That day was an ordinary one as well.
He woke up early in the morning, had a meal with his beloved family, and headed to the elementary education facility built within the "Merchant Guild Employee Residential District."
“Aron, good morning~!”
“Oh! Aron’s here? Did you hear the news? This time on Mishang Street….”
“You came early again today. As expected, you’re a very diligent student.”
Aron was incredibly popular there.
Not only among the children receiving lessons together, but even among the instructors hired as teachers.
In truth, it was only natural.
This facility had been built and operated entirely by the Hubert Foundation from start to finish, and the parents of most children attending here were employees working at the Hubert Merchant Guild.
‘And I’m the younger brother of the secretary who is the Guild Master’s closest aide.’
She might be called a secretary, but in reality, she was virtually the second-in-command.
Because the Guild Master trusted her that much and had concentrated so much authority in her.
A faint bitter smile formed at his lips.
Thanks to his amazing older sister, his shoulders shrugged a bit at the fact that he received such treatment, but the burden weighed upon him was no less significant.
Hadn’t he lived a life virtually no different from a commoner’s before coming here?
‘Even now, it doesn’t feel real at all. That I’m living like this.’
Now, the position of the Hubert Merchant Guild in the merchant world was irreplaceable by anyone.
It had grown enough to be counted on one hand across the entire continent, beyond Tarak and its neighboring commercial spheres, and beyond the Tulk Kingdom as well, so it was only natural.
It was not that its financial power alone was great; it also possessed formidable political influence, so much so that not even Count Aonia’s household in Tarak, let alone the Tulk Royal Family, could treat it carelessly—there was no need to say more.
‘But I heard they actually like us because we provide even more benefits than that.’
Based on that, the Hubert Merchant Guild had even established a foundation and begun investing heavily in Tarak.
Numerous facilities were established, including the educational facility Aron attended, and public institutions as well were able to conduct their work more comfortably than before thanks to the foundation’s sponsorship.
As a result, the economy grew more vibrant by the day, and public order was so stable that one could walk around in the middle of the night; the entire city had come to receive direct benefits from the Hubert Merchant Guild.
Given such circumstances, it was not strange that Aron received such excessive treatment.
Moreover, rumors were even circulating that he might become the Guild Master’s brother-in-law, so all the more so.
‘It doesn’t really feel real, though. If it’s that Mister, I’d be in favor of it… but what would Noona think?’
In truth, he already knew.
That the “Mister” who had saved them was Hubert, the master of the merchant guild.
At first, because it was unimaginable, he hadn’t realized it in time, but watching his sister’s attitude, whom he had been with his whole life, he naturally couldn’t help but come to realize it.
He too had been no different in needing to sharpen his wits to survive in extreme environments.
‘Well, it’s probably magic or something.’
Don’t you go through all sorts of things when doing business?
For the owner of a colossal merchant guild like the Hubert Merchant Guild to disguise his identity for safety’s sake was not such a strange thing at all.
“I’m home.”
“Oppaaa!”
“Urk!”
A small figure charged headfirst with all her might into the arms of Aron, who had returned home after leaving school with his friends.
A lively girl who looked to be about seven or eight years old.
It was Rafi, his cousin.
“I’m going to Grandma’s house, let’s go together!”
“…I have to do my homework first.”
“Hurry! Quickly, quickly! Grandma said she’d make meat cookies! She told me to bring you too. She said you look frail and weak, so she’s worried!”
“No, I’m not that weak….”
But in the end, he had no choice but to sigh at his younger sister’s urging and step outside again.
He had taken charge of looking after Rafi when his uncle, aunt, and sister were working, so he could never refuse this small child’s request.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk… you came just in time. The cookies have just finished baking, so sit there and wait.”
“Yes!”
“I’ll prepare something to drink.”
“Yes, please do.”
The two headed to the house of the shaman grandmother who lived next door.
This grandmother, whose face was covered in tattoos, looked frightening on the outside, but she was a kind neighbor who had grown close to their family since they had first migrated to this city.
Especially since she lived nearby, Rafi, who visited here constantly without any particular reason, regarded her almost like her own grandmother.
“I will enjoy this.”
*Munch munch—* “Gwandma, itsh yummy!”
“Heh, heh, heh… child, I made plenty, so pack some to take home when you leave.”
“Thank you!”
At Rafi’s mumbling words with her mouth stuffed full of cookies, the old woman and Aron both smiled.
Tranquil daily life.
Peaceful days.
Outside, there was a clamor of talk about war with the Undying King and whatnot, but Tarak… the neighborhood where they were was so peaceful that even such turmoil seemed to pass it by.
Even if a great war broke out, this place at least would be safe.
This space, which that Mister and his sister, among many others, protected and maintained, would become an absolute sanctuary.
In such groundless faith, a day just like any other was coming to an end.
And then—
Knock knock—
“Excuse me.”
A stranger’s voice was heard along with the sudden knocking.
A soft voice that could not be hidden even by the polite tone.
Aron, who happened to be standing in the entryway with Rafi to hurry home since it was late, carefully opened the door.
“Who is it?”
“Ah, I’m sorry. I’m looking for someone urgently.”
Visible through the door crack was a young boy.
At most, perhaps around Aron’s age?
A child who looked even younger than him was smiling brightly in front of the door.
“…If you could tell me the name of the person you’re looking for, I think I could help.”
Yet formal speech tumbled out of Aron’s mouth on its own.
It wasn’t intentional.
It was simply words that had come out instinctively before he himself even realized it.
“Ah… I don’t know the name.”
The one who had trailed off like that swept over them with narrowly opened eyes.
A chilling gaze that seemed to lick across their entire bodies like a snake in an instant.
*Ssaa—*
At the same time, goosebumps rose across Aron’s entire body and tension surged within him.
His mouth went dry and cold sweat began to flow down.
Before he knew it, Rafi was hiding behind him, trembling. A fear and ominousness of unknown origin began to bind them.
“…Tch, another miss this time. Though I’m definitely closer….”
The boy standing before him muttered with an annoyed tone, but Aron couldn’t manage to utter a single word.
Even though he knew the emotion contained in those words wasn’t directed at him, he was so overwhelmed by it that his mouth simply wouldn’t open.
“Aron? Rafi? Why haven’t you left yet….”
Just then, the old woman, having finished tidying up the kitchen, spotted them standing in the entryway and approached.
Her gaze naturally turned toward the boy standing in front of the door.
Immediately after.
*Hwoong—*
Wind stirred inside the room.
And before he knew it, Aron’s body, which had been stiff as a board, began to loosen bit by bit.
“Huh?”
Coming to his senses, he found himself sitting blankly with his back against the wall far from the entryway, holding Rafi in his arms.
Staring at the back of the grandmother who blocked his path.
“Hmm? How did you know?”
The stranger’s chilling voice was heard again.
But the shaman grandmother did not answer.
Because she didn’t have the luxury of speaking a single word right now.
“…Aah, to think there’d be a Great Shaman in a place like this. This is troublesome. I don’t want to cause a commotion, though.”
The unidentified boy seemed to be contemplating.
How best to resolve the current situation.
Of course, one thing was clear: whatever decision he reached, it wouldn’t be very good for the others.
But just before that conclusion could be reached, the situation changed once more.
“Grandma! Are Aron and Rafi here? I’m sorry, the kids didn’t come in even though it’s late…?”
The moment the very familiar, beloved voice of his sister reached Aron’s ears.
“…Found her.”
The corners of the boy’s mouth, looking in that direction, tore into a long smile.
Sharp fangs visible through his wide-open lips.
A pair of beast-like pupils beginning to dye crimson red.
The moment he faced them, Aron’s mind instantly grew hazy.
His vision swayed here and there, and ringing filled his ears.
Facing a terror he could do nothing about, the trauma that had sunk deep down rose to the surface.
“Diana! Take Aron and Rafi and…!”
“Ha! As if I’d let them….”
“Grandma…!”
Noisy sounds flowed into his ears and he felt someone moving his body, but exposed to the hostile mana, he couldn’t think at all.
Had the shaman grandmother not laid protective measures in advance, he would have suffered permanent damage to his mind.
Thanks to that, his mind slowly began to return, and he could grasp the situation bit by bit.
“No!”
Along with a scream-like cry from his sister, the grandmother holding Rafi collapsed, vomiting blood.
Unable to understand why it happened, he hurriedly ran and embraced the two.
“Haha! Annoying pests making this troublesome. Still, with this….”
Then, light clusters that seemed to appear out of nowhere began scattering iridescent radiance.
Beautifully twinkling masses of light.
At the same time, a warm energy spread out, and Aron’s mind became a little clearer.
“…Spirits? No, a High Elf? Why here….”
A hint of bewilderment seeped into the boy’s voice.
But that too was only for a moment.
He soon regained his composure and pressed the one who had suddenly intruded.
‘Sister…’
Inside a space where only twilight had settled on all sides.
The boy hugging the old woman and the girl in his arms stared blankly at a spot far away.
There, his one and only sister lay collapsed on the floor, motionless.
‘How… what should I do…!’
His head was frozen and wouldn’t work properly.
But even in that state, he could understand the current situation.
That the woman who had suddenly intervened to block the boy wouldn’t be able to hold out much longer.
The despair he thought he had forgotten now crept up again.
At the same time, the face of the most reliable person in the world surfaced in his mind.
The naive and earnest appearance from when they had first met, when despair was an everyday occurrence.
The cold, charismatic appearance when he had suddenly appeared and resolved everything when Rafi and the grocery store were in crisis.
Lastly, the delicate and intellectual appearance that had shown all sorts of considerations so they could settle down well in this city.
He knew it was shameless since he had only received help all this time, but the one surfacing in Aron’s mind now was none other than him.
Aron, who couldn’t move his tongue well and bit his lips, cried out inwardly.
Even though he knew this wouldn’t reach the other party.
‘Mister—!’
But then.
A miracle no one could have expected occurred.
*Crack—!*
As if responding to his call, the sky split open.
*Kwaang—!*
The world came crashing down.
At the same time, the twilight that had covered all sides was quickly quelled by the light of dawn.
“Huh…?”
Aron blankly raised his head.
That moment’s scene was deeply embedded in his mind.
An angel with wings of light spread wide descended upon the earth.
***
At the center of the ruined scene stood a boy in his early teens, Temiran McClellan.
Heinrich frowned upon seeing Diana collapsed unconscious behind him.
‘Yeah, now that I think about it, there is something that’s been bothering me a little.’
All this time, he had thought that what Saintess Riesta had detected was obviously Hella.
Because the time and place of observation matched up so exquisitely that it was hard to think of other possibilities.
‘But….’
Back then, when he didn’t know much about the demon realm, he had just accepted it, but now he knew for certain.
At the time, Hella, who had not long since been born, was merely a rather special high-ranking member of the demon race; she could not be considered a complete Demon Lord.
Thanks to her innate bloodline, she could be born immediately as a transcendent being, but she was lacking an essential element required to be a true Demon Lord.
Hadn’t she actually received the gaze of the Demon God only after some time had passed since crossing over to the demon realm?
If one considered the changes that had occurred after slaying Count Goerang and absorbing Abnormal, there was even less to say.
“Phew! How irritating. Not a single thing is going right. There’s no way this goddamn situation is a coincidence… This is why you have to pick the right side from the start. Since I got pushed out in the higher-ups’ power game, my movements are leaking out one after another, aren’t they?”
Seeing the utterly irreverent attitude of that young boy made it even more certain.
The one the Saintess had observed had been Temiran from the very beginning.
Judging by the exquisite timing, it did seem that the appearance of Hella, the half-baked Demon King, had served as some kind of trigger.
‘…Right. Unlike me, a Saint in name only, Riesta is a true Saintess. A messenger who conveys the will of the Supreme God to the world. And we came all the way to Tarak because of that Saintess’s words.’
In other words, this entire situation was the Supreme God’s guidance.
And once he thought of it that way, there was one more thing he could guess.
At the time, Riesta had clearly added that it felt “closer to a demon worshiper than an undead.”
Not a demon, but a demon worshiper.
If those words were true, then Temiran was…
Having swiftly organized his thoughts, Heinrich spoke quietly to the boy with a hardened expression.
“Temiran McClair. The things happening in the Demon Realm right now. Were you involved in that as well? So that the Demon Dragon Duke could summon the monsters of the Abyss?”
“…What? You know about that too? How the hell does the Church of the Supreme God know what’s going on in the Demon Realm?”
“The eyes of the Supreme God are everywhere. Even the Demon Realm is no exception.”
“That’s insane. Were you fanatics always this capable?”
Temiran roughly raked a hand through the back of his hair and grumbled with an irritated expression.
It seemed he had no intention of hiding it at this point.
Well, judging by the timing of when the monsters of the Abyss had begun appearing in the Demon Realm, he probably knew there was no use denying it.
“Tch, so you really are the Supreme God’s dogs in name as well? Since you were just getting knocked around by the Immortal King, I thought you were pushovers. There was a reason that overly cautious, meticulous senior of mine failed.”
“You are mistaken. We never simply let ourselves be beaten. Thanks to that, humanity is even now moving a little farther away from that threat.”
“Quite the confidence you’ve got there.”
By “senior,” he was likely referring to the revolutionary who had been the previous Apostle.
After realizing that the man had been involved in Temiran’s disappearance, Heinrich had guessed as much to some extent, but it seemed the revolutionary had tried to prepare his successor before setting his plans fully into motion.
‘Though I have no idea why he was chosen.’
It was an unfortunate thing for the person in question.
Because of some unknown quality he had been born with, he had been abducted and turned into a vampire, and on top of that, he had likely been imprisoned and brainwashed for over twenty years.
“…The god you serve is truly diligent. If he committed a sin and got thrown into the Abyss, he should have quietly reflected on it. Yet even from there, he was stretching his hands everywhere and wringing tears of blood from countless people.”
“Right? I think so too. If he was going to do it, he should’ve done it properly, shouldn’t he? What is this mess, after putting me through all that suffering for nothing? Honestly, that guy needs to try a little harder himself before making other people do his work.”
It was an answer that was somehow off the mark.
Heinrich looked at him through narrowed eyes, but the boy’s face still held nothing but irritation.
Well, considering he had been abducted in childhood and brainwashed all this time, it would have been stranger if he were sane.
“Surrender peacefully. If you quietly tell me everything you know, I will spare your life. Your mother is still waiting for you.”
“…Kik, mother, huh…”
Heinrich warned him as he held out the holy sword, which was enveloped in a brilliant blade of light.
Whatever else might be said, his opponent was a vampire.
Even if he was an Apostle chosen by a god, his compatibility against a Saint wielding a holy sword was as bad as it could possibly be.
If they clashed head-on, he would eventually be reduced to ash, and even if he tried to flee, it would not be easy to shake off Heinrich, who possessed 「Great Blessing: Wings of Radiance」 and 「Blessing: Leap」.
He must have known that himself, which was why he had been continuing to threaten him like that since earlier.
‘…As expected, an opponent holding a hostage is troublesome. It would have been better if I had noticed a little sooner and come here.’
Heinrich was not simply running his mouth for no reason.
Since earlier, he had searched again and again for an opportunity to make a move, but each time, the bastard had threatened Diana, who lay unconscious behind him.
The moment Heinrich showed even the slightest sign, he would likely move at once.
No matter how extraordinary he was, at this distance, he was not confident he could save Diana and eliminate only the bastard.
‘Yes, Heinrich, that is.’
Heinrich, a Saint who used divine power, was the natural enemy of vampires.
But in this world, there were also beings who were the natural enemy of vampires in a different sense from him.
For example…
The king of vampires, who was awakening divinity through the karma of devouring his own kind.