The God of Jesters
Chapter 653 - 10.02.1 The vampires are cowards.

Chapter 653: 10.02.1 The vampires are cowards.

The God of Wine is an evil deity in the eyes of some, but to others, his very existence brings satiety. Long before the conception of the Cynark empire, when the Night Ravens ruled the Brihma continent, things were not as good as many might have thought.

There was no structure in the Old Regime’s rule, they just ruled over the masses without doing anything for them, all they did was maintain their power and let the countless forces run amok among their lands. Not like they needed to do much, considering their territory was a fraction of the current Cynark empire. But it showed a level of distance from the normal folks of that time. How their alienation from the world around them caused countless disasters out of inaction.

Many people cursed them as the bad rulers, many derided them for their cowardice. But some, specifically a branch of their family were not only frustrated by the inaction, they outright looked to replace them and rule like a just ruler.

Though they lacked strength, the Night Ravens were a lineage directly under the Goddess of Night, which at the time still held enough influence to make this Branch family think twice before showing their rebellious tendencies.

It’s then that Chalice came to them, belonging to the faction that worshiped the God of Wine, and servant to the reclusive Progenitors that had made a home in Brihma, he gave the Branch family a chance. A chance to replace the monarchy that ruled these lands.

In return, the Progenitors will replace the gods and be worshiped by their very food in return for their protection.

Which did happen a bit too easily at that. The Night Ravens barely put up a fight until their extinction and the new Family that rose to the ranks was none other than the Blood Crows, their bloodline being direct Descendant of the 2nd Progenitor Vampire Darthamir, letting them acquire control over their blood.

And that’s how the history would have ended, but then came the First of the children of God of Wine, Harathis, and his beloved friend Chalice. One of which loved to drink blood, the other loved to make wine out of blood.

This started a long series of miseries in the lands of Brihma, which caused even the other countries in the surroundings to wretch in disgust.

Entire villages refined into blood wine. And even the surrounding nations were not safe from these monsters, as with their strength, the two kept breaching the walls and kept hunting for more of their food.

This finally attracted the ire of the Radiant Order, and the rest of the history is the same, with Harathis’s humiliating Execution done by a Daemon of the Knights, while Chalice, that monster easily fled the scene without shame. He was a mere servant, just supporting his foolish master, he had done no wrong.

Or so he had told the royals of the Cynark as he kept operating in the dark, doing his things, hunting in the darkness and even sending his own men to collect some blood once he was awake from his deep sleep. Which rarely happens to say the least.

Of course, the Knights won’t leave him alone for this, they still came for him and caused him to hide like a rat soon after he showed his head. And even asked the Cynark empire for his head. Which was obviously denied, causing certain issues, but Chalice can’t die, he was the only connection Cynark had to the God of wine, a god without any temples. So no matter what, they can’t hand him over.

What they can do is hide him.

As for Chalice, through that experience alone, he did develop a level of Trauma. Through all his long life, that was the first time he felt fear, which made his subsequent actions far more covert.

So every time he wakes up, like all the servants of the God of Wine, he makes some bold sacrifices to add to his collection each time, though only a little, one that won’t be noticed. One of the reasons for his waking up is a grand material that appears every thousand years. A serpent with an immortal physique, unable to die and forever giving him wonders of a lifetime.

His blood produces a wine that even the God of Wine loves, which is why, once the awakening was detected by his men, he woke up from his deep sleep and went to visit the current emperor, who till now only considered Chalice to be a mere story of the old that can’t be true no matter what.

But why should Chalice care about this puppet who only exists to rule over their food? "Sealing him so early? A fool like you have the right to rule here?" Chalice had shown some disgust at the current emperor’s shortsightedness. Imagine a fool who is unable to see the opportunity that is at stake here.

"You knights will remain ignorant." Warning the Emperor of his foolish ideals, Chalice flew out and met some other awakened angels of God of wine, before making his break toward the serpent who had awakened once again.

And it didn’t take much in his end to kill this serpent. Even if he can only use the strength of Rank 6 in the material plane, due to how absurdly strong he was, even that strength easily broke the serpent’s defenses and killed it in an instant.

Though, once in the open, he rarely showed his face or showed his true cruelty in the world. As long as he was dealing with the serpent, he knew there would be the eyes of those monstrous knights on him all the time. And it would be much harder for him to take out time to collect some more ingredients.

Which frustrated him and put him on the edge. But as long as he could collect some materials, he didn’t mind much.

But things turn different, if the one keeping an eye on him is just a foolish newly risen totem or was it a Daemon?

His hatred for cowards like this was only secondary to the Radiant Knights. So he appeared in front of this insect. An insect whose blood smelled so unique that he had to give it a try at making something out of it.

"A swine dares to dream of wine? What a foolish concept... are you unaware of the difference between our realms? Even if we both remain in the same ranks in this place, the understanding of the laws of this world, our domain, and control over the rules differ a lot, your death will come faster than you can blink." Spoke Chalice, showing none of the cowardice he usually showed in front of the Knights.

"Gooble-gobble, so many words wasted on such a threat, show me if you dare." And Malidi, he was not one to fight with words when the enemy was an animal in his eyes. So he didn’t bother. With a finger, he spoke. "Stop." Which caused the face of Chalice to turn red for a moment as his nerves ruptured and the surrounding reality twisted, as chains from the void tried to hold him.

But that stop only lasted for a second, as he freed himself of the bounds and looked at the enemy that was nowhere to be seen.

"What?" Fear, that second alone was enough for beings in his realm to collide hundreds of times, but besides incurring some injuries that healed in an instant, there was nothing affecting his body.

Besides one thing. "He stole it." In that one second when his guard was down due to the absurd magic used on him, Malidi had come forward and stolen the Artifact "Chalice". Which did feel funny to the angel Titled "Chalice", a life-bound artifact of his can’t be easily stolen from him, a thought will be enough to summon it, more so he can teleport directly to the chalice if he wishes so.

Not even a second went by, but his face twisted in horror as a realization struck his face. "I... where is it?’ The Chalice existed and was not harmed in any way. Not like anyone can harm it, to begin with, due to the blessing from the God of Wine.

But so why can’t he feel it? Why can’t he pinpoint its location or call it back?

’That thief.’ His rage twisted the seas along with the soldiers that were currently harvesting the serpent, causing their blood to leave their bodies as they cried in pain, which mixed with the heavens to form a blood rain.

"Run, I wonder where you can run to." It was the fifth second since Malidi’s exit, and no life existed in the 10-mile radius of Chalice anymore.

******

"He was not as scary as I thought... stories are sometimes exaggerated," Malidi spoke, looking at the small wine cup that had been sealed by him for the moment. "Such a wonderful artifact, sadly I can’t use it, I am no mage."

The monster named Chalice once used to be a mage, a powerful mage with a unique path that focused on blood magic, and due to the Vampires being masters of the blood, it was obvious he would be attracted to them. Which made his strength soar to extreme levels.

But what can such strength do in front of a Sealer like him? All Malidi needed to do was seal his movements and actions in place before his enemy had the time to use his awesome powers. Isn’t that easy?

’This blood should be enough to forge a stronger vessel.’