It was a bizarre sight. The monsters that spawned from the vampire woman’s body stared at us. Their eyes were hollow, while the woman’s smile was ecstatic as she roused her horde of grotesque minions. I had already cut down the first wave with my sword, but there was no end to them. “Everyone! Fall back!” I ordered. “Lady Anis?!” “Take care of the monsters! I’ll deal with her!” After all, we were facing a vampire. Only Lainie and I could resist her powers of enchantment, which meant that only we could properly face her. Garkie and Navre would simply be overwhelmed. “Do you intend to slay me?” the vampire woman called out. That mysterious light behind her eyes flickered at me. “Do you really think yourself capable of slaying me?” “Of course I am!” I cried back. “Huh?” Shaking off her attempt to bewitch me, I leaped forward—watching as her eyes widened in shock. She was so confident and self-assured that she made no effort to defend herself as I lashed out with my sword. Fresh blood danced through the air. “Wh-what?! Nggghhh?! Ow, ow, ow! That hurt!” The woman screamed at the top of her lungs, clutching the wound stretching all the way across her chest. I would have delivered a second strike if not for the swarms of monsters moving to block my way, forcing me to retreat and adopt a defensive stance. “Tilty! Navre!” “I know, I know! Navre?” “Understood!” I could first hear Lainie, then the others behind me. Tilty reached out with her shadow to ensnare the monsters, while Navre quickly dispatched those trying to escape with his wind magic. Lainie and Garkie were busy dealing the final blows to those that had been stopped in their tracks. They were both covered in blood, their faces and clothes smeared with crimson. And yet… “Damn it! They just keep on coming!” “We never defeated them in the first place! They’re regenerating!” “Then focus on tying them down! Keep them from moving!” “Lady Tilty! Whatever you do, don’t lose your head!” Lainie said with a stern glare. A dangerous glint had appeared in Tilty’s eyes, as if she was on the verge of unleashing her magic. Tilty shook her head from side to side, struggling to hold herself together. “Ugh, I feel awful, forcing myself to hold back…!” she called out. “I won’t be able to keep it in for long, Anis!” “I know!” I turned my attention back to the vampire, searching for some way out of this situation. My last attack must have dealt a deep wound, but it was already healing. Judging by the expression that had fallen over her face, I had angered her. “You’ve done it now, human! Stop this futile resistance and become one with us!” “There’s so much I want to ask you,” I answered. “You’re a vampire, which means you won’t die easily. If you’re going to give up, I’d love it if you could go ahead and do that now.” “Don’t you dare mock me! Go forth and attack!” Part of the vampire woman’s body swelled again as a humanoid monster practically crawled out from her flesh. Though taken aback by this sight, that didn’t stop me from lashing out reflexively. I sliced the creature clean in two, but it reattached its own parts at incredible speed as it closed in on me. “It’s useless! Useless, you hear?! This is our power! We’re one, and we’re immortal! Nothing you do can threaten us!” “…You’re collecting demi-humans? Using them like monsters?” “Yes! All of creation is to kneel before us and be blessed!” “Blessed…?” “With eternal life! To enter a paradise of the whole! To realize an ideal beyond the realm of lowly mortals! Me! Us! She who leads!” The vampire spoke as though addressing someone else. In the meantime, the soulless demi-humans continued to regenerate and attack us. I couldn’t sense a shred of independent willpower in any of them. They were merely puppets. “…This is your ideal world?” I challenged. “Of course! With this power, with you, we will fulfill our great desire! We will have revenge against the cursed Kingdom of Palettia that denied and persecuted our ancestors!” How many demi-humans would I have to cut down as they swarmed around me? There seemed to be no way out. At that moment, another monster spawned from the woman’s back—the same serpent that had captured the strange demi-human from before. The snake glared my way, its tongue flicking between its lips. Its jaw opened wide, attempting to swallow both me and the vampire’s own demi-humans. “So this is your way of doing things?” I called, kicking away the serpent and delivering a heavy blow. The demi-humans weren’t so lucky. Fresh blood splashed across the dirt as the serpent crushed them between its fangs. “All life will be bound to us! Only then will the true, eternal kingdom be complete! This is the path of eternal happiness, the truth underlying magic itself!” The vampire wore an ecstatic grin. Her euphoria was almost intoxicating, like a spell falling over us. But I only breathed a disappointed sigh. “And to think, if I had slipped up, I might have ended up just like you…” “…Oh?” I didn’t know precisely how, but this vampire woman had some means of assimilating monsters into herself. Once they were hers, she could regenerate their wounds and use them as she pleased. I doubted that those monsters under her command were even alive anymore. They were practically extensions of the vampire herself, and they could be discarded without qualms like strands of hair or half-bitten nails. It was disgusting. I felt sick just thinking about it. Her total disregard for life was an abomination. But was I any different? From ether drugs made from magicite to Impressed Seals comprised of dragon essence, I had collected plenty of monster materials for my magical tools. Was I monstrous as well? Was I toying with the lives of others? But despite that incessant doubt, I knew one thing for certain—I didn’t want to become like her. No matter how similar our paths were, that was one line I refused to cross. This repulsion, I hoped, was proof enough that I was still human. And it was why I couldn’t forgive the being in front of me. “Aerial System: Dragon Heart.” Pouring magical energy through my Impressed Seal, I drew on my dragon magic as I readied my blade, which shifted color. I glared at the vampire woman. She took a step back in disbelief. She was either intimidated by the force of my stare or else overwhelmed by the sight of my dragon magic. “I know the Kingdom of Palettia persecuted your ancestors as heretics,” I said to her. “But your ancestors weren’t wrong.” “Wh-what…what are you?!” “My name is Anisphia Wynn Palettia. I’m a princess of the same kingdom that banished your ancestors.” “A princess…?! What would a princess be doing in the middle of these woods?! No, no—this is providence reaching out! I can’t allow you to leave now! This will be a momentous leap forward in our great journey! Atone for your sins, Princess of Palettia!” Confusion, hatred, joy—the woman’s expression shifted through a dizzying array of emotions. As she lost herself in those emotions, she set her horde of monsters against me. “Attack!” I struck down every last one of the creatures surging forward. It wasn’t enough just to cut them down—I was forced to eviscerate them and send the pieces flying into the air. Fresh blood and gore fell like raindrops as I closed in on the vampire woman. “No! How can you stop that many of them?! What powers do you possess?!” This time, the vampire moved only with the intention of defending herself. I ignored her question and struck at her arm. “Ngh?! Gah! W-we can’t be stopped by the likes of—” “Don’t think you can rely on your regenerative abilities to defeat me,” I interrupted, striking her with my fist, which was reinforced with an excess of magical power. The strike knocked her backward—but I wasn’t finished. Cut, crush, cleave. Without pausing to catch my breath, I sliced away at my opponent. But no matter how many times I hit her, she continued to heal herself. “Gah! Ngh! Ugh! Gyagh! Argh?!” Perhaps because she was falling back on her regenerative powers, her movements had become dull and sluggish. She desperately shielded her heart and head while I continued my onslaught. No doubt her magicite was located near her heart, and if she sustained a severe enough injury to her head, she would probably die before her regenerative abilities could kick in. Then there was only one thing left for me to do—I had to choose one and attack it with all my strength. “Agh! Wh-what are you all doing?!” she called to her monsters. “Kill this fiendish princess, quickly!” The vampire woman let out an ear-rending shriek as she moved to protect her vital organs. At the same time, the monsters tried to throw themselves around her—only for Garkie and Lainie to mow them down before they could make it. “Not a chance!” “I don’t think so! Water Lance!” Garkie slashed away at the nearby creatures, while Lainie’s water spell created spears that pinned them to the ground. Behind them, I could see Tilty and Navre likewise fighting to stop the monsters in their tracks. Now that our opponent and her monsters were focused on me, the others were free to move unimpeded. But we weren’t the only ones. “Aaauuuggghhh!” “Wh-what?! What now?!” The aberrant demi-human, the one covered in flames, had likewise been freed from the serpent. He lashed out and tore at it—and then his attention turned to me. I quickly braced myself, but it was the vampire woman he was truly after. “Aaauuuggghhh!” “Gyah! S-stop…! Ah!” After delivering a powerful punch to the pit of her stomach, he lifted her into the air with just one hand. Flames engulfed the vampire woman, strong enough to reduce her to ash. “L-let go of me! Put me down! Argh! It—burns!” As she shrieked, the demi-human clenched his teeth. “Give…them…back…,” he growled. “Eh…?” “My…friends… Give…them…baaack!” He struggled to form the words, but his cries were filled with helpless anger and grief. My sympathy for his pain almost knocked me off my feet. His screams were so earnest it was almost unbearable. Something glistened as it ran down the demi-human’s cheek—a tear. It quickly evaporated, however, thanks to the flames around him. “Aaarrrggghhh!” the vampire screamed. “Wh-why are you…?! Wh-why me…?! Ah, someone, please, save meee…! Lilanaaa!” She was pleading for help, even calling out someone’s name—yet that didn’t stop the demi-human from impaling her through the chest with his bare hands. A distinctive crack could be heard from the arm protruding from her back. Her eyes opened wide one final time. Then, with a weak shudder, she slumped down. The demi-human must have destroyed the magicite next to her heart. That confirmed it—she was a vampire. Without lowering my guard, I peered across at her. The demi-human pulled his arm from her corpse, and his flames grew in an effort to incinerate her. But before her body had fully ignited—a violent spasm coursed through her as blood spurted from her back. That blood began to coalesce into a slimy, gooey mass, stretching out into countless tentacle-like appendages. “Wh-what’s going on?!” “Everyone, get back!” I called out. I had no way of knowing what this was, but I had a bad feeling about it. Upon hearing my warning, Garkie and Lainie retreated to a safe distance. As I caught up to them, I turned around to watch as those gory tentacles skewered the monsters that she had taken to serve her. The next moment, the monsters melted, losing their shape as they were absorbed into the bloody appendages and returned to the woman’s body. “Wh-what…?! What is that?!” The woman should have been an unmoving corpse, but her body continued to quiver. And the tremors were growing stronger by the minute. All at once, her swaying head came to a standstill, and her lightless eyes stared back at the strange demi-human. Then, her flesh swelled like a balloon on the verge of bursting. No description could do justice to what happened next—it was too grotesque. It was an extraordinary sight—her flesh puffing up and transforming into something else. With each ghastly swell, it came closer to us. I quickly backed up in an effort to maintain my distance, but I couldn’t take my eyes off what was happening before me. The demi-human beside her continued to burn the body as he pulled at something inside it. In the meantime, the bloated flesh began to settle down. I could only stare back in mute silence. Until just a few moments ago, the body had still resembled a person—now, it was no more than a lump of meat shaped like a small mountain. Countless heads protruded from it, each of them different. There were wolves, birds, snakes—so many creatures, all of them seemingly having been fused together. On closer inspection, other shapes seemed to have failed to take proper form. There were masses resembling arms, legs, faces, and other half-formed lumps of flesh trembling as if to insist that they were still alive. There weren’t just beasts among that chaotic mass of body parts—I could spot human organs, too. I couldn’t speak. Disgust and dread had seized control of my vocal cords. I couldn’t even call the sight what it was—abject horror. My whole being wanted to reject the gruesome spectacle that I was presently witnessing. It couldn’t possibly be alive. It was too horrifying. It didn’t belong in this world. It’s almost like one of those chimeras… Among my memories from my previous life was a fantasy being—though I didn’t recall them being as unspeakable as this. “!” All at once, its many heads cried out in unison—a deafening, dissonant cacophony. Just hearing those screams filled me with dread. I wanted to block my ears, to scream back at the top of my lungs and flee as fast as my feet could carry me. “Wh-what the…?! Ugh! I feel terrible!” Garkie moaned, grimacing. “L-Lady Anis! Don’t listen to it! That voice will manipulate your thoughts…!” Lainie cried out. “What?!” I couldn’t conceal my shock. So even dead, her vampire powers were still active?! Or had she somehow managed to survive in that ghastly form?! I gritted my teeth in an effort to withstand it—when I heard a scream. Tilty. Her face was pale, her knees trembling as she clutched her head in her hands. “Tilty?!” “U-ugh, m-my head… It’s like it’s breaking apart… Stop it! I don’t want to hear…that voice! Shut up, shut up, get out of my skull! No, no, nooo!” “Lady Tilty! Cover your ears!” Navre tried to help her up, but Tilty continued to scream and flail like a child throwing a tantrum. Her face was contorted with fear—which would have been unthinkable if she was in her right mind. “Lainie—protect Tilty! Navre, Garkie—fall back!” “Princess Anisphia?! B-but—” Navre started to protest. “You’re in my way! Get back!” I interrupted. Anyone at the mercy of a vampire’s mental interference would be unable to make full use of their skills and abilities. Tilty was particularly vulnerable, which explained her reaction. But Navre and Garkie weren’t faring so well, either. If I had to worry about them, I wouldn’t be able to concentrate on the fight. It was best that they kept their distance for now. Activating the Celestial’s magical blade, I struck at the chimera. At the very same moment, the creature began to move, its countless heads extending to attack. “This is disgusting!” Extending the length of my sword, I swung to decapitate as many of them as I could. I faced little resistance as a mess of body parts tumbled to the ground, but a moment later—they slithered back to the mass of flesh. “How can they regenerate so quickly?!” Once more, the heads lunged toward me—but just before I could intercept them, they were engulfed in flames. “Aaauuuggghhh!” the demi-human roared. The cry shook me to the core; the heat was so strong that it almost seared my skin. Another wave of emotion washed over me, this one even more powerful than before. There was wrath. There was grief. And above all, there was malice. The demi-human screamed into the heavens as he charged at his foe. The flames were more than that now—they were heat rays, penetrating the chimera’s flesh all the way through. “Hold on, you’ll burn the whole mountain down…! No, wait!” I shouted. Then, in the chimera’s profile as it burned, I realized something. There was no sign that the creature was about to regenerate its wounds, or that new heads would soon be popping out. This was my chance. After all, the problem with this opponent was its impossible powers of regeneration. The demi-human might not be an ally, but I could use him to break the stalemate. He continued his assault on the chimera—and holes were beginning to emerge across its body. The chimera shook, bundling tails into a huge serpent. Then with one swift, quick bite, the serpent bit off its own body to free itself. “Huh?!” I exclaimed. The seared surface of the chimera began to regenerate, as if time were reversing before my eyes. It had been almost embers just moments ago, but now it was restored as if nothing at all had happened. “Oh, come on…!” This time, the chimera ignored me. Focusing exclusively on the demi-human, it launched countless beast heads toward him all at once. Though the demi-human resisted, it wasn’t long before he was overwhelmed by his foe’s regenerative powers and sheer force of numbers. He would burn various appendages to cinders, and the chimera would bite down on its own flesh to restore itself. Again and again, the cycle continued. Something told me I was going to have nightmares about this scene… Meanwhile, the chimera continued to change, its fleshy mountain-like body trembling as yet more bestial heads popped out. Then, it started lashing out at Lainie and the others, too. “I don’t think so!” I attacked with my magic-infused sword, but against those numbers, it was like pouring water on top of molten rocks. I couldn’t land any kind of decisive blow. Meanwhile, the chimera closed in on the others. Garkie placed himself in the creature’s path, but there was little that he could hope to accomplish. “Navre!” he called out. “Back me up!” “On it!” Navre rushed forward to bolster Garkie’s defense, but their movements were more sluggish than usual. It wasn’t long before the two were headbutted out of the way as the chimera surged toward Lainie and Tilty. Lainie summoned pillars of water from the ground in an effort to halt its approach, but the heads must have found a gap in her defenses. They were still closing in. “Lainie! Tilty!” I cried out. The bestial heads rushed toward them, gnashing their teeth. But just before it could reach them—something intervened. “…Huh?” The demi-human had rushed to protect them, using himself as a shield. Blood splattered through the air as the creature’s many fangs tore through his flesh. The heads seemed intent on devouring him. The demi-human, however, stood his ground in front of Lainie and Tilty. Slowly, his flames began to ebb, and he staggered backward. Nonetheless, he persevered, as if he planned to tear those bestial heads from the mound of flesh. He didn’t seem to care for his injuries. He was so badly hurt that he could barely stand, but he still shielded Lainie and Tilty. “…Wh-why…?” Lainie murmured, taken aback by this development. Perhaps the demi-human had heard her, or maybe he needed to reassure himself. In any event, as he stepped forward, I could make out a low, distant voice, almost too quiet to hear: “Pro…tect… Have…to…pro…tect…!” Protect. He was repeating that word over and over with every step he took. His flames continued to roll back, revealing an increasingly human figure. The demi-human was fearless, his eyes locked on the chimera in challenge. As if thrown into a rage by the scent of blood, the chimera’s heads swarmed around him. But they were all sheared from the gory body before they could reach him. “Not today, you abomination!” “On my honor as a knight, I’ll bring an end to this!” Crying out in rage, both Garkie and Navre hewed the creature’s heads off one at a time. The chimera’s cry had stunned them a short moment ago, and neither could muster their full strength. But now, fueled by their anger, their attacks were unceasing. All the same, the chimera continued to regenerate after each blow, mocking their show of defiance. “Damn…you! Damn you to hell!” “I won’t stand for this!” Garkie and Navre were shouting furiously. I could hear their frustration at their lack of strength, their inexperience, their futile rage and indignation. “L-Lady Anis!” Lainie shouted. Tilty was still trembling in her arms. …I know. “Leave it to me.” I would have to slay it. Determined, I rushed at the chimera. The magical blade of the Celestial darkened in color, its light solidifying and sending a resonant crystalline sound emanating through the forest. “—!!” The chimera flung its limbs out haphazardly in an effort to skewer me, but I cut them down as I closed the distance. Apparently deducing that I posed it the greatest threat, the chimera cast its tentacles to hem me in, blocking any potential escape route—then sent them flying at me all at once. “Dragon Claw.” In my free hand, I concentrated my dragon magic into a powerful claw. That talon, imbued with magical energy, tore through the chimera’s tentacles and obliterated them on impact. Once I’d torn through the encirclement, I leaped into the air and landed atop the chimera’s body, thrusting my crystallized sword down as hard as I could. The Celestial passed through the mass of flesh like a lance piercing a boil. With each stab, a flood of magical energy came pouring out from the chimera. Again and again, I impaled the creature, holding on as hard as I could while letting loose with my magic so as not to lose consciousness. I was trying to hit the magicite somewhere deep in its body—but the chimera kept on raging and writhing, infuriated by the dragon magic tearing through its flesh. Resisting, the chimera sent its own magical energy pushing back against me, but still I held fast to the Celestial. Though I was starting to feel faint, I had managed to locate the magicite. “Found you!” I knew what I had to do. The magicite had to be destroyed in one fell swoop so as not to give it any chance to regenerate. I poured my magical energy into the crystalline blade of the Celestial, extending it as far as it needed. But the weapon couldn’t maintain this form forever—and indeed, it had already begun to return to blinding, ethereal light. “Aaarrrggghhh!” The magical blade spread through the chimera’s body like a tree taking root, slicing it from the inside out as the creature wailed in agony. Naturally, it resisted. The branching blades, however, spread through its many tentacles, curtailing its movements. The recoil sent pain coursing throughout my body, but I gritted my teeth and kept on pushing. Then, at last, my attack reached a turning point, the glow filling the creature’s body from inside bursting outward. “Return to the light!” As I cried out, my magical sword exploded within the monster. The impact propagated through every corner of the chimera’s body, its every appendage bursting in a chain of explosions. For a moment, everything was dyed white as the potent wave of magical energy broke from its crystalline bounds, blossoming outward. Engulfed in that white light, the chimera was obliterated without a trace. Though the burst of energy flung me back, I rode the shock wave and landed firmly on my feet. The next moment, however, my knees gave way, and I fell flat to my hands. “Phew… Ah, that was rough…” It had taken considerable focus and magical energy to send my attack throughout the chimera’s entire body, but hopefully that would finally be enough to destroy its magicite once and for all. If it still managed to regenerate after all that, I would be out of ideas. I stared at the at the place where it had just been standing, whispering a silent prayer. But the chimera was gone, leaving only a dark blotch on the forest floor, as if someone had gouged the earth out with a spoon. There was nothing to suggest that it was regenerating again. Once I was sure, I was able to breathe a sigh of relief. “Aaauuuggghhh…!” Caught off guard, I spun around to see the demi-human wailing into the sky. Tears spilled from his eyes. His face appeared distorted in rage at first—but he was just weeping. We could only watch. “…Aaauuuggghhh…” Eventually, his cries softened, like a fire slowly being extinguished. Just before he could collapse to the ground, Garkie rushed in to support him. Garkie’s expression was grim, his teeth tightly clenched. I could understand why. With those wounds…the demi-human was beyond saving. We could all see that. What was I supposed to say? The silence was deafening. “…Can you hear me?” I asked. I scolded my trembling legs and forced myself to face the demi-human. As he turned his gaze to me, his eyes seemed almost vacant. Was that because he was on the cusp of death, or because the vampire was gone? He seemed strangely calm now. At the very least, I wanted him to know how grateful I was. “Thank you for protecting Lainie and Tilty,” I said. The demi-human stared back at me for a while, then slowly turned to Garkie, supporting him, then Lainie and the others standing nearby. He let out a deep breath. “Thank…you…,” he said with a gentle smile. His words were broken, his voice so inaudible it might disappear at any moment. What was he thanking us for? But I didn’t have time to ask him exactly what he meant. The demi-human placed a hand against his chest—and before I knew what was happening, he plunged it in. We all stared in shock at this self-inflicted wound—when he pulled his hand back out. There was a red-stained piece of magicite. Blood dripped down from the open wound, but the demi-human held the magicite out, his expression that of a man who had finally found peace. “…You want me to take it?” I asked in a trembling voice. The demi-human gave me a small nod. Fighting to calm my shaking hands, I accepted his offering. “…Be one with the Great Current,” he whispered. The Great Current. If I had to guess, perhaps he followed a way of life similar to Acryl’s. The piece of magicite felt awfully heavy as I took it in my hands. Why had he entrusted it to me? How could he remain so calm when death was calling for him? I didn’t have any answers. Even if I wanted to know, there was no way for me to find out. But I had to say something. “Your life will return to the Great Current. So be at peace.” Was that the right thing to say? I had no way of knowing for sure, but the demi-human opened his eyes slightly before closing them again with a gratified look. Gently, Garkie laid him to rest. After staring down at him for a long, drawn-out moment, he slammed his fist hard into the ground. “…Gark?” “…We don’t know the first thing about this guy. So why…? Why is it so hard to let him go…?!” he shouted. Navre was similarly conflicted. In fact, none of us had the words for this situation, and the forest, too, descended back into silence. In the end, only the scars of the tragedy were left behind, as if it was all no more than a passing dream.
Chapter 91
24 min read