Do You Have Any Idea How Much This Hurts?! (Blood Pressure)

Milia and Claire finally burst through the doors to the top floor of the Crimson Tower.

"Cid!?"

Claire didn't even hesitate. She sprinted toward the body of a black-haired boy lying in a pool of blood.

She pulled him into her arms, completely ignoring everything else in the room. Tears started streaming from her red eyes. It was the kind of raw, tragic display you’d expect from a climax.

"No! Please, Cid, wake up! Cid!? Cid...? ...Wait, what?"

Suddenly, Claire’s face went stone-cold. She stared at the corpse with the clinical detachment of someone checking a grocery receipt for an overcharge.

The waterworks shut off instantly.

"This isn't Cid."

"Wait, it’s not?" I asked, blinking.

"Where is he? Is he okay?"

Claire started looking around frantically, her "dearly departed" brother already forgotten now that she knew it wasn't him.

That was when I saw it. My heart nearly stopped.

"—Claire! Behind you!"

"...Huh?"

It happened in a heartbeat.

Before she could even turn around, the boy’s arm had already punched clean through her stomach.

A spray of blood erupted from Claire’s mouth.

"Gah... what... is... Cid...?"

"Claire!!"

She collapsed like a broken doll.

Then, the black-haired boy—the one who was very much supposed to be a corpse—started to move. Red, slimy tentacles began erupting from his chest, wriggling like a nest of disturbed snakes as they wrapped around his body.

"No... it can't be..."

I recognized this Ki. My instincts were screaming at me to run, even as I stood frozen.

The red tentacles completely encased him before suddenly exploding outward.

And there she was.

A woman stood in the center of the gore, breathtakingly beautiful and completely naked. She had hair like liquid rubies and eyes to match, with skin so pale it was almost translucent. She was the perfect image of the Queen of Blood Elisabeth from my nightmares.

Elisabeth leaned down, scooped up the dying Claire, and sank her fangs into the girl's neck.

"Ugh... ah..."

Claire let out a weak moan. She was unconscious, but I could tell she was still clinging to life by a thread.

I couldn't move. I just stood there watching my friend get drained. It wasn't that I didn't want to help—it was that every cell in my body knew it was useless. This was the resurrected Queen of Blood. Resistance wasn't just futile; it was a joke.

"Claire... no..."

Elisabeth finished her snack and tossed Claire aside like a used juice box. Then, those beautiful, terrifying eyes locked onto me. She wasn't looking at a person; she was looking at a snack.

"A-Ah... Elisabeth-sama..."

I backed away, trembling. My master was back. There was no way to stop the Strongest Progenitor Elisabeth. Not then, and certainly not now. I was too late again. The Tragedy of a Thousand Years Ago was about to play on repeat.

I felt the tears of despair welling up. But then, the air shifted.

A black blur slammed into Elisabeth.

The sound of metal screaming against bone filled the room as a Jet-black Blade held back Elisabeth’s crimson claws.

It was Beta—the woman in the jet-black bodysuit I’d met in the archives.

"Secure the target, now!" she barked.

Three more shadows flickered into existence, snatching Claire away before the Queen could react. Beta parried a strike with her Jet-black Blade and leapt backward to create some breathing room.

"Number 665, status?"

"She's still breathing, but we need to stabilize her immediately."

"Right. Though... I don't think she's going to let us just leave."

Beta kept her eyes glued on the naked beauty walking toward us.

"Follow my lead. Give me backup."

"Understood!"

"Vampire Hunter, you're on babysitting duty. Watch over Claire-san."

"Ah... Claire..."

Number 665 shoved Claire into my arms. I clutched her tight, my voice shaking.

"Don't do it... stop..."

I had to tell her. She didn't understand the scale of the monster she was facing.

"It’s no use... you can't win against Elisabeth-sama..."

Beta glanced back at me, her cat-like eyes glinting behind her mask.

"Is that so? Well, we’ll just have to see about that."

She leveled her Jet-black Blade and prepared to face the Queen of Blood.

---

BETA

How in the world did things get this bad?

I stared down the Queen of Blood Elisabeth, my mind racing through a list of my own failures. My Master’s sister was on the brink of death. That's a "capital punishment" level screw-up.

Lord Shadow still hasn't graced us with his presence. Obviously, he has some world-shaking priority that demands his attention, which means he’s testing us. He’s left this mess in our hands to see if we’re worthy of his trust.

And I blew it. I was too slow to catch on, and now we’re in this nightmare scenario. If his sister actually dies here, I might as well just stab myself with my own sword. I won't be able to look him in the eye.

"Let's see just how 'legendary' you really are, Queen of Blood..." I muttered.

Honestly? I was terrified, but that was overshadowed by the pure, unadulterated need to kill this woman for making me look bad. I channeled my Magic Power into my Jet-black Blade until it hummed and tapped the floor twice with my toe.

My three subordinates fanned out instantly.

We were ready.

I watched Elisabeth, waiting for the perfect opening. She just kept walking toward us, completely unbothered by her own nakedness. The light of the Red Moon bathed her skin in a crimson glow. She looked... bored. Sleepy, even.

Then, she stepped into my range.

"—Hah!!"

That was the signal. I unleashed a flash of black steel. Elisabeth caught my Jet-black Blade with her left claws—fast, but I expected that. Her right hand swept in for a counter.

Exactly where I wanted you.

Number 666 slammed into her from behind. Elisabeth was forced to pivot, parrying 666’s strike. But that opened the floodgates. Number 664 and Number 665 lunged from the flanks, and I redoubled my assault.

Elisabeth just watched the three incoming slashes with those heavy, drowsy eyes. She didn't even try to dodge. She just guarded her heart.

Our blades bit deep.

Blood sprayed across her skin, but she didn't even flinch.

"I—I can't pull it out!?" Number 664 cried.

The blades were stuck. She had hardened her muscles the moment we struck, clamping down on our weapons like a vice.

"Damn it!"

I flooded my body with Physical Reinforcement and ripped my sword free by sheer force. But 664 and 665 didn't have my output. They were stuck.

"Shift the sword’s form, now!" I screamed.

Too slow. Elisabeth’s claws were already sweeping toward their throats.

I lunged to intercept, but Number 666 was faster. In a display of swordplay that was honestly disgusting for a rookie, she sliced clean through Elisabeth’s tendons.

The Queen’s arms went limp. It would only take a second for her to regenerate, but that second was all the girls needed to liquefy their Slime Swords and pull them back.

We didn't stop. I carved a line across Elisabeth’s face, 664 opened up her side, 665 shredded her leg tendons, and 666 finished the chain by nearly bisecting her back.

The Queen of Blood was sent flying, crashing into the stone wall.

"Nice work, 666."

The girl gave a small, humble bow.

Elisabeth stayed buried under the rubble. We kept our distance, weapons ready. My heart was pounding. Just looking at her, I could tell she was on a completely different level of existence. One-on-one? I’d be dead in seconds. Even with the four of us, I thought this was going to be a suicide mission.

But we were actually... winning?

The rookies were coordinating perfectly. And Number 666? She was a monster. Between 664’s leadership, 665’s brains, and 666’s raw talent, they were the perfect unit. Lambda wasn't kidding about this team.

We might actually pull this off...

"It's no use..."

Milia’s voice cracked from behind us. She was still cradling Claire, her eyes brimming with hopeless tears.

"You're strong, I get it. But the power that drowned the world in blood under the Red Moon... it wasn't like this. Elisabeth-sama has only just woken up!"

"What are you talking about?" I asked, not taking my eyes off the rubble.

"Elisabeth-sama has always... always suffered from extremely low blood pressure in the morning!"

"...Huh?"

In that moment, the Queen's Magic Power didn't just increase—it exploded. The entire tower began to shake.

Oh. She wasn't bored. She was just hitting the snooze button.