Fear Not
Th-they died...?! All of them?
I stared in shock at what had just happened.
Every enemy in the training ground had dropped dead in a single blow.
Did I do that?
They were crumbling into dust and vanishing just like the goblin had, so it really did seem like I was the one who'd done it...
This is insane.
Life Harvest—this thing was absurdly broken.
I'd been feeling proud, thinking I'd managed to kill just one goblin.
But it turned out to be a monstrous area-of-effect attack far beyond anything on that level.
How far its range extended.
How many enemies it could kill at once.
And just how strong an enemy it could kill.
I still didn't know any of those details.
But one thing was certain.
If it could instantly kill even an S-class vampire like Lachesis, then most enemies would probably go down in one hit without much trouble.
What kind of item even is this?
It let a scrub vampire like me fire off an attack like that.
So this was what it meant to be carried by an EX-class item's raw power...?
I thought it was amazing, but it was way, way, way more amazing than that.
Huh.
Wait, if it was this strong, then surely that ranged attacker didn't get caught in it too... right?
Hmm. If so, then I did feel a little bad.
Since there was no way to check, I pressed X for a moment of silence.
That aside.
Ugh. This thing is seriously heavy.
Groaning, I barely managed to lift the enormous scythe that had been scraping along the floor.
Hup!
It was at least a little better once I slung it over my shoulder.
I might really need to put my next stat points into Strength.
Ow, man... I'm exhausted...
I'd burned through all my Blood Power in an instant, and on top of that I'd used this ridiculously heavy scythe, so the strength had drained out of my whole body.
A wave of fatigue hit me so hard I felt like collapsing into bed that very second, enough that my eyes unfocused without me noticing.
And then.
My eyes met Katarina's as she stared at me with a horrified expression.
The training ground her lord had bestowed upon them.
Just moments ago, Katarina had been locked in fierce combat there with the illusion of the pureblood vampire they had encountered inside the gate.
But part of her mind had remained fixed on the weapon her lord had drawn earlier.
A pitch-black scythe, as though darkness itself had been melted down and forged from the deepest midnight.
When her lord first took it up, it had looked as though even she found it just slightly difficult to wield.
Yet the moment Katarina had tried holding that scythe herself, she had no choice but to recoil in shock.
It had been so unimaginably heavy that she nearly dropped it on the spot.
Even after straining against it for quite some time, she had failed to move it in the slightest.
And yet her lord had lifted that monstrous weapon with nothing more than the faintest sign of effort.
With that tiny body, no less.
As expected, her lord was truly incredible.
I am still far too lacking... I must grow stronger.
Katarina drove herself even harder.
She had to train more. Far more.
The one who had created her. The one who had granted her a name and a family name.
She wanted to become a servant who could at least follow in the wake of that exalted being.
And if possible, one who could be of even the slightest use to her.
With that thought, Katarina drew out even more power and pressed the opposing vampire harder.
She had just begun slowly turning the tide in her favor when it happened.
A sudden chill ran down the back of her neck.
...?!
A razor-edged scythe had somehow come to rest right against her throat.
Of course, the weapon itself had not truly approached her.
It was only that overwhelming killing intent and pressure had become so oppressive that she could vividly imagine her head being severed.
Wh-what in the world is this...?!
She couldn't move so much as a single hair.
Cold sweat poured from her entire body like rain, and even her heartbeat and breathing seemed to stop.
For the first time in her life, Katarina felt the terror of true death.
Even though the enemy's attack was surging toward her right in front of her eyes, her body had frozen stiff and refused to move.
But what happened next was even more astonishing.
Sssshhhk—!
"Kyaaaaah!"
The vampire screamed as white smoke began pouring from its eyes, nose, and mouth.
The enemy she had just been trading blows with was instantly shriveled into gray ash, unable to offer even the slightest resistance.
It felt as though someone had simply confiscated its life.
Ah...
Only then did she understand.
This had never been an attack to begin with.
It was a harvest that reaped life itself.
Rustle.
The vampire became a handful of dust and scattered into the air.
Only after that did the taut pressure binding Katarina's whole body abruptly loosen, allowing her frozen limbs to move again.
"Haa... haa..."
She gasped for breath.
Then she slowly turned around and looked toward the source from which that terrifying killing intent had poured forth.
Her lord stood there.
Her lord, silently gazing this way with a jet-black scythe larger than her own body resting across her shoulder.
Her eyes were unbearably cold.
Eyes so devoid of emotion that they could almost be mistaken for vacant.
That distinctive air of pride.
Only a faint weariness lingered there, as though everything before her was merely a mild annoyance.
At that boundless nobility, Katarina's legs gave way before she could stop herself, and she sank to the ground on the spot.
This is what true dignity is...!
The moment she witnessed that distant, overwhelming power and authority, hot tears spilled from her eyes of their own accord.
And Katarina was hardly the only one.
The feelings the other familiars experienced were no different at all.
...If Master had wished it, not only the enemies but even we would have turned to dust. The reason I'm still alive... is Master's mercy.
Siyeon blankly analyzed the situation.
W-wow... M-Master's killing intent...! It's way scarier than Lady Katarina's...!
Even Lili had gone pale and was trembling all over.
They too looked upon their master in reverence, scarcely able to breathe.
...Huh?
I looked at the baffling scene unfolding before me.
Katarina had suddenly dropped to the floor, thick tears streaming down her face.
Siyeon stood frozen in place like a statue, only her eyes widened.
And Lili had gone deathly pale and was trembling all over too.
I mean, sure, I'd suddenly fired off an area attack without warning, and if you saw countless enemies in front of you turn into dust, getting startled would make sense.
But.
K-Katarina's crying...?
Katarina was always strong and cold, so seeing even her sniffle through tears made it obvious this wasn't just ordinary surprise.
And looking more carefully, the others didn't seem merely impressed, like, Wow, our master is so strong! So cool! They looked closer to afraid.
Wait. Don't tell me... my attack affected Katarina and the others too?!
They had definitely all been inside the attack's range.
Of course, I hadn't possessed even the slightest intention of treating my familiars as enemies.
But since I'd used the skill at full output without really understanding how it worked, it looked like that killing intent or whatever had reached them too.
I screwed up...!
If that was really what had happened, then I'd basically inflicted area-of-effect collateral damage on the entire training ground.
This wasn't something I could just awkwardly laugh off in my head and move on from.
I needed to seriously comfort them for scaring them, and clearly tell them that I had absolutely no intention of attacking them.
Ahem. I cleared my throat and spoke as heavily as I could.
"My familiars."
Do not be afraid. It was not an attack aimed at you.
Pouring as much apology and reassurance into it as I could, I offered them the gentlest, warmest words possible.
"...!"
"This power is not meant to harm you."
At that, the girls all flinched sharply.
Thud, thud.
Even Siyeon and Lili, who had still been standing, dropped to their knees after Katarina and bowed low.
Huh?
...This wasn't right. I was just trying to reassure them, so why were they all bowing?
But there was something strange about the way they looked up at me from their knees.
Sparkle, sparkle.
The fear that had filled them just moments ago had already vanished, replaced by shining eyes as if they were looking upon some incredible savior.
Ahem. Why does it suddenly feel like I need to give a speech...?
It was hard to say nothing when they were looking at me like that, full of expectation.
So I kept going.
"Rather, it exists to protect. Katarina, Siyeon, Lili. You three, my servants—be not afraid, and do not be startled."
"...!!!"
But the more I spoke, the more overwhelmed and deeply moved even Siyeon and Lili became.
Why do all three of you have that same intense expression as Katarina now?!
What do I do?
If I went silent here, it would look way too weird.
I had to wrap this up with something cool. Something...!
Ah, right.
There was a cool line I'd picked up somewhere before.
That should work.
Putting on as solemn an expression as I could, I looked down at them and declared,