Apocalypse
Day after day, Apocalypse lived a life of endless repetition.
"Lady Lujerna, it's said that a century has passed."
"...I see."
That was the life of Lujerna, the progenitor vampire, the true ancestor. She wore the same clothes every day and ate the same meals. There was no variation in her existence whatsoever.
But she had never once felt bored. A being capable of boredom could never endure eternal life.
The first spark of interest for her came from her eternally unchanging meal.
"Living things just piss me off on principle. That's why I always eat dead corpses."
This was a secret known only to vampires: all blood tasted the same. No matter whose blood you sucked—be it from beast or man—it was always just the taste of blood. Blood was blood, after all.
"But with humans, the live ones are far more enjoyable."
Whether by mistake or mischief from one of her kin, one day a living human appeared on her table. The human sliced open his own arm, filled a wine glass with his blood, and declared:
I'll give you as much blood as you want. Just spare my daughter.
That was the moment she first understood what "delicious" truly meant. All blood tasted the same. Yet human blood was exceptionally flavorful. The reactions they showed as their breath faded, the stories they spun—it was all a fresh shock to Lujerna.
"From now on, only living humans on my table. Start with that man's daughter... no, wait. I've thought of something even more amusing."
Lujerna wasn't a fool. Just because one human tasted good didn't guarantee the whole species did. Surely that man's bloodline was some special breed.
So, Lujerna decided to breed them, producing delicious blood like a farm.
"...Why did he die?"
"My apologies. We severed his limbs just fine, but who knew he'd bite his own tongue."
But the attempt ended in abject failure. Was it the goblin breeding that went wrong? Did it have to be with another human? The little female human strangely took her own life.
"What a peculiar race. They even commit suicide?"
Regretfully, Lujerna drank the dead human's blood. And its taste was exquisite. Strange indeed. She'd thought only the living mattered, yet this blood from a corpse she'd drunk billions of times before was suddenly divine.
Only then did Lujerna realize it wasn't "humans" that were the issue, but the "stories humans created" that made the blood delicious.
"We have no change, not even the slightest. But humans, with their short lifespans, make every moment vibrant."
Vampires lived times approaching eternity. That's why they never knew boredom. But for humans, boredom was a sin. Their allotted time was far too brief.
The secret to delicious blood lay in the stories humans wove to escape that boredom.
With everything clear, Lujerna declared:
"Looks like I can never drink tasteless blood again."
From that point, Lujerna began crafting various stories from humans. At first, they trended toward sadism. Tortures, slain families, the flavor of curses spat in starvation. But novelty faded quickly, and she soon spotted a major flaw.
The blood spilled during torture was too wasteful. Not enough left to actually drink.
"How can I savor humans more abundantly?"
After much trial and error, Lujerna found her answer: peace.
Rather than torment, she showered humans with kindness. She took in those with nothing, filling their voids. Gave families to the lonely, fed delicacies to the hungry. Treated them as well as possible—then harvested at their peak of happiness.
"This human's quality is superb."
"An honor to hear your praise."
The method proved highly effective. Humans raised on good food yielded not just superior quality, but vast quantities. Healthy bodies produced far more blood than sickly ones.
"Almost a shame to keep it all to myself."
Lujerna wanted to share this joy with her kin. The problem? High-quality humans were rare and hard to procure. The stronger their sense of justice worth dying for, the greater their innate power, the tastier they were. But such humans were scarce, and Lujerna had slain too many—the quality kept declining.
She proposed a fallback.
"What if we make a human farm?"
"A human farm?"
"A vast plain where humans frolic happily. Harvest one each week to eat."
Just imagining it was pure bliss. Drop a human herd on the farm, some would breed among themselves, their children repeating the cycle, the farm growing lush.
But it required top-condition humans to start—and most were already dead, impossible to find in this era.
"I'm entering hibernation. Wake me when the world teems with delicious humans."
Thus, Lujerna entered deep slumber, hoping for humanity's era.
A thousand years later, when she awoke:
-Hello.
A petite silver-haired girl stood before her. Not a vampire, but a fellow demon kin.
-Hey, do vampires really die in sunlight?
The demon, introducing herself as the newly appointed 1st Legion Commander, fired an ominous opening question.
Lujerna gave a cursory reply and cut to the chase.
-Is this the age of humans?
-Not sure about that, but it's my era.
-...New commanders are a quirky bunch. I'm going back to sleep. Wake me when humans rule.
-But this Demon King plans a decisive battle soon.
The little silver-haired demon shared various intel. She asked Lujerna's wishes, praised them as fitting, and promised to punch a hole in the front lines—go chase your dreams.
Lujerna accepted. And now, she was in the Carmot Chrisval Grand Territory.
Within that, inside Sisilia's domain.
**
"All I truly want is peace."
Finishing her long tale, Lujerna hoped Sisilia would sincerely grasp her wish.
Sisilia muttered gravely.
"If I win a Nobel, what field? Erased menstrual cramps—physics? Or Nobel Peace Prize?"
"... "
Lujerna fell silent, then spoke.
"Human. Did you hear my story?"
"Decided."
Sisilia aimed finger-guns at Lujerna.
"Chop off your head, ship it to Earth—they'll tell me."
"...You heard nothing."
Sisilia scowled. Lujerna's pointless chatter grated amid her brilliant idea.
"What'd you say?"
"That I'm a good demon."
Sisilia nodded in agreement.
"You wanna be a good demon. Should've said so."
"...You're an idiot."
"Bang."
Bang
Lujerna blankly looked up at Sisilia. Moments ago they'd been eye-level—odd. Then she glanced down.
No lower body. A massive hole through her abdomen.
"...How?"
"Compressed wind shot. Anyway, you just won't turn good easy."
Sisilia stomped Lujerna's head in disgust.
"How many sins you racked up?"
But Lujerna's head dissolved into a puddle of blood.
Sisilia whipped around. A fully restored Lujerna pointed at her.
Exsanguination
Sisilia pointed back.
"Bang."
Bang
"...Exsanguination."
Exsanguination
"Bang."
Bang
Sisilia slew Lujerna, Lujerna unleashed her Authority—rinse and repeat.
As Lujerna raised her hand again, she saw Sisilia's delighted grin and lowered it.
"...How are you unscathed?"
Lujerna's Authorities were two: immortality and Exsanguination. Immortality was literal; Exsanguination linked to it, reversing blood flow in her killer to slay them.
...It did nothing to Sisilia.
Impossible. Like an apple falling to earth. Leaves rustling in the wind. Skies clearing after rain.
It was a law of the world.
"Blood reflux during my period just toughened my uterus. Obvious law of nature."
Sisilia smiled sweetly.
"A fundamental rule."
"...You blocked my Authority with that absurd nonsense?"
Lujerna's vision blurred.
"No mere human breaks such laws. You asked my identity—now I ask yours. What are you?"
"Hero's heroine."
No point talking more. Like spamming useless Exsanguination.
Instead, Lujerna sought something meaningful. Dying here was impossible anyway.
"I hate fighting. Immortality doesn't mean painless. But now... I'm curious about your blood's taste."
She could die thousands of times. Just once—just one bite into Sisilia's neck—and it was over.
Lujerna slashed her wrist, flinging blood that morphed into needles aimed at Sisilia.
"No matter how strong, you're human. How do you cope against one who neither dies nor tires?"
Countless blood needles lanced out.
Clang!
Sisilia swatted them all with one stroke, reversed her grip on her blade, and pointed her index finger at Lujerna.
"You'll tire eventually."
Lujerna summoned double the needles, embroidering the air.
"You wanted peace, right?"
Sisilia still pointed, smiling.
Lujerna sensed wrongness, eyes widening. Her finger aimed not at her—but behind.
Empty air.
She whipped her head around. The storm filling space parted.
Beyond lay vast plains, where golden-haired Edward stood, his sword ablaze with gorgeous flames plunged into the earth.
"You picked the wrong opponent."
Lujerna tried Exsanguination at Edward—but her body wouldn't move.
Just as she'd willed.
"Because that bad guy's the world's biggest peace-hater."
Edward, fully focused, smirked at Sisilia's quip.
"A villain this handsome?"
"... "
Sisilia sulked off to the side. Edward waited till she cleared the zone, then intoned lowly.
"This world's end converges to one."
Apocalypse
In that instant, Edward's vast mana set his sword ablaze spectacularly.
"Extreme Art."
The quiet invocation dyed the world red. Air twisted scorching hot, winds devoured by flames.
From his blade's tip, every evil he could imagine converged to a point.
"——Apocalypse."
Apocalypse
Roooar!
Flames erupted from the earth, exploding skyward with world-scorching fury.
Cool.
Edward's Extreme Art, Apocalypse. Effect: incinerate everything in range.
Sisilia felt deep envy amid the spectacle, adding a gust to the blaze. Not mere burns, but winds erasing existence itself.
Lujerna couldn't die—but she could be erased.