Chapter 452: Trial That Defies Fate (15)

The vines, nourished by blood, climbed against the current of the blood river.

Drawing strength from the Blood Aura, the vines stretched out their branches and leaves, covering the river of blood.

“Druidism? No… this is from the Tree of Corruption…”

Hilde, once a member of the Crusaders and the very person who had stolen a seed from the Tree of Corruption, instantly recognized the nature of my power.

“As expected of you, Father. You really can wield the powers of the Divine.”

“Not all of them. Only the ones I know.”

“Well, you are the King of Humans after all. It makes sense! You can use anything a human can, right? Fufu. Now I see why the Sanctum was so wary of you~”

“I wonder. Was there even a need for them to be so cautious of me?”

Just because you have knowledge doesn’t mean you can fully utilize it.

The same goes for me.

The Divine etched into the world can be used by anyone taught how to wield them, but their effectiveness varies greatly depending on the individual.

I just happen to use them in a more convenient and efficient way—but that doesn’t mean I’m particularly powerful.

“The vines will try to root themselves into Erzsebet. While she’s busy wrestling with them, we should run.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to end this here?”

“Ah, well. The Tree of Genesis doesn’t work well with Bloodcraft.”

Thankfully, there was no need to explain further.

The vines that had been rapidly expanding with blood suddenly stopped.

Then, like snakes, they turned their heads toward us.

[A vine that drinks blood, how curious, but that’s all it is. As long as it touches Blood Aura, it falls under my dominion.]

Erzsebet’s power spread through the vines, piggybacking on the blood.

The vines, now saturated with blood, began slithering toward us like crimson serpents, licking the air.

Seeing dozens of vines rushing toward us, Hilde paled.

“What the heck! Now they’ve become Erzsebet’s minions!”

“I told you. The compatibility’s bad.”

“Bad? It’s like you poured gasoline on a fire! What are we supposed to do now?!”

Dozens of vines lashed out.

Even with a greatsword, it would be hard to cut them all down.

Hilde split her Holy Sword into two slender blades and slashed the vines away.

Blood-soaked sap burst like juice from the severed vines.

“Thanks for cleaning up my mess. I used to think of you as luggage, but now I really do feel like you’re worthy of being my daughter.”

“Shut up! We’re going over the roof. Follow me!”

Hilde leapt and landed atop the building, hacking away the vines clinging to the walls.

She reached out a hand for me to grab.

“Huh? You made it up by yourself?”

“Ah, yeah. I raised the ground slightly and used the recoil to propel myself up.”

“…If you could do that, why didn’t you use it earlier?!”

“It’s a minor skill. These cheap tricks won’t change the course of a battle anyway.”

While we sprinted across the wide rooftop, dozens of vines pursued us.

At this point, they weren’t even vines—they were practically snakes in the guise of plants.

But instead of fangs, they reached out with dense roots.

Grumbling while fleeing the vines I had created, I said.

“Is this how it feels when your own creation attacks you? I feel humiliated.”

“You should feel humiliated, Father! And while you’re at it, feel guilty towards ‘me’ too!”

“Me feeling guilty should be enough, right?”

“Without compensation?! Of course not! …Jump!”

Dodging the chasing vines, we jumped off the rooftop.

Hilde landed gracefully using Qi, while I used what little Qi I had to soften the landing with a bit of Earthweave, rolling as I hit the ground.

Even after all that effort, my shoulder still ached.

So unfair.

While Hilde fought off the trailing vines, I sprinted ahead.

Since I was slower, I had to widen the distance whenever Hilde was occupied elsewhere.

As I sprinted, a crimson carpet unfurled before me—welcoming me, almost mockingly.

Wait a second.

“Born into nobility. It would be uncouth for me to chase a mongrel without dignity. It’s better to lure you into a trap.”

Ah, that’s why there were so many vines… It was a setup.

No matter where I looked: vines, vines, and more vines.

Unlike blood, vines didn’t have to flow—they could simply spread.

Surrounded by my own mutated vines, Erzsebet folded her fan with a snap.

“I rather liked the vines. They’re not beautiful, but they’d make good wall decorations. I’ll put your remains to good use.”

“Oh, wait. I have another gift.”

“Your head? Fufufu, I’ll be claiming it soon enough.”

“No, no. I slipped a card between the vines.”

You can’t fight vampires with normal human tricks.

No matter how much you practice stabbing, it’s useless if the target doesn’t die from the wound.

Historically, there were only two ways to deal with vampires: Wait for sunlight or borrow magic.

The Three of Clovers.

The beginning of humanity’s age: the magic of flame.

The fire magic I prepared began to devour the surrounding tinder.

I had mutated the vines to absorb blood.

But that wasn’t the end.

The vines that had absorbed blood were still vulnerable to flame.

And because they had rapidly consumed moisture to grow bigger, they became even better fuel.

In short—Erzsebet was standing inside a bomb.

I lit the fuse.

“Set. Celsius.”

The card responded to my mana, unleashing the contained spell.

The flames, red like blood but dazzlingly bright, erupted in an explosion that swallowed everything.

The inferno, a primordial hunger, devoured the vines in an instant.

If Hilde hadn’t grabbed me just in time, I would’ve been sent flying.

Hilde, covering her mouth, grumbled.

“Ugh. At least give me a warning first if you’re going to pull this kind of stunt!”

“You kinda expected it when the vines got taken over, right?”

“I thought you poisoned them, not set them on fire!”

Poison wouldn’t have worked anyway.

What good is poison to the dead?

In the end, brute force is still the best method against vampires.

Always has been.

…It would’ve been nice if that had actually finished her off, though.

“Wait!”

Hilde swung her Holy Sword.

The blade’s light slashed through the smoke and deflected a flying blood blade aimed at us.

The shattered blood mist sprayed in all directions.

“…Tsk. I got too carried away.”

Through the lingering flames and smoke, Erzsebet appeared.

Her clothes, unable to withstand the blast, were torn and burned away.

Yet her skin was barely singed or marked.

Not a single blemish in sight.

Even a massive explosion couldn’t extinguish Erzsebet’s Blood Aura.

Blood is liquid, and in the battle between water and fire, Erzsebet won handily.

Still, shouldn’t she at least look a little more roughed up?

Come on.

“I hadn’t intended to dirty my own hands…”

Erzsebet swung her fan.

A blast of wind erupted, scattering the smoke and flames.

Her strength was monstrous.

Her control of the wind through the fan was equally formidable.

Pointing the fan at Hilde, Erzsebet whispered chillingly:

“But since I’ve already shown such a disgraceful sight, I no longer care. I’ll kill you outright.”

The Countess Erzsebet.

Even before becoming a vampire, she had bathed in blood.

How could a delicate noblewoman do such a thing?

Power?

Politics?

No—

It was through pure strength.

She had mastered Qi even before she became a vampire.

Until now, she simply hadn’t needed to use it.

But her original strength remained formidable.

Tsk.

Would’ve been easier if she just stuck to playing with vines.

Still, we had held out for quite a while.

“Father… Do you have anything else?”

Good timing.

I answered Hilde’s question with a confident smile.

“I sent a signal. Reinforcements will come.”

“…I’m honestly impressed. How many moves ahead can you even see?”

“I didn’t really predict anything. I just scattered bait everywhere. Maybe someday I’ll reel something in.”

If anyone with business saw that explosion, they’d come running.

All we had to do was hang on until then—

“Madam Erzsebet.”

They’re here?

Wait.

Hold up.

…An Ancilla?

One of Erzsebet’s servants?

Not my reinforcements!?

“You’re here, Katalina. How’s the situation?”

“The situation is turning against us. I came as you summoned, but you must return to the castle at once.”

“I’ll finish up shortly. Assist me.”

“As you command.”

Five Ancillae, led by Katalina, surrounded Hilde and me.

We couldn’t even handle one Elder, but now an extra five Ancillae?

Even at full strength, three would be a problem for us.

Where the hell are my real reinforcements?

Death descended upon the streets swept through by the Elder.

Everywhere, humans were bleeding out, standing at the doorstep of death.

Even those who survived exhaled sighs of sorrow and relief at their narrow escape.

And with the presence of death, she arrived.

A nurse’s apron tied over her uniform, a triangular headscarf on her head, pale skin and crimson eyes—

The belatedly recognized Elder, Lyre Nightingale.

Those who realized who she was screamed and backed away.

“A vampire…!”

“Hiiik! Run away!”

“The Elder’s going to kill us all!”

“We have to fight back…!”

Even amidst the chaos and terror, Lyre calmly counted.

Thirty-two on the verge of death.

Eighty-three bleeding out from anemia.

And with minor injuries added up, nearly two hundred.

This was well within Lyre’s capabilities.

She untied her headscarf and pulled out her hairpin.

Ebony-black hair, hidden beneath the cloth, cascaded down.

Lyre cut off a handful with the hairpin-turned-dagger.

The hair, fluttering in the air, suddenly wriggled like live worms.

Lyre, using finely tuned Bloodcraft, controlled her hair.

The black strands sniffed out the scent of blood and moved toward the wounded.

“Ugh! Get away, you monster!”

Terrified humans kicked out at the strands, but the delicate hair easily evaded their resistance and slipped into their wounds.

As the screaming humans watched in horror—

– Pup, pup, pup, pup—

The strands zigzagged through the injuries, weaving themselves into the wounds, tying neat knots.

If Erzsebet’s dominion over blood was for harvesting, then Lyre’s dominion was to return the blood to where it belonged.

She forcibly seized control of the weakened blood flow, reversing the blood that tried to seep out and accelerating it like an external heartbeat.

However, due to Erzsebet’s earlier harvest, there wasn’t enough blood left.

After stabilizing the urgent cases with the little blood she had, Lyre raised her voice to the crowd.

“By Elder’s authority, I will collect emergency blood tax. Your understanding is appreciated.”

“W-what…?! Aaaah!”

Hair pierced into the healthier humans and drew blood.

Like mosquitoes, the engorged strands carried blood to the dying.

Though the amount was small, some of the taxed wore dissatisfied expressions.

But since Lyre’s action was to save lives, and because the taxed lacked the power or justification to protest, they swallowed their complaints.

External wounds were easy to treat.

Inject blood, close the wound—It wasn’t as simple as it sounded, but Lyre’s powers were honed precisely for that purpose.

The treatment was swift.

Once it was finished, a towering man approached her.

“Ms. Lyre. Erzsebet attacked us indiscriminately. No reason, nothing. She was simply frenzied for blood.”

The humans of the Duchy, raised as livestock for centuries, no longer harbored resentment against vampires.

But refugees from outside often retained the common sense of the outer world and the world outside was hostile toward vampires.

“I saw it. The Progenitor’s consort and the Crusader are fighting her. Join us. If an Elder joins the fight, we can win.”

He was a refugee—and a former knight of a fallen Kingdom, no less.

It wasn’t strange that he suggested fighting back.

Even though the Elders were overwhelming, if Lyre canceled out Erzsebet’s Bloodcraft, only her frail body would remain.

Victory could be possible.

However—

“I have no interest in that.”

Lyre curtly refused and rose to her feet.

She showed no further concern for either the treated patients or the Elder.

As if nothing here held any meaning, she turned away to seek out other patients.

Stunned, the giant shouted at her retreating back.

“You save humans, don’t you?! Stopping Erzsebet is the surest way to save even more!”

“I have no interest in how they live. Whether Erzsebet harvests a few humans or a few hundred, I do not care.”

Lyre stopped walking for a moment.

Her still heart showed no response, even when seeing the dying.

No sympathy.

No pity.

No anger.

Nothing.

Her parents had given her life— and taken everything else.

The daughter of an Elder.

A child made for a purpose.

Swung like a tool, turned into a vampire before she could even grow up properly.

And when her father, the Elder, ordered her to rebel, her entire life became one of rebellion.

She had never decided anything on her own.

For Lyre, emotions and will were as meaningless as explaining colors to the blind.

Vampires do have emotions.

But how can you feel what you’ve never learned?

Thus, when Lyre finally gained her freedom after becoming an Elder, she chose a simple path.

To heal humans.

The reason was surprisingly simple.

It was something she could do well, and no one would interfere.

Just like now.

“The treatment is complete. I’m leaving.”

Now that there were no more patients, there was no need for her to stay.

Turning her back on the living, Lyre went in search of more dying souls.