“It seems you’re quite confused, aren’t you~?”
In the midst of this incomprehensible situation, the vampire boldly took her place among the Vivians.
She then caressed the closest Vivian’s face and began to lick her lips in delight.
“I feel like I should explain this for your understanding, but I’d like to avoid wasting ti now that we’ve co this far… Ah, by the way, do you happen to know about artificial witches?”
“Artificial… witches?”
“In fact, there was a study by the Church aid at controlling a witch’s power within a human body. Well, there was only one success story, and the rest turned into monsters… But isn’t it sothing that even one successful result erged?”
The vampire giggled as she brought her hand to Vivian’s neck.
Her touch was gentle, but her nails were sharp.
Despite her skin being scratched by that sharpness, Vivian rely stood there, frozen in place.
“Of course, the Imperial family demanded to share that information, and the Church secretly delivered the results obtained at the expense of many followers. For the Imperial family, that power was sothing they greatly desired.”
And no one present intervened in the vampire’s actions.
Even as her claws pierced the throat and rcilessly ripped into vital areas.
“But no matter how many success stories there were, it was impossible for humans to accept a witch’s power. In the end, everyone who tried to accept it perished, except for the fetus carried by one mother~”
Drip, drip. Blood flowed from the severed neck.
Even as her life slipped away from that rciless action, Vivian did not resist at all.
Her eyes rolled back, and soon her neck was severed, leaving her in the sa state as the one who had just been cut down.
“And for those who wanted to manipulate the nobles from behind, it was not sothing they welcod. After all, if humans were incapable of wielding that power, it ant that the number of minions capable of wielding the power they coveted would decrease.”
-Thunk.
Finally, the corpse fell, its head severed.
Yet the remaining head remained gripped in the vampire’s hand, dripping blood.
“Fortunately, the half-awakened power of the child in the mother’s womb was the ability to perfectly replicate a target.”
The vampire licked the blood flowing from the severed neck, quenching her thirst.
As she clearly sensed the thick stench of blood, her voice began to soak in ecstasy.
“The child born with such power grew capable of wielding that power with so skill. And by that ti, those watching them thought, ‘Yes, if we use this power to replicate a human awakened with the power of witches, we could control a force that has plunged the entire world into fear according to our will!’”
-Swallow.
She swallowed the liquid down her throat.
Her neck was stained with fresh blood, while saliva dripped from my throat to moisten the dry esophagus.
“But various conditions clashed here as well. The biggest issue among them was… right, since the clones prioritize the caster’s commands, the illusion cast on the duplicated beings could not be perfected.”
The vampire, treating even that tension lightly, tossed the head aside and rested her blood-stained hand on her chin.
“This could be sowhat resolved by bewitching the caster, but a clone is an artificially created being, isn’t it? Unlike a normal body, if even an unconscious resistance disrupts the balance of power, it will simply vanish.”
There was no sense of weight or guilt in her words at all.
Even though she was a vampire who had manipulated the Empire from the shadows.
“In short, the key is to suppress the unconscious resistance. That ans if you can eliminate the unconsciousness that allows the target to resist, then it’s done.”
Despite being fully aware of the atrocities she committed, the smile on her lips revealed a moral compass twisted beyond human comprehension.
“So they instructed the creation of a clone and decided to cleverly twist the mories of that clone. They modified the mory of a child who lost their mother to bandits and entered the Church, instilling a desire to reunite with her, and over decades, they erased that mory bit by bit to eliminate any unconscious resistance…”
The being born from such twisted ethics was none other than Vivian Platonis.
She who t by chance and showed both her witch side and her human side before …
And the poor being who had even forgotten the constructed mory of wanting to et her mother, only rembering .
“The plan was carried out very successfully. With most of the mories erased, the bewitchnt worked exceptionally well… And while waiting for that, they were also able to expedite the utilization of the completed research results—once the clones were created, they could combine their powers to accelerate the plan of summoning an entity from beyond this world.”
After explaining this, the source of all evil began to speak lightly while looking at the crowd that remained steadfast, even after two clones had fallen.
“Well, the group they intended to manipulate has been completely annihilated, and my master, who now holds the reins of these beings, has ordered them to simply act as guard dogs.”
Guard dogs, huh?
Is it really okay to make such a choice so easily?
Even if the clones have feelings and hearts that beat…
In the absence of the vampires ant to control them, is Vivian Platonis rely a tool to be discarded after luring the Demon King for that brat of a prince?
“Of course, there are many things that outsiders might not understand… Hehe, but looking at your face, you seem to have a lot of guesses.”
Yes, I understood everything.
At this mont, I realized that the one holding Vivian’s leash had discarded her and that I had given affection to soone who was rely a tool.
And when the essence of that tool was castrated, that Prince decided to use her as a guard to prevent anyone from approaching Airi until the appointed ti ca.
“Now then, the explanation is over, so shall we begin negotiations again?”
The vampire, who was bewitching and controlling those guard dogs, raised her hand, causing the clones to begin reaching for one by one.
“Lord Woo Hyo-sung.”
And among them, the vampire called my na.
“My master hoped you would not co here. You are destined to be a leading figure in a world where everything on this land has perished, alongside those who remain.”
Her lips still wore a smile, but the look in her eyes directed at was unmistakably hostile.
The emotion etched into her gaze was sharper than the fangs that peeked through her lips…
“So why don’t you back off now? If not, it won’t just end with a limb or two flying off.”
“Or do you really think you can break through alone? Even with dozens of witches capable of wiping out nations?”
-Thump, thump.
My heart was pounding violently.
I knew how dangerous the situation was, just as she said.
The existence I feared most had multiplied into dozens, and at this mont, they were ready to unleash that power upon .
I knew that with just a flick of their fingers, my body would disappear without a trace. How could I calmly accept this situation?
“If you fight, you won’t be calm, right? After all, even though they’re clones, they look just like the person you cared for, don’t they? Hahaha!”
In contrast, the vampire taunted with a cheerful laugh.
Feeling my composure slip away from her laughter, I glanced at Ga-ram, who was collapsed on the floor, taking a mont to steady my breath.
“…Annabel.”
-I know. You fool.
Annabel imdiately responded when I gave her the signal.
The vampire, having sensed the shift, began to express surprise before .
“Oh my, are you really planning to fight?”
Her half-open eyes and the power emanating from her showed that she wasn’t at all careless, despite her cheeky attitude.
“This is troubleso. My master wishes for you to return unscathed, but here you are, determined to push through this place unless you die.”
Gradually, the hand aid at began to tighten.
I could clearly feel the mana gathering at the tip of that finger against my skin.
The aim was precise, and with just a flick of that finger, everything in its designated area would be annihilated.
“This can’t be helped. After all, the Prince knows your personality, so he’ll understand…”
The vampire who gave the command soon waved her hand to signal.
“Leave only the heart and head intact; destroy the rest.”
It was a command too grim to be called a warning.
At the sa ti, as the fingers of the Vivians flicked, the power unleashed began to fly toward its target.
And I could feel it.
Waves approaching faster than sound…
The tip of the mana shot toward the target, coiling so thickly that it defied description.
-Thwack!
Sensing it, I quickly moved aside to evade, causing the attack to hit the bodies of the clones positioned on either side of .
The mana that struck rapidly expanded, twisting the surrounding space and consuming everything within it.
-Drip, drip.
I finally realized the truth behind the severing attack I had feared so much when I saw blood gushing from all directions.
I was only afraid because I couldn’t see it; even the attacks I had feared ant nothing if I didn’t get hit.
-KWA-AAAA!!
No sooner had the realization struck than blood began to surge.
I dashed through the blood torrent erupting from where bodies had disappeared, urgently throwing Ga-ram’s body to Annabel, who was on the floor.
“Annabel!”
-Damn it, you really are going to do it!!
She reluctantly piled Ga-ram’s body on top and quickly left her position.
Fortunately, I could protect Ga-ram through her, but this ant I could no longer rely on her assistance.
This ant I had to face the remaining clones’ attacks all by myself after dodging the first assault.
“Oh? You dodged that? An attack that’s not even visible?”
The vampire remarked in surprise as she saw preparing my weapon to confront her.
However, her expression was colored with coldness, unlike before.
The unique arrogance of vampires had completely faded… There was no sign of carelessness to be found.
“I think I underestimated you. Alright, this ti I’ll get serious…”
But that was also sothing I had prepared for.
Before her attack signal could reach , I threw the weapon I ford in my hand with all my might toward her side.
Splat!
The clone’s head was pierced by the spear.
Even as a clone, the biological structure was the sa; the one with its head pierced fell helplessly to the ground.
-Crack, splash!
The next weapon I threw t the sa fate.
As the targeted clones began to die one by one, the vampire issued commands to the remaining clones to attack again.
-Thwack!!!
The sound of fingers flicking echoed from all directions.
Along with that, waves of power were shot toward , but I sensed the trajectory and rolled my body across the banquet hall.
Where the power had reached before disappeared, but I was not among them.
It was powerful, but the execution was too slow.
The process of handling mana before the act of flicking fingers…
They must first go through the process of the vampire in control giving commands, allowing ample opportunity to react before a blade swings in front of .
-Slash, cut!
I took advantage of the openings to dodge attacks, swiftly slicing through the closest clone’s body one by one.
I cut through flesh, the blood inside splattering everywhere, yet I didn’t care.
I focused solely on reducing their numbers, unbothered by the fact that they bore the sa face as the one I cherished.
“Don’t do that.”
A faint voice broke through as I continued to press forward, suppressing that inner conflict.
I halted my attack, looking down at the clone that was kneeling before .
“I… I’m scared. Why are you doing this…?”
No, is this truly a clone in front of ?
Tears welled up in those eyes, and the body trembled violently, unlike before.
Just as I knew her—her fragile form…
“Please don’t kill . Please.”
“…Vivian.”
“Eek!!”
Vivian trembled in fright at my call.
Her pale face gazed at , fear written in her eyes.
Is she afraid?
Is she scared of , the one who slaughtered beings just like her?
“Please don’t kill , please don’t kill …”
“…Vivian, do you rember ?”
I could only hope that my guess was correct.
Among the countless clones…
I hoped that the one who served as the origin held special feelings for .
“…Go.”
I wished there was a difference, even in the clones like that bastard Park Byeong-bin…
I wanted that one person, who built mories and feelings about , to regard as special, even amidst the vampire’s sches.
“Housekeeper…?”
And what ca out at that mont confird my suspicions.
-Grab!
It was enough of a condition to embrace her body without caution.
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