Chapter 16

"Sorry, I made a mistake."

With these words, Aichi intended to gently close the door, while the blonde girl with red eyes panicked and tried to detain him. However, her voice, as if it hadn't been used for years, could barely make a sound, but she still struggled to convey her message.

"Wait, wait!... Please!... Help... me..."

"No way."

Aichi said this as he continued to close the door, acting like a brute.

"Why... Why... Anything... So..."

The girl was desperate. Despite being unable to move below her neck, she still struggled to lift her face and plead. However, Aichi just replied with a tone of annoyance.

"You know, in this place deeper than the bottom of Naraka, it's impossible to free someone who is clearly sealed, right? It's absolutely not a good idea. It seems there's nothing here except the seal... It won't help with escaping at all. Anyway..."

He was completely right. But normally, a human who would ignore the cries for help of a trapped girl without hesitation shouldn't exist. The gentle Aichi was indeed gone.

The girl, rejected mercilessly, was on the verge of tears and strained to shout.

"That's not true! Cough... I, I won't! I..."

Because Aichi was about to close the door, just as it was about to shut completely, he gritted his teeth. If he had closed it a little earlier, he might not have heard it.

"Betrayed only!"

The door was just a moment away from being closed forever. But due to the girl's cry, the door's closing stopped. Ten seconds, twenty seconds passed, and soon the door opened again. Standing there, fully opening the door, was Aichi with an extremely displeased expression.

Aichi had no intention of helping her no matter what she said. She must have been sealed here for a reason, possibly because she was extremely dangerous, and there was no evidence that what she said was true. Rather, the possibility that she was an evil being and was deceiving him was higher. He should have decisively abandoned her and left.

(What am I doing, anyway?)

Aichi sighed inwardly, realizing he was moved by the words "betrayed." Now, it didn't matter who among his classmates had fired that magic bullet. In this domain, just achieving the desire to "live" was difficult, and "hatred" and other unnecessary thoughts were a luxury. Despite this, his heart was still moved, and perhaps there was still a part of him that couldn't let go. He felt sympathy for a girl who might be in a similar situation, perhaps due to the remnants of his former self's conscience.

Scratching his head, Aichi approached the girl, being cautious as always.

"You say you were betrayed? But isn't that the reason you were sealed? If what you say is true, why did the one who betrayed you seal you here?"

Aichi had returned, but the girl was still in a daze. Her crimson eyes, visible through her dirty, matted blonde hair, were fixed on Aichi. Faced with her silence, Aichi said impatiently, "Hey, can you hear me? If you don't speak, I'll leave." He turned to leave, but the girl quickly regained her composure and began to explain the reason for her sealing.

"I, a throwback vampire... with powerful abilities... worked hard for the country and everyone. But... one day... the ministers... you are no longer needed... Uncle... he is their own king... I... even so, it's good... but, I, powerful abilities, dangerous... can't be killed... sealed instead... therefore, here..."

The girl, who hadn't spoken for three hundred years, spoke in broken sentences with a dry throat. Aichi listened and sighed, marveling at her tumultuous fate. However, some words caught his attention, and he suppressed a complex, indescribable emotion, continuing to ask.

"Are you from a royal family of some country?"

"..."

(Nod, nod)

"What do you mean by 'can't be killed'?"

"..."

(Shrug) "Always regenerates. Even if injured, it heals immediately. Including decapitation."

"..."

"That's... quite impressive. Are the powerful abilities you mentioned this?"

"Though this is one... magic, direct manipulation... no need for incantations or arrays."

Aichi nodded in understanding. After consuming a monster, he could also use magic. For physical enhancement, he didn't need incantations or magic arrays, and other skills like "Synthesis" didn't require incantations either. However, in Aichi's case, his magic adaptability was zero, so despite being able to directly manipulate magic, he still needed a large magic array to use any magic. But if someone had magic adaptability like this girl, they could wield god-like powers. While others were still chanting or preparing magic arrays, her magic would already be cast, making it a one-sided battle. Moreover, her immortality, though Aichi didn't consider it absolute, was still a far superior ability to a hero's.

"Save me..."

While Aichi was silently pondering and coming to a conclusion, the girl looked at him and pleaded.

"..."

Aichi continued to look at the girl, and the girl continued to look at Aichi. They just stared at each other... Finally, Aichi scratched his head wildly and sighed, placing his hand on the cube that restrained the girl.

"Ah"

The girl realized the significance of this and widened her eyes. Ignoring her, Aichi began the synthesis.

Aichi released a red-black, no, deep red magic power, which had changed after consuming the monster. However, the cube, which should have deformed as expected, resisted and repelled Aichi's "Synthesis." It was like the rock layers of the labyrinth, but it didn't seem completely ineffective. Aichi's magic was gradually eroding the cube.

"Guh, strong resistance!... But, with my current power!"

Aichi injected more magic, about the amount needed for a six-line incantation. At this point, the magic began to seep into the cube. Not just around Aichi, the magic light he released dyed the entire room a brilliant deep red.

Aichi continued to add more magic. Seven lines... eight lines... The stone surrounding the girl slowly began to tremble.

"Not yet, not yet!"

Aichi, gathering his strength, injected the ninth line of magic. For attribute magic, it was already an upper-level spell, no, possibly beyond that. The girl's eyes widened as she watched the red light intensify, not wanting to miss a moment of the scene.

Aichi, using such a large-scale magic for the first time, began to sweat. He was now in a state where a slight loss of control could lead to a loss of control. But even so, the cube still didn't deform. Aichi, in a fit of desperation, released all his magic.

Why he was doing this for a girl he had just met, Aichi didn't understand. But he couldn't ignore her, so he had no choice. He had already decided to eliminate all obstacles and live for his own purpose... Aichi once again questioned his heart, "What am I doing?" Surprised, he realized that there were always exceptions, and if he wanted to do something, he should do it openly!

Now, Aichi himself was emitting a red glow. He released his magic with all his might, pouring all his magic power into the synthesis, and finally succeeded!

Immediately, the cube surrounding the girl became viscous and melted away, gradually releasing her. Her slightly raised chest, waist, arms, thighs... the cube that enveloped her was almost completely gone. Her naked body, though emaciated, still had a mysterious beauty. Finally, her entire body was free, and the girl sat on the ground in a "seiza" position (legs spread, calves bent backward, hands crossed over the groin, and arms covering the chest). She seemed to lack the strength to stand.

Aichi also sat down, his shoulders rising and falling as he panted, his magic power drained, leaving him with a strong sense of fatigue. He panted roughly, and as he reached for the divine water with his trembling right hand, the girl's hand tightly gripped his. Her weak, trembling hand held his tightly. Aichi glanced at the girl, who was staring straight at him. Though her face was expressionless, her red eyes were filled with emotion.

Then, the girl spoke, her trembling voice small but clear.

"...Thank you"

How to express the feeling of being given these words? Aichi didn't know. But he noticed that deep in his heart, which had long since abandoned everything, there was a faint, unextinguished light.

Their connected hands held tightly. How long had she been sealed here? At least in Aichi's knowledge, the vampire race had been extinct for hundreds of years. He remembered reading this in the history books of this world.

By the way, her expression hadn't changed during this time. That means, over the long years, she had almost forgotten how to speak and make expressions. Just one person, spending lonely years in the darkness. Moreover, from her words, she had been betrayed by someone she trusted. It would be strange if she hadn't gone mad, perhaps thanks to her automatic regeneration ability.

It seemed the divine water would have to wait. Aichi smiled wryly and injected strength into his tired right hand, gripping hers back. The girl shuddered and gripped back tightly.

"...What's your name?"

The girl murmured, asking Aichi. Come to think of it, they didn't even know each other's names. Aichi's wry smile deepened as he answered and asked in return.

"Aichi, Nanaki Aichi. What about you?"

The girl repeated "Aichi, Aichi" as if to engrave the most important thing in her heart. Then, when asked her name, she asked Aichi to give her a new one.

"...Name, give"

"Huh? What's 'give'? Did you forget?"

Aichi thought that being confined for a long time could lead to forgetting, so he asked. But the girl shook her head like a bobblehead.

"Already, the old name is not needed. ...Aichi, a good name"

"..."

Probably for the same reason Aichi had changed. Abandoning the old self and living as a new self with new values. Aichi had changed half-forced by pain, fear, and hunger, while this girl had changed by her own will, and the first step was a new name.

The girl looked at him with an expectant gaze. Aichi thought for a moment and, with a helpless expression, gave her a new name.

"['Moon']? I'm not good at naming, so if you don't like it, I can think of another..."

"Moon? ...Moon... Moon..."

"Ah, 'Moon' in my homeland means 'moon.' When I first entered this room, your golden hair and red eyes reminded me of the moon floating in the night sky... How about it?"

The girl, surprised by his detailed explanation, blinked her eyes. Then, though still expressionless, her eyes seemed to sparkle with joy.

"Okay, from today, Moon. Thank you"

"Ah, well..."

"?"

After thanking Aichi, the girl, now named Moon, let go of his hand as Aichi took off his coat. Moon looked at Aichi with a puzzled expression.

"Put this on. You can't stay naked forever"

"..."

Aichi handed her the coat, and Moon reflexively accepted it, looking down at her body. Indeed, she was completely naked. Important parts were fully exposed. Moon's cheeks turned red instantly, and she tightly hugged Aichi's coat, looking up and murmuring softly.

"Aichi, H"

"..."

Knowing that saying anything would be digging his own grave, Aichi naturally said nothing. Moon enthusiastically put on the coat, which was too large for her 140 cm height, and the sight of her folding the hem made Aichi smile.

During this time, Aichi drank the divine water to recover, and his brain, now revitalized, began to work. Using "Aura Perception," Aichi froze. He noticed an unexpected monster's aura nearby.

The direction was... directly above!

Aichi noticed its existence and its fall from the ceiling almost simultaneously. He lunged forward, using "Shrink" to move instantly, holding Moon with one hand. Looking back, the ground where he had been standing was hit with a loud thud, and the monster's form appeared.

The monster was about five meters long, with four long arms ending in large pincers, eight legs moving on the ground with a clicking sound, and two tails with sharp needles at the tips. The easiest analogy would be a scorpion. The two tails were likely poisonous, and it was wise to assume so. Clearly, it was in a different league from the monsters he had encountered so far, and he could sense the aura of a powerful being.

Sweat naturally formed on Aichi's forehead. When he first entered the room, "Aura Perception" had detected nothing. But now, it was working properly. This situation suggested that the scorpion monster had only appeared after Moon's seal was broken. In other words, it was the final mechanism to prevent Moon from escaping. If he had left Moon here, Aichi might have been able to escape.

He glanced at Moon in his arms. She wasn't looking at the scorpion, only at Aichi, her eyes calm and resolute. Her eyes spoke volumes, conveying her will. Moon had entrusted her fate entirely to Aichi.

Seeing those eyes, Aichi's lips curled into his usual invincible smile. Aichi, who should have been indifferent to others, felt sympathy for Moon. His heart, which had lost so much and should have been broken, now held a light again. And this girl, who had been betrayed so deeply, was now entrusting herself to someone again. If he didn't respond to this, he would be a failure as a man.

"Perfect... If you want to kill, come and try."

Aichi shifted Moon to his shoulder, and in that instant, he took out the divine water from his bag, shifted Moon back to his arms, and poured the divine water directly into Moon's mouth.

"Ugh!?"

The divine water from the test tube flowed into Moon's body. Moon, startled by the sudden intrusion, teared up, then opened her eyes wide in surprise as she felt her weakened body regain strength.

Aichi directly used one arm to shift Moon to his back. Though she was currently too weak to be of any help, he couldn't leave her behind while he fought. Indeed, protecting her while fighting the scorpion would be extremely difficult.

The scorpion moved toward them with a clicking sound. Aichi, feeling Moon on his back, smiled fearlessly and declared to the scorpion.

"If you interfere... I'll kill and eat you."