Unlike the others, the only one who became an Elder by 'antagonizing' the Progenitor. Dullahan. The Headless Knight, a legendary existence who went around beheading renowned knights.
It is historically accurate for the head of the Dark Knight Dullahan, who was said to swing his own head like a morning star, to be separated from his body. However, no matter what, there was never a case where he appeared with just his head dangling without a body. The object of fear was not the head, but the body.
I asked toward Dullahan's head.
"Sir Dullahan. Why have you come only as a head?"
"...You... bastard!"
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His voice was like scraping the very bottom of a depleted vessel. It seemed there was a problem with his vocalization because the lower part of his neck was missing. Even if an Elder is strong, like this, even I wouldn't lose to him.
As the most powerful ally appeared in the most powerless state, Elzebuth glared and demanded answers from Vladmir.
"Vladmir? What is the meaning of this? Where is Dullahan's body?"
"I left his body behind. If his head and body were together, he would surely try to resist the Progenitor."
"...What?"
She still wore an expression of not understanding why he only brought the severed head if he was going to resist the Progenitor. By this point, she should have figured it out.
"Your head has grown quite hard, Madam Elzebuth. Must I explain it with words for you to understand?"
For Elzebuth's smooth understanding, I kindly explained.
"The Duke of Red Blood is not on your side. He has no intention of attacking Tyr, unlike you lot. Unless, of course, he were a rebel who dared to raise a flag of revolt against the Progenitor."
Elzebuth realized too late. Why Vladmir had left his seat. Why he had gone alone to awaken Dullahan. And how he had gotten so close while feigning ignorance and asking back just now.
The moment Elzebuth tried to react, Vladmir moved as well. Elzebuth unfolded her fan as if to shake him off. Her powerful dominance resonated with the blood pooling on the floor, and the blood surged like a wall, separating her and Vladmir. At the same time, red vines and clumped bricks gathered to seize Vladmir's ankles. It looked as if the entire world was trying to hold Vladmir back.
Vladmir's response against this was concise. He grasped his greatsword above his head and struck down fiercely. Everything blocking his path was bisected. The vines, the bricks, and even the liquid wave of blood.
He slashed through not only physical objects but even the authority of Blood Manipulation. Elzebuth, who knew Vladmir's strength better than anyone, instead suppressed him with sheer volume. A much larger amount of blood than what was slashed away gushed forth like a waterfall, encompassing everything.
In terms of the strength of Blood Manipulation, Elzebuth was overwhelmingly superior. Even blood energy did not respond to Vladmir's authority. Here, what Vladmir could freely control was only his body and his greatsword.
However, that was enough to deal with Elzebuth. Vladmir swirled his fingers.
Whether it was qi, Blood Manipulation, or some authority that unified the two, it moved the greatsword. The greatsword flew as if it were alive and spun around on its own. The gradually accelerating greatsword soon turned into a storm. Grinding away the obstacles as it swirled, Vladmir leaped above Elzebuth, grabbed the hilt of the moving greatsword, and slashed straight down.
An irresistible strike bisected the world. Elzebuth opposed it with all her might, but her blood dominance could not block the strike that shattered all things. The fan was torn in half, and the uncontrolled blood energy scattered.
Vampires have a faint fear of death. Is it because they are immortals who feel no pain? That's part of it, but it's probably because their will to live is weak. Just as you can't feel the thrill of gambling with fake money.
But now, Elzebuth, who had finally gained her own desire, became desperate. Elzebuth screamed toward her subordinates.
"Me, me! Protect me!"
However, no being responded to that call. Elzebuth's subordinates were being suppressed by Vladmir's kin, including Count Erte.
Even among the same kin, Vladmir's kin are special. The subordinates who had learned and acquired the authorities of other Elders were outstanding at dealing with fellow vampires, even more so than humans. Elzebuth's kin were suppressed by just the two of them.
A desperate situation. Elzebuth grabbed the greatsword digging further in and screamed.
"Vladmir...! You're betraying us!"
"Betrayal? I have never betrayed even once."
Vladmir muttered as he thrust the greatsword even deeper.
As an Elder, Elzebuth would not die from physical damage. Even if he tried to entangle her dominance, her powerful dominance persisted.
However, with her main body being crushed by the greatsword, she had no strength left to use elsewhere. Elzebuth barely managed to stand against the greatsword and spoke.
"You, you summoned me, your concubine, and told me! You said the duchy needed change...! I only moved because I agreed with that!"
Well, that figures. I thought the movement of the lazy Elders was too sudden. The Duke of Red Blood egged them on behind the scenes.
Would an Elder be someone who gets egged on just because they are egged on? They wouldn't act without a rational basis. They would only move a bit if an Elder with the power and influence of the Duke of Red Blood promised support. As expected, behind the rebellion was the Duke of Red Blood.
Though she probably didn't know it was a trap.
Vladmir muttered as he drove the greatsword even deeper.
"There were exactly two. You and Dullahan."
"What... do you mean?"
"Elders who, after throwing off their shackles, would someday definitely oppose the Progenitor. Dullahan would do so the moment he threw off his shackles, and you would scheme in the shadows and move when an opportunity arose. You were a bit more troublesome than Dullahan. So I just used a troublesome method."
It was from the very beginning. When the Elders noticed the shackles were broken, and the desires they had long suppressed began to stealthily bloom.
From that time, Vladmir calmly devised a plan to find the traitor.
'Not some other foolish Elder, but I myself...! To think I didn't even notice the betrayal!'
Elzebuth felt a sense of humiliation. It was directed at Vladmir, but at the same time, it was directed at herself. She was the one who, before becoming an Elder, had offered an entire territory to the vampires through political strife. To be swayed by just one Duke of Red Blood.
"From the start...! Were you planning to trap me!"
"I gave you the motivation to move. I was just standing at the end of that path."
Vladmir put strength into the greatsword and clenched his left hand like a claw. Blood coagulated around his hand, and his fingers transformed into the shape of large fangs. Elzebuth recognized the power condensed in his left hand and turned pale.
"Blood Maw! You're using Bakhuta's power...!"
"I learned it. It's necessary when dealing with Elders."
An Elder can kill another Elder. After decapitating and subduing them, they can throw their dominance into disarray with Blood Manipulation, driving them to spiritual annihilation. If there is Gluttony involved, the job becomes several times easier. Because one can make the opponent's blood their own.
Gluttony itself might not be as powerful as Bakhuta's, but if it's Vladmir, he would use it more usefully. Elzebuth cried out urgently.
"W-wait! You! Have you ever thought of becoming the king of the duchy instead of the Progenitor?"
Vladmir, who was about to devour Elzebuth with Gluttony, paused for a moment and looked down at her. Elzebuth struggled and screamed desperately.
"I'm certain, Vladmir. If it's your power, it's possible! Tirkanka cannot defeat you. Especially now that she has even lost her power! If it's you, you can truly obtain everything and wield it!"
"What?"
"Everything! Vampires, humans, Elders! Everyone in this country!"
Even as she spoke desperately, she was simultaneously cold and calculating. To her, the greatest enemy right now was not the Progenitor, nor me, but Vladmir. If the one she thought was an ally turned his back, there was no chance of winning.
However, if she could make him an ally, everything would flow easily.
"I will yield the True Blood. I will make you the second Progenitor! If you kill the Progenitor and take her power, you will stand tall as the true monarch of this country...! Without ever needing to receive the Progenitor's orders again!"
Vladmir, who pondered briefly, let out a small hum. Taking it as a sign of agreement, Elzebuth smiled faintly and whispered.
"If it's you, unlike Tirkanka, I can entrust you with me and this country. I, too, will serve you with all my heart and sincerity..."
"I don't need it."
Crunch.
Vladmir's grip swallowed Elzebuth's head. His fingers swallowed Elzebuth like fangs. The flowing blood seeped through the gaps of his grip. The remaining remnants tried to take shape again centered around Blood Manipulation, but Vladmir persistently traced the source of that power.
Slashing, cutting away, persistently scattering Elzebuth. Having found something within Elzebuth's flesh that shattered before it could take form, Vladmir reached out and grasped it.
Tyr's True Blood, the source of her regeneration.
The True Blood that was once Tyr's, but had been altered through its long time with Elzebuth. Tyr's blood given to the Elder.
The True Blood gathered blood and flesh to restore the Elder's body. Even though the source was fully exposed, Elzebuth still hadn't died.
"Hmm."
If he used just a little more force, he could spiritually annihilate Elzebuth, but Vladmir stopped short, leaving one step remaining. Because Elzebuth was a traitor, but the True Blood was a part of Tyr. Having gathered the True Blood back, he spoke without even looking at me.
"Beloved Concubine."
"Pardon?"
"You worked hard."
"At what?"
"Holding back Elzebuth's ankles. Thanks to that, the Progenitor was able to shed a significant burden."
This way of speaking of Vladmir's—I like it, but it's also difficult to deal with.
He didn't guess my feelings. He declared that he would think that way. Even with those words just now, rather than believing I lured Elzebuth for Tyr's sake... he just acknowledged it because my actions resulted in helping Tyr.
Vladmir will not speculate about my inner thoughts and will judge me solely based on the revealed results. There might be incorrect judgments, but he won't misjudge by being swayed by my words.
"Rather than for Tyr's sake, it was so I could survive."
"Wise."
"Not really. Because you arranged things as you pleased, I was almost trapped and killed in the castle without being able to do anything. It seems you expected the Elder's betrayal, so why didn't you stop it in advance?"
Vladmir answered as if it were obvious.
"Before it's done, it's not betrayal."
Vladmir didn't cut off the bud of rebellion early on, claiming loyalty to Tyr. Even if he egged Elzebuth on, he merely watched until she directly started the rebellion. Because Vladmir was not a mind reader.
Since I, a mind reader, am the same, it's hard for me to say anything.
Similar to me, yet the exact opposite. If I watch to see the realization of one's will, he watches the result because he cannot know the will. Should I call it thoughtful, or fearless?
Well, we are walking the same path for now, so I guess it doesn't matter...
"..."
"What is it? Why are you staring at me so suddenly?"
Vladmir, who was about to leave for Tyr's sake right away, stared at me without a word. Around the time my spine tingled with an ominous feeling, Vladmir picked up his greatsword again and muttered.
"...Before it's done, it's not betrayal."
"Pardon?"
"Even if the human king were to forsake the Progenitor's affection. Before he forsakes it, it is not betrayal."
'Even if he doesn't love the Progenitor... or even sympathize with her. It would be presumptuous of me to handle it on my own before the Progenitor experiences it herself. In any case, the Progenitor having a new experience is a good thing.'
This guy is something else. Rather than being loyal to Tyr, he is faithful. He doesn't seem to have any intention of betraying her, but he also doesn't view Tyr as a god or a king.
This feeling is...
"Mr. Vladmir. Can I ask you just one thing?"
"I will listen."
Look at that attitude. I grumbled inwardly and asked.
"As Elzebuth said, you could have become the second Progenitor, so why didn't you?"
"Because there was no reason to."
"Well, that's true."
A short answer and a plain truth, but it wasn't the answer I wanted.
Ugh. I can read a vampire's thoughts, but reading such vast memories and inferring emotions is too inefficient. Besides, his emotions were faint in those days, so it's impossible to even pick out and read only the memorable ones.
It's better to make him recall the answer through a question and then read it. What would be good? After carefully choosing my question, I asked one more.
"What are you expecting from Tyr?"
"Expecting?"
Was it a question close to the core? Vladmir, uncharacteristically, furrowed his brow and pondered.
A vampire stops at the moment they accept blood. Their body, mind, and even their emotions. The first thing Vladmir recalled was also the memory right before he died.
He lost his family and his territory. He resolved to take revenge, but he was powerless. He used all his strength, utilized his connections, and devised stratagems, but ultimately failed and fled. A girl appeared before him as he was dying in an unnamed forest, chased by his enemies.
A pure-white girl draped in rags. Even stepping barefoot through the rough thickets, there wasn't a single scratch on her body. He thought beasts would come first smelling the blood, but instead it was a girl, whether a witch or an angel he couldn't tell. A truly joyous miscalculation on his final journey.
—What a miserable state you're in.
Vladmir did his best and failed. Even if he resolved to take revenge, it's something you do when you have the capability; if he threw everything he had at it and still couldn't achieve it, that was a failure beyond remedy. Vladmir was a human who went just that far.
—I heard your story. The leader of the rebel army who burned with vengeance and challenged the Archduke. You fought quite well, but it seems your strength has finally run out. Tragically.
Was that really the case?
Contrary to what was known to the world, Vladmir did not cry out for revenge. He was a realistic human. Even with the enemy right before his eyes, he didn't ruin things out of vengeance.
At the same time, he was a more romantic human than anyone else. Even knowing it was virtually impossible, he chose to fight instead of running away.
—If it's you, who resembles me, you might be able to endure eternal solitude and endless hardship.
The murmuring girl bit her own finger. The blood that would later be named True Blood welled up and fell, then abruptly stopped. The girl's blood, clumped like a bead in midair, slowly burrowed into Vladmir's body. Replacing the blood that had lost control in his dying body, a massive dominance consumed him.
—I will give you a chance to start over. If you want to live, accept my blood.
He had no lingering desire he wanted to achieve so badly that he would start over. He had only failed, but he had already achieved his revenge.
His soldiers were annihilated. His vassals and household became slaves or disappeared as dew on the execution ground. The alliance was broken, and his comrades became sinners. He had lost the gamble he had staked everything on.
He did his best and failed miserably; having lost everything, wouldn't it be too pathetic to beg for another chance here and now?
Vladmir pursued romance, even if he used realistic means. Achieving it with this immense power that fell from who knows where would not be his accomplishment. Even if he became a loser, he could not be pathetic.
He didn't know if resisting such a massive power had any meaning, but just as Vladmir, who had made his own closure, was about to refuse, the girl muttered in a cold, lonely voice.
—And... after you have fully achieved your revenge, become my limbs and help me with my revenge.
However, conversely.
The girl, whether a witch or an angel, needed him.
She harbored cold, deep hatred and a desire for revenge, and possessed boundless authority, but the young yet ancient Progenitor, Tirkanka, needed Vladmir. He could become her tool.
He had lost everything anyway. What he was responsible for had crumbled to dust in history. Wasn't it a good condition to become someone's tool? Vladmir had failed, but the girl had a chance to succeed.
Instead of resisting, Vladmir accepted the power. Deciding to live his second life pathetically, he opened his mouth and accepted the blood.
Vladmir's desire was to help Tirkanka. The duty of an Elder was to serve the Progenitor.
Because every action he took as her limb aligned with Vladmir's desire... unlike other Elders who had stopped, Vladmir grew even stronger. He modeled after other nations to build a system, and trained himself to cultivate power and learn skills.
So that the Progenitor could achieve her wish someday.
"..."
Vladmir stared at me without a word. A brief scene flashed through his mind. Tyr, dressed in a beautiful dress, offering her hand with a bright smile. And on the opposite side, me, appearing slickly, snatching it away abruptly.
What Vladmir imagined was Tyr's wedding. The partner was me, who was somehow displeasing to him. Immediately after, Vladmir's mood became greatly discomforted. Gathering Dullahan's head and Elzebuth's heart, Vladmir turned around.
"I said I'd listen, I don't have an obligation to speak."
Spitting that out, Vladmir moved toward the castle as if he would say no more. To subdue the traitors who dared to attack the Progenitor.
Left behind, I ruminated on the thoughts I had just read.
...Was he seriously that whipped?