Volume 24 Chapter 5, Evolution of Shrein

In the middle of the magic circle floating in the center of the room, Shrein was casting a long spell.

The spell was quite different from the magic and holy rituals handed down in the present day.

It was a spell that had been handed down to vampires since ancient times and had not been passed down to any other race, with a few exceptions.

The magic circle that emerged had a reddish hue that at first glance seemed ominous.

The color was the color of blood, which was special to vampires.

In the past, people who used these kinds of techniques were repressed, as they were thought to be heretical techniques.

Kousuke, who had been watching Shrein, thought that he would certainly get that impression if he saw this ritual at first glance.

Kousuke and his group were now in Vermilion Castle, in a room used for such ceremonies.

In addition to the members within his group, several members of the Vermilinia clan were also watching the ceremony.

After all, for them, it was a ceremony that had not been done in years.

No matter how powerful Shrein may be, they never knew what would happen.

That’s why half of them were standing by to watch over her.

The other half was purely to confirm the ritual that was about to be revived in the present day.

“…It’s utterly outrageous.”

It was Shrein’s aide, Zennet, who murmured this next to Kousuke as he watched the ceremony.

Incidentally, before Shrein performed the ritual, he covered the area where the ceremony was to take place with a Barrier to prevent anything from happening, so even a whisper would not reach Shrein.

“You think so?”

“That’s right. Even the scripture that the Princess is chanting right now would have to be done by a dozen high-ranking spell casters.”

By “scripture”, he meant sacred texts for vampires.

Normally, the ritual would require several practitioners, but Shrein was performing it all by herself.

“…Is everything okay?”

Kousuke, as well as the members, have no knowledge of vampire spells.

Therefore, the only way to determine the extent of the burden on Shrein was to judge by her appearance.

At least, from what he could see, it looked like she was using some large-scale magic.

“The fact that it looks fine is a problem for us, I suppose.”

Zennet giggled as he said so.

For the vampires, the fact that she was able to perform this ritual by herself without any problems was a problem in itself.

“Adding to that is the power of the princess herself, but what is that…? Perhaps it is a mixture of Lord’s power as well. Thanks to that, it seems everything is fine for now.”

“My power…? I see.”

Kousuke closed his eyes as he tilted his head at Zennet, who said this while looking at Kousuke.

If Shrein was using the power of the Blessing, whatever it was, Kousuke could sense it.

Ever since Lirica and Peach had manifested their powers, he was able to do so as well.

“It certainly seems like she is using it, but… I wonder what this is? …Something that binds …?”

Kousuke questioned the unfamiliar power.

Hearing this, the chief expressed surprise on his face.

“Do you understand that?”

“I can understand it, I mean… it’s more like I could sense it?”

“That is more than enough. After all, it’s been a long time since any of us could perceive this power.”

Zennet also knew that he could not actually feel the power behind it, but only knew it in theory.

“Is it safe, this power?”

“Though I mentioned binding, I was talking about a contract, you see. The two of us already have a blood contract in the first place, don’t we?”

Kousuke finally remembered something about that when it was mentioned.

He remembered that they had made a contract like that when Shrein was first summoned by Mitsuki.

“The ritual she was about to perform was an even stronger version of that, a stronger bond, without changing the substance of the contract.”

By forming a more powerful contract, it would dramatically increase the power of the practitioner.

This was precisely the kind of power that Shrein wanted.

“…I guess it’s about time.”

As Kousuke was speaking with Zennet about this, it seemed that the preparations were finally ready.

This time, no one but Shrein was speaking, and her voice was the only one echoing in the silent room.

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In the end, the ritual performed by Shrein was a success.

Shrein was dizzy after the ceremony, but this was due to the fact that she performed a big ceremony alone.

The Vermilinia Clan found it hard to believe that this was all that was required.

After the ceremony, Kousuke checked his powers and contracts, but there was no indication that Kousuke himself had changed in any way.

As Zennet had mentioned, the ritual was only to enhance Shrein’s power.

More than anything else, the ritual had brought about a significant change in Shrein.

Since nothing had changed in her appearance, no one around her seemed to have noticed.

Kousuke held out a card to Shrein, who was resting in a corner of the room where the ritual had been performed.

While Shrein was resting, Kouhi had hastily retrieved this crown card for her.

When Kouhi brought it, it was an empty card, but now Kousuke has written the current status of Shrein on it.

“… What’s this?”

“A newly created crown card. It seems the quality of the magic power has changed because of the ritual. I had to make a new one, so I did. All that’s left is to pour your magic power into it and display it.”

Kousuke said with a mischievous smile.

Shrein felt a little uncomfortable with that smile, but she obediently poured her magic power into the crown card to display her status.

Shrein thought that even though she had performed the ritual, there was no significant change in any of her skills, but her gaze stopped at one point.

“…!!?”

Shrein involuntarily checked the display several times before looking at Kousuke with a surprised expression on his face.

Kousuke, seeing him, remained smiling.

“Is this information true…?”

Shrein asked, looking at Kousuke with some apprehension.

“I don’t do that kind of joking around here.”

“I know you wouldn’t make a joke like that at this time… Or rather, I just couldn’t believe it…”

Shrein, confused, shook her head several times.

When she did that, naturally those around her noticed what was going on.

The members who had been chatting a short-distance away gathered around her.

“What’s the matter?”

Sylvia asked, ahead of the other members.

“Oh, you know…”

Kousuke was about to answer when Shrein stopped him.

“No, let me tell them.”

“Oh? Okay.”

From the look on Shrein’s face, Kousuke gave up on giving an honest answer to Sylvia.

“It seems that the ritual has allowed me to evolve. I had only intended to manifest the power of the Blessing, though.”

“”What…!?””

All of them were surprised.

To these members, Shrein held out her Crown Card.

It wasn’t to check her skills.

The race section of the status showed “True Ancestral Vampire”, which was different from before.

Whether it was an evolution or not, it was definitely a different race name from the one Shrein had before the ritual.

When the members saw this, they first expressed surprise and then joy.

Of course, there was the feeling of thinking that she was ahead of everyone as well.

But more than that, they were happy that they could finally see the path ahead.

It was only natural that their joy would be greater, given the lack of progress they had previously experienced.