When I opened the door, I had expected to find a terrifying creature. Dark skin, horns, wings, maybe even a trident in hand—something straight out of a Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy game.
Instead, I felt a deep wave of disappointment when I saw that the dreaded Fang Demon was…
…just a man.
A rather handsome one, at that. Despite his apparent age—I guessed around forty—he had refined features and black hair slicked back. He looked more like the protagonist of a soap opera than a fearsome monster who kidnapped girls.
"So you've come. Welcome to my humble abode, adventurers!" the demon announced, delivering one of the most cliché lines imaginable.
All he was missing was the evil laugh.
"Muahahahaha!"
Oh, there it was.
When he smiled, I noticed something. Yeah, the guy really did have long, sharp fangs. So I suppose the name fit.
But other than that… Fangs… a black cape… a black suit… and… huh? Was he starting to levitate?
No, no, no. There was definitely something wrong here.
THAT'S NOT A DEMON! IT'S A STUPID VAMPIRE!
"I don't know how you managed to bypass the impenetrable defenses of my castle," the demon said, sounding genuinely surprised, "and what's even more surprising, you defeated my two champions of darkness. But your luck ends here!"
"Well, let me tell you that your fog barrier or whatever it was didn't stand a chance against our archpriest here. As for your 'champions,' I'm sorry to inform you that one is dead and headless… while the other… well, how should I put it? He'll probably file a complaint for workplace harassment. Or at least that's what he said."
"GAH! That Lucas and his stupid demands! I never should have hired him!"
"And we also took care of your army of zombies," Dikon said, stepping forward. "So you'd better surrender!"
The demon looked at the young man with a furrowed brow. "Zombies? What the hell are you talking about?"
"I mean the army of undead that attacked us at the entrance of your castle!"
"Huh? I had nothing to do with that!" the demon seemed genuinely offended. "So you break into my property without permission and accuse me of something I didn't do? Now I'm really angry!"
"It's no use trying to trick us, demon!" Dikon insisted.
"It's fine, Dikon!" I said quickly, knowing perfectly well who was responsible for the zombies. "We'd better focus on our strategy."
"Oh! But look at this! We've made the pathetic demon angry! Puukusukusu! And may I ask what you plan to do about it, Mr. Demon?"
Out of nowhere, Aqua started taunting the enemy.
"Fang Demon!" I called out, raising my sword toward him as he levitated before us. "Demian, vampire, or whatever you want to call yourself! We're here to rescue Tia Lyamnsen and the rest of the girls you kidnapped!"
"Oh, so that's what this is about? You have no right! No one is going to take them from me!" the villain exclaimed, his cape dramatically unfurling through the air like a flag.
He really was a fucking vampire no matter how you looked at it.
"Where are they? If you return them safe and sound, I promise we won't hurt you and we'll simply leave."
"Muahahaha! Hurt me? Please! Don't make me laugh! I've lived for over a hundred years! There's no way some mere mortals can defeat me. But fine, I'll tell you. After all, none of you are leaving here alive. Tia and the others are behind that door."
"Hahaha! Did you hear that, Kaizer?" Aqua mocked. "He thinks he's so great for living a hundred years. He already told us what we wanted. Give him what he deserves and let's get back to Axel already."
"Easier said than done," I said. "Hey, wait a second. A hundred years seems like quite a long time."
"Oh, right. You are a human."
"Wait, how old are you?"
Now that I thought about it, I had never asked Aqua her age.
"And why do you care how old I am?" she replied resentfully.
"Oh, come on," I said with a laugh. "Are you embarrassed to say it? Don't tell me you're a sexy two-thousand-year-old grandma or something."
"Stupid idiot hikikomori!" the enraged archpriestess shouted. "For your information, goddesses don't age! And you'd better stop pressing the issue or you'll receive divine punishment!"
"ENOUGH!" the demon interrupted. "You break into my castle… accuse me of attacking you with zombies… and now you ignore me? I can't stand it anymore!"
"Mr. Kaizer… I-I think he's really angry now."
"Don't worry, Dikon. We just need to follow the plan and we'll be fine. I suppose."
"Plan?" the Fang Demon spat the word.
"That's right!" Aqua said with a confident smile. "We'll distract you until you can't move anymore, and then I, Aqua, the Goddess of Water, will personally purify you!"
"You're a goddess? R-Really? A woman as vulgar and loud as you?"
"How dare you speak to me like that, you second-rate demon!? Kaizer! This guy is rude! Defeat him already!"
Well… it wasn't exactly a lie.
"BAH! I don't care if you're a goddess or not. In that case, all I have to do is keep my distance from you and that's it. So, thank you for the information!"
I couldn't believe it. How could she be so stupid as to reveal our plan to the enemy just like that!? Was it too much to ask that she keep her mouth shut for ten seconds?
The demon began attacking us, pressing the advantage his flight gave him. For some reason he seemed especially focused on me. But thanks to my shield, I was able to repel most of the blows with ease.
"GAH! You damn coward! Do you plan to hide behind that shield all night?"
"Says the one attacking from the air!"
"HYAA!" someone shouted.
"Hm? What was that supposed to be? Bah, it must have been some insect."
Dikon took advantage of the demon's distraction and attacked him from behind. But as expected, he didn't even feel it.
"S-Sorry, Mr. Kaizer."
I swung at him with my sword every time I got the chance. But every time I was about to reach him, the bastard would fly up and all Kronos cut was air.
"Hey, Kaizer! May I ask what you're doing?" Aqua shouted impatiently. "If he keeps moving like that, I won't be able to hit him with my divine strike!"
"Well, let me tell you it's not as easy as it looks!"
"Don't give me that now, okay? Don't you have that super OP sword I gave you when you reincarnated? Are you stupid or what?"
Shit, she was right. Kronos not only boosted my stats significantly, but it also let me manipulate time.
So I raised the blade, pointed it at the enemy, and shouted: "SLOW!"
The hands of the clock engraved on Kronos's hilt spun rapidly before stopping abruptly, releasing a brilliant flash of light.
The air around the flying demon twisted, and his movements suddenly slowed to a crawl. It looked like someone had taken a photo of him mid-air.
"GAAAH! My body… it's moving so slowly! What kind of cheap trick is this!?" Demian protested.
I gripped Kronos tightly and launched an attack. The blade traced a beautiful arc before sinking deep into the demon's abdomen, making him howl in pain.
I immediately prepared a second blow. I didn't want to give him the slightest chance to recover.
And then, just before Kronos's blade reached him, the Fang Demon disappeared.
No. "Disappeared" wasn't the right word. His body exploded like a smoke bomb—except instead of smoke, dozens and dozens of bats burst out. They flew chaotically around the room before gathering at a single point, where Demian's figure reformed.
I had already accepted he was a vampire, but thanks for the confirmation, I guess.
"That really hurt," he growled, clutching his side. "I suppose there's a reason you made it this far, paladin. I shouldn't have underestimated you."
Shit. Now things had gotten complicated. I had been about to finish him with the "Slow" skill, but if he could counter it with that bat trick, it would be useless.
The enemy rose again, unfurling his majestic cape. Judging by the way he was staggering, the cut I gave him had hurt him badly.
In that case…
"Radiant Shoot!" I shouted, thrusting my hand forward.
A brilliant white orb of energy formed in my palm and shot out like a beam, streaking across the room toward him.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw even Aqua look surprised. It made me crack a stupid little smile.
As a paladin, I had access not only to a sword, armor, and shield, but also to a good variety of advanced light spells and support magic like "Heal." Though, well, it wasn't nearly as effective as Aqua's divine magic.
Seeing how difficult it was to land physical attacks, I decided to bombard him with magic instead.
However, the demon blocked my spell with a quick sweep of his cape. The beam bounced off and smashed into one of the windows, shattering the wooden boards covering it into pieces.
"Shit!" Demian shouted.
Of course! The sunlight! The sunlight that had just poured in through the broken window! How hadn't I realized sooner? Vampires hated sunlight. And outside, dawn had already broken.
"Very well, in that case…"
"Wait, Mr. Kaizer! What are you going to do?" Dikon's voice asked. But there was no time to explain. The situation was critical.
I concentrated all the energy I could and aimed directly at the windows. "RADIANT SHOOT!"
One. Two. Three times.
"NOOO! STOP, PLEASE!" the Fang Demon screamed, almost begging.
Sure, you'd love that, wouldn't you, you bastard?
"RADIANT SHOOT!"
Again. And again.
Pieces of wood flew everywhere. The Fang Demon clutched his head and writhed on the floor as his skin started peeling off in chunks.
"UAAAARGGGHH!"
"What's wrong with him?" Aqua asked, surprised. Apparently she had never seen a vampire movie in her days as a goddess.
"Hehe, nothing. He's simply disintegrating from the sunlight, like any good vampire," I replied, trying to sound cool.
However, the goddess raised an eyebrow, looking even more confused. "Sunlight? And why would that make him disintegrate? And more importantly, why are you calling him a vampire?"
"Well, because a vampire—"
"Mr. Kaizer! Mr. Kaizer! We must get out of here as soon as possible!"
Dikon approached me with pure panic on his face.
What was wrong with these two? Why wouldn't they let me enjoy my victory in peace?
"Calm down, will you?" I told the young man. "Besides, why would we have to run?"
"It's just that you don't understand!"
"And what exactly am I supposed to underst—"
"GRAAAAHH!"
A terrifying roar cut my words short.
"But what the hell…"
Far from disintegrating, the demon's body was swelling. His clothes tore apart as the peeled skin gave way to a much darker tone. His face deformed completely. A snout pushed forward, giving him the appearance of a buffalo.
"Mr. Kaizer! Don't you know?"
"What!? What the hell are you talking about!? He's a vampire! He should be dead!"
"I-I don't know what a vampire is," Dikon said, trying to stay calm. "But I know that the Fang Demon belongs to an ancient demon family that reaches their true power when exposed to sunlight. However… they say it's a power so immense that even they cannot control it! That's why they prefer to stay in the darkness."
"EEEH?"
While Dikon explained that nonsense, the demon's body kept growing until he nearly touched the ceiling. Two large horns protruded from his head, black wings sprouted from his back, and a thick tail emerged, looking strong enough to split a tree in half. His eyes glowed red as he stared at us and began advancing threateningly. The ground trembled with every step of his massive goat-like hooves.
He bared his long, sharp fangs.
Well, I suppose now he really did look like a demon.