Chapter 248 Sanguinis Clan Conflict - Final
"Seriously, I must thank those intruders. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to come here! In this hall!" Lysander exclaimed with a smile, opening his arms wide, gesturing toward the tomb.
"Wh… Why…" Ulrich, lying on the ground, inquired. If he were a normal vampire, he would have already died and turned to ash. Fortunately, this was only a wooden stake, and he is an Elder Blood Vampire; the stake can only paralyze him. He can still maintain his consciousness and avoid falling into hibernation for self-healing.
"Ulrich, as a friend, I do value you greatly for your loyalty. I'm sure you heard what I said with that intruder, but you still believe in me. And I'm grateful for it. That's why I'll make sure that your name is one of the top contributions for our Blood Purity Consortium," Lysander stated towards Ulrich, as if this were an honor that Ulrich should feel privileged to receive.
"The Blood Purity Consortium!? Those vampire fanatics who try to create their own version of the Lord Progenitor and view dhampirs as a second-rate population for vampires!? Heh… you've fallen lower than I expected, Lysander," Ulrich sneered. He loathed those people the most, as they clung to past glory and the deceased progenitor, their mindset akin to Nazi fanatics, seeing other races as inferior beings to be managed and viewed as nothing more than food.
Ignoring Ulrich's disdain, Lysander walked toward the sarcophagus where Radu's body lay in peace.
The reason he coveted the position of the first elder is that only the Patriarch and the first Elder have the right to enter the ancestor's tomb. Yes, he could try sneaking in, but the magic hiding the ancestor's tomb worked in a very mysterious way. Its power made anyone not in the position of the Patriarch or the First Elder unable to remember where the ancient tomb was.
Thus, any other means were useless unless he could obtain the position of the first elder. As for how he passed the second elder, it was because the Second Elder is also a member of the Blood Purity Consortium, and in the Consortium, his position is higher than the second elder. Thus, the second elder had no choice but to let him have the position of the first Elder in the Sanguinis Clan if he managed to kill Ulrich.
But… He never thought that his luck would be this good. With the intruders on a rampage within the Sanguinis Clan grounds, the Patriarch had no choice but to let Ulrich and him wake the Ancestor up. Thus, he realized his goal without officially becoming the first elder.
"Now… I just need to use this thing to pierce the Ancestor's heart and turn him into Vampiric Blood essence," Lysander uttered, revealing a metal stake-like contraption with a red orb in the middle of its body.
Lysander walked toward the sarcophagus, intending to pierce the contraption into the ancestor's heart. At this critical moment, he heard a roar from his friend Ulrich, who burned his vampiric blood as fuel to power his magic and forcefully manipulated his body despite the paralysis and being on the verge of falling into a healing hibernation.
"Arrrrrrggggghhh!" Ulrich roared and rushed toward Lysander, pushing him down from the elevated ground of the sarcophagus.
"Undead manipulation! You're resorting to the lowly magic of those necromancers in the Hightower! Don't you realize that if you abandon Vampiric resistance to Necromancy, it would make it much easier for those necromancer mages in the Hightower to exploit their necromancy magic against you!" Lysander shouted, attempting to dissuade Ulrich from continuing his magic and this reckless act.
"I don't care. I might become a mindless undead for those necromancer mages to manipulate in the future, but right now, no matter what, I need to stop you!!" Ulrich roared once again before rushing toward Lysander.
Ulrich, wielding the power of Undead Manipulation magic, was limited to manipulating only his body for combat. His tactics were straightforward, relying on fists and feet, devoid of the intricate magic or elaborate moves such as blood manipulation. This restriction left him vulnerable, and Lysander seized the opportunity, conjuring blood spears that pierced Ulrich's body with precision.
Despite the onslaught, Ulrich, under the influence of Undead Manipulation, fought on tenaciously. Each strike from Lysander aimed with lethal intent, but Ulrich's body, akin to a puppet, continued its movements. Blood spears impaled him, causing injuries that would incapacitate a normal vampire, yet Ulrich's manipulated form pressed forward.
In the midst of the struggle, Ulrich managed to wrest the contraption from Lysander's grasp, a pivotal moment that altered the dynamics of their confrontation. The battle heightened, with Ulrich's undead body defying the odds, enduring injuries that would have brought down any ordinary foe.
However, devoid of his magic and blood abilities, Ulrich quickly succumbed to Lysander's overwhelming power. His body transformed into a sieve, blood and numerous holes punctuating it, revealing even the other side.
"Ulrich… In honor of our friendship, I had even planned to let you live to witness the completion of our grand dream, but… you leave me no choice…" Lysander stated coldly, a hint of hesitation and deep sadness reflecting in his eyes as he conjured tens of blood spears, aiming them at Ulrich. "Farewell, my friend."
As Lysander launched the blood spears toward Ulrich, a barrage of gunfire erupted.
Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang!
Each gunshot precisely struck the blood spears, transforming them into ordinary blood and obliterating them in the process.
"Who!?" Lysander turned toward the source of the gunfire, discovering the graceful figure of Maria wielding a handgun identical to Daniel's – a weapon with bullets capable of reducing vampires to ash.
"You…! How did you!?" Lysander began to speak but was cut off by another gunshot.
Bang!
The holy bullet struck the center of Lysander's heart, instantly killing him and reducing him to vampire ash, a valuable magical material.
"You're talking too much…" Maria spat in disdain before turning towards Ulrich, who was on the verge of death, and dripped a few drops of her blood into his mouth, stabilizing Ulrich's life force. She then walked toward the sarcophagus.
"Ah! Uncle Radu is truly here. Excellent!" Maria exclaimed with a smile before dropping several drops of her blood into Radu's mouth.
— Outside of the Ancestor Tomb —
From the ominous dark cloud, a colossal horde of blood-red bats suddenly descended from the sky toward the position where Vlad's body had disintegrated. Their numbers reached into the millions, further shrouding the already dark night and obscuring the moonlight in the sky.
"Those... blood bats... impossible. No... The progenitor should have long been dead in the war against the Vatican! No wonder he didn't care about my attack!" The Sanguinis Patriarch uttered in disbelief. This scene surpassed even his wildest dreams.
"What do you mean, Patriarch? Does this mean the intruder is still not dead?" The leader of the blood mage squad asked in curiosity.
"Yes... He's not dead. Have you seen those blood bats!?" The Sanguinis Patriarch inquired.
The Blood mage squad leader nodded.
"Yes, each of them represents Lord Progenitor's souls. To completely kill him, we need to extinguish all of these souls," The Sanguinis Patriarch explained.
"What!? But don't all beings have only one soul!? Even gods have only one soul!" The blood mage squad leader exclaimed in alarm.
"He still has one soul, though. Each of those blood bats is his partitioned soul, synchronized yet capable of independent existence, especially if he were to separate his body into two entities. Each bat is him and yet not solely him. To create those souls, he needed to consume life!" The Sanguinis patriarch continued his explanation with fright and terror.
"Then... those myriad blood bats..." The blood mage squad leader uttered in terror.
"Yes.... You are gazing upon the fallen souls of the Ottoman Empire soldiers, and some of those might be the souls of knights and paladins from the Vatican. There's no mistake... the intruder... no, he is truly the Lord Progenitor. Count Vlad Dracula, The Impaler..." The Sanguinis patriarch said in fright and awe, gazing upon the formidable horde of blood bats.
At this moment, some dust and soil where Vlad's body once was rose before forming a blood core. All of the blood-red bats gathered, and the entire enormous horde shaped into a figure.
This figure slowly descended to the ground, adorned in black armor with a luster as dark as night, reflecting the terrifying visages of the Sanguinis Vampires. The man, in his late thirties, exuded an aura of nobility and ominous air while maintaining his elegance. His red cloak resembled flowing blood, with the corners transforming like millions of bats trying to fly out or changing their positions.
"Gazing upon my true form, what dost thou feel, descendant of Radu, my loyal knight?" Vlad spoke in old English, creating an air of grandeur and ancientness.
The Sanguinis Patriarch, along with the Sanguinis clansmen, slowly knelt before Vlad. The notion of resistance or defiance dissipated the moment they laid eyes on Vlad's regal figure.
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