Chapter 12

The vampire lord’s body disintegrated into ashes with only its head left behind.

Practically all of the bats which tried to escaped were cut down by Shea and turned into ash.

The few remaining bats were then caught and burned by me.

I only casted flames on my palm as I gripped them so that Shea doesn’t notice.

「Even if you kill me……」

The vampire lord with only its head remaining seems to be muttering something.

I ignored it, and asked Shea.

「So has the disgrace been wiped off now?」

「Yes. All thanks to you. Rock-san, thank you very much」

「No problem」

Shea handed my sword back to me in a respectful manner.

「Thank you for lending me your sword as well」

「Sure. By the way, how was the sword?」

「It was magnificently sharp」

「That’s good」

Aisha then tilted her head to the side.

「It’s just that, when I was slicing with it, I felt like power was welling up within me」

「You probably imagined it. Maybe using such a sharp weapon confused you?」

「That’s most probably the case」

Shea said that as she laughed.

As I expected, this sword’s imbued with draining effects.

It’s particularly effective against enemies like the vampire lord which transform into some troublesome form to escape.

I then asked Shea.

「Anyway, what are you going to do with him? Are you gonna bring him back home? Well, he’s now only a head though」

I don’t know what rules her family has, but they might ask for proof that she killed it.

「I am not required to do so」

Shea started examining the vampire lord lying on the ground.

Its body has mostly turned into ash.

As if mixing ashes in a fireplace with a tong, she used her broadsword to stir it.

「There it is」

Shea picked up a medal smaller than a human palm from within the ashes.

It’s quite big for a medal.

It looks similar to gold, but it doesn’t look like it is. What a strange material.

More importantly, it feels intensely ominous.

「What’s that?」

「Yes. This is a cursed medal stored within the bodies of certain vampire lords」

「I see……」

I don’t think there was such a thing when I fought in the frontlines 10 years ago.

At least, I’ve never heard of it.

Might be some fad within the vampire lord community in these 10 years.

After thinking for a while, Shea whispered,

「Rock-san, let me tell you something since you saved my life and helped my family get our revenge」

「What is it?」

「The curse in these medals accumulate when a vampire lord sucks human blood or kills them」

「Oh?」

「When it is filled with the cursed, it will open a door to the Rift」

「……The Rift, huh」

That’s where I fought for 10 years.

Humans cannot open up an entrance to the Rift by themselves.

To them, it is a one-way road. They can create exits, but not entrances.

Only evil gods, the devils, can open such entrances from here.

10 years ago, we fought the Devil King in our dimension and cornered it.

It then escaped towards the Rift.

We could only jump into the Rift along with it the moment it opened the entrance.

That’s also why Eric and Gran never came back to rescue me.

「About the Rift……」

Shea started explaining.

A passage to another world. That is what the Rift is.

It’s said that on the other side are gods of the Dark. (TLN: 昏き者ども. Literally people of darkness. That sounds too clunky so I tl-ed it as the Dark. Still sounds weird. Any other suggestions?)

「Gods of the Dark, huh」

「Yes. The devils are merely their vanguard」

「Is that so」

This isn’t good.

The devils were already that strong. I wonder how strong the gods behind them are.

The vampire lord with only its head remaining shouted.

「That’s right, that is exactly the case! Fear us. When our gods descend upon this world, everything shall become ours」

「In that case, why don’t you just let the devils open the door by themselves without filling these medals up?」

「Rock-san, ten years ago…… Rakku our hero defeated almost all of the devils」

「I see」

I certainly did kill most of them. I even defeated the revived Devil King.

Seeing that there were so many of them, these vampires were probably trying to open the gate to the Rift.

「We could not rely on the devils if they don’t open up a gate. We would have to summon the gods by ourselves」(TLN: Probably the vampire? Honestly I’m confused)

「I see」

They might have grown impatient, seeing that the door didn’t open due to me defeating the devils.

If that’s the case, my 10 years of fighting paid off.

「Perhaps the Devil King’s attack 10 years ago was the same……」

「That is correct. The Devil King came here as the gods of the Dark’s vanguards」

「The Hero Eric repelled them right?」

「Yes. The Hero Eric, the warrior Gran, and our saviour, the Great Sage Rakku, repelled them, and since then, the gods of the Dark had never appeared again.

That title’s really embarrassing.

The vampire lord loudly laughed.

「The medal is almost filled up. The gate will open with just a little more curse」

「No wonder it feels so sinister」

「The other vampire lords will probably come for the medal」

Shea’s face cramped up.

It’ll be difficult to hold on to the medals if vampire lords attack all day and night.

「Crumble in fear! For you shall never taste peace from today onwards!」

「Hmm!」

I cut up the medal with the Devil King’s sword. The sword converted the curse into magic power and absorbed it.

「Wh, What……. How can the curse be……」

「This sword’s really convenient」

「That sword…… No way…… The Devil King’s magic-draining sword……」

「No idea!」

I cut up the vampire lord’s head with the Devil King’s sword.

The vampire lord’s head too instantly turned into ashes.