The Vampire Clan of the Evil Race Nation. They were a clan formed when Dark Elves, driven from the continent’s center by the Holy Church’s persecution brought from other lands, joined hands with those who had turned into Monsters, individuals who had previously been their enemies.
The Vampire Clan’s numbers were the smallest among the integrated clans, as no vampires were born naturally. However, their kin, who were being hunted by humans, gradually joined them. Due to their high base abilities, they became a respected presence within the Evil Race Nation.
However, vampires do not grow physically. Even in terms of skill, abilities based on physical growth are difficult to develop. The base abilities the Vampire Clan prided themselves on also meant that a vampire’s strength, which improves with the time they’ve lived, is founded on their original skill.
And, vampires are not born. Those who are attacked by a vampire and survive are born as new vampires. Although there are rare cases of individuals who wish to become vampires, most are victims, and many loathed sucking the blood of their former kin.
Those who lost their reason and did not detest it would be hunted by the Vampire Clan as members of the Evil Race. During the war with human nations that lasted for several hundred years, long-lived vampires diminished one by one. In exchange for the peace of being part of the Evil Race, the clan gradually declined.
Vampires are powerful as individuals but fragile as a species. Although they became immortal, by preying on the human race, which possesses strong souls, they were constantly targeted by those they preyed upon.
It is said that a vampire who has lived for over five hundred years can reach Threat Rank 7, but there are only a few such beings in this world, and all of them were destroyed by humans.
In the long war against the human race, vampires over a hundred years old almost disappeared. Among them, Scheherazade, the clan chief who had survived for one hundred and fifty years, stood at a crossroads for the clan’s survival.
“At this rate, our clan will disappear before long. If that happens, the survivors will eventually be hunted. We need the protection of the Evil Lord.”
“…Hah.”
To Scheherazade, who, in the form of a girl in her early teens, spoke with a heavy heart, Gostola, her friend and subordinate who had lived alongside her for a hundred years, knelt and bowed his head.
As long as they feed on the lives of others, even if they prey on other races, without the Evil Lord’s protection, all other races could turn against them. Therefore, to gain the Evil Lord’s protection, they needed achievements sufficient to earn the trust of other clans.
The clan’s numbers had dwindled to a handful, and new members were mostly lower-ranking species… Under such circumstances, Gostola, as a clan of the Evil Race, planned to weaken the human nations themselves by targeting their competent royalty.
However, this required infiltrating human nations. Loath to send the already few clan members on a dangerous mission, Scheherazade considered going alone. But Gostola, believing that if she, the clan chief, were to be defeated, it would be the end of the clan, attempted to carry out the mission by taking the old vampires remaining in the clan.
Nevertheless, Scheherazade, wishing for Gostola and the others’ safe return, gave them the clan’s treasure, a Dungeon relic concealing teleportation… but what returned was not her comrades, only the silent corpse of Gostola.
“Why… Gostola.”
According to the letters that arrived occasionally, the plan should have been progressing smoothly.
It seemed their connection with the black-haired noblewoman who had invited Gostola and the others had been severed, but they had gained a new collaborator who betrayed the human race and were supposed to return soon after kidnapping the princess of Claydale, rumored to be the most talented.
The body of an immortal vampire turns to ash and crumbles away. However, the reason one of his eyes remained, not turning to ash, was likely because he had converted his last magic power into Dark Magic and projected it.
Reflected there was a single girl.
It was a pink-haired girl, her hair burning like iron-gray embers, who, with a lovely appearance, emitted a dreadful aura as she killed his comrades one after another.
This girl killed the clan’s warriors—killed Gostola, who had been by Scheherazade’s side for a hundred years.
“I will kill this woman… I swear it!”
However, Scheherazade did not know the girl’s identity; all she knew was her appearance and that she was connected to the Kingdom of Claydale.
If she attacked humans, would she eventually meet her? If she started a war, would the girl eventually appear?
Could she infiltrate the Kingdom of Claydale, said to have ten million people, alone and exact her revenge before one of them died?
In ten years, the girl would be an adult, and finding her would become even more difficult. Understanding she had no time, Scheherazade cast aside her pride as a clan member and decided to seek assistance by selling herself to the Youma Clan, who were relatively understanding of monster species.
The Ceremony of Selection—an ancient ritual to choose the Evil Lord. However, Scheherazade did not intend to stand as king herself; instead, she supported Charleschan, the chief of the Youma Clan, and requested her cooperation in avenging her comrades by making Charleschan the Evil Lord.
With only a few members left in her clan, its continued existence would be difficult. Scheherazade decided to set out as a warrior, and some of the remaining clan members, wishing to avenge their comrades who had fallen for the clan, desired to accompany her.
And so, Scheherazade, who went to the fortress with the Dungeon as one of the warriors, witnessed the Pink-Haired Girl there, who had announced her participation as the prince’s warrior.
Scheherazade, about to lose herself to rage, restrained herself at the last moment. The Killing Intent she released mingled with that of the other warriors, and no one noticed her feelings.
Why was the girl, her enemy, here? She wished to kill her immediately, but Scheherazade thought that even if she attacked the girl on the spot, her wish would not be granted.
If she had met her here, there was no longer any reason to participate in the Ceremony of Selection. However, if she attacked a warrior participating in the Ceremony of Selection here, not only would she make enemies of all the clans, but the Youma Clan would also try to kill Scheherazade to save face.
And it would be difficult to unleash her full power as a vampire within the fortress. That was why Scheherazade and her subordinates, while ostensibly participating as warriors of the Youma Clan, decided to keep an eye on the Youma Clan warriors they were likely to encounter within the vast Dungeon. Then, one of her subordinates sensed the “fluctuation” of a high-level spatial transfer, and a report reached Scheherazade.
＊＊＊
“I swear, I will be the one to kill you with my own hands!!”
Scheherazade, the leader of the Evil Race vampires I had defeated before, her crimson eyes, as if weeping tears of blood, dyed with hatred, bared her blood-red fangs.
Her appearance was that of a girl in her early teens… Her bloodstained dress and well-featured appearance made her look like a Dark Elf princess, but I knew very well that her looks didn’t match her strength.
[Scheherazade] [Race: Pureblood Vampire] [Rank 5]
[MP: 374/380] [HP: 415/415]
[Total Combat Power: 2705]
She looked young, but I sensed she was a vampire who had lived for a considerable number of years.
Her combat power was comparable to Dolton or Master, but considering a vampire’s immortality, she would be an even more troublesome enemy.
“――――ッ!”
A soundless “voice” echoed from Scheherazade. I reacted to her Killing Intent and leaped aside just as a shockwave blasted through, and one of the supply team members behind me collapsed, blood gushing from their entire face.
“Wh-!?”
“Scheherazade-sama, what are you doing!?”
Attacked by someone they thought was an ally or had come to help, the surviving members of the supply team cried out in dismay.
That attack meant the supply team wouldn’t serve as a shield, and at the same time, it conveyed her resolve to kill me even if it meant making an enemy of everyone.
“Here I come!”
In that instant, her figure blurred and wavered, and like a whirlwind, Scheherazade spun and launched a kick.
GASHIN!!
“Kuh!”
The iron core of the gauntlet I instinctively used to block bent, and the bones in my left arm creaked.
Using that momentum, I did a backflip and kicked out with the blade on my heel, but Scheherazade, despite it being close combat, swung her leg up and blocked it with her jet-black heel.
“”HAAH!!””
We both let out spirited breaths. Scheherazade, as if dancing, deflected the barrage of dagger strikes I unleashed with her heels, her skirt fluttering.
As Scheherazade kicked upwards with a front kick powerful enough to make the air hum, I leaped back, taking the blow on my heel, then flipped my own skirt and threw a knife I’d drawn from my thigh.
ZUSSAAAAAAA…!
“”…………””
Sliding across the stone floor to create distance, we faced each other once more.
As I thought, I felt there was a significant difference in Status between a Rank 5 vampire and myself. Despite that appearance, she primarily uses leg attacks in close-quarters combat. Moreover, she utilized her small body and high strength stat, skillfully unleashing kicks even in combat so close our bodies were practically touching.
Those jet-black high heels that parried my dagger are probably Made of Magic Steel. She has the advantage in close combat, but even so, I suspected that [Pain] probably wouldn’t work on her in a magical battle either. As proof, Scheherazade-san, while glaring at me, casually pulled out the knife embedded in one of her eyes, and that eye regenerated before my very sight.
However, vampires are not invincible. Their regeneration consumes magic power, and even their seemingly immortal bodies will perish instantly if the Magic Stone in their heart is destroyed.
Still, if it came down to a battle of magic power consumption, I would be the one to run out of magic first. Besides, Scheherazade-san isn’t pressing forward ignoring her defenses because she’s overconfident in her abilities; she likely intends to suppress magic power consumption from spells and crush me with a physical battle relying on her regeneration and strength stat.
The problem is when to play my trump card.
“――[Shadow Snatch]――”
When I released a mass of darkness, a small-scale teleportation circle, Scheherazade-san slightly narrowed her eyes at the magic she was seeing for the first time.
In that instant, I leaped sideways, ran up the Dungeon wall, and threw a concealed weapon at Scheherazade-san’s face.
“You think you can escape!”
This time, without trying to block it, Scheherazade-san swatted the concealed weapon away with her claws and pursued me. As we both ran up the walls, we lost our buoyancy near the ceiling. While airborne, Scheherazade-san caught the Black Dagger I threw with her palm, and even with her hand pierced, she grabbed my fist.
“?!”
However, just as my fist was about to be crushed, a Rope Weight Type Pendulum, released slightly faster from [Shadow Snatch], struck Scheherazade-san’s head from her blind spot.
But a vampire won’t perish from just having its head split open. Her hand released mine, and as I swung down the Rope Weight Type Pendulum I’d pulled from my Shadow towards Scheherazade-san’s head, in that instant, dark blood erupted from Scheherazade-san’s back, forming wings resembling a bat’s patagium, and she dodged the Pendulum.
“Die, Pink Hair woman!”
They say that vampires who have aged and gained experience use ‘Blood Magic’.
In that case, are those wings also a product of Blood Magic? Then, she opened her mouth towards me as we separated in mid-air, and using atomized blood and her voice as a medium, she fired a shockwave.
“――[Weight]――!”
I unleashed the Dark Magic I had been forming, and with a slight shift in my center of gravity and a motion of kicking the air, I barely deflected the shockwave, but I lost my balance like a leaf caught in the wind.
At this rate, I won’t be able to dodge the next attack. To buy myself less than a second before landing, I released concealed weapons and a crossbow from [Shadow Storage] into [Shadow Snatch], attacking with a Slashing Type Pendulum that traced an arc.
“Tch!”
Even if they caused no damage, the multiple attacks launched from her blind spot hindered Scheherazade-san’s attempt to follow up.
“――[Shadow Walk]――”
However, Scheherazade-san, clicking her tongue in annoyance, suddenly deployed Dark Magic.
Even if you use Shadow Walk in mid-air where no magic is connected, you can’t traverse shadows. But, the moment she activated that magic, several “human figures” appeared from the shadow of her blood-colored dress, as if seeping out.
“You cunning woman! I’ll crush every trick up your sleeve!”
Unlike spatial teleportation, with Shadow Walk, you can’t traverse shadows while floating in mid-air. This is because the shadow cast by one’s own clothes isn’t large enough for a human body to pass through.
However, the human figures that crawled out of that small shadow appeared by twisting and contorting their own bodies, scattering blood splatters, and regenerating themselves.
“Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!”
Nearly ten of those vampires that emerged from the Shadow attacked, kicking off the walls and ceiling while emitting inhuman screams.
Landing on the ground a moment sooner, I dodged the claws of one that lunged at me by leaning back, then kicked the vampire’s jaw upwards.
Multiple vampires attacked relentlessly. The combat power of the vampires I saw was around 400, making them seem like nothing more than lesser vampires, but even when their heads were crushed by the Pendulum or their faces vertically slashed in the chaotic battle, they continued to attack as long as they lived.
“Those are the last warriors of my clan. To avenge Gostola-san and the others… their comrades, they willingly offered their blood to me and underwent bestialization.”
Thud… One of the supply team members, released from Scheherazade-san’s hand, fell to the stone floor, making a distorted sound at her feet.
In the instant I looked away, the supply team was wiped out, and the men whose blood had been drained as a price for Blood Magic slowly rose with bestial countenances.
Vampires don’t change immediately just by having their blood sucked. Those who survive overcoming the depletion of their soul, sucked along with their blood, are reborn as vampires. Those who cannot overcome it either die or turn into mindless, humanoid “beasts” called ‘Defectives’.
Scheherazade-san probably intentionally turned those vampires into Defective beasts to boost their power.
What’s terrifying is that tenacity… To avenge their comrades, the vampires willingly became death-bound soldiers, and Scheherazade-san, acknowledging this with pride, desired to kill me alongside them.
“Now, die.”
At the sound of Scheherazade-san’s voice, her massive wings, replenished with blood, flapping, the vampires who had become death-bound soldiers and the former Rank 3 supply team men, newly turned into vampire Defectives, took a step forward.
But, in that instant――
ROOOAR!!
A colossal flame, like a giant serpent, scorched the Dungeon wall, incinerating several vampires and Defectives who were about to pounce――
Clack…
The sound of heels, clearly out of place in the Dungeon, faintly reached Aria-san’s ears.