Previously
Ariella discovers evidence of Bivar's corruption and convinces Ludvic to wait for proof rather than executing him immediately. During the night, two vampire assassins sent by Bivar infiltrate Ariella's room to eliminate her.
It was as if another sun had risen inside the room. That alone was enough to throw anyone into a panic.
Yet it did not stop there; two voices screamed from within the chamber as well.
Then… had she not just heard something burning?
Whoosh—!
Yes, it was no illusion. Something sounded just like roaring flames.
Ariella blinked against the stinging heat, struggling to make sense of the situation.
“Stop! This is my magic, so why won’t it stop? Just stop!”
She desperately tried to break the spell, but the magical energy drawn from Ludvic kept pouring out like an unstoppable torrent.
Fsssh—!
After what felt like an eternity, the spell finally severed with great effort. Only then did Ariella open her tightly shut eyes.
“Ah, that was terrifying. This can’t happen every single time. But… what is that burning smell? Ugh!”
Ariella bolted to her feet.
“What on earth now!”
Flanking either side of her bed lay two completely charred corpses.
Small embers still crackled around them as faint gray smoke drifted through the air.
“Hmm, vampires, by the looks of it.”
Richmond, who had rushed into Ariella’s room, offered his assessment.
“Vampires?”
Ludvic questioned him, the dark circles under his eyes standing out starkly.
Ludvic had undoubtedly been the first to realize something had happened in the room. He had been asleep when his mana was abruptly drained; there was no way he could have missed it.
Fortunately, he had not passed out as he had before, since Ariella had managed to cut off the spell, even if belatedly.
Thanks to that, instead of collapsing in his sleep like last time, Ludvic had stormed straight to Ariella’s quarters.
Following close behind him were Groib, the head butler residing in the Demon King’s castle, and Richmond, who had been conducting research down in the laboratory.
Together, they all looked down upon the two blackened corpses sprawled on Ariella’s floor.
After listening to the explanation, Richmond spoke again.
“Light magic, then. That is what killed these two vampires.”
“What?”
Ludvic asked, thick skepticism lacing his tone.
“A mere spell meant to light a room caused all of this?”
Poking and prodding at the charred remains with his staff, Richmond replied,
“Haha, everyone forgets because we are in the demon realm, but in truth, vampires cannot walk beneath the sun in the human world.”
Hearing something so strange, Ludvic raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
Ariella and the head butler, Groib, however, reacted as though they had already known.
“Ah, right. In the human realm, vampires are known to come out only at night. I thought it was odd that they didn’t distinguish between night and day here…”
“That is because the demon realm’s sun is not real. It is a sort of symbol, a magical crystal forged by the Demon King’s power.”
For that reason, vampires like Bivar could roam freely even in broad daylight within this realm. It was a rule unique to the demon realm.
Richmond then reconstructed the scene that had unfolded in the room through a logical deduction.
“When the contractor cast her light spell, she must have once again drawn an immense amount of mana from the Demon King.”
The Demon King himself confirmed the hypothesis.
“Yes. I felt an absurd amount of power being pulled from me.”
“And when that sheer magnitude of power was focused into a single spell… the resulting heat and light multiplied exponentially. The outcome was an effect akin to the ‘true sun’ of the human realm.”
Everyone fell silent, rendered speechless.
“A true sun?”
“Indeed. Not the demon realm’s imitation, but the power of a sun capable of burning vampires to death. I have never witnessed such a phenomenon before. It certainly merits deeper research.”
Richmond muttered, his voice brimming with academic curiosity. Ludvic, however, seemed to have already lost interest in the bizarre mechanics behind it. He focused entirely on the outcome.
“Regardless, these two burned because they are vampires, correct?”
“They are too severely charred to identify their faces, but their race is undeniably vampire.”
Ludvic gritted his teeth, sparks of fury practically flying from his eyes. All the vampires in these lands resided under a single estate.
And naturally, the master of that estate… was Bivar.
“Unidentifiable? Fine. We will go find out right now.”
He gripped the hilt of the sword he had brought along since leaving his bedchamber.
If he stormed Bivar’s mansion this very moment, would every single vampire he knew be present and accounted for?
Ludvic highly doubted it.
“I’ve been holding back from taking his head for quite some time, and now he has handed me the excuse on a silver platter.”
Without a second thought, he barked an order to assemble the troops.
“We march immediately.”
Lest Bivar catch wind of the movement and launch a counterattack, Richmond decided to remain behind to guard the castle.
As for Wolken, he was stationed at the edge of the territory to monitor the Orc raids, which had grown frequent in recent days. Ludvic was left to march on Bivar without any of his chief aides, flanked only by the soldiers.
Seeing this, Ariella stepped forward.
“I’m coming with you!”
At once, Richmond and the head butler objected in unison. The reason was obvious: it was far too dangerous. If she got caught in the crossfire and died, Ludvic would lose his life alongside her.
Yet for some reason, Ludvic agreed.
“You are taking the contractor with you? Truly?”
Richmond exclaimed in disbelief, but Ludvic answered calmly,
“Since she started this, she has every right to see it through to the end.”
The Demon King’s gaze met Ariella’s across the space between them.
In truth, had it not been for Ariella, they wouldn’t have even begun unraveling Bivar’s conspiracy. The decisive proof, too, had been handed to them when she incinerated the two vampires.
Ludvic’s words were not merely an acknowledgment of her role in the affair; they felt like an admission that she was a comrade standing beside him on the battlefield.
Having won his approval so unexpectedly, Ariella looked stunned.
Noticing her expression, Ludvic murmured,
“…As I said before, I can protect you anywhere. Be it a battlefield or otherwise.”
From then on, events unfolded like a raging torrent.
Ariella, Ludvic, and the demon soldiers swiftly arrived at Bivar’s mansion.
The soldiers formed a cordon around the estate, cutting off any path of escape. Tension mingled thick with the crisp night air.
For Ariella, witnessing this kind of military confrontation for the first time, the atmosphere felt foreign and electrifying.
“Hmm?”
Reaching the main gate, Ludvic scowled as though irritated by what he saw.
“That bastard.”
Even before the perimeter was fully established, the mansion’s atmosphere was abnormal. The gate was barred tight, and between the shadows, glowing red eyes glinted in the dark. Ariella recognized them at once.
“Vampires!”
It appeared they had already set up defensive positions across the estate and stood ready for battle. They had known of the Demon King’s advance beforehand.
Ludvic shouted in a booming voice,
“Bivar! I have come in person. Open the gates at once and show yourself!”
· · ·
Not a single reply came from within. Only a chilled silence hung over the grounds.
Ariella murmured in a low voice,
“His quick wits are downright disgusting.”
The two assassins he had dispatched had failed to return after so long, making it blatantly obvious what had become of them.
Ludvic gave a grim nod. Bivar and the clan loyal to him had clearly concluded their preparations for battle within the mansion. The fact that they hadn’t budged an inch despite the Demon King himself issuing an order was proof enough.
Ludvic had no intention of enduring such brazen insolence any longer.
“Talk is over.”
The moment the words left his mouth, he raised his hand high. There were no further demands after the initial ultimatum.
He did not threaten them with consequences if they failed to yield. Instead of a warning, Ludvic acted.
Hooom—!
A ferocious magical power ignited in the air. Feeling the crushing weight of that power, Ariella’s eyes went wide with astonishment.
She had seen Ludvic wield magic more than once, but this… was on an entirely different scale…
Kboooom—!
Suddenly, a catastrophic tempest of fire erupted from the tips of Ludvic’s fingers.
A flash bright enough to scorch the retinas was followed by a deafening roar, forcing Ariella to squeeze her eyes shut reflexively.
A blistering heatwave surged outward, whipping her hair wildly in the air.
Rumble—!
Following the blast, the earth and the air shuddered violently together, forcing even the demon soldiers arrayed behind Ludvic to stagger back from the shockwave.
“Whoa…!”
Ariella gasped in awe as she opened her eyes again. The massive gate that had obstructed their path moments ago had vanished without a trace.
Tsssk—! Tsssk—!
Not only had the gate disappeared, but large sections of the towering stone walls flanking it had been blown away as well.
The inferno had burned so intensely that it melted the earth itself, leaving behind glowing red furrows.
Having effortlessly dismantled the fortified barrier, Ludvic gave his command.
His voice was short, decisive, and resolute.
“Charge!”
With a roar like thunder, the demon soldiers surged forward into the breach.
END