Chapter 202: An Ill-Fated Relationship (8)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 202: An Ill-Fated Relationship (8)
Cloud’s expression hardened as he returned to the imperial capital.
“…They’ve done something quite bold.”
He hadn’t passed through the castle gates yet, so he didn’t know the exact situation. But as he drew closer to the capital, the sun had turned black and the sky had turned red.
Cloud had seen this phenomenon before, in his previous world.
It was a spell cast by demons through sacrifice: Heaven Reversal.
Literally, a power that defied the natural order of the heavens.
When the black sun rose, the creatures of the day were weakened, while the creatures of the night grew stronger.
He couldn't know exactly what had transpired inside the city, but one thing was certain: something was terribly wrong.
“Leslie, Eri. Can you cover this city with a barrier?”
Just as Leslie was about to answer, Eri cut in.
“Yes! I can do it!”
Leslie frowned at her reckless declaration.
“Do you have any idea how large this city is?”
“I’ve been here countless times before. You think I wouldn’t know that?”
“Then you should know how irresponsible your words are. This city is enormous—”
“Can’t you do it?”
“…Pardon?”
“I’m asking if you can’t do it. For the record, I can. It’ll be a little tough, but it’s a request from Cloud, after all.”
Eri scoffed, and Leslie’s expression crumpled, her pride wounded. Cloud looked back and forth between the two women and asked.
“So, is it possible or not?”
“…If we reduce the barrier’s thickness and expand its area, it’s possible. The problem is that its strength will be compromised.”
“That’s good enough.”
It only needed to hold back any who tried to flee for a short while.
“Set up the barrier. Given the situation, cooperate instead of competing. Please.”
The women nodded, closed their eyes, and began to chant. Blue mana surged around them before rapidly spreading out to encompass the entire city.
Only after the city was enveloped in a blue barrier did the two women open their eyes.
Leslie let out a long breath.
“An hour at the shortest, maybe three hours at the longest. That’s our limit.”
Eri didn’t argue this time, seemingly agreeing with Leslie’s assessment. Cloud patted the shoulders of the two women, who looked exhausted.
“Thank you.”
“Of course.”
Leslie replied simply with a faint smile. To her, such praise was to be expected. Eri, on the other hand, blushed, hearing such kind words from Cloud for the first time in a long while.
“W-Well, something like this is hardly a challenge for me!”
“Right. Thanks.”
“H-Hmph!”
Eri cleared her throat, hoping for a little more praise. But instead of complimenting her further, he led the rest of the party toward the castle gate.
Eri’s face fell.
Leslie shot her a look of pity.
“Have you considered thinking about the gravity of the situation for even a moment?”
“…Shut up.”
Before the tightly shut castle gate.
Hundreds of citizens were on their knees, surrounded by a mere ten or so vampires. One might wonder why they didn’t just use their superior numbers to fight back, but the power gap between them and the vampires was not something that could be overcome by numbers alone.
All they could do was bow their heads and tremble, trying not to catch the vampires’ attention.
One of the vampires was counting the humans, folding his fingers.
“788… 789…”
Damn humans… there are so fucking many of them.
Just as the vampire was about to feel a sense of accomplishment for nearly finishing his count, another vampire tapped him on the shoulder.
“Hey, hey.”
“I’m counting humans. Go play with someone else.”
“That’s not the problem right now.”
“What do you mean it’s not the… Ah, dammit! I lost count! Why? What the hell is it!?”
“Don’t you hear something from over there?”
The vampire turned his gaze in the direction his comrade was pointing. As he listened closely, he could hear the solid castle gate, made of a rare mineral, ringing with a loud thump! thump!
With each sound, the noise grew louder.
The vampire’s brow furrowed.
“An intruder.”
CRASH!
The lower part of the gate buckled inward. To dent a gate like this… this was no ordinary opponent. Feeling threatened, the vampires extended their claws.
The vampire who had been counting the humans spoke to a younger vampire.
“This one’s no joke. We’ll buy some time, so you go and inform the Lord that an intruder has arrived.”
“Yes!”
An order from a more noble vampire was absolute.
The vampire who received the command flew toward his lord without a word of complaint.
The remaining vampires tensed as they watched the gate continue to buckle.
KABOOM—!
The gate, which had been dented and warped repeatedly, could no longer withstand the impacts and tore open. As if waiting for that moment, the vampire who had been counting the humans unleashed a powerful hand strike through the tear in the gate.
A chop strong enough to rip through steel.
It was easily stopped, caught in the intruder’s outstretched hand.
“Gah?!”
While the vampire who threw the strike was still in shock, the intruder, Cloud, stepped into the city. In that fleeting moment, his eyes took in many things.
Hundreds of people kneeling and trembling in fear, surrounded by corpses. Buildings burning or collapsed, and the vampires he saw the moment he entered.
It wasn’t difficult to grasp the situation.
His already grim expression turned even colder.
“Shedia.”
“Yes.”
The shadow next to the castle wall flickered, and Shedia emerged.
“I said I’d give you all the moonstones in exchange for one last favor, right? I’m using it now. Protect Lorraine in the Imperial Palace.”
“Got it.”
Shedia didn’t ask why and immediately leaped onto a nearby building. She was incredibly fast, vaulting from rooftop to rooftop. Within seconds, her figure was no longer visible to the naked eye.
Good.
At that speed, she should be able to reach Lorraine and protect her before any harm came to her.
…Cloud sincerely hoped so.
“Is this bastard ignoring us?”
“Die!”
The vampires who had been surrounding the hundreds of humans charged at Cloud all at once. The moment their sharp claws shot toward him, three figures sprang from behind him.
“You blasphemous creature!”
Ophelia’s mace smashed the head of the vampire in the lead. Neria followed, cutting down three vampires in a single slash. The remaining vampires faltered, and Katarina, along with her spirits, finished them off with a brilliant sword dance.
“H-How can this be…”
The vampire caught by Cloud stared in horror at his fallen comrades. They were strong enough to at least hold their own against a knight, if not win. He couldn’t help but be shocked that they had been killed without putting up any real resistance.
The vampire sensed that there was no way out for him. So, he didn’t beg pathetically for his life.
“H-How dare you insignificant things—”
He tried to spit out a condemnation, his voice trembling with fear.
But Cloud wasn’t going to listen to it all.
Squish—
Cloud’s hand plunged into the vampire’s chest. He felt for the vampire’s heart, caressed it for a moment, and then squeezed, crushing it.
“..!!”
The vampire died without even a scream. Cloud tossed the corpse aside carelessly. Thud. Thump, thump. The kneeling citizens stared at the vampire’s body rolling on the ground.
—Is it dead? Is that monster really dead?
—You heard the scream earlier. That one on the ground isn’t moving either.
The previously silent crowd began to whisper among themselves. Amidst the murmurs, one brave citizen lifted his head and his eyes widened at the sight before him.
“H-Hey, everyone! Lift your heads! The monsters are all dead!”
“What? What are you… Gasp?! It’s true!”
At the brave citizen’s cry, a few others raised their heads. They too cried out in surprise, which gave the more timid citizens the courage to look up as well.
“W-We’re saved…”
“Rotten bastards. Good riddance. Ptooey!”
“H-Honey, come here!”
Relieved by the deaths of the vampires who had held them captive, the citizens began to stir, checking on their families or cursing the dead vampires.
Then, as if by some unspoken agreement, they all fell silent at once and turned to look at the man standing before them.
Who is he?
Who in the world is this man who killed the monsters they feared so much with such ease?
Their gazes toward Cloud were filled with that question.
The citizens hoped he would introduce himself.
But Cloud did not. Revealing himself as the Hero would only cause more confusion.
“Leave.”
Instead, he stepped aside, clearing a path for them to exit through the broken gate. The citizens blinked, then one by one, they began to slip out of the city through the tear in the gate.
—Th-Thank you.
Some of the fleeing citizens offered their thanks, but Cloud simply gave a slight nod in return.
Ever since crushing the vampire’s heart, his gaze had been fixed in one direction.
“Cloud!!”
The air thundered and the earth shook.
Gis, moving so fast and hard that he gouged the ground, lunged at Cloud with a dagger.
Cloud tilted his head back to dodge the dagger, then leaped to the side to create distance.
Instead of pursuing, Gis just smiled at him.
“I was about to die of boredom waiting for you, you bastard.”
“…”
“You don’t look happy to see me. I guess that makes sense. You don’t have that bitch Frillite to protect you now.”
Gis took a stance, holding his dagger in a reverse grip.
“I told you, didn’t I? If you keep running your mouth, you’ll die by my hand one day. Today’s that day.”
Gis’s eyes curved into crescents. The pupils visible beneath his twitching eyelids were red, unlike before—a side effect of a human learning blood magic.
Cloud stared blankly at Gis, who was grinning disgustingly. Annoyed by his lack of reaction, Gis opened his mouth.
“Hey. When someone’s talking to you—”
“Why did you betray them?”
“What?”
“I’m asking why you did this.”
“Ah… that’s what this is about? Seriously, what is it with you and the Emperor? Is that the only thing you can ask someone you haven’t seen in a while? Is it because you’re so damn self-righteous?”
“Your answer?”
“An answer? Fine, if you’re so curious, I’ll tell you.”
Gis smirked. He threw his dagger, drew a new one, and charged at Cloud.
“Right before you die!”
A pair of daggers flew rapidly toward Cloud. As he simply watched them approach, Neria’s shield, made from dragon scales, intercepted them.
The instant the daggers struck the shield and ricocheted off, Cloud leaped forward.
“Right, the reason isn’t really important.”
Cloud brushed past Gis. When the distance between them widened, Cloud had a sword in his hand. While he calmly sheathed his sword, Gis’s body trembled violently.
“Gah…!?”
With a small groan, Gis’s armor was stained with blood. In the brief moment they passed each other, Cloud had drawn his sword and slashed him across the chest.
The wound wasn’t life-threatening, but it wasn’t something to be taken lightly either.
“Besides, you’re not my opponent anyway.”
Gis’s brow, already furrowed in pain, wrinkled even more.
Not his opponent? What does that mean?
He understood the meaning soon enough. Neria, who had been glaring at him with murderous intent, stepped forward.
“Don’t tell me you’re planning on leaving me to that fucking idiot of a woman.”
“Even she is too good for you.”
“Wh-What did you say, you bastard?! You fucking… Don’t tell me you think you’re better than me just because you managed to land one tiny scratch while I was off guard! Huh?!”
“Yes.”
With that, Cloud took off, running in the direction where he had sensed a powerful energy.
“That son of a bitch!”
Gis immediately tried to chase after Cloud. But Neria’s sword came crashing down on him faster than he could move. Gis, who had been about to run, was caught in an awkward stance. He barely managed to block Neria’s sword by crossing his two daggers.
“I’m your opponent. And you’re the one who’s going to die today.”
Neria growled, putting all her strength into her sword as it pressed against his daggers.
Following the strong energy, Cloud and his party arrived at the city square. The sight that greeted them made Katarina and Ophelia turn pale.
They had seen all sorts of disgusting sights on their way from the east gate to the square.
But they were nothing compared to the scene unfolding here.
Nothing compared to the sight of vampires, gathered like farmers taking a break after a hard day’s work, feasting on human corpses.
“You’re late. Too late.”
From the central hall of the square, Kelidon looked down on Cloud’s party and sneered.
“Because you were late, the king of humans is dead.”
Kelidon tapped the shaft of a spear standing next to him with his index finger. The spear shaft trembled, and the Emperor’s head, impaled on its tip, swayed back and forth.
“The rest… aren’t in much better shape, either.”
Behind the spear stood five crosses. And on each cross, the limbs of the dukes were nailed.
Seeing the gruesome state of the dukes, Cloud walked forward without a moment’s hesitation.
At his advance, not only Kelidon and the other lords, but also the vampires who had been snacking on the organs of the dead, grew tense.
They planned to swarm him the moment the fight began, giving him no time to react before killing him.
But contrary to their expectations, he walked past Kelidon and toward the crosses. He then pulled out the nails pinning the limbs of a middle-aged man who had the same red hair as him.
With the nails gone, the man’s body slumped forward.
Cloud caught him and checked his condition.
He wasn’t in good shape, but he was alive. Cloud let out a sigh of relief.
‘I almost wouldn’t have been able to face Frillite.’
Cloud carried Duke Ferdiac and laid him down in front of Ophelia.
“This is Frillite’s father. Heal him.”
“Pardon? Ah, yes!”
Ophelia, who had been flustered by Cloud’s sudden action, came to her senses. A white light bloomed from her clasped hands, and Duke Ferdiac’s wounds began to slowly heal.
Only after confirming that the Duke’s color was returning to normal did Cloud look away.
“What is the meaning of this?”
Kelidon’s expression was colder than ever.
“While you were distracted by that human, I could have killed you many times over.”
He felt deeply insulted at being ignored. Regardless, Cloud stood up and carefully surveyed the square.
“Distracted again. Do you wish to die?”
Surprisingly, quite a few people had survived. They had just seemed like a small number because they were hidden by the corpses. With proper treatment, most of them would likely live.
“…I thought you were a well-forged sword, but you’re just trash like any other human. Just die.”
Having finished his assessment, Cloud finally turned his gaze to Kelidon.
“Are you capable of killing me?”
At Cloud’s taunt, Kelidon laughed as if it were absurd.
“Even an angel was no match for us. A mere Hero, their slave, is even less…”
“An angel?”
Where did that come from?
Cloud tilted his head and looked around at the corpses. Then he spotted a winged body, burned black, and sighed.
“To be so happy about catching a low-ranking angel who was just here on a side job… The name of Vampire Lord has truly fallen.”
The vampires’ laughter stopped. They glared at Cloud with murderous eyes. Though it was only a fraction of their killing intent, Ophelia and Katarina felt their breath catch in their throats. Cold sweat trickled down their backs, and they found it hard to even lift a finger.
But Cloud, the one directly receiving the killing intent, showed no reaction.
Kelidon spoke, his face still cold.
“Low-ranking? How can you distinguish the hierarchy of angels?”
“If it had been a real angel, half the vampires here would be gone.”
“Ridiculous. No matter how favored by God an angel is, it’s impossible for a mere three of them to accomplish such a feat.”
“Believe what you want. And it doesn’t matter if they were real angels or not.”
Cloud drew his Holy Sword. The sword, which had been pushed to its limits, emitted one last brilliant light before it crumbled to dust. He plunged the Holy Sword into the ground.
“Because I have no intention of holding back anymore.”
A white radiance erupted, centered on the sword plunged into the ground.