Chapter 22
It was like a second sun had risen inside the room.
That alone was terrifying—
but then, two bloodcurdling screams rang out.
And… was that the sound of something burning?
Fwoooosh!
No, she hadn’t imagined it. Something really was on fire.
Blinking her stinging eyes, Ariella tried to make sense of what was happening.
Stop! This is my magic—why won’t it stop? Just stop already!
Even when she tried to cut off the spell, the mana she had drawn from Ludwig kept pouring through her like a raging river.
…Fwap!
It was a while before she finally managed to end the magic.
Only then did Ariella open her eyes again.
“Ah, that scared me… I really can’t keep doing this every time. Anyway, why does it smell like… oh no!”
She jumped to her feet.
What the heck is this?!
On either side of her bed lay two pitch-black, charred corpses.
Tiny flames still flickered around them, and wisps of gray smoke curled into the air.
“Hmm… vampires,” Richmond, the lich, said as he stepped into Ariella’s room.
“Vampires?”
Ludwig, looking pale and hollow-eyed, repeated the word sharply.
Of course, Ludwig had been the first to notice something was wrong.
One moment he’d been asleep—
and the next, his mana had been drained in a sudden rush.
At least this time he didn’t pass out like before. Ariella had stopped the spell before it completely overwhelmed him.
So instead of fainting in his bed, Ludwig had run straight to her room.
The castle’s head butler, Gruve, and the lich Richmond, who had been in his underground lab, soon followed.
All of them saw the same thing:
two burnt corpses sprawled across the floor.
After hearing Ariella’s explanation, Richmond said,
“Light magic… so that’s what killed these vampires.”
“What?” Ludwig frowned.
“They died from a spell that’s only supposed to make light?”
Richmond poked and rolled the charred remains with his staff.
“Hoho… You forget, because we’re in the Demon Realm, but vampires cannot walk under the real sun. Not in the human world.”
Ludwig’s eyebrows rose—clearly, this was news to him.
But Ariella and Gruve already knew.
“Oh, right. In the human world, vampires only move around at night. I always wondered why here in the Demon Realm they walk around during the day…”
“That’s because the Demon Realm’s ‘sun’ isn’t real,” Richmond explained.
“It’s a magical construct—an imitation created by the Demon King’s power.”
That’s why Bephar and the other vampires could go about their business even during the day here.
Only in the Demon Realm.
Richmond then pieced together what must have happened.
“When the contract holder—Lady Ariella—cast Light magic, she must have drawn an enormous amount of mana from the Demon King again.”
Ludwig confirmed it immediately.
“Yeah. I felt it being ripped out of me.”
“That much mana, condensed into one spell… The heat and brightness would have been amplified. The result likely mimicked the real sun of the human world.”
Everyone fell silent.
The real sun?
“Yes,” Richmond said. “Not the fake sun here—but the kind that can burn vampires to ash. This is the first time I’ve seen such an effect. It’s worth studying further.”
His voice brimmed with curiosity.
But Ludwig seemed less interested in why it happened and more in who it happened to.
“So they burned to death because they were vampires.”
“Too charred to know exactly who, but yes—the species is clear.”
Ludwig’s eyes hardened, sharp with killing intent.
Every vampire in his territory lived together in one mansion.
And its master was—of course—Bephar.
“So you can’t tell who they are? Then I’ll just go find out myself.”
His hand tightened on the sword hilt he’d already grabbed before running here.
He didn’t expect every vampire to be sitting nicely at home—
but this was reason enough to act.
I’ve been holding back from cutting his head off. Now he’s given me the perfect excuse.
Without hesitation, Ludwig ordered his soldiers to gather.
“We march now.”
In case Bephar tried a counterattack, Richmond stayed behind to guard the inner castle.
Ulken was still stationed at the border, watching for the recent surge of orc raids.
So Ludwig would go without his main retainers—just him and the soldiers—straight to Bephar’s mansion.
Seeing this, Ariella stepped forward.
“I’m coming with you!”
Both Richmond and Gruve protested instantly—it was far too dangerous.
If she died in battle, Ludwig would die too because of their contract.
But for some reason, Ludwig agreed.
“You’re taking the contract holder? Really?” Richmond asked.
“She started this,” Ludwig said. “She has the right to see it through to the end.”
Their eyes met in the air—Demon King and human.
If it weren’t for Ariella, they never would have uncovered Bephar’s plot.
And her killing two vampires had given them the most solid proof yet.
It wasn’t just recognition of her role—
it was Ludwig acknowledging her as someone who could stand beside him on the battlefield.
Ariella was almost stunned at how easily he agreed.
He muttered as if to himself,
“…Like I said before—wherever it is, I can protect at least you. Battlefield or not.”
From there, things moved quickly.
Ariella, Ludwig, and the demon soldiers soon reached Bephar’s mansion.
The soldiers spread out, surrounding it so no one could escape.
The cold night air was charged with tension.
For Ariella, who had never seen a battle like this, it was an unfamiliar, heavy atmosphere.
“Hm?”
At the main gate, Ludwig’s brows knit together.
“This bastard…”
Even before they had fully blocked it off, the mansion’s atmosphere was wrong.
The main gate was locked tight, and red glowing eyes gleamed in the shadows beyond.
Ariella knew exactly what they were.
Vampires!
It looked like they had taken up defensive positions throughout the mansion grounds.
They already knew the Demon King was coming.
Ludwig’s voice rang out.
“Bephar! I’m here in person—open the gate and show yourself!”
“…”
Silence. Only cold stillness answered him.
“They’re quick to figure things out,” Ariella muttered.
If the assassins hadn’t returned, it didn’t take much to guess what had happened.
Ludwig nodded slightly.
It seemed Bephar and his clan had already prepared for a siege.
But Ludwig had no patience left for their arrogance.
“Talk’s over.”
He raised one hand.
There was no second warning, no threat of what would happen if they refused to open the gate.
Instead, Ludwig acted.
Fwoooom!
The air swelled with raw mana, and Ariella’s eyes widened.
She had seen him use magic before—but never this strong.
BOOOOM!
A wild firestorm exploded from Ludwig’s fingertips.
Blinding light seared her vision, and a deafening blast shook the air. Ariella flinched and closed her eyes for a moment.
A hot wind whipped her hair into the air.
Rumble…!
The shockwave made the ground and air tremble. Even the demon soldiers behind him staggered in surprise.
“Wow…” Ariella breathed as she opened her eyes again.
The massive gates that had stood before them were gone—completely obliterated.
Sizzle… sizzle…
The walls on either side had been torn apart, the earth itself scorched into deep red trenches.
Ludwig had swept away the barrier in one strike.
His command was short, hard, and final:
“Attack!”
The demon soldiers roared and charged forward.
