Vol 2 Chapter 4 (1/2)
The Two Walk the Path of the Eater, and
Rudy was drea
There was a story unfolding in his dream
A re-enactment of his past, caused by the memories etched into his mind
This hy the boy could allow himself to suffer Because the scene before him was both a dream and reality
Because its nature as a dream made it impossible for him to resist
<=>
“My name is Theodosius M Waldstein Call me Theo”
He was drea These were the words of the vaentle smile
With that ian to weave themselves into a tale before his eyes Sometimes in fast motion, other times slowly, and yet other tih in a proud boast
But it was fun
The ies he saere from much happier days
It was partly the joy of havingback on it with hindsight in consideration, it was perhaps closer to a sense of a of superiority to the rest of the world
Havingbroken out of the lih he had become someone special
The moment he saw Theodosius--Theo--transform into a flock of bats, he became the hero of a fantastic story The hero of the tale he created for himself His childhood friend Theresia, ever by his side, was probably the best fit for the role of heroine
This hat he thought
To be frank, perhaps he had never thought this way at all But now, as he thought back on it, that was the only possibility that presented itself to him
‘If I never thought that way then I never would have done such a thing I never would have stupidly brought hie’
The boy was disappointed He had ed to befriend someone from what seemed like another world entirely, yet there was no audience to witness it
As he becareedy
‘I’ll introduce this vampire to other people’
He was certain: To be friends with a va feat
‘I’ll act as a bridge between the world of humans and vampires’
He was already playing out the story of his own heroics in his head A selfish tale where everything ended happily ever after, with hi end of endless praise from the people
But in the end, the boy’s failure was not the fact that he trusted a vampire
It was merely that he was unlucky
That the vampire he just happened to encounter was Theodosius M Waldstein, a fiend and edy
There was screa
Blood, flesh, death
They were dying They were all being murdered
In his drea killed
“Why”
“Why why did you kill them?!”
“Tell me Why?! What did I? What did they ever do to you?!”
His words repeated theain In the reality of that day in the past, and in the nightmares he saw since that moment
And for the first ti time, his dream continued beyond where it normally stopped
“It’s because I love you two so very much”
The varin, just as he did in the reality of that day, as he looked down upon the boy
“That’s why I could never forgive you I could never let your eyes fall onto anyone else Yes That’s right Call it jealousy I was just jealous”
The vampire chuckled casually
And in his arms was the boy’s most beloved family member
“Sis”
“Oh, I al i with hope as Rudy fell deeper into despair
“Tell me Do you love your sister? Or do you hate her? Or do you maybe not care about her at all?”
“What?”
In spite of the fact that this was merely a dream, Rudy could feel his heart falter
If he answered that he loved her, then the va like jealousy as an excuse
So the boy decided that he would claih he would have preferred to have his own mouth torn open instead, he could not trade his sister’s life for anything
And so he steeled hiar srotesque
“If you tell me that you hate her, then I’ll kill her for you!”
“!”
“If there’s so you hate, it would be better if it didn’t exist And I would doanything for your sake, you know? But don’t be a bratty kid and ask me to kill myself or revive the people I killed, okay?”
The piece of scu before the boy could not have beenout his offers, complete with caveats, but the boy still could not strike back
He was too afraid
Even though his sister was in such danger, his anger could not defeat his fear
“So what you tellto decide if your sister will live or die I’ll kill her if you say you love her, and I’ll kill her if you say you hate her What are you going to do? Hah! Try and stop me if you can! Come on, try and save your sister! Ahaha! It’s all on you no does it feel, holding your precious family’s life in the palm of your hand? You could even say that you have control over her, just like a vampire! Ahahaha! Hahahahahaha!”
The vaic did not entirely h to etch his words into the boy’s thoughts It felt as though the sounds entering his ears were rattling his brain from the inside out
The vaentle smile yet He slowly spoke to the boy
“Now tell me your answer”
There was a story unfolding in his dream
A re-enactment of his past, caused by the memories etched into his mind
But the despair he felt in the dream was no less real than what he had felt that day, all those years ago
Rudy must have had this dream many, many, many, many, ed
The drea to spare Rudy
In the dream, he trembled as he finally opened his mouth to speak
“------------”
<=>
And suddenly, he awoke
Or to be more accurate, he had been awakened
‘I sense a vampire’s presence’
He hurriedly opened his eyes, but he found hinize
The thought of being trapped in a cramped, dark space almost sent hi on They were on their way to Growerth He would enter the island with the cargo, having been placed in a crate by Theresia and Sigmund
Although he could easily enter the island if he removed his armor, they were infore, concentrated population of va the are probleo for the journey to Growerth
He was used to being treated as freight, so this experience was nothing new for hi only moments earlier
But the presence of the va he could never let slide
Unlike shi+zune, Rudy’s grudge was not against all vampires
The only vampires he despised were those who fed on humans, and the vampire called Theo
Rudy decided that, before he leapt out of his box, he would have a look at the vaaze to one of the many peepholes drilled into the sides of the box
Fro transported sorowing nearer and nearer
‘There’
He identified her at a single glance
The girl in the black dress was clearly different from the world around her
She was probably slightly younger than hi when it came to her kind
Upon closer inspection, Rudy found that there was a boy beside her whose hand was tightly gripped in hers At first, he thought that she was assaulting him But the boy’s face and radiant smile told him otherwise
As Rudy wondered as going on, the boy and the vaan to come into earshot
“Anyway, Ferret, I’ll be the perfect partner for you at the Carnale Festival You can count on it!”
“I am afraid your escort may only cause me worry”
“Well, if you can’t count on me you could drink my blood and make me your slave!”
The boy’s words rattled Rudy
‘So this kid knows he’s talking to a vampire? And he’s not under her control I’d heard all the ruht they’d actually be true?
‘I’ve never seen hu like this in the middle of the day where anyone could hear
‘No I have seen it before, haven’t I?’
Reminded of his childhood self, Rudy clenched his fist inside his armor
‘I’m sick of this mission already’
Although he was to be givento the rue vast the hue and he had no desire to look into things any more
Re through his heart and quickly rejected it
If this eer, he would not have hesitated to unleash it on the spot But it was soe--after all, how could he be envious of these hu in harmony with vampires?
Perhaps this hy he never felt like finding out more about this island He had only learned the details of this o and boxed into a wooden crate If he had known froether
‘daet off this island soon’
Rudythe va
“Please, I hter of the Waldstein fah the festival by a man!”
‘Waldstein’
The moment the word reached his ears, darkness welled up in his heart once more
This tie
It was hatred
And so, he had neither need nor desire to deny himself
“Following your escort h the-”
The girl did not even have a chance to finish her sentence
The white stake he launched drove itself into her chest
It was refreshi+ng
It felt so very refreshi+ng
<=>
“We’ve lost her” Theresia sighed in disappointht distance from the harbor
Staining the ground under her feet were strange black droplets The trail of stains had begun dotting fro where she stood
Before the final trace of black droplets was the alley entrance, the many tourists ere here to enjoy the festival, and theup for the day
“If only these droplets were blood, I could follow after her”
Things had begun a little earlier
When shi+zune found herself restrained by the ankles, Theresia’s whip bearing down on her--
She drew a pair of knives and tore off her own legs
Although the knives were not so large as to be able to sever huh flesh and bone with raer and speed
She then pivoted around, allowing gravity to drag her to the floor, and plunged the knives into the hands holding her ankles
“Ugh”
Ignoring the wincing Melhilth into her ar
The sound of the air told her that a powerful attack had torn through the spot where she had been standing only a o
But she did not have tiainst the floor once th to throw herself off the side of the building
Theresia, watching this unfold, hesitated to follow after her
“What are you still doing here, Theresia?”
Melhillared at the Eater
“She’s getting away, isn’t she Should I chase after her?”
“Yes!” Melhilrily Theresia calmly explained herself
“That woman threw herself into a major street There are too many potential witnesses around forclothes won’t help, either Wouldn’t it cause problems for the rest of our mission if I made a scene now?”
“”
As Theresia predicted, they began to hear people gathering below It would be unnatural for people to not crowd around when a wos cut off jumped down from the rooftop
Melhilave her an order
“But we cannot risk her disclosing your presence to other vampires Maintain a low profile and follow after her Once you find her hiding-hole, take care of her without being caught”
“That’s a pretty tough order to follow up on We’re not assassins” Theresia said, her expression clouding Melhilm snorted
“Then assassins you will beco anization”
Without giving Theresia a chance to retort, Melhilh, each of the bats were possessed of hu them in a flock of hundreds ht to herself, as her superior flew off into the distance
She quickly leapt to the roof of the next building, then returned to the ground as she began to track shi+zune’s trail of blood
Even if the stream of blood was interrupted at points, Theresia could follow shi+zune as long as she continued to bleed It was not the scent that she chased after--it was the blood, which practically bri as Theresia continued to chase after the presence, she would catch up to shi+zune
She pressed on, doing her best to re blended in quite ith the rest of the island Many people were dressed in evencostumes, dressed up like puppets and dolls People did not pay Theresia any mind in the midst of all this
The trail of blood led Theresia towards a construction site just next to the harbor She could probably confirm shi+zune’s presence there and follow her in person from that point onwards
However, she stopped in her tracks in front of the paving machine
shi+zune Kijima’s trail of blood came to an abrupt stop here
“?”
If she had lingered here, her presence would only have been strengthened But why in the world had it gotten weaker?
As she stood there in confusion, one of the construction workers approached her
“You shouldn’t be here, young lady We’re in theon here It erous”
“Did so happen?”
“Well, the asphalt tank is busted”
The work from it
A hot asphaltpart of the road in black
As the pool of asphalt continued to grow, Theresia noticed so else
There was a trail of black leading from this pool
Almost like the trail of blood
‘It can’t be’
Having arrived at a certain conclusion, Theresia quickly turned her gaze to the trail of black stains They led into a back alley, at which point she could no longer sense the presence of blood
‘She couldn’t possibly have found anything to stop her bleeding ounds like that So did she use molten asphalt?!’
Being a va--but it was a crude method of treatment nonetheless In fact, this ‘treatment’ could turn out for the worse Even if shi+zune possessed regenerative capabilities, this method could at worst leave her crippled forever
“Geez, what are we supposed to now? The et this done in time for the festival”
Ignoring Theresia’s shock, the workman worriedly surveyed the site He then noticed that the former was still there, and quickly softened his expression
“Anyway, you’re a new face Are you a tourist, young lady? Weird stuff like this happens sometimes on Growerth Don’t worry about it Go on, have fun and enjoy the festival!”
Theresia responded to the man’s smile with one of her own, in spite of herself
‘I’m sorry’
Without sparing the an to follow the trail of black
‘I’m sorry We’re here to completely destroy this festival you love’
<=>
As Theresia began to follow shi+zune’s trail, a vicious scene was unfolding in the harbor
“Ferret?”
By the tied to utter her name, her eyes were already lost to darkness
“FERRET!”
Mihail caught her in his ars
It had begun all too suddenly
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a pair of worke wooden crate
And when that crate passed right beside Ferret, there was a noise like the crisp sound of splintering lu from her chest
“A a grk uh”
Choking incoht her hands to her chest in shock Blood dribbled over her snow-pale skin, sticky and red
“-----------”
The attack s and paralyzed her respiratory system Ferret breathed weakly and collapsed where she stood
“Ferret! Wake up! Someone someone call a doctor, please! Get an ah to shake the harbor He was so distraught that he had forgotten the cell phone in his own pocket and the fact that there would be no use in sending a vampire to a human doctor
He then realized that a white stake had been driven into her back
“N-no No No! Ferret! Don’t please don’t turn to ashes! Ferret!”
Stakes were no weaknesses of Ferret, so Mihail actually did not have to worry about her turning to ash But he had forgotten even that Mihail desperately tried to pull the stake out of her back, but it was slippery with her blood, refusing to be dislodged
As he fell further into panic, Mihail struggled to save Ferret
At that moment, a calm voice addressed him from above
“I see So this place is sister cities with a town in japan”
The large shadow cast over Mihail read the sign posted in the harbor in a dissonantly casual tone
It would have been understandable if Mihail had ignored this voice in his state of panic, but so in this mysterious voice sent a chill down his spine In spite of this, Mihail could not turn his eyes from Ferret He continued to listen to this voice with the back of his head
“They say that ambulance services are free in japan What about this island? Is it just like the et a lift?”
‘Who cares?! Hurry up and call an ambulance, you idiot! I’ll foot the bill even if it takes me my whole life to pay it off, so just call an ambulance so the doctor can save Ferret!’
In Ger on the situation, even helicopters could be dispatched But not even in Growerth were there ambulance services for vampires
‘I don’t care if it’s a huet so!’ Mihail wanted to yell, but soe shadow stopped hi, but he could not let hiony in his arms
Perhaps it was this powerful deternize the caster of the great shadow
‘Armor?’
A person wearing a gigantic suit of armor
Although its overall design seemed to be mostly European in style, parts of the ornamentation looked much more Oriental
Behind the suit of armor was a sling to get to their feet and escape
The suit of armor covered its wearer’s face completely, but fro man
“That’s right I’ve been on an ambulance before, back on the ot to ride so less common A police vehicle A car that carries corpses”
Although the ht of his presence only intensified as he went on
Mihail could feel his senses blanking out from the pressure But he could still pick out the ele him all this time
Bloodlust
The coldest,down on him, focused on the vampire in his arms
At that moment, it finally hit Mihail that this ar a stake into Ferret’s back
“You you’re the one who how could you HOW COULD YOU?!”
‘It was him it was him it was him it was him it was him
‘How could he how could he how could he how could he HOW COULD HE?!’
He thought nothing
Mihail gently laid Ferret’s body on the ground before lunging at the suit of armor with his hands clenched into fists
He honestly thought nothing
The sound of eggs cracking slid off the surface of the arers The skin over the new bends in his digits were torn apart as his fists turned red, like sponges soaking in scarlet ink
There was a sharp pain in his hands, followed by a delayed wave of agony
Despite the unrelenting assault of pain, Mihail continued to think nothing His only driving force was the anger and hatred he felt at the one who had hurt his beloved
And his anger at hi unable to so much as scratch this hateful foe who had appeared out of nowhere
The bones in his hands were broken, barely wrapped in folds of skin He could no longer make a fist with his hands, but he continued to strike at the armored man’s stomach
“damn it! You bastard! How could you?!”
Red stains began to appear on the surface of the ar ripped off entirely But at that moment, the armored man reached out with both hands and took Mihail’s wrists
“Stop this I don’t have any business with you” He said calaze towards some point behind Mihail
Noticing this, Mihail slowly looked back
His look of outrage was instantly erased by an overjoyed smile
“That is correct This is not your battle, Mihail”
“Ferret!”
Standing there was the va--Ferret, her clothes soaked in blood and holding the white stake in her right hand, having pulled it out herself
The hole in her chest had already been mended, but perhaps she had lost tooher look almost like a corpse
“Ferret! Are you okay?!”
Shaking off the arrip on his wrists, Mihail tried to embrace Ferret But she took his arm and pulled him behind herself
“That is what I would like to ask you, Mihail Now, please you et away from here”
“What? I couldn’t do that, Ferret! I’ to leave you!”
Although the fact of Ferret’s survival had erased er had yet to abate He continued to glare at the side Ferret
“You will only get in my way, Mihail And I do not know if I could defeat this lare at the armored man
“How barbaric, tearing the clothes of a coh on the inside she was desperately trying to find answers The man’s voice was completely unfae as to walk around the streets dressed in full armor
But soh she could not recall where she had seen it before, the distinctive design of the as carved into some corner of her memories
As Ferret slowly regained her calm, the man in the armor confessed his shock
“That’s aht I’d pierced your heart for sure, but to think even that stake wasn’t enough And your regenerative capabilities are top-notch, even counting all of those damned vampires I’ve killed so far”
From the man’s words, Ferret was certain that he was in the business of hunting varoup of Hunters had also come to the island last year, and this h Ferret also considered that the ht be a vampire, the words ‘damned vampires’ made the possibility quite unlikely
‘Why did he attackoutside in the middle of the day? How did he know that I am a vampire?’
Her black dress, eye-catching as it was, did not adequately explain the attack Even setting aside the fact of the festival, no Hunter would atte hunted himself by the police
Then how did this man in the armor know that she was a vampire?
There were two possibilities