NOVEL NEXT Chapter 148: Defects
"The Sun clan?" I questioned after hearing Asmond's words.
"Yes, they are one of the five great clans. They aren't as powerful as the Veylmont clan or the Salvatore clan, but still, they are a force to be reckoned with. They proved just how powerful they were in the great war, all those centuries ago."
"You mean the war that happened after the Djinn left?" I asked. I learned a little of the city's history last night from Ember while we were all drinking.
She told me that the moment the djinn left, there was a great war among all the supernatural races to see which group could rule Purgatory. It was also during that war that werewolves and skinwalkers were forced to leave. In the end, it was the vampires and witches who came out on top, and all other races were forced to bow to them.
"Yes, that very same war. The clan's current head, when he was in his prime, melted half the city. He had the potential to be as powerful as the head of the Veylmont clan and the Salvatore clan, but for some reason or another, he never reached their height."
Interesting. I wonder what happened to him.
"Anyway, you mentioned something about his daughter?" I asked.
"Aren't there always strange rumors about his daughter? Most of them aren't worth listening to." The witch suddenly spoke up.
"Yes, but this rumor came from someone who is actually a part of the clan. He came into my inn the other day, ordered three bottles of the Reaper's Reserve, then got drunk out of his mind." Asmond chuckled. "Anyway, he told us that the daughter of the clan's head suffers from the same affliction as my own daughter."
"She does?" The witch quickly asked. "I've never heard of this."
"Last night, Asia told us that she finds it difficult to consume blood even though she's a lamia. Is that the ailment you're referring to?" I asked just to make sure.
Asmond nodded his head before taking another sip of the drink in his cup.
"Yes, but she apparently has it way worse than my daughter. The clan member that came was venting his frustration about the whole situation. He said that the daughter of the clan's head is utterly repulsed by blood and not only blood, but people too. He said that she often starved herself to the point where her entire body would dry up. He says that she keeps herself locked up in her room years at a time not seeing or speaking to anyone."
"That is strange," I commented.
A vampire that has no interest in blood at all. That's one of the strangest things I've heard since coming to this city.
"My, my, that is interesting," the witch said with an amused smile. "The head of the Sun clan has been unwell for some time now. Now you're telling me that his daughter is defective. If this is true, then their fall from grace will be inevitable."
"Indeed, there is no way they can continue being one of the great clans. Our queen was delighted when we told her the news," Asmond said.
"Your queen?" I asked.
"Ah, yes, we lamias serve a queen." He explained. "Our social hierarchy is similar to ants, where the queen mother sits at the top. We are nothing but her servants. Our queen hates vampires more than anything. She also has a strong love for high-quality blood. She is very particular on the type of blood she drinks. If we serve her anything below noble blood, then we will incur her wrath."
"Does that mean you sent her the vial of blood I gave you?" I asked.
I expected the answer to be yes, but then Asmond shook his head, denying it.
"We couldn't. Our queen is just too obsessed with blood. She would lock you up and enslave you if she found out that you have blessed blood and that you aren't even a vampire or a witch. Centuries ago, during the great battle, she had gotten a taste of blessed blood when she managed to bite the witch of greed. Since then, she has been obsessed with blessed-quality blood. She offered to buy it from vampires so many times, but each time she came up empty, and every time her obsession grew stronger."
A lamia queen obsessed with the quality blood I so happen to have. Things couldn't have happened more perfectly. Having breakfast with Asmond has proved to be more fruitful than I thought. I've received quite a lot of useful knowledge.
Asmond continued to tell me all about his queen and some more about the Sun clan and how he thought their clan would fall. I found it all very interesting. The witches and the vampires ruled over the city, but each race had their own designated ruler and ways of how they handled themselves.
After our breakfast with Asmond, we bid farewell to them and left. As we walked back, Khalissi approached me.
"How about we have that talk now?" she asked.
"Sure, come to my room."
The two of us separated ourselves from the others, who each went their separate ways. When we got to my room, Khalissi strolled in and took a seat on my bed, not caring about the unconscious vampire there. She didn't waste a second and got to what she so desperately wanted to talk to me about, while I casually leaned against the wall, listening to every word she said.
"It's about that thing you made me do yesterday," she said.
"You mean destroying an entire city block. Don't tell me you're feeling riddled with guilt."
"Far from it. Words can't explain how happy it made me when you gave that order. But it also made me realize something."
"Realize what?" I asked.
"Remember when I told you it took me 70 years to evolve. And that you somehow need to find a way to do the same in less than a year. When I told you that, I thought it would be impossible, no way you'd kill enough demons and get enough EXP to level up in time.
It took some of our brightest demons a decade to reach their first evolution. There was no way someone of a lesser species could do in 1/10th of the time. That's what I thought. But I also thought that you were smart, maybe even some kind of genius, so I was curious as to what you would come up with. Then we came here…"
She paused, and a cunning smile appeared on her face. It was the smile of a true demon.
I knew because I recognized that same emotion within myself so many times.
"What are you insinuating?" I asked, casually as if I had no idea where this conversation was leading.
I knew perfectly.
She chuckled, the demonic smile on her face grew wider.
"I can't hold it in any longer. I'm tired of obsessing about what is going on in that mind of yours, so I'll just come out and ask. Are you the type of man to slaughter an entire city in order to evolve?"