Laughter and Tears
I declared a victorious charge and tore through the enemy at the front line like a woman possessed, carving them down in a frenzy. I dodged the artillery, cut down foes, and issued fresh orders to my allies. Running like that in a state of malnutrition was bound to strain my body to its limits. Yet I brushed the pain aside easily, carried forward by the invigorating rush that came from licking the blood splattered across my face and uniform.
“...Haa... Haa...”
I ran like a madwoman. My uniform was already soaked through. Blood and gore coated my face. Every time my breath grew ragged I licked the blood from my lips.
“Ugh...”
It was revolting. Corpses lay scattered before me, impossible to tell apart as friend or foe. The blood drenching me was a mixture of human and vampire, so muddled now that I could no longer tell the difference. All I could see was the fresh spray of red before my eyes. That hot, vivid crimson refused to leave my vision.
...This is bad...
I hadn’t drunk enough blood, and my sight was beginning to blur. Everything was red. The world in front of me was nothing but red. And then—
“Gwaaaaaah!!!”
“No…!!”
“My arm—my arm!!”
From behind came the screams of my precious soldiers. My mind cleared a fraction. I looked down at the vampire thrashing beneath me.
...Cut. I have to cut it down.
Survive. I must survive…!!
This time I will survive no matter what… I’ll struggle, I’ll writhe in the most pathetic, ugly way possible…!!
Crunch!!!!
With that thought I drove my blade straight through the vampire’s heart.
“Cough…!!”
“......”
I twisted the hilt ninety degrees and scooped the heart out. All strength fled my limbs. But I couldn’t afford to collapse here, so I bit my lip hard. The taste of my own blood filled my mouth. Strangely, it didn’t disgust me. The pain sharpened my mind, and I looked around.
“Commander!!!”
“Gwaaaaah!!!”
“Die already…!!”
“Medic! Medic!!”
Soldiers calling my name. A soldier clutching the stump of his arm. A soldier laughing like a lunatic. A soldier wailing at the sight of a vampire. A soldier cursing vampires through tears. A soldier who had killed a vampire and was now drowning in guilt. A soldier frozen in place, cradling a dead comrade. A soldier wandering in search of a medic with his own severed hand in his grasp.
They had once been someone’s family. Now they were nothing more than expendable resources. As I looked at them—
......
My mind grew coldly calm.
I have to save them.
I had to keep these poor souls alive. They had simply been toyed with by the political games of those above them. I yanked the black blade free from the heart of the vampire I had pinned beneath me.
“All troops!!! Survive!!! I will not permit any of you to die without my express permission!!!”
I thrust my sword high, wiped the blood from my face with a blood-soaked sleeve, and roared the order.
“Uwaaaaaah!!!!”
“Down with the bloodsuckers!!!”
“For the Empire!!”
“For His Majesty!!”
Those who had willingly thrown their lives away for their homeland answered with a roar.
Slash!
“...Cough!”
“Sorry. I’m taking your life in a rather cruel manner.”
Vampires do not die easily even when their hearts are pierced. Only severing the head in one clean stroke guarantees instant death. Therefore, gouging out the heart as I had done was an act of extreme cruelty. I stared at the vampire soldier whose life was flickering out as he looked up at me.
“I’ll make it quick for you now.”
With those words I swung once, slicing his head clean off. Only then did the light vanish from his eyes. I had neither time nor reason to mourn him. I licked the blood from my cheek. The taste was still nauseating, yet strength surged back into my body. The heat of the blood covering me proved once again that I was still alive.
Boom!!!!!
Bang!!!!
Thudududuk!
Indiscriminate bombardment sent pillars of earth shooting into the sky before they rained back down on me. I readjusted my grip on the sword and channeled blood magic through the gore on the ground.
“...For the Empire.”
The words slipped out unconsciously. I slid forward as if skating, stepping on the microscopic explosions I had created in the blood. The blood coating my blade also detonated in tiny bursts right before impact, granting explosive propulsion that let me swing with terrifying speed. The glow in my eyes turned crimson. The vampires who noticed immediately realized what I was and fell into panic.
Tiddik!
A faint explosive sound burst from my blade as it whipped forward.
Slice!!
I leapt and severed the necks of three vampires in a single breath.
Splaaaaash!!!
The moment I landed I slipped on the blood and used the momentum to race madly across the battlefield once more.
Slice!!
Slaaaaaash!!
I deliberately stepped only on pools of blood, so wet squelching sounds followed my every step. My boots were soon filled with it, yet the more blood that reached my tongue, the clearer my mind became.
“Ugh…!!”
With the urge to vomit came a strange lucidity. After racing across the battlefield like a demon, we finally succeeded in forcing open the gates of the main castle. My part of the operation ended here. The rest was—
“...Valentine.”
“...Loyalty.”
It was Eryk’s turn. Support arrived from Eryk, who had been waiting in the rear.
“...Haa… ugh…!”
Feeling bile rise, I collapsed on the spot even though my superior had not yet returned my salute. Eryk frowned as he looked down at me.
“...I-I’m sorry…”
I forced the nausea down, stood up, and supported myself on my sword while breathing hard.
“I will now report.”
“The remaining vampire forces are currently barricaded inside the main castle…”
“We have successfully neutralized the entrance.”
Only then did that bastard return my salute, acknowledge the report, and order me to rest.
“Thank… you…”
I collapsed pathetically onto the blood-soaked mud. Yet—
“...I survived…”
The relief of still being alive overpowered any sense of shame. Eryk clicked his tongue as he watched me.
...You bastard. Do you have any idea how desperate I am?
I wanted to scream it at him, but—
...So sleepy…
I was too exhausted to even brush off the mud. I simply leaned against the wall and closed my eyes.
“Haa… Haa…”
Rough breaths tore from my lungs as every muscle in my body seemed to scream in protest.
* * *
I don’t know how much time passed. We withdrew to the rear, received treatment and fresh supplies, and were finally allowed to rest.
“Eek?!”
“...Captain Kriha, is ‘eek’ really the proper greeting for a superior officer?”
“S-sorry!”
“......”
With a displeased expression I sat down beside Kriha. I couldn’t exactly blame her for being startled. I was absolutely drenched in blood, after all.
“...Huuup… Pwah…”
Frowning at the sticky sensation, I took a long drag from my cigarette. Luckily it had been sealed in plastic, so only the wrapper was stained.
“...Major, you really shouldn’t—”
“If you start lecturing me about quitting smoking again, I’ll throw you over there with the rest of the corpses.”
“...Yes! Sorry!”
Kriha fell silent and began soaking the rock-hard biscuit in water. Then—
“...Darling, pass it here.”
“K-Kyle? The Major is right here… we shouldn’t…”
When Kyle tried to act affectionate in front of me, Kriha froze solid. It was a good thing she had just received disciplinary punishment recently. I simply shrugged as I watched the pair.
The war was almost over anyway. What did it matter? With Eryk here, he would block any incoming shells somehow. That was the story the system demanded.
“...Huh? The Major isn’t angry?”
“Just don’t go overboard.”
At my words Kriha’s face lit up like the sun. How was this the same mad dog who had been slaughtering enemies moments ago? I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Pfft…!! Hehe…!!”
The tent suddenly fell deathly silent. I looked at my subordinates’ stunned faces.
Rattle rattle rattle.
“Captain Jenny? What’s wrong?”
Jenny was pouring water from her canteen so fast I couldn’t tell if she was drinking or spilling it. Kriha wore a blank expression and was inching dangerously close to the stove, whether to warm her hands or burn them I couldn’t say. Even the usually stoic Kyle looked completely dumbfounded.
“...?”
When I tilted my head, Jenny finally spoke.
“...M-Major… you can laugh?”
The nonsensical question made me stare at her with a straight face.
“What…?”
“Hic… S-sorry! It’s just… I’ve never seen you smile before…”
Jenny trembled as she apologized. Come to think of it, ever since arriving in this world I really hadn’t laughed once. Even back in my previous life I hadn’t laughed much. The only memories I had of laughter came after the terminal diagnosis.
“...Did I really never smile?”
I exhaled a stream of cigarette smoke. All my subordinates nodded in perfect unison. I could only shrug again.
“...I laugh too, you know.”
“Me too……”
I hesitated for a moment, then offered them a gentle smile.
“I’m only human, after all.”
It seemed I had lived far too harshly amid the war. Now an unknown world was slowly approaching me. I had no idea how it would unfold, when I might die, what the system still had in store, or even where I would find blood in the future. But for now, I chose to smile. This was the first real achievement I had earned since coming here. So today, at least, I wanted to celebrate the fact that I had survived this long.
“...Thank you, everyone… for staying as my subordinates.”
I smiled softly as I spoke. For some reason the area beneath my eyes began to sting.
“...I’m sorry… I’m so sorry……”
I had tried not to cry, but the tears kept rolling down my cheeks. Yes—just for today, just for this one day, I would cry my heart out. And so I sobbed loudly for the rest of that day.
The next morning.
“Surrender!!! It’s the surrender flag!!!”
“The vampires have surrendered!!!!”
With the rising sun at my back, I watched the scene I had once seen in the game with an expressionless face. The season was slightly different, yet the sight remained—
“...It’s pretty.”
“Beautiful.”
It truly was a beautiful sight.