NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 13
“……”
Before I knew it, the man’s expression had turned utterly bewildered.
Unlike me, who was fully prepared for battle, the man was still defenseless, staring intently at the fallen Priscilla, tilting his head in confusion.
“What is this?”
As I also tilted my head slightly with a puzzled expression, the man, instead of answering, began rummaging through his suit pocket for no apparent reason.
Soon, a mysterious wooden cross slowly emerged from his hand.
“…?”
Though small and unimpressive in appearance, it gave off an oddly unsettling vibe.
It was the kind of thing that would make anyone immediately think of an exorcism scene from a movie. The man, without hesitation, shoved the wooden cross toward me, continuing his bizarre behavior.
For a demon to shove a wooden cross at me was utterly incomprehensible.
“Hmm, as I heard, you’re indeed a peculiar vampire. Blood magic aside, not only do you live in a church, but crosses don’t work on you either.”
“Were you serious about that?”
“Of course. Ordinary vampires wouldn’t even come near a church, and they have a pathological hatred for holy objects.”
“Don’t you think it’s strange for a demon to act like this?”
“You have to try everything that might work. Who knows? Things might just work out unexpectedly—”
What a ridiculous demon.
It wasn’t entirely baseless, but it wasn’t something I could fully understand either.
From the looks of it, vampires in this world can be relatively easily defeated by the commonly known methods.
But wouldn’t those methods also work on demons?
“Ah… just to let you know, we demons can’t be defeated by things like crosses. We’ve evolved over generations to adapt to our environment.”
“Wouldn’t that be the same for vampires?”
“Hmm, no. That can’t be. As you know, vampires are nearly extinct. Before you appeared, they were completely extinct.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yes. They were like pests that had to suck blood just to survive. Such a lowly race couldn’t have survived until now.”
The more I listened, the more I felt an inexplicable sense of dissonance, reminding me of the female demon I had met before.
Somehow, it seemed like the demon genuinely despised vampires, with a clear look of contempt beyond mere disregard.
“But… strangely, I don’t see any particular weaknesses in you. Are you really a vampire?”
“As you can see, I am blessed by the goddess Faelia.”
“Ha, what nonsense. From what I’ve observed so far, you seem particularly weak to sunlight.”
“Have you been spying on me?”
“I heard some stories. It seemed more advantageous for me to approach it this way rather than blindly searching.”
The strange sense of dissonance from the man didn’t fade easily.
Until just now, I thought he wouldn’t be much different from the female demon I had met before.
…It seems he’s not someone to drag things out with.
– Swish
As soon as I finished my thoughts, I slowly sharpened the tip of the spear I was holding.
Without a moment’s hesitation, I adjusted my stance and was about to charge at the man when—
“Don’t move. We’re not done talking yet.”
The man’s voice, which had been relaxed just moments ago, suddenly gained an overwhelming weight, pressing down on me mercilessly.
It was as if the gravity around me had increased several times.
“Hoho, I thought I’d give it a try since I had nothing to lose, but it seems to be quite effective.”
“…What did you just do?”
“Nothing much. Just used the only skill I, a weakling, can use.”
The man’s expression had now turned smug.
It certainly felt like a last-resort skill, but it didn’t give me a sense of immediate life-threatening danger.
After all, the effect was fading surprisingly quickly.
The man didn’t seem to notice my current state yet.
“This confirms it. You’re weaker than me.”
“…?”
“My verbal command doesn’t work on strong opponents. But right now, you can’t even move a finger under my command, can you?”
“……”
“I should have tried this earlier. Who would have thought you’d be weaker than me…”
A skill that is absolute against weaker opponents but utterly useless against stronger ones.
A skill with a stark contrast between its highs and lows.
While the man’s triumphant words kept coming, I was lost in my own happy delusions, pondering only about the skill called “verbal command.”
Perhaps, like before, I could absorb a demon’s skill.
To completely subdue an opponent with just words…
Is there any skill in the world more tempting than this?
“In the end, you’re just a helpless vampire. Although it was a short time, it was enjoyable talking with you.”
With those words, the man began to approach me.
It seems he’s planning to end this soon.
“……”
With the statue of the goddess Faelia behind me, I felt the serene atmosphere of the church with my entire body.
Slowly, I was being consumed by an inexplicable sense of excitement.
– Thud
Just as the man took a step forward—
“Get away from Levi—!!”
Along with the urgent footsteps of three people, Aizen’s loud shout, filled with desperation, echoed in my ears.
***
Three children, each holding their weapons, trembling as they faced the mysterious man.
Aizen, Ellie, Iris.
Tears were already welling up in the children’s eyes.
Their fighting spirit seemed to have been lost long ago.
They were just staring at Levina, who was in mortal danger, trying desperately to buy time.
“Why are you doing this to us—?! Please just leave us alone—!!”
In the midst of this, Aizen, mustering his courage, shouted at the man.
Following his lead, Ellie and Iris, standing behind him, each added their own words.
“Don’t hurt the Sister…!”
“The Sister hasn’t done anything wrong…”
Though their words were quite threatening and brave, the fact that they were just children under 10 made the man chuckle for a moment.
“Ah, right. You guys were here too.”
The man finally remembered that there were three other children in this church besides Levina.
Though they were insignificant to him, the fact that they were three children being cared for by a vampire somehow bothered him, and he naturally began to think of dealing with them while he was at it.
“Rejoice. Right now, here, all three children who will walk the same path as you have gathered!”
Unlike before, when he was relaxed, the man now began to speak in an excited tone, wearing a forced smile.
He slowly turned his gaze from the children to Levina, who hadn’t moved, and gently met her eyes.
“This is my final gift to you. With this, you and the children can close your eyes in peace…”
***
Before he knew it, Levina’s eyes had turned a deep red.
The man, who had been arrogantly provoking Levina, suddenly found himself frozen like a statue when he met her cold, lifeless eyes.
“──.”
The cold wind blowing through the open door.
Her black hair gently fluttering in the wind.
Though she hadn’t said a word or made any movement, her presence alone was enough to turn the entire surroundings into a sharp, icy tension.
It was as if time itself had stopped around her, creating a suffocating atmosphere.
“W-what…”
The man couldn’t speak properly for a while.
Why was this happening?
Levina was undoubtedly under his verbal command, unable to move a finger.
He was clearly in control of the situation.
So why did it feel like he was the one on the edge of a cliff?
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t understand.
“W-what’s with that look?! Why are you glaring at me like that?!”
“……”
“Do you not understand the situation? You’re like a rat trapped in a cage right now!”
“……”
“A lowly race that can’t even compare to demons… How dare you, a mere vampire, defy me…!”
“Priscilla.”
Ignoring the man’s raised voice, Levina calmly called Priscilla’s name in a low voice.
At that, Priscilla, who had been pretending to be unconscious, suddenly flinched and began to breathe heavily, showing signs of tension.
“For now, don’t say anything and take the children to the Nun’s Building, a bit away from here.”
Levina’s quiet words seemed to be suppressing a lot of emotions.
Though she had regained consciousness in the middle of the conversation and couldn’t fully grasp the situation, she could easily tell that things were far from normal.
“Y-yes…!”
Priscilla immediately got up and hurriedly ran toward the children, swallowing her tears.
However, Aizen, who had been through a similar situation before, found it hard to move.
He couldn’t just run away and leave Levina behind again.
“I… I’ll fight too!!”
Aizen gripped his sword hilt even tighter.
But in a situation where the outcome was already decided, there was no need to involve him.
“Don’t push yourself, Aizen.”
Levina’s words were like a declaration that she would no longer hide her strength.
She vaguely sensed that more demons would come to this church after this incident.
To protect the children from them, she thought it was better to act as a nun who had been hiding her strength rather than pretending to be a weak sister.
“You’re still too weak.”
With those gentle words to Aizen, Levina fixed her gaze back on the man.
“Though it’s still incomplete, you did touch my children, so you’ll have to receive a fitting punishment, right?”
The bright smile that never left her face somehow made the man even more terrified.
“Prepare yourself.”