The Vampire Behind the Door

Harvest Cathedral on Daffodil Street.

Owen stood outside the church, curiously surveying the building that possessed both a sense of sanctity and a natural, rustic style.

He had always known there was a church belonging to the Mother Earth in the South Bridge District, but due to his own faith, he had never visited this place before.

He was about to step into the church of another deity, and he subconsciously wanted to tap his chest three times to pray to the God of Combat, asking for forgiveness for entering the church of another god. However, realizing he was already at the doorstep of another orthodox deity's church, he felt that would be rather impolite.

While he was still struggling with this thought, his legs had already honestly carried him through the gates of the Harvest Cathedral.

Then, he saw the tall man standing by a table in front, wiping a candlestick. The man was over two meters tall, and his loose brown priest's robe was stretched tight like a bodysuit as he turned to look at him.

Just the act of turning his head while standing there made him feel like a small mountain, exerting immense pressure.

Gulp.

Owen swallowed hard, and the step he had just taken was retracted.

He began to suspect he had entered the wrong church. He had heard that many of the clergy of the Mother Earth were mature and gentle women; how could their church in Backlund only have a priest who could punch him into the afterlife?

He had always heard that the Mother Earth church and the God of Combat church had a good relationship. Could this little-giant-like priest have transferred over?

Seeing the gaze of the little-giant priest by the table shift toward him, Owen quickly reined in his thoughts, forced a smile onto his face, and said:

"Excuse me, is Father Utravsky in?"

The priest by the table set down the candlestick in his hand and nodded slightly at him: "I am."

The thing he least wanted to happen had occurred. Owen sighed inwardly, then stepped forward:

"Good afternoon, Father Utravsky. A friend of mine was attacked and suffered a gunshot wound. He asked me to come find you to purchase a potion that can quickly treat his injuries."

Father Utravsky asked after a brief moment of recollection: "That 'Apprentice'?"

Owen was stunned for a moment, then realized that the other party probably didn't know Cyril's name.

It was fortunate he hadn't blurted out Cyril's name just now, or it would have been a misunderstanding. This guy, he hadn't even made things clear beforehand.

After grumbling to himself, he nodded to the priest in front of him: "He was indeed an 'Apprentice' two weeks ago."

Father Utravsky nodded gently, then shook his head: "I am not an 'Apothecary' and cannot concoct potions with extraordinary effects."

"Ah?" The expression on Owen's face went blank for a moment: "That's a pity. Cyril... my friend asked me to come find you."

"Father, surely you have a way? My friend is very seriously injured."

He wanted to try persuading him further, but under Father Utravsky's calming gaze, he wisely shut his mouth.

"Follow me." Father Utravsky led him toward the back of the prayer hall:

"There is indeed an 'Apothecary' here capable of concocting potions with extraordinary effects. Your friend likely wants to ask them for help with a concoction, but that will require some persuasion."

"Requires persuasion?"

"Did they have a conflict before?"

Owen was a bit confused. Refusing to help someone in need didn't fit the teachings of the Mother Earth church. The only thing he could think of was that Cyril had previously clashed with the 'Apothecary' here, which was why persuasion was needed.

Father Utravsky nodded with a calm expression: "You could say that."

Owen, following behind Father Utravsky, curled his lip slightly... What a troublesome guy. After offending an 'Apothecary', he got himself injured and now has to make me come and persuade the other party.

Soon, led by Father Utravsky, he arrived in front of a locked stone door in the basement. Before he could even ask, cursing came from behind the door:

"Damn you, let me out, let me out!"

"This is illegal imprisonment!"

"The Sanguine of Backlund will not let you off!"

"Damn priest, you'd better let me go quickly, or when the Sanguine discover I'm missing and find this place, you and your church will be torn to shreds."

Owen's steps on the stairs suddenly halted. Listening to the clearly breathless shouting from behind the stone door, he looked at Father Utravsky's back, which remained completely unmoved, and his expression turned somewhat strange.

He suspected he had learned something he shouldn't have, and he hesitated about whether he should run away now.

Although buying a healing potion for his friend was important, he didn't want to be silenced, and he certainly didn't want to be the one imprisoned behind that stone door.

Fortunately, Father Utravsky's next words broke his doubts:

"He is the 'Apothecary' here, a Vampire who was lured into the church by your friend after he became bloodthirsty. I have temporarily locked him up here."

Behind the stone door, the shouting that had just died down grew intense again:

"Damn you, this isn't imprisonment, this is extraordinary confinement!"

"Even if I am a Sanguine, I am a legal resident of Backlund. You have no right to imprison me!"

"That despicable guy, I only needed to drink a little blood to quickly regain my sanity, yet he lured me into a church! This is an insult to a noble Sanguine!"

"By the way, you're looking for an 'Apothecary', right? We Sanguine are the best 'Apothecaries', but unless you let me out, don't even think about having me concoct any potions for you."

Owen looked blankly at Father Utravsky. The current situation was far beyond his expectations, and for a moment, he didn't know what to say.

Should he lament the bad luck of this Vampire, or marvel at Cyril's good fortune, being able to lure the Vampire hunting him into a church while he was still just an 'Apprentice'?

Father Utravsky interrupted the shouting of the Vampire behind the stone door: "You previously caused harm to that Apprentice, and now he requires a healing potion; this is the compensation that is due."

The voice of the Vampire behind the door grew even louder: "He deserved it, that damned, despicable, shameless guy."

"Even if I were to concoct a potion for him, it would be poison, something to double his injuries, the kind that makes him wish he were dead but won't let him die."

Owen sighed inwardly, feeling that the difficulty of getting this imprisoned Vampire to help concoct a potion was somewhat high; perhaps Cyrin's injuries would heal on their own before this Vampire ever relented.

With a soft sigh, he cleared his throat and said earnestly:

"Mr. Vampire, if you can sincerely repent, you might even be released."

Before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by the voice behind the door: "It's Sanguine, Sanguine!"

"Why should I repent? It is clearly the fault of this damned priest who imprisoned me."

"Unless he lets me out, I will absolutely not help you concoct any potions. Let your friend wait to die."

Owen shook his head with a sigh: "His injuries haven't reached the point of death yet. Are you really not going to reconsider? Perhaps Father Utravsky would grant you a sentence reduction."

"Get lost!" Having shouted for so long, the voice behind the door sounded somewhat hoarse:

"I didn't commit a crime, so why would I need a sentence reduction? No, wait, why am I even being imprisoned!"

Owen looked helplessly at Father Utravsky, feeling that he could not persuade this Vampire:

"Father, why don't you help me concoct a potion that can accelerate the healing of injuries? A standard one will do."

"After all, all he needs is to not have to lie in a hospital bed forever."

Father Utravsky nodded gently: "Very well."

"Wait!"

"It's not that I can't concoct the potion, but you must find a way to make this damned priest let me out."

In the conference room beneath Saint Hillan Cathedral, Carlson, who had just returned from the hospital, was attending a meeting. The Church of Steam attached great importance to this Backlund University incident, and the church leadership had directly appointed a senior deacon of the Heart of Mechanics to take full charge.

"According to our investigation, this attack may have been aimed at that Backlund University history student, Cyrin Gray, but he himself does not know why he was targeted."

"Furthermore, the identity of the attacker has been confirmed as Zoila Hernandez, the leader of the Blood Axe Gang in the East District."

"All members of the Blood Axe Gang disappeared mysteriously a short while ago. According to the feedback from divination, they are all dead. At the time, no information regarding Zoila Hernandez could be divined; it must have been obscured by a high-level existence."

"In addition, it has been confirmed by Archbishop Horamick that an Angel had briefly stayed at Backlund University before he arrived."

"This incident involves an Evil God, but there was no residual aura at the scene; it may have been handled by that unknown Angel."