The history of House Elathion was as storied as it was tragic.

  The noble family rose to power in the aftermath of the 18th Crusade, five hundred years ago, right after the death of the Fourth Demon King, Erizen.

  The Aurelian Empire awarded Saint Elathion, one of the last surviving Saints from the 18th Chosen Crusade, with lands, titles, and privileges befitting of one who so valiantly fought against the forces of Hell.

  Elevated to nobility and with their heraldry being that of the Unicorn — the legendary steed upon which their Saint once rode into battle — House Elathion was given the charge of defending the North at Kaldreach, alongside a large host of other new noble families who were moved in to fill the horrendous losses left by the 18th Cursade.

  Their ancestral seat lay in the eastern segment of Kaldreach — a castle perched high upon one of the fortified mountains overlooking the corrupted steppes further north. Below the castle was the mouth of the Kald River, which emptied its waters into an enormous lake known as the Violet Maw, on account of how its surface eternally reflected the Hellgate’s fiendish purple eye.

  The lake protected Kaldreach’s east from a typical land assault, but its waters were known to spit out aquatic demons every so often. House Elathion’s duty was to keep such monsters at bay, as well as to maintain a sizeable naval fleet within the lake, such that Chosen expeditions might set out for the corrupted lands across the massive reservoir without needing to travel around it on foot.

  Along with control of the lake and its port, House Elathion commanded several profitable operations within its holdings. Aside from the mountain veins rich in silver and mana crystals, there was also the Caustic Oil reservoir discovered beneath the lake — the product of five thousand years of corrupted sediment and corpses collecting at the lakebed. Though demonic, the thick purplish liquid was an excellent fuel source and alchemical reagent, and so great pumps and machines were soon built through House Elthaion’s dwarven connections, harvesting yet another lucrative resource.

  They soon became one of the wealthiest Noble Houses in Kaldreach and were crucial in funding many of the empire’s northern military endeavours.

  For nearly four hundred years, House Elathion reigned as one of the most influential noble families in the North, with strong ties stretching even to Aurelian Royalty, secured through marriage and debt.

  Then… The Great Collapse happened.

  One hundred years ago, the four major cardinal Hellgates of the continent — relatively inactive for centuries — suddenly activated all at once. At the same time, two new major Hellgates — the largest seen in history — suddenly manifested within the heartland of the Empire, destroying the Aurelian Empire’s true capital of Goldwyn and forever splitting the continent apart into four cardinal regions, each now controlled by its individual stronghold capitals.

  The surge in demonic invasions everywhere was catastrophic, and House Elathion barely survived the relentless onslaughts over the next century. The lake that was supposed to serve as a natural defence against the northern hordes instead became a foothold when the waters transmuted to blood and began spawning all manner of monstrosities.

  Kaldreach’s port was soon destroyed, and its proud household knights were reduced to a tenth of their original number as they desperately tried to defend the relatively unfortified lands of their ancestral home.

  Though they fought hard, it was all for nought. House Elathion eventually lost access to their rich mines and trading districts, with all their remaining manpower retreating to the second line of fortifications far behind Kaldreach’s outermost eastern perimeter.

  With their port, lands, and mines gone, House Elathion’s means of income vanished. The loss of all their knights, as well as the massive investment in gear and training made into them, was similarly devastating.

  The only consolation was that their castle still survived, though one could argue that it merely prolonged their suffering as they stumbled towards their inevitable ruin.

  More disasters followed in their wake. Lord Draevan was originally not meant to be the heir of the House. He had two older brothers and an older sister. However, the first brother fell to demons, while the older sister fell to disease.

  As for the second brother… He was the most craven of all, for when the old Lord passed and the second brother was made heir, he took what was left of the family fortune and fled, leaving Draevan with nothing but the last scraps of his House’s legacies.

  And now — with the latest string of disasters that saw the noble family plagued with death, betrayal, and debts — the members of House Elathion were not in an enviable position to be in, despite their peerage or blessed blood.

  Of course… Where there was disaster, there was also opportunity.

  If only one dared to reach out and claim it.

  [New Major Side Quest Updated! ‘The Long Restoration To Glory’!]

  [Requirement: ‘We Need Money!’]

  [Raise 1000 Gold for House Elathion]

  [Requirement: ‘Un-Damn the Harbour!’]

  [Retake House Elathion’s Port at the Violet Maw Lake]

  [Requirement: ‘Demons Shafted!’]

  [Reclaim House Elathion’s mountain mines]

  [Requirement: ‘The Missing Princess’]

  [Advance the Secret Quest ‘Your Princess Is On Another Island’]

  [Reward: +XP, +Heroism Points, +Reputation, The Eternal Blessing of Saint Elathion (Perk)]

  ~~~

  “Did you know your internal organs are reversed?”

  Eri nearly dropped his scalpel as he turned to the Foxkin chirugeon. “My what is what?!”

  The woman named Kalisa — the first person Eri woke up to in Castle Elathion — hummed absentmindedly as she cut into Gunther’s harvested liver, brightly lit under the operating table. “Perhaps ‘mirrored’ would be a better word. Or flipped? Pass the syringe, please.”

  Eri passed the chirurgeon the tool, watching her extract a sample from the eerily pulsating organ on the table.

  Even after the man was dead, the individual pieces of the half-blood’s body still operated as if they were alive. It was as creepy to behold as it was fascinating.

  “While I was taking care of you during your bedridden state, I found out that the positions of your internal organs have swapped. Left to right, right to left. I take it from your reaction that you did not know this?” Kalisa said as she placed her tools away. “You can pack the liver away now.”

  Eri carefully sealed the squelching organ. “You didn’t think to tell me this beforehand?”

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  “I thought you already knew. It was fascinating: suddenly realising your heart was pumping from the right side of your chest, and not your left.” Kalisa’s tail wagged. “I did some tests, and your body’s anatomy is a perfect vertical inversion of normal human biology. Were you born like this, or was this a recent development?”

  “The latter. I’m pretty sure I would have known if my heart was pumping from the wrong side my whole life,” Eri groaned. “It must have happened during the fight, after I used… Nevermind. Are there any complications?”

  “None that I can see. Your body seems fine even after a whole month like this. I won’t worry too much.” Kalisa's grin widened. “Though if you are concerned, I could run some tests. Or better yet, tell me what Arte it was that led to this transformation, and we can do a few experiments toge—”

  “No thanks,” Eri rejected immediately. He was pretty sure it was [Red Mist Fade] that caused his anatomical swap, and he never wanted to use that Arte ever again if he could avoid it.

  The pain was easily the worst thing he had ever felt in his new life. It was as if every molecule of his body was screaming as he vaporised and reformed himself.

  Kalisa pouted. “Boo. You are a terrible assistant. What am I even paying you for?”

  “You’re not paying me anything!”

  “Not true. I let you hug my tail!”

  Eri blushed and looked away.

  To be fair, it was a really nice and big fluffy tail. Eri never thought about getting a pet before, but now he wanted a fox to cuddle with. Or a fluffy cat.

  Three days had passed since Lord Draevan had given Eri his proposal to adopt him. Eri hadn’t given an answer yet, but the Lord was content to wait. In the meantime, Eri sought to occupy himself and decided to take up the sidequests available within the castle.

  Assisting Kalisa was one task out of many. Her work in dissecting and studying Gunther’s body was also the most interesting, gut-churning though it might be.

  It helped distract him from his thoughts and the looming deadline.

  Lord Draevan had given him a month to think the choice through. In the meantime, the nobleman was selling the last of Eri’s loot and collecting the remaining sum of his bounty rewards from various factions — a task that took a great deal of time, considering the substantial amount of gold being exchanged.

  By the end of the month, Eri would have his money, regardless of whether he chooses to stay or leave.

  The body of Gunther would be purchased by House Elathion. Lord Draevan had offered a fair price for it, but in the end, it was mostly because of Kalisa’s begging that the boy opted to sell the corpse to them.

  It was hard to say no to the chirugeon, and in any case, Eri owed his life to her for taking care of him for an entire month. He tried to give it to them for free, but Lord Draevan refused.

  “The corpse of an Elderkin, even just a half-blood, is not something one should give or receive freely,” Lord Draevan had explained.

  Eri didn’t really understand, but he reluctantly accepted the decision anyway.

  He was already confounded with enough problems. One less burden shouldn’t matter.

  ~~~

  “I still think you should refuse.”

  “I know, Elen. You told me that already,” Eri sighed as he dodged her kick and slashed after her thighs. She blocked the attack effortlessly and pushed him back.

  The two were sparring again. House Elathion’s training grounds provided ample space and equipment. Given that the two might be staying for a whole month within the castle walls, they opted to make use of their host’s hospitality.

  “We shouldn’t stay here. There’s little point,” Elen said, snapping Eri’s attention back to the present. “House Elathion is in shambles.”

  “That’s a little harsh,” Eri muttered.

  “It isn’t. What little funds they have are scraping rock bottom. Their significant holdings basically boil down to their castle and that mana core they showed us,” Elen elaborated, sending forth a sweeping kick while Eri dodged. “Both are useless as assets to be sold — the castle for obvious reasons, while the Emerald Core would get them all killed by the end of the month if they try to sell it.”

  The castle was the last seat of their ancestral grounds, so selling it meant more or less forsaking their noble title. Meanwhile, the Emerald Mana Core suffered from being too valuable. The moment it was known that the faltering House possessed such a treasure, countless factions would descend upon them and rip the dying noble family apart for it.

  It was probably why the previous heir didn’t even bother trying to steal it. Even just having it on hand was a risk, let alone trying to sell it anywhere.

  … Come to think of it, that was probably why Lord Draevan had been willing to part with it in the first place. The man probably thought it was worth trying to use its sheer value to present his sincerity and gamble upon Eri’s goodwill.

  “Having a noble title helps open a lot of doors,” Eri offered. He leapt off a wall to dodge Elen’s shield bash and tried to kick her chin, but the woman leaned back at the last second. “Not many chances for an orphan commoner to gain peerage. Some would call me dumb to pass this up.”

  “Maybe, but it’s a really shitty noble title you are getting here,” the woman snorted. “Odds are that House Elathion wouldn’t exist in another decade or two at this rate.”

  Eri couldn’t refute the matron’s words. The situation really was that bad for the noble family. The fact that they nearly lost their own Heiress to traitors was telling.

  “And then there is the whole Duskcrown business,” Elen hissed, forced to reposition as Eri used [Rampage of the Feral] to speed past her attacks. “Lord Draevan has attracted powerful foes. We already have enough attention to deal with without adding a competing faction to the Royal Crown on the list.”

  Eri didn’t know much about the Duskcrowns, save that they represent what was left of the Royal family living in the West after the Great Collapse, but Elen’s distaste for them told him enough.

  “To be fair, given what the System told me, we might not have a choice,” Eri pointed out.

  He had already informed her about the System’s rewards and consequences for his sidequest in saving Dulcina. Having a net negative reputation with any faction was a first for Eri, and for it to be negative ten thousand points, the boy was not optimistic about his chances of peaceful days waiting on the horizon.

  “Still beats staying here. We can keep on the move, while House Elathion is a sitting target,” Elen grunted.

  “They have knights, though. There’s only the two of us, and you are down one hand.” Eri frowned. “You never told me what happened on your trip.”

  Elen had returned to Kaldreach after nine weeks, when her trip was estimated to take only six. Her expedition had returned with only a quarter of its original numbers, too.

  Elen grimaced, then sighed. “Ralhowe’s dead.”

  Eri blinked. “Who?”

  “The friend I came to help in the first place,” Elen explained, looking tired all of a sudden. Eri stopped sparring. “He died from a Chosen ambush. As did more than half of the expedition.”

  Eri frowned. “You were attacked by humans out in the northern steeps?”

  “Not humans, precisely,” Elen chuckled bitterly. “When I said a Chosen ambush, I meant a Chosen ambush.”

  Eri caught her meaning. “One person defeated your entire group?”

  Elen nodded. “Some woman. Fast as hell, and deadlier than any demon I’ve ever seen. Ralhowe seemed to recognise her. Said she was the one who killed his previous team and placed him in that coma in the first place. The woman targeted him first. And once he was down, she came for me.”

  The matron pointed to her stump. “Sliced through my shield like it was nothing. Took my left hand in one stroke. The rest of the group tried to protect me, and they died for it. Not sure how we managed to get away in the end, but it seemed she just got tired of us and then wandered off.”

  Elen’s group had been primarily composed of Gold-Core Chosens. There were at least ten of them on that expedition.

  For a single woman to take almost all of them out…

  “What did she look like?” Eri shakily asked.

  Elen grimaced. “Black haired. Long blade — damn thing was taller than she was. Had horns, wings, and a tail as well, so probably a Beastkin of some sort… Plus, she was wearing a mask, shaped like a golden eye. You will know her if you see her. And if you do, you run, got it?”

  Eri was silent.

  “Eri?” Elen asked. “Did you hear what I said?”

  “H-huh? Um, yeah. Run away. You don’t need to tell me that, I’m not dumb.”

  “You are, brat. Your dumbassery is what got us into this trouble in the first place… But I’m proud of what you did, saving that girl.”

  “... Thank you.”