Thud, thud, thud!!!
Rinne watched the robed men, who rode on blue lizards and were moving swiftly through the forest. She began to gather particles of light in her hands to create a crowbar in one hand and a hilt, which turned into a lightsaber, in the other.
“Davey. Waiting for orders.”
“Don’t touch the items. Clean up a few of those guys and subdue the rest.”
“Carrying out the mission,” Rinne said, her eyes glowing.
[Decepticon Fleet. Sniper. Permission to shoot, granted. Goal: Creating a Battle Line.]
Booooom!!!
As a flash of purple light flew through the forest at her mysterious and mechanical voice, Rinne shot up to the skies from her crouched position. She attacked the robed men.
After watching the men’s procession turn into hell on earth, Davey quickly approached the robed men’s leader.
[Moonlight Steps]
[Devil Ylgr’s Crowd Suppression]
[Breaking Bones]
Crack!!!
Along with an ominous crack, the Frost Lizard which had been running at the lead suddenly collapsed onto the ground. The leader was thrown into the air from his lizard’s unexpected fall.
At the same time, Davey snatched the leader’s head and slammed him onto the ground. He said coldly, “Welcome. You thought I did not know about what you’re doing, right?”
Gurgle!
The leader could not even scream due to the blood that was bubbling in his mouth. All he could do was gurgle and groan.
In a single glance, Davey knew that the man was the target he had been looking for. As for the others, he found them to be quite unexpected.
The surviving robed men quickly gathered in an instant to try fighting back. They resisted Rinne’s attacks by casting a Hypnotic Magic on their lizards, who grew cold and quickly shot a Freezing Breath toward Rinne.
However, what use did those attacks have on Rinne?
Baaam!!!
Unlike her pure and feeble appearance, Rinne fought in a tough and rough manner. In other words, she fought with no mercy. She slapped away a sword that flew toward her with her bare hands while striking the attacker’s face with her crowbar.
Some people might grow afraid of Rinne, who fought against enemies without mercy. However, Davey was very much in favor of her fighting style.
However, there was a problem. Davey and Rinne had subdued the procession easily, so they felt as if they hadn’t released any tension at all.
“Davey. Humans,” Rinne reported as she pulled back the men’s hoods.
“Try and cross-reference their numbers.”
“Matching. In-line with the expected number of kidnappers. Report. Davey’s prediction is expected to be correct.”
Then, Davey took off the leader’s cone-shaped mask, the very same mask that was often used by fanatical zealots. He saw the leader’s pale face and knew that he was an intermediate-ranking vampire.
He guessed that this single vampire had brainwashed the other human men here. He couldn’t help but feel impressed. After all, it was very difficult for them to find someone who was at this level.
“You have no idea how many traps I have laid in this forest looking for you.”
“Urk… Hu… Human…”
“Right. First, let’s see what you were working so hard to steal,” Davey said, throwing down the vampire and rendering him immobile. Then, he removed the cloth that covered the wagon that had been escorted by the men.
—Ugh…
Perserque frowned when she caught sight of whatever was in the wagon.
After quietly looking inside the wagon, Davey said, “From now on, forget everything that happened here. Forget that you have met us.”
His eyes flashed as the 7th Circle Mass Hypnosis Magic engulfed the entire group of robed men.
The original goal of Rinne and Davey had been to prevent this group from transporting the items safely. However, after seeing the contents, Davey had decided to change it a bit.
Davey was aware that he would not be able to gain any information from the men as long as a ban was imposed upon them. It was also a waste of energy for him to use the Abyss’ Authority in a situation where he was still unsure of what the opposing side wanted to do. By doing so, it would only be a great loss for them in the end.
If that was the case, then the best course of action here was to take advantage of the loopholes of the imposed ban. The ban only applied to divulging information about the radical vampires. Simply put, there would be no problem as long as that information was not leaked.
However, there was something that Davey had to check on before doing that.
—Davey.
Perserque called out to Davey after they had checked the contents of the wagon.
—Tell me, why are you just letting them go?
“What are you talking about?”
—You definitely told me that you won’t allow my revival as the Demon Lord.
“That’s right.”
—So, why are you allowing them to build a body for me?
After a moment of silence, Davey said, “Right. You obviously also don’t want to enter a soft body that’s made from taboo.”
A body made out of mixing body parts from humans, demonic beasts, and plenty of other creatures was extremely dangerous. The power of that body was not really a problem at all. The only problem was how the radical vampires would use that body later on.
“Think carefully, Perserque. Why would the Abyss help the vampires?”
When Perserque tilted her head in confusion, Davey said, “They’re trying to resurrect you as the Demon Lord. In that sense, they are no different from an enemy of the Abyss.”
To the Abyss, all of the beings living in the front side of the coin were nothing but enemies. So, why was the Abyss helping the vampires? To stir up trouble? That was ridiculous.
—Then…
“There’s a chance that the vampires will brainwash and seduce you once you settle down in that body, and then drag you back to the Abyss.”
At the very least, that was the only reason that Davey could think of at the moment.
—Davey, if I become the Demon Lord and your enemy, then I will be protected under the name of Goddess Freyja. No matter how reckless the Abyss is, there is no way that they would try and play tricks on the God that controls one side of the coin.
Perserque was not wrong, because the scenario that she had described would usually be the case. That was also the reason why she always insisted on trying to take the danger alone by becoming a Demon Lord.
If Perserque became a Demon Lord and Davey’s enemy, then the Abyss would not be able to touch her. And if Davey cut her down, then the Abyss would lose her once again and fail to find her whereabouts. That was how she had avoided them for three thousand years. The reason why her soul could not enter the cycle of reincarnation was not simply a matter of being sealed.
Davey ignored Perserque as he continued to rummage through the items in the wagon. Then, he spotted a jar that shone slightly. He opened the lid and was hit by a very stale smell. Inside the jar was none other than the heart of some kind of living being.
“This is the heart of a demonic beast. This is definitely a heart from a strong and powerful beast.”
During his classes in the Alpha Reinforcements, it was mentioned that one would be able to find demonic beasts that had absorbed other beasts’ DNA to grow stronger. They did so by eating their enemies once they entered the Pandora Region.
Although its characteristics were getting ever so close to an alien lifeform, the most important part here was the fact that the bastards had a rough idea on how to form the Demon Lord’s body.
“They have almost completed the body of the Demon Lord.”
—They’re almost done?
“Creating a body is a taboo creation made using the Philosopher’s Stone. It is one of the taboos listed in Goddess Freyja’s list… Yet, these bastards seem to be ignoring the taboo by using the power of the Abyss.”
—Just in case… What problems will arise if someone breaks the taboo?
“Who knows? Many problems will arise if one breaks the taboo. I, for one, know very little about it.”
Davey had only heard about the taboos. He had rarely done any himself.
—But… The Philosopher’s Stone?
“There’s only one vampire who can do something like this.”
Alchemist Milpieu… This was a possible feat for that pink-haired vampire. She was a very bizarre half-vampire that had a Philosopher’s Stone in her body. Davey just wasn’t sure if it was something that she was born with or it had been transplanted into her by someone.
“The moderate vampires might not be a problem, but we have to eradicate the radicals. Since they’re almost ready, then it’s time to end this war.”
Davey grabbed a fragment of the heart and poured out his mana. He had to properly camouflage the heart with his power. He had to do this meticulously and carefully. Otherwise, he would be caught even before it had reached its intended place.
After pouring as much mana as the heart could take, he engraved two magic spells onto it. The moment one of the magic spells exploded, then the war would have already ended.
***
“Davey!”
Once Davey appeared, two girls ran toward him with bright smiles on their faces.
“It’s been a long time!”
“That’s right!”
The girl sporting pale pink hair and a stupid expression on her face jumped into Davey’s arms without any hesitation. This dumb-looking girl had a strong sense of motivation in developing a relationship with the opposite sex.
“Get off, Shayir! This is a disgrace. Act properly in front of Davey. He finally came after a long time.”
“Oops… Sorry. Heehee. I’m just so happy to see you after a very long time.”
Although she had become a full-fledged member of the probationary unit, a child would always be a child. Even though they were now more exposed to the reality of the world and were far more talented than the students of the academy, the fact that they had been far removed from the world made them very pure and naive.
“How have you been? I can’t see Illyna anywhere. Did you come by yourself?”
When the twins began to chatter as if they had a lot to talk about with him, Davey heard someone grumbling from behind them.
“If you ask questions like that, then even a genius will stutter. These guys! Ask him one by one!”
“Heg!”
Starting with Heg, the boy carrying a gigantic mace on his back, Paladin Fildyr and Lucia Shelman, who was Daphne’s fanatic, also appeared.
“Goodness! Davey! It’s been a long time! Since we met like this, the blessings of the first Saintess, Daphne…”
Lucia’s partner, Fildyr, immediately restrained Lucia who was about to begin her endless praising of Daphne.
“How about Alyssa Patrick?”
Unlike the others, Alyssa Patrick was nowhere in sight.
“That… Alyssa’s a part of the Roaming Knights. There’s also rumors about how her family has arranged a political marriage for her.”
Davey nodded when the others whispered the rumors to him.
Even though they were conscripted as Roaming Knights, they would only comply with the conscription orders if it did not interfere with their own lives. It was the Knight Order’s rule.
Well, Davey had nothing to say about her absence. Alyssa was the one who had always teased Illyna about such subjects, but this time she seemed to be stuck in a very similar situation too.
“To be honest, I never expected you to come, Davey. You have ignored all of the conscription orders so far. So, what’s the matter?”
“I think I have to meet with the teachers.”
Lucia Shelman immediately jumped up and said, “If that’s the case, then leave it to me! I happen to have a matter to discuss with Teacher Boris! I’m on my way there, so let’s go together!”
Davey nodded when the girl grabbed his arm and pulled him along.
There was not much change in Boris Telman’s huge build from the time that Davey had first met him with Illyna. Even his fighting style and preferred weapon had not changed. He was still wielding two unique greatswords. The only difference was that the swords hanging on his back were showing signs of use and traces of time.
“It’s been a long time, Teacher Boris.”
“Member Davey, you’re here! I’ve been waiting for you!”
“Uhm… Teacher Boris. I’m here too…”
“Ah! So sorry about that. Can you please report to Teacher Sylia instead?”
“What’s the matter?”
Boris’ expression turned bitter at Lucia Shelman’s question. He said, “There have been suspicious and disturbing movements discovered in the Pandora Region following the tip that Member Davey has given. We have something to say to him about that.”
If they were still apprentices, then Boris would not have told them anything. After all, it was dangerous to let them know something like that. However, after undergoing the very problematic test and having become regular members, the teachers no longer went around their backs to hide information from them. Since they were members of the Knight Order, the danger of telling them these things had reduced significantly.
“Let’s go. Everyone’s waiting for you.”
Davey nodded quietly.
***
Davey went straight to the point after seeing all of the top ranking knights of Alpha Reinforcements and even the knights who were stationed in the Pandora Region gathered in front of him. He declared, “We need troops to go to war.”
“War?”
The knights expressed their doubts at Davey’s declaration.
“No. Listen here, Member Davey. What kind of bullshit are you talking about?! We looked into the things that you told us to investigate, but shouldn’t you at least talk to us about what’s going on?!”
Davey nodded, wondering if he had gotten too straight to the point. He explained, “The bastards that you found are none other than vampires. You have probably seen them in the Pandora Region from time to time.”
“We have already heard about them. Are they related to this? Why are they doing this?”
Davey looked at Teacher Boris and answered, “The vampires’ radical faction has joined hands with the demons and are trying to revive the Demon Lord. Obviously, leaving them alone would leave us in a pickle.”
“The… The Demon Lord?!”
Davey ignored the shocked cries of the knights around him and continued to explain, “I have already sent the bomb. You’ll have to decide by the time one of the bombs that I have sent explodes. Will our side collapse and come to an end or will it be the vampires who die?”
His gaze turned sharp as he continued to speak, “According to the rules of the Knight Order, there’s no reason for the knights to refuse to come forward as long as the enemy has been identified. This is a threat to the entire continent and not just the secular world.”
“However, we’re not even aware of the opponent’s numbers or their strength,” one of the knights carefully said.
“Davey, it’s true that you have overwhelming power compared to all of the other members. However, you have to understand that the black mages with the vampires and the demons who are backing them have attacked the knight order before. They were also the ones who had corrupted Gaor, the Captain of the traitorous knights.”
Then, another one of the knights said, “It’s true that we have no reason to refuse. However, we haven’t even properly recovered from the previous situation. We can’t afford to transfer the defense knights who are protecting the Pandora Region…”
“So, to sum it up, you only have so many soldiers left.”
The knights all nodded.
“Then, I’ll provide you with soldiers,” Davey said calmly as he pulled out a test tube from his Pocket Plane.
The test tube contained a lump of purple flesh that was suspended in transparent solution. Davey had one last thing to test before he could safely settle Reina’s soul into her new body. So, using all of his knowledge about the vampires, he had prepared a second bomb for them.
If the first bomb would trigger a physical explosion, then the second would trigger a biochemical terror upon them. Davey planned to show his enemies no mercy.
“This is a parasite that infects vampires. Once it’s released, it will devour its target before splitting into two, four, eight, and so on. On top of that, they listen well to the words of the strongest individual.”
“Don’t tell me, you…”
“It’s time for you to discard that common notion that zombies are only restricted to and are exclusive properties of vampires and black mages.” Davey smiled coldly.
The knights all turned pale.
Right now, Davey had created a bomb that would infect the vampires and turn them into zombies. He planned to force them to fight against each other.
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