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Crack! Suddenly, a fissure cracked open beneath Tengai, who was sitting next to Hiyuki, and it snaked its way toward the wall behind them.

“Are you questioning our princess’ words?”

Tengai’s tone, calm yet imposing, caused a visible unease among the attendees, excluding those from the Imperial Crimson faction.

Princess Oliana, undaunted, met Tengai’s gaze with unwavering determination. “We have no intention of doubting. We merely seek to verify the facts. As leaders, we cannot blindly lead our soldiers to death based on unverified information.”

Her demeanor was not just of a ruler of a great power but of someone deeply committed to her beliefs.

“Hmph,” Tengai harrumphed, clearly not pleased, but his decision not to further pursue the matter seemed to be an implicit acknowledgment of her words.

Hiyuki gave him a sidelong glance, then said with a wry smile, “It is true that doubts can arise, but the source of our information comes from direct encounters and thorough analysis. You can be assured of its authenticity. In fact, we confirmed these details about half a day before this conference.”

She went on to describe the situation in detail: their chance encounter, the creature’s colossal size, its consumption of plants, land, and even light. She detailed how Tengai and Izumo’s simultaneous attack failed to kill it and how it revived again. She spoke of its regenerative power, insatiable hunger, and its binding skill through the Evil Eye, omitting their encounter with Shima.

A palpable sense of shock and tension spread in the conference room.

“A Chimera created from vampires as its base material?”
“No, wait. If the targets are all in one place, isn’t it an opportunity to eliminate them in one fell swoop?”
“Are you an idiot? It evolved precisely because of the suppressive firepower. Can’t you see the difficulty?”
“But the main question is how are we going to deal with an opponent of that size…”
“The bigger problem is its regenerative power…”
“Goodness, that’s some meddling no one asked for…”
“But if we had intervened earlier, couldn’t we have handled it by now?”
“Ah, our information control backfired…”

The conference room buzzed with chaotic discussions.

“Regardless of what happened until now,” Oliana sighed, addressing the room.

“Our objective remains unchanged. The primary reason for convening this meeting was not solely due to the transformation of people into vampires, but also because of the confirmed appearance of a massive monster under the enemy’s command. If we were only dealing with a horde of vampires, we could have engaged in a war of attrition—a battle we would surely win. However, the emergence of this monster, formidable enough to annihilate even the Cathedral Crusaders, was unforeseen,” Oliana paused, glancing at the Holy Kingdom representatives before continuing, “It’s only a matter of time before it breaches our defense line. Hence, the necessity of this strategy meeting.”

At the mention of ‘Cathedral Crusaders,’ the faces of those from the Holy Kingdom side darkened, and they seemed poised to retort. Oliana, anticipating nonconstructive responses, continued, “However, the detailed information on the Chimera and its abilities, as shared by Her Highness, has far surpassed our initial expectations. Your Highness, how do you propose we approach this situation?”

All eyes turned to Hiyuki, who responded with a wry smile. “Are you really asking me?”

The individuals affiliated with the Imperial Crimson, including their top echelon, should not have been officially present, especially in a setting where representatives of sacred teachings were in attendance. Ordinarily, the Holy Kingdom would denounce them as heretics opposing their god.

Furthermore, considering their current stance of not committing to the joint army of the Empire and Holy Kingdom—due to the Holy Kingdom’s adamance against joining under a unified name—their participation in this meeting to discuss the alliance forces’ future strategies seemed almost farcical.

…Yet, the gravity of the situation arguably justified this unlikely gathering.

“Let’s set aside our differences and status for the time being. I genuinely want to hear your opinion on this matter. You’re the only one who has directly engaged with the Chimera and emerged unscathed,” Oliana said earnestly.

“Alright,” Hiyuki replied, shrugging her shoulders lightly.

Members of the Holy Kingdom faction, likely disconcerted by the idea of Hiyuki, a leader of monsters and an enemy of their god, becoming the focus, displayed expressions of distaste, as if they had bitten into something bitter. …The only exception was Grand Pope Werner, whose gaze on Hiyuki was so intensely fixated, it almost seemed as if he was mentally caressing her with his eyes.

It was unclear whether Hiyuki sensed his odd behavior or chose to ignore it. Regardless, she continued in a light tone, showing no reaction to his gaze.

“Even though it feeds on energy, it’s still fundamentally vampiric. Our analysts have confirmed its vulnerability to holy light. Instead of launching large-scale magic attacks that might be learned and absorbed, a more effective approach would be to gradually weaken it with physical attacks or holy light. If we can significantly damage it and deplete its energy, then a large-scale magical assault could be effective.”

“But isn’t there a risk of our troops being controlled by the Evil Eye if they get too close?” Oliana asked.

“The Evil Eye’s effectiveness depends on line of sight. Creating a smoke screen or similar obstructions can easily prevent its influence. By maintaining distance and blocking its view, we can use holy light to gradually reduce its energy. Once its strength is sufficiently diminished, we can use large-scale magic for a decisive strike. That’s the most practical strategy I can think of.”

“I see. It appears our situation necessitates Imperial Crimson’s assistance…”

“Well, if you know of anyone else with more firepower than us, by all means, utilize their services.”

Both the Empire and Holy Kingdom were evidently not encompassed in this consideration. Well, it isn’t like the Holy Kingdom was without its trump card, but they had already declared they aren’t going to intervene this time. Furthermore, they also had implicitly stated they would cooperate with Imperial Crimson.

“…………”

For that reason, this was a shameful memory for them as well, so when facing the inquiring gaze of Oliana, they could only remain silent.

“Given the critical nature of this threat, we must humbly request Your Highness’ support. Shall we convene a separate meeting to discuss the terms of this collaboration? Are all parties in agreement with this approach?” Oliana asked, her gaze methodically sweeping across all attendees of the conference. Representatives from the Empire, Holy Kingdom, and Cres remained silent, indicating no opposition to the proposed plan.