Magic is a field of study subject to convergent evolution. Even when the underlying logic of different schools varies, it is common to derive similar results.
For instance, there is the meteor. The Destruction Faction insists it is fire magic, the Earth Faction claims it is rock magic, and the Celestial Faction argues it is a summoning spell.
Surprisingly, they are all correct. Each has realized a common result—the impact of a meteorite—in their own way. (Opinions are divided within the academic community.)
The same applies to commanding undead minions. The Life Faction grants a false life to the corpse, necromancy manipulates the very mana of death, and blood magic calls forth vampire kin based on blood.
Thus, zombies running around does not necessarily indicate a large-scale assault initiated by necromancers. Since Abiditas’s death, necromancy has effectively been “Kalioned.” This actually suggests the opposite; it is the greatest evidence that vampires are at work.
“Have so many people already died? In just a few days?!”
“If they plan to do so, it’s not impossible!”
Lucia shouted as she twisted off the head of an approaching zombie.
“Once Her Majesty the Queen returns, it will all end, so I think we should see this as mere chaos caused by rising poison!”
Clearly, their target is Enrique. What is happening in the city is a planned operation designed to exploit Enrique’s weaknesses.They are on a time limit. Once Elizaveta returns with her legion, this chaos will come to a swift end. The fact that they have invaded precisely when Frechenkaya is weakened means they cannot afford to confront a fully-prepared Krasilov.
It is obvious. Even though the number of zombies may be vast, they cannot contend against an armed force. In the face of bullets, all are equal, and fingernails and teeth cannot harm armor.
So, once the rear is stabilized and variables are eliminated, Enrique can make her move. Even during her time as a mere minion, she was an assassin who personally killed high-ranking vampires, so the moment the threat dissipates, she will start rampaging without restraint.
Thus, this is a race against time. From their perspective, if they can “eliminate Enrique before Elizaveta returns,” they win; from our perspective, if we can “stop them before Frechenkaya is utterly destroyed,” we win.
And in a race against time, it would be hard to find better warriors for a prolonged battle than the undead. They possess an army that has no issues with supply, morale drops, or desertion.
Crack!
Oscar lightly struck the head of an approaching zombie and clicked his tongue.
“Honestly, if this goes on for a week, there won’t be a living person left in the city. It’s remarkable that everyone hasn’t caught on yet.”
“Daylight is gone, so people are terrified. How could anyone step outside when citizens searching for the missing go missing themselves?”
The magical lights do not illuminate the entire city. With patrols lacking, it is rare for anyone to distinguish whether silhouettes moving in the dark are zombies or thieves.
Did I hear no movement next door? In such a situation, it is not the citizens of Krasilov who would worry about their neighbor’s safety and go check.
The city was quietly, yet never slowly, collapsing. Frankly, it is hard to believe that a single vampire could cause such chaos, but Krasilov’s national situation is not normal.
If one had to endure the total war of about 20 years, three changes of kingship, civil wars among claimants, revolts within a year, two invasions, and more than three raids, it could easily result in the disarray of a city even in 21st-century America.
Oscar sighed without answering and charged forward into the zombie-filled entrance. The group followed behind, forming their line.
*
At this point, Ivan entered the Frechenkaya region. It was barely more than a week of running on foot—just six and a half days.
A superhuman’s strength can enable a woman to carry an adult male and run. Based on this evident fact, Ivan and Isabelle have alternated sleeping while carrying each other.
“This is… not the honeymoon I was thinking of…?”
Isabelle looked at the sky with a faint smile. A pitch-black sky spread above her, with neither moon nor stars.
Is this how the Demon Realm’s sky looked to Father?
Well, at this point…
“It’s the Demon Realm.”
“Telepathy?!”
“What do you mean?”
Ivan also looked up at the sky. He took out a pocket watch from his pocket, glanced at it, and then returned it.
“The entire area has become the Demon Realm. This kind of scale… must have been a long time in preparation, or an enormous number of demon sorcerers have been mobilized, or perhaps…”
The Seven Dragon Lords have intervened.
Ivan looked toward Frechenkaya in the distance. Beyond the muddy coffin, the towering spires and outer fortifications were cloaked in dense darkness.
Below, flickering torches could be seen. However, there weren’t enough of them. This indicated that a gap in military presence had occurred.
Elizaveta would have left behind the minimum number of troops to defend the capital, so the visibility of a military gap suggests severe internal conditions in Frechenkaya.
“Not entirely fallen yet.”
The seal of the Krasilov royal family still fluttered atop the tower. The fact that there are troops moving back and forth in the outer castle means that the city’s functions have not completely ceased.
Ivan clicked his tongue and moved forward.
*
At the street corner, they encountered still-fresh corpses that had recently died, but as they approached the slum-like wasteland, the condition of the corpses rapidly deteriorated.
In the first place, the types of corpses that could be found in this area would be those abandoned on the streets or buried after being robbed. It was a feat to maintain form while being gnawed by rat hordes.
As they moved onward and entered a section enveloped in near-complete darkness, with almost no magical lights present.
The group swallowed hard and gazed up at a massive dilapidated building.
It was an administration building that bore the emblem of crossed daggers and lacked even a single window. The absence of windows indicated it conducted deeds that should not be shown to others, and it also meant those inside cannot see outside.
This place is the headquarters of the Counterintelligence Command. Once notorious throughout Frechenkaya, no, all of Krasilov, as the most fearsome location.
How many people were dragged in here during the power struggles with Alexander and never saw daylight again?
Contrary to the ominous rumors, the people the group encountered at the Counterintelligence Command were mostly good-natured neighborhood uncles…
“A lot of skeletons.”
“That means there are many old corpses.”
Beyond the iron-barred entrance, white skeletons were shuffling about, their numbers hard to count.
It was a number that could rival a cemetery. Most were missing some limbs. The glowing skeleton soldiers were rummaging through the building as though to avenge their grudges from their lifetime.
The group opened the iron bars with dry throats. It was not fear of the skeletons, but rather shock at the sheer number of skeletal soldiers that could have only come from having so many people die in this building.
As the iron bars opened, the skeleton soldiers all immediately turned their heads towards them as if they had ears.
“What, what are you looking at? Do you think I’ll be scared by that?”
“If you speak like that, it really sounds like you’re scared, Ecdysis.”
At Ecdysis’s remark, the skeletons approached. As the group finished preparing for battle, the skeletons halted just outside the range of their blades.
“…?”
Generally, undead lack intelligence. Spells that achieve reason are very high-level sorcery and are not used to produce such low-grade soldiers.
So those skeletons should only possess two instincts. The will deeply rooted enough to remain as grudges in life, or the will of the caster.
Most of the undead in Frechenkaya currently follow the latter case. They merely wander aimlessly, attacking those who dwell in the dark without purpose.
In other words, the skeletons standing still before them…
“That means they switched from autopilot mode to manual control.”
Eugene clicked his tongue and lifted his visor. Sure enough, the lead skeleton soldier began to speak.
[It seems minions are dying everywhere—]
The skeleton wore a dumbfounded expression, but the voice that came forth was sharp and refined, a man’s voice. As the group stood stunned, the skeleton continued.
[So, the bloodline of the betrayer has come. Daring to create kin? How daring that girl is to overstep her bounds.]
“Who are you?”
As Oscar aimed his sword at the skeleton, it rattled its teeth as if laughing.
[Is there a farmer who introduces his name to grain? Is there a fisherman who shows respect to fish? Your question is laughable. Rather than asking for my name, shouldn’t you prove your own worth? Whether you’re worthy enough to be invited to my banquet or not.]
The skeleton replied to Oscar in an exaggerated theatrical manner. In response, Oscar stabbed the skeleton’s forehead and shattered it without a reply.
[I’m the firstborn of Jill Ber de Etarique. Oscar of Tylesse. Vampire. If you’re not scared, show yourself, and if you’re feeling scared now, get lost from this city.]
Upon hearing Oscar’s words, the skeletons froze. The glowing, blue-eyed skulls gazed at the group and spoke in unison.
[The bloodline of the betrayer and the son of the mountain. A precious hand indeed… very well. Your blood is sufficiently valuable. I will tolerate your arrogance, so wait. I wonder if Enrique, that witch, will stay idle while I play with you.]
As the conversation concluded, the skeletons all rushed towards the group. They began attempting to break through the Counterintelligence Command headquarters.
*
The underground was filled with rotting zombies and swarms of rats. The rats came fearlessly, trying to bite at Ivan’s toes and legs.
In the pitch-black underground, devoid of any light source, Ivan walked at the same speed as usual. He didn’t even need to attempt echolocation. The enemies in this sewer did not possess any semblance of stealth.
Sounds amplify in closed quarters. If one can recognize the source of the noise and the angle of reflection, they can deduce their surroundings in a manner almost akin to echolocation.
Ivan continued to crush the heads of zombies with his axe and stomped the jumping rats while maintaining consistent strides.
The structural layout of Frechenkaya’s underground sewers remains etched in his mind with no more than a meter of error. He deduced the distance with his step, the numbers and positions of enemies from the sound they emitted.
Crack!!
After shattering the last zombie in his immediate section, Ivan lightly shook his axe to wipe off the rotten blood. He took the hand of Isabelle, who was trailing behind while pinching her nose.
“Ugh?!”
“If you keep walking that way, you’ll fall into the sewer.”
Isabelle still wasn’t able to perceive colors normally due to the curse of Lamerics. In such a situation, with her vision nearly blocked, it seemed she had lost her sense of direction.
Ivan clicked his tongue briefly. He had to guide her with one hand as he moved.
“Didn’t I tell you to wait at home?”
“How can you say that? We’re in this together, how cruel!”
“We’re together.”
“Well, um… we’ve cut down the Seven Dragon Lords together…? Or, um, our lips? Bumped heads?”
“Ivan.”
Ivan sighed and let go of her. Even if he couldn’t see, he could feel Isabelle’s surprise.
“I don’t have time for chit-chat, so I’ll make it brief. I cannot accept your feelings.”
“…What?”
“Think about your age. I’m as old as your father.”
Though he didn’t know Maximilian’s exact age, combining his time on Earth and now, Ivan had lived for about fifty years. Excluding the time he spent as Kim Sunwoo, he’s already over his mid-thirties.
His age gap with Isabelle is fourteen years. At such a difference, he’s effectively like a thief. Of course, he was taught by the rogue of the Hero Party, so it was an issue of position.
Still, this pertains to ethics. Unlike the pre-modern fantasy world, he came from a civilized nation that had stringent ethics and morals included in its regular educational curriculum. The dissemination of advanced civilization and ethical consciousness is an obligation of reincarnators.
…He simply couldn’t bring himself to be in a romantic relationship with a friend’s daughter. After all, she is almost like a niece…
Of course, he couldn’t say he felt nothing at all. It’s hard for a normal person to feel bad about a beautiful woman’s confession of feelings.
However, Ivan was not an unreasonable person who could disregard ethical issues. A niece, a friend’s daughter, and minimally, he was (likely) a future husband, (potentially) a father, and on top of that, (perhaps someday) he’d return to Earth.
Given the final consideration, he shouldn’t risk having a child, but that was unavoidable. Refusing the king’s direct order would leave no room for choice as a loyal subject of Krasilov.
And to add a small desire, honestly.
The allure of being a part of the lineage of the late king was also a significant temptation.
In conclusion, while Ivan had no reason to reject Isabelle’s feelings, he had almost no reason to accept them.
“…Do you dislike me…?”
“It’s not that kind of problem.”
“If not, then what’s the reason? You’re young, pretty, a hero, and you say you like me. What’s the problem?”
“Isabelle.”
“Don’t say you didn’t know. You knew it wasn’t just me!”
Sure, he admitted it.
He could tell that several female members of the Hero Party were secretly harboring feelings. He could hardly ignore it, even if he was oblivious. He just pretended not to notice.
The perfect relationship would be like that of an uncle and niece. In that regard, Ecdysis had the most ideal approach towards him. She genuinely seemed to see him as an uncle. (Not really)
Elpheira was half-heartedly considering him as a foster parent due to Veolgrin’s request, and Lucia would be closer to idolization than a realm of affection.
As Ivan continued walking without answering, Isabelle suddenly yelled.
“Ugh— I don’t know!! Now I genuinely, really don’t know! Aaggh—!”
Suddenly, Isabelle’s hand closed around the hand he had previously let go. She clasped tightly and held on.
“Since I can’t see anything right now, please guide me like this!”
“Mm.”
“And I also know I’ll do as you taught me!”
“Mm…?”
He didn’t remember teaching anything extravagant.
Isabelle’s voice continued.
“The hero is someone who never gives up even in despair! If one of us must give in, it won’t be me!”
With that, Isabelle boldly marched forward.
Just ahead, hand-in-hand.
Ivan couldn’t help but let out a slight chuckle. Well, it seems I can see now.
*
[How long will you hide? Enrique.]
A sinister voice echoed in Enrique’s ears. A few rats connected to her consciousness slowly whispered to her.
[A sinful child who killed her father dares to create children? How ridiculous! Can a mongrel not even half a being find joy in family games? If so, look. I shall show you the sight of your child dying while screaming your name. Let’s see how long you can wait.]
“Shut up.”
Enrique sneered in the dark room.
It’s quite embarrassing for one to call themselves a hero while leaving them in this state. And yet, here she was.
She fastened two daggers at her waist and stood up. Yes, let’s go.
Logically, heading out now is the worst of mistakes. This situation was surely arranged to capture her, which meant the opponent believed they could confront her and win.
Knowing the name of the Shadow Blade, Enrique understood that the methods prepared by the enemy would not be trivial.
For that reason, she hid. She even ordered her apprentice to flee. Yet, she still couldn’t stop herself from heading out, knowing that the apprentice was bravely fighting back.
So it was time to go out. To fight. And if it seemed she was about to be caught, she would end her own life. Afterwards, likely.
She would ensure her revenge.
Enrique took a deep breath and armed herself, pondering what to say when meeting Veolgrin and Jill Ber. She had even promised to take good care of their children.
Thump.
Sounds echoed outside the hiding spot. The vampire’s sharp hearing caught the noise. The magically sealed thick door began to shake violently.
Did they find me here?
With tension, Enrique drew her sword. Soon, thump, thump, thump. The door shook in a rhythm resembling knocking. It was a violence bereft of the politeness of a mere knock.
Soon, crack. The sealing spell shattered. Almost immediately, crack, cracks formed in the reinforced stone door.
Again, crack.
A blade tore through the crack, appearing, then swiftly withdrawing.
“Uh…?”
Through the gap, blue eyes stared at her.
Familiar, cold, yet filled with relief.
Visible even through the small gap, sunken cheeks.
With firmly closed lips, delicate brows extended.
“…My disciple.”
“You’re alive.”
“I’m undead.”
“Seeing you still have the energy to make jokes is a sign of health.”
Crack.
Ivan burst through the door, which collapsed. Simultaneously, Enrique lunged toward him.
Isabelle naturally ran up to Enrique and hugged her.
“I’m so glad you’re okay, Professor Enrique…”
“Uh…? Huh?”
“Everything is alright now. The hero has come!”
Enrique fell into confusion!
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