“Thirty thousand years passed from mankind first freed itself until we

laid eyes on the center of our galaxy.

Despite all efforts being put into expanding imperial lands at the cost of new developments stalling for thousands of thousands of years. We were finally able to lay eyes on the center of our galaxy. Not for a greater goal or part of the grand strategy. It was for the human spirit, for the joy of exploration.

Sadly, we were only able to get as close to Sagittarius A as Mars is to the sun. Still, the amount of plasma and debris circling the galaxy center made the trip possible only for a few seconds at a time before extensive repairs were needed to the Titans that attempted it.

No other class of ship could tear a hole, in reality, to reach the center and escape the dangerous conditions close to Sagittarius A.

As thousands of stars and hundreds of planets now lay under imperial rule, a warning was received from the Hive Mother. Continuing to expand at such a rapid rate would eventually force us into some form of confrontation with the nearest space-faring nations, even if there still were many galaxies away.

The Hive Mother could not say how they would react to our presence, if at all, but advised caution despite this part of the universe being considered largely undesirable by most species.

These were nations that had been traveling the stars for longer than the existence of mankind.

Sadly, the growing number of imperial citizens made the possibility of stopping the liberation fleets from expanding to worlds capable of human habitation impossible.”

- Elistar Iscariot, Grand Magister during the second Kingfisher dynasty.

The earth rumbled and convulsed as cracks started appearing in the ground. Some ran all the way from one side of the compound to the opposite side. Others were only tens of meters long.

I had no idea what was going on, but it did not look like something I wanted to be a part of.

“Come, we need to get to the others. Follow me.”

“The donkey diddler you done this time, Alucard?”

What the hell did she think I was ca…When I thought about it, I actually had a ritual that could cause a minor earthquake, but nothing on this scale.

At least Mira was following me as I headed for the nearest building with an exit to the street.

Something bad was coming. I could feel it in my bones.

We almost made it to the building when steam started shooting up from the cracks, and they continued expanding.

Across the guild house grounds, I saw Sir. Michael was being encased in his battle armor by two of what I imagined were his squires by their clothes. Bright steel with a tall red plum.

There was an almost religious reverence shown as each piece of armor was placed and fastened, turning the already large man into a mountain among men.

A true knight did not hide in battle. A knight who drew their arms did so with conviction, and the certainty that they were in the right and victory was theirs to take. Whatever stood between them and victory merely lacked proper education about the matter. A knight was always willing to teach those in need.

Around him, his retinue of about sixty knights stood and was being encased in their armor while the squires who finished started picking up bows and polearms to support their knight. Too bad they hadn't brought their horses into the compound. Now, that was something I would have loved to see. A full charge of the Knights of the Cursed Lands.

They didn't call themselves that, but that's the moniker people gave them in the tales. The last living descendants of the once magnificent Sun Coast. A former province of the empire renowned for its bounty and beauty now turned into a cursed place where creatures of night and shadow roamed. Drinkers of blood and eaters of flesh. Men who were not men lived there now, calling it home.

The much-diminished empire of today was in a constant state of war along the border with their former province, and the knights were the only ones with the impetuousness to charge into the terrible place at will. Cleansing as much as they could before being driven back by the endless hordes of beast men, skin-changers and eaters of the dead.

What they were doing here in Murktown, I didn't know, and when I asked Sir Micheal, he only said they were waiting for something. Maybe this was it?

Then, a shadow spread across the grounds as Horatio Grim exited the main administrative building. I had never seen the man before, but I could feel the power radiating off him, and it spoke of things hidden and horrible ends. The master of the Hunters guild in Murktown had joined the field.

Around him, the guild guardsmen were getting into formations, the black halberds made from Nachtwald iron and enchanted to cut through any arcane or spiritual barrier. The main customer of Nachtwald iron was the guild, exactly for these halberds and the black breastplates, they wore that would greatly reduce abilities used directly on the guild guardians.

To say I wanted to get my hands on the enchantments for my soldiers one day was an understatement. It practically made me drool, and I had plans for my next “invention” to see if that could be arranged.

The munitions sales had only earned me a bit over forty gold so far, but it was still early in the production, and the guild was trying to set up more profitable trade deals to get the ingredients needed in bulk.

With the ground continuing to shake, and cracks growing in size, especially the ones at the center of the training grounds. It must have been warmer than between the but cheeks of a fat lady sitting for two hours during temple sermons down there from the amount of steam coming up.

As I was about to continue, I noticed that something from the duke's palace was flying towards us. As it raced closer, I made out a man standing on the back of an enormous eagle. They were heading straight toward the training grounds.

I don't know what was happening with the city, but clearly, the epicenter was here as even the Duke's champion was heading towards us. That meant that three rank three Awakened thought they would be needed to stop whatever was coming up from directly beneath us.

That was not a confrontation I wanted to find myself in the middle of, and neither would it seem to be something the guild wanted the average hunter to take part in because, across the compound, the glow stones suddenly emitted the message.

“Danger. Danger. Danger. All Hunters are to help and fortify buildings that are marked with a golden shield. All citizens are to evacuate to prearranged fortification points immediately. You can recognize these by the golden shield to the left of the main entrance. Some of the more notable ones are banks, temples, manor grounds and large building complexes.”

It was repeated three times until the light stones flickered as if they had run out of power, and everything turned dark. Taking one last look at the guild grounds, I wish I had True Sight on my ritual list today. I could feel and taste the powers gathering in the arena, the smell of ozone heavy in the air. No, this was no place for us.

Dragging Mira after me, I had us on the other side of the building in a minute or two.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

This fortification idea was new to me, but I guess the regular citizens knew about it already. I could remember several buildings I had walked by with a golden shield by the door. The nearest one to the inn was the manor grounds of some noble that had high walls around a sprawling complex of buildings.

Running into the streets, I saw them packed with more people than I had ever seen before, moving in every direction to reach whatever fortified place they imagined was better than the other fortified places or just to spectate and argue about whatever was going on. Self-preservation had yet to kick in for a few, it would seem. I doubt that would last long, but by then, it would more than likely be too late. I saw families dragging what was clearly the entire household along. Idiots. If things were about to go tits up, no one would have time to take your stuff.

We were about five minutes from the inn when the shaking intensified. Turning around, I saw a great cloud shooting up in the air from the guild grounds.

The world stood still for a moment as everyone watched the phenomenon reaching the heavens, and as the rumbling stopped, a new sound could be heard even from the other side of the buildings and walls making up the guild grounds. A thousand inhuman voices rose in a roar, followed by the ringing sound of steel hitting steel and the scream of the dying.

Dragging Mira after me, we skirted the crowds of people gathering to stare at the cloud that reached for the heavens. I only stopped to yell at people to get to the buildings with shields on them in passing if they wanted to live. Not many chose to listen.

Sadly, most people seemed more interested in trying to figure out what was happening in the Hunter Guild than in getting to safety, even if no one could see what was happening inside the area.

The only indication that something was wrong was the sound of battle and the eagle occasionally flying up with something in its claws before letting it drop back to the ground. It made me thankful to have Controlled Fall ready to activate at a moment's notice.

Then the trembling started again, and cracks started appearing on the street we were running on. Houses started to tremble and fall in on themselves as cracks started running through their foundation. I was starting to question if the designated shielded houses would be safe either.

We finally made it to the inn and were met by Gunthard and Altmann, two of the eighth guards I had hired for protection.

They were the remains of a mercenary company that had been overrun by the same dungeon anomalies Mira and I had experienced. Apparently, it had happened to more than one dungeon. We were just very lucky to have been hit by something we could handle.

According to Manfred, a former sergeant and the one in charge of our guardsmen, they had been chased by living fires or elementals as they were known. The deeper camps hadn't stood a chance, and the only reason those who survived managed to do so was a group of five people in black cloaks who had told everyone to get out. Anyone fast enough had made it. Those that didn't were sealed in the dungeon with the elementals by the leader of the black cloaks.

He never said how many had made it out in total or what happened afterward with the black cloaks, but these were mercenaries from the central highlands of the empire; to them, this was a monumental failure and a stain on their honor that was unforgivable.

They had spent their youth on the empire's western border fighting the horse people and the clans of Orcus. I doubt anyone would claim they were cowards even if they failed to properly evacuate the dungeon, at least to their standards. They were big, mean-looking and professional.

At the commander's insistence, they had taken a year to relax while working as guardsmen for the weak dungeons in our backwater kingdom of Aeruborg as their recruitment staff worked to sign on new mercenaries in their alpine homeland.

All in all, I couldn't complain. Their loss was my gain.

“Gunthard. Altmann. Everyone is clear to evacuate?”

“Yes, my lord. Everyone but Madam Chenoweth is ready in the hallway. Norbert and Gerlach have the left. Wigmar and Helmer has the right. Commander Manfred and Siegbert are on the rear while Altmann and I take the front. If it pleases you, my lord. Your possessions and your staff are ready to move out at your word.”

That was another thing; my house name was as old as imperial as it gets. I was basically nobility from back home in their eyes, even if my family had been part of rebelling and founding the kingdom of Aeruborg.

Rebelling against the emperor or empress was as common as breathing. It even had a saying. “Today's rebel is tomorrow's emperor.” It was not very clever, but it had been around since they had first started coming down from their mountain homes and started subjugating anything that so much as twitched.

“Excellent work. I will have a word with the Madam.”

Taking note of the cracks that had started appearing in the courtyard, I hurried inside the foyer, only to be met by a group of people talking over each other. Mira and Egmont were in heated discussions with a few better-dressed nobles. Some of the guests screamed at my guards, who contented themselves with simply stopping them from running back to their rooms with staves they had picked up somewhere. Well, when leading sheep. I guess it fits…

While my muscle growth and my body's constant need to reach for the sun these days were annoying. It did come with some perks. A lung capacity that could keep me underwater for minutes, and since my voice had stopped cracking a while back.

“Silence!”

My roar brought an abrupt halt to the whining and arguing. I could see the children, who had begun to look ready to cry, perk up when they saw me. Even Fang stopped barking and stood there with his tongue out like a proper brain-dead pup.

“Time is short, so I will only say this once. If you stay here, you will die. It's not a discussion. You will die. The duke, in collaboration with some of the noble houses and a few organizations, has prepared for a situation like this, and the closest safe heaved is only a few hundred meters across the plaza. Those who wish to live will follow my guard without question or delay. Those who want to die are free to stay. There will not be any more discussion about this.”

Giving them a second, I said.

“Commander Manfred, please see to it that those who chose to avail themselves of your generous offer to protect them and lead them to safety stay in the formation. If any should choose to cause trouble for you or any of my people on the way, feel free to strike them down. I will stand as the one responsible for any actions you take to keep the group safe until you reach the shelter.”

That should shut them up for a bit.

“Understood my lord.”

Manfred said in his deep, gravelly voice. That's what a life of shouting commands gives you, I guess.

Reaching under my shirt, I removed three of the five pouches strips I had sown shut. I wore them under my clothes around my stomach at all times, even during practice, but I had a bad feeling about what was happening in the city. Each contains 350 gold, a hundred silver and 300 hundred copper. It was better to see things done properly if we got split up for some reason, and I finally acknowledged that these were my people.

Handing a pouch each to Mira, Egmont and Hartwin, I said.

“Just in case. Keep yourselves and the children safe, and listen to Manfred. He knows what he's about. If we get split up, we meet at the Currier station we met at after the goblin camps.”

Mira gave me a fierce hug and said.

“Shut up, you useless dinkle. Go talk some sense into Lily, and we will see you in a few minutes.”

Hartwin merely gave me a nod, as he was wont to do, but Egmont looked ready to go ballistic. We had grown close after he agreed to become my valet, and was more than willing to get into shouting matches with me when we were in private. In public, he acted like the perfect servant, and in many ways, he was.

He had a head for the craft mixed with a no-nonsense attitude, which he had from many years as a farmer, and I had no doubt served him well. I had no trouble seeing him managing large parts of my personal life and household in the future without any trouble. I found myself relying on his advice more and more. The man was even more ruthless than I was.

Looking into his eyes, I simply said.

“Take care of them.”

He knew what I meant. If the worst was to happen to me I had made arrangements for the children and the rest of my people.

Reaching out and pretending to dust off my shoulder, he said.

“I will, my lord. I will.”

Stepping out of the now-silent crowd, I nodded to Manfred and looked into each of my guard's eyes before saying.

“They are in your hands. First and foremost, stay safe.”

“My lord!”

That was all they said, and nothing more needed to be said as the group was herded out of the inn.

As I made my way towards the reception, I noticed that cracks had started appearing on the walls of the inn, too. This place didn't have much time left.

Going deeper into the building, I entered the hallway leading to Lily's quarters. Paintings of Lily and her late husband lined the walls. Their bright background almost looks macabre against the deep red of the hallway. Why she would choose such a sinister color leading to her rooms was something I had never asked.

Since the incident where I told her to get herself checked by the healer, our relationship has improved, but not by much. They had to remove her arm, and while she didn't blame me for that directly, it was difficult to look at the messenger of bad news without any emotion at all, especially if the message was life-changing.

Sure, she could petition to be given treatment by an Awakened healer of the second rank, but the process was expensive and time-consuming. On top of that, you had to house the healer for the duration, something that could, depending on the tastes of the Awakened, easily exceed the price of the treatment.

It was not an easy situation for her, and I was slowly starting to develop a juvenile sense of empathy, which made me vulnerable and prone to compensate in the other direction. Intellectually aware of what was happening, but emotionally, I was weak and easily hurt. It made me lash out instead of being the adult in the room. To say we had argued a lot over the last few months would be an understatement.

I almost chuckled over the dilemmas I faced now. The Alucard of five months ago would simply have flogged anyone for the inconvenience and would have watched in glee as Lily was consumed by the thing that ailed her.

Then again, if I was the Alucard from before I died. Mira would be lying somewhere in the forest, dead and abused. Egmont, Hartwin, Albert and Saskia would either have been eaten or died from starvation.

I would never have started making friends with the more respected noble children, not the ones I used to carouse with, but the heirs and those who took to being nobility seriously, like Wolfhard's older brother Luitwin.

It had taken a couple of months, but most seemed to agree I was a changed man, even if I didn't present myself as that. I took a page from Sir Michael and just did, then let others judge me by that.

Would I have bothered if I thought I didn't need these people's help somewhere down the line? Probably not, but it was interesting to see how different people treated me now than they used to and how I could turn that in my favor. We humans are a strange species.