.

..

...

....

She was afraid.

This was land cursed by Mother Earth, an abyss beyond the Sky God's sight. Death itself did not frighten her, but the possibility that her soul might find no salvation even in death filled her with terror.

Beta—no, the deeply devout girl whose real name was Cindy—tightly clutched the cross she always kept inside her clothes.

"No. The Sky God dwells within our hearts. He must always be watching the world through our eyes..."

Her father had been a pastor. A devout believer, he led his flock every Sunday. People offered their prayers each week and found a little comfort to see them through the next.

But after the Military State classified every form of religion as a "hobby," God, blasphemously enough, found himself obliged to pay taxes.

It was absurd. How could the Sky God, master of this world and father of all creation, possibly pay taxes? Naturally, people resisted. Her faithful father had been at the very forefront of opposition to the policy.

And, naturally, after the Military State took him away, he never returned. Never again.

Rekindling her hatred eased her fear considerably. Beta exhaled deeply and headed for the underground armory.

"May God's hammer fall upon the blasphemous, unjust, and wicked Military State."

If need be, she would become that hammer herself. Even if she ended up battered beyond recognition after passing judgment upon the Military State.

She took a step, praying as she went.

That was when the underground armory's door suddenly opened of its own accord. Beta started violently at the unexpected change, but she took it as the Sky God opening the way for her. Pressing her lips together, she strode forward. With faith beside her, she could go on.

Inside, it was too dark to see even a step ahead. Beta tapped her elbow and swept her hand up toward her wrist, gathering every bit of mana in her body into her finger. After a long bout of fidgeting, she whispered.

"Lux."

A light sparkled at her fingertip.

Lux, the Military State's standard-issue illumination spell. Of the dozens of standard-issue spells she had learned at school, it was the only one she could cast, but she was perfectly satisfied with that. How convenient and useful it was to be able to light her way whenever darkness fell.

Of course, she could not help feeling conflicted whenever she remembered that the detestable Military State had developed the spell. But light belonged to the Sky God in the first place. If anything, the Military State were blasphemers who borrowed his light and then had the gall to levy taxes. Justifying it to herself that way, Beta raised her finger high.

Even the light did not dispel the darkness within. It merely made it creep back for a moment. Barely illuminating the ground at her feet, Beta ventured deeper and deeper, without knowing where she was heading...

Then.

Candles flared to life. An ominous glow blossomed in the darkness.

Beta hastily raised her head.

Everything was drenched in blood. It looked as though someone had cursed the entire world with it. Bright red blood ran through the incised grooves of stone walls whose carvings must once have been beautiful, while bloodstained monsters had been painted over sacred images.

It was a sight that seemed to mock the Sky God. Yet Beta felt fear before she felt outrage at the insult.

Blood, red, darkness, and the unknown.

Just as primal terror swept over her—

["So it was you. The insolent wretch who dared pray to the Sky God in my palace."]

Beta drew a sharp breath. Hastily clutching her cross, she raised her gun.

A voice thick with pent-up feeling came from the darkness.

["A cross... Heh heh. It has been a long time. I never thought I would see one here as well..."]

Then the cross glowed red and became stained with blood. Alarmed by the sinister sight, Beta hurriedly let go, and the crimson cross, released from her grip, shot into the air.

Her eyes trembled as she followed its path. The bloodstained cross turned upside down and flew toward a wooden coffin in the middle of the room.

A moment later, a snow-white arm emerged from inside the coffin. A delicate hand reached for the cross. Beta's cross, now a crimson inverted cross, settled onto the pale palm.

A wooden coffin painted pitch-black. A bloodstained inverted cross.

Realizing who she faced, Beta raised her muzzle and shouted.

"Accursed vampire! You defied the natural order and forsook your humanity, you servant of the devil!"

The white hand paused. Armed with faith, Beta aimed her gun at the coffin, undaunted even amid the pitch-black darkness.

"You have no right to desecrate that! Put it down this instant, you monster!"

["... Oh?"]

CRUNCH

The bloodstained cross crumpled in an instant. Before Beta could feel anger at the desecration of her faith, the irresistible power behind it struck her with instinctive fear.

["I have no right? I defied the natural order and forsook my humanity?"]

Questions came from inside the coffin. God was far away, and the devil was close. As if to prove it, malice and magic loomed over Beta, testing her.

But Beta had not yet lost her faith. Faith was firmly rooted in her heart, and a gun rested in her hand. As she was now, she had nothing to fear.

Beta shouted.

"That's right!"

["Nonsense."]

CREEEAK

The coffin lid opened.

A cedar coffin. A wood beloved by librarians and undertakers for its ability to absorb moisture and odors. The lid of the coffin that had held her for over a thousand years opened. Darkness flowed like oil. An abyss so dense it had turned liquid poured out.

"Fear me if you will. As a predator, I am indeed a creature for you to fear."

A snow-white hand emerged. Ancient elegance suffused its small, graceful movements. There was a scent of ages past. With blood filling every corner, its smell should have been overwhelming, yet the fragrance in the air was just like that of an old book. It was the smell of the cedar coffin.

While that incongruous fragrance left Beta dazed, from within the coffin—

"Despise me if you will. As a vampire, I am a creature that drinks your lifeblood."

She appeared.

She was a girl so white she seemed drained of color. Her snow-white skin was utterly bloodless, like a polished pearl. Her silver hair fell to her waist, gleaming as if to prove its hue was not merely an absence of color. Her eyes were enchantingly red, yet so captivating that it was hard to look away. Following the line down her finely shaped nose brought her small, dainty lips into relief. Her features flowed together so beautifully, as though painstakingly fashioned by God, that merely looking at her was dizzying. The black dress suspended from her shoulder straps was solemn and neat, giving her the air of a noble bride.

Even the darkness surrounding her could not conceal the girl's gentle radiance. Without prior knowledge, one would have mistaken her for an angel.

"But if you invoke that accursed god's name and treat me as something unclean. If those who forsook me shamelessly pretend that I was the one who forsook them."

Nothing aligned.

Neither her perceptions nor her faith.

The sinister, bizarre creature that drank human blood was beautiful enough to rival an angel.

She was supposedly a thousand-year-old vampire, yet she looked no more than a girl just coming into bloom.

A room filled with blood carried the scent of old books.

There was no sign of the madness or savagery Beta had heard rumors of. Graceful movements held an unfathomable elegance, and a small face possessed breathtaking beauty.

This vampire was utterly different from everything she had been taught.

"Then I shall send you to the side of the god you so endlessly adore."

The reality before her was far too different from what she had learned.

Now, none of Beta's familiar certainties surrounded her. There was no authoritative pronouncement from a respected priest.

She was alone.

It was a trial unlike any she had faced before. Would she follow her faith, or submit to the power that had appeared before her?

Beta made her decision.

Not through faith, but through the inertia of everything she had believed until now.

"Lord! Guide me!"

BANG

The bullet pierced the vampire's eye. The girl's head snapped backward. Blood spattered, and flesh tore audibly. Beta felt guilty, as though she had destroyed a work of art with her own hands, yet she also felt a peculiar exhilaration at having finally overcome temptation and followed her faith.

"I-I did it. I didn't fall for the devil's tricks... I, I defeated a vampire!"

But.

Of course.

"... So that is your will."

The scattered blood rose into the air again. Her neck straightened as though the world were rewinding. The bullet that had pierced her eye was pushed out from within and dropped to the ground.

Her eyes were still red. No, they were even redder than before.

The moment Beta met those irises, her body froze like a mouse before a snake. It was as though her body no longer belonged to her. She could barely move her hands or feet.

In a world where everything had stopped, the white girl raised her pale hand.

"Then die for your lord."

NEIGH

An ominous snort. Beta turned her head to find a huge blood-red horse staring wide-eyed. Scarlet light flashed around its eyes.

When had it approached? How could something so enormous be here underground?

Such questions had long since vanished.

Beta moaned in terror.

"Ah, ah!!"

She tried to fire. But her finger would not move. As though even the gun rejected her, no matter how hard she pulled, nothing budged.

She hastily looked down. The gun was already crimson, soaked in blood. Blood seeped through it from grip to muzzle, taking command of the weapon.

Nor was that all. Beta realized that even her body no longer obeyed her. Blood vessels like spiderwebs stood out over her skin. The vampire's blood on her skin restrained Beta's arm and forced it to move.

The blood of Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka was dominion itself. In the distant past, she had ruled half the world with this power. Before their people even had time to realize it, five countries and seventy-two territories had fallen into her hands.

The Brand of Blood. Proof that one had become part of her, a limb that moved according to her will.

The muzzle turned toward Beta's eye. Her own weapon stared at the most vulnerable part of her body. She could not stop it, however hard she tried. This was the power of a vampire who had been called a calamity for a thousand years. Devotion alone could not resist it. Beta's hand and eyes trembled, but her body steadily aimed the muzzle at its own owner.

She could see a cold circle of iron and the darkness trapped inside it. The smell of gunpowder drifted up. It smelled just like sulfur burning in hell.

That abyss, cold and dark for now, would flare red and spit out an iron bullet with a mere twitch of her finger. The stupid bullet, incapable of recognizing its own master, would shatter her soft eyeball and churn through her brain.

Despairingly, humans possessed the ability to imagine the horrors awaiting them.

Even her steadfast faith could not hold back the fear seeping out. Her teeth chattered. Her eyes quivered before their impending destruction. Faith could neither be seen nor touched, and it could not protect her from that iron bullet. It could guard only her soul.

"P-please spare me."

God was far away, and her gun had betrayed her. All that remained was a girl still young.

So it could not be helped. It would be cruel to expect an ordinary person to place something above their own life.

Yet, sadly.

For all their cruelty, harsh trials that demanded one's life came far too often.

"No manners, no grace, not even spirit. How pathetic. Had you cried out to your god until the end, I would have corrupted you myself."

The vampire voiced her disappointment. It was a short, decisive sigh. At the same time, those words severed a human being's fate.

A beautiful gesture fluttered through the air like a butterfly.

"Go."

CLICK

The trigger was pulled. Foreseeing her death, Beta squeezed her eyes shut.

But no bullet fired.

There was only the futile sound of the trigger being pulled. The Brand of Blood had pulled the trigger, but it had not drawn back the bolt to eject the spent casing and load a fresh round.

"Ha, ahaha."

She was alive. Just as Beta gave a faint smile—

The blood steed took a step.

That was the end.

Like weeds heedlessly trampled by horses as they roamed from place to place.

Like insects humans crushed beneath a finger without a second thought.

A human being became a handful of blood.

Not even a corpse remained. Just as an insect crushed against a rock leaves only fragments stuck to its surface, the human trampled beneath the hoof of Ralion, the blood steed, became part of the walls and floor.

Tyrkanzyaka waved her hand. A surging wave of blood swept away even those traces.

Afterward, nothing remained.

The vampire had removed the insolent intruder. From the world, and from her memory.

The sea of blood was far too vast to remember every handful.

Only the iron bullet that had inflicted the slightest wound on her body remained. Tyrkanzyaka picked it up with her white hand.

How long had it been since metal had pierced her flesh? She would have to retrace countless days and nights. Though an attack of this sort could not harm the Progenitor of vampires in the slightest... it was nevertheless a feat that renowned knights of the past had attempted, and only a very few had achieved.

To think such an ordinary-looking girl had accomplished it.

"That stings a little... It seems everyone these days keeps at least one trick up their sleeve."

Moreover, it had not worked when Tyrkanzyaka pulled the trigger. Apparently there was something special about it that recognized its user.

She would have to be on her guard.

So murmured an ancient who had just seen a gun—and been shot—for the first time.

.

..

...

....

Today is the best day ever!

Human! The human made me something tasty! It was meat, but it tasted like beans too, and it was so good!

And we played fetch! Human, the balls you throw are so slow that it was a little boring! But I still liked it! Fetch is fun because it's a game!

And, and!

"Woof!"

New humans! So many! It's exciting to hear so many humans talking!

Oh! Could one of those humans fulfill the pact?

"Woof, woof!"

If I smile and go up to them, they'll like me!

If we play fetch together, we'll become better friends!

It's okay if they can't fulfill the pact! Humans are still humans!

One of them came over! Spoke to me! Let's play! This is fun! It'll be fun!

This is fun!

This is fun.

This is fu...

BANG

...

I know.

You're scared of me.

You're afraid of me.

They're all scared. They're trembling. They want to run away.

They only stay because there's nowhere to run.

I'm sad.

They don't lean on me as much as I lean on them. I feel like I'll fall apart. I'm anxious.

But if I smile, if I keep leaning on them, won't they lean on me someday?

Let's play a little longer. Just a little, just a little more.

...

They all left. They ran away without meeting my eyes because they're afraid of me. Monster, someone muttered while passing by.

I'm not a monster. I'm a puppy.

A good puppy who listens and knows how to wait!

I listened to the humans and came to this dark, pitch-black place. I waited here a long time. Even without an answer, I kept waiting and waiting. Even when humans killed other humans in horrible ways, even when the blood smelled awful, I squeezed my eyes shut and endured it.

Because I'm a good puppy. A good puppy who keeps trying and waits, even when I'm bored, even when I'm lonely!

... But still. I guess everyone's afraid of me.

"Fetch!"

Except this good human.

I like the good human's hands. They pet me often. They scratch my head and chin.

Still, I'm happy because I have a good human!

After petting me like that, the good human walks toward the bad human. Smiles brightly and raises a hand. Something white and rectangular pops out from the back of the hand! Keeps saying things and moving the white rectangle around!

Huh?

THUNK

There's blood. The human fell down. And isn't moving.

"Woof?"

Dead.

Yes. Dead.

A human killed a human. There's blood. It won't stop. Dead.

It happened last time too. I guess humans killing each other is normal.

No, perhaps instead, for humans, death comes... not in the form of hunger, disease, or predators, but of another human.

"Whew."

The human who did the killing has closed his eyes.

He's a good human who makes me tasty food, plays fetch with me, and pets me often. Sometimes he gets annoyed, and once he tried to hit me for some reason. But he isn't afraid of me. He's a good human.

That good human killed another human.

He's a good human to me, but I guess he isn't a good human to other humans.

But.

What if.

"Woof."

Are you afraid of me too?

When I approached, the good human frowned. Suddenly I'm scared. Could he be afraid of me?

"Huh? Why are you coming here? Hungry? Don't even think about eating the corpse. If you get a taste for human flesh, I'll be in danger—no, I mean, people won't like it."

I know. I won't eat it. Human meat doesn't really appeal to me. I know eating it scares people too.

So I won't. I'm a good puppy.

"Huh? Hey. I don't have time to pet you right now, okay? I've got something to do, so go away for a minute."

I want to be friends. I don't want to be scary.

But if you are afraid, I want you to tell me from the start.

"I said go! I don't have time to pet you!"

Because if you're afraid, I'd rather leave.

"Hey. Fine. I can't tell what you're thinking."

The human clicked his tongue and pressed down on my head. It wasn't heavy at all, but I moved. When I took a couple of steps back, the human hugged me and petted me roughly.

It was rough, but I liked it.

If he were afraid of me, he couldn't have hugged me so tightly.

"Happy now? You are, right? I've petted you plenty, right? I'm off to whack someone, okay? You can't kill people, so just go to the dining hall and lick a pot or something! Shoo! Shoo!"

I will.

I can't fight humans.

If it means fighting humans, I can't help the good human.

But, still.

I want the good human to live.

If you die, I'll be sad and cry. I'll cry all day long. I might even forget to eat for about two days.

So.

I give him a lick.

Azi licked my cheek once, then trudged off toward the dining hall. I wiped the saliva from my cheek.

What a strange creature. Happy one moment, depressed the next, all on her own.

I still couldn't make sense of a dog's thoughts. She was supposed to be a spokesperson born to communicate with humans, yet I had no idea what she was thinking.

Was that only natural? The King of Dogs was fundamentally the representative of all dogs—no, their representative dog. Perhaps being able to read her thoughts would be more of a problem.

"Well, anyway. I've found them, at least."

Overusing my mind reading had given me a headache, but it had produced results.

The ones who had died so far were mere hangers-on there to fill out the numbers. The real core of the group, Kanisen and the technician, were still inside the administration building. Perhaps they had found something, because they weren't moving.

The vampire was in the underground armory. The Regressor was fighting an enemy clad in military armament.

Both were capable of dispatching their enemies in an instant and coming to help me.

The problem was that neither had any intention of doing so.

The vampire had no interest in whatever happened outside, and the Regressor was deliberately holding back in her fight, trusting me to handle things myself.

"Fuck. Handle things myself, my ass."

I could run over right now, explain the situation to the Regressor, get her to defeat her enemy quickly, then stop Kanisen from blowing up Tantalus.

It was possible, but it would take far too long. Besides, with her suspicions of me at their peak, the Regressor might not believe me.

Did I have to do something with my own two hands? Ah, I wasn't confident I could win.

'Found it!'

Huh. Was that the technician called Gamma? Why had that thought suddenly burst out so loudly? I could hear every bit of it.

'I've discovered Tantalus's secret! I never imagined it was built like this. If the ground beneath the administration building hadn't been dug up, I'd never have known!'

Huh? What was it? A secret?

'Haha! With a structure like this... we hardly need any explosives to destroy it! It'll collapse in an instant! I need to report to the Boss right away!'

No, wait! Seriously?

There was no time. I hurriedly ran toward the administration building.