Chapter Ninety Three, Turning Fledglings.
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“Kekeke!~” A woman skulked through the shadows.
She rapid fired from house to house, carefully avoiding the gaze of the greater entity watching her. As for the lesser ones? The masking of her presence was enough.
She infiltrated home by home, biting and infecting as many as she could.
She knew full well that there was strength in numbers.
She had turned roughly forty individuals by the time she felt it wash over her.
The vision of a true power.
She gulped, slowing her tracks. She turned her head over her shoulder, glancing back in the direction of the presence.
Her eyes hardened, zooming in on a far roof. There was an eerie dark figure sitting there calmly.
Instantaneously, she had chills.
She had been rudely interrupted by the emperor's gaze, retracting her leg from the open window she was attempting to climb through.
With a wipe of her brow, she swapped directions, and booked it.
She moved on all fours, galloping with incredible speed. She leapt, attaching to walls with her fingers digging into them. She bounced around, heading farther and farther, deeper into the slums.
Each person she had turned was under her control. She was a fledgling Royal Vampyre, and all the Vampyres turned by her were under her full control anyway. Each of them were dominated by her mentally, and were forced to flock to their base at their top speeds. Even a level zero Fledgling was multiple times faster than a human, and with their newfound form, their maneuverability was heavily enhanced.
Their arms grew lankier, their skin grew pale. They grew sharp teeth, and protruded mouths. Their hair seemed to thin and fall out... They grew in size, but stayed the same weight.
They were thin, and long monsters with incredible speed.
Not to mention their frightening visual...
Vampyres were an evolution of ancient humans that got accustomed to the darkness, and scarce sources of food.
A branch tribe that was separated from the main population, locked away behind a fallen in cave. They were confined to one cavernous region of Earth for thousands of years.
A region inhabited by a powerful species of demon. A species that was incredibly quick and powerful. Meter sized winged creatures that were highly sensitive to sound.
These humans were forced to acclimate to these demons, having to live thousands of years in silence. They slaughtered these winged creatures when they could, and as a result of preying on them when possible, they started to take on some of their features.
Agile, strong...
The darkness caused their eyes to evolve into light absorbing organs. This allowed for them to see perfectly despite being in low light zones.
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A sunny day would render them completely blind...
Their sense of sound grew stronger, and accompanied by their strong vision…
Vampyres grew to be stealthy murder machines.
Fledglings were the weakest of this new species, being incredibly weak to light, heat, and even over consumption. The ancient humans were forced to eat and drink the blood of their kin, when they were not able to feed themselves
Though, Fledglings were unfortunately just what the Family would have to work with.
The woman came to a halt, arriving before a boarded up—and half destroyed—cathedral. She was dozens of blocks away from where the emperor had perceived her, but she knew very well that he could have tracked her here.
She quickly entered the building, skating past the nearly fifty mindless Fledglings. Witches and Warlocks lined the edges of the massive church, almost two hundred of them. The vast majority of them were level one, but there was about nine level twos.
A man sat at the edge of the center stage, his feet hanging off of it.
He was hooded, and almost oozing with an aura.
A man on the verge of level four.
Currently, both he and her were at the same level, yet he was still far above her in power.
Her claws retracted as she approached him, her rows of jagged teeth retracting into her face as her normal human teeth returned.
Her paled skin became flustered for a moment as she came closer to him. She seemed to recall the moments of her ascension, reminiscing on the comfort this old man provided her with.
"One." She spoke.
"Eridil." He nodded in reply.
"I think it is time to commence the night raid. The emperor caught wind of me." She said, bowing her head to him for a moment.
The man sat, his energy churning.
"I am not yet level four. As a level three, I have little chance hanging with the emperor..." He replied. "Let the Family storm the slums, you and your Fledglings will grow the demon population. I will stay back and further my strength. Make sure to capture food for the Fledglings. They can serve as a source of energy to feed to the Family as well." He nodded, a hand on his chin.
"With the free will to do whatever we wish on this raid, we can feed energy to all. Hopefully our levels skyrocket through the deaths of others." There was a smile peaking from his dark hood, and Eridil shared the grin.
"Yes sir."
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Lokreum slowly stepped through the streets, hands behind his back. He examined the commotions, watching as people cried and questioned the militia.
Lanterns were lit, and the street lamps were burning with fire.
"Look. I know you are all worried, distressed, even sick... But I am not going to sugarcoat what is happening right now." A loud voice reverberated around, the people hushing to a whisper as their attention was pulled.
A man stood in the center of the brick street, the tip of his sword in the ground as both of his hands rested on the hilt. He was shirtless as usual, brandishing his battle scars, his ancient cape draped around his waist.
"I am your Emperor, so I will be completely honest." He continued, more hushing as he did so. "I can say, that is almost completely assured that all those missing... Are gone. Permanently." Women dropped to their knees. Kids drew confused faces.
The atmosphere darkened.
"You may have heard rumors of a new religion. A group of people worshiping demons. This is all true." He said. "This group is no, religious party. It is a cult. A Family tied directly to the demons of the underworld. They have successfully allowed for one of these demon races to rise... All those that have gone missing in the last two hours have likely been demonized."
Tears were spilled, and everything was solemn.
"I am calling for a gathering of the entire capital. Every last person is to evacuate, and retreat to the noble districts. The militia will lead you all to designated underground shelters. I wish all of you well." The Emperor finished, all those present continuing to wallow in their unfortunate circumstances.
"I know you are distressed. But you will move. Now. Your safety is not just yours, but the safety of our entire Empire."
His voice was laced with... a pressure.
Instantly, all those that were frozen, got to moving. Even the soldiers. The got into action, helping people evacuate.
People were rushing all about, gathering their belongings and departing as quick as they could.
Lokreum approached the man, standing by his side as the crowd cleared.
There were four people left behind, twelve swordsmen standing just a ways away.
"So I take it you have found their hiding spot?" A woman, Diana, spoke.
"Indeed I have." Arthur replied.
Lokreum glanced towards Luna, seeing the guilt and unease in her eyes.
Of course she was aware of where the demons had gathered.
Everyone present knew she was aware of it. But Arthur did not care to pressure her. She would come around, and he knew that. He knew he would find out where they resided no matter what, he did not need to question her about it.
"It looks like we know where to storm."
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