Vol 2 Chapter 4 (2/2)
The first was that this Hunter had been hired by soraph to find her by Ferret wondered for a , and quickly re
The second possibility was that thewho could sense the presence of vampires--an Eater
As Ferret cautiously continued to speculate about his identity, the , utterly calm
“Well, anyway Looks like you’ve trained that huet hi vaetat your feet?”
“Hey, you’ve got that wrong! I’ Ferret because I want to follow her! And this isn’t so about, but Ferret has never tried to sweet-talkforward to protect Ferret But she caught him and slammed him backwards
“I understand, so please get yourself to a doctor now, Mihail!” She said, the intensity of the fixation of her eyes on the arerous she understood him to be
But the h his venom had subsided
“Looks like we’re getting so our way”
People were gathering towards the harbor, drawn in by the loud noises There seemed to have been some sort of a commotion nearby earlier, and the people the first incident had draere nowon to the incident at the harbor
“I’ll let you off easy for today” The arlanced over at the harbor entrance
Not a second later, a jolt of pain ran up her leg
“!”
A long, thin, white stake was sticking out of her leg, over her skirt It was slightly different in shape from the one that had been driven into her back earlier
‘When did he?’
The ar shot towards her like a bullet, lodging itself in her ankle
“I see So you’ve never been in a real fight before”
“F-Ferret!”
Mihail, who lay crumpled in a heap, raised his voice as he took to his feet and rushed towards Ferret so he could carry her to safety
But the arround at breakneck speed
“AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! FERREEEEEEEEEET!”
Before he knew it, Mihail was lying on his back on the deck of the ferry moored in the harbor
And although Mihail had no idea as going on, Ferret, as pulling out the stake fro clearly
The suit of arrah the air and landed on the ferry
No huth
In fact, most vampires were probably no match for this display of raer Ferret was now certain of the man’s identity, for she had met a woman with similar abilities in the past
The woman’s name was shi+zune Kijima
‘He must be an Eater!’
Doing everything in her power to ignore the pain in her leg, Ferret kicked off the ground to give chase
Compared to her arhtweight, shebeside the ferry She then leapt fro on the deck of the ferry
Because the creas still preparing the shi+p for its next trip, only Ferret, Mihail, and the armored man were on the deck
The man noted Ferret’s pursuit, surprised by her determination
“So you followed after me, huh Does this mean you’re confident you could beat me? Or that this human’s just that important to you?”
The man’s youthful tone struck a stark contrast to the appearance of his aruard down She still had no idea how he shot those stakes at her, but they were fast and devastating Ferret was not confident that she could dodge them, even if she focused her senses to their utmost limits
Then why in the world had she come after the man?
If she ran to the castle and called for help, she could have enlisted the assistance of one or more of many creatures who could defeat thisthe armored man?
The ansas simple
But she did not want to admit it
If the situation was not so dire, she ht have spared a er’ did not even begin to describe the state she and Mihail were in now
“In any event, I ask that you let that hu on the conflict between vampires and Eaters”
“You talk like you’ve coht out of the past that reminds me of him”
There was a powerful e the man’s comment, but Ferret had no idea what it meant
“Anyway I’enerative abilities, Iyou then and there I’d have lost the clue I was so desperate to find”
“A clue?” Ferret wondered The armored man continued coldly
“Where is he? Where is the vampire named Theodosius?”
“?”
‘I have never heard of anyone by that name’ Ferret was about to reply
“?”
But there was so at the corners of her memory
Theodosius The rhythm and tonality of the na about it that continued to bother her
After a ue memory
As she thought, Ferret had never heard the name before--but she had read the name once in the past
It wasThey were sitting in the castle’s dining roos at length, and Ferret faintly recalled that na mentioned at one point in her father’s speech
As Ferret stiffened, the ain
“Theodosius M Waldstein How many vampires do you find with ostentatious surna your family by that name?”
Ferret’s an to come into focus
‘I re to us about the Waldstein family, and-’
“So you know so, don’t you?”
The man in the armor did not miss Ferret’s moment of silence
But Ferret would not back down so easily As long as she was in possession of the inforotiating with the man
“I will speak on one condition Let Mihail go this instant!” She cried
To Ferret’s surprise, the armored man’s helm nodded easily as he tossed Mihail towards the far end of the deck
Of course, even a light toss by an Eater was enough to send Mihail flying al thud
“Miha-”
As she began to call his name, Ferret naturally turned towards Mihail
And she repeated her mistake
She had once more turned her attention from the armored man, at whom she should have focused all of her senses
“-il”
The voice calling for her childhood friend scattered at the impacts that shook her body
In that short span of time, seven white stakes had been shot at Ferret
Of thes Ferret lay spread-eagle on the deck, looking little different from an insect on display
“Urgh agh”
Pain overwhelony, began to assault the rest of her body as herconfusion
As Ferret lay there, her ability to hear no longer apparent, the armored man addressed her in a monotone voice
“Now that I know you’re sturdy, I’her The people at the harbor office are probably going to hear about the commotion and climb aboard here soon
“So consider yourself fuel Fuel to bring him despair”
Filling his voice was hatred Directionless animosity
But there was so about that voice that also carried a tone of self-loathing
<=>
As the vaan to cal within
‘I can’t kill her Not yet Not yet’
Holding back his exciteirl
‘First, I’ll make her tell me where Theo is Then I’ll smash her head while Theo watches So I can’t kill her I can’t kill her yet I have to hold back’
He had wanted to place all the weight of his armor upon the head of the vampire, as now completely still, and crush it where it lay But he desperately quelled his urges
Although he had no mercy for most other vampires, Rudy had never felt so fervently emotional on a hunt But today was a special exception
He had been hunting down the vampire who had massacred his family for nearly ten years And now, a clue to his nemesis’s whereabouts was finally within reach
And of all things, the clue lay with a vampire who shared Theo’s surname Perhaps they were relatives Perhaps they were family
‘So he has a family?’
The thought fanned the flames of hatred in his heart
‘So he steals awayas if nothing’s ever happened?! Tasting happiness with a family to call his own?!’
Before he knew it, he had shot another stake, this tiirl’s stomach
“Urgh Gah”
The varoaned in pain But Rudy didn’t feel even a sliver of pity
‘That’s right This va humans with her words shi+t! Just like hi to turn on that kid, too’Rudy thought, taking one step towards Ferret
“Now talk Where is he?”
The girl was barely able to vocalize, let alone speak, but Rudy questioned her heartlessly When he noted that her lips were not
But as he stood with one foot in the air, he froze
When decided to torture the girl for inforle moment--was this really the best place, he wondered The presence of the human boy bothered him--the boy as so very much like himself when he was still a child, deceived by a vampire
‘This ht be hard for him to watch But that shouldn’t matter to me And he’s still better off than the way I was left back then He’s going to get over it’
He glanced over at the direction in which he had thrown the boy
‘Wait Where is he?’
He was certain that the impact of the fall had knocked the boy unconscious But before he knew it, the boy was gone With his injuries, he could not havepace So where had he gone?
‘Did he run off?’
The boy had probably understood the danger he was in and leapt off the ferry Now there was nothing stopping Rudy fro this creature All he had to do was finish before onlookers arrived
He began to slam down his foot to start where he left off, and looked down at the vampire
But his eyes widened in an instant as he hurriedly angled his foot away He aled to stay on his feet
‘damn it’
There was so
It was the boy named Mihail, the one he had tossed away before
“Ferret”
The boy gave all of his attention to the girl, not even looking at Rudy
He was focusing all of his efforts into pulling out the stakes that were lodged into her For va into their bodies was usuallythan the blood loss that followed the removal of the stakes But whether Mihail understood this or not, he helped Ferret sit up and took hold of one of the stakes
“Stop this”
Rudy anxiously grabbed Mihail by the arirl
He had been jolted by the fact that the boy he saw as being very much like himself had taken such an action
Mihail, held in led right arain
“Let go! Let et in my way!”
His eotten the better of his sense of reason, Rudy thought It was aler within hi the safety of the vampire
Rudy easily caught Mihail’s punch with his other hand His grip began to tighten
“You’re the one who’s getting in my way”
The force of his grip grew stronger
Although it was little s like vampires and Eaters, their poas itself a weapon for normal humans like Mihail
Anoise
There was a sto sound
Mihail’s right hand, which had been forced into the shape of a fist by raw deterers, splayed out in all sorts of unnatural directions, flopped helplessly like puppets with their strings cut
Noting the daation of the vaed that Mihail would be incapacitated by the pain of the compression fracture
But Mihail betrayed his expectations once more
He stared at his right wrist, now completely numb, with a puzzled look Then--
“STOP GETTING IN MY WAAAAAAAAAAY!”
He swung his broken ar back
‘damn it’
His annoyance at the human boy worsened
Rudy had no idea why this boy’s actions bothered him so much No--he did not wantto know He uided by this focus, Rudy cut off all lines of thinking
A moment later, a white stake was driven into Mihail’s shoulder
Although it was not an ireat deal of blood The agony of the injury spun through his every nerve, threatening to disable even his breathing and vision
Having done such violence upon a nore
“Let me make this clear You’re powerless Deters here” He said to the weak hu
Rudy then came to a realization
‘Wait This tone it’s just like Theo’s’
Realizing that his i to overlap with that of the ht in horror He realized that he had been denying this thought for quite some time now, and understood that he was currently not himself
Normally, he would never take any action that drew attention to hie in him was all the fault of the Waldstein name
‘But it’s going to be all over soon That name won’t bother me anymore I’m so close’
As long as he could find the whereabouts of Theodosius M Waldstein, everything would be all right Or rather, nothing else would er have any reason to take orders fromund the Green, Melhilm the Violet, or Caldimir the Blue All he needed was Theo’s location He would then torment his nemesis and finally take his life
Killing hi
As Rudy oncelike the croaking of a dying frog
“Aaaaargh agh graah hah”
It was Mihail, lying on the deck and twitching with the stake through his shoulder
The pain had finally overtaken his brain functions The explosive anger he had shown earlier was no more
Yet he still latched onto Rudy’s ankle with his intact left arm and, in contrast with his earlier e voice in half-sobs
“D-don’t kill”
Rudy’s annoyance evaporated at the sight of Mihail’s foolish pleading
Seeing the boy prioritize his own life over that of his loved one, Rudy remembered his own past
‘That’s right You’re doing good You’re just huet about vampires and live your life in peace’
For Rudy, acknowledging Mihail’s plea forthe actions of his past self He was, in a roundabout way, trying to seek acknowledgement that his choice on that day was a perfectly natural one for a hueht it out for himself
“Please don’t don’t do it”
‘Hu in fairy tales Those stories are for looking at froiven to humanity’
“All right I’ll spare you It’s s for their life, but I never had any reason to kill you in the first place, anyway” Rudy htly relieved, and offered Mihail a hand
Although the boy was badly injured, he was not even close to being on the verge of death But these injuries would eventually become scars that reain Then another tragedy would be averted
“I I don’t care what you do to me So please don’t don’t kill Ferret! Please Please I’ you spare Ferret”
Rudy’s thoughts stopped
The right hand he reached out towards the boy tensed as his nerves and muscles stiffened
‘Why?’
Mihail’s words were essentially an act of rejection towards Rudy’s past actions
Although he never intended for such a thing, this was indeed as good as rejection to Rudy
‘Why ould you choose to save the vampire instead?’
His earstricks on him, he wanted to think But Mihail stuh in bold defiance, and stood before Ferret to defend her
“You’re not going to kill Ferret”
His words and actions both were borderline nonsensical to Rudy Although Mihail’s wounds were not fatal, they should have been deep enough for hi for his life And Mihail did not seem to be the type to be unaware of death at all
‘Because of Theo I leftto spare h she’s not fah she’s related to Theo?!
‘I don’t understand
‘I’m so confused’
Ies from the past came to life before his eyes
The scene from his dream unfolded before him
In his waking drea for his life But he no longer saw the i with the child he once was
Rather, the i the vampire looked al there with tears rolling down his face--looked nothing short of foolish
‘Is it just because he’s older than I was back then? Is that why he’s willing to throay his life to save someone?!’
With that thought, Rudy found hi it several years after it had originally taken place
Perhaps he ht have acted otherwise if he had the power of an Eater as he did now--but the self that had lived as a perfectly ordinary hue
‘Then Then what about now?! Why a the same scene from before but from the same viewpoint as that bastard?!’
The thought he had tried to shake off returned to him once more
And unlike his old self, this boy named Mihail refused to back down He continued to stand before his loved one, fighting on her behalf
In other words--
‘Does this mean that I’m just an inferior version of Theo? The “ here now is just like
‘No!
‘No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no
‘No Things are different
‘That’s right I just didn’t go far enough
‘That Mihail kid hasn’t been scared enough yet That must be it
‘Yeah This is different fro I had to experience
‘So I have to make him understand it
‘All the pain so much pain’
At this ulfed in confusion
Another stake was driven into Mihail’s shoulder
The boy could no longer even screarabbed him by the arm and threw him to the other end of the deck
And without even watching Mihail fall, Rudy turned back to face the vampire
‘I get it I get it now He keeps defending her because he doesn’t knohat it feels like to be betrayed! Because he hasn’t been betrayed by her yet That’s the difference!’
<=>
“I’ your life”
“”
Ferret was just barely breathing She opened her eyes weakly
She was so exhausted that she could not be certain that she had clearly heard the exchange between Mihail and the armored man
But Ferret was essentially an i water, stakes, or sunlight And according to Doctor, she could probably recover even froh ti such an experiment, but Ferret had politely declined
The armored man had probably threatened her because he had no idea that she could not be killed
But ith And setting her body aside, her mind was far from invincible
But this was no ti this way, she told herself The ans fro At this rate, she could very well be chopped into pieces
However, that was also an option that she could not ignore If she were in pieces, the armored man would leave her for dead Then she would have escaped peril And once she had gotten these stakes out of her and recovered, she wouldhe’d done
‘I will ret what you did to me and Mihail’
But the armored man’s demand was about as unexpected as they came
“Cut off that Mihail kid’s right hand Personally”
“What are you saying?” Her lungs had recovered just enough to allow her to speak, albeit with great difficulty “Are you insane? Whatis there in such an action?”
But either way, she was not obligated to meet the man’s demands If he wanted to cut her to pieces, he would If he wanted to crush her, he could do so with little effort
“There is noto it You two just annoy me, that’s all I’d love to kill you both, but I don’t want to kill a human, and you still have the information I need So what a at a damned vampire like you annoys me So what am I supposed to do?!”
Ferret didn’t even knohy the man was so frustrated in the first place Perhaps she could understand if theher But why did he have to involve Mihail as well?
She wanted to point this out, struggling to speak, but she began to sense the growing reat wave At this point, words would be useless
“Say so so can’t you even apologize properly?”
Ferret remained silent The arh her leg
“Agh”
Though she did not want to let out a scream, Ferret’s body autoony, the arht into his foot as he continued to ramble in frustration
“I’ you to prove it s you can chop off a person’s hand without a second thought to save your own skin so prove to me you’re a damned monster hurry up do it now!”
There wasn’t a speck of reason or logic in the man’s breathless demand
The stake that he continued to drive into her leg left her entire body in agony It was a kind of pain she had never experienced before Had she ever faced such direct bloodlust and suffering before?
Eventually, her brain stopped relaying the pain to her altogether Perhaps soinning to freeze up one by one
But her
She could still speak
Though her lungs were clearly weak, on the verge of paralysis, she coldly glared up at the armored man
“You are pitiful Do I look like a wo like her own life?!”
The disdain in her tone was clear So another stake was driven into her stomach
“Ugh Agh”
“So it still hasn’t hit you The fact that you’re going to die”
She could feel the o cold in an instant
She could also feel the e point once more
The armored ain, turning his shaky breathing into howls like a child in a fistfight
“So is that all life is worth to you?! Treating it like dirt and you don’t even thinkabout the fact that your life could also be put to an end! That’s what pisseslike you’re completely safe, as if you’ll never be held responsible for your actions! You you vampires! You trample on humans like they’re ants you toy with hurass!”
He stoain
Over and over again
Again, until he began to lose count
Ferret could feel her upper body go numb, but even in her daze she tried desperately to see if Mihail was all right But unable to sit up on her own, she had no choice but to give in
But she heard it
Her ears, still functioning despite her injuries, clearly picked up his voice
“Stop hurting Fer