Chapter 4

The Silver Horn Queen Bee, the Giant Frost Oak, and the Emperor of the Empire.

These three, who shared not the slightest resemblance to one another, had one thing in common: each had risen to the pinnacle of their respective species.

The Empire's creatures, evolved through the endless culling of weak specimens.

And among most species, there existed a leader who ruled the pack—a 'king.'

Fenrix, king of the wolves, also prided himself on being an existence that stood shoulder to shoulder with them.

"Red eyes and white hair, you say."

"Y-yes! That's right!"

Karpen managed an answer while feeling a terror that curled his very tailbone just from recalling the image.

He had been running nonstop to deliver his report, and his breathing still hadn't steadied.

"You're certain."

"Absolutely! I saw it with my own two eyes...!"

At the unmistakable fear dripping from Karpen's voice, Fenrix, seated upon his throne, let out a low, displeased growl. That single sound locked every muscle in Karpen's body rigid.

But what had soured Fenrix's mood was not Karpen's groveling demeanor—it was the content of the report itself.

A white-haired vampire that had appeared at the Mayer mansion. Crimson eyes as unsettling as the abyss.

Fragments of ancient lore were assembling themselves unbidden inside his mind.

'Surely not.'

Fenrix furrowed his brow without thinking.

The progenitor of the vampires, said to have vanished without a trace into history long, long ago.

The first mythical-class being, who wielded hemomancy and a blood-soaked blade, and brought all living creatures to their knees by presence alone—the true king, the 'Vampire Lord.'

Karpen's report matched the descriptions from those ancient legends to an uncanny degree.

'How strange.'

Had that old Elder of House Mayer, in one final act of desperation, gambled on awakening an ancient being? His rational mind understood that such a thing shouldn't be possible, and yet an ominous premonition stirred within him.

"...Pass the word to everyone. Until further notice, no one goes anywhere near vampire territory."

"Yes! Of course!"

As if he'd been waiting for exactly that, Karpen bolted outside in a flash.

"The Vampire Lord."

Left alone, Fenrix murmured quietly, chin propped on his hand. The weight carried by that name pressed down upon the air around the throne.

Above all else—white hair and blood-red eyes. Based on what Karpen had witnessed alone, there was a strong possibility the stranger was a True Ancestor-class being, one who had inherited the Lord's bloodline at its most concentrated.

'This has become a real headache.'

And of all times, it had to be now.

The Kron Mountain Range, known as the Demon Realm, was a survival-of-the-fittest ecosystem where countless species fought tooth and nail over limited territory.

The wolves held the west, the serpents the south, the trolls the north, and the wyverns the east. The most fertile central lands were held by the small number of vampires.

The justification was singular: an accord between the mythical-class beings, struck long before any of them had been born.

Fenrix, king of the wolves, had joined hands with the serpents of the south for his long-cherished invasion of the central territory, and had finally driven those arrogant bats to the very edge of the cliff. Even the trolls of the north and the wyverns of the east had tacitly lent their support—a golden opportunity that would never come again.

And now this curveball had to come flying out of nowhere.

'Persistent as cockroaches, as always.'

GRRRR.

Fenrix let out a low growl and recalled the last words his predecessor had left behind.

'If ever the crimson vampire—even a trace of it—should awaken, never so much as think of standing against it. All things are for the prosperity of the clan....'

As a pup, he had let those words go in one ear and out the other. To him, stronger than any king before him, they had sounded like nothing more than the timidity of feeble ancestors.

Had he not, in fact, been the first wolf in all of history to defeat a vampire Elder in single combat?

On top of that, he had been born with the same pure-white fur as 'Fenrir,' the wolves' progenitor and legend.

Beyond the hand-to-hand combat techniques passed down through generations of his line, Fenrix also knew how to wield claws imbued with demonic energy—and it was for that reason that every wolf supported him unconditionally.

Once his thoughts reached that point, what little unease he felt melted away like snow, replaced by brazen confidence.

'That's right. No matter how ancient the being, it's nothing but a greenhorn fresh from slumber.'

SHING.

Steel-like claws emerged from the backs of his hands. Bright yellow eyes glinted with greedy light.

'First, I'll go see for myself.'

Vampire Lord? Crimson bloodline?

At the end of the day, it was just one bat. Besides, Karpen—far weaker than himself—had encountered the thing and come back alive, hadn't he?

He would test the waters, and if it proved too much, he could always withdraw.

'If I'm lucky, I might even claim its essence all for myself.'

If that happened, there would be no one in this entire realm who could stand in his way once he had inherited the power of a mythical-class being.

GRRRR—!

Fenrix let out a belligerent growl and rose from his seat.

***

'Why.'

A talking wolf.

No—sitting atop a mound of wolf-beast corpses, I stared blankly down at my own palm.

It was moving by my will, certainly, but it was not the hand I knew.

Not the rough, callused hand of a Knight Order commander, but a spotless, pale palm that looked as though it had never once gripped a sword.

To make matters worse, the face reflected in the mirror was one I had never seen in my life.

White hair as long as Silvia's.

Skin that was still pale despite being less so than before, perhaps from absorbing the wolves' blood.

Slender, thin limbs without a trace of muscle.

It felt wrong.

'Not a look Silvia would be fond of, I imagine.'

But what mattered more than appearance was the change in my very nature.

"My Lord! I've finished the cleanup!"

"...Right."

I was no longer human.

I, who had been stabbed to death by the swords of trusted subordinates, had not been completely annihilated. But neither was I alive in the same way as before.

My body was gone, yet my soul remained, taking root in this strange flesh. I was still 'Evan Erche,' but at the same time, I was something else entirely.

"Are we going to hunt down every last wolf now?!"

THUD—

The boy asked, tossing a wolf's carcass at my feet. His voice and expression were brimming with undisguised excitement and anticipation.

It seemed I no longer frightened him.

Probably because the red haze that had been raging through my vision had lifted, and my reason had returned.

"My Lord!"

The boy was still gazing at me with sparkling eyes.

He had appeared to share quite a close bond with the fallen man, and whatever else I might say, the boy's mental fortitude was impressive.

"...What's your name?"

"Cabin, sir!"

"Cabin."

"Yes, my Lord."

Cabin bowed ninety degrees at my address.

"What do you know about the Vernice Empire?"

Why I had been resurrected as a vampire progenitor, I couldn't say.

But what mattered was that I was alive, and Silvia was still in danger.

Ironically, the power coursing through me now was incomparable to anything I had possessed in my days as one called the Empire's sun.

'It feels as though I could do anything, if I set my mind to it.'

Perhaps it was from absorbing all that wolf blood.

The wolves' keen senses seemed to have seeped into my body—I felt light on my feet.

Every cell in my body seethed with an unknown power, and a sensation of omnipotence dominated my entire being.

"The Vernice Empire... do you mean the largest nation established by humans?"

"That's right. You know of it."

"Yes! I've never been there myself, but the Elder taught me well. He said it was the most prosperous among human nations."

"...Do vampires venture into the human world?"

"Of course! Those whose abilities are recognized mix in among the humans to gather intelligence, or...."

The rest of Cabin's words didn't really register.

If what he said was true, it meant vampires were mingled among humans even now.

'And yet, for all that, there were never any reports of blood-related crimes.'

If it was to the extent that I hadn't caught the slightest whiff of it during my entire tenure as commander of the Imperial Knight Order, their skill was not to be underestimated.

"I see."

"But my Lord, why the sudden interest in a human nation...?"

"I'm going there."

"...What?"

Cabin's voice cracked with bewilderment.

Meeting those confused eyes, I asked again.

"Which direction is the Vernice Empire from here?"

"M-my Lord?"

Apparently it was the last thing he'd expected to hear; Cabin floundered, at a complete loss.

I was aware of the situation the Mayer vampires were in.

After regaining control of my body, I had gotten the general picture from Cabin.

The vampire House Mayer had been pushed to the brink of extinction in a territorial struggle with other monster factions. The old man who had awakened me in the underground chamber was their Elder, and rousing me had been his final gamble.

A pitiable situation, but I had more pressing matters.

"Cabin, I'm sorry, but some pack of wolves is the least of my concerns right now."

"Uh...."

Cabin's eyes wavered, lost. He had clearly assumed I would stay to exterminate the remaining wolves in vengeance for the clan.

Had I no other purpose, I might well have granted his wish. As a knight, I felt the urge to test this uncontrollable power.

But I had a mission far more important than such trivial desires.

"Beyond the survival of the clan, there is someone I must protect no matter what."

A whirlwind of emotions seemed to cross Cabin's face at my words, but at the very least, I had not spoken falsely.

I had to protect my fiancée, Silvia.

'Fiancée.'

The moment I thought the word, a wave of bitterness washed over me.

Now that I was no longer the human 'Evan' but had become a vampire, was she still my fiancée?

Even if I appeared before her, would she recognize me in this form?

'Even so, I have to go.'

"I'll explain the circumstances later. You do as the rest of the clan did—survive on your own."

WHOOSH

Without waiting for Cabin's answer, I kicked off the ground and launched into the air.

I had already done my part simply by saving him from the wolves' assault.

From now on, this second life had to be devoted entirely to Silvia.

However, before that.......

'Where am I?'

The night sky was still steeped in darkness, but to my eyes the surrounding landscape was as clear as broad daylight. Yet all I could see was an endless sea of trees and a massive mountain range faintly visible in the distance.

'Every second counts.'

Was this place even more remote than I had expected? It seemed it would take considerable time to find any trace of human civilization.

Just then, Cabin's urgent voice came from below.

"M-my Lord!"

I had been gauging my bearings in midair; slowly, I descended to the ground. The moment I landed, Cabin dropped to one knee before me.

"Please, let me come with you!"

His voice was desperate.

"If not for you, my Lord, I'd already be a cold corpse like those bodies over there! Please, give me the chance to offer this life in your service...!"

"No need."

And—

'Had those wolves not appeared in the underground chamber, it would have been you who died by my hand.'

Swallowing words I could never speak aloud, I stated my refusal once more.

"I'll say it again—survive on your own."

"But—!"

Just as Cabin, voice thick with anguish, was about to say something more.

I sensed something approaching from the distance at ferocious speed.

An overwhelming velocity and pressure that put the wolf who had fled earlier to utter shame.

'Fast.'

WHOOSH—!

Moments later, the thing barreling toward us revealed itself.

Fur of spotless pure white. Golden eyes blazing like lanterns even in the dark. And a massive frame that dwarfed every other wolf.

'Oh?'

A white wolf reminiscent of moonlight, its eyes glinting with murderous intent.