Chapter 422: Elder, Ain, Yeiling, and Human - 5
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 422: Elder, Ain, Yeiling, and Human - 5
Every corner of this world has an ugly side, revealed only when you peel back its layers. Just look down at your own body. Beneath the single, smooth layer of skin that covers you, the coppery tang of blood and grotesque flesh await.
Nations are no different. There is a darkness that, while certainly present, is veiled from sight.
“Ah, you mean that.”
Tyr, thinking I was reproaching her, looked slightly troubled.
“…It is the Duchy’s method of execution.”
“Like hanging or beheading?”
“Indeed. A human who has committed a capital crime is placed in a press. Much like a fruit press, a human is placed underneath a large, suspended boulder, which is then rolled over them to squeeze out their blood. Vampires came to use this method because every last drop of blood is precious to us.”
To a vampire, blood is food, wealth, and power. That is why they value the humans who produce it. But in other words, humans are merely property. Nothing more.
“Executing someone in a press. How interesting.”
“H-Hu. Do not think it cruel. This is, in its own way…”
“I thought you’d just lock them up for life and bleed them dry. I’m surprised you just kill them. Isn’t that a waste?”
“Was that what you were curious about?”
I asked with a straight face.
“Why? Did you think I was going to condemn you for being cruel, Tyr? Me?”
“Is that not what your question implied?”
“You still don’t know me very well. I’m from the Military State, you know. There’s not much difference between that place and here.”
“That is true. The Military State also forces harsh labor upon its people.”
What a relief. At least my nation treats humans better than the Military State. For a moment, I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to speak of this in front of Hu.
Compared to the Military State, what nation wouldn’t seem benevolent? Recalling the recent sights of that country, Tyr spoke with a great sense of relief.
“There are some similarities. Those who steal or harm others are confined to one place and are punished by having their blood drawn more frequently.”
“You don’t put them to work?”
“Is there a need? We can simply use the blood taken from them to create Kindred and put them to work instead. It would be putting the cart before the horse if the humans got injured while laboring, would it not?”
“Your priorities are the exact opposite of the Military State’s. There, labor means getting injured.”
To the Military State, humans were a labor force. They were used for work, or their mana was forcibly extracted to secure resources.
In the Duchy, humans were not a labor force, but the resource itself. Perhaps it was the nation of vampires that valued humans for what they were.
“Still, I doubt you’d put someone in a press for a little theft. You’d have to kill someone for that, at least.”
“Not quite. Those who kill another, or cause their death, are made into Twaite.”
“Twaite?”
“They are Kindred created by Yeiling. The moment a human kills another, they have already destroyed one of the Duchy’s assets. They could not repay that debt even if they spent the rest of their natural lives trying.”
Murder was a grave sin here, just as it was anywhere else, but the reason was that it destroyed one of the Duchy’s precious resources. The Duchy’s way of dealing with murderers was…
“Therefore, we extend that time of death into eternity. As vampires, they are strong, but their sense of self fades, turning them into dolls that only follow orders.”
“Harsh.”
“Would it not be stranger to be merciful to a murderer?”
Fair enough. Outside of wartime, murder was a taboo act no matter where you went.
Wait a minute. If humans are such a precious resource that even murderers are turned into Kindred to be used… then.
“Then what kind of criminal gets put in the press?”
This execution method of crushing a living human to extract their blood—who was it for?
“Naturally, it is a punishment reserved for those who attempt to flee this country.”
Tyr answered my question as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“Their blood was filled with the waters of this nation. Their flesh was woven with the meat of this nation. If that is so, should not those who wish to leave this nation first return everything the nation has given them?”
Leaving all your blood and flesh behind meant dying… Well, I’m sure that was Tyr’s intention.
Instead of questioning the obvious, I swallowed hard and asked.
“Are there people who try to escape?”
“A long time ago, when we too were inexperienced, there were many such people. We were at war then, and in the chaos, we tried to rule and oppress everyone through force. However… we realized that spreading fear was, in fact, helping the Sanctum, so we changed our policy. Once we treated them differently, the number of escapees decreased significantly.”
“So there are still some. Even when you treat them so well.”
“When you gather people together, all sorts of individuals are bound to appear. That is also why we make an example of them with such a harsh punishment, so that they dare not even think of escaping.”
So that’s why word of this wonderful country never got out. The Sanctum’s prophets couldn’t see through the mist, and once you set foot inside, you couldn’t escape. The stories from within were trapped in eternal darkness.
Darkness begets fear. People, fearing the unknown nation, concocted all sorts of ghost stories about it. Even I had perceived it that way.
Still, knowing the nation’s foundation made it easy to understand.
A nation of vampires where humans were the resource itself. Precious in their own right, there was no need for them to change or strive for anything more. Perhaps this country was a true paradise.
“Have I sated much of your curiosity?”
“Yes. The different background certainly makes it interesting. And having the founder of the nation explain it herself makes it easy to grasp.”
“Huhu. You explained the Military State to me in the Abyss, did you not? That was quite enjoyable. Since we know different things, is it not necessary to teach one another?”
They treat humans like livestock? So what? Is it different anywhere else? The Military State openly sees humans as a labor force, the Mage Federation sees them as unscratched lottery tickets, and the Empire treats them like common weeds that grow as they please. At least here, their blood is valued. If anything, it’s fair.
“I never thought I’d see the day Tyr would be explaining things to me.”
“I may have left several hundred years ago, but this is still my country. I can at least answer your questions.”
“Right. That’s why you’re studying up on what’s changed over the last 300 years, isn’t it?”
“I have been briefed on most of it. Not much has changed, it seems. By tomorrow, I will have received all the reports and fulfilled my duty. Moreover, your help has been invaluable in understanding new systems like the Blood Coin.”
“My help? Oh. Because I told you about alchemy and Alchemic Gold?”
“Yes. Some of the knowledge you shared had already been introduced by Valdamir. You should have seen how flustered he was when I explained it so fluently.”
“Flustered? A vampire?”
“Yes. He paused to ponder for a moment, stroking his chin, then put away nearly half of the documents he had brought. Would he have done so if he were not utterly bewildered?”
Would you call that flustered? Or was he revising his assessment based on the Progenitor’s unexpected growth?
Wait, Lord Sanguine is visiting her personally? Wasn’t that vampire a busy man? For someone of his stature, he’s quite diligent in his role as the Progenitor’s attendant. And Kavila… he’s clearly a loyal subject to the Progenitor…
No, maybe it’s strange that someone of Lord Sanguine’s rank would go out of his way to act as an attendant.
I’ll have to meet Lord Sanguine at some point. I’ve read his thoughts enough for now… but just as Kavila did, his thoughts might change if he realizes Tyr’s condition.
“It’s an interesting country. I haven’t traveled to many nations, but I’ve never seen one as unique as the Duchy. What’s more surprising is that its uniqueness has been channeled in a positive direction.”
“Though it is my country, I pride myself on having built it well. How else could I dare to think of serving the King of Humans?”
“What’s wrong with the King of Humans? The King of Humans is, in essence, a Beast King. And beasts don’t meddle in the affairs of other nations.”
“I am aware of that much. I know that just because you are the King of Humans, you do not love all mankind. That you are not bound by the empty claims of good and evil that the Sanctum preaches.”
Knowing all that, Tyr smiled proudly and said.
“It is a matter of my own feelings. Hu, I brought you here to repay my debt to you. If I were to show you an unsightly side of my nation, I would not have the face to look at you.”
Vampires are kind to humans. For someone who reigned over the Abyss, Tyr herself had rarely gone out of her way to harm a human. It wasn’t so much kindness as it was a mindset of cherishing humans as a precious resource…
…But then again, even I, who can read minds, don’t know what kindness truly is. Could I even tell the difference? Is there a need to?
“In return for showing me such a fine sight, I suppose I should do my part.”
The plan was to play—no, investigate—during the day and restore her senses at night. It was time to fulfill my promise. Without looking, I drew a Spade card. The deck, now as familiar as my own body, naturally produced the card I wanted without any need for tricks.
Seeing my card, Tyr asked.
“You always seem to take out a card when you use your power. Is that deck of cards a treasure that contains your strength?”
“No. It contains meaning.”
“Meaning?”
“How else would I know what power I’m using?”
I curled the Seven of Spades, the Lightning Spool, into a circle and lightly scratched it with my nail. The card unraveled threads of lightning as if it were a great cocoon. Tens of thousands, hundreds of millions of strands hung from my fingers.
Watching with curious eyes, Tyr pointed at the threads of lightning and asked.
“What a curious ability. What are those threads?”
“Lightning.”
“Lightning? Those threads? Surely, that is not the same lightning we saw in the Village of Clouds? The power of a Divine?”
“Even if it’s the same Divine, the power varies depending on the user. Even if you gather hundreds of millions of these threads, it’s weaker than a single Bolt from Standard Magic, let alone a real lightning strike. Here, take one.”
I snapped off a single thread of lightning and sent it toward Tyr. She tried to catch it, but the moment she did, it fizzled into a crackle of static electricity and vanished. The tiny discharge didn’t even make a sound; not even the most sensitive person would have felt it, let alone the senseless Tyr.
“Ah… a strange sensation.”
Sensation? Don’t nod like you can relate when you don’t have any senses. I’m well aware of my lack of power.
“But it has other uses. These threads of lightning will restore your senses, Tyr.”
“How can you do so with something I cannot even feel?”
“It’s a long explanation, so let’s just get to it. We’ll start with the part closest to your head. Tyr, could you stick out your tongue?”
“Stick out my tongue?”
Tyr obediently followed my instruction. She opened her small mouth and shyly stuck out her tongue. The clams I saw on the tidal flats today would have stuck their tongues out further than Tyr. I was at a loss, seeing a tongue with barely anything to grab onto.
“I can tell you don’t stick your tongue out at people very often. Is that as far as it goes?”
“I havn’t had a reathon to.”
One needs a reason to do such a thing. Why would I ever have a need to stick out my tongue at someone?
I suppose a monarch of a nation wouldn’t need to taunt people they dislike. They could just point a finger and order them to die, and they would. In fact, before she regained her heart, Tyrkanzyaka didn’t even need to give an order; she could kill a vampire just by thinking it.
“We’ll work on the deeper parts later. For now, I’ll just give you a taste from the tip. Focus your senses on the tip of your tongue.”
Human language is nothing more than noise produced by shaping the vibrations from the throat with the tongue. Unable to speak properly with her tongue out, Tyr nodded to show she understood.
Clutching the Lightning Spool, I took Tyr’s tongue between my thumb and forefinger. A small, soft piece of flesh was caught between my two fingers.
“It’s no longer functioning, but the pathways should still remain in your body. Your flesh is frozen at the moment of your death. So, if I reawaken those paths with lightning, like this…”
To know is to see.
The knowledge of the Divine is a tool for understanding the world. And humans are a part of that world. Thus, by accepting the Divine’s knowledge, I can understand humans from a new perspective.
And I immediately put that new understanding to use.
A thread of lightning burrowed into Tyr’s tongue. With my mind-reading, I peered into her senses. Having abandoned all other senses in the cold earth, Tyr was left with only a vision that read darkness instead of light and a sliver of hearing. To Tyr, who had shed everything else simply to exist, all other senses were like pitch-black darkness.
But she couldn’t have been without senses from the beginning. She had only lost them.
I had neither the knowledge to perceive what was lost nor the means to restore it… but that was before I obtained the Divine.
Good. It’s possible. With this method, Tyr can…
“Ah, mmmph?”
Must you hold my tongue so tightly?
…The reaction is lukewarm.
She seemed displeased at having her tongue held out. Human language is, after all, crafted by the vocal cords and tongue. Unless Tyr had trained to produce her voice with Qi, she couldn’t even speak right now. All she could do was let me hold her tongue.
Getting fussy over something like this? One might think a vampire’s patience is lacking, but there were other psychological factors at play.
How long has it been since Hu and I have been alone together, and yet we cannot even converse, merely hold onto my tongue? I know it is necessary, but to be alone in a room, having my tongue pulled… it is impossible not to feel some dissatisfaction.
A sense of resistance bloomed in Tyr’s mind. Because of it, my Lightning Spool lost its way and dissipated inside her body. At this rate, we’d end up just fiddling with her tongue without restoring any senses. I spoke urgently.
“Just a moment. Please focus.”
“…Mmmph.”
Focus? On what am I to focus? My tongue? Or this ridiculous situation?
This was about reviving Tyr’s senses. While the Lightning Spool could partially interfere with her body’s movements, to change Tyr, she needed to respond from her end. This was a process of not just reading a book, but rewriting it. Without the original author’s help, it would be no different from me just whispering my hopes and dreams into her ear.
Ugh. I should have induced a response first. That wasn’t very magician-like of me.
“I can’t understand what you’re saying, but you seem to be displeased about something.”
“How could I not be dithpleathed in thith thituation? I am only enduring thith becauthe you thaid you would rethtore my thenthes.”
Tyr’s body had been perfectly demarcated by the revival of her heart. If she had remained dead, I could have reshaped her as I pleased, just as I did when I revived her heart. But that wasn’t possible now. To change Tyr, I needed to move Tyr.
Strange. It worked when we shared food at the Twilight Citadel. The difference between then and now is…
I have no choice.
I let go of her tongue. The soft sensation receded, and a flicker of displeasure appeared on Tyr’s face before vanishing.
“This isn’t getting a reaction. Tyr. I think we need to change our method.”
“If you had another method, why did you not use it from the start?”
“Because I thought it might make you uncomfortable. I chose the most moderate method possible.”
“Grabbing a lady’s tongue with your fingers and toying with it is moderate? Ha, I am curious to see what a radical method would entail.”
“It’s hard to explain in words. Would you like to try it?”
You might regret it. Not me, but you.
My warning fell on deaf ears as Tyr lifted her chin, as if daring me to try.
“Do it.”
“Alright. No take-backs.”
Time for a little magic trick. I took out the Seven of Spades again and pulled out a handful of lightning. Then, I put it in my mouth.
This time, I pulled out a bit more lightning, and the sound of static electricity was quite harsh. Seeing this, Tyr scoffed.
“Eating lightning. That certainly does not seem moderate…”
As she spoke, I grabbed the back of her head. Tyr looked up in surprise. From arm’s length, I pulled her toward me as I lowered my head.
It was a radical move—so sudden that not even the Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka could resist. In that fleeting moment, Tyr’s eyes widened as she accepted the lightning from my mouth.
The vampire’s heart began to pound madly.