Chapter 5

### Chapter 1: The Prisoner

As everyone knows, vampires are monsters that need to drink the blood of living humans to remain eternally young and immortal. Many people believe they are undead beings, mere corpses brought back to life by their strong will and the power of dark magic. This belief stems from the fact that vampires have no breath (though this is still debated) and no heartbeat. However, others argue that vampires are living creatures, magical beings that have been further altered and enhanced from humans. The main evidence for this view is that vampires can engage in sexual relations with humans (or elves?).

However, this question seems unsolvable because it is almost impossible for us to capture a vampire and conduct a detailed analysis today. Of course, consulting a vampire would be equally absurd.

Whenever we discuss the origin of vampires in a serious manner, we inevitably face an inescapable topic—the Dark City of Kaelan, the realm of the vampires. In this place, isolated by deserts and far from other nations, vampires are the nobility and rulers, while humans are the commoners and subjugated. Dark magic is prevalent. This might suggest that vampires' need for blood is far less than we estimate. Kaelan has never experienced a situation where humans are on the brink of extinction.

There is no dispute about the origin of Kaelan's vampires. All vampires come from their leader, the Dread Queen Qin Xin. Queen Qin Xin can transform ordinary humans into vampires through a process called the "Blood Kiss." Only the most outstanding and exceptional individuals are granted this honor, this cursed immortality.

Among the vampires derived from Queen Qin Xin, there are also distinctions between higher and lower vampires. The difference lies in the fact that the former can, to some extent, control the latter. Of course, why the same method produces this difference is still unknown. The only guess is that it might be related to the physical constitution of the transformed individual, or perhaps it is due to two different methods.

But where did Qin Xin come from? Why did she become the queen of Kaelan? The relevant records have long been lost to history, leaving only a few scattered phrases in rare documents. Of course, these documents are mostly unverifiable and riddled with contradictions.

Based on these records, we can half-guess and half-estimate a story of the origin of vampires, a story akin to a myth.

In ancient times, the people of Kaelan, the Kabedians (?), were conquered and enslaved by their barbaric neighbors, the Desert People (?). Despite the oppressed people's repeated uprisings, they were ultimately suppressed. Their largest and final uprising met the same fate.

At the end of this uprising, the rebels were besieged in a castle on the edge of the desert, including many women and children. These people requested to surrender, but were cruelly refused. The slave owners, tired of repeated uprisings, were determined to give these bold rebels a final, harsh lesson.

These unfortunate people fell into despair as their enemies cut off their water supply, and their end was near. This utter despair fueled an unprecedented hatred. They no longer cared for their own safety or hoped for salvation, but only wished to severely punish their cruel enemies. In the end, they initiated an ancient, unknown (and undoubtedly never performed) bloody ritual.

They selected a thousand sacrificial victims and performed a blood sacrifice, with all the victims being killed by the people who loved them most. The victims offered their blood and despair, while the executors offered their tears and pain. Their priests prayed to the dark sky amidst the blood and tears, calling upon unknown evil forces. As the ritual reached its climax, the power of hatred and pain tore through the world.

People saw a massive red fireball streak across the sky, falling from the heavens and directly impacting the land of Kaelan. After a ground-shaking tremor that knocked everyone off their feet, the besieged people found that the enemy army outside the castle had disappeared. In the place of the enemy camp, a large crater had appeared, where the fireball had struck.

Queen Qin Xin, the source of vampires and dark magic, emerged from the crater, standing on the land in a terrifying form, accepting the prostration and submission of the Kabedians.

——Excerpt from "On Vampires"

Swords flashed.

Scar sidestepped the first attack, then used his shield to block the second and third. His opponent's overexertion created a large opening. If he took advantage of it, he could have knocked the opponent down with one blow.

But Scar did not attack. He just stepped back, guarding himself cautiously with his shield.

Another round of attacks, defenses, and dodges. Scar slowly retreated, circling around, only counterattacking when absolutely necessary to push back his opponent. This situation had been going on for a long time, causing the audience in the arena to boo. Clearly, they had lost interest in this long, boring, and lackluster battle.

The bell rang, signaling the end of the fight. Scar jumped back, increasing the distance between them.

He glanced at the entrance, where the previously locked door was slowly opening. The battle was indeed over. The two opponents retreated, leaving the arena through different exits.

When he entered the exit, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. He had won the bet again.

Two human guards approached, taking his sword and shield. Then he walked down a long corridor to the other end, where the rest area was located.

In the rest area, a dozen or so gladiators were sitting or lying down. A narrow observation window allowed the resting gladiators to see the battles in the arena. So when Scar entered the rest area, everyone turned to look at him.

"You could have won," someone said. "You had several good opportunities."

"But I didn't seize them. My opponent was strong and couldn't be underestimated."

"Well, when two defensive fighters meet, it often turns out like this," someone else said, trying to excuse him.

"Next up, an eight-man group battle!" the guard shouted outside the rest area. Most of the people left. The rest area was soon left with only three people.

"Why didn't you win when you could?" another person asked after a brief silence.

Scar looked at the speaker, a stranger. In fact, over the past year, familiar faces had disappeared, and new ones had joined. At first, most were ordinary soldiers, but now there were more true knights. From the snippets of conversation from these new faces, everyone learned that the war was still ongoing. And Kaelan had won more than one battle.

"It's meaningless," Scar replied.

The daily gladiatorial program was fixed. The first event was a human versus beast, followed by one-on-one duels for the second, third, and fourth events. The last event was a group battle. The winners lived, and even if injured, they would be treated. The losers died, and even if they were still breathing, they would be killed outright.

But Scar knew that, fundamentally, the audience in Kaelan wanted to see the excitement of the gladiatorial battles, not the fate of the gladiators. In fact, the latter was never a concern. When a battle dragged on and lacked passion, the bell in the arena would ring, ending the poor match.

The stranger smiled.

"You're called Scar, right? They all call you that."

Scar's facial muscles twitched. The words seemed to touch a painful spot. When he first arrived, half of his sin-soldier squad was still alive. Now, only he remained, and the name "Scar" was the only one everyone recognized. The nickname given by the old man had become his only name.

"My name is Rais," the man said, unperturbed. "A knight of the Ryan Kingdom, or rather, a former knight of Ryan. I can tell you're from Ryan too, right? ...You're not a knight, are you?"

Scar still didn't answer, just turning to look out the observation window. Now, two teams of gladiators were entering the arena, preparing to fight for their lives.

"I was captured four months ago... and then sent here. How long have you been here?"

"Two years."

"Looks like you're not much of a talker."

"Maybe."

"I really don't understand what these vampires are thinking..." Rais also looked at the arena, where the two teams of gladiators were cautiously approaching each other.

Few people could understand the purpose of the vampires' actions. Vampires were not interested in torture, interrogation, or ransom. Instead, they enjoyed making captives fight in bloody gladiatorial battles for their amusement. According to legend, vampires' favorite activity was drinking the blood of living humans, but this behavior did not occur with the captives.

"You still haven't told me why you didn't kill your opponent just now," Rais said softly, walking behind Scar. "I know that person was no match for you."

"Killing him would have been meaningless," Scar finally answered. "Killing him wouldn't change anything. I'm still a prisoner, and in a few days, I'll have to fight another person again."

"Should I call you stupid, or are you too confident? Your opponent didn't think that way," Rais pointed to the window. "See that?"

He wasn't pointing at the gladiators who were cautiously approaching each other, but at a corner of the arena. This arena wasn't just a flat area surrounded by walls. More specifically, it consisted of four octagonal platforms on water, connected by bridges. Of course, the water in the surrounding pool wasn't water, but bubbling green acid.

Rais pointed to a prominent viewing balcony in the center of the arena, a unique structure. From this balcony, one could get the best view of the gladiatorial performances.