“Abel, are you certain you wish to go through with this plan?” Shinso asked, not particularly enthusiastic.
“Yeah. Besides, I don’t have much time. I’m sorry for all the trouble I’m causing you, but...if our comrades are executed, Ryo’s gonna be pissed, and you wouldn’t be able to talk to him then. And you wouldn’t want that, right?”
“Are you perhaps...threatening me?” Shinso murmured with a shake of his head.
“Sorry, not sorry.” Abel shrugged.
“Well, I have a feeling you’re correct about his fury...”
Their preparations continued despite Shinso’s grumbling, which Abel chose to ignore. Then the mysterious vampire made up his mind.
“Let’s say that you took my carriage by force,” Shinso said. “Yes, we’ll go with that.”
“Maaan, you and Ryo really are scarily alike,” Abel muttered under his breath.
Count Contreras’s capital residence wasn’t far from the guild.
When the carriage arrived at the heavily guarded main gate, a fully armed knight said, “Halt! No one is allowed to enter today!”
“Do you not know who this coach belongs to?” the carriage driver asked. Although he hadn’t raised his voice, his anger crackled through, and everyone in the vicinity picked up on it. His words drew the eyes of every knight there to the crest painted on the carriage: two curved swords crossed under blue flames...
The moment they recognized it, they all froze. Few ordinary folks knew this coat of arms. On the other hand, Twilight’s nobles and all who served them knew it very well.
And to them, this crest represented fear. Unfathomable fear.
An overwhelming wave of anxiety made it difficult to speak, but the knight finally managed to squeeze out, “I... I beg your pardon...”
Simultaneously, the gate opened, and the coach passed through into the spacious courtyard beyond. None of the guards moved until it was out of sight.
The carriage came to a smooth stop in front of the manor entrance. Servants hurriedly emerged from inside, but Abel could tell from their movements alone that they were human. He jumped from the driver’s seat and rushed past them, knocking them out one by one.
“Run up to the third floor!” he shouted at Ceferino.
“Will do!” the swordsman replied, following behind with the other members of Five Mountains. The adventurers the party had gathered weren’t here yet, so the six of them would subdue the enemy first as a show of strength.
They ran up the grand staircase beyond the front door. Abel defeated the knights who frantically surged down the stairs with a single broad swipe. Ceferino did the same to the next wave. Neither young man found his sword stopped by another’s. It was a race against time to capture the enemy base. They wanted to secure the top floor before the guards outside, including those around the main gate, noticed.
When they reached the second floor, they encountered ten knights lined up in a defensive formation.
“Nieves! Ilana!” Ceferino shouted.
“Kindle, O great light. Flash.”
The priestess Nieves immediately chanted, and a brilliant light illuminated the area and left the knights blinded.
“O wind that oppresses all, bring the foolish ones to their knees. Air Buster,” Ilana chanted, creating a powerful gale that battered the blinded knights from above, toppling them over, slamming their heads against the floor, and rendering them unconscious.
“Nice work,” Abel said.
“Oh, Abel, your vision— Can you see all right?” Ceferino was worried, as he hadn’t warned him about Nieves’s spell beforehand.
“Yup. Our priestess can use the blinding spell too. I memorized the incantation.”
Like Nieves, Rihya of the Crimson Sword was also capable of casting the spell, which only advanced light magicians could use. If deployed skillfully, like on this occasion, it could end a battle in one fell swoop.
The group continued up the stairs to the third floor.
“The room at the far right!” Abel shouted, and the rest nodded. They had debriefed together in advance, so they knew what to expect.
And to no one’s surprise, enemies were stationed in the hallway leading to their destination.
“Abel, go!”
“I’m counting on you guys!”
Abel charged at full speed. This deep into the manor, there were also a few magicians on guard who started hurling spells at the swordsman.
“Sword Skill: Perfect Shadow,” Abel said, activating a sword technique that allowed him to dodge all long-range attacks, including magical ones, with minimal movement. Abel evaded everything they threw at him—swords and magic—without slowing and dashed through the door. Behind him, he heard the sounds of battle between Five Mountains and the knights, but he chose not to pay them any attention.
Instead, he focused on the man in the room with him.
“You scum!” the man spat, acid in his voice.
Then he drew his sword and attacked Abel, who chose to dodge rather than parry. His opponent’s weapon was heavy, and the man himself was fast. Even at his skill level, Abel couldn’t have deflected the attack with ease. He backed away to create some distance.
“You’re a vampire?” he asked, almost certain that the man in front of him was his target.
“It’s infuriating enough that outsiders are intruding on a battle between nobles... But humans of all things? Worthless scum!”
“Man, you really need to work on your vocabulary if ‘scum’ is the best insult you’ve got,” Abel replied. “What’s the point of living forever if you don’t bother improving yourself? Eternal life is wasted on you,” Abel said, trying to provoke the man. He knew the importance of rattling his opponent and baiting them into an attack...
“Why, you...” the man snarled, lifting his sword.
Abel took a step forward and parried before his opponent could fully complete his swing. Then he angled his sword and used his momentum to drag the blade up his opponent’s weapon until the edge bit into his defenseless neck and sent his head flying.
In one strike, Abel had decided the fight.
As Abel took a deep breath to calm his agitated mind, he noticed the sounds coming from the battle in the hallway had stopped. The door opened, and the five members of Five Mountains, along with one other person, entered.
“A fine cut, indeed,” Shinso said. “As one would expect of an A-rank swordsman. The rest of the adventurers are preparing to burn down the mansion.”
The man actually seemed to be enjoying himself.
“What about everybody else guarding the place?”
“They’ve been defeated and are now gathered somewhere they’ll be safe, away from the fire. There’s no need to worry.”
“Don’t count your chickens before they hatch,” Abel said with a shake of his head.
Shinso picked up the severed head from the floor and placed it on top of the vampire’s body, still kneeling.
“Hey, what are you—” Abel began.
“You cut off his head using a sword with a stun ring, so he won’t be able to move for a while, even if we put him back together. He’ll remain unconscious, but he’ll wake up soon, so we can interrogate him then.”
“Interrogate? What do you mean?” Abel asked.
“Ah, did you think this was Sandalio?”
“I’m guessing it’s not, then.”
“Indeed. This is Count Contreras’s head butler. He’s responsible for everything in this mansion when Sandalio’s not around, so he must also know why he’s not here. Frankly, his absence has me curious. He hasn’t been seen since the game began.”
“I still can’t accept calling all this a ‘game.’”
“Accept it or not, it is what it is. Humans and vampires have different lifespans, and that alone makes us view the world differently.”
“Oh, yeah?” Abel cocked his head thoughtfully, trying his best to understand. There was no point in denying Shinso’s words, since he knew humans didn’t have a monopoly on truth...
“‘There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy,’” Shinso said, as if reciting lines from a play.
Naturally, Abel was confused. “What the heck is that?”
“Shakespeare. Ask Ryo about it later,” he said, offering nothing more than a mischievous smile.
Finally, the head butler’s eyes opened.
“About damn time,” Abel said.
The butler glared at him.
“I thought you were Contreras himself, but as it turns out, you just manage his staff.”
“His Lordship would never deign to fraternize with a mere human!” the man snapped back in disgust.
“Yeah, yeah. Now tell us where exactly your high and mighty count is and what he’s doing.”
He scoffed. “You genuinely expect me to answer?”
“Steward Cirino, or should I say Baron Porcel?” Shinso chimed in. “I’d also like to know what dear Sandalio is up to.”
The man froze and looked at Shinso in recognition. He went momentarily speechless in shock. “L-Lord Shinso...why are you here...”
“Simply satisfying my curiosity. So, Cirino, will you answer us?”
“I... Well...”
Sweat immediately began beading across his brow. Abel briefly wondered how that was even possible after he’d beheaded him, but he kept his inappropriate thoughts to himself.
“Then you refuse to answer?”
“N-N-N-N-N-No, of course I will! I will answer! His Lordship is preparing to launch a counterattack...” Cirino replied eagerly, but his voice trailed off toward the end.
Not answering Shinso wasn’t an option, but he contemplated whether doing so might interfere with their faction’s plans. He hesitated for a few moments, weighing his choice: his master or Shinso...
“Count Contreras has captured a dark magician using his Votum. He will use that magician to summon monsters and attack the castle.”
“You have got to be kidding me...”
Abel didn’t miss that Cirino went from referring to Sandalio as “His Lordship” to “Count Contreras.” His quick switch in allegiance surprised Abel. Listening nearby, the members of Five Mountains looked at each other and shook their heads.
“An interesting move,” Shinso said, “but unwise.”
He shook his head slightly, smiling wryly.