episode_0065

Disliking that notion, Rachel found herself instinctively reaching out and grabbing his coat collar in a hurry.

If she were to let go like this, it felt like it would truly be the end. It felt like she would lose everything like the others.

Her dimmed eyes slowly rose and confirmed Ian’s expression.

“…!”

Rachel’s heart throbbed.

-Thump.

Subsequently, his unexpected actions captivated Rachel’s heart.

The grip of their clasped hands was so intense that from now on, it was almost unbelievable that Ian’s words could be false.

As Rachel swiftly turned her gaze back, she met his warm golden eyes directly. A gaze filled with conviction.

“Can’t you trust me?”

“…Trust you?”

Ian’s gaze had such power that Rachel felt compelled to respond with an unconscious “Yes!” His voice, ringing in her ears at close range, made it quite challenging for the normally resilient Rachel to withstand.

“I value the moments when you stay by my side without changing, Rachel, more than others changing. To achieve that, we must trust each other. I trust you and hold you dearly, but… Rachel, do you not trust me?”

“…!”

That’s… cheating!

Blushing intensely as if her face had turned as red as a shrimp, Rachel, trying to hide her embarrassment, puffed up her cheeks with both hands.

Completely unaware of the meaning behind her actions, Ian simply looked at her with a clueless expression.

“…Oh, stop it, you rascal.”

Rachel, pulling at his side with her finger, pouted heavily.

Not understanding the situation at all, Ian just stared at her with eyes that seemed to say, “I don’t get it.”

“So, do you believe me?”

“…In the end, it was a path we had to take.”

Although Rachel gazed at the cave with a bitter smile, most of her previous distrust and anxiety seemed to have washed away.

Despite her trembling hand, Ian immediately reached into his pocket along with her, as if to show his support.

“…?!”

It’s cramped indeed.

As the large hands of the man and woman entered the pocket meant for one hand, the warmth inside quickly replaced the sharp coldness, making Rachel flustered as she glanced around, alternating between the pocket and Ian.

But she didn’t ask him to remove his hand.

Instead, she seemed to enjoy it, pretending not to notice, wriggling her hand within the pocket as if trying to hold his hand back.

“Should we just hold hands outside?”

“…Shut up, you nuisance.”

Reluctantly holding hands inside the pocket, Rachel only let go when Cecilia arrived.

…

Meanwhile, the demoness who had emerged from the cave was sucked back into the shadows under Uriah’s control.

However.

“…Tsk.”

Apart from anger and jealousy, irritation rarely showed on Uriah’s face.

Something was amiss.

“Uriah, what happened?”

“I failed.”

Ian raised an eyebrow at Uriah’s statement.

“Failed?”

“The demoness I was about to capture just committed suicide.”

As evidence, a lifeless body dropped from the shadow hole.

The head exploded like a balloon popping, which was not an exaggeration. Around the neck, flesh remained attached as if torn apart.

“…”

However, it was strange.

Originally, Uriah’s dominion ability, once a certain amount of control was inserted, unfailingly subjugated them to her service without exception.

Whether harboring deep hatred towards humans or having been killed by Uriah, when a spear was thrust into a corpse or anything else, creatures generally pledged loyalty as subjects. Even if they were already loyal to someone else and under their dominion, Uriah could overlay her dominion, making it impossible to escape her dominion power, even for a direct knight of a commander.

There were even direct knights who rejoiced at serving Uriah anew; in the rare event of one about to be completely subjugated, committing suicide out of loyalty just before being dominated was never possible.

Furthermore, the demoness was likely engulfed in fear, albeit briefly seen. Given the creature’s nature, the probability of choosing suicide, like self-sacrifice, was low. She might have struggled to survive in any way possible.

Originally, the dominion ability of demons and monsters was inferior to Uriah’s dominion.

It was a power derived from vampires’ dominion, meaning it couldn’t surpass the original.

However, if this “original” was overlaid, the situation would change.

Uriah was not yet mature as a vampire. While she had some experience and skill, she had never encountered a vampire other than herself and her parents.

“…There seem to be other vampires inside.”

The answer quickly deduced intuitively was this:

‘Perhaps the ability to manipulate monsters was originally possessed by this monster girl, and later she was dominated by a vampire.’

But Isabella, who had been listening quietly, shook her head.

“That monster didn’t harbor good feelings toward vampires. Fear was most evident among them. If it was an ability like that of the maid, feeling such emotions upon seeing a vampire would be rather awkward.”

“That’s… true.”

With the saint’s testimony, which could read even inner thoughts with eyes of truth, doubts grew once again.

At that moment,

-Squirm.

The body that had been confirmed dead after its head exploded moved.

All vital signs had ceased.

This was closer to someone ‘manipulating’ the corpse from behind rather than the monster coming back to life and moving.

However, the revived monster’s appearance was even more grotesque. Although the severed limbs had regenerated, the most crucial part, the head, had not regenerated at all. Typically, regeneration would start with the most important part, the head, but it felt as if the body was being regenerated as a tool for a specific purpose.

“?”

Uriah, who had been pondering for a while, immediately wielded her dagger to slash the body once more.

Despite the severe wounds and the messy state where body parts seemed forcibly attached, there was a palpable energy that indicated this was no ordinary dead monster.

Even though the body had been severed, the monster’s body promptly regenerated a new form, and from the exposed veins on its skin, intense heat began to rise along with steam.

Then, with a thud, the movement stopped.

Like exerting strength momentarily before hatching.

Amidst the eerie sensation of something sinister writhing within the monster’s body, those observing the scene shuddered.

Although they had been relentless in killing the remaining monsters, they turned their heads in astonishment at the powerful presence that seemed to pierce their backs.

And from the body of the monster that caused this phenomenon, a ‘hand’ emerged.

But that wasn’t the end.

As if emerging from the body, a black figure of a woman slowly appeared, first the head, then the torso, and finally the lower body, gazing around languidly.

Upon descending from the body of the demon she had been trampling with both feet, the surrounding ground sank as if unable to contain the boiling power, creating a deep dent just by her presence.

She was one who resembled the bloodsuckers.

She was a being who traversed past and future, ending countless worlds.

Uniquely, she was the woman who had killed the protagonist of this novel.

The moniker used to call that vampire was not just one or two, whether by readers or characters within the novel. The word used when referring to her.

Final Boss.

Her gaze, shifting between Yuria, Rachel, and the Holy Maiden, narrowed.

However.

“……….Huh?”

The woman coated in black liquid opened her mouth for the first time.

As if seeing something she shouldn’t have.

No, more precisely, something that shouldn’t exist. A smile mixed with joy, ecstasy, and madness, as if unexpectedly finding something thought lost, gazed solely at Ian, step by step.

-“Why did you come, ###?”

-“You called me here.”

Reaching out with both hands, she revealed a smile at the corners of her lips.

Yet, there was no vitality in the pupils staring at him.

Her voice crackled like an old radio speaker.

Finally, as that woman reached out her hand.

====

[ Level 10 —None. None. ]

Effect unknown, a skill not recorded in the status window.

A black neck rose.

The shadow of a tree reaching heights that seemed to pierce the sky covered not only the knights but the entire forest.

While an uncertain stillness flowed through all who witnessed it, indicating they could not yet comprehend what would follow, there was one exception.

Rachel, who had tried to stop Ian, was sprinting straight towards him as if her life depended on it.

With all sound blocked out, all that could be seen was her desperate expression.

“No, don’t!!! Don’t look, close your eyes!!!”

Though her pupils shrank and her mouth opened wide as if screaming, it was clear what she was saying.

Desperation filled Rachel’s eyes.

But only for a moment.

“…Rachel?”

The moment he questioned, the world. Stopped.

…