Gustav:
-"Mr. Valorant! What happened?" he asked.
Valorant:
-"Unfortunately, he managed to escape."
Gustav:
-"What do we do now?" he inquired.
Valorant:
-"We need to find him quickly. Otherwise, he will be a big problem for us."
Gustav:
-"Lord Alaris shouldn't have gone far. It hasn't been long since he left."
Valorant:
-"I'm surprised he was able to escape from here. Suna and Anna were at the door. They couldn't have missed him."
Gustav:
-"Who's lying in the hallway?!" he exclaimed.
Valorant:
-"That's a body, but it's not complete; more precisely, it's not the main one. If we can find the main body, it will be easier to destroy him."
During this time, Anna began to regain her composure. Fear had almost left her. Listening to Valorant and Gustav's conversation made her feel as if they were speaking about Alaris as if he were just an object. Hearing their words made Anna angry.
Anna:
-"What are you saying? What happened to my grandfather? Explain everything to me!" she yelled at Valorant, demanding answers.
Valorant:
-"We don't have time for this. We need to quickly find Alaris's main body and destroy it, or we need to leave here immediately."
Anna:
-"If you don't explain everything to me, I'm not going anywhere. Tell me everything right now! What happened to my grandfather? Why do they want to kill me?"
Gustav:
-"Mr. Valorant, perhaps it's better that we tell her."
Valorant:
-"We'll just waste time with that."
Gustav:
-"After all, Lord Alaris shouldn't have gone far. I will look for him. You explain everything to Anna."
Valorant:
-"Check every corner of the house so he has nowhere to escape. I will explain to her what has happened."
Gustav:
-"Understood." He said, and then he dashed out of the room.
Valorant:
-"Listen to me, Anna. Until Gustav returns, I will tell you everything I know. It's best if you sit down." He began to share what he knew about Alaris.
Valorant, many years ago, had just turned sixteen when he was accepted into the Kronos Academy. His family was one of the prominent families in the 'Fire' kingdom, so gaining admission to the academy was not an issue for him. After some time, Valorant met Alaris, who was from the royal family, and they quickly became close friends. However, they hadn't seen each other since graduating from the academy. After that, Valorant continued on his path, and over time he joined the department fighting demons in the 'Fire' kingdom. His abilities and determination paid off, and the general at that time took a liking to him, eventually adopting him as his successor. After a while, as his rank increased and opportunities grew, he encountered Alaris again. But this time, Alaris had changed a bit—not just in appearance but also in the aura and other qualities he exuded.
One day, while walking inside the palace, Valorant happened to run into Alaris in one of the palace corridors. Alaris was overjoyed to see him.
Alaris:
-"Oh, my dear friend, Valorant, how are you?"
Valorant:
-"Good afternoon, Prince Alaris."
Alaris:
-"Oh, drop the formalities! We're friends. When you see me, you don't have to greet me like that. Just call me 'my dear friend."
Valorant:
-"But I can't do that."
Alaris:
-"Why not? I'm giving you permission! The next time you see me, call me 'my dear friend.'"
Valorant:
-"Alright, I will."
Alaris:
-"Then I'm off. I have many things to do. Take care." He then left.
After that, strange rumors began to spread about Alaris. It was said that Alaris had dabbled in dark magic, and this news reached many places. As a result, he was removed from the list of candidates for the throne. In his place, his brother Viktor was put on the throne. This didn't disappoint Alaris. His father declared him a duke and granted him lands to govern as he wished. Alaris came into immense riches.
However, many years earlier, the demon king of the 'Fire' kingdom, one of the five main commanders known by the title "Duke of Hell," Astarot, attacked. His assault caused widespread destruction in many cities in the northern part of the kingdom. At that time, Viktor was on the throne, and Valorant had been promoted to general. As the war reached its peak, Viktor was killed in battle. This caused the morale of the soldiers to plummet, resulting in a significant portion of the army being defeated. Because of this, the 'Fire' kingdom began to lose in numbers against the enemy. Nevertheless, Valorant single-handedly defeated the enemy general, despite sustaining severe injuries during the battle. After Astarot's death, the demons should have retreated. However, that did not happen. The demons continued to penetrate deeper into the kingdom. Valorant, due to his injuries, was unable to participate much in the battles. Seeing this, Alaris decided, "No matter what, we must win this war," and he resolved to use dark magic.
There are many types of dark magic, and at that time, Alaris chose to use Soulless Necromancy. Soulless Necromancy is the practice of controlling the dead without summoning their spirits, using only the knowledge they possessed during their lifetime stored in their brains. It resembles puppeteering, but in this case, the living dead use their minds to move freely and carry out the commands given by the necromancer.
Valorant:
-"Thus, the 'Fire Kingdom' emerged victorious in the war. No one was told that Alaris used dark magic. Those who knew about it were ordered to keep silent. While using the dark magic, Alaris forgot one thing. The person who uses dark magic must pay the price for it. The greater the dark magic, the greater the cost. What is happening now is the beginning of that payment. The dark magic aims to collect the souls equal to the number of dead using Alaris's body during the war. That's my opinion."
Upon hearing this, Anna found it hard to believe what was being said. This was evident on her face as well.
Anna held her head with her right hand:
-"I can't believe this. For so long, people have stayed away from our family, many are afraid of me. That's why most people have never liked our family because of what my grandfather did."
Suna:
-"Anna, this is all…" But Anna interrupted her.
Regaining her composure, Anna said:
-"So, all of this was done to protect us, wasn't it? I understand that now."
Valorant:
-"Yes, not just to protect you, but the whole kingdom."
Anna:
-"Then I have no right to be angry with them." She fell silent.
Valorant:
-"He sacrificed himself for his country."
Suna:
-"Then why did he attack Anna?"
Valorant:
-"I told you, there is a cost to dark magic. The cost of Alaris using dark magic doesn't stop at just possessing his body. The more people's bodies he uses in battle, the greater the price he has to pay. I don't know what Alaris intends to use his body for, but one of the costs is definitely to kill Anna."
Anna:
-"So my grandfather knew all of this. He understood that after his death, someone would try to kill me."
Valorant:
-"Yes, that's why he called me to protect you. After his death, I needed to take you to Ygdrasil immediately."
Anna:
-"Why to the elf forest?"
Valorant:
-"It is not easy to enter the elf forest. They have concealed themselves within it, and an invisible barrier protects that place. Any creature attempting to cross the barrier is eliminated."
Anna:
-"If we leave, what will happen to them? The living dead will take over everything."
Valorant:
-"That won't happen. No matter how powerful dark magic is, it cannot exist for long without a source."
Anna:
-"What kind of source?"
Valorant:
-"It must be a body. When I killed Alaris, I destroyed the part of him that served as a source—his heart. That's why his body died."
Anna:
-"But you said he escaped; how did that happen?"
Valorant:
-"Because he used soulless necromancy, he can move through bodies. If there is a dead body, he can transfer into it."
Anna:
-"But there are no bodies here!"
Valorant:
-"I'm surprised too. How could he transfer into another body without one?"
Suddenly, Gustav rushed into the room.
Gustav:
-"Mr. Valorant! We have a problem."
Valorant:
-"What kind of problem now?"
Gustav:
-"Look outside!" he said.
Valorant and Gustav ran out of the room, followed closely by Anna and Suna. Valorant raced down the hallway toward a window that looked out into the yard. He pulled aside the curtain blocking the window and looked out.
Valorant:
-"Gustav, was there a cemetery nearby?" he asked, fear visible on his face.
Gustav was beside Valorant.
-"No, but there was a battlefield from many years ago."
Anna and Suna arrived a bit later and heard Anna's question.
Anna:
-"Why are you asking that?"
Anna couldn't see anything behind Gustav and Valorant.
Valorant:
-"We need to leave this place quickly," he said.
Anna didn't understand what was happening outside. She managed to get to the window and looked down from the second floor. The street was covered in snow, which allowed for a clear view of the surroundings. As Anna gazed down, she saw a large number of skeletons entering through the door. In front of them stood a figure dressed in a long black cloak, a person covered in black from head to toe. In his hand, he held a grimoires that emitted dark ink-like light. The grimoire was channeling dark magic.