6.3

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sharp knocks on her door startled Helena. She opened it, not expecting any visitor who would come looking for her first.

“You… You’re the only one I could think of!”

The drenched, trembling figure before her looked like a desperate, sad little mouse. 

“Please help me. P-please…”

Fred, who still looked like a boy, was clutching the Holy Sword in one hand, tears streaming down his face. The sight of the Holy Sword, his tears, and his plea for help were enough explanation. Helena snatched the Holy Sword from Fred’s hands and ran up the hill toward the chapel.

“Dennis…!”

The fierce summer downpour had already subsided, and the moonlight pierced through the clouds, reflecting off the puddles. Her increasingly lightened body carried her swiftly to the chapel. Helena didn’t need to focus her senses to understand what awaited her. The thick, metallic scent of blood permeated the entire chapel. Within seconds, she reached the prayer room, where the scent was strongest, and found Isaac in a devastating state.

“Isaac!”

She let out a cry, almost a scream, and held him in her arms. Isaac’s stomach had been pierced, and blood was pouring out.

“No, no! Isaac. Isaac. Please….”

The warmth that had always surrounded him was fading rapidly, even in the summer night. Droplets from Helena’s eyes fell onto Isaac’s pale face. His heart was still faintly beating, but it could stop at any moment.

“Lena. Are you crying over a mere pet dying?”

Dennis’s voice, dripping with mockery, brought her attention to the one responsible for Isaac’s condition. He was pressing his dislocated right arm against his shoulder, his face twisted with irritation. He seemed furious at the thought of having been bested by an inferior human.

“You lunatic.”

Helena muttered through gritted teeth, her anger boiling over. Dennis, however, burst into laughter, shaking off his frustration and irritation.

“Now you understand, Lena? I’ve been crazy about you since the first moment I saw you.”

As she listened to Isaac’s weakening heartbeat, Helena gripped the Holy Sword tightly. She couldn’t fight this madman while leaving Isaac behind, nor could she flee with him. If only she could buy a little time…

“Hah… Hah… Priest Isaac…!”

Fred’s voice, ragged from running, echoed as he finally entered the prayer room. Hearing him, Helena felt a bit of relief and shouted.

“Fred, pour all the holy water you have on Isaac!”

The holy water wouldn’t fully heal him, but it could delay his heart from stopping. All she needed was a fleeting moment—just enough time to kill that lunatic. After all, there was only one way to save Isaac. Helena carefully laid him down and adjusted her grip on the Holy Sword. While she kept her eyes on Dennis, Fred hurried over, sobbing, and began pouring holy water over Isaac.

Thump-thump—

Hearing Isaac’s heartbeat return, Helena charged at Dennis.

Screeeeeech—

The unpleasant screech of metal echoed as the Holy Sword scraped against Dennis’s left arm. But Helena did not stop there; she fiercely drove the Holy Sword toward her opponent.

Clang! Clang!

Dennis managed to block her strikes while retreating. However, his less-practiced left arm had its limits in defense. Spotting an opening in an instant, Helena plunged the Holy Sword deep into the joint of his right shoulder and pressed down with all her strength.

“Graaaaah!”

A beastly roar tore through the prayer room. Helena, having severed his right arm, threw it far away and used her body weight to kick Dennis square in the chest.

Bang!

The vampire’s solid body slammed hard against the chapel wall, causing part of it to collapse. Stones tumbled down, burying Dennis, who had lost his balance and fallen.

“I warned you. I made it very clear. If any vampire so much as laid a finger on the people of this village… I would tear them limb from limb.”

Helena had always been a match for Dennis in strength, but after drinking Isaac’s blood, her abilities had grown to a level where he could no longer challenge her. Dennis spat out the blood pooling in his mouth.

“Ha, my dear Lena. Did you know?”

Though dying by her hand wasn’t the worst fate, Dennis resolved that if he were to die, he would leave her with at least one unforgettable wound.

Before Dennis could utter any more nonsense, Helena aimed the Holy Sword at him with the intent to kill.

“You will never… become human.”

“What…?”

The blade, poised to strike his neck, stopped just short of his throat. A single drop of crimson blood trickled down his pale neck. Helena’s eyes wavered violently.

“You thought… I wouldn’t know?”

“What are you….”

“Ha, I didn’t know at first. I thought it was just your ‘Uncle’ muttering nonsense… about how he could let you live under the light of the Goddess, Helena. What a ridiculous notion. You… you’re a perfect vampire who doesn’t need a Goddess.”

Dennis, his face contorted in pain, managed to speak in broken phrases. Helena grabbed him by the collar.

“Don’t tell me… you killed him?”

“How could I, Lena? I know how much… he meant to you. I only… waited for him to die of old age… And when your trusting ‘Uncle’… handed me the book he wanted you to have… I simply burned it.”

The increasing pain made Dennis’s words come out in shorter intervals.

“You lied to me?”

“No… I just… didn’t tell you… everything. The Concioiva… it exists. But it’s… in a cemetery.”

As she froze in shock, Isaac’s heartbeat began to weaken again.

“Helena!”

Fred’s urgent shout wasn’t necessary; she already knew. Helena bit her lip hard.

“Goodbye, my dear Lena.”

With those parting words, Dennis grabbed Helena’s hand, still holding the Holy Sword, and guided it to his neck. The vampire’s veins sizzled as the Holy Sword burned through them, releasing a foul stench and thick smoke.

‘…He’s a friend. My only friend.’

The sincerity behind her earlier words to Isaac left a bitter taste in her mouth. The thought lingered: if only he hadn’t loved her. Her vision blurred as smoke filled the air, and she bit her lip harder.

Knowing full well that this was the only possible ending after Dennis had tried to kill Isaac, Helena swallowed her breath and rushed toward Isaac. There was only one way to save him, but now that she had lost the chance to become human, the thought tormented her.

“There’s a way, right? There’s a way to save Priest Isaac, right?” 

Fred’s words, spoken with an urgency unlike his usual pretense of maturity, echoed in her ears as Helena clenched her fists tightly.

“He can live. But… he won’t remain human.”

If she made him drink her venom before he died, he could survive. Not as a human, but as a vampire. There was no other way to heal such a fatal wound. Originally, her plan had been to turn Isaac into a vampire and find that ‘Uncle’ so they could return to being human together. But now, that path seemed impossibly distant. 

Fred’s resolute voice interrupted her inner turmoil.

“Th-then please save him.”

“Didn’t you hear me? Isaac will become a monster!”

“Even so… even so, you… you’re different….”

Fred’s eyes, instead of holding a fanatical conviction, were filled with pure certainty as he spoke those words.

“Priest Isaac will be different too…. P-please save him…. Dr. Helena… please!”

It wouldn’t be long before Isaac’s heart stopped. She didn’t want to lose even his soul. But….

‘You can hate me if you want. I just… I just want you to live….’

Helena, recalling what that ‘Uncle’ had taught her, burst the venom gland inside her fangs. Normally, the venom would need to be refined before being consumed to reduce the pain, but there was no time for that.

She pressed her lips against Isaac’s, letting the venom flow between them. A small amount of venom slid easily down his throat.

The fingers of his hand, which had seemed completely lifeless, twitched slightly.