“Where the hell am I?” muttered half-awake Laudis.

  The boy pulled the blanket away, sitting up. He was stripped to his undergarments, covered in countless bandages. The youth glanced at his forearms. Despite the severe cuts caused by the Whip of Sands, they were healed, leaving light scars. The sun was shining on him, as if it were welcoming his return. The room was quiet. Something that wasn’t true a few hours before. Crimson Eye slicked back his hair, letting the sunshine wake him up. He noticed someone in the corner of the room. The blue-haired woman was sitting on a chair, sleeping. She was covered with some thin, but not see-through, white material. He bent over her, looking at her peaceful face.

  “Udania had been healing you for two hours straight, you know?” stated Dantenium, entering the room.

  “Says a man who was absent during Sloth’s siege. Where the hell have you been? Solisia was almost killed because of you—”

  “She was healed in seven minutes. The girl was in rather fine shape, despite her broken leg and partial mana deprivation. On the other hand, you looked like an old rag doll. Major blood loss, complete mana deprivation, a dozen slashes caused by the Whip of Sands, and somehow two rejected, foreign mana sourcers, unrecognisable by anyone. She was healing you despite her wounds. Yes, she was injured, too. Blood was dripping down her hands, and yet she healed you first. If I were her, I wouldn’t heal you at all. You chose your own fate, rejecting Solisia’s help. You could have done better, way better. I expected better of you, Laudis,” responded Dante, looking at him.

  “But… but where were you?” he replied, feeling slightly guilty.

  “I’ll tell you the whole truth… In reality, I was going for Sloth alone. I didn’t want the two newbies to suffer. I didn’t want to see this; no, I couldn’t accept this scenario. I was running around the city as if I were a madman, jumping from roof to roof. I was observing Zachiria, but I couldn’t grasp his mana. As I had previously said, I didn’t see him even once, but I’ve seen his troop. I memorised their mana to the bone. Still, I was unable to sense it. That’s the reason I was practising my mana control. I wanted to kill him first, so no one else had to suffer. I was looking for him, but I found nothing. After some time, I stumbled across Gladius and Udania. Gladius was kneeling, holding his sword with his last ounces of strength. Udania was covered in cuts, mainly on her arms. Sixty or so vampires were mocking them. I had to intervene, I had to take revenge on those bastards…”

  The crimson–haired stood in total shock, noticing both of them in such a situation. Stars were hanging in the sky, blinking from time to time. The moon, their father, was lighting the battleground. A strong smell of iron and ozone entangled the area.

  “What the hell happened here?” he muttered.

  “We destroyed one troop, but the vampires from the beginning got us. We are pathetic, aren’t we?” responded Gladius, talking in a dull voice.

  “I see…”

  As soon as Dante took out his Sword of Pride, the blade caught on Fire. The element danced with the wind, illuminating his bitter face. The man rushed to the half of the undead in no time. They were mesmerised by his inhuman speed, but they quickly jumped backwards, thinking they were safe. The Warrior of Hades raised his steel above his head. He spun it two and a half times counterclockwise. He stopped halfway through the last part. Dantenium bent backwards with his weapon, taking a huge swing. The vampires started laughing at him, thinking he had lost his mind.

  “Fire Tornado invocare,” he said.

  Somehow, his voice echoed through the darkness like they were in a tunnel. In the eyes of a vampire, light started emerging. Soon enough, the Fire Tornado was summoned. The summoning spread at least fifteen metres in length, and its radius was growing with every metre. The flames twitched in red, orange, and yellow. A smell of burned flesh gave the rest of the gathered vampires chillis. He halted his technique after ten seconds. Ten seconds were enough to turn living creatures into cremated corpses. The man glanced with his bloodthirsty eyes at the rest of the warriors. Fwoosh! He threw his sword at them, piercing through four bodies, pinning them to a wall. Then, Dante quickly raised his right hand, summoning small fireballs. Twenty-eight tiny projectiles pierced through their hearts, killing them on the spot. They watched the scene in shock. The Crusaders knew that he was strong, but not that strong.

  “I’m sorry… I couldn’t get to you at the right time,” he said, helping Gladius stand up.

  “Better late than never,” the knight replied.

  “Ouch!” the paladin shouted as soon as he tried standing up.

  “Huh? What’s wrong?” the crimson-haired wondered.

  “He’s injured. Bones in his forearms are broken, probably snapped in half. He used a technique that his body wasn’t able to withstand. Help Laudis, he’s at the presidential palace. I’ll take care of him,” said Udania, wiping blood off her arms.

  “Thanks, but don’t forget to heal yourself, also.”

  “Yeah…”

  Dantenium rushed to the given location, but he was too late. The battle was over. Two lifeless bodies were lying next to each other, almost like brothers killed in a war. Laudis was kneeling, covered in red stains.

  ‘Dammit! I was too slow! To hell with me!’ he thought, walking up to him.

  “It was hard, wasn’t it?” the man asked, laying a hand on his shoulder.

  “Yes. Where have you been?”

  ‘I can’t, I don’t want to tell him the truth. I didn’t save a soul. I couldn’t sense Sloth. Kill me already!’

  “You won’t answer, huh? That’s typical of you. I’ve got one wish. Drag my body to the hotel…”

  Laudis lost consciousness, and his body fell.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

  Dante caught it mid-air, cautiously putting it down.

  “How are they?” he asked, looking at the girl.

  “Denir the Vampire Butcher Moodeen and… Philip Lawrence.”

  ‘That bastard is a vampire, I can sense it at first glance. Why the hell is she covering for him? Still, I’m not in a position to object to her wishes…’

  “I see… Did Denir do something to you?”

  “No, he protected me from Sloth.”

  “And where is he now?”

  “...”

  She didn’t say a word, but it was a clear answer to him.

  ‘So that’s Sloth, huh? Quite pathetic. I thought you were more majestic. In reality, you’re a wimpy thug. I know your past, yet I couldn’t understand your motives. Still, it seems like at your deathbed you were recognised by at least one person.’

  “Okay. I’ll take you to Udania, and then I’ll get Laudis.”

  “What about them?”

  “The city will take care of mass funerals; we’ve got no time for them.”

  “But! I want them to have a proper funeral…” she muttered, and her eyes started glazing.

  ‘Damn it!’

  “All right, I’ll take them after.”

  “Thank you,” she replied, smiling at him.”

  He took the Earth sorceress and Laudis to Udania in ten minutes or so. The man came back for the two bodies. Despite the harsh morning sun, Sloth’s flesh didn’t seem to burn.

  ‘Huh? Normally, the corpses of vampires burn because of the sun. He doesn’t seem to follow in their footsteps. Maybe your sins were forgiven by God in the end. Hell if I know, yet I know one thing. You’ll at least have a proper funeral…”

  “And that’d be it,” stated Dantenium, recalling his experience.

  Of course, he cut his inner monologues or skipped them completely.

  “Alright, but why’re you dressed in a shirt?” the boy wondered.

  The man was dressed in a dark grey shirt and black trousers with a brown leather belt.

  “The funeral of Denir and Philip is about to start. That is in an hour. Are you going to them?”

  “I guess so. But I’ve got no good clothes, do I?”

  “I knew something like that was likely to happen. That’s why I bought you some clothes, too.”

  “Oh, thanks.”

  Laudis slowly stood up and put on the given clothing. He put on a deep red shirt and black trousers.

  “What about the others?”

  “Gladius is lying in bed, unable to get dressed. Udania healed him, but his bones need to recover and be reconstructed. Udania wanted to go, but she fell asleep about twenty minutes ago. Before that, she was healing each of you. It’s better to leave her alone.”

  “I see. And how about Solisia?”

  “Solisia’s going. Actually, she said that she needed to buy some things. She’s likely outside. Shall we go?”

  “Isn’t it too early to go? We’ve got fifty minutes.”

  “Yes, but there will be a lot of people.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “You’ll understand it as soon as the ceremony starts.”

  “Okay…”

  Both men walked out of the hotel room. Residents were cleaning off the streets. Debris was all around the houses, and blood was spattered around the whole city. They stumbled on cleaners. A strong stench of chlorine was coming out of their buckets filled with an unknown substance. Some metres away, men with masks were putting vampire corpses into bags. Then, they threw them on the carts. Camels were slowly transporting the bodies to bury them outside the city in the mass graves. That night, many civilians died, one hundred and three to be exact. Despite the casualties, people weren’t mourning at all. They were glad that only 103 men were dead out of 30,000 residents. As they were getting closer to the graveyard, the crowd grew larger and larger. The Crusaders were wearing non-Carolan clothes; thus, they were recognised quickly. Most people greeted them because the Crusaders helped them recently. Only a few men with golden rings and necklaces were turning their heads away. The president wasn't the only one who conspired with vampires. After some time, they arrived at the spot. The graveyard was entangled with three-metre-tall sandstone walls, with two major entrances. The place was filled with the same tombstones. All of them were made with sandstone, rectangular, with carved names, dates of birth, and death. Their corners weren’t rounded, making it easy to distinguish their age. The rounder one was, the older it was. There were candles with flames dancing with the wind. They had been placed in ceramic pots that were almost in front of all the tombstones. A subtle scent of beeswax was coming from them.

  “They don’t do the last respects here, you know?” said Dantenium.

  “What’s that?” wondered Laudis, unaware of Luxarian practices.

  “Oh… When someone dies, usually a man, their closest friends gather and have a last drink. It’s usually beer, but it can also be wine, or water if one’s religion prohibits alcohol.”

  “Have you done it?”

  “Yes… Many times, too many times…” replied Dante, and his eyes went somewhere far away.

  “I see…”

  They had noticed Solisia in the crowd, but the youth suddenly stopped. He was looking at a mausoleum. It was almost like the place grabbed his soul directly.

  “I’ll join you later. I want to see this,” the boy stated.

  “Okay, I’ll be with Solisia.”

  “Right…”

  The tomb was the sole differentiating thing in the graveyard. It was approximately three by five by five metres with an open gable roof. Its walls were made with cut stone, and the top part and the door were made from Carolan pine. That tree hadn’t existed for more than five hundred years.

  ‘What’s that? Wood in a desert? I’ve seen some on the markets, but they were stupidly expensive and a different kind; there were mostly oak and birch trees. Is that… No, it can’t be… I’ve read about a tree that existed five centuries ago in Carola, but that’s not possible. No wood can be in such condition after that time. It has a few marks, but there’s no fungi or insects. That’s odd… And that strange aura, why do I feel so… so bizarre? The handles on the door are made out of metal, probably bronze, guessing by its colour,’ he thought, inspecting the construction.

  ‘Yeah, they’re bronze. They’re heavy…’

  He entered the mausoleum. There was a lot of sand and dust, causing him to sneeze twice in a row. Two extinguished candles were hanging from the ceiling. They had been put in black candle holders. Between them, there was a withered statue of a man. He was headless and had lost his right hand and a part of his left one. A part of his sword, strapped to his side, was also destroyed. Only the curved end part was fully intact. After a while, Laudis noticed a stone sign put on the pedestal. Most of the curved letters were wrecked, causing the text to be a mumble of words to the mob.

  “Axxxir Ixxexxxs, txx xxxxx sxxxxxex. Xxrx xx 1xx AXC. Xixx xn xx X.E.” he muttered silently.

  “Most would be unable to decipher the missing text, but not me. I had a revelation from the owner of the mausoleum."

  The boy started going word after word, following them with his index finger.

  "Aamir Inceptis, the Blind Sorcerer. Born in 173 AEC, died in xx V.E. Surprisingly enough, his death is written in the vampire era, that’s our calendar. His birth was written in the ‘after the establishment of Carola’ format. He was either proud of their counting system or was unaware of the new one. Even you have a legacy, sadly, it’s long forgotten. I wish to see you one day, Aamir…” the youth continued, leaving the place.