"We'll arrange the magic tools as quickly as we can. More to the point......"
"Hmm?"
"It seems a considerable number of criminals have begun leaving Alf and moving to other cities. To be precise......"
"They've gone to other branches."
"Yes. They'll probably report what's happened in Alf."
Astan grinned and folded his arms.
"Then we'll attack first. Kalia, stay here and keep the members under control. I'll head to a nearby city with the other officers."
"Understood."
"First, get a map of the nearby cities and put together a report on the enemy's strength for me. Tell the officers to prepare to leave tomorrow...... No, is it today already? Anyway, tell them to be ready to set out this evening."
"Yes."
Kalia bowed her head in reply, and Astan started down the alley.
"I'll come by around noon, so have everything ready."
It seemed she would have to stay up until dawn.
Kalia hurried to the headquarters of Chaos...... the building that had once housed Despel's branch.
Several members who had been unconscious rose to their feet, groaning in pain.
"Ngh......"
"B-branch head?"
They frowned as they looked at Kalia.
"......Or not?"
"What the hell is with this bitch......?"
Kalia's eyes flew wide, and she began kicking the members.
THWACK—! THWACK, THWACK, THWACK, THWACK—!
"Aaaagh!"
"Gah......!"
"You bastards can't even recognize your branch head's face?"
"R-really?"
"But the burns on your face......"
"This place is now the headquarters of Chaos. I've also decided to leave Despel and join Chaos."
"What? What are you......"
The members stared at Kalia as though she were talking nonsense.
"My face...... was healed with a potion the boss of Chaos gave me. What's more, the power he bestowed on me brought me to the level of a mid-level Expert."
"Wh-what kind of bullshit are you talking about?"
"A mid-level Expert......? What kind of fucking shitty nonsense is that?!"
"A potion, my ass......! It'd take a high-grade potion or better to heal that face!"
"We don't even have proof that bitch is the branch head! She's got a pretty face...... Grab her first!"
As the members rushed her all at once, Kalia let out a small sigh and drew the sword at her waist.
SHING-
'I'll have to kill a few bastards to make an example of them.'
SWISH, SWISH, SWISH—!
Kalia severed the members' arms and legs with agile swordsmanship, a mad smile on her face.
SLASH—! SPLAT—!
"Aaaagh!"
"M-my arm......!"
"It seems you've forgotten why they called me Blood-Red Kalia."
At the flash in Kalia's eyes, the members recoiled and backed away.
"I'll kill every last one of you who defies me."
WHOOSH—!
Kalia kicked off the ground and charged at the members.
Five of them ended up sprawled on the floor in a horrific state.
Kalia killed them with a display of brutality, tearing out their tongues and eyeballs.
She did not hesitate to kill even her own subordinates.
"E-eek......!?"
"I-it's the branch head. It has to be!"
The surviving members stared at Kalia, drenched in blood, and trembled with fear.
"Now, who's next?"
The members hurriedly raised both hands.
"I-I've sworn loyalty to you, branch head!"
"Me too......!"
Kalia grinned at her subordinates.
"Loyalty, my ass...... You don't have to join Chaos. You wouldn't add much to our strength anyway. But you will have to leave Alf."
"What......?"
"The slums of Alf are Chaos's territory now."
"......?!"
"D-does that mean every organization in Alf......"
"That's right. Our boss wiped them all out."
It was madness.
They had even gone after the huge criminal organizations with branches in Alf?
When those organizations heard the news, they would certainly try to crush Chaos.
"Why...... did you join Chaos?"
What reason could she have to betray Despel and join Chaos?
They had never even heard the name Chaos.
It had to be an organization formed only recently.
Then why betray Despel......?
"I saw the future through him. The bosses of Skull and Despel are both monsters who've reached the level of Swordmaster, aren't they? I've heard they're at the very lowest level of Swordmaster, though......"
"The branch heads in the large cities are high-level to top-level Experts as well. And the other organizations have quite a few skilled fighters. To take on all of them......"
"I joined Chaos even with that in mind. Think carefully about why...... and make your choice. Leave Alf or join Chaos."
Kalia turned away and climbed the central staircase to the third floor.
Five men lay sprawled in her bedroom.
Who would love a face made hideous by burns?
Until now, she had used her power to take everything she wanted.
But things were different now.
SLASH—!
"Gah......!"
Kalia killed every male criminal lying in her bedroom.
"Now...... my body and mind both belong to him."
Reborn, she began disposing of every ugly trace of her past.
She had already heard that Astan was staying at an inn.
She could never allow her master to stay at such a cheap inn.
"Clean it...... I have to clean it all up."
She had to make this a bedroom for herself and Astan.
"Hee hee hee......"
Kalia smiled shyly as she threw all the corpses out the window.
***
JOLT!
"Wh-what was that?"
Back at the inn, Astan felt a sudden chill while showering.
'Is someone...... talking about me?'
Astan tilted his head, finished his shower, and lay down on the bed.
He had subdued the slums of Alf in just 4~5 hours.
This place would be the starting point for his revenge.
He had killed far too many people, but......
He had received ample compensation.
*Name: Astan
*Race: Vampire
*Grade: Intermediate
*Title: -
*Country of Origin: Rabadian Empire
*LV: 68
*Strength: 60
*Agility: 140
*Stamina: 230
*Mana: 500
*AP: 250
*Skills: Magic(+), Basic Swordsmanship, Crode-Style Swordsmanship, Sword Aura(+), Thrall Conversion(+)
*Help Available
Astan distributed his AP evenly among Agility, Stamina, and Mana.
"......Should I raise Strength a little, too?"
Raising Strength would allow him to wield greater strength even with low stamina.
"For now, I'll raise Strength to 100."
To become a high-grade demon, the average of one's Strength, Agility, Stamina, and Mana had to exceed 500.
For a top-grade demon, the average had to be at least 1,500.
The total attributes were 2,000 for a high-grade demon, 6,000 for a top-grade demon, and 12,000 for a Demon King-grade demon.
"12,000......"
How many levels would he have to gain to reach that number?
The higher his level climbed, the more experience each level would require.
For his total attributes to reach 12,000, his Status level would have to exceed 1,000 at the very least.
"......Guess I can't play the overpowered protagonist."
Until he became a top-grade demon, he would have to stay wary of the Imperial Knights' movements, too.
"Ngh......"
Astan groaned softly and fell prey to the demon of sleep.
He woke around nine in the morning, ate a light breakfast, and headed to the slums.
Kalia, who had stayed up all night, was waiting to greet him outside Chaos's headquarters.
"This way......"
Astan followed her inside the headquarters.
The members bowed their heads, looking terrified at the sight of him.
Word of what he had done before dawn had already spread throughout the slums of Alf.
'Th-that's the one who slaughtered 800 criminals in just a few hours......'
'I didn't get a good look at him yesterday...... Is he a dwarf?'
The members swallowed hard and quietly cleaned the headquarters.
Ten officers who had become Astan's thralls waited in a small meeting room.
They bowed as soon as he entered.
"Over here."
Astan took the seat at the head of the table and looked at the officers.
"Sit down."
With his permission, the officers took their seats.
Kalia immediately spread a map across the table.
"First, I'll tell you about the cities within 50km. There's the midsized city of Rustol about 30km to the west, the small city of Ventella about 23km to the northeast......"
She then pointed with a short stick to the cities in the north and west.
"We don't know the strength of every organization, but I've estimated their forces based on what the officers know. In the large cities, the branch heads are high-level to top-level Experts. The closest large city to Alf is Albarid...... and two top-level Experts operate in its slums."
Kalia handed Astan the report she had written before dawn.
"I've compiled the strengths of the nearby cities in this report."
"......Albarid. The branch heads of Skull and Despel are top-level Experts."
"Liger, Skull's branch head, can wield the Sword Aura of a top-level Expert and has a bounty of 230 million wid on his head. Phyllis, Despel's branch head, is also a top-level Expert, with a bounty of 180 million wid...... If you turned the two of them into thralls, I believe Chaos's influence would grow even further."
"Hmm...... How about we kill Liger?"
"Pardon?"
"We need money to run an organization, don't we? Just killing Liger should be enough to make a name for Chaos."
"Then I'll use a member who isn't wanted to collect the bounty."
Anyone collecting a bounty had to prove their identity.
In other words, if Skull got hold of that identity, the person could become its target.
'It wouldn't matter if it were just me, but......'
Rabin Village could be put in danger.
I have to move as carefully as possible.
Astan nodded and began setting his route.
He would pass through the small cities of Ventella and Ryumila, smash the midsized city of Rustol, and finally take over the slums of the large city of Albarid.
He could capture the capable ones, turn them into thralls, and make them branch heads and officers to manage the slums.
"Well, shall we get going?"
Let's finish this quickly and develop Rabin Village.
"If you use this entrance, you can enter and leave the city without being inspected."
There was a large hole in the city wall.
Apparently, it was normally concealed by bushes.
When they left the city through the hole, several members appeared with horses.
"Then please take care."
"Yeah. Get some rest and keep your subordinates in line."
"Yes, understood."
"Let's go!"
At Astan's shout, the ten officers pulled on their reins and broke into a gallop.
Obstacles and magic beasts along the way delayed them a little, but Astan and his party reached Ventella without suffering any harm.