Chapter 105: Variable – 4

Chapter 105: Variable – 4

‘I woke up as fast as I could, but the shock must have been pretty big.’

*Of course the shock is big when someone dies in front of you to save you.*

Melini, whose body was completely battered, had, well, a very complicated expression.

…To be precise, it was an expression of not knowing whether to be happy or what emotion to feel.

Indeed, from what I briefly saw while recovering from the potion’s effects, she had truly sacrificed her life to create those flames, and here I was, perfectly alive.

“…How did you do it, exactly? Your heart was clearly pierced! Even we can’t recover from such an injury……!”

“Oh really? You’re so kind to tell me my weakness, how sweet of you?”

Well, first, I need to deal with this buzzing mosquito in front of me.

***

A greatsword, glowing with an opaque white light, flew through the air.

It moved at a transcendent speed, not what you’d expect from a greatsword.

The wielder of that greatsword was clearly a delicate girl who would probably struggle to even lift a normal one-handed sword, but the greatsword she wielded was the real deal.

Even at this very moment, the rocks and ground directly hit by that greatsword were being gouged out.

There was nowhere to escape.

No, to be precise, if it were just the greatsword, I could evade it endlessly.

But there were also lightning strikes and fireballs surging from all directions, and an icy mist that rose if I tried to counterattack.

No, even that would have been fine.

Those spells certainly possessed power that was difficult to ignore, but they weren’t unbearable.

However…… at some point, the white chains that wrapped around my legs and bound my limbs could neither be avoided nor blocked.

It wasn’t impossible to resist, but it was impossible to perfectly ignore these chains while resisting all the attacks pouring down on me.

“Damn it……!”

The pooled blood vibrated.

Instantly, spikes made of blood shot out from the ground.

Normally, I would have shaped them into spears, but I didn’t have the luxury of time now.

I had to unleash as many attacks as possible, as quickly as possible.

……That way, I could at least slightly reduce the speed of that greatsword with its insane power.

The battlefield was still soaked in blood.

In a normal situation, I would have used all that leftover blood to repair injuries and wounds…

But these damn burns were hindering regeneration, making quick recovery impossible.

Clang!

Another unpleasant, sharp sound echoed.

And, out of nowhere, three bolts of lightning struck from the sky.

I instinctively created a blood barrier to deflect the lightning, and then continued my attack.

However, the girl who had clearly been in front of me had vanished in that short moment.

“Is it lightning this time? Don’t you ever get tired of it?”

“I’ve also added plenty of fire as a bonus.”

The greatsword, which had been glowing with divine power just moments ago, was now blazing with fire.

But what was even more absurd was that this girl, who had clearly been in front of me just moments ago, was now directly behind me.

I don’t know what ability she used to get behind me in such a short time, but…… this attack confirmed it.

I needed to use every means at my disposal to have any chance of winning.

Once the decision was made, my actions were swift.

I released all the blood and power I had saved up to become a higher-ranking vampire into the air.

No matter how precious, these were things I could only use if I was alive.

“……!”

“Well, you’ve finally made me use all the blood and power I’ve gathered.”

The next moment, everything, including the girl, was covered in a thick blood mist.

***

In the dark crimson blood mist, where nothing could be seen.

A girl and the vampire, the master of this mist, merely stared at each other for a moment.

The girl, to counter the vampire’s numbers, and the vampire, to exploit an opening in the girl.

And so, a suffocating reconnaissance battle continued for a moment……

Thump!

The girl, who had lightly leaped, moved behind the vampire with a slight crackle and a clear sound of something breaking.

And the moment he realized it, the vampire also leaped far in the opposite direction, shouting something.

…The next moment, human-like figures were born from within the blood mist.

Making unpleasant sounds just by listening, the human-shaped monsters, tangled with veins and blood, became sacrifices for the girl’s greatsword in place of the vampire.

“…I wondered what kind of ability it was, but you’re using spatial movement magic just to move this small distance?

No, do you even have enough mana left to use spatial movement magic so easily in the first place?”

“Well, how I use my abilities and potions is up to me… why don’t you worry about yourself?”

However, the vampire laughed.

And… matching his laughter, monsters identical to the one that had fallen from the girl’s attack earlier began to be mass-produced from within the blood mist.

More precisely… they were being created everywhere in this space covered by blood mist.

From the blood-stained ground, from the blood-stained trees, and even from the air where blood was splattering.

From every single drop of blood, a monster was created and slowly but surely walked towards the girl.

…With clear hostility.

……A number of monsters that seemed to easily exceed 100.

“…Tsk. I thought this Branch Point would be a bit easier to fight.”

“I don’t know what nonsense you’re babbling, but there’s an absolute difference in level between you and me. Until now…”

However, with another clear sound of something breaking, flames erupted from the girl’s greatsword.

At those flames, the monsters made of blood seemed to feel an instinctive fear and hesitated slightly……

The girl, not missing the opportunity, swung her greatsword.

One, a monster was split in half and returned to blood.

Two, another monster was swallowed by the flames and returned to blood.

Three, a fleeing monster was pierced by the greatsword and returned to blood.

…

……

……

And so the monsters returned to blood…… and were created again from that blood with an unpleasant sound.

Not a concept of regeneration, but a concept of rebirth.

No matter how much the blazing flames tried to block regeneration… they couldn’t stop the birth of monsters rising again from the blood.

“…Are they zombies or something? Why do they keep coming back to life?”

“Zo-zombies?! How dare you compare my creations to lowly zombies!”

“Well, it’s pretty similar, isn’t it? The constantly coming back to life part.”

“……You still haven’t come to your senses, have you? Or are you not grasping the current situation……”

Before he could finish his words, the girl moved behind the vampire again, aiming for a surprise attack……

But a much thicker blood barrier than before blocked not only the girl’s greatsword but also her additional magic.

“Good try, but it’s a futile effort.”

The girl, having failed her attack, quickly retreated, but monsters made of blood had already taken her place.

Fortunately, the monsters themselves had little combat power, so dealing with them wasn’t too difficult……

But getting scratched and bleeding here and there was unavoidable.

And for the vampire, in this domain of blood mist, a single drop of blood was… an unimaginable reinforcement of power.

With the sound of breaking glass, flames erupted.

Not targeting another place, but targeting herself.

…A slight burn remained, but the wounds and blood cleanly disappeared.

It was an eccentric feat possible because it was a potion, not magic that clearly distinguished between friend and foe.

Of course… from the girl’s perspective, it only prevented the situation from getting worse; it didn’t provide a way to defeat the continuously spawning monsters and the vampire.

The girl’s stamina was limited, and monsters were created infinitely.

The vampire wasn’t attacking at all, but at the same time, he was completely blocking external attacks.

……However, despite all this, the girl continued to calmly slice through the monsters repeatedly.

That was absolutely not the action of someone despairing in an insurmountable situation.

“I’ll admit your mental fortitude to remain calm in such a situation. However, your defeat is inevitable.”

“Oh really? I don’t think so?”

“What nonsense is that? Your attacks don’t affect me, and my creations will be born endlessly! And you will constantly grow tired, and eventually, you are destined to fall!”

However, the girl remained unfazed by his words.

She simply continued to throw glass bottles, burning, searing, and freezing the monsters as always.

“You know what? All magic uses mana.”

“…What trickery is this? Do you think I wouldn’t know that?”

“Then…… if I keep killing these monsters…… your mana will also be consumed, won’t it?”

“……No way.”

“Yes, it’s a bet. Whether my stamina runs out first… or your mana runs out first.”

With those words, the girl began to deal with the monsters again.

That was the solution the girl had found.

“If they keep coming back to life… then I just have to kill them until they can’t come back anymore, right?”

With those chilling words, the monsters once again returned to blood.