“Hee-hee-hee. Are you trying to scale the walls? What a foolish idea.”
From past the front gate, we hear Carmilla’s voice, which sounds as though she’s seen through my plan.
“It won’t work. Not in a thousand years. Do you think you’re the first one to have that idea? I’ve spent many long years pouring blood and mana into this palace—this magical base built up from a single crystal. You could even call it a different world of sorts. One where physical laws don’t necessarily apply.”
Carmilla proudly introduces us to her castle. She must be really confident in its defenses.
She cackles, scorning my idea. “Any attacks from the outside would be pointless—this castle is famously the strongest, most impenetrable fortress in the Demon Lord’s army. Whether a thousand thunderbolts strike it or it’s rained upon by countless asteroids, nothing will ever damage it. So abandon hope and enter the normal way. Oh, and of course, it’s just as the dragon says. Inside the palace is an execution ground that will bleed you dry. I’ll melt you all slowly, tantalizing you. But do you think you should be taking up so much time over there? If you make me wait too long, I will grow thirsty, and I might drink every last drop of this girl’s—”
“Grrrowwwwwwl!! (This is taking too long!!) ”
As if to devour Carmilla’s words, I fire a beam.
The flash of light paints the night white. The white pillar of light extends diagonally upward, strikes the crystal castle directly, and bores a hole right through the wall without any resistance whatsoever.
The glowing line shoots through the castle and puts a hole in the mountain far behind it, too.
“Wh… Whaaaaaaaat?! ”
We hear Carmilla’s astonished voice from beyond the hole.
“Arwf? (What was that about being the toughest in the Demon Lord’s army?) ”
Hey, how does it feel? Punching a hole in your vaunted castle was really easy. How does it feel?
How does it feel, how does it feel?!
I stamp my hind legs to provoke her.
“That’s… This isn’t…! My greatest magic… In just one attack…?!”
The spell must have dissipated after the wall broke; the shadows filling the castle’s interior begin to weaken.
“Could that have been ultimate destruction magic…? Not only completely draining one’s mana, but taking a long time to activate, that utterly impractical, ineffective, useless spell… And you used it with that much speed and precision…? And you’re telling me you can do all this by refining so much mana in an instant?! How do you explain that?! What are you?!”
Beyond the gaping hole, I can see Carmilla, stomping her foot in frustration. The wall right next to her has been neatly removed, and the full moon is visible behind it.
“Arwf! (Great! There you are! Here I come!) ”
I jump up to the hole I made and run into Carmilla’s room, all in one burst.
“Woof, woof! (See, look at that! I kept my promise! Now you’re gonna return the young lady to me!) ”
“What… What a reckless plan of attack…! The crystallization of mana I’ve spent so many long years building…lost to a spell cast on the spot… That’s insane! Impossible!”
I mean, it seems possible to me. Why fight it at this point?
“Woof, woof! (You promised you’d give her back if I got all the way to your room! What, can you great generals not even keep a single promise?) ”
Yikes. The only ones allowed to break promises are the grunt bad guys.
“Be quiet! This isn’t over! My thralls, the time is now! Do it!”
Her thralls? Where are they? The only one near Carmilla is the young lady. I don’t see any of her thralls anywhere—
“Squeak! (Beloved!) ”
The moment I hear Len’s warning…sharp fangs thrust into my neck.
“Mew?! (Ururu?!) ” Nahura cries out.
Ururu? Yes, it’s her. She’s biting me so hard I can hear her jaw creaking.
The scarlet light in her eyes… She’s clearly gone mad. Just like the Fen Wolves who were bitten and made into Carmilla’s kin.
Wait, then when was Ururu bitten? We’ve been together ever since meeting in the forest. There shouldn’t have been time for that.
“She was obviously like that from the start! I was aiming for the moment you let your guard down when I sent you that girl. That was how I stopped you from going back to the mansion and made you go to the elves’ village instead. It was to buy time to steal your master! Didn’t you think it was strange how I knew your every move?”
Certain of her victory, Carmilla gives a piercing laugh.
“Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! You might be strong, but a beast is still a beast! And now you’ll be my kin! I’ll make good use out of you as a laborer! Forever!”
“Arwf? (Huh? Hard labor? I don’t want to work. I’ll have to refuse.) ”
“Yes, I know, it’s an offer you can’t refu—Wait, what? You refuse?”
“Arwf. (Yep, I refuse.) ”
I wouldn’t mind her using me as a chair or getting to lick her, but my rule is to always refuse to do any work.
My oath never to work is the one thing nobody can ever break.
“Wh… What is the meaning of this?! Once you’re my thrall, you should be under my direct command, even if your mind remains!”
“Arwf, arwf. (Well, that’s because I’m not your thrall.) ”
I give her the obvious answer.
You make people your thralls by biting them and sucking their blood. But none of my blood has been sucked. So, obviously, I wouldn’t turn.
“Uuurrr…?!”
Ururu is doing her best to bite into me, but my fur is blocking it; she hasn’t even pierced me by a single millimeter. It actually feels good, like she’s giving me little love bites.
“Squeak. (How foolish. His fur boasts such high defense that even a dragon such as I could bite into his fur with the might to shatter his bones and only make him feel a pinch.) ”
Wait, you’ve been biting me with your full strength this whole time?! That’s terrifying. Your jealousy is going to be the death of me!
“Squeak, squeak. (Naturally, an elf’s meager jaws would never pierce him, regardless of how much control you have over her body.) ”