The Duke’s Madness - The Duke’s Madness chapter 113

Arthur tilted his head.

“hmm… Mr. Necromancer?”

“… Carpe!”

“Ah, Mr. Carpe? Are you saying you’re going to betray Yenika right now?”

Carpe frowned.

“Why am I betraying the princess?”

“Then why are you asking me to stop Yenika?”

“… Because the princess is trying to harm herself!”

“… ?”

Arthur narrowed his eyes.

In the meantime, Carpe let out a deep sigh and glanced at Leon.

Leon asked with a smile.

“Can I move over?”

Carpe hesitated before answering.

“that… If not, can you keep a secret?”

“Sure. I wouldn’t have invited you here if I was going to tell you a secret.”

“… greatness.”

Carpe frowned and began to explain.

“Right now, the princess is thinking of giving her life to the Blood Chalice.”

“A life?”

“The curse of the vampire clan. To break that curse.”

Arthur tilted his head.

“What does it have to do with lifting the curse and Jenika’s life?”

“Whether it’s magic, spells, or curses. You need to pay for it.”

“… … .”

“Then what will it take to break the curse that has held the vampire clan for a thousand years?”

Arthur groaned.

“Yenika Hazel, do you need her life?”

“Are you happy with that?”

“… ?”

“A thousand years, a thousand years. It takes 50 years for a child to become an adult and become an old man. It took 500 years for the village to become a city, become a country, and perish.”

“… … .”

“But the curse on the vampire clan is a whopping thousand years. Do you think you can break that riddle with just one human life?”

Arthur’s eyes widened.

“uh… Then would you sacrifice the lives of the entire vampire clan?”

“Similar.”

“… ?”

“I’m willing to sacrifice the lives of those who seek the Black Cross, not just the vampire clan.”

Leon, who was next to him, was surprised and asked.

“George, sacrificing the lives of those who aim for the black cross? What do you mean?”

Carpe let out a deep sigh.

“Literally. The princess wants to sacrifice the lives of all those who are now gathering in the north.”

Arthur let out a slight exclamation.

“That means… .”

“that’s right.”

Carpe did not hide his misery.

“Everyone who went to the North right now is a sacrifice of the Holy Grail. Including the princess.”

* * *

Arthur stroked his chin.

‘Yenika… Wasn’t she more daring than I thought?’

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No way he was thinking of releasing the curse by sacrificing the countless mercenaries who had gathered in the north.

Then Carpe sighed.

“No matter what I say, they don’t listen… There’s no use trying to break the curse like that.”

Arthur came to his senses and asked a question.

“Why is it useless?”

“Right off the curse by sacrificing all the bastards who are targeting us now. Then, will the vampire clan be able to live on the continent?”

“… !”

“Even if I break the curse, I will have to hide in the dark again. Maybe this will make me even more miserable.”

Arthur nodded at Carpe’s explanation.

“That is also true. hmm… But I don’t think it’s something we can do to stop Yenika?”

Carpe also nodded at Arthur’s question.

“that’s right. I wasn’t expecting much from this either. Just block Ian or kill him.”

“Hmm… By the way, Mr. Carpe.”

“why?”

“Aren’t there a lot of capable people in the black cross? Why are you asking us for that?”

Carpe wrinkled his face at Arthur’s question.

“Whoa… I didn’t even know if I would come this far. But I had to come. That Taken is injured now.”

Arthur’s eyes widened.

“Are you the immortal Taken?”

“Exactly, it is in a state of sleep. let’s talk about this later After all, there is Taken on the way to the temple where the princess is.”

Arthur nodded.

“Hmm… all right. By the way, Mr. Carpe?”

“Why?”

Arthur laughed softly.

“You’re not stupid. Why did you cross the Dormund army? Did you not know who they were?”

Arthur’s question surprised Ginny next to him.

‘Come on, touch yourself too!’

But I didn’t bother to open my mouth.

In the meantime, Carpe sighed once again and explained.

“I had no choice but to touch it. They killed our blood relatives.”

“A blood relative? vampire?”

“okay. The Dormund army ripped limb from limb to a very precious blood relative who had received just a few drops of the princess’s blood.”

“oh… It’s like Dormund.”

At Arthur’s answer, Carpe was overcome with emotion.

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Normally, I wouldn’t have shown this kind of emotional agitation, but maybe it’s because of the gloomy situation.

Carpe, who was weak in mind and body, poured out unnecessary words.

“Whoa… I’m not a very nice guy either, but those Dormunds are real devils!”

“What the hell did you do?”

“There was an inn where our blood relatives gathered, right? They turned the inn into a mess!”

“… ?”

“You have no idea how shocked I was at the sight! There was no such thing as hell… As soon as Taken saw it, he got excited and wiped out the village.”

Arthur blinked at Carpe’s explanation.

Ginny and Leon, who were next to them, opened their mouths in amazement.

Carpe, who came to his senses at that time, tilted his head as he looked at the three of them.

“huh? What’s wrong with your expression?”

“… No, Mr. Carpe.”

“… ?”

“Is that why you fought the Dormund army?”

“uh… yes that’s right so we fought But they also have strange misunderstandings.”

“What is wrong?”

Carpe shouted harshly.

“no! They saw us and asked why we raided their army!”

“… … .”

“Seeing how they killed my blood relatives and put the blame on them, my fever rose! Whoa… Dawn! Don’t you even think about it!?”

Arthur came to his senses and answered.

“uh… Is that right? Dormund are bad guys.”

“I feel good because you sympathize with me.”

“… thank god. Mr. Carpe.”

“But why did you lose Chuck with Dormund?”

“For similar reasons.”

Carpe shrugged.

“By the way, what are you going to get as a reward?”

Arthur scratched his head.

“hmm… I do not know. Can I think about it some more?”

“It doesn’t matter, but Ian’s side has to block it.”

“Don’t worry about that.”

Leon, who came to his senses at the end of that conversation, hurriedly clapped his hands.

“Come on, let’s go to bed! Let’s freshen up the atmosphere for a moment!”

“… … .”

“Then what we have to do is stop or kill Ian who is trying to kill Jenika. Is it organized like this?’

Carpe nodded.

“Let’s sort it out like that.”

“There must be support from the Black Cross, right?”

“of course. We will join you in stopping Ian.”

At that moment, the running train stopped.

Carpe stood up and gestured.

“I will explain the rest as we go. You have to walk diligently to get to the [temple].”

* * *

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North End Village, the last village located in the northern part of Arcane.

The moment Arthur saw the village, he thought:

‘Everything is pure white.’

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No other color could be seen in the village covered with white snow.

While appreciating the beautiful sight for a while, Carpe spoke.

“Our destination isn’t the north end town, so let’s pass by quietly.”

With these words, Carpe passed the village and headed for the snowfield.

Leon, who followed him, tilted his head and murmured.

“hmm… Is the temple in the middle of the snowfield?”

At his words, Arthur turned his gaze and replied.

“When did you return to what you saw?”

“huh? Ahh… The transformation ended when I got off the train earlier.”

“Did you change your clothes then?”

“yes. But how was it? Was it like Miss Jenika?”

At Leon’s question, Arthur shrugged.

“hmm… They look almost the same, don’t they?”

“okay? hmm… Oh right, Arthur Bayern?”

“yes?”

“I’m telling you just in case, but never… never!”

Leon raised his eyes and warned in a stern voice.

“never… You can’t tell me what you did. You know what I mean?”

Arthur burst into laughter.

“aha… You mean ‘the thing’?”

“It’s ‘things’ to be exact. So be careful with Black Cross and Dormund!”

As if telling Arthur not to worry, he patted Leon on the shoulder.

“I know that much, Leon. Do not worry.”

“… It makes me anxious when you say so.”

Then Carpe stopped walking.

“It has arrived.”

At these words, Arthur and Leon’s eyes turned.

The two looked around for a moment and then tilted their heads.

“Is it an empty field?”

“I said I arrived, I didn’t say here.”

With these words, Carpe memorized a spell.

At that moment, the pure white snowy field parted, revealing a secret passage.

Arthur exclaimed.

“oh… After all, a necromancer.”

Carpe moved and entered the secret passage.

Arthur, Leon, and finally Ginny followed.

“… … .”

The passage was narrow and dark.

If it weren’t for the flames created by Carpe’s magic, it would be impossible to tell the difference.

It was when I walked out for a long time through the darkness.

Suddenly, the field of vision widened.

Leon and Arthur raised their eyes and exclaimed.

“uh… .”

“hmm… .”

The two opened their mouths and looked at each other with puzzled expressions.

“that… Are you a person?”

“Does it look like a person?”

At the words of the two, Carpe hung the torch on the wall.

Roaring-!

Something hidden in the blazing flames was revealed.

Ginny, who arrived last, was startled and her ears trembled.

“Do, butcher… Taken?”

At her words, Carpe sighed.

“What is a butcher… Almost all of them are dying now.”

Arthur came to his senses and murmured.

‘Is that thing dying?’

A man with a huge body, well over 2m, was trapped in the ice.

He didn’t even close his eyes and stood still, but looking at his appearance, it seemed that he was not dying, but was sealed.

‘It doesn’t look like it’s hurt… Where did he get hurt, so Mr. Taken is like that?’

At that time, Carpe sighed and explained.

“I was cursed by a warlock.”

“A curse?”

“Dormund… There was a black magician in such a prestigious family. He put a curse on Taken’s heart.”

Arthur tilted his head.

“What curse did you cast?”

“The curse of the slow dying of the heart.”

“… ?”

“For normal humans, I put a curse on Taken that wouldn’t be strange if he died instantly. But Taken is immortal.”

Carpe shook his head.

“Thanks to you, Taken is dying every moment. I couldn’t overcome the pain, so I froze it.”

Arthur exclaimed.

‘oh my god… You’ve been put under a very difficult curse.’

So, it seems that Carpe has contacted Leon and asked for help.

‘If the monster called Taken was fine, he wouldn’t need my help.’

After thinking this far, Arthur turned his head again.

The two red eyes of Taken who were trapped in the ice were shining.

Arthur watched the scene for a while and asked a question.

“Is there any way to wake up?”

“As of now, not. But it will happen soon. Taken is immortal. Just don’t die from curses. The problem is how long it takes for that immortal body to overcome the curse.”

“hmm… In other words, it depended on Mr. Taken’s efforts?”

“Exactly, it depends on Taken’s lineage.”

Arthur’s eyes widened slightly at Carpe’s answer.

Meanwhile, Carpe beckoned again.

“now. Stop watching and start moving again. We have to move diligently today, so we can reach the [temple].”

At his words, Arthur escaped from his thoughts and jumped up.

Arthur, who landed on Taken’s head with a single leap, stroked his chin.

Surprised, Carpe hurriedly shouted.

“… you you! what are you doing!”

Arthur turned his head and smiled.

“I thought I’d give Mr. Taken some strength.”

“Hey, give me strength? you?”

“yes. So, can I break this ice?”

Arthur’s words opened Carpe’s mouth.

“No, you crazy bastard!!! If you break that ice, the taken will… !”

But it was already too late.

Arthur took out his magic sword and inserted it into the ice that contained Taken.

match-!

A crack was formed in the solid ice by the tip of the knife that had been dug into.

Through that gap, Arthur tore my palm and let the blood drip.

‘The blood shed now.’

To be precise, it was my blood that contained the lineage of a monster called a troll.

As expected, if you eat this blood, Taken will happen.

‘Mr. Taken is a very good reinforcement.’

Even if the enraged Taken blocks the Dormund army, he will be able to deal with Ian much more easily.

It was time for Arthur, who nodded, to watch his own blood being sucked into Taken’s mouth.

Ginny and Leon, who were watching from below, blinked their eyes.

“What else is that doing?”

“I don’t know either. I guess that’s what it is now… .”

In the meantime, the drops of blood that flowed down finally wet Taken’s lips.

Arthur smiled brightly and asked.

“Taken, are you feeling better?”

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No answer came back.

“… … .”

Because of that, a strange silence reigned in the small plaza.

Carpe, who had been lost for a moment, belatedly frowned and shouted.

“That madman! If you break the ice, Taken runs out of control… !”

However, the call didn’t last until the end.

… bang-!

It was because the ice that contained Taken suddenly shattered.

Carpe opened his mouth in amazement, and Genie and Leon unknowingly backed away.

In the meantime, Arthur, who had landed on Taken’s head, raised his head.

Taken, who met our eyes, muttered with his eyes closed.

“… Long time no see, madman.”

Arthur replied with a smile.

“It’s been a while, Mr. Taken. You said you were beaten badly?”