Past Arc ⑮
The illegal research facility, the buyer of slaves, belonged to Potimas.
The fate of the slaves sold there was human experimentation.
Former slaves, apprehended and rescued, were victims of that human experimentation.
Vampire transformation experiments.
Vampires.
Though commonly regarded in society as fictional creatures from fairy tales, they were, in fact, real.
The true nature of a vampire was a biological organism that had undergone mutation through a specific form of magic.
A creature that had become a vampire fed on the blood of other living beings, and any creature whose blood was drained would likewise become a vampire.
A creature with an unusual ecology—transforming its food into kin.
The reason such creatures were treated as fictional was solely due to the dragons' consistent opposition to vampires and their efforts to eliminate them.
Sariel likewise observed the dragons' indifference toward the vampires, despite the fact that vampires were an invasive species, and even if their progenitor organisms were native.
Only vague legends remained, treated thereafter as mythical creatures.
Potimas revived it by unraveling the传承.
Vampires possess many traits, but Potimas noted immortality as their defining characteristic.
Perhaps becoming a vampire could resolve the immortality aspect—eternal life without aging.
He was not the type of man to make such a bold move as performing the treatment directly on himself.
Use slaves. Repeat experiments. Execute only after safety confirmation.
In the end, the transformation into a vampire was not applied to Potimas himself.
The danger was too great.
The slaves subjected to vampirization transformed entirely into monsters—losing all self-awareness, attacking only visible living creatures to drain their blood.
Moreover, the creatures thus attacked were themselves turned into vampires as an added effect.
This was far removed from the immortal form Potimas sought.
During the period when experiments continued, attempting to preserve self-awareness through various methods, detection occurred.
Potimas detected the investigation moments before capture and fled.
The slaves used in the experiments and the experimental records were collected and removed.
Some were bitten during the rescue.
A number of individuals bitten by the vampirized slaves later transformed into vampires, with delayed onset.
They lost their self-awareness and attacked those they perceived as visible.
New victims were drained of blood and became vampires, joining the ranks of perpetrators.
The number of vampires increased exponentially, like a geometric progression.
A Grand Councilor whose misstep could have plunged the world into chaos.
Yet that was halted at the threshold.
By the fall of Fodui.
More precisely, by the two individuals who learned of Fodui’s fall and thus gained awareness of the situation.
Sariel and Gurye.
They learned of Fodui’s collapse and went to check on him, feigning a visit.
They sensed Fodui had become a vampire.
Their response was immediate.
They tracked down the vampire who had bitten Fodui, then the captain who had bitten that vampire, then the former slave who had bitten the captain, and with cooperation from the police authority, swiftly isolated the vampire threat.
Damage remained severe, but the speed of the initial response proved effective—only minimal casualties occurred.
There is no known method to save those who have become vampires.
Most resisted during capture and were either shot or perished upon exposure to sunlight.
A small number of surviving vampires remain in a state indistinguishable from beasts, devoid of self-awareness, and isolated.
"Then I, too, am to be classified as a subject for isolation."
Even Fodui, the sole individual to maintain self-awareness, was isolated due to perceived danger.
The moment self-awareness may be lost is unpredictable.
Even if self-awareness is preserved, the condition remains unchanged—vampirism.
His canines have grown abnormally sharp, unlike human teeth.
A bite from those teeth, a sip of blood, and the victim becomes a vampire.
Regardless of Fodui’s personality, he had to be isolated as a dangerous organism.
I shall endeavor to cause you as little inconvenience as possible. However, permission to walk freely outside will not be granted.
"That is precisely what inconvenience means."
Fodui responds with irony to the man who has come to explain.
Yet his tone carries a certain frailty.
Fodui himself had not yet accepted the misfortune that had befallen him.
Merely maintaining his self-awareness was miraculous—but there was no joy in that.
The thirst that never quenches, the despair felt at the moment blood touched his mouth—like water consumed during transfusion—could not be described.
At least he was not being used as an experimental subject. But for Fodui, this incident was a bolt from the blue. The shock was greater than that of death by accident or misfortune.
He had always been old. His life had been one of simply consuming the remainder of his short days.
Death was terrifying, yet he had accepted it.
To suddenly become a vampire, gain eternal life, and be isolated for the entirety of that existence—this was beyond comprehension.
Even Fondui, who had long been accustomed to the inevitable, could not help but feel unease at such a deviation from the path his life had followed.
Thus, Fondui, a key figure in the financial world, vanished from public view.
As a result, the activities of the Salyera Society were significantly restricted.
Yet this may have been for the best.
In the following period, the Salyera Society would focus its efforts on a specific domain.
The protection and treatment of victims of Potimas’s human experimentation.
Potimas’s experiments were not limited to vampiric transformation.
Numerous other human experiments had been conducted, resulting in a vast number of victims.
These were exposed through the vampire incident, and the revelations spread like a vine, uncovering the full extent of the atrocities.
As a result, Potimas was placed on an international wanted list.