Chapter 30

“Strange.”

In the audience room of the abandoned castle Mariaaka.

Erzebet, who usually downed cola and coffee like water, tilted her head.

“Is my speech getting better?”

Ah, I could feel my throat smoothing out as I cleared it.

Tensed, Erzebet took a few more steps forward.

“Good. Happy, huh?”

Words, language, were coming out clearly!

Even if it wasn’t a complete sentence, it was more than I could have expressed before.

How was it usually?

Oh, that excitement and excitement. Hadn’t it been the same nonsense spilling out of my mouth after filtering through a fog?

This could only mean one thing.

“The curse has weakened…!”

The curse that had been tightening around Erzebet was fading away.

“Finally. Finally.”

Though still clumsy, it was something.

Erzebet recalled the past.

A long time ago, when she was filled with vitality in Mariaaka, where a stake pierced her heart.

Didn’t it feel like she had returned to that time!

“Cola, coffee. It worked. It weakened the curse.”

There was only one way to free Erzebet from her curse.

Drinking the black liquid.

Which, of course, meant only life’s blood, and in reality, Erzebet felt wracked with pain if she didn’t drink it.

So, didn’t she sometimes plunge into sleep, unable to stand it?

But now, she no longer had to.

The black liquid, the cola and coffee brought by the Head of the Gallery, had taken its place.

“So, you understand, right?”

With a gleaming face, Erzebet looked down.

There lay the Imperial Army, either dead or incapacitated, and a demented Frederick.

And facing her was an old human daring to meet her gaze.

“Cute?”

It was the impudent disruption spoken by the Head of the Gallery.

Erzebet smiled as if finding it absurd.

“Actually, that’s a lie. Not cute. Just a joke. You know?”

“…Monster of a woman.”

“Yeah, right back at you. Your face.”

In the tense exchange.

It was the moment Erzebet raised a scythe to take his breath away without hesitation.

Paddak vs Disruption

Who will win?

You too can vote!

– I’ll cast my vote for I Will Not Die Even If I Am a Vampire!

– Definitely the right side is the answer!

– Ugh, this is such a dilemma!

“Nah, you should never gamble for life, lol.”

– Yeah, Reverse Betting is the way to go, Isaac, let’s go!!!

“Nah, what the hell?”

“Are you voting for Isaac…?”

“What? That would’ve been what I said.”

“Yeah, that’s definitely a valid point.”

“…What!?”

Just as she was about to vote for an unlikely source of help, Erzebet gazed at the Gallery.

Erzebet’s face darkened with displeasure.

*

“Sorry, Head of the Gallery… Myoran.”

“I had a feeling it would come to this.”

“Hey, Head of the Gallery! Just a bit more!!!”

It had been a few days since she had stayed in the Rabbitfolk village.

In a moment of carelessness, the Rabbit Beastfolk magician released her magic tool and kidnapped me.

Somewhere behind a quiet field, just before I was tied up to a chair, Myoran appeared.

“Village Chief, that’s bad! It’s selfish!”

“Sometimes, residents go a bit wild with instinct; I completely overlooked that. Myoran.”

“It’s fine, just hurry and make the ticket already.”

The Rabbit Beastfolk, drooling with dazed eyes, was instead likely to be locked up in the mill.

There, he seemed to be sentenced to grind up rice cakes for the full moon, a delicacy of the rabbits.

In any case, I too could participate in the voting.

It seemed the Head of the Gallery could also participate in a vote without knowing the results.

So I invested all my mana pills in I Will Not Die Even If I Am a Vampire.

“This is the kind of issue even with threats at gunpoint it’s the right bet.”

Perhaps I could level up anew with this?

Keeping my hopes afloat, I gazed at the Gallery, and soon enough, a fight began.

Title: Dragon Clan Appears!!!

(Human and Elf facing off in a meme)

Sorry, I actually drew attention just to show this.

Paddak vs. Disruption, is this for real? It’s the battle of the strongest in the world.

– What the hell is this trend?

– I really can’t get it.

– I thought they finally crawled out of rare; damn it.

– So who’s winning?

“Isn’t Isaac going to get one-shot? Did you even need to ask?”

“No, no, no, surprisingly, it’s a tough match.”

“What?”

“Right now, it’s practically even, dude.”

“Isaac, after all, is the best swordsman in the Empire, you know.”

– Wow, I seriously can’t tell.

“Betting on the reverse, 500 layers deep.”

“Are you crazy?”

“Where did all those mana pills come from?”

“If you don’t mind, could I just get a can of cola…?”

“What the heck? Why are they fighting so well?”

As I watched the GIF of their fight, my mouth dropped open.

It wasn’t very clear.

It looked like the wind was whipping up, but the forms of things around were fading.

– What? Why is the Duke fighting so well?

“Because he was a genius expected by the Empire back in the day.”

“He became a politically minded old man, but the fact he’s still on the Royal Side is the issue.”

“Paddak vs. Paddak, so intense!”

– I bet on the right side!

“Damn it, are we losing? Did I bet everything?”

“Do you think I look like a horror story to you?”

“But I thought the Duke would fight well.”

“Why do you think so?”

“There’s a killer move people unleash right before they breathe their last called the Final Flash.”

“Lol, this guy is the worst.”

“Are you insulting the Duke for being half-dead?”

“Are you freaking looking down on him because he’s old, wrinkled, and turned into a political zombie?”

“Just stay in the back, will you? Keep talking what you want.”

– Oh, it looks like it’s about to be decided.

As one Gallum noted, it was nearly at its end.

Breathless Isaac and calm Paddak.

Paddak unleashed what seemed to be an area attack spell, and Isaac barely dodged it.

Then he closed the distance, almost invisible to the eye, and Paddak did not evade.

Clang!

The sword and scythe clashed harshly.

“But you know, the outcome is pretty obvious.”

In an instant, the conclusion was reached.

When I came to my senses, the two stood silently opposite each other.

The first to move was Isaac.

Slowly, Isaac sheathed his sword.

Thud.

Paddak’s head slowly fell.

*

– ?

– What is this??

– Wait a sec, my mana pills.

“Your mana pills have been replaced with mine.”

“Delicious, thanks for the meal, lol.”

“No way! What the hell is this?!”

“Not much, I guess.”

Isaac calmly wiped the blood off his blade and took a breath.

He had won all his life, never losing even once and was called a genius.

Among those he had slain, there were plenty of monsters no one dared to approach.

A significant part of the Empire remained thanks to Isaac’s might.

When he glanced behind, only Paddak’s body stood, caught in a daze.

“I’ve cut down a monster like you dozens of times.”

This Empire wouldn’t end here.

He knew Frederick couldn’t hold a candle to being the Crown Prince.

But Isaac wouldn’t forget the graces of the late Emperor.

He would kill the Head of the Gallery, the threat to the Royal Family, and bring its authority above all once again.

– Head of the Gallery☆) Tongue…

– Head of the Gallery☆) Hyung…

“Are you too scared to talk properly?”

Isaac sneered at the unknown writings of the Head of the Gallery on the screen.

“Next, it’s your turn, Head of the Gallery.”

First, it was about gathering forces.

As he planned to return to the North, raise Frederick to Emperor status, and seek out the Head of the Gallery to kill him, that was when…

The Head of the Gallery, who had only been muttering incomprehensible says, left a new comment.

– Head of the Gallery☆) Hyung, this guy is grinning!

“What?!”

And that was Isaac’s last.

Spinning.

Isaac’s vision began to spin wildly.

Thump, the foreign sensation of sand feeling gripped him as he felt all senses dulling out at that moment.

Isaac could see Paddak’s eyes.

“Ta-da, gotcha!”

No way!

The widening pupils seemed to say that.

The image that caught Isaac’s last sight was Paddak, succinctly gathering up his head.

– Head of the Gallery☆) Don’t mess around.

– Head of the Gallery☆) Paddak is a god, and I’m invincible.

The genius who had once been renowned in the Empire departed from the world with his grievances still in his eyes.

*

Title: Not Tasty…

Author: I Will Not Die Even If I Am a Vampire★

(A GIF of drinking black blood)

(A GIF of wrinkling the face while sticking out the tongue)

Blood… not tasty…

I like cola.

I also like coffee.

I also like the Head of the Gallery who gives all this to me.

– Please enjoy, Your Majesty.

– Your taste is truly exquisite, Your Majesty.

– I beg you to forgive me for acting cocky about the reverse betting, Your Majesty.

“Nah, I’m thinking.”

“Nah, it can’t be!!!!”

“Yes x No o”

“Lol, take care now.”

“Lol… Please save me too.”

“Surprisingly, I don’t like blood.”

After the fight, Paddak gathered the blood through magic.

It seemed he was about to drink it, but then stuck out his tongue, wrinkling his face.

– I Will Not Die Even If I Am a Vampire) Head of the Gallery, did I do well?

“Head of the Gallery☆) Good.”

– I Will Not Die Even If I Am a Vampire) Coffee. Cola. Sweets.

“Head of the Gallery☆) ?”

– I Will Not Die Even If I Am a Vampire) Give it to me.

Then, suddenly, he proposed a barter and boldly began to make demands.

“Pfft, do you think I’m the kind of guy who does what I’m told?”

While buying cola and coffee, I glanced towards the corner.

There lay a pet lava, a rift, I had seen at home.

The rift had indeed affected the underground.

“Seems like it’s getting bigger…”

At first, it was big enough for an arm to fit through, but now it had widened enough for a person to walk into if they bent over.

Naturally, unease began to creep over me.

Because I knew where the rift led and what lay within it.

What if the monsters inside all poured out?

‘We really might face destruction.’

At that point, everything might truly come to an end.

As I began to consider preparations, the rift suddenly began to expand further.

Woom!

“Wait, it’s getting too big!”

The rift had grown enough for a person to easily walk in.

Click.

I raised the shotgun to the entrance.

Whatever comes out of there, I’ll put an end to it.

However, contrary to my expectations, the rift began to influence the Other World in a different direction.

– What the hell?!

– Where has all my fertile land gone???

– (GIF of a carefully tended field withering in real-time)

– Elkiyaak! The trees are all withering away!!!

– No way, this can’t be happening; I’m getting worried.

– I grew all of that for you!

– ●▅▇█▇▆▅▄▇

A food crisis erupted in the Another World.