The blood mist slowly settled.
A historical Elder, one whose sheer strength was once said to rival the Progenitor herself—Countess Erzebeth Aine—was leisurely approaching us.
Faced with an Elder, I let out a weary sigh and spoke.
"Madam Erzebeth. Since fate has brought us together here, why don’t we simply exchange pleasantries, smile, and go our separate ways?"
"Impossible. The Progenitor seems to hold you in particular regard."
Snap.
Closing her fan, Erzebeth wrapped herself in blood energy like a garnt.
A force so imnse that an ordinary human would be crushed under its re presence—and yet, to her, it was as light as air.
Even with all that power, she still found it insufficient to face Tyrkanzyaka—so instead, she was after .
That sent a chill down my spine.
"However, as for you, dear concubine—" Erzebeth continued with a smirk, "you seem to hold no particular affection for the Progenitor. Fufu. To think, seducing her for power… you must be truly bewitching. And yet, she still lingers with regret, no doubt. That is why… you will serve as a perfect shield against her wrath."
An effort to take hostage.
Well, I was an open-minded person.
I had no particular objections to being a hostage—for the powerless, sotis that was the only way to survive.
But in this case?
Absolutely not.
Tyr was only in this situation because I had interfered, leading her to pursue her wish.
And now I was supposed to beco a hostage and deprive her of her chance to fulfill that wish?
No way in hell.
I imdiately retorted.
"Not special? Who says that? Do you even know how much I’ve given to Tyr? And how much she’s given ?"
"Let’s end the deception here, King of Humans. Do not assu we know nothing. The Progenitor herself may be blind to it, but we are not so naive."
"Oh? And what do you know about ? You think you’re so clever, pretending to understand with secondhand gossip? What makes you so special?"
They act like they can read minds.
Only I get to do that.
"Anyone listening to you would think all humans are equal."
"But consider this—"
"Tyrkanzyaka, with her unmatched power, returned from death itself, created an entire species, and slaughtered thousands to build an empire of vampires."
"She was beautiful, she was pure, and she carried a singular, unwavering desire."
"And you’re telling she’s less important than so ordinary guy like ?"
Maybe to the King of Humans, all were equal.
But I was only a half-hearted king.
Unlike the conceptual existence of the King of Beasts, I wasn’t soone who ruled over an entire species and inherited their collective will.
I could only read the thoughts of those around .
While other sovereigns of beasts encompassed entire races, I was nothing more than a human.
A weak, limited, and finite human.
Which ant—
I was bound to feel more deeply for those closest to .
"King or not, I have no intention of being a hostage for you. If anything, I’d side with Tyr."
"Why would I help you—a jealous, old, bitter woman who can’t stand Tyr’s radiance?"
"…Jealous? ? Of the Progenitor?"
"Of course. You wouldn’t deny it, would you? Even the history books have it all written down."
Hilde was desperately signaling to shut up.
But Erzebeth didn’t seem inclined to let walk away either.
Besides—
I was curious.
Vampires were supposed to be devoid of emotions.
So what would happen if I poked at them?
"Even as a human, you drank blood from a goblet after killing people, didn’t you?"
"You wanted to be like the vampires."
"And that wasn’t enough—you even bathed in blood, filling your tubs to soak in it."
"Because you envied their flawless, blemish-free skin."
"…Presumptuous."
"Maybe. But when historians spend centuries making presumptions, it becos academia."
"And you, Madam Erzebeth, are so predictable that you’ve been completely deconstructed."
Erzebeth snapped open her fan and raised it to her lips.
A sign.
She was forcing herself to suppress her emotions.
She was about to explode.
So—
I lit the match.
"You envied Tyr, didn’t you?"
"You wanted to be like her—beautiful, powerful, and fear incarnate."
"Even when you led the betrayal and tried to take her blood, you were really just seizing your chance to replace her."
"Honestly? You’re so transparently rotten, it’s almost impressive."
"You’re the walking stereotype of an immortal, power-hungry hag."
"Hahaha… do you really think I would fall for such a cheap provocation?"
"Why would I even care? It’s not like I’d choose you over Tyr. What could I possibly gain from so old hag like you? Dandruff?"
Mission accomplished.
Erzebeth took the bait—hook, line, and sinker.
"I’ll kill you."
Vampires lack emotions, do they?
Bullshit.
Emotion is nothing more than justification for action.
The only reason vampires were thought to be emotionless was because Tyrkanzyaka’s authority had suppressed their blood, preventing them from acting on impulse.
If Tyr still held her full power, Erzebeth wouldn’t have reacted no matter how much I insulted her.
Because insulting Erzebeth wouldn’t make Tyr feel a thing.
But now?
"I was planning to capture you alive for the Progenitor."
"But I’ve changed my mind."
"I will kill you here and offer your severed head as a tribute instead."
"Even in death, you will be enough to unsettle her heart."
She had always planned to take .
Whether I lived or died was rely a matter of preference.
And now—
With just a few words, I had tilted that preference toward murder.
Tell —if that’s not emotion, then what is?
Blood spread across the ground.
It crawled up the walls, over objects, entwining itself like vines.
The twitching tendrils of blood extended outward, growing like veins, slithering across the city.
By forcibly spilling her own blood, Erzebeth expanded her dominion.
The embodint of greed, Erzebeth manifested her authority through sheer control.
The brick walls turned crimson, the lamplights paled, the **tables and chairs began to move toward .
A one-woman army.
The only thing she couldn’t overpower was the sun itself.
Stretching her fan forward, she declared—
"Run, King of Humans."
"Flee through the world of my Crimson Vines."
The city itself tilted toward .
It wasn’t a figure of speech.
Everything—**the market stalls, the furniture, the very walls of buildings—**were closing in to crush .
I turned to flee—only for the walls to fold behind , sealing my escape.
Vampires with mystical abilities were a pain to deal with.
Psychological warfare? That only worked when the playing field was even.
And against an undying Elder, the stakes were never even.
Luckily—
It wasn’t just .
"Dammit, Father! You useless old man!"
"I should’ve just slung you over my shoulder and run for it!"
Hilde grabbed my hand and yanked forward, simultaneously channeling her ki and delivering a powerful kick to the wall.
Boom!
Her Explosive Mirror Ki, infused with the nature of detonation, sent bricks bursting outward from within.
A gap montarily opened—and we threw ourselves through it.
Screaming civilians.
People running in terror.
And others, cluelessly tilting their heads, oblivious to the chaos.
The streets were still crawling with people.
Even with mind-reading, escaping through that crowd wouldn’t be easy.
"Should we hide among them?"
"If it’s Erzebeth, she’ll just slaughter them all and use their blood! We need to get sowhere with no people!"
Hilde and I pivoted off the wall, spinning mid-air, then bolted around the corner.
Sothing whipped past my heel—as though snapping at it.
I glanced back—
A crimson flood of blood surged toward us, rushing forward like a raging current.
["This is the land of vampires."]
["Even a King of Humans is nothing more than livestock here."]
Erzebeth’s icy voice echoed.
From both sides, blood slithered along the walls, spreading like creeping vines.
Even if Erzebeth herself couldn’t match our speed, her authority was undeniably faster.
And blood…
Blood was her conduit of control.
If it were sothing else, we might have been able to cut it down or block it.
But blood seeped through the cracks between the bricks, weaving into the very structure of the city itself.
There was no obvious way to counter it.
"Holy Sword, deploy."
Well, except for one.
"The opponent is a vampire. In that case, what action should I take?"
Hilde drew forth light from her chest.
The flickering radiance looked less like a sword—and more like a bolt of lightning.
The wavering, shapeless light pulsed in her hands—
Until Hilde ntally forged it into an image.
"I am a Holy Knight."
"The divine blade that cleaves wicked light."
"A judgnt upon the cursed vampires."
The blade, ford from her very faith, solidified—
Taking the shape of a massive greatsword.
Hilde raised it high overhead—then swung down with full force.
WhOOOM!
The colossal slash carved through the air—
And struck the walls where the bloodstream flowed.
The walls themselves remained intact.
But the flowing blood did not.
Sear marks burned into the blackened blood, leaving deep scars.
The bloodstream halted, unable to advance further.
["…A Holy Knight?"]
"Only the steadfast faith cuts down evil. It is ti for you to burn beneath the light, vampire."
Hilde’s presence shifted.
Standing firm with her massive greatsword raised, she truly resembled a knight chosen by the divine.
Well—
Aside from the fact that she was still wearing a nurse’s uniform.
["To think soone would bring a Holy Knight into these lands…"]
["No—to think a Holy Knight was hiding here all this ti."]
Hilde’s ability to call upon her faith at will seed to even surprise a thousand-year-old vampire.
Erzebeth, montarily taken aback, quickly resud her assault.
["It simply ans there is one more thing to kill."]
["Faith, Holy Knights—they are still livestock here. Allow to show you."]
The direction of the blood changed.
Instead of chasing us—
It swirled around us, forming a vortex, attempting to consu everything in its path.
It was going to crush us under sheer weight and force.
As the closing vortex lood, Hilde intensified the light of her sword and shouted,
"A filthy vampire daring to speak of faith?"
"Then burn in the flas of divine light!"
"O heavenly god, gaze upon from the high heavens!"
"Well, at least my ti in the Holy Sword Order is paying off. Haah… not that it makes this situation any better."
Good thing God doesn’t exist.
If He did, He’d be nothing more than a senile old fool, handing out rewards for sweet-talking prayers.
Then—
The whirling vortex of blood surged toward us, swallowing everything in its path.
Bricks, chairs, furniture, dishes—
Even knives and daggers from who-knows-where—
All hurtled toward us, hidden within the storm.
Hilde fought against the tide, her radiance pushing back the crimson waves.
Each ti her light scorched the blood, deep, jagged cracks tore across the dark red flow.
But while she could block the blood itself—
She couldn’t completely negate the force behind it.
A few flying bricks struck Hilde.
She absorbed the impact with her ki, avoiding injury—
But each hit forced her further back.
Each step pushed us into an ever-tighter corner.
Holding her sword firmly, Hilde muttered one last prayer.
"O heavenly god… is that all you’ve got?"
"Ugh. Screw it! I give up!"
"Father! This is all I can wring out of divine power! Do you have anything else?!"
"Hold on. I’m improving it."
"Improving what?!"
"The breed."
Druidism had always been difficult to wield.
That’s why I had rarely used it.
But now—
The conditions had finally been t.
The ground beneath .
The blood I could drink.
Instead of sunlight, I had mana-infused blood energy to draw from.
There was a plant in a distant land to the south.
A plant that thrived on devouring animals.
Its leaves, sharp as teeth, snared creatures—
Rooting itself into their flesh, draining their fluids.
A plant that had drunk blood long before vampires ever existed.
And there was another plant—
A vine, which did not stand on its own, but clung to others for support.
It stole their sunlight, feeding on their vitality.
A parasitic growth, one that thrived by leeching off its host.
The Grand Druid Nebida’s World Tree.
Two different branches—bearing two different fruits.
And now—
I would graft them together.
Two cards overlapped in my hand—
The Ten of Spades and the Nine of Spades.
I slid the Nine forward.
And at that mont—
A mass of crimson vines erupted from the ground.
The parasitic plant, now rged with the carnivorous one—
A new breed of blood-drinking vines—
Had been born.
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