Chapter 1258 - The Worst Century Yet

'The worst century yet' was a phrase that had started to become common in the vampire settlement these days. Vampires used to live without much grief or problems, whether one looked at it internally or externally.

Of course there had been the occasional disputes between the families, but those had usually only affected the families in question. Yet somehow one problem seemed to follow the next one, affecting vampire society as a whole lately.

Despite the new King having been crowned not too long ago, a new council meeting was to take hold soon. However, this time the public was very well aware as for the reason behind it.

When Suzan's body had been seen, the news had spread so rapidly that every single vampire had heard of her demise before her body could even be taken down. Not only had a leader been killed, but it had happened in her own castle where she had gotten pinned to the wall.

What made matters worse, was the fact that the vampire settlement shouldn't be under any external threat of any kind. However, the signs were all pointing that the attack had to have been done from someone externally, so fear was growing in the vampires, especially for those in the third family that had just lost their leader. .

Paul, having been given the okay from Quinn, had gone out to attend today's council meeting in his place. He arrived at the King's castle, where the Royal guards were guarding the entrance. Some in the public were shouting, demanding explanations given the recent event. Unlike humans, even regular vampires had great power, but the Royal guards made sure that things remained civil.

Any leader was allowed to attend with their two Vampire knights, yet because Paul himself was a knight and Leo being here was a secret, he had decided to bring two replacements with him, Timmy, and Xander.

He had left his second in command Ashley behind since he felt given the nature of the council meeting, actual vampires who knew more about how things worked in the Vampire World, would be better suited.

The two were over the moon when Paul had selected them, thinking that their hard work had paid off. At the same time they were nervous, since they understood the difference in standing between themselves and the others who would attend.

Even if they weren't in the tenth family, the other knights and leaders would look down on their group when they entered the room, for they were in a place and a position that would perhaps be undeserving if they were with any other family.

Now standing outside the council door, Xander and Timmy took a deep breath.

"Relax, it's unlikely we will be much involved in the meeting. As such, I just need you to listen and pay close attention to the reactions of the other leaders. Should the need arise, I will be the one talking. Honestly, the goal for our family is to try to stay out of this matter as much as possible."

"As long as it doesn't involve us there is no need for us to help any of them out." Paul explained, but his mind went back to his talk with Muka. About those in the other families that had gone missing.

He was still wondering whether these two matters were related in some way. If that turned out to be the case, then there might be a need for them to get involved, even though he didn't want Quinn to worry.

The two guards that were standing outside, opened the doors wide and allowed them to walk. Another guard led them to the council room and when he opened the door, the trio was surprised that it was in absolute chaos. The other leaders were in the midst of discussion and it looked as if everyone else had already long since arrived before them.

The only ones that weren't present yet were the King and his two Royal knights.

"Everyone, please quiet down!" Kazz demanded. As the current head of the first family it was usually her job to get the leaders under control, but most of them didn't acknowledge Kazz as a true leader. After all, once a real first leader would be selected her position would go back down to being a Vampire knight.

For a second, her and Paul's eyes met, but they soon looked away from each other again.

"A leader was killed in their own home! There wasn't even any sign of fighting, so who else could it be if not HIM?!"

"We need to find out the reason why they were targeted. Whoever has done this clearly wanted us to see what was going on!"

"Suzan was no weak leader and there were no signs of fighting in her castle. She might have been attacked by her own people. I demand that we interrogate their knights!"

The reason why there was more chaos than usual was also because there were many new vampire leaders in the room. After Bryce's election and his selection of Royal knight, there had been a need to fill the void.

However, soon everyone went silent, as the sound of a clacking cane could be heard from outside the room. The sound of the clacking was getting louder and louder and one could tell it was filled with anger. The doors were swept open from the other side, the side only the King was allowed to enter from and signs of his red aura could be seen.

Bryce was there with his eyes glowing red and the energy could be felt from every single one of them in the room.

'He has gotten a lot stronger and more confident than before.' Paul analyzed. 'Is this just because of the Absolute Blood book?'

"We should have known this was going to happen. When we knew of HIS existence we should have gotten rid of him immediately!" Bryce spat out as he walked to sit down on his seat. Behind him were Prima, the fastest vampire ever known, and Kyle the vampire with the strongest defense.

"In the past many of you didn't believe me that he would be a threat to us and would bring doom to us all. There is only one person who is strong and capable enough to not only infiltrate but kill a leader without anyone else noticing it. The Punisher, Arthur!"

The vampires knew Bryce's strong feelings towards the Punishers, but the fact that he had indirectly allowed Quinn to do his own thing, and had said nothing about Arthur up until this point had made them assume he had decided to let the matter go, yet his reaction made it clear that it was a mistake on their part.

"Forgive me, Your Majesty, but what makes you believe this is Arthur?" Jin asked. "I don't know of a reason why he would return and attack us now of all times."

"You know that all of the Punishers of the old died, so it's only natural that he is blaming us for this." Bryce replied. "Is there anyone else who would be so daring, who would be capable of such a feat? There were no signs of fighting whatsoever, which is proof in itself that the Shadow power must have been used!"

Xander and Timmy continued to look around at the Vampire leaders and knights checking if there was any sort of reaction at all like they had been asked. Strangely they didn't even have to look hard, for it was visible on some of their faces.

There were vampires that were panicking about the situation, visibly shaken up at the thought that Arthur had returned.

"Although I do think that the most likely person is Arthur, I also think that we shouldn't rule out any other possibilities." Sunny commented. "After all, none of us have suspected Cindy behind all those wrong doings not too long ago."

This was a recent memory that they wished to forget but it was true. Her betrayal had made it abundantly clear that it was possible that a traitor could be hiding amongst them.

"Now is not the time for our council to sleep and point fingers at each other." Prima stated. "We shall act under the assumption that the Punisher Arthur is back. Everyone should be putting in measurements in place, to capture the culprit and protect themselves and their families."

Looking towards Paul, Bryce had an evil glint in his eyes. "With the absence of the Cursed family's leader, I hereby call for a vote. I suggest forbidding him from returning to the settlement until this matter gets resolved."

This came as a shock to Paul. He had never expected them to go this far. With this abrupt change, he could no longer just sit around and stay silent.

"May I ask for the reason behind such an action?" Paul inquiered, having raised his hand before speaking out of turn.

"While I'm not accusing Quinn of being involved in this attack, we know that Arthur has come to his aid in the past when he had been in trouble. As much as his help may aid us in this time, as the one who had inherited his shadow power, having him amongst us, would be the same as inviting the Punisher into our midst. He could just strike us, and run away whenever needed." Bryce explained.

The Vampire King didn't hide his disdain for the tenth family's leader, yet the logic behind his suggestion was sound and that was a problem. The council got to voting quickly, and even the vampire leaders that had been on Quinn's side in the past ended up voting to have him stay outside, afraid that Arthur might be behind it.

"The original Punisher. I do remember he had great power. Are you sure we will be able to deal with him?" Tempus asked.

The vampire spoke without any formalities, which rubbed the other leaders the wrong way a little bit, but as an original vampire he technically outranked them all, allowing him to get away with certain things.

"I have a little suggestion with who or how you could solve this problem of yours. Many of you probably know that your ancestors including the originals can only be woken up with blood from your own blood line. However, for the originals themselves there is one other way."

"The blood from another Original also works." Tempus revealed with a smile.

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