69 – Episode 69
# 69
When Ian summoned the black darkness, including Count Damon and the snipers, they were taken aback.
Sorcery! He’s using sorcery!
“A vampire, just like…!”
At first, they were surprised, but upon reflection, something seemed off.
How could a servant of the heavens wield the same magic as a creature of darkness?
Could it be…?
“Um… Mr. Wizard.”
The snipers took a step back silently.
“You’re… not a wizard, right?”
Ian smirked.
The snipers’ expressions seemed like they could burst into tears at any moment.
Hurry up and say it’s not true!
Belanka, who noticed that Ian was just playing around, gently tapped his arm.
“Can you explain properly?”
“It was fun.”
“… You’re serious.”
Sigh. Average wizard level.
In Belanka’s eyes, all wizards were the same kind of people.
Ian also seemed strange enough.
“I’m different from vampires. If you’re someone who dislikes light, you can get along well with darkness. I just happen to have a good affinity with darkness.”
Phew. The snipers finally breathed a sigh of relief.
If that wizard had been an evil being like a vampire, the aftermath would have been too terrible to imagine.
Although Lord Damon didn’t say anything, it was evident from his relieved demeanor that Ian wasn’t an evil wizard.
“Actually, we were just on our way to dispose of a corpse.”
“A corpse?”
Ian briefly mourned the dead in his heart.
No matter how common death was in this world, the extinguishing of a life was always a tragedy.
“That vampire bastard has eaten another person.”
“…”
“His actions are becoming more audacious.”
Ian touched his chin and reminisced about the past.
Eredis taught Ian the Maronius language and entertained him with various trivial knowledge.
Perhaps Eredis played the role of seasoning, ensuring that young Ian did not lose interest in studying.
To Eredis, that trivial knowledge was “common sense,” but to Ian, it was fascinating gossip.
Stories about fantasy monsters like dragons, wyverns, and drakes were told, each one more intriguing than the last.
Thanks to having a mentor like a living Wikipedia, Ian was quite knowledgeable about trivia.
He vaguely remembered something about vampires.
“It seems like they’ve awakened quite recently.”
“What do you mean?”
As Ian laid out his knowledge about monsters, the people listened intently, holding their breath.
“They call vampires the ‘ones who provoke the wrath of the heavens.’ They commit a sin equal to blasphemy and are condemned to never see the sun again.”
“I’ve heard of them.”
“Vampires sustain themselves by draining the life force of living beings, which is nourished by the power of the sun. Since they cannot see sunlight, they can never ascend to heaven even in death.”
“It’s a one-way ticket to hell.”
Without anyone saying it first, the medieval people drew their crosses.
Not being able to ascend to heaven after death. A dark and gloomy prison in the depths of the earth. In other words, being trapped in hell, the most feared punishment by medieval people.
“But because they were abandoned by God, vampires have no predetermined lifespan.”
“Some vampires live for hundreds of years, they say?”
“Well, they just don’t age and die, that’s all.”
Vampires are those abandoned by God.
Many vampires intentionally provoke the wrath of God and willingly get abandoned by Him.
The reason was simple. They longed for eternal life.
You could call it a kind of suicidal obsession.
Vampires were feverish sinners who defied the sacred due to their fear of death.
“Most vampires were born at the end of the Golden Kingdom.”
“… What?!”
People were astonished by Ian’s explanation.
If the fall of the Golden Kingdom happened, wouldn’t that be an event that took place over 500 years ago?
But there was a reason why most vampires were born at the end of the Golden Kingdom.
At that time, the Golden Kingdom was in decline.
There was extreme wealth disparity, the rich were too busy securing their own meals, and the slaves lived lives worse than animals, on the verge of death.
It was a country that was clearly doomed, so no one doubted the fall of the Golden Kingdom.
But that fact drove countless priests and nobles crazy.
“The end of the world is coming!”
No, it’s the Golden Kingdom that is falling, not the world!
From the perspective of modern people, it was just another country that had reached the end of its lifespan and was disappearing.
But it was different from the perspective of ancient people.
The reason was simple: it was written in the scriptures.
Every word in the scriptures was true. That was the default.
And in the scriptures of the Chonsin religion, there were these passages:
[On the day the empire collapses, a great judgment will begin.]
[The righteous will ascend to heaven, while the wicked will fall into hell, and the world will be enveloped in eternal darkness.]
Since the words in the scriptures were always true, it was also true that judgment would begin when the empire fell.
But… the collapse of the empire was imminent!
Am I… going to be judged?!
Those who had led good lives simply shrugged and thought, “Ah, so it’s time for judgment,” because they believed they would go to heaven.
But those who had been tormenting others with malicious comments trembled with fear.
“Ah, hahahaha, who would believe in the Chonsin religion if there’s judgment? The popularity of heaven will plummet, hahahahaha,” they shouted, but really, what could they do?
Is this the fault of the heavens? No, it’s their own fault for behaving so poorly.
The evildoers were desperate.
Some timid villains quickly donated all their wealth to the church, begging for their sins to be forgiven.
But those villains who were already trapped in a dead end chose a different path…
“Since hell is inevitable anyway, why not just become vampires and be damned?”
Facing judgment and going to hell vs. lingering in a world ruined as vampires.
The wicked villains chose the latter.
They insulted the sacred sky with a large-scale human sacrifice and an evil heretical party.
They became vampires and were buried in the ground.
They decided to wait until the judgment was over and live as survivors of a ruined world.
The plan was perfect.
However, there was a fatal mistake that the offenders did not calculate…
Even after the fall of the Golden Empire, the world did not perish!
By now, the vampires who woke up from their slumber thought, “The world must have perished,” but they were still astonished to see a perfectly intact world.
What? The empire has fallen, so why!
The vampires, using their own rationality, successfully identified the cause.
The scriptures were not wrong. That’s the default.
If there is any mistake, it is the fault of humans who misinterpreted the scriptures.
The reason why the world did not perish was… the existence of the Divine Empire.
“Those damn priests!!!”
When the Golden Empire fell, the priests quickly created the Second Empire.
That is the current Divine Empire.
[In the scriptures, it only says ‘the fall of the empire,’ there is no mention of ‘which empire,’ right?]
The vampires trembled at the treachery of the priests.
The world had not yet perished, and the empire was still thriving (although its name had changed).
And the vampires… became crazy fools who insulted the heavens.
The vampires, who thought they had been dealt a heavy blow, became beings who harbored infinite hatred for the living humans, priests, and the Divine Empire.
It means they have become wicked monsters.
“If it had been awake for a long time, it would have attacked the territory sooner.”
“Well…”
“It must be one that recently woke up and is recovering its strength.”
Ian explained casually.
“Since it’s weak now, we should be able to easily capture it.”
Ian was calm, but Lord Damon and the snipers turned pale.
“T-That means it’s weakened…”
Several members of the territory and livestock were harmed without any means of defense.
But it seems it has become even stronger here.
The territories that are destroyed and disappear due to the monster’s invasion are not just one or two, but Lord Damon never dreamed that his own territory would be ruined like that.
“We need to capture it as quickly as possible.”
“That would be better, right?”
Lord Damon noticed that Ian was not interested in this matter.
But right now, they desperately need the help of a magician.
“C-Can’t you help?”
Ian chuckled.
He had already anticipated this situation to some extent when he decided to participate in this gathering.
Hunting monsters is a serious matter.
To think that they would even need the help of a magician when they would gladly borrow the hand of a single person!
“Ah, I suppose I can help.”
As Ian responded positively, the viscount clung to him like a leech.
It wasn’t a situation where pride mattered.
The territory was in ruins! What use was there for such petty pride!
How could this be a thriving territory!
“Please, help me!”
“I can help. But…”
Ian looked at the viscount and smirked.
“How many people do you plan to hire?”
“…Ah.”
From Noble mtl dot com
Being a medieval man himself, the viscount understood exactly what Ian was saying.
Wages.
He was asking for employment fees.
This place was not a welcoming one, where they would say, ‘Now is the time for your passion and volunteer spirit to shine~’ or anything like that.
When you move people, you pay them. That’s common sense in this world.
So Ian’s request was naturally justified. One could say he was already becoming a medieval man.
“How much are you asking for?”
The viscount asked, and Ian replied with a sneer.
“Just recently, I had to pay some taxes to a certain noble.”
“…”
“I don’t have any money right now… I need some urgent cash.”
It was an obvious lie.
Marquis, you collected taxes and now you don’t have any money! Take responsibility!
But Marquis Damon had nothing to say.
It was a fact that his pockets had become lighter after collecting tolls.
“Indeed… it’s a legitimate demand.”
The Marquis had no choice.
Marquis Damon accepted all of Ian’s demands.
Returning all the tolls collected and even deciding to provide some additional employment fees.
Of course, only to Ian and Belenka. And a few mercenaries.
Ian smiled as he pocketed the money.
Belenka confidently reached out her hand from the side.
“Hmm?”
“I hope you’ve set aside my share as well.”
“Don’t you need it to repay your debt?”
“What nonsense. How I use my money is my decision, isn’t it?”
“…”
It was a valid point.
Ian wasn’t some loan shark, and Belenka couldn’t just seize the money she earned. It was impossible and out of the question.
After dividing the money with Belenka (he smiled with happiness after a long time), Ian began the tactical meeting.
Now Ian also participates in vampire hunting.
“The easiest way is, of course, to attack during the day.”
Everyone nodded.
Because vampires are cursed beings, they cannot walk under the sun. In other words, they can only spend their time in cave-like places during the day.
If we attack at that time, the hunt will be easier.
The problem is, there is no way to find the vampires’ hiding place.
If everyone in the town searches diligently, we will find it within a month, but considering the damage and the cost, it wasn’t a particularly good solution.
And Ian and his team didn’t have time to waste.
“But since it’s impossible for various reasons, let’s use a different method.”
Secondly, we wait for the vampire’s attack and ambush them.
Ian had a plan in mind.
“Vampires attack from the darkness…”
“I will take care of the preparations. I’m an expert in guerrilla warfare.”
“Oh, I see. You’re trustworthy indeed. A magician.”
According to the report, the vampire seems to be skilled in shadow magic.
But Ian is not afraid of shadow magic either.
Do you have night vision? I do too!
If we catch the birds that are active at night and set up a perimeter, there won’t be any surprise attacks.
“And we need to distribute the personnel.”
Might as well distribute the night guards while we’re at it.
“Me and Belenka. The Talion mercenaries will form a group, and the Marquis can arrange his subordinates.”
“Understood. We’ll handle our side.”
At that moment, Kira raised her hand.
“I’ll stand alone.”
Both the Marquis and Ian were taken aback.
Stand guard alone at night? Without any backup?
“Isn’t it dangerous?”
Ian expressed concern for Kira.
Even if she’s a bit strange, leaving her to die is another problem altogether.
But Kira snorted.
“Hmph. Do you even know what kind of magic I have?”
Ian cocked his head.
“Isn’t it fire magic?”
“Well, well! It’s fire magic! But it’s hard to concentrate if there are people around!”
Ah, Ian understood right away.
“Are you afraid someone else might get burned?”
“…!”
“…!”
The Marquis’s subordinates gasped and distanced themselves from Kira.
No one wanted the glory of being engulfed in a magician’s flames and dying.
‘Talent is just like that.’
The less experienced a magician is, the worse they are at controlling magic.
Ian also knew well the mysteries of fire. Fire’s mystery was pyrokinesis, so it naturally enjoyed the act of manipulating fire.
If a magician loses even a little concentration, they will turn their surroundings into a sea of flames.
Well, since Ian looked about the same age as Kira, I could understand that he was still a novice.
“I agree. Let’s leave Kira alone.”
“Lord Marquis, in my opinion…”
“It’s better to leave Kira alone…”
No one was worried about Kira.
Just people who were nervous and fearful of fire magic.
“Ah, how heartless. Heartless.”
Unlike the ruthless followers of the Marquis, Ian decided to assign a new guard to Kira.
So that he could rush to help immediately if something happened.
“Okay. Then, from today, let the magicians also stand guard.”
That night, Ian and his group took up night watch duty.
Luckily, they encountered a vampire right away.
#
“Whew. I thought I was caught.”
Under the flickering torch.
Kira let out a sigh of relief.
Thanks to Ian’s push, she ended up being the only one on night patrol.
It was a tremendous opportunity for Kira.
Something she had been longing for so long…
Damn it all!
Kira’s acting had reached its limit.
What? Participate in a vampire hunt? Are they telling me to shoot fireworks at vampires or something?
Kira had always been someone who only saw an opportunity to run away from the start.
She hid herself until Ian and his group joined, but…
Now, she could have easily escaped!
“Fight vampires? Are you crazy?!”
I’m sorry to the magician named Ian.
But it’s you, the real magician, who has to catch the vampires!
Kira looked around once again.
Maybe it was because she had warned about the fire magic, but she didn’t see a single rat.
Of course, her escape plan was extremely dangerous. Going down the mountain alone at night, where vampires roam, is crazy.
But it’s equally terrifying to stay still and be exposed as a fake magician.
Above all, if she didn’t leave now, she couldn’t see any way to escape from the hands of the Count.
“We were a mess together, let’s never see each other again!”
As she sensed the right timing, Kira confidently held up the torch and threw herself into the darkness.
There was no one to see her, and the plan seemed perfect.
However…
Even though there were no people, there were birds.
“Huh?!”
Ian, who was on night watch while tending to the birds, was startled by an unexpected report.
Kira suddenly ran into the darkness alone?!
“Why would she do that?”
There is only one possibility.
“I think Kira found a vampire!”
She found a vampire by herself and started chasing after it!
Ian was in awe of Kira’s bold and fearless actions.
Wow…! To find a vampire and chase after it alone.
She’s incredibly brave!