Chapter 3: Divine Power

A quiet hallway in the temple.

Rupert, the middle-aged man serving as the current Holy Knight Commander, let out a deep sigh.

"Damn... What the hell is he up to out there?"

The man beside him asked casually, "Something wrong?"

"I'm worried something might happen. Not that I'm whining for His Holiness to pay attention, busy as he is."

"Hmm. Even if you asked, there's not much I could do anyway."

"I suppose not."

The two had entered the temple on the same day. Their friendship ran so deep that such informal exchanges felt natural, despite the hierarchy between them.

"If he was going to leave the temple, he should've just lived quietly... But no, that Arwel Court Count wasn't enough, now even someone from the Luminel family is stirring up trouble."

"What on earth did he do?"

"I don't know. That's what worries me more - it seems he hasn't actually done anything. Can't you ask the Lord about it, just in case?"

"You still think the Lord God is some neighborhood teacher, don't you?"

"Tch."

Rupert clicked his tongue in frustration.

He should have tried harder to keep Harte from leaving the temple.

'No, I don't understand it in the first place...'

The man had dunked his head in the pond and changed in an instant. At first, Rupert thought Harte might have been possessed by an evil spirit. But that was impossible, so he quickly ruled it out.

"You seem uneasy."

"Damn right I am. You know it too. He's a walking miracle. Not something that should be let loose in the outside world."

"Well. I see it a bit differently."

"What?"

The Pope, called God's representative, quietly took in the vast sky.

His devout blue eyes curved into a gentle crescent.

"If such a being chose to venture into the outside world of his own accord... This too must be the will of our Lord. At least, that's how I see it."

"What if he abuses his powers out there?"

"Hmm, that's difficult. Extremely difficult, but..."

He continued after a slight pause.

"As Pope, bound by the temple's laws, I suppose I would have to pass judgment?"

---

---

A deep night, as if a black curtain had been drawn across the sky.

I was climbing a nearby mountain path with Yulian.

'Unexpected.'

Despite heading to meet the rumored vampire, Yulian showed no signs of complaint. Though a prince might find walking tiresome, his cynical face betrayed not even a hint of discomfort.

"Yulian. You're not scared, are you?"

"A little. But the Count wouldn't have assigned me a useless companion. So right now, my curiosity about vampires is stronger."

"...I see."

It was a novel feeling. Despite his grumbling, it meant he ultimately trusted me.

It's closer to trusting the Count who trusts me... but who cares?

"Yulian."

"Yes."

"It's better if you don't use honorifics. From Flotia's reaction earlier, it seems to draw more attention."

"You're certainly right."

"I can speak casually to you anyway. They'd never think a commoner would speak informally to royalty, right?"

"You're already far too casual."

"Right, so let's just drop the formalities altogether. Got it?"

"Understood."

Whew, it's so nice not hearing that half-polite speech anymore.

It had felt uncomfortable, like forcing him to wear ill-fitting clothes.

"Director."

"Yeah?"

"Apart from concerns for your safety, I don't understand your thinking. How could you come up with the idea of taking in someone as wicked as a vampire at the orphanage?"

"That's the normal way to think about it, I suppose."

I added one more thing.

"If it really were a vampire."

This world, being a fantasy world, is home to various races.

Among them, the most widely known are humanity's adversaries - the demon race.

And vampires are considered high-ranking even among demons. Just a sighting is enough to put nearby villages on high alert.

The notion that such a vampire would be drinking animal blood in human territory...

"Huh?"

We had been walking in silence for a while when a cluster of lights appeared in the distance, moving.

"Those are..."

"Torches, it seems."

"One, two, six, seven? At this hour?"

It was puzzling why anyone would cross this mountain path at such a gloomy hour, especially with sinister rumors circulating. Moreover, judging from their silhouettes, they seemed to be traveling light.

There was only one possibility to consider.

"Hunters?"

But likely hunters of rather poor quality.

In fact, with a bit of thought, anyone should realize the rumors weren't about an actual vampire. Most people would probably deduce that the mysterious figure was some harmless creature that just drank animal blood.

That kind of uniqueness is worth money.

Put it up for auction in the black market, and you'd likely hit the jackpot.

"Director, is that where we're headed?"

"...Probably."

The lights weren't scattered but clustered tightly together. Plus, individual movements were minimal.

High chance they've found their target.

I scooped up Yulian and muffled our footsteps. The dense foliage blocked out the moonlight, making the path too dark.

The inexperienced Yulian might have fallen and been left behind.

Then, suddenly.

The situation changed abruptly with a man's death scream.

"Aaaaargh!"

The neat row of torch lights wavered chaotically, then extinguished one by one until the forest fell silent. Now only the moonlight, feebly filtering through the leaves, served as our guide.

Rustle, rustle.

We pushed through the undergrowth.

As we drew closer, the scent of burnt wood began to tickle our noses, soon overwhelmed by the nauseating stench of rotten blood.

"Urgh..."

Yulian's face contorted in disgust. This kind of foul odor seemed too harsh for a child his age.

As we emerged from the dense forest into an open, meadow-like clearing, the bright full moon illuminated our previously dark surroundings.

Yulian, seeing the red eyes glowing ferociously beyond the fallen hunters, spoke in a tense voice.

"Director."

"Yeah."

"Is that... a vampire?"

"No."

I could state with certainty.

"Human. Just a bit special."

Indeed, its appearance was wretched enough to be mistaken for a vampire.

Covered in blood from head to toe, the stench was overwhelming from not washing. Though clearly small in stature, its menacing aura was unnaturally intimidating.

A true predator.

A child that seemed to be of a different biological class altogether.

"Human... really? Are you sure?"

"I told you. Just slightly different from ordinary people."

Several years ago.

There was a dragon who took roleplaying to the extreme.

Usually, a dragon's idea of fun is playing pretend. Those lunatics transform into whatever creature they find interesting and go all-in on method acting.

Plus, they're a bunch of borderline intellectually disabled folks who throw tantrums if their act is exposed. At least they have enough sense to feel embarrassed about it.

Then one day.

A next-level psychopath is born, unsatisfied with ordinary roleplay.

This dragon cast a spell on itself the moment it transformed, to fully immerse in its setting.

The spell made it forget its life as a dragon for the duration of its roleplay.

And so began an insanely hardcore roleplay life as an amnesiac ordinary person.

Luckily, he succeeded in living as a human and eventually married the woman who had helped him.

The day after the newlyweds spent their first night together.

That day marked the end of the dragon's planned roleplay period, and the day it would regain its memories as a dragon.

The dragon, having lost its human emotions, left its wife without a second thought.

That son of a b*tch dragon's nickname was Bloody Dragon.

Instead of gold, it craved blood - truly the king of psychopaths.

"Ugh... aah..."

And the girl making those eerie sounds over there was the fruit of that broken couple's one night together.

'A half-dragon descended from Bloody Dragon, huh...'

It must have been too much for her mother, who was likely an ordinary woman.

From overwhelming strength to the instinct for blood.

She probably gave up on the child very early on.

That's why I have no choice but to say this.

"You've done well all this time."

Those bastards trying to hunt the child. They're just unconscious, not seriously injured.

She must have lost her mind craving the blood of her own kind, yet somehow managed to survive on animal blood.

She's probably ten years old, the same age as Yulian.

"You too, of course."

I patted Yulian's head.

He's no different. He must have cherished each day of life, dealing with loneliness in the imperial palace.

The world is truly harsh.

"Why are there so many hurting children around me anyway..."

As I took a step forward.

"No, stay away...! Urgh..."

The child backed away with a shrill cry.

"Huff... huff..."

Her lustful breathing was terribly rough. Yet fear was etched on her face as she bit her lip hard.

The girl's mind was incredibly strong as she fought against her instincts.

"Director."

Just then, Yulian grabbed my sleeve.

"What are you going to do?"

"What do you want me to do?"

Answering his question with another, Yulian responded with yet another question.

"Can you save her?"

"Well well, look who's being uncharacteristically timid for a royal."

As a noble, you should show some confidence and...

"You should say, 'Save her.'"

"..."

Yulian nodded.

It's enough that I confirmed his intention this way.

He doesn't even suggest running away.

I suppose he has the spirit of a male protagonist, rotten as he may be. Sёarch* The Novelƒire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

If that's the case, I have no choice but to respond to that spirit.

"Since you've given permission... Yulian, you're an accomplice now, okay?"

"Director?"

I take a step forward.

In that moment, golden particles like fireflies rippled up from the earth.

The elegantly rising particles of light spread out like a golden Milky Way.

Shimmering leaves scattered the brilliant light like morning dew, and flowers bloomed atop the verdant underbrush, displaying the vitality of life.

Divine power.

It is the authority over all creation, possessed only by a select few believers who bear the name of God.

It is a defiance of heaven that forcibly brings forth miracles not permitted in the mortal realm.

"My God who judges the world."

"Don't... come...!"

"I too judge the world in Your name."

"...!"

The golden particles transform from points to lines, and from lines to planes. The golden light that became a plane connects us like rope, then binds us like a knot.

I continue to recite sacred words.

For the completion of an imperfect miracle.

"May Your benevolent power reach this pure life."

And may I atone for the sins of that life.

May innocent sins be forgiven.

And thus, bestow a blessed life upon the child who will one day run beyond the horizon.

"As one who bears God's name, I pray."

As I finish my prayer.

A crimson energy traveled along the golden rope binding us and began to infiltrate me.

It was the process of the dragon's instinct transferring from the girl to me.

The manifestation of an omnipotent realm that should be impossible.

That is the miracle brought forth by divine power.

Thanks to this, I was able to see the world from the girl's perspective for the first time.

"Ah..."

My bound hands felt hot. And the urge to crave blood stirred. As if demanding I kill these two children right now and suck their blood.

"So this is a dragon's instinct."

Strength comparable to a dragon's would follow to carry out those urges. That was the nature of a dragon's instinct itself.

"Haa..."

Just having this makes me feel utterly disgusting.

So I compressed the red energy into a bead-like form and expelled it onto my palm. It looked like blood vessels densely tangled inside a bead filled with blood.

"The Empire really needs to form a dragon control squad or something."

I roughly crushed the bead of concentrated instinct between my fingers. With a shattering sound, the crimson energy dissipated into the air.

Such was the anticlimactic end of the curse that had been strangling the ten-year-old girl.

"Haa... haa... ugh..."

A turning point came for the child who had been breathing heavily.

Thud!

The blood-covered girl collapsed limply.

She seemed to have reached exhaustion after suddenly being freed from the instinct that had been tormenting her all this time.

I picked her up and signaled Yulian that it was time to leave.

Yulian, who had been trailing behind, cautiously asked as if facing a stranger.

"Director... what kind of person are you?"

"What do you mean, what kind?"

I told him exactly what I was.

"I'm a newbie orphanage director."

"..."

The brilliant light of miracles and the curse craving blood had vanished, leaving only serene darkness.

The once-desolate orphanage welcomed a new family member.