Serum

The capital city Horizon of the Horizon Empire.

There was no busier city than this. Both citizens and military alike were constantly moving, hastily trying to complete some sort of task or work. There were extremely few people who weren’t anxious or busy. 

At the northern sector of the city was a military installation, this also being the largest military compound in the Empire. With a fortress only smaller than the Emperor’s Castle, there were tens of thousands of troops and high ranking military officials who either lived here or worked here. 

It was the busiest part of the city. 

Teleporters constantly flashed, none of them ever being idle for more than a few minutes. Thousands of people were moved through these teleporters every single day. The expenditures to maintain this kind of mass transportation were usually astronomical, but nobody seemed to think that here.

Instead, these teleporters were being treated as wagons, regular troops being teleported by the hundred. Nowhere else on the planet could a teleporter be used so freely. 

This fact was a frequently discussed topic, even over a month after the dawn of War Cataclysma. 

In one such chamber of this military installation, there was a Marshal, a Tier 6 commander of the Empire’s military. 

He was draped in vivid red robes, embroidered with a deep gold and carrying a special crest only Marshals could receive directly from the Emperor himself. 

His face was hardened, and his young age was partially masked by the sharp beard that was expertly tamed. Even his hair was slicked back, displaying masculine discipline. 

This man hovered over a table, and he wasn’t the only one. There were others who frequented this particular room, analyzing and checking the magical displays that projected maps of places all over the empire. It was a war room, and not the only one of its kind.

Suddenly, a door flew open, but nobody noticed over the chatter. A skinnier man with the rank of Knight Captain, equivalent to a Tier 4, took large strides toward the sharp man. 

“Marshal Strider. The teleporter at the city of Keleran has established a connection. Your troops are on standby to enter.”

The Knight Captain stood behind Marshal Strider, gazing at the massive sword hung on his back. The only thing larger than this 5 foot long greatsword was the nearly 7 foot tall Marshal. 

He had grown even taller than his father. 

Marshal Strider straightened his back, turning toward the Knight Captain, yet keeping his gaze above his head. 

“Very well. We depart now. Every second is precious for those on the other side.”

“Yes sir!”

The Knight Captain saluted before rushing out. Marshal Strider followed with steady steps, his gaze sharp, yet filled with anticipation. 

“About time we have a reunion, little brother.”

………

Pandora watched as the teleporter flashed and distorted. 

Of course, this didn’t make her happy. She sighed as she watched this experimental technology take action. In her mind, she was thinking about how she needed to accelerate her plans more than they already have been. 

At the same time, the distortion of the teleporter revealed figures. There were easily a hundred of them. 

Once they stepped out, Pandora could see their armor and weapons at the ready. 

The first man to step out was the leader of the group. 

“Marshal Strider!”

“Oh?”

Pandora’s brow raised as the Tier 6 mage in charge of the teleporter’s construction rushed over to this Marshal. 

He turned his head and gazed at the mage. 

“What’s the situation?”

“They’re all outside fighting, even the City Lord. The monsters are breaking through our barricades as we speak! We’re on our last legs!”

“Understood. Lead us out.”

“Of course! Please save our city!”

The mage was fervent in his request, showing genuine concern and fear towards the oncoming monster hordes outside. Even as he hastily guided the Marshal, he was throwing out words of horror while describing the many days and weeks of battle, as if he’d been there.

Pandora was scoffing while watching this, disgusted with the mage. 

“Well, I guess I know why he’s in here and not battling. Filthy coward.”

She stood from the ground while doing nothing to hide her disgust. Then, she looked at the Marshal. 

The Marshal similarly turned his head toward her, and the two made eye contact. 

For a moment, the Marshal was stunned, shocked by this random girl’s abnormal beauty and silent pressure. 

But he momentarily composed himself, taking in Pandora’s features before continuing to follow the mage. 

Pandora watched as the Marshal’s troops followed, a few captains staying behind to guide the continuous stream of reinforcements out of the teleporter. There were thousands of soldiers, more than enough to match the current army here at the city. And they were all high quality, unlike a large portion of the city’s army that was composed of prior citizens. 

She left through another exit, heading out toward the battlefield. 

“Marshal Strider!”

After rushing out of the gates of the castle, Marshal Strider saw the City Lord running toward him. He was bloodied and exhausted, yet forced himself to stand tall. 

Marshal Strider had heard the situation and knew that the City Lord had been horribly crippled. So when he saw the City Lord who had obviously been fighting, he gave him the same respect as he would a superior. 

“Grand Marshal Baren.”
“Please, Marshal Strider, I’m just a City Lord here.”

The City Lord put out his hand, and Marshal Strider clasped it in greeting. 

Then, the City Lord frowned. 

“Unfortunately, this is no time for greetings. Our troops are barely holding our final defensive line. Please bring your soldiers to reinforce.”

“Of course. Are there any monster generals?”

“No. None.”

“I see. Knight Commander Hasen!”

Marshal Strider let out a deafening bellow. At his call, a burly man wielding a long spear hurried to his side. 

“Marshal!”

“Commander, lead our troops to reinforce! Let’s relieve this ruined city and drive back these mindless beasts!”

“Yes sir! Knight Captains! Form up!”

Letting out a few commands, the Knight Commander summoned a legion of knights to his back. All of them were bloodthirsty and primed for battle. 

Fighting mindless monsters was different from fighting people. When fighting wars against other empires, there would always be the weight of taking the lives of other people. Very few people truly wanted to take the lives of others, or risk their lives fighting others. 

But monsters? That was a hobby of many soldiers, and a well paid profession. In some places it was a sport. Dungeon diving was the most popular job for those with the power. 

So these knights, when faced with hordes of monsters, charged with no reservations. There was nothing to cloud their mind except the joy of cleaving beasts in two. Plus, the chances of dying against monsters was much lower than if they were to fight other people. With their gear and training, they seemed to fear nothing. 

After forming up, the knights grasped their swords, spears, and bows. Mana was kicked up by the mages in the backline, and the weight of anima began to surround those in the front. 

The Marshal, ahead of even the Knight Commander, raised his sword. 

Everyone watched as a spark ignited on the tip of the blade, and then, an inferno surrounded the greatsword. It blazed with such heat that even those from afar could feel its warmth. 

It was a beacon of power in the chaos of battle. 

The Marshal faced the defensive line. 

“Charge!”

“Ahhh!!!”

The knights roared as they sprinted forward, rapidly overcoming the defensive line and pushing forward. 

They clashed with the monsters who were about to overwhelm the barricades. 

*Splat!*

Blood began to fly as the knights drove their weapons forward. Hundreds and thosuands of knights flooded toward the monsters, looking like no less of a horde themselves. 

And within moments, the tide of battle turned. 

The knights pushed the monsters back, leaving the corpses of monsters behind. 

Mages from the back also launched spells that exploded in front of the knights. 

Even the Marshal was throwing himself into the chaos, finding a massive pile of monsters in front of even the mages' bombardment and tearing them to shreds. 

His greatsword covered in flames released an inferno all around him. By now, night had already fallen, so he was a beacon of light in the darkness. 

A single wave of the blade cleaved 5 in half and set a dozen more on fire. The Marshal seemed like a fire elemental, commanding scorching waves to turn his enemies into ash. 

And those who could actually see his sword skills were left in awe. The Marshal didn’t just wield brute strength. He moved his sword with valiance, and his flames seemed to mimic his spirit. 

He was a much needed powerhouse on this battlefield. But as he fought, he couldn’t help but realize that there was someone else out there. 

The Marshal swung his sword, releasing a wave of flame that engulfed a few dozen monsters in front of him. Then, he glanced to the side. 

Not far away, there was a dark figure that blended in with the night. This figure dashed around silently, but every movement drew the blood and screams of the monsters he killed. 

Marshal Strider, upon focusing more, couldn’t help but gawk at the uncanny agility and reflexes of this figure. The shortswords in his hands moved with such ruthless efficiency, stabbing or slicing the vitals of every monster he came across. 

When he encountered a stronger monster, the Marshal could see golden lines flash across parts of his body. Whenever that happened, the strong monster would come out with a horribly lethal wound, dropping to the floor only moments later. 

Then there was the darkness that the Marshal sensed. That figure would occasionally appear in two or three spots simultaneously, the shroud of dark mana engulfing his person. 

It resembled void walking, but not quite. 

Still, this skill afforded that figure the ability to remain untouched. No monster could escape, and none could pin him down. 

That figure wasn’t explosively powerful, but he was the most lethal the Marshal had ever seen. His use of magic and weapons was so fluid and skilled. It was a level of combat ability the Marshal had only partially experienced from sparring with people at a higher level than himself.

As for the faint suspicion in his mind, he disregarded it for a while. 

The Marshal and that dark figure continued to fight. The Marshal was able to kill far more at a time, but the figure was constant. He continued to kill at an almost fixed rate, never deviating and eternally building his kill count. 

He didn’t seem like he could even get tired. It was strangely robotic.

This battling lasted only a few hours. With the Marshal scorching fields of enemies, and his thousands of fresh knights driving back and slaughtering the monsters, the dwindling hordes couldn't hold out for long. 

Finally, it was when the knights had advanced to where the Marshal was fighting that he backed off. Flame still flickered around his sword as he watched his knights push back with bloodlust that only built up over hours of fighting. 

That dark figure also stopped, dropping the corpse of a bird that had tried to ambush him from above. Its neck had been wrung like a wet towel. 

The figure turned his head, facing the Marshal that was observing him. Finally, the Marshal could see exactly what this figure was wearing. 

Sleek armor with golden circuits covering his entire body, like some sort of flexible metal. The armor was basically featureless. That in itself was a bit intimidating, giving off an inhuman feeling. 

After some time of staring at each other, the faceless figure tilted his head. 

“Ethan?”

“...Dirk?”

Hearing his name called, the Marshal finally confirmed his guess. There weren’t many people who would call him by his first name so casually. 

The two brothers continued to stare at each other for another few seconds before they were interrupted. 

“How happy! A family reunion.”

There was an enthusiastic clap, and the two turned their heads. 

Pandora stood nearby amidst a small pile of corpses, looking between the brothers that couldn’t be more different. 

She smiled at Dirk. 

“Those knights have everything taken care of. We can finally rest.”

“As if you did anything.”

“I seem to recall killing a giant turtle. Anyway, you can speak with your brother as you eat.”

With that, Pandora turned and walked. The two brothers looked back at each other. 

Ethan scratched his beard in confusion. 

“Who is that?”

“I’m sure she’ll be more than happy to explain.”

Dirk sighed and followed Pandora. Ethan fell in behind them, even more confused at the whole situation. 

……

“The Vampire Princess?”

Ethan was baffled as he stuck a slice of meat into his mouth. 

Dirk, who disregarded Obsidius bouncing around his plate of food, also kept eating. 

Ethan, Dirk, Pandora, and the City Lord were all eating in this small room that had been repurposed with a table and chairs for eating dinner. Outside, the battle was finishing up, just about every monster in the vicinity having been wiped out. 

Ethan wasn’t sure what to say as he momentarily made eye contact with Pandora’s blood pearl eyes. 

This was the last person he expected to be beside Dirk. Literally anybody else would have made more sense. 

But instead, Dirk had one of the world’s highest members of royalty eating food off his plate. 

The City Lord understood Ethan’s confusion. He too had been baffled on several occasions as he witnessed the antics between Dirk and Pandora. The situation with a grumpy Pandora in the morning had been particularly shocking experience. He still couldn’t reconcile that warped image with the graceful princess sitting in front of him. 

Eventually, Ethan shook his head and gazed at Dirk. 

Both brothers hadn’t seen each other in many years. Ethan had left the academy before Dirk entered, and afterward he entered the military. There was no opportunity for them to see each other. It was the same with the other siblings like Viola and Rita. 

They were almost complete strangers, both of them changing into completely different people. They had only been children the last time they saw each other. 

Still, Ethan was more surprised over Dirk's changes than his own. But then again, he also happened to know about Dirk’s kidnapping and brutal time at Asura’s mountain. 

He guessed that the only possible outcome was for Dirk to become a killing machine, having been trained into an assassin and all. 

Nonetheless, Ethan was glad that they had finally been able to meet again. It wasn’t in the best of circumstances, but that didn’t matter to either of them. 

“So Dirk, what are your plans after this? In fact, why don’t you tell me just how you got yourself in the middle of a monster siege.”

“Mm.”

Dirk hummed before explaining the situation. Of course, he left out certain key details like their goals in traveling to the Dwarven Haven, but other than that, he told Ethan mostly everything. 

It ultimately boiled down to him following Pandora and keeping an eye on her. As for their unique relationship, neither Dirk nor the princess were able to explain it to them. 

There were only two people in this world who knew about their situation, and they were their mothers. 

After a while, Ethan had a good enough picture. So he knew enough to know that Dirk wouldn’t be coming back to the capital with him. But, he still mentioned something that piqued both their interests. 

“After securing this city, I’ve got a mission to check out the major dungeon nearby. You should join me.”