Chapter 471: Even in a Vampire's Belly, Keep Your Wits and You'll Live
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 471: Even in a Vampire's Belly, Keep Your Wits and You'll Live
A Yeiling she may be, but a vampire is still a vampire. Her strength was my equal, if not greater. She couldn’t be killed, and she possessed Bloodcraft. They said she wasn't as powerful as other vampires, but she was still a handful.
“You’ve got quite a big stomach.”
“If you don't want to be digested, surrender quietly. Once my hunger takes over… there might not be a single drop of blood left of you.”
She meant it. The languidly moving Chief Viltear hadn't fully unleashed her power of Gluttony. Using her power to its full extent would only make her that much more starved, that much more desperate for blood.
However…
This was manageable.
I took my hand off the wall and spoke.
“Mother. I think I'm all grown up now, so I'd like to be born. Won't you show your grown son the outside world?”
“So you have the luxury to joke. Well then, shall I take some of that luxury away?”
At Chief Viltear's gesture, all the furniture in the house began to approach me. A wooden chair creaked as it strode forward. A table, a drawer, and a wooden ladle followed.
Right. Wood.
“Did you know? Wood doesn't die. It merely stops.”
I gripped a card in my hand. The Nine of Spades, the Tree of Genesis. The ill-fated wood—felled by an axe, dried in the sun to become planks, and nailed into furniture—answered my call and began its revenge. Roots grew and branches shot out. The sharply rising branches immediately pierced Chief Viltear's body.
Against a member of Erzsebet's Coven, who specialized in dominion, this would have been impossible, but my opponent was a Yeiling of the Bloodleech Coven. Her Bloodcraft was insufficient to control the wood that had broken free of her command.
“Druidism? You embrace two faiths?”
“No. This is the revenge of the wood you killed! Savor the agony!”
Chief Viltear broke the branches with her arms and legs, but the number of branches sprouting from the roots embedded in the hut was endless. Her vision narrowed as a torrent of branches and leaves descended upon her.
Right. It's not that vampires don't get hurt. Their wounds just heal quickly. She's definitely easier to deal with than a human who uses Qi Art.
The non-wooden objects still came at me, but she couldn't control them properly, so they lacked their earlier ferocity. I bound the rolling cauldron and poker tightly with wire and took the opportunity to approach the door, intending to escape.
It was then.
“…Wood is tasteless, so I'd rather not eat it, but.”
Crunch. Crunch. I heard the sound of wood being chewed. Looking over at the chief, I saw her grabbing leaves and branches crudely with both hands and stuffing them into her mouth. Branches and stems were mercilessly crushed and filled her body.
Amazingly… the speed at which she devoured the wood was faster than the speed at which the Tree of Genesis could grow it.
“That's all dietary fiber, you know. It won't digest well. You're going to have a rough time in the bathroom.”
“Munch, munch. Gulp. Don't worry. Didn't I tell you? This place… is my stomach.”
As she said that… hard bark began to sprout from Chief Viltear's body.
Druidism is particularly weak against Bloodcraft. Perhaps because of the difference between plants and animals, Bloodcraft's dominion seems to have a slight edge. It seemed that type disadvantage held true even against a Yeiling.
“Tch!”
I jabbed the lock with my skewer. Just as I was about to feel it catch, sprouting red bark blocked the gap in the door. It was the bark she had digested with Gluttony, dissolved into the flowing blood, and then reconstructed.
Crunch. Having already devoured the chair and table, Chief Viltear waddled toward me, her belly swollen. Seeing her belly, swollen like a pregnant woman's, I muttered.
“A younger sibling already… It's too cramped for two, so I think I'll be taking my leave first.”
“Still running that mouth of yours. Well, I'm too full to have room to eat you… so I'll just hang you on a hook.”
Her claim about this being her stomach wasn't just a metaphor. The blood flowing through this hut was her bloodstream. Chief Viltear could digest what she ate and dissolve it into that blood. That's how she could still move after devouring a chair and a table.
It was a level of Bloodcraft hard to believe was on par with Finlay's. Well, I had to consider she was on her home ground, and I probably would have lost if I'd fought Finlay seriously back then anyway.
However, I was different now than I was then. If we fought now.
“I'll win.”
Muttering of victory, I drew the Eight of Diamonds. All Things Long and Thin. I grabbed both sides of the card, which was alchemized with steel wire, and pulled. The single card transformed into hundreds of strands of wire that coiled around my hands.
“Still intend to fight? Your persistence rivals that of a vampire.”
I quietly observed Chief Viltear as her belly deflated in real time. At a glance, it looked like it vanished in an instant, but she was actually making contact with the blood energy flowing at her feet to discharge the digested furniture. As long as she could interact with this hut, escaping would be difficult.
Then I just had to stop her.
“Did you know? The stomach is technically outside the body.”
With the wire wrapped around my hands, I secretly took out the Lightning Spool—a spool of thread combining steel wire and lightning. When I combined the two, lightning imbued every strand of wire.
“It's a place where nutrients to be brought into the body and impurities to be expelled are temporarily stored for sorting. It looks like it's inside the body, but the outside and inside are distinct.”
“Are you explaining Gluttony to me?”
“Just in case you didn't know.”
“How kind of you.”
She'd eaten all the wood. All that was left was metal. And vampires are generally good at controlling metal.
The chief gripped a knife and charged. I spread the wires to block her, but as if she'd been waiting, Chief Viltear slashed the knife vertically. Snip. The wires couldn't withstand the blood-infused strike and were severed.
Even if it's coated in Qi, it's still just a thin thread. You can't stop me with this. Show me more tricks. If you have none, this is the end.
Chief Viltear pushed herself through the large gap where the wires had been cut, exposing her face and back completely in a way that protected the knife more than herself.
It was a vampire's method of attack, using her body as a shield. If she got the chance, she would tear into me with her teeth. Faced with her beast-like charge, I readjusted my grip on the severed wires.
In truth, the wires hadn't been cut. What was severed was the Lightning Spool; the wires were merely slack, waiting for her. Mistaking the flash of lightning for Qi, Chief Viltear had charged right into the middle of the wires I'd laid out. The moment I felt resistance, I kicked the cauldron. As it rolled, it tightened the wires.
“A net?”
Something like that. The card was woven into a net from the start.
“Hmph. This much is…!”
As if one cauldron wasn't enough, Chief Viltear charged recklessly, dragging the net with her. I held on tight to the wires, but even as they dug into her flesh, the vampire paid them no mind and overpowered me with sheer strength. A truly vampiric charge.
“Set, Re!”
This was what I wanted. The moment the wires dug into her body.
“Bolt!”
The electric shock from Bolt flowed through the Lightning Spool. For a brief moment, lightning coursed through her entire body. For the first time since becoming a vampire, Chief Viltear experienced the phenomenon of paralysis.
What is this? My body… it stopped against my will?!
I shocked her senses themselves. It was different from a normal electric shock. This power had a good matchup against vampires.
Chief Viltear was an experienced vampire in her own right. She used Bloodcraft to flush the blood from her body and bring it back under her control. It didn't take long for her to recover. However, it was enough time to wrap her in the net and hang her from the rafters. Dangling helplessly, unable to touch her hut, Chief Viltear finally admitted defeat.
“That just now, what power was that…? An alchemist from the Village of Clouds? No, it felt different from that…”
“There are always new things appearing in the world.”
Dusting off my hands, I tapped on the door. The flow of blood had definitely weakened considerably. The chief wouldn't be able to stop me from leaving now.
Ugh. I've used up all my wire now. It's a waste, but trying to retrieve it would be suicide. I slowly picked the lock and stepped outside….
“Ah. Before I go.”
Before leaving, I paused at the murmuring I heard from outside and gestured to the chief with my chin.
“Could you perhaps tell the villagers outside to disperse?”
“…And why should I do that?”
“Because if you don't, a village will be wiped off the map today.”
Of course, it was a bluff. I had no way of harming dozens of villagers brandishing spears made from farming tools. What was that? A spear with a scythe tied to it? The center of gravity was all over the place; a wrong swing and they'd cut their own feet. Their movements would be so unpredictable I couldn't even read them, and I'd get cut trying to dodge.
I could probably win now that my body was stronger… but I'm not a vampire. I didn't want to risk getting stabbed by those rusty old spears.
Regardless of my true feelings, to Chief Viltear, I was a greater threat than she was. And a master does not send their livestock to war.
No rights, no obligations. The two are always tied together.
The chief calmly accepted her defeat and shouted.
“…Everyone in the village, listen. Retreat at once and return to your homes.”
“What? Chief, what do you mean…”
“Now! Are you all going to disobey my orders now?!”
As the chief yelled, the villagers surrounding the hut looked at each other and began to lower their spears, one by one. They had no obligation. All they had to do was move like sheep, as the vampire commanded.
The presence of people gradually faded. I waited for them all to disappear and spoke calmly.
“May I ask one thing?”
“Go ahead.”
“I want to escape the Duchy. Where can I find a broker who can get me out?”
This was a mountain village on the outskirts of the Duchy. And the chief was a vampire who had lived for nearly five hundred years. She must have heard something. I asked the chief, and she answered with a reluctant tone.
“Why should I tell you?”
“If you don't answer, this hut will burn to the ground. You'll be exposed to the blazing sun.”
Of course, this was also a lie. I didn't have the power to burn down a hut saturated with blood. Even the vampire knew this. The power I'd shown so far wasn't enough to incinerate the hut in an instant.
Nevertheless, Chief Viltear answered.
“Cross the valley and keep climbing the mountain to the west, and you'll find land where trees cannot grow. From the border where the last tree grows, follow the boundary line for a while, and you'll see a peak shrouded in clouds. There's a rumor that people cross through there. Go and see for yourself.”
The vampire answered.
With a lie, of course.
The peak shrouded in clouds is guarded by an Ain. Wooden Dog Collie of the Bloodweaver Coven. If you approach recklessly, she will drive you away immediately.
And thanks to that, I got some good information. It's much easier to search like this than to look for things one by one.
“Thank you. Now that I have some good information, I'll be on my way peacefully.”
Waving goodbye, I opened the door and took a step toward the bright world outside.
Whew, a victory against a Yeiling. I'm suddenly so proud of my own growth. With a light heart, I walked through the deserted village. I could feel the presence of humans watching me from inside the barns, but it didn't matter. They were livestock, with neither rights nor obligations.
…No, except for one.
“It was you… What did you do to the chief…?”
It was the girl I had run into before she started digging the burrow. Maybe because she'd seen me once before, or maybe just because she was young. She blocked my path, oblivious to the danger, clutching a spear she didn't even know how to wield.
Of course, it was a meaningless resistance. There was no way a girl weaker than an ordinary human could beat me. The girl who should have listened to the adults more than anyone, but didn't, should not have stood in my way.
“Heh heh. Do you really think you can stop me, when even the chief couldn't?”
“Answer me!”
The girl threateningly thrust her spear forward, but I just shrugged nonchalantly and replied.
“What you should be doing right now isn't stopping me. It's saving your chief.”
“…Sa-save the chief?”
“Hurry. You're the only one who can save the chief right now. Well…”
I swept my hair back as if finding her pathetic, then my expression turned cold in an instant as I glared at the girl.
“If you insist on fighting me, the life your chief risked her own to save will also be in danger.”
The frightened girl gasped. The tip of her spear, gripped by fear, trembled uncontrollably. I stepped aside to let her pass easily and gestured with my hand.
“I won't stop you if you're going to save her. But… if you plan on getting in my way, then this conversation is over.”
The girl's decision was swift. She hesitantly passed me and then broke into a run toward the chief's hut. Watching the girl scurry away, I breathed an inward sigh of relief.
Whew. That was a close one. One wrong move and I could've been stabbed.
Jeez. I read her thoughts, and it was a real spectacle. In her mind, she was aiming the spear coolly, but to my eyes, the tip was wobbling back and forth like a drunken butterfly. The spear's trajectory was unpredictable even with mind-reading—no, it was more unpredictable because of it, making it more threatening than a vampire's attack.
Anyway, thanks to persuading her with words, I managed to save face. Still pretending to be at ease, I headed in the direction the chief had indicated, filled with the hope of escape.
…By the way. Seeing as she hasn't shown up despite all this commotion, Hilde must have really bolted. Where the hell did she go on her own? Leaving me behind!
*
“Haaah~. I wonder if Father knows… just how much resolve 'I' had to muster.”
Hilde thought of the ‘father’ she had left behind and let out a deep sigh.
“Sigh. Of all people, the one audience member I didn't want to lose is in this state. 'I' have no choice but to make a sacrifice~. I only left a letter because I didn't want to do anything embarrassing.”
It was a necessary choice in order to escape. Hilde sighed.
She wasn't worried. He was the King of Humans. He would be able to overcome any hardship. There was no basis for it, but Hilde unconsciously believed this to be true.
However, if the two of them were together… Hilde would become useless.
Her powers were transformation and acting. She was everywhere and nowhere. She had become a member of the pursuit team chasing her to break through their encirclement, lived as a woman in a mountain village, and even assassinated the bandits who attacked the village to pose as their leader.
But if he was by her side, Hilde couldn't transform. It was tantamount to sealing one of her most powerful abilities.
So Hilde left him. For a more certain escape.
Hilde, who had been covering her face and laughing for a moment, eventually lowered her hands slowly. Where a moment ago there should have been the face of a mischievous girl, there was now the slick face of a man. Hilde, transformed into Hughes, lightly pressed her throat with her fingers and adjusted her voice.
“Still~. I've gathered enough data~. His face, voice, manner of speaking, and… even his body. With this, I could probably even fool Tyrkanzyaka for a little while~.”
Changing her face, adjusting her voice, correcting her gait—she was unmistakably ‘him’. Wearing the mask, before her very mindset became ‘his’, she briefly mulled over a memory that could be called a keepsake.
“An audience… In the end, am I fated to never escape acting~?”
It was true. Hilde was a born actor. She had lived by acting—for the ‘fathers’ in the brothel, for the nobles in the theater troupe, and for her pursuers while on the run. It was something she did to survive, and thanks to it, she had survived.
To think that her essence was to act as something other than herself. A contradiction… but the correct answer. Because acting was already inseparable from Hilde's life.
“Tch. As if he has any audience besides himself.”
The Sky God wanted her to be a Crusader. The Saintess wanted her to be an Camarilla. But he wanted her to be an actor who encompassed all her past roles. Even though he could have used her for his own purposes.
The King of Humans was that kind of being. A truly absolute existence, closer to a phenomenon than the Sky God or the Saintess.
“I was looking for support in all the wrong places from the start. I should have just looked for the King of Humans. What was I doing, just helping others all this time?”
After one last grumble, Hilde closed her eyes and summoned her role. The man she had watched until now, an ordinary man, yet an aggregate of humanity who commands all that is ordinary.
'I' am Hughes. The King of Humans.
The King of Humans named Hughes.
The Blank-Faced One.
The fiend who had once thrown the Empire and its vassal states into chaos had appeared in the Duchy.