Even so, the difference in strength between them is overwhelming.

　Even though they were the lowest class of pawns, their black armor gave them a much higher level of fighting ability than the average monster.

　In addition, there are five of us.
　No matter how much the Atari tribe drew their Atari ability, it would be impossible for them to overcome this gap in strength. They thought that they could overrun it without much trouble, and in fact, they did.

''That's why I said it. You're wasting your life.

　A heavy cruiser floats off the coast of Delph Island. One of the pawns who had stormed there to take the Queen into custody muttered, glaring at the raggedy man who collapsed in front of him.
　This man, who had been reincarnated as a pharaoh, a higher species of mammy, had tried to block their path with his superior telekinetic powers. In fact, his power was formidable. It was impossible for the five of them to break through the invisible wall, even with their physical strength. If this had been a one-on-one match, they would have been forced to fight a hopeless battle.

　But in the end, this Pharaoh also had only an even strength at best with a single pawn. The main body was nearly defenseless while it focused its efforts on the appearance of the wall. Or perhaps it would have been a different story if he himself had retreated to the other side of the wall, but this Pharaoh seemed to have dared to expose his body to the outside of the wall to provoke the attacks of the pawns.

　Was he trying to buy time?
　Or did he have the confidence to take on five people by himself?

　But either way, it was not going to come true.

　Pharaoh did not respond to Pawn's call. He remained slumped on his stomach. All the ornaments on his body popped off, tearing his bandages and exposing his darkened skin. The golden mask was the only one that was not cracked, perhaps because it was made of an unusually strong material.

''Is this guy dead?''

　One of the pawns, Asa Akira, muttered to himself.

''Come on. But I'm sure we can't move anymore. Let's go inside the ship and find the queen.''

　Its removal from custody is the most important goal, though.

　When the pawns began to walk towards the cabin, a tremendous impact struck them from behind.

''Guooh...!
What?

　When I turned around, I saw that Pharaoh was slowly trying to get up, as if he was suspended by a thread. No expression appeared on the golden mask. But Pharaoh raised the broken ankh in his right hand and launched an attack on the pawns with mysterious power.

''This guy, he's still alive...!

　Shallow scarlet's screams sounded scarcely audible.

''Then just kill him!''

　The other pawns nodded at the cry of one of them.
　They converged their Black Red Qi (Blood Energy) and spun out a spear-like form.

　The black armor pseudo-grants the power of the other pawns to the pawns, who originally had no combat abilities whatsoever.
　Knight's physical abilities, Bishop's black crimson air. And Luke's overwhelming defensive abilities.

　The one that is particularly useful is this Black Red Qi.

''.........!

　No longer did Pharaoh even speak, he raised the broken ankh without even saying a word.

''Die!''

　One of the pawns projected a spear. Faster than Pharaoh could unleash his telekinesis, the spear extended straight up and pierced deep into Pharaoh's chest.

''.........!

　The momentum of the spears didn't stop, making Pharaoh's body stick to the wall of the cabin.

　Following that, the other pawns also released spears by the Black Red Air one after another. All of the spears hit Pharaoh's body. No blood flowed from his dry body. It is not a good idea to have a good time. The strength in your hand is relaxed and the broken ankh rolls to the deck floor with a crash.

"Ya, you did it...?
What have you got to do with it?
I wasted my time...!

　The pawns swore out of their mouths, but still carefully distanced themselves from the Pharaoh.

　More than once they got up and were taken by surprise right after they were sure they had been defeated, killed, or dead. There was not a single person who could be sure that he had let this one topple him. However, they finally confirmed that Pharaoh had completely stopped his movement and they all proceeded to the ship.
　It was a powerful enemy, or rather, an uncanny one. Even though they had defeated it many times, it would still rise up as if it were reviving. Although undead monsters were originally thought to be tough, but even so, that pharaoh seemed to be the one that surpassed the county.

　After all the pawns had entered the ship, no one noticed that the pharaoh's fingertips twitched again.





　Once inside the ship, they found a row of doors, which appeared to be crew quarters, lined up on either side. The pawns carefully opened each one of them.

'Strange...'

　The other faces nodded at the murmur of one of them.

''Yeah, I don't see any other monsters in sight.

　Thinking calmly, it was hard to believe that it was only that Pharaoh and the Incubus that were defending this heavy cruiser. It's true that the Incubus had a handle on wild monsters such as the Imps.
　I've heard from Suzuhara that a trading party will be held soon in Albadamba and that these heavyweight students will be participating in it. It seems that the majority of the students will be turning to that side, and the timing of the attack was based on the prediction that the heavy rounds will be less well protected. Considering that, the fact that the number of people is small is not in itself something to wonder about. However, it is still too few.

　They may have sensed our attack and fled, or they may have been waiting for an opening to attack us under their breath. Either way, we can't let our guard down.

　We cautiously walked through the narrow passage and opened the doors one by one. At that time, one vampire suddenly shouted.

''Oh...?''
Mr. Asahibi, did you find anything?
'Oh, no.... It's like the captain's quarters. A rather large room.

　Looking at the room that Asahibi was peering into, it was indeed taken up larger than the rest of the sailors' quarters.
　There didn't seem to be a queen here, but instead a large amount of documents could be seen. On the desk was a map of this world that was more accurate than I expected, with something added in Japanese.

''This is........''

　One of the pawns picked it up and said

'Your planned future course of action?'
After we leave Albadamba, it looks like we're headed for the Verneus Peninsula.

　His companion, who peeked out from beside him, also muttered.

　Vernetus is a peninsula that juts out wide to the southeast of the continent. Since it's largely outside the area controlled by the Empire, it's relatively easy for monster armies like theirs to operate. Following the arrows, the path was marked to go straight north from the peninsula to the forest area in the eastern part of the continent.

''East? I wonder what they're aiming for?
'I don't know. Are they just running away from us in the dark...?

　"The pawn of Albadamba, Akeno, the Bishop's Akeno, instructed me to determine the planned course of the guys in the future. The reason being that as long as the movements of these people are known, it will be easier for the blood clan to act.
　If you have the queen in custody, it's not a problem, but it's information that is worth remembering.

''There's still a lot of material to worry about, but let's start with the Queen.......''

　The other pawns nodded at his words. They left the room and began to examine the sailor's quarters again.

　Yes, the Queen.

　The queen of the bloodline, Beni Asuka. Her treachery would have reached the ears of the king by now. But the ruling power by the king has no effect on the Queen, who is far away from his residence.
　The king, who has the original blood-factor, has overwhelming power over all the blood-kin who have copies of that factor. It's a chain-like curse that can never be escaped, no matter how strong the will is maintained. In other words, every bloodline is like an alter ego of the king. And the Queen is no exception. If she stands in front of the king, and he is willing, she is deprived of her free will and her body is at the mercy of him.

　Of course, this power of control is not complete.

　In order for the king to control his opponent, he needs to know his exact location. To be more specific, he must have a clear perception of their existence. So, at such a remote location, the king can't control the traitorous queen either.
　Basically, the king forces the blood family to donate their blood to him. The king never forgets the taste and smell of the blood once drunk. Wherever he is, he will be able to correctly perceive the location of the subject. Giving blood means that the king will perceive your presence anywhere in the world, and it also means that you will be wearing a collar that cannot be removed forever for your blood race.

　The only one who has not given her blood to the king is the Queen. She had the eyes of the king on her. The king probably didn't think that the Queen, who had treated him so obediently to begin with, would betray him.

　That's why they would take the Queen into their own custody. Once they had dragged her to the king's presence, the rest was up to them. The king could use his dominion to get the queen to give up information, force her to commit suicide, or make her give up her blood and be under his complete control.
　Of course, she would resist. She's about to develop thirst, but she's still a queen. Even as pawns themselves, it would be difficult to take them down safely. Although they are equipped with knives planted with the saliva of the werewolf tribe, but whether or not they can still hold her power.

　If it is difficult to take her into custody, she will only collect the blood. As long as the blood can be delivered to the king, the rest is the same. In that case, they would have to use the back of the house. They all looked at Asahibi. The vial of blood and the knife he had been entrusted with by Akagihara were the inner hand.

''Please, Asahibi-san,''
'Hahaha. I'll take care of it.

　The pawns eventually came to the front of one of the rooms. There was a hint of something inside.

　Perhaps they were in here. At that moment, they were about to put their hands on the door, when they felt a sensation that made all their hair stand on end.

　They were struck by a sensation that made their entire bodies stand on end. It was as if a strong hostility and harmful intent became an oppressive sensation and tightened their heads. My whole body went rigid. A chill that makes me want to run away at any moment. And the source of it was undoubtedly emanating from the other side of the door.

　There was no longer any doubt. One of the pawns shook off the rigidity and kicked open the door.

　There was a girl in a sailor suit, sitting on the bed, looking at us.

'I've finally found you, Queen,'
What are you doing here?

　The girl said in a cold, bottomless voice.

　She has long, straight hair that extends to her waist. However, there was no impression of neatness at all, and if anything, the image she held was aggressive. Behind his slit eyes, a blood-colored rage swirled around. The pawns couldn't help but smile naturally at his mouth. Their entire bodies felt like they were trembling.

''.........you,''

　The pawn barely managed to open his mouth.

'I'm here to deliver you to the King, sir.
You're kidding me.

　The girl says flatly.

'I will never go to that man again. If I had the chance to go back there, I'd...

　The Queen stood up and glared at us.

'It's time to scratch that guy's neck in his sleep.

　Immediately after that, a black wave of energy blasted from the Queen's entire body easily blew away the bodies of the pawns. Their bodies were lifted up by their entire armor and slammed directly into the wall. Questions flashed through her mind, wondering if she was really suffering from drought. It was such an overwhelming force.
　But the doubts were quickly shaken off. If I looked up and saw the Queen, she was sweating on her face and breathing raggedly. This is something Queen would never show on a normal day. Fatigue is hitting her all at once with the exercise of power.

　As expected, the current queen is not in the right state of mind.

"Do something to subdue the queen!

　The pawns took out the knives handed to them by Akagihara in unison. If they wounded him with this one, it would cause the same symptoms as when he was bitten by a werewolf. The remaining factors would also return to the basal state, further progressing the drought syndrome. If all the vampire factors return to their basal state, the level of vitality will be compromised. When that happens, no matter how much of a queen she is, she is no longer more helpless than a human baby.
　The queen in such a state would be brought to the king while keeping her alive at the very last minute.
　Naturally, a single shot would be impossible. But one hit would certainly weaken the queen, and if you just go on slashing it again and again and again, that time will surely come. That was the original plan.

　But.

Don't... don't... don't... lick...!

　With a voice filled with anger, the Queen raised her right hand. The black wave that extended from that arm tied up the body of the pawn that rushed in first.

''Gah........!

　A man screams in the small cabin. As if to take advantage of the gap, another pawn tries to cut him with a knife from right beside him.

''............''
Whoa!

　The Queen released the restraints on the bound pawn and caught the pawn's knife between her fingers as it was swiftly swung.
　The structure of the knife was the same as the fangs of a viper. The werewolf's saliva, which was stored inside, was secreted from the cutting edge. Looking at the clear liquid that slowly dripped out, the Queen narrowed her eyes.

'....I heard that the Inugami went missing...
You're very perceptive.

　One of them responded to the Queen's words as the pawns squirmed apart from each other in the small room.

'But you're a canine, after all. You're not like the rest of your classmates.
Where are Kaoru and Harao, who were supposed to be on deck?
'We missed the incubus, but the pharaoh resisted, so we had to hurt him a bit. Well, he's probably safe.
Yes.

　The short words, just two words, were filled with more clarity and anger than any words Queen had ever uttered before.

　The Queen, with the fingers of one hand catching the knife with the fingers of one hand, made a drawing hand shape with the other. There was a slurping sound, and a venomous, blood-colored claw extended from the tips of the thin, white fingers. Everyone present understood what the Queen's next move would be, but not one of them was able to respond in time.
　A pull-out hand pierced the chest of one pawn. It shattered the armor, snapped the ribs, and crushed the heart, the source of the vampire's life.

''Gah........!

　The man screamed, his eyes flashed white, and then he was gone, smooth as ashes.

　The queen had killed him. One of the pawns, in an instant, without any hesitation.
　The Queen was breathing hard and was about to collapse, but she didn't even give him time to resist. If she wanted to, she could turn them all around here, or maybe she could. The pawns broke out in a cold sweat and shuddered.
　Now that it had come to this point, they could not afford to be lenient about securing custody. Even if they took blood and tried to escape, it was not even close to being able to escape.

　So, if that's the case.

　We need to switch our strategy. The pawns' attention was naturally turned towards Asahibi. He owns two knives.
　One is a type of werewolf spit planted in it, like the others. And the other is a blood-filled knife of the same construction.

　These knives were made by Bishop Akeno as a plaything in the first place. Its original use was not the kind that poured poison into the body of an opponent. It was born in the process of seeking to simplify the rituals for the sake of bloodline. In other words, it's not poison or werewolf saliva that should be planted, but blood of the blood family. It had to be fresh too.
　That's what is planted in the other knife that Asahibi is holding.

　Can you do it?　They all look at the Queen.

　She is angry. As the oldest of the bloodline, the Benii family is proud and always takes things in stride. Always with grace. They show their superiority by their attitude, and they never fail to do so. Even the way they fight is the same.
　It's not because she's being held back by drought, but because she's being held back by a blood claw attack, which is never graceful, as she radiates power while sweat is plastered all over her body. She's angry.

　Once. At least once. If it's our plan, we don't need to cut her off so many times.

"..........

　The queen moves in a hesitant manner. From a quick step, it extended its blood claws straight up. The pawn barely takes evasive action by bending its body, but it is a small room. There is no way to escape. It is immediately cornered. The other pawns try to hold the queen's body down from behind using red and black qi, but they are quickly rebounded.
　The pawn grabs his own knife and charges at the Queen. The Queen intercepts it with her blood claws. The claws easily shattered the armor and gouged into her chest. Twisting her body, she barely escaped a direct hit to the heart. Blood entered my trachea and flowed backwards. It almost blew out of her throat, but the Queen twisted her neck with one free arm to avoid covering it, and slammed it into the wall. The white walls of the cabin are stained with blood.

　At this moment, the Queen's hands are completely blocked. The three remaining pawns pulled out their knives and ran out in unison.

　The Queen pulls out the blood claw that she has pierced into the pawn's chest and enters a position to intercept the three of them. Wielding the blood claw, she first severed the arm holding the first one's knife, and then caught the second one with one hand. And finally, just as Asahibi rushes in, with the blood claw of his right hand, which is still free, he vividly slashes off that wrist that held the knife.
　The Queen didn't want to cover the blood spurting from the severed surface of her arm directly above her, kicking down the body of the first and crushing the jawbone of the third, Asahibi.

''Fugaah!''

　Asahibi, whose jaw was shattered, let out a strange cry. In that arm he raised, another knife was held in his hand.

　If this one hit, he would have a chance to win.

　The blood claw that grew on the Queen's fingertip pierced Asahibi's chest. But like the previous blow, it barely dodged the heart and avoided a fatal wound. But right after that, as if tearing through the air, the blade pierced the Queen's shoulder area.

''.........?

　The Queen pulls out the second pawn that was holding her down with one arm and the knife that was stuck in her shoulder after kicking Asahibi's body away. But it's too late. The "blood" that was planted has already flowed through the veins into the body of the queen.
　It's not the werewolf's saliva that was planted in the knife. The Queen threw away the knife and stomped on it, then glared at the pawns.

'You guys, no way...!
Do you still understand?

　The pawn that had been pierced through his chest and his neck twisted laughed, but still, never one to let his guard down and keep his distance, he said.

''It's Suzakihara-san's blood. It's fresh. The factor is in an excited state, too.'

　The vampire factor is by no means a panacea. It can be suppressed by the will to resist. So the ritual of bloodthirstiness requires that the resistance of the opponent be held down more. Stun them, or do it while they are asleep, or even target a submissive human. With that in mind, this preparation knife is only a slightly more useful substitute than a syringe.

　But there are exceptions to things.

　It's a case of injecting the vampire factor into a target that has already become a blood relative. In this case, since he has already become a vampire, he can't suppress the factor with his consciousness. A collision occurs between the original factor and the factor that has flowed in.
　The strength of the factor is determined by the intensity of the blood as a vampire. A queen's bloodline, which has been interbred continuously from the moment of bloodline birth, is terribly strong, while a pawn, which has only been in the bloodline for one or two generations, is weak. If the weak (pawn) factor flows into the body of the owner of the strong (queen) factor, the strong factor will exterminate the weak factor.

　So, in this case, when you pour blood into the queen, the change you get is seemingly nothing.

'It's like having a transmitter implanted. It's pawn blood, after all, so it won't last long in your body in the Queen, but it will still linger for a couple of minutes or half an hour.

　That is, for 30 minutes, the Queen will be perceived by the King as being in his presence for 30 minutes before she is completely naked.
　Only 30 minutes. After that time, the blood of the Tokihara would disappear completely from the Queen's body, and the King would not be able to perceive her whereabouts again. But half an hour would be enough. To recover the Queen's blood and escape from her attackable range.

'No, don't.........'

　The Queen held her own forehead and bent her body. The slightly visible expression on her face was twisted in anguish.

　The words would not be directed against the pawns. They would be nothing more than a fleeting scream, trying to resist another will to enter her and take control of her body.

'It's begun...'

　Once this happens, the Queen is no longer the enemy. I mean that literally. For the next 30 minutes, Queen Benii Asuka would not be their "enemy" anymore.

　The victory was won. It wasn't the best way to win, but it was a close call. But the bitterness of the victory is stronger than the joy of victory.
　First, the sacrifice we made. It was only about one pawn, and in the eyes of the entire bloodline, it was only a small loss. But to them, he was one of their colleagues. And above all, even though it was the next best thing, I had to take this measure that I never wanted to take, and that fact is still bitter.

''Ah, uh........''

　The Queen holds her head down and screams in agony.

''Ya, duh........ Come in.........don't come.......!

　The anguish eventually turns to screams. But it's too late.

"I never thought I'd be asked to serve the King."

　Pawn looked at the Queen, who threw herself onto the bed and eventually only grunted weakly, and muttered to no one.





　The deck was eerily quiet when Goubayashi and Sakuma reached the heavy branch of the ship.
　The remains of a fierce battle could be seen, but there wasn't a single human being there. There must have been a few students left in this branch school. On the deck, Harao and Kaoru. And the Imps and Sahagin's troops led by Kaoru. A squad of goblins and goblins, as well as a few other students, should have been following Beni as his bodyguards.

　I wonder what happened to them, that they were nowhere to be found.
　The reason why there were no goblins, imps, sahagins, etc., was probably because the leaders, Goshukawara and Kaoru, were not in this vicinity. When their leader is absent, they often stay hidden and stay put, or start wandering around looking for a leader.

''It's like a ghost ship........''

　Sakuma muttered to himself. Goubayashi nodded silently.

　There's no one there. It's truly a ghost ship. I'm sure it's even more so because I know the deck that is always crowded with students' faces. With each step I took, my anxiety grew as I assumed the worst case scenario. No one was there, which was still strange.
　But as the two approached the cabin, they saw their classmates stuck to the wall and gasped.

''Ha, Harao-kun...!

　The one who is exposed in a miserable state is undoubtedly his classmate, Harao Maki.

　Harao's body is pierced by what looks like five spears. For a moment, he wasn't sure if it was right to pull them out or not, but his body doesn't cause him to die of blood loss. He pulled out the spear and laid his body on the deck of the heavy branch school. Harao didn't even twitch.
　What in the world had happened? There was a battle, that's for sure. As a result, Harao had been defeated and was thus pasted up. Not only Harao, but also Kaoru Okama should have been here, but he was nowhere to be seen.

''Goubayashi-kun, Harao-kun is........''

　Sakuma asked in a trembling voice, but Goubayashi shook his head.

'Because you can't measure life or death by your pulse or whether you're breathing or not. I can't tell if he's alive or dead.'

　His words were calm, but his voice was filled with strong anger.

　Sakuma grabbed Harao's limp and unmoving hand and crossed it in front of his chest. Now, he said, 'Harao will not die. I can only believe his words, 'Harao will not die, he will only sleep.

''Kaoru-chan... where is she?''
'I don't know. But if Kaoruko is not there and Harao is down, that means...
Asuka-chan too....

　Sakuma gulped. It was already too late. He could have moved on to the worst case.

　No, but it was too soon to despair. He managed to rebuild his mind, which was about to fade at once, and sought the next constructive idea.
　First of all, we should finish checking the situation. We also need to confirm Beni's safety. And if she's safe, there's a good chance she knows something about this.

'Sakuma, you stay here and watch Harao. I'm heading on board.

　Apparently, Goubayash has come to the same conclusion. Sakuma couldn't nod his head for a moment, but he still nodded quickly. Considering the danger of the enemy inside, it was possible that Sakuma would rather be a liability even if he went along.
　However, just as Goubayashi stood up, the door to the ship's interior opened with a thud.

　Sakuma shrugs and Goubayash takes a stance.

　In the midst of the tense air, the person who appeared from the other side of the door was an unexpected person.

''........Benii?''

　Goubayashi opens his mouth.

　Yes, it looked like it was Benii Asuka herself that they were the first to be concerned for her safety. She was safe, which meant that the attackers had most likely managed to repel her. But then again, it was odd that Kaoru was nowhere to be found.

''Beni, explain the situation.

　Goubayashi walked up to her and asked her that.

'Harao is down and Kaoruko is nowhere to be seen, but you're safe. What the hell is going on?
.........

　Beni doesn't answer. He just smiles.

''Beni...?''

　Strange, he thought, not only to Sakuma, but also to Goubayashi. The smile that Benii gave seemed somehow alien to the kind she had shown before, or something else. The silence slowly extended the sense of discomfort. The uncomfortable feeling eventually turned into a fear that crawled through his entire body.

''(No.........)

　Fear reaches conviction.

Away!

　Sakuma had said the words the moment he thought.

'That girl is Asuka, but she's not Asuka!

　Immediately after, a swiftly released spinning kick blew away Goubayasi's huge body.