"..this place is.."

I stared at my classroom dumbly, unable to believe where I was. For some reason, I was back in my classroom, the place where this whole story began. The voices of my classmates filled my ears as they chattered incessantly.

"Tanaka."

I froze when I heard the cold, sneering voice of Kobayashi Kenji. Turning around, I spotted him, Kijima Takeshi and Yamada Yuji strolling toward me. I recognized this situation immediately – it was my daily occurrence in the classroom, prior to being summoned to another world.

Wait, if that was the case..

Relaxing, I balled my fists and readied to fight. In this classroom, we didn't have special abilities or heroic powers. Kobayashi wouldn't have his cheats. He would just be a normal student who could easily be taken down with a few punches and kicks.

"How can I help you?"

Feigning politeness, I steeled myself for the conflict ahead.

"Move aside. You're in our way."

"..huh?"

Blinking in surprise, I took a step back, only to hear a whimper behind me.

"H..help.."

Turning around, I caught sight of Domon Daisuke. He was cowering at his desk, hiding his head under his hands.

"What are you waiting for? Move aside. Unless you want to get beaten in Domon's place?"

Kobayashi narrowed his eyes at me. I responded with a blank stare as my head tried to reel in my current circumstances.

"Oh."

I finally understood. This was a bloody flashback. The last thing I remembered was getting thrown about by my own nuclear ejection, disintegrating Kishimoto Hikaru and then losing consciousness. Shortly after that, I was watching a dream from the past.

Right..come on, this is so cliché. A bloody flashback in the form of a dream? This never happens. Dreams are often subconscious figments that might mix a bit of my memories within them, but they never replicate reality completely.

Nope, flashback dreams were convenient plot devices used by authors to reveal the past or a backstory of a character. They honestly didn't exist in reality. Unfortunately, it did seem like I was mired in a joke of a story and being forced to dance to the whim of an author.

"Ha.."

I sighed and shook my head. Since I was stuck in a flashback, I might as well play my part. Besides, I enjoyed bashing Kobayashi's face in, even if he was just a product of my dream. Hmm, that made me sound like a bully, but I guess I was a bully. As Irrational said on Discord, I wasn't a victim. I was just as bad as the bullies who picked on me.

Who cares? They started it. They deserved to get beaten up. In fact, I never thought of myself as the victim. All I wanted was revenge, to pay them back for picking on me. That was all. I had no intention of playing the victim or claiming the higher moral ground. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. If I had to become a bully myself to wreck brutal vengeance on my tormentors, then I would be happy to do so. The world was unfair, after all.

There was no point waiting for someone to save me. The authorities wouldn't help me – since Kobayashi's grandfather was the board chairman, he had the teachers all under his thumb and too afraid to punish him. My classmates were more likely to join the abuse than to stop it. In the end, the only person I could rely on was myself.

"No."

With a roar, Kobayashi punched me. Fortunately, my reflexes were quick. I dodged his fist and countered with a kick, knocking him back. Growling, Kijima lunged at me, but I spun around and struck his head with my foot, the ferocious strike sending him sprawling on the ground.

"..he..he killed him!"

"Kyaaaaah!"

"No!"

"Kijiima-kun is dead..Tanaka-kun killed him!"

My classmates were in an uproar, screaming and shrieking in panic when they saw the blood oozing from Kijima's head. The guy himself was not moving.

"Murderer!"

"Killer!"

"Somebody call the police!"

While my classmates milled about fearfully, grabbing their cellphones and hurriedly dialing, I stared at the scene, bemused.

"Huh..I don't remember this happening."

Of course not. This was just a dream. It wasn't real. In reality, I wasn't that strong in the past. It had erupted into a brawl..an ugly dogfight where I plowed right into Kijima and Yamada and wrestled with them, only for the three of us to roll on the ground like..beasts. It was only until the teacher arrived that we finally stopped slugging each other in a childish, amateurish manner. At that time, I had no knowledge of martial arts or fighting, so obviously I wouldn't be able to pull of such graceful kicks that would make a martial artist proud.

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"You killed Takeshi."

The ominous voice sent a chill down my spine. Turning around apprehensively, I spotted Kobayashi slowly getting to his feet. Even though this was a dream, I couldn't help but instinctively feel a stab of fear. There was something very different about Kobayashi.

Furthermore, in my dream, I couldn't use any magic or any of the skills or abilities I obtained in Restia. Yet..even though Kobayashi should be in the same situation as me, was emanating a terrifying aura.

"What the hell..?"

I murmured, only for Kobayashi's eyes to turn black. He was grinning manically, the flesh being pulled tight over his skull, and his body morphing and transforming. His hands lengthened and liquefied, his skin bubbling as millions of..something crawled beneath them. He was growing, towering over me as his bones snapped and cracked, shifting and changing shape beneath his stretching flesh. His teeth were sharpening, and dozens of mouths opened all over his body, slavering and snapping underneath his tearing uniform.

"..oh, God-Emperor, please protect me.."

The prayer left my lips before I even realized it. Kobayashi grinned down on me, his eyes as black as an endless abyss.

"Resistance is futile, little vampire. All shall fall to Chaos in the end." The mouth extended across Kobayashi's rippling face, the edges slitting across his misshapen cheeks to curve into a grotesque grin full of dagger-like teeth and multiple forked tongues. "None can resist the primordial force that is us. Chaos shall claim all."

"HOLY TERRA!" I yelped as the Chaos Kobayashi-thing pounced on me, its multitude of claws lashing out to scythe me into pieces..

*

"Emperor save me!"

I jolted awake, screaming in anguish as tears poured down from my eyes. Heaving heavily, I shook my head and tried to clear my groggy mind of the confusion.

"Ugh.."

As I sat up, I realized just how stiff my body was. A dull pain throbbed across my torso, making me feel as if I had broken something. Maybe a couple of cracked ribs. I wouldn't be surprised. Fortunately, my Regeneration was kicking in to purge the pain and heal whatever broken bones I sustained during the explosion.

"What the fuck was that nightmare about?" I murmured as I slowly returned to full wakefulness. It didn't feel like an ordinary dream, but a premonition..something that left a deep sense of unease in my heart.

However, that wasn't the most important thing at the moment.

"..?! That's right..what happened to everybody?!"

The memories returned in a painful bang and I forced myself to stand up despite the pain surging through my body, only to see..

"..huh?"

I gaped at my surroundings. Certainly, this wasn't what I expected to see when I woke up.

All around me was a thick thicket of grass that grew rampantly, occasionally interspersed with rugged, huge rocks, and sheltered by towering trees. Peering through the dense cluster of trees, I could barely make out a massive lake that stretched across the forest. Above, gentle light illuminated the woods, emananated from the ceiling that looked more artificial than natural.

Evidently I had crashed into the wilderness shortly after ejecting from my Titan. But the tomb was surrounded by a barren wasteland, so how the heck did I get blown so far away?!

"Where the hell is this place?!"

"Probably..inside King Alucard's tomb."

"Whoa!?"

I jumped in shock when the feminine voice suddenly spoke up behind me. My heart pounding, I slowly turned around, only to catch sight of Lilith, who was wearing her black dress and combat gear. Her crimson spear was slung onto her back, its sharp tip gleaming in the soft light.

"I understand that you're feeling somewhat anxious right now, but do not shout so loudly like that. I still have yet to fully grasp our situation, so it could be dangerous."

"Ah, sorry.."

Scratching my head, I bowed apologetically to Lilith. Relief filled my chest when I saw that she had returned to her usual, calm and composed self. It was a stark contrast to her behavior earlier, when she failed to pierce the Divine Angel with her spear.

"What the hell happened?! If I remember correctly, I blew up Kishimoto..uh, the Evelyn's Chosen by self-destructing my Titan's nuclear-powered core."

"Immediately after the explosion, the tomb glowed and it seemed that everyone in its immediate surroundings was sucked into its interior. It's also only just a little while ago when I woke up."

Sighing, Lilith explained and sat down beside me.

"Thanks to you protecting me, it seems like I'm fine. Thank you."

"Ah, no, don't worry about it. I'm just glad Lilith-san is safe."

I breathed a sigh of relief myself. Rubbing my forehead, I glanced around and adjusted my glasses. It seemed that whatever wild monsters hadn't bothered us when we crashed here. Taking a deep breath, I reached for my inventory and retrieved necessary tools and equipment that I brought along for the investigation.

Good thing I put it in my mobile storage space..come to think of it, it's amazing that this mobile storage space still works in here.

Fortunately it worked, or I would be in trouble. If I had just lugged it along, I would most probably have lost it during the battle with Kishimoto. The mobile storage space was definitely the most convenient system for explorers and soldiers.

"Other than us, it appears that several members of your battalion were also sucked in, but other than that, I don't know the details."

"Well, now that we've defeated the human army and Kishimoto..the Evelyn's Chosen, I guess we might as well proceed to the next phase of our mission."

I brought my hand up and activated a hologram. The 3D schematic of the tomb materialized and hovered in front of me and I studied it briefly. Like I remembered, there were certain gates at particular points of the tomb. If I could locate them, I might be able to meet up with the rest of my battalion. Unfortunatey, the schematic didn't indicate our current position. Unlike modern technology back in my world, we didn't have satellites or global positioning systems. We were practically blind and lost inside the vast space of the tomb.

"Once we've finished defending the tomb, the first phase for the secondary objective would be to proceed to the altar in the center..where the actual coffin of King Alucard is, along with all the treasures and weapons. Upon reaching the destination, we are to spend a maximum of two hours investigating the altar before returning to the gate in the internal section. If we do that, we should be able to meet up with your battalion."

Despite not being part of the strategy meeting or my command staff, Lilith seemed to have familiarized herself with our operating procedures.

"Yes. But now.."

We didn't expect such an incident to occur, and our separation from my battalion was certainly unplanned for. Everything that was happening now was completely different from what we had planned.

As Helmuth von Moltke once said, no battle plan ever survives first contact with the enemy.

Moreover, as much as I wanted to reunite with my battalion, and even elements of my soldiers were scattered across the unimaginable vast tomb. Without knowing where the rest of my men were, or even how many of them were sucked into this space, it would be difficult to plan our next step. Particularly since I was worried about my battalion and wanted to prioritize their safety over the secondary objective.

"Well then..let's head to the altar at the center tomorrow. Everyone will surely gather there too."

I glanced up when Lilith offered a proposal. She glanced back at me, her calm eyes slightly filled with concern.

"Is your body all right, Tomoyuki-kun?"

"Yes, it won't be long before I fully regenerate." I stretched and tested my body to make sure I was healing up all right. "But what about you? Are you all right?"

"What do you mean?"

I hesitated a little when I saw the serious expression on Lilith's face. Then I glanced away, distracting myself by staring at the blue-tinted holographic model of the tomb in front of me before returning my stern gaze to Lilith's face.

If we were in perfect condition, then of course we should go ahead and investigate the tomb. There was no questioning that.

However, I was worried about my men, and if they had suffered any casualties. If I had lost quite a few men from my own blast (which I doubted, because they were well protected by the tomb's thick walls and well outside the explosion radius), then I would immediately cancel the investigation and call a retreat so that they could receive medical treatment as quickly as possible.

Such a scenario would prompt us to proceed toward the nearest gate that led to the outer layers of the tomb and regroup with the rest of the battalion as soon as possible, instead of heading deeper into the core of the tomb.

Moreover, I was most concerned about..

"We shouldn't overdo it. Um..now that I think about it, don't we still have that duel tomorrow night? Furthermore, you're pretty exhausted, aren't you? Lilith-san?"

I still remembered Lilith's mishap earlier. Not only that, I also recalled how flustered she was upon her failure, her usually calm and composed demeanor cracking under duress. It was rare to see her break down like that.

What Lilith desired should be the cancellation of the engagement proposal selfishly forced upon her. As such, she should not overexert herself during this mission and instead preserve her strength in order to win the duel against Bradley and Claire McAlterize.

Yet, Lilith risked a lot trying to defeat Kishimoto Hikaru just a while ago. I couldn't help but feel uneasy over her reckless behavior, which was totally unlike her at all.

"It's all right. At that time, I was just a little tired, and I'm not hurt at all. What about you?"

Fortunately, it appeared that Lilith had restored her composure and she was addressing me in a rather calm manner. Too calm, in fact, when I considered our current predicament. Repressing a sigh, I shook my head.

"I'm also all right. Seems like I'm fully healed."

Regeneration was an amazing thing. My Redwood jacket had also regenerated its defensive barriers, so I shouldn't have to worry about getting injured unless I was facing something that packed the punch of a nuclear explosion.

Like my Titan's nuclear eject, for example.

It'll also be a while before I can summon Matsukaze again.

I sighed. Self-destructing Matsukaze was a great idea to annihilate my enemy, but I would need to recast the spell to summon him again. That meant more time and mana. I could speed the summoning process up through combat, but it might be too late by then.

Fortunately, I still had my Blood Dragon Sword sheathed by my side. If need be, I could unleash techniques that were on par with or even surpass Matsukaze's power.

"I'm sorry about your Golem. All because you protected me.."

I glanced up when Lilith apologized and hastily shook my head.

"N..no, we were both safe. That's what matters the most. Besides, I can always summon Matsukaze again. It'll just take a bit more time and energy."

Considering the opponent we were up against, and how we were almost overwhelmed by her Divine Angel, sacrificing Matsukaze was totally worth it.

However, on the other hand, I had revealed one of my trump cards in front of Bradley Kreuger, who was my opponent for the duel tomorrow. The guy would most definitely come up with a countermeasure for my Titan.

"If you're not in prime condition, it really is fine if you head to the gate connecting to the other chambers of the tomb. You shouldn't push yourself. I'll be all right going alone."

Lilith's tone was sincere and filled with concern. I understood that she wasn't making fun of me or looking down on me for being weak. She genuinely was worried about my condition. However, that only made me uneasier.

"N..no! I'll also go with you! I can't let you go alone, Lilith-san!"

"..thank you."

When I vehemently insisted on following her, Lilith smiled in relief. My heart skipped a beat as I squirmed under her feverish gaze, only for her to launch into another question.

"By the way, Tomoyuki-kun..are you good at cooking outdoors?"

"Not really..I guess I can if I have to."

Lilith nodded as she glanced up at the ceiling that stretched above the forest we were currently inside.

"I don't know the theory behind it, but within this tomb, it appears to operate on a system where it replicates the time outside. Basically, when it becomes dark outside, it will also become dark inside here. At this rate, it will be night soon."

"It already is night," I muttered grumpily. The human forces had attacked the tomb at evening, and I was out for at least an hour or so. It wouldn't surprise me if it was already night. In fact, the ceiling was dimming to adjust to the time outside.

Right, it was essentially approaching summer, so sunset had moved back to almost 9pm. No wonder it still seemed so bright despite being so late.

"Regarding the schematics and information from the archives and historians, it is possible to procure firewood and other camping necessities from the forest inside the tomb. I believe this was recorded in the notes, right?"

"Ah, yeah.."

I agreed anxiously. Lilith had suddenly returned to her usual self, almost as if her breakdown earlier had never happened.

"And..it is necessary to secure drinking water. I believe the schematics have marked down locations of drinkable water springs. Do you mind sending the holographic schematics to my communication device?"

"You don't have them?" I was astonished. Why didn't the queen herself receive the schematics? "I'll send them right away."

"Thank you. I'll watch over the baggage in the nearby vicinity. I'm counting on you, Tomoyuki-kun."

"..."

Lilith was already giving orders like the queen she was, asserting her authority and giving me no chance to protest or argue. Sighing, I consented.

"I understand. I'll be right back. Please be careful, Lilith-san."

There was no reason for me to go against her instructions. Furthermore, it had been a while since Lilith behaved like herself, so I had no complaints. It was good to see her return to normal. Listening to her once in a while was worth it.

"Thank you, Tomoyuki-kun. You're such a reliable guy."

Lilith gave me a bright smile. I frowned, knowing that she had me dancing in the palm of her hand and led me around, but decided to let it go.

While the pain had faded, the fatigue stubbornly clung on. Fighting off my weariness, I proceeded to collect firewood and drinking water. Once I completed my tasks, I returned to Lilith's position and decided to rest for the day.

Glancing up at the dimming ceiling, I noticed that there was no sun in the tomb. Nonetheless, the light of the ceiling gradually disappeared and was replaced by darkness, almost as if it was imitating the sunset outside.

We made a small campfire near the lake and constructed a simple tent by stretching a sheet of canvas between trees and using rocks to weigh it down. Then we began to eat our combat rations and restored our energy through a sip from tiny vials of blood.

Well..we were vampires, after all..

Once we finished our basic dinner, we were finally able to relax a little.

"I wonder if everyone is safe.."

I couldn't help but be anxious about my battalion. As their commanding officer, I was responsible for their wellbeing, welfare and lives. It irked me to be forced apart from them like this for the second time in a couple of weeks.

Elia, Ben, Gio and the infantry should have probably been sucked into the tomb, but I didn't know for sure. I doubted the armor company had been drawn into the tomb or I would have heard the growling engines of the tanks and the unmistakable noises of treads chewing over rock and wood. They would be far too obvious to conceal inside this forest.

"They should be. If we had tracking magic, we would be able to track down the positions of your men..but neither of us has the ability to cast such spells."

"In other words, the only plan for us left is to advance to the altar at the center. If we're lucky, we'll be able to meet up with them there.."

"..."

The two of us sank into silence once more. While I was lost in my thoughts, I noticed there wasn't even the sounds of bugs buzzing or crickets..or even frogs. The whole forest was quiet, as if there was no animal living inside it.

But there wasn't the case. I could sense..living creatures dwelling inside the forest. Their blood, their scent, their temperatures. They were definitely lurking in the forest somewhere. They only kept their distance from us because we didn't bother them.

So I ignored them and shifted my mind to the matter at hand. Glancing at Lilith, I recalled that she did not have quite the good relationship with the Scarlet family, especially her uncle who was the head of the vampire elder council in Hacient.

Moreover, she was also strangely obsessed with the investigation of this particular tomb. And it had nothing to do with Alucard being her ancestor. She didn't seem to care about Alucard himself but rather she was more concerned with the contents of the tomb.

I wonder why..

"We should decide on the order of who gets to be the lookout and who gets to sleep first."

Lillith's voice cut my thoughts off.

I nodded. That was a prudent measure. There were ferocious carnivorous monsters inhabiting the forest inside the tomb, serving as some sort of guardians to keep intruders out. As long as we didn't bother them, the monsters theoretically wouldn't attack us, but there was still the possibility they would capitalize an opportunity to attack while we were asleep, so we couldn't let our guard down either. It was important to maintain vigilance of our surroundings.

"I'll take the first lookout," I volunteered. "Lilith-san, please go ahead and sleep. You've been through quite a lot today."

Lilith quietly nodded at my suggestion.

"Understood. Make sure you wake me up after a couple of hours. Don't push yourself. You've also put yourself through plenty today."

As she lay down on the sheet that we placed under the shelter of our makeshift tent, she suddenly turned back to me with a smile.

"Don't assault me, okay?"

I stared at her blankly.

"Why would I assault you?"

Lilith sighed. "I meant sexual assault. I'm a girl and you're a guy, and we're alone. It's not unusual for you to succumb to lust.."

"As attractive and beautiful as you are, even I'm not depraved enough to attack the queen of the vampire kingdom. I would much rather keep my limbs and body intact and in one piece."

A vein twitched in Lilith's brow and she shook her head in resignation. "I'm just teasing you."

I knew that, but I was in no mood to play along. The best way to counter teasing would be to take her words literally and turn them back on her.

"But.."

Lilith smiled brilliantly.

"Thanks for the praise."

"??"

"You called me attractive and beautiful. I'm honored."

I shrugged. "Just saying the truth."

Lilith stared at me. "You're a natural playboy, you know?"

"Hah!" I snorted at that. That would be the day. All the girls in class hated my guts, most girls found me creepy, and the girls I had a crush on avoided me like the plague while accusing me of stalking them.

Nope, I would never be popular with girls. Not once in my lifetime.

"Well then..good night."

Despite reading my disbelieving expression, Lilith wasn't in the mood to argue with me and she closed her eyes. She turned her back on me, and in a few moments, her breathing slowed down. Without looking, I immediately knew that she had fallen asleep.

She was really exhausted, huh?

I glanced at her sympathetically, and then sighed. Glancing up at the now dark ceiling, I narrowed my eyes.

"Alucard's tomb, huh..?"

I wondered what secrets lay within the grave of the vaunted ancient vampire king, who was revered as a battle god who led the fight against an earlier generation of Evelyn's Chosen. From what I had read, he was practically a godlike existence and near unkillable.

Unfortunately, even the most powerful Demon Lord or invincible Vampire King still fell to the miraculous existences that were the heroes. The heroes were supposed to be entities that could turn the tables on the most tyrannical demonic monarches and bring hope to human kingdoms wallowing in despair, saving them from the ultimate villains. That was the job of a hero, after all.

In order to defeat the heroes, I couldn't become a demon lord or a villain. I had to be an antihero. Or something.

And there was something in Alucard's tomb that could possibly help me, given how he gave the previous generation of heroes a run for their money and killed at least half of their number before he was eventually vanquished by the survivors. If I had that and continued my plan of isolating and destroying the remaining heroes, I just might be able to pull my impossible plan of revenge off..

But first, there's still that duel with Bradley Kreuger tomorrow night to worry about..

I sighed heavily and shook my head.

"I hope nothing untoward happens.."

Even though the sky beyond was obscured from view, the dark ceiling of the tomb seemed to resemble ominous-looking storm clouds.