#Episode 12
Under the gaze of a red moon, Todd let out a deep breath.
Even though it was his own choice, he still couldn’t be sure if he had made the right decision.
Maybe he would regret this moment…
But isn’t that the nature of gambling?
Winners will get the satisfaction of making a wise choice along with the stakes, while losers lose everything, including their belief in their choice.
In the end, if he gets what he wants, then this will also be the right choice.
With a resolute look in his eyes, Todd spoke.
“I, Todd Van Drake, …”
‘What? Todd Van Drake?’
Vasha’s eyes widened in surprise upon hearing that boy’s true name.
Vasha had already heard that name in a dream.
Living in this world, it seemed inevitable to eventually encounter someone with that name.
But not at this very moment!
‘That’s impossible! It can’t be!’
A true name is an essential name engraved on the soul, the fundamental name one possesses from the beginning.
Vampires who have lived for a long time have many aliases, but only their true name can be used in spells.
The same goes for humans. If this boy had given a false name, the contract wouldn’t have been valid.
But Vasha’s worries were meaningless.
“… I accept the [Binding Contract]!”
As soon as Todd gave his consent, the chains of the contract wrapped around his heart.
This meant that Todd Van Drake was indeed his true name.
As Vasha’s eyes widened in shock, both hearts were tightly bound together.
And the world slowed down.
In the peculiar sensation of being the only two left in the entire universe, Vasha could feel Todd’s breathing and the small but strong heartbeat.
Todd also felt a strong scent, like roses ground in a mortar, filling his lungs.
In the quiet world, their existences were intense.
The magic in the chains perfectly connected their souls, and soon the silver chains emitted a bright light.
In the dazzling light that seemed to swallow everything, Vasha involuntarily closed her eyes tightly.
When she opened her eyes, the heartbeat and the overwhelming rose scent had subsided.
Everything returned to its original state.
Except for the mark engraved on Todd and Vasha’s irises.
But even that slowly faded. It would only reappear when they [resonated] with each other again.
The traces of the contract completely disappeared.
Despite she already doing her much-desired [Binding Contract], Vasha felt more bewildered than happy.
She scrutinized the boy in front of her several times.
She couldn’t believe that this boy was the Todd Van Drake that she knew.
‘His hair and eye color are the same… Looking closely, even his features seem similar…!’
Vasha felt frustrated.
She had thought the boy resembled Hudel somehow.
After all, being of the same Van Drake bloodline, it was natural for young Todd to resemble Hudel.
But despite recalling Hudel when looking at this boy, she couldn’t even imagine Todd.
Because in her dreams, Hudel was a delicate pretty boy like the one in front of her, while Todd was…
‘Start from hair color, eye color, and facial features! What’s matter even if those are the same! Their size is completely different! They’re definetly not the same species!’¹
A kitten and a tiger cub are similar, but an adult cat and an adult tiger have significant differences.²
It wasn’t just a matter of size; it was also about the level of danger.
She was excited and fully prepared to raise a cat, but in the end, she was pushed into adopting a tiger instead.³
Even returning it wasn’t an option.
‘I completely feels deceived…’
But now wasn’t the time to be drowning in the shock of contractual fraud.
Crash!
Another loud noise came from the floor below. Every time the flames flickered, the fire spread, gradually consuming the building.
Hot heat and black smoke began to pour into the hospital room on the third floor where they were.
“Cough, cough!”
Todd, who had inhaled smoke, coughed heavily. Escaping from here was their priority.
Due to the impact of the [Binding Contract], Todd was staggering. Vasha reached out to him. While Todd seemed barely able to walk, it was clear that would not suffice to overcome this ordeal, so Vasha intended to carry him.
“Let’s get out of here quickly.”
But just before Vasha could lift Todd, Todd pushed Vasha away with his palm, leaning back.
“Let go of me! I can go by myself!”
“Don’t lie! Don’t be stubborn!”
They had already wasted too much time unexpectedly forming the contract, and there was no time for bickering now. The priority was to evacuate to a safe place.
Vasha grabbed Todd, who was struggling and pushing her away, by the shoulders and looked him in the eye.
“If you could have escaped alone, you wouldn’t have asked me to help you escape from this village in the first place.”
“………”
Todd’s lips tightened. His expression was full of frustration, unable to refute Vasha’s words.
His emotions were clearly visible on his innocent face.
Vasha found it difficult to know how to deal with such a Todd.
She was unfamiliar because Todd Van Drake looked so different from the image of him in Vasha’s dreams.
Sighing softly, Vasha firmly embraced Todd, who was no longer resisting. Todd’s feet dangled in the air.
Supporting Todd’s shoulder with one hand and his thigh with the other, Vasha confirmed that Todd was securely held.
“Hold on tight. I’m going to run at full speed.”
Though Todd did not respond, his small hands clung tightly to Vasha’s collar.
For Vasha, that was enough.
As soon as Todd gave the faint signal, Vasha kicked off the ground and leaped out of the collapsing building.
Concealed under dark clouds and rising smoke, Vasha swiftly climbed down the building wall, avoiding the eyes of people.
***
The moment Vasha left the hospital, it collapsed like a soulless body. The fire slowly died down, having nothing left to burn.
The doctor wept, looking at the charred remains of the hospital he had painstakingly nurtured.
Regardless of the doctor’s sorrow, the villagers, under the guidance of Priest Joseph, searched the wreckage for bodies. They couldn’t rest until they confirmed with their own eyes that the evil was truly dead.
But despite their thorough search, they found nothing. The villagers cried out in shock.
“The spawn of evil is not here! It must have escaped!”
“My God, oh my light…!”
Priest Joseph made the sign of the cross, moaning in dismay.
‘The doctor said the evil one was severely injured. How could it have escaped the burning hospital in such a state? Unless a vampire had entered under the cover of darkness…!’
The thought sent chills down his spine, and cold sweat poured.
But it seemed fortune hadn’t entirely abandoned them. Soon, the clouds parted, and the sunset pierced the darkness with a beam of light.
Though the fickle weather had favored the vampire earlier, it now seemed to side with them. They had to seize this opportunity to kill the vampire and the boy.
Joseph, attributing the change in weather to the holy dragon’s blessing, roused the people.
“The holy dragon has pushed away the clouds and brought back the light. This is undoubtedly the holy dragon’s will to root out the seed of evil in Haidus!”
“Waah!”
The people responded, raising their plows and pitchforks high at Joseph’s exaggerated tone.
When the atmosphere seemed ripe, Joseph raised his hands to calm the crowd and continued.
“But night will soon fall. We must hurry to find the spawn of evil. It’s a boy around ten years old, with black hair and wearing a patient clothes!”
However, unlike before, some villagers looked reluctant.
“A ten-year-old boy? I thought he was about sixteen…”
“My son, Leon is eleven. That’s such a young age to know anything…”
🍓 :
¹ Vasha expression conveys frustration or emphasis on the differences between two entities despite having some superficial similarities. Vasha is highlighting that even though there might be similarities in appearance (like hair color or facial features), the fundamental differences (like size or species) are what truly matter.
² Emphasizes that while the young of both species may appear similar, the differences become pronounced as they mature.
³ Describes a situation where someone’s expectations and preparations for a relatively easy task (raising a cat) were completely overturned by an unexpected and much more challenging reality (adopting a tiger).
