The cutscene continued to unfold before Antony's eyes, pulling him deeper into Matthew's tragic past. He watched helplessly as the story progressed, knowing all too well what horror awaited at the end.
"Ron! Your brother is here!" Matthew continued calling out while following the bloody footsteps. But as he reached the last corner of the room, he found a bloody pile in the middle.
"W-what is it?" Matthew stuttered, walking closer to it.
"Ron, where are you? If you're playing with me, then come out. This isn't funny," he continued, but Ron didn't come out. As Matthew reached the bloody pile in the room, he fell back in fear.
"No, no, no! It can't be right. It can't be my Ron!" Matthew said, crawling backward as his eyes fell on a severed hand in the bloody pile—a small hand, a child's hand, which could only be Ron's.
"No, it can't be! It won't be happening," Matthew said, crawling back to a corner, clutching his head tightly as tears rolled down his cheeks. Still, he crawled back to the bloody pile again and began searching for Ron.
"Ron! Where are you, Ron?" he sounded like a maniac.
"It's your brother, kiddo. Come out. I'm sure it's not you," he said, but he kept digging through the bloody pile in front of him, growing even more frantic until he saw Ron's head, half-eaten.
"Ron! Ron! Who did this to you? Answer me! Ron! Ron! Answer me! I'm sure you're fine," Matthew cried out like a madman, holding the head tightly to his chest, sobbing loudly.
"Who the hell did this to you?" he said angrily as the townspeople started coming into his house, one after another.
"Matthew, what happened? Why are you screaming so loudly? And what is with this bloody mess everywhere? Did a monster come here?" one person asked.
"It was a human!" Matthew said angrily, gritting his teeth.
"A human? How can you be sure? And where is Ron? Is he hiding somewhere?" the person asked.
"Yes, he is hiding in my chest," Matthew said, showing him the half-eaten head. The person gasped and fell to the ground in fear.
"I-Is it Ron?" the person stuttered.
"Can't you recognize him?" Matthew replied.
"I-I am!" the person stammered.
"But I know who it could be. I just need to go and get that monster out of its hole," Matthew said, standing up and placing the half-eaten head back on the bloody pile. He started heading outside when the person stopped him.
"Matthew, something is shining in there!" the person said.
"Shining? Is my brother alive?" Matthew ran back to the bloody pile, where a boss drop had appeared.
"They turned my brother into a monster?" he muttered.
"I came here to turn him into a vampire so that no one could dare say anything. But this—this is unbelievable!" he said, about to leave again when the person stopped him.
"Matthew, it's an S-level drop! You should check it. Even though it's from your brother's death, he's still giving you something in return. You should accept it. And from what I know, it's a weapon-making map. You should take it," the person said.
"If he's not here, then what's the point of staying?" Matthew said.
"If you want to fight, you'll need a better weapon, don't you think?" the person said. Matthew picked up the weapon map and took it to the smith, who was not far away.
"Please make this immediately!" Matthew said in a cold tone.
"But—where did you get this? It's something so rare. It's a weapon map for an Aura Blade," the smith said.
"I don't care. Just make it," Matthew insisted.
"Fine, fine! Wait for a while. I'll make it!" the smith said. Matthew waited in the waiting room, barely able to control his bloodlust.
After a while, the smith returned holding the Aura Blade in his hand, which was shining like the rarest drop one could ever find.
"I'm sure you'll figure out how to use this blade soon enough," the smith said as Matthew took the blade in his hand, his eyes turning red.
"Now it is time for revenge. Ron, I will take revenge for you," Matthew muttered as he walked toward the higher-ups of the town, who were already guarded for some reason.
"You can't go in!" the guard stopped him.
"Why?" Matthew growled.
"We are not bound to give you a reason," the guard said arrogantly. Matthew got angry and slashed them at once, making them fall to the ground, dead.
"If you can't stop something, you shouldn't try!" Matthew said as he entered the place where he had already noticed the bloody footsteps leading.
"I knew it. It was some human's doing. And my guess was right," he mumbled while walking further inside the house, where he found the higher-up covered in blood. There was still a residue on his body, a monstrous form.
"M-Matthew, what are you doing here?" the higher-up stuttered.
"You don't know why I'm here? Or you didn't think I'd be able to come here? Which one is true? Is it the first one, or the second? Or is there a third option you're keeping to yourself?" Matthew said, walking toward him, holding the Aura Blade in his hand.
"Matthew, I don't know what you're thinking. But this was bound to happen. I'm someone made like this by the order of God. He is the one who is doing this to me. He is the one who turns me into a monster on certain nights so that I can eliminate the fake ones from the town. And I did it this time too," the higher-up said, crawling back in fear.
"Oh really? Then how could God be so sure that a 10-year-old kid couldn't awaken later when he is still young? Or are you the one who sacrificed him in the name of God, cutting his body into pieces as if he were a monster? Or did you eat him with your monstrous teeth?" Matthew growled in anger.
"Matthew, stop! We can talk!" the higher-up said, extending his hand forward as if to form a wall. But when Matthew saw the hand, his Aura Sword swung and cut it off, making it fall to the ground.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" The scream was loud enough to burst one's eardrum.
"What did you think? That I would spare you? No! Not at all! You killed my brother, who would have grown to be a much more powerful vampire than anyone could ever become, and you killed him? Ha! You are not going to get away from me. I will not let you. Your death won't be swift; it will be thorough," Matthew said as he stepped forward, but suddenly something happened.
"Why has my throat become so dry all of a sudden?" he mumbled.
"It's not like I'm a newly made vampire who thirsts for blood, and I'm not a person training to slowly turn into a vampire either. Then what is happening to me?" he continued mumbling.
"Matthew, I know you are craving blood right now. And I have blood for you. You don't have to go anywhere to hunt for your thirst, so just let me go. I will give you everything you want," the higher-up said.
"Why would I need to go hunting when my prey is right in front of me?" Matthew smirked as he spoke, stepping forward. His drool kept falling onto the ground like a monster starving for ages, now finally seeing food in front of him. He moved closer until the higher-up had no place left to retreat to.
"Now you are trapped. My food is right in front of me. What should I do? Should I stay like this, or should I just gulp you down? I'm sure it won't be as monstrous as what you did to my brother, though," he said as his fangs emerged.
"No!" the higher-up screamed, but it was already too late. The fangs sank into his neck, biting as if they could rip the flesh from his body right there.
Matthew bit down harder, his fangs sinking deep into the flesh of the higher-up's neck. The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth, sending a wave of raw power through his veins. The man struggled, his body convulsing as he tried to push Matthew away, but it was useless. The more he struggled, the more Matthew's thirst intensified, and he sank his fangs deeper, almost savoring the panic in the man's eyes.
"You think you can plead your way out of this?" Matthew growled between bites. "You think I'll stop just because you beg for your pathetic life? You've already sealed your fate the moment you laid your filthy hands on my brother."
The higher-up's screams faded into pitiful gurgles as Matthew drained him. Blood spilled over Matthew's lips, staining his chin, but he didn't care. His senses were heightened, his mind sharp and cold like the Aura Blade he wielded. When he finally released his grip, the higher-up's body slumped to the ground, lifeless. Matthew wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, feeling the surge of new strength coursing through him.
He took a deep breath, his chest rising and falling rapidly. The hunger was gone, replaced by an icy resolve. The room was eerily silent now, the air thick with the smell of blood. His eyes scanned the room.
"My vengeance is complete with your death!" Matthew said, falling onto the couch nearby, his mouth covered in blood.
THE CUTSCENE HAS COMPLETED!
"Woah, I'm finally free. I thought I was going to be frozen like that for the rest of the game's progress!" Antony mumbled.
Antony looked at Matthew and thought, "I was aware that this guy lost his younger brother. But I didn't know there was something called a sacrifice when people couldn't awaken the pure blood in them."
"Is that why the master wants us? Is that why he brought orphans into the institution and waited for them to awaken so he could just eliminate those who failed? So that he can gain more power?" Antony mumbled, looking down, lost in thought.
"What are you thinking?" Matthew asked.
"I'm not thinking about anything specific, but I'm worried about what would have happened to me if I had failed to awaken. Do you know the consequences?" Antony said, scratching the old wound Matthew had when he lost his brother.
"No, I don't know," Matthew replied, about to rejoin the rest of the companions when Antony mentioned, "Matthew, do you know something called the Elixir of Eternal Blood?"
He stopped.
"What did you say?" he asked again.
"I asked if you know something called the Elixir of Eternal Blood," Antony repeated.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Matthew denied.
"Yes, you might not know. But I heard the master talking about it. I wasn't sure what it was, but he said something about it awakening the pure blood inside people who failed to awaken," Antony added.
"The master wasn't a vampire?" Matthew asked.
"We weren't sure. But he had a lot of power. He could always bring a bunch of kids with him to the institution, and he'd always keep them in cells where more than one kid couldn't fit. They always had specific times when the blood package would be served to the kids," Antony explained.
"The blood package would only be served once. You had to take it whether you were an awakened vampire or not. It was mandatory. And if you didn't take it, you wouldn't get any food for the next 24 hours. That was the rule the master made at the institution," he added.
"So when did you realize you were awakened?" Matthew asked.
"I'm not sure exactly when I awakened, but I'm sure I awakened when I was accused of stealing the magical orb. Because at that time, I was placed on the ice block, kneeling, but I didn't feel any cold—as if my entire body was burning with fire," Antony said, his eyes glowing with a fiery red.
"I know you understand what I'm talking about," Antony mumbled as he looked at Matthew's worried face.