The Crimson Marksman

Chapter 4: The Cursed Blood

Books

Reminded me of a certain turquoise haired demon who used to pester me whenever I wanted time alone. Now that I graduated from the sorcerer academy, I couldn't help but thinking wistfully upon the memories I spend there as a student.

They had a library similar to the one I'm in right now. But this was Granadia's biggest library. The amount of documents found here was enough to cover half of the history of Granadia. My eyes quickly glanced over the sections. I was not here for relaxing reading like so many other demons were here to do. I was here with a purpose.

Finally, my eyes landed on a section that titled "ancient copendium". I figured that I could probably find some clues here as to why Queen Juno acted strange. My finger trailed over to the column of books on the shelf, my mouth moving, silently reading the titles of each book. Finally, I stopped at an ancient looking book titled "Curses of the Old". I was pleased. I took the book out of the shelf and I was about to walk away with it until I ran into someone. I fell and the book dropped on the floor with a "thud".

I raised my eyes angrily, about to snap at the person for not being mindful of their surroundings before I was met with a pair of calm, amber eyes. It was Vox.

"Oh I'm sorry Berwick." He bend over and offered me a hand to help me up. "I didn't think I'd run into you here."

I laughed quietly. "Neither do I."

I took his extended hand and pulled myself back up. Vox handed me the book and read the title with a raised eyebrow. " 'Curses of the Old?' What are you up to?"

Consider he also saw Queen Juno being out of control, I told him of my plans.

"Hmm..... Maybe we could figure something out together." He agreed. I nodded and took him to the reading area. We sat side by side and begin to look over the content of the book. My eyes stopped at a section specifically addressed to "Cursed Blood".

"Hold on." I told Vox. "That day when her majesty was going out of control, I saw red substance under her feet. I could only guess that may be her blood. This 'Cursed Blood' article may be able to help us figure out the problem."

Vox nodded, his eyes on me. I turned to the correct page as I begin to read aloud.

"The Cursed Blood was a phenomenon that was passed down from the royal family centuries ago, more commonly seen on female members. The cause of it was that the blood flowing in the royal family was also that of the Titans, thus granting them with an immense amount of power. However, loss of control could result in a destruction so great that it would cause the doom of the world."

The atmosphere was dead silent as both me and Vox sat lost in our own thoughts.

Isn't there any way to save Queen Juno?

"Wait- there's more." My eyes sparked with hope as I continued to read.

"However, there is a way to which that can keep the curse contained. It was the Dagger of Testament. A short sword masterfully crafted in a massive kiln by the Ancients. It is made of an impossible metal, said to need heat millions of times stronger than the sun to forge. The blade itself also bears three high-ranking Crests layered over each other. This lets it synergize with the powers of its owner, making it much more than a mere dagger."

"Maybe we can find a way to forge this blade so that she can live!" Vox stood up. I nodded. I'm confident that the heat coming from my flame magic is hotter than the sun. We just needed to find the three high ranking crests in order to forge the blade. And to do that, we'd have to ask her majesty to give us the crests.

"But how will we get the crests?" I asked. "The Queen is the keeper of the crests after all. We won't be able to ask for the crest without raising suspicion. Besides, knowing her, she won't allow us to do such a thing for her. She would rather suffer than accepting our aid."