The Military State's back alleys were a merciless place where amateurs couldn't survive. Did they really think I, an old hand there, would meekly submit to the Military State?

I had revived Tyr's heart even at the risk of losing my sense of self, all for this very moment!

"Tyr! Show them your power!"

However indifferent the vampire might be to worldly affairs, surely she wouldn't turn her back on the person who had revived her heart. I sprang to my feet and shouted.

Tyr rose with me and stood half a step ahead.

"Indeed. He speaks the truth."

A jet-black parasol spread over my head. Tyr had lifted it slightly and leaned against me. Having conveyed her intentions through her parasol, she looked down at the officer.

"I declare here and now: should Hugh suffer so much as a scratch, should even a single drop of blood leave his body... I shall exact a blood debt a million times greater from you and your nation."

The weight of a warning depends on how realistically it can be carried out.

Threaten to kill every human being in the world, and no one will take you seriously. Obviously, it's bluster. Even if you intended to do it, you would fail.

But single someone out and threaten to kill that person, no matter what? The target won't sleep soundly at night.

That was why the Progenitor's warning etched itself firmly into everyone's mind. Tyr had the power to carry it out.

Even the officer quailed before her imposing presence.

"... He's a petty criminal. Progenitor, do you intend to make an enemy of the Military State for a mere petty criminal?"

"Soldier, let me ask you this. Are you prepared to enter into conflict with a nation merely to keep one petty criminal condemned?"

"A nation...?"

As the officer faltered, the smoke that had permeated the room began to churn. The hazy gray tobacco smoke froze in place, then turned pitch-black the instant it touched the vampire's aura.

The power of the vampires' Progenitor was blood manipulation brought to its pinnacle.

But that wasn't all.

Over centuries of battle against the Sky God's faithful, blood energy had been scorched by light and flesh consumed by heat. Each time she drew blood from her enemies' bodies, countless thralls burned black and perished.

Those who had wanted only to live, even if it meant surrendering themselves to evil, vanished with nothing but agonized death cries. The Progenitor bore every echo they left behind.

At some point, she had gained command of darkness.

Of the shadows that light had forsaken.

Darkness filled the room. All of Tantalus began to tremble. Within it, only Tyr's proud voice reached us through the dark.

"I am Tyrkanzyaka, the Progenitor. The monster that shall devour the world, the Queen of Shadows, and the beginning of all vampires. I am vampirekind itself, and all vampires who walk the earth are my hands and feet. I ask you again, soldier of the Military State. Do you, a mere soldier, possess the power, the authority, and the resolve to face that?"

"Urgh...!"

Even this accomplished officer of the Military State dared not stand against that power and backed away. Despite mustering all the strength she could, simply enduring Tyr's presence was the most she could manage.

Meanwhile, beneath Tyr's parasol, I remained unaffected by that aura. Even as Tantalus, a prison meant to confine its inmates, trembled in fear, I was perfectly fine.

Arms folded and a broad smile on my face, I thought:

... This was strange.

Something about this felt a little heavy.

I'd expected her to protect me, but this was a bit much. I'd thought she'd stop at a stern warning not to hurt me.

"... Underst—No, understood. I'll... keep that in mind."

The officer clicked her tongue once and turned away. Anyone could see she was fleeing, but I had to admire her for keeping up appearances to the very end.

Once she fled, the aura filling our surroundings vanished in an instant. The surging power subsided, leaving only Tyr and me in the room.

A brief silence followed. Tyr, who had been silently glaring out the door, began stealing glances at me. Eventually, she spoke my name a little awkwardly.

"Hugh."

"Yes?"

Why call my name out of the blue?

When I answered, Tyr broke into a pleased little smile.

"Hehe. You turn to that name as well. So, is Hughes your original name?"

"Yes. I'm registered under the name Hughes."

"I prefer calling you Hugh."

"Why?"

Tyr hesitated, fumbling for an answer, then took the parasol away from where it rested against me and blurted out,

"... Because I heard it from your own lips. Besides, isn't it nice and short?"

"Ah."

Heavy. Once again, I felt it: heavy enough to break the scale.

I could read minds, but I couldn't see the future. What choices a changed person might make, what feelings they might develop, remained unknown territory.

I'd thought she was a bit of a pushover, but to think her feelings had grown this heavy while I was out of it. Was it because the blood flow blocked for twelve centuries had finally opened up?

"Well? Was I of help?"

"Of course. More than enough."

Not that this was a bad thing. The person before me was the Progenitor of vampires, a great calamity whose appearances dotted the history books. If she, a walking legion, wanted to back me up, that suited me just fine.

As I was thinking that, Tyr spoke in a slightly lower voice.

"If that soldier's presence troubles you, tell me. A single soldier is nothing. I can erase her without leaving even a corpse."

Even if it was a little... heavy. Haha.

I waved my hands, hedging.

"Oh, come on. You can't just go around killing people! That's a terrible thing to say. You shouldn't casually kill someone who wants to live."

Puzzled, Tyr asked,

"Then do you mean it is acceptable to kill someone who has no desire to live?"

"Well, I suppose it wouldn't matter? Though there's hardly any need to kill them."

"What a strange thing to say. Where would you find anyone who wishes to die? And even if such people existed, how would you distinguish them from those who wish to live?"

"Nobody can, normally."

"Then isn't that useless?"

"Haha. Is it?"

I shrugged. Tyr wore an odd expression for a moment, then let out a bemused laugh.

"You are kind."

"Wow! Nobody's said that to me since my mother disappeared!"

"... Did you not say you were an orphan?"

"Yes!"

Tyr stared incredulously at my cheerful answer. Resting the parasol against her shoulder again, she murmured,

"I understand. You mean I should not kill her. Even with great power placed in your hands, even with the chance to wield it against someone who oppressed you, you have no particular desire to do so."

"Well, she wasn't trying to kill me."

"Judging by that stiff attitude, she will not bend easily. She may mistreat you at any time."

"You can't know what people will do in the future. How could we kill her in advance just because there's some chance of that? That's barbaric."

Unless someone was a violent schizophrenic, I could at least read their intent to kill me in advance. It wouldn't be too late to deal with them then.

Besides... there were things I needed to find out from the officer. I couldn't kill her already.

Setting that subject aside, I took the opportunity to ask Tyr something that had been bothering me, now that we were alone.

"By the way, you didn't do anything while I was unconscious? You're really not hiding anything from me?"

"O-of course not! What would I have done?!"

Her earlier composure nowhere to be found, Tyr raised her voice instead. She seemed desperate to hide something, but she didn't stand a chance.

'Phew. Thank goodness he did not find out. If he had discovered that...'

My mind reading was finally starting to return. Now then, why not read her memories and see what she'd done while I was unconscious?

I read backward through Tyr's memories.

The not-too-distant past. Tyr sat beside me in my room. She was preparing to feed breakfast to me while my sense of self was blurred.

As she tried to help me up, she glanced at my hand and stopped.

For some reason, after staring intently at it for quite some time, she furtively looked around.

It was the suspicious behavior of a child about to steal something, the sort of thing people did just before misbehaving. Act like that in the back alleys, and people would swarm over demanding a cut...

Though she'd send them all flying with a wave of her hand.

In any case, after fidgeting so restlessly and staring at my hand, Tyr seemed to make up her mind and snapped her fingers.

Darkness filled the room. It was the Progenitor's power. Having blinded the world's eyes with her supreme command of shadows, Tyr reached both arms toward my empty hand.

In the darkness, I reacted to the stimulus.

["... Who's there?"]

["Shh. It is I."]

["Tyr?"]

["Yes. Tyr. Stay just as you are for a moment."]

After quieting me, Tyr began drawing my hand carefully toward her chest.

BA-DUM. BA-DUM. BA-DUM.

The closer my hand came, the harder Tyr's heart beat. There were probably several reasons: her body had learned to remember the electrical massage, and the card embedded in her heart was likely reacting too.

In any case, to Tyr, my hand was something like a magnet, a stove, or a drug.

In other words, humanity's shallow history could hardly furnish an adequate comparison.

The gentle patter became a thump, and the thump became a pound.

The little ripples disturbing the water's surface had become drumbeats that resonated through her entire body. Her heartbeat was so strong that even my hand felt the vibrations.

As Tyr savored this proof of the life she had regained, a thought suddenly occurred to her.

["If bringing it this close does so much, then if it were to touch a little closer..."]

We were already practically touching. What more could she do? How could we possibly get any closer?

Oh.

An ominous gleam flashed in Tyr's eyes.

["Stay still, Hugh."]

My past self, lacking a sense of identity, nodded despite looking a little wary. Tyr checked our surroundings once more, then placed a finger on her chest and drew it downward.

Oh, wait. Surely not.

Tyr's finger parted the skin of her chest, exposing the inside.

A beating heart didn't mean her blood manipulation had gone anywhere. Even with her chest split open, her blood continued to circulate within her without spilling out, though it took more effort than before.

Through that wide-open chest, my hand drew closer to Tyr's heart...

["Haah..."]

At that point, I stopped reading her thoughts.

Normally, when I discovered an important person's weakness... I ought to think about how to use it to squeeze something out of them...

For the first time in my life, I decided to bury this enormous secret in my heart.

Some secrets in this world were never meant to come to light.

'He's not from the Military State. That means he and the Instructor who brought about Tantalus's downfall are two different people! Damn it, how confusing!'

Gloomy thoughts flowed through a dim room.

'Right. Even the Military State couldn't corrupt Azi or Tyrkanzyaka that way. They're obsessed with control. They'd sooner use it as leverage to threaten them. Sending them out into the world on a rampage isn't the Military State's style. Nor is it what they want.'

She pushed Sky Cherry Blossom's blade at an angle. Sparks flew in empty air as space scraped against space.

Sky Cherry Blossom was a sword without thickness. Thus, it was infinitely sharp and could cut through anything in existence... or so it was said. That wasn't quite true. A biting wind might sometimes chill the bones, but that didn't make it the sharpest spear in the world.

'The root cause of their corruption is him... More precisely, the others must have gone berserk because the Military State killed him.'

If its wielder lacked the skill to hold the space forming the blade together with energy arts, Sky Cherry Blossom would become nothing more than a hilt.

Conversely, with a sufficiently skilled wielder, it was the most powerful sword in the world.

The Regressor honed her blade in the darkness-filled space. Sharpness returned to the space that had gradually worn away.

Sharpening her mind alongside her blade in the dark, Shei turned the thoughts over again.

'... I really didn't expect him to be an ordinary convict laborer. I thought he was a prisoner impersonating an Instructor. But just a convict laborer? Or is even this a deception...? One that could fool the Military State's administration? Or did he switch places with a convict laborer named Hughes?'

Unfortunately, the conclusions she reached were off the mark, but it was an intriguing subject for the Regressor nonetheless.

'His identity and purpose are still unknown... I still don't know what he meant to accomplish by charming Azi and Tyrkanzyaka.'

The honing was complete. The Regressor swung Sky Cherry Blossom once through the air. The sword, which slipped even between the gaps in the wind, was silent in the darkness.

'But that's all right. I still can't trust him, but at least I know his death is the trigger for the tragedy. From now on, I just need to focus on keeping him alive.'

TICK.

The scale tipped. Slightly, but irreversibly.

The judgment made in one girl's heart was a small one, yet carried incomparable weight.

For in every future that lay ahead, a certain being would now keep his life.

'I've made progress. Now...'

It was enough to take one more step than before.

It was enough to learn one more thing than before.

After all, what awaited the Regressor was a path of suffering on which even dozens more deaths would never bring her to her goal.

Smiling with a sense of accomplishment, the Regressor gripped Sky Cherry Blossom tightly in one hand.

'I can die as much as I like.'