Chapter 101
Chapter 101
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 101
Chapter Title: Van Helsing (2)
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A hefty sensation met my hand as I lifted the hammer from the box.
It wasn’t a long-handled hammer, but more like Thor's hammer from the movies. No, maybe Thrall's Doomhammer?
“The core is dragon bone, the exterior is Eternelle alloy.”
“Is it possible to overlay them?”
“If it were impossible, that weapon wouldn't be here. Just know I worked day and night to make that one thing.”
“Thank you. It's truly incredible.”
“Hmph, of course it’s incredible. It's a matter of pride. Just how many weapons have been shattered in your hands?”
I liked this heft. With my strength, a lighter weapon just didn’t feel right, I suppose.
Besides, the heavier it was, the easier it was to deal a greater blow to the enemy.
*Whoosh-*
Just a light swing sent a heavy sound tearing through the air, ringing in my ears.
“It's a masterpiece, no doubt. With this, I can finally face my ancestors.”
“A masterpiece like this would make your ancestors curious. It possesses an incredible quality that ‘masterpiece’ alone can't describe.”
For a dwarf, a masterpiece was not something easily created. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, or perhaps not even that.
And only when they had forged such a masterpiece would dwarves proudly call themselves master craftsmen.
Despite his grumbling, the corners of Dwalin’s mouth were turned up, proving the point.
“It really won't break easily. If even that shatters… just give up. It'd be better to carry a hundred hammers and just swap them out whenever one breaks.”
He had a point. It was made of dragon bone and Eternelle alloy, after all. I couldn’t imagine it breaking so easily.
Hadn’t I barely managed to crack a vault door made of this alloy with my spiritual power?
“And since it’s dragon bone, it seems to… with your energy…”
At his words, I infused a slight amount of spiritual power into it.
“Whoa…! What’s happening!”
It was just a slight amount. Literally just enough to envelop the weapon.
However, the new hammer amplified my spiritual power, drawing it out in streams and completely wrecking Dwalin’s workshop.
“You… crazy bastard! I told you the dragon bone amplifies your energy! Get out now!”
“Aargh-! Thank youuu-! I’ll be sure to keep my promise!”
I shoved all the items Dwalin had prepared into my inventory and fled the workshop as if I’d been thrown out.
He had truly forged an unbelievable weapon. Given the level of amplification I just witnessed, it would undoubtedly be a great help on this mission.
“Dwalin created one hell of a weapon.”
As if in agreement, the hammer hummed faintly.
“I’ll be in your care from now on.”
My next destination was a facility within the inner castle, currently under repair, which had been designated as the most important and was absurdly secure.
No, to be precise, it was a place that had become secure because of a certain item.
“You’ve arrived?”
“Yes.”
When I got there, Mike Hoare was already pacing, and he greeted me. He had the excited expression of a child waiting for Christmas presents.
The inside was decorated like a library. Mike Hoare, who had proudly emerged victorious from his war of words with Krain Rzhev, had gloated by telling him to come visit if he wanted to see it.
Krain Rzhev had ground his teeth, looking as if he would march over at any moment.
“Put them out here. Carefully.”
I poured out the Prometheus documents from my inventory onto the space Mike Hoare had carefully prepared.
They poured out endlessly. After all, it was enough to fill that massive underground vault.
“Good, very good.”
Mike Hoare read through the documents I’d laid out and nodded with a satisfied expression. They were undoubtedly authentic. The Emperor’s seal, his signature, everything.
“Organize them carefully. Not a single page can be lost.”
Several members who were on standby began to neatly stack the documents. It would be impossible to sort them immediately, but they could at least organize them before cataloging them slowly.
“You’ve worked hard. Without these documents, we wouldn't have been able to prove Sir Prometheus’s existence after we finish off those bastards.”
Proof of existence.
I often wondered what Prometheus meant to these people that they were so fixated on him.
Yes, perhaps they felt that the ideas, actions, and ways of thinking from Earth that I had introduced here were something radical.
Of course, that was why I had chosen the alias Prometheus in the first place. But to actually become that figure was another feeling entirely.
“I’m glad I could be of help.”
On my way out for the mission, Mike Hoare handed me a communication device he had taken from his pocket.
“Keep this with you. You shouldn't lose contact under normal circumstances. Even if communication is jammed, you can still send short messages.”
It was probably an improved model. We had suffered quite a bit from communication jamming during the last mission in the Southern Shadow Mountains.
“Thank you.”
“You’re the one doing the hard work. You and Sir Prometheus are similar, yet different.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? If we’re similar, we’re similar. If we’re different, we’re different.”
“Your personalities are similar, but your looks are different, you see.”
Mike Hoare chuckled and patted me on the shoulder.
“Black hair, black eyes, and a build that’s anything but large.”
Right, to the people of this fantasy world, who were closer to Westerners, my appearance might seem unimpressive.
“But you have an even greater—a massive presence, confidence, and mind. Ah, of course, you’re much more handsome.”
I sometimes wondered if it was right to drag these people into my personal revenge, just because we shared a desire for vengeance against the same enemies of Prometheus.
“Vengeance for Sir Prometheus. It's not your burden alone. It belongs to everyone who was with him. At least, that’s what I and many others I know believe.”
As if he had read my mind, Mike Hoare’s words made me scratch my head.
“At my age, there are things you just come to see naturally.”
Right, Mike Hoare was about twenty years older than me. I guess this was the power of experience.
“I understand what you mean.”
“That’s all that matters. Good luck on your mission. Even if there’s no boisterous event like in the past. This is as far as I go.”
“It’s already plenty boisterous, though.”
On my way out of the castle, just as Mike Hoare had said, there was no grand ceremony.
However, the people I knew—Seamus, Niceta, Reinhardt, even Peri Batoni and Glen Pendley—were all loitering near the castle walls as if they were slacking off. Our eyes met.
They gave me a slight nod, as if to say, “Be safe.”
***
For the first time in a long while, I threw off my mask and revealed my original face.
A face like Leonardo DiCaprio in his prime. I pressed a fedora onto my head and tied a bandana loosely around my neck, ready to cover my face at any moment.
A leather vest and coat, with various weapons hidden inside. A giant hammer and a crossbow were strapped crosswise on my back.
The time had come to reveal my face.
Until now, I had reasons to hide it, but not anymore. War was just around the corner, and the name Kratos was already as famous as it could get.
In that case, I shouldn't hide; I should reveal myself even more. To make myself the target.
“Hattie.”
On my way to Lubeck, I connected a call to Hattie Shaw.
- What is it?
“I need to ask a favor.”
- Is it related to the mission?
Hattie Shaw, with her quick wits, seemed to have guessed what kind of favor I would ask and remained silent for a moment.
- You can talk now. I’ve cleared the area.
“I need you to spread a rumor for me.”
By the time the character of Van Helsing began his activities, his name needed to be somewhat known across the continent.
That way, when Van Helsing actually started his work, people wouldn't think, "Who is that?" but rather, "So that's Van Helsing! He was real!"
“Exaggerate it as much as possible. I want you to spread it with the image of a demon hunter.”
- A rumor, you say. That’s easy enough. You want it done as quietly as possible, right?
“Of course.”
Talking with Hattie Shaw was always easy. We were on the same wavelength.
“Why are the Empire bastards so desperate to open the ruins?”
I pondered it, but I couldn't find a suitable reason. However, the reason didn't matter. They didn't know the method, but they needed to open the ruins.
And I knew the method. I could use that to lure them in. Something I couldn't do when I first came to this world because I lacked power.
I was going to do it now. Wreak havoc. Proper havoc.
Of the ten ruins, seven currently remained.
The map I had seen in the first ruin appeared in my mind, and I retraced the locations of the remaining seven.
“And the place that will create the most dramatic effect is…”
It was that place. A place moderately distant from the capital, yet one that drew the most attention.
Lubeck.
The eternally suffering Lubeck.
***
Rumors, by nature, had no basis or truth. They just spread silently among people at some point.
And the hottest news these days was about a demon hunter.
“Hey, did you hear the news? About the demon hunter?”
“I heard. They say he kills anyone and everyone related to demons. Some rumors say he impales their heads on pikes and hangs them up.”
“What I heard is that he drives a stake through their hearts. Or that he shoves a strange-shaped weapon into them. You know, something that looks like two sticks crossed.”
A being that had appeared out of nowhere. The rumor was that he killed anyone associated with demons without question.
“Still, as long as you're not involved with demons, there's no need to worry, right?”
“It just makes me uneasy. I’m worried about getting caught in the crossfire.”
“Things are already so chaotic these days. I wonder what’s going to happen.”
People were curious and, at the same time, anxious.
Of course, that was the perspective of the common folk. Those with connections sighed.
“Could it be the Holy Kingdom?”
“I heard the Holy Kingdom officially stated they have no connection to any demon hunter.”
“Really? It doesn't seem like the Raelian Church either.”
They didn't think he could easily kill nobles like themselves, but with the political climate being what it was, it was a concern.
Publicly, the only ones on the continent associated with demons were black mages, weren't they?
Kratos, listening from a distance, smiled quietly.
Getting into Lubeck hadn't been easy, but he had managed it one way or another.
In the end, a mercenary plaque and money could solve most problems. Though he had been warned not to cause any trouble.
“Hmm. The rumor has spread well.”
Nodding at the better-than-expected spread of the rumor, he took a swig of beer.
Hattie Shaw and the other mercenaries had done their jobs perfectly. He hadn't killed anyone on his way here.
He had merely set the stage, allowing people to become aware of the demon hunter's existence.
In a situation like this, the moment people witnessed a death bearing my signature, they would think.
No, they would suspect. Was that dead person really involved with demons? Could it be true? But he was killed with a stake, wasn't he?
Doubt would seep through the populace, and the rumor would travel among them without feet.
No matter how the Empire tried to control and minimize the rumor, the more forcefully they responded, the faster it would surely spread.
They would think the Empire was trying to control it because it had something to hide.
And isn't there a famous saying? A rumor without feet travels a thousand leagues.
I will continue to shake the Empire, again and again. To make their attention focus solely on me.
So that the Northern Alliance can, for a brief time, escape the Empire's gaze and focus on building its strength.
“Well then, I should get started right away.”
I pulled the bandana up to the tip of my nose. I adjusted my fedora, put away all other weapons, and gripped a stake in each hand.
The aftermath of the Lubeck bank robbery had not yet been fully resolved. Therefore, many nobles or their representatives were still staying in Lubeck.
“Hmm. Here too?”
And when I scanned the area with my radar to find the one with the strongest demonic energy.
My eyebrows twitched naturally. A presence of the Seven Deadly Sins, larger than ever before, could be felt from the heart of Lubeck.
“They must have been desperate.”
Having lost the Demonic Realm, their stable source of demonic energy, and with the Southern Shadow Mountains crushed by Mike Hoare, they had no choice but to be.
Slipping through the dark night, hidden in the shadows, I arrived at the source of the immense energy of the Seven Deadly Sins and saw it.
It was a giant statue of that bastard Emperor, the one who proclaimed himself a god.
And it was located in the middle of a temple where countless Raelian Church followers offered their prayers.
“Stable. Very stable.”
They had secured an incredibly stable source of supply. It would absorb all the demonic energy of the Seven Deadly Sins through the people's prayers.
And it was the perfect stage to announce the arrival of Van Helsing.