“Aachoo! Aachoo!”

—Why are you sneezing?

“Someone must be cursing at me.”

—That makes sense. Perhaps that princess is now cursing and chewing you out, no?

Illyna must have felt betrayed by what Davey did. However, it was better for her to not participate in this war as much as possible.

Because nothing good would come out for someone who was crazy for revenge? That was not it. Getting revenge was sweet. Fulfilling it neatly and finding one’s next goal in life would add vitality to one’s life.

What was it? ‘Sleeping on firewood and licking gallbladder’[1]? That old saying was not there for nothing.

—However, this kind of reckless battle will be hard to come by in the future.

Davey could do this again and again. However, the more they stayed in one place, the more advantage they would hand over to the other side. He watched as the allied forces turned around and left, bringing news of victory with them.

Then, he looked at the now ruined plain, stained with a sea of blood and littered with the dead bodies of the vampires, blood beasts, and the Demon World’s demonic beasts. If Davey moved in the name of the Saint earlier, now it was time for him to move as the Arch Necromancer.

Davey took out a small bottle of reagent from his pocket plane, poured the contents on the injured portions of the heads of some of the blood beasts, and stretched his palm over them.

[Revive]

A different magic to revive and turn someone into an undead from the Divine World’s resurrection magic unfolded. This was an incomplete and unfinished magic created by a necromancer who worked his entire life to try to save his wife. Even though he tried so hard to create this magic to save her, he still failed to use it on his wife. Why? Because he died.

Vwooooooong—

Davey did not care what the blood beasts looked like right now. The moment the dark mana shot out from his hand and dissolved in their bodies, the mangled corpses of the blood beasts sprang up like animatronics charged with electricity. They pranced around with ferocious momentum and energy leaking from their bodies before gathering in front of him and turning quiet.

“Go back to your home.”

‘Go. Bite them and infect everything. Don’t ever think that a zombie apocalypse is a disaster that only affects humans. I am going to send an express delivery of the special Abyss’ biomarker virus just for you, for you, and for you!’

Common sense would dictate that this virus, a virus that only targeted and affected vampires and the blood beasts related to them, should not have existed in this world. Such a selective virus was something that could only be seen in movies, and it was extremely inefficient and impractical.

But above all, the reason why this virus should never have existed in this world was because the rules of this world would never leave such an unconventional thing unattended. However, the creature from the abyss that Davey had obtained was a creature that lived on the other side of the coin and was something that could easily ignore the rules of this world.

Davey had found out about it while experimenting with the creature of the abyss and found that it could turn another into the undead. The problem was that the undead virus had turned into a zombie virus. Davey collected the virus reversed by the power that exempted it from the rules of this world and transformed it into a surprise gift for the vampires. The virus had a lot of side effects and was very, very dangerous. However, that was none of Davey’s business.

After watching the blood beasts disappear from his sight, Davey turned around and took out a communication crystal ball and tried to connect to someone on the other side.

—Davey, speaking of that black dragon… Can that child Reina handle it?

‘…I haven’t seen it in person, so I can’t tell. However, if it has the power of a real dragon, then there’s no way. But if that’s not the case then she has a chance.’

—Then, whether we like it or not, we will still have to face it?

“That’s why the World Tree is making a move.”

It was a tremendous burden for Al. However, with her presence, the dragon would not pose a problem. The reason Davey was able to defeat Yggdrasil was because he targeted its one weakness, its youth. But with Al, that weakness did not exist.

In this war, Davey intended to portray Reina as the protagonist, garnering praise from the entire continent. Reina\'s mere existence would attract the attention of all nations, and her actions would have a significant impact on the continent. If they continued using this strategy a few more times, Reina might be capable of accomplishing it on her own. Although it was unexpected, monopolizing the attention of the entire continent seemed troublesome to Davey. However, Reina had worked hard to gain recognition and praise as a Warrior, and she deserved the rewards she would receive.

“It’s me, Davey.”

[Member Davey! We have been waiting for you to contact us.]

“The preparations on our side are already done.”

[Our side has already started to move too. We have been attacking them by surprise and using guerilla tactics to infect them with the virus. If I were to be honest, this feels a bit strange.]

The man on the other side seemed a bit skeptical about the inhumane method that they were using in this war.

“The more the teachers and the knight order do their best, the more humans will be able to live and survive in the continent. So, I will leave it to you.”

[I understand.]

The humans on the continent were unaware of the existence of the Alpha Reinforcements Knight Order. That\'s why the knight order decided to continue hiding and assisting behind the scenes. They operated covertly, obstructing the enemies\' path and planting the virus along the way. This way, no one would recognize their contributions. However, they had chosen this path because their secret organization was built for that sole purpose.

Davey initially wanted to reveal the existence of Alpha Reinforcements to the world, but he respected their wishes and refrained from doing so. He knew that the noble and honorable knight order would quickly succumb to corruption if they became involved in politics and worldly desires.

***

"Davey, you rotten bastard! How could you do this to me?!" Illyna fumed inside the empty hut, her body trembling. She hurriedly stopped her swinging hands, which had narrowly missed hitting the wooden table in her room. Luckily, it wasn\'t Caldeiras.

Swooosh!

However, it was too late to stop the swing completely. She had cut off a corner of the wooden table with the sharp blade of her sword. Illyna continued to fume, anger weighing heavily on her chest.

Illyna was caught off guard when she was informed that she was on probation. Her brother, who resided in the imperial palace, had suddenly sent his troops to raid the small and peaceful hut where Belial was staying. Illyna, who regularly brought food and medicine to Belial, arrived at the hut too late. By the time she got there, Belial had already fled.

In reality, there was no reason for her to keep the demon by her side. She had brought him along merely because she saw him in danger of dying when she found him. Even if Belial\'s injuries were not completely healed, she knew he wouldn\'t die since he had reached the Sword Master level.

However, she had grown fond of the demon. He listened intently to her stories, and she considered him a good friend. Belial had become a companion in a slightly different sense from Davey.

Illyna never intended to let the demon go like this, so she was endlessly frustrated. She immediately confronted her brother and argued with him. Her brother claimed that he went there because he had heard that Illyna was harboring a foul being, which violated and tarnished the dignity and pride of the imperial family. And indeed, he found Belial there.

In the end, Illyna was reprimanded for her actions that undermined the prestige and honor of the imperial family and was locked up in the imperial palace.

Of course, Belial had escaped. However, thanks to the experience she gained after spending a long time with that crazy bastard, Illyna was able to deduce the true culprit who had brought her into this situation. It was none other than Davey O\'Rowane. The rotten bastard had gone to her brother, Sullivan, and divulged everything about Belial. Because of that, she was now unable to leave the imperial palace.

Why would that bastard do such a thing? Even after pondering deeply, Illyna couldn\'t figure it out. No, she had no way of knowing the true reason.

It was all a ploy to make it easier for Belial to leave her side after Davey struck a deal with the demon. They also planned to tie her to the imperial palace, knowing that she would immediately rush out upon hearing that their enemies this time were vampires.

As a regular human, Illyna couldn\'t infer such things, even with the clue in her hands.

[You have to calm down, Illyna. Anyway, he’s supposed to leave. Right?]

“I’m not mad at Belial! It’s Davey! That bastard hit me on the back of the head. Does that bastard get antsy if he can’t torment and harass me for just a single day?!”

At Illyna’s cry, Caldeiras answered with a murmur, [I’ve heard this from Ares before. He said that kids like teasing and bullying the one that they like.]

“…” Illyna turned stiff at Caldeiras’ words.

[Perhaps that guy, Davey, is like that too?]

A deep shade of red appeared on Illyna\'s cheeks at that question. However, she immediately shook her head and said, "Who said I\'m interested in him?! I don\'t care about that bastard anymore."

[Hmm… Really?]

“That’s right.”

[You always told me that lying is bad, but…]

Illyna blushed even darker at Caldeiras\' sigh. She looked like a child caught in the act.

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Davey had casually visited her, but he immediately noticed that she felt uncomfortable in a few places after her intensive training. He used the excuse of wanting to touch her to give her massages, but he honestly did it to help resolve her problems.

If Illyna were to be honest, Davey had helped her a lot. But when she wanted to repay him, he refused. In fact, he firmly rejected her spontaneous proposal.

Illyna believed she had moved on from that rejection since a considerable amount of time had passed. However, she still felt a different kind of emotion every time she saw him. And because of that, she couldn\'t shake off the complicated feelings she had for him.

“Your Highness! Your Highness!”

Illyna, who sat in frustration on her chair, slowly placed the cup of tea in her hand on the table. She tilted her head in confusion as her personal maid rushed in urgently.

“Have, have you heard the news?! There, there are vampires! A monster called a vampire has appeared…”

News traveled fast in the Imperial Palace. However, Illyna had received the news late.

“What…do you mean by that?” Illyna jumped up from her seat as she asked her maid with a serious look on her face.

The maid gasped in shock and hurriedly relayed the news that she had heard outside. Four days ago, at the southernmost end of the Western Continent, a dragon and an entire army of monsters appeared and completely wiped out two nations. To address this army threat, a Continental Alliance Conference was held.

During the conference, they discovered that their enemies were vampires and demons. They subsequently declared war on the entire continent to achieve their own goals.

With Davey leading the charge, they brought forth Warrior Reina, a beautiful woman with sky-blue hair, and appointed her as the commander of the allied army. The reason why a woman with no notable accomplishments could attain such a position was probably because of Davey\'s intervention.

However, that was not Illyna\'s primary concern. She was entirely focused on another matter.

“V-Vampires? The vampires came out in the sun?”

The maid nodded with fear in her eyes when she noticed Illyna’s strange fixation.

Baaaang!!!

Illyna immediately transformed Caldeiras into a brooch, pinned it onto her clothes, and rushed out. However, the moment she opened the door, five or six knights, along with her brother, blocked her path.

“Get out of the way, brother.”

“You cannot go out, Illyna.”

“You dared to meddle with the news that flows into the princess’ palace. It seems like you’re out of your mind to dare use our empire’s funds and talents on something so trivial?”

“Oh, you shouldn’t worry about that. I used my own money for that.”

“Let me out. I will join the war.”

“The authority to lead White Bird has been temporarily transferred to me. You. Stay here and wait.”

“I also want to go and fight!!!” Illyna cried loudly, “Brother… You obviously know how our beloved mother had died, so why…”

Sullivan sighed lightly and approached Illyna. Then, he said quietly, “Are you going to waste Prince Davey’s efforts to keep you out of harm\'s way?”

When Illyna flinched, Sullivan continued, “He might seem like a cold-hearted man, but he’s a good man who protects the people that he holds dear. Let me ask you this, Illyna. Do you think that such a strong and powerful person like Prince Davey has tied you up in this place just for a simple reason?”

"It\'s my life, so it should be my choice," Illyna retorted, her voice carrying a chilly tone as she tried to pass her brother.

"He, too, has lost his mother. Think about it. Consider why he stopped you from seeking revenge," Sullivan spoke briefly, passing by Illyna, who had come to a halt, and leaving her room.

In the end, all Illyna could do was tremble and collapse on the spot. She curled up and sobbed pitifully. How hard had she trained with her sword just to kill those vampires? She had even joined Alpha Reinforcements to gather information about them. And now they were telling her to stay put, relinquish her sword, and watch as the vampires openly revealed themselves?

“Davey… You’ve got the wrong person. Caldeiras, didn’t you tell me that you can find out Davey’s location as long as you wanted to?”

[Well, yes, since Per is sealed in his stigmata.]

“Please find him for me.”

Destroying the vampires was Illyna\'s lifelong goal, and no one would be able to stop her from achieving it.

1. a saying that refers to nursing vengeance and remembering the humiliation they suffered. ☜