Raize deliberately probed her memories. If her mental strength and will were weak, after the probe, she would be left a complete fool.
"I see. The reform faction sent you after receiving the message. Looks like you didn't learn your lesson before."
After going through the female vampire ninja's memories, Raize burned her drooling, idiotic body to ashes. Small flames shot outward, eliminating the nearby headless corpses.
The vampire ninja clan survives by drinking the blood of the living to gain youth and strength. Unlike traditional vampires, they are born from a special type of blood.
Originally, the vampire ninja clan lived quietly in the mountains. After their leader died, a civil war over succession erupted. This war had lasted over a hundred years. To end it, they hoped to resurrect the original leader.
But not everyone in the clan wanted a return to the old order. The core internal conflict was over succession. Power is the sweetest poison.
For Raize, fists are power. Strong punches are authority.
With strength comes the right to act freely in the right domain.
Within the vampire ninja clan, even if the original leader had children, internal voices remained fiercely divided. Elders, ambitious individuals, selfish ones, ordinary vampires—various factions clashed, leading to violent civil conflict.
Countless deaths resulted, and the long-term effect was a total split of the clan into two factions. Rival forces outside the clan were only too happy to witness this.
Precisely because of this, the split factions formed two opposing forces. One side was the conservative faction, whose goal was to revive the original leader and restore the old order. The other was the reformist faction, which sought to completely overthrow the old order and rebuild the vampire ninja system from the ground up.
Setting aside the internal discord between the two factions of vampire ninjas, Raize was fully aware of both of their objectives.
One faction was devoted to reviving the original vampire ninja leader through Eu, while the reformists used every means possible to obstruct this plan. The key to achieving that goal was Eu herself.
Radicals within the reformist faction attempted to kill Eu, foolishly believing they could seize her power. In reality, they were nothing more than tools manipulated by the King of the Night, who knew full well that these people could never kill Eu.
He did not want Eu dead. He only wanted to enrage her. That was why the King of the Night deliberately directed those disposable pawns toward such idiots.
The conservative vampire ninjas had always maintained an attitude of awe toward Eu. However, if anything were to happen to her, they would still choose to eliminate her without hesitation.
For this reason, Raize had no goodwill toward either faction of the vampire ninjas.
"Commander, is there still fighting to do?"
After confirming that no enemies were nearby, Laffey returned to her lazy expression. Standing beside Raize, she tugged on the corner of his clothes and yawned.
"Yes. In a bit, come with me to wipe out some people who don't know their place. Later, no matter what you see, any red-eyed being, man or woman, young or old, kill them all."
Raize gently patted Laffey on the head and spoke those chilling words with a smiling expression.
Laffey showed no particular reaction. She narrowed her eyes and enjoyed Raize's touch, only hoping that the upcoming battle would end quickly so she could go home, keep drinking her wine-flavored juice, and take a nap.
Do not be fooled by Laffey's cute and beautiful appearance. Ship girls are beautiful spirits born for war. Raize never treated his ship girls as ornamental objects to be protected. When it was time to fight and draw blood, he showed no mercy.
Laffey did not disappoint him. Even when Raize said there would be fighting ahead, she neither minded nor resisted. Through the mental link between Raize and Laffey, she could clearly sense the murderous intent forming within him.
Ship girls do not reject battle. They are born for it. Even the small, adorable ship girls who might seem innocent and childish in daily life will instantly become qualified warriors the moment they equip their rigging, tearing enemies apart without mercy.
Just like how Laffey had swiftly and decisively killed those who threatened her commander earlier, without the slightest hesitation or compassion.
Daily life is daily life, battle is battle. Though Laffey was lazy, she never failed when it mattered. She knew exactly what to do in every situation.
Being able to help her commander even made her a little happy. As for killing and the slaughter to come, Laffey believed that enemies disappearing was for the best.
Her battleship body and cannons existed solely to kill enemies for her commander.
"Laffey, come with me."
Raize spread out his perception and locked onto a direction. He then drew Yamato and sliced open a spatial portal in midair. After sheathing the blade, he walked in side by side with Laffey, and the portal closed after the two disappeared.
Why had the vampire ninjas suddenly learned Eu's exact location?
Raize's mind raced in an instant, his thoughts crystal clear.
Even when he and Eu went out shopping or sightseeing, Eu would always change her appearance. Raize himself would also be present to scan for suspicious individuals, and he would set up barriers at appropriate times.
Moreover, the vampire ninjas had not obtained the information on their own. It had come through some external channel. Raize was absolutely certain that someone had deliberately leaked the information to the vampire ninjas, using them as disposable cannon fodder for probing.
Those who knew that Eu was at his home were limited to the people in the house, plus one more person: the master whom Haruna contacted outside.
Previously, Haruna had spoken with Ariel about her magic being taken by Eu. It was certain that Haruna had maintained frequent contact with Ariel at home, especially since those special devices she purchased were delivered directly to the house. There was no way Raize would not notice.
Eu was important, but to Ariel, Haruna was even more important.
Why? Because Haruna was not a pure-blooded magical garment girl. Her mother was a human, and she was the only one resistant to the queen's curse.
Ariel intended to rebel and overthrow the queen's rule. Because of Haruna's immunity to the Queen's powers, she was in fact the ultimate weapon prepared by Ariel and the baron demon to deal with the Queen.
After analyzing all this, Raize judged that there was a ninety percent chance it was that woman.
If she were to encounter Ariel again, Raize would not let her go as Tohru had done last time. Afterward, all he needed to do was expose her rebellion. Raize did not believe anyone would step forward to defend someone attempting to seize power.