"Eh, you guys are back? Looks like you've returned quite early today!"
Just as Jeanne and Talulah reached the vicinity of the village, they happened to run head-on into comrades who were out hunting nearby. The men greeted them warmly. However, when Jeanne caught sight of the objects hanging from the pikes in their hand, she assumed for a moment that they had done some hunting along the way. She spoke to them, saying:
"You guys went hunting on the side? Looks like quite a haul. Did you find some kind of nest? This is truly... wait, what is this thing?"
As she chatted with them about the "prey" they had caught, her eyes fell upon the incredibly bizarre-looking creatures hanging from their pikes. This was the first time she had ever seen a creature that made one feel so uncomfortable from the bottom of their heart.
These beings felt completely wrong. Their tentacles, which resembled earthworms, slumped powerlessly, yet they would occasionally reveal sharp, jagged teeth. The overall impression they gave was that of mutant creatures that might appear during some kind of apocalypse due to some foul influence.
"We ran into these on the road today. I've never seen them before, so I wanted to find someone who might recognize them," the hunter explained, seeing the confusion in their eyes. These were not native Ursus creatures.
Before becoming an Infected, he had been a hunter. He had followed his father into the hunt since he was in his teens, totaling many years of experience. If a man like him didn't recognize these things, it was safe to say they had never appeared on these snowy plains before.
"Then I'm not sure either. Why don't you go find Patriot and let him take a look? That old gentleman is bound to know more than us. Oh, right—he's out on the wasteland just east of the village. Let's see, why don't we take it to him."
After the hunter handed them the "worms", Jeanne and Talulah turned toward the nearby wasteland. The hunter remained behind, still looking at the "worms" with lingering fear.
"Truly terrifying. I've lived on these plains for so many years and it's my first time seeing such a creature. Could it be the offspring of some monster?" The hunter watched for a moment longer, then shook his head and left. He subconsciously tried not to think about it further, as the sight was unfriendly to his mental state.
Boom—Boom—!
Before Jeanne and Talulah even reached the wasteland, they could hear massive sounds, making it seem as though someone was locked in combat. The aftershocks of the battle were powerful enough that the two could feel the tremors in the earth even from a distance.
"It seems Patriot's recovery is going quite well. It's only been a few days, and his simple recovery training is already making such a huge commotion."
As they walked closer, they saw the ground littered with deep craters. Standing in the center was Patriot, ceaselessly swinging his halberd as if fighting an invisible foe. Patriot was training here alone because, as he put it, his body had become somewhat sluggish after these days of recovery, and he needed to move around to ensure he was in top form.
In Jeanne's view, however, it was more likely that the damage to his soul had caused a certain degree of impact on his combat coordination. Although he had fully recovered through rest, some lingering effects remained, which a period of training would resolve.
Seeing the two approach, Patriot stopped swinging his weapon and turned to greet them.
"You two have returned. Did you find nothing out there today? And you caught something... Where did you encounter this thing?"
While greeting them, Patriot's pupils suddenly contracted as he saw the trophies brought by Jeanne. His inquiry confirmed to the two that they had found the right person. Patriot indeed knew what this was about. But judging by the old gentleman's tone, this was no good thing and was likely tied to the Sarkaz.
"The hunting party found them in a forest. Do you know what kind of creature this is?" Jeanne asked for information.
Patriot took several deep breaths upon hearing the account. How could he not recognize this? He just hadn't expected that person to come here; it wasn't his usual style.
"This thing is called the Touch of the Sanguinarch. It is a creation of Originium Arts made by the Sanguinarch, who uses his spells to manipulate blood and grant a 'blessing' to create them."
Patriot looked at the object. He hadn't expected his enemy to be that old fellow, the Sanguinarch. Had he actually bothered to leave Kazdel? But as a supporter of Theresis, it wasn't strange for him to be moving with Theresis's people this time.
"The Sanguinarch?"
Hearing the name, Talulah understood that the opponent was the leader of the Vampire race—the "red-eyed, immortal madman" Kashchey used to talk about. Although Kashchey was an immortal madman himself, it didn't stop him from disliking someone whose settings overlapped so much with his own.
"Yes, the Sanguinarch. He is an extremely dangerous individual. I originally hoped that our guests would be other members; in that case, we might have been able to talk."
If possible, Patriot truly did not want to come to blows with these people. Not for any other reason, but because current Kazdel could not withstand the turmoil that would follow the death of a member of the Royal Court. But the Sanguinarch was different. Patriot hadn't liked the fellow since he was young, even if they were once comrades-in-arms defending their homeland.
Because once that man started fighting, he knew no restraint. Combined with the Vampires' frantic craving for blood, he had a hobby of slaughtering the weak. Even worse, when he struck, he didn't care if you were one of his own; often, he would kill enemies and allies alike.
"So, that means the enemies we face definitely include the Sanguinarch, right?"
Jeanne wasn't particularly worried about having a Vampire among her enemies. While others might avoid such beings at all costs, Jeanne didn't fear him much. Vampires—also known as bloodsuckers or "big bats"—were creatures that fed on blood and usually had a deep obsession with human blood. They were among the creatures most strictly countered by the Baptismal Chant. If they ran into her, even if she held back, they would likely die by her hand if they weren't fast enough to run. Even if this Sanguinarch was powerful, he shouldn't be much different from someone like Count Dracula, right? In that case, no big deal—the advantage is hers!
"That... I am not sure. I only know it is a creation of his."
"I see..." Seeing that even Patriot was unsure, Jeanne fell into thought while looking at the creature.
In the next moment, as if she had suddenly realized something, she took out a bottle of Holy Water and poured it over the corpses. The so-called Sanguinarch's Touches began to decompose and melt upon contact with the Holy Water, turning into puddles of blood that dripped onto the ground.
And within them, there was indeed a dead Originium Slug. It seemed these things were created using an Originium Slug as a core.