Running away from danger had been the only thing on the pair’s mind, so they’d forgotten they were still in the getup they wore for…private moments.
The ghostly-white girl—Vampy—watched them with a steady gaze as they hastily changed into armor.
“Did you want to die?” she asked them with genuine curiosity.
Not wearing defensive equipment on the battlefield seemed to indicate a death wish, but these two humans had been running for their lives. Vampy was mystified by this contradiction.
“We just thought this might be the end, and…”
The woman didn’t finish. She and her companion had run away from their responsibility as frontline fighters to engage in some escapism. They’d done nothing to help as their allies were getting killed, instead rushing past people in need simply to save their own skins.
The woman felt so embarrassed. “Actually,” she said, “I think I want to die right now…”
Or to be precise, she wanted to disappear and never be seen again.
“I see,” Vampy said without interest, turning back toward the southern gate.
“If you still want to die a thousand years from now, I will grant you your wish.”
The girl started to stroll leisurely through Fort Sandras without even looking at the monsters that foolishly ran at her. Her eyes gleamed ominously. Monsters all around appeared to be irresistibly drawn toward her as if a spell had been cast on them, but as soon as they got near her, they simply dissolved to their deaths. As shiny pixel shards rained down around the girl, it seemed there was an invisible dome around her. The dome began to expand farther and farther, killing any monster it touched.
The couple sank to the ground.
“Wow…”
“What’s going on…?”
Anyone who had experience as a tank would instantly recognize that the girl had some sort of skill aggroing monsters on her. But unlike tanks who would hold the monsters back while enduring their attacks, the girl was simply gathering the monsters to slaughter them. If a monster with a skill like hers existed, it would be absolutely terrifying.
Like a receding tide, monsters began to run out of the town, perhaps to escape the area of effect of the girl’s skill. The battered surviving players were convening on the main street, talking excitedly.
“Look, guys! The monsters are running away!”
“Her insta-kill skill is really OP…”
“But it’s not affecting us?”
“Are we…safe now?”
The girl ignored the relieved players and instead focused her attention on the fleeing monsters. There was no escape from the death she served. Every monster, be they on the ground, under it, or in the sky, was dissolving into nothingness.
The players in town watched the developments with awe. And then they cheered and thanked the girl.
“Yeeeeeaaaah! We’re saved!”
“Thank goodness… Thank goodness!”
“She can kill all the monsters on the front lines for us!”
Some of the players were getting too greedy with their expectations, but most of them were simply grateful for what Vampy had already done for them.
Vampy walked to the northern gate without stopping or turning back to look at the players. She left the town, heading toward the front lines.
“Now, let’s see here.”
A girl unhurriedly strolled out of the broken gates. Her clothes, hair, skin, and even eyes were all white. Many of the players who were fighting closest to town had witnessed the invading monsters burst into pixels that disappeared into the sky.
Vampy wearily scanned the battlefield, any monsters she saw instantly dying. The black dragon flew down, assuming a human form upon landing next to her. Vampy sighed, letting her dissatisfaction be known.
“Would it hurt you to be more thorough?” she asked.
“Oh. My bad,” Theodore replied curtly.
An eerie silence fell on the battlefield. Worn-out players looked around, puzzled that the vast army of monsters had simply vanished.
“Did we…win?” someone cautiously asked, their voice carrying surprisingly far.
“We won!”
“We survived! We survived this, guys!”
“Who killed that big one…?”
“Mother, I… I…!”
People were shouting and rejoicing all across the wasteland.
When Misaki saw there were no more monsters showing on her minimap, she ran toward the two saviors, crying tears of relief.
“Vampy! Theodore!”
Misaki was the only player who knew who these two were.
Theodore gave her a small nod, while Vampy merely eyed her emotionlessly.
The reactions of the players who saw that Misaki was familiar with those two were mixed. Most were grateful that Misaki had such powerful allies, but there were also some who were shocked, confused, suspicious, or even resentful. The weak-minded couldn’t help but try to shift the blame onto her, mentally accusing Misaki of having caused the deaths of their friends by not calling her allies to help them earlier. Vampy was quick to pick up on those negative emotions, but she remained neutral.
Wataru stepped forward.
“Thank you from the bottom of my heart for coming to our aid,” he said.
Vampy looked at him dispassionately. “We did what was our duty.”
Her complete lack of emotion made her unreadable, and many players found that terrifying. They had a good reason to be terrified, too—by then, almost everyone had realized that those two were, without a doubt, boss monsters. The monsters had saved them, and they didn’t know what to make of it.
“We’re finished here. Let’s go,” said Vampy.
Without wasting a moment, she started walking away. Theodore followed her.
Having a sudden thought, Misaki ran after them.
“Excuse me, but…could you tell me where your master is…?”
Sensing that the other players weren’t friendly, Misaki didn’t use the boy’s name.
Since they parted, not a day had passed without Misaki trying to find him. No matter how tired she was or how busy, she was always scanning her map for that purple dot, eager for it to appear again. She didn’t know whether it was love or something else, but she had this strong desire to meet Shuutarou again.
“Our master…,” Theodore began, but then he fell silent.
Misaki thought it looked as if Vampy’s face had clouded over. She waited for Theodore to continue without hurrying him.
“Our master isn’t with us,” he said eventually.
Even though the faint hope in Misaki’s heart burst, she wasn’t despondent. She chose to believe that Shuutarou was busy elsewhere, fighting something she couldn’t even begin to imagine.
“Or rather, he was unable to join us,” Theodore added.
“You talk too much,” Vampy snapped at him angrily.
Theodore fell silent again, looking glum.
He was unable to join them? thought Misaki.
This nagged at her. She began to worry that Shuutarou might have been injured. She needed clarification.
“Did…did something happen to him?!” she asked.
However, neither Theodore nor Vampy was willing to answer the question. They started walking away.
Vampy turned to look at Misaki one last time.
“Please stay safe,” she said, her voice tinged with sorrow.
Before long, Vampy and Theodore vanished into thin air.
Some time earlier, after dealing with the NPCs invading Ross Maora Castle, the doors to the throne room were flung wide-open by Elroad, who appeared unusually impatient.
“Is something wrong…?” Shuutarou asked him, worried.
The other Overlords looked at Elroad, who’d returned in great haste from his interrogation of the invader they were holding captive.
“I must apologize, Master, for not having verified the information and relying largely on my own hypothesis, but this matter is of utmost urgency.”