Chapter 171
Do-Jin returned to the Grand Duke’s castle with Karin at his side. Unlike the blinding white of the snowfield, the pitch-black world here offered a calm, quiet atmosphere that actually helped him sort out the mess in his head.
I originally planned to stay here for a few days and then head back... Do-Jin thought, realizing there was one more task he wanted to take care of here. The problem is that this might stir up more than just trouble...
What he wanted to investigate was the origin of the vampires. History books stated in bold letters that the one who created them was Tirund, but absolutely nothing explained how he did it. That gap never changed in the future either. Vampires stood as enemies of humankind, and Tirund never showed himself even once.
This quest, however, handed Do-Jin a clue about how they came to be.
A power that stands in complete opposition to the Star of Creation, Bella.
There was only one thing that matched that description, and that was Laves. However, Do-Jin still didn’t think the Grand Duke had any connection to the Cult of Ruin. Those lunatics had once set foot in this place and ended up getting wiped clean, after all.
He found it hard to bring the topic up, so he spent days quietly watching for the right moment. Eventually, Karin noticed and approached him.
“Are you worried about something?”
Realizing Karin was a lot more perceptive than expected, he responded, “I’ve just got some things on my mind. It’s nothing you need to worry about. I’m impressed you noticed, though.”
“If the size of your pupils changes and your heartbeat sounds different, there’s no way I can miss it.”
How could he have forgotten? It wasn’t that she had good intuition. Her eyes and ears were just absurdly sharp.
“It’s nothing serious, so don’t worry about it.”
“Alright, then,” she replied, though it didn’t match her clearly worried expression.
Do-Jin realized he had to redirect her before she latched onto the topic.
“Go hang out with Anemone for a bit,” Do-Jin said as he summoned her. “Anemone, take her around the place and show her the castle.”
“Can I really just go off and look around?” Anemone said hesitantly.
“Of course!”
They lit up like two kids at a sleepover and immediately turned the quiet hallway into a lively echo chamber.
After sending them off, Do-Jin stood alone and spoke into the empty air, “Grand Duke, I have something to discuss.”
The moment he finished speaking, black mist flooded his vision and swallowed everything around him.
***
The place Do-Jin found himself in was familiar. The Grand Duke waited there in his usual form, calm and unreadable.
“So there’s something you have to say.”
Do-Jin met the Grand Duke’s curious gaze and tried to open his mouth immediately. However, the topic weighed so heavily that the words refused to come out. His silence only seemed to pique the Grand Duke’s curiosity further.
“I’m growing very curious about what could make you hesitate like this. You’re not the type of human who struggles to speak his mind, or at least that’s what I perceived.”
Do-Jin had once dug straight into family history tangled throughout countless years without even a hint of hesitation, so the Grand Duke genuinely wondered what topic could possibly make him stumble like this.
For someone like the Grand Duke, who had been soaked in boredom for ages, Do-Jin was an amusing exception that broke through all the stagnation. Of course, Do-Jin found that attention extremely uncomfortable right now.
I should just say it...
He exhaled sharply and finally forced himself to speak, “Do you know what I did up there?”
The Grand Duke shook his head. “I didn’t bother watching.”
However, there was no way he knew nothing. A burst of power like that couldn’t go completely unnoticed by an Archmage of his level. Do-Jin considered the alternative and grimaced.
If he really felt nothing, then that’s even more terrifying. It means the barrier up there completely blocked the energy from leaking outside.
Either way, he had to come clean about what happened. “I found an ancient Sanctuary.”
The duke’s eyebrow twitched ever so slightly.
“And in that place, I met a being who I believe was Bella.”
“What did you just say...?” This time, even the Grand Duke couldn’t hold back his reaction.
“I don’t know exactly when, but it must’ve been before any written history existed. The place used to serve as a Sanctuary for those who worshiped Bella.”
“You really do cause trouble on a far greater scale than I had assumed.”
The Grand Duke’s expression twisted into something complicated, like a parent who suddenly discovered that his daughter’s friend was far more dangerous than expected.
As someone who had become a vampire himself, hearing that Bella’s old Sanctuary existed practically in his own backyard stirred up emotions he didn’t want to deal with. The Grand Duke personally held no resentment toward Bella, but given his complicated history with the Church of Creation, this topic could only bring troubled thoughts.
“The Sanctuary and temple you found have no connection to the modern Church of Creation. The only link between them is that they worship the same Star. Otherwise, they have nothing in common.”
“That’s true,” Do-Jin replied. “The Church of Creation keeps their Sanctuary in the Central Continent.”
If Bella’s old Sanctuary had been here as well, that entire region would’ve still been an active battleground.
“But you understand this topic is not pleasant for me. I’m far calmer than those lunatics who foam at the mouth over it, but I’m still not fond of discussing it. For you to bring it up anyway, you must have needed something.”
“Yes. I carried the souls of the sacrificed from the Central Continent to the Sanctuary, and Bella told me to name what I want in return.”
“That sounds like a fairy tale. So what did you ask for that you needed to drag me through this whole story?”
“I asked for the suppression of the vampires’ bloodlust.”
Completely thrown off by that reply, the Grand Duke’s face froze. “Why would you ask for something like that? It has nothing to do with you.”
“When I first met Karin, I heard her talk about her worries. And I also had concerns of my own.”
“Concerns? From a human like you? What could you possibly be worried about...”
“At the moment, all vampires except the extremely rare few who can control their bloodlust are being restrained by you alone. If a situation ever comes where you can’t restrain yourself... I’m worried about what would come after.”
Although Do-Jin had effectively changed the future, he had only erased the certainty of vampires becoming humanity’s enemies. The possibility itself had not disappeared. Regardless of the Grand Duke’s will, the other vampires still held enough potential to become a massive threat.
Right now, the Grand Duke acted as a heavy chain that kept them contained, but if there came a day when their collective frenzy grew strong enough to break that chain, it would spell disaster.
“What you’re saying is that entrusting everything to me is too dangerous?” the Grand Duke asked.
“Controlling the entire vampire race for this long is already an achievement that surpasses mortals and sits close to divine work. But even so, you aren’t an actual god.”
He felt bitterness run through him because everything Do-Jin said was true. The vampires’ hunger for human blood kept growing stronger.
Long ago, he could simply suppress their cravings and let them live normally. Now the situation was far worse. He had to reduce many of them to puppets with all thoughts cut away, and the extreme cases had to be locked in a state where even their minds and bodies barely functioned, like living corpses.
Recently, he kept feeling that the time had come.
Maybe it’s time to give rest to the ones who are chained to my guilt...
Rather than rest, though, he’d essentially be sacrificing them. The Grand Duke pushed that thought down and steadied himself before speaking. “But it seems things didn’t work out as you hoped. I don’t see any change.”
“No. Bella told me that it wasn’t possible with the wish I could make. But during the conversation, I heard something that might help. Bella said the curse placed on vampires is tied to Laves.”
“Laves?”
“Do you have any idea what that might mean?”
“I don’t. However... back then I grasped at anything I could reach. I gathered every piece of knowledge I could find, from healing magic to necromancy, curses, and blessings. During that process, I encountered many spells whose origins I couldn’t identify. It’s possible that the one I completed was related to Laves.”
As Do-Jin watched the Grand Duke struggle with confusion, he formed a thought of his own.
Maybe this is a stretch, but the Cult of Ruin bastards might’ve approached him back then.
The Grand Duke had once said he gathered knowledge by scraping up anything he could find. If that was true, then handing him knowledge that worked like poison wouldn’t have been difficult. Setting up a vicious trap inside a massive spell felt exactly like the kind of thing the Cult of Ruin would pull.
It was disappointing that he didn’t get a clear answer, but this much was enough. If an archmage like Tirund thought there might be a connection after turning it over in his head, then the lead was solid enough for Do-Jin to keep digging.
“I’m going to look into it. If Bella’s right and this whole thing’s connected to Laves, then digging in that direction’s going to drag something out sooner or later.”
“Do you really have any reason to go that far? Even if the situation you’re worried about comes to pass, I’ll make sure humanity doesn’t suffer for it.”
Do-Jin didn’t feel like talking about world peace here. That wasn’t the angle he wanted.
“It’s because it’s about my friend,” he said, choosing the line that would earn him the biggest points with the Grand Duke. “I just think something I’ve been worried about might actually happen, and even if you fix it, Karin will probably be devastated.”
The Grand Duke went silent for a moment and eventually muttered with a helpless sigh. “I meant to scold you for bringing Karin to Bella’s Sanctuary, but... you leave me with nothing to say.”
Although it sounded like he was talking to himself, Do-Jin still counted it as a scolding. However, he couldn’t think of a single excuse.
Well... I did tell her to stay behind. Your daughter insisted on coming. She absolutely insisted, okay? Do-Jin thought defiantly, though he kept it to himself.
The Grand Duke spoke again. “I don’t know if your efforts will amount to anything, but if you intend to work for our sake, then I’d like to offer whatever help I can.”
Without letting the chance slip, he quickly replied, “It’s definitely going to be tough on my own. So I want to bring my party in with me. Would you allow a few of my companions to enter the Floating Continent?”
The Floating Continent was strictly off-limits to humans. Do-Jin only had free movement because he carried the Grand Duke’s permission. The Grand Duke clearly didn’t like the idea. However, he still considered it because the request came from Do-Jin.
“Other humans?”
“Not too many. I will keep it to five people including myself.”
“They may not enter the Principality.”
“Okay. We’ll stay on the upper regions only.”
Now Do-Jin could finally explore this treasure-loaded continent with a proper party.