Chapter 106: Variable – 5

Chapter 106: Variable – 5

From a handful of blood, monsters poured out.

With an unpleasant sound, they poured out endlessly.

And… not long after, they returned to blood again by the greatsword, which now glowed with a faint crimson, and waited.

Until the vampire, the master of this pandemonium where monsters were endlessly created and then returned to blood by a single human, revived them again.

Creeeeak…!

……Again, with an unpleasant sound, monsters were created from the blood.

And, again, they returned to blood.

A boring spectacle, repeated countless times.

Occasionally, there was no change whatsoever, except for the girl, who seemed tired, gulping down a white potion and regaining her vigor.

The monsters simply did their best to catch the girl, and the girl simply did her best to kill the monsters.

The only change in all of this was that… the vampire’s expression, which had initially watched this scene with amusement, was gradually darkening.

It was his domain, covered in blood mist… but he could do nothing but maintain the domain itself and summon monsters.

Normally, any human or monster would succumb before this immortal army……

“Alright, now… how many more can you create?”

The girl confronting the vampire now seemed quite far from such thoughts.

Her mint-colored hair was now covered in blood, turning a dull brown, and her silver greatsword was glowing crimson… but still,

The girl continued to swing her sword at the army.

However, while she had used quite a variety of magic before, now she was fighting solely with her sword and throwing glass bottles from who-knows-where, indicating that her condition didn’t seem too good.

But more than such minor details… the fact that she was still cutting down the monsters he created with such a clear mind in his own domain was a huge psychological shock to the vampire.

It was a sure-kill technique, a technique he had used, confident it would drive the girl to despair, but it had no effect whatsoever.

No, beyond that… his will to fight had been greatly diminished by that insane way of thinking: if monsters are created infinitely, then just kill them until they can no longer be created.

…Indeed, his mana was gradually running out.

“……”

The vampire silently stared at the girl. No, he glared at her.

The greatsword the girl held no longer glowed with magic, and instead of glass bottles that summoned magic, she was simply smashing the monsters’ heads with plain glass bottles.

…It seemed that the simple act of throwing those glass bottles was causing as much damage as magic, but that wasn’t very important.

Surely, at this point, her will, her conviction that she could win, should have been broken… but not this girl.

On the contrary, she was lightly scoffing at the vampire’s state.

“…You talk a lot for someone whose eyes are half-glazed over and can’t use magic anymore.”

“Oh, are you getting scared? Now you’re reacting to everything?”

“Is this still bravado in this situation?”

“No? Well… it’s true I’m tired… but seeing your face just gives me all my strength back.”

“……You damn bitch…!”

…Just as she said, the vampire’s face reflected in the blood was quite a mess.

His eyes were full of fatigue, and his skin was even paler than before.

If he weren’t a monster, a passerby would have immediately called a doctor and taken him to a hospital.

Unfortunately, the vampire himself couldn’t see it.

“Oh, what is it? Your last struggle?”

“…Yes, let’s bring this to an end. Even you, in such an exhausted state, won’t be able to overcome this.”

Therefore, the vampire decided not to continue the war of attrition that was slowly eroding him, but to deliver a final decisive blow.

The blood mist that had spread widely in all directions gathered in one place, and the blood barrier protecting him visibly thinned.

The monsters that had been targeting the girl from all sides returned to blood, and that blood also gathered in one place.

And, from the blood gathered in that way, a faint light began to emanate, and something slowly began to crawl out.

……It was just, crawling out.

“Cough!”

“You didn’t seriously think I’d just stand by and wait for all of that to be summoned, did you?”

“…You, you coward……”

“No, if you openly use your own shield like this, of course I’m going to target you.”

The moment the blood barrier surrounding the vampire was seen thinning, the girl instantly moved behind the vampire with her greatsword, and the greatsword struck the vampire.

It was a tactic she had tried once before but failed due to the barrier surrounding the vampire… but since the vampire himself had weakened that barrier, there was no problem.

The glass bottle that struck the vampire’s face with a clear sound, as he tried to respond to the girl’s last words, was a bonus.

And so, the vampire fell onto the blood he had gathered.

“……”

Again, the vampire took in the girl’s appearance.

If he had focused on the girl’s tired appearance just moments ago… this time, her overall appearance came into view.

…The countless splatters of blood on her body, proving she had cut down countless monsters.

Despite that, her appearance of still gripping the greatsword and targeting him, contrasted with her seemingly delicate physique.

Finally…… her complete lack of fear of pain, her indifference to death itself, and the madness that translated it into action.

“…She’s a monster…… even more than me……”

“What are you talking about? If there’s a monster as pretty as me, go ahead and make one.”

Therefore, in his final moments, the vampire admitted it.

That this girl in front of him was a far more dangerous being than himself.

That such a being existed, with a type of magic he had never seen before, monstrous strength completely unsuited to her appearance, and little fear of pain and death.

And… that he needed to inform the Demon King’s Army of the existence of such a human.

“Goodbye, don’t die peacefully.”

Even until the moment the greatsword plunged into his heart, that was all the vampire could think about.

***

“Ugh, that was ridiculously tough. Is this some kind of endless monster buffet?”

*……*

“Huh? What’s with that reaction?”

*……Our system urgently registered ‘Portal Potion’ in the ‘Repository of Knowledge’ to help you succeed in this Branch Point.*

“Right? Thanks to it, I could send that vampire off cleanly, couldn’t I?”

*No, the intention was to use ‘Portal Potion’ to escape with Melini from the High-Ranking Vampire, an unbeatable formidable foe!! Who would think of using it for assassination?!

No, and if monsters keep appearing, you should think about running away, why would you think about killing them until they can’t be created anymore?!*

……Now that I think about it, the Branch Point was about saving Melini, not kicking that vampire’s ass in front of me.

Since there was no option to escape in other Branch Points, I had naturally forgotten about it.

Come to think of it, I used it for short-range assassination, but with the power of that ‘Portal Potion,’ I probably could have escaped the vampire’s blood mist…?

“Wait, why were you quiet during the fight then? You could have just told me at that time, couldn’t you?”

*As if you’d be looking at my messages during combat?*

“……”

*The most absurd thing is… that you still won. It seems the system underestimated your tenacity and resistance to fear.*

“Well… from the perspective of someone who died once and came back to life in another world, and who was practically resurrected with a potion just now, death isn’t that scary, you know.”

Actually, after using the miracle potion earlier, I couldn’t immediately go to help Melini.

I clearly imagined a miraculous potion that would instantly heal all injuries without any pain, but in reality, my wounds slowly recovered while I was half-experiencing death.

It honestly felt similar to when I first died and came to this world.

…It was an alien feeling that I absolutely couldn’t have adapted to if it were my first time, but unfortunately, I was a veteran of death.

*Looking at it that way, you really are an amazing person mentally.*

“Is that so?”

*For a normal person, it’s natural to develop trauma when facing a life-threatening situation, but you… well, you just seem to take it all in stride as if you’re used to it.*

“Imagine every moment being a life-threatening crisis. The first year or two are terribly scary and hard, but even that becomes dull with time.”

Now, pain isn’t scary at all, and death… there is fear, but it’s not at a level that restricts my actions.

Humans are said to become weak in the face of death, but… well, I have various experiences, my past life’s situation, and even the system.

*And also…*

“Alright, alright, unfortunately, shall we complete the Branch Point first and then talk?”

*……And also, the rewards team is making a fuss about what kind of reward they should give you if you do this.*

“Isn’t that good for you?”

*…You know me too well. The narrative turned out well, and even the rewards team bastards got a bit screwed over, so there’s nothing bad for me, right?*

“I’m looking forward to the reward?”

Of course, if I had known that I could have escaped using the ‘Portal Potion,’ I wouldn’t have hesitated to run away…

Well, the outcome was good anyway, so isn’t that what matters?