WeTried Translations
Translator: Coughing Baby
Editor: Coughing Baby
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 68: Lunar Eclipse (6)
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“I have a proposal.”
“Nngh...”
Thud.
A canteen landed beside the girl.
It sounded full, liquid sloshing inside.
The man added indifferently,
“It’s human blood.”
“...”
“Drink it. Then I’ll let you live.”
Drinking human blood.
For a vampire, it was an irreversible choice.
It also meant directly denying the beliefs her dynasty had held.
“I’ll spare Your Highness, at least. That human woman over there may be a different matter...”
“...”
“What do you say? Just close your eyes, drink it, and spend the rest of your life in hiding. I’ll make sure to give the King a favorable report.”
“Consider it a favor for old times’ sake.”
It was a mocking remark.
Jersian tilted his head.
As if he absolutely had to see her in that pathetic state.
“Drink it.”
“...”
Carmilla didn’t answer.
She didn’t have the strength to answer.
Helplessness.
Exhaustion.
Resignation.
Those things slowly gnawed away at the girl’s heart.
The canteen flickered in her vision, its liquid sloshing within.
“One sip is enough.”
“...”
“Just one sip, and you can be free. Not only will I spare you, I’ll let you escape from here. I’ll tell His Highness to call off the pursuit as well.”
So give up just one thing.
Just one.
“That trashy ideal.”
An ideal.
The thing the Blandir dynasty had stubbornly refused to let go of.
“Give that up, and it’s over. You’ll walk the same path as us.”
Covet humans, make them a staple food, slaughter them without restraint, and live on for ages.
Human blood offered all of it.
Intoxicating pleasure.
Overwhelming strength.
Greater power.
He was telling her to enjoy it all.
“Your Highness.”
It could be easier.
Blood slowly leaked from the cracked canteen.
Its sweet scent pierced her nose.
‘One sip.’
All she had to do was stick out her tongue and take one bite of that fruit, and everything would be over.
She could survive.
She could look forward to another day.
She wouldn’t have to live as though she were dead, hiding away.
The scent of blood from the canteen seemed to draw nearer.
‘So, if it’s just one sip...’
Death was the end.
But as long as she lived, her story wouldn’t end.
Even if she became low and cowardly here, surviving would let her plan for the future.
She would have a chance to take revenge on them.
“...”
“That’s it. Drink it down.”
At some point, her hand had gripped the canteen.
Jersian urged her on as though she were doing well.
She opened the cap and brought the canteen to her lips.
-Carmilla.
This was the end.
-There may be times when you grow arrogant, waver, and want to give up in the face of temptation.
-No, there certainly will be. That is what it means to live a finite life.
She tipped the canteen.
Its contents poured out in a rush.
-We are a superior species, which means we must question and reflect on ourselves.
The girl, the princess, she herself was such a weak creature.
-Struggle with all your might.
-So that you do not become low, so that you do not become cowardly.
Before long, the canteen was completely empty.
Yet...
Carmilla’s lips weren’t wet in the slightest.
“...”
“...Ha.”
Jersian laughed as though she disgusted him.
Was it because she hadn’t done as he wished?
Splash.
Carmilla hadn’t accepted his offer.
Without the slightest hesitation, she had poured the canteen’s contents onto the ground.
“This princess...”
The light hadn’t left the girl’s eyes.
It had only dimmed, but their vivid color still lived on.
“Did you think this princess would slaughter others like some low creature? Did you think this princess would prolong her life like a coward?”
If one simply lived however life carried them along, could that be called living?
Could a life without struggling desperately to survive be called a life?
“Khk, haa... It isn’t even funny.”
To make a flower bloom amid struggle, gutters, dirt, and blood.
To hold meaning.
To live.
That was why life was precious.
“Ptooey.”
She spat out a mouthful of bloody phlegm.
The girl’s contempt struck Jersian across the cheek.
Carmilla smiled at him instead, openly mocking him.
“Go ahead and kill me.”
“...”
“Go on, kill me, you base wretch.”
The girl’s spirit didn’t break.
It was too straight and too stubborn for a mere traitor to bend.
Jersian, who had been standing back, twisted his face in fury.
“Ha... I see words won’t work with you.”
Shwaak.
A massive saw blade formed above his clenched palm.
The weapon forged through Bloodcraft was hideous beyond measure.
“If dying like this is your wish, I’ll grant it. I’ll cut your entire body apart piece by piece while you’re still alive! As painfully as possible, as miserably as possible...!”
Step, step.
The man’s shadow approached the girl.
Carmilla’s breathing calmed as she watched that merciless violence approach.
‘Is that so.’
Would this place become her execution ground?
She didn’t regret refusing to submit.
She simply wouldn’t break.
Rather than cry and beg for her life, she calmly laid her neck on the block.
Tears ran down her face in an ugly stream, but she thought of even those as remnants of a life she had burned through.
“Then... I’ll start by cutting off those white hands, one at a time.”
The saw drew near.
Carmilla squeezed her eyes shut.
As if bracing herself for the pain to come.
“Wait.”
Flutter.
But the saw never reached her.
A pitch-black robe had appeared between them.
“Activate. Mace.”
Baaaang!
A figure appeared from nowhere.
The boy suddenly sprang out of thin air and smashed the man across the face.
Caught off guard by the unexpected ambush, Jersian staggered back, clutching his face.
“Ghk, ghaaa...!”
Blood streamed from his nose.
Ignoring him, the boy examined Carmilla.
A white clown mask came into view through her blurred vision.
“Your Highness.”
“Vik, tor...?”
“I’m sorry. There was a lot to take care of, so I was late.”
“You... hadn’t left my side, had you...?”
“How could I ever leave Your Highness’s side?”
“You’re far too wonderful for that.”
Viktor took off his robe and wrapped it around Carmilla’s shoulders.
His arms were full of emergency blood packs.
A gentle voice came from behind the mask.
“You’ve worked hard.”
“...”
“From here on, Miss Alice and I will finish this.”
Warm body heat.
Carmilla relaxed without realizing it.
The strength drained from her entire body, and her hand soon fell limp.
“Viktor...”
The boy carefully moved her, letting her lean against a nearby wall.
He placed the blood packs between her soft lips one by one.
Once he had finished tending to her, the mask slowly turned around.
“Is it you?”
“What are you...?!”
Even while groaning in pain, Jersian radiated intense killing intent.
The pressure was enough to crush the entire area.
Yet the boy showed no sign of shrinking back.
“I’m asking you.”
“Ghk...”
“Was it you? The one who treated my master so brutally?”
The boy’s voice was calm.
That made it all the more chilling.
One hand gripped a pitch-black scythe while the other repeatedly pressed the air.
Ding!
[Base Stats]
Stamina: D-
Strength: E+
Agility: E+
Mana Sensitivity: E+
[Remaining Merit Points: 7020p]
A blue screen floated before him.
He tapped several parts of it.
Ding!
[Merit Points will be used.]
-The rank of the base stat ‘Agility’ increases by +1.
-The rank of the base stat ‘Agility’ increases by +1.
-The rank of the base stat ‘Agility’ increases by +1.
-The rank of the base stat ‘Agility’ increases by +1.
-The rank of the base stat ‘Agility’ increases by +1.
-The rank of the base stat ‘Agility’ increases by +1.
-The rank of the base stat ‘Agility’ increases by +1.
[6300 Merit Points have been consumed.]
[Remaining Merit Points: 720p]
The letters shifted rapidly.
A bluish light flickered.
Ding!
[Base Stats]
Stamina: D-
Strength: E+
Agility: B-
Mana Sensitivity: E+
The world slowed down.
A rank-up that had leaped seven stages at once.
It was the price of saving 315 lives.
‘Looks like they’re doing well.’
The Ghouls he had turned back into humans were freeing the others imprisoned behind bars one by one.
Even at this moment, points continued to pile up before the boy’s eyes.
Ding!
Ding!
Ding!
[You have obtained 20 Merit Points.]
[You have obtained 20 Merit Points.]
[You have obtained 20 Merit Points.]
“Now this should be a little more manageable.”
Viktor stared at the flustered Jersian.
Of course, that wasn’t all he had prepared.
The boy reached into his robe and pulled something out.
Ding!
[Broken Crown]
-Category: Accessory
-Rank: A-
-Status: Destroyed
-Description: This is the crown worn by the ruler of nightmares, the 'Black Queen.' It has now been destroyed, leaving only her remnants behind. It can be worn for up to 5 minutes per day. When worn, you can use the skill 'Nightmare Transformation.'
[Skill Name: Nightmare Transformation]
-The user’s body becomes assimilated with nightmares.
-While the skill is active, the user gains invincible status.
-Unrestricted flight becomes possible, and the user is freed from all physical force.
A strange object.
A crown with a bizarre appearance, as though heat haze writhed around it.
Without hesitation, the boy placed it on his head.
Rumble!
“If you’ve laid a hand on someone else’s master... you should take responsibility for it.”
An ominous aura swirled around him.
The boy stood calmly at its center.
The gleaming crown, the sharpened pitch-black scythe, the white clown mask covering his face...
The clown’s presence consumed the entire area, threatening to erase even Jersian’s killing intent.
“Just five minutes.”
The corners of his mouth twisted.
“In five minutes, I’ll cut off all four of your limbs.”
“You bastard...!”
The next moment.
The boy had already flickered into place behind Jersian and swung his scythe.
The tie’s effect was still active, so the man hadn’t even sensed his presence.
“What...?!”
Slice.
Before he had a chance to block, one of the man’s arms flew off.
“Khk, k, kyaaaa...!”
“First one.”
Jersian’s left arm floated in the air.
The man stumbled backward, screaming.
Blood sprayed everywhere.
“Now there are three left, aren’t there?”
The mouth of the mask was stretched wide in a grin.
Footnotes:
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