C147: How to kill a Dhampir
“Ahem, my junior, what matters do ya wish to ask?”
Inside the snug corner of the pub, Davis sat opposite Arnold with a relaxed posture. The room was dimmer than the main hall, separated by old wooden partitions that muffled the noise of the other patrons.
The air in the tiny booth smelled of cheap ale and dried meat. On the small table between them were two plates of dried beef and two tankards of ale.
Arnold raised his bandaged eyebrows. He leaned toward the table and put his hand in his coat.
“Junior? Do you want to die?”
Davis recoiled slightly, flailing his arms.
“My apologies! It was merely a lighthearted jest!”
Davis sighed, rubbing his forehead as if wounded by injustice. “Good heavens, even the newest member of our Tear Drop disrespects me now.”
‘Tell that to Danz. It was because of him.’ Arnold looked at him in silence.
His gaze drifted down toward the tankard in front of him. A sudden wave of nausea rose in his stomach. The memory of that rancid spirit was still clinging to the back of his throat.
“G… give me a cup of water.” Arnold knocked lightly on the sliding hatch beside the snug, then turned his gaze back to Davis. “Where is the big guy who always accompanies you?”
“...” Davis narrowed his eyes and looked at Arnold with an expression that clearly said, *What do ya think?*
“Right.” Arnold nodded in understanding. Judging by that look, it seemed the big guy was still suffering from the injury to his head.
‘Concussion strikes really are dangerous,’ he thought.
“How did ya even manage that...” Davis pressed his palm flat against his face
“We can heal him instantly, but it would be a waste of precious resources. Since the injury does not threaten his life, and Mr. Otto recommended a day or two of repose, we have left him to recuperate at home.”
“...” Arnold nodded.
He leaned back into his chair, crossed his legs, and began his first question.
“Do you know how to kill a vampire?”
Davis had just lifted his tankard for a drink. His hand stopped halfway.
His expression turned puzzled, complicated, and troubled as he stared across the table. After a pause, he sighed, setting the tankard back down.
“And here I had assumed this meeting was to query the origins of our Tear Drop, as is typical for a new member of the group.”
He leaned back in his chair.
“I did not expect, and frankly could not imagine, ya first question would be about killing someone. Yet, looking at ya, the query holds water now.”
Inside the mindscape, Izzy winced. She controlled Arnold and spoke through him. “What do you mean?”
Davis looked directly into Arnold’s eyes, putting his two hands on the table.
“The eyes can not deceive, Arnold junior. Your eyes are entirely devoid of emotion, as though something inside you has already died.”
Izzy narrowed Arnold’s eyes. Inside the mindscape, she pushed herself deeper into the velvet chair, crossing her arms as her fingers tapped against her sleeve impatiently. Her chest felt heavy, irritation flaring beneath her thoughts.
Davis’s voice became quieter, less mocking than before.
“Arnold junior, I walk the Deceiver Path. A Path demands that I study others to manipulate them based on such observations," he said, playing with the dried beef in his hand. "I cannot fathom what ya have encountered to possess such chilling eyes at such an age.” His face clouded with a complicated look.
He continued. “Are you acquainted with Donquery? He is likewise a young fellow. He lost his father at the age of nine, and his mother subsequently lost her sanity, entirely forgetting the existence of her own son. Yet, even so, looking at him, he's still—”
“Cut to the chase. I don’t need your pity.” Arnold cut him off, his voice laced with irritation.
Inside the mindscape, Izzy gritted her teeth.
'What is the purpose of this sudden concern?' She questioned herself.
They must want something from Arnold. Were they trying to make him open up, to reveal his secrets that he was only a poser?
“...” Davis looked into Arnold's eyes in silence, as if he had looked directly into Izzy's eyes.
“Alright. If that is what ya wish.” He nodded, but his tone remained unusually sincere.
“Still, please remember, ya have joined the Tear Drop now. Ya may remain ignorant of our ways, but we regard one another as family. Should ya find your burdens too heavy to bear and require a listening ear, ya may rely upon us.”
He offered a gentle smile. “We do not abandon our comrades. Such is the warrior code of the Crimson Church.”
“…”
Family.
‘What a pretentious hypocrite, saying that while walking a Path dedicated to deceiving others,’ Izzy thought coldly.
She did not need such bonds. Survival came first.
She controlled Arnold and gave a light nod to move past this sudden, unwanted therapy session.
“The Vampire Path,” Davis finally said, getting to the point.
“As far as my knowledge extends, junior, Vampire Path Stagefarers are not easy to kill. Among the Stagefarer world, they are one of the most troublesome to put down.”
“...” Arnold crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, frowning.
‘Junior again? This guy…’ he sighed. This guy really wanted a junior, so it seemed.
It wasn’t important. So Arnold dismissed it.
Davis continued.
“The progression of the Vampire Path is thus: Apprentice Stage, Blood Servant. Foundation Stage, Dhampir. Silver Sky Stage, Vampire.”
‘Only troublesome.’ Arnold noted in his mind.
'Hmm, so the overall name of the Path is derived directly from the Silver Sky Stage,' He wondered, considering the naming convention.
Would other Paths work the same way? He doubted it was a universal rule, considering that the Entry Stage of the Warrior Path was literally called the Warrior.
‘Maybe they chose the most imposing name from the entire Stage progression to represent the Path without revealing too much information.’
That made sense. No one would want their entire Path to be called something like “Servant.”
Well, except for the Deaf and the Blind.
What was up with that? Who was the person who came up with those awful names?
Izzy genuinely wanted to meet whoever thought it was a good idea to name an entire supernatural Path that way and ask whether their head was functioning properly.
“I will speak with the Foundation Stage of the Vampire path: Dhampir, in mind,” Davis continued, picking up a piece of dry beef and placing it into his mouth. He chewed slowly before speaking again. “That is the highest record I could access within Tear Drop.”
Davis swallowed, then continued in a lower voice.
“The Dhampir possesses the ability to transform their form into a swarm of bats. This is their most troublesome ability, for once the swarm scatters, it becomes extremely difficult to strike them effectively. And they can employ this form to drain blood from their prey, pursue targets, evade strikes, or simply execute a swift retreat.”
Davis took a brief pause and wet his throat before continuing.
“They can control their own blood flow and rapidly close physical wounds. Their bodies are cold, meaning they bleed very little and can easily feign death to deceive their hunters.
“They can drain blood to fuel their strength, manipulate their own blood, and command a dark red blood blob that can be manipulated externally to hinder their opponents. Those blood blobs also contain a corrosive acidity, which can prove troublesome to an opponent's weapons and flesh.”
He tapped the table lightly with one finger.
“Beyond these traits, they possess heightened senses, night vision, and extremely sensitive hearing. They are swift, agile, and can sharpen their claws and fangs. They are also capable of releasing a piercing, high-pitched shriek to disorient their foes, but...” Davis let out a scoff. “Those of the Vampire Path often hold themselves in high regard. They rarely resort to such tactics, as they believe the scream makes them appear too much like common beasts.”
Arnold nodded, his eyes fixed on the wooden table.
‘To put it simply…’ He began organizing the abilities in his mind.
[Bat Transformation]
[Rapid regeneration]
[Heightened Senses]
[Enhance Hearing]
[Night Vision]
[Cold Body]
[Enhance Agility]
[Minor Blood Control]
[Sharpen Claw]
[Shriek]
It was the same as the information recorded in the monument, albeit more informative and adequate.
‘That’s a lot of abilities. They have that many in the Foundation Stage?’ Arnold thought grimly. Their versatility was terrifying.
“As for their weaknesses… Although they are exceedingly difficult to kill, that also exposes them to several distinct weaknesses,” Davis continued, still chewing while he spoke. It was rude, but Arnold did not care enough to correct him.
The snug was quiet, and Jack’s voice remained low.
“The primary vulnerability of a vampire is Yan essence, as well as the Harmony Yan essence.”
‘Yan essence. I still have two bottles left.’ Arnold thought of the orange bottles in his possession.
As for Harmony Yan essence, he guessed it was some kind of energy belonging to the Harmony Faction.
“They are likewise vulnerable to pure silver. Silver can disrupt their abilities, weaken their rate of regeneration, and if used properly, it can kill them.” Davis added, wiping grease from his fingers against a napkin. “Or ya may simply decapitate them, or incinerate them in the traditional manner.”
Arnold craned his head, leaning in closer.
“Elaborate.”
Davis paused and stroked his stubbled chin for a moment.
“It is precisely as I have stated, junior. Leaving aside the matter of essence, to which very few people have access. The three recognized methods to effectively execute a vampire are decapitation, incineration, and the application of silver.”
He picked up an iron fork, speared a single boiled bean from the clay dish, and put it into his mouth.
“Because a Dhampir has a remarkably potent regeneration, silver will disrupt their recovery, particularly if a fragment of the metal remains embedded directly within the wound.”
“As for incineration, it is destructive to their constitution because the flames consume their blood supply, forcing their body to attempt regeneration continuously until their energy is entirely depleted,” he explained, wetting his throat with a quick gulp of ale. “And as for decapitation... It is not as though they possess the capacity to regenerate an entirely new head.”
“What of the heart?” Arnold asked. From what Arnold recalled from his past life, in the media, the heart was universally depicted as a vulnerability for vampires.
“The heart...” Davis murmured, thinking for a moment. “The heart is very important to them, but the conditions are exceptionally strict. Ya must pierce the heart with a silver weapon, or else it will simply regenerate. Besides, they are usually very careful to protect the heart, so I did not include it in the primary list.”
He smirked and shrugged his shoulders casually “Although employing silver is a standard method to combat a Dhampir, utilizing the metal to outright kill them is far more difficult in practice. They do not simply die upon contact. From what I have gathered, one must inflict a significant wound with silver, preferably directed to the heart to ensure their demise.”
‘I see.’ Arnold nodded.
“Can shillings do the trick?”
Davis narrowed his eyes, stroking his jaw once more as he considered the strange question, before shaking his head. “Unfortunately, junior, I cannot say with certainty. A common shilling coin is rather small, and its silver content may not be enough.”
“Then just use a lot of shillings?”
“A question for ya. Can ya even wound them using a shilling?” Davis narrowed his eyes.
Arnold shrugged his shoulders.
Inside the mindscape, Izzy tapped her chin in deep thought.
‘Honestly, with Psychokinesis, I can do that.’
Well, Isa could. Not her.
Although killing a Dhampir with shillings still sounded impossible if the coins were merely scattered onto the body.
Unless, of course, they could launch the silver coins with enough velocity and force to pierce their flesh.
Like a bullet.
'Oh.'
Izzy’s eyes widened.
She had just conceived an idea most ingenious.