Chapter 15: Pride (4000 words)
“You’ve gone mad.”
Henry voiced everyone’s thoughts.
The witch hunter Arkanis sat on the chest of the imperial knight, with a large gash across his throat and a crazy smile on his face. In contrast, Arkanis seemed quite calm, but the three people present deemed him a madman.
“I saved your life, so you have to work for me. Forget it, I also have this.” The witch hunter Arkanis pulled out a witch hunter badge: “In the name of Sigma, in the name of the Emperor, now as an imperial soldier, I am honored to tell you, you have been conscripted by me.”
Kailin shouted, “We are not your cannon fodder!”
“I’m not treating you as cannon fodder,” Arkanis said. “It’s a serious ambush, righteous murder—I actually have… plans for me.”
“We haven’t even left the secret passage yet, there must be a massive pursuit outside hunting us down. If we don’t hurry and retreat—”
“Yes, yes, yes, retreat, escape, good job Long-eared! Is that how your woods disappeared?”
Kailin was about to draw her sword, “You!”
Henry quickly stopped Kailin.
“That’s exactly why we should turn back and murder,” Arkanis said. “Who would have thought that we, a bunch of fugitives, would dare to kill back? Maybe the city is sparse, just right for us to catch them off guard and take down that eyeless bitch.”
“That’s an army.”
“An army without a leader, a group of headless flies.”
The two argued back and forth until Arkanis said:
“Last night, while you were dawdling on the road, I went back on a scouting mission. Guess what? That eyeless sorceress was furious and sent a bunch of strange things to pursue us. There are very few strong ones in the city, just suitable for us to make our play.”
“Did you just make that up?”
“Do I need to lie to you? In the name of Sigma’s great hammer, how could I dare to lie in front of it?”
“Then why only say it now?”
“To give you a surprise.” Arkanis said, “Besides, if we get to Vanguard City and you find the defenses are tight, we can always turn back, country girl.”
“What did you say, human?”
“Country girl.”
Although this witch hunter had a sharp tongue, after two months of getting along, Henry felt that the nickname was indeed very fitting.
In her anger, Kailin could not be restrained by Henry, and she directly drew her sword to slash at the witch hunter Arkanis, almost causing Henry’s throat to jump out.
But her sword only sliced through the air, as Arkanis vanished without a trace.
A voice came from the darkness: “I’ll be waiting for you in Vanguard City.”
Kailin looked at Henry and said, “Can you still fight? I saw that spear jab you in the calf.”
Ever since his body and consciousness stopped being numb, the pain from his wounds had become clear. His knee was faintly aching, his calf’s wound was swollen and hot, and every step hurt, with every muscle in his body feeling sore.
Meeting Kailin’s beautiful green eyes.
Henry thought for a moment and said, “I can still fight.”
He must be crazy.
Henry thought that his mental state was problematic, still harboring his competitive spirit at such a dangerous moment.
But there was still a chance for remedy.
Henry decided that when they reached the secret door, he would quietly observe the enemy situation. No matter what, he would say something like “tight defenses, absolutely no opportunity, preserve fighting forces” and other nonsense.
After walking in the dark for an hour and a half, having observed the enemy conditions.
Henry felt that the Moebius army must have gone mad.
The city truly had a sparse defense, with more corpses hanging on the walls than guards.
Witch hunter Arkanis had sworn to ensure that it was the eyeless succubus’ anger that sent everyone capable of moving to hunt down Henry and his party, simply because they had interrupted the “beautiful boiled art.”
Even better, the eyeless succubus was about to hold a ritual to summon a fissure. They could take this chance to murder the eyeless succubus.
Henry saw with his own eyes the eyeless succubus holding a ritual in the inner city square, with only a few members of the Moebius army as guards.
The scene was so small, it looked nothing like a succubus that had taken over the entire Vanguard City.
An indescribable excitement welled up in his heart. A tingling sensation slithered from his coccyx up to the left and right, resting on his chest.
Henry panted heavily, unconsciously tightening his grip on the hilt of his sword.
If he could kill the eyeless succubus, not only could he avenge the commander, give this detestable Moebius army a strong warning, but he could also gain unmatched glory.
He seemed to see his deeds recorded in history books, passed down by later generations—if the Empire could survive this ordeal.
He thought he could hear the crowd calling his name, cheering for his achievements.
Kailin couldn’t wait any longer to go ahead: “I want to shoot that eyeless creature.”
The butcher engineer said nothing, raising his own “autoteller.”
They stealthily moved forward, surprisingly smoothly. Henry believed that witch hunter Arkanis played a big role in this. He hardly resembled a witch hunter, more like a shadow, quietly appearing and silently killing off the blocking Moebius army, then disappearing, resolving many troubles.
The various wonderful music in the city intertwined, covering the sounds of Henry’s armor clanking. He even felt he could stride confidently and run on the streets.
By the time they slipped through a gap in the inner wall and arrived at the inner city square.
The eyeless succubus had completed the ritual, and a purple fissure appeared in the square, exuding a Moebius wind. She appeared lackluster, visibly weakened, sitting on her “throne.”
Below her, aside from some miscellaneous soldiers, there were only two strange beings with four arms, quite strong.
The inner city square was filled with many blasphemous artifacts. Various twisted and beautiful “art pieces,” most of which were made from living people, were very inappropriate for children and could not be described in detail.
There was already no cover between them and the eyeless succubus.
“You find a way to initiate the ambush first,” Arkanis whispered. “I’ll sneak behind that eyeless succubus, and once you attract her attention, I’ll immediately attack her.”
“Okay.” Henry took out the precious invisibility potion he had treasured for a long time, originally intended for escaping.
The bottle appeared to be empty, but after they both drank it, their forms disappeared. The butcher engineer readied the “autoteller.”
They skirted around the miscellaneous troops, smoothly approaching the four-armed monster.
Suddenly, the four-armed monster turned its head sharply, and Henry decisively charged forward, instantly filling his legs with strength, charging toward the four-armed beast with unwavering force.
The foe was caught off guard, agilely leaping back, moving like a dancer.
But Henry was faster, his charging sword slashed down on the four-armed monster’s nearly bare upper body, leaving a fatal wound. Kailin swiftly followed up with another slash, pouncing onto the second one, which reacted much faster, but under their siege, it was separated from its head moments later.
“Who?”
The eyeless succubus was startled, standing up from her “throne” and immediately began chanting a spell at the two who had revealed themselves.
But her throat twitched, and as she had just uttered a couple of syllables, a blade as dark as night erupted from her throat.
The eyeless succubus widened her nonexistent eyes, her head held high.
Witch hunter Arkanis chuckled, appearing behind her:
“Have you been pursuing this moment your entire life?”
“Wh… what is happening?”
Witch hunter Arkanis slashed again, hitting her thigh, directly tearing her apart.
Was that it?… No, this was normal; this was the honor I deserved.
A victorious smile spread across Henry’s face.
Suddenly, witch hunter Arkanis yelled, “Oh no!”
He quickly released his grip, and the alluring figure in his arms suddenly sprouted eyes, becoming the “beauty” that met Moebius aesthetics, her body twisted, sprouting many tentacles that wrapped around witch hunter Arkanis.
Pink smoke erupted, and Arkanis was pulled up along with his shadow, ensnared by the fleshy ropes.
At the same time, the ground began to tremble.
Dozens of “monstrosities” jumped out from the buildings behind the inner city square, grotesque Moebius beasts swarming out.
Enveloping all four of them.
In an instant, Henry felt like his heart had sunk into an icy lake, struggling to accept, almost losing control.
“The pride of mortals.”
Accompanied by a beautiful melody, two little Moebius fairies played a human harp.
The eyeless succubus walked out from the grand entrance, stepping on the red carpet, a smile on her lips as she said:
“I’ve been watching you all come and go, really… it’s quite tasteless. If your commander hadn’t been cooking so blandly, I wouldn’t have used him to exchange for you little desserts.”
Henry woke up and immediately realized he was just like the captain who doomed Vanguard City.
How could he be so foolish?
The eyeless succubus seemed to see through his thoughts: “Mortal, your emotions ultimately cannot escape the fate of being manipulated. Under the blessing of Moebius, I allow you to be proud, and so you are proud.”
“Kailin!” Henry shouted, “Chop off my neck, and I’ll chop off yours.”
“Alright.”
Henry had just raised his sword when he realized his arms had grown weak without him noticing.
With a clang.
Kailin’s sword fell to the ground.
“Sleep, have a good dream,” the eyeless succubus said. “When you wake up, you can appreciate my craftsmanship.”
Henry struggled to hold on, resisting the drowsiness.
Where was the witch hunter? He was strong; he could only hope for him.
A long snore rang out.
Henry turned around to see Arkanis hanging upside down in mid-air, surprisingly fast asleep in front of everyone.
A mirror had appeared at some point, reflecting Arkanis. The twisted magic mirror had legs made of silver metal tentacles, and two twin Moebius fairies smiled widely, hypnotizing Arkanis through the mirror.
“The famous witch hunter Van Helsing.” The eyeless succubus admired Arkanis: “He’s already good material for me.”
Henry watched as she elegantly walked over to the “twisted magic mirror,” a powerful mirror capable of reflecting the darkest desires and the deepest fears, creating an incredibly terrifying sight.
“Let’s see what you’re afraid of.”
The “twisted magic mirror” on the living metallic frame reflected Henry.
The mirror displayed the commander boiling in water, its surface whispering, extending countless hands trying to pull him into the boiling spring.
Henry felt nauseous and chilled: “No!”
“Sure enough, there’s no surprise.” The eyeless succubus said: “I’ll boil you in there later.”
Tears flowed from Henry’s eyes.
The mirror then reflected Kailin, showing a burning forest and the violent slaughter of the sadistic army.
Kailin trembled like a cat that had fallen into water.
The eyeless succubus said, “Really boring; that little squirt is not worth showing either.”
She “looked” toward Arkanis, who was hanging in the air, and the two Moebius fairies were considerate, adjusting the “twisted magic mirror” towards witch hunter Arkanis.
One second, two seconds, three seconds…
The mirror rippled but displayed nothing.
“Truly Van Helsing,” the eyeless succubus said with interest, “with a platinum body, to resist the twisted magic mirror for this long while asleep. Quickly tell me, what is your greatest fear?”
Images slowly formed on the magic mirror, and the eyeless succubus eagerly leaned in to see the mirror’s surface.
Suddenly, the mirror cracked open with a loud pop. The eyeless succubus jumped back and shouted at witch hunter Arkanis, “Who is hiding in his dreams!”
A graceful figure appeared beside Arkanis. Wearing a pitch-black crown, holding a blood-red axe-gun, with black curved horns and waist-length hair that looked like spilled ink.
It was Jima.
Her figure reflected in the twisted magic mirror.
“Ha~~.” Jima hovered in front of Arkanis, yawning and patting her lips, “Traveling really exhausts me.”
She glanced at the figure in the twisted mirror, clearly unsatisfied with her appearance; the clothing choices were poor and a bit ill-fitting.
So why show me the mirror?
As the thought arose.
The mirror could not bear her strength and curse, the cracks rapidly spread, and the surrounding Moebius fairies screamed as they manipulated the twisted magic mirror to turn away.
The eyeless succubus asked sharply, “Who are you? Why do you have a fake crown fragment on your head?”
“Because the chosen of eternity wears a fake one.” Jima said: “I am the Demon King Jima.”
At the same time, she felt the eyeless succubus divining her.
“I’ve never heard of you.” The eyeless succubus, realizing her strength, said: “Since witch hunter Van Helsing is your prey, take him and leave my territory.”
“You’ve made two mistakes.” Jima said: “First, my prey is you. Second, as a being skilled at manipulating emotions, you haven’t even realized that everyone’s prideful emotions have gone a bit too far, have you? You actually dared to come before mortals carrying remnants of dream seeds.”
The eyeless succubus was startled, then smiled:
“I think it’s you who are too proud. As a succubus, do you really think you can kill my guards? Sister, we succubi aren’t good at open combat, so let’s not carelessly show our true selves in front of mortals.”
From within the purple fissure, a “keeper” fell, also known as a gigantic Moebius demon, with four arms, goat legs, wearing an elegant red dress, standing about four meters tall.
Although Jima was the “Demon King,” if she were to confront the Moebius demon head-on, she would most likely be torn apart.
Jima nodded: “I think so too, so now please allow me to introduce the founder of the Starfire organization, the world’s number one doghead, the extraordinary master of Ionia….”
This series of titles momentarily baffled the crowd.
Lies momentarily blind everyone.
The eyeless succubus suddenly exclaimed: “She’s deceiving us! She’s casting a spell to summon something! Quickly interrupt her!”
Purple demonic flames shot at Jima but failed to injure her in the slightest.
The Moebius demon slightly bent its knees and leaped, crossing a distance of thirty meters, its four arms carving like sickles toward Jima.
The eyeless succubus sensed trouble and immediately cast a spell to escape.
“…..The last hero of the Holy Hall, Saint George the Dragon Slayer.”
Jima used “Descent.”
A flash of white light appeared, and white-armored George materialized in front of Jima, spreading光 wings before the eyes of the Moebius demon.
Another flash of white light followed, an overwhelming power seizing and literally cutting the incoming Moebius demon’s four arms and leaving a glowing wound on its chest.
The Moebius demon was ruthlessly struck down, along with its severed limbs.
The form of the eyeless succubus began to turn transparent, and George morphed into a beam of light, swiftly targeting her front, delivering a punch that knocked off one of her horns and sent her spinning in the air before crashing to the ground.
George stomped down, directly crushing her, leaving her incapable of fighting.
“Good!” Jima, who had been completely still, clapped her hands, “Nicely done!”
