Heavy boots, made out of leather and bones of a Flame Ape, clattered against the floor one after the other. Ralian made her way to the Matriarch's chamber, her daughter following suit with a worried expression.

“Is the news true?” She walked through the already open door and paused as she looked inside.

“...It seems it is,” her daughter, Lilian, stopped behind her and said. Both their eyes fell upon the body that rested on the floor. Half a dozen people, werewolves in their human forms, surrounded the body. They all stood at the start side of the room, before a massive veil that parted the room in two.

A voice came from the other side of the veil, “It's indeed a Vampire. Upon questioning it, when a particular sequence of questions was triggered, his brain exploded internally. He’s dead. That must have been some self-destruct mechanism.”

The voice was ethereal. Any human would have crumpled to their knees and looked up as if a Divinity had spoken. The werewolves were no better, their eyes looked at the veil as if their God rested beyond it. The truth was not far from that, either.

“Matriarch,” Ralian bowed, “What's going on?”

“It's a Thrall Vampire,” the voice replied. Usually, a Thrall was a human who had been bitten by a Vampire and turned into a loyal servant. “He has only been turned recently, according to my senses. Not even a week. So him coming here means…”

The Matriarch trailed off, letting the implications sink in. His coming here meant that the Vampires already knew they were here, or at least suspected so. And if it was the second, if they were suspecting them to be here and weren’t actually sure, that suspension must have been confirmed by now since their Thralls were killed.

“How many were there?” Ralian asked after a moment.

“Six,” Clausius the Assassin replied, the same man who had informed her of this matter earlier.

“Why did you only bring one?”

“They've been killed…”

“What? Killed? Not self-destruct? Did the Assassin Squad kill them? Why?” her scowl deepened. That was a stupid thing to do.

“It wasn't us, madam,” Clausius said with a bow. “It was the… Romani young master. He couldn't be blamed, it was unavoidable; he didn't cause any trouble. Rather, these guys found trouble with him. He had no choice but to fight back. Although even I was surprised at the lethality at which he fought back.”

That statement confused Ralian. Clausius was a stern man, taken aback by few things. How was it so surprising to him that the Romani young brat ordered his knights to murder vampires?

“My lady, he…” Noticing her confusion, the Assassin looked up, locking eyes with her. “He killed five of them. Alone, on his own. The knights didn’t do much, if anything. Only the sixth one was defeated by a knight, the 4th Ascension Knight. That's when I slipped in and tugged the vampire away. They were planning to interrogate him, which brought me out of my shock to realize that we should be interrogating the vampire instead.”

“...He killed them on his own, you say,” Ralian crossed her arms. She had to admit that the Romani boy had impressive senses and observation abilities, but she had an idea about his strength too. He wasn’t very impressive in that department. “These Thrall Vampires couldn't have been that weak, could they?”

“I felt all of them were above the 2nd Ascension, and one even on 3rd. The Vampire blood in them made their threat level possibly even higher than that. Iskandaar Romani was and still is on the 1st Ascension, and yet he dealt with them with a single punch. I'm ashamed to admit, but the display had taken me off guard.” Clausius said slowly. “Regardless, I asked the vampire about his master, guessing some names, while bringing him here. It was my fault, I shouldn't have done that in my enraged emotions, but I did. And one of those words must have set off a bomb in his head. I apologize.”

“It's alright, it's unavoidable since we'd have asked the same questions,” Ralian decided to forgive that after a moment of consideration. While it surprised her that Iskandaar was strangely powerful, there was something more important. She looked at the veil, “Matriarch, what do we do now? If they know our location, then we should prepare for a confrontation.”

The Matriarch sighed. It was a loud sigh that made the veil tremble. “What do you mean confrontation? That'd be unwise. The best choice would be to leave Lockdarn, Ralian, my daughter.”

Ralian frowned. “But… mother… if we get on the move again, your injuries will get worse. You need to be on constant rest and recover well. I can never choose to be on the run when you're in this state.”

“I've already told you to stop worrying about me,” a cough ended her sentence. She was far from healthy. A momentary huff later, she said, “Rather… have you thought over my offer, Ralian?”

“I would never wield my claws against you, Mother,” Ralian replied with a frown.

“Even when that might guarantee the tribe's survivability?”

“....”

Another sigh penetrated through the veil. After a short moment, she addressed her granddaughter instead, “Lilian, how've you been?”

“I'm sorry, grandmother,” Lilian’s voice trembled. “I… I failed to get something that could save you. It was the [Demon Cup], it can heal anything as long as it's not the loss of a limb if tea is made on the cup by pouring the blood of ten people. I found it, but someone else bought it before I could.”

“WHAT?!” One of the other werewolves growled at Lilian. He was the man who used to be part of Lockdarn’s underworld before. His contribution to the tribe could be considered equal to the Ralian’s own. His arms clenched, his eyes growing dark, as fur almost spread over his body in anger. “You… you little girl! How can you mess up that bad?!”

“RATHOR,” The voice of a divine beast, a mythical creature capable of world destruction, exploded from behind the veil. Growls merged with words as she said, “Who gave you the permission to scold her in my presence?”

Rathor fell to his knees, forehead clattering against the floor. “I- I apologize, Matriarch.”

The voice forgot him a moment later and traveled towards Lilian. “Don't feel too down, Lilian. That cup wouldn't have helped me much. It'd have only increased my time of misery, it wouldn't have fully healed me. As I've said… unless someone like the Holy Saintess or one of the Demonic Generals, the Mana Succubus, chooses to help me, it's all pointless. Don't feel bad you didn't get the cup, alright?”

“....” Lilian lowered her head and nodded.

“In any case, everyone,” Ralian took over the conversation, looking at them all. “Prepare for war. This time, we won’t be the ones running.”

****

Me, Sir Carlos, and the four trainees returned to the horse stable where the rest were training. The Vice Captain was enraged hearing the details of the ambush, while the few injured trainees were receiving medical aid.

I was uninjured, my little wounds already healed by the Level Up, so I was sitting under a tree and watching the leaves dance. Sir Carlos and Vice Captain Lukas conversed a few dozen meters away from here, behind a stack of hay.

My ears picked on their conversation.

“But to think the young master… truly? I know it's coming from you, Sir, but it's unbelievable.” For what had to be the third time, Sir Lukas expressed his disbelief.

Rather than taking that badly, I smiled up at the leaves. I grabbed a falling leaf, unbothered to even look at it with my eyes since the Demonic Sphere allowed me to predict the way it was falling. I put it between my teeth and closed my eyes.

At least my reputation would get better from this if nothing else. The prospect that Vampires would soon reach Lockdarn was high, but the possibility that the Werewolves would flee before that was higher. I truly hoped things would end like that.

Earlier I was incredibly worried, but honestly, there wasn't much I could do here. If by any chance the Werewolves chose to stay… I had nothing hidden in my sleeves.

I did receive a considerable power up today, but it was far from enough to deal with people above the 6th Ascension. I wasn't delusional like that.

Speaking of power-ups, I should check these few notifications I missed earlier. Enjoying the breeze could be done later.

Opening my eyes, I called upon the Status Page and then the notification page. I looked at the latest series of notifications.

[...You've processed and learned a technique from the True Demon God Art.]

“Oh, a God Art!” I was so surprised that I almost shouted, sitting up. Sir Carlos and Lukas turned to me, and I cleared my throat and waved at them.

I looked at the notification again. Unlike the other two I received before, the Sword Art and Fist Art, this did not mention anything about a ‘first form.’ Expected, since unlike those two, the God Arts were not classified into linear forms. They were rather a cluster of techniques that were considered either mystic, godly, or demonic.

It was closer to [Magic] if I put it bluntly. So I was curious about which technique I got. I returned my attention to the next lines.

[True Demon God Art: The Infernal Rebirth of the Berserker Demon has been learned.]

[Additional knowledge about ‘demon’ in general comes with the technique, to help you properly perform it. The knowledge is intricate enough to solidify into a skill.]

[Unique Skill: Demon Time has been unlocked.]

“Oh,” I blinked. That was surprising.

The Infernal Rebirth of the Berserker Demon was a powerful technique. As the name suggested, it was a Berserker technique, one that cost half the sanity of the user when performed, in exchange for enhanced lethality. It could very well save my life in serious situations.

Surprisingly, it also gave me a Unique Skill too. That was a welcome gift. The other skills I had received before were self-explanatory. I hadn't bothered to check their details, but this one was interesting enough that I had to click on it.

===

Name: Demon Time

Rank: Unique

Description: Upon reaching critical health, you can activate this self-rejuvenation technique. You draw upon the life force of the land and the demonic essence within yourself to heal significantly and gain a temporary boost in power.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

Effect: Restores 50% of your maximum health and increases your damage output by 30% for 10 seconds. Can only be used once per week.

===

“Oh?” I raised an eyebrow. The effect was quite similar to the Infernal Rebirth of the Berserker Demon technique. In that, it gave me a greater attack output for a short period of time.

Such a good loot.

Just when I thought it was done, one last pair of messages greeted me. This one made me frown.

[Skills ‘Demon Time’ and ‘Infernal Rebirth of the Berserker Demon’ resonate with one another. They can achieve synergy.]

[Note: Because the ‘Infernal Rebirth of the Berserker Demon’ is a part of the Heavenly Demon Skillset, it may cause uncertain results if merged. Would you like to merge?]

“Uncertain, it says…” I scowled at it. I wasn't sure if the risk would be worth it. The technique itself was powerful, and the Skill was good too. If merging it somehow caused it to turn into a useless thing, I'd really regret it.

What the hell was this Gatcha-bullshit, System?

I chewed on my lips. Since both of the techniques were great, maybe I'll get something even greater in exchange. Should I take the bait?

After a long minute, I realized I couldn't decide. Thankfully, this didn't have to be the time to decide, there was no time limit.

“Let's keep it untouched for now,” I murmured as I closed the notification page. If a situation arose where I used both of those techniques and yet I was about to die, maybe then I'd click merge.

Until then, I'll let them be.

“....”

I let out a sigh and reopened the page.

Curiosity was killing me, I wanted to check it out now. This could very well end up saving my life, so I couldn't take the risk of ignoring it. I could get a skill that might allow me to go against enemies Levels above me.

“Let's see…” With a deep breath in, I clicked on the message, and two options popped up.

[Yes] — [No]

I clicked on yes, and the system window glittered like water under sunlight. The glittering stopped… and a new skill rested before my eyes.

[‘True Demon God Art: The Temporal Overdraft’ has been unlocked].

“Huh?” I blinked at the window as more details unfolded.

Reading the lines, I scowled at the insanity presented before me.

****

By evening, I was expecting the Werewolves to get moving. Unfortunately, that didn't seem to be the case at all. Rather than preparing to flee, they were preparing for war.

Sir Carlos, Sir Lukas, Rony, and Tyrone walked beside me as we moved through the busy crowd that left the city in a hurry. Bags and in some cases, hastily wrapped bed sheets filled with belongings hung around their shoulders. They looked like the apocalypse was coming as they ran.

“Oh, hey, you!” I stopped a man by the shoulder, and he startled back when he saw my face. It was the fruit shopkeeper from earlier. “What's going on here? Where is everyone going?”

We were in the horse stable all this time, in the open grassland near that area. The news, whatever it may be, hadn't reached there. The people in charge of the stable weren't in any hurry either.

“Oh,” the man blinked, quickly saying, “Young master, you should flee! All buildings and houses around the Baron’s mansion were sent an alert that there was danger. Knights reported to our doors that a group of terrorists might attack the mansion tonight, and due to the scale of the possible attack, everyone in a mile was sent to either leave the city or crash into their relative's homes if they had any living in other parts of the city.”

“...I see.”

“I’m saying this because you paid me a lot earlier, but aren't you staying at the Baron's guest house? It'd be wise to flee right away. I think I heard that the Baron and Baroness were looking for you. T- then I'll be going now, stay safe!” He shouted, and then ran off, merging into the crowd again.

I frowned to myself, contemplating. So this is the choice they've made? Dammit…. Haah, at least they aren't some heartless beasts. They made sure the civilians were evacuated.

I couldn't hate them. If that dark-skinned wolf lady from that night in the forest was one of the leaders of these wolves, it made sense that they weren't total beasts. She was quite chill for a powerhouse.

“What should we do, young master?” Sir Lukas asked, and I pondered a bit more.

I looked at them a moment later, “Sir Carlos and Sir Lukas, please accompany me to the mansion. I'll need to meet the Baroness there. You trainees return to the stable and tell the others to stay back. And…” I looked at Tyrone. “In case of an attack, don't approach the battle scene. Help the civilians around if you can, but don't engage.”

All four of them frowned. They realized I knew something they didn't. I was glad they understood the seriousness of my implications.

Sir Lukas was at [Level 42], a 4th Ascension of his own right. He wouldn't be totally helpless in the incoming battle, given the scale of it was indeed as high as I feared.

The Knights exchanged glances and obeyed. As I hadn't said anything too absurd that they'd question my sanity, the trainees rushed back to where we had come from, while the Leader and Vice Leader of the Romani 5th Knight Squad led me to the Baron's mansion.

The air was thick with tension and urgency as we made our way through the cobblestone road. The scared townsfolk quickly went past us, and by the time we reached the gate, there were few in sight. The orange sky grew darker as we walked, too. The evening was growing into the night.

The gate was actually open and unguarded, there was nobody to stop or greet us. I guess they were confident in their sense of smell to sense a Vampire from miles away, and a Vampire probably wouldn't choose to come through the main gate anyway.

“May I ask what's going on, young master?” Sir Lukas was curious, a worried look on his face as he observed his superiors' serious expressions.

“Just trust us for now,” Sir Carlos explained in my stead. He had seen the letter, and he knew it couldn't be spoken of in public like this.

The three of us made our way through the door of the mansion and stopped, seeing the mess inside. All the maids and servants were running around, and none of them were humans, I could tell. A few of them even had their ears and tails showing; they must be the Wolf Demi-Humans among the other Werewolves.

Less than five seconds inside, the person I was searching for came to find me instead.

“There you are,” the Baroness shouted as she rushed toward me. She was beside the Baron, carrying a large bag each.

Those bags must be filled with valuables, I noted. My eyes then fell on the crestfallen expression of the Baron. I felt bad for that man, this must have been one hell of a month for him. And now, he was running from his castle, knowing that it might as well be destroyed tonight.

Poor guy.

“Baroness,” I focused on the woman when she reached my arm's length. “Are you alright?”

“I am,” she said, frowning at me. “...Let's leave this place. It's not safe.”

“Sure thing,” taking a look around the servants one last time, we turned around and left. None of them tried to stop us. Although I did notice one particular gaze that had been staring at me from earlier, it was that wolf maid I had encountered yesterday. While she stared, she didn't stop us.

The five of us left the mansion grounds fast. After we were back on the cobblestone, nearing the city, the Baroness started talking.

“What the hell happened? You know something,” She said, her fast steps slowing down as she shot me a look.

“I do. Vampire Thralls entered the city today,” I explained as I talked. “Coincidentally, they were somehow related to my knight here, Sir Carlos. Not friends, though. They attacked us, we fought, and we killed five of them. The sixth one was taken by a blur of black before we could interrogate him. I'm assuming it was a Werewolf?”

“Vampires?!”

“Werewolves too, now?!”

The Baron was surprised that vampires were a part of this all of a sudden, while Sir Lukas was stunned that there were werewolves here. Both of them looked troubled as we continued on our pace, although I didn't have any destinations.

“Goddamnit, it's them,” the Baroness grumbled.

“Young Master, how does the Baroness relate to this?” Sir Carlos asked with a confused look.

“Ah, I guess it doesn't matter anymore,” the fake Baroness covered her face with a hand, sighing into it. “I'm not the Baroness, I'm her friend, we’re distant relatives. That's how we have similar features. I am a Professor at Waybound, on a mission to hunt Vampires. Amelia Duskleaf.”

“Wait what, Vampires? I thought you said you were after the Werewolves?” Now I was confused.

“It was too much to elaborate and explain earlier. The Moon Wolf Tribe is a civilized group, they don't harm civilians. Their enemies, the Obsidian Vampires that I spoke of, are the real criminals. In the royal capital, they caused much trouble, and a lot of people died. I was after them. But they're much harder to track as they move at night mostly. I found out that they were currently in a fight with the True Wolf Tribe, who was slightly easier to track. That's why I tracked them and waited in the castle as the Baroness was waiting for the Vampires.” She said, enlightening the crowd.

That made sense to me. So that lady isn't a bad person, as I had hoped. This isn't good though. I didn't expect the Vampires she spoke of to be the Obsidian Vampires… dammit.

The game [Arcane Crown] had major information about the Obsidian Vampires. In fact, one of the major characters was a Vampire. Well, half one. Because of that, I knew much about this group… and the threat level they possessed, too.

If their Patriarch, the Vampiric Father, came here, we might as well be dead already. God forbid.

My walking speed grew as possibilities spun in my head. I had a bad feeling about this. Really bad.

That wolf lady had an iconic design, and she was strong. Yet, I didn't remember her from the game. Of course, the Game didn't cover everything in the world, especially since it was a 50ish GB game, when this was real-world, which unsurprisingly must have more lore, but I expect such a character to be shown at least once. If just for fan service, if anything.

Yet, I failed to recall her at all. Or anyone from the Moon Wolf Tribe.

…As well as Professor Amelia.

I did know about the Obsidian Vampire and its Patriarch though. It was said that he fought in a grand battle before the game started, and that's why he had to receive excessive medical care for a prolonged time. He was greatly injured.

It could be that he received his injury from this exact battle. Where the tribe and Professor Amelia would fight him… to their deaths. He would come out as the victor, even if with some injuries.

Goddammit.

“Do you want to flee?” I looked at the professor and spoke. Since the civilians were mostly out of the way anyway, it was better to flee. The Vampiric Father was not an enemy supposed to be fought at the beginning of the game.

She scowled at me. “That would be cowardly. If you want to flee, you can. No, I implore you to do it. It's unwise for someone who doesn't even have a Class to stay here any longer.”

“If you're not leaving, I'm not either,” I said. She was a Senior Professor, teaching something as unique as Dragon Tongue Magic. Yet I didn't recall her at all from the Game, as if she didn't exist. Which meant two possible things.

Either that her Professor ID was fake, which was almost impossible, or that this city was the place that'd become her grave. I expected the second possibility when she first revealed her identity to me, that's what I believe is the most likely case.

“Oh?” She raised an eyebrow, finding a smirk of amusement even in this situation. “Did you fall in love last night, young man?”

I wish it was that silly. While it would be quite uncomfortable to see her die, especially when it could be stopped if she listened to me, my value for my own life was still greater. Especially since this was my second go at life.

Just that, it wouldn't matter even if we fled if the enemy was indeed the Vampiric Father. Instead, we would have a higher chance of survivability if we fought.

After all, I was a variable in this situation.

This body, Iskandaar Romani, died on the street, drunk, back in the game. But this time around this body was still breathing, for I had taken over. I had two knights accompanying me, both 4th Ascension and one almost at 5th. I myself was close to 2nd Ascension, too. Earlier I saw that I was strong enough to take on 3rd Ascension enemies already, so after reaching 2nd Ascension and getting Class, perhaps I could be considered somewhat of a pseudo 4th Ascension.

Although we probably weren't much in the grand scheme of things, perhaps three 4th Ascension individuals were what was needed to overcome this situation. I hope I wasn't being delusional.

She blinked when I didn't reply immediately, “Hey, no way, right? Listen, I am much old-”

“I haven't fallen for you, please shut up. I was just pondering things. Not to brag, but I've just fought a 3rd Ascension Thrall earlier and won. I'm just two levels away from 2nd Ascension, so I'm not totally useless. Plus I have two knights beside me, both 4th Ascension, I don't think they're ready to abandon innocent people to die,” I said, taking a look at my knights who nodded sharply. A Knight's pride wouldn't let that happen.

Although a lot of civilians had indeed fled the area, most of the city was still filled with people. Unfortunately, if the Vampiric Father indeed was the enemy we'd face, it's not just the castle that'd be destroyed. But possibly the entire Barony, out of the city walls and beyond into the villages nearby.

“In short, we're not leaving,” I couldn't just let all of that happen. Also because we probably couldn't even leave the range that fast, anyway. “Instead of trying to talk us out of this, if you have any good plans, share it with us. We need to use every single card we have.”

She stared at me oddly for a moment, and then she grinned. “Alright. Bring me to the inn where your Knights are staying right now. I'll need a whiteboard for this.”

Thus, we sped up again, hastily followed by the Baron of Lockdarn who looked like he would rather be elsewhere than here.