Inside an alleyway in the Rust Hammer District.
Nolan and Priest Derek paced between the corpses of several men in black robes, busy moving back and forth. They were attempting to find clues at the scene of this evil ritual.
Vivian lifted the hem of her wedding dress with one hand to avoid the sewage on the ground. After all, this dress had cost her entire savings for the month; it was extremely precious.
“Haah…”
She covered her mouth with her other hand and let out a yawn.
‘I’m a bit sleepy. I want to go to bed…’
Although she was now a vampire, she still maintained the daily routine from her previous life as a human: sleeping at night and being active during the day.
Watching the two men busily working while she yawned repeatedly made Vivian feel a bit uneasy. The fact that others were working while she was slacking off made her feel like a mascot who only knew how to eat for free.
‘No! I have to do some work too.’
Acting as soon as the thought occurred, she rolled up her remaining sleeve and tore off the part of the skirt covering her calves, revealing her elegantly lined legs.
“This is in the way!” she muttered, tossing the torn fabric aside.
Imitating the other two, she crouched beside the corpse closest to her and carefully lifted the hood covering the face.
“Eek!”
Vivian recoiled, her body leaning back as if she had seen something horrifying. Beneath the hood was a man with a jaundiced, gaunt face and sunken eye sockets; he looked like a freshly unearthed mummy.
‘He looks a little… dead…’ Vivian thought, silently pulling the hood back down. ‘I’ll just look at the next one…’
She followed the same procedure for the next few corpses, but their condition was identical. They all looked like mummies. Vivian failed to reach any useful conclusion other than the fact that they were dead.
‘Well, I am just a little vampire girl with no special abilities. I’m just a bit stronger than average…’
***
The cold, bright moon was once again covered by gathering clouds. Darkness returned to Marne City.
After some time had passed, the three of them gathered by some wooden crates to discuss their findings. Priest Derek was the first to speak.
“They are the Abyssal Divers of the Church of the Holy Advent.”
“They are a group of madmen who claim, ‘Our souls have dived into the abyss,’ and they worship the Abyss Lords of Hell,” Derek explained in a serious tone. “Hmph. With a great enemy before us, they don’t choose to unite against the foreign threat. Instead, they collude with the enemy in secret, disregarding the lives of others… They are cultists through and through.”
Priest Derek snorted, his voice filled with resentment. He looked as if he wanted to tear these cultists apart with his own hands.
Nolan rested his chin on his hand, thinking. After a moment of deliberation, he said calmly, “One cultist escaped.”
“Sir Nolan, how can you… tell?” Derek turned his head, his gaze confused.
“A summoning ritual of this scale requires the sacrifice of ten souls to succeed,” Nolan explained. “But there is one body missing. Someone found a way to bypass the soul sacrifice and survived.”
Nolan continued, “I suspect he had an item that could contain a soul, and he stored one in it beforehand. This soul took his place during the ritual, and after his comrades finished their sacrifice, he ran away.”
These were insights gained from his experience fighting demons in his previous life.
“It seems his faith wasn’t strong enough. True Abyssal Divers take pride in being sacrificed,” Nolan added with a scoffing head shake.
“May I ask which family you hail from, Sir Nolan?” Derek’s expression became respectful. He knew well that anyone who understood cultists and demons this thoroughly was no ordinary person. Even he hadn’t grasped the situation so clearly.
“Nolan Sanders. That is my full name.”
“I see.” An expression of realization dawned on Derek’s face.
The Sanders family was one of the oldest knight families in the Valorian Kingdom. Generations of family members had been warriors on the front lines, defending the country and expanding its borders. They all possessed extensive knowledge of how to combat demons.
However, Derek had other doubts. Why wasn’t this Knight Nolan fighting demons on the Hammerfall Tundra front in the north? Why had he traveled thousands of miles to come to Marne City in the far rear? He didn’t think this godforsaken place had anything worth an intentional visit from a knight of such an ancient family.
Immediately, he looked at Vivian, who was idling nearby. His eyes lit up, and he smacked his fist into his palm with a teasing look.
‘Oh — I see. If it’s to find a wife, then it’s not so strange…’
Vivian felt that the old priest’s gaze was a bit odd. ‘Did he realize I was just pretending to work?’ She quickly straightened her posture, acting as if she were deep in thought.
“Ahem…” Derek cleared his throat and said, “Let’s call it a night. Thank you both for your help. We can discuss the rest later; this isn’t a problem that can be solved in a short time. Miss Vivian, come to the church tomorrow afternoon to see me about your legal identification.”
“Thank you very much, Priest Derek,” Vivian replied with a bow.
It was finally happening! Starting tomorrow, she wouldn’t have to worry about being caught by guards and thrown out of the city. She was delighted, but she kept her face calm, maintaining a kind smile. Naturally taking Nolan’s calloused hand, she bid Derek goodbye.
“Then… see you tomorrow, Priest Derek.” She then turned to Nolan and smiled sweetly. “Let’s go. We’re going home.”
***
Black Rat Street.
This was the most remote street in the Rust Hammer District, a 2-hour walk from the Glimmer Church. The Rust Hammer District was a gathering place for commoners who lived by manual labor. Most residents were hunters, blacksmiths, and leather tanners, and most were legal citizens.
However, Black Rat Street was mostly occupied by outsiders. They came from other cities or nearby rural areas and were often unwelcome. Others were demi-humans or different races, like Vivian. They were the most marginalized people in the city.
“Hum~ hum~ 🎵”
Vivian hummed a happy tune as she stepped across the pitted ground soaked in sewage. There wasn’t a single pedestrian on the road, save for a thief in a corner preparing to commit a robbery. The thief pulled a set of lock-picking tools from his bag, but when he turned and saw Vivian, the hair on his body stood up. Like a frightened rat, he turned and fled, forgetting his tools.
Vivian had long since grown used to this. There wasn’t a single guard in this godforsaken place; it was a lawless land. Bandits and thieves were everywhere. A few months ago, a few men had snuck into Vivian’s home to steal from her, but she had given them a sound thrashing. Since then, no one had dared to cause her trouble.
The two arrived at a crooked little wooden shack with a clump of thatch on the roof. It looked as if a single storm could knock it over.
*Creak.*
Vivian pushed open the rickety door. A faint, elegant fragrance — the same scent Vivian carried — wafted from inside, though it felt slightly cold. She skillfully lit the grease lamp on the wall, and the dim yellow light cast a glow through the room.
The interior was simple: a small wooden table and chair with legs of uneven heights, a low stove… and an asymmetrical coffin. All the furniture in the house looked like the practice work of a carpenter’s apprentice. Everything was crudely made. The floor was relatively clean and tidy, as Vivian had a habit of cleaning.
As soon as Nolan entered, he looked toward a suit of knight’s armor and a longsword in the corner. Fortunately, the items were still there. He breathed a sigh of relief. He had seen thieves on the way and had been worried someone might have broken into Vivian’s home to steal the equipment he had left there.
‘It seems the security in this place isn’t very good. I’ll have to be more prepared in the future,’ he reminded himself. At the same time, he looked at the cheerful Vivian beside him. ‘I need to find a time to move. How can my lovely wife live in such a filthy place?’
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