novelraw Chapter 161 : Ambush (1)
Chapter 161 : Ambush (1)
Ambush (1)
Deep underground.
A place of darkness.
In the middle of a pitch-black space devoid of even a speck of light, a massive round table burned with blue candle flames.
The Round Table of Sins.
Four shadows sat around it.
It was a cold, sunken voice that broke the heavy silence.
"... How unpleasant."
The Sin of Envy Cult Leader, Zeros.
He tapped the table with his long fingers, speaking in a dry tone.
"Greenyolf was a rather useful tool. The ancient relic he was excavating... The Luminari golem was quite a stimulant for my collector's lust. It was almost in my grasp."
Zeros narrowed his eyes.
"Someone took that toy without my permission. So very rudely."
"Oh, stop whining. Zeros."
An alluring voice cut off Zeros' words.
An enchantingly beautiful woman exuding a chilling aura.
The Sin of Lust Cult Leader, Rosalia.
"We're not here to listen to your complaints. Get a grasp on the situation first."
"The situation? The situation is that my belongings were stolen!"
"As if it was only yours? It belonged to the cult."
Rosalia pointed to an empty seat at the table with a slender finger.
It was Mobius, the Sin of Greed Cult Leader's seat.
"Mobius was hit too. All his bases were obliterated, his vault he spent his whole life amassing has been ransacked, and he himself is missing."
"..."
"The cult of Greed is in ruins, and even your Envy Cult's archbishop was taken out. All within this year, one after another. This isn't a coincidence. Someone's targeting us—meticulously and obsessively."
Rosalia's eyes narrowed like a snake's.
She was analyzing the recent events.
The enemy had left absolutely no traces.
Like a ghost, they'd appeared, struck directly at the Demon Cult's weak spots, and vanished.
"Tch! Hiding and skulking like a rat!"
At one side of the table, a burly man with thick, folded arms snorted with derision.
The Sin of Wrath Cult Leader, Brakium.
"So? Who is this rat? What's their name? Where do they live?"
"No one knows."
"What?"
Brakium furrowed his brow harshly.
"You're in charge of information and still don't know?"
"What do you expect me to do when there are no traces? They've managed to perfectly block even magic-based tracking. Didn't leave a single witness. All our people who've crossed paths with the bastard ended up dead or missing."
Rosalia bit her lip in annoyance.
This, too, was a humiliation for her.
The enemy moved only in blind spots out of the Great Cult of Sins's intelligence reach.
"There's only one thing certain. He's strong. And he knows quite a bit about our inner workings."
"Man! He works in annoyingly convoluted ways!"
Brakium growled.
"If we don't know who, just smash everything! Crush anyone suspicious, and they'll pop out eventually!"
"What a brainless thing to say. You planning to tear up the entire continent? This is the time we're preparing for the coming of the Grand Dukes. If you stir the hornet's nest like that, you'll ruin everything."
"Then what? Are we supposed to just sit back and take it?"
As the atmosphere in the conference room was turning ugly—
From a corner of the round table came an unpleasant noise.
― Chomp, chomp, chomp...
The greedy sound of someone gorging.
The Sin of Glutonny Cult Leader, Gula.
With bulging, sagging flesh obscuring his chin, he was feasting on stones scavenged from the ruins of the cult of Greed.
"... It has a taste."
Gula wiped drool from the corner of his mouth and muttered.
"What?"
"I smell something... A very rich, old scent of blood..."
Gula pulled out a piece of broken glass from his robe and placed it on the table.
It was an item found amidst the debris of Mobius's base.
"This... it's the blood of the Noxcar family."
"Noxcar?"
Zeros frowned.
"You mean Mobius's favored vampire blood kin? The ones he captured to extract their bloodlust?"
"Yeah... chomp, chomp. When Mobius's base was hit, all the vampires he had captured vanished as well."
Gula licked his thick lips.
At that moment, Rosalia's eyes snapped with realization.
"Yes, Gula... well done."
The scattered puzzle pieces in her mind snapped into place.
"The enemy's goal wasn't a simple raid. He was doing a 'rescue'—of the Noxcar vampires. And the Luminari slaves as well."
Rosalia stood up.
"We can't track the ghost directly. He's far too adept at hiding. But, we can hunt the assets he stole from us."
"You mean track those vampires?"
"Exactly. The Noxcar blood kin. They're closed-off. They don't easily cooperate, not only with humans but even with other vampires. If such a reclusive group received someone's aid, it means a very deep connection."
Rosalia smiled wickedly.
"If we find and squeeze the vampires, the ghost hiding behind them will crawl out on his own."
"And if we find this so-called ghost or rat? Then what?"
"We kill him."
The answer came from Zeros.
"I'll make the one who stole my property pay. I'll tear up everything he holds dear right in front of his eyes."
"Where?"
Brakium asked.
Gula raised the broken glass bottle to his nose.
The dried bloodstain—
It was the blood of the Noxcar blood kin.
*Sniff, sniff... The scent... continues on. Far away... deep in the forest...*
Gula's eyes rolled back.
"Found them."
* * *
The outskirts of Hisperion territory.
Eldergrove Forest.
Deep in a forest untouched by men, the Noxcar blood kin had a new hideout.
A renovated old castle served as their base.
Bathed in gentle moonlight, Scarlet stood atop the castle wall, feeling the night breeze.
"Phew..."
She leaned against the railing, gazing eastward.
The direction where Ian was.
'I wonder if he's doing all right.'
Ian Greysel.
The boy who had saved her and the blood kin.
It had already been months since she'd last seen him.
She'd been too busy gathering the clan and setting up a new home to keep in contact.
"Scarlet. What are you thinking about?"
Scarlet smiled at the voice from behind.
Judy.
"What do you think? Just getting some fresh air."
"Really~?"
Judy snickered, standing beside Scarlet.
"I'm thinking about that guy. Ian Greysel."
"What?"
"He's honestly pretty nice, don't you think? I wonder what his blood tastes like. Don't you ever get curious?"
"... Don't you dare lick your lips at Ian. He already has someone."
"I know, I know. You mean the youngest young lady of Hisperion, right? Hmph. Still, if he discovers the allure of a vampire, he might change his mind, don't you think?"
A peaceful, light-hearted conversation.
It was the tranquility reclaimed after years of oppression and imprisonment.
Noxcar big sis, the leader imprisoned in the underground dungeon, had found peace here and was gradually regaining her strength.
Everything seemed to be going well.
'All thanks to Ian.'
Scarlet felt a wave of gratitude deep in her heart once more.
She vowed that if he ever needed her aid, she would rush to his side, even if it meant risking her life.
At that moment—
—bzzzz...
A faint vibration.
"...?"
Scarlet's red eyes narrowed instantly.
"... Judy?"
"Yeah? What is it?"
"Didn't you feel it?"
Scarlet's senses became razor-sharp.
The sound of the wind stopped.
So did the insects, and the subtle signs of forest animals.
Everything had disappeared, all at once.
As if the very forest was holding its breath.
"H-Huh...?"
Judy's face stiffened as well.
"I can't sense the familiars of the forest... all of a sudden... huh?"
And then—
—KWAOOOOOOOOOM!!
With a deafening roar, the barrier protecting the stronghold was obliterated at once.
"Kyaaaaaaaa!"
"J-Judy! Ugh!"
A storm-like shockwave struck the castle.
The stone walls collapsed and clouds of dust rose high.
"W-What is that?!"
"We're under attack!"
The blood kin who'd been resting inside ran out in panic.
Scarlet, steadying her staggering body, glared toward the source of the explosion.
Between the swirling clouds of dust—
A massive shadow was walking toward them.
—THUD! THUD!
Heavy footsteps laden with demonic energy.
The earth seemed to tremble at each step.
"Found you, little bats."
A rough, savage voice.
A hulking brute, exuding a menacing red demonic energy, revealed himself.
The Sin of Wrath Cult Leader, Brakium.
"Y-You...!"
Scarlet's face turned pale.
He was a face she remembered from her days in captivity.
One of the Demon Cult's leaders...!
For one of the cult's top executives to appear here in person—
"How did you find this place...?! What happened to the barrier...?!"
"Heh. This paper scrap of a thing? All it takes is one punch."
Brakium grinned, clenching his fist.
Behind him, archbishop-level executives and hundreds of demonic human troops formed a solid black wall.
And through them walked a sharp-faced man and a grotesquely obese monster.
Zeros of Envy. Gula of Gluttony.
Three Cult Leaders had appeared at once.
"Ah, ah...!"
Judy let out a hopeless groan.
This wasn't a fight.
It was a massacre.
Just like the day Noxcar's blood kin had been captured by Mobius.
Noxcar, the clan's lord, was still recovering, and the blood kin themselves were exhausted.
Yet the enemy was the Demon Cult's very strongest three.
"You despicable bats."
Zeros stared at the vampires, his eyes wide and hysterical.
"Where's the one who stole my property?"
"Screw this. Let's start by tearing off some limbs! I'll crush you all to pieces! Hahahahaha!"
—BOOM!
Brakium leapt forward like a cannon.
He landed at the castle gate.
His fist struck the gate, twisting the huge steel structure like a stick of taffy and sending it flying.
—KAAA-BOOOOM!!
"I-I'll stop them! Uwaaaaah!!"
Morgan, the largest of the blood kin, roared and charged.
"Hmph. What's this, a lump of tofu?"
—WHAM!!
But with a flick of Brakium's hand, the massive Morgan was flung away like a leaf.
"Guh!"
"M-Morgan!"
The situation instantly dissolved into chaos.
The legion of demonic humans poured in, and Gula's grotesque bugs swarmed over the vampires.
Zeros' magic reduced the castle walls to ash.
"S-Scarlet! We have to run! Take Noxcar big sis!"
Judy grabbed Scarlet by the arm and tried to pull her.
"No... It's too late."
Scarlet, with trembling hands, searched her bosom.
The place was already surrounded.
With three Cult Leaders arriving, there was nowhere to run.
The only hope.
A single salvation.
Scarlet drew out a small orb from her pocket.
A communication orb—that Ian had given her as a gift.
'Ian... please...!'
Scarlet poured her magic power into the orb with all her desperate heart.
* * *
Sunshine Castle.
Ian's office.
It was late at night, but Ian was still awake.
He sat on the floor, polishing his treasured swords.
A sense of foreboding didn't leave him.
'Why is it so quiet?'
It had been quite some time since he had destroyed the cult of Greed, and had also taken down one of Envy's archbishops.
There's no way the Demon Cult would stay idle.
The stillness, as if before a storm, was grating on his nerves.
—VROOOOM! VRRRR!
Just then.
The communication orb atop his desk began to vibrate violently.
A red light flashed on and off.
'Scarlet?'
Contact from Scarlet at this hour?
Ian immediately grabbed the communication orb.
[I-Ian!]
Scarlet's voice through the orb was almost a scream.
[It's them! The Demon Cult has raided our hideout! Noxcar big sis... everyone is in danger!]
—BOOM! CRASH!
Behind her voice came the sounds of terrible screams and brutal explosions.
"Your location? The enemy's numbers?"
Ian got to his feet and asked calmly.
[I-I don't know! There are too many! Three Cult Leaders came! Wrath, envy, gluttony! W-We can't hold out any longer! Aaagh!]
—Click.
The transmission cut off.
"... Three Cult Leaders."
Ian's gaze sank to a wintry chill.
A scale far beyond his expectations.
The Demon Cult had committed themselves to an all-out assault.
'Eldergrove Forest, was it.'
Scarlet had sent the coordinates via orb.
It was quite a distance from here.
Whether by horse or running, he'd be too late.
"Whew."
But Ian had a way.
He stood, gripping the pendant hanging from his neck.
A key to the artificial dimension, and his link to High Luminari Nayuta.
"I need your help, lady Nayuta."
As Ian sent his magic power into the pendant, the air shimmered and a dimensional gate opened.
From beyond it, high Luminari Nayuta's voice rang out.
[I have been waiting, honored envoy.]
"The situation is urgent. The coordinates are Eldergrove Forest. We need to warp there immediately."
The ancient Luminari golem was equipped with a warp function.
[All preparations are complete! Honored envoy!]
Nayuta's voice was resolute.
Ian gathered all his swords and opened the window.
A crimson moon hung in the night sky.
"Let's go...!"
Ian hurled himself out the window.
At the same time, his body was enveloped in light and sucked into the artificial dimension.
'Three Cult Leaders, huh.'
It was a chance to fill three more heavy pouches with magic power.