Chapter 404: The Progenitor’s Return
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 404: The Progenitor’s Return
How often does one get to see an Elder in their lifetime? For an ordinary human living outside the Duchy, it would typically be just once. After that first encounter, they would no longer have a life to speak of—either they’d become Kindred or a meal.
In that sense, how lucky was I to still be alive while drawing the attention of three Elders?
“Sniff, sniff. An unimpressive male. You look weak. Is this really the King of Humans?”
“Hmph, Sister, why did you bring something so suspicious back with you?”
“Are you a good fighter? Care for a match?”
“If he breaks, give him to me. I’ll fix him up and see if I can use him.”
Then again, perhaps I was an incredibly unlucky human.
The boar beastkin’s eyes flashed as he sniffed the air around me. A small witch covered in stitches circled me endlessly. Caught between them, I felt as if I could be crushed to death at any moment. If they had wanted my blood, I could have given them a little to get it over with, but this wasn't that kind of attention, so I had no way of shaking them off.
And all this because Tyr stepped away for a moment. Was there no one to save me?
“That’s enough.”
As if my prayers had reached the heavens, Valdamir approached and stopped them with a low voice. At the command of the one who held unrivaled power and status among the Elders, the other two backed away from me, though not without displeasure.
Valdamir spoke without so much as a glance in my direction, as if he had no interest.
“Whether he is the King of Humans or not is of no consequence. There is only one fact that matters to us: the Progenitor brought him here.”
“Tch, that’s what I don’t like about it!”
At his cold remark, Kavila pouted and whipped her head away. Meanwhile, Lunken couldn’t let go of his curiosity.
“Valdamir, aren’t you curious? He’s called the King of Humans! I have seen countless Beast Kings, but this is the first time I’ve seen a King of Humans! Is it true? What power does he possess? Why did he appear with the Progenitor?”
“We are vampires, Lunken.”
If Lunken was a flame, Valdamir was like a cold, still sea. Despite the reasonable questions, Valdamir’s reply was endlessly calm and detached.
“Our king, our god, is the Progenitor and the Progenitor alone. The King of Humans has nothing to do with us.”
A flame might be able to evaporate a drop of water, but even the greatest inferno is bound to be extinguished if thrown into a lake. Before Valdamir, Lunken’s fervor quickly died down.
“Hmph. Fine, I get it!”
Lunken stomped away. Seeing the two of them at a distance, I let out a sigh of relief… or I would have. Instead, I saw the tiny droplets of blood shimmering around my body and let out a hollow laugh.
No interest? The most dangerous one of all was paying the most attention to me!
‘The Progenitor has shown interest in humans a few times, but until now, it was mere amusement. This time, however, something is different. I must find out what that is.’
The blood droplets were watching my every move. I wasn't being vivisected… yet, but Valdamir was pretending not to care while observing and evaluating me.
No interest? Right, that wasn't wrong. He had no interest in me as the ‘King of Humans.’ But as the ‘guest brought by the Progenitor,’ his curiosity was practically overflowing!
The only saving grace was that he had no intention of harming me. He was trying to observe me purely in a way that wouldn't interfere. The reason, of course, was his loyalty to the Progenitor, but…
Could that really be achieved through loyalty alone? Even for a vampire?
I can read human minds, but that doesn't mean I know everything. Does anyone understand all the implications and principles of a book just by reading it once? Mind reading ends at being able to read a person like a document. That’s why a period of observation is necessary. And sometimes, it helps to ask a few questions to satisfy one’s curiosity.
Ah, I couldn't stand it anymore. I stepped forward with a smile and asked.
“Lord Sanguine. Where did Tyr go?”
It was a simple question, but it carried several implications, the strongest of which was provocation. I was casually emphasizing that I was on a first-name basis with Tyr, their god and king.
At first, the Elders didn't even notice. To them, even the name Tyrkanzyaka was not something to be uttered lightly, so they failed to connect it with ‘Tyr.’ Kavila was the first to catch on a beat later, her eyes widening.
“Whaaat? Tyr? I’m asking just in case, but… you. You weren’t referring to my sister, were you?”
“I was. Tyr. Your Progenitor, Tyrkanzyaka.”
“Do you want to die?”
She was a monster who had devoured humans for hundreds of years. A threatening aura emanated from her, as expected, but her words were empty threats. She couldn't actually kill me. I was Tyr’s guest. Instead of being afraid, I answered leisurely.
“Hey, we agreed to speak casually. What’s the big deal? You call her ‘sister,’ don’t you?”
“The Progenitor is my sister, so of course I call her that! But for a brat like you to call her by her name, and a nickname at that!”
Kavila, however, just got more worked up and shrieked.
“I’m so jealous I can’t stand it!”
“You’re jealous? Then you can do it too.”
“How could I dare utter my sister’s revered name…! Anyway, if I say don’t, then don’t! You don’t have the right!”
“What kind of right do you need to call someone by their name?”
“For starters, age! My sister is 1,208 years old, and I’m 1,108! We’re exactly one century apart! If anyone is to call her by a nickname, it should be me, not some whelp whose blood hasn’t even dried on his head!”
…That phrase about blood not drying must have been literal. It was a remark only a vampire whose blood had long since congealed could make. I was so dumbfounded I just had to say it.
“Is age that important? Should I call her grandma, then?”
“That’s not nearly enough! My sister is far older than your great-great-great-grandmother! Do you understand?! The gap between you and her! So from now on, don’t call her so familiarly!”
She was the complete opposite of Tyr, actually emphasizing age. In any case, that was Kavila’s reaction. Lunken thought I was being insolent but wasn't delicate enough to argue about it like Kavila.
So then… what about Valdamir’s reaction, the one I was waiting for?
“As the Progenitor said earlier, she has gone to the Dark Beacon.”
Huh? He’s calm?
It was baffling, even as I read his mind. Valdamir was curious about me, but it didn't cross the line. It wasn't the jealousy Kavila felt or the indifference of Lunken, but curiosity in its purest form.
What a unique individual. He’d be rewarding to read. I met his gaze as an equal and spoke.
“I heard she was going to the Dark Beacon. But I’ve never heard that term before, and I don’t know where it is. You can’t blame me for being curious when there was no explanation, right?”
“There is no need for you to be curious. It is difficult to understand, and useless even if you did.”
“What if I ask you to tell me out of simple curiosity?”
I had expected some kind of reaction, but disappointingly, Valdamir answered kindly.
“It is made of a darkness that is difficult for humans to comprehend, so I will not explain its appearance or structure. However, I will state its purpose clearly. The Dark Beacon is a signal fire to announce that the Progenitor has returned.”
“A signal fire?”
A signal fire means lighting something, right? How do you make a signal fire with darkness? The surroundings were already pitch-black; even if you lit a fire, not even the light, let alone the smoke, would escape…
As I tilted my head in confusion, darkness exploded from a jet-black tower.
If light could flash, then so could its absence. Vampires are harmed by sunlight. In other words, they are more sensitive to light than anyone else.
What appears as the same darkness to human eyes is visible to a vampire. They can see where this darkness came from, and to whom it belongs.
The Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka, who had left in search of a place for vampires to live, passed through the Cloud Waterfall and discovered the mist-covered land. She decided to build a nation there, but mere mist was not enough to completely block the light of the sun that peeked over the horizon.
So Tyr shared her darkness. She dyed the mist with it and scattered it throughout the Duchy. Thanks to her, vampires could live in the Duchy of Mist regardless of day or night.
The Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka was the racial deity of the vampires and the eternal king of the Duchy of Mist. This was also why Lord Sanguine, the de facto ruler, insisted on the title of ‘Lord.’ To honor their great Progenitor, the vampires had built beacons of darkness throughout the Duchy.
The only vampire who could command the darkness was the Progenitor. The beacons were so that everyone would know when she returned, so they could prepare to welcome her.
Tyr had darkened the Dark Beacon.
With the pulsating darkness behind her, Tyr emerged, parting the shadows that faintly held the shape of a tower. First, her crimson eyes shimmered into view, followed by her snow-white skin, and finally, her parasol, floating as if it had become one with the darkness. Accompanied by the shadows of the Duchy, Tyr looked more powerful and mysterious than ever before.
The opposite of light. So it’s a Dark Beacon because it illuminates the land with darkness. This is how vampires do things. As I thought, it’s hard to understand just by reading minds.
“I have announced my return to all this land. Now, the entire Duchy will welcome us. Let us go, Hu.”
Tyr spoke to me softly. The god of the Duchy was smiling at me.
Honestly, is a Sky God you can’t see or touch really a god? The one who moves a nation with a tip of their chin is the real god. I really backed the right horse. I held out my hand and spoke.
“Then I’ll take you up on your offer. I’m allowed that much, right?”
Offering my hand first was a request to be escorted. It was an act of entrusting one’s safety to the master of the domain. It was a slightly dated piece of etiquette, but Tyr liked this sort of thing.
Just as I expected, Tyr answered my request with a pleasant laugh.
“By all means.”
She took my hand without hesitation. Pretending to be led, I followed Tyr and glanced back. Lunken and Kavila were staring at me, their faces filled with shock.
‘Sister… smiled? I haven’t seen anything close to a smile like that in hundreds of years!’
‘So the Progenitor didn’t just invite a man here for no reason? Sniff, sniff. I smell something.’
See? How about that? I’m the guy who went to prison with your Progenitor and even fiddled with her heart. There’s a gap that can’t be closed by time alone, you know?
I gave the two Elders a smug smile. Heh, this is what you call connections. If you’re going to build a network, you have to aim as high as possible. Who would dare say anything to me, the one who won the Progenitor’s heart? Lord Sanguine? Haha, I wonder what the ever-loyal Lord Sanguine could possibly say to me…
‘The King of Humans. What did the Progenitor see in him? How did he alter her dominion?’
Valdamir was still observing me. Unswayed by my words and actions, he watched only with the red and dark eyes of a vampire.
…Ugh. This one seems a bit difficult.
And so, under Tyr’s guidance, I set foot in the lands of the Duchy.
The Duchy of Mist. Into the nation of vampires, where humans are treated as livestock.