World Tree proper, the water wasn't nearly as powerful. Apparently, the underlings had enough resources to pollute the river, and a considerable number of them were crawling atop its contaminated surface. Slowly but steadily, the blasphemous creatures were making their way forward. As Kaito watched, the seemingly sluggish masses of flesh leaped at several of the soldiers at an alarming speed. They didn't even have time to scream before they were consumed. It was the very image of Hell. Suddenly, a bloodcurdling shriek rang out from nearby. Kaito turned to look toward where it had come from. *** "Ack, gah, ahâ€”" A priest, who was supposed to have been strengthening the squad's defenses, was violently convulsing. An underling had been traveling beneath the ground and, as distasteful as it was, had thrust its arm through his groin. Burrowing through the moist earth had caused its hideous fingers to burn and fester from the pure waters underground. Now those same fingers had burst up through the priest's mouth and were squirming amid his yellowed teeth. "Gah, gehâ€” Ah..." Then the underling abruptly drew its arm free, and the priest collapsed to the ground. Blood and excreta gushed from his body. The underling then waved its sullied hand about and started looking for its next prey. An instant later, it found itself run through with a sword. The eyeball hidden amid its organs crushed, the underling's body crumpled. "You monster... You monster, monster, monster, monster!" Spittle flew as the soldier shouted and brought his sword down on the underling over and over. He sounded deranged, but his aim was true. He hadn't been misled by the underling's repulsive exterior. Vlad must have given them instructions regarding their weak points. That said, the squad's coordination had completely fallen apart. Friends and foes were all jumbled together, and the battlefield was a free-for-all. Vlad stroked his chin, then shrugged in exasperation. "I never imagined the situation would degrade so badly in my brief absence. The defensive squads were supposed to be continuously deployed, and the mages were supposed to set the opposite shore on fire in a massive, raging blaze. Anyone who broke through would be surrounded by the soldiers, battered, then allowed to escape once they'd sustained heavy damage, only to explode from the power of the World Tree. That process should have been more than enough to deal with the fourth wave, but... Perhaps their replacements fled on them, and the cowardice of a few sent everything into disarray. Ha-ha, what are they, children cowering at monsters? Well now, this is unfortunate." "Given the situation, what the hell did you think would happen when you sent their commanding officer, not to mention their strongest teammate, over to pick me up?" "Ha-ha-ha, you say that, my dear successor, but it's really quite hard for me to grasp just how frail these people's spiritsâ€”" "...Vlad." Kaito moved his lips as little as possible as he barked out Vlad's name. Vlad was still smiling, but he went silent. He looked down at his petite master, then spoke in a stubbornly calm tone. "Yes?" "Don't screw around." The rebuke was like a blade pressed against the back of his neck. Another scream rose up from the soldiers' ranks. Blood sprayed violently across the ground. However, even though he was right beside the tragedy, Kaito kept his gaze fixed on Vlad. The only thing reflected in his clear eyes was his wicked servant. "Why did I give you a body? I brought you back for one reason: You're useful. If you're not being helpful, then you're in the way. If you can't show off your power, you're just weak. If you fight without information, you're just a fool, and if you whine pointlessly, you're just incompetent. And hey, if your life has no value, you're no better than a pig. So which one are you? Incompetent or a pig?" Vlad didn't answer. However, he didn't talk back, either. He just kept smiling. "Get it together! Dammit, don't let them escape!" Suddenly, a panicked shout pierced the air. Most of the underlings had made their way through the free-for-all and were finally surging toward the burned path to the World Tree. The soldiers who'd been able to keep their composure were rallying the troops and getting ready to pursue them. However, the underlings spat venom at them from their thick lips, the majority of which were attached to female buttocks. "La (send it back)." Without so much as sparing them a glance, Kaito snapped his fingers. Black darkness and azure petals knit together into a massive shield. It gently caught the venom, then launched it back. Upon being drenched headfirst in the viscous, purple liquid, the underlings collapsed. The soldiers let out cries of surprise and relief. Having finally noticed Kaito, they sent pleading glances his way. But Kaito himself was still glaring at Vlad. His next question was posed in a voice that left no room for argument. "As I am now, you're a fitting minion for meâ€”right?" "Yes, my lord. It is as you say." Placing his hand atop his chest, Vlad abruptly hung his head obediently. His androgynous, black hair shook as he performed his graceful bow. His head still hung, he spoke in a voice that was the very image of a loyal servant's. It was so courteous, he sounded almost suspicious and affected. "It's true; I myself made the choice to become the Mad King's pawn. And that being the case, it's only logical I should carry out your will. Right now, Vlad Le Fanu's madness exists for your sakeâ€”ah, what a new form of humiliation that is, and what a pleasurable one." Vlad contorted his lips into something that definitely wasn't a smile. It was an unpleasant expression, one that incited fear in any who viewed it. The next moment, his body vanished. The soldiers let out restless shouts. With utmost composure, Kaito alone turned his gaze overhead. There, he saw an aristocratic, black coat fluttering in the wind. Vlad Le Fanu was suspended in the sky. He was sitting on someone's back, with both legs to one side. Right beside him, bat-like membranes cleaved through the air. Two wings were growing out of the fine, black fur Vlad was riding atop. Extended out from the body was a malevolent head. And resting in that head was a pair of eyes burning with hellfire. The creature's identity was that of a massive, winged hound, and Vlad was mounted elegantly atop its back. They fit together so well, it seemed almost as though each had been born to pair with the other. "You sure took your sweet time." Kaito let out a low murmur. Vlad deepened his unpleasant smile. The current Vlad was nothing more than an inferior replica. However, in addition to the way he thought, he had one other forte left to him. He could work together with the prideful Kaiser. The Kaiser, the apex of the fourteen demons, was a beast who could test a thousand men and then devour all of them. The trials he imposed on his contractor were harsh, and most of the candidates had died horribly. That said, though, once he'd acknowledged his partner's madness as one to his liking, he was willing to forgive slights that would otherwise have warranted tearing them limb from limb. And Vlad Le Fanu was the first man to ever earn that right. By losing to Elisabeth and meeting a disgraceful death at her hands, Vlad had earned himself the Kaiser's wrath for quite some time. However, it was also thanks to his help that the Kaiser had been able to remanifest, and at the moment, the two of them possessed similar attributes. From an outside perspective, Vlad and the Kaiser seemed to click. If nothing else, the supreme hound was allowing Vlad to ride atop his back. That's another reason I gave him a body. In Kaito's current state, he didn't need a demon to protect him. In other words, it would be more efficient to have the Kaiser fighting independently rather than acting as his escort. However, to do that, another individual was necessary. Left to his own devices, the Kaiser would refuse to act on anyone else's behalf. The temperamental hound needed a hunter to rein him in. That was Vlad's job, and the reason Kaito had given him a body. When Kaito had done so, he'd magically set up the artificial body to allow him to observe what Vlad did and said. At the moment, he could clearly make out the wicked way Vlad's lips were curling. Vlad was calling out affectionately to the Kaiser. "Now then, my former companion. O proud, supreme hound. Are you ready?" "Ha! Ready for what? This whole affair is laughably ludicrous! Telling a demon to help stop the end-time is contradictory beyond repair! The Accumulation of Seventeen Years' Pain must have finally gone mad." "See, you say that, dear Kaiser, but you're the one who agreed to fight in this war, aren't you?" Vlad calmly rebutted the Kaiser's scornful words. Then he gestured with his chin toward the underling troops. As the hideous masses of flesh ferociously charged forward, they looked as vulgar as half-finished platters of sloppily eaten food. "I understand you, you know. You don't retain underlings. You're too proud a beast to bear even looking at their hideous forms. And you demons are solitary entitiesâ€”unless your contractor calls on you, you cooperate with no one, even if your goals are aligned. How could you allow the world to be destroyed at the hands of not just another, but Diablo, who exists only to prepare the world for God to rebuild it, who lurks in a human's body with neither pride nor will?" As he whispered, Vlad stroked the black dog's back. If he'd been in range of the Kaiser's fangs, he would assuredly have lost his arm. Fortunately for him, though, his seat on the Kaiser's back was out of reach. He went on in a casual tone. "You and I were supposed to rule the world, once. But dashed as our dreams may have been, the vicissitudes of fate have led us here. And seeing one's half-eaten meat snatched away before one's eyes is unpleasant, no?" "Listening to you prattle is far more unpleasant, I say. Cease your tittering; you test my patience. But your thoughts on consumption are apt." The Kaiser let out a deep howl. He curled up the corners of his mouth like a human. Then, without warning, he soared through the air. The black dog descended upon the underlings like a raptor hunting its prey. The hellfire in his eyes traced a searing trail through the air. The force of the wind would have shredded any normal person to bits, but Vlad merely snapped his fingers, unfazed. "La (become)." Black darkness and azure flower petals caressed the ground, and iron bear traps began sprouting up like flowers in bloom. They weren't nearly powerful enough to kill the underlings. However, thanks to their simple construction, they were well suited toward stopping the many-limbed fiends in their tracks. Then sure enough, the Kaiser swooped in upon the captured pack. He descended on them, in every sense of the word. He was like a black star, falling through the sky by divine prophecy. The darkness silently blanketed his landing point. For a moment, the area was cast into absolute silence. A few seconds later, though, the darkness transformed into black feathers, then exploded in a shower of azure petals. Starting from the explosion's center, the underlings had been eviscerated. Tongues and genitalia crashed into the trees, then crumbled into dust. The beast's landing alone had been enough to cause serious bloodshed, and he laughed in a voice that sounded almost human. "Gaaaah-ha-ha-ha, baaaah-ha-ha-ha, gaaaah-ha-ha-ha. "Those lumps of meat don't even comprehend the difference in our ranks. Why, even making me kill them is irreverent. Know