Chapter 442: Trial That Defies Fate (5)

To humans, sleep is a form of closure.

After a day filled with sights, sounds, feelings, and constant pressure to make the best decisions possible, the body must eventually fall into a state that mimics death.

Only by severing all senses and letting go of tension can anyone end a tiring day and be reborn anew the next.

“Hu, wake up. The moon is bright.”

“…”

“This is dire. You are not even whining for ten more minutes… clearly you have no intention of getting up.”

If you deny the rest you’re due, at first the body will stumble along in fatigue… but gradually, it will break down and fail.

That was me right now.

“Are humans really so fragile that a few sleepless days will bring them to this? Back in my day, I fought wars without sleep for days on end.”

“That’s… why you survived up to that point…”

“And to think my consort would be this frail.”

“It’s unfair for a vampire who doesn’t even sleep to say that… Ngh.”

I admit I’m weak.

But in these conditions, it can’t be helped.

I was a patient, then I wandered all around the Duchy, got drained repeatedly, collapsed, and still followed through to a public trial.

If I didn’t pass out from that, I’d be considered the next step in human evolution.

Besides—

“Who holds court in the middle of the night…? Good children should be in bed by now.”

“Night is the hour of vampires.”

“Sounds like vampires are all bad children then…”

“You speak as if you are any better. You are hardly a good child yourself.”

In any case, having realized my state, Tyr didn’t scold or rush me.

Instead, she leisurely rose from her seat.

“Then, what shall we do about Lyre’s judgment? Do you think it can wait a few days?”

“Huh? But we were supposed to do it today. Can that really be delayed?”

“It is only a few days. Blink, and it will pass over, no?”

“Even if a bug flew into my eye, I’d only be able to open it again in a few days.”

So this is how vampires think.

No hesitation in postponing promises.

Well, I guess someone like Tyr, who’s returned to her own country after three hundred years, might see it that way.

She even declared it proudly.

“Besides, I’m the Progenitor of this nation. Who is going to stop me?”

“Of course…”

The very embodiment of living—no, undead—power.

I gave her a thumbs-up while still lying face down.

“Please… just a little rest and I’ll be fine…”

“I see. Rest well then, but Hu…”

Tyr lowered her voice and gently poked me in the back, sounding almost shy.

“…When might we share the next night together? The night is long, and I find myself a little lonely.”

“We just did yesterday!”

“But it passed by in such a flash, I hardly remember what happened. If I could savor it a bit slower, I think I would understand better.”

“The way you say that makes it sound like I’m the Rabbit King. Tyr, three days isn’t ‘a flash’! Ask around, and you’ll hear legends of my stamina!”

If you didn’t have the energy of a vampire, you’d be dead by now!

That’s how grueling it was!

Argh, wait.

My headache’s coming back from all this excitement.

I might have to start using the Divine next time… even if it’s a bit of a cheat.

“You do not look well. I can feel the weakened flow of your blood. Mmm… maybe I should not push you any further.”

Leaving me to rest, Tyr donned her cloak and gathered the shadows scattered around the room into a parasol.

With her light preparations done, she smiled at me lying in bed and said.

“I shall fetch a doctor. Rest here until then. I will tell them to wait.”

“I think I’ll be okay if I just rest a bit… please, go ahead…”

“A little rest, by ordinary standards… I still do not quite grasp that. Very well, I will be off.”

The door shut slowly.

Thanks to Tyr gathering up all the darkness in the room, even the top of Plenilune Castle was now touched by the pale light of sunset.

Tyr, watching the room bathed in red just before the door closed, was lost in thought.

｢When our sense of time differs, the gap becomes so clear. Filling that gap is part of the joy, but someday, we must reach the same place. Whether I live a human span… or Hu becomes a vampire.｣

Walking away with a touch of regret, Tyr tilted her head curiously.

｢How strange. I used to think it would be fine to live a normal life… but now that Hu is here, I want to enjoy this time forever. Do one’s wishes change when circumstances do? I have to discuss it thoroughly with Hu next time we have the time.｣

Yeah. I wonder how things will turn out.

I don’t live my life with long-term plans.

When circumstances change, so do your wishes.

My vow to find all the Divines hasn’t changed, but I do feel content in my current comfortable life.

｢…That, too, must be joy. Heh. I never imagined such a time would come to me.｣

Especially since Tyr is beautiful, powerful, and—above all—devoted to me.

It’s not easy to have someone with absolute power who fulfills every request and accepts your desires.

Being a consort is a fine occupation.

Right. It’s not a bad place to end up in life, for a regular human.

That is, if the end stays in place.

While half-asleep and half-awake, buried in a bed that still carried Tyr’s faint scent, the door suddenly burst open.

Lyre Nightingale marched in, carrying a small medical bag, heedless of the fact that this was the Progenitor’s personal room.

“I heard there was a patient, so I came. Where is the patient?”

“Uuurgh…”

“…? This isn’t even close to a patient’s state. Aside from being a bit weak, you’re perfectly fine.”

Diagnosing me in an instant, Lyre fiddled with an ampoule from her bag and asked,

“Would you like some nutrient-infused blood?”

“I’m not a vampire, though…”

“It’s refined to be consumable by humans. It tricks the body into thinking blood volume has increased. Highly effective for a quick energy boost.”

“I’ll be fine with a little rest, so please leave me be…”

“Wise choice. When it comes to recovery, time is an even better medicine.”

Lyre nodded and pulled a chair over, sitting down where she could see me.

“…So what about the trial?”

“The Progenitor entrusted me with the consort’s health. I was informed I didn’t need to participate until then. Of course, discussions about my sentencing are still going on despite my absence.”

“What do you think will happen?”

“I don’t know. It doesn’t seem like the Progenitor intends to punish me… but who knows. One day, I might end up killed in an ambush like my father.”

“Hearing you say ‘one day’ like that makes it sound like you’ll be fine for now. That’s a relief. In that case, I’m going to rest.”

She must’ve realized she survived after all.

How lucky.

With that peace of mind, I let myself fully fall asleep.

“…All rested!”

When I came to, my mind was noticeably clearer.

Feeling refreshed, I sat up and saw Lyre still seated in exactly the same posture.

“You’re awake.”

“How long was I out?”

“Approximately three hours.”

Three hours.

A blink of an eye to Tyr, perhaps—but for a human, it’s enough to pull yourself out of a shattered state.

I wasn’t sick, just exhausted, so I bounced back quickly.

Stretching and checking my condition, I said.

“Ughh… I feel great. I think I might actually be healthier than before.”

“You were healthy to begin with. Among patients brought in with abdominal puncture wounds, you were probably the healthiest.”

“I don’t usually get sick, but I didn’t think I was this robust. Am I in my physical prime?”

Well, not really.

More likely it’s because I’ve been surrounded by powerful Bloodcraft users.

With hundreds of vampires around, even I must’ve been affected just a bit.

After checking my cards and slipping the rest into my pocket, I asked,

“The Duchy’s been surprisingly quiet, despite an Elder dying. I expected chaos when I heard about Mr. Luscynia’s death.”

“The Duchy is a state that exists under the Progenitor’s power.”

“But Tyr’s dominion is gone now, right? Shouldn’t there be more unrest?”

Lyre answered my question clearly.

“The dominion of the Progenitor hasn’t gone anywhere. Her dominion simply circles within her own body. She escaped the shackles by turning it inward—her power looping back on itself in a way my father never intended. The Progenitor has reached a new realm entirely on her own.”

“On her own? Someone could’ve helped her, right? Like your father.”

“My father never helped anyone, but aside from that, assisting the Progenitor is impossible.”

“And why are you so certain?”

“Who could possibly wield Bloodcraft equal to or greater than the Progenitor? And how would anyone help her perceive and control her own blood objectively? There would have to be two Progenitors for that to happen.”

In other words, if someone did help her, it could only have been Tyr herself.

But since that’s impossible, Lyre concluded that Tyr had awakened on her own.

…Is this the insight of the one later called the Doctor Sage?

She’s practically reading the blood flow without even touching anyone.

Is this also Bloodcraft?

Or just an uncanny eye?

No—wait. At this level… perhaps it was possible for someone other than Tyr to become the Divine of Blood.

But how?

“Hold on. Ms. Lyre Nightingale. You seem remarkably skilled at diagnosing others.”

“You only need as much skill as is necessary.”

“No, I mean… Ms. Lyre, you escaped the Shackles of Blood, didn’t you?”

“So it seems. Though, it’s rather meaningless now that the Progenitor has cast hers off as well.”

“Well, for Tyr, the shackles and the Bloodcraft are literally her own powers, so that makes sense. But you… How did you escape it?”

Luscynia ordered Lyre to kill him.

Lyre tried to do just that.

But she failed.

And instead, it was Valdamir who killed Luscynia.

The reason, according to what I read from their thoughts, was that Luscynia, having escaped the shackles, attempted rebellion against the Progenitor.

I thought that cleared up a lot of mysteries, but one major question remained.

How did Lyre escape the shackles?

“…That is classified. I cannot reveal it without the Progenitor’s permission.”

“Tyr has already cast off the shackles, and now that she’s at the top of the hierarchy, I don’t think it matters anymore. Besides, I’m her consort.”

“…Perhaps so.”

Now that the Progenitor had escaped the shackles—and given that the method was at least somewhat similar to what Luscynia discovered—Lyre judged it was safe to speak.

“A circle of dominion. Any result would do, as long as one can use Bloodcraft to exert control over oneself. Ideally, like the Progenitor, one would loop that control internally, but for a vampire who obtained immortality through an external source like Primordial Essence, it’s nearly impossible to do it alone. That’s why my father created a feedback loop through me and dominated that…”

No, I already know that part.

I’m a Mind Reader.

I’ve read your thoughts and Valdamir’s.

I’ve pieced together most of the truth.

What I want is the final piece.

The thoughts of Luscynia—now dead and unreadable.

“Then what about you?”

“…Pardon?”

“You escaped the shackles too, right? What was your catalyst?”

I’m curious about one thing only.

What did Luscynia, in that brief moment of freedom, truly feel?

You say we can’t know because he’s dead?

We don’t need to.

His actions say enough.

After all, the mind is nothing more than the force that moves one to action.

“Why did Luscynia free you from the shackles?”

It’s not about what Luscynia achieved—but what his actions signified.

Lyre flinched as she realized what I was pointing out.

And just then—I sensed it. From outside, thoughts began to approach.

Something was coming.

Not stealthily, not with hidden steps.

But with blatant hostility.

Of course. No way the world would leave me alone.

This’ll be a bit rough.

I plunged my hand deep into my pocket, fingers brushing over my cards.

“…I have heard everyone’s opinions.”

As Tyrkanzyaka had thought, to a vampire, a few days is hardly any time at all.

Even a trial held ten years after the murder of an Elder was considered “timely.”

No one was impatient just because things were delayed by a few days.

“Then let us decide Lyre’s judgment after she has demonstrated her abilities. This session is concluded. No objections, I assume.”

“Progenitor. I bring a different matter to the court.”.

– Crash.

The doors opened and one Elder strode in.

The Blood Monk Dogo.

An ascetic who became a vampire after accepting eternal suffering.

He was supposed to be recovering from his wounds, yet now he entered without a single scratch.

Taking the vacant seat left by Valdamir’s absence, Dogo stood reverently before the Progenitor, hands folded in prayer, then swept his gaze around the hall.

“There is a matter far graver and more urgent than this case that must be judged first.”

“And what is that?”

The fact that an ordinary Neonate cast off the shackles and killed a mad Elder pales in comparison to what followed…

“Tyrkanzyaka. Our Progenitor, a name that bears calamity. Our maker, our beginning and our end.”

“…?”

“We vampires suffered beneath the shackles because it was powerful. It was absolute and its force promised pain.”

The vampires exchanged glances.

A few closed their eyes as if to avoid involvement.

Collusion. Strategy. Complicity. Indifference.

A swarm of political calculations passed behind those pale, unmoving faces.

Vampires are cold—because their blood moves slowly.

Vampires are rational—because they lack emotion.

Vampires are mechanical—because they do not waver.

Vampires are blind—because they cannot oppose their maker.

“But now, I feel nothing from you. No awe. No fear. No joy. No pain. Not even strength.”

“You dare. Do you even realize what you are saying right now?”

—All of those traits stem from having a maker who controls them.

“This humble monk, Dogo, requests a trial to judge your worthiness! Here and now.”

A retainer challenging the maker.

A dead man challenging the living.

A worshipper… placing their god on trial.

The trial that defied fate had begun.