Swoosh—
A translucent horse with a bluish-gray mane and glowing red eyes galloped silently.
It was a ghost steed, summoned and formed from the spirit of a dead warhorse.
The vampires affiliated with Red Eye rode these ghost steeds, conjured through necromancy, to travel noiselessly between cities.
At that very moment, ghost steeds carrying vampires glided through the forest, slicing through the darkness.
Over a dozen vampires soon arrived at an old monastery not far from the Principality of Vadoka.
Shh—
As the vampires dismounted, the ghost steeds vanished on their own.
The Red Eye vampires wore only leather pants and vests that exposed their pale skin, with the organization's insignia prominently displayed on their vests.
At that moment, the door to the old monastery creaked open, and another vampire emerged from within.
"Welcome, brothers."
The vampire from the monastery had a full beard covering his face and various tattoos on both arms.
He greeted the arriving group warmly.
"I'm truly grateful you've come all this way."
"A brother's hardship is our own."
Red Eye vampires were renowned for their strong bonds.
Vampires were now treated as a minority race, which made it increasingly difficult to preserve their bloodlines.
As a result, they had formed a tightly knit organization to protect their kind and safeguard their territory.
Even when separated by great distances, they rode ghost steeds to seek each other out and offer aid.
This time too, the vampires had mobilized to help their kin, and they entered the old monastery together.
The arrivals were the branch chief and members responsible for the Holy Kingdom branch.
The branch chief asked the vampire inside the monastery.
"Captain, we heard the gist through the ravens. But that alone wasn't enough to fully grasp what you reported. Can you explain in detail what happened?"
At the branch chief's words, the vampire addressed as Captain nodded and spoke. "You're right; it was hard to convey everything via ravens. I apologize for that." He continued slowly.
"We've found traces of the king."
The words stunned not only the branch chief but also the other vampires behind him.
"Whoa, traces of the king? Is that true?"
"Yes, we made contact with the founder's bloodline. Through him, we were tracking the king's traces."
The branch chief's face filled with shock at the captain's words.
"F- Founder? You mean Queen Carmilla? Does that mean she's still alive?"
"Why don't we discuss the details upstairs? You all must be tired from rushing here."
"Ah, in my haste, I was rude. Forgive my impatience."
"No need for such words, brother. Let's head up. The founder's bloodline is waiting for you all upstairs as well."
The vampire called Captain led the others upward.
They reached the chapel, where someone awaited them in a hidden chamber.
A figure wore a long-beaked mask, reminiscent of those used by physicians during the Holy Empire era.
The other vampires recoiled upon seeing him.
"Is that the founder's bloodline?" The captain nodded and said.
"Come this way. I'll introduce you."
As the captain moved to bring the vampires over, the masked figure raised a hand and spoke.
"You've brought tails with you."
The vampires were startled by his words and scanned their surroundings.
The branch chief addressed him.
"That can't be! We erased all traces with magic..." Shh!
In an instant, a shadowy figure lurking in the darkness burst from the dark floor, swinging a dagger toward the vampires' ankles.
Slash!
Sensing the attack, the branch chief and captain leaped back to evade, but the other vampires had their ankles severed.
"Argh!"
The assailant wielding the dagger was none other than Shadia.
After her initial strike, Shadia charged straight at the masked figure.
"You bastard!"
Among the tattoos on the captain's arms, the one depicting a lace pattern glowed.
Whoooosh—
An eerie energy flowed from the pattern, and three laces emerged, flying toward Shadia.
Kiiiiieeeek—
The laces let out a banshee wail as they lunged at Shadia.
Whoosh!
Shadia twisted her body mid-air to dodge the charging laces.
She swung her dagger, but as ghost-type summons, the laces were immune to physical attacks.
Kiiiiieeeek—
The laces' banshee wail carried a curse that sowed mental confusion.
Already ineffective against the laces, the wail caused Shadia to falter and retreat in panic.
The surrounding vampires began moving to capture Shadia.
But then— Crackle!
A bolt of lightning of light poured toward the wailing laces.
Kiiiiieeeek—
Struck by the lightning of light, the laces dissolved into eerie energy and were sucked back into the captain's tattoo.
Seeing this, the captain shouted.
"There's another one!"
From the shadows, Zeke emerged, armored in Hercion and wielding Bahamut.
As he swung his sword, the charging vampires were hurled back by the sword wind alone, crashing into the walls.
Boom boom!
Zeke immediately raised his sword and dashed toward the masked figure.
Clang!
The masked figure swiftly drew a rapier and parried Zeke's blade.
Clatter!
The rapier split into dozens of strands, probing for gaps in Zeke's armor.
But piercing Theia's Hercion with mere strikes was impossible.
Realizing his rapier was futile, the masked figure charged at Zeke, attempting to grab his arm and trip him with a bizarre grappling technique.
Instead, Zeke flowed with the technique, slipping past to land a fist into the figure's exposed side.
Boom!
The masked figure, struck squarely by the vibration-infused fajin, was sent flying into the wall.
The captain and other vampires moved to attack Zeke from behind, while Shadia, having recovered, wielded her dagger to intercept them.
The masked figure addressed Zeke.
"Zeke Draker."
He already knew Zeke's identity.
And Zeke knew his as well.
"Bacchus."
Zeke removed his helmet, revealing his face, and glared at him before continuing.
"You've broken your promise to Lady Kali."
"Did Kali send you to capture me?"
As Zeke and Bacchus faced off, the vampires whose ankles Shadia had severed had already regenerated and charged at Zeke.
"You dare touch Red Eye!"
Red Eye vampires primarily wielded chains weighted with heavy loads as weapons.
They whirled the chains and hurled them at Zeke.
The chains, empowered by vampire strength and centrifugal force, carried enough power to crumple steel plates.
Zeke, eyes still fixed on Bacchus, casually raised a hand and swung lightly toward them.
Crunch!
A crushing pressure bore down from above, forcing the vampires to their knees.
The airborne chains slammed into the floor.
Thud thud thud!
The vampires were immobilized by the overwhelming pressure binding their bodies.
Watching this, the captain and branch chief bared their fangs and rushed to rescue their comrades.
Boom!
The branch chief invoked necromancy, summoning skeletons from his shadow.
Three skeletons with black bones and glowing red eyes lunged at Shadia.
Crackle!
As Shadia fended off the skeletons, the tattoo on the captain's arm beside her emitted red light, conjuring crimson spears in the air.
He hurled a spear at Zeke and shouted to Bacchus.
"Bacchus! We'll hold him off! Escape first!"
But contrary to the captain's words, Bacchus could not move.
The intense killing intent emanating from Zeke sealed his very actions.
He was no mere red knight. Had he truly received the fairy's blessing?
Zeke said lowly to him.
"You'd best not think of running."
He turned, raised his sword, and shouted.
"Shadia! Fall back!"
Then he swung toward the skeletons and crimson spear.
Dragon Slaying Technique Applied Form
Black Sword Qi
Black Gale
Black wind howled from his sword.
The ferocious black gale shredded the skeletons and spear, sweeping over the captain and branch chief as well.
Boom boom boom!
The captain and branch chief slammed into the wall simultaneously.
In an instant, over a dozen Red Eye vampires were neutralized.
At that moment, Bacchus shouted.
"Zeke Draker!"
Zeke turned, and Bacchus swallowed hard before speaking.
"...What do you want from me?"
Zeke, sword pointed at him, shot back with sharp eyes.
"The information you passed about the island—was it to lure Lady Kali into a trap?" Bacchus hesitated to answer Zeke's question.
Then a massive aura surged from Zeke.
Rumble rumble!
The powerful presence filled the chapel.
Standing at its center, Bacchus felt a pressure that made his limbs tremble.
Zeke approached slowly and said.
"Bacchus, tell me straight. Did you personally set Lady Kali up?"
Bacchus shook off the pressure with effort and glared at Zeke, his hands trembling.
"Kill me if you must. But I... have never betrayed Lady Kali."
"Then why did you kill your birth mother Carmilla and flee her domain?"
"That was..."
Bacchus bit his lip at Zeke's words, unable to respond properly.
But then— Roar!
A massive fireball hurtled toward Zeke.
Boom!
Zeke deflected it effortlessly and turned, astonished to see an unexpected figure.
"The pope's successor?"
It was Roban, the supposed hostage successor to the pope, who had hurled the fireball at him. He matched the image from Black Stage exactly, making him unmistakable.
Seizing the moment of distraction from Roban's surprise attack, Bacchus dissolved into mist and scattered.
He reappeared behind Roban.
"Lord Bacchus!"
Bacchus hoisted Roban and tried to flee swiftly.
But his escape route was already blocked by another.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Boris, gripping his sword with an aura blade ignited, barred Bacchus's path.
Shadia, having revealed herself, restrained the fallen vampires and gathered them, keeping watch on him.
Realizing escape was impossible, Bacchus addressed Zeke.
"Zeke Draker, what exactly do you want from me?"
"Even within Black Stage, you've caused quite a few incidents. The intelligence chief himself ordered your capture."
Bacchus bit his lip, recalling Souma.
The affable-looking mage Souma was, in truth, the most fearsome figure in Black Stage.
Bacchus looked at Zeke and said. "Zeke Draker, I want to make a deal." Zeke smirked.
"Do you think you're in a position to deal with me right now?"
"I'm clearly at a disadvantage, yes. But I have information that would interest you." Zeke regarded him silently.
Bacchus tossed out bait to pique Zeke's interest.
"The emperor marches on the Holy Kingdom to find the ruins of the first Holy King." Zeke clicked his tongue.
"I already know that much. Trying to bargain with such trivial info?
Disappointing, Bacchus."
Bacchus knew from Zeke's past actions that his information network was formidable. 'And since he had met Souma directly, he might already have heard. If he couldn't draw his attention here, he had no way out.'
He decided to reveal one key piece of information.
Bacchus looked at Zeke and slowly spoke.
"What the emperor seeks in those ruins is the remains of the first Holy King, Gio Rubern."