Chapter 10
Inside Al-Reten’s hideout, both the girl and I silently sprint towards the exit.
「…They’re here.」
「Eh?」
Suddenly, I pull the girl running beside me into my arms.
「Mmph!?」
Right at that moment, a barrage of stakes fly towards me, piercing my body.
「Just because it’s a legend, doesn’t mean stakes would work on me.」
I activate decay magic, disintegrating every stake impaling me until they crumble to dust.
「It’s, it’s okay…」
「Stay silent.」
I cover the loudly protesting girl’s mouth with my hand, continuing to race forward, manipulating the blood oozing from my wounds.
「Out of my way… Blood Rain.」
With that, a radiant burst of my blood targets the numerous members of Al-Reten that had just appeared.
Ideally, my blood attack would have incapacitated them, allowing me to carry the girl and keep moving without a pause. However…
「!?」
The bodies of the members pierced by my blood burst into a massive explosion.
The blast’s shockwave halts my steps, its heat scalding my skin.
「Self-destruct…! This is Mireille’s doing!」
「You got it right! The golden vampire!」
My feet are frozen in place… and from above, breaking through the corridor’s ceiling, Mireille, the leader of Al-Reten, shouts in response to my voice.
「Damn you!」
I activate magic, aiming at this formidable adversary, Mireille, and send him flying with a powerful burst.
「…Rondo!?」
Had I focused too much on Mireille?
The girl I was holding close is now taken away by Rondo.
「It’s not just barriers, illusions, and mental interference. From the top to the second-in-command and all the executives… Quite the lavish lineup you have there.」
「Let me go!」
「You’re too noisy.」
The girl, struggling and shouting while held by Rondo, is effortlessly rendered unconscious by his grip.
「If it’s you we’re up against, guess we have no choice!」
Thrown off by me earlier, Mireille retaliates with his magic.
He boosts all his parameters using a buff spell, shackles me with binding magic, and directs a multitude of deadly attack spells towards me.
「…What?」
Though I assumed a defensive posture, Mireille’s magic doesn’t strike me but the ground below.
「…The floor!?」
Confused, without any warning, I fall… plummeting into a vast hall, isolated, undetectable by the game’s system or even by my blood mapping.