The Fallen Vampire

Chapitre 228: Festival! Pt. 1

With the fifth ringing of the gong, the sects turned their heads towards their newest arrival.

These individuals were... highly irregular to say the very least.

They seemed to have no discipline. Nor did they arrive in uniform.

The sect members were all an overtly cheerful bunch, as they laughed and jostled each other all the way to their seats.

They wore orange tunics, some having them open, others tied closed. It didn't really seem to matter.

At the head of the group, there was an oni with a surprisingly underdeveloped body.

He was perhaps the only one in the world without a perfect six-pack chiseled into his abdomen. There seemed to be the beginnings of some, but perhaps he was just too lazy to actually do the work to get them out.

Still though, he was far from fat, or unattractive.

His bronze colored skin seemed to really glitter underneath the light of the early morning sun.

His orange colored hair was thick and curly; being barely restrained in the confines of the bun he had forcefully restrained it in.

A pair of strange apparatus covered his ears and sat atop his head. They seemed old, but extremely well-taken care of.

His green eyes glittered with a never-ending sense of amusement, matching the permanent smirk he seemed to wear.

At the moment his eyes landed on the men already sitting in attendance, the young man broke out into a huge smile.

"What's up, old dudes!! It's great to see you three again!"

All four men had carrying reactions to this display, but chief among them was probably surprise.

Only five-hundred years old and already a Seven-Star Arcane user... If the outside world knew about this they may all vomit blood from irritation.

In a gust of wind, the young oni appeared in front of the group of men and shook their hands heartily whether they wanted to or not.

"How're you doing, bird-dude? You look good, big-bald dude! You've lost weight, short-smart dude! Your beard is longer, real-old dude!"

Gu Mu-Song looked the least pleased out of the group of 'dudes'. "Yes... What was your name again..?"

"Aww, don't be like that, guy! It's Josh!"

They were led by a man with glossy, feminine looking features, and jade white skin- almost like a doll. It was easy to mistake him for a woman because of the faintest traces of lipstick on his lips.

He had long, black hair that was tied behind his head in a thick ponytail that was nearly the entire length and width of his body.

A dark mark was planted dead in the center of his forehead like a bulls-eye.

Though undoubtedly profound, the meaning behind such a symbol remained a mystery known only to the wearer.

He sat down among the grandmasters and smiled at them earnestly; though he didn't speak.

But none of them took it personally. No one ever heard this man talk.

"Yo..! Silent-dude..!" Josh whispered. "What's up..?"

Though the makeup wearing man did not respond, he did hold up a 'hang-loose' sign with his fingers as he'd been taught.

The man turned his head towards the final set of empty tables- noticing that there were significantly fewer of them now than there were a hundred years ago.

And now that he 'pointed' it out, the other two newcomers of today finally noticed the smaller table-size as well.

"What's up? Those ladies get into a cat fight or something and split up?" Josh scratched his head.

Abbot Tang lowered his head as he clenched the tablecloth.

"...My love has passed on. Her sweet voice no longer brightens this world, and almost all of the children she tried so hard to raise were killed alongside her.

Romula actually looked shaken. Josh looked like he had been punched in the jaw.

Everyone liked Setsuka. She was a kind, gentle old woman who couldn't say a bad word about someone even if she were reciting it off a paper.

It was hard to imagine someone like that being here at one moment, and then gone the next. She was too good a person for such an unfair fate to befall her.

"...I am truly sorry, my friend. I am aware that she was the reason you took your vows in the first place. It must be difficult." Romula apologized.

"...More than you can imagine." He nodded.

"But wait. If all of the babes have already passed on, then... Why are there still chairs here?"

"You did hear me say almost, didn't you..?"

At that moment, the final gong rang and the gates to the last palace were pushed open.