I have confirmed the existence of a Vampire. Moreover, a small mountain village is under attack.
Generally, the threat of Vampires is recognized more for their ability to multiply than their strength, but that recognition is both correct and incorrect.
Undead are humans who possessed “Magic Stones” in life. If my theory is correct and Vampires also come from Magic Stone holders, then even if all the villagers have their blood sucked, only about 1% of the population should turn into Vampires.
That woman who I helped and then attacked me must have been a Magic Stone holder… able to use Magic, which is why she could escape that far. If she were just an ordinary villager without combat skills, she wouldn’t have been able to escape when attacked by Monsters.
But… even if they don’t become Vampires, an even more cruel fate awaits the victims.
As I ran through the dark Forest illuminated by the hazy moonlight, I stopped at the faint smell of blood in the air.
Perhaps the village was getting closer, as there were more tree stumps in the Forest around here, and when I looked towards a partially cleared area, I saw several human figures collapsed. I assumed they were villagers who had run out of strength, but I could only sense Dark Mana Particles from their bodies.
The Mana Particles that living beings possess are mostly Non-Attribute, but as long as they are alive, they contain a small amount of All-Attribute Mana Particles. Fire Mana regulates body temperature, Water Mana is for blood flow, Wind Mana is for breathing, Earth Mana is for bones and flesh, Light Mana is for life force, and Dark Mana affects the mind.
They are already dead. The reason Dark Mana tends to remain in corpses is that memories linger the longest and are most easily assimilated by the dead.
“…uh…ah…”
One of them groaned and began to stir. The man, who looked to be just an adult or still in his late teens, reached out as if seeking help while lying face down.
“…”
I silently stared at him. My “eyes” could sense a small amount of Mana other than Dark Mana, so he was probably still in a near-death state.
Perhaps sensing my presence without moving, the man reached towards me, and the moment he raised his face and showed his eyes, the Knife I drew from my thigh pierced his forehead.
“Gah…!”
The man stood up as if jumping. As he turned his beast-like eyes towards me, another Knife I threw pierced his eyeball, and the Blade of a Slashing Style Pendulum horizontally sliced his throat. Finally understanding his own death, the man slowly collapsed.
“You have no mercy for the ‘failures,’ do you, Aria?”
I glanced back for a moment at Carla’s teasing voice from behind. She had already caught up…
The “failures” that Carla mentioned are literally failed Vampires.
Even if they haven’t learned Magic and obtained a Magic Stone, some people have a large amount of Mana. For example, those who have mastered multiple Utility Magic spells or warriors who have learned Non-Attribute Magic.
They don’t turn into Undead even when they die, but they can become “moving corpses (zombies)” possessed by low-level spirits, which can’t be called Monsters. Similarly, among the victims attacked by Vampires, those with a large amount of Mana don’t become Vampires, but their souls are tainted, and they become Vampire thralls while still looking human.
Failures crave blood, but even if they suck blood, the victims don’t turn into Vampires.
Failures can move under sunlight, but they don’t have the same immortality as Vampires.
They are no longer human. They have body temperature and breathe like living humans, but they no longer have the reason or intelligence of their former selves, and are merely slave puppets who obey their superiors, the Vampires.
“He might still have been alive, you know?”
“Do you call something that isn’t fighting to live a ‘living thing’?”
Can you call an object that moves only by hatred for the living and a thirst for blood, rather than living by its own will, a living thing?
The victims are not evil. But once the bloodsucking is over, the ways to save the victims are limited. Unless they have very high HP, the only way to save the soul of a victim who has lost half their blood in such a remote area is “death.”
“Aria’s way of life is ‘harsh.’ But I like those cold eyes… If it’s too painful, would you like me to kill them for you instead?”
Carla’s white fingertips gently stroked my cheek as I looked at the “victim” I had killed with a grim face, and I strongly grabbed her slender wrist.
“Carla, what do you know?”
When I asked Carla why she wanted to accompany me on this journey, she vaguely replied that small villages were disappearing.
Carla knows “something” that even the Shadow Unit doesn’t know. When I asked her about it, Carla smiled faintly and looked in the direction where the village was supposed to be.
“Then let’s go to the village. I think it will be easier to understand if you see it for yourself rather than talking about it here.”
“…I understand.”
Carla and I walked side by side through the dark Forest. Perhaps it was her unique Magic, but Carla’s body seemed to float slightly above the ground, keeping up with my speed.
And a few minutes later… we saw something like a fence surrounding the village, jumped over it, and as we moved further in, the strong smell of blood made Carla smile faintly in the corner of my vision.
As we advanced, the corpses of people came into view one after another. I couldn’t hear any loud noises, so it might have been over already, but there seemed to be too few corpses for that.
Even a mountain village not on the map would have several hundred people. It’s okay to have only a few households if you’re just living there, but without numbers, you can’t fight against the threat of Monsters. But so far, we had found less than a hundred corpses, and even if they were alive or dead, the remaining villagers must be somewhere.
“I see a light over there.”
“Yeah.”
As we moved further in, we saw a light like a bonfire in what seemed to be the center of the village.
We ran towards it, and what we saw there were dozens of villagers who were still alive and trembling, surrounded by a large number of corpses, and Undead and Failures surrounding them.
There are still people alive. Even more people are dead. As I was searching for a way to save the villagers who were gathered in the village square, waiting for death, a bell-like voice suddenly echoed in the night.
“Who…?”
The pitch-black figure, who had been facing the villagers, questioned us using strangely pronounced words.
That person easily discovered us, even with Carla, who didn’t have Stealth Skill, hiding in the darkness. Could it be the Vampire who attacked the village? Or some other being? The figure slowly turned around, and its profile was illuminated by the faint light of the bonfire.
Smooth, obsidian-like black skin. Long ears protruding from silver hair. Reddish-gold eyes reflecting our figures. The identity of that person was—
“…Dark Elf?”
“Evil Race.”
The girl was a Dark Elf, just like Master Serejula. And in this continent, they are called the “Evil Race,” who are hostile to the Human Race, Forest Elves, Dwarves, and Beastmen.
It was the first time I had seen a Dark Elf other than Master, but why is a being known as an Evil Race in this country? The war with the Evil Race hasn’t been going on for decades. It’s not like she escaped from the Evil Race’s country like Master… or is it?
Judging from this situation, this Dark Elf girl clearly had malicious intent towards the people of this country.
“P-Please help us!”
“Please, save us!”
When the two young women who had appeared in the night heard the desperate pleas from the villagers who had survived and been gathered, the Dark Elf girl openly frowned at their begging.
“Noisy.”
Before I could stop her, the girl swung her right hand, and the Black Iron Chain held in her hand blew away the head of the man who had shouted first.
[――――] [Race: Dark Elf ♀] [Rank 4]
[Mana Capacity: 243/285] [HP: 265/265]
[Overall Combat Strength: 940]
Screams erupted from the surrounding villagers who were splattered with blood and flesh. As I was about to jump out after seeing that, the Dark Elf girl swung her Chain again and struck the ground where the villagers were, stopping the villagers’ screams and my movements.
“Who? You guys are strong.”
“…You’re the one, why is a Dark Elf here?”
“Strange?”
The Dark Elf girl tilted her head with clumsy words. Since Elves have long lifespans, she probably isn’t as old as she looks, but for some reason, she gave off an even more otherworldly impression.
“We kill Humans, of course, right?”
“I see.”
Thwack!!
At the same time as I muttered that, the black-painted throwing Knife I shot pierced the girl’s golden right eye. She seems to have the strength of around Rank 4, but this one is full of openings.
Thwack!
But, the girl, who looked like she would collapse at any moment, braced herself with her feet, and as she glared at me with her remaining eye, she pulled out the knife that had pierced her, and the wound visibly regenerated.
“…You’re a Vampire?”
“That’s right.”
To my murmur, the girl affirmed while throwing away the blood-stained knife.
Not just a mere Evil Race, this girl was the main Vampire who attacked this village. I surmised that the reason this girl assessed my and Carla’s combat abilities and still had余裕 (yoyuu, leeway) was due to the arrogance of a strong individual.
That otherworldly impression and余裕 (yoyuu, leeway) were probably because she had lived for a long time, far longer than her young elf appearance suggested.
If it were a normal Vampire, the Adventurer’s Guild would give it a threat level of 3, but a Vampire that had existed for over a hundred years would be called a Greater Vampire, with a threat level of 6. Judging from the atmosphere I sensed, even if she wasn’t quite that level, it was better to assume that a high-ranking Vampire’s combat ability would be twice the visible value.
A Vampire with a combat ability of around 2000. Moreover, you never know what hidden cards the Evil Race might have.
“Sarara’s Vampire Clan’s leader said, increase subordinates. Make you guys subordinates. Leader will be pleased.”
Clap! The girl—Sarara—clapped her hands, and four villagers who had become Vampires, along with a dozen or so failed villagers, began to move with bloodshot, beastly eyes.
Vampire Clan… perhaps in the Evil Race Nation, there exists a clan consisting only of Vampires. The fact that such individuals are in this country… probably, Carla’s objective is these individuals, I thought, and I glanced at Carla for a moment, and Carla smiled in affirmation.
Immediately, I gripped my knives again, holding one in each hand. The four Vampires would be troublesome to defeat, but the failed ones were merely difficult to kill, not immortal. They just weren’t aware that they were dead, and if killed, they would die.
But then, a young voice rose from among the surviving villagers.
“Daddy! Stop it, don’t kill Daddy!!”
A boy of about seven or eight years old cried out with tears in his eyes, and a woman who seemed to be his mother hurriedly embraced him and covered his mouth.
“…”
The boy’s father must be among these Vampires or failed ones. The appearance of the failed ones was no different from humans. But a Vampire’s minion is the same as a Monster. Adults might be able to accept it with reason, but a child who loses a parent would never accept it.
The Vampires and failed ones attacked. The boy’s eyes, as he watched them, momentarily reminded me of my kind father and mother.
At that moment—
Goooooohhhhhhh!!!
A pillar of flame that seemed to cleave the night burned two Vampires that had charged in, and only their charred lower bodies took a step or two before collapsing forward.
Screams rose from the villagers who had seen those who looked like acquaintances burned to death, and the Vampires and failed ones, sensing danger instinctively, faltered, while Sarara’s eyes widened at the power.
“Are you going to be killed for that child’s sake? Shall I slaughter them instead? Fufu.”
With flames and vast Mana burning in both hands, Carla stepped forward gleefully. If the opponent was Undead, Carla, who controlled fire, should be able to fight more advantageously than I could… but,
“Carla…”
I lightly waved my hand at Carla’s peculiar consideration and took a deep breath.
There was still weakness within me. I had decided to become strong in my heart, to never give in, even if my skills and strength were lacking, but I still had naivety.
My enemies are still “ahead.”
Until I settle everything with them, I will not stop.
I turned my eyes to Carla, one of those enemies, and swung my knife horizontally, as if severing my childish naivety.
“I’ll take care of these guys alone.”
The existence of the Evil Race lurking in the darkness of the Kingdom of Claydale.
Aria and Carla’s relationship is more than friends, less than rivals, wouldn’t you say?
Carla dreams of destroying everything and being killed by Aria in the end. And Aria is trying to respond to that.
That’s why it looks like an unusual relationship to others.
Next time, it’s the second half for sure.
The Evil Race Nation is a Dark Elf race, but they recognize even those generally called Monsters, such as Vampires and werewolves, as clans if they swear allegiance. However, they are only recognized as a nation, and they are often killed in conflicts with ordinary citizens, so their numbers are never large.
The current Evil Race Nation has a king of the Evil Race, but there are no Evil Lord-class monsters. Therefore, there is no true Hero (Yuusha) who appears in response to the Evil Lord-class, but self-proclaimed Heroes are everywhere.