Episode 386
Zeke was taken aback by Carmilla’s words.
“I’ve only used the alias Kai Lubern twice.”
Once in front of the spirit of King Gio Lubern, and once when he traveled to the past with the power of Chronos and met his mother, Laura Agamemnon.
Caught in confusion, unable to determine which instance Carmilla referred to, she suddenly pointed at Zeke and shouted.
“You’re the one I fought at the museum fifty years ago! It’s you, isn’t it?”
It dawned on Zeke then that the dark figure protecting Laura back then was none other than Carmilla.
He found it odd how she had calmed down so suddenly after Bacchus’s gentle patting, as if she had been piecing together memories that had just resurfaced.
“So, Carmilla and my mother had a connection even before I joined the Draker family.”
From what he recalled, it seemed that the ancient vampire Carmilla had served Laura Agamemnon as her master.
Zeke had never imagined anyone would recognize him from that time, leaving him momentarily speechless.
Bacchus, trying to reason with Carmilla, spoke gently.
“Mother, fifty years ago, Zeke wasn’t even born. How could he have fought you back then?”
Carmilla, looking puzzled, shook her small head as if trying to make sense of it.
“Is that so? But I’m sure it was him.”
Zeke saw no need to explain that he had indeed traveled back in time and fought her, so he remained silent.
Bacchus, attempting to steer the conversation back on track, said, “That’s not what’s important right now. Mother, please tell Zeke about Caligula.”
Carmilla, snapping out of her thoughts about Kai Lubern, adopted a serious expression.
“Do you know who Caligula is?”
Zeke nodded.
“Bacchus told me he was the king of the ancient vampires.”
Carmilla nodded in agreement.
“Yes, that’s right. Caligula was known as the White-Faced King of the vampires.”
Zeke realized that the “White-Faced Clan” he had read about upon entering this place referred to vampires.
As he processed this new information, Carmilla continued slowly.
“I’m searching for Caligula’s tomb to awaken the full power of the ancient bloodline. With the blessing of the Fairy King, I believe you might be able to help me find it.”
Zeke replied, “Bacchus mentioned that the clues were linked to the Holy Kingdom, so I discreetly asked the Pope, but he didn’t even recognize the name Caligula.”
Carmilla’s expression darkened as she pondered this, then she turned to Bacchus.
“Why don’t they know?”
Bacchus, calming the disheartened Carmilla, explained to Zeke, “To be precise, Mother had a vision in a dream that she would find clues to Caligula’s tomb in the Holy Kingdom.”
“A vision? Isn’t that something priests receive from the gods?”
Bacchus shook his head.
“It’s a bit different. As an ancient sage from the East described it, it’s more like ‘reading the heavenly signs.’”
Zeke found it difficult to grasp what receiving a vision entailed, having never heard such an expression before.
“Perhaps the Hermit of Stories would know.”
Bacchus continued, as if the vision itself wasn’t the main point.
“In truth, Arthur Draker wanted to keep Mother by his side because of this ability.”
Carmilla, standing nearby, exclaimed, “He wanted to use my ability to find the Elder Dragon’s relics!”
Zeke was startled by her words.
“The Elder Dragon’s relics?”
“Yes, he made me record every dream I had. One day, I dreamt of a place covered in ice, where I was dying with all my limbs severed. But in front of me was a black dragon statue.”
Zeke’s heart nearly stopped at her words.
“Could it be?”
She continued, “I thought I had no limbs, but suddenly I had arms again. As I reached for the black dragon, a light burst forth, and I woke up.”
It was exactly what Zeke had experienced just before his return, when he found the Elder Dragon’s relics.
“How could Carmilla have seen that scene?”
He couldn’t comprehend the nature of receiving visions through dreams, especially since what she saw was a future that had vanished with his return.
“Arthur saw the dream journal I wrote that day and asked me to describe the landscape in more detail. He then claimed the Elder Dragon’s relics were in the Ice Mountains.”
Bacchus nodded and added, “After that, Baron Draker and the Black Guard began scouring the Ice Mountains, determined to find the Elder Dragon’s relics before Emperor Rom.”
Zeke recalled Arthur and Baron Draker being at the Elder Dragon’s relic site.
“Did they pinpoint the location based on Carmilla’s dream?”
It was indeed a difficult place to find without guidance.
Zeke, regaining his composure amidst the flood of information, returned to the main issue.
“Let’s set aside the Elder Dragon’s relics for now. So, you were trying to find Caligula’s tomb using that ability?”
Carmilla nodded at Zeke.
“Yes, but dreams aren’t something I can control. Since my rebirth, I’ve been sleeping a lot, but I rarely dream.”
Carmilla sighed, explaining that Bacchus had been interpreting her past dreams to trace Caligula’s clues.
Those clues had led them to the Holy Kingdom, where they encountered Zeke.
Bacchus looked at Zeke and said, “Perhaps Mother’s dream guided us to meet you.”
Prophecies and visions often seemed to fit the outcome in hindsight.
Whether Carmilla’s dream truly led to their meeting was uncertain, but the result suggested it might be true.
“With the Absolute Compass, finding the location won’t be an issue.”
The Absolute Compass Zeke possessed was a remarkable artifact that guided him to his destination, considering even the laws of causality.
Its one drawback was that once a target was set, it couldn’t be changed until the location was found.
Zeke was torn between finding Caligula’s tomb and his mother Laura Agamemnon’s hidden sanctuary in Himonas.
He had to choose carefully, as he couldn’t change the target once set.
“I’m curious about Mother’s sanctuary, but if Carmilla is captured by Arthur Draker again without regaining her full power, it would be problematic.”
Not knowing the full extent of Arthur Draker’s secrets, Zeke decided to prioritize caution against him.
Ultimately, Zeke chose to use the Absolute Compass to locate Caligula’s tomb first.
He retrieved the compass from his inventory and set the destination to Caligula’s tomb.
The compass spun wildly before settling in one direction.
“North.”
Zeke opened a map and synchronized it with the compass to pinpoint the location more accurately.
The compass pointed to none other than Himonas.
“Caligula’s tomb is in Himonas?”
Since the Absolute Compass indicated it, there was undoubtedly a clue there.
Zeke realized he could no longer delay his journey to Himonas.
He asked Bacchus, “Does she need to be at the site to awaken the ancient power?”
Bacchus nodded.
“Without the ancient bloodline, entry to the site would be impossible.”
The site seemed designed to respond to the pure bloodline of the White-Faced Clan.
Zeke nodded and addressed the two of them.
“Then let’s prepare to leave.”
His decisive words left Bacchus and Carmilla looking at him curiously.
He gazed northward and said, “I think we’ll find Caligula’s tomb soon enough.”
“Haah!”
With a swift motion, the claymore sliced through the neck of an oncoming monster.
Nikolai, the captain of the Himonas Thistle Knights, exhaled a cloud of white breath and shouted to the rangers on the ice wall.
“Damn it! They’re coming from the west again!”
A horde of medium-sized monsters was charging across the snowy plains.
Hearing Nikolai’s command, the rangers quickly prepared their large crossbows.
Working in pairs, the rangers began firing bolts at the monsters rushing toward the ice wall.
Thud, thud, thud!
The large crossbows unleashed a rain of short, sturdy bolts.
Thwack, thwack, thwack!
The monsters fell as the bolts struck them, but then Sven, the vice-captain, rushed up to Nikolai and shouted.
“Nikolai! A group of Cyclopes has appeared at the east gate!”
Nikolai, hearing Sven’s report, sprinted toward the east gate.
The Cyclopes, with their massive size, could easily crack even the sturdiest ice wall with their weight.
As he reached the east gate, he saw knights throwing spears and rangers firing crossbows frantically.
But there were simply too many Cyclopes.
“Are you kidding me? How many of them are there?”
Sven shouted in response to Nikolai’s exclamation.
“Hey, Nikolai! Looks like today’s the day we finally settle the score!”
The contest he referred to was a grim wager: who could take down more enemies before meeting their end.
Nikolai tossed aside his helmet and grinned at Sven.
“Alright, Sven. Today’s the day you finally kneel before me.”
“Yeah, right. Get ready to serve me in hell.”
Without hesitation, Nikolai and Sven leaped off the battlements, plunging their claymores into the eye of a cyclops.
Thud!
The cyclops howled in agony as the blade struck true.
Roar!
It thrashed wildly, trying to dislodge the two warriors clinging to its face.
But true to their northern knightly reputation, they were relentless.
Exchanging a glance, they maneuvered to the back of the cyclops’s head and drove their swords into its neck.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
The cyclops couldn’t withstand the assault and collapsed on the spot.
Before it hit the ground, Sven and Nikolai leaped onto the shoulder of another cyclops.
Roar!
The surrounding cyclopes swung their clubs at Sven and Nikolai, but in the chaos, they ended up striking each other instead.
Roar!
The cyclopes began to brawl among themselves, and Sven and Nikolai seized the opportunity, swiftly moving through the fray, their claymores finding their marks.
Then, suddenly—
Whoosh!
With a chilling sound, the head of the cyclops they were about to strike flew off.
Thud!
The headless cyclops toppled over, and Sven, unable to dodge in time, was pinned beneath its corpse. He quickly dug his way out of the snow, only to be confronted by a massive figure.
“What the hell is that?”
A twin-headed cyclops, twice the size of a regular one, loomed before him.
Roar!
The twin-headed cyclops let out a terrifying scream and swung its massive flail at the ice wall.
Crash!
The entire wall shook and cracked from a single blow.
Rangers on the wall unleashed a volley of bolts at the creature.
Thwip! Thwip!
But the bolts bounced off its tough hide, unable to penetrate.
As the twin-headed cyclops continued its assault on the wall, Sven spotted Nikolai buried in the snow.
“Hey! Nikolai!”
Nikolai had landed badly, his shoulder and leg shattered.
“Damn it.”
Sven pulled out a potion he had been saving and gave it to Nikolai, helping him to his feet.
“Stay with me!”
Sven tried to move Nikolai toward the wall.
But then, one of the cyclops’s heads turned their way, raising its flail to strike.
Screech!
With a roar, it swung the flail down at them.
Sven, supporting Nikolai, couldn’t dodge in time.
“Damn it.”
Clang!
A sharp metallic sound rang out as the flail was sliced in half, falling harmlessly beside them.
Roar!
The twin-headed cyclops howled, clutching its severed arm.
Before them stood a figure clad in northern armor, a white cloak billowing, wielding a massive sword shaped like a wolf’s fang.
Sven shouted in recognition.
“My lord!”
The Grand Duke of the North, Alicia Himonas, had arrived.