For a moment, Phaga felt dazed, staring blankly at the white-robed elder before him.
He couldn't understand why the vampire faction was treating him like this.
A kindly smile?
A considerate invitation?
No, no, no… I came here to kill vampires. Shouldn't you be screaming and trying to tear me apart the moment I walked in?
Unless…
A possibility flashed through Phaga's mind. His expression instantly turned guarded. His body tensed as his probing gaze swept back and forth across the dim conference room, determined not to miss a single corner.
Soon, his eyes narrowed and his lids lowered slightly.
There was something here.
More precisely—bombs, arranged with clear regularity throughout the room.
But…
Phaga frowned.
Bombs at this level? They might be enough to demolish a building, but kill me?
And weren't these people afraid of killing themselves in the process?
You're all standing in this room too.
"Don't be nervous, child. Everyone here held you when you were young. What elder would harm their own junior?"
The white-robed elder chuckled softly, clearly amused. To him, Phaga's guarded posture looked almost endearing.
"My name is Bai. Bai Kunmutu. The younger ones in the clan call me Elder Bai."
"Would you like to hear me tell you a story?"
"I don't."
Phaga's reply was blunt.
The tension in his brows eased slightly. His right hand closed in midair, and a flame burst from his palm, quickly shaping itself into a blade.
He raised it.
"Kidnapping you and ordering all half-blood vampire soldiers to surrender would be far more efficient."
"Every second on the battlefield costs lives. I don't have time to indulge you."
With that, Phaga slashed.
A purple-red blade light ripped forward, fanged and vicious, overturning toward the conference table as it tore straight for Elder Bai.
In Phaga's mind, this was a test.
If the old man had something prepared, this strike would force it out.
If he didn't, then the blade would take an arm.
That much wouldn't kill a vampire.
His life still had value.
But what Phaga hadn't expected was that, just before the blade light struck, a withered, skeletal elder suddenly stood up.
He braced himself with both hands, his face contorted. Veins bulged from his dry, shriveled arms as he forced his frail body upright.
At the final critical moment, he placed himself squarely in front of Elder Bai.
The blade light slammed into him.
Boom!
The slash dissipated. The small flames boiling in the air were instantly snuffed out.
The emaciated elder was sent flying, crashing into the massive electronic screen at the far end of the room before finally stopping.
Screech—thud!
The screen collapsed, pinning his body beneath it.
"Sigh… so be it. The shroud may be a bit stiff, but compared to those children who died far from home, at least you, old friend, are closer to the glory of the True Ancestor."
Elder Bai sighed and shook his head, turning back calmly.
"Since my old friend has paid the admission price with his life, child, would you be willing to hear me finish the story?"
"I said I don't want to hear it!"
Phaga slashed again.
Another blade light shot out.
Another elder stood up and placed himself in front of Elder Bai.
Elder Bai didn't even glance at Phaga.
Even as a corpse flew past him, his voice never wavered.
"Truthfully, vampires aren't all that different from humans, or even from what people broadly call Thirens. We're simply born stronger—and more restricted."
Thud!
A body slammed into the wall, bounced, struck the massive screen, and slid back down.
"But strength and limitation both have their virtues. Our genes made us powerful, so we hardened faster in the calamity. Our genes denied us the sun, so we learned unity earlier in the long nights."
"We are one of the few civilizations that were never forcibly absorbed into human civilization, Phaga!"
For the first time, Elder Bai called him by name.
Not child.
"What does that have to do with me?" Phaga shot back coldly. "I didn't grow up among vampires."
He showed no appreciation at all. His grip on the blade tightened.
If Mrs. Merlin had ever told Phaga how his parents died, he wouldn't be standing here this calmly now.
He took a step forward.
At once, the remaining elders stood up in unison. Light flared in each of their hands, and shimmering barriers spread outward from their bodies, stopping Phaga in his tracks.
He slashed once more.
The barrier held.
"Of course it concerns you, child. You carry vampire blood—far purer than ours."
"But you and I have chosen different paths. Differences in values need not be forced into harmony."
Elder Bai shook his head, his gaze drifting as if pulled back into the past.
"Child, do you know the Oni?"
"You should. You've met one of their children—Soukaku, the younger sister of the Oni clan's last chief."
"They were weak. Humans wiped them out with ease. An independent civilization, erased overnight. The remaining Oni survivors adapted to human society… and forgot the glory they once had."
"From that day on, my resolve only grew stronger."
"One day, when resentment between humans and vampires reaches its limit, there will be a war to the death between our two civilizations."
"And I will pay any price to ensure that vampire civilization endures."
"Long live the vampire faction!"
Elder Bai suddenly threw his arms wide, his eyes blazing with fanatic fervor.
Phaga froze.
His pupils trembled.
In that moment, he understood.
The vampire faction had never regretted starting this war.
They had never valued human life.
This wasn't about survival or misunderstanding.
It was a clash of civilizations.
An ideological war.
Human lives?
They were the least important part.
The so-called symbiotic path—represented by himself and Mrs. Merlin—was nothing more than the faction's misplaced tenderness.
The pureblood vampires were the ones meant to fight.
The half-bloods were given a retreat.
"…There might be another way," Phaga said at last, his voice hoarse after a long silence.
"Divide territory. Form an alliance. Let humans and vampires jointly elect leadership—"
"It's not that simple."
Elder Bai raised a hand, cutting him off.
"Too much blood has already been spilled. Wars don't end just because someone shouts loud enough."
He suddenly tilted his head back, gazing at the ceiling. After a moment, he looked down at his watch and murmured,
"It's about time."
"Time for what?"
Phaga's heart skipped.
His eyes widened as realization hit.
The next instant, every bomb planted in the conference room glowed red-hot, releasing shrill, overlapping countdown tones.
Beep————————BOOM!
Before anyone could react, the TOPS Alliance headquarters abruptly lost an entire floor. Dust and rubble collapsed in a roaring cascade.
For a single heartbeat, the world fell silent.
Then, from a massive speaker still clinging to life, Elder Bai's final voice echoed across the ruins:
[Warriors of the vampire faction—our war has entered its final stage.]
[Let us leave humanity speechless!]
[Pureblood vampire warriors—step forward!]
[Mock the daylight!]
...