novelraw Chapter 254: The Arrogance of Vampires
Chapter 254: The Arrogance of Vampires
"Master Mentor, I'm so bored."
Anna was sprawled on the sofa, continuously stuffing food from the coffee table into her mouth.
"If you're bored, you can study magic first. Wait until I've figured out the principle of the virus."
Loren was still researching magic. Since the virus hadn't broken out on a large scale yet, Loren couldn't even tell if this was just ordinary flu or a virus truly developed by the Bloodline Rebels.
During this time, Gwen had been exploring outside. After all, Gwen was a puppet, so there was no need to worry about the virus at all. She didn't even have life; no matter how human her appearance was, it was simulated and couldn't change the fact that she was an inanimate object.
Gwen also went to take a look at that deep pit where the corpses were stored. Even though the Plague Believer researching the virus was dead, the corpses there were still continuously increasing, and their research hadn't stopped either.
To be safe, Gwen cast necromancy on all those corpses, transforming them into undead controlled by Loren.
This way, even if that pile of corpses had other uses, Loren could intervene immediately.
During this time, Loren had also been trying to find traces of Aisaco, but even Movila couldn't find him. Instead, they discovered quite a few Monster Hunters operating in the shadows. With the help of ultraviolet lamps, hunting vampires had become much easier for them.
The newspapers continuously condemned the deeds of these Monster Hunters. Their actions were completely beneficial and harmless to the ordinary people of the Uridia Kingdom, yet in the newspapers, they became the culprits causing the suffering of the Uridian people.In the end, even the authorities directly stepped in, intending to deal with the Monster Hunters. But being a Monster Hunter was just a profession; they were no different from ordinary people. They wore night clothes and carried crossbows, so you could recognize them as Monster Hunters. But if they wore maid outfits, who could recognize them? Ofemia's gathering had previously been ambushed by Monster Hunters using this method.
So the authorities' intervention was useless; they simply couldn't find the Monster Hunters.
Of course, the authorities could also start by investigating who had been persecuted by vampires, who hated vampires, to find the Monster Hunters. But searching throughout the entire Uridia Kingdom, you could hardly find anyone who hadn't been harmed by vampires.
"Master, Ofemia is here to see you."
"Good, perfect timing for me to show off a bit."
Hearing Movila's reminder, Loren also closed the Magic Book in his hand and called for Mirrorheart:
"Mirrorheart, go stand at the door for a while. When Ofemia arrives, tell her I knew she was coming soon."
"Yes, Master."
With an outsider coming, Mirrorheart returned to that dignified and conservative demeanor, calmly responding to Loren before standing at the door.
Sure enough, not long after Mirrorheart stepped outside, Ofemia walked over.
She was still wearing a heavy mask and was alone as always. Ever since she lost her fangs, Ofemia had become much more reclusive. Even the Maid she usually always brought along had been dismissed by her; she didn't want anyone to see her appearance.
She had even started wearing sunglasses to conceal her vampire characteristics.
"Please come in. The Master knew you were coming and specifically asked me to wait here to greet you."
Ofemia's steps suddenly halted. She had long heard of Loren's reputation as a Prophet, but she didn't expect Loren could even foresee this.
"How long have you been waiting here for me?"
Mirrorheart glanced at her watch before answering:
"Thirty-two seconds."
"......"
Ofemia didn't speak, silently entering Loren's room.
"Long time no see, Ofemia."
Loren was casually sitting on the sofa, holding an apple in his hand, using Blood Moon Condensed Light to peel it. The peel came off in one complete, long strip.
Ofemia believed that even her own mastery of Blood Magic couldn't reach Loren's level. Not just her, probably no one within the entire Bloodline could achieve this level of skill.
By now, Loren had already dealt her two consecutive blows to her prestige.
After peeling the apple, Loren used Blood Moon Condensed Light again to cut the apple into pieces, accurately tossing them into Anna's mouth.
Ofemia looked at Anna, then glanced at Loren before speaking:
"Truly worthy of you, Master Mentor. You can still use Blood Magic even without the Vampire Fang."
Now it was Loren's turn to be confused. He only now realized the Vampire Fang was still in Anna's possession, yet he had just used Blood Magic.
But Loren didn't reveal his true thoughts, instead going along with Ofemia's words:
"Of course. Analyzing and mimicking the principle of the Vampire Fang isn't difficult for me."
Loren was also curious about how he had managed to use it, but since it was ultimately a good thing, he didn't pay it too much mind.
Hearing Loren's answer, Ofemia also felt a sense of relief. She was glad she had already reached a cooperation agreement with Loren; now Loren was on her side.
But Ofemia also felt a sense of wariness. Since he could do something like simulating the Vampire Fang, she believed Loren must also have a way to evade the contract, especially since this contract was drafted by Loren himself.
Her thinking wasn't wrong. If Loren wanted to, he could have completely screwed Ofemia over in the contract, but in the end, Loren only slightly tricked her.
"We followed your instructions and investigated those factories. Sure enough, we caught some Bloodline Rebels. At the same time, we confiscated quite a few weapons, including that ultraviolet lamp you mentioned."
Ofemia handed over a box containing a flashlight. Loren tried it; the light emitted from it was indeed purple.
But now, this item wasn't very useful to Loren. Loren wanted the ultraviolet lamp to study its principle and manufacturing method, in order to develop magic specifically targeting vampires.
But since Aisaco had already given Loren the blueprints for the ultraviolet lamp, this lamp had lost its significance.
"Good. Next, I'll help you research magic to counter the ultraviolet lamps, but the progress might not be too fast. After all, the principle behind this thing is quite complex."
"Understood."
After Loren had just shown off a bit, Ofemia's attitude toward him became considerably more respectful. Whatever Loren said, she agreed.
"By the way, let me warn you about something."
Loren's tone suddenly became more serious. Ofemia instantly understood the gravity of the matter:
"Please speak."
"The Bloodline Rebels are going to target ordinary people, specifically through a virus aimed at them. Be extra vigilant."
Hearing this, Ofemia actually breathed a sigh of relief:
"As long as they're not targeting the Bloodline, it's fine. We don't care about the lives of ordinary people."
Her arrogance was carved into her bones; she couldn't even be bothered to hide her thoughts in front of Loren.
True cruelty is when you don't even feel it's cruel. When she said these words, she didn't feel anything was wrong. In her view, these were truths, very ordinary things.
Vampires were supposed to oppress ordinary people. She completely didn't consider herself and humans to be on the same level.
Just like how humans feel empathy and sadness when they see cats or dogs being abused, but don't feel much when they see a nest of ants being scalded to death by boiling water. In the eyes of vampires, humans are like ants in human eyes, not even worthy of being pets.
"You're on your own."
Loren had nothing more to say. Good advice is wasted on those destined to die. Loren wasn't a Saint; he wouldn't save people looking for death. Giving a warning was already going above and beyond for him.
This was also the reason why vampires couldn't do anything about the Bloodline Rebels. They were too arrogant; even now, they didn't take the Bloodline Rebels too seriously.
Currently, among the vampire higher-ups, only Ofemia had stepped in to handle things. Among all the vampires, she was considered one of the most approachable.
"If you want to speed up the research progress, help me find some light magic. Ultraviolet lamps are related to light. Once I understand light magic, the research will be easier."
Loren decided to prioritize researching magic to counter vampires over dealing with the Bloodline Rebels. Even if they really were planning something, Loren could simply leave.
Everything was brought upon the vampires by themselves.