Chapter 43
“Do you know why I called for you…?”
Eric dragged out his words as he glanced sideways at Meloni.
The reason he had summoned her—going so far as to lie about being ill. What could it be?
Curious, Meloni waited. But for some reason, Eric didn’t speak easily.
“That is…”
“That is?”
She’d spoken deliberately to hurry him along, but Eric only smiled and gave no answer.
“Sir Eric, please answer quickly.”
“Haha. Naturally, it was just because I wanted to see you sooner.”
“Sir Eric.”
By now, Meloni was glaring at him. Faced with her sharp gaze, Eric laughed playfully.
“What a cold daughter you are.”
“……”
“All right, all right. You’re too scary to joke with.”
Shrugging, Eric finally sat down across from Meloni.
“I’ll get to the point.”
Only then did Meloni relax and nod with a faint smile.
Eric’s atmosphere had turned serious.
“Meloni, the fact that I’m not actually ill is known only to a very small number of people within Clovis.”
“So you didn’t lie just to summon me?”
“That’s right.”
“Then why?”
Meloni’s expression stiffened in an instant.
Eric took a sip of tea before continuing.
“Humans are in danger.”
“Humans?”
“All humans existing in the Arcadia Empire. That includes you and me.”
“What do you mean?”
Eric was the head of Clovis and the strongest vampire hunter in the empire.
He existed to protect humans and had devoted his strength to that cause for over forty-eight years.
For such a man to sigh and say that humans were in danger—
This can’t be a joke.
Meloni’s expression grew equally grave.
“After Saint Sabina’s ‘policy of coexistence between vampires and humans,’ the Second Racial War broke out. You’ve heard of it.”
Instead of answering, Meloni nodded. Anyone training to become a saint learned these basics.
There had been times when vampires and humans spilled immense amounts of blood to claim this land—twice, in fact.
The First Racial War, long ago. And the Second Racial War, a hundred years ago.
Vampires won the first war, and humans claimed victory in the second.
“After the second war, this empire continuously oppressed and killed vampires.”
“Right. That’s why hunters like us exist.”
“It seems the vampires dissatisfied with that have been banding together.”
Which meant…
“They say vampires harboring resentment toward humans have secretly been building power and preparing for war.”
Meloni blinked.
Had she heard that correctly?
When she didn’t respond, Eric let out a deep sigh.
“At first, everyone laughed it off. We thought humans had complete control over vampires.”
“……”
“But that wasn’t the case.”
“Vampires can be identified, though.”
“True.”
Eric picked up an hourglass from the desk. Inside it, the vampire blood remained dark crimson.
A blood hourglass that went wild in the presence of vampires—an item given to every hunter except her.
“But they’ve become so skilled at disguising themselves that even this is useless.”
“Ha…”
“They’ve advanced that much, while humans have stayed the same.”
“Then… the hourglass is useless now.”
“Yes.”
Faced with such shocking news, Meloni felt as though she’d been struck hard on the back of the head.
How was she supposed to take this?
Going out to hunt vampires had always felt light, but war was something far more terrifying.
She clenched and unclenched her fist.
“So?”
“This is something we learned recently, which is why we humans have begun preparing for a Third Racial War.”
“Is that why you called me?”
“That’s part of it.”
“Then why did you spread rumors within Clovis that you were ill?”
“Meloni, I’ll tell you everything.”
Eric pressed a hand to his forehead, as if his head hurt. After thinking for a long moment, he spoke again.
“…We can’t trust the temple, nor Clovis.”
“……”
“Lately, people who visit the temple have been going missing. Some of them were later found completely drained of blood.”
“I understand not trusting the temple. But Clovis?”
“I’m glad you’re quick to understand. It seems there’s… a spy within Clovis.”
Recently, the number of replicas had increased too much, and it had become impossible to track their owners.
Investigators from Clovis who tried to trace them were being killed, or information simply vanished.
Worse still, false intelligence kept being fed to them, constantly redirecting investigations elsewhere.
“The erasure of information and the changing of destinations—those are all likely the work of an internal spy.”
“That’s serious.”
“I spread rumors of my illness to provoke the vampires.”
He intended to deliberately lower Clovis’s strong walls. If its leader was sick, cracks would surely appear—and the enemy would take advantage and surface.
That was what Eric was aiming for. For now, the enemy remained hidden in the darkness.
“The enemy leader will definitely reveal himself.”
Even Meloni, who traveled the country hunting for her nemesis’s head, hesitated upon hearing this.
She wasn’t attached to Clovis as an organization—only to Eric and a few others she was close to.
And now, those people were in danger.
What should I do?
As if dismissing her worries, Eric continued.
“And the reason I called you is not only to tell you this…”
“Then?”
“I have a favor to ask.”
Given the situation, it was clearly no small request.
After a moment of thought, Meloni nodded. Knowing the gravity of things, it was hard to refuse outright.
She couldn’t simply insist on continuing her personal vendetta.
“Investigate the temple.”
“Me?”
“There’s no one else. You lived at the temple too…”
“You know I practically did nothing for five years.”
“Even so, you know it better than anyone in Clovis. And you can identify vampires without the hourglass.”
At that last remark, Meloni froze.
Because it was true.
Meloni still possessed considerable holy power—enough to sit in the position of Saint again.
That was why she could identify vampires with just her eyes and power, without the hourglass.
“If you find vampires pretending to be human, you may kill them on the spot.”
“Is this your decision alone, Sir Eric?”
“No. It’s the decision of trustworthy priests and His Majesty the Emperor.”
“You’re overlooking something. Since that day, I haven’t been able to properly use my holy power.”
The day her foolishness led to her parents’ deaths. She’d lost control and unleashed her holy power wildly, then collapsed.
Since then, Meloni had been unable to fully wield her once-great power.
She was meant to succeed the current Saint, but that plan was canceled. She remained at the temple as a saint candidate for five years, then eventually left.
“I heard from Glenn. You drove off a horde of replicas with holy power.”
“…Tch.”
She clicked her tongue with a sigh, and Eric chuckled.
“You can use it again.”
“That was a coincidence.”
“So what if it was?”
“It might not come out when it really matters.”
“Please help us.”
At Eric’s heavy words, Meloni fell silent.
Of course she wanted to help—if it were just an investigation. But from everything she’d heard, this mission carried real weight.
Purge all vampires in the temple and find those on their side.
That was the true mission Eric was giving Meloni.
“You’re the only one who can truly help right now, Meloni.”
“Sir Eric, I’m just…”
“The situation is getting worse.”
Seeing her hesitate, Eric added,
“Ordinary humans are being turned into replicas more often. Clovis has lost many members in battles with vampires.”
“……”
“The temple is no longer safe. It’s become too difficult to tell who is a vampire.”
The fundamental reason Meloni couldn’t immediately accept Eric’s request—
Was that it required her to properly use her holy power.
“I’m begging you, Meloni.”
At his earnest plea, Meloni squeezed her eyes shut.
