Casually spreading their hands, the figure gave a courteous nod.
“Ah, that’s right. You’ve yet to see me in this form. I’ve been trying to lay low, but...perhaps you might recognize me by name? The Conductor?”
“The Conductor...” she echoed.
The name rang a bell. It belonged to the mysterious figure—once said to have been part of the Black Guild—who had orchestrated the golem attack on the slums. The Conductor had been sensed in various places since, but their identity had never been confirmed.
“Ah, I see... So you were the Conductor all along,” Carmilla said, smiling as though finally coming to a realization. “I did find it odd that lost magic had been used to animate the golem that attacked the slums. And not any lost magic—the kind that demons once practiced.”
The wraith narrowed her eyes, staring at the figure before her.
“But if you were behind it, it all makes sense. Mephileto, right hand of the demon lord Hades, who aided in the Great Human-Demon War.”
The Conductor brought a hand to their chest and gave a respectful bow.
“It is good to see you as well, Carmilla de Lamanelle, member of the legendary party of heroes forgotten by history, once known as the greatest sage in all the continent.”
✦ ✦ ✦
The crimson moon was hidden behind a group of clouds, and the night was now bathed in pitch-blackness. Yet the two figures remained perfectly still, their gazes fixed on one another.
“I thought the demons were all gone. What a surprise to see one in the present day,” Carmilla mused. “But perhaps maintaining your true form is difficult, seeing as you had to possess a human.”
The Conductor laughed heartily. “Well, thanks to you and your hero friends, I was shattered, left to drift. My scattered shards slowly came together, and I only recently regained consciousness. I happened upon a dying human at the site of an accident and successfully overtook his body. I gradually grew inside this form and finally gained full command of it about a year ago. His name is Afred. He’s a suitable vessel, really.”
“Afred, you say.” A familiar name—an advanced healer who had gone missing from the Royal Institute moons ago. “Hee hee hee... I see, I see. Finally, the pieces have come together.”
“I’m the one who’s shocked. I never expected you to become an undead. Is there a reason for that? Or were you just too attached to this world to move on?”
“Oh? You want to know my motives?”
“I’ve decided to take an interest in humans. Call it a reflection on the past.”
“Unfortunately, I have long forgotten such ancient matters.”
“Oh, harsh! I told you my story and everything.”
“Surely you are not here to reminisce.”
Carmilla’s mana output flared with a sharp whoosh, and the Conductor stepped back, smiling.
“Whoa, there, I’m not looking to fight you right now,” the Conductor said. “If we were to go at each other’s throats, my vessel—and possibly this entire city—would be reduced to smithereens. Surely that’s not what you want either.”
“Then why are you here?”
“I have business with Zenos, you see. Your presence here was an unforeseen coincidence. Ah, what a hassle. Dealing with Zenos is bad enough, and now there’s you too.”
“Hmph. You seem strangely attached to Zenos.”
“He’s an awfully fascinating human, don’t you think?”
“He is an intruder who took over my dwelling. That is all,” Carmilla muttered bitterly. She gave a small laugh and shrugged. “But unfortunately Zenos is not here. He has been cast away to rot for life in an underground prison somewhere.”
“Oh?” The Conductor’s eyes grew wide—they were getting quite used to human expressions, it seemed. “Bother. Now that you mention it, I remember hearing during my time with the Black Guild about a type of sentencing where one is forced to work to death in a mine somewhere.”
“Do you know where that is?”
“Sadly, no. Even if I did, it’s likely deep underground and protected by wards. I doubt an outsider could approach it easily. Even you in spirit form would have trouble.”
“Hm.”
“But what now? It really is a very urgent matter,” the Conductor said with a troubled frown. “I suppose I’ll just have to tell you, Carmilla.”
“I do not meddle in the affairs of the living on principle.”
“Aw, but we’ve only just reunited after three hundred years!”
“Fine. But it had best be an interesting tale.”
“Oh, most interesting indeed. See, I have been investigating a few things, and recently came to a realization. It all began back when this kingdom was first founded, but...ah, let’s skip to the good part.” The Conductor cleared their throat as a human would, then continued, “You know the king of fell dragons, who fought the demon lord for control of the southern continent once upon a time?”
“The king of fell dragons? Yes, I have heard bedtime stories. In my great-grandfather’s time, they were used to scare children into behaving lest the dragon eat them.”
The king of fell dragons had fled to this continent after being defeated by the demon lord, barely clinging to life, and gone into hiding deep underground. Carmilla had recently told that very tale to Zenos and the others around a campfire.
“Well, that lets me skip all the explanations,” the Conductor said. With a nod, they declared, “Galhamut’s revival is at hand. If nothing is done, this kingdom will fall.”