Chapter 30: A Plan Takes Shape

It felt like a scene from a movie. A slow-motion shot, focusing on a single face emerging from the chaos.

But this wasn’t a movie.

“Aswell…?” Rui whispered, still in disbelief.

Why was he here?

She couldn’t understand. He should have been regrouping with the others. Why was he alone with her?

Where were the other three?

Confusion overshadowed gratitude.

“I made sure Aria, Raphilia, and Serin could find each other. Let’s focus on the situation at hand,” Aswell said, his voice sharp, bringing Rui back to the present.

“…Right,” she agreed.

They were in the middle of a battle. Curiosity could be deadly.

Rui focused on the standoff between Aswell and Aled.

“Hero. Didn’t you encounter my underlings?” Aled asked, his voice dripping with disdain.

“Underlings? You mean the other vampires? If that’s your question, then yes, I did,” Aswell replied, holding his holy sword at the ready.

“Ha… pathetic weaklings. They couldn’t even stall for time. I’ll have to do some cleaning up later,” Aled sighed, gesturing dismissively. Another blood-forged energy wave hurtled towards Aswell.

‘Not this time,’ Rui thought, quickly drawing her pen and activating a pre-written protective inscription. The attack dissipated harmlessly.

“Aswell, I’ll support you,” Rui announced.

“Thanks, Rui!” Aswell replied, charging forward.

The battle began. Aswell closed the distance between them in a flash, swinging his holy sword.

Bang!

“As expected of the hero! Interesting!!” Aled laughed, staggering slightly from the impact. Even his blood shield couldn’t fully absorb the blow. The hero was truly the bane of demons.

Rui wasn’t about to stand idly by. With Aled’s attention focused on Aswell, she utilized both her Master Key and pen.

“Enchanting,” she murmured.

The rings on her Master Key spun, and her pen danced across the air, inscribing golden characters. Five spells settled upon Aswell:

Weight Reduction.
Attack Detection.
Reflect Armor.
Protective Barrier.
Speed Enhancement.

Fewer spells, but each significantly amplified.

“What?!” Aled exclaimed in surprise.

He could no longer keep up with Aswell. Empowered by Rui’s magic and equipped with the enchanted boots, gloves, and bracelet, Aswell moved like a blur.

Bang!

Aled’s blood shield finally shattered under the relentless assault of the holy sword, sending him crashing into the wall.

“Ha…” Aswell breathed, his holy sword still radiating light.

Aled lay motionless, battered and bruised. Aswell cautiously approached, maintaining his guard.

Aled tried to cast his unique spell again.

“Blood…?!”

Click.

“Not so fast,” Rui said, snatching Aled’s cane and clamping a silence-inducing magic tool over his mouth.

Even for a vampire, casting a unique spell without the proper incantation or catalyst was impossible.

Unique magic manifested the user’s dreams and desires through language and a physical medium. Without both, it was unusable.

“…!” Aled struggled to rise, his eyes burning with rage.

But Aswell wouldn’t allow it.

Swish!

And so, the third bloodline vampire met his end.

“Now, explain yourself. Why are you here, Aswell?” Rui demanded once they had confirmed Aled’s demise.

“Uh, what?” Aswell blinked, taken aback by her sudden interrogation.

“You were supposed to regroup with the others and then come find me. Why did you come alone?” Rui pressed.

“Is that so wrong?” Aswell asked, sounding slightly defensive.

“Yes! The others could be in danger without you! You’re the most effective against demons!” Rui exclaimed.

Even with her support, Aswell had defeated a third bloodline vampire with incredible speed and precision. Considering his flawless record against the demons in the original story… his value to the party was undeniable.

‘Why are you here?’ Rui wondered, frustrated.

He was closest to the other three. That’s why she had planned to focus on finding a way to destroy the fortress while they regrouped.

But now that he was here, her fortress demolition plan was scrapped…

“But thanks to that, I was able to save you,” Aswell pointed out.

“…Well, that’s true,” Rui conceded, momentarily silenced by his logic.

She probably wouldn’t have died from Aled’s surprise attack, but she would have been seriously injured.

‘I could just leave the hero’s party…,’ she mused.

But then she wouldn’t be able to prevent certain events from the original story. She was suddenly grateful for Aswell’s presence.

“…Thank you,” Rui said sincerely, bowing her head slightly.

“It was nothing,” Aswell said, smiling.

“But how did you get here so fast?” Rui asked, still puzzled.

She had expected them to still be regrouping.

“I trusted you all,” Aswell explained.

“Huh?”

“I used the bracelets you gave us to locate everyone. I met up with Raphilia first. Then, using her speed and connection with the spirits, we found Aria. I sent them to find Serin.”

“…,” Rui listened intently.

“Serin is the strongest among us, so I knew she could hold her own until they arrived. Then I came straight to you,” Aswell finished.

Hmm.

That was surprisingly efficient, no, ideal.

He had utilized the three heroines’ strengths perfectly: Aria’s invincibility to lesser demons, Serin’s combat prowess, and Raphilia’s speed.

Since most demons couldn’t touch Aria, Aswell prioritized finding the fastest member, Raphilia. Then, using her abilities, they located Aria. He sent the two of them to find Serin, the most capable fighter, while he went to find Rui, who was furthest away. And in doing so, he managed to defeat a third bloodline vampire.

‘The three of them are practically invincible when they’re together,’ Rui realized.

All she could do was praise him.

“…,” Rui stared at Aswell, lost in thought.

“Um… Rui, why are you looking at me like that?” Aswell asked nervously.

“It’s nothing. Bend down for a second,” Rui instructed.

“Why…?”

“You did well,” Rui said, reaching up and patting Aswell’s head, just like her old magic teacher used to do.

She had to stand on her tiptoes to reach. His hair was damp with sweat from the battle.

But she didn’t mind.

‘Besides, it would be rude to feel disgusted by someone who came to help me.’

“Let’s go. The others are on their way,” Rui said.

“Right,” Aswell agreed.

Rui stored Aled’s cane, some of his blood, and a sample of the fortress wall in her subspace pocket after treating them with a special preservation spell.

The battle with the third bloodline vampire had been unexpected, but she had gained a valuable trophy: a vampire’s cane.

‘Once everyone’s here… we should head straight for the first bloodline,’ Rui thought.

Beep.

A notification from one of her mapping tools. It hadn’t explored the entire fortress, but it seemed to have found a location of interest.

‘In that case…’

Two hours later, the hero’s party was finally reunited.

“Aswell!!” Raphilia cried, rushing towards him.

Compared to the almost half-day separation in the original story, this was incredibly fast.

“You all found each other… oof!” Rui started to say, but was suddenly tackled by Raphilia.

“Rui, are you okay? Are you hurt?” Raphilia fussed, checking her for injuries.

Rui gave a thumbs up to the others, who were also looking at her with concern.

“You’re so clever! You even considered the possibility of us being separated…” Serin praised.

“That’s right! Thanks to you, I wasn’t scared at all!” Aria added cheerfully.

“Thank you,” Rui replied, feeling slightly overwhelmed by their gratitude.

“So… what should we do now?” Raphilia asked.

“We need to find the leader of these vampires and make sure this fortress disappears,” Aswell declared.

“I have a suggestion regarding that,” Rui said, raising her hand to get their attention.

She shared the information she had gathered about the fortress and outlined her plan.

The others listened intently, then offered their opinions.

“Sounds good to me. I agree,” Serin said.

“I agree too. We should use every advantage we have,” Raphilia added.

“I also agree,” Aria chimed in.

The three heroines were on board. Only Aswell remained.

“If it’s Rui’s plan, I’m sure it will succeed. I trust you,” he said with a smile.

“…Okay. So we all agree,” Rui confirmed.

‘I’ll have to adjust the route and the spells on the mapping tools,’ she thought.

The plan was finalized. Time was of the essence, so they decided to move immediately.

“Let’s go,” Aswell said, leading the way.

The first step of their plan to destroy the Twilight Fortress had begun.