It was an ordinary day.
He woke up early, had breakfast with his beloved family, and went to the elementary school established within the 'Company Employee Residential Area'.
"Aaron, good morning~!"
"Oh! Aaron's here? Did you hear the news? At Mishang Street this time···."
"You're early again today. As expected of a diligent student."
Aaron was incredibly popular there. With both the children he studied with and the hired instructors.
It was only natural.
This facility was entirely built and operated by the Hubert Foundation, and the parents of the children attending were mostly employees of the Hubert Company.
'And I'm the younger brother of the company head's closest aide, his secretary.'
She was called a secretary, but she was practically second-in-command. The company head trusted her that much and had given her a lot of authority.
A faint, wry smile touched his lips. He felt a sense of pride at being treated this way thanks to his amazing sister, but the pressure he felt was also considerable. Until he came here, he had lived a life no different from that of a commoner.
'It still feels unreal. That I'm living like this.'
Now, no one could replace the Hubert Company's position in the upper class. It was natural, as it had grown to be one of the top companies not only in Tarak and its surrounding commercial districts, but also throughout the Tulk Kingdom and even the entire continent. It wasn't just financially powerful, but also politically influential, to the point where even the Aonia County, where Tarak was located, and even the Tulk royal family couldn't treat them carelessly.
'Though I heard they actually like it because it brings them many benefits.'
Based on that, the Hubert Company established a foundation and began investing heavily in Tarak. Numerous facilities, including the educational institution Aaron attended, were built, and public institutions were able to operate more comfortably than before thanks to the foundation's support. With the economy booming and public order stable enough to walk around safely even at midnight, the entire city benefited directly from the Hubert Company.
So it wasn't strange that Aaron received such excessive treatment. Especially since there were even rumors that he might become the company head's brother-in-law.
'It doesn't feel real though. I wouldn't mind if it was him, but... what would my sister think?'
Actually, he already knew.
That Hubert, the head of the company, was the 'mister' who saved them. At first, he hadn't realized it because it was so unimaginable, but seeing his sister's behavior, who he had spent his entire life with, he couldn't help but notice. He, too, had honed his observation skills to survive in harsh environments.
'Well, it must be magic or something.'
Didn't they say all sorts of things happen in business? It wasn't strange for the head of a massive company like Hubert Company to disguise himself for safety.
"I'm home."
"Big brotheeer!"
"Oof!"
A small figure launched a full-body tackle into Aaron's arms as he returned home from school with his friends. A lively girl who looked about six or seven years old.
His cousin, Rafi.
"I'm going to Grandma's house, let's go together!"
"···I have to do my homework first."
"Hurry up! Quickly! Grandma said she'd make meat cookies! She told me to bring you too. She said she's worried because you look weak and frail!"
"No, I'm not that weak..."
But in the end, he sighed at his younger cousin's urging and stepped back outside. He couldn't refuse the request of this little girl, as he was in charge of looking after Rafi when his aunt and uncle, and his sister, were working.
"Chuckle chuckle… You came just in time. The cookies just came out of the oven, so sit there and wait."
"Okay!"
"I'll prepare the drinks."
"Alright, then."
The two headed to their neighbor, the shaman grandmother's house. This grandmother, with tattoos all over her face, looked scary on the outside, but she had been a kind neighbor since their family moved to this city. Rafi, who frequently visited because they lived close by, treated her like her own grandmother.
"Thank you for the food."
"Munch munch— Grandma, it's yummy!"
"Heh heh heh… There's plenty, so take some with you when you leave."
"Thank you!"
A smile appeared on the old woman's and Aaron's faces at Rafi's mumbled words, her mouth full of cookies.
A peaceful daily life.
Tranquil days.
The outside world was noisy with talk of war with the Immortal King and whatnot, but Tarak... their neighborhood was incredibly peaceful, as if such disturbances didn't exist.
He believed that even if a great war broke out, this place would be safe. That this space, protected and managed by many people, including his mister and his sister, would be an absolute sanctuary.
An ordinary day, like any other, came to a close within that baseless belief.
And—.
Knock Knock
"Excuse me."
An unfamiliar voice spoke along with a sudden knock. A soft voice that couldn't be masked by the polite tone.
Aaron, who was at the entrance with Rafi, about to leave for home since it was getting late, cautiously opened the door.
"Who is it?"
"Ah, I'm sorry. I'm looking for someone urgently."
A young boy was visible through the crack in the door. Barely Aaron's age, if that. A boy who looked even younger than him was smiling brightly at the door.
"...If you tell me the name of the person you're looking for, I might be able to help."
However, honorifics naturally slipped out of Aaron's mouth. It wasn't intentional. It just came out instinctively, without him even realizing it.
"Ah... I don't know their name."
The boy trailed off and scanned them with narrowed eyes. A chilling gaze that swept over them like a snake.
Shiver
A chill ran down Aaron's spine, and tension filled him. His mouth went dry, and cold sweat trickled down. Rafi was now hiding behind him, trembling. An inexplicable fear and unease began to bind them.
"...Tsk, another miss. I'm definitely closer, though..."
The boy muttered in an irritated tone, but Aaron couldn't utter a word. Even though he knew the emotions in those words weren't directed at him, he was overwhelmed and couldn't open his mouth.
"Aaron? Rafi? Why aren't you leaving yet..."
Just then, the old woman, who had finished cleaning up in the kitchen, approached them, noticing them standing at the entrance. Her eyes naturally fell on the boy standing at the door.
Immediately after.
Whoosh
A gust of wind swept through the room. And Aaron's stiff body began to relax.
"Huh?"
When he came to his senses, he was sitting blankly against the wall, far from the entrance, holding Rafi in his arms. Looking at the back of his grandmother, who was standing in front of him.
"Hmm? How did you know?"
The chilling voice of the stranger echoed again. But the shaman grandmother didn't answer. She didn't have the time to speak.
"...Oh dear, to think there's a Grand Shaman in a place like this. This is troublesome. I didn't want to cause a commotion."
The unidentified boy seemed to be contemplating. How to resolve the current situation. Of course, whatever decision he made, it was clear it wouldn't be favorable to others.
But right before he reached a conclusion, the situation changed again.
"Grandma! Are Aaron and Rafi here? I'm sorry, they weren't coming home, so..."
The moment he heard the familiar voice of his beloved sister.
"Found you."
The corners of the boy's mouth stretched into a wide grin. Sharp fangs were visible between his parted lips. His eyes turned crimson, resembling those of a beast.
The moment their eyes met, Aaron's mind went blank. His vision swayed, and a ringing filled his ears. Facing an overwhelming fear, the trauma he thought he had buried resurfaced.
"Diana! Take Aaron and Rafi and...!"
"Ha! I won't let you..."
"Grandma!"
Noisy sounds filled his ears, and he felt someone moving his body, but exposed to hostile magic, he couldn't think. If the shaman grandmother hadn't taken precautions, his mind would have been permanently damaged.
Perhaps thanks to that, his mind slowly began to return, and he could grasp the situation intermittently.
"No!"
With a scream from his sister, the grandmother, holding Rafi in her arms, collapsed, coughing up blood. He didn't understand why, but he rushed over and embraced them.
"Hmph! Annoying pests. But with this..."
Then, orbs of light, appearing from nowhere, began to scatter multicolored rays. Beautiful, shimmering lights. At the same time, a warm energy spread, and Aaron's mind became clearer.
"...Spirits? No, High Elves? Why are they here..."
A hint of bewilderment tinged the boy's voice. But only for a moment. He quickly regained his composure and pressed his sudden attackers.
'Sister...'
In the space enveloped in twilight. The boy, holding the old woman and the little girl in his arms, stared blankly into the distance. His only sister lay motionless on the ground.
'What… What should I do···!'
His mind was frozen, unable to function properly. But even in this state, he understood the current situation. That the woman who had suddenly intervened to stop the boy wouldn't last long. The despair he thought he had forgotten began to creep back. At the same time, the faces of the most dependable person in the world surfaced in his mind. The innocent and earnest look when they first met, during the time when despair was a daily occurrence. The cold and charismatic appearance when he suddenly appeared and solved all the problems when Rafi and the grocery store were in danger. Lastly, the delicate and intellectual look when he made various arrangements for them to settle down well in this city.
He knew it was shameless to think this way when he had only received help, but that was all that came to Aaron's mind now.
Biting his lip, unable to move his tongue, Aaron cried out inwardly. Even though he knew it wouldn't reach his intended recipient.
'Mister—!'
But then.
A miracle no one could have anticipated occurred.
Crack
As if responding to his call, a crack appeared in the sky.
BOOOOOM
The world crumbled. Simultaneously, the twilight that had covered everything quickly faded under the light of dawn.
"···Huh?"
Aaron looked up in a daze. The scene was deeply etched into his mind.
An angel with outstretched wings of light descended upon the earth.
***
Heinrich's brow twitched as he saw the young boy, Temiran McCleare, standing in the center of the chaotic scene and Diana lying unconscious behind him.
'Now that I think about it, there was something that bothered me.'
He had assumed that Saintess Riesta had sensed Hela. The timing and location of the observation were too perfect to consider other possibilities.
'But...'
Back then, when he didn't know much about the Demon Realm, he just accepted it, but now he knew for sure. Hela, who had just been created, was just a special high-ranking demon, not a complete Demon King. She may have been born a transcendent being thanks to her inherent bloodline, but she lacked an essential element to be a true Demon King.
In fact, it wasn't until after she went to the Demon Realm and some time had passed that she caught the Demon God's attention, wasn't it? The changes that occurred after she defeated Monstrous Duke Syphar and absorbed Abnormal further solidified this.
"Phew! Nothing's going right, damn it. This shitty situation can't be a coincidence… That's why you have to choose the right side from the beginning. Because I lost in the higher-ups' power game, my tracks are being revealed like this, huh?"
The boy's irreverent attitude made it even clearer. That the Saintess had sensed Temiran from the beginning. The timing suggested that Hela's appearance, as a half-baked Demon King, had been a catalyst.
'...Right, unlike me, a Saint in name only, Riesta is a true Saintess. A messenger who delivers the Main God's will to the world. And we came all the way to Tarak following her words.'
In other words, this entire situation was guided by the Main God. And thinking about it that way, he realized something else. Back then, Riesta had added that it felt 'closer to a demon follower than an undead'.
A demon follower, not a demon.
If that was the case, then Temiran was...
Heinrich, quickly organizing his thoughts, spoke softly to the boy with a hardened expression.
"Temiran McCleare. The events currently unfolding in the Demon Realm. Are you involved in that as well? In allowing the Dragon Duke to summon the abyssal monsters?"
"···What? You know that too? How does the Main God's Church know about the Demon Realm's affairs?"
"The Main God's eyes are everywhere. The Demon Realm is no exception."
"Crazy. Were you fanatics always this competent?"
Temiran ruffled the back of his head and grumbled with an irritated expression. It seemed he had no intention of hiding it any longer. Considering the timing of the abyssal monsters' appearance in the Demon Realm, he must have known there was no point in denying it.
"Tsk, as expected of the Main God's dog? I thought you were a pushover, always getting beaten by the Lich King. There was a reason why that cautious and meticulous senior failed."
"You're mistaken. We never just stand by and take it. Thanks to us, humanity is moving further away from that threat even now."
"My, aren't you confident."
The 'senior' must have been the Revolutionist, the previous Apostle. He had suspected it ever since he learned about his involvement in Temiran's disappearance. It seemed the Revolutionist had prepared his successor before putting his plans into motion.
'I don't know why he was chosen, though.'
It was a tragedy for the boy. Kidnapped, turned into a vampire because of some unknown quality, and brainwashed for over twenty years while confined.
"···The god you serve is quite busy. He should reflect quietly after being thrown into the abyss for his sins. Yet, he's still reaching out and making others suffer."
"Right? I think so too. If he's going to do it, he should do it properly. Why all this trouble? Honestly, he needs to get his act together before making others do his dirty work."
A somewhat misplaced answer. Heinrich narrowed his eyes and looked at him, but the boy's face was still filled with irritation. Well, it would be stranger if he was sane after being kidnapped and brainwashed since childhood.
"Surrender quietly. Confess everything you know, and I'll spare your life. Your mother is still waiting for you."
"···Heh, mother···."
Heinrich warned, extending his holy sword, wreathed in brilliant light. Whatever he said, his opponent was a vampire. No matter how much of a divine apostle he was, his compatibility with a Saint wielding a holy sword was abysmal. If they clashed head-on, he would be reduced to ashes, and even if he tried to escape, it would be difficult to outrun Heinrich, who possessed 「Grand Blessing: Wings of Radiance」 and 「Blessing: Leap」.
He must be aware of this, which is why he continued to make threats.
'···As expected, an opponent with a hostage is tricky. I wish I had noticed and arrived sooner.'
Heinrich wasn't just bluffing. He'd been looking for an opening to strike, but every time, the boy threatened the unconscious Diana behind him. The moment he showed any sign of movement, the boy would react instantly. Even with his abilities, he wasn't confident he could save Diana and eliminate the boy at this distance.
'Well, Heinrich is...'
Heinrich, as a Saint who used holy power, was a vampire's natural enemy. But there was another being in this world who was a vampire's natural enemy in a different sense.
For example...
The Vampire King, who was awakening divinity through the karma of kindred predation.