Chapter 6 – Vampire

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One thing I realized after fighting vampires for the past four days: their bodies have incredible regenerative abilities and remarkable resilience.

They couldn’t regenerate a severed limb instantly, but if they pressed the cut surface together and waited a moment, it reattached. Lacerations and puncture wounds healed with relative ease. Even if they were sliced in half horizontally or vertically, shredded, or crushed, they wouldn’t die.

Ah, but if their heads exploded, they died.

Of course, I learned this by observing the vampire I was beating to a pulp. As for me, naturally, I remained completely unscathed.

I wondered whether these vampires were exceptionally weak or if I was simply too strong. Not even a single strand of my hair was grazed.

If I had fought using only my pure reaction speed and physical abilities, I might have sustained at least a scratch.

Vampires were ferocious in a way different from other monsters.

They would spill blood everywhere, then manipulate it into sharp projectiles with blood magic, firing them like bullets. Honestly, as an enemy, it was quite an impressive sight.

But they weren’t fast enough to keep up with my acceleration.

I wasn’t sure whether I was speeding up or if time was slowing down—but whatever the case…

I should probably come up with a name for this ability. Calling it “acceleration” forever doesn’t feel right. What should I call it?

Oh, right—speaking of acceleration, I think I’ve figured out its activation condition. I needed an ‘enemy.’

Several other bloodsuckers came to rescue one I had captured.

As I subdued them, I finally realized—acceleration required an enemy, someone I perceived as a tangible, physical adversary.

Abstract concepts like fate or hunger wouldn’t do. It had to be something real.

Another thing I learned was that using acceleration in succession left me unbearably thirsty.

It wasn’t magic, but rather a power inherent to my nature as a vampire. Using it consumed my blood, which explained my growing hunger.

What was I talking about again? Oh, right, vampires.

Thanks to capturing multiple vampires, I was able to test a variety of things.

Comparing their own claims with what I already knew, I confirmed that their weaknesses aligned closely with what I had expected.

The most dangerous things to them were sunlight, fire, silver, and head destruction.

Among these, the most lethal were head destruction and sunlight. The former was obvious—if their head exploded, they simply died.

The damage from sunlight was more interesting.

They could only heal sun-inflicted wounds through blood-drinking. Even ancient vampires, the so-called elders, could last no more than an hour under direct sunlight.

The weaker ones crumbled into dust at the slightest touch of sunlight.

Also, magical girls’ magic—especially light-based abilities—was deadly to vampires. The reason was unclear, but that was just how the world worked in this setting.

If I had to come up with a justification, I’d guess that magical girls drew power directly from constellations—stars.

And well, the sun is also a star. But ultimately, only the author knows for sure.

Garlic had varying effects depending on the individual vampire. Crosses and other religious symbols only worked if the vampire was a believer of that faith.

Other stereotypical weaknesses—like obsessive counting, needing an invitation to enter homes, or being unable to cross running water—were nonexistent.

The only thing worth noting was what happened when they crossed naturally flowing water.

They could cross just fine, but the moment they saw their reflection in the water, they lost consciousness.

The testimonies on this were inconsistent—some claimed they saw something terrifying, others said they glimpsed their future selves or something they should never have seen.

Well, that was about it.

There were a few peculiarities, but overall, their weaknesses were fairly traditional.

Yeah, I think this concludes my experiments.

The vampires could barely hold on any longer.

“P-please, just kill me already… Burst my head… I beg you…”

The vampires who had once been able to regenerate their wounds now couldn’t even heal a scratch.

They had simply run out of blood.

Unlike this one who still had enough energy to beg, the first vampire I had captured was barely breathing—just a dried-up husk.

Honestly, it was fascinating. He looked so brittle, like he would crumble at the slightest touch, yet he was still alive.

“You, who once charged at me with such murderous intent, now beg for mercy? How amusing.”

As I swirled the blood in my wine glass and took a sip, even the shriveled-up male vampire let out a hellish scream, twisting his withered body.

“Aaaaaaahhh!!! Kill me!!! Kill me already!!!”

The female vampire still had some strength to scream in rage, but soon she too slumped, completely drained.

And honestly, the blood tasted awful.

It had been stored in an oak barrel by the locals, but compared to fresh blood, it was just fishy and flavorless.

“I had intended to play with you longer, but I shall be merciful this time. Be grateful—this is an act of great generosity.”

They begged for death, but when I granted it, they struggled against it.

One by one, I crushed their skulls in my grip.

Except for one.

I wanted to see for myself how quickly sunlight would kill a vampire.

The one I spared trembled violently, clueless as to why I had let him live. I hoped he would keep trembling.

After all, the people he drained of blood must have died in just as much fear and misery.

Leaving him be, I pulled out a phone I had taken from one of the vampires and called Narae.

“It’s me. Is your body healing up? Hmm, you think so? Then meet me where I dropped you off. Ah, don’t be scared. Got it? I’ll be there soon.”

I had no more business with the vampires, so it was time to move on.

Narae’s condition seemed… adequate. Not in perfect shape, but well enough to think clearly.

Emotionally, she was still terrified, but I couldn’t help her with that. Even though I had a suppression device, I wasn’t about to put it on now and risk whatever might happen.

Who knows? Maybe if I let my guard down and turned human for a moment, she’d pull a 9mm pistol from her pocket.

Then I’d be dead.

The suppression device didn’t just change appearances—it drastically restricted the body’s ability to absorb starlight, forcibly reverting one to a human state.

It was made for lunatics who had some reason to operate as a human despite the risks.

If magical girls’ transformations were akin to evolution, a monster’s “transformation” was more like regression.

Downgrading from a monster to a human. Supposedly, this made them no different from regular humans… but I’d have to test it to be sure.

Either way, I had no intention of putting it on until my safety was secured.

Too bad, Narae—you’ll have to live in fear for a while longer.

“You… you called for me…?”

Narae, drenched in cold sweat, was desperately trying to stay on my good side.

How commendable. I’d have to keep her around—few people had the sense to recognize strength and show proper respect.

Wait, that thought just now…

Shaking it off, I got to the point.

“We need to leave soon. I assume there are many preparations required for leaving the country?”

“Well, yes…?”

“Handling such trivial matters myself would be absurd. So, you’ll do it.”

“M-me? Your… subordinate?”

Subordinate? What was the problem?

“Of course. Did you really think I’d just let you go?”

“But… but you promised to let me live…”

She kept stammering, questioning things that didn’t need questioning. Annoying.

“I am letting you live. And I won’t send someone as weak as you to the battlefield. You’ll only handle tasks requiring brains and logistics.”

“That’s…”

Even someone as generous as me had limits. What more did she want?

“Now, let’s return to base. You can recover there.”

“Wait, what—?”

And with that, I took her with me.

But when we arrived at the underground chamber where I had experimented on the vampires, a woman I had never seen before was waiting.

“…So you’re the one causing disturbances in this area.”

Who the hell are you?

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