Word of the Bloodborne House's collapse spread far and wide after the events in the Elven Forest. The mighty Bloodborne House, the original Vampire dynasty and the once undisputed hegemon of the planet… had fallen.
In the quest to resurrect the first Progenitor, they invaded the Elven Forest with their entire force. They razed the Elven Sanctuary and killed hundreds of lives. They brought destruction wherever they went and dragged their disgusting ritual to the heart of the World Tree. However, all of their preparations were for nought.
Even though they had been preparing for this moment for a thousand years, the Bloodborne House had failed their mission. Not only did they fail, but in the process of reviving Dracula, they sacrificed much of their manpower and resources. They gambled their everything into that one chip, and sadly, that bet failed to come to fruition.
In the end, the Bloodborne House was disgraced and destroyed. All of their remaining Vampires had either died in the raid or been captured to serve as the Elves' slaves. The leaders of the Bloodborne House had perished, including the mighty Consorts that once served by the First Progenitor's feet.
The High Elder, a Vampire that everyone considered to be one of the strongest in existence, had also lost his life in his fruitless pursuit of returning the Bloodborne House to glory.
Though, not many mourned the loss of the once mighty Vampire House. The atrocities they'd committed in the past had left them with little to no allies. Even those who saw value in having connections to the Bloodbornes quickly distanced themselves once they had lost all of their military and financial might.
Everything about the Bloodborne House's fall was both shocking and liberating.
But that wasn't the main story to come out of the Elven Forest.
A new Progenitor was born. A Vampire that stood above all Vampires. A living creature that possessed the power to dominate over all living beings. And the most mighty lifeform that had ever graced this planet.
And his name wasn't a foreign one.
Jin Valter. The man who defeated Eyghon and brought much upheaval to the modern world. Every time news about this man comes about, his legend simply grows. The feats he'd accomplished in a little over a year were nothing short of extraordinary, from being a young cripple who lived on death's door to becoming a great Progenitor who could ruin the world.
Everyone wanted to know more about this enigmatic youth.
Younger Vampires celebrated his birth, as his existence would shake the current power structure of Vampire Society. Older Vampires feared his power, as they remembered clearly how terrifying Dracula was in his prime. Countries all over the globe were curious and, at the same time, cautious about this young boy who had just obtained near-infinite power.
Was he going to be a kind and benevolent Progenitor who would work for peace in the land and fight against the Outer Demons? Or was he a brutal dictator that sought to enslave the entire population, just as Dracula did?
Everyone was curious, but none were willing to poke the hornet's nest.
All except one…
"A new Progenitor… Just great…"
Seated on his decadent, golden throne, the Pope of the Holy Church rubbed his forehead, adding wrinkles to his already ageing face. No, ever since the news of Jin's ascension, the Pope had seemingly aged a decade.
His ashen cheeks sunk in and his eyes, which used to have some semblance of colour, were now hollow. While he sat on his golden throne, his back was hunched forward, and his body language was one of defeat rather than grandeur.
"Your holiness, what are we supposed to do now?" A red-robed Cardinal shivered as he asked the vital question.
"We were complacent," the Pope replied defeatedly. "We'd thought that with the death of Dracula, there would be no other Progenitors. So, we've been gladly ignoring the Vampire race as we fought against the Outer Demons. We should have exterminated them the moment Dracula passed on."
"Too late for that now," another Cardinal weighed in with his brows furrowed. "The Vampire race has grown too strong. The Nine Guardian Houses are equal to the military might of entire countries, and they continue to grow stronger every day. Now that they have a Progenitor in the mix… It's only a matter of time before they outpower the entire human race as a whole."
"... God help us."
The Holy Church has always been agnostic against the Vampire race. Even under the peacetime ceasefire, neither side could get along with the other. After all, they couldn't wipe away thousands of years of grievances just because of one peace treaty.
The Vampires remember the crusades when they were brutally hunted by the Holy Church, and the Holy Church despises Vampires for their very existence, which is said to go against God's construct. Not to mention, Vampires still preyed on ordinary humans for blood and to create Blood Servants that would eternally be bound to them.
In the end, the two sides could never see eye-to-eye, and with Jin's ascension to a Progenitor…
"Father Amorth, what is your opinion? I tasked you with this boy's exorcism, but it's too late now."
"Your holiness…"
An intimidating figure that easily stood above two meters tall answered the wizened man's call. Dressed in a black cassock, the man looked far more intimidating than usual. Although none of his weapons were around, the bulky man seemed even more dangerous, with his eyes fervently looking at the Pope.
"I've failed you, your holiness."
"No, I don't intend to blame you. The boy's sudden rise is something that none of us could expect," the Pope waved his hand, hoping to calm the massive man's nerves. While he did task Father Angelo Amorth with Jin's assassination, he didn't anticipate how fast Jin would grow.
"I asked you here because you're the one who knows the most about this new Progenitor. I want to know if we can use anything against him."
"With your permission…"
Father Armoth bowed reverently and started his narration.
"Jin Valter, this year he'll be twenty-six years of age. He was born from two A-ranked Hunters. Jael and Elna Valter. At a tender age, he was shown to have tremendous gifts that he'd inherited from his parents. The martial arts of a warrior and the magical ability of a magician. As he grew older, he developed both to an extreme degree and could easily match a C-rank Hunter at a tender age."
All of the participants in the hall nodded, some with regret in their eyes. A great seed of humanity was wasted as he converted to the Vampires' side. If they had nurtured the boy, he could have become a great Hunter or, even better, a great Priest or Bishop.
"However, when he was ten, the boy suffered an accident. Not much is known about the accident; all we know is that an Outer Demon attacked him. As a result, he was crippled and lost some of his memories. But even though he was crippled, a genius was still a genius. He managed to advance magical theory by a few decades with his breakthroughs. Alas, the injuries he'd sustained caught up with him, and he'd spent most of his time in the hospital since."
A mysterious injury that left him a cripple. An Outer Demon attack made him lose his memories. Bit by bit, the highly intuitive members of the Church could piece together what had happened.
"But during one night of the Blood Moon, the boy changed. He recovered all of his lost mobility and had become infinitely stronger. What's more, he was able to manipulate magic now. By the time the nurses got to him, he had already…"
"Become a Vampire…"
"That's right."
The Pope stroked his chin and painted a picture of what had happened.
"Ever since then, he has been going from Guardian House to Guardian House. Due to how strict the surveillance is with each House, we can't ascertain what he's been doing in each place, but we know that he always leaves with a young Vampire girl from that House."
"Hmmm, so he's been collecting women?"
"Possibly."
The holy men, who had sworn to be abstinent, frowned deeply. What little respect they had for Jin faded away, and their faces soon turned into one of pure irritation.
"In the end, he grew stronger than ever before and could now match ancient Vampires. From my intelligence, it seems like he was also responsible for defeating the High Elder."
"... So, has he become unkillable?"
The numerous Cardinals started talking amongst themselves, afraid they had just obtained a foe that couldn't be defeated. Fortunately, they had an expert who specialized in killing Vampires, no matter how powerful they may be.
"I have a proposal," Father Armoth raised his hand and drew the crowd's attention. "We may not be able to beat him in an open battle, but we can draw him into a trap."
"A trap?"
"Yes, initially, I planned on kidnapping his parents to draw him out to our territory, but it seems like they've caught on to his weakness. His parents have disappeared from their homes, and we have no idea where they might be."
"A wise move on their part."
None of the holy men present was averse to the idea of using Jin's parents to bait him out. In their opinion, it was worth sacrificing two humans if they could kill a Progenitor.
"So, I suggest we use the Vampires. Ones that are interested in challenging the new Progenitor."
"Partnering with the Vampires, huh?"
"How sacrilegious! But if it's for the greater good…"
The Pope and the Cardinals weren't entirely on board with the idea, but they all understood if Jin was given space to grow, holding hands with some filthy Vampires would be the least of their problems.
"But let's say we do manage to draw the Progenitor out into our domain… What then?"
Father Armoth smiled valiantly and said with conviction:
"I propose… We summon an Archangel."