Vampiric Iron and Relial the Unyielding (1)

Gustel is a small village not far from the Innocence Academy.

In the peaceful, lightly traveled streets of Gustel, you'll find a small house deep in the woods that's even more off the beaten path.

Suspiciously, a large group of people have been coming and going from the house so often that it seems almost too cramped.

In the dark passageway, there was always a breeze of dampness. Holding on to a single torch, you look toward the end of the darkness and suddenly see a bright light.

At the end of the passage was a huge cave that could have been a criminal's lair. This was the lair of the Mikels Bandits.

In this lair of criminals and bandits, there was one room that could be described as the most luxurious. Inside, a man sat in a chair that was rather old-fashioned for a bandit. It was Mikels, leader of the Mikels Bandits.

He had a secret, his real name was not actually Mikels. His true identity was Relial, a blood mage who, for some reason, now went by the name of Mikels.

'The time was ripe, but why?'

Relial was in a strange mood today.

The preparations were perfect, just as he had hoped.

It had been five years of meticulous planning.

Five years ago, he had cut off his long hair and started growing a wild beard. His disguise was perfect, complete with burn scars in several places, and he blended seamlessly into the ranks of the fierce-looking bandits.

It took him less than two years to rise to the top of the bandits' ranks and earn their respect and another three years to earn their trust.

It was no easy task to earn the trust of a group of bandits who could betray him on a daily basis.

Along the way, he devised this secret hideout. Until recently, when he finally found the most important ingredient in his plan: a metal with the special property of attracting blood.

He and his men had just retrieved the Vampiric Iron.

Relial had underestimated the strength of the bandits, and so far so good, though several of his men had been sacrificed in the capture but the Vampiric Iron was worth more to him than the lives of a few men.

Mikels had already made a name for himself among the bandits, and it was easy for him to recruit those who would readily follow him.

All he had to do now was replenish his dwindling ranks of vicious bandits and earn their trust. The process would take several more months, but so far so good.

The final step in his plan was to gather his men, who would trust him with their lives, in one place for a ceremony. It was all part of what he called "Vengeance of the wicked."

Vengeance of the Wicked was the name of the 'bloodstone' he hoped to create.

The blood of twenty vile and deceitful people who trusted him would be completely fed to the Vampiric Iron slowly.

The finished bloodstone could then be ground into a powder, and even a small amount could greatly amplify the power of blood magic.

He could even claim the entirety of the bloodstone, as it was not made by a group of blood mages working together.

These bloodstones, forged by such diverse and inhuman means, were indispensable elixirs for blood mages who worked with blood.

Relial was gifted in the cursed art of blood magic, among many others, but his only talent paled in comparison to the others. He could only use Blood Strength, a passive blood spell that simply strengthened his muscles.

The recipe for Vengeance of the Wicked, found in an old temple that Relial had stumbled upon one day, was like a ray of light for him.

'It took me five years.'

Blood Strength allowed him to be a formidable force among bandits who had little else but an evil heart. However, it was not what he wanted, to be a king among a bunch of stupid bandits.

Relial had spent his entire life in a lowly position, and he had a strong need for compensation.

He had his sights set on something much higher. He wanted to be the head of a dragon, not the head of a snake.

'If only I had the bloodstone…'

The idea of ruling high and mighty with only blood magic was not a far-fetched dream for Relial.

As an ordinary blood mage who had grown up hearing stories of legendary blood mages who had gained the power to shake the heavens and earth by consuming a single powerful blood stone, Relial had such hopes.

'But why… I keep getting this bad feeling…?'

Was it because one of his least favorite rats was scurrying across the floor of his room? Is it because the owl he brought in to catch that rat isn't doing his job?

Or because his men are out on patrol and haven't returned, even though it's past time for them to do so?

"Whoa…"

Relial's thoughts were somewhat complicated by a surge of irritation for a variety of reasons, but he hoped it was just his own anxiety.

After all, it's only natural for humans to become more and more anxious as the realization of a dream that has taken so long to accomplish draws closer and closer.

'Once the dream is realized, it's over. Don't be anxious, at a time like this let's not be in a hurry.'

Relial sat back in his chair and watched his owl, repeating these thoughts to himself.

In the corner of his lair, his owl was waiting for the perfect opportunity to catch a mouse with its sharp talons.

Then it happened.

The owl, sensing the approach of someone close to the door of the room, stopped concentrating and flew off somewhere in the room.

"Damn. I thought it had him…"

Relial felt like nothing was going right today. He was unnecessarily irritated with Mont, who must have returned from his patrol.

"Hey, Mont, why are you back so late? Did you go down to town and pick up a girl? I doubt it. There's no way you're going to get a girl unless you kidnap her with your face."

A leader who took out his frustration and anger on his men day in and day out was apt to be stabbed while sleeping.

Hugo of the Hugo's Bandits, before they became the Mikels Bandits, was just such a man.

"…"

Mont didn't respond to Relial's joke.

"Hey. Mont."

Relial sensed something was amiss and stood up.

His men were not so disloyal as to not respond to him. They might be evil at heart, but through years of hard work, they trusted him.

The door opened.

It wasn't until it was fully open that he realized that Mont must have made his first out-of-character prank… It was a ridiculous thought, and one that Relial sincerely hoped was true. Alas, his ominous premonition was correct.

"Who are you…?"

The door swung open and the man who entered was not Mont, nor any of his men.

The fact that it was not one of his men was immediately apparent upon his entrance since none of his men were blind and the man who burst through the door had a white bandage over his eyes.

"…"

As soon as the stranger's full form was revealed, Relial raised both arms, muscular and oozing with blood, into a combat stance.

It was impossible not to notice, especially as a blood mage, that the black robe of the intruder was reeking of blood.

"Who am I…? Well, I'm not the Mont you're looking for."

Those were the first words out of his mouth as he strode slowly into the room.

Relial had never wondered how a blind man could walk around so effortlessly. There were many chambers from the entrance to the lair to Relial's room and there would be his loyal men there, too.

The blind man entering his chambers reeking of blood could only mean that he had destroyed his men, his precious 'offerings' that he had spent over five years preparing.

"Stop! If you come any closer, I'll punch you in the face at a speed you can't even dodge."

Did Relial's shallow threats work?

The blind man halted in his tracks and Relial was surprised by his behavior. In fact, he was terrified now.

Until he ate the bloodstone, and only until he ate the bloodstone, he was determined to avoid the strong as he had always done.

For the time being, Relial lurked in the shadows, thinking only of the sweet fruits of his labors, however humble. But as the leader of a small band of thieves and a mere blood mage of modest talent, it was impossible for him to take on dozens of bandits and kill them all without causing a stir.

Still, Relial had no recollection of hearing any commotion or shouting until the intruder approached his room.

That inconvenient truth meant the blind man was a force to be reckoned with, easily accomplishing the impossible.

"…What do you want, there must be a reason you've come this far."

"If I tell you what I want… Will you give it to me? I don't think so."

"I can imagine your efforts to come this far, so I'll listen to it if I can…! Those stupid guys who would have died outside anyway are not even worth it to me!"

Relial spoke with all the bravado he had learned from years of bossing but the name of the object that came out of the mysterious blind man's mouth was something he could not compromise on.

"It would be impolite of me to refuse, since you've gone so far as to say so, I understand."

The blind man nodded at Relial's offer, and then spoke.

"…I'll take the 'Vampiric Iron' then."

"Hm, Vampiric Iron, what is that?"

Relial's tongue twisted in bewilderment as the blind man said the words Vampiric Iron as easily as if he were ordering food at a restaurant.

'Why is that coming out of his mouth?'

Relial quickly looked away, but the small smile on the blind man's face was not disturbed by his desperate lie.

Relial's nerves were on edge at this sudden and incomprehensible turn of events. Sweat began to form on his forehead.

'Dead men? Five more years of this crap. No, I've already been through it, so it might be quicker. But not the Vampiric Iron. No way. It's something I'll never get again.'

Relial's eyes rolled rapidly.

"I don't know why you're looking for this 'Vampiric Iron' that I don't even recognize…Did you take a wrong turn because you're blind?"

The Vampiric Iron was obtained with a lot of hard work and a lot of luck and the blind man came to steal it in less than a few days.

In an instant, countless unrealistic things happened, causing Relial's head to spin in confusion.

The blind man who stood silently before him spoke.

"I see… you're the same Relial the Unyielding."