Chapter 18《Madness》 – (2)
(I)
Transmission Orb.
That object, which resembled a massive orb, is hailed as one of humanity’s greatest inventions, alongside the Teleportation Herb. The history of magical engineering could be divided into the era before and after the invention of the Transmission Orb.
…When an individual infused their magic into the Transmission Orb, it utilized that magic to connect with another orb located far away.
This allowed people to communicate with others in real time, no matter how far apart they were.
Of course, the amount of magic consumed with each use wasn’t small, so it couldn’t be used for extended periods, but the fact that something had been created to replace letters or messenger pigeons was revolutionary.
“Why haven’t we heard from them…?”
…And now, Karseron, the young lord of Ermaile, sat in his chambers, anxiously watching such a Transmission Orb.
Sweat beaded on his forehead, and a gnawing anxiety gripped his chest.
“Surely nothing has gone wrong, right?”
He was waiting for news from the extermination squad, led by Barbas, who had set out to eliminate the Progenitor Vampire. It had been over 12 hours since their last communication, and there was still no response from the Transmission Orb.
Even when he tried to initiate contact, nothing came back.
“Barbas, you said you’d defeat them and contact me without fail…”
Barbas, the veteran mercenary leading the squad, had confidently assured him that he would slay the vampire and report back. Yet as time dragged on without any word, Karseron became increasingly agitated.
“The battle must be fierce. Just relax.”
Karseron’s childhood friend, Derin, a former member of the now-disbanded Red Moon Extermination Squad, tried to reassure him.
“Depending on the monster’s rank, it can sometimes take up to three days to complete a hunt. Let’s wait a little longer.”
Hunts could sometimes stretch to three days, depending on the rank of the monster. This time, they were dealing with the legendary vampire, so it wouldn’t be strange if it took even longer.
“…Alright.”
Karseron reluctantly agreed to Derin’s words. His agreement was less due to her reasoning and more due to the confidence he had in the squad he had put together at great expense—offering each member 20 gold coins.
It was an unprecedentedly powerful extermination squad, composed of 90 top-tier adventurers, including clerics, and 100 veteran mercenaries. And leading them was Barbas, a former knight of the empire and a veteran among veterans. Somehow, they were going to finish what their ancestors couldn’t.
-“My Lord! Disaster has struck!”
“Huh?”
…But just as Karseron’s faith was beginning to falter, a frantic voice called out from outside his chamber.
-“A critical report! Please, open the door!”
Bang, bang, bang.
Whoever it was, they not only yelled but also had the audacity to bang loudly on the lord’s door in their urgency.
“…Let them in.”
With a nod from Karseron, his secretary opened the door. A soldier clad in armor burst in, drenched in sweat. His chest heaved from labored breathing, suggesting he had run a long way.
“What, what’s the matter?”
Sensing something dire, Karseron shifted nervously in his seat as he questioned the soldier. Derin, sitting beside him, also tensed up, her expression serious.
…The news they heard was the worst possible.
-“A, a monster that appears to be the Progenitor Vampire has infiltrated the territory.”
“Whhaaaaat?!”
Karseron leaped up, shrieking like an ancient dragon. Grabbing the soldier by the shoulders, he demanded answers.
“What do you mean the Progenitor Vampire has entered our territory?! Are you sure of what you saw?”
-“I, I’m not sure, but…”
The soldier averted his gaze, clearly terrified in front of Ermaile’s highest authority. His voice trembled as he continued.
-“…A young vampire girl with gray hair. She perfectly matches the description of the Progenitor Vampire you spoke of.”
“Gray hair…”
-“Additionally, dozens of adventurers and soldiers have already fallen by her hand. Given her overwhelming power, it can only be the Progenitor Vampire.”
“My head… it’s spinning…”
Karseron collapsed back into his seat, suddenly dizzy. Beside him, Derin stood frozen, her entire body stiff with fear. She muttered almost like a child.
“It’s her. It must be… the Progenitor Vampire…”
Derin’s intuition told her so. A vampire with gray hair. A legendary creature that could kill people instantly without even casting a spell. A being so powerful that the word “overwhelming” hardly seemed adequate. The vampire that had invaded the city was undoubtedly the Progenitor Vampire.
“What about Barbas? What happened to Barbas…?”
Karseron mumbled to himself, staring off into space.
If the vampire that was supposed to be safely hunted within the Labyrinth’s Deepest Chamber had appeared here, could it mean that Barbas had failed? Could his mighty squad of 190 warriors, a force rivaling that of a small army, have been defeated?
Was that why the Transmission Orb had gone silent?
“…Ha… haha…”
A bitter laugh escaped his lips. He couldn’t believe it. How could the vampire be so powerful that it had decimated the Red Moon and now Barbas’ Extermination Squad?
“Is she now slaughtering everyone for fun?”
Karseron asked the soldier in a grim voice. His mind was already conjuring images of his domain in flames, undead rampaging through the streets, and mountains of corpses.
But the soldier shook his head.
-“N-no. She isn’t indiscriminately killing people for no reason. It seems as if she has a specific goal.”
“A goal?”
-“Yes. The Progenitor Vampire and her two undead servants, three in total, entered the city. They’ve split into two groups and are acting separately.”
“They’ve split up?”
Karseron’s eyes widened in surprise. If she had gone on a killing spree, it would have been easier to guess her intentions.
But the fact that she had divided her group and was taking different actions—he couldn’t fathom what she was after.
…The soldier continued his report.
-“However, their destination is clear.”
“Destination?”
-“Yes. The Progenitor Vampire and a maid, who appears to be undead, are heading towards the Public Library, while a butler-like undead has taken control of the Teleportation Herb.”
“The Herb!!”
Karseron’s face turned deathly pale. Upon hearing that the vampire had seized the Teleportation Herb, he immediately realized what she might be planning.
‘Is she planning to head to the Royal Capital?!’
…Was she not intending to unleash her wrath here in Ermaile, but rather, in the densely populated Royal Capital?
Was she aiming to use the Herb to bypass the long journey on foot and strike directly at the heart of the kingdom?
Even if her target wasn’t the Royal Capital, the fact that the Progenitor Vampire had seized the Teleportation Herb was an emergency. With that Herb, the worst disaster could appear anywhere within the kingdom.
“…We must stop her.”
Karseron stood up, his eyes filled with determination. He didn’t know if he could fight her directly, but if necessary, he would destroy the Herb itself to prevent her from using it.
…According to the soldier’s report, fortunately, the Progenitor Vampire herself seemed to be heading towards the Library, not the Herb.
This meant that only the undead butler was currently guarding the Herb, and a smaller force should be sufficient to retake it.
Karseron gave his orders to the soldier.
“Split the troops. I, along with Ermaile’s regular army, will head to the Public Library to delay the vampire as long as possible. In the meantime, send adventurers inside the city to retake the Herb from the butler and destroy it.”
He had no idea what they were searching for in the Library, but if the Progenitor Vampire returned during the battle to retake the Herb, things would become catastrophic.
Thus, Karseron would risk his life to buy time against her, while the adventurers dealt with the butler.
They would need a leader to command the adventurers too.
“Good.”
After a moment of contemplation, Karseron extended his finger and pointed to Derin sitting next to him.
“Derin.”
“Y-yes?”
“You will be responsible for leading the adventurers, defeating the butler, and reclaiming the herbs.”
“…What?”
Derin’s expression hardened at her childhood friend’s sudden promotion to leader.
‘What the hell is this crazy talk?’
Having already tasted the strength of the vampire firsthand, Derin had no desire to get entangled with vampires or anything related to them. She was actually trying to find the right moment to dissuade Karseron from recklessly confronting the vampire, only for him to suddenly appoint her as the leader of the adventurers, which felt to her like being sent on a suicide mission.
She waved her hands in refusal, rejecting Karseron’s request.
“I-I can’t do it. I’m not cut out for that, and I’m still exhausted…”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“What?”
But Karseron swiftly cut off her refusal. He hastily prepared to leave the room with his soldiers, leaving Derin with a final remark.
“I’m entrusting this to you because I trust you. The choice is yours.”
“Then I will just… do it differently…”
“However, if you refuse this offer, the responsibility for losing the herbs and allowing the vampires to take over the kingdom will fall entirely on you.”
“What? Why is it my fault…?”
“Because, as an S-rank adventurer of ‘Ermaile,’ you will be evading the lord’s command. Know that you are the only one suitable for this task. Please, my friend.”
…
Karseron threw on his armor in a hurry, leaving behind his earnest plea and rushing out of his room. Now, only Derin remained in the vast lord’s chamber.
“…Damn it.”
She sighed.
****************
—There! It’s the progenitor vampire!
—Do whatever it takes to stop them!
“…Get out of the way.”
Like a moth diving into a flame, each step I took saw soldiers rushing at me. Every time, I swung my hand and cut off their necks in one strike.
—Gah!
—Ugh!
On the way to the library, dozens of soldiers and adventurers attacked intermittently, but they all fell in heaps, leaving only their groans behind.
I looked down disdainfully at their corpses.
“Why…?”
Even after witnessing their comrades fall in vain, why did they keep attacking? They could have saved their lives by simply stepping aside, but I couldn’t understand their beliefs or sense of justice.
Or perhaps this city was so precious that they were willing to sacrifice their lives so easily?
“Master! We’re at the library!”
“Yes.”
After cutting down countless enemies and walking and walking, we finally arrived at the city’s central library. Now, we only needed to carefully investigate the information in the library and then use the Teleportation Herb to head to the royal capital.
“Let’s go inside quickly. We have a lot to find.”
“Yes! I’ll help as much as I can!”
Tina and I walked towards the entrance of the library. However, the four shadows that had already been cast there showed no intention of letting us pass easily.
—Wow, it’s really a vampire?
—Ashen hair? Is it really the progenitor vampire?
“….”
Looking up at the unfamiliar voices, I saw four men and women who had somehow blocked the entrance of the library. They were all clad in intimidating armor, not appearing friendly at all.
—We came here for missionary work, and what a windfall this is? If we capture you, ‘Saint Marina’ will be pleased!
—It seemed like they were heading for the library, and it’s true.
“Who are they…?”
I scrutinized the four figures wearing armor that was different from ordinary adventurers or soldiers.
All four were covered in pure white armor, with a rose-shaped symbol entwined with the sun on their chestplates, representing the deity ‘Asteria.’
They also wore necklaces or earrings with the same symbol.
“How can the design be the same even after a thousand years…?”
The familiar armor design.
They were none other than the holy knights of the religious state ‘Serion.’
…They aimed their weapons at me and shouted.
—Stop right there, vampire.
—We are the holy knights of Serion’s ‘Blessed Knights.’ Your rampage ends here.
The knights, identifying themselves, looked down on me with confident smiles. Some even mocked me.
—We are S-rank knights blessed directly by ‘Asteria.’
—Even if you are the progenitor vampire from a thousand years ago, you cannot defeat us, the best knights.
—If you surrender now, we will take you as a prisoner.
“…You talk too much.”
I sighed at their constant ignorance. I shot back sharply.
“Get lost.”
—…You damned monster, if you don’t want to go to hell, it’s best not to use insults against us, the priestesses of ‘Asteria.’
—Vampire, you’re mistaken if you think we’ll spare you just because you seem close to a human.
Whatever this ‘blessing from the goddess’ was, it seemed to make them confidently boast. In this millennium, it appeared to be a special blessing not given to just anyone.
Although I wanted to test what it was, I didn’t have the luxury of time.
—If you don’t immediately surrender, we will…
—Kyaaa!!
“Just shut up and get lost.”
I extended my hand, clenched my fist, and burst the head of one of the knights who had been spewing nonsense. The brains and blood that splattered from his head stained the white armor of the nearby knights red.
—B-Benjamin…?
—His head, it just vanished…?
The other knights looked down in shock at their comrade’s headless corpse. Their gaze soon shifted from the corpse to me.
—Could it be…?
—Did you just use a spell to kill from a distance? Without a chant?
“….”
While NPCs need to chant for magic, players’ skills don’t require chanting. Which foolish game developer would make it necessary to input chants via the keyboard?
Although there was a minor requirement to mutter the spell’s name, players still had a significant advantage over NPCs.
—This cursed monster, how dare you…!
In that moment, one of the knights, unable to control his rage, raised his sword high and charged at me.
—Prepare yourself!!
His silver-coated sword gleamed in the moonlight. As they claimed, his demeanor suggested he could split anything, especially a monster, with ease.
“…Human, know your place.”
—Kyaah…!!
…However, before his blade could even reach me, his head was cleanly severed by Tina’s greatsword. The head of the orange-haired man rolled on the ground.
—Huh…?
—Donovan…?
The remaining knights’ expressions stiffened.
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