003
―Are you bored, kid?
…is the first question that “she” had asked me a long time ago. At that time, I didn’t even imagine what kind of predicament that I will be facing nor did I even reply to “her” weird question immediately.
It was our first meeting, a meeting that is not meant to be.
A meeting that should not happened.
A meeting that turned around my life 180 degrees yet I didn’t even agonized nor regretted it, I just accepted it without myself knowing what is going on.
―Aren’t you bored?
If you think that I’m bored….maybe, I am.
―Don’t you get bored of everything?
Frankly speaking, yes, I was getting bored. My life is so boring right now.
―Don’t you want to go somewhere else?
Yes, I want to go somewhere…..but I can’t leave my brothers here.
―Don’t you want to go with me?
I…do...but I, can’t…
―I want to go with you.
Yes. Me too… but…
―Why? Why won’t you go with me?
…..
―Why won’t you take my hand?
……..
―Why? Why? Whyy!? You said that you love me, right?
…….. ……
―I don’t understand. I really don’t understand. Why? W- W- Wh- Wha- Why?
**********
―!!!
That…
That dream again.
I can’t help but to feel melancholy when I dream about “that”. Ever since she died… No, death is not the word to describe what happened to her. She simply “disappeared” from this world without a trace. I just wanted to spend time with her but I guess that simple wish will never be granted since that was a long time ago.
Ah― I get up on my bed and look at my window.
“…It’s dark.”
Of course. I look on the pocket watch that was on my desk nearby. It’s almost 4 hours after midnight. I sigh as I went back to my bed and lay down on it. I wanted to sleep some more but my mind keeps me from doing so. I wonder why? I kept on thinking about this question but deep in my heart, I already knew the answer.
Ahhh! I can’t sleep! I can’t help but to reminisce about the past. To reminisce about “her”. To reminisce about someone who does not exist anymore.
―Buch der Weisheit.
A girl.
The girl I met three years ago.
The girl I met in the heart of the forest.
The girl who knew everything.
The girl that was not normal.
The girl that was abnormal.
Or maybe, she is the abnormality herself. But complicated things like that doesn’t concern me at that time so I didn’t pay attention to any of the details concerning about her. All I felt is just curiosity, nothing else.
That girl seemed to be the younger than me at that time. She may look exactly like a 13 year old girl but her facial expression tells me otherwise because a child of thirteen years of age can never make a face like that.
A very serious and lonely face.
Her hair is gold. She’s wearing a light blue colored one piece dress and a circular hat. Her eyes are crimson red, just like the color of blood itself. Her nails are unusually long, not very Japanese-like. Or maybe I was just imagining things. Her serious expression is nowhere to be seen; only a bright smile was left. I wonder why? Maybe she was glad to meet someone to talk to in this kind of place. Just thinking about it makes my mind full with curiosity even more. With that in my mind, she suddenly askedan unexpected question.
“Are you bored, kid?”
Kid? You look younger than me though. And bored? Of course I’m no―
I stop for a moment. I doubt that answering a question like that irresponsibly is not a good thing so I answer her question in a manner that even I, was not sure if it’s right.
“I….not sure.”
“Is that so?Hmmmnnn…”
I stare at her. She stares back at me. I thought that this will become a staring competition but it looks like I’m wrong since she averted her eyes from me within a short span of seconds. I really don’t understand this girl. She’s weird. Her mannerisms are weird. Even her attitude is weird. Looking at her, she’s just a typical and beautiful 13 year old girl lurking in the forest in the middle of the ni―
Wait a second. It’s seems that I’m missing some important logic… then, she suddenly ask me a question.
“Why are you here? Is it not weird that you are here in the middle of the night?”
“Well, I wanted to take some stroll so―Hey! That should be my line! It is weirder if a small girl like you is here at this time of night, right!?”
“No... It is not.”
Oh? Yes it is! This girl really is driving me crazy. I went here because I, myself wanted to take a stroll initially but after seeing her here, I decided that I will guide her to her house since she look like she is lost.
“You, where is your house? I’ll take you to your home. It is not safe forayoung girl to be strolling around here. Some bandits may see and kidnap you for ransom.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes. You look like you’re from a prestigious family so some people may think that you are an ‘ojou-sama’. Well, I’m just curious but are you really an ojou-sama?”
I look at her with a curious eyes but it seems that she’s taken aback from my question. I really wonder why she’s acting that way…
“Are…. Are you an idiot?”
She says with a disgusted face.
“How rude! How dare you call me an idiot! Sigh. I can’t believe I’m being made fun off. More importantly, a kid who’s lost.”
“I- I’m not lost or anything. I just wanted some fresh air. Ahhh… Forests in a small country like this are nice. It is a good thing that I come here, really. Ahhhhh...”
Small country, huh?Hmmmnn. I haven’t gone to any other countries before so I can’t tell whether you were right or wrong but I can agree with you saying that this is a nice place but…
Hey, don’t change the topic. No matter how you describe this country, the fact that you’re still lost is clear.
Looking at her really makes my heart skip a bit. I don’t know why but there’s something inside me is burning... Even though I just met her, I think I’m a bit attracted to her… No, wait! What the hell did I just think!? That’s impossible. Even if I am at that age, I should not become attracted to someone else instantly, more importantly, a kid!? Am I losing a screw or something?
Looking troubled, I turn around and crouch in place. I don’t know anymore! I can’t believe myself for thinking something like that. It may be okay if we were of the same age but she’s two years younger than me! Am I gonna turn into a criminal!?
“Nah. It’s not your fault.”
Looking at me, she said that while smiling.
“What is? What did you mean?”
“Don’t worry. What you’re feeling right now was just temporary since my control of‘Enchantment’is nota strong compared to others.”
“miryou―...what?”
Then, she started to spout some nonsense.
“Mystic Eyes of Enchantment. Oh, right, I forgot. You don’t know information like that. Mystic Eyes are eyes that can grant its wielder a power to defy reality. For example, with Mystic Eyes like this, I can easily hypnotize other people to like or hate me. Convenient, right? They say that my eyes are considered a Jewel class, if you base it on the Noble Colors System because my eyes have a variety of Mystic Eyes.I can even use Charm, Whisper, Binding, Distortion, Attraction and Illusion.”
Huh? Even words that are coming from her mouth are weird. With her statement, I can only reply a dumbfounded look.
“You don’t understand, do you? Sigh. As expected of a 15 year old brat.”
“Wait. Just, slow down…”
“Sigh. I guess a human brat like you can’t even give me a good reply. ”
… …
Human? I… Those words…. Is she serious?
“Can... I ask you a question?”
“Sure.”
“Who, are you?”
“…..I, am someone…. That isn’t meant to be encountered, by a human like you.”
“What do you mean?”
Again with the ‘human’ word.
“I am a creature different from what you, are calling a ‘human’.”
….I’m… really irritated. Just answer the damn question already. If she say load of crap even more, I―
“An existence that was born from the world itself. A monster compared to you. I’m the creature that’s what they call a Vam―”
“Just cut the crap already!! All I wanted to know is your name!”
“……”
She pouted. I, at least understand why she is upset but it doesn’t mean that she can look down on me like that. I intentionally close the distance between us, after a few steps I am directly in front of her. While looking at her eye to eye, I pat her head as gently as I could.
“―!!!”
I can’t understand complicated things like Mystic Eyes, charm, distortionand whatever she’s talking about but I don’t really care. I don’t like understanding something that is beyond my comprehension.
I thought that she will complain and scowl me for patting her head but it seems that she’s surprised at my sudden attack.
“Are...are you looking for trouble? Touching the head of a creature like me? More importantly, I’m a girl, you know?”
“So, what?”
“Hair is a girl’s important treasure. Some even says that it is the crowning glory of women.”
I just nod at her statement and start to rub her head gently.
“This is this and that is that. More importantly, please tell me your name.”
“……I understand. My name is Bush der Weisheit. I’m a True Ancestor, in simpler terms, a vampire. I guess something like that can satisfy your curiosity, right? ”
Vampire? I don’t understand at all.
“…..Maybe. And, oh, I’m Moritaka Naoto. For now, I’ll walk you home, okay?”
“Naoto, hmmmm… yes, but..”
“But what?”
“I don’t have a home.”
*********
[March 30, 1875 06:40:42]
MakiriYuuki is one of my childhood friends. He is a serious person but we get along together well. Many years ago, I disliked him for being too serious and rational but now I think that having a straight person in our friend circle is not so bad. He’s the most composed and mature compared to us three.
I think I consider him to be my most valuable friend because we share a very similar circumstance. This phenomenon called “Magic”. He is also involved in that kind of dangerous situation. Knowing magic can definitely harm yourself, as well as others.He said that his family is a practitioner of magic and he will someday become the head of the family.
“…..this way.”
“Oh, yeah.Right.”
I immediately walk toward him.
We are currently going to the shrine. This shrine is the same as ever, a worn-off torii, a stairs that’s too hard to climb, the chozuya and the toro are still the same, the worship hall and the main hall is still probably the same. I almost panic when I saw the red barrier near us getting stronger day by day but Serene said that we should wait until the vampire that she was currently hunting makes a move. I can understand that she is being cautious but that vampire may kill another person again. Just the thought that the vampire will soon attack someone I knew give me a severe chills on my shoulders.
“By the way, who’s the girl you’re walking with several days ago?”
Suddenly, a surprise attack!
“Err- well… I…”
Will I tell her? Will I not? I wanted to hide the fact that I know her since she’s a foreigner.
“Oi, I’m not interrogating you or something so don’t make that face.”
“Eh? Really?”
What a relief. I can’t introduce her to him because I don’t want him to be involved in this matter… Oh, wait.. HE is already involved. I almost forgot that he is a practitioner of Magecraft. But still, his involvement and her situation are irrelevant so there’s no need to spill the beans.
“Well then, do you mind telling who that girl is?”
“Ummm… you know, it’s that….”
“Just. Tell. Me. Already!”
With him making a really scary face, I cannot help but to hesitate while answering his questions.
“She… She’s an old friend.”
I… partly lied. It is true that she is my friend but... Our friendship is quite complicated. Serene tried to incapacitate me several times in the past because of my relationship with Buch der Weisheit. Anyway, that’s history. An experience full of pain and agony but it is still meaningful to me.
“Heh. You’re too obvious… I guess I’ll just leave it at that.”
Seriously, why are you pressing on that topic, huh? Maybe… You’re jealous….? Since I got to spend some time with a girl of my age…hehehehe. I can’t help but make a devious grin…
Or what am I, an idiot?
“….Hey, Naoto.”
“What?”
“….”
Is it just me, or the atmosphere here is getting tense?
“Do you have a wish?”
What? Why did he suddenly ask a strange question?
“I… certainly has one. Why did you ask?”
“… Nothing.”
Weird. It is unusual for him to ask questions of that caliber. Normally, he would ask something like “What will you do from now on?” or “Is this what you want?” but he asked me a question that doesn’t suit a rational and realistic person like him. In other words, he’s an extreme realist.
“Then… can you tell me what is it?”
….
I gaze at the Ema in front of us. It is true that I have so many wishes but I can’t really put it into appropriate words that he can understand. I have a complex feeling about my thoughts, on whether I’m sure about it or not. I contemplate about it, and after several minutes of thinking, I finally thought of an answer that can satisfy me.
“I―”
Before I can even proclaim my wish to him, the back of my head felt a sudden chill.
―This feeling…
“Yuuki, run!”
I bring out my hidden knife and turn around, and then I slash several times in my front.
“Lucky… Yuuki-kun, are you alright?”
I said that without looking at him. Knowing him, he probably had deflected all of “it”.
I’m quite lucky since my body reacted by itself to an incoming attack from a hostile existence. I’m sure that if I don’t have this eyes, the bones that was thrown at as will surely pierce my bod―
Wait a minute.
“B― Bones?”
I confirm it again with my own eyes.
Bones.
Small, thin and almost six inches long. I can’t imagine this thing being thrown by someone but the sight of bones on my feet is more than enough to bring me back to reality. I stare at it, and thankfully, it is not of a human’s. I don’t really need to confirm because I personally knew the structure and looks of a human bone.
“I never heard of this before. Yuuki-kun, what are your thoughts about it?
―Since we don’t know the position of the attacker, we cannot blindly attack him.”
Without lowering my guard, I slowly turn my head to him…. And in my surprise, rather than seeing him alone, what I see now is a weird person with a mask of a skull.
!!!
Where is he? And who is that suspicious –looking woman? Wait. Maybe she’s the attacker?
While I’m being confused right now, a familiar voice started ringing through my ears.
“Don’t worry, Naoto-kun. I am safe. My servant protected me.
More importantly, we should go to a place where we can fully defend ourselves. Assassin, can you please lead us the way.”
“I understand. Please follow me, master.”
Wha―? Who is that woman? Did he say “servant”? If it’s true then what a strong-looking servant that he had. I never knew that Makiris can create a servant of this level. Usually, servants are familiars that are vengeful spirits or common evil spirits from nature that the magi usually summon.
Unfortunately, his servant goes directly to the stairs. Shit― this is bad. Is that servant is expecting us to run down the stairs? You’ve got to be kidding me. If were not careful, we can die by falling on it. His servant was just making our lives at risk more.
“Yuuki!!”
Immediately shout at him.
“―don‘t do it!!!”
But it seems that he cannot hear me…
Shit! I can’t stop him. He’s too far from me now. What should I do now…?
My head is spinning right now. I can’t make proper judgment like this! What I need to do now is to save him. Then suddenly―
“―Ack!”
My right shoulder was stuck by small bones. I feel a sharp pain on it. I immediately fall into the ground on my left.
“D―Damn it! I… I’m this… weak?”
While holding my right shoulder, I try to get up but I can’t. It seems I can’t move my left leg, I don’t know why but it feels kinda numb.
In the past, I was also injured like this… No, I was injured to the point that I’m close to death. Luckily, Buch was there to help me.
While struggling to get up, I feel an ominous presence in front of me.
“Of course, you’re just an ordinary human. No ordinary human can beat a higher being like us.” He said with the intention of mocking me.
A handsome man with a tuxedo suit? No, this presence… He is―!
“You… You’re a vampire? No, you’re almost a vampire, right? Yet you’re still incomplete.”
“Woah, woah, woah. You can tell? Ha! Then it means that you’re no ordinary human. But still, you’re weak.”
I knew it. He’s… a living dead. But it’s impossible for him to create a barrier like that….
“Well, it seems I can’t kill you now. There’s something approaching us, you know? Something different from you’re friend. But don’t worry; I’ll kill him first before you. HAHAHAHAHAHA! I’ll kill him and savor the flesh of his skin with my mouth to my heart’s content. Nyahahahaha!”
He’s laughing so hard that he almost bends his body backwards.
“Well, well. It looks like someone got far ahead with himself.”
He’s not scared at all. As expected of him. But, where did the woman with a strange mask gone off?
“―What!?Heh.You a moron?Ahahahahahh!” the living dead said as he sticks out his tongue to lick his fingers and point them to Yuuki while laughing.
“No, Yuuki!! He’s―”
“Shut up for a while, okay? I can handle this mutt.”
Eh? He’s crazy! There’s no way that he can― eh?
Before I can even finish my rebuke, the man with a tuxedo sharply fall on his knees and starts to cough out blood.
“… *cough*… What… What did… *cough*… you do to meee!!!!?”
“Nothing. I did nothing at all.”
“That’s….i―impossible. H―How can… ack … this b―be?”
Eh? What did JUST happen? He was there standing a minute ago… and then he suddenly… By the way, where is Yuuki-kun’s servant? I decided to take a glance at him….
“….”
Don’t tell me―! No, it’s impossible. But just to be sure…
I activated my eyes and start looking around.
….
…….
……………… this is―
I knew it. His servant is the one who caused that man in that state… But, how can this happen? His servant is, invisible!?
“…..”
What… What is that person? I can hardly believe my own eyes… oh, right.
Believing? That’s impossible since this was not my own.
I stare at her. That thing which he called servant.
Her presence, on which was so overwhelming, has strike me as I use my eyes more.
“This…. This is―? I can’t analyze it?
How come?
That’s… That’s impossible. There should be no such things that these eyes could not analyze…”
I’m shocked.
That’s impossible.
These eyes are meant for analyzing things such as magical phenomenon but looking at her…. defies the purpose of these eyes. This Mystic Eyes can uncover all of the mysteries of this world yet why… can’t these eyes tell me what is that servant?
While I’m shocked at this impossibility, the living ghoul who’s screaming in agony a while ago suddenly speaks with a tone of hatred on his voice.
“Damn you!! I’ll never forget this! My parent will definitely avenge me! You hear me!? My parent will avenge me!!! HE WILL AVEEENNGGEEE MEEEEEE!!!!DEFINETELY!!!”
Slowly, the body of the living ghoul is turning into ash…. His body is quickly deteriorating…. His presence is slowly disappearing….. Just like the scene of someone I knew a long time ago.
A similar scene that I saw 3 years ago.
The ‘scene’ that makes me remembers the result of my choices and mistakes.
“He’s dis…appearing.” I murmur to myself.
Then, after the living ghoul had finished disappearing, Yuuki started to ask me a question,
“Naoto-kun, it seems that you know what this kind of creature is… would you mind explaining it to me?
“……”
Of course I know.
I had met several of them several years ago, and did not expect that I would see more of them in the future but…
“Naoto-kun, sorry if I can’t protect you. For now, all I can do is to heal you, is that okay?” he said as he crouched beside me.
“Yeah. Thanks. Sorry to worry you…”
He simply goes touched me and quietly murmurs some complicated spell that I did not recognize.
Of course, I cannot recognize a spell or two if I don’t use these eyes.
After several minutes, he finally stands up and stretched his left arm upward. It seems that he’s finished healing my wound. I can even hear his voice saying ‘aahhhh’ as soon as he’s finished stretching both of his arms.
“So, can you please explain to me what the hell these creatures are…”
He said as he focuses his gaze directly at me.
I can understand that he’s curious about them, but can you please be considerate? I’m injured, you know? Well, I can say that I was injured by them earlier but please give me a break. Even if I’m not in shock, you should not treat people as if they’re books. We can’t always give information if we’re not in a good condition.
Again, he just looks at me with expectation in his eyes.
Damn! Again with your expectations and stuff! I don’t care anymore. I’ll just tell you what I know! I want to go home so I’ll finish this as fast as I can.
“… They, are vampires”
I said for an introduction.
“……”
“Have you heard of vampires before?” I asked him.
“Well, yes. Basically, they are blood-sucking demons, right?”
“That’s right,”
Of course he knew. He’s not the next successor of the Makiri Household for nothing.
“but what we’ve encountered just now was not a true vampire. To be exact, incomplete.”
“What do you mean?”
“You know that there are two types of vampires, right?”
“…”
He just silently nods at my question.
“Actually, there are three”
“……”
“The first race is called True Ancestors,
the original and true vampire, and also the creator of the Dead Apostles, which are irrelevant to our main topic so I’ll just skip it.”
He looked at me with an unsatisfied eyes but I just ignored him and continue explaining.
“The second race is called Dead Apostles.
The original members of this kind of vampire were created to act as counter-measures in the case of a True Ancestor being overwhelmed by his or her thirst for blood. True Ancestors are vampires, so of course they will experience a weird urge to drink the blood of humans.
In exchange for losing their free will and becoming a tool to relieve the vampiric impulses of the True Ancestors, these individuals were granted powers and longevity similar to their masters. However, what they received was still a flawed form of immortality and it was soon discovered that they needed to suck the blood of others to survive. Then just like the True Ancestors, have these vampires the instinct known as vampirc impulse, which pushes them to suck the blood of others. But differently than the vampric impulses of the True Ancestors, have these vampires the physical need to suck the blood of others in order to maintain their own bodies.
The result of repeatedly sucking the blood of humans was the emergence of a sense of superiority in the heart of the servants of the True Ancestors. Such a thing eventually gave birth to a feeling of rebellion towards their masters, which then lead the servants to find ways of strengthening their mental control and escaping from the domain of the True Ancestors.
After the rebellion, these blood-sucking humans became known as the Dead Apostles.”
I clear my throat and then continued speaking.
“Do you know the proverb ‘Boredom kills’?”
“Y-Yeah.”
“For the Dead Apostles, amusement is the same as breathing. For those who were once human and achieved imperfect immortality, boredom is their greatest enemy. As soon as someone realizes they have no value---that their life is stopped, then their meaning of existence disappears too. So they started to wear down and to counter this they started to create their own amusement.
The Apostles began a game of conquest and saw themselves as lords of a castle expanding their territories. The Apostles find territorial wars and power struggles entertaining and, for their own enjoyment, they place their own blood inside the humans they preyed upon. These corpses go through the Growth Process to become Vampires and eventually kill their parent Vampire in order to become new Dead Apostles themselves. For the Dead Apostles, killing another Dead Apostle isn't something wrong for them.
The Apostles, however, consider to maintain the balance between society and themselves. They exploit the humans in secret, for no other reason than self-preservation. They don't want it to be known that vampires exist at all and to protect their own lives, they hide the bodies of their victims and expand their territory. Most of the long-lived Apostles don't use their names from their human lives anymore.
The common goal of all Dead Apostles is to achieve perfect immortality, who does not rely on the ingestion of blood.”
Yuuki was just dumbfounded at the information that I presented. Normally, it is impossible for me to speak this much.
Ahhh… I really want to go home. Complaining is the special privilege of humans, after all.
“But, why… do you know such things?”
He asked me with a curious look on his face.
“Well, many things had happened in the past. I’m sure that you had the gist of what I’ve experienced three years ago, right?”
“… I see” he said as he covers his mouth with his right hand.
“Well, I need to continue so just shut your trap for the mean time,”
With that statement, I resumed filling him with necessary information.
“There are many ways to become a Dead Apostles.
First, just what I’ve said earlier, the True Ancestors must give their own blood to the human and convert him into a vampire with a similar immortality and strength… but making him into one has a price, the human who’s converted by the True Ancestors will become their puppet. Frankly speaking, the human will be turned into a servant of lowly status. They’re classified as the Dead Apostle Ancestors.
Second is to use magic to convert oneself into a vampire. Many magi tried to accomplish this task but only several people have come into success. I’ve been told that this method is almost impossible to accomplish… Well, if you are caught studying this method, the Association will not turn a blind eye on you and will hunt you down.”
“…Umm, question…” he said while he is looking down at his feet.
“What is it?”
“Why does the Association forbids it? To study Dead Apostles and becoming one is somewhat interesting, and if you become immortal, you could even dedicate yourself on studying on how to attain the root.”
“Root?” I asked.
“Yes. That is the dearest wish of all magi, the 'root'. The place of God, Akashic Records, the beginning and the end of all things that records everything, that creates everything in this world.”
“…”
I don’t get it.
I just become silent as if I’m contemplating on about what he said.
The root?
I am no Magus so it is difficult to me to comprehend what he’s saying.
For now, I’ll just let it slip and shove it inside my head. That information about Magi should be sealed for now as we are currently discussing about vampires.
I scratched my head as I continue talking.
“The Association forbids it because an existence like Dead Apostles are too dangerous. Why? It’s simple. They greatly affect their surroundings and may even kill people. They need a great supply of blood so killing one or two people isn’t enough. It is true that animals and livestock can become their main blood supplier but do you know the fact that they prefer human blood, especially virgins, because one's blood cells are more pure before one has exchanged bodily fluids with others, than animal blood. Also, if they cannot control themselves anymore because of their vampric impulses, they will succumb into the pleasure of drinking blood… Even if they don’t need to kill anymore, they will still kill as if they are taking a stroll.”
“I… see.”
“… Moving on, the third way is the said human is to be converted by the other Dead Apostles.
Although they appear to have capacities beyond human limitations, most vampires actually acquired their powers by constantly refining human-inherent abilities throughout their extended lives. In other words, anyone with a similarly long lifespan has the potential to reach a level comparable to the Dead Apostles. Also, contrary to popular belief, vampires can be killed with conventional weaponry. However, that is a feat near impossible to accomplish since their superior reflexes and physical abilities allow them to dodge a slice of a skilled samurai and as long as you are human, you can't deceive the vampire’s sense of smell.
I’ll explain to you how vampires have its meal,
On the issue of the actual bloodsucking process, a vampire can either hunt the prey himself or acquire the blood indirectly through the use of familiars.
You are aware of what is a familiar is, right”
“Yes,” He silently replied.
Of course you were. You even have one right now.
Yosh. Continuing…
“For a Dead Apostle living a long time and stabilizing his body with normal lives is not sufficient, so it's more effective to repair one's body by absorbing beasts, as they surpass the human species in this respect. By pushing his capacities to their limits, a Dead Apostle can possess either about 30 animals of the same species or one member of the Phantasmal Species that belongs to the Monstrous Beast or Phantasmal Beast-class as familiars. Stronger Dead Apostles were known to have used familiars of different animal species simultaneously. Those Apostles who repair their own bodies with beasts can return them to their previous forms and use them as familiars when they need to.
Now, I will discuss about on how the Dead Apostles make humans his kin.
If a vampire injects some of its own blood into a human victim’s bloodstreams, the said victim will be infused with some of the vampire’s own power and their body becomes unable to completely die. In most cases however, the body dies and with it, the soul of the victim. The final result would be a mindless undead familiar known as The Dead. But in the rare occurrence of the said victim possessing an above-average life force, he will become a Ghoul and embark on climbing the ladder to becoming a full-fledged Dead Apostle. The extent in which the newly created Ghoul will progress is decided by their magical potential of the body, which is stored inside the soul. Furthermore, the extension of its powers is dependent on the abilities and amount of minions pertaining to its parent vampire, whom it is bound, both mentally and spiritually.
Ghouls are corpse eating demon. They are born, when the brain of a vampire's victim is unable to completely die, after several years in the grave, the brain will rot and the human soul will be freed from the cage of the body. The decayed corpses now begin activity as Ghouls and their transformed souls, have now bypassed the necessity of the brain to hold the soul, as the soul is now separate from the body. They have mental capacities pretty much equivalent to that of a savage beast and they must devour other corpses to reconstruct their own degenerated flesh.
Living dead is the result of a Ghoul that successfully reconstructed its own body and thus, their brain. They are inferior to The Dead in terms of raw strength but the fact that it regained its own will and that it can maintain its own soul now puts it on a different standing than a mere puppet. The Living Dead have very limited to no intellect and to restore their intellect they need to suck the blood of humans.
After several years of development, the Living Dead regains a full human intellect, attains power of his own and becomes a mature Vampire, capable of creating other vampires and having his own minions. However, he is still bound to the will of his parent vampire and forced to supply him with blood. A vampire can only become a full-fledged Dead Apostle after breaking free from the control of his parent vampire.
That is all.”
“So, in a nutshell, he is classified as a Living dead, right? And the true perpetrator of this barrier is his parent vampire,” as he finally opens his mouth.
Ahem. I clear my throat again. Ahhhh, that’s surprising, even I was shocked that I have manage to speak this long. Surely, I will never do this again, ever.
“That’s right,” I answered.
“Basically, we should eliminate first the Dead Apostle leading the other vampires in order to stop this madness.”
“Yeah, but that’s going to be impossible”
“?”
He started to make a dumbfounded face but I just continue,
“because he will never show himself.”
“… Why do you think of that?”
“Look, if he’s not hiding, he would not create this barrier, right?”
“…”
“But by creating this barrier, he also revealed important facts about him: first is that he inside of this barrier. Second is that he’s on a weakened state. And last is that he’s incapable of fighting on a 1 on 1 battle. That’s the main reason why he’s using his puppets for reconnaissance and information gathering.”
That’s right. Since I almost pinpointed out all of the information about the enemy to Yuuki-kun, I had no need to worry.Especially when he had this unexplainable ‘servant’.
I can easily guess that the goal of that Dead Apostle is to gather additional numbers of the Dead, to reinforce his fighting capability and to take over this town. Also, he is undoubtedly inside of the barrier. Therefore, what we need to do is to smoke him out of his hiding place and to strike when he’s trying to reorganize.
I sighed and then looked at Yuuki.
He seems to be satisfied and was deep on thought.
Thankfully, my explanation to Yuuki seemed clear so I can now take my leave and rest. I face backward as I intended to walk away while he’s still thinking, I’m finally free…
“Nao-kuuun!!!”
―Or so I thought it will.
I really recognize this high-pitched voice. This voice belonged to a certain violent woman who involved me in this vampire hunting business. The woman from Great Britain, or is it Italy? I forgot… but that’s not the point here! I only wanted to rest right now so why they just keep on appearing?
I shrugged my shoulders as I prepare to greet the person who’s inevitably coming to my side… but for some reason, a weird feeling suddenly overwhelmed my back.
This aura…
―Hostility?
―Killing Intent?
But the only person on by back right now is Yuuki…
I looked back to confirm who was the one releasing the oblivious aura but my mind was clearly denying what learned.
It’s obvious.
The one who’s releasing that killing intent was ―Makiri Yuuki.
I refuse to accept that that Yuuki was capable of such things! I mean, he had never glared at anyone like this… And the direction of that glare is…
Her.
―Serene Lia Barthomeloi.
Impossible.
But why?
As I look at her, she was still smiling and waving her hand like an idiot as she runs quickly to my direction… But why?
As soon as she’s almost 30 meters from me, she suddenly stops her movements.
I focus my eyes on her face, only to see a shocked expression.
I’m not boasting but these eyes are quite good. Even within 100 meters, I can still see clearly the every detail of a beautiful and a colourful Kimono with a complicated design. For that reason is that’s why these eyes are so convenient.
But never mind that, this is more important.
Why are Yuuki and Serene glaring at each other as if they are enemies? I don’t understand.
Finally, Yuuki started to talk but he’s still glaring at Serene.
“Hey Naoto,”
He smiles and continues his question
“what is your wish?”
My… wish?
Wish.
That was your earlier question, right?
If it is, then I already have the answer…
I already had that answer a long time ago, and that is― from three years ago.
That is…
Then he suddenly walks in front of me as if shielding me and said,
“Assassin, do you recognize them?”
“Yes… The girl with the short hair is undoubtedly, a master and the white girl behind her is her servant. ”
It seems that his servant right now is talking while she’s invisible. I could feel her presence but I couldn’t see her.
He’s conversing with her servant, huh? But what’s with this ‘master’ and ‘servant’ thing?
Finally, Serene silently approaches us as I was overreacting on about what Yuuki had said.
“I.. don’t have any intention to fight. That’s what I’ve decided… for now.”
She said with a hesitating voice.
As he heard what she said, he immediately makes a frown as if his expectations are crushed into tiny little bits. I guess that he already made a preparation about confronting her.
Wait… Confronting, her?
“Hah. Such provoking words, do you dare to mock us?”
“Not really, I just came here for a simple reason, and that is to talk to Naoto-san behind you. Whatever you think about what I intend to do doesn’t concern me,” she said as she walks past him.
“I wouldn’t care less about other people and, I won’t fight you when Naoto-san is here. He’s… an important person.”
“…sigh, I guess that’s it.” Yuuki said as he shrugs his shoulders and started to walk away from us.
“Wahhhh… You’re too lucky, Naoto-san” He said as if mocking me.
“but, don’t forget about what we’ve talked earlier… And you.”
He turns around and pointed a finger to Serene.
“I hope we don’t meet again.”
“I’ll probably wish for the same.” She said while not looking back.
I can see her smiling for some reason but I cannot tell if she’s happy or annoyed.
With that, their first meeting was finally over with Yuuki disappearing into the horizon.
“Ahhh! What a hassle! It was such a good weather so I didn’t expect someone like him to appear.”
“Well, you’re the ‘someone’ who suddenly appears.”
I pouted.
“What was that!?”
I was planning to go home and rest when she suddenly appeared and made a ‘friendly’ conversation with Yuuki.
Man, this sucks. I’m beat, I didn’t expect to become fatigue on just explaining about some vampires and such. If he wanted to talk about vampires, he should have asked Serene on the first hand. Since she loathes vampires and hunts them on instinct, she should know more about them.
“Anyway, Serene…”
“W-W-What?”
As if she’s nervous, she stutters while talking to me.
I immediately bowed my head and looks at her in the eyes. Er- I guess ‘look’ is the wrong word that I’m using because the more appropriate word for what I’m doing is stare.
Jiiiiiiiiiii.
“W-What, are you s-staring at?” she said as she timidly averts her gaze from me.
Oh? Her cheeks are flushed. Is she sick or something?
I raised my head and bring myself closer to her…
“W-W-Wha- Wha- What are y-you doing!? Suddenly bringing your face closer…”
I ignored her complain and continue closing the distance between us.
“…If…If…you…do, it like t-that…I,”
As if submitting to me, she just closes her eyes.
My face is now close to her face, as if I’m about to kiss her… But I did not. I just bring close my lips to her ears and whispered,
“So, an important person, huh?”
“!!!”
As if becoming a stone, she became petrified.
I continue speaking, as if I’m greatly pleasured of her expression.
“Having said that, can you please let this important person off the hook? Well, your important person is very tired, you see, so can you please let me go home?”
If I want to go home right now, teasing her is the best choice. She always denies it but she’s too easy to convince. Well, if she’s confused, that is.
Planning this method was not really difficult. It’s just; I don’t want to use it because I feel like I’m becoming a boy version of a geisha. Imagining it is just too depressing.
But, I need to continue this method if I really want to go home and rest.
Really, Serene. I do not want to do this but this is a necessity. No, this is an important mission where the world’s peace is at stake! Yes! If I can’t rest right now, I won’t survive the upcoming work next time.
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