Chapter 39 - The Sealed Golden-Haired Vampire (1/2)

Rio and Liselotte blinked at the sudden brightness. They waited for a moment until they adapted. Rio then pushed open the door. Simultaneously, Liselotte was on guard as she peered into the room, clearly on the lookout for any trap.

The room on the other side of the door was pitch black, with not a single light source to be found. However, a combination of their Night Vision and the light spilling in from the room outside was enough for them to dimly make out their surroundings.

The interior of the room was composed of the same marble-like substance that Rio had first seen in the church cathedral when he got resurrected. Two rows of thick pillars, spaced out at regular intervals, extended all the way to the end of the room. In the very center of the room stood a huge cubical slab of rock. Its surface was glossy, and it shone from the reflected light coming in from the room behind.

Rio and Liselotte took a closer look at the cube, noticing there was something that glowed faintly jutting out from the center of its front face. It looked almost as if it was sprouting out of the rock. At that sight, they had a different reaction; Rio was full of expectation and anticipation because he knew what it was while Liselotte just increased her guard.

Wanting to get a closer look, Rio threw the doors open wide, and looked for something to hold them in place. He didn't want to make the classic horror movie mistake and enter only to find the door shut behind him. However, before he could fix them in place, whatever was in the center of the cube stirred.

”...Who goes there?”

Rio and Liselotte heard a faint, hoarse, female voice. Rio realized it was Aletia because the voice sounded like her VA in the anime adaptation. Meanwhile, Liselotte was startled and readied herself for another confrontation against a ridiculous monster. Rio ignored Liselotte's paranoid behavior and looked over to the center of the room again. The 'something' they had seen earlier was squirming slightly. The light pouring in from the other room revealed that something's true form.

”A... person? No, a girl. Is there really a girl inside a dungeon?” Liselotte mumbled in shock. The something sprouting from the rock was indeed a person.

The girl was buried in the rock from the neck down, and her golden-blonde hair dangled limply in front of her face, much like the ghost from a certain famous horror movie in Japan. Eyes as red as the blood moon peeked out from between gaps in her hair. She looked to be rather young. Still, despite her haggard appearance and her hair covering the better part of her face, it was still clear she was quite beautiful.

Liselotte stiffened in surprise; she hadn't expected to see another person so deep in the labyrinth. It seemed the girl was just as surprised to see Liselotte and Rio too, as she was staring at them in dumbfounded shock. Meanwhile, Rio was still calm as ever because he already knew about this. After a moment of silence, Rio took some deep breaths to steady himself, and then resolutely said...

”Liselotte, I win the bet.”

”Wait! Wait for a second, Rio! You just can pick up a random girl you find in a dungeon! Furthermore, she's sealed in this place for who knows how long! What if she's a dangerous individual?!”

”Then, let's ask that girl why she's here, shall we?”

”Wait! Rio!”

Rio ignored Liselotte and walked up towards the golden-haired girl who was watching their shenanigans with a dumbfounded look. Liselotte couldn't help but follow after Rio while keeping up her guard. They finally arrived before the golden-haired girl and Rio soon asked her a question.

”So, tell us who are you and how are you in here. And please, make it short!”

The golden-haired girl blinked her red eyes, waking up from her stupor. Her red eyes shone with hope and she started mulling over her answer. After a few seconds, the girl came back to her senses with a start and quickly began speaking with a hoarse voice.

”I am one of the original, atavistic vampires... because of the extraordinary power I was gifted with... I worked hard for the sake of my country and my people...”

”Alright! Stop for a moment!”

”Huh?”

”Eh?”