Chapter 455: Nothing Good Lasts Forever

– Neighhh

The Sanguine Horse Ralion bellowed wildly.

He kicked off the ground and slammed his forehoof into Rahu Khan’s chest.

Rahu Khan, who now bore the imprint of a hoof on his pectoral, endured the impact and thrust his spear forward.

The spear pierced Ralion from head to tail, swirling as it did so and reducing him to a splash of blood.

But only for a moment.

Ralion regenerated instantly, snorted, and rammed his body into Rahu Khan.

Trading blows like beasts, Rahu Khan shouted.

“Ralion! You haven’t changed at all!”

The Progenitor’s first Elder—Ralion—was an Elder, and yet not.

He was the end of the girl Tyr and the beginning of the Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka.

The first creation she made, modeled after the horse that died by her side.

Unlike other Elders who possess some degree of ego, Ralion exists solely to reflect the Progenitor’s mood.

While the Elders were originally human, Ralion was a memory.

A friend, sculpted from her recollection.

That hadn’t changed, even now that the Progenitor had shed her shackles.

Ralion stood loyally, blocking the traitors’ path.

His overwhelming strength was his advantage.

With that natural power, he pushed Rahu Khan back.

The battle entered a lull.

Bakuta and Muri, after trading a few blows, showed no further signs of aggression.

Those two had always been impulsive, acting on emotion ever since the shackles broke—they had no real goal.

The only one who posed a real threat to the Progenitor, Erzsebet, had vanished without a trace after being sent flying.

For Rahu Khan, this wasn’t a fight worth continuing.

His purpose was to protect the Centaur race.

He joined the rebellion against the Progenitor because he felt instability in the power structure after the shackles were severed.

If the rebellion failed, he had planned to retreat into the jungle with his kin.

With four legs, Rahu Khan was faster than anyone.

Naturally, someone filled with thoughts of fleeing wouldn’t be eager to fight.

Though he could have shaken Ralion off with his full strength, Rahu Khan chose instead to grapple and observe the situation.

“Ha-ha-ha! Progenitor! Not yet—!”

Ironically, the one filling the void left by Erzsebet was Lunken.

Lunken, who had once given Tyrkanzyaka the chance to grow by challenging her, now stood against her.

Tyrkanzyaka’s shadow swatted her arm as if brushing away a pest.

A massive, shadowy limb smashed through the wall and floor as it hurtled toward Lunken.

Lunken didn’t use any special power.

All he had was a powerful body and an unyielding fighting spirit.

But when paired with overwhelming strength, that spirit became a formidable power.

Even the Progenitor’s Primordial Essence couldn’t stop his spirit.

The primal desire of the boar beastkin drove him forward, even against a mighty foe.

“Hrrgh!”

Lunken charged and slammed into Tyrkanzyaka’s shadow.

He crashed against its sheer size and weight, which moved far faster than it should.

He braced with both arms and his head.

It was like throwing oneself at an oncoming tank.

Lunken’s body was crushed from the legs upward.

Even as his head was driven deep into the shadow’s mass, his fists struck out.

Even while his knees were being ground into the stone floor, he clenched his fists and delivered wild flurries.

Dozens, hundreds of shockwaves rippled across the shadow.

If one strike wasn’t enough, he poured everything into countless more.

Tyrkanzyaka’s shadow was intricate, but still just an imitation of her body, it was not yet solidified.

Lunken’s repeated blows to the same spot scattered the darkness.

With one final headbutt, he shattered the shadow and roared, soaked in blood.

Of course, it was only one arm.

Two more shadowy arms sprouted and seized Lunken, flinging him skyward.

A new hole burst open in the ceiling of the Plenilune Castle.

Lunken’s howls faded into the distance.

But Tyrkanzyaka paid him no mind.

Her shadow may have moved, but her interest was elsewhere.

[…Where is Hu?]

“If you mean your consort, he’s already run off. He left you behind.”

Kavila, who had watched from the sidelines without joining the battle, remained calm despite the worsening situation.

Tyrkanzyaka glared at her and said.

[He must have stepped away because it became dangerous.]

“Exactly. In dangerous moments, he won’t be by your side. Or if he is, it may become even more dangerous.”

[You think it becomes dangerous if he is by my side?]

“Yes, sister. Just like now.”

Kavila spread her arms, gesturing to the ruined castle.

The repeated battles had demolished not only furniture and decorations but also the very floors and ceilings.

The castle, too weak to endure a vampire-on-vampire clash, had been destroyed.

The only things still standing were the vampires themselves.

Just as they had endured for over a thousand years, they remained unchanging even as the castle fell around them.

“Look. Only vampires remain. Only vampires are eternal and unchanging. Everything else crumbles like sand… because they’re softer, weaker.”

Vampires felt no pain, so they had no fear.

Their bodies regenerated, so they didn’t hesitate to destroy.

Not just Elders—Tyrkanzyaka was the same.

Even if something new approached, she would observe quietly until it tried to destroy her.

“If you ruled this land, and as long as you loved him, then yes—he would be safe, but if you stop being the Progenitor? If someone uses him as a hostage, or attacks him without recognizing him, or assassinates him just to hurt you… Would you, blinded by love, see it coming and stop it?”

[You underestimate Hu. You think he would go down so easily?]

“Yes! He would. It’s the fate of the King of Beasts.”

Kavila declared firmly.

“Beasts exist to be foolishly defeated by wise humans. The King of Dogs rolls over for affection. The King of Wolves dies in traps. The King of Sheep survives by giving up its wool. The King of Humans… will be abandoned by the very beings they represent and die.”

[Abandoned…?]

“Before the First Year, humans conquered the surface and built the greatest empire.
The master of that empire was the King of Humans, the strongest of all Beast Kings both in might and wisdom. Do you know how he disappeared?”

Even Tyrkanzyaka didn’t know.

She lived during the age of the Five Sovereigns and had only watched their numbers dwindle.

All she knew was tied to those Five.

The Saintess had said.

‘Humans are the lords of all creation, beings above beasts. That’s why the King of Humans does not exist.’

Tyrkanzyaka, who denied all the Saintess’s teachings, didn’t take that at face value.

But she also hadn’t paid much attention until Hu appeared.

But Kavila knew something.

Tyrkanzyaka, unaware of herself, leaned in to listen.

“…It was rebellion.”

Kavila spoke of a history known to only a few.

“The King of Humans followed the will of his people. Rebellion is when power and authority are taken from the king. To honor that will, the King of Humans gave up his life and vanished.”

[…Vanished?]

“Yes. No one’s seen a King of Humans since. I don’t know why one appeared before you now, but…It won’t last long. You, the living Progenitor, cannot protect him. The Duchy, the King of Humans, even your heart— All will waver and crumble. This is honest counsel, sis. Please, make the wise choice. That fool Valdamir might cheer you on without knowing a thing, so… Before he arrives—”

Even if Kavila did nothing, tragedy would come.

She whispered like a Prophet.

When Tyrkanzyaka ruled everything, these were worries she never had.

But now the Duchy no longer moves at her sole command.

The Elders’ rebellion was proof enough.

As her shadow deepened, Kavila glanced outward and murmured.

“Oh dear. He’s here.”

– BOOM!

Before her sentence ended, one wall collapsed, and the gaunt monk Dogo tumbled through, crashing against the far wall.

Dogo, the Blood Monk who had once scolded the Progenitor and left her side, returned in the most unexpected way.

Battered and furious, he shouted toward the breach:

“You—!”

Valdamir appeared through the wreckage, calm and unruffled.

Looking down at the disheveled Dogo, he spoke..

“Stand properly. This concerns the Progenitor’s safety.”

“A Progenitor who gave up both strength and authority for carnal desire is nothing to me! This humble monk’s rest is over. I will transcend this Saha World!”

“Do as you wish, but leave your blood to the Progenitor.”

“No one determines this humble monk’s fate except I!”

Dogo launched himself at Valdamir like lightning, giving no room for him to swing his greatsword.

A thunderous step shook the entire castle as Dogo unleashed his Qi Art—

Demonic Bloodfight Ultimate Technique: Calamity.

A maelstrom of blood surged upward to shred Valdamir.

In response, Valdamir bent his arm inward and pulled back.

The slightly misaligned axis caught the strike and twisted it into a vast rotation.

Dogo’s attack grazed past him.

Their arms entwined and reversed.

By a hair’s breadth, Valdamir evaded the blow and seized Dogo’s fully extended arm.

– Crunch.

Exhausted from expending all his energy, Dogo had no strength left.

Valdamir twisted the arm outward and it snapped like a twig.

Even for a vampire, regeneration took time.

Before Dogo could repair his flopping elbow, Valdamir swung his greatsword.

Dogo quickly parried the blade itself, yet Valdamir wedged the hilt between his ribs instead.

It was a minor injury for a vampire, but Valdamir’s goal wasn’t damage; it was restriction.

With a sword stuck between the ribs, even a vampire couldn’t move naturally.

Dogo needed to pull it out, but Valdamir acted half a beat faster and overwhelmed him.

Physical strength, technique, situational control— Valdamir held a slight advantage in all aspects.

He moved like a judge delivering punishment.

Every time Dogo misjudged, Valdamir exacted a cold penalty.

An arm sliced, a shoulder shattered.

He drove attacks into the brief windows between each regeneration.

Though the gap was clear, the fight still took some time, but for a clash between vampires, it ended in an instant.

Dogo, flattened and shredded, shouted in disgrace beneath Valdamir’s feet.

“Guh…! You saw through this humble monk’s technique! When did you—!”

“I’ve watched you for nearly a thousand years. I couldn’t help but learn. In fact, I’d like to ask you, what have you been doing all that time?”

Valdamir already knew the answer: nothing.

All Elders were monsters who had made a name for themselves in the past.

And now they had preserved the power of their prime and gained the immortality of vampires—just that made them disasters incarnate.

But that was where they stopped.

Armed with already-mastered techniques and boosted strength, Elders had each acquired their own unique power.

That alone made them more than powerful enough to serve the Progenitor’s command.

Valdamir, on the other hand, had only happened to meet the Progenitor and receive her blood.

To be of any use at all, he had to struggle.

Fortunately, as an Elder, Valdamir had been granted long years and countless opportunities.

He honed himself by learning the techniques of other Elders.

“You’ve been left behind, Dogo.”

“Urgh…!”

“I won’t blame your laziness. After all, that’s why you became a vampire, but the reason you’ve ended up like this was simply because you stood in the way of the path the Progenitor now walks.”

Valdamir muttered coldly as he pressed down with his foot.

Even the hardened body of an ascetic crumbled beneath the Crimson Duke’s strength.

– Crunch.

The ribs and heart were crushed in one go as Valdamir’s foot pierced through Dogo and touched the floor.

Treating him like a worn-out shoe, Valdamir dusted off his hands and turned to face Tyrkanzyaka.

[…Valdamir.]

“My apologies, Progenitor. I was delayed while disposing of the traitor.”

A chilling shadow seethed with a flood of emotions.

Darkness surged in tune with Tyrkanzyaka’s mood.

Valdamir looked up at the shadow that glared at him and thought.

｢At last… she has learned caution.｣

Vampires were born with a weak sense of caution.

They didn’t die, didn’t feel pain, so they had little reason to fear anything.

Seeing that change in Tyrkanzyaka, Valdamir felt proud.

[Do you intend to defy me as well? Do you condemn me for reclaiming my heart?]

“Not at all. The path you walk, Progenitor, is my path as well.”

[The other Elders do not seem to agree.]

“They choose to remain still. You choose to move forward, Progenitor, so I have no choice but to leave them behind as well.”

[Were you testing me all this time by simply watching?]

“I wouldn’t dare. What I tested… were the Elders.”

Du Rahan, Erzsebet, and Dogo—they simply failed the test.

Valdamir calmly reported to the Progenitor, as if killing Elders was nothing unusual.

And seeing the Elders lingering between life and death, Tyrkanzyaka realized.

[So Luscynia did not choose death of his own will. All this time, I have been conducting a false trial.]

“Indeed.”

Valdamir was loyal to the Progenitor, but he did not obey her blindly.

He was the kind of man who would carry out tasks even unbidden, if it was for her sake.

Like a parent leaving behind lessons for a child’s growth, he always preserved something for Tyrkanzyaka: a ruling for the nation, knowledge to be learned, or a rebellious Elder to be dealt with.

Looking upon her strongest Elder, Tyrkanzyaka asked, as if confirming something.

[So you are the one who annihilated Luscynia.]

“Yes, I—”

He was about to acknowledge it plainly when suddenly, a thought struck him.

Valdamir acted for the Progenitor, not because he was her retainer or servant.

Even before becoming her retainer, he had resolved to be her instrument, and after becoming one, he upheld that resolve.

He killed Luscynia, another Elder, because the man dared propose rebellion against the Progenitor.

At the time, Valdamir had been certain.

Luscynia’s madness was too far gone to extinguish and having broken his shackles through his own power, he posed a genuine threat to the Progenitor.

It was a reasonable judgment—very vampire-like.

But now, with the shackles broken, in hindsight… something felt off.

Why had Luscynia come to him?

Had he truly proposed rebellion to the Crimson Duke, known for his loyalty to the Progenitor?

And in such a weakened state after breaking the shackles?

Why had he brought along his daughter, who was practically dead?

Valdamir had killed Luscynia because he had to.

It was for the Progenitor’s sake, but it wasn’t what he wanted.

When Elders kill other Elders, it shakes the country.

Valdamir, being unlike the others, could kill—but not rule them.

So he took the recovered Primordial Essence and infused it into Luscynia’s daughter, Lyre.

Valdamir had no special authority to do so, but it didn’t matter.

Lyre was Luscynia’s daughter and retainer.

Without incident, she accepted the Primordial Essence and became an Elder.

Once the Progenitor returned, he would explain the truth.

Until then, Lyre was the only one capable of holding the Essence.

And so, Valdamir protected her from the shadows…

It had seemed like a logical, natural decision.

But now that the shackles were broken, as he looked upon Tyrkanzyaka, Valdamir felt a strange sensation.

Perhaps… he had acted exactly as Luscynia intended.

Breaking the shackles didn’t erase one’s reason.

Luscynia, like Valdamir, had surely been cold and calculating.

Valdamir couldn’t understand why someone so rational would plot rebellion—and come to him of all people.

So he dismissed it as madness.

But what if it wasn’t madness?

What if it was a deliberate suicide, to save his dying daughter?

Now that the Blood Shackles were gone, Luscynia and Lyre couldn’t both exist.

Even an Elder couldn’t perform surgery on himself.

Luscynia needed someone to kill him and pass on the Primordial Essence.

Valdamir had been the perfect tool—and even went so far as to protect his daughter.

From beginning to end, perhaps he’d been manipulated.

Valdamir felt a sudden urge to smile—something unbefitting of a vampire.

This, too, was a realization made possible only after shedding the shackles.

It was likely the closest thing to the truth.

But Valdamir was no Mind Reader.

He had no way of knowing what Luscynia had truly thought back then, no means of confirmation either.

Even if he could return to the past, he would have made the same decision.

What mattered was who did what, and why.

So Valdamir reported plainly, with only the facts.

“Yes. Luscynia, freed from his shackles, plotted rebellion. I killed him and infused his Primordial Essence into his daughter.”

Valdamir was already stronger than the other Elders.

Gaining the Primordial Essence offered him no further benefit.

From the moment he chose to stand by the Progenitor’s side the Elders’ rebellion was doomed to fail.

Rahu Khan had already fled, the three traitors were suppressed, the rest had no will to fight, and the strongest one—Valdamir—stood with the Progenitor.

The rebellion of the Elders ended as quickly as it had begun—sudden and anticlimactic.

Valdamir presented the traitors before the Progenitor and said.

“I leave their judgment to you, Progenitor. What shall you do?”

But the Progenitor’s attention was elsewhere.

Without even glancing at the Elders, Tyrkanzyaka asked.

[Does Hu know that you killed Luscynia?]

It might not seem important, but it was a razor-sharp question.

How honest had the King of Humans been with her?

In Tyrkanzyaka, always slow and indifferent, there was now a taut tension.

Is it that love changes a person, or is it because of love that people change?

Valdamir thought of Luscynia for a brief moment, then pushed the thoughts aside and answered honestly.

“Yes.”