Otome Game no Heroine de Saikyou Survival [WN] - Chapter 137.2
***
The Vampires of the Evil Race rushed through the dark forest like ghosts. Even Undead, which did not need rest, had limited energy as long as they existed in the material world, and they needed daytime rest to maintain their regenerative powers and high abilities.
In the case of the Vampires, they took in the souls of others through the medium of blood, and by sleeping in graves close to the earth, they gained their immortality by taking into their bodies the magical properties of darkness and earth.
“Gostola-sama…”
“As expected, with that body…”
“…Don’t worry, Lestes and Garry, I won’t perish from this level of damage. And we can’t let our guard down. You should only think about what you are going to do.”
“”…ha!””
Two of his companions nodded in agreement to Gostola’s words, even if they didn’t agree.
A Vampire’s body could regenerate itself from any wound, as long as it had time and magic power. However, Gostola’s right arm, which had been ripped off by Carla, still did not regenerate, and her face, which should have been painless, was contorted in pain.
It was said that the reason why spirits without physical bodies in the material world suffer about 10% damage even from mere weapons was because the attacker’s hostility and harmful intent was affected by the magic power. The reason why Undead, which should feel no physical pain, could feel pain was because Carla’s [malice] had defiled not only the body but also even the soul.
The black beast that had killed all the failures that had preceded the Evil Race, one of whom had stayed behind to stop them, would eventually come after them. And there was no guarantee that even Grave, a strong man in Gostola’s eyes, would be able to stop the unusually strong [Ash-Crowned Princess].
It was unlikely that Carla and the ash-haired girl had appeared at the same time by chance. Gostola thought that someone in this nation had noticed their presence and sent them.
(…but this is also an opportunity.)
The fact that they were the only ones who knew of the Evil Race’s existence and sent out assassins, but they were the only ones, suggested that the state was unable to fully grasp their true nature. If this was the case, the security around the princess without the two powerful individuals must have been weakened.
The Evil Race was not monolithic, and there was a domestic struggle between the long-established “exterminators” of other clans and the “moderates”. The vampire race, which was recognized as a clan but not trusted as a demon, needed to make its presence known within the Evil Race.
However, once their numbers were reduced to this level, they could only be hunted like prey.
In order not to waste this opportunity and the lives of their sacrificed comrades, Gostola and his team had no choice but to run through the dark forest day and night, sparing no time to regenerate, literally draining the life from their lives as they went onward.
***
The Magic Academy also had security, as it was the alma mater for almost all the nobles in the Kingdom of Cleydale, and the school, where their children and relatives would attend, received a large donation, and the exclusive order of knights established by the donation numbered as many as two hundred members.
Of course, that alone would not be enough to cover the entire academy, which was as large as the royal capital, but the academy was surrounded by virgin forest, a natural fortress that blocked those on horseback and in armor. Not only that, but as a senior noble family would naturally bring several guards with them, so unless some of the knights betrayed them, as was the case last time, the security was considered inadequate.
However, that also made them careless. In the case of Princess Elena, there were few noblemen who could be trusted, and she brought only one platoon of Royal Guards with her. Normally, this would have been enough, and since the girl with the rainbow-colored sword, who was an adventurer, usually served as her escort, an assassin would not have been a problem.
But now… the girl who was called [Ash Crowned Princess] and feared by those in the underworld was not with her.
“Aria…please come back safely.”
Appearing in her nightgown on the terrace leading to her room, Elena gazed up at the moon at night sky and gently crossed her fingers in prayer for the only girl in the world whose heart she had ever exposed.
Unaware that she was in the midst of her greatest danger…
***
A black beast and a girl riding on its back run through the forest, where huge trees grow thick and dark even in the daytime.
There was no flat road, no clear view to be seen. Even so, the two jumped over huge rocks several meters high without slowing down a bit and ran through the maze of trees in every direction.
The trunks of the trees they had passed so far were marked with the claw marks of beasts, dotted with the carcasses of slashed and torn demons lying around as if they were road signs.
[Kigyaaaaah!!!]
Several winged human-like figures attacked the beast and the girl from above the trees.
The Rank 3 demons, called Harpies, with wings and claws of birds of prey and upper bodies and faces like human women, thought they had an overwhelming advantage in the forest and smiled distorted, bloodthirsty smiles.
“Get out of my way!”
The girl’s voice flowed through the dark forest. At that moment, a slash-type pendulum flew through the air and slashed the neck of one of them, and as the Sickle Type pendulum slashed the wings of the harpies amidst the dancing blood smoke, the claws and fangs of the black beast tore apart the crashing harpies, and the girl and the beast ran through the dark forest without slowing down for even a moment. The girl and the beast ran through the dark forest without slowing down for a moment.