Alright, Issei and the others went to talk to Gasper's father. That means it's time to get started.
"Ittou Shura!!"
"Nya nya!? What are you doing all of a sudden!?"
Ah, crap. I forgot to explain things to Kuroka beforehand!
"Sorry, Kuroka. I'm going to focus on sensing—no, on soul detection now. When I'm done, I'll need you to use senjutsu healing. I'll explain everything after that!"
Yeah, this one's totally on me.
Kuroka didn't look thrilled, but she nodded begrudgingly with a "Fine, whatever." So, without wasting another moment, I sat down in a meditative pose and activated Ittou Shura, sharpening my senses to the limit as I began scanning the presence—no, the very souls—of the vampires in this town.
I've been using Ittou Shura for years, mainly to heighten my perception.
Honestly, if I—a guy with no special bloodline—managed to become this strong.
It's not like that useless [Self-Destruct] skill or the overly hyped but unreliable [Verg Avesta].
With my perception pushed to its limits, I reached deep into the essence of the surrounding vampires. Exactly one minute after activating Ittou Shura, the familiar wave of crushing fatigue hit me.
"Alright, Ikki, I'm carrying you to the sofa."
Kuroka scooped up my limp body princess-style and laid me gently on the couch, then placed my head in her lap. And just like that, I've been princess-carried by both Nekomata sisters. Guess I've officially completed the reverse collection.
As stupid as that thought was, I had to fight hard to keep my eyes from closing. Between Kuroka's lap pillow and the warm healing energy of her senjutsu, I was about to doze off.
I forced myself to stay awake and started explaining.
"Kuroka… How did the vampire soldiers' auras feel to you?"
"Nya? I didn't sense anything unusual, to be honest."
"Yeah, on the surface, they seemed like ordinary vampires. But I was curious about the whole 'strengthened by the Holy Grail' thing. So I dug a little deeper—and something felt off. That's why I used Ittou Shura to expand my senses and investigate further."
To be precise, I already suspected something. I just wanted to confirm it.
When I fought Thanatos before, my soul-sensing was only average. But with Ittou Shura, that changes entirely.
"So? What did you find out, nya?"
"This town's vampires—and even some of the ones we met in Carmilla's territory—they're not vampires anymore. They're Evil Dragons."
"Huh? Wh-what do you mean by that!?"
The moment I said "Evil Dragon," Kuroka's eyes went wide and she rushed in, face way too close to mine.
Too close! Your face is way too close! Dammit, if only this wasn't such a serious moment, I'd be enjoying this!
"It's definitely the Holy Grail's doing—its power to manipulate the laws of life. Their souls have basically been overwritten. Imagine an Evil Dragon's soul wearing a vampire mask… No, actually, it's more like a water balloon filled to bursting. Just a little poke, and either their minds snap and they turn into rampaging dragons, or their whole bodies transform into Evil Dragons entirely."
"…So you're saying that Marius—the vampire guy—is the one who did this? But… what's the point of turning them into Evil Dragons? Even if he's insane, that seems… senseless."
Of course, that's the natural reaction. Right now, the only ones capable of using the Holy Grail are Valerie and Marius—who's controlling her. But like Kuroka said, this whole situation is way too bizarre to be pinned on just them.
"Right. It's not a mystery novel, but let's go step by step. Let's set aside the 'how' and 'why' for now. The first thing to ask is: who did this?"
Unlike a certain Lord El-Melloi II, I don't think the "why" is the only question that matters.
"So you're saying Marius might not be the mastermind?"
"There's only one other guy it could be. The bastard Azazel kept badmouthing—the one who knows a lot about Evil Dragons."
Kuroka's expression turned grim. "Ah… I see."
"If we assume it was him, then there are probably two reasons. One: to mass-produce Evil Dragons as pawns. And two… because he thought it would be fun."
"Yeah… When I met him in the hallway, he came across as the ultimate petty villain—pure evil, but small-time. That actually makes sense."
Petty, huh… Well, yeah, his ridiculous attitude makes it hard to see him as a major threat.
But in reality, he's just a powerful loser.
"Now, about the 'how'… Let's say the tool used was the Holy Grail. Kuroka, could you secretly get in touch with Azazel-sensei? I want to hear what a Sacred Gear researcher has to say."
A little while later, a comm link from Azazel came through. Guess you don't need Izuna to make the connection when we're in the same castle.
[Yo. What's up? I told them I was taking the big dump, so I don't have much time.]
"Worst case, just say you had explosive diarrhea. Anyway…"
I quickly gave him a summary of everything—except my final hypothesis. Even over the comm, I could tell Azazel-sensei was stunned, but he didn't stop me. I knew he wouldn't shut down over something like this.
At least, I hoped he wouldn't. I mean, what I'm saying must sound like some ordinary fish is gracefully swimming through molten magma to them.
[…So? Assuming your theory's right, what exactly are you asking me?]
His voice was unusually serious. Understandable, considering most of the town's vampire soldiers—and even some high-ranking ones—were already beyond saving at the soul level.
And if Evil Dragons have also infiltrated Carmilla's side…
"What I want to ask is this: assuming Marius secretly intervened when using the Grail on these vampires, do you think it's possible for him to master the Holy Grail in just a few years? The rumors about the Grail only started circulating recently, after all."
[No way. You realize how many years Grigori has spent researching Sacred Gears, right? And we're talking about the Holy Grail—one of the most unstable and powerful Longinus-class artifacts. There's no way he could fully understand it in such a short time.]
True. In terms of raw potential, the Holy Grail might rival True Longinus, which can perform miracles. Except using it turns you into a wreck.
[Even if we accept the vampire soldiers here were tampered with, the real problem is Carmilla's side. I can't imagine they'd sneak Valerie out to use the Grail over there.]
And here comes the toughest question.
I did use soul sensing to track Valerie's presence and probe a bit further. Her soul did seem unstable, but that's easily explained by the Grail's mental contamination. It's not nearly enough to support a "multiple Grails" theory.
Honestly, I have too little data to guess why even the Carmilla faction's vampires are turning into Evil Dragons.
So… time to play my trump card.
"That's the part I can't figure out. Do you have any ideas, Azazel-sensei?"
The ultimate move: Pass the problem to someone else! I've been doing all this detective work, but honestly, my main goal here is to report that vampires are turning into Evil Dragons. The who, why, and how? Not really my concern.
You don't need the whole truth to make decisions. Just the facts.
[Honestly, it's hard to say. Every faction has traitors, and maybe some in Carmilla's camp wanted a taste of the Grail's power. If it's just a few people, they could've been smuggled in to be enhanced in secret. But if even the rank-and-file soldiers are affected… then we've got a much bigger problem.]
"I plan to handle this with Kuroka—frankly, those enhanced by the Holy Grail are already beyond saving. The only way to undo it would be to have Valerie use the Grail again… and I'm not about to sacrifice her to save a bunch of rebels."
We only got invited here when it was already too late. We weren't even given a chance to intervene.
[I agree. But if these guys start transforming into rampaging Evil Dragons in the middle of town, innocent vampire civilians will suffer. We can't let that happen.]
"Right. That's why I want to identify the infected vampires and have Kuroka implant sealing spells into them."
"And what kind of spell are we talking about, nya?"
"One that activates if it detects Evil Dragon energy—either paralyzing or knocking them out, tying them down… anything to immobilize them. We can't explain it later by saying, 'Oh, turns out they were Evil Dragons so we assassinated them all.' It's better to neutralize them without letting them act—then use them as living proof to justify our actions. Ideally, we'd kill Rizevim before he pulls the trigger that sets them off…"
[That'll be tough. Rizevim's bad enough on his own, but now he's got Ophis's familiar protecting him. His defense is practically impenetrable.]
Ah yes, the physical embodiment of divine dragon blessings.
"So, Kuroka, think you can craft the spell?"
"Hmm… If I set it to trigger like a trap when it senses Evil Dragon aura, then have it inject senjutsu straight into the brain, it should knock them out. But to do that, I'll need to touch their heads directly… How many are we talking about?"
"About two hundred, give or take. As for how many are in Carmilla's territory, I'll need to scan over there to check."
Kuroka made a very displeased face.
"You want me to sneak around and embed spells in all of them? I mean, sure—I could probably do it without them noticing. Combine senjutsu, youjutsu, and a bit of time manipulation and they'll feel nothing more than a dizzy spell… But it's still going to be a lot of work, nya."
She's not wrong. Honestly, Kuroka might end up doing the most work in this whole situation.
[I'll ask you too. If Rizevim pulls some stunt and these guys go berserk in the streets, innocent people will die. And the town itself will be wrecked. We can't let that happen.]
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100 Power Stones = Bonus Chapter
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