ALL NOVEL Chapter 192
―It was the Empire’s Third Princess and her Attending Physician! Applause!
The lights went out, and Acella and I finally escaped the gazes of the people.
With no more reason to hesitate, I grabbed Acella’s arm and we ran.
[No. 073: Vampire’s Night 74% → 81%]
Over there, they’re moving steadily. They’re full of thoughts about attacking.
‘It would be nice to subdue Jinzou here.’
It’s a place filled with powerful people, but we’re in a situation where ambush is unavoidable, which is disadvantageous. If we lose the alliance’s fighting power, it will be our loss.
“Lars, what’s wrong?”
Acella, who had calmed down a bit, asked me.
“It’s the Demon Race. They’ll attack soon.”
Acella’s eyes narrowed.
“Your guts are commendable. You seem to be overestimating your own strength, targeting a place where the heroes of the continent have gathered.”
“On the contrary, it’s the perfect opportunity.”
Acella ordered the knight escort who had joined us.
“Wendel, inform the Commander of the Knights to prepare the troops. The Moonlight Palace will go into wartime status. What about the other palaces?”
“The situation has been conveyed to Mokhwi Palace and the Kingdom, but the others remain unconfirmed.”
“Lars, what’s that?”
As we were heading toward the balcony, Acella stopped and pointed to one side of the first floor.
A group of distinguished guests had just entered from outside.
The way they rolled their eyes and drooled wasn’t normal.
They were Jinzou’s infected minions.
“Tsk, too late.”
Before I finished my words, the minions spread out and rushed at random people.
They started biting at whoever was near them, whether it was the attendants who were trying to greet them or warriors who had their backs turned.
“Ugh!”
“What are you doing!”
Though chaos erupted at the entrance, it would take time for the commotion to reach the crowd in the assembly hall.
“Give it to me.”
As Acella gave the short command, the escort knights handed over the prepared wand. Acella took a fighting stance.
“You must not fight aggressively. Just defend. If you get bitten by them, it won’t end well. You too, knights.”
“Got it.”
The knights of the Moonlight Palace lowered their armor, ensuring there were no gaps in their skin. Tanya took off her helmet too.
“I will provide escort until we can escape.”
We hurried along. The area below quickly transformed into chaos. Warriors who sensed the anomaly recognized the minions as enemies one by one and engaged in combat.
—KWAANG!!
A single infected minion flew towards me and crashed into the ground. A warrior had sent it flying in the heat of battle.
Suddenly, the minion twisted its neck and fixed its white eyes on me.
“SHAAARK!”
Its protruding fangs were momentarily intimidating.
—KWAJIK!
The ice spear shot by Acella pierced through the minion’s body and pinned it to the ground.
“Let’s hurry.”
We moved forward while the minion squirmed.
Acella’s cold eyes.
When did she become this proficient in combat magic?
We turned the corner of the corridor and made for the second-floor terrace. Even if we jumped down from the second floor, we needed to get out of the building first.
“D-Don’t come any closer! Holy Knight!”
Before we knew it, the infection had spread, and minions had climbed up to the second floor. I witnessed the Pope, who had been in the VIP room, dash out in a frantic manner.
The Holy Knights swung their swords at the minions. Jinzou’s minions don’t stop attacking even when injured.
“Oh dear!”
The Pope fell in front of me, dropping something from his arms.
It was a container. The veil of the previous Saint that he had been excitedly showing off at the martial arts conference was inside.
“Out, let’s get outside first!”
The Pope and the cardinals surged out onto the terrace.
Hmm, this is convenient.
I quickly picked up the container and leaped out the door alongside Acella.
“Oh wow.”
Outside the assembly hall, the arena was almost in a wartime situation.
Jinzou’s minions had arrived en masse. They looked like ordinary citizens of the Kingdom or tourists.
The royal soldiers quickly responded, but in such an urgent situation, a proper defensive line hadn’t been established.
“What is all this?”
“The Demon Race, the vampire Jinzou’s minions. They bite humans to multiply.”
“W-Where on earth did those things come from?”
“We need to find and subdue the main body, but it’s going to be tricky when everyone is in a panic.”
“Main body? If we take that thing down, can we stop this situation?”
I nodded.
“Yes. Jinzou’s goal is likely to harm the distinguished guests and heroes in this assembly. The minions may look terrifying, but they’re no real threat as long as we’re careful of the infection.”
“Such dirty tactics.”
Tanya expressed her anger, gripping her sword handle tightly.
“They’re definitely going to use tricks. To use their abilities, the main body has to be nearby.”
“That means it’s likely to come looking for us in this assembly. Then we just have to subdue the main body.”
I started to worry if Acella was having any strange thoughts.
“Are you planning to fight?”
“I’m calculating the risk of losing a capable warrior against the possibility of completely resolving this situation. Which side should I lean towards?”
“Whichever it is, Royal Princess, stay safe as you’ve seen. His Majesty’s knights will soon join up with Mokhwi Palace.”
“Good means of assistance.”
Acella snapped her fingers.
“A hero is the one who should step up in a situation like this, right?”
Acella walked back inside the terrace and stood on the balcony.
As she momentarily gazed at the chaotic first floor, she drew a large magic circle on the ceiling of the banquet hall.
—PERUUNG!!
Gorgeous fireworks erupted. The people in the assembly hall focused their attention on Acella.
Seizing the opportunity, she shouted in a charismatic voice.
“O heroes of the continent! The festival is over! It’s time for war against the Demon Race!”
One by one, everyone there felt as though Acella was looking directly into their eyes.
“There is only one enemy, the powerful vampire Jinzou! Be careful of your wounds. Show no mercy. Utilize all your abilities to subdue the threat!”
Acella pointed her wand at a specific spot.
There, Lishe, clearly in a state of confusion, was trying to save both sides as she couldn’t bear to kill the civilians who had become minions.
“Hero! Come into the light and be the guiding light! Lead from the front! Who else would vanquish the Demon Race if not you?”
Lishe, shaken back to reality by Acella’s words, nodded and dashed towards me, gripping the Holy Sword.
Heroes symbolize hope. The warriors in the hall regained their courage upon seeing Lishe.
“Teacher! Are you safe?”
Lishe immediately sought me as soon as she arrived. Acella frowned at her attitude.
“I’m fine. You weren’t bitten, were you?”
“No. By the way, what happens to those who are bitten? Will they return to normal if we defeat that Demon Race?”
“Not exactly. The infection occurs through blood.”
“Is there really… no other way?”
It was just like Lishe to ask that. She had been rolling around down below to save those she had no connection with.
…Come to think of it, when I did a blood test on the escort knights, strange substances were detected.
“Diagnosis.”
I decided to use it on the minions.
―――――――――――
· Status: Infected by disease
· Injury: Mutated rabies
· Location: Blood-borne pathogen
―――――――――――
So, Jinzou’s method of creating minions was through infecting them with pathogens.
“Rabies.”
Once contracted, it inevitably leads to death. It spreads when an animal’s host bites a person.
“Normally, rabies has an incubation period, but this one is instant. It completely robs a person of their reasoning, so it’s quite a mutated strain.”
Jinzou is the primary host of this disease.
In other words, that thing has this pathogen crawling all over its body.
“But it seems fine. It was controlling the minions too.”
That means it has antibodies in its body.
…If it kills the pathogens with powerful antibodies…
“Treatment might be possible.”
“Really?”
“However, we’ll need to approach Jinzou’s main body and directly extract its blood.”
“So I just have to defeat that Demon Race. Got it.”
Lishe’s face began to brighten just before KWAJIK, a sound that pierced through the air assaulted our ears.
“What nonsense are you spouting? Lars is going with me. You’re subduing the Demon Race by yourself. That’s why I called you.”
Acella poked Lishe’s chest with her finger and pushed her away.
“That’s true, but…”
Lishe timidly protested.
I checked the status window.
[No. 073: Vampire’s Night 81% → 62%]
I have to go to subdue Jinzou with Lishe here to reduce the chances of a bad ending.
“Commander.”
I gave Tanya a knowing glance. Tanya shook her head, apparently unhappy with the role she was assigned, but soon turned her body toward Acella.
“What? Tanya, wait a minute.”
Realizing how the situation was unfolding, Acella voiced her displeasure, but Tanya had already wrapped her arms around her waist.
I had entrusted the task of taking her to an escape point where the Imperial Army was located. With Tanya, a Swordmaster, with us, everything would be fine.
“Wait! If that’s the case, then I’ll go too. To that Jinzou or whatever!”
The moment Acella shouted at me.
“It’s an honor being found.”
With an unpleasant voice.
—KWAANG!!
A shock from the sky shattered the terrace. We landed on the first floor, on the street.
“Tanya!”
At my command, Tanya clicked her tongue and picked up Acella, breaking through to the front lines.
A powerful strike flew over my head. Just rolling out of the way before it hit me, CHAENG! Lishe’s sword blocked and deflected it.
“Wow, this is intense.”
I gazed at the enemy.
A knight armed with mid-armor bearing dried blood on his sword.
“Hey, you’re the one with something to say. Suddenly, a hero, huh?”
The knight shot a charming smile.
It was Jinzou. Controlling it.
“HAH!”
Lishe shouted and leaped toward Jinzou. Her elegant swordsmanship seemed poised to break through the armor, but—
—KARDUKE!
At the peak of her attack, the two metal blades skimmed past each other.
In a moment that could be called a battle of war, colorful sparks flew up.
“Don’t let your guard down, Lishe. Even if the one controlling it is pathetic, it’s still a Swordmaster!”
“Teacher, did you just call me Lishe?”
“Just slipped out. Look ahead!”
KWANG! The sound of two swords clashing was beyond belief. The impact was such that I was left momentarily stunned, causing goosebumps to rise.
I surveyed the surroundings.
Minions were swarming in the outer areas of the arena. A little distance away, the royal army was establishing a defensive line and fighting back.
“So, I need to locate the main body in this chaos, huh?”
It felt like looking for a needle in a haystack in the desert.
But there is a way.
I called for Lishe.
“Hero.”
“Yes?!”
Lishe barely responded, her waist bent like a shrimp as she parried Jinzou’s sword.
“Please call Charles.”