#Episode 5
***
“Heokk, heokk.”
Vasha was gasping for breath.
At first, she cautiously descended, carefully checking each step to ensure the stone underfoot wouldn’t crumble.
But as she continued to descend endlessly, she lost track of time. It seemed plausible that the fugitive might have died in the meantime.
‘No one said the fugitive had to be alive, so wouldn’t it count as overcoming the trial even if he died?’
However, tasks with great rewards can rarely be obtained.
Thinking she might miss out on the [Binding Contract] if the target died right in front of her, an anxious Vasha slid down the cliffside.
After a long descent, Vasha finally reached the bottom. Looking up, her neck craned back painfully.
‘If I had continued at the same pace as before, it might have been sunrise halfway down.’
The cliff’s height was astonishing, and it was remarkable that the fugitive, who fell from such a height, was still alive.
‘If he’s that resilient, maybe he could become my familiar through the [Binding Contract]…’
But Vasha’s thoughts crumbled like a sandcastle in the waves when she turned to face the fugitive at the bottom of the cliff.
“A child?”
The figure lying on the ground was a small child.
Vasha stood there, dumbfounded, with her mouth agape.
“A child fell from up there and survived? Was the impact less because he were lighter?”
Of course, the child’s condition was far from fine, but considering the cliff’s height, it was a miracle he were only that injured.
“This is divine protection. Shouldn’t the Lamphas Crunch pursued and says claimed him as heresy?”
While Vasha marveled, a letter slipped out of her pocket.
The letter, as if it had OCD, shook off the dust and began writing sentences again.
[You found the fugitive.]
[The trial has been overcome.]
[The [Binding Contract (Restricted)] has been unlocked.]
[You can now contract with the designated target.]
The sentences poured out on the letter.
But Vasha didn’t have the mental capacity to read it thoroughly.
As soon as the trial was overcome, the method to form the [Binding Contract] popped into Vasha’s mind.
Simultaneously, she remembered that her past self had never made a [Binding Contract] and had no familiar.
Realizing she never had a familiar was a seemingly useless memory. Yet, to Vasha, who had been shrouded in uncertainty, it was like rain in the desert.
Would memories return one by one as she recalled her abilities?
The suspicion that the lucky letter might be deceiving her melted away.
‘This is… real!’
This lucky letter was a lifeline given to Vasha by the heavens to regain her memories and become a high-ranking vampire again.
[The linked trials has ended.]
With the end of the trial, the letter’s edge suddenly turned black and began to burn.
“No, please don’t!”
Vasha reached out desperately for the letter.
Was this really the end of the trial?
Is this all there is? What about other rewards?
What about my memories?
As Vasha clutched the remaining piece of the letter, a final sentence appeared.
[Please wait for the next trials.]
With that message, the letter disappeared without a trace.
There was another trial ahead.
Only then could Vasha breathe a sigh of relief.
“Thank goodness…”
The abilities she would regain as a reward were one thing, but more importantly, she had a lead on regaining her memories. She couldn’t lose this chance.
Vasha still couldn’t forget how she felt when she first opened her eyes in this world.
The despair of remembering nothing but her vampire nature and true name.
It felt like drifting alone in an endless ocean, too scared to share her fear with anyone.
But the most painful thing of all was the lost memories.
Forgetting what shouldn’t be forgotten, and losing what shouldn’t be lost.
The scariest part was not knowing what those things were.
Just the fact that the possibility of regaining her memories hadn’t vanished gave Vasha hope.
She spoke to herself cheerfully as if to comfort herself.
“Alright! Since there don’t seem to be any trials for now… I should carefully choose whom to make a [Binding Contract] with.”
It wasn’t strange that her past self had no familiar. High-ranking vampires have various means to replace familiars.
But it was different now that she was a low-ranking vampire.
“For a familiar, a strong adult human would be best, right?”
Such a familiar could enter villages where Vasha couldn’t, extend invitations, and occasionally share blood, making them quite useful.
Ignoring the child groaning on the ground, Vasha was filled with happiness at the thought of her potential familiar and recalled the [Binding Contract] she had received.
But on closer inspection, there was a problem she hadn’t noticed in her earlier excitement.
“Wait, a designated target? Who is the designated target?”
If she couldn’t make anyone as her familiar, the [Binding Contract] was no better than a pie in the sky.
“It’s my original ability! Why return it conditionally? How am I supposed to use this!”
Feeling betrayed, especially after she had revered the lucky letter as her savior, vasha was filled with anger.
“Ugh!”
At that moment, a stabbing headache struck Vasha. It was the process of recognizing the soul of the designated target.
Soon, her soul resonated with a hum. Clutching her aching head, Vasha looked around.
“What’s this? They’re nearby…?”
But there was no one in Vasha’s sight who seemed suitable. Only Vasha herself and the fugitive child she had momentarily forgotten about.
Yet the moment Vasha looked at the fugitive child, her soul resonated again.
It was undeniable and unmistakable.
This fugitive child was the designated target for Vasha’s familiar.
“Make this kid as my familiar? Are you crazy?”
Vasha was so shocked she screamed involuntarily.
“This is like giving something and then taking it back!”
For a vampire, a clan bound by blood was like family, and a familiar bound by contract was a soulmate.
They could communicate mentally and couldn’t harm each other.
In this harsh world, a familiar was a perfect, trustworthy partner.
And she was supposed to bond with this kid?
How much information could a child possibly know, and could they even fend for themselves? Let alone provide blood.
‘I’d have to feed and protect him…’
Moreover, this wasn’t just any kid. This was a kid being chased by the Lamphas Church!
That was the biggest issue.
Who has a lower survival rate than a child hunted for heresy?
A vampire’s familiar is bound by soul, so if the familiar dies, the vampire suffers greatly.
‘Recovering from the soul wound caused by losing a familiar takes centuries for high-ranking vampires. As a low-ranking vampire now, I might just cease to exist…’
The thought of a low-ranking vampire having a familiar was almost impossible, so the variables were unknown.
And most importantly, the soul-tearing pain!
Vasha wasn’t confident she could endure it.
‘I hate pain!’
Making this kid as her familiar was a total loss.
“Ugh.”
At that moment, the kid coughed up blood.
His bruised and pale face was convulsing as if his soul was slipping away.
This was not a good sign.
“Hmph, maybe if he die like this, a new designated target will appear.”
It might actually be better this way. Vasha smirked nonchalantly.
Whether the letter was lucky or cursed, it seemed intent on using Vasha to save this kid, but it misjudged vampires.
With a vampire’s pride, such manipulation was counterproductive.
Meanwhile, the child’s convulsions slowly subsided, as if his soul was departing.
“Ah no, my familiar!”
