Though he had run himself ragged in every direction, even going so far as to accept becoming a vampire in order to save Truvania,
Shrecheimer had accomplished nothing thus far. As Shrecheimer could not hide his astonishment, Damon’s voice echoed in his ears.
“Could you perhaps tell me your story? I’m so curious I can hardly stand it.”
“It is far too insignificant for me to dare reveal with confidence, but I shall explain.”
Shrecheimer soon began to lay bare to Damon the path he had walked.
“After escaping Northwood, I conveyed the full truth of the matter to the Allied Forces’ leadership. But even with that information, it was impossible to reverse the tide of a war we were losing.”
Rather, the news that the Heroes’ Corps had been annihilated only served to lower the morale of the leadership. Because the elites drawn from knightly orders of every level had been wiped out wholesale, the remaining forces were, in a word, nothing but a rabble. Yet since there was no way out of the crisis, the humans had no choice but to fight while expecting defeat. It was, quite literally, mortal combat—a battle fated to end in death.
The five years of battle that followed. Victory ultimately ended in humanity’s defeat, and Truvania at last fell into the hands of the orcs. Shrecheimer, who had witnessed Truvania’s destruction with his own two eyes at the time, wept tears of blood at that miserable defeat.
“But I did not give up there. I resolved to cross over to Arcadia and continue the struggle.”
At the time, crossing to Arcadia was by no means easy. To begin with, the number of ships available was limited, so only high-ranking nobles could flee. And even among those who did manage to board, only an extremely small number of ships reached Arcadia.
That was because although Cranus, the Dragon Lord, had entered his slumbering period, the fierce storms and waves he had created maintained their effect for a considerable length of time. Because of that, many of the ships that had barely escaped sank without ever crossing the great sea. The humans who became prey for the serpents, the rulers of the sea, were too many to count. In addition, the effects of the spatial distortion field also persisted for quite some time, so even teleportation could not be cast. A complicated look passed through Shrecheimer’s eyes as he recalled those days.
“I endured bitter hardship in order to cross the great sea. I would fly on a Phantom Steed, and when its effect wore off, I would rest by relying on pieces of wood floating on the water while rearranging my mana again…”
At the time, that was the only method Shrecheimer had to cross the great sea.
Aviation flight magic consumed too much mana and had a slow flight speed, so the only method he could rely on was Phantom Steed. Of course, sleep was out of the question. Because of sharks and serpents, he could not remain in the water for long, so Shrecheimer had to keep summoning Phantom Steeds.
After doing so for over a fortnight, Shrecheimer finally arrived in Arcadia and dragged his exhausted body to the Crossen Empire. His goal was to wait until the effects of the storm and spatial distortion field laid down by Cranus expired, then retake Truvania. To do that, support troops from Arcadia were absolutely necessary. Unfortunately, however, Emperor Crossen had already lived out his natural span and passed from this world… Emperor Crossen II, who had inherited the throne, coldly ordered Shrecheimer to leave.
“It is only natural that Truvania, which broke faith, has fallen. There is still a great deal of land in Arcadia that has not yet been pioneered. Therefore, I do not think there is any need for me to go all the way to Truvania.”
At that cold response, Shrecheimer had no choice but to withdraw from before Crossen II. In a sense, it may have been a natural reaction. The sins the rulers of Truvania had committed against Emperor Crossen were that great. But Shrecheimer never gave up. In his longing to save Truvania, he at last even resolved to abandon his status as a priest.
“In order to fulfill my cherished wish, I resolved to become a vampire. It was the only way to overcome my limited lifespan. After searching every corner of the Arcadian continent, I was finally able to find a vampire.”
The vampire who stood before the high priest possessing an advanced level of holy power trembled violently. It was because he instinctively sensed that, with a single gesture from Shrecheimer, his cursed life would have to come to an end. But Shrecheimer did not use holy magic. On the contrary, he obediently entrusted his body to the vampire. Until the vampire’s fangs sank deep into the nape of his neck.
An indescribable light passed through Shrecheimer’s eyes as he recalled that time.
“In the end, I became a vampire and gained eternal life. But as the price, the holy power Lord Verhazel had allowed me vanished forever. Living the life of a vampire, driven mad by the urge to drink blood every night, I vowed that somehow, I would rebuild Truvania. But for a cursed being like a vampire, that was, in a word, impossible. Nearly five hundred years flowed by that way, in vain.”
Having finished speaking, Shrecheimer turned his head and looked at Theodore.
“Then, by chance, I came to meet Theodore. The people of the Brokenheart family, struggling to make a living as slash-and-burn farmers. Realizing that Theodore possessed remarkable aptitude for scholarship, I resolved to pass my knowledge on to him in order to achieve my goal. Of course, I could only teach him when I was in my right mind.”
For nearly ten years, Shrecheimer taught Theodore scholarship. He possessed sufficient knowledge to make Theodore into a high-ranking official. Theodore, who was so intelligent that he could understand ten things after hearing one, engraved every one of Shrecheimer’s teachings into his mind. After passing all his knowledge on to Theodore in that way, Shrecheimer risked his life and went to meet the emperor of the Crossen Empire. It was in order to prepare a position where Theodore could put the scholarship he had learned to use.
Transforming into a bat and crossing the layered defensive barriers of the imperial palace, he finally managed, after going through untold hardships, to meet Valensius I, the emperor of the Crossen Empire. However, Valensius I was already not in a normal state. The emperor of the Crossen Empire, who had fallen victim to Duke Perstein’s poison, was in a situation where he could remain in his right mind for barely an hour or so each day.
Avoiding the eyes of surveillance, Shrecheimer had to wait for a long time while hanging from the beams of the imperial palace. Waiting only for the time when the emperor would regain his senses… Thus, the fateful meeting took place. Though he was startled out of his wits upon seeing a vampire suddenly appear, Emperor Valensius ultimately listened to Shrecheimer’s words.
“The descendant of Emperor Crossen was indeed wise. His Majesty Emperor Valensius accepted my request. He promised Theodore a title that would allow him to keep Duke Perstein in check.”
But that did not solve the problem. Theodore, being of commoner status, had no qualifications in the first place to rise to an important position in the court. While agonizing over how to solve that problem, Shrecheimer decided to seek out Duke Nercis, who had been pushed out in the power struggle at the time. He had already been purged by Duke Perstein, and his life was under serious threat. Meeting Duke Nercis, Shrecheimer laid out all the facts and asked for his cooperation.
“For this reason, I need your help. What will you do?”
“Very well. If he promises to restore my lost power, then I shall take him in as my adopted son.”
Because the situation was desperate, Duke Nercis readily accepted the request. The next day, Theodore was accepted as the adopted son of the Nercis family, and thanks to the emperor’s command that followed, he was able to rise to the position of consul. Theodore, who had been silently listening to Shrecheimer’s words, suddenly joined the conversation.
“After making me consul, Master voluntarily entered the underground prison. He did so solely because he did not wish to cast any shadow over my future. Even while prolonging his life on the blood of livestock, Master worried about my future and Truvania.”
Having learned the whole story, Damon let out a long sigh.
“What a truly unfortunate fate. There is no doubt that you, too, have a story far from ordinary.”
After revealing everything, Shrecheimer looked at Damon.
“But how did you come to help Theodore, Lord Damon?”
A faint smile passed over Damon’s lips.
“That, too, was an extraordinary connection.”
“A c-connection, you say?”
“Do you perhaps know who the master was who first taught me black magic five hundred years ago?”
Shrecheimer searched his memory for a moment. The answer burst out before long.
“I believe it was Doyle, the war mage…”
Shrecheimer stopped mid-answer and suddenly clapped his hands. As if he had recalled something, his face brightened.
“I see. His family name was Brokenheart. Why did I fail to realize that…”
Damon nodded without erasing the smile from his face.
“The reason I helped Theodore was because of Master’s request. Originally, he asked me to look after his son, but that was, in a word, impossible. So I resolved to look after his descendants at least. I truly think it fortunate that the result turned out well.”
After hearing the whole situation, Shrecheimer let out a long sigh.
“This is why one cannot take the affairs of the world lightly. In truth, I expected nothing from you. As you know, five hundred years ago, your abilities were exceedingly insignificant… But the result is entirely beyond imagination. To think you overcame those countless hardships and finally regained your power… and not through swordsmanship, but through magic. Right now, respect for you is rising in me of its own accord.”
At Shrecheimer’s praise, Damon became embarrassed.
“They say old people grow talkative, and it seems you are no exception. Be that as it may…”
Damon looked Shrecheimer’s body over from head to toe.
“As far as I know, you were quite a high-level priest…”
Shrecheimer gave a bitter smile.
“Because I became a vampire, a being of darkness, I lost all my holy power. At most, I can use only some elementary magic.”
Damon waved his hand as if it did not matter.
“It makes no difference. What I need from you is not magical skill, but your abundant experience. In order to gain victory against the orcs, you must pass all your experience on to Arcadia’s division commanders of every level. Everything about the Truvanian army’s strategies and tactics at the time, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the orc army.”
As if there were nothing to think about, Shrecheimer answered at once.
“Need you even say it? Of course I shall.”
“But vampires are subject to many environmental restrictions. The blood-drinking issue is troublesome, too, but the most important point is that you cannot act at all during the day.”
Damon stared piercingly into Shrecheimer’s eyes.
“What do you think? If you wish, I can make you into a lich. Wouldn’t a lich be far more convenient to operate as than a vampire?”
A somewhat reluctant expression appeared on Shrecheimer’s face.
“A l-lich? But it would not be easy to change a vampire’s body into a lich, would it? Well, since both are cursed beings, I suppose it does not matter…”
Damon smiled faintly.
“There is no need to worry. Inside my body is a sealing sphere in which Nidelhark, the Demon King of Darkness, sleeps. With his magical power, even a vampire can be made into a lich. Of course, you may expect a considerable improvement in ability as well. If you use the dark magical power I pour into you in place of the holy power you lost, you should be able to leap to the Seventh Circle in one stroke. As you know, it is very easy to reach a path one has already walked before.”
Hearing Damon’s words, Shrecheimer nodded without hesitation.
“That would be so. If I use black magic instead of holy magic, I should be able to recover my former level sufficiently… Very well. I shall do that.”
“Good.”
Damon turned his head and looked at Theodore.
“Would you step outside for a while? It will take about an hour to make your master into a lich.”
“Understood.”
Having heard the entire conversation between the two, Theodore turned around without hesitation. For Theodore, it was a welcome thing simply that his master could escape the yoke of blood-drinking. After all, liches and vampires were both beings condemned by people all the same.
However, vampires had to constantly consume the blood of humans or beasts in order to maintain their lives. Liches, however, had no such need at all. Of course, if they suffered a great injury, there were times when they unavoidably had to absorb human life force…
Click.
After the door closed, only Damon and Shrecheimer remained there. Damon looked at Shrecheimer with shining eyes.
“Then I shall begin the great ritual.”
When he waved his hand, a magic circle slowly appeared on the floor. Damon had now recovered his magical skill to some extent.
“Would you stand atop the magic circle?”
Shrecheimer stepped onto the magic circle without hesitation. Seeing that, Damon silently began to concentrate dark magical power. For him, who had already made even a Death Knight, making something on the level of a lich was nothing more than child’s play. As dark magical power gathered, the magic circle began to emit streams of eerie light. On Damon’s face, as he focused on the great ritual, was an expression that seemed to find it immensely amusing.
“A black magician, a Death Knight, a Bone Dragon, and now a lich joining as well… Good grief, isn’t this completely an allied army of humans and undead? If Nidelhark, sleeping inside the sealing sphere, realized this fact, he’d be so dumbfounded he’d beat the ground in frustration.”
Within the magic circle that radiated dazzling light, Shrecheimer’s body was slowly changing.