A Regressor's Bucket List Chapter 137

The stage was sufficiently set.

…Or so Jerry thought.

He had always thought he would face this situation someday, though he didn't know exactly when.

That day.

He had thought that if the day came when he met Tom Lycan Hardist again, he would surely die.

Ssk-

‘…Seo U-jin.’

Thanks to this man who was winking at him, he thought he might be able to see a different ending.

After looking at his face for a moment, Jerry turned his head forward again and said to Tom.

“…I have something to say.”

Seeing this, Tom snorted.

“Ha.”

“……”

“…You’ve got a lot of nerve.”

Then, as if it were a good thing that Jerry had stepped forward, he extended the claws of his left hand in place of his twisted right arm and snarled at Jerry.

“I am going to kill you.”

“……”

“It doesn’t matter what you say. I have no intention of being fooled by a traitor’s honeyed words.”

At Tom's definitive words, Jerry briefly smoothed his brow before asking him.

“…Do you think what my partner just said has no credibility at all?”

Flinch-

“…If you think I’d believe such nonsense, you’re sorely mistaken. It’s all just a scheme you’ve cooked up.”

A response a beat too late.

A subtle tilt of his ears.

Faintly trembling pupils.

While the content of his words denied everything U-jin had said, the non-verbal cues from his body revealed that he was shaken.

It was surprising.

After all, this was Tom Hardist, who had never once wavered in his hatred for Vampires.

It was a conviction so firm that it hadn't faded in the slightest, even while he had locked himself away and let his body rot in the Darkest Dungeon.

But that long-held belief was now shaking.

“…Even if that guy’s words are true, nothing changes. The fact that your clan was involved in the fall of the Beastkin Nation is undeniable.”

“……”

“That alone is reason enough for me to kill you.”

‘It's not a completely nonsensical story.’

If Jerry's guess was correct, that was probably how Tom was thinking of U-jin's words.

For such words to come from the mouth of the ever-so-stubborn Tom Hardist meant that he had at least listened to U-jin's story seriously.

However, the reason he was still being so hostile was, of course, because not everything had been resolved despite U-jin's explanation.

‘…….’

If U-jin's story was true, the departure of the Vampire Clan, including Jerry Dracula Senior, was something that had already been agreed upon with the King of the Beastkin.

Considering the existence of the earring as proof and the circumstances U-jin described, it seemed they had intended to return.

Tom must have accepted that part to some extent, even if not 100%.

However.

The problem was what came next.

‘The fall of the Beastkin Nation.’

The point of Tom's fury wasn't actually the Vampires' departure itself.

Rather, it was the ‘fall of the Beastkin Nation’ that resulted from it.

“…I think it’s natural for you to hate me… It’s probably because you think our Vampire Clan contributed to the fall of the Beastkin Nation.”

“Shut up!!!”

Of course, it was a shocking event for one of the clans that constituted the Beastkin Nation to leave.

Since the founding of the Beastkin Nation, there had been many cases of a clan going extinct for one reason or another, but never had a clan voluntarily left the space where the Beastkin lived together.

But.

In truth, that alone was not enough to explain the current hatred towards the Vampires.

It was natural to feel betrayed by those who had abandoned the clan.

But to take the lives of those who were once like brothers, part of the same clan, without hesitation was not natural.

Moreover, the Vampire Clan was the clan in charge of combat, protecting the Beastkin royal family and defending the nation from foreign invasions since its founding.

They were a respected and significant clan within the Beastkin Nation.

The appearance of specialized hunters who would risk their lives to invade the Demon King's Territory and exterminate them just for leaving the clan couldn't be explained by that alone.

“…I remember it clearly. The scene where your great Count personally appeared and turned the entire Beastkin Nation into a sea of fire.”

The reason Tom, and the countless now-vanished Vampire Hunters, hated the Vampire Clan so much was this.

It was because the one who destroyed the Beastkin Nation was none other than Count Dracula himself.

“My father, who was about to retire, my younger brother, who hadn't even had his coming-of-age ceremony, and my mother, who taught me that we should reconcile with your clan if we ever met, because we were once the same people.”

“……”

“Your bloodline killed them all.”

That was also why Tom hated the person named 'Jerry Dracula Junior' more than any other Vampire.

Because Jerry was the grandson of the murderer who destroyed his country, killed his king, and murdered his family.

Tom Hardist wanted to kill Dracula himself if he could, but on the day Count Dracula appeared in the Beastkin Nation, he died, so all that hatred was directed at Jerry.

From Tom's perspective, killing Jerry wasn't simply a hunt; it meant revenge for his family and his nation.

‘…….’

It wasn't that Jerry didn't know this fact.

He had experienced death at Tom Hardist's hands once before, though he had narrowly survived, and even before that, Tom had relentlessly pursued and tried to kill him while he was in hiding.

He knew well from what perspective Tom held his hatred.

As the last survivor who had also lost his family and clan, he could empathize with him all the more.

…However.

He couldn't just offer up his life, as Jerry still had things left to do.

『Your grandfather did the right thing, Jerry…』

『…You must carry on his will…』

As the heir to the family, he had to prove the righteousness of his grandfather, which had been distorted.

As the last survivor, he had to continue this bloodline somehow.

It was not yet his time to die.

“…I don't understand why my grandfather did such a thing either.”

“You can ask him yourself when you get to the afterlife. That's what I'm most curious…”

“…However.”

Jerry cut off Tom, who had taken a step forward as if what he said was ridiculous, and asked.

“…Don't you think it's somewhat contrived?”

“……!”

Flinch.

Tom's step, taken with difficulty at the end of their argument, halted once more.

“…If my grandfather had desired the complete destruction of the Beastkin Nation, he would have gone with his clan, not alone. The Beastkin Nation was not a weak country, and there would have been no need to take such a risk and go there by himself.”

Although he had nowhere to voice it.

From Jerry's perspective, it was something he had always thought about.

…That something was strange.

It had been difficult to pinpoint exactly until now, but he had long had the thought that the events of that time, which he could barely remember, were somehow contrived.

『…The Count has passed away.』

『……!』

The atmosphere inside the Countdom upon hearing the news of the Count's death was more one of bewilderment than sorrow.

Of course, after accepting the fact, they were soon overcome with sadness, but the expression that had first flashed across the Vampires' faces was one of utter disbelief, as if they couldn't understand.

As if they couldn't comprehend why on earth he would do such a thing.

At the time, Jerry hadn't understood the meaning of that fleeting expression, but now he could make a vague guess.

That going to attack the Beastkin Nation alone was such an exceptional act, considering Count Dracula's usual behavior, that it was utterly incomprehensible.

That was why the Vampires at the time had made such faces.

Only his mother had worn a bitter expression, as if she knew something.

“That day. My grandfather disappeared from the territory without a word. And the next day, news of his death arrived. That he had invaded the Beastkin Nation alone.”

“……”

“Didn't you think this part was strange?”

“…What about it.”

That wasn't the only strange thing.

“He was a grandfather who had pushed the Blood Demon Art to its limits, even earning the title of 'Immortal'.”

“……”

“He boasted the strongest Blood Demon Art, to the point where he could be revived just by reattaching his head if it was severed.”

His death.

Jerry had doubts about that as well.

He was too young at the time and didn't know his grandfather well.

But as he conducted research and gathered materials to revive the Blood Demon Art, he learned that Count Dracula's strength at the time far transcended the average level.

The death of a man with talent so outstanding he could truly be called a Mutant was bizarre in itself.

…The more he listened to U-jin's story, the faint doubt that had remained in a corner of his mind was turning into near certainty.

“…The most outstanding combat ability of a Vampire is combat continuation. Because combat itself satisfies the conditions for recovery, they can continue fighting while waiting to heal from significant injuries.”

“……”

“But, there is a more important factor hidden by that combat continuation ability.”

“……”

“It is the ability to return alive.”

The reason the Vampire Clan was able to maintain its existence to this day despite having a remarkably low birth rate compared to other clans.

And the reason they had one of the longest lifespans among all races, including the Beastkin.

“…Their pain tolerance and recovery power, which allow them to continue fighting even with severe injuries, dramatically increase their ability to withdraw from battle. Because they are trained from an early age, it allows them to keep their wits about them even in extreme situations and look for a chance to escape. In a one-on-one fight, a draw is practically the same as a win.”

“……”

“Therefore, a Vampire's death usually occurs when they fall into a thoroughly planned trap, or when they can't even lift a finger against an overwhelming difference in power.”

It was something that couldn't be judged by a single standard.

And perhaps it was sacrilegious to apply such a yardstick to an event that could be called a catastrophe.

But if one were to frame that day as a ‘match between the Beastkin Nation and Count Dracula’, it would be correct to see it as a draw.

The Beastkin Nation had collapsed, and the Count had died.

It was a different ending from the usual demise of a Vampire.

“Especially since he was at the pinnacle of the Blood Demon Art. For him to have died despite that…”

“……”

“…It was because he went there prepared to die from the very beginning.”

Ssk-

Jerry's head turned.

“…Is that right, Partner?”

He directed the question to U-jin, who had been listening silently behind him.

“…Correct!”