"He's gone..."
"Yeah, he is."
Sho disappeared from sight. He had bolted outside at a speed faster than a bullet, making holes in unnecessary walls to take the shortest route.
"Are you going, too?"
"Well, I... I..."
Riko's words trailed off at Leticia's question. Without a doubt, Vlad was at the destination Sho was headed for. Just thinking about it made her feet heavy and her vision narrow. Her mind was filled with the countless abuses she had suffered at Vlad's hands as a child.
Seeing Riko's state, Leticia understood everything.
"I see. You're a victim of Vlad, too..."
"...Oh, right. You were drugged by Vlad, weren't you? You don't look like it, though..."
Leticia spoke clearly, and her body didn't react unnaturally. At least from the outside, she looked healthy.
"That's because I'm using most of my magic to suppress it. Even so, it's painful when my clothes rub against me."
Leticia said, looking a little embarrassed.
"And yet, you haven't given up. You're amazing."
Riko's experience was the kind of violence and abuse that's easy to imagine. Still, the mere presence of Vlad in front of her made her tremble uncontrollably. Leticia, who had suffered far worse, showed no signs of her fighting spirit against Vlad fading.
"Comparing you and me is a bit unfair; there's too much of a difference in our age. Besides, as a fellow vampire, my feelings that Vlad's actions are unforgivable haven't faded at all. My resolve isn't so fragile that I'd break from something like this."
"Resolve..."
Riko recalled the words she had cried out on the plane a few months ago.
"I want to be free..."
It was a simple, yet incredibly distant wish.
"Not freedom that's given to me, but true freedom...!"
Her resolve to confront Vlad was not so fragile. She couldn't leave it all to Sho. Whether the enemy was strong or not didn't matter.
"I'll fight, too."
Riko's mind was made up.
---------
"He's not a resident of this world..."
"No, he's not..."
Given his past behavior and, even more so, his resemblance to Sho's Paradox, the identity of the Dangerous Zombie was easily guessed. Yet, the difference between the man in front of them and Sho made them scowl.
"That's right. The one who summoned you guys, right? I'm from the same world as them. Since I've come to such a great world, I figured I should live as selfishly as I want. Do you know? The slogan for this place is Dream World, a world that fulfills men's desires without limit. Even God allows it. He gave me the right to do so."
He laughed giddily.
"No way! You don't have the right to do whatever you want!"
"That's right! There's no way that's allowed!"
Yukina and Asuna couldn't hold back and lunged at him.
He continued, unbothered by their anger.
"I can have as many beautiful women as I want, and the more I do, the stronger I get. And I can get as many women as I need. The requests I get for that are a good way to relieve stress, too, and in a different way than sex."
The Dangerous Zombie only accepted requests to kill someone. With his ability to be immortal, fighting was a one-sided massacre for him. He could crush them like insects or use his White Snake to steal their abilities and physical strength before torturing them.
Either way, it was a one-sided trampling. It was stress relief through terror and violence. Instead of taking it out on the things in his room, he did it to living people, which was much worse.
"I'm a man chosen by God! If you don't like it, then curse the unreliable God who chose me!"
He happily walked toward the four girls—Asuna and the others—who lay sprawled on the ground.
Whatever they said was meaningless. They couldn't understand his way of thinking. They wondered what would have happened to them if Sho, who was in the same position as this man, had a similar mindset.
Then, a thought came to them.
"...What about the other girls?"
"Huh?"
"Where are the other girls who were summoned here, like us?!"
From the Dangerous Zombie's words, it was clear that he had summoned many girls before. And it was highly unlikely that those girls were living normal lives.
"Where? Well, they're all over the place. Some are at home, and some are already dead. It varies."
"Dead..."
"Yeah. When a woman comes to this world, I personally explain my rules to her, but sometimes there are some who just don't get it. So, I have to teach them a lesson with their bodies, or if that doesn't work, we play a game of chicken to see if they can manifest a Stand with the 'arrow.' During that process, the ones without guts die."
Saying this, the Dangerous Zombie pulled out a Stand arrow and lightly waved it.
Although the Dangerous Zombie didn't mention it, the summoned girls were strictly controlled by White Snake. The first time they met, their supernatural abilities were turned into a DISC to seal their resistance, and they were forced to obey various commands through the DISC.
"What do you think those girls are?!"
"Do you honestly think women who come out with the push of a button are on equal footing with me? You should just shut up and follow my orders. I'm the one who created you in this world, after all."
"No way..."
Asuna and Yukina were speechless and fell silent.
"You should be careful with how you talk to me from now on. I'll allow a little bit of sass, but there's a limit, you know? Heh, hahahaha!"
"..."
Vlad, who had been listening to the cheerful Dangerous Zombie, looked away.
Immediately after,
"Hahahaha... GAAH!!!"
The Dangerous Zombie's figure vanished. He was sent flying far away, breaking a plant and a standing vampire on his way. The Stand arrow he had been holding was broken and lay on the ground.
"Oh..."
"Sho-kun...!!"
"Senpai..."
Standing there was a figure with a flaming fist outstretched: Perfect Knockout. Vlad was impressed by his speed and power, while Asuna and Yukina, relieved that Sho had arrived, called out to him.
"Vlad."
"This is magnificent. That power is beyond my imagination. Could you please surrender before that enraged man comes back? It would be very troublesome for him to go on a rampage. And with a power like that, the fight would be quite a match... I'd rather not have to worry about cleaning up afterward."
"You're persistent."
"...This is truly, truly a shame. I thought you would be more reasonable than him."
It was true that his assumption was naive. Thanks to Yukina and Asuna's efforts, the number of his subordinate vampires had decreased, but they weren't completely wiped out. The big bosses were not only Vlad, but also the Dangerous Zombie.
However.
"Article 1 of the Butei Code."
"Huh, what's that?"
"Believe in your allies and help them. I'm not fighting alone."
Suddenly, many people—vampires—poured out of the mansion. Judging by the fact that they were attacking Vlad's subordinates, they weren't reinforcements. Among them were some familiar faces: Kurumi, Tina, Riko, and... Leticia, who was being supported.
"What...?! Is that your confidence? Were you in contact with your allies inside? Did you know in advance that Lady Leticia's subordinates were in this mansion?"
"Of course, I was in contact with my allies. But Lady Leticia's presence was completely unexpected. To overcome a difficult obstacle like defeating you, a bit of luck is necessary."
"And from here on, we'll defeat you with our own abilities."
"That's right."
Yoh, who had been secretly waiting for a chance to counterattack and recover her strength, and Aria, who had landed her Dendrobium nearby and was now only in her Stamen suit, joined up.
Behind Vlad were Kurumi, Tina, and Riko.
"4th, you are—"
"Silence. —...Hmph. My name is Riko Mine Lupin the 4th. Don't ever call me that again!!"
"Tch."
Vlad let out a genuine, annoyed click of his tongue for the first time. The Riko who had been so timid during their meal had, in a short time, become completely resolute. Not only Vlad, but they were also surprised.
Asuna, Yukina, and Chloe were too badly injured to stand up. An intense battle was inevitable. Just as Sho was about to move the three to a safe place, a voice filled with curses echoed from a distance.
"You worthless trash!!! Don't you dare look down on me!!!"
The Dangerous Zombie's furious roar could be heard from here.
"Sho."
"Yeah. I'm the only one who can handle him. I'll do it. I'm leaving this side to you."
"Okay!"
"You can count on us."
Vlad didn't try to stop Sho as he sped away.
The courtyard was now a chaotic battleground. And since vampires were fighting other vampires, it was impossible for Aria and the others to tell who was an ally and who was an enemy. They were naturally left to deal with Vlad.
"To leave me to you... you've drawn the short end of the stick. Do you really think a few low-class human girls can stand a chance against me?"
That was the signal for the battle to begin. Throwing knives and bullets rained down on Vlad.
"Hmph."
His entire body grew slightly larger, and reptilian scales appeared on his sleeves. His claws grew long and sharp, and a tail grew from his back.
Vlad, now in a monstrous form, caught all the countless bullets and stopped the knives with his fingers.
"A Stand ability...!!"
"Yes. My Stand is Scary Monsters. Unlike his White Snake, it's something that humans can see."
Hearing that, everyone minimized their movements.
"Yes, of course. Sho Yozuki must have told you about this Stand. So it's only natural for you to do so."
The dinosaurs of Scary Monsters cannot see things that aren't moving. "Standing still" was a simple but effective choice.
"But what will you do? Will you just have a test of patience? I don't think you have that kind of time."
In the distance, the screams of Leticia's vampires began to rise. Dinosaurs that had come out of the mansion had joined the fight. If a vampire was even slightly wounded, they would immediately transform into a dinosaur under Vlad's control. It seemed that even vampires were no exception. What's more, those dinosaurs seemed to have inherited the vampires' traits, as their regenerative abilities were immense.
The overwhelmingly superior numbers were now working against them.
"I'll ask again, what will you do? Will you just have a test of patience?"
"..."
Growing impatient as their allies dwindled, Aria charged forward. She drew two beam sabers from her backpack's scabbards.
"You're too slow."
"Hmph!! Vlad!!"
The sabers did not burn Vlad's skin, and Aria was grabbed and restrained by her arm. She tried desperately to kick and escape but he didn't even budge.
"This is perfect. When this is over, I'll take your DNA. No, now that I think about it, everyone here likely has valuable DNA. I should finish my work before he destroys them..."
"Don't you dare!!"
"Let go of Aria-san!!"
"Us...!!"
Tina and Kurumi sent their clones to help Aria. However, fresh blood was scattered all over the area, and the clones disappeared.
"Don't struggle too much. I don't want to accidentally kill you."
He didn't even see their actions as attacks. The difference in power was overwhelming.
Taking their place, Yoh stepped forward.
(This time it's the living body... It's difficult to gauge the power.)
The attack, which she had delivered with the utmost care, cut through nothing.
Vlad frowned at her speed.
(This reaction speed... Is it on par with Scary Monsters? What kind of trick is she using...?)
The answer was the Genome Tree, a Catalog of Life, hanging around Yoh's neck. Its ability to sample animal characteristics and give power to the owner was effective even against Scary Monsters. And she had already finished sampling during the previous battle in the park.
"I won't forgive you for what you did to the animals in the park."
"Is that so?"
Yoh expressed her anger for how he had treated the animals in the park as a convenient tool a few months ago, but Vlad showed no interest at all.
She tried to deliver a hand chop that could cut a person's body like a sheet of paper, but he smoothly dodged it. Vlad felt an unpleasant sensation from that creepy feeling.
"Hah!!"
In the instant his guard was down, a sharp kick from Yoh landed.
"...It doesn't matter how fast you are if there's no weight to your attacks."
"Gah!!"
The foot he grabbed made a sickening sound at the moment of impact.
"It's annoying to have you flying around like a fly. I'll take this foot."
"You won't!!"
Aria, with one hand free, used her saber to cut Vlad's arm. Riko also shot him in the leg with a Magic Silver Bullet (a bullet that damages vampires).
"One after another, you're all so bothersome..."
The wounds healed instantly. The damage, while somewhat annoying, was not fundamental. It was clear that they had to destroy the magic core that controls the vampires' regeneration. They had to get past Scary Monsters' reaction speed. They had no other choice.
"But the result won't change. This Scary Monsters is a Stand ability that can dominate everything. You have no chance of winning."
"That's not true, Vlad."
Riko denied his statement. She took something out of her pocket.
"What did you say?!! 4th, don't tell me you...!!"
Vlad's eyes widened when he saw what Riko was holding.
Riko stabbed herself with the "arrow" she held in her hand.
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