that because Ian Anthony was unable to accept the medal, the Federation awarded his younger brother, Ann Anthony, the Purple Heart Medal.
As long as the medal remains, the definition of 'brother' remains, and the bond between Ian and Anthony remains. This was Anthony's land, and his brother had the right to set foot on it.
But, when the medal is not there. This is what will happen when the connection is severed: vampires who are not qualified to set foot on the land controlled by people with Indian blood will be burned to ashes!
From the Indian wizards who inherited the Papa Midnight bloodline, in order to protect their territory, the power planted in the bloodlines of all Indians against the hateful invaders!
Laws and definitions are always changing. The only thing that remains unchanged is blood!
"Anthony!" Zach dodged the flames and backed away, knocking the solid wood desk crooked! He yelled at Anthony: "Invite him!"
There were two standing flames in Anthony's eyes. He opened his mouth and looked at the flames in front of him.
"Anthony!" Zach rushed to his friend and held his shoulders. "What are you waiting for! Invite him!"
In the flames, his skin had been completely peeled off and turned into ash, and his large muscles were melting. Ian moved his lips, as if something was happening, and the face buried in the flames seemed to have made a certain expression, but no one was there. Can see clearly what it is.
"Invite him!"
Zach, with his back to the flames, gave Anthony the final order!
"You can stay in Barton."
Anthony's vision was occupied by red and he said these words.
When Zach turned his head, his eyes had returned to light green. He hugged the charred body that was so soft, and turned his back to Anthony. A pair of eyes became cold, and a thin red light danced in the depths of the pupils.
"He needs to rest." Zach looked at Anthony, who was still there. After saying this, he left the office holding Ian, whose flesh and blood began to squirm and heal.