NOVEL NEXT Book 6: Prologue
Part 2 – Academy Arc Iron Rose Princess VI
Prologue – Grudge
「……aaAAA! GOSTOURAAAA!」
At the west of Thurs continent──inside an old castle where sunlight didn’t reach, a girl was wailing.
In front of the girl was a single man……or his corpse in any case.
What appeared in front of the girl wasn’t the smiling face of the man returning with dozen of their clan members to report the success of their mission, but just a single unspeaking corpse of Gostoura, the clan head’s aide who was also her irreplaceable friend.
「Why……whyyy!」
The girl wailed. Tears of blood even escaped her eyes because of her heightened emotion.
In the past, the dark elves were persecuted by the holy church that accused them as the messenger of the evil god. The church drove them away toward the dangerous region where a lot of monsters were rampant. Then they called themselves with the depreciatory title of [Evil Race] and went into war with other races numerous time. Those wars greatly reduced their number.
Evil race country, vampire clan. The dark elves who found that their population had been greatly reduced were forced to welcome monsters, those who had even stopped being “human” as countryman. With that vampires who had lived until then by slinking in the darkness could finally obtain dignity as human.
But, even if they were formerly the same dark elf, human and monster wouldn’t be able to understand each other in the truest meaning.
Predator and prey……the vampire clan was constantly being treated with wariness by their fellow evil race. They didn’t know when their own allies would move to remove them. In such situation, the vampire race had to show proof that they were a legitimate member of the evil country even if they had to bleed for it.
In the place of the girl who was the clan head, her aide Gostoura led the clan’s veterans to carry out a dangerous mission, infiltrating a human country.
A report that reached her several months ago mentioned that they would be able to cause unrest inside Claydale Kingdom and reduced its national strength by kidnapping its princess alive.
But……what came back was only Gostoura’s unspeaking corpse…….
The girl who was the clan head understood that not only their plan was foiled, she even lost her fellow clan member and friend Gostoura who had accompanied her for many years.
「……Those damned humans, unforgivable-!」
The girl let out a voice that was filled with resentment. She bared her fang to the dead body of her friend Gostoura.
Vampire obtained the power of soul of living creature by sucking their blood. But, the blood of the dead gave them nothing. But, a vampire with strength above certain level could obtain the thought of the dead through their blood.
「Aa……」
The “blood” memory flowed in……. An impression was especially strong inside that memory……the image of the person that the dead resented was strongly burned into the girl’s brain.
「……It’s you guys. You guys were the ones, who killed my clan members and Gostoura!!」
Claws made from blood lengthened. Blood trickled when her fangs gnawed on her lip.
「…….Black haired woman……and, pink haired woman-! Unforgivable……tsu. I swear I will give you two eternal suffering and show you hell no matter what!!」
.
It was now difficult for the vampire clan that had lost many of their powerful members to continue its survival. Monsters that couldn’t be counted on as fighting strength was nothing more than a nuisance. Even so the clan’s survival might still be possible if the girl who was the clan head fought at the forefront.
But, the girl didn’t choose that. The clan had already lost its meaning for the girl. And so she chose to take revenge for the people who had been together with her for hundreds of years rather than the clan’s survival.
The girl wanted to head to Claydale Kingdom and took revenge for her friend even if she had to do it alone. But, there was also a reason why she couldn’t do that.
A vampire turned their skill when they were still alive and the years they had lived into their strength. The stronger they became, the more monstrous they became spiritually. In such state, living in a human city wouldn’t be an easy thing because of the great restrictions that were put on them, just like with Gostoura and his men. Even if she headed to Claydale Kingdom in such state, it would be almost impossible to search for those two women when she was alone and couldn’t move during the day.
But she wouldn’t give up. In order to kill the two women who killed her friend and her clan’s future, the girl planned to smoke them out using a method that was realistic as well the most unrealistic.
Large war with human country hadn’t broke out since more than fifty years ago. Human race thought that evil race had no strength left to fight, but the evil race still hadn’t given up. For the human race, the war was a history that happened more than two generations ago, but for the dark elves with their long lifespan, it was just a short time that they couldn’t possibly forget.
They were increasing their decreased population, gathered weapons, spread out the members of various clans like the vampire clan all over the continent, sowing the seeds of discord.
And, even now the hardliners of evil race were begging to restart the war again. The current evil race’s king was completely cowardly as though his severeness in the past was just a lie, but if the girl who was the vampire clan’s head didn’t care of what method to use, even winning over the peaceful faction was possible.
She would start the war anew. Using the evil race army, she would crush human settlements. Until that calamity reached those two women, even if she had spent dozens of years for it…….
Even if she herself got worked to death and perish in the process of it.
She would spread destruction until warriors with strength that could defeat Gostoura had no choice but to head to the battlefield.
The girl laughed in the darkness while tears of blood trickled down her face.
「──Thousand curses for the human race──!!」