“By the way, are you a vampire hunter perchance?”
As I silently followed behind the man adorned with a badge that I presud belonged to a high-ranking mber of the KKK, he suddenly turned his body slightly toward and asked in a low voice.
“Um, not really.”
“Surprising. If you’ve caught a vampire without even being a professional hunter, you must be quite skilled.”
“Ahaha…”
Feeling awkward, I was only able to respond with an awkward chuckle. anwhile, the man glanced at and continued questioning .
“I’ve seen a few vampires myself, but I’ve never encountered one so powerful.”
“Is that so?”
“Of course, I’ve killed every vampire I’ve seen till now. Honestly, I could eliminate that woman anyti if I wanted to.”
At his chilling words, the lady montarily emitted a murderous aura.
- Grit…
Fortunately, perhaps due to a promise made earlier with , instead of acting on the thoughts that ca to her mind, she rely ground her teeth, keeping silent.
“It seems you’ve trained your prey well.”
“… Y-Yeah, you can say that.”
“Power is the ultimate logic indeed. The weak naturally must be dominated by the strong. The history of the world up to now proves it.”
The man briefly glanced at her and continued speaking with a hint of mirth in his voice.
“Of course, the positions of the strong and the weak can always be reversed. Just look at the recent French Revolution.”
“Um, calling the French Revolution recent is a bit…”
“… Or the Arican Revolutionary War that happened around the sa ti is another example. It is a dynamic era. Power can be snatched away at any mont, and conversely, you can dominate with your own might and rule.”
Initially, I found his continuous talking botherso, but as I listened, the conversation turned out to be quite extraordinary.
Sohow, it also felt oddly familiar to .
Hmm…
Thus, I narrowed my eyes and started scrutinizing the man’s face in front of . It wasn’t a face I recognised.
He had an ordinary and delicate face that could belong to anyone, indistinguishable whether young or old due to its ambiguous appearance.
Moreover, his physique was hidden under the uniform, and even his mana was in a restrained state, making it undetectable.
In short, I could infer no information about the character in front of .
The only thing I could discern was that he possessed at least enough skill to warrant caution.
… I can’t help but be nervous about soone of this calibre.
“And from here on, it’s rely my personal conjecture.”
Thus, with a wary gaze, I silently moved forward alongside the man. On the other hand, the man turned his whole face toward and continued in a whisper.
“This turbulent era seems likely to be a spark to that will soon bring forth a massive event.”
“What do you an…”
“… A global war.”
Upon hearing that remark, I had no choice but to stop walking briefly.
“According to my calculations… we might soon witness the end of this world.”
“………”
“Before such tis arrive, it’s crucial to expand the organization as much as possible.”
“Who are you, exactly…?”
“These days, even the strongest of the strong must strive not to lose their dominance to the weak.”
Watching him smirk and murmur in that whispery voice of his, cold sweat started leaking out of my face.
“Huh, that’s a first for such a reaction.”
He began murmuring with a hint of laughter in his voice now.
“You’re the first not to laugh at this story.”
“What, are you…”
“I’ve been rambling for far too long, haven’t I?”
Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks and pointed silently at a door beside him.
“The higher-ups are gathered in that room. You may enter with that woman, but it might be better to leave her here.”
“……..”
“… What are you waiting for? Go on in.”
He said, tilting his head slightly with an inscrutable smile on his face.
“Th-This guy, what on earth is he…?”
With an uneasy look, Princess Clay whispered from beside while glancing warily at the man.
“Do you know this person, Adler?”
After listening to her flustered whisper, I stared at the man, whose expression was unreadable, for a long ti before quietly heading towards the door and speaking.
“Wait outside.”
“… Uh, huh?”
That mysterious man was concerning, but the imminent danger looming before us was more pressing.
Are you really going in?
“……..”
I really can't help you if sothing happens.
I was now about to face a dangerous individual who could not only endanger Charlotte but could also bring down this entire world.
It seed better to leave the princess here than to bring her into such a dangerous place.
If necessary, she might be able to keep that skilled guy in check.
“I’ll be right back.”
“W-Wait a mont…”
Having said that, I quietly opened the door and was about to enter the room when,
“Ah?”
Perhaps feeling slightly uneasy, Princess Clay, trying to grab my arm, lost her balance and leaned towards .
“… Be careful, Princess.”
“Ah…”
“I’ll handle this alone, Princess, you take care of that man…”
Luckily, before Princess Clay could fall to the ground, I grabbed her waist and pulled her into my arms, intending to send her back outside. However, she kept looking at with a vacant gaze so I had to whisper to her.
- Clink…!
In the next mont, however, the door slamd shut behind us, plunging the room into darkness once more.
“………”
And thus, there was silence.
.
.
.
.
.
“Eek, eeeeek…”
“What has gotten you so frightened?”
Princess Clay, who had been nestled in my arms with a vacant gaze, soon began to tremble, her complexion turning pale.
“I, I… hate the darkness.”
“… Are you really a vampire?”
When I asked this half in jest after the words burst from her lips, she murmured in a whimpering voice.
“I, I’m a half-blood, so the sun doesn’t affect much. I actually prefer the bright daylight…”
“Still, there seems to be no reason for you to fear the darkness.”
“… When I was young, if I made a mistake at ho, I would be locked in a coffin all day long. They wouldn’t give food or water.”
“Ah.”
Yes, that could indeed cause such a level of trauma.
Experiencing significant trauma in childhood can linger on for many. I, myself, know it all too well.
“Then I shall keep holding you, just try to stand up slowly.”
“… Eh?”
“Don’t stray carelessly from . It’s dangerous here.”
Thus, with no other choice, I whispered as I stood up. Princess Clay, clutching tightly to , stood up too, albeit with a trembling body.
“How could soone like you think of digging a tunnel back then? Ah, maybe that’s why you gave up?”
“… Q-Quiet.”
“You do have a cute side, after all.”
“Shut your mouth…”
As I slowly moved forward with her, I soon narrowed my eyes and halted.
“Wh-Why did you suddenly stop?”
“… Shh.”
“Ahhh.”
At that, Princess Clay whispered a question in a low voice, and I quietly raised my hand to cover her mouth while holding my own breath.
“There’s sothing ahead…”
In the pitch-black darkness where not even an inch was visible, I started feeling a presence.
You can still go back.
As I took a deep breath to calm my mind in such a situation, another ssage in a wildly scribbled font appeared before my eyes.
It might be too late to say this, but there's no need for you to strain yourself this much. You are already doing well enough...
“… Have you started liking or sothing?”
........
As I muttered with a slight frown at the ssage blocking my view, the system window that had been rapidly displaying word after word cut off abruptly and quietly disappeared from before my eyes.
“… N-No, I don’t?”
Listening to Princess Clay respond in a whispery voice as if speaking to herself, I quietly took a deep breath.
- Shaaaa…
Silently, I summoned golden mana into my hand, illuminating the room.
“……..!”
At last, I saw it that filled the room.
“… Ugh.”
Nurous eyes simultaneously shifted their gaze toward , filling out everything everywhere.
As I simultaneously felt the tentacles squirming up from all directions, they slowly began to coil around my legs and crawl up. Simultaneously, my body gradually began sinking into the darkness.
- Crackle…
“A-Adler…?”
It felt as if I was encountering that indescribable entity from the Creeping Man case once again, that sa dizzying sensation began overwhelming .
“Why are you covering my eyes…?”
Amidst such sensations, with my hands covering the Princess’s eyes, I bit my tongue hard enough to bleed in an effort to maintain consciousness. Soon, I tightly closed my eyes and began chanting the magic I had prepared in advance.
“……..”
How much ti had passed like that?
“… Ah.”
When I reopened my eyes, the world appeared as quaint pixels, like those in a classic video ga.
“It worked…”
The Cognitive Filter magic I had been researching whenever I had the chance, to avoid being helplessly subjected to ntal attacks like before, had successfully activated.
“Ugh…”
Only now did everything start clearing up and I could see the scenario play out.
“Save… …”
“The darkness… darknessdarknessdarkneSS…”
“Ah, ah…”
In the centre of the ocean of ever-blinking eyeballs and wriggling tentacles, I could see the mbers of the KKK writhing and twisting in panic and despair.
… Stupid bastards.
Below those asinine fools was a huge Magic Circle that filled the entire room, which seed to indicate that they had attempted to summon sothing for their next terror act but ended up in this ss instead.
So, perhaps eliminating this Magic Circle might resolve the situation…?
Despite applying a filter to all my senses, I struggled to maintain my fading consciousness and quietly bent down to erase the Magic Circle when—
“… Huh?”
Right in front of , I noticed a seemingly ordinary piece of paper in the hand of a writhing cult mber.
“…….”
Of course, it wasn’t really just an ordinary piece of paper.
Hello, Adler?
The paper was talking to , writing words by itself like the system I had.
I've always wanted to have a conversation with you.
“……..”
After staring at it for a long while, I finally spoke in a chilling voice.
“What the hell are you doing in my world?”
Apparently, after about half a year in this place, I had finally co face-to-face with the source intent on destroying this world.
.
.
.
.
.
anwhile, at that mont, in the corridor outside the firmly shut door,
“… Indeed, pretending to be a man is quite challenging.”
The man from earlier was still there, leaning against the wall.
“Anyway…”
No, suddenly she reverted to her original appearance with greyish long hair and uttered a chilling smile.
“… My world, huh?”
- When do we move in?
Her subordinates, who had been surrounding the hideout from outside for several hours, were transmitting to her ear.
“It sounds almost like the proclamation of a god.”
- Professor? Can you hear ?
“… Doesn’t it? Adler?”
- Professor?
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