“The balance of the five elements in this world is collapsing… Isn’t it exciting to think about what kind of situation will unfold? It won’t just end with a plague or climate change… It means disturbances in the mind can happen beyond the physical world! And it’s widespread and indiscriminate!”
It was clearly a voice overtaken by madness.
Ceria now remained silent without even a rebuttal. Regardless of what was said, the excited retinue of the vampire was already rambling about the future blueprint.
“The cracks start from something very small… Everything is like that. Especially emotions. What is the most repressed and intense emotion? You may not know it when it’s hidden, but you can never eliminate it, and once it starts to burn, there is no end to it! It’s the one emotion that our sisters share.”
“That is…”
“Right, ‘jealousy.'”
I gradually held my breath. Although the time had not yet come, I intended to step in at a moment that was not too late.
“It’s an emotion that no one can be free from. This barrier is merely a tool to amplify ‘jealousy.'”
The information spat out by the vampire’s bloodline was mostly useful.
However, the information I wanted had yet to be disclosed.
Celine’s whereabouts.
That was also the reason I hesitated. Defeating that vampire retinue was simple, but doing so would mean losing an important source of information.
For now, I could only hope that Ceria would raise a question.
However, it seemed Ceria had a different concern.
“…Amplifying emotions? So, the balance collapses?”
“Of course, it’s not just emotions. This barrier amplifies and deepens everything that hasn’t rotted yet. For example… think about one of the organs in the human body getting damaged. Then can the body remain intact? It would quickly suffer from complications. Simply put, that’s it.”
After finishing the explanation, the woman pointed again to the center of the clearing.
“Sprinkle that man’s blood in there.”
Ceria’s body tensed up. She seemed to be waiting for more words, but the ecstatic vampire’s retinue was no longer in a state to listen.
“The power of the barrier has limits, but the magic circle we prepared isn’t just this one. If that man’s blood is sprinkled… something interesting will happen. That range will be much wider than this forest.”
She then took a slow step back.
To position the magic circle between Ceria and herself.
The woman’s smile grew more pronounced.
“Then, conflicts will arise everywhere, right? Those negative emotions will become our ‘food’… Until now, we’ve played with the emotions of one little girl, but we’ve just finished our preparations. And you conveniently brought a suitable man.”
It wasn’t a particularly kind explanation.
There were numerous logical holes, and the principles of the barrier remained unclear. The only fact that was clear was one.
The vampires were scheming something.
And they wanted to use me as one of their sacrificial lambs.
Even without knowing my true identity, the woman was exceedingly clever.
After all, hadn’t she mentioned that I emitted a ‘scent’ on the way here?
I didn’t know if becoming a vampire’s retinue developed such instincts.
Ceria remained silent, not moving at all. It was clear that she disapproved of the woman’s proposal.
The woman likely wasn’t unaware of this either.
Subtle temptations dripped down like honey.
“…You like that man, don’t you?”
At that, Ceria flinched and trembled, showing a rare reaction.
The woman did not miss that moment.
“I told you, you have a ‘scent’… the aroma of deep resentment and sorrow. You’ve lost someone dear to you, haven’t you? Your love.”
Hee-hee.
The woman burst into laughter and closed her remaining eye. Ceria subtly lowered my body onto the ground while maintaining a vigilant gaze.
This was also a kind of signal.
While the woman focused on Ceria, it indicated that I should step in at an opportune moment to handle things.
However, there were still many pieces of information I needed to hear from the woman.
“Don’t worry, I won’t touch that man. Trust me… we are ‘sisters,’ right? Since we are similar, I can understand your feelings well.”
“So, you took my friend too?”
That was the question I had been waiting to ask.
The woman widened her eyes, looking genuinely surprised. As if she couldn’t understand what I was saying.
“My friend, ‘Celine Haster.’ You locked her in the underground prison, and you even went as far as to kidnap her on purpose… Are you planning to turn Miss Haster into one of your playthings?”
“Hmm, ‘Celine Haster’? That’s a name I’m hearing for the first time.”
Despite the hostility in her tone, the woman merely tilted her head.
She truly seemed to have no prior knowledge of the name.
“Still, well… she could have been taken, right? I don’t know for sure, but our sisters are quite active. However, it’s strange. If she were someone worth the trouble of going to the underground prison, I should have heard her name…”
Suddenly, a wet noise echoed out. The woman’s dazed gaze expanded towards the source of the blood-colored dance spreading across her retina.
There, an arm was severed.
Incredible circumstances, where a body part that should have been attached to its original body was flung into the sky.
The woman screamed in shock from the emptiness she felt in her shoulder.
“W-What is this… Aaaahhh!”
However, her troubles didn’t last long.
The blade I wielded sliced through her limbs again, not wanting to leave even a hint of possibility. In a frozen moment, the storm of attacks fell three times in succession.
As I kicked the woman’s body away, her limbs broke apart like a toppled tower.
The body, now missing its limbs, could hardly roll on the ground. Blood flowed profusely while only pained screams were wrung out of her lungs.
A deep sigh escaped my lips after successfully landing the ambush.
“…Then, I suppose that means I’ve obtained all the information I can from you.”
“Gah, urgh… what are you! How could… there was no premonition…”
There was no need to answer such a trivial question.
I glanced at the magic circle slowly dripping with the blood of the vampire. The only reason her neck was still attached was simple.
Perhaps she had some hidden stories left to tell.
Fortunately, it seemed vampires were not less sensitive to pain.
Ceria finally exhaled a sigh of relief and lowered her gaze.
It seemed she had a lot to think about.
I decided not to disturb Ceria’s musings. Instead, I planned to deal with the vampire aligned with the dark cult first.
“I have a few questions.”
“What, nonsense… I asked first! Who the hell are you… Aaaaaaahhh!”
Now, there wasn’t even a sound of slicing.
The sharpness of the hand axe Emma had gifted me surpassed imagination. Deliberately avoiding any aura to inflict pain, the flesh was sliced cleanly, almost effortlessly.
Yet pain was only being deferred.
No human, not even a monster wearing a human mask, could remain unhurt after having their shoulder completely severed.
The vampire thrashing around, devoid of limbs, writhed and thrashed uncontrollably. I kicked her in the abdomen to help her regain her senses.
With a choke, she finally quieted down. I seized the opportunity to ask.
“You’re going to die anyway. There’s no need to suffer more, right? First of all… have you really never heard of the name ‘Celine Haster’? And if sacrificial victims are kidnapped, where do they take them?”
“Phew, heh heh…”
However, the woman did not seem inclined to willingly share the information I desired.
This was troublesome.
Perhaps due to the excessively clean cut, she might be underestimating the agony that was about to sweep over her. If so, then next time I would simply crush her with the axe handle.
Hoping to avoid further annoyance, I added a chilling question.
“…Why are you laughing?”
“You’re a sick bastard… heh heh… to spill my blood like this… do you not know what ‘blood’ means to a ‘vampire’…?”
There was no need to ask what that meant.
I instinctively lifted my leg high. However, I couldn’t prevent even the lightest cut from grazing my heel.
My brow furrowed involuntarily.
Even though it was a shallow wound, the fact that it had drawn blood was a problem. The vampires had previously testified that the catalyst for maintaining the barrier was ‘blood.’
If that was the case, there was only one option left for me.
Crack, the sound of the skull shattering echoed.
Before my blood could even touch the ground, the vampire’s retinue met their demise. Even so, the softly blood-stained shapes emitted an unintended light.
Just as I thought, something was wrong, my vision turned completely white.
“…?”
That was the end.
There was strangely no transformation at all, causing me to cast a puzzled glance at Ceria.
At that moment, Ceria seemed to be startled, kicking the ground. But seeing that there was no change regarding my situation, she also froze in place, looking bewildered.
I asked Ceria.
“Did something change?”
“…I’m not sure?”
In the end, we both had to linger in the clearing for a while, preparing for any unforeseen circumstances.
We intentionally tampered with the magic circle and the like.
However, until that night, neither I nor anyone around me could sense anything unusual, and we were left with no choice but to return to the academy, scratching our heads in confusion.
And the next day, I had to face a situation I had never encountered before.
“I-I like you, Senior Perkus! Please accept my feelings!”
Just as I was about to step out of the dormitory, my junior bowed and handed me an adorable letter.
I could only accept the envelope with a dazed expression.
No matter how oblivious I was, I couldn’t misunderstand this girl’s feelings.
Wasn’t this an archetypal confession?
However, what puzzled me was something else.
It was the crowd of dozens staring at me behind that girl.
Most were women, and some were even men.
A cold sweat dripped down my back as I faced those blatant gazes.
“…Damn it.”
An unprecedented trial was just beginning.
