Chapter 140: The Edge of Millfrost and the Tragedy at the Mansion

Takeshi looked down at Dion’s hand, then raised his gaze back to Dion’s wide, beaming smile. A thin, knowing smirk touched the swordsman’s lips, his eyes turning sharper and more intense than before. In a flash of impossible speed, Takeshi abruptly drew his short sword and laid the blade flat against Dion’s neck. Dion made no move to dodge. The sudden aggressive action immediately put every crew member on edge, draining the color entirely from Johan and Astrid’s faces.

"Hey... What the hell do you think you’re doing?!" Aria yelled in fury.

"Kyuu... Kyuu... Kyuu!" Gina chirped angrily, her tiny body bristling.

"Hmm... Interesting. You’ve got guts, kid, and that smile still hasn’t left your face," Takeshi observed, grinning down at Dion.

Aria and Gina glanced at Dion, who remained completely relaxed and smiling with his hands raised, prompting them to hold their ground. Meanwhile, Johan, Astrid, and the rest of the crew were a bundle of raw nerves. None of them realized that behind his calm facade, Dion was frantically pulling up his Recall holographic interface.

"Damn it... every single one of my combat personas is still locked in cooldown... The only ones left are Ancient One and Calamity Supreme Monarch... There’s no way in hell I’m using those two right now... This is a total nightmare," Dion muttered in his head, breaking out in a cold sweat.

Dion met Takeshi’s gaze with steady composure, slowly raising his hand to nudge the tip of the blade away from his throat.

"Lord Makoto, if you’re really that curious about me, how about we settle this later? We should really take care of the pressing matters first," Dion suggested, offering Takeshi a warm smile.

"Hmm... Hahaha! No need, I like you. Even if you’re weak, you clearly know how to lead and you’ve got a lot more wisdom under that surface than you look. I respect that," Takeshi laughed heartily, sliding his short sword back into its scabbard.

Takeshi then extended a hand toward Dion. Naturally, Dion shook it. Grip. Dion bit his tongue to keep from shouting out as Takeshi’s grip tightened like a vise, forcing cold sweat down his temples as his face flushed slightly.

"All right, let’s get ready. We’re almost there," Takeshi announced.

He released Dion’s hand, spun on his heel, and strode toward the bow of the ship. Johan and Astrid let out synchronized sighs of relief, and the crew scrambled back to their duties. Aria still glared daggers at Takeshi’s back, while Gina hovered in midair, snorting tiny puffs of fire from her snout.

Fuuuh.

Dion exhaled a long breath, flexing his throbbing hand to ease the ache from the handshake before casting a sidelong glance at Takeshi up ahead.

Aria hurried over to his side. "Dion, why on earth didn’t you fight back? Forget you, even I could have taken him down easily! What is wrong with you? Remember, you’re our leader; you can’t let yourself get walked all over by anybody," she complained, her expression twisted in annoyance.

"Kyuu... Kyuuu!" Gina echoed, bobbing her head in furious agreement while pulling an adorable, angry face.

"Haha... My bad. We still have much bigger fish to fry, and we can’t let a little scuffle distract us from our main objective," Dion smiled, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

"Your Majesty Dion is right. We can deal with Lord Makoto later," Astrid agreed.

"We’re coming up on it. We’ll be clearing the mountain range any second now," Johan added.

The airship pressed forward. Clearing the crest of the snowy peaks, they entered the frozen territorial borders of the Kingdom of Thetor. The vessel banked gently and leveled out, steering straight toward the city of Millfrost, whose distant skyline was just coming into view over the horizon.

The atmosphere aboard the deck grew tense as they neared their destination. Drawing closer, gasp! Dion, Aria, Johan, and Astrid stared down over the railing in horror at a thick, grotesque trail of blood smeared across the white snow below, as if something heavy had been dragged straight toward the city gates.

Aria looked stricken with panic. Dion immediately placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder to steady her. Moments later, the airship glided over the city walls into Millfrost. The streets below were utterly deserted, marked only by lingering lines of dark crimson staining the snow-covered ground, casting an eerie, suffocating gloom over the entire settlement.

Johan walked to the edge of the deck and extended his hand downward. A pulse of green ghostly flame erupted from his palm, and across the bloodstained earth below, dozens of corpses clawed their way up through the snow, wrapped in emerald fire as they lifted their blank faces toward the sky.

Johan closed his eyes, pressing two fingers against his temple while Dion, Aria, Astrid, and Gina watched in breathless silence. A moment later, Johan opened his eyes, and the summoned undead sank back beneath the earth. He turned back to face Dion.

"Your Majesty, Your Highness... According to the lingering thoughts of the townsfolk I temporarily reanimated just now before they were slaughtered, this city fell yesterday. Right now, all the townspeople who turned into the undead have marched toward the capital of Thetor to attack... That bloody trail we saw below belongs to the tracks of those heading to the capital," Johan reported.

"I see... That means the situation in the capital is already catastrophic," Dion murmured.

"What about my sister Olivia?!" Aria demanded, half-mad with anxiety.

"She’s at the family mansion... but... her husband, Lord Lucian... he rode out toward the capital, leading an army of the undead," Johan stammered, looking away, visibly lost and struggling to articulate something terrible he couldn’t quite bring himself to say.

"We have to get to the mansion and rescue my sister right now," Aria insisted.

Hearing Aria’s resolve, Johan fell silent and swallowed hard. He looked at Astrid, then back at Dion. Catching the look in Johan’s eyes, Dion tightened his jaw and pulled Aria tightly against his side with one arm. Realizing something was terribly wrong, Aria lunged forward and grabbed the front of Johan’s collar.

"Hey... Tell me right now. What the hell actually happened to my sister?!" she screamed.

"Stop it, Aria. We need to get to the mansion first," Dion intervened, gently gripping her arm.

Dion met Johan’s eyes and gave a curt nod, which Johan returned somberly before turning to sprint toward the stern. Dion looked down at Gina.

"Do your thing, Gina," Dion instructed.

"Kyuuu!"

Gina zipped off the deck and transformed into her massive dragon form. Dion grabbed Aria by the waist and leapt down onto Gina’s back. Astrid hurried to the side of the deck, leaning over the railing.

"Your Majesty... Where are you going?!" Astrid shouted up.

"We’re heading to the mansion! Take the airship straight to Thetor’s capital; we’ll catch up with you there after we check the estate. Johan knows what to do," Dion called back.

Without waiting for a reply, Gina kicked off the airship, rocketing toward the distant noble estate visible on the horizon. Astrid watched them streak away with deep anxiety etched across her face. Takeshi stepped up beside her, resting a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"His Majesty is right. The situation in Thetor’s capital is far more critical than it is here. We need to get down there and provide reinforcements immediately," Takeshi stated.

Astrid looked up at Takeshi, then glanced back toward the receding speck of the dragon as it descended and vanished into the estate grounds below. With a heavy sigh, she turned away as the airship banked hard to head south toward Thetor’s capital. Meanwhile, Dion and Aria touched down in the blood-soaked, shattered courtyard of the mansion. Gina shrank back down into her palm-sized form and fluttered onto Dion’s shoulder.

Grooo...

A few zombified servants and estate guards still roamed the grounds. Aria instantly whipped out her laser pistol and opened fire, while a tiny Gina spat a burst of cleansing flames, instantly turning the undead to ash. They sprinted through the front doors, cutting down the stray zombified staff members roaming the foyer, though these sluggish corpses were no match for them. The trio raced through the mansion, clearing room after room before surging up the grand staircase to sweep the second-floor chambers.

Finally, they reached the master study. A soft, cheerful humming echoed from behind the heavy oak door. Aria froze, recognizing the melody instantly. She glanced at Dion, who had picked up on the tune as well. Blam! Aria kicked the door wide open. The humming was crystal clear now, but before the heavy door could even swing fully on its hinges,

"Big Sister Olivia!" Aria screamed, shoving past the frame.

"Eh...? Aria? I’m right here," Olivia’s voice replied cheerfully, though her tone sounded oddly disjointed.

When the three of them stepped fully into the study and looked toward the large mahogany desk, Dion, Aria, and Gina, who had ducked behind Dion’s legs, instantly froze in absolute horror. Dion threw his arms around Aria, who stood utterly petrified, her jaw hanging slack as both of her laser pistols slipped from her fingers and crashed to the floor.

Tears instantly flooded her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. Sitting atop the desk was the severed head of a beautiful young woman with short blonde hair and warm brown eyes. Her face was traced with glowing, angry red veins, yet she beamed with a bright, joyful smile as fresh streams of dark blood poured continuously from her eyes like tears.

"Aria... You’re Aria... And you... Dion," Olivia’s floating head greeted them with a cheerful, blood-streaked grin.

Hearing those words, Dion pulled the trembling Aria tightly against his back, wrapping her in a fierce embrace. Aria grabbed Dion’s forearms with both hands and let out a blood-curdling shriek, "Aaaaaaaaaaaah!" a raw, agonized scream that finally caused the expression on Olivia’s severed head to stiffen slightly, her grotesque smile faltering.

Aria spun around, burying her face in Dion’s chest as she broke down into a howling, hysterical weep. Meanwhile, Olivia’s head resumed its pleasant, melodic humming as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening. Dion cast a grim look at the desk, instantly recognizing the tragic remains of the second princess of Thetor.

"Damn it... We’re too late... Damn it all straight to hell," Dion cursed internally, a heavy wave of crushing sorrow aching deep within his chest as he stared at the gruesome fate that had befell Olivia.