Lichtenstein Castle, among the dense mountain forest outside, the black smoke ascending into the sky resembled a colossal black dragon coiling in the sky, roaring its existence.

Sparks spread and diffused across the canopy, as if intending to dye the entire forest a redder hue than the evening glow.

Behind the stained-glass windows of the chapel, the sound of conversation vanished instantly, replaced by expressions of utter astonishment. Everyone stared intently in the direction of the forest, trying to comprehend the inexplicable change.

The setting sun cast irregular patterns of light and shadow on their faces through the colored glass, making their expressions appear even more bewildered and hazy.

Though their gazes darted back and forth between the black smoke and the forest, their hearts filled with questions and worries, no one spoke. Finally, they all turned to look at Lanchi.

Could it be…

Was all of this within the lawyer’s expectations?

“I'm really impressed with you two…”

Hyperion had already realized what was happening.

That old fox, Frey, hadn't left at all! He'd been setting up traps in the forest all day, waiting!

In the forest terrain, facing Frey in a one-on-one situation, with the heavily injured Destroyer Saintess in the open and the well-prepared Frey lurking in the shadows, the Destroyer Saintess was bound to suffer.

As everyone gradually understood the situation, hope for victory reignited!

In the corner beneath the rose window.

After a moment, the expression of the Rebirth Church priestess froze.

While she couldn’t understand the change, her heart began to pound wildly.

“How… how is this possible…”

She quickly counted the number of people in the chapel, confirming that no one was missing.

Intense confusion and unease caused her brain to race.

Then, as if recalling something, the priestess’s eyes widened abruptly.

Indeed, one person was missing.

That bastard who had disrupted their plans from the start and disappeared from the map!

If this was all a deception, then what was the meaning of all the anxiety and humiliation she had suffered throughout the day?

Before she could process her near-collapse,

the Rebirth Church priestess opened her mouth in horror, her face filled with despair.

“Ahhh…”

She saw a new message on the Shadow World:

[Traitor Adelais has been killed. Count Palorcasber, Blood Lord, will arrive at the border of the Honing Empire in approximately six hours, coordinates: Lichtenstein Castle.]

Instantly.

“Do you know what you've done?! She was the Destroyer Saintess!”

The priestess roared hoarsely,

"Now, we're all going to die together!!!"

Originally, she had something to rely on. According to the Shadow World's mechanism, once a traitor was killed, it would attract a vampire count. At least she was certain she could return to the real world alive.

But now, after the vampire count arrived, he would unleash indiscriminate slaughter!

Because the mission objectives and story backgrounds of the two vampire dependents were ambitious individuals with the heart to rebel against the Blood Lord!

Meanwhile.

Not far from the priestess.

The last glimmer of light in the eyes of the bound noble mage girl seemed to disappear as well, replaced with despair and a hint of resignation.

“Vampires… in the end, can’t escape the nightmare…”

Her lips trembled slightly, as if accepting an irresistible fate, yet hating it with all her being.

…

The mood of everyone else in the chapel turned icy cold, and even the most stalwart executioner collapsed powerlessly to the ground.

In an instant, their mood was like a roller coaster.

They had just figured out why Lanchi was so calm earlier—it turned out he had anticipated that the detective was lying in wait in the forest.

But before they could rejoice, they were struck by a thunderbolt!

The good news was that the Destroyer Saintess had been dealt with.

The bad news was that they were all going to die tonight.

These two were too ruthless, treating the Destroyer Saintess like a monkey. In the end, even if the crazed Destroyer Saintess couldn't defeat the detective lying in ambush, she would have chosen to commit suicide, dragging everyone down with her.

It wasn't surprising that they lost now.

It was just that they had so much hope before, and now they felt a bit disappointed.

With the last hope shattered, the team was filled with a sense of despondency.

“So be it.”

“We’ve already tried our best.”

“Whether we win or lose, we have no regrets.”

“Anyway, none of us have ever been afraid of death when facing the Rebirth Church.”

The chapel suddenly fell silent, and the weapons finally grew weary.

The mournful sunset seemed to foreshadow their lives, burning through their pupils and then falling heavily.

Their mutual encouragement felt like a final farewell, a fitting tribute to their efforts throughout the day, a sense of resigned heroism.

Faced with the seventh-tier count and five whole nights, they couldn't think of any way to win.

This time, it really was the end of the line.

…

…

Wait, what's that expression on Lanchi's face?

Perhaps out of habit, the challengers in the chapel couldn't help but look at Lanchi.

He was still calmly sipping from his wine glass!

"Why are you all looking at me? Let's eat first."

Lanchi looked at everyone in confusion, pointing to the banquet table, as if he had been waiting for everyone to eat together for a long time.

The title of this Shadow World was "Chapel Banquet."

Clearly a tourism and dining-themed Shadow World. What were they doing standing around instead of eating?

“Could there still be a way…”

Everyone stared in amazement in the same direction.

The setting sun shone through the meters-high windows, casting light on Lanchi. His figure sitting leisurely on the sofa seemed even more dazzling than the sun itself.

"There are still six hours. Hunting a count isn't easy?"

Lanchi grinned, revealing a confident smile again.

He had that same feeling of certainty he had when he controlled lightning in the Purgatory Corridor Academy!

…

At the Ickert Academy, on Jera Memorial Square, all the students' expressions were the same as those of the challengers in the picture.

Unbelievable yet unable to disbelieve.

A seventh-tier vampire count.

And a full five nights.

Even if all of them combined could fight against the top sixth-tier Destroyer Saintess, a seventh-tier count was a terrifying being that their mere human bodies could never withstand!

The higher the tier, the greater the difference in strength between each tier.

"It is said that Lanchi's epic masterpiece on the registered card creator exam... was a small sun..."

"That's just a fake sun, it doesn't have the power of the sun!"

The sealing vision function of [Radiant Virtue] is a relatively versatile and practical card, but considering that it doesn't distinguish between friend and foe and has high mana consumption, it is still too weak as an orange epic card.

"I dare not look."

The atmosphere on the square had changed from the previous uproar to a deathly silence.

Many students, as if unable to bear the oppressive despair, began to leave Jera Memorial Square.

This seemed to be a tragedy destined to happen in six hours.

The teacher's conference room must be extremely heavy at this moment.

Because Ickert Academy was about to lose three of its best new students tonight.

Recommending a friend's book~

(End of this chapter)