"All armored vehicles and tanks, advance at full speed! Use artillery to clear the way!"
With a furious roar from the temporary command camp, armored vehicles surged forward, plunging down towering steps like dumplings dropped into boiling water. Shells thundered one after another, turning the ground into a haze of dust and ash.
Power poles collapsed, releasing their last feeble sparks.
A half-blood vampire combatant who had just staggered out of the casino at the sound of the explosions was swallowed by fire the instant he looked up. The casino itself was reduced to rubble under the bombardment.
An armored vehicle painted with human markings rolled straight through the ruins. It had no idea how many fallen bodies were being crushed beneath its treads.
It only knew that the enemy lay ahead.
And home lay ahead.
Negotiation was nothing but a fantasy now. If they wanted to reclaim their homeland, there was only one path left—
Destruction.
Boom!
Boom!
The tank fired two more rounds into the sky.
One detonated an incoming missile launched by an enemy fighter jet.
The other blew the fighter jet itself apart.
The tank silently lowered its barrel and continued forward, grinding across a road paved with scattered aircraft debris.
"NICE!!!"
Inside the tank, the four crew members clapped and cheered.
The squad leader's tightly wound expression finally eased. After letting out a long breath, he picked up the communicator and contacted the temporary command post.
[Command, this is First Squad under the Armored Regiment. All half-blood vampire soldiers inside the casino have been eliminated—three hundred and fifty-eight in total. No survivors. Over.]
Almost the instant he finished speaking, static crackled on the other end. No. 11's calm, distant voice came through.
[This is Command. Well done. That means all off-duty half-blood vampire soldiers have been wiped out. Proceed to deal with those still on duty… Watch out!]
Before the four tank crew could even react, several missiles came screaming in from viciously angled trajectories. One moment they had just entered radar range— the next, they were already in full view.
The other tank crews stared in shock. Only the squad leader seated beside the main driver remained notably composed.
He calmly lifted the communicator and reported at high speed, his words precise and orderly.
[This is First Squad under the Armored Regiment. Enemy armor-piercing munitions are moving at abnormal speeds. Our entire squad is—]
Boom!
The explosion swallowed his final words whole. A deafening roar erased everything in an instant.
[Soldier! Soldier! Do you copy?!]
Despite the shockwave nearly bursting her eardrums, No. 11 refused to give up and kept calling.
As long as there was even the faintest breath on the other end, she would desperately convince herself she could still save them.
But there was nothing.
Only endless dead tone, punctuated by intermittent bursts of static.
Then came the sound of something massive crashing down—like a slab of steel. A sharp, pointed edge pierced straight through the communications equipment. The shrill feedback in her ears was nothing compared to the pain tearing through No. 11's chest.
She heard it.
The howling of wind through the line.
That was the sound of fighter jets moving at extreme speed.
It wouldn't be long before they reached every corner of the battlefield. Once that happened, the situation would shift from a human advantage to a deadlock.
Damn it—how could the vampire faction respond this fast?!
In the next instant, No. 11 spun around and shouted hoarsely, "Belle! Wise! Have you broken into the vampire faction's communications network yet?!"
"Not yet—it's really tricky!"
Belle shouted back without looking away from the H.D.D. screen, her eyes locked in place as all ten slender fingers flew across the keyboard.
Wise explained from the side, "After Fairy infiltrated New Eridu's network last time, the vampire faction must have gone on high alert. This firewall is abnormally tough."
In other words, just breaking into New Eridu's surveillance network and locating all off-duty half-blood vampire soldiers had already pushed the two Proxies to their limit.
Trying to breach the vampire faction's communications network in such a short time—even with Fairy's assistance—was about as likely as Lycaon standing still and politely letting a complete stranger pet the fur on his tail.
"Damn it… we have no advantage when it comes to equipment."
No. 11 clenched her teeth.
The vampire faction's response speed was absurd, and this sudden counterattack had completely exceeded her expectations.
This was the price of losing a home base.
For this war, the vampire faction had spent years laying the groundwork.
First, they embedded themselves as a central pillar of the TOPS, secretly courting the city's upper echelons.
Then, they helped the Alliance expand step by step, until it became a thorn in the side of those same elites—something they wanted nothing more than to tear apart and devour.
At the right moment, the vampire faction turned on them, exploiting the conflict between TOPS and the city's leadership and letting both sides tear into each other.
Finally, when the struggle reached its fiercest point and the situation was boiling over, the vampire faction raised the banner of rebellion.
They drove all human forces out of the city.
Yet the vast majority of the technology and resources humanity had created were left behind—now freely used by the vampires.
By now, the vampire faction had already weathered its most dangerous period. They could sit firmly and wait, while humanity had no choice but to launch a desperate frontal assault.
If this dragged on any longer…
"Do we really have to commit everyone at once and take out their armored units first?"
No. 11 suddenly clutched her head, fingers digging deep into her hair as she fell into agonized indecision.
All Agents were still stationed in the command camp, deliberately kept off the battlefield. The plan had been to conserve strength and wait for the vampire faction's elite forces to fully mobilize—then strike decisively and catch them off guard.
But now…
"Maybe… we should change our approach."
A sudden voice pulled No. 11 back from the brink.
She snapped her head up. Everyone could see the bloodshot veins crawling across her eyes.
Phaga silently stood and spread out the map of New Eridu at the center of the command room.
Every detail was meticulously marked—every street, every pipeline, nothing overlooked.
Staring at the map, Phaga spoke in a low, steady voice.
"Our original plan was to use the advantage of surprise to eliminate the vampire faction's half-blood soldiers first. Then, taking advantage of the fact that pureblood vampires are completely combat-ineffective during the day, we would wipe them out one by one."
"The armored units were meant to break through first. Infantry would serve as the main combat force. We Agents would only strike as a last resort, to secure the final decisive victory."
"But the problem now is that the vampire faction reacted far too quickly. We only managed to eliminate part of the half-blood forces."
No. 11 dragged a hand down her face and let out a long sigh, exhaustion heavy in her voice.
"Just get to the point. We don't have much time."
"No problem."
Phaga nodded and continued.
"My suggestion is this: instead of waiting for the army to carve out a decisive advantage and leaving us to plug the gaps, we let the army pin down their forces—and we go straight for the enemy's head."
Thud!
Phaga's finger came down hard on the map, striking the location of the TOPS headquarters.
No. 11 hesitated. After a brief pause, she said, "Because of the disparity in equipment, the army might—"
"Then let Billy hold the line!"
Boom!
Phaga's words hit like a deep-sea charge, blowing everything open for No. 11.
Joy flashed across her face. She shot up from her chair so fast that it scraped loudly across the floor.
Billy jumped to his feet as well, brimming with excitement.
"No problem! I'm a full-terrain, high-intelligence combat body built for suppressive firepower! Large-scale warfare is exactly my specialty!"
Even No. 11 looked as though she'd grabbed hold of a lifeline, her voice charged with emotion.
"Alright, then… wait."
The excitement faded just as quickly. No. 11 stared at Phaga, momentarily dazed.
"But if Billy joins the front line, we'll be down one Void Hunter–level combatant. Are you really confident you can break through when the vampire faction still has two Void Hunters?"
"There's nothing that's impossible."
Phaga turned his head—
—and at that exact moment, a sharp smack echoed through the room as Miyabi slammed her demon blade onto the conference table.
"I'm the strongest."
…
[So we'll split into three teams and attack the TOPS headquarters from three directions. How does that sound?]
Yanagi replayed Phaga's words in her mind as she leapt lightly from rooftop to rooftop, racing toward the TOPS building.
Suddenly, she stopped and swept her gaze across the surroundings.
"Everyone," she said softly, "do you hear that rustling sound?"
Nicole blinked.
"Huh? Really?"
Nekomata trembled and hid behind Nicole. "I… I think I hear something…"
Jane curled her lips into a quiet smile, covering her mouth as she chuckled.
"Heh. Some sneaky little things."
Ellen swept her eyes indifferently over the area. When the shadows hiding in the stairwell slowly emerged, she clicked her tongue and bit off her lollipop.
"Tsk. Vamp-creeps. Such a pain."
"After this fight, can we finally take a proper vacation?"
Harumasa laughed as he drew his bow, pulling it taut like a full moon.
Soukaku hoisted her iron banner onto her shoulder. "
You know, Harumasa, it's been a long time since I thought something you said actually made sense. Sister Yanagi, will there be burgers after this?"
"Yes," Yanagi replied calmly. "Soukaku can eat whatever she wants."
She adjusted her glasses, a pale gleam flashing across the lenses.
"Zhu Yuan. Qingyi. You ready?"
"No problem."
"Mhm. All set."
"What about the Sons of Calydon?"
"Not enough targets to go around!"
"Just watching this is getting my blood boiling!"
…
[The surface is theirs. You take the sewers. No issues, right, Hoshimi Miyabi?]
Tap.
Tap.
Crisp footsteps echoed through the empty sewer tunnels. Wherever they passed, frost bloomed across the ground.
Miyabi let out a quiet sigh. Her demon blade slid partway free of its sheath, revealing a sliver of cold light.
"I hate the smell of sewers. And I hate you—especially your face."
Her flat voice drifted through the tunnels as her eyes remained fixed ahead, alert.
From the darkness not far away, footsteps sounded.
Soon, black leather shoes clicked against the damp ground. A black miniskirt bounced and swayed, constantly flirting with disaster.
Long black hair came into view, framing a delicate, striking face that resembled Phaga's by at least sixty percent.
"La~ la~ la~ We meet again, Void Hunter."
Misha smiled brightly, deliberately leaning forward. Her figure swayed heavily with the motion.
[So, Phaga, where are you heading?]
[The sky.]
Phaga slapped his forehead and shut his eyes tight.
"I suddenly regret it. The sewers don't seem so bad after all."
[Heehee. Could it be that the Creator doesn't want to see me?]
[I worked so hard, you know—using the Creator's own detector to find you.]
Black tilted her head and spoke honestly. She had cut her hair into a shoulder-length style like Ellen's, black on the outside with crimson underneath.
The outfit was truly bizarre. Phaga couldn't help glancing at it again—
—and immediately plunged into deep regret.
She clearly had the dark red wings that marked her as a vampire, yet a shark tail extended from her lower back, slipping out from above the miniskirt and beneath the loose white top, swaying freely in the air.
Black closed one eye and formed a heart with her hands, deliberately softening her voice—identical to Phaga's—trying hard to make it sound more feminine.
More precisely, more like Ellen.
[Creator, this is a brand-new look I custom-designed based on your favorite interests. Do you like it?]
[As for why I'm dressed like this… it's because I think the Creator himself is already perfect. If I add in the female form you like most, wouldn't that make me the one you adore the most?]
[So tell me, Creator—do you like me now?]
Black blinked, gazing at Phaga with naked anticipation.
Ah!!!!
Phaga ground his teeth, dragging a hand down his face.
When his index finger slid past his eyes, his tightly shut lids snapped open.
Rage burned within them.
Bloodshot veins spread across his sclera, his expression so ferocious it looked as though he might tear Black apart.
[Ha~ Creator, are you already so eager to pounce and swallow me whole?]
Black spoke in Ellen's voice, her body trembling exaggeratedly. Her loose top strained for inexplicable reasons, bulging outward—
—and beneath it, there was nothing.
As she shook, Phaga could even make out the faint outline of her navel beneath the fabric.
And every time her wings fluttered, he caught a flash of dazzling white beneath her skirt.
Click.
The sound of reason snapping.
Phaga's hand slid from his face to his chin and dropped limply.
In the next instant, purple-red flames ignited in his palm.
"You bastard!"
With that roar, Phaga launched himself forward. His wings surged with terrifying force, his entire body transforming into a blazing purple-red fireball as he smashed straight toward Black.
For a split second, Black felt as though a speeding train was bearing down on her.
[Hoo~ As expected of the Creator. Even your anger is magnificent.]
Black cupped her cheek and raised one arm in front of her.
Dark crimson light surged, instantly condensing into a shield—clear and polished like a mirror.
[Creator, please hit me harder~]