Chapter 545: 545

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― One hundred years ago, in a remote forest of the Holy Country of Liarm, the Order of Holy Knights carried out a plan to subjugate the vampire called Aruane.

At the time, the death penalty was prohibited in the Holy Country, and those such as Aruane with peculiar skills were regarded as sacred individuals with the blessing of the Holy God. However, the order was given to slay Aruane regardless.

In the depths of the forest, the Holy Knights came under attack from swarm of monsters which forced them to split up, only to then suffer a surprise attack from Aruane.

“Belange-sama! You can’t defeat her with your injuries! I’ve seen with my own eyes! You can’t think of her as human! We should retreat!”

“We can’t! How many Holy Knights have died to that fiend!? As if we could fall back now! I… I’ll avenge them!”

Shaking off the terror paralysing his subordinates, the Holy Knight Commander Belange drags his injured body deeper into the forest by himself.

“I will kill that fiend… I’ll kill her! Even if I’m no match, I’ll at least give her a serious wound!”

Carrying his greatsword wet with the blood of monsters and breathing heavily, Belange pushes on.

Then, deep in the forest, he encounters Aruane. Her body dyed bright red with blood, she stands in front of a tree as though waiting for him. Moonlight shining between the trees illuminates her.

Belange readies his greatsword and strains his senses as he walks towards her. If he loses focus even for a moment, he could lose his life. As a result of his apprehension, his understanding of Aruane’s words is delayed.

“Please… Knight-sama, kill Aruane.”

“Wh-what…?”

“Aruane…is insane. She’s been that way for a long time. All she can think about is the emptiness in her belly. Aruane’s tough, so… she can’t do it herself. Right now, while she’s not so hungry and can think a little… Please, kill Aruane…”

Sobbing, she pleads with Belange. But, he misses her as he swings his greatsword down, and then sinks to his knees.

In the end, unable to kill her, Belange restrained Aruane and brought her back. Without fulfilling her wish, the Holy Country chose to seal her away deep in the underground Great Prison.

A minimal amount of food was thrown down into a designated tunnel. It didn’t have to be human meat. Though Aruane would never feel satisfied eating anything other than human flesh, she was just barely able to survive on the food provided.

Ever since then, she has suffered from a horrible, agonising hunger. Under those extreme conditions, she eventually learned how to regain some of her will despite the hunger.

　― Then, a hundred later, the thick metal door connecting the Great Prison to the stairs up opens up.

A group of Holy Knights wearing the same armour as she had seen a century ago stands at the top of the stairs. Aruane vaguely understood they must be the Holy Knights of the current age.

They push a pair of humans towards her. The humans’ eyes are covered by wraps, their wrists are bound, and their ankles are cut deeply. Aruane is able to quickly understand that they were brought as food for her.

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Unable to bear a century of starvation, she quickly tears them apart with claws of blood and bites into them to slurp their blood. Witnessing the gruesome sight, many of the Holy Knights frown and hold their mouths.

“…Who are you people? Have you come to kill Aruane?”

She looks up at the Holy Knights. A woman with short blond hair takes a determined step towards her.

“[Fiend of the Great Prison], Aruane. We have come to negotiate with you at the behest of Saint Lilixira. Your strength is required.”

“……”

Aruane stays silent for a while, staring into her face. Clearly also frightened, considerable strain is visible in in the Holy Knight’s expression.

“Aruane would like to meet with that Saint-sama. If it seems that Aruane could come to like her, then she doesn’t mind cooperating.”

― Thus, Aruane was taken out of the Great Prison. She is brought to a room deep in the cathedral, under close watch of Holy Knights, where she meets Saint Lilixira.

Aruane takes a step closer to Lilixira, and the Holy Knights all touch a hand to their swords. Lilixira signals them to stand down, then approaches Aruane herself.

“Thank you for coming, Aruane. Would you lend us your strength to defeat the evil dragon and become a champion of salvation? If you do, your sins will be purified in the name of the Holy God. Of course, we will also guarantee your freedom.”

With a gentle smile, Lilixira speaks to Aruane. Silence stretches on. Aruane stares at Lilixira’s face.

“Your answer…?”

“Aruane could… become a champion?”

Having apparently expected Aruane to dig deeper about the promise of freedom, Lilixira seems distrustful of Aruane’s reaction. She seems to think it to be some sort of bargaining trick.

“That’s right, if you contribute to the subjugation of the evil dragon, you will surely be recognised by every country as a champion.”

Aruane giggles. ―Aah, this person is a terrible liar.

Lilixira’s expression stiffens slightly. She seems to think she must have miscalculated something about Aruane.

“Okay, that’s good. Aruane thinks she’s going to come to love Saint-sama a great deal. Aruane will cooperate in any way she can.”

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