Light (1)

Yeah. It was definitely because I hadn't cleaned up properly.

I'd fallen asleep without putting away the book stained with my blood and flesh, or the pools scattered across the floor — all because I'd been so sure I could finally cut short that hellish nightly banquet. And getting caught by this crimson little spirit was, I could say with confidence, the single thing I regretted most as of late.

The moment Bloody — whom I suspected was royalty among the spirit folk — woke in my Subspace and stepped into my home, those noble, refined eyes took in the sight of me collapsed on the floor and the magnificent, coppery scene that would have had any ordinary person clutching their chest and retching. In that instant, the suspicion she'd been carrying for months must have hardened into certainty, right alongside the anger.

That I had given in to a vampire's instincts, unable to overcome the difference in species. That I had been living with every last side effect. And that I had never once told her — the only one of her kind I had.

"Kneel."

There was no mercy in her tone at all. Without a shred of hesitation, I pressed both knees to the cold floor and sat properly.

"I trust thee knowest what thou hast done wrong."

"……"

It was a story I could never tell you. You know that, right?

"Haa····."

At Bloody's sigh, my body flinched before I could stop it. I carefully looked up at her with a please-just-this-once expression. As far as I remembered, the me in the mirror was on the pretty side — but spirits had eyes too. I couldn't exactly brazen my way through this.

"Even looking at me like that will not make me let this pass. Know that well."

Not even a nibble, huh.

"I'm sorry."

"Why didst thou hide it in the first place? Nay — before that. Thou knewest I had already begun to notice, didst thou not?"

I kept my mouth shut tight and looked away from the gaze I could feel fixed on me. Silence stretched between us.

"……"

I didn't want to answer. But the cold blood on the floor seeped into my body and whispered against my ear that we had reached the unavoidable stage.

"····What could you even do about it."

The moment the words left me, a flicker of regret followed. The feeling in them was nothing like our usual conversations. Bloody, though, didn't seem to mind. Perhaps she had already gone past concession and arrived at understanding.

"Medicine and instruments that can ease the side effects exist in plenty, if one only searches. If need be, we can set foot in the Spirit Realm and fashion them ourselves. Things are unsettled there at present, so it may not be immediate —"

Her cloak fluttered and gave off a light. It wasn't particularly bright.

"— and yet one can still seek a way and press forward, can one not? The royalty of the Spirit Realm, and an Awakened of humankind — thou and I, together. Far better than crouching alone and enduring it in silence. There is no need to shoulder it all by thyself."

They were fine words. I almost clapped. There had been times when hearing something like if we join hands we can weather any crisis made me feel like I could do anything at all.

"A whole four years."

But reality wasn't like that. Sometimes you had to know when to compromise.

"I've lived like this for four years. I slaughtered countless species. I hunted high-grade monsters looking for materials. I sought out beings of entirely different natures and threw myself into research day and night. I explored ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠every kind of Gate and even reached the peak."

A fairy-tale story. Crossing mountains, fording rivers.

"I tore open a rift and set foot in the Spirit Realm. I experienced the conveniences of civilization and came face-to-face with new instruments — and still, still, there was no perfect cure that could cleanly heal my disease."

Even when I looked ahead with my legs half crushed, there was no fairy-tale happy ending waiting.

"Not the cores of high-grade monsters. Not rare mana herbs or fruit of another tier entirely. Not even the coppery blood of Awakened. At best they let me breathe for a moment on a rush of pleasure and endorphins. Always with the same mental illness still there."

Yeah. That had been the conclusion I'd reached that day. That even after years of staining my hands with blood and tearing at my own hair, this world held no light meant for me.

And around the time that daily life had calcified into habit, I had met Bloody. To someone who had turned the world over corner to corner, this place was a dystopia without a cure — and Bloody was a lovely spirit who would never let anyone go.

As if on cue, the illness had gotten worse around then. I couldn't let this spirit find out. I could barely imagine how it would feel for her to look at a frail, sickly boy and realize there was nothing she could do for him.

"Orly."

"I'm not blaming you. You must have wanted to do something — anything — when you looked at me. I'm genuinely grateful for the thought. I'm glad."

Long conversations weren't something I was used to. Least of all this thick, heavy kind of talk that came with the particular shape of our relationship; I wanted it over with. Stories of the past were the kind I hated most.

"But almost every medicine and instrument you're thinking of right now is something I've already tried. It's not that they had no effect. It's just that Damphir as a race is so rare it makes you want to kill something — so the medicines don't listen, and all they ever manage is the role of a painkiller."

I want to stop talking. I'd rather have ordinary conversations with her, if I can help it. But I don't even know why I'm like this first thing in the morning. It was something I could have just let slide.

All I had to do was say I was sorry and that I'd be honest with her from now on.

I was such a pathetic piece of trash I thought I might cry. Disgusting enough to kill. Enough that I wanted to tear myself apart.

"I am sorry, Orly."

I didn't know whether Bloody still had something she wanted to say. But she showed no emotion at all, simply bowed her head quietly and brought the conversation to a close. Maybe she had seen straight through the mental illness that was still sliding further down, and was being considerate of me.

"No. Don't apologize. The fact that you worried for me — I'm purely, honestly glad about that."

But what came out of my mouth was neither consideration nor understanding. It was a lie. For someone who had only ever known cold scorn and eyes full of killing intent, a heart that cared for me like this felt more than I deserved.

"Anyway, if there's medicine that helps the body, I should try to get my hands on all of it."

"……"

"Can I get up now? My knees are freezing from kneeling this long."

Bloody gave a small nod and said nothing more. Neither did I. A quiet stillness settled over us.

"So then. Is this the thing thou saidst thou wouldst show me earlier?"

"Yeah. Cool, right?"

And so I turned my gaze somewhere new. A small Crown, already scaled down and floating in the air, and beside it five luminous Sentences and their numbers.

"So it's fine. Even if the illness flares up and my body stays weak — I've got a goal."

Bloody blinked. Then she smiled faintly. Well — she had no mouth. It just felt that way.

Five Sentences, and the first among them. An assimilation rate of seventy percent — looking at it again, it really was a Sentence tailored to me. For the ratio at which it could synchronize with the bloodflow overtaking my entire body to be that high meant, from years of experience, that at minimum you needed an Awakened of 2nd Tier or above.

I hesitated a moment, then made my decision.

"A pure Vampire species, then."

That was the goal. The final curtain where I would meet my end.

"Is that what thou desirest?"

"Yeah."

"Then I shall cheer thee on, Orly."

Her voice was gentle. I didn't feel much of anything from it, though. There was a heartbeat, at least.

I smiled a little and raised a knife. With a mild jolt of pain came the sensation of the bones in my back twisting. I glanced sideways at the full-length mirror. Enormous crimson wings burst free and beat once. Countless wounds and holes and torn stretches of skin stood out — and they glowed, staining the air red.

Scars and experience won while tearing through battlefields. Precious ornaments.

The scent of slaughter filled my nose. I kicked off the ground and rose into the sky.

It was time to hunt.

Gyeonggi Provincial Office.

A red dot locked onto the beam cast across the screen.

"These are the places the girl has appeared over the past week. Starting from one area in Yongmun-myeon ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and gradually branching outward, she's been committing her crimes centered on shops, as you can see. As you're already aware, the crime sites are extremely monotonous and her movements easy to predict, so we've been able to place our limited personnel efficiently."

That the work was taking unexpectedly long was something Erika couldn't quite shake a sense of bewilderment over. To her eyes it had clearly been a minor incident, and yet a full week had slipped by with nothing to show for it — and that fact only stoked the fire in her further.

"As you requested, Lady Erika, we've hired some of the provincial mage-hunters to widen the measurement range, and we're currently searching with the late-night hours — the estimated time of the crimes — as ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠our baseline."

Blue dots spilled additionally across the beam, and text appeared here and there around them. Erika studied the screen for a long moment, then spoke.

"Form seven new field teams. I'll select the personnel myself."

And that was all.

Among every assignment she had ever taken on, her record of failure was nonexistent. No matter how much it looked like there might be something more to this, the opponent was nothing but a single girl. She would be on-site starting tomorrow.

The moment that girl had entered her sight, her life was already as good as forfeit.