Blood 12: The Divine Word Faith and the Elves

A wave of drowsiness overcame me due to the events of the day, and I ended up falling asleep without realizing it.

So many things remained unasked.

When I awoke, I was inside the tent.

It was still dark—sunrise had not yet come.

Next to me, Melazophis lay motionless, as if dead.

I quietly stepped out of the tent, careful not to wake Melazophis. The surroundings remained dark.

A pale blue hue had begun to appear on the distant sky—dawn would come soon.

Yet it was odd, even for a vampire, to be awake so early.

“Oy? You’re awake?”

I turned at the voice. Ariel sat in the same spot as yesterday.

“Shall we link through telepathy? Or can you speak?”

What should I do?

I can speak, technically.

But my speech remains clumsy, pronunciation uncertain. And since I am still an infant, speaking proves tiring.

I managed to speak at home without raising suspicion, but if telepathy is this convenient, I’d prefer to rely on that instead.

"Telepathy."

I tried to say it, but my speech remained clumsy and hard to understand.

The inability to speak smoothly is stressful.

"OK. Yes."

I felt the telepathic link with Ariel activate.

A convenient skill. I’ll likely use it frequently until I can speak properly. I’ll acquire it later with skill points.

I’ve only used my skill points for reconnaissance so far. I haven’t touched the rest.

I’d saved them for a skill to hide my vampire nature, but now that’s pointless.

"You were tired, so you slept deeply."

Ariel spoke with a gentle smile.

I must have been caught sleeping—slightly embarrassed.

Huh?

Could it be… Ariel-san was staying awake, watching over me?

“Um… are you really not sleeping?”

“Huh? Oh, I have a high-tier skill: Status Effect Immunity. So I don’t need to sleep. I sleep when I feel like it.”

Don’t need to sleep.

That’s… isn’t Status Effect Immunity an extremely powerful skill?

It’s hard to believe after yesterday’s comedy act, but considering she overwhelmed the attackers who targeted me…

Whether the Demon King talk is true or not, she appears to be far from weak—despite her demeanor.

“Feels like I’m being subtly dismissed.”

Sharp.

Sweating internally, pretending ignorance.

“The other two are still asleep. You can ask questions until they wake up.”

Sophia had been in the tent, but I didn’t see Shiro’s form.

Where is he?

“What’s that?”

Glancing around, the object caught my eye.

“Ah, that. Shiro’s home.”

I didn’t understand Ariel’s words.

What was there was a white cocoon-like structure.

A round mass formed from layers of silk threads.

Could Shiro be inside?

“Better not get too close. He might do anything while half-asleep.”

A vague unease stirred, so I listened to Ariel without question.

“First, what happened to my father and mother?”

The first question.

I already knew the answer wouldn’t be what I wanted.

But I had to ask.

"The city was overrun by the Outsu Kingdom's army—well, essentially the Divine Word Church's forces. They occupied it. Your Father and Mother, unfortunately... that's the situation."

I had expected it.

Still, hearing it again was a shock.

Yet no tears came.

Am I indifferent? Or is my mind too overwhelmed for emotion to register?

"By the way, the ones who attacked you—half were a covert unit of the Divine Word Church. The other half were Elves. Both groups knew you were a reincarnated soul. They targeted you specifically."

‘Elves?’

That’s right—there was a mention of Elves in yesterday’s stir-fry.

I understand the Divine Word Church’s motives. But why Elves?

"I don't know why Elves are targeting reincarnated souls. But the leader of the Elves, Potimas—well, he’s a rotten piece of filth. His intentions are obvious. Nothing good ever comes from him."

Is that so?

"Yeah. He's so rotten, the world's in crisis just from his existence."

That's harsh.

But Ariel speaking with such open disgust... at least it's clear Ariel dislikes the Elves intensely.

Elves are supposed to be more sacred in image.

"The clergy of the Divine Word—don't know where they're targeting, but they seem to have focused on you. Or perhaps this town was chosen because you were here."

My breath catches.

It's my fault?

"Just a possibility, mind you. You might've been one of their targets. The Pope of the Divine Word values efficiency. He'd undermine the Goddess Cult's credibility while achieving his hidden aims. Moves to produce multiple outcomes with one action. A strategist like that."

It's my fault.

It's my fault.

It's my fault.

The phrase loops in my mind.

“You say not to worry, but that’s unrealistic. This incident is merely one element within the larger current of the world. Either way, you cannot alter it. There are limits to what humans can achieve. Accept that this time was beyond your control. That is the better course.”

It’s not something that can be dismissed so easily.

“What matters is what comes after. This time, nothing could be done. The event has occurred. It cannot be changed. So, when a similar event happens again, will you merely watch, hands in mouth, and accept the same outcome? Or will you resist? Which will you choose?”

‘I will resist.’

Immediate response.

Yes.

This injustice will not happen again. Not ever.

Then, how will you act to resist? As things stand, the outcome will be the same. It is precisely how you act that matters. You may feel despair. You may hesitate. But if you have decided to resist, you must not stop.

That is correct.

Exactly.

Perhaps I misjudged this person.

I thought they were merely careless, unreliable. But their words carry weight.

As this person says—do not stop.

Yes. Decided.