Time came to a sudden halt on the Western Front. A strange silence enveloped the battlefield, impossible to explain otherwise.
On the western hill, a woman stood facing the rising sunlight, gazing down at the battlefield.
Every element composing her—appearance, attire, demeanor—exuded an air of grace that seemed worlds apart from the bloody chaos of war.
Yet paradoxically, it was precisely this dissonance that allowed both human soldiers of the alliance and vampires of the duchy to understand immediately: the woman was the one who had just prevented the execution of Grand Duke Martini Sahelrn.
And under the sun, there was only one vampire capable of wielding dark magic.
The Fourth Progenitor, Aria.
The unresolved karma from three years ago, which humans had failed to tie up, stubbornly lingered and reemerged into the world today.
In this land, entwined with the history of vampires, where she had once fled in a desperate escape.
“Thank you for your devotion,” Aria solemnly began.
Her clear voice, not raised above a whisper, carried a determination and presence that had a way of unnerving those who heard it.
An uncontrollable sense of unease spread rapidly.
The instinctual dread felt by creatures before a predator of a different caliber.
No actions had yet taken place, just a single sentence uttered, yet the alliance soldiers found themselves gripped by suffocating fear.
Amid the commotion of the soldiers, the mightiest knight, Jeref Parvian, showed the first signs of confusion on his face. This scenario didn’t exist among the myriad possibilities the alliance leadership had considered.
And the next moment, knights and priests, including Jeref, all of whom had gruesome experience confronting vampires in the battlefield and dealing with dark magic, began to doubt their senses.
An immense quantity of dark spirits gathered around Aria, more than they had ever heard or seen in their lifetimes.
But before they could attempt any form of countermeasure, Aria was a step ahead.
As if to applaud the efforts of the vampires who had fought tirelessly until now, she brought her hands together over her chest as if about to clap.
“Eclipse.”
The simple sound of palms meeting echoed, but in that moment, the darkness that gathered around Aria exploded outward, transforming the world in an instant.
“The sun…!!”
With someone’s exclamation, the sky turned upside down, and the sun that had just risen vanished.
Where light had shone just seconds before, now lay an abyss-like darkness.
A chilly breeze swept through the land, the earth cooling rapidly without any warmth to be found.
It wasn’t an illusion or mere trickery. The vampires of Sahelrn Duchy, who had waited helplessly for execution, felt their strength returning, realizing the unbelievable truth.
“It can’t be. This is all an illusion.”
One of the allied soldiers muttered, looking around as if hoping someone would refute his words. However, the silence of the knights and priests, along with the faintly glowing sacred barrier amidst the darkness, pointed unmistakably to the reality.
Even if they didn’t want to understand, they couldn’t help but do so. Such a grand holy barrier would not be affected by trivial illusion magic.
The vampires were equally astonished.
A magic that could turn day into night—such an absurd spell hadn’t existed for over two decades in the history of vampires.
“Stella?”
“…I don’t know either.”
Stella, unable to hide her bewilderment, shook her head at Martini’s puzzling question.
It seemed that both the magic and Aria’s unexpected appearance here, where she was supposed to be at Iron Grave, had not been planned at all.
“Do not give up. Stand up. Fight. Prove your will.”
The sound of feet striking the ground echoed clearly once more, followed by Aria’s words that made the vampires lift their heads. In the quietly burning red eyes lay an unyielding strength that could not be resisted.
“With the repulsive sun taking from you the despair it spread, if you desire life, resist your fate with your own strength.”
What was this war for?
What was the sacrifice made for?
Do not forget the history of struggle.
Do not forget the yearning for life.
“To those who crave life, salvation shall be given. Thus, I shall present the future you once entrusted to me right here and now.”
Her voice, filled with confidence as if speaking about an already confirmed fact.
The vampires naturally recalled the war from three years ago.
The war fought to buy time for the Fourth Progenitor to escape.
Some had followed orders because they had no choice at the time. Others thought it was a meaningless sacrifice.
But now, in this moment, the vampires realized that their Grand Duke’s decisions had never been wrong for even a moment.
“Wait, there’s something else behind her!!”
Someone stepped out from behind Aria, previously hidden as if waiting for the right moment.
The first to reveal themselves were a black-haired Dragonkin, a platinum-haired Elf, and a blue-haired vampire.
But that was just the beginning.
An endless swarm of vampires began to emerge.
As if to declare war against the humans, vampires started to line up, appearing from the hillside’s blind spots.
“Why… why are the vampires of Helraig Duchy here?”
The first to grasp the truth was one of the knights who had experience with northern deployments.
At the same time, Martini’s gaze turned towards the man standing with his arms crossed to Aria’s left.
Noticing her gaze, Grand Duke Jeil Helraig frowned at Martini, showing his discontent with an openly displeased expression.
But when Aria subtly raised a hand and moved her lips, Jeil averted his eyes from Martini and took a step back, turning his head slightly.
Martini doubted her eyes for a moment.
It was only a moment of non-verbal communication, yet she understood that Jeil Helraig acknowledged Aria for some reason and had come with reinforcements at her request.
What Aria had said couldn’t be heard from this distance. However, Martini could barely read the movements of Aria’s lips as they swayed in the wind.
‘…Tattletale?’
Aria’s unexpectedly blunt words caught Martini off guard, causing her to momentarily forget the dire situation and chuckle.
Who in the world could speak to Jeil Helraig in such a manner?
Considering the circumstances, it was rare to see someone with Jeil’s notoriously fiery temperament begrudgingly back down.
“That’s right. You were that kind of person.”
She vividly remembered the moment she first met Aria three years ago.
Weak yet possessing the strongest will to live, desperately trying to appear tough while concealing her vulnerabilities, that was how Aria had been.
Now, surprised by their unexpected reunion and the visibly imposing growth of Aria, she realized that her essence hadn’t changed at all.
Even now, she was likely striving hard to portray a strong image. The only difference was that she now possessed power that could go beyond just pretending to be strong.
Martini felt her long-ago-buried pride surging up once more.
A chance for retaliation had presented itself. With joy, she decided to ride the current created by Aria.
“Grand Duke Martini Sahelrn, I heed the command of the great Progenitor.”
Standing tall, Martini placed her right hand over her heart and bowed deeply toward Aria.
The murmurs around them grew louder.
The fact that the Grand Duke of Sahelrn, who had reigned at the pinnacle of the vampire species for two thousand years, had lowered herself and shown respect to another vampire in a formal setting carried immense significance that could not be taken lightly.
“Go. I trust there are no fools here who would lag behind the Sahelrn Duchy.”
With Jeil’s gesture, the vampires of Helraig Duchy lined up and jumped down as if they had been waiting.
Following suit, Stella took the lead in action, and the rejuvenated vampires of Sahelrn Duchy soon joined, reigniting the battle that had momentarily paused.
The alliance army began to flounder in disarray.
They had barely managed to keep the vampires at bay until dawn.
But for some reason, the sky returned to darkness, and the number of vampires instantly swelled, leaving the exhausted alliance army with no chance of holding out any longer.
The elite from all nations, including the knights, were at the forefront, confronting them, but it was futile.
The first to make a swift decision was the imperial army.
“Retreat!! Join forces with the reserve troops in the rear!!!”
Jeref quietly gritted his teeth while still looking up at Aria, who was observing from above.
It was because of that woman. Just a single Progenitor had turned the fate of the Sahelrn Duchy, which was on the brink of ruin, upside down.
‘Can I kill her now?’
Jeref pondered, shaking his head.
Even though she was currently an observer, her capabilities as a Progenitor were unknown. Considering the overwhelming presence alongside the impossible scale of magic she had just unleashed, she was not an opponent to be underestimated.
Jeref believed only in what he could see with his own eyes.
The documents stating the Progenitor’s age and expected growth rate were utterly useless at this moment.
‘For now, it’s impossible.’
He didn’t think he could lose if he fought. Humans have their own ways of fighting, after all.
However, it was evident she wasn’t an opponent he could take down in an instant, and he had no room to bypass the Ain standing next to the Progenitor.
With the alliance facing overwhelming reinforcements, losing him now would only result in greater damage.
The imperial army’s judgment was indeed correct. There were far too many unknown variables to continue fighting like this.
Surely, she couldn’t have permanently removed the sun, but he still didn’t know the specifics of that magic’s effects or duration.
Plus, without any clear understanding of the scale of reinforcements, attempting to continue fighting against vampires in the darkness would be tantamount to suicide.
Gritting his teeth, he knew he had to make a decision.
“…Retreat. I will cover the rear.”
As soon as the order was given, the remaining forces of the alliance began to fall back.
Seemingly intent on avenging their earlier humiliation, the vampires pursued the retreating alliance with vicious zeal.
The knights, including Jeref, took up the rear guard, but completely mitigating their losses proved impossible. In the end, the alliance suffered massive casualties before Aria issued the command to halt the chase.
Finally, calm returned to the battlefield now vacated by humans.
Amidst the familiar night silence, the surviving vampires let out triumphant cheers.
Thus, the one battle recorded as the only catastrophic defeat the alliance suffered during the war would become a significant turning point for the duchy.
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