There, a vampire who had already regained consciousness stood with arms outstretched.
And it stood between the Great Witch and Senior Elsi.
Whether controlled by the vampire’s hands or not, blood-red tentacles restrained the Great Witch and Senior Elsi. It was a magic that had been seen before.
Yet, the man’s expression remained utterly unfeeling. Seeing this, the vampire intensified its threat.
“If you take one more step forward, I can’t guarantee the lives of these two…”
“‘Blood Curse Magic,’ isn’t it?”
At the man’s confident declaration, the vampire momentarily closed its mouth.
A slight look of perplexity crossed her face before a wry smile curved her lips, as if explaining had suddenly become easier.
“Looks like you know about it?”
“It’s one of the Dark Cult’s commonly used magics. Though it requires a great deal of blood, they show no hesitation in sacrificing beasts or humans alike.”
“So, you understand now that I’m not joking, right?”
The man tilted his head indifferently, as if inviting her to go on.
Infuriated by the arrogant attitude, the vampire gritted its teeth for a moment before forcing a smile.
I’ve already seized control, haven’t I? There’s no need to appear overly hasty.
“Because I let my guard down just now, I was caught off guard, but it’s not the same now… All the blood in this area is under my control. Even the blood within these two women’s bodies.”
A faint moan escaped the lips of the two captured women, proving her words. Yet, the man’s expression remained dry, betraying no emotion, though his eyes spoke of weariness.
The vampire wasn’t pleased by this unreadable demeanor.
“Understood?! As long as the blood flowing through these women’s veins is under my control, the moment you dare touch me, their lives are forfeit!”
“We… we are fine, so do what you must…” the Great Witch rasped before trailing off.
“Shut up.”
The vampire’s teeth gnashed together as she snapped at the Great Witch, her eyes filled with deep malevolence. Had the man not been there, she might already have taken the witch’s life.
But now, she needed the means to save her own life from the man.
Her attitude screamed that she was keeping them alive only to bargain with.
Ignoring this, the man’s voice remained flat.
“Assuming you have full control, right?”
In response, the vampire sneered derisively.
“So what if you know about Blood Curse magic? Without forming a contract with an evil deity, controlling another’s blood outside of such sorcery is impossible!”
Splashing sounds of blood reached the vampire’s ears, startling her. Her blue eyes, vacant and bewildered, sought the source.
The blood-red tentacles were melting away.
In an instant, they dissolved into a pool of blood.
As the Great Witch and Elsi both fell to the ground, the vampire’s gaze shifted to the man, filled with stupefaction.
Clack, clack.
The man was already walking forward without a trace of hesitation.
The corners of the vampire’s dry lips began to tremble.
“What… what is this…?”
The man gave no reply.
He simply continued to walk. The vampire, testing her control, flicked her fingers several times, but the women’s blood did not react.
Impossible.
Shaking her head with disbelief and a bitter laugh, the vampire murmured,
“It can’t be… Blood Curse magic is the Dark Cult’s secret art. Without a contract with an evil deity, it cannot be used…”
Clack, clack.
The steps continued unimpeded.
Unlike the vampire, who slowly retreated.
“How… Even if you’re supposed to receive visions, the basic conditions cannot be ignored… or has so much imagery really been forced into the body of just a mere human? A normal human can’t possibly…”
The distance between the vampire and the man continued to close.
Regardless of how much she retreated, the distance closed. Finally, driven into a corner, the vampire screamed,
“Y-you! What… what are you?”
The man remained silent, his footsteps weary but persistent.
The vampire’s struggles continued.
“That swordsmanship… I’ve heard of it… the reclusive demon-swordsman hermits of the Heavenblade Mountain, the ultimate art of the ‘Sword Circle’! And the martial art you used against Greed not long ago… it was the secret art from the Holy Kingdom. And now, five dragon-blood marks? And mastery over Blood Curse Magic as well?!”
The tone was one of complete bewilderment.
The vampire shouted, incredulous, “Impossible!”
Another step from the man.
“Impossible! What you’re suggesting is not ‘maybe.’ A being who contains all the visions? That’s a fantasy. A human can’t possibly contain so many visions… Your mind would destabilize! Before that even, your body would have broken and gone berserk!”
The veins around the woman’s eyes had burst from her intense fury.
The man remained silent, his steps steady.
One step, two steps.
“Even the Dark Cult would have attempted this long ago if it were possible… but after thousands of trials and errors, it has always remained… impossible!”
Finally, with a firm sound of feet on the ground.
The man stopped directly before the vampire. The woman, lost in her thoughts, could only stand there, dazed.
“Not…possible… right? Well, except for… one…”
The man continued his silence as the vampire, weak in the knees, collapsed to the ground.
Her emotions swirled like a whirlpool.
Anxiety, distrust, and inexplicably, a laughter rising in her throat.
Breaking into an unexpected laugh, the woman pounded her chest.
“Huff, huff… Haha! Ahahahahaha! No way, no way… Did I really meet you like this?”
And then, unable to bear it,
Striking the ground with her hand, rolling her feet, twisting her body on the ground, she forced out another laugh before finally, tears brimmed her eyes.
Wiping the corners of her eyes with a slender finger, a melancholy smile lit her face.
“The seed we planted hundreds of years ago… You too, were one of us.”
The man still said nothing.
The soul floated within the subconscious.
As shattered fragments of memory brushed against my skin like broken shards of glass, unfamiliar emotions pierced deep into my heart. Longing, cruel, and excruciating memories.
The deeper my body sank, the more vivid scenes filled my mind.
Crying,
Fighting, bleeding, pressing forward, swinging the sword as if to kill the entire world.
Is this how it has to be? How long must I endure like this?
Despair? Anger?
An unexplainable heat scorched the depths of my chest. The heat was so intense that the heart, once calm like a lake, soon dried up and was set aflame, becoming a barren wasteland.
I wanted to scream.
These memories are too soon for me.
It was excruciatingly painful and hard. Was this man’s journey through the years so riddled with thorns?
Even as his feet were worn to shreds and soaked in blood,
He still had to press forward.
Trembling, I opened my eyes.
Empty void greeted me. In a space devoid of existence, shattered cracks filled the surrounding, reflecting the man’s memories.
I realized I was not the only one here. Surprisingly, a small maiden sat at the center of this vast emptiness.
Her face was hidden under a hooded hat, though her posture hinted at a solitary melancholy.
A moment of hesitation passed, then I slowly approached the maiden.
The brown-haired girl gazed skyward silently, her position suggesting that she had been there for a long time.
Upon seeing her distant expression, I immediately deduced her identity.
The ‘Senior Elsi’ from the future.
After a prolonged silence, the maiden finally spoke when she sensed my presence.
“So, this was how you lived… after I died.”
I chose not to comment emotionally.
I simply stood by her side, similarly gazing at the sky.
No matter which image I looked at, it was soaked in blood. That man was…
“Trying this desperately… suffering painfully, painfully…”
Was I mistaken?
The maiden’s voice sounded, strangely damp.
For a while, we silently gazed at the sky.
Though silent, I imagined it was something like this.
“…Hello, ‘Pride.’ Have you greeted Delphrium?”
At the vampire’s laughing greeting, the man finally responded, slowly.
“I’ll tell you one thing.”
Immediately after,
A soundless swordstrike pierced through the woman’s neck. Her head fell, too quickly to let out even a scream or a moan.
The voice that could no longer reach continued.
“…I hate being called by that name the most.”
The man who whispered this looked particularly exhausted.
