The Secret Organization of the Elves, the Crimson Warden, and the Zion Knights, a military organization directly under the Goddess Church’s Saintess, are all gathered to defeat the Dark Elf Sataniel, who has fallen into the Night’s Kin.
“This is the ancient language of the Draconia Empire. It’s not perfect, but I can understand it to some extent,” one of the Wizards dispatched from the Mage Tower started to interpret the ancient text he received from Cypris.
“The southern region of the Empire… protected by a Guardian… a lake reflecting the moonlight… The Blue Flower lies there.”
“Sigh. Why did the ancients have to leave such riddles instead of writing things out clearly?” Cypris and the allied forces let out a tired breath upon hearing the vague contents of the precious document they had barely acquired from the enemy.
“The territory of the Draconia Empire almost coincides with the current territory of the Borus Empire. So it’s definitely in the southern region,” the Wizard began to share his thoughts, drawing the attention of everyone.
“The part about the lake reflecting moonlight is honestly hard to guess. But what’s important is the Guardian,” he added.
“Guardian?”
“Yes, the Blue Flower is most likely a fantastical plant, meaning there must be a Guardian protecting it.”
Just like how treasures, genuinely referred to as such, are always guarded while Dragons are sleeping, the Phoenix serves as a prime example as it is said to resurrect the dead with its legendary fruit, which is near impossible to find. Even if found, one must face the Phoenix that guards the fruit.
However, conversely, this means where the Phoenix resides, the legendary fruit must be too. The Wizard suggested they seek the Guardian first.
“It’s impossible to search the entire southern region. How about we investigate if any beings referred to as Guardians have been spotted?”
“Indeed, wise thought, human.”
“Call me Jenia, not human.”
“Alright, Jenia, I look forward to working with you.”
As Cypris extended her hand, the girl with red hair – now closer to a young lady – Jenia also reached out, shaking hands. Being newly formed, the allied forces were still somewhat unfamiliar, so this handshake between representatives of the Crimson Warden and the Mage Tower felt like a signal to lighten the awkward atmosphere.
But then,
“Enough of the foolish chit-chat. Just tell me where the ones you know are located.”
“What?”
“Are you deaf, World Tree’s Wench?”
The atmosphere, which had begun to ease, suddenly turned cold due to the man’s vile words.
“Watch your mouth, Adopted Son of the Madman.”
“Seems Elf brats need to have their fancy ears trimmed to get their heads straight.”
Clang!
Barely finishing the sentence, a man stood up, unsheathing a sword in his right hand and gripping a one-handed morning star in his left.
“That’s enough. Did the Saintess send you to cooperate like this?”
“…Tch.”
At the mention of the Saintess, the man who prioritized her command as more important than life itself, immediately sat back down and closed his eyes. It was Alexander, the leader of the Zion Knights.
*
“I didn’t expect they would be that wild,” Jenia recalled Alexander, who caused a ruckus in the tent during the meeting earlier.
The leader of the Zion Knights, the military organization directly under the Goddess Church, showed hostility not just towards Elves but also towards her.
“I’m looking forward to the day you step over the line, you heretics chasing false truths.”
Jenia knew to some extent about this from her training with Yustaf before joining the allied forces, but she never anticipated such blatant hostility.
“The Zion Knights are a gathering of extremists within the Goddess Church.”
Cypris explained to Jenia about the Zion Knights.
“If the Gaia Holy Knights represent the brighter aspect of the Goddess Church, then they represent the dark side.”
The Gaia Holy Knights were the ones who acted when the Goddess Church had to take up arms publicly, and they were like those virtuous clergy one would usually imagine. In stark contrast, the Zion Knights were the opposite.
They followed only the orders of the Saintess, the head of the Goddess Church, as a military organization that tolerated the Church’s enemies. Their insanity when facing enemies earned them the nickname “Hellhounds,” likening them to hounds from hell.
“Our Elves and the Goddess Church do not have a cordial relationship, so they see us as foes, and you Wizards must not have been in conflict with them for long, so to their eyes, you’re merely enemies too.”
The Zion Knights mocked the Elves, seeing them as World Tree’s Wenches who did not believe in the Saintess, the daughter of Goddess Gaia, while the Elves mocked them as Adopted Sons of the Madman, signifying they could not accept the Saintess as the Goddess’ daughter.
“But they sure have skills, so we have to endure this clash.”
Richard’s statement was nodded in agreement by Cypris, and Jenia felt their capabilities were anything but ordinary.
– “Never fight the Zion Knights, Jenia.”
Yustaf, her mentor, had once urged her never to tangle with them, a command bordering on it.
“Now, let’s raid one of the bases of these guys in the southern region. If we’re lucky, we might get more information from there.”
*
“Hey little kid, do you know where an old castle ruin is around here?”
“Yes! But the adults told me not to go there… They say a monster that eats people comes out.”
Whoosh.
Alexander patted the boy on the head, who wore a concerned expression, fearing his disclosure might get others hurt.
“You don’t need to worry. The grown-ups are here to catch those nasty monsters.”
“Really?”
“Yep! Look at this scary sword!”
As Alexander slightly waved his sword he had at his waist, the boy’s eyes widened in excitement, and he eagerly began sharing the location.
“You must be super strong since you’re going to such a scary place…”
“Do you want to hunt a monster too?”
“No, I just wish I could be strong like you and teach that Randall from next door a lesson.”
Seeing the boy lament, Alexander kneeled down to face him, taking the boy’s hand in his.
“Little one, using violence against humans isn’t what true strength is.”
“…Then what is it?”
“True strength should be used only to protect others.”
With that, he stood up and began walking in the direction the boy had indicated, followed by dozens of men.
“Make sure to defeat the monster and come back, okay!!!”
The boy shouted after Alexander, who was drifting away, and upon hearing that, a small smile crept onto Alexander’s face.
“And I forgot to mention that sometimes we also deal with the corrupted and heretics.”
Alexander said, sounding just a bit regretful.
*
“You scumbags! Today, I will kill every last one of you and offer your heads to Sataniel!”
Clang!
One of Sataniel’s twelve lieutenants, Jerus, who had been hiding underground in the old castle ruin, was engaged in battle against the allied forces, who suddenly attacked.
“You’re actually strong.”
“Hahaha!!! Of course! Now do you understand who you’ve messed with?”
Jerus threatened the allied forces with his claws and fangs, which could cut through steel, but standing in his way was none other than Alexander.
“I’ll assist you!”
Seeing Alexander, Richard tried to rush over after slashing a Dark Elf with his great sword.
Thud!
“Gaaah!!! This crazy freak!”
Ignoring Richard’s panicked call, Alexander bit into Jerus’s neck.
Stab!
Yet, Jerus retaliated without holding back, stabbing Alexander’s side with his claws.
“I am the blade that conveys my mother’s will; I shall move as commanded and strike as I am bid.”
But Alexander, ignoring the piercing pain on his side, took a prayer stance and lifted both hands into the air.
Thud!
And then, taking a form that embraced Jerus, the blade piercing through Jerus’s back also pierced out of Alexander’s abdomen.
“Gah! Wh… what the hell are you doing!!!”
“Now there’s no place left for you to escape, bug of the night.”
Alexander grinned widely, looking ecstatic as he spoke, leaving Jerus unable to comprehend.
He never could have imagined that a man would choose to stick a sword into himself just to restrain him instead of fleeing.
And in that brief moment of Jerus’s confusion.
“Aaaaah!”
Alexander’s hands began to glow while they were tightly gripped around Jerus’s face, squeezing his head.
“You shall not go to mother’s embrace in death, so I will pray for you instead.”
– Amen.
Following Alexander’s words, Jerus concluded his long life, which he had thought was immortal.
“Retreat!”
Instantly seeing their leader, Jerus, falling, the Dark Elves lost their will to fight and tried to flee.
Fire Wall!
The Wizards gathered their strength to encircle them with a wall of flames, blocking their escape route.
“Now that this is the case, we have to kill them all if we want to survive!”
With no way out, the Dark Elves had no choice but to charge at the allied forces with reckless abandon.
“Hold out until different reinforcements arrive!”
The Dark Elves, who had become the night’s kin, launched their assaults without care for their own lives, pressuring the allied forces, which had some relatively weaker members.
“I’ll handle it.”
“What? It’s too dangerous with both enemy and ally so close together!”
“Don’t worry, that’s my specialty.”
After saying that, Jenia briefly closed her eyes, concentrating, and flames sprouted from her body in several tendrils, precisely targeting only the Dark Elves and starting to latch onto them.
“Aaaaah!”
Even with exceptional regenerative abilities, the Dark Elves couldn’t endure the raging pain, concluding the first battle of the allied forces.
*
“Indeed, you are the leader Alexander!”
“Did you see that? After the captain managed to take out the enemy leader, even the Elf brats and the Wizards were left speechless.”
“That’s why they say he’s the strongest captain in history!”
The morale of the allied forces, having wrapped up their first battle with minimal damage, was soaring high. Especially, the Zion Knights, led by Alexander, seemed to radiate excitement.
“Honestly, the captain is just like that guy from a comic.”
“Huh? You mean Van Helsing?”
“Did you see? He’s just like Father Eriksen from Van Helsing!”
They thought that their captain Alexander bore a striking resemblance to Father Eriksen, recently popular in the comic Van Helsing.
From wielding weapons in both hands to his manic fighting style, it was as though Alexander was drawn straight from that comic.
“Come to think of it, about Van Helsing, doesn’t it seem like we’re incredibly similar now?”
“I’m glad I’m not the only one thinking this.”
Van Helsing, which tells stories of a secret organization hunting vampires, mirrored the lot of them in ways that were hard to dismiss.
Of course, while the organization in the comic mainly comprised humans, their allied forces were led by the Crimson Warden, made up of Elves, and although there were differences in finer details, the similarities remained undeniable.
And it wasn’t only the Zion Knights thinking about this.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
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Finally after so fucking long author will finally tie in van hellsing with this hu? The implementation seems a lot more clumsy then with the first one tbh.