Ch.4545. Vampire (1)

In this world, large-scale battles typically begin, as one would expect, at the hands of mid-level mages—the tactical weapons of this era.

Long-range area attacks with guaranteed lethality. These attacks, which ordinary soldiers simply cannot withstand, are the signature of mages. This is why mages are valued more than warriors as battlefields grow larger.

And in that sense… Sophia’s celestial magic could seize control of this battlefield all too easily.

[—O celestial winds!]

What she summoned through her celestial magic was a gale infused with the power of stars (divinity). To humans and ordinary living beings, it was merely a strong wind that slightly stung the skin, but to creatures touched by corruption, it was nothing short of calamity.

[[[[[[AAAAAAAAAA—A—A—A—A———]]]]]]

The specters touched by the stellar wind dissolved and vanished with echoing screams as they were purified.

Of course, while they were called screams, the cries flowing from their souls as they disappeared from this world contained a hint of joy.

Finally freed from the bindings of the mastermind behind all this, they could now proceed to the world of rest where the dead dwell, as if seeing a cluster of stars.

And… next up was me.

Instead of targeting the slow-moving gargoyles, I intended to use an attack spell I had recently developed—a ranged slashing attack—against those horrifying ragged undead charging from the front.

The mystery of the ‘Fenrir’ robo and the mystery of the ‘Shadow Rat Swarm’ squeakers.

Combining these two mysteries, I created a spell that was so well-crafted even I was amazed at how I managed to develop it.

The foundational image was that of a wolf swinging its claws, and similar spells already existed in ancient texts.

However, while those spells created virtual beast paws that slashed nearby enemies with 2-4 claws, this spell generated a single powerful slash at a targeted point.

Thanks to the mystery of the Shadow Rat Swarm, the slash was imbued with the ability to ignore enemy defenses, guaranteeing significant lethality. Despite being powerful enough to potentially cut a knight in half, the spell was simple to cast and consumed little magical energy.

In other words, this spell possessed all the optimal conditions for a “basic attack spell,” and I decided to cast it at maximum power using the formal incantation and hand signs.

Although the spell’s structural limitations might make it impossible to increase its raw power, following the formal procedure allowed me to increase the number of slashes I could unleash at once.

And the maximum number of slashes I could release at once was—one thousand.

While unleashing this many slashes reduced their individual power, even the diminished force was sufficient to instantly shred the charging ragged undead and gargoyles.

—KWAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAK!!!

After countless slashes swept through the designated space,

the meager regenerative abilities granted to those patchwork creatures couldn’t possibly withstand this terrible calamity.

Flesh, bones, rotting entrails, and the flimsy metal plates attached to their skin were completely shredded and disintegrated by the slashes.

The corpses of the victims finally escaped their enslavement to the mastermind and found peace.

The living statues, the gargoyles, were no exception.

Similarly caught in the slashes that ground through the entire space, they became fragmented stone chunks with stone dust scattering in the air. The magic sustaining the gargoyles naturally dissipated as they ceased to be “enchanted statues.”

If I were to summarize this scene simply, it would be destruction.

The destructive power born of wild ferocity was manifested here and now.

And then…

[—YOU WRETCHES!!!!]

As a voice resonated throughout the isolated space within the barrier, the blood-red rain gradually subsided.

It would be ideal if this simply meant the power had reached its limit, but the circumstances suggested otherwise.

Likely reclaiming the power previously used to shower the life-draining blood rain in order to take direct action—convinced of this, Sophia and I raised our power in preparation…

[You lowly barbarians, you dare insult me?!!]

Finally, the mastermind behind all this appeared.

Transforming into a blood-red mist and a swarm of bats, its true identity was… as expected, a vampire.

※ ※ ※

In this world, there exist beings considered absolute evil, commonly known as cultists.

Regardless of their circumstances, they ultimately lead the world to ruin, making them enemies of the world itself.

These cultists, closely associated with religious worship, are broadly classified into three categories.

First: Demon worshippers who serve demons—beings originating from the “demon realm,” a dimension completely separate from this world—and black mages who cast evil black magic derived from mysteries and powers originating from the demon realm.

Second: Outer God worshippers who venerate mysterious divine beings called Outer Gods from beyond this world, seeking to destroy the world.

And the third category includes the undead race, including the vampire positioned over there.

This undead race, which emerged when an ancient king who feared death attempted to overcome it through magic, can be simply described as a race of corpses animated by necromantic energy—the reversal of life energy.

While lower-ranked undead are mere machines moving on instinct, higher individuals retain sophisticated pre-death consciousness and souls, making them the most reasonable among the three types of cultists.

However, these beings who dare to meddle with and manipulate souls in the afterlife—the domain of gods—have incurred divine wrath. As a result, the undead suffer from various side effects and are ostracized from civilized society… or so my master told me.

And now, the vampire boldly showing its face before me can also be classified as one of these undead.

This vampire race, which is closer to a subspecies of undead, has such distinctive characteristics that they are classified independently as “vampire-type undead.”

Unlike typical undead, they are emotional and retain most of their pre-death memories and consciousness, but in exchange, they must live with a lifelong bloodthirst and compulsion stemming from their souls.

Additionally, while lower-ranked vampires are weak and have negligible combat abilities, mid-ranked vampires and above possess considerable fighting power regardless of what they were in life.

Physical abilities capable of tearing an armored knight in half with bare hands, basic flight capabilities,

and tenacious regenerative powers that allow them to survive even with just their head remaining as long as they have blood—these explain why vampires don’t die easily.

Add to this their transformation abilities that allow them to modify their bodies into various forms and shapes, their mesmerizing eyes that can entrance prey who meet their gaze,

and their innate ability to cast “blood magic,” a vampire-exclusive magic.

These alone would make them formidable enemies, but what truly makes vampires terrifying is their ability to create thralls.

Mid-ranked vampires and above can basically kill living beings through blood-drinking and turn them into their thralls—lower-ranked vampires—whom they can command and control.

Since they can create vampire-type undead subordinates from virtually any life form that isn’t stronger than themselves, theoretically, an individual could amass an army and wage war.

The fact that a vampire’s rank increases with the number of thralls under their command adds to their danger.

‘…That one doesn’t seem to be just an ordinary mid-ranked vampire.’

However, observing the aura surrounding that vampire, I sensed it wasn’t an ordinary mid-ranked vampire.

Assuming it created the gargoyles, the magic required for gargoyle creation is far removed from blood magic… which proves that this vampire has mastered magic beyond its innate abilities.

“…Those two.”

“The prophet is certain that knight is mid-ranked.”

Additionally, at the vampire’s side were two warriors presumed to be his bodyguards—both mid-ranked warriors. These two vampires, with their awakened auras, were likewise glaring at me.

[Grrrrrrrr……]

As I frowned at the scent of battle, and the robo also noticed this atmosphere and growled warily at them,

the flying creature opened its mouth and introduced itself with an incredibly arrogant attitude.

[Listen, you lowly creatures. I am Jose de Vlad, a noble vampire of the illustrious Vlad family. I am also the master whom your corpses will soon serve.]

With this utterly unacceptable statement, the creature dressed in this era’s distinctive attire that made him look almost like a clown, smiled arrogantly…

—KWAAAAANG!!!

And immediately after, with an explosion erupting from his extended fingertips, the curtain of battle rose.