Now… Where to even start? Rowan’s hands pressed to each side of his forehead as if to contain and sort out his thoughts.
Even on the flight, Rowan had been mentally preparing himself; he knew this conversation would be inevitable. He kept trying to find the best way to word things, wondering where to begin or what details were important to mention. No amount of practice he had despite his occupation could prepare him for delivering news about his own sister. She may had only been related by adoption only, by some mere papers and formalities, but still… She was family. No matter what, it would be difficult for him to speak about.
❝ That cursed vampire… I still remember the first time I met him as a young boy… And I still remember the next time he had come to kill me, when I was older and he had by then figured out where I was. It was completely unexpected when he had appeared one day with the very obvious intent to kill me. He had hurled obscenities, saying that my ‘existence was a curse’, that I was ‘a half-breed abomination.’ I killed him. ❞ Rowan kept his gaze lowered, unable to bring himself to make eye contact. He was certain that Giorno wasn’t without his own sins, but it was still something that haunted Rowan.
Even if the vampire had been undead, even if he could come back to life, the intent was still there.
❝ It might as well have been nothing more than a simple and personal recon mission for Kenneth, with the act of killing me serving as nothing more than an optional side-quest. I don’t know if he was simply being careless, or if I was truly stronger than him. It may have been both. You were asking about why he was virtually impossible to kill. His stand ability…. ❞
He paused, before continuing.
❝ He couldn’t die. I sincerely mean that. I had seen him dissolve into ashes with my very own eyes. Even just from the first encounter alone, it was evident that he simply just was not afraid of dying. It was just as inconvenient for him as getting a mosquito bite on his arm. ❞
As if on cue, a frog had landed on top of Rowan’s shoe, prompting him to gently shake it away.
❝ We had seen him again months later. It was my friend, Nik who took him down this time. He had always been a good fighter, always able to hold his own no matter what. However…. One of his other followers was with him that time. That undead woman was strong. I managed to kill her myself before it was too late. But… Nik still ended up in the hospital. ❞
Rowan knew that this story might be long, that it might seem pointless and tedious. However, it was all integral to answering the Don’s questions. He wouldn’t be able to understand how or why Viridian died if he didn’t give him more meaning behind what happened. Thankfully, it looked like Giorno wasn’t in a mood to interrupt, and appeared to be quietly listening.
❝ Viridian did not leave his side. ❞ He paused for a brief moment to reminisce. He remembered how guilty his sister had felt for not doing anything to help them before hand despite having not even being there in the first place. She didn’t even sleep much in the hospital, wearing nothing but baggy clothes and barely cleaning herself, wanting to stay awake the entire time until Nik had woken up. All of it was done against Rowan’s insistence. ❝ It was by pure accident when she had discovered another stand ability that she hadn’t been aware of before. She had been spending the entire time at the hospital numbing Nik’s pain with her stand, and at a certain point, they both had fallen asleep. She later told me she had found herself in an odd world, something that we all agreed was akin to the thoughts of our friend’s inner mind, his likes, dislikes, his memories… All of it. ❞
He paused, making eye contact with Giorno to ensure that he was still following along. ❝ She realized that she could use her target’s brain in that way, go through memories, like going through a library or computer to search for documents at her own leisure. She described it as exploring a ‘mini-world’, a manifestation of someone’s mind. Apparently, his looked like a giant rock concert and the people there all represented his thoughts and memories. She just simply had to interact with them to figure out what they were. ❞
Go figure. That was Nik, for you.
Taking a deep breath, Rowan lowered his gaze again to the earthy ground below. This is where he was getting to the part that was the most painful, the part that still was difficult for him to even think about.
❝ I don’t know exactly what happened. ❞ Rowan inhaled through his nostrils, his voice getting smaller as he spoke. ❝ I just assume that she used her ability to gain all the knowledge that she needed, because when she called me one night, Viridian was speaking as quickly as she possibly could over the phone, telling me all about Kenneth’s stand, where it was, how it worked, why he would only come back after months. Then her voice got cut off. ❞
He paused and swallowed, letting it sink in. He had to force himself not to allow tears to flood his eyes, trying his best to keep his composure. ❝ When I had found her, all of her blood had been drained from her body. ❞ An expression of deep shame and sadness painted across Rowan’s face as he continued. ❝ In case it was going to be one of your next questions, I can assure you of this: Dhampirs cannot turn anyone into dhampirs, nor vampires. Bites don’t work… Nor does pouring our blood into wounds. None of it works. Believe me… I’ve tried. Our half-human bodies simply don’t have that power. ❞