Chapter 94 | The Vampire Princess Later Drew the Holy Sword

The Northern Main Road became increasingly desolate after the second post station. The closer it got to the Black Tide contamination zone, the worse the terrain became.

The post station was reduced to a few half-collapsed earthen walls. Its well had run dry, and the stable's roof was half-caved in, rattling endlessly in the wind.

Esper did not stop here, as the stationmaster had long since evacuated.

Eladia had been here; a lingering trace of holy light remained. That was why she didn't stop.

“Ela—!”

The wind scattered her cry across the main road. There was no response.

“Hey, can you hear me? Another magic reaction identical to the previous one has appeared ahead. Two Rank Sevens. Fewer in number than before, but of higher quality.”

Noelle yawned, her voice slightly muffled as she added:

“Based on the aura pattern match, there's a high probability they're the two we saw in the corner of the guild. One is the woman with the harpoon gun, and the other is the white-haired guy carrying a greatsword. Their names are Eli and Jovian.”

Esper recalled what those two looked like.

Back then, Eli had been wearing dark gray leather armor, oiling a harpoon gun that was longer than she was tall in the corner. The whaling spears on her back were lined up in a row, each one impeccably maintained.

Jovian had leaned quietly by the window, a greatsword slung over his back. He had white hair, blue eyes, and a slender build.

“Their nicknames are 『The Beluga Hunter』 and 『The Azure Knight』 respectively.”

Puppets. Puppets again.

Just like Beast Mask, Remains, and Dinoman, they weren't the real deal, only replicated empty shells.

Esper didn't slow down. Instead, she quickened her pace.

No matter whose puppets they were, she would just cut them down.

Then, in the dead poplar forest ahead of the main road, something lit up.

Purple lightning exploded outward from between the tree trunks, and electric arcs crackled along the gravel and dead grass on the ground, kicking up a pungent, scorched smell.

A silver-blue figure dashed out from the lightning, moving so fast he left afterimages in the air.

Esper's pupils contracted. Winged King exploded into a mist of blood from behind her right shoulder, violently pushing her body half a step to the left.

The figure brushed past the exact spot where she had been standing.

Jovian landed on the ground, the dirt beneath his feet smoking from the residual electricity.

He held the incredibly long greatsword in one hand, resting it on his shoulder. Dense purple electric arcs wrapped around the blade, twisting and lashing at the surrounding air like the tentacles of a living creature.

He had no face, but a layer of fine, scale-like patterns emerged on his skin, crawling from the back of his sword-wielding hand up his arm, and then covering his entire face.

With every flash of lightning, the patterns on the scales sank a fraction deeper into his flesh.

“『The Azure Knight』 Jovian. His greatsword is equipped with the Rune of 『Thunder』, which allows him to consume mana to harness the power of the lightning element. In addition to energy damage, it can also cause paralysis.

And his gauntlets are equipped with the Rune of 『Erosion』, which converts the energy passing through them into an invasive force, making the energy even more destructive.

If he uses both runes simultaneously, every attack will possess both the paralyzing effect of lightning and the enhancing effect of erosion, directly causing hard-to-repair damage to whatever he hits.

Oh, and that's not all. He can also channel lightning into his body to stimulate his faint dragonkin bloodline in exchange for extreme speed.”

“...Dragonkin bloodline?”

“Exactly. Dragonkin, and a mixed-blood from the Wild Hunt's lineage at that. Passed down from who knows how many generations back. It's an extremely thin layer of blood that's usually impossible to detect.

Word is he was initially ostracized and criticized for revealing his bloodline in public, but after he rose to a Rank S adventurer, all those criticisms vanished.”

“...”

“And then, because his bloodline is stimulated, parts of his body will transform into a dragon's body.

In theory, channeling lightning into oneself would cause self-harm. But because he possesses that faint dragonkin blood, he has the blessing of the Wild Hunt King, giving him innate lightning affinity and lightning resistance.”

Noelle's speaking speed was slightly faster than before.

“One more thing: both your blood armor and Storm are types that can be penetrated by erosion. Try not to block. Evade instead.”

“Understood.”

Esper held the Holy Sword at her side, the cyan storm on the blade ready to erupt.

A barely audible whistle cut through the air from deep within the poplar forest on the left. Then, a giant whaling spear burning with pale-white flames whistled out of the shadows of the canopy.

Esper sidestepped, dodging it.

Then, a second whaling spear followed closely behind.

Eli's figure was faintly visible in the forest, the giant harpoon gun in her hands already reloaded.

“『The Beluga Hunter』 Eli. Her most famous feat was leading a fleet to hunt down a Rank Seven magical beast, the white whale, when she was only at Rank Four.

Her harpoon gun is equipped with a rune called 『Hunt』. Once a harpoon hits an enemy, she can use 『Hunt』 to pull them right in front of her. But... that wasn't the most terrifying thing revealed by her attack just now.”

Esper dodged the second whaling spear.

“...There's more?”

“Then we have to mention her familiar. A summoned beast obtained by forming a covenant with a dying magical beast.

『Pale Familiar』—the white whale, Moby Dick. It can spew a pale tide that resembles blazing fire.

Anything caught in the pale tide will drown all prey beneath a deluge that inherits its power. In other words, anyone wounded by a whaling spear coated in that tide will suffer the piercing of the harpoon at every single moment.”

“...That sounds manageable.”

“This is a familiar that can only be obtained after binding it to her soul. But this copy is clearly just a puppet, isn't it?”

Esper's breath hitched for a moment.

“...Dinoman's armor, Remains' old books, Jovian's bloodline, Eli's familiar. If they were just ordinary puppets, how could they possibly inherit these four things...”

Noelle's voice grew deep, losing its previous laziness and casualness, replaced by the stubbornness and seriousness befitting a scholar.

“...Who cares about all that? Let's just take them out first.”

“Yeah... go for it.”

Eli loaded a third whaling spear into the harpoon gun chamber, aiming it at Esper's chest. The flame-like tide on the tip of the spear still flickered in the wind.

Szzzt.

By combining lightning and erosion, Jovian's electrical discharge took on a deeper, dark purple hue, forming a stark contrast with the pale tide on Eli's spearhead.

The two puppets moved simultaneously. Jovian charged from the front, his greatsword raised overhead, the air crackling and popping along his path.

Meanwhile, Eli closed the distance from the flank, the harpoon gun in her hands poised like a drawn bow.

Two Crimson Pierces shot from Esper's palms. One shot toward Jovian's blade, while the other aimed at the chamber of Eli's harpoon gun.

When Jovian's blade was hit, the wrapping lightning instantly exploded, dragging the Crimson Pierce into the electrical glow and eroding it to nothingness in the blink of an eye.

Eli pulled the trigger while simultaneously unleashing the pale tide ahead of time, causing it to collide with the Crimson Pierce in mid-air and completely exhaust it through the piercing force of the whaling spear.

The actual whaling spear, however, had already shot toward Esper.

“...Annoying.”

Esper readjusted her positioning, barely dodging the whaling spear.

Her combat instincts temporarily suppressed the anxiety in her mind about rescuing Eladia.

Crimson Scale Surge still surged within her body.

A wild wind rose from the ground, carrying countless fine cyan electric arcs that expanded and diffused outward from around her, uprooting the gravel and dead grass on the main road and sweeping them into the air.

She didn't plan to blow the two away directly with Storm; after all, Rank Seven warriors wouldn't be overturned so easily.

However, the wind pressure of Storm and the interference of the electric arcs could disrupt their movements.

Esper charged forward with her Holy Sword, while Jovian rushed headlong into the storm.

Eli took the opportunity to retreat, putting distance between herself and Esper to reload.

Jovian stepped forward and thrust his greatsword, the lightning on the blade splitting into several branches that lashed toward Esper.

Winged King gathered the blood mist to sweep her to the side, while her Holy Sword drew an arc in the air, slicing down all the pursuing lightning bolts.

She couldn't fight both at the same time. She had to eliminate one first.

Esper's vampire physiology allowed her to convert mana and blood into each other.

After gaining the recognition of 『Blood』, if a deficit ever occurred in her body's blood, it would automatically begin to gush forth to fill the void.

In other words, a battle of attrition favored her.

As for Jovian, his extreme speed was obtained by channeling lightning into his body, stimulating his faint Dragon Ancestor bloodline.

Despite his innate lightning resistance, the continuous damage would eventually take a toll on his condition.

That meant the longer the dragon-armor state dragged on, the more self-damage Jovian would suffer.

As long as she kept her distance and let him wear himself down, the battle would swing more and more in Esper's favor.

But Eli's presence was specifically meant to prevent this. She used ranged attacks to block any escape routes, allowing Jovian to maintain pressure up close.

In that case, she had to take down Eli first.

Esper pulled back her Holy Sword and turned toward Eli.

—Eli had already fallen.

Accompanied by the sorrowful wail of a white whale.

“Ha, she was so focused on fighting you that she didn't pay any attention to openings elsewhere.”

One of Achilles' curved claws was embedded in the harpoon gun, while the other was dug deep into Eli's neck, which was now being swallowed by the mist pouring from the wound.

The whaling spear that was just being loaded was now ten paces away from Eli, stabbed diagonally into the dirt, the pale fire on its tip still slowly burning.