It felt like a scene from a movie.
The moment slowed down as a familiar face appeared in a cinematic sequence.

But this wasn’t a movie.

“Hero... sir?”

Why are you here?

I couldn’t understand why the Hero suddenly appeared.
At this point, he should’ve just met up with the heroines, so why was he here?

Then where were the other three?

I was so confused that my curiosity overtook my gratitude.

“Aria, Rie, and Serelin have all met up. So for now, let's focus.”

“...Ah, yes.”

Right, we were in the middle of a battle.
In a situation like this, curiosity could be deadly.

I turned my attention back to the standoff between the Hero and Aled.

“Hero. Did you perhaps not run into my underlings?”

“Underlings, you mean other vampires? If you’re asking about them, I’ll answer—I did.”

The Hero held his holy sword at an angle, keeping a wary eye on Aled.

“Hah... What a bunch of weaklings. They couldn’t even buy me some time. I’ll have to do some cleaning once this is over.”

Aled sighed as he gestured, sending a blood slash flying toward the Hero.

‘Not this time.’

I quickly used my pen to activate the protective magic I had set up earlier, nullifying the attack.

“Hero, I’ll assist you.”

“Thanks, Louis!”

With that simple reply, the battle began.
The Hero rushed toward Aled and swung his holy sword.

Boom!

Though the blood barrier blocked it, things were different this time.

“So, this is... a Hero! How exciting!!”

Aled staggered back, laughing as his blood barrier struggled to absorb the full impact.
It was clear—against demons, a Hero was unmatched.

I couldn’t just sit back and watch.
Seeing that Aled was fully focused on the Hero, I activated both the master key and my pen.

“Enchanting.”

The rings on the master key spun rapidly as golden letters formed in the air with my pen.
The spells I applied to the Hero were five in total:

Weight reduction.
Attack detection.
Reflective armor.
A protective shield.
Speed boost.

Though the number of spells was reduced, their potency had been greatly enhanced.

“What...?!”

Aled could no longer maintain his former dominance.
With his enchanted shoes, gloves, and bracelet, the Hero moved like a flash of light.

Boom!

Eventually, the blood barrier failed to stop the holy sword, and Aled was sent crashing into the far wall.

“Huff...”

Aled lay in shambles, while the Hero and his sword still gleamed with divine power.
The Hero cautiously approached Aled, not letting his guard down.

At that moment, Aled began casting his unique magic again.

“Bloodr—?!”

Clank.

“I won’t let you.”

Before he could finish the incantation, I quickly snatched his staff and attached a silencing magical tool to his mouth.

Casting unique magic without incantations or a staff was impossible, even for a vampire.

After all, unique magic relied on the user’s words and a catalyst to manifest their ideals or dreams into reality.
Without those, no one could cast such magic.

“...!!”

Aled tried to rise in fury, but the Hero didn’t give him the chance.

Slash!

That was the end of Aled, a vampire of the Third Bloodline.

“Now, explain to me. Why are you here, Hero?”

“Huh? What?”

Once we confirmed Aled was truly dead, I started the Hero Inquiry.

“You were supposed to join up with the other three and then come find me. So why are you here by yourself?”

“Is that really such a big deal...?”

“Of course it is! Without you, the other three could be in danger. You're the most effective against demons.”

Even with my assistance, the Hero had managed to defeat a Third Bloodline vampire in less than ten exchanges.
And considering how he had successfully conquered the fortress without much injury in the original story... it was clear how valuable he was.

‘So why is someone that valuable here?’

He was supposed to be the closest to the others.
That’s why I had planned to find a way to bring down the fortress while they reunited.

But now that this had happened, my plan to destroy the fortress was scrapped...

“Well, thanks to that, I was able to save you.”

“...That’s true.”

Just as I was about to keep complaining, the Hero’s words stopped me in my tracks.
While I wouldn’t have died from Aled’s ambush, I definitely wouldn’t have escaped without severe injuries.

‘If I left the Hero’s party, I’d be fine...’

But then I wouldn’t be able to stop certain events in the original story.
Thinking about it that way, I was very grateful the Hero had come to me.

“...Thank you.”

I bowed my head and thanked him. The Hero smiled and said it wasn’t a big deal.

“But, how did you get here so quickly?”

I had expected everyone to just now be gathering together.

“Oh, I trusted you all.”

“Huh?”

“The moment I used the bracelet you gave me to track all four of you, I reunited with Rie first. Then, using her speed, we met up with Aria, and I sent the two of them to Serelin.”

“...”

“I figured Serelin, being the most skilled, would hold out until the others arrived. After that, I headed straight for you.”

Hmm.

It was more efficient—no, it was an ideal decision.

He had properly utilized Aria’s sanctity, Serelin’s strength, and Lapirie’s speed.
As mentioned before, ordinary demons couldn’t even approach Aria.

So, the Hero prioritized meeting up with Lapirie first, using her agility and blessings to reunite with Aria, and then sent the two to Serelin.

Unlike Lapirie, who had a clear weakness, Serelin was an all-rounder, which is why he placed her last.
Meanwhile, the Hero himself came to me and took down the Third Bloodline vampire.

‘In any case, the three of them together are practically invincible.’

All I could do was offer praise.

“...”

“Uh... Louis, why are you glaring at me?”

“I’m not glaring. Bow your head for a moment.”

“Huh? Why...?”

“You did well.”

Though the Hero lowered his head, it still wasn’t quite enough, so I stood on my tiptoes.
Just like my old magic master used to do, I patted the Hero on the head.
His hair was slightly damp from the continuous battles, but it didn’t feel unpleasant.

‘It’d be rude to feel annoyed with the person who saved me, after all.’

“Let’s go. The others are on their way.”

“Oh, right.”

I gathered Aled’s staff, some of his blood, and a sample of the fortress’s bricks, storing them in my pocket dimension.
While the battle with the Third Bloodline vampire had been unexpected, I’d gained the valuable asset of a vampire’s staff, so I considered it a win.

‘Once we regroup, we’ll have to face the First Bloodline soon.’

Beep.

At that moment, the magical tools surveying the fortress sent me an alert.
Though I hadn’t explored the entire area yet, it seemed they had found the specific location I was looking for.

‘In that case...’

A short while later, the Hero’s party reunited after about two hours of separation.

“Aswell!!”

Compared to the original story, where they had been separated for nearly half a day, this was incredibly fast.

“I'm glad you all made it... Ugh.”

“Louis, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

Lapirie ran up like a truck and slammed into my chest.
I gave the three worried heroines a thumbs-up, signaling that I was fine.

“Honestly, you’re so smart. Who would’ve thought you’d anticipate us getting separated and plan ahead?”

“Exactly! Thanks to that, I wasn’t even scared!”

“Thank you.”

With Serelin’s praise and Aria’s bright smile, I felt overwhelmed.

“So... what should we do next?”

Lapirie’s question was met with the Hero’s response.

“We need to find the leader of these vampires and make sure this fortress disappears.”

“In that case, I have a suggestion.”

“A suggestion?”

I raised my hand, drawing everyone’s attention, and shared the information I had gathered about the fortress through my magical tools, along with the plan I’d devised.

As they listened, the party members gave their input.

“I think it’s a solid plan. I’m in.”

“I agree. The more strategies we use, the higher our chances of winning.”

“I’m also in favor.”

The three heroines approved, leaving only the Hero to decide.

“If it’s a plan made by Louis, I’m sure it’ll work. I trust you.”

“...Okay. Then it’s unanimous.”

With the Hero’s approval, the whole party accepted my plan.

‘I’ll need to adjust the route and tweak the spells on the magical tools.’

With that, our strategy was set.
The sooner we executed it, the better. So the party decided to move without resting.

“Let’s go.”

Led by the Hero, we took our first step toward eliminating this fortress.