novelraw Chapter 112 : Chapter 112
Chapter 112 : Chapter 112
Chapter 112. Venae Sigillum (1)
After the Lich King Nox disappeared, the world seemed to have regained peace as if by a lie.
At least on the surface.
It was unknown what kind of conspiracy was brewing deep within the Demon Territory, but at least no more reports of undead armies appearing on the Continent of Ista were coming in.
The construction of Lumen Fortis proceeded smoothly, and the hot springs were bustling with visitors every day.
And in the meantime.
Another important project was nearing its final stages.
It was Noctavira's ‘Ungnyeo Project’.
The time had come when it had been nearly 100 days since she had been consistently consuming garlic-infused blood.
I visited the underground prison to check the results.
Squeak.
As I opened the door and entered, a Noctavira with a distinctly different appearance from before greeted me.
Instead of the pale skin of a vampire, she had the healthy complexion of a human.
Her sharp fangs were gone, and her once lifeless eyes were now filled with vitality.
She looked down at her own hands and arms, still with a look of disbelief on her face.
“Is this… really me?”
Her murmur was a mixture of bewilderment and wonder.
It wasn't just her appearance that had changed.
Her unstable, fluctuating magic had now completely stabilized, and it seemed she could control her magic freely like a human wizard.
What was most surprising was that her youthful and beautiful appearance from her vampire days had been maintained.
As vampires are immortal, it's difficult to guess their actual age, but her appearance was similar to Adel or Iris, who had just become adults.
I approached her with a satisfied face and asked.
“The experiment seems to have ended successfully. How are you feeling now?”
Noctavira stared at me blankly for a moment, then answered with a complex expression.
“…I am satisfied.”
Something was strange.
The old her would have been furious or at least shown displeasure.
I couldn't read her inner thoughts, but her atmosphere was definitely different from before.
It felt as if her long-held hatred and anger had melted away like snow, and another emotion had taken its place.
She herself seemed confused.
Instead of anger, she strangely found the Frank before her to be incredibly reliable and cool.
She even felt a strange loyalty, as if she had to unconditionally follow his words.
It was a feeling she had briefly felt when he went to save Anonymous, but now that feeling was clearer and more intense.
She now felt completely under his influence.
I sensed her subtle change, but I didn't bother to dig deeper.
In any case, the experiment was a success, and she was no longer a threat.
I nodded my head and said.
“That's good. In that case, how about stopping by Luminia on this occasion?”
At those words, Noctavira's face brightened.
“Are you going to take me there?”
Instead of a definite answer, I made a subtle expression.
“Well. I'm not sure if they will obediently follow you as their queen, now that you've turned human.”
“?!”
Noctavira’s expression was colored with bewilderment.
I lightly tapped her shoulder and revealed my real plan.
“I plan to relocate your people here, to Lumen Fortis.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“There are demons and dragons here. They live together with humans. If that's the case, there's no reason why vampires can't join them, is there? I plan to make this place an ideal world where all races live together without discrimination, a true melting pot.”
This was the true form of the fantasy world I dreamed of.
A world where all races understand each other and coexist perfectly.
I muttered to myself.
‘That's what fantasy is.’
And for this plan, one more thing was needed.
‘I should take this opportunity to get it.’
If my memory served me right, a magic device that effectively suppressed the blood-sucking desires of vampires was slumbering in an ancient ruin near Luminia.
‘I can't turn all vampires into humans like Noctavira. That would require large-scale accommodation facilities, and a steady supply of garlic blood, which is realistically impossible.’
But if I had the magic device that suppressed their blood-sucking desires, it would be a great help in controlling them and settling them in Lumen Fortis.
Noctavira was still looking at me with a complex expression.
Whatever.
I no longer hesitated and began to prepare for my departure towards the ruins near Luminia.
I had to put her confused heart aside for a while.
Because now was the time to draw a bigger picture.
***
Before the sensation of space twisting with the light had even faded, Noctavira held her breath in the familiar yet unfamiliar air.
Luminia.
Her kingdom and her home.
But the sight that unfolded before her was far from the splendid and majestic appearance she remembered.
“What is this?”
Anonymous, Noemi, and Frank, who had teleported with her, also seemed to be at a loss for words at the scene before them.
The inside of the castle was destroyed in many places, and broken furniture and debris were scattered messily in the hallways.
It was a ruin, as if a great storm had swept through.
“What happened? It wasn't like this before, was it?”
Noemi muttered in disbelief.
Noctavira felt the same way.
What on earth had happened in the short time she had been away?
She staggered to the window.
The moment she looked outside, Noctavira doubted her own eyes.
A desperate battle was taking place in the square below the castle walls.
But the opponents were not an undead army.
“No, why.”
They were vampires.
Her own people were pointing swords and teeth at each other, shedding blood.
Screams, cries, and the clash of weapons mingled to create a picture of hell.
“Why are my people pointing their swords at each other?”
Noctavira shouted, her whole body trembling with shock and anger.
She instinctively opened the window and shouted towards the square.
With the dignity of a queen, with all her strength.
“I have returned! All of you, stop fighting!”
Her voice echoed over the ruined castle walls and reached the square.
The fiercely fighting vampires all stopped their movements at once and lifted their heads.
Their gazes turned towards the castle window where Noctavira was.
“Y-Your Majesty the Queen!”
“Ah, you have finally returned!”
“All rebels, lay down your weapons and obey Her Majesty the Queen immediately!”
Some vampires dropped their weapons and shed tears of emotion.
The appearance of the queen in their despair was like a ray of light to them.
But not everyone was like that.
The rebel forces who had tried to save their lives by surrendering to Nox could not hide their bewilderment.
“Damn it. Why did she have to come back now of all times!”
“We're in trouble. Are we all going to be branded as traitors and killed?”
In the chaos, the one who appeared to be the leader of the rebels narrowed his eyes and examined Noctavira closely.
His brow furrowed in puzzlement.
“Strange. Why does she feel like a human?”
“Huh? Now that you mention it, that’s right. The blood-red aura, the symbol of a Progenitor, is nowhere to be seen.”
Murmur, murmur.
Doubt and anxiety spread in an instant.
Their queen had returned, but she looked so different from before.
The overwhelming aura unique to vampires could no longer be felt from her.
It was at that moment.
Before Noctavira could get the situation under control, a giant dragon appeared from behind her, snatched her and the others in an instant, and soared into the sky.
“Wh-what was that?”
“Where are you going again, Your Majesty!”
A sudden departure as sudden as her appearance.
The remaining vampires could only stare blankly at the disappearing figure of the dragon in the sky, bewildered and unsure of what to do.
It was a natural consequence that the chaos in Luminia deepened.
***
The back of Anonymous, transformed into a giant dragon, was surprisingly stable, but Noctavira’s heart was in utter turmoil.
The tragedy of her people killing each other that had unfolded before her eyes just a moment ago.
Her ruined castle.
All of it remained in her mind like a nightmare.
She hung her head with a gloomy expression.
Just then, Frank, who was in front of her, turned back and spoke.
“Don’t worry too much. Once we find what we’re going to get now, they’ll have no choice but to follow you.”
His voice was filled with an unknown certainty.
Noctavira couldn’t fully understand the meaning of his words, but strangely, she felt she could trust him.
She nodded silently.
‘It’s an absurd plan… but it’s strangely persuasive. Because that’s the kind of man he is.’
To think there was a way to turn a vampire into a human.
She had lived for a long time, but she had never heard of such a thing.
But her mind was still a mess.
Why was her castle in ruins?
Why were her people fighting each other?
Could it be that a rebellion had occurred while she was away?
‘It's possible.’
There had been a few nobles who had never liked her.
Because she was the Demon King’s daughter, or simply because they didn’t like her way of ruling.
It was quite possible that the suppressed dissatisfaction had erupted to the surface when she suddenly disappeared.
With the external factor of the Lich King’s invasion added on, the chaos must have reached its peak.
After pondering for a long time, Noctavira finally couldn’t hold it in and asked Frank.
“Excuse me… may I ask what exactly is the item you are going to get now?”
As if he had been waiting, Frank spat out the words in a nonchalant tone.
“Venae Sigillum. It’s a magic device that suppresses the blood-sucking desires of vampires.”
“!!”
At that moment, Noctavira stopped breathing.
A shock as if her heart had stopped.
She couldn’t contain her astonishment and asked again.
“V-Venae Sigillum, you say?”
Her voice trembled slightly.
Venae Sigillum. It was not just a magic device.
It was a legendary sacred relic that the founder of the Kingdom of Luminia, the first vampire king, was said to have used to control the overflowing blood-sucking impulses of his people and establish order in the kingdom.
It had disappeared into history long ago, and its name was rarely even heard anymore; it was truly a relic of myth.
But how did he, a human, know about this legendary magic device?
He was even saying that he was ‘going to get it’.
She was bewildered.
But that emotion quickly changed into something else.
Awe. And certainty.
Without realizing it, she stared intently at Frank’s back.
‘This is the only one I should follow.’
A man who knew of the existence of a legendary relic and was moving to obtain it.
Until now, she had hated him as her father’s nemesis, but now, in her eyes, Frank looked like a hero who had descended to save the world.
All his actions had a deep meaning, and his abilities were immeasurably vast.
Even trying to turn her into a human by feeding her garlic blood might have been part of a bigger plan.
Noctavira’s eyes burned hotly.
Her previous despair and confusion were gone, and in their place, only absolute loyalty and a strong sense of devotion towards Frank remained.
She no longer wavered.
For this man, she felt she could willingly offer everything she had.
And now.
Her red eyes held only one person, Frank.
Leaving Noctavira's emotions behind, Anonymous sped towards the north of Luminia at a fast pace.