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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

Overwhelming. A word that couldn’t even begin to describe the scene of my Assassins charging into the Undead horde. Wherever they went, a sizable chunk would be knocked out of the Undead vanguard. Even shredding paper was probably harder than the fight they faced right now.

Nicole and Neneth were naturally a part of this effort as well. By the time the rest of us arrived on scene, the thousand-strong vanguard of the Undead was basically exterminated, and it merely took us a minute to reach the village entrance as well…

It went without saying that those Assassins, each either at Seven-star or Eight-star, were unbeatable amongst an army of lower-starred Undead. However, no matter how strong they were, they would eventually tire in the face of unending numbers. Even so, something still struck me as odd: why did they send this vanguard out to die?

But that wasn’t an important matter right now. Regardless if they had something planned or were just merely stupid, what I had to do now remained the same. We had to strengthen our forces, and failing that, I would have to pull out my trump card… At that, I subconsciously fingered the Gem of Authority hanging around my neck.

“I want those Soul Flames harvested right now while the Undead are still regrouping for a second attack.” Having arrived on scene, I began commanding the Assassins, divvying out their duties in an orderly fashion. “I want that area guarded too. Send a few. If there’s any movement, I want to be informed right away.”

Amongst the Assassins here, there were several who carried with them Soulstones. Upon hearing my command, they immediately handed over the Soul Flames they had gathered mid-battle. Six Assassins separated themselves from the squad and left in the direction I pointed at to act as scouts.

To be perfectly honest, I was still a little puzzled as to why the enemy did not just swarm us with their entire army right away. Especially now that I was at the frontlines, I could clearly see the sheer sea of Undead gathered around us. That Assassin who brought us the news merely said that they numbered more than ten thousand, but taking into account that they had the whole village encircled, that estimate was too conversative. They had to at least be a hundred thousand strong…

Despite that, this was still a winnable battle. As long as they were all below Four-stars, our victory assured, albeit with some casualties. That was something I did not wish to see, and exactly why I had to think of another plan quickly.

The current situation was not looking favourable for us and that made me uneasy. But I couldn’t just abandon Nicole here either. I couldn’t kidnap her as well, else she would hate me. Furthermore, based on how the first wave was sent in haphazardly, their commander seemed to be toying with us. Perhaps he thought he held an absolute advantage thanks to his numbers? Regardless, it was time for him to get a rude awakening.

“Jezsere, come over here for a second, I need you to create a summoning array.”

There were a multitude of summoning arrays that could be employed, but all that mattered was that it ultimately linked with the world in question. As for the materials required as an offering, blood, corpses, heads, etc. were all acceptable when summoning Devils. Rather easy-going, I must say.

The first wave of fodder were all Undead, meaning there was no blood to speak of. There were also no substitutes nearby so Jezsere decided to take a gamble by commanding the Assassins to gather the skulls of those Undead as offerings instead.

In actuality, our resident timid girl was a very talented Occultist; but she was timid. Yet if the summoning did not require her touching those gory bits, creating a summoning array was an easy task for her.

As the outer circle of the summoning array took shape from the skulls of the Undead, Neneth did not react much to it. Even Nicole, a rising star amongst the Demon Hunters, did not recognise what the array was for at first. However, the moment she saw the inner drawings of the circle, she began to suspect something.

“What are you all up to?”

Faced with her questioning, I knew there was no hiding the fact at this point. “We are drawing a summoning array to summon Devils.”

“Summon Devils?!” Her eyes went wide and her hands immediately grabbed her sword. Seeing that, Zurnalin and Regine both prepared to attack as well.

“Everyone, calm down. Right now we are all stuck on the same boat. If there are any issues, let’s settle them with words instead.” Still in the dark about what was happening, Jill anxiously stepped out to try and soothe the tensions. “We need to be level-headed and work together now if we want to make it out of this battle alive.”

“…”

Nicole’s lips twitched a little but she kept quiet in the end. But that did not stop her from glaring daggers in my direction, clearly demanding an explanation from me.

“Actually… I’m an Occultist.”

As I said that, I stared right into the depths of her eyes. I desperately wanted to tell her the truth but her stance towards creatures of darkness had me hesitating. If I were to say that I was Mo Ke now, she would definitely doubt me, then swing her sword right in my face. After all, my experiences had been anything but logical at this point, anyone with a semblance of sanity would never believe such absurdity. Too bad it actually happened to me…

“Devil…” Nicole instinctively drew out her sword but stowed it halfway.

Phew… seems like she trusts me a little at least… that was the whole point of staying behind and openly telling her in the first place.

Striking while the iron was hot, I continued to explain while she still hadn’t had time to sort out her thoughts. “The enemy is too many, our only chance now is to summon more reinforcements. I… I know a Devil Overlord, I can borrow a large amount of lower-starred Devil fodder, but I will need some offerings… Regardless, overcoming this battle takes precedence!”

“…” Nicole was silent once more, most likely pondering whether or not I should be trusted.

“Sister Mo Na is a good person, Sister Nicole!” Amidst Nicole’s mullings, Neneth finally broke her silence and made her opinion known. Not a second too late as well… good job, Neneth! All that feeding I did wasn’t for naught!

Yet Neneth vaguely siding with me only made Nicole furrow her brows deeper. Was she perhaps suspecting that I had somehow enthralled Neneth?

“You said you wanted to protect the villagers, that’s why I stayed behind to help you. But you’ve seen those forces for yourself as well, with just our numbers, there’s no way we can hold them off. What else are we to do but call for help? I’m an Occultist, that’s right, but I dare say that those I’ve killed all deserved to die! Also, you mentioned you wanted to find your younger brother? If you die now, what happens to your younger brother?”

I saw her eyes waver at that point, and I knew that now was the time to strike the final nail in the coffin. “Your younger brother has been missing for so many years, have you ever considered how he must have suffered?! An immature, talentless boy surviving in a harsh world? Perhaps the reason you haven’t found him is because he is now a slave. Perhaps someone has turned him into a cripple and is forcing him to beg on the streets… If that’s true, the only one who can save him from this fate is you!”

As I passionately rattled on about the potential misfortunes of this hypothetical boy, I subconsciously started to shake her by her shoulders. The longer I went on, the more conflicted she looked. At the very end, there was a very real murderous intent oozing from her entire being. She shoved my hands away and turned away from the summoning array entirely.

“You’re right. Right now, what’s more important is to protect the villagers and live.” Having said that, she paused for a second before softly saying, “thank you for staying behind.”

“You’re welcome…” Her tsundere expression right now was a feast for the eyes, but as she said, now’s not the time for such frivolities. That summoning array had to be completed, and soon.

Yet just as we were in the midst of finishing it, someone, whom I had never expected to appear, suddenly stepped out from the horde of Undead. He wore the typical black and red suit of a Vampire and had a handsome but sickly pale face. More importantly, that face belonged to the same Vampire who we had taken out to roast in the sunlight just a few days ago!

“Surprised to see me?” Umbra asked us mockingly as he led a couple of transformed Lycans to face us. He arrogantly smiled in our direction and said, “I’m afraid I will have to apologise for not dying.”

“You… why aren’t you dead?!” Neneth yelled while pointing at the handsome Vampire. “Did you resurrect yourself? Impossible! Neneth was sure she saw Sister Nicole pour a vial of pure holy water on you…”

“Gee, I wonder why too… hahaha… Well, that’s because the one you killed was just a stand-in for me.”

A substitute, huh… blast. Why do all the villains have to be so smart… or maybe we were just too naive?

What we need now is some time. But someone who is able to stall for time and is able to negotiate… that would have to be Jill, wouldn’t it?

I threw a glance at Jill, after which she took a few steps forward. “So you’re here for revenge then?”

“Revenge? I’m not that bored yet.” The Vampire swept his blood-red eyes over Jill then onto the Assassins working frantically to arrange the summoning array. “Let me try and guess what you’re doing right now… Don’t tell me… are you trying to summon Devils?”

Curses… how does he know? Now that he has seen through our plan, if he were to attack us, the entire plan would have to be delayed indefinitely. I need to do something quick.

Jill understood the urgency of the summoning array as well. Putting aside whether or not we could summon enough helpers to match the Undead, at the very least the summoning array would alleviate the situation we faced. Yet before Jill could even say anything further, the Vampire said something that was borderline inane.

“Go on then. I’ll allow you all to continue setting up that array. I promise I won’t interfere.” True to his word, the Vampire did not dispatch his minions to harass us. Instead, he confidently watched us from the sidelines, arms folded around his chest.

Maybe… he’s not as smart I thought?

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

Didn’t think we would try to run away, did you? Was what I wanted to tell Leeder.

That’s right, I was planning to run away. If I had to choose between helping some Human villagers and protecting Nicole, I would definitely choose the latter. Even if those monsters were all One-stars, their sheer numbers were nothing to scoff at.

In a head-on fight, my hundred Assassins were clearly stronger than a horde of One-stars, but were they all One-stars?

I did not wish to see any casualties amongst my Assassins. Not only that, I wanted to protect Nicole as well. And I meant perfectly to protect her; not a single scratch!

“There are, in fact, monsters heading here, but I do not know how many. Even so, I would need everyone to return to their homes first while we engage with them.” Just as I was mulling over how to take Nicole away with me, she suddenly interrupted our conversation then swept her eyes over the uneasy masses. Finally, she declared in a voice with unprecedented conviction, “as long as I’m alive, I vow to fight to the death!”

“But there are too many of them, how will you all stop them…” Hearing that someone was willing to shoulder this burden with him, Leeder smiled gratefully at his newfound savior. However, this smile only lasted a few seconds before he realised a key problem. “We just vanquished that Vampire… do you think they are here for revenge?”

Well. I don’t know about that last part. What I do know is that if we don’t leave now, we are screwed. While I still have some doubts as to how these villagers even knew about the invasion, but now’s not the time for such questions.

With no time to lose, and seeing as she’s dead set on fighting to the death with those monsters, I quickly reached out to her neck, in hopes of knocking her out. Unfortunately, she was already on guard for my hand chop. Her back turned around at the last second to reveal a sharp glare, “what do you think you are doing?”

“I’m trying to take you away.” I stared right back at her. “You staying behind will achieve nothing but your own death. I can’t just stand here and watch you die!”

“But if we all leave, what will these villagers do?”

“It’s not like you can change anything by staying behind!”

“Neneth is staying behind to accompany Sister Nicole as well!” Just as I was arguing with Nicole, Neneth suddenly interjected herself into our heated debate, walking up to her side at the same time. “Neneth will be here with Sister Nicole!”

“Neneth, stop messing around like Nicole!” I reached out to grab Neneth in hopes of bringing her to my side. However, she vehemently resisted, and thanks to that monstrous strength of hers, I couldn’t make her budge no matter how much I pulled. In fact, she almost dragged me to her side in the process… awkward…

Blast it, those monsters are already on our doorstep and we’re still having a civil war over here… but there’s no way to take Nicole away… Wait. What if I get Zurnalin to help out…

Since we were already at this stage, there was no point holding back anymore. “Zurnalin, help me take Nicole away.”

“Understood.” Zurnalin immediately reached out to grab Nicole. Being an Eight-star, she was immensely strong, even without her Blood Drake with her.

Yet my plan was doomed to fail as the screams of the villagers soon filled the air, “Save us!! Zombies… there are so many zombies… Save us!!”

The sudden turn of events meant that Zurnalin was no longer able to capture Nicole. That was because the moment the screaming began, an uncontrolled stampede of Humans followed soon after.

“Ahh… mama…” Amidst the chaos, a small girl, roughly nine years of age, was mercilessly pushed to the ground by the mob, several adults stepping on her in the process. But being as young as she was, she couldn’t pull herself to her feet and could only cry helplessly on the ground.

Seeing such a cruel scene play out before my very eyes, I couldn’t stand idly by any longer. With a resigned sigh, I rushed into the crowd, shoving aside the panicking mob, then scooped up the child. “Are you alright?”

“Weep… Ann is okay now… thank you, big sister…” While she claimed to be fine, her weeping countenance said otherwise. Thankfully, she was only stepped on a couple of times so she did not suffer much injuries. Or maybe children in a fantasy world were just made out of stronger stuff?

I gently ruffled her long, green hair and asked, “where are you parents?”

“Ann’s father hasn’t returned for days. Ann’s mama… was eaten by the Vampire… weep…”

At that point, she wept even louder.

So she says her name is Ann… her mom’s dead and her father is missing… If I’m not mistaken, then her father should be one of the bandits I killed…

“Is there anyone looking after you while your father isn’t home?”

Ann rubbed away the tears in her eyes and replied, “Auntie looks after Ann most of the time, but she’s gone now… no one wants Ann…”

“Don’t be scared… big brother here… big sister will protect you.”

Sigh… I guess I’m just weak to helpless little girls… I sighed to myself, but I still came to a decision in the end. “Jezsere, look after Ann for me. Also, I might not be able to look out after the both of you in the coming fight.”

“Mhm. Jezsere will do her best.” Jezsere stepped forward to receive Ann. “Do your best too, Master. I’m sure we will be fine.”

Standing there in the dead of night, I yelled into the empty void towards the north. “Assassins, I command you to hold off the incoming monsters.”

Silence ensued. Yet even without them replying, I knew that they had gone off to fight the Undead. With them on our side, we should be able to hold off the horde for a while longer.

I swept my eyes across those gathered with me. I sighed once more. “Let’s head over as well.”

Right now, I was more concerned about how Nicole would respond to the hundred Assassins who suddenly turned up to help us. I hadn’t told her about them before so I could only pray that she wouldn’t get too suspicious of me once they joined the battle.

Thankfully, the dread interrogation never came. She merely looked me right in the eyes before heading off the north as well.

“Sister Nicole, wait for Neneth…” Off went Nicole’s little sidekick as well.

“Master?” Regine looked at me quizzically. I had no doubt that she supported my decision to abandon these villagers, but as the situation stood right now… Nicole wasn’t willing to leave with us and I couldn’t bear to leave that little girl alone…

“Say no more. Besides, it’s not like we can’t win this fight. Come on, let’s have a look at this monster horde.”

I loaded Jezsere onto Mo Ning first, followed by Ann, after which I instructed Mo Ning to look after the two of them.

While I still had no idea what was attacking us, those Assassins alone won’t be enough to hold off a horde of that size. I had to think of a plan soon.

Speaking of plans… Aren’t I an Overlord of Purgatory? Ferti’nier, do you think I can summon some Devils over?

“Of course, you can. You just need to gather up some offerings first. Just get that little timid girl to help you create a summoning circle later. All that you need to do then is summon an army of Devils using your name.”

At times like this, Ferti’nier was always there to save the day. As long as I needed something from her, she would have a solution ready. However, the moment she said that, she continued in an unsure tone, “but that Nicole girl you’re trying to protect… She’s a Demon Hunter. Are you sure…”

At this point, we have no other option. Those Assassins alone won’t be enough. Even if they are all One-stars, there will surely be casualties amongst them. That, I do not wish to see.

“All right. Be careful yourself. Don’t end up with a sword through your heart because of that girl.”

Nicole? Stabbing me? No way… you’re thinking too much over there, big sis. Still, thank you for always helping me at these times.

“That goes without saying. Your big sis will always be by your side.”

Following in Nicole’s footsteps, we reached the northern section of the village. Because most of the villagers were frightened back into hiding, the journey was a smooth one.

The horde was predominantly an Undead horde. A massive amount of Skeletons formed the vanguard of this army, charging fearlessly into the village. According to Leeder, he had sent out a few villagers to scout out the situation. That was how he even got the warning to begin with.

However, Humans had always been a selfish bunch. Upon getting word of the invasion, the villagers had all fled without a trace… Blast it all, if I knew this was going to happen, I wouldn’t have killed those bandits. They weren’t strong, but at least they can be fodder. Besides…

I turned towards Mo Ning, where Jezsere sat atop her with Ann snugly in her arms, and felt a pang of guilt in my heart. Even though those bandits were guilty, they had only done so to protect their family… Perhaps I was too extreme in dealing with bandits… but it’s too late for regrets now…

I will make up for it, I swear… at the very least, I will save the village…

The first wave of Undead was merely a test of our strength. A thousand fully armed Skeletons and Zombies were now gathered before the entrance of the village. On the other side, Nicole, Neneth and my hundred Assassins were already tearing into their ranks. Even though these Undead were all armed, their equipment was barely better than junk. The armor on the Skeletons was about as bare as they were while the Zombies had on rusty armor that looked just about ready to fall apart…

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

By the time I was done feeding Mo Ning, night had already fallen. Today was the last day of the bonfire celebration so a portion of the villagers were now busy cleaning up the aftermath.

This period had been especially rough on Mo Ning. While her original form was a horse as well, but that was the form of a Nightmare Steed, a rare, bonafide creature of Purgatory. Her intelligence was equal to a Human’s, perhaps even higher. Despite all that, she now had to live in an ordinary stable… definitely not the most pleasant smelling place ever. However, she chose to bear with such adversity, all just so she could spend time with me… Perhaps… just perhaps… have I been mistreating her a little too much?

I couldn’t help but feel a little guilty then, but I still patted her on the head and said, “Alright, it’s about time for me to turn in as well.”

Her eyes quivered a little upon hearing that, clearly reluctant to let me go. However, she still abided by our agreement and kept quiet.

Counting the time, Regine should be about done with her shower as well. Our resident timid girl should already be waiting on the bed for me while Zurnalin… Hmm, I guess with Regine nearby, she should still be dressed in something at least…

Having said my farewell, I was just about to turn in for the night when a black figure suddenly jumped in front of me, knees in a half kneel. “Your Holiness, please leave this area immediately. We’ve detected a horde of at least ten thousand monsters en route to our location, they should arrive in roughly fifteen minutes…”

“Monsters? What’s going on? I need more details.”

When she mentioned monsters, that Dark Elf was referring to creatures like that Vampire, Werewolves, Undead and other evil lifeforms. They all fell under the umbrella of creatures of darkness. Devils and what not could be counted inside as well.

The figure who suddenly appeared before me was one of the Dark Elven Assassins assigned to guard me. Normally, she would have complied with my request immediately, but the situation being what it was, she instead stood up and tried to lead me towards Mo Ning. “There’s no time… My apologies for being rude, your holiness, but… Lady Mo Ning please evacuate her holiness from this area immediately… there’s no time for questions!”

“I’m not leaving by myself!” I did not mount onto Mo Ning as she wanted. Instead, I forcefully broke free from her grip while Mo Ning watched silently from the side. This standoff lasted for a full ten seconds before I finally said, “inform Zurnalin and the rest to make preparations for departure. There’s someone I have to inform as well.”

“But there’s no time…”

“Do it!” I knew there was no time to dawdle about now, but I wasn’t going to leave without ensuring Nicole’s safety first.

“Understood, your holiness.” The Dark Elven Assassin acquiesced in the end, not daring to waste any further time arguing this matter.

What’s going on here? Why is Lyon under attack again? And exactly how many creatures are we facing? There’s a number of Eight-stars with us this time, but a hundred thousand is technically more than ten thousand as well…

Blast it, what is that damned lord doing anyway? This is the second time his territory has been invaded by these monsters already. That Vampire is one thing, but over ten thousand of them?! Are his troops all blind or something? What’s the point of even having a lord like that? You might as well put a farmer in his place!

Curses. I need to get to Nicole!

The two of them were currently resting inside of their room. By the time I rushed to their doorstep, I could vaguely make out the two of them chatting about something through the door. Unfortunately, the situation did not allow me to wait for them to finish. “Lady Nicole, Neneth, are you both in there?” I anxiously knocked on the door.

“Sister Mo Na?” Neneth called out in a surprised but delighted voice. “Sister Mo Na, are you here to sleep with Neneth as well?”

“We’re here. It’s late, what business do you have with us?” Nicole’s response, on the other hand, was more orthodox.

I stopped knocking and quickly stated my purpose. “You need to get dressed and pack up your luggage, quickly. I’ve just received word that there are at least ten thousand creatures of darkness heading our way. If we delay any further, we might not make it out in time…”

“Creatures of darkness?” A while later, Nicole opened up the door, all dressed up, to let me in. “Tell me more.”

“There’s no time. We need to leave now!”

From within, I could see that the both of them were already dressed up and had their weapons at the ready. However, Nicole did not seem to agree with my plans as she walked towards the door. “I’m staying here, you guys can leave first.”

Stay?! You must be joking -that’s just suicidal!

“Absolutely not! Both of you have to leave with me right this instant!” I yelled, finally unable to restrain my emotions when I heard what she was planning. “There’s too many of them, there’s no way we can hold them off…”

“Is that your reason for abandoning the villagers?” Nicole paid no heed to my warning at all, stepping around me to leave the room. “A Demon Hunter’s job is to slay evil and protect the common folk. Unlike mercenaries, we do not do this for gold… We stand up so that others can live in a safer world, that’s all.”

“And Neneth?” I pointed shakingly at a confused Neneth. “If you don’t leave, what about her?”

“Eh? Neneth is going to accompany Nicole, of course.” She turned to look at me first then turned to look at Nicole. She cocked her head to the side and said, “there’s no question about it, Neneth is going to follow Nicole.”

“No! Neneth, you need to leave with Mo Na!”

“Wha- no way… Neneth doesn’t want to be away from Sister Nicole…” As she said that, her eyes started to water up. “Sister Nicole is such a bully…”

Now that even the waterworks had been turned on, there was no going back; even Nicole wouldn’t be able to change her mind at this point.

Yet time wasn’t going to wait for us either. From the time I received that news till now, at least five minutes had passed. That meant that we only had ten minutes to evacuate. After that, the village would face utter destruction. Had this been any other situation, I would have tried to come up with a plan to save the village. But Nicole was here… for her sake, I didn’t dare to take that gamble…

However, Nicole wasn’t about to budge either… looks like I can only force her at this point. Just as I was about to drag her away, a set of anxious footsteps echoed through the corridors, followed by Regine’s cold voice, “Master, we’ve been surrounded.”

Already?! What happened to that fifteen minutes I was promised?

I turned to look at the still expressionless Regine. “Why are they here already?”

“They probably picked up their pace.” Said Regine as she tried to pull me to leave. Having just taken a bath not too long ago, she wasn’t averse to touching me. “Master, we can still escape from the east, the guard there is weaker.”

“They haven’t launched an attack after surrounding us?”

“Not yet.” Regine shook her head. “They’ve only surrounded us.”

“Let’s go, I want to see what’s happening outside.” If the entire village was really encircled as she said, that meant we had to force our way out… I turned to look at Nicole, face as expressionless as she was silent. I had no way of knowing what she was thinking at the moment.

Bah. We will just have to take things one step at a time.

By the time we climbed down the stairs, everyone had already gathered. Even Mo Ning had left her stables and was here. Their eyes all fell on me in unison, their intentions clear: I was to decide what to do next.

Yet if I could really have my way now, I would immediately drag Nicole away from this village. The problem was that she did not want to leave. In my honest opinion, our current firepower was more than enough to ensure a safe withdrawal. The biggest problem was whether or not Nicole would cooperate.

The creatures had only encircled the village in secret and hadn’t shown themselves to the villagers yet.

Strangely enough, the village wasn’t the only thing being encircled right now either; we were as well. Despite being the dead of night, the villagers weren’t sleeping at all. Instead, all of them were now gathered around us.

“Sirs and ladies, may I know where you are rushing off to?” The one at the head of this group was Leeder, that former bandit leeder. He cautiously approached me, stopping just five meters away. His voice was quivering as if he was afraid I would suddenly take his life without warning.

However, even I was a little unsure as to how to react in such a situation. That was why I threw the question back to him instead. “What are you guys doing up in the middle of the night?”

“We got word that the village has been surrounded by monsters so we came out to check…” Under my withering gaze, Leeder subconsciously shrunk into himself before weakly explaining. “I’m not sure who said it first, but just as a precaution, I had some of the villagers go out to check… that’s when we met you…”

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

Before the events of the Vampire slaying…

Leeder watched with a heavy heart as Mo Ke and the others rode off into the distance. Yet he wasn’t the only one that day that had a heavy heart, the villagers watching with him did as well. In actuality, there were a lot of unusual points about the Vampire’s incursion. Perhaps the other villagers might not have noticed, but as the interim village chief, he had to be more observant than the ordinary villagers.

For example: why did the Vampire even attack them to begin with? Lyon wasn’t the only village within a fifteen kilometer radius, there were at least two others with a population of several hundreds. Logically speaking, the resistance he would face in these villages would be a lot less than what he faced in a large village like theirs. So why did the Vampire even attack them to begin with?

It was a strange choice, to be sure. Furthermore, since the two months he started attacking this village, he hadn’t targeted any of the other villages. And he only took one victim with him, no more, no less.

The Vampire’s motives clearly weren’t just about hunting prey or raising livestock. If he wanted to capture livestock for himself, there was no way he would ever allow the villagers to get wind of his activities. After all, Lyon had sent three expeditions to slay him because they had managed to get word of his activities. Rather than filling his belly with blood, it would make more sense to say that his actions were aimed at terrorizing the village.

Before Mo Ke, the previous village chief had sent out three waves of mercenaries, even losing his life in the last wave. After each wave, the Vampire would change the location of his nest, so Leeder did not know the exact location of the nest. Initially, he planned to mobilise the villagers to help track down the nest of the Vampire, in a bid to curry some favour with Mo Ke. Yet who would have thought that before he could even make the suggestion, Regine and Reyage had already brought back news of the Vampire’s exact location.

With that plan now dashed against the rocks, Leeder was more than a little concerned about his well-being. After all, Mo Ke was a monster who could easily order the slaughter of ninety people without batting an eye -ninety lives!

Even though he was a bandit, the amount of people he had killed wasn’t many. Certainly not ninety in one go; he was after their money, not their lives. Other than killing off some of their more persistent targets and harassing some beautiful women, Leeder felt his crimes weren’t that bad at all. For the most part, he saw his actions as means of survival.

Normally, when their village faced such a major problem, the lord of the land should at least dispatch some emissaries to inquire about the situation. Yet none were forthcoming. Leeder himself was sure that they had never robbed anything resembling an emissary’s entourage. The villagers never mentioned the arrival of any such personage either. Did the Vampire capture the emissary? Or was there never an emissary to begin with?

At the start, his plan was to just run away to the city and settle down after his first robbery. Unfortunately, the members of his bandit troupe still had family members they were concerned about in Lyon so that plan didn’t pan out in the end. Plus, he himself had a father to avenge. That was what led to them staying behind. None of them expected then that this fateful decision would lead them to the disaster known as Mo Ke.

However, all that wasn’t important now. Mo Ke was now off to find trouble with the Vampire. Whether he succeeded in slaying that Vampire or whether he ended up being killed by that Vampire, he was happy either way. To some degree, he was trying to comfort himself: perhaps if Mo Ke died, his parasite spiders would die along with him as well. And if they didn’t, hopefully Mo Ke would be able to slay that Vampire.

By now, Mo Ke’s entourage had disappeared into the horizon. Leeder chased away the gloomy thoughts in his head with a shake. Yet, somehow, he felt tired. Even though he had just woken up, he wanted nothing more than to go home and sleep.

But just as he was about to reach his home, an old wizened voice called out to him.

“Leeder, come here for a moment.”

“Granny Adele?” Leeder turned in the direction of the voice to find a hunchback old lady standing in front of her home, waving in his direction. She wore a relatively clean, set of black robes that obscured her hair with its hood. The only parts of her that were visible were her wrinkled face and shrivelled hands that resembled a chicken’s feet.

“Good lad. Come over here quickly, and have a seat with your granny.

Leeder was quite familiar with this old lady. She was a kind lady that often gave sweets to the children of the village. When he was young, he himself was given some of her handmade treats; till now, he still couldn’t forget how delicious they were.

Having entered her home, Leeder found himself an available seat and sat down, back faced against the wall. “Granny, you were looking for me?”

Granny Adele poured some hot water into a cup then handed it to him. “They have gone to slay the Vampire?”

“Mhm.” Leeder absentmindedly answered the question, following which he gulped down a mouthful of the liquid. It was piping hot, as you would expect. The drink itself was bitter at first but left a sweet aftertaste in the mouth. It was tea made from the Sorrel Herb. The poor weren’t able to afford coffee beans so they often used this herb to serve their guests instead.

Upon drinking the tea, Leeder’s anxiety finally calmed down.

“Do you think they will succeed this time?” Granny Adele smiled at him from the side.

“I think so…” As he said that, Leeder couldn’t help but remember the frightening display of prowess brought to bear against his bandits. The more he thought about that almost miraculous monster summoned out of pure flames, the more he felt sure that the Vampire was doomed and that salvation had come to his village.

“They will definitely succeed.”

“That’s right, they will definitely succeed.”

Regardless of whether or not he had a parasitic spider in his belly right now, the Vampire was a problem that had to be solved sooner or later. Even if the villagers were strong of will, it was only a matter of time before they collapsed mentally from living under the thumb of that Vampire. Not to mention the fact that the villagers already had their hopes dashed thrice. If Leeder who was a Four-star was already about to give up, those ordinary villagers weren’t going to fare any better.

“What about Ludean and the others who left with you?” Perhaps Granny Adele had sensed the unease in his voice, but she suddenly changed the topic. “In the past, everyone who left with you would return together, so why do I only see the eight of you this time?”

“Ludean and the rest… are busy outside. They won’t be returning anytime soon…”

Ludean was one of the bandits slain by Mo Ke. Being reminded of him all of a sudden also brought up memories of how he was force fed a spider, bringing a bout of cold sweat to him.

Noticing this as well, Granny Adele continued asking, “Busy? Shouldn’t they return with you? And isn’t it too much of a coincidence that all ninety one of them suddenly became busy together?”

“Haha… that’s just how it is sometimes with coincidences… I can’t help it as well. We struck a really good deal this time, once they all return, we will all be rich… the village as well… we can rebuild the village and everyone will have a better life…”

Leeder didn’t dare reveal the death of Ludean yet, so he had no choice but to come up with a random story to explain their absence.

“Oh?” Granny Adele smiled knowingly at him. “They’ve gone to settle a business deal then? Here I was thinking that they were all dead.”

“…” The moment the word dead left her mouth, his already anxious expression practically collapsed. “Granny… they really are just out doing business…”

“Fine, we will leave it at that for now. But how do you explain that insect in your body right now?” Her lips cracked into a smirk at that point. “Don’t tell me you swallowed it by accident?”

“Granny… you… how did you know…” Leeder stared in shock at the granny whom he had always passed off as being kind and affable. Suddenly, a terrifying realisation dawned upon him, one that sent a shiver down his spine just thinking about it. He was afraid. Extremely afraid of the implications of his guess.

“Good children do not tell lies.” Granny Adele reached with her chicken claw-like hands and ruffled his hair. “Be good now. Tell your granny what you went through in the past two days.”

Leeder instinctively tried to back away from her hands but found, to his horror, that he couldn’t move at all. Other than speaking, there was nothing he could now, as if he had lost control of his body entirely. He could only sit there woodenly on the chair, stiff as a corpse.

“Relax, you’re one of the children granny watched growing up, she will never hurt you.” Having said that, Granny Adele went back to her seat. However, the words she said next were anything but harmless. “O silly me, I almost forgot… That tea I served you just now had something inside it… but what was it… your granny must be getting old herself… but you shouldn’t die from it…”

As Leeder stared at this familiar yet foreign old lady before him, his heart was strangely devoid of any fear now. More accurately, it was dead. If even this kind old granny who had watched him grow up couldn’t be trusted, who else could be trusted?

Leeder really did not want to die… even though the past two days were a living hell for him… perhaps this was his retribution for being a bandit? It was at that moment that Leeder suddenly had this thought that perhaps dying to Mo Ke that day would have been more merciful.

However, that thought only lasted for a split second. He wasn’t one to give up so easily. At the very least, he wanted to struggle to the bitter end. He bit down on his teeth and asked, “Who are you exactly?”

“Who am I isn’t important right now. What’s important is whether you wish to die or not?”

“I…” He bit down on his teeth once more then answered with a firm shake of his head, “do not.”

“Then listen to your granny, she will protect you.” She broke into a grin that somehow seemed even more eerie than everything she had done before. “After all, you’re the child that granny watched growing up.”

Following that, Granny Adele began explaining what her plan was, no longer harping on the issue of what happened to Ludean. “I had initially thought that only the Demon Hunters would be coming. Umbra would have easily killed them if that was the case. Too bad that strange bunch appeared instead… Oh, right. Umbra is that Vampire who caused you all this misery -a very handsome lad. Their expedition to slay him is bound to succeed. Once they return, you need to help your granny delay them…”

The more Leeder heard about this plan, the more the dread in his heart grew. Finally, he couldn’t help but interrupt her. “But granny, my body still has that insect left by that woman. I’m afraid…”

“Don’t worry, I’ve seen that child. She might be spiteful, but she’s not coldhearted. As long as you treat them well, and then plead with her on the night of their departure, she would definitely take out the insect.”

“But… granny… they are still the saviors of the village… if we were to do this… wouldn’t that be…”

“Oh? So you’re saying you want to die then?” Granny Adele flashed him a hair-raising smile at that point.

Once more, Leeder was reminded that the old lady in front of him wasn’t the kind, old granny he thought she was. Instead, she was a vicious old hag. From her wrinkled smile alone, he could sense a firmness that wouldn’t hesitate in the slightest to kill him. In that case, he could only find some excuse to explain his words. “No, no. I was trying to say what if she doesn’t remove the insect?”

“Isn’t that what you have your granny for? If some young girl can stick an insect inside you, there’s no way your granny wouldn’t be able to remove it, is there?”

“But…”

“Be good now. Just based on age alone, your granny here definitely has more experience torturing people than that young girl. You wish to try it out?”

“…”

“Good. Then fetch your other seven friends.” Granny Adele went back to being a kind grandma once more. “Granny has plenty of tea and treats waiting for them. In fact, it has been a while since you guys visited granny, hasn’t it?”

In the end, Leeder agreed to Granny Adele’s plan. Even if he tried to refuse, those friends of his would probably still accept Granny Adele’s invitation since they were none the wiser. The difference was that if Granny Adele had to invite them herself, he would become obsolete…

Not daring to waste any time, he immediately set out to find his seven friends, all the while apologising to them in his heart in a bid to somehow lessen his guilt…

Watching Leeder’s figure disappear through the door, Granny Adele smiled to herself. “So that’s the famous ice queen, huh… Seems like we caught a big fish this time… Let’s just hope that lord can hold his own in front of Aques Lumen… 100,000 gold coins isn’t easy to come by after all…”

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

“Your eyes are disturbing me…” Nicole’s brows knitted together. “You should lead a more… ordinary life… instead of pursuing… an impossible relationship.”

Impossible because two women can’t have children together? Now where have I heard that before?

“Who says it’s impossible? You just haven’t seen someone make it work, that’s all.” Hah. I just so happen to know a certain race where two women can have children together. And my godmother so happens to the literal deity of that race. Impossible is not an issue for me…

Hold on. I’m a guy here. Why do I care whether or not two women can have a child together? Crap, my intelligence must be getting muddled by my proximity to Nicole. That must be it!

Maybe she’s secretly a psychic leech who drains intelligence? And her decade-long secret has been uncovered by me. Or maybe it’s just me…

“If… and this is just an if…” I looked into Nicole’s red eyes and almost blurted out the secret which I had desperately tried to keep hidden. “What if I were a man? Would you believe me if I were to say that?”

“That’s not really a matter of belief, is it? You either are or aren’t.” Nicole glared coldly at me. “So what are you trying to say here? You’ve even sent away your companions for this.”

“Not- nothing. I just wanted to talk to you alone, that’s all.” I flashed her a brilliant smile. “You know, because I see you frowning all the time. Is something bothering you?”

“Bothering…” At that, Nicole suddenly turned around to look at Neneth who was still chasing the fireflies, her eyes strangely dark now. “I’m looking for someone… he’s probably dead, or maybe not… I don’t know where he is now, but I intend to spend the rest of my life finding him.”

Hearing that confession, I immediately felt a pang of guilt in my heart. At the same time, I was excited. Excited because she treated locating me as the most important thing in her life, though that also made me guilty because of the trauma on her. If only I could just appear before her…

Even though I knew she was obviously looking for me, I had no choice but to ask, “Who is it you are looking for? Your lover?”

“He is my little brother…”

“Oh. I thought you were going to say he’s your boyfriend, hah.” As I said that, I had to practically force my lips into a smile. After all, I was just a little brother to her all this time. We were still kids when we met so I couldn’t be sure if she ever had any other thoughts about our relationship…

“I have no lover. I never had one, and never will… He doesn’t like any other man near me. Unfortunately, I realised that too late… as long as he will just return to my side…” Nicole raised her head slowly to look at the crescent moon in the sky, then as if she was still talking to me, said, “but I don’t know where he is or if he’s even alive…”

“Well… I’m sure he’s alive!” I confidently declared.

Perhaps my confidence had somehow infected her, but Nicole immediately turned to look at me, eyes a little watery. “Thank you… even though I know you were comforting me, it still makes me happy. As long as Ke is still alive somewhere, I don’t mind flipping the entire world upside down to find him!”

“Ke? Is that your little brother’s name?”

“Mhm. His full name is Mo Ke, he’s a child of my father’s dearest friend… he was adopted by us because of some circumstances. I heard from my father that he kept saying, Mo Ke, Mo Ke, when he shouldn’t even be able to talk. That was why his parents gave him the name Mo Ke…” She then began recounting her experience with Mo Ke, arms hugged around her knees as she sat on the grass patch.

From her words alone, I could tell that she remembered every little adventure we had together. Like how we always fell off the tree while climbing it… how I liked to fake a cry till she kissed me… how I always liked to cause trouble for Sares… and even things which I had forgotten about, she still remembered. As long as it pertained to me, she kept those memories close to heart… just like how I would do for her.

Just looking at that sincere smile on her face as she said that, a sudden urge to come clean came over me.

However, I resisted that urge in the end with gritted teeth. Until I had a sure way to make her completely believe me, I wasn’t going to let her know my identity… After all, I was a Devil now, and she would never trust the words of a Devil.

A real Devil… was full of lies… and if even they were telling the truth, no one would believe them…

“Ke was a really good singer.”

“Singer? What a coincidence, so am I. If the chance arises, I would love for you to hear me to sing.”

“Mmh.” She nodded noncommittally to my suggestion. For the time being, I had no intentions of singing for her as well, since I couldn’t be sure that I wouldn’t just blurt out the fact that I was Mo Ke and get a sword through my heart…

For the next two days, the village of Lyon was in celebration. Everyone had forgotten about the frustrations of the past, the fears of the future, they were all celebrating earnestly. Whether it was with an endless supply of meat or wine, they would never stop the merry-making. Some even took the opportunity to get married.

These few days were like being born anew for these villagers. While the Vampire might not have been a particularly hungry one, his presence had caused the population to fall by at least half. During its heyday, the village had at least two thousand villagers living within it… now there were less than one thousand.

However, as long as the village was still alive, such losses were recoverable. A number of households had taken this opportunity to matchmake their kids together, if they were not already attached to another. And if a wedding was needed, they would even hold a communal one. In that sense, the people of this world were a lot more open about their love.

On just the second day alone, I witnessed thirty two couples tie the knot. And on the third and last day of the celebration, that number ballooned to nearly a hundred. At these communal weddings, we were not only there to give our blessing, but as witnesses as well. Throughout the ceremony, the children would skip around, singing songs about love and family.

Ah… how I wish this wedding was for me and Nicole as well… No matter, I’m back by her side now, and sooner or later, she will recognise me. But until then, I have to be like her shadow.

All in all, everyone had a merry time during those three days. Even Nicole had noticeably less wrinkles coming out.

However, all good things had to come to an end one day. After today, we would leave Lyon. While Nicole might not realise that I was Mo Ke, I had resolved myself to follow her. It wasn’t like that would be a difficult task for me anyway. My disguise did not use up much mana, and my identity was basically unbreachable while the spell held up. Not only that, I had a bunch of Dark Elves guarding me from the shadows – what could possibly go wrong?

Upon learning of my decision to leave, Leeder brought the remaining seven members of the bandit troupe to see me.

When they found me, I just so happened to be feeding Mo Ning alone.

Ever since we had entered the Western Human Realms, Mo Ning never had a chance to have a meal with us. Every day, she could only watch as Zurnalin, Jezsere and Regine eat with me, all the while feeling left out. That was why I decided to feed her myself today. Only by doing so could I placate her and her growing jealousy.

Thankfully, Mo Ning was rather agreeable. As long as I placated her, she wouldn’t act up, though there was nothing stopping her from being jealous. Ever since Mo Ning had turned into a monster beauty, I had to admit that my aversion to her had lessened significantly. Circumstances aside, at least half of her was now humanoid… Now, I’m not saying I’m into monster girls… all that is just 2D talk. I don’t want them coming into my 3D world…

Sensing their arrival, I did not stop right away, instead reaching out for a bag of beans and placing it before Mo Ning. As for Mo Ning, she did not even waste the effort to look at the bandits, instead lowering her head to munch on the beans like a horse would. From time to time , however, she would sneak in a lick or two of my hand.

Hmph, I see how it is… those beans aren’t enough for you… you are trying to take advantage of me as well… I swear… At the very beginning, my intention was to feed her from a bowl. But she insisted strongly that I used my hand instead.

Glancing around for a second, Leeder finally greeted me cautiously when he realised no one was around. “Sir, feeding your horse?”

“Mhm.” I harrumphed without even looking back at him.

With regards to this bandit leader turned interim village chief, I really could not bring myself to like him. Even though he claimed he had the village’s interests at heart when he turned to bandity, I just couldn’t trust him completely. Especially now when we still had a grudge with each other.

“Sir… since you are leaving today and all… about that thing in our bodies… could you remove it?”

“You mean the spider? I guess it should be removed.”

“Many thanks, sir, many thanks…” Hearing me agree so easily, not only was Leeder moved, the other seven almost broke down in tears as well.

Honestly, even if they did not bring it up now, I would have still removed the spider from their bodies before leaving. At the end of the day, they were still villagers of Lyon. Even though they had committed some wrongs in the past, enough lives had been lost in this village already. Plus, it was highly unlikely they would go back to banditry after what they experienced this time.

“Open your mouths.” I instructed them before using my mana to guide the spiders within them to crawl out.

“Blegh…” Perhaps it was because the sensation of having a spider crawl up your throat was disgusting, or more likely because they were disgusted by the spider either way, the former bandits couldn’t help but retch in unison, though the spiders came out smoothly in the end.

Without a host, the spiders started to struggle about on the ground, dying soon after belly up. I could have retrieved those spiders, but the thought of retrieving an insect that had just crawled out of someone was… disgusting. It was also safer to just kill them as well. The last thing I wanted was for one to accidentally get loose and infect the entire village.

“Many thanks for your magnanimity and forgiveness…” Having vomited out the spider, Leeder went down on his knees and began kowtowing as a sign of his gratitude.

“It’s fine. We’ll be gone soon anyway. I just hope you will keep your mouth where it belongs.” I deliberately glared at the eight of them and said, “don’t be too happy so soon. Even though I’ve removed the spiders, they’ve already laid their eggs within you. That means I can still use my mana to activate them, spider or no spider. At that point… I’m sure nothing needs to be said.”

“Please… I beg of you, sir… remove those eggs from us…” The eight of them immediately went down on their knees again, each crying and kowtowing harder than the other in an absolutely sorry state.

“Don’t worry. As long as you lot do not try anything funny, I promise the eggs will never hatch.”

“But, sir, if you do not remove the spiders, we can never be at ease…”

“At ease?” I coldly laughed. “I should be the one worried instead… don’t tell me you’ve forgotten what you’ve done.”

At that, they fell silent. They obviously wanted to say some more but they realised it was no point, and they couldn’t really force this matter either. At the very least, they had my guarantee that the eggs wouldn’t hatch.

“We promise to never say a word of this, sir…”

“Good, then be off with you. I don’t want my day to be spoilt further.”

“Got it… we’ll be gone right this instant…” Having said that, all eight of them crawled away as fast as they could. The area was now nice and quiet again, except for those dead spiders on the ground…

I channelled my mana into flames and burned those corpses before returning to feeding Mo Ning.

Even so, my mind was a little distracted, and Mo Ning could tell from the feeding. “Dearest, are you really going to leave those eggs in their bodies?”

Hearing her talk, I frowned and muttered, “don’t talk while we are in human lands.”

“What are you afraid of? It’s just us.” Mo Ning lowered her voice. “So are you going to leave those eggs in them? I promise I will keep quiet once you tell me.”

“No. That was just a lie.” I picked up a bean and brought it to Mo Ning’s mouth. “I’ve let them go for now, but I still can’t trust someone who was once a bandit…”

A cold gust of wind blew past us at that point, else the evening remained relatively quiet.

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

In order to celebrate our successful slaying of the Vampire, everyone in the village, under the leadership of the former bandit leader, now interim village chief, Leeder, organised a three day long festival.

The shopping team that left with Leeder only returned at nighttime, roughly the time for dinner. Because of that, dinner had to be delayed and the affair ended up being a bonfire celebration as well.

Lyon just so happened to have an open area available which they often used to hang dry their clothes. Carts after carts of firewood were brought in and soon a three meter tall stack of wood was erected in the center.

By now, the sun had set and the moon was just visible. The winds tonight were warm, and in a large open area like this, even a thousand villagers could hustle and bustle about without feeling cramped. While erecting this wooden structure wasn’t an easy task, no one seemed to mind at all. Everyone who worked on this project, whether it was the chopping, the moving or the stacking, all acted with a beaming smile on their faces.

With the structure done, Leeder reverently handed me a lit torch to me. “Sir, the first light goes to you.”

I took the lit torch from his hands but did not set fire to the structure. Instead, I handed it over to Nicole who suspiciously eyed me. “I think you should do it instead.”

“…” Nicole hesitated to receive the torch. Finally, it was only because Neneth was constantly nagging about how hungry she was that she took the torch, slowly walked up to the structure, and threw the torch.

“Woah!!~~”

The torch curved in a perfect arc as it flew above the structure and landed right in the middle. A second later, the first ray of light broke through the night sky to rapturious cheers. Following that, a group of young men and women stepped forth before all of us who took part in the slaying, lit torches in hand. Were they telling us to have a go as well?

It was Neneth who grabbed the torch first from one of the young ladies, then casually tossed it at the wooden structure. In preparation for tonight’s feast, Neneth hadn’t eaten at all upon returning to the village. Now, with the prospect of a feast so close to her, she wasn’t about to waste anymore time lighting some old fire.

Having done her part, she practically glared at us who hadn’t taken the torch yet, as if to say, hurry up, Neneth is starving here…

I guess there’s really no reason to hesitate, is there?

All of us received the torches and tossed it at the wooden structure, after which Leeder formally announced the start of the feast.

Unlike what you would expect of such a scene, the village did not have a custom of dancing around bonfires, so upon Leeder’s announcement, everyone started grabbing their own food.

The food was lined on tables beside the bonfire. Every round table laid out before us was filled to the edge with all sorts of food, meat being the dominant offering tonight. There were also some plates of noodles of some sort.

As the food lover of the group, Neneth brought her third stomach today as she began ravaging the table of anything she could grab her hands on. Nicole, in contrast, serenely sat at the side, helping to stack vegetables onto Neneth’s plate.

In order to prepare this feast, Leeder used up more than half of the village’s stockpile. When the shopping team returned, they had eight full carts of food with them.

Perhaps it was because of Leeder’s instructions, but our table only had people from our party. While the other villagers were a little curious about us, none of them joined us in the end. Perhaps they thought they weren’t worthy?

Seated beside Neneth, Nicole’s expression seemed a lot serener than usual, a side effect of watching Neneth eat?

Zurnalin and Jezsere each took up a spot by my side. Because there was no time for a shower, Regine sat a seat away from me, with Jezsere separating the two of us. Next to her was Jill and finally Reyage. The table itself was rather large so we had plenty of leg space each.

A little thirsty now, Neneth randomly opened up a bottle and downed its content. Yet the moment the first gush of liquid reached her throat, she immediately spat it out.

“This wine… it’s too spicy… Neneth doesn’t like it.”

Good. Kids should be drinking milk instead, not wine. Drinking milk makes you thicc. Drinking wine makes you flat.

Zurnalin and Jezsere were both feeding me food, which I had to admit, wouldn’t be a big issue most of the time. However, Nicole was with us right now, a little modesty would be for the best. Furthermore -call me crazy but- I had this feeling that Mo Ning might just pop up in a fit of horsy rage if I were to let them continue any further.

And this wasn’t just me being self-absorbed either -she was definitely spying at us from somewhere in the darkness… else I would have busted out the moves already…

While we were eating, Leeder suddenly came up to us with a well-dressed middle aged man. The man had a canvas hanging by his left leg while his left hand held onto a sack. His right held onto a wooden frame. I immediately found that frame familiar… an easel?

“Sirs and ladies, if you will forgive my intrusion…” Leeder made way for the middle aged man, a smile plastered all over his face. “It’s like this. I had specially arranged for the village’s best artist to capture the scene of sirs and ladies having dinner. Our humble village does not have much to offer as reward, but we will forever hang up this painting and have our descendants pay their respects.”

Ugh… that was a little cringy…

While I wasn’t all too taken with the idea, Neneth seemed a lot more receptive. She immediately stopped eating upon hearing that someone wanted to paint her. Then, with a slurry of fruit still in her mouth, she mumbled, “Nafnaf…wants a copy…”

“Of course, we will have the painting replicated so that everyone has a copy.”

Seeing as Neneth had given her approval, none of us objected. Leeder stepped to the side and signalled for the artist to start, who promptly obliged.

Now that there was an outsider watching us, Zurnalin and Jezsere were a lot more reserved with their feeding. The meal itself proceeded for another two more hours, and by the time we were done eating, the painting was about finished as well. The finishing touches did not require us to be at the table so we all left first for a stroll.

At a nearby patch of grass further away from the bonfire, we found a perfect spot where the fireflies danced about in a display of eye-catching luminescence. Having stuffed herself completely, Neneth’s attention was completely captured by these sparkling jewels, gleefully chasing after their brightness like a child.

However, running right after a meal wasn’t a good idea either. I initially wanted to stop her from doing so, but upon noticing how Nicole was faintly smiling at her, I immediately changed my mind… I guess I can let her have her fun for now. When her tummy starts to ache, I can scold her then.

With Neneth preoccupied by the fireflies, I signalled for Jezsere and rest to find a quiet spot elsewhere so that Nicole and I could have a little alone time. Even though Zurnalin wasn’t too happy about that, she still left without much objection. Since the person most likely to object was now gone, the rest had no reason to stay behind either.

Finally, I was now alone with Nicole. As I gazed into her beautiful face, I couldn’t help but get a little intoxicated. How many years had it been since we last met? I had left her during the most important years of her development. Because of that, her personality ended up being warped. She was once a cheerful girl that loved nothing more than to smile and yet now… Is she still searching for me? Or has she already decided that I was dead?

I had to try my hardest to resist the urge to hug her right now, to chase away her worries with a warm embrace. I couldn’t reveal my identity; she was a Demon Hunter, and I was a Devil. More importantly, I did not know how to make her believe me. All this time, I had a burning desire in my heart to just come completely clean. But whenever that urge got the better of me, I would be immediately reminded of that time when I was surrounded in my own home. Those Demon Hunters did not even try to believe my words, instead claiming that my own soul had been devoured… what a joke, I am Mo Ke. The one and only Mo Ke! There’s no way I could ever…

There were a million things I wanted to say, but what I truly wanted to say to her was this: I’m home.

Time flew by as I mulled over a variety of matters. Finally, after an unknown amount of time had passed, I was brought back to reality by Nicole’s cold voice. “Are you done yet?”

Because she still thought of me as a girl, I had to begrudgingly admit how advantageous this was to me right now. Faced with her abrupt questioning, I was a little taken aback but soon recovered with a smile and what would have probably been a cringy pick up line if I was a guy, “Not yet, I think I can stare at your face for a lifetime more.”

Honestly, that was a line I had picked up from one of those soap operas on television. I still remembered how much I cringed at it and thought that I would never use it. Apparently, I was saving it for this new life of mine…

It was only after experiencing the scene for myself that I finally understood the emotions that went into that line. I truly felt that I wanted to spend a lifetime with her.

“It’s impossible between women,” was the placid reply she gave me. Out of all the possible answers she could have given me, I would have to rate this as one of the less likely. I had honestly expected her to find my advances off putting.

Even so, I still wanted to be with her. If possible, forever, even if she did not realise who I was. Giving someone your company was the truest form of a confession… as long as I knew who she was… that was enough…

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

It was around two in the morning that Regine and Reyage came back from scouting. With them came the information we sought about the Vampire’s nest.

The Vampire Umbra’s nest was located in a cave roughly fifteen kilometers from the village. It was a cave they had dug out themselves in the fashion of a secret lair. In order not to raise any suspicions, Reyage and Regine chose not to explore too far in. Instead, once they had confirmed that this was the lair of the Vampire, they promptly retreated.

Normally, such risks wouldn’t have been necessary. In the earlier battle, Reyage and Nicole had intended to leave a couple of Blood Ghouls alive. Unfortunately, all of the Vampire’s servants had been cursed with a spell that was activated soon upon their capture by the Vampire. Our two captives immediately died on the spot.

Such triggered curses were a common tactic of the Vampires, being that they ensured their Blood Ghouls were extremely obedient. However, there was also a weakness to this curse. Should the distance between the spellcaster and the victim grow too large, there was a very high chance of the curse failing.

Thankfully, Reyage and Regine’s tracking efforts had been very successful. The fleeing Vampire and his Blood Ghouls were never the wiser about the two trackers on their tails. Now, that was the hard part taken care of. What remained was a lot simpler in comparison: just raid that Vampire’s lair in the day, burn the coffin he slept in, and that’s one under-siege village sorted.

For the most part, the rest of us weren’t in the mood to sleep after the battle had ended. Even Jill, who was one of the last to be notified of the battle, came to accompany us while we waited for Reyage and Regine’s return. With both of their safe returns, everyone got together for a quick meeting where we decided to make the fateful strike the next morning. In the meantime, the plan was to get whatever little rest we could before the main event at six in the morning sharp.

When morning came, our entire entourage, including Jezsere, all got on our horses and neatly rode out of the village. Knowing that we were all out to vanquish the Vampire, the villagers of Lyon all came out of their houses to get a glimpse of us from the streets. Perhaps it was because they had witnessed such a scene multiple times already, there was none of the fanfare you would expect. They merely saw us off quietly, eyes more conflicted than the other.

If there was ever something more frightening than despair, it would be gaining a glimmer of hope, only to be thrown back into the darkness right after. The villagers had already seen off three expeditions in the past, with them went their hopes as well. They could no longer suffer a forth.

Some stared at us with eyes that were barely alive, while others held a tiny spark of hope amidst a swirling vortex of terror. Either way, there was no changing the plan now. We could only forge ahead with our full might and slay that Vampire!

As always, I was hugging onto Jezsere as I rode on Mo Ning. Regine was ahead on horseback, leading us to the nest she scouted. Because Vampires couldn’t act in the sunlight, their Blood Ghouls had to guard them during these vulnerable hours. That was why we weren’t worried about the village getting attacked even if no one was left behind to guard them.

Our party steadily progressed forward, reaching the entrance of that Vampire in slightly over an hour.

Reyage was the first to enter, checking the surroundings of the lair for any potential dangers. Having barely taken a few steps into the cave, the sounds of fighting suddenly erupted from within. However, the fighting only took a couple of seconds, at which point Reyage came striding out, hand beckoning for us to enter.

Nicole led us into the cave. By the side, we could see the aftermath of Reyage having taken apart both physical and magical traps. We quickly came upon the corpse of a human dressed in black leather laid lifelessly against the cave wall. In the center of his chest was an obvious stab wound that pierced through his heart.

The deceased was a middle-aged Human. Burly, buzzcut, and ordinary in terms of looks.

Reyage reached out to grab the deceased’s neck, and with a twist of his wrist, laid the neck bare for us to see. And there it was… the signature twin puncture wounds of a Blood Ghoul.

Furthermore, these puncture wounds were clearly fresh. Meaning he had suffered these wounds recently. To be exact, just last night…

Seeing as there was a Blood Ghoul guarding this entrance, there was no doubt that this was the lair we were looking for.

“My apologies, Master… Our infiltration has failed.” Upon letting us confirm its Blood Ghoul status, Reyage lowered his head in apology. “I had underestimated him; I never expected him to be a Lycan…”

Reyage was a Six-star Assassin. Under normal circumstances, it was impossible for an ordinary Human to notice him. Yet these weren’t normal circumstances. The entrance of a lair was bound to be riddled with traps and alarms. Given that this was day, there would also be a guard stationed at the entrance. It would be hard for Reyage to function at full strength given these conditions. Not to mention the fact that Lycans could transform at will, and even when they were in their human forms, they would still retain some of the traits of their Werewolf form.

For example, a keen sense of smell and hearing…

“Don’t mind it too much, we never planned on making a stealthy entrance anyway.”

Whenever a Vampire planned to sleep, it would enter its coffin. During such a time, it was difficult to wake up said Vampire, especially when the Vampire was severely injured. Under such circumstances, it was nearly impossible for the Vampire to suddenly get up and run. Unless, of course, someone picked up the coffin and absconded with it. That was why we had to act swiftly and kill him here and now.

“Let’s go in first. I’m sure that fighting just now has alerted some of the guards. I’m afraid we can only fight our way in at this point.” Said Nicole.

Having entered her Demon Hunter state of mind, she was even colder than usual. Previously, Jill had told us that Nicole had a reputation as an ice queen in Azure City’s Demon Hunter Branch. In all likelihood, this was what they had in mind.

Closely following behind, Neneth came striding in with an oversized blade the size of a door and completely at odds with the cute girl image she gave off. The power loli. Speaking of which… power and loli is really a great combination, isn’t it?

Behind her, I marched with Jezsere closely by my side, hand pressed against her own. Then came Regine, Jill, Zurnalin and Reyage. As for Mo Ning… I gestured in her direction, reminding her of her current disguise as a normal horse.

The insides of the Vampire’s lair was pitch black. The Dark Elves and I clearly had the ability to see in the dark, but so did Regine as well. Being a Demoness, she had inherited some abilities from my patronage, and Darkvision was one such ability.

Unlike us, Nicole and Neneth were both ordinary Humans. Their eyes could not see much in such an environment. That was why both of them reached for their pockets soon after entering the cave and fished out a pair of sunglasses-looking objects to wear. These were probably tools to allow them to fight at night, imparting some degree of vision in darkness for normal Humans.

“Eh? Sister Mo Na, don’t you need to put on your Darkvision Goggles?” Asked Neneth, having turned around to look at us after putting on her own goggles. “You might bang into the wall if you don’t put them on.”

“It’s alright. Our martial arts is a little peculiar, it gives some degree of Darkvision.” I smiled at Neneth before continuing, “quickly now. We can’t be sure if those Blood Ghouls are busy evacuating the Vampire’s coffin right this instant.”

“Mhm. Neneth and Sister Nicole will lead the charge!”

Our following journey deeper into the Vampire’s lair proceeded smoothly from that point on, unusually so even. While there might have been a few Lycans ambushing us along the way, they were swiftly taken out by our forces. Unlike the village battle, our whole might was brought to bear upon this lair. With Zurnalin, an Eight-star expert, holding down the proverbial fort, there was no way a bunch of Five-stars and Six-stars could ever hope to win.

Just like that, we advanced easily until we came upon the Vampire’s black coffin. It was located in a separate secret room. Around it were four transformed Lycans trying to move away said coffin. Unfortunately for them, moving the coffin wasn’t an easy task. There was a grisly-looking red magical array carved into the ground beneath that was constantly supplying the coffin with mana. It was meant to aid in the Vampire’s healing, but that also meant that the coffin was now rooted to the ground, unmovable even with the combined efforts of four transformed Lycans.

I guess that’s what it means to smash one’s foot while trying to pick up a rock.

Upon noticing our arrival, the four Lycans immediately howled into the air before charging fearlessly right at us. Ever since they had become Blood Ghouls, their lives had become bound to the Vampire as well. Should the Vampire they serve die, the curse placed on them would kill them as well. That was why they had no choice but to defend like their lives depended on it.

Nicole swiftly lowered her body and took up a quickdraw stance with her sword. An instant later, her sword flashed out of its scabbard, sending forth a glaring wave of energy that tore apart the darkness of the lair. In no time at all, a Lycan laid dead on the floor, split along its waist! Neneth hoisted up her gigantic blade at the same time and began swinging it about in a dance. And just like that, one of the charging Lycans was sent flying backwards like a baseball…

Reyage had taken the opportunity to strike as well. Before that poor Lycan even knew what had happened, Reyage appeared next to the flying Lycan and perforated its forehead with his left dagger. With his right, he held out another razor-sharp dagger that easily sliced through another Lycan that was still in the midst of leaping towards Neneth. A second later, the Lycan had finally reached his target. Unfortunately, he couldn’t do anything as the upper half of his head was now missing…

Yet Zurnalin had to have been the most violent of the lot here. By focusing her mana into a shield, this disguised Dark Elf beauty slammed her mana shield into an oncoming Lycan. Then with a powerful thrust of her sword, she nailed the flying Lycan onto the wall.

Now that the Lycans were taken care of, Nicole walked up to the coffin and took up position. Having found the right spot, she gripped down hard on her sword then sent it thrusting down into the black material.

The Epic-grade weapon that it was easily penetrated the coffin, following which a horrific wail filled the room… so there was a person inside it… I mean, Vampire.

The abruptness of the wail sent Jezsere jumping into my arms both out of surprise and terror. Our resident timid girl immediately pressed herself against my body in a bid to seek out some measure of comfort while I patted her head like I would a puppy. “Don’t be scared, your master is here.”

“Mhm. Master’s here, Jezsere isn’t scared.”

“Hmph. Taking advantage of the situation like that just because she’s timid…” Seeing no avenue to step in between us, Zurnalin couldn’t help but pout at that point while muttering to herself, “when will Master ever accept me…”

“Hmph.” Regine coldly harrumphed at her then.

At the side, Jill could barely stifle a laughter as she watched my mini-harem duke it out. “Seems like my dear employer has set up a rather large harem. But I wonder how long before the pruning starts…”

“…” Reyage silently stood watching. I won’t say anything, but I will watch.

“This Vampire’s bloodlines should be very pure. It would be best if we bring the coffin out to the sun to bake for a while.” Not at all affected by our little display, Nicole took this opportunity to stow her sword, only to be stumped soon after by the sheer weight of the coffin.

“Neneth can push the coffin to the outside, but Neneth can’t destroy the magical array.”

“Leave that to me.” Nicole stepped forth with her Epic-grade weapon drawn, then sliced apart the array on the ground. Without its magical bindings to hold it down, the coffin was now nothing but an ordinary coffin. With that done, she suddenly had the mind to stab the coffin again…

“ARRGHHH!” The Vampire wailed once more. Unlike the previous time however, Nicole did not draw out her sword but left it stabbed into the coffin as if she was trying to nail him down.

“Now it’s Neneth’s turn!” With all the preparations taken care of, Neneth first kept her gigantic blade behind her then stepped up to the coffin to begin pushing. As expected, even the coffin’s heavy structure couldn’t stand up to the power loli that she was, though it protested to ear-piercing effect…

“Are you sure Neneth will be alright by herself? Should we help her?” While I knew of her power, that coffin had to be at least a few hundred kilograms. Her slender arms weren’t exactly a very reassuring show of confidence.

“It’s fine! Neneth is a capable girl!” She said with a big grin then stuck her tongue out at me. Having done that, she devoted her entire attention back to the coffin. “Neneth MK I, activate!”

Like an asian aunty during a flash supermarket sale, the shopping cart that was the coffin sped ahead as if it was on oil…

Finally, thanks to the hard work of Neneth, the coffin was brought outside of the cave.

Nicole took out the sword she drove into the coffin, but not before giving it one last twist, causing another wail from within.

Having done that, she took up defensive positions in case the Vampire decided to launch a last, desperate strike. “Open it.” She calmly said to Neneth.

“Kay!!~~”

Neneth answered with a heave as her milky white hand shoved the lid of the coffin off, sending it tumbling away.

The time was now nine in the morning; it was the warmest time before afternoon. But to the Vampire lying within, even the gentleness of the morning sun was a deadly poison. Without the shelter of his coffin, the Vampire was now fully exposed.

White smoke immediately billowed from his body. The Vampire’s face had immediately begun to corrode like it had acid thrown on it. Right before our very eyes, flesh was falling off his face, but not before letting forth a sickening goopy sound. Gone was his pale but dashing appearance of last night, replaced with a visage that was even more horrific than monster’s.

“AHHHH… I curse you all… I curse you all to an everlasting life in darkness… the Apocalypse will come soon… and all Humans will bath in its fiery brimstones… Hahaha… I might be gone now… but I’ll be waiting for you all in Hell… waiting for the end of this world… and coming of the Devil God’s wrath…”

Faced with the Vampire’s pain-induced insanity and ravings, our resident timid girl was once again scared out of her wits.

By now, the Vampire had been completely reduced to ashes. Nicole took out a bottle of holy water from her backpack and poured it over the ashes… is this the Vampire version of having your corpse flogged even after death?

I’m guessing we won’t be seeing Umbra rise from the dead again at this point. With the purification powers in that water, I doubt a creature of darkness can still revive itself from such a state. Good riddance.

Still… it feels kind of strange to have a bunch of people staring at an empty coffin.

In the spirit of thematic aptness, I decided to set the coffin alight with my flames. To which the coffin happily cooperated with by slowly being consumed. Now that the job was done, I happily clapped my hands and nodded my head. “Job’s done.”

Nicole tossed her empty bottle of holy water into the coffin pyre then swept her eyes over me. A second later, she turned around, with cape-swishing-in-the-air levels of dashingness, and said, “Let’s go.”

As if set on wings, news of victory quickly spread throughout the village. In no time at all, the silence of the village was broken as crying villagers rushed out of their houses to greet us with cheers and smiles. They exchanged hugs with each other, not at all like the jaded statues they were before…

Joyful cries of children filled the village once more as everyone revelled in the afterglow of having escaped sure death.

“Tonight, we will have a celebration!” Formerly the bandit leader and now the interim village chief, Leeder, threw down those words then led a bunch of the village’s youth away on a no-holds-barred shopping spree for food.

(TL: That name wasn’t planned. I don’t remember his name being mentioned previously as well…)

Nicole had initially tried to reject the offer as she had to rush back to report to the Demon Hunter’s Guild. But the gratitude the villagers held towards us right now couldn’t simply be described by words, nor could be it dispersed by words either. Faced with the insistent pleas of the village’s elderly, even the ice queen that she now was couldn’t help but cave in to the idea of a three-day long celebration.

In fact, there was talk of having this day memorialised as a day of salvation where our deeds would be committed to the annals of their history for their descendants to learn from.

Now… I might be the paragon of humbleness and all, but if you guys really insist on treating me like an idol, I guess I will just have to oblige.

In that case, let’s have some fun, everyone(minna)!

(TL: Had to google that…)

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

The situation as it stood right now: Regine was hiding in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to deal a lethal strike. I had successfully summoned three Five-star Fire Elementals. And as their name suggested, they immediately stood out like a beacon in the night, attracting everyone’s attention to them in an instant.

“Yes! Sister Mo Na is here!” My arrival was a much needed boost of morale for our side. Neneth, who was in a desperate situation just moments ago, suddenly swung her blade in a wide arc, pushing back the two Lycans surrounding her, giving her an opportunity to rendezvous with the three Fire Elementals.

On the other side, the servants of the Vampire were all shocked by the arrival of these three strange looking elemental creatures. They probably did not have much experience fighting with creatures of this nature and were surprised by their unusual appearance.

Nicole and Reyage were both able to manage their opponents well, unlike Neneth whose strength was comparatively weaker. That was why I sent my Fire Elementals to her as well. Even without me stating that explicitly, Neneth understood my intentions for doing so, that was why she moved to meet up with the Fire Elementals.

The Blood Ghouls present weren’t particularly weak. The two Lycans surrounding Neneth were both Five-stars, just like the ones fighting with Nicole right now. Reyage had seven Blood Ghouls to contend, and one even seemed like a Six-star. Thankfully, Reyage was a veteran combatant and he himself was a Six-star. That was how he managed to slightly suppress his opponents even in the face of overwhelming odds.

While Reyage might not have specialised in group battles, given his Assassin training. It was also a fact that his training made him a slippery target to lock down. Thanks to that, he managed to maintain a decisive advantage over his foes.

Nicole’s strength was most likely that of a Five-star Peak, the kind that could break through at any moment. However, the weapon in her hands was probably an Epic-grade weapon. That was how she managed to slay a few of her opponents before I had arrived. But her enemies weren’t fools either. Upon realising how strong she was, they decided to turn this into a battle of endurance instead.

Having to face off against three targets by herself, even the seasoned Demon Hunter that she was had limits to her attention. No matter how worried she was for Neneth, she couldn’t find the time to help her.

That was where my Fire Elementals came in. These summoned creatures had no weaknesses to speak of. Unless they were directly extinguished by an overwhelming force, else they would never dissipate till my mana ran out.

The battle situation had only grown tenser with every passing second. I quickly commanded the Fire Elementals to surround one of the Lycans chasing Neneth. Like a gaping wolf’s maw to a helpless deer, the three of them leapt towards the Lycan with arms outstretched. With no information about his opponents, the Lycan had no idea how to evade their combined attacks. By the time he realised that he was surrounded, it was too late. He howled frantically as he flailed his claws about in a bid to put out the flames. Unfortunately, the Fire Elementals stuck to him as if they were a fiery set of armor, burning every exposed bit of flesh they could find.

A second later, the acrid smell of burnt flesh and fur wafted over the entire battlefield. As the burning Lycan flailed about the area, the stench only further enveloped the scene. In a lot of ways, being burnt alive like this was the cruelest way to die possible. The victim wouldn’t die immediately from the heat, so he could only struggle in vain while he suffered a fate worse than death.

Realising that his companion was set ablaze, the other Lycan immediately rushed over to save him; the two should have been quite close in life. Unfortunately, Neneth wasn’t about to let that happen, not that it would have mattered actually. With a swing of her massive blade, she blocked off the pathway to his companion.

At this point, this flame-grilled Lycan was about to be a well-done Lycan.

“Don’t look down on Neneth!” She heroically held her giant blade before her and exclaimed, “Neneth will never let you through!”

The Lycan tried multiple times to break through her defensive line but to no avail. While Neneth might have struggled against the two of them, there was no way she would ever lose to a single one of them.

Neneth might have only been a Four-star, but she had a power level completely at odds with her slender figure. Simply put, she was what was known in the industry as a power loli… Her weapon might have only been a High-grade magical weapon, but it seemed to have the effect of increasing her momentum and force. In other words, whenever she waved her blade around, the force of her swings would be multiplied.

Time continued to tick by. A minute later, the burning Lycan was finally reduced to a pile of ashes by the Fire Elementals. They immediately leapt towards the remaining Lycan. Should they succeed this time as well, all that awaited that Lycan was a painful death.

“Master, save me!”

With no time to spare in the face of a fiery death, the Lycan turned tail and ran, all the while screaming for help from the Vampire.

“Useless.” The Vampire grimaced in disapproval. A second later, he finally acted, but not towards the Lycan who pleaded for his help. Instead, he came rushing towards me in a flash of blood red.

Seeing that, Mo Ning’s first instinct was to try and help. However, I quickly stopped her -now wasn’t the time to reveal her strength yet. This was the best time to show off to Nicole, and I wasn’t about to pass on it.

Other than being a summoning tool, Lion’s Majesty also granted its wearer the ability to control flames. As long as I had enough mana and will, I could even pass off as a natural-born flame wielder. A great boon, especially given how I wasn’t able to use my full strength, lest I wanted to be exposed as a Devil. In light of that, I really had to hand it to Ferti’nier this time -she really put in a lot of thought when she made this tool for me.

Now… it’s time to show Nicole what I’m capable of!

Swirling Flame Barrier!

With Lion Majesty acting as a medium, I began channeling my mana and will into a vortex from which flames began to form into a barrier. Just in time as well. The moment my flames coalesced into a barrier, the Vampire appeared before me in a flash of red, crashing right into the barrier…

“Ahhh…”

Vampires were deathly afraid of flames and light. Water that had been enhanced with purification was deadly to them as well. This barrier that I had just summoned was definitely a hard counter to this Vampire, especially when my mana was basically at the level of a Seven-star Mage despite being a Five-star.

While I might not have been able to see through the barrier itself, I was sure that he definitely felt the pain when he slammed into my barrier. Not one to let such a golden opportunity go, I quickly pushed forward with my right arm, ramming the Swirling Flame Barrier forward in a charge.

“Blasted woman… I’ll remember this! My name is Umbra… and I will be back…”

Realising that there was no time to dodge this attack, the Vampire hurriedly transformed into a burst of bats, scattering to the winds before the barrier could strike him once more. While the barrier might have burnt half of the resulting bats in the process, he at least managed to escape successfully.

Unexpectedly, the main villain of this battle was now defeated. Even I did not expect such a swift turn of events…

Having left behind the classic villain farewell, the Vampire finally disappeared into the darkness of night.

Now that their master was gone, the Blood Ghouls naturally had no reason to stay behind either. Unfortunately, not every one of them would be able to escape tonight.

The last of the two Lycans fighting Neneth was now incapacitated by Neneth’s powerful swing, only to be roasted mere seconds later amidst a glaring display of flames and horrific wails.

Reyage and Nicole both took the opportunity to capture a target respectively. But for the most part, now that the opponents were in full retreat, she did not try to pursue them. Instead, she anxiously grabbed Neneth by her hands. “Neneth, are you alright? Did you get hurt?”

“I’m fine, Sister Nicole.” Neneth answered with a smile but still allowed Nicole to continue inspecting her. “It’s all thanks to Sister Mo Na’s help.”

“You have my thanks for helping Neneth just now.” Because I had just saved Neneth, her eyes were noticeably warmer now as she addressed me. “However, there’s still the matter of… you know what, we can talk about that later.”

Hmm? Oh crap… I went overboard just now…

In order to show off to Nicole, I had completely forgotten the setting of my own character. Previously, I was supposed to be a helpless summoner. But now I had just defeated a Vampire with a single flame spell… definitely not the usual definition of helpless…

Thankfully, she chose not to pursue this matter in light of how I had just saved Neneth… I guess that means I’m safe?

Ahhh… but what was the point of me even bothering up to put up that show with the bandits in the first place? I could have just told her how we easily wiped out those bandits, it’s not like Nicole would take issue with me cleaning up the world…

Sigh… I really need to plan these things out better in the future.

Unlike me, Neneth did not have that many reservations about the fight we had just won. Still basking in the victory, she confidently asked, “Should we chase them?”

“No need. I’ve already sent Regine to follow them. We should go back to the village for a rest first. I’m sure Regine will be back shortly with news of the Vampire’s nest.” I persuaded the eager girl. However, I was still a little worried about sending Regine off alone.

“Reyage, I need you to go after Regine, just as a precaution. I’m sure she would have left behind some markers for you to follow.” I said to Reyage who was busy finishing off anyone left behind.

“Understood, Master.” Having finished checking all the corpses, he swiftly left to chase after Regine.

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