Ego Verachicca, Who Are You?

In a world where the vampire race and the human race strive for coexistence, their territories continue to be separated by invisible or visible boundaries. Most of the territory belonging to the vampire race is governed by the Blood Alliance Congress. However, there are a few manors that govern their territories with their own system of rule. Among them, the Verachicca family is one that has governed their manor for a long time.

Ego Verachicca, the male heir of the Verachicca family, disappeared from the manor around the time of his tenth birthday. Ego, who had been trained from an early age to be the next head of the Verachicca family, never once believed that he should be given that position. Ego was convinced that his sister, Frieda, who was more capable than him, was the most suitable to be the next head of the Verachicca family. Ego’s opinion was not accepted, for it was customary for the position of head of the Verachicca family to be inherited by the eldest male child, just as in other aristocratic families. Ego refused to be tied down by archaic customs. Ego knew that women had served as head of the Verachicca family in the past. Jo Verachicca. She and her husband, Kai Verachicca, were outstanding figures who had rebuilt the Verachicca family after it had nearly fallen into ruin. There was a time when Jo was the head of the family after Kai’s death. Although it was not very long, Jo Verachicca was still the head of the family. Because of this precedent, Ego was adamant in his belief that Frieda was the most suitable one to be the head of the family. In fact, he had only ever imagined a future in which Frieda would be the head of the family. Ego’s ideal vision of the future of the Verachicca family was shattered when it was proposed that Frieda get engaged. Her partner was to be Dali Delico, the next head of the Delico family, which boasted immense power in the Blood Alliance Congress’ sphere of influence. Although the engagement was agreed upon, the actual marriage would not take place until after Dali had passed his Cocoon period, entered the Blood Alliance Congress, and reached a certain level of success. At this point, it was just an oral agreement between the parents. However, the moment Ego, who adores his sister, was told of this, his vision of the future crumbled with a clatter. Ego’s departure from the family home just before his tenth birthday was his own little act of defiance against the old traditions of the Verachicca family. It was a cold winter day. The snow was deep that day. Ego was walking aimlessly, warming his freezing fingertips with his breath.

“Why are you here all alone?” Ego was about to reach the middle of a stone bridge when a voice suddenly called out to him in the snow. It was snowing heavily and late in the day, so there was nobody around. Except a girl, the one who had spoken to him, standing all alone. She was a little older than Ego and had an air of elegance that reminded him somewhat of his sister Frieda. Ego noticed the girl’s presence and at the same time felt a strong sense of unease. If the girl is the same age as his sister, she should also be in a Clan.

“Hey, did you know? I heard that hearts of all of us vampires are connected to the heart of TRUMP.”

TRUMP – that name sounded familiar. It’s the vampire in the fairy tales his nanny used to read to him. It is said that he is the first vampire of the entire vampire race and is the only one who possesses an eternal life. It happened in a moment as Ego’s mind turned to his memories of the past. The girl bit Ego’s neck with the swiftness of an animal. His consciousness faded away. It was as if someone had forcibly taken away his prized possession. Ego fell to the snowy ground. The girl’s voice rang out.

“By my initiative, I order you. From now on, you will become Damian Stone…”

From then on, Ego began to live with the girl. The girl lived alone in a town in a valley deep in the mountains, outside the territory governed by the Verachicca family. A poor town where vampires who have committed crimes gather; a place alien to children of the wealthy Verachicca family.

“I am Emma… Emma Damian Stone.”

Ego was told the girl’s real name right after she took control of his initiative. Ego learns a lot from Emma. That Damien Stone was a vampire that existed a thousand years ago. He was a follower of TRUMP, the only vampire who had eternal life. That by taking control of another’s initiative and subsequently passing on Damian’s ideology and knowledge, Damian’s personality would be pseudo-perpetuated. That it is not possible to completely copy Damian’s personality, and that there are individual differences due to the personality of the original vampire. That these individuals are called “Damian Copies” or “Damians”. That Damian’s mission is to offer a “Beautiful Death” to TRUMP, who is suffering the pain of living forever, through a “spiritual connection”.

Damian and his associates call it a “Cruel play -Grand Guignol-”.

“I want TRUMP to be happy to be alive,” Emma said without hesitation. Emma also shared something about herself. The first death she dedicated to Damian Stone was that of her own little sister. “I loved her,” she said. “I lived only for her. I would have done anything for her, and in fact, I did all kinds of things for her. I would have destroyed myself for her. It was always just the two of us – she was my femme fatale,” she said with a smile. Emma’s sister was everything to her. Therefore, there was no better subject for a “Beautiful Death” than her sister. Emma used an instrument for drawing blood from livestock and other animals to slowly bleed her sister to death without damaging her body as much as possible. So slowly that it took three days and three nights for her sister to die of blood loss, but Emma was there to see it through. Did she not realize that she was about to die? It is said that the way she looked at Emma, who was offering her up to “TRUMP” through a “Beautiful Death,” was the way one looks at a loved one, until the very end. After she died, Emma had her sister’s corpse stuffed and displayed in her room, and when she looks at it, she grieves deeply with pain. Her heart is also an offering to “TRUMP,” who lives forever.

Emma’s sister was named Charlotte. When Ego saw the taxidermized Charlotte, he came to know what a “beautiful death” was. And he became deeply enthralled by it.

While Ego was in the midst of learning about Damian Stone’s ideology and knowledge, his strong empathy for Emma and Charlotte, who had created a “Beautiful Death” together, began to blend in. Ego was Ego Verachicca, Damian Stone, Emma, and Charlotte, who had slowly lost her blood and experienced a “Beautiful Death”. A unique Damian was about to be formed as a memory complex. And one day, he would die a cruel and beautiful death dedicated to TRUMP.

Protesting his sister Frieda’s engagement, Ego ran away from the mansion. A runaway notice was filed, but no one was able to find him. It was six months after he ran away from home that Ego returned to the Verachicca family mansion as if nothing had happened.

END