Having pushed me aside and settled into position, the vampire spoke solemnly.

["Before I teach you blood manipulation, I shall first assess your ability."]

As though she had been waiting for those words, the Regressor reached behind her head and grasped Sky Cherry Blossom's hilt. The sword, which had been floating at its master's command, gave a joyful hum and readied its edge at the chance to demonstrate its power. When she swung it through the air, a clear, pure note rang out, seeming to illuminate the darkness.

She swished the sword from side to side as she spoke.

"My sword's a little special. It'll be hard to judge my actual ability. Should I use another one?"

["It matters not. The special thing in your hand is also part of what makes you shine."]

"All right, then. How should I demonstrate?"

CREEEAK.

The lid of the pitch-black coffin opened at an angle. That same white hand suddenly appeared in the darkness, turned its fingertips downward, and released a black droplet.

PLOP.

A shadow darker than the surrounding blackness began growing vigorously, like a sapling. Just as plants grew on sunlight and air, the black sphere sucked in the darkness filling its surroundings to build its body. The shadow, visibly rippling even in the dark, swiftly took shape, transforming into an armored knight.

["An echo of the past."]

Neither the Regressor nor I had been particularly curious, but the vampire continued explaining.

["The echo of a knight I once encountered... A man known in life as the Black Knight, who slaughtered hundreds. I summoned his echo from the blood I took from him and fashioned armor from darkness. Face this knight."]

"Can I break it?"

["If your abilities permit."]

Sounding a little smug, the vampire continued.

["But it shall not be easy. An echo he may be, but the blood composing his body belongs to the Black Knight. Furthermore, his armor of darkness is as strong as steel. A faithful recreation of that once-renowned knight..."]

WHOOSH.

A diagonal slash was etched into the darkness. A slanted fault appeared, dividing top from bottom along its line. A single stroke that cut through space itself. Sky Cherry Blossom was a pair of scissors that sheared the world. The darkness, closer to mist than steel, was likewise split in two by the Regressor's single strike.

Hadn't she offered to cut the light for me? She probably could. She could cut darkness, after all.

["... Oh? Quite impressive."]

The vampire voiced admiration for the astonishing swordsmanship. The emotions in her thoughts, however, were a little different.

'...? However special his sword may be, in a single stroke? That echo could not even be scratched by anyone but a holy knight...?'

You're rattled, vampire.

What she had brought out wasn't her full strength, but it was more than enough to use against a slender, callow youngster. She had faithfully recreated a once-infamous Black Knight, only for him to be disposed of with ridiculous ease.

'And at his age? Has there been some tremendous advance in human history while I slept...?'

Please don't use her as your benchmark. That was a Regressor who had gone through death after death, gobbling up every extraordinary opportunity she could find. Even if she hadn't recovered all her strength yet, some of it remained. And she was holding some absurd legendary sword on top of that.

Human history hadn't advanced. She had monopolized it.

The vampire gathered herself and spoke.

["You do not even look twenty, yet you possess remarkable skill. It would hardly be strange for a child of your caliber to seek his own path."]

"You think so? I'm not all that talented. I had a lucky encounter and borrowed a little of the strength I'd gain in the future. There are plenty of people in the world stronger and more talented than me. I'm just an inferior copycat, following in their footsteps and imitating them."

The Regressor meant every word. Having dealt with beings beyond all normal standards in every run, she felt inferior for still falling a step short despite monopolizing all those extraordinary opportunities through regression.

It sounded excessively modest, almost disingenuous. But compared with the enemies she had actually faced, it wasn't exactly wrong.

["You are far too modest."]

"It's not modesty. Over there."

The Regressor's sword tip pointed at me. I flinched in alarm.

Oh, shit. Scared the hell out of me. Who points a sword at someone? Didn't you learn to gesture as gently as possible when indicating a person? Pointing a finger was rude enough, and here she was using a sword.

The Regressor snorted at my reaction and said,

"Even that guy deflected my sword strike."

["With that sword?"]

"Yes. Sky Cherry Blossom. With just one finger, too."

["That fellow did?"]

Well, yes, technically. But honestly, I couldn't do it a second time.

'If he deflected a sword strike with one finger, he must stand several levels above this. An utterly unbelievable achievement. Is that normal for people these days? Can they cut steel as easily as breathing?'

The Regressor, and me, the victim of her inflated estimation. Looking at the two of us, the vampire had made the mistake of setting her average entirely wrong.

Don't set the standard for normal at Regressor level! What did everyone else living in this era ever do to you? Apologize to all the ordinary people you've just robbed of their normality!

Besides, I'm false advertising. My value's a giant bubble!

'When he called my power outdated, it was not an expression of confidence... but his literal meaning? Have the times truly moved on?'

Having caused this misunderstanding with perfect ease, the Regressor said,

"... So I'm counting on you. I'll give it everything I've got, too."

["In that case."]

'I, too, must do my utmost to help this child defeat that insolent wretch.'

She had gotten the vampire to take things seriously.

The vampire extended a finger toward the Regressor. With a tiny splitting sound, her fingertip opened. Red blood flowed from the little fissure. It was a somewhat different kind of blood from the rest that she controlled.

Blood as supernatural power. The Progenitor's power to wield magic and command her servants through blood. That sort of blood gleamed with ominous mana, flickering as though it would eat away at everything in the world.

But the blood the vampire shed now was so utterly ordinary and human... that it felt all the more alien.

Moderately red, without any glow, and carrying a metallic smell. An irony that seemed to insist the same blood flowed in a vampire as in a human.

Yet its presence was immense enough to fill Tantalus. Even the darkness crept back as though in reverence.

The droplet slowly floated over to the Regressor and circled her.

["Great power carries a great price. Yet I believe you possess sufficient potential. Enough to swallow even that price."]

"This is..."

["My true blood."]

The Progenitor's first blood. True blood.

Present it to the Holy See, and you could receive a great blessing and the title of paladin.

Give it to a vampire, and they would promise you eternal wealth and power.

Should you aim for an even higher position, willing to endure a few trials, you need only put it into your own body. Overcome all the jackals after that blood and firmly establish yourself, and there would be one more Elder in a world that had held only twelve.

In any case, it was a precious and dangerous thing that could transform someone's entire life.

Faced with such a treasure, the Regressor said,

"Why are you giving me this? You're not telling me to become a vampire, are you? I don't particularly want to be one."

She looked beyond indifferent, as though she had been handed something she didn't know what to do with.

The vampire was shocked once again.

'But this is my true blood? The very blood whose mere appearance once shook the world? He will not even spare it a glance?'

Barely recovering her composure, the vampire continued in a trembling voice.

["... No. I have no intention of making you a vampire, either. I cannot repeat a similar mistake."]

"Then?"

["I shall inscribe the true blood over your heart. A predator's blood. With it, your sense for the vitality in blood shall become sharp as a blade."]

"Oh, that's how? In that case, I'll take it!"

The Regressor eagerly spread her arms. Her attitude was plain to see: she had little interest in the true blood itself, but would happily use it as a teaching aid.

The vampire was deeply disheartened by her utter lack of regret.

'It was a test, yes. If he succumbed to desire and asked to become a vampire, I intended to dismiss him as unworthy... But to think his response would be so indifferent. Are vampires truly no longer beings of awe?'

Somewhat dejectedly, the vampire extended her hand. The true blood moved toward the Regressor's chest, and a red, cogwheel-shaped mark was inscribed over her heart.

["... Once you have mastered blood manipulation, you should be able to detach my blood. I shall take it back then."]

"All right. But your voice sounds weak. Did taking out your true blood wear you out?"

["... I am fine. Do not worry..."]

'It is... true blood, though. Have even vampires been left behind now? It has already been some three hundred years since I fell asleep. I suppose it is possible...'

How merciless the passing years were. Lamenting deeply, the vampire spoke.

["Now I shall begin your instruction."]

While the vampire explained various things to the Regressor, I hovered around them. The reason was simple.

True blood. That was true blood! Blood passed down only in legends for over a thousand years. A treasure that could earn you enough money to live on for the rest of your life if you found the right buyer. And it had been inscribed on the Regressor's body. A tattoo worth more than gold.

But I had already refused to become her student. I couldn't even dream of having the nerve to ask for true blood. Besides, reading the vampire's thoughts, she didn't seem inclined to give it away outright. Her wariness of me had prompted her to bring it out in the first place, so it wasn't coming my way.

Tsk. The vampire had this all wrong. If she wanted me to submit, she only needed to give me true blood. Had she ordered me to kneel in exchange for it, I would have snorted, then immediately prostrated myself and licked her feet like a dog.

But there was still a chance. Having only recently awakened, the vampire was quite confused. From her thoughts, she didn't seem to have adjusted to this era yet.

In that case?

If I sweet-talked her just right, might something come my way, too?

["...? What is it, you wretch? Why do you keep loitering here when you refused my instruction?"]

I could feel a hostile gaze. For some reason, she seemed to have taken a thorough dislike to me. I showed both hands and offered an excuse.

"I'm an Instructor of the Military State. This is a training facility. I have a responsibility to manage and supervise you."

["Manage and supervise? An insignificant wretch like you, manage and supervise me?"]

"Duties aren't always assigned with one's abilities in mind. I trust you, Trainee Tyrkanzyaka, but quite apart from that, I have a duty to observe what you're all doing."

'An imbalance between duty and ability. Does he mean chivalry? Put that way, it is not beyond my understanding.'

My confident declaration briefly convinced the vampire that I had a point.

Whew. Thank goodness. Who knew pretending to be an Instructor would be so useful?

Still, the vampire expressed her discomfort.

["Yet I am in the midst of giving instruction. Surely a child's apprenticeship should not be exposed to the eyes of others."]

"How long ago was that? These days, one teacher instructs as many as fifty students. Martial arts, magic, strategy, and tactics each have different teachers assigned to them, and students choose which classes to attend. Most lectures are even held in public places."

["Do not lie. What fool would share such secret knowledge?"]

"The state. The nation collects and controls all knowledge. It then categorizes that knowledge and distributes it to citizens free of charge."

Knowledge of martial arts, magic, strategy, and tactics was itself strength and authority. At least, it had been in the vampire's day. Master-disciple relationships and apprenticeships hadn't existed for no reason. The master held the upper hand as the supplier of knowledge, and the disciple was worked like a slave to obtain mere scraps of it, hoping that knowledge would someday become their own.

And now it was being taught without reserve. The vampire couldn't close her mouth.

["Good heavens."]

"Students even have multiple teachers. Some attend private academies in addition to military academy. Their teachers see nothing strange about it, either. This is an age of enlightenment. Knowledge is no longer passed down in secret. It's all laid out before the world, awaiting evaluation."

Finding it almost impossible to believe, the vampire checked with the Regressor.

["Shei. Is that true?"]

"Yes. That's right. It's the one policy the Military State got right."

["I see..."]

The vampire was reminded anew of the passing years. The Regressor glared at me disapprovingly and said,

"That doesn't mean you have to listen to him. He's watching because he's afraid we might be plotting something."

["No, no. If this is the path the world has chosen, there is no point in my denying it alone. I shall not stop him from watching."]

The Regressor scowled. I shot her a teasing look and settled down beside them, ready to snap up anything that fell my way.

Leaving me be, the vampire resumed her lesson.

["... And so. Blood is life. It is the source of life flowing through your body, and the wellspring from which you draw strength. You must feel every last drop of blood within you. You must be able to picture clearly where it flows."]

The lesson continued in her unhurried voice. It was perfect material for dozing off after a meal, but the Regressor listened to every word with astonishing concentration.

Would listening to this actually help? It sounded like a medicine peddler's spiel. Should I give it a try, too?

I concentrated, taking in the vampire's words and reading the thoughts that formed them.

["Many powers reside within you. Understanding your body fully is the first step toward wielding them. Among the powers that divide like a thousand branches, feel the hot, pulsing blood in its entirety."]

I was a mind reader. When it came to understanding what someone meant, I was unmatched. Even the worst teacher could be a wonderful master to me. Of all the qualities that made a good teacher, the ability to communicate was unnecessary for me. All I needed was knowledge and depth of understanding.

Reading the vampire's thoughts, I closed my eyes and concentrated. I felt the beating of my heart and the throbbing of my arteries.

Oh, I could feel it! My pulsing blood vessels! Power throbbed in my wrists and around my carotid arteries. Was this the power of blood?

["Blood is a river. A river's gathered waters may appear to flow majestically along, but in truth they seep into tiny holes in the soil. The water soaks the entire earth, making its excruciatingly slow way toward the sea. What you must feel is not the pulse anyone can feel. It is the blood permeating your entire body. You must feel the power that fills you."]

Oh. That wasn't it.

Well, even if I could read thoughts, there were still matters of talent and compatibility. Reading a book didn't mean you could understand everything in it.

It absolutely wasn't because I was stupid or anything. Blood manipulation itself just didn't suit me.

I'd been right not to learn it. Even if I had, all I'd have managed was stopping some bleeding.

["The greatest obstacle to blood manipulation is the heart itself. Beating as it pleases, the heart is proof of life that anchors your soul to this world, yet it is also an incompetent nuisance that moves your blood at its own whim. That is why... only the dead can achieve true mastery of blood manipulation."]

Realizing something, the Regressor clapped her hands.

"So that's why vampires are called walking corpses."

["Indeed. In that both move their bodies through blood manipulation, vampires and walking corpses are fundamentally the same. To become a vampire, one must first die. You chose correctly in refusing to become one. A heart that beats of its own accord is proof of life, and the capacity to progress further. Protecting it must come first. A heartbeat is the privilege of the living alone..."]

After murmuring wistfully, as though remembering something—or regretting it—the vampire continued.

["I grew sentimental for a moment. In any case, to control blood manipulation, you must first control your heart. You must force it to stop briefly, or to beat even faster. Do you understand?"]

"More or less. Once I've learned to control blood to some extent, you're saying I should take hold of my heart and try moving it?"

["You are quick to understand. Good. In any event, remember this. The heart is your body's foundation. It moves blood, purifies it, and draws out mana. The heart is the body's very center, so always bear that in mind as you act..."]

Moves blood, purifies it, mana...? Huh. Wait a minute. Something was off.

"One moment, Trainee Tyrkanzyaka."

I stepped in. The vampire replied with an extremely displeased expression.

["... What is it now?"]

"Um, the heart isn't a mana organ."

Was it because she was from so long ago? There was a discrepancy with what I knew. I inserted myself between the two and explained.

"Most vampires turn their stopped hearts into mana organs, so I can see why you'd think that, but converting your heart into a mana organ is actually very dangerous and inefficient. If you use your heart as a mana organ, you even have to regulate your breathing to use magic. That's why people these days go out of their way to establish their mana organs elsewhere."

["..."]

"In the past, people used their hearts because they needed any way they could get to draw out mana, but that's become less common since the magical revolution four centuries ago. Methods were discovered for drawing out mana efficiently without linking it to the body. This is the very first thing taught in intermediate military academy magic classes, so it's worth knowing... Oh, have I interrupted too much? Please continue."

Whew. I'd pointed out a very serious error. That should have earned me some goodwill...

'Is he genuinely out of his fucking mind?'

An icy chill. A blade-sharp glare flew into me. It was as though I'd committed a mortal sin.

Huh? Why? All I'd done was point out something wrong.

'I know that, too. Does he think I stayed quiet because I didn't? He could hear her out first and then decide, but he just has to pick it apart.'

The Regressor had some nerve pretending to be a normal person. Errors ought to be pointed out. Agreeing with everything someone said just because they were old wasn't courtesy. It was deception. Deception! You were the one looking down on the vampire.

["... In any event."]

Making a deliberate effort to ignore me, the vampire continued explaining.

["Even if the heart stops, the blood must continue circulating. Blood that stops stagnates and rots. Once blood has flowed through the body, its mana is depleted... No, that is when the heart is a mana organ... Ahem. Moreover, dirty blood is purified as it passes through the heart, so even to prevent the body's contamination—"]

"Ah, one moment. To be precise, it's when it passes through the lungs, not the heart."

Perhaps because this was old knowledge, it had quite a few holes.

That wouldn't matter if you were reading it as classical literature, but it became a problem in a technical explanation. I'd kindly point it out.

"Actually, contaminated blood means blood that's short of oxygen. Oxygen enters our bodies and burns the energy we have to move them. This isn't a matter of being dirty or clean. It's the same principle as firewood burning. Just as covering burning logs with a cloth puts the fire out, closing off the lungs, our passageway for air, extinguishes the flame inside our bodies. We call that dying."

'I-I didn't know that, either.'

The vampire had spent the past thousand years repeatedly sleeping and waking, so she had an excuse, but what was yours? You learned this just by finishing middle school.

Oh, sorry. You hadn't gone to middle school. You were an orphan.

Huh. Wait, was I the most educated person in this prison? That suddenly made me feel rather proud. Education really was important.

"Anyway. Now that you know, you can take that into account as you explain. Aaaaaaagh!"

My hair stood on end. Sensing murderous intent, I immediately leaped sideways. A moment later, the blood steed's hoof slammed down where I'd been. Space tore, and concrete shattered like tofu. Fragments of broken concrete dug into my back.

The blood steed snorted, as though disappointed it had missed. Each time it scraped the ground with its hoof, concrete ground away like sand. I shouted frantically.

"Seriously! I seriously almost died!"

["Stop exaggerating!"]

"I'm not exaggerating! That attack would've turned an ordinary person into a handful of bloody slush!"

["Then it is fortunate you are not ordinary!"]

Without my mind reading, you'd be a murderer! Murder without powerful backing gets you a firing squad! You ought to thank my mind reading!

["Yes! I have fallen behind. I have always been an outsider unable to fit into my times! And what have you ever done for me?"]

"What? When did I ever say you'd fallen behind?"

["That attitude right there! Do you not think of me as an utterly backward, stuffy old woman?"]

"I never said that!"

["So you have thought it, then?!"]

Oops. Caught.

And apparently she'd even caught me thinking I'd been caught.

The blood bubbled. An emotion I could hardly describe stirred within the vampire's heart.

Uh, hold on. This thought I was sensing—could it be...? I asked cautiously.

"Are you sulk—aaaaaagh!"

With a hiss, a blood-red sphere flew at me. I rolled ignominiously across the ground to dodge it. Skimming over my head, the blood orb struck the ground and exploded, pulverizing the concrete.

["Do you think you are any different? You were merely fortunate enough to be born in this era and fit into it! Shall I make you a vampire, too? Give you a life forever severed from the world, where no one visits save those who wish to die?"]

The attacks continued. Blood-red spheres flew toward me. They weren't attacks filled with murderous intent, just a tantrum expressing her displeasure. Like a child throwing toys at random.

The problem was that she wasn't throwing toys. Even toys hurt when they hit you, and a mere graze from one of those blood orbs would be a critical hit.

At this rate, I really would die. I had to divert her attention somehow. But how?

["If you are so brilliant, teach him yourself!"]

"All right!"

At my shout, the attacks stopped. Finally granted a moment to breathe, I rubbed my chest in relief and got up.

"Trainee Tyrkanzyaka. I have seen it. The sociability that exists deep within your heart."

["Are those the last of your final words?"]

If I lost my nerve here, I really would die. Ignoring the vampire's words, I pressed straight on.

"Sociability is the desire to live alongside others. I saw that in you. The desire to fit into this era, to flow along in the same river."

Survival came first. I picked whatever came to mind from what I'd read in the vampire's heart and threw it out there, hoping at least one thing would hit home.

["Fit into... this era?"]

Fortunately, the vampire calmed down and began listening closely.

"And so, today, I reached a conclusion. With the right education, you can all integrate into society perfectly well."

["... Who are you to say so? What gives you the right to decide that?"]

"This place you're in is called Tantalus Reeducation Facility. You are trainees, and I am your Instructor. The one who guides you within this society."

The vampire probably didn't even know what this place was called, but what did that matter? What mattered was that it could be called that.

Pointing my thumb at myself, I declared confidently,

"I will teach you. Everything you trainees need to win what you want and live proper lives. So that you can become members of society!"

So please don't kill me.

With that wish in my heart, I spoke as boldly as I could.

["... Ha."]

The vampire lowered her hand. The countless blood-red spheres studding the air fell to the ground. Those red balls, which had pulverized tremendous amounts of concrete, turned to blood and melted into the earth.

I was saved. Just as I began to relax inwardly, the vampire spoke quietly, gathering up the blood she had scattered.

["I wondered what you had to say. Nothing but prattle you cannot take responsibility for."]

How did she know?

A gloomy voice came from inside the coffin.

This time would be different. This was her chance. It was a voice that seemed to have abandoned hope, one only someone who had repeated that cycle of expectation and resignation countless times over countless years could possess.

["I am a vampire. A predator that drinks human blood. Humans either fear and avoid me, or envy me and wish to become what I am. However I may wish to mingle with them, my very existence makes that impossible. Can a wolf live among a flock of sheep?"]

The way she used a metaphor every time she spoke really showed her age. And of all things, wolves and sheep.

So what if she was a wolf? How many wolves were even left these days?

But pointing that out would only make her angry again. In that case, perhaps I'd try a different approach and explain with a metaphor myself.

"Yes."

["Words can claim anything."]

"Shall I show you proof?"

Go on, then. Show me if you can. The vampire thought cynically.

Reading that thought, I immediately took the little bell from my pocket and rang it.

With a now-familiar howl, someone smashed through a window by the second-floor dining hall and leaped outside.

CRASH!

Having torn through the steel bars in one go and landed on the ground, Azi jerked her head up and ran over.

"There. The one running toward us is a wolf who can live among sheep."

Azi raced over in a single dash and skidded to a stop, plowing up the ground. Drooling, she looked up at me with eyes full of expectation.

I reached out and stroked her head. With a satisfied woof, Azi closed her eyes and enjoyed my touch.

"Dogs used to be wolves, after all. Even sheepdogs that stand against wolves are wolves if you trace their ancestry back far enough. But while sheep may be afraid of dogs, they don't fear being eaten by them. Dogs don't eat the sheep, either. Well, they might chew on a sheep bone the shepherd tosses them."

Predator or prey, both could change. Many wild beasts had been tamed by humans, and in the case of dogs, an entire species had been domesticated.

The vampire sank deep into thought. Lost in her own world, she didn't look likely to emerge for a while.

Good. Now was my chance.

"Woof? Food?"

"I'll get you some. Let's go to the kitchen."

"Woof, woof! Yes!"

"Come to think of it, didn't you eat earlier? You're eating again? Are you a dog or a pig?"

"Arf! No! Not a pig!"

Wasn't a dog more or less the same as a pig? But Azi's reaction was so fierce that I surrendered for the moment.

"O-okay! Don't bite!"

Making a casual exit, I headed toward the building with Azi, leaving the Regressor and the vampire behind.

'That bastard...'