The Demon Realm isn’t some other world separate from the Morningstar Continent. It’s simply the lands occupied by the demons.

To humans, the Demon Realm is another word for hell. Anyone who comes back from an adventure there is the real deal—tough as nails, the kind who can rip their clothes off and go straight into a wrestling match♂.

Oh♂Yes♂Sir!

Of course, most of the folks out there just stretch out, close their eyes, and get picked up by the Black Bros. One last dance on their graves, and they’ll be sent off in style.

This also goes to show that the demons and humans don’t get along. Most races are pretty xenophobic, after all, so it’s only natural for them to think, “If they’re not one of us, they must have different intentions.”

Unless something seriously major happens, both sides are pretty restrained. They know they can’t take the other side down for good, so they might as well keep muddling along as they are.

But not long ago, the demon leadership erupted into a frenzy.

The reason was simple—the Demon King had descended.

The demons had been without a king for far, far too long. Under the High Priest’s leadership, they could still stand toe to toe with humanity, but no one could say how things would turn out if the stalemate continued.

So what the Demon King meant to the entire demon race went without saying.

But what did Lin Xingyun, the Demon King of Desire, do first after descending into the Demon Realm? She played a six-cost Vanish on the spot and disappeared without a trace. It gave the entire demon leadership quite a scare.

By the time they came to their senses, Lin Xingyun had already left the Demon Realm and entered human territory. They were a step too late to catch up.

Demons couldn’t roam freely through human lands, which made searching for their own Demon King much harder. After careful consideration, the High Priest sent only a few high-ranking demons with enough strength to disguise themselves and stay safe. They were to search human territory for their master and bring him back to the Demon Realm.

The Vampire Queen—Feilin—was one of them.

The moonlight fell on Feilin’s exquisite face. Her long black-and-red hair lent her an alluring, unearthly air, while her Gothic black silk dress fluttered in the wind. Her blood-red eyes were fixed on the distance.

“…Why does His Majesty’s aura disappear here?”

Feilin, the Vampire Queen, had followed Lin Xingyun’s trail all the way to Rulvis. Now she stood atop a deserted tower, gazing down at Rulvis City, bright as day beneath its mana lamps. She felt a headache coming on.

At dawn the previous day, she’d still been able to track her Demon King’s aura. Then, to her surprise, it had suddenly vanished that afternoon, leaving no trace in Rulvis City.

The Demon King couldn’t have fallen. Feilin knew His Majesty had deliberately concealed his aura.

“My dear Majesty, you’ve certainly given me a difficult problem.” Feilin murmured. The pair of bat wings atop her head swayed unconsciously—a little habit of hers whenever she was thinking.

She had only two options now. She could stay in Rulvis and search the entire city. If His Majesty was still here, she’d definitely find him.

But Feilin barely gave it a thought before choosing the second option: continue along the route Lin Xingyun had taken, all the way to the final destination—the Weius Kingdom’s capital, Lengyesi.

This time, Feilin had fallen victim to her own habitual way of thinking.

Lin Xingyun had traveled straight ahead the whole way, never staying in one place for more than two days. That gave Feilin the wrong idea: she assumed Lin Xingyun was simply traveling onward, trying to reach somewhere farther away.

Besides, Feilin couldn’t imagine what a tiny border city could possibly have to attract her Majesty. Rulvis was an important transport hub bordering the Demon Realm, and it had developed quite nicely in recent years, but it still couldn’t compare to the capital, Lengyesi.

Even if it was going to be the first city conquered by His Majesty, Lengyesi seemed much more fitting.

And so this happened: although they were both in Rulvis City, Lin Xingyun passed right by Feilin while she was searching for him. They didn’t even catch sight of each other.

You really couldn’t make this stuff up.

After making her decision, Feilin didn’t hesitate. She headed for Lengyesi at full speed.

If she was early enough and lucky, she might run into His Majesty before reaching Lengyesi.

Of course, it wouldn’t matter if she didn’t. She had an old friend in Lengyesi City. With the two of them working together, she refused to believe His Majesty could escape her grasp this time.

Heh heh. Your Majesty, just surrender already!

A faint, feverish flush crossed Feilin’s pale face. Under cover of night, she became a shadow, racing toward Lengyesi.

But in the mountains just a few dozen kilometers from Rulvis, Feilin came to a stop. Her expression turned grave as she watched a sizable adventurer party ahead, preparing dinner.

On the way here, Feilin had encountered no fewer than ten human adventurer parties, but she’d ignored them all.

She didn’t think much of humans, but wantonly killing people and preying on helpless civilians would be beneath her. It wouldn’t suit her station.

The strong had their standards. As a noble Vampire Queen, Feilin was no exception.

Besides, before they set out, the High Priest had told them not to get involved unless necessary. Their Demon King, whom they’d never met, apparently wasn’t fond of killing.

But this adventurer party made Feilin stop in her tracks. A cold killing intent stirred in her eyes. The reason was simple: among this lavishly equipped group was a high-ranking cleric.

If humans and demons merely got along badly, clerics and demons were mortal enemies. It was like coming home from work to find the gas still on, smelling the thick hydrogen sulfide in the house—and still wanting to light a cigarette to calm yourself down.

They preached human supremacy, launched sweeping hunts for demons within human borders, and even incited humans to wage war on the demons. You could say they deserved a huge share of the blame for the way relations between humans and demons had become so bitter and hostile.

And with holy magic having the advantage over demons, it was only natural for the demons to be on the losing end of their conflicts with humanity. That was why Feilin and the others were so desperate to bring their Demon King back to the Demon Realm. If you can’t beat them, what else can you do but call for backup?

What else can you do? (shrugs)

If the cleric in front of her had been low-ranking, Feilin might have ignored him and continued toward Lengyesi. Finding her Demon King was more important, after all.

But, as luck would have it, this unfortunate cleric had successfully advanced just last month, officially joining the ranks of high-ranking clerics. It wouldn’t be long before he got promoted and a raise, became the regional manager, took over as CEO, married a beautiful noblewoman, and reached the pinnacle of life.

…Now that he thought about it, he was actually a little excited!

Feilin suppressed the urge to hunt. She closed her eyes, then opened them again. Her vision had turned completely red, and no living creature with blood in its body could escape her sight.

Once Feilin found the target she was looking for, the corner of her mouth curled into an alluring smile. The killing intent in her eyes vanished, replaced by a hint of mockery.

“What’s an adventurer party doing out here… They must be on some kind of mercenary job.”

Feilin tucked away her chill and began talking to herself from her perch on a tree branch.

“Their prey must be somewhere in these mountains, and it must be strong. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have brought so many people—or even a high-ranking cleric.”

“Prey, huh?” Feilin gave a cold laugh. Her gaze passed through countless trees and settled on a high-ranking monster. “But which of us is the prey, and which is the hunter?”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Feilin appeared beside the high-ranking monster in the distance.

A little of the Vampire Queen’s aura leaked out. The pressure of a powerful being sent the monster into full-on shaking mode. Like a poor kid shivering because they hadn’t dressed warmly enough for winter, it gazed up at her with big eyes full of pleading and cuteness.

—FORCED TO PUT ON A SHOW

“Don’t worry, I won’t kill you. But someone else wants you dead.” Feilin rested her high heel on the monster’s head and looked down at it like a queen inspecting her knight. “I’ll give you the power to wipe them out.”

“Especially the ones wearing white robes.”

“Rrr…” The monster lowered its head and gave a quiet growl to show it understood.

…Its growl used to sound pretty imposing.

“Good boy, Wangcai.” Seeing how obedient the monster was beneath her lovely foot, Feilin was in a good enough mood to give it a name.

Monster: …

It wasn’t a question of whether it should say something. It genuinely had a “motherf—” it couldn’t get out.

Feilin had no idea how helpless the monster felt. Of course, she had no interest in finding out, either.

She used the heel of her boot to cut a small gash in the monster’s skin. When blood began flowing out like a little stream, Feilin held out her index finger and let a drop of her own blood fall above the wound.

—BOOM!

The next second, every tree within ten meters of the monster was reduced to dust. The immense pressure swept across half the mountain range like a gust of wind.

Feilin gazed down at the monster, now transforming inside a cocoon, her red eyes full of anticipation.

Blood was the most precious resource the vampires had, and it could infect other living beings. This was only an ordinary drop, but under Feilin’s deliberate control it became a pure supplement. The monster that absorbed her blood even jumped an entire rank, evolving straight to Rank 5.

Even at the same rank, humans couldn’t defeat monsters on their own. Now, with Feilin’s drop of blood in the mix, any adventurer party that came to hunt it without the strength to wipe out a Level 6 monster was doomed to be destroyed.

There was no escaping. Nobody ever escaped. The Black Guy dancing outside the coffin was great, and the monster absolutely loved staying inside.

Besides, even if a powerful person killed the monster, they wouldn’t discover that Feilin had set this up. She hadn’t made a contract with it, so even a higher-ranking cleric wouldn’t be able to tell.

And with that, the gift was ready.

Feilin lifted her head, revealing the strikingly graceful curve of her neck, and looked toward the adventurers’ camp.

They were pretty alert. They’d already noticed something was wrong over here and were getting ready to come investigate.

“Don’t disappoint me, Wangcai…”

When Feilin vanished, all that remained was a red cocoon of blood dozens of meters tall.

The blood cocoon throbbed like a heart, beating faster and faster. It seemed ready to burst open at any moment…