novelraw Chapter 114 : Chapter 114
Chapter 114 : Chapter 114
Chapter 114. Venae Sigillum (3)
Reubungwo, an island nation far to the east, far removed from the Continent of Ista.
Nox, who had been dropped here by forced transition magic, was engrossed in the arduous task of destroying massive towers under Primus' command.
Towers rose in grotesque forms along the island's endless coastline.
Their number appeared to be well over several hundred, even at a rough estimate.
“Kugh!”
Nox shot a sphere of condensed black magic at the barrier surrounding the tower.
The magic struck with a deafening roar, but the transparent shield didn't even flinch.
Instead, fragments of magic repelled by the rebound struck Nox's gaunt bones.
“Damn it!”
He couldn't even count how many times he had failed.
To properly demolish a single tower, even he had to pour out almost all of his magic.
After that, he would be completely drained of energy and have to rest motionlessly for several days.
Despite that, there were still so many towers that it was hard to count them all.
‘So this is why Lord Primus said he needed my help. This is close to torture.’
Just as he was growing weary of the endless labor, he felt a familiar yet fearsome presence behind him.
Nox hastily turned and showed his respect.
Space distorted, and Primus appeared.
“You have come, Lord Primus.”
Nox bowed his head with reverence.
Primus looked down at Nox with a face that was still impossible to read.
“You are working hard. Is it manageable?”
His voice was extremely calm, but the overwhelming power contained within it pressed down on Nox.
Nox replied with a bitter smile.
“I've gotten a little used to it now.”
“Huhu.”
Primus chuckled lowly and looked at the debris of the destroyed tower.
Then, he said something out of the blue.
“Let me tell you an old story. Do you know who made this?”
“I do not. It is hard to even fathom.”
“In the past, there were foolish ones who tried to seal me. Impious ones who did not agree with my great ideology and dared to be hostile to me, their creator.”
Nox was startled.
“You mean there were those who dared to oppose Lord Primus!”
To think that there were those who would rebel against him, the primordial being with absolute power.
Primus replied with a nonchalant face.
“Yes. There were several factions, but the one that angered me the most was a member of the Demon Tribe, my own bloodline.”
“Th-that can’t be!”
Nox doubted his own ears.
To think that a member of the Demon Tribe, a direct descendant of Primus, would dare to rebel against their creator.
“It is hard to believe, but it is true. In particular, the King of Vampires, who had reigned as the Demon King for a long time and wielded powerful influence, stood at the forefront of it.”
Vampires.
As he said, they were a noble and powerful race that had produced the most Demon Kings in the history of the Demon Tribe.
To think they would be at the forefront of betrayal.
“Who is that disloyal one!”
A cold smile appeared on Primus' lips.
“Mortubius. The progenitor of vampires, one of the first Demon Kings. And a foolish traitor who dared to point his sword at me.”
Nox tilted his head at the name he had never heard before.
Although he was well-versed in the history of the Demon Tribe, the name Mortubius was unfamiliar.
“That would be so. The fellow thoroughly concealed his existence and ideology.”
Primus snorted as if it wasn't even funny.
“That fellow preposterously dreamed of a world where humans and the Demon Tribe lived together. But in the end, he met a miserable death at the hands of his own subordinates. Truly a foolish and pathetic end.”
Primus glanced at the tower Nox was trying to destroy.
“These towers are ominous symbols that contain the very essence of that Mortubius. They should all be destroyed along with his futile ideals. Hurry up and destroy them. Erase every trace of the one who defied my will from this land completely.”
Primus left those words, tapped Nox’s shoulder silently once, and disappeared back into space.
Left alone, Nox clenched his fists.
Unbearable anger surged within him at the fact that a member of the Demon Tribe, and a progenitor of vampires and one of the first Demon Kings at that, had dared to point his sword at Lord Primus.
‘How can one be so disloyal! I will eliminate every single one of those who go against Lord Primus' will, without leaving a trace!’
An ominous dark light blazed fiercely in his empty eye sockets.
Anger amplified his magic power, and his will for destruction became even more firm.
He once again poured all his power towards the barrier of the massive tower.
***
Inside the castle of the first Vampire King.
The cold, damp air pressed down on our skin.
The interior was thick with dust, as if untouched by human hands for a long time, and cobwebs were eerily spun everywhere.
“Heeing. I think a ghost is going to come out.”
Noemi clung tightly to my back, her voice trembling with anxiety.
I gently shook the holy water in my pocket.
A precious item I obtained by earnestly asking Isabel.
The effect was certainly definite.
‘Not even a shadow of a ghost can be seen.’
In the game, all sorts of ghosts would swarm out from this entrance to torment the player.
But now, apart from an unpleasant chill, nothing could be felt.
Of course, that didn't mean the atmosphere had brightened up.
It was still so eerie that it felt like someone was watching us from the darkness at the end of the hallway.
Noemi still couldn't let go of my clothes, her body trembling like an aspen leaf.
Even so, I spoke to Noctavira, who was walking beside me.
I felt that if not now, I wouldn't have another chance to tell her the secret of this castle.
“Do you know what your progenitor wanted to achieve in his lifetime?”
Noctavira tilted her head and answered that she didn't know.
Well, of course she wouldn't know.
This was information that could only be known through a hidden quest in the game.
“As far as I know, he dreamed a dream very similar to what I am trying to do now.”
“Pardon? What do you mean?”
Noctavira’s red eyes widened in surprise.
I recalled the facts I had learned while playing the game in the past.
‘The quest title was also [Fulfill the last wish of the first Vampire King!].’
I thought it was just a simple quest to find a hidden item, but its content was much more profound than I had thought.
I continued speaking in a voice as if I were reciting a grand epic, telling an old story.
“The first king wanted to build a paradise here where humans and vampires… all of the Demon Tribe could live together in harmony. He had grown weary of the endless strife and war between the races.”
Noctavira had a look of disbelief on her face.
Whatever.
I continued with what I had to say.
“But the biggest obstacle was the vampire's instinct. That is, the impulse to suck blood, seeing humans as prey. So he created a magic device called ‘Venae Sigillum’ to suppress that instinct. He dreamed of a world where all his people could coexist rationally.”
But his ideals were too far ahead of their time.
‘To build a place where humans and the Demon Tribe can live together! Your Majesty, that is absurd!’
‘That’s right! Even among the Demon Tribe, we are divided by race and fight, let alone with humans! No one will follow Your Majesty’s will!’
Faced with strong opposition, the progenitor ultimately failed to achieve his dream.
In deep despair, he hoped that someone in the next era would carry on the dream he could not achieve.
‘So he intended to hand over Venae Sigillum to someone who shared his will, so they could fulfill his last wish in his stead.’
Of course, he couldn't just give it to anyone.
He couldn't entrust a dream that even he had failed at to a weak person.
“Therefore, he would have intended to hand over Venae Sigillum only to a strong person who could defeat his ghost self, and only to someone who dreamed the same dream as him.”
When my story ended, Noctavira stared at me blankly for a while.
She asked in a trembling voice.
“Where on earth did you learn such an incredible fact?”
I smirked and replied playfully.
“I have traveled to all sorts of ancient ruins and studied forgotten history. There is almost nothing I don’t know.”
At my bluff, Noctavira exclaimed with an ecstatic face.
“As expected. You are amazing!”
Her eyes were filled with a much deeper respect and trust than before.
‘This should be enough.’
We explored the dark and gloomy interior of the castle for over an hour, conversing like that.
The hallways were intertwined like a maze, and there were broken furniture and unidentifiable stains everywhere.
How long had we walked?
Finally, our footsteps stopped at the end of the hallway, in front of a massive and ominous .The entire door was smeared with an unpleasant blood-red color, and strange, incomprehensible patterns were carved on its surface.
A chill, far more powerful than before, flowed out from the crack of the door.
“……”
All of us, including me, swallowed nervously.
Beyond that door, the master of this castle, and Venae Sigillum, would be waiting.
***
Squeak.
The massive, blood-stained door opened with an unpleasant sound.
The wind blowing from beyond the door was incomparably colder and more damp than before.
It wasn't just cold.
A pure darkness and chill that seemed to freeze even the soul, rejecting all living things, enveloped our bodies.
“Kugh. Why is it so ominous?”
Even Anonymous, standing next to me, grimaced and let out a low groan.
Noemi was completely hidden behind my back, trembling, and Noctavira was also barely standing, her face pale.
We carefully entered the room.
It was larger and emptier than I had imagined.
The ceiling was so high that its end couldn't be seen, and all sides were submerged in pitch-black darkness.
Only an old, massive throne in the center of the room faintly glowed with a blue light, revealing its presence.
And on that throne, sat the being who was once the master of this castle.
The ghost of a man with a translucent body.
A heavy-looking crown was precariously perched on his head, and a piercing gaze from his hollow eye sockets stared through us.
It was a gaze incomparably deeper and more eerie than that of the Lich King Nox.
The creature, no, the ghost of the first Vampire King, Mortubius, looked at us silently and then tilted his head.
His voice was low and hollow, as if echoing from a deep cave.
“Strange. Why haven't my loyal servants attacked you? The guardian spirits protecting this castle would not tolerate outside intruders.”
He glanced over us for a moment, then, as if he had discovered the holy water in my pocket, he muttered in surprise.
“Holy water! Haha, to think you would have holy water. So that’s why. Indeed. Since it is an object blessed by the Goddess, the spirits wouldn't have dared to approach.”
He continued to talk to himself as if it were strange, or perhaps interesting.
Strangely, he didn't show any anger or displeasure at the existence of the holy water.
Instead, it was as if he was encountering a curious object for the first time in a long time.
“Interesting. You are someone who knows something about me and this castle. Otherwise, you wouldn't have come here with holy water prepared.”
I silently nodded at his guess.
It would be more advantageous to be sparing with words now.
“Yes. I have come to fulfill your long-held wish.”
He smirked at my answer.
The ghost’s laughter was chillingly cold.
“You will fulfill my wish? A mere human, how pathetic. But your intention is commendable. That said, I cannot simply hand over Venae Sigillum to you. It will only be permitted to one who is worthy.”
He slowly rose from the throne.
The surrounding darkness seemed to wriggle with his every movement.
“For hundreds of years, many have challenged me. But none of them understood my wish. Will this time be just another foolish one, or……”
Before his words could finish, a powerful aura filled the room.
Not only Noemi and Noctavira, but even Anonymous flinched and trembled.
He probably expected me to step forward and face him myself, but my plan was different.
I slyly placed my hand on Noctavira’s back and gently pushed her forward.
“Huh?”
Noctavira turned to me with a look of incomprehension.
I whispered softly in her ear.
“Didn't I tell you? Your role is the most important in this matter. Now is that time.”
I patted her back lightly in encouragement.
Noctavira flinched for a moment, as if she hadn't expected this reaction from me, but soon, as if she understood, she slowly began to gather magic in her hands.
A strange magic, incomparably more stable and pure than before, yet one that had not let go of the essence of a vampire.
Seeing this spectacle, Mortubius clicked his tongue with a disappointed face.
“What are you doing? Do you intend to have such a weak wench fight in your stead? How impudent.”
He looked down at Noctavira as if she were pathetic.
But the moment his gaze fell on Noctavira’s face and her magic, his hollow eyes shook greatly in disbelief.
“D-don’t tell me, she is?”
The ghost of the first Vampire King was slowly realizing the identity of the being he was facing,his face a mixture of horror and disbelief.
But it was already a step too late.
“Now, Noctavira! Show him your power!”
A red beam of light burst from Noctavira’s hand.
It stretched straight towards the throne, like a spear piercing through hundreds of years of resentment.