Zeke and his group finished preparing to head up to the Ice Mountain Range from Barkal and left the city.
Thanks to their efforts in blocking the Monster Legion and uncovering the Imperial Army's plot, they received expensive cold-weather gear for free.
Zeke led the Black Spirit Unit, the Barbarian Unit, and the Knights of Thurn toward the highway leading to Himonas.
At first, it was no different from an ordinary highway, so the march proceeded smoothly.
But the moment the highway entered the Ice Mountain Range, the situation changed.
A chill that seeped into their armor enveloped their entire bodies.
"Everyone, take off your armor and put on the cold-weather gear."
Not only the Black Spirit Unit but even the Knights of Thurn removed their cold armor and donned the cold-weather gear to ward off the chill.
Feeling the cold of the Ice Mountain Range, the group thought they understood why northern mercenaries weren't accustomed to wearing armor.
Wandering around in Central Continent-style armor in a place like this would surely lead to freezing to death in no time.
Unlike the other knights, Reina, who wore the Draker Family Uniform, only needed to layer a cold-weather outfit on top.
The Barbarians, who originally lived in high-altitude regions, were resistant to the cold and didn't need thick protective gear.
Zeke, thanks to Jeromeʼs Cloak and its ability to resist cold and heat, could block the chill without wearing heavy cold-weather clothing.
With precautions against the cold in place, he moved up the Ice Mountain Range while surveying the surroundings.
"It seemed the monsters hadn't come down this far yet."
If possible, he wanted to find the location of the Gate summoning the Monster Legion and eliminate it first.
But since the Ice Mountain Range itself was so vast, locating the Gate from the mountain's entrance would be difficult.
As night fell and the temperature dropped further, Zeke found a nearby cave and set up a camp for his troops to rest.
Lighting a mana stove inside the cave and filling their stomachs with hot soup and preserved food allowed them to escape the cold somewhat.
Zeke left them to scout the surroundings and slipped away from the camp.
He then followed the traces of the vampires he had spotted while coming up the highway.
Following the trail led him to an abandoned house not far from where his troops were, where he sensed the presence of a group of vampires.
Vampires were more resistant to cold than humans, so they were less affected by the northern chill.
Sure enough, the Red Eye Vampires guarding the snow-covered house wore only leather coats on top, along with leather gauntlets and boots.
"If a human did that, they'd freeze to death in no time."
The Red Eye Vampires flinched in surprise at Zeke's sudden appearance.
But they soon recognized him and quietly stepped aside.
Moments later, Niki approached Zeke from a distance.
"You're late."
At Niki's words, Zeke shook his head and replied.
"There was some business in Barkal."
Niki nodded as if she understood and led him to where Bacchus and Carmilla were.
Following her into one of the snow-buried houses, Zeke spotted Bacchus inside, guarding a single coffin.
Bacchus spotted Zeke and gave a simple wave in greeting.
"Come on in. The water's boiling, so wait a moment." It seemed he had heard Zeke coming and was brewing tea.
Zeke looked at the coffin in front of him and asked.
"Is that Carmilla's coffin?"
Bacchus nodded as he poured the freshly boiled water into the teapot.
"Yeah, since Mother is still in her growth phase, she sleeps a lot. In times like this, it's better for her to sleep in the coffin."
He couldn't understand the difference between sleeping in a coffin and sleeping in a bed, but he let it pass as vampire culture.
Zeke sipped the tea Bacchus had brewed and poured for him, then said.
"I saw the Knight Order of the Cancer Palace holding out in Barkal. Did you spot them?" Bacchus nodded.
"Yeah, the recon team reported it. I figured getting involved would be a headache, so we just passed by."
"I see. I was delayed because I took out the Knight Order of the Cancer Palace on the way."
At Zeke's casual remark, Bacchus nearly spat out his tea.
"Did you just say you wiped out the Knight Order of the Cancer Palace, one of the Rom Empire's Thirteen Legions?"
Zeke spoke of the terrifying feat as if he had stopped somewhere to pick up a snack on the way.
Zeke looked at Bacchus and said.
"They were in league with the Siemens side, so I took the opportunity to finish them off." Bacchus shook his head at Zeke's words.
Even to him, a Black Stage operative, Zeke's scheming was no ordinary thing.
Trying to outmaneuver Zeke with half-baked plots would likely backfire.
Ignoring Bacchus's look of exasperation, Zeke continued.
"They were with dark mages who control monsters." He set down his teacup and said to Bacchus.
"Can you send a recon team to find the location of the Gate summoning the monsters? I can specify the approximate location and terrain." Bacchus turned his head toward Niki beside him.
Niki, lounging sideways in her chair and tapping her foot, was idly filing her nails and pretending not to listen.
Bacchus pressed his temple and said.
"Niki, you heard that. Can you do it?"
Niki nodded immediately. Seeing this, Bacchus said to Zeke.
"The recon team leader says it's possible."
"Good. Then I'll ask you to handle the scouting. If we don't stop them now, it'll become a real hassle."
The vampires' goal was the Tomb of Caligula in the north.
With the Monster Legion entrenched in the mountains while searching for an unknown tomb location, it wasn't ideal for them either.
Zeke said to Bacchus.
"Send the recon team separately, and for now, let's head into Himonas." At those words, Bacchus looked at Zeke and said.
"Is there really a need to enter Himonas? If we can at least pinpoint the tomb's location roughly, we could set up a base camp nearby and search."
Bacchus wanted to find the Tomb of Caligula as soon as possible so that his mother, Carmilla, could awaken her true progenitor power.
In her current youthful body due to the resurrection ritual, the weakened Carmilla was in her most vulnerable state.
But Zeke shook his head.
"As long as monsters and Narak's dark mages are roaming around, staying outside is more dangerous. It's not too late to head to Himonas first, assess the situation, and then search for the tomb."
In truth, Zeke's reason for going to Himonas was something else.
"The compass pointed to Himonas—more precisely, Himonas Castle."
Whether the Tomb of Caligula was in Himonas Castle or someone there knew its location, he had to go there first to find the tomb.
Since Zeke, who held the directional key, had decided, Bacchus had no choice but to follow.
"Understood."
With that, the conversation ended, and Zeke stood up and approached Niki.
He took a necklace from his pocket and handed it to her.
"A gift of courtship?"
Zeke ignored Niki's words and delivered his message without changing expression.
"If you find the Gate's location during the search, do not approach it under any circumstances. Break the gem on this necklace instead. Then run without looking back. There's a high chance demons are nearby."
The necklace he gave her was made of fairy stone.
It was something Hades had personally designed and crafted, enchanted so that breaking it would record the location coordinates on Zeke's map.
Niki accepted the necklace from Zeke and put it around her neck.
"How does it look?"
Zeke ignored Niki's words, greeted Bacchus, and left the house.
Watching the door Zeke exited, Niki turned to Bacchus and asked.
"It seems like Zeke Draker is interested in me, doesn't it?"
"..."
Bacchus wondered what aspect of Zeke had led her to that thought but didn't ask.
Niki was a powerful vampire created decades ago when the progenitor Carmilla personally fed her her blood.
As a Red Eye executive, an excellent illusionist, and assassin, Niki often said such odd things.
Just as Bacchus wondered when he'd get used to that side of her,
"Ah!"
A scream came from inside the coffin.
Bacchus hurriedly opened the coffin's lid and tended to Carmilla.
"Mother, are you alright?"
Carmilla, who had grown a bit more since before, trembled and made a tearful face.
Looking at Bacchus, Carmilla said.
"I-I had a dream. A terrible dream..."
"Did you have a nightmare? Don't worry. Arthur Draker can never catch you again." But Carmilla shook her head.
"No! It's not Arthur Draker! Something terrible will happen to Zeke—to Zeke Draker!" Bacchus was startled by Carmilla's words.
"Mother, something terrible? What do you mean?"
But Carmilla couldn't answer and began convulsing, her body shaking.
Niki, who had been watching from behind, quickly approached Carmilla and cast an illusion on her.
"Sleep, sleep. Our baby. Sleep well, our baby."
Under Niki's illusion, the convulsing Carmilla slowly fell asleep.
Bacchus laid the now-sleeping Carmilla back in the coffin.
She looked at Bacchus and said.
"Queen Carmilla hasn't grown enough to handle prophecies yet." Bacchus nodded at Niki's words.
"You're right, Niki. But if Mother's prophecy is true, something will happen to Zeke." Prophecies through dreams were the most uncertain yet accurate among all prophecies.
Because the interpretation could lead to completely different outcomes.
After pondering, Bacchus said to Niki.
"For now, let's not tell Zeke about this. Telling him the outcome without knowing the prophecy's content could lead to even greater danger." Niki nodded at Bacchus's words.
The two looked at the sleeping Carmilla in the coffin with worried expressions before closing the lid.
*
'Something terrible was coming.'
Contrary to Bacchus's intentions, Zeke had already heard their entire conversation.
The necklace he gave Niki also had a listening device function.
As a Black Stage operative, Bacchus tended to control information and share only what he deemed certain.
From what Zeke had observed, Bacchus was an extreme perfectionist and rationalist.
Such personalities distrusted uncertain causal relationships and tried to interpret information to fit their understanding.
Usually, that made information more perfect, but it could also miss the unexpected.
The incident with the Pirate King that nearly killed Kali was a case in point.
'Not everything in the world ran on logic.'
In reality, events often happened for absurdly ridiculous reasons.
In this case, if Zeke hadn't had the listening device, he might have overlooked it because Bacchus arbitrarily withheld the information.
Zeke knew from before that the dream Carmilla mentioned was a part of his previous life, so he couldn't take this lightly.
'It would have been good to know what terrible thing would happen. Pity.' He would ask Carmilla in detail next time he saw her.
Zeke organized his thoughts and re-entered the cave.
But the atmosphere inside the cave felt off.
"What's this?"
Entering cautiously, Zeke saw not only the Knights of Thurn but even the Black Spirit Unit drawing weapons and facing off against someone.
Turning his head to where they aimed their swords, he saw an intruder sitting on a rock, eating soup straight from the pot.
On the mana stove, a thawed bear foreleg was placed.
The intruder, having scraped the last of the soup, set the pot down on the ground with a clunk.
"Hoo. Now I feel alive."
Wiping his mouth, the intruder then drew a dagger and sliced off a piece of the thawed bear foreleg meat, popping it into his mouth.
Including Reina, the Black Spirit Unit, the sturdy Knights of Thurn, and even the Barbarians stood silently, weapons drawn, glaring at the intruder without a word.
The reason they couldn't move was simple.
They instinctively felt that moving would mean death.
The intruder, still in the pose of slicing the bear leg, opened his mouth.
"You seem to be the leader of this bunch. Come sit." It was a voice that overwhelmed the crowd.
Zeke slowly walked over and sat across from the intruder.
Only then did the intruder, who had been eating the bear meat, lift his head.
His overwhelming presence that crushed all around contrasted sharply with his neatly braided blonde hair, delicate white face, and small stature, creating a great sense of incongruity.
Zeke met her ice-blue eyes.
It was the face he had thought of first after his regression.
Looking at her alive and moving again, Zeke unwittingly spoke.
"Alicia."