LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 14
“Kwaaaang—!!!”
The church’s entrance shattered, scattering a hazy cloud of dust. Soon, the thick darkness settled, and the noise spread loudly.
“Huff, huff…”
Without a moment’s hesitation, I chased after the man who was frantically running into the dark forest, stepping into the woods and fiercely pursuing his presence.
All I could hear was the man’s ragged breathing, but with each step, the sound of the ground trembling and the rustling leaves grew strangely more intense.
“Don’t come—!! Don’t come—!!”
His words were meaningless, his voice futile. Perhaps because he was running so desperately, his once-neat suit was now torn to shreds by sharp branches, unrecognizable.
Yet, despite this, the man never stopped running. Even when he slipped and fell, even when his arms were scratched by thorns and bleeding, he kept moving forward.
Even when his breath reached his throat and it seemed he could run no more, the instinctive fear that stopping would mean the end drove him to the edge of his sanity.
“Why… why is a vampire—!!!”
As the footsteps behind him grew closer, the man screamed even louder, a cry closer to a shriek. No one listened, and even the forest beasts seemed indifferent to his plight.
– Thud!
Suddenly, a red thorn pierced the man’s left shoulder like tofu. Overwhelmed by unbearable pain, he let out a demonic scream, desperately calling for help, but sadly, no one came.
– Thud, thud…
After what felt like an eternity, the man’s legs, which had been running endlessly, gradually began to slow.
“…Is the chase over now?”
“……”
The man’s back was now densely covered with red thorns like a porcupine. With a hollow, resigned laugh, he slowly raised his head toward the dark sky.
“I don’t understand… how can a mere vampire overpower me, a demon…?”
“Do you really need to know?”
“Was my magic… was my magic never effective against you from the start…?”
I didn’t answer the man’s tearful question. What good would it do now? Even if he knew the truth, it wouldn’t help him.
“Honestly, this is my first time… I’ve participated in vampire hunts before, but I’ve never seen a vampire use such peculiar blood magic…”
“……”
“What… what exactly are you…?”
Again, I remained silent, slowly raising the tip of the spear I held.
“With such power… with the ability to trample demons like toys…! Why are you pretending to be a lowly nun, taking care of insignificant brats?!!”
Before the man’s angry words could finish, I calmly pierced his leg with a red thorn made of my blood.
“Watch your mouth. Those kids are anything but insignificant.”
“Kuh, kuh… Just remember, you’re no different from a demon…”
“Oh? Didn’t you just say demons are beneath you?”
“Ha, haha… Anyone with the power to trample others becomes a demon… The roots of demons aren’t that deep…”
“Really, you’re all so rootless.”
“That’s exactly what demons are… a gathering of rootless beings…”
The man, unable to even pull out the red thorns embedded in his body, stared blankly at the dark sky, letting out hollow laughs.
His blood pooled around him, creating a gruesome scene, but he continued to speak calmly.
“Come to think of it, I haven’t introduced myself yet… I’m…”
– Thwack!
I pierced his throat with the sharp tip of my spear. I wasn’t interested in his name.
“Do I really need to hear the name of a heinous criminal who tried to kill children?”
“Kuh, kuh…”
The man weakly grasped the spear piercing his throat, trembling in pain.
“Atone for your sins, even in death.”
.
.
.
.
.
.
– Thud
After running through the dense forest, I was in a sorry state. Mud clung to my clothes, and the blood the man had splattered made me look even worse.
Though I had managed to deal with the demon who had intruded into the church, there were still many problems to solve.
“Levi!”
One of them was explaining myself to the children who knew nothing. If I had been going with the flow until now, it was time to steer the situation in the direction I wanted.
Of course, I would never reveal that I was a vampire, no matter what.
“Were you all behaving well?”
“……”
Unlike when the demon first attacked, the children were now relatively calm, huddled together.
Ellie and Iris, who were sensitive, were red-faced and on the verge of tears, but they were holding back, trying to be strong.
What surprised me most was Aizen. There was no trace of tears, and he was the calmest of the three, looking straight at me.
“Explain it to me now. Levi, you’re not just an ordinary nun, are you…?”
“Yes. As you saw, I can use magic and am quite skilled in combat.”
“…Can I ask why?”
On the way back to the church, I had thought a lot. Since I hadn’t hidden my fight with the demon, Aizen’s question was unavoidable, and I needed a convincing answer.
What I came up with was—.
“I was actually an adventurer in the past. I retired early because I wasn’t very good at it.”
Based on the game that had raised Levina, I created my own backstory. This world had many similarities to the game, so it wasn’t hard to fabricate a past as an adventurer and give the children a plausible explanation.
“Ah… That explains why something felt off.”
As expected, the children nodded in understanding as soon as they heard my fabricated past. I never thought the memories of leveling up from 1 to 87 would come in handy like this.
“So that strange-looking spear was magic too?”
“Yes, that’s right. It’s a special magic only I can use.”
“That’s why you could easily defeat that demon earlier…! Now everything makes sense!”
I didn’t say it, but my earlier explanation that I had somehow managed with Faelia’s blessing didn’t seem to resonate with Aizen.
Well, even I thought it was a bit of a stretch. I can understand that.
“But why were you working as a nun here? With your skills, you didn’t need to retire or become a nun…”
“Sorry, Aizen. I’ll explain that later. For now, can I go talk to Priscilla?”
Having gone through something similar recently, convincing the children wasn’t too difficult.
They weren’t suspicious of me; it was just a natural question given the circumstances. That made it easier to resolve.
“……”
“Can we talk for a moment?”
The last problem I needed to solve was explaining myself to Priscilla, who had overheard parts of my conversation with the man.
I led Priscilla, who was nodding slightly with her gaze averted, to the back of the church.
“First, thank you for looking after the children while I was gone.”
“…No, it was only natural…”
“Honestly, you could have run away, and no one would have blamed you.”
“I was too worried about the children…”
“You really have a kind heart.”
Though the conversation was formal, an awkward tension began to grow between us. In times like these, it’s better to be direct rather than beat around the bush.
“So, how much did you hear?”
At my direct question, Priscilla flinched and blinked in panic.
“Uh, uh…?”
“I know. You woke up in the middle of it. It’s ironic coming from the one who knocked you out, but I have to ask.”
“…From the part where you said you were a vampire…”
Priscilla had been pretending to be unconscious for quite a while, having woken up much earlier than I thought.
“That’s strange…? I thought I hit you pretty hard…”
“I’m just… physically tough… That’s probably why…”
“Is that so…?”
“Yes. That’s how I managed to get here safely…”
A small question mark floated above my head.
“What do you mean by that?”
At my seemingly innocent question, Priscilla’s tears suddenly exploded like a bomb.
“I won’t tell anyone…!! I’ll live quietly in the village like a mouse… So please, just spare my life…!!”
Our relationship had returned to square one, and the situation was as chaotic as when we first met. No matter how much I said I had no ill intentions, it seemed Priscilla couldn’t hear me.
“What even is a vampire…? I’m only 17…!! I don’t know anything about those old stories—!!”
Priscilla clung to my clothes, crying and making a scene. If this continued, we’d be here until dawn without making any progress. I had no choice but to slap her cheek firmly.
– Slap!
“Huh?”
“Calm down, Priscilla. It’s not as big a deal as you’re making it out to be.”
“R-really…?”
“About vampires… Well—.”
My mind raced, and with a gentle smile, I spoke as calmly as possible.
“They’re just mosquitoes.”