A coffin sat alone in the vast hall, drenched entirely in blood.
'...A vampire?'
The thought came naturally as I stared at it. In novels and comics back on Earth, vampires popped up pretty often, usually depicted sleeping inside coffins like this.
Vampires were just fictional creatures from stories on Earth, but after confirming the existence of demons and magic here, a vampire suddenly appearing wouldn't feel out of place at all.
"Rio. Any chance of vampires... or whatever they're called here. You know, a race that drinks blood, manipulates it, lives in coffins?"
"Hmm... I've never heard of a race like that!"
I asked just in case, but her answer wasn't satisfying. Was Rio unaware, or did vampires truly not exist here...?
'Better not touch what I don't understand.'
I deliberately skirted the coffin in the center and searched the spacious hall. What I discovered was that the interior was structured like a temple.
'A massive statue in the center, murals on the walls that I can't make out because they're covered in blood... and what looks like decayed bookshelves.'
The quest mentioned "Demon God's Ruins," so was this a temple dedicated to some being called the Demon God? But why a coffin smack in the middle of a temple...? No, don't get curious. In horror flicks, messing with a lone coffin in a place like this always ends badly.
'Still, scouting like this is gonna be tough.'
Everything was caked in blood, making proper investigation impossible no matter where I looked. With a sigh, I pulled out the [High-Pressure Cleaner] again. Unlike the corridor earlier, this hall was pretty wide, so once I cleaned it up a bit, there should be plenty of room to rest.
"What should I do?"
"Hmm... you..."
I was about to tell her to just rest, but before I could finish, Rio made a sullen face, so I changed my words.
'Come to think of it, Rio's Red Demon Tribe trait allows [Incinerator] use, right?'
Recalling the racial trait attached to "Red Demon Tribe" in Rio's profile when I opened the [Employee Management] window, I rummaged through my inventory and pulled out the 'Incinerator'.
-[Incinerator (Lv. Max)]: An incinerator for burning combustible trash! Always be careful around fire!
In the Cleaning Game, the 'Incinerator' was less equipment and more of a 'facility.' During cleanups, huge trash piles would occasionally appear, and processing them via shredders or incinerators counted as part of the job, hence its existence.
'Normally, 'employees' couldn't use facilities like this, right?'
Unlike low-level gear I could buy and equip on them, only the player could operate incinerators or shredders. It wasn't a hassle since I could just sell valuables from the [Collection List] and dump the rest...
"What's this?"
"It's called an incinerator... Rio, try pressing that button."
"Okay!"
Rio approached the incinerator and pressed the button. The trash chute closed automatically, and soon, crimson flames flickered through the cracks.
"Whoa..."
"It actually works."
I even handed her the [High-Pressure Cleaner] to test, but unlike when I held it, nothing happened. So only the 'Incinerator' was usable for her? Well, at least she had a job now.
"Rio, can you pick up any burnable trash around the hall and toss it in there?"
"Burnable trash?"
"Like rotted planks, scattered rotten branches or leaves... stuff like that."
"Got it! I'll do my best, mister! No, Master!"
"Master?"
The last title Rio used caught my attention, but seeing her enthusiastically gather rotten branches with her small frame despite it, I let it slide and activated the [High-Pressure Cleaner].
-Kwa-gaga-gak...
'This stuff is stubborn.'
What I realized was that the blood stuck to this hall was ridiculously hard to remove. The blood on the outer door had been tough too, but the splattered mess here clung tenaciously. Even with [Detergent (Blood)], it was a struggle.
Still, persistent spraying wore it away eventually.
"Heave-ho. Heave-ho..."
Meanwhile, Rio diligently hauled rotten wood chunks to the incinerator. Once enough trash had piled up, she pressed the button on the magic tool—incinerator, as Master had called it.
-Fwoosh!
"Whoaaa..."
Flames purer than any fire Rio had ever seen in her life erupted from within, cleanly devouring the blood-soaked wood chunks laced with demonic energy.
'Even greater than the village elders' flames...'
The Red Demon Tribe was born with an innate ability to wield fire. Thus, they were more sensitive to its essence than any other race on the continent. Even to Rio, one of them, the blaze from this 'Incinerator' felt extraordinary.
'If only I could wield flames like this...'
She put on a cheerful front for her benefactor—the mister, no, Master—but gazing at the fire stirred thoughts of her fellow Red Demons in the village, filling her with gloom. Memories surfaced of the massacre, her own powerlessness amid the slaughter.
'If only I could control this fire...'
Staring at the flames, then resuming her task of gathering scattered wood, Rio's mind brimmed with visions of that blaze.
"Ow!"
Perhaps lost in thought, she overlooked a rusty nail embedded in a chunk she grabbed, scraping her hand.
"What happened?"
Hearing Rio's sharp cry, I rushed over.
"My hand..."
"Tch... rusty nail in the wood? Sorry, Rio."
I'd thought gathering wood scraps would be easy and safe, but she got hurt... My mistake. I should've just let her rest, sullen or not.
-Drip...
Frantically scrolling the [Shop] window for bandages or plasters to treat her finger, wondering if I'd need the [Employee Management] recovery function as a last resort—then a drop of blood welled from Rio's finger and fell to the floor.
-Plop...
Just a single drop of blood. But pure, untainted blood from a young girl's pristine body.
A scant few drops trickled out.
-...Clunk...
That faint blood scent triggered a response from the coffin at the hall's center.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
While searching for a way to treat Rio, an ominous sound rang in my ears.
'...No way...?'
I stiffly turned toward the noise. The hall's center. Where the solitary coffin stood. It was...
-Kreeeeak...
The lid was opening.
'I didn't even touch it?'
Why was it opening now? Feeling wronged, I gripped my lifeline—the [High-Pressure Cleaner]—and stood. Part of me wanted to bolt, but the [Cleaning Area] wouldn't let me flee far, so I just stared it down instead.
-Thud!
The lid fully slid off and crashed to the ground. Then, a figure rose from within.
"Haa... such a fragrant scent..."
A clear, melodic voice. Stretching languidly to loosen her stiff body revealed skin as white as milk. Long silver hair cascading to her waist. Pointed fangs glimpsed between a sigh and a dainty yawn.
Finishing her yawn, the mysterious woman slowly extricated herself from the coffin. Her bewitching red eyes gleamed as she fixed her gaze on the frozen me and Rio.
"A Red Demon... and a half-demon? Did you two wake me?"
She appraised us casually, seeing right through us... almost. I'm human.
"...Who are you?"
Instead of denying her words, I tightened my grip on the [High-Pressure Cleaner] and asked, ready to blast water at a moment's notice.
"Hmm... answering a question with another... I should punish you, but..."
She frowned in displeasure and lightly waved her hand.
-Shwoooosh!!!
"What the...?!"
"Gotta fill my belly first... Hm?"
With a casual flick, the blood strewn across the room swirled into a vortex, converging on her. The viscous fluid vaporized into mist, then absorbed straight into her body.
But the woman who performed this bizarre miracle wore a dissatisfied expression.
"...What is this? I clearly filled this room with my highly refined blood essence. Why so little...?"
'...Blood essence?'
Like the room's blood wasn't enough for her. But if it was this room's blood...
'...I cleaned it up.'
I'd been scrubbing it away just moments ago.
"...Your doing?"
The displeased woman glared fiercely at us. Matching her mood, blood seeped from her body, pooling and slowly expanding.
"...No, it wasn't."
In the ominous atmosphere, I denied it first. But she pointed at the incinerator behind us.
"Purifying my blood right in front of me, you say?"
'...Purifying?'
Looking back, bloodied wood chunks burned inside the incinerator. Now that I thought about it, the blood in here hadn't moved like the rest...
"How dare you tamper with my blood essence and lie to my face...!!"
As I grimaced at the incinerator, her face twisted demonically. She manipulated the blood, raising a massive wave.