478 – A Story from a Distant Place. A Discordant Alumni Association
Between the mountain range and the coast, a land covered in thick fog. If you go a little further down from there, the fog clears and a narrow plain appears.
The shadowless plain is not favored by vampires. Not having a place to hide from the sunlight is one reason, but there is an even more historical background.
The blessed Enga Plain. A land where milk and honey flow for humans, but became a wall of lamentation for vampires. The land where the sunlight shines on the ground, gentle breeze circulates, and nutrient-rich rivers flow became a place where countless vampires were sent to the ground as the blood of the land in battles.
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No matter how powerful and resilient they were, vampires, with many weaknesses, were just being tossed around in the battlefield where everything was poured out.
Flowing water, shining sun, and unbridgeable distances. It seems like they could be killed with just a touch, but they can’t be reached. Vampires who tried to catch them by force were condemned by the holy light’s blade.
The immortal vampires, carrying the pain of eternal defeat, retreated. It’s hard to feel fear for those who have been defeated. Vampires, whose weaknesses were exposed to the world, were eventually pushed back. To the sea of calamity at the end of the continent.
The foggy coastline was their paradise, but just as vampires cannot exist alone in the world, a foggy coastline alone cannot exist in the empire. A mountain range that runs ruggedly, a place where the river that found a gap escapes to the sea.
The eastern plains, facing the empire and its borders.
That place is where the most humans reside, and therefore, it harbors the most vampires. In the plains where sunlight penetrates well, the vampires of the Eastern Plains live in a classical way of life. So, they sleep during the day and only awaken at night to rule over humans.
However, the vast and fertile Eastern Plains evoke nightmares of the Engo Plains. Vampires beyond Aine’s stature do not seem to want to stay there.
There are many humans, but compared to that, high-ranking vampires are few. Especially those bordering on military and national boundaries. If they escape, they will undoubtedly pass through the Eastern Plains.
Both vampires and humans thought so.
“…Quite a challenging task.”
Erzébuth, who came under orders from the patriarch, licked her lips. No matter how dull vampires’ senses might be, it would take more than a few hundred humans and vampires to overcome and cross half the country.
It’s not just about good physical strength. She was extraordinarily talented. Creating fake traces to create confusion. Infiltrating among people by breaking through defenses. Surviving in forests and fields to find a way. If she wasn’t proficient in at least one of these many talents, she would have been caught long ago.
“Madam Erzébuth. I found them.”
Of course, even if she was skilled, it was only a matter of delaying them for a few days. Erzébuth, receiving the report, covered her mouth with a blood-red fan.
“But this is as far as it goes. If the destination is limited, pushing them in is easier than biting the wrist of a newborn. There’s nowhere to escape once they head towards the plains.”
Dogs are already ahead near the border. The patriarch’s concubine is not powerful enough to defeat the Elder and Aine unit and escape. What Erzébuth has to do, firmly established within the fence, is calmly herd the cattle.
Erzébuth muttered to herself as she finished the plan she had conceived in her mind.
“Report the concubine to the patriarch, seek forgiveness for the sins committed by the subordinate…”
Unintentionally muttering, Erzébuth closed her mouth without finishing her words.
Erzébuth has now escaped from the patriarch’s domination. Erzébuth found complete freedom with power.
In other words, the fear Erzébuth feels now is entirely her own.
The reason is simple. Erzébuth recalled the appearance of fear. The shadow of the patriarch created by the essence, combining the power, history, authority, and fear of the vampire’s patriarch.
Like a shadow guarding the patriarch, following like a child. Its power and cruelty surpassed the Elder.
Erzébuth could not attempt anything against that shadow. Although the shadow was a member of the Tirkanshaka family, it was a presence that surpassed any other vampire.
Primitive fear as a living being. The belief that no matter how hard you struggle, you cannot resist. The fear that Erzébuth had was like a mouse looking at a tiger. The ‘shadow’ was something beyond common sense, and the instinct that had worn away and disappeared was now crawling back, shouting at her.
“…What could it be…?”
Despite contemplating for quite a while, there was no answer. Erzebut headed towards the location where the concubine was last seen, carrying the unease of an unfamiliar realm.
In a vast meadow, a windmill stood alone. Unlike the gentle sea breeze blocked by mountains, the wind from the eastern plains swept through the field unhindered, gently sweeping everything in its path. The windmill was a bold creation of humans who even utilized the touch of nature as a workforce.
The concubine of the patriarch was inside that windmill. According to reports, upon realizing the presence of pursuers, she sighed heavily and casually entered the windmill to take a leisurely break.
Erzebut nodded.
“The so-called king of humans, was it? He seems to have had dignity in his former days. I appreciate that he doesn’t become trivial with unnecessary resistance.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I must pay my respects. If she is the concubine of the patriarch, she deserves to be honored without any shortcomings… No.”
While the patriarch might be unknown, the concubine of the patriarch is human. It wouldn’t be bad to display her well. Erzebut, who had committed a crime, decided to confront the concubine after dealing with Ain.
“The chamberlain will personally attend to her, so please step aside.”
“As you command, Madam Erzebut. I will withdraw now to report to the blood marshal.”
The blood marshal’s aide, Count Erte, bowed deeply and stepped back. There was not a single deviation from etiquette, but Erzebut found the blood marshal’s underling, Count Erte, somewhat uncomfortable. This was because, in reality, Erte was here not to oversee the great Elder Erzebut of the nation but to monitor her.
“Dare…”
However, Erzebut, who raised objections to the patriarch, found it difficult to speak loudly about it. Erzebut lowered her gaze and walked briskly towards the windmill.
Inside the windmill, the deliberate aura was still palpable. The concubine seemed to have no intention of escaping. Interpreting the silence as affirmation, Erzebut mobilized her vitality. The blood flowing on the floor seeped into the wood.
Erzebut, who dominated the door, opened it without a flicker of hesitation.
“I apologize for the intrusion. I will enter. As for the concubine…”
However, the scene inside the windmill was slightly different from Erzebut’s expectations.
There was a concubine. However, she was not alone. In front of him, a magician stood without a sound. Perhaps disturbed by something profound, the magician, who had been frowning, briefly glanced at the intruder and mumbled with a relaxed expression.
“I wasn’t the only one deceived by the impostor. Another fool has crawled in.”
Erzébutt was momentarily puzzled. According to Ain’s report, the only one who had entered the windmill was the concubine. But now, a magician was sitting in the windmill as if he were the owner.
Whether unaware of Erzébutt’s identity or not, the magician spoke with an arrogant attitude.
“I should be thankful that there are many fools in the world, or should I despair that I have become one of them? Ah, am I destined to be just a puppet in the hands of the right-handed king?”
Sighing, he seemed indifferent to Erzébutt. It seemed like Erzébutt was in a place where he had no idea of its location or whose safety it was.
Not recognizing the elder from the kingdom. Even if he was a high-nosed magician, it was too ignorant. Erzébutt decided to teach him a lesson, although the lesson would never be remembered.
“Scratch your head. You’re not needed here.”
Blood that had spread all around bloomed like flowers. Before the magician could react, the swirling blood plasma wrapped around him and exploded. Without even watching the red flesh falling, Erzébutt turned his gaze to the concubine.
“I apologize for showing you an unpleasant sight. I couldn’t just let an impudent human show disrespect in front of a concubine and a concubine.”
“Concubine? I don’t know what you’re talking about, but that guy is a fake imitating Huey’s appearance. He’s not the human you were looking for.”
The voice of the magician came from behind Erzébutt. Despite being presumably killed by the blood plasma, Erzébutt doubted his ears and looked at the place where the flower of blood had bloomed.
The magician was unharmed. Despite the blood plasma blooming and wrapping around his body as nourishment, not a single hair was harmed.
No, it hadn’t even touched him in the first place. The flower bud that rose, wrapping around to the right, seemed to be protecting him rather than attacking him. As if obedient to him.
The magician with red hair was completely relaxed, without a sense of danger.
“If Elda is looking for a doppelganger imitating someone else, I don’t know. That can’t be it. You are also a criminal like me. Well… I may be more talented than you.”
It wasn’t that he didn’t recognize Elda. He knew but chose to ignore it. Even if the magician had a high nose, he wasn’t foolish enough to easily give up his life.
In other words, the magician was confident that he could save his life from Erzébutt.
Erzébutt unfolded his tentacles. Although he blocked the blood plasma, it was just a casual greeting. Even if the magician was difficult, would he be more formidable than the undead vampire? Erzébutt reached out his arm towards the magician.
At that moment, the concubine stopped her.
“Do not attack.”
Erzebut held the landing craft and asked.
“Are you a friend?”
“We are acquainted… He may not know ‘me,’ though.”
“That means you’re not close.”
The paused landing craft moved gracefully. Along his fingertips, a massive bloodstream twisted like a serpent. Now that Sijo had escaped the shackles of blood, Erzebut, with the ability to control vitality alone, was the most powerful being in the world.
Erzebut, holding vitality that could fill the windmill, gazed at the sorcerer.
“In that case, it’s okay to kill him.”
After Erzebut swung the landing craft, blood overflowed. The power aimed at the sorcerer was too overwhelming for a single person.
The windmill swayed violently. Due to the gears turning just by the passage of the bloodstream, the windmill that should have turned with the wind instead generated wind.
The bloodstream, sweeping through pillars and gears, enveloped the sorcerer and swept him away. Blood circled around the sorcerer as if it had turned into a snake, overwhelming him.
A waterfall whirled around, grinding a single figure. If the goal was destruction, it would have been more than enough.
“…Hm?”
However, the sorcerer was still unharmed.
The bloodstream still whirled powerfully. The strength remained the same. However, it never touched the sorcerer.
As if invisible power was enveloping the sorcerer. Erzebut understood what the sorcerer’s power was.
“Unique magic… I see, there was a corner of belief.”
The sorcerer, completing his ideology, obtained unique magic. The power to enforce his own laws on the world. Although unique magic generally meant blocking external attacks, the ways to overcome it varied. Erzebut, with the intention of filling the windmill, raised his vitality.
At that moment, Erzebut’s wife intervened.
“Stop. Madame Erzebut. Attacking him is meaningless. In his unique magic, all attacks miss and hit the wrong places.”
Remembering the existence of the spy, Erzebut quickly withdrew her power.
Even now, the windmill is on the verge of breaking, and if she exerts more power, the spy will also be caught. If she even inflicted a wound on the spy, Erzebut would become a meal for that ‘shadow’.
“…But even if it’s his unique magic, it’s not a simple barrier.”
However, apart from that, Erzebut felt a strange uneasiness. Rather than something blocking her vitality, she felt a sense of endless emptiness that she would never be able to reach.
It’s different. It’s not a kind of power or attack, but it seems that the very existence of space is different. Erzebut looked at the red-haired magician with a sense of irritation.
“I can’t harm the spy. But if you ask if the spy can penetrate that unique magic and harm him… It would be difficult in the short term. Where did such an existence appear? And in a place where the spy of the ancestral line is?”
The person who could answer that question was right nearby. Erzebut asked the spy.
“You have a strange presence by your side. Spy, who is that person who came to see you?”
Hilde, disguised as Hughes, was not the spy that Erzebut was looking for. But having spent time in the military country, she could reveal the identity of the red-haired magician. Hilde reminisced about the magician who had thrown her country into chaos.
“The hope of the military country. The brightest comet that rose above all. But… eventually became the worst criminal who fell to the ground.”
A few years ago, three talented individuals appeared in Hameln who would become the hope of the military country. Not remnants of the kingdom, nor the maid of the saint, but pure military power. When these individuals, who seemed to prophesy the brilliant future of the military country, were born, everyone paid attention to them.
‘It’ was him. The most attention-grabbing person in Hameln.
The weakling with only his head in the clouds was not needed by the military country, and the girl with exceptional martial arts was quietly common. But the magical genius born in the wasteland was powerful and valuable, and had the power to change the history of the military country.
This person was expected more than anyone else. In the military country without mysteries, he mastered ceremonial magic to the extreme and pioneered his own unique magic. A repeated mystery.
But because his talent was too great, it became poison, and he eventually betrayed the military country and left, becoming the worst criminal.
“The fallen comet, Lieutenant Rankart. Once my classmate and friend… he’s a magician.”