I jumped into the magic teleportation circle, and my sense of direction was immediately messed up.
But once I was out of it, I fell into a room with stone walls.
“Who are you!”
A voice shouted, and at the same time, a vampire jumped towards me.
It was an Arch Vampire.
I quickly cast the same illusion magic that had been so effective during the questioning earlier.
I made him think by my voice and appearance that I was a Vampire Lord.
And then I grabbed the wrist of the Arch Vampire who had come at me with bared claws.
“Not so fast.”
“Yo-you are…the 8th Ranking Officer.”
Apparently, the Lord that Shia and I had killed was the 8th Ranking Officer.
Smaller numbers probably meant you were higher up.
So the 6th Ranking Officer was more important than me.
“I heard that the beastkin killed you…”
“You think that I was killed by mere dogs? What an insulting thing for you to say. I suppose you want to die.”
“Fo-forgive me. Please have mercy on me.”
“Hmm, very well.”
So saying, I let go of the Arch Vampire’s wrist.
He hadn’t suspected that this was an illusion even for a second.
Vampires had powerful magic and resistance to psychological attacks.
He had probably never experienced any attempts to fool him with an illusion before.
However, it was ultimately a matter of comparison.
If the person casting the illusion had stronger magic, then the illusion would be effective.
“Why did you come through the magic circle?”
“I had been infiltrating the palace after receiving an order from the High Lords. But his lessers got in the way.”
“Is that so.”
“So, is the 6th Ranking Officer here?”
“Yes.”
“I have a message from the High Lord. Take me to him.”
“Very well.”
Without a second thought, the Arch Vampire led me out of the room and down a hall.
It seemed like a very large building.
The lesser vampires that I had questioned said that the 6th Officer was living in a village near the capital.
But this building was much bigger than what a village chief would live in. It was a fortress.
I would have to investigate later on and find out exactly what this place was.
As we walked down the hall, I saw several other lesser vampires.
And each time, I cast an illusion spell.
These illusions were an advanced form of magic. The magic depletion was not exactly insignificant.
But I didn’t mind. I still had enough.
The Arch Vampire kept walking until we reached a large, ornate door.
“I have brought the 8th Ranking Officer.”
The Arch Vampire opened the door. I felt dense magic in the room that was typical of Vampire Lords.
At that moment, I moved.
I pulled out the Devil King Sword and cut down into the Arch Vampire.
“Wha-?”
He did not understand what had happened.
His expression remained that of shock as his wounds turned into ash and spread over his body.
I flew into the room then, and three other Arch Vampire came at me.
The Vampire Lord who was likely the 6th Ranking Officer was in the back of the room.
“Out of my way, vermin.”
I took off the head of the first and cut into the body of the second.
By then, the claws of the third were coming towards my eye.
I grabbed its wrist with my left hand and kicked him in the jaw. The bones cracked and the fangs flew.
“Gaah!”
A twisted cry escaped his lips as he turned around to flee. I cut him open with my sword.
I would not hold back even a little. One small slip and the 6th Ranking Officer might escape.
All three bodies now turned into ash.
That was the power of the Devil King Sword. It was awe-inspiring.
“Bastard. Who are you!”
“I have no need to give you a name.”
The 6th Officer was casting a silent spell now.
It was magic arrows. In a flash, there were hundreds of them and they launched all at once.
Not surprising for a Vampire Lord.
These were faster than any arrow of a veteran hunter.
Not only that, but their paths were not uniform. You could not predict them.
“You think you’re smart!”
And so I didn’t dodge them. I swung the Devil King Sword.
And cut down the arrows that seemed like they would hit me.
“You monster!”
“You’re the last person who should judge!”
I would not let him go.
However, in the event that he somehow managed it, I had decided in advance to not use any magic in this fight.
I did not want the High Lord to know that I was a Sorcerer.
And so I slashed at him with my sword. The 6th Officer blocked the attack with his own sword.
It had been a blow with all of my strength, and yet his sword did not break.
“That is a good sword.”
I dealt blow after blow, not allowing him to rest for a second.
“Ughh…hh…”
His face was fixed in concentration as he desperately defended against my attacks.
I had plenty of experience with fighting with a sword, thanks to the long battle with the devils.
Basically, I just needed to take him by surprise.
I had to attack where he least expected it. When he was the least prepared.
And there was no need to properly block his own attacks. Just turn them aside.
In other words, it was just like fighting with magic.
I swiped his sword away and then cut down into him.
He prepared to block with his sword, but instead, I kicked him in the face.
Surprise attacks were the most effective.
He stumbled backward. With that opening made, I cut off his right hand, which was holding the sword.
He launched another storm of magic arrows then. But this time, there were not as many.
I avoided them easily and then cut off his left hand.
This was where vampire hunting got a little complicated.
It was easy enough to snuff out his life, but restraining him for questioning was a different matter.
As expected, the 6th Ranking Officer tried to turn into bats in order to escape.
And so I cut at him with the Devil King Sword.
“Gaahhhghh!!”
The parts that had turned into bats were now ash.
I could not allow a single one to escape. I cut them all down.
And then finally, everything but his head was a pile of ashes.
