Less than fifteen minutes later, in the strategic planning room…

「I see…」

Straf nods while rubbing his chin, staring at the map spread out on the large table. Cycelia looks at him with a troubled gaze, while Lily tilts her golden head.

「…So that's where the shithole is. Spawn city.」

He adds, shrugging his shoulders as he places his fists on his hips.

「Spawn?…」

Lily echoes the unfamiliar word, furrowing her brows. She glances at Cycelia, but she is of little help.

「So… Lily, you said they told you about it just before sunrise, right?」

Straf asks, turning his gaze to Lily, who is looking at him with her arms crossed.

「That's right… The agents I picked brought my attention to the agitators trying to recruit vampires out of my barony for the conquest of Murusburg. By the time I found out, it was already too late.」

She returns a calm nod, albeit with a displeased expression on her face as her scarlet eyes turn to Murusburg on the map.

「And? Did it work?」

Straf shrugs his shoulders and spreads his hands.

「Somewhat. Some allegedly stated their intent to join the Murusburg invaders once the sun sets again…」

She shrugs too, then turns her gaze to Cycelia's worried face as she's leaning on to the table. She looks back at her, furrowing her brows.

「…With that in mind, I set out to inform my subjects about my stance on the events. While I did not explicitly forbid anyone from leaving… I made it clear that I consider the invaders an enemy.」

Lily adds, and returns her eyes to Straf.

「So, if they join them, they'll make themselves your enemy?」

Straf asks Lily with his brow raised, then glances at Cycelia.

「Exactly… And being my enemy is a terrible choice. I stand for stability, and I won't stand for some petty warlords ripping the kingdom- Well, the empire apart…」

The baroness replies, and quickly corrects herself as her gaze idly jumps to Cycelia.

「…Had it been a human warband, I would have ignored it, but as it stands, this situation concerns me as well, as my interests align with the Redwing girl. Moreover…」

Lily adds, and begins tapping her clawed finger on her sleeve, grimacing slightly with her golden head lowered.

「…I've heard rumors that their commander is vocal about bringing back the Night of Fangs. Normally I would have scoffed, but combined with the rather brazen behavior…」

She lets out a troubled sigh, then shrugs, turning her scarlet gaze up to Straf's bored, tight-lipped grimace.

「…There are very few vampires who both remember the Ash Nights and have the means to act towards that goal… Hence my theory, that the vampire is someone of my age.」

Lily says with a serious expression on her face, and looks at Cycelia.

「This is very serious, Straf. Lily told me that most of the vampires in the city are 300 year old or younger. To someone like her, it's a night and day of difference.」

Cycelia remarks, and presses her lips together into narrow lines.

「Make no mistake… I never claimed to be a powerful vampire either. There is a good reason why I have declared myself a baroness, and not a countess, or worse, a queen. I am not pompous.」

Lily comments, adding to Cycelia's remark, and the two look at Straf as he pensively rubs his chin while looking at the map.

「So, the city is full of demons and vampires, and whoever commanding them is fucked up strong?」

Straf asks, raising one brow.

「Not necessarily, Straf, but I expect him to be so. Right now, he supposedly has more demons than vampires to command, but that number will soon swell once others catch wind of it.」

The baroness shakes her golden head, and her twin tails whip about slightly.

「Your highness!… I rushed here as soon as I received the message!…」

The marshal runs into the room, panting and gasping for air, wide-eyed.

「…The baroness is here too?… I was given the rough idea of what is going on on the way here. What do you want me to do, your highness?」

Ursa asks as he approaches Cycelia's side at the table with his hand on top of his dragon-adorned breastplate.

「Straf?」

Cycelia turns her gaze away from the marshal and towards Straf.

「I'm going to handle it… In a day or two.」

Straf nonchalantly replies, and shrugs his shoulders.

「Huh? In a day or two?」「A d-!? A day or two, Straf!?…」

Lily tilts her head, lightly confused, while Cycelia straightens out in shock. Ursa turns his confused gaze towards Straf.

「…But-! But the people, Straf! They're at the mercy of evil!」

Stammering, Cycelia points her finger towards the door as she exclaims with her emerald eyes wide open.

「Yeah, sucks to be them… Listen, Lia. If they want to slaughter the population, it's not like I can stop them in under a day, alright? I assume they took the city for a reason. It has some value…」

Straf casually shrugs his shoulders, then begins to calmly explain his point, spreading his hands. All three listen on with varying degrees of confusion on their faces.

Snap.

「…Lily, the commander is a vampire, right? What's valuable to vampires?」

Straf snaps his fingers, and points at Lily as he asks.

「Blood. Blood from certain sources will be highly valued by all vampires-」

Without giving it much thought, Lily explains. Her golden head perks up, and her scarlet eyes widen and blink in sudden realization.

「…They wouldn't just get rid of something valuable like that. Even during the Ash Nights, vampires kept some humans as cattle. But why wait, Straf?」

Lily places her small chin between her clawed thumb and finger, furrowing her brows as she thinks. Straf nods along, and Cycelia calms a little.

「You said the vampires that leave will make themselves your enemy, right?」

Straf nonchalantly asks with his fists on his hips.

「That's right, so why wait?- Ah…」

Lily asks, and then comes to a conclusion herself.

「…Heh. As expected, Straf… You want to gather those discontent with my rule in one place to slaughter them?」

「Something like that, Lily…」

She adds, and Straf nods along, looking at the walls of Murusburg painted on the map while rubbing his chin.

「…That, and there's really nothing to gain from just rushing in. If they want to kill 'em… Well, too bad. But I don't think they'd go through the trouble just to do that.」

Straf remarks, briefly shrugging his hands before returning them to his hips in fists.

「One more question remains… Why Murusburg? There are countless cities with poor defenses and no vampire lamps. This is the second worst target they could have picked.」

Lily taps her chin with her finger, focusing her gaze on the city upon the map too.

「Maybe that's the point. Want to assert dominance? Slug the biggest guy in the room in the face. When a goldfish eats a shark, that's an unusual state of things, isn't it?」

Straf shrugs his shoulders with a tight-lipped grimace, and glances at Cycelia's nervous face.

「I see… I see. That makes sense. It's a statement. Murusburg, Ossen, and the capital were a thorn in the demon lord's side. Especially Murusburg. To capture one of those is to say, I am greater.」

Lily begins to nod slightly, and her nodding quickly intensifies as more of the puzzle's pieces fall into place.

「Well, I have a statement to make myself… But it'll have to wait a few days. I think I'm allowed to use a teleprompter from time to time. Marshal!…」

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Straf scoffs, smirking at the table, before raising his voice and snapping his gaze to the large man across the table.

「Yes, minister!?」

Ursa nods and stands at attention with a serious face.

「…Gather me a band of volunteers from the old vampire hunters. You've got some time, but make it snappy. Let them know it'll be dangerous, but they'll be equipped to handle it.」

Pointing his finger at Ursa, Straf commands, and points his thumb at the door.

「Yes, minister! I will send someone to update you on the numbers every few hours!」

Ursa salutes, and runs out of the room as fast as he ran in.

「I'll come along with you, Straf. I'm curious to see who it might be-」

「Uhh, I'm not going, Lily.」

Lily chimes in, turning her gaze to Straf. His face quickly snaps to hers, and he bluntly cuts her off with a tight-lipped grimace.

「Huh? You're not?…」

Confused, she tilts her golden head. Cycelia's jaw drops, and her emerald eyes blink at him.

「Yeah. I'm trying to delegate things a little. I'll get the vampire hunters to handle it. I mean, those guys haven't gotten to hunt any vampires for a long time, right?」

Straf turns his gaze towards Cycelia, and nonchalantly shrugs his shoulders.

「Hmpf… The vampire hunters have always been a joke, but they have also been toothless ever since our agreement…」

Lily remarks, crossing her arms as she briefly glances at Cycelia.

「…I'd still like to see who the commander is for myself. I have questions to ask, and he might only answer them to someone of my status.」

She adds, returning her scarlet eyes back to Straf.

「Suit yourself. In fact, if you could come along with them, it'd be a big help. I don't know if the regular military officers would do…」

Straf shrugs with his mouth lightly scrunched to the side, then turns his attention to Cycelia.

「…Lia, you still have those old vampire lamps, right? Where are they?」

He asks, briefly spreading his hands before placing his fists back on his hips.

「Eh?… Um… They're in non-vital storage. The steward can show you…」

Her chestnut head perks up, and she replies with her brows furrowed in mild worry.

「Right. I've got shitton of work to do, I gotta buy some stuff, and there's someone I have to find… Let me know if those dipshits are making any demands, or declarations.」

Straf declares, and walks around Lily to head for the door.

「Straf, are you sure you can handle it?… Without the people there suffering?」

Cycelia asks, following after him a few steps with her brows heavily furrowed, fidgeting with her medallion.

「…I believe we have free speech in this empire, Lia. If they're allowed to make a statement like that, I'm just going to talk over them.」

Straf casually spreads his arms with a nonchalant grimace on his face, and departs. Lily and Cycelia glance at each other. Lily shrugs her shoulders, and the two head out as well…

…

After the sunset, in Murusburg…

Thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack!…

Sounds of heavy hammering echo throughout the city. Vampires and lesser fiends alike are stretching ropes tied together in the sky over the city, securing them to the edges of its tall walls with long wrought iron nails. In the darkness of the homes below, a few nervous eyes dare to peek through the curtains of a handful homes' windows, only to quickly retreat back into the darkness when they notice amber or scarlet eyes above staring down.

「Hurry up!… Or do you want to burn up tomorrow!?…」

Roskiel shouts at the vampires balancing on the ropes strewn above, while they drag large sheets of patchwork, sewn together cloth behind themselves. In the other part of the sky above the buildings, the vampires and fiends are working together to secure planks and other scraps of wood to the ropes. All materials to that end come from hastily and forcefully disassembled homes. Little by little, the sparkling stars above are slowly being obscured by the makeshift roof over the city.

「…Heheh… If I can't have the Night of Fangs everywhere, then I will at least have it in my barony- No, kingdom…」

Baron Roskiel grins, baring his fangs at the expanding roof, and turns back towards the mayor's walled mansion.

「…You should have obeyed your new king.」

He says to the mayor's bald, decapitated head on a pike as he passes by. Embedded in the garden just out front, it sticks out above the mansion's stone walls.

As he enters the mansion, dozens of scarlet eyes turn to him. He approaches the large throne fashioned of still-bloody human skulls and large bones, such as femurs. Terrified sobbing of the tied women in rags fill the room. Some of the calmer ones attempt to comfort the most frightened ones, hugging each other and speaking in hushed voices.

Clakclakclak…

「Hmpfff…」

Bones rattle as Roskiel sits down with a grunt in the throne of bone, and leisurely crosses his legs. He notices a woman kneeling by the throne, glaring at him with a defiant expression, but the mansion door opens, distracting him. An armored vampire enters and approaches the throne. Roskiel perks up out of his lazy slouch.

「Baron… A new group has just arrived. They want to join our cause.」

The vampire bows in front of Roskiel, and speaks with a serious expression on his long, gaunt face.

「Good. Let them in. Have them help with the roof…」

Pleased, Roskiel nods, and shrugs his hand in response.

「…What about control?」

His scarlet eyes narrow as he asks the gaunt man.

「We are hunting for the last fools that'd dare to resist. Most of the city has already accepted their place.」

The armored man replies, baring his fangs with an amused grin. He glances down at the two women by Roskiel's throne, and returns his red-eyed gaze to him.

「Good… When you're done, have them join the mayor. Let the humans know what awaits them for not bending the knee.」

「With pleasure, baron…」

Roskiel replies, and the gaunt-faced armored man bows, then turns to leave in a hasty step. With an amused smirk on his face, Roskiel looks at the woman again.

「…You seem to have something on your mind, human… Why not say it?」

He says, glaring into her eyes. She shivers, but her defiant expression remains the same. The woman who's clinging onto her opens her frightened eyes and looks up at Roskiel, shaking.

「…Why are you doing this? Why capture us, specifically? Just for blood?」

Tahandra asks while petting Emilia on her head.

「Hooh?… I have a feeling that's not what was on your mind… That's good. That means you are rightfully afraid to be unwise around me…」

Amused even more, Roskiel's smirk grows at the guild girl's question.

「…It's true, you have blood I could drink, but that's not the main reason why. Women like you are particularly valuable.」

He shrugs, and looks around the room at the groups of women scattered all over the room and huddled together.

「What is it, then?… You don't mean!?-」

She asks, then her eyes widen. Roskiel abruptly reaches out for her face and squeezes her cheeks in his hand.

「Mmff!?」

「I am undead, you hold no value to me as women…」

Tahandra winces as Roskiel holds no regard for his claws digging into her cheeks, drawing a small amount of blood. Emilia opens her mouth, but can't say anything.

「…Right now you are a decoration. It adds to my prestige… As for later…」

He pulls his hand away, and licks the light smears of blood off his claws, glancing up and aside.

「…I'm sure you know that vampires struggle with magic. I'll have you do that for me… And while you have no value to me, one man's trash is another man's treasure…」

Roskiel's scarlet eyes return to Tahandra and Emilia. Emilia tries to pat down the smear of blood on the guild girl's cheek with her rags.

「…You are like gold and silver for those of the living who are above gold and silver. I can buy loyalties, allegiances, treaties with women like you…」

He continues explaining, grinning at the two with malicious glee on his face. Tahandra's defiant expression slowly shifts to shocked disgust.

「…Not just humans, either. I wonder how well orc chieftains would receive you as a diplomatic gift? Hahahahaha!…」

Crack! Crack! Crack!…

Roskiel lets out a loud cackle, slapping his bone armrest. Some femurs crack from the force. The defiant expression on her face slowly fades, and she hugs into Emilia for comfort.

「…Ahhh. Do not overestimate your value. There's plenty of other mages I could use. Failing that, I can force some humans to learn. I can kill you at any time if it pleases me…」

He ends his cackle with a contented sigh, and glares at the two. They look back at him with frightened eyes.

「…That is a good look. You'll be better off like this. A man of rough character would take one look at your glaring face, and he'd take great joy in breaking you. Know your place.」

The baron remarks, and gains a disdainful grin as growls a warning out while he turns his bored scarlet eyes away to the mansion's door…