episode_0062

Chaos quickly spread among the demons.

As soon as a massive explosion of divine power erupted from below, the demons, who had been charging relentlessly as if their orders had been cut off, began to wildly thrash about in all directions.

Suddenly slamming their heads against walls, convulsing shiveringly on the ground, and more, these creatures exhibited sudden fits akin to seizures. Seeing them now, the demons whose antennas were damaged and rendered useless were essentially defenseless. This was the moment. It must not be missed.

Killing these creatures, rendered helpless like prey under anesthesia, was easily accomplished. Having lost control, they seemed busy killing each other.

Successfully splitting the last Hydra’s head into two, Cecilia gripped her clenched fist and gazed at him.

With this, the first wave was almost a success.

Most likely, all the roots of at least the first floor had been eradicated, and the overall situation was very favorable. Above all, it was crucial that we pushed back our enemies without any significant sacrifices.

Rachel felt similarly upon witnessing this.

‘…If things continue like this.’

We can win.

Had there ever been such an easy follow-through in clearing out demons?

Undoubtedly, eliminating so many roots without any sacrifice was likely a first this time. And whenever she had come here before, humans were often on the verge of retreat due to being overwhelmed by the enemy forces.

Rachel’s eyes, fixed on the collapsed hole in the cave as if entranced, began to reflect something.

‘…That.’

Rachel’s face stiffened. The smile of hope and triumph that faintly lingered on her lips turned bittersweet and solemn once again.

Next.

The shock came without any warning or signs.

It struck like lightning from a clear sky in the blink of an eye.

Firstly, only about a hundred medium-sized beasts remained, but they suddenly stopped their frenzy and began staring somewhere as if mesmerized. The sight of all those pairs of eyes fixated on one spot was incredibly eerie.

Then, almost simultaneously, they started leaping into the cave as if responding to some other command.

Even if pierced by soldiers’ weapons or limbs severed, they tried to escape using whatever remained of their bodies.

Secondly, anyone with a developed sense of magic would have felt it. A sense of unease more inexplicable than sticky magic, contradictory and chilling. An overwhelming aura spread momentarily, enough to make even the stoic knights tremble in the presence of the sword tips of seasoned warriors maintaining composure even in the face of death.

From commanding the knights to reach the front of the cave for reconnaissance, Cecilia frowned, looking displeased as she observed the cave.

Soon, a bleak silence followed.

As a senior knight volunteered to scout ahead, his body was abruptly roughly torn apart by something as soon as he looked towards the cave.

-Clang!

The sound of steel grinding against iron reverberated. It was only natural that the knight’s body followed suit, collapsing.

“…”

Rachel’s expression, trying to prevent the falling knight from hitting the ground, grew increasingly serious.

The next moment, the lips of the scouting knight fell silent. He saw that something beneath him and the entity impaled on the ceiling were attempting to prey on him.

Like parasites, grotesque tentacles extended vigorously behind sharp thorns.

Rachel knew better than anyone what that was.

“…For now, retreat.”

Rachel’s previously low voice escalated immediately in the next moment.

“Retreat! Quickly!!!”

Like thunder reverberating throughout the cave like a storm, the knight who came to his senses quickly blew the horn.

Rachel, as if she had more work to do, placed her hand on the ground and froze all the corpses of the demons around her. This time, it seemed not to be to immobilize their steps but rather with the intention of freezing everything to the core so that they could never regenerate.

Watching this from behind, Cecilia approached Ian and said, “We need to go.”

Though extremely urgent, her voice remained cold and composed. Ian was feeling a strange sensation in the current situation.

As the newly created vampire’s heart beat faster with each step closer, distracting him with an unyielding sense of dread as he watched the demons falling into the hole, ignoring Rachel killing their comrades.

Ian quietly suppressed his anxiety and followed Rachel’s lead. In such a situation, he couldn’t afford to let his emotions take over and charge in alone.

Outside the cave where they soon escaped, knights were bustling about.

Standing at the entrance with Cecilia, they could still see Rachel freezing the bodies inside the cave.

Gradually, a sense of resignation could be felt emanating from Rachel as she emerged from the cave.

-Kugugugung!!!

A deafening sound echoed.

A heavy silence began to flow, quieting the bustling atmosphere in an instant.

At that moment, just before the cave collapsed, a figure emerged from within.

And only when she stepped out into the snow-covered outside, could everyone present see her.

Her long, fine crimson hair framed her face, and she had black-eyed gaze covered by seductive hips and buttocks, all concealed by long hair. Apart from two horns curving inward like handles on her head, and small wings that seemed suitable for flight on her back, she resembled an elf.

“…Has it been years since I’ve felt this warm air?”

As her enchanting voice filled with a hint of magic resonated, a tense atmosphere swept through the knights. Ian realized that the woman standing there was the one he had only heard of until now.

Sensitive to magic to the extent of distinguishing and feeling it well here, except for the saint and Yuria, Ian knew that she was the one who had absorbed the monsters that fled, leaving no traces.

However, they instinctively knew through experience. As soon as they recognized that she was a person with strength incomparable to before, they entered combat mode and raised their shields.

“Rachel… Your knights seem a bit more tolerable than before.”

Surprisingly, the monster? The woman barely noticed that the skilled knights had disappeared from her sight. Hovering in the center, she looked down at Rachel.

Resting her arms and legs on the air like pillows, chin resting on her hand, she glanced back and forth between Cecilia, Rachel, and Ian with an intrigued gaze.

Occasionally bursting into laughter and rolling her eyes playfully, her response exuded a sense of enmity and magic from every pore, unlike the hostility and magic oozing from her body, almost as if she were watching a comedian.

“Especially that man… quite a peculiar case, isn’t he? Making guinea pigs among vampires while whining about his son, huh. Your tastes seem to have become quite peculiar, Ray.”

Even speaking as if she were familiar with Rachel and the situation, her eyes contained a mocking tone as she referred to Ian.

‘…No way.’

Ian felt embarrassed as he listened to her words.

Could she hear even his thoughts about having the power of a vampire?

“…Crossing the line with your remarks, aren’t you.”

Suddenly, Rachel, her teeth grinding, shot up with burning eyes.

“Haha, your fiery personality hasn’t changed a bit. Ray, that consistent trait of yours is quite admirable.”

Rachel is not one to be trifled with. In fact, by the standards of this world, she falls on the stronger side.

But even as such attacks came right at her, what’s with her relaxed attitude in facing them?

-Clang! Clatter!

With her greatly elongated nails, she casually addressed Rachel like one would a child, a smile playing on her lips.

“Stop it. You know you’ve never beaten me once. Quite well aware, aren’t you?”

Her voice sounded like that of a young girl throwing a tantrum.

“I’m not interested in you anymore. I’m more focused on that successful lab rat. Oh, and you know my hobby is taking what I want, right? I won’t kill all of you; I’ll just offer half of you as food for our sick ones. So behave and wait quietly. Remember last time when you ignored this and I ended up killing all your mercenaries… remember?”

With a fox-like tone, Rachel’s hand stiffened as she taunted her.

Dismissing Rachel’s pitiful state with a word, the unnamed woman crossed her legs in mid-air and approached Ian with a teasing smile.

With each step forward, her hips and backside were revealed.

In torn black stockings that barely covered her flawless white skin, and black lingerie peeking through, her outfit left little to the imagination. The top only slightly concealed her assets. Her sensual figure, eager to expose hidden parts, seemed designed to tantalize men’s hearts.

Dressed almost provocatively to appeal to male desires, as the woman entered Ian’s sight, his gaze automatically drifted downwards.

Deliberately avoiding eye contact, he was likely under some spell of enchantment. However, counteracting that allure was a deep-seated fear ingrained within him.

Ian knew that giving in to such temptation with this woman would lead to more than just death.

Anytime.

Anywhere.

He knew better than anyone that she was watching.

Then it happened.

Crack! Along with a fierce thunderstorm, five bolts of lightning descended from the sky.

Each strike aimed at the enemy with such force that it could shatter their eyes and scorch the earth beneath.

However, as she wrapped her body lightly with her outstretched wings, she effortlessly neutralized all those lightning bolts.

Despite the valiant strike of the knight commander, the demons showed no signs of weakness, dimming the hopes of the knights.

“…Hmm, was that guy who luckily survived last time still alive? Even after I spared him once… huh?”

As the disdainful eyes looked down below, the demon, as if remembering something amusing, began to chuckle and laugh mockingly towards Rachel.

“Oh, oh! You… I remember now. That time, hehe… when you begged and cried for me to spare that man… yes, hahaha. Just because you whimpered like the heavens were falling apart for me to spare that pathetic man once, I tore his body in half right in front of you, making you so heartbroken-.”

“Shut your mouth-!”

As Rachel, who had been lowering her tail in silence, felt a surge of anger, she conjured a small ice gauntlet in her hand and lunged forward. The woman, smiling mockingly, clapped her hands as if calling pets.

“Do I have to deal with you alone? Rachel, it seems like you haven’t given up on protecting everyone yet. From the looks of it, is that lab rat also your future lover?”

“!!!!!!”

The vibrant energy emanating from Rachel was something Ian had never seen before.

However, as monsters began pouring out of the cave like a flood, the knights’ expressions started to cool down rapidly.

“Hurry up and block it! I’m actually enjoying this. I still have that man with me, you know. Well, only his head. So what? You buried a headless corpse in the ground, so you should remember it for a long time. If you hand over that experimental rat, I don’t mind giving you the head of your former lover whom you begged for so desperately.”

“This…!”

Rachel glared at her as if she were about to kill her, thanks to the woman’s technique that immobilized her.

She chuckled while holding onto her stomach. It seemed like Rachel was nothing more than a plaything to her, neither more nor less.

“What will you do? Should I show my face after a long time? Gotta say hello. Ah… but I might look a bit off. I don’t have eyeballs on both sides like before, and I’ve nibbled on some flesh… so you might not recognize me compared to before… hehehe.”

As she was saying that.

“…Experimental rat, are those words meant for our Ian?”

A question fell from the maid’s lips.

She grabbed the monster’s shoulder firmly with a thud.