Recovery - Camille's Condition - Camille's Story

A few minutes has passed and Philip is still curled up on the floor. He already fell on his side and he looked like a lifeless corpse, but in reality, he's still conscious. He was in constant pain, but it wasn't painful enough that he was convulsing

In his own perception, time has stopped and he couldn't feel anything. He felt that he was paralyzed, but he has no will to move

All he could hear as he was seeing an unchanging endless hallway was a loud heartbeat that thumps every few seconds

'Yup... This is my weakness... Once my heart was destroyed, it will be a mark of my mortality...'

Philip kept staring at the endless hallway

'I have to do something about this weakness... But it will be too long before that since I don't think it's possible yet'

The ground began to glow with white light as white roots spread around the floor. Red mist also swirled around him as the Pureblood tried to regulate his body due to the absence of his body's function

'How long has it been? No worries, at most, I've only been here for a few days... Days? No. That doesn't make any sense. Maybe seconds?'

These were the only abilities that are still active, with the addition of his ⟨⟨ Bipolar Body ⟩⟩ and ⟨⟨ Duality Kinetic State ⟩⟩ with ⟨⟨ Temperature Reaction ⟩⟩ and ⟨⟨ Weather Manipulation ⟩⟩

'No worries... This is only temporary... I forgot... I just have to use the 73rd Pureblood ability...'

「 The Only Blood That Can Cure And Heal 」

Blood conjured around Philip's body and formed a droplet. The droplet then dropped on his body and his body glowed in red and green light

'A simple solution to a big problem... This Pureblood ability is definitely overpowered... I hope I don't receive any backlash or consequences by doing this... I have to hurry anyways'

Philip regained control over his body as he sloppy lifted his left arm. He placed his palm on the floor to support himself as he pushed himself up

『 Due to a forced deactivation of the consequential backlash and nullity of effects, temporary cessation of the body has been reversed 』

『 Restoration of functionability of affected abilities has been completed 』

『 Be careful on using your abilities recklessly. Next consequential backlash will be greater 』

Philip fully pushed himseld up and he sat against the wall

"Haaah..."

He let out a deep sigh as his body was sweating bullets. The white roots and red mist has already dissipated after his body returned back to normal

"I should not take the 73rd Pureblood ability for granted... I wouldn't want it to get taken away from me someday..."

He then pushed himself up along the wall as his normal strength is coming back in his body

"Aaaggghhh... *Cough*"

The pain on his chest hasn't dissipated yet and he tried to bear with it

"I must hurry... I must do what I can do today before tomorrow..."

Philip started to walk down the hallway towards his next destination

~~~

A few minutes later, he arrived in front of a door that he wasn't visited after a long while

"Hmmmmmhhhmmmm mmmhhhmmm..."

He can hear a sweet sounding humming music from someone inside the room. He softly knocked on the door three times

"Hm? Come on in!"

Philip held the door knob and twisted it to push the door open. He entered the room and saw the gorgeous but lonely room of Camille. He saw the pale Camille sitting on her expensive single sofa with the tea table to her side. She was sipping her cup of tea while she was looking outside the window

"Excuse my intrusion"

Philip respectfully spoke as he closed the door behind him

"Oh my? To what do I owe the pleasure?

"First of all... How are you? How've you been doing?"

"Hm... I think I'm alright. Other than what's been coming for the past couple of days and that event around six months ago... In my opinion, everything seems to be okay for me"

"I see..."

"What's your purpose in coming here?"

Camille cut to the chase. Philip steeled himself as he saw the seriousness in her eyes. He could also see the rotating auras around her in a shape of a helix

"Since coming here in the mansion, my first observation was that you might be the second or third most powerful individual here in the mansion, excluding the Old Man"

"That's true, Alucard comes first then Mathilda goes second... But after you came here, the others became more powerful than me. My condition also doesn't help and I feel extremely restrained..."

Camille paused after coming into realization

"Is that why you're here? You're going to do something to me to achieve your goal..."

"Hm, you're awfully aware... That's fine though, what you just said is right... So-"

"You want to know my story and you'll control my fate?"

"Yes, I want to know your story..."

"Hm, I guess I could tell you my story... I'm tired of being like this and idling for several years after all"

"Right... Is that Blood Ring doing good for you?"

"I think so? It's doing well against my condition... But somehow, it's starting to corrupt my body? So, today may have been a good time"

"Your condition... It's the Curse of Clotting, right? A curse that's keeping your blood in a solid state despite being unexposed to air"

"Hm? How'd you know? Did someone tell you?"

"Let's just say that Vannessa tried to invade and read my memories, but I happen to read hers instead. She was making a cure for your curse, but she hasn't made any progress. She paused that project because Justine gave you the Blood Ring and I guess Vanessa has been busy with the mysterious vials"

"I see... That's fine... My story will be easy to understand then"

"Alright, let me hear it..."

"Come sit down and have a tea"

Camille invited Philip to seat near her and she poured tea for him. Philip sat near her and he prepared to listen to her story

"It all started for more than 600 years ago when I was just a normal human, a maiden, living my everyday ordinary life in peace..."

~~~

I was only but a maiden in a worn down village in old England. My skin was fair and I have a normal brown hair. There were only ten houses with one manor in the middle of all and they take care of the village

I lived alone and all the men in the village had eyes on me. They don't dare to court me though and they all have respect towards me. They make sure I was fine and protected. They do all the strenuous work for me

One night later, I decided to take a walk through the forest and into the lake that sparkles under the full moon. I usually go here during full moon and sit on a dead log to admire the lake and watch the stars

When midnight has struck, I suddenly heard a loud flap of a wing and the grass rustled to my right. I saw a beautiful pale man with large bat wings. He had short black messy hair and stunning black suit. The large bat wings disappeared behind his back and he combed his hair with his right hand

He happened to land near me and he turned his head and saw me. I immediately fell in love after seeing his red eyes and he also said that he immediately fell in love with me the moment he saw me

Of course, I kept my calm and he also kept his calm. He approached me and sat next to me as we began to talk to each other

Apparently, he was a pureblooded vampire, the same race as Alucard. He was a prince and he didn't have a trace of Pureblood in him since Alucard already has the Pureblood in this timeframe. He often comes beside the lake to also admire the glimmering lake and shining stars. His name was Braham

After that, we began to meet every night and keep on talking. We developed our feeling and our relationship matured to the point that he wanted to bring me to the vampire kingdom and introduce me to the Vampire King

He wanted me to turn into a vampire but I refused and he respected my decision. Even if the kingdom became angry that he brought a human to the vampire kingdom, he'll try to convince them otherwise. If he was banished from the kingdom, he will come with me and live together

But we never got to the point where we prepare to set-up to go to the kingdom

One night, a group of three people followed me without me knowing. Apparently, they wanted to hang out with me and surprise me the moment I arrive at my usual location. But at that point, they witnessed the arrival of Braham and the way I welcomed him by reaching for his hand and hugging him from above as his large bat wings flapped in the air

One girl screamed and the other two men ran back towards village. I was stunned in place as I watched them run and saw the girl bursting into tears as she fell back on the ground

Braham approached the girl and tried to comfort her, but she ended up more scared after his wings retracted and the way he looked at her with those red eyes

After a few seconds, the girl mustered her strength to stand up and run away, tripping on her feet along the way

I then mustered the courage to follow them and explain everything to the village, but I was stopped by Braham. He urged me to allow him to come with me, but due to my stubbornness, I forced him to go home back to his kingdom so he there will be no more problems

Without hearing his answer, I ran back to the village to try and reason with them

As I arrived at the village, the witnesses has told everyone that I was meeting a monster. But I have faith that they will at least listen to me knowing them and their admiration towards me

But everything was too late, the knights of the capital has arrived at the village and heard the cries of the witnesses. The knights and the captain looked at me with angry eyes, but the villagers seemed be looking at me with disappointed but worried eyes

I was immediately apprehended by the knights and they tied my wrists and ankles as they dragged me across the dirt

The captain has announced that I was a witch and that they were tasked for conducting witch-hunts. They immediately built a stake in mere seconds in the middle of the village and tightly tied me on it

A few men of our village tried to stop the knights but they were stabbed by a spear or two on the spot, making the others lose the will to help me

The captain maid a speech, but I couldn't hear anything because my mind was being clouded with emotions

The knights then set the thatch under me on fire and the dry wood around me immediately caught on fire

I bursted in tears and my legs were already boiling. I can hear the cries of the villagers around me and the flames swirled around me, burning the oxygen disallowing me to breathe

The last thing that I remember was me screaming as my body was being charred into bones. That was my last memory

~~~

After for who knows how long, I suddenly regained consciousness. I found myself in a crypt that is surrounded by several worshipers and witches. My ankles and wrists were chained in the air and below me was some type of a blood circle

They were doing a sacrifice or some sorts and I immediately knew that they were a cult

I tried escaping but to no avail. But for some reason, the blood that dripped off of my body suddenly surged and released a red aura. The red aura swirled around me, turning the chain to rust and allowing me to hover above everyone else

I narrowed my eyes and looked at the witches in front of me. They were saying words that I couldn't understand, but the red aura around me was violently swirling around like it was trying to go into rampage

So, I tried to let the red aura loose and it attacked the worshipers and the witches. Their bodies were rendered to a pulp and their bones were shredded

After a while, I was free. I inspected my body and looked at my reflection on the puddle. I now had pale skin, silver-white hair, and red eyes. I also inspected the crypt and ruins around me, but I couldn't understand anything nor I found anything

I went out of the crypt and went through a dense forest. I spent several days and nights traversing the forest without food or water. I somehow survived without eating or drinking since I wasn't hungry nor thirsty

That was when I met the Spirit of the World as she just appeared in front of me. She didn't say anything to me and disappeared immediately

After a few minutes, that was when I met the Old Man and he took me into this mansion

~~~

"That is my story..."

Camille finished telling her story to Philip

"Did you listen to everything?"

"Of course I did..."

"So, what do you think? Did the witnesses do the right thing back then?"

"Huh? I don't care what they did, you're more important and I want to learn more about you since there are missing parts to it. It's just unfortunate that the timing that you were meeting Braham was the time witch-hunts were being conducting across the continent"

"Oh? Well, you might be right... There's no point in dwelling in the past"

"The important question is... How did your appearance change or how were you revived?"

"That's what I'm saying... If only I could know"

"Then I'll learn it from you. I want to know what happened after you were purged, why you were being used in a cult, and the source of your curse"

"Hm, I guess you have a method in doing those?"

"I do... All I have to do is touch your forehead"

"Touch my forehead?"

"May I?"

"Hm... If you learn of these things that you need to know, what will I receive after this?"

"Your hardships will end and your curse might be sealed or removed. You will also be able to freely move, unlike before, and your power will be amplified"

"Hm... Alright then, go ahead!"

Camille place the empty teacup down and closed her eyes as she presented her smooth pale forehead

Philip stood up and walked towards in front of her. He raised his right hand in the air and pointed his two fingers. He flicked his arm and swiped his fingers until it touched the center of her head

「 Are you sure you want to travel through time again? 」

'It's a must...'

「 Alright... Origin Seeker 」

White light shone from his fingers and his vision entered the kaleidoscopic hyperspace