WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

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Chapter 445: Heaven-Defying Trial - 13

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Castle of the Full Moon was bustling with an unexpected boom. Visitors who had come for the Night Ebb were staying near the castle. Even they did not know why people who should have been preparing for the Night Ebb had gathered here, but they had come expecting to make a tidy profit and were spending money they had yet to earn.

Thanks to that, Hilde and I were filling our empty stomachs in a lively market alley. Hilde paused mid-meal, glanced toward Castle of the Full Moon, and spoke.

"Father, there's a war going on in the castle. Aren't we being a little too relaxed?"

"Even if we panic, I don't think we'd be much help with what's happening in there. Let's make the best choice we can right now."

"It's a little disappointing that the best choice is sitting in a restaurant and filling our stomachs~."

Hilde murmured as she watched the ancient castle wrapped in darkness.

Something had gone wrong in the old castle where the Progenitor resided. People sensed it instinctively, even without anyone saying a word. Even those completely drunk kept glancing at the castle, where darkness churned.

They had no intention of looking into it, though. Anything major happening in the castle was the vampires' business. The humans turned away and enjoyed their peaceful daily lives.

"There's no need to worry, right? It's a fight Tyrkanzyaka can't help but win. If she wins, that'll be the end of it. Even if she loses, she can stop her own heart, take control of the other vampires, then ask Father to restore her heart again~."

"I can't."

"Huh?"

Having scraped my plate clean, I set my utensils down on the table.

"I wasn't the one who restored her heart. How could a complete stranger restore someone else's heart in the first place? Tyr restored it herself. I only helped her recall memories from her forgotten past."

"But in the end, Father did it for her, didn't you?"

"It's hard to explain, but that's a little different. I'm the King of Humanity, and Tyr is human, so I represent her. Tyr had a powerful will to reclaim her heart. She even made a dangerous attempt to recover it once."

She had ordered Finlay to control her. I hadn't known whether it was the right answer at the time, but it had been a valid attempt. Luscinia had escaped his shackles through that method as well.

"It was almost the right answer, but whether it was right or wrong doesn't matter much to me. It was enough that she had the will and made the attempt. I also happened to have a way to solve it. I restored her heart in Tyr's place."

"Oh? That means you have the ability to do it."

"It means my ability and will depend on Tyr. If Tyr gives up her heart for smoother control, I'll respect that choice."

I drained a glass of water and wiped my mouth with a napkin. Hilde looked at my now-clean face and said,

"...Father, you're strict."

"Me? I'm a generous person. Especially toward myself."

Have you ever seen a beast live strictly? Just look at Azzy. As long as she had food, she lived more comfortably and happily than anyone else in the world. Only humans tighten the noose around their own lives.

"Well, even if I don't help her, Tyr might escape her shackles through Luscinia's method... But now that the Elders under her have rebelled, that will be difficult too."

Ordering her thralls to control her. Now that she knew rebellion would occur the moment she threw off her shackles, how could she attempt it? Ordering an Elder to control her was impossible now. Ain and Yeiling vampires simply lacked the bloodcraft ability.

"By your reasoning, Tyrkanzyaka will have no choice but to give up one thing. Either her life or her heart."

"There's another possibility. Becoming a Demon God."

"A Demon God? Is that something you can become just because you want to?"

"Maybe it's possible precisely because you can't become one just by wanting to. Tyr died once, and because she spread throughout the world, the race called vampires was born."

The birth of vampires had been a huge event, both globally and historically. Hilde tilted her head and asked,

"But that isn't becoming a Demon God."

"That's right. Because she clung to life through her power over blood, and because she continued living through her intense hatred for the Sanctum, Tyr's dominion could not spread any farther. It remained a power solely for vampires. The bloodcraft that stopped when Tyr died was no longer something shared by all humanity."

To become a Demon God, that power and knowledge needed to belong to every human. Because Tyrkanzyaka lived and led the vampires, it became a special power granted only to vampires and their thralls.

Specialness cannot change humanity, because specialness itself is both the reason and the power. Only the ordinary can change humanity.

"But now, if Tyr's heart stops because of her thralls' rebellion... she may find a way to make it beat again through her own strength. She has seen and experienced so much while traveling with us."

"Aha! So you even planned to gain a Demon God! You're amazing...!"

"Well, it was less of a plan and more..."

A test.

That was when it happened.

Boom.

A heavy sound rang out. It sounded like something huge had struck the castle wall with tremendous force. People walking through the streets jumped and looked around.

"What was that?! An earthquake?"

"The sound came from the old castle...?"

"What's going on?"

The answer soon revealed itself.

Crack.

A pitch-black arm burst through the old castle's wall. A black giant, wearing the castle like clothing, roared as if it were suffocating. The darkness surrounding the castle trembled and carried the giant's cry outward.

[Kyaaaaaah-!]

A scream filled with hatred, as though it would tear apart everything in the world. Only then did people become frightened and stare at the giant that had broken through Castle of the Full Moon.

"Aaah!"

"What is that? An Elder's dominion?"

"Sh-should we run?"

The people of the Duchy were impressive. If it had been me, I would have run the instant I saw that thing. Perhaps living among monsters like Elders had dulled their sense of danger.

Then again, livestock in a pen would find it difficult to think of running as an option.

"That giant strangely resembles Tyrkanzyaka~. Is that the Demon God you mentioned?"

"No. That is..."

A deafening roar rang out from within, swallowing my murmur. As the arm moved violently, darkness swirled and was sucked inward. Crashing sounds, shattering sounds, howls. Every kind of ominous sign spread out from the old castle. Dark red energy surged through the gaps.

It looked as though Castle of the Full Moon was bleeding.

Rumble.

Broken sections of the castle wall fell to the ground. Dust, unlike the darkness, swept in. A fierce battle was underway.

If Tyr had controlled all of them again, this would not have happened. Still.

"...It looks like she's trying to remain human."

"That? It doesn't look human at all?!"

"You can feel her will to live. She chose to fight back. Wow, how strange. I thought Tyr, who had handled nothing but dominion power for over a thousand years, would stop her heart, recover her power, and solve it that way..."

She had chosen to fight rather than give up her heart. She could even feel pain now.

Tyr had wanted to restore her heart and regain her senses. Wishes always encountered obstacles, though. The Elders' wishes had begun to blow again because of Tyr's wish, and I had wondered what would happen when they collided.

Tyr's wish was more precious and intense than I had expected.

"She didn't stop her heart. She's fighting in person. Ha ha. That's unexpected."

The Tyr I had read was a weaker person than I had thought. She had already lost everything, and she had only seemed fearless in a world where everything could be solved through thought. She searched for something to lean on and wanted something she could cherish.

I granted Tyr's wish. She reclaimed her life, then was thrown naked into an ordinary world where her body, strength, surroundings, and everything else did not go as she wished. In such a harsh world, I had expected Tyr to make the easier choice.

But it was the opposite.

Maybe it was because I had restored her heart. She was human, but I could never be sure.

"Father, why are you smiling?"

"Hm?"

"Isn't this bad, by your own words? Tyrkanzyaka chose to fight with force, and whether she wins or loses, her power will take a huge blow. Either way, it's a bad result."

"Why? It's good. It's human."

Hilde opened and closed her mouth as if she could not believe it. In any case, I felt strangely excited as I pushed my plate aside.

It seemed that, as 'she' had said, I had become ordinary too. Even while reading countless thoughts among so many people. Even while blending into the crowd... A quiet anticipation had taken firm root within me, swayed by other winds. My heart was pounding.

Ordinariness was strange. I could think of a particular human as special.

"Father, then what should 'we' do?"

"What can we do besides cheer for Tyr? Go get us some snacks. We can watch the situation while we chew."

"More snacks after eating all that...? Is there a beggar living in your stomach?"

Even as she said something so rude, Hilde obediently went along with it. After paying the bill, she returned with an armful of bar snacks, and we chewed on jerky.

Then an arm stretched out from the hole in the castle again. This time, the huge shadow clenched its fist and threw something in our direction. The darkness of the night sky rippled, then a vampire fell like a meteor, scattering red blood energy.

Crash!

The vampire smashed through a building wall and scraped down its side. Something red, whether blood energy or bloodstains, drew a single streak across the wall.

"Aaah!"

"The giant threw a rock!"

"Run!"

Only then did the humans feel their lives were in danger and scatter in every direction. The vampire who had broken through the wall and fallen to the ground rose through the dust.

At that moment, Hilde grabbed my face and pulled me close. She covered my face with her own so it could not be seen from there, then whispered urgently.

"Father, stay still!"

"...You brute!"

A vampire burst out from the wreckage. Even among the great Elders, she was the most elegant and noble: Countess Erjebeut.

Her pale white skin had not suffered a single scratch, but the dress that had scraped against the building's exterior was no longer intact. As humans swallowed at the sight of her figure exposed beneath the torn clothing, Erjebeut opened her fan with an exasperated expression. Blood energy rose like waves and supported her body.

"You can't possibly be unaware that such barbaric strength, without dominion or anything else, cannot stand against us... Yet you subject me to this humiliation."

Erjebeut, who had been about to fly back at once, suddenly looked around.

People were only staring blankly at the Elder who had been thrown from the sky, like livestock watching a human who had flown into their pen.

"C-Countess Erjebeut?"

"What happened?"

To livestock, humans were not something to be wary of. The vampires who always embraced and cared for them, and gave them compensation equal to the blood they took, were beings to revere and follow. It was like sheep following a shepherd.

They had been startled and frightened after seeing her thrown into a building, but they never imagined a vampire would harm them.

But.

"...Since I've already started, shall I fill up a little?"

Erjebeut flicked her folding fan with a sharp crack. Beads of blood formed at its tip, then shot out like bullets.

The people's curiosity turned into screams, one for each of them. The projectiles pierced through human bodies, raising sprays of blood. It looked quite profitable. With only a few drops of blood, she had obtained enough to fill a bathtub.

Blood flowing from human bodies streamed toward Erjebeut under the command of bloodcraft. With the Progenitor weakened, Erjebeut was the strongest bloodcraft user in this land. Even from a small wound, at least half the blood flowing through a person's veins could be drained away. As Erjebeut savored the blood energy she had harvested, she murmured,

"Hmm. It's not enough, but this should do."

"Countess Erjebeut...! Why us?!"

A clerk sitting beside the collapsed shop manager looked up at Erjebeut and shouted. Erjebeut looked down as if at an insect and replied,

"I raised livestock to obtain blood, so what problem is there with collecting their blood?"

"B-but! We faithfully pay our blood tax every month! The shop manager even paid it yesterday...! If you collect it in such a violent way, it could be fatal!"

"Is that something I need to know?"

"W-what?"

Erjebeut spoke idly as she fed blood between the ribs of her fan.

"Livestock is raised to take its blood. Under normal circumstances, I would consider its health and take only enough that it would not die... But when time is of the essence, one must split open even a goose's belly."

"How could you...!"

"I have collected enough, but I'm not trying to wet my throat. I need a little more."

The Elder did not particularly want to kill humans. She simply needed blood. That was why she was usually very kind, but as needed, she could become even more vicious and cruel.

Without so much as looking at the groaning people, Erjebeut turned a predator's gaze toward the other livestock.

"Gh, ngh!"

The humans of the Duchy finally understood. The vampires who had been their masters and protectors were ultimately beasts that craved blood. Life beneath them was comfortable and safe, but it demanded a price.

The humans who were quick-witted and decisive fled first. Even that sharp judgment came too late. Erjebeut shot blood toward every human who remained.

Hilde and I were among those remaining humans.

Damn it.

She found us.

I kicked the table over, and Hilde struck the blood energy with a plate infused with qi. Mere blood droplets were powerless before Rebounding Qigong. They bounced away helplessly.

We had safely blocked the blood droplets' assault, but it had not actually been an attack. It was only part of the harvesting process. Angered that her work had been interrupted, Erjebeut turned toward the human who had dared resist her...

Then she spotted my face and snorted.

"I wondered how far you had run... The darkest place is beneath the lamp. You were hiding so peacefully right beneath our noses, favored concubine."

Footnotes:

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