When I regained consciousness... I knew immediately that everything was back to normal. But there was something that was different.
That dream that felt so fleeting and distant...
It's a shame it was a one-time thing.
And as I was saying. There's something that feels different than before I passed out.
-Ah, you're awake now. Your immunity to all status effects is good, I had to use 194 sleeping pills to keep you asleep while I continued my research.
A voice greets me, having removed the hood covering her face, I could see the face of a young girl with round glasses, like Harry Potter's but bigger.
It seemed strange to me, as any threat of death had been removed.
My survival instincts are no longer active. I guess that's what changed.
Normally I'd be wary, but I'm still drowsy enough to even try anything...
-I'm sorry about earlier, it's been a long time since I last conversed with someone and I was nervous. Also, I got carried away with you...
Ah, that kind of explains your unwillingness to let go.
Well... it didn't hurt me or anything, it just made me more aware of the situation I'm in. I really don't think I have any reason to hurt her.
And unlike the vast majority of people who turned on me, at least she apologised.
I lift the upper half of my body off what appears to be a bed of stone... wow, that accommodated some of my bones that have come to regenerate in somewhat awkward positions.
Now with her close by, and no threat to me, we may be able to have a quiet chat.
-First of all, my name is Liselotte Sitri. And as I said before, sorry for everything before, I don't think you need much to understand so I'll get straight to the point. I am the representative of [Greed], also known as [The Undead King].
Greed...
Ah, I know what you're talking about. It's about the [Capital Sin] titles. There are seven of these titles, and the representative, normally, is the one with the highest level of impurity among his kind.
Greed is an aptitude that allows you to gain power but you will always want to get more. No matter how much you try to fill yourself with wealth or whatever it is that you seek, you will still have the need to keep accumulating more and more things.
Not many individuals in this world get to possess one of the titles of [Capital Sin]. So you could say, this girl has been in this world a long time. Too long.
-My name is Elise... though I think you already knew that. I am a vampire. And who carried the property of the thirteenth and fourteenth floors.
-I heard about that too, I get a notification every time someone new comes into power. You piqued my curiosity right away, but I felt I shouldn't interfere with whatever you were doing and wait for you to get here.
-You... Are you from the dungeon mistress?
-That's right. And one of my duties is to maintain the balance of power here. That way nothing and no one will climb so high and we can all live in peace.
-And I suppose a vampire is a great imbalance in this place, isn't it?
-You sure can hold a conversation... not bad, for a [System's Remnant].
-Ahh... you know that too...
-Yes. But other than that, you're strange enough on your own, you know?
Well, it's not like we vampires are very normal either...
It's been about 1000 years since the last time anything was known about a vampire. Doesn't it make sense?
I still don't know anything about my parents, though... and I don't know much about myself either. If she can tell me something I don't know, then I don't see a problem with that.
-Could you explain that? -. I ask.
To which she adjusts her glasses a little and answers me calmly.
-You are just part of the emergency plan in case the original personality loses control of the body, what level is your [Valuation]?
-It's at maximum.
-Good. The system takes a while to update analysis skills, so I guess you're experiencing changes in valuation so far.
-Lately the descriptions are much more detailed. -Is that it?
-Right, do you see that you analyse fast? Your level of response is equal to that of a human being. No mistakes in your speech or strange words included in your language. I already knew about the probability of producing an alter ego from [Valuation], but you are more than just that.
-... and what could be...?
-Elise, I can no longer find any trace of what was "Nishimiya Saeko" in your body. That original personality was wiped out of existence. And you are the native replacement of this world.
...
Saeko... Aren't you coming back...?
-Why am I...?
-I don't know either. Tell me, have you ever met a [God of Death] before?
!
-Ah, yes. During the final confrontation on the thirteenth floor...
-Who was it?
-She called herself Morrigan...
-Morrigan? A woman dressed all in black, and a pale face. She carries a cane, doesn't she?
-? Yes, the same.
-It's strange... among all the [God of Death], she's the one who has had the least interactions with the [Immortals]. Thank you for telling me, I'll tell Mictlan to investigate in my place.
Mictlan...
That's the [God of Death] of Mexican folklore, right? The one who basically has a Yggdrasil with the seven kingdoms under his power.
I don't really know much about the culture of that country, since Saeko didn't learn about it.
So all of us who are immortal came into contact with some [God of Death], I think Morrigan had mentioned something like that in our meeting. Like "we're not supposed to relate yet", right?
I see.
-Anyway, let's get back to where we were going. That "Nishimiya Saeko" no longer belongs to you. The body is totally yours now.
-...
-I know it was your original personality and all... but believe me, it's better this way. -What's better?
-What's better? Who benefits?!
-You. You're a vampire. You need to have a strong, critical mind. I don't know "Nishimiya Saeko". I only know about her because I saw through you. This is your greatest fear, isn't it?
-!
-I don't know anything about your original personality... but I know almost everything about the "Elise" native of this world in front of me. Your very existence was made possible by the union of so many probabilities coming together at the same time.
She pauses for a moment, to take out of her pocket what appears to be a vial of purple liquid.
-I want you to know that I am not your enemy. On the contrary, I may be your most powerful ally in this world. I've been waiting centuries to get to this point. Here, drink this, it will take away your numbness.
Liselotte takes my hand and puts the vial in my palm. She then gets up from her seat, and starts walking out of the room.
I break the glass lid and pour the purple liquid into my mouth, swallowing it all in one go. It doesn't taste bad, in fact, it tastes sweet.
Indeed, my body felt awake immediately. And even a few stats were increased in a small amount.
-Follow me, there are still many things we need to talk about. -. Liselotte comes out of the old wooden door telling me that.
I hurry out of bed, put on my boots and follow her with a hurried step.
The scene that greets me here is that of a huge spiral library. At the top of it is where the room was.
-What is this place? -. I ask Liselotte, impressed by the gigantic amount of books here.
To which she replies:
-It's a gift given to me by the previous owner of the dungeon. I call it [Index Librorum Prohibitorum - The Codex of World Knowledge].
-That's a long name.... can I just call it [Codex]?
-Only as long as we're together, otherwise you're going to detract from my collection with that name.
Oh, I understand.
But she said something that surprised me even more.
-Did you know Alexander Maxwell? -. That was what intrigued me the most, since she mentioned him.
That would give me more or less an idea of exactly how long he's been alive.
-I said it, didn't I? Maxwell was always a very unique person... here are 23,677 books, among which there are grimoires, cursed, heretical, forbidden books, and books of knowledge superior to human knowledge.
-Have you read every single one?
-That was my purpose in becoming [Lich]. By this point, I assume you know that the [Cross Family] is no longer your natural enemy, yet I am your artificial apex predator.
-I heard that. You're capable of killing me no matter what I do. But not only that, even a [God of Death] would fall behind in that task, right?
-They should establish a council first to impose the concept of death on you. It would require a unanimous decision and nothing more than that, there is no such thing as a majority or minority decision, everyone must agree that you must die.
-I didn't know that. But by the same token, you are able to ignore the [Law of Life] in this world since your kind were born for that very reason.
-Maxwell was the one who came up with everything, it was all part of his plan so that humans could win the war against [The Mother Entity].
-Elise Redhart... my system has never given me much information about her. Whenever I've tried to investigate, I get the message that I don't have the permissions to access that information.
-Is there anything in particular you want to know about her?
-Yes! For example, what the hell is [Enigma]? Olivia mentioned it but I still don't quite get the idea.
-Enigma... Enigma is the product of Redhart's first taste of human blood, something that went against the rules the gods imposed on her. It was the beginning of a new era, it got us all in a lot of trouble, even Maxwell.
Uh...
Even a wizard as powerful as Alexander Maxwell had trouble against her?
I must say, from the otaku side of me, the history of this world just keeps getting richer and richer.
-After that, Redhart became a danger to everyone. With her very hands she killed the [Dragon Empress] and drank all her blood. She had become basically invincible and humanity had to resort to the most desperate actions to eliminate her.
That's where the [Lich] comes into the equation...
-Maxwell created two opportunities to eliminate Redhart, the second of which was what we now call the [Spear of Longinus], the weapon that killed her. However, the first was what caused Maxwell to be branded with an [Irrevocable Curse].
I had heard something about that from Olivia, the spear that is on Ifgraine's coat of arms and is symbolic of her peace treaty with Ahrsei, which is where Olivia is from.
That spear is a basically sacred weapon. It absorbed Redhart's blood and a fraction of his power.
...
I wonder if it could kill me too...
-It was giving birth to the [Lich] that doomed Maxwell. I am the second of this species and the only one in this world. No one has the knowledge to become this apart from me.
-Exactly how do you work?
-It is simple. All beings possess a soul. Then, all I have to do is cast a short spell to destroy it. The original vampire possessed a more brutal regeneration than yours, so it was very difficult to inflict even a little physical damage.
-So... if you can't hurt the body, you attack the soul directly.
-It's the most effective way to bypass any form of immortality. Therefore, the first [Lich] was consumed by Redhart but at that point it had already taken enough internal damage that the [Spear of Longinus] simply killed it.
By this point, we had already gone down enough stairs to reach the ground floor. I keep walking behind her, while she wanders the corridors looking for a book.
-And what does Enigma have to do with everything you've told me?
-That's what I was going for. During that final confrontation, Elise Redhart died. And Enigma, who was all that was left of the vampire race, spread [Vampirism]. In the process, she was captured by Maxwell and locked in the bottom of this dungeon.
-Do you know her?
-She's a bit scary... even she makes me shiver with fear when she's upset.
-I see...
Looking around, I think we're in the grimoire area. Books written for the purpose of teaching magic to others.
Amongst all this, it makes me think of something...
-You have a lot of knowledge about magic, don't you?
-Naturally.
-And also about the history of this world?
-I've lived a thousand years for a reason.
-And about language?
-I am proficient in several dead languages, the language of the fairies which is how we communicate and even all the languages that are only spoken in this dungeon.
-Please teach me about all that.
Immediately, like someone with the memories of a Japanese person, I got down on my knees and pressed my forehead to the carpet to make this request.
This is, The supreme technique for asking favours! One in which you show the utmost submission!
-Huh?! You don't need to kneel, it's okay if you just ask me in a normal way! You are my ally, and I am willing to help you in whatever you ask of me!
-Liselotte...! You're a saint, let me worship you on my knees!
-No, no, no, no! It's all wrong! Come on Elise, get up... enough of your joking.
-I appreciate your kindness, Lady Sitri!
-Stop it pleeeease!
I'm sorry, for the first time in a long time I'm willing to make fun of someone.