Devouring World Dragon

Chapter 176 The Priory of Sion and the Thirteen Vampire Clans

(What are you guys thinking, saying the main character is going to be gender-bent?)
This is a new world that seems different from the old one, and everything has been reshaped by it. The shadow knows this very well.

For example, its true form, in the old world, was a colossal creature bearing the earth and ocean. If the humans of the old world had enough perseverance, they could have dug all the way down to the body of this giant serpent. But now, this colossal creature has been completely reshaped into the Earth itself. Rock layers, mantle, core, and even the most fundamental liquid and solid metal core—a pure planet, devoid of any signs of life.

The giant serpent slept in the old world, and in the new world it slept as a planet.

For example, many legends of gods and monsters, in the old world, were bound by the covenant between gods and demons that "they must not interfere with the present world." It was a world with countless gods, demons, monsters and ghosts, but rarely did supernatural powers appear. But now it has completely transformed into a new world where supernatural powers are almost non-existent. The few supernatural and mysterious powers that exist are only able to continue because of the interference of the sleeping serpent in this new world.

In the old world, many ancient heroes, such as King Arthur, Saint George, and King David, who were once manipulated as pawns by the Shadow, have never appeared in this new world.

History that has already occurred will reappear, but it will be rewritten in another form.

Beneath their seemingly similar exteriors, the interiors have undergone earth-shattering changes. This is the new world, an imperfect new world.

In the old world, the shadow once resided within Joan of Arc. In this new world, this act has become the shadow being imprisoned within Joan of Arc, forced to burn to ashes along with her. Only Joan of Arc's heart was not destroyed, and the shadow, residing within it, is also unable to escape for the time being.

Leonardo da Vinci believed that the statue held some secret, and his premonition was correct, because inside was Joan of Arc's heart, which Bluebeard had carefully hidden inside the statue—a vessel for the demon king Satan.

"Hmph... Do you think that by trapping me here, I will have no way to escape? You are far too naive."

Although temporarily trapped inside the statue, and even its true form transformed into a planet and fell into a deep slumber, the shadowy figure was not worried at all. Instead, it sneered at the god's naiveté.

For the shadowy figure, death is merely a period of slumber, and it will eventually awaken once more. Even becoming the planet itself is currently just another form of slumber; given the right opportunity, the serpent's true form will eventually awaken again.

Even though it has no way to escape at this moment, as long as it still exists, the serpent's invisible power will continue to influence this new world. Those remaining followers from the old world will eventually try to awaken the serpent and revive this sleeping planet.

It has enough patience that, whether it takes a thousand years, ten thousand years, or much longer, the monster will eventually awaken.

……

Inside an ancient castle outside Aachen, in the Holy Roman Empire.

Under the cover of night, this ancient castle, which has stood since the time of Charlemagne, appears exceptionally rustic. The surrounding area is deserted, and it is often mistaken for abandoned. However, whenever a petty nobleman tries to occupy it, several powerful nobles will quietly appear and stop him. Over time, everyone in the neighborhood knows that a powerful family definitely resides within this castle.

That night, unusually, lights appeared inside the castle, and one could vaguely see people moving around.

"..."

Around a large round table sat a dozen or so men and women with varying appearances. Their demeanors differed, some violent, some elegant, but the only thing they had in common was their pale faces. Only the occasional sound of drinking could be heard, though the blood-red wine glasses always gave an unsettling impression.

"I need to know why I was summoned here this time..."

At the round table, a man with an indifferent expression spoke, but he was speaking in an extremely rare language, the language of a small ethnic group that had been used more than six hundred years ago.

However, none of the men and women present paid attention to this point. It was a language from more than 600 years ago, which was not unfamiliar to many of them. Some of them even knew it before the birth of Celtic.

“Neil, don’t be too anxious. This time it’s about that calling voice…”

A slightly aged middle-aged man said slowly, "For them, the excessively long lifespan has made them accustomed to a slow pace. The fast pace that is unique to humans is irrelevant to them, so much so that they are used to speaking slowly and deliberately."

The voice calling out—no one knew what it meant—had gradually come to the attention of a few vampire elders since the gods and demons disappeared.

That murmured voice was subtly calling to all the vampires. Most of the vampires could not hear the voice, but they were unconsciously drawn to it. Only a very few vampire elders could vaguely hear the fragmented dreamlike murmur.

Although they couldn't know what it was, the powerful force revealed in the low, dreamlike murmurs still made the vampire elders tremble. After decades of searching, the vampire elders finally vaguely sensed the place that the sound was leading to...

Somewhere in France.

Before the vampire elders could even arrive, the place that the voice had drawn to more than a decade ago had already changed. This time, it would be another long and arduous process of sensing.

"We have no idea what the owner of that voice wants to do, and we don't need to look for it."

The first person to speak frowned, his face full of resistance.

For many vampires, the voice was neither important nor something to be feared; these vampires advocated against exploring it, and the indifferent man was one of them. However, some vampires also realized the power and unshakeable nature of the voice.

According to some vampire scholars, even if you don't want to, the voice will unconsciously lead you to that place, prompting you to approach it.

"But what if it really is the progenitor?"

A woman with elegant bearing spoke, her voice slightly hoarse yet full of authority, clearly indicating her former high position and power, which gave her such dignity. When that word rang out, all the elders fell silent.

The term "progenitor" in the vampire clan refers specifically to one person...

Cain, the progenitor of the vampires, who killed the oldest human, is said to have abandoned his people after creating the oldest vampires, disappearing without a trace.

In fact, some believe that it might be the call of the progenitor, and it is precisely because it is the progenitor that it possesses such immense power, allowing it to influence the entire vampire race. However, there are also dissenting voices, because the vampire race's old adversaries, werewolves, can also sense that voice; in fact, countless dark races can sense that voice.

The power to give a voice that makes all the races of the night feel the same call is immense. It would not be an exaggeration to call an individual with such power the source of darkness.

The debate continued, but ultimately it ended on a sour note.

After the guests had left, only the host of the place—the Duke of Lorraine—sat alone at the round table. After a long while, amidst the many candlelight, he murmured something.

"The gods and demons have vanished... Why is that?" Clearly, the voice was related to the disappearance of the gods and demons, but no one knew the root cause. All that was known was that decades ago, seemingly overnight, all the gods and demons in the world vanished. Spirit summoning spells could no longer summon those once incredibly powerful beings; only deathly silence remained. In the Far East, a similar situation occurred, which the wizards of the Far East reportedly called the "Age of Decline."

Decades ago, even the ancient vampire elders who had been asleep for hundreds of years were awakened by it, but even those ancient vampire elders could not explain the reason. The only clue was that low, dreamlike voice.

"Perhaps we should wait a little longer..."

The old duke was not in a hurry. Vampires have extremely long lifespans and do not care about the outcome of this temporary argument. However, even he could not have foreseen what would happen later.

A year later, in 1484, Pope Innocent VIII announced the "Witch Hunt," marking the beginning of a momentous era. Vampire hunters were born in this time, and soon after, the thirteen vampire clans split into the Sorcery Party and the Camarilla. Such a meeting was never held again...

……

In a daze, surrounded by a vast expanse of white mist, Leonardo da Vinci seemed to hear a voice, a dreamlike voice that seemed to be tempting him to move forward involuntarily.

In the deep darkness, there were faint whispers, and strange traces appeared in the white mist. There were also pairs of eyes watching him from the mist. He was like a child who had wandered into a dangerous jungle, surrounded by wild beasts but completely unaware.

"What was that sound...?"

But at this moment, Leonardo da Vinci had only one persistent thought in his mind: the voice held a strange allure for him, making him unable to resist trying to explore it. Finally, after searching for a long time in the mist, he pushed aside the strange plants blocking his way, and what appeared before him was an incredible scene...

Under the blazing sun, an infinitely beautiful creature basks freely in its radiance.

That long hair that resembled a thousand venomous snakes dancing, those dangerous and cold dark purple lips, those upright snake-shaped pupils, that pale, inhuman skin... it was a monster that looked human but was not human at all, powerful, indifferent, beautiful, yet also instilling a deep and inexplicable fear in people.

Like a monster draped in human skin, beneath its human-like appearance lies a strange, inhuman quality that is always present, arrogant and composed, like a god looking down upon the world.

Despite being the deepest darkness, it can still bask freely in the light...

My heart felt as if it were being squeezed tightly by a giant hand; I couldn't breathe, I couldn't move, and a deep, inexplicable fear spread throughout my body.

"..."

His breathing had stopped, and he dared not make any movement. All the muscles in his body were stiff. This feeling was not unfamiliar to Leonardo da Vinci; he had experienced it before.

Leonardo da Vinci once came close to a lion; he encountered one by chance during an adventure to North Africa.

It was a powerful creature, languid and composed, strong and beautiful. As it strolled toward the human, the coldness emanating from its enormous pupils made one feel as if they were naked in the barbaric era of ten thousand years ago. At that time, he held an Italian pistol in his hand, but in front of that lion, he had no intention of firing it, not even once.

There was nothing else to it but fear.

In that moment, civilization and reason vanished, leaving only a monkey weighing less than seventy kilograms and a beast weighing nearly three hundred kilograms. Fear dominated his reason, preventing him from making calm and correct decisions. He didn't even realize when the lion left. After that, Leonardo da Vinci never went to North Africa again.

At this moment, Leonardo da Vinci felt that fear once again, a thousand times greater than before...

……

"Ah ah ah ah..."

Accompanied by screams, on the morning of July 21, 1511, Sir Leonardo da Vinci awoke from a nightmare.

His forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat, his pale face was filled with unease, and he was breathing heavily. After a long while, the sixty-year-old man looked to the side and saw a heroic female statue on a low table. It was spotless and had clearly been carefully cleaned regularly.

But looking at the statue, Leonardo da Vinci's face turned ashen, and he subconsciously bit his lower lip, which was the source of his fear...

He struggled to his feet, then sat down at his desk, picked up a quill pen, dipped it in ink, and began to write a letter. However, the words inside were incoherent and cryptic, completely incomprehensible to outsiders.

“My brothers and sisters… as I said, it has been almost thirty years, and I have come to understand the secret of that statue. I cannot tell you much, but the only thing I can say is that it is a taboo that must never be known to humankind…”

"Countless times, countless times in my dreams, I have been filled with deep fear. No matter how many times I see that figure, I cannot calm my emotions... Humans cannot defeat that thing; escape is the only way. The only saving grace is that it is still asleep..."

As Leonardo da Vinci was writing furiously, a shadow seemed to appear outside the window...

Suddenly, as if sensing something, Leonardo da Vinci abruptly looked towards the window on his left.

"squeak……"

There was nothing outside the window except some tree branches and the chirping of birds. However, Leonardo da Vinci was not careless and carefully observed again, finally confirming that there was nothing there.

Am I overthinking things...?

He had some doubts, but the feeling of being spied on lingered. After thinking about it again, he continued to write on the paper.

"I have kept this secret on my own for thirty years, and I wouldn't mind keeping it for a few more years. However, it seems that something in the darkness has its eyes on me... Therefore, in the name of the elders, I implore my brothers and sisters to help me, to help humanity, and to protect this secret together..."

"Elder of the Priory of Sion—Leonardo da Vinci."

……

Six months later, the famous scholar Leonardo da Vinci suddenly left Milan, where he had lived since his youth, and began to wander in Rome and Florence, eventually dying in France.

After his death, his servants discovered that some of his letters and documents seemed to have mysteriously disappeared...

(End of this chapter)