Throne of Magical Arcana

It seemed that the old castle was forever enveloped by darkness at the edge of the cliff. Showering in the cold moonlight, the castle up there looked rather lonely.

Lucien had turned himself into a werewolf with dark fur. Hiding in the trees, he carefully watched the Observer’s Castle, which seemed to be reaching for the silver moon. But Lucien was not alone here. In the forest, close to the cliff, many dark creatures were also gazing at the castle.

Any creatures that were more or less knowledgeable should recognize the extraordinary features of the castle. It was reasonable to assume that some greedy dark creatures had already died here trying to break in, while the rest of them were still waiting for a chance.

Their existence was a relief to Lucien, as he did not have to worry about hiding himself anymore. The reason that he had not entered the castle was that he was not sure if Dracula’s projection was watching this place. As the strongest vampire, Dracula had the ability to create surveillance projections and to descend whenever Rhine was spotted.

Lucien wondered where the real Dracula was. If Lucien had been him, he would have chosen to stay at the Observer’s Castle. Since Rhine had disappeared in the desert to the south of Gusta Empire, waiting for Rhine in his own castle sounded like a good idea.

Lucien also believed that Dracula, as a legendary who had lived for countless years, had enough patience for watching and waiting.

He had to figure out a way in.

Lucien slowly retreated. It was not his way of doing things to directly enter the castle without knowing what risks awaited.

The good thing was that finishing his job in the first three places did not cost him much time, so Lucien had got enough time for planning. Besides, to carry out the last step of his plan, Lucien had to wait for the night when the silver moon was the brightest, which was at least eight days later.

When he was far away from the castle, Lucien found a safe corner and started thinking about the plan.

Lucien hoped that he had someone to talk to, a person who would not dig into his secrets but was still willing to give him suggestions. Lucien knew who the person was, but he did not want her to get into potential trouble.

Stepping on the soft earth, Lucien paced back and forth, unable to make up his mind.

“What will she say?” Lucien thought to himself.

Lucien stared at the big tree with knots in front of him and imagined that it was Natasha.

Lucien believed that the heroic girl in the white suit of armor would grin and say, “All right. I’ll help you with this, but you have to write me a composition as a gift.”

Natasha never wasted a single word.

If Lucien chose not to turn to Natasha for help, she would definitely give Lucien a lesson: Although the last person one could rely on is always him or herself, a person still needed to ask for help from his or her true friends.

Lucien took a deep breath and removed Transfiguration. Then he put on the monocle and activated Fernando’s Electromagnetic Message.

Against the deep silence of the dark forest, the sound of electric currents could be heard very clearly.

Lucien waited for a while, but no one answered. Perhaps Natasha is already asleep… he thought.

When he was about to stop calling, he heard the familiar voice. “Lucien?”

“Yeah, it’s me.” Hearing Natasha’s voice, Lucien suddenly felt at ease.

Natasha’s voice showed how surprised she was with receiving Lucien’s call. “Are you near the Duchy of Violet? Yesterday I just read the letter you sent me in late June. Your call really surprised me. It took me a while to come to the garden without letting Auntie Camil know.”

Lucien felt that they were like those youngsters having a secret phone call behind their parents. He smiled and said, “I’m in the Dark Mountain Range.”

“Are you in any trouble? Do you need the help from a brave knight now?” Natasha laughed in low voice.

Lucien became serious. “I need your help, but the task could be dangerous.”

Natasha made a click of her tongue and then spoke in a very straightforward way, “Tell me where you are, and I’ll come to you. Deal.”

Lucien’s heart softened, so did his voice. “You might want to bring Auntie Camil with you, but we can’t tell her what we will be doing.”

Lucien was clearly aware of the fact that, as the Violet Countess and the inheritor of the Duchy of Violet, Natasha could not do as she wanted all the time. When she left the palace, the guards would be with her. Since Lucien could not tell Natasha what was going on, he should at least ask Natasha to bring Camil with her to secure her safety.

“I was about to ask,” Natasha grinned. “Alright, tell me where you are.”

“No, we move together, and we’ll meet at the foot of Mount Skayan.” said Lucien. The route from Aalto to Mount Skayan was usually relatively safe, and it would be much easier for Natasha to find him there.

……

It would not take a long time to fly from Aalto to the Dark Mountain Range. But once one entered the area, flying over the tall trees would become much more difficult, since one would easily be exposed to the dark creatures in the mountains.

Two days later, wearing the monocle, Lucien was anxiously walking back and forth at the foot of Mount Skayan. The silver moon over his head was bright and gorgeous.

Lucien started worrying about Natasha, wondering why she had not shown up yet, and why even the electromagnetic message couldn’t be delivered.

Although Lucien had chosen a safe route for Natasha, he was still worried: What if Natasha accidentally ran into a powerful being from the Dark Council who happened to pass by?

At this time, Lucien saw two figures rushing out of the forest against the silver moonlight, one black and one purple.

Lucien released a sigh of relief and walked to them.

Both Natasha and Camil were fully armed.

Natasha was not wearing her white armor but a set of dark purple one. It was called the Violet Guardian. In her left hand, there was a small black shield. The shield was very finely crafted and was releasing profound holy power. Natasha’s eyes were still of the dreamlike color of purple, and so was her long hair. In Lucien’s eyes, she looked like the Goddess of War.

“The Shield of Truth?” Lucien exclaimed casually, despite that he had been hesitant about how to say hello to Natasha after a long separation.

Camil took a cold and meaningful glance at Lucien. Then she walked away.

Natasha lifted the black shield. “This is just a replica. I’m not capable of carrying the true version yet. So, my knight, how can I help you?”

As usual, she did not waste any time.

Lucien took out the clown-faced mask. “You take this. Six days later when the silver moon reaches its full size, put it on a condemned prisoner. The mask will turn him into Mr. Rhine. Then, make him go past Castle Hazlehurst in Province Tiran and let the owner of the castle notice him. Please remember, do not do this yourself.” Lucien added.

Lucien explained further, “This is for attracting the attention of Vampire Prince Dracula. So you have to be cautious about your timing. Do not control him all the time. When he gets close to the castle, knock him out or put him to sleep. Then you must leave quickly.”

He had to make sure that Natasha knew how horrible the enemy was.

“I see… Mr. Rhine is a vampire, and his role is important. No wonder…” Natasha gently rubbed her chin. “But… if we do it this way, Prince Dracula would find out very soon. Do you have enough time? Maybe we can turn this into an ambush instead. My teacher ‘God’s Glory’ Sir Milton and Sir Sard are definitely interested in besieging the Vampire Prince. In this way, can win you more time. And I’m sure the Grand Cardinal can find two more saints for help.”

Without asking what happened, Natasha tried to find a better method. Facing the legendary level vampire, she was only confident if two saints, one Grand Cardinal, and two legendary knights were present.

“No, Cardinal Sard is not trustworthy. We cannot go to him. Without him, the two legendary knights will be killed instantly by Dracula.” Lucien shook his head. “Although I must hurry, the time should be enough. Trust me. I won’t risk my own life.”

“Cardinal Sard is not trustworthy… Something indeed happened in Aalto then…” Natasha spoke thoughtfully, “but I do believe that you cherish your life a lot. After all, you just won that many awards and were listed on the Cleansing List, my genius arcanist.”

She chose to trust Lucien.

Lucien put on a complicated smile on his face. “Sending letters is always much slower than how these things spread…”

“But I still like reading your letters,” Natasha grinned. Although she was a follower of the God of Truth, she never dug into theology. As for what happened because of the Miracle Experiment, that was a long time ago and she had already accepted it. In fact, she even felt a bit proud of Lucien.

“So, why do you choose the vampire castle in Province Tiran? Is it because that it’s close to the North Fortress? So that I can hide in the fortress even if the Prince finds out.”

“Also because the owner of Castle Hazlehurst is only of middle-rank…” added Lucien.

Natasha put on a big smile. She looked up at the silver moon and then said to Lucien, “alright, I’ll go back now to work on this. You take care of yourself.”

“No problem.” Lucien nodded.

When taking over the mask and leaving her power in it, Natasha became very surprised. “You’ve become a senior-rank?”

Only a senior-rank could use this mask.

“Yes, at some cost,” answered Lucien honestly.

Natasha looked at Lucien, her eyes filled with joy and surprise. “We are of the same level now! It was right that you chose to study magic, but don’t rush. Also, I have to improve myself as well. I can’t let you beat me.”

Then she flew to Camil. When she was halfway up in the sky, she looked back and grinned. “You aren’t doing anything bad, right?”

“Of course not. I’m saving the world,” said Lucien half-jokingly.

Natasha burst out laughing. Then she left with Camil.

……

Several days later, after making sure that Natasha was ready, Lucien went back to the Observer’s Castle. When the silver moon reached its full size, Lucien returned to the forest under the cliff.