Leave a comment

Two monsters dashed through the shadowy forest. One was a small spider with a copper shell that seemed heavy, yet she moved effortlessly. The other, an enormous flower with a long, twisting stem from which vines and roots stretched like insect limbs, propelled the massive creature forward.

Ahead of them were countless writhing shadows—Shiki that had manifested in the forest, ready to attack the two monsters as soon as they were spotted.

The spider deployed her metallic silk to restrain the Shiki, while the flower swung her sickle-shaped claws and spat acid at them. Being bitten by a Shiki meant infection, so they had to fend them off cautiously to survive.

Fortunately, the spider’s metallic carapace was tough enough to resist their bites, and the flower could detach any bitten parts to prevent the spread of infection. After defeating many Shiki, the two monsters began to glow, having gained enough experience and knowledge to evolve into a higher species.

✦✧✦✧✦

There was a staircase leading underground from the inner sanctum, descending straight to the bedrock and continuing even further down. As Tatsumasa and Vlad III descended, they heard footsteps behind them.

“So they’re already following us,” Vlad noted.
“I only hear one. They might have split up to get here faster.”

Indeed, only Ruri had managed to chase them down so swiftly. “Milord! Vlad III!” Ruri emerged from the dark staircase, her hand on her katana, ready to strike. Tatsumasa also reached for his weapon in response.

“Wait, we don’t have time for this,” Vlad III intervened before a conflict could erupt. “Ruri, I’ll explain everything, so why don’t you calm down and come with us?”

“…Alright.” Ruri paused for a moment, then sheathed her katana. However, her decision was not driven by a desire to hear Vlad III’s explanation but by her reluctance to harm Ryuka’s body.

“Let’s keep moving then.” Tatsumasa still appeared wary of Ruri, and she did not fully trust them either, but both decided to follow Vlad III.

“Where should I start… Well, I guess I should discuss the Shiki that appear in the forest every year.” Vlad III continued, oblivious to Ruri’s thoughts.

“This isn’t common knowledge, but Shiki aren’t naturally occurring monsters. They’re remnants left when a vampire consumes a person’s blood.”

“!?” Ruri felt a sudden urge to halt.

If this was true, then the Urado family, the vampire rulers of the Land of Kanon, were at least partly responsible for the Shiki’s existence. And that was a secret kept even from Ruri, a member of the Urado-Mori who served the Urado Family closely.

“To be more precise, they are one possible outcome for those whose blood is consumed. Not everyone turns into a Shiki, as I’m sure you’re already aware.” As a member of the Urado-Mori, Ryuka had frequently helped Ruri manage her vampiric urges by offering her own blood.

If merely being bitten by a vampire resulted in becoming a Shiki, then Ruri would have become one as well.

“Merely drinking someone’s blood isn’t enough; a Shiki is only created when a vampire absorbs the victim’s soul through their blood, turning them into a thrall. Once in that state, regardless of whether they die and their body is destroyed, a vampire can regenerate their bodies and summon them again. Just as you observed earlier,” Vlad III explained, referring to the armed Shiki he had summoned outside the inner sanctum.

“They were some of my most loyal servants when I was alive. I’m impressed that your automaton friend is holding up against them on her own.” Those armed Shiki had been some of his finest soldiers in the past, and Vlad III was nearly delighted to discover someone like Natalia who could combat them alone.

“If the victim consents, they form a pact, retaining their sanity even as a Shiki. But if forced by the vampire, they remain mindless moving bodies. The Shiki you’re familiar with are of the latter type. And regardless of the type, they can both convert others into Shiki.”
“So you’re the one who’s been creating all those mindless Shiki in the forest?”
“Don’t jump to conclusions, now. But you’re not entirely wrong, as I’ll explain shortly.”

Ruri frowned, puzzled by his reluctance to either fully confirm or deny his actions.

“After dying in my previous life—it feels a bit strange to say this since I’ve also died in this world—I was reborn here and took the name Urado Tsuebe, founding the Urado family, then repelled the invasion from Seperion and battled a terrible dragon.” Vlad III, now revealed as Tsuebe, began to recount the history of the Land of Kanon and the Urado family. This was the history everyone knew, even children who grew up on the streets.

“But let me focus on that dragon for a moment. Thousands of years ago, there was a gigantic eight-headed serpent that spawned a venomous swamp. The dragon emerged from there.”
“I know, some say the dragon was the offspring of the serpent or even an attempt at resurrection by it.” Ruri, growing weary of the prolonged narrative, interrupted to mention the prevalent theory.

“I also thought the same and tried to approach it under that assumption. But I was wrong. The dragon did emerge from the venomous swamp, but it’s not related to it. I only realized the truth when I confronted it directly.” Tsuebe’s voice carried a hint of self-derision as he mentioned this.

“We’re almost there.” Tsuebe looked ahead, focusing on a dark red glow emanating from deeper within the staircase.

Upon reaching the source of the glow, they found themselves in a large cavern, quite similar to the one where Ruri had found her katana. However, instead of crystal-clear water, there was a swamp of reddish-brown color. And rather than an island in the middle, there was a man jutting out from the venom, his limbs severed and his face twisted into a hateful expression.

Ruri recognized the face from paintings and portraits she had seen in books and online discussions about that man. “It was me, from my past life. Vlad III.”

“Wait, that doesn’t make sense! Then who are you?!” Ruri raised her voice in confusion.

Tsuebe, however, calmly replied from within Ryuka’s body, “I’m Vlad III as well. I always thought I had died and then was reborn here. But I was wrong. I reincarnated while I was still half-alive, so part of my soul that died reincarnated as Tsuebe, and the half that survived was thrown into this swamp with my body. During the latter years of my life as Tsuebe, he awakened. He absorbed the miasma of the swamp, gaining vampiric traits, and eventually emerged as a vampire dragon.”

Vlad III had arrived in this world in a state between life and death. Half of his soul died and was reborn in a new body, becoming Urado Tsuebe, a proper inhabitant of this world.

His previous body and the remaining half of his soul were absorbed by the swamp, leaving him unconscious. He did not die but instead absorbed and adapted to the miasma and venom of the swamp. As he gained more power from the swamp during his slumber, his body began to transform.

By the time Vlad III awakened from the swamp, he had become a terrifying vampire dragon. When this menacing form was spotted, the Urado army was immediately dispatched to confront the dragon. And predictably enough, Tsuebe was leading that army.

“When we came face to face, our souls resonated. We instantly knew what had happened to each other and understood what we had become.” The two halves of the same person had found each other… “And so we decided to kill each other.”

“Umm… even though you were the same person?”

“That’s precisely why. There’s nothing more revolting than seeing oneself in another creature. Though I guess that’s something you won’t understand unless it happens to you.”

Ruri felt that wanting to kill a copy of herself would be akin to committing suicide. Thus, she struggled to understand why Tsuebe would decide to kill the dragon without hesitation.

“But we weren’t identical. I had a country, my servants, my people. And that enraged the dragon, making it decide to destroy the whole Land of Kanon. The Shiki you see outside in the forest are all victims of that dragon.”

According to the historical records of the time, there was a large number of casualties, both from the Urado army and civilians. In his first life, Vlad III had fought to protect his land to the extent of being hailed as a hero by some. Then, after being reborn, he found himself doing the same again.

“I fought with all my might, but as we were the same, there was no victor. Driven by desperation, I devised a plan to seal it here in the swamp.” As he related that, Tsuebe looked frustrated with the past. “But even in this sealed state, it continues to gain power. If it wakes up again, then not even I would be able to defeat it. And the longer we wait, the more power it’ll have to break free of the seal, and it’ll be the doom of the Land of Kanon. But as a vampire dragon, that thing can’t be killed through normal means.”

Tsuebe walked up to the edge of the swamp before lifting into the air and flying over the noxious surface, going face to face with his other half. “Only another vampire can kill a vampire, by absorbing their soul through their blood. But that’s only possible if the one absorbing the soul has the necessary ability to suppress it. So far there was no one in the Urado bloodline who could do that, until now.”

“Until now… wait, so you’re saying—” Ruri raised her voice as she realized Tsuebe’s intention.

“Ryuka is capable of absorbing such a soul. We have to do this, as there’s no telling when the dragon will wake up again, so powerful that no one can stop it.”

“But then!” Ruri tried running forward, but Tatsumasa stood in her way.

“I will use Ryuka’s body to absorb its blood and soul, then just to be sure, Tatsumasa will kill Ryuka along with it.”
“Milord! Is that really what you want?!”
“Of course. That’s why I’m here.”

Tatsumasa was determined to sacrifice his own daughter. Then again, Ryuka was also Tsuebe’s great-granddaughter. But both Tatsumasa and Tsuebe were prepared to sacrifice Ryuka for the good of the people.

“Then I’ll use Shisui!” Ruri was ready to unsheathe her katana, intending to kill the dragon that came from Vlad III with her blade made to slay the undead.

“Don’t underestimate it. If you call its true name and unleash its power, your life force will be gone before you can kill the dragon.”
“I don’t care! If this will save Lady Ryuka then—”
“That’s enough!!”

As Ruri tried to charge forward without listening to anyone else, Tatsumasa unsheathed his katana and swung it.