Chapter 23: Must Survive

Fifteen minutes before the incident…

Revived, Ian’s first thought upon seeing the chaos outside was: I’m f*cked

His second: the nobles still asleep in the banquet hall.

If these high-ranking individuals went missing or turned up dead within the Britina estate, it would be game over. If even one woke up due to the magical disturbance and saw the carnage, there would be no way to contain the situation. He couldn’t let them live, meaning he had to consider eliminating them or finding another solution.

‘…If things escalate to that point, even Rachel won’t be able to handle it.’

As Ian ran towards the banquet hall, he was intercepted.

Demons had fled inside the mansion.

“…Damn it.”

He expended precious energy using his remaining magical tools and formulas to dispatch the gorilla-like creatures.

The dizziness from blood loss returned, intensified by the crashing sounds from outside. He pushed himself harder.

More demons were appearing.

What was happening out there to make them flee in terror?

He was already battered after facing just two Low-Rank demons.

His dantian was on the verge of permanent damage from magical overload. Continuing to use unfamiliar formulas and drawing on Rachel’s trait would push it over the edge.

His body was riddled with wounds, barely holding back the bleeding. His vision swam, and cold blood trickled down his forehead. Without magic, he would be immobile. The jolts of lightning that kept him conscious were becoming less effective.

He gasped.

[Main Episode Triggered.]

[The demon sealed beneath the estate has sensed the disturbance and is being reborn.]

[Protect Rachel and Yuria.]

[Time Limit: None]

[Failure: …???]

[Reward: Concentrated Life x1]

He had expected this.

Even in the original story, this demon eventually revived, though much later.

Now, multiple variables were at play.

Its primary target would be Rachel, the one who sealed it.

A small, dragon-shaped demon began to writhe beneath the mansion.

Yuria’s immense magical power could have accelerated its revival.

Gritting his teeth, Ian knew he had to find Rachel.

The banquet hall was collapsing.

The pre-planted magical tools could block the debris, but not a demon’s direct attack. He needed to create a distraction, sow chaos.

Yuria’s magic shook the earth.

Ian emerged from the wreckage, coughing blood.

“…Rachel?”

He crawled out, meeting Rachel’s shocked gaze.

“I…an? But you shouldn’t… no… how? You…”

Rachel looked at him as if she had seen a ghost. She had fought the demons with all her might, but they were stronger than anticipated. She believed Ian’s death at Yuria’s hands was certain. The helplessness and despair of her failure, combined with her past trauma, had left her staring blankly at the wreckage.

Was his appearance the trigger?

Rachel was known for her composure.

Was she on the verge of collapse?

Rachel’s magical energy fluctuated wildly. She hadn’t cleansed herself of the demonic energy after her reckless fight. She had fought with everything she had, for him. Focused solely on killing the enemy, as if her own corruption didn’t matter. But the cold, machine-like quality was gone.

Ian knew that feeling of being pushed to the edge. He’d felt it in his own world. That feeling of helplessness, of being cornered.

With a woman fighting like she could end the world right in front of her, it was natural to feel small and inadequate.

Since calling his name, Rachel had stared at him, trembling, speechless. Her state spoke volumes about her inner turmoil.

“You… are a fake.”

Unable to accept reality, Rachel drew her sword. She probably didn’t have the strength left to use ice magic.

He took a step forward. Rachel retreated, her sword pointed at him.

“Stay… back!!! What have you done to my… my child’s skin…”

“Calm down, Mother.”

“Shut up. Don’t play with my heart anymore. I’ve known who that voice in my head was all along.”

“No, that’s not-”

-Swish!

She drew a line in the ground at his feet. A warning. Any closer and she would attack. She was incredibly volatile. Her judgment was clouded.

[???!!!?!! Warning! Rachel is displaying hostility!!!!]

[Leave immediately.]

Even the quest agreed.

Rachel was in no state to talk.

The demonic energy clinging to her was a death sentence.

He had to calm her down first.

“…Rachel, please lower your sword.”

“Don’t make me say it again.”

Her sword remained pointed at him.

He stepped across the line.

She hesitated.

“…!”

Rachel bit her lip and stumbled back.

“D-don’t… come any closer.”

Her hand trembled around the hilt of her sword. Her face was a whirlwind of emotions.

-Rumble!

The ground shook.

The line she had drawn in the debris marked the edge of a collapsing section of the mansion. Like a perforated line on paper.

Rachel’s eyes widened as she fell.

Without magic, she was just an ordinary woman.

And ordinary women died from falls like this.

Without hesitation, Ian ran.

In her fading consciousness…

She saw a dark reflection of herself.

A voice called out to her from the depths of a darkening tunnel.

-…chel!! Mo…ther…

A hand shook her shoulder roughly. She opened her eyes.

A warm, familiar magical energy enveloped her.

“…I…an?”

She couldn’t mistake his magic.

Rachel’s eyes widened.

As awareness returned, she met Ian’s anxious gaze.

“Is it… really… really you, Ian…?”

Tears welled up as the reality of his survival sank in.

Grief, pain, regret…

Her past transgressions flooded her mind.

She longed to embrace him, to apologize.

“How… how…? No, stop hugging me! Don’t you understand the situation?!”

She pushed his hand away from her chest. He persisted.

“Just a moment, please. It’s definitely here…”

“Stop! Ian, please don’t do this… sob…”

He opened her jacket, retrieving a tiny object.

A potion, shrunk to the size of a fingernail.

A perfect replica of the potion from Rachel’s room.

He’d been visiting her room daily, siphoning off small amounts to create this.

That’s why the potions hadn’t worked at full strength on him.

He poured half of it over his head and offered the rest to Rachel.

“Drink this. Now. It’s dangerous if you don’t.”

“No, I don’t deserve…”

“Rachel, snap out of it.”

“…Don’t… talk to me like that. You really…”

He kissed her.

Rachel’s eyes widened in surprise, then softened as she swallowed the potion.

The affection system was irresistible.

Thankfully, this much worked.

Rachel’s magic returned, and Ian regained some mobility.

But there was one factor he hadn’t accounted for.

Yuria.

She had seen everything.

“…Oh.”

Ian froze, his eyes meeting Yuria’s across the battlefield.

A feast of blood. The phrase fit perfectly.

The sky was filled with watching eyes.

A waterfall of blood and corpses.

Demons tearing each other apart in a chaotic frenzy.

The scene was far more horrific than he’d imagined.

‘…That’s the final boss?’

But what truly terrified him…

The bridge of demon corpses.

The woman with crimson eyes, walking slowly towards him, surrounded by her familiars.

No, the maid.

After tearing apart what looked like a Mid-Rank demon, she was approaching him.

A ferocious, suffocating aura radiated from her, terrifying the remaining demons.

Even Ian’s legs trembled. The demons were clearly terrified.

Yuria was almost upon him.

He spoke, wondering if she had lost her mind.

“…Yuria?”

Yuria blinked, her eyes widening, and stopped.

A reaction meant his chances of survival weren’t zero.

She frowned slightly, her words tumbling out in a confused jumble.

“Rachel, wait here….”

Rachel.

The single word transformed Yuria’s gaze back to its chilling coldness.

“…”

“You’re a fake.”

Why was she calling him a fake too?

“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?”

Fighting back his terror, he replied:

“…R-right?”

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

It was a lie. Yuria was lying.

Her lips twitched, barely concealing her joy.

Her eyes were terrifying. If he hesitated any longer, she’d grab him and… well, drain him dry.

“Of course, I haven’t heard you say you would take me as your wife, whether that be introducing me at the banquet or bolstering my forces with these captured demons’ blood… or… well, at least something about taking me as your wife.”

Silence.

Behind him, Rachel tilted her head.

-I…an? What’s she talking about? Marriage…?

Her voice was filled with a heart-wrenching desperation.

Trapped between two intense gazes, Ian was speechless.

Caught between a rock and a hard place.

But Yuria’s suffocating presence left him with no choice. He nodded 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.”

Her smile was beautiful, but it hid a predatory edge.

He didn’t respond.

“Master, it seems 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 beamed 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 was he going to do?

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

But Rachel turned her back.

A clear message to just take it and come back.

He doubted he’d be able to get up tomorrow.

He could probably explain away the dead nobles in the banquet hall as victims of the demons, but that would put Rachel in a difficult position.

But he had survived…

‘This is working… but
shit.’

Yuria clung to him, refusing to let go.

There was a monster right there.

Why was she only focused on him?

Ignoring the dragon now soaring above the banquet hall, Yuria closed her eyes, nuzzling against his neck, drinking his blood.

The blood freshly replenished by the potion.

“Mmm… slurp… haa… ahhh… delicious… hmm…”

Her flushed face and gleaming red eyes spoke of pure pleasure.

She might have caused this whole mess, expending blood and magic to destroy the mansion, but…

He was dying.

Seriously dying.

-Krrrrrr.

Two dragons now circled overhead, their revival complete.