“Are you… always just hanging out here by yourself?” Sang figured the solitary silhouette looked too lonely, so he tried to inject some life into the scene with his voice.
At those words…
The black-haired woman suddenly turned her head, casting a gentle glance at the boy standing diagonally behind her. For some reason, a smile with unclear meaning crossed her lips. Then she raised her hand toward the dark clouds in the distant sky before slowly lowering it.
The next second…
Even though the night sky had been clear moments before, a single dark cloud suddenly gathered. A bolt of intensely fierce lightning crashed down from it, striking the town with pinpoint accuracy. In an instant, an explosion rocked the town, sending up a mushroom cloud.
It was in the direction of the Central Periphery Third District.
The black-haired woman kept her gaze fixed on Sang without so much as glancing at the disaster zone. A brilliant, wicked grin spread across her face—dark and mischievous. “Occasionally… I kill a few little bugs for fun.”
Sang couldn’t just stand there impassively. In a single bound, he reached the balcony railing, gripped it with both hands, and leaned out dramatically to peer below. A massive blaze had erupted in the Third District.
He was a boy who still harbored a fair bit of imagination, yet he had no time to marvel at the otherworldly supernatural ability. His thoughts were entirely consumed by the humans who had just died. The next moment, he whipped his head around, glaring up at the True Ancestor. But in the end, he clenched his teeth, held back, and feigned awe. “Whoa… is that the mighty power of the great True Ancestor?”
The black-haired girl either saw through his pretense or didn’t care. She continued, “To me, there’s no difference between you and the little bugs down there… I don’t need a reason to kill little bugs, and I don’t need one to save them either… Hey, little bug, want to see the fireworks again?”
Fireworks?
She was actually calling that horrific, inhumane scene below a fireworks show!?
What kind of evil being was she!?
As she spoke…
The black-haired girl’s phoenix eyes had already turned blood-red. She narrowed them slightly and raised one hand again, as if another strike was imminent. Far away on the horizon, the dark clouds began brewing lightning once more.
Sang didn’t want her to continue the pointless slaughter. His mind raced at full speed until an idea struck him. The next moment, he put on an expression of wide-eyed wonder and said admiringly, “Could you… teach me how to use supernatural abilities?”
Hm.
That was actually a pretty good topic.
On one hand, it would stop her from casting any more spells. On the other, it was a chance to find out what his own supernatural ability was.
“Supernatural abilities, huh?”
At his words…
The True Ancestor paused slightly, her attention successfully diverted by Sang. As she lowered her hand, the clouds in front of them dissipated. She seemed to mull something over before flashing a scornful smile. “Little bug, why do you want to learn Blood Curse Technique? Planning to kill me?”
In this world, the vampires called their superpowers Blood Curse Technique, while humans referred to them as supernatural abilities. They were essentially the same thing.
At that remark…
Sang immediately went on high alert. Though he knew he lacked the power to kill the True Ancestor, his fundamental reason for wanting to learn supernatural abilities was rooted in hostility toward her. Had she seen right through him!?
However…
Before Sang could even respond, she burst into laughter—peals of it that shook her like willow branches in the wind, stirring his heart and lending a strange beauty to the night.
“What are you laughing at?” Sang asked, puzzled.
“Nothing. I’m just surprised I’ve spent this long chatting with a mere bug. Must be from sleeping for decades—I’m a bit foggy-headed… As for your desire to learn Blood Curse Technique, I can tell you flat-out: no chance.”
“Ah… why not!?” The boy grew agitated.
It wasn’t feigned this time; he was genuinely worked up.
He’d been pretty excited about the superpowers in this world, thinking that beyond his unusually strong physique, he might have some other golden finger.
Ruling the world was out of the question, but at least he could experience it firsthand.
Under the bright moonlight, those blood-red eyes turned indifferently, still seeming rather casual. As the black-haired silhouette reached out to twirl a lock of her long hair, she chuckled. “Because… you’re an Abandoned Child.”
“What’s an Abandoned Child?”
“An Abandoned Child is a special constitution that exists only in legends. In layman’s terms, it’s a powerless one… In this world, whether it’s the vampires’ Blood Curse Technique or humans’ supernatural abilities, they’re all based on a kind of energy called mana. Though only one in ten thousand humans can use supernatural abilities, everyone has channels inside them—pathways that connect the individual to the mana in the natural world… But Abandoned Child lack these channels. They can’t acquire mana, and superpowers? Pure fantasy…”
What the hell was this channel business!?
I’d been hoping for a cheat skill or something!
Hearing this, Sang deflated a bit. It seemed he truly had no special powers—not even as much as some natives of this world.
Still, disappointment aside, there was an entity right in front of him who knew so much. Even if it was the villainous True Ancestor, he had to seize the opportunity to learn more about himself.
Though he’d only spent two nights with the True Ancestor, Sang’s greatest impression of her was that she followed her whims utterly.
The next moment…
Sang pressed, “How did you know I’m an Abandoned Child?”
The True Ancestor pointed at Sang’s head of short, wild black hair. Her lips curved up in teasing amusement. “Black hair is one hallmark of Abandoned Child… Rather than calling it a legendary special constitution, it’s more accurate to say it’s a constitution that doesn’t survive. In a world brimming with mana everywhere, they can’t absorb it. Their bodies are extremely frail, and they usually die right after birth—like beings abandoned by the world itself… Oh, and little bug, by now you must realize another issue, right?”
Sang was sharp; enlightenment dawned on him instantly. He nodded. “Because I’m an Abandoned Child… that’s why I was chosen?”
“Correct… You’re a clever little bug… Well, it has nothing to do with me, though. I just woke up. It was Richter Cape who picked you… Looking back across endless years and months, Abandoned Child haven’t been entirely absent… Miracles happen once or twice. In vampire high society, Abandoned Child blood is a premium delicacy… Because they lack channels, it means it’s never been tainted—that’s what they call pure blood… Legend has it that pure-blood tastes exquisite, and drinking it greatly boosts a vampire’s power.”
After all that…
The conversation had circled back to this: he was just food in the end.
Even premium food couldn’t escape being eaten.
Sang suddenly felt utterly helpless. As a transmigrator, he was way too lame. But then again, on one hand, it was lucky he’d been born in a remote town. On the other, Baron Ben Loren was an ignorant vampire. Otherwise, how could he have survived to fourteen?
Still…
Come to think of it, the True Ancestor had said Abandoned Child were all weak, so why was he freakishly strong?
He couldn’t figure it out.
