Chapter Forty-Six: The Age of the Flood

Night fell, and the terrifying sunlight vanished beyond the horizon, yet the wasteland did not seem any more hopeless for it.

I parked the truck in the clearing of an abandoned factory. Le Steel awoke from his sleep, relieved to see that we had escaped danger. He asked, “What exactly is the Sun King?”

I told him it was the Sun King who destroyed humanity; the source of life had become its end.

Le Steel gazed at the stars and shook his head. “I always thought the sun was a curse only for the blood clans. Now it’s humanity’s turn.”

I imagined the moment the sun rises. I once thought it was beautiful, but now it chills my blood.

I said, “These Sun cultists, these masses of flesh, they’re everywhere. Perhaps, like fossils buried underground, they’ve merged with plants, trees, and flowers.” At that, Lamia moved her hand away from the tree trunk. “Even plants like this?”

I replied, “Possibly, though perhaps not. We have no means to detect them.”

Le Steel asked, “That mad Tony and the people with him—are they related to the Sun cultists?”

I said, “These Sun cultists develop religious faith. They seem to believe merging with others is a sacred mission, an innate duty. Their existence, their meaning, is to achieve a great harmony of life with the rest of humanity.”

Lamia shivered, repeating softly, “The great harmony of life? That phrase is so strange.”

I said, “That’s not what I meant.”

Lamia replied, “Nor did I. Let’s call it something else.”

I always felt Lamia was sensitive to certain ancient references. Clearly, I’d have to be careful with my words in the future.

Le Steel said, “We might as well call the Sun cultists ‘infected.’ The infected chant prayers and lure people like Tony.”

I said, “That seems to be the case.”

Le Steel asked, “What about the current sun? It no longer infects people as before, does it?”

I said, “It still infects, but the danger is greatly reduced—now it only causes mutations. These mutations are ultimately deadly, but merely shorten human life by a decade or so.”

Le Steel said, “But it no longer creates those infected.”

I answered, “Yes. That tragedy lasted only a short while; after that, the sun’s harm diminished, many times over.”

Le Steel sighed, “We blood clans couldn’t survive under the sun, so we always hid—and thus were saved.”

I said, “Even if the sun returns to normal, the infected will seek out the uninfected to assimilate them.”

Soleis said, “It seems Waste Bell and I can resist this influence.”

I replied, “Yes, and blood clans seem to be temporarily immune as well. Perhaps assimilation is inevitable in the end, but at least it’s better than humans dissolving instantly.”

Le Steel said, “We must find a way to eliminate the Sun infection and constantly monitor the sun’s changes. Otherwise, our plan to rebuild is nothing but empty talk.”

I said, “I’ve read books. Earth has existed for billions of years, and the sun has shone upon it for just as long. But only in that moment—that truly infinitesimal instant—was sunlight harmful. It’s a rare event. We can’t give up everything for fear of such odds.”

Le Steel said, “But rare events can come at an enormous price.”

He stood up. “The shadows you create can harm the infected.”

The weight of despair lifted from me—I saw an opportunity for great responsibility. I said, “Yes, I can do it. Only I can purge this virus, this corruption! I am the end of this disaster; for the world, I am a true and indispensable blessing.”

Le Steel nodded, “That’s an exaggeration, but not wrong.”

I exclaimed, “Therefore, sir, I must demand greater authority, greater freedom! Only with such will I be able to carry out this sacred mission. I say this not for glory or riches, but to save this ravaged world.”

Le Steel said, “Alright. When we return, I will promote you to lieutenant colonel.”

I frowned, “Lieutenant colonel isn’t nearly enough. At least colonel—I can’t outrank my wife, or how will I hold my head up at home?”

Le Steel said, “Lieutenant colonel plus a first-class merit. If you rise too quickly, there will be rumors in the barracks.”

I protested, “Are rumors more important than the world? Lieutenant colonel plus first-class merit, and a salary increase of three hundred gold coins per month—not a penny less!”

Le Steel sighed, “Military funding is tight lately, as you know.”

I shook my head, “Marquis, you put me in a difficult position. You need to think long-term.”

Le Steel said, “How about this: lieutenant colonel plus first-class merit, and a year’s worth of Ranger mess hall meal tickets?”

I said, “We’re discussing the fate of humanity, the world! Why haggle? A year’s worth of meal tickets is too little. Two—no, three years would be reasonable.”

Le Steel put his hands together, “The mess hall isn’t under my control, but I could arrange for an extra piece of meat with every lunch. How does that sound?”

I retorted angrily, “Let the world rot then! I won’t save it!”

We reached an impasse. I realized Le Steel could throw me out of Black Coffin with a single word. I hesitated, wondering if I should yield. Le Steel said, “I have another, better idea. We can both benefit.”

I sat before him. “Really? I’m listening.”

Le Steel said, “First, we publicize this matter—Sun King, the infected, the blood water that corrodes everything, the flesh of tens of thousands. We tell the consuls, the Elder Council, and persuade them to believe. Then, we center everything around you, and develop a complete plan to save the world and eliminate the disaster.”

I was delighted, “That sounds excellent!”

Le Steel continued, “With an action plan, we establish a special department, request funding, personnel, materials, authority from Black Coffin. They’ll have to give it, or even Black Coffin will be at risk, right?”

I applauded, “Exactly!”

Le Steel went on, “But that’s not enough. With a proper cause, we can establish the Sun King Destruction Foundation, calling on the civilians of Black Coffin to contribute money and effort, promising rich rewards once the mission succeeds. Seeing such support from the leadership, people will rush to invest, and the shares in our hands will multiply tenfold, maybe a hundredfold. What do you think?”

I didn’t understand his reasoning, but it felt absolutely right. After all, many hands make light work. I’d witnessed the frenzy of religion; every faith uses doomsday and death to scare followers, stirring up their fanaticism and ignorance. This was logical. I said, “That’s exactly what we should do!”

Le Steel said, “Let’s settle it then. But you must invest first—the more you put in now, the more you’ll gain later. Wouldn’t you agree?”

I hurried, “Yes, yes! I can get forty million from this trip, and I’ll…”

Lamia kicked me away, shouting, “Idiot! The Marquis is playing you for a fool!” Then she said to Le Steel, “First-class merit and lieutenant colonel are enough. I guarantee the Longi will give their all.”

Le Steel smiled and bowed to Lamia. “Colonel, you are wiser than your husband.”

I picked myself up, suddenly realizing what had happened.

Lamia stopped me because she feared I’d go astray with money. Ah, my wife is wonderful in every way, save for her limited vision; she hadn’t yet learned to look beyond the confines of time and space as I had.

Jealousy is the original sin.

But now it was too late to say anything. I took out the third statue of the Goddess Icks and placed it before Le Steel.

Le Steel paused for a moment. “So you didn’t forget to take it.”

I said, “It’s worth forty million—I couldn’t possibly forget.”

Le Steel pushed the goddess statue back to me. “Each of the Icks sisters possesses terrifying magic, able to turn humans into blood-sucking monsters. Their souls are still inside these statues, still holding unimaginable power.”

Soleis asked, “Could they be blood clans too?”

Le Steel said, “It’s possible, but I don’t know which lineage they belong to.”

I asked, “How many blood clan lineages are there?” In the last century, I claimed to be a blood clan myself and drank the blood of shadows. Le Steel belonged to the beast lineage. This piqued my curiosity.

Le Steel’s expression grew solemn. “Have you heard the story of Cain and Abel from the ancient scriptures?”

I said, “I’ve heard it countless times.”

Le Steel continued, “The blood clan has its own scripture—the Norde Book. According to the Norde Book, after Cain killed Abel, he was cursed by God, becoming the first blood clan in history. All blood clan lineages originate from Cain.”

Lamia said, “But the Norde Book I read said Cain was the son of God who suffered for humanity, like Christ.”

Le Steel replied, “That isn’t the real Norde Book. It was edited by the consuls to create a Cain-worship religion among humans. The true Norde Book states: Cain became a blood-sucking demon, rejected by humanity and exiled by God, doomed to loneliness. Unable to endure such suffering, he chose three of the most outstanding mortals and gave them his blood, making them his kin. These three ancient blood clans were the second generation ancestors: Enoch, Irad, and Gira.

These three blood clans each created their own progeny, whose blood manifested vastly different traits—powers of flesh transformation, powers of beasts and raptors, powers of night and shadow, foresight, bewitchment, command of the dead, creation of illusions, control of nature… The third generation ancestors were extraordinarily powerful. They joined forces and slew the second generation ancestors, leaving Cain heartbroken and exiled once more.

The third generation blood clans scattered and each transformed mortals to create their own descendants, who are our true blood clan ancestors. Since they were born before the Flood described in the Bible, we call them the Flood Ancients. Now, we don’t know how many Flood Ancients there once were, only that Black Coffin holds four bloodlines.”

He pointed to himself. “For example, I am of the Beast Blood of Ganger. Bella is of the Elegant Blood of Toledo. Michael is of the Excellence Blood of Vandro…”

I asked, “What about the Blood of Larsen Morr?”

Le Steel was silent for a moment. “The Blood of Larsen Morr has been extinct for ages. I don’t know why you, a mere mortal, possess the power of the shadow bloodline.”