The Bloody Valkyrie

Unlike Mare, Shalltear did not have any abilities that allowed her to move the earth. Blowing it away with a shockwave carried the risk of the hole collapsing on itself.

He had gotten away.

The truth dawned on her. Shalltear, whose mind was dyed red, soon realized that she had failed her mission.

Fury twisted Shalltear’s face.

Why, why didn’t this human insect move according to her, Shalltear Bloodfallen, Nazarick’s Floor Guardian’s predictions?

She was going to let him give his worthless life for the good of Nazarick, why didn’t he understand and be happy about that?

As Shalltear was grinding her teeth, the vampire bride who was supposed to stand watch outside the cave spoke to her.

“— Shalltear-sama!”

Her temper flared at the servant that dared to abandon her watch without orders. Shalltear’s vision became momentarily dyed in red as she considered destroying her on the spot. With great effort, she calmed herself; it was important to hear what the vampire bride had to say, it may be important.

“Whaaaaaat iiisss iiittt?”

“A large group is heading this way.”

“Huuuuuuhh? Suuurrviiivooorrs? Thhheeeeen weeeee haaaavvvve to greeeeeet thheeem! Ahaha ahaha ahahaha!”

Part 4

Shalltear leapt forward. Like a bird flying through the dark, she landed on one foot on top of the barricade at the entrance of the cavern. Her servants, the two vampire brides, were slowly following her back up the entrance.

Shalltear wore a smile as she looked at the target.

She spotted a tightly formed group.

Leading the front were three men who looked to be warriors. Each of their equipment was different, but even the shabbiest looking one out of the bunch was wearing armor forged by overlapping many scales together: Scale Armor. Each man held a weapon in one hand and was carrying a shield on his back.

Behind them was a red-haired female warrior wearing banded armor. At the back of the group, protected by those in front, walked a lightly-dressed man holding a staff; most likely a magic caster. Beside him, walking side-by-side was a faith magic caster wearing a bishop’s garb over his armor. The man wore a pendant around his neck in the shape of a flame.

The group of six, despite being surprised by Shalltear’s sudden appearance from the cave, did not fall into confusion and maintained their guard. It was a reaction born from their experience.

“Nooooott baaaaaaadd.”

It wasn’t too bad to kill humans that were as weak as tofu, but having opponents that looked like they could actually put up a fight was much more interesting.

Shalltear smiled eagerly as her two crimson eyes glinted with expectation.

“It talke……!”

A look of shock flashed across the magic chanter’s face, but it was only for an instant. Having immediately regained his composure—

“Hostile might be a vampire! Only silver and magic weapons effective. Victory impossible! Retreat! Don’t look into its eyes!”

He shouted in a voice loud enough to be heard in the whole basin.

Having shouted only the important information, the response from the rest of the party was both prompt and swift. The three warriors at the front equipped their large shields and assumed a defensive stance. They did not stare at Shalltear’s face, instead trained their eyes on either her chest or abdomen. The female warrior behind them took each of their weapons and began to apply a coating. An unpleasant stench wafted to Shalltear’s nose.

Alchemical silver.

A special liniment crafted by alchemists; when coated on weapons, it forms a magical film around the blade that gives it an effect similar to silver.

A silver weapon was expensive. Not only that, they wore out much faster than weapons made of iron and couldn’t be used for very long. That’s why most adventurers choose to buy the alchemical silver instead, to use it when the need arises.

With their weapons now imbued with the properties of silver, the group began their retreat.

Even the way they fled was very impressive. The entire group moved as one, their movements orderly and in sync.

“My Lord, God of Flames—:

“It’s pointless! Focus on defensive magic!”

Having stopped the bishop from using his pendant, the magic caster began to focus his casting to the front of the group. The bishop also followed suit and restarted his chant.

Although it differs by class, in general, bishops use the power of God to suppress, destroy, and dominate beings like angels and demons. However, it was a method only effective against enemies whose magical energy was much lower than the caster’s. In other words, the bishop had attempted to cast a spell to suppress undead just now. The magic caster had instantly understood the strength difference between the monster and the bishop, and told him to not waste his energy and use it for something more effective instead.

Having deduced their leader from the flow within the group, Shalltear decided to follow her orders and capture them. But her heart was still clouded by the impulse to slaughter, to see more blood.