episode_0066

The very entity that had inflicted trauma upon herself.

When ordinary people actually face such things in front of their eyes, the first emotions they feel are usually ‘despair, fear,’ and nothing else comes to mind beyond negative emotions.

Similarly, Rachel tightly clenched her trembling hands around her gloves.

The black figure in front of her right now was the same being she had faced years ago.

With an unknown power, it subdued everyone and plunged them into hallucinations.

Black-stained hair and crimson irises.

A torn pupil glaring fixedly at someone from within.

The vampire emerging from the shadows looked up at her with eyes filled with fanatical obsession, embracing Ian’s body and holding him with a gaze filled with madness.

Breathing heavily, trying to calm herself down multiple times, well, she had said enough.

“…I said I believe.”

She recalled the words she had heard from Ian just a few minutes ago.

The situation would worsen the longer that vampire clung to Ian.

And if Ian were to make a mistake…

She probably wouldn’t be able to hold on any longer.

“…”

Rather than believing and waiting, she sought what more she could do because she believed in Ian.

She had vowed not to stand idly by, watching alone while bearing such a burden.

Rachel took a deep breath and gripped tightly the ring she had kept preciously in her pocket.

Honestly, is it right to convey this?

She didn’t think he would accept it.

After all, she had pushed it away, rejecting it as her mother.

Ian was closer to denying it.

Yes.

Let’s finish this and be honest once it’s over.

No matter what hurtful words he may receive, let’s accept them calmly.

“Hoo…”

Exhaling a white chill, she extended her hand, revealing contracted pupils simultaneously.

Rachel, who had once been known by the names of General and Dragon Slayer, could deliver a blow that could incapacitate even those beyond her caliber by converting a level of coldness that could barely sustain life into magic.

‘…First, break that barrier and drop Ian. After that, although I hate to admit it, I might have to consider waking up Uria. I don’t know if she will wake up, but it’s just a gut feeling.’

Just a few years ago, she couldn’t even imagine confronting that vampire, but rather than letting Ian be taken from her hands, she would choose to end her own life.

Thinking like that as she released the cold, in a moment.

“…!!”

Rachel’s body instinctively stiffened.

Just the fact that the vampire’s gaze was on her froze her body like ice, surpassing its limits with a vitality that went beyond.

It was a situation where she stood up in a posture reaching out her arm before even touching the barrier.

“Stop playing games.”

Rachel’s pupils narrowed almost to slits.

It didn’t take long for her to understand what her body wanted and the situation she was in.

Could it be none other than herself?

My body.

Choosing to play dead instinctively, to flee.

“I can’t admit it.”

Gritting her teeth, she drew a dagger and stabbed it into her thigh.

With a sharp sound, hot blood began to trickle down.

Only then did her blurry vision begin to focus.

Merely the residue of magic. Crushed by vitality.

What remains is something Rachel herself cannot forgive.

The vampire was still embracing Ian entirely. There was no sign of intending to use any skills, abilities, or magic that would harm Rachel.

In short.

She was being treated as less than a mere insect, not even worth bothering with.

It meant that even annoying the other party’s eyes was impossible.

Now, even sending such a gaze. It was all because of Ian and Rachel’s relationship.

Rachel felt it and her eyes showed signs of anger.

Without a moment of hesitation, Rachel created an ice spear in her hand and charged towards the vampire.

Even if it was annoying like a gnat, she couldn’t stand her interference for even a second longer.

Even if she was treated no better than a lowly bug, if she gave up here in despair.

Truly.

This time, she would betray him, lose faith in him.

Logically, there was practically nothing someone like Rachel, who even ambiguously wore a wall, could do to that vampire.

Yes. Doing nothing is common sense.

Whether an ant injects venom into an elephant or not, it’s obviously a meaningless act.

Just dying without even being able to scream with a single step forward, there is absolutely no hope of victory.

The premise of separating Ian from her was already an immensely high hurdle.

“…I knew.”

It would come to this.

From long ago. Since coming here.

Since confronting Carmen.

Rachel had always been destined to face this moment in her nightmares.

She just closed her eyes and tried to escape from it.

With clenched teeth, Rachel leaped towards the vampire again.

A futile death? If there was even a one-second delay in the opponent’s plan, dying valiantly against the odds as a bug would be worth it.

She was a sinner. Even though she used techniques that would cut her lifespan, thinking she couldn’t be forgiven anyway.

One word.

“I’m annoyed.”

As soon as words flowed from the vampire’s mouth.

Rachel intermittently shook the tip of the spear in her hands and then dropped it listlessly.

“…”

The vampire’s domination.

Like the power of Uria, but different.

If that side is a freshly grown predator, this vampire… is so experienced that it treats it like a meal. Yes, just enough to use it as a mere ‘means of conversation.’

There is an overwhelming difference.

However.

Even if she squeezes the button in the center of her chest and bends her knees under the unknown power of the vampire swinging her arms in the air, crashing into the wall, rolling on the snowy ground.

Falling endlessly down to the end of a cliff, a groan escapes from Rachel’s mouth reflexively.

“Ugh!”

Her mouth tastes bitter.

No, more than that.

Her whole body was screaming as if torn to shreds.

It was natural.

The command spoken by that woman.

Because of it, muscles, nerves… various parts of her body were completely out of sync.

Forcing stillness and forcibly mobilizing them only to receive a big shock led to such a quick limit.

Nothing had changed from then.

“…Huh,”

Still.

The power gap is keenly felt, showing that all the skills honed since childhood are inadequate.

If she had to turn her neck with a command through domination or received an order to harm herself, killing Rachel would be as easy as killing a bug.

“Why did you spare me?”

However. Ultimately, the vampire did not kill Rachel this time either.

“Are you… hesitating?”

Trembling, with a voice full of shame, she tightly clenched the fist buried in the snow with her eyes.

But, the next words from the vampire were as follows.

“Stop. Anything more is meaningless.”

“What… do you mean.”

Lifting Ian into the air again like her own pillow, the vampire with black hair held him close in her arms and spoke.

“My lord does not wish to kill you. I would rather grant your request, so please leave my sight quickly.”

The chilling frost that seemed to slap against his ears was sending sharp warning signals throughout his entire body.

Without even properly facing the opponent rushing towards him, he was prepared for death.

I won’t give up—no matter what.

Even if his arms were torn off, shoulders dislocated, or ankles twisted, until the moment when even one side of his vision went dark and he fell.

With a sensation akin to an ordinary person charging a concrete wall barehanded, the dynamic where Rachel seemed to be playing alone continued.

His muscles had already torn, the nerves no longer coldly responding, risking self-immobilization and potential decay due to slight corrosion.

His mana circulation had been disrupted since the initial incantation, enduring multiple injuries, surpassing not only physical but also mental limits long ago.

His left eye refused to open. His body was already filled with debris and torn wounds, his hands starting to necrotize from his own chilliness.

…If Ian were to witness this sight, what would he say?

He would probably still warmly hold these pitiful hands.

More, more, more,

“I…won’t give up.”

-Grit.

“Crunch!”

The sharp heel of the vampire pierced through Rachel’s collarbone lightly.

Looking down at Rachel, who had endured dozens of opportunities thrown her way, the vampire opened its lips.

“…A person like you has no right to touch my lord. I tried to spare you, but you’re persistent.”

Rachel was in a state where she couldn’t even stand up on her own.

However, there was a gaze fixed on her filled with venomous resentment.

“Ian…bring him back.”

Extending her neck, she bit into the tip of the vampire’s shoe.

And then, suddenly.

-“Stop struggling. Don’t resist. Be quiet.”

With a buzzing voice, she was shoved into the black abyss of the vampire’s throat.