Backinthat[UndergroundMine], hadalreadybeentransfusedwithvampirebloodrightuptothelimit.

hemomentevenalittlemoremonsterbloodmixedintomethere,

wouldhavecrossedthelineandbecomeamonsterinsteadofahuman.

venso,thereasonhadmanagedtoholdonuntilnowwassimple.

Myclasswaschef.

Andachefwassomeonewhorefinedwhatshouldnotbeeatenintosomethingthatcouldbeconsumed,andpresidedoverapropermeal.

Apriestwhooversawtheprocessofturninganother’sbodyintoone’sownbloodandflesh.

venifdevouredothers,

ifthatprocesspassedthroughmycooking,

thenamealtakenthroughthatcookingcausednoproblem.

't’shelpedmealotuptonow...'

But...

'Sorryaboutthis...'

otthistime.

Bymyownwill,

hadconsumedsomethingthathadnotbeen[cooked].

...hethingucahadmadeforme.

heserumthatwouldmakemegobeyondbeinghuman.

[heactofseekingtogobeyondhumanityisaclearactofbetrayal.]

[fyoudonotstopimmediately—————]

Fromthecracklingstatuswindow,

thewarningstostopthismadnesskeptpouringin.

Butaslookedatthosemessages,mutteredinwardly:

'Youknowittoo...don’tyou?'

Unfortunately,

ifwantedtoresolvethissituation,thiswastheonlyway.

herewasnoothermethod.

[Ra—ce:u—man...]

Asmuchasfeltsorrytowardthesystemthathadhelpedmeallthistime,

fromthispointon,

[Race:a—mpireProgenit—r...]

wouldleavehumanitybehind andberebornasamonster.

[BRAYA!!!!!!!!!!]

Andthen,inthatinstant—

[[Хиёнат!خيانة!!!raición!!! خيانة!!!errat!!!Зрада!!!radimento!!!raição!!!Измена!!!背叛!!! विश्वासघात!!!erraad!!!İhanet!!!Προδοσία!!!Forræderi!!!Petturuus!!!Zrada!!!Árulás!!!Предателство!!!裏切り!!!rădare!!! rahison!!!การทรยศ!!!Sựphảnbội!!!Pengkhianatan!!!Издаја!!!Zrada!!!Reetmine!!!šdavystė!!!radhti!Svik!!!raïció!!!Предавство!!!radiment!!!Xiyanət!!!ღალატი!!!raizio!!!Урвах!!!odošana!!!Usaliti!!!K’ehjį́!!!배신!!!Pagtraydor!!!خیانت!!!Fa’avae!!!Petturuus!!!ttuy!!zdaja!!!!]

Myvisionfilledwithaflood ofgrotesquelettersandlanguagescouldnotidentify.

Phrasesthatfeltasthoughhundreds,thousands,billionsofvoiceswerescreamingatonce.

hereweresomanymessagesflashingpastsoquicklythatcouldnotevenproperlyreadthem.

[Mi—norReinforc—ment]

But.

hroughthetastecontainedwithinthem,couldunderstandwhatthesystemmeant.

'Betrayal.'

Asickeningsenseofbetrayal.

Ragealmostonthelevelofhatred.

—hereweremessagesthatkeptappearinginmy[StatusWindow].

AconversationhadoncehadwithJangYoungwoongcamebacktome.

—“hisisaclearactofbetrayal,sostopimmediately.”

Betrayal,huh.

—hatwasthefirsttimerealizedthesystemwasabeingcapableofexpressingitsownwilllikethat.

Well.

Consideringhowmuchthisthinghaddoneforme,

guessithadeveryrighttobeangry.

Backthenitrarelyexpressedemotionslikethis,butnowitwasgoingsofarastoputthemintowords.

treallymusthavebeenfurious.

...rmaybe.

'thadalotitwantedtosayfromthebeginning...andonlynowthatmy[evel]hasrisen,it’sfinallyabletospeak.'

Well.

didnotreallyknowwhichitwas.

Still,anyway.

'hisdoesstingalittle.'

Seeingitgetthatangry mademeunderstand,butatthesametime,

honestlyhadmyowngrievancetoo.

'Diditreallythink...'

Fillingmyhandwiththatsmallsenseofhurt,

brushedthestatuswindowbeforemyeyes.

'...that’djustrolloverthateasily?'

Andthen.

[—————————]

hemessagewindowoverflowingwithragestopped, andlookedatthatnow-emptyboxwithafaintsnort.

'Justkeepwatchingalittlelonger.'

Staringatthecracklingstatuswindowinfrontofme,

slowlyraisedmyhand.

'’llbebacksoonenough.'

Andthen.

aditunderstoodwhatmeant?

rwasitbecausestillhadnotbecomeacompletemonster?

[......Spe—cialrait]

Bzzt...

[‘Soul—ookingMastery’activates!]

couldfeeltheabsurdlyvastmanainsidemybody beginningtotakeshapeatmyfingertips.

***

Puhwaaaaaaaaaak!

“Kh...!”

hebloodsuddenlyburstingoutfrominsideitsownbody—

thegranddukestaredatthatbloodwithshockedeyes.

'othinkthatlittletrickfrombackthenwouldcomebacktotripmeuphere!'

Abeingbornfromsabella’sblood.

fAriella’srankwasraised,maybeshecouldfilltheonemissingseat.

Butifsheknewitmeantthegranddukeintendedtodevourher,therewasnotellingwhereshemightrun.

Sothegranddukehadluredherwithaplausiblelie.

Sayingitwouldgiveagifttooneinferiorspeciesshetreasured hadbeenpartofthataswell.

'hadplannedtodevourherbeforethatmomentevercameanyway.'

fitdevouredtheAriellawhowouldturnthatinferiorspeciesintoanoble,

thenthatinferiorspecieswouldnevergetthechancetobecomeanobleinthefirstplace.

hatwaswhyithadbeenanemptypromise.

But.

Sssss...

'hatinferior-speciesbastard!'

hatinferiorspeciesoverthere.

Fromthatlowly,weakbody...

afamiliarscentwasgraduallybeginningtowaftout.

hethicksmellofblood.

hetasteofiron.

'...hatbastard!'

hescentofkin.

heonewhohadbeennothingmorethananinferiorspecieswasbeginningtoberebornasanoble.

hemomenthadcomewhenthegranddukewouldhavetohonorapromiseithadneverintendedtokeep.

“...up!”

But.

hegranddukefocusedallitsmindandcontrolledthebloodvesselsinitsbody.

hebloodtryingtoburstoutofitsbody—

itsuppressedthatoutflowasmuchaspossible.

'hatpromiseonlystatedthatwouldhandovermyblood.'

Right.

Whenyouthoughtaboutit,itwasnothingspecial.

twasmerelyatransferofblood,afterall.

'Asforhowmuchbloodwouldbehandedover—!'

hatwasnever—

“—specified,asrecall.”

“...!”

“Ammistaken?”

Aleisurelyvoicesoundedbesidethegrandduke’sear, interruptingitsthoughts.

Andthen.

Puhwaaaaaaaak...

...Sliiide.

hegrandduke’sblood,explodingoutwardintotheair,

begantomovesomewherewithcleardirection.

“owdare...!”

And.

hegranddukegrounditsteethasitlookedtowardwherethatbloodwasheaded.

“Ameretoy...!”

“ehe.Atoy,isit?”

WithagesturefromAriella’shand,

thebloodthathadbeenflyingtowardShinYoungjunchangeddirectionandshotupwardintotheair.

“Unfortunately,thatsortofprovocationdoesn’tmeanmuchtomeanymore.”

“...!”

rdinarily,

nomatterhowpowerfulanoblemightbe,

itwouldnotbeabletocontrolthebloodshedbyagranddukeatwill.

twasnotbecauseitlackedpower.

heothergranddukes—

evenifallthreegranddukeswhohadnowvanishedgatheredinoneplace,theystillwouldnotbeabletodosuchathing.

...otnow.

'Controlovertheblood...'

heownerofthebloodflowinginsidethegrandduke’sbodyhadbeenthegranddukeitself.

omatterhowmuchmanaanothervampirepouredintoit,

thatbloodwouldnotobeythecommandsofonewhowasnotitsowner.

venthebloodthegranddukehadplantedinsideAriella—

becauseithadremainedthegrandduke’sevenafterenteringAriella’sbody,

thegranddukehadbeenabletostripawayherrankwithease.

Butnow...

'twasgone.'

Anoathwassomethingspokenwhileinfusedwithone’sownmana.

Andthestandardbywhichthatoathwasfulfilled

wastheoath-speaker’sownjudgment,freeofanylies.

AndthegranddukehadtoldShinYoungjunthatitwould“give”himitsblood.

'otlendit,andnotmerelyshareit.'

Becauseithadliterallypromisedto“give”it,

thebloodthathadleftitsbodyandbegunmovingtowardShinYoungjun wasnolongerthegrandduke’sblood.

hemomentitleftthatbody,thegrandduke’scontroloveritvanishedcompletely.

'...Untilitflowsintothatman’sbody,itisbloodwithnoowneratall.'

And.

fthatwasthecase—

“reallyamfortunate,randDuke!”

—thenevensomeonewhooriginallyhadnotbeentheownerofthatblood,

whohadnotpossessedeventhefaintesttraceofcontroloverit—

forexample,

“othinkthere’sthismuchownerlessbloodfloatingaroundhere!”

—evenAriella

couldnowclaimtobeitsowner.

“owdare...!”

hegranddukegrounditsteeth,

butstillconcentratedwitheverythingithadtosomehowreclaimcontroloverthebloodsuspendedintheair.

Butitwasimpossible.

'hefulfillmentoftheoathhasalreadybegun.'

Unlessthatman—

unlessShinYoungjunactuallyreceivedthegrandduke’sblood,

theoathwouldcontinuetobeforciblycarriedoutuntilthattransferwascompleted.

'can’teventakebackthemanaalreadyoffered...!'

tcouldnotkillthatmaneither.

fithadbeenbeforetheoath’sfulfillmentbegan,thatwouldhavebeenonething.

Buttodrawoutthebloodandthenkillhimbeforehandingitoverwouldcountasbreakingtheoath.

venifitwantedtokillhim,thatcouldonlyhappenafter✧оvеight✧(riginalsource)thisoathhadfirstbeencompleted.

nthatcase,

thepaththegranddukehadtochoosewassimple.

'Somehow,havetogetmybloodintohim.'

heamountdidnotmatter.

fitcouldjustmanagetomakethatmanconsumeevenalittleofitsblood,thentheoathwouldbeconsideredfulfilled.

Afterthat,itwouldbefreetodowhateveritpleased.

“WhenfirstreceivedthisbloodfromtheProgenitor,couldnotproperlycontroltheoverflowingpower.”

notherwords—

“Backthen...accidentallybrokeagreatmanytoys.”

—theexistenceinterferingwiththetransferofblood,

sabella’stoy,

Ariella,

hadtoberemoved.

“histime,itwon’tbeanaccident.”

Kwwwwaaaaaang!!!

“Kgh...!”

hegrandduke’sattackstruckhome, andAriella’sbodylurchedviolently.

venthoughtheshadowsmovingsoskillfullyhadblockedthatattack,theimpactwasenoughtomakehermindgoblankforaninstant.

Yes.

Shehadknownforalongtimenowthattheywerenotopponentsitcouldfacethroughrawforce.

venso,thereasontheyhadattemptedsomethinglikethis...

wasnotbecausetheywerefoolish.

'Mylord.'

Ariellalookedatherfingertips.

Attheenormouspoolgatheringthere.

Atthegrandduke’sblood.

—Kiiiiiieeeek...

Withinthatpoolfloatinginthesky,

justlikethoseshehaddevouredbefore, thesoulsoftheboundletoutagonizedscreams.

heexistencesthathadmixedintoAriella’sbody

anddilutedhersoul.

nthepast,Ariellatoowouldhavedrawntheminwithouthesitation.

'Urk...'

Butnow,

thesoulsthathadoncedilutedherweregonefromwithinher.

heAriellaofnowcouldnoteventhinkofdrinkingthatblood.

Justlookingatthathideoussightmadeherstomachchurn,andtearsthreatentospillfromhereyes.

Whichwaswhy—

'Whatagreedtoreceivefromyouwasnotthegrandduke’sblood,wasit?'

Shehadnointerestinthegrandduke’sblooditself.

Certainly,therewasmeaninginweakeningthegrandduke’spower.

Butthedifferenceinstrengthbetweenthemwasnotsomethingthatwouldbenarrowedbythatalone.

...ere.

onarrowthatgapmoredecisively,

itwasnotenoughmerelyforthegrandduke’spowertoweaken.

Whatwasneededwas...yes.

'hegrandduke’s...cooking!'

Cooking.

Paaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak!!!

Andthen.

heveryinstantAriellathoughtthat—

“...!”

“!?”

Amassivewaveoflight brushedpasttheplacewhereAriellaandthegranddukehadbeenfighting.

***

Whenithadfirstbegun,ithadbeenavastbluelight.

Butthefartherittraveled,themoreitturnedintoabrilliantgray-whiteradiance.

hatradiancehadnotbeenaimedatthegranddukeorAriella.

Plop...

hatlight splasheddownintotheenormouspoolofbloodintheskyandmixedwithit.

Crack.

Andthen...

Sarararararararararak!!!

Frominsideit, whitelightspreadattremendousspeed,

flowingthroughthecountlessreddropletsfloatinginthesky.

—Ahh...

hesoulsboundthere

—urthanks...nothingbutthanks...

vanishedwhileofferinggratitude.

Andthen,

theveryatmosphereofthatredliquidchangedcompletely.

Fromahideouscrystallizationofsinthatmadeyouwanttovomitjustfromlookingatit,

itbecamepurepoweritself,beautifulbeyondwords,likeajewel.

'’msorry.'

Andthen.

hosebeautifuljewelsbegantomovetowardAriella.

Watchingthatsight,Ariellabowedherheadinwardly.

'havenorighttotakeyourlives.'

houghitlookedbeautiful,

theprocessbywhichthatpowerhadbeencreatedwasanythingbutbeautiful.

'venso,forgiveme.'

venso,

shedecidedtoclaimthatpower.

'Yourlives...willbeusedforthesakeofotherlives.'

Withasoftrustle,

thecrimsonjewelstouchedAriella’sbody andsankintoherskinasthoughmeltingintoit.

[CourseMealPreparedwiththeFullSincerityofaero-ClassWarChef]

[Courseame-ife]

omatterhowfilthytherawmaterialmayoncehavebeen, thatingredienthadnowbeenpreparedandcookedbythehandsofachef...

onewhohadreachedtheabsolutesummitamongallchefsonthisland.

[Abeautifuldishbornfromthefingertipsofagreatchefwhohassurpassedtherealmofheroesandnowgazesbeyondit!]

[Beginningwithordinarymeatandvegetables,thenmovingontostoneandiron,lightningandwater,thechefnexttookholdoftheingredientknownasthesoul.]

[houghclumsyatfirst,throughextensiveexperiencethatcookingskillimprovedbyleapsandbounds.]

[hisisthefirstcoursemealusing‘soul’evercreatedbyachefwalkingthepathofgreatness.]

[Becauseofitsuniquenessandrarity,beingsthroughouttheuniversewouldwishtotastethisdishevenonce!]

ventheAriellaofnow couldeatthatdishwithoutissue.

“...owfinallyunderstand.”

And.

Watchingthatsight,thegranddukemurmuredblankly:

“Sowasnottheonlyonewhochosetowalkthathideouspath.”

hegrandduke’sbloodburstout.

hebloodthatburstforthwasrefinedandsenttowardAriella.

“herewassomeonebesidesme...whochosetodevourtheirownkin.”

Whenitcametoskillinhandlingpower,

Ariellahadalreadypulledahead.

Whatstoodbetweenthemnowwasthedifferenceinpuremartialforce.

“Youintendedtotakethesisterandbrotherinsideme...”

“Ahh...”

Andthen—

“Youcameheretodevourme!!!”

hatgap—

“Sowhatyousaidwastrueafterall.”

—littlebylittle—

“Atastesoexquisitethatevenanyrevulsionisforgotten...”

—very,verylittlebylittle—

“ttrulyisaheavenlytaste!”

—hadbeguntonarrow.