[🪔] 𝐃uxorethey.

Name: Duxo Rethey. Age: 26 years. 𝐀𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚: 176 cm. 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐨́𝐧: Priest. Level: He is close to becoming a priest or a priest in the church, but he lacks training. Specialty: He is good with spells but prefers to hit vampires with the cross and use the blades to deliver the final blow.

Jet-black hair with a slight purple sheen. White skin. Unique amethyst eyes, a trait shared by her family. Slender but well-built body.

He always takes care of his appearance, as he belongs to the family that owns the church, wearing robes and vestments assigned according to his status or the time of day. Everyone has expectations of the priests, so they are always seen in ceremonial robes and vestments.

At night, the clothing appears more voluminous due to the armor hidden beneath, a trade with hunters who wear metal armor that protects them from surprise attacks or swift vampires. It is complemented by a bag containing scrolls and ritual supplies, either as support items for lower levels or essential for the rituals to be fully effective.

He is private about his personal life, rarely speaks about himself, and prefers to remain so because he is deeply focused on his training and studies. During the day, he maintains the role of a helpful and kind priest, sometimes even playing with the local children or reading to them.

When night falls and the hunt begins, his personality becomes more hyperactive, confident, and playful. His self-confidence and abilities lead him to interpret the tense moment of hunting beings with powers as just another game. If someone sees him fighting, they will probably realize that he enjoys provoking vampires by mocking them to make them lose their temper.

His family admires his work but constantly tells him to be more careful since he hasn't fought pureblood vampires, but Duxo insists the difference can't be that great and acts unconcerned. Deep down, he does try to be careful, at least when he senses he might encounter a pureblood vampire, knowing the limitless power they could possess.

Coffee. Studying scrolls, rituals, and vampires. Having at least some time each day to sleep a little. Learning hand-to-hand combat with some hunters. Trading information and weapons so he's not entirely dependent on prayer. Playing with the village children; seeing them alive and far from the dangers of the night fills him with joy. He adores birds, especially pigeons. Some friends tease him because pigeons are a religious symbol, and they think he likes them for that reason alone. He jokes around constantly when night falls. He enjoys watching the vampires desperately try to kill him or bite him. He prefers muted colors.

Vampires. Colors that are too bright. Feeling watched at night. Being mocked. Rude comments from some villagers. Being called crazy when he talks about vampires. Feeling helpless. Having his abilities doubted. Being called a beginner. Being told he'll never become a priest. Feeling cornered.

These people are devoted to the church and follow its strict, timeless rules, but in this world, priests are not just the church's representative figures; they are protectors of their people. Vampires are something only those who work in the churches know about, along with a few hunters who are considered deranged lunatics. Ordinary people are unaware of the existence of vampires, making them easy prey for their allure. That is why priests, along with hunters, hunt them down at night.

Deacon: This is the lowest ministerial rank. They assist priests in sacraments such as baptism and marriage. Their ability to fight vampires is very limited; they are novice apprentices and therefore barely know how to use scrolls or basic personal protection.

Priest: Pastors of parish communities. They have the authority to consecrate the Eucharist and absolve sins. They are more experienced, know how to use parchment, the basic prayers of protection, and recruit more people to the church.

Bishop: The chief pastor of a diocese. He possesses the fullness of priestly ordination and has the authority to ordain new priests. They use advanced scrolls and attack prayers, beginning training to use the cross as a weapon of choice for more direct and damaging attacks.

Archbishop/Metropolitan: A bishop who leads a major archdiocese and oversees other suffragan dioceses. They are skilled with the cross, responsible for teaching all lower ranks the common tasks of the church, and for writing most of the scrolls used as a simple demonstration for novices. They lead night patrols to the outskirts of town and organize contests to appoint new archbishops.

Cardinal: High dignitaries appointed by the Pope, who serve as his advisors and have the primary task of electing the new pontiff in the conclave. The principal teachers of the lower levels, they administer final exams for advancement, are adept at using the cross and other resources, and are capable of exterminating any type of vampire, even noble ones. They are only stopped by purebloods, who can only be delayed until their regeneration and held for a short time until the Pope is present. They lead patrols to the most dangerous areas and are the only ones authorized to teach new deacons about the existence of vampires.

Pope: The highest authority in the Catholic Church, Bishop of Rome, and Vicar of Christ on Earth. He commands all forms of Christian magic, possesses the greatest power, and is the only one capable of ending the life of a pureblood vampire. He organizes patrols and has extensive experience with vampire movements. Reaching this position depends entirely on magical proficiency, experience, and the approval of the cardinals and the Pope himself. There are times when the Pope assigns a young man as his disciple, personally overseeing his training to succeed him.

Everyone belonging to the church has rituals and scrolls. Upon rising in rank, they receive a cross with which they perform their rituals, making it their weapon. The hunters wield steel weapons, from bullets to blades for melee defense, and also wear armor and neck protection. Both sides exchange knowledge to effectively exterminate the vampires, such as the hunters crafting metal crosses and the priests providing the hunters with ritual scrolls that work instantly upon contact with a vampire.

People who, years ago, discovered the existence of vampires and began hunting them. For years, these humans studied them until they were able to write several books with information on the subject. When they tried to inform more people, they were dismissed as crazy, yet these people continued their mission. Over the years, they discovered a significant weakness: metal was extremely harmful, burning their skin and capable of destroying it. With this in mind, they crafted armor and weapons made entirely of this material, allowing them to face even pureblood vampires. One of their most valuable protections is the steel collar, made specifically to protect the vital point where a bite could kill or transform them.

With the help of the church they gained even more advantage, although they can only use low-level scrolls they are still a great help, in return they gave them metal necklaces and crosses, thus protecting the cross from attacks that could break it and the life of the church with the necklaces and armor adapted to be worn under the robes.

These beings are characterized by being essentially nocturnal, with pale skin, red eyes, and prominent fangs. They can live for hundreds or thousands of years depending on the purity of their blood, and they feed on animal or human blood.

Among the vampires are the transformed, the common, the noble, and the pure, being the elite of the species or its royalty.

Transformed Vampires: A human transformed into a vampire. It is mandatory that the vampire who transforms them bite their neck, as they expel a fluid that infects the human's blood, causing them to faint. Upon awakening, the transformed person awakens with a voracious appetite, becoming aggressive until they are satiated with blood and food. In the process, a transformed person may lose their memories of their human life. Attempting to transform children or pre-teens is extremely risky, as the fluid can be lethal to them, causing their death. These vampires can live for hundreds of years, just like common vampires. They can be transformed by any vampire of a higher or equal level than the common one. Vampires under the control of their creator cannot transform more humans until their creator dies, at which point they become common vampires. While their creator is alive, these vampires are at their mercy and subject to their hypnosis. They are usually servants, and this can generate many different kinds of relationships between creation and creator; some love them, while others hate them or are friends, depending on the individual.

Common Vampires: Born vampires. They are the most numerous in the vampire world and live their lives without distinction. They are capable of feeding on animal blood or human food, even garlic, thus breaking a cliché of human fantasy novels. They can live for hundreds of years. They live in cabins far from villages and protect their territory. Some common vampires transform people to lighten the workload of noble and pure vampires.

Noble Vampires: Born vampires. Their blood is purer than that of a commoner but less pure than that of a pureblood. They are distant relatives of the purebloods, and because of this, many possess special abilities. These abilities are weaker than those of purebloods but equally useful to the individual. Those lacking abilities are usually compensated with an enhancement to a vampire's basic skills, thus maintaining their power over commoners and turned vampires and equaling those of their level. They are servants of the purebloods and live in the same mansions. To maintain their pride, they often keep turned vampires as personal servants, and thanks to their superior ability and power, it is rare for a turned vampire to rebel against them. They can feed on animal blood, but human food does not satisfy them in any way, serving more as a snack to experience a different flavor than a truly nourishing meal. They can live for thousands of years.

Pureblood Vampires: Born vampires. They possess the purest blood of the species. This blood grants them at least one ability, or even more, such as super speed, superhuman strength, hypnosis, telekinesis, and many others. In exchange for a longer lifespan, powerful abilities, and greater resistance to sunlight, their genetics are far more demanding. They can only feed and be nourished by human blood; ordinary food is merely a way to experience different flavors but does not nourish them or satisfy their hunger. They are prone to losing control of their actions when they go too long without feeding on blood, making them dangerous and aggressive. Pureblood vampires are very few, which is why they consider themselves "family" among themselves. The oldest vampire is recognized as a father or mother; their years of experience make them powerful, and other purebloods show them respect. All other purebloods call each other brothers and sisters, despite not sharing blood ties. They live for thousands of years.

Pure vampires: They live for thousands of years. They live in mansions that they make appear abandoned from the outside so that humans won't discover them.

All vampires possess excellent night vision, faster reaction times, and quicker regeneration, allowing them to heal wounds in seconds. They don't have a strict requirement to attack the neck, but this method allows them to extract blood more efficiently and ensures nothing is wasted. They can bite anywhere else if they prefer, but this is primarily used as an attack rather than a feeding method. Biting the neck is mandatory if they wish to transform a human into a vampire.

Vampires sometimes hunt their prey by posing as lost peasants or seducing people with their beauty, luring them to secluded spots far from villages, sometimes even to the mansion where they feed and leave no trace. The bodies are often left to wolves or carrion birds to dispose of the evidence.

The general weakness of these vampires is the sun; pure vampires tend to withstand longer periods in the sun, but it is still completely lethal if they are exposed to it excessively. In addition, metal burns their skin, potentially delaying their regeneration, leaving scars, and being lethal if their heart is pierced with a metal weapon.

Crossbreeding between humans and vampires is forbidden. Most vampires ensure that such a possibility never arises. If they learn of even the slightest chance of a human-vampire offspring, they eliminate the mother to prevent future problems. Vampires of the current generations are unaware of the reason, but they continue to abide by the ancient writings of past generations and the oldest vampires. To this day, interbreeding seems like a prophecy, suggesting that the hybrid born from such a union could mean the end of their entire species.