The day after the Council.
After the meeting was adjourned.
Eleris and I stood side by side in a desolate corridor where the sound of a howling wind echoed from outside.
I leaned against the corridor wall, while Eleris stared ahead with a stern expression.
"Is this... the right decision?"
"We can only hope."
"Your Highness, I have lived a long time, but I have never even heard of an artifact called Akasha. I am... afraid, both if it exists and if it doesn't, for I cannot know what Antirianus's intentions are."
I understood Eleris's fear.
I was just as afraid.
The anxiety that something worse than the Gate incident might happen was overwhelming.
Wouldn't it be better to do nothing and face the predetermined Gate incident?
Once entangled with Akasha, an ancient artifact of unknown origin, something completely unexpected could happen.
The future was uncertain.
Of course, it was natural, but never before had it been so terrifying.
"...I spoke out of turn."
Seeing that I said nothing, Eleris gently took my hand.
Her cold body temperature was transferred to my hand.
"I should not be afraid when Your Highness is undoubtedly the most fearful, yet here I am..."
"..."
Could my fear be felt without saying anything?
Eleris seemed to have assured herself that I had no malicious intentions to destroy the world.
Things might not go perfectly, but we had to believe.
If we weren't going to do anything, we shouldn't have started at all.
"Everything will be fine."
I said, borrowing the power of Spirit Speech, but my voice echoing in the corridor was hollow.
***
After the meeting reconvened, we asked Antirianus several more questions.
Through what route did he first come into contact with Cantus Magna?
In the end, his thought process wasn't much different from mine. Antirianus dabbled in numerous dark magics and forbidden arts in search of the secret to immortality.
"Originally, I wanted to summon the forbidden arts hunters, but if I could obtain immortality in the process, it wouldn't be so bad."
There were people within my knowledge who had pursued immortality and engaged in bizarre activities.
That's why it felt strange to look at Antirianus.
It was as if I was witnessing a mid-early episode villain who dreamed of immortality but had achieved their dream without being defeated by the hero.
I didn't know the extent of the evil deeds committed by the Vampire Lords present, but Antirianus was truly a wicked dark mage.
Would it be appropriate to compare him to the appearance of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, who achieved immortality, several hundred years later?
Can we really just... leave him be?
"So the forbidden arts hunters came, and I asked to join them. I was able to become one of them in exchange for all the forbidden arts I possessed."
"Is Cantus Magna known for easily accepting new members?"
"Not exactly. They accepted me because I had an extensive collection of forbidden arts, and trying to take them from me would have resulted in bloodshed. They probably planned to dispose of me soon after."
Antirianus didn't bother making any flimsy excuses for betraying Cantus Magna, as the latter would have purged him soon anyway.
It seemed that Antirianus wasn't the type to care about justifying his actions.
Antirianus and Cantus Magna had temporarily cooperated for their own needs, but in the end, Antirianus had only suffered losses, having paid gold and not even glimpsing the Akasha.
Of course, Cantus Magna had also failed to eliminate Antirianus, thus exposing their secret aspirations to outsiders, so both parties suffered losses.
"Thus, contacting Cantus Magna could be surprisingly easy if you have your own unique brand and gold," He said. (TL Note: Just to make it clear, the Author is using "Brand" and "Gold" as an euphemism to forbidden spells and techniques. I don't know why though...)
The Vampire Council wasn't much different from a secret society. The Black Order knew about the existence of the Vampire Lord, but it was uncertain whether they knew about the five vampire families.
Ultimately, the gold or magic that only they possessed might not have been secured by Cantus Magna yet.
So, if the existence of the Council were revealed to Cantus Magna, or if the Vampire Lords exposed their existence, contact would be easy – in the form of them seeking us out.
"It seems like a matter that requires careful consideration," Gallarsh remarked, and I agreed.
"I don't like it," Luvien flatly refused, seemingly unwilling to take on that level of risk.
Honestly, I agreed with her as well.
"Exposing ourselves doesn't seem like a wise approach."
"What do you propose then?" Antirianus asked, as I folded my arms.
"I've had contact with the Black Order before. I killed one of their operatives, not a big deal, just a low-level one. The important thing is that I told them I could give them information about Cantus Magna."
It was highly likely that the Black Order didn't know about Akasha.
They probably weren't ignorant of how to contact Cantus Magna. However, as they were hostile to each other, they would prefer to size each other up before starting an all-out battle. They would want to fight in the most advantageous conditions, hence the need for information.
The Black Order not risking a direct confrontation with Cantus Magna must have had its reasons.
Could this information make the Black Order and Cantus Magna fight each other?
And was it the right thing to do?
"Let's try negotiating with the Black Order first, see their attitude, and make a decision from there. No need to take unnecessary risks," I suggested.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
If we got proper information from the Black Order, Cantus Magna might not be a concern. Although the existence of Akasha was still unsettling.
Regardless, I successfully prepared information about Cantus Magna before the Black Order contacted us.
I managed to gain the cooperation of the Vampire Council and obtain information about Cantus Magna.
There was nothing left to do at the Council until the Black Order issue was resolved.
"For now, that concludes my business here."
Their help wasn't needed yet.
And I hoped it wouldn't come to that.
***
I had thought it might take quite a long time, but the Vampire Council only took two days.
I was curious about Antirianus's intentions, but important information and a change of atmosphere had occurred on his side, making it rather ambiguous.
I couldn't tell if they were enemies or allies, but for now, they were helpful.
That's how most alliances are, after all. The revolutionary forces would ally with us knowing that they'd eventually turn their swords against each other.
The Council was over, and tomorrow we would return to the Royal Road.
With nothing specific to do, I wandered around Epiphax. The falling snow had stopped, and the sharp sound of the wind had ceased.
Under human management, Epiphax wasn't a place people could visit often.
So, the fortress was empty most of the year. I aimlessly walked and entered a room.
The Pantheon.
Here, I had seen Eleris's statue and realized it was related to the vampires.
As I looked up at the seven statues, I suddenly felt something was off.
If these were statues of the lords, there should have been statues of the elf and orc – Gallarsh and Luvien.
But there were no statues with long ears or anything that resembled an orc.
Of course, Lucynil and Antirianus's statues were there, as they should be.
"Since it came into the sight of humans, it had to been changed,"
Turning to the voice that came from behind, I saw Luvien standing there.
"We decided not to let humans know what kind of place this is, so if there are statues of suspicious orcs or elves, people might say it's an illegal place."
Indeed, the statue in the position of Thursday, which was supposed to resemble Luvien, had shorter ears but did look like her.
Of course, the statue in the position of Friday, which should have been Gallarsh, looked like an ordinary person.
Luvien stood in the center of the Pantheon, gazing in a certain direction.
"I heard that I am the oldest of all Lord Vampires."
"...You heard?"
Why would she talk as if she heard it from someone else? Sensing my confusion, Luvien gave a faint smile.
"I erase my memory every 200 years."
"Oh."
Perhaps that's one way to endure immortality.
Then, Luvien, the oldest existence, would have the least memory of the past.
Luvien chose to erase memories rather than face death.
"It must not be that I chose to forget, but I had to... "
Luvien stood in the center of the Pantheon, her arms crossed, looking in a certain direction.
"I'm so curious about what I knew before erasing my memory."
Her gaze seemed somewhat wistful.
"Why did the elves become extinct?"
"What happened to Sunday and Monday? What kind of beings were they originally?"
"I must have known it all."
"Why did I have to erase those memories?"
"Or did I really erase those memories?"
Luvien looked at me.
Rather than curiosity, it was closer to longing.
She had erased her own memories, but she couldn't know why she had to erase them, so Luvien seemed to long for those lost memories.
She would have known everything. She was curious about the reason she had to erase those memories.
Luvien stood silently, looking at the statues of Sunday, Monday, and herself.
In a different sense from Antirianus, the Vampire Lords were complex beings beyond good and evil.
"Do you have any sort of aspiration, like Wednesday?"
"Like Lucynil?"
Did Luvien also have something like Lucynil, who wanted to possess a soul?
"If I had to say… perhaps it would be regaining my true memories. All the memories I've forgotten so far."
Luvien said this and then bowed her head.
"But if I find all of those memories, I will surely go mad."
She wanted to regain her memories, but she didn't have the confidence to cope with them.
"That's right. I don't particularly have any aspirations, but I don't want to face death. So, I'm just postponing death like this. I'm living my life with only the very important memories left intact, like the fact that I'm a Vampire Lord and that I have a clan."
She was accumulating time, discarding all the useless memories except for magic, power, and knowledge.
"Living… huh."
As if compressing herself. Luvien seemed to mull over her last words, then shook her head. Maybe she thought the word "living" didn't suit an undead.
"Rather, it seems more appropriate to say that I'm slowly dying."
Postponing death indefinitely into the future, she was slowly dying.
When they can no longer endure the immortal time, they choose death.
So, Luvien said, it's not that they're living, they're just slowly dying.
It seemed no different from living, but the nuance was terribly different.
"What do you plan to do after you've accomplished everything and truly rebuild Darkland?"
Luvien looked at me and asked me this.
From this ancient being, I could read a deep emptiness. She seemed to be living, but she was aware that she was leading a meaningless life without purpose.
If I become the Demon King, then what comes next, and after that, and after that?
Is that what she's asking?
Unfortunately, I have no intention of becoming a true Demon King. So such a question is pointless.
I've never thought about it.
"I'll do something."
"…?"
"Right? I'll do something. I won't do nothing."
Even if that were the case, I wouldn't do nothing, so I had no choice but to say something like that.
At my words, Luvien burst into laughter.
"Ha ha… Ha ha! Is that so? Yes. I'll do something… I'll do something."
I didn't know what was so funny about my words, but Luvien pricked up his ears and laughed.
"Good. Maybe it's better to think that way."
I couldn't know what kind of resonance my casual answer gave to Luvien.
However, after saying that it had been a long time since she laughed like this, Luvien quietly walked down the hallway and disappeared.
Emptiness is not for those who have given up on thinking.
It is because they think too deeply that they fall into emptiness.
Realizing this, Luvien's footsteps seemed quite light.
***
The following day.
There was no immediate business with the other Vampire Lords, but they had agreed to cooperate.
Though Akasha was a powerful source of strength in itself, Antirianus said he would investigate the method of opening a dimensional gate to the other world I had mentioned.
"It's a subject we've never considered before. It's quite intriguing."
Those were Antirianus's words.
Regardless of whether it was possible to collapse the empire through cooperation with the other world or not, he seemed to like the idea of exploring the existence of the other world.
It seemed like the wizards, who had nothing left but time, were simply intrigued by the idea.
"If the Demon King requests our help, the Council will reconvene," Luvien said.
The Council would hardly ever meet unless there was a special occasion. However, since the Vampire Council had agreed to establish a connection with me, they seemed to be taking on the responsibility of an alliance.
Everyone was cooperating with me for their own reasons, even though there wasn't much they could offer.
I silently watched as they began to leave Epiphax one by one through teleportation.
Eleris had left the Royal Road for now. There was no reason to return to the Royal Road until she had secured a new hideout or disguise.
So she would likely stay in the Castle for a while as a contact.
I figured we could meet anytime through teleportation, but it felt somewhat sad as the distance grew increasingly vast.
It was nice having her within reach.
In the massive hall of Epiphax Castle, Eleris bowed her head to me.
"Please take care, Your Highness."
"Huh?"
What was she talking about?
"Shouldn't you accompany me? Are you telling me to go alone?"
"Ah."
Eleris tilted her head when I said that.
"It seems Lucynil hasn't told you yet."
I wondered what she meant, but Lucynil was suddenly standing next to me.
"Archdemon, you're coming with me."
"Why?"
"Since I need to stay here for a while, Lucynil will help you if you need magic."
Ah.
That's what she meant.
Lucynil had no family and was alone. So, she was more free than the other Vampire Lords.
Moreover, since Eleris had decided to stay here for a while due to her responsibilities with the Council and Radia's supervision, I wouldn't have her support for some time.
This meant that when I needed powerful magic or had to go somewhere through teleportation, Lucynil would assist me from now on.
"Lucynil is much more versatile than me, so she will be able to serve you better."
Why did they help me so much? It seemed like Eleris trusted Lucynil quite a lot, even if she didn't know the other Vampire Lords well.
"Serve? Eleris, that makes it sound like I'm his subordinate."
"Ah, sorry, Lucynil. Let's call it protection then."
"Tsk."
"Protection? That makes me sound like I need a babysitter."
"Don't you?"
"Tsk."
I had to admit it.
Having an archmage by my side was convenient. Instead of having Eleris, the other archmage, whos busy with other matters, she had attached another archmage to me.
Although Lucynil seemed like a simple-minded child on the surface, she was actually a Homunculus Vampire merely cosplaying as a young child.
"Get ready. It's time to go."
Lucynil signaled me as she finished casting.
"Your Highness, please take care."
Eleris looked at me with worried eyes.
"You too, be careful."
Somehow.
It felt strangely and bizarrely like parting ways with my parents!
As I was mulling over that thought, Lucynil activated the mass teleportation spell.
