#Episode 3
After rolling for a while, her body finally stopped after colliding with a large rock.
“Ugh!”
The impact was tremendous, possibly due to the gained speed.
Vasha managed to stifle a groan, but the collision was too loud to ignore.
Those who want to chasing Vasha heard the noise and closed in almost immediately.
“It sounds like it came from over there!”
There was no time for Vasha to endure the pain. Hastily, Vasha managed to hide under a large tree root.
“Where did she go?”
“She couldn’t have gone that far.”
Voices could be heard directly above her head.
The pursuers torch touched Vasha’s toe. Vasha hastily pulled her foot closer to her body.
Vasha listened intently to their conversation, holding her breath.
“Who would’ve thought we’d discover the seed of evil while carrying out the mission to chase heresy.”
“Indeed, it must be a divine revelation from the holy dragon.”
“But shouldn’t we focus on the mission first? If we let the heretic escape while chasing the vampire…”
It’s strange, isn’t it? They were gathered in the forest in the middle of the night, as if it weren’t a social event.
It seemed like someone was being pursued.
Of all times, I had to fall in this situation! It was just a stroke of luck to fall backward and just break my nose.
“May the holy dragon arrive swiftly, for things tainted by the night are soon to be evil. Without condemning the demons, there will be no peace for a lifetime!”
“Indeed. We must not overlook the seed of the vampire. If we don’t uproot them immediately, they will soon flourish.”
“Then let’s all scatter and search for the vampire.”
“For the light.”
“For the glory!”
After exchanging hurried conversations, they soon dispersed, each carrying a sacred torch.
“Search thoroughly!”
Once the people disappeared, darkness fell again. Vasha, who had been motionless, breathed a sigh of relief only when all traces had completely vanished.
‘Aren’t dragons usually classified as monsters like vampires? Dragons being holy is intriguing…’
The name of the most famous vampire, Dracula, was also associated with dragons.
Here, one side is persecuted while the other is worshipped. It was ironic yet peculiar.
‘Come to think of it, there is a religion that venerates dragons. Where did I hear about it…’
But there was no time to reminisce. Blood was draining considerably, making my head spin.
If I continue to bleed like this, the craving for blood will escalate rapidly.
When the craving intensifies, vampires become akin to mindless monsters, entering a frenzy-like state, unable to distinguish friend from foe.
With such intensity comes a higher probability of exposure to danger. Vasha had seen several dead vampires due to poorly managed bloodlust.
Hence, for vampires, managing their bloodlust was crucial.
‘First, I need to eat something. Deer, no, rabbit… even a squirrel will do…’
Human blood is the most effective in quelling their desires. However, not knowing their true identities, approaching them recklessly for blood wasn’t an option.
Vasha forced her staggering body upright.
Suddenly, a letter fluttered from the air, descending slowly.
“…What’s this now?”
The letter suspended in front of Vasha emitted a powerful aura.
Squinting, Vasha inspected the letter.
Another vampire’s magic? Or…
Sealed firmly with a red stamp bearing the letter ‘V,’ the letter stubbornly clung to Vasha’s sight, becoming an annoyance.
Vasha irritably swiped the envelope away.
“Damn it! It’s not a lucky letter, just a vampire nuisance!”
As Vasha’s hand touched the envelope, it abruptly opened, revealing parchment before her.
Blank parchment.
Soon, as if someone in the air were writing, red words in elegant handwriting began to appear on the parchment, one by one.
[Welcome to the unfamiliar world you’ve fallen into.]
“I don’t know who sent it, but it seems like I’m the intended recipient of this letter…”
It didn’t seem likely that there were others who had fallen from another world into this one.
[However, you may soon realize that this place is not as unfamiliar as you might think.]
[The vampire lord of this world has been asleep for over a hundred years.]
[While the Lamphas Church, serving the light, seeks to expand its influence in the meantime.]
“The Lamphas Church? It’s a familiar name…”
Perhaps because of the letter’s words, or for some other reason, words that were previously unfamiliar didn’t feel entirely new.
But the letter didn’t give Vasha much time to dwell on her thoughts.
As the sentences from the letter disappeared, new ones quickly took their place.
[The Lamphas Church does not forgive vampires born of dark magic. If caught by the Lamphas Church, a terrible fate awaits. Escape from the grasp of the Lamphas Church!]
[Trial: Evade capture by Lamphas Church paladins for 24 hours.]
[Reward: Trial (Linked), Injury Treatment]
“A trial is a trial, but a linked trial… What’s that? Wait, injury treatment?”
Vasha blinked as if she couldn’t believe it.
If it really is just injury treatment, her bloodlust wouldn’t escalate further.
But the fact that the sender of the letter was unknown bothered her.
‘If this anonymously sent lucky letter, if both the reward and the contents of the letter are lies…’
As Vasha’s mind raced with complexity, the letter seemed to urge her on, adding another sentence.
[Your arrival here is no coincidence.]
[You, with sealed memories and powers.]
[As you overcome trials, you may find what you have lost.]
“Do they know about me?”
Vasha’s face hardened. It was one thing to receive a letter addressed to her specifically, but it was another to know that someone knew about her.
They say there’s a paradise even in the place you flee to, but who would have thought that in a different world, she would come face to face with the clues to her lost memories that she had searched so desperately for in her original world.
While she didn’t know who sent the letter, it was clear that this letter was the only clue to recovering Vasha’s memories and powers.
[Will you accept this trial?]
“…I can’t refuse this.”
With a wry smile, Vasha signed her name directly on the signature line at the bottom of the parchment with her own finger. Her blood stained the parchment at the tip of her finger.
[Trial accepted.]
[24:00:00]
[23:59:59]
Just then, amidst the distant rustling sound, a light appeared. It seemed like someone had heard Vasha’s earlier voice.
She had to get away immediately.
However, being exposed from all sides had its limitations.
“Ah… I really didn’t want to do this again…”
Vasha sighed deeply. But there was no other way.
Vasha dug into the ground with her hand. The moist earth was quickly unearthed under her skilled touch.
After completing the task, Vasha reached out towards the parchment floating in the air as if looking down at herself.
“Come with me.”
The parchment held by Vasha wriggled as if resisting, but it couldn’t escape her grasp.
***
[00:00:01]
[00:00:00]
[Escaped from the Paladin’s threat.]
[Overcame the trial.]
“Phew.”
Emerging from the dirt, Vasha spat out the soil that had entered her mouth.
Even after spitting for a while, her mouth still felt gritty. She wanted to rinse it out with water or something.
[Injury treated as compensation.]
As the phrase from the letter came to mind, the wound caused by the silver arrow grazed over healed as if by magic.
Vasha brushed off the dirt tangled in her long purple hair, marveling at the transformation.
“Self-burial seems to have paid off.”
A buried vampire in the earth would become virtually indistinguishable from a corpse, hiding most traces, including magic.
However, simply burying without any ceremony was a blow to a vampire’s pride.
Hence, it was a method most avoided, and Vasha was no exception.
To think that a vampire, dubbed the aristocracy of the night, would be buried in a dirt pit! Like some common ghoul!
‘And it feels awful too. Damp and gritty…’
Vasha grumbled as she shook her sleeves to rid them of dirt.
As Vasha and the letter emerged from the dirt pit together, the letter fluttered roughly as if shaking off the dirt from the paper.
While the identity of the letter still remained questionable, its contents seemed trustworthy.
‘Could it be true that overcoming the trials presented in this letter will help me regain my memories?’
