For vampires, whose blood is both power and origin, the dominance of a higher-ranking vampire is absolute. Among them, the power and symbolism held by the Progenitor are incomparable to anyone else.
Through the dominance of the Blood Ancestor Art, only direct descendants who share the blood can have their bodies directly controlled. Even an Elder cannot directly control another Elder's Ain. Therefore, only the Progenitor exercises absolute dominance over all vampires.
Of course, the Blood Ancestor Art is not the only means of domination.
"What is this ignorant trash? My sister is spending time with her beloved, and you dare interrupt? A mere Ain?! You have no tact, and no use!"
Power and fear are also one method. Just as the Blood Maiden Kabila is doing to Jazra right now.
Even the immortal vampires are only so when the opponent is ordinary. A higher-rank vampire interferes with the Blood Ancestor Art, the source of regeneration. The bone saw that pierced Jazra's body tangled his blood.
Jazra barely managed to control his rampaging blood and spoke.
"Cough...! Lady Kabila, why are you doing this to me...!"
"Why? Hehe. Why, you ask?!"
Kabila narrowed her eyes and twisted her wrist. The bone saw that had burrowed into his flesh fed on Jazra's blood and flesh and grew. Kabila whispered fiercely.
"Asking why is the reason you'll die. Die. Die. Just die."
From Jazra's perspective, it was infuriating and unjust. He had only come to petition the Progenitor, yet he found himself facing a life-or-death crisis.
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'...The Blood Fetters. If the Progenitor has also escaped from those fetters that make vampires obey their sire and dominate their kin.'
Reaching that thought, Jazra realized something. And despaired.
'Lilr Nightingale escaping the fetters was nothing. If the Progenitor has escaped the fetters, if she intends to abandon all these vampires...! Having learned this, I cannot survive!'
It is generally not true that those facing death become brave... Ordinary beasts deny the impending death, struggle to survive, and meet their end consumed by fear.
However, Jazra is a vampire, a high-ranking Ain who has been through countless battles. With his heart already stopped, he coldly observed and accepted reality. That the only remaining outcome for him was death.
'Lord Ruskinia! Please forgive this inadequate kin who could not avenge your grudge...!'
The grown bone saw burrowed throughout his entire body. Most of Jazra's blood was consumed. However, he too was an Ain. Jazra manipulated the remaining handful of blood and screamed.
"The Progenitor... has abandoned us...! She has escaped... the fetters...!"
That was his last. The grown bone blade pierced Jazra's head. Jazra, an Ain who was once a member of the great vampires and shared the history of the Principality as an Ain, perished entirely. Leaving only a handful of blood flowing along the bone saw and darkness like half-burnt ashes.
A breeze blew from somewhere. The ashes that were Jazra soared on the wind. The ashes, rising as if a soul was ascending to heaven, melted into the pitch-black darkness of the Mist Principality. Whether it headed to the sky or became part of the immaculate darkness, no one knows.
"Sister. There's no need to be lenient. Trash like this needs to be trampled and stamped down each time to enforce discipline. Since Ruskinia also died on his own terms, you're the only one who can stop the Elder-less Ains from running wild."
Kabila retracted the bone saw that had grown to the size of a small tree. Barely smoothing over her vicious expression, Kabila spoke with a smiling face. So amicably that one couldn't believe she had just killed a kin.
"How insolent. As if sister would abandon us, right?"
She is an Elder who handles the Blood Ancestor Art better than anyone. In terms of technical aspects, she might even be more skilled than the Progenitor, Tir. All such Elders felt a sense of incongruity, though none of them voiced it out loud.
That Tir's dominance had weakened.
Having gathered her emotions, Tir nodded and spoke.
"Of course. If I intended to abandon you, I wouldn't have returned."
"I believe you. I know. Sister, who split her body to block the sun and squeezed out her blood to share with everyone, could never abandon us. Sister is our god, our life, and our nation."
Kabila shoved the bone saw into the belly of a teddy bear. Even though the volume of the bone saw was several times larger than the teddy bear, when Kabila pushed it in, the bone saw disappeared as if sucked in.
Having hidden the gruesome bone saw, Kabila approached Tir with a bright smile. It was a smile like that of a cute child, but having just witnessed the execution, I couldn't accept it at face value.
Scary, so scary. This vampire world. Thank goodness I'm human.
"Sister. Can I ask you one thing? What happened to your dominance?"
"I have reclaimed my heart."
"Your... heart?"
"Yes. My first life, when I was killed by the Chenghuang Ting long ago. I recalled the beating of the heart I had forgotten back then and realized it through the Blood Ancestor Art. The stopped time flowed again."
Tir placed her hand on her chest and murmured.
"Thanks to that, I gained emotions. The heart that beats as it pleases guides me to unfamiliar places. It shows me emotions even I didn't know. Yes... I have found life once again."
"Sister's life..."
Kabila, who slowly chewed on Tir's words, soon smiled brightly and took Tir's hand. Taking the opportunity to fiddle with her hand and fill her heart with selfish motives, Kabila feigned empathy.
"That's great, sister. To think that sister, who always sacrificed herself for us, has found life again."
"Thank you. I will look for another way regarding the fetters. I'm not too worried. The Elders to rule the kin are still here..."
Speaking of which, recalling the Elder who was no longer here, Tir muttered with a dark expression.
"...Excluding Ruskinia. I must handle this matter quickly."
"That's right. Let's quickly clean up the annoying business and hold a banquet at the Full Moon Castle. Call the livestock, gather the blood, and grandly celebrate sister's return!"
"Yes. Phew. As for the story we were in the middle of... let's finish it when we arrive."
Kabila's gaze turned towards me. Still wearing the pure smile she had shown Tir. Under the burdensome gazes of the two girls, I nodded.
"Sure, why not."
...Vampires have faint emotions. It is extremely difficult to surprise or delight them, who can manipulate the blood flow throughout their bodies. If a vampire shows an expression, it is a work created at the end of a cold calculation.
Kabila's expression also means it was fabricated.
Scary, so scary. Thank goodness I'm human, really.
The procession to the Full Moon Castle was prepared. In accordance with Tir's will, it was a splendid but not noisy procession. Three people and one beast Elder guarding a giant carriage, followed quietly by a few Ains directly under them. It was a small number, but an imposing procession in terms of its lineup.
Other than the fact that Ralion pulled it, no part of the carriage looked like a carriage. It was larger than a luxurious two-story house, and its body was painted pitch-black. Wheels didn't exist at all. Instead, what seemed like darkness given form supported the bottom of the carriage.
As if gliding on well-polished ice, the carriage advanced quickly and smoothly. The ride was so comfortable that the journey was not inconvenient. A carriage with no shaking... it might get a little boring...
"Progenitor's beloved!"
Or maybe not.
Looking back, Ruken was glaring at me piercingly. Since we would be seeing each other often from now on, I responded as kindly as possible.
"What is it."
"I heard you are the King of Humans! I am curious about the power of the King of Humans, the lord of all creation! How about it, won't you fight me!"
"I said no. I told you. I have no power whatsoever."
"Why--!!"
"Because I have no power--!"
I yelled right back. Ruken is simple at best and stupid at worst, so he doesn't understand unless you yell at him outright.
And he doesn't get offended just because a human raised their voice. Ruken purely grumbled, dissatisfied that I 'wouldn't fight him.'
"Keugh. How can you be so sloppy and leak your power everywhere? If you're the King of Humans, you should have kept your power safe!"
"Did I lose it? My great-great-great-great... ugh, out of breath. The previous King of Humans lost it on his own. I'm a victim too."
"Do you not know where you lost your power? If it's close, I can help you find it!"
"That's the most welcome thing I've heard. Please find the nearby Demon Gods. If you find all the Demon Gods and I awaken as the King of Humans, I'll fight you first."
"Haha! Alright-! A man's promise must not be broken!"
Well, I guess I gained one ally who will help find the Demon Gods. Though he probably won't be of much help.
Ruken nodded vigorously, threw open the carriage window, and shouted.
"Demon Gods--! Come out right now--!"
My expectation was spot on. Ruken was completely useless. Let alone clues about the Demon Gods, he didn't even know how to approach them.
I just raised his favorability a bit; I didn't expect him to actually find them. While I was watching Ruken scream at the top of his lungs, Kabila extended her bone saw and hooked it around Ruken's neck. Then she yanked the screaming Ruken back.
"Did a wild boar suddenly get its throat cut or something! Sister is traveling through the Principality, and you want to ruin her good mood?! Don't get in the way and just shut up and sit down! Show at least a pig's tail's worth of patience!"
It seems the prank of hooking a saw around the neck is trivial to a vampire. Even as his neck was being cut, Ruken removed the bone saw without much emotion and grumbled.
"There's nothing to do in the carriage anyway! Then shouldn't I at least look for the Demon Gods on the way!"
"Is screaming your thing to do?! You really have nothing to do! If you're that bored, why don't you have a running race with Ralion!"
"Hmm! That's a good idea!"
Of course, even words said as a joke can turn out differently depending on who accepts them. Ruken jumped right out of the carriage, somehow managed to balance, and ran wildly on his two legs. Thump, thump, the footsteps of the wild boar beastman echoed right beside us.
But no matter what, Ralion is a horse. Compared to Ruken running on two legs, Ralion, stepping powerfully with four legs, was inevitably much faster. Ruken, who had advanced confidently, gradually fell behind.
"Hah! Hah! As expected, Ralion is fast! I don't think I can keep up..."
Slam. Kabila closed the carriage window right in front of Ruken's eyes. With that, the inside of the carriage became quiet. The windows, embracing the darkness, swallowed even the sound.
"Sister! I removed the noisy obstacle. Now sister's journey has become comfortable!"
Kabila said to Tir as if asking for praise. Since I was also feeling a bit annoyed by the noise, I gladly accepted it. Tir seemed to feel the same way.
"Now that it's quiet, we can have a slightly more serious discussion."
Sitting right beside me, Tir stared intently at Hilde, who was calmly reading a book across from her. Hilde, who had piled up dozens of thick books from goodness knows where, pretended not to notice and flipped the pages, then glanced this way and let out a sigh.
"Your gaze is so intense it's going to burn a hole in the book~. What is it, Tirkanjaka~?"
Tir gently interrogated Hilde.
"Hilde. It is now time for you to speak of your national affairs."
"In a moving carriage?"
"It is the best place to discuss major affairs. It will be harder for anyone to eavesdrop than even at the Full Moon Castle."
"That's true. Alright. 'My' lips were starting to itch to speak anyway~."
Hilde closed the book she was reading with a thud. After placing the book on her lap and clasping her hands together to rest her chin, Hilde instantly transformed from a childish reader into a seasoned politician. Hilde looked Tir straight in the eye and spoke.
"To be straightforward. 'I' desire an alliance between the Military State and the Principality!"
An alliance with the Mist Principality. It is a major national affair indeed. However, Tir's reaction to the story was unenthusiastic.
"Is that all?"
How many countries have tried to borrow the power of vampires until now? There might be few humans in a single era who would come up with this alliance as a brilliant scheme, but over the course of 1,200 years, they sprang up like bamboo shoots after the rain. To Tir, an alliance was a very banal, boring, and practically unhelpful proposal.
However, Hilde had prepared at least one twist. As if having expected Tir's reaction, Hilde smiled softly, looked my way, and spoke.
"By making Father the King of the Military State!"