"Before you die, I will ask you the same question. Who is your mysterious helper?"
Thrain, who had a defeated look, turned to gaze at Jarek.
But before he could answer, Jarek interrupted the thoughts he was forming again.
"But before you answer that, there is something I have always wanted to know." Jarek paused before asking, "Why?"
It was a single-worded question, but Thrain understood what Jarek wanted to know.
It was a question he had also asked himself in the past.
Why... did his own blood treat him with such cruelty... to deny him even the least hint of happiness in his life?
It was a question he never found the answer to.
But hadn't he done the same thing to the man standing in front of him as well?
Didn't his actions also take a loved one from his life?
"It all started when we were new to Sylvacor, a few hundred years ago. At that time, we had just escaped from Vothrun." For the first time in centuries, Thrain opened up his past to someone other than his two former servants.
"Escaped?" Jarek asked, curious why they used the word 'escaped' rather than 'travelled' from.
Thrain nodded. "Yes, we escaped. I am one of the last surviving members of a fallen vampire noble house, the Bloodfang House. Fortunately, through a stroke of luck alongside my two trusted servants left before my entire family was destroyed because of my father's actions. I often used to wonder how he would feel if he knew that the only person left to carry the family's legacy was his least favorite child."
As he reminisced about the past, Thrain continued, "When we arrived in this continent, the three of us—me, Luneth, and Mir- couldn't decide which town we would settle in. We travelled from town to town until we found ourselves in Belmora. Vampires made for most of its population, so we decided to live there with those of our kind."
Showing a wry smile, Thrain continued speaking. "After our experiences at the Bloodfang House, we just wanted to live normal lives. We were even willing to abandon our cultivation for a peaceful life there. But how could it be that easy? As a Grandmaster, I was one of the most powerful cultivators there, and naturally, I caught the eye of the most powerful cultivator there."
When Jarek heard this, he already had a faint idea where this story was headed.
"So, one day, we were invited by the mayor of Belmora to his mansion. He didn't have a good reputation, but since he was an Empyrean, we had to give him face and accept his invitation. What he wanted was for us to be his subordinates. Grandmasters are quite difficult to cultivate, so he wanted to have one without putting in the effort.
I, of course, refused. I wanted to live a normal life, free from the worries of cultivation. But he didn't believe me and was infuriated that I rejected him using such a reason. After all, who gives up cultivating to live like mortals?"
Jarek remained silent, listening intently.
"Just as you would have expected, he attacked us. Left with no other choice, to survive against an Empyrean, I had to burn my blood essence. With this new strength and the High-Grade Spear, I was able to take both him and his forces down. However, that victory was achieved at a cost."
Jarek, who was now a blood cultivator, knew what he was talking about. "Near depletion of blood essence."
"Yes, my blood essence was almost completely gone. At that moment, I was at my weakest. If I didn't have the High-Grade spear with me, any Grandmaster could have defeated me.
Fortunately, with his death, he left behind a position that was above anyone else in Belmora. With the City Lord's approval, I was able to become the new mayor since I was the only one capable of filling in that role now that the previous mayor's people were gone."
With a shake of his head, Thrain then said, "But that didn't mean that all our problems were solved. Decades later, a Grandmaster appeared just like I did, and he was an ambitious one. After scheming for quite a while, he moved to take my life, but I turned the tables on him and killed him instead.
It was then that I realized that even if I wanted no trouble, if I did nothing, it would find me instead. I had to recover to my peak strength. The tame methods I was using to restore my blood essence wouldn't cut it anymore. I used a faster but more cruel method—blood essence devouring."
"So that's why you kidnapped hundreds of us." Jarek now finally understood the cause of the events that occurred four years ago.
While nodding, Thrain continued, "Yes, the blood of the young or that of cultivators was more suited to help with my recovery. Naturally, we couldn't target cultivators, so we turned to the next best thing. So, every month, we would take a couple of kids from almost every town and occasionally a cultivator. Though the speed of recovery had increased by leaps and bounds, it would still take centuries to completely recover."
Though he absorbed the blood essence of others, recovery still took a long time.
In fact, he had only recovered a few months ago.
But Jarek, as if not completely satisfied with his words, spoke. "Are you sure your actions were driven solely by your desire to survive?"
That was something Jarek was having a tough time believing in when he remembered the events years ago.
At this question, Thrain sighed.
"Indeed, at first, we were driven by the desire to survive, but over time, with the constant consumption of blood, it started affecting us. Our bodies started craving it, and slowly by slowly we found ourselves treating them more as 'food'."
'I thought so.' Memories of his time in Belmora were fresh in his mind.
He could tell that the vampire trio from back then derived pleasure from feasting on blood essence.
This addiction persisted even after recovering, as the abductions weren't halted.
That would explain Mir's presence in the town, which led to their reunion three months ago.
'They don't deserve to be granted any mercy.' It's not like he was going to show any mercy in the first place.
If there was anyone he showed any form of mercy to, it was Mir.
He was merciful enough not to kill him with his own hands, but that wouldn't be the case for Thrain and Luneth.
But before they reached that point, there was something he had to know.
"Now, who is the person who has been helping you?" Jarek asked as he gazed deeply into Thrain's eyes.
"It is..."
But before he could answer, he noticed an arrow heading straight towards him and was only five metres away from him.
At the speed it was travelling, Thrain wouldn't be able to dodge it.
The arrow, however, stopped moving as if frozen when it was almost about to pierce him.
"Those three were really foolish to give their lives for such a master. But I have to admit he is meticulous." Jarek said as he looked in the direction from where the arrow was fired.
Around half a kilometer away, another cloaked figure could be seen holding a bow, having fired an arrow from that distance.
He had gone unnoticed by almost everyone on the battlefield.
Everyone but Jarek.
The hidden archer moved to escape after failing to silence the person who could put his master's life at risk.
Jarek looked at Thrain, knocked him unconscious, and moved to chase the fleeing Grandmaster.