- In Marvel: I Start by Marrying Scarlett Witch [Complete]
- MWM Chapter 538
“Tamriel will soon be under the rule of our lord. Today, we’ll eliminate you meddling Vigilants once and for all!”
A high-ranking vampire, clearly in a position of authority, declared arrogantly from among the group of vampires.
But just as he finished speaking, a booming, mocking voice echoed from above:
“Tamriel under your lord’s rule? Why have I not heard about this?”
Leo descended from the sky, casting a healing spell that instantly restored all the wounded Vigilants to full health, then looked down at the vampire leader from above.
“Who are you?”
Lokil, the vampire, eyed Leo warily as he hovered in midair.
Having lived for centuries, Lokil possessed not only a powerful, undying body but also considerable magical prowess.
In all his knowledge, he had never encountered a human capable of flight—except for his master, Harkon, the most ancient and powerful vampire lord.
Moreover, the healing spell that had just been cast was extraordinarily potent, instantly mending the injuries of all the Vigilants.
Before Leo could respond, Vigilant leader Casidhe stepped forward with her fellow Vigilants and bowed deeply to him.
“Casidhe greets Your Majesty. Thank you for your assistance.”
Casidhe recognized Leo immediately, having witnessed the epic battle between him and the dragons. She had brought many Vigilants to observe from the sidelines.
Back then, she believed that if the Dragonborn couldn’t handle the dragons, they would join the fight to protect the people.
But she hadn’t anticipated that the Dragonborn would be far more powerful than she had imagined—almost godlike.
“Casidhe, is it? I’ve heard of you. You’ve done well.”
Leo landed gracefully and looked at Casidhe and her group with an approving smile.
He appreciated organizations like theirs that contributed positively to the stability of his Empire.
“So, you’re the Dragonborn Emperor of the new Empire!”
Lokil’s face froze as he received confirmation from Casidhe. He signaled subtly to his followers, beginning to edge backward, readying to retreat.
Vampires were the enemies of the entire continent, so they hadn’t dared attend the grand battle that had drawn many of the continent’s top warriors and clergy.
But they had certainly heard of the Dragonborn Emperor’s might.
As arrogant as he might be, Lokil knew that neither he nor his vampire minions could stand a chance against the Dragonborn Emperor. Perhaps his master Harkon might be a match—but not him.
“Did I say you could leave?”
Noticing Lokil’s retreat, Leo turned his gaze toward him.
Lokil immediately bared his fangs and shouted to his vampire minions and thralls:
“Kill him! Bring his head to the master, and we’ll be richly rewarded!”
Yet even as he barked this order, he used the opportunity to turn invisible and attempted to flee.
The other vampires and their thralls, eager for their master’s promised rewards, leapt at Leo with bared fangs.
“Protect the Emperor!”
Casidhe brandished her holy-enchanted warhammer and shouted.
“Snap!”
Leo snapped his fingers, and a burst of blue flames erupted, forming a dragon-shaped blaze that engulfed every vampire and thrall charging at him, reducing them to ashes in an instant.
With a flick of his hand, he summoned a powerful suction that pulled the invisible Lokil back toward him.
“Let’s see who your lord really is.”
Using a soul-reading spell, he delved into Lokil’s memories.
“A vampire castle, Harkon, a prophecy, the end of the sun—interesting.”
After sifting through Lokil’s thoughts, Leo conjured the blue flames again, incinerating the powerful vampire into ashes.
Vampires, these dark creatures created by Molag Bal, possess eternal life and formidable bodies, but they also have fatal weaknesses.
Their greatest vulnerability is sunlight, followed by light-based magic, and finally, fire-based spells.
This is why vampires prefer to attack travelers under the cover of darkness.
Lokil, a powerful vampire unlike the scattered wild vampires of Skyrim, hailed from a place called Volkihar Castle, situated on an isolated island west of Solitude, in the Sea of Ghosts.
The castle had existed since the First Era, and its master, Harkon, was a vampire personally turned by the Daedric Prince Molag Bal, able to transform into a powerful vampire lord.
Lokil had led his group of vampires to attack the Vigilants because Harkon had learned of a prophecy, though the details were unclear to him.
In essence, it foretold that Harkon could use a particular artifact to end the sun, freeing vampires from their vulnerability to sunlight and enabling them to conquer the entire continent.
The artifact’s clues seemed to be hidden deep within a cave on this mountain.
When Lokil’s group arrived and found the Vigilants already investigating the cave, he decided to eliminate them to prevent interference in their search for the artifact.
“Could it be that this third Elder Scroll can somehow block out the sun?”
Through Baldir’s crystal, Leo had already determined that the third Elder Scroll was hidden in the same cave.
It was highly likely that the artifact Harkon sought was, in fact, this Elder Scroll.
“Your Majesty?”
Seeing the Dragonborn Emperor deep in thought after eliminating Lokil, Casidhe spoke up cautiously.
Snapping out of his thoughts, Leo smiled at her:
“I’ll take care of what’s in Dimhollow Crypt. You all rest and recover.”
With that, he soared toward the cave on the mountainside where the Elder Scroll was hidden.
Upon entering Dimhollow Crypt, he found it to be a typical Nordic ruin, populated with numerous draugr.
However, upon closer inspection, it was evident that the ruin was not entirely typical—there were signs of later modifications, including the addition of magical traps.
He surmised that someone had used this Nordic ruin to safeguard the Elder Scroll.
Cutting down draugr and bypassing traps with ease, Leo quickly reached a vast underground chamber.
The architecture here was distinctly different from that of the Nordic ruins outside.
Gone were the stone murals depicting Nordic deities, the animal statues representing different gods, and the burial urns and shrouds for the dead.
Instead, the area was filled with looming statues of gargoyles.
Gargoyles are dark magical creatures from Molag Bal’s realm of Coldharbour, which can be summoned by his followers—vampires—to assist in battle.
For ordinary humans, gargoyles are formidable summons.
(End of chapter)