Chapter 53 - 110-112

Chapter 110 — Eclipse King and Tentacle King

This chapter is updated by Novels.pl

Vandalieu suddenly realized that he was in a place that he didn't recognize.

"This is… ah, a dream."

Having experienced something similar on the night that he had undergone a Job-change to Demon Guider, Vandalieu realized that he was dreaming.

But he felt more unpleasant than he had in the previous dream. A sense of discomfort, as if he had accidentally trespassed into someone's house without realizing it.

"But it's a dream, after all… I wonder if someone else is going to come?"

He began looking to see if there was anything around in his field of vision, which somehow allowed him to see all of his surroundings without moving his neck. And then, suddenly, a voice called out to him.

"Hel… lo…"

Vandalieu lowered his field of vision to see the owner of the voice, who was below him and to the side. There was a single Scylla there.

No, looking more closely, it was something grotesque that resembled a Scylla.

Green hair and two arms, the upper body of a woman, a lower body that resembled that of an octopus. All of these were just like a Scylla's at a glance.

But when Vandalieu focused his eyes, he could see that all of these features were made of tentacles of different thicknesses, entwined around each other in bundles to form the shape of a Scylla.

It was like an elaborate straw doll, made out of fibers of flesh. It didn't look particularly impressive as it was around half of Vandalieu's size, but it was a little ghastly to look at up-close.

The first thing that Vandalieu did was apologize to this ominous-looking creature.

"I'm sorry about this," he said. "I'm still at an age where I'm not growing much taller, so I was searching above me without thinking."

Other than the children like Jadal and Varbie, Vandalieu was always surrounded by people who were taller than him. That was why he had the habit of looking up while looking around to see whether anyone was around.

"Not at all, do not concern yourself over such things… for it is I who summoned you here of my own accord. Please forgive me." The Scylla-like creature spoke in a neutral, flowing tone that was unimaginable given its grotesque appearance.

As for how it was speaking despite not having a mouth, the tentacles that formed the mouth-like area quivered in rhythm with the words spoken by its voice. It seemed that it was rubbing the tentacles together there in order to produce sound.

For a dream, the setting was quite detailed.

"My apologies, but could I ask who you are? And what important matter have I been summoned for?" Vandalieu asked.

Judging from the appearance of the creature, he could guess that it had some relation to the Scylla, but he still didn't know what it was so he maintained a polite tone. The Scylla-like creature's tentacles quivered as it answered.

"I am known as Merrebeveil. I felt an aberrant… abnormal presence among those who worship me. Wanting to ask who you might be, I summoned you here."

Merrebeveil was a name that Vandalieu remembered hearing before.

"Is that not the name of the heroic goddess worshipped by the Scylla race in their territory?"

Heroic gods were heroes who had become gods. Thus, they underwent transformations depending on later alterations to the religion or changes in history, but it was said that many of the statues and paintings depicting them resembled the appearance that they had when they were mortals.

But then, wasn't it likely that they would at least not look like masses of tentacles bound into the shape of a Scylla?

"That is a masquerade that I have kept up since before the founding of the Sauron Kingdom that preceded the Sauron Duchy," Merrebeveil said. "I was originally the Evil God of Slime and Tentacles of the Demon King's army. I once made a vow with the goddess Vida and became a parent to the Scylla."

The truth was that she had been an evil god of the Demon King's army who ruled over tentacles.

After being defeated a hundred thousand years ago in the battle between Vida and Alda, Merrebeveil and the Scylla of that time failed to escape beyond the Boundary Mountain Range. The Scylla separated into individual families and went their separate ways, but a sizeable number of them succeeded in settling into these lands that were filled with mountains and marshes.

Merrebeveil had originally been an evil god in a higher position than Fidirg, the Dragon God of Five Sins, so she had received less damage. And since she had believers in the Scylla race, her power recovered more quickly and she helped the Scylla survive, bestowing her divine blessing upon them and occasionally dispatching her Familiar Spirit.

But the number of people obeying Alda's will grew over time, and as they began to form nations, Merrebeveil's very existence became a heavy burden upon the Scylla.

As the Scylla worshipped an evil god, not only the believers of Alda, but the believers of other gods whose knowledge and history had been forgotten and even believers of Vida treated the Scylla as targets to be feared and persecuted.

"The people cannot distinguish between the evil gods who are remnants of the Demon King's army and the evil gods who are on Vida's side," said Merrebeveil. "Alda never intended to tell us apart to begin with, and Vida and the other prominent gods were still slumbering."

"But I do think that at least Vida's followers could understand," said Vandalieu.

"There were some who did, but there can be large differences between believers of Vida. Not all of them are descendants of those who fought in the battle that occurred one hundred thousand years ago; this was true then and it is still true now."

"… I suppose that is true."

Not all of Vida's followers knew the truth about the world's history. Vandalieu knew this, but now that he was hearing Merrebeveil retell the tragedy of the Scylla race, he understood just how troublesome this fact was.

"I did consider pretending to be defeated and going into slumber temporarily, but the Scylla who was the chief at the time suggested a clever idea," Merrebeveil continued.

As Merrebeveil was considering sacrificing herself so that the Scylla could escape persecution, the chief had suggested that they pretend that Merrebeveil was not an evil god.

As a result, Merrebeveil, the Evil God of Slime and Tentacles, falsely became Merrebeveil, the heroic goddess of the Scylla, and came to be worshipped this way.

That was apparently why her previous appearance of being a large mass of writhing tentacles had transformed into her current Scylla-like appearance.

Incidentally, falsely altering a religion might sound easy to do from a mortal's perspective, but this was quite a dangerous act for a god like Merrebeveil.

Small alterations would be like putting small piercings in the ears, but changing from an evil god to a heroic god would need the same amount of resolve as being anesthetized and undergoing plastic surgery to the entire body while also receiving surgery to the internal organs at the same time.

It was no different from asking a human to undergo a surgery to become a creature made entirely of tentacles.

Even if it succeeded, their divinity would change so their personality and biology would also change. And even this result would be considered a good one; it was also possible that they would fall apart and be extinguished with their fragments forming an entirely new god, as if they had been reincarnated. It was even possible that they would separate into two gods and become weaker.

The Scylla chief of the past had suggested this without knowing how dangerous it would be, but Merrebeveil, after long deliberation, decided that there was a chance to succeed and accepted this suggestion.

And just as she had hoped, she successfully disguised herself as a heroic goddess with only her appearance changing a little and going from being in a bigender state to being more female.

She seemed happy that she had chosen to disguise herself as the heroic goddess of the Scylla, her own children.

"I see. So that allowed you to decrease the persecution that the Scylla suffered from outsiders," said Vandalieu.

"Yes. So, who may you be?" Merrebeveil asked.

"Even if you ask me who I am… Is it not you who sent a Divine Message to Periveil-san that I would be coming?"

"I was merely passing on the Divine Message that Vida-sama sent to me… and now that I am meeting you directly like this, I can tell that you are indeed not normal."

"Normal… well, it isn't something that I should hide from a god, so I will tell you."

When did I become so important that a god would personally come and ask who I am? Is it because of the Demon King's fragments and my Mana pool that will reach one billion soon? Vandalieu wondered as he told Merrebeveil who he was, what he had done up until now and why he had come to the Scylla territory.

"Oh my… to think that these were the circumstances," Merrebeveil murmured.

For a hundred thousand years, Vida had been sending Divine Messages about Vandalieu to the gods who were her allies as well as her own followers, but Merrebeveil had never received any detailed information.

Merrebeveil, who had transformed from an evil god to a heroic goddess, was partially different from the being that Vida had known.

Though this was a very rough example, it was as if she had changed her address without telling anyone.

"I understand the situation. I, Merrebeveil, shall become your strength." Merrebeveil lowered her head so low that it looked as if she was crushing the lower half of her body.

"Please raise your head," said Vandalieu. "I am happy to receive your support, but I am a Dhampir. I am not someone worthy of being called 'onmi*' by a god."

TLN*: This is the polite pronoun for "you" that Merrebeveil has been using to refer to Vandalieu.

Fidirg, who had been sealed in the Scaled King's Nest, had met Vandalieu under unfortunate circumstances, but there should have been no reason for Merrebeveil to humble herself before Vandalieu.

Being treated like this despite that felt uncomfortable. But despite Vandalieu's words, Merrebeveil showed no signs of accepting them.

Unlike Rodcorte, many of Vida's allies who had once been a part of the Demon King's army were humble gods, like Fidirg.

Despite being a goddess, Merrebeveil had taken a smaller form than Vandalieu and treated him politely. Thinking that this was the case, his impression of Merrebeveil grew even more favorable.

"More importantly, there are things that I would certainly like you to accept," said Merrebeveil. "Because I had these, I was forced to restrict my power more than usual, but I am sure that you can make full use of them."

Her body divided smoothly, revealing two black lumps that had been buried in the bundles of tentacles.

"Are those fragments of the Demon King?" Vandalieu asked.

"Yes," said Merrebeveil. "These fragments are different to me in nature, so I was unable to seal both of them at once. There were originally three, but the other was caught up in the confusion during the battle of a hundred thousand years ago, and someone stole it. I would like to leave these two fragments with you."

The Demon King's fragments could often be used as powerful weapons, but for Merrebeveil, they were nothing but burdens.

If they were misused and went out of control, it was possible that they could cause the events leading to the Demon King's resurrection. That was why she had been devoted in keeping them sealed.

"As a small price for doing this for me, I shall grant you the divine protection and Title that I can…" Merrebeveil let out a small noise of frustration. "It seems that a divine protection will be impossible."

"Ah, Fidirg said it was impossible, too. I will ask you again when you make a full recovery," said Vandalieu.

"Then a Title, at least… you shall become a king to all who possess tentacles, the Tentacle King."

"… There is a similar Title that is read the same way but with a different meaning, you know?"

TLN*: Tentacle King is 触王/shoku-ou. I am fairly certain that the other Title that Vandalieu is referring to is 色王, which is also read "shoku-ou." It roughly translates to "erotic/lewd king."

『You have acquired the 'Tentacle King' Title! 』

『The level of the Abyss skill has increased!』

Vandalieu was surprised that he could hear the announcer in his head even inside a dream, and also felt slightly anxious. What will I tell everyone in Talosheim if they start growing tentacles?

But why had the Abyss skill's level increased?

"But merely giving you a Title is… Shall I have some of my children serve you?" asked Merrebeveil.

"No, you do not have to go so far," said Vandalieu.

"But with this, what I have given you does not match the burden that I have made you bear."

For Merrebeveil, the Demon King's fragments weren't even weapons; they were equivalent to dangerous chemical pollutants. Since she was having Vandalieu accept them, even if he didn't consider them to be burdens, it was logical for her to provide a befitting reward. That was what she seemed to think.

"Then please give Orbia, Privel, Periveil-san and everyone else the divine protection that was supposed to be for me," said Vandalieu. "Also, please tell all of the Scylla that they should become my allies."

"I have already bestowed my divine protection upon Periveil, but as you will," said Merrebeveil.

"Thank you very much." The moment Vandalieu finished speaking these words, his consciousness blacked out.

Merrebeveil's body collapsed like that of an octopus or squid that had used up all of its strength.

"… He managed to return. Though I requested something of him and I am very grateful for it… I do not wish to meet him in my Divine Realm ever again."

The truth was, Merrebeveil had lied to Vandalieu.

She had told Vandalieu that she had 'summoned' him, but the reality was different. The moment she tried to interfere with Vandalieu's consciousness, he had 'appeared' in her own Divine Realm.

In fact, Merrebeveil hadn't deliberately taken a form that was smaller than the embodiment of Vandalieu's mind. Her original body had simply been smaller than Vandalieu's mind.

She had shuddered before the enormous, grotesque being that had suddenly appeared and was late in calling out to him.

"Leaving aside how grotesque and enormous his mind was, his trespassing into my Divine Realm was the power of the Abyss skill. I intended to look into him, but I was looked into instead."

Merrebeveil knew of several beings with powers similar to the Abyss skill that had existed in the world that she had originally been in before she became a part of the Demon King's army. These beings had been the first to be obliterated by the Demon King Guduranis.

These were those who possessed the only power in that world that the Demon King could not obtain.

Though Vandalieu possessed a power that even the Demon King did not, even with Merrebeveil 'looking' into him, it should have been impossible for him to step into her Divine Realm.

This had only happened because Merrebeveil had tried to touch Vandalieu's mind, only to have him follow her instead.

"Now that I think about it, it makes sense that he was looking up to begin with. One who is seated in the depths would need to look up in order to see those in the shallows. O gracious Vida. You bless us with constant good fortune. I pray for prosperity for me and my children."

He would be able to crush even the evil schemes of the traitors, Merrebeveil thought. With high expectations of Vandalieu, she gave thanks for how fortunate she had been to be able to form bonds of friendship with him.

Having woken up to find himself on the verge of being suffocated due to Pauvina turning in her sleep, Vandalieu succeeded in using Spirit Form Transformation on his entire body to escape from beneath her.

He quickly produced threads from his mouth, made clothes and changed into them. And then he decided to inspect the Demon King's fragments that he had received from Merrebeveil.

Judging from their names, he had decided that there would be no danger in testing them inside the room.

"… Demon King's suckers, activate."

Suction cups like those of a frog appeared on Vandalieu's fingertips.

When he pressed his fingertips against the wall of the hut, they attached themselves firmly to its surface.

"Ooh."

With the suction cups sticking to the wall, he tried climbing it. The suction cups could attach and detach themselves freely, so he was able to crawl across the walls and ceilings as he wished.

With this fragment of the Demon King, it would be easier to crawl across the ceilings of Dungeons.

And then he continued to the second fragment.

"Demon King's ink sacs, activate."

Ink came out of Vandalieu's fingertips. He made an improvised container made of earth and coated in mucus produced by his tongue, gathered the ink in there and then inspected it.

He could control its properties freely; he could make it thick like squid ink or silky like octopus ink. And it seemed that he could even change its color at will.

It did not have any particular smell of the sea, so it seemed that it could be used to make ink and paint. It was possible that it would even be good for dyes used to dye cloths.

"But one small touch is needed to make these useful in battle," Vandalieu murmured.

The fragments were suction cups and ink sacs, after all. Unlike the Demon King's horns and blood, they did not have properties that would allow them to become weapons immediately upon activation.

Should he imitate the way that frogs, octopuses and squids used them?

No.

"Using the abilities of living things in technology… this is biomimetics, I suppose."

"Ah, Your Majesty, you are becoming even less like a person… but I have the feeling that not much has changed," said Princess Levia.

As she said, Vandalieu had long been able to crawl around walls and ceilings and produce all kinds of medicines, including vitamin pills, from his tongue, claws and fangs. Perhaps suction cups and ink sacs were small additions to these.

"Not much has changed, you say…" Orbia seemed shocked by Princess Levia��s reaction.

"What's wrong~?" Pauvina asked, rubbing her eyes as she sat up in her bed.

"Vandalieu-kun is crawling around with suction cups on his fingers, and producing ink from his fingertips," said Orbia.

"Is that all?"

"Th-that's all, but…"

"Then I'm going to sleep for a little longer~."

Pauvina collapsed onto her bed and went back to sleep.

After listening to her quiet breathing for a while, Orbia turned to Vandalieu, half-smiling.

"Vandalieu-kun, wouldn't you rather become a Scylla?" she asked.

"No, that's impossible, since I'm a male."

Incidentally, Scylla were also capable of producing ink.

『The level of the Demon King Fusion skill has increased!』

The extermination force led by Mardock, who had begun moving at sunrise, reached their objective before long.

They had discovered the fortress that the female Majin Undead-user was likely inside.

"These are… fortress walls? There's no way fortress walls could be built in such a high mountain…"

"Look at reality! There is actually a fortress wall built here, isn't there!"

Just when had these fortress walls, which were as tall as the trees of the forest, been built in this mountainous region? What about the materials? And how had nobody noticed the flat ground that supported the fortress walls?

There were endless questions that could be asked, but Mardock understood the reality that enemy forces had built a fortress inside the Scylla territory.

"Retreat, retreat, quickly!" he ordered his trembling subordinates.

Mardock had thought that if the female Majin's hideout was a small one, he would be able to exterminate everyone inside, but even though the extermination force that he led was made of elite individuals, it was not a wise idea to attack the fortress and grounds protected by walls of this size.

He wasn't foolish enough to have convenient delusions that only the walls were sturdy and there would be no proper soldiers defending them.

He would return to the fort, report this to his superiors in the army and gather information carefully. Attacking would come after that.

However, there was something that Mardock and his companions hadn't realized. They had already been discovered by the fortress walls and the trees standing around them.

Knochen roared and Eisen creaked as they attacked, as if refusing to let Mardock and his men get away.

The Immortal Ents that had appeared to be normal trees up until now began moving, and the fortress wall burst into pieces, the scattered bones turning into countless Skeletons.

"The fortress walls turned into Skeletons?! And there are tree monsters around us?! When did this place turn into a Devil's Nest?!"

"They're just Skeletons; no matter how many of them – GAH?!"

Receiving direct hits from the poison breath that Knochen released along with its roars, these supposedly elite men began coughing violently, clutching their chests. And then Bone Animals, which were Skeletons of four-legged beasts, flooded in to pin them down.

The men were being treated so roughly that it seemed the Undead didn't care as long as they didn't die.

"Retreat! Retreat! Get the captain free!"

The members of the unit immediately tried to help Mardock escape, but Mardock gave other orders. "You moron! Don't worry about me! Everyone but the rear guard, spread out and run! At least deliver the information! This is an order!" He drew his sword and joined his subordinates that were fighting as part of the rear guard.

Mardock and his extermination force had already been swallowed whole by the huge flood of fast, poison-breathing Skeletons. If he didn't make sacrifices and allow his subordinates to escape, they would be wiped out without managing to bring any information back to the army.

Having received this order, his subordinates at the back that were still alive began running. However, they came back less than five seconds later.

They had been sent flying back, their limbs and torsos twisting in directions they weren't supposed to.

"They'd already gone around us!" Mardock groaned in regret as he turned around to see his subordinates convulsing on the ground.

"That is correct," said a voice.

The owner of this voice was Bellmond, who had calmly flown around behind the extermination force.

"Good grief," she sighed. "My metal threads would sever your limbs, so I tried to capture you alive using the tail that I have been given. Perhaps because Danna-sama is too skilled, or perhaps because you are all too frail, this is not going very well. And it is difficult to use the Petrifying Demon Eye on targets that are moving around restlessly."

"W-what did you say?! You filthy Beast-person!" One of the unit's members charged at Bellmond in rage.

"Don���t!" Mardock shouted, but it was too late.

Bellmond's tail appeared to vanish, and in the next instant, Mardock's subordinate made a sound that no human body should make as he was sent flying.

From the glimpse of his body that Mardock caught, he could imagine that he had been killed instantaneously from his organs rupturing and his bones crumbling to pieces.

"I am sincerely sorry," said Bellmond. "It is all due to my shortcomings that I have failed to capture everyone alive. I apologize for causing you discomfort." And then she gave Mardock a deep bow.

"You monster!" Mardock ignored Bellmond's apology, struck down a Skeleton that tried to grab him and then looked around to see if there was any way of escaping the circle of Undead.

"Be careful! There's one Skeleton that's way stronger than the others!" one of Mardock's subordinates shouted in warning.

"Be careful of the Skeleton with the armor and the shield!" said another.

"Jyuuh, it seems that I am hidden when I cooperate with Knochen," said Bone Man.

Mardock's subordinates were doing well in keeping the Skeletons back, but Bone Man was among them, cutting down Mardock's men down one after another with martial skills.

"Capture alive~♪"

The Undead Hydra that had been reported, Yamata, sang as she strangled Mardock's subordinates to death with her long necks.

"Holding… back… Punch!" the female Majin groaned as she crushed the men's skulls.

"Everyone, do you know what 'capturing alive' and 'holding back' mean?" Saria asked.

"It can't be helped, Nee-san," said Rita. "It's been a long time since we've fought humans."

These two, who had relatively normal appearances compared to the others, used their enormous halberd and glaive to slice straight through the shields of the men using Iron Wall and into their bodies.

"GUAAAAAAH! MY AAAAARMS!"

"HYIIIH, MY LEGS, MY LEEEEEGS!"

Mardock's subordinates were alive, but they were on the ground screaming, having lost at least two limbs each. In a way, this was crueler than being killed instantly.

"These things… could it be that they really do intend to capture us alive?!" Mardock exclaimed.

Things hadn't come to a conclusion yet, but even Mardock had noticed that the words "capture alive" had been spoken numerous times. However, he and his men felt no desire to surrender. Given the horrific scene before their eyes, they found it impossible to imagine that they would be treated decently at all. In fact, it seemed more likely that the monsters would change their minds after capturing them and just kill them anyway.

Perhaps it was best to commit suicide? This thought occurred to Mardock as well, but miraculously, he found a place where the Undead encirclement was thinner.

"Super Instant Response! Get out of my way!"

Using Surpass Limits and an Armor Technique martial skill, Mardock ran through the gaps between the Skeletons and slashed at the creaking Plant-type monsters in his way.

"Rupture!"

He used a Swordsmanship skill, and though his mind couldn't fully endure this and his head began hurting, he ignored the pain as his sword buried itself deep into Eisen's trunk.

As Eisen's red sap sprayed into the air, Mardock's lips twisted in a smile at having been able to strike back. Knowing that he had to keep running through, he tried to escape without stopping his feet.

With more creaking noises, Eisen's trunk, which had been cut by Mardock's slashing attack, split as if bursting. A sap-covered arm stretched out from within the trunk and sank into Mardock's side.

"GAH?!"

Mardock failed to withstand this attack and rolled across the ground with several of his ribs broken. He raised his face to see a woman crawling out from within the trunk that he had split open.

A woman with green skin, branches growing from her back and, for some reason, a cow's tail.

"W-what is this? What the hell are you things?!" Mardock screamed, still lying on the ground. It seemed that he had reached the limit of what his mind could endure.

The woman that had emerged from within Eisen plucked one of the fruits that was growing on the branches on her back.

"E… eat…" she groaned.

And then the fruit, which was harder than iron, came crashing down onto Mardock.

"It has become quiet, now, hasn't it?" Sam remarked. "I suppose everyone will return soon."

"Y-yes."

"Fear not, there is nothing to worry about. Even if the enemy are elite individuals, there is no chance that we will be defeated by a single unit of them. More importantly, would you like some more tea?"

"Please! Please allow us to drink it!"

"Like I said, there is nothing to worry about, is there?" Sam laughed. "Such worrisome people you are."

While all of this was going on, Haj and his companions were sitting inside Knochen's bone mansion, listening to the sounds of battle and screams of agony coming from outside. And they were cowering before Sam, whose eyes were completely crimson including what should have been the whites of his eyes, as he calmly offered them tea.

Haj and his companions simply would not calm themselves. It would be some time before the troubled Sam realized that his efforts were in vain.

Title explanation:

[Tentacle King]

A Title that is bestowed by an evil god of tentacles such as Merrebeveil, the Evil God of Slime and Tentacles. It can also be acquired by those with tentacles who have been acknowledged as worthy of being a king (or queen), and those who are served by many races of people or monsters that possess tentacles.

Historically, this Title has mostly been possessed by those who possessed tentacles themselves. The known exceptions are a legendary tamer who tamed a Kraken, and the first king of the Sauron Kingdom.

It has the specific effect of providing an ability to display charismatic qualities to races of monsters and people who possess tentacles. It allows such races to become followers (requires the Strengthen Followers skill). It also strengthens the Title holder's tentacles, and enhances skill bonuses and effects when they are used.

Incidentally, the world that the Demon King Guduranis had originally come from was a world where intelligent life-forms with tentacles thrived. Because of this, there had been numerous gods of tentacles.

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Chapter 111: Let's look at each other's eyes and talk

"We thank you for making preparations for this meeting despite the short warning, Periveil-dono," said a man as he politely bowed his head.

This man was not a messenger from the resistance, but the leader of the Reborn Sauron Duchy Army, Raymond Paris, who had come here with a company of messengers.

He had a well-featured face that seemed natural for a man who was the illegitimate son of Duke Sauron who had fallen in battle, and most importantly, there was an air of elegance about him.

On previous occasions, there had been no small number of young Scylla who had blushed upon seeing him, having been captivated.

"It's no great matter; it's a time of rest for farmers as we have finished harvesting our rice, and a season where we don't do any hunting. There is still some time before the festival of Vida and Merrebeveil. Everyone is surprisingly unoccupied. However, the fact that the leader is here means that this is no trivial matter," said Periveil. She had sensed that this young human was no ordinary person.

Raymond possessed a captivating charisma, the special dignity of one who stood above others that made Periveil and the other Scylla want to agree with everything he said, though it wasn't as strong as Vandalieu's.

Raymond might be able to accomplish something. He possessed something that made others believe that.

"Indeed, I don't mean to frighten you, but let us quickly get to the matter at hand… but before that, just who are they?" Raymond asked with a confused expression.

He was looking at Pauvina, who was sitting next to Privel, and Vandalieu, who was sitting in front of Pauvina.

The people present here were the most prominent Scylla in the village, including Periveil, their husbands, Raymond and two other members of the Reborn Sauron Duchy Army.

And then there was Privel, Pauvina and Vandalieu. Naturally, the three of them were out of place… or rather, Pauvina stood out tremendously.

Despite that, the Scylla were focused not on Pauvina, but on Vandalieu, who, in Raymond's eyes, appeared to be an exquisite doll of undeterminable gender.

Raymond felt a curious atmosphere about them and a strange sense of discomfort, but Periveil gestured to them with her hand as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

"Come to think of it, this is the first time you've met," said Periveil. "This child is Privel. She's my youngest daughter."

"My name is Privel. Nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is mine," Raymond said as his gaze shifted upwards from Vandalieu to Privel. "And what about the one next to her, this -" He faltered as he wondered how he should refer to the enormous Pauvina.

Considering her size, even if she was a Titan, she should have been an adult. But considering her face and the size proportions of her head and body, she appeared to be a girl of around ten years of age.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Pauvina. I am Van's younger sister."

"My name is Vandalieu. I am Pauvina's older brother."

"I-I see. Nice to meet you."

Raymond was unsettled from how disproportionately young Pauvina's voice sounded for her size, and the fact that Vandalieu, whom he had overlooked for the previously-mentioned reasons, had spoken at all.

However, even after the pleasantries had been exchanged, the mystery as to what children were doing here had not been solved.

"Vandalieu-kun here is still small, but he is a Spiritualist, you see, and he's helping us investigate the murder cases," said Periveil, giving an explanation that cleared this mystery completely.

"That is… amazing," said Raymond. "These incidents are weighing on my mind as well, but having the assistance of a Spiritualist is reassuring. And for you to possess a Job as rare as the Spiritualist Job at such an age, you must be quite the genius. I am quite envious."

The Spiritualist Job was said to require talent from birth in order to acquire, and it was very powerful for use in solving murder cases. There was nothing unnatural about someone with such a Job being present here, even if he was a child.

But Raymond continued to say, "However, there are very, very few who have the ability to acquire the Spiritualist Job. I do not think that you would lie, but I cannot believe you right away."

"I think that is reasonable," said Vandalieu.

He had only ever met a real Spiritualist. But he did indeed imagine that there were nefarious imposters who swindled people by lying that they were Spiritualists who could see spirits.

And given Vandalieu's appearance, even with Periveil's introduction, Raymond couldn't be blamed for not being able to believe that he was a Spiritualist right away.

"Now then, I will show you proof that I am a Spiritualist," said Vandalieu.

"Will you be showing us your Guild Card?" Raymond asked. "I do not think that there would be any branches that would issue them in this territory -"

"No, more concrete proof than that," Vandalieu replied. "Visualization."

And then, in front of Vandalieu… or rather, by his side, Orbia's spirit appeared.

"A Ghost?!"

"Leader, please step back!"

Raymond's subordinates leapt to their feet at the sight of Orbia's now-visible spirit, but Raymond held up a hand.

"Calm yourselves," he said, and then he turned to Orbia. "Are you a spirit of one of the victims?"

"It's my first time speaking like this," said Orbia. "Leader-san. I'm Orbia, and I was killed eleven days ago today."

"Nice to meet you… it is rather strange to say that, I suppose," said Raymond. "To think that the Spiritualist Job can show spirits to others using a skill… no, is it a spell? In any case, I am surprised that such a method exists."

"I was surprised, too," said Orbia. "So… has there been anything out of the ordinary lately? Like someone from the resistance being attacked or contact being cut off from them…"

"… No, I haven't really heard any reports of that sort. Does this have something to do with the incidents?" Raymond asked.

"Yeah, but if there hasn't been anything, then it's fine."

Orbia seemed relieved, but Raymond had suddenly turned pale. He remained calm on the surface, but Orbia's question had clearly unsettled him.

"Orbia-san doesn't remember anything about when she died other than the fact that the present she received from her lover was missing, so she doesn't know what the criminal looks like," said Privel. "That's why we've decided that Van-kun should come with us to the other villages to find the spirits of the other victims."

"That's why this case will be solved soon," Periveil added. "I'm sorry to have caused concern for you people who have come from outside."

"That is reassuring to hear. As fellow believers of Vida, I wish for this case to be solved as quickly as possible," said Raymond. "Now then, our business is -"

As the leader of the Reborn Sauron Duchy Army, he began persuading Periveil and the other Scylla to refuse the peace plan offered by the Empire's army.

The Amid Empire, with Alda being its national god, would definitely not leave the Scylla race alone; it would certainly betray the Scylla one day. The Scylla should form an alliance with the resistance while they still had the chance, join up with the Orbaume Kingdom and fight the Empire's army together. Raymond was capable of doing this.

Raymond's argument had some persuasiveness to it. This was not only due to his charisma, but because of his confidence in knowing that he was actually in contact with people in the Orbaume Kingdom who were helping him.

There were a few holes in his speech, but this was likely because he had intended to blame the Empire for the Scylla serial-killing case.

"I understand what you want to say. But these are things that involve everyone in our territory. I'm sorry, but this isn't something that I can decide on my own," said Periveil, avoiding giving an immediate reply.

"Of course. But I have heard that the chiefs of all of the villages will be gathering for the winter birth festival. If you could discuss our proposal at that time, it would be more than enough," said Raymond before withdrawing on this matter.

It was likely that he planned to visit the other villages to persuade the other chiefs in the same way before the winter birth festival came.

It's similar to an election campaign, Vandalieu thought.

"Now then, excuse me. I thank you for making time for us today." Raymond left the room courteously, politely declining Periveil's offer of a meal.

The Ghosts stationed outside watched Raymond and his men leave the village.

Meanwhile, Vandalieu and the others gathered in the center of the room and began discussing things.

"Aren't Raymond and his men innocent after all?" Periveil.

"Yeah, I tried to lead him into saying that the present was a ring, but he didn't fall for it," said Privel. "I suppose he really doesn't know?"

"But Raymond-san was definitely unsettled!" said Princess Levia.

"He was? You're quite perceptive, aren't you, Princess Levia?" Vandalieu remarked.

"Van, you have to look at people's faces properly," said Pauvina.

"He was definitely unsettled, but I'm sure that's because of me," said Orbia. "I mean, I'm a spirit, so I'm sure he was scared. Yes, that must be it."

"That's definitely not it," everyone said in unison.

"You didn't have to all say it together!" Orbia said indignantly.

It was possible that the criminal was a member of the resistance. Vandalieu had already mentioned this to Privel, Orbia and the others.

The Scylla had known Raymond and the Reborn Sauron Duchy Army for over a year. Normally, they wouldn't believe that the criminal would be among them right away, but…

"I had a dream with a Divine Message from Merrebeveil last night. It was surprising, but it seems that we should believe Vandalieu-kun?" Periveil had said.

"Me too! I got some kind of protection like you, Mother, and apparently I should stick to Van-kun in return!"

"Me too, me too! I got a divine protection and I seem to have been told to not return to the circle of transmigration. Even spirits can receive divine protections, huh?"

"Thank you, Merrebeveil," Vandalieu murmured.

It seemed that Merrebeveil had made immediate efforts. Now that she didn't need to suppress the Demon King's fragments, she had been able to use some of her powers.

As a result of Vandalieu acquiring the Tentacle King Title, the other Scylla could also feel an impressive presence and charisma (though they had already felt these to some extent before because of the 'Holy Son of Vida' Title and the Insect User Job), so they had become unable to completely deny his words.

But it wasn't as if they had been brainwashed, nor had their previous memories disappeared. Seeing the way Raymond carried himself and hearing his words directly made it seem impossible to believe that he was involved in such a fiendish murder case.

In fact, Raymond hadn't let anything slip with the trap that Privel had set in her words.

It was typical for the criminal to accidentally let something slip in mystery works.

"But he knows something about the incidents," said Vandalieu.

"Have you noticed something, Your Majesty?!" Princess Levia said in shock.

"Van, are you feeling alright?!" asked Pauvina.

"… You don't have to be so surprised," said Vandalieu. "First, Raymond didn't mention a single word about the incidents during his speech. It's a significant case, so if he believed that the criminal wasn't among his men, it would have been fine to mention it, even if we have already come up with ways to solve it. Also, I felt his intent to kill me."

Danger Sense: Death, which detected any risk of dying, was constantly active. Even while Vandalieu was listening to a hollow-sounding speech.

Life is full of the unexpected, thought the 'Liberating Princess Knight' Iris Bearheart, the leader of the Sauron Liberation Front.

"Get back, you bastards! Or you will never have this body!" she shouted.

It was unexpected enough that someone who was merely the eldest daughter of a humble family of knights would be known by an outrageous Title like 'Princess Knight,' but she would never have expected that she would end up making a threat like this.

"Damn you, making such a foolish threat!"

"Don't provoke her, you idiot! What'll you do if something really happens to her body?!"

"Please calm down, Princess Knight-san. Let's talk; at this rate, you won't be able to save any of your subordinates, either."

Iris was holding a teaspoon-sized knife to her own throat. She was surrounded by over a dozen retreating, flustered people dressed entirely in black. Iris's companions were lying at their feet, covered in blood. There were two unmoving ones that had been burnt completely black, with white smoke rising from them.

Yesterday, Iris and her men had prevented an illegal slave trader from exporting his illegal slaves out of the country, and sheltered the enslaved people at their base to allow them to rest.

And then they had been attacked by these people who were covered in black clothing. These people had broken through the guards with force, and several of them had flown in from the sky.

At first, everyone thought that these were the companions of the slave trader that had been killed yesterday, or assassins sent by a criminal organization that the merchant had been doing business with.

But they had ignored the former slaves that Iris had immediately helped escape, and even after defeating Debis, the one who had personally killed the slave merchant, they showed no signs of wanting to finish him off.

And although they possessed the skill to defeat Iris's companions one after another, their movements strangely became worse as they faced Iris.

Debis had then seen an opportunity and slashed at one of black figures, who began screaming as he was burned by the sunlight streaming in through the wooden door that they had broken. And then Iris had intuitively realized: These were Vampires, and they were after her body.

"Let's see, at this rate, you people will be taking a few charred remains back to your master, incurring his wrath, and then he will purge the lot of you, I suppose? Do you know what effect this Chastity Protector has?" Iris asked them.

The blade that was barely large enough to even be called a dagger, the one Iris was pressing against her own neck, was a Magic Item known as a Chastity Protector.

It was a Magic Item specially made for committing suicide, designed for women of noble social status. It activated when its owner thrust it willingly into her own neck or chest, turning them into a living torch and then into a pile of charred remains within a matter of seconds.

It was a Magic Item that was thoroughly specialized for suicide, preventing the owner from being violated by enemies, whether the owner was alive or dead.

These days, they were mostly uncommon antiques, but this was something that had been passed on in Iris's family from her great grandmother's generation.

"Don't be so full of yourself," said one of the Vampires. "If anything, we could sever your head with a single blow, gather your blood in a jar and then deliver that to our master."

"Hoh, so your master wouldn't mind if he only received blood to add to his collection?" Iris asked.

"You… how do you know about Gubamon-sama?"

"Though we call ourselves the resistance, we're nothing more than a criminal organization to the current government. Thanks to that, I've had more opportunities to listen to stories told by our bad allies."

Vampires were those who haunted the darkness in the absolute depths of the underworld, but it was impossible for them to continue hiding their existence perfectly.

Rumors of the Pure-breed Vampires who worshipped the infamous Hihiryushukaka, the Evil God of Joyful Life, were particularly well-known among those who kept up with matters in the underworld.

"What will you do, filthy Vampires?" Iris asked. "I am completely serious; I would much rather end my own life than be turned into an Undead. Even Alda, who forbids suicide, would forgive this foolish former believer of his."

Realizing that Iris was serious, the lips of the Vampires twisted in frustration beneath the black masks they were wearing to protect themselves from the sunlight.

Gubamon, who had become mad with paranoia, had ordered his subordinates to carry out difficult tasks in order to turn as many of them into Undead as possible without allowing them to escape.

These difficult tasks were to capture well-known adventurers, knights, clergymen, royals and noblemen whose whereabouts were known.

Gubamon, who was a user of space-attribute magic, had gathered his subordinates, named their targets and forcibly dispatched them through teleportation. And then he had ordered them to be ready and waiting before a certain time at the places he had sent them, along with their captured targets.

Fear of Gubamon had been instilled into these Vampires; they could not choose to run. If he had simply gone on a rampage, they might have done so. But as Gubamon ordered these difficult tasks on them, he had seemed as if he had returned to a previous, relatively more mentally stable version of himself.

Even if they were to run away, others would be sent after them through space-attribute magic; the only way to obey was to fulfil his commands. Many of Gubamon's subordinates had convinced themselves of this. But the reality was that Gubamon had already decreased their numbers rapidly with his own hands, and they would be killed even if they managed to carry out his orders.

Sending Subordinate Vampires and Noble-born Vampires in mixed groups of around a dozen individuals made it difficult for them to discuss escaping, which forced them to take the chance and hope that they would survive if they completed the tasks that they had been commanded to do. And if things went well, Gubamon's collection would grow as well.

If they returned disgracefully after failing their tasks, he would turn them into Undead on the spot. If they died, he wouldn't feel any sense of loss over such fools

It was an extremely reckless plan full of flaws that only a madman could come up with.

These Vampires who were being made to dance in that plan did indeed possess the knowledge for fighting humans. They were no strangers to kidnapping. However, they were not skillful enough to capture the leader of a well-known organization alive without causing her significant injury.

And while they were fumbling and failing to hold their strength back the correct amount, Iris had seen what they were after.

Suppressing the bitter feelings of having to yield to the threats of a mere human, the temporary leader of these Vampires spoke. "Very well," he said. "We shall spare the lives of your companions."

And then he began casting healing magic on Iris's allies.

"Oi, are you serious, Matthew?!"

"Stop complaining and give them Potions and whatever to help them out. We just need to heal them to the point where they won't die. Amber, you stop the bleeding of the woman beneath your feet."

Reluctantly, the Vampires used the Potions that they had planned to use to heal Iris's injuries after capturing her on her subordinates instead, and cast healing spells on them.

"Ugh, Ojou… You can't… Please run…" groaned the barely-conscious Debis.

"I can't do that," Iris said without even looking at him. "Tell everyone to carry out what needs to be done in the event of my death."

The reason Iris carried the Chastity Protector with her was so that she wouldn't leave behind a dead body and one of her allies could replace her as the Princess Knight after her death.

She had been nothing more than a daughter of one of many families of knights when the Sauron Duchy was prospering, and even during her missions for the resistance, she wore a mask. There were few who knew her face.

Nobody would notice if the person behind the resistance's symbol, the Liberating Princess Knight, were to change.

"With this, your companions will not die, for now," said the Vampire leader. "The rest is up to you."

"Very well," said Iris. "But first, I suppose I'll have you walk out of the base with me. And then I shall hand myself and the Chastity Protector into your custody."

The Vampire clicked his tongue. "Stop dragging things on. Do you think that we won't change our minds?"

"The same goes for you," said Iris. "I can't have you finishing my companions off along the way to repay me for this, you see."

"… Very well," said the Vampire. "But don't you change your mind. If you do, we'll be back to slaughter all of your friends and even the ones who aren't your friends."

The Vampires walked out of the base, with Iris at their center. Debis desperately crawled after them, but all he found was a trail of footprints that stopped past a certain point and the fallen, broken fragments of the Chastity Protector.

Vandalieu and his companions ate a light lunch and then departed from the village as they had told Raymond they would, accompanied by Privel and two Scylla guards (the ones that had led Vandalieu for his autopsy) to escort them.

And around the time they were far enough from the village that screams and the sounds of battle wouldn't reach it, the men appeared.

"Vandalieu-kun, wasn't it? Won't you come and join me for a conversation?" said Raymond.

He himself wasn't armed, his men spread out to block the path ahead, hands on the handles of their swords. Behind Vandalieu's group, there were another fifty men blocking the path of retreat.

It was likely that there were archers and mages stationed at distant positions as well. Vandalieu could sense signs of life indicating this.

"You don't seem to be surprised," Raymond remarked.

This was quite the abnormal situation, but Vandalieu and his companions were not unsettled. Vandalieu was constantly expressionless, but even Privel and the Scylla guards weren't fazed by the sudden appearance of Raymond and his men. They gave him a pained, disappointed look.

"There sure are a lot of them," said Pauvina as she looked around them, looking very carefree.

"Yes, since they were expecting this," said Vandalieu.

And though Vandalieu was easy to follow, he was impossible to ambush because of his constantly-active Danger Sense: Death, no matter how well any killing intent was concealed.

Even without this, Vandalieu had made Lemures and Ghosts tail Raymond and his men, so their movements had been fully known.

"I see. So, it really was a lie that she did not remember," said Raymond, assuming that that this was the reason Vandalieu and his companions were not surprised.

These words and this ambush were as good as a confession that he and his men were responsible for the Scylla serial-killing case.

"Still, you acted quite quickly, and with quite a bold method, didn't you?" Vandalieu remarked.

"I was driven by necessity, you see," said Raymond. "And if we were not capable of bold actions, we would not be fighting as a resistance force."

As he said, this ambush had been necessary for him and his men to carry out. He and his men were the real culprits behind the Scylla serial-killing case that they had continuously blamed Alda extremists for. It was absolutely impossible to avoid this fact being revealed.

Raymond had no positive proof that Orbia had really lost her memories of when she had died. Even if she had, he couldn't be certain that she wouldn't regain them later.

They had used a poison that caused instant death for the victims, but their eyes had remained wide open until the very end. There was no telling whether they had seen something or not.

And he couldn't imagine that the spirits of the other victims would have conveniently lost their memories as well. The truth was that it was questionable as to whether the victim's spirits would still be there, but as there weren't any Spiritualists among Raymond's men, they had no way of knowing.

That was why Raymond needed to stop Vandalieu before he reached the other villages.

"So, when you said 'conversation,' did you mean that you were going to silence me?" Vandalieu asked.

"Don't be so hasty," said Raymond. "You seem to be very clever, with the capability of thinking deeply for your age, which is why I want to suggest this. Won't you become our ally?"

Vandalieu was surprised by Raymond's proposal.

"Don't kid yourself!" Privel shouted. "Why would Van-kun become your ally?! And more importantly, tell us why you killed Orbia-san and the others!" She tried to lash out at him, but the Scylla guards held her back.

"Calm down, we're surrounded!" one of them told her.

"As I thought," Raymond whispered as he looked Privel and the guards. "Vandalieu-kun, what I value about you, even more than the fact that you are a Spiritualist, is the way you won over the hearts of the Scylla far more than I ever managed to, in such a short period of time."

The sense of discomfort that Raymond had felt in front of the Scylla was the friendly way that they had treated Vandalieu.

Unlike the other children of Duke Sauron and his other relatives that had already fled to other duchies, the ones who possessed the right to succeed the throne, Raymond was an illegitimate child who had been forced to give up his right to succeed the throne. But he possessed not only raw ability, but a charisma that charmed people. This was precisely why he had taken leadership of the Reborn Sauron Duchy Army.

But during the meeting with Periveil and the other Scylla earlier today, he had noticed that their attention had been focused on Vandalieu, despite the fact that Vandalieu had barely spoken.

He and his men didn't know what it was, but there was something about Vandalieu that had captivated the Scylla.

"It is not as if we did such horrible things to the Scylla because we wanted to," Raymond continued. "All of this was for the purpose of taking the Sauron Duchy back - to liberate all of the people of the Sauron Duchy. If you were to persuade them, I am sure the Scylla race would once again realize that they, too, are a part of the Sauron Duchy, and join us in battle."

Raymond and his men had conducted the Scylla serial-killing incidents and blamed it on Alda extremists. This was not only to prevent the Scylla from accepting the terms offered to them by the Empire's army, but to also have them join the resistance.

Although they had named themselves the Reborn Sauron Duchy Army, their military strength was nowhere near that of an army. But if they acquired the fighting strength of the Scylla race of five thousand individuals, it wouldn't be impossible to fight back against the Empire's army.

And if he had the Orbaume Kingdom's army mobilized through those helping him from within the Kingdom, defeating the army occupying the Sauron Duchy wouldn't be a mere dream.

"And, most importantly, you are a Dhampir," said Raymond. "We have no objection to you becoming our symbol. I am sure your existence will move the hearts of the peaceful faction of Alda worshippers in the Orbaume Kingdom, who have recently been celebrating a group of heroes slaying a Pure-breed Vampire."

Raymond gazed into Vandalieu's eyes, watching them dart around quickly as if he was hesitating. He continued pressing him for an answer.

"At this rate, our homeland will become a vassal nation to the Empire that treats you Dhampirs as monsters. I want you to fight with us."

Despite being very smart and composed for his age, he was still a child in the end. Raymond would definitely be able to persuade him. Or so he thought, but the response he received from Vandalieu was not a good one.

"I have a question. Why are you trying to get the Scylla race involved?" Vandalieu asked.

Pauvina had been stifling a yawn and the Scylla had been watching him with bated breath, waiting to hear how Vandalieu would respond when he asked this question.

"That is -"

Unfazed, Raymond tried to answer this question with the answer that he had come up with beforehand. It was easy to imagine that Vandalieu thought favorably of the Scylla, just as they loved him.

But he had acquired the Spiritualist Job at such a young age. Though his eyes showed hesitation, his expression and voice gave away no emotion or discomposure; he showed more self-control than any adult.

If Raymond didn't make a mistake, he would definitely be able to persuade Vandalieu. Believing this, he gave his response.

"Because I wanted the fighting strength of the Scylla and this territory that is a natural fortress. I am an illegitimate child who once gave up his right to succeed the throne. In order for someone like me to rule the Sauron Duchy, I need to achieve victory against the enemy army through a plan that I am in charge of. That is why I asked my younger brother to do the dirty work. I don't think I did anything wrong. Orbia, was it? I truly don't believe I did anything wrong to her or the other victims. They were necessary sacrifices in order to win this war."

"Did you think that we'd be fooled by -" Privel began shouting, but then suddenly stopped. "Eh?" She stared blankly at Raymond and blinked several times.

"Commander? What are you saying?"

"What's wrong with you, Commander Raymond?!"

Raymond's subordinates had been calm up until now, but now they were bewildered and flustered.

What? What did I just blurt out?!

From the reactions around him, Raymond realized in shock and panic that he had blurted out unthinkable words, but his mouth continued speaking out of his control.

"The duke's legitimate child, who officially has the right to succeed the throne, has escaped to the Kingdom. I mustn't wait for him to gain power and begin a plan to recapture the Sauron Duchy. If that happens, I cannot become duke, no matter what us resistance members achieve. To make the Sauron Duchy a better place, I must become duke and rule it! That's why I needed soldiers, an army with me at its center, to fight against the enemy!"

These were Raymond's true intentions.

Ignoring the fact that the Scylla had been uninvolved in political or military matters since the Sauron Duchy was still the Sauron Kingdom, he had conducted a conspiracy in order to forcibly turn the Scylla race, who had completely lost interest in the world outside their territory, into his army.

But he'd had no intentions of saying this out loud.

"Yes, please continue answering her and my questions," said Vandalieu. He was moving his eyes around restlessly, attacking Raymond's mind and implanting suggestions into it with the Mental Encroachment skill.

And before Raymond and his men could give any kind of response, 'she' appeared.

"Tell me, did that person… did Rick kill me?"

Raymond and his men shuddered as this ice-cold question reached their ears.

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Chapter 112: Q: Is this a prisoner? A: No, it is live bait.

"Finding them took a lot of time, but once we found them, it was pretty easy work, wasn't it?"

"Indeed. But I wonder what these guys were doing in a place like this that isn't even their base?"

"Probably hiding from the enemy army. Even if they call themselves the resistance, they're just rats."

The vice-captain of the Reborn Sauron Duchy Army, Rick Paris, had been tied up on the ground. His handsome face twisted in frustration as he listened to the Vampires conversing somewhere over his head.

What a blunder! To think that Vampires would come attacking…!

Rick and his men had been committing murders within the Scylla territory to blame them on Alda extremists and cause negotiations between the Scylla and the Empire to break down. They had been hiding in a temporary hideout while waiting for their next murder.

Rick's older brother Raymond, the commander, would travel around to each Scylla village and persuade the chiefs. Meanwhile, Rick and his men would murder another Scylla and blame it on enemy extremists, and Raymond would fan the flames of the Scylla race's anger towards the Empire's army.

That had been the plan, but their hidden base in the Scylla territory had been attacked by Vampires. Half of them were Subordinate Vampires, but the other half were Noble-born Vampires who could fly through the air and use high-level magic. Taken by surprise, Rick had been unable to put up any resistance. All but two of his men had been killed, and Rick himself had been captured.

A male Vampire with a thick jaw and a rough-looking beauty to his face, who seemed to be the leader of these Vampires, laughed. "After this, all we need to do is capture this guy's older brother. Heal the injuries of the ones who survived a little."

The Vampire's rouge-colored lips spoke with a female tone*. Rick and his surviving companions looked at him with wide eyes, but the other Vampires seemed to be accustomed to this; they didn't show any particular reactions and began carrying out his orders.

With their injuries healed, Rick's two men became able to move. Despite having pale faces, they put up a brave front against the Vampires.

"What are you planning to do to us, you beasts who betrayed the goddess?!"

"Th-things won't go as you plan! The commander will definitely avenge us!"

But these words that the two of them had mustered up their courage to say were nothing more than cliché jokes for the Vampires. Rather than being displeased, the Vampire leader's smile grew wider.

"I want to request something of you," he said. "You're very lucky; your lives can be spared if you just do this one task. I want you to go to your precious leader and tell him, 'If you value your precious younger brother's life, come by yourself to the designated location.'"

They're after Ani-ue after all!

For Rick, his older brother Raymond, born to a different father, was more than just an older brother.

Despite possessing the blood of the Sauron family, Raymond was treated indifferently because he was the duke's illegitimate child. And yet, he was more resourceful and charismatic than anyone else; he was the great man who should be ruling the Sauron Duchy.

Even now, with the Sauron Duchy under the Amid Empire's occupation, Rick believed that bringing his older brother to the position of duke was his divine task.

That was why he had done all the dirty work and whatever else was needed for his older brother's sake. He held the Scylla in contempt for making no effort to fight for the Sauron Duchy despite Duke Sauron having acknowledged their right to rule themselves. But the real reason he had courted Scylla to make them yearn for him, tricked them, killed them and put their gruesome bodies on display was to use the Scylla race and help Raymond acquire the position of duke.

These were not only Rick's desires, but the desires of his surviving subordinates as well.

"Don't [censored] with me!" one of them shouted in rage. "You homosexual bastard! Nobody's going to sell out the commander - GAH?!"

The Vampire grabbed hold of the man's head with his large hand. "I quite like lively children, you know. I like them so much that… it just makes me want to give them a love bite!" He pulled the man to one side and thrust his thick, powerful fangs into him.

The man gave a scream that gradually grew quieter. After he stopped moving, the Vampire showed his corpse to the last of Rick's remaining men.

"So, which are you? A lively child who wants my love bite? Or are you an obedient child who does his best with the work that's given to him?" the Vampire asked, licking his lips that were now stained red with the man's blood.

The last man nodded so violently that his neck looked as if it would be torn. "I-I'll do it! I'll carry out your task!"

"I see~♪ I'm happy to hear that… Now, get going."

"Yes, sir!"

Bound and gagged, Rick could only gaze at his companion's back as he ran as fast as his legs would carry him.

Ani-ue, don't you dare come to save me! Just abandon me here!

He prayed that this wish would reach his older brother.

But what Raymond chose to do was of no importance to the Vampires. One of the Vampires was already tailing the man who had run out of the hideout.

Once Raymond's location was confirmed, familiars would be used to report the information to other Vampires.

"But aren't you being too hasty, Lord Miles Rouge?" another Noble-born Vampire asked. "There is still time before the deadline that Gubamon-sama gave us. Is there a need to rush things to the point of risking exposure to sunlight?"

"There is," replied Miles, the high-Rank, Onee-type Vampire with the position of baron. He wiped his mouth with a handkerchief and reapplied the lipstick that he had taken a liking to recently. "You heard the news from your allies inside the fort, didn't you? The day before yesterday, the roar of a Hurricane Dragon was heard."

The skies above the Boundary Mountain Range were the territory of Hurricane Dragons. Their roars reached the Scylla territory near the mountain range and even the Sauron Duchy's fort that had been built adjacent to it.

Such a loud roar wouldn't be heard unless it was mating season or the Hurricane Dragons were fighting an incredibly powerful enemy, but…

"What about it?" the other Vampire asked. "Nobody knows much about the Hurricane Dragons' estrous cycles. I'm sure it's a coincidence."

"A coincidence, huh… Rather than being a coincidence, I think that the Hurricane Dragons roared because they fought a powerful enemy that tried to cross the Boundary Mountain Range," said Miles.

Rick listened skeptically to the conversation being exchanged above his head. Would there really be anyone trying to cross the Boundary Mountain Range?

Normally, Miles's concern would be the kind that would be laughed away. But instead of laughing, the Vampires' voices were suddenly full of fear.

"Are you saying that the 'Monstrosity' of the southern region has come here?!"

"You're joking, right?! If we were to encounter the Pure-breed-slaying Monstrosity, we could consider our lives forfeit! Tell me you're joking, Miles!"

"Don't make such a fuss!" said Miles. "I'm just saying that's what I think, only based on my intuition! My unique skill is only 'Warning!' Also, call me 'Mai-chan' while we're working!"

"Is there some significant meaning to this…?"

"It's a jinx to make lucky things happen!��

Impossible, something that even the Vampires are afraid of, and Pure-breed-slaying? Just what is this 'Monstrosity'…?

Rick couldn't believe his ears, but what he was about to hear was even more unbelievable.

"Honestly speaking, my 'Warning' has been going off continuously ever since we received these orders from Gubamon-sama," Miles said. "So, if we do come across the Monstrosity, obey my orders. I've never met any of you before we received this task; this isn't something that I'm suggesting out of sympathy for you. But if we slip up, we'll all be killed, either by the Monstrosity or Gubamon-sama. Please believe me. Listen, first of all -"

"Tell me, did that person… did Rick kill me?"

Unlike when she was revealed by the Visualization spell, Orbia appeared to be drenched, with water dripping from her. She glared at Raymond with glowing eyes as she asked him this question.

Seeing that the air about her had changed completely, Raymond tried to cover his own mouth with his hands to prevent himself from answering her question. But his body refused to move, as if it had been turned to stone from the neck down.

"Rick -"

"Oi! Make him stop! If you don't, we'll shoot arrows at the Scylla at the back!" shouted one of Raymond's subordinates, drowning out Raymond's words.

Raymond's men didn't understand exactly how the Mental Encroachment that Vandalieu was using on Raymond worked, but it seemed they had decided that the situation would become much worse at this rate and had taken independent action.

In response to these shouted words, the other resistance members pointed their weapons at Vandalieu and his companions. This was no act of intimidation; they were completely serious. The faint sounds of bowstrings being drawn came from the trees in the forest.

"You're planning to use us as hostages? Don't kid yourselves!" shouted Privel.

"Indeed," said one of the Scylla guards. "If you mistake us for feeble maidens, you'll regret it."

Though they were lacking in combat experience against humans, each of the Scylla guards were capable of fighting multiple knights or D-class adventurers at once, and though Privel was inexperienced, she was capable of using magic. If they combined their strength, they would be able to fight against over a dozen resistance members on even terms.

"Our arrows are coated in a special poison that kills Scylla in an instant! Even a graze will kill you immediately!" Raymond's subordinate shouted.

"You're lying! I've never heard of that poison!" said Privel.

"We stole it back from a laboratory occupied by the Empire, where it was being developed in absolute secrecy! It's only natural that you don't know of it. If you have any doubts, ask that Ghost!"

Privel and the Scylla guards stiffened as they listened to the resistance member's threat. They had only ever fought against wild animals and weak monsters; arrows that could cause instant death through even light grazes posed a great threat to them.

"Well then, Disinfect," Vandalieu whispered.

The Disinfect spell was cast on the whole area around Vandalieu. The resistance members could do nothing as they were enveloped in the mysterious circle that expanded outwards from him.

"Just now, what did you…"

"Just in case, I erased all poison in the area," said Vandalieu. "The poison on the arrows in your quivers, the poison in your pockets, all of it."

"What, that's impossible!"

"More importantly, why would we know about that poison's effects if we were to ask Orbia-san?"

From the resistance's point of view, the Scylla were the main fighting force of Vandalieu's group, so this resistance member had shouted this threat to make them hesitant to move. But in doing so, he had let something slip.

"Answer me one more time," said Orbia. "Did Rick kill me using that poison?!"

Raymond's lips twitched as he tried to resist answering Orbia's terrifying question, but in the end, he answered.

"Th-that's right. This plan involved Rick seducing Scylla, inviting them to places where nobody else was around, killing them by giving them a ring with a poison-covered needle and putting their corpses on display."

Silence filled the air for a moment, as if time had stopped.

"Ah… AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

Orbia's spirit form became largely distorted as she let out a scream of grief and rage.

"Kill them! Kill them all! Save the commander!" one of the resistance members shouted.

"I'm completely on Orbia-san's side here, so please kill everyone except for Raymond," said Vandalieu.

The resistance member and Vandalieu's orders were simultaneous, and both sides began moving at the same time.

The resulting battle was one-sided.

Grunts and dying screams filled the air.

"AHAHAHA!" Kimberley, the former scout of the extermination force who had been electrocuted to death, had turned into a Thunder Ghost, and now he was turning the resistance members into charred remains.

Pete hissed as he appeared from within Vandalieu, skewering a resistance member on his horns and continuing his charge to sandwich his victim against a tree and turn him into a pile of broken pieces of flesh.

"Monsters?! Where did they come from?!"

"Get the commander and run!"

The members of the Reborn Sauron Duchy Army, especially those under Raymond's direct command, were very capable individuals. They were elite fighters; each of them were at least equivalent to D-class adventurers and over half of them were as strong as Class adventurers.

As former knights of the Knights' Order that Raymond had belonged to, they were more suited to fighting on the frontlines, but they had plenty of experience when it came to battling other people.

However, they did not have enough strength to cope with the unexpected situation of powerful monsters of all kinds of races appearing and attacking them.

And their commander, Raymond, had become incapable of doing anything right at the beginning of the battle. Because all of these men were those who followed Raymond because of his leadership skills, there wasn't anyone who could immediately step forward and take command in his place, though things might have been different if Vice-captain Rick had been there.

Some were trying to protect Raymond, some were battling the monsters and others were trying to attack Vandalieu. They were all acting separately.

"Here, Boulder Smash!"

A resistance member who had tried to attack Vandalieu was crushed by Pauvina's steel mace and martial skill, then swallowed by the Blood Slime Kühl.

On the left side of the road, Pete and the Thunder Ghost were rampaging around with lightning flying everywhere, and on the right, the flaming Ghosts led by Princess Levia were turning the enemies to ash along with the trees that they were hiding in.

Incidentally, the resistance members that had spread out behind Vandalieu's group had been annihilated by Cemetery Bees, and they were currently being turned into meatballs by the bees' powerful jaws that had been capable of cutting straight through their metal armor. They were being greedy about producing food for the queen bee's reincarnation, who would soon be hatching from her egg.

"Did you really need us here?" Privel asked.

"… We were supposed to be your escorts," said one of the Scylla guards.

Click-click-click.

The Sheep Worm, Pain, who had fluffy wool growing from his body, was protecting the Scylla as they watched these events unfolding with dumbfounded expressions on their faces.

Vandalieu had already explained his Insect Binding Technique skill to them while he was explaining the plan… the plan to lure Raymond out and extract the truth from him.

However, they hadn't imagined that this skill would provide such overwhelming fighting strength.

"By the way, won't this cause a forest fire?" Privel asked.

"No need to worry. Everything flammable within our range has already been burnt up, so the fire won't spread!" Princess Levia said, full of confidence.

"I-I see, then it's fine, isn't it?"

Behind Levia was a hill that had been turned into nothing more than an inclined surface of ash and charred remains. There certainly had been numerous resistance members there, but Privel couldn't even see if there were any bones left.

And then Pauvina called out to the dumbfounded Scylla.

"Onee-chans, you can't let your guards down," she told them. "While there are still enemies left alive, you have to stay focused. The moment you think you've won is the one that you're in the most danger. It's called Zanshin*."

"Yeah," said Privel. "You're right. We have to stay focused."

"Yes, it is not good for us to let our guards down."

"Zanshin, huh? I understand."

The aftermath of Levia and her Ghosts' battle was surreal, with even the burnt smell fading away. But Pauvina was holding a mace covered in blood and pieces of flesh. It seemed that the Scylla regained their sense of reality after seeing her and hearing her vivid words.

"Wait, more importantly, what about Orbia-san?!" Having returned to her senses, Privel looked back towards Orbia.

Orbia had already stopped screaming.

"I'll… kill you!"

Her appearance was considerably different to how she appeared when she was alive or when she was still a powerless spirit.

Other than being wet, the upper half of her body and her face hadn't changed, but her long hair and the lower half of her body had become liquid.

Having been engulfed in this liquid, Raymond was coughing and foaming at the nostrils and mouth.

Vandalieu exhaled. "I get the feeling that I've used more Mana than with Princess Levia and the others, who were already Ghosts to begin with. Ah, please stop doing that once you're satisfied," he said to Orbia. "I'm still planning to use him."

"Why?!" Orbia demanded. "Because of this guy…!"

"We can't just leave that Rick person alone, can we?" said Vandalieu.

"That's… true. Alright."

Orbia waved her liquid tentacles and Raymond collapsed onto the ground like a heap of trash. With the whites of his eyes showing, he coughed out water from his lungs.

It seemed that he was mostly unconscious, but Vandalieu tied his hands and feet with threads just in case.

"Looking into my eyes and trying to persuade me was a mistake, wasn't it?" Vandalieu murmured.

Raymond had stronger willpower than the average person. He could even be described as tenacious. But the reason Vandalieu had been able to brainwash him with the Mental Encroachment skill in such a short amount of time was because he had been staring intently into Vandalieu's eyes to try and win him over.

If he had talked without making eye contact, there would have been almost no effect.

But it seemed that he had very much desired to have Vandalieu join him; he had been so focused on paying attention to Vandalieu's behavior that he had received the full effects of the Mental Encroachment skill.

Pete had captured a resistance member alive and was carrying him over here, holding the man's clothes with his mouth. His legs were twisted in directions that they were not supposed to twist in, but perhaps his rage had numbed his pain; he managed to glare at Vandalieu without letting out a single scream.

"You bastard! How dare you do this to the commander, to everyone!" the man shouted. "Commander Raymond is pivotal to the resistance movement! Can't you understand that killing the commander would only make the Empire's army happy?!"

"That's why I've stopped him from being killed for now, isn't it?" said Vandalieu.

"For now?! Release him, right now! Because you are too focused on supporting the Scylla, you are losing sight of the bigger picture! Rather than regret the sacrifices of the few, you must consider the many -"

"… Liiick."

"What are you… kah."

Vandalieu licked the wide-open eyes of the man, and the man collapsed onto the ground.

"Did you kill him?" Privel asked.

"No, that's too troublesome, so I just administered a poison that stops him from moving through his eyeballs. He can't move, but he's fully conscious," said Vandalieu, having thought that conversing with the man would be a waste of time.

Putting his tongue back in his mouth, he approached the motionless man and whispered into his ear.

"I will have you do something for me. Please return to your base and tell them that if they value Raymond's life, Vice-captain Rick and all of the men involved in the Scylla serial-killing case must come to the designated location. That location is -"

Using the Mental Encroachment skill to make the man believe that Raymond would be killed if he didn't fulfil this task, Vandalieu removed the poison in his body and healed the bones in his legs. The moment this was complete, he ran off as fast as he could.

He was oblivious to the parasitic insect and parasitic plant that had been put in his body to track his location, as well as the numerous Lemures that were floating in the air above him.

"I could have the spirits of the resistance members or Raymond himself tell me where their base is, but there's no guarantee that Rick will be there," said Vandalieu. "It's best to have one of his allies draw him out."

"I see! Live bait has no use if it's not alive! Van-kun, you're so cool!" Orbia exclaimed.

"Rather than being cool, I get the feeling that it's a bit cowardly�� but similar methods are often used to capture bandits, so it's probably fine," said Privel, agreeing to Vandalieu's method after some thought. "But I wonder if this Rick person is going to come?" she said doubtfully.

"I'm sure he will," one of the Scylla guards reassured her. "I don't know anything about him other than his appearance, but this Raymond should be an important person for their resistance organization. He isn't just their leader; since he has the blood of the duke's family, nobody can replace him. They won't abandon him so easily."

"Is that how it is?" said Privel.

As the Scylla race wasn't very familiar with the principles of lineage, this was something that Privel couldn't understand straight away. But it was true that Raymond possessing the blood of the Sauron family had great effects.

It made Raymond a symbol to the people and gave him persuasive power over the noblemen of the Kingdom. It was also the reason that these men had named themselves the 'Reborn Sauron Duchy Army.'

The moment they lost Raymond, no matter how much organizational power the Reborn Sauron Duchy Army had, it would become nothing more than a rebellious group of mediocre power.

"And I think that person… that guy… Rick. I think he really adores his older brother. No matter what we were talking about, he would always go back to his Ani-ue."

"Orbia-oneesan, I think that goes beyond being a bro-con," Pauvina said with honesty.

"Back then, I just thought he was a good person who thought highly of his onii-san~!" Orbia shouted, spraying water droplets everywhere. It seemed that she was still emotionally unstable. "And one more thing! Rick is this guy's half-brother; Raymond is the only illegitimate child of the duke's family! Rick can't replace him!"

"Then it seems likely that there will definitely be some kind of reaction," said Vandalieu. "Let's go back to Periveil-san's place for now, and then head for the designated meeting location… back to the camp."

Name: Orbia

Rank: 4

Race: Water Ghost

Level: 1

Passive skills:

Spirit Form: Level 5

Mental Corruption: Level 6

Water Attribute Nullification

Liquid Manipulation: Level 5

Materialization: Level 5

Augmented Mana: Level 2

Active skills:

Unarmed Fighting Technique: Level 2

Fishing: Level 3

Housework: Level 2

Dancing: Level 4

Projectile Fire: Level 1

Unique skills:

Merrebeveil's Divine Protection

Monster explanation

[Water Ghost]

Monsters that are said to form from spirits that die close to water with deep lingering attachment and hatred in their hearts. This is one of the reasons why spirits have long said to gather near water; they are more commonly seen outside of Dungeons and Devil's Nests than other superior Ghost races.

Their main method of attack is to drag their victims into water or drown them using their own body parts that have become liquid. Also, powerful Water Ghosts can fire their liquified spirit forms as projectile weapons and display masterful use of water-attribute magic.

Due to these qualities, many of them possess memories from when they were alive, but these memories are only those related to their lingering attachments and hatred. In many cases, all other memories are forgotten.

Their personalities are significantly distorted, and many Water Ghosts attack others indiscriminately in order to create more Water Ghosts. Even those who were friends before the Water Ghosts died are unable to talk sense into them.

It is said that those who are killed by someone they love and discarded near water without being properly buried become particularly ferocious and powerful Water Ghosts.

Orbia's memory of when she was alive has been mostly preserved. And although she is an Undead, she possesses the divine protection of a goddess and is under the effects of Vandalieu's Guidance: Demon Path skill, so she has become far more powerful than an ordinary Water Ghost.

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