Chapter 478: A Far Away Tale. A Misaligned Reunion.
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 478: A Far Away Tale. A Misaligned Reunion.
Between the mountain range and the coast lay a land shrouded in thick mist. A little farther south, the mist cleared to reveal a vast plain.
This shadowless plain was a terrain vampires disliked. The lack of places to hide from the sun was one reason, but there was a deeper, more historical one.
The Blessed Enver Plains. To humans, it was a blessed land flowing with milk and honey, but to vampires, it had been a wailing wall. The sun beat down, gentle winds swirled, and nutrient-rich rivers flowed—a land that had soaked the earth with the blood of countless vampires in open battle.
No matter how powerful or regenerative they were, vampires, with their many weaknesses, were tossed about on a battlefield where everything was thrown at them.
Flowing water, the shining sun, an unbridgeable distance. They felt they could kill the humans with a single touch, yet they could never reach them. Any vampire who recklessly charged forward was met with the holy blades of light, which passed judgment on their arrogance.
The Undying vampires retreated, the pain of defeat seared into them for eternity. It is difficult to fear the defeated. With their weaknesses laid bare for all to see, the vampires were pushed back, again and again, to the edge of the continent—to the Sea of Leviathan.
The misty coast was their paradise, but just as the world could not consist solely of vampires, the Duchy could not consist solely of misty shores. There were places where the rugged mountain ranges held their breath, where rivers found cracks and escaped to the sea.
The Eastern Plains, bordering the Military State.
It was where the most humans lived, and therefore, where the most vampires resided. Since sunlight was plentiful on the plains, the vampires of the east maintained a classical way of life. That is, they slept during the day and awoke at night to rule over the humans.
However, the wide, fertile Eastern Plains reminded them of the nightmare at Enver. Vampires of Ain rank and higher had little desire to stay there.
There were many humans, but few high-ranking vampires. Moreover, it bordered the Military State. If one were to escape, they would surely pass through the Eastern Plains.
Both vampires and humans thought so.
"...They are causing quite a bit of trouble."
Erzsebet, who had come on the Progenitor's orders, clicked her tongue. Even if vampires had dulled senses in some respects, she never imagined the escapee could shake off hundreds of humans and vampires to cross half the country.
It couldn't be explained by mere stamina. Their skill was admirable. Creating false trails to cause confusion. Breaking through cordons to hide among people. Surviving in forests and fields and finding their way. Had they not been proficient in even one of these many skills, they would have been caught long ago.
"Madam Erzsebet. We've found them."
Of course, even with such skill, it only bought them a few days. Upon receiving the report, Erzsebet hid her mouth behind her blood-red fan.
"But this is the end. When the destination is fixed, cornering them is easier than twisting a newborn's wrist. Now that they've headed for the plains, there is nowhere to run."
Dogo was already ahead, near the border. The Progenitor's Consort was not strong enough to defeat an Elder and a unit of Ain and escape. Within the sturdy fence they had erected, Erzsebet's job was to calmly herd the livestock and capture them.
Erzsebet finished formulating the plan in her head and muttered.
"I must present the Consort to the Progenitor and be forgiven for the sins I have committed..."
Muttering unintentionally, Erzsebet trailed off and fell silent.
She was now free from the Progenitor's dominion. Erzsebet had found complete freedom while retaining her power.
This meant the fear she felt now was entirely her own.
The reason was simple. Erzsebet recalled the image of that fear. The Shadow of Calamity, wrought by the Progenitor's power. A retainer of the Progenitor, created by combining the power, history, authority, and fear of vampires.
It guarded the Progenitor's side like a shadow and followed her like a child, yet its power and cruelty surpassed that of an Elder.
Erzsebet could not even attempt to challenge that shadow. The shadow was Tyrkanzyaka's retainer, but it was a being of a higher order than any other vampire.
A primal, biological fear. The belief that no matter how she struggled, she could never resist. Erzsebet felt the kind of fear a field mouse would have for a tiger. Her worn-down instincts screamed at her that this 'shadow' was something beyond common sense.
"...What was that...?"
She pondered for a long time, but no answer came. Carrying an inexplicable anxiety, Erzsebet headed for the place where the Consort had been sighted.
A single windmill stood in the vast field. Unlike the sea breeze that was blocked by the mountains and pooled elsewhere, the wind of the Eastern Plains blew unobstructed, gently sweeping over everything in the field. The windmill was a creation of audacious humans who would harness even nature's caress as labor.
The Progenitor's Consort was inside that windmill. According to the report, upon noticing the pursuers, the Consort had let out a deep sigh, entered the windmill, and calmly began to rest.
Erzsebet nodded.
"The King of Humans, was it? For a former king, they have some dignity. I like that they don't debase themselves with useless resistance."
"What are your orders?"
"We shall escort them. As the Progenitor's Consort, we must escort them with the utmost respect... No."
The Progenitor's Consort was human, unlike the Progenitor herself. It wouldn't hurt to make a good impression. Having sinned, Erzsebet decided to dismiss the Ain and go to the Consort herself.
"I will escort them personally. You may stand down."
"As you command, Madam Erzsebet. I shall take my leave to report to the Lord Sanguine."
The Lord Sanguine's Ain, Countess Erte, bowed deeply and withdrew. There was nothing improper in her etiquette, but Erzsebet found Countess Erte, a subordinate of the Lord Sanguine, grating. She was supposedly assisting Erzsebet, one of the great Elders of the Duchy, but in reality, she was there to watch her.
"How dare she..."
But having rebelled against the Progenitor, Erzsebet could hardly raise her voice about it. She shot a small glare in the countess's direction and strode toward the windmill.
An intentional presence could still be felt from within. The Consort still seemed to have no intention of running. Believing things would be resolved easily, Erzsebet paused in front of the windmill to straighten her clothes before speaking.
"O, Consort. I have come to escort you personally."
There was no reply, but the presence remained. Interpreting the silence as assent, Erzsebet moved her blood energy. A pool of blood flowed across the ground and seeped into the wooden door.
Having taken control of the door, Erzsebet opened it without lifting a finger.
"Pardon my intrusion. I trust the Consort will..."
However, the scene inside the windmill was slightly different from what Erzsebet had expected.
The Consort was there. But he was not alone. A mage stood before him, utterly silent. The mage, who had been scowling as if something had greatly displeased him, glanced at the intruder, relaxed his expression, and muttered.
"So I wasn't the only one fooled by a fake. Now another fool has crawled in."
Erzsebet was momentarily confused. According to the report from her watching Ain, only the Consort had entered the windmill. Yet now, some mage was sitting there as if he owned the place.
Perhaps unaware of Erzsebet's identity, the mage spoke with utmost arrogance.
"I don't know whether to be grateful that the world is full of fools, or to despair that I have become one of them. Ah... am I truly destined to be nothing more than the King of the Right-Handed, a stereotypical top student?"
He lamented, seemingly oblivious to Erzsebet's presence. It appeared he had no idea where he was or in whose domain he stood.
To not recognize an Elder in the Duchy. Even for a haughty mage, wasn't this too ignorant? Erzsebet decided to carve a lesson into his body. A lesson he would never have the chance to recall.
"Bow your head. I have no business with you."
The blood energy that had spread throughout the area bloomed like flowers. Before the mage could react, a swirling crimson conflagration erupted, enveloped him, and exploded. Without even watching the red pulp splatter, Erzsebet turned her gaze to the Consort.
"Forgive me for showing you such an unsightly scene. However, I could not let a human who showed such disrespect in my presence and that of the Consort go unpunished..."
"Consort? I don't know what you're talking about, but that thing is a fake mimicking Huey's appearance. It's not the human you're looking for."
The mage's voice came from behind Erzsebet. He should have been crushed to death by the crimson conflagration. Doubting her ears, Erzsebet looked back at where the blood flower had bloomed.
The mage was perfectly fine. Even though the crimson conflagration had bloomed, wrapped around his body, and consumed him as fuel, not a single hair on his head was out of place.
No, it hadn't even touched him in the first place. The flower bud that had swirled up to the right seemed to be protecting him rather than attacking him. As if it were conforming to his will.
The red-haired mage was completely at ease, without a hint of alarm.
"I suppose it's a different story if an Elder is looking for a doppelganger that mimics others' appearances. But that's not it, is it? You are a commoner, just like me. Well... though I am a bit more outstanding than you."
He hadn't failed to recognize an Elder. He had known and ignored her. No matter how arrogant a mage was, they weren't foolish enough to throw their life away so easily.
Which meant that this mage was confident he could protect his life from Erzsebet.
Erzsebet unfolded her fan. The crimson conflagration he had blocked was merely a light greeting. As troublesome as the mage might be, could he be more so than an undying vampire? Erzsebet extended her arm toward the mage.
Just then, the Consort stopped her.
"Don't attack."
Erzsebet, fan in hand, asked.
"Is he an acquaintance of yours?"
"We know each other... though he doesn't know 'me'."
"So you are not close."
The halted fan began to move gracefully. Following its tip, a massive torrent of blood coiled like a serpent. Now that the Progenitor was free from the Blood Shackles, the most powerful being in the world when it came to controlling blood energy was Countess Erzsebet.
With enough blood energy to fill the entire windmill wrapped around her hand, Erzsebet stared at the mage.
"Then it should be fine if I kill him."
The moment Erzsebet swung her fan, blood flooded the space. An overwhelming amount of power, far too much for a single person, targeted the mage.
The windmill shook violently. The mere passage of the blood torrent had caused the gears to turn, making the windmill, which should have been turned by the wind, generate a wind of its own.
The torrent of blood swept past pillars and gears, enveloped the mage, and washed him away. The blood coiled like a serpent, spinning and grinding the mage to pieces.
A swirling waterfall of blood, tearing a single body apart. If destruction was the goal, this was more than enough.
"...Hmm?"
However, the mage was still unharmed.
The torrent of blood was still swirling with great force. The power was unchanged. But it never reached the mage.
It was as if an invisible force was enveloping him. Erzsebet realized what the mage's power was.
"Unique Magic... So you had an ace up your sleeve."
A mage who has perfected their own philosophy gains Unique Magic. The power to impose one's own laws upon the world. Since difference usually implies separation, Unique Magic typically possesses the power to block external attacks.
But that was just the result. Just as each Unique Magic was different, the methods to overcome them were varied. Erzsebet gathered her blood energy, intending to fill the entire windmill.
Just then, the Consort stopped Erzsebet again.
"Stop, Madam Erzsebet. Attacking him is meaningless. In his Unique Magic, the World of the Right-Handed, all attacks go astray and strike the wrong place."
Reminded of the Consort's presence, Erzsebet hastily withdrew her power.
The windmill was already on the verge of collapse. If she used any more power, the Consort would be caught in it as well. If she so much as scratched the Consort here, Erzsebet would become a meal for that 'shadow'.
'...But, even for a Unique Magic, this is no simple barrier.'
Separate from that concern, Erzsebet felt a strange sense of incongruity. It didn't feel like something was blocking her blood energy, but rather like it was endlessly advancing into a distant void, a frustrating feeling of never being able to reach its target.
It was different. Not a matter of power or rank, but as if he existed in a different space altogether. Feeling uneasy, Erzsebet glared at the red-haired mage.
'He won't be able to harm me. But as for whether I can break through that Unique Magic and harm him... it seems unlikely in the short term. Where did such a being come from? And of all places, where the Progenitor's Consort is?'
The person who could answer that question was right beside her. Erzsebet turned to the Progenitor's Consort and asked.
"You keep a strange being by your side. Consort, who is that who has come for you?"
Hilde, disguised as Hughes, was not the Consort Erzsebet was looking for. But as a former Camarilla of the Military State, she could identify the red-haired mage. Hilde looked at the mage who had once thrown her country into chaos and recited his name.
"The hope of the Military State. The comet that burned brighter than any other. And then... the worst criminal who ultimately fell to earth."
A few years ago, in Hamelin, three talents who were to become the hope of the Military State had appeared. They were not remnants of the kingdom, nor minions of the Saintess, but the pure strength of the Military State. When these talents, who seemed to prophesy a brilliant future for the State, were born, everyone took notice.
It was 'him'. The one who received the most attention in Hamelin.
A weakling with a sharp mind was not needed in the Military State, and a heroine skilled in Qi Arts was not particularly rare. But a magical genius born in a barren land was powerful and precious, born with the power to change the history of the Military State.
The one who carried the highest expectations. A rising star who, in a Military State without Arcane, had mastered standard magic to its limits and pioneered his own Unique Magic. A new Arcane in his own right.
But his immense talent became his poison, and in the end, he became the worst of criminals, betraying the Military State and leaving.
"The Fallen Comet, Colonel Lankart. Once 'my' classmate and friend... a mage."