In this world, there are many apex predators—creatures like dragons, tyrannosaurs, sea monsters, griffins, and giants. But aside from these, there are also certain unnatural predators, those forged by magic: werewolves, vampires, ghouls, zombies, water spirits, vampiric harpies, and the like.
Numerous organizations and professions exist to combat these dark creatures, but the most renowned among them are the witch hunters—also called inquisitors or, simply, monster hunters. The earliest witch hunters specialized in apprehending witches who practiced black magic. Over time, their duties expanded to battling the warlocks, lovers, and partners of these witches, as well as the demons and undead conjured by dark magicians—ghouls and zombies among them. Nowadays, though still formally known as witch hunters, any entity connected to black magic—werewolves, vampires, and other such beings—falls within their purview. For that reason, many people simply refer to them as "monster hunters."
Witch hunters can often be identified by their distinctive attire: high-crowned, broad-brimmed hats reminiscent of flat-topped cones, or by their hoods as they travel between towns, hunting creatures that ought to have been the hunters themselves. Because witch hunters so often appear where evil creatures are found, they are widely regarded as harbingers of disaster and misfortune. In addition, witch hunters have conducted witch trials, and it is true that innocent women have been condemned for using black magic and put to death, which has further tarnished their reputation.
Yet even among witch hunters, none can compare to a certain family—the Belmont family of Florenca, Cittalia.
If ordinary witch hunters are walking disasters, then the Belmonts are an apocalypse in motion.
Typical witch hunters hunt ordinary vampires or werewolves, or, at most, a handful of zombies in graveyards. But the jobs the Belmonts accept are on another level entirely: sieges by greater vampires (which can result in half a city being wiped out), zombie plagues, or invasions by demons from other worlds. Naturally, the Belmonts generally don't bother with werewolves or zombies; they are professional vampire slayers. For a witch hunter to have slain three high-ranking vampires, like the famed Gaspar, is enough to make him the most renowned witch hunter in the entire Kingdom of Gulens. Yet in the Belmont estate in Florenca, over fifty heads of high vampires are displayed, alongside the bones of countless ordinary vampires and vampire monsters. It's no exaggeration: the Belmonts have slain every type of vampire, save for those of pure royal blood with 100% vampiric lineage.
At present, there are only about 300 surviving high vampires, and over a thousand years, the Belmont family alone has slaughtered more than a sixth of them. From the ninja and samurai nation of Yinjou in the far east, to the northern highlands of the island nation of Aililand in western Roseland; from the camel-strewn deserts of Etta to the snowy bear lands of Rossiya; from the overseas colonial empires of Sion, to the free cities of the Aramanti Empire—the Belmonts have made vampire hunting their life's work, earning them the title "Vampire Butchers." The vast majority of vampires in the world shudder at the mere mention of "Belmont." For many vampires, that name cannot even be spoken—they simply use the codename, "the Butchers."
Of course, to Sophia Dominax, that name means little more than any other animal.
The Belmonts were originally a knightly family from Gulens who participated in the crusades against the Etta heretics. Some 850 years ago, however, the Belmonts did not return home with the rest of the crusaders, instead lingering in Valhaz, an eastern province of Roseland, on their journey back from Etta. Silannia is a southeastern nation of Roseland, imbued with a strong Romanian flavor. It's also called the land of vampires, being home to vast numbers of them. Its south is the region of Hilanica; to the east lies the mighty Turk Empire from Etta; to the west, the Aramanti Holy Empire, made up of many prince-electors, principalities, counties, and free cities, as well as the Magyar Kingdom, famed for its fierce, Hungarian-style cavalry.
Valhaz is one of Silannia's three ducal territories and its largest. Along with the smallest duchy, Modova, it constitutes "East and West Silannia"—the land of the dead. The other part is West Silannia's Aladael, and because of the Dominax family in Valhaz, Aladael and Valhaz have always been hostile to each other. As the seat of the Dominax family, Valhaz is not only the largest duchy but its ruling duke also bears the title "Prince of Valhaz"—one of Sophia's own titles. In name, the whole of Silannia is a Grand Duchy, ruled by the "Grand Duke of Silannia," whose rank is above the three ducal princes. In practice, however, East and West Silannia are divided between two powers: West Silannia is largely human-ruled, and its Aladael duke from the Siosecu family is broadly recognized as the "Grand Duke of Silannia" by the wider Roseland world. In contrast, the two duchies of the east are both ruled by the Dominax family, and here, at least half the nobility are vampires—a land of vampires in the truest sense. Though the wider human world recognizes the Siosecu family's Aladael duke as "Grand Duke," the actual land and population ratio among Valhaz, Aladael, and Modova is about 4.5:3.5:2. East and West Silannia together account for 65% of the land and population—vastly more than the west. The Siosecu "Duke of Aladael" is, in reality, in name only.
The Belmonts settled in Silannia and waged continual war against the Dominax family and their vampiric vassals. Three centuries ago, local vampire lords banded together to drive them from Valhaz, after which the Belmonts moved to Florenca in Cittalia, their signature red hair marking them out. Seven years ago, however, the Belmont family of Florenca was destroyed by the town's own angry mob, for wherever they went, death followed. Superstitious townsfolk viewed them as bringers of plague and drove them out by force. Now, the Belmonts are down to a single living heir—a 21-year-old woman named Anna Belmont.
Beside the partially collapsed, bomb-blasted watchtower outside Windleaf Town, a group of students and professors from the Gulens Magic Academy were conducting research. The debris from the explosion was scattered everywhere, and the ground bore a crater over a meter across, left by the blast.
"This is strange—the explosion of magical energy was so sudden, it's actually recorded all the magic cast here," said a sixty-year-old professor in a wizard's hat.
"Yes, usually you'd never get such a blast. It looks like a clash of magical energies, preserving the magical residue like a page pressed flat. Still, even with an explosion, most mages would erase their traces—unless the caster was somehow restrained," replied a tall, beautiful woman in Gulenian with a pronounced Aililand accent. Aililand, on the far west coast of Roseland, is one of Gulens' greatest rivals, though the two nations interact frequently.
The woman, about twenty-four and standing 1.74 meters tall, was dressed in a deep teal aristocratic robe of exquisite make, with a trailing cloak in back and noble airs. Underneath, she wore a sky-blue, sleeveless, strapless ball gown, a style favored by noblewomen. The blue bodice had two spherical supports that wrapped her massive 36E bust, trimmed with white lace, with a heart-shaped cutout exposing her deep cleavage. The waist was cinched tight with a corset, accentuating her figure; the skirt fit snugly over her hips, then flared gently to the ankles, giving the impression of a narrow A-line in spite of its fullness. On her head sat a pointed wizard's hat, marking her as a female mage.
She had shoulder-length golden hair, sapphire eyes, and creamy, rosy skin. Her hair cascaded down her back almost to her waist—a picture of refined, intellectual, noblewomanly beauty. This noble mage was Jane Lancaster, daughter of the Earl of Lancaster in Aililand. She was the youngest full professor in the history of Gulens Magic Academy, a rising star with two magical doctorates, already a high mage at just twenty-four—the youngest in three centuries. Most high mages reach that rank in their forties after decades of effort. Unsurprisingly, her figure—especially her 36E bust—made her the object of many a male student's daydreams. As a noblewoman, she had worn tight corsets all her life, further enhancing her figure. For all her beauty, Jane was strict about her noble manners and dignity; she never let her looks compromise her poise. Her conduct and bearing were impeccable, and any lecherous thoughts from her students were met with swift punishment.
On the Roseland continent, mage ranks were Supreme Mage, Legendary Mage, Archmage, High Mage, Mage, and Apprentice. There were fewer than fifty high mages, only fifteen archmages, and just four legendary mages in the Six Council: Grandmaster Youssef, Right Hand Clemence, Staff Alfonso, and Book Rodriguez. No Supreme Mages were known to exist in Roseland—indeed, no humans had ever reached that rank.
Right now, Jane was focusing a sphere of blue flame in her palm—a magical residue. With elegant, noble poise, she studied the energy, relic of a spell Sophia had cast here days before.
"Professor, why did it explode?" an apprentice in a pointed cap asked.
"It was caused by a magical clash. Imagine I'm trying to pull a cup toward me, but you resist, and we struggle for it." Jane explained, putting away the magical flame and gazing at her students with dazzling blue eyes, which none of them could tear themselves away from.
"Now picture our hands as gunpowder burning—ignition alone doesn't cause an explosion, just a flash, like lighting a trail of powder on the ground. But if a caster is desperate, flooding all their power into the clash—"
"Like stuffing gunpowder into a barrel and setting it off!" a student interrupted.
"Or in a gun—the powder burns in the barrel, sending the bullet flying!" added another, a burly young man with unruly yellow hair, Sergei from the far northeast of Roseland, in the Grand Duchy of Rossiya.
"Sergei only ever thinks about guns, never magic!" a student teased.
"Shut up, Peter! We Rossiyans are a nation of warriors, not sissies like you!" Sergei retorted.
"Silence!" Jane asserted her authority—though many students were older, none dared challenge her. A strong female professor was like a cat among mice.
"But, professor, surely a mage powerful enough to cause such an explosion would know better. Why would he risk exposing himself?" one asked.
"I don't know," Jane admitted. "We'll have to analyze the residue. He must have been desperate, knowing the magical explosion would leave traces, but unable to erase them."
"Jane, we've got the readings." The male professor, face grim, handed her a parchment.
"This... this can't be!" Jane exclaimed.
"Professor, what is it?" Sergei asked.
"There were only three spells..."
"And?"
"One is an absolute suppression field—a peak spell, extremely rare. It nullifies any magic item or barrier."
"And the other two?"
"These aren't clear—let's call one A. A is either Future Sight or Absolute Polymorph, both peak spells."
"And the last?"
"Same—unclear, but the mana fluctuations suggest Supreme Decryption, Time Stop, or Word of Death."
"All peak spells?" Jane, though shocked, kept to her teaching role: "Can anyone explain why these are called peak spells?"
"Professor! I know! Each school's highest magic is called a peak spell—no spell theoretically surpasses them." Every male student wanted to impress the academy's most beautiful professor.
"Professor! I know! Only by casting a peak spell can one become an Archmage!"
"Professor! I know! Mastering three or more peak spells earns the title of Legendary Mage, like Master Clemence!"
Jane continued, "And what are some peak spells?"
"Destruction: Karsas' Pierce, Izaris' Annihilation!"
"Could this blast be Izaris' Annihilation?"
"No," Jane replied. "The crater is too small—just a few meters, which even a mid-level Fireball could do. Yes, there was a great clash of magic, but the force was not destructive. An Izaris Annihilation would leave a crater many meters deep, spanning hundreds of meters, and nothing upright would remain."
"Professor! Word of Death from Fate Magic—just speaking it kills instantly!"
"Time Stop from Temporal Magic!"
"Supreme Unlocking from Transformation!" Sergei chimed in.
"You bumpkins in East Roseland only call it that! It's Supreme Decryption—able to crack any riddle or lie. Only you bumpkins call it Unlocking!"
"A lock's just another riddle, Peter, you sissy!" Sergei shot back.
"Enough!" Jane snapped. "This is class time! If you don't behave, I'll silence you both."
"Yes, Professor." Sergei and Peter held their faces.
"Professor, last time you said Supreme Resurrection was theoretically the only true resurrection magic?"
Jane pressed on, "What should we understand about Supreme Resurrection?"
"We mages can't cast it—it belongs to the gods! Only their priests can wield it!"
"Right—we're arcanists, and healing or resurrection is divine magic."
"What's divine magic again?" Sergei scratched his head. Jane's patience snapped, and her stern, noble teacher's glare reduced the huge man to a cowering schoolboy.
Jane explained, "There are four ways to use magic: Arcana, Divinity, Pact Magic, and Source Magic. Arcana and Divinity are most common. Divinity is used by clergy, channeling supernatural power through faith. Arcana is what we wizards use—specifically, Weaving Magic, which connects to a universal magical network. Pact Magic involves soul contracts with outsiders—usually demons—strictly forbidden, and its users are called warlocks. Source Magic means any supernatural energy stored internally. Sorcerers use Source Magic; they can cast without the network, but can still use Arcana or Divinity if cut off. If you discover Pact Magic, you must report it."
"Maybe I'm a sorcerer!" Sergei boasted, prompting laughter from the girls.
"Sergei, sorcerers are one in a hundred million! If you're one, I'm King of Gulens!" Peter jeered.
"Silence!" Jane slapped both with a gust of air, leaving red prints. "If you don't know, say so!"
The obedient, well-bred Leonora explained, "Sorcerers are far rarer than wizards—perhaps one in four million. For wizards, it's one in ten thousand. Sorcerers cast by instinct, like spiders spinning webs, whereas wizards must learn. Wizards need intellect; sorcerers need what's called Charisma, an inherited, supernatural quality—true charisma, not just looks or speech. They're descended from extraordinary beings: dragons, elementals, and so on."
Jane continued, "Jean-Aimé, finish Leonora's explanation."
The short, stocky boy said, "Sorcerers inherit their charisma and cast by feeling, like painting with passion; wizards paint by rules and calculation. Both can improve, but sorcerers rely on feeling, wizards on logic."
Jane nodded. "Claude, your turn—do wizards have any advantages?"
The scholarly Claude answered, "Our intellect can always be improved; charisma, not so much. Sorcerers are often limited to their ancestry's magic, while we can learn any school, so long as we have the skill and mana."
Sergei interjected, "But couldn't a sorcerer just learn wizard magic—ouch!" Jane smacked him again.
"In theory, yes, but their methods clash. Teaching a purely intuitive painter to use compasses and measure golden ratios would ruin him, and vice versa. Wizards and sorcerers are fundamentally different."
Jane finished, "So, you see why not all source mages are sorcerers. There's little research on them, but they're different in principle. Now, back to peak spells—any more?"
A student replied, "Transformation also has Absolute and Mass Polymorph!"
"What's the difference?" Jane asked. Peter jumped at the chance:
"Both are peak, but Absolute Polymorph is far harder—permanent, irreversible, while Mass Polymorph is easier but needs concentration for an hour and can be undone."
Jane approved. "That's right." She pressed on, "Are there spells above peak level?"
"Yes!" the class chorused: "The legendary Arien's Strike!"
Jane prompted, "What do you know of Supreme-level magic?"
"High Elf King Arien's Strike split a continent!"
"Time Dragon King Akayun's Time Walk and Chrono Travel!"
"Apocalypse Spell! Summon a meteor to destroy cities, or even the world!"
"Interplanar Projection! Demon Kings summon armies across worlds!"
"And Sophia's Throne Domain!" Sergei cried.
"Foolish Sergei, that's just a rumor!"
"Don't bring hearsay into my class!" Jane scolded. "Only Arien and Akayun are confirmed inventors of Supreme-level spells."
Sergei retorted, "But Sophia's a common name in East Roseland—half the women in Rossiya are called Sophia, ura!"
"So what?" Jane pressed.
"They say the most mysterious vampire duke in Silannia is a woman—guess her name?"
"Sergei!" Jane cast Silence on him again.
She then turned to the class. "Who are the living Supreme Mages?"
"High Elf Sage Ada Belen!"
"Dragon Queen Nalgyssa!"
"And Time Dragon King Akayun!"
"Fool Peter, Akayun's dead!" The spell soon faded.
"That's just a rumor!" Peter said, but Sergei countered, "No one has detected Akayun in three centuries!"
Jane explained, "We can't jump to conclusions, but all signs indicate Akayun was slain over three hundred years ago. Today, only Belen and Nalgyssa are acknowledged Supreme Mages."
Sergei exclaimed, "The rumor is a vampire named Sophia Dominax killed the Time Dragon King Akayun! My Rossiyan intuition is never wrong—ura!"
Jane, exasperated, silenced him for the day.
After questions, Jane discussed the findings with the male professor. "Sorry to take so long—students, you know."
"I understand; I taught, too. You're a fine teacher, Ms. Lancaster. Back to our point: this parchment records that at the time, three different peak spells from three different schools were cast here…"
"Clemence—no, even the Council's Grandmaster Youssef couldn't cast three peak spells in so short a time…"
"And these three spells are so peculiar…"
"Yes, is there really any need to use Future Sight in a fight? And Absolute Polymorph… Only Grandmaster Youssef can cast that, and it's such a niche spell…"
"Do you think the unclear magic residue, the one we labeled A, is Absolute Polymorph? Then what about B?"
"There's no reason to use Time Stop either. The magical traces here suggest that the explosion was triggered by magical backlash from B."
"But there's no reason to use Supreme Decryption during battle either."
"Right, unless someone used mana to make some kind of magically reinforced pleasure shackles or something?" The male professor smirked lewdly.
"Martin, don't joke about things like that." Although Jane maintained a strict, authoritative air before her students, in private she was still a woman inexperienced with romantic matters.
"Professor Martin, Professor Lancaster, we've found six identical magical residues here. Normally, these would have dissipated within hours, but the magical clash here preserved all traces." An apprentice arrived with another parchment.
"These aren't peak spells… But this is… this is… black magic?" Martin and Jane exchanged glances.
Six castings in a row—Undeath Curse? This forbidden magic allows a person's brain to run indefinitely, even after all limbs or even the torso are removed, so that they can be endlessly tortured without dying. Who would use such black magic? It's absolutely forbidden, and its users are forever hunted by witch hunters.
"Martin, this explosion is no simple matter…"
"Indeed. It seems the wheels of this era are turning again. Even archmages may become mere ants in the hands of fate, never mind us high mages." Martin agreed.
In the distance, a woman in a high-crowned hat rode up to the crater. Mages are scholars—they do not share the peasants' superstition that high hats bring disaster. They know witch hunters are defenders, not harbingers of calamity. The arriving witch hunter was none other than Anna Belmont, who had been seen two days prior in Watermill Village, north of Cittalia.
"Good afternoon, esteemed high mages." Though only twenty-one, Anna's sharp knowledge let her immediately tell apart masters from apprentices.
"Hello, witch hunter," Jane replied.
"You're not here to arrest us, I hope," Professor Martin joked.
"I don't have time for that. I'd like to investigate this recent magical incident—could you share any information?"
The mages shared with Anna everything they knew. Anna mounted her steed and rode off at a gallop.
"Jane," Martin asked, "your student Sergei's bizarre theory—could it be true?"
"He has a lot of bizarre theories. Which one do you mean?"
"The one about witch hunters… Could there really be a supreme mage who's also a female vampire?"
"You believe that gossip? If there really were a supreme mage, and if—as Sergei claims—she were one of the Dominax bloodline, humanity would have been wiped out long ago." Jane narrowed her eyes at Martin, her tone cool. "If a royal-blooded vampire were also a supreme mage, could all of humanity's combined might possibly resist her?"
Martin chuckled, "If only we had a new Mels, then we could manage."
Jane glanced at Martin—over sixty years old, and still with such wild fantasies? Mels was the only supreme mage in human history, and he'd once helped King Arthur of Aililand draw the Holy Sword and save mankind. But in this day and age, most mages, by the time they reached thirty, understood that supreme magehood was impossible for humans. As Leonora, Jane's student, had explained, the vast majority of humans lack the talent for magic in the first place—maybe one in tens of thousands can even become a mage. Among mages, Jane was a prodigy for reaching high mage at twenty-four. For normal prodigies, the path is: high mage at thirty, archmage at forty, legendary mage at fifty-five. That's for "ordinary" prodigies; "normal" mages might never reach high mage at all in their lifetimes.
Martin said, "Surely the genius Jane can become a supreme mage?"
"Don't tease me." Jane had no patience for this joke. It was true: Mels, though born of humans, did not have a purely human soul. He became an archmage at four, a legendary mage at twelve, a supreme mage at twenty-one. Jane was the youngest prodigy in three centuries, but even before her there were more gifted humans who never surpassed the legendary level. In recorded magical history, the speed record was high mage at twenty, archmage at twenty-five, legendary at twenty-eight. Yet even these powerful prodigies never became supreme mages. Only one human ever surpassed legendary—Zoroaster, high prophet of the Sacred Fire Church in the Kingdom of Pars, who received a divine revelation from the Fire God. Even so, he only surpassed legendary, not quite reaching supreme mage status; there is a gap between the two. For true "humans," legendary mage is the ceiling.
But vampires… vampires also come from humans. Could they really break the limits of humanity? Vampires, starting from a human base, are not supposed to become supreme mages, no matter how old they grow. Yes, their eternal lifespan and affinity for necromancy make learning magic easier for them. Their undead constitution also means some forbidden and necromantic magics come much more naturally than for humans. But this shouldn't affect their upper limits. Even the Yulius royal family—who produce legendary archmages—have never produced a supreme mage. Vampires, as long as they originated as humans, should not be able to become supreme mages. Jane thought to herself.
Unless......