Lunar Eclipse (6)
Lunar Eclipse (6)
"I have a proposal."
"Huh...?"
Thud-.
The canteen is dropped beside the girl.
From the sound of the liquid sloshing inside, it seems to be quite full.
The man adds indifferently.
"It's human blood."
"......"
"Drink it. Then I will spare you."
Drinking human blood.
For a vampire, it is an irreversible choice.
Also, an act that directly denies the belief her dynasty held.
"I will spare you, Your Highness. Though the human woman over there will be difficult..."
"......"
"How about it? Just close your eyes tight, drink it, and live in hiding for the rest of your life. I will give a separate, favorable report to His Majesty."
You must think it's an old favor.
Words spoken as if mocking.
Jersian says, tilting his head.
As if he absolutely must see that unsightly sight.
"Drink it."
"......"
Carmilla did not answer.
She had no strength to answer.
Helplessness.
Lassitude.
Resignation.
Such things were gnawing away at the girl's heart little by little.
The canteen flickering in her vision, the liquid sloshing inside.
"One sip is enough."
"......"
"Just one sip and you can be free. Not only will I not kill you, I'll let you go and run away as you are. I will speak to His Majesty and have the pursuit called off as well."
So, just one thing.
Give up just that one thing.
"That trash-like ideal."
An ideal.
What the Blandir Dynasty stubbornly refused to let go of.
"Just discard that, and it's over. You will walk the same path as us."
Covet humans, make them your staple food, slaughter them in a depraved manner, and prolong your life.
What human blood gives.
Ecstatic pleasure.
Overwhelming power.
Further enhanced authority.
He means to enjoy all of that.
"Your Highness."
You can be at ease.
Between the cracks in the broken canteen, the contents leak out little by little.
A sweet scent pierces and enters her nose.
'One sip.'
If she sticks out her tongue and takes just one bite of that fruit, it's all over.
She can survive.
She can plan for another day.
She won't have to live in hiding as if dead.
The smell of blood from the canteen began to feel closer and closer.
'So, if it's just one sip...'
If you die, it's over.
But, as long as you are alive, the story does not end.
Even if you become vulgar and servile here, if you survive, you can plan for the future.
A chance for revenge against them is given.
"......"
"That's right. Just drink it straight."
The hand that was, before she knew it, holding the canteen.
Jersian eggs her on as if praising her for doing well.
She opens the lid like that and brings the opening close to her lips.
-Carmilla.
This is the end.
-Sometimes you may become arrogant, waver, and in the face of temptation, you may want to give up.
-No, you certainly will. That must be the life of a finite existence.
She tilts the canteen.
The contents gurgle and pour out.
-Because we are a superior species, we must doubt and reflect on ourselves.
The girl, the princess, she herself, was such a weak being.
-Struggle to the utmost.
The canteen that was, before she knew it, neatly emptied.
But,
Carmilla's lips were not even slightly wet.
"......"
"......Ha."
Jersian laughs as if disgusted.
Perhaps because the girl did not go according to his plan.
Thud-.
Carmilla did not accept the proposal.
Without a moment's hesitation, she overturned the contents of the canteen onto the floor.
"You thought...?"
The light in the girl's eyes had not gone out.
Only the brightness had faded, a vivid color still living and breathing.
"You thought this one would live vulgarly through slaughter? You thought this one would prolong life servilely?"
If you just live as you live, would that be life?
A life where you do not struggle desperately to live, how could that be life?
"Kgh, haa... Not funny at all."
That struggle and the cesspool, the dirt ground, the blood-soaked field, yet blooming a single cluster of blossoms.
Embracing meaning.
That is living.
Therefore, life is precious.
"Ptooey."
A short spit of bloody phlegm.
The girl's contempt struck Jersian's cheek.
Carmilla, in turn, mocked him, a smile spreading across her lips.
"Try to kill me."
"......"
"Try to kill me once, you filthy thing."
The girl's attitude did not break.
It was too straight and tough for a mere betrayer to break.
Jersian, who had been standing back quietly, contorts his expression sharply.
"Ha... It really seems talking won't do."
Swish-.
Over his tightly clenched palm, a massive saw blade forms.
The weapon honed by Blood Manipulation Art was unsightly beyond measure.
"If that's your wish to die like that, I will grant it. I'll carve your whole body up piece by piece while you're still alive! As painfully as possible, as miserably as possible...!"
Stomp stomp-.
The man's shadow approaches the girl.
Carmilla, on the contrary, became calm and watched that merciless violence.
'Is that so.'
Is this place to become her execution ground?
She has no regrets for not yielding.
Only, she does not break.
Instead of crying and begging for her life, she calmly lays her neck on the chopping block.
Though tears flowed in an ugly manner, she considers even that the remnants of a life she will burn away.
"Then... I'll start by cutting off those white hands of yours one by one."
The approaching saw.
Carmilla tightly closed her eyes.
As if preparing for the pain soon to come.
"Hold it."
Flutter-.
However, that saw never reached the girl.
Because a pitch-black robe blocked the space between the two.
"Activate. Iron Hammer."
Bash-!
A figure of unknown origin.
A boy who suddenly sprang out of thin air slammed directly into the man's face.
An unexpected ambush. Jersian clutches his face and stumbles back.
"Kuhak, kuaak...!"
A nosebleed flowing steadily.
Regardless, the boy checked on Carmilla.
In her dizzying vision, a white clown mask was reflected.
"Your Highness."
"Vik...tor...?"
"My apologies. There was a lot to handle, so I was late."
"You left... my side... wasn't that... the case...?"
"How could I possibly leave your side, Your Highness?"
When you are this splendid.
An added remark.
The boy takes off his own robe and drapes it over Carmilla's shoulders.
In his arms, he held a full supply of emergency blood packs.
A tender resonance came from beyond the mask.
"You've been through a lot."
"......"
"From here on, Alice Yang and I will finish this."
Warm body temperature.
Carmilla found herself relieved without realizing it.
Strength drained from her entire body, and she soon let go of his hand.
"Viktor..."
The boy moved carefully, leaning her against a nearby wall.
Between her tender lips, he placed the blood packs one by one.
After finishing those measures, the mask glanced slyly back.
"It was you, wasn't it?"
"You, what are you...!"
Jersian, groaning in pain, yet revealing a thick killing intent.
It was pressure enough to crush the entire area.
However, the boy showed no sign of shrinking back.
"You ask."
"Kheuk..."
"It was you, wasn't it? The one who treated my master so harshly."
The boy's voice was calm.
Rather, because of that, it carried an eerie atmosphere.
The hand holding the pitch-black scythe, the other hand pressed firmly into the air several times.
Ding-!
[Basic Stats]
Stamina: D-
Strength: E+
Agility: E+
Mana Sensitivity: E+
[Remaining Good Deeds Points: 7020p]
A blue screen rises before his eyes.
He clicks on a few parts of it.
Ding-!
[Good Deeds Points are being used.]
-The grade of Basic Stat 'Agility' increases by +1.
-The grade of Basic Stat 'Agility' increases by +1.
-The grade of Basic Stat 'Agility' increases by +1.
-The grade of Basic Stat 'Agility' increases by +1.
-The grade of Basic Stat 'Agility' increases by +1.
-The grade of Basic Stat 'Agility' increases by +1.
-The grade of Basic Stat 'Agility' increases by +1.
[6300 Good Deeds Points have been consumed.]
[Remaining Good Deeds Points: 720p]
Rapidly changing alphabets.
A bluish light flickers.
Ding-!
[Basic Stats]
Stamina: D-
Strength: E+
Agility: B-
Mana Sensitivity: E+
The world slows down.
A rank-up that leaped seven levels at once.
It was the value of 315 lives saved.
'It seems they're doing well.'
The ghouls he turned back into humans.
Because they were saving the other people trapped in the iron cages one by one.
Even at this very moment, points were continuously accumulating before the boy's eyes.
Ding-!
Ding-!
Ding-!
[Acquired 20 Good Deeds Points.]
[Acquired 20 Good Deeds Points.]
[Acquired 20 Good Deeds Points.]
"Now it might be somewhat doable."
Viktor gazes at the bewildered Jersian.
Of course, this wasn't all he had prepared.
The boy rummages in his chest and pulls something out.
Ding-!
[Broken Crown]
-Classification: Accessory
-Grade: A-
-Condition: Destroyed
-Description: The crown worn by the Nightmare Ruler 'Black Queen'. It is currently destroyed, leaving only her remnants. Can be worn for a maximum of 5 minutes per day. While worn, the skill 'Nightmare Transformation' can be used.
[Skill Name: Nightmare Transformation]
-The user's body assimilates with a nightmare.
-While the skill is active, the user receives an 'Invincible' judgment.
-Unrestricted flight becomes possible, and the user is freed from all physical forces.
A strange object.
A crown of bizarre appearance, as if a heat haze swarmed over it.
The boy puts it on his head without any hesitation.
Grrrrr-!
"If you lay a hand on someone else's master... you must bear the appropriate responsibility."
A disconcertingly swirling aura.
The boy stood nonchalantly at its center.
The flashing crown, the pitch-black honed scythe, the white clown mask covering his face...
The clown's atmosphere seemed to devour the entire area, on the verge of erasing even Jersian's killing intent.
"Exactly 5 minutes."
His mouth twists.
"I will cut your limbs off within exactly 5 minutes."
"You bastard...!"
The next moment.
The boy, who had already teleported, was swinging his scythe from behind Jersian.
As the Necktie's effect was still active, the man couldn't even sense his presence.
"What the...!"
Slice-.
Without a chance to block, one of the man's arms flies off.
"Kuh, k, kuaaa...!"
"That's one."
Jersian's left arm floats in the air.
The man screaming and stumbling back.
A scene of blood scattering.
"Three left now, right?"
The corners of the mask's mouth were torn wide open, laughing.