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An enormous creature rose up, its body translucent and shrouded in a soft glow. Three sets of eyes glared at Tatsumasa, who was suspended in the air.

The mana overflowing from Ryuka’s body was a manifestation of the hatred and curses within Vlad III, reincarnated as a terrifying dragon.

Vlad III’s soul had split into two, with one half becoming Urado Tsuebe, who founded the Land of Kanon and made it prosper, while the other half was doomed to live as that dragon, harboring a deep resentment against Tsuebe, and his descendant Tatsumasa who now led the Land of Kanon.

The three heads of the dragon opened their jaws wide and lunged forward at Tatsumasa, who took a defensive stance while his katana was engulfed in flames.

After becoming free from the rubble of the collapsed cave, I carry the paralyzed Ruri in my arms and try to peel off the seals on her while putting distance between us and the large dragon that just showed up.

“Why won’t they come off?!”

But the seals were tightly adhered to her body, and refused to peel off even by a bit.

“Damn, Tatsumasa is really going all out then. These are the type of seals that can only be undone by those identified by the caster.”
“Ah, those are so annoying to deal with…”

The barrier around the Gardeland estate, concealing it from uninvited guests, is also a similar type of barrier.

I also learned the theory behind them while I accompanied Olivia at the Magic Academy, but theory alone wasn’t enough for me to be able to replicate the effect. So in short, it’s a really complicated and annoying type of spell.

Bundling that effect with attack spells can also help them avoid friendly fire, and defensive spells only block enemies. But if used improperly they can become cumbersome for allies, and their complexity makes them hard to use in dire situations. Sometimes one can spend too much time getting it ready, and then the situation changes before they’re done, or they can fail and make things worse.

I’m still surprised that Ophelia used that system so perfectly with our home barrier, and that Tatsumasa was able to bundle it into the seals on Ruri.

“Anyway, what even is that dragon?”
“About that…”

Considering Ruri went ahead and then was restrained here, I’m assuming she got to talk with Tatsumasa and saw everything that happened. And that hunch seems to be correct, as her usual carefree attitude vanishes and she tells me what happened in a more serious tone.

“I see…”

Wait, wouldn’t this mean that things would’ve been better if we hadn’t interrupted them? I almost blurt that out loud, but I bite my tongue. Doing that would mean letting Ryuka die.

But if we had rescued Ryuka before, then Vlad III’s body would’ve reawakened eventually. Maybe tomorrow, or in a few decades. And who’s to say there will be someone with Ryuka’s capabilities to stop him by then? Tsuebe and Tatsumasa took the safe option and decided to take action while they could.

I can’t say I agree with the decision to sacrifice Ryuka for that though.

If only I was the one… Never mind, I already decided I’ll stop thinking of my life so lightly.

“What should we do then?”
“…My katana can kill the undead, I should be able to kill the dragon without harming Ryuka with it.”

I mutter something as I try to figure out the best course to take, and Ruri replies firmly.

Blades like that were made to stop the regenerating powers of the undead, allowing them to be killed the same as any other living being.

“But I’ll need to get close to Ryuka’s body to do that. Can you open the path for me¹?”

Looking at the translucent dragon, I can faintly see a human figure in its chest. That’s probably Ryuka.

And…

“Maybe, if the new gun I built can blow off one of his heads. But that’s just one at a time.”

If Olivia and Fan Yen were here, we’d be able to split up the work equally, but that’s just an empty wish. Having them away is the right choice considering all of the Shiki.

Maybe if we work together with Tatsumasa we’d get somewhere, but I’m not sure he’d want that.

As I think that, I notice a purple flash overhead, and a falling shadow.

“Oh, ohh?!”

As soon as I see who it is, I jump up and catch him before he crashes into the ground. This is something I can only do because I’m a magic automaton; if I were a regular human, I’d just die from the fall together with him.

“Are you okay, Tatsumasa?”

I land and lower him to the ground. It’s Urado Tatsumasa, who was confronting the dragon earlier.

“Milord?!” Ruri also sounds shocked that Tatsumasa was shot down like that. I just asked him if he’s okay, but he’s lost a leg and an arm, so that’s a definite no.

“Ah, it’s you… I couldn’t do anything…”
“I’ll get you some medicine; it should help to lessen your injuries at least a bit.”
“There’s no need for that. That dragon is also a vampire, and medicine won’t work on wounds inflicted by a vampire on another. I just have to wait and let it heal normally.”

Just when I’m taking out some potions from my magic storage, Tatsumasa stops me. It seems there’s still a lot I don’t know about vampires yet. Those injuries are really serious too, as not even the heightened powers from the full moon can help him recover faster. A powerful vampire like Tatsumasa would usually be able to regenerate all four limbs in an instant if he was fighting a different type of enemy.

“I got one of his heads, but I feel like that barely did anything to him.”

I look up and see that one of the dragon heads has been severed, sliding off and then turning to glittering dust in the air.

“I think that’s more than impressive though..?!”

My amazement only lasts for a moment, as soon after a new head starts to grow on the neck stump, like a new bud on a plant.

“Wait… That’s not a living creature, but a conglomerate of mana.”

Maybe it’s because I’m used to working with mana thanks to my magic blades, but I notice that the dragon is actually just materialized mana, given form as a dragon and moved around that way. That means that no matter how many chunks we cut off, Vlad III’s mana will quickly regenerate the dragon.

And the way the dragon moves also shocks me. I have modified the shape of my magic blades during fights before, but it was always just to adjust the blade’s profile. I’ve also experimented with creating more complex shapes without the aid of steel silk, but it was always too unstable.

“How’s he pulling that off…”

The regenerated head starts to look around, just like a living being trying to regain its bearings. I’d be fooled into thinking that was an actual monster if I hadn’t noticed the mana.

In theory, there’s no limit to the size and malleability of materialized mana, but an enormous amount of skill and mana is necessary to do something of this magnitude. This really shows how far ahead Vlad III is from me.

“It’s coming!”

Ruri’s shout interrupts my thoughts. The dragon’s three heads look down at us, and then a bright light starts to gather in their mouths. A breath attack! I need a mana barrier! But can I do it in time?! Will it be strong enough?! No, I just need to try my best and hope it’s enough!

It takes some time for my Sorcery Core to output enough mana, but I can’t stop to hesitate now. Just as the mana barrier starts to deploy in front of me, I see two shadows jump in.

Then the floor beneath us sinks and carries us deep underground. The hole above us also closes after us, which is followed by a powerful earthquake.

“Float Light.”

I create a light with basic magic to illuminate the dark cave we’re encased in. There are two monsters with us. One is an enormous spider with a red metallic shell. The other is a monstrous flower that resembles a dinosaur walking on two legs. I instinctively take a defensive stance, but then notice that neither of them seem to see us as enemies. And both have Servant brooches around their necks.

“A metallic spider and a plant monster… Are you two Akane and Erika?”
“!”
“Shaa.”

It seems I’m correct, as both wriggle around happily. Then I guess it was Akane’s earth magic that got us down here.

“I see, so you two evolved.”

Now Akane looks just like Aria, except for the human parts. But Erika has changed the most. She looks largely like a Tyrannosaurus with powerful legs and sharp fangs, though the petals around her head and her claws still resemble her Cruel Predator appearance.

“Well, congratulations then.”
“!”
“Shaa~”
“Now explain, why did you two come here?”
“ “ ! ” ”

The two stiffen up and retreat hearing my question. That reaction tells me enough.

“So you two knew you were going against orders but still came?”

I told them to stay with Olivia earlier, and they went with her. But they’re here now, so they only pretended to follow my orders before turning around.

“Umm, Natalia, this isn’t the time to discuss that. And they just saved us from a dangerous situation, so just cut them some slack, will you?”

I really feel like I need to scold them more, but Ruri is right. We don’t have time for that, and they just solved our issue of not having enough manpower. I don’t know how much more they can do now that they’ve evolved, but it should still come in handy. We pretty much just need to go wild and hope it’s enough, but having a rough strategy might help too.

“Since you decided to come here, I’ll put you to work.”
“!”
“Shaa!”

They both seem willing to help, so I tell them my plan.

“…And now, Tatsumasa, would you kindly remove the seals from Ruri?”
“I guess I have no other choice…”

He sounds reluctant but uses his remaining hand to remove the charms that seal Ruri’s movements.

“I have been reborn!” As soon as she is free, Ruri leaps up, throwing her arms into the air in celebration and then stretches her limbs energetically.

“And take this too, Tatsumasa.”

I hand Tatsumasa a small bottle extracted from my magic storage.

“It’s a mana recovery potion I crafted. You must have depleted a lot of mana during the battle, so I hope this helps you recover.”

Mana depletion can wear a person down, so while I can’t heal his wounds, I at least hope to ease his recovery. He’s too injured to continue fighting anyway, so I want him to retreat as soon as our plan starts.

“…I appreciate it.”

Though I had considered him an enemy earlier, that doesn’t mean I want to see Ryuka lose her father.

“We’ll take care of it now.”
“!”
“Sha.”

Ruri, Akane, and Erika are ready too. I’ve also made my Sorcery Core operate at full capacity and I feel my whole body brimming with mana. Akane begins manipulating the earth with her magic, elevating us to the surface as if riding in an elevator.

Eventually, we catch sight of the dragon again, focusing on the chest where we need to strike.

“We’ll rescue Ryuka and return to Olivia’s side together. Let’s go!”

I equip Celaeno and commence our plan.

1. Silva: But hey, Vampire is considered undead no?
   Robinxen: This is a weird ambiguous area of definition, but for simplicity the vast majority of places will consider them undead yes, especially in the real world, in fiction they often fall into a weird middle ground… especially settings where they’re an entire independent race.