Chapter 53: The Vampire Queen

After Hoshizaki's departure, I left behind a small contingent of Tech-priest Engineers to salvage and repair the burning husks of the two tanks. There was little we could do about the dead. The crews had been scorched and burned beyond recognition. Leaving the burial and repair duties to the engineers, I ordered the tank company forward.

"Can we trust that Evelyn's Chosen?" Daniel asked skeptically over the communication device. I pursed my lips as I thought about it.

"Perhaps not…but the more important question is, how can we use them?"

Daniel laughed at that. "Fair enough, sir. The enemy of our enemy is our friend…even if they happen to be our former enemy."

"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer," I added. Of course, Hoshizaki and Takeda were neither my friends nor my enemies. I was just relieved that they weren't trying to kill me over the most absurd of reasons like the rest appeared to be doing.

But having survived and suffered enough under the hands of Tsukishima and the others, I had to be careful not to turn my back on them. For all I knew, this could be a devious method to lure me to lowering my guard before killing me like everyone else.

However, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get powerful allies to help my cause in killing Kobayashi.

"In any case, we should focus on helping Queen Scarlet and Haemorage. The matter regarding Evelyn's Chosen can wait."

"Yes, sir!"

The tanks thundered through the forest and made a beeline for the clearing where Sakaguchi had set up camp with his surviving forces. Even from a distance, I could hear the din of the fighting without having to rely on the communication devices. From my station, I could see visual images of the battlefield ahead. The vampires were evenly matched with the human army, which vastly outnumbered them despite the casualties they sustained yesterday.

Boom!

At the heart of the battlefield, explosions rocked the forest as massive spells clashed and detonated with earthshaking force. Humans and vampires alike were thrown into the air, helplessly hurtled across the clearing by elemental power.

Magnifying the image, I caught sight of Sakaguchi furiously engaging Lilith in battle. The red-haired vampire queen was trading blows with the dark-haired paladin in silver armor, her twin spears crimson streaks that blurred across the air like mirages. Against such speed and power, Sakaguchi stood strong and countered with his gleaming broadsword and Divine Defenses. The spears clattered harmlessly against his blessed armor, which glowed white-hot as it repelled the deadly strikes. Sakaguchi retaliated with swings that split the earth apart, but Lilith made use of her superior speed to deftly evade what would be lethal hits.

Neither of them were getting anyway, locked in a stalemate that seemed to drag on forever. A white, shimmering force field around the area indicated that Sakaguchi had casted his Holy Blessings, but I was awestruck by how fast and strong Lilith remained despite the supposed weakening effects of Sakaguchi's area-of-effect spell.

There was no sign of the Holy Blessings affecting her at all. Lilith was right…she could fight Sakaguchi with just technique alone.

That didn't mean she didn't try, though. As the two sprang away after a particularly vicious clash, Sakaguchi swung his broadsword to blast her with a divine blast. Flipping her body and elegantly evading the attack, Lilith landed on her feet and spun around to launch dozens of blood spears at her foe. The crimson projectiles lanced toward Sakaguchi, but as expected, his Divine Defense held them all at bay, neutralizing whatever damage they would deal.

Lilith gritted her teeth, a flash of frustration flickering across her pretty face.

It wasn't just Lilith, though. Sakaguchi was looking pretty impatient as well, even as he lowered his broadsword with a scowl. He was obviously wondering how a non-hero like Lilith could give him so much trouble.

"We're within range, sir!"

I tore my eyes away from the holographic image when Daniel reported to me. Nodding, I thumbed the communication device to contact our allies and signal for them to retreat.

Upon receiving the message, the vampires began falling back in mass, leaving the confused human soldiers behind. They tried to give chase, but the vampires' superior speed allowed them to put a vast distance between themselves and their enemies. The only one who didn't retreat was Lilith, who had remained behind to continue distracting Sakaguchi.

That was fine. We had already accounted for that in the plan. As the vampires fled the battlefield, the tanks pushed forward with a roar.

"Fire at will!" I barked.

"Fire! Fire!"

Daniel echoed my order, and the armored column took their shots. Superheated plasma lobbed forward from turret and sponson weapons, obliterating vast swathes of human infantry. Lasers stabbed out from the hull cannons, disintegrating horses and armored knights. Within seconds, the battle turned into a rout, with the tanks shoving their armored might into the battlefield and crushing the beleaguered humans.

"What I cannot crush with words, I'll crush with the tanks of the Imperial Guard!" I shouted. "Forward, for the Emperor!"

"…"

Drax and the driver, Draverre, both turned to stare at me with raised eyebrows. I coughed and hastily corrected myself.

"I'm talking about Emperor Regis Gremory, of course."

"Ah."

None of the crew questioned me after that. We rolled across the pulverized remains of the forest, spewing plasma and lasers from multiple weapon ports. Men died, incinerated and obliterated. The survivors tried to run and escape, but they were caught out in the open with no cover. A few threw down their weapons and raised their hands to surrender, and my tanks didn't shoot them.

However, Sakaguchi yelled at them furiously.

"Get up! Fight! Do something, you useless trash!"

Nobody paid any attention to him. It was clear that Sakaguchi was not a popular commander. He seethed, and would have performed mass summary execution if he wasn't so tied up with Lilith at the moment.

Seeing that their surrendering comrades were spared, the rest of the human soldiers gave in as well. It was a domino effect – the moment someone threw in the towel, the rest would inevitably follow. There were a few sporadic moments where human magicians attempted to launch powerful magic spells such as fireballs or lightning at my tanks, but they barely singed the thick armor. The ensuing retaliation was enough to ensure that nobody would be foolish enough to attempt casting an offensive spell at us again.

"Useless trash!" Sakaguchi roared. "You're fucking NPCs! Just do what I tell you to do! Is this a bug in the game or something? How can my army disobey a direct command from me!? Is this some kind of hack?!"

The guy still thought this whole thing was a game. How much more deluded could he get? Well, never mind. I didn't need to know.

"I'm going to help Queen Scarlet," I informed Drax. My communication officer nodded in acknowledgement and I flung the hatch open to jump out. Vaulting out of the tank, I proceeded toward Sakaguchi and Lilith.

"You…!"

Sakaguchi roared as he glared at me. However, a thrust from Lilith's spear caused him to duck his head backward and prevented him from launching himself straight at me. With a curse, he swung his broadsword at her, but she parried it by crossing both her spears and then responded with a riposte that bounced off his armor.

"Your opponent is me."

"I'll kill you first!"

Sakaguchi's broadsword exploded with divine, white mana and he unleashed his Holy Judgement. It smashed through Lilith's defenses and caught her even as she tried to escape, knocking her off her feet and sending her flying.

"Finally! Die!"

Sakaguchi crowed triumphantly as he descended upon her prone figure before she could get up, swinging his broadsword down to decapitate her.

It never reached her neck.

"You…!"

I had caught Sakaguchi's broadsword with one hand. The defensive layers of my Redwood jacket creaked but held firmly. Sakaguchi tried to exert more of his weight behind his blow, but he failed to penetrate my protection.

"How…?"

Like I was going to tell you, idiot.

I kicked him back, but as I expected, my attack didn't do any damage. Sakaguchi skidded backward, but he looked more surprised than hurt. He was still unable to believe that he couldn't cut me down.

"You…don't tell me that was Unholy Defense or something similar?"

I had no reason to tell him so I merely kept quiet and shrugged with a smile. Sakaguchi scowled when he realized that he was being mocked, and he rushed toward me, unleashing another Holy Judgement.

Like before, I caught the blast with my hand, causing it to dissipate harmlessly over my regenerating Redwood Robe.

"You…"

Behind me, Lilith had clambered up to her feet and was watching me, impressed.

"You said you have a way to beat him?" I asked without glancing back. I could sense her nodding behind me even without looking.

"Yes."

"How?" I kept my eyes on the infuriated Sakaguchi. "Do you know how to penetrate that Divine Defense of his? Do you have a technique that can break through his armor?"

"…better than that."

I smiled. "Then I'll leave him to you."

"Heh." Lilith chuckled. "You're not planning on killing him yourself?"

I shook my head. "As much as I want to, I lack the ability to do so. Unfortunately, I don't have a technique that can destroy his Divine Defense."

"Oh, so that's why…" Lilith looked impressed. "How rare. A man who acknowledges his own limits and isn't hesitant to lower his head and beg for help."

I couldn't help but snort. "I'm not exactly lowering my head and begging for help, though."

"Close enough."

"What the hell are you two babbling about?!" Sakaguchi roared. Dragging his feet against the soil, he swung his broadsword at me, unleashing a white wave of mana that I casually slapped away with my hand. He leered at me. "I see…I was planning on dealing with you later, Tanaka, but if you're so impatient to die by my blade, then I'll be happy to indulge you."

"And how do you intend on killing me?" I asked flippantly. "Not to sound arrogant or anything, but none of your attacks have any effect on me so far."

"Then I'll keep attacking until I break through that defense of yours!"

"Uh huh. I'm guessing that's how to break through your Divine Defense?"

"…!"

Sakaguchi took a step back instinctively when I said that, and then scoffed.

"Of course not!"

Yeah, I knew it wouldn't be that easy. Even if it was one of the ways, it would be horribly inefficient and take too much time and energy. I wasn't exactly confident of engaging in a battle of attrition with someone as sturdy as Sakaguchi.

I hoped Lilith's technique worked.

"Stand down, Tanaka-kun."

"…!"

I suddenly ducked on instinct at Lilith's voice. Sakaguchi seized the chance to blast me backward, but this time I didn't bother to block it. I allowed the blast to carry me backward so that I could put as much distance between myself and Sakaguchi. My Redwood Robe protected me from the destructive effects of the blast.

And even if it did penetrate my defenses, I would just regenerate.

"Heh!" Sakaguchi sneered. "You can't even take a single blow from me!"

Right. That was like the third and fourth blow, and I let you blow me away on purpose.

I didn't tell him that, however. And even if I did retort, Sakaguchi wouldn't be paying any attention to me. His eyes widened as he stared at Lilith, who had dropped one of her spears and holding the other with both hands.

"Whoa…"

I couldn't help but gasp as well. There was a tremendous amount of mana swirling into Lilith and her spear, so much so that the very air around her distorted and shimmered. Blood streamed across the battlefield and flooded toward her, giving the impression that her spear was expanding rapidly into an immense size.

Her blood magic is on a completely different level from mine…

Well, it was only natural. I had only been a vampire for a few days at most, whereas Lilith was probably a vampire for centuries.

"W…what the hell is this?!" Sakaguchi demanded, turning his head from side to side to watch the blood flow around and past him to stream into Lilith's spear. The vampire queen merely smiled sweetly and ominously.

"!"

Sakaguchi growled when he realized that he couldn't allow Lilith to complete her technique. He then lunged forward to slash her, but it was too late.

While I had been distracting Sakaguchi, Lilith had been preparing this technique the entire time. It was complete.

Lilith's spear glowed and suddenly flashed, turning into a crimson blur. I staggered back, caught off guard by the sheer amount of raw mana unleashed in that single moment. Even Sakaguchi, with his formidable Divine Defense, was paralyzed by the sudden surge of mana, unable to move as her spear lanced toward him in a red streak.

"As if you'll be able to kill me with that…!"

With a roar, Sakaguchi swung his broadsword to parry the strike.

At first sight, it seemed that he succeeded. The blade of his gigantic sword met the spear's point, deflecting it away from his heart.

"…!"

However, the spear suddenly shifted trajectory, almost as if it was snaking underneath his blade. Like a viper, it lunged forward and sank its fangs deep into his breastplate.

"You…!" Sakaguchi growled when he realized what had happened, but then he snorted. "Even if you use such petty tricks, you won't be able to penetrate my Divine Defense!"

"Oh, but I never planned on penetrating it."

"…!"

Sakaguchi suddenly lurched forward, dropping his broadsword and clutching his chest. With a violent roar, he vomited blood as he fell to his knees, wheezing and gasping. The spear was no longer piercing his chest, but blood was spreading and leaking from under his breastplate.

"What…what did you do to me?!" he gasped, looking up in fury.

"I didn't attack you, but I placed a curse on you," Lilith replied as she picked up her other spear and caressed both of them. "Sure, your Divine Defense can stop and resist any physical attack or magical attack, but what about curses?"

"Curses bypass defenses and place effects on the victim directly," I whispered, suddenly understanding what had transpired.

"This boy here has the right idea," Lilith remarked with a chilling smile. "Additionally, my spear has the effect of reversing cause and effect. Basically, it determines the fate of the opponent…the heart being pierced becomes the cause of the spear being thrust."

"Why the hell are you ripping off Fate/Stay Night?" I muttered, causing Lilith to glare at me.

"What are you talking about?"

"Never mind."

"He's right!" Sakaguchi uttered, obviously having watched the Unlimited Blade Works anime like I did. "You copied a skill from an anime!"

Lilith winced and then sighed.

"All right, all right. The curse works as a blood curse. I merely activated it with by selecting my target with my spear…it doesn't matter if you block it or evade, the curse will still hit you regardless. Once it takes effect, the blood in your heart will crystalize and turn into spears, rupturing your aorta and vena cava and impaling your heart from the inside out. Quite frankly, I'm surprised that you're still alive."

"…guh…!"

More blood leaked out from Sakaguchi's throat as he attempted to say something. He glared at us, his eyes turning bloodshot.

"He's quite the tenacious one, isn't he?" Lilith remarked. I shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess? You want to finish him off?"

"Is it really okay?" Lilith asked as she stared at me. "I was under the impression that you have a vendetta against him."

"Yeah, but you're the one who defeated him. It's only right that you get the reward."

"It would have been much more difficult if you didn't help me, though."

I pushed my glasses up my nose as I smiled.

"Please don't worry about that. I've already drank his lover's blood. You can have this one. Think of it as a gift to prove the alliance's sincerity."

"Ho…I'll take you up on your offer then."

"You bastard!" Sakaguchi screamed. "So you did kill Akane-san after all! I'll never forgive you! I'll kill you! I'll fucking kill you!"

Using the last of his strength, Sakaguchi lunged at me, only for Lilith to catch him before he could even reach halfway across the clearing. With inhuman strength, she flipped Sakaguchi over and slammed him against the ground.

"Gah!"

Lilith bent down, while Sakaguchi was lying helplessly on his back, and bit down on his neck before sucking him dry.

*

With the human armies attacking Haemorage gone, our forces withdrew back to the fortified city with the human prisoners-of-war in tow.

"What do we do with them?"

"Leave them to Lord Regis," Lilith replied to Elia's question. "I'm sure he has better use for them, probably to trade for freedom for our own captured soldiers, or to use them as collateral or something as part of a political deal."

"You don't want them?" I asked. Lilith snorted.

"What for? Hameorage doesn't have the resources to sustain and feed such prisoners. They'll only be a burden. I'll be happy to give them to Lord Regis."

"Uh, right."

That was our next mission then. To escort the prisoners and the royal couple safely back to Helsfort. Now that we had secured the alliance of Haemorage and Lilith Scarlet, as well as defended her territory from the invading human army, we no longer had any reason to stay.

"I'll contact Lord Regis for new orders…and to fill him in on what happened here."

"Good. I'd also love to talk to him."

"I'll have my technicians set up the holographic communication device in the throne room so that we can hold a summit there."

"Sure. We'll be counting on you."

With that, we went our separate ways, and I decided to check on the prisoners. They were being held in temporary pens for now, and I spotted Major Kracauer seated separately from his men. As the highest-ranking officer, he was given a cell of his own.

"Major Kracauer," I greeted him as I went over. "How are your men and you holding up?"

The old major looked up at me and smiled wearily.

"Better than I expected. Thanks to you, we're still alive…which is more than I expected. I'm grateful for the mercy you've shown us."

"It's only natural. If we're civilized, then we should act like it…showing mercy, treating our enemies with honor and all that."

"…"

Kracauer fell silent, which caused me to blink in trepidation.

"What is it?"

"No…you're just very different from any of the demons I've met. I don't think I've heard any demon commander treating their prisoners this kindly before."

"There's always a first time," I remarked brightly. Kracauer laughed at that.

"True."

Then he slumped down bitterly.

"…if only I can say the same about the humans."

"What about the humans?"

I stared at Kracauer curiously, but he sighed and shook his head.

"I'm ashamed to say this of my own species, but I doubt they would show their demon prisoners the same kindness and mercy you've shown me."

"…"

I didn't say anything. I could imagine just what they would do.

"They don't take prisoners…we've been ordered to kill all demons on sight. Accept no surrender. Ensure the total annihilation of the demon race."

"…I can't say I blame them."

"It wasn't always like this, you know." Kracauer sighed as he leaned against the fence of his temporary cell. "Everything changed when the heroes came. Especially after Kobayashi-sama took command."

That caught my interest.

"Kobayashi?"

"Yes." Kracauer nodded and stared at me seriously. "That's when everything began to fall apart for the human nations."