Rakasha really didn't want to let go of the girl; she had grown fond of him, and he had also grown fond of her. A lonely man like him had opened his heart to this little girl who became something like the daughter he never had. I understood that feeling pretty well, I felt the same way with these kids we picked up from Benladann's village.
"You don't have to let her go… Come with us, Rakasha. Join our Sect with Ruby, and we'll protect both of you." I said.
"W-What…? Your sect?" he asked.
"We have more resources than you think… We have a flying fortress which we use to travel the skies. With you two there, it will be pretty hard for them to even find us." I said.
"Y-You have what?!"
I guess it is hard to believe…
"I don't want to sound rude… And to be honest, I really do see you as a friend and Ruby as the little and beloved friend of my children… Rakasha, the quicker you and Ruby get away from the sect, the better it will be for them. Ruby can be tracked by these Vampires somehow… I don't know how but they can. If you remain here, they'll eventually come to kill you and grab her away… The Vampires mentioned they were going to use her as a sacrifice for the "Tyrannical Lady" they served." I said.
"Ah… It can't be… R-Ruby is a sacrifice? Those Vampires… those people are awful! Why would they do such a horrendous thing?!" asked Rakasha.
"I don't know. But people are thirsty for power in every corner of the world. Many of them have broken minds and lack any sense of moral at all… Sacrificing children so they can grow even a tiny bit stronger is not even a matter of discussion for them. They would do it without even blinking." I said.
"…"
Rakasha looked down into the snow, his hands gripping tightly.
"I see. I guess this is the world we live in… This is what I ended getting myself into because I ended acting too kind… But I guess you can't really blame me… Finding a girl barely alive in the woods… Only a monster wouldn't pick her up and help her." Sighed Rakasha.
"And that's why I find that you're a good man, Rakasha. You're someone worthy of becoming our allies too." Said Benladann, patting his shoulder.
"Thank you… I… I just did what any person would do. Any normal person." Sighed Rakasha.
"And that's more than enough. Now come with us, stop beating the bush so much. You're still young, come with us and live up another adventure until we can find a solution and an end to this issue." I said.
"Drake… Y-You're willing to do so much for me… yet… I have not done anything for you… I… Why are you so kind? Getting yourself involved in all of this… In a world like this, where dogs eat dogs… You would guess there is no place for kind-hearted people…" sighed Rakasha.
"I am not really a kind person, and honestly, I am quite selfish and arrogant… You'll know me more later. I only help those I care for, not anyone I find around the streets." I said.
"…"
"So come one already! Give me your hand." I said.
"Fine… Thanks." Said Rakasha, his strong hand tightly grasped mine.
We quickly packed up everything that Rakasha had inside of my inventory, including everything in his shop and house, as he held Ruby in his arms, she was wrapped around her bedsheets and was sleeping still. Vampires had very heavy sleep.
Rakasha gave a last glance at his home and the shop.
"I've been staying here for a good couple of years, so… Yeah… it kind of hurts to move on all out of the sudden…"
He glanced back at the sleeping girl. Her past was still quite a mystery for her, but she held great power within her, something that they all wanted to use for a certain goal.
Revive the Venerable of Blood, a being who tormented the entire world in the past…
But would she want this? I see both factions as wrong. Both one wanting to just use her as a material and the one that wants to use her as a vessel.
Is she okay by becoming the vessel of her ancestor? Does she accept this? Is she really fine with such a thing? I often wonder… what does she have in mind?
We flew into the skies as I showed Rakasha Fuyu in the middle of the skies, I used wind magic to lift all of us upwards. He felt a bit dizzy, but it was all fine.
"A-Ah… T-This is indeed quite something…!" he said. He was dumbfounded.
"See? We said the truth. We really have a flying castle made of ice in the skies!" I said, surprising the old man.
"Y-You're right… You were actually right…" he muttered in awe.
"Fuyu, we are back," I said.
"About time!" said Fuyu, as she opened her gates and let us in.
"I-It can talk?!" he asked.
"Yes, it is like a golem," I said.
"Amazing! You did this?! This castle alone would cost a massive fortune! People would kill to get this…" said Rakasha.
"W-Well, it is not on sale. Fuyu is also our friend, she protects us and is always with us. So we cannot do such a thing as selling her…" I said.
"O-oh, right, I didn't mean it for real! Sorry if I sounded a bit rude there." He sighed.
"Don't worry, let's get in," said Benladann.
We stepped into the immense ice castle floating in the middle of the sky, as we were greeted by all our allies, we carried Ruby into her own bed inside a small room only for her, and then we went to celebrate with the rest, having a large dinner with all the food we ordered in the restaurants we emptied. Money was no longer an issue; our trusty sect master was now covering us in that regard.
