Chapter 44: A little while earlier.

A little while earlier.

Vandalieu suddenly woke up.

「... The spirits are making a lot of noise.」(Vandalieu)

Has something happened? It doesn't seem like there's a large influx of monster spirits coming from the Dungeon where Borkus's party is crushing everything in their path.

Now that I think about it, Borkus returned from the Dungeon today so he should be in his usual spot.

So then, what was it? He couldn't get an idea of what it was even when he asked the spirits directly.

Well, it would probably be best to stay awake. I don't feel the presence of death, so it doesn't seem like there's a disaster-level high-Rank monster closing in on Talosheim, at least.

Let's relax and wait for now. It could be that Pauvina has just woken up and will be coming here any moment now.

「Mom is... asleep, huh.」(Vandalieu)

The small box on the bedside table that contained the enshrined fragment of Darcia's bone was silent. As he started to wonder what to do while waiting, Vandalieu felt a presence.

「...[Detect Life.]」(Vandalieu)

Casting a detection spell with quite a wide area of effect, he discovered that numerous life-forms had entered the castle. Who would visit at this time of night? The fact that there are reactions to this spell means that they aren't Undead, so just who are they?

Excluding people who visit the bathhouse, there should be nobody coming to the royal castle other than me, Pauvina and Borkus. Zadiris is away in a Dungeon today, and Basdia visited Bilde and the other mothers to ask them about childcare and is staying with them.

I invited Tarea to live in the royal castle as well, but she needs to live in the same building as her workshop as she's busy with work. She seemed very disappointed, so she'll likely come to live here once she's less busy.

Leaving that aside, who are these people?

「I'll use[Detect Life]one more time... They're coming here instead of going to the audience chamber?」(Vandalieu)

Which meant that they perhaps had business with Vandalieu, so he got up.

He waited, wondering something as silly as whether it would seem villain-like to greet them with,「Yo, I've been getting tired of waiting」, or,「About time.」

And then he felt a fairly strong presence of death in front of the door. This meant that someone on the other side of the door had murderous intentions towards Vandalieu.

Who is it? He wondered as he took the fragment of Darcia's bone from the small box on the table and placed it into his breast pocket to keep it safe.

Judging from the presence I can sense, it's not such an urgent situation, but just in case.

But living people who hold murderous intentions towards me... It's far too early to be one of the people reincarnating from Origin. Other people who could have a motive to kill me would be people related to Evbejia or its bandits, or humans from the Mirg-shield-nation, but that's unlikely as well.

It would be difficult for them to cross the Boundary Mountain Range, and even if they wanted to hire an assassin, nobody would accept the job.

The most likely answer was monsters, but there were no species intelligent enough to do something like sneak into the castle living near Talosheim.

Hmm, could it be spies or something from the Mirg shield-nation?

It was possible that there was a squad of highly-skilled assassins. As Vandalieu considered this possibility, the door opened slightly and a woman slipped inside the room.

A woman? And she's not concealing her face.

A woman who didn't look like an assassin or monster at first glance had entered the room. She was wearing clothes that looked easy to move in, but she didn't have any kind of armor or weapon on her.

She was a beautiful woman with red hair and white eyes, only a year or two into her twenties.

And then, without pulling a knife from a pocket or reciting an incantation, the beautiful woman raised her face.

「?!」(Eleanora)

And then she opened her eyes. She seemed surprised. He couldn't blame her for being surprised to encounter the owner of the room that she had just sneaked into, but wasn't she a little too surprised?

But the beautiful woman recovered from her surprise quickly. She stared at Vandalieu intently.

What powerful eyes.

Even as this thought ran through his mind, Vandalieu didn't take his eyes off the beautiful woman. She was a trespasser in his room, after all, and strangely enough, he could feel the presence of death coming from her. And he thought that this was some kind of contest where the first person to break eye contact was the loser.

With gazes that seemed like they could pierce holes in a surface, they stared at each other. And then the woman's eyes and mouth suddenly relaxed.

「You are Vandalieu, aren't you?」(Eleanora)

「Yes, I am Vandalieu.」(Vandalieu)

She asked his name, so Vandalieu answered honestly. As he answered, he became more and more unsure of who this woman was.

But the presence of death... the reaction from [ Danger Sense: Death ] is growing weaker and weaker...?

「Hey, what do you think about me?」(Eleanora)

For some reason, she asked a question like this.

「Huh... I think that you're a beautiful person.」(Vandalieu)

I'll give a noncommittal response for now. She's actually beautiful, too.

「I see, that makes me happy. Will you be my friend?」(Eleanora)

In addition to being happy, she's asking me to be her friend. If I were on a street corner, I'd think that she was trying to pick me up.

「... If you're fine with me being your friend, it would be my pleasure...?」(Vandalieu)

It's exceptionally questionable as to whether being friends with a beautiful woman who has trespassed into my room is a good idea, but I'll answer with a yes for now. If I refuse and she gets angry, I'd be scared.

「Well then, would you praise the evil god Hihiryushukaka that we worship? Say that he is a wonderful god.」(Eleanora)

... For some reason, she's asking me to praise the evil god that she seems to worship. Since everyone in this world knows about the existence of the gods, maybe it's some kind of etiquette in human society to show respect for the god that the other person believes in before introducing yourself?

Well, I don't really care. Since it isn't Rodcorte or Alda, I don't mind giving some insincere praise to this Hihiryushukaka god.

「The evil god Hihiryushukaka is a wonderful god.」(Vandalieu)

But just who or what is this beautiful woman?

She isn't showing any signs of wanting to cause further harm to Mom, nor is she doing anything to try and kill me... and she probably isn't here to invite me to join her religion.

Is there a possibility that she's a spy or something from the Orbaume Kingdom side of the continent?

When Talosheim was destroyed, the First Princess and around five hundred citizens escaped to the Hartner duchy of the Orbaume Kingdom. They would naturally wish to restore their homeland one day.

And the Orbaume Kingdom that welcomed them would surely wish for Talosheim's restoration as well. They would have set up a political marriage or something with the First Princess to make the nation's ruler their relative, and turning Talosheim into one of its vassal nations would surely be profitable for them.

There's no longer a route through which the Mirg shield-nation can send their troops. They could maintain the nation as long as they have walls and soldiers to keep the monsters at bay, and adventurers would come swarming in large numbers as there are four Dungeons nearby.

Could this woman have set out to investigate Talosheim's current state? But when she arrived here, the walls, the city and even the castle had been restored and there were Undead and monsters living here. And there was even an unknown 『 King 』 present.

So then has she come here to contact the king who currently leads the group who has taken over Talosheim?

She'll negotiate if possible, and if not, she'll have the guys outside the room dispose of me.

I still don't get why she made me praise the evil god, though.

They got me. I didn't expect a spies or humans to sneak in, so the security is full of holes.

Without an ability like Vandalieu's[Golem Transmutation]to create roads among the cliffs, crossing the mountain range with hundreds of people or more would be difficult, and the tunnel leading to the Orbaume Kingdom was still sealed. He had never imagined that humans would come in from the outside.

The monsters couldn't climb the walls, and they wouldn't even approach since they could sense the presence of the Undead Titans.

That was why there had been no guards on the high, sturdy walls and it would have been easy for someone to sneak into the city or castle with a little knowledge. Vandalieu hadn't even thought about the security situation.

He cursed himself for his own carelessness, but felt grateful that he could talk to this person more than the people who were trying to kill him with no arguments such as the adventurers of the Mirg shield-nation or the religious fanatics who worshipped Alda.

For now, I should ask for the woman's name.

「You have tamed the Undead, haven't you? How did you do it? When did you receive the goddess's divine protection?」(Eleanora)

Before he could ask, he was asked a question. And the question asked was something that he'd never even thought about.

How did I tame the Undead, she says... I'm not really doing anything special; is it really something that you'd go out of your way to ask?

I haven't thrown special balls to capture weakened Undead, nor have I defeated them to have them stand up again and want to become my friends.

I made Bone Man and the others myself, and the Ghouls and the Undead Titans of Talosheim are under the effect of the [ Death-Attribute Charm. ] I had to negotiate with Borkus. I don't really feel the sense that I've tamed them.

I didn't think it would be that strange considering that there are Tamer Jobs in this world. Could it be the sheer number of Undead? From her perspective, it might seem like I've tamed over a thousand Undead, so maybe she wants to hear whatever secret or trick I'm using.

Unaware that it was common knowledge that taming the Undead was impossible, this was how Vandalieu interpreted her question.

And the goddess's divine protection... Ah, is she talking about the prophecy that Nuaza received?

「That's right, but even if you ask me how I did it... Well, in any case, I'm able to tame them. As for the divine protection... Are you talking about the prophecy?」(Vandalieu)

I asked a question in response, and even though she seems surprised, she also seems to understand. Even though gods exist, prophecies are probably rare.

I ended up asking her a question in response, but I'm relieved that she isn't bothered by it.

... Oh? I can feel her murderous intent returning a little.

「I see... Well then, I wonder if you know about the[Sword King]Borkus? Can you tell me where he is* right now?」(Eleanora)

I was lost in thought and missed my chance to ask her name. She's asking about Borkus this time. I don't know why she's interested in Borkus, but... maybe she wants to know how much military strength is present here?

「Borkus should be* in the audience chamber.」(Vandalieu)

「Should be...?* Has he turned into an Undead?」(Eleanora)

「Yes.」(Vandalieu)

TLN*: Same dialogue as last chapter, same TLN. In Japanese, ある/aru is used for inanimate objects while 居る/iru is used for people when saying something/someone is/be somewhere etc. Eleanora uses the former when asking the question, referring to Borkus's remains as an inanimate object, but is surprised when Vandalieu replies with the latter, implying that Borkus is a person.

Neither Borkus's location nor the fact that he had turned into an undead was something that needed to be hidden, so Vandalieu answered both questions. When he did, the woman seemed to ponder something.

The murderous intent coming from the woman has disappeared again, but I can still feel a response from [ Danger Sense: Death ] on the other side of the door. I should call Borkus and the others here just in case. I have to awaken my Undead insects, ask them to come to the room below and...

「Also... How did you repair the castle and the city? It should have been considerably damaged; did you make the Undead repair them?」(Eleanora)

And then the woman asked about the castle and the city. She might have been surprised after seeing the restored Talosheim that had previously been a ruin.

「No, I made Golems to repair them.」(Vandalieu)

Repairing things by making Golems is definitely extraordinary. Even now, it costs thousands of Mana to make a single Golem; sometimes even more than ten thousand. Even if it's theoretically possible, it's definitely impossible for ordinary alchemists to do in practice.

The [ Golem Transmuter ] Job was undiscovered, so only someone with over 100,000,000 Mana could possibly use such a method.

As Vandalieu had no proper knowledge regarding Golems, that was how he interpreted the woman's surprised reaction when he mentioned Golems.

And then the door behind the woman opened and several people stepped inside, led by an irritated-looking man.

Hmm, things have changed. For now, I'll turn the floor into a Golem.

The men who have entered aren't hiding their faces and don't have weapons drawn, though they are armed. They're shooting dangerous glares in this direction. Come to think of it, including the beautiful woman, all of them have crimson pupils.

「Oi, how much longer are you planning to take?」(Sercrent)

The man is saying something dangerous, that I should be disposed of since there's no further use for me. He's not even making an attempt to conceal his murderous intent and malice. Despite that, he seems fully concerned about the woman, not me.

Is the battle finally beginning? Vandalieu thought, but the woman began arguing with the man, still maintaining eye contact with Vandalieu.

「This child might be beneficial to us. It would be useful to ask him how he tamed the Undead and how he used Golems to repaired the ruins.」(Eleanora)

I'm happy that you acknowledge my value, but it'd be really helpful if you could try and stop the man. Still, saying things like this while looking into the eyes of the person you're referring to is quite questionable, isn't it?

「... Eleanora, have you gone insane? The mission we received was to kill that Dhampir. That takes priority, and everything else can come after we have accomplished that. Any secret knowledge or rare skills he might have are irrelevant.」(Sercrent)

This was the response the man gave. Vandalieu had finally learned the beautiful woman's name, but he had also heard something that he was far more concerned about.

Killing the Dhampir takes priority? Does that mean that these are believers of Alda? They're not spies from the Orbaume Kingdom? Was everything about the evil god a lie?

It seems like all of my guesses up until now have been wrong. But why is this man saying these things calmly right in front of me? He's either very confident in his own abilities or simply underestimating me.

Either way, it's unpleasant.

「Eleanora, you do it. If you don't, I will report to Birkyne-sama that you refused to kill the Dhampir.」(Sercrent)

「! You bastard...」(Eleanora)

And at the end of it all, Eleanora is being threatened to kill me. It seems that this Birkyne they mentioned is a really fearsome person.

But this Eleanora person hasn't broken eye contact with me during all this talking. Don't her eyes hurt? Mine sting a little.

While these thoughts ran through his mind, Vandalieu decided how he was going to deal with these people.

For now, I'll capture all of them alive.

I could question them after killing them, but if they were dispatched by the Orbaume Kingdom, I could use them in the future if I capture them alive.

Eleanora's murderous intent rose a third time. Did she intend to kill Vandalieu as she had been ordered to by Birkyne?

「Can you come here?」(Eleanora)

It seemed that she had steeled her resolve. She asked Vandalieu to move closer.

It can't be helped. I'll approach her, and at the timing at which she tries to kill me...

Vandalieu approached her while thinking this. He entered the range of a possible kick but Eleanora didn't move. Her murderous intent faded rapidly.

He approached close enough that he could reach out and touch her, but she still didn't move. He couldn't feel her murderous intent at all anymore.

Even consciously using the[Danger Sense: Death]that was always active, there was no response.

It seemed that she had either decided not to kill Vandalieu or become unable to. With this, she was no longer an enemy.

However, he could feel a remarkable response from the men behind her. Unlike the response he could feel from Eleanora, the response he felt from them was growing larger.

And it was pointed at not only Vandalieu, but at Eleanora as well.

A conflict within their organization? Well, unlike me, she's not in enough danger to be killed suddenly... Ah, this isn't good.

As Eleanora took Vandalieu's head in both hands and lifted him up, the men moved.

「Do it, you bastards! Dispose of the Dhampir and Eleanora as well! Just like we did to that piece of trash, Valen!」(Sercrent)

The proud-looking man shouted with bloodshot eyes, and his subordinates drew their swords to kill Vandalieu and Eleanora. Their movement was faster than he had expected based on the response he felt from[Danger Sense: Death], and he reacted a moment too late.

Using[Telekinesis], Vandalieu flew backwards together with Eleanora. The bed creaked and blood sprayed from her wounded back.

However, it seemed that the wound that almost reached her lungs wasn't enough to kill her. That was to be expected; she and the others were all Vampires, after all.

Having finally realized this, Vandalieu looked at the men, still being held in Eleanora's arms. They were shouting something, but he didn't care about that.

「What did you say just now?」(Vandalieu)

"That piece of trash, Valen." These men had called Vandalieu's father who had been killed before he was born, Darcia's husband, a piece of trash.

「The effect of the Charming Demon Eyes has been cut off! Kill him before he summons the Undead outside!」(Sercrent)

Sercrent drew his own sword as he spat orders at the Subordinate Vampires whose movements were slowed as if they were in awe of the Dhampir. He had no intention of exchanging words with Vandalieu, no matter what he said.

If Eleanora heals herself and becomes able to fight, I will not be able to defeat her. If the Dhampir summons his Undead, we will be overwhelmed by their numbers.

The two of them joining forces would be the worst possible turn of events.

They have to be killed now at all costs!

The Subordinate Vampires bared their fangs and rushed in to tear the two of them apart with their swords and claws.

「Drop.」(Vandalieu)

However, the floor disappeared from beneath their feet. The floor that Vandalieu had preemptively turned into a Golem changed shape with the[Golem Transmutation]skill, turning into a makeshift pitfall.

「A pitfall?!」(Vampire)

「Impossible!」(Vampire)

The Vampires and the bed fell down helplessly. Only the floor below the bedside table remained as it was, but the Vampires who had rushed in towards Vandalieu and Eleanora hadn't noticed that.

「Th-this is...?」(Eleanora)

On top of the bed that defied gravity to float downwards gently, Eleanora was astonished. Too many things had happened in a single instant; her mind wasn't processing all of this new information quickly enough.

As she blinked, seemingly unconcerned about the wound on her back, Vandalieu thought that she looked quite adorable with this expression now that her formidability was gone.

It would have been good to be able to say such cool-sounding words, but there was someone that he was more concerned about than her right now.

「Please wait a moment.」(Vandalieu)

He wasn't really concerned about Eleanora. She wasn't an enemy. She had appeared before him with murderous intent, but that murderous intent had vanished without Vandalieu having done anything to it. Even if she was one of his father's enemies, he would deal with that when it came.

Vandalieu turned his eyes towards Sercrent.

「Kuh, such impudent acts!」(Sercrent)

The Noble-born Vampire Sercrent who possessed the ability to fly had fallen for a moment, but now he had regained his stance and was floating lightly in the air.

There were none among the Subordinate Vampires foolish enough to land on their backs or heads. As to be expected of Vampires.

「Hurry up and kill them!」(Sercrent)

『Yeah, we'll do that.』(Borkus)

「?!」(Sercrent)

As Sercrent turned to look in the direction that this unfamiliar male voice had come from, he heard a slashing sound.

And then in the corner of his vision, he saw his own arm that was still holding his sword and his leg that had been severed above the knee flying away.

「Guh... GAAAAAAH! Y-you bastard!」(Sercrent)

The bald Titan who possessed only half a face with finely-chiseled features responsible for the[Sky Rend]attack laughed and said,『Don't scream so loudly.』

『Oops, my bad. Are we taking them alive?』(Borkus)

「Change of plans, Borkus. Please kill everyone except for this person. But I would be happy if you let me kill that one.」(Vandalieu)

『Yeah, roger that. Just when did you manage to charm such a pretty lady?』(Borkus)

「No, no, I'm the one who has been charmed.」(Vandalieu)

『Are you serious? At this rate, things will start to look bad if we don't find Zandia-jouchan soon.』(Borkus)

Seeing an Undead with extraordinary bloodthirst emanating from his entire body, Eleanora whispered in wonder.

「Th-the[Sword King]Borkus. It can't be, you tamed him?」(Eleanora)

The Titan hero who was said to have cut off the head of a Dragon in a single attack, defeated in the war two hundred years ago. And even now, he had simultaneously severed the arm and leg of Sercrent, a Noble-born Vampire.

It was impossible that such a powerful Undead could be tamed. The difficulty of taming a monster is proportional to the monster's Rank and intelligence. Borkus possessed strength exceeding that of lesser Dragons, and was intelligent enough to hold conversations. Even with the goddess's divine protection, the difficulty of taming such a being should be beyond comprehension.

However, there were many Vampires who, unlike Eleanora, didn't have the time to notice and be surprised by such facts.

「Sercrent-sama!」(Vampire)

「You bastards, keep the Undead busy! I will kill the Dhampir in the meantime!」(Sercrent)

『As you will!』(Vampires)

The ten or so remaining Subordinate Vampires faced Borkus while Sercrent turned to Vandalieu, who had slipped away from Eleanora's arms, and began reciting an incantation.

Though Subordinate Vampires were lesser beings among Vampires, their power posed a threat to humans. Even though they didn't possess magical abilities like Noble-born Vampires, they possessed immense physical strength, sharp reflexes, claws that could tear through iron and tremendous Vitality and regenerative abilities that prevented them from dying as long as they weren't decapitated or had their hearts destroyed.

And they also possessed the human-like trait of receiving bonuses to their skills from Jobs. Facing ten such Vampires was utter madness.

「GYAAAAAH!」(Vampire)

「A-a Dragon from the wall?! GAHAH!」(Vampire)

「S-Sercrent-sama! Please save - GUHEH!」(Vampire)

But such Vampires were trampled down without being able to resist in the slightest.

『GAAAAAAAAAAAAAH.』

『GYAOOOOOOOOOOOH!』

The one responsible for this wasn't Borkus, but the Undead dinosaurs that had been created from the dinosaur corpses Vandalieu had received on his third birthday.

There was a large banquet hall on the unoccupied floor beneath the cabinet minister's office. Vandalieu had already turned its walls into Golems.

That was why they had changed shape to form a corridor through which the Undead dinosaurs had charged in from the dining hall.

Apart from those who had been taken by surprise, the Subordinate Vampires attempted to deal with them, but Vandalieu had also turned the floor that they were standing on into a Golem.

As their legs were caught by the arms that had sprouted from the ground and their movements were stopped by holes that had suddenly appeared beneath them, the Undead dinosaurs pierced them with their teeth and horns.

They had the upper halves of their bodies shredded by the teeth of a Zombie Tyrannosaurus Rex, their heads smashed like ripe fruit by a direct hit from the tail of a Zombie Ankylosaurus and thrown around in the jaws of a Zombie in the shape of a mysterious one-eyed cat with scales.

Every time they attempted to counterattack, fists would extend towards them from the walls and floor to hinder them, and then they were overwhelmed by the Undead without being able to move properly.

Meanwhile, only three of the Subordinate Vampires faced Borkus as they had been ordered to.

『Here,[Single Flash.]』(Borkus)

With an unenthusiastic voice, Borkus swung his magic sword towards them and released the most basic of martial skills.

「You fool![Iron Wall!][Iron Body!]」(Vampire)

A Subordinate Vampire quickly readied the shield that was on his back and used Shield Technique and Armor Technique martial skills.

Both of them were skills increasing his physical and magical damage resistance that he had finally become able to use after his skills had reached level 5. There was no way that a sword swung with a technique such as[Single Flash]could touch even the Vampire's pinky finger through such a defense.

However, Borkus's magic sword cut through the Subordinate Vampire's shield, arm and entire body like a hot knife through butter.

『Come on, you have to survive at least one hit.』(Borkus)

The martial skill's power was proportional to the user's skill level. The level 5 Shield Technique and Armor Technique skills couldn't possibly stop the[Single Flash]of Borkus, whose skill had reached level 10 and granted him the superior version,[Sword King Technique.]

「Hyih, hyiiiiih!」(Vampire)

「Sercrent-sama, it is impossible for us! Please assist us!」(Vampire)

The last two finally understand the difference in our strength, but are they stupid? Borkus wondered as he swung his magic sword once more.

『Look out,[Triple Slash.]』(Borkus)

Borkus released three sideways slashes at high speed. They cut a Subordinate Vampire's neck, below the chest and the base of his legs. Blood scattered everywhere as his legs and head went rolling across the floor.

「Ah, AAAAAH!」(Vampire)

But the other one was saved by the fact that he's only had both legs cut off just above the knees. Well, I'll kill him soon as well anyway.

「W-wait! I surrender, I'll tell you anything! I'll tell you about Sercrent-sama, Gubamon-sama and even Birkyne-sama! So please spare me!」(Vampire)

『Sorry, but I've been told we don't need any prisoners.』(Borkus)

I've been told to kill everyone but that pretty lady, and I have to do what the boss says. Oh, I've grown up quite a bit, haven't I?

『And it's an old saying that you should kill Goblins no matter how pitiful they look.』(Borkus)

Saying an old proverb spoken amongst adventurers since old times, Borkus swung his sword three times. Scattering blood everywhere, the three small-fries had turned into masses of meat giving off a delicious smell.

『Well, you can blame yourself for becoming that kid's enemy.』(Borkus)

Borkus picked up one of the legs rolling around and began munching on it raw. Delicious. Subordinate Vampires taste better than they look.

I suppose I'll try their brains and organs next.

Ah, I should have at least brought some salt with me.

With fresh meat as a snack, Borkus watched the execution.

「Die, you damn Dhampir!」(Sercrent)

Shouting these words, Sercrent unleashed a lightning attack. The lightning that was writhing through the air like a snake was probably very powerful. There was no doubt that being grazed by it would stop Vandalieu's heart and taking a direct hit would turn him into ash.

However, it vanished upon coming into contact with the[Magic Absorption Barrier]surrounding Vandalieu's body.

「Wha -?! ... Very well, I will slaughter you personally with my claws!」(Sercrent)

Swinging his claws, Sercrent closed in on Vandalieu with the speed of a wild beast. His movements were unexpectedly sharp for someone missing an arm and a leg.

「I'll have your head![Iron Tear!]」(Sercrent)

Such wonderful speed. To Vandalieu, it appeared as if Sercrent had vanished in one moment and appeared in front of his eyes in the next.

However, the[Impact-Negating Barrier]and[Magic Absorption Barrier]had both been set up. After what had happened during the battle against Bugogan, Vandalieu had decided to make them extra-thick.

「What?! My Mana, my strength!」(Sercrent)

Sercrent felt as if the air had been replaced by a heavy, viscous substance. The moment he touched Vandalieu's barriers, his arm had stopped moving.

His arm should have been strong enough to destroy a castle's walls, but Sercrent felt an incredible amount of resistance from trying to move it just a single millimeter. It was as if it was submerged in an impossibly viscous liquid.

Sercrent thought that this was some kind of special defensive spell. And he understood how he could pierce through it.

「Fuhahaha! This simply means that I must attack with an attack powerful enough to overcome your spell!」(Sercrent)

Laughing loudly, he once again unleashed his high-level unarmed martial skill,[Iron Tear.]His arm began moving towards Vandalieu again, one centimeter at a time. He was less than thirty centimeters away now.

The moment my claws reach him, I will crush the Dhampir's fragile skull and scatter its contents across the floor as he dies a terrible death!

「You're right about that. But you can't do it.」(Vandalieu)

Sercrent had thought that the Dhampir's expression was empty due to despair, but the Dhampir said this proudly. Quite the bluff. Sercrent was inferior to Eleanora, but his Mana and martial skills were worthy of being called those of a Noble-born Vampire.

It will take some time, but even with one arm, breaking a barrier like this would be... One arm?

「Sercrent's arm and leg haven't regenerated?」(Eleanora)

Eleanora noticed that Sercrent's wounds were simply continuing to spill blood. With the regenerative ability of a Noble-born Vampire, the wounds should have stopped bleeding and begun to regenerate by now like the one in her own back, unless cut by a sword made of silver or a magic sword of the light attribute.

However, there were no signs of this occurring at all.

「I've used a spell called[Negate Healing]that nullifies self-healing abilities. It only works while I continue casting it, but it's enough to kill you.」(Vandalieu)

It took a moment for Eleanora and Sercrent to understand the flat-toned words that Vandalieu spoke.

「Ah... AAAAAAAGH!」(Sercrent)

The moment he finally understood what Vandalieu meant, Sercrent let out a shout that didn't quite sound like a scream or roar. He tried to break through Vandalieu's barrier at all costs.

Before he died from losing too much blood.

Vampires have incredible regenerative abilities. Noble-born Vampires in particular can lose limbs and regrow new ones, and after some time passes, the limbs return to normal.

That was why Eleanora and Sercrent never bothered learning healing spells. They didn't even carry Potions with them.

「UOOOOOOOH!」(Sercrent)

Sercrent attempted to use lightning and fire spells as a last-ditch effort to cauterize his wounds and stop his bleeding, but they faded away as they had their Mana absorbed by the[Magic Absorption Barrier.]

And the more he struggled, the more blood poured out of his open wounds.

「Uoh... oh...」(Sercrent)

Sercrent's movements grew remarkably weaker and his originally white skin became deathly pale.

「Y-you bastard, I... I am the... subordinate of... the Pure-breed... Vampire... Gubamon... who has received... the divine protection of the...[Evil God of Joyful Life], Hihiryushukaka... If you kill me... Hundreds of Vampires will... Even the Mirg shield-nation... is our puppet... They'll send their forces here! If you... don't want that to -」(Sercrent)

And then he started begging for his life. But it was partially true; Vandalieu seemed to think that his words had some merit to them.

He looked not at Sercrent, but at Eleanora behind him.

「What this guy is saying, is it true?」(Vandalieu)

On the other side of Vandalieu, Eleanora could see Sercrent's face tensing up.

「No. This man who killed your father is indeed the subordinate of a Pure-breed Vampire, who does have connections to the Mirg shield-nation. But they will not move for the sake of this man.」(Eleanora)

「You bastard, wagging your tail for a Dhampir -」(Sercrent)

「Your breath stinks.」(Vandalieu)

Vandalieu plunged both of his arms into the angry Sercrent's chest.

「Gagah?!」(Sercrent)

With[Spirit Form Transformation]applied to his arms, he moved them around inside and extracted his spirit while he was still alive.

「I've never met my father, so I can't say that I love him. I don't even know if I respect him. So even if you ridicule my father, even if you're the one who killed him, I can't hate you on his behalf.」(Vandalieu)

And I've learned the hard way on Earth and in Origin that blood relatives aren't always your allies.

And then Vandalieu began to tear the spirit that he had pulled out.

「GYAAAAAAAH! AAAAAAAGH!」(Sercrent)

「But my mother loved my father. And the fact that you have connections to the Mirg shield-nation means that you're not entirely unrelated to her death. I'm sure you were involved with the extermination force that was sent into the Devil's Nest forest, too. That's why I hate you bitterly. I'll never forgive you; I don't want to be liked by you. You make me sick. I'm not going to let you have another life.」(Vandalieu)

His spirit-form arms found a shining sphere, the size of a marble that he could pinch between his fingers.

And then he seized it.

「S-stop! Anything, anything but that!」(Sercrent)

This sphere was a soul. The core of a spirit, covered in spirit form. If compared to a cell, this was the part that would contain genetic information.

Sercrent understood this instinctively and pleaded with Vandalieu, but Vandalieu wasn't listening.

He crushed Sercrent's soul with all of his strength.

「GAAAAAAAAAH! GIHYAAAAAAAH! GYA -」(Sercrent)

With a cracking sound, it crumbled and fell to the floor.

The base fragments that made up Sercrent danced in the air like particles of light.

Sercrent, who had been screaming for his life, stopped moving at that moment. His heart was still beating and he was still breathing, and if there were machines available to perform electroencephalography, they would probably be able to detect brain waves.

However, Sercrent would never move again.

「What a nice sound... I've always wanted to do this.」(Vandalieu)

He had broken a soul. In manga and light novels, Vandalieu had occasionally seen spells or items that could『break』or『destroy』souls, but he had always wondered ever since his time in Origin whether it was really possible to do it.

Because in this world... and even on Earth or in Origin, there was no hell to punish the dead. It was impossible to imagine that Rodcorte, the god of the circle of transmigration, would make the effort to create one.

If the guys who have taken everything from me were to simply die, pass on and be reincarnated... It wouldn't be worth it.

But those who had their souls broken would have only oblivion awaiting them. Their souls would never find their way to Rodcorte. There would be no new start for them.

「But it takes a bit too long. It's not something I can do during a battle. I have to do it after immobilizing them or killing them first, I suppose.」(Vandalieu)

Vandalieu put Sercrent on the floor. He turned to see Borkus staring at him with his jaw dropped, half-eaten-Subordinate-Vampire-leg still in hand, and the petrified, wide-eyed Eleanora.

What are they so surprised about?

「Just now, what... did you do to him? You broke something of Sercrent's, what was it?」(Eleanora)

『I'm an Undead, and even I could see it. If my eyes aren't playing tricks on me, that was his soul. The kid went and broke that Vampire's soul. Haha, he really did it.』(Borkus)

「His soul...!」(Eleanora)

Eleanora's expression was one of dumbfounded awe, while Borkus gave a nervous laugh. Vandalieu consciously used the muscles in his cheeks that normally never moved to smile at them.

「Umm, I'll be the one questioning you now. Ah, you don't really have to praise Vida or anything.」(Vandalieu)

For some reason, the two of them remained petrified.

『You have acquired the[Soul Break]skill!』