Chapter 201: The Land That Flows Like a River - 3
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 201: The Land That Flows Like a River - 3
Humans have always feared the night. The darkness that conceals the enemy, the sleep that is an attacker’s greatest friend—everything that came with the night was invariably dangerous.
But that was only when the night was not on our side.
With the Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka on our side, the night transforms into a cozy, peaceful moment, wrapping us in a veil of tranquility and silence.
[The sun has set.]
As long as she is surrounded by darkness, Tyr can go for days without sleep. Though she has regained her heartbeat and recovered some of her functions, the power that moves her body is still Bloodcraft.
However, the ability to withstand the sun was among the things she had cast aside.
It couldn’t be helped. Back then, for a young girl barely clinging to life beneath the earth, being expected to retain the strength to endure the sun would have been far too cruel.
As the sun set, Tyr emerged from her coffin. Her red eyes glowing, she looked down upon the world.
“You have waited long. You may rest your eyes now. The darkness is my time and my domain. I shall let nothing enter it.”
Tyr declared it with confidence. At the same time, layers of darkness enveloped our surroundings. Even the glittering sunset beyond the western mountains could not reach this place. The midday sun that looks down upon all creation might be a different story, but when on equal footing, our darkness would not yield to the weary light of the sun.
In any case, Tyr had opened her eyes.
And I started to grill her.
“Tyr. Got a minute? This is just between us.”
“Of course. Ask me anything.”
“We need to assess each other's strengths, so could you explain your weaknesses to me, one by one?”
“…Hm?”
‘Weaknesses? My weaknesses, you ask? Why so suddenly…? Ah, he must be anxious. In that case, as the eldest, it is my duty to show him my confidence.’
Gripped by a strange sense of duty, Tyr cloaked herself in darkness and declared confidently.
“I have no such thing as a weakness. I am the Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka, a being once feared by the entire world. What fear could Fear Itself possibly have?”
“That's not entirely true, is it? You were openly avoiding the sunlight.”
She flinched. Startled by my accusation, Tyr spoke, as if making an excuse.
“That is not a weakness, but something I dislike. I was once able to stroll under the midday sun cloaked in darkness, and now that I have my heart back, I would have no problem standing in it bare. I was merely resting to gather my strength for an important battle.”
“Isn't that what a weakness is?”
‘It is true that my movements are restricted under the sun, but I wouldn't go so far as to call it a weakness.’
I don't think she knows the definition of 'weakness'. If being restricted under sunlight isn't a weakness, what is?
Oblivious to my thoughts, Tyr squared her slender shoulders and boasted.
“I do not fear the sun in the slightest. To a vampire, sunlight is nothing more than a slightly stinging raindrop. Perhaps for a low-class Ain or a Yeiling, but an Elder can endure the sun, and to me, the Progenitor, it is merely an annoyance…”
“I'm asking for an accurate assessment of our combat strength. Can you use your power well under the sun, or not? Answer with a 'yes' or a 'no'.”
Wouldn't even a slightly stinging raindrop bore a hole in you if it fell all day? And isn't the fact that it stings at all the problem here?
Tyr hesitated for a moment, then averted her gaze and said.
“…Yes, I can.”
“Okay, confirmed. You're weaker under the sun.”
“However, that was only before I regained my heart. Now, I can exert the same amount of power. What you should be worried about is…”
“That's only possible because your power doesn't leave your body. If you could use your Bloodcraft externally, you'd have a legion walking around at night, not just dirt pawns.”
“…Ugh.”
Tyr couldn't say a word in the face of that factual barrage. While I was at it, I decided to dig for a few more facts under the pretext of assessing our strength.
“If we fight during the day, how much darkness can you control?”
“How can one measure the amount of darkness? My darkness is infinite; it will not run dry before the next night arrives.”
Huh? That's strange. Why does she sound so sincere?
Tyr genuinely believed it.
But something was off. If she had no limit, there would be no reason to conserve her power for a day. She herself knew she had a limit and was gathering her strength, yet she was also sincere when she said it wouldn't run dry?
Ah, wait.
“Tyr. Is it possible you have a limit, but you say that because you've never actually run out?”
“You could think of it that way. Even the longest day is not enough to exhaust all of my darkness. It might be a different story if I were shielding my entire legion, but it is more than enough to protect you, me, and Shei.”
She says that, but it means she does have a limit!
“Hey! What are you going to do if you run out of darkness at a critical moment and we're all in danger! Do you want to turn me into a vampire that badly? You're planning to let me die on purpose and then say, 'Oh, what a shame,' before forcibly turning me, aren't you?!”
“…O-Of course not.”
‘Turning you into a vampire unnaturally would only earn your resentment. I will protect you with all my might… Though if something were to happen to you despite my best efforts, well, that couldn't be helped.’
What reliable vampire life insurance. I'm just overjoyed.
But before all that, couldn't she just make sure I don't die? With an attitude like that, she might just let a bullet slip past me in a moment of crisis.
In any case, I decided to get serious about assessing our combat strength.
“For us to be safe, we need to be clear about each other's weaknesses and limits. Tell me honestly. How much darkness can you use?”
“With what would one measure darkness? However, I have spent all day gathering my darkness and storing my power. Even if a fierce battle breaks out, I should be able to unleash it until the sun sets… though I cannot be certain if the Sanctum employs some strange tactic.”
“And if you use up all your darkness?”
“Even then, my physical body will remain. I need only crush our enemies one by one.”
“Alright. The darkness part is confirmed.”
‘…He seems to find me quite unreliable. His mind and body must have grown weary from our long life on the run. This will not do. I must give him faith so he will not feel anxious.’
No, that's not it. This is just a simple assessment of our strength, so don't give me any false reports. If you start believing it yourself, I might get fooled too.
“Now, what about other weaknesses?”
“If I do not even fear the sun, what other weaknesses could I possibly have?”
Huh? Seriously? As far as I know, vampires have a few other weaknesses.
Why does she sound so sincere? I can understand the boasting, but is she really not thinking of any of her weaknesses?
“No, Tyr. The whole world knows your weaknesses. What do you mean you don't have any?”
“How strange. How could the whole world know a weakness that even I am unaware of?”
“The heavens know, the earth knows, I know, and even an elementary school graduate knows. Maybe even Azzy knows, since she's gotten so smart lately.”
For a long time, vampires were humanity's greatest fear.
To simply call them 'enemies' was to overlook a host of complex circumstances.
Vampires were once human, and they needed fresh human blood to survive. While they despised their bodies' intense craving for blood, they were unwilling to abandon their perfect forms. Time could not wither them, and even beasts avoided them. Yet, their end always came in human form.
Humans were in the opposite position. They were the vampires' prey, yet they could become vampires at any moment. Humans detested vampires, but on the other hand, they envied their semi-immortal state, and would sometimes accept the chance to become a vampire as a stroke of good fortune.
A bizarre relationship of predator and prey, where one was subservient to the other from birth until death.
Awe is accompanied by curiosity. Humans always strove to learn more about vampires. They chased the truth while harboring fantasies, filling the gap between with knowledge.
And yet, the Progenitor herself knew nothing of it. What an irony.
“How ironic. I am the beginning of all vampires, their progenitor deity. Are you saying there is a vampire weakness that even I do not know?”
“You took the words right out of my mouth. Hah. This isn't going to work.”
Since we were on the topic, I decided to test it. I turned my head and called out to the Regressor.
“Shei! Come over here for a second!”
“Hold on. I'm just checking on Nabi.”
As it happened, the Regressor was busy taking care of Nabi.
Nabi was more exhausted by our long life on the run than I was. Inside her box, her nerves were completely frayed, and she would hiss at anyone who came near, except for the Regressor.
Even now, if not for the Regressor's friendly demeanor, the food in her hands, and the mana herb made from a World Tree leaf, she might have flipped her food bowl over several times.
Closing the lid of the box, the Regressor shook her head with a regretful expression.
“This is tough. Maybe because she's the Cat King, she doesn't seem to appreciate long journeys… She'd be better off living quietly in some peaceful, tranquil place.”
“Let's decide where to abandon her later and deal with the task at hand. Just us humans.”
“Watch your mouth… Alright. What's the task at hand?”
The Regressor was the main force of this party, anyway.
Her ability to adapt was second to none; she was like an all-purpose emergency kit. If we were going to assess our strength, it was better to do it with her.
“Shei. Do you happen to know the weaknesses of a vampire?”
“Of course I do. Sunlight, right?”
“Anything else?”
“Salt, and spices. Like garlic, for example.”
Tyr gently furrowed her brow and denied it.
“Nonsense. I do not fear such things.”
‘It is true that I dislike the sun. The Sanctum has made full use of that fact to trouble me. However, I do not fear salt and spices. I have never even encountered them in the first place.’
Never even encountered them. At that moment, I realized what Tyr's problem was.
Ah, so the folk remedies never reached Tyr. Probably because she always led armies into battle.
I'll leave the explanation to the Regressor. Listen up and learn the anti-vampire measures that even an elementary school graduate knows.
“Huh? But I heard that since vampires are beings that move by blood, they hate spices that can dissolve into it. That's why deadly poisons in small amounts aren't very effective, but they're in big trouble if you douse them with a lot of salt.”
“How absurd. A vampire is a being that rules over blood. Why would I dislike salt, which is not even a poison that curdles blood?”
Speaking of which, why don't you try some? I placed a little of the salt I'd taken out for cooking on the back of my hand and held it out to Tyr. She tilted her head and replied.
“Don't tell me... is that salt?”
“Yes. Why not have some for the first time in a while? If it's not a weakness, it should be fine.”
Tyr hesitated, unable to rashly bring her mouth to the white salt. I pushed my hand closer, as if to say, go on, try it.
‘This is like kissing the back of his hand. How bold of him… though our roles have been reversed.’
So it wasn't because she hated the salt.
After a moment of hesitation, she seemed to make up her mind and tentatively touched her tongue to the back of my hand. Her small tongue lightly brushed against the white salt before pulling away.
Immediately after, Tyr frowned at the unpleasant sensation.
“It tastes… bad.”
“You can't taste anything, Tyr. You can only taste blood.”
“That is true. It is unpleasant. It does not agree with my blood.”
“And what is that if not a weakness?”
“It is different. This is merely a matter of taste and preference…”
“Shoo.”
“Kyaa!”
When I thrust the salt at Tyr, who refused to admit it to the very end, she jerked her head back as if she'd seen a bug. Letting out a cute scream unbecoming of the Progenitor, she froze in place.
Hah, look at that. I knew it from the moment she made a face and said my blood tasted bad. Such a picky eater.
“Tyr. Knowledge about vampires has spread by word of mouth to the point that it's in novels and paintings now. You can't let your guard down. The three things people fear most are tigers, smallpox, and vampires. It's common knowledge. Even Shei knows!”
“Hold on. I sense a hint of malice in that 'even Shei knows' part.”
But Tyr seemed to agree with me, nodding slowly, then stopping abruptly when the Regressor turned her head.
Averting her gaze from the Regressor's stare, Tyr gave another small, dry cough, then shook off the look and turned back to me.
“Fine. Let us say I do dislike things like salt. What does it matter? Who could possibly force me to ingest it?”
“You can't be complacent about things like that. The Military State is a nation that will use any and all means without hesitation.”
If a weakness exists, there's no reason not to exploit it. Not only is it logical, but it's also because she's an opponent who can't be easily defeated otherwise.
Wiping the playful look from my face, I said with the utmost seriousness.
“Today's attack was a probing one. They were probably trying to wear you down. Thankfully, we managed to drive them off with Shei's power alone, but a full-scale assault is different from a probe. We need to make a plan before they come back. It'll be too late by then.”