Chapter 210: The One Who Betrayed
James scratched his head as he fell to the ground exhausted, his clothes were soaked in blood, he had taken off every one of them and put on other clothes that he had taken out of his inventory.
He was breathing heavily, his body was exhausted, he had suffered a serious blow, and even if he had already recovered, the shock of the pain was still there.
[The first test of Kutlu has been passed with flying colours!
The items dropped from the Mimic Chests were calculated as "Mysterious Jewellery Box(Godly)x4, Moonstone(Godly)x4, Spirit Essence(Godly)x4" respectively].
James smiled as he read the system notification that appeared in front of him and realised that he was already reaping the rewards of all his hard work, which was very good news.
With that, he took out a few rice balls and a bottle of water from his inventory, consumed them and then left the first room behind.
It was a room-type dungeon, and the fact that the dungeon was not cleared meant that James had two more chances. Either he would reach the boss monster's room or he would have to clear another room.
"Pick one without thinking James, thinking won't change anything anyway, you have a 50 per cent chance."
With Emily's gentle voice echoing in his mind James thought he had heard right, after only a few seconds of waiting he made his way to the large doors in the centre, pushed them open and stepped inside. What he saw in front of him was a more expected presence.
"Huh...a vampire," James suddenly said.
In the centre of the poorly lit room, a personality with jet-black hair and crimson eyes was waiting in a very dignified manner.
When James looked at this man, he saw that he was shining and watched his eyes as if he was dazzled. The vampire himself glowed with a golden colour, just like when he was choosing cards or seeing the paths on the first floor.
"His body is Legendary-Grade? What the hell?" James said to himself, and with that, the vampire's voice was heard:
"Almost 13 million years...That's how long it's been. Almost 13 million years since I was locked up here by him...almost 13 million years since I was placed under the Kutlu's care..."
With these words of the vampire, it was clearly stated that a person who knew Kutlu himself was involved in this business.
"I am weakened...The fact that I have never drunk blood and never tasted the sun has weakened me. I am a Sun Vampire, divinity itself, I belong to the highest race of vampires, but he destroyed everything..."
The vampire suddenly shouted and James covered his ears at the enormous volume. The decibel level was so high that James had to deal with the severe pain in his head.
"You. Introduce yourself to me. Let me know who I will face in the battle of life and death." the vampire added to his own words, and James, hearing this, pulled himself together and spoke:
"Nice to meet you, my name is James. James Arthur Black."
When James uttered these words and stated his name, the surprise on the vampire's face was obvious, he seemed to be touched.
"Same last name...I don't even know when the last time I fought him was, when was the last time I hugged him, when was the last time I heard him call me friend." the vampire blurted out and with that, it didn't take James long to realise something.
He knew that no one was watching him, and he knew that everything could be understood clearly and neatly, so he found it necessary to ask the vampire, even if he was afraid:
"I seem to know who you're talking about, master vampire."
At James' words, the vampire shook his head and nodded as if he understood what he was trying to say.
"I don't hate anymore, I gave that up 13 million years ago, it's been too long. He was going to die and I wanted to end our war before he died, I was defeated and locked in here, after 13 million years of course the only thing left in me was the desire to fight him even more. I shouldn't have betrayed him." the vampire said and with that, a great confusion fell on James.
As James knew, or rather as he thought, the Church of Night and the Sun Empire had been founded a little over two million years ago. How long ago could his ancestors have started fighting? How had a man lived so long without being immortal?
"I see the questions in your mind, after all, I am a god, one who has begun to fall, one who is not dead but who has rejected himself, who knows how much he has done wrong. You're Desmond's descendant, aren't you? I can see it, I realised it when I first felt your energy when you entered the dungeon. Not just you, there are four of you, three spirits and one flesh. I want to see all of you come out." the vampire said and with that James released the three souls stored in his ring.
Vlad, Abby and Emily looked at the vampire with great interest.
"Ah...you two must be the first bloodline, your energy is both very weak and very strong, you died as humans, unlike your father."
James and the others were surprised when the vampire uttered these words. This vampire standing in front of them officially knew Desmond personally, he was able to recognise his children at a glance, and on top of that, he was saying words that rejected Desmond's race.
"Who...who are you, master vampire?" James suddenly asked, genuinely confused.
The vampire shook his head as he heard these words and sadness showed on his face.
"I'm probably the last Sun Vampire left. My betrayal of Desmond must have been the end of them all. I was supposed to fight alongside Nyx, Erebus, Hyperion, Desmond, and the others."
As the vampire began to speak, more confusion crept over James and the other three.
"I was one of Desmond's two best friends, Vlad or Vladimir by the full name. I am worshipped by every vampire in existence. Because of my arrogance and jealousy, I betrayed, challenged, and imprisoned my best friend. I am the greatest cause of Juliet's death and the betrayal of the White Witches."
The vampire, who introduced himself as Vladimir, opened his hands and then added with a sad expression on his face, "I am Vlad himself, the fool who has lowered himself to be hated by his best friend, I am the greatest traitor." and then he looked at James' face and closed his jaw.
After these words, James opened his inventory, albeit with fear, and then slowly took out his holy sword Clarent.
The holy sword Clarent, which slowly left the inventory, emitted the sound of 'Schiiing.' as if a sword was being officially unsheathed.
"Then it's obvious what we should do. This is not the place to die. I have things to do, things to take care of, and loved ones waiting for me." James suddenly said and took the attack position and held the holy sword Clarent with both hands, perhaps for the first time.
He was facing a living god, albeit in a weakened state.
The vampire, who introduced himself as Vladimir, shook his head when he heard these words, and then, when his hands slowly turned into claws, he uttered these words:
"My body is at its strongest from drinking the blood of the gods. Stronger than gold, it has become a beauty worthy of Adamant. My blood has become as precious as that of Nyx, daughter of Chaos. And I have failed to honour these things and succumbed to my arrogance. Oh, young man! I hope you are strong enough to kill me here today, I hope you can end my suffering. My name is simply Vladimir, the betrayer."
James swallowed when he heard those words, Abby's voice echoing in his mind:
"I can see where my brother Vlad got his name from, just like my eldest sister Juliet..."
With his new knowledge, it was easy for James to realise how kind-hearted his ancestor Desmond was. Even though he had been betrayed, Desmond had named his son after his former best friend Vladimir.
Desmond was a very, very different person from what he had thought.
James swallowed hard as he realised that Vladimir was ready to attack, he knew instantly that he had to strike first, he didn't want to be killed by just one blow.
Suddenly he lunged forward and then attempted to use his transition ability to attack.
Vladimir seemed surprised by James' sudden disappearance, it would have been quite normal for him to remark that the power he was sensing from him was not that great.
When James suddenly appeared in front of Vladimir, his sword was covered in black flames, the vampire's weakness to fire was already a plus for him, and it would make much more sense for him to use the unquenchable flames on top of that.
When Vladimir realised the danger from these flames, he suddenly jumped backwards and dodged the attack instantly.
He of course was faster.