Chapter 5: Vampires

It's been a week since I left the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits. I've mostly been traveling with my magic cloud, Kinto'un, that I received from my teacher and looking at the sight of India and thinking of where to setup my base of operations.

I considered initially just setting up a base of operations in one central place, but I decided that three bases and one moving one will be better. Japan, the USA and the UK are the places that I decided to set up my bases. Before I left, Shifu gave me many expensive riches so that I could sell them and not have to worry about money for the rest of my life. I then headed into New Delhi to sell my the jewels I was give the more historical artefacts I was given I will keep for when I get to London as we all know how the British love important ancient artefacts. Anyway I took the jewels to several different stores in the city and sold them at each store get the prices I wanted from each of them. After converting the jewels into cash I then teleported myself to Switzerland where I stored it in the best bank in the country. The only reason all of this was possible was due to the fact that I had hypnosis and illusion magic making the process of selling the jewels and setting up the back account a lot easier. After I sold some more jewels in Switzerland I had a total of 500 million USD in my back account but I was also almost out of jewels. I then stored the rest of the jewels and some of the treasures I was not going to sell immediately in a vault that I purchased. After the everything was set up I then headed for the Vatican, but first I wanted to cross Europe as headed there.

As I neared the Romania boarder I descended to the ground and then used a spell to hide my Magic Aura. I began making my way to the Tepes Castle on foot, as I walked I began seeing something in the distance. There was a small village close to the castle and I decided to stay here for the night and gather information. Night was coming and it was better to rest for the night and check on the person I came to see during the day when the vampires would be asleep.

Valerie Tepes. She was the person I came to check on and the reason I came to Romania and into dangerous vampire territory. I needed to know if she still has the three Holy Grail which are part of her subspecies Sacred Gear, Sephiroth Graal so I could plan accordingly in the future.

I couldn't save her from that place for now even if the Tepes Faction was not under the control of Marius Tepes I simply didn't have the pull to avoid the political shit storm that I could make by saving her and would also changes all my plans as I couldn't take her with me to the Vatican.

I would also most likely be hunted by the Tepes Faction to the ends of Earth and the Underworld. I needed to have politically pull and powerful forces to fend off the people who would want the Grails without too much damage to myself and those around me but I was still at the beginning of my journey and haven't created my organisation yet.

It left me a sour taste in my mouth to leave a young girl to her suffering but I would create more problems by saving her now than in the future when I will have more power to act without grave consequences. I promised myself that when I established myself in this world as a powerful figures, I would save her the first chance I get.

The village I was headed to looked normal at first glance but it was clear there was something very wrong with this place if the sombre looks of the inhabitants was any indication. I could also see that the numbers of woman in this village was unnaturally high. They were also all looking at me with pity as if saying that I shouldn't have come to this place and every time I tried to ask them something about the castle they would look at me in fear and run away. There was definitely something strange about this village.

Having enough of theirs looks I entered the inn and tried to question the woman at the counter for information but before I could she looked at me right in the eyes and said." Kid, you should leave the village immediately." I was surprised at the grave seriousness of her voice but before I could answer.

"This is not a place for tourist. Run before it's too late." the woman said sounding pleading.

"I don't understand, why should I run ?" I said confused by her choice her word.

"Tell me boy, do you know the name of our village."I shook my head in the negative. "This place is called the Fullmoon Village and today…today is the full moon." just as she said that I felt a cold feeling in my bones and could suddenly hears children and woman's screams coming from outside.

I hurriedly made my way outside while the woman was shooting at me to hide.

What greeted was a scene only seen in horror movies. There was several woman and young children being dragged by a group of five men. 'Vampires.'my mind supplied.

I could see that one of them was already bitting the neck of a young girl and draining her of her blood. It was her scream that I heard. I called out to them angrily."Stop this immediately."

All of looked at me with eyes full of arrogance and anticipation.

"Who is this boy? I've never seen him before." said one vampire to his comrades, not even paying to me.

"Who cares? Let's play with him for a bit before going back to the castle." said another, releasing one of his would-be victims and casually making his way toward me. Such arrogance. I heard that the vampires were even worse than devils as they looks down on every other races than theirs but to think that they would dismiss me entirely as a threat. Their arrogance would be their downfall. While the vampires were looking at the show in anticipation of my gruesome death, at least that's what they seemed to think, I took advantage of their Clear arrogance and began manifesting light swords high in the sky.

The foolish vampire was coming toward me with an arrogant smile on his face as if they were absolutely no threat to his life. In fact that's exactly how he died, with a smile on his face and a sword made of light coming out of his back. I smirked at the vampire's body slowly disintegrating and the looks of shocks and incomprehension on the remaining enemies face but before they could regain their wits, I pointed two of my fingers downwards. Before the Vampires could comprehend what was going on the lights swords above them pierced through them at an un-comprehendible speed disintegrating them the same way.

I then walked back to the lady I was talking too "Why did you try to kidnap these people in the open. This is against the unwritten rules." I asked

The Unwritten Rules are something that no people from the supernatural can violate unless they want all the pantheons and Factions to come down on their head. There are rules that were made by the Heaven Faction a few centuries ago. Rules supposedly made by God even though the God Of the Bible was already dead during that period. My Teacher told me that it was a plot made by Michael subtly backed by the Maous, the Grigori and several Factions gods. They were instated as a way to keep the peace and the existence of the supernatural world from the mundane world. They go like this : Do not reveal the existence of the supernatural to mundane unless they made a contract beforehand, do not fight in the open where the mundane humans can see you, do not involve yourself in the politics and economy of the mundane world and finally do not harm mundane people though that rule was twisted to become do not harm mundanes where others can see and that mundane with sacred gears were free game as these people are toeing the line between mundane and supernatural. This rule is the one I hate the most as it basically say that it is okay to hurt normal humans as long that no one from the mundane world know about it.

However these rules are also a blessing for normal humans as it would have led the world to anarchy if it wasn't for them. These rule are the reasons why Stray Devils do not rampage in the open and why vampires feed only when there is no one around. And yet the vampires I just killed transgressed three of these rules as if they didn't matter. If it was a common occurrence here, and if the looks around me were any indication it seemed to be, the Church would have made inquiries a long time ago.

"Come with me, now." she said or rather demanded me, already dragging me to her inn. I let her as I was still confused about what the bloodsuckers said and the reactions of the villagers. I had questions, a lot of questions even though I feared that I already know the answer and that it would be one I would really hate.

She took to one of her free room and looked at me with no expression on her face. Having enough of her stare I opened my mouth to say something but she intervened before I could.

"Tell me , boy. What is your name?" she asked me.

I looked at her in confusion but I answered her nonetheless. "My name is Akira."

"Right my name is Akatrina, anyway you shouldn't have done what you did." She simply said .

" What ?! Killing the bloodsuckers ?!" I looked at her in shock. Is she reproaching me of killing these scum ? " They were going to take these woman and children and were going to hurt them. I had to do something."

" Yes, they were going to hurt them but it is perfectly normal for this village." She simply told me with no emotion.

I looked at her in astonishment. I already gathered that it was a common occurrence but why didn't they try to inform someone. " Normal ? What do you mean normal ? This village may be part of the Tepes territory but it is forbidden to hurt someone from your territory especially if you it is a village full of humans. You could have found a way to tell the Church and they would have surely send representatives to deal with this."

My answer finally cracked her emotionless mask but not in the way I expected. She started laughing but what chilled me to the bones was that it was not one of mockery. No, it was one full of anger and despair.

"Hhahahaha ! The Church ?! Humans ?! Y-you really know nothing." she said while laughing. Then finally regaining the control of her laughter, she looked at me intently. " Look at my eyes and tell me what do you see ?"

I looked at her eyes like she asked me and was shocked that they turned from brown to a weak red colour. " You're a Damphyr." I said in realisation.

" Damphyr ? No, that I am not. My Grandmother was one but I only have a quarter of dhampyr blood."

Her answer made me realise something, the reason why the Church wouldn't help them. It was obvious when I thought about it now. The Church only cares about humans, they wouldn't have gone out of their way to help these people if they were all like her.

"Then…all the people here…they… ?"I tried to ask through my conflicted emotions. " We all have inhuman blood flowing in our bodies. Not only that of vampires but of several supernatural species." she said with a self-depreciating smile.

" What is this this village ?" I asked her in anger and frustration even though I had a good idea about it but I wanted to be sure." Please, tell me."

Her expression softened and she started talking." It all started a few centuries ago when the unwritten rules were first instated. These rules were a really big problem for the Tepes Faction back then. After all, vampires are the natural predator of the human race and yet the angels asked or rather ordered them to stop feeding on human. Of course no vampires followed them and they would go to human cities and feed on a few woman here and there but the problem was that too many of them would prey on humans and they were not very discreet about it. The Church quickly learned about it and they send someone to solve the problem. The vampires dismissed the threat entirely as they never thought that a mere human organisation would dare to make demand of them. But what they didn't expect was that it was not an human exorcist who came to them but an angel, and not any angel. Heaven sent one the the Great Seraph, the Archangel of Fire, Uriel to make an example out of the Tepes Faction." I was shocked by her words, to thinks that an Archangel would come down for this, Michael really wanted the unwritten rules to be followed. " That day, Uriel killed hundreds of nobles and executed the previous Tepes King, Vlad III to show the world that the rules must be followed. The Tepes Faction were substantially cowed by Heaven but that doesn't mean they've given up on feeding on human even though the nobles doesn't really need blood to survive. And one day they found a loophole in the unwritten rules." there was anger in her voice as well as helplessness." They kidnapped a dozen of human women, a few lone youkais as well as some fallen angel hald-breed abandoned by their parents and even a few low-class devils. They needed some diversity you see, after all vampires do not like to eat the same thing everyday."

" What…what did they do to these people ?" I asked in anticipation even though I already know the answer.

"The vampires raped and impregnated them, all of them." She said in anger and my fists clenched and I could feel my anger coming to the surface." After the woman gave birth to the dhampyrs, the nobles hide the woman and their offsprings for decades so that no factions would hear of what they've done and when the children reached adulthood, they killed the mothers and created the Fullmoon Village. A village that would serve as a feeding place for the vampires, the people here treated as cattle, slave and toys even though some of them were their children." I was repulsed by what she was saying and I could feel my anger growing. I know that vampires hated other races and even their own children if they had human blood but to think that they would go this far."The Church of course learned about this village but they were nothing they could do as we all have vampires blood and are technically part of the Tepes Faction sot they turned their eyes the other way and acted as if we didn't exist. All of the people in this village are descendants of these first dhampyrs and every few years they would take some of us, get them pregnant and a new batch of food would be born and that cycle has been repeating again and again for centuries now."

I stared at her in shocked silence but she was not finished." The people you killed were the hunting party of this month. This is why I told you that you shouldn't have done this. The nobles will learn about it, they will get angry and they will most likely take it out on us."

I looked at my feet in shame and guilt but I could also feel body trembling. Shaking in anger and Rage. I honestly never felt so angry in my life, both of them. I wanted to summon my True Longinus and slaughter every single vampires of the Tepes Faction. But before I lashed out I calmed down and closed my eyes and breathed.

The woman of the inn, Akatrina, put her hands on my shoulders. "You should leave. There is nothing you can do for us. We were doomed centuries ago and we will be doomed for centuries more." She said sadly." Thank you for trying." And then she left without another word.

I watch Akatrina leave and I was left in silence, lost I suddenly roared in anger and frustration, shooting a bean of light into the forest destroying a dozen of tree's. I felt so helpless in that moment.

Here is a place, full of oppressed people that I wanted to help since I was a child and there is absolutely nothing I can do to help apart from waiting for a few years to establish myself and leaving them to their suffering. How pathetic that the first step toward my dream would result in such a failure. I want to save and protect the weak and the oppressed, create a safe haven for them and yet how could I succeed if I can't even help these villagers? It's as if fate is spiting on my dream.

"No, I will help them. How can I look at myself in the mirror and achieve my dream if I can't even save these people." I said resolutely. I do not have the power and ressources to protect and taking them to a safe place where they wouldn't be found by the Tepes. It would be ill-advised to act rashly and provoke the King of the Tepes while I haven't created my organisation and safe haven but leaving both the people of Fullmoon Village and Valerie Tepes behind made my stomach sick.

Wait? Valerie, she is the solution to my problem. I may not be able to save the villagers now but I could certainly take Valerie with me. It would be difficult to take her to the Church with me but I know that I can find a solution for this. It was time that I stopped acting like a coward and acted. To think that I fully intended to leave Valerie because it was convenient. No, I won't make that mistake, I will at least save her. Not only would it deprive the Tepes Faction of a precious and unrepeatable asset but I can do it in such a way that it would severely weaken the Tepes Faction and attract the attention of the Carmilla Faction who would certainly takes advantage of such a situation which will distract the Tepes faction from the villagers as they'll be too busy fending off the Carmilla faction, I know that it would be only temporary but it is the best I can do now.

I guess I'm attacking the Tepes Castle then, although the problem is try to get Valerie out while I'm attacking the castle and trying not to revel my true identity, I can't be in 2 places at once as I can't clone myself or can I…..