episode_0030

“I’ll kill them all,” even though she’s only half, if she’s a vampire, it might be possible.

But, I hope she never crosses the river again.

Everyone should be on the path I’m taking.

I hope everyone is happy at the conclusion I reach.

In reality, I know.

A conclusion where everyone is happy may not exist.

However, it’s unfair to give up without even trying.

Since this opportunity has been given to me, I have to try until it works out.

Even if I regret and despair over my actions, I will move forward.

So, if you’re trying to go down the wrong path.

No matter what happens, I will stop you.

“Why are you trying to walk the path of thorns? You probably know the truth.”

“….Shut up.”

“Do you think you can kill someone? You won’t become that kind of person.”

“What do you know about me? Do you really want to die?”

Luna, all I know about you are the things I saw in the game.

Yes, I don’t truly know her as Luna rightly pointed out.

You can’t understand a person with just a few sentences.

People can’t understand each other.

So, we just try to understand each other.

“Yes, I don’t know you as you say.”

“On that note…!”

“Then, try killing me once. If you can.”

“…Do you really think you can’t kill me? Humans are weak; a simple push could kill them.”

With those words, her head began to turn white again.

Her black pupils were turning red as if soaked in blood, her fangs becoming sharper.

“Well then, try to kill me.”

“….”

-Shiver

Her slightly trembling, delicate hand.

Luna wants to become human, not a monster.

If she were to kill me with that small hand, there would be no turning back.

Hating the family that abandoned her, feeling repulsed by being a vampire.

So, despite being a half-blooded demon, she truly wants to become human.

She wants to make friends like others, eat, sleep, and love normally.

She is distant from the ‘normal’ that others take for granted.

Yes, Luna simply wanted to become ordinary.

“I… can’t kill you.”

Her elongated nails were shrinking again, her hair that was white as snow turning black.

Her ruby-like eyes, shining beautifully with blood, returned to their original black.

Her sharpened fangs and pale skin were returning to normal.

Returning to her usual self, Luna withdrew her killing intent.

You can’t kill me.

Luna, you wanted to be human. You admired humans. You won’t kill.

That’s why I want to save her even more.

Here, at the Academy, Luna, the first victim and boss due to Requiem.

I’ve thought a lot, and unknowingly, I seem to still cling to the original story.

Going along the predetermined path doesn’t suit me.

Even if the story deviates, the protagonist is strong.

And by the protagonist’s side are reliable companions.

So, I will save you.

The dice have already been cast, there’s no turning back.

Now, only moving forward remains.

….

“I won’t tell anyone your secret. I swear on my soul.”

“How can I believe that? We’ve just met.”

Well, that’s true.

Although there’s a considerable internal closeness between Luna and me, she’s seeing me for the first time.

I need to give her confidence.

I must make her trust me.

“Make a pact with your soul. Then, can’t you believe?”

“W-what? Am I in my right mind? Making a soul pact between people who just met..? And how does an academy student like you know about that?”

In a hushed tone, Luna muttered, “The Soul Pact is a form of dark magic that most ordinary people don’t even know exists…”

Well, it’s natural to be surprised. After all, this was hard-earned information from the game.

The Soul Pact is exactly what it sounds like—a mutual agreement involving one’s own soul.

Although I’ve never actually seen it in the game, it was said to be incredibly powerful.

“That doesn’t matter. So…”

“No, it does matter! Just what are you?”

Interrupting me, Luna continued with what she wanted to say.

Hmm, I’m just an ordinary possessor, though?

“I’m just a regular student. So, what should I do?”

“…Fine, let’s do it. Then follow me. There’s a safe place nearby.”

Huh, so easily?

Wait, something doesn’t feel right.

Things are progressing too smoothly.

Is she planning to lure me somewhere and then betray me?

As I pondered this, she sighed deeply and added, “Ha, I won’t play tricks on you. Just come along quietly. If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it already.”

Well, if you say so…

Should I go along for now?

….

“Is half-blood trash destined to remain trash no matter what, sigh… It’s no longer necessary. Get rid of that guy in front of me.”

“Ah, father…”

“Who said you’re my father? Quickly dispose of that trash.”

Those were the words I heard from my father after a long time.

Being a hybrid of human and vampire, I was nothing but trash.

My human mother passed away after giving birth to me.

Among my family, I was the only one with different hair color and eye color.

I was a being apart from them.

Neither fully human nor vampire, I was a useless existence, unloved and unable to become ordinary.

But even in my uselessness, there was potential to serve a purpose, which I endured through various harsh experiments since childhood.

Because I wanted to be loved by my father, the only one I believed in.

I endured. I endured for years.

But at the age of 10, I was abandoned.

Deemed worthless, I was discarded by the family, by my relatives, by my father.

It wasn’t unexpected. As time passed, interest in me dwindled.

Perhaps my father’s kindness and warmth were merely because I had some utility.

At the tender age of 10, the only person I trusted cast me aside, leaving me abandoned by the world.

Yet, being his blood, he didn’t directly kill me; he simply cast me out of the castle.

Outside the castle was a place teeming with monsters, so at just 10 years old, I ran desperately to survive.

Days passed, then weeks, and months.

After walking and walking, I arrived at a plain, a continent beyond the demon realm where humans lived.

It was a snowy day.

The place I wearily reached was a small town far from the capital.

I scavenged for food in alleys, using discarded newspapers as blankets to endure each passing day.

As a hybrid of human and vampire, I remained unscathed under the sun, filled my hunger without feeding on blood, and could go without eating for over a week.

However, it was heartbreaking; tears flowed.

All that returned to me after enduring prolonged suffering was a dagger piercing my heart.

So sorrowful and painful that tears streamed down uncontrollably, and at some point, laughter and tears ceased to flow.

That’s how I met the director of the orphanage while living in the alleyway.

The director of the orphanage whom I coincidentally met in the alley.

I was saved by the director that day.

The director gave me a warm place to stay and gifted me a true family.

Although the children at the orphanage were all younger than me, they all liked me and treated me like a real family.

However, my broken emotions did not return, and I couldn’t smile even if I wanted to.

Still, I was happy. If there is paradise where you run away, isn’t this the place, I thought.

But not long after settling in at the orphanage, I was exposed as a vampire.

I thought everyone would be scared of me and hate me.

But the director and the children were different.

“Sister will always be my sister! You’ve become even prettier, sis!” they reassured me.

They were truly kind and adorable children.

The director cherished me like her own daughter, a demon like me, and I thought everyone would live happily ever after.

I wanted to become human and live with them for the rest of my life.

Normally.

But everything fell apart. Once again, I was left alone.

When I turned 15, the world bestowed cruel trials upon me.

Yes, it was a snowy day like that day.

A dawn with snow pouring from the sky.

It was a day when the street, which should have been normal, began to be dyed with blood.

The small city near the mainland suddenly came under attack by demons.

The rampaging demons suddenly invaded the city.

With few guards and weak walls, no one could stop the demons from entering the city.

People started to helplessly fall victim to the inexplicable rampage of the demons, who began heading towards the orphanage.

On December 25th, what should have been a joyful Christmas turned into a dreadful day.