The Eminence in Shadow, Vol. 3 (Light Novel) Page 7

  “What’s up there…? Wait! Mary?!”

  Mary is floating in the air. Her eyes are glowing red, and sharp canines are sticking out of her mouth.

  Furthermore, the wound on her chest has completely closed up.

  “So that’s what’s going on… Interesting!” The Tyrant laughs like a carnivore, and Mary offers him a sad smile.

  The Tyrant’s billhook and Mary’s sword collide.

  Their strength is—evenly matched. No, the Tyrant is coming out slightly ahead.

  “You ain’t bad…!”

  “—!!”

  Sparks fly as they battle.

  “But I’m better,” he snarls.

  Then Mary gets blasted away. Debris goes flying in the billhook’s wake.

  “Mary!!”

  She crashes into the wall, then crumples to her knees.

  “Rgh… I’m not used…to the blood yet…”

  “It’s over.”

  As Claire is distracted by Mary, the Tyrant appears before her and raises his billhook high.

  She can’t defend herself in time.

  “Cid… Forgive me…”

  In her final moments, the only thing Claire thinks of is her brother.

  But then—

  “…The time of awakening is nigh.”

  A man wearing a jet-black longcoat swoops in between Claire and the Tyrant.

  “Hey!! The hell’s your problem?!”

  “…You’re in my way.” The man blocks the billhook, then launches a casual upward kick.

  Casual as it is, though, it’s also unbelievably fast.

  The blow sends the Tyrant flying. He smashes through the wall hard, coughing up blood as he goes.

  Unfortunately for him, the wall leads outside.

  With nowhere left to stand, he enters a free fall.

  As he does, his screams fade into the distance. “SHADOW! YOU BASTAAAAAAAAAAAAAARD…!!”

  Claire looks up at the figure’s back. “You’re…Shadow…”

  Under normal circumstances, his overwhelming power might have caused her to put her guard up.

  But now, for whatever reason, seeing him sets her heart at ease.

  Why is he inspiring such emotions in her, even though they’ve never met before? Claire doesn’t know.

  She can’t tear her eyes off him.

  “There isn’t much time left…”

  Suddenly, he vanishes.

  “Ah…”

  It’s like he was never even there.

  “Shadow…”

  A faint glimmer of loneliness remains in Claire’s chest.

  “That was Shadow…? Did he save us?” asks Mary as she gets back on her feet.

  “I think so…”

  “He took out the Tyrant in just one hit…”

  “Mary, are you okay?”

  “Probably… Sorry about that, Claire. For sucking your blood out of the blue.”

  “Oh, that’s water under the bridge, but… Mary, is the thing you were hiding from me—?”

  “Yeah, I’m a vampire…”

  “Huh…”

  “I’ll tell you everything: who I am, my motives, and the truth behind the Blood Queen…”

  And with sadness in her eyes, Mary begins her tale.

  Mary was once a follower of Elisabeth the Blood Queen.

  This was back in the era when vampires ruled the night. At the time, Elisabeth held great power, even for a Progenitor.

  Vampires hunted and killed humans practically for sport. Most of them saw humans as base livestock, and there were even some countries where they reigned over them wholesale.

  For the vampires, it was their golden age.

  Elisabeth, however, couldn’t stand the idea of hunting more humans than was necessary.

  Because of that, she hunted only the bare minimum she needed to survive, refusing to take their lives in excess. There was no shortage of vampires who opposed her methods, so despite her power, her followers numbered few.

  Soon, though, the vampires entered their dark age.

  The humans began hunting the vampires back, turning the vampires’ era into one of nightmares. The destruction of the vampires’ capital sparked the fire of rebellion, and the vampires’ numbers dwindled in the blink of an eye.

  At the time, Elisabeth and her followers ruled a small human country. They plowed the fields right alongside the humans, fought off monsters together, and protected their borders.

  Vampires didn’t look down on humans in her lands, nor did humans fear vampires. The way they maintained that relationship was by not drinking blood.

  Without drinking human blood, vampires can’t go on living.

  That was the prevailing belief at the time, but by abstaining herself, Elisabeth disproved this theory.

  Progenitors’ compulsion to drink blood is dozens of times stronger than that of normal vampires. The pain she endured must have been unimaginable. But she successfully went cold turkey through agony comparable to lopping her own arm off. Upon seeing her resolve, her followers did the same.

  Without drinking blood, the vampires gradually lost their powers, eventually becoming no stronger than humans.

  However, there were things that they gained, too.

  For one, they gained the power to stay out in the sun. By giving up blood, they became able to live in the same beautiful, sunlit world as humans.

  They also gained tranquility in their hearts. By abstaining from blood and living their lives basking in the sun’s rays, their urge to drink gradually subsided. Eventually, their dispositions were no different from humans.

  Despite all that, Elisabeth the Progenitor’s powers were as great as ever.

  Her skin would become inflamed when exposed to the light, so she couldn’t go outside without a thick black parasol. The only reason it didn’t instantly turn her to ash was because most Progenitors had a certain degree of resistance to sunlight in the first place.

  Also, no matter how long she went without blood, her maddening urges never ceased.

  Yet despite her agony, she carried out her life beneath her parasol just the same as all the others. Eventually, she gathered up her followers and spoke to them.

  “Let us build a Haven here. A land where humans and vampires can live in peace…”

  And by taking in and protecting vampires being pursued by humanity, her followers’ ranks grew.

  Of course, the condition for her protection was that they give up blood.

  Some of them resented her for this and revolted against her. It was with a heavy heart that she had to exile them. Some refused to comply, and those she put down herself.

  At some point, all the vampires in the world came under human attack, and they all gathered under Elisabeth’s banner.

  Her population expanded, humans and vampires mingled together, and her land prospered. She used her great powers to defend her lands, so vampire hunters dared not enter.

  The Haven she’d set out to create was a success.

  She prayed everyone would be able to continue living in peace.

  However, all it took was a single night for the Haven to fall.

  It was the night the Red Moon rose in the sky.

  Elisabeth’s urge to drink grew ever stronger, so she was forced to lock herself away in her castle.

  Back then, Mary was her second-in-command, and Crimson was her third.

  The two of them took turns bringing her meals, but when it was Crimson’s turn, tragedy struck.

  Crimson mixed human blood into Elisabeth’s food.

  If she’d been at her best, she might have noticed its scent before she ate it. Or maybe she would have eaten it but still been able to withstand her urges.

  But that was the day of the Red Moon.

  She had been without blood for too long, and she wasn’t able to stop herself from going on a rampage. Crimson and his followers rose up in unison.

  Between the rampaging Elisabeth and Crimson and his men, it took them only a few hours to slaughter
every human in the country.

  The vampires had seen humanity as mere livestock. There was no way they could live side by side with them.

  Elisabeth’s dream, the Haven, had all been a mere fantasy.

  Because Elisabeth’s followers had stopped drinking blood, they were powerless to resist, and they were slain as they fled.

  Mary was the sole survivor.

  In order to stop Elisabeth, she lapped up the blood of the dead. Then she pursued Elisabeth and the others all the way out of the country.

  Their fervor knew no bounds, and before the day was out, Elisabeth had destroyed yet another small country and torn its king limb from limb.

  Mary hadn’t made it in time.

  Elisabeth’s rampage lasted a full three days, and in that time, she dealt catastrophic blows to another three countries.

  Mary found Elisabeth the night after it was all over.

  Elisabeth was weeping as she gazed out on the countries she’d ravaged.

  “Please, cast my ashes into the sea so I can never rise again and repeat this mistake…,” she begged, then drove her sword into her own heart.

  She should have turned to ash.

  But she didn’t. Her blade missed the vitals ever so slightly.

  Her heart stopped, and her lungs no longer breathed.

  It was like she was dead.

  Except she wasn’t.

  If Mary placed human blood in her mouth, she would instantly be resuscitated.

  Alternatively, if she gave the sword a small push, Elisabeth would instantly turn to ash.

  Mary couldn’t do either.

  She couldn’t go against her master’s will, but she couldn’t bring herself to kill her, either. Instead, she hid her eternally slumbering queen in a coffin and vowed to protect her until the end of days.

  “It was a foolish decision. A few years after that, Crimson snatched Queen Elisabeth away. Because I refused to drink blood, I wasn’t powerful enough to protect her. Now, he’s planning on using her again. I don’t know how I could face her if I let the tragedy of a thousand years ago play out once more…” Mary smiles sadly. “But that’s everything. I’m not human. I’m a vampire. And I’m sorry for keeping that from you…”

  “It’s fine. I’m no different. See, I might be one of the possessed. A few years ago, these black bruises appeared on my back, and they just wouldn’t stop spreading. But when I looked in the mirror one day, they were just gone. Poof. If those black bruises were the mark of the possessed, then eventually, I’ll become a monster… That’s why I forced my brother to come here with me. I wanted to get him into the Knight Order while I still can. But the moment I looked away, the enemy snatched him… I don’t know how I’ll be able to face him if anything happens to him…”

  “Ah…”

  The two of them are silent for a bit.

  “I find it hard to believe that the Haven was really all a fantasy. Can’t you just try again?”

  Claire doesn’t think Elisabeth was wrong. If she can, she wants to save her.

  Mary shakes her head. “I don’t want to make the same mistake again.”

  “I see… Well, if you’re not going to save her, I will. If we kidnap her and wait for the Red Moon to end, she shouldn’t go on a rampage.”

  “But Claire…why go to such lengths?”

  “Once this is over, we can wake her up. Then you two can talk it over.”

  “But…I’m certain Queen Elisabeth just wants to die.” Mary looks down in thought. All sorts of conflicts are welling up inside her.

  “You won’t know that till you ask. And it’d be too sad for things to just end like this. You’d be sad, Elisabeth would be sad, and all those dead people would be sad…”

  Claire looks Mary in the eye and smiles.

  Mary’s eyes are filled with hesitation. Deep down, she doesn’t want things to end like this, either.

  “Your Haven wasn’t just some fantasy. That’s what I believe anyway. Let’s try and find an ending that has everyone smiling.”

  “I’m sorry…for putting such a burden on you.” Mary looks back up and nods.

  “Don’t worry about it. Now, let’s go beat up Crimson and kidnap your sleeping queen.”

  “Sounds good. And we’ll make sure to save your brother, too.”

  Claire stops in her tracks. “I’m going to be the one to save Cid. Don’t butt in.”

  “Uh, okay…”

  “You just back me up while I perform my beautiful, gallant rescue.”

  “…Understood.”

  With that, the two of them resume their ascent.

  Chapter 3

  Pursuing the Blood Queen!

  Man, Progenitors don’t screw around when it comes to treasure.

  I’ve never seen literal mountains of gold before. My heart’s all aflutter.

  I’m like a kid in a candy shop. I want some of this… I gotta get my hands on these… But as I rummage through the treasure, I suddenly remember there’s only so much I can carry.

  Artwork is out for obvious reasons, so I’m gonna give all the cultured stuff a pass. Unfortunately, to my dismay, artwork seems to be the most plentiful thing here.

  Next up are jewels and precious metals. The small stuff is fine, but the larger ones are too bulky and unwieldy.

  Looks like I need to narrow my focus.

  I gotta go with the most efficient, most reliable source of money out there—gold coins.

  They’re as small as a five-hundred-yen piece, but each one is worth a hundred thousand zeni. And better yet, you can spend them as is without even needing to convert them or anything.

  When it comes to efficiency and reliability, they blow everything else in this treasury out of the water.

  It’s kinda sad, honestly, seeing all this treasure I can’t have.

  “Well, that’s life for you…,” I mutter as I bid farewell to the myriad other riches and start shoveling up handfuls of gold coins.

  Now, I’m not an idiot. I thought this out ahead of time.

  Taking a page from Epsilon’s book—the undisputed expert when it comes to slime bodysuits—I embed the coins within my suit.

  Epsilon padded her body out with slime, and I’m doing the same with gold.

  Every inch of my bodysuit, longcoat, and hood is stuffed to the brim.

  Okay, that’s not totally true. I left some room by the joints.

  Even so, I manage to fit over a thousand of the little buggers onto my person.

  A thousand gold coins comes out to a hundred million zeni. The math checks out.

  I’m planning on living to the ripe old age of three hundred, so it’s nowhere near enough. That said, it’d be pretty risky to try and bring any more gold than that with me.

  If I use magic to strengthen myself, carrying around a thousand coins isn’t a problem or anything, but it still makes it kinda hard to move. My movements are a little stiff now, but they’d be miles worse if I tried to pack on any more.

  Also, a thousand coins aren’t really visible from the outside, but if I went for double that, I’d start sticking out like a sore thumb.

  “I’d be fine if all I had to do was carry them out…”

  …but I’ve got a boss battle with the Blood Queen waiting for me after this.

  Supposedly, she’s some sort of Progenitor Vampire.

  She’s gonna be strong as hell, I’m sure of it.

  After all, Progenitor Vampires are supposed to be strong. That’s just how these things work.

  To prepare for the occasion, I’ve already got my battle plan all laid out.

  Up until now, I’ve been using the setup where I always show up at the twelfth hour, but given that the enemy this time is a Progenitor Vampire big shot, I thought I’d try mixing things up and being the first to get to her this time.

  That way, we can do the scene where the protagonists show up in the middle of our fight and go, “What’s with that crazy battle going on over there?! Stay back!”

  Love
that.

  For that to happen, I need to be the one who finds the Blood Queen first. If I spend too much time dawdling here, someone’s gonna beat me to the punch.

  For now, I’m just gonna pile the coins up by the treasury’s entrance.

  “I’ll come pick you guys up later.”

  This way, I’ll be able to nab them quickly even if something unexpected happens.

  Praying I’ll be able to retrieve them successfully, I flex my muscles for the first time in a while and dash up the tower at full speed.

  Midway up, I spy my sister. She seems to be in a tough spot, so I save her by sending the Tyrant flying.

  Now then, gotta hurry.

  “At long last, the time is finally here…”

  A graceful smile spreads across Crimson’s face.

  The sacrifice has been prepared, and the moon is waxing scarlet.

  The time to revive Elisabeth the Blood Queen is finally upon him.

  Crimson grabs the lid to the coffin enshrined in the center of the room and opens it up.

  Its contents come into full view.

  Inside is a small, shriveled-up black lump.

  Crimson carefully swaddles the hunk with his fingers and lifts it into the air.

  “It’s been too long, my Blood Queen… Everything is in place for you to bathe the world in blood…”

  Upon closer inspection, the black lump is recognizable as an organ. Specifically, a shriveled-up heart.

  After a thousand years, it’s all that’s left of the Progenitor.

  As long as it remains, though, she can still be resuscitated. That’s just how Progenitors are.

  Crimson closes the coffin and carries the heart to the raven-haired sacrifice. He gouged out the boy’s heart earlier, and he now fits the Blood Queen’s in its place.

  Fresh blood. Fresh flesh. That’s all the Blood Queen, the mightiest of the Progenitors, needs to rise anew and begin her reign of terror once more.

  “Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh…”

  It’ll take a little longer for the revival to begin.

  Crimson knows he needs to leave for some time. The Blood Queen will be starving when she comes to, and she’ll attack man and vampire alike. He won’t be able to get closer until she settles down a bit.