Chapter 174: World Destruction [I]

[Age 1011, Carath The 7th]

It was supposed to be a good day.

The sun was bright, shining down on the Earth with warm golden light, and it was the birthday of the youngest Princess of the Vampire God Clan… the day she was coming of age in human terms however, there was absolutely nothing happy about today.

…Because today was the day where the gods died.

“Did you hear?” a pale-skinned vampire with silver eyes whispered urgently.

She wore the traditional black maid costume of the Vampire God’s castle with her hands clutching a feather duster nervously. “The Human God killed both the Beast God and Beast Goddess in one attack. A single attack! Can you imagine?”

She was talking to another maid who was sweeping the marble hallway, a woman with darker hair who paused in her work.

“I heard the Elf God shot a spell powerful enough to take out the entire Human Continent,” the second maid replied, her voice hushed with fear. “But the Human God just… destroyed it. Like it was nothing. He waved his hand and it vanished.”

It was being told by the news on their phones so how could they not know?

The Apocalypse was over. The world was supposed to finally be at peace after centuries of survival against the meteorite swarms and reality-breaking monsters that had torn apart civilization.

However, Today… for some inexplicable reason, the Human God had suddenly begun killing… ruthlessly, without mercy or explanation and it was obvious to everyone what would happen next.

After he finished dealing with the Elves, Demons, and Beastmen Continents, he would inevitably come for the Vampires too.

The Vampire Continent itself wasn’t scared, though. Their citizens walked the streets with confidence, their nobles held lavish parties and their soldiers trained without urgency.

Their god… the Vampire God himself was widely believed to be much more powerful than all the other Continental Gods combined. He’d survived the Apocalypse longer than anyone, grown stronger than any being in recorded history.

Surely, if anyone could stand against the Human God, it would be him.

The two maids immediately quieted down and bowed deeply as a woman passed by them in the hallway.

She was the first daughter of the Vampire God… a vampire with a magnificent silver crest mark glowing on her forehead, despite the fact that she had only lived for a hundred years.

That was absolutely insane.

Vampires normally took centuries… sometimes millennia to develop their crests and grow into their full power. Resources, training, bloodline purity, all of it mattered immensely yet she’d achieved a silver crest in merely a century.

“Welcome, Lady Tej,” both maids said in perfect unison, bowing so low their foreheads nearly touched the floor.

The woman… Tej completely ignored them and walked past without even a glance with her combat uniform on her.

“Is my Father in his study?” Tej asked without slowing her pace.

“Yes, Lady Tej!” the maids answered quickly.

Tej opened the large ornate door to the study and entered without knocking and she was welcomed by a genuinely warming sight.

A man who appeared middle-aged in human terms sat in a luxurious chair with a thick leather-bound book open in his hands and a young girl’s head lay peacefully on his lap as he ran one hand gently through her silver hair with obvious affection.

This vampire girl was Tej’s youngest sister… Victoria who was just a little kid compared to her in vampire age terms.

Victoria had turned eighteen years old today, which was still practically babyish in vampire years. It had taken a full fifty years before she’d even been called a teenager by vampire standards, and this girl was barely above being considered an infant.

Tej didn’t hate her youngest sister. No, she genuinely loved Victoria very much. However… why was Victoria always getting all of their Father’s attention?

“Ah, Tej,” the Vampire God said warmly, looking up from his book with a smile. “I’m glad you could make it.”

He sat up properly and placed his book carefully on the desk beside him.

“You too, Victoria,” he said gently, patting the young girl’s head. “Follow your Father. I have something very important to show both of you.”

Victoria lifted her head from his lap and stood up, stretching slightly. The Vampire God stood as well, placing both hands behind his back in a formal posture as he began walking and his two daughters fell into step behind him through the study.

“Father,” Tej asked as they walked. “why haven’t we deployed our army to fight? The other continents are being slaughtered. Shouldn’t we—”

“Won’t you wish your youngest sister a happy birthday first?” the Vampire God interrupted mildly and Tej grumbled under her breath, then turned to Victoria with a forced smile.

“Happy birthday, Babyhead…” Tej said, using her favorite nickname for her little sister.

Victoria laughed brightly with her whole face lighting up and her breasts bounced noticeably as she giggled.

Tej’s eye twitched as she looked down at her own chest.

‘Why are mine smaller?’ Tej thought with genuine frustration. ‘Why does this literal baby have bigger breasts than me? It doesn’t make sense!’

The Vampire God laughed at their interaction, then his expression grew more serious.

“It would be of no use to deploy our forces,” he said quietly. “Out of all five Continental Gods… myself included, the Human God is by far the strongest one and there’s no comparison.”

Humans themselves weren’t particularly remarkable as a species, Tej knew. They were physically weaker than vampires, shorter-lived than elves, less magically attuned than demons, less combat-oriented than beastmen.

But she had heard tales of the Human God even without ever meeting him or stepping foot on the Human Continent.

The stories said he could wield the power of the stars themselves.

During the early days of the Apocalypse… while her Father was still growing into his divine power, the Human God had once destroyed a meteorite the size of an entire planet, reducing it to nothing but space dust with a single technique.

The resulting debris field had plunged the entire world into complete darkness for several hundred years of the Apocalypse, blocking out the sun entirely, before the Human God had gone up into space himself and personally cleared away the remnants.

The Human God was a different breed entirely from normal divinity and Tej was painfully aware of that fact but still…

“Father,” Tej said hesitantly, “what about my older sisters? The ones who married into the other Continents and had children there? Don’t you… don’t you care about them anymore?”

The Vampire God’s expression didn’t change, but something flickered in his eyes.

“Even if he is the strongest god,” Victoria asked this time in a small voice. “can we stop him, Father? Can’t we at least try?”

The Vampire God stopped walking as they had reached a seemingly blank section of wall in the deepest part of his study.

He pressed his hand against the smooth stone surface.

CLICK!

Hidden mechanisms activated with magic and the wall section slid aside to reveal what looked like a modern elevator… it was completely anachronistic with the medieval aesthetic of the castle.

The Vampire God turned back to face his two daughters directly.

“Probably not,” he said honestly. “But follow me anyway.”

All three of them entered the elevator and the doors closed with a soft hiss as the elevator began descending… and it kept going down… and down… and down.

Through windows built into the elevator shaft, they could see they were traveling deeper into the Earth with every passing moment. Stone gave way to compressed rock, then to magma-heated layers, then to something that looked like crystal.

“Father,” Tej asked, watching the layers pass by, “what are we doing down here? Shouldn’t we be going up there to fight?”

The Vampire God let out a heavy sigh.

“This is not a fight that we can win,” he said quietly. “Once we engage the Human God directly in combat, we will lose and when we lose, everything will be lost. All of vampire civilization… Our entire history… Our culture… Our people… Everything…”

Tej couldn’t understand.

“But Father,” she protested, “the Human God is strong, yes, but you’re strong too! Wouldn’t it at least be close? Couldn’t you—”

The elevator suddenly stopped with a gentle chime and the doors opened.

They stepped out into a massive underground chamber that appeared to be completely sealed off from the rest of the world.

The walls were covered in glowing runic patterns that glowed with different power…there was preservation magic, time dilation, spatial anchoring and all were layered on top of each other in impossibly complex formations.

Sitting in the center of this sealed chamber was a black-haired man.

He had his crimson eyes half-closed in boredom and his long black hair pulled back in a casual ponytail. He was lifting a lit cigarette to his mouth with one hand with his leg crossed over the other knee as he lounged in a simple chair like he owned the place.

“Yo, Vampire God,” the young man said casually, exhaling a stream of smoke. “Took you quite a while to get here, didn’t it?”

The Vampire God actually chuckled at the informal greeting.

“Question Mark,” the Vampire God replied warmly. “How long have you been waiting for me?”

The man… apparently called Question Mark chuckled and puffed out another cloud of smoke that drifted lazily toward the ceiling.

Tej wanted to cut this disrespectful man down instantly with her Blood Magic for his casual attitude toward her Father… Her hand twitched toward her weapon but as if detecting her hostile intent before she could even fully form it, Question Mark turned his crimson eyes to look directly at her.

Tej immediately stood down with her killing intent evaporating.

That look in his eyes…

It was the same look her Father sometimes gave her when she wanted to do something monumentally stupid, it was that expression of looking at a child who didn’t understand the world yet except this look felt even older than her Father’s… Like he’d seen civilizations rise and fall… Like three hundred years was nothing but a blink to him…

‘Who is this Question Mark person?’ Tej thought with genuine unease.

“I’ve been here since the Human God started his rampage,” Question Mark said tiredly. “Since he ended the lives of all his own humans first, then moved on to systemically destroying the other Continents. And we don’t have much time left before he finishes and comes here.”

The Vampire God let out another sigh.

“Did the other Continental Gods agree to the plan?” he asked.

Question Mark discarded his cigarette onto the floor, leaving it burning on the stone as he didn’t bother stepping on it.

“To save their bloodlines?” Question Mark asked rhetorically. “No. They didn’t agree… Those fuckers all thought they could beat the Human God if they just tried hard enough, fought smart enough or even used the right strategy.”

His voice grew louder with frustration.

“I’m honestly surprised that incompetent fuckers like these are supposed to be descendants of Mi—”

Question Mark stopped himself mid-word and took a deep breath.

“I apologize for my shouting,” he said more calmly. “But no, they didn’t agree to preserve their bloodlines. So it’s only you and your daughters.”

“Father,” Victoria asked nervously, “what are you talking about? What plan?”

Tej perked her ears as well as she desperately wanted to know what was happening.

The Vampire God walked over to stand beside Question Mark, then turned back to face his two daughters directly.

“You two,” he said quietly, “will be the future of the vampire race.”

Both sisters blinked in confusion as the Vampire God continued speaking.

“If what Question Mark has told me is correct… and I have no reason to doubt his knowledge then there is no hope of victory in the present which means that you two are the only hope for our people’s future.”

He gestured around at the sealed chamber.

“You will leave this place and time entirely. You’ll be preserved in stasis using Question Mark’s unique abilities, then awakened in a future era where the Human God is at his weakest point and when that moment comes, you must kill him. Not only to avenge me, but to avenge your mother, your sisters, and everyone else who will die today.”

“I don’t understand,” Tej said, shaking her head. “Father, what are you—”

“You will utilize the power of Blood Marriage,” the Vampire God continued, speaking over her confusion. “Find suitable mates with strong bloodlines and noble character… Have children with them to preserve our vampire genetics… Absorb blood from powerful beings to grow stronger… Hone your combat skills relentlessly and when the time finally comes to face the Human God in battle…”

He paused, making sure both daughters were looking directly at him.

“Do not falter… Do not hesitate… Do not show mercy… Because there will be no second chance… No time for hesitation and no room for failure.”

Victoria blinked rapidly, still not fully comprehending what her Father was telling them but Tej understood perfectly.

She understood that her Father was trying to preserve them in some kind of temporal stasis with the help of this mysterious man called Question Mark and hide them away from the coming slaughter so the vampire race wouldn’t go completely extinct.

“No!” Tej shouted.

She summoned her Blood Blade in a flash of crimson light… a crystallized weapon formed from her own vampiric blood that could cut through almost anything.

CRACK!

Tej moved with all her speed, sending a shockwave rippling through the chamber as she closed the distance to Question Mark in an instant.

She aimed her blade directly at his neck, intending to destroy whatever spell or technique he was planning to use.

If she killed him, the plan couldn’t proceed and if the plan couldn’t proceed, she could stay and fight alongside her Father.

Her blade came within inches of his throat… but Question Mark gave her a single dismissive glance then his hand came up and palmed her face like she was a child throwing a tantrum.

SLAM!

Before Tej could even process what was happening, Question Mark stood up from his chair, lifting her entire body off the ground with just the hand on her face. She kicked at his body desperately, sending shockwaves that would’ve pulverized stone.

He didn’t budge even slightly.

Her attacks might as well have been gentle breezes for all the effect they had.𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

“If she wasn’t your daughter,” Question Mark said calmly to the Vampire God, “I would have killed her by now. You know that, right?”

Then he casually threw Tej aside like a piece of garbage.

CRASH!

Tej slammed into the far wall hard enough to crack the reinforced stone, then collapsed to her knees gasping for air.

Victoria had fallen to her knees as well with one hand pressed to her chest as she breathed rapidly in panic from watching her sister be so easily defeated.

“Pa… Pa…” Victoria’s voice came out broken and terrified. “Don’t leave me beh—”

SNAP!

Question Mark snapped his fingers.

Immediately, Victoria was frozen completely solid in a block of what appeared to be transparent ice but Tej could sense it wasn’t mere ice at all… this was something far more fundamental than that.

She wouldn’t be able to break it even if she had a thousand years to try.

The Vampire God looked down at the frozen form of his youngest daughter and a single tear dripped from his eye and hit the floor with an almost inaudible sound then he turned to Tej, who was still on her knees.

“You inherited the Bloodline of the Blood Queen from your mother,” the Vampire God said quietly. “Isn’t that correct?”

“Father, I—”

“Very good,” he continued, speaking over her. “If you feel that your chosen mate is suitable enough… strong enough, noble enough, dedicated enough to help in eventually killing the Human God, then you may turn him into a vampire using your Blood Queen abilities… Give him immortality… Give him our strength and make him worthy of standing beside you.”

The Vampire God began walking toward the elevator.

“Fath—”

SNAP!

Tej’s world went dark as she was frozen solid mid-word. Her last conscious thought was the image of her Father’s back as he walked away.

The Vampire God turned back to face Question Mark one final time, looking at his two frozen daughters.

“Have you ever had a daughter before, Question Mark?” the Vampire God asked quietly.

Question Mark was silent for a long moment.

“Yes,” he finally said. “I did have a daughter once.”

“What happened to her?”

Question Mark’s expression didn’t change.

“She’s dead,” he said simply. “And there’s nothing in this world or the next that I can do to bring her back and I’ve tried everything.”

The Vampire God gave him a sad smile.

“I don’t fully understand human emotions,” the Vampire God admitted. “But you have helped me save my own daughters when no one else would. And for that, I thank you from the very bottom of my old heart.”

He paused, then laughed quietly.

“It’s funny, really. I’m about to charge toward my certain death, and yet I still find it exhilarating. My blood is pumping with excitement.”

“I think that’s just you being crazy…” Question Mark said with a small smirk.

“Perhaps.” The Vampire God smiled wider. “Thank you again, Question Mark. You have no idea how truly grateful I am for this.”

With that, the Vampire God’s body exploded upward.

BOOM!

He shot straight up through solid rock and earth, breaking through the surface of the planet and launching into the sky in a pillar of crimson energy that could be seen from every corner of the Vampire Continent.

Question Mark was left alone in the deep chamber with two frozen blocks containing sleeping princesses. He turned back to face them and let out a tired sigh.

SNAP!

A swirling portal of impossible colors appeared in the air beside him then Question Mark lifted both ice blocks onto his shoulders like they weighed nothing at all and carried them through the portal.

The gateway closed behind him, and he disappeared completely into a pocket dimension outside of normal space and time.