Her mother and father were dead.
Eighteen-year-old Eliza sat on the throne, her calm gaze sweeping over the ministers assembled below.
After her younger sister was born, her mother had passed away from illness.
Then, unable to accept her mother's departure, her father had committed suicide.
—That wasn't how it happened.
Eliza tapped her fingers gently on the armrest, silently keeping time in her heart.
That wasn't the truth at all.
One, two.
On the seventh tap, her pot-bellied uncle waddled into the hall.
...Disgusting.
Despite being a vampire, he never restrained his words or deeds with elegance.
Despite his lack of ability, he had always coveted the position of Court Head.
Despite being family, he...
Eliza's fingers stopped.
Her uncle was looking at her.
With contempt, disdain, and something else mixed in.
...She felt a wave of nausea.
Her parents had considered themselves artists. Because of this, they had spent almost no effort expanding their influence or winning over the people, instead producing one messy painting and musical composition after another.
Even before Lonia was born, Eliza had already been playing on the political chessboard of the Demon Realm.
Did she want it to be this way? It was only because her parents simply didn't care.
Therefore, almost everyone was now standing on her uncle's side.
Her administrative abilities were indeed outstanding, but in the end, she was only one person.
What she had to face was the Vampire Royal Court, which was increasingly showing signs of decline under her parents' less-than-wise leadership, and competitors who held every advantage...
...Just give up.
The family precepts established by the Ancestor of Blood, Alucard, had long been forgotten by those fellows.
Never harm family members for personal desires; never discard elegance out of boredom or disdain.
The capable should bear heavy responsibilities; the incapable should offer respect.
...No one cared about those things anymore.
So why do I still need to persist...?
Her parents were gone. If she wanted to turn the tables, what on earth could she rely on to do so?
The Authority of Blood had appeared very few times in history. The first time, it was held by the Ancestor of Blood; the second time, it was obtained by the Blood Hunter.
Since then, this Authority had almost never appeared again in the history of the vampires.
And pinning hope on the nebulous grace of an Authority yielded an obviously pessimistic outlook.
So, what on earth should I do...
While pondering this in her mind, she dealt with the vassals who had long since given up on her.
On the first day of the new Court Head taking office, they had already displayed all their coldness and disdain.
At yesterday's funeral, none of them had wept either.
Even though family had died, they shed no tears.
...Family...
After the meeting ended, those vassals surrounded her uncle as they walked out.
Eliza walked with small steps back to her room.
“...Just give up.”
She murmured, pushing open the door.
She saw the vampire infant babbling and smiling in her swaddling clothes.
...No.
If I give up, then what will happen to Lonia?
She is only this small. What kind of environment will she grow up in?
I am her older sister, her elder, her only reliance.
...Yes.
She can only rely on me.
So I absolutely cannot give up.
Even if I only have myself to rely on, I must persist.
Eliza clenched her fists, her fingernails nearly digging into her flesh.
The family precepts left by the Ancestor of Blood, the thousand-year-old glory inherited by the vampires, the unbreakable familial bonds within their blood.
It had to be guarded by her, and only her.
At all costs, by any means necessary.
“I am... the Vampire Court Head.”
On that day, all the vampires in the Royal Court realized one thing.
A new host for the Authority of Blood had appeared.
...
“...Sister.”
Using the one-way blood covenant in her body as a medium, along with the 'blood' pouring into her body, Eliza's memories crashed into the depths of Esper's heart.
Along with the resonance of 'blood', her body, which had already been approaching its limit, was restored to its original state at this very moment.
She took a deep breath.
“...Thank you.”
The Holy Sword dismantled.
Endless blood gushed out, wrapping around the blade, swallowing the light, and twisting its shape as it spun.
A lance over two meters long emerged from the blood.
A spiraling, crimson tip occupied most of its length, with thorny, intertwined branches extending from the end of the spiral to form a handguard.
To call this a spear would be far too strange.
This was a lance.
As the lance took shape, a wave of blood-colored ripples vibrated outward with Esper at the center, staining everything it touched with a crimson hue.
The civilians hiding in their homes who were affected only felt their bodies tremble, but for Zhong, it was a long-lost, terrible sensation.
Like a prey targeted by a hunter.
The blood-colored ripples expanded over a hundred meters away, then linked together to form a blood-colored barrier, constructing a space that separated the inside from the outside.
The hunting ground was complete.
Then, she tightened her grip on the reins.
The beast born from the blood was composed entirely of coagulated black blood.
Its limbs were thick and sturdy, its claws sharp as blades, leaving deep claw marks on the stone slabs with every step.
The wolf's head was hideous, its fangs exposed, and crimson light burned in its eye sockets.
The instant it was born from the blood, Esper was already riding on its back.
The body made of blood sank slightly the moment she sat on it, then swelled again, holding her steadily.
The texture was cold and slick, like sitting on a pool of freshly coagulated blood.
She could feel the blood flowing inside the wolf, and she could feel that power ready to burst under her control.
“...Go.”
She spoke softly.
The blood wolf growled low, exerting force with its limbs, and charged toward Zhong.
Debris from the ruins splattered beneath its claws, every step accompanied by a heavy thud.
Zhong stood in place, the white mist spewing from the gaps in his steam armor exceptionally clear under the moonlight.
He raised his warhammer, the cracks on the surface of his armor becoming increasingly obvious at this moment.
“【...I see...】”
His voice was still calm, but there was something else mixed in.
The runes on the warhammer lit up once more.
『Wind』, 『Fire』, 『Force』, 『Spirit』, and 『Iron』—the five runes operated simultaneously.
The hammerhead began to vibrate, the eruption of steam growing more intense.
“【Then... let me see... just how long your resolve... can sustain you...】”
He took a step forward.
The steam at the armor's joints jetted in a concentrated blast, propelling his body forward.
The two collided.
The lance and warhammer crossed in the air.
Clang—
The sound of metal clashing with blood exploded in the night sky.
Esper was nearly shaken off the wolf's back by the shockwave. She grit her teeth, squeezing the wolf's belly with her legs, holding the lance in her right hand and pulling the reins with her left.
The blood wolf retreated several paces, its claws plowing several deep furrows into the ground.
And on Zhong's armor, rings of cracks appeared.
“【...So that's how it is...】”
He said in a low voice, raising the warhammer once more.
“【...This is why He... chose you from among the endless possibilities...】”
Esper did not answer.
She pulled the reins tight, and the blood wolf charged once more.
This time, she did not make a head-on collision.
The blood wolf suddenly veered to the left the instant it neared Zhong, circling to his side at extreme speed.
Aided by the wolf's speed, Esper thrust her lance.
The lance, enveloped in 『Blood Blade』, thrust toward Zhong's chest at a speed far exceeding before.
At the same time, as the wolf galloped, countless droplets of blood were shaken off, suspending themselves in mid-air.
Then, detonation.
Countless 『Crimson Pierce』 shot out from countless 『Supernova』, leaving endless trajectories with infinite variations, stabbing inward from all directions.
Not only was the quantity multiplied several times, but the power of each strike was also several levels stronger than before.
The lance was parried by Zhong's warhammer the instant before it hit, but in the next moment, the Crimson Pierce struck his body.
The metal layer of the armor was sliced open, steam spewing from the gashes.
His defense was breached.
Zhong's body swayed slightly, seemingly not expecting the power of the blood, when augmented by an Authority, to reach such a level.
Esper seized this moment, driving the lance further forward.
Clang.
The warhammer was knocked away.
Although Zhong instantly clenched his fist to recall the warhammer through rune resonance, he still left an opening.
The lance pierced through his chest.
The protective layer of the armor was torn open, revealing writhing black tendrils inside.
“【...And this is... why he was appreciated by that fellow...】”
Zhong's voice was hoarse, and the warhammer had already returned to his hand, smashing down toward the blood wolf's head.
The blood wolf growled low, its head lunging forward, meeting the trajectory of the warhammer head-on.
At the moment of collision, the wolf's head exploded, scattering into countless splashes of blood.
But those splatters of blood reassembled in the next instant, restoring to their original shape before the warhammer could continue forward.
The blood wrapped around Zhong's arm, and sharp teeth bit down fiercely.
Rip.
Biting through steel, biting through flesh.
Tearing away the arm, tearing away the warhammer.
Tendrils gushed out from the severed end of the arm, reassembling into the shape of an arm, while the warhammer held in the blood wolf's mouth was recalled in the next instant, bursting out of the wolf's face and flying back to his hand.
The hole in the blood wolf's face was instantly repaired, and Zhong had already pulled back to a distance.
He actively chose to retreat, the translucent silhouette flickering violently at this moment.
“【...A pity...】”
Steam erupted.
Then, cracks spread across Zhong's entire body.
The armor began to disintegrate.
However, just as it was about to be completely destroyed, the disintegration ground to a halt—
It was being repaired by continuously generating iron, spewing wind at maximum output.
Steam gushed out in continuous waves, accumulating kinetic energy, and even after reaching maximum capacity, it continued to intensify its power.
Following the steam eruption, fire ignited as well.
Pure fire coated the steam armor, replacing the original dull color with a layer of intense brilliance.
Force was still exerting power.
“【Still not enough...】”
『Compression』
A rune that concentrated energy entirely to a single point and continuously amplified it.
『Explosion』
A rune capable of causing explosions.
『Frenzy』
A rune that fully unleashed physical potential, strengthening the body to its absolute limit.
『Rigidity』
A rune that enhanced hardness and rigidity.
『Will』
A rune that augmented the body based on one's will.
The furnace-like warhammer was undergoing a transformation.
On the basis of the original five runes, another five runes were added.
Even if it would impose an extremely heavy burden, even if it would leave terrible side effects, even if unleashing this single strike would strip him of all ability to resist and save himself, leaving him to pin his hopes on that sarcastic, sharp-tongued brat.
But at this point, there was nothing left to say!
Hope had already recognized the girl before him, and the girl before him had also recognized Hope.
He, who forcibly stimulated Hope through obsession, and she, who resonated with Hope through desire, stood on opposite sides of each other at this very moment.
And he was a knight.
He was facing a truly worthy opponent.
————Go all out.
“【Authority Manifestation: Forbidden Fruit】”
Reborn from ten condensed runes, propelled by explosions and steam, and boosted by several goddamn stat-enhancing runes, the warhammer lunged forward at this moment as if it could fucking smash space itself to pieces!
At the end of the trajectory where the warhammer, capable of obliterating everything, was striking, the Hero riding the blood wolf tightened her grip on the reins.
Her heart was not filled with any grandiose or overbearing thoughts.
She only knew that the man before her had taken many innocent lives.
A madman who satisfied only his own selfish desires, a knight whose delusions were filled with madness.
That was enough.
I will bring an end to your sins.
The beast that burst from the earth was born of blood and resentment.
It was originally summoned by the Ancestor of Blood using the pain and unwillingness of his descendants, but as the journey progressed, he gradually realized that the essence determining this evil beast's form and power was one's own will.
The reason he could strengthen the blood wolf through the pain and unwillingness of his descendants was, in essence, because he was suffering due to the pain of his family.
In other words, if this evil, twisted seed born from the copulation of curse and consciousness could have its reins pulled tight in the name of the self, the beast emerging from the blood would transform into the Hero's iron steed.
The stronger the conviction, the stronger the power.
At this very moment, the Beast of Blood summoned by Esper carried an intent that had reached an extremely terrifying degree.
—Then, she assumed a stance.
Leaning her entire body back along with the lance.
Crimson Scale Surge: Overdrive.
Winged King, activate.
“Gallop, wolf.”
The dead wolf that yearned, envied, and went mad.
Concealing her past and true colors within the crimson hue, Esper listened to the wailing of the wind.
A crimson comet? A blood-colored thunderbolt? An arrow of death? Any description used to depict the current Esper seemed far too pale.
If that figure had to be compared to something, the only thing worthy of the comparison was the 'Rebellious Wild Hunt King'.
Known as the Blood Hunter.
The Forbidden Fruit, condensing countless runes, crashed down toward the place where destiny pointed.
Waiting for him at the end was the wolf that tore through everything, traversing the gap between the previous second and the next.
Lance and hammer collided.
Steam and blood erupted simultaneously.
White mist and black blood intertwined in the air, completely enveloping their figures.
Then, the white mist and black blood dissipated together.
The roaring crimson giant wolf, the spiraling blood-colored lance, and the Hero bearing the name of Hope brought the end to the delusional knight at this very moment.
The Beast of Blood sank into the earth, and the lance in Esper's hand dismantled, reassembling into the form of the Holy Sword.
Behind her, Zhong stood quietly.
The warhammer had shattered into fragments, and more than half of his body was missing, leaving only a terrifying, massive bloody hole.
“...”
Esper turned around, giving him another look with a complex expression.
“...That princess of yours didn't actually die. In the historical records, she survived, and you died.”
Then, on Zhong's face, she saw an expression she could never have imagined.
A sneer.
“【...No... the her that belonged to me... is already dead...】”
Drifting toward the sky along with his words was his body, turning into snow-white ash.
As life faded, power from the death marchers poured into her body.
The broken Holy Sword disappeared, the warhammer disappeared, and Zhong disappeared.
And after Zhong disappeared, something fell from within him.
A red gemstone.
Clatter.
It dropped to the ground just like that, shattering into pieces.
The curtain fell, and the delusional knight's tale of slaughter came to its end.
The Hero heard the wailing of the wind fade, leaving only a solemn and distant echo.
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