Chapter 411: The Progenitor's Transformation is No Sin
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 411: The Progenitor's Transformation is No Sin
The Sanctum rejects vampires for one reason and one reason only.
Because vampires are not human.
This isn't some literary or academic distinction. It's not a conclusion born from lofty rhetoric or meticulous, criteria-based analysis.
Simply put, it's because vampires are different from humans.
Vampires possess long lifespans and formidable power, and they drink human blood to sustain their existence. This naturally makes them predators. In other words, their very being places humanity in the position of prey.
‘…Come to think of it, the priest who killed me called me a seed of the Divine. I always thought it was just their usual slander.’
That’s right. If they had left Tyr alone, humanity would have changed. It was their miscalculation, however, that killing Tyr gave rise to the existence of vampires.
“Hmph. So they failed, one after another. It pleases me to see those Sanctum scoundrels struggling so. But, Hu.”
Tyr, a sneer on her face directed at the absent Sanctum, asked me a question.
“If they truly sought to protect humanity, would they have any reason to oppose you, the King of Humans? Why does the Sanctum attack you, and why do you evade them?”
“The explanation for that is simple. It’s because the ‘human’ defined by the Sanctum isn’t truly human.”
The Sanctum created a god and established taboos. They divided good from evil and cast out heretics. All of it was to make their desired version of ‘human’ the only version of human.
“To me, ‘human’ includes all humans. Vampires, beastkin, even the priests of the Sanctum—they are all human. But the Sanctum treats vampires as if they have no right to exist. By whose authority?”
“…Indeed.”
“I could at least understand if they simply wanted to kill everyone on the opposing side and ensure their own survival. But if they intend to prevent sin before it happens through prophecy, and to change the future by arbitrarily defining good and evil… then I have no choice but to resist.”
‘So that’s why Hu treats me so normally. Because regardless of whether I am the Progenitor or a vampire, I am still human to him…’
Before the King of Humans, every human is ordinary. Tyr was beginning to vaguely understand this.
“…And there’s another reason the Sanctum tries to stop me.”
I offered my hand. Tyr, though puzzled, naturally placed her own hand over mine.
Once again, I drew upon the power of lightning.
“The Divine understood the great axioms of the world, but they could not understand humans—those imperfect, fickle beasts. That is why even the Divine cannot properly create or change a human. The Homunculus Dilemma. Even if you try to replace humans with magic, you only end up with homunculi. Because even if you grasp the world’s great truths and wield magic, you don’t know how to use it to create a human.”
To oneself, there is only the self. One cannot understand another through one’s own perspective.
Can a great magician even begin to imagine the world of a snot-nosed child? Can a painter depict the world as seen through the eyes of the colorblind? Because we see the world entirely through our own eyes and interpret it through our own subjectivity, understanding another’s world is an exceedingly difficult task.
“But I, the King of Humans, know.”
Lightning sparked from our clasped hands. It was the same as before. The electricity crawled through Tyr’s body, tickling her. It was something no one else, not even the Divine known as the Lightning Thief, had ever accomplished. They might know that a subtle current flows through the body, but they don’t know the precise manner in which it must be done to become another.
But I know. And the moment I obtained the power of the Divine, I became able to use that forbidden knowledge fully on humans. The Homunculus Dilemma was irrelevant.
As my lightning restored her senses, Tyr trembled slightly. But having experienced it once, she was used to it. Instead of pulling away, she gripped my hand tightly, feeling the sensation that lingered within it.
‘Just as he revived my heart, he is… my body…’
“If I am given the means, I can change humans. The Divine are such a means. Though, if possible, I’d rather just grant their wishes than change them directly.”
Tyr’s wish, which she died too early to fulfill, was to live an ordinary life with a beating heart. So I granted her wish. Thanks to that, a clear line was drawn between her inner and outer self, but the desire for an ordinary life still remained within her.
“You’ve helped me as well. So, if you truly desire it, Tyr… I will make you an ordinary human.”
It was a heavy, frightening offer. To accept it would mean entrusting every nerve in her body to me.
She couldn’t dismiss it as a bluff. I had already made her heart beat, and I was demonstrating that same power right now. It would be a dangerous act, perhaps, to entrust her very existence to another.
‘I have already entrusted my heart to Hu. And now that I have it back and can feel emotions, he is the only one I wish to be with. What is there to fear in entrusting myself to the one I wish to entrust myself to?’
Her resolve hardening, Tyr offered her other hand to lay on top of mine instead of pulling away. Her lips set in a firm line, she looked up at me and spoke.
“Hu. I…”
Just then, the mist in the distance stirred. The unmistakable presence of a person. Tyr, who had been struggling to get the words out, fell silent at the sight of the sudden intruder. She pierced the darkness with her gaze and called out.
“Who goes there?”
“Your Magnificence, the Progenitor!”
It was a vampire, his jet-black cloak spread like bat wings. Gliding through the dark mist, the vampire spotted Tyr and descended rapidly. He landed hard, knees first, with a thud. He approached on his knees, his broken legs already regenerating as he moved.
“Progenitor. I apologize for my rudeness. However, there is a matter I must report!”
He was clearly being respectful. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have landed on his knees, shattering his own joints. Even if he could regenerate, dragging his broken limbs was an act that required considerable resolve.
For that reason, Tyr, though displeased, couldn’t bring herself to harshly dismiss him.
“You know you are being rude, yet you interrupt my excursion? Do you not fear annihilation?”
‘We were at such a crucial part…! How am I supposed to continue this conversation if not in this very atmosphere!’
“I do fear annihilation. However, I wished to say this even if it meant facing annihilation! Please, grant this humble servant permission to speak!”
The vampire prostrated himself once more, pleading. At his desperate and urgent appeal, Tyr tempered her anger and said.
“Permission granted. Speak.”
“I am Jazra, a retainer of Elder Luscynia. I offer my sincerest reverence for the Progenitor’s return, and like all vampires, I am so overcome with joy at seeing you again that I know not what to do…! However! Because of the recent tragedy, I cannot fully indulge in this joy!”
“You speak of Luscynia’s death.”
An Ain of a dead Elder had come to appeal directly to the Progenitor. As she was already aware of the matter, Tyr replied with an air of annoyance.
“The decision has already been made. I have summoned Lyre Nightingale and those around her, and we will proceed with a trial at Plenilune Castle. Your duty is to wait for the trial and give your testimony.”
“But, Progenitor! Lyre has fled the Duchy!”
“I was told she left before I could find her. I have sent Erzsebet and Dogo to retrieve her, and they will handle the matter. If your curiosity is satisfied, you may withdraw.”
‘I entertained him because of the gravity of the matter, but I will not have my precious time wasted by a mere Ain. Once we are at Plenilune Castle, it will be difficult to be alone with Hu until the trial is over. If he fails to understand and continues to waste my time…’
Perhaps because he failed to notice Tyr’s rapidly souring mood, Jazra did not bow and retreat. Instead, he cried out in an even louder voice.
“She will not return! The one who killed Lord Luscynia has broken free from the dominion of vampires. Because the Blood Shackles have been twisted, she can exert no control over us, Lord Luscynia’s Ain, nor can she be controlled! She is a traitor who, trusting in her paltry talent, has rebelled against the Duchy, and by extension, against you, Progenitor!”
It was a heartfelt plea, but the timing was poor. Tyr’s eyes grew cold as she spoke in a low voice.
“Do you truly wish to die?”
A cool fury churned within her. Tyr’s voice was laced with an irritation that had now escalated to killing intent.
“She needed to be summoned, and I have summoned her. The truth must be known, and I will uncover it. The trial will proceed, and a verdict will be rendered. I will fulfill my duty. What more do you demand of me? A mere Ain like you!”
“P-Progenitor?”
“There is a limit to rudeness. There is a line one does not cross in anger. Do you intend to vent your emotions upon me? Know your place. Do not attempt to sway me with your insignificant feelings!”
The Progenitor’s wrath is absolute. If she merely harbored killing intent, an Ain’s blood would drain from their body, killing them instantly. As the one who created the vampire race, the true master of their original blood, Tyrkanzyaka possessed such power.
This piercing killing intent that could negate a vampire’s very existence… Jazra did not notice it. Instead, he was puzzled.
“What…”
‘Is she angry? But… my blood feels nothing.’
She had possessed such power. Before her heart stopped, when the boundary between her inner and outer self was blurred, even blood outside her body was subject to her dominion. A mere thought was enough for the Progenitor to reduce Ain and Yeiling to pools of blood.
But now that she had her heart back, Tyr, who could perfectly distinguish between her inner and outer self and thus feel her own emotions… could not kill a vampire with her anger alone. If she wanted to kill, she had to move her body and execute her will. Just like other humans.
‘If the Progenitor were displeased, my blood would have trembled first. But my blood remains calm. Surely this means the Progenitor has permitted me to speak…?’
Jazra’s clueless appeal to the Progenitor was not without its own logic. In the common sense of a vampire who had lived for centuries, being able to speak meant one was allowed to speak.
However, the world had recently changed.
Quite a lot.
“…?”
Only then did Tyr sense that something was wrong. The vampire who should have been trembling in fear, who should have been obeying her before she even spoke, was repeatedly failing to understand and grating on her nerves. It was impossible. For a vampire two entire ranks below her to accomplish something the Progenitor did not permit was unheard of.
‘My dominion… doesn’t reach him? Is that why this Ain is defying my feelings?’
The absolute ruler who could decide life and death with a thought had regained her heart and become an ordinary ruler. Faced with this sudden new reality, both Tyr and Jazra could only stare at each other, question marks floating above their heads. At first, they were clueless, but slowly, reality began to sink in.
Jazra, realizing it first, slowly straightened up and asked.
“Progenitor. Surely not… have you also lost your dominion over the Blood Shackles…”
And those were Jazra’s last words. A sharp bone saw tore through his chest and drank his blood.