Ch. 5 End of Childhood
by AfuhfuihgsChapter 5 – End of Childhood
The spring breeze felt oddly cold, so I pulled up the hoodie that had slipped down past my shoulders.
My legs weren’t cold, so it must just be my imagination.
Even if the spring breeze is cold, what’s there to be cold about? It’s almost summer.
But why does it still feel cold?
Thinking about it, it’s obvious. I’ve become a pitiful person with no home to return to.
My sanctuary is gone. Now I have to spend all day outside, homeless…
In this state, with this body, what can I even do?
A total crisis of massive debt, threats to my life, and the absence of a sanctuary. I have to survive in this situation.
If before it felt like I was just “living,” now it feels like I’m “surviving.”
Every night, I have to stay awake, worrying about threats that could come from anywhere.
I need to find food, earn money to pay off debts. Of course, a regular job is out of the question.
It’s impossible. My life has become one where blending into society is practically impossible.
‘Ah, the weather’s nice….’
The white moon was shining brightly in the sky. Alone, high and mighty in the clear night sky, without even a halo.
Is that what it means to be alone under the heavens? Maybe, maybe so.
I want to become the moon. I want to live a life like that, alone and free from worries.
‘No, maybe being the moon is going too far….’
I just want a life without any worries.
Well, I wonder what the fun in living like that would be, but at least for this moment, I wish all my worries would magically disappear.
My mental limit has already been crossed.
My sanity is already overflowing, on the verge of collapse. I feel like I’m about to lose my mind and laugh maniacally at the moon.
No, this is too middle-schooler-like. What should I do? How can I release this pent-up frustration?
I wandered through back alleys where the streetlights didn’t reach, thinking like that.
I was just starting my first day of homelessness, fearing the vampire hunters I might encounter.
‘It’s a miracle I didn’t die this afternoon.’
I must have bad luck, but it seems I’m not entirely unlucky.
My house collapsed, so I could have been exposed to the sun and burned to death, but when I came to, a thick robe was covering my body for some reason.
Did it fly to my position by chance during the explosion? If so, it’s a blessing from heaven. I don’t really believe it, though.
Such incredible luck doesn’t just come by. And I don’t believe in coincidences unless I have to.
‘Those guys who blew up my house….’
I originally wasn’t going to forgive them, I was going to chase them to the ends of the earth and turn them into paste, but this time, I’ll have to forgive them.
It seems they cared enough to make sure I, a fellow vampire, didn’t burn to death.
But the strange thing is, the robe doesn’t smell like anyone wore it, so it must be brand new.
It also fits this small body perfectly. It’s good enough to wear even in the scorching afternoon sun.
The hem doesn’t get in the way of my feet.
But if that’s the case, it means they prepared a robe tailored to my body from the start. How? Why?
I have no idea. Maybe I should stop overthinking. For now, it’s important to just survive.
As I leaned against the wall of the back alley, resting blankly, I heard a squeaking sound nearby.
‘A sewer rat? It’s huge….’
A black rat, as if it had just come out of the sewer, was sniffing around, its oily fur glistening.
It sniffed around a bit, then slowly approached my leg, turning its head this way and that near my thigh before making eye contact with me.
“Squeak?!”
And then, on impulse, I grabbed the filthy sewer rat.
Even I was surprised by my reaction speed. My hand got a bit dirty, but what does that matter?
I’m on the verge of starving to death.
This rat must be teeming with indescribable amounts of germs and filth.
With blank eyes, spinning in circles, I stared into the rat’s pupils.
The rat, trembling as if in fear, stiffened its tail and shook its fur.
‘Should I, should I eat it? Is it okay to sink my teeth into this?’
It’s not a human. So, I shouldn’t feel too repulsed by sucking its blood, right?
But more importantly, beyond the fact that it’s not a human, a sense of disgust at its uncleanliness is rising.
I can feel the oily texture on my hand. The sticky fur, the stench of the rat covered in filth.
“Sniff, sob… I didn’t want to go this far….”
This feels like giving up my dignity as a human. Really, I didn’t want to go this far.
This pitiful life, this absurd comedy.
“…Forget it, just go.”
After holding it in my hand and staring at it for a while, I let the rat go.
The rat sniffed around near my thigh a few more times, then looked at me again.
“What, just go. Vampires aren’t for you to gawk at. Shoo, shoo.”
I waved my hand in front of the rat’s nose a few times.
Then, the rat, trembling slightly, turned and disappeared into the sewer.
‘…I’m hungry. I’m cold.’
Now, I don’t even feel like blaming anyone. Honestly, I don’t even know where things went wrong.
Money problems, human problems, survival problems—I don’t care how they turn out anymore.
Is this some kind of enlightenment? If so, I might be the youngest vampire to reach enlightenment.
‘Right, denying reality won’t help. Maybe it’s time to accept it.’
At the sound of my growling stomach, I jumped up from my spot and tapped my cheeks.
So, this is some kind of ritual. A ritual to get my mind together.
They say even rolling in a pile of dog poop is better than the afterlife, and it’s no different for vampires!
Sucking a sewer rat wouldn’t have helped much anyway. I’d probably suffer more from the germs.
Now, instead of just rejecting it, let’s draw a line and attack humans. Just suck their blood.
‘Attacking ordinary people feels a bit wrong.’
Then, I’ll feel a bit bad, but I’ll attack vampire hunters. I’m not sure if I can win, but they’re the ones I have a reason to fight, so it’s not as repulsive.
Right, they attacked first. If they strike first, they should be prepared for a counterattack, right? That’s how it works, right?
“Alright, let’s do it! Let’s do it! I attacked a blood donation center once, I can do it twice!”
“You should stop.”
“Wahhhhh!!”
At that moment, a voice came from behind without any warning, startling me so much that I fell over.
Gasping for breath in my starved state, I turned around and saw a tall, shadowy figure of a man.
“Ah, uh, ah, ah.”
They found me again. Another vampire hunter? Of course, it must be!
Who else would come to a back alley like this if not a vampire hunter? They must be planning to drive a big, beautiful stake through my heart and turn me into ashes!
I, I didn’t do anything wrong, I’m just a vampire, I, I, I…
“Uh, uh, why are you crying? I haven’t done anything yet.”
Is that supposed to be comforting? This is the third time I’ve encountered a vampire hunter today. Just because I left the house, I’ve run into vampire hunters three times in one day!
It’s a warzone. The city has become a warzone. Where has my peaceful life gone?
With no strength left in my body, I just stumbled backward and burst into tears.
With my face a mess from crying, I pointed at him, trying to hide my fear, and shouted with all my might.
“Fine, fine. There’s no peace, is there? Yeah, I get it. If I want to suck someone’s blood, I’ll have to see blood, right? Fine!!”
“What?!”
The man’s figure was revealed under the moonlight. He was wearing something familiar, but I didn’t have the time to recall where I’d seen it.
The important thing was that this man was approaching me, watching me, in this random place at this random time.
“Fine, let’s all die! Die! Either you die or I die!! I don’t care what happens anymore!!”
“Calm down.”
“Yaaah!!”
I grabbed a nearby large trash can and lifted it overhead.
Its enormous size cast a shadow, plunging the alley back into darkness.
“Oh my, goodness.”
“Die!! No, sorry. Let me just suck your blood first!!”
“…You seem to be in a tight spot. I was going to try to talk you down, but since it’s come to this… Gah!!”
The man, with his neatly parted 8:2 hairstyle, was hit squarely by the 1100L trash can and flew backward with an exaggerated bend.
It was like something out of a slapstick comedy. A home run. I could almost hear the imaginary crowd cheering.
“W-wait, uwaaah!!”
“Sniff, sob! Why! Why! Why is it only me!! Why is this only happening to me!!”
I lifted the trash can again and slammed it down on the man, creating a huge crater in the corner of the alley.
It was more of a one-sided beating than a fight. The moon blinked as if trying to look away from this pitiful scene.
After about five minutes of beating, the battered man finally gasped and spoke.
“Stop, p-please, stop. I think I’m going to die….”
“Yeah, yeah. I didn’t plan to kill you. Right, just, just let me suck your blood….”
“If, if that’s all, you could’ve just said so, cough.”
The man, his hair disheveled and his neat suit in tatters, lay pitifully on the ground, muttering.
The nape of his neck was glowing white, looking incredibly appetizing.
The veins were pumping blood, a beautiful sight visible through my eyes.
Unconsciously, I climbed on top of the man and placed my hand on his shoulder.
“C-can I, can I suck your blood? No, I will. I’ll suck it.”
“Of course, of course… As long as I don’t die….”
“Hehe, hehehe. Th-thank you….”
Well then, I’ll eat well.
Chomp.
With a small sound, two fangs pierced through the thick muscle and sank precisely into the artery.
And then, it was ecstasy.
AlucardLovesFish
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