Chapter 24
Vampire.
Originally, vampires were a race that did not take human blood as their staple food.
They had once fought with silver and fangs, but that was a story from the distant past.
After a long war, the two races signed a peace treaty.
They agreed not to attack or interfere with one another.
And so an age of peace arrived, but...
‘...I heard there were many who were dissatisfied.’
Some families among the vampires.
They did not look kindly on coexistence with humans.
‘The anti-human faction.’
Humans were merely one kind of prey.
They should be treated exactly like other livestock.
How dare a short-lived race presume to stand as equals with vampires?
These were especially the voices of those steeped in vampire supremacism.
As a result, the vampires split into two factions.
The pro-human faction, which regarded humans as partners in coexistence.
The anti-human faction, which considered humans prey.
The conflict continued for centuries.
‘And then... in the end, things came to a head.’
A coup took place.
Led by Carmilla's uncle, the anti-human faction drew their swords.
The dynasty fell, and countless members of the pro-human faction were purged.
In that chaos, Carmilla alone survived.
‘The princess really has had it hard...’
It was a pitiful life.
If the player did not help her, she was even destined to be captured and killed by the anti-human faction.
She acted cheerful as usual, but a gloomy inner self must have sunk deep within her.
That was why I often found myself pitying her spiritedness.
“Your Highness.”
“Why do you call me, Victor?”
“Your Highness is a vampire, aren't you?”
“Indeed. I am a pureblood, the most exalted among the lords of the night.”
“A vampire's staple food is blood essence, correct? If so, are you unable to consume ordinary human meals?”
“Hmm?”
It was an out-of-the-blue question.
Since we were walking down a shadowy road, the girl could do nothing but tilt her head.
“Human food... It isn't as though I cannot consume it. Of course, I would not obtain the nutrients I need from it. Human cuisine can be enjoyed as a form of gastronomy, but blood essence is still what gives the body its motive power.”
“You usually drank the blood of livestock. You especially liked the blood of young lambs.”
“I am not particular. Cows, sheep, pigs... It is all blood essence, after all.”
“Then what about humans?”
“...”
Perhaps it was because of the single word I tossed out.
Flinch-.
Carmilla's shoulders jerked.
She closed her parted lips and stared blankly up at me.
Her eyes wavered several times, then soon settled into a subdued gaze.
Only her silver hair fluttered in the blowing wind.
“...Humans, you say.”
“Some vampires are especially obsessed with human blood, aren't they? The anti-human faction, was it? I heard that the ones who overthrew the old dynasty shared that mindset.”
“Yes...”
Anti-human faction.
Humans.
The fallen dynasty.
Carmilla could not speak for a while.
Perhaps it was because of memories she had cut away and buried in some corner of her heart.
After taking a deep breath, she answered through a throat that had grown even more rigid.
“Human blood is special. It is different from the blood essence of ordinary livestock. Humans are creatures endowed with intelligence and culture, just like us vampires. Those qualities affect vampires when they drink it.”
“Affect them...?”
“The power they naturally possess explodes. They maintain a state of phenomenal awakening. Every sense grows vivid, and the power of blood magic, as well as their overall physical abilities, grows stronger. With a single drink, they climb several more steps in their growth. And apparently, the taste is the ultimate delicacy as well.”
“That's strange. If so, why would they have any reason not to make human blood their staple food?”
“No... Once a vampire consumes human blood even once, it can no longer remain itself. It becomes unable even to touch the blood of other livestock. Its taste buds are completely ruined.”
“You mean they can no longer be satisfied by anything but human blood...”
Drugs.
If I had to define it in human terms, perhaps that was the closest comparison.
“And it doesn't stop there; their violent tendencies grow stronger as well. Returning to the way they were before becomes impossible. Just as drugs are to humans, human blood is that to vampires.”
“Certainly, once their violent tendencies intensify and they begin craving human blood...”
“War. In the end, vampires and humans will inevitably come into conflict.”
“So the pro-human faction was worried about that. They feared a return to that age of madness.”
“That is right. The anti-human faction, however, ignored those concerns. In fact, they desire war. I hear they plan to collapse human civilization and turn the entire continent into vampire territory. They intend to turn humans into livestock and use them like slaves.”
“That is horrifying.”
“What is even more horrifying is that so many of our own kind are taking part in that plan.”
This, too, was something I already knew.
The Seven Calamities that would soon descend upon the continent.
The sixth among them, the Red Night.
A hell that would dye the human world in a sea of corpses and blood.
‘Vampires, along with tens of millions of ghouls, poured into the human world...’
The New Kingdom, newly founded by the anti-human faction after bringing down the old dynasty.
As soon as preparations were complete, Carmilla's uncle began marching toward the human world.
The coexistence forged centuries ago was shattered, and the age was stained by war once again.
If the player did not stop it, the world would be drenched in crimson.
The opening of the vampires' world.
I wanted to avoid that bad ending at all costs.
Humans would become livestock, reduced to a life spent having their blood sucked.
“Your Highness...”
I suddenly found myself curious.
“Why do you refuse human blood, Your Highness?”
“...”
Why did she refuse it?
Human blood.
I had called it a drug and whatnot, but to vampires, it was ultimately the finest source of energy.
In their eyes, humans must seem like a race born to become their food.
They were perfect prey in every respect.
Why should they care about human suffering?
They could use that suffering as fertilizer and seize even greater power.
Think only of vampires and make the kingdom greater.
Many members of the anti-human faction must have held such thoughts.
‘Why?’
If so, why?
Why had the girl not walked the same path as them?
Why had she not joined hands with the rationale they offered?
Besides, Carmilla was particularly proud of her own race.
What was the reason that she, half-immersed in supremacism, wanted coexistence with the lowly short-lived race?
‘What kind of person are you?’
Was it revenge?
Because the anti-human faction had overthrown the dynasty and executed the people she loved?
Or was it fear?
Had she been afraid of the war that would soon arrive?
If not, was it acceptance?
Had she merely followed the will of her predecessors?
A compulsion that, since things had always been this way, she had to be the same?
“...”
Finding the reason behind something was always bound to become a step toward deciding one's next move.
I quietly watched Carmilla.
A rippling silence shimmered in her red eyes.
“...Humans are an inferior race.”
The girl opened her mouth.
Her voice was not bold, but neither did it carry any sign of baseness.
“Vampires are superior. More so than any other race in the world. Compared to us, humans are very small. A people like worms on a fingertip.”
“...”
“Therefore, we show them mercy. Humans are creatures with sufficient intelligence and culture. But if we become unable to live without killing such tiny creatures, how can we call ourselves noble?”
What she had sought to protect.
“Leira de Reviaran. De Roni Gibliyaze.”
Slaughter, but never vulgarly.
Survive, but never grovel.
The last words said to have been left behind by an ancient progenitor.
The star the girl admired and took as her ideal.
“If living is merely being made to live, can that be called life? A pilgrimage without hardship cannot be called a pilgrimage, and a conviction without temptation cannot be called conviction.”
“...”
“Nobility means possessing no ugliness. Having countless flaws, yet not being filthy. Being able to look proudly at oneself reflected on the surface of the water. I merely followed her. Without vulgarity, without groveling.”
“I see.”
I nodded.
It had been a satisfying exchange.
The princess I served seemed destined to become a wise and benevolent ruler.
She might be somewhat clumsy, but she always tried to become a better person.
I tapped the edge of my mask and smiled.
“Hmm... We are almost at our destination, as it happens.”
“I have been wondering for a while now, but what business brings us to such a remote city?”
“I was following a trail. Apparently, many people have gone missing in this area lately.”
“Gone missing...?”
“In reality, they were abducted. Someone is sweeping up humans.”
“...Don't tell me.”
“It is probably exactly what you are thinking. The New Kingdom seems to be beginning to stir over there.”
“They are already moving? I thought there were at least two years left before the invasion of the human world...!”
“This is not a full-scale invasion, of course. There is an order to these things.”
Something that seeped in slowly.
“They are probably establishing a base. To prepare for the invasion they will launch in the future.”
“You mean that base is somewhere around here? And the people who went missing...”
“Yes, they were probably kidnapped by vampires from the New Kingdom. They intend to lock them away somewhere sunlight cannot reach and use them as food. They are trying to create a continuous supply of blood essence, as though they were building a ranch for humans. I hear the estimated number of victims so far is already in the triple digits.”
“Th-that...! Where in the world could such vile deeds be taking place?”
“We are almost there.”
I rummaged through my inventory and pulled out an item I had prepared in advance.
None other than a mask. Unlike mine, it was painted red.
I handed it to Carmilla, who was walking beside me.
“Here.”
“A mask...?”
“We are going to encounter other vampires. We may even clash with them. It would be troublesome if Your Highness's identity were exposed then, wouldn't it? So whenever you operate in your true form from now on, please be sure to wear this mask.”
“You are thorough. The design is a little unsettling, though...”
The girl hesitated briefly, then put on the mask.
Two masks. It could be called a perfect combination.
I felt like we had become the Power Rangers.
“But... Victor, how do you know about things like this?”
“Why, because I am Your Highness's veeery capable servant?”
“Sometimes I worry that you may be too capable...”
“In any case, we have arrived.”
“Hmm?”
We had stopped in the middle of a plaza.
It was an area with no particularly notable buildings.
I tossed the puzzled girl an unexpected request.
“Your Highness, could you use your blood magic? Please strike the ground beneath our feet with all your strength.”
“Attack? The empty ground?”
“Please. You will soon find out what it is.”
“Hmm, hmmm... Very well. If it is Victor, you must have a reason.”
Carmilla nodded.
No sooner had she spoken than a hammer forged from blood appeared in her hand.
The blood compressed, and a deep aura began to bubble and boil.
Soon, accompanied by a soft battle cry, the hammer blow crashed down.
“Hup...!”
Boom-!
A crack of rupture flashed past in an instant.
Immediately afterward, the ground around where we stood caved in.
“Eek, eeeek...?”
Whoooosh-!
Wind swept over my entire body.
The ground collapsed, and we fell into the space beneath it.
As we passed through the long, cylindrical space, a reddish light soon appeared at the far end.
I grinned behind my mask.
‘Found it.’
A human ranch.
A vast landscape opened up amid the reddish air.
A plot of land large enough for a factory to be built on.
It still looked crude, since construction was not yet complete.
A heavy stench of blood, as though humans had been slaughtered, wafted from all around.
“Victor...!”
Carmilla created wings with blood magic.
The girl snatched me up and gradually slowed our fall.
Her robe fluttered in the wind.
-Wh-what the hell? The ceiling collapsed!
-Something's falling! Is that a vampire and... a human?
-How did they get in? Fuck, bring all the kids first!
Cries rose from below.
Perhaps they had been standing guard.
Their bodies were drenched in blood, as though they had just carried out a major slaughter.
Were the things strewn around them corpses?
“Your Highness.”
Flap-.
The fierce headwind subsided, and we landed lightly on the tips of our feet.
Pupils glared at us. Every one of them was red, soaked in blood.
I leisurely extended both hands.
A stake in one hand, a balloon sword in the other.
“Hmm.”
Smack-!
The foot that touched the ground immediately kicked off from it.
I took familiar steps, my body blinking like an error.
I was propelled forward with a shallow crack of rupture.
Crackle-.
The three vampires standing closest to us.
They were the ones whose eyes had met mine in midair.
They had already drawn swords with blood magic, as though anticipating a battle.
Perhaps they were confident in their abilities; they looked ready to charge with grim expressions.
“Hey, just beat them down already!”
“It's a human! Start by chopping off one limb at a time!”
“No one is allowed in here! They're obviously intruders, so we have to eliminate...”
“Wait, but where the hell did this bastard disappear to...?”
Crackle-.
But the target had already left their field of vision.
I appeared behind the confused vampires.
Before they could even turn around, I swung the fragment of stake clenched in my fist.
“Peekaboo!”
Shraaak-!
With a harsh slicing sound, the figures toppled sideways.
All three had lost their legs below the thighs.
The cut surfaces sizzled like meat cooking, and their skin melted away.
They stood there with blank expressions for a moment, then realized what had happened and screamed.
“G-ggaaagh!!”
“My legs! M-my leeeegs!!”
“It's melting, my skin is melting...!”
Their voices rang out.
Before long, other vampires came running after noticing the commotion.
Perhaps they had all been busy working; their entire bodies were drenched in blood.
“Wh-what is it? What's going on!”
“Intruders? How many of them broke in for there to be this much commotion...!”
“This works out nicely. We can catch them all and put them in the ranch.”
They had burst out in a rush, yet the one waiting before them was a single human.
A grotesquely grinning mask.
I said playfully,
“Everyone, hands up. Bang, bang.”
The entrance of a legendary vampire hunter.
Abraham Van Helsing.
Blade.
Han Se-geon.
Onion Kim.
The one who carried on that lineage, Victor.
He had landed with a stake.
“Everyone, surrender. If you don't surrender, I'll cut you; if you do surrender, I'll cut you.”
Our princess is the only good vampire.
The rest all need to be put in coffins.