Chapter 201: The Vampire Family (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 201: The Vampire Family (3)
For a place where a battle had just taken place, the hall was pristine.
Elize stood with a placid expression, while the vampire maids cowered in a corner, trembling.
The fight had been overwhelmingly one-sided in Elize’s favor. Not all who shared the blood of a Progenitor were skilled in combat.
Demian excelled not in direct combat, but in mental magic. He preferred to fight by proxy, using blood as a medium to control his kin like his own limbs.
The only problem was that his opponent was Elize, who was bound by a subjugation contract.
Moreover, Elize, a vampire who could wield divine power, knew very well how to kill her own kind.
Like a stake. She drove a beam of divine light into Demian’s heart.
Demian tried to block it with his blood veil, but much like a priest's holy barrier, it had little effect on Elize.
Because their natures were one and the same.
The veil didn't even register her magic as an attack. The beam of blood-red light seeped into the veil, which graciously parted to let it through. The ray, imbued with both blood and divine power, pierced his empty heart.
“Kugh.”
A vampire dies when a stake is driven through its heart.
Divine power is a force specialized for exterminating vampires.
In other words, driving a stake made of divine power through a vampire’s heart is even more effective.
And indeed, the effect was outstanding.
Demian’s body began to turn to ash, starting from his heart.
As he died, Elize offered him a farewell smile.
“I pray you go to heaven, not hell. I imagine quite a few people will be there to welcome you.”
Her tone was mocking.
Demian answered with a smile of his own.
“How could a father leave his daughters behind? Especially you, who wanders lost, not knowing where to go.”
“What are you talking about…”
“I can see it in my eyes. A bat that has lost its way, unable to stand on either side.”
Will you side with the beasts, or with the birds?
The bat tries to strike a balance, constantly testing both sides, but in the end, it will belong to neither and meet a lonely demise.
“Don’t you worry. This father is on your side. Let me make it perfectly clear. You are not a saint, nor are you human. You are a vampire, just like us.”
“…”
“I’ll be back soon. Be well until then.”
Even as only a head remained, Demian’s voice was clear. Soon, the ash reached the top of his head and he crumbled, never losing his composure, even in his final moment.
If anything, it was Elize who was shaken. She stared down at the pile of ash on the floor before clicking her tongue in irritation and kicking it, scattering the remains.
“Tsk.”
Only after grinding the ashes under her heel did Elize look away.
The vampire maids, who had been trembling just moments before, now sat staring blankly into space, as if they had lost their minds.
They had all been under Demian’s mind control. With the caster gone, the magic had automatically dissipated.
Logically, no human would voluntarily become a vampire, nor would they call the monster who made them so ‘father.’
It was the equivalent of shackling oneself to become a slave. Surely, no such insane masochist existed in the world.
“Father! Father!”
Apparently, such a masochist did exist. The maid who had guided Elize began to cry, sweeping Demian’s ashes into a small pile. Then, she glared at Elize.
“How dare you kill our father!”
“Weren’t you also turned into a vampire by that man? I saved you from the hands of a disgusting monster. Instead of thanking me, you give me that insolent look.”
“Thank you? Saved me from a monster? Father is the one who saved me from hell. You’re the disgusting monster!”
It was a look of pure hatred.
Had Demian taken her in?
If her life before becoming a vampire had been terrible, then her feelings were somewhat understandable. It would be better than a life where she could die tomorrow.
Of course, Elize felt no need to apologize or blame herself.
“I’ve shown you enough mercy by not killing you. Do as you please. Stay here, make more vampire friends, I don’t care.”
Elize couldn’t save them.
Nor could she turn them back into humans.
If she had that kind of power, she would have used it on herself first.
What could be done?
She and they had both crossed a line from which there was no return.
All they could do was despair at their own circumstances and resent God.
That was what it meant to become a vampire.
*
Upon her return to the Holy Kingdom, Elize reported the situation to Marcenus.
Marcenus, who had anticipated that Elize would eliminate Demian from the moment she began investigating him, was not surprised.
In fact, he was pleased. He had noticed that Demian was also trying to use Elize for his own selfish gains. Thanks to this, a variable had been removed.
Elize’s standing as the Saint within the Holy Kingdom had risen considerably. All the groundwork for the greater cause had been laid. All that remained was to tighten the leash so Elize couldn't run wild.
“Saint, it is time to correct the crooked balance.”
He meant for her to remove the ring. The moment she took it off, the vampiric urges she had forcibly suppressed would come flooding back.
It was a trial she had to overcome to achieve balance and manifest her mystic power. Elize knew this in her head, but her heart wouldn't easily comply.
The thought of herself tearing at raw flesh, blood splattering everywhere like Demian, was horrifying.
“What do you think I am?” Elize asked suddenly.
“What do you mean?”
“Exactly what I said. What do you see when you look at me? Do you see a human?”
“You are not an ordinary human, but the Saint who will restore order to the world.”
“The Saint…”
“Is something wrong?”
Elize recalled her conversation at the manor.
“Demian said I was undeniably a vampire. His kin called me a half-breed who was neither one thing nor the other. But you see me as a Saint.”
“That was just a ploy to win you over. You needn’t pay it any mind.”
Is that so?
Elize wanted to ask.
Aren’t you all doing the same thing?
But she didn’t say it.
She knew it wouldn’t resolve the suffocating feeling in her chest.
It would be a waste of time.
“Just wait a little longer. I haven’t sorted out my thoughts yet.”
This ring was her last bastion.
She couldn’t make a rash decision.
She wanted another person’s opinion.
There was one more person she could talk to.
*
Where should the bat go?
Should it side with the beasts, or with the birds?
Who was she?
She still hadn’t found the answer.
“Welcome. You’ve worked hard again today.”
Karami greeted Elize with a bright smile as she entered the inn.
He was one of the few people Elize could talk to. The inn itself had become a familiar place.
Elize realized that this inn, which she had initially never wanted to visit, was her only sanctuary in the madhouse that was the Holy Kingdom.
It was all thanks to Karami.
It wasn’t that Karami had done anything specific. It was just that while everyone around her was strange, he was a special kind of oddball.
She had a grasp of everyone else’s motives, but she still couldn’t fathom what went on in Karami’s head, even though he knew her true identity.
She didn’t know Karami’s objective.
He never showed his hand.
He never revealed ‘which Elize’ he wanted from her.
The Saint?
The vampire?
That was why she felt more comfortable here than anywhere else. Because he didn’t want any particular version of her, Elize didn’t have to act.
But now, she was curious.
“Master, what do you see me as?”
She wanted to know how he perceived her.
“Elize is Elize, isn’t she?”
“I know that. I’m obviously Elize. But what kind of Elize do you see? A Saint? A vampire?”
“Aren’t you a vampire Saint? Is there really a need to choose just one?”
Karami spoke of neutrality.
He was right, of course.
But it wasn’t the answer Elize wanted to hear.
In the end, it meant she belonged nowhere.
“Why do you ask? Suddenly curious about your identity?”
“No. It’s just that my host called me his daughter, and it’s been bothering me.”
“Playing father? How absurd. Elize is mine, you know. If he wants to claim ownership, tell him to bring me thirty million gold coins.”
“With that much money, a human could probably become a god.”
“I wouldn’t do it even if you paid me.”
Elize let out a small, dry laugh.
Then, her expression turned serious as she asked.
“You said it yourself, Master. That I don’t deserve to be liberated. How can I earn that right?”
“That would be when Elize achieves what she desires. You don’t have to worry. I’ll make sure it happens.”
“What I desire.”
Karami gave her a kind, gentle smile.
His words were sweet to the ear.
He spoke with the confidence of a god.
But Elize didn’t believe him.
She was sure that behind that mask, a sinister motive was hiding.
“And you know what it is I desire?”
“It doesn’t matter. I’ll do anything.”
“Anything?”
“Yes, anything.”
It was in that moment.
Thwump!
Elize lunged.
She knocked Karami, who was sitting in his chair, to the ground.
It happened in the blink of an eye.
“Elize?”
Having pinned Karami to the floor, Elize grabbed both of his wrists, restraining him.
She straddled him, looking down. Her red eyes, shadowed by the backlight, glowed more menacingly than usual.
“You said you could do anything. Then if I ask you to become a vampire like me, will you do it?”
“If that’s what Elize wants.”
Karami answered without a hint of hesitation. Elize felt no stirrings of emotion. She was certain it was just empty, meaningless drivel.
Because of their contract, she couldn’t directly harm him.
“…?”
But in the next instant, Elize flinched.
The restraining force that would appear whenever she even thought of harming Karami was gone.
With just a little more pressure, she could shatter his wrists. If she put her mind to it, she could bite his neck and turn him into a vampire.
But Elize hesitated.
“What’s wrong? Weren’t you going to make me a vampire?”
“…What gives you this confidence?”
“Is confidence needed? Even if I become a vampire, my duties won’t change. If something so trivial can put Elize’s mind at ease, then I’m glad.”
Seeing Elize’s eyes waver, Karami smiled leisurely.
“But it doesn’t seem like that’s the case.”
“…”
“If I become a vampire, I’ll be able to spend hundreds of years with you, Elize. I never knew you wanted to be with me for that long. You have quite the romantic side, Elize.”
“…Tsk.”
Elize released his wrists and stood up.
She had tried to test Karami, but instead, she was the one who had been tested.
“This is why I don’t like talking to you.”
“It’s Master, Elize.”
Karami sat up, rotating his wrists. Bright red handprints remained where she had gripped him so tightly.
Seeing them, Elize turned her head, her gaze fleeing as if to escape.
“Has my sincerity been conveyed?”
“No. You knew I couldn’t bite you, so it doesn’t count.”
“You’re strict. Then how can I earn your trust?”
Trust.
It was an absurd thing to say, but Elize herself couldn’t think of how she could come to trust another person.
She wanted to be the one asking.
In a world full of lies and hypocrisy, what kind of mindset did one need to live while trusting others?
A girlish thought popped into Elize’s head.
“Master… would you fall into the abyss with me?”
She knew it was a cowardly, childish question.
She was surprised at herself for even asking it. It was obvious what kind of answer Karami, the master of winning people over, would give.
The answer was already decided.
The reason Elize asked anyway was because of a sliver of hope. The hope that someone would stay by her side, even when she had no one else to trust.
It was a cowardly desire to hear those words, even knowing they would be nothing but a facade.
But Karami…
“No?”
He gently stomped it out, as if to say such a desire was a luxury she, drenched in blood, could not afford.
“Why would I fall with you? I’m not an idiot.”