Chapter 457: All For One

“You’re special.”

I don’t lie.

What I say is usually the truth. Actually, no, not usually, it’s always 100% the truth.

Have I ever lied before?

“Tyr, there are many who have wishes. Everyone holds a desire in their heart, but can we really grant those wishes just because they exist? Especially when we don’t even know what they are?”

I can read minds because I’m a Mind Reader, but that doesn’t mean I truly know anything.

If someone wishes to eat something delicious, how can I grant that if I don’t know what they think tastes good?

“To make a wish come true, three things are needed: a specific and clear goal, the ability to reach it, and the will to continue the journey. Most people stumble at the very first step. Because they don’t even know what they really want.”

Tyr, still in my arms, listened quietly to everything I said.

Even if she tried to read my thoughts to find the answer she wanted… it would be meaningless.

I had to convince her with sincerity.

Especially now, when Tyr’s emotions were all over the place…

She poured part of herself into that shadow.

I couldn’t read her inner thoughts fully anymore.

“You were different, Tyr. You had a clear goal. As long as there was a method, you would’ve tried anything, and though you veered off slightly, you nearly succeeded. You saved yourself, so I saved you. I just happened to have the means.”

Even if someone’s wish is world peace, they won’t be able to fulfill it if they don’t know what true peace is.

Even if they compromise and define peace as a world where humans no longer fight, there’s no clear way to achieve that.

You could kill all the violent ones, but anyone who truly wishes for true peace would rather give up than take that route.

“So even if I say I’ll grant a wish, that doesn’t mean I can do it for everyone. If someone doesn’t even know what they want, I won’t grant it. I’ll just laugh at them instead, but you, Tyr… you’re already special to me.”

In that sense, Tyr was truly a special person.

Someone so ancient, yet her wish hadn’t weathered with time.

Maybe because she was a vampire, but even after all that, she still held onto that original desire.

In the isolation of the Abyss, I understood Tyr’s wish completely.

I carried it on and etched a beating heart into her beatless one.

Thinking back, Tyr was the first person whose wish I fulfilled purely and sincerely.

I spoke the truth earnestly and honestly.

[So… even now, you still won’t say I’m the only special one.]

Of course, it didn’t work.

I couldn’t clearly see her expression, but Tyr’s shadow smiled bitterly on its own.

And as if struck by a dangerous idea, it raised a hand with a smile that looked ready to tear itself apart.

Sensing the danger, I quickly said.

“You are… a truly special human, Tyr.”

[Sorry, Hu. I’m a greedy, ugly woman. Those words are not good enough.]

The shadow rose.

Darkness began gathering around me.

She hadn’t issued any command— yet Tyr’s shadow moved in order to fulfill her will.

Panicking, I added quickly.

“I’ll be honest. So far, you’re the only one. You’re the only one whose wish I’ve truly fulfilled.”

[But I will not be the only one in the future.]

“No, it’s just, I’m not a Prophet. I don’t know what will happen.”

Even mentioning prophecy didn’t stop her.

She tightened her grip on my hand.

[My emotions, my senses… everything you have gifted me is guiding me. It’s telling me to hold on, even if it’s ugly… to never let go… If I were still the emotionless undead that I once was, I might have resigned myself and let it pass, but now, I’m different… I’m alive and singing of life and beauty… I cling. I scream to hold you.]

“Haha. To receive the obsession of someone so beautiful, so cute, and so noble… I’m honored beyond words.”

[Do not worry. I will give you a place to belong.]

With a gentle smile, Tyr pulled me into a deeper kiss.

She clung to me almost entirely, forcing me to bear her weight.

Even while kissing me constantly, my mind raced.

Damn it.

What the hell is this?

Lie to survive this situation?

Whisper eternal love, swear lifelong devotion?

Sure, I could’ve done that.

But the result would’ve been the same.

Tyr would’ve made those words reality!

She would’ve turned me into a vampire!

This was the best I could do!

Perhaps sensing the ominous tension, Hilde jumped in with an awkward smile.

“Um~ It’s great to see that you two are in love and all, but~ maybe not in the middle of the street—kyaa!”

A black hand seized Hilde.

There was no warning, it happened too fast for even a reaction.

She gasped sharply, but Tyr’s shadow, no different from Tyr herself, was too overwhelming for even a Star General to break free from.

[Negotiations are over, Hilde.]

“Ack, ghhk…! Tyrkan… zaka!”

[Hu will stay with me. I will maintain friendly relations with the Military State and I’ll let you live.]

“W-Wait! Father, he’s still with the Milita—kyaaagh!”

Crunch.

As the shadow’s grip tightened, a sickening twist was heard.

Hilde’s limbs, protruding between the fingers, looked very far from where they should be.

Even as Hilde writhed in agony, Tyr warned her softly, without emotion.

[This is my final mercy to a Crusader. Be satisfied with the results you have already gained.]

“Guh…!”

This was a massive concession from Tyr.

Normally, she would kill anyone with the Sanctum without asking questions.

At least this time, she asked and judged first.

Can this be called becoming more human?

Who knows.

Not that it matters to the person currently in mortal pain.

[Hu. I’m sorry… but I will not let you go. Even if you come to hate me.]

Yeah, my situation’s pretty damn complicated now…

“This is what it means to be human. You’ve finally become a bit more human, Tyr.”

[Become human? You make it sound like I was not human before.]

“Well, it’s how you acted. You treated yourself like you were some force of nature, a phenomenon. This is much better.”

The grip of the shadow loosened a bit.

She had been prepared to be hated and acted recklessly, but now, surprised by my unexpected response, she hesitated.

“Tyr, I think you misunderstood something. It’s not like I hate being here. I’m not running because of some other influence.”

Tyr had a huge misunderstanding.

She thought that if she bound me, I’d hate her.

So she chose to be hated and bind me anyway, but that was an unfortunate misunderstanding.

It was a really big misunderstanding.

Why does she think I’d hate being bound?

“Nothing in this world really goes the way we want it to. If you’re trapped in the Abyss, you live in the Abyss. If you’re stuck in the Military State, you live there too. Tyr, maybe you overestimate the King of Beasts. Most of them just live.”

[Just live? From what I have seen, they are all bound to the beasts they represented.]

“Well, that’s only when they can afford to be. Why do you think Azzy stayed in the Abyss? Because she couldn’t escape with her dog brain. Why was I living so pitifully within the Military State’s system? Because I had no foundation, no power. You think beasts do as they please, but that’s wrong. They only act freely when they can. Normally, we just adapt to what we’re given. Unfortunately, what we call ‘Adaptation’ is nothing but ‘Submission’.”

I shrugged and gently rested my hand on Tyr’s shoulder.

“That goes double for me. I’ve lost my strength. My power is so ordinary, I’m weaker than most. So I’ve always had to rely on something else. On my own, I can’t achieve anything.”

[Then…]

“But, Tyr, you’ll have to be ready. If you truly love me…”

I don’t mind being bound, but I want something in return.

It’s a terrible thing to do, but I took Tyr’s feelings hostage and said.

“You’ll have to make sure staying in the Duchy isn’t a waste. Isn’t that the only way to have a mutually satisfying honeymoon?”

Tyr’s already planning to bind me anyway.

If I’m going to be shackled, I might as well milk it for all it’s worth.

Might as well boast that my shackles are the best.

[Honeymoon, huh…]

Tyr, liking the sound of that, smiled brightly and whispered,

[As long as you never leave me, I shall give you anything.]

Even if it complicates my situation… it is pretty damn enticing.

She has power, a nation, overwhelming strength, and on top of all that, she’s an impossibly beautiful older woman who obsesses over me.

Who wouldn’t dream of that?

Is anything really different now?

I’ve always been pushed and pulled by others.

“Come on. We’ve got a lot of people watching. Let’s go inside.”

[Are you that concerned about what others think?]

“I mean, yeah, we should be. We’re all living in a society, after all.”

[There is no further need for that.]

｢When Hu was in the Abyss, he did not respond to other humans’ wishes. Even if he is the King of Humans, he can not grant the wishes of people he has never met… So if I just make sure he never meets anyone else, maybe—just maybe—he would not change anymore.｣

Oh no.

That’s not where this should be going.

She’s thinking of locking me away from the world?

It’s definitely an effective tactic on me right now, but…

[Let’s return to the castle, Hu.]

“Wait a second. There’s been a bit of an accident in our room. There’s a big hole in the wall.”

[The bricks of the Plenilune Castle are soaked with blood. They can be repaired quickly.]

“The bed’s broken too. No matter how you slice it, we need a bed, right? I’m the Progenitor’s consort, after all. You’re not gonna make me sleep on the hard floor, are you?”

A vampire could sleep in a coffin and be fine, but for a human, that’s basically a slow death.

Even if I’m confined, I’d rather not become a corpse.

Despite my entirely reasonable protest, Tyr narrowed her eyes and asked.

[Do you really hate going back to the castle that much?]

“How did you twist my words like that?”

She’s touchy.

Until her suspicions calm down a bit, I’d better avoid saying anything that can be misunderstood.

“It doesn’t matter where. As long as I’m by your side, Tyr. You could even just rent us a room at an inn.”

[Hehe… good. Now that is something I like to hear.]

Wait, what?

As I blinked in confusion, a shadow rose.

It emerged soundlessly, like a ghost’s silhouette.

No one noticed when it appeared, but the moment it did, everyone realized it was there.

Screams erupted—briefly.

Pitch-black darkness swept in from both sides of my vision, and before I knew it, I was engulfed in the shadow.

Only then did I realize, Tyr’s shadow was holding me like a marble in its palm.

The sensation of being completely cut off from the world tossed my body around.

It felt like I’d really become a marble, flung about in dizzying waves— until I was eventually set down with great care.

Where am I?

Indoors?

I was in the middle of the street just moments ago, but now I was in a secluded room, devoid of any presence.

Feeling disoriented, I asked.

“Where are we?”

[A villa. It is a good place to spend a few days.]

“A few days? Aren’t you busy?”

[What is a few days to me? It will be gone in a blink.]

Come on, even vampire time has its limits.

It’s only been a few days since the rebellion broke out.

There’s got to be some clean-up, right?

[Valdamir can handle the basics.]

“Relying on competent subordinates too much isn’t ideal, you know.”

[It is your fault. If you had not kept trying to push me away, I would not have had to delegate my duty as much.]

Tyr smiled unsteadily and sat on the edge of the bed, quietly watching me, as if she wouldn’t let me out of her sight for even a second.

Damn it.

How did it come to this?