"And the most troublesome of all… is the Holy Tribunal Church.
They investigate any form of heretical power to the bitter end.
If we can't give them a reasonable explanation, we might even attract the attention of a junior bishop from the capital."
"A junior bishop, huh? What kind of power level are we talking about?"
"On paper, they're only at the level of a magister. But church transcendents are known to be able to defeat anyone of the same rank—sometimes even fight above their level."
"So you're saying, even if you and Arwin joined forces, it would still be hard to handle one?"
Sebas nodded, then continued, "Moreover, the Church has a special method of relaying information. Even if we silence them, the message will still reach the higher-ups quickly."
"So what you're saying is—we need to hand over the murderer's body."
Hel rubbed his chin, thinking.
"Exactly as you're thinking, young master."
Sebas pointed to a map of the duchy hanging on the conference room wall and began explaining.
"The Heim territory is a small region, not far from the duchy's capital, and located right next to the Watch Wall and the Monster Forest.
A chaotic place like this is the last spot those big shots in the capital want to bother with.
As long as anyone who used heretical powers ends up dead, they won't care about what really happened here."
So the question became—which murderer to hand over.
There had been three invaders in the castle: the Death Witch Youming, the vampire girl Rose, and the undead knight.
The corpses of Youming and the undead knight couldn't be used.
Even though they'd turned to ash, their identities were too sensitive—someone might still find traces in the remains.
That left only one option: the vampire girl, Rose.
Conveniently, when creating the blood bats earlier, Hel had drained a bunch of people dry.
Their mummified corpses looked just like the work of a vampire.
On the other hand, the remaining walking corpses inside the castle were a bit suspicious.
After all, no one's ever heard of vampires summoning zombies.
"Lily, can you make blood thralls? Using the walking corpses?"
Hel turned to her after a brief silence.
"I can… but converting undead into blood thralls—"
"They don't need to be strong. I just need them to have the weaknesses of blood thralls."
"In that case… it should be possible."
"Good. Let's give it a try."
…
Morning came, and the city of Heim was as peaceful as ever.
In a small barracks room beneath the castle walls,
Captain Layman shoved the woman sleeping beside him away, rubbed his bleary eyes, and shouted toward the door:
"What time is it?"
"Sir Layman, it's already eight in the morning!" came the guard's voice from outside.
"Haah~ already morning?"
Layman stretched and began putting on his clothes lazily, grumbling the whole time:
"Damn this job, damn this countryside… even the women here are all ugly as sin."
He pulled a silver coin from his pocket and tossed it onto the bed.
"Keep the change."
"But, sir, it's still—"
"Hm?"
"N-nothing, sir. Thank you, sir."
Watching the prostitute scramble out in a panic, Layman cursed again:
"Why hasn't that bastard Hel died yet?
A full-fledged knight of the Mandrake Order like me, stuck babysitting some spoiled brat in this backwater.
He really deserves to die."
Grumbling, he left the room and looked at the tired knights gathered outside.
"Let's go. Time to check if our young lord's finally kicked the bucket.
After the report, everyone meet me at the Flower Street in the south. Today's drinks are on me!"
"Long live the boss!"
At the mention of free drinks, the knights suddenly perked up.
But when Layman and his men arrived at the castle's main building, they froze.
At some point, the entire structure had been sealed within a dome of black magic.
"This is… a Nightveil Barrier? That's high-level black magic—has a heretic infiltrated?"
Layman, as the second son of a noble family and a knight of the Mandrake Order, had enough knowledge to recognize it instantly.
Which meant one thing—Lord Hel was as good as dead.
And his own career was finished.
He was the official protector sent by Duke Mandrake,
and also the captain of Heim's city guard.
Letting a heretic break into the castle and kill his charge was an unforgivable failure.
"Damn it! Why couldn't the heretics have come a few days later?"
Layman clawed at his hair in frustration.
According to the plan, Hel was supposed to die slowly from poison.
Layman would then step up, seize control, and eliminate the Heim family's remaining loyalists—
a perfect setup for him to return to the capital as a celebrated knight.
But now…
"Damn it all, everything's ruined!"
He punched the barrier in fury, but it didn't even ripple.
Then, suddenly, an idea struck him. His eyes lit up.
"No, wait… maybe there's still hope! Quick, bring Father Gerhard here!"
Time passed, and soon a group of people came rushing over.
At their head was a kindly-looking, plump priest,
followed by two clerics and a squad of church knights.
"Heavens! What in the world has happened here?"
From a distance, the fat priest's overly dramatic voice could be heard.
When he got closer and saw the black dome sealing the castle, he actually stumbled back a few steps in shock.
"Merciful Lord of Light! A Nightveil Barrier—it's a high-level undead incursion?! How could this happen!?"
"Father Gerhard, now's not the time for that. Shouldn't we try to open the barrier and rescue the Count?"
Layman was in no mood for the priest's theatrics.
Hel's life was tied directly to his own career—he only cared about one thing: could Hel be saved, and how?
"Break the seal? Sir Layman, are you mad?"
Gerhard immediately backed away again, keeping a safe distance from Layman.
But quickly he composed himself, putting on a look of calm authority.
"Sir Layman, this situation is beyond my ability to handle. I must report it to the Church.
For the safety of Heim's ten thousand citizens, could I trouble you to stand guard here and ensure that… nothing comes out?"
"I… I…"
"Tonio, Vivian," Gerhard ordered, turning to the two clerics.
"You two set up a secondary defensive barrier outside. I'll need to return to the chapel immediately."
"Yes, Father Gerhard."
"Oh, and be careful—don't do anything that might provoke whatever's inside."
But the moment he said that, the Nightveil Barrier began to tremble violently.
Before anyone could react, it shattered into countless shards with a deafening boom.
Then, before the stunned crowd could even process what had happened,
the great doors of the castle burst open from the inside.
Out stepped a striking female knight with light golden hair, carrying someone in her arms—the very man who owned this castle: Count Hel.