Chapter 174 Progress (1)

The Valter Realm.

Six months had passed since the Outer Demons invaded Earth. Through all the trials and tribulations of the Outer Demons, the world had finally reached a state of neutral peace. Defeating the Demon Lords was a significant shift in the war for the Allies, who had been caught in stasis since the first Progenitor passed on.

Almost all of the Outer Demons that had invaded the land were now either neutralised or captured. The Gates that had plagued the planet had nearly all been closed, and no hordes of Outer Demons had been seen since.

The Holy Church, Hunter Association, and other countries banded together to declare victory over the Outer Demons. Humans had won the elongated war and were all in a festive mood. Celebrations continued on for months, with schools being closed and governments forced to give workers off days.

The endless war that had plagued the planet… was finally over.

But in its place, a new war was brewing.

Jin Valter.

The new Progenitor and the undisputed most powerful man on the planet. While humanity may have taken the credit for defeating the Demon Lords, everyone knew who the real victor was. By Jin Valter's hands alone, three Demon Lords had fallen. No one knew the true extent of his power, but given that he could easily dispatch two Demon Lords back to back, it wasn't an exaggeration to say that there was nothing on the planet that could match him.

Even if the Holy Church and Hunter Association joined hands, they could not wound the mighty Progenitor fatally.

Yet, even with his outstanding strength, Jin disappeared after defeating the Demon Lords.

He didn't demand land or wealth nor force anyone into subjugation. It was as if he had become a spectral ghost that never existed in the first place. Jin's enigmatic deeds spread far and wide, and even without making a public appearance, worshippers emerged from all corners of the globe.

Be it human or Vampire, Werewolf or Elf… They all held Jin on a pedestal, making him an icon for worship and prayer. Some zealots even began to enshrine his likeness in old abandoned temples, spreading his name throughout the continents.

The Holy Church, the world's premier religion, condemned the actions of worshippers and fanatics, calling upon the Progenitor to stop his blatant infringement on the Holy Church. Governments also warned their citizens not to worship a Vampire, fearing that they would all turn into Blood Servants for Jin to play with.

But it was far too late.

The number of worshippers grew exponentially, and legitimate shrines were created to praise and worship their new lord and saviour. The Holy Church could not contain the spread as those indoctrinated into the faith had become far too widespread. Like an unrelenting pandemic, the faithful spread widely and now, every country in the world had their own temple to worship the new Progenitor.

Yet, oddly enough… The man himself had remained silent.

Not just him; all of the Vampires didn't breathe a word. Returning to their hermit ways, the vast majority of Vampires hid in Nightmare Realms, away from the prying eyes of humanity. The Ten Guardian Houses weren't any better either. None made a public appearance because they had to recover from the Outer Demon invasion.

The Everwinter House especially.

After finding out that Jin's last appearance was within the Everwinter House, numerous governments, top Hunters and even pilgrims made the harsh journey to the North just to catch a glimpse of their new Progenitor.

However, the Everwinter House remained firmly tight-lipped about Jin's whereabouts, causing people to speculate on the current Progenitor's health.

Perhaps he drained too much energy while fighting the Demon Lords, or maybe he was recovering from a fatal wound. Everyone had their own theories. But that rumour was put to bed when a representative for the Valter House made their first public appearance.

The Valter House was starting a new conglomerate, Valter Inc.

Their first order of business was to address the ever-problematic energy consumption issue. Using his Creation magic, Jin created a fully functioning nuclear fusion plant, a technological breakthrough that would advance humanity over a hundred years. With his invention, countries and companies would have access to infinite energy, and all they needed to do was pay Jin a few billion a month.

That news alone was enough to break the press and put the entire oil and gas industry on suicide watch. Jin's new sustainable method would stop all pollution and, at the same time, increase the world's energy consumption tenfold.

Valter Inc's first investment was enough to make Jin the wealthiest man in history, but the Progenitor wasn't done there.

With his Life and Creation magic, Jin could find cures for numerous diseases. Plus, with Jin's ability to create anything out of thin air, he could break the market by mass-producing pills. Medicine was being made at the price of mint chocolate, and the impoverished could finally afford the treatment they deserved.

Jin's accolades didn't stop there.

World hunger, stopping natural disasters, providing clean water…

The list was endless. Therefore, even without the man appearing, the newly formed Jin Valter Church grew larger by the week. Many admired Jin Valter for his strength; others loved the man because of his many heroic deeds, but most of all… All of them worshipped him for creating a better world for them to live in.

But for the person in question…

"We've finally replicated the sample."

Jin was wholly uninterested in affairs of the outside world as he carefully examined the specimen in his lab. Usually, a laboratory would be filled to the brim with graduate students and professors, but such help was unnecessary for Jin. He alone was enough to deal with most of the experiments himself, and if he needed an extra pair of hands, he could always make clones of himself to help him.

But today, Jin had a special assistant.

"It took us six months to replicate this even with your special 'eyes' and Creation magic… The Outer Demons must be more advanced than we'd originally thought." Lilith's vale eyes glistened in the stuffy lab as she bent her waist and examined the black material under a microscope.

"We've only managed to replicate 97.83% of the material."

"That's within the margin of error; we won't be able to fully replicate it one-for-one unless we somehow manage to revive Cthulhu."

"Yeah, that would be an ordeal," Jin rolled his eyes and spat. "I wouldn't want to go through that experience again."

"But you're stronger this time, no?" Lilith said in jest as she lifted the replicated black goo with her dimensional magic. "Even if I poured this on your body, you won't feel a thing, right?"

"Don't even joke about that, Lilith. I'm not fully immune to the black goo just yet. Who will be responsible for removing it if you poured that on me?"

"I'll shower you. I'll clean every nook and cranny of your body."

"... Somehow, I feel like that's your intention this whole time."

Jin sighed at the playfulness of his Bloodmate and instantly looked away. He knew that if he humoured her, their conversation wouldn't stop with just simple flirting.

"Anyway, with my faith energy growing, I have a failsafe to fall back on even if the black goo neutralises my magic."

"Faith energy, huh?" Lilith adorably tilted her head and gazed up at the ceiling. "I didn't think that such a thing was real. But since you and the Holy Church can use it, it must be true."

"Haha, we'll have to thank Rosa for helping me spread my good deeds. It seems that many humans now provide energy to my Faith Dimension."

Jin had tasked Rosalyn, or to be more precise, the Shadowgarden House, to spread his good name. The more people who prayed to him, the more faith energy he would store in his newly created dimension. While it was tiny at the moment, given enough time and growth, Jin's faith dimension will be capable of matching the Holy Church's own Holy dimension, giving him an additional method of casting and using magic.

"But for some reason, it's growing faster than I'd thought. Perhaps faith energy is more fluid than I'd thought."

Of course, Jin didn't know the full extent of Rosa's extensive propaganda campaign. He'd only asked the girl to spread his name around. What he didn't realise was how quickly Rosa created a religion out of it.

Using the connections of the Shadowgarden House, Rosa grew the number of Jin's faithful by tenfold each month. Newspapers, politicians, wealthy tycoons… They were all under the Shadowgarden House's influence; spreading the new religion was as easy as transmitting a pathogen.

However, Jin was unaware of that fact. Focused on his research, Jin had essentially washed his hands off the outside world. The only people who could meet him wouldn't report the news accurately.

Why?

'Hehe, I want to see his face when those Jin zealots kneel down and praise him as their God.'

Lilith watched the ignorant man with a playful vengeance. She knew how massive the new religion was but didn't want to spoil the surprise for her lover. And just as Lilith was about to tease the man, her stagnant phone started to buzz.

Lilith read the message, and her eyes widened instantly. A warm smile crept up her face as she whispered back:

"Speaking of growing faster than you'd thought… It seems like they've completed their transformation."

"They? Ah! Has their transformation been completed?"

"Yes," Lilith chuckled as she placed away her phone. Smiling as radiant as the Sun, the blonde Goddess declared: "Congratulations on making your parents into True Vampires, Jin!"