In the chapel overlooked by a stained glass window depicting a saint, a controversial discussion was taking place.

"Shouldn't we escape through the loophole?
But what are we going to do when we escape? What are we going to do if the demon finds us?
Isn't it dangerous to stay here like this?
Do you really think the Marquis's army will be defeated?
That's not what I'm saying!
Mother, ...... is scary. ......
If he wants to run, he can run.
Hey, if you open a loophole, they might try to break in.
So, if anyone wants to escape ......, we just close it again.
Well, if we do that, we won't be able to come back if we're in danger!
Then why don't you just stay here?

　"Then why don't we just stay here?" The people of rank and honor spat at each other, fueled by the flames of crisis.
　The servants who had taken refuge in the chapel watched them, unable to speak, and were dismayed.

　Inside the castle, protected by solid walls and strong soldiers. A holy place where the undead abstain. And a way out in case of emergency.
　Those who had taken refuge in the castle's chapel (with the exception of a few) were anxious, but somehow optimistic that they would somehow be saved if they stayed here.
　However, we started to hear strange sounds of fighting nearby, and the sound of something collapsing, and everyone became more and more anxious.

　Should we run or not?
　There were no instructions or guidance.
　The knights who had occasionally come to get holy water earlier were no longer in sight.

　Catherine watched the argument from a corner of the chapel.
　She had the idea that she might be in danger, but she felt as if she had ceased to be herself, and the sense of mortal danger was distant.
　Instead, Catherine was preoccupied with ruminating on the strange event that had just occurred.

　Could it have been a vision or something?
　It couldn't be.
　Rene had shown up here. And he was going to do something to Catherine.

　Was it Rene's mind that Catherine saw at that moment? It must have been. I don't know how it happened, but Catherine certainly saw René's heart.
　She held on to the resentment and sorrow as if it were her own.
　She felt as if she were wandering through a nightmare of black flames. Her chest heaved and tightened. All those things, all those feelings.

"Yeah, all right, all right. How about this?

　After what seemed like an eternity, the discussion broke down, and Catherine, who had been wandering through a nightmare while awake, became slightly more interested in the events at hand.

　As if out of spite, an elderly gentleman was moving about.
　He looked like a wealthy merchant or a retired knight. He was dressed in a nightgown and had a magnificent head that made me suspect that he was of boiled egg descent.

"Squires, come here.

　At his command, a few of the male servants who were taking refuge went away.
　And they came right back. They brought a variety of jars, bottles, and other objects filled with water and began to arrange them on the altar in front of the chapel, following the instructions of the man with the boiled egg head. He even brought out a bottle so big that it was dragging.

　--No one stops him. ......?　Is that okay?

　I have a pretty good idea what I'm doing, but if Catherine's guess is correct, this is kind of a dangerous gamble.

"Um, what are you doing?

　Catherine asked the man who was pointing at her.

"Oh?　Holy water, I'm making holy water. The water you offer at the altar becomes holy water by the grace of God.
　The undead will fall if you pour it on them. With the holy water, you will be somewhat safer in your escape.
...... so many at once?
Yeah, that's right. There's never enough of it. The knights might come back for more holy water.

　The altar was as crowded as if it were a general store.

　When she realized that the man was not thinking at all, Catherine's blood ran cold. Thinking vaguely about Rene, Catherine was suddenly jolted back to reality.

"Don't you dare! Don't you dare!
"What?
　Hey, that's rude. What kind of kid are you?
It's none of your business!

　The man with the boiled-egg head suddenly turned red with displeasure when Catherine stopped him. The man with the boiled-egg head suddenly turned red with displeasure when Catherine stopped him.

You don't seem to know how to talk to older men!　You have no idea how to talk to older men!

　The man said in a shouting voice as if he was going to hit her.
　The man shouted so loudly that a small boy who was watching nearby began to cry.

　But Catherine was surprisingly unfazed. She had just been thrown into the middle of a truly horrific battle, and just now she had seen something too horrible to recall.

This is not the time to be talking about etiquette!
"I don't care, get out of here!　You couldn't get a proper nanny!　Instead, I will educate the young ones for the future of this country. ......



　The Boiled Egg Man (or Octopus Man) was about to say something even more coercive, but his shouting was forcibly interrupted.
　His yelling was forcibly interrupted by the noisy sound of the chapel door being kicked open.

　The doors were not barred to allow easy access for the soldiers.
　A rotten night wind blew in.
　In the darkness floated many, many red lights in a row.

It's a good idea to have a holy water bottle in your home. ...... Your sister told me that holy water is made by collecting holy air, so if you make too much at once, it will weaken the holy air around you. ...... I'm sorry.

　A pale, dried-up body, red, glowing eyes.
　The crowd, clearly undead, was there.

　The altar is the focal point of this chapel.
　It is the place where the flow of holy air inside the chapel is connected, and even if you just place water there, it will absorb the holy air and become holy water.
　However, this means that the holy air inside the chapel will be diminished by the amount of holy air dissolved in the water.
　If undead appear here, the repellent effect of the holy qi will not work as expected, and the continuous (slip) damage from the environment will be severely weakened.

　The attack came at the worst possible time.
　If the holy air were to fade a little, it would not be a problem in normal times, but to let it fade now would be like throwing down one's shield and taking off one's armor.
　Unlike the temple in the city, where the prayers of many priests and people are gathered, this is a chapel for the lord of the castle. The amount of holy air gathered is even less.

No, no, no, no!
Why are there demons in this place?

　There was a scream, and the area became a beehive of commotion.
　The undead poured in at a furious pace, pouncing on those closest to them and pinning them down on the floor.

Aaaaaaah!

　Several of the undead pounced on the fallen, devouring their entire bodies, fangs flying everywhere.
　The dead victims, screaming in horror, ...... eventually staggered to their feet. Like the rest of the undead, his eyes glowed red and his complexion was pale and dry.

"Vampires......!

　A blood-sucking member of the dark and abominable family. A very famous undead monster.
　A noblewoman who witnessed the bloodsucking collapsed like she was anemic from the shock and fell prey to a pack of vampires.

　As the number of victims continued to increase like a drudgery, everyone rushed towards the altar to get as far away from the entrance of the chapel as possible.
　In inverse proportion to the frenzy, Catherine felt her mind becoming calm and collected like the surface of a frozen lake.

"The loophole!　We have to escape through the loophole!

　The people gathered around the altar clutched at the statue at the far end as if they were hanging on by a thread.
　There is a loophole behind this statue.
　Although the group was made up mainly of women, children, and the elderly, all of whom were not very strong, the strong male servants set to work.

　However, the statue's movements were heavy.

"Quickly, quickly, clear the way!
"It's stuck. ...... This!　Isn't it rusty?

　It seemed to have a groove and wheels to move it, but both the groove and wheels were rusted. There was a loophole, but it had never been used properly, and maintenance had been neglected.
　Even if a loophole had been discovered, it would not have been easy to break in, but if we were to use it, we would be doomed.

　The undead were slowly closing in, faster than the statue could move.

"They're coming, they're coming!
If we can get rid of them with this holy water ......
No, there's too many of them!
Oh, shit!

　A man with a boiled egg head jumped out from the crowd of people pushing and shoving around the statue.
　He kneels down in front of the altar and puts his hand on a large water bottle.

　He then knocked the vase towards him.
　The water poured down on his bald head, soaking his nightgown and spreading on the floor.

I'm okay now!

　For a moment, everyone in the room was taken aback as the man declared with a look of accomplishment.

"What have you done to me?　You took my precious holy water!

　An old man with a bent back raised his cane and attacked him.

"This won't save everyone anyway!　Only those who should be spared should be spared!　I made this .......

　The wet rat man said arrogantly, but...
　Catherine saw. I'm sure you're not the only one.

"Geez!

　The boiled-egg-headed man staggered and fell down after being hit in the head.
　Somehow he managed to get up, but bright red blood was pouring out of his head.

　The vampires came at him with their arms outstretched and fangs bared, as if to say, "We'll hold you," but as expected, they would not be able to grapple with a person covered in holy water.
　However, they had the intelligence to use tools for that purpose.

　In the group of vampires, there were only a few individuals who were armed with common weapons such as fire sticks and long horns. They stepped forward and began to execute the man in holy water.

"No, wait!　You can't use a weapon!　No, no, no, no!

　The screams of the man being mauled echoed intermittently, and even when things quieted down, the undead continued to beat him.
　They seem to be determined to finish him off.
　They don't seem to want to get close to the holy water-soaked man, so they stand back and stretch out their arms to hit him with the tip of their prey.

"Son of a b*tc*!

　A young man who had lost his right arm at the elbow ran up to the altar and kicked it as hard as he could.
　The altar was overturned, along with everything on top of it. With a loud clang, the remaining container of holy water was thrown into the air.
　It inevitably fell on the bloodied man in front of the altar and the armed undead surrounding him, beating him.

"A......a......


"Aaaaahhh... ............

　The undead collapsed, screaming like a tangled creak.
　The part of the body that was covered with holy water turned white and crumbled, and the body that was hit by the holy water turned into a pile of white ashes that was completely wet.
　The surrounding vampires backed away.

The vampires in the area backed away. "I defeated them, but the ...... holy water ......

　The man with the ship's arm lets out a bitter voice through clenched teeth.
　With the holy water sprinkled, the vampires retreated, but I don't think they'll stay like this forever.
　In fact, the retreating vampires have begun to regroup and gather near the wall, as if to bypass the holy water sprinkled in the center.

Quick, a way out!
It's too heavy!
More power!

　The people moving the statue (probably all cursing the sloppy management of the loophole) were sliding it at a speed that would make it a good match for the slugs.
　I don't know if I can make it in time.

"Hey, who can fight!

　The ship's armed man chose a long piece of wood from the weapons dropped by the undead, and rolled it over the holy water on the floor. It may not look good, but it would make a holy weapon.
　He held the long stick with his left hand, as if it were difficult to hold.

　But no one answered his call.
　The women don't think they're being told what to do. It's a man's job to fight. The servants and ladies tremble in a mass in the back corner of the chapel.
　The children are frightened, all younger than Katherine by all accounts. I doubt they can do anything.

I don't know how to fight a demon!
Besides, we're the only ones who can open this loophole!

　The male servants who stare at the statue of the god as if it were their father's vengeance are adamant in their refusal to fight.
　They are not warriors and have no experience in fighting demons. They may be able to wield a weapon, but I doubt their guts will be able to keep up.
　Even so, they were certainly the best force in the place, but they also needed workers to open the loophole.

I can't do it!
"Oh, I could do it if I were ten, twenty years younger!

　Even the old retired men who had once wielded swords as knights shook their heads.

　I'm not sure if you've seen this before, but I'm sure you've.
　Countless glowing red eyes are looking at us.
　I don't know how many more minutes or seconds I need to open the loophole, but there's no way I can hold out.

　Anyway, there is no weapon here that can keep those fangs away.
　A spear might have changed the situation, but a self-defense knife or a fire poker dropped by a vampire would have been too dangerous. The best I could do was to use a piece of wood like a stick, and then I could throw things at him.

　No.

　Katherine jumped out of the way as if she had been thrown.
　She grabbed the jacket of the corpse lying at the feet of the man holding the sacred horn.

"What are you ......

　Katherine took the jacket from the man as if she were peeling it off. There is a lot of blood on it, but it's soaked with holy water that you can almost squeeze it out.
　Taking up a small, light metal cauldron lying nearby, Katherine wrapped it in her jacket.

　She then untied the belt she had worn over her clothes to equip the talisman, and tightened it to tie her jacket into a drawstring. The belt she had borrowed from her brother was so long that it wrapped around Katherine's waist twice over, but there was a point to its length now.

There was a story in a book I borrowed from my brother ...... about this.

　A few vampires rushed towards Catherine, who was at the forefront of the operation.
　In the event that you have any questions regarding where and the best way to get in touch with us, please do not hesitate to contact us.
　They knew something was wrong, and they were willing to step into the holy air themselves and fall down in order to get at Katherine.

　Catherine...
　She wrapped one end of her belt around her hand and swung her jacket around in a drawstring.

　The cauldron inside was light but formed a shape for the blow, and the soaking wet clothes exerted considerable centrifugal force. Catherine was almost pulled out, but she held her ground.
　The Morning Star-like cleave strike was aimed at the vampire.

　The approaching vampires were blown away as white ashes, as if they had been a mass of ashes all along.
　The power of a weapon that can be wielded by a child (Catherine) is negligible. However, the holy air from the holy water that soaked her jacket alone was fatal to the vampires that were closing in.

The adventurer who was grabbed by the vampires tried to escape from the vampires by ......
　I'm sure you've heard of it.

　Just the thought of herself standing in the black flames gave Catherine the courage to fight.