Dawn- An Age Of Darkness

The duke was kind of dying. He wasn't regenerating either. With each and every attack, his skin turned blacker and festered more and more. If this kept up, he'd die eventually but it'd be very painful. 

By the time I stopped, he looked almost like a typical undead with some meat attached. 

"Your holy is way more effective than mine," Gorgon spoke aloud. "You've really improved a lot."

"He's the real deal unlike you," Ve spoke on my behalf. 

The old man said something about men using fake holy magic too. I didn't care though. 

It didn't matter. And by the look on Gorgon's face, he didn't care either. 

"Why did you do this?" I slouched slightly.

The severed head was now shivering. Where'd his hotshot ways of saying he was invincible go? "I-I can't die!" I guess he still wasn't convinced. 

"Yes, we established that. But can you really live like this? You can't regenerate and you can't die but you can feel the pain. Can you really live like this?"

The moment he actually realized what I just said, he looked at me with wide eyes. Well, he lacked his eyelids, so his eyes were bigger anyway. 

"Don't look at me like that, why'd you do this?"

"I wanted to make this land prosperous as its eternal ruler," he said, speaking like an automated voice. And why the hell was he telling me that? I thought he'd be talking more like, how he was supposed to be young forever and how he would eventually rule the world and all, but just this land and making it prosperous? That's it?

I was almost disappointed for a moment. 

"Fair enough, but who made you a vampire?"

The guy looked at me with surprised eyes. "Are you not angry with me?"

"Trust me, I want to get rid of you right now, but I have to know what I'm dealing with. Besides, I already made a promise about making this land great and protecting it."

He closed his eyes and smiled: he didn't have eyelids so, this was genuinely a bit disgusting. "So, it really was true. You've already met my son, he's innocent and I didn't make him a vampire. I wasn't going to make the princess into one either. You don't have to believe me but please don't kill my son, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't just hand everything over to the princess, she's still too young. There are some good ministers still around. Let her adjust first."

Everyone was too quiet. 

"Why are you telling me all this and you expect me to believe you?"

"A good ruler knows when he's beat. MY brother was secretly dealing with the demons and planning an assault on the dwarves: this country was set for destruction no matter what. I did what I to ensure the survival of my country- you may hate my methods but- I am proud." The guy glared at me with a satisfied proud grin. "I took a gamble and it paid off."

"Father would never!" Viola screamed. 

The duke ignored her. "Come, end me if you can! AHAHAHAH!" He seemed way too satisfied for some reason. 

I didn't know what was right or wrong or what the truth even was, but I was going to end this. 

"Was planning on that. Throw it up."

Gorgon nodded and threw the head in the air. 

I brought out the mystic blade, poured my mana through it, and sliced the tossed head cleanly in two. 

"In time, you shall see what I did was right. AHAHAHH!" His laugh reverberated in the air as he perished. 

I clicked my tongue. "Damn!"

This went too fast and too easy. 'He planned all this shit?'

I really felt like destroying the wall right next to me. 

***

I cooled my head. There were still a lot of people and guard just outside the door. 

I had to stay calm. 

"Are there any notable vampires who could have done this?" But my voice sure wasn't sounding calm.

Even if the duke had planned all this, his death probably wasn't part of the equation and he was way too confident that he couldn't die. There was something I was missing here.

"Vampires are generally rare. And most of the ones that could have done this are either dead or sealed. That leaves only one I know-" Ve paused. Her face darkened a bit. "He's one of the seven. But you don't have to worry about him. Once I meet him-" Ve made a fist and glared. "I'll crush him with my own hands."

For once, she was actually mad. The pixies around her were so afraid that they ran for their lives. 

Both Alisa and Viola stood out of the door and everyone came inside. Not just the adventurers but there were soldiers and general people mixed in with the crowd too. 

All my companions came near me but everyone just maintained their distance. I guess this was normal.

Gorgon however looked pleased. "Well, looks like we're done."

Was he forgetting our main purpose for coming here?

"What about the prince and the princess?"

"They're both gone."

"You can't be serious. After all that trouble. So, where'd they go this time?" I really didn't want this fetch quest to go on any longer. 

"Oh, I mean, they're both dead." Gorgon spoke so casually that I thought for a second that my ears were about to fall off. 

"Dead? And how come you can be so calm? Wasn't he your prince or something? Or was it a princess?"

Actually, at this point, I wasn't sure who was what.

Gorgon chuckled. "A prince. And he was a good for nothing. He was the son of the old guy you met." He didn't have a shred of respect for the guy. "Actually, if the prince was still alive eventually he would have been my lady's enemy so I was going to kill him here. Though I suppose now that you resolved everything, that's no problem."

Was this guy really serious? And how the hell could he say such things in the open? There weren't any humans here but there was a dwarf here. He didn't realize that their princess was dead too?

The dark knight guy was being rather calm though. 

"But, what about the princess? And you think the two nations would accept everything we just say to them?"

"The princess was a vampire and was constantly tortured by other vampire soldiers. Eternal pleasure as they say." Gorgon cleared his throat. This guy didn't even give a fuck apparently. "With you killing the duke, you just killed the princess too." Wait, Alisa's theory was right? "Anyway, you can just take over Xylax by marrying princess Viola and then you'd be the king of two nations and even an empire, I don't think either country would want to pick a fight with you. Even if they combined their forces, you'd still be victorious regardless without even needing to rally up your army. You've already proven that."

No wonder he came along. This was his intention all along. 

"You're forgetting that I'm already engaged."

He chuckled. "That doesn't mean you can't have mistresses."

I looked over at Alisa and she sighed. 

"You knew?"

"Works out, doesn't it?" She tried to put on a PR smile. 

"How!?" 

She didn't answer. 

Meanwhile, there were all sorts of people here and they now knew the full scope of things.

"SO, there you have it, folks. If you want your nation to survive, you better make Daarc king or both men and dwarves would combine their forces and destroy this nation for aiding the demons and killing their royals." Gorgon spoke like an evil guy. Was he the true villain all along?

No, something was up. I knew Gorgon for a while longer than anyone else here. Yes, I was a terrible judge of character, but something just didn't add up.

It was almost as though- he was pretending to be the bad guy. 

The men grimaced and they all just stared teary-eyed at the princess. Well, that was an exaggerated reaction. 

I sighed. "Look people, I have no intention of ruling over you. But I do have the intention of saving you. I'll negotiate with the two nations. Princess Viola will be the new ruler but- as her late uncle said, she's too young and so we'll consult with the rightful ministers. I have no interest in the throne of Xylax."

I had no idea where I was going with this, but I had a feeling I needed to calm everyone down or this could have turned very ugly, very fast. 

Viola came my way and stood next to me, grabbing my right hand. "Lord Daarc green had saved me again and again. He saved me from my own father and he saved me from my uncle. He brought me back from death! And he never once tried to force himself on me. At times I felt like maybe I wasn't attractive enough for him to look at me as a woman." She chuckled. "But- he is not driven by lust nor power. I think we can trust him with the throne. And-" She blushed slightly. "I'd like to get married to him: he stole my firsts after all."

Gorgon chuckled and winked. 

'The hell?'

And brought her back from death? Was she crazy? And what firsts!?

Jori in the corner grimaced and sighed while Ve, Alisa, and Bitera all looked at me like I was some sort of insect. 

I had a feeling this whole thing was staged to have their way and win the hearts of the men. But now- now I was sure of it. 

And the men weren't stupid enough to buy-

They were. 

They were now looking at me like I was some sort of god for something.

'You can't be serious.'

"Vi-Viola- I killed both of them you know- I ki-" Yeah, and I had a frigging fiancée!

She stood up on her toes and kissed me on the lips.  "I know- but- as father said, you better take responsibility for it." She blushed slightly and kind of looked away.

And so, I died.