“We managed to escape… or should we say, she let us get away?” said Edgar.

“I don’t know about that,” said Heinz. “That Pure-breed Vampire didn’t look like she was in a position to do that, either. But let’s just heal our wounds for now.”

“Yes. Diana, we’re counting on you,” said Delizah.

Heinz and his party were healing their injured bodies with Diana’s healing magic and Potions, inspecting their equipment and stripping the Magic Stone and other materials from the ‘Fighting Dog’ that they had defeated.

“With this, we’ve managed to cut through the Vampire organization that worships the Evil God of Joyful Life, but…” Jennifer murmured.

“Damn it, she was more evil than the Vampires in fairy tales,” said Heinz. “So that was a fragment of the Demon King.”

He and Jennifer seemed regretful.

“Don’t beat yourself up over it,” said Edgar. “It’s true that we let Ternecia escape, but we’ve destroyed several of the Vampires’ bases and defeated three of her close retainers. There’s no way that this is small damage for them, is there?”

“And apparently there is only one of the Five Dogs left,” Delizah added. “It seems that there is someone out there who defeated one of them.”

“We have no information on this whatsoever, so it is possible that this retainer was not exterminated by someone, but defeated during a secret feud with other Vampires,” said Diana.

As they conversed, the empty air in front of them began shining. Ternecia, who now had a strange appearance, appeared in that spot.

She screamed as her severed head, from which her spinal cord and organs were trailing like the body of a snake, attacked Heinz’s party with fangs bared. Heinz had happened to be closest to her; although he was surprised, he reflexively slashed at her with his magic sword.

With a deep cut in her head, she fell onto the ground and stopped moving.

“… Why did she come back?” Heinz felt the sensation of gaining a large quantity of Experience Points that told him that he had defeated Ternecia, which only added to his bewilderment.

His companions could only blink in confusion with him.

It would be a little while later when they realized why Ternecia had worn such a satisfied expression as she died.

With that said, Ternecia’s spirit ended up being seen by the Lemures monitoring Heinz and his party, so Vandalieu would use Spirit Communication on her later.

The offensive spell that had been released instantly struck the entrance of the cavern… the entrance of the Dungeon. But although there was a thunderous noise, not a single crack appeared in the cavern. Even if the entrances of Dungeons were made of wood or stone, it was impossible to physically destroy them. Not even gods, let alone Pure-breed Vampires, could cause any damage to them.

If destroying them was possible, Bellwood and the others would have gone around destroying every dangerous Dungeon that was mass-producing monsters after they had become heroic gods.

Looking at it the other way, the fact that the Vampires’ attacks couldn’t destroy it meant that this entrance-shaped structure was a Dungeon.

“Impossible,” Gubamon muttered. “Is that a Dungeon? Why is there such a thing here… No, more importantly, what is the Dhampir planning to do after having flown in there?”

“Gubamon… W-what happened?!” Birkyne shouted. “None of this was part of my plan! Why in the world are things like this! What happened?!”

“Damn it, calm yourself! Birkyne, this is not a time where we can leisurely wait for your temper to subside!” said Gubamon. He was reprimanding Birkyne, but even he wasn’t exactly calm.

The two of them had observed Ternecia’s battle from afar with their familiars and then come to her hideout in order to bring her down.

The three Pure-breed Vampires had been sworn friends who would work together in emergency situations. Thus, the location of Ternecia’s secret hideout had been known only to Birkyne and Gubamon.

But they had teleported here to find Ternecia not only weakened but on the verge of death, her mansion in ruins and the Dhampir holding one of Ternecia’s eyes in his hand, with Eleanora sticking out of his back.

Ternecia had made use of that moment when everyone stopped moving out of surprise in order to escape, while the Dhampir had somehow absorbed the human, female Ghosts and a Vampire who was supposed to have been Ternecia’s subordinate into his body and flown into this Dungeon.

Even these two Pure-breed Vampires who had lived since the age of the gods had no clue what was going on.

“What does this mean?” Gubamon asked. “Ternecia was cornered to the point that she had to use the Demon King’s horns, but even so, she would not easily be defeated by the average enemy. And that was Eleanora, wasn’t it? Then that means that the Dhampir –”

“Yes, that is Vandalieu,” Birkyne said, interrupting Gubamon. “The one born between your Subordinate Vampire and a Dark Elf, the one who stole my Eleanora from me. Damn it, he wasn’t working with Ternecia, he’d been planning to make use of those brats playing hero in order to kill her!” he shouted.

Gubamon hastily used his familiars to make sure, but it seemed that Heinz had indeed already finished Ternecia off.

“How could such a thing… What happened to the Demon King’s horns? The fragments are supposed to possess another nearby lifeform when their hosts die. Then does that mean that the Dhampir, Vandalieu, has acquired Ternecia’s fragment?!” Shocked, Gubamon stared at the Dungeon that Vandalieu had disappeared into.

The Demon King’s fragments didn’t simply grow stronger the more of them were gathered; in fact, there was the risk that the growth rate of the Demon King Encroachment Degree skill would accelerate. But these two Vampires still didn’t know what kind of fragment had been sealed beneath Nineland.

It was possible that Vandalieu possessed a fragment of the Demon King that was very compatible with the Demon King’s horns.

“Gubamon, just as you said, we cannot afford to waste any time. We must kill that brat now! He has at least two fragments of the Demon King, but you and I can kill him together!” said Birkyne, his fangs bared and his handsome face twisted in anger.

“You are right,” said Gubamon, feeling a sense of danger for the first time in tens of thousands of years. “The mysteries can be solved after we kill that monstrosity. I am sure he intends to ambush us inside the Dungeon, but we should teach him and that traitor that things will not go as they expect.”

Birkyne and Gubamon, having recognized that Vandalieu was not a thing to be toyed with but an enemy who could kill them, entered the Dungeon, but… of course, as Vandalieu had teleported out with the Labyrinth Construction skill, he was nowhere to be found inside.

Alda, the God of Law and Fate, had managed to gain a good idea of what Vandalieu had done in the Hartner Duchy through the memories of Pablo of the Red Wolf Knights’ Order.

“Alda, he must be exterminated right this moment!” said Curatos, the God of Records.

“If we sit and do nothing, the situation could become irreversible!” said Niltark, the God of Judgment.

But Alda shook his head.

“Do not be hasty,” said Alda. “That Dhampir… the ‘Monstrosity,’ has already returned to hiding in the southern region of the Bahn Gaia continent. We cannot even dispatch Familiar Spirits or Heroic Spirits there, let alone Spirit Clones.”

Because believers of Alda and his followers did not live in the southern region of the continent, and because the influence of the slumbering Vida was great, it was difficult for the gods to descend upon the world or directly send their subordinates into that region.

“Then send a Divine Message and start a holy war!” Niltark urged Alda.

“Niltark, that would also be a hasty move. The Dhampir has already become a ‘Monstrosity’ in both name and form. No matter how many weak soldiers we send, they will only be slaughtered horribly and turned into Undead,” said Alda.

He suspected that Vandalieu’s abilities were already equivalent to those of an S-class adventurer if the Adventurers’ Guild’s class system was used as a reference.

He hadn’t seen the fine details of Vandalieu’s battle against Ternecia, but since Vandalieu was the one who had manipulated Kinarp and his subordinates, Alda knew that there was a high chance that Vandalieu had been involved in Ternecia’s fate.

No matter how much of her strength she had exhausted in her battle against Heinz and his party, Vandalieu had reduced her to being on the verge of death. His power was unfathomable.

But the most troublesome thing was that Vandalieu led an army that would act as his hands and feet. If Vandalieu was on his own or had only a few subordinates, it would be possible for a dozen or so heroes to fight against him.

But Vandalieu had subordinates who could rival such heroes, and some of them had actually once been heroes.

And his numbers were endless. If attacked by weak soldiers, he was capable of creating as many Golems from nearby rocks or trees as he desired.

As long as Vandalieu remained hidden on the other side of the Boundary Mountain Range, it would be difficult to overwhelm Vandalieu’s military power in either numbers or strength.

“Everyone, we should value slow, elaborate moves over hasty ones,” said Alda. “What we need is great heroes, each of them equivalent to a thousand superhuman heroes. We need champions who would have stood equal to Bellwood in the past.”

The gods stirred as Alda mentioned the name of Bellwood, the heroic god who had defeated the Demon King and was now in a slumber after having exchanged blows with the Evil God of Sinful Chains.

In the past one hundred thousand years, numerous heroes had appeared and achieved great things. Some among the gods gathered here had once been such heroes.

But even so, the champions who had been chosen and invited from a foreign world by the gods were beings of a different level. These champions would easily defeat enemies that heroes would need to fight for their lives against. Despite three of them being lost, they had managed to defeat the Demon King in his complete form, after all.

Alda was declaring that the gods would be making an effort to make these champions return. The gods were shaken with all kinds of emotions – approval, excitement, hope.

“… I can’t imagine that this can be achieved so easily,” whispered Nineroad, who led the gods of the wind-attribute in place of the fallen Shizarion, her tone showing neither opposition or disapproval.

“Hohoh. Is the one who was once a champion-sama herself trying to say that she cannot expect anything from the appearance of kouhais who could rival her?” Fitun whispered back.

“Fitun, I do not believe that strength is a requirement to be a hero,” Nineroad replied. Fitun, the God of Thunderclouds, was one of her subordinates – in a way, her kouhai. “I simply think that it is nonsense to judge the merits of heroes based solely on their power,” she said.

“Hoh, I would never have expected such words from your former self,” said Fitun. “Well, they are much more civil than the caustic words you exchanged with the heroes Ark and Zakkart at the scene of your separation.”

“… That scene was exaggerated by those who came later,” Nineroad told him. “The reality is that I simply ignored their words. Now that I think about it, I was foolish as well. Of course, it is unlikely that I could be thought of as wise now. Just like Alda.”

“… What do you mean by this, Nineroad?” Fitun asked. “It would be a serious matter if Niltark were to hear these words.”

“I’ll happily tell you,” said Nineroad. “I don’t mean anything in particular. I simply think that us gods should not make any moves ourselves.”

The gods were spending all of their time and energy maintaining the world; they could not descend upon it. In this state, guiding the people as they had done during the age of the gods was impossible.

And the people themselves likely did not desire this guidance. At the very least, Nineroad would not have accepted it if she were one of them.

“Fitun, if you were one of the people, forced to live and die repeatedly while constantly being instructed what to do, you would become fed up with it, wouldn’t you?” said Nineroad.

That was essentially what Alda was doing. Ever since Bellwood had fallen into slumber, Alda had been sending Divine Messages to the people more frequently.

“We are gods; we are not rulers or dictators,” Nineroad continued. “We should only make a move when the people desire it and when it is necessary. Heroes are not those we create, but beings that the people wish for. At most, all we need to do is lend them a little assistance.”

When she was a student by the name of Kyuudou* Akina, who worked part-time in a pet store on Earth, she had believed that there were no gods.

TLN*: The kanji of her surname literally means “nine roads.”

But Shizarion had taught her that gods existed, even on Earth. When Nineroad learned of this, she had lamented how helpless the gods of Earth were. They had simply left Earth’s people to do many things that could only be described as foolish.

That was precisely why she had worked with Shizarion, who had made moves to save his world, and sympathized with Bellwood’s words.

But now that she had become a god and looked back on it, how had this world turned out?

Nineroad sighed.

“… That is true,” said Fitun. From his point of view as a god, not the people, he agreed with her.

Even if something as troublesome as giving attention to each and every believer and guiding them like a stubborn father was possible, he didn’t want to do it.

“But a fragment of the Demon King has passed into the hands of another evil individual. Is that not something that we should fear?” Fitun asked.

“That too is a problem that the people should deal with themselves… As unfortunate as it is, the family I have been managing recently has not desired the guidance of any god,” said Nineroad.

It hadn’t been her intention for the Hartner family to make use of the barrier she had left behind. But Talosheim’s betrayal conducted by the Duke Hartner of that time was only one of the tragedies that had been repeated throughout history.

It was the kind of thing that happened both on Earth and in other worlds.

Sooner or later, they would realize their mistakes, whether it was those of the duke’s family, the ones who served them or even the ones who would replace them someday. Just like the many other mistakes that had been made.

Just like the foolish actions and tragedies that had happened over and over again up until now.

Also, Nineroad and the other gods here treated the destruction of Vida’s races, including the Titans of Talosheim, as an act of justice. It would be ridiculous for them to try and prevent it.

“I suppose that was my most foolish move of all,” said Nineroad. “Fitun, you’re not hiding anything, are you?”

“Dear me. What are you suggesting that I would be hiding?” Fitun asked.

“Don’t respond to a question with another question. But as long as it does not benefit those who absorb the Demon King’s fragments, you are free to do as you like,” said Nineroad. “I shall press Alda for change. I shall tell him that the teachings admired by his new heroes should be considered to be the path of righteousness.”

“Do you mean the teachings of the peaceful faction, that Vida’s races should be acknowledged as people?”

Fitun had inadvertently asked another question, but Nineroad left to where Alda and the other gods were without answering it.

“Tch, peace, after all this time? If there is to be conflict, it should be carried out until one side dies out,” Fitun muttered. “But it is best for Alda to consider a ceasefire in order to devote efforts to fighting the Demon King’s remnants. I suppose there is a chance that he agrees to Nineroad’s words. There is no guarantee that he will continue to shake his head as he has done until now, spouting foolish things about the sacrifices that have been made so far.”