The Blood Count (3)
My whole body felt as heavy as if someone had taken a hammer to my skull.
It was like a bomb had gone off inside my head.
Was this what a hangover felt like? I'd never drunk enough to find out, even before the possession, so I had no idea.
"Cough…"
"…Have some water."
"Ugh…"
My throat was so parched that I took the cup someone held out and drank without thinking. Only when I handed it back did I realize the someone was Veronica.
"Captain…?"
"…You lost consciousness last night. Dorothy carried you back."
We were in the room Alexander and I had been sharing at Count Blarose's manor.
"…We've also recovered the deceased test subject."
So it seemed we had successfully prevented the birth of the Blood Count — the catastrophe that would have brought Blarose County to ruin.
"Cough… Where's Dorothy?"
"…She's on top of you, Baron."
I lifted my head and saw that the blanket covering me was swollen to an unnatural degree. So the heaviness in my body had been Dorothy all along.
"…I'm sorry."
"What?"
"…I was the one who ordered the bait operation."
Veronica spoke with a drained expression.
"Ah… no… it's my fault… If I'd just looked a little more manly… the vampire would've come for me instead…"
"What was that? You saying I didn't dress you up right?"
"Uh… that's not what I…"
Only then did I notice that Alexander and Agnes were standing around my bed as well. Seeing them all look so burdened with responsibility left me a little uncomfortable.
If I'd pulled Dorothy out of the shadows the moment the vampire attacked, I would have been fine. This had happened purely because I'd tried to claim the Curse of Vampirism without anyone noticing.
"There's no need. I accepted the risk myself. Please don't apologize over something like this."
"…"
Veronica lowered her head. Following her gaze, I saw that she was holding my hand tightly.
"Um… why the hand…?"
"…Ah. …The young lady of House Caligosa said that if someone did this, you wouldn't have nightmares."
"Th-that's right… Baron… you don't sleep well because of the nightmares, do you…? Since things turned out this way anyway, we wanted you to get some proper rest…"
They sounded just like Clara. But I couldn't exactly argue — I genuinely didn't seem to have had any nightmares last night.
"So you held my hand the entire time I was asleep?"
"…No. …The young lady held it until sunrise. …We took over while she rested."
Maria, watching over me with that mask-like smile of hers while I slept. The more I thought about it, the more unsettling it became.
"Thank you, everyone. I rested well because of you."
Maria's voice drifted in with the sound of the door opening. At once, the inquisitors of the Special Task Force rose from their seats.
"…Then we'll go finish things up with the Enforcement Division."
"You just rest up good, Baron!"
"Understood."
Part of me wanted to beg them not to leave me alone with Maria. Leaving only Dorothy wriggling under the blanket, the Special Task Force inquisitors filed out of the room.
"Karl. You're awake. How are you feeling?"
"…I'm not sure if it was a dream, but I think I saw you outside last night, my lady."
It had been right after I'd transferred the Curse of Vampirism into my body, when the sudden thirst had left me reeling. Through the haze of half-consciousness, I was fairly certain I'd seen Maria.
"That wasn't a dream. I really was there with you, Karl."
"…Then don't tell me… I drank your blood…"
"Hmm. I wish you had. But you just fainted on the spot. Were you saying you'd rather lose consciousness than drink my blood?"
"Hah…"
"Still, I'd already cut my finger, and it would've been a waste. So I pried your mouth open and fed it to you."
"…"
"Ah! Just so you know — I didn't tell anyone that you'd taken on another curse. And I stashed the catalyst in your shadow. Pretty good, right?"
"…I'm truly grateful."
Even so, Veronica might already be suspicious of me. The catalyst hadn't been found, and no curse remained in the vampire's corpse. I'd already shown her once before that I could transfer curses.
"But my lady — how did you keep Dorothy from noticing?"
I had clearly ordered Dorothy to guard the entrance. With senses as sharp as hers, there was no way she could have missed Maria.
"Oh, she noticed. I just told her I'd be absolutely necessary for you, and she let me right in."
Tricking innocent Dorothy like that. From now on, I'd have to add that she was not to let anyone through no matter what they said.
"…And how were you able to reach into my shadow?"
Even without having awakened as the Demon King, Maria seemed to be a far more accomplished dark mage than I'd expected. There was no other way she could so freely interfere with someone else's dark magic.
"Never mind that, Karl. Why weren't you using this wonderful thing?"
She ignored my question and held out a black dagger. I knew what it was immediately.
It was the Demon Spear — the item I'd received as a reward for completing a quest related to the Goddess of the Black Swamp.
"Do you know what that is, my lady?"
"I don't know what it is, but I figured out how to use it. Watch."
Black energy poured from Maria's hand and flowed into the dagger. In an instant, the blade transformed into a black spear shaped like a cross. True to the name Demon Spear, it looked to be a full two meters long including the blade.
"If you pour mana into it with the intent of using dark magic, it changes like this. And…"
Maria set a skull on the floor. The head of an Apostle of Death — one of the Undead King's thralls. It was the catalyst for the Curse of Worship bound to me.
Maria drove the Demon Spear down into it.
"My lady?"
The skull shattered on the spot. Carelessly destroying a catalyst was an extremely dangerous act. People often did it trying to break a curse, only for the curse to remain unbroken while the magic formula ran wild and inflicted permanent damage on the host's body.
I didn't seem to be suffering any immediate effects, at least.
"Hmm. I wasn't trying to smash it. This spear is just too good. You don't even need to do all that — a simple stab is enough."
Maria spun the spear through the air a few times. Her movements were so fluid I almost wondered if she'd trained in spear arts. She held the shaft out toward me.
"Here. Touch it."
To my astonishment, the catalyst for the Curse of Worship had been converted into the Demon Spear itself.
"I transferred the other three while you were asleep, too. You're welcome."
"…So you can convert any number of catalysts into this Demon Spear?"
"Yes. But not anymore. I've moved four into it, and you have one innate curse on top of that. That means you're carrying five curses right now."
"That's correct."
"When did you collect so many? You can't take any more. Your body won't hold up."
"I know."
Even in Luke's Biography, there had been a build that fought by altering curses. The specific combination of curses was completely different from mine, but the system had locked you out of using more than five regardless. It wasn't unique to that build, either. Stack five status ailments with "curse" in the name and you died instantly.
The Curse of Illusion was the most powerful of my curses. I'd packed the remaining four slots with ones that could work alongside it.
"Still… I don't really see the need to make that Demon Spear into a catalyst."
Not having to carry assorted catalysts around was convenient, sure. But since I could already store things in my shadow, the advantage didn't feel especially compelling.
"This spear. It seems to get sturdier and sharper the more magic formulas it holds. Wouldn't hurt to keep it on hand for close combat, would it?"
"Understood. Then I'll return this to you."
I drew the silver pendant from my shadow and held it out to Maria. It had only been useful as the catalyst for the Curse of Emotionlessness. I no longer needed it.
"…That actually hurts my feelings. I gave you that as a gift."
Which was exactly why I wanted to give it back.
"But isn't this your mother's keepsake?"
"Be quiet."
Maria snatched the pendant and hung it around my neck herself. How unfortunate.
"And this is a gift, too."
She handed me a bottle. I opened it to find pills that glowed a blood-red color.
"Medicine made from human blood. You took the Curse of Vampirism to replenish the life force your other curses burn through, right? It won't be as effective as drinking real blood, but this should be enough."
"That's right. …But why does something like this even exist?"
Medicine made from human blood. How had they sourced the materials, and what was it even for?
"Heh heh. There are all sorts of circumstances. The reason is a secret. Principality business."
"…"
Taking this would mean setting foot in the darkness of the Caligosa Principality myself. But I had no better alternative, so I quietly took out a pill and swallowed it.
"Master! Look out!"
Dorothy burst out from under the blanket. She grabbed hold of me and rolled sideways, sending us both tumbling off the bed. At the same instant, a thunderous boom like an explosion shook the room, and the ceiling came crashing down.
"Master. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Thank you, Dorothy. My lady! Are you unharmed?!"
"I'm all right!"
Screeech! Screeeeeeeech!
What had smashed through the debris and pulverized my bed was a gigantic monster. It was larger than Dorothy in her wolf form and Agnes in her black bear form combined. Its face was ratlike, but its body was far closer to a human's than a rodent's.
The only thing that came to mind was Anton Blarose, the one supposedly afflicted with the Curse of the Mad Rat. The curse did turn you into a rat larger than a person — but nothing this grotesquely massive.
"What in the world is going on?!"
The door burst open as Count Blarose and his knights stormed in.
"Your Excellency! Get back!"
Screeeeeeeech!
Before the knights could react, the rat-headed monster launched itself at the Count with terrifying speed. Veronica appeared in that instant and shoved the Count aside. She took the collision in his place, slamming straight into the creature.
The monster smashed through the manor wall and plummeted into the garden with Veronica clamped in its jaws.