62: Intend

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Having advanced to a Sequence 9 Night Demon, he felt a warm sensation throughout his body when bathed in moonlight, much like the feeling of being embraced by Emilia.

Meanwhile, Serena and Erica were staring at him with wide eyes, examining him closely.

As they looked, they poked and prodded him all over—squeezing his shoulders, rubbing his stomach, poking his nose, and pinching his cheeks, as if every part of him was filled with mystery.

"Stop touching me. You two have been at it for minutes, that should be enough. This is my most authentic state. I only disguised my appearance before; I have never actually changed my physique..."

Even after he spoke, the two continued to grope him, ignoring his words.

It was as if they had found a toy they could not put down and were unwilling to let go.

Locke rolled his eyes and said in a teasing tone, "Are you two really that unwilling to believe me? Or is it... do you two just want to touch my body?"

He drew out his words, the flirtatious intent obvious. Hearing this, Serena and Erica withdrew their hands, looking somewhat unsatisfied.

Both of them thought that since the other was present, they could not go too far.

"Ahem, don't overthink it. I just wanted to check, to prevent you from lying to me again."

Serena felt embarrassed by his words. After faking a cough, she put away her infatuated expression and returned to her state as an iceberg goddess.

"Is that so? Then you should be satisfied now, right?" Locke's lips curled into an enigmatic smile as he watched her.

"You know the answer." Serena glanced at him, feeling a bit guilty, but mustered her courage and said, "I've been looking for so long; surely my judgment is good enough to confirm it?"

"And what about you, Erica? Are you done checking?"

Erica licked her lips. Although she wanted to keep exploring, she stopped when she saw Serena's suspicious gaze. She replied with a lack of enthusiasm, "I'm done. Locke, your body is much better than before. I really doubt you were hiding your strength; I suspect that was all the strength you had."

Speaking of checking, Erica thought back to the first time she had checked Locke. Comparing the two, she was surprised to find that Locke's muscles and the strength of his internal organs were many times stronger than back then.

That was why she said that to Locke. Locke did not answer her suspicion, only returning a smile.

After all, the increase in strength involved system rewards, and he did not want to reveal that to the world; it was his greatest reliance in this life.

Revealing his true name today was simply because Locke felt the time was right. It was also a decision he had made after careful consideration.

After all, if he waited any longer, he feared it would be difficult to explain to Serena later.

As for whether the mastermind would notice, he felt that was an excessive worry.

Because after he spoke his name, the influence of the death shadow on him did not increase; it remained at the level it was when he attained the Sequence 9 Night Demon, and there were even signs of it continuously weakening.

Locke felt this largely suggested that the mastermind had likely been deceived by his faked death plan.

Besides, he was not afraid. He had only revealed his true name to those Vampires, not his true face. Therefore, the possibility of being found again was very low.

Furthermore, he had made up his mind that without absolute certainty, he would not easily return to Cross Street.

And if he were forced to return to Cross Street, he would change his appearance again. He would only be able to rest easy once he found out who the mastermind was and dealt with them.

Serena looked at his somewhat melancholy face, instinctively reached out to touch it, and said with a touch of heartache, "Why... why did you have to hide your true face?"

"Please allow me to keep that a secret for now." Locke shook his head gently and did not elaborate.

"Since you don't want to say, I won't ask." Seeing him like this, Serena did not press him further, instead turning the topic to the aftermath of today's events: "What are your plans for the future? I assume you received my call—Victor has issued a kill order on you. Why don't you just run away with me?"

Although she knew how formidable Victor was, she did not forcefully demand that Locke flee with her, instead giving him space to choose.

"Run... but where can I run to?" Locke looked at the moon in the sky, his heart inevitably filled with melancholy.

Of course, his melancholy was not because of Victor; after all, Victor did not have the qualifications to make him feel melancholy.

He was merely feeling this way because he had been suppressed for too long by the pressure brought by that mastermind, which is why he could not help but sigh in such an environment.

Additionally, it was because he had come from a peaceful and stable life into this world of turmoil and slaughter.

Although he had a strong ability to adapt, that did not mean he would never miss his homeland.

While extraordinary power was certainly desirable, was a stable life not also his dream?

"Locke, what's... what's wrong?" Serena had not expected her words to trigger such an emotional response in Locke, leaving her somewhat flustered.

Her original iceberg demeanor instantly became anxious. Looking at the sorrow on Locke's face, she could not think of a single word of comfort.

Finally, she could only gently tiptoe and press a light kiss onto Locke's lips.

Locke, who had been feeling slightly sentimental, was instantly brought back by her sudden attack.

"Uh... Serena, what were you asking me just now... about my future plans?"

"Mm-hmm." Serena pursed her lips, looking at him shyly.

After being kissed like that, the sorrow on Locke's face was instantly swept away, replaced by unparalleled confidence.

"I don't have any long-term plans, but I do have short-term goals."

Seeing Locke say this, Erica, who had been silent for a long time, became interested just like Serena.

The two of them leaned against the window, resting their chins on their hands, and tilted their heads slightly to stare at his face.

Locke did not hide his plans and immediately spoke them out.

"I plan to go to the Elder's secret chamber in a moment and eliminate Victor, the mastermind behind all of this."

"Mm... but dealing with him will probably be quite difficult."

Upon hearing that he wanted to kill Victor, Serena did not show any particular disappointment. This was because in the previous secret chamber, she had already been heartbroken by Victor's words and actions; she merely expressed her concern.

"And after that?" Hearing this, Erica's pupils subconsciously dilated, and even her voice carried disbelief: "After that, you aren't planning to challenge Elder Marcus, are you?"

"How did you know?" Locke tilted his head slightly toward the moon and closed his eyes: "Not just Marcus, but the Werewolf Progenitor—William, I intend to eliminate them all."

"I can understand why you hate Victor; after all, he wanted to harm you." Serena was somewhat puzzled by this, and more concern welled up in her heart: "But why would you take the risk to go and kill Marcus and William as well?"