Volume 9 Endless Days, The End NO.1: Desire (2/2)

However, after he had repeatedly voiced his commitment, I had begun to embrace that hope, that perhaps the relationship between the family, him, and myself could be as it had been when Sadina was still in this world. Even when I did not return to the family, I knew I still had that bond. It was not at the point where I had nothing to keep me afloat, where I had no space that belonged to me despite the vast, wide world.

I had once wondered if it had been because this small sense of belonging was missing that X was so embittered, unable to assimilate into this world in any way.

If I lost the Elysees family, would I be like X and not hold any longing toward this world?

No, no, not “if,” I have already lost the Elysees and I have just not been able to accept it. Curtis did just turn around and leave, even abandoning me with the Sun Emperor…

I can promise you that, as long as you are still alive, I will protect you to the end, even if it requires the strength of the entire family!

No! Curtis had no need to protect me yet still made such a promise. I do not believe he would say anything he was unwilling to do. When he made that promise, he undoubtedly wanted to carry it out. However, the Sun Emperor may have made a massive threat that gave him no other option but to abandon me?

You should never feel threatened by the Sun Emperor. The Elysees do not fear him. Moreover, you are our family head, so you should not need to be afraid of anything!

“If he was not threatened by the Sun Emperor, then why abandon me… Or did you not do that at all?”

I began to think back to the whole sequence of events. Curtis had left the red bowtie troops to me, which had included quite a number of “Extraordinaries.” This was evidently the Elysees family’s secret weapon. If he had wanted to give up on me in the end, he certainly would not have dispatched these troops and meaninglessly exposed the family’s strength.

Over the phone, he had constantly hinted about being controlled by the Sun Emperor, which also proved that Curtis had no intention of abandoning me then either. After Dong Fang Lei and I arrived at the hotel, the red bowtie troops revealed the true face of the Extraordinaries and blocked off Father Yue and Alex while I went looking for Curtis and the Sun Emperor…

I pondered back and forth, unaware of how much time passed. As before, I did not feel any sleepiness, only an increasingly powerful sense of hunger.

At this moment, the door was suddenly opened a crack and a tray was pushed in with several bags of red liquid. Before any thought could come to mind, I had already raced forward to bite through the bags and drink the blood in my extreme thirst.

It got more difficult to think in the following days. I was very hungry, extremely hungry. The blood that was delivered periodically was not enough to satisfy a vampire, only enough for maintaining 70% fullness or so. The Church clearly did not want a vampire to have too much vitality.

However, ever since I drank the medicine Lieder sent, I had not needed to sleep and had in turn needed a significant amount more blood. This current amount was not enough to even keep me half full.

I was getting hungrier.

Although I was a pureborn vampire, I rarely felt thirsty for blood because my honorable father always took care of his child well. My honorable father might have even known better than a vampire what the necessary amount of blood for a vampire was; he would never be even a drop short.

This was the first time I had ever felt a such an obvious desire for blood.

I need blood.

Time passed slower and slower. Now, the only means to determine time was to rely on the number of times the blood was delivered, though I did not know if they had extended the timing or not. It may have simply been a misconception from my starvation, but the interval between each time felt like it was stretching longer.

It also started feeling colder despite the fact that I rarely felt the cold. Usually, I always felt hot. The moment I saw sunlight, my body would turn into a stove and heat until my blood was about to boil.

Currently, time had almost frozen like ice. As it slowed down further, each minute and each second were distinct. I had an incomparable desire to lose consciousness for just a single second, or even have my consciousness blur a bit. Yet I remained so clear-minded that it was impossible to suffer a single lapse in concentration. I knew something better than anything else…

“I need more blood!”

When a crack was opened once again, I had already holed up next to the door to frantically shout this. Yet I did not receive any response. After waiting in torture for a while, the delivered blood was still the same amount.

I was beyond thirsty as I drank the blood, the sense of satisfaction vanishing in a flash. The amount in the blood bag was honestly too little. It felt as if I drained it in a single sip, the blood disappearing instantly only for an intense lack of contentment to surge forth. I desperately squeezed the bag, but only a few drops of blood landed by my lips. I licked them again and again until there was nothing more to taste, though I still could not resist continuing to lick my lips and the inside of the blood bag.

I need blood…

Need blood…

Blood…

The door opened slightly again. I swiftly reached out to grab the other party’s hand and pulled the entire arm through the crack. The screams sounded so beautiful. Even with the skin as a barrier, I could smell the concentrated fragrance of blood with a hint of rust that was so intoxicating. I bit down with my fangs, the sweet and salty blood pouring into my mouth, giving me such euphoria.

The other party was not very obedient, struggling as hard as possible to retract their hand. However, I kept a steadfast grip on the…food.

I was beyond thirsty, so my absorption was extremely quick, and was caught off guard when I was suddenly not sucking anything more. After a delayed response of extreme confusion, I took another hard suck and still could not extract anything. At this moment, I came to the sudden realization that the hand no longer felt normal. The previously thick arm was now shriveled dry.

Words instantly flashed through my mind.

Thou must not take the last drop of blood when feeding.

Could it be… Just as I was about to look down at the food in my hands, alarms began to go off loudly in my head and I hurriedly retreated with x-speed. However, I still felt a pain from my hand, as I had not escaped quickly enough and was still burned. The fingers in particular were half blackened. If I had been just the slightest bit slower, I might have lost my fingers entirely.

After finally drinking my fill, my awareness had cleared significantly. I looked up to see the energy net that had appeared before. An abnormally pale arm remained in the crack of the door, completely motionless.

Did I drain all of this human’s blood? Will I die as a result, or will nothing occur? Is there a root to the prohibition of not drinking the last drop of blood, or is it just a rumor so that vampires do not suck humans dry?

Despite all this, I currently did not feel anything wrong. I even felt very good because that unbearable thirst that had practically driven me insane had vanished. Now, my body was filled with energy and my consciousness was very clear, to the point where I understood that I was…a vampire.

In that moment when I had been starved to an extreme point, I had not been able to sense anything except for sustenance, just like a starving beast that wanted to tear the head off from its prey and happily enjoy the flesh.

If the owner of that arm just now had been the young master, had been Curtis, would I have been bitten it?

This was the first time I felt glad that my honorable father and Sadina were no longer in this world.

The door opened and Sin’s fury hit me full force, despite the energy net in between us. A dead body fell down next to his feet, abnormally shriveled and pale.

“Non-humans should all die!” His eyes were spitting out waves of hatred.

I remained silent and did not voice any retort.

Some other people wearing lab coats appeared behind Sin. They appeared to be either doctors or research-type scholars. They were either standing or squatting down next to the corpse, their expressions filled with amazement and excitement as they occasionally looked up at me. Their gazes of eager excitement at the corpse immediately made me loathe them more than Sin.

“Unfathomable!” The lab coats animatedly discussed with each other, “He actually drained a human dry? My god, this is worthy of examination. Bring him into the laboratory.”

Sin’s expression changed as he twisted his head around and shouted angrily, “He is absolutely not allowed to leave here!”

“We must study him.” The scholars in lab coats showed no fear of his wrath and patiently explained, “He drank all the blood of an adult male. No vampire should be able to drink this much blood. They don’t have the ability to transform this much blood.”

Transform? I could not comprehend their words but silently continued to listen. These people from the Church have hunted non-humans for so long, especially the vampires whom they detest. It was possible that they understood vampires more than vampires themselves.

Sin remained furious, but these people’s following words made him freeze amidst his anger.

“He is unlike other vampires and is unique like E.X. They might have a common point or even a shared weakness. We can find it.”

X does not have any common points with me. I just drank the medicine from Lieder that mysteriously made it impossible for me to sleep or faint, requiring me to need a large amount of blood. Up until now, the disadvantages have outweighed the advantages. I honestly regret drinking that medicine.

Sin looked at me with conflicting emotions before turning to ask the scholars doubtfully, “Are you certain he has a connection to E.X.?”

“It isn’t certain,” a scholar candidly replied. He hurriedly added, “But he is definitely not normal. An adult male’s blood volume is over 5000 milliliters, and he should have stopped after drinking half due to an inability to transform more. Especially for a vampire that is only just over 150 years old, drinking 5000 milliliters of blood would be absolutely fatal!”

Sin was quiet for a while, and my own mood grew more complicated. Being able to leave this prison was naturally good, but turning from a prisoner into an experiment sounded even worse… No, regardless of the situation, it’s better than remaining powerless while locked inside this room.

Perhaps the experiments themselves would be unbearable, but the thirst I experienced over the past few days made me understand that there was no torture that was more frightening than endless hunger. Going to the laboratory was a change in pace. At least, there would be people coming and going there. I may have a chance to find a way to escape.

Upon thinking this through, I calmly watched Sin furrow his brows and somewhat reluctantly agree to these lab coats’ suggestion. He gestured toward some direction, and an entire row of pastors dressed in the Sin Elimination Committee’s garb walked in.

They were all fully armed and faced me vigilantly, bounding me with chains. These were not the chains used in the past, but instead were completely silver. They appeared to be very advanced technology, as they were rather heavy despite not being bulky. I did not know what they were made of, but I was certain they had silver components.

The instant I exerted any strength, an electric current raced through, the numbing pain making me twitch uncontrollably. I had to tightly clench my teeth in order not to let out a shout. As expected, these truly were not simple chains. I could not even see where the keyhole was. Considering that any pressure would invoke electricity, it appeared that forcibly breaking out was impossible. Even though this was to be expected, I still felt some disappointment.

Sin coldly chuckled but did not say anything. He really spoke very little, basically never talking unless it was necessary.

As I exited the prison, I put on an act of curiosity to examine the surroundings. My head had been covered when I had come here, and by the time the covering had been removed, I had already been in the room.

Outside the prison was a bright white corridor. Entirely contrary to my expectations, this place was more like a research center rather than the Sin Elimination Committee. The walls were a glowing pure white, and multiple instruments with simple designs that did not have obvious functions were placed around the area. The surroundings gave a strong scientific atmosphere, similar to the science-fiction films I had seen in the past.

I was slightly uneasy, as science and technology had never been a vampire’s specialty. In addition, there was not a single window in the vicinity. Even if my hands were not chained, I would only be able to run down the hallway and attempt to find an exit. Though, according to films, these corridors might have a bunch of sluice gates fall down at any point in time to block the path. Then, I would still be captured and locked in a cage.

In the beginning, there had not been any people in the hallway. Only after we had turned a few corners did people gradually appear. These figures wore different-colored robes, though most were white. The white robes were similar to doctor coats, so I guessed they were probably doctors or scholars.

Then there were the black priest robes. These people were easy to identify; they were the priests of the Sin Elimination Committee, the type responsible for capturing non-humans. Most of them were in groups of two or three escorting a handcuffed criminal. I believed these criminals were all non-humans, though I could not discern the difference races. The only thing I was certain of was that there were no vampires.

The handful of criminals all had fallen expressions, evidently feeling there was no way to survive, which was the likely reality. I had heard before that eighty to ninety percent of non-humans captured by the Sin Elimination Committee never came out again. Now that I had seen this lab-like Sin Elimination Committee, perhaps being killed on the spot was better than being seized here. I did not think they would be imprisoned here. Being experimented on is more likely.

One of the people shot me a particular look. Or rather than a person, it was a wolfman. This type of non-human’s appearance was not much different from that of a stray dog. They typically pretended to be stray dogs as well, though they were undoubtedly non-humans more proficient in standing upright on two legs rather than with four limbs on the ground like a dog.

Yet this one looked more like a wolf than a dog. The fur that covered its body glowed black, and its figure stood practically at the height of an adult. Wolfmen this outstanding were truly a rare sight, very similar to a werewolf. I subconsciously glanced at him multiple times, instead drawing him into baring his teeth. However, he was immediately pulled back and began twitching as the priest behind him firmly tugged on his chains.

This surprised me somewhat. Wolfmen were a race that did not make offenses against humans if the reverse was also true. There were very few wolfmen that were this violent. Perhaps it was in a poor mood because it knew it would not live long?

Sin unhappily looked at the priests escorting it. After straightening their backs upright, they immediately yanked the wolfman back to one side to clear a path. No one spoke. The people standing on the side only secretly shot glances at me, though they concealed it well. There was no doubt that management here was very harsh.

“What crime did he commit?” Sin frowned at the single wolfman and said, “Wolfmen aren’t a belligerent race.”

A pastor came forward and explained, “He was searching to kill a human, seemingly seeking revenge. The opposite party had previously killed the human that had taken him in.”

“He killed the human?”

“No, the opponent’s firepower was too great, and he did not have the chance.”

“Firepower was too great?”

The pastor lowered his voice to reply, “It was a weapons merchant that had dealings with us. He was the one who reported this case.”

Sin furrowed his brows. “Investigate this entire matter thoroughly. If you cannot reach a clear conclusion, then just kill it.”

As soon as he said this, the priest seemed slightly shocked, although I was not certain if the shock was due to Sin not killing the wolfman immediately, or if it was due to the command to kill it if the investigation yielded an unclear conclusion. After all, the wolfman had not killed anyone; he was also not from a race that the Church would want to eliminate at first sight like vampires.

“For the interim, do not bring too many non-humans back, especially those that are highly dangerous or have unclear origins. It’s best to just kill them on the spot.”

“Yessir!”

Sin turned to glare angrily at me. “I won’t give you any chance to escape!”

I started, then smiled bitterly. What a needless warning. I had no idea where the chance to flee would be. The surroundings were well fortified, the personnel adopting a cautious attitude. If no mishap occurred, there was no possibility of being able to run away by myself.

While it was certain that X would arrive, and he was very powerful, he was also powerless against an entire organization. X bursting in to face against Avexila’s clan alone might not have yielded good results if the young master had not found so many people at the time, let alone facing an organization as enormous as the Church.

Aside from X, did I have anyone else I could rely on?

Young Master…

Curtis…

“Don’t think you can flee!”

I raised my head to look at Sin, whose striking resemblance to Father Alex reminded me: Perhaps I was not as alone as I imagined.

Even in a world without justice, could I still look upwards and gaze at the sky with hope?