The First Pope - Chapter 29

Chapter 29

The Tremere family was originally a line of human wizards who practiced witchcraft. They betrayed the human race in their yearning for eternal life, and now they should be called the Tremere Clan.

A clan belonging to the Vampires.

Olivia had no fondness for the Tremere, who had betrayed their own kind just to obtain eternal life. Facing the Sethite clan, who were now walking the same path, the anger in her heart burned hotter than her disgust. "As a human, you actually help the Vampires harm your own people. Has the Tremere's treatment at the hands of the Vampires not taught you a lesson?"

She pointed at Della and said coldly, "The Vampires are cunning and treacherous, yet you actually believe their nonsense."

Being pointed at and scolded made Della's expression darken, but considering Olivia's strength, she ultimately just let out a cold snort.

In order to destroy the Temple of the God of the Ocean beneath the Slade Sea Region, Della had suffered considerable injuries. She had no desire to confront Olivia right now.

Under Olivia's icy gaze, Maia's face turned somewhat pale. The oppressive air added to her stress, making her fear that an arrow might fly out from anywhere and take her life. She edged closer to Della, avoiding Olivia's line of sight, and said in a low voice, "We are witches, not humans."

She paused, her tone becoming a little more resolute. "And we are not the Tremere. Even if we are transformed into Vampires, we will not become like them."

"Naive." Maia's words left Olivia somewhat disappointed. She shifted her gaze away expressionlessly, her pale green eyes fixed on the still-collapsing temple. She said flatly, "Even if you are transformed into Vampires, to true Vampires, you will always be outsiders."

The higher the generation of a Vampire, the less likely they are to casually turn a human into their progeny. This is because, to them, humans are only one of two things: outsiders or prey.

A situation like the Tremere, where a group was directly transformed into a new clan, was even more intolerable for the Vampires.

During the age of the gods, the clan leader who led the Tremere family in their betrayal was a first-generation Vampire after his transformation. He stood at the very pinnacle of the Vampires, rumored to possess strength capable of rivaling the gods. But what of it?

In the end, wasn't he killed by the other first-generation Vampires working together?

The Vampires would not tolerate outsiders carving up their power and territory.

"When will you ever understand this?" Olivia shook her head. She put away her longbow and took a brown staff in her hand. At its tip, a green crystal shimmered faintly. A gust of wind lifted her body into the air. Her pale green hair and the silver belt at her waist billowed backward. She looked down at the temple below and began to chant a spell.

Della's expression changed slightly. She flew forward, wanting to stop Olivia, but the fierce winds blocked her path. A brown mist rose from the churning swamp below, the cracked earth within the temple began to slowly close, and even the tremors gradually subsided.

If they didn't stop Olivia, the collapsing temple would stabilize, and their dark formation and the Godhead would all be wasted.

Della gritted her teeth and raised her hand, manifesting her Blood Domain. A thick, blood-red fog enveloped the temple, attempting to resist Olivia's magic, but a green arrow flew over and pierced straight through the Blood Domain.

Polly, standing behind Olivia, drew her bowstring taut once more.

After the Blood Domain shattered, Della's already pale face became even more unsightly. The sound of something slicing through the air reached her ears, and she caught a glimpse of a green light flying toward her, her brow furrowing tightly.

A mass of blood-red fog suddenly appeared in front of Della, blocking the incoming arrow for her. Polly's hand, holding the longbow, tightened, and her expression grew solemn.

The mass of blood-red fog swirled slowly, a faint image appearing within it. The background was a luxurious and magnificent palace. A blonde Vampire was leaning back comfortably in a chair, her legs crossed. On a nearby table, colorful and strangely shaped stones were scattered about messily.

The image in the fog grew clearer. The blonde Vampire raised her head slightly, her red eyes scanning the area before finally settling on Olivia's back.

When Della saw the blonde Vampire, her expression instantly became respectful. She bowed deeply and called out in a low voice, "Elder Talia."

Talia beckoned with a finger toward the table, and a white cat leaped from the floor onto her shoulder. Stroking the cat's ear, Talia's voice was deep. "I figured this little elf would show up to cause trouble."

Della looked vexed. "The dark formation was about to succeed."

"It's not your fault," Talia said in a flat tone. "Asking you to stop this little elf was too much to ask."

Della wanted to say something but ultimately kept her mouth shut. Elder Talia was right; with her strength, she truly couldn't defeat Olivia.

Even though she was countless times older than Olivia, the laws of the Vampires were just that ruthless.

Olivia, the second Elf Queen of the Elf Race after the gods left the Sitatul Continent. An elf who had only just come of age, yet her strength was already on par with a Second Generation Vampire.

It was no exaggeration to call her the most talented queen in the history of the Elf Race.

After the gods left the Sitatul Continent, the situation for the Elf Race was not good. Although they chose to remain in their territory to avoid the Vampires' might, the Vampires had no intention of letting them go.

The Elf Queen at that time was not exceptionally powerful, and the Elf Race suffered heavy losses under the Vampires' siege. It wasn't until Olivia's birth that their circumstances improved.

Before she came of age, Olivia fought alongside the Elf Queen to resist the Vampire invasion, protecting her people. Later, after the queen fell in battle, she succeeded to the throne. She shouldered the burden of the entire Elf Race alone, defending their territory against the siege of three Second Generation Vampires and making a name for herself in that one battle.

Talia still remembered how fierce that battle had been. It was the Vampires' only defeat since the gods had left Sitatul, and it was at the hands of this little elf who had only recently come of age.

Facing Olivia alone, even Talia would find it troublesome. However… she pulled her hand back from the white cat's ear, the corner of her mouth curling up slightly. The Olivia of today was not the same one who had faced the siege of three Second Generation Vampires with fearless composure.

Because she had done the same foolish thing as the previous Elf Queen.

With Talia's appearance, a powerful pressure descended, enveloping the elves. Olivia's spell was interrupted. Her brow furrowed slightly, and she retreated.

Polly came forward, her tone grave. "It's Talia."

Olivia caressed her staff, staring at the figure in the fog with a cold expression. "It's just a phantom."

Talia sat up a little straighter in her chair and nodded at Olivia. "Long time no see, Olivia."

She looked down, her gaze sweeping across the table before she picked up a statue of the Beast God carved from a dark green stone, toying with it. Her tone held no hostility; instead, it was as if she were making small talk with a friend. "How has the Elf Race been lately?"

Talia's friendly attitude was not well-received by Olivia. She said expressionlessly, "How the Elf Race is doing is no concern of yours."

"Is that so?" Talia smiled faintly. "But you look a little weak."

"This state won't be enough to stop me." Talia threw the statue in her hand. The dark green stone flew out from the fog, heading toward the temple.

Unhurriedly, Olivia waved her staff. A whirlwind caught the stone, sweeping it away and tossing it back into the fog.

Talia: "…"

The smile on her face faintly disappeared. She warned in a deep voice, "Don't be so willful, Olivia."

"The Vampires have already spared the Elf Race. Are you trying to provoke us now?" Talia's eyes narrowed. "Think of your people. You don't want to be an Elf Queen with no subjects, do you?"

"Are you threatening me?" Olivia sneered. "The Ventrue and Brujah no longer set foot on Sitatul. What are you Lasombra plotting by remaining here?"

"Go back to your Blood Domain. This is not your territory."

"It's just not our territory now," Talia said, glancing toward the temple, her tone indifferent. "The temple has collapsed. Who is left to protect this continent?"

"Only those cowards from the Ventrue would flee out of fear that the gods might return."

Choosing to withdraw from here on the grounds that completely turning the Sitatul Continent into Vampire territory might incur the wrath of the gods was, to Talia, the most laughable reason imaginable.

Hidden beneath the shrewd masks of those Ventrue clan elders was nothing but their own cowardice.

Olivia raised her staff, a flicker of anger in her eyes. She enunciated each word clearly, "Even if the gods do not return, I will drive you from the Sitatul Continent."

Talia shrugged. "You can try."

Olivia began to chant a spell expressionlessly. A fierce wind began to howl, the frozen swamp beneath her feet suddenly shattered, and a rain of arrows formed from the hurricane enveloped Talia. But just as the battle was about to erupt, a burst of golden light suddenly erupted from the temple, which had already collapsed by two-thirds, causing Olivia to stop her chanting.

Olivia turned her head to stare at the temple ruins, her expression shifting slightly.

Talia was momentarily stunned by the golden light. She, too, stared in the direction of the temple ruins with Olivia, a flicker of curiosity in her eyes.

After the burst, the golden light subsided. Olivia waited for a moment, but when nothing else happened, her brow slowly furrowed. She caressed her staff, wanting to investigate inside the temple, but with Talia nearby, she didn't dare act rashly.

As she hesitated, a slender white arm suddenly reached up and grabbed the edge of a cliff to her right, a cliff formed by the subsiding land from the temple's collapse. It was followed by a silver head, and then by Cynthia's face, which was still breathtakingly beautiful despite being stained with dirt.

To climb the cliff, Cynthia had rolled up her sleeves and tied her hair back with a pale green ribbon. Her face and arms were smudged with dirt. Although she looked a bit disheveled, perhaps because of the faint smile on her face, she still appeared elegant.

She climbed up from below the cliff and, while straightening her clothes, habitually raised her head to survey her surroundings. The sudden sight of so many people made her freeze.

She saw the Vampires first and was thinking this is bad when she caught sight of Olivia off to the side.

Cynthia paused for a second, then a smile spread across her face. Her gentle tone held a hint of pleasant surprise. "Olivia?"

"Are you here to fulfill our agreement?"

Agreement? Standing behind Olivia, Polly's expression suddenly turned strange. She glanced at Cynthia, then involuntarily looked toward Olivia.

Olivia noticed her gaze and said with displeasure, "What are you looking at me for?"

Polly hesitated, but her concern for Olivia's mood won out. She asked cautiously, "Is it the agreement about the Twin Flower?"

Olivia's face darkened. She lowered her voice and said through gritted teeth, "No."

The two of them spoke in very low voices, so Cynthia didn't know what they were saying. She only saw that Olivia's expression wasn't good and assumed she was still angry, sighing with a sense of helplessness.

I already returned the cup. How am I supposed to appease her this time?

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