Chapter 104
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 104
Chapter Title: Hide-and-Seek (1)
Rumors that Van Helsing had thoroughly played the Empire for a fool spread like wildfire across the entire continent.
While the matter of Meion Decker could have been covered up one way or another, the subsequent death of Lord Emil Arnaud made the rumors impossible to contain.
He hadn't simply died; he was found impaled by a stake on a spire of the lord's castle, amidst a storm of demonic energy that had erupted from within.
Moreover, that storm of demonic energy was purified by a gray light, a sight that made people drop to their knees and pray to God on the spot.
Purifying demonic energy was an act so sacred it was beyond words, something an ordinary person could hardly even conceive of.
Thanks to this, the incident began to spread far and wide on the lips of merchants and mercenaries.
Van Helsing was real. He only killed people associated with demons. He drove stakes through their hearts and crushed their heads with a hammer.
And the most important rumor of all.
Seeing him purify demonic energy, Van Helsing must truly be a messenger of God.
Demons had infiltrated the Empire, and Meion Decker and Emil Arnaud were the proof.
That was the immense impact of the events in Lubeck.
At the same time, it firmly imprinted the name Van Helsing onto the continent, just as planned.
“Still, the part about crushing their heads is a bit much…”
- “Think about your actions. You killed two people, and you smashed both their heads with a hammer. What do you mean, ‘a bit much’? My informant out there said everyone thinks they’d be in big trouble if they got on your bad side.”
“Well, that’s true. But it’s the cleanest way. Those tainted by demonic energy will thrash about for a while even after their hearts are pierced.”
It was nothing more than the residual demonic energy struggling to take over the body, but still.
While rumors were rampant that Van Helsing, who had laid waste to the Lubeck region, was heading for the Ashar Desert, he was, in fact, heading south.
Of course, he could go to Ashar. There was more than enough reason to. He had many debts to repay there as well.
However, that debt was not for Van Helsing or Kratos to repay, but for the White Mercenary Corps.
Everyone was eagerly awaiting that day.
- “Anyway, just as you said, the Empire is moving frantically. It’s absolute chaos.”
“As I thought. The Empire can’t just ignore this. If they let it slide, the nobles’ dissatisfaction will reach its peak.”
- “Adding to the Lubeck Central Bank incident, of course.”
“Exactly. They’ll think different people are behind it all, and that’s how they’ll sink deeper and deeper into the mire.”
The character of Van Helsing. Of course, part of it was to divert attention from the Northern Alliance, but it was also the bait cast for the Empire.
The bait of temptation, making them desperate to know why he was targeting the ruins and to learn the Empire’s internal secrets.
The Empire could never ignore this temptation.
- “Good heavens… where did you even begin to think this up? I’m the only one who knows about this, right?”
“That’s right. The others were only told it was to divert attention and wear down the Empire’s forces.”
- “To pull a stunt like this against the great Empire… you must be the only person in the world. I don’t know whether to call you brave or something else.”
What I needed most right now was information on the Empire’s movements, which was why I was speaking most frequently with Hattie Shaw, who was in the capital and knew Van Helsing’s true identity.
“It’s fun, isn’t it? Like a game of hide-and-seek.”
- “Sure, it’s fun. I’m about to die from the stress.”
“Well, I’m counting on you.”
- “I’m gaining a lot from this, too. Honestly, how do you know all this? It’s like you have the Empire’s entire system mapped out.”
“There are some things that don’t change, even after ten years.”
What I was gaining from this one character, Van Helsing, was significant.
Thanks to him, in the process of spreading information, Hattie Shaw was able to identify the Central Intelligence Bureau’s information routes, their bases, and even the hidden agents in those areas, just as Kratos had said.
And it didn’t stop there. She was even able to gauge the Bureau’s capabilities, such as how quickly they could verify the authenticity of information.
In a situation preparing for war, was there any information more valuable?
It was a life-or-death game of hide-and-seek, played by someone who seemed to know the entire inner workings of the Empire.
- “What in the world did Prometheus teach you?”
“Who knows. Everything?”
Well, it wasn’t wrong. They didn’t know it, but it was literally everything.
“At this point, it seems like all eyes are definitely on me, right?”
- “You don’t have to ask. They raised the bounty to a million gold in a single day.”
“That’s good. Still a long way to number one, though.”
- “I have no idea what you plan to do to hit a ten-million-gold bounty.”
“There’s plenty to do. Plenty indeed.”
- “At this rate, I don’t know whether to feel sorry for the Empire or what.”
There were many, many ways to truly drive the Empire mad. I knew exactly what they were interested in.
The rumor I was about to spread was one such thing. I didn't know the exact reason, but it was something the Empire had recently become insanely interested in.
“Please spread a rumor. That Van Helsing is opening the Heracles ruins scattered across the continent. And that his next destination is the ruin in the south.”
I had to tease them, slowly drive them to the edge.
- “Heracles? You mean those ruins the Empire covets? I’ve heard the rumors, but I was told no one can open those doors.”
“Well, there is a way to open them. Not that the Empire will get anything from inside. They’ll probably react even more sensitively because the door to the southern mountain range ruin was opened recently.”
Perhaps. Hadn’t they seen it a couple of times already? For anyone not of the Heracles clan, the only thing to be gained from those ruins was a world shrouded in darkness. A world of darkness from which they might never escape.
- “Those Empire bastards picked the wrong fight. Of all people, they had to run into you.”
“What can you do? That’s their fate.”
- “Don’t worry about the rumor. I’ll make sure it gets out properly.”
The Empire’s lackeys would surely be startled. It would be even better if the bounty went up as a bonus.
***
After riding for several days from Lubeck, I finally reached the ruin marked on the map.
It was inside a massive cave located in the mountains. This time, the cave itself was the entrance to the enormous ruin.
Looking at the Heracles ruins raised more than a few questions.
The way they conveyed information wasn’t ordinary. It was a kind of system, wasn’t it? The way information was transmitted as if stored in the brain, or even this stat window.
I had many questions, but since I was the only Heracles left, I couldn’t ask if this was normal or if it was just me.
And what did the Empire intend to do by opening the ruins of such a species?
“The Empire definitely knows these are ruins of the Heracles clan.”
They definitely knew. There was no way they couldn’t. The only question was what they were looking for here.
They wouldn’t be digging up the ruins of the Heracles clan for no reason. Of all the countless ruins on this continent, why did it have to be those of the Heracles clan?
And they weren’t just putting effort into excavating the ruins; they were obsessed.
The fact that they had found the Dragon Bone was proof enough. It must have been one of many things they discovered in the Demonic Realm. They were clearly after something.
“A reason why it has to be the ruins of the Heracles clan.”
Something was tickling at the edge of my mind, a tail I could almost grasp but not quite.
I needed to expand my thinking. I was dealing with a madman who called himself a god. Simple thinking wouldn’t yield an answer.
The Heracles clan. And the Emperor, who called himself a god.
“The traits of the Venatio species. Heracles, strength, life force… and God, the system.”
I stood before the massive ruin door, lost in thought for several long minutes.
“God. The Emperor. Ultimately, the excavation of the ruins is proceeding according to the Emperor’s will. So then, why does the Emperor need that power… huh?”
Suddenly, something clicked.
“Why does he need that power… need that power?”
My train of thought began to expand, branching into areas I hadn’t considered before, one thought leading to another.
The Emperor claimed to have become a god, but he had yet to perform any miracles.
The position of Emperor was supreme, second to none, but a god was something else entirely, wasn’t it?
“Don’t tell me…”
Furthermore, his public activities had drastically decreased. If he were a living god, wouldn’t more public appearances be beneficial?
“Is he not yet complete?”
He called himself a god but hadn’t been able to prove his divinity. The people simply believed and feared him because their Emperor said so.
That was a significant difference.
What if the vessel of his godhood was not yet perfect? What if he wasn’t avoiding public appearances, but ‘couldn’t’ make them?
What if he was trying to perfect that vessel?
The pieces were starting to fit. If he believed the Heracles clan held the key to completing his physical form.
That might be why he desired those ruins so desperately.
“I might be able to land a bigger catch than I thought.”
At the same time, I would be able to interfere with their plans.
“The fourth ruin, is it…”
Then, I placed my hand on the massive wall before me.
***
“That man, Van Helsing, is opening the ruin’s door?”
“According to the report, he was heading for the southern ruin, so I’ve sent men there. They will connect the communication device upon arrival.”
Ludwig Brandt tapped nervously on the armrest of his chair.
The White Mercenary Corps and Van Helsing.
Two entities had appeared, capable of opening the ruin doors that had remained sealed for years. And so suddenly.
As if they had been waiting.
“Connection established.”
However, the problem was that even if it was a trap set by someone, the Empire had no choice but to spring it.
They hadn’t even found a way to open those doors themselves.
- “The… the door is open.”
A voice came through, crackling with static. The door is open.
They were just a few short words, but their meaning was immense.
The ruin door, which they thought would never open, had opened.
- “There’s a red pattern etched on the surface. A pattern that wasn’t there before. It’s some kind of liquid… unable to confirm specifics.”
The report was identical to what he had heard before.
- “I will approach. It’s black inside. Just deep darkness.”
This also matched the report. If one approached that door…
“Go inside.”
- “I’m reluctant to approach. I have this instinctual… fear that I’ll be devoured if I get closer.”
But an order was an order. The voice on the other end of the communication device trembled with the anxiety and terror of having to enter.
- “Darkness… deep. Can’t see anything. Insi…”
As if he had stepped inside the door, the transmission grew fainter before cutting to complete silence.
“It seems there’s something inside that interferes with the transmission.”
“Complete darkness, you say. Uninvited visitors are refused. Is that it?”
“Should I turn off the device?”
“No, let’s wait for now. Until the connection is lost on their end.”
A silence of over ten minutes followed.
*Crackle— Bzzzt—*
The sound of static began to crackle as if the connection was being re-established.
“Are you connected?”
- “Ludwig Brandt. Director of the Empire’s Central Intelligence Bureau. Know that I plan to drive a stake through your heart one day. So wait. It’s just not your turn yet.”
With Van Helsing’s voice, the transmission cut out completely.