Chapter 454: The Trial That Defies Fate - Finale
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 454: The Trial That Defies Fate - Finale
Unlike the others, Du Rahan was the only Elder who became so by being ‘hostile’ to the Progenitor. The Dark Knight. The legendary Headless Knight who went around cleaving the heads off of renowned knights.
It was true to the lore that the head of Du Rahan, the Dark Knight said to have swung his own head like a flail, was detached from his body. But even so, he never appeared with only his head. The object of fear had never been his head, but his body.
I asked Du Rahan’s head.
“Sir Du Rahan. Why have you come with only your head?”
“…You… bastard!”
His voice was like the sound of scraping the bottom of an empty bowl. It seemed the absence of everything below his neck was causing problems with his vocalization. The Elders may be strong, but in this state, he wouldn’t even be a match for me.
As her most powerful ally appeared in his most helpless state, Erzsebet’s eyes widened and she confronted Valdamir.
“Valdamir? What is the meaning of this? Where is Du Rahan’s body?”
“I left his body behind. If his head and body were together, he would surely have tried to defy the Progenitor.”
“…What?”
Her expression showed she still didn’t understand why he would sever the head of someone who intended to defy the Progenitor. She should have figured it out by now.
“Your head seems to have hardened, Madam Erzsebet. Do I really have to spell it out for you?”
I explained kindly for Erzsebet’s smooth comprehension.
“The Lord Sanguine is not on your side. Unlike you all, he has no intention of attacking Tyr. Unless, of course, you’re a traitor who dared to raise a hand against the Progenitor.”
Erzsebet realized it too late. Why Valdamir had left his seat. Why he had gone to awaken Du Rahan alone. And why, feigning ignorance, he had managed to get so close to her now.
The moment Erzsebet tried to react, Valdamir moved. Erzsebet snapped open her fan as if to shake him off. A powerful dominion resonated with the blood covering the floor, and the blood surged up like a wall, separating her from Valdamir. Simultaneously, crimson vines and tangled bricks gathered to seize Valdamir’s ankles. It was as if the entire world was trying to hold him down.
Valdamir’s response was simple. He raised his greatsword above his head and brought it down in a powerful slash. Everything in his path was bisected. The vines, the bricks, even the liquid wave of blood.
He cleaved not only physical objects but also the power of Bloodcraft itself. Erzsebet, who knew Valdamir’s strength better than anyone, countered with sheer volume. A far greater amount of blood, carrying all sorts of debris, cascaded down like a waterfall.
In terms of the strength of her Bloodcraft, Erzsebet was overwhelmingly superior. Even blood energy did not respond to Valdamir’s power. Here, the only things Valdamir could command freely were his own body and his greatsword.
But that was more than enough to deal with Erzsebet. Valdamir flicked his fingers.
Was it Qi Art, or Bloodcraft? Or perhaps a power that unified the two moved the greatsword. The blade flew as if alive, spinning on its own. It spun faster and faster, and before long, it had transformed into a tempest. After the vortex ground away all obstructions, Valdamir leaped above Erzsebet, grabbed the hilt of the moving greatsword, and swung it straight down.
An unstoppable strike cleaved the world in two. Erzsebet resisted with all her might, but her dominion over blood could not block the blow that shattered all creation. Her fan was torn in half, and the blood energy, now without a master, scattered.
Vampires have little fear of death. Is it because they are undying beings who feel no pain? That’s part of it, but it’s more likely because their will to live is faint. Just as one can’t feel a thrill gambling with fake money.
But now, having just found a wish of her own, Erzsebet had become desperate. She screamed at her kindred.
“Me! Protect me! Protect me!”
But no one answered her call. Erzsebet’s Ain had already been subdued by Valdamir’s, including Countess Erte.
Even among Ain, Valdamir’s were special. His retainers, having learned and mastered the powers of the other Elders, were exceptionally skilled at fighting other vampires, even more so than humans. Erzsebet’s Ain had been subdued by just two of them.
In a moment of life and death, Erzsebet grabbed the greatsword as it pressed deeper and cried out.
“Valdamir…! You dare betray me!”
“Betrayal? I have never once betrayed anyone.”
Valdamir muttered, thrusting the greatsword deeper.
As an Elder, Erzsebet could not be killed by physical damage alone. And even if he tried to disrupt her dominion, her own powerful control remained intact.
However, with her main body being crushed by the greatsword, she had no strength left for anything else. Barely holding back the blade, Erzsebet said.
“You… you were the one who summoned me! You said the duchy needed change…! I only acted because I agreed with you!”
No wonder the lazy Elders had moved so suddenly. The Lord Sanguine had been pulling the strings from behind the scenes.
But would an Elder really be swayed just because someone egged them on? They wouldn’t act without a rational basis. They would only move if an Elder with the power and influence of the Lord Sanguine promised his support. As expected, the Lord Sanguine was behind the rebellion.
Though she hadn’t known it was a trap.
Valdamir drove the greatsword deeper and muttered.
“There were exactly two. You and Du Rahan.”
“What… are you talking about?”
“Elders who, after being freed from their shackles, would one day surely stand against the Progenitor. Du Rahan would have done so the moment he was free, and you would have plotted in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity. You were slightly more troublesome than Du Rahan. So I simply used a troublesome method.”
It was from the very beginning. From the moment the Elders noticed their shackles were broken and their long-suppressed desires began to stir.
From that point on, Valdamir had calmly laid his plans to find the traitors.
‘Not some other foolish Elder, but me…! How could I not have noticed the betrayal!’
Erzsebet felt humiliated. It was directed at Valdamir, but also at herself. Before becoming an Elder, she had offered an entire territory to the vampires through political strife. To think she had been played by the Lord Sanguine alone.
“From the very beginning…! You intended to trap me!”
“I gave you a reason to move. I was simply standing at the end of that path.”
Valdamir put more force into his greatsword and curled his left hand into a claw. Blood coalesced around his hand, his fingers transforming into the shape of massive fangs. Recognizing the power condensed in his left hand, Erzsebet’s face went pale.
“Bloodleech! Bakuta’s power…!”
“I learned it. It’s necessary when dealing with Elders.”
An Elder can kill another Elder. After beheading and subduing them, they can use Bloodcraft to disrupt their dominion and lead them to annihilation. If Gluttony is added to the mix, the task becomes several times easier, as it makes the opponent’s blood one’s own.
His Gluttony itself might not be as powerful as Bakuta’s, but Valdamir would use it more effectively. Erzsebet shouted in desperation.
“You! Have you no thought of becoming the king of the duchy, in place of the Progenitor?”
Valdamir, who was about to devour Erzsebet with Gluttony, paused and looked down at her. Erzsebet struggled and screamed desperately.
“I’m certain of it now, Valdamir. With your power, it’s possible! Tyrkanzyaka cannot defeat you. Even more so now that she has lost the power she once had! You could truly have it all and wield it as you please!”
“Have what?”
“Everything! The vampires, the humans, the Elders! This entire nation!”
Even as she spoke with desperation, she was clear-headed. To her, the greatest enemy right now was not the Progenitor, nor me, but Valdamir. If he, whom she thought an ally, turned his back on her, she had no chance of winning.
But if she could make him her ally, everything would proceed smoothly.
“I will yield the original blood. I will make you the second Progenitor! If you kill the Progenitor and take her power, you will stand as the undisputed sovereign of this nation…! No longer will you need to take her orders!”
After a moment of brief consideration, Valdamir let out a small grunt. Taking it as a sign of affirmation, Erzsebet whispered with a faint smile.
“I may not trust Tyrkanzyaka, but I can entrust this nation and myself to you. I, too, will serve you with all my heart…”
“Unnecessary.”
Squish.
Valdamir’s hand engulfed Erzsebet’s head. His fingers, like fangs, devoured her. The flowing blood trickled into the gaps between his fingers. The remaining debris tried to reform around the core of her Bloodcraft, but Valdamir relentlessly pursued the source of that power.
He cut, slashed, and persistently tore Erzsebet apart. Finding something within Erzsebet’s body as it was being destroyed before it could reform, Valdamir reached out and seized it.
The source of her regenerative power, Tyr’s original blood.
Once Tyr’s, it had been altered by its long time with Erzsebet. The blood of Tyr, given to an Elder.
The original blood gathered blood and flesh to restore the Elder’s body. Even with its source completely exposed, Erzsebet was not yet dead.
“Hmph.”
With a little more effort, Valdamir could have annihilated Erzsebet, but he stopped just short of the final step. Erzsebet was a traitor, but her original blood was a part of Tyr. After retrieving the blood, he spoke without looking at me.
“Consort.”
“Yes?”
“Good work.”
“For what?”
“For holding Erzsebet back. Thanks to you, the Progenitor’s burden has been lightened.”
This way of speaking Valdamir has… I like it, but it’s a pain to deal with.
He wasn’t guessing my intentions. He was declaring how he would interpret them. Even now, he wasn’t so much believing that I had lured Erzsebet for Tyr’s sake, but rather acknowledging that my actions had ultimately helped Tyr.
Valdamir wouldn’t speculate about my inner thoughts; he would judge me solely on the visible results. His judgment might be flawed, but he wouldn’t be swayed by my words into making a mistake.
“It was less for Tyr and more for my own survival.”
“Wise.”
“Not really. Because of your little scheme, I was trapped in the castle and nearly died. You seemed to have anticipated the Elders’ betrayal, so why didn’t you stop it beforehand?”
Valdamir answered as if it were obvious.
“Because it’s not betrayal until it’s done.”
Out of loyalty to Tyr, Valdamir hadn’t nipped the rebellion in the bud. Even though he had instigated Erzsebet, he had simply watched until she herself started the rebellion. Because Valdamir was no mind reader.
Since I, a mind reader, am the same, it’s hard for me to criticize him.
He’s similar to me, yet completely opposite. I watch to see the realization of will, whereas he watches for the result because he cannot know the will. Should I call him considerate, or fearless?
Well, for now, we’re walking the same path, so I guess it doesn’t matter…
“…”
“What is it? Why are you suddenly staring at me like that?”
Valdamir, who was about to leave for Tyr’s sake, stared at me silently. Just as an ominous feeling sent a chill down my spine, Valdamir picked up his greatsword again and muttered.
“…It’s not betrayal until it’s done.”
“Pardon?”
“Even if the King of Humans were to forsake the Progenitor’s affection. It is not betrayal until he forsakes it.”
‘Even if he doesn’t love the Progenitor… or even feel sympathy for her. It would be presumptuous of me to deal with it on my own before the Progenitor experiences it herself. In any case, it is a good thing for the Progenitor to have new experiences.’
This guy is something else. He’s not so much loyal to Tyr as he is faithful. He doesn’t seem to have any intention of betraying her, but he doesn’t think of Tyr as a god or a king.
This feeling is…
“Mr. Valdamir. May I ask you one thing?”
“I will listen.”
The way he talks… I grumbled inwardly and asked.
“As Erzsebet said, you could have become the second Progenitor. Why didn’t you?”
“No reason to.”
“No, I mean, I get that, but.”
It was a short answer and a plain truth, but it wasn’t the answer I wanted.
Ugh. I can read a vampire’s thoughts, but reading through such vast memories to deduce emotions is too inefficient. And in those days, their emotions were so faint that it’s impossible to pick out just the memorable moments.
It’s better to make him recall the answer with a question and then read it. What would be a good question? After careful consideration, I asked one more.
“What do you expect from Tyr?”
“Expect?”
Was that a question close to the core? Uncharacteristically, Valdamir furrowed his brow and pondered.
A vampire stops at the moment they accept the blood. Their body, their mind, even their emotions. The first thing Valdamir recalled was the memory of just before his death.
He had lost his family and his domain. He vowed revenge, but he was powerless. He used all his strength, mobilized his connections, and devised strategies, but in the end, he failed and fled. Hunted by his enemies, he was dying in a nameless forest when a young girl appeared before him.
A pure white girl dressed in rags. Though she trod on rough thickets with bare feet, her body was without a single scratch. He had thought a beast, drawn by the scent of blood, would be the first to arrive, but instead it was a girl he couldn’t tell was a witch or an angel. A truly pleasant miscalculation at the end of the road.
—What a miserable state you’re in.
Valdamir had done his best and failed. Vowing revenge is one thing when you have the means, but if you’ve thrown everything you have at it and still failed, it’s an irreversible failure. Valdamir was a man who had reached his limit.
—I have heard your story. The leader of the rebels who, burning with vengeance, challenged the duke. You fought well, but it seems your strength has finally run out. How regrettable.
Was that really so?
Contrary to what was known, Valdamir had not cried out for revenge. He was a practical man. He wouldn’t let vengeance cloud his judgment, even with the enemy right before him.
At the same time, he was a more romantic man than anyone. He chose to stand and fight instead of running away, even knowing it was virtually impossible.
—A man like you, so similar to me, might be able to endure an eternity of solitude and endless hardship.
The girl muttered and bit her own finger. The blood, which would later be named original blood, welled up and then stopped in mid-air. The girl’s blood, gathered into a sphere in the air, slowly seeped into Valdamir’s body. In his dying body, a great dominion replaced his own uncontrolled blood and consumed him.
—I will give you a chance to start again. If you wish to live, accept my blood.
He had no lingering attachments he wished to fulfill by starting over. He had failed, but in a way, he had already achieved his revenge.
His soldiers were annihilated. His vassals and family became slaves or were lost to the executioner’s block. Alliances were broken, and comrades became criminals. He had lost the gamble on which he had wagered everything.
He had done his best and failed miserably. To wish for another chance now, having lost everything—wasn’t that just too ugly?
Valdamir pursued romance, even if he used practical means. To achieve something with this immense power, which could have come from anywhere, would not be his own accomplishment. He would rather be a loser than become ugly.
He didn’t know if resisting such a great power would be meaningful, but just as Valdamir, having come to terms with his end, was about to refuse, the girl muttered in a cold, lonely voice.
—And… after you have achieved your revenge, you will become my limb and help me with mine.
But, on the other hand.
The girl, who could be a witch or an angel, needed him.
She possessed a cold, deep hatred and a thirst for revenge, and held a power that seemed endless. But the young yet ancient Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka needed Valdamir. He could be her means to an end.
He had lost everything anyway. All that he was responsible for had faded into the dust of history. Wasn’t that a good condition for becoming someone’s tool? Valdamir had failed, but the girl had a chance to succeed.
Instead of resisting, Valdamir accepted the power. Having decided to live a second, ugly life, he opened his mouth and received the blood.
Valdamir’s wish was to help Tyrkanzyaka. An Elder’s duty was to serve the Progenitor.
Because every action he took as her limb aligned with his own wish… unlike the other stagnant Elders, Valdamir grew stronger. He established a system modeled after other nations, trained himself, honed his strength, and learned new skills.
So that one day, the Progenitor could achieve her desire.
“…”
Valdamir stared at me silently. For a moment, a scene flashed through his mind. Tyr, dressed in a beautiful gown, smiling brightly and extending her hand. And from the opposite side, I appeared, looking slick, and snatched her hand away.
What Valdamir had imagined was Tyr’s wedding. The groom was me, someone he found rather displeasing. Immediately after, Valdamir’s mood soured considerably. He picked up Du Rahan’s head and Erzsebet’s heart and turned away.
“I said I would listen, not that I was obligated to answer.”
With that curt remark, Valdamir moved toward the castle, as if to say he would speak no more. He was going to subdue the traitors who dared to attack the Progenitor.
Left behind, I mulled over the thoughts I had just read.
…So he was just a doting fool.