The crackling sound of fire was the first thing I heard. It wasn't the whooshing sound of fire shot from a flamethrower. Nor was it the ticking sound of a gas stove from my past life when first ignited. This sound was the sound of wood, logs burning, the sound when steam and sap trapped inside the heated wood grain expanded suddenly and burst, creating tiny popping sounds. Like the sound of popping popcorn.
For a Japanese person born and raised in the 80s like me, coming into contact with charcoal was quite a luxury. Because now it seems everyone has a heater. And I grew up in a big city like Tokyo, so the latest technology was a privilege.
Even so, I had been to Hokkaido once, in the middle of winter too. So that entire white land was the only thing I was impressed with when looking out the window. Accompanying it was a fireplace made of stone that looked quite... hmm, what was that word? Ah, very antique. I heard the house I stayed in was built way back in the Bakumatsu period. Or rather, perhaps the entire village I visited was built in that era. As a result, the whole place gave me the feeling of another world.
Perhaps that was why I wanted to move to Hokkaido. Another world, a new beginning, far away from the regrets I had.
And that crackling sound of wood reminded me of that. Reminded me of the time when, as a child in this world, I stared at the flames of the fireplace. More accurately, it's only now that I remember the feeling of happiness realizing I had a new chance, a new life.
"..."
Yes, I was very happy. I also promised myself that this time I would live without any regrets. Then perhaps I made a mistake. I regretted again, for a long period that I don't know how long it has been.
Then what?
Ah right, I died. Probably. People often say death feels cold. I saw everything appear before my eyes. Memories, my decisions, and the smiles I had seen. I felt very cold and saw everything gradually blur before my eyes.
And everything went dark.
Nothing remained, just an eternal void. I saw myself in that void again, gradually fading away. Like the weak flame of a candle that had burned out. It was weak and truly pathetic. Now, without needing a gust of wind or any impact, time would be the thing to make that flame disappear from this world.
...
Then suddenly I heard a voice, perhaps just before the moment I became one with the darkness.
That voice asked if I still wanted to live?
I thought, perhaps a lot. Did I want to live? It's strange to have to ask myself that question. Every creature in the world wants to live. That is their instinct. Live, survive, leave their genetic code for the next generation, and then die.
I have lived for quite a long time too. Plus the age of my past life, it can be said I am over forty. To some people that is still young, but in my past life, I felt living that long was a miracle.
Because in my past life, I wasn't particularly keen on living. I was a stupid failure, ugly, and had a huge debt that surely would never be paid off. I had a tiny bit of motivation to live when I became a teacher, but I didn't know how long the excitement of something new would last. Perhaps just one unruly student would be enough to make me go crazy and lose my job again. Then I would be unemployed again and lie waiting for death.
In general, I wasn't very keen on living. Perhaps that's also why I was willing to throw myself in front of that truck to try to save my student.
That was quite an instinctive action. Because humans tend to protect each other, especially the younger generation. So even for someone like me in the previous life, suddenly becoming a hero was just instinct, not something I had really calculated carefully.
Finally, I died instantly, rolled under the truck, and apparently my head was crushed. Sounds pretty bad.
But I felt relieved, because everything finally ended.
Then suddenly I was born, again.
Although my family this time wasn't any better than the previous life, if not to say even worse, I was still able to grow up and feel a real life.
I met important people, friends, and a new family. Yeah, although called the in-law family, I really considered the Boreas people my family. I had a purpose in life, which was to become stronger so I could adventure with Eris. I had promises, plans.
That is why even though I was at the depths of despair, I still wanted to live.
I wanted to feel that happiness again. I wanted to see my friends and family again.
I regretted a wrong choice and it led to a painful ending. But perhaps it is still too early to say that the rest of my life is just suffering, right?
Someone once told me that a good piece of music has both white and black keys. Because for happy times, there will always be sad times. There are times of disappointment, to find happiness meaningful.
Probably so.
And even if the rest of my life is full of suffering, so what? For example, if I were tied up, had my limbs cut off, then locked in a place and suffered eternal pain or something. I suddenly thought of the image of myself turning into a creature with no mouth but still having to scream.
Eternal punishment or something, perhaps.
But I still want to live. Even if there is still a slim chance that I will be able to find happiness at the end of the road, I don't want to give up. Maybe because I promised myself that I would live a life without regrets?
I am afraid I will give up before I can achieve happiness.
Maybe I am a greedy person? Maybe the amount of 'happiness' I can receive in this life has run out. But I still want more.
Like the flame of a burnt-out candle, it still burns even though time has run out. Even knowing that it doesn't have much time left, that flame still burns, regardless of the wick holding it to this world having run out.
And that flame, if brought to a new candle, what will happen? It will continue to burn, even stronger. Then when it is used to burn a log, it will flare up, creating the crackling sound I am hearing now.
That is the reason I said 'I want'.
I want to live.
The popping sound of wood did not stop.
And I lived.
...
"..."
I didn't know what had happened and how long it had been since I fainted next to that mole.
But when I woke up, the thing that caught my eye was the canopy of an elaborate wooden bed. The kind that can be found in those mansions. My room at the academy was also this type.
However, this bed had something special. Perhaps the type of wood that made it. It had quite a fragrant smell, like incense but with a strange sweet taste, ah like vanilla. Accompanying it was an opaque black color like charcoal, making me wonder if it was really wood or some kind of gemstone.
Then I moved slightly. At this moment I suddenly realized the place I was lying on was quite soft. It was even softer than the bed in Eris's room that I once secretly lay on and sniffed her scent. This bouncy feeling reminded me of the good mattresses in my past life.
Ah right, exactly like a latex mattress.
Wait, did I return to the old world? How can there be rubber in this place?
So I immediately panicked and sat up. Oh, these hands are still as small as an 11-year-old child's, the calluses from years of training back then had faded but I still recognized this as Atur's body.
"Phew..."
So I breathed a sigh of relief, only to suddenly realize my body was functioning normally as if there were no problems. Both hands moved smoothly, not numb or painful at all. It had been a long time since I felt like this. As if I had just slept a deep sleep and all muscles had completely recovered.
All bruises, wounds were completely gone, as if I had never been stuck under a labyrinth for half a year. Ah no, a few of my teeth were really lost, but they are also starting to grow back? The only thing that remains the same is my left eye, it's still blind and covered in a black patch like a pirate.
"What the hell happened?"
I started to feel confused and looked around.
I am in a room. Clearly a bedroom, quite large, maybe about 20 tatami mats. Besides the huge bed I am lying on, in the corner of the room is a burning fireplace, next to it is a set of chairs and bookshelves stretching and covering a whole corner. Opposite the bed is a desk and chair set for working, also made of black wood. In the room, there is also a large wardrobe and a tea table set. Plus there is even a place to... go to the toilet. Just add a bathroom and a kitchen and this would be a mini apartment costing more than 300,000 yen per month if in crowded urban areas like Shibuya or Shinjuku.
This room has something quite strange. That is, all windows are sealed shut and even reinforced with wooden planks. Just like houses in zombie disaster movies. Only the door on the other side of the room seems normal.
But still, what the hell is this place?
I looked around again, looked again and caught sight of a painting hanging right above the fireplace. It was a man, seemingly middle-aged, placing a hand on the shoulder of a young boy. Both had jet-black hair, red eyes, and had quite similar features. Perhaps they are father and son?
"Black hair?"
Maybe this is the first time I've seen someone with such hair color in this world. And both—
"Hello ha!" Suddenly I was walking towards that painting. The room door was thrown open. "Our little baby dragon has woken up!?"
It was a voice both noisy and incredibly enthusiastic, in the Demon God Tongue. And it came from a figure standing on the other side of the room, where the door had just been thrown open.
It was a man, tall and thin. His skin was so white he looked like an anemic person. His hair was black, groomed quite neatly. He wore a high-collared black cloak stretching from his neck to his feet. Even his hands were covered under that cloak. Looking at him, he was like a pupa hiding in a cocoon. Ah no, if comparing, it's like the way a bat hangs upside down on a tree branch.
I don't know why, but when I saw him, I immediately loaded the name 'Dracula' right in my head.
"Um..." I immediately thought about how to respond, then recalled the first self-introduction lesson of the Demon God Tongue. "Hello sir, my name is Atur, a swordsman from the Asura Kingdom, very pleased to meet you, sir."
"Asura Kingdom?" The man raised an eyebrow slightly, that voice made me feel like there was something surprising from him. "That place still exists?"
Um... what?
"Tsk... how long has it been?" The man seemed to be immersed in his own thoughts and started moving. Even though I didn't see anything like legs moving at all. Looking at it any way, it looked like he was floating on the ground. "Ah, whatever. Maybe that Laplace guy actually lost the war huh? Humans are always good at surviving, aren't they?"
Then he waved his hand and laughed heartily, revealing a hand also stark white no different from his face.
And when he got closer, I saw that person looked quite like the man in the painting above.
Ah right, it's his house, nothing strange about hanging a painting of his own face. Even Lord Sauros and Philip hung paintings of their own faces in Roa. If I recall correctly, Philip also commissioned someone to paint a portrait of me to hang up later with his family.
Anyway, back to the immediate issue.
The man continued to slowly approach me. However, since he didn't seem hostile, I also tried to keep my face poker-straight. No matter what, I had a feeling this character was not simple at all.
"So your name is Atur? Interesting." He actually grinned broadly, revealing two canine teeth 'clearly belonging to a vampire'. "Truly a strange name for a dragon."
"Ah... I am a human, sir."
He immediately waved his hand at me. "I know what a baby dragon looks like, don't try to lie!"
What the hell would I lie for? But whatever then. I don't think I should argue with this person.
"Then I apologize, sir." I bowed my head slightly. "I thought I was stuck in a labyrinth and thought I was about to die. Yet waking up finding myself here, surely you are the benefactor who saved me?"
"That's right, you looked like a torn rag at that time. Even got poisoned from the 'Mice Bugs' for a while and didn't even know about it. Ke ke ke! What a moron!"
Was it that bad? But if I could be healed like this, I must have been treated with recovery magic or something by him. I heard that advanced or saint-class magic of the Holy Kingdom of Milis can heal extremely heavy wounds like mine. So surely he is a person of the Milis religion? Ah no, looking at it any way, he is a demon race. And how can a demon race be a believer of Milis?
"Do you mind if I ask what Mice Bugs are?"
"Those are tiny bugs which sucks your mana so you will become weaker and weaker over time. You even got one on your eyes! Ke ke ke!"
So that explains why I was always tired back in the time when I'm still in the labyrinth. No wonder why the detoxification spell didn't work.
"Then I would like to send my greatest gratitude." I immediately performed the thank-you etiquette of an Asura noble by bowing. "So may I ask for your name for convenient address, sir?"
The man suddenly stopped, put his hand on his chin, and thought about something. His red eyes still stared towards me. His long ears like an elf's seemed to move a little.
"Hmm." Although I don't know why, that seemingly cheerful person suddenly became strangely annoyed. His eyes clearly showed frustration. Oh, did I say something wrong? "I hate having to repeat my name but considering you are now like me, I will say it again. My name is Lan Xin, the Great Blood Demon King, master of this Vasile region and the castle bearing my name that you are in! Ke ke ke! You must have heard of my reputation?"
Like hell I know. But what? Demon King? What the fuck? What situation did I get myself into? Am I meeting an extremely scary character who will strangle me to death because of a thousand-year grudge against humans or the Milis religion or something?
"Ah... yes." Anyway, I didn't think I should say outright that I didn't know, so I nodded. "Yes, so you are the legendary Great Blood Demon King, truly my honor."
"Keke. Good that you know."
Look at that arrogant smirk, what kind of demon king is so easily deceived?
But wait, what does 'like me' mean?
"Anyway, I think you are also hungry. Why not join me for a meal?"
"Yes, sir!"
Whatever, worry about eating first!
...
So, I was led by that 'Great Blood Demon King' out of the room and into a long corridor.
If I had to sum up this place in a single word, I would probably use the word 'black'.
Ah, not the pitch-black darkness down in that wretched ant labyrinth, mind you. This place has a light source. Torches made from some kind of wood—which I'm sure isn't the normal burning type—were placed continuously along the entire corridor. Thanks to that, it was quite bright. However, it was pitch black because the walls, ceiling, and floor were all made of some kind of brick that was jet black. No matter how you looked at it, it resembled the castle of some villain. And unlike a normal corridor that would have a balcony, this place was completely enclosed by wood, blocking everything from view.
Seeing that, I wondered just how dangerous the outside world in this place was.
We walked along the corridor like that for a few minutes; on the way, we occasionally met a few soldiers in armor or servants passing by. The guards wore full red armor, covering their entire bodies, revealing nothing inside. Meanwhile, the servants wore outfits quite... similar to the butler and maid uniforms I saw in Asura. Aside from the clothing, they all had pale white skin just like this Great Demon King, along with the long ears of the elf race. Whenever they spoke, they revealed two long fangs. Besides the black color, these people had red, blonde, blue, brown hair... all kinds. Perhaps for this race, they don't have a unified hair color like the Superd or the Migurd.
Come to think of it, I don't recall the book about Demon Races and culture that Rudeus's master, Roxy, mentioned having this race. Or rather, I don't remember the existence of any white-skinned, long-eared race. Maybe they are a reclusive race? After all, this place is completely sealed off.
Anyway, every guard or servant, upon seeing the Great Demon King, bowed respectfully.
"Greetings, Lord Great Demon King."
"Lord Lan Xin."
Seeing this scene, I firmly believed that this guy was probably the real deal.
But Great Demon King? I remember in the history lessons Mia often taught me, there was no one named Lan Xin in the Laplace War, right? Or is he a Great Demon King from as far back as the 2nd Human-Demon War? But wasn't that more than four or five thousand years ago?
How long do demon races actually live? Or is this just a title passed down to their future generations? Like when a king dies, his child is called king. I'm not very knowledgeable about the demon race's power system, so I'm clueless, and Roxy's book didn't mention it either.
But if I recall correctly, I once heard someone's name also quite similar to this Lan Xin, though I don't remember when I heard it. Lan Xan? Lan Lan? Lan Xia? Can't remember.
...
Finally, we arrived at the dining hall.
This place was big and wide like a grand cathedral, not a normal dining room. In the middle of it was a long table with more than a few dozen, if not to say possibly over a hundred chairs arranged in perfect rows. Around the hall were giant black pillars that probably required five or six adults to fully embrace. They were over ten meters high, supporting a ceiling decorated brilliantly with colorful glass patterns.
Perhaps this is the only thing in this castle that I see is not black. Truly magnificent. If sunlight shone through, it would surely be a beautiful sight. I really look forward to when it's morning to be able to admire it.
But at this moment, I suddenly realized that perhaps I wouldn't be able to see light shining through this place. Because no matter how you say it, these people really look like vampires. And in this world, vampires actually exist, and as far as I remember, they were wiped out in the 2nd Human-Demon War over four or five thousand years ago.
Perhaps these are the last individuals? If that's true, it must be the reason why all windows are sealed shut and no one really talks about them anymore.
And...
Wait, what do Vampires eat? Blood? Or fresh meat? Suddenly I had a bad feeling about this.
But contrary to my worries, what was placed on the dining table were quite benign dishes. They had vegetable soup, bread, steamed mushrooms, bean dishes... looking quite eye-catching. The smell is also good as well!
And as could be easily seen, they were all vegetarian, with absolutely no meat.
"You must have suffered for a long time, so I chose the best ingredients to make the finest dishes of this Vasile region," Lan Xin boasted; he was truly very proud of them. "Enjoy the meal, baby dragon named Atur, keke!"
Although it was a bit strange to see a vegetarian vampire, I also nodded enthusiastically. "Yes!"
We sat down together and ate the prepared dishes.
And oh my Milis!!!
It was indescribably delicious. The soup was wonderfully sweet, the vegetables were stewed just soft enough to melt in the mouth. The grilled mushrooms had an irresistible aroma, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, making me almost call out Milis's name in front of a Demon King. The stewed bean dish was a bit strange, but it had its own charm. I could feel the texture and their fatty taste exploding like a bomb.
I think I cried.
"Delicious, isn't it?" Lan Xin said.
"Yes," I answered.
"That is the flavor of Vasile. And they are all what my son left for the Blood Tribe. Enjoy it, baby dragon Atur. Kuku!" And that Blood Demon King also cried.
"Yes, Lord Lan Xin!"
Both of us cried and ate through the entire meal.
During the meal, the Great Demon King asked who my parents were, and I answered honestly. He seemed a bit suspicious of what I said but decided not to ask further and just nodded. So I also asked more about him, about the castle, and my current location to plan my way back home.
"Actually, you are still inside the labyrinth," Lan Xin said, nonchalantly.
"Eh? So this castle is underground?"
"Correct."
Who builds a castle underground? And it even has windows.
Perhaps the Great Demon King saw I was too confused and decided to explain. "This castle was originally built on the surface. But because some wretched bastard sliced the continent in half, causing havoc, the castle fell underground like this."
I think I know who that wretched bastard is. It seems to be the legendary hero, Golden Knight Aldebaran, who used his extremely powerful attack to punch a hole in the middle of the Great Continent, thereby creating the Central Continent and the Demon Continent separated by the Ringus Sea as they are now. But it's around the second Human-Demon War, more than four thousand years ago. This castle was actually built before that era huh? Impressive.
So because the Vampires, or more correctly Blood Tribe, don't 'like' sunlight very much, falling underground like this wasn't too bad, so the castle owner just let it be.
"So do you know the way to leave this labyrinth?" I asked persistently, trying to find a little hope.
"Actually, yes." Lan Xin nodded. His finger pointed upward. "Just climb to the top of the castle's highest tower and you will get out."
"Oh!"
While I was rejoicing, the Great Demon King suddenly sighed.
"But don't celebrate yet, you can't get out."
"What do you mean?"
"Remember when I said we are alike? The thing is, when I found you, you were nearly dead. And I don't know how to use healing magic, so there was only one way."
I suddenly felt a bit uneasy.
"I gave you a drop of my blood to help you live again. In return, you are now a Blood Tribe like us."
I was stunned by that information. But finally, I managed to swallow hard. "So you mean..."
"From now on, you cannot walk under the sun anymore, baby dragon Atur. Ah, or should I call you a baby Blood Dragon now? Sounds pretty cool. Ke ke ke!"
Ah so, because I almost died so Lord Lan Xi turned me into a Vampire huh. Pretty cool right? Ha ha. Look! Everyone! I'm now a Vampire! Now bow your head you lowly peasants!
Ha ha ha…
"Cool my ass! Please turn me back!!!"
And so I snapped.