Tales of the Old World Demon Lord

Chapter 31 – Siege of Vertloch Snowdown

[Eternum Calendar 1971]

Vertloch Snowdown, the pure city of snow white had become tainted by a dreadful hellfire of red. What was supposed to have been pale cold skies had now etched onto it a massive and eerie magic circle that showered upon the city its horrifying red gaze. With the gentle falling snow now dyed in with the colors of death, perhaps for the first time in the town’s history it could truly live up to its name as a ‘demonic’ city.

Instant fear and panic crept into the hearts and minds of the townspeople. Though no one could truly prove it was so, they had all heard stories about it. The nightmarish ‘Blood Ritual’ that had once taken the lives of entire cities for arbitrary and horrendous causes. Was it now their turn to face the wrath of this disgustingly abhorrent skill?

They didn’t want to die, of course no one ever did. In fear of their own lives some of the populace had tried to flee from the city however that had proved to be a much worse alternative. Surrounding the town was a massive horde of Crystalline Goblins that blocked off every possible escape path. To stay in town meant that they’d eventually be killed off in some horrific manner and fed to the Blood Ritual, but running away they’d simply be slaughtered on the spot.

Their final fears had been ascertained; riding a massive cloud of dust from within the shadows of the demonic forests, the massive armies of Crystalline Goblins started on their warpath towards Vertloch Snowdown. With a unity that even the most veteran and hardened armies couldn’t accomplish, these mere Goblins marched forward with a singular purpose: complete annihilation.

With the disgusting yellow hand of their imminent and inevitable demise, the populace ran back and locked themselves into their own homes. Hoping- that somehow if they just laid low and covered their ears this entire nightmare would simply ‘end’. Though this act would only ever delay their deaths, they prepared their weapons in order to fight anything that came through their doors, knowing that all of it was hopeless.

In that instance of hopelessness, a loud voice that rang throughout the entirety of the small city had convinced them otherwise. The voice of their leader, Mayor Dalton, using special magic had enchanted his voice to reach every citizen of his town.

“My citizens of Snowdown, there are no need for fear! Stay close to your family and hold them tightly. I have placed a large scale protection magic on all of your homes; so keep your doors locked and do not come out no matter what happens!”

Yet simply telling people to not be afraid was a completely useless endeavor without any sort of guarantee of safety. This was a fact that was well understood by both the Mayor and Morgant, which was why the introduction of a third party was necessary.

As the Mayor bravely announced to his entire town, a gigantic domed barrier made of hexagonal patterns had been erected, shielding the town. As the hordes of Crystalline Goblins collapsed onto this shield they were violently repelled away. All entrances to the town had been tightly sealed away, but this also subsequently meant that the people had been locked away.

Even from within their locked homes they could see the effectiveness of the barrier protecting their city. That was without a doubt since they weren’t already dead by this point. It was obvious that a shield of such proportions couldn’t have been the Mayor’s doing, it was too grand scale for such a feeble old man. However this was just the necessary boost of confidence that they had needed in order to once more place their trust onto their leader. The best that they could do was to make sure that they did not get in his way and offer any assistance that was necessary.

…

At the center of the town was a small congress of key players crucial to dealing with this crisis. Mayor Dalton, Sipher, Este, Enrich, Francisco and finally…

“Lord Erendel De Signa, I am eternally gratefully that you have graced our town with your protection.”

The former demon lord, Erendel De Signa, was indeed the ‘third party’ that Morgant had ‘called’ in for a favor. It was only with this great demon’s support that Morgant felt at ease leaving the safety of his hometown behind. For Enrich and Francisco who had already been aware of the former demon lord’s presence they weren’t too shocked to see him take an active role in this endeavor, however for Sipher and Este it came as a completely out of left field surprise.

“There is no need to feel that way, because in truth I did not have any intentions of interfering. I am by merely an observer to this continent, a ‘former’; it is my daughter, the 157th Demon Lord of Vertloch, that currently possesses the ultimate authority on the affairs of this continent.”

“Demon lord?!”

Este interrupted with a loud and surprised voice. She was well aware of the existences of such beings known as ‘Demon Lords’, almost every single person alive did. However just as with ‘Gods’ or ‘Heroes’, their existences were so fleetingly rare that she never thought she would ever have the honor of being in their audience.

“Actually, to be exact he is the ‘Former’ Demon Lord of Vertloch. The person who currently holds that esteemed position is the daughter, Astaroth De Signa.”

Enrich calmly explained with a smile.

“B- but, eh? Why is such an amazing person even bothering to help this small town? Just what exactly is going on?”

Though Este may have spoken in a tone of voice which suggested that Erendel did not care for the towns that were once under his employ, it was simply untrue. That being said, the Northern Demon Continent, ‘Vertloch’ was an extremely large one. What Este truly wanted to ask was why the former demon lord was in such a convenient position to immediately interfere in this crisis. The only logical conclusion, other than pure coincidence, was that there was someone or thing that drew him to this place before hand.

Erendel closed his eyes as shifted back his concentration on maintaining the barrier. He answers her enquiry with a vague answer.

“Hmph, though I may now just simply be a ‘former’, but even then to go so far as to threaten me into action… he has quite the confidence in himself, my future son.”

“What do you mean by that? And ‘Future son’?”

So many things were going on around her with myriads of unanswered questions. It felt as though she was the only one truly out of the loop, as if everyone was deliberately obscuring her way to the truth. She tried to confront the former demon lord with more questions but her efforts were impeded by Enrich.

Looming over her with a slightly irritated smile he gently tapped her on her shoulder. He tapped twice, and no more than twice.

“Miss Este? Whilst ‘I’ do not mind if you want to continue asking questions that will lead nowhere, I do believe that we have a more prudent situation on our hands. I have absolute trust in Lord Erendel’s capabilities, but even I must admit that this barrier is unlikely to be maintained infinitely. The enemies on the other hand have infinite stamina and will continue knocking on our front doors; so as painful as it is to admit it, time is not on our side.”

All magic spells, either defensive or offensive, required the usage of ‘mana’. Although great being such as demon lords or gods had an overabundance of such resources at their disposal they were still finite. Each second was a ticking clock that drained more and more of the innate mana that Erendel possessed.

Este replied readily with a hesitant nod, suggesting that she understood what was supposed to be on their priority list. Yet even still, she couldn’t shake the feeling of unease writhing beneath her skin as she looked back on her allies. There were too many secrets even their plan was extremely obscure, to the point she didn’t even understand half of it.

At the center of it all was that mysterious boy, Morgant. ‘Just who is he?’

“Lilith.”

Erendel called out to the winds and answering his summon was a figure that rose from the depths of his shadows. A young woman with cherry colored hair, two elegantly curved ivory horns protruding from either sides of her face, along with her small impish wings and tails, her true identity as a [Succubus] had been revealed. With a rather gaudy appearance in both attire and bodily proportions she kneeled before the former demon lord.

“Yes, Grandfather?”

She answered his call with a voice somehow simultaneously innocent and seductive. Such was the natural charm of a full blood Succubus.

“Go in my place to help out ‘his’ companions to dispel the ritual. I shall stay here to maintain the barrier.”

“Understood, Grandfather… Then I shall briefly take my leave from your side.”

…

“Now then… mind filling us in on with this ‘grand’ plan of yours? That boy said that this town’s guard captain left hints on how to locate those ‘blood shrines’ right? Also that you were the one person that could figure out those hints… So? Where are they?”

Sipher instantly got into interrogation mode with Francisco. The scene of a large and bulky man in a full set of plate armor looking down with in imposing gaze was not something Francisco was used to handling. However he was a merchant at heart and he would not back down from simple intimidation.

“Mmm, about that-”

As Francisco was hesitating on just how he wanted to reply he was cut off. A loud shout filled with fury that not even the depths of hell could compare; the cry of a mother goose who had lost her young.

“FRANCISCO!!”

Just barely being able to contain herself from instantly unleashing her full wrath upon him stood a tall silver haired woman. Two furry grey ears perking up and twitching in madness, her tri-tails stood up and pointed towards the clear target. Miko angrily dashed and grabbed Francisco up by the collar, smashing him against the wall with a hard enough force that it caused cracks to appear.

“Guh… y- you’re… Miko.”

“FRANCISCO! What have you done?! Where is Morgant and the others?!”

Not even a single tint of trust could be reflected in her eyes about the man she held up against the wall. Her eyes seemed to burn furiously with color of blood as it was dyed by the rays of the blood ritual’s magic circle. Francisco did not resist; some part of him also felt responsible for leaving every burden of this operation on a small child. However she did not know… that the Morgant he knew and the Morgant that she knew were two completely different entities.

She grit and grinded her teeth waiting for his answer. Looking down at her as his neck was starting to get bruised he let out a small scoff. Seeing such a loving expression of anger, the kind that would do anything to protect those children, in some ways he felt relieved to leave the fate of the orphanage in her hands.

“What are you laughing at…? Where are they?! Answer me!”

‘They?’ Francisco pondered. ‘Were more of the children missing?’ Francisco didn’t give much thought about it after that since there were only two possible fates for those unlucky children. The first would be that they met their end at the hands of the crystalline abominations. The second was that they met with either Morgant or Yvonne and were safe.

In either case there wasn’t too much use worrying over something he couldn’t do anything about. All he could do was place his trust in Morgant and Yvonne, but of course Miko, who had no information about this, was unable to have the same leisurely expression as him.

“What are you waiting for?! Tell me!”

She continued shouting at him for an answer.

“I don’t know about who the ‘others’ are… but if you’re asking about Morgant’s whereabouts then he’s over there.”

Francisco pointed far off into the mountainous landscapes that were the demonic forest. Miko’s eyes widened with rage even more as she heard such unbelievably nonchalant and irresponsible words coming out of this man’s wretched mouth. ‘He let Morgant go all the way there?’ She couldn’t believe it or even understand why he would do such a thing.

“…Why?”

She asked in a meek and trembling voice.

“It is of my belief that you have some grave misunderstandings about the boy you know as ‘Morgant’. He is far from powerless; in fact it was the boy himself who had come up with the entire premise of this mission.”

“… What? … I don’t understand? Kuh, say that again you bastard! I don’t care if I don’t understand! I don’t care if he was the one who came up with this ridiculous plan! I wouldn’t even care if you told me he was the strongest being in the god damn world! What I care about is the fact that he is a child of the orphanage and as long as he remains as that he will forever be under my protection! A man like you… a man like you will never understand that!”

Violently dropping him to the floor Miko desperately ran towards the direction Francisco had point at. Be it through an entire horde of Crystalline Goblins, through demon lords or even gods, she ran. She ran and ran, to save the small and gentle boy that she had loved like a son for these past seven years. Even if she knew absolutely nothing about him, the fact remained that he was a child of the orphanage. Whether he had the power to avert this entire crisis didn’t matter, what truly mattered to her was that he would remain safe until she had come for him.

“I- isn’t that bad? I mean, shouldn’t we stop her? She’ll die if she goes out now with all of those Goblins just waiting at the front gates!”

Este raised concerns but she was met with only an uncomfortable silence. As much as anyone wanted to stop her from recklessly diving head first into the enemy front lines, none of them could realistically do so. Neither Enrich nor Francisco were fighters by any stretch of the imagination and Lilith was specifically tasked with helping Morgant’s allies destroy the blood shrines.

“It is unfortunate but preventing the Blood Ritual from taking place is our top priority.”

Enrich cold replied. Indeed the life of a single therianthrope could be compared to the life of an entire town, yet that fact did not make it any easier of a pill to swallow. Este, born and raised to be honorable, could not fathom the trash she heard spewing from her ‘ally’s’ mouth. Enraged by the cold hearted truth she was given no other option but to take matters in to her own hands.

“Sipher, go.”

Este quietly commanded her guardian knight to abandon his life’s sole purpose and duty. To chase after a woman he barely knew and put the princess’ life at risk? Such actions were not something even the obedient Sipher would contemplate for a second.

“I beg your pardon?”

He asked just to be sure he heard that correctly.

“Please, just go save her. That boy, Morgant, he’ll be sad if she dies here.”

Sipher sighed.

“Princess, as harsh as reality is, I will not simply abandon my post to chase after a complete stranger. It is as they say; the blood ritual’s interruption is a much more prudent affair that needs to be stopped.”

Este turned her back towards Sipher, not wanting to show him what kind of expression she was hiding.

“Sipher… ever since my parents died you’ve always been with me. I hope to continue that tradition a little bit longer, however right now I feel as though if I, even reluctantly agree with their argument without doing anything, I will lose sight of myself. My entire brief life, I was only taught honor and duty, so please don’t let me waver from those convictions. Doing this is also a method of ‘protecting’ me, isn’t it?”

Sipher sighed heavily once more and took a small moment to ponder about it. Certainly under this grand barrier erected by the former demon lord, Este would remain relatively safe; he could leave without too much worry. Also if he left now it would be a trivial matter to catch up with Miko and accompany her throughout the forest in search of Morgant. There were a myriad of things that he wanted to ask that strange boy, most notably his uncanny resemblance to the Este.

“… I understand.”

“Thank you, Sipher.”

With those words Sipher dashed off in order to pursue and secure Miko.

“He’s surprisingly fast despite being weighed down by all that armor…”

Enrich commented casually as though this entire problem had nothing to do with him. It bothered her that he thought this way but going back to the original concern, the cancellation of the blood ritual was most important.

“Whatever, so how are we going to locate those blood shrines?”

Este asked as she focused her attention on Francisco. He sighed and looked a little hesitant to give an answer but seeing the situation around him, he decided to give in and properly answer her question.

“Haa… I suppose I have little choice. During the past few days, Yvonne was tasked with closely pursuing Gerald from the shadows and tagging anything she felt was necessary.”

“I- I see, so all we have to do is locate those ‘tags’?”

Lilith joined in with a rather unconfident voice.

“Yes, but while that sounds simple the problem is that those tags are most likely in vampiric runes that only vampiric kin can sense. Otherwise Gerald, as an archer, would’ve easily tracked those tags long beforehand.”

“Hmm, so then is there any other vampire besides Yvonne in this town?”

Francisco shook his head towards Este’s question.

“Then how do we find them?!”

“Well, we don’t have any bona fide vampires, but vampiric kin… Haa, I suppose I have no choice.”

It was a just a subtle change in Francisco’s aura but with it everyone was now on the same page. The color of his eyes changed from his usual dull brown to a mesmerizing tint of silver. The mark of a vampiric ‘familiar’.

“Originally this power was given to me only for the purposes of self defense… I suppose I should just be happy that I can be using it like this to save my hometown. Then for the sake of crushing Gerald’s plans, please follow me- I’ll lead you to those hidden vampiric runes…”