_*]:min-w-0 !gap-3.5">Dante, still struggling to process the cascade of revetions, turned to Valerian with focused intensity. His scientific mind had already begun categorizing and prioritizing the implications, sorting political ramifications from biological phenomena.
"And you have an army who alongside your brother eats food?" he asked, the question revealing how his analytical approach had homed in on this physiological anomaly above all else.
The question was telling. While others might focus on the political earthquake of the brothers' revealed retionship, Dante's scientific orientation led him straight to the biological implications. The military aspect particurly interested him as it suggested organized scale rather than individual aberration—not just two anomalous beings but an entire structured force with fundamentally different capabilities than ordinary vampires.
Valerian nodded casually while still holding Nova's former owner by the colr. "It's my brother's army, not mine," he crified with military precision. "I'm their commander. And yes, they consume both blood and food, just as we do."
His matter-of-fact tone suggested this was routine information rather than the shattering of fundamental vampire biology that everyone else perceived. The casual confirmation of an entire territory of physiologically different vampires created another wave of shock throughout the room.
This revetion brought new understanding to Valerian's territory's famous secrecy and isotion. The barriers preventing visitors suddenly made perfect sense—they weren't just military security measures but necessary concealment of fundamental biological differences that would have exposed their true nature. The closed borders, the strict protocols for diplomatic visitors, the carefully controlled observation routes—all designed to hide the most basic daily activities of an entire territory of vampires who defied supposed biological limitations.
Dante's expression shifted from shock to intense scientific curiosity, his academic mind already racing with implications. As an Archduke whose territory focused heavily on technological and biological research, this revetion represented a breakthrough he had never anticipated despite centuries of study.
"Both blood and food," he repeated, his tone revealing how completely the scientific implications had overtaken political considerations. "The metabolic adaptations required for dual consumption... the nutritional integration mechanisms..."
His voice trailed off as his researcher's instinct formed new hypotheses about vampire adaptation and evolution. Centuries of scientific assumptions about vampire physiology would need to be reconsidered in light of this revetion. His boratory experiments, his territorial research programs, his anatomical studies—all had proceeded from fundamental assumptions about vampire capabilities that now proved false.
"How does this affect cellur regeneration?" he asked, unable to contain his scientific curiosity despite the politically charged situation. "Does solid food consumption alter healing rates or metabolic efficiency compared to blood-only sustenance?"
Valerian exchanged a gnce with Lucius, a silent question about how much technical detail to reveal. At Lucius's subtle nod, Valerian provided a concise response: "Improved efficiency across all systems. Enhanced healing, increased strength, greater energy reserves. The combination provides superior results to blood alone."
This simple confirmation represented a scientific bombshell comparable to the political revetions already delivered. If Valerian's statement was accurate, it meant that the supposed "limitations" defining vampire existence weren't biological necessities but rather self-imposed restrictions based on incomplete understanding. The vampires who considered themselves the apex of evolution had been functioning at reduced capacity for two millennia while Lucius, Valerian, and their forces operated at full potential.
Dante appeared physically affected by this information, his body tensing as if physically struck by the implications. His life's work had been adaptation research—finding ways to enhance vampire capabilities through scientific innovation. Now he discovered that the benchmark for "enhanced" capabilities had been artificially low all along, the true potential of vampire physiology demonstrated by beings who had concealed their abilities for centuries. But what exactly made them different?
