"Boss, you're leading troops even though your injuries haven't healed yet?"
The half-blood vampire with two general's stars on his uniform looked at Kovei with undisguised concern. His waist was still wrapped in bandages, yet he ignored everyone's objections and stubbornly put on that familiar suit.
"That's right, Minister of War. You should wait until you've recovered before heading out!" the other vampires chimed in, trying to persuade him.
Kovei didn't listen. He calmly slipped on his white gloves, opening and closing his hands. Blue light crackled and hummed across the fabric.
Mm. Still a good fit.
He nodded and stepped up to the mirror, straightening his attire.
A gentleman—even a suit-wearing brute—had to keep his manners in order.
As he adjusted his tie, a sharp, twisting pain suddenly stabbed through his abdomen.
That injury… from Phaga's punch.
He wasn't a pureblood vampire. Compared to Bern—who had been injured, healed, then inexplicably dragged by Misha and Black to the Outer Ring to die—Kovei's wounds still hadn't fully recovered after everything he'd been through.
Still, he hid it well. He discreetly wiped the sweat from his temple, and none of the half-blood vampires noticed.
"Don't look so worried," he said lightly. "I'm just going to catch a rat."
Straightening his tie, he put on an air of nonchalance. At the same time, he slipped his faintly glowing phone into the inner pocket of his suit. On the dim screen was a message from a clan elder—
[Kovei, take troops to the southwest corner of New Eridu. I've sent you the coordinates.]
[That rat has contacted the Outer Ring again. No matter what, you must capture her this time!]
"Ha… once you're injured, this is the kind of work you're left with."
Kovei sighed, his emotions tangled.
Ever since Phaga's punch had nearly crippled him, the clan's praise had never stopped—but his actual authority and position had very clearly been cut back.
Before, he led special operations and commanded armies.
Now, he was reduced to chasing rats. Just thinking about it was humiliating.
"Whatever. Once I've healed, my post will rise again."
With that thought, he raised his voice.
"What are you all standing around for? Hey—Gray! The five companies I told you to assemble, are they ready?"
Gray froze, his thick eyebrows lifting in shock.
"Boss… for one rat? Do we really need five companies?"
A single company had at least a hundred soldiers.
Five companies meant nearly six hundred.
"Just do it when I tell you to!" Kovei snapped. "That rat is slippery as hell—catching her won't be easy! And besides—"
He abruptly cut himself off mid-sentence. His eyes narrowed, a trace of hostility flashing through them.
In the next moment, Kovei slightly bent forward and offered a formal bow.
"Good afternoon, Miss Misha. May I ask what brings you here? If you're only here for leisure, then I must advise you to leave as soon as possible. This is a restricted military area."
Misha's status within the clan was exceptional, but the fact that Bern had died in the Outer Ring under unclear circumstances weighed heavily on Kovei.
The more he looked at her, the more displeased he felt.
"Don't be like that," Misha said with a laugh. "Bern's death wasn't my fault. You should be blaming Black."
She tilted her head, lightly covering her mouth as she smiled.
Kovei frowned. "What are you trying to say?"
Perhaps the shock got to him—he didn't even bother with honorifics anymore.
"Oh, nothing much. Just chatting," Misha replied casually. "Remember, though—I didn't say anything. Whatever you're thinking is just your own wild speculation. It has nothing to do with me."
She giggled, her hand still covering her red lips.
Then her smile faded, and her expression turned serious.
"Alright, I'll stop teasing you. I have something else to ask. That fake intel about me not being afraid of sunlight—did you spread it?"
"I did," Kovei answered offhandedly. "As for whether that rat believed it or passed it back to the Outer Ring, that's none of my concern."
By then, Gray had returned. Behind him, several neatly formed units stood in dense formation. Kovei waved his hand sharply.
"Move out!"
The five formations acknowledged the order at once, rushing toward their respective troop transports outside the drill ground.
Seconds later, Kovei boarded one of the vehicles and shut the door. Through the rearview mirror, he saw the entire force assembled and ready. He closed his eyes and spoke in a low, steady voice.
"Depart."
Clang—vrrrm!
Engines roared as the convoy surged forward.
Ten minutes later, the troop transports arrived at the southwest corner of New Eridu.
Before the vehicle had even come to a complete stop, Kovei jumped out through the window. A wave of intense pain slammed into his abdomen, but he didn't make a sound. His face twisted briefly before he forced himself to keep moving.
Ruins stretched out before him. Behind him, dilapidated buildings loomed, their windows shattered, shop signs hanging crookedly as though a stronger gust of wind might send them crashing down.
Kovei took a few more steps forward. One after another, the soldiers jumped out of the transports, spreading out loosely as they awaited his orders.
"The tracking signal disappeared two minutes ago," someone reported. "That means the rat only ended her communication with the Outer Ring two minutes ago."
"Then she can't be far," Kovei said sharply.
His heart jolted. He raised his voice. "All units, listen up. Begin a carpet—"
Bang!
"Minister of War, watch out!"
Whoosh!
A bullet suddenly screamed through the air. The half-blood vampires were horrified, scrambling forward as they shouted warnings.
Kovei snapped his head up. His hand moved instinctively, catching the bullet midair.
Electric arcs flared across his white gloves. In the blink of an eye, the ether bullet disintegrated into ash.
Slowly lowering his hand from his line of sight, Kovei revealed a face cold as ice. His gaze locked onto the figure who had appeared in the distance—Jane.
He let out a low, sinister chuckle. "Rat. You're not running?"
Jane raised an eyebrow, twirling her fingers lazily before covering her mouth with a playful laugh. "Why would I run? You're the one surrounded right now. If anyone needs to figure out how to escape, it's you."
"Heh. What a joke," Kovei sneered. "Rocket launchers, pre—"
He dismissed her taunt entirely. Just as he raised his hand to order the half-blood vampires to bring out the rocket launchers, his expression froze.
He stared blankly past Jane.
A tuft of white fur appeared.
A few seconds later, a cat Thiren stepped out to stand beside her.
Kovei recognized him immediately—the probationary officer, Seth.
Then two more figures emerged from the rubble, one tall and one short.
Zhu Yuan.
Qingyi.
Kovei's brows shot up. A sense of deep unease washed over him, but he still wiped the sweat from his brow and forced a calm smile.
"Anyone else?"
"Why not come out all at once?" he continued mockingly. "A handful of officers won't accomplish anything. All you'll do is make the grass on your graves grow a little thicker—"
Before he could finish, Ellen crawled out of the ruins. Nekomata, Nicole, and Harumasa followed close behind.
Finally, Phaga stepped out as well, smiling faintly at Kovei from afar.
In the next instant, Phaga spread his wings and shot into the air. Alone, he cast an immense shadow that blanketed the entire army.
"…Some," Kovei muttered.
He stared in disbelief, his words coming out in fragments. It took him several seconds to finish the sentence he'd started earlier.
The moment his eyes landed on Phaga, a dull ache bloomed in his abdomen—and rapidly intensified.
No. Run!
Kovei roared inwardly and whipped his head around.
At the other end of the road, he saw another familiar figure—someone he'd seen countless times on television.
The youngest Void Hunter in history: Hoshimi Miyabi.
Behind her stood a force led by No. 11 and Yanagi, yet Miyabi advanced alone. With Phaga in the air behind him, the two of them sealed off the five battalions completely, front and back.
In an instant, Phaga and Miyabi struck at the same time.
Purple-red blade light and ghostly blue-violet blade light slashed down together.
Scorching heat at his back. Icy cold before him.
Kovei suddenly laughed.
So it was true—when people were utterly speechless, they really did laugh.
At the very end of his life, he raised a middle finger at fate and clenched the phone inside his suit's inner pocket.
...
The TOPS Tower, now the gathering place of the vampire clan.
[Elder Bai, Kovei just sent a message.]
[Oh? What good news does he have for me?]
[Grass.]
[Hm? Are you swearing at me?]
[N-no, Elder Bai. That's the message Kovei sent.]
[Why would he send this if he's fine? Is there anything else?]
[No. After sending that message, Kovei's phone signal disappeared from tracking.]
[Disappeared from tracking… He turned it off? No. He's dead. Kovei is dead!]
In an instant, the entire TOPS Tower echoed with the fury of the aged vampire.
[All vampires, assemble! Infiltrate New Eridu from the shadows of the Outer Ring—they've already struck first!]
...