Chapter 9: The Labyrinth – (1)
(II)
I felt nothing.
There were no sensations of light, no sharp smells, and not even the faintest sound of tiny mice breathing.
Surrounding me was complete darkness. In this black space where nothing existed, only my thoughts remained, swimming in emptiness.
I wondered if this is what it feels like to drift through outer space. It felt as if my brain was floating, adrift in this dark void.
Having my five senses and bodily sensations sealed by silver chains, all I could do was think. I couldn’t open my mouth, so I swallowed the words I longed to say.
“This sucks.”
The first few days were mostly filled with self-pity.
It was embarrassing to think that the top-ranked warrior had been betrayed and sealed away like this; even I felt my face burn at the thought.
…When people feel ashamed, they tend to seek excuses. Every time I thought of my current situation, I recalled the faces of Vellius and Lilianel over and over again.
“Those bastards.”
I swallowed my curses.
The hero had dragged Serion and Tenma into this, trying to hunt me down over a pathetic love triangle. Lilianel, whom I had trusted more than anyone, had deceived me and played with me from start to finish.
And in their hands, my dearest friend Sophie was killed. Though all I could see was darkness, her last smile still vividly swayed before my eyes.
“I’ll kill them….”
I swore that I would definitely kill those who stood before me when the silver chains wrapped around my body.
Shame, betrayal, humiliation, revenge.
I branded all my boiling emotions into my heart like a hot iron.
I made sure that these feelings would not fade away with time.
I would not forget the faces that looked down on me and laughed.
‘…’
Memories of once laughing and chatting with them resurfaced, making me feel even more miserable. Though I could feel no sensations, I was sure that tears were flowing down my face.
…They must be laughing outside, having succeeded in sealing me. They would undoubtedly be gaining unprecedented wealth and fame, churning out newspaper articles like “Hero’s Party Slays Vampire Threatening Humanity.”
The citizens would scatter flower petals, smiling at the hero’s procession.
Vellius, clad in splendid armor, riding on horseback and waving at them.
Lilianel, smiling as she linked arms with Vellius.
“Disgusting.”
Imagining the life they were living made my anger swell even more. I vowed to shatter that life so they would never dream of it again.
…And I firmly believed that this seal would be broken soon.
********************
(II)
“Help me, help me, help me.”
…How much time had passed? The saint’s silver chains, which felt like they would break at any moment, had tightened around me for decades.
All sensations were taken from me, and there was no stimulation. I couldn’t sleep. All I could do was think or daydream. This endless cycle was driving my mind to the brink of collapse.
I certainly should not be feeling any sensations, yet my entire body felt stuffy and itchy. My throat was dry, and I was hungry. It felt as if all my nerves had become hyper-sensitive, like I had been awake for a long time.
I had only revisited thoughts of revenge for the first few years. Now, I no longer knew how much time had passed. I felt like I was going insane. I wanted to breathe fresh air, stretch my limbs, and enjoy the simple pleasures I once took for granted.
“Uaaah! Let me out! Let me out!!”
I couldn’t speak, nor was there anyone to hear me. But I continued to scream endlessly. I had given up checking the passage of time. The flames of revenge that once burned brightly had morphed into feelings of pessimistic regret.
“I should have just killed everyone, including the hostages….”
Why did I do something uncharacteristic and try to save Lilianel when she was taken hostage? When did I start caring so much about a friend? I should have ignored everything and just killed them all.
“No, helping Vellius was the mistake from the start.”
No, it was the worst mistake to have pledged to help the hero while he was at war with the demon race, shortly after I possessed Elzerba.
I shouldn’t have bothered; I should have just hunted monsters and lived a carefree life.
By now, I would have been enjoying fun days as an adventurer in another country.
“…Now that I think about it, humans are also the worst. I risked my life to save them, and what did I get? To be hunted like a vampire?”
…As the long passage of regret continued, it soon gave rise to even greater anger and hatred.
“You bastards. The hero, at the very least, shouldn’t have done this to you. You should have defended me unconditionally.”
The tip of the revenge blade, once aimed solely at the hero and his entourage, now targeted everyone in this world except for me.
“Don’t forget and remember. Endure.”
Fueled by anger and hatred, I grit my teeth and maintained my sanity. I held onto the truth that nothing in this world is eternal, and I envisioned the day I would escape from this hellish seal.
When the seal breaks, I will become the true disaster, just as they had cried out against me.
The moment those chains snap, I will unleash all my HP and MP to repay the hellish time I endured while sealed.
The saint and the mage.
The hero Vellius and his companions.
And the citizens of Avilia who mercilessly abandoned me after I saved them.
I didn’t know how much time had passed since my sealing, but if they were still alive, I would destroy them; if they were dead, I would drag their souls from the underworld to take my revenge.
‘….’
I am not a princess from a fairy tale.
Nor am I the heroine from a novel.
“Oh my, wonderful hero! You saved me from my long seal! I will love you!” “Humans! You are really touching to release my seal now!” Such romantic and heartwarming developments should not be dreamt of.
All I had left were feelings of revenge and hatred.
If I didn’t envision a future that would release this pent-up grudge, I felt like I would go insane.
“Vellius, Lilianel, Avilia….”
…I spent every minute and second, not missing a moment, recalling the humans who had imprisoned me here, as I navigated through this endless passage of time along with my seal.
I felt a sensation that was like tears streaming down my face.
********************
(III)
‘…?!!’
And then, it was just a moment. One day, after an unfathomably long time had passed, an unfamiliar and strange sensation tickled my body.
“Uh…?”
The pinky finger of my left hand, which I thought would never move again, trembled. Signals from my brain that were fading from memory began to revive, and my bodily sensations started to return one by one.
First, the sensations at the ends of my body and my tactile sense came back. The time it took for my nerves to regain their vigor sped up, and soon I could vividly feel all my senses returning.
Next, my five senses began to return one after another. A musty smell suddenly assaulted my nose, and the sounds of someone’s distant cries pierced my ears.
—Deren! What have you done?! Why did the talisman fall?!
—I-I just poured my magic into it….
“Ah…”
I had not felt this way in such a long time that it felt foreign, yet the smell and sounds were unmistakable. My nose itched, and my ears tingled. These were the ‘external stimuli’ I had longed for.
“I can hear….”
My senses were coming back.
Everything was reclaiming its original place.
The stopped clock hands were beginning to flow once more.
The damned seal was finally being undone.
“Please, please….”
I couldn’t miss this opportunity. I gathered all my strength, desperately trying to break the chains binding me, to escape as quickly as possible.
—The seal of the vampire is breaking! Everyone, prepare for combat!
Someone was near me, outside the chains.
The blurred sounds became clearer.
I pushed harder to escape the seal.
—Drip, drip.
With a few vigorous movements, as if shedding my clothes, the chains completely fell away, clattering to the ground.
Then, the cool outside air tickled my body, and fully liberated from the silver chains that had bound me for eons, I floated down slowly like rustling leaves.
…As my soles touched the ground, the last of my senses, ‘sight,’ returned.
“Ugh….”
An overwhelming light flooded my eyes. It stung, like being suddenly illuminated after a long time in darkness. But soon, I adapted slowly and regained full sight and vision.
“Ah….”
Before me lay the vast expanse of a massive cave. If not for artificial light, darkness would have shrouded this deep and wide cavern.
And in the center of it, I stood, dazed.
“….”
First, I confirmed my body, the body of Elzerba, after such a long time. I began to feel my form with both hands.
Perhaps due to the long time spent sealed away, or the effect of the silver chains, the clothes I had been wearing had completely vanished, leaving me naked.
While a bit embarrassed, this allowed me to feel everything more distinctly and vividly.
Snow-white, smooth skin.
Ash-gray hair brushing against my waist.
The sharp fangs of the vampire pinching my lips.
…It was Elzerba, just as I remembered.
“Aah….”
Having been overwhelmed by sensations I hadn’t felt in ages, my head throbbed intensely. Yet, I welcomed even that. It confirmed that I was alive, that I had finally escaped that void of nothingness.
—Everyone, prepare for battle!
“…?”
At the edge of the cavern, about thirty humans stood, tensed and glaring at me. Judging by their attire, they seemed to be adventurers from somewhere.
“….”
I glanced back and forth between them and the broken silver chains. It seemed that they were the ones who had accidentally unleashed my seal.
Seeing their hostile demeanor, it didn’t look like they had released me out of goodwill. It appeared they had accidentally triggered it and were now in a hurry to manage the aftermath.
—Mage squad! Prepare fireballs!
“Ugh…!”
Still newly freed from the seal, I found their overwhelming reactions too stimulating. With each booming voice from the adventurers, my headache worsened.
—Everyone! Target acquired! Fire….
“Shut up! Just shut up already….”
…Without hiding my irritation at their voices, I detonated the heads of the mages preparing spells against me all at once.
—Kraaak!
—Kyaaaah!
The skill successfully executed, and the irritating noise from the humans diminished somewhat.
“Good.”
Even after such a long time, Elzerba’s power remained intact. My HP and MP seemed stable as well. I had worried that the saint’s seal might have affected Elzerba’s strength and level, but thankfully, that didn’t seem to be the case.
—You’ll regret this!
—We will show you the might of the ‘Red Moon’!
“….”
Perhaps angered by the loss of their fellow mages, the remaining adventurers all drew their swords and charged toward me.
“…Blade.”
I used a basic skill again against the charging foes. A blade made of blood sprayed out around me, and in an instant, the enemies’ heads fell like autumn leaves.
“Huh…?”
I expected at least some of them to block or dodge the attack, but all of them were swept away in a single strike without any resistance.
“What are these guys…?”
I was taken aback by the sight of the human adventurers, seeming much weaker than I remembered. Had time caused their skills to decline so drastically?
Or were these simply weak adventurers?
But there was no way for me to know at this moment.
—It’s wrong! We have to escape!
“….”
Now only three remained. I had no time to play with them. First and foremost, I needed to rest my weary body from the long seal and quickly recover completely.
“….”
I found the hostile humans too tiresome to even look at. There was no need for mercy or sympathy.
With a vengeance I had harbored all this time, I swiftly beheaded the remaining humans. Their heads, now headless, rolled on the ground, and sticky blood splattered across my face.
—Ugh, aaah!!!
“….”
Seeing this scene, one female adventurer hiding in the corner screamed and sprinted away in terror.
“Ha… well, go on.”
I sighed, letting her run without a second glance. I had no strength left to chase her down.
“Zero points… my head hurts…”
My head throbbed intensely. It felt as if my brain was being torn apart. Plus, after feeling the ground beneath me for the first time in ages, my slender legs trembled slightly.
A persistent headache.
Legs that felt like they might give out at any moment.
Clearly, I wasn’t in a good condition. After being sealed for so long, it would have been strange if I were completely fine.
…But I could definitely feel it.
“….”
I was still alive.
The long seal had finally reached its end.
“Humans….”
It was time to finally unleash the emotions I had buried deep for eons.
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