Chapter 167 - Dekan's Legendary Speedrun

"Marquess, let me ask you a question, do you still have a glimmer of hope in your heart?"

After cooling and lowering the temperature of the coffin, Dekan, in a rare act of mercy, gave the marquess a moment of respite. He walked up to the coffin and asked Marquess Roderick.

...

Marquess Roderick remained silent. Perhaps he felt that any communication was meaningless. Or perhaps he truly had no strength left to speak.

"You are hoping that your fellow kindred will rescue you, and then return these torments to me a thousandfold," Dekan continued.

"It hasn’t been easy for your kindred to partially lift your seal," he taunted.

"Almost there, yet unfortunately stopped by High Priest Kevin, isn't that right?" Dekan pressed on.

...

The marquess still did not respond.

"I can't bear to snuff out this last shred of hope in you, Marquess," Dekan said with a playful smile, seeming to sympathize with the Count.

The marquess only felt that Dekan was trying to scare him. After all, it was impossible for Dekan to kill him. He might torture him for a moment, but he couldn't torture him for a lifetime. As long as the seal was lifted, he would reclaim everything.

"Heh heh, I just love to see the moment when someone like you, holding onto a shred of illusory hope as a pillar of your spirit, realizes the truth," Dekan said, placing his hand on the coffin and temporarily cutting off the live broadcast.

Then, he used the magic within his body to manipulate the [Blood Pact Incantation] he had forged with Isabelle back then.

The soul mark formed from the master-servant contract slowly appeared on Dekan's hand like a curse.

"Marquess, do you recognize this spell?"

Just as Dekan's words fell, the marquess's despairing roar echoed through the church.

"No!!! Impossible!!! We've already killed all those who knew this spell!!! It shouldn't be here!!!" Marquess Roderick's voice was filled with endless unwillingness and despair. He would never admit fault regarding the taboo magic created by the most evil human wizards — the [Blood Pact Incantation.]

It was specifically designed to enslave superior vampires who were difficult to kill. It was a nightmare that the entire vampire race would never forget.

"Marquess, do you understand now? I've been playing with you all along," Dekan said, quite satisfied with Marquess Roderick's reaction.

According to the records of the Holy Ritual Church, it was precisely because of the discovery of this spell by wizards that the vampires emerged en masse and engaged in a decisive battle with humanity. Although humans ultimately won, the vampires slaughtered all who knew the spell before finally relenting.

The "Blood Pact Incantation" became a lost magic thereafter. However, as the current holder of the contract activated by the "Blood Pact Incantation," Dekan naturally made Marquess Roderick believe that he possessed this magic.

Marquess Roderick didn't realize it was all due to a magic card and was completely filled by Dekan.

"So, Marquess, I've been waiting for your kindred to hurry up and release you. The hope you thought you had? That's actually the true beginning of your despair," Dekan continued.

"I've tortured you to this extent already. Even if the seal is lifted, will you be able to even lift a hand? Your true name, your race, your gender, I don't need to say more, do I?"

The activation condition of the [Blood Pact Incantation] required the enemy to lose the will or ability to fight. As for the required declaration content, true name, race, and gender, they were already established.

"Oh, my future slave, I can't wait to have you," Dekan's tone was filled with pleasure, as if the drama had already begun.

A dark priest character like the one Dekan was portraying seemed to unexpectedly fit well with all sorts of drama.

"What... what are you exactly...?!" Marquess Roderick could no longer maintain any composure, his words filled with nothing but shock and despair.

...

Dekan smiled, saying nothing. He had already cut off the live broadcast and had nothing to fear. He approached the coffin once more, his pupils shimmering, gradually tinted with a golden hue.

"This world is doomed. We, the demon race, will eventually rule over this entire sacred kingdom, and your vampire race will forever be our servants," with a voice full of demonic charm, he uttered the final boss-like lines.

Dekan quickly returned to his clear blue eyes, a faint smile playing on his lips as he resumed the role of the merciful priest, gazing at the coffin, waiting for Marquess Roderick's reaction.

After a long while, Marquess Roderick finally spoke. "You... you've finally returned, haven't you..." His voice was weak, as if he had lost everything that supported him.

Though Dekan didn't quite understand the ancient secrets of the sacred kingdom, he knew how to continue this play.

"What are you talking about? I am just a priest of the Holy Ritual Church, I don't understand anything you're saying," Dekan said with a smile.

"Hahaha, has the Holy Ritual Church been corrupted to this extent?" Marquess Roderick laughed somewhat maniacally. Although the two were not on the same wavelength, their odd exchange worked surprisingly well.

"Hahaha," Dekan joined in the laughter. This was probably the feeling of portraying a final boss, laughing was the key.

"Don't worry, once you become my servant, I will give you the best torture every day and night," Dekan's laughter stopped abruptly, as he spoke with the gentlest tone, delivering the cruelest words.

Although he wore the skin of a man, he was in fact a demon who took ultimate pleasure in torturing other beings.

"Hahahaha," Marquess Roderick's laughter gradually turned into a desperate, sobbing tone.

"Never would I have thought that, after a hundred years, the ultimate winner would be you all!! Damn the Holy Ritual Church, serve them right!!"

This seal, in turn, became his shield.

Marquess Roderick thought carefully now. The kin who helped him break the first seal was most likely already enslaved.

Their motivation for releasing his seal was simply to assist their master in enslaving a stronger vampire.

He had foolishly clung to hope, thinking he could once again dominate the world.

Perhaps in this world, the vampires had long become slaves to demons…

When the "True Word Blood Covenant" fell into the hands of the demons, the world was basically doomed.

There was no redemption left.

"Unnamed great demon, I have lost. But, I would rather die with the dignity of the vampires than live as your slave!"

With these words, Marquess Roderick, in his sealed state, seemed to trigger the only power he could use while sealed.

He took his own life.