"This magical power... is truly strong."
On the rooftop of the apartment building, Kaiser stood facing the wind, confronting two uninvited guests, watching as they released astonishing magical power, and couldn't help but feel a bit of emotion.
Purely in terms of magical power, the two before him had already surpassed the level of Divine Beasts. Even if they hadn't reached the level of a Campione or a Heretic God, they were still beings that humans of the Campione world absolutely couldn't contend with.
Just from that alone, their origins were clearly not simple.
"Not only are they pure-blooded vampires of noble lineage, but they've definitely lived for more than a hundred years."
Old generation pure-blooded vampires!
In terms of background alone, these two were definitely not inferior to Dimitrie Vattler!
Dimitrie Vattler was also originally just a pure-blooded noble, a distant descendant of a third-generation elder. If he hadn't devoured two vampires of elder-class status, he wouldn't be much stronger than these two.
Old generation vampires were already very strong, capable of easily wiping out a small village. If that old-generation vampire was a direct descendant of the Progenitor, a pure-blooded vampire, a noble, then even if they couldn't destroy the entirety of Itogami Island, they could certainly cause it serious damage.
And yet, such powerful vampires were merely Vattler's personal guards. One could imagine how high that man's standing was in the domain of the War Kings.
Of course, these two pure-blooded old-generation vampires couldn't possibly know what Kaiser was thinking.
"Flame Web Corridor!"
The gentle youth called upon the Familiar stored within his blood, and a mist of blood flew from his fingertips.
The red mist transformed into scorching lava, spreading out like a spiderweb.
And at the center of that web, a spider-shaped Familiar with an amber glow and a body of lava manifested amidst the vast magical power.
"Violent King of Demon Strike!"
The aggressive youth was not to be outdone either. The immense magical power he released took form, and a massive raptor cloaked in light appeared.
The raptor's body was formed from highly dense magical flames, burning at tens of thousands of degrees Celsius, radiating intense light that instantly dispelled the chill of night.
"Rumble..."
The appearance of two powerful Familiars caused the atmosphere to boom, and the apartment beneath their feet began to tremble, the shaking intensifying.
This made Kaiser furrow his brow.
"Clap!"
Without hesitation, Kaiser suddenly clapped his hands together, releasing intense spiritual power.
"Buzz—"
An orange transparent barrier immediately rose from the rooftop, enveloping the entire area.
Thanks to this, the overwhelming magical power released by the two War King-class old-generation vampires was isolated, and the might of their Familiars was also contained within this small barrier, no longer affecting the outside world.
The apartment's shaking finally stopped and did not intensify further.
"You two, could you be a little more mindful of your surroundings?"
Having previously taken action multiple times in the world of Campione—causing tsunamis, blizzards, storms, and even the destruction of the entire city of Nikko—Kaiser now voiced such a reprimand.
Unfortunately, the two noble vampires' eyes had already turned blood-red, the mark of vampire ferocity, and they unhesitatingly commanded their Familiars to attack.
The Flame Web Corridor shot out lava-formed spider threads, while the Violent King of Demon Strike transformed into blazing light and, at a terrifying speed of hundreds of meters in an instant, shot toward Kaiser with magical flames.
The shockwaves from the two Familiars' attacks were terrifying. If not for the barrier, it could have blown up half the apartment in an instant.
Faced with such an overwhelming offensive, even someone like the Trinity-ranked strongest offensive magic user would hesitate to take it head-on.
But Kaiser didn't even dodge, didn't take a step back. Instead, he slowly walked toward the attacking Familiars.
"Swish swish swish—!"
In the next second, the lava threads from the spider Familiar of the gentle youth arrived first, whistling through the air and landing on Kaiser.
The temperature of those threads was terrifyingly high—though not as hot as the Violent King of Demon Strike, which reached tens of thousands of degrees—it was still enough to melt steel and sever iron, easily slicing a person into pieces.
However, at the moment they touched Kaiser's body, those threads of lava instantly melted away.
Following closely was the high-density magical flame, burning at tens of thousands of degrees, which, upon contact with Kaiser, was instantly repelled as if it had encountered its nemesis.
"What?!"
"This…!"
The two attacking youths, both the gentle and the aggressive one, changed expression dramatically.
"Repelled the Familiar... with his body?!"
"Impossible…!"
They could hardly believe what their eyes had just witnessed.
But while they were in disbelief, Kaiser, who had been slowly approaching, suddenly vanished.
"Is it really that unbelievable?"
A faint voice came from behind the two.
"In the end, a so-called Familiar is just a mass of magical power. Though powerful, it's easy to counter."
"As long as you have resistance to magical power, or means to nullify it, dealing with a vampire's Familiar should be child's play, no?"
"You've never encountered this kind of enemy before? You've been really lucky then."
Hearing the voice behind them, the two old-generation vampires instantly had their hair stand on end.
"Flame Web Corridor!"
The gentle youth's dreamy beauty vanished, and like a startled bird, he turned into mist while shouting for his Familiar. In the web of lava threads, the spider Familiar screeched, raised its sharp leg, and thrust it fiercely at Kaiser.
"Steel King of Crushing Blow!"
The aggressive youth lunged forward to increase distance from Kaiser, while anxiously summoning another Familiar.
It was a four-to-five-meter-tall iron-gray ape—a steel golem manifested from dense magical power.
The moment it appeared, it swung a heavy punch, colliding with the spider Familiar's leg as both struck Kaiser.
"Boom!"
With a loud bang, the rooftop barrier trembled violently but didn't shatter.
The strength unleashed by the two vampires' Familiars was completely sealed within the barrier, causing no damage outside.
"Swish!"
Kaiser's figure used Shunpo, like a phantom, closing in on the two vampires.
"————!"
The two saw Kaiser suddenly appear before them, and as their pupils contracted sharply, they instinctively released blood mist, trying to summon more Familiars.
But...
"Too slow."
Kaiser's hands had already touched their shoulders.
"Bakudō #63: Locking Chain Binding."
Spiritual power burst forth like light and quickly turned into thick serpent-like light chains, crawling from Kaiser's hands onto the two nobles.
Under the restraint of the luminous chains, neither the mist-form gentle youth nor the aggressive lunging youth could move.
Kaiser then grabbed the other end of the chain and fiercely flung them toward the ground.
"Bang!"
With a dull crash, the two old-generation vampires slammed into the floor, shaking the barrier.
"Cough…!"
The two coughed up blood simultaneously, injured in an instant.
"Shing!" "Shing!" "Shing!"...
At that moment, several silver flashes flew through the barrier, swiftly piercing through the Familiars attempting to save their masters.
The lava spider, magical flame raptor, and steel golem were all mercilessly torn apart.
These silver flashes were the split silver short blades of the Type-100 Anti-Demon Armament: Silver Radiance Qilin.
Under the effect of the triple artificial spatial severing technique, each silver short blade had the power to cut space, and even the Familiars of pure-blood old-generation vampires couldn't avoid being sliced apart.
With this, the two War King-class nobles lost all ability to resist. Kaiser pulled them before him with a tug, throwing them to the ground in a sorry heap.
"What's wrong? Is it over just like that?"
Looking at the disheveled vampire nobles, Kaiser spoke with a half-smile.
"Didn't you say Vattler didn't even need to show up to deal with me?"
"Didn't you say this was the greeting he sent you to deliver?"
"That greeting is a bit pathetic, isn't it? Did the Serpent Bearer trust you too much? Or just underestimate me?"
The sarcastic remarks made the two youths glare at Kaiser.
Especially the aggressive one—his eyes, dyed deep crimson, suddenly emitted a bewitching and eerie light.
"Shing!" "Shing!" "Shing!"...
Silver flashes instantly flew in, mercilessly piercing the youth's arms, thighs, shoulders, and abdomen, riddling him with wounds, blood gushing.
"Aaaaahhhh…!"
The youth screamed in pain, while the gentle youth beside him turned pale.
"A Familiar that invades and controls the mind of anyone who makes eye contact?" Kaiser watched coldly. "A clever trick, but useless on me."
Even without immense magical resistance, a Campione's mind and sense of self are extremely hard to invade or control. Unless it involves a god's Authority, disturbing a Campione's mind is no easier than controlling a Heretic God.
Kaiser then recalled all the silver blades, which combined in his hand into a silver longsword, flashing cold arcs beneath the moonlight.
"A gift should be returned in kind. Since you came all this way to provoke me, I might as well meet the master you serve."
Kaiser dispelled the barrier. As the orange transparent screen descended, he turned his gaze toward the harbor.
His eyes, shining with silver brilliance under the moonlight, were both dazzling and chilling.
...
Itogami Island's harbor, the upper deck of the Oceanus Grave.
At this time, the party hadn't ended yet. Vattler, the host, remained at the bow of the ship, standing against the wind, holding a glass of red wine in one hand, swirling it gently.
"Boom…"
A dull thud suddenly rang out behind him, followed by two familiar groans, causing Vattler's hand to pause mid-swirl. His eyes instantly turned blood-red.
"What a delightful mood you're in, Lord Ardeal."
A voice he had never heard before but could instantly guess the owner of echoed behind him.
"The guests you invited are still indulging themselves below, either drunk or pretending to hold refined conversations, and yet you, the host, are up here enjoying the breeze?"
"Are you that bored?"
"No wonder you sent two lackeys to disturb our sleep. You needed some amusement, huh?"
Hearing this, Vattler laughed.
He laughed heartily and joyfully.
He slowly turned around to look at the deck behind him.
There, on a white lounge chair, a boy wearing an out-of-place academy uniform lay as if sunbathing in the moonlight, relaxed and at ease.
Beside the chair, his two personal guards were bound tightly in chains of light, either battered or severely wounded, collapsed on the deck and struggling.
"Clap—Clap—Clap—"
Seeing this, Vattler didn't get angry. Instead, he applauded with joy.
"Brilliant! You defeated my assassins so easily—truly worthy of the legendary Chaos Dragon. As expected, you're no ordinary opponent!"
Vattler spoke with delight, not at all angered by his subordinates being tied up and tossed aside.
"You're exactly as the rumors say—a bona fide battle maniac, a pure madman."
Kaiser lay back with his hands behind his head, looking nothing like someone here to settle a score—more like he was on vacation.
"Aren't there plenty of strong fighters in the Warlord's domain?"
"Third-generation elders, second-generation princes and princesses—there's no shortage."
"At worst, there's even the Lost Warlord of the First Progenitor. If you want a fight, want a battle, go challenge them. Coming all the way to Itogami Island to find us—isn't that a bit too much?"
Kaiser's half-smiling words were met with only Vattler's indifferent response.
"Those people are my targets too, but with the old man watching, I can't go all out. So I thought I'd come see the legendary Fourth Progenitor and the Chaos Dragon. Maybe I'd find some surprises."
"And I was right, wasn't I?"
"I haven't even seen my beloved Fourth Progenitor, and yet her watcher has already displayed power that thrills me."
Vattler indeed wore a look of mad delight.
"Why not give me a taste of the strongest magic beast in the world right here and now?"
A dangerous and deadly atmosphere was instantly created by Vattler.
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