- In Marvel: I Start by Marrying Scarlett Witch [Complete]
- MWM Chapter 541
“Oh, my daughter, of course I am happy to see you. But must I always express that joy so openly?”
Harkon spoke with a smile, but his gaze remained fixed on the Elder Scroll on Serana’s back, betraying the insincerity of his words.
“It’s a shame your treacherous mother isn’t here. I would have made sure she witnessed our reunion… before snapping her head off and sticking it on a pike!”
His tone suddenly turned icy as he spoke.
Serana frowned at this.
“After you argued with Mother a thousand years ago, she really never came back?”
“Yes, that vile woman stole two of my Elder Scrolls, delaying my plan to blot out the sun and conquer the continent by a millennium. She is a traitor to our kind.
But now that you have returned, my daughter, and brought back my Elder Scroll, I can continue my grand plan once again.”
Harkon downed the fresh human blood in his goblet, his face breaking into a wide grin.
“Two Elder Scrolls!”
Leo, who had been observing this vampire family drama, suddenly perked up when he heard Harkon mention that his wife had stolen *two* Elder Scrolls.
Because Harkon had said “two” and not “one.”
In the entire world, there were three Elder Scrolls in total. He had already acquired one from the Dwemer ruins, another was with Serana, and the third seemed to be hidden in a Daedric Prince’s Oblivion realm.
This meant that the two Elder Scrolls that Serana’s mother had stolen might include the one Serana carried, while the other was hidden in a Daedric realm.
He had been searching for a lead on the second Elder Scroll’s location, and now, unexpectedly, he found one here.
It was fortunate he hadn’t killed Serana earlier.
So, does that mean the second Elder Scroll is in Molag Bal’s realm of Coldharbour?
It was hard to say. While Molag Bal created vampires, if it were hidden in Coldharbour, Harkon might have discovered it, being Molag Bal’s most devoted follower among them.
Harkon’s ambition to blot out the sun and turn all of humanity into vampires would certainly please Molag Bal.
If Serana’s mother had taken the Elder Scroll to hide in Coldharbour, it would be like walking into the lion’s den.
Leo decided to listen a bit longer to the conversation between the father and daughter.
“What? Blot out the sun? Father, what are you talking about? Humans are much stronger now than before. Why fight them to the death when we could continue living as we always have?”
Serana clearly disapproved of Harkon’s plan.
She had always loved the vibrant cultures of humanity and didn’t wish for conflict with them. After witnessing Leo’s power earlier, she believed that humans had become even stronger than they were a thousand years ago.
A war between vampires and humans would only end in mutual destruction.
“All right, all right. You still don’t understand—you’ve been influenced by your mother’s naive thinking. Let’s not discuss this further for now. Why don’t you tell me more about this stranger you’ve brought with you? Is he a new pet of yours?”
Harkon clearly had no interest in arguing further with his daughter and shifted his gaze toward Leo.
Serana stepped in front of Leo protectively, shielding him:
“He is my savior. He freed me from my seal and protected me on the journey back.”
She believed Leo was powerful but did not think he could defeat her father and the hundreds of high-ranking vampires in the castle.
Harkon nodded at this.
“Very well, you brought back my daughter, so I will reward you.
As a noble and ancient vampire of Skyrim, I can offer you my blood, granting you the power of a Vampire Lord.
In time, mortals will be your prey. Humans will tremble at your presence, you will no longer fear death, and you will gain immortality.”
“That’s a tempting offer. But what if I refuse?”
Leo smiled slightly.
If he had been an ordinary person, the offer to become one of the most powerful vampires would indeed have been appealing.
The promise of immortality alone was worth more than any amount of wealth.
“You don’t understand the strength of the highest-ranked vampires. Let me show you what true power is!”
With a roar, Harkon transformed into a large, winged creature, hovering in the air above Leo and looking down at him:
“Now, make your choice!”
“Sorry, but that form is just too ugly for me. I refuse.”
Leo took one look at Harkon’s monstrous form and declined with a smirk.
While Harkon’s strength and energy had indeed increased significantly after transforming, it still seemed insignificant to Leo.
Had this been the first world Leo visited, he might have accepted such an offer to survive in the Marvel universe, but now it was unnecessary.
Harkon’s anger flared at Leo’s refusal, but he glanced at Serana and held back his rage:
“It seems you are no better than the other mortals—fit only to be prey. I will banish you from here.”
His daughter was an integral part of his plans, so, for her sake, he chose not to kill Leo outright. Instead, he attempted to cast a spell to expel the human from the castle.
He raised his hand and cast a spatial banishment spell at Leo.
“Snap!”
Leo waved his hand and deflected the spell effortlessly.
“Are you trying to attack me? In that case, I might just fight back.”
“You foolish mortal, you are courting death!”
Seeing Leo’s insolence, Harkon flew into a rage and raised his hand, preparing to cast a Vampire’s Grip to pull Leo over and kill him.
Leo, unperturbed, felt that since Harkon had no knowledge of his wife’s whereabouts, there was no longer any need to keep him alive.
That included all the vampires in this castle. Unlike Serana, they treated human blood as a food source, and keeping them around would only cause more harm.
But just as he was about to strike, Serana suddenly threw her arms around his waist and shouted a spell:
“Blizzard!”
A powerful snowstorm erupted from where she and Leo stood, engulfing Harkon and the other high-ranking vampires who had begun to rise.
“Leo, my father has gone mad. It’s been over a thousand years, and he still clings to the idea of destroying the sun and conquering the continent. We can’t fight him; we need to escape.”
Taking advantage of the snowstorm that obscured the vampires’ vision, Serana grabbed Leo and rushed out of the castle.
Leo raised his hand, prepared to unleash a firestorm, but hesitated and lowered it.
Harkon was, after all, Serana’s father. Exterminating all the vampires before her eyes didn’t seem right.
(End of chapter)