---

“Van Helsing!”

Dracula growled as he looked down at Abraham Van Helsing. Suddenly appearing was the leader of the Southern Alliance, Count Arthur Harker, who took out a cross necklace and aimed it toward the sky, speaking in a solemn voice.

“You’ve become quite ugly in the time I’ve missed you, Dracula.”

“Abraham… Van Helsing!”

Dracula shuddered and suddenly began to shrink. The dragon, which was over 50 meters long, shrank down to human size upon spotting Van Helsing. Count Harker looked at the shrunken Dracula and chuckled.

“I prefer you this way.”

“Don’t interfere! I can’t allow you to stop me this time!”

“Even now, all I can do is get in your way.”

Then Dracula raised both arms and lunged at Van Helsing. Abraham Van Helsing swung the Holy Cross in his hand, pushing Dracula back, and began to confront the vampire’s strength with his own.

For a moment, Jeongjae, who was watching the duel in a daze, turned to Jenis.

“What the… is going on?”

“I called for him.”

Jenis, lying on the ground, weakly lifted her cross necklace, smiling softly.

“This necklace not only has power, but it also possesses a connection ability. Of course, the connection is so weak that it’s hard to hear under normal circumstances… But I amplified it with my magic, allowing for clear communication. The moment that guy barged in, I called my father. If he’s a vampire, he could come flying here with his wings in no time.”

“You have quite the talent for seeking help when in a pinch.”

“To be precise, it’s both of us. First it was Princess Margaret, then Gemini, and now King Richard. Up to our father now. Whenever the professor and I find ourselves in trouble, a powerful being appears to save us. And just as we’ve always won thanks to that help, we’ll win this fight too.”

“It better be so…”

Jeongjae slowly walked toward the fierce battle, balancing on shaky legs. Given that Jenis appeared to be covered in burns from head to toe, it wasn’t the right moment for her to join the fray. Van Helsing was ferociously taking on Dracula, but he couldn’t be Dracula’s match.

Right now, thanks to the fatal wounds to Dracula’s neck and broken ribs, Van Helsing was able to engage in combat with him using just his bare hands with the help of divine power. Feeling a sense of crisis as Harker began to falter, Jeongjae slowly approached, trying to muster whatever mana he could to help.

“Don’t come over yet! Prepare the device!”

Count Harker shouted as he saw Jeongjae approaching him. Jeongjae protested.

“Are you talking about the Moriarty Machine? But I don’t know how to use it! Especially not in a situation like this!”

“You can use it! You definitely can! The power in there is divine energy, isn’t it? The principles are similar to what we did before.”

“It’s not that I can’t handle divine energy, but it’s a bit burdensome compared to other mana…”

“You’re miscalculating something big!”

Arthur Harker dodged Dracula’s punch and continued speaking.

“Divine power is a force originally wielded by those from Earth! You can definitely handle it. You’ll have more than enough! You, you met the hero too early. The confidence that was suppressed by him is weighing you down too much. But let me tell you this—if the descendant of Sherlock Holmes hadn’t been alive with that talent, that Holy Sword would have been yours!”

“It could’ve been Jenis’s. She’s Van Helsing’s daughter.”

As he said that, Jeongjae slowly made his way down to the basement. He slammed his fist, surrounded by a magic circle, into the hole he had made so that it shattered Dracula’s magical barrier. Seeing Jeongjae act on his instructions, Van Helsing grabbed both of Dracula’s shoulders and looked straight into his eyes.

“You’re already finished, Dracula. You’ve lost all the confidence you had when you lived in Eastern Europe and all the purpose you had when you first crossed into this world. The moment you discarded yourself for power and walked the path of a demon, it was over for you. So now, die. Stop living your pathetic life and vanish as dust, king of vampires!”

Count Harker sucked the blood that flowed from Dracula’s neck with all his might. As the dragon’s blood flowed into Harker, Arthur felt a surge of explosive power rising within him, almost rivaling Dracula.

Van Helsing threw the cross necklace he was holding towards Jenis and shouted, “Pass this to him! Including yours!”

Though it was quite a distance, Harker was able to throw the necklace right in front of Jenis thanks to the enhanced power from the dragon’s blood. Jenis struggled to reach out and grabbed her father’s necklace, throwing both hers and his toward the basement hole.

“Get ready! I think father is going to throw Dracula!”

“What, throw him? You think you can—!?”

“Here we go!”

Just at that moment, as Count Harker lifted Dracula high up, Jeongjae was unwrapping the glass shell of a coffin and lifting open its wooden lid.

Like some electronic device, flickering glass tubes. The white light of divine power illuminating the room. Suddenly, two crosses fell from the sky directly into his hands.

The power contained within the crosses was undeniably divine energy. The power that this machine dealt with was also surely divine.

The three divine energies gathered to create one light. In that instant, an indescribable power surged through Jeongjae’s body. It occurred to him that it didn’t matter what this machine was anymore. He may have become too excited to think rationally. But in front of the powerful force of this unicorn that appeared before him, all other powers felt trivial.

Was it because the Demon King and Dracula desired this machine that they themselves couldn’t handle it? But Jeongjae was different. He could wield this power, and he would do so today.

With both hands holding the cross high, the Grand Mage shut his eyes tightly.

“I’m going to throw it now, so catch it properly!”

“Let go! Van Helsing, if you’re only trying to kill me with something like this—!”

The moment Van Helsing threw him, Dracula’s body soared into the sky. Even as the vampire lord twisted and tried to resist mid-air, the sprawled-out Jenis used her telekinesis to stop his resistance, letting him continue on a parabolic flight. Jeongjae raised both hands high.

One sword blade. A white blade shining like that of the Holy Sword surged from within the Moriarty Machine, aimed directly at Dracula’s heart. Unable to resist at all, flailing around as he was thrown into the hole, Dracula perceived his own demise as he saw the white light reaching for him from the Moriarty Machine.

“In the end… it’s by that machine—”

The blade pierced through the vampire lord’s torso. Jeongjae pushed the impaled body of Dracula into the coffin before stabbing his heart with the cross he held.

As Dracula’s body was rammed into the coffin, the sound of shattered glass tubes echoed throughout. The barely alive vampire lord struggled once more but was helplessly forced to watch Jeongjae cover the coffin’s lid over his body, unable to extract the divine power lodged in his chest.

With a thud, the heavy coffin lid sealed over the vampire lord’s body. Jeongjae pressed the lid down tightly with both hands, waiting for a moment, fearing Dracula might burst out.

After a few seconds, a crash and the sound of exploding divine energy resonated from within the coffin, as the vampire lord was completely reduced to ashes. Only then did Jeongjae, with a sigh of relief, open the coffin lid to check the state of the Moriarty Machine.

The appearance of Dracula, who had just been in the coffin, was nowhere to be found. What remained were shattered glass pieces, charred remains, and only the cross necklace that Jeongjae had pierced into Dracula’s heart.

Jeongjae carefully picked up the necklace, avoiding the glass shards, and sighed.

“It’s over. It’s finally over.”

Dracula was dead. The vampire lord, who had first wounded Jeongjae’s territory and ultimately destroyed everything within it, met his true demise, unable to even come close to realizing his dreams in this distant world.

The Grand Mage’s body emanated a powerful vitality he had never felt before. It was as though the machine’s divine energy and the powers of the two cross necklaces had fully charged him.

Feeling a pleasant sensation of relief, Jeongjae floated upwards and rose to the surface. Now there was nothing left in this domain, and even the Moriarty Machine had been destroyed during battle. As he thought that this may signify the conclusion of the disturbances surrounding Baron Harriet’s Territory, Jeongjae slowly made his way toward Count Harker, to return the cross necklace.

“It’s over. I’ve confirmed Dracula’s death. He didn’t escape to another world, nor did he use any magic. He’s completely dead. There’s no room for doubt here.”

“Is that so? In the end, he’s dead.”

Arthur Harker wore an exhausted expression, but there was a satisfied smile on his face. It made sense. After all, it was a nemesis he had battled for over a hundred years. The conclusion of a prolonged battle that extended to another world was finally being reaped. It was just as Count Harker was grinning and about to approach Jeongjae.

At that very moment, the Count’s expression shifted from satisfaction to horror. Jeongjae barely managed to hold back a scream, taking a step back.

Even Jenis, who had been slowly getting up, was unable to comprehend the situation as it unfolded, collapsing right back onto the floor.

A woman’s hand suddenly emerged from within the Count’s chest, holding a red object that clearly appeared to be the heart of Abraham Van Helsing.

Someone had pierced through his back, crushing the Count’s heart within their grasp. Abraham Van Helsing fell forward, unable to utter a single word of farewell.

Only after van Helsing had collapsed like a wooden block, rigid, was Jeongjae able to confirm the face of the individual who committed such an act.

It was a familiar face. The transporter who had come to this territory with Bernard. Then there was the woman who had stayed behind in the territory, using the threat of vampires as an excuse. She had left no strong impression, just someone who seemed a little frugal and had decent… instincts.

Now, she was looking down at the collapsed body of the Count, her hands holding Abraham Van Helsing’s heart.

When she turned around, Jenis was frozen, too shocked to even open her mouth. Jeongjae, raising a trembling hand, pointed at the woman.

“You… who are you? What are you?”

“Did I not say my name? I believe I introduced myself.”

From her head sprouted two horns like those of a goat. Sharp fangs, symbols of vampires, protruded from her mouth. A long tail, characteristic of a succubus, grew from her backside. Addressing the Grand Mage, the Demon King slightly bowed her head toward Jeongjae and replied.

“My name is Violet Moriarty.”

Moriarty dropped the Count’s heart onto the ground.

“All that the world calls the Demon King is truly me.”

 

---