#Episode 6
Vasha couldn’t help but scream. She already have a pale face turned even whiter. She had listed hundreds of reasons not to take this child as her familiar, but all those reasons vanished in an instant.
Having made a decision opposite to her long deliberation, Vasha hurriedly carried the child and dashed through the forest at a speed incomparable to before.
***
Behind Vasha, the smell of the blood the child coughed up was overwhelming.
‘I don’t normally drink children’s blood, but isn’t it wasteful to just let it spill like this? Even if I just took what’s smeared on my back…’
Vasha, who could not usually drink blood to her heart’s content, felt it was a waste to let this blood go to waste.
But she couldn’t just say, ‘I’ll drink the remaining blood while my prospective familiar is dying.’
‘Damn it, if you don’t survive and become my familiar, I will forever resent this wasted blood!’
Gritting her teeth, Vasha descended the mountain.
Luckily, she had overheard the conversations of the Lamphas Order while hiding underground, so she had a rough idea of where the village was.
Thus, Vasha barely managed to reach the village of Haidus in the southwest of the forest before dawn.
Haidus was not a large city but a moderately prosperous village surrounded by walls.
“Ah, damn it…”
Vasha cursed under her breath as she looked at the walls of Haidus.
The walls were not very high. With Vasha’s physical abilities, she could easily climb them. But that was not an option.
As a lower vampire, Vasha was bound by the restrictions of a vampire.
She couldn’t move around in sunlight, cross water, or heal wounds inflicted by silver.
She also couldn’t enter places with religious symbols unless invited.
In the middle of the wall of Haidus hung a bas-relief in the shape of a square star, the symbol of the Lamphas faith.
To enter the walls, she needed the permission of someone inside.
Vasha observed the guards at the gate.
There were two guards. One was standing stiffly, looking tense, while the other was leaning against his spear, yawning constantly.
Vasha glanced at the child she was carrying. The child’s breathing was becoming more labored. If he didn’t receive emergency treatment soon, he seemed likely to die.
In that case…
***
Thomas, the yawning guard, was not originally scheduled for night duty.
He had been assigned night watch even on his day off due to the sudden arrival of a holy knight.
The knight’s unexpected insistence on strengthening the village’s defenses had been accepted.
“Who would come at night that we need to stand guard like this?”
Thomas grumbled discontentedly, and Daniel, his fellow guard, cautiously added.
“They say the Lamphas Order saw a vampire in the nearby mountains.”
“They must be mistaken. The Lamphas church always makes a fuss. Last time, they claimed to have found a werewolf cub, but it turned out to be a hunting dog.”
Thomas recounted previous incidents.
Once, the Lamphas church had been a thankful presence that protected humans from monsters.
However, as the Vampire Lord suddenly disappeared and the number of monsters decreased, the situation changed.
Ironically, as their necessity decreased, so did their status.
Although the number of non-believers like Thomas had increased, there were still many devout followers.
Daniel was one of them.
Shrinking his large frame, Daniel rebutted in a still frightened voice.
“But Father Joseph said this time a holy knight personally came to warn us. A holy knight wouldn’t do that without reason.”
“Yeah, yeah. Let’s see if a vampire shows up.”
“Thomas!”
“Hmph, how can you guard the gate properly if you’re so scared?”
While the two of them were chatting to ward off drowsiness, a strange sound came from the dense bushes.
Rustle, rustle.
The sound continued for a while. Daniel, startled, nudged Thomas in the side.
“Did you hear that?”
“It’s probably just a rabbit.”
“But what if it’s a vampire?”
“No way.”
Thomas snorted, and Daniel jumped in fright.
“No, really! Shouldn’t we contact the church immediately?”
“If we make a fuss and it turns out to be nothing, we’ll just get scolded.”
“But…”
As they continued their argument, a faint groan was heard. Goosebumps rose on Daniel’s arm.
Unable to endure it any longer, Daniel sprang up.
“No, I can’t take this. I’ll go get Father Joseph. Wait here!”
“Hey, Daniel! Hey…! Unbelievable.”
Left alone, Thomas scratched the back of his neck.
“What good is a big build of your body if you’re such a coward? I wonder how he manages night shifts usually.”
Thomas tried to act nonchalant, but being alone made him increasingly scared. The sound of the wind rustling the tree branches was eerie.
He tightened his grip on his spear, ready to stab anything suspicious.
At that moment, something grabbed Thomas’s neck from behind.
“Ugh!”
A strong grip. Thomas struggled but couldn’t break free.
Thomas was dragged away by the unknown assailant without even a chance to scream.
Only the long marks left by his heels dragging on the ground remained where he had stood.
***
Soon after, Daniel returned with Father Joseph. In the distance, they saw Thomas standing alone, guarding the gate.
Thomas’s familiar silhouette looked strangely unfamiliar tonight.
His shadow, cast by the torchlight, swayed eerily.
Feeling particularly uneasy, Daniel swallowed hard.
Thomas, sensing their approach, slowly turned to face them.
The torchlight cast shadows on Thomas’s face, making it impossible to discern his expression.
Daniel’s heart pounded.
He felt an icy chill at the thought that the figure might not be Thomas.
Was it fear of something evil? Or guilt for leaving Thomas in danger?
“Thank you for your hard work at this late hour, Father.”
Thomas bowed slightly to the priest. The lantern Joseph held illuminated Thomas’s face.
The lantern light added a healthy glow to Thomas’s usually pale face under the moonlight.
Seeing Thomas look as he always did, Daniel finally relaxed.
Father Joseph, noticing nothing unusual, smiled gently and accepted Thomas’s greeting.
“Not at all. It is my duty to drive out evil.”
Joseph naturally looked around. His gaze fell on the star-shaped symbol hanging inside the gate.
The consecrated holy symbol shone brightly like a beacon in the night sky.
“Fortunately, it seems no unholy presence has entered.”
“Really?”
“Yes, the star inside and outside the gate not only repels darkness but will also turn black if anything unholy enters. As long as the star shines, you brothers have nothing to worry about.”
Daniel, fully reassured by Joseph’s kind words, smiled brightly and bowed to the priest.
“Thank you, Father.”
“Thank you for your hard work. May the light guide your path.”
“May the light guide your path.”
Exchanging simple greetings, the priest returned to the church.
Left alone again, the star of Lamphas seemed unusually bright on the wall.
Feeling embarrassed for mistaking Thomas earlier, Daniel playfully elbowed him in the side.
“Earlier, you said you didn’t trust the Lamphas church. But you’re so respectful to the priest?”
“Shut up. You were the one freaking out about vampires, and it turned out to be nothing.”
“They could still appear later.”
“Why are you so scared? Act as your body size.”
Thomas said this while giving Daniel a once-over, as if measuring him.
