Her Mission

The Queen of Blood crawled out of the wreckage wearing a dress as red as... well, blood.

Actually, let me rephrase that. She wasn't just wearing a red dress; she was wearing a dress made of blood. She was literally manipulating the liquid to cover her naked body, and it wriggled across her skin with an eerie, rhythmic pulse, like the thing was alive.

I felt the sheer, ridiculous pressure pouring off her and couldn't help but grimace under my mask.

So this is the Queen of Blood...

She was a genuine, certified abomination.

BETA

Number 664 glanced at me, her eyes practically screaming for orders. I just shook my head. Running wasn't an option—I wasn't about to ditch my master’s sister, and honestly, I didn't think we could outrun this thing even if we tried. The only way out was through.

And then, right on cue, we got a guest.

"Well, well, what a ridiculous abomination we have here... allow me to join the party."

A nine-tailed fox Beastkin stepped into the light, her Silver Hair fluttering as she snapped open a pair of Iron Fans.

"You're the 'Spirit Fox' Yukime..."

I’d never seen her in person, but I knew exactly who she was. You don't work in my line of business without knowing the Rulers of the Lawless City. Our eyes met for a split second, a silent "the enemy of my enemy is my temporary meat-shield" agreement passing between us.

"I appreciate the backup," I said.

"Then shall we dance?" she replied, turning to face the Queen.

But wait, there’s more! Another gatecrasher decided to break through the window. A Brown-skinned Giant landed with a thud, shouldering a Great Machete and snorting with pure arrogance.

"Don't go starting the climax without me," he grunted, glaring at the Queen of Blood. "So you're the big boss? You’ve been making a real mess of my city, lady."

"And where did you crawl out from?" Yukime asked, sounding bored.

"I go where I want, old hag. This woman is mine to kill."

"Do as you please."

The giant readied his Great Machete. I knew him, too—the "Tyrant" Juggernaut. So, at this very moment, we had all Three Rulers of the Lawless City in one room. Well, two of them were currently playing hero, but I wasn't about to complain about the luck. We actually had a shot at this.

"Hyaaah!!"

Juggernaut didn't do "tactics." He charged in with the grace of a wild animal and swung that massive slab of iron downward. The Queen of Blood didn't even twitch.

"What!?" Juggernaut yelled, but it wasn't a victory cry.

His Great Machete sliced right through her, but there was zero resistance. It was like he was swinging at a ghost.

"Mistification!?"

It's a high-level Vampire trick where they turn their bodies into mist, but she did it without any warning. No telegraphing, no nothing. She had mistified only the exact path of the blade. Talk about precision.

"How annoying!" Juggernaut roared, swinging again.

The Queen just stood there. Her neck distorted for a fraction of a second, letting the blade pass through harmlessly, and then she started gathering a Blood Mass in her right hand. The Magic Power vibrating in the air was enough to make my skin crawl.

"Get back!"

"Move!!"

Yukime and I both screamed as we dove for cover. The Queen tossed the blood into the air, and it detonated. The droplets didn't just splatter; they hardened into a Rain of Arrowheads that saturated the entire room. There was nowhere to hide.

Dammit!

I gave up on dodging and threw myself in front of Claire. I pushed my Slime Bodysuit to its limit, reinforcing my vitals while my Jet-black Blade became a blur, desperately parrying what I could. I turned myself into a human shield. Lacerations sliced across my face, and I felt the sharp sting of arrowheads burying themselves in my arms and thighs.

Then, the rain stopped.

Claire and Milia were mostly fine, just some scratches. I, on the other hand, had seen better days.

"Y-You..." Milia stammered, looking at me with wide eyes.

My Jet-black Bodysuit was shredded. White skin and red meat were exposed where dozens of those Blood Arrowheads were still stuck in my limbs.

"I'm fine," I said, calmly readjusting my stance. "The vitals are protected."

I looked around to check the damage. It wasn't great. Number 664 was bleeding out from her stomach, and 665’s legs were shredded. 666 looked okay, relatively speaking. Yukime was scratched up but still standing.

As for Juggernaut, who had taken the brunt of it...

"Ow..."

He was a literal bloody mess. He looked like a human pincushion, but he was still standing, leaning on his notched Great Machete.

"Shit... what kind of monster is this...?" He finally dropped to one knee.

"The Red Moon... I remember now," Yukime whispered, her face pale. "This isn't just some vampire. She's the Legendary Progenitor Vampire!"

"The what now?" Juggernaut growled.

"A long time ago... she's the Legendary Vampire who supposedly wiped out several nations in just three days."

"Three days...?"

Juggernaut looked up at the Queen, and for once, he looked like he believed the hype. Honestly, we all did.

"664, 665, fall back," I ordered. They were done. "666, you too."

"I can still fight!" 666 protested.

"You have a different job to do," I told her firmly.

"...Eh?"

I offered a small smile under my mask as I stepped forward. Look, let’s be real. I’d already given up on the idea of us winning this. The Queen of Blood was a level of "Abomination" that I wasn't equipped to handle. Even if we all dog-piled her, we were just providing more blood for her dress.

But I didn't actually need to win.

I know my master. He has a flair for the dramatic, and he never misses an opportunity to show off. I have absolute, 100% faith that he's on his way. My job wasn't to slay the legend; it was to keep her busy until the real protagonist showed up.

That was the last mission I had left.