Chapter Nine: The Mastermind Behind the Crime

“Don’t be so surprised,” Kana said, beginning to recall memories, piecing together the storylines he had once seen and understood, and reflecting on the past of this body he now inhabited.

He stood up and wiped the armguard on the werewolf’s arm, then explained, “Do you know the history of the country you’re in? Are you familiar with the royal family to whom you’ve sworn allegiance?”

Aliris paused to think and realized she truly knew very little about the country she belonged to. She had only ever known her village, which was destroyed before she was taken to the city, adopted, and trained to become a knight. Upon becoming a knight, she swore to be Kana’s personal guard.

“Let’s head to the village first to gather some supplies. I’ll explain as we go,” Kana said, picking up the armguard and walking toward the village. Aliris drew her sword and hurried to follow beside him.

As they walked, Kana continued, “We’re a small trading nation. Thanks to liberal and open policies and a few decent ports, we manage to remain somewhat prosperous. But those very conditions have also created a breeding ground for evil.”

Safro, a free country established under the royal name.

Compared to other nations, it was honestly just a small nation located at the northernmost tip of the southwestern continent. It was surrounded by sea on three sides and mountains on one. Aside from sea routes, the only land access was through paths flanking the southern mountain range.

Maritime trade, lax regulations, and a small nation.

Combine these factors, and you can imagine just how outlandish the nation’s black market and illicit industries were.

“Actually, all of this is intentional on the part of the royal family. They need favorable conditions for their experiments. This country is just over a hundred years old, and it was founded by a cult of evil mages. The monsters that have emerged across the land are all the work of the royal family.”

Aliris stood stunned, unable to believe what she was hearing—if it weren’t for the fact that the speaker was Kana, a member of the royal family himself.

“Then Your Highness, why are you…” she began.

“Let me guess, you want to ask why I’m running away if we’re the ones behind all this?” Kana turned his head and smiled.

Aliris nodded.

“Simple. I’m one of the test subjects too. I don’t want to become one of those disgusting monsters.”

But that was a lie. The truth was Kana was too foolish to even know what was really going on. Though royal family members were not few, those without talent were not even worthy of joining the inner circle. Kana had been one of those overlooked members.

Coincidentally, when the crisis erupted, Kana was out of the city on a spring outing, clueless about what was happening. He was hurriedly escorted away by soldiers and Aliris herself.

---

Moreover, the monsters kept tracking Kana’s scent, forcing them into a desperate flight, leaving no time to think clearly. The outbreak was nationwide, striking simultaneously in every major city, making it seem as if the country was doomed.

In the original storyline, Kana would have been captured and brought back from this village, along with his knight, Aliris. As a member of the royal family, once the plan was set in motion, there was nothing left to hide, so he was transformed into a vampire again.

He only appeared for the first time in the late stages of version 1.0 after the Flesh Court grew weary and the allied forces launched a counterattack.

By the end of the version, the Flesh Court collapsed, the blood plague was suppressed, and the original Kana, having been absent from the front lines, was inexplicably spared by being converted into a pureblood vampire.

“What about the princess consort? Was she involved too?” Aliris asked with a hint of urgency.

Kana glanced at her. “Who knows? All I can say is, don’t hold out too much hope.”

“No, the princess consort wouldn’t do such a thing. She must have been deceived,” Aliris told herself, trying to cling to hope.

But there was no fooling herself. According to her memories and her body’s identity, the woman was a core member of the royal faction. The body’s original owner had thought his mother died during the downfall. Moreover, the princess consort was one of the researchers.

But to say this outright now would be too much for Aliris to accept. It would only cause problems.

For now, it was better to take it step by step and gradually influence her thoughts.

“Enough small talk. We don’t have much time. Let’s gather what we can and move out,” Kana said as they began to scavenge the village under cover of night.

…

Night faded, and the early morning sun bathed the earth in light.

[Painful Werewolf Armor]
[Category: Armguard — Wrist Armor — Relic]
[Attributes: Durable, Heavy]
[Special Effect: Sewing Pain]
[Sewing Pain: When the wearer experiences pain — provides strength bonus (Strength +)]
[Appraisal: Integrated with the pain of sewing; only anger and willpower can resist!]

Kana spent five mana points to convert the spoils taken from the stitched werewolf into equipment and examined the stats.

Well, at least it had a special effect.

It seemed somewhat underwhelming, but having fought through this world, Kana knew very well that the effect was easy to trigger.

---

Though the body was digitized, pain could still be felt.

If necessary, he could even inflict a wound on himself. With proper technique, exchanging a little blood for increased strength was well worth it.

With that in mind, he strapped the armguard onto his wrist.

“Your Highness, do you want to rest? You’ve been walking all night,” Aliris asked, knowing her own physical condition couldn’t compare to Kana’s.

Since scavenging supplies last night in the village, they had been carrying a modest load and walking nonstop.

Aliris herself was fine, but she couldn’t compare her endurance to Kana’s.

Hearing this, Kana snapped back to reality.

Without realizing it, they had been traveling all night—almost eight or nine hours without pause.

Yet, he didn’t feel tired at all.

Honestly, given this body’s physical capabilities, he should have been exhausted by now.

It seemed the digitized body also brought a significant boost to stamina.

“Don’t underestimate me. Let’s pick up the pace!” Kana said, even breaking into a light jog.

Aliris hurried to keep up but asked, “But… what exactly is our goal now?”

She felt lost. Having been adopted and raised to serve as a royal guard since childhood, the whole country had fallen, and the royal family was the root of the disaster. The future was uncertain.

“No need to be confused. Follow me — we’re going to find Count Wansha,” Kana said.

“Count Wansha?” Aliris had heard the name but didn’t know much about him.

He was an important figure early in the story — arguably a version 1.0 character.

Throughout version 1.0, he was the one guiding and leading players, setting the main storyline in motion.

By blood, the count was a relative of the body Kana now inhabited.

Also a royal family member, he was aware of the royal family’s misdeeds and refused to associate with them, remaining on the fringes.

After the blood plague outbreak, he fled the country with some troops from his domain and refugees.

The player’s starting village was later granted to him by a neighboring country as a small territory where he resettled.

Kana had participated in beta testing, which took place just after the outbreak, during the count’s failed defense and escape with refugees.

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End of page three.