Chapter 259

The nighttime scenery had changed considerably ever since the red moon began to rise.

There had long been an old saying: when the red moon rises, evil spirits begin to move....

As if to prove those words true, the dead had awakened.

People hurriedly closed their shops, finished their work, and headed home before darkness fell and the red moon rose.

As a result, once the sun went down, the streets became so desolate that not a single person could be found.

Step.

Yet someone leisurely appeared on those streets now buried in deep darkness.

It was Veilks.

He looked over the houses whose lights had all gone out before his gaze stopped in one direction.

Far in the distance stood the Drow Barony.

The place where the person he had to deal with tonight was sleeping.

“Haa.”

An unusually long sigh escaped Veilks’s lips.

In his hand was a bottle filled with black liquid. Veilks’s gaze trembled slightly as he stared at it.

‘If I fail.......’

This was the finished product into which he had poured all his power. Once he controlled it, he would be unable to properly use his strength for quite some time.

‘No.’

Being unable to use his power wasn’t the problem.

If he failed the order that person had given him, even he would not be forgiven.

After all, that person mercilessly discarded anyone who became useless.

Veilks carefully surveyed his surroundings once more. Deciding that this location would do, he threw the bottle in his hand onto the ground.

Crash!

The bottle shattered, spilling the black liquid across the ground.

But what happened afterward was truly astonishing.

The liquid writhed as though it were alive, then began dividing endlessly.

After quite some time, the black liquid had separated until it resembled a hazy mist. Only then did it scatter in every direction as though being carried by the wind.

The black liquid, now dispersed into tiny particles, headed toward the houses whose lights had already gone out.

It quietly seeped into the countless homes lining the street.

And not long afterward.

Creeak!

Step... step.

People began emerging one by one from the darkened houses.

From small children to white-haired elderly people, countless people poured into the streets like a flood.

Veilks called out to them in a low voice.

“Kill her. Ceres Drow. Only then will you live.”

The moment those words left his mouth, everyone gathered in the street began walking toward the same place at once.

“Kill her.......”

“Then I’ll live.”

“Ceres.......”

“I have to kill her... so I can.......”

They repeatedly muttered the words Veilks had spoken as their steps grew faster and faster.

As though each one intended to find the target and kill her before anyone else beside them could.

“You lot go as well.”

At his next command, numerous people suddenly appeared around him, bowed their heads, and swiftly vanished from the spot.

They were Veilks’s subordinates.

“Kh.......”

Dark red blood trickled from Veilks’s mouth. It seemed using such tremendous power had placed a heavy strain on his body.

“Tsk.”

Veilks clicked his tongue briefly.

This was exactly why he hadn’t wanted to use this power.......

There were many restrictions when it came to a demon corrupting a human mind. Implanting part of his own mind and power into others placed an enormous burden even on Veilks.

“But the results are satisfying.”

Watching the countless people rushing endlessly toward the same destination, Veilks smiled deeply.

Then he too slowly began walking.

He intended to see tonight’s objective through to the end.

However, there was something even he had failed to realize.

When it came to dealing with Ceres, he was currently putting other people in front of himself.

Even if it meant extracting his own power and distributing it among others, he had no intention of personally stepping in front of Ceres and attempting to attack her.

He himself had yet to realize that he was reluctant to do so.

Even now, while everyone else was running ahead, Veilks headed toward Ceres’s location at the slowest pace he possibly could.

***

Click.

“...Hm?”

Ceres, who had been asleep, slowly opened her eyes at the sound of the door opening.

Someone stood in the doorway.

“Julia?”

It was her younger sister, Julia.

“Why are you still awake at this hour?”

Had she had a nightmare or something?

Ceres sat up in bed.

“Or are you still mad?”

Jien had gone to the Magic Tower to study today. Unlike usual, he would be staying there overnight before returning, and Julia had thrown a tantrum because she wanted to go with him, only to receive a thorough scolding from Ceres.

Ceres had reprimanded her, saying that Jien wasn’t going there to play and that Julia would only get in the way if she followed him.

She had been sulking all afternoon because of it, so Ceres wondered if she was still too upset to sleep even this late at night.

“Jien will be back tomorr—?”

Whoosh!

“......!”

Ceres had been approaching the child when she flinched and hastily twisted her body aside.

Julia had swung something at her.

“...Julia?”

The object in the child’s hand was a knife.

Had Julia just tried to stab her?

Even after seeing it with her own eyes, Ceres could hardly believe it.

‘What the hell is......?’

Her mind went blank for a moment.

In that brief opening, the child swung the knife again.

Her movement was so precise and fast that it was impossible to believe it came from a young child.

‘...Maybe Julia should’ve been the one learning swordsmanship instead of Antonian?’

Ceres let out a hollow laugh at the ridiculous thought.

She was still utterly confused by the situation.

“...I have to kill you.”

“.......”

“Big Sister has to die... so I can live.”

Ceres’s brow furrowed even deeper at the child’s muttering.

I have to die so you can live?

What kind of fresh nonsense is that?

[B-Buu?]

[Pii!]

[.......]

Sooty, Airien, and Whitey had appeared beside Ceres before she knew it.

But even they were unable to act easily.

And no wonder.

Their opponent was none other than Julia, whom Ceres cherished dearly.

They remained on guard, yet hesitated to use their abilities, unsure whether they were even allowed to attack her.

“Yuli......!”

Whoosh!

Ceres was no different.

She tried calling the child again, but the only response she received was another attack.

Letting out a short sigh, Ceres struck Julia fairly hard on the back of the neck.

For now, it seemed best to knock her unconscious and figure out what was happening afterward.

“Ugh.......”

“......!”

Whoosh!

But the child merely faltered for a moment.

Far from losing consciousness, she immediately attacked again.

Seeing that, Ceres finally became certain that something was seriously wrong.

How could a child remain perfectly fine after being struck at a vital point?

This was absolutely not her normal physical condition.

Bang!

“......?”

At that moment, Ceres heard another presence and turned her head, her brow furrowing even further.

The person who had violently thrown open the door and entered the room was Antonian.

And there was a sword in his hand as well.

“Big Sister has to die.......”

Just like Julia, Antonian kept muttering the same words to himself over and over.

Hearing exactly the same phrase without so much as a syllable changed, Ceres clicked her tongue.

“Tsk.”

“Eliette.”

Whoosh!

At her call, a cat with red stripes appeared.

“Is that a curse?”

Looking at the children’s obviously abnormal state, Ceres naturally thought of black magic or a curse.

Their actions were focused solely on attacking her.

It was almost as though someone had brainwashed them.

[It’s not a curse, nya. It looks like some powerful force is controlling their minds.]

Ceres’s expression twisted even further at Eliette’s answer.

Not brainwashing, but controlling them?

Did that mean someone was interfering with the children’s minds even now, from somewhere else?

Who the hell was it?

‘Don’t tell me.......’

The answer came to her more easily than expected.

At a time like this, there was only one person she could think of who would attack her using such a bizarre method.

“Veilks, you fucking bastard.”

The curse slipped out instinctively.

How dare he mess with the kids?

Whoosh!

“......!”

At that moment, Antonian’s sword swiftly drove into her space.

Apparently all the time and effort she had spent teaching him swordsmanship hadn’t gone to waste, because his attack was quite fierce.

“Don’t interfere... Don’t interfere!”

But at that very moment, Julia, who had been standing off to one side, swung her knife not at Ceres, but at Antonian.