Chapter 177

Lefil.

According to Carmilla, the kingdom's finest swordmaster.

Even long past their prime, few among the vampires could match Lefil.

"Hm."

A master of Bloodcraft who had even served as the princess's teacher.

A powerhouse said to be Professor Javert's equal, or perhaps even slightly stronger.

Lefil's reputation alone was enough to make cold sweat run down my back.

Still, there was no turning back. We had no choice but to face such absurd modifiers.

"Let's see, then. How much Your Highness has grown..."

An overwhelming presence pressed down over the area.

Before long, the Chimeras wandering nearby began to burst apart one by one.

Pop! Crack-!

It was not an intentional attack.

The lesser creatures simply could not withstand that pressure, crushed by the disparity in rank.

Their patchwork flesh came apart and split, sticking to the plaza floor like blood scabs.

Creak, crunch-.

Those grotesque sounds made the vast gap between us painfully clear.

Before Lefil had even used Bloodcraft, Lefil had already overwhelmed us with sheer presence.

"......"

"......"

Neither Carmilla nor I said a word.

We kept our mouths shut and focused every shred of attention on Lefil before us.

'If I lose sight of Lefil, I die.'

It was Lefil who broke the silence.

"Then I shall begin."

Just five syllables.

The next moment, I lost track of Lefil's movement.

"To begin with, greetings."

-Lefil Style Bloodcraft, First Form-

'Sever'

By the time I blinked, Lefil's palm was pressed against my abdomen.

Then the world reacted a beat too slowly.

A dark crimson line appeared.

Lefil's gesture had become a slash.

I could not tell whether it had always been one, or if it had changed somewhere along the way.

'What the...'

Boooom-!!!

The roar reached my ears before I could process what had happened.

The clock tower on the far side of the plaza. I had been slammed into it. One exchange had sent me flying several hundred meters.

I hurried to get up.

Then Lefil's wrinkled hand grabbed my chin.

-Lefil Style Bloodcraft, Second Form-

'Strike'

Boom-!!!

My vision turned blue. The space around me changed. I was flying through the sky.

I had pierced through the clock tower at a right angle and been fired straight into the air. My body nearly reached the bright blue barrier above, then Lefil caught me by the ankle.

-Lefil Style Bloodcraft, Fourth Form-

'Hammer'

Baaang-!!!

I was driven back into the plaza floor.

Maybe it was the grotesque screen transitions, but my head was spinning.

'Three seconds.'

That was how long it had taken for me to be smashed into the clock tower, launched into the air, and slammed back down.

Without the crown, I would have died three times over.

In other words, Lefil had effectively killed me once every second.

Countless thoughts rushed through my head, but the barest hint of reality jolted me awake.

'Too fast...!'

I pushed myself up without even giving myself time to stagger.

It had felt as though I had been lying there for ten seconds, but less than one second had actually passed.

There was no room for mistakes.

If I failed to tank Lefil, Carmilla would be next.

Since the crown made me invincible, I had to keep Lefil occupied.

"Urgh..."

"Oh?"

Lefil murmured in admiration.

Lefil must have thought I would not be able to stand again.

"I had intended to leave not even a corpse behind, yet you rose without so much as a scratch..."

"Viktor...!"

"You have taken in quite an exceptional retainer, Your Highness."

"How dare you humiliate this princess's retainer!"

Crimson blood surged toward the center of the plaza like a storm.

Carmilla seemed to have finished preparing, unleashing Bloodcraft with all her strength.

"Get away from Viktor!"

-Blandir Style Bloodcraft, Ninth Form-

'Blood Spear'

Whoooosh-!

A sea of blood woven into a single spear shot forward.

Compressed, compressed, and compressed again, the blood tore through the air as it flew at Lefil.

It was an attack of remarkable quality.

Yet Lefil responded without concern.

Lefil opened a right hand, coating the fingertips in deep crimson.

"You still have not broken that habit. Whenever you focus on power, the links within your Bloodcraft become somewhat loose."

-Lefil Style Bloodcraft, Third Form-

'Annihilation'

Crack-!

Lefil grabbed the Blood Spear. Its structure immediately came apart, neutralizing the spell.

The spear returned to ordinary droplets of blood.

Lefil flicked a hand as if it had taken no effort at all.

"How many times have I told you? High power is not everything. Sometimes something small and finely crafted is more dangerous than something large and crude. You must polish your fundamentals further."

"Shut up!"

Calling her lacking was nonsense.

Carmilla's Bloodcraft was already exceptional enough to surpass most vampires.

Her fundamentals were solid, and she had gained plenty of combat experience.

The girl's strength had risen dramatically over the past half year.

Among our party, she was talented enough to display power on Rin's level.

'But.'

Since Lefil had said it, that assessment was not nonsense.

Lefil was so overwhelmingly strong that such harshness was warranted.

Lefil's very existence was proof enough to belittle the girl.

We steadied our breathing as we faced that unreasonable strength.

"This is no joke. It feels like fighting two copies of Professor Javert."

"Urgh... Lefil wasn't originally this strong, but it seems drinking human blood has made Lefil stronger after all."

"This is bad. It was already close when I fought the chief investigator."

"How much of the Blue Knight have you absorbed?"

"I've just passed 13%."

"So we're about halfway to 30%... We do not have much time."

"Lefil is monstrously strong. Still, I don't think Lefil is unbeatable."

"Yes, because Viktor is at my side."

"We should press Lefil as hard as possible. I'll engage Lefil directly, so please support me with Bloodcraft, Your Highness."

"Very well."

"Then I'm coming again...!"

Tap-!

I lightly kicked off the ground.

After a short leap, my body shot forward with a fierce gust of wind.

Without any sign of panic, Lefil moved to deflect my strike.

"Coming at me headfirst. Are you trying to commit suicide?"

-Lefil Style Bloodcraft, First Form-

'Sever'

Lefil's hand moved toward my abdomen again.

This time, though, I was half a beat faster.

Click-.

The pocket watch hidden in my hand clicked.

The slowdown bug activated, and the flow of the world briefly slowed.

Even so, Lefil's movements still felt fast.

'Even slowed down, Lefil is faster than most martial artists...!'

Still, Lefil was not too fast to react to.

I swung my Balloon Knife and barely parried Lefil's slash.

Fwoosh-.

A sound like escaping air.

The missed attack crashed into one side of the plaza.

The Ghouls and Chimeras swarming nearby were blown apart into hundreds of pieces.

"......Huh?"

Had Lefil truly not expected that?

For the first time, Lefil's eyes widened.

'That was close.'

At least my reaction speed had not deteriorated yet.

Back when I was deep into gaming, my reactions had been faster than most active pro gamers.

I immediately swung my scythe.

"Activate. Thorns."

Shhhk-!

Thorns swept across the space before me like a claymore explosion.

Lefil had already created considerable distance between us.

"Huh... To think you would not just deflect it, but follow up with a counterattack."

"That's a shame. If I'd been just a little faster, I'd have put a few holes in you."

"I never expected Your Highness to have such a powerful retainer."

"She is a person of such noble standing. So, are you starting to think it is time to retreat?"

"Let me ask you instead. Do you have no intention of fleeing? If you return with Your Highness, I have no intention of pursuing you."

"An appealing offer, but I'll have to respectfully decline. Her Highness does not wish for it."

"Is that so... What a shame."

We glared at each other.

Then we kicked off the ground at the same time.

Boooom-!

Several more sonic booms rang out across the plaza.

* * *

Elsewhere.

The others held their positions throughout the island.

"Hah, hah... This is fucking brutal."

"Miss Caitlin! The monsters are gathering around the barrier!"

"Fuck, I know...!"

Crackle-!

Bright yellow electricity and Starlight lit up the surroundings.

The children who had gone out to rescue people were gradually gathering at their assigned points.

Perhaps thanks to the sanctuary Ranne had created, the rescued civilians could be kept safe.

"Hey, monster bitch! You help too!"

"......Okay."

Shhhk-!

Caitlin charged ahead while Rin unleashed a white blizzard.

Alice had her eyes gently closed, busy directing the soldiers she had scattered across the entire island.

"Has the chief investigator not arrived yet?"

"She can't come! She contacted us through the crystal ball earlier, but there are too many Chimeras, so it seems difficult for her to join us!"

"The investigator is isolated? Then we should go support her..."

"Can we!? We're already barely holding them back as it is! And do you really think someone like her will die to a bunch of Chimeras? She'll make it back safely, so focus on the job we've been assigned!"

"Urgh, understood!"

The children hurried about.

Together with Lusilion's guards, they steadily pushed through the waves of monsters.

Vampires and dark mages were mixed in among them from time to time.

The sheer number of enemies quickly drained the children's stamina.

Caitlin in particular, who had never had much endurance to begin with, crackled as though she might run out of power at any moment.

"Ugh..."

"Hey, Class B's top student. Tired? Want some help?"

"Fuck... off. No matter how tired I am, I'm not taking help from you...!"

Crackle-!

The fierce defensive battle continued.

Then an unusual phenomenon suddenly swept across the battlefield.

-Grrrgrrgrrgrrr!

-Kekekekekek!

-Krrk, grrrrr!

The Chimeras and Ghouls rushing in from all directions suddenly began to swell and bulge.

"Hah, hah... What? What's wrong with those bastards all of a sudden?"

"Something's strange. Wait, that's..."

The monsters all stopped moving at once.

They stood completely still as their bodies inflated like balloons.

Shrill cries rang out.

The Ghouls screamed together.

The Chimeras let out a chorus of howls.

-Screeeeech!!!

Then the monsters began to burst apart one after another.

It looked like balloons filled with blood popping.

Pop! Crack! Pop-!

Each burst cut off another scream.

The explosions spread in sequence, ripping through the surrounding monsters one after another.

"No... What the hell is this..."

"Something ominous is..."

Only three minutes passed.

Yet in that short time, the monsters' numbers had decreased drastically.

More than ninety percent of the creatures crowding around the barrier had exploded.

The enemy's numbers had fallen, but the children felt instinctive fear.

Sizzle-!

The chunks of flesh scattered from the monsters evaporated.

As if they had been offered in a ritual, every scrap of flesh disappeared without a trace.

"This is..."

Something was wrong.

Before they could even finish that thought, a pulse shook the entire island.

Boom-!

"......!!"

A dreadful presence swallowed Lusilion.

The ground trembled, and several people who had been shaking in fear fainted on the spot.

The children stood there in shock.

A writhing sense of dread licked at their spines.

Then Ranne's dazed murmur broke the silence.

"......Oh no. Sir Viktor."

Something had gone wrong.

All at once, the children ran toward the plaza.

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