Esper Harem in the Apocalypse

Chapter 1178: The Trial Vault, the Vampire Council, and the Beast called Puffles

Rudy pulled the makeshift curtain tighter around Rias. The large stone doors to the vault suddenly burst open. King Virgil rushed into the chamber with a dozen high-vampire elders right behind him. They carried drawn swords and glowing magical staves.

The magical wards around the portal had flared to signal the completion of the trial. The ancient vampires prepared to face a rampaging boss monster breaking out of the rift.

Instead, they found the SSS-rank Trial Chimera sitting politely on the stone floor. The world-ending beast panted happily. Its serpent tail wagged back and forth, slapping playfully against the masonry.

Rudy casually slipped off one of his expensive leather shoes and tossed it across the vault. The terrifying monster bounded after the footwear with joyful enthusiasm. It scooped the shoe into its lion jaws and trotted right back to drop the item at Rudy’s feet.

The beast nudged his hand to demand more head pats.

Rias beamed with pride. She stepped away from her furious sister and puffed out her chest beneath the velvet curtains.

“Look, Grandfather,” Rias announced, gesturing to the beast. “I unlocked a legendary beast-taming bloodline ability during the final phase. I am going to name him Puffles, and I want to keep him in my room.”

Virgil stopped dead in his tracks. His sword lowered to the floor. The royal elders stared at the terrifying creature in profound shock. The beast possessed the power to level cities, yet it was currently rolling onto its scaly back to expose its belly for rubs.

Lord Kunt stepped forward and lowered his glowing staff. “The ancient ancestral magic arrays must have decayed,” the elder muttered to Virgil. “Thousands of years without maintenance caused the trial parameters to glitch. The beast is defective.”

The elders rationalized the absurdity immediately, oblivious to the Overlord’s reality-warping interference.

Jane stood near the archway and violently rubbed her temples. Her silver hair fell over her face. She stared at the monstrosity. That exact same Chimera had nearly mauled her to death just days prior, forcing her to flee the dimension in terror.

Now, she watched Puffles happily chew on Rudy’s leather loafer while Rias scratched behind its ears.

The sheer impossibility of the situation broke Jane’s remaining royal composure.

‘I honestly don’t care about the trial or all this royalty and bloodline stuff. Whether I completed this trail or not, I would have ended up being the puppet of the royal family and do whatever they asked me to. I wasn’t worried about Rias in the least because I knew she would fail.’

Jane looked at Rias and frowned.

‘So what is this? There is no way she can pass the trail on her own. But I saw it with my own eyes. And I wouldn’t even call it luck or miracle! Nonetheless, I must make sure that they don’t try to use Rias. I will have to protect her from any harm that comes her way.’

Jane looked at Rudy and then at Rias, and how happy they looked. She noticed Rias’ gaze and saw the warmth in her eyes. Her smile was so genuine that she forgot when was the last time she saw her sister smile like that.

‘I don’t understand. Is he really who he claims to be?’ Jane wondered. ‘My future husband?! No way! There is absolutely no way I would ever let a disgusting human touch me! But…’ Jane gulped down as she stared at Rudy’s lips.

Jane unlocked her vampire eyes and saw the blood flowing in his veins. She looked at his neck and instinctively licked her lips.

‘I want to drink his blood! Why am I suddenly feeling like this? I have never had carvings of blood! And he is the fifth human! So why is my body feeling so hot! Why am I getting so desperate?! And why is my… heart aching when I look at Rias with him?!’

Even in the previous timeline, Jane and Rudy’s relationship began with her thirst and desperation of claiming him. It was the same in this world, but the difference was that Rudy was aware of everything.

King Virgil pinched the bridge of his nose. He surveyed the chaotic disaster unfolding inside the sacred trial vault. His granddaughter clung to a mortal while wearing a velvet curtain. While his other granddaughter stood covered in swamp mud.

And a world-ending beast happily drooled onto his polished stone floor.

Before the ancient monarch could process the sheer absurdity of the situation, a frantic telepathic alert echoed through the minds of every vampire in the room.

A royal sentry broadcasted the panicked message directly from the frontline. The Alucard Coalition had successfully breached the western border trench.

Virgil stiffened, his crimson eyes flashing with immediate alarm. The elder vampires drew their weapons in unison, completely abandoning their confusion over the domesticated Chimera to focus on the imminent threat.

Jane instantly gripped the hilt of her sheathed sword. Her knuckles turned stark white against the leather binding. She ignored her draining exhaustion and her ruined armor, fully prepared to march straight into the bloodbath to defend her kingdom.

Rudy covered his mouth and let out a lazy yawn. He casually adjusted the cuffs of his tailored black suit.

“Why are you guys running off to get muddy again?” Rudy asked, stepping past the stunned elders. “I told you I would handle your garbage border war. Let us settle this so we can finally get breakfast.”

The trial vault emptied rapidly as the vampire elders rushed to prepare for battle.

Rias vaulted onto the scaled back of her newly domesticated Chimera, patting its lion head affectionately. Puffles let out a joyful bark and bounded toward the exit.

Jane unfurled her large black bat wings, the leathery membranes snapping loudly in the cavernous room. She launched herself into the air, rocketing toward the open corridors leading outside to the western front.

Rudy simply tucked his hands into his pockets and began a casual stroll toward the exit.

He looked back at Jane with a confident smirk, entirely ready to show the haughty princess exactly what a true Overlord could do.