Vamp!

Vamp! III - Chapter 4 F

Underground, Waldstein Castle. The Execution Area.
"Then... all this is your fault, Doctor...?" Val asked solemnly. Doctor nodded without a word.
As the vampires and werewolves made their way to the execution area of the caverns, Doctor had confessed everything about his crimes.
How he had murdered thousands upon thousands of humans in the past. How he had betrayed two children and slaughtered their loved ones for amusement.
And the fact that the children--now grown--had come to this island for revenge, and the way their intentions formed a large part of this incident.
"That's... that's terrible, Doctor! We all got involved in this mess because of you!" Val said indignantly. But the other vampires did not entirely share his sentiments.
"Whoa, Val. Calm down. Doc was just acting like the bad guy to keep us safe back there."
"He pretended to be our enemy so we wouldn't get attacked. Then he'd take that armor guy and leave the island... Is what I think he was planning."
"Textbook stuff, if you think about it." "C'mon, let's forgive him. Look at that spirit he's showing!" "Don't be like that, Doctor. If you're really feeling sorry, just give us the key and the combination to your--"
But before the freeloaders could fully lighten the mood, Val cried out to stop them.
"Everyone! Shut up for a second!"
It was very much unlike Val in this form to be so emotional. The vampires flinched.
"Doctor's still responsible for getting us all into this mess! Mihail was hurt badly, and Selim almost got killed!"
Ferret looked away at the mention of Mihail's name. She had silently given ear to Doctor's confession in silence, her expression locked in mystery.
Val, on the other hand, could not hold back his anger. The two people to whom he could open his heart--Mihail, to whom he was deeply indebted, and Selim, in whom he was nurturing an interest--had both been endangered indirectly by Doctor's past actions.
Doctor received Val's outrage head-on, hanging his head meekly.
"I'm sorry. Everything that's happened today... it's all my fault."
"Talk is cheap, you know--"
"That's enough, Val! Please."
To Val's surprise, it was Selim who tried to soothe his anger.
"You might be okay with this, Selim, but I..."
"Then... Val, how could I help you to not be angry anymore?"
Val caught a glimpse of Selim's eyes and deflated. She was right; unleashing his rage on Doctor would solve nothing. And if nothing else, he was quite certain that Doctor had indeed been playing the villain earlier for everyone's well-being.
'Playing the villain, huh. But then again... he really used to be one.' Val thought, glancing over at Doctor. The jester was speaking to him.
"So Doctor? When you called Professor a piece of scrap earlier, you didn't really mean it, did you? Did you?"
"...No. Professor is my most cherished--"
The jester cut him off before he could even finish.
"Yay! That's great! I forgive you, Doctor!"
"...Thank you, Pirie."
There was nothing about Doctor now that made him seem like a so-called mass murderer. So what had led to his change of heart? Why did this boy with the blood of thousands on his hands suddenly change?
'Maybe I can hold off the interrogation until after he tells us why.'
Val's anger slowly dissipated. He sighed and addressed Selim and Doctor.
"All right. I'm sorry for blowing up at you, Doctor. I guess the most important thing now is to focus on that armor guy and Mr. Melhilm."
Selim smiled at his apology, relieved. She turned to Doctor.
"Doctor, please. Please don't call yourself a villain. Even if you've done something truly unforgivable... Please don't cut yourself down like that. No one can measure the weight of their own sins. Don't create any more sins in here, of all places..."
It was unusual for the introverted Selim to be so forthright with her opinions. Doctor, Val, Relic, and Ferret could not bring themselves to interrupt her.
Selim looked into the distance and concluded her statement quietly, as though speaking to herself.
"After all, there's nothing but punishment here in this place, built for execution."
'What does she mean?' Val wondered. What was on her mind as she lived here in the execution area? And how could she treat others this way--both Doctor and himself?
"Selim... How? How can you--"
How could she trust others so easily, he wanted to ask.
But his question was interrupted by a flash of silver.
"?!"
The silver point slithered towards Val, but Relic caught it before it could reach him.
Relic glared. There was a woman holding a whip standing at the door leading aboveground.
"...Who are you?"
"I'm surprised you actually caught that." Theresia said, not answering Relic's question. She smiled and pulled back her whip with a powerful tug, using as little force as possible.
"?!"
Relic was caught off guard by Theresia's surprising strength. He lost his grip on the end of the whip.
Once the whip was completely back in her control, Theresia turned her sights upon one vampire in particular. It was the vampire whom she had encountered with Rudy as children; the one who had destroyed their families and hometown. Theodosius M. Waldstein.
"It's been a long time, Theo."
"Theresia...!" Doctor cried in shock. At that very moment, several figures entered the execution area one by one.
"Theo..." Rudy growled. He was followed by Melhilm, who was in human form, as well as a dozen or so locals and tourists who all seemed to be under subjugation.
"...Did the Eaters follow our presence here? I thought they'd bring all the humans along, though..."
Although Relic knew nothing about Sigmund, the state of the humans on the island clued him into what might be happening on Growerth tonight.
'Maybe... Just maybe...'
Remembering the face of a certain human girl, Relic began to wonder if, perhaps, she was among the crowds gathered on the mountainside.
But his hopes were cruelly dashed by a single voice.
"Relic."
Amongst the dozen or so humans gathered was one familiar figure.
It took Relic several seconds to understand that this was his beloved childhood friend.
And it took yet another thirteen seconds before he could finally accept that she was under subjugation.
"Hilda!" He cried out, but she gave him no answer. She did nothing but look at him with an empty smile. Relic turned to Melhilm and questioned him in an uncharacteristically furious tone.
"This is your doing, isn't it?! Release Hilda right this second!"
Relic had instantly reached the breaking point, so incensed that he looked just about ready to turn the entire cavern to fog and crush everything within.
But before he could do anything, a sight even more familiar than Hilda came into view.
[Calm yourself, Relic.]
"...Huh...?"
The viscount suddenly descended from the ceiling as he addressed his son.
"F-Father! What are you doing here?!"
[Ah, allow me to answer! It seems nothing unnatural to me that I am here within the bounds of my own castle. And before I forget, allow me to introduce you. This man here is my sworn friend, Melhilm Herzog. I do believe I've spoken of him in the past.]
So nonchalant and surprising was his father's interruption that Relic's anger quickly abated and gave way to confusion.
"What's going on here, Father? And what's happened to Hilda?! If you know this person, please just tell him to let her go!"
[This subjugation is the work of another vampire known as Sigmund, who unfortunately has chosen not to join us in person here.]
"...How's this possible? And why are you with these people?"
[Ah, naturally, I am here to resolve the situation taking place on this island.]
As the viscount and Relic continued their discussion, Rudy and Theresia were facing down the vampire who had started everything.
"Theo... You won't get away this time..." Rudy said grimly. But Doctor was nothing but upset by Rudy's countenance.
It was not apparent on the dimly-lit mountain path, but here it was clear as day; Rudy was clearly in excruciating agony. What had happened to him? This was no ordinary illness or injury. Did his condition have something to do with being an Eater?
As though confirming Doctor's suspicions, Melhilm placed a hand on Rudy's shoulder.
"Control yourself, Rudy. Even the shot I gave you has its limits. Do not release your powers for any longer than a single moment at a time." He said with an annoyed sigh, "this is precisely why I warned you to keep your abilities in check. Once you remove your armor and battle with reckless abandon, your Eater powers overstep the bounds of your human body."
Instead of giving a response, Rudy groaned in pain.
The viscount finally reacted to their conversation. He continued his discussion with Relic with part of his body, while using another to speak with Melhilm unnoticed.
[That is indeed a surprise, Melhilm. To think that such a weakness existed among Eaters.]
"An Eater's body is strengthened by their victims' powers only up to a certain point. Too much power, however, will eat away at their bodies. Thought most Eaters would never even sense the screams of their muscles and organs, the pain builds up little by little... until they become like this pitiful Eater. Of course, we were fortunate enough to have Rudy's precedent that Theresia could be spared the same fate." He said, not caring that Rudy was also listening to the truth about himself, "and even if Rudy were to never again use the full extent of his powers... An optimistic estimate gives him a year to live, so long as no measures are taken to save him."
[...]
"...!"
The viscount and Doctor were silent. But while the former was plainly unreadable, the latter could not hide his distress.
Rudy, however, did not react to the revelation; he only remained true to his goals, no matter the consequences.
"I don't need any help. One year is all I need. One year to make Theo suffer and despair..."
Doctor felt guilt gnawing at every part of his body. He was the one who had driven Rudy to this point.
"It's okay, Rudy. I promise--if you die, I'll corner Theo in your place." Theresia said with an icy smile. Doctor shot her a murderous glare.
It was the first time today that Rudy had seen such an expression on his enemy's face. But something about it struck him as odd.
'Is he... angry at Theresia? But why? He never looked at me like that.'
Theresia only smiled sheepishly.
But Rudy's question lingered. Why did Theresia's reaction to seeing Theo look so different from his own? Why was there no hostility in the look she gave Theo?
"This is getting pretty heavy, don'tcha think?"
"Can we go upstairs and get some sleep now?"
As the situation grew complicated with the arrival of Melhilm, the freeloader vampires gave up on trying to follow the series of events.
But the coming of Melhilm's company was not to be the last of the interruptions in the cavern.
One final player arrived on the scene--the person who seemed to be the most out of place in the unfolding sequence of events.
Of course, the descriptor of 'person' was very difficult to justify in the case of this particular player.
<Oh! There you are, Doctor! I finally found you~!>
With an unbelievably cheerful cry, the white coffin equipped with mechanical arms and caterpillar tracks made her way into the execution area from the opposite direction as Melhilm.
<Oh? Wow, we have so many guests here today! I get it! You went out to invite all these guests over, didn't you, Doctor?>
Although a fight had yet to break out, Professor seemed to have taken no note of the tension in the air.
In contrast to his partner's gaiety, Doctor turned to her with a look of utter desperation and shouted:
"No! Please stay away, Elsa!"
At that moment, Doctor and the two Eaters froze. The former went pale as a sheet.
'Why... Why did I just call her that... in front of these two? No, that's not right... I probably called her that because... because Theresia is here. Damn it! I... I don't even know if she's really Elsa or not... So why...?'
<'Elsa'? Doctor... Are you talking about the girl in this picture?>
Professor seemed to be chiefly concerned not with the content of Doctor's warning, but the name he had used to refer to her.
<Then... is this girl here... who I used to be before I lost my memories?>
And in an attempt at confirmation, she raised her mechanical arm to show him the photograph.
When Rudy caught sight of the girl in the picture, everything came to a standstill.
"Big... sis... Elsa...?"
'Could that coffin be... my sister? No... Is she inside it? And what's this about losing her memories? Does that mean she's even forgotten that day...?'
The root of his cursed memories--the moment he abandoned his sister--came back to haunt Rudy once more. His agony intensified, several times worse than it usually was.
Then, it occurred to him:
'What was it that I wanted to do if I ever saw her again...?'
What if this coffin truly was his sister? What then? Would he rejoice at their reunion? Would he ask her how she had survived? Or...
He remembered that his sister was herself the cause of his unending nightmares. A sickening emotion began to swirl in the pit of his stomach.
Rudy knew full well that nothing could make up for his abandonment of Elsa. And what could he do, now that she was standing here before him?
'What did I want with Sis?'
The claim that she had lost her memory sunk its claws into Rudy's mind. But what if she were to recover her memories?
"I... I wish... You never existed..."
What if he were to hear these words again?
But Rudy's train of thought was derailed by his own childhood friend.
"How...?"
Theresia had been frozen in shock for some time now, finally opening her mouth to speak.
But her words offered Rudy no salvation--instead, they pushed him into a pit of utter confusion.
"How... can Elsa still be alive...?"
'What?'
But before Rudy could voice his question, Theresia squeezed out a trembling voice:
"I... I killed you that day! I know I did!"
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