Chapter 44: I will end you completely; there is no future for you
A little while earlier.
Vandalieu suddenly woke up.
「… The spirits are making a lot of noise.」(Vandalieu)
Has something happened? It doesn't seem like there's a large influx of monster spirits coming from the Dungeon where Borkus's party is crushing everything in their path.
Now that I think about it, Borkus returned from the Dungeon today so he should be in his usual spot.
So then, what was it? He couldn't get an idea of what it was even when he asked the spirits directly.
Well, it would probably be best to stay awake. I don't feel the presence of death, so it doesn't seem like there's a disaster-level high-Rank monster closing in on Talosheim, at least.
Let's relax and wait for now. It could be that Pauvina has just woken up and will be coming here any moment now.
「Mom is… asleep, huh.」(Vandalieu)
The small box on the bedside table that contained the enshrined fragment of Darcia's bone was silent. As he started to wonder what to do while waiting, Vandalieu felt a presence.
「…[Detect Life.]」(Vandalieu)
Casting a detection spell with quite a wide area of effect, he discovered that numerous life-forms had entered the castle. Who would visit at this time of night? The fact that there are reactions to this spell means that they aren't Undead, so just who are they?
Excluding people who visit the bathhouse, there should be nobody coming to the royal castle other than me, Pauvina and Borkus. Zadiris is away in a Dungeon today, and Basdia visited Bilde and the other mothers to ask them about childcare and is staying with them.
I invited Tarea to live in the royal castle as well, but she needs to live in the same building as her workshop as she's busy with work. She seemed very disappointed, so she'll likely come to live here once she's less busy.
Leaving that aside, who are these people?
「I'll use[Detect Life]one more time… They're coming here instead of going to the audience chamber?」(Vandalieu)
Which meant that they perhaps had business with Vandalieu, so he got up.
He waited, wondering something as silly as whether it would seem villain-like to greet them with,「Yo, I've been getting tired of waiting」, or,「About time.」
And then he felt a fairly strong presence of death in front of the door. This meant that someone on the other side of the door had murderous intentions towards Vandalieu.
Who is it? He wondered as he took the fragment of Darcia's bone from the small box on the table and placed it into his breast pocket to keep it safe.
Judging from the presence I can sense, it's not such an urgent situation, but just in case.
But living people who hold murderous intentions towards me… It's far too early to be one of the people reincarnating from Origin. Other people who could have a motive to kill me would be people related to Evbejia or its bandits, or humans from the Mirg-shield-nation, but that's unlikely as well.
It would be difficult for them to cross the Boundary Mountain Range, and even if they wanted to hire an assassin, nobody would accept the job.
The most likely answer was monsters, but there were no species intelligent enough to do something like sneak into the castle living near Talosheim.
Hmm, could it be spies or something from the Mirg shield-nation?
It was possible that there was a squad of highly-skilled assassins. As Vandalieu considered this possibility, the door opened slightly and a woman slipped inside the room.
A woman? And she's not concealing her face.
A woman who didn't look like an assassin or monster at first glance had entered the room. She was wearing clothes that looked easy to move in, but she didn't have any kind of armor or weapon on her.
She was a beautiful woman with red hair and white skin, only a year or two into her twenties.
And then, without pulling a knife from a pocket or reciting an incantation, the beautiful woman raised her face.
「?!」(Eleanora)
And then she opened her eyes. She seemed surprised. He couldn't blame her for being surprised to encounter the owner of the room that she had just sneaked into, but wasn't she a little too surprised?
But the beautiful woman recovered from her surprise quickly. She stared at Vandalieu intently.
What powerful eyes.
Even as this thought ran through his mind, Vandalieu didn't take his eyes off the beautiful woman. She was a trespasser in his room, after all, and strangely enough, he could feel the presence of death coming from her. And he thought that this was some kind of contest where the first person to break eye contact was the loser.
With gazes that seemed like they could pierce holes in a surface, they stared at each other. And then the woman's eyes and mouth suddenly relaxed.
「You are Vandalieu, aren't you?」(Eleanora)
「Yes, I am Vandalieu.」(Vandalieu)
She asked his name, so Vandalieu answered honestly. As he answered, he became more and more unsure of who this woman was.
But the presence of death… the reaction from[Danger Sense: Death]is growing weaker and weaker…?
「Hey, what do you think about me?」(Eleanora)
For some reason, she asked a question like this.
「Huh… I think that you're a beautiful person.」(Vandalieu)
I'll give a noncommittal response for now. She's actually beautiful, too.
「I see, that makes me happy. Will you be my friend?」(Eleanora)
In addition to being happy, she's asking me to be her friend. If I were on a street corner, I'd think that she was trying to pick me up.
「… If you're fine with me being your friend, it would be my pleasure…?」(Vandalieu)
It's exceptionally questionable as to whether being friends with a beautiful woman who has trespassed into my room is a good idea, but I'll answer with a yes for now. If I refuse and she gets angry, I'd be scared.
「Well then, would you praise the evil god Hihiryushukaka that we worship? Say that he is a wonderful god.」(Eleanora)
… For some reason, she's asking me to praise the evil god that she seems to worship. Since everyone in this world knows about the existence of the gods, maybe it's some kind of etiquette in human society to show respect for the god that the other person believes in before introducing yourself?
Well, I don't really care. Since it isn't Rodcorte or Alda, I don't mind giving some insincere praise to this Hihiryushukaka god.
「The evil god Hihiryushukaka is a wonderful god.」(Vandalieu)
But just who or what is this beautiful woman?
She isn't showing any signs of wanting to cause further harm to Mom, nor is she doing anything to try and kill me… and she probably isn't here to invite me to join her religion.
Is there a possibility that she's a spy or something from the Orbaume Kingdom side of the continent?
When Talosheim was destroyed, the First Princess and around five hundred citizens escaped to the Hartner duchy of the Orbaume Kingdom. They would naturally wish to restore their homeland one day.
And the Orbaume Kingdom that welcomed them would surely wish for Talosheim's restoration as well. They would have set up a political marriage or something with the First Princess to make the nation's ruler their relative, and turning Talosheim into one of its vassal nations would surely be profitable for them.
There's no longer a route through which the Mirg shield-nation can send their troops. They could maintain the nation as long as they have walls and soldiers to keep the monsters at bay, and adventurers would come swarming in large numbers as there are four Dungeons nearby.
Could this woman have set out to investigate Talosheim's current state? But when she arrived here, the walls, the city and even the castle had been restored and there were Undead and monsters living here. And there was even an unknown『King』present.
So then has she come here to contact the king who currently leads the group who has taken over Talosheim?
She'll negotiate if possible, and if not, she'll have the guys outside the room dispose of me.
I still don't get why she made me praise the evil god, though.
They got me. I didn't expect a spies or humans to sneak in, so the security is full of holes.
Without an ability like Vandalieu's[Golem Transmutation]to create roads among the cliffs, crossing the mountain range with hundreds of people or more would be difficult, and the tunnel leading to the Orbaume Kingdom was still sealed. He had never imagined that humans would come in from the outside.
The monsters couldn't climb the walls, and they wouldn't even approach since they could sense the presence of the Undead Titans.
That was why there had been no guards on the high, sturdy walls and it would have been easy for someone to sneak into the city or castle with a little knowledge. Vandalieu hadn't even thought about the security situation.
He cursed himself for his own carelessness, but felt grateful that he could talk to this person more than the people who were trying to kill him with no arguments such as the adventurers of the Mirg shield-nation or the religious fanatics who worshipped Alda.
For now, I should ask for the woman's name.
「You have tamed the Undead, haven't you? How did you do it? When did you receive the goddess's divine protection?」(Eleanora)
Before he could ask, he was asked a question. And the question asked was something that he'd never even thought about.
How did I tame the Undead, she says… I'm not really doing anything special; is it really something that you'd go out of your way to ask?
I haven't thrown special balls to capture weakened Undead, nor have I defeated them to have them stand up again and want to become my friends.
I made Bone Man and the others myself, and the Ghouls and the Undead Titans of Talosheim are under the effect of the[Death-Attribute Charm.]I had to negotiate with Borkus. I don't really feel the sense that I've tamed them.
I didn't think it would be that strange considering that there are Tamer Jobs in this world. Could it be the sheer number of Undead? From her perspective, it might seem like I've tamed over a thousand Undead, so maybe she wants to hear whatever secret or trick I'm using.
Unaware that it was common knowledge that taming the Undead was impossible, this was how Vandalieu interpreted her question.
And the goddess's divine protection… Ah, is she talking about the prophecy that Nuaza received?
「That's right, but even if you ask me how I did it… Well, in any case, I'm able to tame them. As for the divine protection… Are you talking about the prophecy?」(Vandalieu)
I asked a question in response, and even though she seems surprised, she also seems to understand. Even though gods exist, prophecies are probably rare.
I ended up asking her a question in response, but I'm relieved that she isn't bothered by it.
… Oh? I can feel her murderous intent returning a little.
「I see… Well then, I wonder if you know about the[Sword King]Borkus? Can you tell me where he is* right now?」(Eleanora)
I was lost in thought and missed my chance to ask her name. She's asking about Borkus this time. I don't know why she's interested in Borkus, but… maybe she wants to know how much military strength is present here?
「Borkus should be* in the audience chamber.」(Vandalieu)
「Should be…?* Has he turned into an Undead?」(Eleanora)
「Yes.」(Vandalieu)
Neither Borkus's location nor the fact that he had turned into an undead was something that needed to be hidden, so Vandalieu answered both questions. When he did, the woman seemed to ponder something.
The murderous intent coming from the woman has disappeared again, but I can still feel a response from[Danger Sense: Death]on the other side of the door. I should call Borkus and the others here just in case. I have to awaken my Undead insects, ask them to come to the room below and…
「Also… How did you repair the castle and the city? It should have been considerably damaged; did you make the Undead repair them?」(Eleanora)
And then the woman asked about the castle and the city. She might have been surprised after seeing the restored Talosheim that had previously been a ruin.
「No, I made Golems to repair them.」(Vandalieu)
Repairing things by making Golems is definitely extraordinary. Even now, it costs thousands of Mana to make a single Golem; sometimes even more than ten thousand. Even if it's theoretically possible, it's definitely impossible for ordinary alchemists to do in practice.
The[Golem Transmuter]Job was undiscovered, so only someone with over 100,000,000 Mana could possibly use such a method.
As Vandalieu had no proper knowledge regarding Golems, that was how he interpreted the woman's surprised reaction when he mentioned Golems.
And then the door behind the woman opened and several people stepped inside, led by an irritated-looking man.
Hmm, things have changed. For now, I'll turn the floor into a Golem.
The men who have entered aren't hiding their faces and don't have weapons drawn, though they are armed. They're shooting dangerous glares in this direction. Come to think of it, including the beautiful woman, all of them have crimson pupils.
「Oi, how much longer are you planning to take?」(Sercrent)
The man is saying something dangerous, that I should be disposed of since there's no further use for me. He's not even making an attempt to conceal his murderous intent and malice. Despite that, he seems fully concerned about the woman, not me.
Is the battle finally beginning? Vandalieu thought, but the woman began arguing with the man, still maintaining eye contact with Vandalieu.
「This child might be beneficial to us. It would be useful to ask him how he tamed the Undead and how he used Golems to repaired the ruins.」(Eleanora)
I'm happy that you acknowledge my value, but it'd be really helpful if you could try and stop the man. Still, saying things like this while looking into the eyes of the person you're referring to is quite questionable, isn't it?
「… Eleanora, have you gone insane? The mission we received was to kill that Dhampir. That takes priority, and everything else can come after we have accomplished that. Any secret knowledge or rare skills he might have are irrelevant.」(Sercrent)
This was the response the man gave. Vandalieu had finally learned the beautiful woman's name, but he had also heard something that he was far more concerned about.
Killing the Dhampir takes priority? Does that mean that these are believers of Alda? They're not spies from the Orbaume Kingdom? Was everything about the evil god a lie?
It seems like all of my guesses up until now have been wrong. But why is this man saying these things calmly right in front of me? He's either very confident in his own abilities or simply underestimating me.
Either way, it's unpleasant.
「Eleanora, you do it. If you don't, I will report to Birkyne-sama that you refused to kill the Dhampir.」(Sercrent)
「! You bastard…」(Eleanora)
And at the end of it all, Eleanora is being threatened to kill me. It seems that this Birkyne they mentioned is a really fearsome person.
But this Eleanora person hasn't broken eye contact with me during all this talking. Don't her eyes hurt? Mine sting a little.
While these thoughts ran through his mind, Vandalieu decided how he was going to deal with these people.
For now, I'll capture all of them alive.
I could question them after killing them, but if they were dispatched by the Orbaume Kingdom, I could use them in the future if I capture them alive.
Eleanora's murderous intent rose a third time. Did she intend to kill Vandalieu as she had been ordered to by Birkyne?
「Can you come here?」(Eleanora)
It seemed that she had steeled her resolve. She asked Vandalieu to move closer.
It can't be helped. I'll approach her, and at the timing at which she tries to kill me…
Vandalieu approached her while thinking this. He entered the range of a possible kick but Eleanora didn't move. Her murderous intent faded rapidly.
He approached close enough that he could reach out and touch her, but she still didn't move. He couldn't feel her murderous intent at all anymore.
Even consciously using the[Danger Sense: Death]that was always active, there was no response.
It seemed that she had either decided not to kill Vandalieu or become unable to. With this, she was no longer an enemy.
However, he could feel a remarkable response from the men behind her. Unlike the response he could feel from Eleanora, the response he felt from them was growing larger.
And it was pointed at not only Vandalieu, but at Eleanora as well.
A conflict within their organization? Well, unlike me, she's not in enough danger to be killed suddenly… Ah, this isn't good.
As Eleanora took Vandalieu's head in both hands and lifted him up, the men moved.
「Do it, you bastards! Dispose of the Dhampir and Eleanora as well! Just like we did to that piece of trash, Valen!」(Sercrent)
The proud-looking man shouted with bloodshot eyes, and his subordinates drew their swords to kill Vandalieu and Eleanora. Their movement was faster than he had expected based on the response he felt from[Danger Sense: Death], and he reacted a moment too late.
Using[Telekinesis], Vandalieu flew backwards together with Eleanora. The bed creaked and blood sprayed from her wounded back.
However, it seemed that the wound that almost reached her lungs wasn't enough to kill her. That was to be expected; she and the others were all Vampires, after all.
Having finally realized this, Vandalieu looked at the men, still being held in Eleanora's arms. They were shouting something, but he didn't care about that.
「What did you say just now?」(Vandalieu)
"That piece of trash, Valen." These men had called Vandalieu's father who had been killed before he was born, Darcia's husband, a piece of trash.
「The effect of the Charming Demon Eyes has been cut off! Kill him before he summons the Undead outside!」(Sercrent)
Sercrent drew his own sword as he spat orders at the Subordinate Vampires whose movements were slowed as if they were in awe of the Dhampir. He had no intention of exchanging words with Vandalieu, no matter what he said.
If Eleanora heals herself and becomes able to fight, I will not be able to defeat her. If the Dhampir summons his Undead, we will be overwhelmed by their numbers.
The two of them joining forces would be the worst possible turn of events.
They have to be killed now at all costs!
The Subordinate Vampires bared their fangs and rushed in to tear the two of them apart with their swords and claws.
「Drop.」(Vandalieu)
However, the floor disappeared from beneath their feet. The floor that Vandalieu had preemptively turned into a Golem changed shape with the[Golem Transmutation]skill, turning into a makeshift pitfall.
「A pitfall?!」(Vampire)
「Impossible!」(Vampire)
The Vampires and the bed fell down helplessly. Only the floor below the bedside table remained as it was, but the Vampires who had rushed in towards Vandalieu and Eleanora hadn't noticed that.
「Th-this is…?」(Eleanora)
On top of the bed that defied gravity to float downwards gently, Eleanora was astonished. Too many things had happened in a single instant; her mind wasn't processing all of this new information quickly enough.
As she blinked, seemingly unconcerned about the wound on her back, Vandalieu thought that she looked quite adorable with this expression now that her formidability was gone.
It would have been good to be able to say such cool-sounding words, but there was someone that he was more concerned about than her right now.
「Please wait a moment.」(Vandalieu)
He wasn't really concerned about Eleanora. She wasn't an enemy. She had appeared before him with murderous intent, but that murderous intent had vanished without Vandalieu having done anything to it. Even if she was one of his father's enemies, he would deal with that when it came.
Vandalieu turned his eyes towards Sercrent.
「Kuh, such impudent acts!」(Sercrent)
The Noble-born Vampire Sercrent who possessed the ability to fly had fallen for a moment, but now he had regained his stance and was floating lightly in the air.
There were none among the Subordinate Vampires foolish enough to land on their backs or heads. As to be expected of Vampires.
「Hurry up and kill them!」(Sercrent)
『Yeah, we'll do that.』(Borkus)
「?!」(Sercrent)
As Sercrent turned to look in the direction that this unfamiliar male voice had come from, he heard a slashing sound.
And then in the corner of his vision, he saw his own arm that was still holding his sword and his leg that had been severed above the knee flying away.
「Guh… GAAAAAAH! You bastard!」(Sercrent)
The bald Titan who possessed only half a face with finely-chiseled features responsible for the[Sky Rend]attack laughed and said,『Don't scream so loudly.』
『Oops, my bad. Are we taking them alive?』(Borkus)
「Change of plans, Borkus. Please kill everyone except for this person. But I would be happy if you let me kill that one.」(Vandalieu)
『Yeah, roger that. Just when did you manage to charm such a pretty lady?』(Borkus)
「No, no, I'm the one who has been charmed.」(Vandalieu)
『Are you serious? At this rate, things will start to look bad if we don't find Zandia-jouchan soon.』(Borkus)
Seeing an Undead with extraordinary bloodthirst emanating from his entire body, Eleanora whispered in wonder.
「Th-the[Sword King]Borkus. It can't be, you tamed him?」(Eleanora)
The Titan hero who was said to have cut off the head of a Dragon in a single attack, defeated in the war two hundred years ago. And even now, he had simultaneously severed the arm and leg of Sercrent, a Noble-born Vampire.
It was impossible that such a powerful Undead could be tamed. The difficulty of taming a monster is proportional to the monster's Rank and intelligence. Borkus possessed strength exceeding that of lesser Dragons, and was intelligent enough to hold conversations. Even with the goddess's divine protection, the difficulty of taming such a being should be beyond comprehension.
However, there were many Vampires who, unlike Eleanora, didn't have the time to notice and be surprised by such facts.
「Sercrent-sama!」(Vampire)
「You bastards, keep the Undead busy! I will kill the Dhampir in the meantime!」(Sercrent)
『As you will!』(Vampires)
The ten or so remaining Subordinate Vampires faced Borkus while Sercrent turned to Vandalieu, who had slipped away from Eleanora's arms, and began reciting an incantation.
Though Subordinate Vampires were lesser beings among Vampires, their power posed a threat to humans. Even though they didn't possess magical abilities like Noble-born Vampires, they possessed immense physical strength, sharp reflexes, claws that could tear through iron and tremendous Vitality and regenerative abilities that prevented them from dying as long as they weren't decapitated or had their hearts destroyed.
And they also possessed the human-like trait of receiving bonuses to their skills from Jobs. Facing ten such Vampires was utter madness.
「GYAAAAAH!」(Vampire)
「A Dragon from the wall?! GAHAH!」(Vampire)
「Sercrent-sama! Please save - GUHEH!」(Vampire)
But such Vampires were trampled down without being able to resist in the slightest.
『GAAAAAAAAAAAAAH.』
『GYAOOOOOOOOOOOH!』
The one responsible for this wasn't Borkus, but the Undead dinosaurs that had been created from the dinosaur corpses Vandalieu had received on his third birthday.
There was a large banquet hall on the unoccupied floor beneath the cabinet minister's office. Vandalieu had already turned its walls into Golems.
That was why they had changed shape to form a corridor through which the Undead dinosaurs had charged in from the dining hall.
Apart from those who had been taken by surprise, the Subordinate Vampires attempted to deal with them, but Vandalieu had also turned the floor that they were standing on into a Golem.
As their legs were caught by the arms that had sprouted from the ground and their movements were stopped by holes that had suddenly appeared beneath them, the Undead dinosaurs pierced them with their teeth and horns.
They had the upper halves of their bodies shredded by the teeth of a Zombie Tyrannosaurus Rex, their heads smashed like ripe fruit by a direct hit from the tail of a Zombie Ankylosaurus and thrown around in the jaws of a Zombie in the shape of a mysterious one-eyed cat with scales.
Every time they attempted to counterattack, fists would extend towards them from the walls and floor to hinder them, and then they were overwhelmed by the Undead without being able to move properly.
Meanwhile, only three of the Subordinate Vampires faced Borkus as they had been ordered to.
『Here,[Single Flash.]』(Borkus)
With an unenthusiastic voice, Borkus swung his magic sword towards them and released the most basic of martial skills.
「You fool![Iron Wall!][Iron Body!]」(Vampire)
A Subordinate Vampire quickly readied the shield that was on his back and used Shield Technique and Armor Technique martial skills.
Both of them were skills increasing his physical and magical damage resistance that he had finally become able to use after his skills had reached level 5. There was no way that a sword swung with a technique such as[Single Flash]could touch even the Vampire's pinky finger through such a defense.
However, Borkus's magic sword cut through the Subordinate Vampire's shield, arm and entire body like a hot knife through butter.
『Come on, you have to survive at least one hit.』(Borkus)
The martial skill's power was proportional to the user's skill level. The level 5 Shield Technique and Armor Technique skills couldn't possibly stop the[Single Flash]of Borkus, whose skill had reached level 10 and granted him the superior version,[Sword King Technique.]
「Hyih, hyiiiiih!」(Vampire)
「Sercrent-sama, it is impossible for us! Please assist us!」(Vampire)
The last two finally understand the difference in our strength, but are they stupid? Borkus wondered as he swung his magic sword once more.
『Look out,[Triple Slash.]』(Borkus)
Borkus released three sideways slashes at high speed. They cut a Subordinate Vampire's neck, below the chest and the base of his legs. Blood scattered everywhere as his legs and head went rolling across the floor.
「Ah, AAAAAH!」(Vampire)
But the other one was saved by the fact that he's only had both legs cut off just above the knees. Well, I'll kill him soon as well anyway.
「Wait! I surrender, I'll tell you anything! I'll tell you about Sercrent-sama, Gubamon-sama and even Birkyne-sama! So please spare me!」(Vampire)
『Sorry, but I've been told we don't need any prisoners.』(Borkus)
I've been told to kill everyone but that pretty lady, and I have to do what the boss says. Oh, I've grown up quite a bit, haven't I?
『And it's an old saying that you should kill Goblins no matter how pitiful they look.』(Borkus)
Saying an old proverb spoken amongst adventurers since old times, Borkus swung his sword three times. Scattering blood everywhere, the three small-fries had turned into masses of meat giving off a delicious smell.
『Well, you can blame yourself for becoming that kid's enemy.』(Borkus)
Borkus picked up one of the legs rolling around and began munching on it raw. Delicious. Subordinate Vampires taste better than they look.
I suppose I'll try their brains and organs next.
Ah, I should have at least brought some salt with me.
With fresh meat as a snack, Borkus watched the execution.
「Die, you damn Dhampir!」(Sercrent)
Shouting these words, Sercrent unleashed a lightning attack. The lightning that was writhing through the air like a snake was probably very powerful. There was no doubt that being grazed by it would stop Vandalieu's heart and taking a direct hit would turn him into ash.
However, it vanished upon coming into contact with the[Magic Absorption Barrier]surrounding Vandalieu's body.
「Wha -?! … Very well, I will slaughter you personally with my claws!」(Sercrent)
Swinging his claws, Sercrent closed in on Vandalieu with the speed of a wild beast. His movements were unexpectedly sharp for someone missing an arm and a leg.
「I'll have your head![Iron Tear!]」(Sercrent)
Such wonderful speed. To Vandalieu, it appeared as if Sercrent had vanished in one moment and appeared in front of his eyes in the next.
However, the[Impact-Negating Barrier]and[Magic Absorption Barrier]had both been set up. After what had happened during the battle against Bugogan, Vandalieu had decided to make them extra-thick.
「What?! My Mana, my strength!」(Sercrent)
Sercrent felt as if the air had been replaced by a heavy, viscous substance. The moment he touched Vandalieu's barriers, his arm had stopped moving.
His arm should have been strong enough to destroy a castle's walls, but Sercrent felt an incredible amount of resistance from trying to move it just a single millimeter. It was as if it was submerged in an impossibly viscous liquid.
Sercrent thought that this was some kind of special defensive spell. And he understood how he could pierce through it.
「Fuhahaha! This simply means that I must attack with an attack powerful enough to overcome your spell!」(Sercrent)
Laughing loudly, he once again unleashed his high-level unarmed martial skill,[Iron Tear.]His arm began moving towards Vandalieu again, one centimeter at a time. He was less than thirty centimeters away now.
The moment my claws reach him, I will crush the Dhampir's fragile skull and scatter its contents across the floor as he dies a terrible death!
「You're right about that. But you can't do it.」(Vandalieu)
Sercrent had thought that the Dhampir's expression was empty due to despair, but the Dhampir said this proudly. Quite the bluff. Sercrent was inferior to Eleanora, but his Mana and martial skills were worthy of being called those of a Noble-born Vampire.
It will take some time, but even with one arm, breaking a barrier like this would be… One arm?
「Sercrent's arm and leg haven't regenerated?」(Eleanora)
Eleanora noticed that Sercrent's wounds were simply continuing to spill blood. With the regenerative ability of a Noble-born Vampire, the wounds should have stopped bleeding and begun to regenerate by now like the one in her own back, unless cut by a sword made of silver or a magic sword of the light attribute.
However, there were no signs of this occurring at all.
「I've used a spell called[Healing Negation]that nullifies self-healing abilities. It only works while I continue casting it, but it's enough to kill you.」(Vandalieu)
It took a moment for Eleanora and Sercrent to understand the flat-toned words that Vandalieu spoke.
「Ah… AAAAAAAGH!」(Sercrent)
The moment he finally understood what Vandalieu meant, Sercrent let out a shout that didn't quite sound like a scream or roar. He tried to break through Vandalieu's barrier at all costs.
Before he died from losing too much blood.
Vampires have incredible regenerative abilities. Noble-born Vampires in particular can lose limbs and regrow new ones, and after some time passes, the limbs return to normal.
That was why Eleanora and Sercrent never bothered learning healing spells. They didn't even carry Potions with them.
「UOOOOOOOH!」(Sercrent)
Sercrent attempted to use lightning and fire spells as a last-ditch effort to cauterize his wounds and stop his bleeding, but they faded away as they had their Mana absorbed by the[Magic Absorption Barrier.]
And the more he struggled, the more blood poured out of his open wounds.
「Uoh… oh…」(Sercrent)
Sercrent's movements grew remarkably weaker and his originally white skin became deathly pale.
「You bastard, I… I am the… subordinate of… the Pure-breed… Vampire… Gubamon… who has received… the divine protection of the…[Evil God of Joyful Life], Hihiryushukaka… If you kill me… Hundreds of Vampires will… Even the Mirg shield-nation… is our puppet… They'll send their forces here! If you… don't want that to -」(Sercrent)
And then he started begging for his life. But it was partially true; Vandalieu seemed to think that his words had some merit to them.
He looked not at Sercrent, but at Eleanora behind him.
「What this guy is saying, is it true?」(Vandalieu)
On the other side of Vandalieu, Eleanora could see Sercrent's face tensing up.
「No. This man who killed your father is indeed the subordinate of a Pure-breed Vampire, who does have connections to the Mirg shield-nation. But they will not move for the sake of this man.」(Eleanora)
「You bastard, wagging your tail for a Dhampir -」(Sercrent)
「Your breath stinks.」(Vandalieu)
Vandalieu plunged both of his arms into the angry Sercrent's chest.
「Gagah?!」(Sercrent)
With[Spirit Form Transformation]applied to his arms, he moved them around inside and extracted his spirit while he was still alive.
「I've never met my father, so I can't say that I love him. I don't even know if I respect him. So even if you ridicule my father, even if you're the one who killed him, I can't hate you on his behalf.」(Vandalieu)
And I've learned the hard way on Earth and in Origin that blood relatives aren't always your allies.
And then Vandalieu began to tear the spirit that he had pulled out.
「GYAAAAAAAH! AAAAAAAGH!」(Sercrent)
「But my mother loved my father. And the fact that you have connections to the Mirg shield-nation means that you're not entirely unrelated to her death. I'm sure you were involved with the extermination force that was sent into the Devil's Nest forest, too. That's why I hate you bitterly. I'll never forgive you; I don't want to be liked by you. You make me sick. I'm not going to let you have another life.」(Vandalieu)
His spirit-form arms found a shining sphere, the size of a marble that he could pinch between his fingers.
And then he seized it.
「Stop! Anything, anything but that!」(Sercrent)
This sphere was a soul. The core of a spirit, covered in spirit form. If compared to a cell, this was the part that would contain genetic information.
Sercrent understood this instinctively and pleaded with Vandalieu, but Vandalieu wasn't listening.
He crushed Sercrent's soul with all of his strength.
「GAAAAAAAAAH! GIHYAAAAAAAH! GYA -」(Sercrent)
With a cracking sound, it crumbled and fell to the floor.
The base fragments that made up Sercrent danced in the air like particles of light.
Sercrent, who had been screaming for his life, stopped moving at that moment. His heart was still beating and he was still breathing, and if there were machines available to perform electroencephalography, they would probably be able to detect brain waves.
However, Sercrent would never move again.
「What a nice sound… I've always wanted to do this.」(Vandalieu)
He had broken a soul. In manga and light novels, Vandalieu had occasionally seen spells or items that could『break』or『destroy』souls, but he had always wondered ever since his time in Origin whether it was really possible to do it.
Because in this world… and even on Earth or in Origin, there was no hell to punish the dead. It was impossible to imagine that Rodcorte, the god of the circle of transmigration, would make the effort to create one.
If the guys who have taken everything from me were to simply die, pass on and be reincarnated… It wouldn't be worth it.
But those who had their souls broken would have only oblivion awaiting them. Their souls would never find their way to Rodcorte. There would be no new start for them.
「But it takes a bit too long. It's not something I can do during a battle. I have to do it after immobilizing them or killing them first, I suppose.」(Vandalieu)
Vandalieu put Sercrent on the floor. He turned to see Borkus staring at him with his jaw dropped, half-eaten-Subordinate-Vampire-leg still in hand, and the petrified, wide-eyed Eleanora.
What are they so surprised about?
「Just now, what… did you do to him? You broke something of Sercrent's, what was it?」(Eleanora)
『I'm an Undead, and even I could see it. If my eyes aren't playing tricks on me, that was his soul. The kid went and broke that Vampire's soul. Haha, he really did it.』(Borkus)
「His soul…!」(Eleanora)
Eleanora's expression was one of dumbfounded awe, while Borkus gave a nervous laugh. Vandalieu consciously used the muscles in his cheeks that normally never moved to smile at them.
「Umm, I'll be the one questioning you now. Ah, you don't really have to praise Vida or anything.」(Vandalieu)
For some reason, the two of them remained petrified.
『You have acquired the[Soul Break]skill!』
Chapter 45: Apparently I'm her number one and only one
After breaking Sercrent's soul and having his dinosaur Zombies eat the body so that he would gain Experience Points, Vandalieu brought Eleanora to the dining hall.
He did this so that he could gather all of the important people here to listen to what Eleanora had to say.
「I'm terribly sorry!」(Tarea)
The one apologizing while kneeling on the floor was not Eleanora, but Tarea.
「To think that I was charmed so easily, spilled all of Van-sama's secrets and then carelessly went to sleep! How can I apologize for such a thing…?」(Tarea)
「No, please don't worry about it.」(Vandalieu)
Vandalieu had panicked after Eleanora told him what happened to Tarea, but considering that she had fallen asleep on a stone floor in the middle of winter, she seemed quite healthy. Vandalieu didn't think any more of the incident than that, so he felt that Tarea didn't need to apologize so fervently.
「It could not be helped, Tarea. Even if you had high levels in skills such as[Status Effect Resistance]and[Magic Resistance], you would likely have been unable to resist the Demon Eyes.」(Zadiris)
「And if you apologize any more than that, you'll only cause trouble for Van.」(Basdia)
「Uu, thank you very much for your words. But… why have things turned out this way?」(Tarea)
Tarea directed this question at Vandalieu, who was sitting right next to her. The two of them were sitting on a single Titan-sized chair. Not only could they hear each other breathing, their bodies were in contact.
「I heard that you were worrying about how there was distance between me and you, so I decided to try shortening that distance to zero.」(Vandalieu)
「Who did you hear such a thing from?!」(Tarea)
「Eleanora.」(Vandalieu)
「UWAAAAH! What does this woman think she's doing, blabbering such things so freely?!」(Tarea)
「Tarea, Tarea, your tone is becoming unpleasant. And do not squirm so much; your elbow has been hitting the boy.」(Zadiris)
As Tarea had moved around with her head in her hands, realizing that Vandalieu had been told everything she had said before she lost consciousness, her elbow had inflicted considerable damage to him.
「So why is this woman here?!」(Tarea)
After quick recovery, Tarea glared at Eleanora. She seemed to be looking not at Eleanora's face, but at a spot below Eleanora's neck, seemingly wary of the『Charming Demon Eyes.』
Eleanora sat quietly in her chair. Her hands and legs weren't bound, nor had she been gagged or blindfolded. It seemed that she might fly away and escape if they tried to place such restrictions on her.
「I am here to tell Vandalieu-sama everything I know, of course.」(Eleanora)
For some reason, Eleanora was adding -sama to Vandalieu's name and acting as if she were his vassal.
Trying to stop her after those events was difficult.
Eleanora had praised the goddess Vida despite Vandalieu having told her it wasn't necessary, and after that, she had kissed his hand and sworn loyalty to him. If he hadn't stopped her, she would have likely gone on to kiss his feet.
On top of that, Eleanora addressed him with an incredibly formal tone, and he had to put a lot of effort into asking her to return to her original, informal way of speaking. She had said,「I would never dare to」, and Vandalieu had only managed to convince her by telling her that this was an order, gesturing with his hand by forming a fist.
For some reason, she had made an expression that made it impossible tell whether she was scared or happy.
『Umm, can we have a discussion of what comes next after we listen to what Eleanora-san has to say? I woke up to find that lots of things have happened, so I still don't know what's going on.』(Darcia)
『These are Darcia-sama's words, so perhaps we should accept her suggestion?』(Sam)
Sam, who had recklessly brought his carriage inside the royal castle's dining hall, relayed Darcia's words. And then Eleanora began to speak about the reason she and the other Vampires had come here, and what the Vampires who worshipped the[Evil God of Joyful Life], Hihiryushukaka, had done to Darcia and Vandalieu.
Incidentally, Eleanora, Sercrent and their subordinates hadn't been haunted by the spirits of those they had killed up until now because they had preemptively poured holy water over their entire bodies numerous times. As an anti-[Spiritualist]method, they had endured full-body burns in order to prevent any spirits from informing Vandalieu of their whereabouts.
It was a very effective method against Vandalieu, but quite a radical approach.
「Things are on a much larger scale than I thought.」(Vandalieu)
Vandalieu sighed as he listened. The Vampires who had killed his father Valen had never become directly involved with him after he regained his memories up until now, and he could never learn anything more about them so he hadn't really had strong feelings towards them.
They had been hiding their existence behind High Priest Gordan and Heinz, after all.
The Mirg shield-nation was a nation of the Amid Empire that worshipped his enemy, the God of Law and Fate Alda. He had never even dreamed that its strings were being pulled by a greater power.
If they were going to advocate that Vampires were evil, they should have at least prevented Vampires from gaining control over them.
「Well, the Mirg shield-nation and Amid Empire were always my enemies to begin with.」(Vandalieu)
『The truth appears to be stranger than fiction.』(Sam)
It was a truth that shocked even Sam, who had once been a citizen of the Mirg shield-nation.
The Pure-breed Vampires, Birkyne, Ternecia and Gubamon. The Noble-born and Subordinate Vampires who served them. And Marshal Thomas Palpapek.
Even though Vandalieu had destroyed one enemy, it was as if his enemies had explosively increased in number.
『And they were even involved in the war two hundred years ago?! You guys instigated that?!』(Borkus)
On top of that, the Vampires who worshipped the[Evil God of Joyful Life]were considerably malicious. They had apparently been behind the war in which the Mirg shield-nation destroyed Talosheim.
Nobody could blame Borkus for exuding rage from his entire body.
「I-I hadn't been born at that time, so I don't know the details! But I've heard that Gubamon used the war to have his subordinates collect the dead bodies of Talosheim's heroes.」(Eleanora)
Eleanora spoke hastily, perhaps scared of Borkus.
The rough outline of the teachings of Hihiryushukaka, the[Evil God of Joyful Life], was that in this world, there were those who had their lives toyed around with and those who toyed with others' lives. By toying with others' lives, one could become a superior being.
With the divine protection of such a god, it was apparently possible to tame Undead who would normally be impossible to tame… or at least create Undead and turn them into servants.
And one of the three people who had attained that evil god's divine protection, the Pure-breed Vampire Gubamon, apparently had an interest in turning the dead bodies of those praised as heroes into Undead and adding them to his collection.
That was why he sent his subordinates into wars and large-scale monster hunts in which heroes lost their lives in order to retrieve the heroes' bodies.
He had dispatched his subordinates in the war two hundred years ago, too.
『I see, so that's why Jeena and Zandia-jouchan's bodies aren't here anymore. But why didn't they take my body?』(Borkus)
「Perhaps because your body was terribly damaged? With your dominant arm severed and your magic sword broken, it would not be strange to think that they would have thought you would not be a powerful asset even after becoming an Undead.」(Nuaza)
『Nuaza, are you trying to say that I'm not a powerful asset?』(Borkus)
「It is not me who thinks this! I am simply saying that the Vampires might have thought this way!」(Nuaza)
「This is just something I overheard, but… Apparently the other bodies were carried out first because yours was terribly damaged, and then Mikhail returned before your body could be taken.」(Eleanora)
And then Mikhail and the Vampires who had encountered each other had apparently done battle. It was likely that the Vampires had thought that Gubamon would reward them if they simply killed Mikhail, who had wounds all over his body and had lost his precious spear, and then retrieved Borkus's body afterwards.
However, as an adventurer who was said to be destined to become S-class, Mikhail was powerful even without the spear that was the origin of his Title. He succeeded in repelling the Vampires. However, as a result of the Stamina he expended in doing so, his wounds deteriorated and were treated too late, causing him to perish.
『To think that something like that happened right next to me while I was dead. So I guess he set up that ice so that the Vampires wouldn't be able to get inside.』(Borkus)
What had finished Mikhail off wasn't the Dragon Golem that had been carefully crafted by the goddess, but the Vampires who had come to retrieve Borkus's body. It was quite the questionable story.
「But it seems like we won't find their bodies even if we defeat the Dragon Golem.」(Vandalieu)
『Alright, kid. We'll pillage them, take back the ladies from that Gubamon Vampire! A man becomes an adult for the first time when he steals a woman from another!』(Borkus)
「Ah, but what about Eleanora-san? Doesn't this mean I've stolen her from the Vampire called Birkyne?」(Vandalieu)
『This one doesn't count!』(Borkus)
「Eh… Well, he is someone I want to destroy in the future, but please wait a decade or two.」(Vandalieu)
I don't like situations where love is stolen. Whether I would be on the stealing side or having love stolen from me. No, it's questionable as to whether this falls under the category of stolen love in the first place.
Still, no matter what Vandalieu said, he would still end up doing deadly battle with the Vampires worshipping the[Evil God of Joyful Life.]They were a group that was even more necessary to exterminate than the High Priest Gordan and Heinz in order for him to survive and live a happy life.
Since they were Vampires, they were immortal. If he left them alive, they would continue coming up with plans forever until Vandalieu died.
Because of this, he felt no opposition to retrieving Jeena and Zandia's corpses and turning them into Undead, and if they were already Undead, stealing them away was the obvious choice, but…
「Also, can you stop trying to put me on a throne?」(Vandalieu)
For some reason, Borkus was trying to marry Vandalieu to Zandia, who had been second in line to the throne while alive, and place him on Talosheim's throne.
『What, you're already a King, right? What's the problem?』(Borkus)
「The boy doesn't know when to give up.」(Zadiris)
『Well, perhaps it can be considered practice for becoming a nobleman?』(Sam)
『Bocchan, there's no need to worry. You don't need knowledge about laws and taxes; you're not taxing anyone now, are you?』(Saria)
『Talosheim isn't really a proper nation right now, so it'll be more like pretending to be a king.』(Rita)
「You might be able to gain a new Title and make Borkus and the others even stronger, you know?」(Basdia)
The thing that was most troubling was that everyone other than Vandalieu seemed to agree on the idea.
『Um, everyone, it isn't that Vandalieu is against it. He is just holding himself back because of the First Princess and her descendants in the Orbaume Kingdom.』(Darcia)
Darcia relayed her son's thoughts in his place.
It was possible that the First Princess who had escaped to the Orbaume Kingdom and her descendants would make a claim to the throne and try to restore their royal lineage. Vandalieu had mistakenly thought last night that Eleanora was a spy who had come from the Orbaume Kingdom for this very purpose.
The war had taken place two hundred years ago. With the Titans' lifespans of three hundred years, the same as the Ghouls, it was cutting it close, but there was still a chance that she was alive.
If that were the case, if Vandalieu sat on Talosheim's throne for even a moment, it would become very troublesome.
「Wouldn't Princess Levia and her descendants praise the Holy Son who restored Talosheim and gladly give up the throne? After all, the Holy Son has restored Talosheim's castle, walls and cityscape to its past splendor.」(Nuaza)
As Nuaza said, these things could all be called Vandalieu's achievements. Even though the removal of the trees and extermination of the monsters had been carried out by the Undead Titans and Ghouls, it was his[Golem Transmutation]skill that had restored the city's structures.
Even if the First Princess and her descendants had returned to Talosheim, without Vandalieu, it would have taken decades of time, an unimaginable amount of labor and an equivalent amount of funds to return the city to normal. Vandalieu had rebuilt the city, so this wouldn't be necessary.
「But I don't think they'll hand over the throne. And no matter how good a person the princess is, the people of the Orbaume Kingdom will have their own expectations of her.」(Vandalieu)
It was even possible that assassins would be sent to kill Vandalieu. In the worst-case scenario, an extermination force with high-class adventurers might be dispatched.
Other than the Dhampir Vandalieu, none of those currently living in Talosheim were of races that the Orbaume Kingdom recognized as people. There would be no legal repercussions if the Orbaume Kingdom forcibly removed them and occupied the city.
「So because of that, I can't do anything careless while we still don't know how the Orbaume Kingdom will act. Well, maybe I should have thought about this earlier. From now on, we'll have to think about defenses against not only monsters, but people as well.」(Vandalieu)
Only while they didn't know how the Orbaume Kingdom would act. Vandalieu had no intention of relinquishing Talosheim. It was a place that he had made great effort to obtain and arrange, a place for everyone to live. He wouldn't simply give that away.
There was a piece of magical equipment that was capable of resurrecting Darcia underground as well. Even the Orbaume Kingdom would become his enemies if they were to try and steal it from him.
「Now then, I think we should get to discussing plans to deal with various things.」(Vandalieu)
「Van-sama, before that, you must decide what we are going to do with this woman!」(Tarea)
Tarea interrupted Vandalieu as she pointed a finger at Eleanora. It seemed that she felt great humiliation because of the fact that she had been misled by Eleanora's『Charming Demon Eyes.』
But Eleanora turned her gaze towards Tarea without moving a single eyebrow, and Tarea lowered her head.
「I am very sorry about what happened last night.」(Eleanora)
「Eh?! You are apologizing willingly?!」(Tarea)
「Of course. I am the one at fault, after all. I simply do not want to become Vandalieu-sama's enemy. That would be more terrifying than anything. Terrifying enough that if I have to cast away my pride as a Noble-born Vampire to avoid it, then so be it.」(Eleanora)
As Tarea expressed surprise at Eleanora's apology, Eleanora smoothly explained the reasons behind her apology.
After destroying Sercrent's soul, Vandalieu had briefly spoken to Eleanora and the spirits of the Subordinate Vampires.
And then Vandalieu had broken and destroyed all of the Subordinate Vampires' souls.
It was not because they had tried to take Vandalieu's life. He did that because they had directly ended the life of his father Valen, and because they had tried to kill Tarea.
The reason Eleanora was sitting here unrestrained and unharmed was because Vandalieu had decided that she was not an enemy.
She wasn't involved with Valen's death. Though she had initially come to kill Vandalieu, she had lost the will to do so before she could attempt it, and she had stopped the Subordinate Vampire who tried to kill Tarea. With those three points in mind, Vandalieu acknowledged that she wasn't his enemy.
「Umm, why are you saying all these things about me? The goddess's divine protection and all that was just a misunderstanding.」(Vandalieu)
「No, in a way, you possess a power even more fearsome than that of the gods.」(Eleanora)
This was Eleanora's response to Vandalieu's question.
「Destroying a soul is something that only the legendary Demon King was capable of. Even the[Evil God of Joyful Life]could not do such a thing, let alone my previous master.」(Eleanora)
『I heard about things like that when I was a kid as well, but… Well, that's why I was surprised when you destroyed that guy's soul. My body froze unconsciously. I suppose that's what you call… rigor mortis.』(Borkus)
Leaving Borkus's joke aside…
There are none in Lambda capable of destroying souls. The reason for this is that the circle of transmigration for people is the domain of Rodcorte, not one of the gods who exist in Lambda.
Rodcorte is the god who governs the circle of transmigration system that applies in multiple worlds, including Earth, Origin and Lambda.
That is why no god or evil god, no matter how powerful, can destroy a soul. No matter what kind of gruesome torture someone is subjected to, no matter what kind of disgusting manner in which they may die, no matter how many hundreds or even thousands of years their souls are bound for, they will find their way back to Rodcorte eventually. And then they will be reborn as a new life-form.
Including Eleanora, the people of Lambda are unaware of Rodcorte's existence. But everyone believes in the circle of transmigration.
Because the circle of transmigration is a guaranteed thing, the people have hope after death. One day they will be reborn and walk a new life.
As long as the soul is safe, there is a chance that one will be chosen to be a god's follower after death. Many heroes and great individuals have been chosen in this way to become subordinate gods and followers, and their deeds are praised even after their deaths.
And as long as the soul is intact, there is hope that the god they follow will revive them.
The thing that denies all of that hope is the destruction of the soul.
The only one who has been able to do that up until now was the Demon King, and it was this power to destroy souls that made the gods fear him and evil gods obey him.
「So now that the Demon King is gone, you are the one with the most fearsome power in this world. Neither Birkyne nor Hihiryushukaka can even compare to you. That's why I don't want to be your enemy.」(Eleanora)
Eleanora was and always had been a slave of fear.
Her parents who had ruled her through fear sold her as a slave, and the slave merchant who purchased her saw no value in her body that was thin and dark-colored back then. He treated her roughly without caring if he caused her injuries, and the mine owner who bought her after that treated her like an expiring product that should be exploited to its fullest.
And then she was purchased by Birkyne who had spotted her quality by coincidence, and then she was ruled by even greater fear. But unlike her treatment up until that point, Birkyne treated her well as long as she produced favorable results.
When she produced results superior to those of the other children, she would be given praise instead of a hard fist.
When she obeyed his commands, she would receive soft, pretty clothes instead of cold chains and collars.
If she carried out filthy, gruesome tasks, she would be able to eat extravagant food instead of soup containing half-rotten vegetable scraps.
If she flattered her master and wagged her tail, her body would be decorated with beautiful pieces of jewelry instead of scars.
And so Eleanora developed into a beautiful woman, was accepted as a Noble-born Vampire, acquired the『Charming Demon Eyes』and received Birkyne's favor.
However, at the same time, she feared losing that favor above all else. Birkyne did acknowledge Eleanora's excellence, but she understood that he didn't consider her to be a unique existence.
To Birkyne, Eleanora was a recent favorite, but given a thousand years, anywhere between one and a dozen Vampires of her quality would come by.
Yes, just a thousand years. For Birkyne, who had lived for a hundred thousand years, this wasn't a long time.
That was why Eleanora continued wagging her tail for Birkyne. However, she met someone even more fearsome than him. That person was Vandalieu.
If Birkyne discovered that his pet dog had gone over to the Dhampir's side, he would likely tremble in humiliation and rage. If Eleanora was ever caught by him, she would have to be prepared to be subjected to horrendous torture. But her soul would not be destroyed.
「Are you really sure?」(Vandalieu)
It was not only Tarea, but Vandalieu who also gave Eleanora a puzzled look.
「I'm sure you will get paid better on Birkyne's side. They have more resources, too. In fact, his side is stronger than ours, overwhelmingly so.」(Vandalieu)
「That's not true. You tortured Sercrent and killed him in a one-sided manner, didn't you? Even in perfect condition, it would be impossible for me to defeat him in such a ruthless, cruel way.」(Eleanora)
「… I'm starting to question whether you're complimenting me.」(Vandalieu)
Even Eleanora seemed to think that Birkyne's side had more resources. She didn't seem to think that this was particularly important, however.
「The one from yesterday, Sercrent, was it? I was only able to kill him so one-sidedly because he was so careless.」(Vandalieu)
Vandalieu himself didn't think that Sercrent had been a weak enemy. He was simply careless, or rather, very unlucky in various ways.
As he hadn't possessed accurate information regarding Vandalieu, he had been separated from his subordinates when Vandalieu removed the floor.
In addition, one arm and leg had been cut off by Borkus who Vandalieu had discreetly summoned, and then Borkus and the Zombie dinosaurs had slaughtered all of his subordinates.
The finishing touch was that he had chosen to engage in close-quarters combat with his claws before sealing his wounds, thinking that magic wouldn't work against Vandalieu. Because of this, he had his arm caught in the[Impact-Negating Barrier], become unable to move and panicked at the prospect of dying of blood loss due to having his regenerative abilities nullified by the[Healing Negation]spell.
It would have been better to use a weapon like Bugogan had; with his arm directly caught inside the[Impact-Negating Barrier], kinetic energy had been directly drained from his muscles and he had become immobilized. And Vandalieu had learned from his past mistakes and poured a huge amount of Mana into the barrier this time.
Because his skill's level had increased, the performance of the barrier itself had increased as well.
With so many disadvantageous circumstances working against Sercrent, it could only be said that he had been unlucky.
「From what I heard from you before, Eleanora, it seems that he was being driven into a corner in various ways even before you arrived here, so maybe he was panicking because of that? But if he had kept his distance and engaged in long-range combat, he might have at least been able to escape.」(Vandalieu)
The reason Vandalieu wasn't saying that he could have put up a decent fight was probably because Borkus had been present while Vandalieu remained inside his barriers.
A superior foe behind him and an untouchable target in front. Under those circumstances, there had been no hope for Sercrent to win that battle.
「Even if he ran away, only execution would be waiting for him.」(Eleanora)
「Vampire society is rough, isn't it. Well, leaving that aside, I'm still not powerful. I'm just specialized in defense.」(Vandalieu)
I don't have offensive power like Borkus's ability to slaughter enemies with a single swing of a sword. No, I do, but I can't aim[Mana Bullets]too accurately and they're slower and have shorter range than arrows.
「But one day you'll kill Birkyne and his Vampires… You will destroy them, won't you?」(Eleanora)
「Of course.」(Vandalieu)
Even if he is a Vampire who had lived for a hundred thousand years, it would probably be easier to defeat him than the people who will resurrect here from Origin with cheat-like abilities. Even if he does possess an evil god's divine protection, he isn't an evil god himself, after all.
「But if this Birkyne person steps into the fight directly before I become strong, what will you do?」(Vandalieu)
「That won't happen. They would never cross the Boundary Mountain range personally.」(Eleanora)
Eleanora declared this with confidence. There was a basis for that confidence. Birkyne and the other Pure-breed Vampires were indeed powerful, but it could never be said that the Pure-breed Vampires were on good terms with each other.
If Birkyne were to act personally, the other two Pure-breed Vampires, Ternecia and Gubamon, would promise to help, saying,「I see, do your best. We'll lend you our subordinates.」However, they would then seize the Vampire organization in his absence.
「The king of the hill can only be a king because there is a hill to be a king of. If he stepped down from the hill, making it back up would be next to impossible.」(Eleanora)
As to be expected of a community that worshipped an evil god. The idea of kicking each other down instead of cooperating was deeply ingrained in its roots.
「So you're saying that's why it's fine for you to be on my side?」(Vandalieu)
「That's right; there is nobody more fearsome in this world than you.」(Eleanora)
「So you'll put in as much effort as you can to get along with Tarea and everyone else?」(Vandalieu)
「Of course. Their enemies are your enemies, are they not? I will beg for their forgiveness even if I have to lick their feet.」(Eleanora)
In fact, if Tarea had been killed, Vandalieu would have likely killed Eleanora, so this was the correct response.
I get the feeling that she's being too brave about it, though.
「Well then, if Tarea forgives you, then that will be fine. Let's get along from now on.」(Vandalieu)
And so Vandalieu quickly moved on.
『V-Vandalieu? Are you sure it's alright to believe her so easily?!』(Darcia)
「Boy, what this person is saying is equivalent to saying that if there is ever someone she fears more than you, she will betray you!」(Zadiris)
Darcia and Zadiris expressed their objections. Vandalieu waved both of his hands to calm down the flustered ladies.
「As to whether I should believe her, it's alright because at her request, I'm going to apply a method of insurance. And what you say is true, Zadiris, but that's how the world is.」(Vandalieu)
People gather beneath those who can provide them with the most benefits.
On Earth, Vandalieu had seen news reports of trouble caused for factories and businesses because their employees were readily leaving to work for other businesses that paid better.
What Eleanora was doing was equivalent to that.
「The criteria that Eleanora is using is『fear』, so as long as nothing like the Demon King's resurrection happens and I'm the only one who can destroy souls, I'm sure she'll never betray me.」(Vandalieu)
There's also a chance that someone with that ability might be among those reincarnating from Origin, but I probably don't need to worry about it. It's difficult to imagine that Rodcorte would give someone a power that infringes on his domain.
「Muh~, well, the method of ruling through fear is something that has existed in the past, but…」(Zadiris)
「Other reasons for accepting Eleanora as one of our companions… She wasn't involved in the incident with my father, so she's not an enemy. I can gain information about the Vampires who worship the evil god from her. She can fight for us. Also -」(Vandalieu)
『She's a pretty lady, I suppose. She has a nice body, too.』(Borkus)
「Yeah, that's right.」(Vandalieu)
Borkus interjected, and Vandalieu nodded in agreement with his words. A few seconds later, for some reason, there was a strange atmosphere in the room. Really, why was that?
「Van-sama… Didn't we agree that you should hastily deny this fact?!」(Tarea)
「I don't believe in telling unnecessary lies.」(Vandalieu)
「How can this be! Then does that mean you prefer this woman over me?!」(Tarea)
「No, no, you have a nicer body, Tarea.」(Vandalieu)
After all, Tarea has more muscle, particularly in the upper arms. And her abdominal muscles are quite splendid to touch as well.
「Oh my~♪ If that is the case…」(Tarea)
Tarea held her face in her hands as if blushing.
「No, I am sure he is referring to her muscles.」(Zadiris)
「There's no other explanation.」(Basdia)
Zadiris and Basdia whispered to each other, and they were entirely correct.
『So, Bocchan, what did you mean by method of insurance?』(Sam)
Sam returned the derailed conversation to its original topic.
「I will make a Golem in the shape of a piercing and apply it to her. With that, I will know where she is at all times, and if anything happens, I will make the Golem attack her body from the inside.」(Vandalieu)
Vandalieu thought that this was a harsh method of insurance for Eleanora, but this was something that she herself wanted.
It was Vandalieu who had deliberately suggested a harsher method in order to make it easier for everyone to accept Eleanora as a companion, however.
Incidentally, Vandalieu planned to put mercury on the inside of the piercing and apply[Preservation]to prevent corrosion.
「If you're going that far, I don't have any complaints about it, but where are you going to have her put that piercing? Her belly button?」(Vigaro)
『Bocchan likes belly buttons, after all. Fuuh… Muscles, wrists, all parts that we don't have.』(Rita)
「Vigaro, Rita, I'm sure you know this, but other than muscles, everything else is a misunderstanding. And anyway, what parts do you have, Rita?」(Vandalieu)
『Loveliness~☆』(Rita)
「I'll have her put it on her tongue.」(Vandalieu)
As Rita made a joke, this was Vandalieu's serious reply to Vigaro's question.
「Her tongue…」(Vigaro)
『Vandalieu, that's a little…』(Darcia)
For some reason, everyone drew away from him.
「Whether it is one or two piercings or as many as you wish, I will accept them!」(Eleanora)
Eleanora poked out her red tongue as if asking Vandalieu to pierce holes in it.
「Umm, I want to discuss Talosheim's defenses, so can we leave this topic here?」(Vandalieu)
What was important was what they would do next.
Incidentally, Vandalieu had decided to leave the inspection of his newly-acquired[Soul Break]skill until later.
Name: Eleanora
Rank: 8
Race: Noble-born Vampire Baroness
Level: 47
Job: Demon Eye User
Job level: 70
Job history: Slave, Servant, Apprentice Mage, Apprentice Warrior, Mage
Age: 6 years old (20 years old at time of Vampire transformation)
Passive skills:
Self-Enhancement: Subordination: Level 3
Superhuman Strength: Level 5
Rapid Regeneration: Level 2
Status Effect Resistance: Level 5
Intuition: Level 3
Mental Corruption: Level 3
Automatic Mana Recovery: Level 3
Detect Presence: Level 3
Active skills:
Mining: Level 1
Time-Attribute Magic: Level 5
Life-Attribute Magic: Level 5
No-Attribute Magic: Level 2
Mana Control: Level 3
Swordsmanship: Level 1
Unarmed Fighting Technique: Level 1
Silent Steps: Level 3
Steal: Level 1
Housework: Level 2
Unique skills:
Charming Demon Eyes: Level 7
Chapter 46: Preparing defenses while desperate and out of my mind
「Now then, I want to set up Talosheim's defenses.���(Vandalieu)
Using the contents of the discussion that had taken place on the day Eleanora had been accepted among his companions, Vandalieu and the others set to work.
From Eleanora they had learned that the Vampires worshipping the evil god had subordinates in positions of power within the Mirg shield-nation including the (currently ex-)Marshal, and they even had subordinates in the Orbaume Kingdom.
It was uncertain how much strength the Pure-breed Vampires would invest into the task of killing Vandalieu, but in the worst-case scenario, the Vampires among the Mirg shield-nation's army could send troops to Talosheim.
The only thing sturdy about Talosheim right now was its appearance; it wouldn't hold out against an army of thousands, and with the Vampires among the army making hidden movements, escape might be impossible as well.
If Vandalieu was on his own, he would have the option of escaping while he could, but if the enemy's reach extended even as far as the Orbaume Kingdom, there was no place that he was completely safe on this continent.
Of course, because Vandalieu needed to ensure the safety of the Undead Titans and Ghouls who lived in Talosheim, the option of separating himself from them was nonexistent.
『There aren't any cowards here who would drive you out for their own safety!』(Borkus)
「That is correct, Holy Son. We will continue fighting, even if we quite literally have our flesh and entrails severed and our bones broken!」(Nuaza)
「I'm a bit late in having a say in this, but I agree. Vandalieu, we'd be in trouble without you.」(Vigaro)
「Indeed; if the Magic Items we are using now were to break, we would once again face problems with fertility. Even if we leave that matter aside, what is the use in driving out our own King in order to achieve temporary safety?」(Zadiris)
Borkus, Nuaza, Vigaro and Zadiris made it clear that this was not an option.
It wasn't as if Vandalieu didn��t want to protect Talosheim, the place where he belonged. He planned to go to the Orbaume Kingdom eventually, but he planned to at least return for a visit once a year or once every few years.
Even if he moved away to chase his dreams, he wanted there to be a home for him to return to. That was how he felt.
「Thank you. Well then, we will set up a system that will hold just fine even if we're attacked by an army of ten thousand, including Vampires. We'll achieve this by spring or early summer, or mid-summer at latest.」(Vandalieu)
「『「「Are you insane?!」」』」(Everyone)
「No, I'm desperate and out of my mind.」(Vandalieu)
Birkyne and the other Vampires who had sent Eleanora's party here would be suspicious at the sudden lack of contact, realize that they had failed and take the next step.
Well, it was unlikely that they would suddenly manipulate the Mirg shield-nation into sending its troops here because of that, but they would at least try to gather more detailed information about Talosheim.
And once they learned about Talosheim's situation, it was highly likely that they would realize that dispatching a few Vampires would be ineffective and begin to make a greater effort to crush the city.
「Thith… This[Golem Transmutation], nobody can use it except for Vandalieu-sama. Leaving aside the Mana problems, it's impossible for alchemists to create them in an instant and have them change their shape freely. The same goes for taming the Undead.」(Eleanora)
This was what Eleanora had said.
If the Pure-breed Vampires discovered that Vandalieu possessed these abilities, they would try to kill him at all costs.
「That's a bit of an overreaction. The three Pure-breed Vampires can tame Undead as well, can't they?」(Vandalieu)
As Vandalieu asked this question, Eleanora, who was having trouble pronouncing words because of the new piercing in her tongue, shook her head.
「Birkyne's group can't tame them. Ternecia and Gubamon are the ones who mainly use Undead, and they can turn corpses into Undead and control them, but they can't control creatures who have already turned Undead.」(Eleanora)
It seemed that the Undead controlled by the Pure-breed Vampires were those created themselves; they would not be able to tame even a Rank 1 Living Dead if it had already become an Undead without their intervention.
「So if they discovered that Vandalieu-sama can tame Undead, they would be outraged. Especially Gubamon.」(Eleanora)
「I see.」(Vandalieu)
The[Sword King]Borkus was one of the heroes that Gubamon had wanted, but now he was already an Undead. Vandalieu had even gathered the scattered bone fragments of his right arm and used[Corpse Healing]to restore it, so claiming even a single bone fragment of Borkus would be impossible.
Vandalieu didn't know what kind of personality Gubamon had, but it did seem likely that he would be outraged to learn that a mere Dhampir had stolen one of the heroes that he had wanted in his collection.
Vandalieu found it satisfying to know this, but felt that it would be unreasonable for Gubamon to get so serious over it.
He wanted to go on the offensive so that he wouldn't lose to such an unreasonable person, but that was difficult. Like the Vampires, Vandalieu and his companions would find it difficult to cross the Boundary Mountain Range now. In addition, the Vampires who worshipped the evil god possessed numerous bases and Eleanora didn���t know the locations of all of them.
After coming to the conclusion that going on the offensive wasn't a realistic plan, Vandalieu set out about addressing the problem of not having enough numbers.
Talosheim had originally been a fortress city-nation of five thousand Titans. Of course, this meant that the city was plenty large enough for a population of five thousand to live inside the city's walls.
However, there were only a thousand Undead Titans. Even including the Ghouls and monsters of the new races Vandalieu had created, there were less than two thousand of them.
Creating a flawless defense with these numbers would be impossible. As Undead didn't feel fatigue or need to sleep, it was possible to have them keep permanently keep watch, but Vandalieu didn't want to ask them to do this. The Undead needed riches and pleasure in their day to day lives as well.
So the first thing he did was increase the number of Golems he had at his disposal.
「Get up, go.」(Vandalieu)
He went to Garan's Valley and mined the stone. The method he used was to directly turn the stone walls into Golems and have them walk themselves back to Talosheim. Other than requiring a lot of Mana, this method was very easy.
「Amazing, Holy Son.」(Titan)
『Doesn't that mean we're losing our jobs?』(Titan)
「Because there's no time. In any case, I'm going to be mining here today until this place becomes known as Garan's Pit instead of Garan's Valley.」(Vandalieu)
「… We're actually going to lose our jobs.」(Titan)
「No, we're actually going to have more work.」(Titan)
『Really?』(Titan)
As the Undead Titan stonemason said, their workload had sharply increased.
Because they would be turning these new Golems into ornaments.
「I'm going to attach these Golems to the outer walls and the walls of the stone buildings. I want you to work on them so that they look like decorations at a glance.」(Vandalieu)
『That's quite fancy. We don't mind, but is there a reason you're doing that? Will it make the Golems stronger or something?』(Titan)
「No, it won't. They'll just look like decorations.」(Vandalieu)
The stonemasons looked puzzled, but once the decorated Golems were actually set in place, the effect would be clear.
Simply stationing Golems near the walls and buildings would be sufficient as a defense against intruders. But Golems decorating the walls and buildings would look like simple ornaments, and Golems embedded into the walls which had also been thickened would look like mere sculptures.
If an enemy army tried to close in on the defenseless walls, they could be taken by surprise by the enemies springing forth from the walls.
「And I can do things like have the sculptures keep up their act, wait for the enemy to set up ladders to climb the walls and then make them destroy the ladders.」(Vandalieu)
『Th-that��s dirty…』(Titan)
「Holy Son, will the fortress and buildings not become more fragile once the Golems start moving?」(Titan)
「I'll add more stone to the walls to compensate when setting up the Golems, so it will be fine. Also, the Golems on the houses and buildings will be just for scouting, so they'll be things like faces and eyes.」(Vandalieu)
「With that, it will be unlikely that the enemy will destroy them.」(Titan)
Vandalieu had thought of the idea from security setups used on Earth where security guards and cameras would be positioned in inconspicuous places.
And I don't have to pay any attention to the Golems acting as security guards and cameras, so it's not mentally taxing on me.
It would improve Talosheim's scenery as well, so there were only benefits to this method.
Furthermore, Vandalieu discovered that taking too much of the stone cliffs in Garan's Valley would cause them to become unable to mine any more stone for a while. It was as if there was a transparent barrier that created a dead end, preventing him from going any further. It looked like he could continue forward, but the background scenery might as well have been painted on a solid wall.
But the Dungeon would return to normal in a few days' time, so there was no need to worry about the stone running out.
The others weren't taking it easy while Vandalieu and the stonemasons worked busily.
「I'm going to request something a little dangerous. I want everyone to place the Golems and Undead that I made to keep watch in the places that I tell you.」(Vandalieu)
They were strengthening their defenses, but the fact that they didn't know when enemies would come would be a source of insecurity and inconvenience. That was why Vandalieu requested that Golems be stationed to keep watch.
There were three possible routes that enemies could take.
「Leave it to me, Vandalieu-sama.」(Eleanora)
The first was the route that Eleanora had used to cross the mountain range. This route was relatively safe, but many of Sercrent's Subordinate Vampires had been defeated along the way.
Only Noble-born Vampires and beings stronger than them would be able to use this route safely. Eleanora declared that this route would be absolutely impossible for normal humans to use.
Considering that, Eleanora realized just how abnormal Vandalieu was to have crossed the mountain range with six hundred Ghouls and not sustained a single casualty.
『Is there a need to watch this area as well?』(Zran)
「Zran, there are Vampires worshipping the evil god in the Orbaume Kingdom as well.」(Vandalieu)
The second was the tunnel that led to the Hartner duchy in the Orbaume Kingdom. It was collapsed for now, but it could be reconstructed from Hartner duchy and Vampire underlings might be sent through it.
If the First Princess was still alive on the other side, there was no guarantee that the Vampires wouldn't utilize her feelings for her home country.
And the third route was the most difficult.
『So you want us to look for a tunnel that connects to the Mirg shield-nation. Does such a thing even exist?」(Zran)
「I can't rule out that possibility.」(Vandalieu)
There were no legends that said there were tunnels in the mountain range leading to the Mirg shield-nation. But since there was one that led to the Orbaume Kingdom, there was a high chance that there was one that had not yet been discovered.
It would be a tunnel over a hundred thousand years old, after all. Back then, the Amid Empire and Orbaume Kingdom hadn't existed, and it might have been constructed even before the goddess Vida created the Vampires.
If that were the case, it made sense to think that tunnels would have been built to the west as well as the east. Who could have built such tunnels was still a mystery, however.
They would have to traverse lands full of Devil's Nests with uncontrolled monster populations to search for ruins that could be anywhere. Borkus would lead Vigaro and Zadiris in performing this task, and even Bone Wolf and the other Undead would be dispatched so that they would be fully prepared.
『I don't mind, but make sure you have miso, fish sauce and especially katsuobushi waiting for me. If you're going to make adventurers work, you have to reward them.』(Borkus)
「Do you like katsuobushi?」(Vandalieu)
『Yeah, it makes the soup taste nice if you boil it, and it makes a good ingredient. Don't need to put any effort in.』(Borkus)
The katsuobushi was an unfinished product that was simply dried without being smoked, but as Borkus said, it made a good addition to soups.
「I want to perfect katsuobushi by the end of the year, too.」(Vandalieu)
『It's imperfect?! I'm looking forward to the finished product.』(Borkus)
「Leaving that aside, I'll be having you place Goblin Skeleton skulls, Rock Golems disguised as rocks and Wood Golems disguised as dead branches.」(Vandalieu)
All of them were objects that could be held in one hand. They were also things that would not be strange to find lying around anywhere.
If the[Appraisal]spell was cast they would be discovered, but surely nobody would go around casting this spell on every rock, branch and Goblin skull lying on the ground.
The mountain range was a place where monsters struggled violently to survive. Nobody would have the time to do that.
Well, there was a chance that a Golem or Undead would be unfortunate enough to be destroyed by a stray monster, but that was why they would be placed in sets of three. If one of them were to break, they simply needed to be replaced.
Incidentally, Vandalieu had decided to abandon the route used by the Mirg shield-nation's army two hundred years ago. According to Eleanora, a pair of Hurricane Dragons inhabited the area surrounding that route.
In order to simultaneously battle against two Dragons above Rank 10 and win in an environment where the only footholds were precipitous, fragile cliffs, a party of S-class adventurers would need to be formed. This would be difficult for the current Amid Empire, even if they expended all of their resources to do so.
It would be difficult for the Vampires as well. Eleanora had said that it would be possible for a Pure-breed Vampire like Birkyne to defeat them, but the signs of such a battle would likely be visible from Talosheim. Bright flashes of light, explosions and the sound of parts of the mountain range crumbling would be very noticeable.
It was also possible for enemies to make a detour into the southern regions of the Bahn Gaia continent and then pass through the Boundary Mountain Range from there, but apparently it would be suicidal for even a Pure-breed Vampire to journey into those regions.
「Those regions contain Dragons and Giants of even higher Ranks than those found in the mountain range, and there is even apparently a Palace of Demons.」(Eleanora)
There were also countless unexplored Devil's Nests and large organizations of monsters such as Noble Orc Empires.
They weren't exactly Vandalieu's allies, but they served as a very effective protective wall.
Well, because of them, it was impossible for Vandalieu to go and look for the Vampires who worshipped Vida.
「Well then, please get to work.」(Vandalieu)
It took less than a month for all of these tasks to be completed other than the discovery of a tunnel leading to the Mirg shield-nation. Vandalieu would have Eleanora and Zran's party join up with Borkus's and continue searching for this one-hundred-thousand-year-old tunnel.
「While they're doing that, we're going to build a second and third outer wall. Also, we will be developing weapons.」(Vandalieu)
『Bocchan, are you planning to work yourself to death?』(Saria)
「It's alright, I'll rest properly on my days off.」(Vandalieu)
The only ones who had visited Talosheim in the last two hundred years were Vandalieu and the Ghouls, and the Vampires led by Eleanora. And apart from Eleanora, all of the Vampires were now dead.
It wouldn't be easy to immediately tell that the number of Talosheim's walls had increased from the city's slightly different appearance.
The second wall would be built sturdy like the first, Golems would be set up on it and slots through which arrows could be fired would be included.
The third wall would be tall enough to conceal the first and second walls, but constructed in a way that would make it look fragile and easily collapsible.
「I was thinking that if I put mud all over them and have Undead vines crawl over their surface, it would have the appearance I want.」(Vandalieu)
If the Mirg shield-nation came, they wouldn't see the holes in the wall that should be there according to their records of past events, but they might let their guard down because the wall looked so fragile.
Of course, Vandalieu would build the whole wall out of Golems so that the wall would maintain itself without actually crumbling.
『So the wall itself will turn into soldiers when the time comes.』(Sam)
『But Vampires that are Noble-born or greater can fly through the sky, can't they? Like Eleanora-san.』(Saria)
「That's why I'll be making anti-air weapons. Creating Undead that can fly would take time, after all.」(Vandalieu)
It would be a different story if he only needed a few, but to make dozens, hundreds of Undead like Bone Bird from bone remains and raise them until they were able to fly, he would need a lot of time. There was the option of turning fresh corpses of monsters such as Wyverns into flying Undead, but getting those numbers would still take time and if they were completely destroyed, it would take time to replace them.
He did consider making hundreds of Undead from small creatures like small birds and insects, but… In this world, becoming an Undead didn't necessarily make the creature stronger. Even if he turned winged insects and beetles into Undead, there was a high chance that they wouldn't even be able to bite through the enemy's skin.
And since Noble-born Vampires were proficient with magic, they could easily be wiped out in an instant by a single wide-area attack.
And turning that many insects and small birds into Undead would actually be likely to cause Vandalieu to work himself to death.
「I could probably use the corpses of insect-type monsters, but… Well, I suppose once I've set everything else up, I can take my time gathering them.」(Vandalieu)
「More importantly, Van-sama, what about the new weapons that we will be assisting you with?」(Tarea)
『If it's working with metal, leave it to this old man.』(Datara)
「I'm planning to have you build some crossbows.」(Vandalieu)
Tarea and the Undead Titan blacksmith Datara gave Vandalieu odd looks.
「Crossbows? … Ah, you mean those.」(Tarea)
『What are you going to do with something like that?』(Datara)
Crossbows already existed in the world of Lambda. However, they weren't very popular or in demand.
Crossbows are accurate weapons with a slow rate of fire, but with their strings wound back, even frail women and the elderly can use them.
However, skills and martial abilities exist in this world.
A high level in the[Archery]skill increases accuracy and power with a bow, and with increased Attribute Values from gaining levels, even a woman with slender arms can draw the bowstring of a large bow.
And with martial skills, it is possible to achieve superhuman feats such as rapid consecutive fire and firing with enough precision to thread a needle.
Crossbows receive a bonus to accuracy from the[Archery]skill, but[martial skills]cannot be used due to their structure. One does not physically use one's hands pull the string back, so increased Attribute Values make no difference to their power.
Because of this, even soldiers do not use them, let alone adventurers.
As they are easy to use, ordinary people sometimes purchase them to have just in case, but even then, it is more common to buy regular bows and arrows as this is the cheaper option.
Thus, crossbows are known as weapons only used by the eccentric in the world of Lambda, and apparently it is common for weapon stores in even larger cities to not have them in stock.
『It would be better to hand out good bows and arrows rather than crossbows.』(Datara)
「No, no, I'm not going to hand out the crossbows to everyone. I'm going to turn the crossbows themselves into Undead.」(Vandalieu)
Vandalieu would make spirits haunt the completed crossbows, creating Cursed Weapons. Cursed Weapons are weak, Rank 2 monsters consisting of weapons possessed by spirits that move on their own. Normally, they would be unreliable even against normal soldiers, let alone Vampires.
However, crossbows fire projectiles capable of piercing through plate armor with the pull of a trigger. They are also highly accurate. Because Cursed Weapons don't use martial skills to begin with, there are no drawbacks.
The problem would be making sure they were loaded, but if Vandalieu installed each of them with a Golem arm responsible for reloading and placed them on the walls, the city's rooftops and the royal castle, that problem would be solved.
Once this was complete, he would have tireless archers that would shoot enemies to death until running out of projectiles to fire, undetectable through[Detect Presence]and capable of seeing in the dark.
Vandalieu planned to have projectiles with silver-plated tips for the anti-Vampire crossbows installed on the upper walls and rooftops.
Normally, technology would be required for this plating process, but Vandalieu could perform it easily by manipulating the shape of the silver with[Golem Transmutation.]
「Let's make ballistae and catapults as well.」(Vandalieu)
「… You really are planning to fight a war. I cannot wait to get to work!」(Tarea)
『I can make ballistae, but I can't make things like catapults.』(Datara)
「Yes, I'll be in charge of making the catapults.」(Vandalieu)
Of course, Vandalieu had no prior experience in catapult-building either. However, he had once seen a documentary on Earth that described how catapults were built.
If he recalled, it had been a documentary in which weaponry of ancient civilizations were recreated through modern technology and then inspected in detail.
It was the kind of program that would have caused Uncle to have a fit from his luxury allergy, so I remember it well.
That program hadn't described every part of the building process of a catapult in detail, but it had showed the overall shape and structure of a catapult. All Vandalieu needed to do was recreate it with[Golem Transmutation.]
And on his days off, he played with Pauvina and the other children, checked Basdia's condition and busied himself with the aging reversal of Tarea, which he had been procrastinating doing.
Before he knew it, it was summer already.
[The levels of the Rapid Healing, Status Effect Resistance, Death-Attribute Magic, Chant Revocation, Automatic Mana Recovery, Surpass Limits, Golem Transmutation, No-Attribute Magic, Mana Control, Carpentry, Engineering and Alchemy Skills have increased!]
[You have acquired the Multi-Cast skill!]
[The Ranks of Zadiris, Nuaza, Bone Man, Bone Wolf, Bone Monkey, Bone Bear, Bone Bird, Braga, Zendo, Memediga, Rita and Saria have increased!]
Name: Vandalieu
Race: Dhampir (Dark Elf)
Age: 4 years old
Title:[Ghoul King]
Job: Death-Attribute Mage
Level: 39
Job history: None
Attributes:
Vitality: 69
Mana: 144,596,652
Strength: 52
Agility: 31
Stamina: 56
Intelligence: 157
Passive skills:
Superhuman Strength: Level 1
Rapid Healing: Level 3 (LEVEL UP!)
Death-Attribute Magic: Level 5 (LEVEL UP!)
Status Effect Resistance: Level 5 (LEVEL UP!)
Magic Resistance: Level 1
Dark Vision
Mental Corruption: Level 10
Death-Attribute Charm: Level 4
Chant Revocation: Level 3 (LEVEL UP!)
Strengthen Followers: Level 5
Automatic Mana Recovery: Level 3 (LEVEL UP!)
Active skills:
Bloodsucking: Level 3
Surpass Limits: Level 4 (LEVEL UP!)
Golem Transmutation: Level 4 (LEVEL UP!)
No-Attribute Magic: Level 3 (LEVEL UP!)
Mana Control: Level 3 (LEVEL UP!)
Spirit Form: Level 2
Carpentry: Level 4 (LEVEL UP!)
Engineering: Level 3 (LEVEL UP!)
Cooking: Level 1
Alchemy: Level 3 (LEVEL UP!)
Unarmed Fighting Technique: Level 1 (NEW!)
Soul Break: Level 1 (NEW!)
Multi-Cast: Level 1 (NEW!)
Curses
Experience gained in previous life not carried over
Cannot learn existing jobs
Unable to gain experience independently
Monster explanation:
[Vampires]
This is the race born between the goddess Vida and the Undead champion Zakkart. While not technically monsters, many nations and societies treat them as monsters, and thus they are explained as monsters here.
There are currently three kinds of Vampires,[Pure-breed],[Noble-born]and[Subordinate.]Their communities are built and managed as strict vertically-structured societies.
The majority of Vampires encountered and reported to the Adventurers' Guild are Subordinate Vampires; encounters with Noble-born Vampires are very rarely reported.
Although Vampires are monsters, they are capable of possessing Jobs as they are also blood-related to the goddess. Due to this, the skills they possess vary significantly compared to other monsters. Subordinate Vampires alone are powerful adversaries, and Noble-born Vampires are a threat equivalent to or even greater than Dragons.
Because of this, the Adventurers' Guild recommends that adventurers report any sightings of Vampires to the Guild rather than try to defeat them on their own.
There are large differences between individual Vampires, but according to the Adventurers' Guild, Subordinate Vampires are a minimum of Rank 3. Noble-born Vampires are defined as Vampires of Rank 7 and above.
Subordinate Vampires only possess physical Vampiric powers, but when their Rank increases, they gain skills such as[Beast Transformation]and[Clone], making them extremely dangerous beings.
It has been confirmed that they have race titles such as Vampire Slaves, Vampire Lycans and Vampire Rebels after their Rank increases.
Noble-born Vampires possess magical powers, and depending on the individual, may even possess some kind of Demon Eyes. They tend to place importance on studying magic diligently, but that does not make them physically inferior to Subordinate Vampires. Because of this, superior individuals master both magic and martial skills and possess high base Attribute Values, making them nightmarish creatures.
Incidentally, there is a misconception that all Noble-born Vampires have Demon Eyes of Charming, Paralysis or Mind-reading, but Demon Eyes are in fact a unique skill that only a handful of individuals possess.
This misconception is likely caused by those witnessing Noble-born Vampires casting spells that have similar effects to such Demon Eyes.
Most Noble-born Vampire race titles follow the aristocratic system used in human societies.
Inexperienced Rank 6 Vampires are just Vampires, but they are Vampire Leaders at Rank 7, Vampire Barons at Rank 8, and so on.
All of these Vampires have a common weakness to sunlight, silver and attacks of light-attribute magic, which is governed by the God of Law and Fate, Alda. Depending on their family and the evil god they worship, they may possess additional weaknesses such as not being able to enter buildings they are not invited into and weaknesses to garlic and running water.
There is almost no information available about Pure-breed Vampires. The only thing that is known is that even the highest-Rank Noble-born Vampire with the race title of Vampire Emperor would bow and swear loyalty to a Pure-breed.
Furthermore, Sercrent was a Rank 7 Vampire Leader. His talent was clearly inferior to that of Eleanora, who became a Rank 8 Vampire Baroness in the space of a few years.