Viltrumite, Is Your Mightiest Chat Group Fake? Chapter 23

His words dripping with sarcasm, he turned to flatter Theresis.

"General, the Royal Court is so eager to offer you its strength."

Theresis frowned slightly.

As the de facto regent, he needed to promote some fresh blood from the Royal Court to maintain the relationship between both sides.

Thus, aside from Manfred, whom he had personally groomed, the people at his side had always rotated among members of the Royal Court.

Naturally, Manfred had become a thorn in their eyes.

Especially this group of Vampires from Kazdel's inner circle, who pursued bloodline purity to an extreme.

If not for his unshakable record of achievements, they would likely have looked down on him as well.

Some unaffiliated Vampires were rather decent, though. He had heard there was a doctor in the border regions who provided aid without discrimination.

Being a politician was far more exhausting than being a swordsman. How I wish I could have a truly satisfying fight.

A corner of Theresis's heart sighed.

But returning to reality, he still had to balance the relationship between the two sides.

"You two have misunderstood. Manfred, repeat the contents of the report."

"Yes."

The Sarkaz gave his report in a clear voice.

"This was merely one of our routine collection operations, meant to prepare for further war.

Mercenaries attacked a convoy from Rim Billiton, but the team we dispatched vanished without a trace. The site was eventually confirmed to be a total wipeout, and the manner of death was somewhat strange."

Theresis pointed at the map.

"That region is one of Babel's possible areas of activity. Given their ideals, it would be perfectly normal for their subordinates to step in and help."

"Perhaps Ascalon did it. She has improved."

Yet a trace of doubt flashed through his eyes.

According to the investigation sent back, nearly all the dead had had their heads severed by some unknown sharp weapon.

One of them had what appeared to be bite marks on his back. Something had bitten through his spine.

Even stranger was a face-to-face fusion.

Finally, their corpses had been scattered around the battlefield. The farthest one had only been found using Originium Arts.

Theresis did not doubt that a person could accomplish such things. He merely wondered—

Does my sister have someone that brutal under her command? That shouldn't be possible, should it?

But before he could think any further, the young Vampire beside him started talking.

"General, I do not understand. Why does Her Highness care about these inferior foreign races? It will only dirty her skirts."

"I have slaughtered hundreds of foreign races. They were so weak that a light tap of my fingertip could take their lives. Are we, who are so powerful, truly unworthy of Her Highness's regard?"

Yes, powerful.

Powerful enough to be driven from place to place. Once the masters of Terra, they now huddled within a single mobile city.

Theresis found it deeply ironic.

But no matter what, this was merely an ordinary matter.

Compared to the imminent military operation, it would probably soon be buried in the trash heap.

They were only the lives of several dozen Rim Billiton people. Death had never been scarce upon this cruel land.

Nor would anyone seek justice for the unknown.

Just as Theresis opened a sheet of paper and prepared to deal with the next batch of documents—

Boom!

With a deafening bang, the meeting room doors abruptly vanished.

Only after another loud crash did everyone notice the doors embedded in the wall, smoke rising from them.

Gripping his sword, Theresis looked toward the light.

There was a car, and atop it stood his long-unseen, somewhat nostalgic sister, waving lightly.

But it had not driven in.

Below it, a man in a white bodysuit held the car aloft as he slowly walked toward Theresis.

(To make it easier for everyone to follow the updates, future chapters will be posted around 9:30 p.m., still three to four chapters at a time. Please take note.)

Chapter 27: Am I Going to Die? Now? Here?

They had kicked down the door. What the hell were the guards outside doing?

What were they planning? An assassination? With this few people?

The thoughts flashed through Theresis's mind, and he chose to ask directly.

"Theresa, what are you here for?"

Theresa looked at her brother, an amused smile curling her lips.

She opened the car door, held down her skirt with both hands, and landed lightly on the ground on tiptoe.

"To greet you, reminisce, talk, perhaps even fight... Theresis, I have many ideas, but today, I am not the one taking the lead."

She turned sideways. As Leon set down the vehicle, the hem of her skirt swayed faintly.

From the open car door, Amiya's little feet swung back and forth before touching the ground.

The first person she saw was Theresis at the far end of the round table.

He had the same pink hair and horns as Miss Theresa, but his gaze was so sharp.

One look told her he was the fierce sort. Big Brother Leon was gentler.

It made her somewhat timid.

After all, she was just an ordinary Cautus girl, standing before the feared demons of Terra—and their general, a man second only to one and above tens of thousands.

She had come to question one of the world's foremost powerhouses over an attack that was insignificant to him.

Even as a victim, it was an utterly absurd thing to do.

This was a feat only possible with overwhelming individual strength to support it.

Thus, Leon stepped forward to bolster her courage.

"Listen carefully to what she has to say."

His calm voice echoed through the vast space.

This man is very strong. Perhaps not beneath me.

That was what Theresis thought as he shifted his attention to Leon.

That bearing could not be faked.

He seemed like the kind of person who would be difficult to persuade, yet emotionally steady, someone who would properly listen to what others had to say.

Among his sister's subordinates, there was the culprit behind the coalition of three nations and an Aegir who had crawled out of a freezer. At last, there was someone pleasing to the eye.

But just as he was about to speak, the young Vampire beside him acted up.

"Your Highness, what exactly are you thinking?"

"You actually brought this filthy group of foreign races into Kazdel City, atop the sacred furnace."

As he stepped forward, his gaze passed over Kal'tsit and the Doctor, then quickly darted away from Leon.

Finally, it settled on Amiya, his eyes growing increasingly vicious.

"You—"

Before he could finish, agonizing pain shot through his neck. After his vision blurred, it fixed upon the ceiling.

No matter how he twisted, he could not turn it back.

What happened to me? Did I get hit by the enemy's Arts?

As he struggled in confusion, his view moved again, as though someone had tossed him into the air.

As he spun, the Vampire caught a glimpse of—

His own headless body lying on the ground.

Huh?!

No one, including the Vampire's head, had reacted in time.

Even Theresis, whose dynamic vision was the strongest among those present as a close-combat fighter, was no exception.

In the blink of an eye, the young man who had just been standing there, calm and composed, vanished from his spot.

Following the sound of tearing, they saw him gripping the Vampire's head and ripping it apart as though tearing paper.

He then tossed it upward, caught it at a different angle, and met the Vampire's eyes.

"I told you—listen when my kid speaks. Are you deaf?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Leon watched the other's expression shift from confusion to shock, then terror.

Finally, at the peak of that terror, Leon crushed him with one hand.

Only then did the floor fragments kicked up by his high-speed movement seem to realize they were airborne.

They fell one after another.

So fast!

Theresis lowered his gaze to the sword at his waist. He had drawn less than a tenth of it.

His attack power and the Vampire's were worlds apart, but the gap in their defensive capabilities was not nearly so vast.

That meant if this man suddenly attacked, even he would have to...

His expression turned grave. At last, he understood the meaning behind his sister's expression.

So you came here to use your brother as a spinning top, is that it?

At the same time, Leon's arm suddenly accelerated, flinging off the mess stuck to it and splattering blood across the floor.

He looked at Theresis until the latter felt a chill creep up his neck.

"Shall we continue?"

"...Yes."

This time, Leon did not avoid things unsuitable for children. Since Amiya had said she wanted to fight, he had to use a different standard.

One percent of the Viltrum standard should be about right.

Amiya likewise did not disappoint the potential of the "Mightiest."

She stole a glance at the Vampire, then forced herself not to think about it and strode forward.

Keeping her voice as steady as possible, she recounted what had happened to her.

Having accepted that this absurd scene was real and not a dream, Theresis tried his best to cooperate.

"The Sarkaz have long grown accustomed to such things, but I will not deny it."

In his view, the rules of the world had always been like this. Reclaiming everything that belonged to them and avenging the wailing Many Souls were merely slogans.

He had never considered launching wars and reviving the Sarkaz to be acts of justice.

They wanted to survive, and survival was the highest form of righteousness.

It was simply that the retribution had arrived far faster than expected, and far more powerfully as well.

Retribution never fails...

Theresis continued.

"But what do you intend to do with me, Miss Amiya? An apology? Compensation? Or do you want me to pay blood for blood?"