Slane Theocracy.
In a dim room filled with rune magic circles, a girl with flaxen short hair, wearing a short skirt, sat cross-legged in the center of the magic circles.
This girl was none other than Thousand Leagues Astrologer, responsible for monitoring movements across the world for the Theocracy.
At this moment, Thousand Leagues Astrologer was using her ability to watch Kenichi, the Captain, and the others.
Suddenly, Thousand Leagues Astrologer felt a gaze directed straight at her.
The moment she sensed this gaze, Thousand Leagues Astrologer was startled.
Soon, her eyes fell upon Kenichi.
She saw Kenichi looking up at the sky.
It seemed as if Kenichi was looking at her across the vast distance.
'It must be an illusion. How could this person possibly see me from tens of thousands of miles away?'
Thousand Leagues Astrologer looked at Kenichi and comforted herself inwardly.
Suddenly, a mysterious smile appeared on Kenichi's face.
The moment Thousand Leagues Astrologer saw this smile, her soul trembled violently.
Then, under Thousand Leagues Astrologer's horrified gaze, Kenichi raised his finger and pointed towards the sky.
Whoosh-
A massive shockwave shot straight into the sky like a spear piercing the sun.
Crack-
Immediately after, the sky shattered like glass.
"How is this possible?"
"How can such a being exist in this world?"
"Monster! That guy must be a monster!"
Seeing that Kenichi could not only see her across the distance but also effortlessly break her ability, Thousand Leagues Astrologer curled up into a ball, trembling uncontrollably.
"What's wrong?"
"What happened?"
The priestesses stationed outside the room immediately rushed in upon hearing the commotion inside.
Seeing Thousand Leagues Astrologer's terrified expression, they quickly gathered around her.
"Monster! Another monster!"
Seeing that Thousand Leagues Astrologer's emotions were unstable, one of the priestesses immediately cast a magic spell to calm her mind.
Soon, Thousand Leagues Astrologer returned to normal.
"Did something happen on the Captain's side?"
"The vampire that killed Kaire-sama has appeared! Not only that, but that vampire has been subdued by a human!"
"What?!"
Hearing Thousand Leagues Astrologer's words, the priestesses all paled dramatically.
Shalltear's terror had already spread throughout the entire Slane Theocracy.
The priestesses naturally also knew exactly how terrifying Shalltear was.
And now, Thousand Leagues Astrologer was saying that someone had subdued Shalltear.
Before the priestesses could recover from their shock, Thousand Leagues Astrologer continued, "The one who subdued that vampire is the leader of an Adamantite-ranked adventurer team, Kenichi."
"Currently, the Captain is facing off against that vampire!"
Thousand Leagues Astrologer's words snapped the priestesses back from their shock.
They knew that every member of the Black Scripture was an important asset to the Slane Theocracy.
Some time ago, they had lost three members, including Kaire, to Shalltear.
This had pained the higher-ups of the Slane Theocracy greatly.
Now, if the Captain, the Time Turbulence, and the Strongest Human were also to die at Shalltear's hands, it wouldn't just be a matter of pain for the Slane Theocracy.
It would be a severe blow.
After all, the Captain and the other two were also among the top ranks in terms of strength within the Black Scripture.
Furthermore, the Captain carried the bloodline of the Six Great Gods from ages past.
The Captain and his two companions absolutely must not die.
"We must rescue the Captain and the others immediately!"
"Antilene Heran Fouche! Quickly, recall Antilene Heran Fouche!"
Just as the Slane Theocracy was preparing to dispatch Antilene Heran Fouche for support, the Captain here was staring vigilantly at Shalltear before him.
Seeing that Shalltear didn't seem intent on attacking immediately, he shifted his gaze from Shalltear to Kenichi on the distant airship.
The Captain could naturally tell that Shalltear completely obeyed Kenichi's commands.
With a single order from Kenichi, Shalltear would immediately attack them.
"None of you make a move!"
"Before reinforcements arrive, we stall for time!"
The Captain whispered this to the Time Turbulence and the Strongest Human behind him, then said to Shalltear, "I didn't expect we'd meet again so soon!"
'Meet again?'
Hearing the Captain's words, a look of confusion appeared on Shalltear's pale, pretty face. She then asked the Captain, "Have you seen me before?"
As soon as Shalltear finished speaking, the Captain's expression froze.
'That night, you killed three of our Black Scripture's members, and I almost died by your hand.'
'And you're asking me if I've seen you before?'
But since the Captain's aim was to stall for time, he didn't argue with Shalltear. Instead, he replied, "Ah, we met not long ago in the Katze Plains."
"How regrettable. I don't remember you, just as you humans don't remember which ants you might have stepped on!"
A crescent moon curve appeared at the corner of Shalltear's mouth as she looked at the Captain with a smile.
"Comparing us to ants?"
Hearing Shalltear's words, the Strongest Human flew into a rage.
However, just as the Strongest Human was about to lose control and attack, the Captain stopped him.
"Don't be impulsive!"
The Captain scolded the Strongest Human.
Just as the Captain was about to say something more to Shalltear, Shalltear spoke first: "Oh my, trying to stall for time, are we?"
Seeing that Shalltear had seen through his intention, the Captain's heart sank.
However, he didn't show any unusual expression on his face.
"If it were up to me, I would kill you all immediately."
"But my Great Master is merciful and wants to play a game with you!"
When they heard the first half of Shalltear's sentence, the Captain immediately summoned a long spear, preparing to fight Shalltear.
But upon hearing the second half, the Captain stopped his movement and asked Shalltear, "What game?"
"As long as you can last 30 seconds against me, my Master will let you leave!"
"30 seconds? That's too arrogant!"
As soon as Shalltear finished speaking, the Strongest Human was enraged.
The Captain, however, showed a thoughtful expression.
'30 seconds, huh?'
'This vampire is indeed very strong. That night in the Katze Plains, she killed Poma and Cedran in an instant and severely injured Kaire-sama.'
"By myself, I'm afraid it would be very difficult to last 30 seconds."
'But if I have Strongest Human and Time Turbulence with me, it should be no problem.'
After weighing the options briefly, the Captain replied to Shalltear, "Fine, we accept this game!"
"Actually, you don't have the right to refuse."
Shalltear looked at the Captain and his two companions and said indifferently.