Chapter 685: Hijack
"Join you?" Michael asked, almost laughing at the suggestion.
"Yes," the Purist Vampire nodded. "You should consider changing your religion before it’s too late. This, Iron Maiden, as far as we can tell, it’s a Deity that has only formed quite recently without any power at all.
But our Deity, the great and powerful Gaia, is an ancient god that is more powerful than any god combined!"
There was a crazed devotion in all of their eyes as their leader mentioned Gaia.
Michael had half a mind to tell them that there was a good chance that the Iron Maiden that they were disparaging was actually the Gaia that they were praising.
"It’s no use telling them the truth," Guillermo muttered. "The Gaia that they worship is completely different from the one that us Vampires worship. It’s a twisted version of the original, so they won’t even believe it if we told them about the Iron Maiden."
It was usually impossible to change the minds of extremists like these Vampires, so Michael wasn’t even going to try.
"Join us, Michael. Usually, we disdain the thought of having a human within our midst, but you are extraordinary even among them. We are willing to take you in. This is a privilege that no human will ever get, so accept while you still have the chance."
"Why would I join an organization whose sole purpose is to drink the blood of my kind?" Michael asked.
The Purist Leader spread his hands wide, as if presenting himself as a generous and magnanimous person.
"If you help us in our cause and wholeheartedly believe in our Deity Gaia, then she shall save you from the fates of all humans in the world. While everyone will merely become sources of blood to nourish us, you can instead become one us, a great Vampire! Trust that she will turn you into one of us!"
Michael laughed at their offer. Was that supposed to motivate him to become one of them? He would be dooming the world while only saving himself. That was the complete antithesis to his goals.
"No thanks. Instead, I’m giving you a chance. Turn yourselves over and I won’t have to kill all of you," he said.
And this time, the Purist Vampires laughed at him.
Both sides were clearly not willing to change their beliefs, so they were at an impasse.
"It’s a shame. With your talents, we could have taken control of Metropolis a lot sooner than expected. But it doesn’t matter. You would just have to serve as a good source of blood for us, given how talented you are.
And as for the Iron Maiden religion, we shall simply use them to our advantage."
Michael tilted his head. "How so?"
"Metropolis being such a secular nation without much religion actually made it a lot harder for us to fulfill our plans. But the great Gaia must have been looking down on us since we stumbled upon the Iron Maiden at the right time.
The Iron Maiden religion has laid the groundwork in Metropolis, gaining lots of followers in such a short amount of time. Now, all we have to do is take over their religion and use the citizens’ belief to our advantage.
We shall make them voluntarily offer up their blood to us!"
After hearing their plans, Michael almost smiled.
"And how are you going to take over the Iron Maiden religion?" he asked them.
"It’s easy. We have already located the two heads called the Bishop and the Priest. We shall offer them the same thing we offered you. And if they refuse, well, we shall take their heads," the Purist Leader declared.
Michael inwardly laughed to himself. It seemed that they were completely overlooking one major fact. One slimy fact.
If they were planning to scheme against that little ninja, then they didn’t know what’s coming to them.
Hahaha, so that’s what the Old Seer means with her prophecy.
’Victory over monsters lies not in becoming one, but in refusing to.’
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Meanwhile back in the outskirts of Metropolis, there was a small gathering of people under the deep night of the moon.
They kneeled on the grass, with their eyes focused on the metal plates on their hands.
"Brethren, today, we shall talk about that monumental moment when the Iron Maiden first showed itself to this world. It was all because of this boy called Michael..."
Opposite the group of Iron Maiden believers were two people, Hestu and Viperion, or also known as the Priest and the Bishop.
According to the great slime, it was their job to spread the word of the Iron Maiden to Metropolis, allowing them the pleasure of knowing their meta deity.
Today was just like any other day, with some returning believers, and some participating for the first time, numbering in the thirties all in all.
But unbeknownst to them, there were a few bats circling above them, observing, waiting for the right moment. One could see from the rabid red glint in their eyes that they had no good intentions for these humans.
Then finally, the bats swarmed the crowd, surprising everyone and making the Hestu and Viperion stop their words.
As everyone opened their eyes, they saw these pale men and women all wearing a black robe, surrounding them on all sides.
"Vampires?" one of the innocent civilians realized.
They started to move out of the way, but the Purist Vampires snarled at them.
"Nobody move," warned the Vampire, flashing the two fangs on his upper mouth.
It was clear from their tone that this was not a friendly meeting with the Vampires.
One scared civilian ended up running away as fast as he could, but a Vampire suddenly turned into a shadow and caught up to him in no time.
The Vampire sank his teeth on the civilian’s neck, his face turning more and more pale.
"Don’t kill them," warned the other Vampire. "They’re our cows. You won’t get milk without them."
The Vampire then let go of the human in his hands, licking the blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.
Finally, the civilians realized the danger they were in.
"KYAA!"
"HELP!"
"THEY’LL KILL US! AAAHHH!"
Panicked screaming came out of their mouths. If they hadn’t just seen someone get the blood sucked out of their body for trying to escape, they would have all ran away by now.
"How dare you do this!" Hestu shouted, his face turning red from anger.
"Hurting the believers of the Iron Maiden religion is an offense warranting death!" Viperion added.
But the Purist Vampires didn’t seem to mind it at all.
"There’s no use screaming," the Vampire warned the civilians. "We’ve surrounded the whole place with a blood circle. No one’s going to hear or see you."
And just like he said, those crossing the other side of the street didn’t notice the yelling from the civilians. They kept on walking, as if there was nothing of interest in the empty space beside the street.
"You two must be Bishop and Priest," the Vampire called out to the two. "We will only give you one chance to take our deal. Surrender to us, or face a bloodless death. Choose."