Ibis quietly infiltrated the mansion through the window.
She was an adventurer, but also someone who followed the orders of Kyle, the guild alliance leader.
Though far from an ordinary adventurer, her skills were undeniable.
Thanks to her ability to create potent poison from her body, she had risen to Platinum Rank.
With the alliance leader as her backer, promotion to Diamond Rank was imminent.
In fact, Kyle’s orders for Ibis were simple: investigate Ralph, the much-talked-about figure. The condition was to withdraw if the situation became unfavorable, as the Adventurer’s Guild Alliance could not interfere in the internal affairs of other nations.
However, Ibis, seeking to investigate deeper than Kyle’s command, had stealthily infiltrated Ralph’s mansion.
Beyond her achievements, Ibis harbored a particular curiosity.
“For what purpose did they spread the rumors?”
At first, she dismissed it as the rumors of a nouveau riche. She thought he had hastily hired mercenaries after suddenly acquiring wealth. But that wasn’t the case. The figures outside the mansion, whom she had mistaken for mercenaries, were merely scarecrows with empty armor standing guard.
Why were scarecrows erected? And where did the rumors originate? Ibis was curious.
“I should have noticed sooner.”
Hadn’t Shay spent all day flying as a crow to observe the mansion’s movements? Shay had definitely reported no mercenary activity. Overlooking it at the time led to the current situation. At least it was fortunate to realize it now.
Ibis, along with Shay and Faren, scouted the mansion’s interior. There was no immediate sense of danger. If necessary, they could request help from their comrade, Herard, waiting outside.
“We will search quietly from now on. Signal immediately if we are discovered or if anything unusual happens.”
As Ibis gave a quiet command, Shay and Faren nodded. They scattered to search every corner of the mansion. After a few minutes, they returned. Their expressions were all strange.
“Leader, something’s odd.”
Shay was the first to speak.
“Every room is covered in dust. Not just the bookshelves, but even the curtains are full of cobwebs.”
Shay described what she saw. Every room she entered was filled with dust. Dust layers covered the furniture, decorations, and bookshelves, seemingly untouched for a long time. It looked like a place no one lived in.
“Leader, surely we haven’t fallen into a trap, have we?”
Shay’s voice trembled with anxiety. If the rumors were true, why would someone buy the mansion and leave it like this? The situation inside the mansion and the mercenary scarecrows outside. A foreboding sense of being trapped lingered in her mind.
Ibis gently patted Shay’s shoulder to reassure her.
“It’s okay, Shay. We’ve always succeeded, haven’t we?”
Ibis displayed leadership. In reality, they had spent considerable time together. They had faced many dangerous situations during their missions. Compared to those, this situation could hardly be called a trap. This was just an ordinary empty mansion.
As Ibis comforted Shay, she turned to Faren. Faren understood Ibis’s gaze and expressed what he felt.
“It is certainly strange. There’s no sense of life in this mansion.”
Faren was an elf. Unlike humans, he possessed highly sensitive senses. Using this sensitivity, he examined the mansion’s aura but found no trace. There was no sign of people; it was as if time had stopped.
“Moreover, the spirits are uneasy.”
The spirits Faren controlled remained silent, as if fearful. Faren, being an elf, was bewildered by this unprecedented reaction.
“Wait a moment…”
Faren, while observing the spirits, suddenly covered his nose and groaned.
“Faren, what’s wrong!”
“What is that strange smell…”
Ibis looked quizzical at his reaction. She sniffed the air but found nothing unusual. There was the musty smell of old mold, but nothing that would make Faren cover his nose.
“……”
If so, there was only one explanation. The scent was detectable only by Faren, the elf.
“Guh! We need to leave immediately!”
Faren’s face turned pale.
“It’s the smell of death! The entire mansion is covered in death! We must leave quickly!”
Ibis and Shay were taken aback by Faren’s sudden behavior. The smell of death? What did that mean? It didn’t take long for them to understand Faren’s words.
Clank- clank- clank-
A moment later, an unpleasant metallic sound echoed through the mansion’s corridors. The beings that appeared simultaneously were.
“What is that?! They weren’t empty armor!”
Ibis’s vision caught sight of the mercenaries she had seen outside the mansion. The figures she had thought were mere scarecrows with empty armor were moving. They began to advance, forming a circle around Ibis’s party.
“Prepare for battle!”
At Ibis’s command, Faren nocked an arrow.
‘A miscalculation.’
Ibis narrowed her eyes, looking at the mercenaries.
‘They actually set up an obvious trap.’
Ibis berated herself for not checking more thoroughly. Then, she quietly said to Shay and Faren.
“Our priority is to subdue them moderately and escape the mansion.”
There was no benefit to causing more of a commotion here. Their priority was to escape the mansion as quickly as possible. As soon as they got out, they had to rendezvous with the waiting Herard.
‘I should have just watched if I knew this would happen!’
Regretting not simply following orders, she focused her power. A circular green orb of poison, her Platinum Rank ability, materialized in her hand. Without hesitation, she launched the compressed poison.
Boom!
The poison Ibis fired burst, creating a green mist. Being potent poison, it should incapacitate mere mercenaries instantly. Even if they were armored, they couldn’t block poison. Ibis planned to escape by exploiting the mercenaries’ confusion. When the mist cleared.
“……!”
However, the situation was contrary to her expectations. The mercenaries were completely unharmed.
“Wh-what on earth….”
“Ibis! Snap out of it!”
Faren, instead of the stunned Ibis, fired an arrow. The arrow hit a mercenary’s helmet. Despite the hit, Faren couldn’t help but be surprised.
“How… it clearly hit the head…!”
Even with an arrow stuck in his helmet, the mercenary moved as if unharmed. In fact, finding the embedded arrow bothersome, he threw off his helmet.
“!”
And then, everyone saw it. The identity of the mercenary revealed beneath the helmet was not human. Instead of a human head, a skull resided within the helmet.
“Skeleton…?”
Simultaneously, the other mercenaries removed their helmets. Everyone present was a skeleton, not human.
“Leader, this is truly dangerous!”
As Shay shouted, Ibis finally regained her senses. She understood why the poison hadn’t worked. It was natural, as they were undead, not humans.
Click- click- clatter-
The skeletons moved their jaws simultaneously. The sound of bones clashing echoed.
Click! Click! Click!
Skeletons, not even armored, swarmed in.
“It was planned from the start.”
Ibis, grasping the entire situation, bit her lip. Someone had intentionally released monsters into the mansion. But how? This was the capital, where the Queen resided, not a remote area of the Sail Kingdom. Such a heavily guarded place, yet monsters were present…
‘Could it be the Royal Family…!’
Ibis, unexpectedly reaching the truth.
‘Yes, it was strange from the beginning.’
The way the rumors spread was too contrived. And could so many monsters be hidden in a mansion in the Royal Capital? This would be impossible without the intervention of the royal family.
If so, why? And for what purpose? Ibis’s mind became complicated. If the royal family was involved, it was highly likely that Queen Irena, who led the Sail Kingdom, was involved. Queen Irena was a hero who had stopped a 7-Star Calamity. Would such a figure, watched by the White Church, perpetrate such an act?
“Hah, could it be that the Calamity itself was fabricated.”
The Calamity had definitely occurred. She had seen the stars falling from the sky at the time, so it had to be true.
‘The Calamity was real. Then, what if, at that time.’
What if Queen Irena hadn’t defeated the Calamity, but succumbed to it? Or, what if the Calamity itself was planned from the beginning?
‘Damn it!’
The scattered puzzle pieces in her head converged. She concluded that Queen Irena was behind all the major events that had occurred. She needed to report this fact quickly.
“…Shay.”
Ibis, having finished her calculations, spoke softly.
“You at least, get out of here. Reunite with Herard and go directly to Kyle.”
The mansion was already filled with skeletons. Judging by their aura, they weren’t ordinary skeletons.
‘They’re likely 3-star Skeleton Knights.’
Excluding Shay, who was non-combat personnel, only the Platinum Rank Ibis and Gold Rank Faren could confront them. However, the number of Skeleton Knights was overwhelming. By a rough estimate, there were countless. Therefore, Ibis made a choice. She would buy time for Shay, who could transform into an animal, to escape.
“Go to Kyle and tell him all the truth. That Queen Irena of the Sail Kingdom has made a contract with an Evil God.”
It was highly likely the truth. If the truth remained buried here, the continent of El Dorado would end. Therefore, it was crucial for at least one person to escape the mansion and inform Kyle, the alliance leader, of the information.
“Leader…”
Shay also understood the current atmosphere. That the leader was willing to sacrifice for her.
“Shay! Stop dawdling and hurry!”
Ibis shouted again. They were running out of time. The Skeleton Knights were still approaching.
“…Alright. Leader, I’ll bring people. Please stay alive.”
Shay nodded, then chanted a spell. Transforming into a crow, she then exited the mansion through the window. As the crow form disappeared, Ibis focused all her strength. Faren also dropped his arrows and gripped his bow tightly. Since the opponents were undead, shooting arrows would be useless. Furthermore, the spirits were too terrified to be of any help.
“Faren. Hold on. Just survive!”
“Yes, let’s make sure we live and have a drink.”
Immediately after, Ibis and Faren clashed with the Skeleton Knights.
* * *
Shay, transformed into a crow, was crossing the mansion’s garden. Just as she was about to escape and rendezvous with Herard.
‘Huh?’
Shay’s vision caught sight of two adventurers strolling through the mansion’s garden. Judging by their direction, they seemed to be heading for the mansion.
‘No…’
The mansion was currently in utter chaos. Shay lowered her flight altitude and headed towards the adventurers. Simultaneously, she dispelled her magic and returned to her human form.
“You two, stop there.”
Shay looked at the two adventurers. One man and one woman. Judging by their attire, the woman appeared to be a mage. The man had a slightly pale face and didn’t look very strong. If they proceeded into the mansion as they were, they would easily be defeated by the Skeleton Knights. Shay took out a Gold Badge from her pocket.
“It’s dangerous here. Go back.”
Despite Shay’s warning, the two adventurers remained still. They exchanged a few words.
“Lady Dambi, it seems to be the rat Lady Celia mentioned.”
Rat? Who was Celia? Shay wore an expression of bewilderment. There was critically little time to understand the current situation. Before that, the man adventurer’s hand pierced through Shay’s torso.
“Cough!”
Shay coughed out blood from the man’s sudden attack.
“Wh-what is this–”
As consciousness faded, Shay saw the man’s face. Notably, his sharp fangs stood out. It wasn’t human.
“V-Vampire…”
That was Shay’s last word. As Shay’s body collapsed like a husk, the man withdrew his hand.
“Rills, let’s finish off the remaining rats.”
“Understood, Lady Dambi.”
Thus, the two walked towards the mansion. The noisy mansion fell silent once more.
* * *
The early morning in the Sail Kingdom was peaceful, as usual. The only difference was the presence of Sail Kingdom soldiers surrounding a mansion. Naturally, people gathered.
“Huh? What’s going on? Why are there so many soldiers?”
“Well, you see, they say a thief broke into the mansion last night.”
“Really? Ugh, what guts to try and rob such a large mansion.”
“But isn’t that where the person from the rumors lives? People get robbed when they become rich.”
The story of a thief breaking into the mansion of the rumor’s protagonist spread instantly. As the story spread, adventurers’ hearts burned with desire for treasure.
Meanwhile, the soldiers were investigating and guarding the mansion following the intrusion. And then, a woman wearing a robe walked towards the mansion. A soldier raised his spear to block her.
“I’m sorry. You cannot enter here.”
However, the other party took out proof of the White Church from her pocket. Not just any ordinary church token, but an Inquisitor. The soldier looked surprised.
“Ah, my apologies!”
An Inquisitor is someone with the authority to investigate regardless of nationality. Of course, they can only investigate if it involves heretics, but that wasn’t important. If they suspect heretical activity, they have no recourse. It was unreasonable for a single soldier to block such a person. It could be disastrous if even the slightest backlash occurred, so the soldier quickly stepped aside.
“Thank you.”
The woman left a word of thanks and walked through the mansion’s garden. Soon, she stopped at a certain spot.
“…The smell of blood.”
There was nothing on the ground, but a faint smell of blood wafted. The woman touched the ground. Then, a holy aura emanated from her palm.
“I sense traces of a vampire.”
She closed her eyes and felt the aura. It wasn’t the trace of an ordinary vampire.
“As expected, it must be Baalcherit’s doing.”
Her identity was Jeremiah El Esteban. An Inquisitor belonging to the White Church, driven by the sole purpose of capturing Baalcherit.
“The Inn murder case, Lake Yenarian, and now here in the Royal Capital.”
Jeremiah retraced the process of tracking Baalcherit. It began with the Inn murder case, where dozens of bandits lost their lives. The bandits, including their leader, died shriveled, clearly the work of a vampire. Subsequently, she discovered evidence of a suspected Baalcherit passing through Lake Yenarian. And up to the present.
“Tsk, as expected, it’s a dirty ability that uses blood.”
Jeremiah clicked her tongue. Most importantly, there was a strong smell of blood inside the mansion.
“They subdued the opponent using blood.”
She could not know what happened inside. However, it was certain that something was dealt with using blood. A vampire who could freely manipulate blood. If one could manipulate blood to this extent, it was undoubtedly Baalcherit. Jeremiah slowly scanned the mansion.
“Someday, I will find you. And I will make you pay the price.”
Jeremiah turned and left the mansion. Silence returned to the mansion.
* * *
“Hmm? Who is speaking of this one?”
Baalcherit, diligently planting carnivorous plants outside a dungeon, as usual. Suddenly, his ears itched, and he stopped his busy work.
“Well, it has nothing to do with me.”
He figured whoever was looking for him would only be the Underworld Merchant Guild. Baalcherit was peaceful today.
