Chapter 176

A memory from long ago.

Back when Carmilla's life was still whole.

"Princess."

"You must never neglect your studies."

The aged voice was low, yet solemn.

The elderly vampire stared at the girl.

"You must understand your duty as royalty."

"It is unacceptable for you to skip class and spend your time in His Majesty's office."

"I have also spoken to Sir Jersian. Even if Your Highness comes looking for him, he is not to hide you or give you special treatment. He is to escort you straight back to class."

That was the price for skipping class and loafing around with Sir Jersian.

Carmilla stood there fidgeting nervously, as if gauging Lefil's reaction.

The elderly vampire merely regarded her with a cold gaze.

She was a princess beloved by everyone, but her mischievous side was nothing but a headache for her teacher.

'Lefil.'

Carmilla's teacher, a vampire who had lived for several centuries.

Lefil was particularly rigid with their disciple.

They were strict and sought only to impart serious lessons.

"One day, you must succeed His Majesty and rule the kingdom."

"To become a wise monarch, you must constantly refine yourself."

"Your Highness's body no longer belongs to Your Highness alone. It exists for the royal family and the people."

Perhaps that was why.

Carmilla had always been intimidated by Lefil.

"Nobility begins with one's bearing."

"Vampires are vulnerable to desire, a race easily corrupted by pleasure."

"Even so, vampires could become noble because they made bearing their foundation."

Words she hated hearing.

Yet those hateful words were what helped Carmilla grow.

Using her teacher's words as seeds, the girl let her life sprout toward nobility.

"It is the way of life our ancestors passed down to us."

"Refining oneself."

"Disciplining oneself, humbling oneself, and facing oneself honestly."

"You must walk that arduous path and spend your entire life keeping away from vulgarity and cowardice."

Her teacher rarely smiled at her.

What Carmilla remembered was always that cold, impassive gaze.

"So, pick up your pen."

"Today, we will make up for everything we did not cover in the previous lesson."

The girl was uneasy around her teacher.

Still, she had never forgotten what Lefil taught her.

Not even after she was betrayed by those she trusted and learned that even her teacher had stood among them.

"Princess."

"Please, become noble."

Carmilla had always made her teacher's words the center of her life.

* * *

"...Master?"

The girl stood frozen in a daze.

Her red eyes held only the silver-haired elder.

Forgetting even the swarm of monsters closing in, Carmilla quietly stared at her former teacher.

"Have you been well?"

The elderly vampire greeted her evenly.

That distinctive gaze had not changed in the slightest.

Pupils without even a trace of warmth.

Perhaps because of that, Carmilla thought Lefil looked exactly as they had in her memories.

"I never thought you would still be alive. No, I did hear reports that you had survived, but... I never expected to meet you in a place like this."

"..."

That stiff tone, faint silver hair, and perfectly neat attire.

Lefil had not changed at all from how she remembered them.

Carmilla struggled to regain control of her dazed mind, then took a deep breath.

After a brief pause, she called to the old vampire again in a calm voice.

"Lefil."

"Yes, Princess."

Correcting the words that had slipped out by habit, the girl discarded the title of master.

The elderly vampire before her was no longer her teacher.

When her uncle had raised a rebellion, Lefil had led the charge in slaughtering the royal family's close retainers.

They were one of the New Kingdom's central figures, a traitor who had forced the former king to his knees and sent him to the execution block.

"Vulgar and cowardly thing."

The target of her revenge.

It felt as though a thorn were lodged in her throat, but Carmilla tried not to show it.

'Get ahold of yourself.'

This was different from when she had faced Jersian during the Lunar Eclipse.

Carmilla had grown after carrying so much pain.

She would not get emotional.

She cooled her heated thoughts.

After a few shallow breaths, she spoke in carefully composed, even sentences.

"With what audacity, and to commit what sin, have you appeared before me again?"

"Your demeanor has changed considerably since I last saw you."

"Nothing remains unchanged."

"You could barely meet my eyes before."

"You have forgotten nobility, so I have no reason to fear those eyes any longer."

She spoke as if she would never break.

She glared at Lefil and spoke as though she had forgotten those days.

"Excellent."

"Be silent."

Her heart beat.

Cold and slow, like it was on the verge of death.

Holding onto that coldness, the girl asked a brief question.

"One thing."

Just one.

There was something she had to ask, even of someone who had forgotten nobility.

"Answer me one thing."

"Please ask."

"The reason."

"..."

"Tell me why you abandoned nobility."

It was a question Carmilla had always carried with her.

The teacher who had taught her about bearing.

The girl still lived with that bearing as her foundation.

So, whatever the others' reasons, she had to know why Lefil had become a traitor.

"You would be better off not hearing it."

"I told you to answer."

Her voice rang with resolve.

Lefil, who had remained expressionless all this time, finally opened their mouth.

Yet the words that reached her ears were far from what the girl had prepared herself to hear.

"It was for my daughter."

"...What?"

"That is all."

"What do you mean, that is all? Explain yourself."

"It is a meaningless story now. If you truly wish to hear it, defeat me first."

"..."

Unexpected words.

Carmilla's thoughts were thrown into chaos in an instant.

Lefil's next words woke her from it.

Their aged red eyes were as cold as ever.

"Do not entertain stray thoughts. I certainly betrayed Your Highness. I led the rebellion, slaughtered the royal family's close retainers, dragged the former king down from the throne, and pushed him onto the execution block. No one controlled or forced me. I chose it all myself."

"..."

"Have you forgotten? Half-hearted pity."

"...Is more base than utter malice."

Carmilla regained her composure.

Biting down hard on her lip, she pulled herself together before her resolve could falter.

"Yes, the result is what matters. You abandoned nobility."

"I bear no ill will toward Your Highness. Do not interfere. Step aside."

"I cannot do that."

"I am giving you a chance to flee."

"I have fled once in my life. That was enough."

The day she escaped the kingdom and fled to the Human Realm.

Words she had sworn with tears and blood.

"No atrocity will make me take a step back."

"Then you must die. Or kill me."

"Yes. I will kill you."

"Yes, I shall do the same."

The two took their stances to deploy Bloodcraft.

Their postures were identical.

Lefil had taught it, and the girl had learned it.

Whoooosh.

A blood-red storm swept through the plaza.

As it did, Carmilla warned her trusted retainer.

"Viktor."

"Yes."

"Prepare yourself."

"So they are strong."

"At the very least, they are among the New Kingdom's five strongest."

"Are they stronger than Professor Javert?"

"Similar, or perhaps slightly stronger."

"That's bad. I didn't expect someone that strong to show up."

Viktor did not know much about Lefil.

They had never crossed paths with the original story's protagonist and party.

In the original story, the Imperial Knights subdued Lefil, so they were a hidden powerhouse with barely any presence.

'They weren't supposed to appear during Blue Night...'

It seemed the story had become tangled.

Then again, he had caused far too much chaos by now.

To ensure this Blue Night succeeded, the Allied Forces seemed to have invested heavily in personnel as well.

"Tell me about them."

"Lefil... They were once my teacher. Among the kingdom's vampires, they were considered the foremost master of Bloodcraft. Be careful. The Bloodcraft I use is only an inferior branch derived from their techniques."

"Hm."

"On top of that, it seems they have consumed Vital Blood from humans. They may be far stronger than I remember."

"That alone is terrifying. For a moment, I thought about running away."

"So, will you run?"

"What will you do, Princess?"

"I must fulfill my duty. As royalty."

"Then I'll stand with you."

Viktor manipulated his status window.

A simple number appeared on the blue screen.

[Absorption Rate: 7%]

[※Warning※]

[Once the absorption rate exceeds 30%, the Blue Knight's activation will begin.]

"We don't have time. If the Blue Knight begins activating, things will get complicated."

"Yes, let us proceed without hesitation."

"Are you sure?"

"Didn't I say I was prepared?"

Viktor rummaged through his inventory.

He held a Balloon Knife in one hand and a scythe in the other.

"Looks like I'll have to go all out from the start."

A pitch-black crown floated above his head.

As he swung his hand, several skills activated at once.

A faint light wrapped around him.

Ding!

[Broken Crown]

-Category: Accessory

-Rank: A

-Status: Destroyed

-Description: This is the crown worn by the ruler of nightmares, the ‘Black Queen.’ It has now been destroyed, leaving only her remnants behind. It can be worn for up to 15 minutes per day. When worn, you can use the skill ‘Nightmare Transformation.’

Ding!

[Skill Name: Vitality Charge!]

-Light from the growth weapon ‘Balloon Knife+’ replenishes vitality.

-Vitality restores basic energy such as stamina, mana, and aura.

-This ability's range and effect increase as the rank of its exclusive weapon rises.

Shadows writhed as brilliant five-colored radiance flashed around him.

Viktor stood cloaked in all those effects.

Then he pointed his scythe at the elderly vampire.

His overwhelming presence swept through the plaza.

"Here I go."

"I will support you."

Boom!

At the same time, the two kicked off the ground.

A savage boom split the air above the sky island.

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