Treasure Hunt (5)
When devising this operation, there was one consideration.
Until the very end, we must hide the location of the
[We need to deceive not only the patrol soldiers of the Count's castle but also the King's guards, so should we go with a diversion tactic?]
[Somehow, I feel like I'm going to be overworked?]
[Haha]
[…Why don't you deny it?]
If Sub-writer 1 has the ability to survey the stage, our destination will inevitably be revealed.
However, considering that Sub-writer 1 is a presence in the sky who does not move directly, it is possible to block the movements of that under his control and Godric's movements.
[While Sir Raul draws attention, Leo and I will start the main search as the second team.]
Therefore, Raul and Vittorio will act as the fuse to create confusion, and Leonardo and I will use the Nidum Tower as bait to dash towards the Rondine Tower.
If the silver spotlight seems to watch Leonardo with all the affection and admiration to make him stand out, the faint moonlight pouring down on us now had a different intention.
It was a gaze that simply observed a small creature, contemplating when to press down and kill it with a fingertip.
'Look straight ahead.'
I whispered earnestly to Leonardo. Understanding, he simply continued forward. And just as we set foot in the shadow of the Rondine Tower.
[Assistant Writer: I will support you.]
Suddenly, a thick mist filled the sky, turning the pitch-black night into a cloudy grey. Fine, cold raindrops began to fall lightly. With the moon obscured by the dark clouds, our movements felt noticeably lighter and freer.
With Orlie's help, we hurriedly headed towards the back garden. The back garden of the Rondine Tower, where the family tomb of the Ertinez family was located, was surrounded by stone walls entwined with ivy. Inside the cemetery, where no outsiders were allowed, dozens of white marble tombstones could be seen. Each epitaph sang of individual deaths.
Finding the tombstone of Countess Veronica among these many gravestones was not as difficult as expected.
Flowers.
The only grave with flowers, which the Count had offered but had dried up due to his absence for the campaign.
The epitaph was engraved on the rounded tombstone. A strong wind blew, scattering the dried petals. When I touched the nearby soil, it felt soft, not hard like stone, giving way under my hand.
"Is it here?"
"Probably. The soil is soft only here."
Do we have to dig it up after all? I brought a shovel just in case.
At that moment, Leonardo suddenly raised his head and stared at the entrance of the family cemetery. The moss-covered stones glowed white.
I realized that the moonlight was seeping back in due to the clouds being pushed away by the strong wind.
The clinking sound of armour clashing. The king's guards were approaching in groups from afar. Among them were palace servants with vacant expressions. They were coming, having lost their minds and become someone's pawns.
'Have we been discovered after all?'
Then, the nondescript palace servants began to slowly melt away among the knights. Just like sugar particles dissolving in water when hit by rain, those losing their forms merged into a pitch-black puddle one by one.
Looking around, I saw the sloshing liquids.
It was them.
The liquids, spreading out like ripples, suddenly sank into the ground, staining it black.
Soon, the ground cracked open with a loud snap, and an arm shot out.
"…!"
Those things were mimicking the dead by scavenging the remains buried beneath the graves.
The ancient beings that crawled out of the ground bore strong features of the Ertinez family: a bluish tint to their hair, piercing blue eyes, and strong physiques perfectly suited for wielding swords. All those who were once Ertinez had seemingly returned from death, reclaiming their old appearances, and opened their mouths wide to devour their descendants' flesh.
Leonardo drew his greatsword. The black blade, wrapped in cloth to hide the traces of Leovald, was revealed once again.
"I'll buy us some time," he whispered calmly. I nodded, turning my attention back to Countess Veronica's grave, the only grave that could maintain its tranquility in this chaos since no remains were buried there.
As Leonardo angled the black blade and charged into the throng of the undead, I dug up a shovelful of earth, which mixed with the airborne ash. Amid the sounds of Leonardo battling those creatures, I dug further, confirming that this soil had been disturbed many times before. Not directly beneath the grave, but a little to the side.
Clang!
The shovel struck something hard and bounced back. Tossing the shovel aside, I dug with my bare hands, feeling a stony texture. It was a small stone box, tightly sealed and heavy… a lonely box containing the Count's solitary past seven years.
At that moment, a shocked voice cut through the night sky.
"What are you doing, Leonardo?"
Ferdinand.
'Damn.'
I thought the commotion at the Nidum Tower had naturally lured him away, but Ferdinand was here. With his sword raised, Ferdinand trembled with rage as he looked at the desecrated grave. His pale face took on an even more ghastly hue.
"You're not Leonardo, are you…"
Whether it was due to the moonlight, his turbulent emotions, or some other reason, Ferdinand's blue eyes flickered as if caught in a sea breeze.
"Who are you?"
Through the flickering light, I understood.
'Since when has he been under
Ferdinand, consumed by an emotion I couldn't discern—betrayal, suspicion, or fear—aimed his weapon. In his flickering eyes, it seemed as though he couldn't see the other undead surrounding the grave, desecrating the Ertinez family.
As if there was a filter over his vision.
The moonlight descending to the ground was exceptionally eerie and bright, like a spotlight illuminating not a stage but two combatants in an arena.
"Deceivers…"
Ferdinand pointed the sharp tip of his sword at us. The Young Count, said to have inherited the full martial prowess of Count Ertinez, gritted his teeth.
"From the beginning, you were never Leonardo!"
Ironically, a statement close to the truth. A faint flicker of turmoil passed over Leonardo's face, tormented by the fact that he was living someone else's life.
"How dare a monster like you…"
Ferdinand lowered his stance, his voice dripping with hatred. The greatsword and sword clashed with a sharp, metallic scrape. The clash pitted the body of Leonardo Ertinez, honed through months of training, against the body of Ferdinand, crafted through a lifetime of effort.
In terms of sheer physical ability, Ferdinand, blessed with natural martial prowess, was undeniably superior. However, within Leonardo resided the spirit of a hero who had always fought on the front lines of humanity.
In an instant, Leonardo twisted his wrist, bringing the greatsword up and pressing Ferdinand's sword to the ground with its weight. He then kicked at Ferdinand's lower body, disrupting his stance.
「He's resisting too fiercely to subdue without injury.」
As Leonardo grabbed Ferdinand's shoulder with one hand, preparing to dislocate it, he was interrupted by one of the mimicking creatures attacking from behind.
"…!"
Ferdinand seized his sword without hesitation. The blade, thrusting upwards as if to pierce the sky, aimed directly for Leonardo's throat, but Leonardo barely managed to twist his head and avoid it.
Gripping the greatsword in reverse, Leonardo used the broad hilt to slam into the back of Ferdinand's head. Ferdinand let out a pained groan. It was clear the blow had landed hard, as his previous concussion from an encounter with a monster had not yet fully healed.
"Take it, take it— that, that, that! Ah!"
"Isaac!"
I swung the shovel down on the head of a mimicking undead that was charging at me, aiming for the stone box, and staggered back. Leonardo dashed over and brought the greatsword down, finishing it off.
In the meantime, Ferdinand, clutching his head in apparent dizziness, staggered to his feet. Blood trickled from his nose down to his chin, clearly showing the effects of the concussion. It seemed that neither side would stop until one of them was dead.
'Damn it, damn it, damn it!'
In the meantime, it seemed that Sub-Writer 1 had summoned more undead, and before I knew it, the cemetery was packed with figures. All of them were dressed in white, clean burial robes, giving the illusion of standing in the midst of a forest of white birch saplings.
Is there a way to keep Ferdinand from dying, and for the Ertinez family to avoid danger?
If this standoff continued, either Ferdinand or Leonardo would be caught, and if the stone box was taken in the process—surely, in the next scenario note, the entire family would be purged.
My head throbbed.
Then, Leonardo's hand gripped my shoulder.
"Pull yourself together. We've come this far."
Leonardo's grip on the sword was slightly unsteady. The original Leonardo's eyes were always a little darker, but today they seemed different. They were faint, almost too bright.
"We made a promise."
As Ferdinand staggered, gripping his sword, and the undead closed in, moving like four-legged beasts, Leonardo Ertinez spoke an odd sentence.
"When this moment comes, you'll be the one to save us."
[The
Keywords – #Prophet, #???, #???
Unique Ability – (Role immersion is low and remains unopened. Current immersion level: 9%)
"You know the way."
At that moment, the immersion level skyrocketed to 20% in an instant.
[The second keyword of the
[#Salvation]
[Unique Ability Unlocked –