Jörg continued. “All of Europe is connected. Once you start talking about revenge along ethnic lines, it never ends. Creating a pristine world requires denouncing the transgressions of every single ethnic group throughout time and could lead to the elimination of every last one. That’s different from enacting justice in the name of God. It does absolutely nothing except help bring forth irreplaceable nothingness.”
“So then what do we do with these feelings?” his corpus screamed. “I don’t need your empty talk of justice. I just want to be rid of these feelings. Is that not human? Or is that too much to ask?”
“But can you imagine what’s waiting for you once you’ve done that? Nothing but hell.”
Fritz kept resisting with all his might, but Milos exhibited extraordinary strength. Fritz eventually lowered his head like a feverish patient dropping off to sleep and began to weep loudly. The gun tumbled from his hand to the ground.
Nil snorted and shrugged as if disappointed, then reached out and scooped the gun up. “And here I thought I was going to see something entertaining. You are all so cowardly.”
Just then, Jörg heard a voice he knew well rumbling in his ears. “Enough. I would ask you to stop treating these humans as your playthings.”
Breaking through that invisible barrier, the Count descended through the closed-off space. He glanced over at Jörg’s group quickly before glaring at Nil. “You’ve lost, Nil. Not every human is going to do as you say. Be satisfied this time that the revolution has succeeded.”
“I’ll decide whether I’m satisfied or not.”
“Leave now, and I won’t do anything. Get out of here.”
“Let me ask you one thing.”
“What?”
“Why did you let Jörg here become a monster? Why let him inherit blood that you wouldn’t even give to your dear wife?”
“Purely out of boredom. I wanted to see what someone who would give up his life as a human to save humans would do.”
“…You don’t need to hide your true intentions from me, Count. You’re a monster, but you can’t completely forget your human heart. You actually wanted more creatures like you, didn’t you? If so, then go ahead. That’s more or less what I want from you. For you to reign supreme, slowly increasing the ranks of those who inherit your blood, creating more bats to feast on human sustenance. Romania as it stands now has no meaning to you anymore. The empire created by that immortal blood is the real Walachia, the dominion of your voivode Vlad!”
The Count laughed. “I would not welcome that. I simply want to live a slow, relaxing life.”
“Have you forgotten Vlad’s dying wish?”
“Don’t talk to me about that. You never served him directly. You don’t understand his noble thoughts enough to make light of them. He was not someone who would turn himself into a monster to gain an empire. He loved the land and the people of Walachia as a human being. I merely inherited his passion. Which has been satisfied now that Romania has gained its independence. The one thing I regret not having done yet is finding the spirit that tricked Elyne and tearing it apart. I’m starting to wonder if that might have been you. You’re the one searching for someone who will always be by your side, which would be why you pulled me into the world of monsters, is it not?”
Nil didn’t answer, instead smiling faintly and narrowing his eyes. “I don’t believe you. You have so much power and magic, but all you really want is to die as a human being.”
“But what about you? Why involve yourself so deeply in human affairs? Do you really love humans that much?”
“I simply roam the lands in search of absolute nothingness. You do know what nothing is, don’t you? The absence of God. ‘For I have damaged that which God hath made, and yearn for it to return to nothing like myself. And when all has been wiped away, then I, too, shall vanish with them.’ I’m simply searching to taste every last drop of that moment of bliss. The history of humanity is an endless cycle of form creating nothing, and nothing giving birth to form. Watching from afar, there is nothing more entertaining than this.”
“Don’t bore me. Living peacefully, eating good food, and enjoying your time as you see fit does more than enough to drive the world. That life is radically more beneficial than war.”
“But war is fun, is it not?”
“That is not something a monster should say.”
The instant the Count swished the hem of his cloak, a fierce gale tore through the enclosed space. Jörg and everyone else planted their feet firmly into the ground to prevent being blown away.
The Count spoke to Nil. “You shall sleep for a while. This ancient blood demands it.”
Nil bared his teeth in a playful laugh. The Count readied himself for a fight. They seemed poised to pounce upon each other at any instant, but Nil suddenly looked down at his feet as the color drained from his face.
Something like black smoke spouted from the paving stones, wrapping itself around Nil’s feet. In the next second it crawled up his legs, writhing around his body like a tangle of snakes.
Jörg observed the black smoke. He realized that it wasn’t smoke, but actually sharply defined souls. An endless stream of monsters muttered nonsensical words, screaming as they twisted themselves around Nil. Jörg had seen them before. They were the same nameless monsters he had seen at Xandra’s inn. They completely paralyzed Nil in accordance with orders from the Count, pinning Nil in place with a force like a steel net.
With Nil wholly immobile, the Count rose into the air and changed into that giant black shape Jörg had seen at the Port of Kiel. The instant he covered Nil, a terrible scream pierced the air, and the black cloud dispersed.