Crimson Match Notification
The Eighth Crimson Match will be held under orders of Her Majesty the Empress.
Details:
• Date: July 1, from 9:00 AM to noon.
• Place: Dark Core Zone – Metrio Battlefield
• Participants:
Supreme Commander Petrose Calamaria Supreme Commander Helldeus Heaven
Supreme Commander Flöte Mascarail
Supreme Commander Delphyne
Supreme Commander Odilon Metal
Supreme Commander Sakuna Memoir
Supreme Commander Terakomari Gandesblood
Rules:
• Every commander's army will consist of up to 100 soldiers.
• The main objective of the match is gaining control of the Ruby at the top of the old castle on the battlefield.
• The participant who holds the Ruby at timeout will be declared the winner.
• Placement of the other participants will be decided by number of points.
• Points will be granted as follows:
Kill a soldier from an enemy army: 1 point.
Kill a Crimson Lord: 50 points.
Additional Remarks:
• The Crimson Lord who places last will be dismissed from their post.
• The winner will receive a reward from Her Majesty the Empress.
• Any objections may be submitted to Flöte Mascarail.
• No objections are being accepted at this time.
★
The notification posted on the Crimson Tower's bulletin board naturally caused scandal in the Imperial Army. The last Crimson Match had been held seven years ago, when the previous generation's great hero, Yulinne Gandesblood, was a participant. And this new Crimson Match wasn't just for
show—the loser would have to resign. It was no wonder the vampire soldiers were riled up about this, but even civilians were getting excited speculating over who would win (unofficial polls placed Petrose Calamaria and
Terakomari Gandesblood at the top). Even foreign soldiers and politicians had their eyes on the event, mainly an opportunity to check the extent of Mulnite's military might. The competition was no longer nationwide news—
it had global reach.
"We're going up against the Crimson Lords, huh? Couldn't ask for better opponents!"
It was the day after the Crimson Council. One week after his meaningless death in the battle against Lapelico, Yohann Helders's head had finally regenerated. He had showed up for work in high spirits, and there he'd heard about the Crimson Match.
"I'll burn them all! And that goes for Terakomari, too—"
"Hah! I don't think the guy who bit the dust against that monkey can stand a chance against the Crimson Lords," Bellius Hund Cerbero cynically rebuked.
They happened to meet at the Crimson Tower. Yohann was as annoyed as ever by the dog-man's wisecracks, and he didn't have the time to keep up with his drivel.
"Yeah, yeah. Say whatever you want. I'll keep on doing what I do—kill the enemy commander."
"Did they give you something weird to eat or what?"
Bellius gave him a strange glance.
Yohann had changed, in fact. He had realized his foolishness and helplessness after getting caught up in the whole Millicent Bluenight ordeal and was now a changed man. He couldn't stay the way he was and simply let that cocky Terakomari rescue him all the time. As a result, he'd softened a bit. Yes, it was all Terakomari's fault. All because she'd trampled on his dignity. He'd been furious when she burst in and said she was there to save him. She couldn't even use magic! Or hold a weapon! And yet she'd mustered all her courage to show up. Luckily, she didn't end up dead then, but things wouldn't go over that easily next time. Yohann couldn't bear to see her taking such risks. He needed to get stronger. He needed to burn away any enemy that dared attack her, so that she could stay safe and remain a Crimson Lord. He was determined. Resolute. Brushing that defeat against the Chimpanzee under the rug.
"Bellius, did Terakomari say anything about the Crimson Match?"
"No idea. I haven't seen her today."
"I'm sure she would say something like this: 'I'll kill every last one of them!'"
Then the stripped-tree dude appeared from out of the blue. Caostel Conto. Flöte Mascarail had killed him the other day quite easily, but he'd recovered quickly since the cause of death was blood loss.
As per usual, he wore the expression of a criminal concocting a scheme.
"Our commander is the strongest in history. She'll take the competition with but one snap of her fingers. The Crimson Match might have you picturing a free-for-all battle royale, but the truth is that it will end up as a mere massacre at the hands of Commander Terakomari Gandesblood."
"All Mulnite commanders are just as superb on the battlefield. Our commander might be strong, but I don't think it will be that easy."
"Sacrilege! Did you not see it with your own eyes, Bellius?! Her great power as she slaughtered that terrorist? Do you think any of the other Crimson Lords are capable of that?"
"Yeah, it's true that was incredible. I don't know how to describe it, except… It stood my hairs on end. I don't think the others can do something like that, no, but…"
Yohann didn't understand what they were talking about. Caostel noticed his frown and cackled.
"Oh, I'm sorry. You didn't get to see her, did you? Since you were dead and all."
"Hah? Did you hallucinate or something? Terakomari's wea—"
All of a sudden, Yohann's brain did some good work for once.
These guys were insane—they would mutiny as soon as they heard their boss was a wimpy vampire. He didn't understand why they thought otherwise, but if he really had her safety in mind, he ought to play along. And so, he said something that would have never left his lips a month ago:
"Hah! I know. Of course, I know! Terakomari is the strongest!"
In the end, I'm the only one who truly understands her, he thought, full of himself, as he looked on with pity at his colleagues.
"…Why are you staring at us like that?"
"Oh, nothing. Ignorance is bliss. Yup, this is for Terakomari's good."
"I've had enough. Could you please stop referring to the commander by her first name? Just hearing it makes me sick. I'm afraid I'll end up killing you for it one day."
"Go ahead and try. I'm not the same guy I used to be."
"Stop it, you two. We can't have infighting right before the Crimson Match," Bellius rebuked.
"I know, I know," Caostel sighed. "In any case, it's true that she is the strongest. None of the other six units have a shot at winning."
"Still, we shouldn't underestimate them."
"I'm well aware; that's why I'm gathering intel. From what I know, the biggest threat is the First Unit. Public opinion says Petrose Calamaria is the strongest Crimson Lord, so we should keep an eye on her."
"I see… What about the others?"
"I would like to meet Flöte Mascarail, though not because she's a threat to us. She must pay twice as hard…"
The two of them started discussing the other Crimson Lords. Yohann had no interest in that, so he turned to look at the training grounds. A troop was practicing loudly there, but it wasn't Komari's.
"Oh, that's the Sixth Unit. They changed commanders just a few days ago."
"They did? I didn't hear about it."
"You're just uninformed. Their new Crimson Lord is Sakuna Memoir, a sixteen-year-old girl. She has skin pale as snow and a face like an abandoned puppy's. She's quite lovely, actually; so lovely that I wanted to go lick her bare feet as soon as I saw her. But then I remembered that the commander is a billion times lovelier and reproved myself for that dark moment of betrayal."
"I don't care about your impressions, other than how strong she might be. Looking at this unit here… They seem a bit weird."
Something was unsettling about the Sixth Unit's training.
The men were screaming "LADY SAKUNA!" as they fought. Or was that supposed to be a battle cry? No, they were unmistakably shouting the name of their commander.
"FOR LADY SAKUNA!"
"PRAISED BE LADY SAKUNA!"
"YOU CALL YOURSELVES LADY SAKUNA'S SOLDIERS?!"
Their fondness of her was incredible. Not that the Seventh Unit had the right to say anything about them.
"Come to think of it, I heard the commander was searching for the terrorist alongside Sakuna Memoir."
"Oh, yes, that thing about the serial murders in the Crimson Tower. I haven't yet gotten word of the culprit being captured… The case seems to be fading from conversation. There haven't been any victims since the commander's father was assassinated, and then there was the Crimson Council, and now there's the Crimson Match. Those murders are getting left in the dust."
"But Sakuna Memoir's honor still hinges on them catching the terrorist, remember? She's the only Crimson Lord who got killed."
"That is true… Let's ask the commander about it later."
Just as the conversation drew to a close, someone approached them from behind.
"H-hey. Are you from the Seventh Unit?"
All three turned around; none of them were familiar with the vampire they found there, but they could tell from the uniform that he belonged to the Mulnite Imperial Army.
"Yes, why?" Caostel asked.
The man hesitated for a bit until finally saying, "I'm from the Sixth Unit… What do you think of them over there?"
"Their practice? They seem motivated, which is good."
"That's not right, damn it!"
The man's abrupt outburst took Caostel off guard. He looked extremely tired and agitated.
"They've lost their minds. It's like they're entirely different people now with all the 'Lady Sakuna' this, 'Lady Sakuna' that."
"I'm sorry, I don't understand what you're trying to get at. Isn't that just because she's popular?"
"That's what's wrong. That girl was at the bottom of the totem pole—just a foot soldier no one cared about. But now that she's Crimson Lord, everyone loves her."
"I suppose that sort of thing happens from time to time. Anyway, we're busy, so—"
The man grabbed Caostel's shoulders and locked him in place.
"Listen. I happened to be dead on the day she became commander. So I wasn't there when it all went down. I don't know what happened then, but I do know one thing: As soon as I revived and went back to my troop, everyone in the Sixth Unit had lost their goddamn minds."
Yohann was fed up with the guy. He couldn't believe the story.
"C'mon, man… Aren't you the weird one here? Stop your grumbling and go train or something. Look at how hard your mates are working."
"Too hard. It makes me sick. Please… You've gotta hear me out. Everyone else has gone insane. Just look! They're shouting her name while killing each other, day and night! Don't you think that's strange?"
Caostel crossed his arms. Bellius also gave a suspicious glance to the Sixth Unit.
"…Could it be mind control magic?"
"That can't be. Spells can only last so long. It's been, what, two weeks since Sakuna Memoir was appointed? To keep them under the effects of that sort of incantation for so long, she'd need to be one of the greatest mages in
history."
The man clutched his hair and hunkered down.
"I'm not crazy. There're other people who know something's off. Their families. Please… I'm so scared of Sakuna Memoir. She's no regular Crimson Lord. There's something else to her. Something extremely dangerous… What can I do?"
No one could answer the man's question.
The Sixth Unit and Sakuna Memoir… What could they be hiding?
Yohann grimaced. Something bad was coming; he could feel it in his gut.