Chapter 37 - Black Tower ①

The situation in the streets was becoming horrifying.

"Please let us out!"

"We are visitors, we are not locals!"

"Do you know who my father is?"

At the south entrance, several people were gathered. They were carrying whatever they could in their hands.

The reason for their flight was because the ghouls had taken over almost all of the gray zone.

Because the red zone was well fortified thanks to the barricades so that the guys having fun with the girls would not escape.

The people there had no idea what was going on outside.

They only heard screams and didn't give them any importance.

The doors were locked.

The reason was so that no one would get in or out.

The vampires went out leaving everything locked, but no ghoul had entered.

They didn't care since, sooner or later, they would break down the barricade.

Some vampires were looking down from above.

"Stupid humans, look at them trying to fight their way out like the rats they are."

"Haha, it's true. These idiots think they can break-"

The cheerful conversation between them ended quickly as something happened.

A mysterious figure rose up and cut both the vampires and the wall into pieces.

That figure walked calmly through the crowd.

◇◇◇

Fifth floor of the black tower.

Several minutes ago, three individuals infiltrated.

The interior of the tower was like a normal watchtower.

It had various rooms that were the sleeping quarters, kitchen and gymnasium for it.

Once they set foot, they began to coldly kill all the vampires.

"Who the hell are-!? Gyaah!"

The vampires were killed without a chance to defend themselves.

Some used their Blut, others their atomization and others their awakening. A forbidden technique that reveals their grotesque and true appearance.

But it was useless.

Clement released a large amount of golden threads and they trapped flies like a spider's web.

"Thread magic: Beelzebub's Sonata."

"Gyaaaah!"

The threads generated ultra-strong vibrations that made the surroundings feel a small earthquake.

That vibration disintegrated the vampires to painful levels.

While John at Clement's side used a peculiar and very rare way of fighting.

"Wocha!"

John shouted as he pulled out black nunchucks from his back.

He waved and waved them from side to side as he shouted.

"Wachao!"

A nunchaku headed straight for a vampire's head. The vampire thought nothing would happen to him, he was wrong.

The vampire's face was smashed by the blow. Then, using the other nunchaku in his left hand, he split the vampire in half.

He wasn't the only dead vampire.

John pirouetted while making strange sounds as he killed vampires.

One vampire drew his sword and used atomization.

As he turned to John, he reversed the effect and thought he had won.

But John knew he would do that.

Swinging the nunchaku back, the vampire was split in half.

Then he approached one much larger than the others.

He placed the chains of the nunchaku around its neck and as he was strangling it, it took a great leap upward.

It was several meters. The vampire could not use atomization due to the lack of oxygen to concentrate.

When he got as high as he could, John turned around and began to fall head first, forming a whirlpool.

"Death spin!"

The great whirlwind was approaching a group of vampires.

They were crushed by the force of the fall.

John was unharmed as he landed on his feet at the last minute.

"Truly, these guys are a nuisance."

He said as he looked up.

"Getting to the 100th floor will be very..."

"Why do you think you'll make it that far?"

A mysterious voice whispered to him while his back was turned.

John turned around, but it was too late. A cut appeared on his back.

Blood was pouring out.

John used a potion to regain strength so the wound would close.

Once the pain was gone, he realized the same thing happened.

He was cut. But in the face, then torso and finally near the ankle.

He stepped back to avoid further damage.

But the enemy was not going to let him.

Again John was cut, the vampire was using atomization faster than John could react.

Blood was everywhere on John's body.

Finally, the red mist turned into a "person" and showed who the attacker was.

A thin, pale-skinned man with gray hair combed forward and closed eyes was looking at him.

"Is this the result of the cowardly life you have led since that day?"

John, who was sighing heavily from the loss of blood, reacted to the vampire's voice.

"That voice... don't tell me it's you. Georg Hardie?!"

"The same."

"Impossible! You must be dead!?"

Long ago, there was an elite squadron called the grand knights.

The grand knights were those chosen by the ministers to form an elite squadron for special missions.

Among them, one boy was the chosen captain.

He came from a small knightly house from abroad who came to live in the kingdom.

Young John was a man who carried out his orders successfully.

But that was partly a facade.

He only cared about the glamour and benefits it gave him.

Then one day, their vice-captain, a man who came from a house destroyed by the twilight saint, betrayed them.

John was ambushed.

House Hardie betrayed the empire as he sold them weapons to enemy kingdoms.

Almost all of them were killed by the sword saint sent after discovering their misdeeds.

Georg survived because he was in the palace when it all happened.

Since his family was killed by the palace, he decided to take revenge on the one who informed on him. There was only one person who knew that his family sold weapons.

John.

Both Georg and others cornered him and killed many great knights.

In a desperate attack, Georg was wounded in the lungs by John, but John was not unharmed.

Georg's sword went straight into his corneas. On that day, John's knightly life died.

Both John and the other great knights were dismissed and exiled from the knight squads.

John spent his days drinking alone in his room.

His own family did not support him as he brought this on himself by not denouncing him sooner rather than later. He didn't because John was earning something too for helping Georg, but one day he got fed up with earning too little and decided to earn too much.

It went wrong.

Then one day, someone showed up at his door.

It was a tall, burly man.

He spoke to him.

"Is this what you want for your future? You may have ruined it, even cost you your family's expulsion and your job as your honor."

John became annoyed and threw his bottle at the man.

"What the hell do you know about me? What's wrong with making extra money? If only I hadn't been found out, none of this would have happened."

The man was quiet for a while and then said.

"Is that your excuse for your actions? I lived in poverty and starvation, but that doesn't mean I would do what you did. Even if life is horrible and you don't want to live it, it doesn't mean you're going to hurt others over a tantrum. I'm not judging you, I'm just asking if this is what you want to do now?"

"Who the hell are you that you care?!"

"I am..."

The man said a name that made John get up from his bed.

"It can't be... you're that man, the legendary S-rank adventurer!"

"My name is not necessary to remember. Long ago I was what you said, but now I am just another vassal of a noble house."

John was left with his mouth open as he did not know what to answer. The reason he was a great knight was because this man recommended him.

Because of his anger, he did not recognize him.

John followed him to an acquaintance of his. The current headmaster of the academy who at that time was just another teacher. He appointed him as a teacher.

John worked hard for several years training his body which lost its vision.

But thanks to that training, he was able to develop his other senses, among them the perception of magical power.

Thanks to this, he can "see" his surroundings without any problem.

John remembered everything that happened to him while he was watching Georg.

"Answer, how come you are still alive?"

Georg laughed.

"That day I was dying, then I saw him. Gerhardt-sama appeared to give me a chance and I became a regular vampire."

"I trained very hard so no one could defeat me. Not even an incompetent like you."

"On this day, you will die John. Test my anger stored up for so many years!"

Georg turned into a red mist and flew everywhere.

Clement wanted to help him, but the vampires clustered together blocking the way.

John took off his glasses to clean them.

His scarred eyes were exposed.

He placed them on the ground while from one of his legs, he pulled a black tonfa.

He looked up at the sky and noticed that the red mist was circling a lot. After waiting a while, it came down at high speed.

"Die John!"

John said as he got into position for a jump. The tonfa spun around several times as he gained momentum.

"Georg. I'm glad you're alive so to speak. Then I can tell you this. I'm so sorry."

"You're in this situation because of me. If only I had been someone who wasn't greedy. Your family could have received a lesser sentence to achieve forgiveness, but that couldn't happen."

"That's why, as partners, I..."

The tonfa spun at high speed and John jumped straight into the red mist.

"Dieee!" Georg shouted as a sword stuck out from inside the mist.

John shed a tear before saying.

"I'm sorry you turned into this. If I were in your shoes, I would have taken a deal with the demon too. Forgive me, it was my fault, for that, I will release you."

The tonfa spun at high speed in reverse mode.

Instead of being sent backwards, Georg was pulled in.

Even if he used atomization, Georg was just molecule smoke.

"Damn it!"

he shouted as his molecules were scattered around with no way to rearrange them.

In the end, I had to appear. His legs were gone, and in the middle of the air.

"This is goodbye."

John stopped waving his tonfa and split Georg in half.

His heart was also broken.

Before he turned to ash, Georg said.

"John... you've become quite the gentleman now."

Without being able to finish what he was saying, Georg disappeared.

John fell to the ground. He put on his glasses and tears were still streaming down.

"I'm not a knight, I'm a demonic teacher who overworks his students."

Clement saw everything as he struggled, but there was something he forgot.

"Where is Professor Manfred?"

◇◇◇

Twelfth floor.

Professor Manfred was calmly walking up the stairs.

"Old age is a fearsome enemy. My legs are not what they used to be."

He moved away from the others to advance at his own pace.

He walked elegantly with his cane while stroking his mustache.

Suddenly he stopped.

Black mists were coming towards him.

There were a hundred of them.

From among them, a very large figure appeared.

He was 2.5 meters tall, he had scars on his face despite having the ability to regenerate. His skin was as brown as wheat and he was also bald.

He had a sword as big as he was.

The man spoke with a loud tone that shook the ground.

"Who is the idiot who enters our domain?"

Manfred touched his mustache with interest.

He stopped as he seemed to know the guy.

"Wait a minute, sir, you look very familiar."

"Just in case."

"Kakaka! I was feared decades ago in the empire! I was the one who made the knights and armies fearful!"

"I was dismissed from the palace because I was too cruel to my enemies. I am the one and only, Dorian the Butcher! Kakaka."

They all burst out laughing and began to tell their identities.

A toothless man covered by a leather bag shouted.

"Yes, we are at celebrity appearances. I was Donovan the bone collector. I tortured children and ate their flesh and left their bones as souvenirs."

Another man with a scruffy mustache said.

"I, the dreaded James the grinder. I am more famous than all since I tortured a duke while pretending to be on a trip, hahaha, the incompetence of the palace was a treat."

Those present were criminals, and not just anyone, criminals that history erased for their monstrosities.

Manfred said.

"I know them all. They were supposed to be sent to the gallows, especially you, Dorian. I saw you as the air escaped from your body and an expression of pain you showed."

Dorian laughed.

"Kakaka, and?"

"That day I certainly died, but Gerhardt-sama gave me his blood and I became one of the strongest. These scars are on my body only because that degenerate is too strong for me. But no matter, I will earn points for Gerhardt-sama to make me his right hand, now... die!"

The big sword was approaching Manfred, everyone laughed, then...

"That's something fast isn't it? I say that because I saw it coming and it gave me time to move."

When the big sword fell to the ground. Manfred was standing to the side.

They all watched as the weapon moved faster than the blink of an eye.

Dorian didn't understand what happened, but he did it again.

"Now you old geezer, die!"

This time, the same thing happened.

Manfred watched as in a linear fashion the sword approached his waist.

He used his cane to parry the blow.

Dorian's arms shook from the vibration.

He and the others could not believe what happened.

Then Manfred told them.

"No matter how many years go by. Beasts will always be beasts."

"Huh? What the-"

Dorian was silent as he watched Manfred remove his monocle and then finger-comb his hair forward in a very unruly youthful style.

"So, do you remember me now?"

Both Dorian and the others were shocked by what they saw.

"N-No... it can't be. It can't possibly be true."

Manfred walked forward.

"Even if you forget me, I won't forget you. For most of you here, I was the one who captured you and sent you to your execution, I was even the executioner with some of you."

Dorian was sweating, then he shouted.

"Those eyes! That unruly hair! And above all... That tone of fearing nothing! No... You can't be him..."

"Maybe this name will remind you of him."

Manfred moved his lips and almost all the vampires dropped their swords.

"Arroganz."

Then Dorian said.

"M... Ma... Manfred, the saint of arrogance!"

"The same."

One detail that was never revealed in the game about Manfred. It's just that his past was a mystery, he always supported Lily and the capture targets. In fact, he even defeated Lambert several times in training. The reason was clear.

He was testing them.

If they were going to save this country, they had to show they were worthy.

So this man, the former sword saint, the saint of arrogance. He would see if they were worth it.

"The reason I am no longer one is because when the new emperor took the throne. His little toy was much more effective than me. And they fired me."

"Those bastards took everything I earned and I had nothing. They even named me as the third son even though I was the heir of my family."

"But it doesn't matter. I accepted this order since a good friend of mine, the previous head of Erzberger Household was killed by his boss. I came today to kill that spawn. You are nothing more than an appetizer for me."

Dorian still trembling shouted.

"Y-You think we're afraid of you!"

"You're just a fucking old man now! You lost your skills long ago because of age! Die, you old shit!"

Manfred grabbed his cane, near the end where he held it, pressed a button and as if it was a sword sheath, it fell down.

A sword was visible.

"You are right that getting older makes you weaker. But my sword, Arroganz, will never grow old. Its edge is and will remain the best the holy realm could send!"

"Perish..."

With those words, before dropping the cane, Manfred picked it up and said.

"Silence..."

As he closed it slowly. Manfred was on the other side.

"of the innocence."

As he finished closing it. A shower of blood and ash happened behind him.

Without a single drop of blood falling on him. He combed his hair as before and walked calmly.

"Why do they think I was able to cross so easily? Idiocy can't leave even if you are undead.

He said that while walking without looking back.

◇◇◇

"Hey, what are humans doing here? Me, the great Lex will-! Aaah!"

Razel and Cid made it into the black tower.

They were now on the 75th floor.

They were going up with great speed.

Razel led Cid to an entrance that no one used as it smelled bad to anyone.

Because Cid possessed the alchemical water magic attribute, he was able to create a water shield to keep from touching the waste.

It smelled bad, though. That didn't stick on his body.

They managed to infiltrate when Clement was fighting Jack.

They snuck up to the 14th floor. But Razel had flatulence from the potato chips he ate and they were detected.

Because of his speed.

He killed the vampires on that floor without the others noticing.

Because of the commotion that was happening on the second floor.

Many vampires went down.

Razel and Cid took advantage of that to go up and kill everything they come across.

They reached the 77th floor.

Razel was saying to Cid in a joking tone.

"This is the best they can do? Pff. We would have come then any day and not wait for today to-"

"Cursed blood magic: Fallen Angel."

Razel couldn't finish what he said due to a hand hitting his cheek.

That made him fly to the wall breaking it and flying out.

Cid seeing that...

"R.... Ra... Ra... Raaazeeel!!"

He shouted from the bottom of his heart.

But the person who killed Razel didn't feel even the slightest interest in what the euphoric Cid was saying.

A man dressed in guard clothes like all vampires. Only he had medals on his chest and decorative shoulder pads.

He wore a very old-fashioned senior officer's cap.

At his waist was a sword only used in fencing duels.

He was tall, thin; he almost appeared to have anorexia. His skin was pale and his face was as long as a potato.

His lips were painted with black lipstick.

His chin was split and he had signs of having a beard, although badly shaved as the shadow of what they were growing was marked.

His eyes were not visible due to round black glasses. His hair was strange.

It was covered almost entirely by his cap. But on one side a strange zigzag cut was peeking out.

The man spoke in a tone of an arrogance with Cid.

"I went down because there was a lot of noise that disturbed His Excellency. I never imagined that these guys were incompetent."

Cid was angry. The man looked at the hole in the wall.

"It was my mistake to use part of my awakening as a superior vampire against an insect. Just a normal punch would have done the trick."

Cid heard a loud bang. It sounded like something had fallen or impacted.

His eyes focused on the enemy.

The man through the glasses was looking at Cid.

He made a disgusted expression.

"What? Is there something on my face? ... Can't be!? Did you fall in love? I'm not interested in guys like you, much less insects."

The man spoke in an effeminate tone while spitting on the floor.

He adjusted his glasses and introduced himself.

"There's no one here but me. The idiots upstairs have come down so I am His Excellency's last defensive wall."

"Allow me to introduce myself, since my beautiful angelic appearance is the only thing you will look at before you die. I am Gerhardt-sama's advance captain. His faithful servant and right-hand man, Quinque der Quinx. I am a superior vampire, meaning the beasts you have defeated are nothing but trash compared to my majesty."

Quinque had red wings on his arms, that was the awakening. A vampiric power that only superior vampires could use.

He smiled at the sight of Cid who pulled out a sword he stole.

"I'll make sure that insects like you, don't dare look down on us vampires."

There was about less than 1 hour left, before the fish tank that feeds the vampire queen would be emptied, guaranteeing her resurrection.