057 – Blood Ties

—

[That damned Lord b*stard!!]

Just stay there… I’ll spend my entire life going around you… Let’s not meet…ever…

(Picture)

Thank goodness. You haven’t left your lair…

I won’t go anywhere near this place…

[Comments]

– He’s a boss they specifically made to not be touched, so there’s nothing we can do.

ㄴ (Poster): I don’t know what the circumstances are, but I’m just thankful that such a being is confined to his lair…

ㄴ Who did you beg for him not to leave?

ㄴ (Poster): It’s not that kind of circumstance.

ㄴ Then what kind of circumstance, huh?? Does circumstance have another meaning??? Answer me!!!!

ㄴ (Poster): N-no, it doesn’t.

– It’s funny how Nephila Lilith can’t be put in the final boss category just because she can’t leave her lair lol

– The Lord should be regarded not as a monster but as a country. Strong, has a vampire and doppelganger army that follows orders to the death, handsome, big package. He’s just got everything.

ㄴ (Poster): ? How do you know about the big package?

ㄴ There’s a saying that if you can’t beat a champ in a fight, seduce him. The Archmage Tower Leader was taken down that way too.

ㄴ (Poster): Are you saying we have to seduce Nephila Lilith too??

ㄴ One-night stand lol

ㄴ Just joat

– Past: Where the hell is the vampire stronghold? The game company is being such a jerk hiding it lol

ㄴ Present: It’s the vampire stronghold! …ignorance was bliss…

ㄴ (Poster): ㅋㅋㅋ Right? What’s the point of experienced players finding the vampire stronghold? The Lord himself will personally kill you when you go in there ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

– They say the Lord has insane damage but is a glass cannon, so he’s surprisingly manageable. If you can land an attack.

ㄴ (Poster): What kind of pro even found out about that honey tip?

ㄴ Lilian Aisold informed us.

ㄴ (Poster): What happened in your world for the strongest character to move out to kill the Lord herself..?

ㄴ I took Layton in my party to catch the Lord, and lived like a cripple afterwards, then Lilian Aisold came alone to kill the Lord to avenge her father. Of course, it was the awakened Lilian.

ㄴ (Poster): Should this be called a strategy.. *sigh*…

– Today’s Pro-Tip: To catch the Vampire Lord, you gotta kill Lillian Isolde’s dad ☆

ㄴ LOLOLOLOLOL. No freaking way, you can’t come out alive if you go hunting for the Lord lmao. What’s the point if you just catch him and die?

ㄴ (OP): Lol, Lillian Isolde will catch him for you instead~

—

It had already been thirty hours since the bloody battle began.

Vampires, Trueblood Vampires, and Doppelgangers swarmed the battlefield, and at first, it seemed as though humanity was being pushed back.

The Border Count.

The Magic Kingdom’s Greatest Sword.

The Archmage.

The Royal Knight Order’s participation gradually shifted the battle’s tides.

Just when it seemed that humanity might hold the fortress…

A single being.

The one they called “Lord,” appeared and immediately, the battle turned into an overwhelming defeat.

And so…

“We can’t retreat any further from here.”

“I know. That’s why we must hold this place at all costs.”

For the first time in the Magic Kingdom’s history, humanity had lost command of the fortress.

“Reinforcements from the northern territories are on their way. We must endure, somehow.”

“People in the south have been taken hostage…!”

“Rescue teams will be formed within eight hours. The Magic Kingdom’s Greatest Sword is among them… we have no choice but to trust.”

Moreover.

Human stamina is not infinite.

Those who had been fighting for thirty consecutive hours were exhausted, demoralized by the feeling of defeat, having lost territory to the vampires.

In this situation…

“Border Count. Reinforcements have arrived.”

“Reinforcements already?”

“Yes, however…”

People were filled with hope at the news that fresh reinforcements, humanity’s new hope, had been dispatched.

But everyone, except for the Border Count, couldn’t hide their disappointment at the fact that there was only one person…

And that the individual was just a mere fifteen-year-old child.

“…Could the child among the reinforcements be named Lillian Isolde?”

“Yes, that’s correct… How did you know?”

Just then.

“Quickly, rearm yourselves!”

The monsters had no intention of waiting for us.

Led by the entity known as the Lord, they began to swarm towards us once more—

*BANG*!

A quiet silence fell over the noisy battlefield.

Because… a perfectly round hole had appeared in the arm of the entity known as the ‘Lord’, an entity no one had even managed to get close to.

Humanity, and the monsters alike.

When none spoke, each absorbing the situation in their own silence,

Only one child dared to break the quiet.

“…? I was sure I aimed for the head…”

And from that moment,

“Well done, Miss Lillian Isolde.”

“Greetings, Marquess.”

“What do you think of the offer I made before?”

“…I will consider it again slowly after we win this battle.”

“Come north. I highly value your talent, Lillian, and will guarantee you a vice-commander position.”

“…The enemy is coming.”

The tide of war began to turn anew.

*

What does it feel like to be a person with every bone in their body shattered, jolting along a rough, unpaved road in a cargo cart?

‘This is practically a corpse.’

I figured if I were to become a corpse, this is exactly what it would feel like.

‘That aside…’

I began to ponder the events that had transpired moments before.

After the doppelgangers and vampires guarding the hostages engaged in serious conversation,

Why did they begin transporting the captive hostages outside the castle gates?

‘Didn’t they capture the gates?’

Surely, the vampires had succeeded in conquering the human city gates.

If they had seized the enormous gates, that meant they had already accomplished the most difficult task.

All that remained was to march towards the capital…

But for some reason, the vampires and doppelgangers now seemed to be in retreat.

‘What in the world are they doing…’

Then… while they were retreating, would it have been so difficult to release the hostages?

Still, I desperately hoped they wouldn’t harm the hostages, as international law dictated…

But history is written by the victors, after all.

The possibility that no one would care if we were dragged off to some vampire den, subjected to unspeakable torture, or used as bargaining chips in negotiations with the Magic Kingdom was high.

Of course.

‘There’s no Geneva Convention here to begin with.’

It would be laughable to think that this world would have treaties related to war like Earth does.

Why wouldn’t it be?

Take the Magic Kingdom for example, they enthusiastically grind up and crush monster corpses to use as medicinal ingredients,

Or skin them to be used in daily life, and so on, doing all sorts of things.

For monsters to be doing such cruel things to humans, and for that to be wrong… would just be hypocrisy.

‘Lady Isabella… when will you wake up?’

In the end, Lady Isabella was still the only remaining hope.

I didn’t know when she had fallen asleep, but it was certainly for more than 12 hours.

I was beginning to think it was about time for her to wake up.

* * *

*Thunk-*

“Ugh…”

The abrupt halt of the cart sent a jolt through me, a detailed sensation of how each bone in my body was pieced together.

“Get in.”

Following the vampire’s command, I knew the hostages were being herded somewhere.

‘I’ll probably just get dragged along too.’

Unlike my expectation of being unceremoniously hauled like the others,

“Bring that one in here directly.”

A familiar voice.

‘What is this? Where are they taking me?’

I was being taken to a place unknown, separate from the other hostages.

As soon as we arrived, the doppelganger carelessly tossed me aside like garbage.

Forcing me to savor, yet again, the agony of bones shattered anew.

‘You… shit… I’ll remember that face… you b*stard…’

I absolutely must survive this place and melt that doppelganger down with Isabella’s incantation.

Another reason to live had sprouted, yet death still loomed large.

In this situation, the choices available to me were few.

“I’ll allow you a final utterance before you die.”

—

Nephira Lilith (381)

[Abduction] – Active

[Reconnaissance] – Isabella Lilith

[Sleep] – Active

[Infiltration] – Active

[Silence] – Active

—

Because this monarch, bearing the same family name as Isabella, said she’d allow a final utterance before death,

“If you speak even a single falsehood, I’ll kill you immediately.”

Nod, nod…!

The rope binding my mouth was loosened, and the moment it fell away:

“Isabella Lilith…!”

‘Your family and I are acquainted!’ I began, emphasizing our connection.

“Isabella and I… we know each other!”

School ties, regional ties, familial ties.

Surely, family was the most effective of them all?

Your grace’s beautiful daughter and I… we’re on rather good terms, shall we say?

That was what I was emphasizing…

“…?”

Nephira Lilith’s pupils began to tremble madly.

Could it be that I was, yet again, creating a situation where I was threatening someone with their daughter?

The thought that this kidnapper instinct might have caused trouble again crossed my mind.

“..Mother and you know each other?”

“..Mother, you say?”

“…Say it again. How is it that you know Mother’s name?”

“..Isabella Lillith… ..Are you her son?”

Isabella wasn’t Nepira Lillith’s daughter…

But instead, Nepira Lillith was Isabella’s son. This shocking truth I had just heard.

That instant.

“..What is your relationship with Mother?”

“Well, ..master and pet… ..something like that.”

Suddenly, the Lord’s gaze shifted to a favorable one.

“Ah, I almost showed disrespect to Mother’s pet.”

The head of the vampire clan, who had been about to kill me,

Began to treat me with the utmost courtesy.

‘It’s the opposite, though…’

I didn’t dare utter, ‘I’m the master, and your mother is my pet.’

So, I didn’t deny that I was Isabella’s pet.

“Do you, as her pet, know where Mother is now?”

I couldn’t help but answer the Lord’s question about Isabella’s location honestly.

“Over there… sleeping, you see?”

“..Where?”

“Oveeer there… that nest behind you, Lord.”

“..Mother has returned to Mother’s chamber?”

“Yes.”

“..!!”

How could you not know your mom is back home?

You unfilial b*stards…

‘But hold on, someone who hasn’t even had their first kiss had a son??’

Regardless, Isabella wasn’t a young Isabella…

What is this sudden feeling of defeat?