No matter how much Menorah claims to have no interest in low-ranking vampires, there’s no way they would forgive a lesser vampire for fighting over the same ‘item.’
‘It’s best not to get involved with high-ranking vampires if I can help it!’
That’s how Vasha had survived this long — by running away the moment even a shadow of a powerful vampire appeared.
But the problem was that the ‘item’ Menorah and others were fighting over included not only the legacy of Van Drake… but also Todd.
Van Drake was a natural enemy and sworn foe of vampires. And Strigon? He was the most extreme hardliner among the hardliners.
If Strigon found out that Todd was at the auction house, he would stop at nothing to get him and use him to take revenge on Todd’s ancestors.
How could she rescue Todd from Strigon’s grasp?
Running away with Todd had already proven futile, and now, with Strigon watching her every move, there was no clear way to save him.
To make matters worse, the situation was dire. Vasha had used up nearly all her magic fighting the holy knight—a meager power to begin with compared to Menorah’s. Now she was running on empty.
She was barely hanging on to her rationality, but if she pushed herself any further, her bloodlust would take over due to magic depletion. She might be able to avoid Bernardo for now, but that was the limit. She wasn’t in any condition to go save someone.
So, from a rational standpoint, ‘giving up on Todd’ was the right decision. As devastating as it would be to lose her familiar, it wasn’t a fatal blow.
‘I know. I already know all that…!’
The old Vasha wouldn’t have hesitated.
But the Vasha of now couldn’t bring herself to make that decision.
The reason she couldn’t…
It was because she kept seeing Todd’s face.
His last expression before they parted—flushed, putting on a brave front—haunted her. The thought of him being torn apart under Strigon’s grip made her chest tighten with panic.
Vasha clutched her chest, breathing raggedly. A pain sharp as a knife tore through her heart.
At that moment—
[Warning, warning.]
[Unexpected situation detected!]
Rasa appeared, surrounded by countless sheets of parchment.
The swirling papers in the air resembled a swarm of bats, a far more dramatic entrance than usual.
The unending flood of pages, as if torn from a thick book, quickly encircled Vasha, completely isolating her from the outside.
Just as she was still frozen from the shock of Menorah’s arrival, the sudden surge of parchments surrounding her startled Bernardo, who cried out in alarm.
“Wait—are you trying to escape?!”
To Bernardo, who didn’t know Rasa’s true identity, this looked like one of Vasha’s tricks to make a run for it. He quickly reached toward her.
“Ugh!”
But the magical barrier formed by the parchments was stronger than expected, and he was bounced back before he could touch her.
Ironically, even Vasha, now encased in the swirling papers, had no clue what Rasa was trying to do. She swatted at the sheets around her with irritation.
“I don’t have time to mess around with you right now!”
Rasa, however, paid no attention and instead began displaying words across the pages.
[Warning: Menorah Strigon has appeared at the auction house where your familiar is headed!]
[At this rate, your familiar may lose their life.]
[But you are far too weak to face Strigon, aren’t you?]
It was as if Rasa had crawled into her mind—each message struck directly at Vasha’s core. Normally she would’ve argued back, but this time she clenched her jaw in silence.
“So what do you want from me? Are you here just to mock me?”
She glared at Rasa, her red eyes blazing with fury like hellfire.
Provocatively, Rasa kept projecting more text.
[But a familiar is a soulmate. Something not so easily abandoned.]
[Surprise Trial: Rescue your familiar from Strigon’s grasp!]
[Reward: ???]
[Warning: If you refuse the trial, all rewards obtained so far will be reset.]
“…Hah.”
Vasha let out a hollow laugh at Rasa’s ridiculous proposition.
“Reset all the rewards I’ve worked so hard to earn? So this is just a way to force me to go save Todd, isn’t it?”
She hadn’t been this angry in a long time.
The way Rasa acted like it could just take away all the achievements she had painstakingly earned—like it was nothing—was infuriating. Using them as leverage to make her move? Even worse.
But what infuriated her most…
…was the assumption that she wouldn’t move unless pushed.
As if she wouldn’t go save Todd of her own accord.
She had every intention of going to save him anyway, with or without Rasa’s damn shackles!
If it were up to her pride, she’d have told Rasa to shove it and gone off to rescue Todd on her own.
But if she did that, all the power she had earned as trial rewards would vanish into thin air.
And right now, even a sliver of power was too precious.
That was what made it all so humiliating for Vasha.
‘From now on, I’ll have to be cautious of any trials Rasa gives me. Who knows when they’ll use rewards to blackmail me again…’
Of course, that assumed there even was a ‘next time.’ Right now, she couldn’t even be sure she’d make it back alive.
[Will you accept the trial?]
“…Of course I will.”
With a face twisted as if she were chewing on bitterness, Vasha gritted her teeth and nodded. Then, snapping irritably, she shouted,
“I was going to do it even if you didn’t say anything!”
The moment Vasha accepted the trial, it was as if a wave of blood was poured over her head—power surged through her body.
Her depleted magic filled rapidly.
Her crimson eyes burned like molten iron.
Silver coins of life clattered onto the floor beneath her feet, piling up faster than she could count.
The power of a high-ranking vampire—no, perhaps even more than that…
“…What is this?”
Vasha blinked in confusion, stunned by the unfamiliar sensation. Normally, Rasa would’ve vanished the moment she accepted the trial. But this time, it added another message.
[For this trial only, your magic will be temporarily unsealed.]
[Warning: The magic unseal is temporary and will revert once the trial ends.]
[Note: Rapid magic fluctuations may cause side effects.]
“You should have told me this first!”
Vasha shouted with a mix of relief and excitement. Side effects? Who cared? Honestly, if there weren’t any risks, she’d have found it suspicious.
‘With this much power… even if the opponent is Menorah, I won’t be easily overwhelmed…!’
Just as she thought—there’s always a way out. Who would’ve guessed Rasa had prepared a means of escape?
All that caution, all that resentment she’d just felt—gone. In an instant, she took it all back. Vasha completely forgot she had cursed Rasa moments ago, and instead praised it as if it were her savior.
“We’ve been close for a long time! So if facing these hardships is your way of helping me, then I trust you — go ahead and test me as much as you want!”
Rasa, unimpressed by her sudden flattery, folded and unfolded a sheet of parchment like a snort.
Then, just as suddenly as it had arrived, it vanished—along with the whirl of pages.
Bernardo breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Vasha still standing where the parchments had disappeared.
‘This is my only chance!’
Seeing an opening, Bernardo raised his sword to strike.
But the blade wouldn’t move. Before his mind could register danger, his body already had.
‘Something… changed.’
His instinct wasn’t wrong.
Standing there was not the low-ranked vampire who had barely scraped together the last of its magic to fake composure, but a high-ranked vampire, scattering a fierce and terrifying aura.
Vasha slowly adjusted to the influx of power. The gap between her old strength and the current surge was so vast, it took effort just to stabilize it.
As she tried to bring it under control, the excess magic she hadn’t yet tamed spilled outward.
The thick magic leaking from Vasha pressed down on Bernardo like a suffocating weight. He gasped, his breath caught in his throat.
“Ghhkk—!”
