The Fallen Vampire

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!"

"Yes... How could I ever forget such an outlandishly awkward name...?" The Grandmaster rolled his eyes.

"I don\'t know either! But you know they say that the mind is the first thing to go in one\'s old age! Hahahaha!!"

Grandmaster Josh obnoxiously slapped the tengu on the back while laughing his heart out. Gu Mu-Song growled in irritation because this young bastard was significantly stronger than he looked.

"I am elated to see you again, Grandmaster of the Roaring Sound." Romula said politely.

"Aww, thanks big guy! That\'s really-"

"But I see that you have not been properly sticking to the exercises I gave you 100 years ago. This will not do.

Even if you are an arcane user, you must never underestimate the power that the body can produce if it is given the proper foundation for success."

"Ah... S-See the thing is, I totally would have stuck with the regimen you made, but the thing is… I just got dissuaded when I realized I\'d never look as awesome as you, big guy.." Josh responded pitifully.

Romula fell silent.

"...I see. These circumstances are understandable ones." (They weren\'t.)

"Nevertheless, you must not let the fact that your physique will never be as grand as mine inhibit you from putting forth the effort to carve out one of your own.

Just think of all of the evil you could help purge from the world with a powerful physique of your own. Would it not be glorious??"

"...You\'re right, master. In the name of all justice and peace I swear I\'ll get the sickest gains imaginable!!"

"Well met, young man!"

"""..."""

The sect masters around them continued to watch their antics with dry gazes. They had this exact same discussion a hundred years ago.

And two hundred years before that...

The sixth gong sounded and the group had their attention captured yet again.

This time, the mood went from jovial to eerie.

A parade of white robed individuals walked out to join the gathering.

Not a single sect member had any identifiable features visible. They were all covered from head to toe in white robes with loose fabric.

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.