Immediately afterward, a roar rang out.
The passage had not yet fully opened. Phoenix was pulling the doorway open little by little as he explained casually:
"These are all Blood Vampires. They possessed somewhat greater power during the First Era. Normally, they lurk in the murals in the ruins and pose no danger, but they become active again during the Blood Moon."
The moon was now fixed as a Blood Moon, and the passage opened directly onto it, allowing its light to shine straight into the ruins. That was why these monsters had come alive.
Elliot rubbed his chin. "They can dehydrate, too?"
The Blood Vampire on the other side seized the chance to squeeze through. Its long fur was like individual steel nails, its scarlet eyes gleamed with a bloodred, man-eating light, and its open mouth was full of sharp fangs.
It leaped out of the passage, only to abruptly discover a crowd surrounding it.
Some of the Communion's believers were new members who had not experienced the Festival or the battle in the Sea of the Moon. This was their first time seeing a Blood Vampire:
"My goodness, so this is a Blood Vampire?"
"It really does look like Lady Maeve!"
"It's just so much smaller than Maeve."
"It's so tiny and cute!"
The Blood Vampire was visibly bewildered. It let out threatening growls at its surroundings, its long fur standing on end.
After a moment, it decided to attack whoever looked least threatening.
And so it charged at Victoria!
Victoria: ???
There was no helping it. Victoria was only a little taller than Elsa, and even that might have been because of the thickened soles of her little leather shoes.
A single Blood Vampire theoretically possessed strength around middle rank, though in practice it fell somewhat