Chapter Ninety-Nine: The Immortality Trap, the Ship of Theseus / Chapter One Hundred: A Humiliating Defeat-I've Lost All Dignity!

In Saigō's words, even a feat as great as a star would be annihilated by its Fated Death.

Dimitrie did not believe that a mere vampire like himself could survive being stabbed by that dagger.

But Dimitrie was not afraid, because his excessive erosion had long given him thoughts of self-destruction.

From the moment he met Saigō, he had prepared himself for death. Even with death looming before his eyes, he could face it calmly.

Perhaps this was the most admirable quality of long-lived beings compared to short-lived humans: their willingness to die generously!

Dimitrie calmly watched as Saigō plunged the dagger into his shoulder.

There was no pain at all. Dimitrie even closed his eyes, smiling as he waited to turn to ash.

Yet several seconds passed, and death never came. He opened his eyes in astonishment and looked at Saigō. "...Lord Zarathustra, you..."

Before he could finish, the Duke of the War King's Domain underwent a drastic change in expression.

That strange power capable of manipulating lifespan swept through his body and soul. The negative life force of a vampire underwent a positive numerical shift.

A vampire, who should have had no concept of dying naturally, gained the concept of a lifespan at that moment. Dimitrie clearly sensed that his life had been fixed at ten years from now!

In other words, he had at most ten years left to live. Even if no one killed him, ten years from now, he would reach the end of his natural life as a vampire.

This was not life draining away due to grievous injuries. It was the purest form of natural death, the end that all vampires pursued.

But at the same time, as his lifespan changed from that of a vampire into that of a 'human,' Dimitrie discovered