The March
"Ugh…."
A pain like a hammer splitting his skull wrenched Chris Evergrit, lord of Rieli, back into consciousness. His vision swam as if a milky film had been drawn across his eyes.
"Nngh…."
Instinctively, he tried to rub the haze away. But his hands, bound behind his back, refused to move, as though snagged on something solid.
"…?!"
No matter how many times he strained, neither arm so much as twitched. Only after several futile efforts did Chris realize both wrists had been lashed tight.
"Ghk?!"
His legs were no better. Arms and legs alike had been bound so thoroughly it was as if someone had ordered him not even to think of moving.
Through his skin came a cold, unyielding pressure—not ordinary rope, but heavy iron chains wound around him from head to foot.
What… what is this? Why am I tied up?
Trapped in this bewildering state, Chris forced his aching head to rewind his memories. The last moments before he blacked out rose up in a sudden rush.
That's right….
He had been negotiating with the zombie maid who had attacked Rieli—until a blow to the head had knocked him out cold.
The final image burned into his sight had been his own soldiers, slaughtered with casual ease by that same zombie maid. Beyond that, nothing. Not a scrap of memory remained.
He had no idea what had become of his territory, or whether his people still lived. He did not even know where he was, or why he had been left like this.
…They moved me somewhere.
The surface beneath him was not the dirt of Rieli where he had fallen, but hard marble. That alone made one thing certain: the zombie maid had taken him prisoner and brought him elsewhere.
Had she seen some value in his title as lord?
A monster capturing a human instead of killing him—it was almost laughable.
Thinking of that zombie maid, who seemed determined to overturn every scrap of common sense, Chris let out a dry, bitter snort.
"Ah, you're awake."
…And then a voice reached his ears as he thrashed. Cool as dawn and clear as crystal, a sweet voice that could charm anyone who heard it.
Startled by the new stimulus, Chris hurriedly scrubbed his eyes against his shoulder. The milky film cleared; his vision sharpened, and the scene around him snapped into focus.
Un… undead…?
Skeletons filled the space around him, bones rattling with every shift.
But these were no ordinary skeletons of the sort found in shipwrecks or caves. They wore armor that looked ruinously expensive, and their frames were far larger than those of common skeletons—closer to skeletal knights than mere bone soldiers.
Any adventurer who underestimated them because of the "skeleton" label would not live long enough to regret it.
"…."
And at the far end of this vast, unknown chamber, under the escort of those skeletons, a girl sat with her legs crossed in an insolent pose.
Ash-gray hair cascading past her waist.
Eyes red as if steeped in blood.
Skin white as fresh snow.
Fangs peeking from between alluring lips.
A vampire…?
Chris recognized at once that the girl was no human, but a monster—a vampire.
"…!!"
Then his gaze fell on the other monsters flanking her, and the color drained from his face. One all-too-familiar figure was looking down at him with open contempt.
Th-the zombie maid…!!
Pale blue skin, red eyes, a greatsword strapped across her back. The very creature that had massacred his men and knocked him unconscious stood right there before him.
"U-uhh…."
A wordless moan of rising terror escaped him as he tried to put as much distance between them as he could. Bound hand and foot in iron, all he managed was to thrash in place like a worm.
What in the world is going on…?!
He struggled with everything he had left and forced himself to take stock once more.
Where even is this…?
The chamber was enormous, its nature impossible to place. Flat on the floor and trussed up, he could not survey the whole of it—but the chair the vampire girl occupied offered a clue.
A throne…?
That was no ordinary seat. Massive, magnificent, dazzling to look upon—it was the very embodiment of power. A throne, the symbol of a nation's king.
A throne? A throne? Then this place is…?
There was only one place in this kingdom where a throne existed.
Chris twisted his head with painful effort and looked around.
Details he had missed began to register. This was no unfamiliar hall. He had been here before.
Thirty years ago, when he had come to receive his formal appointment as lord of Rieli from the Prime Minister—the audience chamber of the royal palace in the capital, Lexia.
And upon the Throne of Abilia, which had always stood empty because of the king's lifelong frailty, someone was sitting for the first time.
…Not the king, not the Prime Minister, not any member of the royal house or the nobility—but a vampire.
A m-monster sitting on the throne….
Chris's body shook. That a monster would dare plant itself at the pinnacle of human society was something he could neither believe nor accept.
…Yet the sight before him was no illusion. The vampire sat upon the throne, with the zombie maid and a butler who also looked like a vampire standing guard on either side—as if attending their master.
I see….
A vampire occupying the capital's throne.
An impossibly powerful zombie maid serving her.
Even skeletal knights that looked anything but ordinary.
…The progenitor vampire.
The pieces fell into place. This was the royal palace of Lexia, and the girl before him was the legendary vampire of calamity who had brought Elmaile and the capital to ruin in turn.
Damn it….
His brow furrowed.
So she had been enraged by his refusal to cooperate, sent the zombie maid to attack Rieli, and abducted him.
…The dread he had tried so hard to dismiss had become reality.
…I'm terrified.
With trembling pupils, Chris carefully looked up at the vampire on the throne.
If a mere subordinate like that zombie maid could wipe out his entire garrison single-handed, how strong was the progenitor herself?
…Something beyond simple fear coiled around his heart. The knowledge that he could neither resist nor flee before this unknown being only made him feel more wretched.
"Hello."
The vampire's voice came again.
The ash-haired girl—whose beauty made the title of monster feel almost absurd—looked him over with a sly little smile.
"You're Chris Evergrit, aren't you?"
"…."
The question froze him solid.
Was it right to answer this monster who had slaughtered hundreds of thousands and invaded his own lands—this creature he hated more than anything?
But if Rieli still stood, and only he had been taken, he could not afford to provoke her. The safety of his territory mattered more than his own life.
"M-my territory…."
"Hm?"
"My territory—Rieli—is it unharmed…?"
Instead of answering, Chris asked first about his lands. Whatever else he did, he had to know.
"…Your territory?"
The vampire's crimson eyes gleamed.
A chilling voice slipped from her lips.
"Well now. That depends on how you behave from here on. So answer my questions properly."
"Ugh…."
So she was holding his territory hostage. The humiliation of it made Chris bite down hard on his lip.
But with his lands as leverage, he had only one choice.
…He squeezed his eyes shut and answered.
"…Yes. I am Chris Evergrit. What is it you want?"
"Good. You catch on quick."
The vampire brightened. An unreadable energy rolled off her as the corners of her mouth lifted, and her voice turned markedly lighter than before.
"All right, then. Talk."
"…."
"Where's Lilianel?"
"I… beg your pardon?"
Lilianel Greenfield.
For some reason, the vampire was asking after the Prime Minister of the Abilia Kingdom. Did she mean to kill the realm's highest authority and seize the country for herself completely?
Her lips curved upward, but her eyes were sharp enough to cut.
"I-I don't know…."
And to that question, Chris could give no answer.
No—he simply did not have one.
He truly had no idea where the Prime Minister was.
If anything, in a crisis like the fall of the capital, he was the one who wanted to ask where she had gone.
"You don't know?"
"…I really, truly don't know."
Chris nodded toward the vampire, whose manner had turned abruptly cold.
She seemed to have decided that his earlier refusal to cooperate meant he was on the Prime Minister's side—but Rieli and Chris belonged to no faction at all.
They served only His Majesty the King.
He had refused the vampire simply because the people of Rieli hated monsters above all else, and because his daughter, Judith Evergrit—the pride of the territory—had been a companion of the Hero.
He had no personal ties to the Prime Minister or her circle, and thus no way of knowing her whereabouts.
"I see."
…But that was clearly not the answer the vampire wanted. The legendary monster made no effort to hide her displeasure. A dark, oppressive aura poured from her as she put another question to him.
"…Then at the very least, you know where the Hero is, don't you?"
"…!!"
This time, at the mention of the Hero's location, Chris's bound body gave a violent start.
The Prime Minister was one thing—but the Hero was another.
With his daughter Judith Evergrit among the Hero's companions, he could learn the party's location through a single message if he chose.
…If he wished, he could put the vampire in contact with the Hero's party by carrier bird this very moment.
And through the Hero, the Prime Minister's location might be reached as well. The vampire clearly knew that when she asked.
"I-I'm sorry. I don't know that either."
The instant he connected his daughter to this vampire, Judith's safety would be out of his hands. There was no telling whether a capricious monster would spare her or kill her.
Even with his territory on the line, as a father he could not put his daughter in danger—could not stain her honor.
For now, trusting the Hero was the best he could do.
"…Right. Of course."
Hearing his answer, the vampire sighed and rested her head against the throne. Then, baring her pointed fangs, she spoke to him in a voice laced with laughter.
"Then I suppose a companion of the Hero named 'Judith Evergrit' has nothing whatsoever to do with you either."
"…?!!"
"…So it'd be fine if I killed her along with the Hero, right?"
"…What?"
Every hair on Chris's body stood on end.
H-how…?
His face went rigid.
How did she know his daughter was a companion of the Hero?
Had she already investigated that far?
Or had she known from the start that he was Judith's father, and attacked Rieli because of it?
"W-wait…!!"
Instinct drove him to call out to her.
If she already knew the connection between him and Judith, he had to salvage the situation no matter what he said.
…But the vampire's expression had already gone ice-cold.
"Too late."
"…!!"
"You should have taken the first chance I gave you."
She rose from the throne. Then, light as if treading on snowflakes, she walked toward him.
"You people always regret things only after you've already made the mistake. Did you really think I wouldn't have looked into you?"
"Th-that's…."
Looking down at him with open disdain, the vampire went on.
"I can't be bothered digging any further. And by now, any answer you give might just be a lie."
"…."
"…You're infuriating, but I won't kill you."
"Urgh…?!!"
She seized Chris by the hair and hauled him up to eye level. Bound as he was, his body rose limp and helpless in her grip.
Her blood-red eyes locked with his, which were wide with terror. In a voice of pure ice, she whispered:
"Tell me—do you know what you call a parent who has lost a child?"
"…."
"There isn't one. There's no word for it."
"…."
"Lose a husband and you're a widow. Lose a wife and you're a widower. Lose your parents and you're an orphan. But nowhere is there a word for a parent who has lost a child."
"…."
"Because no word can express that pain—so they say there's no word for them at all."
"Ghk…!!"
She flung him back to the floor. Bound in chains, he rolled helplessly across the marble.
"So look forward to it."
The legendary vampire looked down at the groaning Chris with a smile full of madness.
"I'll keep you alive to the very end—so you can watch with your own two eyes as your daughter and your country are destroyed."
"Uhh…."
The sheer savagery of the warning made Chris's whole body shake.
This was no mere vampire.
This was a demon.
Pure evil, body and soul ruled by rage and malice.
A monster that moved only by the lust to kill.
A calamity upon humanity—upon this entire world.
…One word slipped from Chris's lips by pure instinct.
"A-a devil…."
"A devil?"
The vampire laughed at his words.
Then her scarlet eyes flared.
"…Did you think I was an angel?"
"…."
I watched Chris Evergrit as the skeletons dragged him limply away toward the dungeons. The shock must have been severe; even as they hauled him off, he stared blankly into empty air, muttering something under his breath.
…Anyone who had just been threatened with their child's life would hardly be in their right mind. I had put enough fear into him—his time in the cells would be a special kind of hell from now on.
— A-a devil….
"…."
His final words came back to me unbidden.
Of course I would look like a devil in human eyes. After killing hundreds of thousands and delivering threats that cruel just to hear, how else could they see me?
But I had spent a full thousand years sealed in the deepest reaches of the labyrinth, clinging to my sanity the entire time. What mercy, exactly, did they expect from me? What kind of behavior?
That I quietly go back into my seal?
That I crawl off into some forest and live out my days in peace?
Or that I suppress every emotion and live like a slave?
…Impossible.
A thousand years of hollow, agonizing time. To reclaim that time, I would become anything.
If they stood in the way of my revenge—if they kept pointing their blades at me—I would turn their lands into a wasteland.
If they called me a monster, a devil, I would become something even worse, and live up to every expectation.
I had sworn it to myself, over and over, for a thousand years.
"Ugh…."
"Hm?"
Just then, the kingdom's minister, Mijael, entered the audience chamber with terror written all over her face. She forced her trembling legs forward and stopped before me.
"Ah, perfect timing."
I greeted her warmly as she bowed her head.
Whether it was the nature of her office or simply her character, she was quite capable. She had grasped her situation at once, offered no backtalk, and carried out every order I gave with impressive speed and precision.
On top of that, her network of contacts reached into territories all across the realm. She was the only human in the capital worth keeping alive.
I put the question to her.
"So—any word from the territories?"
I hadn't told Chris, but two full days had already passed since the destruction of his lands. By now, news of Rieli's fall should have spread throughout the kingdom.
Perhaps some lord, paralyzed by fear, would trade Lilianel's location for safety.
…But Mijael shook her head.
"O-only one place responded."
"One place?"
"The lord of the agricultural city of Jelita made contact, but even he did not know the Prime Minister's whereabouts. There was nothing of real use…."
"Hmm…."
Even after I had made an example of Rieli, the other territories remained unmoved.
Did they truly believe their own lands would stay safe?
I looked down at Mijael from the throne, my gaze cold.
"…You're not lying, are you? If you are, you die."
"H-how could I possibly?! I-it's the truth! Please, believe me!"
"…."
Cold sweat beading on her brow, Mijael immediately pressed her forehead to the floor.
…In the thousand years of my sealing, a magic tool called the Crystal of Truth had been developed—something like a lie detector. With that in existence, she would never dare submit a false report even in her dreams.
"Fine. I understand."
I let out a breath and lowered my head.
…Yes. Sitting here forever, begging for answers that never came, was never my style.
I asked Mijael again.
"…Mijael. If Lilianel were going to hide, which city would be the strongest and most secure?"
"Th-the strongest…."
Still prostrate, Mijael lifted her head a fraction and rolled her eyes in thought. Something seemed to occur to her; she answered in a voice tight with tension.
"If the Prime Minister has gone into hiding, I believe she would have headed for either Labahart, the mining city built over the continent's greatest bottomless pit—or Nebirtol, the fortress city in the far north."
"A mining city and a fortress city…."
…So she thought digging in at places like that would somehow produce the right answer. Time is not always the solution.
"…Where are they?"
"B-both lie to the north of the capital. However, Nebirtol sits at the northernmost edge, so reaching it would take somewhat longer."
"Well, fine."
At her answer, I rose from my seat.
If my warning was met with silence, there was only one choice left to me.
"…Alfred, you stay here and hold the capital."
"As you command, my lady."
"Tina? Get ready to move. We're going to Labahart and Nebirtol."
"Yes, Master!"
We would pass through those two places where Lilianel was most likely to be hiding—and along the way, we would crush every city we encountered.
If she still did not show herself, I would overturn the entire kingdom. If even that failed, I would turn the whole continent upside down.
Peaceful methods had never been to my taste.
To find that damned elf, I would start a hundred wars if I had to.
"…We march."
The age of humans in this country was about to end.
What came next would be the age of the undead.