471 – Surviving Inside a Vampire’s Stomach
Even if it’s Eiling, a vampire is still a vampire. They have strength, fangs, and beyond that, bloodsorcery. Not as powerful as other vampires, but still formidable.
“Your stomach seems quite spacious.”
“If you don’t want to be digested, surrender willingly. Once hunger takes over… you won’t even leave a drop of blood behind.”
Seriously. The lethargic Village Chief Vilitaire hasn’t fully unleashed the power of predation. Using her power means hunger and a craving for blood proportional to it.
But…
Is this manageable?
I spoke, detaching my hand from the wall.
“Mother. I feel like I’ve grown enough to be born now. Won’t you show the outside world to your fully grown son?”
“You have the luxury to joke. For now, let’s eliminate that luxury a bit.”
As Vilitaire gestured, all the utensils in the house approached me. Wooden chairs creaked as they walked towards me. The table, drawers, and wooden ladles followed.
Yeah. Wood.
“Do you know? Wood doesn’t die. It just stops.”
I gripped the card. Spades 9, the tree of origins. The unfortunate tree that fell under the axe, dried in the sunlight to become parchment, nailed to transform into furniture. The cursed tree responded to my call, roots growing, branches sprouting. Sharply risen branches pierced Village Chief Vilitaire’s body.
If it were Erzévût, a bloodline specialized in dominance, it would be nothing, but the opponent is Eiling, a bloodsucker from the Fiery Head bloodline. Insufficient bloodsorcery to control the rebellious tree.
“Druidism? Embracing two beliefs?”
“No. This is the revenge of the tree slain by you! Taste the suffering!”
Vilitaire Chief broke the branches with arms and legs, but the endless branches from the roots and leaves narrowed her vision.
Yeah. Vampires do get hurt. The wounds heal quickly, but they’re not invincible. Definitely easier to deal with than humans using machines.
Other objects still approached me, but not under proper control, so they weren’t as effective. Tying pots and pans that were rolling towards me with wire, I took advantage of the situation and approached the door, attempting to escape.
It was then.
“…The wood doesn’t taste good, so I don’t want to eat it.”
Crunch. Crunch. I heard the sound of the wood going through the digestion process. When I looked towards the village chief, she was grasping leaves and branches in her hands and stuffing them into her mouth. The branches and stems broke easily and filled her body.
Surprisingly… her speed of eating the wood was faster than the speed at which the wood grew from its source.
“That’s all dietary fiber, so it won’t digest well. You’ll have a hard time in the bathroom.”
“Wells, wells. Glug. Don’t worry. Didn’t I tell you? This place… is my stomach.”
From the body of the talking village chief, a hard bark began to grow.
Druidism is particularly weak against blood magic. Perhaps it’s because of the difference between plants and animals, but blood magic shows a slightly greater dominance. The difference in compatibility seems to remain even against a Yiling opponent.
“Tsk!”
I stabbed the lock with a pick. Just as I felt a slight resistance, the protruding red bark blocked the gap. It was the wood bark that I had digested and reconstructed by melting it in flowing blood.
Crunch. Suddenly, the village chief, who had eaten all the chairs and tables, approached with a swollen belly, swaying it. Seeing her swollen belly like a pregnant woman, I muttered.
“Already pregnant… Since it’s too cramped for two people, I should leave first.”
“You’re still alive, huh. Well, I don’t have the luxury to eat you… Just hang on the hook.”
Saying that it’s in her stomach is not a simple metaphor. The blood flowing through this cabin is her blood vessels. The village chief, by digesting what she ate, can dissolve it in that blood. Thanks to that, she can move her body even after eating the chairs and tables.
It’s a blood magic ability that is hard to compare to someone like Fingray. Well, considering that it’s her home ground, and if I had fought properly back then, I would’ve lost.
But, the me back then and the me now are different. If we fight now…
“I’ll win.”
I recited the victory and took out the Diamond 8 card. Thin and long, everything about it. I grabbed both sides of the card with a wire reinforced with steel. The card turned into hundreds of strands of wire and wrapped around my hand.
“So you’re still determined to fight. Your perseverance is no less than a vampire’s.”
I observed the sight of the village chief’s belly disappearing in real-time. At first glance, it seemed to have disappeared in an instant, but in fact, she was releasing the digested objects by coming into contact with the blood flow in her feet. It would be difficult to escape as long as she interacts with this cabin.
Then you can’t do it.
“Do you know that? Your stomach is actually outside your body.”
I secretly pulled out a coil of wire. A tangled mess of steel wire and lightning. When I put them together, the lightning clung to the wire.
“It’s a place where nutrients to be absorbed and impurities to be expelled are temporarily stored. It looks like it’s inside the body, but the inside and outside are separated.”
“Are you explaining digestion to me?”
“Just in case you didn’t know.”
“How kind of you.”
The trees were all eaten up. Now all that’s left is iron. And vampires are good at handling iron.
The village chief rushed at me with a knife. I unfolded the wire to block it, but the village chief seemed to have been waiting and slashed the knife vertically. Snap! The wire couldn’t withstand the vigorous strike and was cut off.
“Even if you use your ki to reinforce it, it’s just a thin thread. You can’t block it with this. Try harder. If not, it’s over.”
The village chief pushed his body through the huge gap where the wire was cut. Rather than protecting himself, he exposed his face and back to the knife.
It’s the attack style of a vampire that can use its body as a shield. It might tear my body apart. Like a beastly charge, I fixed the broken wire.
Actually, the wire wasn’t cut. It was the lightning that was cut, and the wire was waiting for her, still stretched out. The village chief, mistaking the flash and ki, rushed toward the area where I had spread the wire. I felt resistance and kicked the pot. As the pot rolled, it squeezed the wire.
“A net?”
That’s right. The cards were originally woven into a net.
“Hmph. This much…!”
As one pot was not enough, the village chief put on a net and rushed at random. I held onto the wire tightly and resisted, but the vampire pushed me with force even though the wire was digging into his body. It was a truly vampire-like charge.
“Set, Lee!”
That’s what I wanted. The moment when the wire digs into the body.
“Bolt!”
Bolts of lightning crackled through the strands of the lightning thread. In an instant, the lightning surged through her entire body. Village Chief Bilitair experienced paralysis for the first time since becoming a vampire.
“What is this? My body, stopping on its own?!”
It was a shock to her senses. Different from an ordinary lightning strike. This power was well-suited for vampires.
Village Chief Bilitair was an experienced vampire in her own right. She quickly expelled the blood from her body using blood magic, and regained control over her entire body. It didn’t take long to recover. However, it was enough time to be ensnared in a net and hung up on a scaffold. Unable to reach her cabin, Village Chief Bilitair reluctantly admitted defeat.
“That was…what kind of power was that? The alchemist of Cloud Village? It’s even more alien than that…”
“In this world, new things are always emerging.”
She brushed off her hands and knocked on the door. The flow of blood was noticeably weaker now. The Chief wouldn’t be able to stop me from leaving.
Tsk. I even used up my wire. It’s a shame, but retrieving it would be suicidal. I slowly open the door and step outside…
“Oh, before you go.”
Before I step out, I pause for a moment at the sound of murmuring coming from outside the door, and gesture to the Chief.
“Could you tell the villagers outside to disperse?”
The Chief shook, swaying on the scaffold, as she replied.
“…Why should I do that?”
“If you don’t, another village will disappear from the map today.”
Of course, it’s a bluff. I have no way of harming dozens of villagers armed with farming tools. What is that? A sickle tied to a spear? The center of gravity is all wrong, and if I swing it incorrectly, it’ll cut my own foot. I can’t read that thought and avoid getting cut.
Even though I can win now that my body has improved… I’m not a vampire. I don’t want to risk getting impaled by that rusty, old spear.
My intentions aside, to Village Chief Bilitair, I am a greater threat than she is. And a master does not send their livestock into war.
Without rights, there are no obligations. They are always bound together.
The Chief calmly admits defeat and shouts.
“…Everyone in the village, listen. Retreat immediately and return home.”
“Excuse me? Village chief, what is this about…?”
“Right now! Are you saying you won’t even listen to me anymore?”
As the village chief shouted, the people surrounding the outside began lowering their windows one by one, looking at each other. They had no obligation. They simply moved like sheep as the vampire directed.
A fading sign of popularity. I calmly spoke, waiting for them to all disappear.
“May I ask one thing?”
“Go ahead.”
“I want to escape from the kingdom. Where can I find a broker to help me escape?”
This village was a remote mountain village on the outskirts of the kingdom. And the village chief was a vampire who had lived for nearly five hundred years. Surely, he must have heard something. I asked the village chief, and he reluctantly replied.
“Why should I tell you?”
“If you don’t answer, this cabin will burn to the ground. You’ll be exposed under the scorching sun.”
Of course, this was also a lie. I didn’t have the ability to burn down a cabin soaked in blood. Even the vampire knew this fact. He knew that my power was not enough to burn down the cabin in an instant.
Nevertheless, the village chief replied.
“If you continue climbing west over the valley, you’ll come to land where trees don’t grow. Along the boundary where the last tree grew, if you walk along the boundary line for a while, you’ll see a peak where clouds gather. There are rumors that people cross over there. Go and see for yourself.”
The vampire replied.
Of course, it was a lie.
“Ain is guarding the peak where clouds gather. Collie, the guardian of the bloodline of the seven vampire families. If you approach recklessly, he will immediately drive you away.”
Thanks to that, I got some good information. It’s easier to search like this than to look for things one by one.
“Thank you. I’ve received valuable information, so I’ll pass through peacefully.”
I waved my hand, opened the door, and took a step toward the bright world.
Ha, to think I would triumph against Yeiling. My growth is truly impressive. With a light heart, I walked through the deserted village. I felt the presence of humans observing me from inside the huts, but it didn’t matter. They were nothing but livestock, with no rights or obligations.
…No, except for one person.
From Noble mtl dot com
“It’s you… What did you do to the village chief…?”
She was the girl I had encountered before digging the tunnel. Whether it was because she recognized me or simply because she was young, she fearlessly blocked my path, holding a spear she didn’t even know how to wield.
Of course, it was a futile resistance. There was no way a girl weaker than an ordinary human could defeat me. Although she should have listened to the words of the adults more than anyone else, she couldn’t stand in my way.
“hehehehe. Do you think you can stop me, who even the village chief couldn’t stop?”
“Answer me!”
The girl threatened me by thrusting her spear, but I casually shrugged my shoulders and replied.
“What you should be doing right now is not stopping me. It’s rescuing the village chief.”
“…S-Save the village chief?”
“Hurry. You’re the only one who can save the village chief right now. Well…”
I brushed my hair as if mocking her and then glared at the girl with a cold expression.
“If you’re going to fight me, not only will your life be at risk to save the village chief’s life, but also your own.”
The frightened girl held her breath. The spear tip, trembling in fear, shook uncontrollably. I reached out my hand, clearing the path for her to pass.
“If you’re going to save him, I won’t stop you. But… if you have any intention of getting in the way, let’s have a conversation here.”
The girl made up her mind quickly. Stumbling past me, she ran straight toward the village chief’s hut. Watching her run away with uneven steps, I let out a sigh of relief inwardly.
Phew. Thank goodness. I almost made a wrong move and got stabbed with the spear.
Damn. She read my mind. It’s ridiculous. Clearly, in the girl’s mind, she was aiming the spear confidently, but from my perspective, the spear tip was swaying like a drunken butterfly. The unpredictable trajectory of the spear, with its cunning and unpredictability, was more threatening than a vampire’s attack.
Anyway, thanks to persuading her with words, I saved face. I continued to pretend to be calm and headed towards the path guided by the village chief. Hoping for an opportunity to escape.
…By the way. It’s strange that Hilde hasn’t shown up. She must be really out of her mind. Where the hell did she go, leaving me behind!
“Haah~. Does my father even know how much determination ‘I’ have made?”
Thinking of the ‘father’ left behind by Hilde, she sighed deeply.
“Sigh. Of course, the one audience I don’t want to lose looks like this. ‘I’ have no choice but to sacrifice. I left only a letter because I didn’t want to embarrass myself for nothing.”
It was an unavoidable choice to escape. Hilde sighed deeply.
Not worrying. He is the king of humans. No matter what hardship, he can overcome and move forward. There was no basis, but Hilde unconsciously believed in that fact.
However, if the two are together… Hilde becomes useless.
Her power is transformation and acting. It’s everywhere and nowhere. She became part of the pursuit team chasing her, broke through the encirclement, lived as a village girl in a mountain village, and even assassinated bandits invading the village, posing as their leader.
But if he is by her side, Hilde cannot transform. It seals one of her most powerful abilities.
So Hilde left him. For a more certain escape.
Covering her face and smiling for a moment, Hilde slowly wiped her hand. Where there should have been the face of a modest girl just a while ago, there was the face of a clean-shaven man. Transformed into Hilde with a hood, she adjusted her voice slightly by pressing her throat with her fingers.
“Well, even so~. I’ve gathered enough data~. Face, voice, speech habits, and even… body. I think I can deceive Tirkanshak for a while~.”
Changing the face. Adjusting the voice. Correcting her gait. She was the flawless ‘him’. With a mask on, she reminisced about the memories before she became ‘him’.
“As an audience… Am I destined to never escape from acting?”
Indeed. Hilde was a born actress. Whether facing fathers in the circus, nobles on the stage, or pursuit teams while fleeing, she lived by acting. It was something she did to survive, but thanks to it, she survived.
Acting something other than herself. It’s a contradiction… but the answer. Hilde couldn’t detach acting from her life.
“Oh well. The audience is only oneself anyway.”
The heavens wished for her to be in the Holy Sword Division. The saint wished for her to be in the sanctuary. But he wished for her to be an actress who embodied past roles. Even if she could act personally.
The king of humans is such an existence. Closer to phenomenon than gods or saints, a truly absolute existence.
“I initially misunderstood where to rely on. I should have searched for the king of humans. I’ve been doing nothing but good things for others.”
Finally grumbling, Hilde closed her eyes and summoned the role. A man she had observed until now, an ordinary but encompassing all ordinariness, the culmination of human beings.
”I am Hughes. The king of humans.”
The human king named Hughes.
Backwards.
Once, the chaos-inducing Maadu, who had thrown various empires and subjugated lands into disarray, appeared in the Republic.
Ah, should have known Hilde intended to become a decoy. It’s so obvious in retrospect.