Глава 13

Hm, it seems, something is missing...

A loud noise.

...As we thought, the Victorians are attacking here.

We will do what we can to buy you time to complete the ritual, My Prince.

The Victorians? Heh.

Theresis, you really have surprised me.

No, no, girl called Ulšulah, we are not facing any such 'Victorians'.

Our guests deserve to witness this moment.

Another pureblood, still a young knell.

And the usurper 'King of Sarkaz'.

No matter who they are, the Military Commission's plan must be executed.

I'll strengthen my connection with the Feranmut as much as possible, in order to prevent them from reaching this place.

My Prince, please—

You have no standing from which to advise me.

Ah, I do so want to see—What cliches will they spout at me this time? What moments of despair can they show me?

Now then, 'Major', you stay here.

This dispensable work of yours is over.

How many years have these hollow skeletons gone unfilled? Four centuries? Five?

At the time, I was not yet master of the Crimson Court.

At the time, I could still hear the arrogant whispers of the putrid War King, I could hear the sounds of the Arch-liar of Djall, torturing the night away.

At the time, even if the Vampires were hostile to them, these mighty souls surging with hatred and faith made my heart swell.

At the time, the Sarkaz were already a scattered people with no home to call their own. But at the time, I could see the remnants of their proud souls.

'Ruin'.

A sea of blood devours the curse.

Are you still toying with these pathetic words, these false curses, Banshee?

Why don't you face the power that truly belongs to you, the power gathered in your blood?

Isn't the elegy you can sing now so much more melodious?

Alas, you are silent, never to open your mouth.

Vampire.

What is it you are trying to reach?

This is no ritual recorded in Sarkaz literature.

What is it... calling?

It's... I think I see a... 'seed'.

You... you're trying to awaken it with millennia-old witchcraft, to nourish it with the Arts Circles on the battlefields, and control it with the storm over The Shard.

You must be stopped!

You'll destroy Londinium! It'll be nothing but a heap of rubble full of Originium!

No, not only that... at this scale, with this much power... I can even see...

The revenge of the Sarkaz will drag all of Terra into the abyss.

...'Revenge'.

Cautus, you still claim to be the King of Sarkaz, but your views are so biased.

Two hundred years ago, a coalition of Terran nations destroyed Kazdel once.

And now, do you think we would bring pain and destruction to Victoria as simple vengeance for their conquest two centuries ago?

Sigh... I am disappointed once again.

The Black Crown lingers over your head, and indeed, this is yet another ridiculous thing wrought by the 'King of Sarkaz'.

Killing an enemy and butchering a country, burying a city and annihilating a culture, these things are not different, for the Sarkaz, these are far from enough to be called resistance.

We've come to Londinium, this outblood capital, not for any kind of 'retaliation'.

'Seed'? Not a bad description.

Watch and see what sights this seed will bring.

You're a narrow-minded one, Vampire.

No flowery words can change the nature of what it is you're doing.

You call me silent?

Rest assured, Vampire, you will hear me speak.

'Fetters, fall heavy on your body.'

Amiya!

The Black Crown appears over the outblood's head.

A black spear pierces my scapula.

What? So easy—

—No! It's not!

Ah... fresh blood gushes out. The King of Sarkaz has opened a wound for me.

This is the blood so preciously bestowed to me and my ancestors for millennia.

I carefully select the blood of my choice.

The masters of the Crimson Court have a responsibility to, day after day, wipe away even the most minute hint of impurity.

But the reason we are so pure is not that this bloodline has never been lost, never been defiled.

But because—

I've finally found it.

A drop of blood.

It has been passed down through the millennia—

Teekaz blood.

The land falls silent, the rivers stagnate, the air moans.

The entire world turns solemn.

As I reach out my hand, it floats slowly in front of me. It does not drip.

It only goes up, up...

His blood!

He's going to complete the ritual!

Teekaz blood is now gone from our world.

...! The incantation left in Londinium was just destroyed in that instant.

What's happened in Londinium?

Amiya, end this battle quickly, I feel some kind of—

Don't be so hasty, honored guests.

Blood crawls over the bones—

Bloodstains emerge from the decay.

It's just such a great opportunity.

In the sight of the first curse—perhaps today, we...

Can bid farewell to the last 'King of Sarkaz'.

For a few moments, perhaps more than a few moments, no Sarkaz dare to speak.

It takes away all things, and shapes all things.

What... is that...?

The blessing the Sanguinarch left the Sarkaz hasn't faded, but just now—

Could the Doctor have been talking about...?

Blood rises from the spine of the Feranmut, apparently only a drop, but it draws all eyes.

It leaves the intertwined bones, dancing in the dim cave, rising in the freshly sprinkled sunlight.

A drop of blood, just one drop of blood.

Pure blood—

Glorious blood.

It has been wounded, it has been betrayed, it has been forgotten, to the point of being spurned.

For millennia, the land called it a disaster, treated it as an enemy, trampled it until it abandoned its glory and defiled its body.

Teekaz became Sarkaz, their homeland lost.

Today, the blood of 'those with a homeland' returns from history.

All men across the lands should pay tribute to it.

The bead of blood dissolves, and silence reigns.