Chapter 209

When Do-Jin logged into LOST, he appeared inside the Grand Duke’s lavish bedroom, right where he had logged out. The moment he secured a method to break the vampiric curse, he headed straight for the Floating Continent. Even so, having a way to lift the curse didn’t mean he could use it right away.

The Light that gave him the method had also repeatedly warned him about the danger involved for both the user and the recipient. He couldn’t just attempt to clear their curse without having a discussion with Tirund. Do-Jin explained the risks of the curse-breaking Magic Circle without holding anything back, and after hearing him out, the Grand Duke said he would personally analyze it.

I hope the analysis is done today. With that thought, Do-Jin left the luxurious room.

He walked through the silent, dimly lit corridors and headed toward Tirund’s office. By now, he knew the place well enough to find his way without a guide or escort.

When Do-Jin reached his destination, he raised his hand to knock. Before his knuckles could touch the door, it opened on its own. Through the open doorway, Do-Jin saw Tirund carefully examining the Magic Circle, looking no different than usual.

“You are here.” Tirund greeted him while keeping his gaze fixed on the Magic Circle.

“Yes.” As Do-Jin stepped inside, he followed up immediately. “How is the analysis coming along?”

At that, the Grand Duke slowly closed his eyes and opened them again. The magic layered over his eyes dissipated, and the scattered light faded away.

“I have finished analyzing it as far as logic will take me. Beyond that point, it seems to fall into a domain that neither magic nor reason can properly explain.”

“How much were you able to figure out?”

“All I can confirm, within the limits of what I can understand, is that this Magic Circle was designed to separate the curse from its target.”

“What about how it actually works, or what side effects it might have...”

Seeing Tirund shake his head, Do-Jin clicked his tongue without realizing it. He’d expected as much. He knew it wouldn’t be easy to figure out, but part of him had hoped that a mage of the Grand Duke’s caliber might manage something. In the end, it seemed crossing the system’s boundaries wasn’t something even he could do.

“What do you plan to do then?”

Although Do-Jin was the one who brought it back, the decision to use it didn’t belong to him. Whether to accept the risk was a choice for Tirund, the one carrying the fate of the vampires. At the same time, the Grand Duke couldn’t treat it as a decision he could make lightly.

Because he would not be the only one taking the risk.

Breaking the vampiric curse was a gamble that put the fate of the entire race on the line. Responsibility alone had kept Tirund going, even as he watched his people slowly turn into hollow puppets and continued bearing that burden.

“Let us observe it for a few more days. If I analyze it a bit longer, something might come to light.”

Once again, the Grand Duke wrapped magic around his eyes and turned his attention back to the Magic Circle. In truth, there was nothing more to discover beyond what he had already seen. No one understood that better than Tirund himself. Even so, he continued to stare intently at the Magic Circle Do-Jin had brought back. He needed time to sort out his tangled thoughts.

***

He said he received it from a being of another dimension.

Do-Jin had described it as an entity he encountered in a dungeon where Bella and Laves had become entangled at the same time. To anyone else, it sounded like impossible nonsense. Even so, Tirund had no choice but to believe him. The magic before his eyes was so utterly incomprehensible that it practically demanded a story that absurd to make any sense at all.

Once the curse is separated, the one who’d bear the consequences is the individual involved. The curse itself becomes something that must sustain its own existence. In the worst-case scenario, a curse released from its vessel could spread even further.

Every possible side effect he inferred, drawing on the knowledge and imagination of a grand Archmage, ended in the worst outcome imaginable. No matter how he approached it, Tirund always reached the same conclusion in the end.

This is far too dangerous to attempt, the Grand Duke concluded on the very first day he examined the Magic Circle.

Even so, the decision was hard to make for Tirund, or rather, it was hard as Carneth Tirund, the father.

But... if not now, will there ever be another chance?

He had clung to this problem for an unfathomably long time without ever seeing even a glimmer of hope. If he let this opportunity slip by, would another one ever come? More importantly, could they endure long enough for that next chance to arrive?

He himself would endure forever while the other vampires could not. The lesser vampires had already lost their sanity long ago, and the curse’s influence continued to grow stronger regardless. At this rate, even Elder-class vampires might one day fall under the curse’s control and become slaves to their bloodlust. It wasn’t a question of if, but when.

And when that day comes, even Karin...

If the time came when he had to numb Karin’s sense of self, just as he had done to the lesser vampires, that would be the moment he truly broke.

He closed his eyes and turned his thoughts to his daughter. He saw Karin smiling as she spent time with the wolf spirit Do-Jin kept at his side. Her eyes widened in wonder one moment, and she burst into bright laughter the next, clearly delighted by something trivial.

That sight brought an end to the endless spiral of hesitation.

“If I have to bear it eventually, then it is better to do so sooner rather than later.”

In the end, whether he was human or the king of vampires, the final force that moved Carneth Tirund was always the same. It was paternal love.

***

After making his decision, Tirund moved with a decisiveness that made his long hesitation seem meaningless.

“No matter what form the threat takes, we need to be ready to deal with it.”

As he informed Do-Jin of his decision, the Grand Duke immediately began preparing magic designed to suppress the separated curse as efficiently as possible.

The Shadow Principality was already saturated with spells meant to restrain the vampiric curse, so all that remained was to modify what was in place. Since the core of those spells was bound to Tirund’s own blood, the modification process itself went smoothly.

“I will make my own preparations as well before the execution date,” Do-Jin said.

His preparation took the form of calling in his party members. At Do-Jin’s summons, Theresa and Soso made their way to the Floating Continent. If he was being completely honest, forming a party might end up being pointless. No one knew how the threat would manifest, if it manifested at all. Still, Do-Jin figured it was better to have extra hands on standby than to face the situation shorthanded.

“So you called us because you’re lifting the vampiric curse and things might get dangerous,” Theresa remarked after hearing the full explanation, her brows knitting together. “That means you have no idea what kind of mess might come out of it.”

“Honestly...” Theresa paused, a bit hesitant. “I hope this trip ends up being a total waste of time.”

Rather than have the quest trigger, she’d rather see Karin and the vampires smoothly freed from the curse they had been carrying like divine punishment, even if it meant no rewards.

With her usual cynical expression in place, Soso summed it up bluntly. “In this game? Yeah, no fucking way.”

Logically, Do-Jin agreed with Soso, but emotionally, he found himself siding with Theresa.

“Sometimes I really wish things would just ignore logic and narrative buildup,” he said. “I’d love it if these problems were resolved in the most anticlimactic way possible. Like, insultingly easy.”

***

Four days later, Tanto arrived on the Floating Continent as well.

“Sorry I’m late. I got trapped because of a quest and barely managed to get out.”

“You still came even though I called you out of nowhere,” Do-Jin said. “That’s more than enough.”

“If you call, of course I’ll come,” Tanto replied without hesitation.

Even by the standards of his previous life, Tanto ranked among the top-tier rogue-class players. This time around, he had even secured a relic-grade item early in the game. With his growth accelerating that quickly, it was no exaggeration to say that Tanto now stood at the very top among melee damage dealers.

Being able to deploy someone like that without restrictions felt almost unfair. Once again, Do-Jin was reminded that having reliable comrades was one hell of an advantage.

***

Karin received a summons from the Grand Duke for the first time in a long while. It came right after she finished escorting the masked man who was one of Do-Jin’s companions.

“What is it?” Karin asked as she entered the office.

Surprisingly, she found Tirund staring intently at a Magic Circle. The sight alone felt strange. She couldn’t remember ever seeing him this deeply focused on something.

“Father?”

Tirund finally shifted his gaze toward Karin, who was tilting her head in confusion.

“Karin.”

“Yes?”

“There is a possibility that the curse can be lifted.”

At his words, Karin jolted in place. “What? You mean it? Really?”

She was about to burst out with relief, but the seriousness in Tirund’s expression stopped her short. Her mouth closed, and her voice softened. “Father.”

No further explanation was necessary. With just that single word, Karin understood that he was asking the questions he couldn’t bring himself to voice.

“I do not know what price must be paid to escape the curse of blood,” Tirund said quietly. “I do not know how great the danger will be either. That is why I want to ask you one last time.”

“What do you mean...?”

“If you are content with things as they are now, then I will do everything I can to buy you as much time as possible. I will try to delay the misfortune that may come for you... for as long as I am able.”

Karin fell silent. She understood exactly what her father meant. He was talking about the other vampires who had already become little more than puppets.

Karin liked her life as it was now. She liked having someone to wait for. She cherished the warmth of anticipation when a distant light finally appeared after a long absence. There were countless other small things she cherished as well. Part of her wanted to say that she wished things could stay this way forever.

But if she disappeared one day, what would become of Carneth Tirund?

“Father. What will happen to you after that?”

Would he finally allow himself to fade away? Or would he remain trapped forever, buried under responsibility and regret, just as he was now? If the Grand Duke, the one suppressing the curse, were gone, would the remaining vampires lose control? And would she be among them?

Erasing all vampires, myself included, and then erasing yourself as well. That might be the least tragic ending left... but even that feels unbearably sad.

Her father had said there was now a way to break the curse. He said it shortly after Do-Jin arrived on the Floating Continent, which meant that whatever method existed was almost certainly connected to him.

Karin remembered the light that descended from the sky. She remembered Do-Jin standing there, wishing with everything he had to free the vampires from the curse of blood.

I will believe in him.

“Father, I do not remember my life as a human,” she said gently. “But I have watched you for a very long time, always regretting the choices you made to save me. I want you to be free from that guilt.”

She smiled, her expression soft and sincere. “My happiness includes yours as well. That is one of my conditions for being happy, Father.”