Ascendant Path of a Lustful Vampire

Chapter 411 411: I live for this

The more Caius thought about it, the more he realized there was no way something so serious as a growing coven was happening and the Leopolds didnʼt know about it. Which meant they just hadnʼt told him.

Also, did Arlette know about it and hide it from him?

Sure, her responsibilities lay primarily in keeping ʼOphiuchusʼ running smoothly, but as the organization was intertwined with the Leopoldsʼ vampiric lifestyle, she might have been made aware.

Arlette had hidden nothing from him about the running of ʼOphiuchusʼ but what if this was a matter she didnʼt think she had to tell him about?

There was also the possibility that the Leopolds, and thus ʼOphiuchusʼ and Arlette had no idea of this growing threat. But that would only raise another issue; complacency.

”Come on,” Alexia said, pulling Caius out of his thoughts.

”Where are we going?” Caius asked.

”We need a vantage point,” Alexia said.

Once they were outside the restaurant, she cast her eyes up to its ten-story-tall and grand structure.

”This should work,” she said and then turned to Caius by her side, ”Follow my lead.”

With that, she formed simple seals with her hands and a magic circle appeared that summoned wind which solidified into what was clearly a foothold. More appeared above the first, leading up the building.

Alexia leaped on the first and then the next and the one after that while expecting Caius to follow after her. The platforms were not so far apart that Caius couldnʼt reach them. The biggest issue was trust because while they did look like footholds, his brain kept telling him they were wind. And not wind he had conjured himself but rather those conjured by someone else who could rescind it at any moment and cause him to fall.

What eventually prompted Caius to make the series of jumps wasnʼt even trust in Alexia, who had only just met, but rather a desire to stick close to her and learn more about this situation.

By the time he got to the top, Alexia had her hands joined together. Magical energy thrummed around her but not in any kind of frequency Caius was familiar with. Yes, Alexia was at a higher circle and capable of stronger spells but even if she were casting higher-circled spells, it would still feel… known.

This didnʼt feel like that. It also didnʼt feel like she was invoking the Arcane Symbols but rather something innate within her.

An aura spread from her form with the same frequency as her strange magic and Caius recoiled at it. His vampiric nature rejected it and for a second, he felt his Rage about to take over. He felt his eyes begin to go from their normal purple hue to his Vampiric red eyes. He felt his canines starting to elongate and sharpen into fangs.

But then he felt something warm and soothing on his finger. He looked down and there was a tiny glint on his moonstone ring that sent waves of calming energy over him to repel the energy of Alexiaʼs strange magic and keep him from exposing himself.

The Von Helsing Arts.

The Arts were a set of abilities that a Von Helsing gains after going through the induction ritual. This particular ability helps them to antagonize monsters which can also force Vampires to shift. A valuable tool since Vampires have the ability to take on a normal humanoid visage.

An ordinary moonstone ring canʼt quite resist that because no one who knows how to make the rings and wear them knows how this ability works to try shielding against it. But Lucian Von Helsing had known and he had then had Caiusʼs ring made precisely to protect him from such a reveal.

Alexia noticed none of Caiusʼs turmoil. She felt her aura permeate the restaurant she and Caius were standing on top of as well as spread to the surrounding area in a 100m radius and then she waited to hear shifting.

When there was none, she moved on to another skill she had thanks to the ʼVon Helsing Artsʼ; Tracking.

”Ah, that never gets old,” Alexia said with a grin. She looked over at Caius then and grinned,

”Once youʼre inducted, youʼll be able to see it as well.”

”Yeah,” Caius answered with a forced smile, ”Right.”

He had no chance at that anymore. Athenodoraʼs blood had overwritten all the triggers in his blood and now he was immune to the induction as he would have been immune to vampirism had he actually completed the induction before she came for him.

”What does it look like?” Caius asked with the clearing of his throat.

”Like trails of blood,” Alexia said, ”Everyone has a signature, you know. But it fades quickly for normal people. Shifted Vampires, however, leave a stronger signature. The strength may defer but even the weakest Shifted Vampire signature can last days.”

”I see,” Caius said.

”This, of course means there can be overlap when a Vampire operates in the same region over and over again. In that case, it takes skill to be able to discern older trails from fresher ones.”

”And you have that skill?” Caius asked.

”Well, I have been doing this for over two decades, Cousin. Iʼd be quite useless if I couldnʼt do it, wouldnʼt I?” Alexia laughed.

A few minutes passed before Caius spoke again.

”Do you expect to find a Vampire in action?” He asked.

”Itʼs daytime, so no,” Alexia said, ”Even with a Moonstone Ring, a Vampire is more comfortable at night. In the cloak of darkness.

No, this is reconnaissance. There were details in that request about the locations of the attacks that make me suspect a pattern. I think I can predict where theyʼll attack next if I study the patterns.”

”Iʼll leave you to it, then,” Caius said and turned away to cast his eyes all over the city.

The restaurant was hardly the tallest building in the Capital City but in this specific part, it was unbeaten. It provided a nice vantage point.

Vampires can track one another as well. Caius had knowledge of it being possible but had never actually put it into practice. Vampire Nobles have even stronger sensory abilities and he hadnʼt done a lot of practice tapping into that either.

ʼI really have been slacking off,ʼ he thought.

He would have used those tracking skills now but heʼd have to shift first. And that would put him on Alexiaʼs radar so he couldnʼt do that.

Speaking of Alexia, he thought of how, if she used her innate abilities on his room, she would see his signature considering he had shifted a lot of times last night. And the many nights before.

But then, he decided that if the ring was designed to protect him from the antagonizing effect of the ʼVon Helsing Artsʼ, then it likely cleared up his signature as well. Caius began to rotate the ring on his finger, thinking how useful it was as a tool for a Vampire and in turn, how terrible its existence was for Hunters like the Von Helsings.

The ring practically made him a ghost to their senses. Once again, Caius marveled at the thought of Lucianʼs state of mind when he got the ring made;

His son had become one of the creatures he was determined to kill and he decided to make the perfect tool any Vampire would kill to have just to protect his Vampire spawn of a son. Lucian might have been nearing madness at the time. Especially since he was still grieving for his wife, Caiusʼs mother.

It made Caius a bit guilty that he then went on to embrace his Vampirism when Lucian wished he wouldnʼt.

The thing was, the decision to embrace Vampirism, while involving his love for debauchery, was more than that because Caius knew the future and he remained convinced that the only way he could change the coming fate was to embrace this.

The Demon Lordʼs descent wasnʼt something he could ignore and simply stay on the sidelines for because if Aurelius failed, as he came close to many times over the course of the original canon, then everyone dies.

”Alright. I think I got it,” Alexia said, ”Letʼs go.”

She conjured more windy footholds and went jumping down until she was back on level ground. Caius followed her and soon, they were in her Carriage.

”We should find somewhere to pass the time until Nightfall,” Alexia said.

”You think thereʼll be an attack?” Caius asked.

”There have been one every night for the past week so I think itʼs a safe bet,” Alexia said.

”Every night— Thatʼs stupid. Makes them predictable and even with the size of Capital City being obscenely massive, itʼll be tougher for them to operate once every City Guard squad is on high alert.”

”I think they want to be predictable,” Alexia said as she started her carriage and began to drive slowly like she was cruising,

”If I were to guess, based on the patterns of attack locations and targets, Iʼd say theyʼre hoping to be attacked so they can slaughter and make away with as many victims as they can. These hunts arenʼt for survival. Theyʼre not doing this to feed.

Thereʼs something worse at play here.”

”Why are you grinning?” Caius asked observing his cousinʼs delighted face.

”A bunch of cocky vampires essentially handing out challenges?” Alexia said with a giddy shudder,

”I practically live for this.”