Chapter 911: Purified Corruption

Celine stared at the garden until Ludwig returned to her side. "This place... I know it."

Her voice had softened. She crouched and touched one of the stone borders.

"It used to be one of my favorite parts of the estate. There were more flowers then, and a fountain." She said.

It felt almost as if she had been here just yesterday when it was still full of people, and life. Now, although better when it was controlled by the Moonflayed King.

Ludwig looked around and found the remains of one beneath the vines near the far wall. "That should be an easy fix."

Celine smiled slightly. "I came here whenever the manor became too loud."

"Too many nobles?"

"Usually." She moved farther into the garden and looked toward the old tree. "And Van Dijk."

Ludwig’s expression softened as Celine rested one hand against the bark.

"He used to cause all sorts of trouble. From streaking naked in the city, to finding ways of getting even a dwarf drunk to making sure father feels like bursting an artery. They were good times."

Ludwig remembered the scene he was shown back then, with Van Dijk, long before he became what he was. When he was just a young man, the youngest human in a family of True Vampires. With sisters and brothers and a father. Where he was given all, and used too little too foolishly. And on the day he exchanged goodwill with the wrong person, that man came in and consumed his entire family.

No wonder Van Dijk turned bitter, cruel and mentally unstable. No wonder the strongest of character have always the worst of backstories.

"He used to find me here," she said. "We spent a lot of time in this garden."

Ludwig remained quiet for a moment before looking around the damaged space. "We’ll fix it."

Celine glanced toward him. "The garden?"

"The entire Marquisate." Ludwig gestured beyond the surrounding walls. "Everything. Even the manor. I’ll make sure of it. It will host people again, like back then, free people."

Her eyes remained upon him as he shrugged.

"Maybe we won’t restore it exactly as it used to be. Not as you remember." He said.

Celine looked toward the goblins painting buildings nearby. "Probably not."

"Then we’ll make it better." He said, "Far better than it was. We have a lot of time left.

She smiled. "Better sounds good." She gave him a light peck on the cheek, "Thank you Ludwig."

For a brief moment Ludwig felt completely stumped, never had he thought that the ancient Vampire would ever do something like that.

Thomas had already floated into the garden and begun inspecting the ruined fountain. Ludwig coughed, as if to shake off the embarrassment and pointed toward the road, and the group continued toward the center of the settlement.

The young man led them into a broad open area, where Ludwig finally saw most of the former Tower inhabitants. Dozens waited there, and more emerged from the surrounding streets as news of his arrival spread.

Humans stood alongside goblins, orcs, and ogres. Some looked completely ordinary until one paid closer attention and noticed unusual eyes, patches of scales, altered teeth, or other remnants of whatever race they had become inside the Tower. Others had remained fully changed.

One enormous orc stood near the back of the gathering. Ludwig recognized him instantly and grinned.

"There you are. What’s up, Garath?"

The orc blinked before his face broke into a wide smile. "Chief remembers me!"

Ludwig laughed. "Who the hell would forget you?"

Garath looked even larger outside the Tower, though that might have been because he now wore a proper shirt instead of scraps of armor made from whatever the tribe had found. The crowd gathered closer around them, calling Ludwig’s name while questions came from every direction.

"Chief Ludwig!"

"How was the outside?"

"Did you kill the White Giant?"

"Are you staying?"

"Is that your wife?"

Celine smiled. Ludwig immediately pointed into the crowd.

"Who said that?"

Nobody answered, and Thomas laughed loudly beside him.

Ludwig rubbed his face. "Fantastic."

He raised both hands until the crowd gradually quieted. "Alright, one thing first. How the hell do all of you know this is me? The same guy from the tower, I’m pretty sure I was an Orc when I last met you guys."

The question seemed to confuse them, so Ludwig pointed toward his face.

"Seriously. I did not look like this in the Tower."

Several people exchanged glances before a man near the front stepped forward. He appeared human, perhaps somewhere in his thirties, with neat clothing and a calm posture.

"You told us where you would send us," he said.

Ludwig nodded. "The Bastos territory."

"So after we arrived, I explored outside." The man gestured toward the repaired settlement. "There were records. People spoke of a hero."

Ludwig frowned. "About me?"

"Many. They described the man who defeated the Wrathful Death in Solania, Became the Apostle of Necros, and the one who killed the Envious Death."

Whispers moved through the gathering as Ludwig’s expression flattened.

"Ah I see, so gossip."

"It’s called newspaper, I think they believe them to be some sort of ancient records." Thomas corrected.

The man continued. "There were also records of the one who entered the Tower of Trials to confront Pride. Once I saw your image, there was very little doubt."

Ludwig looked toward Celine. "I should’ve stayed ugly."

"You looked fine," she replied.

"Thank you."

"I wasn’t complimenting you."

"Still taking it."

The man waited for their exchange to end before continuing. "We showed the records to everyone."

That explained how the entire settlement recognized him. Ludwig looked around the repaired streets before returning his attention to the man.

"And then all of you repaired this?" Ludwig asked.

"We began the work together. The city was in terrible condition." He said.

"I noticed. Couldn’t help it much when the Moonflayed King had descended here."

The man’s expression became proud as he surveyed the settlement. "The corruption began weakening almost immediately after we arrived."

Ludwig’s attention sharpened. "Immediately?"

"Within days. Some of us had experience building, while others remembered crafts from our lives before the Tower." He gestured toward the goblins working nearby. "Those who remembered nothing learned quickly."

One of the small goblins raised a paint-covered hand, and Ludwig waved back.

"We cleared the streets first," the man continued. "Then we started restoring the houses closest to the manor."

"What happened to the monsters?"

"Many disappeared when the red corruption faded."

"Many?" Ludwig repeated, catching the deliberate choice of word.

"Not all."

There it was.

Ludwig sighed. "Of course."

"But Garath and the others killed most of the remaining ones."

Garath crossed his arms proudly.

"Good work," Ludwig said. "Makes our job much easier."

He surveyed the settlement again, finding the transformation far more impressive now that he understood no Imperial construction crews had come to help. These people had done everything themselves.

Many had only recently returned to bodies and memories they barely recognized. They had arrived within an abandoned, cursed territory and decided to rebuild it rather than search for somewhere easier to live.

Ludwig looked toward the man standing before him. "I haven’t seen any of you in a while, and half of you don’t look remotely the same. I’m going to need names again."

"Understandable."

Ludwig pointed toward Garath. "Him, I remember."

Garath grinned while Ludwig turned back toward the man.

"But you..."

The man smiled as something shifted across his forehead. His skin parted slightly, allowing a small horn to push through. His face changed just enough for Ludwig to recognize the shape hidden beneath the human exterior.

Ludwig’s eyes widened. "Oh. Dedal."

The man’s smile grew. "Chief remembers."

"Yeah." Ludwig stepped closer and studied him. "Okay, that’s weird."

Dedal laughed. "I can still partially return to the form I had inside the Tower."

"Is it useful?"

"Sometimes."

"Painful?"

"Only if I force too much."

The horn receded, and Dedal’s forehead returned to normal. Ludwig nodded, satisfied that the transformation was not tearing him apart.

"Good to see you, Dedal."

"And you, Chief."

Dedal looked around the gathering. "There are many brothers and sisters here."

Ludwig followed his gaze. Enough faces surrounded him to guarantee that introductions would take hours, especially when some of them looked nothing like the people or creatures he remembered.

Dedal seemed to understand. "We should take our time with names."

"Please."

"But first, perhaps we should go inside." Dedal turned toward the distant manor.

Celine’s eyes shifted toward her ancestral home, and Dedal noticed her reaction.

"We repaired much of the city," he said. "We also did what we could with the manor."

Celine went still.

Dedal smiled. "We tried to restore it to something close to what it once was."

Ludwig looked toward her and found her already staring at the Bastos estate. For the first time since they arrived, the humor disappeared completely from his expression.

"Alright." He turned toward Dedal. "Lead the way."

Dedal bowed his head. "Welcome home, Chief."