Chapter 223: For Elize (8)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 223: For Elize (8)
The scales of light floated in the air.
Elize, her head bowed, flinched and looked up at them.
Even in this blood-soaked world, they remained untarnished, scattering their white light in all directions.
She couldn’t look away.
The divine power they radiated was purer than any she had ever felt.
Purer even than the artificial scales of Judge Sigrid.
Before her were truly God’s scales.
And Karami was the one operating them.
“On this side of the scale, let’s place the hearts of the Church’s followers and the vampires who leech off you—all their concern for Elize. Should we add God, too? Not that it would make a difference.”
Light gathered.
A tiny dot swelled in an instant, growing as large as the moon.
Kwoong…!
A whiteness that illuminated the entire world of blood.
A massive sphere radiating white light was placed on the scale. The scales clattered and tipped under the overwhelming weight.
With an indifferent expression, Karami continued.
“Now, it’s my turn. On this side, I will place my heart for Elize.”
In contrast, what he placed on the other side was a black orb no bigger than his fist.
The difference in size was overwhelming.
A pathetic black orb next to a moon-like white one.
Ask a hundred, a thousand, a million people, and they would all give the same answer: the scales would tip toward the white.
Kiiiiik….
But only one person…
Only Karami said this.
“Of course, it will tip to my side, won’t it?”
The followers didn’t want Elize.
What they wanted was a being they could believe in and follow; it didn’t have to be Elize. They would follow any saint, regardless of who it was.
The same went for Demian.
What he wanted was a successful test subject.
Had the experiment succeeded with someone else, he would have approached them playing the part of a father just the same.
“But for me, it has to be Elize. It’s unthinkable that the person before me is anyone but Elize.”
But Karami was different.
She didn’t have to be a vampire.
She didn’t have to be a saint.
It didn’t matter what she did.
But she had to be Elize.
No matter how many of those hollow hearts you gathered—hearts that would be content with anyone—they were nothing but empty shells. They could never be heavier than Karami’s heart for her.
“Why… How can you go this far? It doesn’t make sense. I’m a vampire. I’m covered in blood. It doesn’t make sense for you to do all this for me.”
“What doesn’t make sense? This is perfectly natural. It is my role as your master.”
The ending is what determines whether a story is good or bad.
A bad ending tarnishes the entire journey. And the person to adorn this story’s grand finale was none other than Elize.
It was no exaggeration to say that the groundwork for her had been laid since the prologue, the very beginning of the story.
The entire path he had walked had been for this very moment.
Everything, for Elize.
“…”
Elize froze.
Her mind was a tangled mess.
She understood, yet she didn’t.
Because Elize had never met anyone like him before.
Someone who would be on her side so blindly, without asking for anything in return.
She had thought such a person could not possibly exist.
Her mouth went dry.
She wanted to say something, but she didn’t know what. Her lips trembled for a long moment before she finally managed to speak.
“What… what should I do? How can I hear the voice of God?”
“The voice of God? Why would you listen to something like that?”
“…”
“The only voice you need to hear is mine, your master’s. The only thing you need to follow is my command, not some divine oracle.”
Elize fell silent.
She asked again.
“Who… am I?”
Which side should the bat stand on?
The clergy?
The vampires?
“You are my slave, Elize.”
Neither.
Elize was a slave.
And a slave’s place was at her master’s feet.
“How can I be saved?”
“You don’t have to do anything. Like a fool, like a doll, just follow me without a single doubt.”
“But I’m covered in blood, aren’t I? It won’t wash away, no matter how hard I try.”
A follower stained with blood cannot be saved.
It was a truth Elize had held as absolute.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re stained, Elize. It is the master’s role and duty to embrace that.”
But Karami dismissed it with ease.
“Ah…”
A long sigh escaped Elize’s lips.
To be saved without having to do anything.
Was that not a miracle of God itself?
“However, the current Elize is not qualified.”
Then, Karami spoke firmly.
“Because you refused to be my slave. If you do not wish it, I will not force you.”
“I…”
Karami placed a finger on her lips.
“So, I will give you a choice.”
He undid a button and tilted his head slightly.
Pulling his collar aside, he exposed his neck.
“Drink my blood. Drink it, and embrace it.”
To drink and embrace his blood meant one thing.
“Become my slave with your own hands, Elize. Prove your sincerity.”
“…With my own hands.”
The whispered words escaped her lips.
Elize’s hands trembled.
Karami’s neck shimmered before her eyes.
A red river teeming with life. For some reason, it looked more tempting to Elize than any young girl’s.
If Elize were to have a change of heart, he would die right then and there, yet there was not a trace of doubt in Karami’s eyes.
Instead, he gently wrapped a hand around her waist. A touch that seemed to entice her, yet did not compel.
As if the choice was entirely Elize’s.
And so, Elize obediently leaned her body forward.
“Hah, haah…”
Each exhale was laced with a feverish heat.
She tried to suppress it, but a burning thirst crushed her lungs.
Her lips parted, and her fangs emerged of their own accord.
A pulse beat vividly beneath the thin skin.
Everything else in Elize’s vision blurred.
Her heart pounded.
The tip of her tongue burned.
Her lips made contact.
A searing heat spread through her entire body.
If she drank, there was no turning back.
This was different from the shackles of subjugation.
The moment his blood entered her body, they would become one, forever mixed.
She would have to live her entire life as his thrall.
A curse that would bind her.
Proof of her fall.
But the destiny that awaited her was so very sweet.
A clamor of voices screamed in her head, telling her not to do it, but they were no obstacle for Elize.
Because a new faith was already sprouting deep within her heart.
The mere thought of embracing his blood sent a wave of ecstasy through her. The path of return had ceased to exist the moment she met him.
Finally, her sharp fangs pierced his soft flesh.
“…!”
Hot liquid burst forth.
The rich scent of blood enveloped her tongue.
Like biting into the forbidden fruit.
The fruit of Eden that separated good from evil.
Pandora, who ignored the warning and opened the box.
The fire of Prometheus, which earned the wrath of the gods.
The temptation that all beings who crossed the line of the forbidden must have felt.
If a mortal had stolen and drunk the nectar of the gods, would it have felt like this?
It was hot, rich, and sweet.
Gulp, gulp. She swallowed the blood.
Even the sensation of it sliding down her throat was euphoric.
She knew she could never go back to how she was, but that very irreversibility intoxicated her further.
Her fingers tightened their grip.
She dug deeper, as if to never let go of him now that he was in her hands.
She bound herself as she accepted his blood.
Onto an irreversible path.
Toward an unchangeable destiny.
It was salvation, corruption, and ecstasy.
*
How much time had passed?
The feeding continued for a long while, as if to make up for all her past abstinence. She drank his blood without stopping even once.
“E-Elize… wait a moment…”
A feeble voice finally reached her.
Like a gumiho tasting essence for the first time, Elize, who had been lost in the taste of blood, finally had a sliver of reason return to her mind.
In her frenzy, she had completely forgotten about Karami’s condition. His face was gaunt.
He looked like he would die if she drank any more.
Startled, Elize pulled her mouth away.
“I-I’m sorry! Are you okay?”
“Maybe… not.”
The act of a beautiful woman drinking one’s blood might seem erotic, but he had almost kicked the bucket before he could feel any of that.
“If you’re finished, would you mind getting off of me? And wipe your mouth.”
“Ah…”
Elize scrambled off him.
She turned away to fix her appearance, then looked back.
Karami struggled to sit up.
The mark of her bite was on his neck.
He stretched his stiff neck.
“I thought you were a succubus, not a vampire. I thought I was going to be drained to death.”
“Drained… what are you saying…”
Elize started to correct him, but trailed off, realizing he wasn’t exactly wrong.
“Was my blood that delicious?”
Ashamed of how greedily she had drunk his blood, Elize lowered her head. She couldn’t bring herself to meet his eyes, so she just nodded.
It was embarrassing, but it had been unbelievably delicious.
So delicious that she wondered why she had been so stubborn and refused to drink it until now. Once you had a taste, you could never stop.
Now she finally understood why vampires were so obsessed with human blood.
No, perhaps it wasn’t that blood was delicious, but that his blood was delicious.
After tasting this, could she ever survive on things like milk again?
She couldn’t.
Absolutely not.
“I’m glad it was good. You seem to be doing better, too.”
The lust that had made her pupils gleam had subsided, and her fangs and nails had returned to normal.
Also, a link had been forged between them.
Elize herself was surprised by her condition.
She had never felt so at peace in her life. She had always lived in constant fear of her bloodthirst, worried she might lose control at any moment.
Now, that feeling was completely gone.
It felt as if a blocked artery had been cleared. A tangled, messy path had been straightened into a single line.
And at the end of that path stood Karami.
His arms were open, as if telling her she could fall into his embrace whenever she wanted.
This wasn’t a delusion.
It was different from imagining a god.
Karami was right here, in front of her, and his blood was flowing through her veins.
This proof—that she had become his thrall, his slave—gave her a sense of security that was on a different level from when she had believed in God.
The fact that she, too, belonged somewhere.
“Take this.”
Karami took Elize’s hand and slipped a ring onto her index finger.
“You had this?”
“Because the owner of this ring is Elize.”
“…”
While Elize’s eyes were fixed on the ring, Karami stood up.
He held out his hand.
“Let’s get out of this god-awful place. It’s tiring on the eyes.”
Elize stared at his hand.
She had once asked him.
If he could fall into the abyss with her.
Back then, Karami had refused as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
He had even looked at her as if she were strange for asking.
Elize had resented him for that.
He had said he would do anything for her, so why wouldn’t he be with her?
Now, she understood everything.
He doesn’t fall into the abyss with you.
He simply pulls the fallen back up.
Gently taking Karami’s hand, Elize pressed her lips to the back of it.
“Yes, Master.”
The blood-soaked world began to clear, as if washed clean from the heavens down.
The pools of blood that had covered the ground vanished as if they had never existed, and in their place, a field of pure white lilies colored the plains, unstained by blood.