After receiving the grave news, we hurried back upstairs into the garden. The night closed in around us as we stepped out of the mansion. I could hear growls emanating from the dark forest. The eyes of the monsters surrounding the building glowed with an eerie crimson light, piercing the shadows. There were so many of them that anyone else might have mistaken the sight for a stampede. “Th-they just showed up without warning…!” the knight explained in a shaky voice. “…I’ve never seen so many in one place. This is no joke!” Allie muttered, glaring back at the creatures with a sour expression. The monsters had essentially placed the mansion under siege. At least for the time being, they weren’t approaching any farther. “They’re holding their positions… Someone has to be controlling them. Especially with those red eyes they have…” “Yep, there’s no doubt about it. There’s a vampire behind this.” “They must have followed Ruella…” A wave of trepidation fell over us all. At that moment, a voice sounded from overhead. Glancing up with a jolt, I spotted a fair-skinned girl floating just above the moon. Her silver-white hair reached all the way down to her legs, glistening as if it had absorbed the bright moonlight. Her skin was so pale it might never have been exposed to the sun, and it was only accentuated by her jet-black dress. And her eyes—they shone with a mysterious, sinister crimson glow. That sight alone was enough to fill me with a deep sense of unease. “Wh-what the…?! Is that a…human…? Or a monster…?!” I heard someone whisper in fear. I couldn’t blame them for that response. After all, two pairs of huge wings stretched from her back—one shaped like a bat’s, the other like a bird’s. It was a discordant sight, beauty and ugliness merged as one—and I couldn’t take my eyes off her. “Forgive me for dropping in like this,” she said with a faint, enigmatic smile. “I’m looking for my quarry. She’s very important to me.” Still wearing that innocent smile of hers, the strange girl offered us a deep bow. Her refined, elegant movements were so captivating that I heard some of the knights let out gasps of wonder. But the second she narrowed those bewitching eyes of hers, a pain like nothing I’d ever felt shot up my spine. My Impressed Seal was screaming out a warning. “Sh-she’s trying to bewitch us! Focus, everyone! Don’t let her rob you of your senses!” I cried out with a grimace. Euphie and the others immediately braced themselves for the worst. Behind us, I could hear the knights and adventurers readying for a fight. “Oh…? You there, you seem to know a lot about vampires. How so?” Her head tilted to one side, the strange girl pointed toward us. “And you, the blond boy and the black-haired girl. Brethren unknown to us! You seem so similar—are you brother and sister? And you, you’re the Lycant girl! But how odd. What would bring vampires and Lycants to this small country?” The girl continued to stare down at us, head askance as though she honestly found our presence curious. Her mannerisms, her gestures, the way she stole our attention—my Impressed Seal continued to shoot bursts of biting pain through my spine with each and every movement. This was over and beyond Lainie’s powers of attraction. This girl was like a little devil, her alluring mannerisms almost sickly-sweet. Despite her inhuman appearance, she was charming—and that in and of itself was horrifying. We could be possessed any moment if we didn’t steel ourselves. “Oh, you don’t need to make such scary faces,” the girl said. “I haven’t done anything—yet. I’m just searching for someone. We can be friends, good strangers.” “…How can you say that while trying to ensnare our minds?” I demanded. “…? Don’t you want to have a relaxed chat? Have I done something to alarm you?” There was something wrong here, a potentially fatal discrepancy. The fear and apprehension I felt looking at her was fundamentally different from anything I had experienced before, enough to send me breaking out into a cold sweat. “Who are you…?” Euphie asked, desperately fighting to keep her voice under control. “Me? Oh, dear me! We haven’t introduced ourselves yet! Greetings! My name is Lilana. I hope we can all work together.” Lilana. That name made me even more cautious. This girl was the vampire leader, their matriarch—the one Ruella feared above all else, the one she had called a fiend. “Lilana…,” I repeated. “That would make you the vampire matriarch, right?” “Oh? You’ve heard of me? That must mean my quarry is here after all. Yes? You’re harboring the vampire Ruella, aren’t you?” “What would you do if I told you I’ve never heard of her?” “Hmph. You’re lying. Which means she is here!” Lilana said with an innocent laugh. She must have been able to see that we were prepared for the worst, but she didn’t seem to mind. I inhaled sharply. Was that a sign of confidence on her part? Or could she really be that naive? Either way, her manner of speaking was uncanny. “You know, I don’t mean to antagonize you any more than necessary,” she purred. “That’s the truth.” “…You have a funny way of showing it, placing your monsters around us,” I shot back. “Oh! I only wanted to keep any futile resistance to a minimum, you understand?” She spoke as if this was self-evident. If she really meant it that way, then she really was out of her mind. I knew trouble when I saw it. “…You seem awfully sure of yourself,” I pointed out. “But it’s the truth. One cannot go against the flow of time.” “What’s that supposed to mean?” “It’s a fact that the Kingdom of Palettia will be destroyed. Oh, but don’t worry. I won’t take your lives. No, I’m offering you the greatest proposal of all!” Lilana beamed innocently. “Coming out with an offer while threatening to destroy us?” Euphie asked with venom in her voice. “What on earth are you proposing?” Lilana smiled back benevolently. “Oh, you know. Spending eternity with us. That’s what.” “Eternity…?” “Yes! An eternity without suffering, without sadness, where everyone can be happy and filled with joy. I’m preparing a new world for you all!” “That’s a lofty goal… You honestly think you can deliver on it?” I asked. “Of course. That’s what our quest for the origin of magic is all about.” “So you’re saying you’re going to turn everyone into vampires?” “No, actually. I’m offering you a grander, even more sublime form of eternity! To be one, forever! I will take the entire world unto myself and create eternal peace! No discrimination, no strife, no disease! A world where everyone is united in eternal joy!” No doubt everyone had wished for something like that at least once in their lives. Eternal peace. A world free from discrimination, from conflict, and from illness, in which everyone and everything was accepted unconditionally. It certainly would be wonderful if such a world could be realized. Yet I had seen for myself how a vampire drunk on such ideals could be transformed. Even now, I didn’t want to remember. Nor could I possibly forget the voice of the demi-human weeping in despair at the loss of his people, all taken by her. So I couldn’t possibly accept Lilana’s honeyed words. But Lilana did not seem interested in our reactions. “People are vulnerable,” she continued. “They grow old. They weaken. They decline. They learn to fear their limited time on this earth, their lives little more than flickering flames. That’s just what they are. But that’s why I’m pursuing a greater goal—so that they can find value in life. So that they can look forward to the future. People are wonderful creatures! I love them all so much! I want to give them eternal unity! Then, they won’t lose anything! They won’t harm one another. There will be nothing but bliss!” “Be silent!” Acryl cried, interrupting Lilana’s ecstatic delirium. She stared up at her in disgust, ready to tear into her. “You believe that is happiness? You cannot tell me you’ve forgotten what you sacrificed in exchange! You kidnapped so many people and used them to kill those horrible things! You expect us to believe you after everything you’ve done?!” Acryl shouted, her voice turning hoarse. Lilana tilted her head to one side, watching Acryl with a curious expression. “Why curse me for your own weakness?” She didn’t seem intentionally malicious—just completely guileless. …Ah, I knew it would come to this. There was no way we were going to find common ground here. “I’m sorry. I knew your kind were weak, but I still failed to fight you all properly,” Lilana said to Acryl. “Eternity might still be far off, but it’s no longer unreachable. Soon, I will have saved you all. It’s because of your weakness that you suffer, you know? But I can save you from it.” “Do not take me for a fool! You claim you want to save us, but you’ve already killed so many of my people!” “You misunderstand.” “…Oh, do I?” “Those monsters you consider abominations are all born from me; therefore, none of them will die. They are all one, with me.” “…Nonsense.” “I can restore each of the souls that I have taken in, along with the memories contained in them. I’m rather skilled at rebirth, you know? No matter who you kill, they’ll just come back to me!” Lilana’s comments just didn’t add up. Nothing she said made any sense. She treated life itself like a broken toy for her to fix. And once in her clutches, she was happy to play with them and regenerate them whenever she felt like it. Her view of life was simply too much at odds with our own. That explained her fearlessness and her strange childlike innocence. “Don’t despair,” she continued. “I wanted you to become stronger. I would have made you my friend, and you would have made my eternity even more precious. Don’t you think?” “You… How can you…?” Acryl shook her head from side to side. She couldn’t even pretend to understand. Fear and disgust washed over her as she stepped backward. “…Lilana, wasn’t it?” Allie began, advancing to protect Acryl. “Your words are of no comfort to us.” “Oh? Why not?” “You don’t understand the human heart. Your salvation is entirely subjective. It’s absurd to think you can save people like that. If you want to play with dolls, do so alone. You are a fiend. You’re not capable of saving anyone.” “What is this…? No one has ever criticized me like that before. And from a fellow vampire!” Allie’s repudiation must have come as no small shock to Lilana, but she responded with a casual nod. “Maybe if we become friends, we’ll understand each other better!” “…Friends? Is that what you call the people you’ve absorbed?” I asked. “Naturally. Why wouldn’t I?” Lilana responded as if it was blindingly obvious. “The whole world suffers when a precious life is lost, so I have to protect them. I’ll show you a dream without loss. I’ll show you a world without end. So, tell me you’ll join me. I just want to make everyone happy.” “Enough!” I shouted. “Talking to you won’t solve anything!” I could feel my Impressed Seal awakening in response to my indignation. This creature couldn’t be allowed to live. She was a threat—one that needed to be eliminated here and now, if that was possible. My anger, my disgust, and my dread all came together, combining with my dragon aura as it flared around me. Perhaps sensing this, Lilana betrayed a hint of surprise for the first time. “…Oh! Oh my! Well, well, well. What do we have here?!” With a look of utter astonishment, she slowly descended to the ground—then, keeping her eyes locked onto me, her lips twisted in an ecstatic grin. “How did I fail to notice it…? Oh, I slipped up there! I beg your pardon, good lady! Ah, to meet such a wonderful person! Yes, won’t you tell me your name?” “Huh…? Why are you acting so different all of a sudden…?” I asked with suspicion. Lilana let out a wistful sigh, her eyes glistening. I knew that look. I had seen it before. No… “Is this…love?!” she asked, sounding completely besotted. “Excuse me?” Euphie growled, her voice low and threatening. She was giving off such a foreboding air that the others each took a step away from her.
Chapter 96
11 min read