Chapter 220 - 220 - The one who manipulates from the shadows

Chapter 220 - 220 - The one who manipulates from the shadows: Resurrection

220 – The one who manipulates from the shadows and the ones who shine

Birkyne stood behind the rows of orphans and nuns of the orphanage who were smiling with empty, puppet-like eyes, protected by his four close confidants that were also his most elite warriors.

“How impatient, asking me what I want straight away,” said Birkyne, speaking to Vandalieu in a leisurely tone. “Even if we do away with the introductions… don’t you want to ask, ‘What is going on here?’ or, ‘What did you do to them?’”

“… I never heard that you were the type to be concerned with such dull clichés,” said Vandalieu, showing no signs of preparing for battle.

He was still standing right next to Matthew, who had led him here, right in front of Birkyne. He appeared defenseless and full of openings.

But Birkyne and his confidants were on full alert.

“Move to his side, on the opposite side of that boy… and if he tries anything, protect me,” Birkyne whispered to Seris.

“Yes, my lord,” she said in response.

He was restricting Vandalieu’s movement as much as possible by having Seris stand next to him, even if it only made the tiniest of differences.

It was a fact that Vandalieu had defeated Ternecia, though she had been wounded at the time, as well as Gubamon pletely on his own. Among the three Pure-breed Vampires who worshiped Hihiryushukaka, Ternecia had possessed the most powerful offense, and Gubamon had possessed the most powerful defense and a skill for space-attribute magic.

Even now, Vandalieu’s empty expression and flat-toned voice was exerting an unbelievable amount of pressure on Birkyne and his confidants.

That was exactly why Birkyne was acting in a leisurely manner towards him.

A society enveloped by such darkness that it made even criminal comanizations pale in parison. A society where it was normal for its inhabitants to toy with and devour those who were weaker than themselves. A society where if one did not do that, they would bee the ones to be devoured. Birkyne was one of the individuals who had built such a twisted, hierarchical society.

Birkyne couldn’t even remember how many hands that were grasping at straws he had stepped on and crushed underfoot.

That was why he was afraid of ending up on the side that would be crushed and devoured.

“I suppose it is Eleanora who told you about my nature,” Birkyne murmured. “Bellmond and Miles would not be so well-informed about me.”

What he was trying to show Vandalieu, someone that he could not so easily lay a hand on, was half-instinct.

“Yes, Eleanora is very good to me,” said Vandalieu.

Naturally, he was not speaking in a leisurely tone. He had indeed made preparations so that he would be ready no matter when Birkyne showed up, but… him infiltrating the city without warning and taking everyone in the orphanage hostage had been beyond his expectations.

Even if he used space-attribute magic to teleport here directly, Gufadgarn would have noticed. And I’m examining Matthew and Seris right now, but there’s no sign that any spells, poisons, diseases, parasites or Magic Items are affecting their minds. Just how did he infiltrate this place and take over their minds? Vandalieu wondered.

Until he understood this, he could not engage in battle with Birkyne so easily. His feelings of frustration at this fact was what was pressuring Birkyne and his confidants now.

Matthew laughed. “What’s the matter, Vandalieu?”

“Matthew, be quiet. Don’t interrupt Vandalieu-san and Birkyne-san’s conversation,” said Seris.

The strangest thing about this situation was the people of the orphanage, who had been taken hostage by a Pure-breed Vampire and were being exposed to the pressure that Vandalieu was emanating.

Even now, they didn’t appear to have taken any notice of the tense atmosphere. They showed no nervousness as they continued smiling and laughing. Vandalieu was certain that they were being manipulated in some way.

I want to examine their minds in detail, but if I use the ‘Mental Encroachment’ Skill, I really will be full of openings.

“If you order it, we will create openings for you,” said Chipuras.

Kimberley cackled. “Is it finally time for us to make an entrance?”

Vandalieu told them telepathically to wait.

“Eleanora has treated you well, huh… It seems that she has bee much more useful than when I was disciplining her. I thought that I had trained her to her limit by the time that she joined your side, but… even just considering this one fact, it is clear that you are no ordinary being,” said Birkyne. “But leaving that aside, I would certainly prefer if you would ask me the clichéd questions. I believe our conversation would progress much more smoothly if you had an accurate understanding of the situation, you see.”

“… Conversation? After you’ve taken hostages?” said Vandalieu.

“I do not mind if you think of it as an exchange. What I am offering is everyone in this orphanage – head, the nuns and the orphans, and I’ll throw in many more as well. I cannot fathom how much you value the lives of those whose names and faces you don’t even know, but… as a believer of Vida, you can never save too many women and children, can you?” said Birkyne, hinting that he had hostages outside the city of Morksi as well.

“… ‘What is going on here?’ And ‘what have you done to them?’” said Vandalieu, asking the questions that Birkyne had suggested before.

Birkyne gave a small laugh. “What we need as Vampires who worship Hihiryushukaka, the evil god of joyful life, is sacrifices. It is troublesome to kidnap people every time we wish to make a sacrifice, so we have been running facilities for human trafficking since a very long time ago. Bandits, mercenaries, slave traders, brothels, monasteries that are deep in the mountains, and in the past thousand years, many orphanages as well.”

Orphans were far more convenient even than slaves and prostitutes for Birkyne and his Vampire comanization. An orphanage in a slum inhabited by the poor was absolutely perfect.

Such orphanages allowed them to house and manage children from an age before they were even self-aware, and even if they grew to bee adults before there was an opportunity to use them, they could simply be thrown out of the facility.

The majority of people didn’t even glance at the orphans, so in many cases, nobody would even notice if they abruptly went missing. Even if someone did wonder, the guards would not investigate in detail after being told that the orphans had died of illness or injury.

There were some cases where relatives and former acquaintances of slaves, prostitutes and those living in monasteries would e to take them back. There had even been more than a few times where the facilities’ true purpose had bee revealed due to such problems.