It was a long time ago, but the memory was still clear.
After waking up in the body of a barbarian, I entered the first floor and entered its crevice, the Bloody Citadel. There, I met Raven and Hikurod and then had to fight the rank 5 monster and Rift Guardian, the Vampire Duke Cambormere, when he didn't have a single essence.
Naturally, I also remember the conversation I had then.
«Strange, very strange...»
At that time, he said something similar when he saw us, although what he said afterwards was completely different.
«Looking at you all, I can't stand my bloodlust. Would you by any chance know the reason?»
He had intelligence and was able to carry on a conversation. It wasn't the strangest thing: there were quite a few high-ranking mutants who could talk. Not that I would have known Cambormere was capable of talking like that, of course.
But then I ignored him.
At that time, the Bloody Citadel was not only my first rift, but also the first time I killed Cambormere. I didn't think too much about the questions he asked me about it.
«I can not lose. I can not lose...!»
And yet, the Knight of the End I met in the White Temple hut was more desperate than any other monster I had ever seen.
«If it is... a lie... nobody knows... isn't it... the truth?».
The Rift Keeper on the fourth floor, Doppelganger, too. His last words were one of desperation.
«...How surprising. Thinking that someone like you understands the laws of this world».
Even the unknown entity I met in the bounty room after finishing the raid on Dreadfear also said something sinister.
«Do not open the Gate of the Abyss».
And that's not to mention the earth witch Elise Groundia.
The more floors I climbed, the more beings I met, and as I did, my questions only accumulated.
What was the labyrinth?
What were the Guardians and Lords of the Floors?
What was beyond the Gate of the Abyss?
Maybe... Maybe today I will have the opportunity to find an answer to those questions.
That feeling embedded itself in my mind as soon as I came face to face with the vampire.
«Hmm, don't you understand my words?» His voice sounded more full of curiosity than caution. I stepped out of my silent observation and spoke quickly before that curiosity could disappear.
«It's like you say. We have met before at the Bloody Citadel».
«The Bloody Citadel...» The vampire quietly repeated those words before muttering again as he looked at me. «So that's why I don't remember. That's after ending up in this state».
His response scared me for some reason. My doubt had been greater than my anticipation, but here I was, actually conversing normally with this entity.
And it doesn't look like he's going to attack me randomly at any moment.
However, since I wasn't sure how long this state would last, I quickly continued the conversation with: «What do you mean I ended up in this state?».
«You should be able to see too. This monstrous body».
He was probably just talking about becoming a vampire. I was hoping he would talk about getting trapped in the maze or being dragged here by the witch.
Hmm, so this old man was also human in the past?
He wanted to confirm it before continuing, but the vampire was quicker with his question. «So... where is this? Why am I here?»
To be honest, I found it difficult to give an answer to that question.
«I was certainly in the fiery Duchy of Cambormere after the ambush of the Church of the Three Gods...», it was interrupted.
There was a big wall between this old man and me that was difficult to explain in words. It was the feeling of a person from the past meeting another from the future, each one trying to talk to the other without knowing their situation.
Slowly, I explained: «This is the labyrinth. And I am an adventurer who goes through the labyrinth».
«What is... the maze?».
Due to a mismatch in information, our conversion could only go in circles and never deeper.
Instead, I carefully asked him this question. «Before I explain it to you... Could you tell me your story first?».
«¿Mi ... history?»
«Anything you have to say is fine. I'm just curious to know what the last thing you remember is».
«Hmm...» The vampire seemed to think for a moment before slowly saying: «The army of the Church of the Three Gods came to subdue me. I was defeated in that battle and closed my eyes hoping to rest. And then I woke up here. I saw you as soon as I opened my eyes, and I felt like I had seen you somewhere before. Oh, besides, the frenzy that had tortured me for so long is not even present. How long has it been since I felt clear-minded like this...?»
«...Ya veo.»
«So could you tell me? Where am I... and what is that labyrinth you speak of?».
«Could you take some time to organize my thoughts?»
«As much as you want».
After receiving permission from the vampire, I quickly reconstructed the clues I had been given. Not just what this old man told me, but all the clues he had been keeping.
«The Dark Continent is a real place».
The information that Clown had given at the Round Table after leaving the walls.
«The army of the Church of the Three Gods came to subjugate me».
The Church of the Three Gods also existed in our world and continued to exercise great authority... It didn't take me long to make a decision. Well, in the end it was still just a guess, but one that as a whole was built with the incidents and information coming from inside the maze as a basis.
«Cambormere, don't be surprised and listen».
«I'm listening.»
«...One thing I am sure of: you died thousands of years ago».
He paused to process. «What do you mean? Am I not alive right now?!»
All this was to be expected.
«No, you're already dead. And the you of right now... You were probably created by someone else».
«...I can't understand it». Hostility flashed in the vampire's eyes for the first time.
It was the reaction I expected. I mean, if a stranger suddenly told you that you died, who could accept it with a smile on their face?
...Still, this way of doing things is really difficult.
The fact is that there was an easier method. He could have let go of the truth and tricked the vampire into telling him what he wanted to hear. If I had done that, I could have gotten information out of him much more easily. However, even knowing that, I revealed my theory to him, and in a sense, the reasoning for it was very barbaric.
Because I didn't want to lie to him.
It's about time I graduated from underhanded methods like that if I wanted the right to get angry when I was wronged.
«Cambormere, calm down and listen. I'll explain to you why I think like this».
I needed to know that sometimes you had to choose the hard way.
***
I spent a lot of time explaining everything to this old vampire.
I explained to him what the labyrinth was, what the current state of the city was, and how the world had changed. What I saw when I ventured through the maze, and what I experienced. And finally... about the situation of my first meeting with him.
Explaining everything was extremely uncomfortable and required a lot of time. The vampire had a hard time understanding the change in common knowledge of thousands of years, and there were times when anger seeped into his voice, and yet...
«...Stop there. Now I understand. Why did you say those words».
In the end, the vampire raised the white flag. Still, he seemed to have one last question.
«But there is one thing I don't understand.»
«What is it?» I asked suspiciously. «Speak. I'll tell you everything you need to understand...».
«Why do you explain all this to me so seriously? If it's like you said, I'm just a creation, not my own entity. Maybe today's memories will fade from my mind. Just like I forgot I met you that day».
It wasn't a question I expected to hear, but this time I answered him honestly as well. «...Because if I were you, I would have wanted to know the truth too. That's why I told you. If I told you the truth about everything, I thought maybe I could get your help too.»
«I see...» The vampire was thoughtful for a while before saying: «Then tell me. How do you want me to help you?».
The phrase I had been waiting for so long.
I took a deep breath. «Cambormere. I want to hear from you».
«Know... about me?»
«Yeah. How you lived, what the world you lived in was like and what happened to make you end up in this state. Just as I have told you everything, I want to know everything about you».
The vampire seemed surprised at my request but immediately nodded with a serious expression. «I'll tell you. It's uncomfortable to tell a stranger the story of my life, but if what you've told me is true, am I not just a doll now? I'd rather... someone remember me. Still, I feel strange when I'm suddenly asked to talk about my life. Alright, so where do I start...? Oh, as I thought, that might be best».
I waited in silence and, a moment later, he revealed: «I had a daughter».
And with that, the old vampire began to speak.
I assumed this was before the witch's curse consumed the world.
«It was a chaotic time. The servants who followed the witch and the army of the empire clashed every day and shed blood».
The battle between the witch and the people was also known history to me. However, the story that was told through his mouth was important to me in every way. It didn't matter if it was a family history, the records of ancient history were all very valuable.
«Our Cambormere Clan, a duchy of a small border country was relatively little affected by the war. We did not ally ourselves with either the witch or the empire, and we waited in silence for the war to end».
But one day.
«My only daughter got sick.»
The disease devastated the girl, incurable with potions or even the divine power of high-ranking priests. With each passing day, his daughter's life force continued to wane, and the duke could not sit idly by.
«I would give my life for her, my daughter».
After investigating all the lands, the duke ended up contacting the witch's servants. They offered him a chance, a way to save his daughter.
«Only later would I realize this, but they were not the witch's servants. They were the worshipers of the evil god, Karui, who sought to drown the world in Chaos».
However, without knowing this, the duke accepted his offer. The witch was famous in the empire, and he had heard many stories of people who obtained salvation after becoming the witch's servants, although the duke himself was neutral towards her.
«That was the beginning of all misfortunes».
Karui's priests healed her daughter by a strange method. On the days when she was healed, her room cried with the endless sound of screams. The daughter came to him begging him one day to stop the treatment, but the duke rejected her saying that it was good for her.
«My daughter was cured of the disease».
Eventually, his daughter became healthy, and the priests of the evil god also left. The duke was happy at first, believing that his life had returned to normal, but that happiness was soon destroyed.
The duke's voice was calm as he spoke.
«It started to swell».
The daughter began to swell as if her entire body was filled with pus.
«If a wound was made on his body and his blood was spilled, it would corrode and melt everything it touched. She lost her mind and became violent».
The duke locked her in the underground prison. It couldn't be helped. If news spread that his daughter had adopted that form, he would not be safe; no one from the Cambormere clan would be. He planned to hide her first and find a way to cure her later.
«However, the problem was that he refused to eat».
No matter what delicious food she was given, even if she was forced to swallow, her daughter did not accept any food.
«He could feel his life fading day by day. He had lost all his energy and couldn't even open his eyes wide. When I took his pulse, I realized his heart was dying».
The duke could do nothing.
And one day, as he watched helplessly as his daughter fainted...
«One of the gentlemen who went to bring her food was attacked by her and died. And only then... she ate».
I didn't need to ask what he ate.
«The girl who was disgusted if a fly flew past her... ate. And eagerly».
The duke fainted when he saw that, but his daughter found her energy again after that day. And then, to buy time and find a different method, the duke brought criminals to feed his daughter. However, the more I ate, the more I grew. The underground prison was not enough to hold her, so she was moved to a water warehouse.
Over time, she ate so much that criminals alone were not enough to satisfy her, so she began to frame innocent people and drag them to feed her.
«My usual self wouldn't have made such a foolish choice, but... it seems that those who followed the evil god had also done something to me».
At that moment, the duke could not think rationally. Aggressiveness danced at the edge of his mind, and his sense of guilt faded. He also had intermittent bursts of foolishness.
However, the changes were not only mental, but also physical. His canines lengthened and his sense of smell sharpened. When he smelled blood, his mouth filled with drool. He became able to use black magic without anyone teaching him how to do so and, just like a butterfly knows how to flap its wings, he felt comfortable using his newly transformed body.
It was easier for him to bring food to his daughter.
With this, people disappeared more frequently, and as his loyal servants left one by one due to their brutality, their home began to be called the Bloody Citadel. Naturally, news of this reached the empire, which was at war against the witch, and the Church of the Three Gods.
«After that's what I told you before. The army arrived, and I was defeated».
After his personality turned into cruelty, he had prepared a secret place deep in his castle for his secret pastimes. There, a paladin's sword pierced the duke's heart.
«It may be laughable, but I have prayed».
Looking death in the eyes, the duke prayed. But how the gods of the Church of the Three Gods would never forgive him...
«I prayed to the witch they called the enemy of humanity. I called her a goddess and asked her to save me, and if not me, at least my daughter be saved. And then I opened my eyes here».
It would take me longer to realize it, but in a sense, the events the duke was describing to me had just taken place for him. However, somehow, he was able to tell me all that with such a calm expression.
When I asked him carefully about it, he shook his head, not knowing why himself.
«I don't know... but I get the feeling it's been a long time. If what you said is true, then it has been a long time...».
I had nothing to say and I just listened to him speak, and as he did so, he looked at me and asked: «You know? What you told me today is a brutal truth».
I understood.
Although I thought about it, I didn't say it out loud. Because even then, there was no way I understood it enough.
After hearing his story, those thoughts only became even clearer in my mind.
«However...»
The vampire spoke.
«Still thanks. For telling me the truth».
I remained silent.
«Thanks to that, I won't have a useless dream».
It was a very strange feeling.