I Won't Let You Walk That Path
I get that you're angry. "I'll kill them all," huh? Since she's a vampire—even if only half—I suppose it's possible. But I don't want her to cross a river she can never return from. Everyone needs to be there on the path I walk. I want everyone to be happy in the ending I reach.
Truth is, I already know. A truly happy ending for everyone isn't possible. Still, giving up without even trying feels too unfair. Since I've been given this chance, I have to keep going until I can't anymore. Even if my actions end up making me regret and despair, I'll still push forward.
That's why, if you try to walk down the wrong path, I'll stop you no matter what.
"Why are you trying to walk a path of thorns? You already know the truth, don't you?"
"...Shut up."
"Do you really think you can kill someone? You're not the kind of person who can do that."
"What the hell do you know about me? Do you actually want to die?"
Luna, what I know about you is only the information I saw in the game. Yeah, just like you said, I don't truly know anything about her. You can't understand a person from a few lines of text. At the root of it, people can never fully understand each other. That's why we only try to understand one another.
"You're right. I don't know you."
"Then how dare you—!"
"So go ahead. Try to kill me. If you can."
"...You really think I can't kill you? Humans are so weak. One little push and you're dead."
Those words were the trigger. Her hair began turning pure white again. Her black pupils turned blood-red, and her fangs grew even sharper.
"Well? Kill me then."
"..."
Her tiny hands were trembling faintly. Luna doesn't want to become a monster. She wants to become human. If she kills me with those small hands, she'll never be able to go back. She'd hate the family that abandoned her. She'd loathe the fact that she's a vampire. That's why—even though she's only half-demon—she genuinely wants to become human. To make normal friends like everyone else. To eat normal meals. To sleep normally. To love normally.
She's completely cut off from the "normal" that others take for granted.
Yes. Luna just wanted to be normal.
"...I..."
"See? You can't do it."
Her elongated nails were shrinking back to normal. Her snow-white hair was turning black again. Those ruby-red eyes that had glowed like they were filled with blood returned to their original black. Her sharpened fangs and pale skin slowly regained their usual appearance.
Luna, who had withdrawn her killing intent and returned to her normal self.
You can't kill me.
Luna, because you wanted to become a person. Because you longed to be human. You won't be able to kill anyone. That's exactly why I want to save you even more.
Here at the academy, Luna is the first victim and boss caused by Requiem.
I've thought about it a lot. It seems I was still unconsciously clinging to the original story. As expected, following a predetermined path doesn't suit me. Even if the story gets twisted, the protagonist is strong. And there are trustworthy companions by the protagonist's side.
So I'll save you.
The die has already been cast. It can't be undone. All that's left is to move forward.
....
"I won't tell anyone your secret. I swear it on my soul."
"How am I supposed to believe that? We literally just met."
Well, she's not wrong. I've already built up a lot of internal familiarity with Luna, but to her, this is practically our first meeting. I need to give her certainty. I need to make her trust me. Only then can I stop her.
"I'll make a Soul Oath. Then you'll believe me, right?"
"W-what? Are you insane? A Soul Oath with someone you just met...? And how does an academy student even know about something like that?"
"Soul Oath is black magic. Most ordinary people don't even know it exists..." Luna muttered quietly to herself.
Well, it's natural for her to be surprised. This was information I obtained with great difficulty in the game. A Soul Oath is literally making a vow while staking each other's souls. I never actually saw it in the game, but the descriptions said its power was incredibly strong.
"That doesn't matter. So..."
"No, it does matter. Who the hell are you?"
Luna cut me off and spoke her mind. Hmm, I'm just an ordinary possessed person?
"I'm just a regular student. So, will you do it?"
"...Fine. Let's do it. Then follow me. I know a perfect spot."
Huh? She's agreeing this easily? Wait, I can't let my guard down. Things are going too smoothly. Is she planning to lure me to a secluded place and then finish me off?
As I was thinking that, she let out a deep sigh and added,
"Hah, I won't try any tricks. Just follow me quietly. If I wanted to kill you, I would've done it already."
Well, if she says so? Then I guess I'll follow her for now.
....
The man with white hair—different from mine, in other words, my father—looked down at me as if I were worthless trash and muttered in a self-mocking tone.
"Half-breed trash will always be trash no matter what, huh... I don't need you anymore. Get this thing out of my sight."
"F-father..."
"Who are you calling father? Hurry up and remove this trash."
Those were the words I heard from my father after a long time apart. As a half-human, half-vampire, I was nothing but worthless trash. My human mother had died giving birth to me. Among all the family members, I alone had a different hair color and different eye color. I was an existence completely separated from them.
I was neither human nor demon—just something awkward in between. I could never be loved. I could never be normal.
But even someone useless like me... had the qualities to become a vessel for something. The only reason I was able to endure the endless cruel experiments since I was young was because of my father.
I wanted to be loved by him. So I endured it. I held on for years, enduring again and again. But when I turned ten, I was abandoned. I was told I no longer had any value, that I wasn't needed, and I was cast out by the family, abandoned by my blood relatives, and discarded by my father.
It wasn't entirely unexpected. His interest in me had gradually faded as the days passed. The way he had treated me warmly and kindly must have all been because I still had some use.
At only ten years old, I was abandoned by the only person I trusted—my father—and abandoned by the world. Still, maybe because we shared blood, they didn't kill me directly. They simply threw me out beyond the castle walls.
Beyond the castle was a place teeming with monsters. At only ten years old, I ran desperately to survive. I ran and ran. One day passed, then two, then three. After walking endlessly, I reached a plain. Leaving the demon continent behind, I arrived at the continent where humans lived.
It was a day when snow was falling. The place I barely reached was a small city far from the capital. I wandered the alleys, picking up fallen food to eat, or using discarded newspapers as blankets to survive day by day.
As a half-human, half-vampire, I wasn't hurt by sunlight, and I could eat human food without blood to satisfy my hunger. My body was sturdier than most humans, and I could survive more than a week without eating anything.
But it was so miserable. So unbearably miserable that tears flowed. After enduring such long suffering, all that returned was a dagger stabbing into my heart. It was so painful and heartbreaking that I cried buckets. Then one day, I stopped being able to laugh or cry at all.
That's when I met her—while living in the alleys. The director of an orphanage I happened to encounter. That day, she saved me. She gave me a warm place to stay and gifted me with a true family.
The children at the orphanage were all younger than me, but they all liked me and treated me like real family. Even though my broken emotions never returned and I couldn't smile even when I wanted to, I was happy. If there was a paradise for runaways, I thought it must be here.
But not long after settling at the orphanage, my identity as a vampire was discovered. I thought everyone would fear me and hate me. But the director and the children were different.
"Big sis will always be my big sis!"
"Sister, you're even prettier now!"
"I like you the most in the whole world!"
They reassured me like that. They were such kind and adorable children. The director cherished me like her own daughter, and I thought we would all live happily like this. I wanted to become human and spend the rest of my life with them. Normally. Just like everyone else.
But everything fell apart. Once again, I was left alone.
When I turned fifteen, the world gave me a cruel trial. Yes, it was a day just like that one, when snow was falling. It was a snowy dawn, with flakes pouring down from the sky. I had gone out to buy presents for my sleeping younger siblings, who were all excitedly waiting for Santa on Christmas.
The street that should have been the same as always began to be stained with blood. The small city located near the demon continent suddenly suffered an attack by monsters. Rampaging creatures had burst into the city without warning. With so few guards and such weak walls, there was no way to stop them even if we wanted to.
People began falling helplessly to the monsters' inexplicable rampage. Eventually, the creatures started heading toward the orphanage.
December 25th. The holy birth festival that everyone should have been celebrating turned into a day of horror.