Chapter 6

The Vampire Lord.

As a proud member of House Mayer, Cabin too had grown up learning the weight of that name.

The origin of the species and the pinnacle of all creation. A living myth said to have even held the seat of Demon King in ages long past.

A great being who had claimed the heart of the previous Demon King to obtain eternal life, yet left behind 666 wisdoms encompassing magic, swordsmanship, spirit arts, sorcery, and all else for his descendants before entering an eternal slumber.

All living creatures possessing blood would be brought to their knees simply by meeting his gaze, the terror transmitted from the very root of their existence.

For at any moment he wished, every drop of blood in their bodies would fall under his dominion, regardless of their own will.

Cabin recalled the inscription left upon House Mayer's monument and unconsciously swallowed.

'This is... this is the Lord...!'

CRAAASH—!

"Ky-KYAAING!"

The king of wolves, Fenrix, slammed into the ground with a pitiful scream.

The pure-white fur that had gleamed like silver under the moonlight when he first appeared was now soaked in dirt and dust, reduced to a dingy yellow like a tattered rag.

The oppressive roars that had shaken the mountain range were nowhere to be found, and—

CRAAASH—!

"KYEEEAAING!"

Only pitiful sounds like a neighborhood mutt whimpering escaped intermittently.

To such a degree that the phrase "neighborhood mutt" came naturally to mind, the king of wolves who had appeared so majestically was now being swung back and forth against the ground like an oversized dust beater in the Lord's hands.

Cabin was reaching the point where he almost felt sorry for Fenrix.

Unable to put up a single proper resistance, forepaws seized, being battered this way and that.

His tail already hung limp, sweeping uselessly across the dirt.

It was a sight so wretched and miserable that his title of Wolf King was rendered utterly meaningless.

"S-stop...! Stop!"

"You can still speak, I see."

CRAAAAAASH—!

"KYEEEEEEE!"

There was not a shred of mercy in the Lord's hands.

The first few times he was thrown down, Fenrix had charged back in with fury-laden roars, but the result was always the same.

No matter how the beast attacked, the outcome never changed.

As if the awe-inspiring hemomancy the Lord had demonstrated earlier were merely a luxury on display.

The great white wolf charges in, gets caught by the paw, and is hurled to the ground. No matter how many times it repeated, the dynamic never shifted.

'Against the king of wolves, a fight like this...!'

Separate from his sympathy for Fenrix, Cabin felt a reverence for the Lord erupting from the depths of his heart like magma.

Blood. To take it a step further—hemokinesis, said to be a fragment of ancient magic.

Unlike members of other houses who took pride in blood as a vampire's honor and employed it in various forms, the Lord had not used a single drop of that power since emerging from the underground.

Rather, with slender limbs no different from a human's, he was handling the mountain-sized wolf king as one might shake out laundry.

As if flaunting that a wolf like this wasn't even worth wasting blood on.

BOOM—!

"Gakh...!"

"Hmm."

And at last, the Lord's movements ceased.

Cabin, making no effort to hide the emotion welling up inside him, gazed at Fenrix, who had completely lost his will to fight.

To see the king of wolves, Fenrix, reduced to such a wretched state.

Belly up, too spent to move, lying limp and panting for breath.

The white wolf Fenrix may have been white in fur alone—by now, he was indistinguishable from a mangy village mongrel.

'The wolf king... brought down this easily!'

THUMP. THUMP.

In the Lord's silhouette—dusting off his hands, gazing down at the fallen Fenrix without a flicker of emotion—Cabin felt an excitement and exhilaration beyond words.

Though the Lord had said he was heading to the Empire for a greater cause, he would surely return one day.

The Lord, awakened through the Elder's noble sacrifice, would without a doubt become the last hope of House Mayer.

'Elder... your gamble was a success.'

Cabin offered silent gratitude to the Elder in his heart and watched the Lord's next move with bated breath.

Sweeping back hair whiter even than Fenrix's fur, the Lord spoke.

"You've calmed down now, I see."

'Ngh....'

In stark contrast to Fenrix, belly-up and unable to so much as twitch, the Lord stood without a single breath out of place—and Cabin felt something close to rapture.

'The rest of my life—for the Lord alone!'

Cabin was utterly captivated by the sight of the Lord trampling the wolf king like a dog, a loyalty welling up from the deepest reaches of his soul.

He hadn't the faintest idea that his current self bore a resemblance to the Elder in his youth, long ago.

***

'Now then... that's better.'

The unpleasant heat churning inside me had subsided. I steadied my breathing and looked down at the king of wolves, sprawled flat on the ground.

"Fenrix."

"Y-yes, sir!"

At my call, the beast startled and hauled his battered body upright to prostrate himself before me.

Indeed—all trace of his earlier arrogance had vanished, replaced by thoroughly instilled manners. Forelegs neatly together, head bowed—every inch the hunting hound submitting to its master.

The fight with Fenrix had been easy, and yet difficult.

The battle itself wasn't hard. How to handle a four-legged beast without a sword had been drilled into me until my ears bled since my cadet days.

Just as my opponent was no ordinary beast but the king of wolves, I was no ordinary human either.

This Vampire Lord's body was strong beyond anything I had imagined. The beast looked as large as a full-grown tree, and I could grab and slam it with my bare hands.

What was truly difficult was the fight against the other 'me' inside.

Throughout the battle against Fenrix, a chilling whisper never left my mind.

'Drink his blood.'

An irresistible instinct, no different from craving food when starving or yearning for sleep when exhausted.

Had I not drunk the blood of dozens of lesser wolves before the fight, I doubt I could have maintained my reason.

In truth, after subduing the beast, the thirst I had been suppressing surged back with a vengeance, leaving me nauseous and dizzy.

'And... the moment I lose my patience, I lose control of the body.'

No one had taught me this, yet I knew it instinctively.

Had I tasted even a single drop of that beast's blood, I would have been trapped in that red vision once again.

And if that had happened, I might have come to covet the blood of that young boy gazing at me with adoring eyes right beside me.

Granted, in the process I might have discovered the abilities this body possessed, one by one.

But there was no way the experience of being placed under someone else's control could be pleasant.

'...This isn't good.'

That lingering unease may have even led to hesitation.

I hadn't been able to ask Fenrix directly for the exact route to the Vernice Empire.

The fight with Fenrix had driven the realization home all the more clearly.

I was no longer human.

If, when I met Silvia, I lost control of the impulse as I had before—

CLENCH—

My hand balled into a fist in empty air once more.

Every second counted, but the order was wrong. Before heading to the Empire, I had to obtain a sword first.

Only the cool touch of steel, an extension of my very limbs, could quell this boiling blood.

"By human standards, this is the Kron Mountain Range in the northern part of the continent."

"Mm."

The northern continent.

I had expected as much, but it was far from a pleasant name.

After all, this was the land where I, the man called 'Evan Erche,' had met my end.

On the other hand, I couldn't help but marvel at the sight of Fenrix—an enormous wolf now obediently answering my questions.

Cabin was a vampire but in human form, so it hadn't quite sunk in. But this—

The Demon Realm—a habitat created by monsters who had fled after their defeat in the Continental Purification War. I had led subjugation operations here multiple times as Knight Order commander, yet I'd never known such an organized society existed deep within.

"How long would it take to reach a human settlement from here?"

"If you know the way, half a day is more than enough. But without knowing the route, you could wander for days and nights and never arrive."

Fenrix answered in an exceedingly courteous tone. A completely different attitude from when he had been charging at me, teeth bared, just moments ago.

"Guide me."

"My Lord! I'm coming too!"

I had clearly been speaking to Fenrix, yet Cabin beside me rushed to interject.

Come to think of it, Cabin had insisted on following me earlier as well.

This boy was a problem in his own right.

Knowing Cabin's position, I couldn't simply abandon him here alone, but bringing a vampire boy along to the Empire was dangerous too.

As if reading my thoughts, Fenrix spoke up cautiously.

"...Are you leaving the mountain range entirely?"

"I am. To fulfill a greater purpose, I must go to the Vernice Empire."

Those words were directed at Cabin and Fenrix, but also at myself.

Even if the thought of meeting Silvia again frightened me, I had to go.

"Please, just give the order. Until you return, my Lord, I will rebuild this mansion and grow our forces."

'Well, would you look at that.'

Having been thoroughly defeated, Fenrix had now settled completely into the role of my subordinate.

It struck me as strange all over again.

It was rare for someone to submit so readily after losing to an enemy. Perhaps it was because he wasn't human.

"...Very well."

Though I had no intention of ever returning.

I glanced at Cabin, whose face had lit up at Fenrix's words, and once again swallowed the rest of my thought.

"Cabin."

"Yes, my Lord!"

Looking at Cabin felt like looking at a fresh recruit who had just joined the Knight Order.

A trainee knight who had passed the notoriously difficult entrance exam and entered the Imperial Knight Order, brimming with passion and zeal.

It was endearing, and pitiable at the same time.

That pure light would someday be shattered cruelly against the walls of reality.

"...Please let me attend the Lord in any and all circumstances! I beg you!"

'Haah.'

And I had always been weak against this type.

"For now... you can come along as far as the edge of the mountains."

"Thank you, my Lord!"

Cabin knelt alongside Fenrix and cried out in a voice brimming with emotion.

As long as he didn't accompany me into the Empire, it would be fine. I decided to push the complicated matters aside for now.

"M-my Lord."

"What is it?"

Perhaps he had noticed my hand groping at the empty air. Fenrix called out to me in a halting tone.

"If... you should need a human sword."

'Sharp-eyed, as expected.'

I had felt it during the fight as well—the beast was intelligent and cunning.

"I can offer you human swords in my possession. In our den, we have a mountain of items taken from humans."

'Oh?'

"Don't tell me it's a trap. You're saying you'd just hand them over?"

"Of course! Please come personally and take whichever strikes your fancy. If you could stop by our den on the way out of the mountains...."

'He's definitely angling for something.'

He was posturing submission now because I had beaten him, but letting my guard down would be foolish.

I had deliberately floated the possibility of a trap precisely to send a message: I know what you might be thinking, so act accordingly.

By 'our den,' he presumably meant the wolves' lair.

Cabin's expression was darkening with unease as well, having heard Fenrix's words.

"I assure you, there are absolutely no ulterior motives! But should you have any doubts, I will personally carry you both on my back!"

"Oh?"

Even if he was putting on a servile display right now, the competitive pride and dignity he had shown were genuine.

Much like the barbarian warriors of the north, wolves were creatures who would rarely bow their heads.

And the king of wolves was volunteering to serve as a mount?

In that case, perhaps it was worth trusting—just this once.