Baalcherit ran and ran with all her might.
Crossing the fields veiled in the dimness before dawn, she sought to escape danger.
But the road ahead was far too long.
The plains, where golden wheatfields stretched without end, continued all the way to the distant horizon, and beyond them, a small mist-shrouded mountain could be seen faintly.
“Haa… hah….”
If she could just cross that mountain, she would be able to leave the Kaln Empire behind and reach the Free City Alliance.
Baalcherit kept running, even as she gasped for breath.
There was only one reason she was running so desperately now: to escape the Demon Realm Trading Company.
She had not managed to repay all the money she had borrowed from the company, and so she was fleeing in the dead of night.
“How did I, of all beings, end up in such a state…?”
Baalcherit was a vampire.
At the same time, she was an existence of the lofty rank of five-star.
Originally, there had been forces that followed Baalcherit, and even the Demon Realm Trading Company had treated her with special regard.
But her daily life had been shattered to pieces because of the White Order.
“…Those damned bastards of the Order.”
For some reason, the Order had suddenly begun to move. Cowardly relying on nothing but surprise attacks, they gnawed away at her forces little by little.
Baalcherit had borrowed the hand of the Demon Realm Trading Company in order to deal with that Order, but that action had become her fatal mistake.
As the situation turned unfavorable, the Demon Realm Trading Company, which had treated her preferentially all this time, suddenly changed its attitude.
“They really are despicable bastards…!”
The company took advantage of Baalcherit’s urgent circumstances and set an outrageous interest rate.
They had lent her money while demanding steep interest.
Even so, she was the one in need.
She knew perfectly well what the company was implying, but she had no choice but to seize the offer.
However, after borrowing the money, the situation had already taken a turn for the worst.
The vampire dungeons that followed her were subjugated, and even those who barely survived left her side.
In the end, all that remained to Baalcherit was a desolate dungeon and a mountain of debt borrowed from the Demon Realm Trading Company.
When the repayment date drew near, the Demon Realm Trading Company changed its attitude once again.
This time, the company openly demanded the dungeon’s management rights.
In other words, they had their eyes on her dungeon as well.
But Baalcherit refused the company’s proposal.
The moment she handed over the management rights, she would be the dungeon’s master in name only, and it was obvious she would be reduced to the company’s puppet.
Baalcherit held out as long as she could and did not agree. But in the end, she collapsed under the company’s continued threats.
Ultimately, she signed the contract and formally handed over the dungeon’s management rights.
Although she had handed over the dungeon’s management rights to the company, Baalcherit had no intention of becoming a puppet.
“You want me to play puppet for you? Say something that makes sense!”
Even as she ran, Baalcherit muttered in a voice filled with rage.
“To think they would dare toy with me, who inherited the blood of vampire royalty…!”
Someday, she would repay this humiliation.
As for when that day would come, even she herself did not know.
For now, the priority was escaping the company’s grasp. Was that not why she had abandoned even the dungeon she had treasured so dearly and was now fleeing under cover of night?
Of course, she was not fleeing without a plan.
‘That aura back then… It was definitely the same as the owner of that voice!’
When she had attended the social gathering hosted by the company.
Baalcherit had once encountered a strangely mysterious being.
She could not tell their identity because their entire body had been covered, but they gave off an aura similar to that unknown voice that had once told her to become a slave.
“I’m sure of it!”
At that moment, Baalcherit saw a ray of hope.
And she made up her mind.
Rather than live as the company’s puppet, she would beg that person for one more chance.
“If I’d known things would turn out like this, I should have obeyed that voice back then….”
She had refused at the time because of her pride, but now she regretted it greatly.
Her miserable present state filled her with self-loathing, but soon she gritted her teeth and steeled herself.
If it meant meeting that person again, her present hardships were nothing.
Firmly believing so, Baalcherit continued moving her feet.
The place she was heading for was the Seil Kingdom.
Not long ago, she had heard news that a calamity had appeared in the Seil Kingdom.
She did not know why, but Baalcherit had a feeling that the calamity said to have appeared in the kingdom was not unrelated to the owner of that voice.
It was simply a feeling that came to her strongly.
There were two ways to travel from the Kaln Empire, where she was currently located, to the Seil Kingdom.
If one crossed the Mountains of Silence, one could arrive directly in the Seil Kingdom, and the other method was to enter the kingdom through the Free City Alliance.
The shortest route was to climb the Mountains of Silence.
However, she removed the mountain route from her options.
The Demon Realm Trading Company’s surveillance would surely be spread throughout the Mountains of Silence to catch her.
In the end, Baalcherit chose the method of going to the kingdom through the Free City Alliance.
A short while later, Baalcherit, who had been hurrying forward, stopped in place.
Then she turned her head and swept her gaze over her surroundings.
Could the company’s pursuers have already caught up with her?
That was not it.
It was merely that.
Grrrgle—
She had stopped because she was hungry.
“Ugh, I’m starving to death….”
Baalcherit looked around, searching for something to eat.
But there was nothing except the endless expanse of wheatfields.
In the past, even if she did nothing, her subordinates had brought her fresh blood on their own.
Now she had to handle everything by herself.
“Mm….”
She endured her hunger and kept walking.
How long had she walked?
From somewhere, she sensed the fishy scent of blood.
“It is surely over there!”
Following the direction in which the scent of blood faintly spread, she found the carcass of a dead animal.
And she saw zombies tearing into it.
She was so hungry that even the blood flowing from it looked sweet.
In the past, she would not have touched it, saying it was not fresh, but now things were different.
However, there were clearly prior guests here.
As a descendant of vampire royalty, she needed to observe proper manners.
“Ahem.”
First, she cleared her throat and drew the zombies’ attention.
“You lowly ones, noble I have arrived. Would you not share a bit of what you are eating?”
Baalcherit felt proud.
She praised herself for responding politely even to those she had met for the first time.
But the zombies looked at each other’s faces at this absurd situation.
“Kuaaaar?”
(What’s wrong with her?)
“Kuaaaaar.”
(She looks strange in the head.)
“Kuar, kuar.”
(It seems best to leave.)
After exchanging a brief conversation, the zombies left the animal carcass behind and disappeared.
“As expected, everything works out if one behaves with courtesy!”
Having always only seen vampires who followed her, she found it wondrous to see such lowly beings.
Baalcherit picked up the animal carcass and began walking again.
Carrying with her the hope of meeting that person as soon as possible.
* * *
‘Strange….’
Malcolm, the representative of the Pitch-Black Hand and the operator of the monster arena.
Malcolm was sitting in place with a terrified expression.
‘This is truly strange.’
Something was wrong.
‘…Why am I in the waiting room?’
This was the waiting room where participants waited before matches.
And yet Malcolm was now sitting in the waiting room, choosing a sword.
‘Why… is my body moving on its own?’
He could not even open his mouth.
Malcolm’s body was moving regardless of his will.
His hand moved by itself and gripped one of the swords placed in the waiting room.
“…….”
He could clearly think.
But his body would not move as he wished.
Malcolm rose from his seat.
Of course, it was not by his will; his body was moving on its own, and he could not control it.
And then someone entered the waiting room.
A white mask.
Yes, it was Necros, the one who was in business with him.
Malcolm wanted to say something to him, but his body still would not obey.
Faced with a situation he had never experienced in his life, Malcolm grew afraid.
‘That’s right. Necros definitely brought a woman with him, didn’t he?’
Only then did he suddenly remember.
After the first day of the monster arena’s opening had ended successfully, Necros had brought in one person who said she wished to invest.
‘What was her name again…?’
He could not remember her name, but in any case, Malcolm did not need investment.
The audience’s reaction had been good, and once rumors spread widely, the business would surely have a smooth road ahead. Was there any need to receive investment?
To begin with, Malcolm was one of those who held the underworld in his grip.
Even without any investment, Malcolm’s own financial power and connections were more than enough to handle it.
And considering the feverish enthusiasm for the monster arena, he had been planning to deal with his partner Necros soon as well.
He had no desire whatsoever to share such a honey pot of a business with others.
After killing Necros, Malcolm intended to grind down more manpower and capture various monsters.
Of course, he would not be able to capture them as cleanly as Necros did, but that did not matter.
Whether the monsters had scratches or were injured, the audience would not care.
All they wanted was to watch bloody, tension-filled matches.
He had certainly thought that way and held hope for what was to come.
But when Necros brought the investor, something was strange.
—Please tell me everything about Mr. Malcolm’s personal affairs and the connections around you.
A captivating woman in a red dress.
That was the investor’s identity.
As soon as she arrived, the woman abruptly spewed out such questions.
Who would obediently answer such sensitive questions?
He had tried to call the guards at once.
But Malcolm’s mouth began answering the woman’s questions on its own.
—Good. You’re doing very well, aren’t you? Then for the next question, why don’t you tell me everything you know about this Pitch-Black Hand you mentioned?
Even for the next question, Malcolm’s mouth had moved on its own.
At that moment, he realized that woman was no ordinary human.
But Malcolm could do nothing.
The woman listened to all his answers and then disappeared, and after that, Malcolm’s memories cut off.
“…….”
But when he came to his senses again, he found himself in the waiting room.
Of course, he still could not move his body.
‘It feels as though my soul has been separated.’
He could only directly feel and watch his own body act.
Malcolm’s gaze turned toward Necros’s white mask.
This, too, was not by his will.
As he quietly stared at Necros, the latter raised a hand to his mask after a moment.
Then he slowly took the mask off.
‘Huh…?’
Necros, with his mask removed, was not human in appearance.
Instead of a human face, a skull revealed itself.
‘A-a monster?!’
If his body had obeyed him properly, he would have run away immediately.
But he had no choice but to look at Necros. Fear surged over him, but he was forced to stare at Necros.
He wanted to shout and ask what the hell he was.
And he wanted to demand who the woman he had brought was.
But his mouth would not open.
Though his body was clearly not moving, he could feel it trembling from fear.
And soon, Malcolm’s body slowly began to move.
Toward the iron door leading to the arena.
‘Please… spare me….’
Holding a sword against his will, Malcolm slowly moved his feet.
At the same time, the iron door opened, and the heated cheers of the audience rang out.
—Now! The lucky Cale has survived again! Just how far will this luck take him?
Looking at Malcolm entering the arena, the announcer continued.
—This match is a special match! The operator of the arena, Lord Malcolm himself, will be participating in the match!
At the announcer’s words, the audience began to boo.
The person who operated the arena was personally participating in the match?
He must have done something, surely.
The audience pointed fingers at the match, which did not seem tense at all.
And Malcolm walked to the center of the arena amid the boos.
Then he raised the hand holding the sword high into the sky.
At that sight, the audience’s boos rang out even louder.
“We all know that bastard isn’t going to die! What a show!”
“Boo! Just die like a man already!”
But Malcolm felt like he was dying.
‘Fuck! Please save me!’
The words would not come out.
He could not run away either.
But an orc appeared before his eyes.
‘Don’t come! Please!’
He screamed and begged inwardly, but the orc slowly approached Malcolm.
As he gradually drew closer to death, he felt as if his blood was drying up.
And the orc came near Malcolm.
“Haha….”
Malcolm let out a hollow laugh.
Only then did his body move properly.
But it was already too late.
Thunk—
The orc’s axe immediately cleaved into Malcolm’s head.
The sweet hope he had dreamed of for even that brief moment turned into despair.
—Oh! How could this be!
At Malcolm’s sudden death, the announcer could not continue speaking.
The announcer, too, had naturally thought Malcolm was putting on a show.
But it was not a show. It was reality.
The orc continued to hack away with his axe at what had once been Malcolm.
On the other hand, the audience grew even more frenzied.
“Yeah, fuck! This is what I wanted! The best! This is the best!”
They had thought it would be a staged script, but the operator of the arena had died. And brutally, at that.
From that day on, the number of spectators entering the arena increased explosively.
And there were those who watched that scene with satisfaction: none other than Celia and Necros.
They did not speak about Malcolm.
Was there any need to care about a human who had already died?
They had already obtained all the information they needed through him.
Before Malcolm died at the end, he had laughed, even if hollowly, and that was enough.
“By the way, the arena’s profits are considerable. Mr. Necros, please continue to take charge of the arena from now on. If there is anything you need, tell me at any time.”
“Clack!”
Celia sipped her tea as she reviewed the documents one by one.
“And Master has taken a great interest in the arena.”
Celia wore an unusual smile.
At the same time, she pointed at a document with her finger, and written there were the words Pitch-Black Hand.
“Master will desire not only the arena, but everything they possess. Prepare it for the sake of that great one, Mr. Necros.”
The arena was only the beginning.
Now it was time to seize everything that remained for their master.