Chương 381: The Far-Away Blade

"I am gone for just a few days, and that's the moment trouble decides to actually show up, huh? What happened, exactly? What did the monster look like? What did it do, in detail? Has it been spotted again since? Do you have any clue where it could currently be?" A dragonfolk took a knee in front of a tall, armoured figure.

"Sir Lonehom. The creature was spotted wandering aimlessly near the shore of the lava lake by three drake riders–Intrigued by its appearance, they decided to land and inspect the creature up close…"

"A reckless, brainless decision""... At first, it seemed like the monster was passive, as it didn't even acknowledge them or their mounts… Though the drakes showed an adverse reaction to the monster nearly immediately" The dragonfolk swallowed his saliva, marking a short pause.

"Then… It lunged at one of the riders. The other two attempted to fight it off, but their spear strikes had no effect whatsoever, and they were struck to the ground in quick succession. The monster struck the drakes and then ran away""And it didn't kill any of them?"

"They were merely injured, with the worst injuries being a dislocated shoulder and fractured rib, alongside the damage to their scales, of course" Sir Lonehom nodded, fingers extending one by one before settling back on the hilt of his blade.

"Continue" The dragonfolk nodded and looked at the ground.

"I was able to see the exchange for myself thanks to the Orb of Viewing…" The dragonfolk brought said orb out and injected a bit of mana into it, making it display the recorded appearance of the monster in as much detail as was possible.

"Sir, as you can see, it is nothing like we've ever seen before" Lonehom stared intently from behind his visor at the incandescent figure. People with poorer sight than his wouldn't even be able to notice the skeletal nature of the silhouette due to the powerful brightness it emitted, but it clearly wasn't just a regular skeleton. The maw of what he was seeing was huge, and its bodily proportions were all manner of odd. It definitely wasn't just a glowing variant of something he knew.

Especially since bipedal creatures did not exist in this realm. The only beings who walked on two legs here were the dragonfolks and some of the Molten Heirs.

"This must be the intruder that wasn't found" The kneeling dragonfolk didn't say anything to these words, even if he had a hard time believing such a monster would be able to find its way into the realm. The report went on, but apart from what he had already described, the dragonfolk had no idea what the monster was up to, or why it had attacked in such a manner. It clearly had enough strength to kill, but it had seemingly spared the three drake riders. …

And when it came to the last two points Sir Lonehom wanted to know about, the dragonfolk simply had nothing of worth to say. Ever since the attack, they hadn't spotted the monster once, and had no idea where it had gone other than the rough direction it had first taken when escaping the scene of the crime. One would think that finding a glowing creature would be simple enough, but despite a lot of drake riders having been put on the case, no progress had been made.

The armoured man sighed, resting his blade upon his shoulder. The sheer size of this sword made it so that anyone around would feel nervous whenever it moved. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time could be costly. Lonehom's sword was a bit of an unusual sort. Only one of the blade edges was sharp, and it didn't feature a traditional guard. An otherworlder would immediately recognise what broad category of blade this belonged to, but outside of an Unwanted Presence's world, such swords were far from typical.

Even then, the blade of Lonehom was absurdly long. The blade and handle together were taller than he was, which was an achievement, as he easily stood over two meters in height. It was so long that it didn't have a sheath, as bringing this thing out of one would be far too time-consuming. He thus always held his sword as is. The dragonfolks working under him also wielded similar weapons and wore armour that fitted the aesthetic perfectly.

However, his own armour was a bit of a mix between the typical knight and that of his men, making him further stand out…

"Has Lady Vulcania been told of this incident?"

"No, the lady is still in deep slumber" Lonehom nodded. Vulcania wasn't awake very often. She spent most of her days asleep in the old throne room of the Molten King, guarding the empty throne and headless crown. This isn't what the Molten King would have wanted the apple of his eye to do following his passing, but it wasn't like Lonehom could tell her off.

"Let me see the three fools. They are still receiving healing, aren't they?" Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

"Two of them are, yes. The third was relatively unharmed" Sir Lonehom and the dragonfolk walked through the lengthy and massive hallways of the steel castle on their way to the healing hall… The late Molten King had never been very imaginative with names, so the realm and this castle were both named after Vulcania. If she hadn't intervened, all of the daughters he had with her would probably have been Vulcania Juniors, too… Lonehom stopped in his tracks right as he entered the healing hall.

"Is something the matter, Sir?"

"You fools! How can you be so blind?!" With ruthless efficiency, the swordsman disappeared from where he stood, slaying the two dragonfolks who had been attacked by the monster in the blink of an eye.

"S-Sir?!"

"They were cursed with something nasty. Something that was spreading outward! Outward! You hear me?! Where is the third one? Where are the drakes they were riding at the time?!" The dragonfolk did his best to retain his composure, and it took them about one hour to find all of the parties who had been involved in the incident. They were slain without even realising it, and their bodies were thrown into the lava lake below the castle.

Sir Lonehom then asked that every action they took after they came to the castle be documented. Two of the drake riders had remained in the healing hall and had thus only interacted with a handful of people… Namely the healers and some other people who passed by for some healing. The biggest problems were caused by the rider who had been only lightly injured and the drakes.

The dragonfolk had been walking around many others, and the drakes had been ridden by other people, especially due to the fact that there had been efforts to locate the incandescent monster. Sir Lonehom couldn't detect the vile curse on anyone but those who had been directly involved, but he could tell at a glance that the curse they had been afflicted with had been using its hosts to spread something… Something he couldn't detect, but which had certainly made its way throughout large swaths of the iron castle.

"That monster is definitely the intruder, and it's here to fuck us over! Expand efforts to the maximum, and keep a close eye on everyone within the castle. If there is even a single odd thing that happens, I want to know it!"

"Understood, Sir Lonehom!" The swordsman was left alone in his private quarters. He sat directly upon the ground, blade carefully laid down in front of him.

"Is it a new attempt to take the crown away? They should know that it no longer has any power. Why do they still seek to claim it for themselves?" Throughout the years, there had been only a handful of visitors from beyond the realm. Some had been aggressive, and some had sought negotiations, but they had all been aiming for the crown of the late Molten King–Of the Last Molten King. Lonehom had always found it strange that they called it this way.

The man he had known had been the first and only Molten King, so it was bizarre to specifically refer to him as the 'last'.

"I guess they know something that I don't" It didn't matter much. Sir Lonehom was still guarding this castle and training its guards solely because he owed the late king everything. Erdigo Elidrent Rootriska had been a man with a charisma rarely seen, and he had seen something in Lonehom that no one else had ever suspected. The swordsman wouldn't be where he currently stood without this trust.

As such, it only felt natural to guard this castle and do his best so that the widow his friend had left behind wasn't disturbed. … It did not take long for the unseen effects of the curses to reveal themselves as several people throughout the castle suddenly fell profoundly asleep and were besieged by horrendous, abnormally realistic nightmares. As word of it spread, it seemed to cause more people to start to experience these nightmares.

Even in this state, Lonehom was unable to sense what was causing it within the victims. If it was another curse, then it was a much more powerful and well-concealed one. Unfortunately, he couldn't solve the issue by swinging his sword. Whatever was affecting these people was solely targeting them. Striking them down would serve no purpose. The only way his blade could be directed to have an impact was the curse master… … Whom he soon heard news of.

"Sir Lonehom, a group of drake riders was attacked!" The dragonfolk showed the Orb of Viewing once more. The images it showed were distorted, but it was nonetheless clear that an attack had indeed taken place not even a few minutes ago. Lonehom and a group of guards headed straight for where the ambush had taken place, finding several mangled corpses of dragonfolks and drakes.

Some had been torn beyond recognition, while others had been 'luckier' and had died whole, their death instead caused by internal damage due to heavy blunt force trauma. Lonehom immediately noticed that there was a survivor–The man was barely alive. If he was moved without incredible caution, he would surely perish.

"Bring healers on the scene" He gave an order and knelt beside the wounded guard.

"Where did it go?"

"I… I don't know… It spat Grey Death at me… I… I can't see anything…"

"Grey Death? It's linked with the Grey Death? Wouldn't that mean that this monster isn't our intruder, then?" Lonehom mused to himself for a few moments.

"Don't worry, we'll get you out of here-" Lonehom couldn't finish his sentence before he sensed danger and leapt back, right before the survivor suddenly exploded. Something had seemingly been hidden beneath him and rigged to blow up.

"That damned monster is no monster at all. This is definitely the work of a full-on sapient" Not all of the people and mounts who should have been part of this group were to be found amongst the corpses, however. This led Lonehom and his men to search further, eventually finding another site of battle. It would seem like the remaining guards either gave chase at one point or tried to retreat. There was another survivor here, but it was a drake. It was missing a wing.

Judging by where it was compared to the rest, its wing had been ripped off whilst still in flight, and it had been lucky enough to land far enough that the monster hadn't deemed it worth the time to go and finish it. That, or Lonehom had been quick enough to discourage it. The swordsman stroked the scale on the head of the drake.

"Let's at least bring you back" The mount wasn't cursed with the same affliction Lonehom had previously seen, and in his eyes, a mount was a warrior of the same level as its rider. So it deserved to be healed up and probably enjoy a retirement, as it was unlikely a wing would be able to grow back.

"Even such a large group didn't stand a chance against the enemy. Relay this order: No longer engage directly, even if possible. All drake riders are to stay high in the sky and monitor the invader from afar–I'll be the one to deal with it"