Chapter 86
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: Ameris's Night
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One day, Seluna suddenly appeared in her true form.
She was probably a 'real vampire,' different from the native race that had originally inhabited Jeju Island.
Her eyes were endlessly dyed red, and her skin was as cold and clear as ice, resembling freshly fallen winter snow.
That appearance matched exactly the depiction of the 'pureblood' described in the religion worshipped by the island's tribe.
The tribe on this island certainly seemed to possess superior physical abilities compared to humans.
But they lacked regenerative powers like those of a vampire.
So, when Seluna first appeared, they revered her as 'Lady Pureblood' due to her appearance and her unnaturally potent healing abilities.
They even enshrined her in the village shrine.
Sellus spoke in a voice tinged with sorrow.
"The first time I met Seluna was when I went to the village to sell herbs in my mother's place because she was ill. I happened to pass by the shrine in the village and saw her."
Recalling the cathedral-like building I'd seen earlier, I asked,
"The village shrine—you mean the place where you and Seluna were hiding? It seemed too far on the outskirts to call it in the village."
Sellus shook her head as she replied to my question.
"You're right. That's the place of the abandoned god."
"Abandoned god?"
"A god no one believes in anymore. My parents were different, though. Before Dad got injured and settled in this village, he used to go around helping people. He said that even though no one believes in that god now, it was originally a deity that protected people... Though it was all lies, probably."
Sellus trailed off.
The religion her parents believed in was clearly different from the one about the 'pureblood' that the village worshipped.
Sellus hesitated before continuing.
"I was shocked when I first saw Seluna. I couldn't believe there was such a beautiful girl in the world. I was just standing there, lost in a daze, when Seluna spoke to me first."
Sellus paused, lost in memories for a moment, then went on.
My stomach growled loudly. I was so embarrassed I tried to run away, but Seluna gave me some bread. She said she didn't eat that kind of thing. It was the softest, whitest bread I'd ever tasted in my life. But even more than that, I was thrilled to have a peer who treated me so kindly. So, even after my mother's condition improved, I made excuses to go down to the village several times. At first, Dad was worried, but he was happy once he knew I'd made a friend.
Was it because she was thinking of her parents?
Sellus's voice grew sad.
"The villagers hated me getting close to Seluna, but she and I played together, avoiding their eyes. Sometimes we'd get caught, but they'd back off if Seluna said something."
Of course they did.
It wouldn't have sat well with them to see Sellus, whom they scorned as a mongrel, playing with the pureblood they revered as a god.
"I went down to the village to see Seluna as usual, but something felt off."
She began cautiously explaining what had happened to Seluna.
...
So that's how it happened.
Seluna, who had been initially revered.
The problem arose when the ghouls started spreading in earnest.
When inexplicable disasters strike, people cling to something.
At first, they rely on visible things like money, status, or power.
When those fail, they turn to the person closest to them.
But when even that person is lost and nothing works, in the end, they beg...
Religion.
A god.
The frail human nature that, even after pouring everything into something impossible, yearns to depend on some unseen force.
It seemed the same for this island's tribe.
'Why do they cling so desperately to something they can't even see?'
At first, rumors spread that just seeing 'Lady Pureblood' Seluna's face would cure you.
As a result, even more people flocked to the shrine where Seluna resided.
Someone who saw no effect must have thought,
Ah, I need to get closer.
If I touch 'Lady Pureblood' directly, I'll be healed.
It might have ended as a happy ending if that was all.
Sellus's expression darkened noticeably.
She continued with difficulty.
"One day, my father got injured by a ghoul while helping someone. I found out the villagers had tricked him into it and was furious, but there was something more important. No matter how much herbal medicine we brewed and fed him, or how much absurd money we paid the villagers for potions, nothing worked. That's when I realized—Dad's wound was going to fester and kill him if things continued."
"So..."
"That night, I ran down to the village to Seluna. I knew the rumors were nonsense, but I had no other choice. I went to her, crying, and begged her to meet my dad just once."
I fell silent at her words.
Sellus, who had seemed agitated, soon calmed and said,
"Seluna thought about it for a long time after hearing me out. I pleaded through my tears. Please save my dad. She hesitated, then told me not to tell anyone. Then she filled a small vial with her own blood and gave it to me. She said to have Dad drink it..."
"Blood?"
"Yes, blood. She said it might make him better. I was startled for a moment, but I was overjoyed at the thought of saving Dad and took it. I shouldn't have."
So that's what happened.
Probably because she accepted the blood, the villagers started craving the pureblood's blood too.
Sellus's guilt made my chest tighten unexpectedly.
"Anyone in that situation wouldn't be able to think straight."
As I tried to comfort her sobbing form, a strange sense of unease washed over me.
Sellus's expression changed in an instant.
"No, that's wrong. Dad died in the end."
"What?"
"Father definitely came back to life with Seluna's blood. Or did he?"
Sellus's father had fully recovered after drinking the pureblood's blood.
The problem was that after he revived thanks to Seluna's blood, the baseless rumors about her accelerated.
['If you touch Lady Pureblood's blood, if you drink the 'pureblood's' blood...']
It spiraled out of control.
By then, the area in front of the shrine was pure chaos and hell itself, to the point where Sellus couldn't even approach.
Still wanting to thank her, Sellus visited the shrine one dawn when it had quieted down.
When she finally met Seluna again,
Her skin, once as white as snow on a mountain peak, was now covered in red blood and scars.
"I was so shocked I asked if she was okay. But Seluna's condition was strange. She was completely out of it."
When she told her father about it, he insisted no such thing was possible, called it ridiculous nonsense, and got angry.
Then he comforted Sellus not to worry.
What followed was Sellus's father kidnapping—no, rescuing—Seluna.
Sellus ended up living with Seluna at her house for a while.
Her father thought that if he hid Seluna for a time, the villagers would cool down and come to their senses.
'As if that would happen. These villagers seem insane from the start.'
But a long tail gets caught eventually.
The villagers eventually learned that Sellus's father was hiding Seluna.
Contrary to her father's expectation that time would allow for a peaceful resolution, the end was horrific.
While her parents held them off, Sellus bit her arm to stifle her tears and fled with Seluna to the place of the abandoned god where her father often went.
When Sellus reappeared later, the villagers assumed she knew where Lady Pureblood was and tormented her nearly to death.
'Surviving that is impressive.'
When months passed without finding the pureblood, the villagers finally concluded that Seluna had fled alone.
Sellus didn't die, but the bullying intensified even more.
And that's the story up to now.
So, when she said it wasn't theft, she meant this.
After hearing Sellus's tale, what bothered me most was the part about her father.
'Revived by Seluna's blood. Is there something special about her blood?'
If he truly revived due to the 'pureblood's blood,' maybe the villagers really could have escaped the ghoul plague with it.
'Even if so, it's repulsive.'
As I pondered what nagged at me, Sellus muttered,
"Dad was alive, but he wasn't alive."
"What?"
Unable to grasp her contextless words, I asked back, and she replied,
"Dad stayed fine until the end, but I saw it—after the villagers killed him, he turned into a ghoul."
I responded, not fully understanding her words.
"Doesn't getting attacked by a ghoul and dying turn you into one?"
Sellus nodded.
"Yeah, but not Dad. I know. The wound from the ghoul had completely healed. But turning into one months later? That's weird."
Sellus's eyes as she said that were hollow.
So hollow and cold that chills ran down my spine unbidden.