Chapter 30: Resistance - 5
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 30: Resistance - 5
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Fear.
This was a land cursed by Mother Earth, an abyss beyond the Sky God's sight. She wasn't afraid of dying, but the thought that her soul might not find salvation even in death filled her with terror.
Beta, or rather, Cindyra—her real name—was a girl of devout faith. As always, she tightly clutched the cross she kept tucked away in her clothes.
"No. The Sky God is in our hearts. He is always watching the world through our eyes..."
Her father had been a pastor. A devout believer, he had led his flock of little lambs every Sunday. People would offer their prayers and find a small measure of comfort to endure the week ahead.
But after the Military State classified all forms of religion as a "hobby," the divine, blasphemously, was forced to pay taxes.
It was absurd. How could the Sky God, the master of this world and the parent of all creation, pay taxes? Naturally, there was a backlash. Her faithful father had been at the forefront, opposing the policy more vehemently than anyone.
And naturally, he was taken away by the Military State, never to return. Never again.
Recalling her hatred, the fear subsided. Beta took a deep breath and headed for the underground armory.
"The divine hammer for the impious, unjust, and wicked Military State."
If that didn't work, she would become the hammer herself. Even if it meant being unceremoniously crushed after bringing judgment upon the State.
She took a step forward, praying.
Just then, the door to the underground armory swung open on its own. Startled by the sudden change, Beta quickly composed herself, believing the Sky God had opened the path for her. She pressed her lips together and took a bold step forward. With faith, she could always move forward.
Inside, it was so dark she couldn't see an inch in front of her. Beta tapped her elbow and slid her hand down to her wrist, gathering all the mana in her body to her fingertips. After fumbling for a moment, she whispered.
"Lux."
A spark of light flickered at the tip of her finger.
Lux, the standard Military State spell that produced light. It was the only one she could use out of the dozens of standard spells taught at school, but she was more than satisfied with it. How convenient and wonderful it was to be able to find her way by casting light whenever it was dark.
Of course, she couldn't help but feel a sense of contradiction every time she remembered that this magic was developed by the hateful Military State. Light originally belonged to the Sky God. The Military State were blasphemers who merely borrowed the light and had the audacity to levy taxes on it. Making that excuse to herself, Beta raised her finger high.
The darkness within did not recede even with the light. It merely slithered back for a moment. Illuminating just enough to see her feet, Beta ventured deeper and deeper, unaware of where she was heading...
And then.
A candle flame flickered to life. An ominous light bloomed in the darkness.
Beta quickly lifted her head.
Blood was everywhere. It was as if someone had cursed the entire world with blood. The stone walls, which must have once borne beautiful carvings, now had crimson blood flowing through their engraved crevices. A sacred painting was defaced, a blood-soaked monster painted over it.
It was a scene that seemed to blaspheme the Sky God. But more than outrage, Beta felt fear.
Blood, the color red, darkness, and the unknown.
Just as a primal fear began to grip her.
[So it was you. The insolent one who dared to pray to the Sky God in my palace.]
Beta gasped. She hastily clutched her cross and raised her gun.
Then, a clotted voice echoed from the darkness.
[A cross... Heh. It has been a long time. I never thought I would see one here...]
At that moment, the cross glowed red-hot and became stained with blood. As Beta snatched her hand away from the ominous sight, the now-unfettered red cross shot into the air.
With trembling eyes, Beta followed its trajectory. The blood-soaked red cross turned upside down and flew toward a wooden coffin in the center of the room.
Immediately after, a pure white arm emerged from inside the coffin. A graceful hand reached for the cross. What was once Beta's cross, now a red, inverted crucifix, came to rest on the pale hand.
A pitch-black wooden coffin, a blood-soaked inverted cross.
Realizing the identity of the being before her, Beta raised her gun and shouted.
"Cursed vampire! You minion of the devil, who forsook your humanity to defy the natural order!"
The white hand paused. Armed with her faith, Beta did not shrink back even in the pitch-black darkness, keeping her gun aimed at the coffin.
"You are not worthy of defiling it! Put it down this instant, you monster!"
[...Oh?]
Crack.
The blood-soaked cross was crushed in an instant. Before she could even feel anger at her faith being desecrated, Beta was instinctively terrified by the irresistible power she felt.
[You say I am not worthy? That I forsook my humanity to defy the natural order?]
A question came from within the coffin. God is distant, and the devil is near. As if to prove it, a malevolence and mana that seemed to test Beta lusted after her.
But Beta had not yet lost her faith. Faith was firmly rooted in her heart, and a gun was in her hand. Right now, Beta had nothing to fear.
Beta shouted.
"Yes!"
[Nonsense.]
Creeak.
The coffin lid opened.
A coffin of imperial juniper. A wood beloved by librarians and undertakers for its ability to absorb moisture and odor. The lid of the coffin that had held her for a thousand years opened. Darkness flowed like oil. The abyss, so dense it had become like a liquid, poured out.
"If you must fear, then fear. For I, the predator, am a being worthy of your terror."
A pure white hand emerged from it. An ancient grace emanated from the small, gentle movements. A distant fragrance wafted through the air. The scent of blood should have been thick, with it being everywhere, but the aroma was like that of an old book. It was the scent of the imperial juniper coffin.
While Beta was disoriented by the incongruous scent.
From inside the coffin.
"If you must scorn, then scorn. For I, the vampire, am a being who feasts on your lifeblood."
She appeared.
She was a girl with a pristine white impression, as if her colors had faded. Her skin was so pale, devoid of any blood, that it resembled a well-polished pearl. Her silver hair, cascading down to her waist, shone with a luster that proved it was not a mere absence of color. Her eyes were an enchanting, almost bewitching red that made it impossible to look away. A straight, elegant nose sloped down to small, delicate lips. Her features, so beautifully arranged as if sculpted by a god with great care, were dizzying to behold. The simple black dress hanging from her shoulder straps was solemn and neat, making her look like a noble bride.
Even the surrounding darkness could not hide the girl's soft, radiant light. Without any prior knowledge, one would have mistaken her for an angel.
"But, if you invoke the name of your cursed god and treat me as something profane. If those who abandoned me now have the gall to pretend it was I who abandoned them."
It was all wrong.
Her perception, her faith.
This wicked, grotesque being that drank human blood was as beautiful as an angel.
She was said to be a thousand-year-old vampire, yet her appearance was that of a newly blossomed girl.
In a space filled with blood, the scent of old books lingered.
There was no sign of the madness and ferocity she had only heard about in rumors. Her gentle movements held a distant grace, and her small face possessed a breathtaking beauty.
The vampire before her was completely different from what she had been taught.
"Then I shall send you to the side of the god you so dearly revere."
The reality she faced was so different from everything she had learned.
There was no common sense to ground Beta now. No powerful words from a renowned priest.
She was alone.
This was the first trial she had ever faced. Would she follow her faith, or would she succumb to the power that had descended before her?
Beta made her decision.
Not out of faith, but out of the inertia of her beliefs up to this point.
"Lord! Guide me!"
Bang.
The bullet tore into the vampire's eye. The girl's head snapped back. Blood splattered, and the sound of tearing flesh followed. While she felt a pang of guilt, as if she had destroyed a work of art with her own hands, she also felt a strange ecstasy at having overcome temptation and followed her faith.
"I-I did it. I didn't fall for the devil's trick... I, I defeated the vampire!"
But.
As was to be expected.
"...Was that your will?"
The splattered blood floated back into the air. As if the world was rewinding, her neck twisted back into place. The bullet that had pierced her eye was pushed out from within, clattering to the ground.
Her eyes were still red. No, they were even redder than before.
The moment their gazes met, her body froze like a mouse before a snake. It was as if her body was no longer her own. She couldn't move her hands or feet.
In a world where everything had stopped, the white-haired girl raised a pale hand.
"Then die for your lord."
Hee-hee-hinnnny.
An ominous whinny. She turned her head to see a massive, blood-red horse with wide, glaring eyes. A crimson light glinted from them.
When had it gotten so close? How could such a massive creature be in this basement?
Such questions had long since vanished.
Beta whimpered in terror.
"Ah, ahh!!"
She tried to fire her gun, but her fingers wouldn't move. Even the gun seemed to reject her, not budging no matter how hard she pulled the trigger.
She glanced down frantically and saw that the gun was already soaked in blood, a deep crimson. Blood had seeped from the grip to the muzzle, dominating the weapon.
That wasn't all. Beta realized her own body was no longer obeying her commands. A web of blood vessels stood out on her skin. The vampire's blood on her skin had bound her arm and was now forcing it to move.
The blood of the Progenitor, Tyrkanzyaka, was dominion itself. In the distant past, she had ruled half the world with this power. Five nations and seventy-two territories had fallen into her hands without their people even noticing.
The Sanguine Mark. A sign that one had become a part of her, a limb to move as she willed.
The muzzle of the gun turned toward Beta's eye. Her own weapon was now aimed at her most vulnerable spot. She couldn't stop it, no matter how she tried. This was the power of a vampire who had been called a calamity for a thousand years. Devout faith was not enough to resist it. Beta's hand and eye trembled, but her body steadily aimed the gun at its own master.
She could see the cold, iron circle and the darkness trapped within. The smell of gunpowder filled the air, like the burning sulfur of hell.
This cold, dark abyss would, with a flick of her finger, erupt in red and spit out an iron slug. The foolish bullet, unable to recognize its own master, would shatter her soft eyeball and scramble her brain.
Despairingly, humans possessed the ability to imagine the horrific future that awaited them.
Even her devout faith could not stop the fear from seeping out. Her teeth chattered. Her eyes, facing annihilation, wavered. Faith was something unseen and untouched; it could not protect her from that iron bullet. It could only save her soul.
"P-please, save me."
God was far away, and her gun had betrayed her. All that was left was a still-young girl.
Therefore, it couldn't be helped. It would be cruel to expect an ordinary person to value something more than their own life.
But, sadly.
The cruel test that demanded one's life came far too often for its cruelty.
"No manners, no grace, not even a shred of spirit. How pathetic. Had you cried out for your god until the end, I might have personally corrupted you."
The vampire let out a lament. It was a short, definitive sigh. And at the same time, it was a word that severed a human's fate.
A beautiful gesture fluttered in the air like a butterfly.
"Begone."
Click.
The trigger was pulled. Foreseeing her death, Beta squeezed her eyes shut.
But the bullet never fired.
There was only the hollow sound of the trigger being pulled. The Sanguine Mark had pulled the trigger, but it hadn't pulled back the slide to eject the spent casing and chamber a new round.
"Ha, ahaha."
I'm alive. Just as a faint smile touched Beta's lips.
The Sanguine Horse took a step.
And that was the end.
Like a weed carelessly trampled by horses that had traveled far and wide.
Like an insect crushed by a human finger without a second thought.
A single human being was reduced to a splash of blood.
Not even a corpse remained. Just as the body of an insect crushed on a rock remains only as a flattened smear, the human trampled by the hooves of the Sanguine Horse, Ralion, had become a part of the wall and floor.
Tyrkanzyaka waved her hand. A wave of blood washed over the area, sweeping away even that trace.
Afterward, nothing was left.
The vampire had disposed of the rude intruder. From the world, and from her memory.
The Blood Ocean was far too vast to remember every single drop of blood.
However, the iron bullet that had managed to graze her body remained. Tyrkanzyaka picked up the bullet with her white hand.
How long had it been since metal had pierced her body? She would have to count back through countless days and nights. Although this kind of attack couldn't harm the Progenitor of vampires in the slightest... it was still a feat that many renowned knights of the past had attempted, with only a select few succeeding.
And yet, that ordinary-looking girl had managed it.
"That stung a little... It seems people these days all have a trick or two up their sleeves."
Moreover, it hadn't worked when Tyrkanzyaka pulled the trigger. It seemed to have some special feature that recognized its user.
I'll need to be on my guard.
The ancient being, who had seen and been shot by a gun for the first time, muttered to herself.
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Today is the best day ever!
Human! Human made me yummy food! It was meat, but it also tasted like beans, and it was super delicious!
And we played with a ball! Human, the ball you throw, it's a little slow and boring! But it was still fun! Playing with a ball is fun because it's play!
And, and!
"Woof!"
New humans! So many! It's so exciting with so many humans talking!
Oh! I wonder if any of those humans will fulfill the covenant?
"Woof woof!"
If I go up to them smiling, they'll like me!
If we play with a ball together, we'll become even closer!
It's okay if they can't fulfill the covenant! Humans are still humans!
One of them came over! They talked to me! Let's play! It's fun! It's going to be fun!
Fun!
So much fun.
Fu...
Bang.
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I know.
You're scared of me.
You're afraid of me.
Everyone's scared. They're trembling. They want to run away.
The only reason you're not is because there's nowhere to run.
It's sad.
You don't lean on me as much as I lean on you. I feel like I'm going to collapse. I'm anxious.
But if I smile, if I keep leaning, maybe one day you'll lean back?
Let's play a little more. Just a little, just a little more.
....
They all left. They were scared of me, so they ran away without even looking at me. Monster, someone muttered as they passed.
I'm not a monster. I'm a puppy.
A good puppy who listens well and knows how to wait!
I listened to the human and came to this dark, gloomy place. I waited here for a long time. Even when there was no answer, I waited and waited. Even when the human was killing other humans so scarily, even when the unpleasant smell of blood was everywhere, I squeezed my eyes shut and endured it.
Because I'm a good puppy. A good puppy who waits patiently, even when I'm bored, even when I'm lonely!
...Still. I guess everyone is scared of me.
"Fetch!"
Except for this good human.
I like good human's hand. You pet me a lot. You scratch my head and my chin.
Because I have a good human, I'm happy!
After petting me, the good human walks over to a bad human. You smile brightly and raise your hand. A white, square thing popped out from the back of your hand! You keep talking and moving the white square around!
Huh?
Stab.
There's blood. The human fell. And isn't moving.
"Woof?"
Dead.
Yep. Dead.
Human killed human. There's blood. It's not stopping. Dead.
It happened last time, too. I guess it's normal for humans to kill each other.
No, maybe... for humans, death doesn't come in the form of hunger, disease, or predators, but in the form of another human.
"Hoo."
The human who did the killing has their eyes closed.
You're a good human who made me delicious food, played ball with me, and pets me a lot. You get annoyed sometimes, and I think you even tried to hit me once. But you're not scared of me. You're a good human.
And that good human killed another human.
You're a good human to me, but I guess you're not a good human to other humans.
But.
Just maybe.
"Woof."
Are you scared of me, too?
When I got closer, the good human frowned. I suddenly got scared. Are you afraid of me?
"Huh? Why are you here? Hungry? Don't even think about eating the corpse. If you get a taste for human flesh, I'll be in danger... no, wait. People won't like it."
I know. I won't eat it. Human meat isn't very appealing. I know you get scared if I eat it.
So I won't. I'm a good puppy.
"Hey, hey! I don't have time to pet you right now, okay? I've got stuff to do, so go over there for a bit."
I want to be friends. I don't want to be scary.
But if I am scary, I wish you would have told me from the start.
"I said go! I don't have time to pet you!"
If you're scared, I'd rather just leave.
"Tch. Fine. I have no idea what you're thinking."
The human clicked his tongue and pressed down on my head. It wasn't heavy at all, but I moved. When I took a couple of steps back, the human pulled me into a hug and petted me roughly.
It was rough, but I liked it.
If you were scared of me, you wouldn't be able to hold me this tight.
"There? Happy? Petted you enough, right? I'm going to go kill some people, okay? You can't kill people, so just go to the cafeteria and lick a pot or something! Shoo! Shoo!"
Okay.
I can't fight humans.
If that's what fighting humans means, I can't help you, good human.
But, still.
I want you to live, good human.
If you die, I'll cry from sadness. I'll cry all day. I might even forget to eat for two days.
So.
Lick.
Azzy licked my cheek once, then trudged off toward the cafeteria. I wiped my saliva-drenched cheek with my hand.
What a strange creature. Happy one moment, depressed the next.
I still can't read a dog's thoughts very well. She's supposed to be a Herald born for communication with humans, yet I have no idea what she's thinking.
Is it natural that I don't know? The Dog King is fundamentally the representative of all dogs... well, representative canine. It might be more of a problem if I could read her thoughts.
"Alright, anyway. I found them."
My head was throbbing from overusing my mind-reading, but at least I got results.
The ones who died so far were just cannon fodder. The real targets, Kanysen and the technician, are still inside the control room. They've stopped moving, as if they've found something.
The vampire is in the underground armory. The Regressor is fighting an enemy in combat arms.
Both of them have the ability to deal with their enemies in an instant and come help me.
The problem is, neither of them has any intention of doing so.
The vampire couldn't care less what happens outside, and the Regressor is deliberately holding back, believing I'll handle things on my own.
"Damn it. 'I'll handle it myself,' my ass."
My plan: run to the Regressor right now, explain the situation, have her defeat her enemy quickly, and then stop Kanysen from blowing up Tantalus.
It's possible, but it would take way too much time. Besides, the Regressor, whose wariness of me is at an all-time high, might not even believe me.
Do I have to do something myself? Ah, I'm not confident I can win.
'Found it!'
Huh. Was that thought from the technician called Gamma? Why did that thought suddenly burst out so loudly? I can hear everything.
'I've figured out the secret of Tantalus! I can't believe it was structured like this. If the basement of the control room hadn't been dug up, I would have never known!'
What? What's this? You found a secret?
'Haha! With a structure like this... I barely need any explosives to bring it down! It'll collapse in an instant! I have to report to the captain, quickly!'
Wait, hold on! For real?
There was no time. I sprinted toward the control room.