Accusation of Noble Murder

“You must have been a participant?”

“Do you know me?”

“I do.”

For the record, I’m hiding my chest.

A noble man approaches and stares intently.

Staring into his eyes makes me nauseous.

I can see the desire reflected in his eyes.

“I have nothing to discuss with you. Or do you know about this dagger?”

“A dagger? It looks unique.”

“If you don’t know, just pass by.”

Amel turned her back on the noble man.

“Who said you could leave? Look at me!”

“…?”

I glanced back,

His eyes were red.

Amel’s hand reached out immediately.

She grabs his neck and lifts him up.

“Found you.”

“Kuh… What is this…!”

“Vampire. I’ve been looking for someone like you. You two better stay still before I break this guy’s neck.”

“Kuh…!”

The maids hesitate.

“….”

The noble man still had red eyes.

A strange Mana. I can feel the touch of Mana trying to erode.

Is this the hypnosis that Vampires have?

‘No wonder the kids in the waiting room looked dazed.’

I sent a text.

<I>

[Vampire found]

[Are these guys the problem?]

I sent it to Yuha.

I waited for a reply.

Amel looked at the noble man again.

She revealed her [Killing Intent].

[Vampire Baron]

Baron.

When I looked back at the other two, information windows popped up saying [Vampire Maid].

“A tournament is being held, and you sneak in to plot something.”

“Do you think I’ll tell you?”

“Then die.”

She slowly tightened her grip on his neck.

Vampire.

Knowing they exist is enough.

I need to find out their purpose, but if I have Yuha, I can easily gather information.

Tap, tap.

She taps my arm.

This rhythm is like…

I release the Strength in my hand.

“…Player?”

The gesture of tapping to stop is something I’ve only seen in wrestling or fighting broadcasts. There’s no way the locals living in Full Dive would know. If a Player is voluntarily cooperating with a Vampire, it’s better to capture them.

“Player?”

The noble man asks with a questioning tone.

Is he not?

I put Strength in my hand.

Then, without saying much, he spills everything.

“Y-You usually stop when a Hero does this.”

“Really?”

“A-At least you should give me a chance to negotiate! How can you just try to kill me! I-I’ll talk, so please don’t kill me!”

“….”

How absurd.

My energy is drained.

I let go of him.

He collapsed, and the maids supported the noble man.

I asked him anyway.

“What’s your purpose?”

“M-My mission is to recruit skilled individuals.”

“Is that what you call recruiting…”

Turning them all into Vampires?

“So?”

“I thought that if I gradually recruited stronger individuals, I could recruit the strongest Heroes.”

“….”

“Right now, Heroes known to be the strongest in the world are gathered here, right? I wanted to have strong guys as my subordinates!”

If he turns slightly stronger Heroes into Vampires, he will eventually reach the top.

“I understand the theory, but did you really think that was realistically possible?”

Against Heroes?

Against Players?

‘Is that even possible?’

But I understand.

If you don’t understand that this world is a game, you might think it’s possible.

“T-The plan itself is perfect.”

“In what way?”

There’s a hole in the most crucial part.

There are already Heroes in the waiting room who have become Vampires, so maybe that’s why he’s solidified his belief.

‘But if they die, will they remain Vampires or will they return to normal?’

I was slightly curious.

They probably changed into the Vampire race, and given the characteristics of the game, there might be a way to revert to their original race.

I think I know what the Vampire was planning, but the downfall of those who didn’t know it was a game is inevitable.

“Well, whatever. What I want to know is who else is there besides you. Tell me. Then I’ll spare you. I know there are more.”

With [Killing Intent] in my eyes, I stared intently, and the noble man’s complexion turned pale.

Amel imagined how she would kill the noble man in her head.

She imagines it.

She could kick him and crush his head.

The noble man was startled and covered his head.

“There’s a Duke!”

“A Duke?”

“H-He has the Sealed Body of the Progenitor! He said that to awaken it with just one Sealed Body, a lot of sacrifices are needed! It’s true!”

“….”

“I told you! You’ll spare me, right?!”

…The dignified impression of his first appearance becomes messy.

“Don’t you have any pride?”

“Life is more important than pride! I’ve lived for 200 years, why would I want to die in vain?!”

“….”

Even the [Vampire Maid]s stared at the noble man in disbelief.

“Originally, I was going to find all the Sealed Bodies, but that bitch Velosa failed! Because of that, he said he would take advantage of this tournament to break the Seal! It’s true! It was the Progenitor’s left leg, and once that person awakens… once that person awakens… someone like you…”

Then the noble man’s face turned red.

It turns redder.

It bruises.

It becomes mottled.

“Someone… like… you…”

It twists.

His mouth pouted, his snout puffed up, and the bone structure of his head changed.

It starts to resemble a lizard’s head.

He kicks off the floor and rushes in.

Thwack.

I kicked him.

Amel’s foot slammed the lizard man, who used to be the noble man, into the wall.

He died.

“Is that Geumjenka?””

Well, there was enough content for that.

Sealed Body of the Progenitor.

The Bloodstained Dagger took his right arm,

And the Duke has the left leg.

So, there’s a left arm, right leg, and other parts, and it’s complete when you find them all? And if you try to forcibly break the Seal, you need sacrifices.

So, the proper way to release the Seal is to gather all the Sealed Bodies.

‘Is it Exodia?’

“Eek.”

The maids were startled by the dead noble man… lizard man, and ran away.

Looking at their backs,

“Hite, chase them.”

Amel’s shadow stretched out and clung to the maids.

“[The 7th Match of Group A will begin soon. Hero Americano, who is a participant, and Hero Prental. Please come to the waiting room.]”

“Winner Americano!”

Amel withdrew her Blade from her opponent.

The opponent had ignored her and rushed in,

But after having the Blade touch his neck repeatedly, he eventually declared defeat and left the stage.

The Hero Tournament allows killing opponents. All participants were Heroes who could freely revive.

But it’s just allowed. It wasn’t necessary to kill to win.

Amel left the stage,

And checked the text Yuha sent.

A screenshot was also attached.

A person’s face was captured,

<Yuha>

[They are all Vampires.]

They were all Vampires.

I don’t intend to go kill them right away.

At the bottom of the screenshot, each person’s identity was attached.

Some Baron.

Some Count.

Some Viscount.

Even a Lord who rules a Territory was mixed in, so I couldn’t just kill them recklessly.

When I went to the waiting room, guards were spread out in the hallway, bustling about.

When Amel arrived, the captain of the guards approached her.

“You’ve arrived.”

“….”

“You are under suspicion of murdering Lord Opelhauner. May we ask for your cooperation for a quick investigation?”

“I’ll cooperate, but what about tomorrow’s match?”

“We do not have the authority to revoke your participant status.”

“….”

When I held out both hands, the guard captain put handcuffs on me.

I don’t know what to say.

I just did what I usually do.

But Vampires were Monsters not well known in Full Dive and, unlike Undead, they mixed with humans.

They even had identities, so in human society, they were just humans and authoritative nobles.

Even if you were a Hero chosen by God, you couldn’t completely silence their voice.

Especially in times like these when Heroes were rampaging and occupying Territories, causing immense damage.

‘Do I have to prove they’re Vampires first?’

As I walked down the hallway,

Opelhaus?

I passed by the place where the noble man’s body was.

His lizard face had returned to its original state.

Suspicion of noble murder.

That was the charge against Amel.

The castle’s prison.

Prison?

I was isolated in a guest room.

It was a room for VIPs, so the furniture, including the bed, was made of high-quality materials.

‘Is this the room they provide for suspects?’

In fact, there was no possibility of anyone other than Amel being the culprit, but the guard captain took Amel and imprisoned her here.

<Cassandra>

[Amel]

[You must have been appointed as the Knight Commander by the Emperor, right?]

[You’re not someone who would be arrested for just killing one Baron. Have you forgotten what the background of this game is?]

<I>

[The appointment ceremony hasn’t been held yet?]

<Cassandra>

[The appointment ceremony is just an event to widely announce that I have officially become the commander. The appointment itself only requires the Emperor’s confirmation and a letter of appointment.]

[There’s absolutely no way the Emperor would withdraw the appointment, so prove that you’re a member of the Imperial Family.]

[Don’t you have anything you received from the Emperor?]

[Something you took from the Imperial Warehouse. Anything expensive with the Imperial crest.]

I do have something.

<I>

[I do.]

<Cassandra>

[Then show it to the guard and ask them to call the person in charge.]

“….”

It’s quite troublesome.

Amel looked around the room.

There’s no problem living here normally.

It’s more like a room assigned to me as a guest of the castle.

The guard captain only knew that Amel was friends with the guests of the castle, but he didn’t know that she had been assigned a room as a guest of the castle.

Knock, knock.

I knocked on the door.

I slightly opened the door and made eye contact with the guards standing guard in front of the door.

“What is it?”

“This.”

An item taken from the Imperial Warehouse.

The item was made of gold.

[Golden Sword].

A short sword about the size of my forearm.

The reason I chose this sword was because its capacity to hold Mana was extremely large.

Even if I just mindlessly poured Mana into it and swung it, it could unleash power on a scale that could blow away a mountain. Not just cutting it, but destroying the entire mountain.

Well, whether I’ll actually use it is unknown.

I ended up using it in a different way than just a sword.

I held up the [Golden Sword] so that the pattern engraved on it was clearly visible.

The guards recognized the pattern and went to report to their superior, and the Lord’s representative, Miereel, came in person.

The guards who were guarding the door were accompanied by the captain of the guard.

‘Was it Inos?’

The captain of the guard guarded the door,

And only the two of us were left in the room.

“When you were arrested, I only knew that a Hero was arrested on suspicion of killing a noble. Next time, please reveal your name and call me.”

“If I did that, the blame for me would be directed at Miereel, wouldn’t it?”

“That’s for me to decide.”

Like the Lord is trying to favor a Hero who is friends with her.

Miereel was the Lord’s representative, and Gospel was a baronial Territory.

Baron. I don’t know much about noble society, but a Baron was the lowest position among nobles.

“More than that, Amel, may I ask why you killed Lord Opelhauner?”

“You may.”

“…You say it so easily.”

“Is there any difficulty?”

Amel explained why she killed him.

I don’t know how much she’ll understand about Vampires, but at least Miereel was willing to believe me.

“Like a Blood Wraith?”

“Do you know about them?”

“Well… I like history. So, I tend to read ancient texts if there are any. I thought that the characteristics were similar to the Blood Wraith that appeared there.”

“It’s probably that Blood Wraith.”

The knights of Pibbslow Fortress also described Vampires that way.

Miereel sweats slightly.

It’s because an unexpected Monster has infiltrated human society. Even though she’s the Lord’s representative, it must be scary for Miereel, who is a teenage girl.

“But did the Summoned Heroes know about Vampires?”

“If you’re a Hero Summoned here, 100 out of 100 will know.”

“That many?”

“Yes.”

I asserted.

Is there anyone who is interested in fantasy games who doesn’t know about Vampires?

I assert that there isn’t.

Especially in reality, where Gates have appeared and interest in fantasy has become solidified. The recognition of Vampires has spread majorly even in places like Africa.

“Please tell me about Vampires. It’s something that happened in my Territory. I have a duty to prevent it.”

“That’s admirable.”

“I’m the Lord’s representative.”

But the only way to distinguish Vampires was to be a Hero who could send hostility to the opponent and read the information window, or Yuha’s intuition.

I told her about Vampires, but,

‘What were their weaknesses again?’

Vampires’ weaknesses.

I advised her to try using things like sunlight, crosses, silver, and garlic as a test.