Ch.108Chapter 108: Clash (1)

#

Before I reveal who the father of this woman crying in front of me is, I should first tell you about her.

Her name is Jessica.

Though I refer to her as a woman, she’s actually a girl slightly younger than me or Shizu.

The reason her appearance is remarkably mature for her age is because the vampire blood flowing through her body has caused her to develop into a precocious adult despite her young age.

As I mentioned earlier, this girl is a mixed-blood vampire born to a human mother and vampire father—in other words, a dhampir.

And not just any vampire father, but an extremely powerful one with considerably high status.

He’s a vampire I’ve mentioned several times before.

He’s also the being who led the undead legion in a massive invasion when I first set foot in this fortress.

By now, you should know who I’m talking about without further explanation.

Pale Sanguin.

Yes, the ancient vampire who took his name from the Gothic term meaning “pale blood,” infamous even during the Great Holy War era, is this girl’s father.

Though she looks somewhat younger than when I first met her before my regression.

As someone who remembered this girl’s appearance, I couldn’t help feeling a slight bewilderment seeing her now openly operating as a being of the demon realm.

Why, you ask?

If my memory serves me correctly, the current Jessica only knows she’s a dhampir but doesn’t know who her father is.

In other words, at this point in time, this girl called Jessica should be trying her hardest to blend into human society like us while secretly hiding her identity.

Simultaneously, this isn’t the time when she should be involved in fortress sabotage operations as if she belongs to the demon realm.

[What are you thinking so intently about that you can’t hear me? Let me know too.]

As I continued my train of thought while pointing my dragon sword at Jessica, Fafnir’s voice echoed in my head, clearly revealing his suspicion.

Though I wanted to share this information with him, who constantly resonated in my mind…

The fact that, unlike what I remembered, he had fought on humanity’s side during the Great Holy War a thousand years ago prevented me from fully revealing everything.

‘…I’ll tell you later.’

I tried to brush it off casually and move on, but…

[I can usually read most thoughts that arise in your head, but sometimes there are thoughts that appear hazy, like wandering through a foggy mist, that I can’t discern.]

Since it wouldn’t be good to completely feign ignorance when faced with his unsettling remarks…

‘It’s fortunate that this is one of those times.’

I responded to his suspicion by leaking just enough information rather than completely denying it.

Though there was an issue that this information barely qualified as bait.

[Is it something I shouldn’t know?]

‘I can’t tell you everything, but I’m concerned that your view of me might change if you knew this.’

After hearing my honest opinion…

[If it’s troublesome, I won’t pry further. Tell me someday when you feel like it.]

With those words, Fafnir didn’t continue the conversation about his inability to read certain thoughts.

“Hic…! Sob! Huaaang…”

As my conversation with Fafnir ended, the sound of sniffling once again reached my ears.

Maintaining my grip on the dragon sword, I continued observing Jessica, who was caught between Shizu and me with nowhere to go.

She was caught trying to engrave impure marks on the fortress that would leave traces for me and Shizu.

After her attempted escape failed…

Now she was raising her hands in surrender, sobbing and begging for forgiveness from Shizu and me without even attempting to resist.

Looking at this half-vampire girl naturally brought back memories of when I first met her before my regression.

Hmm.

Compared to then, both the timing and circumstances of our first meeting were different.

Yet somehow, her attitude when I first met her is hardly any different.

I slowly recalled when I first encountered Jessica before my regression.

After purging Adorator and firmly establishing myself as the second-in-command of the demon realm following the Demon God, Desire.

When I was systematically weakening the demon realm by folding the hardliners who were foaming at the mouth about sweeping away the Empire and all human alliances.

She approached me out of nowhere, prostrating herself and crying, begging me to save her father.

The difference being…

Back then, she thought I was indiscriminately eliminating everyone and appealed to me emotionally, using her mixed-blood status to try to save her father.

Now, despite being in a situation where she could easily resist, she’s prostrating herself before Shizu and me, begging for mercy.

Looking at this, her fundamental character doesn’t seem much different.

Timid and fragile, but willing to muster courage and overcome fear for those she holds dear.

In a way, it was also reassuring.

When recalling my detestable days as the Demon God’s agent, the only memories that didn’t evoke negative emotions were those related to this girl.

Despite many things changing due to my different choices after regression…

It’s comforting that this girl hasn’t changed much compared to how I remember her.

“Kal. What should we do?”

Shizu’s troubled voice snapped me out of my contemplation just as I was about to continue my thoughts.

Come to think of it, this wasn’t the time to be lost in sentiment.

Regardless of my perception of this girl as a very kind being who tries to maintain her humanity while accepting her innate fate…

She had been caught in the act of what appeared to be fortress sabotage, even if it ended in failure, and we had an obligation to take appropriate legal action based on Imperial law.

Moreover, Jessica being a dhampir was a significant issue.

The Solar Empire, the hegemonic power of the Central Continent, was born from overcoming the scars of the Great Holy War against beings like demons and devils.

Despite its history of bloody battles against the demon-devil alliance, the Empire is remarkably generous toward mixed-blood demons who inherited their blood.

This is partly because many of the founding contributors who shared hardships with the first Solar Emperor during the Great Holy War were half-demons who inherited the blood of demons or devils.

The founder of the family that rules the trading port established in the western part of the Central Continent for exchanges with dragons residing in the Western Continent was of the race commonly called Yukakin (horned people), a representative of mixed-blood demons, to the extent that…

The Solar Empire is a country that doesn’t discriminate against mixed-bloods with demon and devil blood, but rather embraces them as talents with tolerance.

However, even within this generous policy of the Empire, there was one mixed-blood demon race that was particularly avoided.

That was the dhampir, who inherited the blood of the vampire clan led by Pale Sanguin, one of the Demon God Desire’s loyal servants.

Unlike other mixed-blood demons who had little difference from ordinary humans in terms of norms and lifestyle except for appearance…

Those who inherited the blood-craving habits of vampires couldn’t easily assimilate into the Empire and remained outsiders.

Well, the Empire’s laws weren’t so flimsy as to allow killing someone on the spot without legal procedures just because they were a dhampir.

The memory of her being the only one who gave me memories that weren’t like a cesspool among my otherwise cesspool-like memories before regression was enough to make my heart twinge.

If I had discovered this girl alone without Shizu, I could have somehow glossed over it and guided her away from such actions.

Well, can’t be helped. I’ll have to respond according to Imperial law while seeking the most lenient treatment possible.

After finishing that thought…

“I’ll take care of this, so hurry and call your sister.”

I said in a low voice to Shizu.

“Be careful. I’ll be right back.”

Shizu nodded and turned to head toward her sister’s office, still holding the holy sword.

Neither of us could have imagined what was about to happen.

#

I’ve noticed something these past few days.

Whenever I try to recall events from before my regression, not always but often, I can’t fully connect the memories and they get cut off in the middle.

Like now.

A few days ago, I tried to recall what I needed to do regarding the waitress girl I met at the Adler Inn who gave me an inexplicable sense of discomfort, but…

“…Kal.”

Just as I was about to head toward my sister’s office, Shizu’s voice called out to me in a very tense tone, sensing something, and…

[Young one. It seems we have a visitor.]

Shortly after Fafnir’s voice echoed in my head alerting me to someone’s presence nearby…

I witnessed an astonishingly terrifying sight with my own eyes.

It was incomparably more shocking than seeing Jessica’s impure crimson energy swirling in the pure white open space.

Everything stopped.

The snowflakes that had been falling continuously from the sky stopped in place without a single exception.

It wasn’t just the snowflakes that stopped moving.

Shizu’s movements as she tensed up and scanned the surroundings after sensing something…

Jessica’s chicken-pea-sized tears streaming down her face as she stood helplessly with her hood removed…

Everything was frozen in place as if petrified.

The only exceptions were…

[This is…]

Fafnir, who seemed to recall something upon seeing this scene, and me who could clearly hear him.

And…

“Sigh…”

[Why the sudden sigh?]

“There’s a saying used by people from the Golden Moon Empire in the Eastern Continent.”

[What is it?]

“Speak of the tiger, and it appears. That’s exactly what’s happening now.”

[Explain it in a way I can understand.]

“He came quickly.”

[No, explain what that means.]

Crunch.

The sound that shouldn’t be heard in this frozen space came from the protagonist of this conversation.

Behind me, the sound of someone deliberately stepping on snow, as if making sure I heard it, seemed like a display that only they could move normally while everything else was frozen.

The movements of the being who had approached right behind me accelerated.

Swoosh.

The sound of what seemed to be a blade cutting through the air struck my ears fiercely.

Of course, if the being behind me was “him” as I knew, this wouldn’t be a blade but the sound coming from his hand blade.

And recalling him from before my regression, the destination of his hand emitting that cutting sound would certainly be my heart.

It would undoubtedly be his cruel yet efficient attack of ripping out and crushing my heart while I was still alive.

The orthodox response would be to twist my body to avoid what would surely be a fatal wound even with my super-regeneration ability, but…

[Dodge to the side.]

‘No.’

[What?!]

‘I need to confront this head-on.’

Instead of the obvious evasion, I quickly turned my body…

And raised the flat of my dragon sword to shield my torso.

CLANG-!!

I managed to block the hand of the Elder Vampire with flashing crimson eyes who was trying to carve out my heart.