I Became a Foreign Worker Loved by Transcendents-Chapter 229: False To The Core

Vivian Platonis.

The last witch remaining in this world and the central figure of the Prince’s plan.

And the person I wanted to protect before entering here.

‘Are you really going to protect her?’

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Before we entered the Imperial Palace, when I had been thinking about encountering her, Flang approached me and pleaded for me to give up my obsession with her.

‘…Flang.’

‘You know, Master. She is the one who provided the means to draw the Demon King into the Empire. Even if her will is not her own, she cannot escape responsibility for bringing disaster to the Empire.’

I couldn’t help but feel shaken as well.

What I had to protect was clear, and I had reasons to return alive.

So, if I were to set priorities, it would be towards Airi, with whom I had a bond.

If Vivian were to block my way even once, I might have to point my sword at her by my own will.

‘And yet… you still won’t give up on her?’

Flang’s expression towards my conflict was one of concern, not resentment.

Perhaps she worried that I couldn’t shake off my feelings for her and would act impulsively.

‘…Then, let’s make one thing clear.’

Then came an unexpected story following her concerns.

‘Before arriving at the Palace, there’s something I need to tell you about her.’

‘…About Vivian?’

‘Yes, please don’t panic and listen carefully.’

At that moment, I couldn’t tell whether it was meant to persuade me or serve as a warning.

But either way, if it involved Vivian, I had an obligation to listen.

‘…Pope Martina.’

As I quietly listened, Flang began to speak about what she knew.

‘Before she toyed with the demons in the sanctuary and drove away the vampires, she was regarded as the successful product of the experiments led by the church.’

‘The Pope, a successful product…?’

‘Yes, beings like Lord Phobia were failures of those experiments. Only after the numbers of those failures were sufficiently increased could they produce the sole successful product known as Pope Martina.’

I had certainly heard that beastmen were born under the leadership of some faction, but hearing that it was the church was a first for me.

It was shocking that those who served God led inhumane experiments…

But what I couldn’t overlook even more was the story about the successful product born from those experiments.

‘The successful product, which possesses human reasoning and emotions while only awakening the powers of a witch.’

An existence that wielded witchcraft with human strength…

I had encountered such an existence once.

In fact, the Prince, who was the mastermind behind all of this, wielded abilities akin to those from another world, and I had once heard that many sacrifices were made to obtain that power.

If those sacrifices were due to the experiments led by the church, it was highly likely that the relationship between the Imperial family and the church reached more covert aspects.

‘And then…’

Then what connection could such a relationship have with Vivian, the witch…?

The answer to that question was soon resolved through unexpected words.

‘The Pope had, for some reason, the same face as Vivian.’

‘…What?’

‘Though she has aged, I am sure of it. The Pope definitely had the same face as Vivian.’

To think she looked exactly like Vivian, just older.

Could it be that they were blood relatives?

Or was there some hidden connection to the experiments as well?

‘I don’t know the details either. While I have dealt with many different beings, witches tend to disrupt the laws of the world, making them nearly infinite variables to consider.’

While Flang also couldn’t provide a detailed answer, the facts weren’t something she paid much attention to.

What mattered right now was that Vivian had brought danger to the Empire, and the Pope’s identity heightened suspicions regarding Vivian.

‘However, the witches I know are beings who regard even destroying the world out of mere curiosity as trivial. If such an inhuman being were to act with intentions beyond mere exploration or show emotional aspects, it is likely they were born in a way different from the norm, like the Pope.’

Purpose beyond intellectual curiosity, and emotional expressions…

Both applied to Vivian, as I knew her.

From our first meeting, she had shown kindness towards me, as well as anger at being obstructed in her research.

The reason she was furious enough to wipe out a crime organization by herself was that she had a clear reason: to meet her mother again.

‘Master, I won’t say anything more about how you should think of her.’

I felt a disconnect between her explanation and that past, but Flang didn’t force anything else upon me.

She didn’t express resentment towards my indecision, nor did she lament the possibility of fighting again.

‘Just one thing… I want you to remember.’

She simply offered a warning filled with concern and then stepped back.

‘She might be… a being with even more dangerous secrets than the witches I know.’

Yes, she was still respecting me until the end.

Even knowing the dangers of witches, how should I treat the witch I’d come to care for?

She chose to entrust everything to me, even without entering the Palace with me.

“Viv—no…!”

The woman who was the source of that conflict stood before me at that moment.

With her arms hanging limply and her vacant eyes turned towards the void, she silently stood in front of me, blocking my path alongside the vampire.

“Vivian, can you hear me? Viv…”

But it was different from what I had initially expected.

I thought I might have to aim my spear at her, yet why was she staring blankly into space without responding to me?

-Splurt!!!

Before I could voice all my questions, a burst of sound rang out.

With that, a fountain of blood erupted, and Vivian’s body began to collapse uselessly to the ground.

“…Huh?”

What on earth just happened?

Before I could grasp the situation, something dropped in front of me as I stood there, bewildered.

It was an object resembling a ball, entangled with scattered strands.

-Plop.

No, it wasn’t a ball.

It was a human head.

One belonging to the woman who had been standing next to that vampire just moments ago…

“Viv.”

“Vivian…?”

The head of the person I wanted to protect.

It had rolled to my feet, severed by the vampire’s claws.

“Ahahahahahaha~!!”

A laugh rang out, stirring confusion in my mind.

The vampire approached, leaving behind the beheaded torso, and began to mock me with a thin smile.

“Ah, seeing your shock, I suppose you were quite close to her~. Could it be you had a romantic relationship with a mere doll that looks human?”

A doll? What on earth was she talking about?

Vivian was just Vivian.

She was a woman, a witch and a human, and even though she had unreasonable power, she never used it against me.

So I thought we could be together, that with me around, she could live as a human…

“Ah~ Does it hurt your heart? Are you in pain from losing something precious?”

How could that loathsome vampire smile so cheerfully after taking away someone so precious?

“But don’t worry. If you accept this as a trial and endure the pain, you will become even stronger than you are now.”

A trial? Is she talking about Vivian’s death?

She brings about this herself and then tells me to endure and move on?

“My master also hopes for your growth. You must become a leading figure in the new era after leaving this place…”

-KWAANG!!!

A spear thrown in a fit of rage pierced her body and exploded.

Her body scattered into ashes, or rather, transformed into mist and fled.

Like other vampires, she hid her body to mock and deceive me.

“Come out, now!”

Yes, it must be her goal to block me here.

So I must kill her.

I must take revenge for Vivian.

“Get out here right now!!! You bitch!!!”

“Hahahahaha! Ahahahahahahaha!!”

“Uwaaaaaah!!!”

Mockery echoed throughout the banquet hall.

Even with the chaos caused by weapons exploding in all directions, the stake lodged in my heart sank even deeper.

Even if I succeeded in revenge here, Vivian would still be dead.

Vivian would never return to me.

“Why…?”

Why does this world take away precious beings from me in this way?

No matter how hard I struggled, it was the same.

Such events kept repeating, forcing me to abandon everything and run away.

Does that mean Airi will also leave my side in the same manner?

Does a happy ending I desire truly exist before me?

“Why is it only me…?!”

“Get a grip, you fool.”

At that moment, chaos ceased with a loud noise.

Someone gripped my cheek painfully and started to glare at me.

“What are you doing, losing your mind after coming this far?! Have you forgotten that you’re in the middle of enemy territory?!”

Annabel.

A manifestation derived from me and my only companion who supported me.

“I don’t know what that dead woman means to you, but didn’t you come here for a reason? And now you’re losing your mind and messing everything up?!”

“But, Vivian…”

“If you lose your cool here, what will happen to that child who trusted you and followed you here?!”

Her hand swung in anger.

The head that had been held fell behind, revealing the sight of Ga-ram, who had succumbed to the vampire’s charm and collapsed.

The child I had risked my life to save…

If I lost my cool here, that child might become another victim, lying dead not far from me.

“Get a grip. You have to face more than just that vampire here.”

Annabel lightly tapped the back of my head, bringing me back to my senses as she reentered my body.

Her voice still held a scolding tone, but the calm I finally regained was something I couldn’t have achieved without her.

“…Thank you, Annabel.”

-Don’t mention it. You foolish idiot.

She returned my gratitude by helping me control my power.

As she said, this was the middle of enemy territory, and the darkness around us was thick with the presence of not just vampires but others as well.

There were dozens of them… It was a situation where I couldn’t afford to lose my composure against them.

No matter how much Vivian had been decapitated before me, I had people to protect who were very much alive.

-Thud, thud.

As I gathered my focus, the sound of footsteps echoed.

I prepared to aim my spear at the enemies emerging from the darkness.

“…Huh?”

Yet, I did not swing it towards them.

This wasn’t a natural outcome.

An event that shouldn’t be happening right now unfolded boldly before me…

“Vi…”

Yes, it was impossible.

She was undoubtedly decapitated before me.

Her corpse was still lying on the ground.

“Viv, are you…?”

But why was there someone who looked just like her standing before me with those empty eyes?

-Thud, thud.

No, there wasn’t just one.

Others were emerging from the shadows as well.

They all had the same face and body as Vivian, approaching me with their vacant gazes.

What is this? Am I dreaming?

“Oh dear, what’s with that expression?”

A faint voice echoed from the darkness.

A vampire emerged, releasing the mist and playfully smiling, placing her hand on Vivian’s body in front of her.

“Is it not a welcome sight? Your dead friend’s duplicates are overflowing before you.”

“What do you mean…?”

Duplicates? What on earth is she talking about?

Are all of them duplicates of Vivian? Then where is the real Vivian, the one who just died?

If they are all duplicates, then what about the Vivian I know…?

‘For some reason, the Pope looked just like Vivian.’

The one I wanted to protect.

What difference is there between her and the ones I’m facing now?