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Ruri barely managed to block Tatsumasa’s attack but couldn’t overcome his strength, which pushed her back and slammed her against the stone wall behind. The impact knocked the air out of her lungs, and as she gasped for breath, Tatsumasa threw a few paper charms at her, which adhered to her limbs.

The charms had ‘Rope’ written on them, rendering Ruri immobile. “Let me go!” she demanded, struggling to free herself, but the charms proved too potent.

“Hmph. Let’s begin then.” With Ruri incapacitated, Tsuebe turned his attention back to the body of Vlad III, his fangs bared as he bit into Vlad III’s neck. Blood and soul intermingled as Tsuebe drank greedily. A vampire could drain a human dry in mere minutes.

Soon, Vlad III’s body withered and dried up like a mummy, eventually crumbling into dust.

“…Phew.” Tsuebe, now finished, looked down at the dust that was once his other half, his expression a mix of emotions. “Well, Tatsumasa, it’s all up to you now.”

As Tsuebe turned away, Tatsumasa floated towards him.

“Are you ready?”
“I’m the one who should be asking you.”
“…”

Tsuebe retorted with a chuckle, while Tatsumasa silently raised his katana.
Just as he was about to strike, a magic bullet whizzed past, causing him to turn towards the cavern’s entrance. There stood an automaton in maid attire, aiming a gun at him. “The next one won’t miss unless you stop now.”

I arrived at the last possible second. I don’t know what happened, but Tatsumasa is attempting to kill Ryuka. After my warning shot, he turns with a glare so intimidating I nearly freeze, but I can’t afford to hesitate.

Ryuka is a dear friend of Olivia’s. I value her company, and she’s been very accommodating during our visit. I can’t just stand by and watch her be killed.

Also, there’s something pitifully catching my eye…

“What the hell are you doing?” I address Ruri, who’s pinned against the wall and unable to move, even though I had let her go ahead to prevent this very scenario.

“As you can see, I can’t move.”
“…”

This makes me question if it was wise to let her go first, but I know she’s a capable fighter. Perhaps she was taken by surprise in an unfair encounter. Considering she’s hardly injured, that seems likely.

“So you raise your weapons against me. I can no longer treat you as a guest to my country.”
“Like I care about that.”

We’re beyond avoiding a confrontation now.

Also, the swamp looks really dangerous, and the ceiling is too low for me to comfortably use Celaeno.

“Onibi Mai.” Tatsumasa unleashes a barrage of fireballs at me, which I manage to shoot down. But the attack isn’t over after the first volley. More sets of fireballs follow, taking arching paths in various directions.

I really want to free Ruri, but that will have to wait since I’m currently preoccupied with the fireballs.

“Tsk! Zahhak!” I quickly equip Zahhak and use the guns mounted on its claws to help me shoot down the fireballs. Once I’ve cleared them, I stow Black Hawk in my magic storage and use Zahhak’s arms to vault off the ground.

Simultaneously, I produce small magic blades on each of my fingertips to cling onto the stone wall. Then, I use Zahhak’s guns to shoot at Tatsumasa, before using Zahhak’s arms as legs again and leaping from wall to wall, firing shots whenever I get a chance.

“Hahh!!” As I pass by him, I also attempt to slash with my hands covered in magic blades.

But Tatsumasa blocks everything with his katana.

“Yasha Homura.” He mutters that, and his katana is enveloped in flames. So I hurry to shoot off Zahhak’s legs to the wall and reel myself in, creating more distance between us.

My arms are still safe thanks to my magic gauntlets, but some parts of my maid outfit have burnt off already.

However, Tatsumasa’s attack isn’t over yet. The flames continue to grow, until they become larger and take the shape of a demonic warrior’s face that flies towards me.

I remain clinging to the cave wall as I take out Red Cassowary from my magic storage. I fill it with mana and pull the trigger, shooting a cannonball of light at the incoming flames and dispersing them.

At the same time, I jump off the wall again and pull together the steel silk strands in my hand to activate my trap.

I land in the center of the swamp, but I don’t touch the noxious liquid below, and instead stand atop the spiderweb-like net I created with steel silk. I also wrap some steel silk around Tatsumasa, restraining him.

“I thought you were an automaton, but you remind me more of a bug.”

Thinking about it, I’ve been using Zahhak to jump like a grasshopper, and I’m using the steel silk of the Purple Steel Spider Aria. I can’t really say that he’s wrong.

“That’s an interesting plan, but that won’t work against a vampire.” The moment he says that, all the steel silk wrapped around Tatsumasa loses tension, and he turns to mist and vanishes.

“Dammit! He’s a vampire!”

Vampires are well known for being able to turn into mist. It makes a lot of sense for Ryuka’s father to have that ability too, but he hadn’t used it so far so it completely slipped my mind. He materializes again a distance higher and creates an even bigger fireball. This is bad! “Wait… Tatsumasa..!”

Vampires are well-known for their ability to turn into mist. It makes a lot of sense for Ryuka’s father to have that ability too, but he hadn’t used it so far, so it completely slipped my mind. He materializes again at a higher point and creates an even larger fireball. This is bad!

“Wait… Tatsumasa…!” But after watching in silence, Vlad III interrupts the fight. Looking at him, he doesn’t seem to be doing alright. “We’re too late..!” He groans while firmly grasping his chest. “I can’t… hold it back any longer…”

Ryuka’s body, currently possessed by Vlad III, becomes engulfed in flames that match the color of the swamp below, and I feel a sudden wave of magical power.

“Ghah… grahhhhhhhhhhh!” Vlad III shouts loudly as his eyes turn blood-red, the magical flames growing so large they strike the cavern’s ceiling.

“This isn’t the place for that!”

The impact causes the ceiling to start crumbling, with stones raining down on us. Ryuka might… wait, no, in this situation, Ruri is in more danger since she can’t move. I rush to Ruri’s side and open up my magic storage above us.

The ground shakes and rumbles as rocks rain all around us, but those that would crush us get absorbed into my magic storage.

Once things calm down, I close my magic storage and use what little wind magic I have to clear away the dust. I look at Ryuka again and gasp when I see what has happened.

“Thanks, you really…” Ruri trails off, speechless. Before us, an enormous three-headed dragon stands on the swamp, its glare fixed upon us.