Meanwhile, at that moment, in a village near the Elm Forest.
“Extra, extra─!!”
The boy’s voice shattered the quiet air of the village.
In his hand, he held a bundle of fresh newspapers that seemed just printed, and a large, worn-out bag hung from his shoulder.
He ran barefoot along the dirt road, scattering newspapers here and there.
“This is ridiculous…. What in the world is this about….”
The shopkeeper, who was organizing goods in front of the store, scowled fiercely at the newspaper.
Furthermore, everyone on the street held the newspapers the boy had scattered, their faces pale as they broke into uneasy laughs.
“Ha…, that’s why we haven’t seen any monsters around the village lately….”
“No way…. That can’t be true….”
“How could someone like this appear in such a remote place….”
The shocking news had reached even this rural village, where people rarely passed by.
Especially the adventurers in the village paid the most attention to this news.
– Bang─!!
“Don’t be ridiculous─!! When did our village fall into the hands of some demons─?!!”
A voice echoed loudly in the guild, breaking the awkward silence.
An adventurer, having read the newspaper late, ground his teeth in a frown.
“Just when did such a creature settle near our village….”
“I can’t believe it….”
As if responding to that voice, one by one, others began to speak their thoughts.
But they were all negative remarks, their faces filled with anxiety and doubt that couldn’t be hidden.
“Hey, Priscilla─!! Say something! Last time you went on reconnaissance, there was no one there!!”
“Y-yeah?!!”
As time went on, the atmosphere grew darker.
Eventually, the arrows of blame turned towards Priscilla, who had been sitting quietly in the guild.
“I-I’m really not sure…. I told you for sure that there was no one there….”
“If what’s written here is true, it means that the body of the demon you brought from that abandoned church was this guy’s doing!!”
“I really didn’t know anything… At the time, there was definitely no one there, just that body left….”
“Do you think that makes sense….”
– Bang!!
Just as all the adventurers in the guild began to glare at Priscilla with increasing discontent.
A man suddenly slammed his palm on the table, drawing everyone’s attention to himself in an instant.
“It won’t change anything to argue about it now. Let’s be calm.”
“B-Blue Bell….”
The warrior, Blue Bell, who was famed for his exceptional skill in the guild.
Although he was an adventurer operating in a rural village, his abilities were recognized even outside.
“It’s strange to assign such an important mission to a novice in the first place. Don’t push the blame unnecessarily.”
“But if that guy had properly conducted the reconnaissance back then, we wouldn’t be in such a serious situation….”
“Stop it. At that time, nobody here understood the importance of that request.”
“…….”
“What’s important now isn’t blaming anyone, but how we’re going to deal with the demon mentioned in this newspaper.”
The man, struck directly by Bell’s straightforward words, naturally fell silent.
As everyone kept quiet, glancing at each other, a woman who had been wondering about the contents of the newspaper cautiously raised her hand and spoke softly.
“According to this information, the identity of the demon seems to be a vampire…. Aren’t vampires a race that became extinct long ago?”
At the woman’s question, Bell slowly frowned at one brow.
“That’s probably true. It’s such an old story; I don’t know it well, but from what I’ve heard, they were the weakest among the demon races.”
“If that’s the case, this newspaper must be fabricated, right? It doesn’t make sense. How could a mere vampire conquer the Roen Forest and make the elves bow….”
“Well, I want to believe that too, but somehow I can’t be certain.”
“Moreover, the World Tree in the Roen Forest is something that even most demons can’t easily access. No matter how you look at it, this seems highly likely to be fabricated.”
“You’ll find out if you go, but the World Tree doesn’t show any activity at night. It’s full of gaps, contrary to appearances.”
“…What?”
No matter how deeply she thought, the lingering doubts refused to unravel.
The supposed extinction of vampires from ancient times now resurfacing, and in a single day conquering the Roen Forest to claim it as its territory.
Not to mention, the absurd news that this vampire now also encompassed the village where Bell lived.
“Then, how do you explain this story about our village falling to the vampire…?”
“This nonsensical being suddenly appearing and making the elves kneel so easily—do you think this village, being closer to Roen Forest, would remain safe?”
“Th-that’s….”
“For us living in this village, it’s just a ridiculous story, but for outsiders, they must have had no choice but to think so. That’s why this content ended up in the newspaper.”
As the story progressed, the atmosphere grew increasingly serious.
Especially for Bell, who held the most influence within the guild, the burden of this incident weighed on him more than ever.
“There’s still too much we don’t know. How did a vampire, said to have gone extinct long ago, resurface, and why did it conquer the Roen Forest…. With just the content of this newspaper, we can’t possibly know.”
“If the content of this newspaper is really true…. That vampire will come to this village soon….”
“Probably. It seems to be an independent entity that has no relation to the Demon King at all.”
“What will you do now, Bell…?”
Bell fell into deep thought.
It was hard to believe that the elves of the Roen Forest, who had persevered through various tumultuous times, could be conquered by just a single vampire.
“…Right now, there’s not much we can do. We can only hope for no damages to occur.”
“Wh-what does that mean?! Are we just going to sit and pray like this?”
“It’s a creature that openly invaded the Roen Forest, where the World Tree is, and conquered it in a single day. Do you really think we, living in a rural village, could stand against such a nonsensical being?”
“Even so, isn’t this being too powerless…. They say vampires are the weakest among demons….”
“It might be something that got distorted over time. Otherwise, how could it conquer the Roen Forest by itself?”
Bell managed to suppress his anger and maintain his composure.
Despite the mixture of frustration and confusion that made his head spin.
Nonetheless, to prevent everyone from falling into disorder, he took a deep breath, slightly bit his bottom lip, and struggled to gather his thoughts.
“If we move, we won’t be able to inflict any damage on that creature, and it’ll just provoke it unnecessarily.”
“…….”
“Don’t blow things out of proportion with misplaced zeal. For now, we need to lie low.”
Bell judged that even if all the adventurers in the guild rushed at the vampire, they would be no match for it.
Thus, he raised his voice even more and earnestly appealed to everyone.
“Anyone with some leeway can leave this village right now, but please do not make the foolish mistake of asking for help from anyone.”
With Bell’s heartfelt words, the atmosphere in the guild gradually grew solemn.
“And those who are raising children, even if they have some leeway, I recommend leaving this village.”
“Wh-why’s that?”
“It says in the newspaper. That vampire was seen with several children.”
Bell, with a troubled expression, instinctively ran his hand through his hair.
“Those children were likely taken as hostages or food. There’s no villain as wicked as this.”
“Ah….”
“If you don’t want to lose your children to some demon, leave this village immediately.”
Bell’s voice was more resolute than ever.
Heavy and serious, it cut through the cold air and echoed solemnly within the guild.
“…….”
Watching Bell from a corner, Priscilla felt quite distressed.
A drop of lukewarm sweat trickled down her right cheek, seemingly reflecting her troubled heart.
She felt as if she were sitting alone on a bed of thorns.
“Ugh….”
Priscilla had known from the very beginning.
That the identity of the vampire mentioned in this newspaper was Levynia.
She didn’t know anything about the Roen Forest, but she vaguely understood that Levynia wasn’t the type to orchestrate such horrific acts.
She had no choice but to regard this situation more troublingly.
“What in the world is going on….”
.
.
.
At that time, while a serious atmosphere was forming in the nearby village about Levynia.
A grand and unexpected confrontation was unfolding breathlessly in a church located on the outskirts of the Elm Forest.
“Ughhh─!!”
In the middle of the garden in front of the church, Levynia, wearing a mix of anger and sadness, stared in disbelief at the massive tree.
Sitting down heavily in the weeds, she began to tremble her lips as she gazed at the shattered leaf in her hands.
“This leaf was so painstakingly brought to me by Rune….”
Despite strong resistance, as Levynia continued to attempt to trail the children cunningly.
The World Tree had no choice but to shred the gigantic leaf that Levynia had used as an umbrella.
Levynia, witnessing that devastating scene right before her eyes, was in shock.
– Thud.
Eventually, a palm-sized leaf fell right in front of the crying Levynia.
Levynia tilted her head in puzzlement for a moment but soon realized the meaning of the leaf and slowly furrowed her brows.
“Wow, what a real villain….”
