Chapter 313: (Side Story) An Unobserved Tale. The Abyss Without a Regressor - (Part 2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 313: (Side Story) An Unobserved Tale. The Abyss Without a Regressor - (Part 2)
The battle took place indoors, a familiar setting for Kanysen. Still, Kanysen knew how to use the terrain to his advantage and was capable of relatively tactical maneuvers. While the complex battle unfolded inside, Finlay, Beta, Delta, and I headed for the underground armory where the Progenitor resided.
We stood before the massive, grim steel doors of the underground armory. This place was originally meant to be packed to the brim with weapons the Military State had poured its heart and soul into creating, but Tantalus was different. Within those doors slumbered a being far more terrifying and powerful than the most fearsome weapon.
The Progenitor, Tyrkanzyaka.
The Progenitor of all vampires. The Queen of Shadow.
An eccentric monster who had half-volunteered to enter the Abyss simply because it was quiet and lacked sunlight.
The solitude that kills humans, the darkness, the hunger—none of the reasons humans feared the Abyss applied to her. For she was a terror comparable to the Abyss itself.
Fear, it seemed, recognized its own.
Facing the primordial darkness, Beta spoke in a trembling voice.
“This is where the cursed vampi— Oof.”
Delta quickly covered Beta’s mouth. It seemed he was at least aware of what kind of person his girlfriend was dealing with. Delta held Beta’s hand and pleaded desperately.
“Cindy. Please, I’m begging you. Watch what you say. You can’t say a single word in front of the Progenitor.”
“O-Okay, I get it. If it’s for Elsie.”
‘…Right. I’m not betraying my faith. I’m merely following my beloved Elsie’s request.’
I clicked my tongue as I read Beta’s thoughts.
Some people need a reason to start doing something they are capable of. This wasn't just about Beta. Before they compromised and learned to live with it, the members of the resistance were much the same.
They acted out of dissatisfaction with reality but dressed it up as if it were for a grand cause. Gradually, they became so buried in it that they couldn't do anything without an order. As a result, they had followed Kanysen down into the Abyss, not of their own will.
How did it come to this? Well, there were many reasons, but if I had to name one, it would be because the unseen had become their god.
And that was why I had chosen the path of digging up gods.
I had intended to hold out until the Earth Sage arrived, but it was pathetic that the dregs of the resistance were all I had to rely on. I sighed and spoke.
“She might respond if you write with blood. Blood similar to the Progenitor’s would be best. She’ll prefer a woman’s blood over a man’s…”
“You want me to give my, my blood?! To a vampire?!”
“…I’ll use my blood first, but if that doesn’t work, I’ll borrow yours, Beta.”
Was it because she didn’t want to injure herself? Or was offering blood to a vampire a religious taboo? There was no need to distinguish. Both reasons ultimately led to the same conclusion.
The conclusion that she would not give her blood.
I bit my finger. From the slightly torn skin, a bead of blood welled up and dropped. The blood, which should have spread across the ground, rolled like a marble and seeped into the crack of the door, as if to say, Once it’s outside your body, it’s no longer yours.
As I watched the surreal sight, Finlay spoke to me.
“Writing with blood as ink? A considerable idea. But the Progenitor claims all blood outside your body. How do you intend to write with ink that runs away?”
“Ink was originally made by charring something over a fire.”
I gave a short reply and used Standard Magic with my bleeding finger.
“Set, Re. Fahrenheit.”
Fwoosh. A feeble flame, reflecting my mana reserves, flickered to life. The temperature was high, but the heat was low. The blood began to char, turning black.
“If I burn it as I apply it, it’ll stick. This way, the letters will hold their shape.”
“Hoh… I see.”
“I’ll do my best until I pass out from anemia. Wow, a letter written in blood from my own torn and burnt finger. I doubt even the Emperor of the Empire has ever received a letter with this much dedication. How grand.”
“Our Progenitor is far greater than any human emperor. There is nothing grand about it.”
‘So competent. The Progenitor should be able to perceive letters written in charred blood. This one, though human, is brilliant. But… in that case, why did he bring that wench?’
It’s a test.
Even if I woke the Progenitor in some outlandish way, if Beta decided to commit suicide, we would all be in danger.
As Finlay watched, I made a dot with the charred blood. I’d start with a cliché line, and if she still didn’t wake up, I’d try a love confession. Still nothing? Then I’d start poking at her by mentioning a vampire’s age.
There’s no such thing as a refreshing awakening. Whether human or vampire, waking from sleep requires a stimulus intense enough to be slightly unpleasant.
And so, as I wrote the somewhat clichéd letter in blood, the two lovers just watched, holding hands tightly.
“Hughes, you look like you’re in pain…”
“Hughes has his limits. Even if he writes with his blood, he won’t be able to write much. If it comes to it, I’ll have to use my own.”
“But, do we really have to? If the Progenitor doesn’t respond after all that, there’s no reason to keep writing.”
“…This is the best we can do right now. We can’t defeat Ebon without the Progenitor.”
“In the first place, is there any guarantee the Progenitor will help us? She’s a villain who has killed over ten thousand people. She might just suck all of our blood because she’s hungry.”
As Beta said this, she unconsciously brought a hand to her chest. There, hanging from a necklace, was the cross of the Sky God—her pillar of support, her idol…
Ah, she finally crossed that line.
“Elsie, what if we just set off the explosives?”
“Cindy! Are you serious? We’ll all die!”
“That’s what we in the resistance came in here intending to do from the start. We’re just resuming our postponed plan.”
Positive feelings don’t wake a person from sleep. It’s always the negative ones that move a stagnant person. The reason history is soaked in blood is likely because the people who carry its currents are all driven by malice.
It was the same now. The resistance chose to fight the Military State because they were dissatisfied with their lives, and Beta was throwing a tantrum because she hated vampires.
And the Progenitor, Tyrkanzyaka, was…
“Are you saying… we should all die together?”
“If we’re going to die anyway… it’s better to be martyred with all this than to become food for a vampire…”
Whatever. You can just die, then.
I stopped writing the blood letter and took a step to the side.
The next instant, the door exploded open. The steel door that hadn’t budged even when Azzy pounded on it now gaped open greedily, and from within, a crimson blood aura shot out like a long tongue. Straight for Beta.
“Ah…?”
As her vision turned crimson, Beta instinctively clutched the cross. At the same moment, the outstretched blood aura clutched her.
Crack, crunch. Bones broke and blood splattered. I’d never eaten a person, but I knew without being taught that this was the sound of a human being chewed to pieces. It didn’t even take a fraction of a second for Beta’s thoughts to be severed.
It seemed even the tide of blood aura had an ebb. The aura that had violently scoured the ground receded like a timely ebb tide, leaving nothing behind, like a sandy beach after the water has withdrawn.
Delta blinked.
“…Cindy?”
‘What, what was that? She was right here a moment ago. I was holding her hand. I felt something… a warm sensation, and then…’
He called his lover’s name, but no answer came. Unable to grasp the situation, he fumbled at the empty air, searching for her.
“Cindy? Beta? What’s, what’s wrong? You’re joking, right? Wh-where did you go…”
Unfortunately, Delta was reasonably intelligent.
His girlfriend, who couldn’t forsake her cross until the very end, had ultimately faced the Progenitor’s judgment. The knowledge he had accumulated until now followed the path of logic to reach the answer. It was obvious to anyone.
But Delta himself desperately denied it. He rejected reality, looking around to find his lover who had vanished from the world. She was nowhere, yet he believed she must be somewhere.
Just then, Finlay burst out laughing, ignoring the wounds that were splitting open on his body.
“Khahahaha! Yes. A fitting end! To seek the Sky God in this Abyss where even he cannot reach, and right next to the Progenitor, no less! That’s the same as screaming to be killed! Hahahaha! If you wish to die, then you must die! Yes! This is how it should be!”
His words were like driving a final nail in the coffin. Delta felt a great surge of anger and whipped his head around.
“You…! Finlay…!”
“He’s right. If you commit suicide, you should die. No matter how you look at it, death is the right outcome.”
When I affirmed it so coldly, Delta looked as if he’d been struck on the head. I ignored his gaze and pulled the stakes out of Finlay. His freedom restored, Finlay regenerated his wounds and spoke.
“Did you expect this to happen?”
“To some extent. Though I was hoping my letter would be enough.”
“Khahahaha! I knew it, I like you! I’ve changed my mind, Hughes! I was going to beg the Progenitor to kill you all! But I shall let you live!”
Hilarious. Why is my life in your hands? It’s in mine.
“I don’t need it. You think the Progenitor will listen if you beg her to kill me? Is she your lackey?”
“Wh-What?”
“Stop your incessant chattering. The door’s open, so let’s just go in.”
I strode through the wide-open door. After a moment of stunned silence, Finlay hurriedly followed me.
A short while after we entered, Delta followed behind us with listless steps. What he was thinking by coming in… was still unclear.
The Progenitor’s abode was in itself a blasphemy against the Sky God. Beautiful murals were stained with blood, glowing eerily, and the gentle candlelight burned with an ominous crimson hue.
Groping our way through the darkness that barely illuminated our feet, we reached the Progenitor’s room at the end of the path.
[…The only reason I have summoned you here is pure curiosity.]
Though awake, the Progenitor had not yet risen. She revealed herself to us only through her voice, her body still lying within its coffin.
The Progenitor asked me, her voice filled with genuine curiosity.
[I find I cannot return to sleep, for I am curious. Did you mean to provoke me with that worthless believer as a sacrifice, or did you intend to wake me with that absurd love letter? What, pray tell, was your intention?]
“Love letter? You bastard, what did you write with your blood?”
I answered nonchalantly.
“‘I have longed for you for a long time. Please, grant me a glimpse of your beautiful face.’ That’s what I wrote.”
“You baaaaastard! How daaaaaare you!”
[Silence.]
At the Progenitor’s single word, Finlay shut his mouth. It was not a voluntary silence. The command of the Progenitor, who ruled every last drop of a vampire’s blood, was absolute. Finlay would not be able to open his mouth again until she permitted it.
‘What an amusing child. How long has it been since I’ve seen someone who does not tremble in fear before me, but retorts so readily?’
The Progenitor chuckled from within her coffin.
[Huhu. How absurd. You can’t possibly be sincere.]
“Will you accept my feelings if I am? In that case, I am always sincere. This time, it’s not a lie.”
[As if I would ever accept your heart. Let’s see. The bloody battle raging above is your concern. Is that correct?]
“If you had accepted my heart, that would have been my very first request.”
[Huhuhu. Your tongue is as smooth as if it were coated in oil.]
‘I do not involve myself in the squabbles of irrelevant humans. Even less so if the Beast King has joined the fray. However… if it is merely to stop the fighting, I may grant your wish, depending on the story.’
The Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka’s heart does not beat. She is not easily displeased, nor is she easily amused. She is not without emotion, but a great chasm exists between her feelings and her actions.
As such, it was better to be a little provocative when dealing with Tyrkanzyaka. The more my actions stood out, the more they differed from the norm, the higher the chance she would let me live.
[For someone who claims to hold his comrades so dear, you let that believer of the Sky God die just moments ago.]
That said, clutching a cross was not an acceptable act. Even jokes have their limits.
“I have absolutely no interest in people who are already taken. So little interest, in fact, that I couldn’t care less if they live or die. What does it matter to me if we’re not going to end up together anyway?”
[Hoh. Are you truly heartless, or do you merely pretend to be? Very well. In that case, I shall offer you two choices.]
“I’m sorry, but any choice is meaningless. For me, there is only you.”
[Such unparalleled nerve!]
‘Quite an amusing child. Having him around would be entertaining. But, there is one thing that bothers me…’
I had succeeded in making a good impression on the Progenitor. Now, all that was left was to reap the rewards. I calmly waited for her to speak.
[If you wish to live alone, I will protect your life. If you wish to save your comrades, I will act as a mediator and propose a truce. However, I will not save you if you find yourself in danger during the process. Now. What will you choose?]
My own certain safety, or the safety of everyone. There was no need to even think about it. Of course…
Just as I was about to recite the predetermined answer, a voice cut through the air.
“Uwaaaaaaaaaaah!”
Delta, gun in hand, charged toward the Progenitor’s coffin.