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“Guh… Curse Blade!”

The moment Elsie uttered those words, numerous black blades shot up from the ground. Resembling shark fins, they glowed with a dark, menacing light as they charged straight toward me.
A clear “attack” imbued with a curse. It was proof that my opponent had given up on capturing me unscathed.

“I can always replace your limbs… so why don’t I tear them off like insects!!”
“…So you’re finally getting a little serious, I see.”

I held the manifested holy sword—the Sacred Weapon, at my hip. It was a stance similar to what the Republic calls an iaido cut.

“Enchant; ‘Holy,’ …Begone.”

I imbued the sacred sword with holy magic using my Magic Sword skill.
The sword, as I swung it, did not deliver a slash but scattered beams of light.

This wasn’t a random attack; it was magic that automatically tracked down and obliterated the curse.
It wasn’t some clever curse-breaking technique; it simply leveraged elemental advantages to wipe out the swarm of blades.

…It’s been a while since I’ve gone all out.

Given the nature of materializing and maintaining this weapon, it consumes a great deal of mana, so it’s not something I can use casually—and, to begin with, I hadn’t encountered an opponent that required me to go all out like this.
Without even a moment to get used to it, I found myself facing what is likely one of the most fearsome monsters in this world—but that’s just how real combat goes. It’s practically impossible for things to go exactly according to your plans or ideals.

Rather than lamenting the unfairness, cut through it—chanting in my heart, like a prayer, the lesson I’d been taught in the past, I moved once more to close the gap that had opened up.

“Blood Cage!”

My opponent pulled a crimson glow from her bosom and, while retreating, slammed it into the ground.

……I remember that from the report.

I’d read about it in the files back when I was in the Knights’ Order.
Blood Cage is a skill Elsie excels at—a rare ability even among vampires that allows her to contain living creatures, provided she receives approval.
Normally, due to the restriction that blood cannot be mixed with blood, it’s impossible to trap a living creature within a blood box.
However, Blood Cage creates a special space within the blood, and by placing a living creature inside it, it makes it possible to seal the creature… I believe that’s how it was described.

This is the first time I’ve actually witnessed it, but there’s no need to panic. Essentially, that means she’s just deploying her minions.

What emerged from the shattered crimson was a gigantic dragon.
The colossal form that appeared reflected the moonlight with its black scales and glared at me with fiery eyes. Blue flames flickered between its menacingly bared fangs.
Its slender tail possessed a beauty reminiscent of a work of art, swaying as if swimming through the night sky.
Its height was roughly three meters, by my estimate. It was quite large for a dragon.

“I haven’t had my fun playing this one yet, but I’m done holding back…!”
“From the looks of it, a Fafnir-class dragon… You’ve tamed quite a big one, haven’t you?”

In terms of dragon rankings, it’s second from the top. One rank below Yggdrasil-class.
She probably used some form of dark magic with a charm effect, but to control a dragon like that is truly remarkable.
Normally, this is the kind of creature an army would have to face, but right now, I’m the only one here.

“Go on, Jabberwocky!”
“Gyaaaaaaaah!!”

I leap backward to dodge the claws swinging down from above, accompanied by a piercing roar.
These aren’t just claws that would graze me—they’re so sharp that the sheer pressure alone could tear my body to pieces. It’s best to err on the side of caution and dodge with plenty of room to spare.

“Don’t think you can overpower me just because you’re bigger! Materialization!!”

If my opponent is massive, then I’ll simply create a blade to match.
Fueled by additional mana, the light sword extends.
A Sacred Weapon is a semi-energy entity created from mana. Its length and thickness can be freely adjusted. In fact, it doesn’t even have to be a sword.

It’s the trump card devised by the Holy Knights of the past to counter any calamity.
Whether it’s a humanoid or a massive creature, whether the target was single or multiple—they’re all equally vulnerable to a single swing.

“SEEEEEIIII!!!”

An ultra-long sword, over three meters in length, shot forward.
A high-angle strike split it in two. Rather than being cut by the sword, the dragon’s body was severed as if devoured by light.

As expected of a tamed creature, it’s much slower than a natural dragon. It’s undoubtedly a threat, but it leaves far too many openings.

“You’re next on the chopping block.”
“There won’t be a next time. I’ve already laid the groundwork, you see?”

Beyond the dragon, torn in two without even a death cry, my opponent smiled wickedly.
As if remembering it had been cut down, blood spurted from the dragon’s carcass—and I realized my mistake.

“Ahaha…♪ Thanks for cleaning it up so nicely—that really helped me out.”

She murmured dreamily, soaking her dress in thick blood.
Even against the jet-black frills, the vivid crimson stood out; my opponent scooped it up and licked it.
The part where she’d already sunk her teeth into me and left a scorched mark was back to normal. She was in high spirits, savoring the blood.

…I messed up.

A massive body like that stores a corresponding amount of blood. And this is a dragon, no less. The amount of mana contained in its blood is orders of magnitude greater than that of a human.
If I kill something like that and let it bleed, all of that blood will become Elsie’s sustenance.
In that situation, leaving the dragon alone is impossible. Even though I understand that rationally, I’m consumed by the frustration of having been outsmarted. If only I hadn’t just slashed it, but had increased my power output and blown it to smithereens…!

“It’s been a while since I’ve been cornered like this—by a single human, no less… I’ll give you credit for that. I’ll acknowledge it. Now I’ll go all out and crush you! Ahahahahaha!!”

Amid the massive pool of blood, my opponent moved as if dancing.

“Extracting mana from blood is a vampire’s specialty, you know.”

I didn’t need to be told that.
Elsie’s mana was clearly surging.
An immense amount of dark magic—enough to overturn the elemental advantage. It was as if she were trying to evaporate and extinguish the water meant to put out the fire with a raging inferno.
Feeding on the dragon’s life force, the spell activated. A crimson light raced out from the ground at Elsie’s feet, forming a magic circle.

“Twilight Zone”

The moment the words were spoken, the surrounding space transformed completely.
The air grew stagnant, the moon cast a dark purple glow, and the scenery warped.
The holy sword in my hand trembled as if in fear—it had deflected a curse that was about to strike me.
The curse I couldn’t fully ward off wrapped itself around my legs. I felt an unpleasant heaviness, as if the ground beneath me had suddenly flooded.

“As long as you remain within this space, the power of beings like me will grow, while yours will wane. To put it in Republic terms, perhaps I should call this the witching hour…”
“A curse affecting the space and everything within it, combined with the enhancement of specific attributes…!”
“Usually this spell begets meticulous preparation, and since I was facing a vampire this time, I hadn’t made any preparation… but against an opponent like you, it’s perfectly effective.”
“Ugh…!”

I knew it all along, but she really is a tough opponent.
It’s incredibly difficult to fight someone whose basic abilities are already so high, yet who doesn’t rely solely on them and instead handles the situation with such meticulous care.

“Even in this space, the Holy Sword’s power would be fatal to you, no?”
“Yes, that’s true. Only if you can make it over here with those heavy legs… right?”

Smiling as if to tear through my bravado, Elsie begins to channel her magic.
I move my feet, determined not to let her go any further, but the fact that my legs have slowed down really hurts. In contrast, my opponent is in a favorable position. Both the magic she’s weaving and the speed at which she’s deploying it are greater than ever.

“Ahahahaha! Resistance is futile now! Be swallowed by the darkness and come to a standstill—Fatal Bind!!”

A massive amount of magic spreads around Elsie and surges toward me.
“Bind” means she’s still aiming to immobilize me. In other words, she hasn’t changed her strategy. She’s still intent on capturing me alive.
But this time, she’s taking it far more seriously than before. After all, the cursed flames filling my entire field of vision are all directed at me alone.

“H-…! I’m not giving up yet!! Enchant; ‘Holy Judgment’!!”

I channel all the mana I can muster into my holy sword and swing it in a horizontal slash.
Every time the cursed flames come into contact not only with the blade but also with the light magic emanating from it, they are instantly extinguished.
But there are simply too many of them. I can’t possibly handle them all with a single swing.

…By now, any moment spared for thoughts should be used to move instead!

I force myself to shake off the moment of weakness that had crept into my mind and try to swing the light sword once more.
The curse is right in front of me now. Honestly, it’s going to be a close call—but that doesn’t mean I’m going to give up—

“—I’ll take over.”
“Yikes…!?”

I heard a familiar voice and felt a tug on my back.
As I fell on my butt from the sudden jolt, a figure with flowing silver hair stepped forward to take my place.

“This does look a bit too much, doesn’t it?”

The moment those words echoed.
The swarm of curses rained down on Arje’s body.