Vampire Overlord System in the Apocalypse

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Jean Firebrand, the older brother of Fernand Firebrand and an S-Rank Hunter was cursed.

A few minutes after talking with his brother and discovering that he found the Blood Core, absorbed it, and gained a strange Ability that turned him into a Dhampir, he felt a strange, dark force gripping his soul and blood.

I was a strange, black-colored claw of ethereal darkness, an abyssal form that even an S-Rank Hunter like him could not easily suppress…

It was outstanding to the point that he felt lethargic…

An S-Rank Hunter like him, feeling lethargic!

It was truly something out of this world.

Who could have even done such a thing to him?

Jean kept using his Aura and powerful senses and abilities related to them in unison, wasting a lot of Mana.

He inserted his very will inside of his body and soul, finding the darkness encompassing his existence, the cause of the curse.

"Hahh… What is this?" he wondered, as he tried to grasp it with his will.

CLASH!

However, the moment he did, he felt even worse!

"Unnghhh…!"

The moment he grasped the darkness with his materialized will, he felt an enormous shock of electrifying pain all over his… body and soul!

"Agghh…! Eh?"

And then he saw it…

The origin of this curse…

But… this was not even a person.

What was this, even?

It did not even look like any monster he has ever seen before!

Amidst the dark claws that grasped him like a curse, the abyssal entity within opened its single, crimson eye, glaring back at Jean.

"Ungh… What is this? Who… is that? A monster? A… parasite creature? But… Ungh…"

Jean fought back against the entity's force, pouring everything he had to look towards it, to the depths of this dark abyss!

However, if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.

The crimson eye opened wide as it released a wave of scarlet light, a ray of abyssal crimson red that hit Jean's entire soul!

"Unnghhh…?! W-What the fuck…?!"

Jean felt as the curse intensified several times!

The paralyzing effect, the constant lethargy, the dizziness, and even confusion!

The man crawled out of his bed, as he grabbed a Holy Elixir, an S-Rank Item crafted by the finest alchemists and magic technology, often incredibly costly, but that was able to heal all negative effects and also regenerate wounds, to the point of bringing back lost limbs… this was an item that Arthur's fathers never had the opportunity to acquire due to its ridiculous cost that only S-Rank Hunters can afford.

Jean quickly jugged the entire thing in a single go, feeling the sweet nectar flowing down his throat…

The healing effects began to activate immediately, healing the pain all over his body, alongside the paralysis…

He felt relieved for a moment…

However… the curse was still there… slowly eating away at him.

Most Hunters around the world did not even know about the existence of Souls, nor its concept and the repercussions it had on a human's body.

There was also very little means to affect other people's souls, so it was a very underdeveloped field.

The Elixir could heal any wound and illness, but not… something that was also into the soul.

However, Jean managed to ease his pain, by canceling out the curse in his bloodline.

But this would only be momentary, as the part of the curse within the soul, which formed because Noah used his very soul to conjure the curse, was still there…

And soon enough it would affect his body again.

In fact, it was already beginning to enter through his blood once more…

However, Jean had thought that the curse was now gone, and it seemed as if the curse had "learned" about this, and had tried to be more subtle now…

Unknowingly that his curse was still there, Jean felt relieved and went to take a shower.

He had a lot to do today, such as reporting what the heck was this attack anyways.

"I am going to fucking kill the one that dared to curse me! Who the fuck can even curse me anyways? Is there such an S-Rank Hunter around?" he wondered, taking a shower, and then deciding to call his manager…

Meanwhile, Noah had already gone back to his Manor and was sitting on a throne-like seat, smiling mischievously.

At his side there was his wife, Iris, who was smiling just as devilishly, her eyes were gleaming with crimson red light.

"Did it work?" she asked.

"It did. Everything has gone perfectly, it seems. The curse I caused to him cannot be easily taken away, as he only knows how to target and heal curses inside bodies, but not the ones inflicted to his soul!" said Noah.

"To his soul? But wasn't the curse on the bloodline?" asked Arthur who was sitting near Noah over a couch.

"Indeed. It is the bloodline curse. However, by using part of my soul to conjure it alongside immense amounts of Mana which I got by using all the blood I had stockpiled alongside Jon's help, I managed to evolve this curse into something of its own. You could say the curse is even alive…" said Noah.

"Alive…?" asked Timassa in surprise, Noah never stopped to surprise his subordinates with his insane abilities.

"Indeed! The moment the curse hit him, it became a creature of its own, and it even seems to have inherited part of my soul will. When it arrived inside of this man's bloodline, it immediately latched over his soul as well, seeping into it like a parasite… Perhaps I can do the same too?" wondered Noah.

"Things revolving around the soul are incredibly underdeveloped in this world… It will take a while for him to discover what it truly is…" said Arthur.

"Indeed, he might never realize it…" said Timassa.

"No, he noticed it and neutralized its effects," said Noah.

"Eh? That fast?! But you put so much effort into the curse!" said Iris while hugging Noah and trying to comfort him over his failure.

Noah accepted her hug but continued speaking.

"Let me continue. I said that he neutralized the effects, not that he actually destroyed the curse. He drank a special Elixir of sorts that completely healed his body… but, the curse part that remained on his soul is still there… and now, it is slowly… eating away his very soul!" laughed Noah.

"Oh! To be expected of my husband!" said Iris proudly of Noah's achievements, kissing his cheek.

"Amazing, Noah-sama!" said Arthur.

"Yeah, that's incredible…. Now that the curse is somewhat alive, it can even eat souls?" asked Timassa.

"Somehow it developed this ability. If it manages to eat his entire soul… it could even replace him, and we would have an S-Rank Hunter as our pawn!" laughed Noah.

"How long would it take?" asked Jon.

"Hmph. I have no idea, it is going slow for now, but if the curse manages to eat a lot of his soul, it will increase in power and begin to eat more and more, so it could get faster at some point. The man does not seem to have a countermeasure against curses inside his soul, so he is left hopeless… He might try to find help though, so there is a possibility that he will heal the curse… But I have to simply contact Fernand and inflict a curse again anyways," said Noah.

"Damn, this is an amazing way to indirectly kill someone annoying…" said Arthur.

"Kill? Well, if the curse completely consumes his soul, the curse itself will become him. So I do not think he will die. More like… become something new, in a way," laughed Noah.

"I see… Well, I cannot wait! Oh, and what about Fernand?" asked Iris.

"He has become a good puppet, he had told everything to his brother and the man seemed rather accepting, saying that as long as it was an Ability, it should not be considered subhuman… Hmph, we will try to mask ourselves as Fernand's subordinates in the future. And that way, when his powers become public, ours as well will be… Although he has to reach a level of strength so it doesn't seem weird that B-Rank Hunters are the subordinates of a mere D-Rank," said Noah.

"That's… an interesting plan, but are you okay with that, Noah?" asked Arthur.

"I am. Although it hurts my pride, later on, I can still turn everything over when we gather enough power, this is all just part of the plan," said Noah.

"I see… As thoughtful as ever…" said Iris.

"Anyways, Jon, Arthur, how are things?" asked Noah.

"Clear… Although it seems that they are waiting for the night to strike," said Jon.

"Everything is done and settled up…" said Arthur.

"Very well, tonight, we feast," said Noah.

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