"No, I can't stay here any longer. If this thing can also track my location, I'm screwed!" Norton wrapped the cloth around his head more tightly, then hurried out of the alley toward the city gates.
Less than five minutes after Norton fled the scene.
"Clank, clank, clank..."
The sound of steel armor shifting as someone walked rang out through the street, making everyone who heard it blanch.
The lingering early-morning drowsiness on the street vanished at once. One by one, pedestrians moved to stand along both sides of the street, apparently preparing to make way for the church knights.
But today, the church knights seemed completely different from usual.
Ten figures in steel armor guarded the ends of the street, trapping all the pedestrians between them.
"Stay where you are. Anyone who disobeys will be cut down!"
A church knight's cold shout rang out. The already panicked pedestrians grew even more frightened, but years of ingrained obedience kept them standing where they were, trembling with fear yet not daring to move a muscle.
Silence fell over the street. With the church knights' arrival, the entire city seemed to fall silent. No one dared speak loudly anymore, and even the crowds outside the street moved away of their own accord when they saw the knights, as though avoiding the plague.
Even the ten church knights guarding the ends of the street stood perfectly still, silently holding their greatswords at the intersections, seemingly waiting for someone to arrive.
At last, as the crowd grew increasingly terrified, the sound of church knights' steel armor scraping rang out once more.
"Clank, clank, clank..."
Amid the crisp sound of steel armor striking the ground, two church knights clad in fully enclosed golden armor appeared from either end of the street.
Holy Knights!
The style of their armor was completely different from that of ordinary church knights. Not only did it look heavier and sturdier, but its design was entirely different as well.
The steel armor of ordinary church knights resembled Central European plate armor, with white cloth on the lower hem and torso dyed with the church's red cross. Overall, though, they still had the classic tin-can look.
The golden armor worn by these two Holy Knights was far more magnificent and imposing, abandoning the tin-can appearance of traditional steel armor. Their helmets lacked the typical enclosed visors; instead, two small golden wings took the place of their eyes, leaving one to wonder how they could see the road at all, while also eliminating the greatest weakness of having eyes.
Their angelic golden armor shone brilliantly, making the aura they gave off even holier than that of ordinary church knights.
This holiness even reacted whenever it came into contact with filth.
"Vampire!"
Hoarse, somber voices came from the two Holy Knights, sounding unlike anything a living person could produce.
"Filth... cleanse... holy!"
The harsh, raspy voices came from within their steel helmets. The two Holy Knights, who seemed nothing like living people, drew the golden greatswords from their backs. Then, as though able to track the traces of Norton's aura left on the road, they set off in the direction he had just taken.
"Hiss..." Breathing like steam escaping from an engine sounded inside their helmets. From that terrifying sound alone, one could guess just how terrifying the things inside were.
They seemed able to track the aura to its final destination and had chosen to proceed in a straight line.
That also confirmed that these two things were definitely not normal living creatures, because traveling in a straight line meant they would run into the walls along the street.
"Boom!"
With a crash, the two Holy Knights smashed a huge hole straight through the earthen wall of an alley. Though it was inferior to walls built with modern technology and still difficult for an ordinary person to damage, it could not impede the two Holy Knights' progress in the slightest.
The church's true ultimate weapons, the Holy Knights, had locked onto Norton's location.
An extremely bad feeling rose in Norton's heart, leaving him with the constant sense that something bad was about to happen to him.
The feeling made him run faster and faster. After picking up his greatsword and leaf cloak again, he raced madly toward his cave.
"Why do I keep feeling like someone's out to get me?"
Norton frowned deeply, regretting his trip out today a little.
Staying alive in the forest wasn't easy, but he hadn't expected the city to be even more fraught with danger.
A mere mural had actually been able to deal him real damage. That was way too advanced!
God's holiness really was that great!
The farther Norton ran, the more oppressed he felt. He thought he could only truly feel at ease once he reached his cave, where he had an escape route.
Norton ran faster and faster. The glaring sun had already risen, and its rays brought a slight prickling sensation to his skin, making him quicken his pace.
At last, as the sun approached its zenith, Norton finally made it back to his cave.
"Squeak, squeak..."
The vampire bat hanging outside the cave entrance had returned. It seemed to hear Norton's approach and squeaked twice, apparently greeting him.
Norton had no time to pay it any attention. He rushed back into the cave and hurriedly clambered into his coffin.
He closed the wooden coffin lid, and silence returned to the pitch-black cave.
Fish swam in the pool, creating the faint sound of rippling water. Rather than disturbing the quiet, it only emphasized the silence in the cave.
Lying in the coffin, Norton stared wide-eyed at the dark coffin lid, but his mind was still unsettled.
Not only was he unable to calm down, he even felt more oppressed.
Norton lay in the coffin, unable to sleep however he turned. The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he became.
"I must have been targeted. Otherwise, why would this feeling be so strange? Could they have pinpointed my location?"
Norton scratched his head, then climbed out of the coffin. He thought it would be best to put his steel armor on first.
Once he had put it on, Norton felt a tiny bit safer.
But he still felt oppressed.
Nowhere felt safe.
Could the church knights really cross such a dangerous forest to track him down and kill him from such a great distance?
If the forest weren't dangerous, Norton would have thought it possible. After all, the church's methods were unfathomable.
But the forest was much more dangerous than the city. Could those church knights really track him here without fear?
Norton thought that, no matter what, he ought to prepare himself at the very least. After all, he knew nothing about the church's methods.
As a vampire who went to extremes to stay safe, he always liked to imagine the worst in every situation.
What if?
So...
Norton looked at the pool and thought that choosing this cave had been an excellent decision.
If the church knights really did come, he would hide in the water.
If they wanted to enter the water, they would have to take off their heavy armor to avoid being unable to swim back up and breathe.
Then he could take the opportunity to kill those squishy humans.
He, Norton, might have some respect for them in heavy armor, but without it, what were they?
They could take it up with his big sword!