To become a king and a magician

"Haa~~~Haa~~~~"

Lydia was panting heavily. Her high heels, which were not suitable for running, had long been thrown away, and her expensive pantyhose had been torn in many places by the stones on the roadside. Incredibly, her feet were not bleeding.

"Damn it, we've been targeted by vampires, this is really terrible."

Yes, vampires.

Not a Dead Apostle, but a vampire belonging to the lower ranks of the Dead Apostles. Although they have regained the knowledge they had as humans and possess some rationality, they are still unable to suppress their blood-drinking urges.

"Damn it, if I could use magic, these mere vampires would be nothing to fear."

Because of the restrictions placed on her by Tsbia, the current re-enactment device is limited to imitating appearance, that is, appearance, internal organs, muscles, etc. Personality needs to be set separately, and things like magic circuits and magic power cannot be reproduced. That is why [Lidele] cannot use magic now.

Even so, physiologically speaking, Lydell is undoubtedly a living being, possessing all the necessary components of a living being. The reason vampires hunt her down is probably because they are attracted by the smell of blood she exudes.

"pat-"

Suddenly, a pebble fell from the sky and landed in front of Lydia.

This was such an ordinary scene, but Lydia's expression instantly turned to terror, and she ran away without hesitation! The moment she ran away, the falling pebble transformed into a fire snake and pounced on her!

(I knew it!)

The ability to turn pebbles into flames—or rather, to turn any substance into flames—seems to be the vampire's special ability.

Occasionally, such things happen; those who already possess talent may have it unleashed after becoming vampires. [Lydel] has already been hit by this ability several times before.

"Alright, alright, stop running away."

Around the corner not far away, a person shrouded in a black coat emerged, hands in pockets, red eyes piercing the darkness as they looked at [Lydel], scrutinizing her disheveled appearance before licking their lips.

"I'm tired of this cat-and-mouse game. It's about time to finish dessert and start enjoying the main course."

"Do you think you can catch me? Or are you prepared for this to be your last meal?"

"Being stubborn won't work," the man sneered. "But don't worry, I won't let you die like this. Someone as exceptional as you will be transformed into a higher being like me, and then you'll be my companion forever—"

boom----!

Before the male vampire could finish his boastful words, his entire head was blasted away by a magic bullet fired from behind him.

Lydia was taken aback for a moment, but breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the person appearing in the deeper darkness: "They came really slowly. Remember to be faster next time."

"Hmm, are the personality data settings a bit too realistic?"

Touching his chin, Natsukawa Tiger approached Lydeer and gently tapped her forehead. Lydeer immediately scattered into a large amount of red dust, which then reformed into a sphere.

Putting away the replay device, Natsukawa Torama looked at the vampire's corpse lying on the ground behind him: "I didn't expect to find a vampire here. If there are vampires... is it possible that high-ranking Dead Apostles also exist? This is going to be troublesome."

As he spoke, Xia Chuanhu fired several more magic bullets at the corpse, suppressing their power to normal levels, which riddled his body with holes.

"His head was destroyed, his heart was blasted out, and he has thirty-eight fatal wounds all over his body—that should be enough... No, just in case, let's hang him on the roof and let him be baked to death by dawn."

58. Oh no, my hand fell off!

"Next, a breaking news report: Popular idol [Lidel], known for her witch-themed appeal, has reportedly appeared in the 10th arrondissement, causing considerable frenzy and even extreme behavior among local residents. Paris police remind everyone to be rational when following celebrities—"

Watching the news on TV, Lydia smiled with satisfaction: "Hmm, not bad, you actually thought of going to the Tenth District. Indeed, it's inevitable that my appearance there would cause some discussion, after all, the security there isn't very good."

"But I still hope you can explain to me how you ended up with my clothes like this?"

By the end, Lydia's smile had turned into one tinged with anger.

Although the clothes weren't worth much money to her, they were still her possessions. Now, not only was her coat burned with several holes, but her pantyhose was also torn at the bottom, and she had even lost her high heels.

"Hey you, you didn't dress up as me and get raped, did you? And by the M side, no less?"

"Why would you have such vulgar thoughts? Have you been reading too much late-night literature from China and Japan?" Xia Chuanhu sighed helplessly. "Something unexpected happened. We encountered a vampire."

"what?"

Lydia couldn't help but frown.

"Vampires? In Paris?"

"Judging from your tone, it's as if the appearance of vampires in Paris is an impossible thing?"

"No, I was just a little surprised. Although I've heard about it many times, this is the first time I've actually encountered it—so, what was the result? Were you attacked by a vampire?"

Natsukawa Tora nodded: "Should we say he was attracted by [Lydel's] looks? Or by my blood? Anyway, he was suddenly attacked while walking down the street. But he was very weak. A few magic bullets were enough to take care of him. I've already hung him on the roof. He'll die as soon as it gets light."

"Are you sure it's a vampire and not a Dead Apostle?"

"Is there a difference? Aren't they both doomed to fail in the light?"

"Dead Apostles are different. In the end, they are basically unkillable, only sealed. Even if they are directly exposed to sunlight or hit by the baptismal chants of the Holy Church, they will at most be weakened. Where did you hear that vampires and Dead Apostles die when exposed to sunlight?"

Natsukawa Tora fell silent for a moment before clapping his hands and saying, "I got the settings wrong."

"Aha?"

"There are also vampires in Japan, similar to vampires and Dead Apostles, who turn to ashes when exposed to sunlight. I confused the two."

It's really just because I've watched too much Demon Slayer.

Furthermore, very few vampires and Dead Apostles from the Type-Moon series appear during the day; most are nocturnal, and even when they do come out during the day, they try to avoid sunlight. Therefore, without knowing baptismal incantations or possessing a Nichirin Blade, Natsukawa Torara subconsciously resorted to a makeshift method.

"So that means that vampire might still be alive?"

"I don't know. By the way, how badly did you beat him?"

"His head and heart were completely destroyed, not even ashes remained. Not counting those two places, he had nearly forty fatal wounds all over his body, and I even impaled him on the roof, piercing through his body."

Even a Dead Apostle would need a long time to recover!

(I never would have guessed that this guy, who's usually so well-behaved and polite, could be so ruthless when he gets physical—well, wait, he's pretty grumpy when he wakes up, so I guess you could say he's well-behaved and polite?)

Thinking this, Lydia sighed softly: "But then again, it's good that you're alright. Since you encountered a vampire, there's nothing you can do about your clothes being like this. I'll prepare a new set for you tomorrow, and you can continue doing the same things as today."

“I’d like to discuss this with you,” Natsukawa Tora said seriously. “This is just something I heard from a senior. Where there are vampires, there are usually Dead Apostles.”

"That's true. After all, vampires are just blood bags for the Dead Apostles. I see. So you're worried that there are Dead Apostles lurking in Paris, is that it?"

"It's just a conjecture. [To lend a helping hand as much as possible within the reach of my hands] is my way of life, and if possible, I would like to prioritize investigating that potentially lurking Dead Apostle."

Lydia understood what Natsukawa Tora meant.

Although there haven't been any large-scale incidents of vampires and Dead Apostles harming people in Paris yet, since Dead Apostles might be lurking, it's only a matter of time before an incident occurs. Natsukawa Tiger wants to eliminate that Dead Apostle before it happens.

“Mind your own business,” Lydel said coldly. “Dealing with the Dead Apostles is the Church’s job, and we magicians have no reason to get involved. Besides, everything you’ve said is just speculation. Instead of wasting time proving your conjectures, you should explore how to get to the source.”

"I'll pretend to be you during the day, and the investigation into the Dead Apostles will begin at night. Is that alright?"

"..."

Lydel frowned, then leaned closer to Natsukawa Tora: "You're really strange. As a magician, thinking of going after the Dead Apostles makes no sense at all. And then you're seeking my permission? I'm neither your master nor your superior, so why do you need my permission before you act?"

"After all, it was your commission that came first. Once you accept a commission, you should prioritize completing it. But what I'm about to do is to do my own thing halfway through your commission, which is disrespectful to the client. However, considering the importance of the matter, I've decided it's necessary to do this."

"Furthermore, acting without informing others is very likely to cause a lot of unnecessary misunderstandings and trouble—I've had enough of this situation."

"So that's why you came to ask for my permission? Hehehe." Lydel couldn't help but laugh. "You really are extremely strange. Even in the Clock Tower, where there are many weirdos, you should be one of the few weirdos on one hand. Your way of thinking is not that of a magician at all."

After all, he had only been in the magic world for a little over two months, and before that, Natsukawa Tora was just an ordinary person.

"But I quite like your way of thinking; it's very humane."

Lydia sat up straight: "Alright, I give you permission. Find that Dead Apostle, as long as it doesn't cause me any trouble or interfere with my commission to you."

Thank you for your understanding.

————————————————————————

On the rooftop, looking at the vampire with a pierced chest, half-dead, both Hiel and Dawn fell silent.

"What a pitiful sight. The person who did it must have gotten along very well with the bureau chief... was he a colleague?"

“The method is completely wrong, he’s not from the church—but that confirms it, Paris isn’t safe. You take this vampire back to the church to be purified, I’ll continue the search.”

"Yes Yes Yes."

As Dawn went along with it, he stripped off the tattered vampire's clothes.

"Like a rag... Ah, my hand fell off."

59. Are you Type-Moon Ari?

In a dimly lit room.

A man was sitting at a table, flipping through a magic book in front of him by the dim candlelight.

"Ding-dong~~~~"

The clock he had been using as an alarm rang in the room. After marking the magic book with a bookmark, the man stood up and subconsciously looked behind him: "Servant, my blood sample for today—hmm? Where is he?"

Normally, when the bells rang, his only servant should have already washed himself clean and stood behind him, ready to let him suck his blood at any time.

"He's late? Has he become too arrogant because we haven't disciplined him in so long?"

Picking up the staff leaning against the corner of the table, the man stood up, carrying the candle lamp, and walked to the other side of the room. After lighting the candle lamp on the wall, he stood in a magic circle drawn on the wall by the light, and then faced a mirror hanging on the wall.

"Let me see where that test subject went."

As the man spoke, he tapped the ground with his staff. The magic circle on the ground immediately emitted a strange, bloody light. A red line extended from the edge of the magic circle and instantly climbed up the wall to the height of the mirror. The mirror was immediately stained red, and after spreading out several ripples, it fell silent again.

Upon seeing this, the man remained silent for a moment—

"Snap—!"

The staff in his hand was suddenly squeezed and broken in two!

He just used a magic trick that allowed him to learn about the situation of another person who possessed his blood through blood resonance. Because that was a vampire he created, he left a portion of his own blood in the vampire's body to ensure he could know its condition.

But the magic trick failed.

This could absolutely not be his own fault. That useless vampire couldn't possibly have the means to escape this magic, and the idea that the magic was blocked by a barrier is even more impossible—there's only one possibility: that guy was taken care of.

"What a useless fellow. Although we said he could move around freely outside of experimentation and feeding time, I didn't expect him to be killed... As expected, the bastard was going to use his hands and feet as sacrifices to summon fairies from the very beginning."

Returning to the table where the grimoire was placed, the man picked up the grimoire, took a spare staff from the shelf next to him, and then took out a severed arm from the cabinet containing a large number of magic catalysts.

"It's nighttime, the location is by the river, and the weather tonight... Hmm, the timing is good. I didn't even realize that winter is almost here. The water and wind elements are very active, which should allow me to create some decent fairy mutants."

"And then the catalyst is this..."