Chapter 12: Cleanup
“Ughhh...! Gahk....”
“Grrr....”
Kxias was the progenitor of all the vampires that existed in Kushan City.
When he died, the subordinate vampires suffered an immense shock to their spirits.
Their swift, strong, and cunning appearances completely vanished, and instead they stumbled around aimlessly, drooling like crazed beasts.
Slaaash!
“Cough!”
Squelch!
“Gahk!”
The battle ended all at once.
The ones who had been fighting fiercely suddenly began spinning in circles like a cart with a broken wheel, and immediately swords and axes tore into them.
“What the hell...?”
“Were they drugged or something? Why are they suddenly like this?”
Among the confused warriors, the first to grasp the situation was Rivera Pietro.
“...No way?”
His gaze turned toward Ransen.
“Insane...!”
His eyes widened.
Because there was a familiar silhouette engulfed in white flames, burning.
“He actually... killed Kxias....”
That was what he had hoped for when he had charged into the fight, but now that it had truly happened, he couldn’t bring himself to believe it....
That was how much Kxias had seemed like a bottomless monster in his heart.
“He’s really... dead? Kxias...?”
Drip.
Rivera hurriedly swallowed back the tears that were about to well up.
He firmly believed that as a man, he could not show tears.
Instead, he stepped toward Ransen.
Suppressing the sudden impulse to kiss that dark blue hair, drenched in blood.
* * *
Was it really against someone who would vanish into ashes like that... that I had spent all that long time in despair...?
As I stared blankly at Kxias, who was turning into a pile of ash, I was brought back to my senses by a voice calling me.
“Sir Ransen.”
A charming, low voice.
When I turned my head, I saw Rivera Pietro.
“Ah, Sir Rivera.”
After lightly exchanging bows, Rivera spoke to me, his eyes shining like stars.
“I have something to tell you. According to records I have read, vampires who lose their progenitor lose their reason for about a day or two.”
“Ah, so that’s why it was this easy... Hm? But then, does that mean they’ll recover after two or three days?”
“Yes. With time, they return to their original state. That is why now is the best opportunity to eradicate Kxias’ remnants. With your permission, I will wipe out every last mosquito breathing in this city before the night is over.”
“Permission? This is something we should be begging you for. Thank you.”
We each bowed once more to one another.
But even after that, Rivera continued to look at me with shining eyes, as if he still had something left to say.
“...? Do you perhaps have something else to say?”
“Ah, yes. This is something I absolutely must tell you first.”
Rivera straightened his posture, then bent at the waist with even greater formality.
“Thank you so much. Kxias was my... no, the mortal enemy of all my comrades. Thanks to you, Sir Ransen, we were able to avenge ourselves.”
I felt a slight twinge of embarrassment, but instead of modestly denying it, I decided to play along more theatrically.
“Well, if you’re really grateful, just treat my people well from now on. We’ll have plenty of reasons to cooperate for a while. I’ll be watching to see if you truly mean that gratitude.”
“Haha. You’ll be surprised.”
At my pointed joke, Rivera laughed heartily. He parted his lips as if to say more, then turned away.
“There’s still a lot I want to tell you, but first I’ll go crush the rest of those mosquitoes. After that, I’ll speak with you again.”
There are people like that.
Those you don’t see often, yet feel drawn to.
Those you don’t know well, but instinctively trust.
Rivera was such a person.
That was why I allowed a bit of my true feelings to show.
“I’ll be counting on you. Together... let’s make this city a place worth living in.”
It wasn’t just about killing Kxias and being done with it. I was revealing my intention to involve myself in ruling this city.
With Rivera’s influence, it would be a tremendous help in stabilizing it.
Perhaps understanding my meaning, Rivera froze for a moment, then slowly turned to look back at me.
An impish smile hung on his face.
“Ah... I was going to tell you later, but since you’ve stepped into it so suddenly, I have no choice.”
“What?”
“Here, take this.”
Whoosh!
Something square flew toward me, fitting neatly in one hand.
I caught it—and realized it was a precious item.
Its body was made of rare leaf metal in a pale green hue, with fragments of gemstones arranged in a mosaic to form the pattern of deer antlers.
An old object, steeped in history.
‘A crest...?’
I hadn’t expected this.
Because no matter how I looked at it, this was a family crest.
And not in the style of Roberland, this continent, but in the style of Gloryland—the continent where the Banroa Kingdom had once stood.
But if it was a family crest, and he was giving it to me....
“This is....”
“Yes. The crest of the House of Pietro. In truth, our house was a noble family of Gloryland three hundred years ago.”
“What, a crest like that....”
Rivera gave a faint smile.
This man, in his early thirties, knew how to smile with style.
“I was raised with the etiquette of a noble, after all. So believe me—I fully understand the meaning of giving you that. It’s exactly what you think it is.”
In Gloryland, the meaning of entrusting one’s family crest to another was only one thing.
“Then, I’ll return after finishing my task. My lord.”
It was a vassal’s oath—his pledge of loyalty to me.
Rivera bent deeply at the waist, as if following ancient noble etiquette, but soon walked away with the swagger of someone born and raised in Roberland.
Watching his retreating back, I let out a dry laugh.
‘He just tossed me a family crest like he was handing out candy.’
In our kingdom, such a pledge of loyalty required at least three to four days of elaborate ceremony....
Rivera Pietro... this man.
Truly interesting.
* * *
“I knew he’d do something like that.”
Seah spoke flatly.
But from her tone, it seemed she had some familiarity with Rivera.
“You know him well?”
“More or less. Where do you think I got all my information from? A lot of it came from that man. In return, I also gave him help here and there.”
I looked at Seah intently.
Sure, now that Kxias was dead it might not matter, but... she had cooperated with the leader of a rebel faction? Something so dangerous....
Avoiding my eyes slightly, Seah spoke as if making an excuse.
“Sometimes, you can’t just run away. You have to face things head-on... If you want to survive.”
Sigh....
A sigh slipped out on its own.
Every time I saw these kids acting like this, it made me reflect. Made me realize just how neglectful I’d been all this time.
Tap.
I set my hand once on Seah’s head, then passed by her as I said:
“From now on, don’t shoulder danger by yourself. Talk to me first. I’ve finally come to my senses.”
“...Okay.”
In Seah’s emotionless voice, there was the faintest trace of a smile.
But she quickly wiped even that fleeting smile away, falling in step beside me as she spoke with her usual businesslike tone.
“Anyway, this works out. Let’s leave the cleanup of the remnants to Mr. Rivera. We need to find evidence of the Count’s crimes. The more we expose, the more support we’ll gain from the citizens.”
“That’s right. If we’re going to govern the city, the people’s support is crucial.”
“Yeah. Otherwise, taxes won’t be collected properly.”
Ah, taxes.
That wasn’t exactly what I meant... but she wasn’t wrong.
Truly, she was a sharp one.
In an instant, Seah began issuing orders.
Not only our own people, but also the heads of trustworthy businesses and reliable citizens were gathered to form an investigative team.
They scoured the half-destroyed Lord’s Keep, as well as the prisons, courts, and warehouses, collecting evidence of the Count’s atrocities.
“I’m going to the chapel. We don’t know what kind of threats might be there, so you need to come with me.”
“The chapel... right, if they offered live sacrifices there, it wouldn’t be strange if some kind of monster showed up.”
“Yeah.”
“But then... wouldn’t it be better if you didn’t go? It’s dangerous.”
“I think I need to see it with my own eyes. As long as you protect me, it’ll be fine.”
“Well... that’s true.”
Since she spoke so firmly, I couldn’t really argue back.
The path to the chapel was eerily unsettling.
From the Lord’s Keep stretched a twisting, maze-like road, hemmed in on both sides by tall stone walls.
Not only did the walls block out the sun, making it shady and cold, but every time we turned a corner, it felt as if something might leap out from just beyond.
‘Could there really be ghosts here...?’
Even as a Swordmaster, I felt goosebumps rising on my arms. That alone was proof this wasn’t just my imagination.
Something sinister and inexplicable hung in the air.
I placed my hand on the hilt of my sword, ready to draw it at any moment, and pressed forward.
Then—
Tug...
I suddenly felt someone pulling on my clothes. Turning around, I saw Seah clutching at my hem, her face unusually pale.
Her expression might have been blank, but the trembling in her eyes made it clear—she was afraid.
‘Ah, right. Seah was always terrified of ghosts and things like that, wasn’t she?’
She had grown so composed over the years that I’d forgotten.
Back when she was five, she couldn’t even sleep alone at night.
On the ship, when we fled the Banroa Kingdom across the endless sea,
and later, hiding in the Ilneon Dungeon after arriving in Kushan City—
Even when everyone else fell asleep, worn out or simply used to it, Seah would always crawl over to my side, wide awake.
How could I forget?
There had been countless nights where I cradled a fussy Daisy in one arm and a trembling Seah in the other as I drifted to sleep.
‘So, even now, she still gets scared in places like this, huh?’
Maybe I stared at her too long, because I was suddenly overcome with a warm, protective feeling.
“Ah...!”
Realizing she was holding onto my clothes, Seah quickly let go, feigned nonchalance, and strode past me.
“...Don’t get the wrong idea.”
Sure, sure. I won’t.
“...Seriously. Don’t misunderstand.”
Yeah, yeah.
I followed behind her with a smirk tugging at my lips.
Whooo-ooohhh—
From around the corner, a gust of wind blew, making a strange, hollow sound.
In that instant, Seah’s shoulders stiffened completely.
Step...
Step...
Slowly, she circled back to my side—then grabbed my clothes again.
Ah, damn... I couldn’t stop my lips from twitching upward.
“Don’t let go. Just hold on tight and follow me.”
I said it with a teasing grin, and Seah shot me a sharp glare.
“...Don’t treat me like a child.”
“Of course, of course. Our Seah’s all grown up. She’s already twenty this year, after all.”
Her hand, gripping my hem, trembled slightly.
But she didn’t let go.
And so, we followed the winding path until we arrived at the chapel.
All the ominous feelings and eerie chills we’d sensed along the way seemed to vanish like they had only been illusions... The chapel was empty, with nothing unusual to be found.
“There’s nothing here.”
“...Yeah. Other than it being unusually cold and unpleasant, there’s nothing.”
We searched slowly and carefully, leaving no corner unchecked, but truly—there was nothing.
The chapel contained nothing more than large, chilling statues that gave off a foul aura.
Perhaps the faint smell of blood lingering on the massive altar at the center was the only thing of note.
At the very least, I thought we’d learn what religion Kxias had belonged to....
But every visible symbol was something bizarre and unfamiliar—nothing we’d ever heard of before.
“But Oppa, what’s that?”
Just as I was wondering if it was time to turn back, Seah spoke up.
“Hm?”
“On your chest.”
“My chest?”
Huh?
Why was that...?
From the subspace necklace hanging over my chest, a green glow was spilling out.
‘Why is this glowing...? ...Could it be?’
A sudden thought struck me. I reached into the subspace and pulled out a book.
Shrrng—
The metallic cover gave off a cold, scraping sound.
“A book?”
Seah’s voice carried curiosity.
I furrowed my brows.
Just as I suspected.
“Yes. The Book of Fate.”
The very Book of Fate that had flung me back ten thousand years into the ancient past just a few days ago was once again shining with a green light.
The glow was so strong it spilled out beyond the subspace necklace itself.
But... why now?
When I had actually tried to activate it, it hadn’t budged an inch....