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Chapter 444: The Fall of the Usher Family (4)

“Phew!”

When Tudor and Bianca crawled onto land, it was already midnight.

The air was so cold it could freeze ice. The wind blowing was as sharp as a knife.

Turning their heads, they saw the Usher mansion casting a gloomy shadow over the swamp, where red death spirits were writhing.

“Take my hand.”

“…Okay.”

Tudor grabbed Bianca’s outstretched hand.

Holding hands, they ran through the mountain path.

Flap—

They heard the sound of birds flapping their wings behind them.

Tudor and Bianca ran frantically through the dead trees that stood like the charred spines of burnt corpses.

Their faces and bodies were scratched by sharp branches and thorns, but there was no time to care about such things.

The red death spirits, along with sulfur fires and mist, danced over the swamp.

Relying on the fading blessing of the saintess, Tudor and Bianca sprinted desperately through the darkness.

Flap—

The sound of wings flapping came closer.

Then.

…Thud!

Tudor suddenly fell to his knees while running.

Bianca, startled, helped Tudor up.

“Tudor! Are you okay?”

“…Ugh.”

A red stain was spreading from where Bianca’s arrow had grazed his side.

Even though it was a graze, it was a severe wound.

After a moment of hesitation, Bianca spoke resolutely.

“Get on my back.”

“….”

But Tudor shook his head.

“We never know when the demon will catch up. Vikir told us not to let our guard down until we crossed the mountain ridge.”

“Do I look like I’m letting my guard down right now?”

“Yes. You do.”

Tudor quietly pushed Bianca away.

“Go ahead. I’ll rest for a bit and catch up.”

“Stop talking nonsense.”

Bianca closed the distance Tudor had created.

Grabbing his collar, she said,

“You know this isn’t impressive, right?”

“I’m not trying to be impressive. Don’t you know me by now?”

“And do you know me?”

“….”

Tudor and Bianca locked eyes for a moment.

In a small voice, Tudor said,

“That night. You saved my life when I almost died in the family. You risked your life too.”

“….”

“Now it’s my turn. I can’t walk any further anyway. Let me do something for you, one last time.”

A spark of determination flared in Tudor’s eyes, dimmed by blood loss and hypothermia.

It was the final light only those sensing their end could emit.

…However.

“If you have the strength to talk nonsense, then walk.”

Bianca’s gaze was far more intense than Tudor’s.

“That night. I saved you, but you also saved me.”

“….”

“Do you know how relieved and grateful I was to see you alive at the end of my desperate run?”

Bianca yanked Tudor by his collar and growled,

“So live. Somehow. As long as I’m alive, I’m not letting you die. If I die, then you can die, or whatever.”

“….”

Tudor couldn’t say anything against Bianca’s threat-like command.

Eventually, they started climbing the mountain path again.

His mana had long been depleted, and his body was covered with wounds large and small from breaking through traps in the mansion.

From his thoroughly soaked body, heat continued to seep away.

Flap—

Once again, the sound of wings flapping came from behind.

Demon was catching up to them.

“…Bianca.”

Tudor, leaning heavily on his spear, barely managed to speak as his voice faded.

Bianca also looked up.

“Thank you.”

“…What a ominous thing to say at a time like this.”

“Just… I felt like if I didn’t say it now, I might not get another chance.”

“Ugh, really!”

As Bianca sharply turned her head—

Thud!

Tudor collapsed to the ground.

“….”

Bianca quietly watched him lying there.

Then, she too sat down quietly next to Tudor.

“…You did well. This was impressive enough.”

There was no response from Tudor, who had fallen.

Seeing Tudor like that, tears finally welled up in Bianca’s eyes.

Her dignified and proud expression crumbled quickly, revealing the appearance of an ordinary woman her age.

She held Tudor, whose breathing was becoming faint, tightly and bowed her head.

Although they hadn’t crossed the promised mountain ridge, they had succeeded in luring out the demon and setting off the black fireworks.

The plan hadn’t been crafted with the expectation of their survival, given they were originally used as bait.

“Thank you… for being with me.”

She kissed Tudor on the lips.

Flap—

And gradually, the sound of an ominous mystery drew nearer.

Bianca lifted her head with a resolute expression.

She had no more strength left, but she gathered her last bit of resolve to resist.

“I’d rather die than let you be taken!”

She stood in front of Tudor, holding her bow defiantly.

Eventually, beyond the thick darkness, two eyes burning crimson red became visible.

The eerie red glow it emitted made it seem like the embodiment of the legendary hound of death.

…However.

Flutter—

The figure that appeared before Bianca wasn’t a demon at all, but an entirely different entity.

“You still look lively. Thank goodness,” said Vikir, the night hound, revealing himself from the darkness.

Bianca’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Vikir? H-how did you get here? The rendezvous point is beyond the mountain ridge.”

“I came to meet you. Well, I took on some risk.”

Having finished speaking, Vikir raised his hand.

There were werewolves, ghouls, giant spiders, mountain turtles, griffins, and several other monsters, all with severed necks, dripping blood.

It was then that Bianca truly realized they had made it here without being attacked by any monsters, thanks to Vikir.

He had silently cleared their escape route all along.

Initially, when they made their plans, they spoke as if abandoning the two of them was a possibility, but in reality, Vikir had cared for them more than anyone else.

“…Vikir.”

Bianca spoke with a trembling voice, but Vikir waved his hand dismissively as if it were nothing special.

Meanwhile,

Vikir turned his head and looked back towards the trajectory of the black fireworks rising above the Usher mansion.

The meaning behind those fireworks was clear.

Roderick Usher was dead. Or rather, he had fallen into a pitiful state where death was a mercy.

Bianca continued explaining,

“My father is still alive. But due to the poison of the red death spreading throughout the entire mansion grounds…”

“I understand the situation roughly. From now on, save your strength.”

Eventually, Vikir approached the fallen Tudor.

After checking his pulse, Vikir nodded.

“He’ll be fine. A potion and some divine healing will have him up in no time.”

“Can… can we really do that? We need to go beyond the mountain ridge…”

“If you stay still, it’s possible.”

“Huh? What do you mean…?”

Before Bianca could finish her question.

Thwack!

Vikir lifted Tudor right then and there. With Bianca clinging to his side, he began to sprint up the steep cliff path.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa?”

Bianca was startled, but soon closed her eyes tightly.

Vikir’s strength and speed were tremendous, allowing him to scale the steep cliff with Tudor and Bianca in tow in the blink of an eye.

It was like the speed of a soaring bird.

“…Thank goodness.”

Even Vikir was somewhat relieved in the current situation.

This place was where Tudor was supposed to die in history, and where Bianca’s mind was supposed to deteriorate.

The Usher Restoration Operation.

Originally, this event should have happened much later than now, but the location was undoubtedly confirmed to be here.

Before rescuing Usher, Tudor tried to stop brainwashed Bianca and suffered serious injuries as a result. Unable to break through the demon army’s blockade alone, he valiantly defended his allies before perishing.

Bianca, unable to reclaim her lineage and burdened with guilt for harming Tudor, her childhood friend and beloved, began to lose her sanity.

…But fate changed.

Tudor survived, and Bianca didn’t lose her sanity.

It was a pivotal moment, made possible because Bianca hadn’t succumbed to Madeline’s brainwashing.

“…I should thank Lovegood.”

Vikir quietly examined a brooch pinned in Bianca’s hair.

A hairpin with a pink heart-shaped brooch attached.

Commonly known as the ‘Shield of Love’.

This artifact was obtained by Lovegood when she participated in the National University League for exceptional performance.

“The artifact I acquired is the ‘Shield of Love’! It’s a hairpin with a heart-shaped brooch! If you wear it, it can block any powerful brainwashing or mental magic at least once! But it only works if your true love is by your side!”

The effect of this artifact, the Shield of Love, is to block any powerful brainwashing at least once.

However, it requires one’s true love to be present for activation.

[To Sir Vikir]

[With love♥]

[-P.S. President Merelini Lovegood-]

“Perfume, skin lotion, shoes, belts, hats, sunglasses, shirts, bags, fountain pens, ties, wallets, sneakers, hairpins… Goodness, there’s even an artifact from the university league mixed in. And what’s this? A carriage key?”

In the past, out of fan sentiment, Lovegood had sent this artifact she received to Vikir by mail, and Vikir had carefully kept it until handing it to Bianca before infiltrating Usher’s mansion.

“Take this.”

Bianca received the hairpin, while Tudor received red and black fireworks.

Thanks to Vikir’s preparations for emergencies, Tudor and Bianca could escape from under the cruel wheels of fate.

Reflecting his face in a puddle on the ground, Vikir turned his head.

Clasped tightly were the two hands of unconscious Tudor and Bianca, looking at each other.

* * *

Eventually.

Vikir found the temporary campsite in the mountain pass and retrieved the potion he had prepared in advance, feeding it to Tudor amidst a heap of autumn leaves.

“…Huh? Why am I still alive?”

As Tudor woke up with a groan, Bianca burst into tears.

At that moment.

Fluttering wings—

The sound of a bird flapping its wings came from far behind.

Standing where the hill rose, Vikir looked down at Usher’s mansion at a glance.

As expected.

[“…Chase them! …We must find them!”]

The venomously sharp voice of Madeline and the sounds of Usher’s knights beginning to move echoed around them.

In an instant, Tutor and Bianca’s expressions hardened.

“Get ready,” Vikir spoke up.

“It’s time for payback.”