I took a step forward and spoke to the man in a calm voice.

  “You must be pretty scared to resort to lying in an attempt to confuse us.”


  “What are you saying?”


  He scowled at me in annoyance. But then he quickly smiled again.

  Like me, he was probably acting calmly in an attempt to intimidate his enemies.

  I didn’t answer him. Instead, I turned to Kathe and smiled.

  “Don’t worry. Your Magic Detection was accurate.”


  “It was?”


  “Yes.”


  “But……”


  “You want to say that you continued to detect him in the boss room after he appeared before us, right?”


  “That’s right.”


  “It just means that while we were fighting the magic machines and evils dragons, he put a dummy there.”


  And then I looked at Shia and Serulis as well.

  “It’s nothing surprising once you know that. He just has pretty good concealment magic.”


  “Just? You’re very arrogant for a human.”


  The man said with a laugh. But I could detect anger in his voice.

  It was clear that his smile was forced.

  But just to make sure, I looked into his eyes and said,

  “You seem like you’re panicking. Is it because we killed your special evil dragons and magic machines?”


  “Me? Panic? What is this foolishness?”


  “Well, you made a dummy and rushed to this room just as we were distracted, didn’t you?”


  “.……”


  “Of course, we were too fast, and they were all dead by the time you arrived.”


  “.……”


  “I guess that’s why you stuck to the ceiling and waited for the right time to attack?”


  I talked to him as if talking to a young child.

  His mouth didn’t open. It was like the smile was frozen to his face. It suggested my provocation was working.

  “Just thinking about how you were stuck to the ceiling like a frog…… Quite adorably, don’t you think?”


  “.……You bastard.”


  “What? Is there something you would like to say?”


  “You alone will not leave here alive.”


  “I see. While saying that, I’m sure your head is full of ideas about how you can escape, isn’t it?”


  I continued to insult him as a way of making it impossible for him to try to run away.

  At the same time, I talked to the others through Telepathy.

  ‘Leave this guy to us for now. Shia, Serulis, and Grulf. You guys move as planned.’


  ‘Understood.’


  ‘Okay! Save the humans!’


  “Groof!”


  ‘Serulis. According to Locke’s Magic Exploration, these people have been Charmed. So don’t just think of it as a rescue.’


  ‘Okay, daddy.’


  ‘Wait for me, Locke, Goran, and Kathe to start fighting. Then make a run for it.’


  While Eric said this, I continued to use Magic Detection and Magic Exploration.

  I knew now that the enemy was good at using concealment magic. And so I had to be extra careful.

  There were still enemies in the path that they would cross.

  However, they were only vampire lords. Shia, Serulis, and Grulf wouldn’t have much problem with them.

  It seemed like the enemy was hiding, but that wouldn’t mean much in front of Grulf’s nose.

  ‘Shia, Serulis, Grulf. Go through the front door and then on the first turn right……’


  I told them all of the places where the enemy was hiding. Shia, Serulis, and Grulf listened carefully.

  ‘So, that’s it. Let’s go and kill this guy now.’


  ‘Aye. I can’t wait.’


  ‘Shia. Take care of Serulis.’


  ‘Leave it to me.’


  Our Telepathy meeting ended.

  At the same time, I talked out loud to the man and tried to gain information.

  However, I wasn’t able to learn anything that was useful.

  And then Eric said,

  “Locke. Let’s kill him already.”


  “Yeah, let’s do that.”


  “Humans are so arrogant. Perhaps it is because they have such short lives. Their narrow view of the world makes it hard for them to comprehend the strength of their enemies.”


  He muttered. And then he looked at us with a piteous smile.

  “Thank you. But I am well aware of how amazing you are.”


  “Oh?”


  “You’re a veteran con artist, aren’t you? You must have worked very hard to get where you are.”


  “You’re mocking me, human?”


  “It looks like you’ve only lived so long because you learned to hide very well.”


  “.……”


  He glared at me silently.

  “If you’re so scared of humans, you should just stay in the dark like the slug that you are.”


  “Bastard!!”


  He shouted as he charged towards me.

  My insults had worked just as planned. He was focused on attacking me.

  Thanks to that, it was easier for Serulis and the others to run ahead.

  However, his attack was faster than I had anticipated.

  He was faster than any vampire I faced before. I could barely even see his sword being unsheathed.

  I quickly blocked his attack with the Devil King Sword.

  –Clang!

  But his attack was so strong that I couldn’t stop the force behind it. And so I frantically jumped back.