“…What was discovered?”
Castle of Elder Ardor.
Following the revelation, Ardor turned his head towards a noise that should never be heard.
Before him stood another Elder, Quio, who was just as confused.
“Quio. Can you be sure of what you’re saying?”
“I, I’m just as baffled. How could ‘that’ have manifested…? It should have been absolutely impossible.”
Ardor and Quio had been conducting research based on the Book of Revelation handed to them by Piarro.
Through that, they succeeded in obtaining a special spell that was unimaginable, but even they found it impossible to interpret.
‘A sentence left by the author for future reference.’
Just looking at the spell, which could not even be read, shattered their minds and made them bleed.
That’s why they left it untouched…
“Someone actually used it?”
“Just now, someone used ‘that magic’ at Marquis Juruinas’s castle. The sheer amount of power it emitted wrecked all detection spells, but we managed to salvage some traces.”
“Juruinas…? I’ve heard that name somewhere.”
For Elders, marquis or duke titles were not particularly important.
Nonetheless, Juruinas was a name that most bloodsuckers would recognize.
‘He was somewhat famous for his rank.’
Quio nodded.
“Right. He’s one of Riven’s subordinates.”
Elder Riven Diaames.
He was the second in position among The Seven Seats of Blood and was the Elder who put the most effort into raising Blodia, who was in first place.
Not only was he powerful, but he also cunningly weakened and divided other Elders’ forces to solidify his position as a contender.
‘With that kind of ability, he’s just backing up Blodia.’
Considering that Blodia had only been in a lowly position in the past, it was an astonishing situation.
“Are you telling me that a guy who’s only eating Riven’s crumbs used that power? Do you really think that makes sense?”
“I know, right? That bastard couldn’t possibly cast such a spell.”
It’s highly likely that Riven, who was controlling Juruinas, was behind all of this.
With the magic being unleashed from Juruinas’s castle, it’s probably that Riven wielded the magic through Juruinas’s body.
“I don’t know how he used the magic, but there’s no way he came out unscathed.”
“Yeah, probably he made his subordinate take the risks for him. That’s a no-brainer for him.”
Riven was known for using his subordinate vampires for self-destructing terror attacks during the struggle for the Throne of Blood.
Sure, that’s the right way to think…
“Why would he suddenly want to kill Juruinas…?”
That marquis was Riven’s left arm.
Not quite the right arm, but he was one of Riven’s cherished subordinates who handled the cleanup and matters outside of Riven’s true nature.
He was not treated as merely a ‘piece’ that could be discarded even after the struggle for the Throne of Blood.
“Why would he suddenly want to kill him? What does he stand to gain?”
“Why kill that guy? What’s to gain from it?”
“That’s the question, Ardor. What on earth does he want to do…”
“Are there no other traces? What’s the reason for using magic?”
“Most of it got wiped out because of the strong waves. It’s hard to even approach now, and all that’s left is the fact that someone used magic and died.”
“…..”
A sudden use of great power. And the death of Juruinas, Riven’s lackey.
“…Maybe it was supposed to be lost.”
“?”
“I need to expedite the plan.”
Whoosh!!!
Bloody wings spread behind Ardor.
Red wings surpassing the Elder level shone ominously in a bloody glow.
“I’m going to the Throne of Blood now. Before it gets any later.”
■
After Juruinas died, Lasty and I gathered the vampires of the castle to investigate.
He couldn’t come back to life at the moment, so we were trying to get information from others…
“Ugh…”
“Hihihik! Hihihihihik!”
“I don’t know. I really don’t know… Seriously, I don’t know…”
“Hehehe, hehuhuh… Hehehe…”
[Oh wow]
[Why is everyone insane?]
[Hahahahahaha]
[OMG]
[Juru what’s-his-name really dead?]
[The blood splatter is creepy]
[LOL]
[If there’s no blurring effect, it would’ve been brutally violent LOL]
[Are the kids out of their minds?]
“This is nuts.”
“Weak.”
Everyone has lost their minds.
When we invaded here, all Lasty did was mess with their blood flow, so there were only a few moments of pain before they collapsed.
The real problem was the massive ‘wave’ left by Juruinas’s death.
The power of the Black Lily spread like the Echo of Death, causing all vampires within the area to go completely insane.
If it were the original me or Lasty, we could have healed them with overwhelming strength, but now that our powers are sealed, we couldn’t take any effective measures.
“It’s tough to handle since the rank itself is high.”
“…This might take some time.”
“Can’t you do anything, Lasty?”
“Yeah. Sis’s magic is a bit too complicated. Since the rank is high, controlling the blood isn’t working well either.”
[OMG]
[Wow]
[You can’t fix that?]
[What if we just smack them once to wake them up?]
[Let’s just hit them!]
[Why are you two perfectly fine?]
[?]
“…It’s definitely a rank issue.”
The wave released by Juruinas has the property of messing up the minds of those with low ranks.
No matter how much Lasty and I have weakened, our ranks haven’t dropped.
‘Both of us have solid minds anyway.’
We’ve been through a lot, so we’re practically immune to mental attacks.
“Should I try fixing one? I think fixing just one won’t take too long.”
“How long?”
“Hmm, about three days…”
[What?]
[Three days is too long]
[Can’t we just find someone else?]
Three days is indeed a stretch.
Though the Red Rain has weakened now, it’s still raining in some areas, so it’s best to wrap things up as quickly as possible.
It has weakened a bit, but it’s still raining in some areas, so it would be best to finish this quickly.
I just got a good idea.
“Not bad at all, right?”
Hooong.
“Sis?”
Kyaaaang!!!
[?]
[? Hahaha]
[Why are you hitting her head? Haha]
[Head!]
[Isn’t a good slap effective to snap her back to reality?]
[Is she dead or what?]
“Ugh.”
“You don’t look hurt.”
Even after being smashed with a hammer, her head just caved in while her condition remained the same.
The vampire, who had been momentarily startled, began to boil with rage and healed her wounds.
Before long, her body was completely fine.
Lasty’s eyebrows furrowed.
“Her regenerative ability has increased. Her physical condition has improved as well. It doesn’t seem to be all side effects.”
“Should we hit harder?”
Clang!
The blood hammer trembled.
No matter how weak I am, I should at least be able to crush a self-made, Count-level vampire.
In that moment, the vampire seemed to be shocked, but it was probably an illusion due to her regeneration.
“If we hit her harder, won’t she die?”
“Even if she dies, we can just resurrect her. At this level, we can’t even damage her soul anyway.”
[? Hahaha]
[Lily, I’m going to smash you.]
[Killing and resurrecting? Haha]
[Is that even allowed?]
[Lily is violent…]
[Ah, it’s fine as long as we can resurrect her.]
“Then let’s…”
“Wait a second, sis.”
As I lifted the hammer, Lasty’s pale hand stopped me.
“?”
“Someone is coming.”
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
A very faint sound of footsteps echoed from afar.
With a hurried yet hesitant sound, I recognized the person.
‘The bloodsucker who guided us here.’
Squeak…
“Are you… alive?”
“Kuo.”
“How are you still in one piece?”
The vampire Kuo, who held the title of Baron, had long surrendered to Lasty and turned into a puddle of blood.
I had revived her with blood magic while she was dazed and left her outside.
‘And that outside was within the influence of the ‘wave’.’
“Are you… alive?”
“Why are you fine? The wave should have covered the area.”
“I… I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“Yes… I suddenly lost consciousness with immense pain, and when I came to, I heard loud sounds coming from the castle. I thought it was my chance to escape…”
“And then?”
Gulp.
“…suddenly, tremendous power radiated from the castle and engulfed me. I fainted again, but for some reason, when I woke up, my body was just fine. My mind was clearer than before.”
“So you came back here?”
“Yes, yes… All the other bloodsuckers are just lying around, and with blood boiling, I felt like I needed to return…”
“It seems like your resurrection had an effect.”
Lasty dropped the bloodsucker she had been holding.
Lasty dropped her hand with a thud.
“Resurrection?”
“It was the first time resurrecting with Blood Magic. Since the power was lacking, some True Blood might have been used.”
“Umm…”
Since it was definitely her first time trying it, it wasn’t strange if a bit of True Blood mixed in during the process.
[Kuo really hit the jackpot]
[True Blood must be super sweet, haha]
[Let’s kill and take it, let’s go]
[Are we looking at a comeback?]
[Let’s take it back]
“But what’s going on…”
“Juruinas is dead.”
“Oh, that person is… huh?”
Wait, what?!
“W-W-Wait, that person is dead?!!!”
“There was some external interference. Do you happen to know who that person’s superior is? Anyone special they usually serve.”
“Uh… Y-Yeah, there is someone. A person so renowned that I can’t even dare to look at them…”
“Who is it?”
Kuo hesitated. He had revealed Juruinas’s name, but mentioning anyone beyond that was too much.
Perhaps some ‘external interference’ would come just like the exploded Juruinas…
“It’s okay, say it.”
Hooouuunnn…!
The Veil of Blood that flowed from Lasty’s fingertips wrapped around Kuo, me, and Lasty.
A space of blood that blocks connection with the outside world.
It was a unique space that only Lasty could manipulate.
“I let my guard down earlier. I didn’t expect you to breach ‘Blood Control.'”
“……”
“Nobody can hear us talk here except us.”
“Is it really okay?”
“Yeah.”
…
“…It’s the second Elder. Their name is Riven Di…? I don’t know the exact title otherwise.”
“Riven. Didn’t you mention Riven earlier?”
“I did…”
Oh.
[?]
[Why?]
[The Progenitor?]
“Could it be Riven Diamess?”
“Uh…? T-That name sounds familiar. I heard once that Juruinas spoke with the Elder…”
“……”
“Do you know them?”
When I asked, Lasty nodded.
“Blood Knight.”
A vampire different from the Elder, who was known as the legion commander of the ‘Blood Knights’ directly under the Progenitor.
Unlike the Elders, who control subordinate vampires and lead the Bloodsucker legion, he was a knight who solely protects the Progenitor.
And all those knights…
“Weren’t they all dead?”
They were all dead.
By my hand, not Lasty’s.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
