"Now it's just us, right?" Princess of the Black looked at Rimuru with an amused smile. "You killed them, so I've lost some of my bargaining chips."
"We've both lost something. I've also lost a potential ally." Rimuru glanced at the nun, who knelt on the ground with her eyes tightly shut and her hands clasped to her chest in prayer. He couldn't help taunting Princess of the Black. "If anything, you've already forced me to put one foot in your camp."
"But honestly, Rimuru," Princess of the Black said, shaking her head, "even if you hadn't run into me, sooner or later, your research into Dead Apostles would have given you their abilities. You would have come into contact with us eventually."
She held out a hand and casually swept it forward, speaking as naturally as a serious-minded girl trying to persuade someone. "And have you ever considered that those old geezers in the Magic Association will eventually take notice of your ability to devour other people's powers? It's good to leave yourself a way out and have another option, isn't it?"
"Hah. Just say it, Altrouge." Rimuru didn't want to argue over this sort of thing. It was true that people's hearts were the most unfathomable things in the world, but refusing to trust anyone because of that was an equally misguided kind of paranoia. At the very least, he was quite willing to trust Liddell. "I need you to help me break Brad's curse."
"Tsk. You think far too highly of me." Hearing this, Altrouge chuckled. "A curse planted by a Dead Apostle who offered up the concept of 'eternal life' as a sacrifice. To put it bluntly, that fate, known as the Blood-Sucking Impulse, has already been driven into Akasha. It will be entangled with you for the rest of your life. It's an existence comparable to True Magic. It's not just me—even Crimson Moon might not be able to break it."
"Even if I have other Dead Apostle Ancestors do the same thing?"
Rimuru raised an eyebrow, looking somewhat displeased.
"Do you think a vampire's curse is a wish you can just make?" At Rimuru's naïve suggestion, Princess of the Black burst out laughing. "But you can try. I'm not sure myself. Just don't expect me to sacrifice myself for you, right?"
"Still, since it's a curse, there must be a way to cleanse it. There must be a solution. I just don't know what it is... or perhaps I do know, and simply don't want to help you?"
Princess of the Black spoke with all the irresponsibility of a mischievous girl.
"We don't need to play those little games, Rimuru."
"You know I can't break it. It's the restriction my most loyal subordinate placed on you at the cost of his life. And I know you're certainly unwilling to make a pact with me and become a Dead Apostle transformed by my blood. So that curse is the only restriction I have on you, and proof that you're a Dead Apostle."
The purpose of asking for an exorbitant price was to bargain down to a fair one. Princess of the Black understood why Rimuru had made such an impossible request, so she cut straight to the point. "I can help suppress the Blood-Sucking Impulse, but I don't recommend it. The best way is actually to satisfy your Blood Craze. The higher the quality and the greater the magic power in the blood, the longer it will sustain you. In fact... the Blood-Sucking Impulse is just a side effect of the Blood Craze. And you've already experienced the benefits of the Blood Craze, haven't you?"
The Blood Craze let Dead Apostles discern the strength of an enemy's magic power through their blood and track the scent of blood to locate their prey. Most importantly... it could continually strengthen a Dead Apostle's body and magic power, while letting them rapidly replenish both their magic power and vitality by drinking blood.
One could say the ultimate form of the Blood Craze was the essence of a vampire's immortality. With that nature, so long as they had blood to drink, vampires couldn't even be killed by conventional means. The people from the Church were an exception, of course. What they did was called purification.
"I can regularly send you high-quality Fallen Dead Apostles for you to..."
"I want your blood."
"What?" Princess of the Black froze, unable to believe her ears.
Black Knight silently drew his demonic sword.
"I said I want your blood as a way to suppress it." Rimuru shrugged calmly, making the provocative request as if it were only natural. "If I'm going to drink blood, I might as well drink the best."
"...You're really bold. Aren't you afraid I'll get angry?" Princess of the Black paused, then gave Rimuru a long look, as if she had figured something out. "Could you get my power from my blood?"
Rimuru neither confirmed nor denied it. "Can I?"
Princess of the Black was a little more perceptive than he'd expected. But that was good, too. Aside from being hard to fool, it meant she probably wouldn't turn into a useless teammate and drag him down.
"By rights, I should refuse..." Princess of the Black drifted quietly in front of Rimuru. When she realized she had to look up to meet his eyes, she frowned. "Change back to your own appearance first."
"...Does that matter?" Rimuru asked, confused, but changed back into a boy with pale blue hair. Princess of the Black studied him for a couple of seconds, then nodded in satisfaction. "With a face like yours, I'll agree!"
"...?" Rimuru was left dumbfounded.
Was it really appropriate to be so unserious at a time like this?
"Still, you can have my blood, but you'll have to trade yours for it." Princess of the Black met Rimuru's golden eyes and spoke softly. "Do you know why I noticed you in Germany?"
"Wasn't it because I was asking about Dead Apostles?"
"Of course not. Plenty of magi ask about Dead Apostles, but you were different."
Princess of the Black leaned close to Rimuru's ear, her soft, warm breath brushing his neck. "Because you smell... delicious."
Hearing this, Rimuru was at a loss for words. Rather than liking his smell, she was probably... after his blood.
"Fine, but I'll draw the blood myself and exchange it with you. You can't bite me—" Rimuru agreed, while keeping a certain distance between them. If he remembered correctly, the way Dead Apostles transformed others of their kind was by biting them and feeding them their own blood.
Rimuru didn't want to get signed into a contract with Princess of the Black for no reason.
"Do I look like the sort of person who bites people at random?" Princess of the Black was unhappy with Rimuru's suspicion. As the King of Dead Apostles, she couldn't even remember the last time she'd made a contract. She only bit people when making a contract. As for blood, she only drank offerings or collected it after... killing her enemies.
"Besides, since you're my subordinate, I like you in this form. Don't change your appearance all the time from now on. Hmm... You can keep following me under the name Brad."
"Follow you... But I have a lot of things to do, and I need to keep my identity hidden."
"You really do have a lot of things to do." Now that they'd settled the broad strokes of their deal, Princess of the Black's manner changed in an instant. Like a willful girl, she glared at Rimuru, wrinkling her nose. "I'll give you some time to take care of your own affairs. As for your identity, I'll give you a Noble Phantasm that hides your face. Ordinary people won't connect you to that person from the Clock Tower, will they?"
Rimuru pondered for a moment, about to speak, when Princess of the Black planted her hands on her hips in annoyance and pointed at the nun, who was still praying.
"Fine." Rimuru reluctantly agreed.
So much for saying she wouldn't use the nun to threaten me.
Hah. Women.
No honor at all!
"Also, now that I've joined you, I hope I'll have the right to order Dead Apostles to do things for me. It'll make it easier to take care of some of my own affairs."
"Of course." Princess of the Black curled her lips into a generous smile. "Not only my subordinates. If you need anything, you can always ask me for help, too."
"I, Altrouge..."
"Have always been especially good to my subordinates."
Chapter 036: Attack! The Einzbern Family!
Atop a high mountain in Croatia, a petite figure stood quietly in the night. She opened her left hand, revealing a blood-red bead that gleamed like a pearl, reflecting the moonlight in a brilliant shimmer.
Rimuru stared at Princess of the Black's blood in his hand for a long while, then suddenly laughed. He raised his right hand and cast another holy exorcism formula.
Red and gold intertwined, like the blood-red hue hidden in his golden eyes.
"How interesting. I've actually become the legendary... vampire who can use holy light..."
After a quiet murmur, Rimuru clenched the blood in his fist without hesitation. His hand instantly turned into dense black mist. Devour. Analyze!
A trace of a True Ancestor's aura and concept was instantly analyzed by Great Sage and absorbed by Gluttony. The ancient power was roused by his immense magic power. A glimmer of red flashed across Rimuru's eyes. In that instant, beasts roared and scattered in the mountains, birds took flight in a great flurry, and bats fled in terror from their caves.
This aura even startled Princess of the Black, who was sightseeing elsewhere. She immediately turned to look in Rimuru's direction—
In London, inside the Clock Tower, Rimuru was reading a document when red light suddenly flashed in his golden eyes. He quickly suppressed the magic power surging through him and looked up at a lawyer. "You can head back for now. I'll think it over for two days."
"Professor Rimuru, these really are the most favorable terms we can offer. If the Queen didn't think the site was too close to the castle and refuse to let other magi near it..." The lawyer had clearly misunderstood Rimuru's intentions and began explaining, thinking that he was trying to drive up the price.
"I said, you can head back for now." Rimuru smiled faintly without further explanation. He simply let a little of the aura in his eyes leak out and glanced at him.
In an instant, it was as if the shadow of a primordial beast had lunged at him. The intimidating aura forced him to stumble backward.
Cold sweat soaked his back. His legs nearly gave way. He shot Rimuru a terrified glance, then hurried out in a panic, as if afraid Rimuru would devour him the next moment.
"An impressive aura of intimidation." Rimuru watched the man flee, then looked down at his own hand and murmured with a frown, "But I still ended up working with Dead Apostles..."
"There was no other choice. Whether we fought them or fled, we couldn't guarantee the nun's safety."
"Mm... It's raining." Rimuru stood and walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window. Watching the students hurrying to find shelter from the rain despite the late hour, he smiled faintly.
"But rather than being forced into it, you could say it was a fortunate coincidence—the best possible choice."
"I went to Germany to study the power of Dead Apostles in the first place. Running into them and joining them was just... changing how I went about it."
"The greatest benefit is having an established force at your disposal. The Magic Association is powerful, but you need seniority and public influence. That means your real period of growth won't begin until you become a Lord. Princess of the Black's arrival has made up for the gap in your influence. But there are drawbacks, too."
"Doing a few things for Princess of the Black and picking up a few stains in the process isn't unacceptable." Hearing Great Sage's analysis, Rimuru nodded in agreement. "I just hope Princess of the Black really is what I think she is... a fairly good partner—or, perhaps, someone worth using."
"The world of Dead Apostles is governed by the naked law of the jungle. It really is an ideal place for me to grow unchecked at this stage. Besides, Princess of the Black's power exceeds my expectations. One drop of blood isn't especially potent, but if I build on it over time..."
"On second thought, it's not bad." Rimuru mused casually. "After that hellish start, I've earned the chance to have the best of both worlds."
"Princess of the Black's blood is suppressing the Blood-Sucking Impulse for now. If you stop drinking blood, Liddell will definitely notice something. I don't recommend telling her the whole truth."
"True. Luckily, I've got a convenient excuse ready."
Rimuru glanced out at the steady drizzle beyond the window. He casually sent a wave of cold air toward it, and the raindrops instantly turned into snowflakes like shards of ice, settling by the window. In the reflection of the dark glass, a stunningly beautiful face seemed to appear.
"It's time to pay the Einzbern Family a visit."
"Princess of the Black said she'd help me, didn't she? Let's see what the Dead Apostles can do."
"Looks like you absorbed it well?" Altrouge tilted her head and smiled at the boy standing in the mountain breeze. "I wonder how much of my power you got?"
"..." Rimuru glanced back at Princess of the Black. "Did you take care of the nun?"
"Your tone makes it sound as if you're the princess here. More or less."
"What do you mean, 'more or less'?"
"You won't let me take her away, and I can't hurt her or use magecraft that would cause too much mental damage. What am I supposed to do?" Princess of the Black glared at Rimuru in annoyance and tossed him a mostly white mask decorated with blood-red patterns, with a single tear etched near its left eye. "I just planted a suggestion. For the next six months, she won't consciously think about what happened today."
"She'll only remember that someone saved her, and that she was attacked by me."
"Six months...?" Rimuru sighed. "That'll do."
As he spoke, he turned the mask over in his hands a couple of times. It was a Mystic Code resembling a Ghost Mask. It felt cold to the touch, yet also seemed to carry a contradictory sensation that made his blood boil.
"Can this thing hide my identity?"
"It can block most forms of scrying. It comes from the Far East." Princess of the Black clearly didn't intend to explain further. Or perhaps she didn't know much about the mask herself. She had too many spoils of war to remember them all.
"So, what are your plans now?" Rimuru shrugged and put on the mask. His voice sounded muffled. "You went to all this trouble to recruit me, so you must have something you want me to do, right?"
"Er..." If anything, that question caught Princess of the Black off guard. Her face stiffened, but she couldn't hide the hint of embarrassment that flashed across it. "Actually... I don't."
"???"
"This time, I went to Germany just to pick a fight with White Winged Duke as usual... No, I mean to negotiate." Princess of the Black helplessly curled a small fist and counted off on her fingers. "First, there was the armistice agreement concerning Austria. Then there was his recent rate of expansion..."
"So, how did it go?" Recalling the battle between her and White Winged Duke half a month earlier, when she'd been fleeing and they'd destroyed three cities in Germany, Berlin among them, Rimuru had a pretty good idea. He raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"
Sure enough, at the mention of it, Altrouge became as angry as a cat with its fur standing on end. She stamped her foot and gritted her teeth. "He thought I was dreaming and tried to beat some sense into me!"
"..."
"Well, I have to say, you're a little different from what I expected." Rimuru spread his hands. "Maybe you really do need a bodyguard who's good at negotiating."
"Speaking of which, if you don't have any plans coming up, why not help your most loyal guard out?"
"Hmm? You mean my loyal guard or a traitor? First tell me what you want to do."
"I want to get something from a German mage family. By rights, I should visit them as the head of an equivalent mage family." Rimuru paused, then suddenly smiled. "But now that I've joined the Dead Apostles, I should act the part. I've started thinking it might be easier to just storm in."
"Germany?" Princess of the Black raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah. Germany. White Winged Duke's territory."
"Tsk." Princess of the Black tilted her head and laughed. "That's an excellent and interesting suggestion."
Three days later, when Rimuru set foot on German soil once again, he couldn't help feeling a little wistful.
Just half a month ago, on his first visit to this country, he'd been a sheltered mage venturing away from home for the first time—cautious, yet lacking a sense of danger.
Now, half a month later, he'd returned, and no longer needed to fear the unknown. Because he himself... had become one of the things people feared.
As he thought about this, he reached out and touched the empty air in front of him. With a soft ripple, waves slowly spread across the space.
"This is the place." Rimuru looked up. Behind him... a crowd of pale-faced ruffians, hidden in the mist, bared their claws.
"Go in. Remember, you can drink their blood, but... no one dies."
Rimuru abruptly raised his arm. The World-Breaking Formula became seven gleaming marks and crashed into the barrier in front of him, shattering it with a thunderous boom. The spell belonged to The Arbiter, Vissera.
As the barrier broke, the withered scenery was instantly covered by a lush green forest. Finding this place hadn't been easy. To locate the hidden area, Rimuru had practically made the Dead Apostles search every German noble estate that had ever been ennobled.
It was worth noting that the Dead Apostles Rimuru had brought with him weren't Princess of the Black's subordinates. They were "cannon fodder" she'd gathered along the way in her capacity as a princess. Unlike White Winged Duke, who controlled the largest territory and faction among the Dead Apostle Ancestors, Princess of the Black was more like a protector whom Dead Apostles opposed to White Winged Duke sought out. Unlike those with fixed territories, she preferred to wander around, despite bearing the title of King of Dead Apostles. She also liked to give interesting magi—or those who sought her power—the status of Dead Apostles.
But what she considered an amusing pastime was regarded by White Winged Duke and the other Dead Apostle Ancestors as an effort to expand her faction. As a result, she was given the title of King of Dead Apostles and attracted a large number of followers.
That meant the Dead Apostles under her protection rarely gathered together. They were scattered across Europe and even the rest of the world, each forming their own faction.
But clearly, her protection came at a price.
At least, when Altrouge came calling, they... couldn't refuse.
As far as Rimuru was concerned, these cannon fodder were practically unnecessary. In the end, the Einzbern Family was just a family of Homunculi. Even its head was merely a humanoid terminal made by a disciple of the Third Magician.
If he couldn't beat NPCs, he didn't deserve to dream of scheming against Zelretch and traveling through layer upon layer of worlds to find his family again.
But just as a company's owner didn't personally do the programming even if he was an expert, Rimuru naturally had a certain standing as the White Knight now. And, of course, he couldn't forget the most important thing: annoying White Winged Duke.
Before you continue