Chapter 195: Hansel and Gretel (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 195: Hansel and Gretel (1)
Now that her mind was made up, what Elize had to do remained unchanged. Salvation would not come unless the shackles binding her soul were removed.
However, as a slave, Elize could not directly harm her master, Karami.
Eliminating him by force, as Marcenus had suggested, was one option, but Elize wasn't fond of the idea.
She had disliked him from the start—the way he sneered before her, pretending to be the only clean one, all while knowing full well she was a defiled member of the clergy.
I’ll make you just like me.
I will corrupt you.
So irreversibly.
So you can never wash it away.
“Master, I want revenge.”
“Revenge, you say?”
“Yes. I want revenge on those who tormented me.”
“An excellent idea. Those who tormented my slave must have their pain returned to them. Do you have a method in mind?”
“My opponent doesn't know my plan yet. I will uproot everything related to the experiment and tear down what they so desperately wanted to protect.”
Karami met Elize’s gaze.
A fierce will blazed in her crimson eyes.
“Very well. I will await good news.”
After Elize left, Karami swirled the wine in his glass.
The purple liquid, reminiscent of blood, sloshed, threatening to spill over. The look on his face as he watched the glass was one of considerable pleasure.
Antonius watched him intently. Having overheard the conversation from a corner of the room, he had a rough grasp of the situation.
“Why did you not stop that child?”
“Stop what?”
“Why did you not prevent her from walking down the wrong path? Do you not know she is a child who has already suffered a wound that cannot be cleansed? Revenge will only inflict a deeper wound upon her.”
“Because that is the path she desires.”
“Do you truly believe that?”
“Of course.”
The moment he heard Elize’s thoughts, Karami had realized the source of her current story.
Hansel and Gretel.
*
Hansel and Gretel.
When I first experienced it during my playthrough, I thought it was utter nonsense. I couldn't fathom what part of Elize’s story was reminiscent of Hansel and Gretel.
But when I examined it piece by piece, it made sense.
Hansel and Gretel are kicked out of their home and abandoned in the forest by their parents, who want to reduce the number of mouths to feed. Lost, they discover a witch’s house made of candy. That’s the basic plot.
Here, Hansel and Gretel are Elize. The home is Elize’s humanity, and the stepmother is the researcher who took her away.
The witch’s house is the Holy Kingdom.
A house of candy, beautiful to look at, delicious, something out of a fantasy—but in reality, it is the home of a wicked witch. This was exactly how Elize felt about the Holy Kingdom.
She had thought it would be filled with dreams and hope, only to find it was utterly rotten.
And finally.
The good deeds Elize performed even after becoming a vampire, like saving the children who were to become test subjects and helping a passing old man.
Those were the breadcrumbs she dropped so as not to lose her way.
The traces Elize unconsciously left behind in her attempt to return to being human. Her innate human kindness.
In that it was hypocrisy born from the impure motive of revenge or simply to mess with people, it corresponded perfectly with the fragile breadcrumbs that would vanish if pecked by a bird.
No wonder she’s been so obsessed with good and evil lately.
She was anxious.
Afraid that if her hypocrisy wasn't true goodness, she would lose the path back.
Afraid that she would never be able to return to her original self.
Here’s what needed to be done.
Destroy the witch’s house and eliminate the witch.
And send Elize back to where she originally belonged before the breadcrumbs disappeared.
All for Elize.
*
The sky retracted its blazing flames and draped a cool, ink-black veil. The evening glow struggled hotly before finally sinking below the horizon.
Even the last remaining streaks of light seeped between the buildings and vanished without a trace.
Night had fallen.
The moment the boisterous noise of midday felt like a distant past, a scream erupted from afar.
“Aaaaaah!”
“Run! It’s a vampire!”
As if the scream were a signal, a multitude of noises tangled in the darkness.
The sounds of hastily locked doors, wailing screams, and the metallic rasp of drawn blades mixed together, spreading like a plague.
“No… I’m not a vampire!”
In the middle of a street, a nun reached out toward the fleeing citizens.
She was Sister Ray, one of the nuns who had once tormented Elize. Her ears had grown long like a vampire’s, and her canines had sharpened into points.
While she couldn't be called good-natured, she was a sincere believer who devoted her loyalty to God. She was the very opposite of a vampire.
Until she was bitten on the hand while chasing away a stray dog that had been loitering around the convent.
“A vampire has been spotted in this vicinity! Find it at all costs! Search everywhere!”
A sudden shout was accompanied by the clanking of metal. It was the Holy Knights.
Though Ray believed herself to be a woman of the cloth without a doubt, a gut feeling told her that if they caught her, she would die without even a chance to explain herself.
Ray scrambled into a back alley, clamping a hand over her mouth and holding her breath. Soon after, the Holy Knights passed the alleyway.
Only after the clashing of metal faded did she manage to let out a breath.
“What is this? What the hell is happening?!”
Her frantic cry echoed in the alley.
In a single moment, she had fallen from a respected nun to the depths of hell.
She couldn't even feel her divine power.
It meant God had turned his back on her.
If I explain the situation to the Mother Superior, she might help…
…Would she?
Wouldn’t she be more likely to try and purify me?
With even God having abandoned her, would the Mother Superior really help?
Absolutely not.
If she died like this, she wouldn’t even make it to heaven.
For a holy person, that was a despair worse than death.
“What are you doing in a back alley at this hour, Sister Ray?”
The voice made Ray jump in fright. A figure emerged from the darkness, her footsteps clicking on the pavement. A pair of blood-red eyes glinted eerily.
“Wh-who’s there?!”
“It’s me.”
The approaching figure was Sister Elize.
Ray’s shoulders, which had been hunched in fear, relaxed.
“Wh-what? It was you? I thought it was a Holy Knight.”
“The Holy Knights are patrolling nearby. Shall I call them for you?”
“N-no?! It’s fine! They’re busy people, why call them? No need to call them!”
“If you say so, Sister Ray.”
Ray let out a sigh of relief.
“You should hurry back to the convent. It’s dangerous here with the vampire on the loose.”
“R-right. I should. I need to, but…”
Ray bit her lip.
Of all people, it had to be Elize. They were practically mortal enemies. One wrong move and her identity could be exposed, and she could be exterminated.
“Sister Ray?”
“You go back first.”
“What about you, Sister Ray?”
“There might still be people who haven't evacuated. It would be terrible if they ran into the vampire. I’ll help them and then go.”
“Ah. You have a point. It would be terrible to run into a vampire.”
Elize smiled as if moved by Ray’s devotion.
Then her expression vanished.
“By the way, Sister Ray. Do you smell blood?”
“…Huh?”
“I smell the horrid stench of blood.”
Elize sniffed the air as she walked closer.
Then, she suddenly accelerated and snatched Ray’s wrist.
Pak!
“Ugh?”
“Sister Ray. Don’t tell me… you’re a traitor?”
“N-no. There must be some misunderstanding. It’s not me. I’m not a vampire!”
“God will reveal your true identity. Stay put. I’ll go get the Holy Knights.”
As Elize brushed past her, Ray frantically grabbed Elize’s hand and clung to it.
“W-wait. Don’t go. I’m begging you, please don’t go. Please?”
“Hmm…”
“Sister Elize, I was too hard on you, wasn’t I? I’ll apologize for everything.”
“Hard on me? Everything you did was for my own good.”
“R-right. It was all for you, Sister Elize. You knew how I felt all along, didn’t you?”
When Elize gave a faint smile, Ray followed suit with a hollow laugh. Then, Elize’s smile faded as she looked down at the groveling nun.
“Would you mind letting go? It’s unpleasant.”
“Huh? Oh! Sorry, did I grab you too hard?”
Ray released her hand.
Elize brushed her own hand off as if it had been touched by filth.
Ray couldn't say a word, merely cowering with a forced, obsequious smile.
“What will you do now, Sister Ray? In your state, you’ll be discovered immediately if you return to the convent. I’m on your side, of course, but I can’t say how the others will react.”
“…I don’t know either. I think I have to get out of Kassilon first… Why is this tragedy happening only to me!”
“Don’t be like that. As it happens, I have a good idea.”
“Really?”
A glimmer of hope lit up Ray’s eyes at the good news.
Elize snatched a rat that was scurrying through the alley.
In that instant, a sense of foreboding struck Ray.
Clank. Clank.
The sound of clashing armor came from beyond the alley.
“Sister Elize? What are you doing…”
Splat!
Elize squeezed her hand.
The rat was crushed in her grip.
Blood burst in all directions.
Guts and blood dripped between Elize’s fingers.
Ray’s eyes were wide, unable to look away.
The corners of Elize’s mouth curved up softly.
“Here. Bite.”
She tossed the rat toward the mouth of the alley.
Ray looked at Elize with eyes full of despair, but only for a moment. Against her will, Ray’s head turned to follow the rat.
Knowing she shouldn't leave the alley, Ray threw herself forward on impulse. She fell upon the rat on the ground and ravenously shoved it into her mouth as if possessed.
“There’s a vampire here!”
The Holy Knights, who happened to be nearby, spotted Ray. They hurled a spear at her.
Thwack!
The spear struck her in the side, and she collapsed.
The Holy Knights surrounded her and drove their swords into her again and again.
Stab, stab, stab, stab.
They continued until Ray’s body, which had been twitching like a frog, stopped moving completely.
The Holy Knights soon departed to search for other vampires. Elize emerged from the alley and approached Ray’s side.
“Oh dear. Why did you suddenly run out like that? Were you that hungry, Sister…? No, I can’t even call you Sister anymore, can I?”
The sight of her, dead with a rat stuffed in her mouth, was by no means that of a clergywoman. She was just a foolish vampire who had chosen suicide, unable to control her urges.
After a dispassionate glance, Elize turned her head and cast her gaze over the city.
A city plunged into pandemonium.
The screams had yet to cease.
How long, she wondered, could God continue to stand by and watch?
This was just the beginning.