Days before the arrival of Ereon to the marquisate, in the forest near the last village of the west, the winds blew, and the moon shone, illuminating two beings among the shadows.
"Come on, Karna" Telvaris broke the silence, the voice firm. "We must start to move. Isabela's group will arrive at any moment, and if we stay here, it will not end well."
Karna only nodded. While he prepared to follow, he picked up the sword that was lying on the ground and fastened it next to the quiver, without saying a word. Soon after, he accompanied Telvaris into the woods.
Now, back to the present, the air seemed to fold before Ereon. Caeté, looking with caution, asked what was his connection with that woman…
Before he could finish, Ereon moved so fast that it seemed he had teleported to the back of the count. His katana was already cutting the air toward the enemy's neck, when the count, with only two fingers, stopped the blade. Each movement seemed to last only a second.
The shadows under the count's feet shaped themselves, taking the form of a serpent. Ereon was pushed back by the elbow of the enemy, hitting against the throne in the center of the hall. With a simple look, the count undid the shadowy creature.
Ereon heard a whisper coming from the shadows:
"He will not be easy to kill. The ideal is to act fast, before he gets used to the patterns."
Ereon, newly awakened, had already marked the count's movement. Under the light of the full moon, he murmured:
"Shadow puppets."
In a quick gesture, he raised the sword and cut the air as if cutting an invisible thread, whispering:
"Sudden death."
The count turned to Ereon, hands on the throat that poured blood, and said, with a harsh tone:
"You made a grave mistake, brat."
Suddenly, the knights fell, and a heavy silence took the hall.
Isabela looked at the count and a memory came to her mind: in the last village, near the walls, she moved forward to reach Ereon when a low and relaxed voice spoke:
"Why the hurry? There is nothing else in the castle."
Isabela turned quickly, pointing her blade, surprised to find that being in front of her.
"What is the Princess of the North doing here?" asked Isabela.
The Princess of the North answered:"Well, I found the movements of the count strange and I started to advance with my group. Most of the villages were already marked; this was the only one that remained unharmed. I thought about waiting to see what kind of trick he would use; after all, one year ago he brought an archduke for a simple war."
"It must be good to be able to act with all this freedom…" interrupted Isabela. "I heard that your father almost faced the twenty-fourth emperor. I think he would not like to see his daughter walking through the empire."
The Princess of the North smiled:"I already discovered the reason for my father having interfered. I was surprised when I found him, but I only stayed here because I thought that thing would come in this direction. We were lucky that it ignored the village. I also wanted to give you a warning."
"I don't need anything that comes from you." Isabela answered coldly.
"The veil of ignorance can spare us from pain, but only the truth makes us free. And it is this truth that will say if you will come out alive or dead from this dispute."
Isabela breathed deeply:"Speak."
The Princess of the North told:
"I could analyze a little of the writings that the count left and I have a notion of what he wants, and why he commits all these horrendous acts. This leads us to a god that bathes in the blood of the innocent: Moloch. As long as there are souls to sacrifice, he will not die. This also applies to that which he took from the Abyss. Remember: the most valuable sacrifices are virgin women and children, since they possess pure souls. The purer, the better. There is also another way: to sacrifice a god or his descendants. Do you understand what I mean? Ah, and the wound will not leave a scar."
Isabela's memories invaded her mind: the last village near the walls, the low and relaxed voice that warned her, the villages marked by the count… Each detail seemed to repeat in her mind, as if she were reliving everything again.
"Ereon, run!" she shouted, and the sound of her own voice brought her back to the present.
The ground began to tremble. The air became heavier. Before he could react, the count's hands were already on his neck. Before Ereon stood Caeté, but his appearance had completely changed: a colossal infernal presence. His skin was red like living fire, eyes shining in deep crimson, loaded with fury and power. His body marked by black tattoos that seemed like veins of cursed energy. From each side of the head large curved horns emerged.
The simple presence exhaled dread and reverence — a suffocating aura of iron, sulfur and burned blood. He was at the same time warrior and priest, lord of sacrificial flames and devourer of innocence.
The count, with a thunderous voice that made the ground tremble, spoke:
"I warned you that you were making a mistake… but I must say you surprised me. Look what you made me do… I had to use all my knights as sacrifice."
His fingers, which seemed to have turned into blades, slowly approached the heart of Ereon. The blood began to run down the outfit, dripping on the cold stone floor.
"What is your connection with that woman?" asked the count, with a hint of cruel curiosity.
Ereon, with the indifferent look, but the breath slightly accelerated, answered:
"I don't know what you are talking about."
Caeté, with the voice loaded with threat, completed:
"Well… it will make no difference. Die!"
Before his claws could pierce Ereon, a whistle cut the wind, sharp and precise. A projectile appeared from nowhere, tearing the air toward the count. On the other side of the marquisate walls, in a high point, someone appeared with a mischievous smile and playful tone:
"I believe you will not mind if I join the game… since you even invoked an ancient god."
Feeling the danger, the count turned, trying to intercept the arrow. But Ereon, with the heart racing and the mind concentrated, used Reversum, changing places with an arm that he had marked before the dispute.
And, on the other side, the figure exclaimed:
"BOOM!"
The impact of the explosion shook the entire castle. Dust and fragments of stone flew through the air, obscuring vision. Ereon and Isabela were pushed to opposite sides, dragged by the wind and by the tremor of the explosion. The ground shook violently, and the silence that followed seemed crushing.
Shadows of the castle stirred, gathering around the two, forming a protective sphere that cushioned part of the impact. Despite that, neither of the two managed to escape completely from the devastating force.
Kneeling on the ground, coughing, with heavy breathing and dust in the hair, Ereon and Isabela looked toward the count, still firm, waiting for the next movement. The air still smelled of burned iron and smoke, and each shadow seemed to pulse with a threatening energy.
While Ereon and Isabela fought inside the castle, outside, in the clear morning before the explosion, Anhanguçu and Kael were in a fierce confrontation, keeping themselves in a stalemate. The body of Anhanguçu showed signs of fatigue, muscles tensed at each movement. The light of the rising sun illuminated the battlefield, making the dust of the earth shine slightly. Kael, blind, but with sharpened senses, smiled sarcastically and commented:
"Are you already getting tired? I thought animals had superhuman resistance."
Anhanguçu, with threatening tone and eyes that shone with concentration, answered:
"With this our brief dispute, I could notice how your vision works. You use seismic vision, right? It allows perceiving the world through the vibrations of the ground, like a sonar. But tell me… what would happen if I am not in contact with the ground?"
With these words, Anhanguçu jumped, moving with enormous strength, going up and down toward Kael. The morning wind cut the air, and the tension seemed to electrify the environment. Each step of him made the ground tremble slightly, and Kael, despite being blind, followed each vibration with precision.
At that exact moment, an arrow appeared from the sky, crossing the air with a sharp whistle — the same that had hit the count inside the castle. Anhanguçu had to maneuver in the air, retreating quickly, and stopped a few meters from Kael, still feeling the force of gravity and of the impulse of the jump.
Kael, keeping balance and with a defiant smile, said:
"I hope you will not mind if someone else joins us."
Anhanguçu, with a sarcastic air, answered:
"Don't worry… since it will not take long for your friend inside the castle."
His words had barely dissipated in the air when the shard of the explosion still echoed among the ruined walls. The silence that followed did not bring relief, only a suffocating weight. The ground began to tremble, and the air became heavy like burning iron. The ruined walls vibrated, and each shadow gained life, twisting in impossible directions.
From the darkness, the count emerged in his infernal form: eyes in flames, skin marked by black veins of cursed energy. His presence alone was enough to crush any hope.
He opened a cruel smile and, with a voice that made the entire castle echo, declared:
"For daring to ruin my plans, none of you will have the privilege of a quick death."