Today was the 10th of January, a little over a week had passed. Why the skip? Because going through the details of the past few days was too embarrassing. Instead, I'll summarize.

I had made no progress for five days, but after that, I finally was able to suck it up and electrocute the frogs to death. After that, the next challenge was letting them hop onto me. To my own surprise, it only took a couple of days to get through that, likely the result of successfully getting through the previous steps. After that, we spent a couple of days getting me used to being around them while maintaining my composure...

​​

It was almost too good to be true, almost too surreal to admit, but there was no denying it...I had significantly eased my phobia, I wouldn't say it was completely cured, I did still feel a slight twinge of fear and panic when I saw frogs, but I was able to stay calm and composed, and more importantly, I was able to think rationally. It had taken a lot of work, but I had finally been able to convince myself of the fact that frogs were harmless animals...well, there were the poisonous types, but I hadn't seen any of those around here.

Yesterday, I had taken a day off to get some emotional recuperation, and today, I was heading off to take on the final challenge of my phobia rehabilitation. Specifically, we were going to fight some Giant Poison Frogs.

I was terrified on the inside, considering how much fear a regular frog could strike me with not long ago, I could only imagine how I'd react when I came across one that was straight up bigger than me. Since my phobia was purely irrational, even I had no idea how I'd react, thinking about it logically was pointless.

Earlier in the week, I had been asked to go on a mission to Silvland, but I declined since this was more important. Apparently, it was a meeting about discussing when and how to attack The Empire, but considering that Silvland was still in a lot of internal turmoil due to the revelation of the existence of Reincarnators, I'd rather not go there anytime soon.

The group that headed there included Prince Ocroed Rustlands and royal representative Rist Sivoda, along with a few Adventurers to serve as bodyguards, including Vi and Selesa. Vi was the newest S-Ranked Adventurer of the Rustlands, earning the rank in no time after graduating. That brought the total number of S-Ranks in the Rustlands to ten, eleven if you count Selesa.

Neo Lapunder was still number one, and Elina was still number two. Ekai had shot up to number three, clearing a bunch of S-Rank Quests successfully over the past few months. Instructor Cora Tabbs was fourth, and fifth was Yuur Ganroh. In case you forgot who he was, he'd participated in that exhibition tournament when Silvland's representatives had visited here to set up the alliance, the guy with the dragonfly wings and Earth Magic. Sixth was Einn, seventh was Zira Rufaim, the other S-Rank who'd survived and moved here from Goldway. Eighth was Misen, ninth was Vi and tenth was Fuo.

For some reason, Fuo had been really inactive as far as Quests go for the past few months, I'd heard that she'd been seen regularly heading to the snowy area alone, which was surprising, considering how dangerous that area was these days. My only guess was that she was going there to train and try to get stronger, she had always been a bit obsessive about getting stronger, especially after Az's display in Goldway. Maybe that obsession had gotten to the point where she didn't even care about her Adventurer rank. Well, I'm just guessing here, there's no way for me to actually know what's going on with her, and if I'm being honest, I don't really care either way.

Anyway, back to the matter at hand, we had gotten into Devilmonkey territory a few hours ago, and according to Az and Persia, we should be running into those Giant Poison Frogs any minute now.

"So they can spew venom upto twenty meters away? I wonder if my Healing Factor can take care of it," I mused, after we finished dispatching a group of Devilmonkeys.

"Maybe don't test that out," Replied Persia warily.

"Is it risky at all though? You were even able to survive that lethal poison during last year's Brawl of Glory," Pointed out Az.

"Hey, don't encourage him!" Persia retorted with a frown.

"As far as I can remember, my Healing Factor has been able to handle everything thrown at me so far...oh, except for the Pain Amplifier toxin, but that didn't really have much of an effect on me. The fact that my Healing Factor didn't respond to it might mean that...that stuff isn't actually harmful to the body. In that case, I wonder if it's effects are more like an illusion, it only amplifies your sense of pain, not the amount of damage they take," I wondered, mulling it over.

"From what the others said, the pain caused by that stuff was excruciatingly agonizing. In other words, it doesn't matter if it's harmless or harmful, since you're the only one who can actually bear it," Pointed out Persia.

"True, I could bear the pain, but it still registered enough to bother me a bit, most other people would probably lose their minds if they went through it for an extensive period of time," I responded with a shrug, as I recalled that sensation.

"Pain sounds awful, I don't know how you do it," Az remarked.

"Hey, that makes me wonder...have you ever actually gotten injured, I can't imagine anyone being able to hurt you," I asked curiously.

"No, not really...I don't think I've ever even bled. Though if I did, I could probably stop the bleeding with ice. I'll assume that's easier said than done, I don't think I would handle pain very well," He replied after mulling it over for a bit.

"Well, that's only normal...I didn't have a particularly high threshold for pain before my torture either, I literally had to die to get to my current level of pain resistance."

We continued chatting as we walked, as no monsters showed up...

...

Half an hour later, we finally ran into a group of Giant Poison Frogs, four of them to be precise. I was curious about whether my Healing Factor could take care of their venom, but I decided not to risk it. I hadn't seen them yet, Az had been walking in front and had spotted them first. He then told me to close my eyes, guided me forward till I was just outside that twenty meter range and...

"Okay, open your eyes now."

Well, here goes nothing...I slowly opened my eyes, feeling a sense of dread as I did. I opened them, and saw the monsters, frogs that were big enough to eat me. And yet...

"So...these are the Giant Poison Frogs?"

"Yeah. Are you doing okay, Kuro?" Inquired Az from behind me.

This is...this is...

"This is going a lot better than I expected."

"Huh?"

"I thought I'd be terrified, but...their large size actually makes them less scary. Yeah, like, I think the small size of regular frogs was a big part of my fear, it wasn't just their slimy skin and beady eyes and sudden hops...it was also their size! Yeah, these big-ass monsters...don't scare me in the slightest!" I exclaimed in surprise and enthusiasm, firing multiple bolts of lightning at them, killing them with ease.

That felt kinda cathartic, like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

"So, is that it...are you over your fear now?" Asked Persia with a hopeful look in her eyes.

"I...think so. I'm currently imagining frogs all over me, and while that is making my skin crawl, I feel calm enough."

"Hm, that's pretty anticlimactic...I was wondering how you would freak out when you saw them," Az sighed wistfully.

"...you dick."

I...I really did it. I got over my phobia...I can't believe it. I'll probably have to do a bit more work on it before I can declare it fully cured, but the hard part was over...it was-...!

"Kuro, what's wrong, you suddenly went pale?"

Wh-what the...? What was that? Just now, my body reacted to something...specifically, the Vampire element in my body. What just happened?

"Hey, are you alright?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine...but I suddenly got a really bad feeling."

"A bad feeling about what?"

"Well...I don't really have any proof, so this is more of a hunch, but...I think something might have happened with the Vampire Forbidden Zone. Let's head back, I think I should ask Erhtaph to send someone out to investigate, just in case..."

———————————————————————————

Point-of-View: Fuo Wesroh

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"Haaaaahhhh!" I exclaimed, as I tore the head off an Abominable Snowman and flung it up at an Ice Wyvern, slamming it square onto its chest and killing it.

"You are so violent, Fuo, I find it distasteful," Remarked Atticus in my head.

Tch, I do not remember asking for your opinion.

"Hmph, how ungrateful, you would not even be able to pull off such acts if it was not for me."

I decided to ignore him. I was currently training in the snowy area, and had just finished dispatching a group of five Lesser Cyclops, three Abominable Snowmen and three Ice Wyverns in just over twenty seconds, using my Vampire form. I could use this form for twenty-five seconds before reverting to my normal form, thought it'd last for nearly forty seconds if I let Atticus take control.

It was very similar to Kuro's form in terms of appearance, black wings and tail, my eyes turned black and red, my teeth and nails extended into fangs and claws, and red streaks appeared in my hair. Additionally, my hair grew wilder and stood up a bit while in that form, it was a pain to smooth down after returning to my normal form. My abilities were multiplied about a dozen times my original state, my strength, speed and even my magic output. I could form ice faster and in greater quantities while expending the same amount of Mana as before.

I was so much stronger than I used to be, but I still want to get even more-...what was that? Suddenly, I felt something within me violently resonating with some external factor, piercing my core with a cold rush of fear. What was that...?

"Well, this is a surprise...it would appear that the Vampires have finally broken free of their prison, much earlier than I expected."

...h-huh?

"What is the matter, I believe I sense fear in you, Fuo?"

Tch, this is not the time to joke around. Are you being serious?

"Hm? You mean about the Forbidden Zone? Indeed, it is no longer intact. It seems like they are headed north, to the nation of Silvland."

And what about you? What do you plan to do now?

"You can rest assured, I am certainly not an ally to humans, but neither am I an ally to the Vampires. When I got trapped in your body, my sense of kinship and loyalty to my fellow Vampires were not taken in with my consciousness. Although, I should admit, I was already more self-centered than the average Vampire even before that. My only loyalty is to you, though I am not sure if that is the right word, since the sole reason for it is because if you were to die, so would I."

Just so that we are on the same page...you will not help the Vampires, but if I was to end up in a fight against a Vampire, you would help me?

"Correct. Ideally, I would recommend fleeing in that situation, but there is not much I can do if you refuse to listen to me...and I do not wish to die, so I will assist you."

Hm, I suppose that does put me at ease a bit. For now, I need to get back and tell someone about this. Atticus, take over and fly back, we need to warn-.

"Are you sure about that? You will have to reveal my existence, how else will you explain-?"

I will come up with something on the way, and if I do not, then fine, I'll reveal it...hurry, there's no time to waste.

"Actually, I do not believe there is a reason to rush...every single Vampire, all six hundred and sixty-five, which is excluding me of course, are headed to Silvland, following the king, Lazarus Orlock. I do not sense any of them coming this way."

It just occurred to me...you said before that you were one of the strongest Vampires after the king, won't they look for you?

"Perhaps, but I do not believe they can sense my presence anymore, though I can sense them."

Well, let's set that aside for now. Go on, take control and fly us back.

"I still despise being ordered around by you. I shall relent this time, but we must later have a discussion about this...I will not do as you ask unless you do so respectfully."

Fine, we can discuss that later. For now-.

"Very well, I shall fly us back."

———————————————————————————

Point-of-View: Kuro Black

———————————————————————————

"Hm, you are concerned about the Vampire Forbidden Zone? But I cannot send a team to investigate unless I can give them a valid reason," Informed Erhtaph, after I'd explained my bad feeling.

It was about about half an hour later, we had gotten back quickly by me flying in Vampire Mode while carrying the other two, and then we teleported back from the weed haven since Az had created two linked Teleportation Points at that cove and in front of the east gate of the Rustlands. After we got back in, I teleported my way to the Academy, but the headmaster wasn't there, so I decided to head for the Ragiu mansion instead.

And now we're all caught up...

"Yeah, I know I don't have any solid evidence, but it's more than just a gut feeling...I don't know how to explain, it felt like the Vampire element in me reacted-...no, it was more like it resonated, it felt violent and dark. Maybe the Forbidden Zone weakened further, or in the worst case scenario...," I replied with a look of concern.

" I suppose you have a point...very well, I shall consider it."

Well, that wasn't helpful. Whatever, I've done all I can. I certainly had no intention of going myself to investigate, because in the worst case scenario, that'd be a suicide mission.

With that, I left and headed out. Persia and Az had already gone home, Persia had moved into my place. Oh, that's right, I got myself a bigger apartment. It was in the same building, on the fifth floor. It had a living room, kitchen, a large bedroom and another smaller room too. For now, it was Pero's room, but I might find another use for it later.

Guess I'll buy something for dinner on the way back-...I was snapped out of my thoughts as someone nearly bumped into me, I just managed to get out of the way before they collided.

"Hey, watch it! Oh, it's you, Fuo. What's up with you, you look like you've seen a ghost or something."

"Move, I don't have time to-...! No, wait, you might be the best person to talk to about this," She said, as she caught her breath.

"Oookay? What's up?"

"Well, you see...the Vampire Forbidden Zone is no longer in place, and- woah!" She began, before I grabbed her shoulders and interrupted her.

"Details, now! Did the group that went to Silvland return to report that? Where are they now-?" I inquired urgently.

"No, you are mistaken, no one reported it...I just know."

Huh? What's that supposed to mean?

"Okay, 'I just know' isn't very informative. Uh...mind being a bit more specific?"

"Well, I...I suppose you could say that I have a connection to the Vampires. No, that's not quite right...," She muttered, her brows furrowing as she struggled to find the right words.

A connection to the Vampires? What, was she half-Vampire or something? No, based on all the information I was aware of, that's impossible. Maybe she had gotten Vampire abilities like I did? That seemed to be the most likely explanation, but that can't be right, my embedded Mana Orb was the only reason that was possible, Vampires can't possess or enter human bodies normally.

"Look, just say what it is. I felt something earlier, the Vampire element in me resonating...I reported it, but I didn't really have any solid evidence to back it up. But then, I didn't know that the Forbidden Zone was down, I had no idea what actually caused that feeling. So, tell me, how do you know that it's no longer intact...and how are you so sure of it?"

"Hold on, you said you reported it? To who? I was heading for the Guild, but I do not know if that is the best option."

"Yeah, probably not...if other Adventurers find out before the higher ups make an official announcement, it could spread panic and unrest. I reported to Erhtaph Ragiu, I originally went to report it to Headmaster Yiserir, but he wasn't at the Academy or the Guild and I have no idea where else he could be. So, back to my question..."

"Ragiu, huh. Okay, I shall tell you. But let's go to Erhtaph Ragiu and I'll tell you there, that way I will not need to repeat myself."

"Yeah, I can understand that. 'Kay, let's go."

With that, I doubled back and headed back to the Ragiu mansion with Fuo, positively burning with curiosity. Erhtaph was surprised to see me back so soon, letting me in once I told him that I had just bumped into another lead regarding the Vampire Forbidden Zone. He led us up to his study and shut the door after we entered. He and I then both expectantly turned our attention to Fuo, who looked a bit nervous.

"Okay, tell him what you told me, and then explain how you know that," I said, waiting for her explanation with bated breath.

"Very well...I have strong reason to believe that the Vampire Forbidden Zone is no longer intact. As for how and why I am so sure of it...I was informed of it by the Vampire residing inside me."

"Huh?" I blurted out incredulously.

"What?" Erhtaph exclaimed simultaneously.

"It's a long story, I was fighting monsters in the snowy area, and then an Iceman stabbed me and..."

She explained how the Vampire got stuck inside her body, fought for control, before failing and negotiating coexistence.

"This is a lot to take in...but my most immediate question is whether this Atticus guy is our enemy or not," I remarked skeptically.

"Yes, that is a valid concern, one that I shared not long ago...but I doubt it, he is not your ally but neither is he your enem-...huh, what do you mean you want to talk-?...fine, whatever."

"Uh...what?"

"Oh, sorry, I was not talking to you. Atticus wants to talk to you, so I will let him take control now...is that alright with you?"

I pinched my side to keep myself from laughing, without context it looked like she had an imaginary friend or something.

"Huh, your Vampire wants to talk to me? Sure, I can't say I'm not intrigued."

"Wha-!? H-he's not 'my Vampire', he's just-! Tch, whatever...here I go, then," She sighed, before going silent for a second.

Her expression then changed, sending chills down my spine as her eyes turned colder.

"A powerful monster trapped inside and co-existing with a human, huh, how awesomely cliché," I remarked with a slight laugh.

"Greetings, human who caught the Vampire King's attention...let's talk."

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