The vampire, having pushed me aside and taken my place, spoke with a solemn air.
[Before I impart the art of Bloodcraft, I will first test your skill.]
As if she had been waiting, the Regressor reached behind her head and grasped the hilt of Chun-aeng. The sword, which had been floating in the air awaiting its master's command, hummed with joy and sharpened its edge at the chance to unleash its power. When the Regressor swung it once through the air, a clear, pure sound rang out, as if illuminating the darkness.
Swish. The Regressor flicked the sword from side to side.
"My sword is a bit special. It might be hard to gauge my true skill. Should I use a different one?"
[It matters not. The specialty you hold in your hand is also what makes you shine.]
"If you say so. How should I demonstrate my skill?"
Creeak.
The lid of the jet-black coffin opened at an angle. The same pale hand from before emerged from the darkness, its fingertips pointing down as it released a black droplet.
Plop. The shadow, a shade darker than the surrounding gloom, began to grow rapidly like a sapling. Just as a plant nourishes itself with sunlight and air, the black sphere absorbed the abundant darkness around it, filling out its form. The shimmering shadow quickly took shape, soon transforming into the figure of an armored knight.
[This is an echo of the past.]
The vampire continued to explain, though neither I nor the Regressor had shown much curiosity.
[The echo of a knight I once met… A man known in life as the Dark Knight, who slaughtered hundreds. I summoned this echo from the blood I took from him and forged its armor from darkness. Face this knight.]
"Can I break it?"
[If your ability allows.]
The vampire's tone held a hint of pride as she continued.
[But it will not be easy. Though it is but an echo, the blood that forms its body is that of the Dark Knight. Furthermore, the armor forged from darkness possesses the strength of steel. A perfect recreation of that once-famous knight—]
Fwoosh.
A diagonal line was etched into the darkness. A slanted fault line appeared, splitting the space above and below. A single line that sliced through space itself. Chun-aeng was a pair of scissors that could tailor the world. Even the darkness, closer to mist than steel, was cleaved in two by the Regressor's single strike.
Didn't she ask me if she should cut the light? She probably could. If she can cut darkness, why not?
[…Hoh. Quite impressive.]
The vampire expressed her admiration for the feat of swordsmanship. However, the emotion in her thoughts was slightly different.
'…? No matter how special that sword is, in a single blow? This was an echo that not even a paladin could scratch…?'
You're flustered, vampire.
What she had just summoned wasn't her full power, but it was more than enough to test a seemingly delicate, inexperienced girl. She had perfectly recreated a once-infamous dark knight, only to have it dispatched with utter ease.
'At her age, no less? Did some great advancement in human history occur while I slept…?'
I wish she wouldn't use that girl as a standard. She's a Regressor who has devoured all sorts of fortunes through repeated deaths. Even if she hasn't fully recovered her strength, a part of it remains. And on top of that, she's holding some ridiculously powerful magic sword.
It's not that human history has advanced; it's that she has monopolized human history.
The vampire, composing herself, spoke.
[You seem so young, yet you possess such remarkable talent. It would not be strange for a child like you to try and find her own path.]
"I don't know about that. I'm not that talented. I just gained some good fortune and pulled a bit of my future strength into the present. There are many people in the world stronger and more talented than me. I'm just a pathetic copycat, chasing their shadows and mimicking their moves."
The Regressor said this in all sincerity. Having clashed with beings beyond all standards in every timeline, she harbored an inferiority complex, feeling that she was always one step behind despite monopolizing every opportunity through regression.
It sounded like excessive humility, or perhaps even deceit. But compared to the enemies she had actually faced, it wasn't entirely untrue.
[Your modesty is excessive.]
"It's not modesty. Look at him."
The tip of her sword pointed at me. I jumped in surprise.
Ah, jeez. You scared me. Does she always point swords at people? Weren't you taught to gesture as gently as possible? Pointing a finger is considered rude, so what's with the sword?
The Regressor saw my reaction, snorted, and said.
"Even that guy deflected my strike."
[That sword?]
"Yes. This Chun-aeng. With a single finger, no less."
[That man?]
Well, she's not wrong. But honestly, I don't think I could do it a second time.
'To deflect a sword strike with one finger, he must be several levels above her. An unbelievable achievement. Is this the norm for kids these days? Can they cut through steel as easily as breathing?'
Between the Regressor and me, who she had just hyped up, the vampire was making the critical error of misjudging the average.
Don't set the standard at the Regressor's level. What did the other people living in this era ever do to you? Go apologize to all the ordinary people you've just disenfranchised!
Besides, I'm a fraud. My reputation is completely overinflated!
'When she called my power outdated, it wasn't a show of confidence… but the literal truth? Is the era truly changing?'
Having so naturally created this misunderstanding, the Regressor said,
"…So please, take good care of me. I'll do my damnedest to learn."
[In that case.]
'I, too, must do my utmost to help this child defeat that insolent man.'
She had managed to draw out the vampire's 'sincerity.'
The vampire extended a finger toward the Regressor. With a soft pop, the tip of her finger split open. From the small fissure, red blood began to flow. This blood was of a slightly different kind than the other blood the vampire manipulated.
This was blood as a form of power. The power of the Progenitor, who could cast magic with her blood and command her kindred. It was the kind of blood that glistened with ominous mana, seeming to lick at the air as if to corrode all of creation.
But the blood the vampire was shedding now was so utterly ordinary, so human… that it felt all the more alien.
It was merely red, without a glow, and carried the scent of iron. An irony, as if to claim that the same blood as a human's flowed through the vampire's veins.
Yet, its presence was immense enough to fill all of Tantalus. Even the darkness seemed to retreat in reverence.
The droplet of blood slowly flew toward the Regressor, circling around her.
[Great power comes with a great price. However, I see you have sufficient potential. Enough to devour that price whole.]
"This is…"
[My original blood.]
The first blood of the Progenitor, her original blood.
Present it to the Sanctum, and you would receive a great blessing and the title of Paladin.
Offer it to a vampire, and you would be promised eternal wealth and power.
Or, if you were willing to endure a few trials to aim for an even higher station, you could simply inject it into your own body. If you could defeat all the jackals who would come for your blood and establish yourself, another Elder would be added to the twelve that existed in the world.
In any case, it was a precious and dangerous item capable of changing a person's life entirely.
Faced with such a treasure, the Regressor…
"Why are you giving me this? You don't expect me to become a vampire, do you? I don't really want to be one."
…looked at it with an expression beyond indifference, one of someone dealing with a nuisance.
The vampire was shocked once more.
'My original blood? The very blood whose appearance once shook the world? And she doesn't even give it a second glance?'
Barely regaining her composure, the vampire continued in a trembling voice.
[…No, I have no intention of turning you into a vampire. I cannot repeat the same mistake.]
"Then?"
[I will engrave my original blood upon your heart. The blood of a predator. With it, your senses for blood energy will be sharpened like a blade.]
"Ah, so that's how it is? In that case, I'll take it!"
The Regressor readily opened her arms. She had no interest in the original blood itself, but her attitude made it clear she was perfectly willing to use it as a teaching aid.
Seeing the Regressor's complete lack of awe, the vampire was greatly disheartened.
'It was a test. If she had been unable to resist her desire and asked to become a vampire, I would have deemed her unworthy and cast her out… But I never expected such a lukewarm reaction. Are vampires truly no longer beings of reverence?'
The vampire extended her hand with a hint of melancholy. The original blood moved to the Regressor's chest, and a crimson, gear-shaped sigil was engraved over her heart.
[…When you have mastered Bloodcraft, you will be able to remove my blood. I will take it back then.]
"Got it. But you sound a little weak. Did offering your original blood take too much out of you?"
[…It is fine. Do not worry…]
'My original blood… and yet. Have even vampires become obsolete beings? It has been over 300 years since I last slept. I suppose it's possible…'
How fleeting time is. The vampire sighed deeply and said.
[Now, let the lesson begin.]
While the vampire explained various things to the Regressor, I loitered around them. The reason was simple.
Original blood. The blood that had been passed down only in legends for a thousand years. A treasure that could fetch enough money to live on for a lifetime if you found the right buyer. And it was now engraved on the Regressor's body. A tattoo more valuable than gold.
But I had already refused to be her disciple. I couldn't even dream of asking for the original blood. Besides, reading the vampire's thoughts, it didn't seem like she would give it away completely. The whole reason she brought it out was because of her wariness of me, so it would never come my way.
Tch, the vampire's thinking was all wrong. If she wanted to make me submit, she should have just given me the original blood. If she had ordered me to kneel in exchange for it, I would have scoffed before immediately prostrating myself and licking her feet like a dog.
But there was still a chance. The vampire had only recently awoken and was quite disoriented. Reading her thoughts, it seemed she hadn't yet adapted to this era.
So?
If I could just sweet-talk her the right way, maybe something would fall my way?
[…? What is it, you? Why does one who refused my teachings keep loitering about?]
I felt a hostile gaze on me. I didn't know why, but it seemed I had really gotten on her bad side. I held up my hands and made an excuse.
"I am a warden of the Military State. This place is an educational facility. I have a responsibility to manage and supervise you."
[Manage and supervise? A thing like you will manage and supervise me?]
"Duty is not always assigned with ability in mind, is it? I trust Trainee Tyrkanzyaka, but separate from that, I have an obligation to observe what you are doing."
'A disparity between duty and ability. Is he perhaps referring to chivalry? If he puts it that way, I suppose I can understand.'
As I spoke with confidence, the vampire was momentarily convinced.
Phew, what a relief. I never thought pretending to be a warden would be this useful.
Still, the vampire expressed her discomfort.
[However, I am in the middle of a lesson. The process of a child receiving instruction should surely not be witnessed by others.]
"What era are you living in? These days, one teacher instructs fifty students. Different teachers are assigned for martial arts, magic, strategy, and tactics, and students choose which classes to attend. In fact, most lectures are held in public spaces."
[Do not lie. What fool would share such secret knowledge so freely?]
"The State does. The nation collects and controls all knowledge. Then it categorizes the collected knowledge and distributes it to its citizens free of charge."
Martial arts, magic, strategy, and tactics—knowledge itself was power and authority. At least, it was in the vampire's era. There was a reason for the master-apprentice and journeyman systems. The master was the one bestowing knowledge, and the disciple was worked like a slave just to obtain a sliver of it, hoping that one day that knowledge would become their own.
And now, to hear it was given away so freely. The vampire was speechless.
[My word.]
"Students even have multiple teachers. Besides the military academy, some take classes at private institutes. The teachers don't find that strange either. This is an age of enlightenment. Knowledge is no longer passed down in secret. It is all revealed to the world, awaiting evaluation."
So unbelievable was it that the vampire turned to the Regressor for confirmation.
[Shei. Is what he says true?]
"Yeah. It's true. It's the only policy the Military State ever got right."
[I see…]
The vampire was once again reminded of the passage of time. The Regressor glared at me, displeased.
"You don't have to listen to him, though. He's just watching us because he's anxious about what we might be plotting."
[No, it is fine. If the world has ultimately chosen such a method, it would be meaningless for me to deny it alone. I will not stop you from observing.]
The Regressor scowled. I gave her a teasing look before settling down nearby, ready to snatch up any scraps that might fall my way.
The vampire ignored me and continued her lesson.
[…And so. Blood is life. It is the source of life that flows through your body, and the wellspring from which you draw your power. You must feel every last drop of blood in your body. You must be able to clearly map where it flows.]
The lesson continued in a leisurely voice. It was the perfect content to fall asleep to if I'd just had a meal, but the Regressor was absorbing the vampire's words with astonishing concentration.
Is this actually helpful? The content itself sounds like something a snake-oil salesman would say. Should I give it a listen?
I focused my mind and read the vampire's words, and the thoughts that formed them.
[Countless powers lie within you. Understanding your body completely is the first step to controlling those powers. Among the powers that branch out like a thousand tree limbs, feel the hotly pulsating blood completely.]
I am a mind reader. When it comes to 'understanding' the meaning of words, I am second to none. Even the worst teacher can be a great master to me. The 'delivery' aspect of good teaching is unnecessary for me. All I need is the depth of knowledge and understanding.
Reading the vampire's thoughts, I closed my eyes and focused. I felt the beating of my heart and the throbbing of my arteries.
Oh, I feel it. The pulsing of my veins! I feel the power surging in my wrists and carotid arteries. Is this the power of blood?
[Blood is a river. A great river may seem to flow majestically, but in truth, it seeps into the smallest cracks in the earth. The water that seeps in moistens the entire land, making its way to the sea with excruciating slowness. What you must feel is not the veins that anyone can feel. It is the blood that permeates your entire body. You must feel the power that fills you.]
Ah, so that's not it.
Well, even if I can read thoughts, there are things like talent and compatibility. You can't understand everything just by reading a book.
It's definitely not because I'm stupid or anything. It's just that the technique of Bloodcraft itself isn't a good match for me.
Good thing I decided not to learn it. Even if I had, I probably would've just learned how to stop bleeding.
[The greatest obstacle to Bloodcraft is the heart. The erratically beating heart is proof of the life that binds your soul to this world, but it is also an incompetent meddler that moves your blood at its whim. That is why… only the dead can truly master Bloodcraft.]
The Regressor clapped her hands as if she'd realized something.
"So that's why they call vampires ghouls."
[Indeed. In that they move their bodies with Bloodcraft, vampires and ghouls are essentially the same. To become a vampire, one must die once. Your choice not to become one was the right one. A heart that beats on its own is proof of life, and the quality that allows you to advance further. Protecting it should be your priority. A heart is a privilege only the living possess…]
The vampire, murmuring wistfully as if reminiscing or regretting something, continued.
[I was lost in sentiment for a moment. In any case, to master Bloodcraft, you must first master your heart. You must be able to stop it for a time, or force it to beat faster. Do you understand?]
"More or less. Once I've learned to control my blood to some extent, I should try to control my heart's movement, right?"
[You are a quick study. Good. In any case, remember this. The heart is the source of your body. It moves the blood, purifies it, and wrings out mana. The heart is the center of the body, so always be mindful of it as you move…]
Moves the blood, purifies, mana…? Huh. Wait a minute. Something's not right.
"Excuse me, Trainee Tyrkanzyaka."
I stepped forward. The vampire replied with a look of extreme displeasure.
[…What is it now?]
"Um, the heart is not a mana organ."
Is it because she's from an older time? There was a discrepancy with what I knew. I stepped between them and explained.
"Most vampires turned their stopped hearts into mana organs, so it's an understandable assumption, but turning the heart into a mana organ is actually a very dangerous and inefficient thing to do. If you make your heart a mana organ, you even have to control your breathing to use magic. That's why these days, people force themselves to create mana organs elsewhere."
[…]
"In the past, people used the heart to draw out mana that way, but the frequency of that has decreased since the magical revolution four centuries ago. A method was discovered to draw out mana well without linking it to the body. This is the first thing you learn if you take a magic class at a secondary military school, so it would be good for you to know… Ah, did I interrupt too much? Please continue."
Phew. I pointed out a very critical error. This should have earned me some favor…
'Is he actually insane?'
A cold, blade-like gaze flew and pierced me. It was as if I had committed a mortal sin.
Huh? Why? I just pointed out something that was wrong.
'I knew that too. Do you think I was just sitting here quietly because I didn't know? I could have listened first and then decided, but he just had to argue.'
The Regressor, acting like a normal person, was ridiculous. You have to point out what's wrong. Agreeing with everything an old person says isn't politeness, it's deceit. You're the one disrespecting the vampire.
[…In any case.]
The vampire tried her best to ignore me and continued her explanation.
[However, even if the heart stops, the blood must continue to circulate. Stagnant blood pools and rots. Blood that has flowed through the body is depleted of mana… no, that is, if the heart is a mana organ… Ahem. And since impure blood is purified as it passes through the heart, to prevent the body's contamination…]
"Ah. Excuse me. To be precise, it's not when it passes through the heart, but when it passes through the lungs."
Her knowledge is from the past, so it has a lot of holes.
It wouldn't matter if I were reading it as classic literature, but it becomes a problem when explained technically. I should kindly point it out.
"Actually, 'contaminated blood' just means it's lacking oxygen. Oxygen enters our bodies and burns the energy we have to move our bodies. This process isn't a matter of cleanliness, but the same principle as firewood burning. Just as covering burning firewood with a cloth extinguishes the fire, closing the lungs, the passage for air, extinguishes the flame in our bodies. We call that dying."
'I… I didn't know that.'
The vampire has been sleeping and waking for a thousand years, so that's understandable, but what's your excuse for not knowing? It's something they teach in secondary school.
Ah, my bad. You didn't go to middle school, did you? Because you're an orphan.
Wait, does that mean I'm the most educated person in this prison? My shoulders suddenly feel a little broader. See, education is important.
"Anyway. Now that you know, please refer to that in your explanation. Gyaaaaaaaah!"
My hair stood on end. Sensing the killing intent, I immediately threw myself to the side. An instant later, the hooves of a Sanguine Horse slammed down where I had been standing. Space tore, and the concrete shattered like tofu. Shards of broken concrete embedded themselves in my back.
Snort. The Sanguine Horse pawed the ground as if disappointed it had missed. Every time its hooves scraped the ground, the concrete ground away like sand. I yelled frantically.
"You really! You really could have killed me!"
[Don't be so dramatic!]
"I'm not being dramatic! A normal person would have been turned into a puddle of blood by that attack!"
[You're not normal, so you should be fine!]
If it weren't for my mind-reading, you'd be a murderer! Murder without powerful connections gets you the firing squad! You should be thanking my mind-reading, you!
[Yes! I am behind the times. I have always been a stranger, unable to blend in with the era! What have you ever done to help!]
"What? When did I ever say you were behind the times?"
[That's your attitude right now! You think of me as a backward, old-fashioned crone, don't you!]
"I never said that!"
[But you thought it, didn't you?!]
Oops. She found out.
And it seemed she even found out that I realized she'd found out.
The blood began to boil. I felt an indescribable emotion from within the vampire's mind.
Uh, wait a minute. This feeling I'm sensing now, could it be? I asked cautiously.
"Are you, by any chance, pouting—gyaaaaah!"
Pssh. A crimson sphere flew at me. I rolled across the ground ungracefully to dodge the blood orb. The orb that grazed past my head exploded upon hitting the ground, pulverizing the concrete.
[You think you're any different? You were just lucky enough to be born in this era and blend in! Shall I turn you into a vampire too? Shall I make your life one that is forever detached from the world, where no one seeks you out unless they wish to die themselves!]
The attacks continued. Crimson spheres flew at me. They weren't attacks filled with killing intent, but more like a tantrum expressing her displeasure. It was similar to a child throwing toys around indiscriminately.
The only problem was that she wasn't throwing toys. Even toys hurt when you get hit, but those blood orbs were fatal if they so much as grazed you.
At this rate, I'm really going to die. I have to distract her somehow. But how?
[If you're so great! Why don't you teach us!]
"Fine!"
The attacks stopped at my shout. Having finally gotten a moment to breathe, I clutched my chest and got to my feet.
"Trainee Tyrkanzyaka. I have seen it. The social grace that exists deep within your heart."
[Are those your last words?]
If I back down now, I'm dead. I ignored the vampire's words and continued speaking firmly.
"Social grace is the desire to live alongside others. I saw that in you. The mindset of wanting to blend into this era, to flow in the same river."
I had to survive first. I just picked some random words from what I'd read in the vampire's mind and threw them out there, hoping one of them would stick.
[Blend… into the era?]
Thankfully, the vampire calmed her excitement and began to listen to my words.
"And so, today, I have reached a conclusion. With the proper education, you can all sufficiently blend into society."
[…Who are you to decide that? What right do you have?]
"This place where you are. Its name is the Mental Education Facility, Tantalus. You are trainees, and I am the warden. The one who will guide you in this society."
The vampire probably didn't know the name of this place, but what did that matter? What mattered was that it could be called that.
I pointed to myself with my thumb and shouted confidently.
"I will teach you. Everything you trainees need to achieve what you desire and live upright lives. So that you can become members of society!"
So don't kill me.
I spoke as confidently as I could, filled with that desperate wish.
[…Hah.]
The vampire lowered her hand. The numerous crimson spheres that had adorned the air fell to the ground. The red orbs that had pulverized so much concrete melted into puddles of blood and seeped into the earth.
I'm alive. Just as I was sighing in relief.
As she recalled the scattered blood, the vampire spoke softly.
[What nonsense is this? You speak of things you cannot take responsibility for.]
How did she know?
A gloomy voice came from within the coffin.
It was the voice of someone who had given up on hope, someone who had repeated the cycle of expectation and resignation countless times over many years, thinking that this time would be different, that now was the chance.
[I am a vampire. A predator that drinks human blood. Humans either fear and avoid me, or envy and wish to become me. Even if I wish to blend in, a being like me cannot mix with them. Can a wolf live among a flock of sheep?]
The way she uses metaphors every time she speaks really gives off an old-timer vibe. And of all things, a wolf and sheep.
So what if she's a wolf? How many wolves are even around these days?
But if I point that out, she'll get angry again. So maybe I should try explaining it differently, with a metaphor of my own.
"Yes."
[Words are cheap.]
"Shall I show you proof?"
Show me if you can, the vampire thought cynically.
Reading her thoughts, I immediately took the bell from my pocket and shook it.
Then, with a now-familiar howl, someone burst out of the second-floor cafeteria window, shattering it. Crash! Azzy, who had snapped the steel bars in an instant and landed on the ground, shot her head up and came running.
"There. The one running over now is a wolf that can live with a flock of sheep."
Screeech. Azzy, who had run over in a single bound, skidded to a halt, tearing up the ground. With her mouth full of drool, she looked up at me with eyes full of expectation.
I reached out and patted Azzy's head. With a satisfied woof, Azzy closed her eyes and enjoyed my touch.
"Dogs were originally wolves, you know. Even sheepdogs that confront wolves are descended from wolves if you go back far enough. But while sheep may be scared of dogs, they don't fear being eaten by them. And dogs don't eat sheep either. Well, they might chew on a sheep bone the shepherd throws them."
Predator or prey, things can change. There are many beasts that have been tamed by humans, and in the case of dogs, an entire species has been domesticated.
The vampire was lost in deep thought. It seemed she was lost in her own world and wouldn't be coming out for a while.
Good. Now's my chance.
"Woof? Food?"
"I'll go get it for you. Let's go to the kitchen."
"Woof woof! Yay!"
"By the way, didn't you just eat? And you're eating again? Are you a dog or a pig?"
"Grrr! Not! A pig! Not a pig!"
Dog, pig, what's the difference? But Azzy's reaction was so vehement that I immediately adopted a posture of surrender.
"Ah, alright! Don't bite!"
Casually excusing myself, I led Azzy toward the building, leaving the Regressor and the vampire behind.
'That bastard…'
When I had walked some distance, I heard the Regressor's thoughts from afar.
'He caused all that chaos and then just casually slipped away by himself!'
Oops. Busted. Time to run.
"Azzy. Run!"
"Woof!"
I bolted toward the building with an excited Azzy in tow.
All the while, the jet-black coffin remained floating in the air, motionless.