Chapter 366 Escape
The malignant treatment twisted Berlit’s wounds in a way that made subsequent self-treatment ineffective, misdirecting the healing process and further aggravating the injuries.
If it weren’t for the severe deteriorating wounds that were continually weighing him down, Vania wouldn’t have been able to easily confront Berlit, as vampires are among the strongest close-combat entities in the White Chalk Tier.
Of course, being able to confront and suppress doesn’t mean being able to k*ll. With the ability to transform into a bat, Berlit could easily escape. The reason Dorothy was able to k*ll Claudius was due to the terrain; the battle took place in underground ruins, where Claudius’s swarm of bats could only flee through the singular exit, allowing for an ambush at that location.
Now the environment was outdoors, and after transforming into a bat, Berlit could scatter and flee freely. Faced with a horde of bats scattering in all directions, Dorothy had no way to k*ll Berlit. His goal was merely to prevent him from carrying out the assassination.
Besides, Berlit also had something to leave behind.
“Great Akka, please convey to Sister Vania that she did an excellent job; the current threats have all been eliminated, and both the populace and the royal family are temporarily safe. Pack up the spoils and leave…”
Under the nightfall of the New Year, Dorothy, shivering in the cold wind while squatting by the side of the street, closed her eyes and prayed internally. To others, she might appear to be an abandoned orphan, resembling a girl selling matches in this era.
…
On the rooftop at the edge of the square, Vania, who received Dorothy’s words in her heart, nodded knowingly. She then looked down at the celebrating crowd and the royal family on the distant balcony, feeling a sigh of relief within.
“I never expected that there would be cultists causing trouble during the New Year’s celebration. Fortunately, Miss Dorothy was here to guide me to stop it all; otherwise, I don’t know how it would have escalated!”
Vania thought to herself, feeling thankful. Although she still occasionally felt a slight anxiety about the overly close ties between Akka and Dorothy, every time that connection allowed her to save others, she felt a genuine joy. She also anticipated being able to save more people under Akka’s guidance.
After her thoughts, Vania began clearing the battlefield according to Dorothy’s instructions. She walked to the edge of the rooftop and picked up a rifle made of brass and white wood, which Berlit had previously intended to use to snip the royal family. After being cut by Vania, he had discarded it here, and in his bat form, he didn’t have time to take it away.
A weapon capable of sniping the royal family and with such a glamorous appearance was clearly not an ordinary item.
“This is the spoils; let’s get out of here quickly…”
With the rifle in hand, Vania thought, then shifted her gaze to the royal family’s balcony. At that moment, she saw the princess and duke standing from their position and discussing something with several bodyguards nearby. However, among the bodyguards, there was no one disguised as a member of the Eight-pointed.
…
“What? Someone wants to assassinate us?”
On the royal balcony, Duke Barret, shocked by the bodyguard’s serious words, exclaimed. A tall bodyguard in front of him nodded seriously.
“Yes, Your Grace, the current situation is very complicated and dangerous. According to the intelligence, the Kamino who has been guarding the two of you has problems, so we just summoned him under the pretext of discussing matters to secretly control him, but this caused resistance. We have confirmed that this is not the real Kamino.”
The bodyguard seriously addressed the duke and princess, while the princess shook her head in disbelief.
“Not the real Kamino… How is that possible? Kamino has always been my guard; I can’t mistake him…”
“Your Highness, this matter involves secrecy. The Kamino you encountered before should have been an Extraordinary Being disguised as a vampire. Such beings possess the perfect ability to change into others, making it very difficult for ordinary people to discern.”
The bodyguard continued to answer seriously. Listening to his words, Duke Barret frowned and then spoke with a stern expression.
“Vampire… Hmph… It seems this matter runs deeper than expected; they might be after me… By the way, how did you discover that Kamino had problems? What is the status of that vampire now?”
Duke Barret continued to question seriously, and the bodyguard did not dare to neglect his reply.
“Your Grace, we found out about Kamino’s issue because the real Kamino is still alive. He was found by someone from the church’s medical point and notified us, revealing the problem.
“As for that vampire, we were just about to test him in secret when he realized he was exposed. He attempted to break through our encirclement to attack you, but luckily we were prepared and successfully thwarted him. When he saw the situation turning against him, he fled using his transformation ability. We apologize for not capturing him.”
The bodyguard replied apologetically. Duke Barret silently nodded and then spoke.
“Well… it’s not your fault. Vampires are among the hardest Extraordinary Beings to deal with, not only possessing strong infiltration and combat abilities but also exceptional escape skills. Without proper preparation, it’s tough to capture them.”
“Exactly… So, given the current situation, we cannot determine if there are other hidden dangers. This balcony is very exposed and unsafe, so I ask Your Grace and Your Highness to move indoors, where we can protect you closely. After assessing the dangers, we will escort you back safely.”
The bodyguard addressed Isabel and Barret. Listening to him, Isabel, with a worried expression, nodded and spoke.
“Then I will trouble you. Since it’s not safe now, please notify the party to end as soon as possible and let everyone go home; let’s skip the subsequent events.”
“Yes, we will notify below.”
After receiving the bodyguard’s response, Isabel and Barret walked into the building from the balcony together.
…
On the other side, not far from the bishop’s square, in a dark and deserted alley, countless flying bats fell from the sky, gathering to form a man’s figure.
“Ha… Ha… d*mn!!”
Reverting from his bat form, Berlit leaned against the wall, gasping for breath. His face was pale as he tore off his left shoulder’s clothing, revealing a grotesque mass of flesh.
“Ugh… What went wrong… Where was the plan exposed… And that amniotic warrior, where did he come from?!”
While gasping for air, Berlit grabbed the rotten flesh on his shoulder, gritting his teeth, and violently tore it off. As bl**d sprayed out, he involuntarily emitted a pained grunt.
After tearing off all the rotten flesh, Berlit quickly pulled out another bl**d syringe and injected it into himself. After this injection, his wounds finally began to recover normally. In no time, the bleeding stopped successfully.
After ruthlessly completing this series of actions, the exhausted Berlit slumped down on the ground. After taking a few deep breaths to ease the pain, he shook his sleeve, and then a human-faced spider crawled out from within.
Looking at the human-faced spider in his hand, Berlit weakly spoke.
“Lord Priest of the Fangs… I regret to inform you that due to the unexpected interference of someone resembling the amniotic cult, our mission has failed. Barret is still alive, but under the current circumstances, we cannot k*ll him.
“That guy must d*e… Lord Priest of the Fangs, while the opportunity is still there, activate ‘Night Demon’.”
