A Daughter's Claim
I had been married once in my life. My wife was a superhuman soldier like me, from another country, but we loved each other deeply. It wasn't that the thought of having children had never crossed our minds. Of course not. A child is the fruit of love, and both of us wanted one. Yet we never did. The world was far too harsh a place for a child to live in. We simply resigned ourselves to that fact and moved on. There were other families in the bunker—people not related by blood, but family all the same. We lived together until the very last one died. That was why I had been certain. I had no children. Not originally.
“A… daughter?”
Even as that sudden possibility flooded my mind, I stared at the vampire who had claimed to be mine. I didn't look in the mirror often. Still, there were features I couldn't fail to recognize. The shape of the eyes, the facial structure, the texture of the hair. It couldn't have been intentional, and there was no reason for any connection, but the way she swept her hair to one side felt eerily familiar. Right now both sides were pushed back because of the water, but that was how I usually wore mine too. But… my daughter? Who was the mother? And why a vampire?
Even with so many things left unexplained, I kept watching the vampire. I wasn't the only one observing. The vampire claiming to be my daughter was staring right back at me. Just as my gaze had traced her face, her crimson eyes scanned over mine. When they brushed across my forehead and took in my hair, a sigh seemed to linger in them. When they studied my features, my eyes, nose, and mouth, doubt rose in them. Eventually, our eyes met after we'd both finished examining each other's faces. The expression reflected in the vampire's eyes as she looked at me was not so different from my own.
“How?”
The word slipped from my lips without any conscious intent. My body was exhausted, my micro-current completely drained, and the blood loss left my consciousness hazy, like a dream. The vampire who called herself Maribella studied my disheveled state for a moment before speaking.
“You're asking that now?”
There was clear irritation in her voice. The way she wrinkled her face in displeasure made me unconsciously close my mouth again.
“Let's get out of here first.”
She pulled the greatsword that had been embedded in the floor free. It looked far too heavy to swing with one hand, yet it moved lightly in her grip.
“I'd advise you to step back. If you're determined to pay for your sins, you can stay right there.”
At her sarcastic remark, I staggered backward. She narrowed one eye as she watched me. Did my wretched appearance offend her? I didn't know if she was truly my daughter or how that could even be possible, but maybe seeing her supposed parent in such a pathetic state displeased her. The vampire lying dead on the floor with her neck snapped had looked rather refreshing, at least.
Regardless of my thoughts, Maribella raised the greatsword high and brought it down against the ground.
It was an indescribable crash. Only then did I remember that this shutter was made of superalloy. There hadn't even been time to warn anyone. I watched the superalloy shutter split straight down the middle. It felt like I was dreaming. Even the helmet thrown by that vampire knight had only dented the shutter—it hadn't broken through. Not even the wild, relentless barrage she'd unleashed while driving me into a corner had managed to destroy it. In fact, I'd calculated for this. I'd believed that if the fairies returned, this shutter would hold. Unless they smashed through the ceiling or floor itself, it should be fine. Even I couldn't break it without the equipment I'd used back in the military.
And yet she'd done it with a sword?
I immediately understood. The vampire claiming to be my daughter was extraordinarily powerful. Considering she alone wore red armor and that even the orders had come from her, it was clear she held no ordinary rank. I stared at Maribella, who wore a sullen expression mixing wariness with some emotion I couldn't quite name.
“Are you just going to stand there?”
Her tone was strangely irritable.
“Master, you've returned.”
When I stepped out of the Seoul Folk Market in Dongdaemun District, a familiar face was waiting inside the car.
“Bell.”
“Yes. This unit is your loyal servant, Bell.”
“So you got caught.”
“From this unit's perspective, it does not appear Master came to rescue us.”
“Close enough.”
“...Isn't that a bit too casual?”
Moare let out a dry laugh, looking fed up, while Jenia slumped limply beside her. I glanced at Vertea and the others before walking toward the car.
“The labyrinth carriage…”
“I know how to ride it.”
“I see. By the grace of the House Head, we have been granted our lives—”
“That's enough.”
The knight who had been speaking didn't seem bothered that I'd cut him off. Instead, he bowed his head deeply in reverence toward the one who'd interrupted him and stepped back. I climbed into the military vehicle they called a labyrinth carriage.
“What about Jenia?”
“She lost consciousness due to overexerting her mystic output. This unit finished the cleanup afterward.”
“And then they showed up.”
“Affirmative. This unit could have burned two of them if pushed, but afterward this unit's survival probability would have become uncertain. Therefore, restraint was exercised.”
“You did well. As long as no one died, that's good enough.”
It really was. Leaving these kids to fend for themselves while I went off to handle the most troublesome task had been nerve-wracking. I'd told Vertea to prioritize protecting them and herself, but I hadn't been sure she'd manage. It was out of my hands. So if everyone had survived, that was enough.
“...Ah.”
I'd almost forgotten.
I called out to Maribella.
“Hey, Mari.”
Maribella's face crumpled instantly. She crossed her arms and stared at me as if to say, Let's hear what nonsense you're about to spout.
“If possible, could you collect some fairy tongues? About twelve should do.”
“Why should we do that?”
“It's my first request. I have to complete the quests I'm given.”
I didn't have the energy to lie or come up with a plausible excuse. I was exhausted. Somehow my intention must have gotten through, because Maribella's expression returned to blank. Was she angry? Well, she gave off a noble vibe—maybe she didn't like being given menial tasks—
“Kairan.”
“Yes, House Head.”
“Go collect fairy tongues. Twelve—no, twenty-four.”
“Understood.”
The knight bowed politely and withdrew. I looked between the knight and the vampire claiming to be my daughter. Maribella flicked her hair back in a dramatic sweep and headed toward another stopped vehicle.
“...What the hell?”
“Beats me.”
“Who exactly are you…?”
“That vampire earlier asked the same thing.”
Moare let out another incredulous laugh. Beside her, Jenia leaned unconscious against the seat while Vertea quietly gazed out the window, soot still smudged across her face. And then there was me, bleeding and injured all over. The four adventurers rode in the vampires' vehicle as it began to move.
It hadn't been long enough to call it “a while,” but after walking everywhere for so long, riding in a car felt refreshingly different. The scenery outside the window changed. The passing landscape itself felt novel. We drove past the adventurers' street where I'd been just yesterday, then through sights that were familiar yet strangely altered.
“...Where are we going?”
“This unit believes it is Guro District.”
“Guro District.”
“It is an autonomous district operated by races not welcomed in the adventurers' street or general residential areas.”
“Autonomous district.”
“Master?”
“I really don't know much, do I?”
How far civilization extended, how far the dangerous zones of the labyrinth reached. What races existed and where they lived. How it was that even if I spoke Korean, English, Russian, or Chinese, I always received answers—and somehow it all felt like I was speaking Korean myself. There were too many things I didn't know. I was too mentally drained and tired to ask.
“This unit judges that Master will learn them gradually.”
“I suppose so.”
I sank deeper into the seat and let out a sigh. For a brief moment my consciousness flickered out, then returned. I felt languid. It was as if I'd been sprinting at full power for hours because of the electricity I'd pushed to its limit. I was completely drained. My wounds had stopped bleeding but still throbbed without closing. Even though the pain suppression was functioning properly.
“Master?”
“...Why did the vampires come?”
The answer came from Moare.
“A regular extermination, probably.”
“Regular extermination?”
“Fairies multiply endlessly if left alone even a little. In the past, fairies that weren't cleaned up regularly would swarm the labyrinth city like a tidal wave, and there were always massive casualties.”
“Why?”
“One adventurer's corpse can birth about ten fairies, and people die frequently in the labyrinth.”
And if the dead kept piling up, if the fairies used the corpses as breeding grounds… the result was obvious. A tidal wave of girl-shaped monsters. That must have been what crashed against the walls. Now I understood why the walls had been built.
“It doesn't happen often, and I've never actually seen it myself. But there are records in the Magic Tower.”
“The Magic Tower was in Gwanak District, right?”
“...Just so you know in advance, the Magic Tower won't help us. I'm not that much of a promising talent.”
Moare spoke with deliberate firmness, then quietly looked out the window as if reflecting on her own words. The girl added, almost as if speaking to herself.
“In the first place, there aren't many people the Magic Tower would bother opposing the autonomous district council to save. Maybe an archmage. Though at that level, no one in the autonomous districts would dare try to detain them anyway.”
That made sense. While the car passed through Gwanak District, it encountered no inspections or stop signals. It flowed smoothly through, past Geumcheon District and on toward Guro District. The car finally stopped after traveling quite a distance, pulling into a massive parking lot on the left side of a main road. Several vehicles were already parked there—from crude ones that could hardly be called modern to sleek contemporary models and military transports. The car came to a halt, and the door opened.
It was church grounds, or perhaps a missionary complex. Land nestled in a gap between mountains. The kind of facility that might have housed military installations, clearly requisitioned during the Third World War. From there, I lifted my battered body and stepped out of the vehicle. I'd rested in the car for a short while, and my bio-generator had begun operating again. My micro-current—which had become almost like a sixth sense—was once again extending beyond my body to scan the surroundings. Still, neither my condition nor my opponents were favorable for resistance or combat. I could only hope their hostility wasn't too great as I looked at the only vampire who had removed her helmet.
Yeah. If they intended to kill me, they wouldn't have ordered her to gather fairy tongues. Holding onto that optimistic thought, I watched the self-proclaimed daughter approach.
Maribella. She was too similar to me to simply ignore, and too full of mysteries. The vampire removed her helmet and stared at me intently. I could sense her body. The movement of her muscles, the secretion of her sweat glands, the beating of her heart. Even the flow of blood through her veins. It was intense. Normally I couldn't sense this much, but now I understood the secret behind how she'd sliced through that shutter earlier. The output was different. Stronger than the vampire who'd overwhelmed me physically just moments ago. Stronger than any superhuman soldier I'd ever seen.
That was why, despite her expression, the body's reactions stood out clearly to me. The vampire claiming to be my daughter was tense. But why? Anyone could see that she held the advantage here. Our eyes met amid my exhaustion. Contempt rose in her gaze, and her crossed arms accompanied a frown that suggested discomfort, yet—
“Welcome to the land of the Blood Clan, Father.”
I noticed something strange. Behind that contempt, irritation, and visibly apparent stress response, there were no corresponding physical reactions. It was as if she were performing an elaborately crafted act.
“Please act wisely and preserve your life.”
Faced with her steady heartbeat as she looked at me, I blinked in confusion.