Chapter 125
"Get outside, quickly!"
Lars had the soldiers of Nelbe Ritter carry Kruger and ordered everyone to leave the castle.
The reason was that ominous screams had come from beneath the castle. Judging instinctively that something was wrong, Lars decided to leave before confirming the situation.
And that decision proved correct.
"Hey! What in the world is that screaming!?"
"Th-this is...!"
Lars pressed the old researcher, whose hands were bound.
The researcher puffed out his chest proudly for some reason, even as he ran.
"It is the cry of the masterpiece we created!"
"I don't care! Just explain it!"
"Eek!? Please don't hit me... W-we made various drugs to turn people into vampires, but they all failed because the vampire blood was too strong. They grew enormous and became stronger, but sometimes lost their ability to speak... We called them failures, so to speak."
"So that's what that was..."
On the way here, they had encountered a gigantic monster.
Remembering it, Lars twisted his face in disgust. That man had apparently been a victim as well.
"Then what? Is this scream an improved version of that?"
"No, no! It is nothing like that! During the experiments, we used something to overcome the vampire blood. The results improved dramatically because of it!"
"Then what was it!?"
"The blood of a human possessed by a demon. We combined demon blood with vampire blood!"
"Wha...!?"
Everyone running with them fell silent when they heard that.
The idea was beyond all reason.
Amid the silence, Leo quietly asked,
"That demon's blood... where did you get it?"
"I don't know. But the results were marvelous! They lost their ability to speak, but their outward changes were minimal, and they gained special abilities! They can turn anyone they bite into the same sort of creature!"
Leo turned his gaze away from the old researcher, who spoke with delight.
As their name suggested, vampires favored blood. But the idea that someone whose blood was sucked would become a vampire was merely a superstition.
True vampires did not possess such an ability.
It was nothing more than a fabricated story meant to frighten children. And yet they had actually made it real.
Leo closed his eyes, unable to comprehend it. The more he thought about it, the more his head began to hurt.
"We named them fiends! If we send these fiends into enemy territory, the infection will spread explosively, and we can conquer it with ease!"
"...Duke Kruger. Who did you use that on?"
Leo was looking at Kruger, who was being carried along.
Even at the end, Kruger had maintained a mysterious composure.
Even though Kruger's victory was already out of reach.
"You can probably guess... Of course we used them on the southern nobles! My collaborators, naturally, as well as those who had been taken hostage!"
"...You're insane."
"Hahaha! That's just the spite of a loser! If the fiends aren't killed, disaster will spread throughout the Empire! But if they are killed, the southern nobles will bear a grudge! In time, that grudge will create a second me! Eventually, the Empire will be destroyed by that hatred!!"
Kruger continued laughing loudly.
Leo frowned and silently descended the castle stairs.
When they reached the entrance, many knights and Sieg were holding back several failures.
"Are you all right!? Get outside, quickly!"
"Sieg! I'm glad you're safe too!"
"Lady Fiene rescued the noble hostages! Thanks to that, quite a few knights were able to come over here, which made things easier for us!"
"That's good to hear! So are they the only ones who came out!?"
"What!? Are more of them still coming!?"
"There's another type!"
"I didn't see any!"
"Then good! Everyone, retreat to the main gate! Colonel, seal every route connecting the castle and the city!"
"Your Highness, you should escape first!"
"No... It doesn't look like we have that kind of time..."
A great many footsteps echoed from deep within the underground levels.
Hearing the vibrations, Leo urged Lars to hurry.
"Hurry!"
"Damn it! Understood! Seal the castle!"
Lars gave his men orders and began sealing all four gates separating the castle from the city.
Meanwhile, Leo established a position in front of the main gate.
"It's useless! We've released all the monsters underground! Countless monsters are going to pour out!"
"Shut up! From what I've seen, they approach any moving human! Colonel, keep everyone near the main gate without letting anyone get separated!"
"Understood!"
Nelbe Ritter and the knights present gathered together.
In total, around six hundred people assembled in front of the main gate.
"Were Fiene-san and the others able to get outside...?"
"Hey, hey, is this really the time to feel relieved? We've lost our escape route!"
"We could escape by jumping down from the gate, but they probably won't wait for everyone to get out."
"Anyone who wants to escape may do so. But someone has to hold them back. As long as we're here, the enemy won't get outside. Fiene-san should be evacuating the civilians during that time."
No one fled after hearing Leo's words. The knights who had remained in the first place had been prepared to sacrifice their lives here.
Some were knights of the Kruger ducal house, while others served different nobles. They had made this their place of atonement. Of course, there were also those who had not made that choice. But even those people had acted together with Fiene.
Meanwhile, the fiends showed no sign of emerging from the castle.
They were attacking the knights of the Kruger ducal house who had been too slow to escape.
"If their abilities are as we heard, that means every knight who remained in the castle has become a fiend..."
"Duke Kruger, how many knights were in the castle?"
"Heh... Two thousand, or thereabouts."
"If five hundred were cut down and five hundred joined us, that means the remaining thousand became fiends. What is their combat ability like?"
"I-it only increases slightly. That must be because the demon blood absorbed the vampire blood and underwent a major transformation..."
"Even a slight increase is more than enough to make them a threat."
A demon had not possessed a vampire; rather, the two kinds of blood had been combined and injected into humans.
The fact that the people who received the injections had not died was a miracle in itself.
Leo wondered if the two potent bloods had repelled one another as he gazed silently at the now-quiet castle.
A man slowly emerged from it. He wore fine clothing. He was probably a southern noble. But he staggered as he walked, like a sick man.
When he lifted his head, the strangeness became even clearer.
His eyes were rolled back so that only the whites showed. A chill ran down Leo's spine at the sight.
But the fiend did not immediately come toward Leo and the others.
It waited for a large number of failures to emerge from the castle, then sent them in first.
"Is it commanding them!?"
"W-we received no report of anything like that!"
The old researcher panicked.
Realizing the situation had become troublesome, Leo had them form a semicircle with their backs to the gate.
The failures charged into them.
"Hold them back!"
"Your Highness! You must retreat, even if you go alone!"
"We didn't come here so we could retreat!"
"But we have no way to deal with the fiend waiting inside the castle! If we engage it directly, we'll suffer casualties too!"
If that happened, the number of fiends would never decrease.
They would have to annihilate them with three times as many troops, or at the very least twice as many.
That was what Lars thought.
But Leo thought differently.
"I have a plan..."
"What!? If you have one, then say it already!"
Sieg muttered that while fighting the failures.
The knights were fighting desperately too, but they were struggling. If the fiends surged in, many people could be killed.
"This is only a supposition, but... if the demon blood absorbed the vampire blood... then they should be similar to humans possessed by demons."
"That may be true, but..."
"Then perhaps holy magic can purify them."
Holy magic that could destroy demonic beings was highly advanced.
But that also made its effects unmistakable.
"Those deeply possessed by demons have bodies that are judged to be demonic as well... But if the blood itself is weaker, perhaps we can destroy only that blood and save them."
"That is far too reckless! We don't even know if it will work! And if it does, what happens if it only removes the demon blood? We'll create a huge number of failures!"
"What do you think?"
Leo asked the old researcher nearby.
The old researcher looked reluctant to answer, but when Leo placed his right hand on his sword, he replied hurriedly.
"Th-that shouldn't happen... The demon blood and vampire blood were mixed together, so if the demon blood disappears, they should return to being ordinary humans... I-I don't want you to try it, but..."
"There you have it."
"Don't make it sound so simple... To purify every fiend in the castle, you need holy magic with a wide area of effect. If my memory is correct, Your Highness is the only person here capable of using advanced holy magic."
"Yes. I was planning to do it myself from the beginning."
"It's far too reckless! Holy magic with such a wide area of effect can only be used by a master-level mage! I've heard many stories of mages who used magic beyond their abilities, had their magic power drained, and died! I cannot allow such recklessness! In that case, give us the order! We will annihilate them without fail!"
"Compared to the risk of Nelbe Ritter turning into fiends... I think this gamble is better. If it succeeds, many people can be saved. Even if it fails, we may still be able to resolve this situation."
"If it fails, you could die! Even if you don't, you could become unable to move in this danger zone! Please understand how important your own life is!"
Lars desperately tried to persuade Leo.
Sieg agreed with Lars.
"I agree with the colonel. If you're alive, you can mobilize the southern knights, or even an army. But if you die here, there'll be no one left who can resolve this situation."
"I understand what you're saying... But I don't want to throw away this chance to save everyone. Besides, if even one fiend escapes from here, the infection will surely spread throughout the Empire. Even if I survive, this situation won't end. Not unless we act now."
Leo had already set aside any concern for his own survival.
His thoughts were focused solely on how to hold them back here.
Seeing the resolve in his eyes, Lars regretted how naive he had been.
He had assumed Leo would flee if the worst came to pass. But Leo had no concept of waiting for the worst to come. To him, there were only two choices: act now, or not act at all.
Seeing that resolve, Lars gritted his teeth and declared,
"If you sense that your life is in danger, stop at once. I will cut them all down and resolve this myself."
"Thank you, Colonel."
"...His Highness is beginning preparations for a great spell! Everyone, concentrate on defense! Don't let him suffer even the slightest scratch!!"
Nelbe Ritter and the knights rallied at Lars's command.
Seeing how dependable they were, Leo began preparing his magic.
Meanwhile, Sieg muttered beside Lars in exasperation.
"He's an idiot, for an imperial prince..."
"I agree."
"...If it comes to that, I'll drag him away by force. Understood?"
"Leave it to me. I made a promise to Prince Arnold... I will stake my life to buy him that time."
Lars gripped a sword in each hand and steeled his resolve.
At that moment, the sound of a whistle echoed through the area.
It was a sound that no one present could hear.
But someone had definitely heard it.