Chapter 36: Full Moon (3)
Chapter 36: Full Moon (3)
Next chapter will be posted on Monday, as I’ll be taking my usual break between story arcs.
“I am glad to greet you again, Northern Viscount.”
“Oh, I heard the story on what happened at Langesthei. I’m really glad to see you safe.”
“Thank you for your concern. Let me introduce you to my companions, Mr. Jude Bayer from Count Bayer, and Lady Cordelia from Count Chase.”
With the introduction of Lucas, the old and white-haired Northern Viscount turned to Jude and Cordelia, and the two bowed and greeted in respect.
“Mr. Jude Bayer greets the Northern Viscount.”
“Lady Cordelia Chase greets the Northern Viscount.”
“Oh, the two of you are a good-looking couple as I’ve heard. I am the Northern Viscount. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Thank you for your generous welcome.”
Even though Jude, Cordelia, and Lucas were children of the 12 northern families, they were still nothing but ordinary nobles who did not possess any titles yet.
So it was natural for them to show respect to the Northern Viscount, who is their senior and possessed a noble title.
“The atmosphere of the mansion is very nice.”
Cordelia spoke as she looked around the old but not worn-down mansion that was well-maintained, and the Northern Viscount replied with a smile.
“It’s a mansion that has existed for three generations. It’s small and old…but it’s a precious place where I was born and raised.”
The Northern Viscount responded warmly to Cordelia and did not dillydally any longer as he ordered the maids to assign each of them a guest room.
‘Do you think he’s a good person?’
‘He doesn’t look like a bad person, I think?’
In the original story, the Northern Viscount was a person who was mentioned only once, so Jude and Cordelia knew very little about him.
They couldn’t fully investigate the Northern Viscount’s background because they were both stuck in the carriage throughout the journey.
‘Well, I’m sure there would be no problems.’
Although the viscount said that it was small, it was only small when compared to the mansion of counts, and the mansion itself was not really small.
Like the mansion of a nobleman with a manor, it had several guest rooms.
Having been assigned rooms on the second floor, they then had dinner with the Northern Viscount, and went back to their respective rooms early to get some rest.
And in the balcony of the guest room, Jude and Cordelia began to have their alone time together as usual.
“Ah, it’s nice. After a long time, I could finally eat delicious food, take a good bath, and sleep in a proper bed.”
Cordelia, who was wearing a nightgown, mumbled as she hummed and stroked her hair flowing down over her shoulders.
Her hair was very shiny after she had finished her bath.
“Well, I did like the bathroom.”
“It’s great, but do you really have to say it that way?”
“Moving on…”
The two sat next to each other on the balcony chair as they looked up at the night sky.
They saw the usual two moons shining with the stars.
Jude was the first to start the conversation.
“I think Landius will arrive tomorrow. He will be with us for a while.”
“Would it be enough to tell him to be careful with Duke?”
“First…we have to give him some hints about Duke’s weaknesses and attack styles. Once he knows that, Landius Gavrail will remember about our usefulness whenever he thinks of us.”
“Hmm…should we become intimately acquainted with Landius first then? That way, he’ll be able to trust in our words and we can deliver more information to him.”
“You’re probably right.”
The best situation was for Landius to not fight with Duke at all.
“Can we get him to travel with us together? Landius is a wandering warrior. He’s not affiliated with the Guardians of the Holy Cross like Kamael.”
“You’re right but…well, we have to try first.”
If they could get Landius to travel with them, they’d be able to solve more easily most of the events that would happen in the north.
‘But…it won’t be easy.’
Landius was chasing a demon follower after the fall of the Paragon Kingdom. To be exact, he was chasing after the archbishop Manuela, who had deceived the queen of Paragon to summon Baikazel.
Since Landius had a clear goal, it was close to impossible for them to make him give up his chase and everything else just to follow Jude and Cordelia.
“Well…we’ll figure it out once we meet him.”
“You’re right. Since the second episode takes place ten years after the first episode…Landius must have changed a lot, right?”
“He must have changed. I think he’ll be in his 20’s to 30’s? Kamael covers his bare face with a mask, but their faces should be the same.”
“It gets me curious though.”
Legend of Heroes 1’s main characters, Landius and Kamael, were both outstandingly handsome guys.
Kamael was an incomparably handsome young man with a neutral beauty like Jude, while Landius was an orthodox good-looking guy with bold and intense facial lines like that of Maximilian, the main character of Legend of Heroes 2.
The second episode takes place ten years after the first episode.
Kamael becomes an executive of the Guardians of the Holy Cross and fights against numerous demons. In the midst of that, he became addicted to the demon’s power itself and his appearance changed quite a bit. Surprisingly though, there were many fans who preferred his appearance in the second episode.
‘Was it because it added…a beauty of corruption to him?’
Jude scratched his chin as he turned his thoughts to Landius again.
“Well, it’s something to look forward to.”
Even when Kamael and all the protagonists of the first episode fell into despair in front of the mighty power of Baikazel, Landius was the man who obstinately stood up and gave everyone hope.
In fact, Jude also liked Landius because he didn’t talk very much.
His heart was thrilled at the thought of meeting the real life Landius.
“We’ll meet him tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, right? I’m looking forward to it.”
“Yeah.”
Jude responded with a nod and stood up as he said.
“We’ll be having a difficult time, anyway, so let’s get some sleep for tonight at least.”
“Oh, okay. Good night to you too.”
“Dream of me.”
“Yes, yes. I’ll dream of you.”
“I’ll have a risqué dream.”
“What is this crazy b*stard saying?”
Cordelia left the balcony after their usual banter, and Jude looked back at the night sky.
It was a much brighter moonlit night than usual.
***
It was a deep, deep night that was nearing dawn when Jude opened his eyes.
The reason he suddenly opened his eyes was simple.
Boom!
Jude woke up to the sound of an explosion and sprang up from the bed as he looked out the window where he heard the sound.
The windows were broken thanks to the traps he had habitually installed earlier, which was triggered when an intruder came in. That intruder was a black-masked man that was now groaning and bleeding on the balcony.
It was an attack.
At that moment, one thing came into Jude’s mind.
“Cordelia!”
The moment he equipped the knuckles on his bedside, two more masked men appeared on the balcony.
And Jude realized it.
‘The Devil’s Hand!’
The ones who failed in Langesthei attempted to attack them once again.
Though this was quite troublesome.
The fact that they’ve attacked Jude’s group even though they knew how much power Jude’s side has could only mean that they’ve sent enough troops to handle it.
‘I was complacent.’
He thought that they wouldn’t attempt a second attack because they had suffered a lot of damage in Langesthei.
Each of the two masked combatants held a small knife.
Behind them, another masked man showed up.
‘I have to avoid them.’
It was a bad idea to deal with these people when he had no idea how many they were. He had to hurry up and join Cordelia first to ensure her safety.
And at that very moment…
“Jude!”
The door exploded as a thunderous sound echoed into the air.
And what appeared after was an incomparably beautiful girl.
No, it was a witch with a fluttering blackish red hair, dressed in a nightgown.
“Get out of here!”
The moment Cordelia yelled at the masked people, two magic missiles quickly flew and hit the masked people.
“Jude! Come on!”
He wanted to save her but ended up as the one being saved. However, the important thing was that they have joined up and are now together.
Jude hastily ran from the bed as he asked Cordelia.
“What about Dahlia?”
“On the first floor! The knights said that they were having a drink together!”
That was certainly possible.
But the moment he heard Cordelia, Jude suddenly thought.
‘A trap?’
If you think about it, they were knights on an escort mission.
It was an unreasonable for such knights like Dahlia and Jun, to go drinking with a glass or two in someone else’s mansion. Even more when one considers the character of Sir Seornn, the leader of Count Hr?svelgr’s escort knights.
This could not have happened if perhaps, the Northern Viscount did not offer them drinks first.
If so, there was one possibility.
The Northern Viscount himself trapped them.
It may be the Northern Viscount’s own work, or some of his servants, but there definitely is someone who was in touch with the Devil’s Hand!
“Let’s go quickly!”
Go to the first floor.
To save Dahlia.
“Let’s find Lucas before that!”
It was Lucas and Cordelia that the Devil’s Hand were after.
Jude rushed out into the hallway, and Cordelia followed and asked.
“But what was that explosion?”
“What?”
“That sound of explosion!”
She was asking about the sound of explosion in Jude’s room.
Jude shouted as he kicked on Lucas’ door.
“It’s a trap! I installed it on the windows every day!”
“Were you really a spy?”
“No!”
“Eh?”
“There’s no one!”
Lucas’ room was empty.
But they didn’t see any signs of an intrusion.
“The first floor?”
Could it be that he slipped in the knights’ drinking party?
Or he went to the toilet?
It didn’t take him long to think, because they heard the sounds of fighting coming from the first floor.
“Let’s hurry!”
“!”
At the moment Cordelia shouted, five magic missiles simultaneously formed and flew through the hallway.
It headed towards the Devil’s Hand’s combatants who had infiltrated through the window of Jude’s room.
“You turned off the Witch Transformation?”
“I can’t use it for a long time!”
He understood then.
Jude took the lead and started running, and they found their party on the side of the central staircase.
“Dahlia! Jun!”
“Miss!”
“Young master!”
Dahlia and Jun answered at the same time.
However, there were only the two of them and some knights. The other knights such as Sir Seornn and Dame Thilion, and above all, Lucas, were not visible.
“Where’s Lucas?!”
“Outside!”
That was the end of their conversation.
More than a dozen combatants of the Devil’s Hand poured in from all sides of the first floor and attacked the knights, and on the second floor, combatants attacked and aimed at Jude and Cordelia.
It was clear that at least dozens of combatants were mobilized for this attack.
“Cordelia! Hold on to me!”
Jude held Cordelia by her waist in a hurry as he kicked the ground and jumped down from the central staircase.
And Cordelia hugged Jude’s neck. But instead of screaming and going ‘Kya!,’ she stared at the back and fired magic missiles in succession.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Thud!
The sound of the magic missiles exploding and the noise of Jude landing on the floor erupted simultaneously.
Jude carried Cordelia and kicked the ground once again.
“Outside!”
“!”
Cordelia, who was still in Jude’s arms, formed a huge flame arrow.
The knights perfectly understood Jude’s command and formed a wedge-type formation with the two in the center as they rushed towards the central entrance.
Boom!
The fired by Cordelia destroyed the front door and burned it. At the same time, arrows poured out from all sides.
“!”
Count Chase’s ring activated immediately.
A translucent hemisphere wrapped around Jude and Cordelia, and the knights swung their swords in respond to the rain of arrows.
“Ack!”
But it was impossible to stop all the arrows.
Several arrows pierced the arms and shoulders of the knights.
“Dahlia!”
“Outside!”
Cordelia screamed when she saw Dahlia with an arrow in her left thigh, but Dahlia promptly replied and moved forward. They had to get out of the mansion first before the next rain of arrows poured down.
“Valiant Charge!”
Jun’s body was suddenly enveloped in a subtle golden light when he shouted loudly. He then charged like a bullet towards the front door. It was ‘Chivalry,’ the magic of the knights.
Papapapapapa!
Arrows rained down on Jun who fiercely advanced, but the golden light caused most of the arrows to bounce or deflect.
“Ugh!”
However, there were limitations.
Jun who had charged forward, collapsed and fell down.
And Jude could see the outside.
Lucas and his party were besieged and fighting against the combatants of the Devil’s Hand!
“Lucas!”
After passing through the front door, Jude put down Cordelia, and at that moment, Cordelia began to chant.
She was going to use the witch’s spells she learned from the witch’s spell book.
The knights who went through the front door in succession set up a formation to protect Jude and Cordelia, and a shout was heard from Lucas.
“Mr. Bayer!”
“The enemy is the Northern Viscount!”
At the time that Sir Seornn shouted…
Within a short moment, powerful magic flowed through the entire place in front of the main entrance.
Among those in this place, it was Jude who instantly recognized the familiar magic while Cordelia was still in the middle of chanting.
“Magic circle!”
It was similar.
Just as Jude had prepared a magic circle in advance to fight against demonic human Minos, the Devil’s Hand also prepared a trap.
The light of the magic circle rose.
The purple lines seemed to be intricately drawn on the place, and it soon began to suppress everyone, including Jude. It was as if gravity had become several times stronger.
‘!’
As the name suggests, it was a magic circle that suppresses a group of people through the heavy pressure of gravity.
Cordelia who was chanting the spell, fell down and screamed at the sudden pressure. The knights fell into a crooked posture as they were unable to move.
“Hahaha! You fools!”
As Jude turned his gaze after hearing the stereotypical villain lines, the one who was hiding on the garden grounds finally appeared.
It was the Northern Viscount.
His face had a distorted look, as if his good face earlier had been a mask, and his eyes glowed red.
“It’s over. Even if you break through the prepared , there is no hope for you.”
When the Northern Viscount spoke in theatrics and waved his hand, combatants of the Devil’s Hand appeared not only in the garden but also in the mansion. At first glance, they numbered over thirty.
Moreover, there weren’t just ordinary combatants.
“We still can’t let down our vigilance against them because they’re the ones who killed Minos, even if it was by chance.”
A new demonic human emerged on the side of the Northern Viscount.
Unlike the Northern Viscount who was only mentioned once, this new demonic human was a villain whose presence was revealed at the beginning of the original story.
‘Demonic human Varus.’
In the Devil’s Hand, he was a demonic human equal to Minos.
He was the demonic human in charge of transporting the kidnapped children of the 12 families to the ritual site. As opposed to Minos who used ice, he was a demonic human who used hellfire.
“Jude.”
Cordelia groaned as she quietly spoke.
There were two demonic humans and the combatants were close to forty, so even if there was no , they were all tough enemies to deal with.
‘I believed in the original story too much.’
Jude didn’t think that the Northern Viscount was a demonic human.
He also viewed the possibility of a second attack as too low.
But it was all belated regrets. They had to first overcome their current crisis.
“I just need the children of the 12 families. Kill all the knights.”
The combatants ordered by Varus stepped into the magic circle. Thanks to the special engraving on their bodies, they were able to move freely in the magic circle.
“Jude.”
Cordelia called Jude again.
And at that point, Jude realized what Cordelia wanted to do.
Make the witch’s power run out of control.
It was for a short time, but the released tremendous power would be enough to destroy the .
But her method was close to self-destruction.
There were still a lot of enemies even if they destroyed the , and more importantly, Cordelia would fall into a state of near death.
Jude saw Cordelia, and Cordelia helplessly grinned.
She closed her eyes and began to draw out the witch’s power.
Jude instinctively reached out to stop Cordelia.
Because Jude knew.
There was no way to overcome their current crisis.
The fact that Cordelia’s chosen method was the only solution she could offer to resolve their current crisis even though she knew the consequences.
‘Bu-but suppose that…even if were so…even so…’
As Jude was thinking, that suddenly happened.
Bang! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The terrifying and huge loud sound reverberated and instantly erased all the sounds in their surroundings.
No, Cordelia’s power did not run out of control. Even Cordelia, who was in the midst of drawing out the witch’s power, opened her eyes in astonishment, and she saw the current scene.
The scene of the night sky being torn.
The scene of a red flash cutting through the darkness.
“What is that?”
The moment she unconsciously spoke…
Baaang!
A thunderbolt struck from the sky.
A red flash came to the ground like a lightning bolt.
Booom!
The shockwave struck both the heavens and earth. A strong wind rose and pushed away the surrounding air.
And the one who stood at the center of it all.
A person with bright red hair.
He was a man shining like the sun in the dark.
Red Flame Landius.
The warrior of the sun who never succumbs to any despair!
However, Jude and Cordelia were puzzled by his appearance.
It was not because of his dramatic entrance like those in the movies.
““La-Landius?!””
10 years after Legend of Heroes 1.
His changed appearance that no one knew because he didn’t even appear in the second episode.
Landius was originally tall.
He was close to a gigantic 190 cm.
But now he was bigger than that.
No, even if he was big, he was too big now.
To put the case very mildly, he had become close to 2.3 meters without any difficulty.
Landius’ body was in good shape.
He originally had a good body with broad shoulders that the players gave him the nickname ‘Captain Paragon.’
But now, his body was good, or more like, it was too good.
Even if he had broad shoulders, it was too broad now.
Even though he had hard muscles, it was too hard now.
He was indeed a moving body of steel.
He was a gigantic existence.
In the midst of this, his face was as handsome as it was in the first episode. His red hair fluttered in the wind like a lion’s mane.
His face remained the same, but his size almost doubled.
Furthermore, he was not holding the Solar Blade he used in the first episode but was now bare-handed.
“Sir Landius!”
Lucas cried out, and Landius had a manly smile.
Landius loudly laughed as he roughly moved his foot.
Thud!
That was it.
Just a single kick shook the earth’s axis, creating dozens of cracks above the ground. The mana that was forming the magic circle was quickly scattered.
“Wh-what happened?”
When Cordelia spoke, the demonic humans of the Devil’s Hand moved. Combatants fired their crossbows at the same time to create a rain of arrows.
And Landius saw it all.
He struck the sky with his fist.
It was like a blast from an explosion. The surrounding air shook with the shock wave centered on Landius’ strike and swept away all the flying arrows.
“Crazy! Die!”
Varus exclaimed as he urgently shot a huge fireball.
It was hellfire, created with his mana as a demonic human.
Landius scornfully laughed at the fireball coming towards him. He shouted out loud as if he didn’t need to use his hand.
“Break!”
His outrageous Qi-loaded cry was like the roar of a lion itself. The fireball was extinguished in an instant rather than burning Landius.
It wasn’t just Varus who was bewildered.
Jude and Cordelia, as well as everyone on the mansion grounds, were in shock.
His level of strength was truly convincing.
Because Landius was the protagonist of the first episode.
He was the super strong man who had defeated the Demon Prince with a human body that has now become stronger over the course of a decade.
‘No…no way…to be like that…’
At the time when even Jude was confused, Landius finally took a step. He crossed the space with a light step and swung his clenched fists.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
It burst out.
It was not a special martial arts skill.
The combatants of the Devil’s Hand exploded with his sheer fists. It was the result of the tremendous physical force his fists generated.
It broke the sky and cut the ground.
In the literal sense.
Several punches that Landius exerted turned the thirty-something combatants into a handful of blood.
He broke the arms and legs of the combatants by force alone, at a level that his violent blows made the air itself collapse.
It wasn’t much different for the demonic humans.
The Northern Viscount completely lost his mind to the overwhelming power, and Landius easily seized him by his neck and decapitated him.
Varus who was out of his wits also suffered a similar fate. The moment he turned his back to escape, Landius swung his fist. The fearsome air wave did not stop at cutting him into two but even completely crushed him.
“Weak ones. I don’t even need to use a sword.”
Landius mockingly laughed, and Jude and Cordelia thought.
‘Wh-what is that. I’m scared.’
Pleiades was a world of superhumans.
Just as the nickname of Yellow Storm was ‘human storm,’ it was also possible for a strong superhuman to face against hundreds or thousands of people.
But even so, there was a limit.
It was the difference between the game and reality.
There was a difference between seeing in the monitor a warrior cutting dozens of monsters and seeing with his real eyes a person bursting from a punch.
‘Duke…killed him?’
That person?
How?
Isn’t it more probable that Duke just picked up the Solar Blade that Landius threw away?
While Jude blinked his eyes in surprise, Landius turned.
He first looked at Lucas before turning his gaze towards Jude and Cordelia.
“Ho.”
Landius laughed and began walking, while Cordelia unwittingly grabbed Jude’s arm. Jude also hid Cordelia in his back and swallowed nervously.
‘Something’s not right.’
The meeting with Landius that he and Cordelia thought of was different.
No, it was also of what they thought Landius looked like.
2 meters and 30 centimeters tall.
The giant’s shadow, which was several times larger than Jude in size, completely covered Jude and Cordelia.
Even though she had never been afraid when she faced against a demonic human, Cordelia’s shoulders were now shaking, while Jude’s breathing became rough.
Landius squinted his eyes as he looked at Jude and Cordelia.
He looked at Jude’s whole body with a piercing gaze.
“You, Cheonmujiche.”
A fierce smile spread on Landius’ face.
He raised his big hands.
And Cordelia responded.
Just like when they first met Leisegang, she naturally raised her mana.
Jude also flinched as he tried to use the Thirty-Six World Steps, although late. But he realized then that Cordelia was just right behind his back.
Landius’ hand then grabbed Jude’s shoulder. The aura rising from his whole body scattered Cordelia’s mana at once.
‘I’m going to die.’
Jude unconsciously thought at that moment.
Landius opened his mouth and said something that Jude didn’t even think of.
“Be my disciple.”
“…yes?”
“Become my disciple, boy with Cheonmujiche.”
Landius of the Red Flame.
The warrior of the sun.
“I will pass on to you the Gucheongumun (Ninth Heaven’s Nine Doors).”
Jude looked at Landius with a blank face, and Landius revealed a manly smile.