Chapter 446: Trial That Defies Fate - 9
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 446: Trial That Defies Fate - 9
"I refuse."
At the words, like a child's tantrum, Kavila's expression briefly hardened. But to Tyrkanzyaka, Kavila's reaction no longer mattered. Tyrkanzyaka spoke.
"You want me to die again? To lose this heart and these feelings that have come back to life, and return to those years of feeling nothing but boredom and tedium?"
Once she had realized it, she could not go back. For Tyrkanzyaka, being told to give up the heart she had so desperately longed for was the same as being told to die.
The reason the Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka always fell into a long slumber was that there was little difference between lying in her coffin and being awake. Devoid of sensation and emotion, she found it difficult to immerse herself in anything except for destroying the Sanctum, and even that interest waned significantly when she realized the Sanctum was using her attempts to solidify its own power.
For her, the most enjoyable pastime was simply waking from her slumber to see the changed world. When she closed her eyes and opened them again, new knowledge, refined music, and unique paintings would have appeared in abundance. Even then, she only read and appreciated them mechanically, but for Tyrkanzyaka, that was the only meaningful change.
"Are you demanding solitude and tedium of me? How absurd. I am the Progenitor. Your beginning and your end. How dare you demand anything of me."
"Sis, it's not a demand..."
"My power may no longer reach you, but its entirety is within me. I am still myself. You say that I have changed, but it is the opposite."
The Progenitor had changed. Yet, her attitude and actions had not changed at all. As always, she returned and reigned. She didn't actively rule, either sleeping or quietly governing the nation. It was always one of the two.
Tyrkanzyaka had not changed. The ones who had changed were...
"You. It was not I who abandoned you, but you who abandoned me."
"...Sis. Not me. I did it for you."
"Kavila. Did you truly think I would not know?"
Tyrkanzyaka glanced around with her crimson eyes.
Muri and Rahu Khan. And Bakuta. They were not making any particular move against the shell of the Leviathan. The only thing happening was Bakuta, unable to bear his hunger, tearing off one of its pincers and eating it. The rest were calmly waiting for Tyrkanzyaka's decision, as if observing.
It didn't take long to realize this situation had been staged. The vampires had been at peace for too long to be skilled at court intrigue. Being vampires, they weren't nervous or flustered... but that didn't guarantee their acting skills.
"Was it not you who woke them and instigated this? If not, why would those who were slumbering have come to find me?"
"N-no, Sis. They were awakened by Luscynia's retainers, who seek to slander you..."
"As you say, if they were hostile to me, they would have awakened Rahan first. It would make sense to wake Rahan and then act under his command. They would not have awakened Rahu, who merely observes, or Muri, who is devoted to me."
Easily seen through, Kavila was dismayed. The emotion didn't show on her face, but even without an expression, it subtly revealed itself in the silence and the pauses between her words.
Her suspicion was correct. Tyrkanzyaka continued to press Kavila.
"Did you seek to deceive me and stop my heart, Kavila? Was it not I who revived you when you were killed for possessing ominous mana? I cherished you so... You are the most ungrateful of all..."
An undeniable emotion seeped out. Not the cold fury of a vampire, but the humiliation of a betrayed monarch. Watching Tyrkanzyaka's expressions shift through a spectrum of colors, Kavila felt a bitter pang as she realized the Progenitor truly had changed.
"...You are the one who is wrong, Sis."
Kavila left Tyrkanzyaka's side and slowly rose to her feet.
"You are the only one who can command us. But you found even that to be a bother. You left the nation to slumber in a distant land, only to return decades later to observe the changes. All that was left for us to do was prepare works to please you."
"Everything you did was for me?"
"Loyalty to you. That is the only emotion we have left. But you went beyond not caring for us and even abandoned us. You've taken away our only joy."
Therefore, she was simply taking back what was rightfully hers.
As Kavila spoke, Tyrkanzyaka felt an emotion surging in her chest. Indignation and resentment, feelings she had never experienced as a vampire, flowed fiercely through her veins. Her vision narrowed and her words grew harsh. The heart that she had so desperately wanted to beat freely was now truly running wild. Even in this state, Tyrkanzyaka felt alive, and she honestly poured out her emotions.
"So you at least had joy. I had nothing."
Tyrkanzyaka stood to face Kavila and said.
"Sitting on this throne and watching was no different from closing my eyes. You, as well as the other Ain and Yeiling, were merely puppets playing according to my will. It was better when I wasn't here; you governed the nation and focused on your duties. That is why I leave the castle and seek long slumber in other lands. Watching the changed world is the only thing that is slightly less boring."
Having poured out the inner thoughts she had never confessed to anyone, she cried out to all the Elders.
"You say your only joy is gone? I have lived like that for over a thousand years. You, who owe your lives to me, cannot even endure it for three days!"
Kavila understood Tyrkanzyaka. Vampires are without blood or tears, and so they can understand things with a clarity unclouded by emotion.
Likewise, they can also act without being swayed by any emotion. Kavila delivered her ultimatum.
"Sis. Is it truly impossible?"
"I would sooner leave this nation behind than remain with a stilled heart. That is my will!"
"That cannot be."
Splash.
A shallow pool of blood rose at their feet. It was a power so subtle it was hard to notice, yet so immense it was comparable to a natural phenomenon.
A pool of blood comparable to a lake, and the dominion over it. Bloodcraft powerful in its sheer volume. Besides Tyrkanzyaka, there was only one master of this power.
Countess Erzsebet walked forward slowly, holding the hem of her skirt lest it get wet with blood. Chalbak, the sound of splashing blood echoed through the grand castle.
"To abandon the power to stand above all and live as a mere human. Oh, Progenitor. What a blessed... and arrogant being you are."
"Erzsebet. Do you also intend to stop your heart?"
"Of course not. Opportunity, you see, passes by all too quickly, so one must seize it with all their might when it comes into their grasp. Kavila's offer was the last chance to return everything to how it was. But since the Progenitor does not wish for it."
Then, thorns shot up from the blood flowing on the floor. Tyrkanzyaka felt the sensation of something sharp digging into her body.
The thorns pierced Tyrkanzyaka's flesh. The girl's fragile skin could not block the thorns of the blood-red rose. However, the Bloodcraft within Tyrkanzyaka was another matter entirely, and it dueled with Erzsebet's for dominion over the blood that had invaded her body.
Naturally, it was Tyrkanzyaka who won the tug-of-war. But it was a pyrrhic victory. Having already distinguished between the inside and outside of her body, she could not take the mixed blood controlled by Erzsebet into her own power.
"Erzsebet...!"
"Progenitor. Your power is not yours alone. That blood is the power to rule and command all. If one who would cast off their shackles and abandon the nation still holds that power... then there is no need to cultivate oneself, lead the coven, or guide the nation."
Unfolding a blood-red fan, Erzsebet put on a smile that had now become a habit and said.
"Progenitor. If you intend to distance yourself from this nation and its power... then at least leave your blood behind."
Countess Erzsebet. The incarnation of lust for power and ostentation. Perhaps turning her into a vampire had been for the good of the world, as she had directed all of her immense vanity and need for recognition toward the Progenitor.
But that desire still remained within Erzsebet. Her actions—appointing herself as the Progenitor's head handmaiden and influencing domestic affairs—still carried the desires of her mortal life.
Desire does not disappear. The heart that wants something remains, no matter what form it takes.
The vampires filling the hall moved. Not to the Progenitor, but to their own respective lords.
Kavila looked away, as if in pity. As if she couldn't bring herself to directly oppose the Progenitor, she climbed onto the Leviathan's shell and sat down to watch. Her offer had clearly been a kindness.
Because the others were prepared to attack the Progenitor if necessary.
"So that is your will..."
One Progenitor. Her opponents were all the vampires in this hall. At least Kavila and Lunken were taking a more observational stance, for now.
"Grrr. Now that I hear it, it all makes sense!"
Thud. Lunken shot up from his seat. Splattering blood loudly with each step, he walked down, faced the Progenitor, and stood between Erzsebet and the other Elders.
Erzsebet spoke as if she had expected it.
"So you've finally made up your mind. You said you hated difficult talks and told us to handle it. I'm glad you've decided to use your intelligence, even if it's late."
"Shut it, female."
"Fe...male?"
Having silenced Erzsebet with his excessive rudeness, Lunken bared his fangs and grinned.
"Thinking? Snort. That's for the weak. Prattling on with your short teeth solves nothing. In the end, the only thing that changes anything is! Power!"
Lunken stomped his foot hard, lowered his stance, and glared at Tyrkanzyaka. The fangs protruding from his mouth twitched toward the Progenitor, as if he had been waiting for this fight.
"No matter how grandly you all talk, in the end, it's the logic of power! Yes, to decide the head of the pack! It's only right to decide with strength! I will be the first to challenge you!"
Lunken roared at the Progenitor.
"Let's—fight! Progenitor, the time has come to accept the challenge you've long postponed!"
Thud. Kicking off the ground, Lunken charged toward the Progenitor.