Bright Sunflowers in the Vampire's Dark Land
A bright sunflower field filled the vampire's dark land. How on earth had they created something like this?
But upon closer inspection of the flowers, I could see the truth. They weren't real living flowers at all. Just like the sunflowers sprouting from each person's body right now. Small flowers stripped of their leaves. Yet when gathered and displayed in such massive numbers, they looked like a vast sunflower field.
The flowers were spaced far apart, but an immense light covered the gaps completely. As I stared blankly at the sight,
Sua shouted loudly.
"Anyone who can move, get to the sunflower field now!!"
Just as she said, the people threw themselves into the strong light. The red crystals on their bodies began melting away rapidly. The child who had arrived first no longer had even a trace of red crystal left.
"I-I'm alive!!!"
"My body moves on its own!!"
The people cheered, cried, and hugged each other. But there were still so many to save, so Sua swallowed her surging emotions and continued organizing the survivors.
Of course, things weren't going smoothly.
"Monsters are coming!!!"
"Hey, soldiers! Do something about those!!"
Monsters were descending from the facility every moment, chasing the fleeing kin. Most of the soldiers had left to rescue people, leaving only a handful to guard this place. And since all the awakeners had been sent to the front lines,
the only awakener here besides the healers was Sua.
"...Hoo."
Unfortunately, as a beast tamer, she excelled at capture and utility but lacked raw combat power. Still, she had to block the ghoul-like monster charging from ahead. Sua gathered her mana tensely.
Rats burst from the ground and scurried desperately, climbing the ghouls' legs. They began gnawing at the ghouls' legs with sharp teeth, and soon the muscle-torn ghouls collapsed in place.
"Yes!!!"
"Amazing!!"
The cheers were short-lived. More monsters kept coming. Ghouls and undead-types swarmed in numbers even Sua alone couldn't handle.
Seeing this, Sua tried to call for backup, but unfortunately, the situation elsewhere wasn't much better.
Birds screeched in shrill voices. Through them, she saw people getting attacked by monsters emerging from all directions. There weren't many awakeners. They were trying to dispel the kin transformation and let people flee,
but saving every single one wasn't easy.
Just a little more. A bit more power, and we could turn this around.
Then, something fell from the sky. A small fruit too tiny to see clearly hit the ground. A nearby ghoul stepped on it without a thought.
Boom— A powerful explosion erupted, wiping out all the surrounding monsters.
"What just happened?"
"Kill 'em all!!!"
As people began cheering at the sight, Sua realized what it was. And the one existence they'd momentarily forgotten.
"Hayun!!!"
* * *
"Good thing I brought some bomb flowers!"
"This one told you so! No loss in listening to this humble servant!!"
"Yeah, yeah. Looking forward to more good work ahead."
Watching the vampire's forces get obliterated by bomb flower fruits, my companions and I cheered too. I'd always loved games where you wiped out monsters with a single skill. This felt kinda like that.
"...Falconer, the bomb flowers are running low."
"Then go help directly. Things are urgent."
"As you command."
I'd originally told Mae to stay out of it and just observe. But the situation was deteriorating. Leaving Park Hyunwoo to fight the vampire alone aside,
the facility was huge, packed with captives, and we were short on awakeners. Not every soldier in that unit was an awakener. Their awakening rate was higher than expected, and mana-infused bullets made regular soldiers pretty strong,
but as we all knew, guns could only provide support. With fighting breaking out everywhere without a clear front line, the manpower gaps were bigger than anticipated.
Numerous sacrifices nearly happened. But I couldn't let that stand. This was my solo operation from the start, so I'd have to push myself a bit.
My head was already throbbing from overusing rapid growth yesterday. Anyway.
With the bomb flowers spent, it was time for Mae to provide direct fire support, one strike at a time.
"The screen's a bit dizzy. You okay?"
"Doesn't matter. Save people!"
"Understood."
Mae, hovering in the sky, dove sharply. Even watching through the screen, the zipline-like descent gave me vertigo.
Thud— The ground cratered violently from the heavy impact, sending shockwaves everywhere. Monsters touched by it tore apart and died instantly.
"I-Is that how Mae fights?!"
"That's right, nyang. Way stronger than expected, nyang?"
No, this was way stronger than Nyangnyang, wasn't it? It could fly and go invisible—if it was stronger than Nyangnyang, what was the point of its existence?
Fluffy fluffy. Nyangnyang curled up in my arms, rolling around. Yeah, as long as it's cute, that's fine.
I petted it while watching the screen. Mae smashed down repeatedly, clearing the trash mobs. Attacking at impossible speeds from the darkness,
the monster numbers plummeted in an instant. People fled through the gaps.
Almost no one left in the facility now.
"Looks like the healed ones are being sent outside."
"Wonder where they'll take all those people."
Eh, the military would handle details. Probably gather survivors and rebuild a small village or something. As I pondered while watching,
"......?!"
A black line pierced through the screen out of nowhere. It speared straight through Mae's body.
"You okay?!!"
"...S-Sorry, falconer."
Mae plummeted rapidly. Invisibility released, gray feathers scattered everywhere. But most despairing was the bloodstain on the penguin statue screen. It obscured the view.
Thud— Mae crashed through a building roof into the interior. The kin inside jumped in surprise.
"What happened?"
"A giant bird. Another monster?"
"It's noisy outside—what's going on?"
Plenty still here, so lots of unrescued people. But they weren't the priority.
"Mae! You alright?!!"
"You're okay, right?!"
Mae breathed roughly but managed a faint smile.
"Worry not, falconer. Seems I've kept my life for now."
Of course, I could revive companions with mana, but only if I was nearby. I couldn't go inside there.
"Can't fly again, but I can walk out."
Mae stood and tried to leave, but the kin had risen. Under vampire orders, they approached Mae, grabbing and clinging to prevent escape.
"...Tch."
Too much for Mae to shake off while barely walking. What to do now?!
Then, the door flew open. Hard enough to rip it off its hinges. Who could enter so toughly?
Unfortunately, not a person.
"Finally, caught you. Bee----"
The rest was censored, but I knew the voice instantly. The vampire. He walked slowly toward Mae.
"What, where's Park Hyunwoo?"
"Ah, that human? Maybe this'll tell you."
The vampire raised one arm. A very familiar arm. Torn military uniform, severed at the shoulder. Fresh blood still dripping shockingly.
"What... he's dead...?"
"Indeed. I killed that annoying man myself."
Drip— As the arm fell limply, my head rang.
All sorts of thoughts flooded in. Did my reckless op get him killed? He'd fought all night, exhausted—did that play a part?
Negative thoughts filled my mind. Meanwhile, the vampire killed and drained kin one by one as he approached. People tried fleeing in terror but walked toward him instead—pure horror.
That fear reached me through the screen. My body trembled, breath ragged.
But.
"Snap out of it!!!"
Turtle pounded my shoulders with its tiny arms, somehow atop my head. How'd it get there? The absurdity cleared my fogged vision and thoughts.
"Ditch the people and run!!!"
"...Is that wise, falconer?"
"Stay and it's dog meat!!"
Mae bolted at my words, shaking off grabbers, kicking wildly. The vampire, caught off guard, stopped killing kin and flew at us fast.
Mae, anticipating it, dodged the big swing narrowly and countered with sharp talons, sending him flying far.
No real damage, futile struggle maybe. But that moment let
Mae escape the facility.
"...Can you fly?"
"Gliding, yes."
"Run, now!!"
Mae took off immediately. Couldn't gain much height unlike usual, but low flight sufficed to flee.
"He's chasing!!!"
Penguin's shout showed the vampire pursuing madly—terrifying. But the distance grew, and by Mae's acceleration, he was far off.
"Escaped!!!"
"...What now, falconer?"
"Join Sua's group first?"
As Mae glided slowly toward Sua,
Whoosh— Something fast struck Mae again.
"...Urk!!!"
Mae tilted sharply and crashed once more. Rolling into the sunflower field, stopped by a tree.
"You okay?"
"...Not dead, falconer. Shrink and I can walk."
Mae shrank to penguin-statue size. Then Sua approached.
"What, Hayun? What happened?"
"Vampire attacked."
"Vampire? I heard Hyunwoo was holding it off fi—"
Sua's eyes twitched. Turning, she saw at the hill's end a sinister figure trudging down.
Bloody, darkness-cloaked vampire. Sua grabbed her megaphone.
"...Plan B. Survivors only—retreat."
* * *
In a building basement, the man struggled to retrieve a potato. One arm gone made it hard, but he succeeded.
A small steamed potato. Of course, several were allotted to him, the most vital on this battlefield. He'd hoped not to use them.
Opponent too strong. He shoved the potato into his mouth with his trembling left hand, chewing to heal fast enough to flee. For survival.
And everyone's. Sergeant Park Hyunwoo teared up, chewing desperately. He'd eaten them all without count, stuffing blindly.
It takes time to kick in.
The potato's sole flaw. Natural, really—otherwise, no need for healers.
Then, recovery began. Bleeding stopped, wounds closed. Strength returned a bit.
As he rose slowly from debris,
Sudden agony hit.
"Urgh... ugh?!!!"
Side effect? Did potatoes have that? But the pain's source was odd.
Missing right arm. Pain from there.
Phantom limb?
"......?!!"
But Park realized. Not phantom. His severed arm was regrowing.