Episode 137: The Impregnable Fortress

Giant stones launched from the magical catapult batter the western wall of the Magia Valm, only to shatter into pieces upon impact.

The impregnable wall doesn’t bear even the slightest scratch.

“They keep up this pointless assault.”

A soldier standing atop the western wall muttered mockingly.

(Indeed… a futile attack.)

Zefard, in his heart, agreed with the soldier’s murmur.

(But then—why persist with an attack they know is futile?)

There had to be some intent behind it. Yet, he couldn’t discern what it was.

At that moment—a lone figure appeared beside the magical catapult.

Silver hair, clad in black noble attire. His presence was unmistakably different from the other soldiers.

“Oi, that’s…!”

“Count Kreving!?”

A stir rippled through the soldiers. That figure, that overwhelming aura… it could only be the rumored Siegfried von Kreving himself.

“Should we take a shot? A skilled archer could hit from this distance…”

“…It’s pointless. Stand down.”

Zefard quietly halted the suggestion. He knew such an attempt wouldn’t bring down a man like that.

(But… what is he planning?)

The moment doubt surfaced, Siegfried’s eyes gleamed with a purple light.

At the same time, a surge of magical energy was unleashed, reaching Zefard’s position.

“This is…!”

The Magia Valm was a barrier designed to block attacks. Air, rain, and harmless magical energy could pass through unhindered.

Zefard immediately recognized the nature of that magic.

—Magic derived from the Seven Great Calamities. Siegfried had unleashed the power of a vampire.

Then—the silver-haired youth slowly raised his palm.

His target… was the Magia Valm itself.

(Is he planning to unleash large-scale magic…?)

Zefard fixed a sharp gaze on Siegfried.

 

◇

 

The sound of rocks from the magical catapult smashing against the western wall and shattering echoed through every corner of the royal capital, Kirchherion.

Even the prison in the eastern part of the capital was no exception.

“…It seems the siege has begun.”

The one who muttered this was a young knight with a resolute gaze—Ricardo, a member of the Serodonia Kingdom’s army.

“Yeah, looks like it…”

Responding with a nod was Feder, the deputy leader of Ricardo’s unit, a young man with slightly tousled reddish-brown hair.

They, along with three thousand other captives from the Serodonia army, were being held in a prison in the eastern part of Kirchherion.

The facility was a repurposed old castle, originally meant for holding noble political prisoners.

However, this time, it was an exception—soldiers of the Serodonia army were being detained there.

This was because Siegfried had promised Garfilia that “the Serodonia army captives would be responsibly managed in the royal capital.”

Though it was Siegfried’s unilateral decision, Luverios had no desire to break the promise and sour relations with Garfilia.

Thus, the captives had no choice but to be housed in the capital’s prison.

While it felt somewhat cramped, the castle was vast enough that by utilizing everything from the underground cells to the topmost chambers, it could just barely accommodate three thousand prisoners.

“Think Count Kreving can pull off a win…?”

Feder muttered.

Though the details were unclear, from the guards’ conversations and the surrounding atmosphere, they had gathered that Siegfried was currently attacking Kirchherion.

“Honestly, I think it’s a long shot for Count Kreving to win. The Magia Valm and reinforcements from the Holy Church? That’s a tough one to crack. But… maybe a miracle could happen, and he’d pull it off. I overheard a guard earlier—they said King Luverios drove all the commoners out of the capital. That kind of guy deserves to lose—… oops.”

Realizing he’d let his tongue slip, Feder hurriedly cut himself off.

Criticizing the king in a place where guards were nearby was, he realized, a careless move.

“Well, uh… anyway, I mean… I just hope His Majesty King Luverios, in his great mercy, might forgive Count Kreving. That guy spared our lives, after all… and there’s that engagement to Princess Sylphirosé. If he dies in this battle, it’ll break her heart.”

Sylphirosé, known for treating commoners with kindness, had garnered considerable support from people like Feder, who came from humble origins.

“And above all—that wine he gave us back then was damn good.”

His mind drifted to the wine they’d been served when they were transferred from the eastern army to the capital.

A fine vintage, supposedly from Volfirio’s personal stores, distributed to all the captives on Siegfried’s orders.

Blood-red… and utterly exquisite.

Ricardo, who had been silent, seemed lost in thought. But Feder continued undeterred.

“Man, I’d love to drink that kind of wine again. That taste…”

His voice faltered mid-sentence.

Suddenly, Feder’s shoulders trembled, his breathing grew ragged, and he clutched his chest.

“Guh… ugh…!”

“What’s wrong…!?”

Ricardo, roused from his thoughts, noticed the change.

“Feder! Are you okay!? Hang in there!”

The moment he called out—Ricardo’s own heart thudded heavily in his chest.

“Gah… ah, ugh…!”

Clutching his chest, Ricardo struggled to steady his chaotic heartbeat, as did Feder.

But it wasn’t just them. Groans of pain began to echo from all corners of the prison.

“Ugh…!”

“Agh! Gaa…!”

Looking around, Ricardo saw other captives clutching their chests in agony.

(What in the world is happening…!?)

Amid the chaos, Ricardo instinctively reached for the iron bars of his cell.

And then—the iron, solid as it was, bent like soft clay under his grip.

It wasn’t that the bars had changed.

It was Ricardo’s body that had been enhanced. An unnatural strength had somehow taken root in his hands.

“Captain Ricardo… w-what… what’s happening…!?”

Feder’s voice trembled as he gasped for air.

His eyes, no longer human, glowed with an eerie red light.

The moment Ricardo saw it—everything clicked into place.

(I see… so that’s what this is…!)

 

◇

 

Going back far in time, to the day Ricardo and the others were taken captive.

Siegfried had arranged a one-on-one meeting with him.

The setting was a room once used by Volfirio, the former commander of the Western Legion. There, the two faced each other.

“Care to eat?”

Siegfried gestured toward the assortment of sweets on the table.

They were high-end confections, favorites of Volfirio.

“Thank you for the offer… but I’ll pass.”

His men were already bound as captives.

The idea of indulging in sweets alone while they suffered—it was something Ricardo couldn’t accept.

Siegfried, as if he’d anticipated this response, gave a faint smile.

“…What did you call me here for?”

Ricardo asked, his gaze still tinged with wariness.

“I told you earlier, didn’t I? You have value to me. I called you here to discuss the specifics.”

With that, Siegfried produced a map.

It was a detailed layout of Kirchherion, and he pointed to a specific spot.

“There’s only one facility in the capital capable of housing large numbers of prisoners. Here.”

His finger rested on an old castle depicted in the eastern part of the city.

“You and your men will likely be held there.”

“I… see.”

Ricardo responded plainly, feeling no particular surge of emotion.

He simply acknowledged it and moved on.

“The closest gate to this prison is the Eastern First Gate. There are also the smaller Eastern Third and Fourth Gates nearby.”

The Magia Valm, encircling the capital, had multiple gates.

Siegfried pointed to a few of them as he continued his explanation.

But even now, Ricardo couldn’t grasp Siegfried’s intentions.

“The Magia Valm boasts absolute defense against external attacks. But—opening a gate from the inside is remarkably easy. And the moment a gate is opened from within, the defensive functions around that gate cease.”

This was a design consideration to ensure allies entering the city wouldn’t be harmed by the defensive magic.

If an allied force were incinerated by the barrier while trying to enter, it would defeat the purpose.

“In other words, if you open the gate from the inside—the Magia Valm’s defenses can be breached.”

“That’s true enough… if such a thing were possible.”

“It’s possible for you, isn’t it? After all—you’ll be inside the Magia Valm.”

Ricardo still couldn’t fully follow. This conversation was happening right after the eastern army had attacked the Western Legion’s encampment.

Siegfried’s plan to besiege Kirchherion hadn’t even begun to take shape.

“Here’s the deal. If you can open the eastern gate of the Magia Valm—you’ll be freed from your status as captives.”

“…What?”

“Furthermore, I’ll eventually kill both Volfirio and Garfilia. When that happens, someone else will take the Serodonia throne. I haven’t met her yet, but… that third princess, Sylphirosé, is said to be kind to commoners. For someone like you, she’s probably close to an ideal royal, isn’t she? I could see to it that she ascends to the throne.”

“What are you talking about…?”

“I’ve said what needed to be said. The rest—depends on whether you act.”

 

◇

 

Back then, Ricardo couldn’t grasp the true meaning behind Siegfried’s words.

But gradually, their significance began to dawn on him.

Siegfried’s engagement to Sylphirosé.

The siege of the capital by Siegfried. And then—

“Our transformation into vampires…!”

Ricardo muttered, enduring the pain in his chest.

He had long suspected Siegfried might be a vampire.

In fact, when his arm had been slashed, the wound had healed instantly upon contact with Siegfried’s blood.

It was unmistakably the power of a vampire, as described in legends.

(But… why are we turning into vampires now?)

According to the Holy Church’s records, vampirism was a kind of infection.

It occurred when a special kind of magical energy was introduced into the body through blood.

The infection could be triggered either by being bitten by a vampire or by receiving their blood.

—“That wine he gave us back then was damn good.”

Feder’s earlier words flashed through Ricardo’s mind like a bolt of intuition.

The blood-red wine they’d been served when transferred from the eastern army to the capital.

(Could it be… his blood was in that wine?)

Siegfried’s blood, mixed into the wine, hadn’t been digested—it had lingered in their bodies as a foreign substance.

Siegfried could freely manipulate his own blood.

That blood, which had remained dormant, was now awakened by the magical energy Siegfried had unleashed.

In that moment, all three thousand of them transformed. From powerless captives without weapons to monsters wielding immense strength.

The pain in Ricardo’s chest subsided. The vampiric transformation was complete.

And… he made his decision.

(If it’s come to this… our only path is to ensure Count Kreving’s victory…!)

The moment he became a vampire, Ricardo’s options had vanished.

If the siege dragged on, the Holy Church’s reinforcements would eventually arrive. And when they did, the newly turned vampires would be the first to be hunted down.

In that case—the only way to survive was to ensure Siegfried’s victory and seek his protection.

“You calculated this far, didn’t you…? What a terrifying man…!”

Even as he muttered this, a spark of resolve burned in Ricardo’s chest.

To side with Siegfried and bring down the tyrant Luverios, who had cast out the commoners from the capital—it felt like a choice worth making.

Ricardo quietly exerted his strength and tore the iron bars apart.

“H-Hey, you! What are you doing!?”

A guard, noticing the commotion, shouted. But it was too late to stop him.

Ricardo turned to his comrades and declared with unwavering conviction:

“If you want to survive, follow me! We’re going to force open the gates of the Magia Valm… from the inside!”