Fernandez felt oddly comfortable in the damp, foul-smelling underground waterway. His early life had been that of an exile, a fugitive, a slave, and a pauper, so places like this had always been his home and battlefield.
Slums and underground waterways. In places where demons, heretics, witches, vampires, and madmen lurked, a clumsy noble bastard needed more than just luck to survive.
-Squelch!
“Ughhh…”
A half-rotted ghoul emerged from the sewage beneath Fernandez’s feet. Having anticipated this from the moment the sewage surged, Fernandez grabbed the ghoul’s skull and smashed it against the wall, splattering it.
-Thud!
“Did they find us?”
-Probably not yet… Above!
“I know!”
“Ughhh!!!”
Three ghouls clinging to the ceiling simultaneously dropped toward Fernandez. He quickly rolled forward, drawing his greatsword and slashing twice.
-Squelch!
The three ghouls fell into five pieces. Even with their limbs shattered, the ghouls writhed and crawled toward Fernandez.
-Crunch!
Fernandez stomped on the writhing ghouls’ heads, crushing them as he advanced deeper into the underground waterway. Honestly, he had expected this. If they were hiding, it had to be the underground waterway.
No light, no visitors, and even if the poor who crawled in here went missing, no one would suspect a thing. The noble elves wouldn’t come near such a stinking place, and the corrupt human soldiers wouldn’t bother searching this deeply.
“Who… are you…?”
So, when Fernandez suddenly appeared, crushing ghouls left and right, it was nothing short of a disaster for the vampires.
A thin man in a torn and tattered suit, with red eyes, glared at Fernandez from across the waterway.
“Franzrit?”
“?! What are you? You don’t seem like an elf.”
-Swish.
As Fernandez drew his greatsword and approached, the man panicked and stepped back, shouting.
“W-wait! Hold on! Let’s talk, okay? I’ve seen enough of your fighting. You don’t want to fight vampires in a place like this, do you?”
“…?”
When Fernandez paused, the man chuckled nervously.
“Good, you understand me, so you’re not one of those elf bastards. Why are you here? Humans don’t usually come this far.”
“I came looking for vampires. Glad I found you.”
The man, still wary of Fernandez, didn’t retreat further. Fernandez slowly gauged the distance between them, adjusting his grip on the sword.
Twelve steps.
“Why are you looking for us? We’ve had no dealings with humans.”
“The general sent me.”
“…? It’s not time for the operation yet, is it? Why take such a risk? What if you get caught?!”
“You’re not asking who sent me?”
“Of course not! The only one who’d send someone like you is Aildern, that bastard!”
Eleven steps.
“Wait, wait. General Aildern sent a human as a messenger…?”
“Do you think an elf would come to a place like this?”
“Ah… I guess not. Hmm…”
Ten steps.
Fernandez’s shoulders began to tense. Inside his tunic, the muscles in his arms twitched like snakes.
The man shrank back slightly at the menacing aura. How could a human seem more predatory than him?
“So, what’s the matter? The operation isn’t for a few more days, right? Didn’t they say it would start once the fleet arrives from the main base?”
“I was told to deliver this.”
Nine steps.
“What is it?”
The man was now close enough to be fully within Fernandez’s sight.
Even in the nearly lightless underground waterway, at a distance of eight steps, Diemonica’s vision wouldn’t miss him.
And at eight steps, even with a vampire’s reflexes, it would be nearly impossible to escape Diemonica.
-Swish!
“Wha-?!”
-Thud!
Fernandez’s greatsword shot out like an arrow, piercing the man’s heart before he could react.
The sword, driven in so deeply that the crossguard pressed against his chest, protruded from his back, trembling slightly.
“Guh… ugh…”
-Thud, thud.
Fernandez slowly approached the man. The man staggered, clutching at the sword embedded in his chest. He looked up at Fernandez with disbelief in his eyes.
“Ugh… ugh… gasp…”
The shock was too great. His lungs and heart were torn apart, and only the sound of escaping air came from the vampire’s mouth.
Blood streamed from his eyes. Fernandez gripped the hilt and kicked the man’s stomach.
-Thud.
The blade slid out of the man’s body, and the vampire shuddered at the sensation. With his vital organs shredded by the consecrated Saintmetal greatsword, there was no hope of survival.
‘At least I’ve found one of the traitors.’
-The Guimerin Dynasty was the most populous among the Elven Trident. Isn’t it strange that they abandoned the capital and chose to wander just because the general betrayed them?
‘There must have been a reason. Now, let’s hear that reason.’
-Just one more to catch.
Fernandez dragged the fallen vampire’s corpse deeper into the waterway. Vampire bodies were sturdy.
They could serve as shields against sudden attacks. At the very least, they could be bait.
-Knock knock.
“Leia. Do you have a moment?”
“Ah, Your Highness. Yes. Please come in.”
Leia answered while wiping her blade with a dry cloth. The door opened, and an elf youth entered. His beauty was like a marble sculpture, and his flowing silver hair accentuated his androgynous charm.
Ainard Fin Guimerin. The only legitimate son of King Guimerin. A man who embodied the delicacy unique to pure-blooded elves and the toughness and sharpness honed from a young age as a warrior.
Leia looked at him with a playful smile.
“Isn’t it a bit late to visit a lady’s chambers?”
“Haha, cut it out, sister. I heard you brought a human man to the audience chamber?”
Ainard laughed heartily as he sat across from Leia. Leia sheathed her sword and poured him a glass of water.
“He was an Inquisition Officer from the Temple of the Gods. The Franzrit messenger died while fleeing, and he took up the mission. He insisted on meeting His Majesty personally to deliver the secret letter.”
“I’m not here to interrogate you, sister. Why do you treat me as your superior rather than your brother?”
Ainard’s eyes were filled with affection. His sister, Leia, was a half-elf. A half-elf ‘created’ by Guimerin himself. She was intentionally crafted by King Guimerin to serve as his agent on the continent.
After the Celestial War, a curse befell the elves who abandoned their gods: [You shall never set foot on the continent again.] Elves who stepped on the continent rapidly lost their power and withered.
However, the curse did not pass on to half-elves born from unions with humans. Leia was created to exploit this trait, a source of pride and, simultaneously, a curse.
Ainard always felt a mix of pride and pity for her.
“I want to hear more. What orders did His Majesty give after meeting with the human?”
“He commanded us to find the heretics who have infiltrated this city. And according to the secret letter…”
Leia narrowed her eyes and lowered her voice.
“There is a traitor among the five generals, colluding with the head of the Franzrit clan.”
“…What?”
