Building A Human Empire By Creating A Clan [EN]: Chapter 156

A man drew a large circle on the floor.

The circle was a fiery red, made of blood with a strong, fishy smell.

The man who drew the circle in the middle of the basement retreated to the wall.

“Prepare yourselves.”

At his words, those wearing robes entered the circle.

They relied on the dim light of the candles to draw figures inside.

“Vlad von Holstein, Lord of Blood.”

“Save us from hardship…”

They mumbled in weak voices.

The man standing outside the circle burned incense in a censer [a container for burning incense], offering fragrance.

“May the eternal life you have bestowed upon us never leave us…”

Everyone in the basement had a human form.

However, they had no blood, their fangs had grown, and their eyes were red.

They were vampires whose bodies had begun to collapse from bloodlust.

They were the ones who barely survived the Empire’s vampire hunts.

Whoosh——

The circle emitted light.

A red light filled the basement.

The prayer stopped, and everyone’s eyes focused.

Fizzle…

However, contrary to expectations, the blood that drew the circle boiled, and the light suddenly went out.

“Another failure.”

A sigh, the count of which was unknown, echoed.

They were currently performing a ritual to summon Vlad.

“Let’s try again.”

“It is because our faith is lacking.”

How could such an act summon Vlad?

A blood relative or a servant close to a blood relative would have had to ask for that. What they were doing was more akin to a religious ritual.

“Almighty Father, Vlad von Holstein…”

They believed Vlad was a god.

It was because they were small fry that even the blood relatives had never seen directly.

Small fry that someone among the servants thoughtlessly created and abandoned.

“———.”

“——. ——.”

Because of that, even the blood relative Agaton’s business didn’t warrant much attention, and they didn’t receive the order to return home that the Mycenae Empire issued during the war with the representative system, so they hid underground.

Believing that Vlad would return someday and save them.

“Save us.”

It was natural for them to believe Vlad was a god.

He was vaguely regarded as the master and father of the blood relatives.

There was no fellow clan member to teach them that Vlad was merely the highest-ranking vampire among the blood relatives, merely a mortal.

Also, there was a sense of crisis that the surveillance network of the Human Empire was narrowing, and they would soon be discovered.

In the face of imminent death, they had no choice but to cling to a salvation faith.

“This doesn’t work either.”

The man leading the prayer opened a book on the platform.

“This time, with this.”

The book was something that the blood relative’s business had been keeping.

From what he had heard, it contained information about a god.

He hadn’t heard which god it referred to, but he thought, who else could be related to the blood relatives other than Vlad? He took it with him when the business was confiscated and he ran away.

“Father, father of all vampires.”

He redrew the pattern and prayed again.

A small amount of magic power seeped into the pattern.

As before, a red light emitted, covering the basement.

Flash!

“Uh, uh?”

The light, which had been flickering as if it were about to go out, suddenly burst brightly.

“It, it worked!”

The pattern’s reaction had never been witnessed before.

A vast amount of magic power flowed out from the circle.

– Who seeks me?

A wind blew in the basement.

The candles went out, and complete darkness fell.

However, a fog that created light settled in the middle of the circle.

The fog, which had the same color as blood, formed a shape.

“Ooooh!”

“Father… Vlad!”

The servants prostrated themselves before the figure.

– I am not your father, nor am I Vlad.

Flinch.

Not Vlad?

The surprised servants raised their heads.

And their eyes widened at the being in front of them.

“No, no…”

A bizarre being crouching.

The head, legs, and wings of a bat.

Only the upper body was like a white-skinned human male.

Who could call him Vlad?

“You are…”

– I am Barmet. The one you called the old god.

“Barmet… why you? We wanted to see Lord Vlad, so why did you come out of there…?”

– Because you called me.

“We called you?”

Barmet’s gaze turned to the platform.

The book on the platform floated into the air and flew to him.

– This is what our enemy recorded about us.

His finger pointed to the oval on the floor.

The pattern still emitted light, holding magic power.

– You saw the record. And you drew my pattern with blood and even put magic power into it, so how could I not hear your call?

“Th, then… perhaps Father is in that book?”

– No. He is not.

He answered without a moment’s hesitation.

– I remember the brothers and sisters who fought Ailetrione [likely a reference to a celestial being or deity]. Vlad, that name is not in my memory.

The servant who asked the question touched his forehead.

It meant that all the efforts so far had been futile.

Shock spread across the servants’ faces, and sighs flowed.

– Do not be disappointed. I know what you desire.

“What we desire?”

– You want his help, not Vlad himself.

Barmet stretched out his right hand.

His white palm split open, and blood flowed.

Drip, drip…

The blood drops shed by the old god.

The blood that soaked the basement floor gave off a strong fragrance.

Gulp.

The servants blankly looked at the blood.

How long had they been starving?

It was difficult to obtain blood under the Empire’s surveillance.

The rats in the basement were gone, and it was not easy to hunt cats or dogs on the road.

Even if they managed to get blood, they only consumed enough to barely stay alive, and the rest was used for rituals.

In that situation, fresh blood appeared.

Gurgle——

A hunger sound so loud it was embarrassing.

No one had the luxury to be embarrassed.

The sweet scent tickled their noses too much.

– Drink. I will fill your hunger.

The blood that had been dripping drop by drop fell in a line.

Blood flowed endlessly as if water had been poured on his palm.

Seeing that, none of the servants could maintain their reason any longer.

Kyaaaaa!

The vampires screamed and fought.

They pushed and trampled each other, pushing their heads into Barmet’s hand.

They stuck out their dry tongues to receive the blood flowing from his hand.

“Blood! Blood!”

“Let me eat too!”

“Get out of here! It’s mine!”

They bit his hand, licked the floor, and greedily sucked the blood.

As the blood wet their tongues, went down their throats, and filled their bellies, the servants’ appearance began to change.

The appearance that had been like walking mummies changed into healthy-looking humans.

Their hollow cheeks became plump, their rough skin became oily, and their bloodshot eyes sparkled with life.

– Enough.

Barmet withdrew his hand.

The wound on his palm healed immediately, and the bleeding stopped.

Only then did the servants regain their reason and look at him.

“Hoo….”

They swallowed their breath.

Reason settled in the place where hunger had left.

Reason clearly felt the pressure that Barmet exuded.

“Father—“

– Do not speak nonsense. I am your master.

Light emanated in the basement where darkness had fallen.

It was the light that Barmet emitted, and the color had a reddish tinge.

Looking at that light, the servants felt their souls being bound to him.

A stronger sense of bondage than when they fell from humans to vampires.

They would not be able to leave him even in death.

– I have paid your price with my blood. Slaves.

The servants trembled.

But no one dared to refuse.

“What should we do… Master?”

Bang!

The moment Barmet was about to answer the question,

A loud noise came from the basement ceiling.

“It’s here!”

Someone had discovered their hideout and shouted.

The magic power that had been released while summoning Barmet must have been detected.

Tension appeared on the servants’ faces.

“There’s an entrance this way!”

“It’s a basement.”

“We’ll open it!”

The basement entrance burst open, and light poured in.

The basement was darker than dawn, but it was noon outside.

The surprised servants stuck to the wall as if fleeing from the light.

“We, we have to run…!”

“Where to!”

While they were flustered, a group of humans came down the stairs.

“So, you were hiding here. Mosquitoes.”

The human leading the group drew his sword.

He was the administrator of Kraiva.

“His Majesty the Emperor has declared the traitors of your race…”

The administrator closed his mouth while reciting the sentence.

He had discovered Barmet crouching in the center of the basement.

A huge monster silently looking down at him like a sculpture.

The administrator, who did not have a high level of martial arts, was slow to realize.

Scribble—

At the same time as making eye contact, a red line was drawn on his neck.

And with a thud, his neck fell off, followed by his body.

– A strange guy who is human but not human.

The soldiers who were touched by Barmet’s thoughts flinched.

They belatedly realized why the administrator had died.

“Th, th-that monster…!”

As Barmet stretched out his right hand, he formed magic power at his fingertips.

The soldier who belatedly called him a monster was cut in half.

– The world has changed so much.

He shook his outstretched palm once as if dusting it off.

Again, the magic power moved and tore apart the three soldiers next to the severed soldier.

“Aaaaaaack!”

“K, cough…!”

The screams of those on the verge of death filled the basement.

“Oh….”

At that moment, when everyone was in shock as if time had stopped.

A priest among the city guards turned his back and ran.

The priests of the Public Church were said to have higher faith than the priests of the Wolf Church.

But, such a person was running away in front of the Emperor’s enemy?

“Catch him! Don’t let him get away!”

A servant shouted urgently.

The priest was not running away because he was scared.

He realized that he could not be Barmet’s opponent.

So, he chose to run away to convey the danger to the Empire.

Whoosh—

Barmet waved his hand again.

Then, magic power wrapped around the priest’s body.

Boom!

The priest’s body exploded.

It was a moment when he couldn’t even scream.

– Weak.

The remaining ones were ordinary human soldiers.

Guards recruited independently from the city.

They trembled but gripped their weapons tightly.

They must have felt extreme fear at the death of the administrator and the priest.

But they did not run away and tried to fight back.

– Pathetic.

Barmet sneered at them and clenched his fist.

“Ugh, uh…!”

The soldiers’ bodies floated in the air and crumpled.

Screams erupted, bones tore through flesh, and blood splattered everywhere.

Barmet leaned his head slightly and opened his mouth.

The flesh floating in the air, the blood flowing on the floor, the souls lingering in the basement.

All of that was sucked into Barmet’s mouth.

– Good. Life is overflowing.

A haze rippled around Barmet.

It was because the magic power he possessed had increased further.

– A really good world has come. So full of abundance.

He burst into laughter.

– Scheming in such a world? Idiots.

The servants did not know who he was laughing at.

They just shuddered at his laughter.

Fear consumed them, but they could not run away.

Now he had become their master.

“Master.”

The servants knelt and put their foreheads on the floor.

“What should we do?”

– What to do?

Barmet stood up. As the crouching giant stood up, the ceiling collapsed, and sunlight poured through the collapsed walls.

The servants felt the sunlight piercing their skin, but they no longer felt pain. They only felt warmth, just like in their human days.

– Hunt them all. And offer them to me. Everything in this world is my prey.