Chapter 39: The Green heart estate

The morning sun beat down on the vast, pristine stone courtyard of the Eldia royal palace.

Towering marble pillars cast long shadows across the polished grounds where the summoned heroes from Earth were actively gathering.

They were no longer the frightened high school students who had cowered before the black orb just weeks prior. Clad in incredibly lavish, custom-forged armor that shimmered with dense magical enchantments, they stood as the absolute pinnacle of the kingdom’s military might.

Oliver Wriker leaned casually against the side of a heavily armored royal carriage, the massive steel broadsword of his God Hunter class resting effortlessly on his broad shoulder.

A deeply arrogant, satisfied smirk stretched across his face as he looked down at his own bulging, superhuman muscles.

"I have to admit, being dragged to another world really was the absolute best thing that could have happened to us," Oliver boasted loudly, his booming voice echoing across the courtyard. "Back on Earth, I was just a regular guy worried about exams. Now? I am practically a walking god. These Eldian knights treat us like royalty, and this power is just insane."

Rachael Onial, the Supreme Healer, stood nearby clutching her glowing white staff. She nodded in agreement, running a hand over her pristine white robes.

"It is terrifying, but also incredible," Rachael murmured, a small smile gracing her previously tear-stained face. "The people here look at us with such pure hope. We have an actual purpose."

Steward Limba, the bespectacled Arch Mage blessed by the God of eternity, pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. He radiated a calm, deeply oppressive magical energy that immediately silenced Oliver’s obnoxious laughter.

"Do not let the lavish food and the cheering crowds cloud your judgment, Oliver," Steward stated smoothly,

"We were drafted into a brutal war against a demonic threat we know absolutely nothing about. The king has divided us into specialized teams to rule over core cities and hunt down the enemy. This is not a vacation. Keep your focus on the mission, or your arrogance will get you slaughtered."

Oliver scoffed, rolling his eyes at the Arch Mage’s strict reprimand, but he did not dare argue back against Steward’s talent rating.

A short distance away from the boasting group, near the towering iron gates of the courtyard, Anna Everest was busy securing a heavy leather saddle onto her armored warhorse. The finely crafted bow of the Legendary Archer class was securely slung across her back, humming with raw wind mana.

She was preparing to ride for Border City at first light, exactly as the old king had commanded. Her specific mission was to track down the anomaly.

The one they would have called a classmate.

The heavy crunch of armored boots against the gravel drew her attention. She turned to find the captain of the royal guard approaching her, his face stern and completely devoid of warmth.

"Hero Anna," the captain greeted gruffly, coming to a halt beside her steed. "I bring final, absolute orders from the high council regarding your designated target, Lucious Moonwalker."

Anna paused her packing, turning to face the veteran knight. "I am to capture him and bring him back in heavy chains, just as her highness the princess requested, correct?" she asked, her brow furrowing slightly. "She wanted to reason with him. To see if his necromantic powers could be harnessed against the demons."

The captain shook his heavy, helmeted head.

"The princess possesses a merciful, gentle heart, but the king and the high clergy do not share her naive optimism," the captain explained coldly. "The boy is a complete disgrace. A foul liability to the safety of this entire realm. He carries a dusting curse that incinerates loyal men, and his very existence as a vampire is an affront to the gods."

The knight leaned closer, lowering his voice so the other heroes would not overhear the grim mandate.

"You are to track him down in Border City. But if he shows even a single fraction of resistance, or if you deem his dark transformation to be irreversible, you are ordered to execute him on sight. Do not hesitate. Put a silver arrow directly through his heart and burn the corpse to ash."

Anna felt a cold knot tighten in her stomach. Despite her absolute certainty back in the throne room, hearing the brutal execution order spoken aloud made the reality of hunting a former classmate violently real.

’How did he become such a monster?’ Anna wondered internally, recalling the quiet, mundane boy from their world. ’Did the summoning spell completely corrupt him, or was he always this twisted on the inside?’

"I understand," Anna replied firmly, pushing her doubts aside to embrace her duty as a hero. "If Lucious cannot be saved, I will end him myself."

...

Far away from the pristine, sun-drenched courtyards of the central capital, the evening sky over Border City was painted in deep, bruising shades of purple and red.

Lucious Moonwalker walked calmly down the wide, paved avenue leading toward the upper district. His dark leather coat rustled in the cold mountain wind, his tall, muscular frame casting a long shadow over the pavement.

Walking directly by his side was Guinevere. She was no longer the terrified.

Her vibrant purple hair seemed darker, richer, and the exhaustion in her features had melted away into a flawless, porcelain paleness.

Trailing a few steps behind them was Dori. The feral girl was carrying the heavy leather bag containing their supplies, her glowing crimson eyes darting suspiciously at every single human they passed. She stayed close to Lucious, her possessive instincts constantly on high alert.

"The estate is just up ahead," Guinevere stated, her voice carrying a cold, aristocratic authority that completely masked the lingering grief in her heart. "It sits at the highest point of the noble district, heavily warded against magical intrusions."

Lucious narrowed his red eyes, looking up the winding road.

He could clearly see the massive, fortified iron gates of the Greenheart manor looming in the distance. High stone walls surrounded the sprawling property, topped with razor-sharp steel spikes and glowing blue runes that pulsed with raw defensive mana.

"Your father was the Count of this entire city," Lucious murmured smoothly, recalling the massive political revelation she had shared with him. "Will the guards at the gate simply let us walk in, or will we have to carve our way through them to access the armory?"

"There will be no need for bloodshed at the gates, Master," Guinevere replied, easily adopting the subservient title, though her tone remained sharp and precise. "With my father dead, I am the sole, absolute heir to the Greenheart lineage. The estate and everyone inside it officially belongs to me. They will open the gates."

As they approached the massive iron barrier, the heavily armored guards stationed at the guardhouse instantly snapped to attention. They recognized the young noblewoman immediately.

"Lady Guinevere!" the lead captain shouted, his eyes widening in profound shock as he scrambled to unlock the heavy mechanisms. "You have returned! But where is the Count? We were not expecting your arrival for another week!"

"Open the gates immediately, captain," Guinevere commanded, completely ignoring his frantic questions. Her bright purple eyes flashed with an unnatural, commanding intensity that forced the guard to swallow his words and obey.

The heavy iron gates groaned loudly as they swung inward, revealing a sprawling, immaculate courtyard lined with perfectly trimmed hedges and glowing crystal lanterns.

As the trio stepped onto the pristine gravel path, a small crowd of loyal servants and estate retainers began to rush out from the main double doors of the towering mansion.

They cheered and wept openly, joyful that their young mistress had returned safely from the treacherous mountain pass. They completely swarmed around Guinevere, offering frantic prayers of gratitude to the gods.

However, the joyful, chaotic welcoming was abruptly cut short.

Standing at the very top of the marble staircase leading into the grand foyer was an older woman dressed in a heavy, black mourning gown. Her hair was a slightly faded shade of purple, streaked with silver, and her sharp, intelligent eyes perfectly mirrored Guinevere’s.

It was her mother.

The older woman did not rush down the stairs to embrace her daughter.

Instead, she stood rigidly at the entrance, her hands clasped tightly together in front of her dress. Her gaze bypassed Guinevere entirely, locking directly onto the towering, pale young man standing in the courtyard, and the feral, red-eyed girl lingering menacingly in his shadow.

The mother’s jaw tightened.

She could not see the system stats, but years of surviving the vicious, cutthroat politics of the Eldian nobility had honed her human instincts to a razor’s edge. She felt the heavy, suffocating aura of death radiating off Lucious.

"Guinevere," her mother called out, her voice cutting through the joyful chatter of the servants like a blade of ice. "You have returned to us. But your father is not by your side. And you have brought incredibly dangerous strangers into the heart of our home."

The tense, heavy greeting hung in the cold night air, entirely freezing the joyous atmosphere of the courtyard in an instant.