Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 82 - 79 Vampires and the Antichrist

"Vampires are enemies, dark creatures cursed by God,"

Karen said to Lyle with a solemn face.

"Tracing their origin, although I hate to admit it, vampires are betrayers of the Holy Light, and the first vampire was a fallen Paladin."

"While the Paladin was out waging wars, his wife died by falling into a river. The cause is now impossible to verify due to the passage of time, but the priests of that era declared it to be suicide—a grave sin, unforgivable and barring entry to Heaven."

"He fought for glory at the frontlines, yet his beloved did not receive even a flicker of light. That Paladin fell into despair, and after despair, came madness and rage."

"He plunged his battle sword into the statue symbolizing God and cursed while weeping bitterly."

"A dark miracle ensued; the wooden statue bled dark blood, which soaked the knight’s body. His own blood became cursed, turning him into a bloodthirsty creature, intolerable to the Holy Light."

"This is the origin of the first vampire, Dracula."

Karen closed the holy book in her hands, its black cover adorned with a red rose.

"Knowledge about vampires brought by the Gospel Missionary, hoping it will be useful in the vampire hunt a few days from now."

Lyle interrupted Karen’s excitement and grabbed her hand. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

A royal carriage thundered past, grazing her nose and snapping the overzealous Paladin out of her fervor with its noise and dust storm.

Karen wiped her face, brushing off any possible dust, and turned back to Lyle, indignantly, "Your Highness Lyle, why didn’t you stop that carriage? This is the main street!"

"That was a royal carriage; did you see the griffin emblem? They are not within our jurisdiction."

"But that’s definitely wrong; even if this street belongs to them, what if someone gets hit?"

"The locals are used to walking on the sides of the main street. Only you would brazenly walk in the middle. If I hadn’t pulled you back, you’d have gotten injured."

"Hmph, Your Highness Lyle, it would have been better if you hadn’t pulled me back so I could have flipped that carriage over."

Looking at the petite Karen, Lyle estimated in his mind; at that speed, upon collision, Karen would likely be flung twenty meters. "It’s not necessary, such a level of justice does not require your martyrdom, would that be considered suicide in the church?"

Karen stomped her foot in frustration.

"Your Highness Lyle, the Holy Light is invincible! As long as I unfold the Holy Light projection in time, my armor will protect me well!"

The young lady probably didn’t understand physics; a piece of rotten meat inside a metal can isn’t much different from any other rotten meat.

"Let’s get back to talking about vampires. I’m more curious about their weaknesses, whether they are as the legends say—afraid of sunlight, garlic, and dying from a stake through the heart."

Karen was dissatisfied with the change of subject, but as a member of the Holy Light Members, she still promptly provided an answer.

"For low-tier vampires, those things can indeed be weaknesses because the original vampires were quite weak. They would grow frail and could even die without sucking blood. Sunlight would cause them to burn, and their hearts remained a weak spot. It didn’t need to be a birch stake; in fact, as the heart is an essential organ for blood circulation, its function still applies in low-tier vampires. Decapitation or a stake through the heart can kill them—they’re like rats hiding in the dark, committing vile deeds unseen."

"However, as they consume more blood, vampires undergo further mutations. Their bodies darken, and blood becomes their sole bodily component, making common attacks ineffective. Mid-tier vampires can use a small amount of sorcery to manipulate blood, and the power of sunlight is further weakened against them, only scalding their skin while still inflicting agony. The dark power also grants them handsome faces that can seduce mortals; they’re serpents, manipulating the unfortunate puppets from the shadows. At that time, the justice of the Holy Light becomes the most effective weapon."

"As the true enemies of the Church, the high-tier vampires can only be contended with by powerful Crusade Knights," he went on. "They refer to themselves as the Blood Clan and have divided their ranks in the manner of nobility. They do not fear sunlight, as their bodies produce a protective layer under its glare. Some lurk within their food source, which is human society, and it is under the sunlight that they are truly exposed. Their strength is enough to rival the holy light, with ghostly speed and the power of beasts. Fear not, His Highness Lyle, vampires are rare in these parts, chiefly because the Dawnlight Cathedral is nearby, and the holy light will protect us all. But in those lands shunned by the holy light, these creatures spread like a rampaging plague. His Highness Lyle, not a single vampire is innocent; their power comes from the blood of the unfortunate, and furthermore, the Blood Clan develops its own kin, leading those poor souls who have lost their way to fall into depravity and become beasts like themselves."

So the Blood Clan grows through slaughter?

"The Blood Clan, they are nothing but a filthy clot of darkness, that beautiful skin is just a gentle disguise; they are the terminal illness of both humanity and the holy light."

"So a vampire is condemned to hunt blood eternally, is that it? I mean, without end?"

Karen’s gaze clouded with turmoil, but she still answered Lyle’s question.

"During my studies, my mentor, Gospel Missionary Schuderman, was a monk who dedicated his research to vampire knowledge. He believed that by studying vampires, one could put an end to this betrayal forever."

"On the day I was to join the Paladins, the Church captured a... somewhat rational vampire, and my mentor immediately started his research, with me participating as the accompanying scribe."

"This vampire looked like a scholar, dressed in an archaic black robe. Stripped of it, his emaciated body resembled a desiccated corpse. He had pulled out his own teeth and tried to resist the thirst for blood. My thoughts defied my will—I knew the enemy deserved no pity, but I truly felt sorry for him at the time."

"He was strapped to the execution bench, his eyes murky yet occasionally lucid. I was certain his days were numbered. When Mentor Schuderman approached him, he spoke a sentence."

"Light Chaser, does Christ really exist?"

The Son of Christ, the right hand of the Heavenly Father, the divine embodiment.

Lyle also voiced his doubt, "Karen, I want to ask too, the Heavenly Father and Christ—are they the Lord you serve?"

"Yes and no. Our Lord is the holy light, the Light of Hope above the firmament, not the sun, but a more distant presence, one that shines even in the darkest night, ever-burning, though not a star. The Lord is in heaven, but also in our hearts. Whether the Heavenly Father or Christ, they are embodiments of the Lord, or rather, incarnations."

"That was how my mentor answered him, because he was the first vampire to question the existence of the Lord, so he explained the connection in detail."

"In response, the vampire shared his story and the legend associated with what is known as the ultimate fate of vampires—a legend fraught with immense fear."

"Above the Blood Clan, there are the Vampire Dukes, the Princes, and the Progenitors—the tiers above the founders."

"The Anti-Christ."

"They believe vampires are the antithesis of holy light, drawing their power from the same source as Dracula, from the blood of the Son of Christ, and its dark side."

"They consider themselves incarnations of Divine Blood, the thirst for blood just the Divine Blood urging them to evolve into the dark aspects of divinity, the Anti-Christ."

"The dark deity walking the earth, just as the divine created mankind and made them masters of the earth, the Anti-Christ would be the new god. His arrival signifies the end of the human era and the beginning of an era dominated by vampires, as the new humanity."

"I can’t describe how that felt, as if I were possessed at the time, absorbed in the terror of the future he painted. Even now, the thought still sends chills down my spine."

"The very next second, as I quivered in fear, my mentor purified the vampire who had begun to laugh maniacally. If Christ exists, why couldn’t the Anti-Christ exist? He appeared here to verify if their kin had a future. He got the answer he wanted, and soon after, the Church obliterated the branch of the Blood Clan he belonged to and began hunting down the vampires."

"To this day, it remains my fear."

"Not long after, my mentor Schuderman disappeared."