Chapter 6 - Fiasco

　　After crying in the townhouse for a few days and healing the wounds caused by [Exorcism - Kayne-sama Deluxe Mighty Enhancement] in the meantime, Countess Margaret decides to meet Kayne-sama again.

　　"Last time, it must have been because I possessed myself in a domestic animal, and the lord didn't recognize me, so he stepped in to banish me."

　　She thought as she freshened up in front of the ornate mercury mirror.

　　Replacing the usual charming makeup, the four hundred year old girl in the mirror at the moment was as pure and lovely as a white lotus out of the water.

　　At her image, the countess gave a satisfied smile.

　　"This time it will be with my true face that I will meet my lord, and surely the generous and merciful lord will not countenance my previous indiscretion, but will say to me, in a low voice, 'Rit, it is true that you are most loyal to me, return to my side!' , and then I .... Yikes! So shy!"

　　The red-faced four-hundred-year-old girl happily raised the hem of her long dress to her waist and rushed out of the townhouse at a quick pace.

　　After standing in the sun for a second, the burning pain brought her back to her senses. The four-hundred year old girl fled back to the townhouse in tears and began to touch up her makeup and apply the "holy oil".

　　Luckily the reaction was quick enough not to cause burns.

　　There's just a bit more of a roasted meat smell in the air, that's masked off with a bit more scented powder with white jasmine essential oil!

　　When ready, the Countess, who was once again on her way, turned into an almost invisible puff of smoke and flew out of the townhouse.

　　At this time, Edward is trying to learn new holy magic at the Skin of the Stigmata guild's practice field.

　　He recited the incantation and a searing pain came to his hand.

　　"Tsk, no?"

　　"Don't be in a hurry, this is a high level divine grace, even I had to comprehend it for a long time before I received the divine blessing."

　　Next to him, Fr. Suez patiently taught.

　　In the past few days, this priest had been coming to the Guild from time to time to persuade Edward to convert under the banner of "looking into the wounds of the sister's soul".

　　Edward, on the other hand, bluffs with him while nonchalantly using him as a teacher to learn holy magic.

　　"Please try reciting the prayer with me again..."

　　The priest said and was about to start reciting a prayer when Edward interrupted him.

　　"Father, the spell Demon Breaker Arrow, the runes used are the three [God] [Arrow] [Pierce], right?"

  Suez frowned as he shook his head and retorted, "No, no, no, no, no, chantless spell casting is disrespectful to the gods, one has to recite a prayer to express one's devotion, and while it's true that it's these three runes, it's..."

　　Edward ignored his preaching and instead condensed the four runes [God] [Gathering] [Arrow] [Piercing] in his mind.

　　A dazzling arrow of light flew out from his fingertips and shot straight up into the clouds.

　　".... Uh, well, not bad for a child blessed by God." The corner of Suez's mouth twitched a little.

　　"Flying high." Edward put his hand on the pergola and watched his masterpiece fly higher and higher and farther away until it disappeared from view.

　　He didn't notice what the Demon Breaker Arrow hit in the distant sky, followed by a woman's scream.

　　"Brother Kayne, with a talent like yours, nay, a devout believer like you, after joining the church, I can directly recommend you as an assistant priest, and within a year or two you can become a priest of the same rank as me, and in another year or two you can become a bishop." Seeing that Edward was idle, Fr. Suez began to persuade again.

　　"This, I don't think I'm religious enough ...."

　　Edward looked at Fr. Suez's hairline, which had begun to become sensational, and thought about the bright image of a Mediterranean priest, and politely declined the offer.

　　Chief Hector had told him in the past few days that clergymen spent a lot of time praying every day, and when they didn't get a response from the gods, they would suffer from insomnia and anxiety, which would eventually lead to hair loss.

　　Kind of an otherworldly program ape.

　　Edward is happy with his long flowing hair after crossing over, and doesn't want to lose a bald patch on top of his head and become a fallen samurai.

　　Getting bald makes you stronger? He doesn't believe that.

　　"No, no, no, brother Kayne, you have to believe in yourself, it is because you are pious enough to exert the power of God so powerfully."

　　"But I ...." Edward was about to say something else when a cacophony of human voices came from the front yard, followed by a squire running over in a panic.

　　"Reverend Father! Reverend Father! Hoo-hoo, please go to the front yard!" The squire came up for air.

　　"What's wrong?"

　　"The Wounded .... The Wounded .... Back with tons of wounded!"

　　Father Suez frowned and immediately moved to the front yard.

　　Edward followed along with his squire.

　　"What wounded man? What happened?"

　　"Defeated, ahem, the hunters sent out to round up the vampires suffered a crushing defeat."

　　The three of them came to the front yard, only to see a number of vampire hunters coming in one after another in the yard, most of them with pale faces and injuries.

　　There were also several bodies covered in white cloth on the ground.

　　Another dozen or so people were lying on the ground, their faces blue and screaming in misery. There seemed to be some sort of black flotsam floating on their bodies.

　　Chief Steward Haight stood by worriedly, and when he saw the priest approaching, he rushed to meet him.

　　"Many hunters have suffered the curse of vampirism, save them, Father!"

　　Father Suez nodded and continued, "Brother Kayne has mastered the use of the Healing Hands in the last few days as well, I believe, so please assist me along."

　　"Okay." Edward rolled up his sleeves.

　　"Please cast it on them like I did." The priest walks over to a hunter with flotsam, recites a prayer, and casts [Healing Hands].

　　The soft light illuminated the hunter's iron face as the black flotsam that had surfaced on him began to dissipate, but it didn't take long for it to grow again.

　　"Please bless me God, this curse is very strong! Please be sure to focus your mind to avoid the curse backfiring on you." Father Suez raised his hands, intensifying the intensity of the spell as drops of sweat began to break out on his forehead.

　　"I know, I'll try, and if I can't I'll have to ask the priest to top it."

　　Edward said, holding out his hands to the other cursed hunter.

　　Silently reciting the four runes of [God] [Gathering] [Fountain] [Healing] in his mind, the light of [Healing Hands] flashed on his hands for a moment.

　　"Uh, Father..."

　　"Please don't talk to me, I can't be distracted!"

　　Edward glanced dully at Father Suez, who was still struggling to cast his spell, and then at the hunter, who had sat up bewildered.

　　"What's going on? The curse is lifted? I don't hurt anymore!"

　　"Really?"

　　Watching the healing light flicker away, Edward thought he had failed to cast the spell.

　　"And, the wound on me is gone, what's going on?" The flotsam had disappeared from the hunter's body, and he stood up, still spinning around in a relaxed manner.

　　Chief Hector on the side also looked confused.

　　As far as he knew, the [Healing Hands] could only undo spirit-based injuries and heal soul wounds, and the healing effect on physical injuries wasn't obvious, and at most, it could only ease the pain.

　　But in front of the eyes of this hunter who was healed by Edward, not only was the curse lifted, but a blood drenched wound on the original face also healed, and that hunter regained his once handsome .... Oh no, this bastard is quite ugly.

　　"Lord Kayne, please heal the next one quickly." The chief steward said.

　　Edward nodded and glanced back at Father Suez, who was still struggling.

　　Well, this clergyman, no, the priest must have picked the worst of the cursed himself, and left the less seriously wounded.

　　He held out his hand to the other cursed one and cast the spell again.

　　Another soft flash of light and the hunter jumped.

　　On the other side, Father Suez couldn't care less about the sweat that was seeping out of his head and did his best to cast the spell.

　　After a long struggle, the priest finally breathed a sigh of relief when the black flotsam was no longer visible on the hunter.

　　He couldn't be bothered with decency, so he wiped his forehead with his sleeve and said, "Hurry up, next."

　　"That .... No more." Chief Hector said with slight embarrassment.

　　The priest was stunned and looked up and around.

　　The dozen or so cursed hunters who had been lying in pieces had all stood up, a few still stretching their arms and legs with a calm expression.

　　"They... Aren't they cursed?"

　　"It has been cured by Lord Kayne." Chief Hector said.

　　"Huh?"

　　"Hard work, Father." Edward looked reverent.

　　It seemed to him that Suez must have chosen the hardest to cure, and this compassionate god... The staff member was breathing heavily now, obviously expending a great deal of energy.

　　By the time the priest had figured out the situation, he was in a state of severe self-doubt.

　　At such a young age, he was promoted to the priesthood and given the honorific title of "priest", so he was naturally gifted and was highly cultivated by the Church.

　　However, compared to this noble son in front of him who was blessed by God, it felt like he was a joke.

　　In the future, it's better to give up learning divine arts and concentrate on interpreting the scriptures.

　　The priest thought a little sadly as he looked up at the sky, his hairline seeming to recede toward the back of his head at breakneck speeds visible to the naked eye.

　　By the time he got back to his senses, Edward had already entered the fort with Chief Hector to start another job.

　　The Chief Steward has just requested Edward to cast healing hands on some of the seriously injured to try and save them back.

　　Seeing that the people were gone, Father Suez let out a sigh and left in disgrace without even asking for a levy.

　　As he passed through the doorway, one of the healed hunters even fell down in reverent worship, saying, "Thank you! Father! Thank you for teaching Lord Kayne the healing spells! Praise You!"

　　That sounds rather harsh.

　　In the fort, after Edward's efforts, he manages to retrieve some of the seriously wounded who are dying, but a few come back to life.

　　One of them, the hunter who stood behind Edward during the SUN punishment and also gave him a cut with his silver sword.

　　The hunter was actually a pretty nice guy, and the guy apologized to Edward after he stayed at the guild, and the two of them would nod and say hello when they happened to run into each other afterward.

　　Unfortunately, he was carried back with a long sword in his chest and his heart pierced.

　　Edward couldn't save him no matter how hard he tried to cast [Healing Hands].

　　After all the effort had been made, Edward sat down in a side chair and watched as he and several other dead men were covered with white cloth.

　　Chief Steward Haight watched in silence with him.

　　Once the attendants had carried the blindfolded body out into the courtyard, Edward spoke.

　　"What happened to them? Why did they lose so badly?"

　　Chief Hector was silent for a moment, then said slowly:

　　"A baronial vampire has appeared, most likely the one you banished last time."

　　These days, Edward occasionally flipped through the burnt pages of The Origin of Vampires.

　　It states something about the rank of vampires.

　　Low-ranking vampires have no rank, while high-ranking vampires, from high to low, are divided into six ranks: Prince, Duke, Marquis, Count, Viscount, and Baron.

　　The book recounts that since the great upheaval a hundred years ago, vampires above the rank of Count have become extinct and have become creatures of legend.

　　But there is also a theory that they are all bound by the new Queen and have retreated into the territory of the new Jounian Empire, never to come out again.

　　The only high-ranking vampires that would still be present in the areas where humans lived were currently at the Viscount and Baron levels.

　　"Are the baronial ones that hard to deal with?" Edward asked.

　　"Yes, it's a pity that the chairman isn't here right now, if he was, even if the one coming is of the Viscount level, he would be able to withstand it."

　　The president, as Chief Steward Haight called him, had been summoned away by the Constantine royal family the night Edward stayed there, and had not even been able to see the great fireworks in the early morning.

　　"So, the baronial vampire, taken out?"

　　The chief steward shook his head, "He escaped."

　　"Will the other side, then, retaliate?"

　　"That's exactly what I was worried about, I'm afraid there's going to be a tough fight in the evening."

　　Vampires who are afraid of daylight can be at their true strength at night.

　　With this battle, the vampires, having let the badly defeated hunters go, will most likely attack at night.

　　"Is there anything I can do to help?" Edward asked.

　　The "Stigmata Skin" guild had become his sanctuary, and in times of crisis, he felt obligated to do his part.

　　Chief Steward Hite listened with a few moments of delight:

　　"Please assist in the defense at night if you can, but ...."

　　He paused and then continued, "However, I would like to remind you that banishing a possessed mental body vampire is different from facing the original body straight on, so please be ever so careful not to take it lightly."

　　"Okay."

　　In fact, Edward wouldn't take it lightly without Chief Hector's reminder.

　　He knows his niche well.

　　Even if the original owner of this body might be some kind of "genius mage", at this stage, he had only just learned a few elementary magic spells, so what kind of combat power could he form?

　　At most, hiding in a safe place and throwing [Fireball Spell], [Exorcism Spell] as well as [Demon Breaker Arrow] from a distance to bolster the hunters was enough.

　　While Edward worries about his future and the future of the Stigmata Skin, a young vampire teenager in an uptown townhouse wants to meet his master, Countess Marguerite.

　　But he was stopped by his twin sister.

　　"Sister! Let me in, I have something to report to the master!"

　　"Master has just suffered another very serious injury and now needs to recuperate." The young girl who had an almost identical face to the teenager said seriously.

　　"Injured? Wasn't the master's injury just a few days ago?"

　　"Keep your voice down! Let me know if you need anything and I'll go and relay it for you."

　　"Well, I've just gotten word that the new generation of guys active in the old capital seem to be plotting an attack on Constantine."

　　"What is there to report! These wild species that have nothing to do with us, the master won't care if they die or live."

　　"But ...."

　　"No buts, do what you have to do and don't disgrace the family!"

　　After being reprimanded, the teenager had no choice but to leave resentfully.

　　And the sister, watching her brother leave, returned to the townhouse out of fear for her master's injuries.

　　She had followed the countess for nearly a hundred years, and it was the first time she had seen her master so badly injured.

　　Oh no, this counts as the second time.

　　And more than the physical injuries, the owner's mind seems to have been badly battered.

　　Just stepping into the Countess's room, she saw her master lying crookedly in the tub staring at the ceiling.

　　Although the white skin was still very beautiful, the countess looked as if she were a wilted flower.

　　"Master..."

　　The young girl called softly, and Margaret made no response.

　　After a long time, she remained motionless and said in an almost ghostly tone:

　　"Lynn, my days may be numbered ...."