In the royal capital of Slayers Kingdom. Late at night, the area is shrouded in darkness.
In the back alleys off the central street, there are no streetlights, and the darkness is so deep that it is difficult to see a few meters ahead.
In such an unpopular alleyway, screams and voices of conflict echoed.
"Seikai Itto-ryu—Namikirifudo [波切不動]"
A white blade flashed, and a slash covered with an aura of blue magic was released.
The sharp slash is struck at the man before it. The armed man is cut to pieces, including his weapon, and lets out a desperate scream.
"Gyaaaahhhh!?"
The slain man falls to the ground.
The woman with the sword nods her head in satisfaction, confirming that the battle is over.
"Mission accomplished. No problems were found."
The woman spins the sword in her right hand and sheathes it.
This woman's name is Nagisa Seikai.
She is the companion and mistress of Zenon Baskerville. She is also a beautiful female swordsman who is now known in the underworld as a renowned assassin.
She was dressed in a kimono, the traditional costume of the Far East, and her black hair was tied back on her head, and her cheeks were covered with red lines of blood.
Her face was very beautiful... but her neatly arranged features enhanced her terrible looks just like a Rakshasa [羅刹女], sending chills down the spines of those who saw her.
The murder took place in a deserted back alley.
About ten men were lying on the ground around Nagisa, all of them bleeding to death.
They were armed with swords and knives, but it was Nagisa who killed them. Nagisa had slain them all by herself, without any help from anyone else.
"Haiya, you really beat them all by yourself~aru. Onee-san is so strong, aru~yo."
An oddly cheerful voice echoes in the back alley.
A petite girl in an unusual outfit steps into the scene with her footsteps.
Despite all the blood and corpses scattered in the alleyway, the girl in a Chinese dress appears, seemingly unafraid of the situation. She was an esoteric magician known in the underworld as the "Death-Eating Bird".
"This is nothing serious. The men here are but small fry in number. They are a small army, useless even as a whetstone for a sword."
"Shi~. That's true. However, I don't deny that Onee-san is amazing~ary. The samurai from Zipangu is really great, aru~yo."
"I'll take your praise as a compliment. Compliments for a sword of my school are not a bad thing. But still..."
In response to her new acquaintance, a fellow Baskerville family member, Nagisa looked around at the wreckage scattered in the alleyway.
"...It seems that the number of intruders from other countries has increased again recently. They are all thugs without much ability, but they are a troublesome number to destroy."
"Shi~, I suppose so. I wonder if the Demon King's resurrection has something to do with it, aru~ka?"
"Probably. It can't be helped that the number of monsters has increased and this country has become more dangerous since the Demon King's resurrection."
Not long ago, the Demon King, who was supposed to be sealed up, came back to life.
Since then, the number of monsters has been increasing in the Slayers Kingdom and other areas, causing chaos here and there.
Taking advantage of such a gap, outlaws from neighboring countries have been reaching out to this country.
Assassins seeking the lives of kings and other important people. Corrupt merchants seeking for their interests. Criminals wanted in other countries. Gangs of drug traffickers and human traffickers. Many illegal gangsters have invaded the Slayers Kingdom and are now roaming the country's nightlife.
The men whom Nagisa had just killed were also gangsters from other countries who were trying to profit from the distribution of illegal drugs.
"The Baskerville family's business is to strike down and exterminate such hyenas. This is what my Lord does for a living..."
Nagisa nodded decisively and looked down at the sword in its scabbard.
Nagisa had come to Slayers Kingdom in pursuit of the man who had killed her family and her school. She has been hiding in the school as an exchange student, sharpening her fangs and waiting for an opportunity to take revenge.
During this time, she meets Zenon, who is able to use techniques similar to those of a lost school. For Nagisa, who has a goal of restoring her school as her next target for revenge, this encounter seemed like a match made in heaven.
Nagisa became an apprentice to Zenon, and with his assistance, she succeeded in defeating her enemy, Shinya Kushinagi.
Now, Zenon is not only a great benefactor to Nagisa, but also her Lord, to whom she devotes herself with all her heart and soul.
Eventually, she must return to her homeland, Zipangu, to restore her school, but before that, there is something she must accomplish.
(I will carry the seed of my Lord in my body and conceive a child to succeed him...!)
The child of Nagisa and Zenon will surely be a great swordsman of this generation.
He will not only revive the defunct Seikai Itto-ryu, but also make it the most famous sword school in the country.
To do so, she needs to be more useful to her Lord and win his favor. But, a good man attracts women. With so many rivals, she couldn't afford to lose.
"I will guard my Lord's house. I will not allow anyone to violate this country's night until the day he returns from his expedition!"
"Hao! That's a great resolution~aru. But if I get too close, I'll get burned, aru~yo!"
Seeing Nagisa's determination, the "Death-Eating bird" shakes her hands in a frightening manner.
"Though, I don't need Lord's favor, I can't put the hard-working Onee-san to shame~aru. Let's get on with the job, shall we?"
Lin Hua laughs and starts to cast a magic.
"Death Spirit Magic—Summoning Art!"
""Ooooooooooooooo""
Lin Hua activates the magic, and the corpse of the gang member slain by Nagisa rises.
The corpses of the men were transformed into undead monsters by Lin Hua's magic, the 'Necromancer'.
"Yes, yes. Everyone, let's clean things up properly~aru. Make yourself more beautiful than when you came here, aru~yo."
The undead ordered by Lin Hua wipe off their blood and cover themselves with sand and bury themselves to erase the evidence of the tragedy. The sight of the undead cleaning up was somewhat surreal, but not very funny.
Still, Lin Hua twirls happily among the undead, as if she were doing a bad dance.
"Well then, when the cleanup is done, let's move out~aru. Don't worry, I'll get rid of them. I'll get some information out of them, and I'll report back to you~aru."
"Okay, I'm sorry for the trouble..."
"No problem~aru. This is my job too... Hmm?"
Lin Hua tilted her head prettily.
The undead follow their master's orders out of the alleyway, but there is only one who stands motionless.
"What are you doing? Hurry up, I want to go back~aru..."
"Watch out!"
"Huh!?"
Nagisa noticed the strong killing intent and immediately grabbed Lin Hua in her arms.
"Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
At the same time, the undead man comes at her with his fists swinging.
His fist, which had lost its target because of Nagisa, slammed into the wall of the alley, shattering the stone wall into pieces and making a hole in it.
"Haiyaa!! What's going on?"
"Something's wrong! Stay back!"
Nagisa draws her sword and pulls Lin Hua behind her back.
She stares at the undead with wary eyes... and the man clutches his head in his hands and screams into the night sky.
"Uga, uga, uga... ugaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
"What…!?"
As Nagisa and Lin Hua look on, the man's appearance changes.
The man's body, which had been of medium height and medium build, is now heaving, muscular, and bulging. His body itself has grown one or two times in size, transforming him into a big man over two meters in height.
In addition, his head, which had lost its hair, was now covered with a huge single eye, a mouth that split open to the ear, and a horn sprouting from the top of his head.
"I'm surprised... I never thought a corpse could turn into a monster..."
"Ugaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
"Haha! I thought they were disappointing fishes, but one of them is quite fascinating! Interesting, let me rust my sword!"
Smiling with surprise and fighting spirit, Nagisa slashes at the single-eyed, single-horned monster.
The battle in the night of Slayers Kingdom was not over yet.
