Danmachi: Echoes of a Vampire God

Marie was swimming.

Not fast. Not with urgency.

She was just letting herself drift.

Her body cut through the water with elegance, as if she were floating between two thoughts. There was no fixed direction, no clear destination. Only the tide, her breathing, and that thick silence that dragged behind her.

The water's surface above her shimmered like a broken mirror, reflecting the pale lights of the moss that adorned the ceiling and walls. But Marie wasn't looking. She kept her gaze low, fixed on the bottom of the subterranean lake that she knew like the back of her hand.

Her fingers brushed against stones, algae, shells. They weren't searching for anything.

She just… needed to feel something.

Her body was still trembling. Not from the cold. Not from fear. It was something else.

Something that vibrated within her, like an overly intense melody that had gotten trapped in her chest. Her face was still flushed, a soft deep blue tint staining her cheeks.

'Why… did I shout it?'

Her voice echoed in her mind, wrapped in guilt, in tenderness, in something she didn't know how to name. She had never said those words before. Never felt them like that.

And she did it when he was already leaving. When he could no longer see her. When he couldn't embrace her.

Marie stopped. Her movements ceased. The water enveloped her like a silent cradle, and for a few seconds, it seemed like nothing existed but her and the soft pain she felt within her.

But just as she started to swim and was about to turn towards the tunnel that led to her lair, she stopped.

She heard something... A small sound, a splash.

She turned her head slightly.

In silence, she floated for a few seconds in the middle of the water, as if she had just remembered something. Then, slowly, she swam towards a more open area, where there was a small concentration of monsters moving calmly.

They were common creatures in the water palace, some large Blue Crabs, a few Raider Fish, and a solitary Aqua Serpent resting coiled among the stones.

Under normal conditions, she wouldn't have bothered to approach them. She would have slipped between the rocks. But not today.

Her eyes, usually soft, were opaque. Deep. Empty.

Marie emerged from the shadows, and as soon as the monsters saw her, they reacted immediately. Their bodies tensed, their eyes gleamed with hostility, and without hesitation, they launched towards her with the intention of tearing her apart.

But Marie… just opened her mouth.

And she started to sing.

Her eyes turned a scarlet red.

The melody was soft at first. A sustained, vibrating note that made the water seem to stop. Then another, and another, like drops falling on a crystal surface. Her voice spread through the environment, soft, hypnotic, impossible to ignore.

The monsters stopped dead in their tracks.

Their movements froze.

Their eyes turned white, pupil-less, vacant of consciousness. As if their very souls had been taken.

Marie sang a little longer, although it was no longer necessary. They were completely under her control.

Only then… did she stop.

The song faded slowly, disappearing into silence, like someone had closed the lid of a music box.

And the creatures were still there, floating in the water, still, inert.

Marie looked at them with a blank expression. There was no emotion on her face, only a slight shadow in her gaze, as if she were seeing something very, very distant. Then she whispered, more to herself than to anyone else—

"…I see."

Her lips curved slightly. Not in a smile. More like something melancholic. Painful.

"Kael… is immune to this. To my songs."

Her voice lacked strength, but it was loaded with a cold clarity. She lowered her head slightly, her hair floating around her face, and her eyes shone with an strange intensity.

She had tried, with all her might. She had tried to enchant him so he wouldn't leave... but it didn't work, it didn't even seem to affect him, it was as if he wasn't even trying.

Her fingers touched the water's surface gently. As if she thought the liquid might give her some answer.

"Then…"

She lifted her head slightly. Her eyes shone with a strange intensity. A glow alien to any emotion she had known.

She knew. Her charm depended mainly on her strength, which meant that if she became stronger...

"…Marie has to get stronger."

Her voice was no longer sweet. It was firm. Sharp.

'So, next time...', her thoughts were turning darker by the second.

And then… that laugh.

"Je… jejeje… jejejejeje…"

At first, it was low. Soft. But it grew. Like a current of water. Like something that had been waiting to awaken within her for a long time.

With a single gesture of her hand, barely a signal in the water, the show began. The enchanted monsters started to move. But not towards her. Not to protect her. Not to obey. But… among themselves.

One of the Raider Fish opened its jaws and lunged at a Blue Crab, biting its shell with fury. Another Raider Fish suddenly launched itself at another of its own kind, tearing part of its neck with a bite.

The water serpent coiled around a crab and squeezed until it cracked its shell. Claws, fangs, fins, and entire bodies became weapons against their own companions. There was no coordination, no consciousness. It was a grotesque spectacle of automatic destruction.

And Marie… just watched in complete silence as the creatures tore each other apart like broken puppets. She didn't look away once. She just waited, motionless, until the last of the monsters sank slowly, its dismembered body dissolving into a cloud of purple smoke.

When it all ended, nothing was left alive. Only dozens of magical stones sinking slowly into the water, glowing weakly.

Marie descended, and she picked up the first stone. And without thinking… she brought it to her lips. A small glow ran through her body at that moment.

And then another. And another. One after another, she took the magical stones and swallowed them, as if they were candies. Without pause. Without fear.

One after another. One after another.

Each stone she consumed made her body vibrate. She could feel it. The heat. The energy. The strength.

But it wasn't just that she was looking for. It was… something more. A need. A promise. A certainty.

'Kael…'

Her voice, no longer soft as always, lost itself in the darkness of the water.

'Next time… you won't run from my kisses.'

And then… she kept eating.

Without stopping.

Without blinking.

As if each stone were one step closer to something that only she understood.

—Kael's point of view—

The light of floor 21 welcomed him like a cold, ancient breath.

Kael advanced with firm steps, the echo of his boots resonating against the dark brown and damp ground. Around him, the walls of thick wood, twisted and covered in glowing moss, emitted a faint blue light that illuminated the place.

The air smelled of sap and wet earth.

Floor 21 was not particularly vast, but its serpentine tunnels and irregular architecture made it a treacherous place. It was full of cracks in the wooden walls, hidden pits under thin stone slabs, and concealed chambers where hordes of monsters could ambush you.

Kael knew it. That's why he kept his body alert and his senses on edge.

He tightened his grip on his sword. He had started using it since the number of adventurers he had encountered was increasing—he didn't want them to see him using his abilities and start spreading rumors about him even before he reached the surface.

He kept moving forward, with that suffocating silence flooding the entire place. It wasn't long before the first enemies appeared.

A pair of flapping sounds alerted him to the presences approaching.

Two Firebits emerged from between the exposed roots, their burning lava wings glowing in the gloom. The heat they gave off made the moss's glow flicker, like stars dimmed by fire. Their eyes, large and dull, watched him with barely contained savagery. Their tails rose like whips before lashing out with force.

Kael moved instantly.

He rolled to one side, letting the first tail graze the edge of his cloak. When the tail hit the ground, it turned it into molten lava in seconds.

Kael pushed off the wall with a kick and unleashed an upward slash with his sword. The blade sliced through the air, and then through flesh. The right eye of the first Firebits burst in a bloody explosion. The monster screeched in a sharp and painful tone.

Without pause, Kael spun on himself and slid his free hand across his belt. He summoned a half-materialized small blood spear. He hurled it without stopping his movement toward the second Firebits, which was lunging at him with its jaws open. The projectile pierced the monster's palate and embedded itself in its skull, stopping it just inches from his face.

He didn't celebrate. It wasn't the time.

The bodies fell heavily to the ground. The tails twitched for a few seconds more, a nervous reflex of muscles still alive.

Kael approached without hesitation and sank the blade into the chest of each creature. The precise strike shattered the cores. Two green magic stones rolled to his feet, glowing with a faint pulse. He picked them up calmly and paused a moment to observe them.

Then he stored them in the small pouch hanging from his waist. Kael had used the shadow inside it to store the stones in his own shadow. It was safer that way, with no risk of someone seeing him.

"Not much left now…"

His voice was barely a whisper, which was absorbed by the silence of the place.

He checked his sword. The blade was still clean—he always summoned a thin layer of blood that coated the edges, increasing its resistance and sharpness—but the hilt was starting to show signs of wear. He would have to replace it soon.

But he had no time to rest. Up ahead, a swarm of Gun Libellulas was buzzing in his direction.

Kael took a step back. Not out of fear. Out of strategy.

The Gun Libellulas were fast, and each hit was lethal. A single strike could split a level 2 adventurer in two. Kael knew that. And he watched them with cold eyes as one screeched and charged at him.

Kael inhaled.

And he moved.

He leapt forward, lowering his body, letting the claw pass over him like an iron comet. He landed behind the Gun Libellula, spun on his axis, and stabbed his sword into the curve of its back.

The scream it let out was a mixture of rage and surprise. But before it could turn, Kael drove the blade deeper and split it in half.

He moved to the next one.

His body seemed to move on instinct.

He stabbed one through the head, cut off another's wings as it tried to tackle him from behind. One by one, the Gun Libellulas fell, and after one last clean cut, the final one dropped.

Kael barely had time to pull his blade from the corpse before a shadow fell upon him.

He blocked with his left arm. The blow sent him crashing into the wall. The impact was harsh, knocking the air out of his lungs and blurring his vision for a second. A green-scaled Basilisk was watching him from where he had been standing before.

But even on his knees, Kael clung to the hilt of his sword and launched forward, delivering a deadly strike to the reptile's eye with surgical precision.

The monster tried to move, but Kael had silently summoned blood chains that held it firmly to the ground. The monster tried to break them but failed—his solidified blood was harder than most metals in this world.

His blade clashed against its scales, but only for a second. The next, it sliced through them like butter, piercing the snake's head cleanly. Its body vanished in a cloud of purple smoke, leaving behind a magic stone.

He took a deep breath, calming himself.

His body ached slightly from the last hit, and his muscles burned from the number of movements he had made in such a short time.

He stayed in silence for a few seconds. Sweat was dripping from his forehead. The air was filled with the metallic scent of blood mixed with the mud covering the floor.

Finally, he stood up and murmured in a low voice, almost to himself—

"Floor 21… completed."

He stored the stone with the others in his shadow. He walked toward the cave wall and leaned his back against it for a few seconds; he needed a break. He had already been fighting for a couple of hours non-stop since he separated from Marie.

But he had no time to lose.

With a push from his own body, he stood up and headed for the stairs. The twisted wooden stairs that would take him to floor 20.

As he climbed, a cold air current dragged along the steps, whispering through the wooden walls.

The atmosphere changed. The silence grew deeper, and a new smell floated in the air, a different one—now it was a sweeter aroma, like petals in full decomposition.

And Kael, without looking back, ascended to the next floor, not letting his heart slow down.

Because he knew that the higher he climbed in the Dungeon… the closer he was to the surface.

And further… from her.

When he finished climbing the long stairs, he saw it—the new floor that awaited him.

He took a moment before crossing the threshold to floor 20.

Just one.

Then.

He crossed it.

The soft air of the Great Tree Labyrinth enveloped him with familiarity, but also with the certainty that something had changed. The mosses on the walls glowed with a dimmer blue light, making the wooden surroundings seem softer, more breathable, more organic.

The main route looked strangely crowded; before, he had come across a few adventurer groups, but not at this level.

Several adventuring teams moved cautiously, exchanging words and carrying bags of herbs or potions. Others were fighting in groups against a couple of monsters all over the place.

Kael didn't want unnecessary encounters, even less so if it meant explaining what he was doing alone on such a deep floor.

He knew many recognized him only as "another adventurer," but he wasn't in the mood for socializing or being questioned about his obvious lack of companions, positions, or gear that adventurers normally carried when exploring the dungeon.

So he chose a different path, a less traveled one—a side corridor almost completely covered by roots and hanging moss. It was barely visible, but the path was still there.

No one walked there. Maybe it was a shortcut, maybe a longer route. He didn't care much. He wasn't sure how far the path would take him, but he trusted his instinct.

The silence of the corridor came immediately—it was comforting. He liked it better that way. He noticed something slight in the air—perhaps one of the poisonous mushrooms he had encountered before on floor 22 had passed through here. He didn't care; he just kept going.

But suddenly... he heard it,

He heard muffled, frantic murmurs. They didn't come from the main corridor but from a bend to the right of the path he was on. He stopped. His senses tensed.

He didn't expect anyone else to be here. At first, he thought it was some kind of monster, but then he heard it more clearly—the sound of swords and shouting voices.

It wasn't his problem. He should keep going, he had no time to waste on distractions, but something told him he would regret it if he did—if he left. So... he moved silently until he peeked around the corner of the bend.

And there... he saw them.

A group of four adventurers being surrounded by a group of monsters. He recognized them instantly—a Deadly Hornet, two Lizardmen, and a Mad Beetle. There was also a Battle Boar in the rear. The men—all injured—didn't think twice.

They shoved a smaller figure forward. The fourth person in their group. She had a hood on, so he couldn't see her well, but he noticed.

A woman.

Her body was thrown to the ground. She fell into the mud of the floor. A Lizardman turned toward her, and the other monsters followed the movement. The men, on the other hand, fled, without thinking twice.

"You got us into this!"

"Die, you useless witch!"

"This was your idea—we're not dying for you!"

The adventurers took the opportunity and ran. Only that woman was left in the cave. Her gray-brown clothing was stained with mud. Her hood had fallen back from the fall, revealing her face. She had brown hair and a pair of purple eyes trembling in panic.

Kael also saw that from her head protruded a pair of cute, furry ears. Looking further down, from her waist peeked a soft dog tail. In one hand, she held a bow, and on her back hung a quiver—but it was empty, she had no arrows left.

It took him a second to recognize her, but then...

He instantly knew who she was.

Naaza Erisuis. Miach Familia. Level 2.

A character he knew from the story of this world.

But that... was what surprised him the most.

'What the hell is a level 2 doing on such a deep floor?' Kael had fought most of the monsters inhabiting the Great Tree Labyrinth—he knew how strong they were. A level 2 wouldn't stand a chance on these floors. But there she was.

'What is she doing here? Did she hire some adventurers to protect her? Those from before?' His head became a sea of questions. But it didn't matter anymore.

She was in danger.

The woman—Naaza Erisuis—remained still. Her breath caught. She didn't scream. She couldn't.

Escape wasn't an option—she was only level 2. She wouldn't be able to run more than a few meters before they caught her.

The monsters advanced.

When the first one reached her, it extended a thick, dark claw toward her face.

She could only close her eyes, accepting her fate.

'It's over... I shouldn't have ignored Lord Miach's warning...'

But then... a figure came out of nowhere.

Dressed in black, with a hood covering his face, Kael landed between her and the monsters. He drew his sword in a single movement. He lunged toward the monster's side, handling the short sword with a fluid motion.

The first attack landed, but the monster was only pushed to the side. Kael didn't stop—he spun and made a quick thrust. The steel of his sword sparked against the Lizardman's tough skin.

Normally, Kael would only need one strike to split it in half. But he couldn't risk Naaza, being a Chienthrope, smelling the thin blood aura he usually used on his sword. So he had no choice but to rely solely on his swordsmanship to take down the monsters.

The only good thing about the situation was that he had realized he seemed to have a decent talent when it came to wielding swords—so he wasn't too worried.

The Lizardman whimpered, wounded. The other monsters focused on him.

Kael focused on defense. Even if finishing off those monsters wasn't too difficult for him, it was different when he had to protect someone in the process while only using his sword.

But five against one in those circumstances was a bad combination.

The first Lizardman, now angrier than ever, charged at him.

Kael jumped precisely, blocking the attack with the steel of his sword, then launched a thrust at the lower part of its leg, where its skin was more sensitive, making the monster stagger—but still managed to slash Kael's chest with its claws.

He took a few steps back, feeling the sting in his chest—his body had already begun healing it.

He felt the solid weight of the steel. He felt his pulse quicken. He forgot the fear. He forgot the pain.

The next to attack was the Mad Beetle, trying to ram him from the side. He dodged it and slashed right where its eyes were, piercing its skull. With a dry thud, it fell to the ground—its body disappeared seconds later.

'One'

The Hornet descended from above, aiming its stinger—but he already had his eyes on it. He made a small backward jump while throwing his small knives in its direction.

The knives pierced its wings, causing it to lose balance in the air and crash to the ground. Kael took the opportunity and ran up—one clean cut severed its head from its body.

'Two'

But then, both Lizardmen attacked. He dodged the first, but the other managed to sink its teeth into his arm. His bones crunched, and pain surged through him sharply—but knowing he couldn't stop in that situation, he stabbed his sword into its neck, ending its life.

'Three…'

The other Lizardman attacked again, but this time he was ready.

The lizard leapt into the air, its teeth aimed in his direction.

Big mistake.

Kael dodged downward and stabbed his sword into the lower part of its chest. Its body was split in two from its stomach to the end of its ribcage, killing it instantly.

'Four… only one left…'

And it didn't take long to appear.

The Battle Boar charged with fury. But its large size made its movements slow and predictable.

Kael dodged it like the wind.

He slashed its back, leaving a nasty wound, then pierced it from the side.

The boar staggered, tried to counterattack—but Kael didn't give it a chance. Small, deadly slashes, cyan and unrelenting, kept piling up.

After a few seconds—

It fell.

When its body hit the ground, it made it tremble from its weight—but it soon disappeared like the others, leaving a magic stone in its place.

'...Five...'

There were no more monsters left, only the silence after that intense battle.

Even his wounds had already healed—there wasn't a trace of them left.

Naaza had remained still during the entire fight. Too stunned by how fast everything had happened.

She had dried blood on her clothes and was breathing heavily. Her heart pounded frantically—she felt like it could burst out of her chest at any moment.

Kael turned slowly. His gaze fixed on hers.

And she saw him.

His eyes, red, like freshly extracted blood pearls.

They shone with such intensity that the soft glow of the moss around them seemed to darken under his gaze.

"...Are you okay?" he asked.

She blinked.

Opened her mouth.

"I-I… yes… I think so…"

"...Sure?"

Her voice was trembling and faint. Kael asked again to be sure. She nodded. Without saying anything this time.

But when Kael took two steps to lean down and help her up, she backed away a little and averted her gaze from his.

Even so, she managed to see part of his face, which he was trying to hide under his hood.

'... He's young… and handsome...'

Her gaze dropped. Her face turned pink at her thoughts.

"Y-your… name?" she asked, more from nerves than necessity.

He sheathed his sword. And after a few seconds, he answered—

—"Kael."

Even though he preferred not to be known, Naaza wasn't a bad person—or at least, she didn't seem to be in the story—so he saw nothing wrong in telling her his name.

But only that.

He preferred she didn't know his face—he didn't want problems later on.

Naaza looked up again, watched him for a few more seconds, unsure how to react. Then she looked down again.

'What's wrong with her? Did she hit her head when those guys pushed her?' He still didn't know how devastating his actions could be to a girl's heart.

Especially if said girl thought she was about to die.

But having finished off the monsters that threatened her life, he had nothing else to do there. He was already turning, ready to leave. He had done his part.

But she, sensing his intent, stood up and ran awkwardly toward him.

She grabbed his wrist.

"Wait…! Please… I shouldn't be here. I'm level 2. I only came because my familia needed ingredients for a request and… I thought I could hire other adventurers to come with me, but you saw what happened… and if I'm left alone..." she spoke quickly, explaining herself, fearing he would leave if she didn't say anything.

Kael remained silent, his gaze had shifted to the arm with which she had grabbed him.

She, noticing his gaze, noticed what she'd done and let go quickly, nervous.

"I-I'm sorry…"

Kael only watched her in silence—but not because he was angry. On the contrary.

He was surprised.

He felt it—the soft touch of her skin against his, her warmth, her life.

It was nothing artificial, nothing created—no, it was a normal arm like anyone else's.

But that was the point.

'She was supposed to have lost it...'

The arm she used to grab him was the famous arm she was supposed to have lost before the story began, replaced by a very expensive prosthetic made by the Dian Cecht familia.

He remembered what happened to her. How she was supposed to have lost her arm in an accident that happened before the canon started—there was no mention of when or how, just that she stopped being an adventurer after that. And what she had to live through… after that incident.

'...So that's how it was.'

It didn't take long for him to put the pieces together. Abandoned to her fate in the dungeon, at the mercy of monsters against which she stood no chance, without arrows or weapons to defend herself.

Everything made sense to him.

And the Naaza he knew from the story… didn't deserve that fate.

She didn't deserve what happened. Nor the consequences she and her familia had to endure because of the expensive prosthetic they had to buy to replace her missing arm.

Literally every other member of the Miach familia abandoned her because of the incredible debt their God took on. Only she remained in the familia—even after the story started, no one ever joined the Miach familia.

Who would risk their future by joining a poor and indebted familia? The answer: no one.

Only she and her God remained, running a small potion shop.

She carried terrible guilt and trauma after that incident. She even stopped being an adventurer. Her life was never the same after that.

And if not for the unconditional support of her God, she might have even taken her own life.

But even with all that, Naaza didn't give up—she kept going, with incredible talent in alchemy and unmatched determination. She created several potions that made even Dian Cecht envy Miach for having such a talented mortal.

But even with all her talent, she couldn't lift her familia out of the massive debt they took on because of her guilt.

'Truly… a shitty fate for someone as incredible as her.'

But it seems that all of that just changed.

With just that small act of taking down a group of monsters and saving her, Kael could already feel all the changes his actions would bring to this world—to the story he knew. But he didn't regret it. If he needed to change the whole story to prevent a kind and strong girl like her from living what she was destined to…

'As far as I'm concerned, the story can go to hell.'

Just by existing, Kael had already changed things—and if that wasn't enough, his previous actions had already caused things that weren't supposed to happen yet, or not happen at all, to occur.

So the whole story was already a mess.

Even so, he sighed.

'Let's hope this doesn't come back to bite me later.'

After a few seconds in which Naaza thought he would reject her, he finally spoke.

"Alright... I was on my way to the surface anyway."

She blinked. A spark lit in her eyes. Her tail began to sway gently. Her ears seemed to tremble with joy, and a small smile appeared on her face.

'...Cute'

Kael thought without realizing it, but then shook his head, brushing those thoughts away.

As he was about to start walking toward the cave's exit, she—remembering something—spoke again.

"I-I know it's a lot to ask, but could you… could you help me finish collecting the ingredients? It won't take long, I promise. My familia really needs them." Her voice trembled, almost embarrassed.

Kael didn't respond immediately.

'Even after what she just went through, she's still thinking about her familia... really, she's too hardworking—even for her own good.'

After a few seconds, without saying anything, he nodded slightly—briefly.

But enough.

"T-thank you..."

Her smile didn't grow, nor was there an obvious change in her expression besides the slight blush on her cheeks—but her tail began to move faster than before.

Kael simply looked at her.

'...cute...'

The air grew tense. Neither of them said anything else. The cave started to feel small. Kael, sensing the awkward atmosphere forming, felt the need to move.

"Let's go," —he finally said— "I don't feel any monsters around, but stay close."

She nodded, without looking at him. But she started walking behind him. Kael adjusted his hood—he hadn't taken it off at any point, and he didn't plan to. He didn't want her to notice the faint traces of scales on his neck or his slightly pointed ears.

So he kept it as best as he could over his face.

She pointed out a narrow path nearby, away from any main area. Perfect for him.

And they set off.

She began to guide him, as if she knew that unexplored area they were in a little.

They left the cave.

Without realizing… that a shadow was watching them from atop the roots, breathing softly. A silhouette hidden among the moss and darkness. But who hadn't taken their eyes off them for a single moment.

Especially.

Off him.