Ch.136Chapter 136 – Vampire (7)

“I’ll cooperate! I’ll tell you everything I know! Just please don’t do that thing from earlier…”

“Yes, that’s more like it. As expected, my technique is the best…”

When the vampire begged for mercy, Zeus nodded as if it were only natural. Ignoring Zeus’s self-praise, Shin Jaehyuk continued the interrogation.

“Your name?”

“…Horn Romania.”

Romania? Shin Jaehyuk paused momentarily, furrowing his brows. Another familiar surname had appeared. Could there be some connection to Duke August Romania?

“Come to think of it, you used a mist similar to Duke Romania’s. What’s your relationship with him?”

“…I see you know the head of the family. That technique is a secret art of our house. I’m merely a servant of the Romania family.”

“Servant? Is this related to the people you kidnapped?”

“…”

“Answer me. Why did you kidnap those people?”

“…I was just stockpiling food to restore my strength.”

“Senior! He’s lying!”

Lee Yujin’s eyes blazed blue as she caught the vampire’s lie. Although she couldn’t understand the Eden language, her skill, Mirror of Truth, could determine whether someone believed what they were saying, allowing her to detect the vampire’s deception.

Zeus smiled strangely as electricity crackled at his fingertips.

“Hmm… you’re lying?”

“W-wait—!!!!”

As Zeus once again sent lightning through the vampire’s pain receptors, the creature foamed at the mouth and trembled violently. The sight was so brutal that even Lee Yujin, who had been a kidnapping victim, grew concerned.

“But… even if he’s a criminal, is this okay? Won’t there be human rights issues later, like citing the Miranda rights?”

“He’s a Mein who voluntarily gave up being human, so human rights don’t apply…”

Shin Jaehyuk snorted at Yujin’s concern as if he’d heard a distasteful joke. From the beginning, the creature was classified as a monster since it emerged from a Gate, and there were no laws protecting monsters.

True to his treacherous nature, the vampire easily opened his mouth when tortured. When Zeus briefly paused the torture, the vampire shouted convulsively.

“Damn it! I’ll answer, I’ll answer! The humans were just a smokescreen for diversion! To deceive the soldiers guarding the Gate!”

“I knew it… Your goal was to cross the Gate.”

Zeus nodded as he heard the explanation. He remembered that during the previous attack, while people were distracting the soldiers, the vampire had tried to cross the Gate unnoticed instead of targeting the confused soldiers.

“So coming from England to France wasn’t an impulsive act while fleeing from me—it was all planned. A plan to cross into Eden…”

Shin Jaehyuk could roughly guess why the creature had done this. The imperial capital was protected by ancient magic on its walls. Demons entering openly through the gates would be neutralized by holy artifacts, and those attempting aerial infiltration would be repelled by magical arrays.

So from the demons’ perspective, the Eden Gate connected to the empire must have seemed like a backdoor to infiltrate the heart of the empire through its impenetrable walls. That’s why the vampire had taken such a roundabout route to Paris.

“What was your purpose for infiltrating the Empire?”

“…I cannot answer.”

“What? This guy hasn’t had enough electricity…”

“Damn it, I said I can’t answer! St-stop. I literally cannot answer!”

When Zeus tried to torture the vampire again as it stubbornly refused to answer, the creature struggled violently with a terrified expression. Shin Jaehyuk stopped Zeus.

“Wait. It seems he really can’t talk. When Mein make contracts with demons, they sometimes include confidentiality clauses. Mein who have their souls mortgaged through such contracts cannot divulge unauthorized information.”

“Y-yes, that’s right! So stop this pointless torture, woman!”

“…He’s telling the truth. That’s neither a lie nor an act.”

Lee Yujin confirmed that Shin Jaehyuk’s conjecture was true.

“Tch… how disappointing. So we’ll never know what secret he’s hiding?”

“No… While direct statements are impossible, we can still find out through indirect methods that bypass the contract conditions. I think those friends over there would be more suitable for that than me.”

“Huh? Those friends?”

Where Shin Jaehyuk was pointing, soldiers and agents in black suits were running toward them. The French intelligence agents had finally arrived at the scene. Their chief, Leon, ran up to them, panting.

“*Huff* *huff* Zeus-nim, and Shin Jaehyuk-nim. That monster…?”

“Here’s the culprit.”

Leon’s eyes widened when he saw the vampire bound in awakener handcuffs.

“My goodness. It really was a humanoid monster. Just as the British Hunters Association chairman suspected…”

“Yes. We’ve confirmed it can communicate in the Eden language. It says it crossed the Dover Strait deliberately, targeting the Eden Gate. We’ll need to investigate further, but…”

After hearing a rough explanation from Zeus, Leon expressed his gratitude to Zeus and Shin Jaehyuk for their significant contribution in capturing the vampire.

“Thank you for your cooperation. And Shin Jaehyuk-nim, Lee Yujin-nim, I’m truly sorry. You came to visit Paris only to get caught up in such an unfortunate incident…”

Leon bowed so deeply his head nearly touched the ground, sweating profusely. It was a major incident—a foreign dignitary involved in what amounted to a terrorist attack. It wouldn’t be surprising if numerous high-ranking officials lost their positions over this.

While Shin Jaehyuk was quite displeased about the incident, especially since Yujin’s life had been endangered, he also felt responsible for carelessly allowing her to accompany him.

“…It couldn’t be helped. This creature’s actions were completely unpredictable—an irregular beyond anticipation. Thanks to Zeus, Yujin is safe and we captured the vampire, so I’ll let this incident slide. In exchange, I’ll take the Da Vinci relic stored at the Louvre.”

“Y-yes, of course. The relic you’re looking for was Leonardo da Vinci’s notebook, correct? I’ll have it brought to you immediately. Thank you for accepting our apology… I want to express once again how deeply sorry we are, and we will ensure the rest of your journey is comfortable with our utmost hospitality…”

Leon rambled on, repeatedly expressing his regret while bowing repeatedly. He considered the request for a historically valuable artifact to be an extremely merciful demand. If an S-rank’s anger could be appeased with just one artifact, it was a bargain…

Having finally caught his breath, Leon wiped his forehead and gestured to his agents.

“Then we’ll take custody of the prisoner.”

The agents injected something into the vampire’s neck. The creature’s head drooped under the effect of a tranquilizer strong enough to instantly sedate an elephant. As the agents loaded him into what appeared to be an ordinary truck, Zeus cautioned them with a skeptical look.

“Be careful. He’s a troublesome one who can transform into a bat. If you lose him once, it’ll be hard to catch him again.”

“Don’t worry. Not only have we administered a powerful tranquilizer, but we’ve also prepared a special vehicle for awakener detention. Inside, the latest mana pump technology maintains the mana concentration at near zero. Once our agent with the mana-draining skill depletes all the mana in his body, he won’t be able to recover on his own.”

“Hmm… you’re well-prepared. That should be safe enough.”

Zeus nodded in satisfaction after hearing the explanation.

“Officially, this incident will be reported as a terror attack by an unregistered awakener with hypnosis skills. We would appreciate if you would also maintain confidentiality regarding today’s events.”

“Understood. But please contact me when you discover his objective.”

“Yes, of course. Our superiors are quite hopeful about this. A monster capable of communication presents an excellent opportunity to understand enemy circumstances and weaknesses. We’ll contact you after the interrogation. Now if you’ll excuse me…”

Leon departed, leaving only a few agents to assist at the scene. Zeus, who had been tracking the creature all the way from England, stretched and cheered.

“Finally, this business trip is over! Catching that insufferable creature feels so satisfying!”

As if thoroughly sick of the long pursuit, Zeus shuddered and then displayed the refreshing demeanor of someone finally free from work. She looked around and her eyes met with Lee Yujin, who had been watching from behind Shin Jaehyuk.

“Hmm~ You’re Lee Yujin, right? Come to think of it, we haven’t properly introduced ourselves. Nice to meet you. So you’re the woman this handsome guy was desperately searching for?”

“Ah, yes… desperately…”

Yujin reacted sensitively to the word, her face turning red.

“Hmm, girlfriend?”

“N-no, not exactly…”

Hoho, hmm. As Yujin stammered, Zeus examined her from various angles with a knowing expression, then smiled mischievously.

“When you went missing, Shin Jaehyuk was so restless. He was whining like a puppy that needed to pee—it made even me anxious just watching him!”

“Senior was that worried…”

Zeus’s eyes lit up, finding Yujin’s embarrassment cute. Romantic affairs were interesting stories anywhere in the world, and Zeus, being a high school girl in her prime, was particularly interested in such matters.

While Zeus and Yujin chatted away, Shin Jaehyuk carefully examined Yujin for any injuries before finally breathing a sigh of relief.

‘Thank goodness… she’s not hurt.’

No matter how experienced a holy knight he was, the moment of losing someone precious was always unfamiliar and terribly fresh. At least on Earth, he didn’t want to experience such a nightmare.

‘I will never let something like what happened to Orthesia happen again…’

The final moments of someone precious are always etched vividly in one’s mind, engraved on the soul like an indelible curse. When his hand unconsciously tightened on Yujin’s shoulder, she felt the pressure and looked up at him.

“…Senior?”

Seeing Shin Jaehyuk’s serious expression, Yujin’s face also darkened.

“Are you okay? Did your headache from earlier come back?”

“…No, it’s not that. I’m fine.”

‘Hmm, seems like something sensitive happened between them.’

Zeus looked with interest at the peculiar atmosphere between the two, then cleared her throat. She thought it would be counterproductive to intrude here, so she decided to leave them alone.

“Ahem. Well, it seems you two have a lot to talk about… so I’ll disappear now! Hope we can work together again sometime, Shin Jaehyuk!”

Having said her piece, Zeus shot up into the sky and vanished with a poof. With Zeus’s sudden departure leaving just the two of them, Shin Jaehyuk couldn’t hide his awkwardness.

‘Damn that Zeus. Just saying what she wanted and running away…’

As the awkward silence continued, Yujin fidgeted before finally speaking first.

“Um, Senior. About what happened at the Eiffel Tower…”

“Ah, y-yes. About that…”

Shin Jaehyuk stammered, desperately racking his brain. What should he say? Earlier, he had avoided the situation with silence, but he couldn’t keep evading and postponing the issue. He needed to give her an answer somehow. He needed to explain his situation and convince Yujin—

“Just… please forget about it.”

“…What?”

Yujin’s words were completely unexpected to Shin Jaehyuk. All possible responses he had anticipated were off the mark, and his mind went blank, allowing him to utter only a dumbfounded “What?” Yujin carefully lowered her eyes, avoiding Shin Jaehyuk’s bewildered gaze.

“Please just dismiss what I said as nonsense and don’t worry about it. I’m sorry for putting you in an awkward position. Both for that and for getting kidnapped… I feel like I’m just causing you trouble.”

Yujin bowed politely. Shin Jaehyuk didn’t miss the emotion that briefly flashed in her eyes. Resignation, learned helplessness. The look of someone who had given up everything, and thus seemed as precarious as someone about to commit suicide. Her lips moved very slightly.

After all, I’ve been alone from the beginning.

Suddenly, a surge of emotion welled up inside him. The loneliness and isolation Yujin was feeling. The fear of being thrown alone into a strange place. These were emotions Shin Jaehyuk knew all too well. Feelings he had experienced every moment since his reincarnation on Earth after his death in Eden.

The moment he realized this, his hands moved before his mind could catch up. When he came to his senses, Shin Jaehyuk was already embracing Yujin tightly with both arms.

“Sen-ior?”

“…I won’t leave you alone.”

In his arms, Yujin was struggling with the grief of losing her parents, anxiety about the future, and the premonition that she would be alone again. A very fragile, small, ordinary human floundering before rough waves. Holding Yujin’s slender, trembling body in his arms, Shin Jaehyuk repeated as if making a vow.

“I’m not leaving for good. I’m just going on a short journey.”

“Even that short journey scares me. A journey where anything could happen…”

“It’s necessary. It’s a process to complete the preparations for us to be together, a journey I must finish myself and can’t entrust to anyone else. When all preparations are complete, I’ll return to your side.”

Her eyes darkened. Do you know the cold of loneliness, colder than winter? Do you know the desolation of silence where no one welcomes you back? She expressed the weight of emotions she had endured alone for years.

“…How do I know you can return? What if you never come back?”

“I promise.”

Shin Jaehyuk gripped Yujin’s shoulders and met her gaze.

“I will definitely return.”

It was an oath from one who possessed divine power. Though it was merely a verbal promise with no legal force, words spoken with sincerity by one with divine power were never taken lightly. The warmth of the words from Shin Jaehyuk seemed to seep into Yujin’s soul. The warmth heated her desolate heart and reminded her that she was not alone.

The feeling of having all her wounds and loneliness comforted, the sensation of fear being washed away. To use an analogy, it was like the relieved feeling of a sinner who had completed confession.

It might have been just an illusion on Yujin’s part, but at this moment, no further persuasion or excuse was needed. The vague expectation one person can have for another without reason, that relationship—we call it faith.

“…I’ll believe you, Senior.”

Even amid tears glistening like dew and overwhelming emotions, Yujin managed to force a smile. Because she had faith. Having set aside her worries, the girl wiped her tears with her sleeve and smiled brightly. Then she pulled Shin Jaehyuk’s cheek toward her.

Against the backdrop of the Eiffel Tower, two shadows carefully overlapped.