The Holy Grail of the Underworld!

As for the documents required to check into a hotel, there was no helping it... she could only have a certain vampire use a small hypnosis spell on the receptionist.

There was nothing she could do about that. As long as she paid, she did not feel any psychological burden.

It was impossible to truly follow all the local rules.

Two days had passed since the battle at the vampire castle. When Miss Moonlit had fled the castle with Gasper and Valerie, they had immediately run into vampire patrol guards from the surrounding town.

Another battle had broken out, but those vampires were no match for them.

After a few blasts from Miss Moonlit, they did not even dare approach.

However, considering that powerful sleeping vampires might exist within the castle, Miss Moonlit did not dare linger. She had forced her way out of the vampire territory and swiftly left.

Sure enough, not long after leaving, Miss Moonlit sensed an ominous feeling. An ancient sleeping vampire had probably truly awakened.

Fortunately, after escaping the vampire faction, the sun had risen in the sky outside.

There were indeed vampires who were not afraid of sunlight, but they were only a small minority. That ancient vampire was likely not among them and could only reluctantly abandon the pursuit.

Otherwise, the girl would not have had an easy time. The ancient vampire had given her the feeling that, even if it lacked the strength of a Quasi-Demon King, it was infinitely close.

It would have been difficult for her to deal with in her current state...

Taking advantage of the daytime, Miss Moonlit, Valerie, and Gasper quickly moved away from the vampire territory. As Daywalkers among vampires, Gasper and Valerie were likewise unafraid of sunlight.

After leaving that place, it became difficult for those vampires to pursue them.

Outside were the territories of the Church, Fallen Angels, and Devils.

Fallen Angels and Devils had ordinary relations with vampires, while the Church was outright hostile toward them. A battle would break out whenever they met, so the vampires did not dare venture deep into Church territory.

Sitting up from the bed, Miss Moonlit turned to look at the two young vampires in the corner of the hotel room.

Valerie and Gasper...

"You're clearly free now. You finally escaped that cage, yet you don't seem... very happy? Are you afraid of me?"

Miss Moonlit asked softly, sounding exceptionally gentle.

"No."

Hearing the girl's words, Valerie and Gasper hurriedly shook their heads.

Yet looking at the beautiful vampire before them, they truly found it difficult to connect her with the berserk chainsaw maniac from back then.

How could one person have two completely different styles?

The difference between Miss Moonlit in everyday life and in battle was far too great, wasn't it? The current Miss Moonlit was like a lively and adorable young lady.

Still, remembering the girl's other side, they could not help feeling somewhat afraid.

"You say you're not, but you're clearly scared."

"But that's okay. Tomorrow, I can let you go. Then you can go wherever you want."

Miss Moonlit left the soft bed, walked over to a seat nearby, and picked up the fruit the hotel had prepared earlier.

This hotel was quite good in every regard and could be considered fairly luxurious. She had booked an expensive room, so it had almost everything.

The room layout even included three bedrooms and a living room...

Now that she had money, the girl would not mistreat herself. In any case, she had obtained this money easily. Just like earlier in the small town, after taking some cash from the priest, she had chosen the best inn and red wine in town.

"..."

Hearing that they could leave tomorrow and be completely free, Valerie and Gasper relaxed considerably.

But then they thought of something else and hesitated...

They longed for freedom, but now that they were outside... if they were told to leave on their own, they did not know where to go.

And besides...

Valerie looked seriously at Miss Moonlit. Though she was young, she understood far more than Gasper.

"My lady, you were willing to make enemies of the vampires from the Tepes faction just to bring us out. It wasn't simply because you pitied us, was it?"

Valerie did not believe that Miss Moonlit had chosen to help them escape the Tepes territory merely because they also did not drink human blood.

No one would risk so much out of pity for people they had only just met.

"...You're quite clever."

The girl was not surprised by Valerie's words. She picked up a bright red cherry tomato and put it in her mouth, a hint of satisfaction appearing on her face.

It really tasted good...

Although she no longer craved blood, these bright red cherry tomatoes felt more delicious than other fruits. They were among the few fruits she had eaten that could compare with watermelon.

It was definitely not because they were as bright red as blood.

"I did have another purpose in bringing you out."

Swallowing the fruit in one bite, the girl walked over to the two of them without concealing her purpose.

"What is it?"

Valerie looked puzzled. She did not understand what she possessed that was worth this lady's attention.

"Sacred Gear."

"Sacred Gear? Gasper..."

Valerie froze, then seemed to realize something. She looked at Gasper beside her before hurriedly kneeling before the girl, gazing at Miss Moonlit with a pitiful expression as she pleaded.

"My lady, I don't know what you wish to use Gasper's Sacred Gear for. But Gasper's ability is completely uncontrollable..."

Hearing Miss Moonlit's words, Valerie instinctively assumed the girl wanted to make use of Gasper's Sacred Gear.

But Gasper's Sacred Gear was completely uncontrollable and prone to going berserk, while Gasper himself deeply hated this power.

Forcing Gasper to use a power that was already prone to berserk would harm him greatly.

"No, I don't want to use it... No... I don't want this power..."

Gasper hurriedly shook his head as well. He rejected his Sacred Gear's power intensely. Asking him to do something with that cursed ability would be even more unbearable than killing him.

If possible, he did not want this so-called Sacred Gear at all.

Because that Sacred Gear had brought him no benefits. Instead, it had given him a terrible childhood.

Gasper had been born with this extremely dangerous Sacred Gear. In his view... it was because his Sacred Gear was uncontrollable and unstable that his family, his father, and everyone else had hated, feared, and despised him.

"You've misunderstood. I don't intend to make use of Gasper for anything."

Seeing that they had both misunderstood her intentions, Miss Moonlit had no choice but to interrupt them.

It was not as though she was such a devil that she needed to reincarnate him as her servant.

"Then what do you mean, my lady?"

Valerie became even more confused. If it was not to use Gasper's ability, then what could it be? Gasper stopped crying as well.

"What I want is... the Sacred Gear inside you."

Miss Moonlit stared at Valerie with an extremely serious gaze. Compared to Gasper's still-unformed Longinus, Valerie possessed a complete and unawakened Longinus within her!

Whether she sold it to the system in exchange for a vast amount of Crystals or used it herself, it was an exceptionally powerful Sacred Gear. It was also the finest healing-type Sacred Gear.

"The Sacred Gear inside me? My lady, I have a Sacred Gear too? Why don't I know about it myself?"

Valerie was utterly stunned. Miss Moonlit's target was not Gasper, but her?

But she had no idea that she possessed any Sacred Gear.

"It hasn't awakened, so naturally you can't sense it."

"I see! But... I remember that Sacred Gears can't be transferred, can they?"

Having remained in the territory all this time, Valerie did not know about the Sacred Gear extraction technology developed by the Fallen Angels. In her impression, Sacred Gears were like a part of a person's spirit and could not be transferred at all.

"You needn't worry about that. I have a way to extract the Sacred Gear from your body while ensuring that you won't be harmed."

If she had not possessed the system's ability to extract Sacred Gears without injury, Miss Moonlit truly would not have felt right targeting Valerie. Valerie was not a bad child, and taking her life for her own purpose would have been too excessive.

Fortunately, with the system's power, she could strip away Sacred Gears without causing the host's death...

"Is that so? If that's the case, then please take it, my lady."

After hearing the girl's words, Valerie stood up and thrust out her chest toward Miss Moonlit, allowing her to take her Sacred Gear.

"Then excuse me. Bear with it—it'll be over soon!"

Since Valerie had taken the initiative, Miss Moonlit naturally would not stand on ceremony. This was a Longinus!

And it was a Longinus that possessed immortality and resurrection.

Miss Moonlit believed that in her hands, she could bring out this Sacred Gear's power even more strongly.

The upper limit of a Sacred Gear's power depended on its user. Its own power was only one part of the equation. No matter how powerful a Sacred Gear was, an incapable person would find it difficult to unleash its true strength.

In Miss Moonlit's hands, she was confident... she could turn it into a true "Holy Grail" and grasp the true law of immortality.

Sephiroths Cup!

"It begins."

Looking at the young vampire girl before her, Miss Moonlit no longer hesitated and reached out her hand.

She used the system's power to extract it.

The instant the extraction began, Valerie could not help letting out a pained scream. It was clear that extracting a Sacred Gear was an exceptionally painful process.

This was not strange. Sacred Gears were extraordinary powers created by God and housed within certain humans. They were bound to the host's spirit and fused with the soul...

That was also why Sacred Gears could feed on their holders' thoughts, continuously changing and evolving to become increasingly powerful.

Sacred Gears operated according to their hosts' mental states. When the host was in low spirits, a Sacred Gear's effectiveness would be worse than normal. Conversely, it could increase in power when the host's mental state improved.

However, a Sacred Gear's power usually still depended on the host's fundamental qualities. Only when the host was powerful could a Sacred Gear produce an N+1 effect.

The reason hosts died after Fallen Angels extracted their Sacred Gears was that Sacred Gears were spiritually bound to their holders' souls. If they were forcibly removed, the hosts naturally could not survive!

Although extracting Sacred Gears through the system would not cause the holder's death, pulling a Sacred Gear bound to the soul and spirit out of the body still inevitably caused pain.

Fortunately, it did not last long. The system's power was quite fast, and before long, the Longinus Sephiroths Cup finally emerged from Valerie's body and fell into Miss Moonlit's hand.

"Sephiroths Cup! The Sephiroths Cup!!!"

Holding the Sacred Gear before her, Miss Moonlit's eyes filled with excitement. This was one of the eighteen Longinus—thirteen plus five—which encompassed the past, present, and future.

The reason it was called thirteen plus five was because only thirteen Longinus currently existed in this world, including parallel worlds. The remaining five would only appear in the future.

Among the five future newborn Longinus was Gasper's Evil Eye King of Time-Space Domination. That Longinus did not actually exist yet.

This Holy Grail was absolutely one of the highest-grade powers!

Why were Longinus called Longinus? Because they were the strongest Sacred Gears, powers capable of killing gods and Demon Kings.

If their wielders were talented enough, they could even elevate a Longinus's power to the level of Transcenders. If they were even more extraordinary... they could directly contend with beings at the Quasi-Dragon God level.

Of course, such geniuses were far too rare. Most Longinus holders were not even a match for Demon Kings.

Longinus were powerful, but they were still weapons. Only in the hands of powerful people could they truly be called Longinus.

Perhaps because her Sacred Gear had been extracted, Valerie immediately collapsed weakly. Miss Moonlit did not have time to admire the Longinus she had obtained. She hurriedly placed Sephiroths Cup into the system storage before catching Valerie in her arms.

The girl did not turn hostile after taking Valerie's Sacred Gear. She carefully carried her to the bed and checked her condition.

She soon relaxed. Just as Ai-chan had said, extracting a Longinus through the system would not cause any serious problems.

Turning toward the worried-looking Gasper, Miss Moonlit reassured him, "Don't worry. She's fine. She's only exhausted. She'll be alright after resting for a while."

"...Ah."

"Th-That's good."

Hearing Miss Moonlit's words, the tense Gasper finally relaxed slightly. If possible, he did not want this big sister before him to become his enemy.

They had only just managed to escape that place. If anything happened to Valerie, he would collapse.

After settling Valerie down, Miss Moonlit took out Sephiroths Cup again and tentatively tried to sell it to the system.