A Daughter's Claim
I had considered having a child before. Among all my lovers, she was the one who had stayed by my side the longest. The one I believed might remain there forever. My wife. Like me, she was a superhuman soldier, and once my enemy. She had wanted to have a child with me.
On one hand, I wasn’t sure if a child could survive in a world like this, or if she could properly care for one. I felt the same. So I couldn’t give her a clear answer. Since I was just a little older, I should have comforted her like an adult and told her it would be fine. But I didn’t. Even though we both knew each other’s true feelings, we couldn’t quite reach one another.
She was murdered. By the time I found her, only a cold corpse and a final message remained. After that, I never tried to start a new family. The friends I lived with in the bunker were family in a sense, but not true family.
And yet here I was. A vampire claiming to be my daughter, a girl carrying my blood. A daughter who craved my affection so clearly it was almost painful. Meeting her as a fully grown adult made things undeniably awkward. Still, as her father, I couldn’t very well refuse when she called me “Father.” If I hadn’t known what was truly in her heart, her sharp tongue might have irritated me. But fortunately, I could tell that wasn’t the case. So I could simply take it as a daughter’s playful teasing.
“Master.”
“Yeah.”
“This unit has received the fairy tongue, the requested item from the Blood Clan.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes. This unit believes the demonic charm possessed by Master played a role.”
It wasn’t exactly that. Or… maybe it was? If she had thought ‘Is this guy seriously my dad?’ the moment we met, she probably would have tried to kill me. I should thank my parents.
“What about the mace? I lost it.”
“That has also been transferred. The weapon belonging to the vampire who opposed Master has likewise been handed over to the Blood Clan.”
That was unexpected. I wouldn’t have thought they held much affection for their own kind. It also gave me a sense of just how strong Maribella’s influence was. She really had worked hard as the clan head. Even though I had only met my daughter less than a day ago, I felt incredibly proud of her. It was as if I had reaped the highest quality harvest without even starting to farm. Like I’d gotten the best possible result right from the beginning.
“Farming kids on easy mode.”
“Pardon?”
“Nothing.”
I didn’t really know what being a vampire felt like, but I was certain I needed to learn. A father who didn’t even understand his daughter’s race would be a failure.
“Vertea.”
“Yes, Master.”
“What kind of race are vampires?”
“Vampire is a derogatory term. This unit recommends correcting it to Blood Clan whenever listening ears are present.”
“…Didn’t you just call them vampires?”
It was absurd, but the vampire knight monitoring us from inside the room showed no particular reaction. Though his face beneath the helm was clearly frowning. Well, I suppose it was like asking someone in front of a Black man, “Hey buddy, what kind of race are niggers?”
“They are a race blessed by the God of Death. The first vampire was known as the Progenitor, an avatar of death itself.”
“Past tense, huh.”
“He is dead.”
“Ah.”
Even an avatar of death could die. Then again, I was supposedly an avatar of darkness, but I didn’t feel particularly stronger in dark places. I hadn’t really felt the blessing yet either.
“So? What’s different from humans?”
“They consume blood.”
“Obviously.”
“They are far stronger than humans and have no limit to their lifespan. Historically, many of the liches that existed were vampires.”
I glanced at the vampire knight. He was pretending to be indifferent, but his face was twisted in displeasure.
“Anything else? Is there nothing I should know?”
“They possess powerful physical abilities and regeneration. Their aptitude for mysticism is astonishingly poor.”
“We don’t need such petty tricks anyway, dwarf.”
When I turned to the knight with wide eyes, he stood with his hands behind his back as if he had said nothing.
“Dwarf is a derogatory term commonly used for both dwarves and halflings.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Furthermore, vampires tend to be arrogant. Thanks to their superior physical abilities and lifespans that exceed even those of elves on average, they regard other races as inferior species.”
I see. I recalled the last words Maribella had spoken to me.
‘…That’s enough. Go on. Go rest that inferior body of yours.’
It had come out so naturally that I hadn’t even had time to argue. So it was species-based discrimination rooted in culture. I had never raised her to be like that. Not that I had raised her at all.
Wait. Then…
“Doesn’t having my blood mixed in count as shameful?”
“Since Master is the avatar of darkness, this unit believes you are an exception.”
Vertea clasped her hands together and closed her eyes as if in prayer.
“Master is a great being who will one day dye the world in darkness and change it forever.”
I was a bit dazed by the sudden worship, but if that was the reason, it made sense.
“Tell me more. There’s a lot I don’t know.”
“Understood.”
I kept pestering Vertea and learned various pieces of information. For example, to vampires, blood was not merely food but a means of sustaining life. Their blood-drinking was not a preference but a necessity—closer to oxygen than water. If they didn’t drink it, they would die. They also had to eat regular food. Not as much as their overflowing vitality and physical abilities might suggest, but at least their bodies didn’t completely defy the laws of physics.
After carefully listening to everything that followed, I reached a conclusion.
“So basically, the Guro District is a gathering place for evil races?”
“Affirmative.”
The race that preferred to be called the Blood Clan was actually one of the better ones. In the Guro and Geumcheon districts, there lived races that could only be described as evil. For example, dark elves. They were a hybrid species born when the dwarves—who once ruled the entire world and even renamed it Karnevarin—treated elves as slaves and breeding stock. They were vicious and cruel by nature, with black hair and black eyes unlike regular elves. And they practiced cannibalism.
Then there were the Chungin. They lived on the western side of the great Karnevarin mountain range where the labyrinth was located. They had cannibalistic tendencies and treated humans as livestock. Perhaps because of their extremely powerful physical abilities, they were also arrogant. And that wasn’t all. There were orcs cursed by death who could only be killed by decapitation, demons whose very name sounded evil, beastkin who practiced cannibalism as custom, succubi, and more. The place where all these beings gathered to live was the Guro and Geumcheon districts—commonly known as the Autonomous District.
“The Blood Clan are practically decent by comparison.”
“Affirmative. That is why knights of the Blood Clan can often be found working as mercenaries inside the labyrinth.”
“They must fight among themselves too.”
“In such cases, the Blood Clan’s council mediates the conflict and nullifies both parties’ contracts.”
“You know an awful lot, dwarf.”
“This unit has studied extensively in order to assist Master in all areas with broad knowledge.”
As she spoke, Vertea placed a hand over her chest and bowed her head deeply. Her expression remained blank, but she looked pleased. It probably wasn’t meant as praise, but still. It was good to be optimistic.
“Then what about my situation?”
“That is—”
“That is precisely what the trial is for.”
The knight, apparently bored of just listening, finally spoke up. I pulled out a chair for him. After a moment of hesitation, he sat down.
“Fighting between members of the Blood Clan is a grave crime. Execution is the norm.”
“Didn’t you say they don’t die?”
“They die if all their blood is drained or if they suffer wounds that lead to death. Just as you killed Corven.”
His voice carried a faint hostility mixed with bitterness. In response to that hostility, Vertea narrowed her eyes. I placed a hand on her face to stop her. The halfling’s flailing fists didn’t even hurt.
“So what is the purpose of this trial?”
“To determine whether or not you are a member of the Blood Clan. Since the clan head’s birth owed a great deal to your… seed.”
“If I’m considered a member, then the fight between clan members will be treated as Corven attacking first.”
“Corven’s actions were outside the scope of the contract. When the client dies, the first action should be negotiation, not revenge. Unless the request itself was for revenge. Therefore, this must be counted as Corven’s fault.”
Come to think of it, it hadn’t really been revenge. When I recalled what he had shouted at me, he was a junkie who had tried to slaughter those blood clots over some drug he didn’t even know existed.
“Corven has always had a strong competitive streak.”
I could understand that. I had been the same when I was young. I wanted to test the power I had gained. I wanted revenge against the enemy nation that had been my foe. I realized early on that it was meaningless, but deep down I still wanted to test my strength. That was what power did. It easily shook people. I wanted to prove I was stronger. I wanted to see how far my power could reach. It was a natural desire. In a world where strength was a profession, it was only natural. Even if it wasn’t your job, that was simply how things were.
“I actually liked how straightforward he was.”
“Then why didn’t you spare him?”
“If I had held back, I would have been the one who died.”
At those words, the Blood Clan knight let out a hollow sigh beneath his helm as if to say, Is that so?
“Besides, I had my own reasons.”
“Protecting your comrades?”
“Not so much comrades as… they’re kids. I’m not rotten enough to stand by and watch while someone tries to harm children over drugs.”
I hadn’t met the other races of the Guro District yet, but the Blood Clan seemed relatively easy to communicate with. They were arrogant and looked down on others as inferior species, but still.
“It’s human, but I can understand it.”
At least he seemed to understand my motives.
It was the second day since I had set foot in the land of the Blood Clan. I was still recovering and resting. Even though we were different species living in different places, I learned that where people lived, things were more or less the same.
“Why would you go this far?”
The woman’s question echoed through the emptiness. It was an infinitely stretching void with no floor, no ceiling, and no walls. Two figures stood there. A giant wearing armor that must have been at least three meters tall, and a woman with braided scarlet hair hanging down her back, her hood pulled low. Her question was not directed at the giant standing right beside her. She spoke toward the lofty emptiness.
“The deal is tempting, but isn’t this side’s position far too favorable? It’s so sweet that I can’t trust it. Please reveal just a little of your true intentions.”
At her gentle whisper, meaning rather than language reached her. Trials. Adversity. The image of a human standing tall amid countless humans stabbing and being stabbed to death. Murals. Engraved scriptures. Symbols of countless deaths and suffering contained within them. Only the woman who received the meaning directly could understand.
“You could die, you know. Weren’t you supposed to be on the side of darkness?”
Another answer came. A shimmering illusion. Within the distorted shapes, the clear image of a world bloomed. After even the vision of the world collapsing was shown, the woman bled from her nose due to knowledge too great for her. She wiped it away before it could touch her robe. Instead, she wore a refreshing smile.
“Very well. You must have your own intentions. After all, are you not the Father of the great Empire?”
She laughed softly, but no answer came. It might have been disappointing, but a god could not respond to such cheap provocation. The woman—Florens, servant of light—placed a hand over her chest and spoke.
“I accept your deal, God of Magic.”
With those words, the space split apart. Beyond the darkness lurking like a tunnel, lay the labyrinth.