Murphy bowed his head, rubbing his sore eyes.
His heart was filled with confusion.
How could this ancestor, who was supposed to have lived more than a thousand years ago, look exactly like Sofia? If there was any difference, it was that the ancestor's complexion seemed even paler, her skin almost translucently white.
But not having been exposed to sunlight for over a thousand years, such a complexion was not surprising.
Once his eyes felt a bit better, Murphy noticed a velvet carpet laid out on the ground, which seemed to be the place where the Arkaim emperors knelt in worship of their ancestors.
Thinking it over, Murphy took a step forward, knelt on one knee, and was about to speak to the ancestor about the purpose of his visit.
Suddenly, a ray of light caught his eye, causing him to look up again.
To his astonishment, he saw the girl in the crystal coffin opening her eyes—those were ruby-like, blood-colored pupils, staring intently at him.
The next moment, the girl's figure became ethereal, as if it was being erased from a canvas.
At the same time, a blood-red pearl emitting a crimson glow formed in front of the girl. In no time, it transformed into a crystalline object resembling a pearl, while the girl's figure had almost faded away.
That blood pearl pierced through the crystal coffin and slowly fell in front of Murphy.
A voice echoed in his heart, "This is what you need."
Murphy was startled as the blood pearl fell into his palm. Then, with a clang, the door closed in front of him, and Murphy found himself outside the stone door without knowing when he had moved there.
"Lord Murphy!" Maxim called out, "How did it go?"
Murphy blankly opened his right hand, looking at the blood-red pearl in his palm, feeling a sense of déjà vu.
This... why does it feel so much like the true blood of the vampire clan?
His mind flashed back to something Andrew Tuck had said years ago when researching vampire true blood.
[Their lifespan limit is about twelve hundred years... If calculated this way, the oldest surviving vampire might have been born before the year 800 A.D.]
Could it be that this Milian ancestor was a vampire? That's why she looked so pale and slept in such a dark, sunless place? But, her appearance... was she about to die?
Could it be that she was at the end of her lifespan and yet she still offered her true blood to help Sofia? It almost felt as if she was sleeping here, waiting for this moment.
This couldn't be some sort of resurrection trick, could it?
"Where's Lady Yaga?" Murphy asked.
"She's already returned to the palace, asking me to wait here for you."
"Let's go then," Murphy said.
Murphy still had many questions about the ancestor and the strange scene behind the gate of rebirth, but now, saving the queen was urgent. He hurried to show the blood pearl to Lady Yaga and Snape to see if it could be used to save someone.
Back at the palace, he handed the blood pearl to Snape and spoke privately with Lady Yaga about what he had seen.
"You're saying that Milian's ancestor and Her Majesty look alike?" Lady Yaga asked.
"Yes, and I suspect the ancestor might be a vampire," Murphy frowned. "Perhaps the magic in her blood could neutralize the Holy Mother's magic, but there's a chance the queen could be transformed into a vampire."
"And, I'm not sure if there's any other mechanism within this true blood."
Lady Yaga looked at Murphy, taking a while to understand, "Are you questioning the ancestor's intentions?"
Murphy nodded. With cases like Tom's in the past, Murphy couldn't help but be vigilant about such matters.
"The fact that Milian looks like Her Majesty, I've never heard of it before. After all, only emperors can enter the gate of rebirth, so what's inside is only known to them. Sofia has just ascended to the throne not long ago and hasn't entered the inner sanctum of the tomb, so she hasn't seen Milian."
"But perhaps it's just a matter of bloodline transmission. Although the records from the founding of the city are mostly lost, the God-Eagle family has indeed ruled this city for hundreds of years, with the bloodline never breaking."
"As for the ancestor's intentions..." Lady Yaga smiled, "If she wished, many would offer their lives for her. And in the records, the ancestor has helped this city through crises more than once. I find it hard to imagine she would use Her Majesty for evil purposes."
Lady Yaga didn't fuss over the possibility of the ancestor being a vampire. In ancient times, there were kingdoms established by vampires, and even in the Muggle society, the name of the Impaler was well known.
This wasn't considered a strange tale; on the contrary, it explained her curiosity.
Soon, Snape's research on the blood pearl concluded. Indeed, as Murphy had guessed, it was a true blood pearl, more refined than any known vampire true blood and even formed into a solid structure.
Moreover, its potency was strong enough to neutralize the Holy Mother's magic.
"Can you use the magic in this true blood without infecting the queen?" Murphy asked.
Snape shook his head, "That might be difficult for me to control. The magic resides in the queen's wounds and has already invaded her body. To neutralize it, naturally, this true blood must also come into contact with her body. Whether it will infect the queen, I cannot guarantee."
And time was running out. Petrification couldn't slow down the pace at which magic infected the soul by much, and the queen could die at any moment from soul contamination.
Murphy didn't hesitate any longer, "Let's try it."
Even if she turned into a vampire, it was better than death. As for other possibilities, there was no time to look for a better alternative, so they had to take the risk.
Quickly, Snape concocted a neutralizing agent, turning it into a paste that enveloped the blood pearl and applied it to the queen's back.
Then, Murphy lifted the petrification.
Using his magical vision, he saw that the moment petrification was lifted, the dark magic belonging to the Holy Mother began to wreak havoc along the queen's back wound, a blackish hue rapidly spreading.
However, soon, another force of a very high level joined the battle. Oddly, it had no conflict with Sofia's own power, almost instantly merging together, and acting as if it were Sofia's own power, it began to exterminate the invading Holy Mother's magic.
During this process, the blood pearl was inevitably absorbed by Sofia's body and, as expected, transformed her, enhancing her flesh's healing capabilities, raising her body temperature, and promoting wound healing—just as Murphy had predicted, turning Sofia into a vampire.
However, compared to the effect of expelling the Holy Mother's magic, this was an acceptable price.
After more than ten minutes, the Holy Mother's magic within Sofia was completely exterminated, and the blood pearl was fully integrated into her body, seemingly granting her an extremely powerful recovery ability. Even without using Dittany, the tissues and flesh damaged in the magical conflict were rapidly self-repairing.
Gradually, the queen's breathing stabilized, her eyelashes fluttered, and then she opened her eyes, a faint hint of crimson in her deep blue pupils.
Murphy was by her side, "You're awake? How do you feel, Sofia?"
The queen looked at him, and after a while, said, "Long time no see, Mr. Murphy."
Murphy smiled, "Not that long, you've just been asleep for a while, not even half a day has passed."
"Is that so?" Sofia frowned slightly, "I feel like I had a very long dream... But, it's good to see you again."
"I'm also glad you're okay, Sofia."
The queen smiled, "I like it when you call me by my name."
Perhaps because of the ordeal, she seemed much bolder than before.
If he said "If you like it, I'll call you that from now on," it would seem very much like a couple of fools in love, so Murphy simply smiled and nodded.
"Alright, I'll remember that."
"Can you hold my hand?" the queen asked.
"Sure."
"I'm a bit tired and want to sleep a bit more. Will I still see you when I wake up?"
"Yes."
"Thank you for saving me, Murphy."
"Sleep now."
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