Sevillea, the Plague-Ridden City (7)
Vampire kin take many forms. Vampires, ghouls, undead. What we typically call a ghoul is a being created by forcing vampire blood into a corpse, animating it solely through the blood's motion and mana.
The man before us now—the former Baron Plambel—was one such creature.
Skreeee!
"Young master!"
"I'm fine, Sir Robert."
Simply parrying with my sword hurt my hand. I'd clearly aligned my blade with his swinging claws, yet it felt like I'd clashed swords—the shock reverberated through my grip.
"Good thing there are no outsiders here."
Shing.
I channeled mana into my blade. Not a perfect aura manifestation, but close—concentrated solely along the edge.
"Sorry about this."
Kyaaaaah!
"You've been getting on my nerves since dawn."
Slash.
I sidestepped his charging arm and swung in one fluid motion, severing it clean. The bark-like, hardened limb tumbled away in a chunk.
"Whew."
Should I call it fortunate that it was relatively weak? Or absurd that an old man like him required such focus from me?
Splat!
Viscount Hex smashed the ghoul's head with his staff. Mana gathered at the tip caved in the skull, sending the body crumpling to the floor.
"Lady Mente!"
Stab.
At the same moment, Mente lunged from behind, piercing the ghoul's back with her sword. A precise strike to the heart. The green-mana-infused tip extracted the dagger embedded there.
Grrr.
The ghoul's movements slowed to a halt. The crimson glow in its eyes faded, and its arms dropped limply.
"It's... done?"
"Less 'subdued by force' and more 'subdued by this,'" I said, gesturing toward the window where dawn's light was creeping in. "Ghouls turn to ash in sunlight, to varying degrees."
Whoosh.
The severed wrist on the floor began to crumble. Like paper consumed by an ember, it vanished without a trace, leaving only the faintest gray powder.
"A ghoul this weak stops dead and disintegrates at the first rays of dawn."
As sunlight hit its legs, the gray, bark-like skin cracked and powdered away.
"Its entire body already corrupted by the vampire plague, it can't withstand the sun's purification."
Many from the Empire had researched vampire weaknesses, but those seeking the "weak point" all vanished without a trace.
"Same for vampires and their kin."
To learn their weaknesses, you had no choice but to hunt them yourself.
"Don't try becoming one for eternal life. You'll just end up a monster who can never walk under the sun again."
"Hm..."
"They say vampires live elf-like spans, but you spend that eternity hiding from sunlight."
Pffft.
As the sun crested the horizon beyond the window, Baron Plambel crumbled fully to ash. Barely a handful remained—not enough to half-fill a small urn.
"Young master. We don't have to use that for it, right?"
Lady Mente pointed at the ash by her feet, her face sour.
"Even if I need more mana, this is a bit much."
"Don't worry. If we did, I'd refine it properly with Somnus powder. Oh—does the fact it's bone ash bother you?"
"It's not just the human bone dust vibe..."
"It's merely vampire ash."
He'd become a vampire after death, but turning to ash in sunlight proved it.
"Of course, we'd sun-dry it thoroughly first, then mix with Somnus powder..."
"Grey."
"Yes, Viscount Hex? What is it?"
"Vampire ash as Silver Dust feedstock or whatever—this is Baron Plambel's bone dust."
"...Wouldn't it be better for the late Baron Plambel to fuel someone's mana than rot forgotten in an urn?"
"No, no, no!"
Viscount Hex flailed his hands wildly.
"Don't shake! The ash will scatter. Not until we've collected it..."
"The body vanished before we could even bury it."
"...Ah."
Come to think of it.
"Uh, does the Sevillea family plan to bury him?"
The funeral wasn't over yet.
"We'll have to insist on cremation somehow. The bone dust..."
I rapped on the coffin where the former baron had lain.
"Viscount Hex. Light a fire."
"......"
"Then the rest..."
Regrettably.
"...is just investigating this shadow."
The shadow that attacked the baron hadn't burned to ash in the sunlight.
"Though there's not much to investigate."
"Should we not have killed it?"
"No, killing it was right. It wasn't a vampire, but letting it escape would've been trouble. And we've already gained this much."
I picked up the dagger from the floor.
"A dagger that turns corpses into vampire kin. Probably coated in vampire blood."
Thud thud thud.
Urgent footsteps echoed. A hollow-eyed man appeared at the door, clearly sleepless.
"Baron Gamos."
"Wh-what in the world...!"
"Hm."
I glanced at Viscount Hex.
"......"
He shook his head firmly, but I bit my lower lip lightly to signal.
"...Baron Gamos. Listen carefully and don't panic."
Viscount Hex extended his hand, scooping the silvery powder from the floor into his palms.
"This was once Baron Plambel."
"......"
It was a mercy Baron Gamos wasn't his blood son—
"Guhk!"
"Baron Gamos!!"
"......"
An adopted son he disliked, yet a father was still a father, it seemed.
A little sorry.
I'll make it up to him later somehow.
"Then... Lady Mente?"
"No. Wait. Seriously."
"It's fine. Just incense."
Mente recoiled, but I merely raised my thumb toward her.
"Who knows? Thanks to Baron Plambel's legacy, you might ascend to master."
"......"
"You said you'd do anything to become a master."
"Th-this is..."
"Come on. How's this cannibalism?"
It wasn't.
"Should I use pure Caroline instead? The shadow had some."
"Wasn't that made the same way?"
"......"
"Grey?"
"Who knows? I don't."
A true master-in-the-making. Sharp senses, as befitting one gifted with the blade.
"I'll prepare it. We can't head back till the funeral ends, so behave..."
In that instant.
"...Hm?"
A prickle, like being watched. I approached the window.
"What is it?"
"Nothing. Just... hm."
Through the clouds. I strained my eyes, channeling mana to enhance my vision.
"A... bird?"
Something flapped amid the clouds—nothing more visible.
"......"
Even if someone used a bird as a familiar, sniping it from here was impossible.
"Tch."
Regrettable, but caution was key.
"Alright, Lady Mente. Pour it or eat it raw?"
"...Just burn it as incense."
"Gladly."
At that moment.
"Close call. Nearly spotted."
As dawn's sun began its rise, something flapped against the clouds in the sky.
"That tight, huh? No, we weren't caught. But he's wary...?"
A being with white wings.
"He senses he's being watched. Clever boy."
Atop a white horse with horn-like protrusions on its head rode someone in faintly golden robes, peering down intently.
"The rest doesn't matter..."
The woman's gaze fixed on the Sevillea manor.
"I was ready to intervene if it got dangerous, but no need. Makes sense—he noticed me in an instant, so he should handle that much."
After staring long at the broken-windowed room, the woman slowly removed her hood.
"A traitor's servant falls to human hands..."
Her pale blue-white hair framed a strikingly young beauty.
"Incompetent."
Her only oddity: long, pointed ears.
"Felt a strange presence mid-hunt, so I came. To think it was felled by humans. Tsk."
Flap, flap.
Another woman approached on a similar white-winged horse.
"Highroad. Confirmed. Likely sent by the traitor's descendants."
"Is that so? And those who felled it?"
"Presumed kin of the guardian clan."
"Gibraltar, then."
The woman smirked.
"Fitting for the guardian clan. But the current guardian was at the guardian lands, no?"
"Likely his son—the eldest."
"Eldest son? An adult?"
"No. Confirmed fifteen years old."
"...Fifteen?"
The elf Highroad tilted her head.
"Even if the ghoul was freshly turned, it looked mid-tier. And he beat it?"
"...Apologies, but I neither saw nor heard it clearly."
"I didn't see it either. Just heard."
Highroad flicked her fingers, summoning a swirling wind around her hand.
"Guess I'll have to pay a visit soon."
"Shall I go?"
"No."
Highroad patted her mount's back.
"I'll go myself."
The funeral concluded.
-When did they even cremate him?
Somehow they'd rushed the cremation, placed the bone dust in an urn, and buried Baron Plambel atop the Sevillea cemetery. No flesh remained—not a handful—but the tombstone bore "Plambel Sevillea," so any mourners could pay respects there instead.
Not that anyone would, given even the locals rejoiced at his death. Who'd pour liquor or lay flowers on that grave?
"Thanks to this, our expedition's haul is massive. We can head back with clear consciences."
"......"
"Lady Mente."
I reached toward her, seated across in the carriage.
"Feeling awkward?"
"Hm..."
She wasn't in knightly uniform. Instead, she wore my gray robe from expeditions.
"Not awkward, exactly."
She'd feel her proportions were off, no doubt. Mente fiddled self-consciously with her body.
"More like... weaker?"
"You'll need time to adjust. At least you beat Sir Robert handily."
"Hey, young master."
Robert, on the driver's seat, whipped around.
"If you burned incense by me all night, I'd get stronger too!"
"Nude massage while naked on a bed, kneading out mana knots? Not my thing."
"Sexist!"
"Ridiculous. Ask a hundred random men. Same answer everywhere."
Kingdom or Empire.
"And she wasn't nude. Right, Lady Mente?"
"Not at first."
"Don't say it like that."
"...It tore, and ultimately ended up that way. So same difference?"
Mente fixed me with half-lidded eyes.
"Ruined my marriage prospects. Know the Kingdom saying about seeing a woman nude?"
"Your master saw me nude in sparring. Want to get arrested?"
"Me?"
"Empire law says you, not me."
"Kingdom law too, young master."
"You two get along too well. But..."
Mente turned away irritably.
"Someone's coming from Gibraltar?"
"Someone?"
"Yeah. I feel it. This sensation..."
As Mente tilted her head, I sensed it too.
"Father?"
"What? Word spread that Sevillea's done, so the margrave comes to greet us himself? Impressive."
"Hm... Sir Robert. Stop the carriage."
Screech.
I hopped out immediately.
Neigh!
Father soon arrived on his crimson steed matching his hair, reining in before us.
"Grey. Emergency. Back to the territory now..."
"Emergency?"
"......"
Father stared long at Mente descending behind me.
"......"
Despite the urgency, he stared for minutes. Frowning, alternating glances at me and Robert, stroking his chin in thought.
"......Lady Mente's mother?"
"Zero points."
He whiffed the first guess.
"Zero...?"
"It did plump up nicely."
Her mana.
"What happened, son?"
"Nothing much. Just..."
"He made me a master."
Mente stated it flatly, nonchalantly.
"Despite my protests, he shoved it in forcibly."
"......"
"What? It's not a lie."
"Well, true, but."
"Grey. This looks like..."
"Misunderstanding, Father."
"It was forcible, but with her consent—a mutual decision."
"......"
Wait.
"Something's off here. Give me a chance to clarify?"
Long story short.
"We gathered heaps of vampire ash, mixed it with Somnus powder, and packed it into Lady Mente."
I'd invested all the Empire's gifts into her.
"Breaking her body-wide curse."
The curse was lifted.