“…”

The vampires, including the four clan masters, stared at the sky with awe. It was already surprising that a griffon had been tamed, but no one had imagined that a heavy knight could actually fly on the griffon. In the first place, Sir Galfredik was a high-ranking vampire like them, and vampires with greater rank than the high lords could transform into bats or black smoke. As such, there was no need for them to rely on a griffon to fly. Although their energy would continuously drain during their transformation, it would free them from the hassle of having to tame a flying monster.

However, someone had already successfully tamed a griffon. The elf princess, the ‘someone’ in question, looked rather grumpy.

“I was planning to ride on them with His Majesty—this is highly unpleasant.”

“But isn’t it a big help for us right now? Please dispel your anger, Princess.”

“I’m thinking… It’s still unacceptable,” Princess Lilisain answered.

“Haha. My, my.”

The elven knight was attempting to relieve the princess of her irritation with a warm smile, which did not match his sharp, icy appearance. The clan masters had been quite surprised when they first discovered that the elven knight was none other than a swordmaster of Eland, an allied nation of Brantia.

The title of ‘swordmaster’ was given to those who were capable enough with the sword, so even vampire bannerets weren’t afraid of swordmasters. However, elven swordmasters were different. Elves lived as long as vampires, and they did not rely on Fear and other powers like vampires. As such, those capable of serving as elven knights were very powerful. Moreover, only a handful of powerful individuals among the elven knights were qualified to become swordmasters. Thus, elven swordmasters could be considered to be standing at the pinnacle of all knights.

Old, high-ranking vampires knew that pure-blooded elves, especially the knights, were capable of utilizing ‘Aura.’ Although high-ranking vampires weren’t afraid of silver weapons, it was a different story if such weapons contained the energy of Aura. In other words, a pure-blooded elven knight capable of using Aura was basically a natural enemy of the vampires. As such, the four clan masters were relieved that the elf was an ally.

“Anyway, I’m surprised you managed to tame such a ferocious monster. Moreover, I heard that the griffon only follows the princess and His Majesty as its master.”

“Sir Galfredik is the vassal of His Majesty Eugene. Those children can sense that he exudes a similar energy to His Majesty, so they are amicable to him,” Princess Lilisain answered while staring at the griffon and Galfredik. Her eyes were still filled with discontent and irritation.

The griffons were almost fully grown, and they were only obedient and fearful of Eugene and herself. They did not rashly attack others, but they weren’t afraid of anyone either. However, Galfredik was an exception. As Eugene’s vassal, Galfredik exuded the same energy as Eugene, so the griffons were terrified of him. The creatures couldn’t even properly raise their beaks in front of Galfredik.

That was why Galfredik could ride on one of the griffons.

“Hmm. Can anyone do that if they catch and tame a wild griffon? I want it,” one of the nobles whispered while staring with envious eyes. The nobleman was acquainted with Eugene but not very well.

Another noble, someone who had accompanied Eugene’s expedition since Maren, responded as if he found the question to be pathetic, “You’re only saying that because you don’t know. In the first place, griffons aren’t monsters humans can tame. It was only possible since it was His Majesty. And have you forgotten their natural enemies and what they love to eat?”

“Ah…”

There had been others in the past who attempted to raise griffons. Unfortunately, griffons loved to eat horses more than anything else. Although they would eat other types of meat, they would lose their heads and go crazy for horses. As such, it was impossible for anyone to raise griffons. After all, it was simply unreasonable to sacrifice multiple precious, expensive horses just to raise a single griffon.

“But maybe if I…” the noble muttered. He couldn’t give up his lingering feelings.

“Tsk, tsk! Sir, griffons may be capable of carrying one or two people, but it’s impossible for them to fly for a long time because of their poor endurance,” the other noble responded.

“What? Then, what about him?” The noble asked while pointing at the flying griffon.

“That’s only possible because His Majesty fed it his blood. It’s not a regular griffon. It’s probably the only griffon in the world that can fly for dozens of minutes while carrying a fully armed knight,” the other noble answered.

“Ah…” The nobleman finally came to a realization. He gazed at the sky with eyes filled with disappointment and envy.

Suddenly, his eyes filled with surprise, and puzzled, confused shouts echoed as well.

“Huh? T-that…”

“Isn’t he flying too close to them?”

“Wasn’t this just a reconnaissance mission?”

Even though the griffon could fly with Galfredik, the creature was still unfit for combat like a warhorse. It was impossible to clad a griffon with armor as it carried a fully armed knight, and the griffon could not fly for long periods of time. Moreover, if the griffon suffered any injuries during the flight, there was a possibility of the rider falling off and sustaining injuries incomparably greater than falling off a horse.

For these reasons, Galfredik had set out on a reconnaissance mission as the only one capable of riding the griffon apart from Princess Lilisain. However, Galfredik was flying way too close to the enemy army for a reconnaissance mission.

“W-wh-what?!”

“Is he trying to fight them?! What’s he doing?!”

Everyone was appalled. It seemed Galfredik had found it insufficient to just unleash his Fear after shouting at the enemies because he was now trying to charge into the enemy’s camp by himself. To be exact, the griffon was diving like lightning as if responding to the will of its rider. The creature had lost all of its cowardly nature thanks to the Origin’s blood.

***

Kwarararararara!

The imperial soldiers shuddered when they saw the griffon diving like a crimson meteor. The creature was diving at a speed incomparably faster than even a charging knight. It literally resembled a lightning strike. However, the soldiers of the imperial army weren’t incompetent fools.

Countless javelins and arrows shot into the air. However, it was almost impossible for the projectiles to find their marks. After all, it was already difficult to target a galloping horse, and the griffon was much faster than any horse.

Shshshing!

The projectiles fell helplessly to the ground after missing their target. In an instant, the griffon came within several meters of the ground and roared.

Neiiiiigh!

Many horses reared and fled in all directions, causing chaos. Even the toughest, most disciplined warhorses were rendered to nothing more than terrified herbivores in the face of a griffon. It only took a moment for the army’s lines to collapse with hundreds of warhorses fleeing in all directions. After completely disrupting the formation of almost 30,000, the griffon glided in a specific direction. Chaos followed right behind the creature’s flight, not only with the horses but with the army’s infantry as well.

“Kwuuuuuuugh!”

Suddenly, a dark crimson shadow appeared over the middle of the imperial army along with a loud, powerful roar.

“You should have done this earlier! Kuhahahahaha!” Galfredik burst into maniacal laughter. The vampire of the imperial castle had finally made their move.

Eugene’s words popped up into his head.

- All you have to do is take their head.

Even as a knight rather than Eugene’s vassal, Galfredik wholeheartedly agreed with Eugene’s words. He had never imagined that the vampire of the imperial castle would come forward, but this was still the best outcome among what he had been hoping for.

“Let’s have a proper fight! A proper fight! Kuaaaahhh!”

Galfredik participated in numerous battles and achieved countless things after becoming Eugene’s vassal, but he still craved more. There were very few apart from Eugene who could present him with a good battle. Although vampire high lords were slightly better than others, they quickly surrendered when they recognized Galfredik’s status in the Tribe of Darkness. The swordmaster of Eland and Princess LIlisain were also suitable candidates, but he could not fight them to death since they were on the same side. As such, it was inevitable for Galfredik to thirst for true battles.

The monster uprising had been similarly lacking. None of the monsters he encountered had been his match. Although there had been several monsters he found rather interesting, he had been forced to cooperate with others to hunt the monsters as efficiently as possible.

To take care of it as quickly and efficiently as possible—that was Eugene’s order.

Galfredik finally scored himself a situation he could be satisfied with.

- Below me, but definitely above the clan masters. How about it? Are you willing to have a go with them?

Galfredik chose not to follow Eugene because of these very words. He was helping Prince Localope become the next emperor because he was told to do so by Eugene, but it wasn’t exactly what he wanted. What he really desired was to fight against a truly powerful enemy—a battle with his life on the line.

His master had finally presented the vassal with that opportunity, and he was more than happy to participate.

“I will crush you! Kuwuuuuuuugh!”

There was no need to hold himself back any longer. Galfredik unleashed all of his powers as a vampire and as a knight.

***

What exactly was the authority of a vampire?

Powerful Fear that temporarily petrified all living creatures?

To freely transform the body into blood and shadow?

The ability to see through darkness and strength several times stronger than humans?

The aforementioned were true. However, there was a vampiric power that could be considered the most fundamental of them all. At the same time, it was a power that only a few strongest vampires could use, so it was mostly unknown to the world.

A power that only ‘real’ vampires could utilize, something that not even the clan masters could use—devilization.

Kuwweeeeeeeeeghhh!

Kuaaaaaghhhhhhhhh!

A three-horned creature resembling the humanoid form of a dragon and a gray monster that looked to be a mixture of a wolf and a lion collided in the air. The two devils weren’t very big. Although they were slightly larger than regular humans, they were smaller than larger monsters like trolls and ogres. However, they were incredibly fast. It was almost impossible to track their movements with the naked eye, and the two creatures exuded Fear like an active volcano. In addition, their herculean strength was overwhelming. Even the ogre, which was known as the strongest monster in terms of raw power, paled in comparison to the two, not to mention champion monsters.

Above all else; however, there was a decisive reason why all the spectators were filled with pure, complete shock.

Rumbleee! Booom!

A mysterious, unprecedented power burst forth from the long nails and maws of the two creatures. The nature of the power was different from the Aura of the elves, but the crimson blasts were just as strong, if not stronger.

However, the claret energy contained no mystery. It was filled with terrible malice and murderous will to the extent that simply being in the presence of the energy was numbing. Even the elves trembled in the face of the energy, even though they were stronger in spirit than humans.

Booooom! Rumbleeeeee!

Dozens of soldiers were swept away with a single wave of the hand, and those caught up in the crimson energy were ripped to shreds. The murderous wave did not differentiate between humans and horses. Neither excellent swordsmanship nor powerful armor was of any use.

They were powerless. Everyone was completely helpless as they watched the two creatures duke it out one-on-one. The fight between two pinnacle vampires was no longer in the realm of human comprehension.

Everyone shared a similar thought in their shock and despair.

So that was what vampires were like?

Were they really those figures who looked like humans just a while ago?

Weren’t they monsters?

One of the vampires had been their most reliable ally until a moment ago. However, the gazes of everyone surrounding the two had changed. Even the vampires with the crowd stood frozen with shock as they watched the two devils fight.

However, those who distinguished themselves by race were oblivious to the reaction of the other vampires. They—the members of the Dark Clan—were monsters.

A terrible fear engulfed the battlefield.