126: Jump

Locke and Serena didn't put on any airs, immediately getting out of the car and quickly boarding the aircraft.

"I believe Emilia has already explained what needs to be done. After you drop us off, fly the helicopter back and find a safe place to wait for my word."

"When I call for a pickup, just fly the helicopter back over."

"Understood."

Elfo sat down opposite them and asked in a very respectful tone:

"However, Lord Locke, I wonder if there is anything else I can assist with?"

"I've equipped the helicopter with an airborne machine gun; perhaps I can provide some aerial fire support."

"No need."

Locke shook his head calmly. "Ordinary firearms can no longer pose a threat to creatures like Marcus and William."

"If you're in the air later, you'll likely become targets for his attacks, and I won't be able to save you in time."

"So, once we arrive, you must return immediately. Do not linger."

"I understand." Elfo nodded solemnly.

The helicopter's rotors began to spin with a thunderous roar.

A massive gust of air...

...blew away all the fallen leaves on the road.

One second, two seconds...

...and then, under the force of immense thrust...

The black helicopter climbed rapidly to an altitude of several thousand meters.

"Head west." Locke listened to the ultrasonic information transmitted back by the bats and then raised his hand to point toward the northern coast.

The Vampire in the pilot's seat heard his words and pushed the control stick to its limit...

...sending the helicopter flying at top speed in the direction Locke indicated.

The sky was gradually brightening; it would be dawn in a few hours.

But Locke calculated...

...that at the helicopter's speed of 250 kilometers per hour, it would take less than an hour to reach the Sea Prison... One hour later...

...they hovered fifty meters in the air above the Sea Prison.

Elfo looked at Locke, who was holding Serena in his arms, and said with some concern:

"Lord Locke, are you sure you don't want the helicopter to land? We're still about fifty to a hundred meters up. Perhaps I should just bring the aircraft down."

"No need." Locke held Serena horizontally against his chest and said without looking back:

"If you go down, you'll likely be targeted by Marcus."

"Once I jump from the plane, leave immediately and wait in a safe place."

"But..." Elfo wanted to say more; after all, he felt that Locke and Serena's lives were far more important to the Vampire Clan than his own.

Having finished speaking, Locke held Serena and reenacted the scene of leaping from the clinic window.

Only this time, the distance was much greater.

At this height, an ordinary Vampire would surely fall to their death, which was why Elfo had tried to dissuade him.

But Locke's current strength was incomparable to his former self.

Even if it were dozens of meters higher, he could still manage a safe landing.

The fierce wind howled in their ears.

Locke's black trench coat fluttered behind him like a giant cape.

His hair was whipped upward...

...revealing his fair and smooth forehead.

Serena hooked her arms around his neck and leaned into his chest...

...not feeling a single shred of worry about leaping from such a height.

Instead, she gazed at Locke's handsome face, lost in pleasant memories, her eyes shimmering with overflowing affection.

"Darling, I want to ask you a question."

"What is it?"

Locke's eyes were fixed on the ground, and he didn't notice the surging love in Serena's gaze.

"Why do you like jumping from high places so much? Like last time at the clinic. Don't tell me you think it's... cool?"

Serena's tone was teasing, and a slight smile curled at the corners of her mouth as she asked.

"Ahem."

Hearing this, Locke coughed subconsciously.

"Of course... of course not."

"Then why?" Serena pressed on, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"We had safer options both times. Why choose such a high-risk, low-reward method? It doesn't suit your cautious personality."

"Ahem, I'm doing this all out of safety considerations." Locke's face couldn't help but redden.

Serena, who had been staring at his face, noticed the flush and couldn't help but laugh.

Then, in an extremely seductive tone, she said:

"Don't you think it's cool, darling? Because I think..."

"I think you look incredibly cool when you're falling from the sky."

"Whether it was leaping from the clinic last time or today, you're simply irresistible like this."

Serena wasn't just complimenting him; she couldn't resist opening her mouth and giving his chest a light nip.

"Ouch."

Only then did Locke realize Serena was teasing him, and he couldn't help but roll his eyes at her.

"Watch out, we're about to land."

Under the force of acceleration...

...only a few breaths had passed from the moment they jumped to when they hit the Sea Prison platform.

A loud boom echoed.

A cloud of dust instantly billowed up across the vast prison square.

As the dust settled...

...Locke's figure, holding Serena, slowly emerged.

Hovering above them, Alfie looked down at Locke as if he were looking at a god.

"My Lord is truly incredible!"

In the deepest part of the prison, Marcus had just opened William's cell.

Hearing the massive commotion, a cold sneer crept onto his face.

"Hmph. You actually dared to come, kid. Hehehe, I can only say you're too confident in your own strength."

As the cell door opened...

...a burly Werewolf, over two meters tall and nearly reaching three, emerged from behind the door.

His body was a mass of knotted muscles...

...covered in black, needle-like fur. His eyes were blood-red, devoid of all reason as if he were infected with rabies.

Most terrifying was his mouthful of sharp teeth, each nearly as thick as a human finger.

It felt as though a single bite would be instant death.

The moment William was freed, he let out a howl filled with rage and resentment.

"Awoooo!"

The howl echoed throughout the Sea Prison.

Even Locke and Serena, who had just landed, heard it clearly, though the sound had no effect on them.

"It seems we're a step too late."

But Alfie, circling behind them, was so startled by the howl that he nearly fell from the sky.

Not far from there, at the estuary, a burly figure nearly two meters tall was also moving steadily toward the Sea Prison.

His target was none other than Locke.