CHAPTER 23: THE STRONGEST FAMILIAR

«Kill those bastards! Don’t let them near Princess Ayra and Princess Daphne!»

The tense yet resolute voice of a guard cuts through the chaos like thunder, rallying his comrades as they fall one after another under the relentless assault of the Nova Aetas. Even so, they do not go down without taking lives in return.

Despite their numbers, the fighting skills of the Scarlet Army soldiers should have crushed the rebels—if not for Vespera.

That woman is terrifying.

On her own, she’s reaping more lives than all her allies combined.

Shit...!

«Kajetan, help them!» Daphne orders, her voice cracking with anguish as the battle tilts toward disaster.

«At once, my mistress.»

Sending a familiar to fight vampires? That’s suicide!

Then why did Daphne send him out there?!

A wave of blue energy bursts from Kajetan’s body, intense yet controlled—dense but delicate, thin as silk.

In a flash, he dashes beyond the barrier and hurls himself at one of the attackers.

The assailant slashes with a dagger, but Kajetan blocks instantly with a blade of blue energy extending from his right arm.

What the hell is that...?

A blade shaped from Vis energy itself?! Is that even possible?!

Just who is this guy?!

And that’s not even the most shocking part.

Kajetan and that vampire... they’re fighting on equal terms!

«But how... how can this be? How can a familiar stand against a vampire...?» I murmur, my voice trembling with disbelief and fear.

«Normally, it wouldn’t be possible,» Daphne admits, her tone a mix of pride and apprehension. «But Kajetan’s strength far surpasses any other familiar. He’s powerful enough to rival a mid-level vampire. It’s no accident he’s been ranked at the top for over three years.»

At the top of the rankings... That means... Kajetan is number one?!

So this is the abyss between me and the summit.

I can’t even grasp what’s happening around me, and he’s clashing head-on with a vampire...

Damn it... I can’t deny how crushing that feels...

With a swift slash of his energy blade, Kajetan delivers the decisive strike, severing the vampire’s head.

It rolls to the ground at his feet in a spray of blood.

This is the fastest way to kill a vampire—because they possess incredible regenerative powers, capable of healing even the worst wounds in seconds.

The stronger they are, the faster they recover.

But two parts of their body are exceptions: the neck and the heart.

And yet... a human defeating a vampire in single combat?

I never would have believed it possible...

But the situation only grows worse with every passing second.

From the chaos, Vespera emerges in a powerful leap, her halberd raised high, aimed straight at Kajetan!

With her lightning speed, Kajetan barely has time to raise his arm, blocking the strike with his blue blade, though the effort nearly crushes him.

Still, the fact that a human can resist such an attack is already proof of extraordinary strength.

«Why do you fight to protect that slaver?! Do you enjoy being her lapdog so much?!» Vespera snarls, her voice sharp with scorn. «How can you risk your life for her after all the humiliation, abuse, and suffering you and others like you endure every single day?!»

«Because Daphne is not like the other vampire nobles!» Kajetan snaps, his face twisted with the strain of holding back the halberd. «Ever since I became her familiar twelve years ago, she has always treated me with respect. She forged me into the fighter I am today with patience and understanding. She has more kindness and nobility of spirit than anyone I’ve ever known, even among humans! To give my life to protect her is an honor!»

At his words, a faint smile touches Daphne’s lips, and a soft blush colors her cheeks as she clasps her hands over her chest.

«That woman has brainwashed you so thoroughly you can’t even see the atrocities she’s inflicted on you. Worse still, you’re ready to die for her! I wanted to spare you—a warrior of your caliber deserves a place of honor in the new world that will rise from the ashes of this one. But now it’s clear you’re beyond saving—you’ve been irreversibly enslaved by those bastards. Don’t worry, I’ll end your torment myself!»

Vespera’s energy surges, pressing down with crushing force.

Kajetan’s blade shatters, and the halberd slams onto his shoulder, driving several centimeters deep.

The blue veil around his body dulls the impact, but doesn’t stop it, and blood pours freely from the wound.

«Kajetan, fall back into the barrier! Hurry!» Daphne cries.

Her voice breaking with despair, barely holding back sobs as she reaches her hand toward Vespera.

«Blood Word Lv.1: Burst!»

A surge of Sanguis energy erupts from Daphne’s palm, forcing Vespera to dodge and giving Kajetan the chance to retreat, stumbling back inside the fragile barrier that is already close to collapsing.

And amid all this chaos... Ayra remains completely still.

Her wide eyes and parted lips reflect pure shock, overwhelmed by the massacre unfolding before her.

A gruesome sight that a princess, raised safely within the walls of the royal castle, has likely never witnessed before.

And when at last the barrier shatters and the final guard falls lifeless to the ground... only four Nova Aetas members and Vespera remain standing.

Kajetan is gravely wounded, Daphne is utterly exhausted, and Ayra seems like a statue—an incarnation of terror, frozen in place.

And then there’s me, barely able to handle low-ranking familiars.

To call this situation desperate would be an understatement!

But then... something happens.

The atmosphere suddenly grows far heavier, far darker—terrifyingly dark—as though a shroud of shadow has swallowed all of Noxscura.

A chill surges through me from head to toe—my blood and bones turn to ice.

I tremble with fear, a fear unlike the looming threat of Vespera.

This is something else, infinitely more terrifying, and I can’t begin to grasp what it is.

What the hell is happening now...?

«To attack us in the middle of the city, endangering innocent citizens, is truly vile... but I expected nothing less from scum like you,» Daphne murmurs, her voice unsteady.

She kneels on the ground with Kajetan resting on her lap, desperately trying to heal his grave wound with the last remnants of her energy.

I turn my gaze toward Ayra, terrified and resigned, searching for an order, a signal, anything—given how desperate things are, I imagine it must now fall to me to act.

But... is that really Ayra?!

What had been a white fur cloak only moments ago is now blacker than the abyss.

Her blood-red irises have turned completely black... and a storm of shadows whirls furiously around her, like a raging dark wind.

Her gaze is so cold, so piercing, it forces me to look away in fear.

«...but you’ve just made a mistake that will cost you everything,» Daphne adds, a faint, exhausted smile spreading across her lips. «You’ve pissed off my little sister!»