27. The Dawn of Melisildur
-Tap, tap.
Fernandez was grilling some jerky over the campfire, gazing at the twilight. The evening in the wilderness had a restrained beauty. Ever since gaining a new body, Fernandez found joy in observing natural landscapes.
‘In my previous life, everything was just polluted.’
-You used to say it was nice back then.
‘That was when you were still around.’
-Now you’re making distinctions? You know it’s meaningless. I am you.
‘Doesn’t that make you sound like a real lunatic?’
-Why wouldn’t it? Right now, you’re essentially talking to yourself.
Faijashi chuckled. Well, considering that the soul and essence split from the same spiritual entity, in a broad sense, they could be considered the same person. Fernandez fell into thought as he looked at Faijashi.
-So, can you survive tonight?
‘I’ve prepared. If this isn’t enough, then there’s nothing I can do.’
Night is about to fall. The enraged executioners of Franzrit will soon come seeking Fernandez’s blood.
His magic was nearly depleted. Fernandez surveyed the weapons he could use and watched the dark clouds gathering on the horizon.
The time of the vampires was approaching.
‘Vampires are heretics too, right?’
-They’re not demon worshippers, but… according to the Temple of the Gods, they are heretics.
What is this guy trying to say? Faijashi frowned as he looked at Fernandez. Fernandez gazed at the black carriage hanging on the horizon and said,
“Then it’s time for the Inquisition Officer! Kirhas, wake up!”
“Huh, huh, huh!”
Kirhas startled awake, popping out from under the blanket. She quickly wiped the drool from her mouth and grabbed her weapon.
“Let’s purify the heretics!”
*
-Clatter, clatter…
The black four-horse carriage was racing through the wilderness. The four corpse horses led by a skeletal coachman seemed to foreshadow an ominous future. Amelia was sitting on a velvet sofa, polishing her blade.
“Ah, sister! I told you not to draw your sword inside the carriage!”
“Keep nagging and you’ll die?”
“What do you mean ‘die’? Don’t you know we’re already dead?”
“Why are you like this today?”
-Swish…
Amelia lightly swung her sword. The sensation of slicing through the air was swift. Everett flinched and ducked his head.
“Why did our Julian have to die in such a troublesome place? An Inquisition Officer, and even fighting against a Diemonica Inquisition Officer… I don’t want to deal with that.”
“But is that guy really an Inquisition Officer? He uses dark magic.”
“Right. Isn’t that weird? Should we kill him once and bring him back to ask?”
Amelia chuckled. The sadism of a vampire overflowed from her eyes. Then, Everett exclaimed in panic,
“P-put the sword away! Sister! Get down!”
“What… huh?!”
-Boom!
A tremendous impact hit the carriage! Everett, who was ducking, was flung into the air, and one side of the carriage door shattered and flew off. The outside scenery spun rapidly!
“What the… hell?!”
-Crash!
The carriage flipped over in an instant, and Amelia and Everett rolled on the ground. They wouldn’t die from this, but the impact was immense.
The broken wheel of the carriage rolled on the ground. In the distance, the dark night sky was visible through the door.
“Ugh…”
“S-sister, are you okay?”
Everett and Amelia groaned as they struggled to get up. In their long lives, this was the first time the carriage had tipped over.
They cautiously stood up and looked at the sky outside the door. The black sky and a red sphere… red? Burning? A burning sphere…?
“Fireball?! Damn it! Sister, get out!!!”
-Snap!
Everett grabbed Amelia by the collar and leaped out of the carriage. The burning sphere, approaching at an incredible speed, hit the carriage the moment Everett escaped.
-Boom!
Everett and Amelia rolled three times on the ground to avoid the impact. Their high-end suits were instantly dirtied by the wilderness soil.
The carriage exploded and caught fire. Amelia glared at the edge of the village, seething.
“Inquisition Officerrrr!!!!”
“Oh, you’re here? Come on in.”
“Do you know what it means to invite vampires? You know, right? Fine. Fiiine! I’ll take that challenge!!”
In the sensitive vision of the vampires, Fernandez was seen leisurely smiling with his arms crossed on the second floor of a building in the distance! Amelia’s eyes turned red with rage as she prepared to charge in.
“W-wait, sister! Hold on. Calm down!”
“…? Why! What! What is it!”
“There are two traps just at the village entrance!”
Everett was a mage, and he acknowledged that the opponent was at least one, maybe two levels above him.
It’s never wise to charge into a mage’s prepared stronghold!
“You don’t know what’s in there, and you’re just going to charge in?”
“Got a better idea?”
“Well…”
“Just two humans, and you’re scared and running away before even fighting. Want to report that to the master?”
“Ugh…”
“Hey, I’m here. Don’t worry, little brother.”
Pulling Everett’s anxious arm, Amelia confidently stepped into the village entrance.
*
“Tsk.”
Watching the two vampires enter the village, Fernandez clicked his tongue. He didn’t expect them to turn tail and run just like that, but he had hoped at least one of them would have taken some significant damage.
Facing two high noble vampires with his current strength was insufficient. Fernandez fell into thought as he looked at Kirhas.
‘If it were Kirhas in her prime, we’d be marching on Franzrit by now…’
-Her prime is at least 30 years away.
It’s still too early.
‘What a pity.’
Anyway, there were still plenty of moves left to make. Fernandez tightly gripped his silver longsword and raised the kite shield emblazoned with the Inquisition Office’s emblem. It was a reliable and versatile piece of equipment, as heavy as it was trustworthy.
“Kirhas. Plan B. Got it?”
“Yes!”
Kirhas quickly slipped into the alleyways of the town. Fernandez stood in the town plaza, facing the two vampires approaching from the front.
“Have you played all your useful cards? You won’t get lucky like you did earlier today, Inquisition Officer!”
“Lucky earlier today? Hmm… Your brother doesn’t seem to think so.”
“Tsk!”
Amelia bit her lip tightly and glared at Fernandez with burning eyes. She slowly drew her sword.
-Swish.
“Enough talk! Let the corpse answer your questions!”
-Slash!
Amelia’s sword cut through the air. In the dark night with extremely scarce light sources, only the faint moonlight illuminated the trajectory of the blade.
But Fernandez, Amelia, Everett in the distance, and Kirhas hiding somewhere—everyone present here could see through this level of darkness as if it were broad daylight.
Vampires, Diemonica, and the Beastmen. For them, ambushes held little meaning.
-Clang!
Fernandez blocked Amelia’s sword with his shield and swung his right hand. The blade danced. Amelia, almost invisible in her speed, retracted her sword and clashed her blade against Fernandez’s.
-Clang! Clash!
Sparks flew as swords scraped against each other. A tremendous clash of power. Fernandez gritted his teeth as he felt the pressure pushing against his arm. In terms of strength, he was by no means inferior. And in skill…
-Clang!
“Hah, haha! Inquisition Officer! Is this all you’ve got?!”
-Clang!
Amelia’s sword tangled with Fernandez’s, twisting like a lever and driving toward his throat. A textbook counter.
Fernandez leaned his head back to dodge and pushed Amelia’s shoulder with his shield. Another textbook move—shield bash!
-Whoosh!
“Tsk! You brute! Everett! Shoot!”
-Crackle!
Fernandez being tied up with Amelia meant there was no magical firepower to restrain the mage. Everett, free to chant, suddenly summoned a blood-red lightning bolt above Fernandez’s head.
“Hmph!”
Fernandez raised his shield to block the falling thunderbolt. Red currents crackled across the shield’s surface.
An immense pressure weighed down on him, and his hair stood on end from the vortex. But no significant damage had been dealt yet.
“Opening!”
-Clang!
As Fernandez’s stance faltered, Amelia aggressively pressed in. Fernandez swung his numb arm to block Amelia’s sword.
-Clang! Clash!
“Where! Did that Beastman girl run away?!”
“No!”
“…What?”
Fernandez suddenly swung his sword horizontally and shouted.
“Basilaaa!!!”
“Yes! Your Excellency!”
The sound came from… behind?! Amelia panicked and turned around. A blade emerged near Everett, who was chanting his next spell.
Everett, startled, swung his staff, but Kirhas, who had appeared beside him, was faster.
-Stab!
“Guh?!”
Kirhas’s sword slashed across Everett’s side. Kirhas frowned as she struck—the wound was shallow! The vampire’s body was denser than she had anticipated. She quickly rolled on the ground to regain her stance.
“Die, mage!”
“You… filthy… Beastman… girl!”
Everett, seeing the blood flowing from his side, contorted his face like a demon. The handsome noble youth was nowhere to be seen.
With a demonically twisted face and glowing red eyes, he bared his fangs and screamed.
“I’ll kill you! I’ll drain every drop of your blood!”
-Crash!
“Ugh?!”
Everett suddenly swung his staff, engaging in close combat. Kirhas, flustered, raised her sword to block the attack. However, Everett’s close combat skills were not as low as she had thought.
“Haha, fools! Inquisition Officer! Did you think my brother was just a weak mage?!”
A high noble vampire. With centuries of life, the skills they could master were countless. Amelia sneered at Fernandez’s plan. Was assassinating a mage all he had?
But Fernandez smirked as he blocked Amelia’s sword with a crossguard and twisted. A momentary stalemate of strength. Amelia and Fernandez stared at each other up close.
Red eyes, sharply raised beautiful brows, and pale white skin. Contrasted by her black dress… Fernandez smiled as he looked at Amelia.
Amelia didn’t like Fernandez’s relaxed smile.
“Your arrogance! You’re done for now!”
“And you, did you think I was just a strong Inquisition Officer?”
“…?!”
Amelia sensed an instinctive warning in Fernandez’s words. She wanted to quickly disengage.
But in such close quarters, trying to retract her sword and retreat during a power struggle was extremely dangerous. She could have taken three more slashes in that opening.
“Ugh…?!”
“Now, look at this.”
Fernandez raised the hand holding the shield. On the back of the shield, fastened with a leather strap, his free left hand slowly twisted, gripping something.
“M… mage!”
Too close, even in this darkness, the black halo rising behind Fernandez’s head was visible.
Amelia’s eyes widened as she added more force to her sword. She had to get out fast! This guy… he’s a mage, isn’t he?!
-Clang! Clang!
“Ugh! Let… let go!”
Every time Amelia swung her sword to break free, Fernandez’s blade bound her more tightly. And soon, the black halo seemed to flicker like flames.
Plan B. While Kirhas tied up the enemy mage to disrupt his spells, Fernandez would cast a spell on Amelia to create an imbalance in power.
Fernandez’s hand finally grasped the magical energy in the air…
The spell was complete.
-Melisildur’s Dawn…
Faijashi marveled at the completed spell. The light of the ancient World Tree. With Fernandez’s mana, he couldn’t summon the full manifestation of the ‘Light of the World Tree,’ but even its trace was enough for now.
The world was swallowed by light for a moment,
And the four people, tangled in combat, seemed to freeze.
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