75 Frostrune

Much like Evelyn was surprised, Arthur was also dumbfounded to see the entirety of Smithy Town littered with nothing but dead bodies.

The parasite flew around using the settlement but found no signs of any living soul. The maid and the other two were absent as well.

Arthur knew that, upon coming to such a sight, Evelyn wouldn't linger here as that would attract suspicion, especially if she was found to be the only one alive.

'Most likely, she would either return and try to look for me or find a place to hide. Somewhere inconspicuous but not overly hidden as to let me find her. The Holy Knights should arrive in approximately 10 to 15 minutes, so…'

Although liable to be slightly risky, Arthur landed on one of the corpses and possessed it. As much as he wanted to possess all the bodies to gain new skills and increase his stats, that task would take a bit of time.

Taking the body of a middle-aged man with muscular arms as a host, Arthur looked at the corpses all around him and sighed. He swiftly got adjusted to the new body and immediately began the search.

Fortunately, Smithy Town wasn't particularly large, nor did it have that many buildings. It only had one main road and was relatively 'circular', as in everything was close to each other, thus significantly decreasing the unplanned search.

Arthur hastily checked all the buildings and, in one of the basements, found something that shook him to his core. He stood there, wasting one whole minute looking at the runes and symbols drawn on the ground and walls.

Eventually, when he snapped out of it, he let out a self-mocking chuckle and raised his hand, using an empowered version of his Barrier Magic to smash the walls and cause the basement to collapse.

His body turned into a dense green mist as it escaped from the rubble and returned to the surface.

"I should've known. I guess I've been too preoccupied with other things."

He let out another laugh as he stormed out of the building and, within six minutes or so, located the hiding Evelyn.

She was behind a small cabin on the Eastern side of Smithy Town, nestling within the bushes along with the seemingly asleep Mort and the now-calm Furball.

Upon seeing the familiar green mist, Evelyn, who was on guard a second ago, relaxed and stoically said,

"Took you long enough, Master."

"There's no time. A group of Holy Knights are on their way, we will reconvene on the main road leading here."

After saying that, Arthur went to a random spot at the center of the settlement and returned to the body of the Little Bunting.

Not a minute after he soared into the sky, the loud neighs of the galloping horses echoed across the eerily silent town.

The Holy Knights jumped off their horses and inspected the ghost town. They seemed to be expecting this as none of them were surprised or confused.

Their captain, the man who had warned Arthur, was frowning as he bent next to a corpse and carefully examined it.

"It's the same but… it hasn't been long. We can catch up in time."

He waved his hand at his subordinates while gloomily saying, "You know the drill. Leave no traces behind."

They all nodded and dispersed, each kneeling next to a corpse and lowly chanting a prayer. Within seconds, beams of white light enveloped the lifeless bodies, disintegrating them into nothing.

However, when the same Purification Prayer was chanted on the corpse that had been possessed by Arthur, the white light was incapable of erasing it.

"C-captain!"

The startled Holy Knight called out to Solas Frostrune, the captain of their small squadron.

Once the youth explained what happened, Solas furrowed his brows and stripped the corpse naked before looking at its chest and four limbs.

"It might be resistant to Holy Magic. Burn it with fire."

"Yes, captain!"

Despite the unexpected occurrence, Solas paid no heed to it. He, as well as his subordinates, were racing against time, aiming to catch the perpetrator before more lives were lost.

Even though he didn't check yet, Solas knew that Warmcross' residents suffered the same tragic face.

Solas was a veteran Holy Knight, one who had been serving the Holy Church for over ten years. He had been staying in Spectral Steel City when he received an anonymous tip about one of the secret organizations; the Unholy Blasphemers.

The tip specifically mentioned that a number of villages and towns would be targeted and that the Holy Church should react accordingly and with haste.

Unfortunately, Solas was granted permission a bit too late, and even though he traveled non-stop, he didn't make it in time. This was already the third village that succumbed to this 'mass suicide.'

However, the most peculiar thing was that whatever this was, it didn't match well with the way the Unholy Blasphmeres did things.

They were a large group of mad heretics that hated mages and relied on unconventional means, worshipping their fabricated deity, Ingram 'The God of Nothingness'.

'They detest Magic with all their beings, so why would they use it to kill hundreds of villagers. Damnit! Even their intentions remain unclear. Maybe the tip was partially wrong? Maybe someone is trying to put the blame on the Unholy Blasphmeres?'

"Agh… ugh!"

Amare Na Xivia was thrashing around while simultaneously using her magic to free herself. Although Arthur had bound her using a simple rope, he made a good job making it tight and difficult to break free.

The young vampire gritted her teeth, seething with anger as she used all her strength, slowly breaking free.

Eventually, after a considerable amount of time, the rope snapped.

"Ah!"

Amare was unprepared, clumsily falling to the ground as her head crashed against the dirt and grass. While cursing under her breath, she cleaned her face and spat the dirt.

"Just you wait, Arthur!"

It was the first time she had been this unsuccessful in completing a mission. Usually, things would go smoothly as she would use her status as Marjory's daughter or her strong magical powers. Then again, few people would dare provoke her, so she wasn't used to dealing with someone crafty like Arthur.

Admittedly, she was only seventeen years of age, so she lacked experience and maturity. Nevertheless, she was insufferably stubborn and refused to give up even if she knew she was no match for the parasite and his companions.

At first, as she deliberated her choices, she remembered Addy, who clearly hadn't died. However, she decided against allying with him. From her perspective, he was more dangerous than Arthur, especially after seeing his erratic attitude. Plus, he wanted Arthur dead while she needed him alive to get the information she needed.

Once she was done with her musing, the disgruntled vampire sprung into a mad dash, her destination was Smithy Town.

Even without using 'Memoria', Amare already knew that Arthur was heading to the closest settlement. Therefore, in order to catch up to him, she started sprinting and speeding herself with her magic.

Within half an hour, she arrived at the town only to see a group of Holy Knights, who also noticed her.

Her expression changed ever-so-slightly as she locked gazes with Solas Frostrune.

'Long and blond hair, sky-blue eyes, a small scar on the left side of his jaw, and a thin white and golden sword. Solas Frostrune, son of the Duke of Frostrune…'

Amare was quite knowledgeable about the influential figures and other powerhouses. The Holy Church, specifically, was the archenemy of the Vampires and the two factions were always at each other's throats. Therefore, it was natural for her to know the distinguished Holy Knights like Solas.

He was pretty high-ranked in the echelons of the church and was well-known in the Global Azakin Empire, notably.

"Amare Na Xivia, what are you doing here?"

Solas frowned and glared at the young girl, his right hand resting on his sheathed sword. The Holy Knights behind him also readied themselves, clearly wary of the vampire.

Before she replied, Amare looked around and saw the corpses.

Even if it was just Solas, she was no match for him. He towered over his peers, as a Swordsman and a knight both.

"I should be asking you the same thing. Is this the doing of your church?"

"Mind your tongue, vampire!"

Although the vampires and the Holy Church were enemies, neither Amare nor Solas wished for an unnecessary fight as that would cause disastrous repercussions, especially for the latter.

Still, the sudden appearance of Marjory's daughter here seemed odd and suspicious to Solas. He had noticed her rugged appearance, which indicated that she had been in a struggle recently, possibly an hour or two ago.

"There's nothing to see here. Return whence you came."

After a staring contest between the two, Solas removed his hand from the sheath and spoke with a loud voice.

"I have business here. Who are you to order me?"

As a prideful vampire, Amare was as uncompromising as ever. She kept looking around, but she neither saw nor felt the presence of Arthur nor his companions.

'Have I been tricked? No… he's a parasite. He could be acting dead in one of those corpses or he could have left as soon as he saw what happened here. I need to investigate using Memoria.'

By now, the Holy Knights have 'purified' over half of the corpses. Still, there were a couple left on the road, but Amare couldn't do as she wished with Solas here.