The vampire territories lay hidden deep within the mountains of Romania, in the human world.
Because vampires deliberately isolated themselves, refusing contact with outsiders, direct teleportation magic wasn't viable. Thus, Jeanne and her group first teleported into Europe, then traveled by plane and car toward the vampire domains.
After flying into Romania, they drove along winding mountain roads toward their destination.
Given their numbers, Azazel arranged two vehicles:
Azazel drove Jeanne, Toujou Koneko, Asia Argento, Ophis, and Himejima Akeno in one car.
Rossweisse drove Hyoudou Issei, Rias, Kiba Yuuto, Xenovia Quarta, and Gasper in the other.
Due to the mountainous terrain, the ride was rough. The journey itself felt quite torturous, long, and uncomfortable.
Jeanne was reminded of childhood trips back to her hometown by car. Every summer and winter vacation, her family would drive for hours. When she was very young, the trip could last five or six hours—she'd sleep two or three times and still not have arrived. Later, road improvements cut the journey down to around three hours.
But the biggest annoyance back then was being banned from looking at her phone in the car, supposedly to protect her eyes. It was incredibly boring when you had nothing to do but sleep.
Gazing out the window, Jeanne saw thickening fog as they approached vampire territory.
Vampires, predominantly nocturnal beings afraid of sunlight and skilled at manipulating mist, kept their territory blanketed in fog, allowing them to move freely even in daylight.
Gasper was from a special lineage of daywalkers, hence his ability to tolerate sunlight.
Vampires also possessed numerous weaknesses: garlic, flowing water, crosses, holy water; they cast neither reflections nor shadows, and couldn't enter uninvited buildings.
Unable to see the landscape due to the mist, Jeanne shifted her gaze back inside, directing it toward the driver's seat.
"Speaking of which...do you even have a driver's license to drive here?"
"My dear Witch-san, we're not humans. Human laws don't exactly apply to us," Azazel answered with a casual grin.
"So...you're basically admitting you don't have one?"
"Nope, I actually do!" Azazel laughed heartily, his voice echoing through the car. "I was interested in these trivial human things once, so I took the test."
"..."
Hearing this, Jeanne's expression instantly turned strange.
Interested in trivial human things so he took a driving test...?
Is that license even still valid?
"Now that Khaos Brigade controls the [Sephiroth Graal] and has resurrected Evil Dragons, there's no reason they'd stop at Grendel alone," Azazel spoke, interrupting Jeanne's skeptical thoughts about his driving credentials.
"Crom Cruach the Crescent Circle Dragon, Ladon Guardian of the Golden Apples, Aži Dahāka the Diabolism Thousand Dragon, Nidhogg the Malice Striker Dragon, Apep the Primordial Eclipse Dragon, Yamata-no-Orochi... If I'm not mistaken, we'll soon face multiple Evil Dragons. Each one gave countless gods endless headaches. And now they might all show up together...that's not funny at all."
Azazel smiled bitterly, clearly feeling the immense pressure of facing such a formidable lineup.
"Furthermore, after modification by the [Sephiroth Graal], these Evil Dragons might lack any exploitable weakness. Dragon-slaying techniques, including your abilities, may no longer be effective. Based on Grendel's strength when you fought him, they've probably been significantly enhanced by the [Graal]. And considering their troublesome resurrection abilities..."
Azazel's nervousness stemmed from knowing firsthand how devastatingly dangerous Evil Dragons were. Besides Ophis, only he had personally witnessed the immense destruction and heavy casualties they'd inflicted upon the world's factions.
"You're worrying unnecessarily."
Jeanne's calm voice easily dispelled the heavy atmosphere.
"No matter how impressive their lineup, can it surpass ours?"
Jeanne glanced toward the back seat. There, the harmless-looking Ophis was being hand-fed by Asia.
The Infinite Dragon God, Ophis, at the peak of her strength, untouched by Samael's curse... With her here, isn't it the Khaos Brigade who should worry?
"As for the resurrection granted by [Sephiroth Graal]... Relax. I've already devised a countermeasure," Jeanne confidently reassured.
"Oh?"
Azazel's expression immediately brightened, his eyes sparkling.
"Among your divine artifacts, is there something capable of neutralizing [Sephiroth Graal]?"
Jeanne didn't answer directly, merely smiling mysteriously.
"Something like that."
Azazel didn't mind her vague response, his mood significantly improved.
Indeed, with Ophis—ranked first—and the Witch-san—ranked second—in their party, even if every deceased Evil Dragon returned stronger, victory would still overwhelmingly favor their side. The Khaos Brigade should've been terrified; opposing these two was sheer idiocy.
Though the mist made the drive hazardous, neither Azazel nor Rossweisse were troubled. Soon, their destination—a town enveloped by thick fog—came into view.
Despite it being winter, while Japan was merely chilly, this place was blanketed by pristine snow, resembling a kingdom of ice.
Anticipating this, Jeanne's group had already prepared appropriate cold-weather attire.
"Wow…"
Standing atop a cliff, Rias and the others couldn't help but gasp at the spectacular snowy landscape—rarely seen by them. A flawless white stretched endlessly.
The vampire settlement consisted of modern houses surrounding a grand medieval castle at the center. The contrast between contemporary and medieval architecture, topped with thick snow, presented an utterly surreal scene.
Notably, both modern buildings and the ancient castle had few windows. For vampires, windows likely served only for ventilation—sunlight wasn't needed.
"The scenery here is amazing…" Akeno murmured softly, cheeks flushed. "It would be perfect for a date. If only Jeanne and I were alone... Next time we have free time, I should definitely bring her here."
Koneko shot Akeno a hostile glare upon overhearing this, but privately admitted the idea was tempting. Imagining herself alone with Jeanne-senpai here, her cheeks grew warm as anticipation surged within her.
"That's the royal castle of the Tepes faction," Azazel pointed at the central fortress. "Our initial target is Valerie Tepes, holder of [Sephiroth Graal]. She's from the Tepes vampires, so we should start here, ideally meeting the Tepes King and asking if they've had dealings with Khaos Brigade."
The vampires were split mainly between the Tepes faction—centered around male progenitors—and the Carmilla faction, who revered female progenitors.
If the Tepes had aligned with Khaos Brigade, contacting the rival Carmilla faction might be wise, but Azazel first wanted to approach King Tepes directly for intel. Only with sufficient information could they act decisively.
"Our arrival has likely drawn King Tepes's attention," Azazel remarked. "He'll probably send someone shortly—"
"No need to wait, Azazel," Jeanne suddenly interrupted, voice grave.
Everyone turned in surprise.
"We're already too late."
Without another word, Jeanne shot upward, soaring through thick mist toward the Tepes royal castle. Ophis followed immediately behind her.
Trusting Jeanne implicitly, after exchanging quick glances, Rias's group spread their wings and followed swiftly.
Soon, they landed before the castle.
Only now did Azazel and Rias's group notice something was disturbingly wrong.
The place felt oppressively quiet—not a single vampire soldier appeared, despite their unauthorized entry.
"This isn't normal..." Azazel murmured. "We must hurry inside!"
Just as they approached the castle gates, an oppressive, sinister aura surged from above. Jeanne and Ophis were first to sense this and sharply raised their heads.
A vast shadow appeared clearly even through the mist.
"ROOOAAAARRRR!!"
A deafening roar rang out. A huge black dragon soared overhead, smaller than Grendel, yet Azazel's pupils constricted in fear.
This dragon had three heads.
Instinctively, Azazel named it aloud:
"Aži Dahāka, Diabolism Thousand Dragon…!"
A notorious Evil Dragon from Zoroastrian myth—one of the strongest of its kind.
Jeanne sensed its aura clearly exceeded Grendel's, rivaling even Hades's power—a top-ten being.
Unsurprisingly, she felt no 'dragon' aura from it.
Hovering above, Aži Dahāka's three heads grinned simultaneously.
"It's Ophis! Pathetic Ophis!"
"So, that's the rumored Dragon Witch beside her?"
"She looks like an ordinary human."
Each head spoke independently, oddly unsettling.
Hearing her name, Ophis expressionlessly met the dragon's gaze.
"...You."
"Domesticated Ophis, showing interest in a mere human?"
"Rare chance to fight Ophis—shall we?"
"But isn't there someone even more interesting here?"
All three heads turned toward Jeanne simultaneously. Immediately, a magic circle appeared beneath her, enveloping her in a flash. She vanished without resistance.
Before Azazel could react, Aži Dahāka laughed ecstatically.
"Hahaha! That human smiled at us just now!"
"She noticed our magic and didn't resist?"
"How intriguing! We must hurry—such an interesting human can't fall into another fool's hands!"
Instantly, the dragon vanished into its own teleportation circle, leaving Azazel and the others stunned.