Chapter 22: Are You Cheating on me ?

“Charge!”

Panic and carnage reigned. Two hundred and fifty demons—half their number—had already been slaughtered, helpless against their attacker.

The culprit was, without a doubt, the maid radiating that ominous aura.

Every instinct screamed danger. If this woman wasn’t killed now, she would one day be a threat to the Demon King himself.

Even from several meters away, her killing intent was palpable, a chilling aura that made their skin crawl.

“…An elite vampire? An Alpha? No, I’ve never seen a woman with such high-ranking traits. It’s like that time, ten years ago…”

The demon trailed off, frowning, focusing all his attention on the single woman.

If they overwhelmed her with numbers, they might still have a chance.

She must have expended a considerable amount of magic to maintain that massive barrier.

This was their chance, his chance.

‘If I take this woman’s head, Lord Baphomet will surely notice me.’

It would pave his way from Upper-Rank to Highest-Rank.

However, ten seconds later, he realized something.

The woman was the Highest-Rank.

“Keur륵, Die!!!! Die!!!! Die!!!!”

The screams echoed, but Yuria barely reacted, only raising an eyebrow in annoyance as if telling them to move.

“You are the ones who will die. But first… the demon wearing my Master’s skin.”

Yuria’s words were cut short by a spear hurled towards her. She effortlessly tore the demons blocking her path in half vertically.

Their blood formed a protective shield around her, strengthening her, never staining her clothes.

“I once dreamt of a human who would truly understand and accept me. I swore, as a child, that I would dedicate my everything to such a person. Until yesterday, I thought that childish dream had finally come true. But you… you took that dream from me.”

Her voice was flat, devoid of emotion. The demons instinctively prepared to attack.

They understood human speech. They sensed her heightened emotional state, and magic, especially powerful magic, became unstable with strong emotions.

Surrounded by dozens of enemies, her rambling seemed like a sign of carelessness.

“Love is dangerous. It hurts more than any wound, and there is no cure, no mention of one in any text. It is too easily lost. And today, I lost everything.”

A demon chuckled. Then, Yuria’s hand moved.

Without a word, she brutally ripped the head off the nearest demon, tossing it into the air.

A horrifying sight.

But it didn’t end there. The gushing blood sprayed out like thorns.

Her eyes glowed ever brighter, a crimson that pulsed with a long-suppressed power.

Perhaps it was the nature of the final boss.

Slaughter brought her exhilaration.

“Kaaaaah!!!!”

Impaled demons screamed.

Even a gigantic demon, dozens of times her size, had its head torn off with a single flick of her wrist.

And then…

She caught the neck of the demon who had ordered the charge.

“…Did you toy with my Master’s body?”

Her voice trembled, a sign of her overwhelming rage.

The Upper-Rank demon struggled, but an unseen force held him fast in the air.

He was about to be torn limb from limb.

“…Do you even know who I am to dare-“

She grabbed his arm. A simple grip for her, but his shoulder exploded, a geyser of blood. Shattered muscle and bone protruded from the wound.

Before the horrified demon could scream, Yuria spoke again.

“You tried to distract me, revive my Master, and ordered your kin to attack. Am I wrong?”

“Kaaaaah….!!!! My, my arm… You monster-”

Yuria sighed, grabbing the demon by the hair.

She ripped his head from his body, separating the neck and spine in a grotesque display.

“Demons who don’t understand words are disgusting. Well, I can find out myself.”

Her gaze, now as bright as the crimson moon, shifted to where Rachel and Ian had been.

Walking on a bridge formed by her familiars, Yuria moved through the air.

“My bloodlust has intensified recently. I tried so hard to control it. Master always warned me of the consequences if I harmed the nobles.”

Her eyes glowed, radiating an inhuman light.

Human? Demon? No, a power closer to a god.

“It was so… difficult. I couldn’t have done it without him.”

The handkerchief stained with Ian’s blood was now soiled with other blood, its original scent lost.

With an indifferent expression, she tossed it into the air and continued her approach.

“Don’t harm others and take their blood. I’ll give you some of mine, so…”

Demons, still following the charge order, rushed towards her.

Exactly three seconds later, they were torn apart by their former comrades, now under Yuria’s control.

“Control it? He’s… gone.”

Her power rivaled the Highest-Rank.

“…So I don’t have to hold back anymore?”

Yuria glanced at the sky.

His words echoed in her mind.

-Leave my personal maid alone. If you lay another hand on her, I’ll hang your head on the front gate.

-You can call me Ian.

-Lick it.

It was said that vampires awakened when they lost their first love.

A species prone to obsession and deep affection, Yuria’s love for him ran especially deep.

She chuckled.

The mere presence of a vampire was enough to send nobles scrambling for knights, screaming for its destruction.

Trust? Bonds? Affection? All lies. Her former vampire companions had all fallen for those sweet words and died.

But he…

“He said… I’m afraid of blood. Hmph,”

She couldn’t help but adore him.

His clumsy attempts to seduce her were both frustrating and endearing.

If only they were real, she would have dragged him to bed immediately. But that would never happen.

“His blood is gone now. It’s disgusting, but there’s no harm, and no one left to judge me, if I take it into my body.”

She admitted her thirst for blood had grown stronger recently.

But…

“Yuria?”

Why did that voice pierce her so deeply?

Yuria stopped, staring ahead.

The last vestiges of her reason snapped. Confusion and trembling filled her features.

“M…Master? How… No… why, how…”

“Rachel, wait here… I need to talk to Yuria-“

They had pet names for each other now?

Then it was a fake.

Her Master only had eyes for her.

“You’re a fake.”

“…What?”

“I was lonely. Hurt. How could you do this to me?”

He didn’t answer.

“I single-handedly defeated five hundred demons, the ones that woman couldn’t handle. So… so I deserve a better reward. Don’t you agree?”

“…Right?”

“Right? Don’t you have anything to say to me?”

It was a lie.

Yuria was lying through her teeth.

Her lips twitched, barely containing her joy.

Her eyes held a terrifying intensity. If he hesitated any longer, she would grab him and… well, drain him dry.

“I could use these captured demons to strengthen my forces… Or perhaps, you could officially introduce me as your wife at the banquet… or… well, you haven’t actually asked me to be your wife yet.”

Silence.

Rachel tilted her head, watching from behind.

Ian was trapped between two intense gazes, speechless.

Caught between a rock and a hard place.

But Yuria’s suffocating presence left him no choice but to nod frantically.

“…Master?”

“Y-yes. I did promise that. When do you want the ceremony? I’d prefer something private, just the two of us.”

“I want to announce our relationship to the world… but if that’s what you wish, I understand.”

She stepped closer.

“Master. We need to… create a ‘responsibility’ between us. Come here, please. You can’t just leave like that again. I’m sure you have no intention of making a young vampire a widow. Ah, and the Acting Head watching from behind? I will bear you the finest heir, so just watch quietly.”

…Responsibility?

Widow?

Yuria’s face beamed with happiness as she uttered those bewildering words.

[!?!?!!?!!Change in Final Boss (Yuria)’s Affection Level.]

[Increased to ‘Love.’ An eternal bond, like a chain, has been forged.]

[You can no longer escape Yuria’s grasp! Congratulations!! You have formed a bond with the most beautiful woman in this world. Now, let’s make a baby!]

Make a baby, my ass!

Even the notification window was losing its mind.

What am I… going to do…?

Like a pig being led to slaughter, Ian reached for Rachel as Yuria, giggling, grabbed his leg and dragged him away.

He doubted he would be able to get up tomorrow.

From blood loss, of course.