As they heeded her words and looked around, they found something that did indeed resemble a barrier.
A silver coffin bound by whips. This was likely the barrier’s core.

“… I wonder whose idea it was to do this,” said Vandalieu.

“Ah, Nineroad was apparently a user of the Whip Technique,” said Zran. “Doesn’t that explain it?”

“By the way, what do you think is inside the coffin?” asked Eleanora. “If it is a Pure-breed Vampire, then they might become a powerful ally… or perhaps not. It might be a Vampire who turned to the evil gods, after all.”

“It would indeed be problematic if I were to undo the seal and someone we couldn’t handle were to come out,” Vandalieu agreed as he tentatively tried beginning to remove the seal, but there wasn’t really any reaction from Danger Sense: Death. “Is it empty inside? It seems fine, so I’m removing the seal,” he said.

And then he began removing the barrier in the same way he removed the outside barrier earlier.

Before he had even finished removing it, the whips snapped as the coffin opened forcefully from the inside.

“Vandalieu-sama!” Eleanora cried.

She and Zran tried to grab Vandalieu and retreat, but the red amoeba-shaped thing that had flown out of the coffin raised its head and looked down at Vandalieu, approaching him with incredible speed like a venomous snake!

Gargle, gargle, gargle… gulp.

It was swallowed by Vandalieu.

“… Eh?” Zran and Eleanora said in unison, dumbfounded.

Vandalieu finished drinking the coffin’s contents, put his hands together, lowered his head and said, “Gochisousama.”
“V-Vandalieu-sama? What was that?” Eleanora asked. “More importantly, why did you swallow it?!”

“Why, you ask… it did enter my mouth,” Vandalieu replied.

“No, you’d normally spit it out, right?!” Zran exclaimed.

“But I don’t think it’s good to leave food unfinished,” said Vandalieu. “Well, I suppose you wouldn’t normally refer to blood that a champion sealed away a hundred thousand years ago as ‘food.’”

“So at least you know – wait, so that thing you just swallowed was blood?!” Zran shouted.

“Then could it possibly have been part of the Demon King?!” asked Eleanora.

It was a well-known story that the champions had defeated the Demon King Guduranis, taken his body apart and sealed each part away individually. It was just blood, but considering that it had been sealed away, they couldn’t think of anyone it could possibly belong to other than the Demon King.

In fact, the announcer in Vandalieu’s head had said,『You have absorbed the blood of the Demon King!』He had been wondering whether he should tell Zran and Eleanora, knowing that it would shock them.