Chapter 14: Chapter 14: The Purifier’s Arrival

The dead Shadow Hound lay beneath the academy lanterns like a dried corpse, Its black fur looked dull and brittle now, and the flesh around its neck had sunk inward from blood loss.

Several guards stood nearby, their expressions nervous, as the cold night wind passed through the eastern hallway.

Professor Valerius crouched beside the body in silence, his golden eyes carefully studying the wounds.

The throat had been torn open with two puncture marks resting near the main artery and almost every drop of blood inside the beast was gone.

One of the guards swallowed hard. "Professor... do you think some kind of parasite beast did this?"

Valerius didn’t answer immediately, his eyes remained fixed on the puncture wounds.

Because he had seen marks like these before.

Long ago, back in his world.

Snow covered the ground while flames swallowed the village, and screams echoed through the night.

Young Valerius ran through the burning streets while clutching his little sister’s hand as tightly as possible. Around them, bodies littered the snow while dark figures walked calmly through the firelight.

Vampires.

One of them stood near the center of the village wearing a long black coat stained with blood. Crimson eyes glowed beneath the flames as corpses piled around him.

Qhuin.

Even after all these years, Valerius still remembered that face clearly.

The vampire had looked down at the terrified child hiding nearby and smiled faintly, almost amused by the destruction around him.

That night changed everything, the fear he had became hate.

Hate became purpose, and somewhere inside that fear, Valerius’s God’s Eye awakened for the first time.

Golden light flooded his vision, and he could suddenly see mana itself and see the monsters hiding inside human skin.

The Hunters found him before dawn, an organization that hunts down vampires

From that day onward, Valerius trained and devoted his life to exterminating vampires.

Every last one of them.

The professor slowly stood from the Shadow Hound corpse.

The guards noticed the slight change in his expression.

"Professor?"

Valerius finally spoke.

"These wounds resemble old vampire feeding patterns."

The guards immediately went pale.

"V-Vampires?!"

"But that’s impossible—"

"Those things are extinct!"

Valerius looked back toward the dead beast.

"I thought so too."

Silence filled the hallway.

After a moment, Valerius turned away.

"Double patrols around the dormitories and forest border," he ordered calmly. "And do not allow students outside the academy after curfew."

"Yes, sir!"

Without another word, Valerius left the academy grounds.

The night forest beyond Aurelius Academy was quiet except for the distant cries of wild beasts. Blue mana mist drifted between the trees while moonlight filtered through the branches overhead.

Valerius moved silently through the woods.

Then—

Rustle.

A figure darted between the trees ahead, and Valerius’s eyes sharpened instantly.

The smell of blood reached him a second later.

A rogue vampire burst from the shadows. Its skin looked pale and cracked while dried blood covered its mouth. The creature lunged forward with claws extended, moving faster than a normal human could react.

Valerius raised one hand calmly, as golden mana exploded outward.

A blade of light sliced through the darkness.

The vampire’s body split apart before it could even scream.

Blood sprayed across the forest floor.

Silence returned.

Then applause echoed softly from nearby.

"Well... that was impressive."

Valerius turned immediately.

Several figures stepped out from the trees wearing white coats lined with golden markings shaped like suns.

At the front stood a woman with long golden hair tied neatly behind her back. She looked elegant rather than intimidating, more like a noble scholar than a fighter. A calm smile rested on her face, and she carried a small basket covered with cloth in one hand.

"Sorry," the woman said warmly. "We were tracking that vampire already."

Valerius studied her carefully, he could feel the strong mana and it was radiating a Holy attribute.

The woman gave a polite bow.

"My name is Elizabeth Arden. Captain of the Solar Purifiers’ Third Division."

Solar Purifiers.

The name meant nothing to Valerius.

One of the men behind her suddenly dragged another corpse from the bushes.

Another vampire.

This one had large burn marks across its chest as its flesh had melted from sunlight itself.

Elizabeth sighed softly while staring at it.

"This one died too quickly," she said.

Then she smiled again.

"I wanted to test a new purification method."

Valerius frowned slightly, there was something wrong with her smile, it was too cheerful considering the corpse at her feet.

Elizabeth glanced toward the vampire Valerius had killed moments earlier.

"Your control is amazing," she said honestly. "Most people leave much larger messes."

Valerius didn’t respond.

One of the Purifiers suddenly spoke proudly. "Lady Elizabeth burned seven vampire nests by herself last month."

Elizabeth laughed softly and waved her hand.

"Oh stop. You make me sound violent."

The man immediately shut his mouth, then Elizabeth crouched beside the dead vampire.

The change happened instantly.

Her smile stretched wider, and the warmth disappeared from her eyes completely.

She touched the corpse gently with one finger.

"I really hate vampires," she whispered.

White flames suddenly erupted across the body.

The dead vampire began burning violently while Elizabeth watched with visible enjoyment.

The fire reflected inside her empty blue eyes.

"Sometimes," she continued softly, "I wonder how loudly the ancient ones screamed when they burned."

Even the Purifiers nearby looked uncomfortable.

Valerius stared at her coldly.

’Fanatic.’

Elizabeth blinked once before suddenly smiling normally again.

"Oh, dear." She stood up quickly. "Did I make things awkward again?"

Valerius turned away from the burning corpse.

"You people are insane."

Elizabeth looked genuinely surprised.

"That’s rude."

"You enjoy it too much."

The woman tilted her head slightly before giving a small shrug.

"Maybe."

Then she stepped closer with curiosity visible in her eyes.

"You’re strong. You should work with us."

"No."

"You refused very quickly."

"I don’t care about your religion."

Elizabeth hummed softly.

"You’re not from the Church?"

"No."

"Interesting."

For a moment, neither spoke.

Then Elizabeth smiled brightly again.

"Well, I’ll probably see you again soon anyway."

Valerius glanced toward her.

"What does that mean?"

"I recently accepted a teaching position at Aurelius Academy." She looked oddly excited now. "History and Beast Lore professor."

Valerius immediately imagined this woman teaching children, It somehow felt dangerous.

Elizabeth seemed not to notice his expression.

"I heard the academy has many adorable spirit beasts," she continued happily. "I especially love fluffy animals."

Something about that sentence made Valerius think of a certain white rabbit.

The tiny creature with crimson eyes.

The one that made a Rank D eagle collapse without touching it.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

Meanwhile, somewhere inside Aurelius Academy—

Qhuin suddenly sneezed in his sleep.