The moment they leapt out of the chapel, Mortor and the other Noble-born Vampires each activated their defenses against sunlight.

They used wind-attribute or water-attribute magic to produce membranes around themselves, weakening the sunlight that reached their bodies. Completely blocking light out with water or air would mean physically blocking their own vision, so this was the best they could do.

“… Maybe I should have baited Birkyne out during summer when the sunlight is strong rather than winter?” Vandalieu wondered.

“You worry too much, Master! Against our light, their defenses may as well not exist!” said the ‘Fighting Dog’ Daroak who had become a light-attribute Ghost.

He had an overflowing desire to fight, but Gufadgarn was calm.

“Incidentally, Vandalieu, what should I do with these people? How about I use my space-attribute magic to move their physical bodies?” she suggested.

Even now, the brainwashed thirty or forty people of the orphanage were clinging onto Vandalieu… although conversation was only possible because most of them were small children under the age of ten and they weren’t speaking a word.

But it was almost impossible for Vandalieu to move about at all. Even when moving out of the chapel, several of them may have suffered bone fractures and dislocations if Vandalieu’s spirit form hadn’t been covering them. This may have been fine for Seris and Vestra, as they were Subordinate Vampires, and the orphanage’s head as well, as she didn’t appear to be an ordinary human either. But it would have risked the lives of the small children like Marsha.

“I think we should observe the situation for a little while longer. And even if he orders them to do something, we can deal with it here. The preparations are already done,” said Vandalieu.

As if waiting for him to finish speaking, Birkyne emerged from the hole in the chapel wall, covered in wind-attribute Mana. As expected of a Pure-breed Vampire, his wounds had already fully healed and his attractive appearance was restored, while there were still burn marks on the faces and hands of his subordinates.

“Commit suicide!” he ordered.

At that moment, the orphanage’s people that were clinging onto Vandalieu all attempted to kill themselves. The small children attempted to bite their own tongues off, while Seris and Vestra extended the claws that they hadn’t even known they possessed in order to cut their own throats.

“… See, for times like this,” said Vandalieu.

He used ‘Embodiment’ on his spirit form to prevent their suicide. His gel-like spirit form enveloped the teeth inside the children’s mouths and the nuns’ claws, preventing them from harming themselves.

Even with the spirit form stopping them from moving, Matthew, Seris and the others let out muffled shouts as they continued trying to carry out Birkyne’s command. The other orphans were trying to headbutt each other to break their skulls or suffocate themselves by pressing their faces into the materialized spirit form; they were very abnormally dedicated to following the command.

But Vandalieu’s spirit form was wrapped around their heads, absorbing most of the impact of their headbutts. For the ones that were trying to suffocate themselves, the spirit form formed tubes that reached into their lungs to provide artificial ventilation.

“Would the ‘Death Delay’ spell not have been sufficient?” Berkert murmured.

“You fool. ‘Death Delay’ only extends the time taken to die; it does not prevent injuries,” said Chipuras.

“So, now that things have come to this, it seems that I cannot use my puppets for negotiation. I am sure you are thinking that you can simply remove the brainwashing after you take the Demon King’s shadow from me, aren’t you?” Birkyne said quietly, showing no fury despite seeing Chipuras and the others looking so relaxed.

But showing no fury did not mean that he was composed.

“But haven’t you forgotten? This is the slum district in a city whose population is at least thirty thousand people even at a conservative estimate!” he shouted as a blazing fireball appeared in one hand and bright sparks flashed around the other.

His confidants also swiftly cast spells in different directions, away from the orphanage.

“‘Giant Boulder Screw!’”

“‘Great Blazing Cannon!’”

“‘Ice Spear Storm!’”

“‘Distortion Wave!’”

A drill-shaped boulder and a wave of flames flew out towards the orphanage’s thin outer walls to wreak havoc on the area beyond, and a rain of icy spears rained down upon the city. Space distorted and then returned to its original state, unleashing a destructive shockwave to the surrounding area.

“We have a countless number of hostages! ‘Summon Inferno Beast!’ ‘Lightning Rain!’” Birkyne shouted, sending beasts made of flames across the city and bringing lightning crashing down upon buildings from the sky.

Violent explosions echoed out, and smoke rose from all around.

Birkyne began laughing uncontrollably with joy at the slaughter of innocent people who knew nothing. “How many people died from that, I wonder?! A hundred? Two hundred? But do