IWTRAE Chapter 126

126

She had somehow managed to hold out until now, but everything changed the moment he pulled the red thread. From that point on, even someone like Vasha was completely helpless.

His red thread wrapped around Vasha like a finely woven net.

And in the end, it pierced straight through one of Vasha’s arms.

"Kh!"

Vasha, reacting the instant the red thread pierced her arm, swung her sword and cut it off without hesitation.

If Strigon’s red thread had burrowed into her body and tightened around her heart, that would’ve been the end.

The severed arm soon transformed into a flock of black bats, scattering into the air before returning to Vasha and reforming into an arm.

It was a transformation only high-ranking vampires could perform, the ability known as [Bat Form].

From the outside, it looked as if nothing had happened, like her arm had never been severed at all.

But that didn’t mean the pain from cutting it off vanished too.

Vasha clenched her teeth.

'Seriously... I really hate pain!'

How much longer did she have to endure this?

While desperately awaiting the signal, Vasha swore inwardly.

"That damn flint guy! What the hell is he dawdling for?!"

***

'Someone must be talking about me.'

Suddenly feeling his ears tickle, Bernardo scratched them with his pinky.

If Melina saw him, she’d be horrified by such behavior. But Bernardo had long since abandoned his noble or holy knightly decorum while tracking down vampires.

'It’s probably that vampire.'

Given the current situation, she was the only one

who would be cursing at him right now.

Bernardo frowned.

Even now, he still couldn’t believe he was alive.

'I really thought I was done for.'

Bernardo retraced the events that had just occurred.

That vampire, suddenly buried under a mountain of papers, soon unleashed an overwhelming surge of magical energy.

Judging by the sheer quality and magnitude of the mana, there was no doubt she was an exceptionally high-ranking vampire.

Even Bernardo, who possessed holy power equivalent to that of an archbishop, found himself unable to even consider fighting her.

She was powerful enough to crush someone like him with ease.

Why didn’t she use that power from the start?

Was she just toying with me?

What did she hope to gain by deceiving him like that?

Countless assumptions and speculations swirled through Bernardo’s mind, only to vanish and resurface again.

Drenched in cold sweat, he remained kneeling on the ground, and just then, Vasha stepped up close to him.

A chill ran down his neck.

He gritted his teeth in fear that Vasha might drive her sword straight through his cervical spine at any moment.

But what Vasha said next erased every fearful thought he'd had.

<…Todd?>

<Yeah. Todd Van Drake. The survivor of the Van Drake family you were looking for.>

So that boy’s name is Todd...

Bernardo slowly nodded.

Even now, he still couldn’t figure out what that vampire was truly after.

Vampires took pleasure in deceiving people. For all he knew, maybe she wanted him to try to save Todd, only to watch him kill the boy himself.

But if she thought he would fall for such a twisted scheme, he’d rather be tortured.

Resisting the oppressive pressure of her ominous magic, Bernardo glared up at her defiantly, his blood vessels bulging on his sweat-soaked forehead.

Vasha, looking down at him with her red eyes, seemed utterly indifferent, as if his defiance was laughably insignificant.

Annoyed that he didn’t immediately understand, Vasha repeated herself sharply.

Finally grasping her words, Bernardo's eyes widened in disbelief.

Vasha’s voice rose in frustration.

She even looked a little desperate, as if she truly didn’t want to waste more time.

Her voice carried enough weight to make her seem... sincere.

Bernardo’s head spun.

Could even that be part of the vampire’s cunning ruse?

As he hesitated in confusion, saying nothing, Vasha grew visibly irritated and snapped at him.

<Don’t you want to get rid of that bastard Menorah too? Or wait, are you the kind of person who’d rather let Menorah eat people alive than work with a vampire?>

Vasha’s words struck deep into Bernardo’s heart. Hadn’t he also once condemned the clergy for blindly following doctrine, ignoring the havoc vampires caused?

Bernardo still couldn’t be sure of Vasha’s true intentions.

But.

'The survivor of Van Drake… That boy named Todd, her reaction to him seems genuine.'

That alone was the hardest part to believe.

A vampire who genuinely cared about and worried for a Van Drake?

And yet, that was precisely why Bernardo found himself trusting her sincerity.

'If someone wants to deceive you, they usually come up with a convincing lie. But that wasn’t even the kind of lie that sounded believable…'

Maybe that’s why.

The balance in Bernardo’s heart finally tipped.

In the end, there was no reason he couldn’t show some flexibility for the greater good. For the first time in his life, Bernardo decided to accept a vampire’s offer.

<…So, what exactly do you need me to do?>

In other words, Bernardo would have to land the decisive blow.

Bernardo quickly did the math. Though he’d been easily overpowered by the high-ranking vampire Vasha, that didn’t mean he had no way to face Menorah.

<…How long can you hold out?>

Vasha answered as if the question itself was foolish.

For vampires, that kind of question meant nothing.

Even if their bodies were shattered to pieces, as long as a fragment of their soul remained, they considered themselves to have 'endured.'

Their eyes met in the air.

Vasha reached out her hand first. It was pale and slender.

Then, a large, rough hand, shaped by a lifetime of wielding a sword, took hers.

<Alright. It’s a truce… for now.>

***

After parting ways with Vasha, Bernardo headed for the cathedral, Noctiluca’s last hope and line of defense.

Noctiluca was a sizable diocese with several holy knights under its banner. But even they weren’t enough to handle the vampires.

Because of that, the city’s militia had also been conscripted into the cathedral’s defense, supporting the knights battling vampires outside the church.

"Fire the silver arrows!"

As the guards released their bowstrings, silver arrows sliced through the darkness, tracing white arcs as they flew toward the vampires.

The lesser vampires hesitated, wary of being wounded by the silver weapons, which would not be easy for them to recover from.

But among the bloodline Strigon brought were high-ranking vampires as well.

High-rankers could withstand silver weapons to some degree, so even with arrows raining down on them, they charged at the holy knights without flinching.

"You thought this would be enough to stop the children of the night, you filthy worms?!"

"Damn it, keep firing!"

"Just because they're high-ranking doesn't mean silver arrows don't work! It will still consume their souls!"

While the holy knights held the front line against the vampires, the city guards continued launching arrows from behind.

"Damn it, are the consecrated silver arrows still not ready?!"

"The Bishop is doing his best!"

When ordinary silver arrows are consecrated by a priest, they become even deadlier to vampires.

However, the Bishop of Noctiluca belonged to the Faith Faction, which was known to be weaker in divine power compared to the Divine Faction.

As a result, the consecration process was taking a long time.

Watching all this from atop the wall, Bernardo clicked his tongue in frustration.

'This is why, even if they're from the Faith Faction, they should at least have decent divine power!'

Under normal circumstances, Bernardo himself could’ve consecrated every arrow in the blink of an eye.