Elder Bairn

Elder Bairns (also known as Old Ones) are a mysterious group of monsters that serve as the antagonists of the anime Blood-C. Little is known about them, except that they have supposedly existed since ancient times and that they feed on human flesh and blood. They come in a variety of forms and rarely are any two Elder Bairns of the same shape.

History
"No matter how dear someone may have been or how loved, it meant nothing to the Elder Bairn as they devoured any and every human being unfortunate to fall into their sight."

The primary instinct of the Elder Bairns is to kill and feed on humans, their only source of sustenance. Legends regarding the Elder Bairns say that they have been feeding on humans since ancient times, showing that these unusual creatures have been around for quite some time. The Elder Bairns were so great in strength and number that the humans, who were extremely weak compared to them, had no means of defending themselves.

In an act of hopeful desperation, the humans tried somehow to establish a dialogue with the Elder Bairn since some of these creatures spoke the language of men. Unfortunately this attempt made no difference because to the Elder Bairn humans were nothing more than food. So with their attempt of communication an utter failure the villagers who out of all humans in the ancient times came to a resolution known as the covenant or The Shrovetide. All that is known about the covenant is for an allotted amount of time the Old Ones are allowed to feast on a number of humans but only during the Shrovetide.

List of Elder Bairns
The following is a list of Elder Bairns shown throughout the series:
 * Jizō - The first shown. It poses as a statue of the legendary Buddhist priest Jizō Bosatsu and can levitate at a very short distance from the floor. When damaged enough it pulls two raptor-like legs that uses to move and perform great leaps.
 * Bat - An anthropomorphic bat that attacks with its claws. It also appears in the opening of the anime.
 * Flower - A large flower-like monstrosity. Its primary method of attack is using its extensive roots for impaling and bashing. It also has a large mouth to devour its prey whole.
 * Train - Takes the appearance of a train at plain sight. It somehow can lure its prey through hypnosis. Its body is like that of a slug, but can turn part of it into harder spikes for impaling. It is the first one to talk.
 * Gryphon - A bird-like monster who fights mostly through flying and the use of its claws. Notably for being the first one to have two Elder Bairns under its control. They resemble insects and are competent close-range fighters, they can also spit a potent acid.
 * Monk - A simply monk at first, when its hat is removed it is shown to be an anthropomorphic eyeball. It is one of the most powerful shown, being capable of fighting Saya for an extended period of time. It fights through using fog to deceive her senses, and a proficient fighter with its staff.
 * Centipede - A large crustacean, with a bulky build at the front part with a large mouth, it also has two arms. It fights using its massive body and its antennae which are long and spiky.
 * Shadow - Comes from Nono's shadow and has control over her. The shadow is shapeless, as such it can take any form it desires for offensive. It can turn its arm into a sickle-like appendage for hard strikes. It can also turn part of its body into spikes or as a large mouth and it can also extend tentacles to bind Saya and drag people into its body where a seemingly alternate dimension is present. Its death also kills Nono, and is notably for murdering many citizens in plain day.
 * Samurai - An Elder Bairn that kills a policeman and attacks Saya. This Elder Bairn is the most talkative, asking Saya many questions and even teasing and tempting her. It commented on her saying she was weaker than before but when her eyes turned red, it claimed to have felt the "old her". Before it dies, it asks Saya to ask Tadayoshi "about who she really was".
 * Spider - This Elder Bairn caused one of the most gruesome scenes in the show, killing around seven of Saya's classmates one after the other. This incident causes Saya to reveal her true identity to the rest of the class. However, she fails to protect them, and he ends up slaughtering all of Saya's classmates, except for Tokizane and Itsuki.
 * Skeleton - This Elder Bairn attacks Saya and Tadayoshi at night in their shrine, she is a female woman's head envolted by a cape that is made from her hair, and underneath it, only her spinal cord is from below her neck, she is able to rotate her hair around her, creating something like a drill, she also "kills" Tokizane by enveloping and subsequently eating him whole. She then taunts Saya by alluding that she feeds on worse things than she herself does, Saya then snaps and slices her in half.
 * Cerberus - A giant six legged dog-like monster. This Elder Bairn is responsible for crushing Tokizane's head, slamming Nene several times in the ground, and splitting Nono in half and eating all of them in the last episode. It also tried to eat Kanako but it is killed by Saya. He can extend his ears into very long arms that are strong enough to destroy a house and rip a person in half.
 * Bunny - The last Elder Bairn that appears. It is released by Fumito by destroying his talisman and is cut in half by Saya. Then it regenerates and multiplies itself. They are responsible for devouring the entire population of the town. Despite having rather weak bodies they are very fast and are able to morph parts of their bodies for various uses (e.g. changing shoulders into sacks and turning their hands into a makeshift meat processor). They are destroyed when Saya completely destroys the head of the original.