I Planned a Su*cide Mission and Got Kicked Out of the Party

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Dracula didn’t give Jenis any time to respond. The vampire lord gestured as if grasping something from the sky with outstretched hands.

Jenis suddenly felt a dizziness as if she had been struck on both temples with a hammer, causing her to kneel on the floor. It appeared that Dracula had used a type of magic similar to that which crushed the guard’s head, but her own mana resistance and the protection of her robe saved her from serious harm.

As she quickly regained her composure, Dracula smacked his lips in disappointment while observing Jenis.

“Well, I suppose you could say you’re somewhat of a witch, huh? It’s suspicious, definitely suspicious. Why on earth are there two rare wizards in such a tiny village? And they aren’t even weak magic users.”

“The Baron here… is no ordinary person. He’s strong enough to crush you in an instant.”

Jenis shook her head vigorously to shake off the lingering dizziness. The guard Sami had successfully roused nearly three thousand of the villagers by diligently performing his duties.

It was uncertain whether it was a wise choice to keep the villagers outside when such uninvited guests barged in, but Jenis thought it was at least better than leaving them to sleep peacefully.

How long she could hold out against this formidable foe was uncertain. If this vampire truly intended to harm the villagers, there was no way they could avoid his grasp just by sleeping soundly indoors.

It would be wiser to prepare for an escape or devise a countermeasure together. At least, that’s what Jenis thought.

“Hey, you devil-like fiend! Bring George back!”

“The Baron will finish you off in one blow when he arrives!”

The villagers were still buzzing with excitement from their recent victory in the defense of Harriet’s Territory. Some of them, more aggressive and valiant than usual, boldly expressed their thoughts without being intimidated by the aura of Dracula.

Dracula glanced around at the citizens gradually starting to gather in the street and said,

“Such a strong faith in your Baron. There was once a time when I had such reliance from my people as well. It’s true. No exaggeration at all. But there are reasons for the Baron’s absence. He’s not coming. At least not until this night is over.”

“What have you done to him?”

Jenis growled, holding the magic circle of “Star’s Radiance” in one hand. The magic circle glowed brightly, ready to unleash a beam of light, but due to her past experience of losing the fire magic circle, the now-experienced mage didn’t dare to make a preemptive strike casually.

Dracula smiled leisurely, showing his fangs.

“Think whatever you like, my dear. Perhaps he was subdued by me, or maybe he got lost because of me… Or perhaps… he died at my hands…”

“You’re lying.”

Jenis ground her teeth. She recognized the basic provocation, but she had a chronic disease where she couldn’t stay calm when it came to matters related to Jeongjae.

“Lying? Me?”

“That man is not the kind to fall easily to the likes of you!”

Unable to contain herself any longer, Jenis stretched out her hand and unleashed “Star’s Radiance” at Dracula. He immediately raised one arm and blocked her attack with the flowing fabric of his robe.

The beam that collided with the billowing black robe was effortlessly absorbed and vanished. Before Jenis could prepare her next spell, Dracula leaped into the air and dove toward her.

He didn’t spread his wings, but with a leap high enough to seem like he could fly, Jenis couldn’t evade or attack as she was pinned beneath him, struggling to breathe with his knee pressing against her chest.

The vampire lord placed a vice-like grip on Jenis’s neck and began to choke her. Jenis grasped his wrists to resist, but not only was the vampire’s mana potent, but his physical strength was overwhelming as well.

As Jenis struggled to breathe, Dracula grinned with a chilling smile, revealing his fangs.

“Don’t be too sure of yourself, my dear. He is a powerful mage, but my strength is surely not something you can dismiss! You wouldn’t even know who was stronger between the two of us with your level of power!”

“I… can know…”

Jenis stammered, her face reddening as she strained to speak. Dracula’s expression grew tense, and the guards behind Jenis each gripped their spears tightly and shouted.

“That’s right! We saw the lord fighting ourselves! His power is not something you can casually evaluate!”

“If the wrath of a god descends upon this world, that’s exactly what it would look like! He’s not the kind of person to be bested by the likes of you!”

Two guards rushed at Dracula. As he squinted, narrowing his brows, Jenis felt a strong killing intent radiating off him, causing her to squeak out in alarm.

“Don’t! You… must flee…”

The warning whispered from Jenis, who was being choked, hardly reached the ears of the guards. Dracula raised one hand and slammed it down into the ground, resulting in the two incoming guards collapsing and bursting apart simultaneously.

It was as if an unseen hydraulic press from the heavens crushed them down. Even though they were clad in incredibly powerful armor fortified by protective spells, the two men crumpled like grasshoppers beneath a foot and turned into a flat hunk of meat.

The nobles watching could no longer recognize the remnants of armor or the bloody remains of humans. They recoiled in terror, and among them, several women let out piercing screams.

Surely, they were family, loved ones, or friends of the slain guards. With all the strength she had left, Jenis focused on the vampire lord and unleashed a physical force against him while he was distracted.

Dracula was pushed back, and Jenis barely managed to rise to her feet. Leaning forward in a defensive stance, Dracula chuckled and then shouted again to the still-shocked villagers.

“I didn’t threaten you lightly! I even said I wouldn’t harm you. What I sought was simply for your lot and the Empire’s dogs to vacate this land. To hand this castle over to me! Your baron’s violent response is his doing. I won’t say to blame him, but just know there were other ways!”

“Shut your mouth, monster.”

Jenis panted, gritting her teeth in anger.

“Our people fought to keep this land even at the cost of death once. Even if we paid the price for not doing so back then, nothing would change. The soldiers who stayed behind instead of joining the imperial army are ours, our own men. There’s never a choice to abandon this land. This death will not break our spirits!”

“Right! The young lady is speaking well!”

“Get lost, monster!”

“Let’s hold together until the Baron arrives! Once he’s here, all of this will be over!”

Jeongjae had become a symbolic figure among the nobles after only a short time since his appointment, due to his remarkable accomplishments in two separate battles. The incident involving bandits that allowed the men of this territory to sacrifice for Harriet’s Territory and the coastal defense where he single-handedly saved the land.

Just the belief that Jeongjae would come and the very presence of him, not even here right now, were enough to keep the nobles from retreating.

And just like those nobles, if not even more, Jenis believed without a doubt that Jeongjae would come, and she could not afford to falter or collapse while they held on.

Dracula unfurled his robe and fired black lightning towards Jenis. She tried to shield herself with a magical barrier, but her mana shield shattered into tiny pieces without even a moment’s pause.

Harker, in shock from the direct hit, flew backward and collapsed to the ground. Dracula slowly walked toward Jenis, gesturing as if clenching something in one hand again.

Jenis’s robe was lifted high into the air, giving the illusion that she was floating in the unseen grasp of the vampire lord.

As Dracula tightened his grip, Jenis once again found herself struggling for breath, choking. This time, her robe’s defensive power and her mana resistance saved her life, but there was no guarantee they would keep her alive for long.

As she began to lose consciousness from oxygen deprivation and her life itself hung by a thread, once more, Jenis’s necklace saved her.

The silver cross emitted a radiant white light, then flashed bright like a camera, before fading away. Startled by the light, Dracula quickly covered his eyes and stepped back, while Jenis found herself freed from his grip and safely landed on the ground.

When Dracula lowered his hands from his face, Jenis noticed that there was a slight burn mark on his skin. His hands, which had covered his face, were also flushed red from the sudden flash.

The new burn mark on his pale skin stood out significantly against its underlying color. It wasn’t a serious injury, but the fact that for the first time, such a powerful foe had been hurt made Jenis smile with satisfaction.

“Harker… Harker… Harker!”

Dracula, with an infuriated expression, created black mana orbs in both hands. Realizing that she could not rely on just her own magic against the enemy, Jenis reached for her necklace.

Though she didn’t know its identity, it was clear that it contained tremendous power and potential. It also seemed likely that this power could cause fatal harm to Dracula.

If she could control this power, if she could wield it as her magical tool…

There was hope. With her current abilities, she could not compete with the monster, but if she could borrow this power, there was hope.

With all her concentration, Jenis struggled to draw out a white flash from her necklace. As her wind touched the cross, the light emitted from it surged into her hand and just like that, it was pulled out.

“Mana… Arrow!”

There was no time to celebrate. Jenis felt no elation from her success. She infused her mana into the powerful arrow she had drawn out, forming a massive mana projectile. The arrow, released from Jenis’s hand, struck directly into the vampire’s chest and caused Dracula to reel back in pain.

Seeing him clutching his chest and kneeling, Jenis let out a relieved sigh and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

In any case, she had successfully landed a hit. If this attack could stall the enemy even for a moment, if it could delay him even slightly, Jenis believed she could hold out until Jeongjae arrived.

Even if Jeongjae was caught in some dilemma and couldn’t come tonight, Jenis had to fight with the will to endure until the break of dawn. A vampire this powerful wouldn’t necessarily become weaker or more manageable when exposed to sunlight, but at least it would be better than fighting in the dead of night.

Jenis gripped the cross tightly again with one hand to launch another strike.

She closed her eyes tightly as she focused, trying to draw out the same power once more, but this time the cross betrayed her expectations.

There was no reaction, none at all.

“It seems to be the power of sanctity. Finally. It was quite a large vessel for its size, but unicorn horn powder is not a power to be used recklessly.”

Dracula groaned as he rose to his feet. Jenis discovered a large hole in the chest area of the robe she was wearing. Through the hole, Dracula’s pale skin was clearly exposed. Even though Jenis had hurriedly put on her combat robe over her pajamas, it seemed that this vampire was completely unclothed.

As Jenis shuddered not only at Dracula’s darkness but also his lewdness, he spoke in a soft voice.

“Without the power of that monstrosity, what can you possibly do, my dear?”

“If the power of my magical tool is based on the unicorn’s horn, it would naturally return after some time.”

Jenis spread a protective magic circle with both hands and bit her lips. Should Dracula launch another one of those dark bolts like before, this shield wouldn’t stand a chance against him. But if her attack had struck even slightly at the enemy’s power…

The possibility was faint, but she needed some hope. If she had no hope at all, she would be left waiting meekly for her death.

“Then by all means, try to block it, little girl!”

But the moment she saw two streaks of black lightning flying toward her, Jenis lost all hope and mechanically stretched both hands out in front of her.

There was no way. She couldn’t block this.

If she couldn’t block it, and if this time the cross didn’t help her either, she would die. Jenis could vividly picture in her mind how she would die.

Her heart being pierced and bursting from that lightning. The curse that would leave a massive hole in her body like a skewer.

Only a miracle, appearing at just the right time, could save her.

That miracle came right at that moment.

“Fire of Fury, strike down!”

One bolt of blue lightning descended from the heavens, intercepting the electric strike aimed at Jenis mid-journey. From the flames that ignited at the edge of the bolt, Baron Harriet appeared, draped in blue robes, as if he were a man sculpted from fire itself.

“Step back, Jenis. He’s not an opponent you can face.”

Jeongjae growled with a voice full of rage. Jenis, as if her tension had snapped, dropped to the ground, sprawling out.

“I… I did my best. Really.”

“I know. Thank you so much for that. I sincerely appreciate it. And… I’m sorry for not getting here sooner.”

Jeongjae glanced back, and Jenis noticed his gaze was not on her but rather on the mangled bodies of the guards.

Anger poured into the already furious expression of the Grand Mage. He seemed to barely contain the rising fury in his heart as he gazed at Dracula and murmured in a low voice.

“It feels like it may already be too late, but…”

The Grand Mage spread green magic circles in both hands and assumed a battle stance.

“I hope it’s not too late to turn back.”