IWTRAE Chapter 125

125

***

The torch, which had continued to flicker faintly even after falling to the ground, finally succumbed to the moisture and was extinguished.

With the only source of light gone, a pitch-black darkness swallowed the entire sewer, leaving nothing visible, not even an inch ahead.

But those who stood in that place were all too familiar with the darkness, beings who roamed the dead of night as though it were broad daylight.

Clang!

Vasha deflected a magical spear flying toward her with her sword. The magic imbued in it was heavy and forceful. A single graze might have been enough to tear a limb off.

To channel this much power into a projectile...

Despite facing an enemy, Vasha couldn’t help but be impressed by the opponent's skill.

Before long, spears forged by Strigon's magic began to form one after another in the air. There were so many of them that it was impossible to count them at a glance. They all rained down on Vasha from every direction.

Pa-pa-pa-pat!

‘So you intend to keep me from getting close, huh?’

Vasha clicked her tongue.

Weapons created from vampire magic are heavily influenced by the caster’s imagination, often taking the form of something familiar to the user.

Vasha's weapon was a rapier, not exactly suitable for throwing. But to strike a distant enemy, it wasn’t always necessary to throw a weapon.

Raising the sword she’d used to fend off the spears, Vasha thrust it into the empty air.

Whoosh!

At that moment, the tip of Vasha's sword seemed to dissolve into the void and disappear.

And then, the blade reappeared, right behind Strigon's back, far across the distance.

It was a type of [Spatial Transference Technique]-a skill only accessible to high-ranking vampires.

Squelch!

The blade that emerged pierced straight through Strigon’s heart.

But at that moment, Strigon’s figure blurred and wavered.

What had been struck wasn’t the real Strigon, it was his illusion.

Vasha was shaken.

'…He used an Illusion while casting a Spatial Transference Technique?'

Using space magic could not be done simultaneously or in conjunction with other spells. At best, through rapid processing, it could appear to happen at the same time, but in theory, only one spell could be active at any given moment.

But Strigon wasn’t just anyone.

He was a magician.

Using illusions and spatial transference in dazzling combinations was his trademark deception.

As Vasha’s attention was drawn to the fading illusion, Strigon seized the moment. He prepared to ensnare Vasha using the spell [Shadow Binding].

However, Vasha’s senses were razor-sharp, highly attuned to detecting magic.

She had already sensed Strigon’s scheme.

The instant Strigon began to cast, Vasha kicked off the ground and escaped the range of the spell just in time.

From there, a fierce battle of wits ensued.

Strigon couldn’t help but be impressed.

“I’ve never met anyone so adept with magic.”

It was almost instinctual, the way Vasha sensed even the slightest sign of a spell being cast.

'His eyes are sharp, too.'

In the pitch-black darkness, the two vampires exchanged countless attacks. If it had been a human, they would’ve already had their throat slit in an instant.

Their movements weaved and unraveled over and over, each testing the other’s skill.

'Impressive…'

Strigon licked his lips with the tip of his tongue. Where did a creature like this come from?

'I only came to retrieve Van Drake’s remains, and ended up receiving an unexpected gift.'

The downfall of the Van Drake clan had been the result of a long, elaborate scheme secretly orchestrated by Strigon.

Even the other members of Menorah had no idea that Strigon was behind it all.

Why had he kept it so secret?

It was because their Mother, the origin and root of all vampires, deeply cherished those 'natural enemies' who withered her branches and leaves.*

None of the other Menorah knew this. Only Strigon, who was closest to her, truly understood.

A bond forged through a thousand years of hatred-so intense that each side was consumed by the other-was, in the end, not so different from love.

The Mother had constantly watched over Van Drake to ensure their bloodline did not go extinct. No matter how many of their kin were slaughtered by Van Drake's hands, she didn’t care.

Because she treasured them so dearly, Strigon knew she would never forgive him if she discovered he was the one responsible for Van Drake’s annihilation.

But to Strigon, Van Drake was a thorn in his side.

So, he carefully crafted a scheme to pin the blame for Van Drake’s extinction on the Lamphas Church and the humans and he succeeded.

Now, all that remained was to console the Mother, who would soon awaken from her slumber.

She would be devastated by the news of Van Drake's demise. If, in her grief, she chose to destroy or dominate humanity, that would be a blessing in disguise.

But if she fell into despair and sank into eternal slumber, that would be a true disaster.

That’s why Strigon needed the withered remains of Van Drake.

He hated having to place such high value on them, but showing her Van Drake’s horrific fate was the most effective way to direct her rage toward the humans.

Just like the Van Drakes had done, vengeance can often become the fuel for life. There was no reason the Mother would be any different.

To pacify and incite her, Strigon was more than willing to display ornamented remains of Van Drake however necessary. At least, they were less annoying than a living Van Drake.

Strigon kept his inner motives tightly sealed and conducted the entire plan with utmost secrecy.

But no secret remains perfect forever.

King Herodes, though greedy, was meticulous in execution. Thanks to the solid groundwork he laid, the world came to believe that the purge of Van Drake had been led solely by the Lamphas Church.

But Lucy knows that King Herodes is one of Strigon’s followers.

Though she hasn’t drawn any conclusions from that fact just yet, it’s only a matter of time before her suspicions inevitably point toward Strigon.

'Still, even if she does find out-if she can’t deliver that truth to the Mother, then it won’t matter.'

After all, Lucy will disappear before the Mother awakens. That’s the fate of a failed creation.

Even so, until now, he had kept her around in case she showed potential...

But now, someone far more enticing had appeared before him.

'To think she resembles the Mother to such an extent… Could it be a homunculus created by someone else?'

Though she seemed to endure his attacks with instinctive magic sensing and reactive defense, her overall magic control was unstable.

It was a textbook symptom of someone whose soul and body were out of sync.

Lucy had shown similar traits.

But this opponent… she looked exactly like the Mother. Even Strigon-who had watched over the Mother for centuries-was momentarily stunned by the likeness. The quality of the body was undeniably excellent.

Of course, she couldn’t actually be the Mother.

Strigon knew well where the Mother slumbered, and he visited her from time to time.

Inside her crystal coffin, the Mother never responded to him-but she was undeniably still there.

'Lucy failed due to low resonance with the Mother, but this one’s body... maybe...'

'Resonance' referred to how closely a soul and a body harmonized.

For ordinary humans with weak soul frequencies, resonance barely mattered when creating homunculi. But for a high-ranking vampire, it was absolutely crucial.

'I don’t know where she came from or how she got here… But first things first, I need to capture her.'

Her resonance with the Mother, her true identity, everything else could be figured out later through experimentation.

Everything was going smoothly. It was as if fate was smiling upon Strigon.

'Now that I know she can hold her own, let’s see how far she can go.'

Strigon’s assault intensified. Though Vasha continued to resist, she was visibly struggling to keep up with Strigon’s unbridled surge of magical power.

Strigon’s spears were powerful and destructive.

But what truly needed to be feared were not the spears…

…it was the fine magical threads lurking in the darkness, waiting silently to ensnare their prey.

In whale hunting, the harpoon isn’t the most important part. It’s the rope—to reel the whale in. Failing to recover the prey means it wasn’t a successful hunt.

And Strigon… had never lost his prey. He was a master hunter.

***

'Damn it, I’m going crazy!'

There wasn’t even time to catch her breath-the relentless onslaught from Strigon made it feel like her blood vessels were being squeezed dry.

There were more than a few close calls where a single moment of carelessness could’ve cost her her life.

If it were someone like Menorah, brute force alone might have been enough to overpower them. But Strigon, true to his title as a magician, was full of dirty tricks. He’d laid so many traps that dodging them while defending herself made her brain feel like it was burning.

🍓; *Despite being the creator of all vampires, the Mother paradoxically loved or valued the very beings who harmed her children (the vampires)