Chapter 113 – Walking Further and Further Down the Path of a "Holy Man"
About ten minutes later, the Lycans withdrew.
The vampires left behind at the station finally approached the train cars. After confirming the bite marks on Amelia's body — clear evidence she had been mauled by Lycans — they relaxed and departed.
No one could survive being bitten by both species.
That was common knowledge among vampires and Lycans alike.
It was as if the two races were born specifically to destroy one another.
When Kraven's people had fully withdrawn…
William stepped out of the shadows.
Inside the train, quite a few vampires were still barely alive — not yet fully dead. But once bitten by Lycans, they had no future except waiting for their bodies to collapse. There was no cure they knew of.
William ignored them.
Instead, he walked straight toward the woman in the low-cut, elegant gown.
Amelia.
He crouched beside her and gently tilted her head, examining the wound on her neck.
She was on the brink of death.
Feeling his touch, Amelia forced her eyes open and looked at him.
Inside her body, the Undying – Wolf Subtype virus and her native Undying – Bat Subtype virus were locked in violent conflict.
Soon, every cell in her body would collapse due to the incompatibility.
"...Save me…"
For someone who had lived over fifteen hundred years, the will to survive burned fiercely.
"Poor child," William said softly, brushing his fingers across her cheek. "So tormented by illness."
Even at her age, her skin was smooth — but deathly cold, the chill of the undead.
"Help me," Amelia whispered. She had lived too long not to recognize something in his eyes.
This man could save her.
"Oh, lost lamb," William murmured, his tone almost gentle — almost reverent.
"Of course I will help you."
He paused.
"But everything has its price."
Amelia didn't even let William finish speaking.
"As long as it is something I possess, you may take it. Even if you take everything — just save me!"
William smiled faintly.
Her words were, in fact, highly credible.
People of her era treated honor as the foundation of one's existence. As a noble, Amelia would rather die than debase herself with lies. Nobility, to people like her, was what separated them from commoners and slaves.
Victor himself had once proven this — when Selene learned he was the one who slaughtered her family, he did not continue lying. He revealed the truth.
They might conceal things.
But they did not lie.
And unlike political schemers, Amelia was more warrior than politician.
Unfortunately…
What William wanted was more than she could offer.
He wanted not only her power base —
he wanted her.
"My name is William," he said calmly. "I am the earthly vessel of the God of Pestilence and Plague.
If you truly wish for me to save you, then you must do what pleases me.
My true form was born from the concepts of despair and destruction. All plagues originate from me.
Ugly or beautiful, good or evil — I embrace all mortals with mercy.
In this world, they call me… the Kindly Father.
Will you carry out my will?
Believe in me?
Serve me… and please me?"
Faith was the perfect lever for someone born in the medieval age.
Truthfully, it still worked in the 21st century — Sofia, Tasha, and Nastya had reacted the same way. When humans encounter something beyond comprehension, the mind protects itself by labeling it divine.
Inexplicable.
Unfathomable.
Sacred.
"I am willing… Kindly Father," Amelia whispered, using the last of her strength to clutch his arm.
"I, Amelia, devote the rest of my existence to pleasing and serving you."
"I accept your faith."
William activated Disease Transfer, extracting the Undying – Wolf Subtype virus from her body and storing it within his Disease Space.
Amelia gasped sharply.
"Ah—!"
It felt as if frozen mechanisms inside her body suddenly began working again. Her regenerative functions restarted. Her cells stabilized.
She was saved.
She looked up at him, eyes blazing with devotion.
"Kindly Father! Please — save my subordinates as well. I swear they will believe in you, serve you, worship you!"
To her, this could only be a miracle.
No medicine.
No injections.
Just a touch — and death retreated.
Combined with the universal belief that no one survived dual infection… she had no framework except divine intervention.
"Lost lambs… I hear your plea."
William rose and moved to another vampire who still clung to life, removing the wolf virus the same way.
One by one, Amelia watched as her people returned from the brink.
They had heard everything.
So when they recovered, they knelt — not out of fear of power, but in genuine reverence.
Inside William's Disease Space, wolf virus samples piled up.
Enough to build a Lycan squad someday.
He turned back to Amelia.
"Amelia. If I kill Victor and Marcus… how confident are you in unifying the European vampire covens?"
She lowered her head in thought.
"My lord… without Victor and Marcus as obstacles, uniting Europe's vampire houses would be effortless."
She wasn't wrong.
Vampire society was rigidly hierarchical.
Victor held the greatest political authority. Marcus was stronger individually but, bound by ancient values, deferred to Victor — whose army consisted largely of his own progeny.
Marcus could win duels.
He could not command the entire species.
If both elders died…
Power would fall to Amelia.
Ambitious figures like Kraven might surface, but she could eliminate them with ease.
"Excellent," William said, nodding. "Then when destiny's hour arrives, you will rule the vampire race in my name."
"As you command, my lord."
After witnessing what she believed to be a miracle, she had no doubt left.
Looking at the utterly devout Amelia, a new idea formed in William's mind.
"Amelia," he said quietly.
"Come with me."