After parting ways with Lilith, just as I was about to head back toward Carmilla's territory, I sensed a faintly familiar presence down a back alley. I took Kuroka's hand and quietly made our way over. Sure enough, the two people I'd expected were there.
"Rugal. Bennia. Things going well on your end?"
It was two members of the Sitri peerage—I'd hoped to ask for their help.
When we arrived in this town, they had gone off separately to secure an escape route. The way Kuroka and I operate, we could manage a physical escape if we had to, but re-entering Carmilla's territory would've been a hassle. If these two had already established a route, it would be a lot faster—and easier.
I must've surprised them, since I'd been suppressing my presence as much as possible. The moment I spoke, they instinctively took a defensive stance.
"Whoa there! It's you two, huh? Man, that scared the hell outta me. I like to think both me and Rugal are pretty sharp, but you totally slipped past us."
With my progress in Senjutsu, I'd gotten better at detecting and manipulating the aura of souls. I'd wanted to test if even a half-reaper like Bennia wouldn't notice us. Holding hands with Kuroka, I hid both our presences before saying hello. Judging by their reactions, I'd say it was a success.
"Well," Bennia said, "we've got the basics set up. A route connecting this town to the outskirts, then from there to Carmilla's territory. We haven't fully completed a route out of the country yet—like, say, a direct path to Japan—but we're working on it."
Perfect! These two are seriously competent. In a closed-off country like this, being able to freely travel back and forth is huge. And a triple-jump teleport to Carmilla's town? That's incredible.
"Great. Sorry to ask, but can you teleport us to Carmilla's city? Things have escalated, and we need to carry out some covert operations there. We've completed our part here, so it's perfect timing."
"Oh? So you two are playing support roles too?"
I shrugged and answered, "We'll let the big names—the Red Dragon Emperor and the Great Satan's sister—take the spotlight. As for me, I'll be quietly sabotaging the enemy behind the scenes, then laughing as they lose their cool."
I hope Azazel-sensei is recording it all.
"Hah, sounds like you're setting yourself up to get knocked out by the end."
"No worries. I only mess with the bad guys. There are no heroes where I'm headed."
Narrative conventions don't apply in the real world. Got it?
"Well, if the great villain himself says so, I won't argue. As a fan of the Oppai Dragon, I'll keep my mouth shut. Shall we head out then?"
"Let's go."
As I replied, a magic circle expanded beneath our feet—
"SPOT!!"
"Nyah?!"
"Whoa!"
We dropped straight through the magic circle.
========
We emerged in a dim forest, probably somewhere near the outskirts of the Tepes domain. The teleport circle had been activated in midair, dropping us—me, Kuroka, Bennia, and Rugal—down to the forest floor.
Still... what was with that "SPOT!!"? That was not good for my heart! Couldn't they have made it a little more elegant? Why does it have to be like a trapdoor?
Kuroka, clearly annoyed, had removed Bennia's skull mask and was giving her head a good grinding with her fists.
"Why didn't you just teleport us normally? You could've at least warned us first!"
"Ow ow ow! Sorry, Miss Hellcat! It's just... this way's faster, and I've gotten into the habit of doing it like this. Please forgive me!"
"My bad too," Rugal added with a sigh. "Hard habit to break."
So they're repeat offenders, huh?
Despite that little hiccup, we successfully infiltrated Carmilla's territory and parted ways with the Sitri duo.
"So, any trace of the Evil Dragons, Ikki? I assume there are fewer than in Tepes's city?"
Prompted by Kuroka, I spread my senses across the city.
"...Yeah. Around thirty. About a tenth of what we found in Tepes. But since we're just here to gather intel, we don't need big numbers. Ten of them seem to be embedded among the vampire soldiers—probably officers or spies. The rest give off the vibe of noble-class vampires, maybe actual aristocrats."
Seems Carmilla couldn't reach all of her lower-ranking troops.
"Sounds manageable," Kuroka said.
"True, but still—since they're dealing with the Tepes faction, this city seems lightly guarded. And if these Evil Dragons were made from high-quality hosts, they're probably pretty strong. If they go berserk, the regular soldiers won't stand a chance."
Best to finish this quickly.
We cleaned up the Carmilla infiltrators smoothly, without any issues. Thanks to our experience infiltrating barracks, mansions, and castles in Tepes, it was almost easy. There weren't many to begin with.
As a precaution, I used my [Ittou Shura] technique to sweep the city one last time, staying in a vacant house owned by a common vampire while recovering from the fatigue.
=======
After resting a while and letting the exhaustion from [Ittou Shura] wear off, we had nothing left to do in Carmilla's town. Just as we were preparing to leave and head back to Tepes, we noticed a commotion near the city walls.
"Hey! We just got word from the border assault team—Tepes has started using the Holy Grail to transform every single resident in the city!"
"What!? But we're already in the middle of taking their castle!"
"They say the entire castle was engulfed in a giant magic circle! Apparently, Lady Elmenhilde Karnstein, who was undercover, extracted the info from the former Governor Azazel. So it's legit."
Whoa, whoa! The climax is already kicking off?!
And "extracted" the info, huh? Not "asked" for it. That's so very vampire-like...
We immediately left the city, crossed the boundary of Carmilla's barrier, and flew along the same mountain road we'd used earlier—much faster this time. With Bennia gone, we couldn't use her custom teleportation, but flying cut the travel time significantly compared to the two hours by car.
As we neared Tepes, I began sensing increasing signs of conflict between the Tepes and Carmilla vampires. Then, two powerful presences—one draconic and one magical—appeared in our path. One of them left immediately.
We arrived at the source just as the auras vanished. Standing there was the familiar red armor of the Red Dragon Emperor's armor.
"Hmph. It seems the White Dragon Emperor has taken quite a dislike to me. Not that I expected to draw the same attention as Lord Rizevim. Still... wouldn't you agree?"
Guess we weren't exactly subtle, flying in like that. He knew we were here.
"You're surprisingly needy for someone your age, Euclid."
Even encased in armor, I could feel his presence—it was Euclid Lucifuge. I vaguely remembered he was the textbook definition of a creepy siscon.
"Mind if I ask about that armor? Doesn't look like cosplay."
The fake Boosted Gear created from Issei's blood and armor scraps was supposed to be a degraded knockoff. And Issei's body never suffered the fate it did in the original timeline...
"You're right. This is a replica of the Boosted Gear gauntlet. Much like how the Hero Faction used the Chaos Break drug created from Shalba Beelzebub's blood, this was made using samples left in the abandoned Rating Game space—traces of Issei's blood and armor fragments, retrieved after the Gremory–Bael match. Of course, its performance doesn't match the original. And it costs several high-tier Evil Dragon souls just to activate."
Again with the abandoned spaces!
"Maybe I should suggest to Sirzechs and the others that we stop dumping leftover Rating Game areas into dimensional gaps."
"I underestimated the Holy Grail. If even a fragment of a Sacred Gear like Longinus can be replicated this way... that's seriously bad news. If left alone, you could keep mass-producing those things."
"Haha, yes. It's like your human world's 'no littering' rule. This is the consequence of ignoring that."
So in this world, tossing junk carelessly summons a Red Dragon army to come collect payment—with extreme prejudice. Great.
"Well, I've completed my test run of this armor against Vali Lucifer. Wore him down quite a bit. Now I'll leave the rest to Creuserey. With him, Issei Hyoudou, Azazel, and you two all joining forces, I doubt even the Evil Dragon can survive."
If it still might survive even that, Creuserey really is world-ending level.
"You've been MIA for a while. Weren't you assigned to stop me? Looks like you were in Carmilla's territory?"
"Like I'd just tell you."
"I answered your question. It's only fair you answer mine."
He wasn't being serious, I knew.
"Let's just say, 'Silence is golden.'"
"Well said. Personally, I prefer silver, so I'll let it slide."
...If Grayfia had been blonde, would he have said gold? Creepy...
Then Euclid summoned a magic gate beside him—Dragon Gate.
"I failed to capture the White Dragon Emperor, so just in case... I'll leave someone to keep you busy."
What emerged was a dragon shaped like a tree—or maybe a tree with draconic traits?
"Summoning me so suddenly? I was fighting the current White Dragon Emperor's team. The user of purple flames wasn't happy about it."
"Apologies. You'll get a new Evil Dragon pet later. Let me introduce you—this is Ladon.
Ah, so this is that Ladon. Can't recall how he got taken out in the original... must've been forgettable.
Apparently Vali's team is also being held up by someone. But it seems Vali managed to escape the front lines just now, tipping the scales.
"A pleasure. I'm Ladon, from Greek mythology. Even now, you probably couldn't face both of them at once."
"Exactly. That's why I'm asking you to take the woman. The man's attacks can pierce barriers—not a good match for you."
"Fair point. The woman's dangerous enough anyway."
The two of them downed potions or activated some kind of buff—Euclid from a vial, Ladon by biting into something. Their auras flared stronger.
...Right. They couldn't mass-produce it, but they do still have multiple Phoenix Tears.
Which means I can't afford to casually use [Ittou Shura].
I absorbed malevolent energy to enter my Heretic Mode. Kuroka, meanwhile, unleashed her Four-Tail Mode. Everyone present now radiated an aura stronger than most Great Satans.
This was technically the midpoint between Carmilla and Tepes... but with Euclid's raw destruction and my own power, we might accidentally form a whole lake dividing the two cities.
Crater damage can be repaired—but plants and animals? Not so much.
"Kuroka, let's take this to the sky. Minimize collateral, yeah?"
"Fine, fine."
"Are you two okay with that?"
Euclid nodded. "Certainly. I wanted to fight you properly anyway. But you're surprisingly kind—worried about the vampires?"
"Huh?"
"Eh?"
Oops. That dumb sound slipped out.