Chapter 249

#249 Episode: The Tin Knight and the Strange Resort (8)

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago.

There was an age when darkness ruled the world.

Giants used hills as pillows, mermaids sang while sitting on rocks, and half-human half-beast monsters galloped across the plains.

The People of the Underworld sang that this bountiful ground now belonged to them.

They were certain that they were the victors of the war.

And who could blame them?

With a great king and a wise chancellor, the strength of the brave Eight Generals was truly overwhelming.

The human nations that fought against them fell one by one, while the loathsome enemies of the heavens hid cowardly behind the clouds, indifferent to the flames consuming the ground below.

All that remained was a small kingdom at the eastern edge and the defeated soldiers gathered around it.

The People of the Underworld believed without a doubt that if they captured the Queen of Ash, who had dared to refuse the merciful king’s offer of surrender, and turned their land into a disaster zone, it would all come to an end.

But it wasn’t true. It was a grave miscalculation. The end didn’t come.

One by one, the once-invincible Eight Generals began to fall.

An unbelievable feat accomplished by just a single human knight.

The People of the Underworld tried everything to catch and kill the knight, but humans sacrificed their lives to hold them back, to protect the knight.

Seeing the human struggle, the heavenly forces swiftly intervened, and more generals fell at the hands of angels.

Of course, the generals themselves didn’t go down without a fight.

Three out of four of the wings that the heavens prided themselves on were broken, and the remaining one suffered serious damage.

The knight fighting the generals was becoming more and more battered himself, to the point where, when facing the last general, he had more non-original parts than original ones left.

But still, the knight clinched his victory, and the great king, having lost all his generals, sorrowfully retreated his forces.

As if that would be the end, but reality had different plans.

There were remnants left on the ground, unable to return with the king.

The fates of these remnants varied greatly.

Some cried out for revenge and charged toward the land of ash.

Some returned to the Underworld through the path the king had graciously opened up again, albeit late.

And some, neither continuing to fight nor returning to their land, hid themselves on the surface.

They had tasted the richness of the ground and did not want to endure the painful life in the Underworld any longer.

Even if the knight was strong, he was still just human, and they believed that if they just dragged it out long enough, a day would come when they could live freely again.

What a foolish miscalculation that was.

The knight they feared was a madman who would not cease fighting, even going so far as to transform his body into something other than human, while the emerald sky turned out to be far more persistent than they could imagine.

Those who declared war against the land of ash were the first to be wiped out, followed by the People of the Underworld scattering across the continent.

Having turned their backs on the last chance the king had graciously granted, they were hunted down one by one, thoroughly, with no path for escape.

Once they had covered the entirety of the continent, at some point, they became known only through old documents.

The “Father” who turned the “Master of the Isle” into a vampire was of those few surviving remnants, a truly insignificant minority.

He had always held a haughty demeanor, endlessly boasting about how the old wars went or how great their clan was.

The “Master of the Isle” could not comprehend him at all.

At least if he were a party to that war, it would be another story, but the “Master’s” father had also not directly experienced it; he had only heard the tales passed down from higher-generation vampires.

He had neither known the glory days nor seen any kings or generals; he was merely one of the defeated soldiers who made poor choices and inherited that damned fate.

Even if he tried to live elegantly with his vampire abilities, having to abandon everything and flee at the slightest sign of the Holy Kingdom’s gaze, it left the “Master of the Isle” puzzled. What was enjoyable or praiseworthy about such a wretched life?

If he didn’t cling to such nonsense, life would be too miserable; admitting that would be far too tragic.

Be it his father, the one who turned him into a vampire, or anyone above him.

And even the “Master of the Isle,” Camilla, herself who had been forcibly burdened with that cursed destiny.

“I don’t care about the fights between the Underworld, the surface, and the heavens. I just want to live peacefully and quietly.”

That was the only wish buried in Camilla’s heart.

It was for that very reason that she crossed the sea, dodging near-death experiences many times (even if she wanted to go further, there was no way), and created a barrier on a deserted island to hide herself.

But at this moment.

Camilla couldn’t help but feel the malice of the world.

“…So, you’re saying that by trying to drive out the invaders, all the elite monsters have been wiped out, while the enemy’s losses are zero? And now, because we accidentally bothered those playing on the beach, they’re ready to storm the center of the island?”

In a reply that could be taken for a sigh or a lamentation, the undead looked around nervously, sweating bullets.

Camilla felt a throb in her head.

In truth, she had no intention of giving these undead any strong sense of self-awareness.

She just wanted golems that followed their set orders to protect her home. That was all she desired of her subordinates.

But from some point onward, it seemed they had taken it upon themselves to name each other, distinguish themselves, and even develop abilities that weren’t there initially through self-modification. They were even taking part in some kind of Four Heavenly Kings play!

The issues seemed to stem from the decision to mix alchemy, necromancy, and all sorts of miscellaneous stuff, simply to try and cut down on manufacturing and maintenance costs.

Still, their performance had been solid until now, and they made significant contributions to defeating those pesky merfolk, so she had left them be, but that had eventually led to this disaster.

“Well, it can’t be helped.”

Camilla realized that she had no choice but to step in herself.

Even hidden in such a discreet place, she was a powerful vampire.

With physical strength, regeneration, bat transformation, minion creation, enthrallment, suggestion, and nearly all the powers that are said to be held by “legendary vampires.”

The reason she hid and avoided conflict with the outside world was not out of fear of some mere adventurer, but rather to avoid drawing the attention of the Holy Kingdom and that terrifying heavenly army.

“First, I’ll subdue them, wipe their memories, and send them back.”

With that thought in mind, she tapped the mirror on the wall with her finger.

The smooth surface of the mirror rippled like a wave, and soon reflected the figures of the invaders.

A knight in plain armor, a black witch, a blonde girl, and…

“…Huh?”

Camilla squinted for a moment.

A girl with green hair. Staring at her stirred up an inexplicable sense of unease.

Then she realized the source of that unease.

It was the essence of her kin, something she hadn’t felt from others since her father was defeated.

So, it left her dumbfounded.

“How… how is she out here in the sunlight without a care?”

While there were many weaknesses to vampires, the most notorious was the sunlight.

Choosing to hide out on this deserted island, filled with positive energy, was meant to sidestep the expectation that a vampire would be hiding here. (Though she did eventually find out how those pesky merfolk managed it).

While Camilla could temporarily resist the sunlight by drawing on her magical power, that required an immense amount of energy to sustain.

But, that green-haired woman?

She looked completely unfazed, strolling around in the sun as if it was merely another day.

Her movements were full of openings, as if she had never encountered a fight in her life, yet to Camilla, that made it even more suspicious.

After the great war, vampires lived in a state of constant wariness and protection. Those who failed to do so were the first to meet their end. No, aside from Camilla, everyone else died even while trying.

In such a setting, how could one remain completely unguarded and yet still be whole?

‘…Could it be, that she’s so unbelievably powerful?’

Some tales of the ‘old glory’ that her father had often rambled about came rushing back to her mind.

“Our night nobles were once the elite serving one of the Eight Generals.”

“He was the noblest of all night nobles, whose wisdom reached the heavens and could read all things with just the slightest hint.”

“Silver, sun, flowing water. All the strange weaknesses that were fatal to us were pointless before him.”

“Foolish ones say he perished alongside one of those loathsome celestial wings, but I know better. He couldn’t have fallen so easily. One day, he would resurrect, returning to this land to once again lead our night nobles!”

“……”

Camilla’s face, already pale, turned even more so.

She desperately tried to deny the assumptions entering her mind.

“J-Just a mistake, right?”

To prove that the green-haired woman wasn’t a vampire, she stared more intently at the reflection in the mirror.

Camilla’s eyes glowed oddly, and she began reading not just surface appearances, but the very essence.

With a brilliant red glow akin to freshly spilled blood, she sensed a magical energy.

In the deepest recesses of that magic lies a most beautiful and majestic chalice.

And mixed within it, coexisting, was a pure white… divine… power?

Camilla’s thoughts came to a halt.

With an expression as if she had seen an ice cube billowing forth a chilling essence amidst raging flames, she stood there, mouth agape.

“A, a night noble. Resurrected with divine power for vengeance against the heavens…!!”

Camilla’s body trembled uncontrollably.

For a moment, she considered fleeing, but no matter how she thought about it, the chances of escape didn’t seem too promising.

No, even if she did manage to escape now, there was nowhere else to run.

“Wait, hold on. Calm down. That person clearly wasn’t initially interested in the center of the island. That means they didn’t come for me from the start.”

Several strategies flitted and vanished in her mind before reassembling.

A determined look filled Camilla’s eyes.

With all her might, she burst out of the mansion.

Exactly one minute later.

“W-Would you forgive my rudeness, great one? Please have mercy…!”

The sight of a shivering vampire kneeling on the ground, bowing her head, caused question marks to appear above the heads of the Tin Knight’s group.