Chapter 294: How many people around you… wish to live?

"What about him?"

Lucian asked as he pointed at Hadrian.

"Hadrian?"

Aurelia looked at Hadrian with a curious look on her face.

"I am just curious about him."

Lucian answered and his answer made Aurelia chuckle.

"He is a High Elder."

"A High Elder...?"

Lucian was surprised.

"Indeed."

Aurelia nodded with a smile.

"He is one of the Strongest Vampires present here."

Lucian kept staring at Hadrian. He had obviously done his homework before coming here, he knew First Steward wasn’t simply a servant. It was a title given to the manager of a Vampire House.

To be the First Steward of an Ancient Vampire House like Arcelis, Hadrian couldn’t possibly be weak, but still...

A High Elder.

’That just shows the strength of an Ancient House, huh.’

Lucian nodded inwardly.

A Vampire’s Strength grows with their age. When a Vampire reaches a certain age, they go through what is called a Crimson Ascension, the Ascension gives them strength and pushes them to the next Rank.

There are Eight Vampire Ranks.

The Newly Turned, these are Vampires who have yet to experience any Crimson Ascension.

At the age of Fifty, when a Vampire goes through their First Crimson Ascension, they become—

Bloodling.

At the Age of One Hundred, when a Vampire goes through their Second Crimson Ascension, they become—

Fullblood.

The Third Crimson Ascension, at the Age of One Fifty, makes them a Redborn.

The Fourth Crimson Ascension, at the Age of Two Hundred, makes them an Elder Vampire.

The Fifth Crimson Ascension, at the Age of Five Hundred, makes them a High Elder.

The Sixth Crimson Ascension, at the Age of Two Thousand, makes them an Ancient Vampire.

And finally, the Seventh Crimson Ascension, at the Age of Five Thousand—

That gives birth to a Blood Lord.

So if Hadrian was a High Elder, that would mean he was anywhere between five hundred and two thousand years old.

And... while it may sound like a normal number, when one truly thought about it all, it was... fascinating.

This man... he had watched whole civilisations rise in glory and then fall into dust, all with his own eyes.

Empires that once ruled the known world fell apart while he stood still. He saw the First World War that tore countries apart, then the Second World War that caused even more destruction.

He saw the world build and use nuclear weapons for the first and hopefully the only time. He saw the cities he once knew disappear, vanishing under new buildings. New machines appeared that changed how people lived and fought.

People Lucian thought of as legends, people he only read about in books, he actually had the chance to meet them.

And of course, Lucian knew that Hadrian did not think like he did, Hadrian was an immortal, thoughts like Lucian’s were most likely insignificant to him, yet...

As Lucian thought about how he shook hands with a man who watched history he only read about with his own eyes and the fact that the place he was standing in right now probably had more than a few such men...

He couldn’t help but feel... overwhelmed.

The fact that he truly was standing together with Immortals and the meaning of the word immortality was... finally sinking into him.

"A High Elder, huh."

Lucian muttered softly.

"If he wanted to... he could have wiped out me and the other Enclave representatives within a matter of minutes, couldn’t he?"

Aurelia chuckled at those words.

"You overestimate your group."

That made Lucian turn towards her and Aurelia smiled.

"He is not an ordinary High Elder, he is a High Elder with Arcelis Blood. If he wanted you and your group to disappear, it wouldn’t take him more than a few seconds."

Lucian frowned at those words, unconsciously, his eyes moved towards Garrick. His mind began to wonder whether what Aurelia was saying would actually happen.

Sure, a High Elder was strong, but Garrick Vale was one of the Strongest Hunters in the Enclave.

He should be able to put up some fight, should he not?

And as if Aurelia knew what he was thinking—

"As I said, Humans rely on Artifacts. So yes, if he had time to prepare, Garrick Vale would be able to last a few minutes, but without that time—"

Aurelia took a small pause, staring at Garrick.

"He wouldn’t even be able to activate his defensive artifacts before Hadrian returned with his head."

"You truly underestimate Humans, don’t you?"

Lucian commented as he stared at her.

This was what the two of them had been doing for a while now, tucked into a private corner where no one would bother them and talking to each other, comparing different people’s strength.

For Lucian, it was far more interesting than the other conversations he had eavesdropped on before, it was like looking at things around him from an entirely different perspective.

A perspective that gave him a far deeper look into the Supernatural World.

"I am not underestimating your lot."

Aurelia shook her head.

"If anything, I am impressed by you humans."

"Oh?"

Lucian tilted his head.

"Of all Supernatural Entities, you grow the fastest. Your people have the strongest potential, and I am not talking about an exception like you."

Aurelia praised openly.

Then, she pointed at Garrick again and—

"Take him for example.

He should be in his late eighties now, maybe early nineties, yet if he faces a hundred-year-old Vampire or even a two-hundred-year-old Vampire—

Nine times out of ten, he would win.

He has the power to defeat a being twice as old as him."

"That may be impressive considering Vampire standards, but we humans do not get stronger with age."

Lucian shook his head.

"Directorate Garrick won’t live for another hundred years."

He spoke, looking at Garrick as well.

"The current him is probably the strongest he will ever be, he might even be weaker than he was in his prime.

Unlike Vampires, he cannot continuously grow stronger.

It is just... unfair."

Lucian muttered as he turned back towards Aurelia.

Just thinking about it made him envious.

He had seen hunters train, sure, they may not subject themselves to his teacher’s methods, but Lucian had seen them work hard. He had seen them sweat or even bleed as they trained and yet...

The results they got were... disappointing.

Most hunters, even after they trained with everything they had, only ended up with... disappointing results.

And Vampires...?

They got stronger just by existing.

"Unfair, huh."

Aurelia smiled at the word he used.

"You think we Vampires have it better, don’t you?"

"Do you not?"

Lucian questioned back.

Aurelia stared at him for a good few seconds, then, she laughed out loud.

"I was told you were quite obsessed with demons, it seems that is true."

"What does that mean?"

"It means you haven’t studied us properly."

"Are you denying that you have it easy?"

Lucian raised an eyebrow and Aurelia—

"Tell me this, if we had it as easy as you think, then by the nature of the world, shouldn’t we have taken over the world by now?"

That question made Lucian pause for a moment.

Honestly, Aurelia was right. He had not studied Vampires or any other race in detail, he had only learned the basics, things every person in the Supernatural World should know.

Other than that, all his focus remained on getting stronger or learning about demons.

So when Aurelia asked why the Vampires hadn’t taken over the world already, he didn’t really have a proper answer.

"Maybe it’s the humans who have it difficult."

He wondered out loud.

"Maybe it’s the other races stopping you from taking over."

"That is not true."

Aurelia shook her head.

"I can assure you.

There are Vampires no supernatural being in this world can defeat and there is more than one."

She declared confidently and Lucian’s face changed.

He had read about those beings.

Everyone had.

Beings even stronger than the Blood King.

"Originals."

"Progenitors, yes."

Aurelia nodded.

"They exist...?"

Lucian couldn’t help but ask.

From what he had read, Progenitors were... a myth.

Aurelia laughed at his question.

"You always do come across someone who would ask such a question directly."

The existence of Vampire Progenitors was a matter of secrecy, every active supernatural force wanted to know the truth, definitive proof of whether these beings existed or not. After all, history had no recorded mentions of their appearance.

So of course, a question regarding their existence was often asked more... carefully.

"Why bother circling around? It wastes time."

Lucian just shrugged.

"How would you know I am telling the truth?"

Aurelia asked with a curious look on her face and Lucian—

"I’ll take your word for it."

He answered in the simplest way possible.

"That’s an awful lot of trust."

"You did say you have no reason to lie to me."

The two smiled at each other. Then, after about three seconds—

"They exist."

Aurelia nodded.

"And no supernatural being can defeat them?"

"No Supernatural being of this World can."

"And you still say you Vampires don’t have it easy?"

Lucian raised an eyebrow and Aurelia—

"Yes, I still say that."

The emotion in her eyes became a little heavier.

Then, she asked a strange question.

"How many people around you... wish to live?"