At that moment, in Yaphenon—

Soldiers of Krata who arrived late in the ruined capital let out sighs one by one.

“They’re all dead.”

“Another catastrophe…”

“We were too late…”

Yaphenon was part of the Holy Alliance. Even so, Emperor Lutan of Krata hadn’t immediately dispatched reinforcements.

Perhaps it was fortunate, in a twisted way, that the Demon King’s army had left without occupying Yaphenon’s lands. But the result was still devastating.

‘Horrifying.’

Fendel, a knight of Krata who had led the troops, swallowed dryly.

The buildings were reduced to ashes, and corpses were strewn about like trash.

“The Demon King… actually showed up.”

And the rumor that the executed Hero had returned alive—only to become the Demon King—was enough to send shivers down the spine of a mere low-ranking knight like Fendel.

‘What in the world is His Majesty thinking?’

Despite such an unprecedented event, all Lutan sent was a few hundred soldiers, led by a low-ranking knight like him.

‘It’s not exactly a small force, but still…’

The composition was the problem. Among the soldiers gathered here, few were experienced. Most were rookies being sent to a place like this for the first time.

And they were being led by someone as lowly as him. No matter how he looked at it, this wasn’t a proper deployment.

‘Maybe I’m overthinking it.’

The Demon King’s army had already retreated, and all that remained was ruins. The most they’d be doing was helping to rebuild Yaphenon.

“All right, stop dawdling and move! Find survivors, and if there’s still fire, put it out!”

Fendel gave orders to the troops, having finished organizing his thoughts.

Rumble—

Suddenly, the ground trembled.

“W-What was that?”

“An earthquake?”

As a nervous soldier muttered, Fendel quickly turned his gaze.

‘No… this is…!’

Though only a low-ranking knight, Fendel had honed himself endlessly. He could sense it. This wasn’t an earthquake—

Craaaack!

Something was rising from beneath.

“T-The ground’s collapsing!”

“Run!”

“Aaaaaaagh!”

The cracking earth crumbled all at once. Soldiers turned pale and ran in all directions, but many fell into the pits opening up beneath their feet.

“E-Everyone, get away!”

All Fendel could do was shout at the fleeing soldiers to run faster.

“Uaaagh!”

“Aaaaaah!”

Dozens of soldiers disappeared into the chasm. As Fendel stood stunned, one soldier clung to the edge of a pit and shouted,

“P-Please save me!”

Fendel saw it.

The soldier’s body rapidly shriveling—

More precisely, the process of his blood being sucked out, leaving behind only a pale, lifeless corpse.

“W-What the—!”

Fendel stumbled back in shock.

『This land is overflowing with blood for me.』

Clack.

Frozen in place, Fendel’s gaze locked onto a red figure that emerged from the pit’s edge.

Clack. Squish.

It looked like a humanoid shape formed from red liquid. With each squelching step, drops of red fluid splattered to the ground.

“G-Guh…”

That red liquid—was blood. The stench of iron filled his nose. Crushed by fear, Fendel could only crawl backward.

“Sh-Shit!”

“What is that?!”

“A monster!”

The soldiers, unable to overcome the sudden fear, raised their spears and swords instead.

『…Foolish.』

The Blood Lord turned his body toward them.

『I responded to the summoning, yet the sacrifices bare their fangs at me.』

Sacrifices.

Fendel’s eyes widened.

‘Sacrifices?’

It was only then that he noticed what he had missed.

The ground wasn’t just cracked. Glimmering lines traced across it in intricate shapes.

‘Damn it all!’

A summoning circle. Someone had prepared a platform in this city for that being to appear.

“W-What do you mean, ‘sacrifice’?!”

“Shut up and die, you monster!”

The soldiers rushed forward with their weapons drawn at the Blood Lord. But—

『Do you think that will work?』

Their blades passed cleanly through his body.

He stood there, arms spread wide, as if daring them to try harder. The soldiers froze, aghast.

“N-No way…”

“Our attacks…”

Slice.

The soldiers’ murmuring ceased in an instant.

『Still thirsty.』

Blood sprayed into the air. Their heads had been severed by the bloodsword he now held.

Walking through the jets of blood, the Blood Lord raised his head.

『With this, my thirst is sated… for a moment.』

He stood still, like a man struck by rain after wandering the desert—finally finding water.

‘So this is what it was.’

Fendel realized—too late.

‘They wanted to grant the summoned god greater vitality…’

He had thought it was only a rumor. That Lutan was attempting to awaken the ancient gods.

But now he understood.

Why none of the corpses around him had blood. Where all the blood had gone.

And what that being truly was.

‘Vlad.’

The Bloodstained Lord. The deathly ruler said to need the constant blood of others just to survive.

“Lutan… just what…!”

What was he trying to do by summoning such a monster?

“This is no different than the Demon King…”

Slice.

Fendel never finished his sentence. A bloodsword pierced through his body.

『The Demon King.』

A mouth tore open on Vlad’s face, curling into a smile.

『So that is your desire.』

And with that, Vlad began walking, following the traces left on the ground.

“…Tch. I didn’t even need to nudge things along~”

Not far away, hiding in the shadows, the Third Seat of the Guardian Knights—Ravi—grinned and disappeared into the darkness.

♧

“I went through all that trouble to finish my mission, and now look at this.”

The Witch of the North, Selimia, scowled as she looked around Clay’s office.

“Why was I the only one left out while the rest of the rabble gathered here?”

“Rabble?” Athanasia let out a scoff, “Isn’t the real rabble you? You were off doing odd jobs while we handled everything here.”

“Odd jobs?” Selimia’s eyes widened, “Did you just say that, you third-rate god?”

“What? Third-rate? You’re just a chunk of ice that used to play around in the North!”

Athanasia stood up as well, baring her teeth. Clay sighed and pressed a hand to his forehead at the sight.

“Demon King.”

Cardin, the only one who had entered to report work, looked around with a puzzled expression.

“I came to deliver my report… but would it be better to come back later?”

“No. Go ahead.”

At Clay’s response, Cardin cleared his throat and began.

“As you foresaw, a new ancient god has appeared in Yaphenon. The personnel we stationed there lit the beacon.”

“What?”

Athanasia, who had just been pinching Selimia’s cheeks, turned her head with a shocked expression.

“A new ancient god?”

She shoved Selimia aside and rushed between Clay and Cardin.

“Who! Who is it?!”

“Athanasia!”

Selimia chased after her, one hand pressed to her reddened cheek and her brows furrowed.

“Enough.”

Clay raised a hand.

“That’s enough, Selimia.”

His firm voice made Selimia halt mid-step.

“But, Demon King, Athanasia was—”

She began to pout but fell silent under Clay’s steady gaze.

Huff.

Then, turning around, she walked out of the office. Beatrice let out a sigh as she watched.

“They’ll need to be sorted out sooner or later.”

Despite the chaos, Clay’s gaze remained fixed on Cardin, who continued his report without hesitation.

“It’s the Blood Lord—Vlad.”

“Vlad…!”

Athanasia muttered with a pale face.

“It’s really him?”

Vlad.

A calamity that had been considered an evil god from the start among the ancient gods—an entity that slaughtered endlessly to survive.

He absorbed the blood of living beings to sustain his life force, but any excess blood would be converted into power, which he burned through entirely in battle. He was a warrior consumed by combat.

During the battle with Elhaen, he had exhausted almost all his energy and entered hibernation. It was said that he had practically sealed himself.

“If he fed on the blood of the dead Demon King’s army and humans in that place…”

A disaster on a national scale may have been born.

“Clay!” She turned to him and shouted, “If it’s really him, it’s dangerous! If he even heard about you, he’ll come straight here!”

Not all blood was the same. The blood of someone powerful would be transformed into even greater strength when absorbed by Vlad.

“He’ll come to kill you and grow stronger!”

Despite her outburst, Clay remained seated at his desk, resting his chin on his hand.

“Are you listening?!”

“I am.” Clay slowly lifted his head, “I heard everything.”

“Wha…?”

When their eyes met, Athanasia swallowed dryly. It wasn’t because he seemed inattentive.

It was because there wasn’t a trace of emotion in his gaze.

As if he had already prepared for this.

“Clay, you…”

“Athanasia.” Clay looked at her and spoke, “The Blood Lord is not someone I can defeat in my current state.”

“What?”

To her, that reply was beyond absurd.

“You can’t defeat him?”

“That’s right.”

“Then why are you so calm?!” Athanasia flung her arms wide, “Even I can’t properly oppose him right now! He can’t be reasoned with!”

“Let me finish, Athanasia.” Clay opened his mouth again, “I said I can’t defeat him as I am now. I didn’t say I couldn’t defeat him.”

“What? W-What do you mean by that?”

“Before I answer, I have a request.”

Clack.

Clay pulled open a desk drawer and took out a map.

“A map…?”

“It’s the location where Altanato the Blacksmith is sleeping.”

Altanato.

The legendary blacksmith who forged weapons for the ancient gods.

“Altanato?” Athanasia gasped at the name, “Altanato’s still alive?”

It made sense to be shocked. Altanato was one of the ancestors of the dwarves. Even though dwarves lived longer than humans, their lifespan only reached about 300 years.

Since the war between the ancient gods and Elhaen had taken place thousands of years ago, it made no sense for someone from that era to still be alive.

“In the previous Demon King’s journal, it says that Altanato created equipment entrusted by the gods that allowed him to endure centuries of hibernation.”

Thump.

As Clay flipped open what looked like an ancient tome, Athanasia swallowed again. She too had known of Altanato. She just never imagined she might meet him in this era.

“Clay, what are you planning to do with him?”

She could only ask in a daze. In response, Clay gave her a faint smile.

“I’m going to make sure my demonic sword can drain the blood of the blood-drinker.”

(End of Chapter)

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