Darkness has fallen over Bohemia.
Wilson, the guard stationed at the lord’s castle gate, stood slightly slouched next to a lantern, staring blankly ahead.
“Yawn…”
“Hey, you’re on duty. Try to stay a little alert.”
Wilson’s colleague scolded him for yawning so widely it looked like his mouth might split open. However, Wilson merely shrugged and looked at his colleague with an indifferent expression.
“Well, that’s true, but honestly, isn’t it a bit unnecessary for us to be so tense guarding this place?”
“What? What do you mean by that?”
“I mean, our lord, Count Turun, is the strongest mage in Bohemia, and his daughters can slice us into pieces in an instant. It’s like a mouse standing guard over a lion; what’s the point?”
“Well… umm.. that’s… true, I guess…”
While it had some meaning in terms of signaling danger, considering the guard magic surrounding the castle gates, it could be seen as rather pointless.
Of course, while a powerful mage could easily break such magic, truly strong ones were few and far between on the continent.
During the day, it was somewhat meaningful since they checked guests and either let them in or sent them away, but at night, their presence at the gate felt more like a formality than anything else.
After all, aside from emergencies, outsiders couldn’t enter during the night.
In that light, watching his colleague silently agree with him but not being able to voice it, Wilson yawned again, trying to shake off the boredom.
‘I’d love to take a nap, but that could lead to trouble…’
As Wilson rubbed his eyes to stay awake in the midst of his boredom, suddenly…
-Whoosh!
“Huh?”
In the next moment, the lantern went out abruptly.
There wasn’t a hint of wind, and just a few minutes ago it had been filled with oil, so he began to question the situation.
“What’s going on? Why did it suddenly go out?”
Carefully, Wilson began to check the lantern again.
But then…
He could no longer see the lantern in his hand.
“Wha… what? What’s happening?”
“T… This is…”
In the next moment, Wilson and his colleague were engulfed in confusion as they gazed at the lord’s castle.
At that moment, they both saw the flames flickering around the castle quickly extinguishing.
From the lanterns on the castle walls to the windows, hallways, and even the lights atop the spires.
If a storm had been raging outside, they could at least understand the cause, but there was nothing, and this fact began to weigh heavily on their hearts with dread.
“Hey… do you think something is actually happening?”
“I… I don’t know. B… But we should report this to the higher-ups…”
The two of them, caught up in an ominous atmosphere, were flustered.
In that instant…
“…Huh?”
A sudden chill crept up behind them.
It felt like a heavy hand had clamped down over their mouths as they were exclaiming.
“…Wha… what?”
Fearfully, they slowly turned their heads.
In the next moment…
“Ahhhhhhh!”
-Crash!
They screamed at the sight before them, overwhelmed by an unexpected shock, causing both Wilson and his colleague to collapse.
In front of the two sprawled on the ground, a being that had etched their fear into their faces stood calmly stroking its chin.
It had a body made of translucent bones…
Wearing a tattered black robe and wielding a gigantic scythe in one hand.
From its center, a large black orb emitted a horrifying aura, swirling quietly, and its empty eye sockets glowed with purple light.
It then raised its scythe towards Wilson and his colleague, who lay beneath it.
At that moment, behind it stood her.
Soul Mary spoke in a calm voice.
“That’s enough. Harvesting souls is prohibited for this mission.”
-“Understood, oh great lord…”-
The being respectfully bowed its head and sheathed its scythe.
In the next moment, observing the completely darkened lord’s castle in heavy silence, the woman behind Soul lightly remarked.
“It’s certainly convenient. Your Pluto, the magic you developed, I’d love to learn it too.”
“Regrettably, I don’t share knowledge of that sort. Maybe if I have a disciple in the future, I could consider it, but even though you’re my sister, you’ll have to bear with me on that.”
“Hehe. Alright, I see. I suppose that’s reasonable for a witch.”
With a smile that conveyed both warmth and seriousness, Soul spoke.
To this, Blood smiled at her unwavering nature, then gazed at the now pitch-black Bohemia Castle.
“Well then… let’s wrap up the chit-chat. Thanks to Pluto, the guard magic has been disabled, and the light is gone, so shall we get moving?”
“Yes, sister.”
With those words, Blood began to release an enormous amount of magical power.
Moments later, the magic radiating from her body took the form of a vast circle, extending outwards in all directions.
Its diameter was about 3 kilometers.
Including the garden, it completely enveloped the extensive area of Bohemia Castle, allowing Blood to sense the positions and actions of all individuals inside almost perfectly.
Moreover, she could also roughly gauge their magical capabilities, making it possible to identify this Santana person.
After locating one of the weaker mages within the castle, Blood canceled the magic circle and donned a broad smile.
“Well… now that I know the general position, I’ll head in. You keep them busy as planned from the outskirts.”
“Yes, sister. Understood.”
With that, Blood stealthily leapt onto the castle wall and entered.
As she did, Soul took one last look at the guards sprawled on the ground, then calmly stepped through the slightly ajar castle gate.
What met her gaze was the expansive garden located beyond the castle walls.
There weren’t many trees or flower beds, giving it a plaza-like feel. Observing the scene, Soul began to head toward the main building of the lord’s castle.
At that moment…
“Bang!”
-Crash!
A bullet flew towards her, only to get blocked by her barrier.
Soul’s gaze shifted towards the direction from which the bullet had come.
“Stop right there! What’s your identity?”
A group of soldiers pointed their weapons at her, having rushed to the gate in a panic after the lights went out and the magic was disabled. They bore torches, unsteady in the dim light as they aimed their guns at her.
There were dozens of them, and among them were even a few who appeared to be mages.
Soul’s expression remained unchanging as she stared back at them.
Then…
“What… what is that?”
The soldiers began to show signs of confusion and fear at the sight before them.
Just moments ago, a woman in a purple robe and a creature in a black robe had stood there.
However, in that moment…
Countless translucent beings began to appear behind the two figures.
From soldiers wielding spears and shields to cavalrymen on horseback.
There seemed to be hundreds of them, enough to fill the space behind her as she breached the castle.
Slowly, Soul extended one hand and pointed her finger at the soldiers.
At that moment, a nightmare began for the soldiers trying to thwart the intruders.
“Well then… I’d like you to make a lot of noise and stir things up a bit.”
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