118
[I haven't been able to repost Chapters 1–117 yet, but the link is still accessible on Novel Updates. So from now on, I will continue by posting the new chapters first.]
'It’s a relief that you still have the artifact…'
If it had been broken or lost, things would have gotten far more complicated.
Feeling secretly relieved, Vasha opened her mouth to try and persuade Todd.
“As long as you escape, I’ll find a way to get out too.”
“What are you talking about? There’s no way you can escape from Menorah!”
But instead of calming Todd, Vasha’s words only fueled his anger.
Though Vasha tried to hide it, Todd had already realized that she lacked the basic knowledge expected of a vampire.
She didn’t seem to know much about the traits of the Van Drake, which any proper vampire should be familiar with, and the same went for the Strigon.
Although Vasha once claimed to know about the Strigon, thinking back on it now, Todd could tell she had fumbled through it without really understanding.
It seemed Vasha believed that, just as she had dodged high-ranking vampires until now, she could escape the Strigon too.
But Menorah was no ordinary being—far from someone to take lightly.
Of course, staying here didn’t mean Todd had a better plan. In fact, he might even become a burden to Vasha.
Still, the thought of abandoning someone he had always believed he must protect—leaving her behind to save himself—felt like dragging a steel rake across his pride.
‘If only I were older… If I’d at least reached adulthood…!’
If only he had grown as large as Matteus, standing nearby, maybe then—even against Menorah—he wouldn’t be in a position to do nothing but flee.
But those thoughts were nothing more than pointless what-ifs.
The frustration and sorrow that had built up over the years of being weak and young now ignited like a powder keg, boiling inside Todd.
Whether Vasha sensed his turmoil or not, she gently patted Todd’s head and murmured.
“If I die, you’ll die too, so I understand why you can’t believe me easily…”
Her words drove the nail deeper into Todd’s self-loathing.
The countless words of blame and desperation that had been lingering on his tongue crumbled like dust.
He stared at Vasha with a dazed look.
That wasn’t it.
It wasn’t about dying if she died.
I just...
But before Todd could gather the scattered pieces of his thoughts, Vasha brought their conversation to a decisive end.
“But I came here to save you. There's no way I’d let you die because I died, right? So, just this once—please trust me. I really am good at running away.”
Vasha smiled brightly.
Catching Todd off guard with that smile, Vasha suddenly swung a blade conjured from magical energy.
Whoosh!
Snap!
The crimson threads binding Matteus and Laurus were severed cleanly by the arc of the magical blade.
At the same time, Vasha shouted to Matteus.
“Matteus! Grab both of them!”
“Both of them?”
Matteus, newly freed from the red threads, was dumbfounded by the sudden command. He hadn’t had time to assess the situation.
Laurus was right next to him—but Todd was still within the arms of a vampire.
Before he could process it, Vasha hurled Todd toward Matteus. The act was so abrupt that neither Todd nor Matteus could react in time.
Thrown through the air, Todd grimaced and shouted.
“You—!”
“I don’t know what’s going on, but—!”
Matteus caught the airborne Todd tightly with one arm. With the other, he supported Laurus, who was reeling from the aftershock of the thread’s release.
“Vampires don’t get to order me around! Only our young master can give me orders!”
If they were to get Todd out safely—someone as unpredictable as him—it would have to be fast and clean, during the moment the Strigon was caught off guard.
Once Vasha confirmed that Matteus had secured both of them, she immediately cast her spell.
“Perambulante in tenebris!”
“Damn, that’s the Shadow Travel Spell!”
The moment Todd heard the incantation, he realized what spell Vasha was casting and gasped.
Once a spell starts to interfere with other people and the surrounding environment, the difficulty ramps up drastically.
A shadow step spell targeting just the caster was something a low-tier vampire like Vasha could manage. But moving others—and especially three people? That was an entirely different story.
That’s why Todd never imagined Vasha would attempt such a thing.
‘This… This isn’t something a lower vampire should be able to do!’
And yet—the spell was working.
Todd clenched his teeth. The spell hadn’t finished yet—there was still a little time left.
Todd struggled violently in Matteus' grasp. He fought with such strength that even the physically trained Matteus couldn’t hold on—he nearly lost his grip.
‘What kind of kid is this strong…?!’
Matteus reached out to grab Todd again.
But it turned out to be unnecessary.
Shadows had already crept along the darkness of the sewer, quietly spreading. They engulfed not only Matteus’s feet, but also Todd and everything around him.
“You tricked me!”
Realizing what was happening, Todd cried out in frustration.
So she had only pretended to persuade him into escaping…! In truth, it had been a ploy to provoke him and buy time.
‘She used to do this kind of thing all the time when we played chess too!’
If Vasha had heard him, she probably would’ve protested that she hadn’t done anything—that Todd had just gotten flustered and missed the big picture.
But that would have only applied to chess.
This time, however, Todd’s guess was spot on.
From the beginning, Vasha never intended to persuade him.
‘There’s no way that wild brat would just sit still and listen!’
So she had decided to forcibly get him out of there. To do that, she had to cast the spell before Todd could predict it—and that’s why she had spread the shadows in advance.
Thanks to that, before Todd could completely step outside the spell’s range, the shadow—like a monster lying in wait beneath the water’s surface—leapt up and swallowed them whole.
Todd reached out toward Vasha.
Even as the darkness devoured everything, right up to the last moment, Todd stared directly at her without blinking. The blood vessels in his eyes burst, pooling red into the whites, burning with pain.
But what tormented him more than the pain—was the look of relief on Vasha’s face as she gazed back at him.
Overlaying that image… came memories of the past.
<I cast a confusion charm on you, so you’ll be able to hold out for a while.>
<Don’t leave me behind, Father. I can’t do this alone. I…!>
The helplessness he’d felt, left behind in the secret passage beneath Castle Van Drake, shook Todd to his core.
He never got to see his father again after that.
He couldn’t let that happen again.
Not this time.
Not like that.
The faint smile Vasha gave him now, the one that said goodbye—it was too much. Todd’s chest burned as if he had swallowed a lump of hot stone.
Don’t treat me like a child.
Don’t act like I’m someone you have to protect!
“You…!”
But Todd couldn’t finish what he was going to say.
His figure vanished completely into the shadows, and all that remained behind was the echo of his voice, ringing helplessly through the space—ownerless, fading.
***
In the underground sewer, now only Strigon and Vasha remained.
Not until the shadows that had swallowed the three were completely gone did Vasha allow herself to breathe a sigh of relief.
‘I’ve managed to get Todd to safety… That’s the first checkpoint cleared.’
Vasha let out another sigh, this one mixed with exhaustion and anxiety. If the trial mistakenly counted Todd's escape as her mission being fulfilled, her magical energy might dissipate prematurely—and that would be a disaster.
But her body still pulsed with mana—a sign that the trial wasn’t over yet.
‘If I die, Todd dies too… So in the end, I also have to survive for the trial to truly end.’
Escaping the Strigon entirely—that was no small feat. It wasn’t something she could even imagine doing easily.
Vasha carefully observed the Strigon, who continued to stare at her intently.
She didn’t know what its intentions were, but the Strigon had clearly had several chances to interfere.
Yet, it had just stood there… silently watching as she sent the others away.
‘I thought I’d have at least a few holes punched through me by now…’
Still, it was to her benefit. The longer she remained unharmed, the more time she had to work with.
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