#Episode 97
Through the darkness, a woman emerged.
It was the long-awaited appearance of the master of the blood—the one Bernardo had been pursuing all this time.
***
Bernardo let out a low groan as he saw Vasha rise, as if she had just been born from the shadows.
Her prominent shoulders and the long purple hair flowing over them shimmered under the moonlight, resembling a hydrangea bathed in silver light.
Even though he knew she was a wicked vampire, he found himself momentarily breathless. She was mesmerizing—mysterious.
Bernardo had high mental resistance and was accustomed to dealing with vampires, yet even he felt her overwhelming presence. It was easy to imagine how ordinary people would be utterly ensnared by her.
‘…Just from her appearance, she doesn’t seem like an ordinary lower-ranked vampire.’
One of the traits of vampires was their unnatural beauty. However, not all vampires were beautiful, nor did becoming one necessarily enhance a person’s attractiveness.
The reason most vampires were stunning was that when turning humans, they often chose those who were already beautiful. Since they preferred aesthetically pleasing subordinates, the more striking one’s appearance, the higher the likelihood of becoming a powerful vampire.
In addition to her looks, Vasha’s aura deepened Bernardo’s suspicions.
Her presence was faint and indistinct—not like the weak magic of lower vampires. Instead, it felt as if something immense was being forcibly suppressed, as though she were pretending to be weak.
That was a trait of high-ranking vampires.
And not just any high-ranker—one of exceptionally high status.
To properly confront a typical high-ranking vampire, one needed holy power equivalent to that of an archbishop.
Bernardo’s holy power was comparable to that level, so in theory, he could just barely manage to take her on alone.
However, not all high-ranking vampires were the same.
Even within that category, each individual possessed vastly different levels of power depending on their age, experience, and abilities.
And the opponent before him felt particularly dangerous.
Bernardo had assumed he was dealing with a lower vampire when he stepped in, which made this revelation all the more unsettling. He swallowed hard.
But retreating wasn’t an option.
He summoned his holy power into his sword and severed the magical threads clinging to his blade. They snapped like cobwebs, breaking easily.
‘If she’s still pretending to be weak, this might be my only chance.’
Defeating her completely was impossible.
His best strategy was to use a binding spell while she was still caught off guard, then flee in search of Van Drake’s heir. That was the most feasible plan he could come up with.
As Bernardo briefly hesitated, lost in thought, Vasha used the shadows to pull Oliver safely into her embrace.
Held close against her, Oliver let out a faint groan.
“I apologize. It was my shortcoming.”
“Considering who we were dealing with, it was inevitable. You held out long enough.”
Vasha reassured Oliver, who struggled to sit up and asked,
“What about the servants?”
“I had Melina send them all away. For now, you should rest and recover.”
If Vasha had confronted Bernardo immediately, the remaining servants at the villa might have discovered her identity.
‘I can’t just brainwash them all… but killing them isn’t an option either.’
Oliver had bought time until the servants had safely left the mansion.
Melina and the others had been bewildered by the sudden order to leave, but Vasha’s command had been too firm to question.
Only after confirming that the villa was empty did Vasha reveal herself.
‘…If I had been even a little later, Oliver could have died.’
Though Oliver was unmatched in assassination techniques, the situation changed in a direct confrontation.
‘The opponent is a paladin—strong, resilient, and wielding holy power…’
It was a terrible matchup for Oliver, making it a miracle he had lasted this long.
‘Then again, if we’re talking about bad matchups, I’m in an even worse position…’
As a vampire, Vasha was at an even greater disadvantage than Oliver.
Despite her calm exterior, cold sweat formed on her back.
But running away wasn’t an option.
‘I can’t abandon Renfield.’
Withdrawing wouldn’t solve anything. The paladin would brand Renfield as heretical, and the safehouse—as well as the allies she had painstakingly secured—would be rendered useless.
‘It’s not like humans who know my true identity and still choose to help me are easy to come by.’
Laurus and Oliver were rare, irreplaceable allies.
Vasha wanted to hold onto her current way of life for as long as possible.
According to Laurus, the paladin had yet to report any information about Vasha to the Lamphas Church.
‘I don’t know why… but that works in my favor.’
If this entire ordeal had been the paladin’s independent action, then eliminating him might prevent further pursuit from the church.
The real problem was whether Vasha could handle the paladin, Lapis Ignarius.
‘It’s not completely hopeless.’
Thanks to the trials she had endured, she had regained her magic, making her stronger than a typical lower vampire.
She had also anticipated the possibility of Bernardo attacking and had prepared countermeasures in advance.
However, to use her trump card, she needed to lure him into the right place.
With both sides calculating their next moves, the church’s most lethal sword—the blazing torch that led the charge in war—stood face-to-face with a fallen vampire who had lost her past and power.
‘First…’
‘Let’s see just how skilled you are with that sword.’
***
Hesitation in the face of an enemy was a luxury.
Bernardo immediately kicked off the ground, thrusting his sword toward Vasha.
In an instant, magic condensed in her hand, forming a rapier. She swiftly raised it to block his attack.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
With each rapid clash of blades, the sharp sound of metal reverberated through the empty mansion.
Bernardo was not only the strongest in holy power within the Lamphas Church—his swordsmanship was flawless.
The Gydo family was renowned for its mastery of the blade. The founding patriarch had earned a hereditary title through sheer skill, and the family had continued honing its craft for generations, rising to become a great noble house.
Yet Vasha was not overwhelmed by Bernardo’s prowess. In fact, she created moments of danger that sent chills down his spine.
Ordinarily, a rapier was not ideal against an armored opponent. However, Vasha’s blade struck with the precision of fangs sinking into flesh, forcing Bernardo onto the defensive.
‘A vampire with such incredible swordsmanship…?!’
Vampires, after all, grew stronger simply by consuming humans. Most had little reason to refine their swordplay.
Gritting his teeth, Bernardo struggled to counter Vasha’s unpredictable movements.
And Vasha, reading his distress, smirked as she pressed her attack.
‘Did you think surviving as a lower-ranked vampire was easy?’
The world Vasha had lived in before her dimensional shift had been highly regulated—every person assigned an identification number. Feeding as a vampire had been no simple task.
For a lower-ranked vampire like Vasha, growing stronger by consuming humans had been a distant dream.
At the same time, she had been relentlessly hunted by other vampires, forcing her to find ways to defend herself. Swordsmanship had been one such method.
Of course, she had always pretended ignorance in front of Todd. A man obsessed with power like him would have hounded her endlessly if he discovered her true skill.
‘If he realized I had more to offer, he’d squeeze every last drop of knowledge from me just to make himself stronger… That’s the last thing I need!’
But Vasha’s ability to match Bernardo wasn’t just about technique.
There was something deeply familiar about her swordsmanship.
‘As I thought… No matter how I look at it…’
he probably trained the homunculus, huh?