As the battle between Jin and Father Amorth settled down, so did the disruption within the Everwinter Estate. Jin's magic kept curious eyes away, and the vast majority of the Everwinter House couldn't witness his one-sided massacre. And while they were curious about the commotion, they couldn't go against Matriarch Innocence's decree to not interfere with the Progenitor's actions.

Even Magnus and Hilla, the Everwinter House's frontrunners to inherit the Winter Throne, weren't exempt from the ruling. They could only sit back impatiently and wait for the news. But truth be told, they could guess what happened based on the circumstances.

The Progenitor had attacked Damien's stronghold. Was there any need for them to infer anything else?

Damien had incurred the Progenitor's wrath, and thus, he paid the price. The remnants of his faction would likely disperse as well since their figurehead had been killed. There was no point in plotting revenge or holding grudges.

Magnus and Hilla offered a silent prayer for their fallen brother while hiding their joy of losing a competitor. Alas, Matriarch Innocence didn't have that luxury.

Seated on the Winter Throne, the Matriarch of the Everwinter House stared straight into space as if she was daydreaming and lost in her thoughts. However, her greyish eyes were emitting a profound aura, as magic power which turned the hall into ice flowed out from her pores. When the fight finally concluded, the Matriarch let go of her 'vision' and returned to the empty chamber she'd turned into a Winter Wonderland.

"My liege, how was he?"

Variel asked while bringing a warm towel.

"..."

Matriarch Innocence remained silent; this time, she was truly lost in her thoughts. It was the first time she'd ever seen Jin in combat, and even as an ancient Vampire with over five thousand years under her belt, it took her a while to digest what she'd just seen.

"Absurd… Our new Progenitor is absurd…"

"What powers did he show you?"

"Not even a fraction of his true strength."

The veteran Vampire already knew that Jin was aware of her gaze. Therefore, he held back and only showed bits and pieces of his Progenitor power, and just that alone could stun the Matriarch into silence.

"A barrier that surpasses the Winter Graveyard, nay, eclipses it. I've never seen such a towering defensive spell before. It's as if the mythical Aegis itself had come to life in the form of his barrier. Nothing the Head Exorcist did could put a dent in the spell. But that wasn't the worst part…"

That barrier alone was enough for Jin to be considered one of the strongest Vampires in the world. And yet, that was just the tip of the iceberg.

"I don't know how he did it, but… He managed to counter Holy magic altogether."

"Oh my…"

Variel let out a rare gasp of shock. There weren't many things that could stun the old Vampire. He'd seen it all, from the rise and fall of dynasties to the changes from the ancient to the modern world. Yet, the wizened butler couldn't contain his emotions as he continued:

"You're saying Master Jin had figured out a method to counter Holy magic after seeing it once? Even though it has been a thorn in the Vampire race for generations? Even though Dracula himself had trouble dealing with Holy magic?"

"You know I don't lie, Variel."

Usually, Matriarch Innocence would be annoyed by her servant's repetition of the obvious. But she forgave the man instantly as she herself couldn't believe what she saw.

Holy magic has been the bane of Vampires since the dawn of their existence. Heck, the only reason why Vampires hadn't taken over the planet yet, was because of Holy magic. It was a Vampire's only true weakness. It could burn innately and incinerate the soul. It could stop a Vampire's regeneration and kill the immortal being from the inside out.

A vast majority of Vampires died during the Crusades and the generation-long wars between the Holy Church and them.

Researchers had spent thousands of years determining the cause of Holy magic and how one could counter it. Yet, none of them could ever come up with an answer, frustrating the Vampires for generations.

Even the former Progenitor himself, Dracula Bloodborne, struggled with Holy magic and the powers of the Holy Church.

But now… Everything changed.

Jin had figured out the eternal problem that plagued the Vampires, and he did so in less than fifteen minutes. It was natural for both Matriarch Everwinter and Variel to drop their jaws in surprise.

"Countering Holy magic… Do you think he'll teach it to us?"

"For a price, certainly."

"You seem confident in his cooperative spirit," Matriarch Innocence looked at her servant and probed. "Have you forgotten how Dracula was? Progenitors don't usually share with their subjects."

"Perhaps you shouldn't see Master Jin as a Progenitor, then."

Variel kept the hot towel away and brought over a cup of tea. He waited for his liege to calm down a little before offering his savant advice.

"Just one year ago, Master Jin was a human. He hasn't accustomed himself to Vampire society rules and firmly doesn't see himself as the absolute ruler of the entire Vampire race. To him, as long as his lovers are treated fairly, he wouldn't go out of his way to torment us."

"... So you're telling me all I have to do is treat him respectfully?"

"Precisely," Variel asserted his feelings. "Maybe even give him a substantial gift on occasion. From my year observing Master Jin, I realised he's much more of a researcher than a combatant. If you allow him unlimited access to our libraries, I'm confident Master Jin would be willing to sell us the method of countering Holy magic."

"Our libraries, huh? If I recall correctly, we do have some arcane texts about magic. Would that be enough?"

"That much should suffice. After all, one of Master Jin's objectives is to investigate the true nature of magic."

The master-servant combo nodded and mentally agreed to give Jin a proper gift for weeding out the bad apples in the Everwinter House. They didn't dare ask for an exchange but disguised the offering as a gift hoping they would get into Jin's good graces first.

As for the death of Damien? No one bats an eyelid for the fallen Vampire. ????n????????e????d.＆nbsp;????????????

Now that even God couldn't kill Jin… Who were they to try?

??

Since I'd lost the duel with the Exorcist, as promised, I would send him back to the Holy Church safe and sound. Naturally, I wasn't going to harm a single hair on his body, and the man was delivered through the Holy Church's unique Warp Gate.

Of course, I wasn't just letting him go scot-free. My charm magic had improved drastically since I'd absorbed the offerings of the Bloodborne House, making me the best hypnotist on the planet. All I needed to do was put one small suggestion deep in the recesses of the Exorcist's mind, and I had myself the perfect sleeper agent.

With my newfound connection, I was able to see what the Exorcist saw and hear what the Exorcist heard. In addition, I had a tracker placed within his mind, giving me the opportunity to teleport to him no matter how deep he was in the Holy Church.

Essentially, I had placed the perfect mole within the Holy Church for me to exploit anytime I chose.

Besides, before I'd let him go, I had him spill everything he knew about the Holy Church. All of its secrets and innermost mysteries… I had him divulge all the information he knew.

Going on a tangent, the Holy Church's Warp Gate utilised a fundamentally different system from the Warp Gates of the Moonreaver House. Rather than connecting two points together with Spacetime magic, the Holy Church opened a pathway through the Faith dimension, giving a straight path between the base of the Holy Church and the target destination.

It was a way of using Warp Gates, and they gave me an idea of how we could improve our existing Warp Gates.

Conventional Warp Gates connected two points in Spacetime, and while it was the most effective and safest way to travel, it used a vast amount of magic power each time. The Warp Gates that the Holy Church uses, on the other hand, used a fraction of the magic power as they were essentially opening a door without folding Spacetime in the process.

The only limitation of the Holy Church's method was that they needed a high-ranking Priest with a rosary on each side for the pathway to open.

In simpler terms, Vampire Warp Gates cost more magic power and were highly immobile, while the Warp Gates of the Holy Church cost far less and could be moved at any time.

Not that the Holy Church's method was without drawbacks either. Instantaneous travel versus moving through a tunnel in an alternate dimension. It was clear which was safer and more efficient.

But what if there was a way to combine the two methods together?

I'll have to discuss this at length with Lilith when we reunite once again.

Back to reality… After I'd let the man return to the Holy Church, I cleaned out the remaining members of Damien's faction. No, I didn't massacre all of them. As I said, I didn't want to be a tyrant who killed everyone without mercy. I didn't want to become the second Dracula, after all.

All I did was weed out the loyalists in Damien's faction while threatening the rest politely. Almost all of them caved when they realised their leader had passed away and agreed never to harm Irina or me.

As for the reaction of the Everwinter House, it was largely positive.

Matriarch Innocence herself came and ordered her clan to clean the mess I'd made. She'd even offered me Damien's manor, but I refused without a second thought. Why would I need such a stupidly large space? I could live anywhere within the Everwinter Estate as long as I had Irina.

However, her next offer threw me for a loop.

Instead of collecting the pieces of Damien's disintegrated corpse, Matriarch Innocence gave me full access to the Everwinter libraries, even the forbidden parts that no one but her could enter. Although I was suspicious of her motives, it wasn't an offer I would refuse.

More knowledge never harmed anyone. Plus, the Everwinter House had existed for thousands of years. I'm confident they had plenty of ancient books, manuscripts and scrolls no other organisation would even dream of having.

On top of that, I heard the Everwinter House was going through a restructuring.

They eliminated the heir-in-training system and firmly placed Magnus Everwinter as Matriarch Innocence's sole heir. No one was allowed to compete for the throne anymore, and shedding blood within the Estate became illegal. They'd even stopped allowing parents to go into hibernation when their children were born to prevent a case like Irina's from happening again.

Matriarch Innocence and the Everwinter House were likely trying to appease me by showing they'd reformed, but I hardly cared about that.

Even if the Everwinter House became a sage organisation, it mattered nought to me.

All I cared about were my lovers, who meant everything to me.

And as I saw my precious little sister climb on top of me with her sultry, see-through nightgown…

"Brother… You've been ignoring me lately. After eliminating Damien's faction without my help, you've spent less and less time with me throughout the week! Do you know how lonely I was?"

"Haha, sorry! Sorry! I was busy looking through the libraries of your House. I must have lost track of time."

"This is no longer my House remember?" Irina frowned and plastered her crotch down on my lap. "I'm part of the Valter House now. I bear no relation to the Everwinter House."

"Yeah, you're right. My bad. What can I do to make it up to you?"

I humped the girl suggestively while bringing my hands up her supple bare skin. I knew what she wanted, and as her face turned redder and redder, I couldn't help but push her down.

"You know what I want, Brother…" Irina pulled down her spaghetti strap and placed her arms around my neck. Smiling suggestively, she spoke the two words that broke my mental state apart.

"Fuck me…"