Vampire Hunt (5)

Chapter 35: Vampire Hunt (5)

[The Bael Clan's Castle: Two Days After Azrail and Rias' Engagement Ceremony.]

"That's what happened at the banquet, Ancestor…"

"Very well."

Zekram stared at Sairaorg, who stood in front of him without showing any visible signs of panic or nervousness.

'Such a brilliant and ambitious young devil... Only if he were born with the Bael's [Power of Destruction], he would've been the most suitable heir candidate...'

It was a shame.

There weren't many devils whose performance exceeded Sairaorg's at such a young age. Even in the current generation, there was only a single devil who exceeded the Great King's Heir.

"You may leave."

"Yes, Ancestor."

Sairaorg respectfully bowed before walking out of the room.

"Hmm…"

After his descendant left, Zekram leisurely read through the several files on his table.

"The information Sirzechs provided on the criminals leaves no doubt whatsoever. Everything from the beginning to the end makes perfect sense…"

These files held information about the criminals responsible for abducting several individuals from the underworld within the past few years.

From the motives behind their actions to what happened to the captives, along with the testimonies from the witnesses and criminals, Zekram couldn't find any inconsistencies in the reports.

"I have read those reports myself, and they make perfect sense. I can't deny that…"

The Agares Clan's Transportation Magic Circle appeared on the ground, followed by the appearance of a middle-aged man with greenish-blonde hair.

Naturally, Zekram recognised that person.

He was the Agares Clan's Head, the current Archduke.

"But I didn't contact you solely on baseless assumptions, Lord Zekram. I can prove that someone fabricated these reports, or at least, parts of them…"

Zekram watched as Lord Agares raised his hand and summoned a lantern with a golden flame burning inside.

'The method I created to confirm whether the descendants of our clan were alive or not during the Great War. I remember sharing it with the First Archduke…'

It was a method passed down within the heads of Bael and Agares households to ensure the safety of their descendants.

Each pure-blooded descendant had a lantern registered to them on birth, and as long as the descendant stayed alive, the flame inside would burn forever.

At times of war, they used it to check on the clan members who had left for battle, but over time, it became a tradition for the clan heads.

"I see… So that's your proof."

It didn't take long for Zekram to understand Lord Agares' intentions.

The reports stated that the criminals had already killed the captives with no survivors remaining, including the pure-blooded devil abducted from the Agares Clan.

Their bodies had long since been sacrificed, so they couldn't retrieve any corpses either.

But since Lord Agares could prove that his clan's descendant was alive, there were only two options.

'It could be that Sirzechs and his subordinates missed something during their investigation, which is highly unlikely since they emphasised the deaths of all victims. Or, they are deliberately covering up parts of the actual incident to hide something…'

No person other than Great King Bael and Archduke Agares knew about the method Zekram created, including the current Four Great Satans, who weren't even a millennium old yet, so the report's misinformation made sense.

"I believe the thing they are trying to cover is Azrail Astaroth's involvement in those crimes, Lord Zekram…"

'Azrail Astaroth... I knew I would hear that name often after we first met, but to think it'd happen so soon…'

Zekram still remembered the first time he met Azrail Astaroth. After all, he was one of the few young devils who left an ever-lasting first impression on him.

The cautious and calculative gaze which noted Zekram's every little movement wasn't something that could belong to a child.

It was almost as if the first thought on that child's mind upon seeing Zekram was of ripping the latter's heart out. However, those eyes held no malice regardless of how much one stared into them.

"Do you wish to discuss this with Sirzechs and re-investigate the matter, Archduke Agares?"

"Even if Azrail Astaroth was involved in those crimes, I have no intentions of pursuing him and ruining the Agares Clan's relationship with the Four Great Satans…" Lord Agares admitted. "Our relationship with them is more important than the fate of a branch family member, even if he was a pure-blood…"

That was understandable.

Even if Azrail was somehow involved, a child like him couldn't be the perpetrator behind those crimes, regardless of how impressive he was.

Now that the real masterminds had died and his subordinates were under arrest, there was no need to point fingers at a youngster for being a potential accomplice.

Zekram and Lord Agares knew that even if they pursued Azrail officially, he would get away with only a slap on his wrist because of Ajuka and Sirzechs.

The best punishments he could receive were having his right to succession removed, his privileges as a High-Class Devil temporarily revoked, his remaining Evil Pieces ceased, or being under constant surveillance for some years.

After all, that was how the underworld worked.

The more political backing one had, the easier it was to escape responsibility for their actions. The fact that the child had two of the Four Great Satans to protect him didn't help much.

"In that case, why have you come to visit me?"

"As the Agares Clan's head, I must know the fate of my clansmen, so I'd like to have a private moment with Azrail Astaroth and learn the truth behind this incident…"

"You wish to read that child's mind and then erase his memories as if nothing happened…"

Zekram concluded, and Lord Agares nodded.

"I hope Lord Zekram can help me arrange a small private meeting with Azrail without anyone finding out—especially the Astaroth Clan and the Four Great Satans…"

'That's why he came here…'

"Why not do so with the captured criminals?"

Lord Agares gave Zekram a knowing smile. "I already did, and their testimonies and memories matched perfectly with the report. They claim that all the victims have long since died…"

That was why he wanted to do so with Azrail Astaroth, to see if the child knew something that the captured criminals didn't.

After all, someone might have manipulated the captured criminals' memories.

"What if something happened to Ajuka's brother..."

"Rest assured, Lord Zekram, I have no intentions of harming Lord Beelzebub's brother… He is a good friend of my daughter, and I won't do something that'll hurt her."

"I don't think that's something Archduke Agares needs my assistance for…"

"Even I can't compete with how Lord Zekram handles such decisive matters with his connections…" Lord Agares smiled. "For example, how even Lord Lucifer never found out that the reason for Cleria Belial's death wasn't because of her relationship with the human from church, but the knowledge of [King Piece]…"

'He wants me to return the favour from that time…'

Lord Agares was the one who informed Zekram regarding Cleria Belial's knowledge of [King Pieces], something that helped the Great King Faction a lot.

"Very well… If that's the case, I'll make some arrangements for Archduke Agares." Zekram closed the files in his hands. "But the payment must be done by the Agares Clan. That person's charges are quite unreasonable, even more so if we need to capture the target and not outright assassinate him…"

"Of course…"

---

Azrail Astaroth Pov:

"Haah..." Sitting on a mountain of a few dozen vampire and undead corpses, I let out a small sigh. "I even went so far as to destroy everything but your head. Can't you die and make it easier for me?"

"Grrr…!"

In front of me was a detached vampire head, which growled when it heard my voice.

Even after burning her entire body, the Rogue Vampire from the Tepes Faction didn't die.

Vampires had immortal bodies, but that was only true for ageing and sustaining their lives. While their bodies could recover from most physical damages if they rested within their coffins, they couldn't regenerate or regrow limbs without sufficient time and rest.

It was possible to kill weak Vampires and Dhampirs with sufficient magic, even without the use of holy power, by destroying their bodies or heads.

However, in some cases, the vampires and dhampirs had extremely resilient bodies and wouldn't die with such methods.

The same was true for the female pure-blooded vampire in front of me, who ran away from the Tepes Faction after being oppressed by the males of her household for centuries, only to run into me.

Talk about terrible luck.

If she consumed enough blood and was allowed to rest in a coffin, her body would heal in due time despite her current condition, but alas, that would never happen.

'At this rate, I won't be able to use [A Corpse Never Lies] on her…'

The last condition for the spell was for the target's head to be intact, but accomplishing that in the current situation was impossible.

The vampire wouldn't become a corpse until I smashed her head, and the spell wouldn't work if her head turned into paste.

'Since this one is a pure-blood, she's bound to know more about the Tepes Faction than those low-class vampires…'

It was troublesome.

"Grrrr…!"

I rolled the head towards me and balanced it on my leg like a football, much to the vampire's annoyance.

"Grrrrr….! Grrrrrr….!"

Even after ripping her tongue out, she wouldn't stop growling at me.

"Forget it…"

I kicked the head in the air, and the moment it hit the ground—

[Dismantle.]

It disintegrated into a mushy paste of flesh, blood, and brains.

The female vampire was a strong-willed individual, so torturing the information out of her would have taken a while. Not to mention, I didn't want to waste any more time because it already took me over two hours to track her exact location.

And since Elmenhilde could provide me with more than enough vampires for now, there was no need for me to make unnecessary moves against the Tepes Faction.

My shadow extended towards the vampire's mushy remains before devouring them whole.

After the last experiment, I learned something that could be implemented in darkness magic.

If I stored something inside my shadow and decided to 'let it go' inside, the darkness would slowly devour it, and it'd disappear on its own.

It was a fantastic trash disposal on par with [Power of Destruction].

The only downside was that it was impossible to bring something back after 'letting it go' inside the shadows.

[Notice. Unable to maintain a connection with all the laboratories. If it doesn't restore within ten minutes, all facilities will initiate the final self-destruction protocol.]

Huh?

I almost choked on air at Great Sage's words.

The connection with the laboratories wouldn't disappear even when I was in different dimensions, like Earth and the Underworld.

There was only one way that could happen.

[You are trapped inside a barrier, Master. Please be careful.]

To think I wouldn't even notice when someone erected a barrier in this area…

Whoever did it had commendable skills.

However, did it matter to me?

Not really.

No barriers could stop me from leaving.

'The one who created the barrier is most likely stronger than me, but if they're being this cautious with such skills, the attacker's probably an assassin… The plan must be to attack me in the moment of surprise when my [Transportation Magic] fails…'

It was regrettable, but by the time they decided to attack, I'd have already left.

"All done…"

Acting as if nothing was out of the ordinary, I descended from the mountain of corpses before letting my shadow devour it whole.

'Let's teleport to the underworld and return here with Alice before the assassin flees...'

No matter what, I wanted to know who planned on harming an innocent soul like myself.

'Although, I'll have to ask her to leave the assassin's dead body intact for me…'

The Astaroth Clan's magic circle appeared under me, but—

"Huh…?"

Nothing happened.

My [Transportation Magic]… failed because of a barrier?

However, the shock didn't stop me from kicking the ground while surging my demonic power, causing a gust of wind to push me forward even faster.

BOOM!*

A pitch-black spear crashed into the ground, creating a large explosion and leaving behind a small crater.

Whoosh!*

'That was close, even with the [Way of the Wind]…'

[Way of the Wind] was a spell I learned from Alice, who used it to increase her speed when she was learning magic in her early days.

Since she hadn't used it in the last three or four centuries because most people couldn't even match her speed without it, she passed it down to her favourite student instead.

The spell's original name was [Aerial Movement], so I changed it to something more pleasant to the ears.

Rather than focusing on attack or defence, this spell only enhanced the user's speed and mobility.

As one would expect from the Strongest [Knight], the speed it granted was beyond measure if mastered to its full potential, but there was one problem.

I only learned this spell one week before moving to Bucharest, so my mastery wasn't even at the bare minimum to properly utilise it.

"To think you'd dodge that attack. Well, it's the least I'd expect from Beelzebub's brother…"

"For someone who sneak attacked me despite having the numbers on her side, you sure talk a lot…"

A vampire fell from the ceiling, landing next to the small crater. Her face was covered in a thin layer of shadow, while her body hid behind a black cloak, making it impossible for anyone to recognise her identity.

The pitch-black spear moved towards her and dissolved into her shadow.

'That was… [Shadow Construction]…'

My eyes narrowed at the scene.

'This is bad… Very bad…'

[Shadow Construction] was a skill vampires and dhampirs used to create things out of shadows.

But what made it such a high-level skill was that they could detach their creations from their shadows and use them freely as weapons, projectiles, or shields.

It was something that even I couldn't accomplish yet, and if she could do it, that meant—

[Notice. The enemy's strength is equivalent to an Ultimate Class.]

'From the previous attack, it seems like she had underestimated me, or I'd have a hole in my stomach by now…'

I finally understood why my [Transportation Magic] didn't work, even before Great Sage announced it.

[Notice. The vampire's 'Shadow Domain' has created a separate space around this place. Unable to utilise spatial spells like Transportation Magic, Communication Magic, and Dimensional Storage.]

A skill that didn't block Transportation Magic but made it so that no one could utilise it.

'Not only [Shadow Construction], but [Shadow Domain], too. She's most likely in the upper ends of the Ultimate Class based on skills and combat abilities. No, it might even be the lower ends of Satan Class without the domain needing a lot of her magic power…'

[Shadow Domain] was another of the vampire race's skills that created a large dome from their shadows, creating a separate space inside to stop someone from escaping.

Separate spaces were inherently different from barriers. They distorted space and made it impossible for someone to teleport outside by making them unable to use spatial magic.

However, the fact that it could mess with my [Transportation Magic] was a huge surprise since I hadn't seen it with my own eyes until now.

The only methods to escape from a [Shadow Domain] were to either break it with sheer raw power or kill the caster.

"You can sense them?" The vampire looked pleasantly surprised, and a smile appeared on her pitch-black face. "Rest assured, my subordinates are only here to keep up the [Shadow Domain] and prevent you from escaping…"

'Shit… I wanted it to be a mistake…'

Unbeknownst to the enemy, I had no idea that someone else was here except this one vampire assassin.

It was a wild guess to identify her after realising the use of [Shadow Domain].

"For the infamous Lyra Darkvein to personally come after a child like me. I don't know if I should be honoured or scared…" The vampire's movements stopped at those words, and her eyes widened behind that shadow mask. "Ah, right. You go by the name of 'Shadow Fiend' while wearing that mask..."

Shadow Fiend.

A bloodthirsty and sadistic assassin who only took jobs for a single purpose—to brutally torment and torture the targets who caught her eye before finally killing them.

If someone paid her enough, she'd accept a mission from any faction without questions, but she'd never go after someone she didn't believe she could defeat.

Her infiltration and stealth skills were said to be top-notch. No wonder I couldn't sense when she sneaked up on me.

'Great Sage…?'

[Answer. Even though Lyra's subordinates are powering up the Shadow Domain, it won't collapse until she dies as the centrepiece. But by killing them, it'd require her to use more of her magic power to stop Master from escaping.]

'What about the domain itself?'

[It'll take time to analyse the Shadow Domain's structure and look for escape routes.]

'We don't have much time…'

If I didn't destroy the [Shadow Domain] within forty minutes, all my laboratories would self-destruct.

The final self-destruction protocol only sounded like a good idea in my head.

And to make the situation worse, no matter what happened to me inside this separate space, Alice wouldn't come to the rescue.

'Not to mention, if this bitch is anything like the rumours…'

"Ahahaha…" Lyra let out a heartfelt laugh, peeling off the mask on her face before removing the cloak on her body. "For a young devil to know something that not even my direct subordinates don't know…"

Maybe it was because I subconsciously associated vampires with Elmenhilde, but Lyra's appearance surprised me a little.

The 'Shadow Fiend' was a beautiful woman in her early twenties with deep red eyes and long, waist-length white hair.

The sleeveless body suit that tightly hugged her tall and curvy figure made her a sight for sore eyes.

"You won't tell me who told you about that, right?"

"The dead told me about it…"

That wasn't a lie.

After reading the memories of thousands of corpses, I knew some deep secrets of the world and had a lot of dirt on strangers.

"I see, so that's how it is…" Lyra smiled at me, and moments later, her body disappeared, reappearing next to me with a pitch-black sword slashing down towards my chest. "Then, I have no choice but to be a little forceful…"

[Way of the Wind!]

"That's a fancy support spell, but your proficiency with it is terrible…"

Drip!* Drip!*

"I know that much…"

The only reason I could dodge that attack was thanks to the intuition Alice beat into me, along with the fact that I had started training seriously ever since the banquet ended.

Well, it wasn't entirely correct to say that I dodged her attack completely.

Thud!*

My left forearm landed at the vampire's feet, blood pouring out from both the severed forearm and my neatly slashed elbow.

'Fucking hell. She changed her attack pattern within moments. Those are some high-level combat skills…' Holding back some vile curses, I opened my mouth. "[Hemostis]."

As the chant finished, a magic circle appeared around my elbow, stopping the bleeding instantly by burning the top layer of the wound.

"But, I wonder how long that'll last…" Lyra stared at me with a light blush and licked her lips. Her shadow extended before devouring my severed forearm as she continued, "Because I'm a little thirsty right now…"

'Great Sage, activate [Life Force Conversion] on me and increase my demonic power to the current limits…'

Fighting Lyra with my current abilities would be suicidal… Not that using [Life Force Conversion] was any different.

[Notice. The pain of using the spell while staying conscious—!]

'Do it.' I didn't even let Great Sage finish. 'I've dealt with worse pain for over a decade…'

[Answer. Understood.]

I summoned Arondight from my shadow and activated [Way of the Wind] with maximum output before appearing in front of the vampire.

"Wha—?!"

Her eyes widened in surprise, and the sword in her hand instantly transformed into a shield.

Flames erupted from Arondight's blade to increase the attack power before it crashed into the shield.

Crack!*

The ground beneath Lyra's feet shattered at the impact.

"Your demonic power increased—!"

However, despite her reaction and my efforts, the best I could do was make her step back a little.

A spike emerged from Lyra's shield, aimed at my shoulder.

"Tch…!"

I activated [Way of the Wind] to create distance between us, and Lyra's shield turned into a spear.

As I was about to land—

[Notice. Successfully found one of the five vampires supporting the Shadow Domain.]

Great Sage's callout caused me to focus all of my demonic power on Arondight before focusing [Way of the Wind] on a single point to my current maximum.

An application like this couldn't increase speed or mobility like the spell's original purpose, but that was fine.

After all, it wasn't for me.

SWOOSH!*

Arondight flew towards Lyra, aimed at her head, but even though she was surprised by the sword's sheer speed, she managed to dodge it with only a slash on her cheek.

However, that was what I expected.

BOOM!*

My sword broke through several of the castle's walls, hitting the vampire who hid near the shadow domain's edge.

'Now, she'll need to use more magic to maintain the [Shadow Domain] and have less to fight me…'

It must be quite taxing on her body, considering she carried five subordinates around to supply her domain with magic power.

From her fighting style, it was apparent that magic power reserves weren't her strongest suit. She used her magic power to create weapons and assist her already well-established close-combat fighting style—the same type as the current me.

"Amazing…" With a dumbfounded expression, Lyra stared at her dead subordinate's body as Arondight flew back to me, gently brushing her fingers against the wound on her cheek. "You figured out his position within minutes, even killing him before I could realise it…"

'I need to kill the remaining vampires and bring her down to my level…'

Lyra was an experienced assassin. She must know that if the domain disappeared, Alice would appear here to save me.

She had no choice but to maintain the domain until I died.

If it weren't for her domain holding her back, I'd have already died twice by now.

"Kee-hee-hee! Kee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee! No target has ever managed to exceed my expectations by this much…" The vampire started laughing hysterically, a twisted and cruel smile plastered onto her face. "And that emotionless and dangerous look in your eyes, something that shouldn't belong to a child… I can't..."

"The request was to capture you alive, so it'll be fine if I ripped off your limbs, pulled out your tongue, and gauged out your eyeballs, right?" Her cheeks flushed red, and she gave me a bewitching, confident smile which revealed her sharp fangs. "I can't wait to see how you'd react after I thoroughly crush your spirit and slowly torture you to near death—to the point where even at the brink of pain and despair, my voice becomes your ultimate salvation…"

That was Shadow Fiend's true personality—a sadistic bitch who found pleasure in torturing and mentally breaking individuals who caught her interest.

"Seriously…"

Lyra covered her mouth with her hand, suppressing another laugh, and the spear in her hand turned into a pair of daggers.

'Great Sage…'

[Yes?]

'Is it wrong that she seems kinda… hot?'

[…]

Great Sage's silence was almost tangible, poking in the back of my head, and I held back a laugh.

'It was a joke… Now I somewhat understand why the legends of Ren Zu said to never stick it inside the crazy…'

[…]

Talking like this to Great Sage under the effects of [Thought Acceleration] was the only reason I hadn't yet shown any signs of panic to Lyra.

"Let's see how long you can keep up that expressionless face…"

As the vampire spoke, mist started appearing around us, and within moments, it became so dense that I couldn't even see my body anymore.

'Even with wind magic, it won't disappear…'

And as if that wasn't bad enough, Lyra's presence disappeared, too.

'Well, she's an assassin… It'd be stupid if she fought me head-on even with the obvious advantages and superior physical attributes…'

Since that was the case, I started running throughout the castle with [Way of the Wind].

Lyra could 'sense and see' everything her mist touched, something I learned about Vampires from Elmenhilde, so standing there and waiting for her attack wouldn't be the best option.

While she waited for the best opportunity to attack me, I needed to locate and kill her subordinates.

At least, that was what I thought would happen.

"What's wrong?" Lyra's strangely mesmerising, feminine voice softly whispered into my ear, making it so that I could feel her breath on my earlobe. "Are you scared?"

Instinctively, I swung my sword towards the voice's source as fast as possible, but the only thing it hit was empty air, and—

"Gah…!"

A dagger pierced my left shoulder from above, digging into it before growing several small spikes on the blade to inflict extra pain as it retreated.

'Detecting her with [Sound Magic] isn't possible, either…'

It was surprisingly great magic for detection, but Lyra's movements made no sound, and she even suppressed her heartbeat from leaving her body.

"Does it hurt? Do you want to scream? Should I chop your other arm, too?"

The situation continued, and Lyra kept inflicting damage on my body with deep wounds. However, all of her attacks focused on causing more pain rather than life-threatening injuries.

'This is the last chance…'

I stood still, holding my breath and focusing solely on [Gravity Magic].

[Gravity Magic] wasn't suitable for battles yet because it took a decent amount of time to cast, but that wasn't my intention, either.

'Focus…'

I had never used this magic for such a thing, so it was a gamble whether it'd be possible amidst battle. After all, it was but one of the many theories I had in mind until a few moments ago.

'There…'

Releasing my grip on Arondight's hilt, I hurriedly turned around and grabbed Lyra's arm before she could land another hit on my back.

'I knew it… Even one of the best assassins never tried hiding her gravitational field…'

"Huh—?!"

The vampire gasped in surprise as I pulled her towards me, with my hand wrapping around her waist—essentially hugging her from the side.

Maybe she didn't react because my actions caught her off guard, but that didn't matter anymore.

With my mouth in line with her ear, I powered [Sound Magic] with the maximum output and shouted, "DID YOU PRAY TODAY?"

The shout sent shockwaves throughout the castle, and cracks started appearing around the building as the floor below us shattered.

"Aaarghhh…!"

Although it was only for a moment, Lyra's eyes lost focus, and her face distorted in pain as a loud, uncomfortable groan escaped her mouth.

My hand went back to grab Arondight, and I slashed it forward with the blade aimed at the vampire's neck.

Lyra came back to her senses, causing the dagger in her hand to transform into a shield as she rushed away from me, but—

Thud!*

The attack still landed on her shoulder and severed her right arm.

'She sacrificed her arm to save her neck. Talk about decisive thinking…'

However, her reaction wasn't out of my calculations.

'Since plan one failed, time for plan two…'

Before Lyra could regain momentum, I rushed over to one of her hidden subordinates before killing him and storing his body inside my shadow.

With the new [Gravity Detection], locating those around me wasn't a problem, even though the influx of information made it feel like I'd pass out if I lost focus.

'Ah, the mist is dispersing…'

Since Lyra needed more magic power to sustain the domain with her subordinate's death, she couldn't maintain the mist around us any longer.

"Even the targets stronger than me never managed to detect me through that mist, much less counter it and injure me to this degree… To think that an experience-less child could accomplish all this within minutes. Kee-hee-hee! Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee!"

Lyra seemed ecstatic after losing her arm, letting out a borderline insane laugh without restraint.

"The mission doesn't matter anymore… I'll keep you all to myself for the rest of eternity. On the constant verge of death and hopelessness, you won't see, hear, or touch anything other than me in an endless feeling of despair…" The only thing on her face was pure bliss and fascination, and her eyes stared at me with an unknown, almost creepy obsession. "Then, you'll truly be mine… All mine…"

As a devil, I never would have thought that I'd say this to someone, but—

"You should find god, please…"

"Come out."

In response to Lyra's words, the three remaining High-class vampires emerged from the shadows, quietly standing behind her.

"Weren't you the one who said they'd only help you maintain the domain?"

"They won't interfere... I summoned them here because they're easier to protect this way…"

'Great Sage, how much life span did I sacrifice in the past few minutes?'

[Answer. Five hundred and forty-three years, Master.]

'It's not as bad as I thought, but still… The efficiency of this spell hasn't improved much when used on a single target…'

Devils could live for over ten thousand years, so it didn't matter if a few thousand years disappeared. Not to me, at least.

After all, I could always recover my life force and heal my arm if I survived this encounter.

Although, that was a big if.

"Let's see how far you can go…"

Lyra licked her lips and condensed her aura around her limbs, and I took a stance, my grip around Arondight's hilt.

.

.

.

'To think this is how my second life would end, at the hands of someone I considered a mere subject of interest. How pathetic…'

My body was on the ground in a pool of blood, unable to even move an inch. The wounds I forcefully closed during the battle opened again, with blood continuously pouring out of them.

My vision darkened to the point that I couldn't see anything.

It felt like the moment I passed out, I'd die.

'I should've spent more time with my family…'

At that thought, a feeling I hadn't felt in decades resurfaced.

It was regret.

Celis, Sebastian, Sebas, Vanessa, and Latia…

I shouldn't have taken the time spent with them for granted.

The reason I even thought about killing them during the wasn't because I didn't love them… No, on the contrary, I loved them a lot.

It was because I simply loved my ambitions and research more…

That was the kind of person I was…

I was never someone who'd sacrifice himself for others…

"Ah…"

Those thoughts made me realise something.

Even at death's door, my current family was the first thing that came to my mind, not my old family.

It was stupid of me to even think that I thought of them as mere replacements for my original family.

They weren't Michael's family, but Azrail's…

The comparison itself felt ridiculous now.

But then again, it didn't matter anymore.

I wouldn't survive to see them, either way.

"Ahaha…"

A weak laugh came out of my mouth.

"Does this situation amuse you?"

I slowly glanced towards the side at Lyra's question.

Contrary to me, she was in a much better state despite the numerous injuries she sustained.

"Only now did I realise… How much I truly loved my family…"

It sucked.

I still had no idea how my original self died, but never once had I felt any regret regarding that life. I had achieved my goal and died without regrets.

However, it was different now…

There was so much I wanted to learn, so much I wanted to accomplish, and so many more things I wanted to experience in the world… in this life.

It was only now that I realised… My goal was always to gain more knowledge.

Strength, freedom, experiments... They were nothing but a means that led to a single goal.

I wanted to know it all, why I existed, the meaning of life and existence… Everything, from the past, present, and future...

It was never a simple task to satisfy my curiosity... It was the reason I strived to be better, to survive each day…

But then again, knowing that meant nothing.

There was only one thing I could do right now.

'[Life Force Conversion]…'

I activated the spell to its maximum capacity, so much so that I could feel my life force disappearing at an alarming rate.

[Notice. Master's—!]

"It's fine… There's no point in saving life force if I'll die either way…"

There were only two modes for using [Life Force Conversion] on myself. Either the controlled part, like how Great Sage did during the battle by slowly sacrificing some life span or the maximum amount where the spell went all out.

There was no in-between.

Initiating the second part meant my life force would keep burning until it extinguished entirely in exchange for a temporary power-up.

"H-How…"

Lyra's voice trembled, and her eyes shook as I slowly got up from the ground.

Demonic Power poured out of my body without restraint, with my aura far surpassing that of a Satan Class Devil.

No. Forget Satan Class; Devils of that level couldn't even compare. At least ten times. No, even more than that.

It was so overwhelming that the High-class vampires couldn't even stand straight and fell unconscious.

If it weren't for me purposefully holding back my aura, everything within and around Romania would've turned to dust. The shockwaves would've caused catastrophic damage throughout the Human World.

"What kind of a monster are you…"

Lyra could barely stand on her feet. Her legs trembled as she tried to step back, but under such tyrannical pressure, her body stopped listening to her.

"After all…" A pitch-black spear manifested in my hand. With so much Demonic Power, it wasn't hard to utilise [Shadow Construction]. "If death is the only option, I'd rather die utilising my greatest accomplishments in magic…"

I took a stance and threw the spear at Lyra. She tried to defend herself by creating a shield from her shadow, but—

BOOM!*

The spear 'disregarded' her defences, passing through the shield as if it weren't there.

Following that, the spear pierced through her chest and clashed with the domain's edge, obliterating it instantly and being absorbed by a door of darkness that appeared in front of it.

"Now that I've used it with my power, it truly is a wonderful power to have…"

But even with all my life force, I could only use darkness's ability to disregard only twice, with the target being Lyra's defences and her ability to dodge my attack. The rest of the power went into devouring the spear I created before it could turn this entire country to waste.

"What the hell… A power like this…" The Vampire looked down at her chest with a horrified expression, which had a giant hole in it. "Shouldn't exist..."

I understood her feelings.

Lyra's eyes met mine, and we started falling backwards.

Thud!*

However, unlike her, who fell on the ground, someone caught my body from behind and gently placed me on the ground, and my head rested on something extremely comfortable.

"The moment I stop looking at you, you do something troublesome…"

"Alice, your thighs are so soft."

Those thighs single-handedly made the inevitable death a lot more acceptable.

"Even in this situation…"

Alice had tears in her eyes, a scene I never thought was possible.

'Ah…'

I was sure that even after my death, no one cried in my original world... Strangely enough, Alice's expression made me wish for it to be the same in this life, too.

But I knew that wasn't the case. It made me both happy and sad.

Alice raised her hands towards Lyra and the three High-class vampires behind her.

Whoosh!*

A sea of purple flames erupted out of nowhere, spreading throughout the hall and engulfing the vampires, incinerating them almost instantly.

The flames didn't feel hot because of the barrier Alice created around us, but even then, simply looking at them made me feel repulsive.

But that reaction was to be expected.

"Purple Holy Flames… So that's how it is…"

At least one of my questions got answered.

"Don't lose consciousness now."

Alice placed her hand on my chest, sending her Demonic Power through my body to quickly examine my condition.

A Phoenix Tear wouldn't work since it couldn't restore blood loss and destroyed organs.

Someone must patch me up first with healing magic for Phoenix Tears to work.

"There's no point..."

Even if my body somehow recovered, my life force had almost disappeared.

'I can't hear her anymore…'

An enormous pillar of purple holy fire erupted above me as my vision slowly darkened, and Alice's voice became strangely distant.

I tried to stay conscious but couldn't, and as she shook my body in her hands, my consciousness finally faded away.

---

Words: 6263

A/N:

A sociopathic devil runs into a psychopathic vampire. What could go wrong?

Lengthy ahh chapter tho. I'm tired.

To make something clear: This isn't a nerf for the Mc. On the contrary, it is a setup for a power-up instead.

Also, Azrail's small character arc (which started with the banquet) came to an end. First time writing such a thing, so it might not be that good, but well. I liked it.

He now has a defined goal to work for, no matter how vague it might be, and knows what he wants in this life.