Chapter 36: The Vampire Hunter Vampire
After traveling for about half a day by carriage from Emilie Village, we arrived at a place that was unmistakably a farming village.
According to Rosette, all the residents of this village had died. Of course, when people die, they become corpses. However, the residents of this village were moving even as corpses. Moving corpses (zombies). Among them, those who eat human flesh are called Ghouls. Apparently, this village is currently under the control of a single vampire, and it was that vampire who turned the residents into Ghouls.
“Elves, dwarves, beastmen… there are many humanoid races besides us humans. Among them, the most feared are vampires. They live by sucking the blood of other humanoid races. In other words, they are predators.”
“There are other creatures that eat people, but vampires are the only ones who can’t live without eating people. They’re like natural enemies.”
“That’s right. However, there are many different kinds of vampires. There are the lower-class ones, who are weak and live in hiding. There are the mid-class ones, who have gained the power to turn people into Ghouls and create an army. And then there are the upper-class ones, who have the power to create new vampires. The one who attacked this village is a mid-class or higher vampire. If you try to subjugate them with half-hearted forces, you might end up increasing the number of Ghouls. It’s troublesome.”
“But we’ll be fine, right?”
“Of course. Let’s quickly defeat the vampire and bury the people who have become Ghouls.”
We had the carriage wait in a place away from the village, and the four of us entered the village. Pale-faced figures with unsteady steps emerged from the shadows. Ghouls. Perhaps because they were corpses, their presence was unusually faint.
“Come forth from Purgatory, Sin—Overflow, Sloth.”
Misty, transformed into a Magical Girl, tried to stop the Ghouls with the power of her Cards. However, it had no effect.
“…The Sloth Card only works on those with a will. The Ghouls no longer have anything that can be called a will.”
“They’re just instinctively attacking people, huh? Well, Ghouls are slow to begin with, so it’s not a problem even if Sloth doesn’t work.”
“Indeed. However, about two hundred people lived in this village. Dealing with all of them is a troublesome matter.”
“…How about blowing up the entire village with a large-scale magic?”
“I’m against that. If, by any chance, there are any survivors, they’ll be caught up in it.”
“Besides, if we blow up the whole village, the vampire might escape in the confusion.”
Mizuha made a point worthy of a veteran Saintess.
“I see…”
“Well, don’t worry. I’ll try to detect the vampire’s presence. If we just get rid of the vampire, we can leave the remaining Ghouls to the Magic Brigade or adventurers. Sloth should work on the vampire, at least.”
Rosette came up with a plan that was as easy as possible. Following that, we went deeper into the village. The vampire was in the most impressive building in the village. It was a church. In the teachings of the True Holy Order, it is not explicitly stated that “vampires are enemies of God.” However, as someone with memories of his time on Earth, the combination of a vampire and a church felt somewhat sacrilegious.
“Hmm. A Barrier that rejects intruders has been set up. It seems they have some knowledge of magic. But, for me, something like this is nothing!”
Rosette opened the church door without any difficulty.
“…What? Who are you? How did you break through my Barrier?”
The vampire was a man who looked to be about forty years old. He was thin and had a nervous-looking face. He was an ordinary middle-aged man who wouldn’t leave much of an impression even if he sat next to you in a cafeteria. The only thing that gave his appearance a hint of ferocity was his sharp, carnivorous canines.
In the center of the church, a magic circle was drawn in blood. And animal bones and meat were arranged like offerings. Some of them were clearly mixed with what appeared to be human parts.
“What do you mean, ‘What?’ That’s our line. What do you think you’re doing, turning an entire village into a horde of Ghouls? Don’t you know that doing something like this will make you a target for subjugation?”
“Hmph. A target for subjugation? Why should I fear such a thing? Since becoming a vampire, I have patiently accumulated power. And I have finally reached the point where I can create Ghouls. I will turn the tables on any subjugators. This village will become my workshop, the foundation for exploring the mysteries of magic!”
“Exploring the mysteries? This? It just looks like you’re messing around to me? Have you ever properly studied magic? If you go to the Royal Capital’s library, you can read many magic books for free, you know?”
“Kukuku… I am a genius. I will create new magic that is not bound by existing theories. Therefore, there is no need to read existing magic books!”
“…There are always people like you. People who think they’re better than their predecessors because they haven’t learned from them. In reality, they’re just lacking in study. The basics of true originality are born from the culmination of vast imitation.”
“Those are the words of a commoner. A genius is not understood!”
“Haa… Talking to you is tiring. Just to follow the rules, I’ll ask. Do you have any intention of surrendering now? If you surrender, in accordance with the treaty, we will hand you over to the Night Watch Organization.”
“The Night Watch Organization? An organization of vampires who are pandering to humans… How pathetic! I will not surrender! I have no intention of joining the Night Watch Organization!”
“That’s what I wanted to hear. I was worried it would be troublesome if you surrendered. I’ll slaughter you in one blow!”
Rosette was the only one getting excited and standing out.
How boring.
If I attacked faster than Rosette and defeated the vampire, would that be funny…?
While I was thinking about such a joke, someone appeared who put that joke into action.
“!?!”
A small shadow flew over the heads of the four of us and attacked the vampire with incredible speed.
A contrast of silver and jet black.
What flashed was a Japanese sword…?
No, there should be a region in this world that makes swords that look very similar to Japanese swords.
The one who beheaded the vampire in front of our eyes must have used that.
The movement of drawing the sword from its sheath was directly connected to the slash, a quick-draw technique.
Quick Draw Technique.
The vampire’s head fell.
A silent slash. It told us that the one who unleashed it was a master.
The technique itself was not surprising.
We had sensed the presence just before they entered the church, and we were able to follow their movements with our eyes.
There was no doubt that they were an incredible swordsman. Among us, the only one who seemed to be able to put up a fight with Swordsmanship was Mizuha.
An opponent that I absolutely did not want to engage in close combat with. Just imagining it made me break out in a cold sweat.
With that in mind, the fact that there was a master of this level was not surprising in itself.
Just as there was Rosette in the world of magic, it was natural that there would be incredible people in the world of swordsmen.
What was surprising was that the master was a girl.
Thirteen or fourteen years old?
A young age where she would still be in middle school in Japan.
The Quick Draw Technique from earlier was a realm that even a talented person might not be able to reach in their entire life, even with constant effort.
And a girl in her early teens had mastered it… It was impossible.
Either she was reincarnated like me and Mizuha, or she was like Rosette and Misty, where her appearance and actual age were different. There was no other explanation.
“Oh my. Even with a mithril-mixed blade, to die just from having your head cut off, you’re not even worthy of being called a vampire. Or perhaps my slash was too sharp… fufufu.”
While laughing bewitchingly, the girl turned around.
The silver I saw was the color of her hair. She had long hair tied up in twin tails above her ears. The so-called twin-tail hairstyle swayed with the girl’s movements.
The jet black I saw was her clothing. It looked similar to a kimono and hakama, but it also had gothic lolita-like decorations mixed in, making it look gorgeous despite the dark colors.
“Oh my? I see some familiar faces. What a coincidence to meet here.”
When the girl opened her mouth, her sharp, carnivorous canines were visible.
Ah, I understood.
As I thought, she was not human.
“Hmph. How transparent. You intruded because you knew I was here. Showing off your playfulness. I think it’s common sense in human society and the Night Watch Organization that you shouldn’t steal other people’s work. Isn’t that right, Victoria?”
“Fufufu. You’re the one being transparent. You were itching to finish the job quickly. I’ve already cut down all the Ghouls outside. You should be thanking me, Rosette?”
The two of them laughed.
A frank conversation as if they were old friends meeting after a long time.
It seemed that Rosette trusted this vampire girl.