NOVEL NEXT “Your execution scheduled for tomorrow has been postponed.”
The white-haired woman, bound in the corner with her eyes covered, flinched and slightly turned her head towards the voice.
Compared to her earlier desperate cries for help after being imprisoned in the basement, this reaction was barely anything at all.
However, after realizing no one would listen to her pleas after a couple of days of wailing, she proved, for the first time in a long while, that she was not merely a doll but a living being.
“So, what will happen to me now?”
Her voice, dry and cracked, lacked strength—rightly so, as she hadn’t had a drop of water in three days.
Even with the news of her execution being postponed, there was no hint of joy. Instead, the atmosphere surrounding her was one of resignation, evoking sympathy from those who looked upon her.
Yet, the priest’s face, who blatantly ignored her question, showed no sign of compassion whatsoever. They were not the soft-hearted humans capable of feeling pity for a monster.
The Progenitor of Vampires was such a being.
The nemesis of humanity.
The calamity of the living.
The worst predator in history.
No matter how pitiable her appearance may be, should one let down their guard, she could swiftly become a living natural disaster. The priest never forgot that fact.
The postponement of the execution was not out of a desire to spare her life.
The Luminous Kingdom’s Palace had no intention of letting the Progenitor go free. But considering the Progenitor’s peculiar nature, Cardinal Raul Carlos insisted that there was a more suitable ‘use’ for her, thus allowing her to prolong her life for a bit longer.
What that use entailed, the priest did not know, but it had nothing to do with the role he was assigned. He merely had to follow orders from above.
“Move her.”
The priest gestured to the waiting soldiers behind him.
Clunk—
When the soldiers set the black metal box they had been holding down, a chilling sound echoed in the air.
The box seemed utterly unsuitable for containing anything living.
The woman’s eyes were covered, so she couldn’t see the box. Yet, perhaps sensing the ominous air from the sound alone, she began to writhe and struggle for the first time in ages.
But bound hand and foot, she had no way to resist the soldiers. Defeated and rendered powerless, even her last remaining freedom—her mouth—was sealed shut with a gag.
Eventually, the lid was placed atop the girl’s body stuffed into the freezing box.
Due to the cramped space, the lid could not shut completely, but as they forced it down, an audible click echoed when it finally latched shut.
As an unwelcome scream, muffled by the gag, vanished into the box, silence returned to the basement.
The box containing Aria was thus transported somewhere.
*
It’s dark.
It’s cold.
I’m scared.
During the journey as I was moved like a piece of luggage, I trembled in fear in the swaying box.
Where did things go wrong?
Was it a mistake to hope for Selin’s goodwill that day?
Looking back, it seems I was ridiculously certain that ‘Selin would understand me’ while hiding behind ‘she might understand’.
I thought, since we had spent some time together, she would believe in me, and that she would trust her own experiences with me over the bad words that flew around about the Progenitor.
Yet, it was only much later that I realized how naïve that was—an insufferably childish whim for someone who knew so little about the world.
Having been given a death sentence, I had grown accustomed to the goodwill of others.
My parents in my past life tried to fulfill my wishes as much as possible, the doctors and nurses were always kind, and strangers would look upon me with pity and compassion when they learned I was dying.
It was understandable upon reflection. People become lenient towards those they believe pose no competition.
Even when subtly jabbing at rivals, they could hardly muster the energy to harm the weak who would fall behind on their own.
But I did not grasp that simple truth. They say one begins to think goodwill is a right when it continues unbroken; accustomed to the kindness of others, I firmly believed the one-dimensional view I saw through the narrow window of the hospital was the truth, and that led me to innocently believe humanity’s nature was good.
I thought conversations could solve everything. I truly believed heartfelt words would connect.
When I realized that was no more than a convenient illusion, that the world was not so straightforward, it was already too late.
Selin had treated me as the Progenitor of Vampires, and the Kingdom swiftly dismissed my cries for coexistence.
And once they confirmed that I was indeed the Progenitor, they locked me up and tossed me underground. Left to languish for days without food or water, I now found myself stuffed into a box where I couldn’t even move a limb, being transported somewhere.
Listening closely, I could hear murmurs beyond the box. It seemed the outside world was alive. Although the execution was still far away, were they already advertising the capture of the Progenitor?
“Kill her already!”
“I can finally stretch out and sleep!”
“Such a monster was hiding in Randell? Scary world out there!”
“Why was the execution postponed? Even the high-ups must have plans, but it’s unsettling thinking there’s a repulsive vampire nearby.”
Ahaha, I wish I hadn’t heard any of that. Maybe it’s because I can’t see ahead, but I’m unnaturally hearing it all.
So, that’s how people think.
These were the very people I yearned to be with, who I cried for coexistence with.
And all the while, they knew nothing.
They didn’t know what I had endured.
They didn’t know how much despair I felt, how I struggled, how I endured.
At this rate, I would be the only fool. The only one foolish enough to endure just to mingle with those who didn’t even know me and call for my death simply because it felt unpleasant.
If it was going to be like this, then maybe, just maybe—
“…No. Don’t think about that.”
I closed my eyes and squirmed, plugging my ears.
Soon, my world shrank down to the size of a black box.
The diminished world remained dark, cold, and tormenting.
*
I lifted my head at the sound of a key unlocking.
No, saying I lifted my head is misleading. There wasn’t much room to move freely in the narrow box.
-Creeeak!
The sound of the lid opening filled the air as a thick, muggy atmosphere hit my skin.
And then, unexpectedly close, I suddenly heard someone’s voice.
“Oh. So, you truly don’t need to breathe. How fascinating.”
A chill ran down my spine at the tone full of admiration and intrigue. Anyone who found interest in a human stuffed in a box was far from an ally.
Strictly speaking, I wasn’t human, but a vampire; however, that very fact proved that the other person did not see me as human.
But it didn’t matter how wary I was. My body, captured by something, was abruptly yanked out of the box and tossed onto the floor.
My thighs and arms burned from the rough treatment. The wounds from being wedged in the box stung painfully, but I didn’t have the courage to voice a complaint.
Rough hands pulled away the blindfold. I instinctively squinted and shut my eyes against the sudden brightness, but a large hand forcefully held my eyelids open.
As I blinked back tears to adjust to the light, an elderly man, probably around sixty, appeared with an odd, excited expression.
“Ah! It’s truly not red! A Progenitor who has never drunk human blood… to think I would obtain such a specimen while alive! Ah, thank you, Lord Luminous! I am grateful for your guidance!”
‘Fanatic.’
The madness evident in his voice sent waves of fear through me. The dissonance between his somber but imposing demeanor and his frenzied words was enough to send my panic into overdrive.
I instinctively recoiled. Perhaps sensing my reaction, the old man smiled for some reason.
“Ah, how unusually excited you are! Nice to meet you, young Progenitor. My name is Raul Carlos, one of the Cardinals of the Luminous Church.”
A nightmare for vampires. The inquisitorial Cardinal.
At the same time, he was the one who suggested overturning precedents and expanding searches, playing a crucial role in my capture.
Of course, I would only come to learn these facts much later. But even I could grasp that the mere appearance of someone holding such a title was indicative of something serious.
“Please… spare me.”
Yet, the first words that escaped my lips were pitifully a plea for my life.
After saying it, a wave of self-loathing washed over me. My illusions about the goodness of humanity were shattered, and even after so much despair, I had just cowered at the utterance of that one line, unable to give up hope.
What foolishness this was! The very person that Selin had rejected would unlikely be freed by someone like a Cardinal.
In the face of death, I was utterly weak.
“Hmm. So you speak the Empire’s tongue without question and engage in conversation. It seems the Progenitor can understand all of humanity’s language.”
The Cardinal showed no interest in my pleas.
When I realized that the greeting he’d given was merely a test, I understood.
Ah, this person has no intention of conversing with me.
He seeks only to study the Progenitor as a specimen.
And that realization came true in the worst possible way.
-Thunk!
“AAAAAH!!!!”
A sharp pain flared up, and an involuntary scream escaped my lips.
Following the pain down, I noticed a thin knife embedded in my forearm. It took a moment for me to realize the Cardinal had stabbed my arm, given his expression was one of complete calm.
“Ah? Still no regeneration capabilities, huh?”
It hurts. It really hurts.
Even as I shrieked in agony, no one came to my rescue. There were no allies here for me either.
All I could do was scream at the desperate truth that yet another lower point existed in a life I believed had already hit rock bottom.