Chapter 402: Out of Sight, Out of Mind
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 402: Out of Sight, Out of Mind
Peru’s telling the vampires to leave wasn't simply because she hated or feared them.
“…What happened in the clouds. I still don’t know for sure. As long as the vampires stay out of sight.”
With the Golden Lord gone and the Thunderarch dead, the appearance of vampires would only plunge the situation into uncontrollable chaos. While she couldn't hide the fact that the Thunderarch had been killed by vampires, being attacked was a world apart from being dominated.
“…I don’t want to be hostile to the Duchy. They are strong and fearsome. So, please, just leave. You’ve achieved your goal, haven’t you?”
Besides, vampires couldn't rule outside the mist. They could walk on sunlit lands, but any castle they built would crumble like sand when the tide of sunlight washed over it the next day. No one would serve a noble who lost their power of dominion every day.
With the Golden Lord gone, much of Claudia’s geopolitical importance had vanished as well. Peru pleaded earnestly with Tyr.
Of course, Tyr was under no obligation to accept her proposal. Though usually nonchalant, she was sensitive when it came to the Sanctum. Even if she didn't conquer or subjugate them, she was seriously considering engraving fear into Claudia.
But there was no need for that.
“Ughhh. I’m dying.”
I collapsed against Tyr’s shoulder, my exhaustion on full display. Startled, she quickly supported me.
“Hu? Are you all right?”
“I feel like I’m going to die, forcing myself to move when I’m not well.”
“What did you do to yourself? Did you take some kind of medicine?”
“Not medicine. I was unconscious, so I jolted my whole body with electricity to force myself awake. Just like I did to your heart.”
Technically, it was a far more delicate and dangerous process than that, but Tyr got the gist of it.
She glanced at the dried blood on the front of my shirt. With Bloodcraft, she could have returned the blood to my body, but Hilde’s healing had already closed the wounds. I would have died if I hadn't been treated then, and it wasn't like she could tear my body open like dumpling skin to refill it with blood. Looked like I’d be living with anemia for a while.
“What should I do… In the meantime, will you take my blood?”
“Then I’d become a vampire. You’re not planning to let me die just because you can resurrect me as a vampire, are you? Don’t tell me that earlier, when you just laid my head on your lap instead of taking me to a doctor, it was because…?”
As I hit the nail on the head, Tyr flinched. She tried to deny it, but ultimately, she called for Valdamir, if only to change the subject.
“Valdamir.”
“Your command.”
“I will take Hu and head to the Duchy first. You are to remain here and root out the remnants of the Sanctum.”
Authority is relative, and someone of the Progenitor’s stature could easily dump such tasks on the Lord Sanguine. Tyr issued her command to Valdamir. Suddenly saddled with the job, Valdamir replied.
“I will obey if you command it, but if I may be so bold as to offer my opinion.”
‘Have I been working too hard lately? I’m being saddled with more work again. This is a pain. How can I sweet-talk my way out of this without offending her?’
It seemed even someone like the Lord Sanguine hated overworking. His mind spun faster than it had during the battle, and he quickly found an excuse.
“Claudia is close, and it is not difficult to return to this land. I believe it would be fine to leave things as they are for a while.”
“Leave them be? What if they tirelessly hide and take root once more?”
“Would it not be simpler to pull weeds that have taken root than to pick out seeds from the soil? The future may be theirs, but time is on our side. There is no harm in observing for a few years.”
His words revealed the difference in perspective between humans and vampires regarding a few years. Being equally generous with time, Tyr was convinced. With an elegant nod, she supported me and spoke to Peru.
“Very well. Peru, I shall grant your wish and leave. I do this for Hu’s sake, but my choice is a consideration for you. Otherwise, I would have no reason to leave this land unscathed.”
“…Thank you.”
“I trust you will not forget. For your sake, and for the sake of this land.”
Tyr left Peru with a stern warning and waved her hand. At her call, Tyr’s coffin, which hadn't been able to keep up, flew to her side from beyond the Cloud Waterfall. It was a ride prepared for me, as I could barely walk. I was grateful, but why did it have to be a coffin? I hoped it wasn't a premonition of my future.
Just then, a thudding sound echoed as Lunken’s massive form fell from the sky. Tearing off his scorched fur without a second thought, Lunken roared.
“Uwoooargh—! Who was it?! Who was the one who sent me flying—!”
“Lunken. We are returning. Prepare yourself.”
“What? Progenitor, I just got back.”
“Excellent. You can simply go back the way you came.”
Lunken smacked his lips with regret. It was obvious he wanted to finish the fight he’d started, but he immediately gave up at the Progenitor’s command.
Tyr, sitting beside me on the coffin, started it moving without a single glance back. The thick fog was dark. Unhindered by sunlight, the coffin glided smoothly forward….
“Wait!”
The Regressor blocked our path. She was still lost in confusion.
After shaking off Hilde, the Regressor had tried to approach, only to witness the scene of me fighting Feruel. She was familiar with Feruel and her power of foresight from before her regression, but Feruel’s attitude toward me was something she had never seen. The Regressor felt a sense of strangeness seeing the stoic Saintess of Steel treating me with such natural hostility, contempt, and even fear. The Saintesses with the gift of foresight had always been mystical and composed.
‘The King of Humans? But that’s impossible. The King of Humans I saw, no, the King of Sins was…! He was definitely…!’
On top of that, she was in a state of near-panic at the fact that I, whom she had met by chance and traveled with, was actually the King of Humans.
“The King of Humans? You…? You deceived me?”
“I didn’t deceive you. I never said I wasn’t the King of Humans.”
It was just wordplay. I had tried my best to hide it. They were trying to stop the King of Sins, so of course I couldn't just reveal my identity.
I would have preferred not to be found out at all, but since the cat was out of the bag, I might as well make the most of it.
“The fact that I’m the King of Humans isn’t exactly something to brag about. It just draws unnecessary attention and offers no real benefit.”
“If it’s true that you’re the King of Humans…!”
“If it’s true, then what? Are you going to kill me now, just in case?”
The Regressor flinched. She hadn't yet harbored any killing intent toward me, but if killing me would fix everything, she would do it without hesitation. That’s just the kind of person a Regressor was.
She might even kill me once just to see what would happen. So I had to keep my distance. I didn't know what the next timeline would bring.
“Of course not! I, that is…”
“Enough. Hu, let us go.”
Tyr placed a hand on my shoulder as if to shield me and glared at the Regressor.
“Our path with Shei ends here. We joined you because your will to protect the world was admirable… but it seems there is no place for us in the world Shei envisions. Just as the Saintesses decided. If that is the case, then we must part ways here.”
The Regressor was a terrible liar. She couldn't brazenly declare that I was her comrade and that she would never harm us, not even if the world were to end. Because she knew she wouldn't.
‘But, if the world wasn't ending! If Tyrkanzyaka wasn't leading her Bloody Crusade, and the Wolf King hadn't bared his fangs at humanity, I would want to be with you! That way, I wouldn't have to point my sword at you later!’
Her thoughts were so honest and righteous I didn't even need to read them. By the world’s standards, we were probably the ones in the wrong. Compared to Azzy, for whom civilization was meaningless, or Tyr, who trampled on and mocked morality and dignity, or even a strange being like me who was abandoned by humanity, the Regressor was closer to the ideal human.
But in truth, the strangest thing of all is an ideal human. Because such a being doesn't exist. The mold of the ideal created by the Sanctum is all the more binding precisely because it’s an impossible standard.
If she couldn't bridge that gap, the Regressor could never be with us.
Not only was Tyr here, but the Elders were as well. The current Regressor was outmatched, even with her vaunted martial prowess. Having lost the element of surprise, which she often used with information from the future, she had lost a significant advantage.
“Yahoo~! We’re finally parting ways, right? What a relief. Shei never suited you guys anyway!”
Hilde, who had approached at some point, slyly sat down on Tyr’s coffin. She was covered in scratches from her fight with the Regressor, but for a Qi practitioner, they were nothing more than scrapes. Tyr watched Hilde make herself at home on the coffin with displeasure but didn't push her off as she spoke.
“…I find it unpleasant that you tried to use me, but I will let it pass. However, do not think that everything will go according to your will.”
“Use you? This was a mutually beneficial deal! ‘I’ am in charge of the Military State’s diplomacy, you know? I’m not some thug who’d force a one-sided loss on my partner! Especially not against a vampire!”
“I am well aware of that fact, even without your emphasis. It is also why I spared your life, Crusader. Remember that and hold it dear.”
Her words implied that if there had been even a hint of suspicion, Hilde, a Crusader, would not have survived. Despite the chilling warning, Hilde smiled with her eyes as if she were used to it and urged us on.
“We have permission, Father. Shall we go?”
Time to go. After wandering this much, it was time to settle down somewhere. I still needed time to make the Divine fully my own, and I deserved to indulge in a little luxury with some solid backing for a while.
“We hoped for a beautiful, perfectly timed farewell, but the world betrays such expectations as if it were the most natural thing. Goodbye, everyone. I hope we meet by chance when a new wind blows.”
“There is no need for that. We will not meet again.”
The Elders moved forward before Tyr’s coffin. There was no one to block their path, but even if someone tried, they would be finished before they could get near Tyr. It might have been different if the Regressor had steeled her resolve, but she was still lost in confusion.
If we met again, she would have surely decided on her stance. Tsk, that's a bit frightening. All the more reason to stick close to Tyr.
And so, I, Hilde, and the company of vampires left the traces of battle behind and advanced into the thick clouds. Inside the Cloud Waterfall, a land forever in shadow. An infernal realm untouched by sunlight, a paradise for vampires.
With the Progenitor’s return, we left a few behind in the Fallen Dominion and stepped into the domain of darkness.