Chapter 169: A Rule Breaker among Rule Breakers

While Camille was searching the books, suddenly a shadow was cast in front of her which completely surprised her, as she heard a dear voice,

"You know, you'll get more wrinkles if you're always this worried, mom,"

???!!!!

There was no sound or scent!

Camille looked up in pleasant surprise. This boy... he actually managed to hide it?!!

"Honey?! You... you did it?!" She asked in pleasant surprise as relief immediately washed over her.

Chris seems to have succeeded in mastering the magic which hides the scent of the Exalted without having to be invisible all of the time.

Chris nodded his head as he smile, "Yep," with the help of the time turner, it was possible. His expression then turned a bit serious.

He won't forget their promise to tell him whatever he wanted to know after he succeeds. "Now... tell me what's the deal with the scent and why am I in danger,"

Upto now, from the clues, he's atleast figured out that he's in some kind of danger from the people who can detect the scent he's been trying to hide. Though he doesn't know who are 'they' and why is he in danger and he really needs to find out fast.

Camille sighed. She had no choice but to tell him now. She can see that Chris is reaching the limits of his patience now.

He's going to get the information one way or another. And she doesn't want to see what crazy shenanigans he'll pull if she tries to evade the topic any longer.

Camille looked at Chris worriedly. It's usually for the best if the Noble Vampire children know about their identity from an early age and know the difference between the Vampires that everyone knows (the undead mindless monsters) and the real Vampires, the Nobles.

But for Chris who's grown up thinking of himself as a human and seeing Vampires as those mindless undead creatures, it might be a tough reality to take in. And if that wasn't enough, he's an Exalted, something which is very dangerous for his life.

Camille looked at her son and hugged him one last time, "Honey, if you start hating mom after this, mom wouldn't blame you," she said sadly.

Chris grew wary. Why would he hate her? What did she do? He didn't know. But he knew one thing. It's that this woman wants the best for him. And even if she did do something wrong,

"Just tell me, mom. Even if you did do something wrong, I'll most likely forgive you," he said helplessly.

Camille realized that this was probably true. Chris never even blamed them for having to live his life in an orphanage due to them not being able to protect him.

She closed her eyes as she finally said it, "I-I'm not a human. I'm... a Vampire, and... so are you,"

??!!!!

Chris's eyes widened in shock. 'Vampires?! Damn!' he instantly figured out everything as all the dots connected.

The fangs, the weird reaction to blood, and his mom's ability to detect his scent and even hear it from a distance... everything was coming into place.

Camille decided to say the last bit as well, "And you were in danger all this time because the other Vampires would have hunted you down if they had caught your scent."

There! She said it.

Camille now nervously looked at her son who was understandably surprised by the news.

She's a monster, and he's in danger because of her. This should be enough to make him resent her, right?

But, contrary to her expectations, Chris's mouth, which was left open was slowly curving upwards as if this was some great news.

"A Vampire, huh?" He was suddenly feeling much closer to his mother. 'We're both monsters! Hahahahaha...'

In the first place, he already doesn't consider himself a human, what's with him having two powerful bonds with different XXXXX creatures. Thus, it's not a big surprise to know that he's even more inhuman. Humanity is overrated. He'd rather be the devil.

But can see where his mother is coming from. After all, they both turned out to have the same fear of being seen as a monster.

And, both of their fears turned out to be totally unfounded.

Seeing her looking at him with that expression, he knew exactly how she was feeling. Thus, he hugged his mom,

"Mom, the way I see it, not being human and having dangerous creatures threatening my life... is all worth it if I have such a great family. I wouldn't want to change anything even if I was given a chance," he said honestly. Chris is many things, but he's not a coward. Whoever wants to come can come. He'll make sure everyone's safe.

Hearing Chris's words, the uneasiness inside Camille's heart finally went away as she realized that Chris is really mature when he needs to be.

If any other thirteen-year-old was told this, they'll have different reactions, ranging from throwing a tantrum to running away from home. But he's instead more focused on making her feel at ease.

'I also wouldn't want you to be any different, even if I was given a chance,' she thought silently as relief washed over her and she realized that she was incredibly fatigued.

Ever since the country hosting the beginning round of the Tournament was announced, she's increased her efforts to search for ways to hide his scent. It's not like there weren't any ways to counter it. It's just that the stronger the Exalted, the more difficult it to hide the scent, and whatever methods they do try, all of them don't last on Chris (Pure magic kinda negates all)

If this much stress wasn't enough, there was also the guilt of keeping him in the dark due to her own selfishness. But today, both of these worries have Vanished one after another just after Chris's arrival.

Chris still had many doubts that were left answered after knowing that he's a Vampire. The Vampire news was easy to take because he's already read a lot of fantasy novels in his previous life where Vampires are mostly like normal people.

But he'd still like to know why the hell wasn't this mentioned in the books, not in any of the texts he's read in this world. So he asked Camille.

Camille, who was feeling very light at the moment nodded her head as she started to explain,

"Alright, so let me explain from the beginning—

There used to be two... humans who were incredibly gifted in magic. But like every other human, they wanted more. They tried out many different magics and rituals on themselves and others.

This is something that many have done and many will do with no positive results. But... hey succeeded. Though the price was, they couldn't be called completely human anymore since they had even incorporated some of the traits of a few Magical Creatures into themselves.

These were the very first real Vampires. We call them the Primogenitors,"

"When the news spread, the Wizarding world went into chaos as the power-hungry people saw this as an opportunity they couldn't miss while many saw this as a violation of natural order.

The Progenitors went into hiding and started to gather many followers whom they granted similar powers. These Vampires were called the Nobles. Along with the basic enhancement, they got various abilities of their own,"

"Oh..."

Chris was getting his answers, but more questions were popping into his mind. Thus, he just kept listening to his mom's words.

"Power was a very tempting lure. The number of Vampires started multiplying very quickly and soon, and all of them were under the loyalty of the Progenitors, who remained the strongest.

By this time, various powers had declared Vampires as their enemies and the persecution of their kind had begun.

Thus, these Vampires, under the advice of the Progenitors, kept their Vampiric identities a secret as they blended into different communities and only used their powers to secretly. Though some still used it publicly, generally with disastrous consequences.

This went on for centuries, or millennia, it's unclear. But the Progenitors and Vampires eventually started to become increasingly bold as the conflict between the Humans and Vampires reached reach the boiling point. That's when he came. Merlin, the greatest sorcerer," Camille paused and Chris got surprised.

'Merlin?!'

"Then? What happened next?!" He asked urgently. Merlin was mentioned everywhere, but he's found no real information regarding him.

Camille smiled helplessly, "Not much is clear about what happened next, but the Primogenitors disappeared after that, and all the Noble Vampires were put under the Pact, which basically forbids them to reveal themselves, and even all the records were erased with the help of a magic similar to the Fidelius.

Though whatever he did, the results can't be denied. He helped Nobles build their own societies, communities, and Covens and the Humans and Vampires now remain separated even when many of the Vampires live in the human societies since they can't reveal their abilities,"

Camille sighed, "There's only one thing that he didn't take into account, and there's only one that's been causing this whole arrangement to be very unstable and almost collapse many times. Many of the conditions of the pact don't apply to them...the Exalted,"

'Sounds like me,' thought Chris inwardly. So, the Exalted are basically natural rule breakers, right? There's no other identity that'd suit him better.

Camille told him everything about Exalted.

"Exalted manifest special abilities and are free to use them as they like,"

'Wow,'

Chris was thinking that the Exalted sound like a cheat, but Camille's next words explained that there's no free lunch in this world.

"But... the disadvantages outweigh the benefits. The Noble Vampires can acquire their full or partial ability by consuming them or just by drinking their blood. And, hiding away from the world is also difficult, since they usually have an enticing fragrance that's quite difficult to hide from other Vampires. Thus, they're always the cause of various internal conflicts among the Vampires.

!!!

At this moment, Chris also had another discovery.

'Daphne...'

She's a Vampire and an Exalted one at that!' he thought, recalling the fragrance which he thought was a perfume. It was very faint, and someone without the combination of his dragon senses and Vampiric senses wouldn't have been able to detect it, but it was definitely there.

He can now understand why she was acting weird. She had realized that he might know about her Exalted identity.

Camille then told Chris about his unique circumstances. Usually, there are many ways to hide an Exalted's scent but, the usual methods used to block the scent weren't working on him.

'So... I'm a rule breaker even among the rule-breakers?... That does sound like me,' thought Chris wryly.

Though he can understand why. His body is naturally resistant to magic that's not his own and especially if he's not consciously allowing it to work and it's difficult for powerful Exalted to hide their scent and he thinks he's powerful.

'The other Exalted are somewhat able to hide their scent,' It's must be the reason why he couldn't sense Daphne's scent after that time. She must have used whatever means she has of hiding it.

Camille told him the finer details and when she was done, everything was clear to him.

'So... Vampires, huh?' It seems like Voldemort's not the only person he needs to worry about. Vampires... multiple abilities... the Exalted... powerful unique abilities... a whole hidden society which he didn't know about.

There's no prior knowledge about this and he doesn't even know the future. He's awfully unprepared. But...

'It's exciting,' he grinned. He knows that now he'll have the drive he'd lost during these easy going days.

But Camille was still somewhat worried, "Honey, are you sure that you can keep your scent hidden all the time? Because, the place you're going to... it's dangerous,"

Chris raised his eyebrows, the next he's going to. The place that's hosting the World dueling tournament...

Chris realized why his mother was extra worried and fatigued right now.

"What's wrong with Russia?" he finally asked.

The plan had been changed. Previously, Russia was only going to host the first round. But now, the whole Tournament was going to be held in Russia.

Camille sighed as she answered, "The Vampire Society in Russia is very precarious. And it's all due to one person,"

Chris frowned. Just one person is?

"Who is it?"

Camille's voice instinctively lowered as she called out its name,

"He's the leader of one of the biggest Covens of Vampires. And his name is... Vlad Merputin,"

Chris's eyes widened.

'The name sounds familiar,'

"What's so dangerous about this guy?" He asked his mom.

Camille looked into the distance,

"He's a powerful Exalted... and a tyrant. The man's almost built an army of Exalted under him,"

'Damn. That's definitely dangerous,'

Chris closed his mouth.

But he didn't know that his mom was only starting,

"No one knows his real age, but he came into power a few decades ago. He's made up a fake background but no one truly believes that.

In the beginning, he looked to be an ideal leader. He gave protection and safe haven to all the Exalted who were being hunted down and gave generous treatment to any who got contracted to his army. Thus, more and more Exalted revealed themselves and joined his army.

But... from time to time, a few Exalted would disappear, and Merputin's people would say they died or went missing doing a secret mission for the Coven, and their families were generously compensated.

But... the rumors have it, that... he's consumed all those Exalted..."

Chris's eyes widened.

'So many Exalted...?!'

If that was truly the case, then Chris truly has fear of facing such a guy.

"He's already started to conquer the other Vampire Covens in the area. There are rumors that he plans to conquer the muggle and wizard community soon as well,"

"...."

Chris slumped his shoulders. Voldemort seems tame in comparison to this.

...

Later that night, Chris was back in his Newt case, tinkering with some ornaments.

Before going to Hogwarts, he'd transferred everything from the basement here. The wards he's put here are also his absolute best so that no one accesses them.

Currently, he was giving the finishing touches to the artifacts that he's been working on for a while. With the emergence of Vampires, his old drive for power is returning and he's once again taking life seriously.

He realized that Vlad Merputin could probably beat him and his family won't last much at all. And that's not to say there aren't more powerful Vampires.

So, he needs to increase the security of his home and his family members. And he should start with Esmée and Gabrielle, who are sadly also going with them.

The main artifact he's making is the one that blocks any and all occlumency attempts. Along with various other protections.

He never really worked on these because Esmée and Gabrielle weren't going out much, or interacting with people, but now that they are, and knowing that there are Overpowered creatures out there with unknown abilities, his paranoid mind is thinking of all sorts of worst-case scenarios.

*Dnnnnnn*

The familiar humming sound echoed as he carved rune after rune.

Just like his magic casting, his rune carving was also completely unique and specialized according to his abilities. He's on a whole new level compared to the normal rune carving techniques.

The ordinary method is to carve out a complicated cluster of Runes to specify their intent and expect it to work with the meager amount of magic that was put into the stele and the meager amount that gets absorbed through the world.

Meanwhile, Chris's hand was currently glowing and he was carving out various protection symbols while the Corpomency magic was being poured into the runes as he sharpened his intent in his super Trigger Blue state.

He's going all out.

Behind him, A sword, glowing in multiple colors was resting atop an ornate stand. Dense magic swirled around the sword, which looked to be made of a crystalline material which looked beautiful as it shine in dazzling colours from inside.

But, in truth, it wasn't made of crystal, it was made of Chrystanium, the best metal in the world.

Chris sighed as he put his old golden stele back into its holster. He's made one of these for everyone.

"Haah... That's one safety measure taken care of he thought as he turned the time turner to get more time. He's going to do as much as he can. During the past two years, he'd relaxed a lot and become quite goofy since he knew almost everything. But not anymore.

"What's the next target?" He murmured as he opened and checked the mental list he'd prepared.

"Wards..."

One of the most important things. Someone's guard is the lowest when they're at home. It's the same for Chris.

He's sensed his own scent. It was enough to be detected by ordinary Noble Vampires and follow him to his home during the nights he was just out, wandering the city of France. Then, it's just a matter of giving the information to the highest bidder.

The current wards are great, but not to the level of being impenetrable by Vampires with unknown abilities.

But... the thing is... he doesn't have much knowledge on Wards, or rather, it'll take too much time to ward two mansions against abilities he doesn't even know.

He can't go off designing a warding sequence that'll have prevention against each of the ways of Magic. It'll take too much time. He needs an expert's guidance. Someone who knows amazing wards which have managed to fool even Dumbledore.

'He should have woken up by now, right?' Thought Chris. Now he even has Parseltongue so things would be easier.

'After coming back from Russia, I'll pay him a visit,' he thought as he looked at the next thing on his metal list.

***

#Random facts:

-Very few people are actually aware of the fact that Nicolas and Perenelle Flamel are actually the Progenitors.

***

A.N.: Please give me as many power stones as you can.

Don't forget to check out my new novel.

Pàtreon currently has 8 chapters of each novel. I planning on keep 10 each. You can read there.

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