NOVEL NEXT chapter 51
51 – 12. The Princess Cannot Sleep (8)
1.
The night was deep.
“Ugh….”
Cyril couldn’t fall asleep and tossed and turned.
His head hurt.
His stomach ached, and his body trembled with chills.
It was cold.
However, the breath he exhaled, as if a fire had ignited in his belly, was so hot it felt like it could cause burns.
“Did I overindulge in the evening?
The crispy meat pie was so delicious that I polished off three slices by myself.
Cyril, tossing and turning in bed unable to sleep, finally got up.
“Ugh…”
It feels even colder outside the blanket.
It’s summer, but it feels like winter.
Sweat dampening the pajamas chills in the night air, stealing away body heat.
Shivering, Cyril made his way to the priest.
If he went to the priest, he would receive medicine or be cared for with warmth and sanctity.
It was while walking through dim corridors.
“Cyril?”
A tender voice called out to him.
Turning around, he saw the deacon.
Good timing.
Since the deacon had been looking after people all day, Cyril figured going to him would relieve his stomachache.
“What are you doing up so late?”
Cyril clutched his stomach.
“My stomach… it hurts.”
“Where does it hurt?”
“Here…”
Cyril pointed to his side.
“Oh dear… looks like an upset stomach. I’ll give you a potion.”
The priest took out a vial from his pouch.
“…a blessing?”
It was the potion he had seen during the day.
The red liquid writhed and moved inside the glass bottle.
“Drinking this will make you feel better instantly.”
“Ugh… it’s… repulsive…”
Visually, it was too dreadful to drink.
It seemed alive, like a slime.
Or it could be seen as if several earthworms were entangled.
Even for adults, it seemed difficult to swallow, let alone for a child.
“To become healthy, you have to eat. Your stomach will feel better right after drinking.”
“Is this another lie…?”
Before evening, Teriat’s offered candy came to mind.
He had called it sweet candy, but it was not sweet at all.
He had said that with time, you would be able to taste the sweetness, but even as time passed, Cyril couldn’t feel any sweetness in the candy.
“Really. Come on, try drinking it.”
Teriat kindly opened the potion cap and offered it to Cyril.
Cyril frowned at the contents of the bottle.
Hesitant, he glanced at Teriat.
There was no deceit in Teriat’s kind face as he encouraged Cyril to drink the potion.
“Phew!”
Cyril closed his eyes tightly and quickly gulped down the liquid.
-Gulp, gulp.
He swallowed the viscous liquid several times like soup.
“Ugh!”
Cyril grimaced, sticking out his tongue.
It was bitter.
Even licking the fish he had just caught with his tongue would probably be less bitter than this.
“Huh?”
Sticking out his tongue and expressing his discomfort, Cyril suddenly realized that his stomach didn’t hurt anymore.
“Not hurting! My stomach…!”
It was at that moment.
“————!!”
Cyril clutched his stomach.
Empty.
He felt a severe emptiness.
His throat was dry.
The throat felt dry as if it had swallowed sand.
Then, a hot sensation surged through the entire body.
“Ah-gahhhhh!!”
Cyril screamed as he rolled on the floor.
“What’s happening?!”
Startled by the scream, a priest hurriedly ran out of the room.
-Thud!!
A knight who had been hiding in the darkness stabbed his sword into the priest’s abdomen.
“W-What is this…?”
The priest looked at the masked executioner standing before him.
With a chilling smile, the executioner watched Cyril descend.
“What do you think you’re doing?!!”
The priest strained his voice.
“…Blessing shall descend.”
The executioner looked at the priest with a mocking smile.
“Prepare for the feast.”
The knight’s sword swiftly severed the priest’s neck.
2.
Evan, who was conducting magical research until late at night as usual.
“Hmm….”
Evan, who was designing a magic circle, set down his pen.
Today, he couldn’t concentrate for some reason.
He wanted to sleep, but since he always went to bed in the early hours of the morning, sleep did not come easily.
“A glass of drink might help induce sleep.”
He picked up the bottle of alcohol on the nightstand.
“What is this?”
It was empty.
He had been taking a sip every night before sleeping, and now it seemed like it was all gone.
“No choice.”
Evan decided to go downstairs to the first floor.
Although it’s closing time, the first floor is a restaurant, so I should be able to get some drinks.
I hope the innkeepers are awake.
Judging by the time that has struck midnight, it seems I’ll have to gather some courage for tomorrow by securing some liquor.
“Oh?”
Descending to the first floor, the innkeeper was awake.
Perhaps he closed late today, as he was busy cleaning the floor.
A truly diligent person.
It’s something that could wait until tomorrow morning.
“Excuse me.”
Evan approached behind the innkeeper.
“I’d like to buy a bottle of liquor.”
“….”
Ignoring Evan’s words, the innkeeper continued to move his hands busily, mopping the floor.
“Excuse me? Mr. Brady?”
Calling out the innkeeper’s name, he approached even closer.
And then, he saw it.
The innkeeper’s wife’s body.
The eyes of the innkeeper’s wife, flipped upside down, were torn as if bitten by a beast, and her abdomen was wide open.
And the innkeeper, who seemed to be cleaning, was…
“This is insane…!”
…reaching into the innkeeper’s wife’s belly, twisting the entrails, and squeezing out blood, drinking it like a puddle.
-Splash!
Evan kicked the innkeeper with his foot.
“Are you out of your mind?!”
Evan immediately checked the condition of the innkeeper’s wife.
Naturally, it was too late.
“Grrr…!”
With bloodied fangs, the innkeeper glared at Evan.
“Raaah!”
Abnormally long and pointed fangs on display, the innkeeper rushed towards Evan.
Enhance Body
He immediately reinforced his body and subdued the innkeeper.
“What in the…!!”
Despite magically strengthening his body, the innkeeper’s resilience was overwhelming for Evan to handle.
*Thud!*
The innkeeper, attempting to break free, contorted her arm.
Faced with this eerie sight, Evan had to make a decision.
Strike
With all his strength, he struck her head with his fist.
As if dropping a pumpkin from a great height, her skull shattered, and her head split apart.
However,
Although she should have been dead, the innkeeper continued to thrash her limbs.
The only conclusion Evan could draw from witnessing this was one thing.
“Vampire?”
While the possibility of her being undead existed, seeing her drink blood moments ago made the likelihood of her being a vampire higher.
*Squelch!*
Evan thrust his hand into the innkeeper’s back, seizing her heart.
To kill a vampire, it is known that you must puncture the heart with a sharp object, but that method is the easiest.
Destroy the heart at all costs.
Evan exerted strength into his grip, rupturing the innkeeper’s heart.
As her heart burst, the partially regenerated innkeeper slumped down.
“What in the world just happened?”
Wiping the blood from his hands, Evan looked at the innkeeper couple lying on the ground.
They weren’t particularly close, but they had shown Evan various kindnesses and considerations.
Now was not the time to wallow in melancholy.
Evan left the inn.
Silence.
The moment he felt the stillness, a woman’s scream pierced his eardrums.
“aaah!!”
Following that, screams echoed from various directions, lights flickered on, and people rushed out.
In a matter of seconds, the village turned into chaos.
Villagers were devouring other villagers.
“Everyone, gather at the square!”
Saving the living villagers took precedence over sweeping away the vampires.
Those who heard Evan’s words fled to the square.
Evan, tearing apart the hearts of villagers transformed into vampires, escorted the villagers to the square.
He created a massive shield surrounding the square.
Although not of divine origin, the shield could repel vampires, though not drop them from it; it could at least withstand their attacks.
-Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang
The vampires, hungry for a long time, pounded on the shield as if they were insane upon seeing their prey.
The bewildered villagers trembled, unsure of what to do.
“Quiet, stay here.”
“Don’t go!”
A young man grabbed Evan.
“Don’t worry; this shield won’t break. As long as you’re inside, you won’t be attacked.”
“My, my daughter…! My daughter is at home!”
This time, an old lady pleaded with Evan to save her daughter. Soon, others joined in, asking Evan to save their families and friends.
“…I understand.”
He couldn’t guarantee it.
Considering the aggressiveness of the vampires, the loved ones might already be dead, or worse, turned into vampires themselves.
Still, to calm them down, he had to speak.
“I will save them.”
Evan stepped out of the shield.
“aaah!”
A vampire lunged at a woman.
Evan swiftly charged at the vampire attempting to devour her and tore its heart out.
His hands were sticky.
“Ma, mage… What in the world…”
“There’s no time to explain.”
Evan placed the woman in the room and unfolded the protective barrier.
“Under no circumstances should you come out. No matter who knocks on the door, do not open it.”
The knights of the Star were already engaged in combat with the vampires.
“Aim for the heart! Just pierce the heart!”
Shouting to the members, Evan headed towards the orphanage at the back of the village.
Archbishop.
His divine power was needed.
Perhaps with his divine power, he could purify the villagers turned into vampires.
He could kill them all if he wanted, but he couldn’t ruthlessly kill those he had interacted with for the past few months.
If he could save them, he wanted to.
It wasn’t only Evan going up the hill.
“Lewen!”
Lewen, with blood on her face, turned to Evan.
Lewen breathed heavily.
“Evan… Evan, the people in the village…”
Blood on the sword.
It seemed she, too, had pierced the heart of a villager turned into a vampire.
“I don’t know what’s going on. I’ve evacuated the living people as much as I could within the protective barrier.”
Evan leaped upward again.
“No time to talk. Let’s go to the Archbishop!”
Using spatial movement would allow them to teleport instantly, but in the process of calculating coordinates, if the barrier were to disappear for any reason, a massacre would occur.
So, they ran with both legs.
Evan and Lewen arrived at the orphanage.
Unlike the village, the orphanage was quiet.
It seemed there was no damage here yet.
They opened the door and went inside.
“——!!”
Lewen widened her eyes.
Vampire attacks had already occurred here as well.
It was already too late.
In the center of the chapel lay the pale bodies of children.
“…….”
“…….”
Evan and Leuen couldn’t utter a single word.
There should have been acolytes and paladins—does this make any sense?
The place that seemed the safest from the vampire’s assault had turned into the most tragic.
That was when it happened.
“Bl- blood… Your Majesty…!”
Cyril, hidden in a corner of the chapel, ran towards Evan, sobbing.
Grateful for the existence of a living child, Evan stretched out his arms to embrace Cyril.
The moment Cyril approached.
Leuen felt a shiver run down his spine.
“No…!!”
Leuen pushed Evan aside.
-Clang!!
An arm, riddled with wounds, flew through the air.
After a few spins, it miserably thudded onto the ground.