One of the Pure-breed Vampires who worshipped Hihiryushukaka, Ternecia, had been defeated by an adventurer.

This was big news that was enough to shake the world.

However, the greatest effect of this news was not on the surface of society, but on a society of individuals who squirmed in the darkness, a society that was difficult to even call an underworld.

The Vampires who worshipped Barurushapeh, the Evil God of Foreign Writings, stirred.

After the Pure-breed Vampire who was their leader was defeated by the Pure-breed Vampires who worshipped Hihiryushukaka, they left the Bahn Gaia continent and had survived up until now by remaining hidden.

However, they had spent a long time gathering strength. Now, they had decided that Ternecia’s death, the disappearance of one of their bitter enemies, was a good opportunity to restore their status.

It would be particularly convenient to establish a position in the Hartner Duchy of the Orbaume Kingdom and a part of the Amid Empire, where an empty space had opened with Ternecia’s death.

But the Five-colored Blades were working in the Orbaume Kingdom, led by the new S-class adventurer Heinz.

With that being the case, the Vampires made moves into Kalahad, a maritime vassal nation of the Amid Empire to its south.

But the Storm of Tyranny, the party led by Schneider, the only S-class adventurer in the western region of the continent, was working there. However, they hadn’t performed any major deeds recently. And the party was led by someone who, despite being an S-class adventurer, was a depraved man who had a weakness for money, alcohol and, most of all, women. The Vampires thought that if they crushed each member individually, they could be victorious.

After finding out that one of the Storm of Tyranny’s members was Zod… the Pure-breed Vampire Zorcodrio, they felt certain that they could win.

Guon, the leader of the Vampires, had heard from his previous master that Zorcodrio had once been defeated in ancient times.

According to that story, Zorcodrio was the man with the least talent in magic and combat among the Pure-breed Vampires.

According to that story, even during the battle between Alda and Vida, Zorcodrio had been the first one to fall at the frontlines.

It was said that there were around a hundred Pure-breed Vampires. With a hundred of them, naturally, some of them would turn out to be failures. Zorcodrio was one of those failures, the weakest Pure-breed Vampire.

Guon decided that this was the case after remembering his former master’s words.

He decided that the first step of ruling the darkness of the Bahn Gaia continent would be to make a casualty of this Pure-breed Vampire, even if he was a failure, in order to show his power and the power of his followers.

The Storm of Tyranny cooperated with Guon’s plans almost too quickly, separating themselves from one another. Guon himself, along with his elite subordinates, surrounded Zorcodrio and attacked.

“How frail…”

Several Vampire corpses littered the plain, which lay in waste as if a storm or hurricane had swept through.

“I-impossible. The elite Vampires that I raised myself, i-in a single instant… They were all at least of count status, Rank 10 and above!” Guon shouted. He was standing stock-still in the middle of the plain, simply shuddering at the monster of muscle before him.

Barely a minute ago, there had been a slim, gentleman-like person between the prime of his life and middle-age standing there.

But now there was a monster covered in steel-like muscles.

“Hmm, you are still young, but have your eyes aged too much?” asked Zod, who now looked like a completely different organism, never mind a different person. “I broke the ones you raised in a matter of seconds. Now then, it is your turn next.”

It seemed that Guon still hadn’t accepted reality. “Do not fool yourself! There is no chance that I, Guon-sama, who serves the Evil God of Foreign Writings, would be defeated by one such as you!”

Guon, who had reached the status of Vampire Emperor, used the Chant Revocation skill to cast fire, wind and earth-attribute attacks in rapid succession.

Zod brushed all of these aside with his overwhelming physical strength. He swung his arm swiftly to extinguish the flames, and the blade of air and spear made of minerals simply bounced off his pectoral muscles and abdominal muscles.

“The one who is fooling himself is you, you rotten youngster!”

Zod closed the distance between himself and Guon in a single instant, the ground beneath his feet crushed and broken.

During the moment where the defensive spell that Guon had cast in reflex was broken, he realized the true meaning of his former Pure-breed Vampire master’s words.

Zod had the least talent in magic and combat among the Pure-breed Vampires, but he made up for that with overwhelming physical strength.

During the battle between Alda and Vida, he fought further at the front and more fiercely than anyone else with this physical strength, and after enduring more attacks than anyone else, he was the first to fall.

“Take this! Violent Burst Lightning!”

As Zod began vibrating at such high speeds that his body began to blur, bolts of lightning erupted furiously from him.

Guon’s Mythril armor, which was supposed to withstand even the magic of master mages, was pierced by that lightning and his heart was incinerated. He crumbled and fell, along with his ambitions.

Zod, who was releasing an acrid, ionic-smelling stench, made sure that Guon had stopped moving and then exhaled.

“Fushururu*… Just like the electric eels that inhabit

Earth

that have lightning coursing through their bodies without using Mana, this was my Muscle Technique’s move that produces lightning with nothing but the vibration of my muscles. This is the power of science that was passed down by Solder, the champion chosen by Peria, the goddess of water and knowledge.”

TLN*: This seems to be a catchphrase of other Japanese muscular characters.

“No, that’s not completely science,” said Lissana, who was standing there before Zod knew it. “Solder would cry if she heard that; she didn’t deal with macho men well, either.”

“Fuoh?! Lissana-dono, how rude of me,” said Zod, hastily restoring his appearance.

He wore clothes that were Magic Items that could be restored by channeling Mana through them, no matter how badly they were torn, allowing him to return to his true muscular appearance at any time without hesitation.

“What about Schneider-dono and the others?” he asked.

“They’ve already finished and are heading back,” said Lissana. “Unlike your situation, we couldn’t resolve it by just hitting them a few times, so it was a little troublesome, though.”

The Vampires had tried to persuade Schneider with a female slave’s tears. Dolton, the spiritual mage with a mohawk who was concealing the fact that he was a Dark Elf, had been challenged to a drinking contest while the Dwarf dancer Merdin had been challenged to a dancing contest. Lissana had been busy making preparations for their next job with the Guild Master of the Adventurers’ Guild.

It seemed that Guon and his followers had used methods other than battle against everyone but Zod. They had been unexpectedly wise.

“I see. However, it seems that I have caused trouble for everyone,” said Zod.

“It’s not really your fault, is it, Zod?” said Lissana.

“But this incident was caused by my brethren, even if they have strayed from the path,” Zod continued as he gathered and buried the corpses of Guon and his subordinates.

In modern society, Guon and his subordinates were monsters who worshipped an evil god, but Zod remembered the times when the Pure-breed Vampire who was Guon’s parent was a believer of Vida. They had been comrades in arms in the battle against the Demon King, Zod’s brethren who had felt the goddess’s kindness and become Vampires alongside him.

As they showed no signs of reforming, Zod hadn’t been able to allow them to escape, but he wanted to at least bury them as a final act of compassion.

“If you’re going to talk like that, then they’re children of my old companion, too.” Lissana, who was the incarnation of Jurizanapipe, had fought for Vida against Alda alongside Zod before he was sealed, as well as Guon’s master.

Zod had been defeated a hundred thousand years ago and sealed until recently, while Lissana had used the Demon King’s circle of transmigration system to be reborn.

Ternecia and Guon’s master had been defeated but managed to survive. However, in the end, they had fallen as low as to become hounds for wicked gods.

“Well, I