"Hahaha!"
Rei Ao suddenly started laughing.
That laughter wasn't jarring to the ears, yet it made Krul Tepes feel a chill creep through her. In that laughter, there seemed to be a sort of pleasure that transcended her comprehension, like a higher-dimensional being amusedly watching ants fight.
"Excellent, truly excellent."
Rei Ao clapped his hands lightly.
"Krul Tepes, I'm quite satisfied with your haughty little Q&A session. How about…becoming my servant?"
"That way, not only can you survive, but I can also grant you one wish."
Krul froze in place.
She'd considered countless possibilities—being killed, tortured, turned into some weapon—but she never anticipated anything like this.
"Become a servant? Fulfill a wish?"
Just what is this overwhelmingly powerful existence up to?
"…Are you joking?"
Krul forced herself to speak, though her tone was strained.
"Someone as strong as you doesn't need any servant at all. Moreover—"
Moreover, the proud Vampire Queen would never yield to anyone.
Rei Ao finished her sentence for her.
"But, have you really considered this, Krul? What is it you truly want? Revenge? Power? Or—"
He suddenly leaned down and pressed a finger to her forehead.
For an instant—
Krul's vision was flooded by countless images.
She saw herself standing atop the ruins of a human city, vampire nobles kneeling under her feet.
She saw herself holding a blood-stained longsword, facing trembling human children.
She saw Ashera's shattered body in a glass tank in some laboratory…
"Stop it!"
Krul stumbled back a step, chest heaving violently.
"You're probing my memories!"
"That isn't memory, Krul," Rei Ao said calmly.
"Those are possibilities—your innermost possible desires."
Krul's hands trembled uncontrollably.
She realized, with a jolt, that perhaps this man really could grant her deepest, darkest wish.
Whether that was resurrecting her brother or ending this absurd war, or anything else.
"…Why me?"
At last, Krul asked the key question.
"Why choose me to…serve you?"
Rei Ao's expression held a mysterious light.
"Because you harbor enough hatred, yet also enough clarity of mind. Most importantly—"
He leaned close to her ear, speaking softly:
"Among all these vampires, only your body and soul shine with such a captivating color."
"Mmm, in plain terms, you're very beautiful, and I like that."
The night wind over the battlefield suddenly went still.
Krul felt her heart— that organ which had stopped beating for centuries—start pounding again.
"I…need time to think."
Krul managed to utter.
Rei Ao straightened, reverting to that aloof expression.
"Of course."
"But—"
He snapped his fingers.
At that moment, on the battlefield, among the many kneeling humans and vampires, those harboring malicious intent—whether humans or vampires—abruptly exploded into a mist of blood.
Some of them had been part of Krul's own vampire forces.
"My patience is limited, little vampire."
"You—!"
Krul's fangs were fully bared, and a crimson aura began converging around her.
"That's your response?"
Rei Ao seemed somewhat disappointed.
"I thought you'd be more rational, Krul Tepes."
Krul's attack stance froze in place.
She realized, in terror, that even if she fought with everything she had, she couldn't possibly harm this being in the slightest. Worse, any resistance might incite a total purge against the entire vampire race.
Gradually, the crimson aura dissipated.
Krul bowed her head, pink hair veiling her expression.
"…I accept your terms."
Rei Ao nodded in satisfaction.
"A wise choice."
He extended a hand; a complex golden rune manifested in his palm.
"All right then, the contract is established."
The rune shot into Krul's chest, merging with her body.
In an instant—
Krul felt an ancient, immense power flow through her blood, and at the same time, deep within her soul, there formed an unbreakable shackle.
"From now on, you are my property, Krul Tepes."
Rei Ao's voice echoed directly in her mind.
"And as a first gift…"
Rei Ao snapped his fingers again.
On the battlefield, space began to distort. Suddenly, all the kneeling soldiers and vampire nobles vanished without a trace, leaving behind a desolate plain littered with weapons.
"Where…did they go?" Krul asked in alarm.
"I just sent them back," Rei Ao replied casually, walking toward a newly opened spatial rift.
"Temporarily, there'll be a truce. Judgment will come later. We have more important tasks ahead, my little vampire."
Krul hesitated briefly, but in the end, followed Rei Ao. They headed over to where Hiiragi Shinoa was.
Shinoa gazed at Krul with some wariness, but, trusting Rei Ao, she turned to him and asked, "Rei Ao, what do you intend to do now?"
"Why, obviously fulfill your stated wish of bringing peace to this world."
Rei Ao chuckled. "But you'd best discuss it with everyone in the group to form some kind of plan."
"…?"
Krul felt confused. She'd heard him mention he came at someone's request for world peace.
She looked Shinoa over—just an ordinary human, or so it appeared. What was so special about her?
"All right. I'll do that. But before that…"
Shinoa looked at the figures behind Rei Ao—girls in Imperial Demon Army uniforms, each with a distinct look on her face and seeming a bit dazed.
"You left them behind, presumably? So what now?"
"Heh." Rei Ao glanced behind him:
Sangu Aoi, Sangu Mitsuba, Hanayori Sayuri, Yukimi Shigure, Juno Mito, Inoue Rika, Endo Yayoi…
One by one, a carefully chosen group of beautiful girls. One can always trust a certain big shot's taste.
With a playful, easy smile, he said, "Having done so much, I deserve some enjoyment, don't I?"
~~~
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