The Vampire's Tower (2)
Flap flap! Flap! The moment the tower came into view, the bat began flapping its wings with even greater fervor, desperately straining to draw closer. It was trying so hard its neck looked ready to snap. Watching this, Harnok and Celine exchanged glances, then nodded at the same time.
“Indeed! It appears we have arrived in the right place!”
“It does seem that way…”
Celine craned her neck upward, trying to take in the tower’s full height. It was impossible. Though the structure leaned ever so slightly, it rose so high that its peak vanished into the sky. Part of the problem was certainly her own small stature, but the tower’s sheer altitude was formidable in its own right.
Having tilted her head back so far she was practically arching backward, Celine flailed her arms to regain balance and only just managed to steady herself.
“Whew…”
Letting out a sigh of relief at not toppling over, Sister Celine suddenly gasped as a thought struck her. She widened her signature round golden eyes even further and asked Harnok,
“U-um… what should we do now…?”
“There is no time for hesitation! The longer we delay, the longer the villagers must wait! Faster is always better!”
With those bold words, Harnok strode forward to enter the tower, but Celine lunged after him in panic and grabbed his arm.
“W-wait, wait, wait just a moment!”
“What is it, Sister?”
“Y-you’re just going to walk right in?! We should at least come up with a plan first!”
“But we do have a plan! We enter and deliver the Lord’s teachings to the vampire! If we evangelize with true sincerity, we can surely guide her onto the righteous path, just as we did with that bandit leader!”
…Celine simply could not bring herself to scream, ‘That’s exactly why we don’t have a plan—!’
If she said that, she could already picture Harnok replying with enthusiastic conviction, “Then would it not be even better to sing a hymn so we may convey even deeper sincerity!” The mere image made her hair stand on end.
She pressed a hand to her forehead, deciding it would only make her dizzy again if she brought up how the bandit leader had taken one look at Harnok’s face after being “evangelized,” screamed, and fled in terror. She also firmly shoved aside the memory of Harnok beaming at the sight and declaring, “As soon as he realized the truth of faith, he rushed off to share it with others! What exemplary behavior! I must follow his example!”
Instead, Celine rubbed her now-throbbing temple and gently shook her head.
“Th-then at the very least… let’s wait until daytime! Vampires grow far more active at night, after all!”
Harnok tilted his head, looking genuinely puzzled.
“Why would that be, Sister? If the vampire is more active, then since we have come to evangelize, is it not better to enter while she is awake? That way we can deliver the Lord’s words with greater certainty!”
‘That’s exactly why I’m asking how on earth you evangelize to a vampire—!’
Overwhelmed by another wave of dizziness and unable to find a proper response, Celine hung her head. At that moment, Harnok thumped his massive chest once.
With a deep, drum-like thump, his bold voice rang out heartily.
“I see! Sister, you are worried whether you will be able to evangelize the vampire properly!”
“Y-yes…? Th-that’s right…! To evangelize well, we need to prepare all sorts of things, don’t we…? Charging in so recklessly like this is just…”
“Worry not—! If you convey evangelism with true sincerity from the heart, the other party will surely understand!”
‘……?!?!?!?’
Watching Harnok stride forward with such fearless confidence, Celine’s mouth fell open and her mind simply… stopped working. That was a mistake.
By the time she blinked her round eyes and regained her senses, Harnok had already slipped free of her grip and was standing directly before the tower.
He gave the stone door a light push—by his own subjective standards—but it refused to budge. Frowning, he tilted his head and gave it a couple of thunks. Still nothing. When Celine saw him winding up to strike the door with enough force to nearly demolish it, she let out a horrified gasp and broke into a frantic run.
Her nun’s habit had never been designed for strenuous activity; her already too-tight chest and hips felt even more constricted with every step. Yet she had no attention to spare for such concerns.
Though Harnok had called it “right in front,” the tower’s massive scale made the actual distance considerable. By the time Celine reached his side, she was panting heavily.
“Haa… haa…! I-it won’t open no matter what if you do it like… that…! Haa… haa…!!”
“Hmm? What do you mean, Sister?”
“This is… a vampire’s stronghold…! She must have… set up her own locking mechanism…! Haa…! Besides, this structure dates back to the Great War…! Unless some special method is used…! It’s designed so it cannot be destroyed or forced open by brute strength…! I’m certain of it…!! Hauu…”
“I see! Then there is no way but to open it from the inside. Hmm, then what shall we do…? …Hmm?”
Suddenly, something caught the barbarian’s eye. It was the bat he had tied securely with rope to prevent its escape. Even while captured, the creature was stretching its neck with clear, desperate longing toward the tower.
-Squeak?
The bat turned its head toward the large shadow that had fallen over it.
“Indeed! As expected, in the blessed work of delivering the Lord’s teachings, no matter how many obstacles appear, a path will always reveal itself!”
-Squeeeak…!
At the sight of Harnok grinning at it, the bat began seriously contemplating whether it should abandon all hope of ever returning home.
But the outcome was the exact opposite.
“Now, go!”
‘……?’
Startled by Harnok’s sudden release, the bat gave him a wary sidelong glance with both eyes, then quickly checked itself to make sure nothing suspicious had been attached. Fortunately, there was nothing. Not knowing what was happening but deciding it would be wise to move before the terrifying giant changed his mind, the bat didn’t hesitate.
It shot straight toward the stone door.
“Hauu… haa…!”
Celine had only just caught her breath and lifted her head when the bat was on the verge of slamming into the door.
At that exact moment, the stone door vanished.
The bat sailed through empty space as though nothing had ever been there.
Harnok gave a great nod at the sight.
“Just as I thought! If one possesses a sincere heart, a path will always appear! Let us go, Sister Celine!”
Still staring blankly at the incomprehensible scene, Celine barely had time to regain her wits before she found herself caught around the waist by Harnok.
“Wha—?! W-wait a second! I haven’t even caught my brea—! Uwaaaaaah—!?”
Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do. She could only dangle helplessly from Harnok’s thick, muscular arm as he dragged her into the tower’s interior.
‘Uwaaaaaang—!’
Inside the nun’s mind, her inner self began seriously debating whether fainting right now might be the better option, all while sobbing uncontrollably.
Thud.
“Sniff… Huh…?”
When the weight of her worries became too much and the sobs began leaking into reality, Celine suddenly noticed how unnaturally quiet their surroundings were.
‘What is this…?’
It was far from normal. The bat had definitely flown inside; even if its cries couldn’t be heard, the sound of flapping wings should have been audible. Yet the silence was absolute. As if nothing existed here at all.
“Um… Har—”
“Shh.”
“Hup…!”
At Harnok’s low voice, Celine instinctively held her breath. It was the same deep, resonant tone as always, yet something in it made her close her mouth without question.
Then Harnok spoke slowly.
“Sister Celine.”
“Yes…?”
“Can you feel it?”
“F-feel what…?”
“There is something here.”
Celine looked around, but she saw only darkness and silence in every direction.
“There’s… nothing though…?”
“You cannot sense it? It is definitely watching us. Strange… It is clearly a single gaze, yet why does it feel as though it comes from so many places at once…?”
-Screeeech—!
It was then that a stone door “appeared” at the entrance they had come through. Just as it had vanished earlier as though it had never existed, now it materialized as if it had always been there.
The barbarian and the nun, who had been relying on the light from the entrance, suddenly lost even that. But it lasted only a moment.
Soon, sources of light began to bloom inside the tower. More precisely, many sources.
Torches flared to life. Torch holders were embedded in the stone walls, and flames suddenly ignited within them of their own accord, illuminating the space.
Only then did Harnok and Celine realize the tower’s interior was every bit as vast as its exterior suggested.
And what exactly lay within it.
Countless bats clung to the ceiling, staring down at them with glittering eyes.
“So that’s why my lovely children haven’t returned. It was because of you two, wasn’t it?”
‘……?!’
Celine’s body trembled with shock. The voice that had just spoken was that of a seductive young woman. Yet it had clearly emerged from the mouths of the bats.
Understanding what was happening wasn’t difficult.
All at once, the countless bats took flight and merged together. The swirling mass gradually took the shape of a tall, captivating young woman with long black hair and striking red eyes.
She smiled sweetly. Sharp fangs glinted in the torchlight.
“Greetings, my prey. I am the master of this place—Bellarne la Serdia.”