The Ancient Vampire Lirasia (4)
Clitia had finally finished it.
Ruel from another world walked over with a light step, the same sword he had swung for so long still looking as if it had taken no effort at all.
“Not tired?”
“I could do it all day.”
“Impressive.”
Clitia’s eyes widened as she watched the awakened hero’s body, the power that had settled into him growing more and more astonishing the longer she looked.
“A whole day, you said? I bet you could swing that blade for a week straight and still be fine.”
“From now on, only with your bare hands.”
“You’re worried about me?”
“Not you. It’s because of her.”
Clitia pointed at Eluke, who had been looking anxious the entire time.
“You’ve been worried since earlier.”
“Ah…”
“I told you before—please take care of Clitia, not me.”
Ruel’s usual lively reply was missing. He looked embarrassed instead.
“Anyway, thanks for the work.”
Clitia encouraged him when he seemed down, but Ruel took off his helmet and approached her.
His face was completely without a trace of a smile.
“I’ll be on your side until the end.”
“What?”
“Every Clitia has the right to be happy.”
Clitia tried to ask what he meant, but Ruel quickly put his helmet back on as if he wanted to avoid the conversation.
“Let’s go.”
Clitia swallowed her questions. The atmosphere made it clear he wasn’t going to explain.
“Then you take care of that vampire.”
“Got it.”
Ruel lifted the frozen Lirasia and slung her over his shoulder.
“Hey, are you going to keep carrying me like this? Untie me already.”
“I still don’t believe it.”
“You’re too much. I can’t even drink blood properly and I’m suffering.”
Lirasia’s skin looked pale and glistening, while her eyes and hair were still perfect.
She really did look weak.
But a pure vampire was not someone to be trusted lightly.
Clitia decided it was best to prepare thoroughly, just in case she might strike from behind at any moment.
“If you think I’m trustworthy, I’ll give you blood and let you go free.”
“Hurry up. Patience is not a virtue for the young.”
Clitia ignored her. She was getting tired of pretending to be young.
“Clitia, lead the way again.”
“I know without being told.”
Clitia stepped forward and entered the narrow corridor.
Behind her, the party lined up one by one.
Not long after, they reached the area filled with countless coffins.
Just like the first time they had seen it, corpses and pools of blood were scattered everywhere.
The foul stench still lingered.
Clitia frowned at the horrific sight.
“Oh… You really killed them all.”
Clitia felt uneasy, but Lirasia remained completely calm.
“Kvalt did something really troublesome.”
She could not take her eyes off the frozen comrades.
“Should I clean it up?”
“I’ll have the kids do it later. No need to worry.”
Since Ruel said so, Clitia decided to leave it as it was.
Corpses would not rot inside a dwarf cemetery anyway.
“Then why choose a place like this?”
“Do you remember the coffin where I killed Kvalt? That one belongs to my friend. He was the master craftsman of the Dwarf Kingdom.”
The Dwarf Kingdom had been destroyed during the Demon King’s first continental invasion.
It had been nearly a hundred years.
“That would make him at least two hundred years old, right?”
“Dwarf master craftsmen are usually the oldest ones. They easily surpass the hundreds.”
Clitia compared him to her teacher and wondered who was older.
With that pointless curiosity, they left the death scene and headed outside.
After walking through another long empty corridor, they emerged from the pyramid and were greeted by a sunset sky.
“Clitia, are we waiting for the hero party?”
“That’s right.”
Clitia answered absentmindedly, then suddenly remembered something and shook her head.
“You go back to the pink village first with your husband.”
“Just the two of us?”
Eluke’s reaction was calm, but it was clear she was reluctant.
“Why not move together?”
Ruel from another world also did not seem to want to be alone with her.
“There’s no need to go separately.”
“Ruel over there has no sense. Maybe he wants you two to make up.”
Logan joined in.
They had not said it out loud, but their hearts were clearly in sync.
“Understood.”
Eluke finally accepted it and woke the black stone horse that had been lying down.
“Come here.”
“……”
Ruel from another world approached slowly at Eluke’s call.
“Ah, put the vampire down there. I have something to say.”
“So that’s the plan. You’re heading this way?”
“If you’ve figured it out, go quickly.”
Her stiff relationship did not want to, but they both climbed onto the black stone horse.
“See you later.”
“I’ll go first.”
Soon the black stone horse galloped away and disappeared beyond the plain.
“Shall we start?”
“Of course.”
Clitia and Logan approached Lirasia at the same time, as if they had agreed on it.
“Why?”
“Have you met the previous hero party?”
Clitia and Logan had perfectly recreated fake Erin and Ibar.
It was only possible because they had the memories of the real people.
“The previous hero party was just the two of them? Even just the heroes I know easily number in the dozens.”
“The most recent ones.”
“I don’t know. I’ve been living in a place with no external news for the past ten years.”
Lirasia did not seem connected to the corpse soldiers.
Kvalt had the real memories.
So it was very likely that Kvalt had kept the corpses of Erin and Ibar.
“…Now that I think about it, the one who revived Ruel as a death knight was also Kvalt, right?”
“I’m not sure, but it might be.”
“Hope is disappearing.”
They could both become undead.
The worst situation imaginable.
“The Demon King…”
Clitia’s teeth chattered.
He had been acting so high and mighty, but he was pulling off such underhanded moves behind her back.
“What should we do?”
“If you’ve already become undead, there’s no way.”
“Even if you’re just a corpse, it’s hopeless. She’s probably in the Demon King’s castle.”
They stayed silent for a while.
They were trying to escape the gloomy reality for a moment.
“Hey, has the Demon King changed recently?”
Lirasia asked quietly.
“As far as I know, it’s never happened.”
“Then you’re not related to the undead.”
“How do you know?”
“We’re the same age.”
Clitia could not help but flinch.
The Demon King had lived for thousands of years.
“Ah, I’m twenty. Actually, I don’t know much about…”
“Enough. Tell me everything you know about the Demon King.”
Clitia cut off her meaningless chatter and pressed her.
It was not the time to play around with a young vampire.
“I won’t do it on the spot. I’m not your guinea pig.”
Clitia immediately rolled up her sleeve and offered her arm.
“Drink.”
“Oh, thank you.”
Lirasia bit down and drank.
The sensation of blood flowing made her skin tingle.
“Uwa! It’s holy power mixed in. Tastes bad.”
Lirasia’s skin quickly smoothed out as she coughed.
Her appearance had become quite twenty-year-old-like.
“How is it?”
“Don’t talk. Tell me quickly.”
“You’re strict. I get it.”
Clitia listened carefully to the information from the living history textbook.
“What should I say first?”
Lirasia’s expression relaxed as she hummed a tune.
“Ah, do you know? The Demon King is the first great warrior.”
Clitia and Logan exchanged confused looks.
It was a story they had never heard before.
“That doesn’t make sense. The hero party was born to defeat the Demon King. How could…”
“The hero party came first originally. It was created to exterminate the Demon World.”
Lirasia kept talking without caring about their confusion.
“If my memory is correct, I fought a demon and was cursed. It was a curse to turn me into a demon like myself.”
Was it the same kind of curse Eluke had?
Clitia could not believe it yet, but if the Demon King really was a great warrior, everything fit perfectly.
Especially the way he respected honor.
Ibar and Ruel had the same personality.
“So you really didn’t know? First time hearing?”
“No.”
“It’s not something worth spreading anyway.”
“Do you know anything else?”
“Hmm, it’s a unique constitution where aura grows stronger the more battles you fight. And I also like fighting.”
“That explains the overwhelming power.”
Clitia finally understood why she had crushed so many hero parties.
“Then I was happy to become the Demon King.”
“Why happy?”
“If I stay quiet, the hero party keeps coming to fight me.”
“……”
Clitia fell into thought.
What would it feel like to live for thousands of years, growing stronger by enjoying the battles she loved?
At first, every day would have been happy.
She would have welcomed the curse as a blessing and enjoyed it to the fullest.
But even the best food gets boring after eating it every day.
At some point she would have gotten tired of it, but she could not stop fighting.
Because the hero party kept being born and attacking.
She was trapped until she fell.
There was only one way out.
“I finally understand.”
She finally figured out what had happened that day.
“What?”
“The Demon King deliberately kept me alive. Because…”
Just as she was about to reveal the truth.
All her strength drained away and a terrible pain struck her head.
“Clitia!”
The world spun and the ground rushed toward her.
Logan’s voice calling her name faded.
Soon her consciousness faded.
***
Clitia stood there blankly, looking around.
The space was completely enveloped in pitch-black darkness.
She could not see anything, and even shouting got no answer.
The Sun-bask also remained silent.
It felt as if she had been completely abandoned.
Where was she?
She walked aimlessly, but no matter how far she went, she only saw darkness.
Finally she gave up and sat down for a moment.
While buried in the shadows, she thought it would be nice if she could fall asleep in oblivion like this.
Honestly, she was tired too.
She had been enduring with faith until now, but her limit was close.
Who had said that hope is a gift given to those who do not give up?
The shade was far too cold while waiting for the sunlight.
Once she had given up on everything.
At that moment of resolve, a brilliant light suddenly appeared right in front of her and approached.
Too bright, she covered her eyes with her arm and slowly lowered it.
The light was right in front of her.
As if it were embracing her.
“Is it the Goddess?”
Clitia opened her mouth with hope.
No answer came, so she asked again, but it remained silent.
“My sun.”
But she was certain.
There was no way she would feel this warm unless it was the Goddess.
“Why did you abandon me…?”
No tears came.
She could not even stand because her legs would not obey.
“Please at least tell me the reason…?”
“……”
A small murmuring sound was heard.
And then she woke up from her sleep.
“Unni!”
As soon as her eyes opened, Selen hugged her tightly.
“Selen?”
“Yes, it’s me!”
“Where am I?”
Clitia buried her face in Selen’s chest and sobbed, so she looked around and saw it was a small room entirely painted pink.
“The volunteer brigade village?”
“I’m sorry! I’ll listen better from now on!”
Why?
Clitia first pulled her away and calmed her down.
“What if the hero keeps whining? Stop it.”
She scolded her strictly, and Selen sniffled and wiped her tears.
“What happened?”
“After you suddenly collapsed, you lay there for about ten days. I thought something must have gone wrong…”
Clitia patted her back while thinking about the dream she had just had.
Why had she asked for forgiveness?