Who's to blame?

Arnold let out a large grunt as he picked up the Vampire by his face and slammed him into the wall. This Vampire Knight, stronger than the average Master, had his head crushed to a bloody pulp before he could even scream. Beside him, Menes nearly bisected a female Vampire, her upper and lower body only connected by a narrow string of muscle and flesh.

The black giant swept two more Vampires off their feet with his great sword, splattering black blood across the floor and ceiling in an arc. Seeing this, the last remaining Vampire tried to flee, but Arnold picked up a curved sword his target had dropped and, with an experienced arm, sent it flying through the air. The blade ran all the way through the Vampire's stomach and sending him crashing onto the floor.

The two giants casually made their way over to the Cultist squirming as his guts slowly leaked out. He let out a squeal of terror as he noticed their approach, desperately trying to drag himself away. Menes put an end to his attempts with a well-placed stomp, crushing his arm and eliciting a shriek from the victim.

"And you say...we Vampires...are the real monsters" he managed to hiss out. Arnold raised his eyebrows and squatted down beside the Vampire. "I'm sure this feels mighty unjust for you, but think about it. Just how many people have you killed, not just in this base, but across the whole world. The casualties of the Vampire Race could eclipse the tallest mountains in Orvonia. This is simply retribution for those deaths."

"Retribution?" the Vampire laughed before being cut off by his own blood getting stuck in his throat. After spitting it out, he glared up at the two Adventurer's with unconcealed rage. "Do you think we wanted this?! Do you think we chose to live on that fucking pile of ash and soot?! It was you Humans who started it first! You and your fucking Almighty Primordial! You hunted us down for sport and XP, forced us onto Tartarus where we slowly died out! And yet..and yet those bastard Elves act like nothing happened! Elves and Dwarves and Beastkin! They all bent the knee like good little lapdogs and forgot everything you did to us!"

Arnold and Menes watched the Vampire's rant with blank eyes. Once he had exhausted himself, Arnold scratched behind his ear and spoke. "You guys were killing us long before the Primordial showed up. Your Race might like to glorify your past or whatever, but Volanna was just as cruel as Navruavati when 'She' wanted to be. The only difference was 'She' cared more about appearances and the concept of 'nobility' or whatever."

Menes also joined in as he sneered at the Vampire. "And don't play the victim. You lot could have abandoned Navruavati and Aenrys any time you wanted in the Fourth Era. Any of the other Gods would have welcomed your Race with open arms. We did with the Elves and Beastkin after all. But no, you refused to change your nature and play by the rules of someone else. You refused to adapt...and do you know what happens to those that fail to adapt?"

"They get culled" Arnold answered with a slight smirk. 

The Vampire said nothing for a minute, only glaring up at the two Humans. Eventually though, he opened his mouth and spoke again. "Is that what you honestly believe?" he rasped. "That we could just leave and all would be forgotten? If we came to your Gods on 'Their' terms, our fate would hardly be better than slaves. The Elves are only doing so well because Gaia, Dendron and Tiamat support them. The Beastkin have also Chanteur protecting them. But if we switched sides, which Archon would we join under? Xerxes? Nyx? In case you aren't aware, those two already have Churches on the Tartarus Continent yet our status as an Evil Race hasn't changed."

Menes sighed as he gripped the Vampire by the neck and pulled his upper body off the ground. The Vampire grimaced as the curved sword moved around in his guts. "We could discuss who did what first and who's in the wrong all day, but now really isn't the time. Tell us where your boss is and maybe we won't kill you. Keep your silence and..." Menes pulled out a clear glass bottle with a luminous golden liquid swirling inside. It seemed like liquid sunlight, and the Vampire's face twitched immediately upon some of the light shinning on him. "W-what is that?!" he lisped.

"Water blessed by Seraphic" Arnold responded causally, looking down at the Vampire with his arms crossed. "It can only be procured illegally and costs a small fortune, but it's even more effective than Sol's Holy Water. Honestly, if 'He' was just willing to bury the hatchet with everyone, Seraphic could easily become the most popular God in the world. I mean, 'He' can do pretty much anything if you wish hard enough for it."

The Vampire's eyes widened upon realising what he was being threatened with. Yet even at the cost of being purified (which was an overwhelmingly agonising process) his will remained strong. "I won't tell you a thing!" he swore, clenching his teeth in preparation for the oncoming torture.

The two Adventurer's exchanged amused looks at the Vampire's resistance as Menes dangled to Holy Water above his head playfully. "Are you sure you won't talk?" he asked mockingly. "Even if we are on a timer, I think I can spare ten minutes or so to play around with you. I know you'll break by then, but it would simply be a waste of good Holy Water. As I said, this stuff costs a fortune to buy."

"...."

"Well let nobody say we didn't try" sighed Arnold, gripping the sword handle and yanking it free from the Vampire's entrails in a fluid motion. His victim screamed loudly at the new wave of pain, but his cry of pain was muted as Menes poured a few drops of Holy Water on his wound. The Vampire arched his back and screamed a wordless scream of agony as a searing pain beyond imagination swept his body.

Menes and Arnold watched on with interest as their target convulsed and squirmed wildly but silently, his throat and lungs constricted too much by pain to work. After several seconds, a sizzling sound reached their ears as the wound where Menes poured the liquid began to turn black and crack like ceramic.

After using up a fifth of the bottle, Menes put the lid back on and waited for the Vampire to settle before speaking again. "See, I told you it would hurt. Jeez, they weren't kidding when they said this stuff was potent. I wonder how strong it would be against a Devil or Demon?"

"Probably a fair bit" Arnold causally answered from across the room, having left to loot the dead Vampires at some point. "Vampires can use Nether, but Demons and Devils are comprised of it. Since Seraphic uses Ether, 'His' Holy Water would do more against them."

"Seraphic is the only God capable of using Ether too, right?"

"Yup, the other Gods use Mana, Prana, Nether or Aether but only 'He' can use Ether. Probably because 'He' was an Angel under the Primordial before becoming a God, while the other Gods were of other Races."

Menes looked over at his partner with thoughtful eyes after hearing his answer. "I guess the rumours of you being part of the Church of Metallus were true after all" he stated. Arnold raised an eyebrow and asked playfully. "What makes you say that?"

Menes smiled and gestured with his hands. "You speak more causally about the Gods than most Adventurer's I know, and becoming a Grandmaster at your age implies either talent or backing. Since you have a Metal Affinity and the Churches have a monopoly over Affinities matching their God's, I figured you belonged to the Ferrum Machina, though I doubt you still do."

Arnold chuckled lightly and nodded his head. "You're quite smart" he confessed. "It's true I once belonged to the Ferrum Machina, but I left due to certain theological differences and I've been an Adventurer ever since."

Menes left the conversation, respecting his partner's privacy, and instead focused back on the Vampire at his feet. "So, buddy, feeling like talking yet?" he drawled. The Vampire looked at him with half-laden eyelids, but his fury could not be mistaken.

Menes didn't bother speaking again, simply pouring more of the golden water. This time, he splashed the Vampire's face, targeting the eyes and mouth. The Vampire managed to screech this time, before the pain sent him into shock. The sound of sizzling occupied the room, and the scent of burnt meat soon followed. Arnold and Menes wrinkled their noses at the smell, as the Vampire's face began to melt of his skull.

"You sure this won't kill him before he talks?" Arnold asked worriedly. 

"Don't worry" Menes reassured him dismissively. "Seraphic is thorough in 'His' design. He won't die until every single nerve in his body had been seared away. And even then, the Holy Water will still burn away his soul. Total purification is the end result for Seraphic's wrath."

Huh" Arnold raised an eyebrow at his words. "Man, I really wonder why Seraphic turned on Navruavati and Aenrys. 'They' worked together just fine to kill the Primordial after all but after seeing what 'He' has prepared to fight 'Their' kind, I really wonder what happened back then."

Menes looked at Arnold with confusion. "You don't know? Weren't you part of the Church of Metallus? I thought you would be closer to the truth than most."

Arnold shook his head with a sigh. "The history behind the Third Era is either lost or buried away in the Churches' vaults. The prevalent theory behind the deterioration of the trio's relationship is that, an an Angel, Seraphic could not tolerate the existence of Vampires and Devils. It is simply against 'His' nature, and so 'He' waged a Holy War. Of course, 'His' hatred for the Orthodox Gods can be chalked up to simple madness or pride."

"Seraphic gets along fine with Daemon, Fallacy and Jester though..." Menes muttered before putting the thought to the back of his mind. Thousands had attempted to unravel the motives of the Gods, and all had failed. They were lucky that any history from the Third and Fourth Era's remained at all.

"Listen bud, this is getting old real fast. Just tell us where your boss is and this will all be over" Menes reasoned with his victim. The Vampire had one eye melted in its socket, while the other was bloodshot to the point half the vessels had burst. His white sclera had turned a dark pink, and his pupil was dangerously dilated. He shakily opened his mouth and responded.

"Go..to H-hell..." he croaked slowly.

Menes sighed deeply and poured out some more Holy Water, as the Vampire's screams reached a new crescendo