Sacrifice looked at the three mercenaries, who were now visibly panicking as they scrambled to gather themselves.
Her gaze was steady. Unblinking.
[Sacrifice]: You will explain. One at a time… what happened while I was gone.
The three exchanged uneasy glances before looking back at her.
One of them swallowed hard and stepped forward.
He lowered his gaze.
[Mercenary 1]: W-When that arrow went through your head… everything fell apart.
He hesitated, voice shaking.
[Mercenary 1]: Some of the group split off into smaller teams… trying to stay alive. Others—others just ran. Didn't even look back.
He lowered his gaze, swallowing hard.
[Mercenary 1]: No one knew what to do without you, boss. Leader Reth tried to hold things together… but only the truly loyal stayed. The weak were left behind.
A brief pause.
[Mercenary 1]: Lord Mordred and Leader Reth… they're fighting over command now.
His voice dropped further.
[Mercenary 1]: As for the Lord Protector… he found the one who shot you.
A flicker of unease crossed his face.
[Mercenary 1]: Broke every bone in his body.
Silence.
[Mercenary 1]: Then he started… feeding on the corpses of the enemies we killed.
He didn't look up.
[Mercenary 1]: He's still eating.
A longer pause.
[Mercenary 1]: The girl and her mother… they left.
He glanced at Sacrifice briefly.
[Mercenary 1]: They placed a rust flower on you before they went.
Sacrifice went still for a moment, processing everything.
[Sacrifice]: How long was I gone?
The mercenary flinched slightly, glancing down at his watch.
[Mercenary 1]: I-It's… about an hour. I think.
A brief silence followed.
Sacrifice looked down at her hands, then at the fire, her expression unchanged.
[Sacrifice]: I was dead for one hour…
A pause.
Her voice remained calm. Clinical.
[Sacrifice]: And weeks of work dissolved in that same hour.
Another pause.
[Sacrifice]: …Why am I not surprised?
She tilted her head slightly, as if reviewing a calculation.
[Sacrifice]: Actually, no. I anticipated the group would collapse.
A faint breath.
[Sacrifice]: It simply lasted longer than expected.
The mercenaries went still.
Because there was no anger in her voice.
No denial.
No attempt to soften the truth.
She had already predicted this outcome.
And that terrified them far more than rage ever could.
[Sacrifice]: Now… take me to our dear second-in-command.
A small pause.
[Sacrifice]: I need to remind a vampire what happens when he touches my patients.
…[[Elsewhere]]
Mordred stood over Reth, who was barely upright, blood dripping steadily onto the dirt beneath him.
[Mordred]: Give it up, old man.
He rolled his shoulders, voice laced with irritation.
[Mordred]: Just let me lead this pack of roadside strays.
Reth lifted his head, one eye half-shut with blood. The other burned with spite.
[Reth]: Like hell I will.
He spat blood at Mordred's feet.
[Reth]: The Boss died because of you.
A step forward, unsteady—but defiant.
[Reth]: Because you failed to sense that enemy.
Mordred's expression darkened instantly.
[Mordred]: And how exactly was I supposed to detect him?
His voice rose, sharp with restrained anger.
[Mordred]: He was buried under a pile of wounded bodies—his presence masked, his signal drowned out.
He jabbed a finger toward Reth.
[Mordred]: You saw it yourself when they dragged him out of that mound.
A tense silence stretched between them.
Blood hit the ground. Slow. Steady.
Neither man backed down.
[???]Looks like you two are having fun.
[Mordred/Reth]: Not now, boss...(•_•)(˘･_･˘)
[Mordred/Reth]: .(⊙ˍ⊙)..(⊙ˍ⊙).
Both turned and saw a group of scared mercenaries who looked at the alive boss and the new wound on her stomach.
They froze.
Both turned.
A small group of mercenaries stood behind them, pale and stiff.
And at the front—
Sacrifice.
Alive.
A fresh wound still carved through her stomach, blood dark against her clothes.
Silence.
Absolute.
Their expressions shifted in perfect, horrified sync.
A beat.
Then—
Reth immediately tried to stand straighter—and failed.
Mordred, for once, had nothing to say.
Sacrifice looked between them.
Then, at the blood on the ground.
Then at Reth.
Then at Mordred.
Her voice remained calm.
[Sacrifice]: I leave for one hour…
A pause.
[Sacrifice]: And you attempt to kill each other.
Another pause.
She stepped forward.
[Sacrifice]: I am impressed.
The mercenaries flinched.
Because that did not sound like praise.
[Chapter end]
[Note: Sorry for the delay, I had work and then got sick, and after that, and today, and tomorrow's family dinner, so I rushed this chapter.]