Re: Ascension Rebirth – The mistakes made will become the stage for the devil
Chapter IV
PART ONE
-A few days earlier-
[Eternum Calendar - Year 988]
It was midnight. Two bright orbs subtly shun in the darkened sky; the brisk night air combined with the gentle brightness of the moons just after reaching their apex completed the nightly experience.
On the outskirts of the human city known as the [Northern Capital] stood a single woman basking in the rays of the red and blue moons. Her shoulder length white hair reflected the lunar light and her azure eyes almost seemed to glow in the dark.
Almost holy in her appearance was the sight of her ivory armor with a matching white tower shield slung on her back and a silver claymore to her waist; she was a [Paladin] class adventurer. She had mostly operated solo for various reasons and because of this she had gained considerable combat experience over the years.
With every breath, small white fog appeared; the sign of winter approaching. However she was wearing considerably warm clothing under her metal armor thus the chilliness of the air did not faze her.
As she stood there in wait, she gazed up at the magnificence that were the two moons of this world. The red moon aptly named [Pandemonium] for its almost hypnotic and insanity inducing color and the blue moon named [Akashia] for its metaphysical appearance.
After waiting a while, the sounds of footsteps could be heard drawing closer, yet she was not weary of them. Of course there was a reason why she came out all the way outside the city when she could easily have been sleeping on a warm bed within it.
She was to meet someone at this specific spot, however the number of footsteps approaching did not match up to the expected number of people she was waiting for. There should’ve only been one person coming to greet her yet she had heard at least 4 different people carelessly encroaching upon her.
She turned towards the origin of the footsteps.
Four men approached her with weapons drawn. They all wore masks to prevent identification and were dressed in rather shabby armor. People who operate during such ungodly hour were usually not ones with honest intentions. Though the woman herself couldn’t say she was honest either.
She knew what sort of people these men were, most likely they were bandits coming to murder and rob a lone adventurer.
"Look missy, we don't want this to go on any longer than necessary so just give up."
The man gave her a warning.
The woman did not respond and only stared blankly at the men. Their weapons were simple daggers and the one that looked like the leader had a buckler.
Compared to the well equipped woman these men were outclassed. It was a mystery why these men were so confident in their victory. They difference in strength between a man and a woman could easily be mitigated through training and magic.
Was it because they thought they could win through sheer numbers? ‘Foolish’, thought the woman. If they truly thought that way then there was only one thing she could do for these men; put them out of their misery.
Seeing the woman just stand there the men mistook her silence as compliance. The leader of the bandits ran up at her and stabbed her chest, through the gaps in her army and piercing her heart directly.
The woman did not resist, in fact she didn’t even flinch at her own wound. She simply stared back at the man.
"Heh~"
The bandit leader scoffed. It wasn’t as though the woman was immune to pain, a sharp feeling coursed through her chest but it wasn’t anything she couldn’t easily handle. As miraculous as it was, the woman did not die from the direct puncture to her heart, even as blood oozed through her white armor.
Right, she was not human, but belonged to a race of undead known as [Homunculus]. By nature they were already dead thus a simple stab to the heart wouldn’t kill her. There was no true way to kill a Homunculus other than to destroy her body completely or damage it beyond repair.
She grabbed the bandit leader’s head with her right arm.
"What the f- Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Stop!"
The man squirmed.
The man let go of the dagger that still stuck on the woman’s heart and tried to pry her hands away from his head. However, no matter how much the man tried to struggle pulling her hand she would not relent. Instead, with each squirm the woman squeezed even harder.
… And pop.
The man's head had exploded revealing the inner contents. The body was thrown to the floor like a rag doll.
The remaining three accomplices to the bandit leader lost their nerves and started to back away slowly. However the woman could not find it in her to forgive these men who had ruined the near perfect nightly experience.
Ruining her midnight scenery warranted death. Besides, even if they were to disappear they would most likely never be missed.
Like scared rats, the bandits made a decision to retreat yet the woman did not let them; contrary to her prior slow and emotionless movements, she charged towards them at breakneck speeds. Near instantly appearing behind one of the bandits she slashed him down with her claymore. In a single slash the man’s upper torso was separated from his lower, killing him instantly.
Witnessing this cruel and horrible scene the other two men started to run in opposite directions knowing it would all be fruitless, and fruitless it was as the woman easily decapitated another bandit. The final bandit’s body was full of adrenaline, making his legs run faster than the others but that too wasn’t enough, the woman threw her claymore, perfectly stabbing through the final bandit’s neck.
He struggled for a few seconds but words could not escape his mouth. Gargling on his own blood he died on the spot.
This entire scene took place in less than 30 seconds.
Her white armor now painted red, it was an uncomfortable feeling, though the woman.
Using the lowest rank [ice] magic, she created a small amount of water to wash herself. Since the night air was cold it only accentuated the frigid night.
“It’s good to see that your skills haven’t dulled, Chrom.”
Another man’s voice came from behind her. As she wasn’t even able to detect his presence it sort of came as a surprise to her. However this voice was different from the crass bandits that tried to attack her, this voice was more commanding, charismatic even.
He had spoken her name; [Chrom].
At once she ceased what she was doing and lowered her head to the man. The one who knew her name, this was the person that she had been waiting through the bitter cold to greet.
His face was hidden behind a laughing mask, but his expressions could easily be guessed through the tone of his voice. This man was her superior as a demon and the one she directly served as her ‘master’.
“Master! Please forgive me, I did not notice you were there.”
“It’s fine, if even you could notice my presence then I would lose my worth as the [Vampire Lord].”
Chrom stayed silent and let the words of her superior sink in. Unlike Chrom who was a comparatively low rank demon, her superior the Lord of Vampires wasn’t able to move freely around the human city; he would no doubt stand out.
Of course it was possible to hypnotize the people around him to forget about his existence as soon as they were out of his view but that would require a lot of effort thus it was easier to just call Chrom to the outskirts of the city.
"Now then, I have a small task for you."
"I shall obey your every command."
Still bowing to her master she listened in to his orders.
“There’s a certain someone that will be arriving in this city soon to do negotiations on behalf of [Vertloch]. I want you to protect him at all costs during his stay.”
“Is this person a member of the demon race?”
“No, he’s an interesting human, you’ll know when you see him.”
“By your will. Lord [Kyrios].”
“Good, that’s all.”
Once the vampire lord [Kyrios] had spoken his piece he had disappeared in a mass of shadows. Chrom was once again left alone in the middle of the breezy night on the outskirts of the Northern Capital.
PART TWO
Eating breakfast alone at her usual tavern in her iconic paladin armor was Chrom. Three days had passed since she received her orders from her master, but the person he specified had not shown himself. Thus Chrom was following her usual routines in order to blend in with the crowd, though as a homunculus it was not necessary for her to eat in order to survive.
In actuality she only did so for pleasure and to blend in. The various races of this world were not opposed to the demon race, but the demons were quite rare thus if she was revealed it would only make her job harder; her line of work was one that preferred to stay out of people’s attentions after all.
Chrom herself had been lodging within this city for a little under a year and has gotten rather familiar with the people who were also there. Many of them were adventurers that came and went thus did not truly pay attention to her, in addition Chrom preferred to solo most of the quests she received from the [Adventurer’s guild] thus most people did not know much about her other than that she was quite capable.
After completing her breakfast she checked out of her tavern which also doubled as an inn, to her designated area.
As her mastered had told her, a special emissary of the demon race was visiting to do negotiations. The fact that it was a human working on behalf of the demon race did pique her interest but nothing more. It didn’t bother her much, her only job was the protect the emissary and nothing more.
As she has memorized most of the areas of the city in her mental map she was perfect for the job. Structural vulnerabilities, good vantage points, short cuts. There were many points in the city, especially within the slum areas to be weary of.
“Good afternoon, Miss Chrom. You must be the one that Mister Kyrios had informed me about.”
Waiting within the town square in her iconic armor she was easily spotted by the client. To her surprise it was a rather slender man. Medium length brown hair that dropped passed his shoulders in a pony tail and a face that perfectly outlined his bone structure but in a healthy way. His dark colored eyes seemed to pierce through her armor and reveal her true identity.
“You are the one that Master has spoken of? Then I will do best as your vanguard.”
“I appreciate your assistance. I am known as [Enrich]. Please refer to me by that name when you speak.”
"Understood, I am Chrom, a soldier under the command of Lord Kyrios."
"Pleasure to make your acquaintance."
PART THREE
A few more days had passed since Chrom began to guard Enrich. They had been going around talking to various nobles about engaging in trade and further diplomatic negotiations between [North Ariadyne] and [Vertloch].
Historically, North Ariadyne which was mostly inhabited by humans and Vertloch which were populated by demons did not share too close of a relationship. It was true that they were never hostile but despite their geographical proximity they largely went respecting each other’s boundaries.
It was Enrich’s job to break past that point and begin trading commodities and building alliances, for that was the will of the Demon Lord that resided in Vertloch. Normally she would be negligent of politics, but for some reason the Demon Lord had changed her way of thinking and wanted to expand relationships a little more, especially with humans.
Of course there were small pockets of anti- demon factions from the humans, believing that all demons were barbaric monsters that killed for sport. This view could not be further from the truth, however these people were convinced, thus the negotiations weren’t moving as great as expected.
Though most of the results were projected beforehand thus it wasn’t too surprising that nothing concrete was formed. So far there were talks of opening small trade routes and exchanging less valuable commodities. They would need to build ports in order to facilitate the trade between North Ariadyne and Vertloch as they were separated by a large expanse of water.
On the security front, there were no presence of enemies that Chrom could detect. It was entirely possible that her master was over thinking these things and that there were never any enemies to begin with, however Chrom could not rest yet, she still had a job to do.
The final noble that they were going to see was a duke by the name of [Ciel Noire]. He currently served as North Ariadyne’s [Minister of external affairs], which means that he was the big boss that Enrich needed to secure as an ally to tie all the loose ends.
It was around noon when Enrich and Chrom reached Duke Noire’s manor. It was excellently decorated various sculptures and shaped hedges. A a large flowery arch met them at the entrance and following the path that lead from it, they would arrive to be met with another gracefully sculpted fountain. Just beyond that was the door to the manor itself.
The manor was large, almost 3 or 4 stories tall with tens or rooms on each floor. Most of the guards and servants of this manor lived in another separate building which was equally as big as the main manor.
In this house there were only two official residents, the duke himself and his only daughter named [Elise Noire].
Even so, the relationship between the master and servants of this house was unusually good. The servants seemed to generally like working here and the guards were friendly with the master as well often even training with him and his daughter.
The duke himself was a relatively free spirited and merciful man. Of course he had moments where he was serious, usually during his work hours. The man had charisma, popularity, charm, and the support of all his subordinates. Such a man would be indispensible as an ally.
Walking through the front entrance Chrom and Enrich arrived at the front door of the manor. After knocking a few times a maid came out to greet them. The maids of this house all wore the standard frilly maid uniform and the butlers their own butler suits.
"Good evening Sir Enrich. Master Noire has been expecting your arrival."
After greeting them with a soft voice, the maid then led them to the duke’s study. The interior of the house did not lose to the exterior decorations. Everything in this house was placed with great care and in an elegant form that expressed only the richest taste in art. It would not be an exaggeration to call the house itself art.
Arriving upon a smooth dark brown door seemingly made from mahogany, the maid lightly knocked.
“Master Noire, Sir Enrich has arrived.”
"Oh! Please come in~"
The maid opened the door but did not go in.
"Thank you."
Enrich replied with a smile as he and Chrom entered the room.
The room was large and covered from wall to wall with books. Sitting behind a desk was a relatively young looking man with light brown hair and grayish white eyes. Standing next to him was a small girl aged about 6 or 7 with similar colored hair and eyes. She was smiling and holding a book.
"Thank you for coming. Sir Enrich, I've heard about how much you've accomplished over these past few years."
"No, you flatter me too much, most of it was accomplished through sheer luck."
Within only seconds of meeting the two delved into deep conversation. They talked about various issues concerning politics, trade, economics. Topics too hard for Chrom and the young mistress of the house to understand.
Chrom simply had no interest in topics she did not understand and therefore sat by the sofa drinking the tea that was served. The young mistress came up to her since her father was occupied.
"Hello. My name is Elise Noire, how do you do?"
The girl gave an elegant bow befitting of a noble's daughter. Chrom's expression didn't change much; her expression never changes much.
"Chrom."
She gave a one word reply. It wasn't that Chrom was particularly trying to be rude or looking down at her because she was a child. Chrom by her very nature was bad at conversations.
"Chrom~ have you read this?"
Elise showed her a book titled [Eternis’ true form], written by a small time noble/scholar named [Lucius Rosenberg].
The world was flat and everything revolved around [Eternis] that was the majority held belief of this world. However this book came to challenge that very idea; an idea that could shake the implications of the world.
For the most part the book was largely seen as a ‘fantasy’ story and generally ignored, though some say that the words in the book are the words of the devil and thus it is heresy.
As a general story it was fairly entertaining but nothing that would truly pique the interest of the general masses. Chrom herself had not given much thought about the ‘true’ form of the world she lived in; all she knew and cared about was her immediate surroundings and the orders given to her by her superiors.
Chrom shook her head to Elise’s prior question about having read the book. Chrom truly had no interests in the book but Elise took her actions as a tacit approval for her to read it to her. Though a little troubled, there was nothing that Chrom could do while Enrich and Duke Noire were discussing business.
"Be sure not to trouble our guest too much, Elise."
The duke interjected when he saw her daughter talking with their guest. To him it may have looked like Chrom was babysitting.
* * *
By the time both parties had finished with their business it was already dark.
"Why don't you stay here for the night? We have a lot of guest rooms after all."
Chrom and Enrich had been staying at a nearby inn so the offer to sleep in a comfortable bed was something to rejoice. Enrich accepted the offer right away. This was a good thing as it meant that the duke was satisfied with his time with Enrich and that negotiations would likely succeed.
At first Enrich and Chrom were placed in different rooms but Chrom objected to it, saying that she needed to be close to Enrich.
After much deliberation Chrom was finally persuaded to stay in the room just across Enrich's. While it wasn't instant, if there was any sort of problem Chrom could immediately get to his position.
Luckily there was no such problems during the night. The Duke's estate was relatively well maintained and guarded. Of course skilled assassins and the like may be able to bypass their security but fortunately such a thing did not occur.
However, something did happen in the dead of night. The doors to Chrom's room opened slowly with and audible creek. Chrom who was pretending to sleep slowly reached for her sword. The person was standing just over her bed and Chrom had her sword ready to strike if the person were to attack.
The person slowly reached out and that's when Chrom made her move. She leapt up from her bed and swung down with her sword. Only just a few millimeters from decapitating the intruder Chrom stopped. The one standing over her bed with teary eyes was the duke's daughter; Elise Noire.
"I can't?"
She asked still with teary eyes. Chrom was at a loss. She knew that Elise was asking if she could sleep in the same bed, but if she did that it would only delay her from getting out of the bed when the need arises.
Elise gazed up at her with a look of pure innocence and cuteness.
"Ugh~"
Chrom was taken aback, she was no good with opponents she could not cut down.
"Mmm~?"
Chrom could not find an opening to this situation.
"It's fine..."
In the end she gave up and spent a night with the duke's daughter. Even Chrom's heart of metal couldn't withstand the full brunt force of cuteness that is Elise Noire.
Morning arose but Chrom did not get a wince of sleep due to her predicament. That and the fact that she needed to stay awake to ensure that there were no real intruders.
Despite this Chrom had no real need for sleep since she was a homunculus.
There were many advantages of being a homunculus, not requiring sleep was one of them.
The next morning, Chrom slowly got out of the bed without waking up Elise.
After confirming that nothing had happened to Enrich she walked down to the toilet to wash her face. When she looked at herself in the mirror she saw bags forming under her eyes
While homunculi won't die from sleep deprivation they will tire out, it was just that they had much greater stamina than humans. The only reason bags appeared under her eyes were because she hadn't had a single night of sleep since she was tasked with protecting Enrich.
"You look awful, didn't you get any sleep?"
The duke that happened to pass by the toilet peered into the toilet since the door was left open. Usually Chrom makes the bags under her eyes disappear by massaging it but she was caught off guard.
"Ah, because I had to keep watch for Master Enrich."
"Sounds tough. Wish I could do something for you but keep up the good work."
"Thank you."
"That reminds me, have you seen Elise? When I woke up she wasn't in her bed."
"She came into my bed last night. She wasn't harmed."
The duke closed his eyes and wiped away the tears that seemingly came from nowhere. Unbeknownst to Chrom they were tears of happiness for a father to see his daughter safely married away.
"I see. Then I hope you will make her happy."
"?!"
Chrom took a step back at the sudden comment.
"It's a joke."
It was Enrich who interjected and explained to the socially inept Chrom. He was a little disorganized but that was why he was going to the toilet in the first place.
"Ah, I see."
"Hahaha, Chrom you're too easy to tease."
Chrom's flustered and she averted her gaze.
“Say, I was planning to meet up with a certain noble to have lunch, would you like to join in Sir Enrich? It may be of some help with your work, of course you are free to decline.”
“Oh? That sounds wonderful, I am thankful for the opportunity.”
With that their activities for the day had been decided.
PART FOUR
As noon arrived, the sun took its place high above the sky’s peak. The streets became busy with the noise of daily life with many different kinds of people wondering about their business. The town square especially was a place which could be called the epicenter of trade an information.
Adventurers, merchants, nobles and commoners all frequented this place. Trading, requesting, establishing parties, selling goods and services. Inns, restaurants, taverns, weapon shops, armor shops. It was the perfect scene out of an RPG.
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
The duke, his daughter and his guests, Enrich and Chrom were travelling via coach thus their path was not impeded.
“If you don’t mind me asking, to who’s residences are we heading to?”
Enrich was the first to break the silence, to which duke Noire gave a rather amused smile.
“Some people call him heretic, others call him mad, though I prefer to call him an ‘interesting man’. His name is [Lucius Rosenberg] an Earl. He’s also the author who wrote the book [The true form of Eternis], a work that has received rather harsh feedback from the majority of scholars. Though because of his standing there weren’t any physical feedback from those who disagreed with his work.”
“Ah, that book. Yes, I’ve also had the pleasure of reading that work, it was, how you put it ‘interesting’. The world is round and we revolved around the sun, truly an amusing observation, do you perhaps also hold the same views as the esteemed scholar?”
Duke Noire replied with a professional smile.
“If there is enough scientific proof, then I might just be inclined to believe so.”
“Of course, I’m in agreement. One must not throw out a thesis simply because it sounds absurd.”
The two men continued to chatter about as they arrived at the count’s manor. It was on a smaller scale than the duke’s house but this house too held a veritable amount of art.
As they approached the entrance of the house, two maids wearing the standard maid uniform lead them in. They were guided through to the back yard where young scholar count was reading through various medical sources, mostly having to do with the infamous [Ivan’s magic disease].
The count’s golden hair reflected the sun’s rays as it glowed brightly. His stern green eyes hidden behind elegant glasses revealed the gaze of a scholar. He was slender man, almost womanly in his figure, even his semi-long hair enforced that idea but his clean golden beard made it unmistakable that he was a man.
“Master Lucius, your guests have arrived.”
The maid guiding them informed with a stern voice.
“Ah, thank you. Please prepare them some beverages and set up for lunch.”
“Understood.”
At once the maid left without another word.
“Welcome Duke Ciel Noire, I see you’ve also brought more guests as always.”
“Haha~ the more the merrier right?”
Without a hint of remorse the duke laughed it off.
“I apologize for intruding, my name is Enrich and she is my guard, Chrom.”
Enrich introduced themselves with a bow.
“It’s no problem, as the duke put it aptly, the more the merrier. I’m more than happy to have people who visit me despite my recent… works.”
“Yes, I’ve read your work, they are most interesting.”
“I see, I’m glad you found it as such.”
The maid returned with a tray of cups with cool beverages. Most of them were tea or coffee but for the young girl, Elise was orange juice. After serving them the maid left the scene once more, she had perfectly blended in with the environment that she transitioned in and out seamlessly.
“Before we start, you have my condolences about what happened to your wife, count Lucius.”
The count made a sad face as he heard but went back to his normal expression quickly. He knew that the duke did not mean any insult as he said it and that he truly was offering him comfort.
“Yes, I have been searching for a cure all this time but it’s truly as they say. There is no cure for the [Ivan’s magic disease]. As her last wish I have sent out a call for her estranged daughters, but whether they will come or not is a different matter entirely.”
“I’m sure they’ll come. After all there is no child who does not wish to return to their parents.”
The duke said as he gently stroke through his daughter’s hair.
“I truly hope so too.”
After the heavy conversation, lunch was served at the count’s manor. A small feast for his guests, consisting of high quality foods. Throughout their meal the discussed various topics including about the book that the count had written.
Like before, Chrom and Elise were unable to follow, thus they separately enjoyed their meals on the end of the table. The duke turned over to see his daughter segregating some of the vegetables.
“That’s no good Elise, you have to be sure to eat your vegetables you know? You won’t grow up to be healthy otherwise.”
Hearing such words from her father, Elise made a sour face.
“Mmm~ but I don’t like it.”
“Hmm~ what to do? Chrom do you have any ideas?”
At a loss on what to do the duke turned to Chrom for the solution, after all his daughter and Chrom had become rather friendly.
“Eh?”
“Elise seems rather attached to you so maybe you could give her some words of wisdom?”
"Hmm, if you don't eat vegetables then your bones will become soft and it would be fatal when fighting."
"Really?!"
Elise jumped up from her seat. Though to be perfectly fair, in Chrom’s case whether she ate anything didn’t really affect her constitution much. Food was merely for pleasure for a homunculus. However after hearing Chrom’s words Elise started to eat her vegetables whilst still making a sour face.
"Thank you."
The duke replied, happy to see that his daughter was eating healthy.
"It's nothing."
* * *
“Once again, thank you for inviting us for lunch.”
After lunch was served the time for Enrich and duke Noire to leave had come. Though it was only a short while the three men had come to respect one another’s ideals. Though on surface it was simply a meal between friends the implications of it was a lot deeper. Getting friendly and talking about political policies regarding various subjects was also part of the job, for both Enrich and Lucius who had their own ideals and agendas, and the one who was capable of bringing about that ideal was the man named Ciel Noire.
PART FIVE
On their way back to the duke’s manor a strange situation was brewed in the center of town.
“How dare you?! Who do you think I am, you insolent little worm!”
A loud and obnoxious voice could be heard echoing through the streets. People had gathered in observation of the situation, though the gallery’s faces weren’t exactly happy, rather they were filled with disgust.
Curious, the duke and Enrich turned to see who it was.
Standing in the middle of town and shouting down at a young woman and her child was a pudgy man. With ornate and lavishing clothes he flaunted them at the commoners and peasantry. He was no doubt a noble, in fact, in an ironic twist of fate he was one of the highest ranking ‘nobility’.
“Duke Vista.”
Duke Noire muttered under his breath, but not enough that it wouldn’t catch Enrich’s attention.
“Is he someone you know?”
Enrich asked out of curiosity.
At first the duke was rather puzzled as to why Enrich did not know the name of such an infamous man but then he realized it was because Enrich had only just arrived at the city a few days ago.
“[Duke Vista Calros]; the minister of [internal affairs]. He’s notorious for his obnoxious behavior and the way he treats people of lower status… and unfortunately my rival, of sorts.”
“Sounds dangerous, why is such a man serving as the [internal affairs minister]?”
Duke Lucius shook his head in contempt.
“Money, power, connections, status. He used all sorts of despicable means to get to where he is today.”
Even though Duke Vista had the same position as Duke Noire in title and office he held none of the charm or charisma. In the end he was a stereotypical mob villain kind of character; if berating a woman who was kneeling down with tears wasn’t such a perfect display of his personality.
“Please stop the coach.”
The duke asked the driver.
“Papa?”
Tilting her head in confusion, Elise called out to her father who had a rather stern expression. Rarely did she get to see her father become mad or angry.
"Stay here Elise, I'll be right back."
"Do you plan to go stop him? It looks like he's even brought strong guards."
"Yes, but even he can't lay his hands on me that easily."
"Hmm, still, I know, Chrom why don't you go along with the duke?"
Chrom looked back at Enrich. She wanted to refuse that request since her job was to protect Enrich at all costs. Noticing her weary gaze Enrich added on.
“I can tell what you’re thinking Chrom, but don’t worry. What mister Kyrios really wants to protect isn’t my life but my work. If duke Noire is hurt by this it will be much worse than if I were to be killed. It would make everything null.”
With that Chrom was successfully persuaded. She gave a nod and followed through with Enrich's request.
At the request of Enrich, Chrom accompanied Duke Noire to confront Duke Vista. At close distance the pudgy duke gave and even more unpleasant aura. He had the face befitting of a villain and the personality of one too. At first Duke Vista did not recognize Duke Noire and lashed out at the man who stood in front to confront him.
"I do not think you should be treating people like this Duke Vista. It's unsightly."
"Who the hell are you to tell me such things?!"
"Does it matter who I am? I'm sure everyone here agrees that your actions reflect badly on other nobles. Throwing a tantrum like a child is very unpleasant."
Duke Noire stretched out his arms to suggest that everyone was in agreement with him. Of course they were but simply did not have the courage to say it out aloud.
"Gh! You bastard! Guards execute him!"
The guards were about to comply with the duke's orders but stopped after removing the hood that Duke Noire was wearing.
"He is-!"
The guards backed away without touching him.
"What's wrong?! Why did you back away?"
"But he is Duke Noire!"
Duke Vista squinted his eyes and finally realized who the man that confronted him was.
"What-?!"
"Were you not going to execute me?"
"But that is-!"
Duke Vista was left speechless. The crowd was starting to cheer on Duke Noire. Unlike duke Vista, among the people Duke Noire was fairly popular so he had many supporters. The crowd breathed a sigh of relief when the duke appeared.
After a moment or two Duke Vista regained his composure. Even though he was like scum he was still a noble who had some inclination to act like one, only when it was convenient to him though.
"My, Duke Noire, I think it is you who should not get involved in my affairs, this woman right here committed the ultimate sin of consorting with the demon folk. As such I was taking precautions to ensure that she does not do so anymore."
Duke Vista was notorious for being a member of the anti-demon faction of Ariadyne. It was still a small minority of people who were in that party, most of them were nobles thus they held considerable power despite their numbers.
Amongst them Duke Vista held relatively large amount of power.
For now consorting with demons were not prohibited by Ariadyne law so there was no real problem with what the woman kneeling down was doing, it was only that if it got to the ear of the duke it would become a problem.
"I do not believe that Ariadyne has an anti-demon policy. As such whatever the woman here has done she bears no sin."
"Hmph, of course you'd say that you're part of the pro-demon agenda. You'd be fine even if you sold out your own country."
Duke Noire shook his head. The man in front of him only practiced intolerance which is why he was viewed in such a negative light.
"Why do you shake your head so? Very well, why don't we duel for the woman's freedom? If your guard over there could best all of my elite guards then I will retract whatever judgment I made to this woman."
Dueling for judgment was an old tradition within Ariadyne, however it was mostly never used since it was seen as barbaric. Duke Noire turned towards Chrom who was expressionless. Chrom was not his guard so he had no real right to ask her to fight on his behalf.
"I just have to beat them?"
Chrom asked, still with her expressionless face.
"Are you sure?"
Chrom nodded.
"I understand, Duke Vista I accept your challenge and the people gathered here will be our witness."
"Hmph, you fool, you think you can best my soldiers with a single woman?"
"It is not good to underestimate your foes."
Hence the battle between three elite soldiers and the semi adventurer Chrom was engaged.
At first the soldiers didn't know what to do, even they did not truly like Vista, but they also had their pride as soldiers of the realm. They would not want to be seen as weak so they did not pull any punches.
The first to make a move was one of the soldiers. They charged in with their swords but the attack was easily defended by Chrom's iconic white shield. Chrom pushed the soldier still locked in with her shield and sent him flying. The other two soldiers seeing that scene made weary face and decided to attack in unison.
All of their attacks were dodged or blocked by Chrom.
However she was being pushed back. Feeling that anymore would be unsightly for a servant of Kyrios she clenched her fist and attacked the soldiers with her sword. It did not kill them but left them with minor injuries nonetheless.
The second soldier was cut through his armor along his chest and fell.
The third soldier moved back to avoid the sword but was then charged at by Chrom's shield and sent flying backwards. It was a completely one sided duel in favor of Chrom.
"Wha-?!"
Duke Vista could not believe what he was seeing. His most elite guards had just lost to one female warrior.
Chrom turned back towards Duke Noire.
"Thank you Chrom, you've been a great help."
Chrom nodded.
"Now, Duke Vista as you said please free the woman."
"Grr-! Fine! Whatever! I will remember this!"
With those parting words Duke Vista had left.
When he did there was a loud cheer in the middle of the square.
"Thank you so much!"
The woman who was being berated came up to express her gratitude.
"Please, thank Chrom here, not me."
The town square became much livelier that day.
PART SIX
Nightfall had come once again.
Chrom and Enrich were asked to stay another night within the Duke's manor.
Enrich did not have an allotted time to work within and he had no reason to reject the offer, so he accepted. Elise was also overjoyed that Chrom could stay with her.
As usual Enrich and the Duke discussed matters too advanced for either Elise or Chrom to understand. They seemed to enjoy talking which made Chrom wonder whatever was fun about talking about politics or economics.
Chrom and Elise thus spent another evening reading more books together.
* * *
Just as yesterday Elise had decided to stay with Chrom for the night. After confirming that Elise was asleep Chrom got up and sat on one of the spare chairs in her room. She simply sat down gazing out at the moon.
She wasn't able to sleep anyway since her duty was to protect Enrich. She heard strange creaking noises coming from the hallway. Leaving the room she checked up on Enrich and found him fast asleep.
Curious Chrom decided to do a little investigation. She checked most of the rooms on the floor and found nothing amiss. While on her way back to her room she noticed something outside her window,
a shadow of a person.
"Who's there?!"
Chrom shouted.
However the shadow that was supposed be outside the window was now behind her.
"I'm impressed you could find me."
"Assassin?!"
"No, I’m the candy-man who comes in at the dead of night to deliver candy to all the good boys and girls. Really, who else do you think would sneak into another person’s estate carrying a knife?”
Chrom could not distinguish on whether this shadow was a man or a woman, all of the important figures were hidden away by shadow and even the voice wasn't very clear. Since the assassin answered her question there was no need for hesitation. Chrom charged at the assassin even without a weapon. She threw many punches but all of them were easily avoided.
"You're skills are nothing too spectacular. What a shame, none of the guards put up any resistance either."
"Bastard."
It was uncharacteristic of Chrom to swear but she had grown somewhat attached to the people here. The assassin took out a knife and disappeared in a shadowy effect and reappeared behind her. It was a little late to notice as the dagger had already sunk into her back.
She was temporarily paralyzed and fell to the floor. The blow wasn't fatal, it may have been if she were an ordinary human but she was a homunculus. This kind of attack only stunned her temporarily but it was enough for the shadow to run ahead before her.
This was bad, she thought.
If Enrich dies her mission would be a failure, she could not bring shame to her master at any cost. She found the will to get up and ran towards Enrich's room. When she opened the door he was still comfortably sleeping as though nothing had happened. Chrom was a little confused as to what was going on but that thought was immediately thrown to the back of her mind.
Something odd could be seen from the window.
It was smoke. Smoke was rising up from one of the rooms below. Most likely there was a fire raging downstairs. Chrom woke up Enrich and Elise to warn them of the fire.
They hastily got dressed and went outside to see what was going on. One of the rooms on the lower floors were on fire. Soon the fire started spreading. Amidst their confusion Duke Vista who happened to live nearby also came to see what all the commotion was about.
"What in literal blazes is going on here?!"
"Fire!"
Someone shouted and soon there was a massive panic.
Their top priority was to put out the fire. With Duke Vista's help they were able to gather many ice magicians to water out the fire. Chrom wasn't too proficient in magic but did what she could. Soon half the house was left charred.
"So will someone explain to me what's going on?"
Duke Vista demanded an answer.
"Where's papa?!"
Elise shouted in panic.
When there was no answer she immediately ran into the mansion. Chrom and Enrich ran after her. On the end of the hallway next to the study room was the master bedroom. In it laid Duke Noire with his bed soaked in blood.
He did not move.
Dead.
Presumably his throat was slit using some sort of knife.
When Elise found the scene she cried and ran towards her now deceased father.
Chrom tried to go over to her but was stopped by Enrich.
He had a grave expression on his face, one that he had not shown the entire time he was here.
"We're leaving."
"?!"
Chrom tried to reject that but was shut up by the next words Enrich spoke.
"Listen Chrom, as I said, our lives are not important, my work is what mister Kyrios wants. The duke was likely assassinated, we can't have anything tying me down to this crime at all, otherwise my entire work will be all for naught. I understand, I want to help her out to but this is more important to mister Kyrios."
Chrom felt she could not refuse this. Her master was the one who gave her the mission after all. As Enrich said, his entire work would be thrown into chaos if he were found in the home of an assassinated Duke.
Since no one, other than a few maids who didn't even really know them were the only witnesses to their stay here it was likely that they could escape with no one knowing.
"But-"
"Chrom, I know. It's hard for me too."
Enrich averted his gaze.
"I... Understand."
"Thank you."
With those bitter words the two left the manor leaving the crying child.
PART SEVEN
A few days after the incident Chrom was once again in the middle of nowhere outside the Northern Capital. Enrich had returned to the north continent to continue on with his work and Chrom was now just waiting for her master once more.
She gazed up once more at the large, bright moons.
It was cold.
Not the weather. Her heart. She felt a sense of death within her, ironic as she was part of the undead family. It was the death of her heart that gave her such a melancholic feeling. She wanted to cry but undead cannot do such a thing.
Anguish. Sorrow. Apathy.
She didn't know which emotion was correct in such a situation.
"You did what was right."
A charismatic voice came from behind her.
It was the masked vampire; her master.
"Lord Kyrios. I have accomplished your given task."
"Good job."
"..."
"Do you hate me?"
Kyrios asked.
When he did Chrom looked up, startled at the question. There was no way she could hate her master, her creator.
"How could I-?"
"I made you do something that you did not want to, all for my benefit. I made you abandon your heart."
"...No, I did what was necessary."
"It's fine you know. To speak out about these things. I can't have my cute servant become depressed like this, it may cause a problem later."
"... I, I wanted to save her."
A day after the death of Duke Noire was announced her daughter was framed for the murder. It was clearly the work of the assassin she had met on that day, if she had testified against that accusation then she could have saved the daughter from being framed.
"Is that your wish?"
Kyrios asked once again startling Chrom.
"Is that still possible?"
"Who knows, I do not wish to meddle in the affairs of humans, but there may be someone who would be willing to help. Help you absolve your guilty conscience."
'Someone like that couldn't possibly exist.' Chrom wanted to say but she held it in.
"Is there such a person?"
"There is, I hear our lord Astaroth has taken quite an interest in that certain person, but whether that person will help you or not will be his decision. On your behalf I shall ask."
"You will do such a thing for me, milord?"
"Of course, my cute subordinate is depressed even I can't stay quiet about this since it was half my fault."
"Thank you, Milord."