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The shock of the Anti-light Barrier wasn’t one to dissipate so easily. Because of its existence, the Vampire and his minions could operate in day unimpeded. That was a cause for concern, for sure, but it wasn’t like the Undead were just as strong as they were in day as in night. The night itself enhanced their abilities, so it wasn’t all bad news, at least. However, Humans were never a logical species to begin with. Especially not when the villagers were nothing but a makeshift army with no training. Our morale had taken significant damage and our previous plan was basically null and void.

We had banked on the Undead being weakened and the Vampire being absent. Both of these were now false. That Vampire was standing in front of us without a care in the world and had even taken out a barrier to block the sunlight. Truly, the tides had turned against us.

“Did you really think my brains had turned to mush? If I already knew about our weakness in the day, why would I still give you 24 hours to consider? I’m sure you know the answer to that question now.” The Vampire smugly proclaimed while basking in the shocked looks of the villagers. “But it’s not too late yet. My earlier proposal still stands. If you all want to live, you, you, you… and you, have to leave the village. Only then will I forgive these innocent villagers.”

“…”

That Vampire’s motive couldn’t have been as simple as chasing us out of the village. If it was, he could have done that by force rather than persuade us… Was he trying to get the villagers to chase us out then? But we were going to leave anyway… Either way, we will know soon enough what his plans are.

I wasn’t going to let this Vampire get his way regardless of what he had in mind. Even though I did not specialise in psychic magic, fooling a bunch of ordinary villagers was no problem at all. After all, Lust Demons and Illusion Demons were both the strongest psychic users amongst the Seven Original Sins. With both of them in my bloodline, psychic magic was a walk in the park.

“Everyone, you mustn’t believe his words. Vampires have only seen Humans as cattle. He might not kill you right now, but he will turn your village into a blood farm. Just like before. One villager at a time. Till everyone is dead!”

My psychic suggestion proved effective once more. Just a few seconds ago, their hearts were beginning to waver but they were now back on my side.

“Haha. It’s true we Bloodkin feed on lowly animals like Humans. But what about you, Occultist? Of everyone here, you have the least qualification to criticise me.” Just when I thought that I finally stabilised the situation, the Vampire suddenly broke out in boisterous laughter before dealing the final nail in the coffin.

“Did you really think that no one else knew about those one hundred villagers who left the village to become bandits. They might not always return with loaded coffers and full strength, but they at least returned. So why have only eight of them returned now? Where did the rest go? Aren’t you fools curious at all?”

“That’s right, Nasus left with Leeder as well. But when he returned, there were only Arsen and a few others. I tried to ask around but Leeder refused to say…”

“Leeder! Where is my son, Harvey? Tell me the truth…”

“That’s right. My husband used to return with you as well, but I haven’t seen any signs of him at all. Don’t try to brush it off as some business deal, I want the truth!”

“Uncle… where is daddy?”

“Leeder, I only have that one son. If someone were to happen to him, how do you want this old bag of bones to live…”

Umbra’s word had set off a chain reaction of unease amongst the villagers. Their already tense emotions were amplified to the point where they broke free of my psychic magic and began bombarding Leeder with questions.

While I still did not know how he found out about those bandits I killed, his motives couldn’t be any clearer. He wanted to see us tear each other apart. And it worked. Leeder and the remaining seven bandit/villagers were no longer able to keep this secret under wraps. If it wasn’t for the fact that I had lied to them before about the spiders being in their bellies, they would have probably spilled the beans to this angry mob.

“Hahahaha. Foolish Humans. Do you still not understand? The one who killed your loved ones is standing before you right now.” Having said that, he pointed in my direction, smiling sinisterly. “See that beautiful lady over there? She’s an Occultist, with abnormal power as well. It was her who killed the other villagers. Not only that, in order to control the survivors, she left a parasite in each of them to seal their mouths. You can ask those survivors if you do not believe me.”

“Leeder! Is this true?”

“Leeder! Answer us!”

“Arsen… is there really a monster in your body?”

“Leeder!”

“Leeder…”

Countless villagers began calling out Leeder’s name in hopes of getting an explanation, especially those who had family members amongst the deceased. Had it not been for the more sane amongst them holding the mob back, he would have probably been torn apart by now.

Even so, Leeder had his neck fully retracted and his head lowered to its maximum.

Yet he wasn’t the only one nervous right now. I was too. Even though killing those bandits was to prevent them from harming anyone else, there was no point saying that now.

If Nicole were to…

I was at wit’s end, but I still put on a brave front to prevent anyone from seeing my weakness.

Leeder still believed they had those spider eggs in their bodies so they dared not say a word. There were no leftover spider eggs to begin with, but the problem was that they did not know this. Honestly, that worked in my favour now since they wouldn’t rat me out.

“There’s no point trying to force him.” Umbra stepped in once more to toss more oil into this raging inferno. “Their lives are in the hands of someone else. Of course, they wouldn’t say anything. Silence is the only reason they are still alive at this point.”

Hearing that, the anger in the villagers was stoked once more. Even though I was the one trying to save them here, and that Vampire was the one who caused them to be in this situation in the first place, the situation had somehow turned against me. At this point, a riot was only a matter of time.

To the villagers, their hero had now turned into an evil Occultist. That same Occultist had also slain their family members without their knowledge. Yes, they were bandits, but to the villagers of Lyon, they had only done so to survive. They should be forgiven.

The ironic truth was that I was actually the one trying to save them, the Occultist and probably murderer in their eyes…

Crap, what to do now? Tell them that their loved ones deserved to die? That will only make them angrier. Blast… I actually wanted to save them at one point too… Now I’m their hated enemy…

“Master… they are scary…” Ever the timid one, Jezsere was overwhelmed by the angry stares thrown our way. Their insults and shouting had scared her into seeking refuge in my embrace.

“It’s all right, your master will protect you.” I tenderly comforted her, in spite of the fact that I needed comforting just as much. I couldn’t think of a way out of this situation. I wanted to ask Ferti’nier for help, but that she-devil was dead set on ignoring me right now.

“Do not worry, Master. If need be, I can kill them all right now.” Zurnalin suggested with seething anger. She took a couple of steps forward to shield Jezsere and I from the crowd. “Not just those villagers, that Vampire as well. I can kill them as long as you give the order!”

From the get go, Dark Elves had always been a selfish race. Had it not been for me insisting on protecting Nicole, Zurnalin and the others wouldn’t have even considered helping the villagers. In fact, not killing them was probably a miracle in and of itself. But I had already promised to protect them along with providing them some assistance in restarting their lives. Even so, what did I get in return? Betrayal. Betrayal at the drop of a hat. Betrayal because of an enemy who we should have been facing together… The situation was now completely out of my control…