# Chapter 113
—
Arthur tilted his head.
“Hm… Mr. Necromancer?”
“…Carpe!”
“Ah, Mr. Carpe? Are you saying you’re going to betray Yenika?”
Carpe scowled deeply.
“Why would I betray the princess?”
“Then why are you asking us to stop her?”
“…Because the princess is trying to harm herself!”
“…?”
Arthur blinked.
Carpe let out a heavy sigh and glanced sidelong at Leon.
Leon smiled brightly and asked,
“Shall we give you the floor?”
Carpe hesitated, then answered.
“That’s… not it. But can you keep a secret?”
“Of course. If I intended to reveal it, I wouldn’t have invited you here in the first place.”
“…Hmph.”
Carpe wrinkled his nose and began to explain.
“The princess is planning to offer her own life to the Grail of Blood.”
“Her life?”
“To break the curse that has shackled the vampire clan.”
Arthur tilted his head again.
“And what does breaking the curse have to do with Yenika’s life?”
“Any magic, sorcery, or curse requires an equivalent price.”
“……”
“Then what do you think it would take to break a curse that has bound the vampires for a thousand years?”
Arthur let out an exclamation.
“Yenika Hazel—her life is the price?”
“If only it were that simple.”
“…?”
“A thousand years, a full thousand years. Fifty years for a child to grow into an old man. Five hundred years for a village to become a city, a city to become a nation, and then fall.
And yet the curse upon the vampires has lasted a thousand years. Do you really think a single human life could undo such a chain?”
Arthur’s eyes widened.
“Uh… then are you saying the lives of the entire vampire clan must be offered?”
“Close.”
“…?”
“Not just the vampire clan, but the lives of those who covet the Black Cross.”
Leon, standing nearby, exclaimed in shock.
“W–Wait, you’re saying she’ll sacrifice the lives of everyone seeking the Black Cross? What do you mean by that?”
Carpe sighed deeply.
“Exactly what I said. The princess plans to use the lives of everyone gathering in the north as the offering.”
Arthur let out a soft gasp.
“You mean….”
“Correct.”
Carpe’s voice was heavy with despair.
“Everyone who has gone north is already marked as a sacrifice to the Grail—including the princess herself.”
—
—
Arthur stroked his chin.
‘Yenika… she’s bolder than I thought.’
To think she intends to use all the mercenaries gathering in the north as sacrifices to break the curse.
At that moment Carpe sighed again.
“No matter what I say, she won’t listen… even though breaking the curse that way will be meaningless.”
Arthur snapped back to focus and asked,
“Why would it be meaningless?”
“Let’s say she sacrifices all our pursuers to break the curse. Then what? Could the vampire clan ever settle and live freely on the continent?”
“…!”
“Even if the curse is broken, we would still have to hide in the shadows. If anything, this would only make our plight more miserable.”
Arthur nodded at Carpe’s explanation.
“That makes sense. Hm… But stopping Yenika doesn’t sound like something we can do.”
Carpe nodded as well.
“True. I never expected much of you in that regard. Just stop Ian—or kill him.”
“Hm… But Mr. Carpe.”
“What?”
“Doesn’t the Black Cross have plenty of capable people? Why are you asking us?”
Carpe’s face twisted.
“Haa… I never thought I’d come this far either. But I had no choice. That Tacen has been injured.”
Arthur’s eyes widened.
“Mr. Tacen—the immortal?”
“Strictly speaking, he’s in a slumber. I’ll explain later. He’s along the way to the princess’s temple.”
Arthur nodded.
“Hm… Alright. But Mr. Carpe?”
“What now?”
Arthur smiled brightly.
“You’re no fool. So why did you provoke the Dormund army? Did you not know who they were?”
At that question, Jeannie flinched.
‘He’s the one who provoked them too!’
But she kept her mouth shut.
Carpe sighed once more and explained.
“I had no choice. They killed our kin.”
“Your kin? The vampires?”
“Yes. They tore apart those precious ones who had even received drops of the princess’s blood.”
“Oh… very much in Dormund’s style.”
Carpe’s emotions surged.
Normally, he wouldn’t have shown such cracks, but in this grim situation, his mind and body were fraying.
Words he might have kept to himself spilled out.
“Haa… I’m no saint, but those Dormund bastards are true demons!”
“What exactly did they do?”
“There was an inn where our kin gathered. They left it a complete ruin!”
“…?”
“You can’t imagine the horror when I saw it. Hell itself would pale in comparison… Tacen was so enraged he razed the whole village on the spot.”
Arthur blinked at Carpe’s story.
Beside him, Jeannie and Leon gaped in shock.
When Carpe noticed their faces, he tilted his head.
“Hm? What’s with your expressions?”
“…It’s nothing, Mr. Carpe.”
“…?”
“So that’s why you fought the Dormund army?”
“Uh… yes, exactly. But they had the gall to accuse us.”
“What accusation?”
Carpe shouted angrily.
“They demanded to know why we attacked their army!”
“……”
“To see them kill our kin and then turn around and pin the blame on us—it enraged me! Donn! Don’t you agree?”
Arthur steadied himself and replied.
“Well… yes, that is wrong. The Dormunds are scum.”
“Hah! Feels good to hear you say that.”
“…I’m glad, Mr. Carpe.”
“But why are you at odds with Dormund?”
“For a similar reason.”
Carpe shrugged.
“Well, enough of that. What will you take as payment?”
Arthur scratched his head.
“Hmm… I’m not sure yet. Can I think it over?”
“Fine, but you must stop Ian without fail.”
“Don’t worry about that.”
With that, Leon clapped his hands briskly.
“Alright then—! Let’s clear the air a bit.”
“……”
“So, our task is simple: stop or kill Ian, who wants to kill Yenika. That’s it, right?”
Carpe nodded.
“Exactly.”
“And the Black Cross will support us?”
“Of course. We’ll join you in stopping Ian.”
At that moment, the running train screeched to a halt.
Carpe rose and gestured.
“The rest I’ll explain on the way. We must walk quickly to reach the temple.”
—
—
The northernmost settlement, Northend Village.
When Arthur saw it, a thought came to him:
‘Everything is white.’
The entire village was blanketed in snow, with no other color in sight.
As Arthur briefly admired the view, Carpe spoke.
“Our destination isn’t the village. Let’s pass quietly through.”
With that, Carpe led them past the village and into the snowfield.
Leon followed, tilting his head.
“Hm… is the temple in the middle of the snowfield?”
Arthur glanced at him and answered,
“When did you revert to your true form?”
“Hm? Ah… when we got off the train, my disguise wore off.”
“And you changed clothes then too?”
“Of course. So, how was it? Did I look like Miss Yenika?”
Arthur shrugged.
“Appearance-wise, almost identical.”
“Really? Hm… oh, right. Arthur Bayern?”
“Yes?”
“Just in case, let me warn you. Never—absolutely never!”
Leon’s eyes widened as he spoke in a stern tone.
“Never reveal what you did. Understand?”
Arthur chuckled.
“Ah… you mean *that incident*?”
“Incidents, plural! You must keep your mouth shut—from the Black Cross, from Dormund, from everyone!”
Arthur patted his shoulder reassuringly.
“I know, Leon. Don’t worry.”
“…Somehow, that makes me more uneasy.”
At that moment, Carpe stopped.
“We’ve arrived.”
Arthur and Leon looked around.
After scanning their surroundings, both tilted their heads.
“It’s just an empty field.”
“I said we arrived, not that this was the spot.”
Carpe chanted an incantation.
The snowfield split apart, revealing a hidden passage.
Arthur exclaimed.
“Oh… as expected of a necromancer.”
Carpe stepped into the passage, followed by Arthur, Leon, and finally Jeannie.
“……”
The passage was narrow and dark. Without Carpe’s conjured flame, they would have seen nothing.
After walking through the darkness for a long while, their vision suddenly opened.
Leon and Arthur’s eyes widened.
“Uh…”
“Hm…”
They exchanged awkward looks.
“Is… that a person?”
“Looks like it.”
Carpe hung the torch on the wall.
Whoosh—!
The flames revealed what had been hidden.
Jeannie, the last to arrive, trembled as her ears quivered.
“Th–That’s… the Butcher… Tacen?”
Carpe sighed.
“Butcher? Hardly… he’s barely clinging to life.”
Arthur muttered, regaining focus.
‘That’s barely alive?’
A towering man, over two meters tall, was encased in ice. His eyes were wide open, glaring, making him look more sealed than dying.
‘He doesn’t even look injured… what kind of wound put him in this state?’
Carpe sighed and explained.
“He was cursed by a dark sorcerer.”
“A curse?”
“Yes. Dormund… that noble house had a dark sorcerer. He cursed Taen’s heart.”
Arthur tilted his head.
“What kind of curse?”
“A curse that makes the heart stop—slowly.”
“…?”
“For a normal human, it would have been instant death. But Taen is immortal.”
Carpe shook his head.
“So he’s dying every moment, endlessly. Unable to withstand the agony, he froze himself.”
Arthur let out an admiring whistle.
‘That’s a nasty curse….’
No wonder Carpe sought Leon’s help.
‘If the monster called Tacen were fine, they wouldn’t need me.’
Arthur turned his gaze back.
Within the ice, Tacen’s red eyes gleamed.
After staring for a moment, Arthur asked,
“There’s no way to wake him?”
“Not yet. But he’ll rise soon enough. Tacen is immortal. A mere curse won’t kill him. The issue is how long it will take for his body to overcome it.”
“Hm… So it depends on his own will?”
“More precisely, on his bloodline.”
Arthur’s eyes narrowed slightly at that.
Carpe gestured again.
“Enough gawking. We must move. Only if we push hard today will we reach the temple.”
Arthur leapt.
With a single bound, he landed atop Tacen’s frozen head, stroking his chin.
Carpe shouted in alarm.
“Y–You! What are you doing!”
Arthur turned with a smile.
“Thought I’d give Mr. Tacen a little strength.”
“Give him strength? You?”
“Yes. So, is it alright if I break this ice?”
Carpe’s jaw dropped.
“No, you lunatic!!! If you break it, Tacen will run wild—!”
But it was too late.
Arthur drew his cursed sword and plunged it into the ice imprisoning Tacen.
Crack—!
A fissure spread across the solid ice.
Arthur tore his palm, letting blood drip into the cracks.
‘This blood I shed now…’
It carried the lineage of the troll.
He expected that if Tacen consumed it, he would awaken.
‘Mr. Tacen would be an excellent ally.’
If the enraged Tacen fought the Dormund army, dealing with Ian would be far easier.
Arthur nodded, watching his blood seep into Tacen’s mouth.
Below, Leon and Jeannie blinked.
“What on earth is he doing now?”
“I’ve stopped asking.”
At that moment, the drops of blood finally touched Tacen’s lips.
Arthur smiled and asked,
“Mr. Tacen, are you coming to your senses?”
No answer came.
“……”
A strange silence filled the chamber.
Carpe, stunned, suddenly grimaced and shouted,
“You lunatic! If the ice breaks, Tacen will run—!”
But his cry never finished.
…Boom—!
The ice shattering echoed through the chamber.
Carpe gaped in shock, while Jeannie and Leon instinctively stepped back.
Arthur, standing atop Tacen’s head, lifted his gaze.
Tacen met his eyes and, with closed lids, muttered,
“…Been a while, madman.”
Arthur grinned in response.
“Been a while, Mr. Tacen. Heard you took quite the beating?”
—
