Chapter 633

Su-ho’s eyes widened when he saw the notification.

Right, now that I think about it, there was one more authority, wasn’t there?

Levan de Nosferatu was Vampire Blood’s fourth authority.

And the fifth authority, the final authority, still remained.

The system notifications continued. 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

[ ① Reach Level 400. ]

[ ② Fulfill Power’s Price’s third condition. ]

[ Vampire Blood’s fifth authority is unlocked. ]

[ Imperial Blood has been opened. ]

Imperial Blood.

That was the end of the notification.

What is it?

Compared to when the other authorities had been released, the result was extremely plain.

He immediately checked Vampire Blood’s information.

[ Vampire Blood ]

Grade: S+# The bloodline of Levan de Nosferatu, one of the High Bloods among the Royal Vampirs, Original Vampirs called the nobles of the night.

# Lv.1 - Royal Blood: Original Vampir(S)

# Lv.2 - True Blood: True Power(S)

# Lv.3 - Holy Blood: Blessing of the Moon(S)

# Lv.4 - Levan de Nosferatu: High Blood(S), Power’s Price(S)

# Lv.5 – Imperial Blood.

Even in the system information, all it said was Imperial Blood.

After narrowing his eyes, Su-ho touched the bolded words Imperial Blood.

At that instant, darkness surged outward from beneath Su-ho’s feet, and the world began turning pitch-black in every direction.

Su-ho stood still and watched the change.

He felt no hostility.

So, for now, he stayed still.

The world had become dark even beneath his feet.

It felt as if he were standing in a starless universe.

However, the darkness did not last long.

Soon, a single white dot appeared in the sky, and a pure-white path reminiscent of Middle Town formed beneath his feet.

At the end of the white path was a white, round floor. When he headed there, an existence that had definitely not been visible before he arrived was sitting at a white table and white chair, waiting for Su-ho.

He was a pale, handsome man with long black hair neatly swept back.

His eyes were red like Edersen’s and the other vampires’, and on the white table sat a tea set made of white porcelain.

As he poured a red liquid into a white teacup, he said,

"Come sit here."

His voice was elegant and calm.

At his invitation, Su-ho obediently went over and sat down.

The red tea he poured was quite clear and transparent despite its red color, enough that Su-ho’s face was reflected in it.

Sip—

The man who had invited Su-ho drank his tea without a word.

Su-ho also quietly looked at the man, then drank the tea.

The tea had a taste he had never experienced in his life, but it was not bad.

Since its color was red, he had thought it might be blood, but it was not blood.

It simply tasted like ordinary tea.

He did not suspect poison had been put in the tea either.

Because he felt no hostility.

So he simply asked what he wanted to ask.

"Are you perhaps the First Blood?"

He did not know why, but he simply felt that might be the case, so he asked.

Because judging by the timing, it seemed about time for an existence above High Bloods to appear.

At Su-ho’s question, the man gave a faint laugh.

"Why do you think so?"

"Just intuition."

"You have good intuition."

"That means I’m right."

"You are. I am one of the primordial vampires, and the one called the First Blood, whom they revered without end."

Sip—

He spoke as if revealing a not particularly important fact, then sipped his tea again.

Su-ho nodded.

"I see. Then why did you call me here?"

"Procedure is procedure, but I called you because I wanted to see you. Among Players, you were the first to reach the stage of Imperial Blood."

That was an unexpected fact.

In any case, whether it was because Su-ho had now reached that grade or because of the First Blood’s attitude, he did not feel any particular sense of mystery even when looking at the First Blood before him.

It simply felt like he was going through an administrative procedure.

The First Blood set down his teacup and said,

"In any case, congratulations. Since this is the last one, I deliberately invited you because I wanted to talk with you a little."

"What would you like to talk about?"

"To be honest, there is not much I desperately want to tell you. I was simply curious. Curious about what kind of Player had obtained Imperial Blood. But this is quite unexpected. If someone came here, I thought that Player would also be a vampire, but I never expected a human Player from some insignificant world without even a guardian god to obtain Imperial Blood."

He was not mocking him or looking down on him.

He was sincere.

So Su-ho simply answered too.

"Is that so?"

"It is. In that sense, I truly do not know what Overment is intending. Naturally, if they gave out Imperial Blood, I thought a vampire Player would come."

He naturally mentioned Overment, the System’s true name.

Thanks to that, the flow of conversation was decided.

"Do you know a lot about Overment?"

"Not a lot. Just enough? If you are curious what Overment is, simply think of it comfortably as a godlike existence. No, from our perspective, is it a god? If an existence with absolute power is called a god, then it is a god. The High Bloods treated me like a god, but in truth, I am neither a god nor anything of the sort. I am merely a vampire who happened to be born a little earlier than the rest. So how laughable must I have looked from Overment’s perspective? When a truly godlike existence existed separately."

A godlike existence.

In truth, when examined closely, that was correct.

From the beginning, gods themselves were beings with absolute control, including immortality, and even the beings humans commonly called gods were nothing more than toys before Overment.

Su-ho asked,

"What should I call you?"

"Call me whatever is comfortable. And there is no need to speak respectfully to me either."

"Still, you are the source from which I gained this power, so I should show at least minimal courtesy."

"Do as you like. Call me whatever you want too."

"Then I’ll just call you sir."

"As you wish. Do you have anything else you are curious about?"

"A few things."

"Ask comfortably."

"Then, if I may ask in no particular order......."

Su-ho narrowed his eyes for a moment, then asked what he personally wanted to know the most first.

"You know who Alucard is, don’t you?"

"I do. He was the one who took it upon himself to call himself my messenger or representative."

"Was he really your representative?"

At that, the First Blood gave a faint laugh.

"Do you want to ask about the prophecy?"

"Yes."

"I do not do such bothersome things. Sitting here quietly and waiting for the inheritor of Imperial Blood is the entirety of what I do."

"Then......."

"That is how power works. For a minority to control the majority, such things are necessary. It makes control easier."

The prophecy about Levan.

It meant it had been a lie.

When Su-ho let out a hollow laugh, the First Blood also gave a faint laugh.

"That fellow will be beaten terribly when you return, I suppose."

"I’m still thinking about what to do with him."

"Simply erase him. That is easier."

"Understood. Then next......."

This time, Su-ho filled the First Blood’s empty cup and asked,

"Were you also a Player, sir?"

"Why do you think so?"

"I’m simply asking. Noctarion probably did not belong to Overment from the beginning."

"It did not. But they invaded, and we fought at first too."

"When you say we......?"

"The primordial vampires. I suppose I should call them the First Bloods? But they all died, and only I remained. To be precise, I was left behind."

He continued explaining as if it were nothing important.

"The reason we fought Overment at first was not for some grand reason like protecting the world. One day, some beings suddenly appeared and demanded submission out of nowhere. How many existences would accept that? So we followed our instincts and fought like beasts, but we were no match at all. Then somehow, I alone was left behind, and that is why I continued living. They said they needed a worker to use."

It was a very System-like reason.

In any case, in order to use Noctarion as its toy, it would have needed all kinds of operational devices.

"At first, I refused. I told them to just kill me instead. But Overment took my blood on its own, created Royal Vampirs, and began building various parts of the world. It was not even funny. Then it locked me in a world like this, made me be treated as a godlike existence, and assigned me a duty. If someone with Imperial Blood appeared someday, I was to invite them appropriately and keep them company."

As he spoke, the area around his eyes trembled faintly for an instant.

"It is truly powerless. When you ask whether I was a Player, you must be wanting to ask whether I am a guardian god or a Demi-Constellation or something like that, yes? I am sorry, but I have no interest in such things, nor do I want to know. I never tried to learn either. So I do not know what I am. I am simply trapped here like Overment’s doll. If a Player who has mastered Imperial Blood appears someday, I give them a little power and information about it. Huuuu......."

He took a deep breath.

Then he lifted the cup Su-ho had filled.

"This place is a prison. But I can do anything I want here. Yet what does that matter? When I know everything is an illusion. I do not even get angry anymore. To be precise, I suppose you could say I have reached detachment. Now then, is that enough of an answer?"

"......."

It was a deeper and darker story than expected.

He spoke as if it were nothing important, but in truth, he was a sick and hollow person whose insides had all been destroyed.

Su-ho could understand.

When there was nothing he could do no matter what he wanted to do, what hope could anyone have here?

The First Blood said,

"Still, it is not as though there is no end at all. Overment told me this. If a Player with Imperial Blood wins an indie game someday, then it will give me freedom."

"They set that condition?"

"It is the only condition for my release. But even so, I have no intention of asking you to win the indie game."

"Why not?"

"Hope is like that. If you live without it, then because it was never there from the beginning, you do not think much of it. But once you begin to have it, you cling to it and obsess over it, and in the end it tightens around your throat. That is why I said not that there is no hope, but that there is no end."

"......."

A brief silence passed between them.

The First Blood also drank his tea.

After a period of silence, Su-ho said,

"I’ll avenge you."