My life is filled with heat. God’s power flows into me.
Run. Run! Fly! Like a comet in the sky!
✦ ✦ ✦
So what if my pizza is cold? Who cares if it’s dry and gone bad? Little Sira is fighting! She’s fighting hard on a gory battlefield I’ve become all too accustomed to seeing in DDR. Against vampires, too!
Is watching her through the servant viewer window really all I can do? Ah! Look out! Whoa, the vampire that jumped out of the flames just got cut in half with a sword! This guardian spirit guy Sira’s got sure has some presence for just being an Accept Arm spell.
Sira is strong, of course. She’s an Apostle’s servant, after all. Some nameless vampire isn’t going to pose a problem for her. She can use summoning magic, and her favorite sword has an attribute bonus as well. But that’s only in a one-versus-one situation. A whole army versus one is too dangerous... Ah, see?! Phew... Nice assist, NPC soldier; good spear thrust. She almost got caught off guard after her last attack. Man, this is nerve-wracking.
After all, they’re only human. In the DDR sense, I mean. No matter how high their stats get, they can’t beat the divine blessing of physical strength given to the vampires. Our stamina just isn’t enough against their muscles. Plus, Sira’s just a little girl; one blow would end it all.
She needs to dodge—dodge like she’s never done before. In hand-to-hand combat with a vampire, you gotta float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. On the strategy sites, they recommend picking away at the enemy with an elven wind magic warrior, out-boxing style.
But allow me to propose a new theory for this DX version of the game: a human fire magic warrior. This is the best way to fight them. The fire attribute really works wonders against vampires, allowing you to deal big damage and cut through them easily. Personally, what I focus on are sneak attacks and one-shot kills. If that fails, I fall back to a hit-and-away style that relies on Kuroi’s high speed stat. Ideally, I cast Metabolize to raise my base stamina.
In other words, it is a strategy completely based around Kuroi’s skills. She’s the strongest vampire hunter! That wasn’t exactly my goal at first—in fact, I never imagined I’d get fire magic—but I eventually started building around it. It doesn’t hurt that Accept Blade gives me a lot of utility, either.
And the fact is, Kuroi defeated the strongest vampire. I was mega-drunk at the time, so I don’t remember much, but her effectiveness was quite obvious after watching the recorded video. I still can’t believe she won, though. Golden was an enemy we desperately needed to defeat, but she was still tough.
What is this strange unease in my chest? This odd feeling like there’s something I’m missing? It’s as if there’s something pasted on the back of my joy... Is it guilt? Maybe it’s because of that dream. And I know, no one likes to hear about other people’s dreams. However, there’s just something about Golden and Deep Sea...
It’s just a game, but there was real hate behind their attacks. Games are meant to be fun, so why am I feeling so stressed? Even now, I’m pulling out my hair in worry for Sira; I might even throw up... Maybe I’m just hungry, but I don’t feel like eating my pizza. How can I, when Kuroi’s not eating? She’s on a forced march, with no time for food or drink. She’s been riding all alone from the Hell Expanse on her summoned steed, Chocolate Pudding—Oh God, why did I name it that?! Now I’m drooling—and making one mad dash after another. As soon as her horse falters and falls, she immediately resummons another one. Talk about a brutal, long-distance run.
The burden on Kuroi is great, too—she’s exhausted. Metabolize is helping, but there’s still a limit. Even so...
Go. Go, Kuroi! Get to the fort! Get to Sira as fast as you can!
Night is falling; the time when the vampires’ rule is close at hand. I will save Sira, I swear it!
✦ ✦ ✦
I can’t believe it. What happened? Our offense was working so well.
“Lady Ange, please get ready.”
They’re monsters. The vampires are truly terrifying monsters. Our attack was so fierce, and yet their morale seems completely unaffected; not one of them has run away. Drunk on blood, delighting in death, they find joy on the battlefield. They kill our men, eating their flesh and slurping their blood.
Sira, you’ve been fighting these monsters for so long, with no time to rest. She’s at the very center of the fort’s army, drowning in a sea of death comprising both ally and enemy.
“General Bandkan ordered us to light the fort on fire if they weren’t able to wipe out the enemy army by nightfall... we’re out of time,” laments the messenger behind me.
“They’ve defeated so many! Must we really?”
“Of course. Even an invasion squad of ten vampires would turn the fort into a bloodbath. At that point, escaping would be too dangerous; they have an excellent night vision and sense of smell.”
“Is... Is there no hope of victory?”
“...Please hurry. The horses are already loaded up.”
So this is what it means to go to war with vampires. This absurdity, this powerlessness...
The sky is beginning to darken. Night will be upon us soon, as if trying to hasten humanity’s end. Detached and beautiful, it silently looks down upon our deaths.
Oh, God. Why? Why is the world so cruel?
We humans cannot live alone. Being drawn to each other is what makes us human. To be human is to love and be loved. To bear children; to protect and raise a family. That’s the extent of our natural lifespan, isn’t it? And having achieved that, then we should face our... natural death, right? Such life and death is happiness, is it not? But reality—human reality—is to lose those you love, yet still love others and be forced to leave them behind; equal parts meeting and farewell... There are too many lives being taken, like they’re being harvested. Too many heartrending partings.
Are humans simply born to suffer? Please, tell me that’s not so. Give me a sign that says it’s not—that human life and death isn’t pitiful, but beautiful and wonderful.
“Lady Ange, we cannot wait. Please, take our wills north.”
“N-North?” I look towards the horizon.
“Yes. A few days’ ride should see you intersecting with Lord Willow’s army as they head south. Please do not forget to tell them about the mountain stores.”
“She’s come... She’s come!”
“L-Lady Ange?”
I can see her. Underneath the reddening sky, at the edge of the horizon, a lone rider gallops upon the plains. Such speed. Such strength. Even from a distance, I can see her raven hair whipping in the wind and the burning fire in her eyes.
“The gates! Open the gates! Make it so she can come straight this way!” I shout.
“What are you talking about? Th-That... That rider...”
“She’s come! That girl... Our Apostle! Mounted on her horse that overcomes even death itself!”
“O-Oh! Ohhh! Oh, God!”
The messenger runs off, shouting repeatedly in excitement. The northern and southern gates are opening, but they’re so vexingly slow. Can’t you see she’s coming? She’s almost here!
She gallops through the fort like a flying spear. What few soldiers left inside cheer her on. I cheer as well. I pray that my voice may become the wind at her back; I offer my life’s energy to her. I shout, tears streaming down my face.
This is His answer. This is His sign.
There is hope, and it exists right here. How precious it is! Please, Kuroi. We know God through you; that is the role of Apostles. Where your happiness lies, I cannot say, but you... You have the right to do whatever you want with our lives. You can even take mine if you like. If it’ll make you stronger, then that’s fine—I want to become your strength.
Deus Ex. I pray for your victory. Deus Ex.