Chương 663: Girlfriend, Not Monster

"Vampires. Always being vampires," Vicar Joseph said, staring at the body of the Imperfect Vampiric Beast he had just killed. Luke was walking with them. The Vampire Hunters had thanked their group for saving William.

"I know you're doing your job, but my sister needs help. The wound is rotting fast," Mia said.

"I don't care if you leave us to go on alone after that, as long as you tell us where your priest is." The vicar stopped walking.

"You wouldn't be able to enter our settlement without authorization. You understand how it is. Vampires are good at infiltration." From what Luke had learned, a Vicar was a powerful Vampire Hunter, a representative from a Church of the Dawn branch. They wore masks so their faces would never be known, specifically to make life harder for vampires. The man walking ahead of Luke wore a crow-shaped mask that looked disturbingly close to a plague doctor's.

I still can't tell if running into a Vicar this early was bad luck or good luck. Charlie stayed quiet. She was wearing her helmet and full armor. Luckily, a few others in their group were armored head to toe as well, including some of the hunters traveling with the Vicar.

"Don't worry. I promise the first thing we'll do when we arrive is treat your sister," William said with a nod. Their luck, if it could be called that, was that Triss's ugly wound helped sell the disguise and gave Charlie a believable reason to stay covered. The Vicar looked at William.

"And don't forget your report. We want everything."

"You have our thanks for dealing with a true Vampiric Beast," said one of the hunters, a woman named Annabeth.

"And how do Vampiric Beasts even happen?" Marten asked.

"That thing was high level. From what this guy said, it used to be a vampire."

"They say in the old legends that every vampire is, in truth, a Vampiric Beast" Vicar Joseph said.

"Only a partial one, a fragment of the true beast. That is why they have fangs and feed on blood. At least, that is what the legends claim. And so, when a powerful vampire is consumed by its own core after long periods of hunger, it turns into that." The man's voice was rough, almost like a smoker's.

"So an ordinary vampire wouldn't become one of those?" Luke asked.

"By ordinary, you mean low level? No. It would simply die. Only vampires above level one hundred can survive the process without being destroyed by it, and the method is unknown to most. What you saw is a taboo among vampires. Even they do not toy with such things, or at least not often. Some powerful vampire in the middle of this conflict, one with knowledge and influence, prepared certain vampires for it," the Vicar said.

"Our suspicion is that, over these past months, the factions have been fighting each other and taking enemy vampires captive. One of those prisoners, after enough torture, became one of the beasts you fought," Annabeth said.

"The miserable vampire was tortured with every tool imaginable while being starved," the Vicar said, almost laughing to himself.

"Bit by bit, forcing the body to change. To mutate."

"I thought you said the method was unknown. But you just mentioned torture," Luke said.

"How do you turn a dog violent? You treat it violently. Simple," the Vicar said.

"Starve a wolf long enough and it will lose control. Hunger, sir, is a powerful poison."

"It was a Count," Annabeth said.

"He was the one responsible for creating that beast."

"A Count?" Evangeline asked.

"That's what they call powerful vampires who hold high rank within the faction of the Lord they serve." They reached the settlement, a section of the city built high on a hill. Luke spotted several towers scattered across different districts.

"Finally." The city ahead lay in ruins. One section had been swallowed by a lush green forest full of giant roses. Farther beyond that was a region buried in snow, with its own cloud hanging overhead and constantly shedding flurries. On the opposite side, another district was burned black, scarred by signs of repeated explosions.

"The Hero of Flame fought a Count right there," the Vicar said. The Hero of Flame, huh?

"I'm sorry, but I can't stay any longer," Luke told Triss.

"I understand."

"One of those towers should still work for the descent," the hunter Annabeth said.

"Good luck to all of you, and thank you for helping Brother William."

"I'm staying with them," Marten said.

"I'll see you around. Good luck with the treatment," Luke said. They said their goodbyes and split up. Only Luke's group moved on. They descended the hill on the far side and ran toward the towers.

"It's like Lord of the Rings towers," Artemis said.

"That wound... Triss got... will take time... to heal," Anne said.

"And we don't have any more time to waste. We still have to find a Beacon at the bottom of that ocean," Luke said.

"But the things we heard about this place are pretty unsettling, don't you think?" Evangeline said.

"Not that this place needed any help being creepy."

"The vampires?" Eleanor asked.

"All of it. And those beast abominations too. At least now we know if one of those things bites us, we won't turn into monsters," she said. Charlie stayed silent, listening. When they reached the area, they found it completely overtaken by forest, except every trunk was green. Luke touched one of the green roots and used his skill.

"This isn't a real plant. It was created with mana. It's magical."

"You're saying something made this entire forest?" Evangeline asked.

"That's disturbing."

"Or more than one thing. Vampires with plant-based powers," Luke said.

"They created a perfect hunting ground. And the canopy blocks the sunlight." It did not remove the fifty percent weakness debuff, but it did take away the pain of direct sunlight. If one individual made this forest, then they're powerful. A Vampire Count? Maybe I should've pushed the hunters harder for more information. But with Charlie beside him, that had been a risk. Even so, on the way there he had managed to ask a few useful questions about fighting vampires. Holy water worked best against weak vampires.

Stronger ones could resist it. In the end, it was only a trick. To truly fight them with that kind of magic, you needed stronger abilities tied to Light mana, healing mana, or sacred power. Charlie was immune to that kind of thing on her skin. Vampiric Beasts, however, were much more vulnerable to those methods. That made things interesting. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The creatures were practically designed to hunt vampires, with regeneration superior to theirs, along with the bite and senses to match. Built to prey on them. And at the same time, they still carried weaknesses that made them vulnerable to hunter tricks.

"Hold your breath," Luke said as they moved through the forest. The place was thick with pollen drifting off the roses. The group kept walking.

"Anne and Charlie don't need to breathe in a place like this, but you're inhaling that stuff like it's perfume. You're not going to drop dead, are you?" Evangeline asked.

"No. I'm pretty resistant to this kind of thing," Luke said. He plucked one of the roses and ate it to feed the power of [Stomach of Mother Freya].

"I'm sensing hallucinogenic effects. Also a strong sleep-inducing property." Luke crouched and studied the tracks on the ground.

"This is the perfect kind of hunting ground. It was probably made by vampires."

"Those people said there were vampires who specialized in hypnosis and charm. Is this related to that?" Eleanor asked.

"No," he said.

"But having a chemical agent in the air definitely makes it easier to attack someone's mind. These roses, from what I can tell, are just trying to put us to sleep. Don't breathe." With their stamina, they could hold their breath for a long time. A few hours later, six vampires appeared. They were archers, firing arrows made of blood. When the fight was over, Charlie and Luke climbed to the tops of the tall trees to get a better view of the area.

"Are you alright, Charlie?"

"I'm..."

"No. You're not alright at all. You've been quiet for a while now. Something's bothering you. You don't have to lie to me. I'll always be here for you."

"I don't want to turn into a monster, Master Luke," she said, staring at her hands.

"I don't know if choosing powers from the Vampiric Beast Path was the right decision." Luke understood. It made sense that Charlie would be shaken after seeing what a real beast looked like.

"Why do you think you're going to turn into a monster?"

"The powers from that path change me. Even my mood."

"We offset that with Willpower, didn't we?"

"Yes... but I got the beast's senses too. My hearing and smell are better than other vampires now. Even the way I feed is different. What if I reach a point where the skill choices start changing me physically?"

"Then it's simple. You stop choosing those skills, and you stop leveling that path." She went quiet for a moment.

"But then I won't be able to fight beside you."

"Would you rather be Charlie my knight, or Charlie my girlfriend?"

"Your... girlfriend." He took her chin gently and kissed her.

"Then that's the Charlie I need." The group kept moving. Their plan was to cross the forest. Beyond it, the city split into two regions, one covered in snow, the other not. They found plenty of dead bodies hanging from the trees. Luke helped them avoid enemy patrols, steering them around dangerous trails. Right now, the priority was finding the Beacon at the bottom of the ocean. More fighting would only slow them down.

"What do you think?" Evangeline asked. The two of them had moved ahead of the others and crouched low, watching a cluster of crude wooden houses. Crates were stacked everywhere. A group of people was preparing some kind of liquid. The place sat at the edge of the forest, close to the snowy district.

"Pass me another one of those stinking things," one of them said. They did not look like vampires. The hunters had said these people were capturing humans, keeping them alive, and using them as a food source, just like they had done with William.

"Fifteen," Evangeline murmured, studying the camp.

"Stealth?" She nodded. Behind him, Anne stepped forward.

"I want... to help too." She came from a family of assassins, after all. Once they settled on a plan, the three of them split up and spread out. Luke crouched in the undergrowth. Around the wooden cabins lay chunks of collapsed stone, remnants of whatever had stood there before the forest grew over it. Then he stepped out of the brush and advanced slowly, knives floating around him. One man was bottling the liquid. Luke came up behind him, clamped a hand over his mouth, and drove a kukri through his heart.

[You have slain a Human - Lvl 63...] 3, 452, 910 EP earned [+1 Soul Fragment] Now I know for sure you're not a vampire. He glanced at the kukri blades. The blood was still there. You have a very peculiar appetite. The weapon had completely fed on the blood of the Vampiric Beast before. Luke still did not know how to trigger that on command. Sometimes the blade fed on an enemy, sometimes it did not. But that was not the blood-repair effect.

It was something else, something tied to the spirit of the weapon that he still did not understand. He spotted another man walking nearby and hurled a kukri into the side of his head. Luke caught the body before it could hit the ground and make noise. [You have slain a Human - Lvl 51...] 1, 852, 241 EP earned [+1 Soul Fragment] Looking ahead, he saw Evangeline kill one with her daggers. He saw Anne pull someone with threads and kill him with a clean thrust through the heart.

Then Evangeline cracked one across the head, but the man shoved her away and bolted.

"There's an assassin here!" he screamed. What? The entire camp snapped into alert. The man threw a red sphere onto the ground, and a red cloud exploded outward. That one was a vampire. Luke charged the man working the liquid and fired a [Shadow Ball]. The barrels exploded all at once. The man caught fire. [You have slain a Human - Lvl 59...] 2, 741, 874 EP earned [+1 Soul Fragment] Another one fired a crossbow bolt at Luke. He raised a hand and focused his telekinesis.

Two huge slabs of rubble shot forward, ready to crush the man. He dropped the crossbow and caught the stones with both hands.

"I'm strong, you idiot!" His head came off a second later. [You have slain a Human - Lvl 72...] 4, 733, 671 EP earned [+1 Soul Fragment]"But not smart." The camp was finished.

"Ten points... for Lord Luke," Anne said, clapping softly.

"Good kills..." She looked at Evangeline.

"Four points... for you."

"How was I supposed to know that guy was a vampire?" Evangeline shot back. Charlie and Eleanor came up to them.

"Why would a vampire be working with humans?" Eleanor asked, frowning.

"And why wouldn't they?" Luke said.

"He was probably planted there," Evangeline concluded.

"Or this shipment was meant for someone else. Fire is a good way to kill vampires," Luke said, studying the wreckage.

"Especially with flammable liquid. It interferes with their regenerative abilities." If a vampire were soaked in oil and burning, their regeneration would barely be able to keep up with the damage. They would have to keep healing constantly just to avoid being consumed. They moved on and reached the snowy district. Ahead of them stretched what looked like a half-frozen river.

"That's the sea. This section is another island," Luke said.

"There are two towers in this area. If we're lucky, one of them will be our ticket to the ocean floor," Eleanor said.

"Shouldn't we stop and rest?" Charlie asked.

"I can serve food while we do. You all need to recover the stamina you lost." She had a point. Eleanor and Evangeline were both running low after burning through stamina all the way across the forest. Charlie pulled food from her storage item and served them. Luke also used [Advanced Meditation] to restore mana and stamina. She was already looking more cheerful again. Sitting beside Luke on a fallen trunk, she ate a sandwich while staring at her system screen and tapped the level 85 race notification.

Two vampire skill options hovered there, waiting.

Lucien Rhiannon stood on one of the islands in the archipelago. Snow was falling over his island, which he found comforting. Cold was his domain. Curtis Rhiannon stood with him. They were on the roof of a large building positioned between the island's two towers.

"Another intruder approaching the tower," Curtis Rhiannon said. Lucien let out a quiet sigh.

"Kill him." Curtis formed a blue bow of ice, shaped an arrow, and fired. The shot flew fast and hard, and when it struck, it burst into water and ice.

"He's dead." Lucien Rhiannon turned his gaze back toward the horizon. He knew several vampire Counts were somewhere in the region. On the far side, he could see a massive castle. That was Damian's seat, the home of a vampire lord.

"Our two visitors are late," Lucien said. Then Curtis looked toward the other tower.

"There are two people climbing toward that tower. One of them... I think it's undead. The snow didn't feel any body heat from it." Were those the visitors?

"My snow perception picked up that one of them is carrying a pair of kukris," Curtis said.

"Kill them."