Chapter 364 - Before the Greatest Disaster
In a place some distance away from the hideout of Eight Fingers, in a relatively remote area with little human presence, a figure stood tall on the roof of an old building that seemed to have been untouched for quite some time.
It was a teenage girl with long hair, each side a different color.
On the right side was a dazzling silver-white, while the left side was pitch black as if it could swallow everything around it—an unusual and striking contrast.
Surprisingly, her eyes were the same, with different colors on each side, a rare case of heterochromatic eyes.
She appeared relatively youthful, looking no older than fifteen, yet her body was clad in full paladin-like armor with wing-like decorations on the back. She held a war scythe that bore a great resemblance to a cross-shaped spear—it was almost certain that she was a skilled warrior from her appearance alone.
At this moment, the girl gazed toward the hideout of Eight Fingers with a thoughtful expression on her face.
"What's going on?"
Muttering to herself, the girl could sense a terrifying wave of power coming from that direction, one that made her skin tingle.
"How interesting... It's strong enough to make my skin tingle. It must be that vampire, right?"
"Is that vampire fighting someone? But how could there be anyone that strong in this kingdom?"
Her thoughtful expression grew more intense and shifted into curiosity.
Just then, a voice interrupted her thoughts.
"You're here."
Following this voice, a figure stepped out from the building and approached the girl from behind.
It was a human with a somewhat androgynous appearance, and from the voice, it was clear that this human was male, looking about the same age as the girl—no older than twenty, quite young.
If Riezel had been here, he would have recognized this young androgynous man immediately.
Why?
It was because just over two months ago, this young man had appeared in the northern forest of E-Rantel, accompanied by a group of people, suddenly interrupting the fight between him and Shalltear.
Yes, he was none other than the Captain of the Black Scripture, one of the three awakened god-kins of the Slane Theocracy, also known by the title of 'Black Scripture'.
Just his title alone represented the entire Black Scripture—the monster Clementine had referred to.
Now, this well-known figure had come to the Re-Estize Kingdom, to the royal capital of Re-Estize, and even to the hideout of Eight Fingers.
"You felt it too, right? Such an eerie, chilling aura... It can only be that vampire."
Gazing in the hideout's direction, the Captain spoke solemnly, his expression matching his tone.
"Yeah..." The girl replied nonchalantly. "It matches the intel we got from the Windflower Scripture—that vampire really escaped to the Re-Estize Kingdom and sneaked into the royal capital."
"At least we finally found her..." The Captain said calmly, glancing at the girl's back. "But it looks like she's in the middle of a fight, which is kind of worrying. Who could make that vampire fight seriously? Besides us, is there really anyone else in the kingdom?"
"Who knows..." The girl replied with the same nonchalant demeanor. "Maybe Warrior Captain Gazef Stronoff, the one they call the strongest warrior?"
"No, it can't be him."
At the girl's guess, the Captain shook his head, denying it without hesitation.
"He hasn't even fully stepped into the Realm of Heroes. Even with the kingdom's treasures, his strength is at most just half-stepping into the Realm of Heroes—nothing compared to ours, let alone someone who could make that vampire fight like this."
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"Even if he led the Warrior Troop to surround that vampire, it wouldn't be enough to make her fight this seriously."
"Hmm~ now that you say it like that, I'm curious now..." The girl smiled slightly, seeming more intrigued. "How did someone who could fight that vampire suddenly appear in this kingdom? Could it be a Dragon Lord?"
"Dragon Lord... it's not impossible." The Captain nodded, then frowned. "I remember the Cardinals mentioning a True Dragon Lord who likes to travel, but their whereabouts are often a mystery, and no one's seen them in person. Could it be that that True Dragon Lord happened to pass by here and got into a fight with that vampire?"
"It could also be a hidden human powerhouse." The girl seemed to prefer this guess. "If that's the case, they're probably like us."
Upon hearing this, the Captain pondered for a moment before nodding.
"Do you mean a player descendant? It's not out of the question. After all, besides the gods we follow, there have been other players on this continent. If they left behind descendants and awakened like us, it wouldn't be surprising if they could fight that vampire."
"Still, I really don't want to believe that such a powerful person exists in this decaying kingdom."
While saying this, the Captain's tone wasn't one of disdain for the kingdom—just stating a fact.
"I actually hope such a person does exist..." The girl said, gazing in the direction of the hideout, her lips curving into a faint smile.
However, something was unsettling about her words, as if they were stained with blood, filled with the desire for battle and competitiveness.
"If someone can stand up to that vampire alone, maybe they could fight me too and let me experience the taste of defeat?"
As these words left the girl's mouth, the air instantly filled with a dangerous atmosphere.
Gazing at the girl's back, the Captain, who knew this was just one of her old habits, was used to it by now since she was the type to say things like that whenever someone powerful appeared.
"Honestly, I can't imagine any human who could match you." The Captain remarked bluntly, his tone filled with admiration and trust for the girl. "But if someone really can fight that vampire like this, forget about comparing them to you, they'd surely be stronger than me."
At the very least, he was aware he couldn't take on that vampire alone—even if he equipped the artifacts left behind by the Six Great Gods, it probably wouldn't be nearly enough.
Even the girl in front of him, who was far stronger than he was, probably wouldn't be that vampire's opponent if she wasn't equipped with those artifacts.
In this situation, he was nowhere near the level of the girl before him, who could fight that vampire alone, let alone the one currently locked in a fierce battle with that vampire.
Just as the Captain was brooding over this, the girl suddenly spoke up.
"Hey, what if the person fighting that vampire right now is the same one you mentioned in your report last time? I mean, the guy you said was fighting that vampire in the northern forest of E-Rantel before you all barged in?"
Such a question caught the Captain off guard, making him immediately fall into deep thought.
He couldn't help but recall the experience from over two months ago when he had led the other members of the Black Scripture to E-Rantel for a mission.
At that time, the Six Cardinals had given him an important mission, asking him to take an artifact known as the 'Downfall of Castle and Country' to the area near E-Rantel to search for the possible resurrection of a Dragon Lord.
From what he knew, that entity had wiped out the Sunlight Scripture and even countered the surveillance magic cast by the Slane Theocracy's clerics, causing the theocracy significant losses.
After some discussions, the Six Cardinals had come to a unanimous conclusion that there was a high chance a dangerous Dragon Lord known as the 'Catastrophe Dragon Lord' had been resurrected near E-Rantel.
Following this conclusion, they decided to subdue the Dragon Lord, hoping to make it an ally of the Slane Theocracy to serve as a protector of the nation and a force to fight off foreign invaders.
As a result, the Six Cardinals had sent the Captain and the other members of the Black Scripture with the Downfall of Castle and Country, ordering him to use it to subdue the resurrected Dragon Lord if they encountered it.
However, when the Captain and the other members of the Black Scripture entered the northern forest of E-Rantel, they ran into a terrifying enemy.
A vampire.
He had to admit that the vampire's aura was so overwhelming that even he, an awakened god-kin, felt his hair stand on end.
Because of this, he ordered his companion, who was wearing the Downfall of Castle and Country, to use its power on the vampire without hesitation.
Unfortunately, just before the vampire was about to be fully mind-controlled, she shrieked in agony and suddenly fought back with overwhelming power, killing several of his companions, including the one wearing the Downfall of Castle and Country.
In the end, the mind control failed to complete, and the vampire became a mindless monster, attacking anything she got near, leaving them with no choice but to retreat.
Sadly, the failure of the mission had left behind a disaster.
Apparently, the vampire held a grudge against the Slane Theocracy, so not long ago, she attacked a human city belonging to the theocracy, causing a major tragedy.
It was precisely for this reason that the Black Scripture was sent to the Re-Estize Kingdom with the mission to hunt down the dangerous vampire. No matter what happened, even if she fled to another country, she could not be spared.
Until today, the Captain still vaguely remembered that, back then, in the northern forest of E-Rantel, there had been someone confronting that terrifying vampire.
It was a young man who appeared younger than himself, yet he was facing that vampire alone without fear. Even he felt a chill down his spine just from that vampire's aura alone, yet that young man had always remained calm and composed even when fighting her, which had greatly surprised him at the time.
Later on, he mentioned that young man to the Six Cardinals, and as expected, it drew considerable attention from the higher-ups in the Slane Theocracy.
If it was that young man, it would make sense for him to be the one currently fighting that vampire.
"You're right, the one currently fighting that vampire is very likely to be him..."
Gazing at the hideout of Eight Fingers, the Captain nodded, confirming the girl's guess.
"Well then, what should we do next, Captain?"
Asking with a playful smile, the girl turned and looked at the Captain.
Seeing the girl's eyes, the Captain could see the battle-hungry emotion in them, which made him feel somewhat helpless.
Nevertheless, the Captain still made his decision.
"Since we've already found our target, it's naturally our time to make an entrance." The Captain said seriously, his expression mirroring his tone. "We'll barge right in, find a way to team up with the one fighting that vampire, and completely eliminate her."
Hearing this, the girl smiled, looking especially pleased.
"Hmm, let me see if that person is qualified to team up with me—team up with Certain Death."
As Certain Death, the Extra Seat in the Black Scripture and the strongest native human in this world, made such a statement, little did she know that far away, someone was watching her and the other members of the Black Scripture through a mirror.
"Heh, our prey is finally in the cage."
Pushing up the mask on his face, Demiurge let out a low chuckle.
"Well, it's time to close the net..."
"Haha... Hahahaha..."
Demiurge's evil laughter echoed under the sky, lingering for a long time without settling.
Before long, the sky started to darken, signaling that the royal capital was about to welcome the night—and with it, the greatest disaster in history.