Chapter 28
After the fierce battle in the hallway.
A lull arrived along with cold silence.
"...."
I stood rooted to the spot.
Before me was a single caterpillar sprawled out in a hideous state.
It was the Director, who had been fighting me to the death just moments ago.
He was squirming on the floor, his limbs blown off.
"Ugh, uhhh...."
Had his mind broken?
His red eyes had lost their focus.
Drool was spilling from his mouth.
'Well... he won't be able to recover.'
He was an absolute mess.
His limbs were severed, burns covered his entire body, and all his teeth were shattered.
Furthermore, most of his wounds were from the Stake's Fragments.
Even if he consumed blood later, he wouldn't heal.
He would just have to live out the rest of his life in that body.
'Though he might be executed by the New Kingdom first for the crime of failing to protect the farm....'
That wasn't my concern.
I was exercising the utmost patience just by leaving him alive.
"Son of a bitch."
I found his workshop.
Even a quick glance was enough to make my stomach churn at the sight.
He had played with them so intensely that it was hard to even recognize the figures as Humans.
They were on display as the Director's masterpieces.
What was even more horrifying was that they were all barely clinging to life.
"...."
I heard it.
The faint sound of wind.
Blood bubbling in their airways, the breaths they barely managed to exhale.
Their meaning was undoubtedly a plea to kill them.
Unable to react much, I pinched the bridge of my nose and crouched down.
'Wouldn't it be better for this bastard to just die?'
An urge surged within me for a moment.
However, a certain voice soon tugged at my sleeve.
-Muro.
-Your Teacher wants you to always believe.
Well.
-That anyone can live again.
I wondered who she caught this stubbornness from.
I forced myself to suppress my murderous intent.
Right, as if a person had the right to kill another.
I took a deep breath and moved to finish up the remaining work.
I picked up the Fragment of the Stake I had dropped.
'...Yeah, this should be enough.'
Grip-.
Grabbing the Director by the hair, I seared his eyeballs with the Stake.
I melted his pupils so he would never be able to see again.
Even if I couldn't kill him, I could punish him.
He didn't even flinch despite the pain.
Once the work was done, I tossed the Director back onto the floor.
"Haa... This is tough, so tough."
Only then did I let out an exhausted breath.
I overdid it.
I should have realized that I had a glass body with an overall E-rank Stat.
My lungs burned as if they were on fire, and my vision spun, likely from overusing the Bug.
I slumped to the ground until the nausea faded.
"Hiss, that hurts."
My fist throbbed.
Was it fractured?
This was the price for uncharacteristically letting my emotions get the better of me.
Wincing, I wiped the sweat forming on my forehead with my trembling hand.
"Phew... Still, does this mean the farm occupation is over?"
The inside of the Control Room was fully suppressed.
Carmilla must have taken care of everything outside.
Only the small fry were left, so Carmilla could have easily handled them all.
'Carmilla... I wonder if she is alright.'
Speak of the devil, as they say.
As soon as I started worrying, a silhouette peeked around the end of the hallway.
"Victor."
Her silver hair was slightly disheveled.
Her red eyes looked haggard.
As our eyes met, the girl's complexion brightened a little.
Carmilla ran straight toward me and checked my condition.
"Are you alright? You look completely exhausted...."
"I am perfectly fine. How is the situation outside?"
"I have just finished cleaning it up."
"Thank you for your hard work."
"What for... Didn't you do all the hard work by yourself, Victor?"
"It would have been impossible if you were not here, Princess."
A brief exchange of words.
I asked Carmilla cautiously.
"Are you feeling alright?"
"...There are no problems."
Contrary to her answer, her eyes had grown somber.
Her feelings must be complicated.
The peace her father had tried to protect.
She had just witnessed it utterly shattered, ultimately unfulfilled.
Harmony with Humans was lost, and she had no power to stop it.
"...."
How could I ever fathom that sense of helplessness?
I simply and carefully patted Carmilla's head.
"Victor...?"
"I am proud of you. You did your absolute best, Princess."
"What is this all of a sudden.... Do you think I am a child?"
"Of course not. I am simply proud of you."
"...I explicitly told you not to pat my head, yet you do it every single time."
Even as she grumbled, Carmilla did not reject my touch.
I silently patted her a few more times.
The heavy atmosphere settled down a bit.
"So, what is next?"
A voice asking about the next step.
The occupation of the farm was over.
The Vampires stationed inside the facility had also just been suppressed.
"First... shall we rescue the Survivors?"
I brushed myself off and stood up.
The muscles all over my body ached, but there was no time to rest.
Because the night given to us was short.
"Let's move."
"Right."
Afterwards.
Our steps led us to a massively built Warehouse.
"It seems to be this place."
"...My god."
Waiting for us inside were people locked up in individual compartments.
A wretched environment.
Iron Cages barely the size of a tiny closet were crammed together tightly, top to bottom.
A space stuffed with Humans, reminiscent of a chicken coop.
They each had their limbs bound, their blood being sucked through thick Hoses.
"Princess."
"Understood."
At my call, Carmilla stepped forward.
Her slender fingertips deployed Blood Manipulation.
Clap-!
As she clapped her hands, the flow in the Hoses stopped.
The Blood Collection Devices operating within the farm came to a halt.
Soon after, the people's Restraints were released.
"Everyone."
"...."
I stood in the center of the Human chicken coop.
Eyes were fixed on me from all directions.
Unfocused eyes, their hope entirely faded.
I reached out and opened the doors for each and every one of them.
"You have all been rescued."
Clink, clank-.
Were there at least 100 people here?
Perhaps because they had been confined for so long, the people struggled even to move.
Whenever that happened, our competent Princess lent a hand.
"Stand still."
"Hic, eek... V-Vampire!"
"Be still."
"...."
One of them was completely terrified.
But his limbs were so stiff he couldn't even run away.
Carmilla's finger touched the forehead of that man.
"Ugh, urgh...?!"
"It will sting a bit."
Blood Manipulation.
By forcibly accelerating the blood flow throughout his entire body, she stretched out his stiffened form.
A delicate control. She performed an operation that even long-lived Vampires found difficult.
As expected of Carmilla, who possessed a heaven-sent talent for Blood Manipulation.
"Uh, uhh...?"
The man's physical condition recovered.
He wasn't completely healed, but it was enough for him to walk with a limp.
It was the same for the others as well.
The doors of the Iron Cages opened one after another.
Some walked out of the Iron Cages on their own feet, while others received Carmilla's help.
"Am I... out...?"
"What about the other Vampires...."
"Are we going to die? Are they planning to dispose of us?"
"That person wearing the Mask over there looks like a Human like us...."
"They definitely said we were rescued earlier...."
Chaos and confusion-.
As expected, the people were in a state of panic.
I suppose it was hard to accept everything all at once.
After all, they were drowning in despair just moments ago.
"Everyone."
Besides, we had Carmilla on our side.
A girl who shared the same race as the Vampires that had tormented them so much.
It would be hard to trust us based on first impressions.
"It is all over. We have come to rescue you."
They were all terrified.
Thus, I stepped forward.
I needed to reassure them.
"All the bad Vampires have been taken care of."
I repeatedly mentioned things that would put the people at ease.
The important thing here was to make them feel that they were being 'protected'.
To do that, I needed to make up a story.
"We are Vampire Hunters belonging to the Slayers. We operate secretly in the shadows of the continent, helping people like you who get caught up in terrible incidents."
"The... Slayers...?"
"Yes, we are an organization that carries on the legacy of ancient Vampire Hunters. We exclusively handle incidents and accidents related to Vampires. Today, we pinpointed the location of this [Farm] and were deployed to carry out our mission. The mission here means dismantling the facility and rescuing the Survivors."
"An... organization? Rescue...?"
"That is correct."
By nature, people are beings who find comfort in something greater.
Rather than thinking just the two of us invaded this place, it would be much more reassuring for them to believe they had the help of a massive organization.
"You are all safe now."
""....""
The people's expressions changed little by little.
Exhausted bodies and minds. In the midst of that, an organization had appeared to rescue them.
It was a situation where any normal person would have no choice but to rely on them unconditionally.
"I am Garurik, the Vice Captain of the Slayers. I will take responsibility for your rescue and safe return home."
Appealing to the fact that I was a high-ranking individual within such an organization.
At the same time, I treated those I rescued with the utmost respect.
A situation is an overlap of various elements.
My voice had already captivated the people.
The fear that had gripped them seemed to have faded significantly as well.
"The Slayers? Never heard of them?"
"An organization that operates in secret...?"
"A-Are we really rescued? Are we going to live?!"
"Oh my god! Ugh, sob... Mom, I'm going home."
"I haven't seen my Daughter in three months. Can I finally go back...?"
Now, rather than fear, the people were bathed in joy.
Someone stepped out from among the sniffling crowd.
Unlike their stretched-out clothes, it was a man wearing heavy Armor.
"Wait a moment...."
"Hmm?"
"I belong to the Frontier Knight Order. I am the Third Knight, Kantas."
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