Dark Vampire

It was late September, and the divine country had become completely autumnal.

A beautiful woman was walking along the road at night under a full moon. She was the wife of a merchant, on her way home from attending a Guild meeting in place of her husband.

A man blocks her way. The woman is startled and exclaims, “What? She exclaims.

“I’m so sorry.”

The man apologizes for startling her and bows his head. The moonlight shines on his face, and there he is with shaggy black hair and a fearless expression on his face.

Yes, that man was Glen.

“Ah, I’m surprised. It’s Cocrane-dono, if it isn’t it, the guild master of the adventurer’s Guild?”

“Yes, I am. Can you please give me a moment of your time?”

As soon as he finished, three priestesses appeared and surrounded them.

“Ruri, don’t kill her!”

“Got it, mister.”

They were Ruri, Rin, and Shise. They then set up the Triangle Sacred Magic Warding, trapping Glen and the woman in the light.

“Ugh…”

The woman frowned.

“You’re a vampire, after all. Give up, I have many questions for you.”

“You want to capture me? You humans have big words to say.”

There was a change in the woman’s appearance! Her figure turned black, and a black aura of horror covered the entire area.

Glen had several encounters with vampires, but this was the first time he had experienced such a strong negative aura.

“Damn it, I’m giving up on capturing her. Perish!”

“Too late!”

The vampire lunged at Shise and flung her away. The sacred magic barrier had been broken, even when Shise was now using her full power.

“You’re going to die!”

The vampire tried to pierce Shise with her long claws, but it was not her, but Ruri’s back that was pierced, as Ruri covered Shise.

“Gah!”

Ruri’s mouth erupted in blood. But the vampire who stabbed her also had a sword growing out of her chest!

“You’re good, you’ve got a sword inside me, even if it’s from behind. But do you think you can destroy me with such a small sword?”

The vampire smiled.

“I didn’t stab you intending to kill you. Rin, Shise, heal with maximum magic!”

The two continued to shoot heals with all their magical power. The vampire screamed, and soon turned to the sand.

“Ruri!”

“Miss!”

Two people ran to Ruri!

“Rin, use your heel on Ruri!

“I’m already doing it!”

In the darkness of the night, Rin and Shise continued healing again and again.

◇◇◇

Mari was awakened an hour after the incident.

When Ruri was brought to Misery Castle, she was still breathing, but her body had turned dusky black.

“The dark vampire got her, huh!”

“Yes. My heals have little effect, and Shise’s magic seal has slowed the progression of her symptoms, but she’s still in a dangerous state.”

Rin explains in tears.

“This is dark contamination. If left unchecked, one afflicted would be turned into undead.”

“Can you help her, Saintess-sama?”

“It’s okay. It is still in its early stages, so we can treat it with blessing magic.

Mari used her magic and Ruri’s color returns to normal and her breath becomes calm.

“Her body is under a lot of strain because the attributes were about to be reversed. Please let her rest until tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Saintess-sama.”

Rin hugged Mari with tears streaming down her face.

Glen, Rin, and Shise were summoned to the Prime Minister’s office, where Mari was sitting on the couch with them.

“Your Excellency, I am sorry. I’ve put the priest I’m borrowing from you in danger.”

“No, you didn’t need to apologize! You were the one to suggest that we should destroy them, but it was us who suggested that you capture them if possible. We are the ones responsible.”

“No, I was the one who made the decision.”

Looking at Glen, who shook his head, the Prime Minister spoke.

“We’re all doing this for our own benefits, and things like this tend to happen. I’m just glad you were all safe.”

“But I miscalculated the power of the dark vampires. This is the first time our Triangle Sacred Magic Barrier has been breached.

“Dark vampire? I’m not familiar with the term.”

The Prime Minister asked. To which Rin replies.

“An ordinary vampire is a dark-contaminated person, a half-demi-vampire to be exact. They are more capable than humans and use advanced magic, but they are not that much of a threat. This is the one that attacked Saintess-sama before. However, the dark vampires, who are the source of the dark pollution, are genuine demons and terribly strong.”

“So even you guys can’t handle it?”

“No, we can beat them!”

Shise said strongly.

“The time, though, we underestimated them. If we go at them intending to kill them from the start, even we can manage.”

“I understand. I want you to rethink your countermeasures when you face them next time.”

“That’s not going to happen. There is another dark vampire and a couple living in a mansion. We decided that we couldn’t let two of them face your group at once, so decided to wait until one of them went out.”

“If we keep waiting, the other one might run away.”

“But if one of you were missing, there would be nothing we could do.”

“No, We’ll be fine.”

At that moment, Ruri entered the room. Her gait was firm and steady.

“Are you all right, Ruri?”

“I’m fine, the Saintess-sama’s magic is very effective, I’m not in  perfect condition, but I can fight. More importantly, Master Glen, I think we would have a good chance of winning if you face them with all your strength from the start.”

“I think we have a 60% chance of winning, though?”

“Well, that should be good enough. Let’s go to their mansion right away!”

…

“I can’t allow that!”

The Prime Minister stopped the decision. He decided that a 60% chance of winning was too risky. However, Ruri and the others were clearly unhappy.

Mari, who was watching the scene, must have had an idea because she overheard the Prime Minister and told him something.

“Saintess-sama, are sure about that?”

“Yes, this may be a unique opportunity to grab the enemy by the tail. Besides, I too would like to see what the priests of the Divine Kingdom are capable of.”

“I understand. If it is your wish, I will let them do so.”

The Prime Minister turns to Glen and gives him instructions.

“Saintess-sama will accompany you. If you don’t mind, I’ll allow you to continue if you agreed to this.”

Mari, Glen, and the others assembled in the square in front of the balcony.

“Saintess-sama, I hate to say this, but they’re our prey.”

“I know, Ruri-san, I won’t bother you, Ruri-san, but I will cast a spell on your group.”

“Eh? Cast what?”

“Status-increasing magic that will enhance your abilities. You can fight them when I applied it, and if you can manage, capture them.”

“Okay, Saintess-sama, we will do our best this time!”

Mari cast status-raising magic on everyone, including herself.

“Well then, let’s go, Glen-san, please lead the way.”

Thus, the five of them headed for the mansion with the dark vampire.